A Simple Introduction

to Python
A Simple Introduction to Python is aimed at pre-university students and complete
novices to programming. The whole book has been created using Jupyter notebooks. After
introducing Python as a powerful calculator, simple programming constructs are covered,
and the NumPy, MatPlotLib and SymPy modules (libraries) are introduced. Python is then
used for Mathematics, Cryptography, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Object Ori-
ented Programming. The reader is shown how to program using the integrated development
environments: Python IDLE, Spyder, Jupyter notebooks, and through cloud computing with
Google Colab.
Features:
• No prior experience in programming is required.
• Demonstrates how to format Jupyter notebooks for publication on the Web.
• Full solutions to exercises are available as a Jupyter notebook on the Web.
• All Jupyter notebook solution files can be downloaded through GitHub.
GitHub Repository of Data Files and a Jupyter Solution notebook:
https://github.com/proflynch/A-Simple-Introduction-to-Python
Jupyter Solution notebook web page:
https://drstephenlynch.github.io/webpages/A-Simple-Introduction-to-Python-Solutions.html

In 2022, Stephen Lynch was named a National Teaching Fellow, which celebrates and
recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and
teaching in higher education. He won the award for his work in programming in STEM
subjects, research feeding into teaching, and widening participation (using experiential
and object-based learning). Although educated as a pure mathematician, Stephen’s many
interests now include applied mathematics, cell biology, electrical engineering, comput-
ing, neural networks, nonlinear optics and binary oscillator computing, which he co-in-
vented with a colleague. He has authored 2 international patents for inventions, 8 books,
4 book chapters, over 45 journal articles, and a few conference proceedings. Stephen is a
Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (FIMA) and a Senior Fellow
of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). He is currently a Reader with MMU and
was an Associate Lecturer with the Open University from 2008 to 2012. In 2010, Stephen
volunteered as a STEM Ambassador, in 2012, he was awarded MMU Public Engagement
Champion status, and in 2014, he became a Speaker for Schools. He runs national work-
shops on “Python for A-Level Mathematics and Beyond” and international workshops on
“Python for Scientific Computing and TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence.” He has run
workshops in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and the USA.
Chapman & Hall/CRC
The Python Series
About the Series

Python has been ranked as the most popular programming language, and it is
widely used in education and industry. This book series will offer a wide range of
books on Python for students and professionals. Titles in the series will help users
learn the language at an introductory and advanced level, and explore its many
applications in data science, AI, and machine learning. Series titles can also be
supplemented with Jupyter notebooks.

Image Processing and Acquisition using Python, Second Edition

Ravishankar Chityala, Sridevi Pudipeddi

Python Packages
Tomas Beuzen and Tiffany-Anne Timbers

Statistics and Data Visualisation with Python

Jesús Rogel-Salazar

Introduction to Python for Humanists

William J.B. Mattingly

Python for Scientific Computation and Artificial Intelligence

Stephen Lynch

Learning Professional Python Volume 1: The Basics

Usharani Bhimavarapu and Jude D. Hemanth

Learning Professional Python Volume 2: Advanced

Usharani Bhimavarapu and Jude D. Hemanth

Learning Advanced Python from Open Source Projects

Rongpeng Li

Foundations of Data Science with Python

John Mark Shea

Data Mining with Python: Theory, Applications, and Case Studies

Di Wu

A Simple Introduction to Python

Stephen Lynch

For more information about this series please visit: https://www.crcpress.com/

Chapman--HallCRC/book-series/PYTH
A Simple Introduction
to Python

Stephen Lynch
Manchester Metropolitan University,
United Kingdom
Designed cover image: Python Software Foundation

First edition published 2024

by CRC Press
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and by CRC Press

4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2024 Stephen Lynch

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lynch, Stephen, 1964- author.

Title: A simple introduction to Python / Stephen Lynch, Manchester Metropolitan
University, United Kingdom.
Description: First edition. | Boca Raton : C&H, CRC Press, 2024. |
Series: Chapman & Hall/CRC the Python series | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023056099 (print) | LCCN 2023056100 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032751672 (hbk) |
ISBN 9781032750293 (pbk) | ISBN 9781003472759 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Python (Computer program language) | Computer programming.
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ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023056100

ISBN: 978-1-032-75167-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-75029-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-47275-9 (ebk)

DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759

Typeset in Latin Modern font

by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.

Publisher’s note: This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the authors.
 To my family,
my brother Mark and my sister Jacqueline,
my wife Gaynor,
and our children, Sebastian and Thalia,
for their continuing love, inspiration and support.
Contents

Preface xi

Chapter 1 ■ Python as a Powerful Calculator 1

1.1 BODMAS 1
1.2 FRACTIONS: SYMBOLIC COMPUTATION 2
1.3 POWERS (EXPONENTIATION) AND ROOTS 3
1.4 THE MATH LIBRARY (MODULE) 4

Chapter 2 ■ Simple Programming with Python 7

2.1 LISTS, TUPLES, SETS AND DICTIONARIES 7

2.2 DEFINING FUNCTIONS (PROGRAMMING) 10
2.3 FOR AND WHILE LOOPS 11
2.4 CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS, IF, ELIF, ELSE 14

Chapter 3 ■ The Turtle Library 17

3.1 THE CANTOR SET FRACTAL 18

3.2 THE KOCH SNOWFLAKE 19
3.3 A BIFURCATING TREE 20
3.4 THE SIERPINSKI TRIANGLE 21

Chapter 4 ■ NumPy and MatPlotLib 24

4.1 NUMERICAL PYTHON (NUMPY) 24

4.2 MATPLOTLIB 26

vii
viii ■ Contents

4.3 SCATTER PLOTS 28

4.4 SURFACE PLOTS 29

Chapter 5 ■ Google Colab, SymPy and GitHub 32

5.1 GOOGLE COLAB 32

5.2 FORMATTING NOTEBOOKS 33
5.3 SYMBOLIC PYTHON (SYMPY) 35
5.4 GITHUB 37

Chapter 6 ■ Python for Mathematics 40

6.1 BASIC ALGEBRA 40

6.2 SOLVING EQUATIONS 41
6.3 FUNCTIONS (MATHEMATICS) 43
6.4 DIFFERENTIATION AND INTEGRATION (CALCULUS) 46

Chapter 7 ■ Introduction to Cryptography 51

7.1 THE CAESAR CIPHER 52

7.2 THE XOR CIPHER 53
7.3 THE RIVEST-SHAMIR-ADLEMAN (RSA)
CRYPTOSYSTEM 54
7.4 SIMPLE RSA ALGORITHM EXAMPLE 55

Chapter 8 ■ An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence 59

8.1 ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS 60

8.2 THE AND/OR AND XOR GATE ANNS 61
8.3 THE BACKPROPAGATION ALGORITHM 63
8.4 BOSTON HOUSING DATA 65
 Contents ■ ix

Chapter 9 ■ An Introduction to Data Science 68

9.1 INTRODUCTION TO PANDAS 68

9.2 LOAD, CLEAN AND PREPROCESS THE DATA 71
9.3 EXPLORING THE DATA 73
9.4 VIOLIN, SCATTER AND HEXAGONAL BIN PLOTS 74

Chapter 10 ■ An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming 79

10.1 CLASSES AND OBJECTS 80

10.2 ENCAPSULATION 81
10.3 INHERITANCE 82
10.4 POLYMORPHISM 83

Index 89
Preface

Currently, Python is the most popular programming language in the

world. It is open source and completely free to the user. It is also fun to
program with and extremely powerful at solving real-world problems.
This book is for pre-university students or complete novices to pro-
gramming. This is the third book I have written on Python. The most
recent book, Python for Scientific Computing and Artificial Intelligence [1],
published by CRC Press in 2023, is aimed at high-school students, under-
graduates, postgraduates and scientists, and concentrates on interdisci-
plinary science, computational modeling, simulation and programming.
The more advanced book, Dynamical Systems with Applications using
Python [2], published by Springer International Publishing, is set at a
final-year undergraduate and postgraduate level and covers the mathe-
matical theory and research in some detail. This book is a precursor to
both [1] and [2] and provides a gentle introduction to programming in
Python and is aimed at complete novices.
In the second part of the Preface, the reader is shown three (from
many) methods to access Python. The Python Integrated Development
Learning Environment (IDLE) is suitable for Chapters 1 to 3. For Sci-
entific Computing and the material in Chapters 4 to 10, the reader will
need to use Jupyter notebooks or Spyder through Anaconda, or Google
Colab, via cloud computing.
Each chapter provides both examples and exercises. In order to un-
derstand programming, the reader must attempt these exercises. Learn-
ing to program is like learning to ride a bike – you have to fall off many
times before mastering the art. Expect to make many mistakes, learn
from those mistakes and then move on to the next chapter. Full working
solutions to all of the exercises and other resources will be provided via
GitHub, where readers will be able to download all files for free. There
will also be a web page with full-worked solutions, where readers can
simply copy and paste code and run the programs in a Python environ-
ment. Readers should note that Python programs can easily be generated
with ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer), developed

xi
xii ■ Preface

by OpenAI, and other alternatives such as Microsoft Bing, Perplexity AI

and Google Bard AI, for example. Readers should ask these AI chatbots
why humans should learn how to program – they give some very sound
arguments.
Chapter 1 shows the reader how Python can be used as a simple,
powerful calculator, and the first library (or module) is introduced. The
Math library consists of functions (written in Python) which can be
called within Python. Some of the functions will be familiar to most
readers (asin, sin, exp, gcd, lcm, sqrt, etc), and some unfamiliar functions
(ceil, floor, fmod, radians, trunc) will be defined here. Chapter 2 starts
with lists, tuples, sets and dictionaries and then moves on to simple pro-
gramming, defining functions (think of adding buttons to your Python
calculator), loops and conditional constructs (if, elif, else). In Chapter 3,
the turtle library is loaded into a notebook and simple fractals (images
repeated on ever-reduced scales) are plotted using recursive functions
and iteration. Numerical Python (NumPy) and the Matrix Plotting Li-
brary (MatPLotLib) are used in Chapter 4 when dealing with arrays,
matrices, vectors, tensors and plots. Cloud computing with Google Co-
lab (Collaboratory) is covered in Section 5.1, where the reader can use
Jupyter notebooks without requiring any software on their own com-
puter. The next section introduces the reader to formatting notebooks,
inserting titles, figures and mathematical equations using LaTeX. Next,
the Symbolic Python (SymPy) library for symbolic computation is intro-
duced and the final section shows the reader how to access GitHub, the
AI-powered developer platform to build, scale, and deliver secure soft-
ware. As well as storing and sharing Python programs here, the reader
should know that it also provides a platform to publish your own web
pages – as the author has done for his personal web pages and the solu-
tions to this book.
Chapter 6 shows the reader how Python can help understand basic
Mathematics. Using Python can help provide a deeper understanding of
the mathematics, I am a strong advocate of bringing it into all school
curricula across the world. Not only can it help with the understanding
but it can also be lots of fun too – something that is missing from
a lot of children’s mathematics education! Chapter 7 provides a basic
introduction to cryptography and cyber security starting with some well-
known historical ciphers and ending with a simple example of the Rivest-
Shamir-Adleman (RSA) algorithm. Artificial Intelligence (AI) by way
of artificial neural networks (ANNs) is addressed in Chapter 8. There
are simple ANNs for the AND, OR and XOR gates from logic, and
 Preface ■ xiii

the backpropagation algorithm is explained using a very simple ANN.

The well-known data set for Boston housing from the 1970s is discussed
and a full working program of the Boston housing ANN is provided in
the solutions notebook. As an introduction to Data Science, Chapter 9
starts with the Python and Data Analysis (PANDAS) library and then
the reader is given examples of how to load, pre-process data, present
the data visually, explore the data and analyze and communicate the
results. Four large data sets (LDSs) are used in this chapter, and all
LDSs can be downloaded through GitHub.
Chapter 10 provides a simple introduction to object oriented pro-
gramming (OOP), which is a style of programming which is different to
functional and procedural programming encountered in earlier chapters.
The concept is based on objects which contain data (attributes) and code
(methods). Using student, employee and vehicle objects, the concepts of
encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism are briefly explained. An
example of a Brick Breaker Game OOP is listed in the exercises, and a
full working program of the game is provided in the solution notebook.
Data files and full worked solutions to all of the chapter exercises
will be available through GitHub:
https://github.com/proflynch/A-Simple-Introduction-to-Pytho
n.
Alternatively, readers can view a Jupyter notebook of all of the so-
lutions here:

https://drstephenlynch.github.io/webpages/A-Simple-Introdu
ction-to-Python-Solutions.html.

