{"id":151492,"date":"2022-08-19T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/?p=151492"},"modified":"2022-11-21T09:57:28","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T14:57:28","slug":"basics-of-python-programming-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/basics-of-python-programming-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Basics of Python Programming \u2013 Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

See Part I<\/a> for an overview of the benefits and applications of Python in trading.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is syntax?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Syntax implies the set of rules which define how the program will be written and interpreted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, this is the Python syntax:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

print (\u201cWelcome, John!\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the above example, syntax implies the characters such as opening and closing brackets ()<\/strong> and the inverted commas \u201c\u201d<\/strong> as well as the keyword \u201cprint\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Output:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome, John!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, let us find out what indentation is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is indentation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Python uses indentation to identify the different blocks of code. The white space indicates the indentation. All the codes with the same spaces on the left belong to the same block of code. Usually, the number of spaces on the left are four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at the example below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Output:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

64<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the example above, since the second line of code is a separate expression, the indentation is not correct. Hence, when you run the code it throws an error. But when you remove the space\/indentation, the correct output is shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, we will learn about the basic coding requirements which are variables and operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are variables and operators?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Variables<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Variables are characters or words that are given a user-defined value. Variables, as the name suggests can be varied during the execution of the code. They are allocated a space in the computer memory based on their data type. Python doesn’t require explicit declaration of the data type for a variable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Output:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

45<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1456.8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Output:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

100<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing the value of a variable<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Output:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original value:  100<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updated value: 120.3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operators<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Operators are used on the values and variables in Python for performing certain operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at different types of operators:<\/p>\n\n\n\n