DEV Community: Nkemchor Duru

PYTHON PROGRAMMING- Lesson 3: Type Casting and Input Function

Nkemchor Duru — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 22:01:30 +0000

For the purpose of this lesson we will be looking at certain aspects

Type Checking
Type Casting (implicit and Explicit Type Casting)
Input function *TYPE CHECKING:How to check the type of a data variable * Using the type function we can check whether the given variable data type is an integer, float, string or boolean. e.g x=200 print (type(x))---->Integer y= "adaobi" print(type(y))---> string z= 120.23 print (type(z))----> floating point

TYPE CASTING
We have implicit and Explicit type casting
Implicit type casting (also called type coercion) is when Python automatically converts one data type to another during an operation, without you needing to do anything.
e.g
x=10 ====> Integer
y=20.5 ====> Float
z=x+y =====> conversion
print (type(z))===> float as the final result is 30.5 which is a decimal number.
Explicit Type Casting
In this case a user has to convert from one data type to another.
For example the int() function will convert any data type to an integer.
a=10.4
a=int(a)
print (a)===> if this code is run the output will be 10. Therefore the number has moved from being a decimal point to an integer.
To convert from an integer to a float
a=10
a=float(a)
print (a)==> if this is run the result will be 10.0

In python, it is important to note that "10"+"10" is considered a string not an integer because of the presence of quotation marks. In python + operator between strings means string CONCATENATION so in other words they are joined together "10" + "10"= 1010
In the event that you type into your IDE
a="10"
b="20"
if you go ahead to say c=a+ b you will get "1020" because both numbers are strings so there is a concatenation.
So the right thing to do is
a="10"
b="20"
a=int(a)
b=int(b)
c=a+b
print (c)==> Result is 30 in this case because the string has been converted to the integer by virtue of the int() function

To convert to string
a=20
b=10
a=str(a)
b=str(b)
c=a+b
print (c)==> The result will be "2010"

To convert into a boolean value
a=0
b=1
a=bool(a)
b=bool(b)
print (a)===>false (returns zero as false
Print(b)===> True (returns non zero values as true)
*INPUT FUNCTION *
What does input() do?
It pauses the program and waits for the user to type something.
Whatever the user types is returned as a string.
e.g
a=Input ("Please Enter number 1")
b=Input ("Please Enter number 2")
c=a+b
print (c)
The result is that in the terminal you will be asked to enter the value of number 1 and number 2. If it is 200 and 100 that is entered the result will be 200100 But in the event that
a=int(a)
b=int(b) is inserted into the line of code it will be 300 because 200+100 is 300 as the string had been converted to an integer making it possible for an addition of the two values.
This same code can be written in this shorter form. e.g a=int(input("Please enter Number 1:"))
b=int(input("Please enter number 2:"))

The following was discussed in this tutorial
==>How to check data type using type function
==> Type casting(implicit and explicit)
==> Input Function

The next topic will be on Strings in Python

PYTHON PROGRAMMING-Lesson 2: Python Operators

Nkemchor Duru — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 15:07:58 +0000

We will begin this topic by looking into what Python operators mean. Python operators are special symbols or keywords that perform operations on variables and values — like math, comparisons, or combining values.
However, before going indepth we will look briefly into two subtopics
1) Variables(How to declare variables)
2) functions (Type functions and how to find data type
**
HOW TO DECLARE VARIABLES**
✅ Basic Syntax:
variable_name = value
You just choose a name and assign a value using the = sign.
🔹 Examples:

Numbers

age = 25
price = 19.99

Text (string)

name = "Sarah"

Boolean (True or False)

is_active = True

List (collection of items)

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

🧠 Things to remember:

---Variable names must start with a letter or underscore (_)

    ✅ name, _score, age2

    ❌ 2score (starts with a number)

---Python is case-sensitive:name and Name are different variables

---No need to declare a type — Python automatically knows the type based on the value. 
---keywords cannot be used as a variable. There are 36 keywords that cannot be used. 
---variable names can be a combination of alphabet,digit and underscore.

FUNCTIONS
A function is a block of reusable code that performs a specific task. Instead of writing the same code again and again, you write a function once and use it whenever needed. However, it is important to note that there are built-in functions such as print and type functions
For example:
a=200
b=100
c=300
print(a+b+c)which will give the result 600 as output.
PRINT FUNCTION
print() therefore is a built-in function in Python that displays output on the screen (usually in the terminal or console). It's one of the first functions every Python programmer uses.
✅ Basic usage:

print("Hello, world!")

📤 This prints:

Hello, world!
TYPE FUNCTION
This function tells you the data type of a variable
e.g
a=100
b=10.5
c= "Joshua"
x= True
To find the data type of each variables the following will be inputed
print(type(a)) #Output ---Showing data type is an integer
print(type(b)) #Output --Showing data type is a float
print(type(c)) #Output --- Showing data type is a string
print(type(x)) #Output ---Showing data type is a boolean.

OPERATORS
Now going into operators at the beginning of the tutorial i pointed out that operators are special symbols that perform arithmetic or logical operations. They require operands(Data) to perform their jobs.
e'g 100 + 200
| | |
Operand Operator Operand
We have arithmetic, logical,bitwise, relational and identity operators.