For applications in biology, chemistry, data science, economics, engi-

neering, fractals and multifractals, image processing, numerical methods
for ordinary and partial differential equations, physics, statistics and ar-
tificial intelligence (AI), see [1]. For more information on the theory and
applications of continuous and discrete dynamical systems, the reader is
directed to [2].

1. Lynch, S. (2023). Python for Scientific Computing and Artificial

Intelligence. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
https://www.routledge.com/Python-for-Scientific-Compu
ting-and-Artificial-Intelligence/Lynch/p/book/9781032
258713#
xiv ■ Preface

2. Lynch, S. (2018). Dynamical Systems with Applications using

Python. Springer International Publishing, New York, USA.
http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319781440

Accessing Python:
There are many Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and
code editors for Python. In 2023, the most popular include Atom,
Dreamweaver, Eric, PyCharm, Pydev, Sublime Text, Thonny, Vim, Vi-
sual Studio Code and Wing, for example. The reader can find more
information on each of these on the Web.
For this book, there are three easy ways to access Python through
the internet. The first is using Python IDLE, which is popular in schools
around the world. The second is via the Anaconda Navigator, where
users have access to Jupyter notebooks and Spyder (Scientific PYthon
Development EnviRonment). The third popular way to access Python is
via cloud computing using Google Colab. Readers need a Google account
to use Colab. There are many videos freely available online demonstrat-
ing how each of these media is used. Here, I give a brief introduction to
each one.
1. The Python Integrated Development Learning Environment
(IDLE): is suitable for beginner-level developers and school children.
The URL to access Python IDLE is:

https://www.python.org.

Figure 1 shows the Python homepage where readers can download

Python IDLE. After downloading Python IDLE, readers can click on
the IDLE logo (see the left hand of Figure 2), and an IDLE Shell is
loaded where readers can use Python as a calculator. For writing pro-
grams (as in Chapters 2 and 3), open an untitled Editor Window as you
would for a Word document. The file can then be saved in the same way
that you save files in Microsoft.
For scientific computing and the material covered in Chapters 4 to
10, the reader will need to either download Anaconda (a distribution of
the Python and R programming languages for scientific computing that
aims to simplify package management and deployment) or use cloud
computing via Google Colab.
 Preface ■ xv

Figure 1 Homepage of Python.org. Readers can download Python IDLE

here.

2. The URL to download Anaconda is:

https://www.anaconda.com/download.

Figure 3 shows the Anaconda distribution download page. Read-

ers can download for Windows, Apple or Linux computers. Clicking on

Figure 2 The Python IDLE Shell, where readers can use Python like a
calculator. See Chapters 1 to 3.
xvi ■ Preface

Figure 3 The homepage for Anaconda.

the Anaconda Navigator icon opens Anaconda Navigator window; see

Figure 4, where readers have access to JupyterLab, Jupyter Notebook
and Spyder. The other data science and statistics packages are not used
in this book.
Figure 5 shows the Spyder environment in light mode on an Apple
Mac. Those readers familiar with MATLAB® will notice similarities
here. The Editor Window is where users can write Python programs.
The top right window is where one can get help, explore variables, see
plots and see files in folders. The Console Window is where Python can
be used as a calculator.
Figure 6 is the window that opens on launching the Jupyter Notebook
button. Jupyter Notebook only offers a very simple interface in which
users can open notebooks, terminals and text files. JupyterLab offers a
very interactive interface that includes notebooks, consoles, terminals,
CSV editors, markdown editors, interactive maps and more.
Figure 7 is an untitled Jupyter Notebook. The reader can insert
Markdown cells to insert titles, pictures and mathematical equations
using LaTeX, or Code cells for Python code. To execute a cell hit the
Run button or type SHIFT+ENTER in the cell. The reader can save the
file or hit File and download as AsciiDoc, HTML (.html), LaTeX (.tex),
Markdown, Notebook (.ipynb) or PDF via LaTeX. By downloading as
 Preface ■ xvii

The Anaconda Navigator window, in this book we use Jupyter-

Figure 4
Lab, Jupyter Notebooks and the Scientific Python Development Envi-
ronment (Spyder) only.

Figure 5 The Spyder environment in light mode on an Apple Mac.

xviii ■ Preface

Figure 6The window that appears on launching Jupyter Notebook. Click

on New and Python 3 (ipykernel) (see top right corner) to open a new
Jupyter notebook.

html, the reader can publish the notebook on the Web. The author used
GitHub to publish the solution notebook online.

3. Google Colab: To perform cloud computing and access Google Co-

lab you need a Google account:

Figure 7 An untitled Jupyter notebook. The top cell is a Markdown cell.

In [1]: is a code cell and Out[1]: shows the output when the cell is Run.
One can also hit SHIFT + ENTER in the code cell.
 Preface ■ xix

https://colab.research.google.com/.

The window that opens for Google Colab. Create a new Jupyter
Figure 8
notebook by clicking on + New notebook, in the blue box.

Figure 8 shows the window that opens on launching Google Colab.

This assumes that you have already logged in to your Google account.
Simply hit on New notebook at the bottom of the page to obtain a
Google Colab Jupyter Notebook, as seen in Figure 9.
In Figure 9, the Markdown cell has not been executed, but Colab
shows what the output will be. Note that html uses the # symbol for

Figure 9 A Google Colab Jupyter notebook. The top cell is a Text cell
and [1] is a Code cell.
xx ■ Preface

Figure 10 The GitHub homepage.

titles. This notebook has been saved as Colab-Notebook-1.ipynb; see the

top left corner. Colab notebooks can be saved directly to GitHub. See
Chapter 5 for more details.
Now that we have suitable IDEs, the reader is ready to start using
Python as a calculator and writing programs for more complex tasks.
Finally, the author recommends that the reader sign up to GitHub,
a platform for hosting code that allows for version control and collabo-
ration:

https://github.com.

Readers may use GitHub as free cloud storage for their projects and
to conveniently host static websites. Again, there are plenty of free videos
on the internet to show you how to do this.
 CHAPTER 1

Python as a Powerful
Calculator

1.1 BODMAS
This section shows that Python follows the rules of BODMAS (Brackets,
Order, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction).

Example 1.1.1. Compute the following:

(a) 4 + 5 − 6; (b) 2 × 3; (c) 3 × (2 − 5);

1
1 1

(d) 2 + 3 × (6 + 2 × 5) − 8; (e) 2 × 3 − 4 .

The following solutions are computed using a Jupyter notebook. In [1]:

is a code cell; if you hit SHIFT + ENTER, then the cell is executed and
the result is Out[1]:.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-1 1
2 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

1.2 FRACTIONS: SYMBOLIC COMPUTATION

To compute with fractions, without using decimals, readers must load
the Fraction function from the fractions library.

The rules of fraction arithmetic are as follows:

1. a
b ± c
d = bd ,
ad±bc
where b, d  0;

2. a
b × c
d = b×d ,
a×c
where b, d  0;

3. a
b ÷ c
d = b×c ,
a×d
where b, c, d  0.

The examples below are in the same Jupyter notebook as above,

so start with the code cell In [6]:. To execute each cell, the reader hits
SHIFT + ENTER.

Example 1.2.1. Compute the following, leaving the answers as frac-

tions:

1
(a) 2 + 13 ; (b) 1
2 × 8; (c) 1
3 × 25 ;

1
1 
(d) 2 ÷ 13 ; (e) 1
2 × 3 − 1
4 .
 Python as a Powerful Calculator ■ 3

The following solutions are computed using a Jupyter notebook.

In [6]: is a code cell; if you hit SHIFT + ENTER, then the cell is exe-
cuted. Note that In [6] has no output.

1.3 POWERS (EXPONENTIATION) AND ROOTS

To compute powers and roots, readers can import the pow and sqrt
functions from the math library.
The rules of indices (powers) are as follows:

1. xa × xb = xa+b ;
1
2. x−a = xa ;

3. xa ÷ xb = xa−b ;

4. (xa )b = xab ;
√
5. x b = b xa .
a

Note that fractional powers result in roots.

4 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

Example 1.3.1. Compute the following:

 1 2
(a) 28 ; (b) 2 ; (c) 2−8 ;
√ √ √  √ 
1
(d) 3
27 + 25; (e) (23 )5 4
16 × 3
64 + 169 .

The following solutions are computed using a Jupyter notebook. In

[12]: is a code cell; if you hit SHIFT + ENTER, then the cell is executed
and the result is Out[12]:.

Comments: Note that Python ignores anything typed after the hash
(#) symbol. The comment symbol is extremely useful in all programming
languages.

1.4 THE MATH LIBRARY (MODULE)

The math library includes the following functions:

acos(x), asin(x), asinh(x), atan(x), ceil(x), comb(n,k), cos(x), cosh(x),

degrees(x), dist(x), erf(x), exp(x), fabs(x), factorial(x), floor(x),
fmod(x,y), gcd(numbers), hypot(x,y), isnan(x), lcm(numbers), log(x),
log10(x), radians(x), remainder(x,y), sin(x), sinh(x), sqrt(x), tan(x),
tanh(x), trunc(x), e, inf, nan, pi, tau
 Python as a Powerful Calculator ■ 5

To see definitions of these functions, type help(math) or follow this

link:

https://docs.python.org/3/library/math.html.

Example 1.4.1. Use the math library to:

(a) compute e2 ;
(b) use the gcd function to compute the greatest common divisor of 35
and 128;
(c) convert 180◦ to radians;
π
(d) compute sin 2 ;
(e) round π to ten decimal places.
The examples below are in the same Jupyter notebook as above, so start
with the code cell In [17]:, in which all of the functions from the math
library are imported, using the command from math import *.

The reader is encouraged to learn all of the functions from the math
library. Examples can be found in the URL above.
Note that, for all exercises in this book, full-worked solutions can be
viewed on the web.
6 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

https://drstephenlynch.github.io/webpages/A-Simple-Introdu
ction-to-Python-Solutions.html.

EXERCISES
1. Compute the following:

(a) 101 − 34 + 67; (b) 12 × 7; (c) 4 × (7 + 9 × 3);

(d) 2 − 2 × (2 − 4); (e) 0.1 ÷ (0.6 − 0.05).

2. Compute the following fractions, leaving the answers as fractions:

1
(a) 4 − 15 ; (b) 2
3 × 30; (c) 2
5 × 57 ;
1 1
1 1

(d) 3 ÷ 2; (e) 2 × 4 − 3 ÷ 18 .

3. Determine:
 1 3
(a) 215 ; (b) 3 ; (c) 64−2 ;
 5 3  √ √ √ 
(d) 105 × 1010 ; (e) 2 3
27 × 4 625 − 5 32 .

4. Look up the math functions, fmod, factorial, log, floor, ceil and
lcm. Use the math module to:

(a) Compute fmod(36,5).

(b) Compute 52!. How does this relate to a pack of playing cards?
(c) Find ln(2), where ln(x) = loge (x) is the natural logarithm.
(d) Determine floor(π)−ceil(e).
(e) Compute the lowest common multiple of 6, 7 and 9.
 CHAPTER 2

Simple Programming
with Python

2.1 LISTS, TUPLES, SETS AND DICTIONARIES

There are four built-in data types in Python, these are lists, tuples, sets
and dictionaries. Each will now be defined:

A list is a collection of elements which is ordered and changeable, per-

mitting duplicate elements. For example, [1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5], is a list with six
elements. Note the square brackets and zero-based indexing is used.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-2 7
8 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

A tuple is a collection of elements which is ordered and unchangeable,

permitting duplicate elements. Tuples are usually used for heterogeneous
(different) data types. For example, (4,5.42,6,6,“cherry”,“date”), is a tu-
ple with six elements. Note the round brackets and zero-based indexing
is used.

A set is a collection of elements which is unordered, unchange-

able and unindexed with no duplicate elements. For example,
{7,8,9,“fig”,“grape”}, is a set with five elements. Note the curly brackets.

A dictionary is a collection of key:value pairs which is ordered and change-

able, without duplicate elements. For example, {“England” : “London” ,
“France” : “Paris” , “Germany” : “Berlin”}, is a dictionary of European
capitals. Note the curly brackets and key:value pairs and zero-based in-
dexing is used.

Python uses zero-based indexing, where the first element has index zero,
the second element has index one and so on.

Slicing is used in Python to remove certain elements from data types.

The reader should execute the commands below and make up their
own examples to get a deeper understanding.

Examples.

