Python Syntax and Semantics

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Well, bro, because Python is a language that requires strict adherence to its rules. And if you don’t follow those rules, it can lead to some pretty hilarious (and frustrating) errors.
To set the stage: line breaks matter in Python. Unlike SQL or other languages where whitespace doesn’t really mean anything, every single line break counts as a new statement in Python. So make sure your code is properly indented and formatted! Here’s an example of what I mean:

# This will work just fine
if x > 5: # Checks if the value of x is greater than 5
    print("x is greater than 5") # Prints a message if the condition is met
else:
    print("x is not greater than 5") # Prints a message if the condition is not met

# But this won't, because the indentation is wrong!
if x > 5: # Checks if the value of x is greater than 5
    print("x is greater than 5") # Prints a message if the condition is met
else:
    print("x is not greater than 5") # Prints a message if the condition is not met

As you can see, in the second example we accidentally added an extra space between “else” and “:”, which threw off our indentation. And because Python is so strict about its syntax, this caused a SyntaxError! So always make sure your code looks like it belongs to a well-behaved child who knows how to follow rules.
Now some other important concepts in Python syntax and semantics: variables, operators, and data types.In Python, you can create variables using the “=” sign (just like in math class!). Here are some examples of variable assignments:

# Assigning integer value 5 to variable x
x = 5

# Assigning string value "hello" to variable y
y = "hello"

# Assigning boolean value True to variable z
z = True

As for operators, Python has all the usual suspects: addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), division (/)… you get the idea. But there are also some special operators that might catch you off guard! For example, if you want to check whether a variable is equal to another variable, use the “==” operator instead of just putting two variables next to each other:

# Define a variable x and assign it a value of 5
x = 5

# Check if x is equal to 5 using the "==" operator
if x == 5: # use a colon to indicate the start of a code block
    print("x is equal to 5") # use indentation to indicate that this line is part of the if statement
else: # use the "else" keyword to indicate the start of the else code block
    print("x is not equal to 5") # use indentation to indicate that this line is part of the else statement


# The "==" operator is used to check for equality between two values. 
# The colon and indentation are used to indicate the start and end of code blocks. 
# The "else" keyword is used to indicate the alternative code block to be executed if the if statement is not true.

And if you want to check whether a variable is NOT equal to another variable, use the “!=” operator instead of just putting two variables next to each other with an exclamation point in front of them (this will cause a SyntaxError):



# Assigning the value 5 to the variable x
x = 5

# Using the "!=" operator to check if x is not equal to 6
if x != 6: # this will work as expected
    print("x is not equal to 6") # Printing a message if x is not equal to 6
else: # Adding a colon after the else statement
    print("x is equal to 6") # Printing a message if x is equal to 6

As for data types, Python has four main ones: integers (whole numbers), floats (decimal numbers), strings (text), and booleans (true/false). Here’s an example of how you can use each one in your code:

# Assigning integer value 5 to variable x
x = 5 
# Assigning float value 3.14 to variable y
y = 3.14 
# Assigning string "hello" to variable z
z = "hello" 
# Assigning boolean value True to variable a
a = True 
# Assigning boolean value False to variable b
b = False # Note: This is the opposite of True, which is a boolean data type representing a true value.

And that’s it for this article! I hope you found these tips helpful and informative.

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