Archive for the ‘Python’ Category
Installing PIP for Python
If you’re on a Mac running macOS Sierra, you can install PIP to add packages. PIP stands for either of the following:
- PIP installs Packages
- PIP installs Python
You use the following to install the PIP utility:
sudo easy_install pip |
It should return the following:
Searching for pip Reading https://pypi.python.org/simple/pip/ Best match: pip 9.0.1 Downloading https://pypi.python.org/packages/11/b6/abcb525026a4be042b486df43905d6893fb04f05aac21c32c638e939e447/pip-9.0.1.tar.gz#md5=35f01da33009719497f01a4ba69d63c9 Processing pip-9.0.1.tar.gz Writing /tmp/easy_install-ryxjDg/pip-9.0.1/setup.cfg Running pip-9.0.1/setup.py -q bdist_egg --dist-dir /tmp/easy_install-ryxjDg/pip-9.0.1/egg-dist-tmp-l6_Jjt /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/distutils/dist.py:267: UserWarning: Unknown distribution option: 'python_requires' warnings.warn(msg) warning: no previously-included files found matching '.coveragerc' warning: no previously-included files found matching '.mailmap' warning: no previously-included files found matching '.travis.yml' warning: no previously-included files found matching '.landscape.yml' warning: no previously-included files found matching 'pip/_vendor/Makefile' warning: no previously-included files found matching 'tox.ini' warning: no previously-included files found matching 'dev-requirements.txt' warning: no previously-included files found matching 'appveyor.yml' no previously-included directories found matching '.github' no previously-included directories found matching '.travis' no previously-included directories found matching 'docs/_build' no previously-included directories found matching 'contrib' no previously-included directories found matching 'tasks' no previously-included directories found matching 'tests' creating /Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg Extracting pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg to /Library/Python/2.7/site-packages Adding pip 9.0.1 to easy-install.pth file Installing pip script to /usr/local/bin Installing pip2.7 script to /usr/local/bin Installing pip2 script to /usr/local/bin Installed /Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg Processing dependencies for pip Finished processing dependencies for pip |
After you install PIP, you can use PIP to add custom packages to the Python environment. The
sudo pip install easygui |
You get the following warning and installation:
The directory '/Users/michaelmclaughlin/Library/Caches/pip/http' or its parent directory is not owned by the current user and the cache has been disabled. Please check the permissions and owner of that directory. If executing pip with sudo, you may want sudo's -H flag. The directory '/Users/michaelmclaughlin/Library/Caches/pip' or its parent directory is not owned by the current user and caching wheels has been disabled. check the permissions and owner of that directory. If executing pip with sudo, you may want sudo's -H flag. Collecting easygui Downloading easygui-0.98.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl (90kB) 100% |████████████████████████████████| 92kB 1.0MB/s Installing collected packages: easygui Successfully installed easygui-0.98.1 |
After installing the easygui Python library, you can change to the root directory to confirm the installation of the easygui Python library with the following command:
find . -name easygui* 2>/dev/null |
It returns the following:
./Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/easygui ./Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/easygui/easygui.py ./Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/easygui/easygui.pyc ./Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/easygui-0.98.1.dist-info |
You can connect to Python 2.7 in a Terminal session. Then, you use the easygui library to run a Hello World! message box with the following commands in the Python shell:
import easygui easy gui.msgbox("Hello World!") |
It will raise the following image:
Hopefully, this helps a few folks.
Python variable not defined
While working with a programming example for my students, I ran into an interesting run-time error when I changed their approach to importing Python’s random module. Here’s the raised error message:
Traceback (most recent call last): File "windowBouncingBalls.py", line 84, in <module> speed = [choice([-2,2]), choice([-2,2])] NameError: name 'choice' is not defined |
You raise the missing choice identifier when two things occur. The first thing requires you to use a standard import statement, like the following example, and the second thing requires you to continue to reference the identifier as “choice“.
import random |
You can avoid the error by making the import of random like this:
from random import * |
Or, you can leave the ordinary import statement and fully qualify the choice identifier with the random module name, like this:
speed = [random.choice([-2,2]), random.choice([-2,2])] |
As always, I hope this helps those who encounter a similar problem.