In/Out Code Cells

In [1]: # An empty list.

list_empty = []
print(list_empty)
Out[1]: []
In [2]: # Class type.
list1 = [1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5]
print(type(list1))
Out[2]: <class ’list’>
In [3]: # Zero-based indexing.
list1[0] , list1[1] , list1[-1]
Out[3]: (1,2,5)
 Simple Programming with Python ■ 9

In [4]: # Length, maximum and minimum.

len(list1) , max(list1), min(list1)
Out[4]: (6,5,1)
In [5]: # Using range to generate numerical lists.
list(range(5) , list(range(2 , 14 , 2))
Out[5]: ([0,1,2,3,4], [2,4,6,8,10,12])
In [6]: # Slicing lists.
list1[1 : 3] , list1[2:] , list1[:1]
Out[6:] ([2 , 3] , [3 , 3 , 4 , 5], [1])
In [7]: # Lists of lists.
list2 = [[1 , 2] , [3 , 4]]
list2
Out[7]: [[1 , 2] , [3 , 4]]
In [8]: # The second element in the first list.
list2[0][1]
Out[8]: 2
In [9]: # Append and remove elements from a list.
list1.append(10)
print(list1)
Out[9]: [1 , 2 , 3 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10]
In [10]: list1.remove(3) # Removes the first 3.
print(list1)
Out[10]: [1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 ]
In [11]: # Working with dictionaries.
Capitals={"England":"London","France":"Paris"}
Capitals.pop("England") # Remove item.
print(Capitals)
Out[11]: {"France":"Paris"}
In [12]: Capitals.get("France")
Out[12]: ’Paris’

Consider In [2]:, above, the list1 is a list of five elements, [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
list1[0] is the first element, which is 1, list1[-1], is the final element, which
is 5. Slicing, list1[1 : 3], starts at list1[1], which is 2, and goes up to, but
not including, list1[3], which is 4. So list1[1 : 3] = [2 , 3].
10 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

2.2 DEFINING FUNCTIONS (PROGRAMMING)

This section shows the reader how to define functions in Python. The
reader should also run this program in Spyder and in a Jupyter notebook.

Example 2.2.1. Using Python IDLE, define a function that computes

the area of a circle. Find the area of a circle of radius 4 cm. Note that
Python also ignores text between triple quotes.

The area is computed to be 50.26548245743669 cm2 . Users have to run

the module by hitting the Run button. Then, in the IDLE Shell window,
one types print(area(4) , "cm squared") to get the answer. Note that in
Python, programs need to be executed before they are called in the IDLE
Shell.

Example 2.2.2. Using Python IDLE, define a function that computes

the volume of a cylinder. Find the volume of a cylinder of height 5 cm
and radius 4 cm.
The volume of the cylinder is computed to be 251.32741228718345 cm3 .
Remember to Run the module before calling the function.

Example 2.2.3. Using Python IDLE, define a function that converts

degrees Centigrade to Kelvin. On execution of the program, input the
temperature and output the result with eight place holders and four dec-
imal places. Within formatting, the command {:08.4f} gives the output
with eight place holders and four decimal places.
 Simple Programming with Python ■ 11

2.3 FOR AND WHILE LOOPS

We will be constructing examples using the following programming con-
structs:

for while

for item in object: while expression:

statement(s) statement(s)
12 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

Note that the indentation levels in Python are vital to the successful run-
ning of the programs. When you hit the RETURN key after the colon,
Python will automatically indent for you. These indentations can be lost
when copying and pasting Python code.

Example 2.3.1. Within the Spyder interface, use a for loop to define a
function that computes the first twenty terms of the Fibonacci sequence
and output the sequence as a list.

The Spyder interface is shown below:

The first twenty terms of the Fibonacci sequence are displayed in the
Console window in the lower right.

Preferences: By clicking on the python button (top left) readers can

access Preferences, where options are available to the user, including
setting the font size and working in light or dark mode. The Spyder in-
terface above is shown in light mode.

Editor Window: This window is shown in the left column of the Spy-
der interface and is where users can write Python programs. Remember
to Run the file. When defining functions, the file must be run before it is
called in the Console window. Users can also Undock this window to get
more room on their computer screen. Redock, will redock the window.
 Simple Programming with Python ■ 13

Help, Variable Explorer, Plots, Files, Window: The window in the

top right corner is where users have access to help, can view variables in
programs, view plots and save them, and see files in folders.

Console Window: The lower right window is where Python can be

used as a calculator. Users can also Undock and Redock this window.

Example 2.3.2. Within Google Colab, use a while loop to define a func-
tion that computes the sum of the first n natural numbers.

The sum of the first 100 natural numbers is 5050.

Google Colab: The URL for Google Colab is:

https://colab.research.google.com/.

Readers should note that this is cloud computing and you need access
to the internet to use Colab. In the top right corner, the green tick next to
the RAM and Disk icons indicates that you have Connected to a hosted
runtime, in other words, you are connected to the Cloud. By clicking on
Runtime, users can restart runtime and clear the kernel to start with
[1] again. All of the variables stored will be lost. Programmers usually
14 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

have to Restart the Kernel if a program hangs or something else goes

wrong.

2.4 CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS, IF, ELIF, ELSE

We will be constructing an example using the following constructions

if, elif, else

if expression:
body of if
elif expression:
body of elif
else:
body of else

Example 2.4.1. Within a Jupyter notebook, use if, elif, else commands
to determine whether an integer is negative, positive or zero.

Note that the if, elif and else statements all end with a colon. Python
will automatically indent for you when you hit the RETURN key.

Saving Files: Users can download Python notebooks onto their com-
puter (notebook filenames end in .ipynb), they can also save files to the
cloud or export straight to GitHub.
 Simple Programming with Python ■ 15

Writing Web Pages: Opening a Jupyter notebook enables the reader

to download the file as a web page (web pages end in .html). You can
then publish the notebook on the web through GitHub. Readers can
easily find instructions online.

EXERCISES
1. Lists and dictionaries:

(a) Given the list, A=[[1,2,3,4],[5,6,7,8],[9,10,11,12],[13,14,15,16]],

how would you access the third element in the second list?
(b) Consider A as a 4 × 4 array, slice A to remove row 3 and
columns 1 and 2.
(c) Using the range function, construct a list of the form
[−9, −5, −1, . . . , 195, 199].
(d) Create a dictionary data type for a car with key:value
pairs, brand:BMW, year:2018, color:red, mileage:30000 and
fuel:petrol.

2. Write a function for converting Kelvin to degrees Centigrade, giv-

ing the answer to four significant figures.

3. Defining mathematical functions using def:

(a) Define the sigmoid function whose formula is given by: σ(x) =
1
1+e−x . Determine σ(0.5). This is an activation function used
in artificial intelligence.
(b) Define the hsgn function given as:


 1
 if x > 0
hsgn(x) = 0 if x = 0

 −1 if x < 0.

Write a Python program that defines this function and deter-

mine hsgn(−6).

4. Longer Python programs:

(a) Write an interactive Python program to play a “guess the num-

ber” game. The computer should generate a random integer
between 1 and 20, and the user (player) has to try to guess the
16 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

number within six attempts. The program should let the user
know if the guess is too high or too low. Readers will need the
randint function from the random library.
(b) Consider Pythagorean triples, positive integers a, b, c, such
that a2 + b2 = c2 . Suppose that c is defined by c = b + n,
where n is also an integer. Write a Python program that will
find all such triples for a given value of n, where both a and
b are less than or equal to a maximum value, m, say. For the
case, n = 1, find all triples with 1 ≤ a ≤ 100 and 1 ≤ b ≤ 100.
For the case, n = 3, find all triples with 1 ≤ a ≤ 200 and
1 ≤ b ≤ 200.
 CHAPTER 3

The Turtle Library

Run all of the programs in this chapter in Google Colab.

In [1]: # To insert an image in Google Colab.

# Turtle.png should be loaded in the Colab folder.
from google.colab import files
from IPython.display import Image
Image("Turtle.png", width = 600)

The reader can also run all of the programs in this chapter in Python
IDLE, however, some of the syntax will be slightly different. The Python
IDLE programs are listed in my other CRC Press book: Python for Sci-
entific Computing and Artificial Intelligence, referenced in the Preface.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-3 17
18 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

3.1 THE CANTOR SET FRACTAL

Start with a line segment at stage zero. At each stage, remove the mid-
dle third segment and replace one segment with two segments each one
third the length of the previous segment.

In [2]: # You must run this cell before the other programs.
# These commands are not needed in IDLE.
!pip install ColabTurtlePlus
from ColabTurtlePlus.Turtle import *

In [3]: # The Cantor set.

initializeTurtle()
def cantor(x , y , length):
speed(13) # Fastest speed.
if length >= 5:
penup()
pensize(2)
pencolor("blue")
setpos(x , y)
pendown()
fd(length) # Forward.
y -= 80 # y = y - 80.
 The Turtle Library ■ 19

cantor(x , y , length / 3)
cantor(x + 2 * length / 3 , y , length / 3)
penup()
setpos(x , y + 80)
cantor(-400 , 200 , 500)

3.2 THE KOCH SNOWFLAKE

Start with an equilateral triangle. On the outside, replace each segment
with four segments, each one-third the length of the previous segment.

In [4]: # The Koch Snowflake.

initializeTurtle()
pensize(1)
penup()
setpos(-250 , 200) # To center image.
pendown()
def KochSnowflake(length, level):
speed(13) # Fastest speed.
20 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

for i in range(3):
plot_side(length, level)
rt(120) # Right turn 120 degrees.
def plot_side(length, level):
if level==0:
fd(length)
return
plot_side(length/3, level-1)
lt(60) # Left turn 60 degrees.
plot_side(length/3, level-1)
rt(120)
plot_side(length/3, level-1)
lt(60)
plot_side(length/3, level-1)
KochSnowflake(300 , 3)

3.3 A BIFURCATING TREE

To plot a bifurcating tree, at each stage replace one segment with two
shorter segments, turning one left and the other right through given
angles.

In [5]: # A bifurcating tree.

initializeTurtle()
speed(13)
setheading(90) # Point turtle up.
penup() # Lift pen.
setpos(-200 , -120) # Start point coordinates.
pendown()
def FractalTreeColor(length, level):
pensize(length / 10) # Thickness of lines.
if length < 20:
pencolor("green")
else:
pencolor("brown")
if level > 0:
fd(length) # Forward
rt(60) # Right turn 60 degrees
FractalTreeColor(length*0.7, level-1)
lt(90) # Left turn 90 degrees
 The Turtle Library ■ 21

FractalTreeColor(length*0.5, level-1)
rt(30) # Right turn 30 degrees
penup()
bk(length) # Backward
pendown()
FractalTreeColor(200 , 10)

3.4 THE SIERPINSKI TRIANGLE

Start with a solid equilateral triangle. At each stage remove the inverted
central equilateral triangle.

In [6]: # Sierpinski Triangle.

initializeTurtle()
speed(13) # Fastest speed.
penup()
setpos(-300 , 0)
pendown()
def SierpinskiTriangle(length, level):
if level==0:
22 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

return
begin_fill() # Fill shape.
color("red")
for i in range(3):
SierpinskiTriangle(length/2, level-1)
fd(length)
lt(120) # Left turn 120 degrees.
end_fill()
SierpinskiTriangle(300 , 5)

EXERCISES
1. Plot a variation of the Cantor set, where the two middle segments
are removed at each stage. Thus, at each stage, one segment is re-
placed with three segments each on-fifth the length of the previous
segment.
 The Turtle Library ■ 23

2. Plot a Koch square fractal, where on each side of a square, one

segment is replaced with five segments each one-third the length
of the previous segment.

3. Plot a trifurcating tree fractal.

4. Plot a Sierpinski square fractal, where at each stage a central

square is removed and the length scales decrease by one-third.

5. In Python IDLE, click on the Help tab and Turtle Demo to see
some cool examples. Figure 3.1 shows stills of three animations.

Figure 3.1Stills of animations from the Turtle Demo. (a) Trajectories of

the earth and moon around the sun. (b) Analog clock with day and date.
(c) Solution to the Towers of Hanoi problem.
 CHAPTER 4

NumPy and MatPlotLib

4.1 NUMERICAL PYTHON (NUMPY)

Numpy is a library that allows Python to compute with lists, arrays,
vectors, matrices and tensors. For more information, see the web pages
at:

https://numpy.org/doc/stable/reference/.

Examples.

