Strings & Lists

Lecture 5
Sheet #4
Due Friday Nov. 1st

https://forms.gle/Vaw7khLQ6TSJziFt7
String Data Type
>>> str1 = "Hello"
>>> str2 = 'there'
>>> bob = str1 + str2
>>> print(bob))
• A string is a sequence of characters Hellothere
>>> str3 = '123'
• A string literal uses quotes >>> str3 = str3 + 1
'Hello' or "Hello" Traceback (most recent call
last): File "<stdin>", line 1,
• For strings, + means “concatenate” in <module>
TypeError: cannot concatenate
• When a string contains numbers, it is 'str' and 'int' objects
still a string >>> x = int(str3) + 1
>>> print(x))
124
• We can convert numbers in a string
>>>
into a number using int()
 Reading and >>> name = input('Enter:')
Enter:Chuck
Converting >>> print(name)
Chuck
>>> apple = input('Enter:')
• We prefer to read data in using
Enter:100
strings and then parse and
>>> x = apple – 10
convert the data as we need
Traceback (most recent call
last): File "<stdin>", line 1,
• This gives us more control over
in <module>
error situations and/or bad user
TypeError: unsupported operand
input
type(s) for -: 'str' and 'int'
>>> x = int(apple) – 10
• Input numbers must be
>>> print(x)
converted from strings
90
 Looking Inside Strings
• We can get at any single character in a b a n a n a
string using an index specified in 0 1 2 3 4 5
square brackets
>>> fruit = 'banana'
• The index value must be an integer
>>>
>>>
letter = fruit[1]
print(letter)
and starts at zero a
>>> x = 3
• The index value can be an expression >>> w = fruit[x - 1]
that is computed >>> print(w)
n
 A Character Too Far
• You will get a python error >>> zot = 'abc'
>>> print(zot[5])
if you attempt to index Traceback (most recent call
beyond the end of a string last): File "<stdin>", line
1, in <module>
• So be careful when IndexError: string index out
constructing index values of range
and slices >>>
 Strings Have Length

b a n a n a
The built-in function len gives 0 1 2 3 4 5
us the length of a string
>>> fruit = 'banana'
>>> print(len(fruit))
6
 len Function
>>> fruit = 'banana' A function is some stored
>>> x = len(fruit) code that we use. A
>>> print(x) function takes some
6 input and produces an
output.

'banana' len() 6
(a number)
(a string) function
 Looping Through Strings

Using a while statement, fruit = 'banana' 0b

an iteration variable, and index = 0 1a
the len function, we can while index < len(fruit): 2n
letter = fruit[index] 3a
construct a loop to look at
print(index, letter)
each of the letters in a 4n
index = index + 1
string individually 5a
 Looping Through Strings

• A definite loop using a b

for statement is much a
fruit = 'banana'
more elegant n
for letter in fruit:
a
• The iteration variable is print(letter)
n
completely taken care of a
by the for loop
 Looping Through Strings

• A definite loop using a fruit = 'banana'

for letter in fruit :
b
for statement is much a
print(letter)
more elegant n
a
• The iteration variable is index = 0
n
completely taken care of while index < len(fruit) :
a
by the for loop letter = fruit[index]
print(letter)
index = index + 1
 Looping and Counting
word = 'banana'
This is a simple loop that count = 0
loops through each letter in a for letter in word :
string and counts the number if letter == 'a' :
of times the loop encounters count = count + 1
the 'a' character print(count)
More String Operations
Slicing Strings M o n t y P y t h o n
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
• We can also look at any
continuous section of a string
using a colon operator >>> s = 'Monty Python'
>>> print(s[0:4])
• The second number is one Mont
beyond the end of the slice - >>> print(s[6:7])
“up to but not including” P
>>> print(s[6:20])
• If the second number is
Python
beyond the end of the string,
it stops at the end
Slicing Strings M o n t y P y t h o n
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

>>> s = 'Monty Python'