Install PyGame on Fedora
The PyGame library is a wonderful tool for building games with Python. It lets you accomplish a great deal by simply managing events. You need to understand how to use Python functions, modules, and events to build games with this Python library.
You can download and install the PyGame library with the yum utility like this:
yum install -y pygame |
It should generate the following list when you install it as the root user:
Loaded plugins: langpacks, refresh-packagekit Available Packages pygame.x86_64 1.9.1-14.fc20 fedora [root@localhost ~]# yum install -y pygame Loaded plugins: langpacks, refresh-packagekit Resolving Dependencies --> Running transaction check ---> Package pygame.x86_64 0:1.9.1-14.fc20 will be installed --> Processing Dependency: numpy for package: pygame-1.9.1-14.fc20.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: libportmidi.so.0()(64bit) for package: pygame-1.9.1-14.fc20.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: libSDL_ttf-2.0.so.0()(64bit) for package: pygame-1.9.1-14.fc20.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: libSDL_mixer-1.2.so.0()(64bit) for package: pygame-1.9.1-14.fc20.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: libSDL_image-1.2.so.0()(64bit) for package: pygame-1.9.1-14.fc20.x86_64 --> Running transaction check ---> Package SDL_image.x86_64 0:1.2.12-7.fc20 will be installed ---> Package SDL_mixer.x86_64 0:1.2.12-5.fc20 will be installed --> Processing Dependency: libmikmod for package: SDL_mixer-1.2.12-5.fc20.x86_64 ---> Package SDL_ttf.x86_64 0:2.0.11-4.fc20 will be installed ---> Package numpy.x86_64 1:1.8.2-2.fc20 will be installed --> Processing Dependency: python-nose for package: 1:numpy-1.8.2-2.fc20.x86_64 ---> Package portmidi.x86_64 0:217-9.fc20 will be installed --> Running transaction check ---> Package libmikmod.x86_64 0:3.3.6-3.fc20 will be installed ---> Package python-nose.noarch 0:1.3.0-1.fc20 will be installed --> Finished Dependency Resolution Dependencies Resolved ================================================================================ Package Arch Version Repository Size ================================================================================ Installing: pygame x86_64 1.9.1-14.fc20 fedora 2.1 M Installing for dependencies: SDL_image x86_64 1.2.12-7.fc20 fedora 41 k SDL_mixer x86_64 1.2.12-5.fc20 fedora 91 k SDL_ttf x86_64 2.0.11-4.fc20 fedora 22 k libmikmod x86_64 3.3.6-3.fc20 updates 142 k numpy x86_64 1:1.8.2-2.fc20 updates 3.0 M portmidi x86_64 217-9.fc20 fedora 26 k python-nose noarch 1.3.0-1.fc20 fedora 272 k Transaction Summary ================================================================================ Install 1 Package (+7 Dependent packages) Total download size: 5.7 M Installed size: 21 M Downloading packages: (1/8): SDL_image-1.2.12-7.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 41 kB 00:00 (2/8): SDL_mixer-1.2.12-5.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 91 kB 00:00 (3/8): portmidi-217-9.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 26 kB 00:00 (4/8): SDL_ttf-2.0.11-4.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 22 kB 00:00 (5/8): libmikmod-3.3.6-3.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 142 kB 00:00 (6/8): numpy-1.8.2-2.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 3.0 MB 00:02 (7/8): pygame-1.9.1-14.