In/Out Code Cells

In [1]: # Import numpy into the np namespace.

import numpy as np
In [2]: # Define an array.
# No commas between the elements when printed.
# A 5-dimensional vector and rank one tensor.
A = np.arange(5))

24 DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-4
 NumPy and MatPlotLib ■ 25

Out[2]: [0 1 2 3 4]
In [3]: # Convert an array to a list.
# Lists have commas between elements.
A.tolist()
Out[3]: [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
In [4]: # Two 2x2 arrays. These are rank two tensors.
B = np.array([[1,1] , [0,1]])
C = np.array([[2,0] , [3,4]])
# Elementwise multiplication.
B * C
Out[4]: array([[2 , 0] , [0 , 4]])
In [5]: # Matrix multiplication.
np.dot(B , C)
Out[5]: array([[5 , 4] , [3 , 4]])
In [6]: # A 3x3 array and rank two tensor.
D = np.arange(9).reshape(3 , 3)
print(D) , D.ndim
Out[6:] ([[0 1 2] [3 4 5] [6 7 8]] , 2)
In [7]: # A rank three tensor.
# A 2x2x2 array.
T=np.array([[[1,2] , [3,4]], [[5,6],[7,8]]])
T.ndim
Out[7]: 3
In [8]: # Vectorized computation.
D.sum(axis = 0) # Sum columns.
Out[8]: array([9 , 12 , 15])
In [9]: # The minimum of each row.
D.min(axis = 1) # Work with rows.
Out[9]: array([0 , 3 , 6])
In [10]: # Slicing arrays.
D[: , 1] # All elements in column 2.
Out[10]: array[1 , 4 , 7]
In [11]: # Slicing.
E = np.arange(12).reshape(3 , 4)
print(E)
Out[11]: [[0 1 2 3] , [4,5,6,7] , [8,9,10,11]]
26 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

# Make up your own examples for understanding.

In [12]: E[:2 , 3:]
Out[12]: array([[3] , [7]])

Vectorized Computation in NumPy: There is a single data type in

NumPy arrays and this allows for vectorization. As far as the reader is
concerned, for and while loops, which can use a lot of computer memory,
can be replaced with vectorized forms. As a simple example, consider the
list of numbers, a = [1, 2, 3, . . . , 100], and suppose we wish to compute

S100 = 100n=1 ai . Then using for loops, the code would be:

In [13]: # Sum numbers using a for loop.

sum = 0
a= [i for i in range(101)]
for j in range(101):
sum += a[j]
print(sum)

Out[13]: 5050

The vectorized version of this program is listed below:

In [14]: # Vectorized computation.

import numpy as np
a = np.arange(101)
print("The sum is" , np.sum(a))

Out[14]: The sum is 5050

4.2 MATPLOTLIB
MatPlotLib is an acronym for MATrix PLOTting LIBrary and it is a
comprehensive library for creating animated, static, and more recently,
interactive visualizations in Python. For more information the reader is
directed to the URL:

https://matplitlib.org.
 NumPy and MatPlotLib ■ 27

Example 4.2.1. Use MatPlotLib to plot the curve y = x2 , for −2 ≤

x ≤ 2. Save the figure as Parabola.png using 300 dots per square inch
(dpi) resolution.

In [15]: # Simple plots in Python.

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
x = np.linspace(-2 , 2 , 100) # Define the domain values.
y = x**2 # A vector of y-values.
plt.plot(x , y)
plt.xlabel("x")
plt.ylabel("y")
plt.title("$y=x^2$")
plt.savefig("Parabola.png" , dpi = 300)
plt.show()

Example 4.2.2. Use MatPlotLib to plot the curve y = 4x3 − 3x4 , for
−2 ≤ x ≤ 2 and −5 ≤ y ≤ 2.
28 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

In [16]: # Plot the curve of a polynomial.

# Simple plots in Python.
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
x = np.linspace(-2 , 2 , 100) # Define the domain values.
y = 4 * x**3 - 3 * x**4 # A vector of y-values.
plt.axis([-2 , 2, -5 , 2]) # Set the ranges for x and y.
plt.plot(x , y)
plt.xlabel("x") , plt.ylabel("y")
plt.show()

4.3 SCATTER PLOTS

Scatter plots are used a lot in Data Science.

Example 4.3.1. Generate 50 random dots with random radii and colors.

In [17]: # Scatter plot.

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# Fix the random state.
 NumPy and MatPlotLib ■ 29

# You can change this to get a different plot.

np.random.seed(100)
N = 50
x , y = np.random.rand(N) , np.random.rand(N)
colors = np.random.rand(N)
area = (30 * np.random.rand(N))**2 # Change radii.
plt.scatter(x , y , s = area , c = colors , alpha=0.5)
plt.xlabel("x") , plt.ylabel("y")
plt.show()

4.4 SURFACE PLOTS

Example 4.4.1. Using the command %matplotlib qt5, opens an interac-
tive window where readers can rotate the surface in 3D. In Spyder, one
types %matplotlib qt5 in the Command Window before plotting. Plot the
surface, z = x2 + y 2 .

In [18]: # Plotting a surface in 3D.

# An interactive window will appear in this case.
%matplotlib qt5
from mpl_toolkits.mplot3d import axes3d
30 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

import numpy as np
x = np.arange(-5 , 5 , 0.1)
y = np.arange(-5 , 5 , 0.1)
X,Y = np.meshgrid(x,y)
# Z is a function of two variables.
Z = X**2 + Y**2
fig = plt.figure(figsize=(12,6))
ax = fig.add_subplot(111, projection = "3d")
ax.set_xlabel("x")
ax.set_xlim(-5 , 5)
ax.set_ylabel("y")
ax.set_ylim(-5 , 5)
ax.set_zlabel("z")
ax.set_zlim(np.min(Z) , np.max(Z))
ax.set_title("3D Surface, $z=x^2+y^2$")
ax.plot_surface(X , Y , Z)
plt.show()
 NumPy and MatPlotLib ■ 31

EXERCISES
1. Plot the graph of the quadratic function: y = f (x) = x2 − 3x − 18.

2. Plot the graph of the trigonometric function: y = g(x) = 2 +

3 sin(x).

3. Plot the graph of the exponential function: y = h(x) = 1 + e−x .

2 +y 2 )
4. Plot the surface: z = xe−(x .
 CHAPTER 5

Google Colab, SymPy

and GitHub

5.1 GOOGLE COLAB

Google Colab (Collaboratory) allows the user to write and execute
Python code in their browser, with zero configuration required, free ac-
cess to Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) and Tensor Processing Units
(TPUs), and easy file sharing via GitHub. The user must have a Google
account to use Colab, you can create a Google account here:

https://support.google.com/accounts/.

To use Google Colab, click here:

https://colab.research.google.com.

32 DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-5
 Google Colab, SymPy and GitHub ■ 33

The Google Colab interface is shown in the Preface. The major ad-
vantage with Colab is that users do not need any software stored on
their computer and it can be accessed anywhere that has access to the
internet.

5.2 FORMATTING NOTEBOOKS

In this section, the reader is shown how to insert titles, subtitles, bold
font, italics, bullets and numbered items in a list in a Jupyter notebook.
The Text commands are shown in the left-hand window below and
the corresponding output is shown on the right.

Mathematical Symbols are inserted into notebooks using LaTeX,

a document preparation system used for producing highly professional
documents. The mathematical symbols can also be inserted into figures
as shown in other chapters of this book. Table 5.1 shows some popular
LaTeX symbols for Jupyter notebooks and more symbols can be found
here:

https://oeis.org/wiki/List_of_LaTeX_mathematical_symbols.
34 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

Table 5.1 Table of popular LaTeX symbols for Jupyter notebooks.

Greek Letters LATEX Mathematics LATEX
α \alpha dx
dt \frac{dx}{dt}
β \beta ẋ \dot{ x }
γ, Γ \gamma, \Gamma ẍ \ddot{x}
δ \delta sin(x) \sin(x)
ϵ \epsilon cos(x) \cos(x)
θ \theta ≤ \leq
λ, Λ \lambda, \Lambda ≥ \geq
2
µ \mu x x^2
σ, Σ \sigma \Sigma ∈ \in
τ \tau ± \pm
ϕ \phi → \rightarrow

ω, Ω \omega, \Omega \int

Some examples are listed below in a notebook. Note that the LaTeX
commands are between dollar signs.
 Google Colab, SymPy and GitHub ■ 35

For more information on LaTeX, the reader is directed to Overleaf:

https://www.overleaf.com/,

the easy to use, and free, online collaborative LaTeX editor.

Inserting Figures: The commands used for inserting figures in Google

Colab were given in Chapter 3. The figure below shows how to insert a
figure in a Jupyter notebook. Note that the figure file “Python Logo.png”
must be in the same folder where the Jupyter notebook is saved.

5.3 SYMBOLIC PYTHON (SYMPY)

SymPy is a computer algebra system and a Python library for symbolic
mathematics written entirely in Python. For more information, see the
sympy help pages at:

https://docs.sympy.org/latest/index.html.

The examples below are taken from algebra, calculus and matrices.
These topics are also covered in the next chapter. For more in-depth
explanations, the reader is advised to use the web. Using Python can
give a deeper understanding of the mathematics.

Examples. 1. Factorize x2 − y 2 .

2. Solve for x: x2 − 4x − 3 = 0.

3. Solve the linear simultaneous equations: x − y = 0, x + 2y − 5 = 0.

1
4. Split into partial fractions: (x+1)(x+2) .
36 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

5. Find limx→0 sin(x) .

x

6. Differentiate: x2 − 7x + 8, with respect to x.


7. Determine the indefinite integral: I = x4 dx.
3
8. Determine the definite integral: I = x=1 x4 dx.

9. Compute π to 10 decimal places.

   
1 −1 0 2
10. Given the matrices, A = and B = , compute:
2 3 3 3

(a) 2A + 3B.
(b) A × B.
(c) The inverse of matrix A, if it exists.
(d) The determinant of A.
Solutions.

In/Out Code Cells

In [1]: # Import all functions from the SymPy library.

from sympy import *
In [2]: # Declare symbolic objects.
x , y = symbols("x y")
In [3]: # 1. Factorization.
factor(x**2 - y**2)
Out[3]: (x - y)(x + y)
In [4]: # 2. Solve a quadratic equation symbolically.
solve(x**2 - 4 * x - 3 , x)
Out[4]: [2 - sqrt(7) , 2 + sqrt(7)]
In [5]: # 3. Solve simultaneous equations.
solve([x - y, x + 2 * y - 5])
Out[5]: {x: 5/3 , y: 5/3}
In [6]: # 4. Partial fractions.
apart(1 /((x + 1 * (x + 2)))
Out[6:] -1/(x+2)+1/(x+1)
In [7]: # 5. Limits, the limit as x goes to 0.
limit(x / sin(x) , x , 0)
 Google Colab, SymPy and GitHub ■ 37

Out[7]: 1
In [8]: # 6. Differentiation (Calculus).
diff(x**2 - 7 * x + 8 , x)
Out[8]: 2x - 7
In [9]: # 7. Indefinite integration.
print(integrate(x**4) , "+ c")
Out[9]: x**5/5 + c
In [10]: # 8. Definite integration.
integrate(x**4 , (x , 1 , 3))
Out[10]: 242/5
In [11]: # 9. Pi to 10 decimal places.
N(pi , 10)
Out[11]: 3.1415926536
In [12]: # 10. Define 2x2 matrices.
A=Matrix([[1,-1] , [2,3]])
B=Matrix([[0,2] , [3,3]])
2 * A + 3 * B
Out[12]: Matrix([[2,4] , [13,15]])
In [13]: A * B # Multiplication.
Out[13]: Matrix([[-3,-1] , [9,13]])
In [14]: A.inv() # Inverse.
Out[14]: Matrix([[3/5,1/5] , [-2/5,1/5]])
In [15]: A.det() # Determinant.
Out[15]: 5

5.4 GITHUB
Readers are recommended to join GitHub:

https://github.com.

GitHub, Inc. is a platform and cloud-based service for programming

development and version control, allowing coders to store and manage
their code. As of January 2023, GitHub reported to have over one hun-
dred million developers worldwide. It is used by many industries and
universities.
38 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

The figure below shows the GitHub interface. There are plenty of
videos on the web to get you started. You can save your Python files
and notebooks here and even create your own web pages to publish.

EXERCISES
1. Use SymPy to:

(a) Factorize x3 − y 3 .
(b) Solve for x: x2 − 7x − 30 = 0.
3x
(c) Split into partial fractions: (x−1)(x+2)(x−5) .

(d) Expand (y + x − 3)(x2 − y + 4).

(e) Solve the linear simultaneous equations: y = 2x + 2, y =
−3x + 1.

2. Compute the following:

(a) limx→1 (x2 −1) .

x−1

(b) The derivative of y = x2 − 6x + 9.

(c) The derivative of y = cos(3x).
(d) The derivative of y = 2ex − 1.
(e) The derivative of y = x sin(x).
 Google Colab, SymPy and GitHub ■ 39

3. Determine the following integrals:


(a) x5 dx.
4
(b) x=1 x5 dx.

(c) cos(3x)dx.
1
(d) x=0 x sin(x)dx.
∞ 1
(e) x=1 x dx.
   
1 1 1 −3
4. Given the matrices, A = and B = , compute:
−1 0 4 7

(a) 2A.
(b) 3A + 4B.
(c) A × B.
(d) The inverse of matrix A, if it exists.
(e) The determinant of B.

