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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))
The ternary operator in Python

The ? : operator that you may have come across in Perl, PHP, C and Java - known as the ternary or conditional operator - is ABSENT from Python. "But it's so useful" I hear you cry. Ah yes, but isn't this elegant:

val = float(raw_input("Age: "))
status = ("working","retired")[val>65]
print "You should be",status


UPDATE ... There IS now a "ternary" operator in Python (recent versions of Python 2, and Python 3) ... this post was orginally made in March 2006 ...

Footnote - the ? : operator in those other languages gives you a very convening short form of if, then, else where you can select a value based on a condition for printing or assigning to a variable; here's a Perl or PHP example:

$status = ($val > 65) ? "retired" : "working";

Great, useful, but yet another oddball structure on the language - I'm forever having to explain how an operator can have three operands and how you MUST have a : if you have a ? ... but in Python it's so natural to use a tuple ...


(written 2006-03-25, updated 2010-01-03)

 
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Y104 - Python - Lists and Tuples
  [383] Overloading of operators on standard objects in Python - (2005-07-19)
  [899] Python - extend v append on a list - (2006-10-20)
  [955] Python collections - mutable and imutable - (2006-11-29)
  [1220] for loop - how it works (Perl, PHP, Java, C, etc) - (2007-06-06)
  [1641] Tektronix 4010 series / Python Tuples - (2008-05-13)
  [1789] Looking for a value in a list - Python - (2008-09-08)
  [2280] Creating and iterating through Python lists - (2009-07-12)
  [2284] Strings as collections in Python - (2009-07-12)
  [2368] Python - fresh examples of all the fundamentals - (2009-08-20)
  [2719] Traffic lights in Python - (2010-04-13)
  [2996] Copying - duplicating data, or just adding a name? Perl and Python compared - (2010-10-12)
  [3118] Arrays of arrays - or 2D arrays. How to program tables. - (2011-01-02)
  [3181] Beware - a=a+b and a+=b are different - Python - (2011-02-23)
  [3257] All possible combinations from a list (Python) or array (Ruby) - (2011-04-23)
  [3348] List slices in Python - 2 and 3 values forms, with an uplifting example - (2011-07-06)
  [3669] Stepping through a list (or an array) in reverse order - (2012-03-23)
  [3763] Spike solutions and refactoring - a Python example - (2012-06-13)
  [4027] Collections in Python - list tuple dict and string. - (2013-03-04)
  [4368] Shuffling a list - Ruby and Python - (2014-12-28)
  [4722] Embedding more complex code into a named block - (2016-11-04)

Y103 - Python - Conditionals and Loops
  [299] What - no switch or case statement? - (2005-05-03)
  [353] Wimbledon Neck - (2005-06-20)
  [668] Python - block insets help with documentation - (2006-04-04)
  [788] New - Conditional expressions in Python 2.5 - (2006-07-01)
  [835] Python - when to use the in operator - (2006-08-16)
  [909] Python is like a narrowboat - (2006-10-30)
  [1201] No switch in Python - (2007-05-23)
  [1477] Decisions - small ones, or big ones? - (2007-12-18)
  [1661] Equality, sameness and identity - Python - (2008-05-31)
  [1696] Saying NOT in Perl, PHP, Python, Lua ... - (2008-07-04)
  [2778] Learning to program in Python 2 ... and / or in Python 3 - (2010-05-24)
  [2899] Groupsave tickets - 3 or 4 train tickets for the price of 2 - (2010-08-02)
  [3083] Python - fresh examples from recent courses - (2010-12-11)
  [3200] How a for loop works Java, Perl and other languages - (2011-03-12)
  [3397] Does a for loop evaluate its end condition once, or on every iteration? - (2011-08-18)
  [3439] Python for loops - applying a temporary second name to the same object - (2011-09-14)
  [3558] Python or Lua - which should I use / learn? - (2011-12-21)
  [3620] Finding the total, average, minimum and maximum in a program - (2012-02-22)
  [3762] Learning to program - the if statement. Python. - (2012-06-12)
  [3895] Flowchart to program - learning to program with Well House - (2012-10-14)
  [4092] Identity in Python - (2013-05-17)
  [4210] If elif elif elif - multiway selection in Python - (2013-11-16)
  [4322] Learning to Program - the conditional statement (if) - (2014-11-21)
  [4323] Learning to program - Loop statements such as while - (2014-11-22)
  [4402] Finding sum, minimum, maximum and average in Python (and Ruby) - (2015-01-19)
  [4541] Setting up and tearing down with the Python with keyword - (2015-10-16)
  [4545] Method, Class, Module, Package - how to they relate in Python? - (2015-10-17)
  [4713] Equality (in Python) - (2016-10-30)
  [4723] Conditional operators in Python - (2016-11-05)

P206 - Perl - More Loops and Conditionals
  [138] Perl - redo and last without a loop - (2004-12-02)
  [962] Breaking a loop - Ruby and other languages - (2006-12-03)
  [1191] Smart English Output - via PHP and Perl ? : operator - (2007-05-18)
  [1582] Ruby, C, Java and more - getting out of loops - (2008-03-19)
  [1825] Question Mark - Colon operator (Perl and PHP) - (2008-10-08)
  [2711] For loop - checked once, or evety time? Ruby v Perl comparison and contrast - (2010-04-07)
  [2815] switch and case, or given and when in Perl - (2010-06-17)
  [2817] Setting a safety net or fallback value in Perl - (2010-06-19)
  [2824] A pint of Black Rat, and a lazy barman - (2010-06-25)
  [2832] Are you learning Perl? Some more examples for you! - (2010-06-27)
  [2892] Alternative loops and conditionals in Ruby and Perl - (2010-07-28)
  [2967] Multiway branches in Perl - the given and when syntax - (2010-09-22)
  [2972] Some more advanced Perl examples from a recent course - (2010-09-27)
  [3398] Perl - making best use of the flexibility, but also using good coding standards - (2011-08-19)
  [3619] Ruby v Perl - a comparison example - (2012-02-21)
  [3914] While, for, foreach or something else to loop. - (2012-11-06)

H104 - PHP - Control Statements
  [340] Code and code maintainance efficiency - (2005-06-08)
  [406] Assignment, equality and identity in PHP - (2005-08-08)
  [421] Don't repeat code - use loops or functions - (2005-08-21)
  [863] Double and Triple equals operator in PHP - (2006-09-12)
  [1199] Testing for one of a list of values. - (2007-05-22)
  [2304] Extracting real data from an exported file in PHP or Perl - (2009-07-25)
  [2912] Predictions for the seagull population - (2010-08-09)


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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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