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 second Edition

Fundamentals of Python:
Data STRUCTURES

Kenneth A. Lambert

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 Table of Contents
iii

Pref ace �������������������������������������������������� xi

CHAPTER 1 B as ic Pyt h o n Programmi ng ��������������������������� 1

Basic Program Elements ��������������������������������������������������� 2
Programs and Modules��������������������������������������������������� 2
An Example Python Program: Guessing a Number��������������� 2
Editing, Compiling, and Running Python Programs��������������� 3
Program Comments ������������������������������������������������������� 4
Lexical Elements������������������������������������������������������������ 4
Spelling and Naming Conventions ������������������������������������ 4
Syntactic Elements��������������������������������������������������������� 5
Literals ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 5
Operators and Expressions ��������������������������������������������� 6
Function Calls ��������������������������������������������������������������� 7
The print Function������������������������������������������������������� 7
The input Function ��������������������������������������������������������� 7
Type Conversion Functions and Mixed-Mode Operations ������ 7
Optional and Keyword Function Arguments ������������������������ 7
Variables and Assignment Statements ������������������������������ 8
Python Data Typing��������������������������������������������������������� 9
import Statements ������������������������������������������������������� 9
Getting Help on Program Components ������������������������������ 9
Control Statements ���������������������������������������������������������10
Conditional Statements��������������������������������������������������10
Using if __name__ == "__main__"�����������������������������11
Loop Statements�����������������������������������������������������������12
Strings and Their Operations ��������������������������������������������12
Operators��������������������������������������������������������������������13
Formatting Strings for Output�����������������������������������������14
Objects and Method Calls�����������������������������������������������15
Built-In Python Collections and Their Operations��������������������16
Lists ��������������������������������������������������������������������������16
Tuples ������������������������������������������������������������������������17

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Loops Over Sequences��������������������������������������������������17

Dictionaries �����������������������������������������������������������������18
Searching for a Value�����������������������������������������������������18
Pattern Matching with Collections �����������������������������������18
Creating New Functions ���������������������������������������������������19
iv Function Definitions ������������������������������������������������������19
Recursive Functions������������������������������������������������������20
Nested Function Definitions��������������������������������������������22
Higher-Order Functions��������������������������������������������������23
Creating Anonymous Functions with lambda ���������������������24
Catching Exceptions ��������������������������������������������������������24
Files and Their Operations ������������������������������������������������25
Text File Output������������������������������������������������������������26
Writing Numbers to a Text File ���������������������������������������26
Reading Text from a Text File �����������������������������������������27
Reading Numbers from a File �����������������������������������������28
Reading and Writing Objects with pickle ������������������������29
Creating New Classes ������������������������������������������������������30

CHAPTER 2 An Over view o f Col l ecti ons ������������������������� 37

Collection Types��������������������������������������������������������������38
Linear Collections ��������������������������������������������������������38
Hierarchical Collections��������������������������������������������������39
Graph Collections ���������������������������������������������������������39
Unordered Collections���������������������������������������������������40
Sorted Collections��������������������������������������������������������40
A Taxonomy of Collection Types��������������������������������������40
Operations on Collections��������������������������������������������������41
Fundamental Operations on All Collection Types�����������������41
Type Conversion�����������������������������������������������������������43
Cloning and Equality �����������������������������������������������������43
Iterators and Higher-Order Functions�����������������������������������44
Implementations of Collections������������������������������������������44

CHAPTER 3 Search in g , ­S o r ti ng, and Compl ex i ty Anal y si s��� 49

Measuring the Efficiency of Algorithms��������������������������������50
Measuring the Run Time of an Algorithm ��������������������������50
Counting Instructions�����������������������������������������������������53
Measuring the Memory Used by an Algorithm��������������������55
Complexity Analysis ���������������������������������������������������������55
Orders of Complexity�����������������������������������������������������56
Big-O Notation��������������������������������������������������������������57
The Role of the Constant of Proportionality�����������������������58
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Search Algorithms �����������������������������������������������������������59

Search for the Minimum ������������������������������������������������59
Sequential Search of a List ��������������������������������������������60
Best-Case, Worst-Case, and Average-Case Performance�����60
Binary Search of a Sorted List ���������������������������������������61
Comparing Data Items ��������������������������������������������������62 v
Basic Sort Algorithms ������������������������������������������������������64
Selection Sort��������������������������������������������������������������64
Bubble Sort �����������������������������������������������������������������65
Insertion Sort ��������������������������������������������������������������67
Best-Case, Worst-Case, and Average-Case Performance
Revisited��������������������������������������������������������������������68
Faster Sorting��������������������������������������������������������������69
Overview of Quicksort ���������������������������������������������������70
Merge Sort������������������������������������������������������������������74
An Exponential Algorithm: Recursive Fibonacci ��������������������77
Converting Fibonacci to a Linear Algorithm�����������������������78

CHAPTER 4 Ar r ays an d Linked Structures ���������������������� 89

The Array Data Structure��������������������������������������������������90
Random Access and Contiguous Memory��������������������������92
Static Memory and Dynamic Memory��������������������������������93
Physical Size and Logical Size ���������������������������������������94
Operations on Arrays��������������������������������������������������������94
Increasing the Size of an Array���������������������������������������95
Decreasing the Size of an Array��������������������������������������95
Inserting an Item into an Array That Grows �����������������������96
Removing an Item from an Array��������������������������������������97
Complexity Trade-Off: Time, Space, and Arrays�����������������98
Two-Dimensional Arrays (Grids) �����������������������������������������99
Processing a Grid������������������������������������������������������� 100
Creating and Initializing a Grid��������������������������������������� 100
Defining a Grid Class��������������������������������������������������� 101
Ragged Grids and Multidimensional Arrays ��������������������� 101
Linked Structures ���������������������������������������������������������� 102
Singly Linked Structures and Doubly Linked Structures ���� 103
Noncontiguous Memory and Nodes ������������������������������� 104
Defining a Singly Linked Node Class������������������������������ 106
Using the Singly Linked Node Class ������������������������������ 106
Operations on Singly Linked Structures ���������������������������� 108
Traversal ������������������������������������������������������������������ 108
Searching������������������������������������������������������������������ 109
Replacement ������������������������������������������������������������� 110
Inserting at the Beginning��������������������������������������������� 111
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Inserting at the End ���������������������������������������������������� 111

Removing at the Beginning ������������������������������������������ 112
Removing at the End��������������������������������������������������� 113
Inserting at Any Position���������������������������������������������� 114
Removing at Any Position��������������������������������������������� 116
vi Complexity Trade-Off: Time, Space, and Singly Linked
Structures ��������������������������������������������������������������� 116
Variations on a Link ������������������������������������������������������� 118
A Circular Linked Structure with a Dummy Header Node��� 118
Doubly Linked Structures��������������������������������������������� 119

CHAPTER 5  In t er f aces , ­I m pl ementati ons,

an d Po lym o r phi sm���������������������������������� 126
Developing an Interface ������������������������������������������������� 127
Designing the Bag Interface������������������������������������������ 127
Specifying Arguments and Return Values������������������������ 129
Constructors and Implementing Classes ��������������������������� 130
Preconditions, Postconditions, Exceptions,
and Documentation ��������������������������������������������������� 131
Coding an Interface in Python��������������������������������������� 132
Developing an Array-Based Implementation������������������������ 134
Choose and Initialize the Data Structures������������������������ 134
Complete the Easy Methods First ��������������������������������� 135
Complete the Iterator ������������������������������������������������� 136
Complete the Methods That Use the Iterator ������������������ 137
The in Operator and the __contains__ Method������������ 137
Complete the remove Method��������������������������������������� 138
Developing a Link-Based Implementation��������������������������� 139
Initialize the Data Structures ���������������������������������������� 139
Complete the Iterator ������������������������������������������������� 140
Complete the Methods clear and add��������������������������� 140
Complete the Method remove��������������������������������������� 141
Run-Time Performance of the Two Bag Implementations ������ 142
Testing the Two Bag Implementations ������������������������������� 142
Diagramming the Bag Resource with UML ������������������������� 144

CHAPTER 6 In h er it an ce an d Abstract Cl asses��������������� 148

Using Inheritance to Customize an Existing Class��������������� 149
Subclassing an Existing Class��������������������������������������� 150
Revising the __init__ Method ������������������������������������ 150
Adding a New __contains__ Method ��������������������������� 152
Modifying the Existing add Method ������������������������������� 152
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Modifying the Existing __add__ Method ������������������������ 153

Run-Time Performance of ArraySortedBag ������������������ 153
A Note on Class Hierarchies in Python ��������������������������� 154
Using Abstract Classes to Eliminate Redundant Code ��������� 155
Designing an AbstractBag Class��������������������������������� 155
Redoing the __init__ Method in AbstractBag ������������ 157 vii
Modifying the Subclasses of AbstractBag��������������������� 157
Generalizing the __add__ Method in AbstractBag��������� 158
An Abstract Class for All Collections��������������������������������� 159
Integrating AbstractCollection into the Collection
Hierarchy ���������������������������������������������������������������� 159
Using Two Iterators in the __eq__ Method ��������������������� 161
A Professional-Quality Framework of Collections ���������������� 162

CHAPTER 7 St ack s ������������������������������������������������� 167

Overview of Stacks��������������������������������������������������������� 168
Using a Stack ��������������������������������������������������������������� 169
The Stack Interface ���������������������������������������������������� 169
Instantiating a Stack ��������������������������������������������������� 170
Example Application: Matching Parentheses ������������������� 171
Three Applications of Stacks������������������������������������������� 174
Evaluating Arithmetic Expressions��������������������������������� 174
Evaluating Postfix Expressions ������������������������������������� 175
Converting Infix to Postfix ������������������������������������������� 176
Backtracking ������������������������������������������������������������� 179
Memory Management��������������������������������������������������� 181
Implementations of Stacks ��������������������������������������������� 184
Test Driver ���������������������������������������������������������������� 184
Adding Stacks to the Collection Hierarchy���������������������� 185
Array Implementation��������������������������������������������������� 186
Linked Implementation ������������������������������������������������ 187
The Role of the Abstract Stack Class ���������������������������� 190
Time and Space Analysis of the Two Implementations ������ 191

C HAPTER 8 Qu eu es ������������������������������������������������� 205

Overview of Queues ������������������������������������������������������� 206
The Queue Interface and Its Use��������������������������������������� 207
Two Applications of Queues��������������������������������������������� 210
Simulations ��������������������������������������������������������������� 210
Round-Robin CPU Scheduling ��������������������������������������� 212
Implementations of Queues��������������������������������������������� 213
A Linked Implementation of Queues������������������������������� 213
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 contents 

An Array Implementation ��������������������������������������������� 215

Time and Space Analysis for the Two Implementations������ 217
Priority Queues ������������������������������������������������������������� 226

CHAPTER 9 Lis t s ���������������������������������������������������� 239

viii Overview of Lists ���������������������������������������������������������� 240
Using Lists ������������������������������������������������������������������� 240
Index-Based Operations������������������������������������������������ 241
Content-Based Operations ������������������������������������������� 242
Position-Based Operations ������������������������������������������� 242
Interfaces for Lists������������������������������������������������������ 247
Applications of Lists ������������������������������������������������������ 249
Heap-Storage Management ������������������������������������������ 249
Organization of Files on a Disk ������������������������������������� 250
Implementation of Other Collections������������������������������ 252
List Implementations������������������������������������������������������ 252
The Role of the AbstractList Class ��������������������������� 252
An Array-Based Implementation ������������������������������������ 254
A Linked Implementation ��������������������������������������������� 255
Time and Space Analysis for the Two Implementations������ 258
Implementing a List Iterator��������������������������������������������� 260
Role and Responsibilities of a List Iterator ��������������������� 260
Setting Up and Instantiating a List Iterator Class������������� 261
The Navigational Methods in the List Iterator ������������������ 262
The Mutator Methods in the List Iterator ������������������������ 263
Design of a List Iterator for a Linked List������������������������ 264
Time and Space Analysis of List Iterator
Implementations ������������������������������������������������������� 265
Recursive List Processing ���������������������������������������������� 270
Basic Operations on a Lisp-Like List������������������������������ 271
Recursive Traversals of a Lisp-Like List ������������������������� 272
Building a Lisp-Like List������������������������������������������������ 273
The Internal Structure of a Lisp-Like List������������������������ 275
Printing Lisp-Like Lists in IDLE with __repr__���������������� 276
Lists and Functional Programming��������������������������������� 277

