Data Science & Machine Learning Python Programming for Data Science Syllabus

Python Programming for Data Science syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Python Programming for Data Science in Data Science & Machine Learning, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Python Fundamentals

   4 topics

   • Variables, Data Types and Operators
     • Numeric, string and boolean types
     • Type casting and dynamic typing
     • Arithmetic, comparison and logical operators
   • Control Flow
     • if-elif-else branching
     • for and while loops
     • break, continue and pass
   • Functions and Scope
     • Positional, keyword and default arguments
     • *args and **kwargs
     • Lambda and anonymous functions
     • Local vs global scope
   • Input, Output and Formatting
     • f-strings and format method
     • Reading from console
2. 2

   Data Structures in Python

   4 topics

   • Lists and List Comprehensions
     • Indexing and slicing
     • Nested comprehensions
   • Tuples and Sets
     • Immutability of tuples
     • Set operations and uniqueness
   • Dictionaries
     • Key-value access and methods
     • Dictionary comprehensions
   • Strings and Text Processing
     • String methods
     • Regular expressions basics
3. 3

   Object-Oriented and Modular Programming

   4 topics

   • Classes and Objects
     • Attributes and methods
     • Constructors and self
   • Inheritance and Polymorphism
     • Method overriding
     • super() usage
   • Modules and Packages
     • import mechanisms
     • pip and virtual environments
   • Exception Handling
     • try-except-finally
     • Raising and custom exceptions
4. 4

   File Handling and Environment

   3 topics

   • Working with Files
     • Reading and writing text files
     • CSV and JSON files
   • Jupyter and IDE Workflow
     • Jupyter notebooks and cells
     • Markdown and magic commands
   • Anaconda and Package Management
     • conda environments
     • Dependency management

Python Programming for Data Science flashcards for Data Science & Machine Learning

21 of 60 cards from the Python Programming for Data Science deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In Python, what distinguishes a variable from the value it refers to?

   A variable is a name (reference) bound to an object in memory; the value is the object itself. Assignment binds the name to the object rather than copying the value.

2. List the four built-in numeric/text immutable scalar types most used in Python.

   int, float, bool, and str. (bool is actually a subclass of int.)

3. What is the difference between integer division (//) and true division (/) in Python 3?

   / always returns a float (true division); // performs floor division, returning the largest integer less than or equal to the result (type depends on operands).

4. What does the modulo operator % compute, and what does ** do?

   % returns the remainder of division; ** raises a number to a power (exponentiation), e.g. 2 ** 3 == 8.

5. How do you check the type of an object at runtime in Python?

   Use type(obj) to get its type, or isinstance(obj, SomeType) to test membership (isinstance respects inheritance).

6. What is the difference between == and is in Python?

   == compares values for equality; is compares object identity (whether two references point to the same object in memory).

7. Which values are considered 'falsy' in Python?

   None, False, zero of any numeric type (0, 0.0), and empty sequences/collections ('', [], (), {}, set()). Everything else is truthy.

8. What is the syntax and purpose of a ternary conditional expression in Python?

   value_if_true if condition else value_if_false — a one-line conditional that returns one of two values based on the condition.

9. What are the two main loop constructs in Python and when do you use each?

   for loops iterate over an iterable (known sequence/collection); while loops repeat as long as a condition remains true (unknown number of iterations).

10. What do break, continue, and pass do in Python loops?

    break exits the nearest enclosing loop; continue skips to the next iteration; pass is a no-op placeholder that does nothing.

11. What is the purpose of the else clause on a Python for/while loop?

    The else block runs only if the loop completes normally without hitting a break statement.

12. How do you generate a sequence of numbers to loop over without building a full list?

    Use range(start, stop, step); it produces a lazy, memory-efficient range object (stop is exclusive).

13. What does enumerate() provide when looping, and zip()?

    enumerate(iterable) yields (index, item) pairs; zip(a, b, ...) yields tuples pairing elements from multiple iterables in parallel, stopping at the shortest.

14. How do you define a function in Python and return a value?

    Use def name(parameters): followed by an indented body; use return value to send a result back. Without return, the function returns None.

15. Explain positional, keyword, default, *args, and **kwargs parameters.

    Positional args match by order; keyword args match by name; default args supply a fallback value; *args collects extra positional args into a tuple; **kwargs collects extra keyword args into a dict.

16. What is the LEGB rule for variable scope resolution in Python?

    Python looks up names in order: Local, Enclosing (nested function), Global (module), Built-in. The first match is used.

17. What do the global and nonlocal keywords do?

    global lets a function rebind a module-level variable; nonlocal lets a nested function rebind a variable in the nearest enclosing (non-global) scope.

18. Why is using a mutable default argument (e.g. def f(x=[])) dangerous?

    The default is evaluated once at definition time and shared across all calls, so mutations persist between calls. Use None as the default and create the mutable object inside the function instead.

19. What is a lambda function in Python?

    An anonymous, single-expression function defined with lambda args: expression. It implicitly returns the expression's value and is often used as a short callback (e.g. in sorted's key).

20. What function reads keyboard input, and what type does it always return?

    input(prompt) reads a line from standard input and always returns a str; convert with int()/float() as needed.

21. How do you print without a trailing newline or with a custom separator?

    Use print(..., end='') to suppress the newline, and print(a, b, sep=', ') to set the separator between arguments.

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