5. Sign up to GitHub and upload your notebooks and Python files to

your repository.
 CHAPTER 6

Python for Mathematics

6.1 BASIC ALGEBRA

Algebra is a branch of mathematics in which abstract symbols, rather
than numbers, are manipulated or operated with arithmetic. Children
as young as ten years of age, or even younger, are generally introduced
to algebra. Using Python can give a deeper understanding of the math-
ematics.

Example 6.1.1. Simple algebra.

1. Evaluate y = mx + c, given that m = 2, x = 2, c = −1.

40 DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-6
 Python for Mathematics ■ 41

2. Expand 2x(x − 5).

3. Expand (x − 1)(x + 3).
4. Factorize 2x3 − 4x2 .
5. Factorize x2 − x − 12.
Solutions.

In/Out Code Cells

In [1]: # 1. Substitution.
m , x , c = 2 , 2 , -1
y = m * x + c
Out[1]: y = 3
In [2]: # 2. Import symbols, expand and factor functions.
from sympy import symbols , expand , factor
# Expansion. Declare x to be symbolic.
x = symbols("x")
expand(2 * x * (x - 5))
Out[2]: 2 * x**2 - 10 * x
In [3]: # 3. Expansion.
expand((x - 1) * (x + 3))
Out[3]: x**2 + 2 * x - 3
In [4]: # 4. Factorization.
factor(2 * x**3 - 4 * x**2)
Out[4]: 2 * x**2 * (x - 2)
In [5]: # Factorize a quadratic.
factor(x**2 - x - 12)
Out[5]: (x - 4) * (x + 3)

6.2 SOLVING EQUATIONS

The solve command in Python can solve linear and some nonlinear si-
multaneous equations as illustrated below:

Example 6.2.1. Solving equations.

1. Solve for x, x+1
x−1 = 2.
42 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

2. Solve for y, y−2

3 = − 4y−7
6 .

3. Plot the lines ℓ1 : 2y = 4x + 5 and ℓ2 : 4y = 3x + 5, on one graph

and determine where they intercept.

4. Solve the quadratic equation: 2x2 − 3x − 2 = 0.

5. Determine where the line y = 2x − 5, meets the parabola, y =

x2 − 4x + 3.

Solutions.

In/Out Code Cells

In [1]: # 1. Solve for x.

x , y = symbols("x y")
solve((x + 1) / (x - 1) - 2 , x)
Out[1]: [3]
In [2]: # 2. Solve for y.
solve((y - 2) / 3 + (4 * y - 7) / 6 , y)
Out[2]: [11/6]

# In [3]: Plotting lines and finding where they cross

(see figure).
 Python for Mathematics ■ 43

import numpy as np
from sympy import *
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
x = np.linspace(-3 , 3 , 100) # Vector of x values.
y1 = (4 * x + 5) / 2
y2 = (3 * x + 5) / 4
plt.plot(x , y1 , label = "$\ell_1$") # Curly letter l.
plt.plot(x , y2 , label = "$\ell_2$")
plt.rcParams["font.size"] = 14 # Set font sizes.
plt.xlabel("x")
plt.ylabel("y")
plt.legend()
plt.show()

In/Out Code Cells

In [4]: # 3. Solving simultaneous equations.
solve([2*y-4*x-5 , 4*y-3*x-5] , [x , y])
Out[4]: {x: -1, y: 1/2}
In [5]: # 4. Solve a quadratic equation.
solve(2 * x**2 - 3 * x - 2)
Out[5]: [-1/2 , 2]

# In [6]: Where a line meets a parabola.

sol = solve(x**2 - 4 * x + 3 - (2 * x - 5) , x)
print("The curves meet at coordinates: " , \
"(" , sol[0] , "," , 2 * sol[0] - 5 , ") and " \
"(" , sol[1] , "," , 2 * sol[1] - 5 , ")" )
Out[6]: The curves meet at coordinates: (2 , -1) and (4 , 3)

6.3 FUNCTIONS (MATHEMATICS)

A function is a rule that assigns to every x-value in the domain, one and
only one y-value in the range.

Example 6.3.1. Use numpy and matplotlib to plot:

1. A graph of the function, f (x) = x2 − 4x − 1.
2. Determine the x-values where f (x) = 1.
44 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

3. Determine the inverse function, g −1 (x), of the function y = g(x) =

2x−1
x+1 . Plot g(x) and g (x) on the same graph.
−1

4. Given that α(x) = 2x − 5 and β(x) = 1 − x2 , determine the

composite functions, α(β(x)) and β(α(x)).

# In [1]: Define a function and plot its curve.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
def f(x):
return x**2 - 4 * x - 1
x = np.linspace(-2 , 6 , 100)
y = x**2 - 4 * x - 1
plt.rcParams["font.size"] = 14
plt.xlabel("x") , plt.ylabel("f(x)")
plt.plot(x , y)
plt.show()

# In [2]: Determine where f(x)=1.

from sympy import *
x = symbols("x")
sol = solve(x**2 - 4 * x - 1 - 1 , x)
print("y=f(x)=1, when ", "x =" , sol[0], "and x =" , sol[1])

Out[2]: y=f(x)=1, when x = 2 - sqrt(6) and x = 2 + sqrt(6)

 Python for Mathematics ■ 45

# In [3]: Determine an inverse function.

from sympy import symbols
x , y = symbols("x y")
sol = solve((2 * y -1) / (y + 1) - x , y)
print("Inverse function is: y=" , sol)

Out[3]: Inverse function is: y= [(-x - 1)/(x - 2)]

# In [4]: Plot of g(x) and its inverse function.

# Note here that vertical asymptotes are plotted.
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
x = np.linspace(-4 , 6 , 50)
g = (2 * x - 1) / (x + 1)
ginv = (-x - 1) / (x - 2)
plt.rcParams["font.size"] = 14
plt.ylim(-10 , 10)
plt.xlabel("x")
plt.ylabel("y")
plt.plot(x , g , label = "g(x)")
plt.plot(x , ginv , label = "$g^{-1}(x)$")
plt.legend()
plt.show()
46 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

# In [5]: Composition of functions (functions of functions).

from sympy import symbols
x = symbols("x")
def alpha(x):
return 2 * x - 5
def beta(x):
return 1 - x**2
print("alpha(beta(x) = " , alpha(beta(x)))
print("beta(alpha(x) = " , beta(alpha(x)))

Out[5]: alpha(beta(x)) = -2*x**2 - 3, beta(alpha(x)) = 1 - (2*x - 5)**2

6.4 DIFFERENTIATION AND INTEGRATION (CALCULUS)

Differentiation is used at this level to determine rates of change, or gra-
dients of tangents to curves.

Integration is the opposite of differentiation and can be used to deter-

mine the area under curves.

Both topics come under the umbrella of calculus.

Example 6.4.1. Calculus:

1. Differentiate, or find dx ,
dy
the derivative of, y = x2 + 4x − 3.
2. Determine the gradient of the tangent to the curve, y = 4x3 − 3x4 ,
at the point x = − 12 . Plot the curve and its tangent.

3. Integrate, I = 2x + 5 dx.
4. Determine the area under the curve, y = 4x3 −3x4 , between x = 0.5
and x = 1 and above the x-axis. Plot the curve and shade the area.

In/Out Code Cells

In [1]: # 1. Differentiation.
from sympy import *
x = symbols("x")
diff(x**2 + 4 * x - 3 , x)
Out[1]: 2x + 4
 Python for Mathematics ■ 47

# In [2]: 2. Find the gradient at x=-1/2.

# Use the subs function from sympy.
x , y , c = symbols("x y c")
xval = -1 / 2
y = 4 * x**3 - 3 * x**4
dydx = diff(y , x)
# The gradient (m) of the tangent.
m = dydx.subs(x , xval)
print("m = " , m)
yval = y.subs(x , xval)
print("y-value = " , yval)
# Determine the y-intercept (c) for the tangent line.
c = yval - m * xval
print("c = " , c)
# Plot the curve and tangent line.
x = np.linspace(-1 , 1.5 , 100)
y = 4 * x**3 - 3 * x**4
plt.rcParams["font.size"] = 14
plt.plot(x , y , label = "$y=4x^3-3x^4$")
plt.plot(x , m * x + c , label = "y=mx+c, tangent")
plt.legend()
plt.xlabel("x")
plt.ylabel("y")
plt.show()

Out[2]: m = 4.5000, y-value = -0.6875, c = 1.5625

48 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

In/Out Code Cells

In [3]: # 3. Indefinite integration.

x = symbols("x")
print("I = " , integrate(2 * x + 5 , x) , "+ c")
Out[3]: I = x**2 + 5 * x + c

# In [4]: 4. Integration and finding the area under a curve.

A = integrate(4 * x**3 - 3 * x**4 , (x , 0.5 , 1))
print("Area = " , A , "units squared")
# Plot a figure.
import numpy as np
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
def f(x):
return 4 * x**3 - 3 * x**4
x = np.arange(0 , 1.34 , 0.01)
plt.rcParams["font.size"] = 14
plt.plot(x , f(x))
# Shade the area.
plt.fill_between(
x = x,
 Python for Mathematics ■ 49

y1 = f(x),
where = (0.5 <= x) & (x <= 1), # Limits of
integration.
color = "b") # Color of shading.
plt.xlabel("x")
plt.ylabel("y")
plt.show()

Out[4]: Area = 0.35625 units squared

Python for A-Level Mathematics and Beyond: I have published

a Jupyter notebook online that shows how Python covers the whole A-
Level Mathematics syllabus in the UK:

https://drstephenlynch.github.io/webpages/Python_for_A_Lev
el_Mathematics_and_Beyond.html.

EXERCISES
1. Basic algebra:

(a) Given that s = ut + 12 at2 , determine s if u = 1, t = 1, a = 9.8.

(b) Expand 2x(x − 4).
(c) Expand (x + y + 1)(x − y + 2)
(d) Factorize x2 − 7x − 12.

2. Solving equations:

(a) Solve for t given, 3 = 5 + 10t.

(b) Solve for a given, s = ut + 12 at2 .
(c) Solve the quadratic equation: 2x2 + x − 3 = 0.
(d) Determine where the line, y = x, meets the circle x2 + y 2 = 1.

3. Functions:
2x+3
(a) Given f (x) = x−5 , determine f (4).
2x+3
(b) Plot the function, f (x) = x−5 , and determine where f (x) = 1.
50 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

(c) Given that, g(x) = 3x + 4 and h(x) = 1 − x2 , find g(h(x)) −

h(g(x)).
(d) The logistic map function is given by, fµ (x) = µx(1 − x),
compute fµ (fµ (x)).

4. Calculus:

(a) If y = sin(2x), compute dx .

dy

(b) Determine dy
dx |x=0 for y = x3 − 1.
(c) Determine the area bound by the curves y = 1 − x2 and y =
x2 − 1.
(d) Plot the curves for the previous example and shade the area.
 CHAPTER 7

Introduction to
Cryptography

Cryptography (cyber security) is a method of protecting information and

communications through the use of codes, so that only those for whom
the information is intended can read and process it.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-7 51
52 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

7.1 THE CAESAR CIPHER

Caesar’s cipher is one of the simplest encryption techniques and is of-
ten used by children when learning to send secret messages. It is a
type of substitution cipher in which each letter in the plaintext is re-
placed by a letter some fixed number of positions down the alphabet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_cipher.

Unicode is a universal character encoding standard:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unicode_characters.

The ord() function in Python takes a string argument of a single Uni-

code character and returns its integer. The chr() function is the inverse
of the ord() function. For example, the ord(“A”) is 65, and the ord(“a”)
is 97.

# In [1]: The Caesar Cipher: Encryption.

shift = 3
def encrypt(text , shift):
result = ""
for i in range(len(text)):
char = text[i]
if (char.isupper()): # Upper-case characters.
result += chr((ord(char) + shift - 65) % 26 + 65)
else: # Lower-case characters.
result += chr((ord(char) + shift - 97) % 26 + 97)
return result
# Insert text.
text = "Caeser Cipher Code"
print("Text : " + text)
 Introduction to Cryptography ■ 53

print("Shift : " + str(shift))

print("Cipher: " + encrypt(text,shift))

In/Out Code Cells

Out[1]: Text : Caesar Cipher Code

Shift : 3
Cipher : FdhvhuqFlskhuqFrgh

7.2 THE XOR CIPHER

The table below is the truth table for the Exclusive OR (XOR) function.
In Python, the operator used is XˆY, read as X XOR Y.

Example 7.2.1. Determine 3 ˆ 6.

Solution. Now in binary, 3 = 0011 and 6 = 0110. Use bitwise XOR on
the columns:

0 0 0 1 1
0 0 1 1 0

0 0 1 0 1

Thus, 0011 ˆ 0110=0101, or 3 ˆ 6 = 5.

