PythonCheatSheet about:srcdoc

Python Cheatsheet

Contents
1. Syntax and whitespace
2. Comments
3. Numbers and operations
4. String manipulation
5. Lists, tuples, and dictionaries
6. JSON
7. Loops
8. File handling
9. Functions
10. Working with datetime
11. NumPy
12. Pandas

To run a cell, press Shift+Enter or click Run at the top of the page.

1. Syntax and whitespace

Python uses indented space to indicate the level of statements. The following cell is an
example where 'if' and 'else' are in same level, while 'print' is separated by space to a
different level. Spacing should be the same for items that are on the same level.

In [ ]: student_number = input("Enter your student number:")

if int(student_number) != 0:
print("Welcome student {}".format(student_number))
else:
print("Try again!")

2. Comments
In Python, comments start with hash '#' and extend to the end of the line. '#' can be at the
begining of the line or after code.

In [ ]: # This is code to print hello world!

print("Hello world!") # Print statement for hello world

print("# is not a comment in this case")

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3. Numbers and operations

Like with other programming languages, there are four types of numbers:

• Integers (e.g., 1, 20, 45, 1000) indicated by int

• Floating point numbers (e.g., 1.25, 20.35, 1000.00) indicated by float
• Long integers
• Complex numbers (e.g., x+2y where x is known)

Operation Result

x+y Sum of x and y

x-y Difference of x and y

x*y Product of x and y

x/y Quotient of x and y

x // y Quotient of x and y (floored)

x%y Remainder of x / y

abs(x) Absolute value of x

int(x) x converted to integer

long(x) x converted to long integer

float(x) x converted to floating point

pow(x, y) x to the power y

x ** y x to the power y

In [ ]: # Number examples
a = 5 + 8
print("Sum of int numbers: {} and number format is {}".format(a, type(a)))

b = 5 + 2.3
print ("Sum of int and {} and number format is {}".format(b, type(b)))

4. String manipulation
Python has rich features like other programming languages for string manipulation.

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In [ ]: # Store strings in a variable

test_word = "hello world to everyone"

# Print the test_word value

print(test_word)

# Use [] to access the character of the string. The first character is indicated by '0'.
print(test_word[0])

# Use the len() function to find the length of the string

print(len(test_word))

# Some examples of finding in strings

print(test_word.count('l')) # Count number of times l repeats in the string
print(test_word.find("o")) # Find letter 'o' in the string. Returns the position of first matc
print(test_word.count(' ')) # Count number of spaces in the string
print(test_word.upper()) # Change the string to uppercase
print(test_word.lower()) # Change the string to lowercase
print(test_word.replace("everyone","you")) # Replace word "everyone" with "you"
print(test_word.title()) # Change string to title format
print(test_word + "!!!") # Concatenate strings
print(":".join(test_word)) # Add ":" between each character
print("".join(reversed(test_word))) # Reverse the string

5. Lists, tuples, and dictionaries

Python supports data types lists, tuples, dictionaries, and arrays.

Lists
A list is created by placing all the items (elements) inside square brackets [ ] separated by
commas. A list can have any number of items, and they may be of different types (integer,
float, strings, etc.).

In [ ]: # A Python list is similar to an array. You can create an empty list too.

my_list = []

first_list = [3, 5, 7, 10]

second_list = [1, 'python', 3]

In [ ]: # Nest multiple lists

nested_list = [first_list, second_list]
nested_list

In [ ]: # Combine multiple lists

combined_list = first_list + second_list
combined_list

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In [ ]: # You can slice a list, just like strings

combined_list[0:3]

In [ ]: # Append a new entry to the list

combined_list.append(600)
combined_list

In [ ]: # Remove the last entry from the list

combined_list.pop()

In [ ]: # Iterate the list

for item in combined_list:
print(item)

Tuples
A tuple is similar to a list, but you use them with parentheses ( ) instead of square brackets.
The main difference is that a tuple is immutable, while a list is mutable.

In [ ]: my_tuple = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
my_tuple[1:4]

Dictionaries
A dictionary is also known as an associative array. A dictionary consists of a collection of key-
value pairs. Each key-value pair maps the key to its associated value.

In [ ]: desk_location = {'jack': 123, 'joe': 234, 'hary': 543}

desk_location['jack']

6. JSON
JSON is text writen in JavaScript Object Notation. Python has a built-in package called json
that can be used to work with JSON data.