CHAPTER 10 Trees ���������������������������������������������������� 282

An Overview of Trees������������������������������������������������������ 283
Tree Terminology�������������������������������������������������������� 283
General Trees and Binary Trees ������������������������������������ 284
Recursive Definitions of Trees��������������������������������������� 285
Why Use a Tree?������������������������������������������������������������ 286
The Shape of Binary Trees ���������������������������������������������� 288

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  contents

Binary Tree Traversals ��������������������������������������������������� 291

Preorder Traversal������������������������������������������������������ 291
Inorder Traversal��������������������������������������������������������� 291
Postorder Traversal ���������������������������������������������������� 292
Level Order Traversal��������������������������������������������������� 292
Three Common Applications of Binary Trees ���������������������� 293 ix
Heaps����������������������������������������������������������������������� 293
Binary Search Trees ��������������������������������������������������� 293
Expression Trees��������������������������������������������������������� 295
Developing a Binary Search Tree ������������������������������������� 297
The Binary Search Tree Interface ���������������������������������� 297
Data Structure for the Linked Implementation������������������ 299
Complexity Analysis of Binary Search Trees ������������������� 304
Recursive Descent Parsing and Programming
Languages������������������������������������������������������������������ 304
Introduction to Grammars��������������������������������������������� 305
Recognizing, Parsing, and Interpreting Sentences
in a Language ���������������������������������������������������������� 306
Lexical Analysis and the Scanner ���������������������������������� 307
Parsing Strategies������������������������������������������������������ 307
An Array Implementation of Binary Trees��������������������������� 313
Implementing Heaps ������������������������������������������������������ 315

CHAPTER 11 Set s an d Dict ionari es������������������������������� 322

Using Sets ������������������������������������������������������������������� 323
The Python Set Class������������������������������������������������������ 324
A Sample Session with Sets������������������������������������������ 325
Applications of Sets ��������������������������������������������������� 325
Relationship Between Sets and Bags������������������������������ 325
Relationship Between Sets and Dictionaries ������������������� 326
Implementations of Sets���������������������������������������������� 326
Array-Based and Linked Implementations of Sets ��������������� 326
The AbstractSet Class ��������������������������������������������� 327
The ArraySet Class��������������������������������������������������� 328
Using Dictionaries ��������������������������������������������������������� 329
Array-Based and Linked Implementations of Dictionaries������ 330
The Entry Class��������������������������������������������������������� 330
The AbstractDict Class ������������������������������������������� 331
The ArrayDict Class������������������������������������������������� 333
Complexity Analysis of the Array-Based and Linked
Implementations of Sets and Dictionaries��������������������� 334
Hashing Strategies��������������������������������������������������������� 335

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 contents 

The Relationship of Collisions to Density������������������������ 336

Hashing with Nonnumeric Keys ������������������������������������� 337
Linear Probing������������������������������������������������������������ 339
Quadratic Probing ������������������������������������������������������ 340
Chaining ������������������������������������������������������������������� 341
x Complexity Analysis ���������������������������������������������������� 342
Hashing Implementation of Sets��������������������������������������� 349
Hashing Implementation of Dictionaries ���������������������������� 352
Sorted Sets and Dictionaries ������������������������������������������ 354

CHAPTER 12 Gr aph s ������������������������������������������������� 359

Why Use Graphs? ���������������������������������������������������������� 360
Graph Terminology��������������������������������������������������������� 360
Representations of Graphs ��������������������������������������������� 364
Adjacency Matrix��������������������������������������������������������� 365
Adjacency List������������������������������������������������������������ 366
Analysis of the Two Representations������������������������������ 367
Further Run-Time Considerations ���������������������������������� 368
Graph Traversals������������������������������������������������������������ 369
A Generic Traversal Algorithm��������������������������������������� 369
Breadth-First and Depth-First Traversals������������������������� 370
Graph Components������������������������������������������������������ 372
Trees Within Graphs������������������������������������������������������� 373
Spanning Trees and Forests������������������������������������������ 373
Minimum Spanning Tree����������������������������������������������� 373
Algorithms for Minimum Spanning Trees ������������������������ 373
Topological Sort������������������������������������������������������������ 376
The Shortest-Path Problem ��������������������������������������������� 377
Dijkstra’s Algorithm ���������������������������������������������������� 377
The Initialization Step ������������������������������������������������� 377
The Computation Step ������������������������������������������������ 379
Representing and Working with Infinity��������������������������� 380
Analysis��������������������������������������������������������������������� 380
Floyd’s Algorithm ������������������������������������������������������� 380
Analysis��������������������������������������������������������������������� 382
Developing a Graph Collection ���������������������������������������� 382
Example Use of the Graph Collection����������������������������� 383
The Class LinkedDirectedGraph������������������������������� 384
The Class LinkedVertex ������������������������������������������� 388
The Class LinkedEdge������������������������������������������������ 390

Glo s s ar y �����������������������������������������������������401

In dex ���������������������������������������������������� 410

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 Preface
xi

Welcome to Fundamentals of Python: Data Structures, 2nd Edition. This text is intended
for a second semester course in programming and problem solving with data structures. It
covers the material taught in a typical Computer Science 2 course (CS2) at the undergradu-
ate level. Although this book uses the Python programming language, you need only have a
basic knowledge of programming in a high-level programming language before beginning
Chapter 1.

What You’ll Learn

The book covers four major aspects of computing:
1. Programming basics—Data types, control structures, algorithm development,
and program design with functions are basic ideas that you need to master to solve
problems with computers. You’ll review these core topics in the Python program-
ming language and employ your understanding of them to solve a wide range of
problems.
2. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)—Object-Oriented Programming is the
dominant programming paradigm used to develop large software systems. You’ll
be introduced to the fundamental principles of OOP so that you can apply them
­successfully. Unlike other textbooks, this book helps you develop a professional-
quality framework of collection classes to illustrate these principles.
3. Data structures—Most useful programs rely on data structures to solve prob-
lems. At the most concrete level, data structures include arrays and various types
of linked structures. You’ll use these data structures to implement various types of
collection structures, such as stacks, queues, lists, trees, bags, sets, dictionaries, and
graphs. You’ll also learn to use complexity analysis to evaluate the space/time trade-
offs of different implementations of these collections.
4. Software development life cycle—Rather than isolate software development tech-
niques in one or two chapters, this book deals with them throughout in the context
of numerous case studies. Among other things, you’ll learn that coding a program
is often not the most difficult or challenging aspect of problem solving and software
development.

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 P r e fa c e Why Python?

Why Python?
Computer technology and applications have become increasingly more sophisticated over
the past three decades, and so has the computer science curriculum, especially at the intro-
ductory level. Today’s students learn a bit of programming and problem solving and are
then expected to move quickly into topics like software development, complexity analysis,
xii
and data structures that, 30 years ago, were relegated to advanced courses. In addition,
the ascent of object-oriented programming as the dominant paradigm has led instructors
and textbook authors to bring powerful, industrial-strength programming languages such
as C++ and Java into the introductory curriculum. As a result, instead of experiencing the
rewards and excitement of solving problems with computers, beginning computer science
students often become overwhelmed by the combined tasks of mastering advanced con-
cepts as well as the syntax of a programming language.
This book uses the Python programming language as a way of making the second course
in computer science more manageable and attractive for students and instructors alike.
Python has the following pedagogical benefits:
•• Python has simple, conventional syntax. Python statements are very close to those of
pseudocode algorithms, and Python expressions use the conventional notation found
in algebra. Thus, you can spend less time dealing with the syntax of a programming
­language and more time learning to solve interesting problems.
•• Python has safe semantics. Any expression or statement whose meaning violates the
definition of the language produces an error message.
•• Python scales well. It is easy for beginners to write simple programs in Python. Python
also includes all the advanced features of a modern programming language, such as
­support for data structures and object-oriented software development, for use when
they become necessary, especially in the second course in computer science
•• Python is highly interactive. You can enter expressions and statements at an interpreter’s
prompts to try out experimental code and receive immediate feedback. You can also
compose longer code segments and save them in script files to be loaded and run as
modules or stand-alone applications.
•• Python is general purpose. In today’s context, this means that the language includes
resources for contemporary applications, including media computing and web
services.
•• Python is free and is in widespread use in the industry. You can download Python to run
on a variety of devices. There is a large Python user community, and expertise in Python
programming has great resume value.
To summarize these benefits, Python is a comfortable and flexible vehicle for ­expressing
ideas about computation, both for beginners and for experts. If you learn these ideas well
in the first year, you should have no problems making a quick transition to other lan-
guages needed for courses later in the curriculum. Most importantly, you will spend less
time staring at a computer screen and more time thinking about interesting problems
to solve.
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 Organization of this Book P r e fa c e

Organization of this Book

The approach in this book is easygoing, with each new concept introduced only when it is
needed.
Chapter 1 provides a review of the features of Python programming that are needed to begin
a second course in programming and problem solving in Python. The content of this chapter xiii
is organized so that you can skim it quickly if you have experience in Python programming,
or you can dig a bit deeper to get up to speed in the language if you are new to Python.
Chapters 2 through 12 covers the major topics in a typical CS2 course, especially the specifica-
tion, implementation, and application of abstract data types, with the collection types as the
primary vehicle and focus. Along the way, you will be thoroughly exposed to object-oriented
programming techniques and the elements of good software design. Other important CS2 topics
include recursive processing of data, search and sort algorithms, and the tools used in software
development, such as complexity analysis and graphical notations (UML) to document designs.
Chapter 2 introduces the concept of an abstract data type (ADT) and provides an overview
of various categories of collection ADTs.
Chapters 3 and 4 explore the data structures used to implement most collections and the
tools for analyzing their performance trade-offs. Chapter 3 introduces complexity analysis
with big-O notation. Enough material is presented to enable you to perform simple analyses
of the running time and memory usage of algorithms and data structures, using search and
sort algorithms as examples. Chapter 4 covers the details of processing arrays and linear
linked structures, the concrete data structures used to implement most collections. You’ll
learn the underlying models of computer memory that support arrays and linked structures
and the time/space trade-offs that they entail.
Chapters 5 and 6 shift the focus to the principles of object-oriented design. These principles
are used to organize a professional-quality framework of collection classes that will be cov-
ered in detail in later chapters.
Chapter 5 is concerned with the critical difference between interface and implementation.
A single interface and several implementations of a bag collection are developed as a first
example. Emphasis is placed on the inclusion of conventional methods in an interface, to
allow different types of collections to collaborate in applications. For example, one such
method creates an iterator, which allows you to traverse any collection with a simple loop.
Other topics covered in this chapter include polymorphism and information hiding, which
directly stem from the difference between interface and implementation.
Chapter 6 shows how class hierarchies can reduce the amount of redundant code in an object-
oriented software system. The related concepts of inheritance, dynamic binding of method
calls, and abstract classes are introduced here and used throughout the remaining chapters.
Armed with these concepts and principles, you’ll then be ready to consider the other major
collection ADTs, which form the subject of Chapters 7 through 12.
Chapters 7 through 9 present the linear collections, stacks, queues, and lists. Each collec-
tion is viewed first from the perspective of its users, who are aware only of an interface and
a set of performance characteristics possessed by a chosen implementation. The use of each
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 P r e fa c e Special Features

collection is illustrated with one or more applications, and then several implementations
are developed, and their performance trade-offs are analyzed.
Chapters 10 through 12 present advanced data structures and algorithms as a transition to
later courses in computer science. Chapter 10 discusses various tree structures, including
binary search trees, heaps, and expression trees. Chapter 11 examines the ­implementation
xiv of the unordered collections, bags, sets, and dictionaries, using hashing strategies.
­Chapter 12 introduces graphs and graph-processing algorithms.
As mentioned earlier, this book is unique in presenting a professional-quality framework of
collection types. Instead of encountering a series of apparently unrelated collections, you
will explore the place of each collection in an integrated whole. This approach allows you
to see what the collection types have in common as well as what makes each one unique.
At the same time, you will be exposed to a realistic use of inheritance and class hierarchies,
topics in object-oriented software design that are difficult to motivate and exemplify at this
level of the curriculum.