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 2.1 MB 00:01 (8/8): python-nose-1.3.0-1.fc20.noarch.rpm | 272 kB 00:00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 1.7 MB/s | 5.7 MB 00:03 Running transaction check Running transaction test Transaction test succeeded Running transaction (shutdown inhibited) Installing : SDL_ttf-2.0.11-4.fc20.x86_64 1/8 Installing : SDL_image-1.2.12-7.fc20.x86_64 2/8 Installing : portmidi-217-9.fc20.x86_64 3/8 Installing : libmikmod-3.3.6-3.fc20.x86_64 4/8 Installing : SDL_mixer-1.2.12-5.fc20.x86_64 5/8 Installing : python-nose-1.3.0-1.fc20.noarch 6/8 Installing : 1:numpy-1.8.2-2.fc20.x86_64 7/8 Installing : pygame-1.9.1-14.fc20.x86_64 8/8 Verifying : pygame-1.9.1-14.fc20.x86_64 1/8 Verifying : SDL_mixer-1.2.12-5.fc20.x86_64 2/8 Verifying : python-nose-1.3.0-1.fc20.noarch 3/8 Verifying : libmikmod-3.3.6-3.fc20.x86_64 4/8 Verifying : 1:numpy-1.8.2-2.fc20.x86_64 5/8 Verifying : portmidi-217-9.fc20.x86_64 6/8 Verifying : SDL_image-1.2.12-7.fc20.x86_64 7/8 Verifying : SDL_ttf-2.0.11-4.fc20.x86_64 8/8 Installed: pygame.x86_64 0:1.9.1-14.fc20 Dependency Installed: SDL_image.x86_64 0:1.2.12-7.fc20 SDL_mixer.x86_64 0:1.2.12-5.fc20 SDL_ttf.x86_64 0:2.0.11-4.fc20 libmikmod.x86_64 0:3.3.6-3.fc20 numpy.x86_64 1:1.8.2-2.fc20 portmidi.x86_64 0:217-9.fc20 python-nose.noarch 0:1.3.0-1.fc20 Complete! |
I hope this helps folks install the software.
Install EasyGUI on Fedora
The EasyGUI library is a nice tool for developing GUI applications. It doesn’t require you to know event-driven programming to write basic GUI applications because it’s based on Python functions.
You can download and install the EasyGUI library with yum utility like this:
yum install -y python-easygui |
It should generate the following list:
Loaded plugins: langpacks, refresh-packagekit mysql-connectors-community | 2.5 kB 00:00 mysql-tools-community | 2.5 kB 00:00 mysql56-community | 2.5 kB 00:00 pgdg93 | 3.6 kB 00:00 updates/20/x86_64/metalink | 2.8 kB 00:00 Resolving Dependencies --> Running transaction check ---> Package python-easygui.noarch 0:0.96-7.fc20 will be installed --> Processing Dependency: tkinter for package: python-easygui-0.96-7.fc20.noarch --> Processing Dependency: python-setuptools for package: python-easygui-0.96-7.fc20.noarch --> Running transaction check ---> Package python-setuptools.noarch 0:1.4.2-1.fc20 will be installed ---> Package tkinter.x86_64 0:2.7.5-16.fc20 will be installed --> Processing Dependency: libtk8.5.so()(64bit) for package: tkinter-2.7.5-16.fc20.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: libtcl8.5.so()(64bit) for package: tkinter-2.7.5-16.fc20.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: libTix.so()(64bit) for package: tkinter-2.7.5-16.fc20.x86_64 --> Running transaction check ---> Package tcl.x86_64 1:8.5.14-1.fc20 will be installed ---> Package tix.x86_64 1:8.4.3-11.fc20 will be installed ---> Package tk.x86_64 1:8.5.14-1.fc20 will be installed --> Finished Dependency Resolution Dependencies Resolved ================================================================================ Package Arch Version Repository Size ================================================================================ Installing: python-easygui noarch 0.96-7.fc20 fedora 481 k Installing for dependencies: python-setuptools noarch 1.4.2-1.fc20 updates 413 k tcl x86_64 1:8.5.14-1.fc20 fedora 1.9 M tix x86_64 1:8.4.3-11.fc20 fedora 253 k tk x86_64 1:8.5.14-1.fc20 fedora 1.4 M tkinter x86_64 2.7.5-16.fc20 updates 316 k Transaction Summary ================================================================================ Install 1 Package (+5 Dependent packages) Total download size: 4.7 M Installed size: 13 M Downloading packages: (1/6): python-setuptools-1.4.2-1.fc20.noarch.rpm | 413 kB 00:00 (2/6): python-easygui-0.96-7.fc20.noarch.rpm | 481 kB 00:00 (3/6): tkinter-2.7.5-16.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 316 kB 00:00 (4/6): tix-8.4.3-11.