In [ ]: import json

# Sample JSON data

x = '{"first_name":"Jane", "last_name":"Doe", "age":25, "city":"Chicago"}'

# Read JSON data

y = json.loads(x)

# Print the output, which is similar to a dictonary

print("Employee name is "+ y["first_name"] + " " + y["last_name"])

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7. Loops
If, Else, ElIf loop: Python supports conditional statements like any other programming
language. Python relies on indentation (whitespace at the begining of the line) to define the
scope of the code.

In [ ]: a = 22
b = 33
c = 100

# if ... else example

if a > b:
print("a is greater than b")
else:
print("b is greater than a")

# if .. else .. elif example

if a > b:
print("a is greater than b")
elif b > c:
print("b is greater than c")
else:
print("b is greater than a and c is greater than b")

While loop: Runs a set of statements as long as the condition is true

In [ ]: # Sample while example

i = 1
while i < 10:
print("count is " + str(i))
i += 1

print("="*10)

# Continue to next iteration if x is 2. Finally, print message once the condition is false.

x = 0
while x < 5:
x += 1
if x == 2:
continue
print(x)
else:
print("x is no longer less than 5")

For loop: A For loop is more like an iterator in Python. A For loop is used for iterating
over a sequence (list, tuple, dictionay, set, string, or range).

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In [ ]: # Sample for loop examples

fruits = ["orange", "banana", "apple", "grape", "cherry"]
for fruit in fruits:
print(fruit)

print("\n")
print("="*10)
print("\n")

# Iterating range
for x in range(1, 10, 2):
print(x)
else:
print("task complete")

print("\n")
print("="*10)
print("\n")

# Iterating multiple lists

traffic_lights = ["red", "yellow", "green"]
action = ["stop", "slow down", "go"]

for light in traffic_lights:

for task in action:
print(light, task)

8. File handling
The key function for working with files in Python is the open() function. The open()
function takes two parameters: filename and mode.

There are four different methods (modes) for opening a file:

• "r" - Read
• "a" - Append
• "w" - Write
• "x" - Create

In addition, you can specify if the file should be handled in binary or text mode.

• "t" - Text
• "b" - Binary

In [ ]: # Let's create a test text file

!echo "This is a test file with text in it. This is the first line." > test.txt
!echo "This is the second line." >> test.txt
!echo "This is the third line." >> test.txt

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In [ ]: # Read file
file = open('test.txt', 'r')
print(file.read())
file.close()

print("\n")
print("="*10)
print("\n")

# Read first 10 characters of the file

file = open('test.txt', 'r')
print(file.read(10))
file.close()

print("\n")
print("="*10)
print("\n")

# Read line from the file

file = open('test.txt', 'r')

print(file.readline())
file.close()

In [ ]: # Create new file

file = open('test2.txt', 'w')

file.write("This is content in the new test2 file.")
file.close()

# Read the content of the new file

file = open('test2.txt', 'r')
print(file.read())
file.close()

In [ ]: # Update file
file = open('test2.txt', 'a')
file.write("\nThis is additional content in the new file.")
file.close()

# Read the content of the new file

file = open('test2.txt', 'r')
print(file.read())
file.close()

In [ ]: # Delete file
import os
file_names = ["test.txt", "test2.txt"]
for item in file_names:
if os.path.exists(item):
os.remove(item)
print(f"File {item} removed successfully!")
else:
print(f"{item} file does not exist.")

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9. Functions
A function is a block of code that runs when it is called. You can pass data, or parameters,
into the function. In Python, a function is defined by def .

In [ ]: # Defining a function
def new_funct():
print("A simple function")

# Calling the function

new_funct()

In [ ]: # Sample fuction with parameters

def param_funct(first_name):
print(f"Employee name is {first_name}.")

param_funct("Harry")
param_funct("Larry")
param_funct("Shally")

Anonymous functions (lambda): A lambda is a small anonymous function. A lambda

function can take any number of arguments but only one expression.

In [ ]: # Sample lambda example

x = lambda y: y + 100
print(x(15))

print("\n")
print("="*10)
print("\n")

x = lambda a, b: a*b/100
print(x(2,4))

10. Working with datetime

A datetime module in Python can be used to work with date objects.

