Lecture Two

Input, Processing and

Output
The CSC213 Team
[2020|2021]
 Topics
 Designing a Program
 Input, Processing, and Output
 Displaying Output with print Function
 Comments
 Variables
 Reading Input from the Keyboard
 Performing Calculations
 More About Data Output 2
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Designing a Program (1 of 3)

 Programs must be designed before they are

written
 Program development cycle:
 Design the program
 Write the code
 Correct syntax errors
 Test the program
 Correct logic errors
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Designing a Program (2 of 3)

 Design is the most important part of the

program development cycle
 Understand the task that the program is to
perform
 Work with customer to get a sense what the program
is supposed to do
 Ask questions about program details
 Create one or more software requirements
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Designing a Program (3 of 3)

 Determine the steps that must be taken to

perform the task
 Break down required task into a series of steps
 Create an algorithm, listing logical steps that
must be taken
 Algorithm: set of well-defined logical steps
that must be taken to perform a task
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Pseudocode

 Pseudocode: fake code

 Informal language that has no syntax rule
 Not meant to be compiled or executed
 Used to create model program
 No need to worry about syntax errors, can focus on
program’s design
 Can be translated directly into actual code in any
programming language
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Flowcharts

 Flowchart: diagram that graphically depicts

the steps in a program
 Ovals are terminal symbols
 Parallelograms are input and output symbols
 Rectangles are processing symbols
 Symbols are connected by arrows that represent the
flow of the program
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Input, Processing, and Output

 Typically, computer performs three-step

process
 Receive input
 Input: any data that the program receives while it is
running
 Perform some process on the input
 Example: mathematical calculation
 Produce output
Displaying Output with the print 10

Function
 Function: piece of prewritten code that performs
an operation
 print function:
 Displays output on the screen
 Argument: data given to a function
 Example: data that is printed to screen
 Statements in a program execute in the order
that they appear
 From top to bottom
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Strings and String Literals

 String: sequence of characters that is used as

data
 String literal: string that appears in actual
code of a program
 Must be enclosed in single (‘) or double (“) quote
marks
 String literal can be enclosed in triple quotes ('''
or """)
 Enclosed string can contain both single and double
quotes and can have multiple lines
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Comments

 Comments: notes of explanation within a

program
 Ignored by Python interpreter
 Intended for a person reading the program’s code
 Begin with a # character
 End-line comment: appears at the end of a
line of code
 Typically explains the purpose of that line
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Variables
 Variable: name that represents a value stored in
the computer memory
 Used to access and manipulate data stored in memory
 A variable references the value it represents
 Assignment statement: used to create a variable
and make it reference data
 General format is variable = expression
 Example: age = 29
 Assignment operator: the equal sign (=)
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Variables (cont’d.)
 In assignment statement, variable receiving
value must be on left side
 A variable can be passed as an argument to a
function
 Variable name should not be enclosed in quote
marks
 You can only use a variable if a value is
assigned to it
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Variable Naming Rules
 Rules for naming variables in Python:
 Variable name cannot be a Python keyword
 Variable name cannot contain spaces
 First character must be a letter or an underscore
 After first character may use letters, digits, or
underscores
 Variable names are case sensitive
 Variable name should reflect its use
Displaying Multiple Items with the 16

print Function
 Python allows one to display multiple items
with a single call to print
 Items are separated by commas when passed as
arguments
 Arguments displayed in the order they are passed
to the function
 Items are automatically separated by a space when
displayed on screen
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Variable Reassignment
 Variables can reference different values
while program is running
 Garbage collection: removal of values that
are no longer referenced by variables
 Carried out by Python interpreter
 A variable can refer to item of any type
 Variable that has been assigned to one type can be
reassigned to another type
Numeric Data Types, Literals, and 18

the str Data Type

 Data types: categorize value in memory
 e.g., int for integer, float for real number, str
used for storing strings in memory
 Numeric literal: number written in a program
 No decimal point considered int, otherwise,
considered float
 Some operations behave differently depending
on data type
Reassigning a Variable to a 19