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 253 kB 00:01 (5/6): tcl-8.5.14-1.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 1.9 MB 00:01 (6/6): tk-8.5.14-1.fc20.x86_64.rpm | 1.4 MB 00:03 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 1.5 MB/s | 4.7 MB 00:03 Running transaction check Running transaction test Transaction test succeeded Running transaction (shutdown inhibited) Installing : 1:tcl-8.5.14-1.fc20.x86_64 1/6 Installing : 1:tk-8.5.14-1.fc20.x86_64 2/6 Installing : 1:tix-8.4.3-11.fc20.x86_64 3/6 Installing : tkinter-2.7.5-16.fc20.x86_64 4/6 Installing : python-setuptools-1.4.2-1.fc20.noarch 5/6 Installing : python-easygui-0.96-7.fc20.noarch 6/6 Verifying : 1:tk-8.5.14-1.fc20.x86_64 1/6 Verifying : tkinter-2.7.5-16.fc20.x86_64 2/6 Verifying : 1:tix-8.4.3-11.fc20.x86_64 3/6 Verifying : 1:tcl-8.5.14-1.fc20.x86_64 4/6 Verifying : python-easygui-0.96-7.fc20.noarch 5/6 Verifying : python-setuptools-1.4.2-1.fc20.noarch 6/6 Installed: python-easygui.noarch 0:0.96-7.fc20 Dependency Installed: python-setuptools.noarch 0:1.4.2-1.fc20 tcl.x86_64 1:8.5.14-1.fc20 tix.x86_64 1:8.4.3-11.fc20 tk.x86_64 1:8.5.14-1.fc20 tkinter.x86_64 0:2.7.5-16.fc20 Complete! |
You can then test the EasyGUI library with the following three lines of code inside the IDLE interpreter:
Python 2.7.5 (default, Apr 10 2015, 08:09:05) [GCC 4.8.3 20140911 (Red Hat 4.8.3-7)] on linux2 Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. >>> import easygui >>> flavor = easygui.enterbox("What flavor of bum do you like?") >>> if easygui.msgbox("You like " + flavor + " gum.") == 'OK': ... print "OK button clicked ..." ... OK button clicked ... |
The easygui.enterbox call displays the image below. Enter “Peppermint” in the entry box and click the OK button to assign the “Peppermint” string literal to the flavor variable.
The easygui.msgbox call displays the message below:
When you click the OK button, the program returns an “OK” string to the Python code. It prints the string “OK button clicked …” string:
As always, I hope this helps those looking for instructions and a quick way to play with Python and GUI applications.
Basic Python Object
One of my students wanted a quick example of a Python object with getters and setters. So, I wrote a little example that I’ll share.
You define this file in a physical directory that is in your $PYTHONPATH, like this:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | # Define Coordinate class. class Coordinate: # The method that initializes the Coordinate class. def __init__ (self, x, y): self.x = x self.y = y # Gets the x value from the instance. def getX (self): return self.x # Gets the y value from the instance. def getY (self): return self.y # Sets the x value in the instance. def setX (self, x): self.x = x # Sets the y value in the instance. def setY (self, y): self.y = y # Prints the coordinate pair. def printCoordinate(self): print (self.x, self.y) |
Assuming the file name is Coordinate.py, you can put it into the Python Idle environment with the following command:
from Coordinate import Coordinate |
You initialize the class, like this:
g = Coordinate(49,49) |
Then, you can access the variables of the class or it’s methods as shown below:
# Print the retrieved value of x from the g instance of the Coordinate class. print g.getX() # Print the formatted and retrieved value of x from the g instance of the Coordinate class. print "[" + str(g.getX()) + "]" # Set the value of x inside the g instance of the Coordinate class. print g.setX(39) # Print the Coordinates as a set. g.printCoordinate() |
You would see the following results:
49 [49] (39,49) |
As always, I hope that helps those looking for a solution.