Special Features
This book explains and develops concepts carefully, using frequent examples and diagrams.
New concepts are then applied in complete programs to show how they aid in solving prob-
lems. The chapters place an early and consistent emphasis on good writing habits and neat,
readable documentation.
The book includes several other important features:
•• Case studies—These present complete Python programs ranging from the simple to the
substantial. To emphasize the importance and usefulness of the software development life
cycle, case studies are discussed in the framework of a user request, followed by analysis,
design, implementation, and suggestions for testing, with well-defined tasks performed at
each stage. Some case studies are extended in end-of-chapter programming projects.
•• Chapter summaries—Each chapter after the first one ends with a summary of the
major concepts covered in the chapter.
•• Key terms—When a new term is introduced in the text, it appears in bold face.
­Definitions of the key terms are also collected in a glossary.
•• Exercises—Most major sections of each chapter after the first one end with exercise
questions that reinforce the reading by asking basic questions about the material in the
section. After Chapter 2, each chapter ends with review questions.
•• Programming projects—Each chapter ends with a set of programming projects of
varying difficulty.

New in this Edition

The most obvious change in this edition is the addition of full color. All program examples
include the color coding used in Python’s IDLE, so students can easily identify program
elements such as keywords, comments, and function, method, and class names. Learning
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 Instructor Resources P r e fa c e

objectives have been added to the beginning of each chapter. Several new figures have been
added to illustrate concepts, and many programming projects have been added or reworked.
A new section on iterators and higher-order functions has been added to Chapter 2. Finally,
a new section on Lisp-like lists, recursive list processing, and functional programming has
been added to Chapter 9.
xv
Instructor Resources
MindTap
MindTap activities for Fundamentals of Python: Data Structures are designed to help stu-
dents master the skills they need in today's workforce. Research shows employers need
critical thinkers, troubleshooters, and creative problem-solvers to stay relevant in our
fast-paced, technology-driven world. MindTap helps you achieve this with assignments
and activities that provide hands-on practice and real-life relevance. Students are guided
through assignments that help them master basic knowledge and understanding before
moving on to more challenging problems.
All MindTap activities and assignments are tied to defined unit learning objectives. H
­ ands-on
coding labs provide real-life application and practice. Readings and dynamic visualizations
support the lecture, while a post-course assessment measures exactly how much a class
stands in terms of progress, engagement, and completion rates. Use the content and learning
path as-is, or pick and choose how our materials will wrap around yours. You control what
the students see and when they see it. Learn more at http://www.cengage.com/mindtap/.

Instructor Companion Site

The following teaching tools are available for download at the Companion Site for this text.
Go to instructor.cengage.com and sign in to the instructor account. Search for the textbook
and add the text to the instructor dashboard.
•• Instructor’s Manual: The Instructor’s Manual that accompanies this textbook includes
additional instructional material to assist in class preparation, including items such as
­Overviews, Chapter Objectives, Teaching Tips, Quick Quizzes, Class Discussion Topics,
Additional Projects, Additional Resources, and Key Terms. A sample syllabus is also available.
•• Test Bank: Cengage Testing Powered by Cognero is a flexible, online system that allows
you to:
•• author, edit, and manage test bank content from multiple Cengage solutions
•• create multiple test versions in an instant
•• deliver tests from your LMS, your classroom, or wherever you want
•• PowerPoint Presentations: This text provides PowerPoint slides to accompany each
chapter. Slides may be used to guide classroom presentations, to make available to stu-
dents for chapter review, or to print as classroom handouts. Files are provided for every
figure in the text. Instructors may use the files to customize PowerPoint slides, illustrate
quizzes, or create handouts.
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 P r e fa c e Dedication

•• Solutions: Solutions to all programming exercises are available. If an input file is

needed to run a programming exercise, it is included with the solution file.
•• Source Code: The source code is available at www.cengage.com. If an input file is
needed to run a program, it is included with the source code.

xvi

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We have tried to produce a high-quality text, but should you encounter any errors, please report
them to lambertk@wlu.edu. A listing of errata, should they be found, as well as other informa-
tion about the book, will be posted on the website http://home.wlu.edu/~lambertk/python/.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my friend, Martin Osborne, for many years of advice, friendly
­criticism, and encouragement on several of my book projects.
I would also like to thank my students in Computer Science 112 at Washington and Lee
University for classroom testing this book over several semesters.
Finally, I would like to thank Kristin McNary, Product Team Manager; Chris Shortt, Product
Manager; Maria Garguilo and Kate Mason, Learning Designers; Magesh Rajagopalan, Senior
Project Manager; Danielle Shaw, Tech Editor; and especially Michelle Ruelos Cannistraci,
Senior Content Manager, for ­handling all the details of producing this edition of the book.

About the Author

Kenneth A. Lambert is a professor of computer science and the chair of that department
at Washington and Lee University. He has taught introductory programming courses for
over 30 years and has been an active researcher in computer science education. Lambert
has authored or coauthored a total of 28 textbooks, including a series of introductory C++
­textbooks with Douglas Nance and Thomas Naps, a series of introductory Java textbooks
with Martin Osborne, and a series of introductory Python textbooks.

Dedication
To Brenda Wilson, with love and admiration.
Kenneth A.­Lambert
Lexington, VA
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 Chapter 1
Basic Python
Programming

After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

Write a simple Python program using its basic structure

Perform simple input and output operations
Perform operations with numbers such as arithmetic and
comparisons
Perform operations with Boolean values
Implement an algorithm using the basic constructs of
sequences of statements, selection statements, and loops
Define functions to structure code
Use built-in data structures such as strings, files, lists,
tuples, and dictionaries
Define classes to represent new types of objects
Structure programs in terms of cooperating functions,
data structures, classes, and modules

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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

This chapter gives a quick overview of Python programming. It is intended to bring those
new to or rusty in Python up to speed, but it does not pretend to be a thorough introduc-
tion to computer science or the Python programming language. For a more detailed treat-
ment of programming in Python, see my book Fundamentals of Python: First Programs,
Second Edition (Cengage Learning, 2019). For documentation on the Python programming
2
language, visit www.python.org.
If your computer already has Python, check the version number by running the python
or python3 command at a terminal prompt. (Linux and Mac users first open a terminal
­window, and Windows users first open a DOS window.) You are best off using the most
current version of Python available. Check for that at www.python.org, and download and
install the latest version if necessary. You will need Python 3.0 or higher to run the pro-
grams presented in this book.

Basic Program Elements

Like all contemporary programming languages, Python has a vast array of features and
constructs. However, Python is among the few languages whose basic program ele-
ments are quite simple. This section discusses the essentials to get you started in Python
programming.

Programs and Modules

A Python program consists of one or more modules. A module is just a file of Python code,
which can include statements, function definitions, and class definitions. A short Python
program, also called a script, can be contained in one module. Longer, more complex pro-
grams typically include one main module and one or more supporting modules. The main
module contains the starting point of program execution. Supporting modules contain
function and class definitions.

An Example Python Program: Guessing a Number

Next, you’ll see a complete Python program that plays a game of guess-the-number with
the user. The computer asks the user to enter the lower and upper bounds of a range of
numbers. The computer then “thinks” of a random number in that range and repeatedly
asks the user to guess this number until the user enters a correct guess. The computer gives
a hint to the user after each guess and displays the total number of guesses at the end of the
process. The program includes several of the types of Python statements to be discussed
later in this chapter, such as input statements, output statements, assignment statements,
loops, and conditional statements. The program also includes a single function definition.
Here is the code for the program, in the file numberguess.py:
"""
Author: Ken Lambert
Plays a game of guess the number with the user.
"""

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 Basic Program Elements

import random

def main():
"""Inputs the bounds of the range of numbers
and lets the user guess the computer’s number until
the guess is correct."""
smaller = int(input("Enter the smaller number: ")) 3
larger = int(input("Enter the larger number: "))
myNumber = random.randint(smaller, larger)
count = 0
while True:
count += 1
userNumber = int(input("Enter your guess: "))
if userNumber < myNumber:
print("Too small")
elif userNumber > myNumber:
print("Too large")
else:
print("You’ve got it in", count, "tries!")
break

if __name__ == "__main__":
main()

Here is a trace of a user’s interaction with the program:

Enter the smaller number: 1
Enter the larger number: 32
Enter your guess: 16
Too small
Enter your guess: 24
Too large
Enter your guess: 20
You’ve got it in 3 tries!

Note that the code and its trace appear in the colors black, blue, orange, and green. Python’s
IDLE uses color coding to help the reader recognize various types of program elements.
The role of each color will be explained shortly.

Editing, Compiling, and Running Python Programs

You can run complete Python programs, including most of the examples presented, by
entering a command in a terminal window. For example, to run the program contained in
the file numberguess.py, enter the following command in most terminal windows:
python3 numberguess.py

To create or edit a Python module, try using Python’s IDLE (short for Integrated
­DeveLopment Environment). To start IDLE, enter the idle or idle3 command at a terminal
prompt or launch its icon if it is available. You can also launch IDLE by double-clicking on
a Python source code file (any file with a .py extension) or by right-clicking on the file and

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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

selecting Open or Edit with IDLE. Make sure that your system is set to open IDLE when
files of this type are launched (this is the default on macOS but not on Windows).
IDLE gives you a shell window for interactively running Python expressions and statements.
Using IDLE, you can move back and forth between editor windows and the shell window to
develop and run complete programs. IDLE also formats your code and color-codes it.
4
When you open an existing Python file with IDLE, the file appears in an editor window, and
the shell pops up in a separate window. To run a program, move the cursor into the editor
window and press the F5 (function-5) key. Python compiles the code in the editor window
and runs it in the shell window.
If a Python program appears to hang or not quit normally, you can exit by pressing Ctrl+C
or closing the shell window.

Program Comments
A program comment is text ignored by the Python compiler but valuable to the reader as
documentation. An end-of-line comment in Python begins with a # symbol and extends to
the end of the current line. It is color-coded in red. For example:
# This is an end-of-line comment.

A multiline comment is a string enclosed in triple single quotes or triple double quotes.
Such comments, which are colored green, are also called docstrings, to indicate that they
can document major constructs within a program. The numberguess program shown
­earlier includes two doc strings. The first one, at the top of the program file, serves as a
comment for the entire numberguess module. The second one, just below the header of the
main function, describes what this function does. As we shall see shortly, docstrings play a
critical role in giving help to a programmer within the Python shell.

Lexical Elements
The lexical elements in a language are the types of words or symbols used to construct
­sentences. As in all high-level programming languages, some of Python’s basic symbols are
keywords, such as if, while, and def, which are colored orange. Also included among lexical
items are identifiers (names), literals (numbers, strings, and other built-in data structures),
operators, and delimiters (quotation marks, commas, parentheses, square brackets, and
braces). Among the identifiers are the names of built-in functions, which are colored purple.

Spelling and Naming Conventions

Python keywords and names are case-sensitive. Thus, while is a keyword, whereas While
is a programmer-defined name. Python keywords are spelled in lowercase letters and are
color-coded in orange in an IDLE window.