If we leave off the first number >>> print(s[:2])
or the last number of the slice, Mo
it is assumed to be the >>> print(s[8:])
beginning or end of the string thon
respectively >>> print(s[:])
Monty Python
 String Concatenation
>>> a = 'Hello'
>>> b = a + 'There'
When the + operator is >>> print(b)
applied to strings, it means HelloThere
“concatenation” >>> c = a + ' ' + 'There'
>>> print(c)
Hello There
>>>
Lists
Python Collections
There are four collection data types in the Python programming language:
• List is a collection which is ordered and changeable. Allows duplicate
members.
• Tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable. Allows
duplicate members.
• Set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable*, and
unindexed. No duplicate members.
• Dictionary is a collection which is ordered** and changeable. No
duplicate members.
 What is Not a “Collection”?
Most of our variables have one value in them - when we put a new
value in the variable, the old value is overwritten

$ python
>>> x = 2
>>> x = 4
>>> print(x)
4
A List is a Kind of Collection

• A collection allows us to put many values in a single “variable”

• A collection is nice because we can carry all many values

around in one convenient package.

friends = [ 'Joseph', 'Glenn', 'Sally' ]

carryon = [ 'socks', 'shirt', 'perfume' ]

 List Constants
• List constants are surrounded by >>> print([1, 24, 76])
[1, 24, 76]
square brackets and the elements >>> print(['red', 'yellow',
in the list are separated by 'blue'])
commas ['red', 'yellow', 'blue']
>>> print(['red', 24, 98.6])
• A list element can be any Python ['red', 24, 98.6]
>>> print([ 1, [5, 6], 7])
object - even another list [1, [5, 6], 7]
>>> print([])
• A list can be empty []
 We Already Use Lists!
5
for i in [5, 4, 3, 2, 1] :
print(i) 4
print('finish!') 3
2
1
finish!
 Lists and Definite Loops - Best Pals

friends = ['Joseph', 'Glenn', 'Sally']

for friend in friends : Happy New Year: Joseph
print('Happy New Year:', friend)
print('Done!') Happy New Year: Glenn
Happy New Year: Sally
Done!
z = ['Joseph', 'Glenn', 'Sally']
for x in z:
print('Happy New Year:', x)
print('Done!')
 Properties of Lists
1. List items are ordered, changeable, and allow duplicate values.

2. List items are indexed, the first item has index [0], the second
item has index [1] etc.

3. Ordered, when we say that lists are ordered, it means that

the items have a defined order, and that order will not
change.

4. If you add new items to a list, the new items will be placed at the end
of the list.
 Looking Inside Lists

Just like strings, we can get at any single element in a list using an
index specified in square brackets

>>> friends = [ 'Joseph', 'Glenn', 'Sally' ]

Joseph Glenn Sally >>> print(friends[1])
Glenn
0 1 2 >>>
 How Long is a List?

• The len() function takes a list as a >>> greet = 'Hello Bob'

parameter and returns the number >>> print(len(greet))
of elements in the list 9
>>> x = [ 1, 2, 'joe', 99]
• Actually len() tells us the number of >>> print(len(x))
elements of any set or sequence 4
(such as a string...) >>>
 Concatenating Lists Using +
>>> a = [1, 2, 3]
We can create a new list >>> b = [4, 5, 6]
by adding two existing >>> c = a + b
>>> print(c)
lists together
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
>>> print(a)
[1, 2, 3]
 Is Something in a List?
>>> some = [1, 9, 21, 10, 16]
• Python provides two operators
>>> 9 in some
that let you check if an item is True
in a list >>> 15 in some
False
• These are logical operators >>> 20 not in some
that return True or False True
>>>
• They do not modify the list
 Built-in Functions and Lists
>>> nums = [3, 41, 12, 9, 74, 15]
• There are a number of >>> print(len(nums))
functions built into Python 6
that take lists as >>> print(max(nums))
parameters 74
>>> print(min(nums))
• Remember the loops we 3
>>> print(sum(nums))
built? These are much 154
simpler. >>> print(sum(nums)/len(nums))
25.6
 append Function
To add an item to the end of the list, use the append() method:
Example:
• Using the append() method to append an item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.append("orange")
print(thislist)

• Output:

['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'orange']

 Acknowledgements / Contributions
These slides are Copyright 2010- Charles R. Severance
...
(www.dr-chuck.com) of the University of Michigan School of
Information and open.umich.edu and made available under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Please maintain this
last slide in all copies of the document to comply with the
attribution requirements of the license. If you make a change,
feel free to add your name and organization to the list of
contributors on this page as you republish the materials.

Initial Development: Charles Severance, University of Michigan

School of Information