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In [ ]: import datetime

x = datetime.datetime.now()

print(x)
print(x.year)
print(x.strftime("%A"))
print(x.strftime("%B"))
print(x.strftime("%d"))
print(x.strftime("%H:%M:%S %p"))

11. NumPy
NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing with Python. Among other
things, it contains:

• Powerful N-dimensional array object

• Sophisticated (broadcasting) functions
• Tools for integrating C/C++ and Fortran code
• Useful linear algebra, Fourier transform, and random number capabilities

In [ ]: # Install NumPy using pip

!pip install --upgrade pip
!pip install numpy

In [ ]: # Import NumPy module

import numpy as np

Inspecting your array

In [ ]: # Create array
a = np.arange(15).reshape(3, 5) # Create array with range 0-14 in 3 by 5 dimension
b = np.zeros((3,5)) # Create array with zeroes
c = np.ones( (2,3,4), dtype=np.int16 ) # Createarray with ones and defining data types
d = np.ones((3,5))

In [ ]: a.shape # Array dimension

In [ ]: len(b)# Length of array

In [ ]: c.ndim # Number of array dimensions

In [ ]: a.size # Number of array elements

In [ ]: b.dtype # Data type of array elements

In [ ]: c.dtype.name # Name of data type

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In [ ]: c.astype(float) # Convert an array type to a different type

Basic math operations

In [ ]: # Create array
a = np.arange(15).reshape(3, 5) # Create array with range 0-14 in 3 by 5 dimension
b = np.zeros((3,5)) # Create array with zeroes
c = np.ones( (2,3,4), dtype=np.int16 ) # Createarray with ones and defining data types
d = np.ones((3,5))

In [ ]: np.add(a,b) # Addition

In [ ]: np.subtract(a,b) # Substraction

In [ ]: np.divide(a,d) # Division

In [ ]: np.multiply(a,d) # Multiplication

In [ ]: np.array_equal(a,b) # Comparison - arraywise

Aggregate functions
In [ ]: # Create array
a = np.arange(15).reshape(3, 5) # Create array with range 0-14 in 3 by 5 dimension
b = np.zeros((3,5)) # Create array with zeroes
c = np.ones( (2,3,4), dtype=np.int16 ) # Createarray with ones and defining data types
d = np.ones((3,5))

In [ ]: a.sum() # Array-wise sum

In [ ]: a.min() # Array-wise min value

In [ ]: a.mean() # Array-wise mean

In [ ]: a.max(axis=0) # Max value of array row

In [ ]: np.std(a) # Standard deviation

Subsetting, slicing, and indexing

In [ ]: # Create array
a = np.arange(15).reshape(3, 5) # Create array with range 0-14 in 3 by 5 dimension
b = np.zeros((3,5)) # Create array with zeroes
c = np.ones( (2,3,4), dtype=np.int16 ) # Createarray with ones and defining data types
d = np.ones((3,5))

In [ ]: a[1,2] # Select element of row 1 and column 2

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In [ ]: a[0:2] # Select items on index 0 and 1

In [ ]: a[:1] # Select all items at row 0

In [ ]: a[-1:] # Select all items from last row

In [ ]: a[a<2] # Select elements from 'a' that are less than 2

Array manipulation
In [ ]: # Create array
a = np.arange(15).reshape(3, 5) # Create array with range 0-14 in 3 by 5 dimension
b = np.zeros((3,5)) # Create array with zeroes
c = np.ones( (2,3,4), dtype=np.int16 ) # Createarray with ones and defining data types
d = np.ones((3,5))

In [ ]: np.transpose(a) # Transpose array 'a'

In [ ]: a.ravel() # Flatten the array

In [ ]: a.reshape(5,-2) # Reshape but don't change the data

In [ ]: np.append(a,b) # Append items to the array

In [ ]: np.concatenate((a,d), axis=0) # Concatenate arrays

In [ ]: np.vsplit(a,3) # Split array vertically at 3rd index

In [ ]: np.hsplit(a,5) # Split array horizontally at 5th index

Pandas
Pandas is an open source, BSD-licensed library providing high-performance, easy-to-use
data structures and data analysis tools for the Python programming language.

Pandas DataFrames are the most widely used in-memory representation of complex data
collections within Python.