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 Basic Program Elements

All Python names, other than those of built-in functions, are color-coded in black, except
when they are introduced as function, class, or method names, in which case they appear
in blue. A name can begin with a letter or an underscore (_), followed by any number of
­letters, underscores, or digits.
In this book, the names of modules, variables, functions, and methods are spelled in lower-
case letters. With the exception of modules, when one of these names contains one or more 5
embedded words, the embedded words are capitalized. The names of classes follow the
same conventions but begin with a capital letter. When a variable names a constant, all the
letters are uppercase, and an underscore separates any embedded words. Table 1-1 shows
examples of these naming conventions.

Type of Name Examples

Variable salary, hoursWorked, isAbsent

Constant ABSOLUTE_ZERO, INTEREST_RATE

Function or method printResults, cubeRoot, input

Class BankAccount, SortedSet

Table 1-1 Examples of Python Naming Conventions

Use names that describe their role in a program. In general, variable names should
be nouns or adjectives (if they denote Boolean values), whereas function and method
names should be verbs if they denote actions, or nouns or adjectives if they denote values
returned.

Syntactic Elements
The syntactic elements in a language are the types of sentences (expressions, statements,
definitions, and other constructs) composed from the lexical elements. Unlike most high-
level languages, Python uses white space (spaces, tabs, or line breaks) to mark the syntax
of many types of sentences. This means that indentation and line breaks are significant in
Python code. A smart editor like Python’s IDLE can help indent code correctly. The pro-
grammer need not worry about separating sentences with semicolons and marking blocks
of sentences with braces. In this book, I use an indentation width of four spaces in all
Python code.

Literals
Numbers (integers or floating-point numbers) are written as they are in other program-
ming languages. The Boolean values True and False are keywords. Some data structures,
such as strings, tuples, lists, and dictionaries, also have literals, as you will see shortly.

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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

String Literals
You can enclose strings in single quotes, double quotes, or sets of three double quotes or
three single quotes. The last notation is useful for a string containing multiple lines of text.
Character values are single-character strings. The \ character is used to escape nongraphic
characters such as the newline (\n) and the tab (\t), or the \ character itself. The next code
6 segment, followed by the output, illustrates the possibilities.
print("Using double quotes")
print('Using single quotes')
print("Mentioning the word ‘Python’ by quoting it")
print("Embedding a\nline break with \\n")
print("""Embedding a
line break with triple quotes""")

Output:
Using double quotes
Using single quotes
Mentioning the word 'Python' by quoting it
Embedding a
line break with \n
Embedding a
line break with triple quotes

Operators and Expressions

Arithmetic expressions use the standard operators (+, –, *, /, %) and infix notation. The
/ operator produces a floating-point result with any numeric operands, whereas the //
­operator produces an integer quotient. The + operator means concatenation when used
with collections, such as strings and lists. The ** operator is used for exponentiation.
The comparison operators <, <=, >, >=, ==, and != work with numbers and strings.
The == operator compares the internal contents of data structures, such as two lists, for
structural equivalence, whereas the is operator compares two values for object identity.
Comparisons return True or False.
The logical operators and, or, and not treat several values, such as 0, None, the empty string,
and the empty list, as False. In contrast, most other Python values count as True.
The subscript operator, [], used with collection objects, will be examined shortly.
The selector operator, ‘ ’, is used to refer to a named item in a module, class, or object.
•

The operators have the standard precedence (selector, function call, subscript, arithmetic,
comparison, logical, assignment). Parentheses are used in the usual manner, to group sub-
expressions for earlier evaluation.
The ** and = operators are right associative, whereas the others are left associative.

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 Basic Program Elements

Function Calls
Functions are called in the usual manner, with the function’s name followed by a parenthe-
sized list of arguments. For example:
min(5, 2) # Returns 2

Python includes a few standard functions, such as abs and round. Many other functions are 7
available by import from modules, as you will see shortly.

The print Function

The standard output function print displays its arguments on the console. This function
allows a variable number of arguments. Python automatically runs the str function on each
argument to obtain its string representation and separates each string with a space before
output. By default, print terminates its output with a newline.

The input Function

The standard input function input waits for the user to enter text at the keyboard. When the
user presses the Enter key, the function returns a string containing the characters entered.
This function takes an optional string as an argument and prints this string, ­without a line
break, to prompt the user for the input.

Type Conversion Functions and Mixed-Mode Operations

You can use some data type names as type conversion functions. For example, when the
user enters a number at the keyboard, the input function returns a string of digits, not a
numeric value. The program must convert this string to an int or a float before numeric
processing. The next code segment inputs the radius of a circle, converts this string to a
float, and computes and outputs the circle’s area:

radius = float(input("Radius: "))

print("The area is", 3.14 * radius ** 2)

Like most other languages, Python allows operands of different numeric types in arithmetic
expressions. In those cases, the result type is the same type as the most general operand
type. For example, the addition of an int and a float produces a float as the result.

Optional and Keyword Function Arguments

Functions may allow optional arguments, which can be named with keywords when the
function is called. For example, the print function by default outputs a newline after

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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

its arguments are displayed. To prevent this from happening, you can give the optional
­argument end a value of the empty string, as follows:
print("The cursor will stay on this line, at the end", end = "")

Required arguments have no default values. Optional arguments have default values and
can appear in any order when their keywords are used, as long as they come after the
8
required arguments.
For example, the standard function round expects one required argument, a rounded num-
ber, and a second, optional argument, the number of figures of precision. When the second
argument is omitted, the function returns the nearest whole number (an int). When the
second argument is included, the function returns a float. Here are some examples:
>>> round(3.15)
3

>>> round(3.15, 1)
3.2

In general, the number of arguments passed to a function when it is called must be at least
the same number as its required arguments.
Standard functions and Python’s library functions check the types of their arguments when
the function is called. Programmer-defined functions can receive arguments of any type,
including functions and types themselves.

Variables and Assignment Statements

A Python variable is introduced with an assignment statement. For example:
PI = 3.1416

sets PI to the value 3.1416. The syntax of a simple assignment statement is:
<identifier> = <expression>

Several variables can be introduced in the same assignment statement, as follows:

minValue, maxValue = 1, 100

To swap the values of the variables a and b, you write:

a, b = b, a

Assignment statements must appear on a single line of code, unless the line is broken after
a comma, parenthesis, curly brace, or square bracket. When these options are unavailable,
another means of breaking a line within a statement is to end it with the escape symbol \.
You typically place this symbol before or after an operator in an expression. Here are some
admittedly unrealistic examples:
minValue = min(100,
200)
product = max(100, 200) \
* 30
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 Basic Program Elements

When you press Enter after a comma or the escape symbol, IDLE automatically indents the
next line of code.

Python Data Typing

9
In Python, any variable can name a value of any type. Variables are not declared to have a
type, as they are in many other languages; they are simply assigned a value.
Consequently, data type names almost never appear in Python programs. However, all
­values or objects have types. The types of operands in expressions are checked at run time,
so type errors do not go undetected; however, the programmer does not have to worry
about mentioning data types when writing code.

import Statements
The import statement makes visible to a program the identifiers from another module.
These identifiers might name objects, functions, or classes. There are several ways to
express an import statement. The simplest is to import the module name, as in:
import math

This makes any name defined in the math module available to the current module, by using
the syntax math.<name>. Thus, math.sqrt(2) would return the square root of 2.
A second style of importing brings in a name itself, which you can use directly without the
module name as a prefix:
from math import sqrt
print(sqrt(2))

You can import several individual names by listing them:

from math import pi, sqrt
print(sqrt(2) * pi)

You can import all names from a module using the * operator, but that is not usually
­considered good programming practice.

Getting Help on Program Components

Although the Python website at www.python.org has complete documentation for the
Python language, help on most language components is also readily available within
the Python shell. To access such help, just enter the function call help(<component>) at the
shell prompt, where <component> is the name of a module, data type, function, or method.
For example, help(abs) and help(math.sqrt) display documentation for the abs and
math.sqrt functions, respectively. Calls of dir(int) and dir(math) list all the operations
in the int type and math module, respectively. You can then run help to get help on one of
these operations.
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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

Note that if a module is not the built-in module that Python loads when the shell starts, the
programmer must first import that module before asking for help on it. For example, the
following session with the shell displays the documentation for the numberguess program
discussed earlier in this chapter:
>>> import numberguess
10 >>> help(numberguess)
Help on module numberguess:
NAME
numberguess
DESCRIPTION
Author: Ken Lambert
Plays a game of guess the number with the user.
FUNCTIONS
main()
Inputs the bounds of the range of numbers,
and lets the user guess the computer’s number until
the guess is correct.
FILE
/Users/ken/Documents/CS2Python/Chapters/Chapter1/numberguess.py

Control Statements
Python includes the usual array of control statements for sequencing, conditional execu-
tion, and iteration. A sequence of statements is a set of statements written one after the
other. Each statement in a sequence must begin in the same column. This section examines
the control statements for conditional execution and iteration.

Conditional Statements
The structure of Python’s conditional statements is similar to that of other languages. The
keywords if, elif, and else are significant, as is the colon character and indentation.
The syntax of the one-way if statement is:
if <Boolean expression>:
<sequence of statements>

A Boolean expression is any Python value; as mentioned earlier, some of these count as
False, and the others count as True. If the Boolean expression is True, the sequence of
statements is run; otherwise, nothing happens. The sequence of (one or more) statements
must be indented and aligned at least one space or tab (typically four spaces). The colon
character is the only separator; if there is only one statement in the sequence, it may imme-
diately follow the colon on the same line.
The syntax of the two-way if statement is:
if <Boolean expression>:
<sequence of statements>
else:
<sequence of statements>
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 Control Statements

Note the indentation and the colon following the keyword else. Exactly one of these two
sequences of statements will be run. The first sequence is run if the Boolean expression is
True; the second sequence is run if the Boolean expression is False.

The syntax of the multiway if statement is:

if <Boolean expression>:
<sequence of statements>
11
elif <Boolean expression>:
<sequence of statements>
...
else:
<sequence of statements>

A multiway if statement runs exactly one sequence of statements. The multiway if

s­ tatement includes one or more alternative Boolean expressions, each of which follows the
keyword elif. You can omit the trailing else: clause.
The next example outputs the appropriate answer to a question about the relative sizes of
two numbers:
if x > y:
print("x is greater than y")
elif x < y:
print("x is less than y")
else:
print("x is equal to y")

Using if __name__ == "__main__"

The numberguess program discussed earlier includes the definition of a main function and
the following if statement:
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()

The purpose of this if statement is to allow the programmer either to run the module as a
standalone program or to import it from the shell or another module. Here is how this works:
every Python module includes a set of built-in module variables, to which the Python vir-
tual machine automatically assigns values when the module is loaded. If the module is being
loaded as a standalone program (either by running it from a terminal prompt or by loading it
from an IDLE window), the module’s __name__ variable is set to the string "__main__".
Otherwise, this variable is set to the module’s name—in this case, "numberguess". Either
assignment is accomplished before any of the code within the module is loaded. Thus, when
control reaches the if statement at the end of the module, the module’s main function will be
called only if the module has been launched as a standalone program.
The if __name__ == "__main__" idiom is useful when developing standalone program
modules, because it allows the programmer to view help on the module just by importing it
into the shell. Likewise, the programmer can use this idiom in supporting modules to run a
test bed function during module development within IDLE.
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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

Loop Statements
The structure of Python’s while loop statement is similar to that of other languages. Here is
the syntax:
while <Boolean expression>:
<sequence of statements>
12
The next example computes and prints the product of the numbers from 1 to 10:
product = 1
value = 1
while value <= 10:
product *= value
value += 1
print(product)

Note the use of the extended assignment operator *=. The line of code in which this
appears is equivalent to:
product = product * value

Python includes a for loop statement for more concise iteration over a sequence of values.
The syntax of this statement is:
for <variable> in <iterable object>:
<sequence of statements>

When this loop runs, it assigns to the loop variable each value contained in the iterable object
and runs the sequence of statements in the context of each such assignment. ­Examples of
iterable objects are strings and lists. The next code segment uses Python’s range function,
which returns an iterable sequence of integers, to compute the product shown earlier:
product = 1
for value in range(1, 11):
product *= value
print(product)

Python programmers generally prefer a for loop to iterate over definite ranges or sequences
of values. They use a while loop when the continuation condition is an arbitrary Boolean
expression.

