diff --git a/getting_started/01_basics.ipynb b/getting_started/01_basics.ipynb
index 677b36d559ec4b943240a696cc8fc7b4f8c603a0..cc5aca80be43ae089b941824dc74893c8e3a47c1 100644
--- a/getting_started/01_basics.ipynb
+++ b/getting_started/01_basics.ipynb
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
"* lists\n",
"* dictionaries\n",
"\n",
- "N-dimensional arrays and other types are supported through common modules (e.g., numpy, scipy, scikit-learn). These will be covered in a subsequent exercise."
+ "N-dimensional arrays and other types are supported through common modules (e.g., [numpy](https://numpy.org/), [scipy](https://docs.scipy.org/doc/scipy-1.4.1/reference/), [scikit-learn](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/)). These will be covered in a subsequent exercises."
]
},
{
@@ -163,9 +163,8 @@
"<a class=\"anchor\" id=\"Format\"></a>\n",
"### Format\n",
"\n",
- "More interesting strings can be created using the\n",
- "[`format`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/string.html#formatstrings)\n",
- "statement, which is very useful in print statements:"
+ "More interesting strings can be created using an [f-string](https://realpython.com/python-f-strings/), \n",
+ "which is very useful in print statements:"
]
},
{
@@ -176,36 +175,21 @@
"source": [
"x = 1\n",
"y = 'PyTreat'\n",
- "s = 'The numerical value is {} and a name is {}'.format(x, y)\n",
+ "s = f'The numerical value is {x} and a name is {y}'\n",
"print(s)\n",
- "print('A name is {} and a number is {}'.format(y, x))"
- ]
- },
- {
- "cell_type": "markdown",
- "metadata": {},
- "source": [
- "Python also supports C-style [`%`\n",
- "formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting):"
- ]
- },
- {
- "cell_type": "code",
- "execution_count": null,
- "metadata": {},
- "outputs": [],
- "source": [
- "x = 1\n",
- "y = 'PyTreat'\n",
- "s = 'The numerical value is %i and a name is %s' % (x, y)\n",
- "print(s)\n",
- "print('A name is %s and a number is %i' % (y, x))"
+ "print(f'A name is {y} and a number is {x}')"
]
},
{
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
+ "Note the `f` before the initial quote. This lets python know to fill in the variables between the curly brackets.\n",
+ "\n",
+ "There are also other options along these lines, which will be discussed in the next practical. \n",
+ "This is the more modern version, although you will see plenty of the other alternatives in \"old\" code \n",
+ "(to python coders this means anything written before last week).\n",
+ "\n",
"<a class=\"anchor\" id=\"String-manipulation\"></a>\n",
"### String manipulation\n",
"\n",
@@ -460,7 +444,7 @@
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"> Similar things can be done for tuples, except for the last one: that is,\n",
- "> `a += (80)` as a tuple is immutable so cannot be changed like this.\n",
+ "> `a += (80)` because a tuple is immutable so cannot be changed like this.\n",
"\n",
"<a class=\"anchor\" id=\"Indexing\"></a>\n",
"### Indexing\n",
@@ -626,7 +610,7 @@
"> _*Pitfall:*_\n",
">\n",
"> Unlike in MATLAB, you cannot use a list as indices instead of an\n",
- "> integer or a slice (although these can be done in `numpy`)."
+ "> integer or a slice (although this can be done in `numpy`)."