ARITHMETIC OPERATORS
Arithmetic operators are used to perform basic mathematical calculations like addition, subtraction, division, multiplication etc
For Example:
| Operator | Description | Example | Result |
| -------- | --------------------------------- | -------- | ------ |
| + | Addition | 5 + 3 | 8 |
| - | Subtraction | 10 - 4 | 6 |
| * | Multiplication | 7 * 2 | 14 |
| / | Division (float) | 9 / 3 | 3.0 |
| // | Floor Division (integer division) | 9 // 4 | 2 |
| % | Modulus (remainder) | 10 % 3 | 1 |
| ** | Exponentiation (power) | 2 ** 3 | 8 |

Example:

a = 10
b = 3

print(a + b) # 13 which is 10+13
print(a - b) # 7 which is 10-3
print(a * b) # 30 which is 10 x3
print(a / b) # 3.3333333333333335 which is 10÷3
print(a // b) # 3 which is the number of times 3 can go in 10 and which is rounded down to a whole number because both numbers are whole numbers.
print(a % b) # 1 which is the remainder when 10 is divided by 3
print(a ** b) # 1000 which is 10 raised to power 3

RELATIONAL OPERATORS
Relational operators are used to compare two values. The result of a comparison is always a Boolean value: True or False.
Note:Relational operators can be used to compare strings.
Relational operators are: <,>,=,==,<=,>=!=
E.g
a=200
b=100
greater_than= a> b
print (greater_than) The result of this will be True (boolean) bedcause 200 is greater than 100.
similarly if it was
a=200
b=100
print(a<b) it will return false because 200 is not less than 100.
also if it were
a=200
b=100
print(a<=b) it will return false because 200 is not less than or equal to 100.

LOGICAL OPERATORS
Logical operators are used to combine multiple conditions and return a Boolean result (True or False).

*NOT *
The not operator reverses the truth value of a condition.
If the condition is True, not makes it False.
If the condition is False, not makes it True.

Example:

x = 10
x += 5 # x = 10 + 5 = 15
print(x) # Output: 15

x *= 2 # x = 15 * 2 = 30
print(x) # Output: 30

x %= 7 # x = 30 % 7 = 2
print(x) # Output: 2

Which brings this tutorial to an end. Next, we will be looking at** Type casting and input function**

PYTHON PROGRAMMING -Lesson 1:Basics of Python Programming

Nkemchor Duru — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 12:37:52 +0000

As you rightly guessed i will be beginning my DEVOPS journey by learning a programming Language- PYTHON and what better way to go into it than briefly going through the basics of python programming.
So we will be considering briefly the following concepts- Data, Data Type, Basic Data Types in Python and Variable.
What then is Data? Data refers to information that your program processes or stores. It simply refers to information that is presented as values that can be processed by the computer.
What is Data Type? Data types is basically a categorization of data. it signifies the kind of value that a variable holds - in other words it is like a label that tells python how to interpret data.
What are the Data types? Data types can be divided into numeric data types (integers, floating point numbers and complex numbers ), strings and boolean.
Integers: represent whole numbers which can be negative, positive or zero. e.g x=0, y=12, z=-15.
Floating point numbers: represent decimal point numbers. e.g x=12.021, y= -30.12, z= 0.0
Complex numbers:this represents numbers with a real and an imaginary part.
e.g z=3+4j. 3 being the real part and 4j being the imaginary part.
Booleans: represent truth values and can only return two outcomes: true or false. e.g
a=100
b= 40
c= a>b
print (c).

What happens here?

a = 100 this assigns the value 100 to the variable a.

b = 40 this assigns the value 40 to the variable b.

c = a > b compares a and b using the > (greater than) operator.

Why is c boolean?

The expression a > b asks: "Is 100 greater than 40?" This comparison results in either:

True if the statement is correct (100 is greater than 40), or

False if the statement is not correct.

Since the result of this comparison is either True or False, the type of c is boolean (bool in Python), which is the data type used to represent truth values.
So, when you run print(c), you get:

True

because 100 is indeed greater than 40.

The last data type to consider is strings. A string in python can simply be defined as a sequence of characters that are enclosed in quotes.Strings are used to represent Texts.
e.g a= "Alice"
b= 'Hello World!'
c= "Python is fun"
Key points about strings in Python:

You can use single quotes ('...') or double quotes ("...") to create a string.
Strings can contain letters, numbers, spaces, symbols — basically anything you can type.
Strings are immutable, which means once created, you can’t change individual characters inside them (but you can create new strings based on them).

Example:

message = "Hello"
print(message) # Output: Hello
print(type(message)) # Output:
Here, message is a string variable.

Lastly, we will be looking at what a variable is. A variable in Python is like a container that holds a value.
Think of it like this:Imagine a labeled box where you can store something — a variable is the labeled box, and the value is what's inside the box.
For example:
x = 5
name = "Alice"
is_happy = True

x is a variable that stores the number 5
name stores the string "Alice"
is_happy stores the boolean value True

Rules for variables in Python:

Variable names must start with a letter or an underscore _.
They can contain letters, numbers, and underscores — but no spaces.
Python is case-sensitive, so Name and name are different variables.
You don’t need to declare a type — Python figures it out automatically.

This brings an end to the tutorial on basics of python programming . In the next lesson we will be exploring Python Operations.

ON THE ROAD TO BECOMING A DEVOPS ENGINEER..and it begins.

Nkemchor Duru — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 11:34:08 +0000

Hello!My name is Nkemchor Duru. I am currently going through an intensive training to become a DevOps Engineer. I have no prior tech training so I am learning from scratch with no tech background. I am using a roadmap which is to last for a period of Eight months if consistently followed. The roadmap will cover the following A programming language(python),Operating System(LINUX), Networking and Protocols, Docker, GIT and GIT hub, AWS, Terraform, Ansible, Github Actions, Nginx etc.
If you wish to learn with me you can reach me on my email nkemchord@gmail.com to join my community. Also you can follow me as i document my journey. I look forward to hearing from other learners like myself.
Now, Join me on this exciting journey as i explore the world of DevOps.