In [ ]: # Install pandas, xlrd, and openpyxl using pip

!pip install pandas
!pip install xlrd openpyxl

In [ ]: # Import NumPy and Pandas modules

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd

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In [ ]: # Sample dataframe df
df = pd.DataFrame({'num_legs': [2, 4, np.nan, 0],
'num_wings': [2, 0, 0, 0],
'num_specimen_seen': [10, np.nan, 1, 8]},
index=['falcon', 'dog', 'spider', 'fish'])
df # Display dataframe df

In [ ]: # Another sample dataframe df1 - using NumPy array with datetime index and labeled column
df1 = pd.date_range('20130101', periods=6)
df1 = pd.DataFrame(np.random.randn(6, 4), index=df1, columns=list('ABCD'))
df1 # Display dataframe df1

Viewing data
In [ ]: df1 = pd.date_range('20130101', periods=6)
df1 = pd.DataFrame(np.random.randn(6, 4), index=df1, columns=list('ABCD'))

In [ ]: df1.head(2) # View top data

In [ ]: df1.tail(2) # View bottom data

In [ ]: df1.index # Display index column

In [ ]: df1.dtypes # Inspect datatypes

In [ ]: df1.describe() # Display quick statistics summary of data

Subsetting, slicing, and indexing

In [ ]: df1 = pd.date_range('20130101', periods=6)
df1 = pd.DataFrame(np.random.randn(6, 4), index=df1, columns=list('ABCD'))

In [ ]: df1.T # Transpose data

In [ ]: df1.sort_index(axis=1, ascending=False) # Sort by an axis

In [ ]: df1.sort_values(by='B') # Sort by values

In [ ]: df1['A'] # Select column A

In [ ]: df1[0:3] # Select index 0 to 2

In [ ]: df1['20130102':'20130104'] # Select from index matching the values

In [ ]: df1.loc[:, ['A', 'B']] # Select on a multi-axis by label

In [ ]: df1.iloc[3] # Select via the position of the passed integers

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In [ ]: df1[df1 > 0] # Select values from a DataFrame where a boolean condition is met

In [ ]: df2 = df1.copy() # Copy the df1 dataset to df2

df2['E'] = ['one', 'one', 'two', 'three', 'four', 'three'] # Add column E with value
df2[df2['E'].isin(['two', 'four'])] # Use isin method for filtering

Missing data
Pandas primarily uses the value np.nan to represent missing data. It is not included in
computations by default.

In [ ]: df = pd.DataFrame({'num_legs': [2, 4, np.nan, 0],

'num_wings': [2, 0, 0, 0],
'num_specimen_seen': [10, np.nan, 1, 8]},
index=['falcon', 'dog', 'spider', 'fish'])

In [ ]: df.dropna(how='any') # Drop any rows that have missing data

In [ ]: df.dropna(how='any', axis=1) # Drop any columns that have missing data

In [ ]: df.fillna(value=5) # Fill missing data with value 5

In [ ]: pd.isna(df) # To get boolean mask where data is missing

File handling
In [ ]: df = pd.DataFrame({'num_legs': [2, 4, np.nan, 0],
'num_wings': [2, 0, 0, 0],
'num_specimen_seen': [10, np.nan, 1, 8]},
index=['falcon', 'dog', 'spider', 'fish'])

In [ ]: df.to_csv('foo.csv') # Write to CSV file

In [ ]: pd.read_csv('foo.csv') # Read from CSV file

In [ ]: df.to_excel('foo.xlsx', sheet_name='Sheet1') # Write to Microsoft Excel file

In [ ]: pd.read_excel('foo.xlsx', 'Sheet1', index_col=None, na_values=['NA'], engine='openpyxl'

Plotting
In [ ]: # Install Matplotlib using pip
!pip install matplotlib

In [ ]: from matplotlib import pyplot as plt # Import Matplotlib module

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In [ ]: # Generate random time-series data

ts = pd.Series(np.random.randn(1000),index=pd.date_range('1/1/2000', periods=1000))
ts.head()

In [ ]: ts = ts.cumsum()
ts.plot() # Plot graph
plt.show()

In [ ]: # On a DataFrame, the plot() method is convenient to plot all of the columns with labels
df4 = pd.DataFrame(np.random.randn(1000, 4), index=ts.index,columns=['A', 'B', 'C',
df4 = df4.cumsum()
df4.head()

In [ ]: df4.plot()
plt.show()

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