Python Basics

Description

Overview:

Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level language that gets work done in a hurry! Python can improve all professional’s ability to do work and is freely available on all major platforms without a charge. All lessons in our courseware are highly relevant for scripting within the workplace, including; data retrieval and storage from the local system, working with RESTful APIs, and decoding JSON.

Prerequisite(s):

Audience:

Outline:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Python

• Installing Python 2.7+
• Installing Python 3.x
• Preparing to write Python
• Preparing to write a Python file (*.py) – Text Editors
• Executing a Python file
• Python Enhancement Proposals
• How to “speak” Python
• Python Statements and Control Flow
• Python Interpreter
• Overview of the Standard Library

Lesson 2: Version Controlling Code

• Set up a github account
• Github essentials
• README course requirements
• How to Set up a repo
• Issue a Pull request
• How to use Issues for peer review

Lesson 3: Basics of Programming

• Functions
• Objects
• Methods
• Built in Functions
• Functions and Arguments
• Print()
• White spacing basic rules
• String Literal Escape Sequences
• Python Variables
• Naming Conventions & Rules
• Types as Objects
• Sequence Types
• List Iteration
• List Enumeration
• Sequence Assignments
• Mutable vs Immutable Objects
• Assignment Shorthand

Lesson 4: Python Basic Variables and Data Types

• Numeric Types
• Operators and Precedence / Arithmetic Expressions
• Integers
• Floating points

Lesson 5: String Types

• Generating Strings in Python
• Common String Methods
• Formatting String Output
• Booleans
• Printing and formatting strings
• Scripting with input()
• About raw_input()

Lesson 6: Lists & Dictionaries & Tuples

• LIsts
• Mixed Lists
• Common List Methods
• Other List Operations
• Dictionaries
• Python Dictionaries
• Keys and Values
• Dictionary Building
• Dictionary Methods
• Tuples
• Python Time Tuples
• Dictionaries vs Lists vs Tuples
• Translating JSON to Pythonic Lists, Dictionaries and Tuples

Lesson 7: If, elif, else

• Relational Operators
• Logical operators
• Comparison Operations
• “simple” if Statement
• If else statements
• If elif
• Nested if statement

Lesson 8: Looping with “while”

• While usage
• Count controlled loop
• Event controlled loop
• Continue
• Break

Lesson 9: Looping with “for”

• The for Loop
• For iteration examples
• Looping across data sets
• Looping across lists of lists
• Looping across lists of dictionaries

Lesson 10: Understanding Iterators

• The range() Function
• Taking the range() of len()
• Iterable Objects
• The iter() Function
• Looping with dictionaries
• Looping with lists

Lesson 11: Getting Data In and Out of Python

• Opening Files
• Working with Files
• Read data from files
• Controlling Output Location
• Intro to working with APIs
• What is a RESTful API?
• APIs and JSON

Lesson 12: Python List Comprehension

• Basic List Comprehensions
• Compound List Comprehensions

Lesson 13: Creating Python Functions

• Function Basics
• Defining Functions
• Function Polymorphism
• Argument Defaults
• Lambdas
• What is if __name__ == __main__
• Local Variables
• Variable Masking
• Creating functions using Sorted() and sort()
• Preventing Variable Modifications
• Argument Matching Methods

Lesson 14: Modules & Packages

• Pip and pip3
• Module Basics
• Packages
• Virtual environments
• Defined modules
• Import modules
• From import statements
• Namespace

Lesson 15: Python Scope

• Naming conventions
• Local scope
• Global scope
• Nested scope

Lesson 16: Object Oriented Python

• About OOP
• The Class Statements
• Defining a class
• Class Inheritance
• Classes as Objects
• Using Dictionaries
• Understanding self
• Class fields and constructors
• Data structures
• Subclasses (Inheritance)
• Multiple Inheritance
• Static methods

Lesson 17: (Optional) Regular Expression

• import re library
• Writing regular expression
• Searching for data in files
• Using Regular Expression to search data sets
• Searching for data in Wireshark Traces (Python and *.pcaps)