Create a Python Module
Sometime formal programming documentation is less than clear. At least, it’s less than clear until you’ve written your first solution. The Modules section of the Python language is one of those that takes a few moments to digest.
Chapters 22 and 23 in Learning Python gives some additional details but not a clear step-by-step approach to implementing Python modules. This post is designed to present the steps to write, import, and call a Python module. I figured that it would be helpful to write one for my students, and posting it in the blog seemed like the best idea.
I wrote the module to parse an Oracle version string into what we’d commonly expect to see, like the release number, an “R”, a release version, and then the full version number. The module name is more or less equivalent to a package name, and the file name is effectively the module name. The file name is strVersionOracle.py, which makes the strVersionOracle the module name.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | # Parse and format Oracle version. def formatVersion(s): # Split string into collection. list = s.split(".") # Iterate through the result set. for i, l in enumerate(list): if i == 0 and list[i] == "11": label = str(l) + "g" elif i == 0 and list[i] == "12": label = label + str(l) + "c" elif i == 1: label = label + "R" + list[i] + " (" + s + ")" # Return the formatted string. return label |
You can put this in any directory as long as you add it to the Python path. There are two Python paths to maintain. One is in the file system and the other is in Python’s interactive IDLE environment. You can check the contents of the IDLE path with the following interactive commands:
import sys print sys.path |
It prints the following:
['', '/usr/lib64/python27.zip', '/usr/lib64/python2.7', '/usr/lib64/python2.7/plat-linux2', '/usr/lib64/python2.7/lib-tk', '/usr/lib64/python2.7/lib-old', '/usr/lib64/python2.7/lib-dynload', '/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages', '/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/gtk-2.0', '/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages'] |
You can append to the IDLE path using the following command:
sys.path.append("/home/student/Code/python") |
After putting the module in the runtime path, you can test the code in the IDLE environment:
1 2 3 | import cx_Oracle db = cx_Oracle.connect("student/student@xe") print strVersionOracle.formatVersion(db.version) |
Line 3 prints the result by calling the formatVersion function inside the strVersionOracle module. It prints the following:
11gR2 (11.2.0.2.0) |
You can test the program outside of the runtime environment with the following oracleConnection.py file. It runs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | # Import the Oracle library. import cx_Oracle import strVersionOracle try: # Create a connection. db = cx_Oracle.connect("student/student@xe") # Print a message. print "Connected to the Oracle " + strVersionOracle.formatVersion(db.version) + " database." except cx_Oracle.DatabaseError, e: error, = e.args print >> sys.stderr, "Oracle-Error-Code:", error.code print >> sys.stderr, "Oracle-Error-Message:", error.message finally: # Close connection. db.close() |
You can call the formatVersion() function rather than a combination of module and function names when you write a more qualified import statement on line 3, like:
3 | from strVersionOracle import formatVersion |
Then, you can call the formatVersion() function like this on line 10:
10 | print "Connected to the Oracle " + formatVersion(db.version) + " database." |
It works because you told it to import a function from a Python module. The first example imports a module that may contain one to many functions, and that style requires you to qualify the location of functions inside imported modules.
