By Dhruv Sangamwar for Neurotech@Davis

Python is a versatile and popular programming language known for its simplicity and readability. In this tutorial, we will cover the basics of Python, including variables, data types, control structures, functions, and more.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started

1.1. Installing Python

Before you can start programming in Python, you need to make sure you have a text-editor and the right environment.

MacOS

  • We personally recommend using Homebrew, a package manager that handles package download and installations
  • Follow the following commands to install , python and some libraries.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)" : Installs Homebrew.
export PATH="/usr/local/opt/python/libexec/bin:$PATH" : This sets up the Path variable so that your command line can find python. The following commands will install python along with some libraries: 

brew install python
python --version
pip install numpy
pip install seaborn
pip install matplotlib

We strongly reccomend that you use Visual Studio code as it has plenty of free plugins that make development in python easier.

If you want to use any additional packages, visit PyPi. This is the python package index where you can find installation instructions and documentation for packages. (Make sure to check which version you want before installation)

Windows

  • Environment setup has a couple more steps on Windows
  • Open command prompt as an administrator
  • Run wsl --install to install WSL2.
    • Restart your computer after the step.
  • At this point you should be able to run wsl in your command prompt which should start a linux vm.
    • If this is not the case please reach out to anyone on the projects division to debug platform related issues.
  • You can now use the same commands as above for MacOS to install python and all the related dependencies
  • Install Visual Studio code and run code . in your command prompt; code . should open up VScode where you can write all your python code.
    • WSL should detect that you are trying to open VScode, it will install the virtualized version of it automatically and open the desktop VScode client.

1.2. Running Python

You can run Python code in two ways: using the Python interactive interpreter or by creating Python scripts.

To start the Python interactive interpreter, open your terminal or command prompt and type:

python

You can also run Python scripts by creating a .py file and executing it with the python command.

# hello.py
print("Hello, Python!")

To run the script:

python hello.py

2.Variables and Data Types

In Python, you don't need to declare the data type of a variable explicitly. Python infers it based on the value assigned.

# Integer
x = 10

# Float
y = 3.14

# String
name = "Alice"

# Boolean
is_python_fun = True

# List
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

# Tuple
coordinates = (3, 4)

# Dictionary
person = {"name": "Bob", "age": 30}

3. Control Structures

Python provides various control structures like if, for, and while for managing program flow.

3.1. Conditional Statements

if condition:
    # Code to execute if the condition is True
elif another_condition:
    # Code to execute if the second condition is True
else:
    # Code to execute if none of the conditions are True

3.2. Loops

3.2.1. for Loop

for item in iterable:
    # Code to execute for each item in the iterable

3.2.2. while Loop

while condition:
    # Code to execute as long as the condition is True

4. Functions

Functions allow you to encapsulate code into reusable blocks.

def greet(name):
    """A simple greeting function."""
    print(f"Hello, {name}!")

# Calling the function
greet("Alice")\

5.Modules and Packages

Python has a rich ecosystem of modules and packages to extend its functionality. We installed some earlier if you followed the getting started section.

# Importing a module
import math
import numpy as np

# Using a module function
print(math.sqrt(16))

# using numpy
arr = np.array([[1, 2],
                [3, 4]])
print("Matrix: \n", arr)

6. File Handling

Python provides functions for reading from and writing to files.

# Opening a file for reading
with open("file.txt", "r") as file:
    content = file.read()

# Opening a file for writing
with open("new_file.txt", "w") as file:
    file.write("Hello, World!")

7. Error Handling

Use try and except blocks to handle errors gracefully.

try:
    # Code that might raise an exception
except ExceptionType:
    # Code to handle the exception
else:
    # Code to execute if no exception is raised
finally:
    # Code that always runs, regardless of exceptions

8. Object Oriented Programming

Python supports object-oriented programming (OOP) principles like classes and inheritance.

class Animal:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

    def speak(self):
        pass

class Dog(Animal):
    def speak(self):
        return f"{self.name} says Woof!"

# Creating objects
dog = Dog("Buddy")
print(dog.speak())

9. Conclusion

This Python tutorial covered the fundamental concepts of the Python programming language, including variables, data types, control structures, functions, modules, file handling, error handling, and object-oriented programming. Python is a versatile language with a vast ecosystem of libraries and frameworks, making it suitable for your Neurotech projects.