In/Out Code Cells

In [2]: 3 ^ 6 , 0b011 ^ 0b110

Out[2]: (5 , 5)
54 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

Example 7.2.2. Use Python to encrypt and decrypt using the XOR
cipher.

Solution. The program is listed below:

# In [3]: XOR Cipher - Encryption and Decryption.

# The same function is used to encrypt and decrypt.
def EncryptDecrypt(text):
XORKey = "A"
length = len(text)
# Perform XOR operation of key with every character.
for i in range(length):
text = (text[:i] + chr(ord(text[i]) ^ ord(XORKey)) \
+ text[i + 1:])
print(text[i], end = "")
return text
if __name__ == "__main__":
sampletext = "The Exclusive Or Cipher"
print("Encrypted String: ", end = "")
sampletext = EncryptDecrypt(sampletext) # Encrypt.
print("\n")
print("Decrypted String: ", end = "")
EncryptDecrypt(sampletext) # Decrypt.

7.3 THE RIVEST-SHAMIR-ADLEMAN (RSA) CRYPTOSYSTEM

Basically, RSA relies on the problem of factoring the product of two
large prime numbers (in industry, each prime number typically has 10300
digits), and breaking RSA encryption is known as the RSA problem. For
more details see Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_(cryptosystem).

Definition 7.3.1: A prime number is a number that can only be di-

vided by itself and one.
 Introduction to Cryptography ■ 55

Definition 7.3.2: Given an integer k > 1, called a modulus, two in-

tegers m and n, are said to be congruent modulo k, if k is a divisor of
their difference, so m − n = rk, where r is an integer.

Definition 7.3.3: Congruence modulo k is written: m ≡ nmod(k).

Definition 7.3.4: The Extended Euclidean Algorithm (EEA)

computes, in addition to the greatest common divisor (gcd) of integers
a and b, also the coefficients of Bézout’s identity, which are integers x
and y such that:

ax + by = gcd(a, b).
Readers can find more information on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Euclidean_algorithm.

The RSA algorithm can be described in five simple steps:

1. Choose two large prime numbers, p and q, say.

2. Compute n = p × q.

3. The Euler totient function is given as: ϕ(n) = (p − 1) × (q − 1).

4. The public key, e say, is chosen such that 2 < e < ϕ(n), and
gcd(e, ϕ(n)) = 1; that is, e and ϕ(n) are co-prime.

5. The public and private keys satisfy the congruence, d ≡

e−1 mod(ϕ(n)), where d is the private key computed using the EEA.

7.4 SIMPLE RSA ALGORITHM EXAMPLE

The RSA algorithm for encryption and decryption can be summarized
using the following steps:

1. Bob follows the steps 1 to 5 in the RSA algorithm above.

2. Alice computes E = me mod(n), where m is the message and E is

the encrypted message, and sends E to Bob.

3. Bob computes D = E d mod(n), where D is the decrypted message.

56 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

Historically, Alice and Bob were the names given to fictitious characters
used to explain how the RSA encryption method worked.

Example 7.4.1. Two small prime numbers are chosen for illustrative
purposes. In real-world applications, very large prime numbers are cho-
sen. Bob chooses the prime numbers, p = 17 and q = 29, and a public
key, e = 11. Alice wishes to send the number (message) 20 to Bob. What
is the encrypted message sent? Confirm that Bob correctly decrypts the
message.

In/Out Code Cells

In [4]: # Check that p and q are prime.

from sympy import *
isprime(17) , isprime(29)
Out[4]: (True , True)

# In [5]: RSA Algorithm Example.

from math import gcd
# Step 1, choose two prime numbers.
p , q = 17 , 29
# Step 2, compute n.
n = p * q
print("n =", n)
# Step 3, compute phi(n).
phi = (p - 1) * (q - 1)
# Step 4, compute a public key, e say,
# there are many possibilities.
# In this case, choose e = 11.
#for e in range(2 , phi):
# if (gcd(e, phi) == 1):
# print("e =", e)
e = 11
# Step 5:
# Python program for the EEA.
def extended_gcd(e, phi):
if e == 0:
return phi, 0, 1
 Introduction to Cryptography ■ 57

else:
gcd, x, y = extended_gcd(phi % e, e)
return gcd, y - (phi // e) * x, x
if __name__ == ’__main__’:
gcd, x, y = extended_gcd(e, phi)
print("phi = " , phi)
print(’The gcd is’, gcd)
print("x = " , x , ", y = " , y)

Out[5]: n=493, phi = 448.The gcd is 1; x = 163, y = -4 .

In order to encrypt and decrypt, one has to compute xy mod(z). In

Python, we use the built-in function pow(x,y,z), which takes three argu-
ments.

IMPORTANT: If you import the pow function from the math library
it only takes two arguments, and computes, pow(x, y) = xy .

# In [6]: Encryption and decryption.

# The message here is m = msg = 20.
d , e , n = 163 , 11 , 493
msg = 20
print(f"Original message: {msg}")
# Encryption
E = pow(msg , e , n)
print(f"Encrypted message: {E}")
# Decryption
D = pow(E , d , n)
print(f"Decrypted message: {D}")

Out[6]: Original message: 20 ; Encrypted message: 7 ; Decrypted mes-

sage: 20.

EXERCISES
1. Write a Python program to decrypt the Caesar cipher.
2. Research the Playfair Cipher on the Web:
58 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playfair_cipher.

Use your first name and surname for the encryption and decryp-
tion key (without repetition of letters) and complete a 5 × 5 array
table, missing out the letter J. For example, if your name is Bruce
Wayne, the array would look like:
 
B R U C E
W A Y N D
 
 
F G H I K .
 
L M O P Q
S T V X Z

Write down the rules of the Playfair Cipher. Given that the mes-
sage is “I LOVE PYTHON,” determine the encrypted message by
hand. Use the letter X for spaces.

3. Research the Vigenère Cipher on the Web:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigenere_cipher.

Write a Python program to encrypt a message using this cipher.

4. For those interested in cryptography, carry out a literature search

on:

(a) Symmetric Cryptography: block ciphers, stream ciphers, hash

functions, keyed hashing and authenticated encryption.
(b) Asymmetric Cryptography: Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) a
public-key cryptosystem, Diffie-Hellman key exchange, au-
thenticated encryption, elliptic curve cryptography and chaos
synchronization cryptography.
(c) For this problem, use the RSA public key cryptosystem. Bob
chooses the prime numbers p = 19, q = 23 and e = 7. Alice
wishes to send the number 11 to Bob. What is the message
sent? Confirm that Bob correctly decrypts this.
 CHAPTER 8

An Introduction to
Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to computational systems that behave

in a similar manner to the human brain.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-8 59
60 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

8.1 ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are the building blocks for AI. The
figure below shows a pictorial representation of a single mathematical
neuron, where x1 , x2 , . . . , xn are inputs, w1 , w2 , . . . , wn represent weights
(synaptic weights for biological neurons) b is a bias, v is an activation
potential, defined by:

v = x1 w1 + x2 w2 + . . . + xn wn + b,

σ(v) is a transfer (or activation) function known as the sigmoid function:

1
σ(v) = ,
1 + e−v
and y is the output of the neuron, defined by:

y = σ(v).

Neurons are connected together to form neural networks.

This single neuron ANN is also known as a perceptron. For difficult

problems in AI, ANNs consist of many layers with many neurons in
each layer, these are known as deep learning ANNs. AI is inspired by
the dynamics of neurons in the human brain.
 An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence ■ 61

8.2 THE AND/OR AND XOR GATE ANNS

Figures 8.1 to 8.3 show the ANNs and corresponding truth tables for the
AND, OR and XOR logic gates, respectively.

The AND Gate ANN A single neuron can model an AND gate ANN
as illustrated below.

Figure 8.1 (a) ANN for an AND gate. (b) Truth table for an AND gate.

In [1]: # Python Program for the AND Gate ANN.

import numpy as np
w1 , w2 = 20 , 20
b = -30
# Define the functions.
def sigmoid(v):
return 1 / (1 + np.exp(- v))
def AND(x1, x2):
return sigmoid(x1 * w1 + x2 * w2 + b)
print("AND(0,0)=", AND(0,0))
print("AND(1,0)=", AND(1,0))
print("AND(0,1)=", AND(0,1))
print("AND(1,1)=", AND(1,1))

Out[1]: AND(0,0)= 9.357622968839299e-14

AND(1,0)= 4.5397868702434395e-05
AND(0,1)= 4.5397868702434395e-05
AND(1,1)= 0.9999546021312976
62 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

The OR Gate ANN A single neuron can also model an OR gate ANN.

Figure 8.2 (a) ANN for an OR gate. (b) Truth table for an OR gate.

In [2]: # Python Program for the OR Gate ANN.

import numpy as np
w1 , w2 = 20 , 20
b = -10
# Define the functions.
def sigmoid(v):
return 1 / (1 + np.exp(- v))
def OR(x1, x2):
return sigmoid(x1 * w1 + x2 * w2 + b)
print("OR(0,0)=", OR(0,0))
print("OR(1,0)=", OR(1,0))
print("OR(0,1)=", OR(0,1))
print("OR(1,1)=", OR(1,1))

Out[2]: OR(0,0)= 4.5397868702434395e-05

OR(1,0)= 0.9999546021312976
OR(0,1)= 0.9999546021312976
OR(1,1)= 0.9999999999999065

The XOR Gate ANN This cannot be modeled using a single neuron,
a hidden layer must be introduced as shown in Figure 8.3.
You will be given the weights and the biases and asked to write a
Python program for an XOR gate ANN in the exercises at the end of
the chapter.
 An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence ■ 63

Figure 8.3 (a) ANN for an XOR gate. (b) Truth table for an XOR gate.

An AND gate and an XOR gate can be connected together to make

a binary half-adder, used to add two bits together. This is the simplest
logic component of all modern computers.

8.3 THE BACKPROPAGATION ALGORITHM

The figure below shows an ANN used to demonstrate how feedforward
and backpropagation work in AI.

In the examples considered thus far, the weights for the ANNs have
been given, but what if we are not given those weights? The backpropaga-
tion of errors algorithm is used to determine those weights. To illustrate
the method, consider the above figure and use the transfer function σ(v),
furthermore suppose that the biases b1 and b2 are constant. Suppose we
wish to update weights w1 and w2 . Initially, random weights are chosen,
data is fed forward through the network, and an error inevitably results.
In this example, we use a mean squared error. Next, the backpropaga-
tion algorithm is used to update the weights in order to minimize the
64 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

error. Thus, using the chain rule from calculus:

∂Err ∂Err ∂y ∂Err ∂y ∂o1

= = ,
∂w2 ∂y ∂w2 ∂y ∂o1 ∂w2
and
∂Err ∂σ
= (yt − y) × × σ (h1 ),
∂w2 ∂o1
and
∂Err
= (yt − y) × σ (o1 ) (1 − σ (o1 )) × σ (h1 ).
∂w2
The weight w2 is then updated using the formula:
∂Err
w2 = w2 − η × ,
∂w2
where η is called the learning rate. A similar argument is used to update
w1 , thus:
∂Err ∂Err ∂y ∂Err ∂y ∂o1 ∂σ(h1 ) ∂h1
= = × × × × ,
∂w1 ∂y ∂w1 ∂y ∂o1 ∂σ(h1 ) ∂h1 ∂w1
and
∂Err
= (yt − y) × σ (o1 ) (1 − σ (o1 )) × w2 × σ (h1 ) (1 − σ (h1 )) × x1 .
∂w1
The weight w1 is then updated using the formula:
∂Err
w1 = w1 − η × .
∂w1
Readers should note that partial differentiation is used here as the
error, Err, is a function of y, σ, oi , hi and wi , where oi , hi are output and
hidden activation potentials, respectively. The basic idea is to minimize
Err with respect to the weights w1 and w2 , in this case. Note that the
biases b1 , b2 are assumed to be constant for simplification.

Example 8.3.1. Consider the ANN for the XOR gate. Given that,
w11 = 0.2, w12 = 0.15, w21 = 0.25, w22 = 0.3, w13 = 0.15, w23 = 0.1,
b1 = b2 = b3 = −1, x1 = 1, x2 = 1, yt = 0 and η = 0.1:

(i) Determine the output y of the ANN on a forward pass given that
the transfer function is σ(v).
 An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence ■ 65

(ii) Use the backpropagation algorithm to update the weights w13

and w23 , assuming that the biases are constant.

Solution. The program below gives y = 0.28729994077761756, and new

weights w13 = 0.1521522763401024 and w23 = 0.10215227634010242.
The reader will be asked to update the other weights in the exercises at
the end of the chapter.

