📝 🎉 Welcome to String Wonderland!

📝 🎉 Welcome to String Wonderland!#

Strings

🐉 Strings at Drexel#

In Python strings are used for practical applications like:

  • Automating reports

  • Data analysis in research

  • Web development projects

  • Handling university data formats

🧵 What Are Strings?#

Strings are sequences of characters, like the digital textboxes of programming. Whether you’re storing words, symbols, or even emojis, Python’s strings have you covered!

🤔 Why Strings Matter?#

Strings allow us to work with textual data, enabling applications like:

  • Writing Python scripts for Drexel research labs

  • Analyzing survey responses

  • Building interactive course material

  • Managing student data in CSV and JSON formats

📚 String Basics#

In Python, strings are enclosed in single (') or double (") quotes.

drexel_motto = "Ambition Can't Wait"
college_name = "College of Engineering"
print(drexel_motto)
print(college_name)

Ambition Can't Wait
College of Engineering

🎭 Multiline Strings#

Need more space? Use triple quotes (''' or """) for multiline strings.

drexel_vision = """Drexel is a university 
where academic rigor meets real-world experience."""
print(drexel_vision)

Drexel is a university 
where academic rigor meets real-world experience.

🛠 String Operations#

Python makes string manipulation easy. Here are some basic operations:

Concatenation#

Combine strings using the + operator.

school = "Drexel"
slogan = "Ambition Can't Wait"
message = school + " - " + slogan
print(message)

Drexel - Ambition Can't Wait

Repetition#

Repeat strings with the * operator.

cheer = "Go Dragons! " * 3
print(cheer)

Go Dragons! Go Dragons! Go Dragons!

Accessing Characters#

Strings are indexable and immutable.

mascot = "Mario the Dragon"
print(mascot[0])  # First character
print(mascot[-1])  # Last character

M
n

🔍 String Methods#

Python strings come with built-in methods for manipulation:

Change Case#

course = "Engr 131"
print(course.upper())
print(course.capitalize())

ENGR 131
Engr 131

Check Contents#

id_number = "12345678"
print(id_number.isdigit())  # True
print(id_number.isalpha())  # False

True
False

Replace Content#

phrase = "Hello, Drexel!"
print(phrase.replace("Drexel", "Dragons"))

Hello, Dragons!

🎉 String Formatting at Drexel#

Python offers various ways to format strings. This is handy for generating dynamic content for Drexel use cases.

f-strings (Python 3.6+)#

student_name = "Alex"
course_code = "MEM 679"
print(f"{student_name} is enrolled in {course_code} this term.")

Alex is enrolled in MEM 679 this term.

.format() Method#

template = "{} is part of the {} department."
print(template.format("Dr. Smith", "Mechanical Engineering"))

Dr. Smith is part of the Mechanical Engineering department.

🌟 Advanced Techniques#

Slicing#

Extract substrings using slicing.

dept = "Mechanical Engineering"
print(dept[0:10])  # Mechanical
print(dept[-11:])  # Engineering

Mechanical
Engineering

Escape Sequences#

Add special characters with escape sequences.

escaped = 'The professor said, "Python is essential at Drexel!"'
print(escaped)

The professor said, "Python is essential at Drexel!"

Raw Strings#

Preserve raw content by prefixing with r.

path = r"C:\Drexel\Projects\Python"
print(path)

C:\Drexel\Projects\Python

🔍 String Applications in Research#

Strings are pivotal in data-driven research at Drexel:

  • Data Cleaning: Handle and clean messy CSV files from research.

  • Web Scraping: Extract data from websites using strings.

  • Natural Language Processing (NLP): Analyze text for insights in collaborative projects.

research_data = "Analyzing Drexel research trends!"
print(research_data.split())  # Breaks into a list of words

['Analyzing', 'Drexel', 'research', 'trends!']

📊 Data-Driven Projects#

In data science, strings help:

  • Parsing: Read and process CSV/JSON datasets.

  • Visualization: Add dynamic labels to charts.

  • Automation: Generate email templates for student communication.

# Example of a dynamic email
student_name = "Jordan"
course_name = "AI for Engineers"
email = f"Hello {student_name},\nYou are enrolled in {course_name} this term."
print(email)

Hello Jordan,
You are enrolled in AI for Engineers this term.