Strings and Their Operations

As in other languages, a Python string is a compound object that includes other objects,
namely, its characters. However, each character in a Python string is itself a single-character
string and is written literally in a similar manner. Python’s string type, named str, includes
a large set of operations, some of which are introduced in this section.

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 Strings and Their Operations

Operators
When strings are compared with the comparison operators, the pairs of characters at each
position in the two strings are compared, using ASCII ordering. Thus, 'a' is less than 'b',
but 'A' is less than 'a'. Note that in this book, we enclose single-character strings in single
quotes and multi-character strings in double quotes.
13
The + operator builds and returns a new string that contains the characters of the two
operands.
The subscript operator in its simplest form expects an integer in the range from 0 to the
length of the string minus 1. The operator returns the character at that position in the
string. Thus:
"greater"[0]   # Returns 'g'

Although a string index cannot exceed its length minus 1, negative indexes are allowed.
When an index is negative, Python adds this value to the string’s length to locate the char-
acter to be returned. In these cases, the index provided cannot be less than the negation of
the string’s length.
Strings are immutable; that is, once you create them, you cannot modify their internal
contents. Thus, you cannot use a subscript to replace the character at a given position in a
string.
A variation of the subscript, called the slice operator, is what you use to obtain a substring
of a string. The syntax of the slice is:
<a string>[<lower>:<upper>]

The value of <lower>, if it is present, is an integer ranging from 0 to the length of the string
minus 1. The value of <upper>, if it is present, is an integer ranging from 0 to the length of
the string.
When you omit both values, the slice returns the entire string. When the first value is
­omitted, the slice returns a substring starting with the string’s first character. When the
second value is omitted, the slice returns a substring ending with the string’s last character.
Otherwise, the slice returns a substring starting with the character at the lower index and
ending with the character at the upper index minus 1.
Here are some examples of the slice operator in action:
"greater"[:]   # Returns "greater"
"greater"[2:]   # Returns "eater"
"greater"[:2]   # Returns "gr"
"greater"[2:5]  # Returns "eat"

The reader is encouraged to experiment with the slice operator in the Python shell.

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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

Formatting Strings for Output

Many data-processing applications require output that has a tabular format. In this format,
numbers and other information are aligned in columns that can be either left-justified or
right-justified. A column of data is left-justified if its values are vertically aligned beginning
with their leftmost characters. A column of data is right-justified if its values are verti-
14 cally aligned beginning with their rightmost characters. To maintain the margins between
columns of data, left justification requires the addition of spaces to the right of the datum,
whereas right justification requires adding spaces to the left of the datum. A column of data
is centered if there are equal numbers of spaces on both sides of the data within that column.
The total number of data characters and additional spaces for a given datum in a formatted
string is called its field width.
The print function automatically begins printing an output datum in the first available
column. The next example, which displays the exponents 7 through 10 and the values of 107
through 1010, shows the format of two columns produced by the print statement:
>>> for exponent in range(7, 11):
print(exponent, 10 ** exponent)
7 10000000
8 100000000
9 1000000000
10 10000000000

Note that when the exponent reaches 10, the output of the second column shifts over by a
space and looks ragged. The output would look neater if the left column were left-justified
and the right column were right-justified. When you format floating-point numbers for
output, you should specify the number of digits of precision to be displayed as well as the
field width. This is especially important when displaying financial data in which exactly two
digits of precision are required.
Python includes a general formatting mechanism that allows the programmer to specify
field widths for different types of data. The next session shows how to right justify and left
justify the string "four" within a field width of 6:
>>> "%6s" % "four" # Right justify
' four'
>>> "%-6s" % "four" # Left justify
'four '

The first line of code right justifies the string by padding it with two spaces to its left. The
next line of code left justifies by placing two spaces to the string’s right.
The simplest form of this operation is the following:
<format string> % <datum>

This version contains a format string, the format operator %, and a single data value to
be formatted. The format string can contain string data and other information about
the ­format of the datum. To format the string data value, you can use the notation
%<field width>s in the format string. When the field width is positive, the datum is

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 Strings and Their Operations

right-justified; when the field width is negative, you get left justification. If the field width is
less than or equal to the datum’s print length in characters, no justification is added. The
% operator works with this information to build and return a formatted string.

To format integers, the letter d is used instead of s. To format a sequence of data values,
you construct a format string that includes a format code for each datum and place the data
values in a tuple following the % operator. The form of the second version of this operation 15
follows:
<format string> % (<datum-1>, …, <datum-n>)

Armed with the format operation, the powers of 10 loop can now display the numbers in
nicely aligned columns. The first column is left-justified in a field width of 3, and the second
column is right-justified in a field width of 12.
>>> for exponent in range(7, 11):
print("%-3d%12d" % (exponent, 10 ** exponent))
7 10000000
8 100000000
9 1000000000
10 10000000000

The format information for a data value of type float has the form
%<field width>.<precision>f

where .<precision> is optional. The next session shows the output of a floating-point
number without, and then with, a format string:
>>> salary = 100.00
>>> print("Your salary is $" + str(salary))
Your salary is $100.0
>>> print("Your salary is $%0.2f" % salary)
Your salary is $100.00

Here is another, minimal, example of the use of a format string, which says to use a field
width of 6 and a precision of 3 to format the float value 3.14:
>>> "%6.3f" % 3.14
' 3.140'

Note that Python adds a digit of precision to the number’s string and pads it with a space to
the left to achieve the field width of 6. This width includes the place occupied by the deci-
mal point.

Objects and Method Calls

In addition to standard operators and functions, Python includes a vast number of methods
that operate on objects. A method is similar to a function, in that it expects arguments,
performs a task, and returns a value. However, a method is always called on an associated
object. The syntax of a method call is:
<object>.<method name>(<list of arguments>)

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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

Here are some examples of method calls on strings:

"greater".isupper() # Returns False
"greater".upper() # Returns "GREATER"
"greater".startswith("great") # Returns True

If you try to run a method that an object does not recognize, Python raises an exception
16 and halts the program. To discover the set of methods that an object recognizes, you
run Python’s dir function, in the Python shell, with the object’s type as an argument.
For ­example, dir(str) returns a list of the names of the methods recognized by string
objects. Running help(str.upper) prints documentation on the use of the method
str.upper.

Some method names, such as __add__ and __len__, are run when Python sees an object
used with certain operators or functions. Thus, for example:
len("greater") # Is equivalent to "greater".__len__()
"great" + "er" # Is equivalent to "great".__add__("er")
"e" in "great" # Is equivalent to "great".__contains__("e")

The reader is encouraged to explore the str methods with the dir and help functions.

Built-In Python Collections and Their Operations

Modern programming languages include several types of collections, such as lists, that
allow the programmer to organize and manipulate several data values at once. This section
explores the built-in collections in Python; the rest of the book discusses how to add new
types of collections to the language.

Lists
A list is a sequence of zero or more Python objects, commonly called items. A list has a
literal representation, which uses square brackets to enclose items separated by commas.
Here are some examples:
[] # An empty list
["greater"] # A list of one string
["greater", "less"] # A list of two strings
["greater", "less", 10] # A list of two strings and an int
["greater", ["less", 10]] # A list with a nested list

Like strings, lists can be sliced and concatenated with the standard operators. However,
the results returned in this case are lists. Unlike strings, lists are mutable, meaning that you
can replace, insert, or remove items contained in them. This fact has two consequences.
First, the lists returned by the slice and concatenation operators are new lists, not pieces
of the original list. Second, the list type includes several methods called mutators, whose
purpose is to modify the structure of a list. You can enter dir(list) in a Python shell to
view them.
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 Built-In Python Collections and Their Operations

The most commonly used list mutator methods are append, insert, pop, remove, and sort.
Here are some examples of their use:
testList = [] # testList is []
testList.append(34) # testList is [34]
testList.append(22) # testList is [34, 22]
testList.sort() # testList is [22, 34]
17
testList.pop() # Returns 22; testList is [34]
testList.insert(0, 22) # testList is [22, 34]
testList.insert(1, 55) # testList is [22, 55, 34]
testList.pop(1) # Returns 55; testList is [22, 34]
testList.remove(22) # testList is [34]
testList.remove(55) # raises ValueError

The string methods split and join extract a list of words from a string and glue a list of
words together to form a string, respectively:
"Python is cool".split() # Returns ['Python', 'is', 'cool']
" ".join(["Python", "is", "cool"]) # Returns 'Python is cool'

You are encouraged to explore the list methods with the dir and help functions.

Tuples
A tuple is an immutable sequence of items. Tuple literals enclose items in parentheses.
A tuple is essentially like a list without mutator methods. However, a tuple with one item
must still include a comma, as follows:
>>> (34)
34

>>> (34,)
(34)

Note that Python treats the first expression, (34), as an integer enclosed in parentheses,
whereas the second expression, (34,), is treated as a new tuple of one item. For the avail-
able tuple methods, run dir(tuple) in the Python shell.

Loops Over Sequences

The for loop is used to iterate over items in a sequence, such as a string, a list, or a tuple.
For example, the following code segment prints the items in a list:
testList = [67, 100, 22]
for item in testList:
print(item)

This is equivalent to but simpler than an index-based loop over the list:
testList = [67, 100, 22]
for index in range(len(testList)):
print(testList[index])

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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

Dictionaries
A dictionary contains zero or more entries. Each entry associates a unique key with a value.
Keys are typically strings or integers, whereas values are any Python objects.
A dictionary literal encloses the key-value entries in a set of braces. Here are some
18 examples:
{} # An empty dictionary
{"name":"Ken"} # One entry
{"name":"Ken", "age":67} # Two entries
{"hobbies":["reading", "running"]} # One entry, value is a list

You use the subscript operator to access a value at a given key, add a value at a new key, and
replace a value at a given key. The pop method removes the entry and returns the value for
a given key. The keys method returns an iterable object over the keys, whereas the values
method returns an iterable object over the values. Like a list, a dictionary itself is an iterable
object, but the for loop iterates over a dictionary’s keys. The next code segment prints the
keys in a small dictionary:
>>> for key in {"name":"Ken", "age":67}:
print(key)
name
age

The reader is encouraged to explore the dict methods with the dir and help functions and
to experiment with dictionaries and their operations in a Python shell.

Searching for a Value

The programmer can search strings, lists, tuples, or dictionaries for a given value by run-
ning the in operator with the value and the collection. This operator returns True or False.
The target value for a dictionary search should be a potential key.
When it is known that a given value is in a sequence (string, list, or tuple), the index
method returns the position of the first such value.
For dictionaries, the methods get and pop can take two arguments: a key and a default
value. A failed search returns the default value, whereas a successful search returns the
value associated with the key.

Pattern Matching with Collections

Although the subscript can be used to access items within lists, tuples, and dictionaries, it
is often more convenient to access several items at once by means of pattern matching. For
example, the value returned by a color chooser dialog is a tuple that contains two items.
When the user selects a color, the first item is a nested tuple of three numbers, and the
second item is a string. Thus, the outer tuple has the form ((<r>, <g>, <b>), <string>).
It’s best for the three numbers to be assigned to three distinct variables and the string to a
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 Creating New Functions

fourth variable, for further processing. Here is the code to accomplish this, using the sub-
script operator on colorTuple, which names the value returned by the color chooser:
rgbTuple = colorTuple[0]
hexString = colorTuple[1]
r = rgbTuple[0]
g = rgbTuple[1]
19
b = rgbTuple[2]

A pattern match uses an assignment of a structure to another structure of exactly the same
form. The target structure includes variables that will pick up the values at the correspond-
ing positions in the source structure. You can then use the variables for further processing.
Using pattern matching, you can accomplish this task in a single line of code, as follows:
((r, g, b), hexString) = colorTuple

Creating New Functions

Although Python is an object-oriented language, it includes a number of built-in functions
and allows the programmer to create new functions as well. These new functions can uti-
lize recursion, and they can receive and return functions as data. Python thus allows the
programmer to design solutions using a thoroughly functional style of programming. This
section introduces some of these ideas.

