Page 53 - Programming the Raspberry Pi Getting Started with Python

We cover exceptions again in the next chapter, where you will learn about the hierarchy of the
different types of error that can be caught.

Summary of Functions
This chapter was written to get you up to speed with the most important features of Python as quickly
as possible. By necessity, we have glossed over a few things and left a few things out. Therefore, this
section provides a reference of some of the key features and functions available for the main types we
have discussed. Treat it as a resource you can refer back to as you progress though the book, and be
sure to try out some of the functions to see how they work. There is no need to go through everything
in this section—just know that it is here when you need it. Remember, the Python Shell is your friend.
For full details of everything in Python, refer to http://docs.python.org/py3k.

Numbers
Table 4-1 shows some of the functions you can use with numbers.

Table 4-1 Number Functions
Strings
String constants can be enclosed either with single quotes (most common) or with double quotes.

Double quotes are useful if you want to include single quotes in the string, like this:

On some occasions you’ll want to include special characters such as end-of-lines and tabs into a
string. To do this, you use what are called escape characters, which begin with a backslash (\)
character. Here are the only ones you are likely to need:
• \t Tab character
• \n Newline character