In [3]: # Simple feedforward and backpropagation.

import numpy as np
w11,w12,w21,w22,w13,w23 = 0.2,0.15,0.25,0.3,0.15,0.1
b1 , b2 , b3 = -1 , -1 , -1
yt , eta = 0 , 0.1
x1 , x2 = 1 , 1
def sigmoid(v):
return 1 / (1 + np.exp(- v))
h1 = x1 * w11 + x2 * w21 + b1
h2 = x1 * w12 + x2 * w22 + b2
o1 = sigmoid(h1) * w13 + sigmoid(h2) * w23 + b3
y = sigmoid(o1)
print("y = ", y)
# Backpropagate.
dErrdw13=(yt-y)*sigmoid(o1)*(1-sigmoid(o1))*sigmoid(h1)
w13 = w13 - eta * dErrdw13
print("w13 = ", w13)
dErrdw23=(yt-y)*sigmoid(o1)*(1-sigmoid(o1))*sigmoid(h2)
w23 = w23 - eta * dErrdw23
print("w23 = ", w23)

Out[3]: y = 0.28729994077761756
w13 = 0.1521522763401024
w23 = 0.10215227634010242

8.4 BOSTON HOUSING DATA

The data was originally published by Harrison, D. and Rubinfeld, D.L.
(1978) “Hedonic prices and the demand for clean air,” J. Environ. Eco-
nomics & Management, 5 , 81-102. There are 14 attributes for 506 houses,
66 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

which is a small data set. The attributes include per capita crime rate
by town, nitrous oxide concentration (parts per 10 million), index of
accessibility to radial highways, for example, and the target data is me-
dian value of owner-occupied homes in thousands of dollars. The Boston
housing data and a full working program of a Boston housing ANN cal-
culator can be downloaded through the author’s GitHub site:

https://github.com/proflynch/A-Simple-Introduction-to-Python,

where the data file is labeled “housing.txt” and the Python program is
called “Boston-Housing-ANN-Calculator.ipynb.” Once trained, the ANN
can be used to value new houses added to the data set. Please note that
this data is from 1978, so is out-of-date.
Readers should note that data may not always be accurate, even
when it has been used to test algorithms for many years! For example,
the target data seems to be censored at 50.00 (corresponding to a me-
dian price of 50,000 dollars); censoring is suggested by the fact that the
highest median price of exactly 50,000 dollars is reported in 16 cases,
while 15 cases have prices between 40,000 dollars and 50,000 dollars,
with prices rounded to the nearest hundred. Harrison and Rubinfeld do
not mention any censoring.
Readers may be interested in the specialist Python AI deep learn-
ing frameworks, TensorFlow and PyTorch. TensorFlow is a very powerful
and mature deep learning framework whereas PyTorch is relatively new
with a stronger community movement and it is more Python-friendly.
For more information on AI, machine learning, deep learning and Tensor-
Flow, the reader is directed to my book “Python for Scientific Computing
and Artificial Intelligence,” referenced in the Preface.

EXERCISES
1. Given the activation functions:
1 ev − e−v
σ(v) = , ϕ(v) = tanh(v) = ,
1 + e−v ev + e−v
show that:

(a) dσ
dv = σ(v)(1 − σ(v));
(b) dϕ
dv = 1 − (ϕ(v))2 .
 An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence ■ 67

Plot the curves and their derivatives.

2. Show that the XOR gate ANN acts as a good approximation of an

XOR gate, given that:

w11 = 60, w12 = 80, w21 = 60, w22 = 80, w13 = −60, w23 = 60,

and
b1 = −90, b2 = −40, b3 = −30.
Use the sigmoid function, σ(v), in your program.

3. Use backpropagation to update the weights w11 , w12 , w21 and w22
for the XOR gate ANN in Example 8.3.1.

4. Download the “Boston-Housing-ANN-Calculator.ipynb” notebook

from GitHub:

https://github.com/proflynch/A-Simple-Introduction-t
o-Python.

Run the cell in the notebook to create an ANN which will value the
houses in Boston’s suburbs in 1978. Three attributes are used in
the program (average number of rooms, index of accessible radial
highways, percentage lower status of population). The target data
is median value of owner-occupied homes.

(a) Investigate how the learning rate η and the number of epochs
affects the results.
(b) List 10 attributes which would be important to you when pur-
chasing your house.
 CHAPTER 9

An Introduction to Data
Science

Data Science is the field of study combining programming, statistics,

mathematics and domain expertise to work with data.

The data science cycle on the right shows a typical workflow algorithm.

9.1 INTRODUCTION TO PANDAS

Python and Data Analysis (PANDAS) is an open source Python pack-
age used to solve real-world problems. More information can be found
here:

https://pandas.pydata.org.

68 DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-9
 An Introduction to Data Science ■ 69

Example 9.1.1. Create a data frame of student satisfaction at a gym.

Out[1] lists the data frame, named df, in this case. Note that the Dates
are set up to act as an index.

In [1]: # A Data Frame of Membership Satisfaction at a Gym.

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
df=pd.DataFrame({
"Date": pd.Categorical(["2024-01-08","2024-01-09",
"2024-01-10","2024-01-11",
"2024-01-12","2024-01-13",
"2024-01-14"]),
"Day " : pd.Categorical(["Sunday","Monday","Tuesday",
"Wednesday","Thursday","Friday",
"Saturday"]),
"Member Numbers" : pd.Series([126,34,42,100,54,41,105],
dtype="int32"),
"Staff Numbers" : pd.Series([12,6,6,12,6,6,12],
dtype="int32"),
"Member/Staff Ratio" : \
pd.Series([10.5,5.7,7.0,8.3,9.0,6.8,8.8],\
dtype="float32"),
"Satisfaction (%)" : \
pd.Series([44,82,74,66,85,88,45],dtype="float32")
})
df = df.set_index("Date")
df

In [2]: # List the data types of the columns.

df.dtypes
70 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

Out [2]:
Day category
Member Numbers int32
Staff Numbers int32
Member/Staff Ratio float32
Satisfaction (%) float32
dtype: object

In [3]: # Write the data to an excel file.

df.to_excel("Gym_Satisfaction_Ratings.xlsx")

In [4]: # Plot a bar chart of the satisfaction ratings.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
df.plot.bar(y = "Satisfaction (%)")
 An Introduction to Data Science ■ 71

9.2 LOAD, CLEAN AND PREPROCESS THE DATA

In this section we work with real-world data. We use Data-1-OCR.xlsx,
used by the OCR examining body for A-Levels in the UK. Readers can
download the Excel file from GitHub:

https://github.com/proflynch/A-Simple-Introduction-to-Python.

The Large Data Set (LDS) consists of data about countries from the
CIA World Factbook and from the World Bank. By loading the data
using Pandas and setting data frame (df), all columns containing nu-
merical data with commas (data type object) are replaced with floating
point numbers. So Pandas pre-processes the data for you. The command
df.head() prints the first five rows of the data frame df.

In [4]: # Load the data and print the first five rows and
# certain columns.
import pandas as pd # Import pandas for data analysis.
import seaborn as sns # Import seaborn for visualisations.
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
df = pd.read_excel("Data-1-OCR.xlsx" , sheet_name = "Data")
# df.head() # To see the first 5 rows of all data.
df.iloc[0 : 5 , [0 , 1 , 3 , 14 , 19]]

Adding a New Numeric Feature To explore the change in life ex-

pectancy you could add a feature that calculates the change in life ex-
pectancy. Run the code below to create a new feature “Life expectancy
change 1960 to 2010,” by subtracting the life expectancies in 1960 from
those in 2010.
72 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

In [5]: # Create a new numeric column.

df["Life expectancy change 1960 to 2010"] = \
df["Life expectancy at birth 2010"] - \
df["Life expectancy at birth 1960"]
# Check the data.
df.iloc[0 : 5 , [0 , 1 , 3 , 14 , 19 , 20]]

Adding a New Categorical Feature The World Bank defines a High

Income Economy as one having a GDP per capita greater than 12,376
dollars. Run the code below to create a new categorical feature “Income
Category” which describes whether a country is a high income economy.

In [6]: # If the GDP > $12,376 then High, otherwise Low.

df["Income category"] = (df["GDP per capita (US$)"] > \
12376).map({True: "High", \
False: "Low"})
# List the data frame with certain columns.
df.iloc[0 : 5 , [0, 1, 3, 9, 20]]
 An Introduction to Data Science ■ 73

9.3 EXPLORING THE DATA

You can explore the data by finding the dimensions of the data set with
shape and displaying the data types with the info().

In [7]: df.shape # The dimensions of the DataFrame.

Out[7] (236, 22)

In [8]: df.info() # Information about the DataFrame.

Out[8]:

Example 9.3.1. Create box and whisker plots of life expectancy at

birth in 2010, grouped by region.

In [9]: sns.catplot(data=df, kind="box", x="Life expectancy \

at birth 2010", y="Region", aspect=2)
74 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

Out[9]: # Box and whisker plots.

Communicate the Results: The life expectancy in South Africa is

much worse than all other regions. The best life expectancies are in
Europe and North America. Data Scientists would want to know why the
life expectancies are so low in South Africa and use data and intervention
to try to improve the results.

9.4 VIOLIN, SCATTER AND HEXAGONAL BIN PLOTS

A violin plot plays a similar role as a box and whisker plot. It shows the
distribution of quantitative data across several levels of one (or more)
categorical variables such that those distributions can be compared. Un-
like a box plot, in which all of the plot components correspond to actual
datapoints, the violin plot features a kernel density estimation of the
underlying distribution. This can be an effective and attractive way to
show multiple distributions of data at once, but keep in mind that the
estimation procedure is influenced by the sample size, and violins for
relatively small samples might look misleadingly smooth.

Example 9.4.1. Create violin plots of life expectancy at birth in 2010,

grouped by region.

In [10]: sns.violinplot(data=df, x="Life expectancy at \

birth 2010", y="Region")
 An Introduction to Data Science ■ 75

Figure 9.1 Out[10]: Violin plots, compare with the box and whisker plots
earlier.

Figure 9.1 shows the violin plots.

Scatter plots are useful to see correlations between two variables.
The coordinates of each point are defined by two DataFrame columns
and filled circles are used to represent each point. In the example below,
the points are color-coded by region. The aspect function changes the
ratio of the width to the height within the chart arguments.

Example 9.4.2. Create a scatter plot of GDP per capita (US dollars)
against life expectancy at birth in 2010, color-coded by region.

In [11]: sns.relplot(data=df, x="GDP per capita (US$)", \

y="Life expectancy at birth 2010", \
hue="Region", aspect=1.5)
76 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

Figure 9.2Out[11]: Scatter plot color-coded by region. The life ex-

pectancy at birth in South Africa is much worse than all other regions.

Figure 9.2 shows Out[11].

Hexagonal Bin Plots: When you have a very large data set, with thou-
sands or even millions of data points, scatter plots can be misleading.
This is because the points start landing on top of each other, making it
hard to tell if there are many points in an area or just a few. To solve
this, some charts ’bin’ the data first, in much the same way a histogram
does. Unlike a histogram, a bin plot shows density using shading with
colors representing higher densities. Seaborn can create a bin plot using
its jointplot function, which also provides histograms of the two variables.
Run the code below to create a hexagonal bin plot of life expectancy
against GDP.

Example 9.4.3. Plot a hexagonal plot of GDP per capita (US dollars)
against life expectancy at birth 2010.

In [12]: sns.jointplot(data=df, kind="hex", x="GDP per \

capita (US$)", y="Life expectancy at birth 2010")
 An Introduction to Data Science ■ 77

Figure 9.3 Out[12]: Hexagonal bin plot of GDP per capita (US dollars)
against life expectancy at birth 2010.

Figure 9.3 shows Out[12].

EXERCISES
The data sets used below are taken from the A-Level Mathematics data
sets used in the UK. All data sets can be downloaded through GitHib:
https://github.com/proflynch/A-Simple-Introduction-to-Python.

1. For the data set Data-1-OCR.xlsx, create a scatter plot of GDP

against life expectancy at birth in 2010, where the size of the filled
circles is determined by physician density. What can you conclude?
78 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

2. Load the data file, Data-2-Edexcel.csv from GitHub. This LDS

consists of weather data samples provided by the UK Met Office
for five UK weather stations. Load the data and set up a data
frame. Explore the data. Compare the daily mean temperature
at the five stations in 1987 compared to 2015. Communicate the
results.

3. Load the data file, Data-3-AQA.xlsx from GitHub. This LDS has
been taken from the UK Department for Transport Stock Vehicle
Database. Load the data and set up a data frame. Explore the data.
Create a scatter diagram for carbon dioxide emissions against mass
for the petrol cars only. Communicate the results.