Function Definitions
The syntax of a Python function definition is:
def <function name>(<list of parameters>):
<sequence of statements>

The rules and conventions for spelling function names and parameter names are the same
as for variable names. The list of required parameters can be empty or can include names
separated by commas. Again, unlike some other programming languages, no data types are
associated with the parameter names or with the function name itself.
Here is the definition of a simple function to compute and return the square of a number:
def square(n):
"""Returns the square of n."""
result = n ** 2
return result

Note the use of the string with triple quotes beneath the function header. This is a doc-
string. This string behaves like a comment within the function but also will be displayed
when the user enters help(square) at a Python shell prompt. Every function you define
should include a docstring that states what the function does and gives information about
any arguments or returned values.
Functions can introduce new variables, also called temporary variables. In the square
function, n is a parameter and result is a temporary variable. A function’s parameters and
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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

temporary variables exist only during the lifetime of a function call and are not visible to
other functions or the surrounding program. Thus, several different functions may use the
same parameters and variable names without conflicts.
When a function does not include a return statement, it automatically returns the value
None after its last statement executes.
20
You can define functions in any order in a module, as long as no function is actually exe-
cuted before its definition has been compiled. The next example shows an illegal function
call at the beginning of a module:
first() # Raises a NameError (function undefined yet)

def first():
print("Calling first.")
second() # Not an error, because not actually
# called until after second is defined

def second():
print("Calling second.")

first() # Here is where the call of first should go

When Python runs the first line of code, function first has not yet been defined, so an
exception is raised. Were you to place a comment symbol # at the beginning of this line
and run the code again, the program would run to a normal termination. In this case, even
though function second appears to be called before it is defined, it is not actually called
until function first is called, by which time both functions have been defined.
You can specify parameters as optional, with default values, using the notation ­<parameter
name> = <default value>. Required parameters (those without default values) must
­precede optional parameters in the parameter list.

Recursive Functions
A recursive function is a function that calls itself. To prevent a function from repeating
itself indefinitely, it must contain at least one selection statement. This statement examines
a condition called a base case to determine whether to stop or to continue with a recursive
step.
Let’s examine how to convert an iterative algorithm to a recursive function. Here is a
­ efinition of a function displayRange that prints the numbers from a lower bound to an
d
upper bound:
def displayRange(lower, upper):
"""Outputs the numbers from lower to upper."""
while lower <= upper:
print(lower)
lower = lower + 1

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 Creating New Functions

How would you go about converting this function to a recursive one? First, you should note
two important facts:
•• The loop’s body continues execution while lower <= upper.
•• When the function executes, lower is incremented by 1 but upper never changes.
The equivalent recursive function performs similar primitive operations, but the loop is 21
replaced with an if statement and the assignment statement is replaced with a recursive
call of the function. Here is the code with these changes:
def displayRange(lower, upper):
"""Outputs the numbers from lower to upper."""
if lower <= upper:
print(lower)
displayRange(lower + 1, upper)

Although the syntax and design of the two functions are different, the same algorith-
mic process is executed. Each call of the recursive function visits the next number in the
sequence, just as the loop does in the iterative version of the function.
Most recursive functions expect at least one argument. This data value tests for the
base case that ends the recursive process. It is also modified in some way before each
­recursive step. The modification of the data value should produce a new data value that
allows the function to eventually reach the base case. In the case of displayRange, the
value of the argument lower is incremented before each recursive call so that it eventu-
ally exceeds the value of the argument upper.
The next example is a recursive function that builds and returns a value. Python’s sum func-
tion expects a collection of numbers and returns their sum. This function should return the
sum of the numbers from a lower bound through an upper bound. The recursive ourSum
function returns 0 if lower exceeds upper (the base case). Otherwise, the function adds
lower to the ourSum of lower+ 1 through upper and returns this result. Here is the code for
this function:
def ourSum(lower, upper):
"""Returns the sum of the numbers from lower thru upper."""
if lower > upper:
return 0
else:
return lower + ourSum(lower + 1, upper)

The recursive call of ourSum adds the numbers from lower + 1 through upper. The func-
tion then adds lower to this result and returns it.
To get a better understanding of how recursion works, it is helpful to trace its calls. You
can do that for the recursive version of the ourSum function. You add an argument for a
margin of indentation and a print statement to trace the two arguments and the value
returned on each call. The first statement on each call computes the indentation, which
is then used in printing the two arguments. The value computed is also printed with

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 Chapter 1 Basic Python Programming

this indentation just before each call returns. Here is the code, followed by a session
showing its use:
def ourSum(lower, upper, margin = 0):
"""Returns the sum of the numbers from lower to upper,
and outputs a trace of the arguments and return values
on each call."""
22
blanks = " " * margin
print(blanks, lower, upper) # Print the arguments
if lower > upper:
print(blanks, 0) # Print the returned value
return 0
else:
result = lower + ourSum(lower + 1, upper, margin + 4)
print(blanks, result) # Print the returned value
return result

Usage:
>>> ourSum(1, 4)
1 4
2 4
3 4
4 4
5 4
0
4
7
9
10
10

The displayed pairs of arguments are indented further to the right as the calls of
­ urSum proceed. Note that the value of lower increases by 1 on each call, whereas
o
the value of upper stays the same. The final call of ourSum returns 0. As the recursion
unwinds, each value returned is aligned with the arguments above it and increases
by the current value of lower. This type of tracing can be a useful debugging tool for
recursive functions.

Nested Function Definitions

Definitions of other functions may be nested within a function’s sequence of s­ tatements.
Consider the following two definitions of a recursive factorial function. The first
­definition uses a nested helper function to carry out the recursion with required ­parameters.
The second definition gives the second parameter a default value to simplify the design.
# First definition
def factorial(n):
"""Returns the factorial of n."""

def recurse(n, product):

"""Helper function to compute factorial."""
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 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 CHAPTER V

THE GREAT FIGHT

Margaret was quite sorry when Bob departed on Monday morning to

school, for although nothing further was said to assure her, his attitude
towards her was evidently changed, and she believed she was now upon a
friendly footing with the boy, and at least one of the difficulties of Oaklands
was partially overcome.

The days that intervened before his return upon the following Saturday
were not of the happiest. She determined to insist upon her charge having
special hours for study, and for recreation, and this meant a struggle of
wills. Ellice had hitherto had her own way entirely, and any curtailing of
that met strenuous opposition.

Monday morning was a lesson in patience to Margaret. Ellice came

willingly to the schoolroom, and condescended (for that was her attitude) to
give her mind to lessons for about half an hour. For that length of time she
seemed docility itself. Bob's words as to her ignorance had rankled in her
mind; the child was full of pride, and the idea of possibly being looked
down upon as an ignoramus later on was a detestable thought. But half an
hour every morning, she had determined, would be sufficient for her
concentration.

She worked busily and happily at first, and showed an intelligence

which pleased her teacher; then she grew a little restless, and cast furtive
glances at the clock. Margaret noticed the slackening of attention, but made
no remark. An hour and a half she thought would be sufficient for the first
week's morning's work: with such an undisciplined pupil it might be wise to
go slowly.

Suddenly Ellice threw down her book.

"It's ten, Miss Woodford. I've done enough for this morning. I don't
want to do any more."
 "Oh, you've only just begun!" said Margaret quietly. "You started at
half-past nine; at eleven we will put the lessons away, and go into the
woods, or orchard, as you like."

"I know I'm not going to work until eleven," was the impertinent reply.

Jumping up from her seat, the child made for the door. But her
governess was too quick for her. Margaret had been fully on the alert for a
possible attempted escape, and in a moment she intercepted the flight.

"I am sorry, Ellice, but you cannot go yet," she said firmly. "Sit down,
child, and make the best of it; only an hour more, and you will be free."

For the second time in her life astonishment bereft Ellice of speech for a
few seconds, then her indignation vented itself in words as she stamped her
feet in her rage.

"I hate you!—I hate you! I will go out when I want to!' she stormed,
tears of passion shining in her eyes, and sobs half choking her.

"Stop that noise at once, Ellice," said Miss Woodford. "I am ashamed of
you. Sit down, and understand you will remain here for one hour longer as I
said; but unless you obey me now, it will be two."

With an abandonment of temper the little girl flung herself into a chair,
throwing her arms across the table and hiding her tear-scorched face in her
hands. There was still the sound of suppressed, gasping sobs, which
gradually died down into silence. It almost appeared that, wearied out with
her own temper, she had fallen asleep.

No sound now disturbed the quiet of the schoolroom, but the tick-tock
of the clock on the mantelshelf. Margaret remained silent, apparently
reading. Presently she glanced up at the time, laid her book down, and,
rising quietly, went and stood by her pupil. Unshed tears glimmered in her
eyes as she looked down upon the child whose uncontrolled temper meant
such misery to herself.
 "Girlie," she said softly, "it is almost eleven, but before you go, I want
to ask you to forgive me for being, as you think, unkind and nasty. Listen,
Ellice. When your mother engaged me to come here as your governess, she
offered me a salary in exchange for giving so many hours a day to teaching
you. I agreed to her wishes, and I should not be honourable if I took her
money and did not fulfil my promise to do the very best I could for you—
can you understand that?"

"But I don't want to be taught," muttered the child; "I can teach myself
when I am older."

"If you were allowed to do as you wish, you would find presently, when
you were growing up, you would be despised by all the other girls of
education, because of your ignorance; you would be behind them probably
in everything. I don't think you would like that. From what I have seen of
you, I believe you would want to be first rather than last. Isn't that so?"

A half-murmured assent greeted this last.

"Can't you see, child, I want to help you? But you must be willing, and
try too if we are to succeed. How proud your dear father will be if his
daughter grows up bright and intelligent, and is able to be a companion to
him some day! He cares ever so much about that; he has told me so."

A slight movement indicated Ellice was listening.

"There is something else he cares about; he wants you to grow up sweet

and gentle, and to get over these selfish ways—do you know, trying to
please and help others always makes people happier than trying to please
themselves. You do it, and see. It just makes people love you. Then there is
one other thing I want to say; you are very fond of flowers. I know you look
at the garden when you go out, and bury your face in the sweetness of the
lavender bed, and smell the fragrance of the roses. Just think how God
loved you when He made the flowers so sweet to please you—and gave you
your garden and the woods and everything nice you love best. You
remember the hymn you sing sometimes:
 "'All things bright and beautiful,
The great God made them all.'

"All things—and for you—and in His word to us He sends you this

message—this morning: 'Study to show yourself a workman approved of
God.' He has done so much for us, dear—He has given us every good thing
we possess. He came to this earth to die for us—to win our love and our
allegiance, and He asks us to show our gratitude by making a life-study of
how to prove our love to Him, as good workmen. He wants our best. Ellice,
shall we both make up our minds to try to give Him that always, to fight
against our tempers, our selfishness; to do even the dry lessons as well as
we can, to please Him? I have to try too—all the grown-up people who love
Him have to fight this battle with self. It is difficult sometimes, and we
often fail, but God has promised to give us His Holy Spirit, to enable us to
be brave and strong to do good, if we ask Him."

Margaret paused a moment as she gently stroked the child's bowed head
with her hand. Then:

"Ask Him now, darling, to help you all your life to be a workman
approved of God."

Again there was silence. The old clock ticked those precious moments
away, but at the same time registered a child's desire for a nobler life.

The lesson-time was over as the hour struck. Lesson books had not,
after all, played a great part in the morning's work; but was not something
learned of greater worth?

"Off you go," said Margaret brightly, and, pressing a light kiss upon the
tumbled curls, she turned and went out quietly, leaving her charge to her
own devices.

