Python How To’s
A collection of small, useful, how to’s for Python.
Using Python’s Random Module to Generate Integers
In Python, the random module allows you to generate random integers. It’s often used when you need to a number to be picked at random or to pick a random element from a list. Using it is actually really straightforward. Let’s say you want to print a random integer within a given range, like 1-100. Here’s how […]
Read MorePython Basics: Strings and Printing
Strings are a really commonly used type in Python, and can be formed simply by placing quotes around characters. Anything that resides inside of quotations is a string (single quotes or double quotes are both acceptable). To create a string, you simply need to assign these characters inside quotes as values to a variable, like this: […]
Read MorePython While Loop
The while loop in Python is basically just a way to construct code that will keep repeating while a certain expression is true. To create a while loop, you’ll need a target statement and a condition, and the target statement is the code that will keep executing for as long as the condition remains true. The syntax […]
Read MorePython’s Count Method
In Python, the count method returns the count of how many times an object occurs in a list. The syntax for the count method is really straightforward: list.count(obj) The above example represents the basic syntax for this method. When you’re using it in context, you’ll need to replace the ‘list’ keyword with the actual name […]
Read MoreResetting the Recursion Limit
What Is The Recursion Limit? A recursive function is one that calls itself, looping through data to generate a result. However, in Python, there is a limit to the number of times a function can call itself. The limit is set to the maximum depth of Python’s interpreter stack. Python’s default recursion limit is 1000, […]
Read MoreSwapping Values in Python
Swapping the values of two variables in Python is actually a really simple task. Python makes it fairly easy to swap two values without a lot of bulky code or weird hacks. Check out how easy it is to swap two numbers with each other using the built in methods below: x, y = 33, […]
Read MoreHow to Check for Anagrams In Python
In Python, there’s a fairly straightforward way to create a method that can be used to check strings against each other to see if the two strings are anagrams. Check out the function below to see the method in action — essentially it works by using the “==” comparison operator to see if the strings on […]
Read MoreUsing Break and Continue Statements in Python
In Python, break statements are used to exit (or “break) a conditional loop that uses “for” or “while”. After the loop ends, the code will pick up from the line immediately following the break statement. Here’s an example: even_nums = (2, 4, 6) num_sum = 0 count = 0 for x in even_nums: num_sum = […]
Read MoreQuick Tip: Using Sets in Python
In Python, sets are lists that don’t contain any duplicate entries. Using the set type is a quick and easy way to make sure that a list doesn’t contain any duplicates. Here’s an example of how you would use it to check a list for duplicates: a = set([“Pizza”, “Ice Cream”, “Donuts”, “Pizza”]) print a […]
Read MorePython’s SQLAlchemy vs Other ORMs
Overview of Python ORMs As a wonderful language, Python has lots of ORM libraries besides SQLAlchemy. In this article, we are going to take a look at several popular alternative ORM libraries to better understand the big picture of the Python ORM landscape. By writing a script that reads and writes to a simple database […]
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