Different Type
 A variable in Python can refer to items of
any type
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Reading Input from the Keyboard

 Most programs need to read input from the

user
 Built-in input function reads input from
keyboard
 Returns the data as a string
 Format: variable = input(prompt)
 prompt is typically a string instructing user to enter a value
 Does not automatically display a space after the prompt
Reading Numbers with the input 21

Function
 input function always returns a string
 Built-in functions convert between data types
 int(item) converts item to an int
 float(item) converts item to a float
 Nested function call: general format:
function1(function2(argument))
 value returned by function2 is passed to function1
 Type conversion only works if item is valid numeric value, otherwise, throws
exception
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Performing Calculations
 Math expression: performs calculation and gives a
value
 Math operator: tool for performing calculation
 Operands: values surrounding operator
 Variables can be used as operands
 Resulting value typically assigned to variable
 Two types of division:
 / operator performs floating point division
 // operator performs integer division
 Positive results truncated, negative rounded away from zero
Operator Precedence and Grouping 23

with Parentheses
 Python operator precedence:
 Operations enclosed in parentheses
 Forces operations to be performed before others
 Exponentiation (**)
 Multiplication (*), division (/ and //), and
remainder (%)
 Addition (+) and subtraction (-)
 Higher precedence performed first
 Same precedence operators execute from left to right
The Exponent Operator and the 24

Remainder Operator
 Exponent operator (**): Raises a number to a
power
 x ** y = xy
 Remainder operator (%): Performs division and returns the remainder
 a.k.a. modulus operator
 e.g., 4%2=0, 5%2=1
 Typically used to convert times and distances, and to detect odd or even
numbers
Converting Math Formulas to 25

Programming Statements

 Operator required for any mathematical

operation
 When converting mathematical expression to
programming statement:
 May need to add multiplication operators
 May need to insert parentheses
Mixed-Type Expressions and Data Type 26

Conversion
 Data type resulting from math operation
depends on data types of operands
 Two int values: result is an int
 Two float values: result is a float
 int and float: int temporarily converted to float,
result of the operation is a float
 Mixed-type expression
 Type conversion of float to int causes truncation
of fractional part
Breaking Long Statements into 27

Multiple Lines
 Long statements cannot be viewed on screen
without scrolling and cannot be printed without
cutting off
 Multiline continuation character (\): Allows to
break a statement into multiple lines
 Example:
print(‘my first name is’,\
first_name)
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More About Data Output
 print function displays line of output
 Newline character at end of printed data
 Special argument end=‘delimiter’ causes print to
place delimiter at end of data instead of newline
character
 print function uses space as item separator
 Special argument sep=‘delimiter’ causes print to
use delimiter as item separator
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More About Data Output (cont’d.)

 Special characters appearing in string

literal
 Preceded by backslash (\)
 Examples: newline (\n), horizontal tab (\t)
 Treated as commands embedded in string
 When + operator used on two strings it
performs string concatenation
 Useful for breaking up a long string literal
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Formatting Numbers

 Can format display of numbers on screen using built-

in format function
 Two arguments:
 Numeric value to be formatted
 Format specifier
 Returns string containing formatted number
 Format specifier typically includes precision and data type
 Can be used to indicate scientific notation, comma separators,
and the minimum field width used to display the value
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Formatting Numbers (cont’d.)

 The % symbol can be used in the format

string of format function to format number
as percentage
 To format an integer using format function:
 Use d as the type designator
 Do not specify precision
 Can still use format function to set field width
or comma separator
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Summary
 This chapter covered:
 The program development cycle, tools for program
design, and the design process
 Ways in which programs can receive input,
particularly from the keyboard
 Ways in which programs can present and format output
 Use of comments in programs
 Uses of variables
 Tools for performing calculations in programs