When they afterwards met at luncheon, all traces of the storm were past,
and Ellice chatted responsively to the governess she had intended earlier to
hate for ever and ever.
 CHAPTER VI

OLD FRIENDS

Nothing was allowed to disturb Dr. Crane during his breakfast-time; his
wife took her meal in silence, while he studied his letters and newspaper.
This morning was no exception to the general rule, but suddenly he laid
down his correspondence, and said abruptly:

"By the way, Mary, have you heard anything from Margaret Woodford
lately?"

"A few days ago," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"To tell you the truth, I've never felt quite satisfied about her going to
that post she accepted. I really owed it to her father to find out what kind of
people her employers were."

"Well, dear, she didn't give you much chance of doing that. You
remember she answered the advertisement, and got the situation through an
agency, and we knew nothing about it until everything was settled."

"Yes, but I still feel I ought to have made a point of inquiring personally.
Does she seem happy?"

"I don't know about happy—I should imagine not very; one can hardly
expect that, perhaps—but she mentions the people are kind, and the country
lovely. It is evident she is leading a quiet life; her employers for some
reason seem to wish to live in retirement."

"Now, I wonder why? I don't quite like that fact," said the Doctor, a
little testily.
 "Why, John, surely you are unreasonably suspicious; the child is
evidently in a comfortable home, and I think must be interested in her work,
or she would not have stayed so long. I made her promise to come away to
us at once if she found anything wrong—in fact I asked her here for the
holidays in August."

"Oh, I'm glad you did that!" he interposed in more satisfied tones. "And
what does she say?"

"I think she fears it would be painful to see the old home again so soon;
she says she has been asked to stay where she is, and she would rather
remain, and in fact she does not need rest yet."

"I hope it is all right then," answered Dr. Crane. "Ask her in your next to
tell you everything unreservedly about the people, and if she is quite
content? Seems strange Woodford's daughter should be out in the world like
this, doesn't it?" he finished musingly.

"Yes—and how different it might have been if Jack—had—lived," said

Mrs. Crane sadly.

"Our hopes were certainly shattered in more ways than one," he

assented, with a sigh; "but, old lady, we wouldn't have it otherwise, would
we? God called him for the service of his country, and when a man answers
that call in His Name, all must be well. You miss the boy, I know—and well
—so do I, more than I can say; but we are getting on, and it will be a grand
homecoming when he stands, as we know he will stand, with outstretched
hands to welcome us on the other side. I expect we shall be glad then he
went over there first; what do you say, old dear?" he finished gently, and
coming round to where Mrs. Crane sat, the tears slowly coursing down her
cheeks, he stooped and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you, John," she answered. "I forget sometimes the joy that is
coming, the waiting seems so long, and yet it's a lovely thought, the King
may come into the air any day bringing our darling with Him. There is
nothing necessary to be fulfilled before that event, is there?"
 "No, I think not; scripture gives us nothing, but we must wait patiently,
and be content with God's time and choice."

"I love those lines, John:

"'At midnight, eve, or morning,

We may hear the victory song.
Filling the heavens above us,
From Redemption's white-robed throng.'"

"I wish there were more stricken hearts comforted with the
Thessalonian promises," he answered thoughtfully. "I am amazed at the
numbers of people I come across in my profession who are apparently
content to live their life as if it were the fulfilment of all hopes and
ambitions, and not merely a pilgrimage here, an incident in eternity; but
there, I must be off to the surgery," he concluded, suddenly changing the
subject as the clock struck nine. As he was closing the door, he called out
hurriedly:

"My old friend Hatherley is coming down here in August to spend his
holiday with us."

"Oh, I am glad!" murmured Mrs. Crane to herself; "John will enjoy

that."

Then gathering up her correspondence, she went to interview cook. A

thought was in her mind to write Margaret a long motherly letter of
sympathy, giving her all the home news of interest she could think of, and
especially the Doctor's message.
 CHAPTER VII

BOB IN TROUBLE

Weeks drifted into months, and Margaret, much to the satisfaction of the
inmates of Oaklands, was still at her post. Mrs. Crane had written and
invited her to spend the summer holiday with her in August, but the thought
of seeing the Abbey House again seemed more than she could bear just
then, and so her old friend's invitation had been refused, and Margaret
stayed on in the new environment, each day becoming more necessary in
the home of her employers. Another letter had arrived from Mrs. Crane this
morning, which yet remained to be answered when she felt there was more
news to write about.

The one big fight to gain ascendancy over her pupil had been worth
while. It is true Ellice did not give up her opposition without some further
struggle, but her wilfulness never again carried her so far. Lesson-time
became more pleasant both to governess and pupil, and gradually all
thought of direct disobedience passed, sulky silence presently giving way to
an interested co-operation.

Mr. Medhurst was not unobservant as to the friendship springing up

between Margaret and his small daughter, and was well pleased with the
way things were going. His wife spent most of her time in her own room,
although she was not a confirmed invalid. She did not give herself much
chance of knowing or understanding her children's characters, but she could
not help noticing a subtle change in Ellice.

Summer days were quickly passing away, the plentiful green brambles
which grew so luxuriantly on the common had ripened into a rich berry
harvest; the dainty gossamer houses of the spiders glistened on the
hedgerows, the tiny ropes of which caught Margaret Woodford's face as she
walked quickly across the spongy turf to the woods. She brushed the
irritating threads aside, an anxious expression clouding the usual brightness
of her countenance.
 She had come away from the house this morning perturbed in spirit, and
more worried than she liked to admit to herself. She had not waited to find
her pupil, but was wanting to be alone and have time to think quietly. That
something serious had happened was easy to see from the trouble
discernible in her face. She had had a wakeful night, and a not too pleasant
interview with Mrs. Medhurst this morning.

The evening before she had gone up to bed early and sat reading for
some time in the quiet retreat of her room—Mr. Medhurst had not returned
from town, Mrs. Medhurst had dinner upstairs, and Ellice was in bed. It was
Wednesday, and Bob would not be home until the week-end, the September
term having just begun.

Upon putting down her book, Margaret had gone to the dressing-table
and opened her small jewel-box to put away the brooch she was wearing.
For a few moments she had stood still, gazing helplessly at the case before
her, astonishment depicted upon her countenance, her expression gradually
changing to consternation, as she grasped the unpleasant fact that her
beautiful ruby necklace—her mother's chain of rare jewels—the heirloom
which had descended to her—was missing.

Then, with fingers that trembled a little, she had turned the box upside
down and shaken out her other jewellery upon the table, although it was
obvious the chain was not there. She remembered having taken it out the
previous day, and carelessly left it lying on the dressing-table. Hastily she
opened the chest of drawers and swept the contents aside, hoping to find it
had been placed in safe custody by Betsy. Then she had stood up, looking
down upon the disorder she had created among her possessions, her breath
coming a little gaspingly as she murmured to herself:

"It is gone—stolen——" And a thought, so ugly, so disconcerting, had

rushed unbidden to her mind, making her heart beat unpleasantly at the
mere suggestion which came as a flash of illumination, to be followed by a
cloud of doubt, which enveloped her mind and filled her with untold
misery.

She had come to this house a stranger, she had been kindly treated, and
had grown fond of the young people who had entered into her life. The
household had appeared a strange one, and things had puzzled her. Now
something of bitterness sounded in her voice as she spoke her thoughts
aloud.

"I trusted them—I trusted them all," and now—the fact could not be
doubted, it had to be faced, and faced bravely, she had been robbed, it
seemed, by someone in this house who must be a thief. And yet—Could she
think it of any of them? The very suspicion sent the hot blood surging to her
face—she had felt shamed by the idea of doubting her friends—for they had
now become that to her. Even Betsy, the old and valued servant, had lately
been ready to do anything for her, and James, too, did many little things
which added to her comfort.

She was miserable and upset when she lay down to rest; she did not
suspect anyone particularly, and yet the horrid fact that the jewels were
gone could not be got over.

Margaret awoke the following morning with a headache; much of the

night had been spent in restless, wakeful tossing. Not until the sun was
shedding its soft beams through her lattice window did she fall into a
troubled sleep.

Immediately after breakfast she asked to see Mrs. Medhurst, and poured
out the story of her loss into sympathetic ears.

"My dear Miss Woodford, no wonder you are upset," she said. "Your
beautiful necklace you showed me one day—you remember—gone? I can
scarcely believe it. I can assure you there are no thieves in this house—at
least I have every reason to believe Betsy and James to be above suspicion,
they have been so many years in our service, and we have so trusted them—
but of course one can never say one is perfectly sure. I suppose you have
searched everywhere? Could it have fallen behind the dressing-chest?"

"No, I have looked; I don't think I have left a corner unsearched,"

answered Margaret. "I have not mentioned the matter to Betsy; I thought it
better to speak to you first; I should not like to offend or hurt her, or James,
by letting them imagine for a moment I suspected them."
 "Quite right, my dear; I think the bare questioning would upset them;
and my husband will be deeply concerned; I almost think I would say
nothing about it to him just at present, he is not very well, and I am certain
it would worry him. I quite expect you will find it somewhere. The children
would not steal. Ellice might have looked at it, but beyond that——" and
Mrs. Medhurst shrugged her shoulders expressively, denoting the
impossibility of her child being implicated in the loss. "My little girl is
troublesome, Miss Woodford, I admit it, but—not a thief," she added coldly,
with a quick glance at Margaret's face, and a note of almost challenge in her
voice.

"Oh, no—no, Mrs. Medhurst, I do not think little Ellice has had
anything to do with it," answered Margaret. "She has come into my room
sometimes with me, and looked at my things, but I am quite sure she would
not dream of taking anything—please do not suppose I imagine it for a
moment?"

"Ah, well, let us leave the matter for a little, and both of us keep our
eyes open; at present I can see no explanation, but I have no doubt you will
find your necklace. I should not mention the matter to the child, but have
another good search. Ellice can be very troublesome, and she may have
hidden it; if so, she must be punished."

Margaret could get no further definite help or suggestion from Mrs.

Medhurst—in fact the above conversation had given her an uneasy sense of
discomfort; it seemed as if her hostess, although she had sympathised,
almost doubted her loss, and considered her personal carelessness was alone
responsible.

This morning, as she made her way across the fields, she felt homesick,
and almost wished she had never accepted her present post. Mrs. Crane had
written more than once to ask if she was happy, and if everything was
satisfactory in connection with this household. In fact, now she thought
things over, it appeared as if some possibility of her environment not being
satisfactory lurked in the minds of her old friends. In her last letter Mrs.
Crane had said, "Be sure, my dear child, to tell me exactly all your views,
and just what this situation means? Are the Medhursts the right kind of
people? Your previous communications are rather vague; give us your full
confidence—you know how dear you are to us. The Doctor wants especially
to hear if you are quite content in every way with your surroundings; if not,
be sure and come away to us at once."

Margaret had smiled when she had first read the above. Mrs. Crane's
evident anxiety about her had seemed quite unnecessary at the moment; but
now, in the light of her loss, she wondered if her old friends could possibly
have heard anything disquieting about Oaklands.

"I won't answer that letter just yet," she murmured to herself. "What
would they think if they knew? But oh, how I wish I could ask their
advice!" She walked on unheeding the glory of the trees flushed with
harlequin tints, and the rare sweetness of the fresh, hill-cooled breeze which
swept over the common, dying into stillness and warmth as she entered the
shelter of the woods. She presently sat down by the old oak, and, opening
the book she had brought with her, tried to lose herself in the troubles of the
heroine of Stepping Heavenwards, where the daily round and common task
is so naturally described by an author who realised how truly these things
furnish all we need to provide a battleground for those of us fighting the
fight of faith, on our way towards home.

A rustle in the brushwood near presently roused Margaret's attention,

and to her utter surprise Bob's face peered through the wooded density, and
in another moment he had pushed his way into the open and flung himself
at Margaret's feet.

"You, Bob!" she exclaimed, in amazement. "Why—where do you come

from? This is only Friday—you are not due until to-morrow."

There was no answer. The boy had thrown himself face downward upon
the mossy turf, and buried his face in his hands.