4. Load the data file, Data-4-OCR.xlsx from GitHub. This LDS con-
sists of four sets of data: two each from the censuses of 2001 and
2011; two on methods of travel to work and two showing the age
structure of the population. Load the data and set up a data frame.
Explore the data. Add a column giving the percentage of people
in employment who cycle to work. Produce a box and whisker
plot of percentage of workers who cycle to work against region.
Communicate the results.
 CHAPTER 10

An Introduction to
Object Oriented
Programming

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based

on the concept of “object,” which can contain data and code. The data
is in the form of attributes, and the code is in the form of methods.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003472759-10 79
80 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

10.1 CLASSES AND OBJECTS

Attributes are the characteristics of the class and methods are the ac-
tions that can be performed on the class.

Example 10.1. Set up a Student class with attributes, methods and

objects of your choice.

In [1]: # Define a class.

class Student:
# Attributes.
def __init__(self, name, age, course, student_id):
self.name = name
self.age = age
self.course = course
self.student_id = student_id
# Methods.
def enrol(self):
return "Enrolled"
def payfees(self):
return "Fees Paid"
def accommodation(self):
return "Student in Accommodation"
# Create objects of the Student class.
Ali_M = Student("Mohammad Ali", 18, "Software Engineering", \
23000001)
Parker_P = Student("Peter Parker", 19, "Physics", 23000002)
Kane_K = Student("Kate Kane", 22, "Biology", 23000003)
Chang_A = Student("Angela Chang", 18, "Music", 23000004)

In [2]: # Using attributes.

print(Ali_M.name)
print(Parker_P.age)
print(Kane_K.course)
print(Chang_A.student_id)

Out [2]: Mohammad Ali

19
Biology
 An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming ■ 81

23000004

In [3]: # Using methods.

print(Ali_M.enrol())
print(Parker_P.payfees())
print(Kane_K.accommodation())

Out[3]: Enrolled
Fees Paid
Student in Accommodation

10.2 ENCAPSULATION
Encapsulation is one of the core concepts in object-oriented program-
ming and describes the attributes and methods operating on this data
into one unit.

Advantages of Encapsulation:

1. Security: The main advantage of using encapsulation is in the se-

curing of data. Encapsulation protects an object from unauthorized
access. It allows private and protected access levels to prevent ac-
cidental data modification.

2. Data Hiding: The user would not be aware of what is going on be-
hind the scenes. To modify a data member, call the setter method.
To read a data member, call the getter method. What these setter
and getter methods are doing is hidden from the user.

3. Simplicity: It simplifies the maintenance of the application by keep-

ing classes separated and preventing them from tightly coupling
with each other.

4. Aesthetics: Bundling attributes and methods within a class makes

code more readable and maintainable.

In [4]: # Encapsulation and data hiding.

class Employee:
# Attributes
def __init__(self, name, job_title, salary):
82 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

# Public attributes.
self.name = name
self.job_title = job_title
# Private attribute.
self.__salary = salary # Data hiding.
# Methods
def work(self):
print(self.name, "is employed in:", self.job_title)
# Creating objects of a class
emp1 = Employee("Jessa", "Human Resources", 25000)
emp2 = Employee("Tom", "Lecturing", 35000)
emp3 = Employee("Leon", "Administration", 15000)
emp1.work()
emp2.work()
emp3.work()

Out[4]: Jessa is employed in: Human Resources

Tom is employed in: Lecturing
Leon is employed in: Administration

In [5]: # Accessing private data members.

print(emp1.name)
print(emp1.job_title)
print(emp1.__salary)

Out[5]: Jessa
Human Resources
AttributeError: ’Employee’ object has no attribute ’ salary’

10.3 INHERITANCE
The process of inheriting the properties of the parent class into a child
class is called inheritance. The existing class is called a base class or
parent class and the new class is called a subclass or child class or derived
class.

In [6]: # Parent class.

class Person:
def __init__(self, name, age):
 An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming ■ 83

print("Inside Person class")

print("Name:", name, "Age:", age)
# Parent class 2.
class Company:
def __init__(self, company_name, location):
print("Inside Company class")
print("Name:", company_name, "Location:", location)
# Child class.
class Employee(Person, Company):
def __init__(self, department, job_title):
super().__init__(department, job_title)
print("Inside Employee class")
print("Department:", department, "Job_Title:", \
job_title)
# Create object of Employee
emp1 = Person("Jessa" , 35)
emp1 = Employee("Software", "Machine Learning")
emp1 = Company("Google", "Atlanta")

Out[6]: Inside Person class

Name: Jessa Age: 35
Inside Person class
Name: Software Age: Machine Learning
Inside Employee class
Department: Software Job_Title: Machine Learning
Inside Company class
Name: Google Location: Atlanta

10.4 POLYMORPHISM
Polymorphism is one of the core concepts of OOP and describes situa-
tions in which something occurs in several different forms.

Function Polymorphism: An example of a Python polymorphic func-

tion that can be used on different objects is the len() function, which
can be used on lists, sets, strings, tuples and dictionaries.

In [7]: # A list.
84 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

print(len([1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8]))
# A set.
print(len({1 , 2 , "apple" , "cherry"}))
# A string.
print(len("This is a string"))
# A tuple.
print(len(("apple", "banana", "cherry", "pear", "orange")))
# The final example is a dictionary.
print(len({"Manufacturer": "Ford", "Model" : "Mustang" , \
"Year" : 1964}))

Out[7]: 8
4
16
5
3

Inheritance Class Polymorphism

What about classes with child classes with the same name? Can we use
polymorphism there?

Yes. If we use the example below and make a parent class called Vehi-
cle, and make Car, Boat, Plane child classes of Vehicle, the child classes
inherits the Vehicle methods, but can override them.

Example 10.4.1. Demonstrate inheritance class polymorphism using

vehicles of your choice.

In [8]: # Inheritance Class Polymorphism.

class Vehicle:
# Attributes.
def __init__(self, manufacturer, model):
self.brand = manufacturer
self.model = model
# Method.
def move(self):
print("Move!")
class Car(Vehicle):
 An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming ■ 85

pass
class Boat(Vehicle):
def move(self):
print("Sail!")
class Plane(Vehicle):
def move(self):
print("Fly!")
car_1 = Car("Kia", "Sportage") #Create a Car object.
boat_1 = Boat("Yamaha", "SX 210") #Create a Boat object.
plane_1 = Plane("Boeing", "747") #Create a Plane object.
for x in (car_1, boat_1, plane_1):
print(x.brand)
print(x.model)
x.move()

Out[8]: Kia
Sportage
Move!
Yamaha
SX 210
Sail!
Boeing
747
Fly!

EXERCISES
1. You have been employed by Chester Zoo, UK, as a software engi-
neer. Create an Animal class with attributes name, age, sex and
feeding time. The Animal class has three methods, resting, moving
and sleeping.

2. Create ten animal objects of your choice and introduce private

attributes called “feed cost” and “vet cost.”

3. The following program shows a parent class Pet and child classes
Cat and Canary. The objects Tom and Cuckoo have been declared.
86 ■ A Simple Introduction to Python

In [9]: # Parent and child classes.

class Pet:
def __init__(self , legs):
self.legs = legs
def walk(self):
print("Pet parent class. Walking...")
class Cat(Pet):
def __init__(self , legs , tail):
self.legs = legs
self.tail = tail
def meeow(self):
print("Cat child class.")
print("A cat meeows but a canary can’t. Meeow...")
class Canary(Pet):
def chirp(self):
print("Canary child class.")
print("A canary chirps but a cat can’t. Chirp...")
Tom = Cat(4 , True)
Cuckoo = Canary(2)

What output do the following lines give?

In [10]: print(Tom.legs)
print(Tom.tail)
print(Cuckoo.legs)
Tom.meeow()
Cuckoo.chirp()

4. The figure below is a screenshot from the Brick Breaker Game.

The player moves the paddle left and right to hit the ball which
rebounds off the paddle, bricks and three perimeter walls. If the
ball passes the paddle, the player loses a life. The aqua colored
bricks (lowest level) break after one hit, the tomato colored bricks
(middle level) break after two hits, and the lawn green colored
bricks (top level) break after three hits. You win the game if all
bricks are destroyed.

(a) List at least five objects, attributes and methods, respectively,

required to create a Brick Breaker Game.
 An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming ■ 87

(b) Download the “Brick-Breaker-Game.ipynb” notebook from

GitHub:

https://github.com/proflynch/A-Simple-Introductio
n-to-Python.

Run the cell in the notebook to play the Brick Breaker Game.
Can you destroy all of the bricks?
(c) What other physical quantities could be modeled to make the
game more realistic?
Index

%matplotlib qt5, 29 brick-breaker game, 86

A-Level Mathematics, 49 Caesar cipher, 52

activation calculus, 46
function, 15, 60 Cantor set, 18
potential, 60 censoring data, 66
algebra, 40 Centigrade to Kelvin, 10
AND gate ANN, 61 chain rule, 64
animations in turtle, 23 child class, 82
ANNs, 60 chr, 52
apart, 36 class, 80
append, 9 clean data, 71
arange, 25, 41 cloud computing, 13
area under a curve, 46 co-prime, 55
array, 24 Colab, 32
Artificial Intelligence (AI), 59 comment, # symbol, 4
aspect, 75 congruent, 55
attribute, 80 Connected to a hosted runtime,
axes3d, 29 13
axis, 27 copying and pasting code, 12
cryptography, 51, 58
Bézout’s identity, 55 cyber security, 51
backpropagation, 63
bias, 60 data
bifurcating tree, 20 clean, 71
binary file
half-adder, 63 travel to work, 78
numbers, 53 vehicle database, 78
bitwise XOR, 53 weather data, 78
BODMAS, 1, 7 World Bank, 71
Boston housing data, 65 frame, 69
box and whisker plot, 73 hiding, 81

89
90 ■ INDEX

load, 71 hsgn function, 15

decimal places, N, 37
decryption, 54 IDLE, 10
deep learning, 60 if,elif,else, 14
def, 10 index, 69
df to excel, 70 indices, 3
df.head(), 71 info(), 73
dictionary, 8 inheritance, 82
diff, 37 inserting figures, 35
dpi, 27 integral
definite, 36
elementwise multiplication, 25 indefinite, 36
encapsulation, 81 integrate, 37
encryption, 52 inverse function, 44
expand, 41
explore the data, 73 jointplot, 76
Jupyter notebook, 14
factor, 36, 41
factorial, 6 kernel, 13
Fibonacci sequence, 12 Koch snowflake, 19
floor, 6
fmod, 6 Large Data Set (LDS), 71
for, 11, 20, 28 LaTeX, 33
formatting notebooks, 33 lcm, 6
fractions, 2 learning rate, 64
function len, 9
inverse, 44 limit, 37
mathematics, 43 linspace, 27
of a function, 44 list, 7
load data, 71
game log, 6
brick-breaker, 86
guess the number, 15 math library, 4
Towers of Hanoi, 23 mathematical symbols, LaTeX,
gcd, 5 33
GitHub, 37 MatPlotLib, 26
Google Colab, 13 matrix, 37
gradient, 46 determinant, 37
guess the number game, 15 inverse, 37
multiplication, 25
histogram, 76 max, 9
 INDEX ■ 91

mean squared error, 63 remove, 9

method, 80 reshape, 25, 36
min, 9 restart the kernel, 14
mod, 55 roots, 3
modulus, 55 round, 5
RSA encryption, 54
N, SymPy, 37
ndim, 25 savefig, 27
neural network, 60 scatter plot, 28, 75
NumPy, 24 set, 8
shape, 73
Object Oriented Programming Sierpinski triangle, 21
(OOP), 79 sigmoid function, 15, 60
objects, 80 simultaneous equation, 43
OR gate ANN, 61 slice, 9, 25, 36
ord, 52 solve, 36, 42
Overleaf for LaTeX, 35 Spyder, 12
sqrt, 3
Pandas, 68
surface plots, 29
parent class, 82
symbols, 41
partial differentiation, 64
SymPy, 35
perceptron, 60
synaptic weights, 60
Playfair cipher, 57
plot, 27 tanh activation function, 66
polymorphism tensor, 24
function, 83 TensorFlow, 66
OOP, 83 tolist, 25
pow(x,y), 3, 57 transfer function, 60
pow(x,y,z), 57 triple quotes, 10
powers, 3 truth table, 61
pre-process the data, 71 tuple, 8
prime number, 54 turtle, 17
private key, 55 Turtle Demo, 23
program hangs, 14
public key, 55 undock window, 12
publish web pages, 15 Unicode, 52
Pythagorean triples, 16
PyTorch, 66 vector, 24
vectorized computation, 25, 26
radians, 5 Vigenère Cipher, 58
range, 9 violin plot, 74
92 ■ INDEX

while, 11 XOR gate ANN, 61

World Bank data set, 71
ylabel, 27
xlabel, 27
XOR cipher, 53 zero-based indexing, 8