]
},
{
@@ -1066,7 +1050,7 @@
"not considered 'equal' in the sense that the operator `==` would consider them\n",
"the same.\n",
"\n",
- "Relevant boolean and comparison operators include: `not`, `and`, `or`, `==` and `!=`\n",
+ "Relevant boolean and comparison operators include: `not`, `and`, `or`, `==` and `!=`.\n",
"\n",
"For example:"
]
@@ -1107,7 +1091,9 @@
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
- "A useful keyword is `None`, which is a bit like \"null\". This can be a default value for a variable and should be tested with the `is` operator rather than `==` (for technical reasons that it isn't worth going into here). For example: `a is None` or `a is not None` are the preferred tests.\n",
+ "A useful keyword is `None`, which is a bit like \"null\". \n",
+ "This can be a default value for a variable and should be tested with the `is` operator rather than `==` (for technical reasons that it isn't worth going into here). For example: `a is None` or `a is not None` are the preferred tests.\n",
+ "Do not use the `is` instead of the `==` operator for any other comparisons (unless you know what you are doing).\n",
"\n",
"\n",
"<a class=\"anchor\" id=\"If-statements\"></a>\n",
diff --git a/getting_started/01_basics.md b/getting_started/01_basics.md
index ac9372c7e12bd688b410200a76fe65eefdc69517..91bda70fbf45dba147f64e45990c777e6d10c5e4 100644
--- a/getting_started/01_basics.md
+++ b/getting_started/01_basics.md
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ Python has many different types and variables are dynamic and can change types (
* lists
* dictionaries
-N-dimensional arrays and other types are supported through common modules (e.g., numpy, scipy, scikit-learn). These will be covered in a subsequent exercise.
+N-dimensional arrays and other types are supported through common modules (e.g., [numpy](https://numpy.org/), [scipy](https://docs.scipy.org/doc/scipy-1.4.1/reference/), [scikit-learn](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/)). These will be covered in a subsequent exercises.
```
a = 4
@@ -114,28 +114,20 @@ print(s3)
<a class="anchor" id="Format"></a>
### Format
-More interesting strings can be created using the
-[`format`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/string.html#formatstrings)
-statement, which is very useful in print statements:
-
+More interesting strings can be created using an [f-string](https://realpython.com/python-f-strings/),
+which is very useful in print statements:
```
x = 1
y = 'PyTreat'
-s = 'The numerical value is {} and a name is {}'.format(x, y)
+s = f'The numerical value is {x} and a name is {y}'
print(s)
-print('A name is {} and a number is {}'.format(y, x))
+print(f'A name is {y} and a number is {x}')
```
+Note the `f` before the initial quote. This lets python know to fill in the variables between the curly brackets.
-Python also supports C-style [`%`
-formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting):
-
-```
-x = 1
-y = 'PyTreat'
-s = 'The numerical value is %i and a name is %s' % (x, y)
-print(s)
-print('A name is %s and a number is %i' % (y, x))
-```
+There are also other options along these lines, which will be discussed in the next practical.
+This is the more modern version, although you will see plenty of the other alternatives in "old" code
+(to python coders this means anything written before last week).
<a class="anchor" id="String-manipulation"></a>
### String manipulation
@@ -263,7 +255,7 @@ print(a)
```
> Similar things can be done for tuples, except for the last one: that is,
-> `a += (80)` as a tuple is immutable so cannot be changed like this.
+> `a += (80)` because a tuple is immutable so cannot be changed like this.
<a class="anchor" id="Indexing"></a>
### Indexing
@@ -337,7 +329,7 @@ print(a[1:3]) # same as a(2:3) in MATLAB
> _*Pitfall:*_
>
> Unlike in MATLAB, you cannot use a list as indices instead of an
-> integer or a slice (although these can be done in `numpy`).
+> integer or a slice (although this can be done in `numpy`).
```
b = [3, 4]
@@ -574,7 +566,7 @@ capitals). Other values can also be used for True or False (e.g., `1` for
not considered 'equal' in the sense that the operator `==` would consider them
the same.
-Relevant boolean and comparison operators include: `not`, `and`, `or`, `==` and `!=`
+Relevant boolean and comparison operators include: `not`, `and`, `or`, `==` and `!=`.
For example:
```
@@ -594,7 +586,9 @@ print(3 in [1, 2, 3, 4])
```
-A useful keyword is `None`, which is a bit like "null". This can be a default value for a variable and should be tested with the `is` operator rather than `==` (for technical reasons that it isn't worth going into here). For example: `a is None` or `a is not None` are the preferred tests.
+A useful keyword is `None`, which is a bit like "null".
+This can be a default value for a variable and should be tested with the `is` operator rather than `==` (for technical reasons that it isn't worth going into here). For example: `a is None` or `a is not None` are the preferred tests.
+Do not use the `is` instead of the `==` operator for any other comparisons (unless you know what you are doing).
<a class="anchor" id="If-statements"></a>