University of Michigan
Python Functions, Files, and Dictionaries
University of Michigan

Python Functions, Files, and Dictionaries

Paul Resnick
Steve Oney

Instructors: Paul Resnick

129,581 already enrolled

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(5,299 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
Approx. 41 hours
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(5,299 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
Approx. 41 hours
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

  • Explore the dictionary data structure and user-defined functions in Python.

  • Understand concepts like local and global variables, parameter-passing techniques, named functions, and lambda expressions.

  • Apply Python's sorted function and control sorting order with custom functions.

  • Create a final project involving social media data analysis and CSV file manipulation.

Details to know

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Taught in English

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This course is part of the Python 3 Programming Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 5 modules in this course

In week one the video lectures and the Runestone textbook will introduce you to the idea of incorporating files into your programs as an additional source of data. You will learn how to read from a file, write to a file, and how to work with the .csv data format.

What's included

20 videos3 readings1 programming assignment13 app items3 ungraded labs

In week two the video lectures and the Runestone textbook will focus on a new data type, dictionaries. You will be introduced to the mechanics of dictionaries and then get practice using them in accumulation patterns, both to build a dictionary using the pattern as well as find the best, or worst, result using the pattern.

What's included

15 videos2 programming assignments10 app items1 ungraded lab

In week three you will be introduced to the construction of functions. Up to this point, you have used functions in the programs before, but have not had a chance to write your own functions, including how to define a function, how to incorporate parameters, how to return data from a function, the local or global scope of variables, and potential side effects that could occur from function execution. Finally, we look at tuples more in depth, and how automatic packing and unpacking of tuples can be used in functions and in for loops.

What's included

19 videos2 programming assignments21 app items2 ungraded labs

In week four the video lectures and the Runestone textbook will outline a more advanced iteration mechanism, the while loop. You will be introduced to using it when getting feedback from users, as well as applying it to the turtle module to draw images. Additionally, you will also be exposed to more advanced function concepts such as the idea of parameters being optional, not required, and anonymous functions using lambda.

What's included

14 videos2 programming assignments13 app items3 ungraded labs

In week five the videos and Runestone textbook will detail how to sort python objects - both the basics and more advanced forms of sorting for dictionaries and how to break a tie (if that occurs). The final course assessment will be a project that asks you to read fake, auto-generated data from a social media site to analyze social media post sentiments. You will submit a csv file as well as images of graphs that demonstrate your findings.

What's included

16 videos3 readings2 programming assignments1 peer review7 app items1 ungraded lab

Instructors

Instructor ratings
4.8 (781 ratings)
Paul Resnick
University of Michigan
9 Courses509,548 learners
Steve Oney
University of Michigan
8 Courses500,872 learners

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