Functions and libraries

Presentation & objectives

The objective of session 2 is to study an unmissable programming concept: functions. We will guide you through important programming concepts such as functions definition and usage, visibility and scope of variables, reuse of libraries, and code organization. We will also discuss the Python package manager, which can be used to install a lot of already existing libraries.

During the practical session, in addition to a few exercises on these notions, you will work on a small machine learning-related project. This will teach you how to properly organize your files, and write adapted functions.

Before the class

Technical requirements

To be able to start working on the activity, you should meet the following requirements:

• Please bring your own computer.
• Make sure to have a functional network connection.

During the class

Knowledge acquisition

At the beginning of the class, we will study the following articles:

• Functions in a programming language.
• Variables visibility and scope.
• Organizing codes in libraries.
• Installing Python modules.

You can verify your understanding of these articles here:

• Follow this link for a self-assessment quiz.

Practical activity

The rest of the class is dedicated to a practical activity. When ready, click on the link below to start:

• Follow this link for the practical activity.

After the class

Complete the current session

Before the next session, you should:

• Complete the non-optional parts of the practical activity.

Prepare the next session

Also, you should:

• Check the “Before the class” section of the next session, and make sure you do everything required to prepare it.