Margaret waited for a little, then, realising this meant something of

moment to the boy, said gently:

"Bob, what is it? What has happened? Won't you tell me?"
 A sound like a smothered groan fell from the boy's lips, then, bending
her head, she caught the words:

"Miss Woodford—I'm—I'm in trouble."

"Yes, I guessed so. Can't I help you?" she added, the rare sympathy of
her voice reaching his ear.

The boy rolled over, and sat up, and something she saw in his face filled
her with a nameless anxiety.

"Tell me all about it. I—-I shall understand," she said kindly. "However
bad it is, don't be afraid."

Her tones and manner seemed to give the boy confidence.

"Miss Woodford, I'm often in trouble, as you know," he said, a little

bitterly. "I can stand a licking all right, but—but my father never seems to
think—to think I try. He never believes in me; he's told me I'm a rotter so—
often. He's fond of Ellice—but sometimes I think he hates me——"

"Oh, no—no, don't say or think that for a moment," broke in Margaret, a
great pity tugging at her heart. "He doesn't quite understand, that is all. You
must go on trying, Bob, however hard it is. You will win his regard yet—I
am sure—sure."

There was a pause, and then the boy continued, almost as if she had not
spoken:

"He will never forgive me for this. He won't listen to explanations. I got
in a rage about something this morning—I can't tell you what for—a boy
said something, and I knocked him down. I had a cricket stump in my hand
—and—I hurled it at him. I think for the moment I was mad with
indignation; I don't quite know what happened for a minute. I think I was
blind with rage. I just rushed away afterwards to the edge of the field to get
alone. Later a prefect came and told me the Headmaster wanted me. He
gave me this note to deliver to my father, and sent me home with it. He said
—I'd hurt—the boy—he'd been unconscious. He asked me to explain what I
did it for—but—I couldn't."

"What a pity," said Margaret; "it might have made a difference."

"Yes—I think he would have understood; he's just—but I felt I couldn't.

I would not repeat the boy's words—I should have got mad again."

"Poor Bob, I am sorry, dear! Now what can you do? You have a note
there, you say. Your father comes home early to-day; let's go at once and tell
him—tell him everything and get it over; perhaps he will understand."

"No—he won't, because I can't tell him; if I could, he would, because

my father is a gentleman."

Something that sounded like pride echoed in the boy's voice—pride of

the right sort—pride that spoke of a secret admiration for the man who yet
had never troubled to fathom the depths of his boy's heart.

Margaret felt a hope for better things spring up within her as she noted
it. Oh, if only she could bring these two together in a great bond of
friendship! The wife and mother seemed a little more aloof, her half
Spanish nationality a little bridge always to be crossed, where national
character and custom might be at variance. But the boy and the man were
essentially English; the strong control evident in both, with a reserve which
hid, as she felt sure, hearts of gold.

"Come, Bob dear, let's go—it is nearly lunch-time."

"Miss Woodford, I would rather—rather run away than face my father

with this." The boy spoke a little desperately, and the fingers which held the
Headmaster's note trembled as he thrust it back into his pocket.

"Bob, I know you are no coward," said Margaret gently; "to run from a
difficult post is coward's work. You won't do it, I know. You are trying to be
a servant of Christ; isn't that so?"

"I was," he muttered, "but it seems no use."

 "Think a moment of what the Captain of your salvation did for you—
when the suffering of Calvary had to be endured, and the agony of the cross
lay before Him. It says, speaking of Him, He set His face like a flint. He
could have escaped that last journey to Jerusalem, have gone back to the
glory of His Heavenly Father's home, but for your sake He chose to suffer
and to die. Bob, His message to you at this moment seems to me to be some
words I read in His Book this morning: 'Endure hardness as a good soldier
of Jesus Christ.' The Holy Spirit, Who filled the heart and life of the
Saviour, can come upon you, and make you brave and strong. Ask Him
now."

Pressing the boy's hand, Margaret moved a little away, and as she gazed
upwards to the blue sky gleaming through the branches overhead, she lifted
up a silent petition to the great Friend of all mankind. Her own burden
lightened as she laid that of another pilgrim at the feet of Christ.

Her thoughts were disturbed by Bob's voice in her ears:

"Let's go now, Miss Woodford, and get it over."

"Yes, it's late," she answered, neither looking at the boy's face, nor
appearing conscious of an apparent change of atmosphere from the
excitement of distress to normality. But the quiet, even tones of the boy's
voice gave her confidence.

It did not take long to reach home; lunch was just being laid. James
paused in astonishment as he saw the two enter the hall, but a look from
Margaret silenced the words on his lips.

"Where is Mr. Medhurst?" she asked, in a brisk voice.

"In the library, miss," answered James, and moved on to his duties in the
dining-room.

"Come, let's find him," she said, turning to Bob.

"You need not come," he muttered.

 "I would like to, if I may?" she asked.

No more was said, and the two entered the room together.

"Bob wants to speak to you, Mr. Medhurst," she said, by way of

explanation, and then moved to the window, leaving the boy facing his
father. She caught the quick look of surprise deepening into a swift survey
of the boy's form as if to ascertain if there had been an accident and he was
unhurt. Margaret realised the unspoken anxiety, although it was but
momentary. The man was evidently not indifferent to his son's welfare. That
cursory glance gave her hope, but even she was scarcely prepared for the
sudden change of aspect which now swept over him, his countenance
visibly darkening as he said:

"What do you want?" and the icy coldness was enough to estrange any
young heart anxious to unburden itself.

A shiver ran down the boy's back as he heard it, for a moment his
courage failed, and he stood staring at the stern face in front of him, his own
white with the tensity of the moment. Then he pulled himself together,
"Endure hardness as a good soldier"—the words rushed to his brain. He
raised his head a little more as if to cast away fear with disdain, then, taking
out of his pocket the Headmaster's note, he handed it to his father.

"Dr. Armstrong sent me home—and told me to give you that," he said,

in a low but clear voice.

Something of a sneer lurked on his father's lips as he took it, then, as he

read the contents, his brow contracted with a heavy frown. Fear, deadly
fear, came to Margaret as she heard his voice, of, it seemed, concentrated
wrath as, with a wave of his hand, he said:

"Get out of the room—go upstairs! I'll come to you."

The boy turned white and hopeless, but Margaret, with real terror in her
heart, sprang forward:
 "Mr. Medhurst, please—please excuse me speaking in Bob's behalf, but
I am sure, if you knew all the circumstances in this trouble, you would find
it in your heart to forgive him," she pleaded.

Mr. Medhurst was too much of a gentleman not to be courteous to a

woman, though he could scarcely brook interference.

"You are the counsel for the defence, I perceive, Miss Woodford, but
I'm afraid you have no case; perhaps you don't understand my son—my son
in blind passion has struck a schoolfellow with a cricket stump and injured
him, apparently without provocation, as far as the Headmaster has been able
to ascertain."

"And do you believe that, Mr. Medhurst—believe it of your son? You

don't know Bob fully yet. Your son could never behave like that; to him, a
schoolboy, it would not be cricket, would it?"

"That's the gist of the matter, perhaps," he answered; "he is my son, and
I expect a decent spirit from him."

"Then let him explain the circumstances, Mr. Medhurst; don't punish
him until you have heard everything—it is only justice."

"Quite true. Can you deny these facts?" asked Mr. Medhurst, tapping the
Headmaster's statement, and now addressing Bob, who, at Margaret's
intervention, had paused near the door.

"It's true—but—but I was provoked, sir."

"So I suppose; but to what extent?"

"I would rather not say," answered the boy.

"There you are, Miss Woodford, I have followed your advice," said Mr.
Medhurst, with a short sarcastic laugh. "You see, the boy has no excuse
worthy of consideration; he's ashamed to bring it forward."

"Yes—I am—that's true," broke in Bob. "Don't bother, Miss Woodford;

I know I can't escape."
 "Bob, you can—you must," Margaret insisted. "Whatever it is, tell your
father; trust him, trust him with the full story, and he will understand—I
know he will," she said eagerly.

Even Gordon Medhurst was moved by the girl's confidence. Was it

possible she was right, and this son of his was not the wastrel he feared and
believed?

There was tense silence for a moment, then the boy spoke again:

"I struck the boy Johnson in a passion because—because he said, I

ought to be turned out of the eleven because—because——

"Yes—because?" encouraged Margaret.

"Because my father was a—a gaol bird; then—I hit him—I hit him hard
—and I didn't care how hard."

There was a breathless pause which could almost be felt. Margaret was
afraid the others would hear the loud thumping of her heart as the long
moments passed. Then in a voice from which it sounded as if all feeling had
passed, Mr. Medhurst said quietly:

"What put such an idea in the boy's head, I wonder?"

"He said he heard his father tell a chum," answered Bob.

"What is the boy's name, by the way?"

"Johnson—his father is a barrister."

Did Margaret hear a catch in his breath as Mr. Medhurst said: "Ah,
Johnson."

Again there was silence, and then:

"Did you believe the boy's statement?" asked Mr. Medhurst, still in that
dull, toneless voice of indifference.
 "Believe him, father!" The light of indignant scorn flamed into the boy's
eyes and rang in his voice: "Believe him, believe that of my father!"

Mr. Medhurst suddenly leaned forward, a new expression in his face, an

interested alertness in his voice.

"I see—you trust me—eh? Then why such excitement over the boy's
remark?"

"I punished his insolence, sir. How dared he say such a thing!"

"You knocked him out, evidently. I don't suppose he'll offend again,
though I fancy his father may object. This may mean a doctor's bill, but
never mind that, I expect there is no serious damage. You had better stay at
home until Monday, and meanwhile I will write to Dr. Armstrong. And
another time, keep your temper, my son, and treat such remarks with the
cold contempt they deserve. I think we must be better friends in the future,
eh?" he added. The kindly smile which lit his face as he spoke these last
words transfigured it; tears glistened in the boy's eyes.

Margaret left the room hurriedly, a great hope and joy tugging at her
heart; for the first time since she came to Oaklands she had seen an
expression of affection pass between father and son.

CHAPTER VIII

DISCOVERY

It was a month now since Margaret's necklace had disappeared, and she
had almost given up hope of its recovery. Mrs. Medhurst still advised her to
continue the search, but to refrain from troubling Mr. Medhurst, as he had
so many business worries, and would, she felt sure, be upset by the loss.
 "Of course, it is wiser to keep the matter from the children; they can
know nothing about it. I have always trusted Betsy and James, they are such
old servants, and nothing of the kind has ever happened before. I have
questioned them, dear Miss Woodford. We must both watch and wait; still,
somehow I feel sure you will recover the jewels. I still think you must have
mislaid them. I feel so worried about your loss, I believe I could find it." So
she had argued.

Margaret smiled at the suggestion of her having put the necklace away
and overlooked it. She had searched her boxes more than once, and turned
out all her drawers, and now, anxious to soothe Mrs. Medhurst's anxiety,
she promised to go over them all again.

It was Monday evening, Ellice was in bed, and Mr. Medhurst had not
yet returned from a day in town, and Margaret (deciding it would be very
comfortable to take a book and read in her own domain) went upstairs
determined to have an extra rest. She passed Mrs. Medhurst's room on her
way, and as she did so a slight sound attracted her attention.

To her amazement she saw the flash of an electric light, and then caught
sight of a figure bending over the dressing-table and evidently gazing
intently at something she held in her left hand, while with the right she
concentrated the beam from her torch upon the object of interest.

Margaret stood silently watching for a few moments, petrified with

astonishment as she perceived what it was the light was concentrated upon.

There was no mistaking her employer's beautiful figure. The door was
wide open, and the girl was unnoticed by the occupant of the room, who
was apparently so absorbed she did not notice the light tread as Margaret
suddenly advanced to her side. The room was partly drowned in shadow,
but a bright beam of moonlight lit up the two, the one so unconscious of the
other's presence. Then a sharp cry burst involuntarily from Margaret's lips
as she darted forward and caught Mrs. Medhurst's wrist in a firm grasp.

"You—you!" she exclaimed, almost a ring of anguish in the indignant

tones of her voice.
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