The oracleConnection.py program works when you call it from the Bash shell provided you do so from the same directory where the oracleConnection.py and strVersionOracle.py files (or Python modules) are located. If you call the oracleConnection.py file from a different directory, the reference to the library raises the following error:
Traceback (most recent call last): File "oracleConnection.py", line 3, in <module> import strVersionOracle ImportError: No module named strVersionOracle |
You can fix this error by adding the directory where the strVersionOracle.py file exists, like
export set PYTHONPATH=/home/student/Code/python |
Then, you can call successfully the oracleConnection.py file from any directory:
python oracleConnection.py |
The program will connect to the Oracle database as the student user, and print the following message to the console:
Connected to the Oracle 11gR2 (11.2.0.2.0) database. |
I hope this helps those trying to create and use Python modules.
Python for loops
It’s always interesting to explain a new programming language to students. Python does presents some challenges to that learning process. I think for-loops can be a bit of a challenge until you understand them. Many students are most familiar with the traditional for loop like Java:
for (i = 0; i < 5; i++) { ... } |
Python supports three types of for-loops – a range for loop, a for-each expression, and a for-loop with enumeration. Below are examples of each of these loops.
- A range for-loop goes from a low numerical value to a high numerical value, like:
for i in range(0,3): print i |
It prints the following range values:
0 1 2 |
- A for-each loop goes from the first to the last item while ignoring indexes, like:
list = ['a','b','c'] for i in list: print i |
It prints the following elements of the list:
a b c |
- A for-loop with enumeration goes from the first to the last item while ignoring indexes, like:
list = ['a','b','c'] for i, e in enumerate(list): print "[" + str(i) + "][" + list[i] + "]" |
The i represents the index values and the e represents the elements of a list. The str() function casts the numeric value to a string.
It prints the following:
[0][a] [1][b] [2][c] |
This should help my students and I hope it helps you if you’re trying to sort out how to use for loops in Python.
Install cx_Oracle for Python
This shows you how to install the cx_Oracle library for Python 2.7 on Fedora Linux. If Fedora has it on the server you can download it with the following yum command:
yum install -y cx_Oracle-5.2.1-11g-py27-1.x86_64.rpm |
Currently, you’ll get the following failure because it’s not available in the Fedora repository:
Loaded plugins: langpacks, refresh-packagekit mysql-connectors-community | 2.5 kB 00:00:00 mysql-tools-community | 2.5 kB 00:00:00 mysql56-community | 2.5 kB 00:00:00 pgdg93 | 3.6 kB 00:00:00 updates/20/x86_64/metalink | 2.3 kB 00:00:00 No package cx_Oracle-5.2.1-11g-py27-1.x86_64.rpm available. Error: Nothing to do |
You can download the cx_Oracle library from the Python web site. The cx_Oracle documentation qualifies module interfaces, objects, and connections. Assuming your Linux user’s name is student, you download the cx_Oracle library into the /home/student/Downloads directory. Then, you use the su or sudo command to become the root user.
As the root user, run the following yum command:
yum install -y ~student/Downloads/cx_Oracle-5.2.1-11g-py27-1.x86_64.rpm |
You should see the following output:
Loaded plugins: langpacks, refresh-packagekit Examining /home/student/Downloads/cx_Oracle-5.2.1-11g-py27-1.x86_64.rpm: cx_Oracle-5.2.1-1.x86_64 Marking /home/student/Downloads/cx_Oracle-5.2.1-11g-py27-1.x86_64.rpm to be installed Resolving Dependencies --> Running transaction check ---> Package cx_Oracle.x86_64 0:5.2.1-1 will be installed --> Finished Dependency Resolution Dependencies Resolved ======================================================================================= Package Arch Version Repository Size ======================================================================================= Installing: cx_Oracle x86_64 5.2.1-1 /cx_Oracle-5.2.1-11g-py27-1.x86_64 717 k Transaction Summary ======================================================================================= Install 1 Package Total size: 717 k Installed size: 717 k Downloading packages: Running transaction check Running transaction test Transaction test succeeded Running transaction (shutdown inhibited) Installing : cx_Oracle-5.2.1-1.x86_64 1/1 Verifying : cx_Oracle-5.2.1-1.x86_64 1/1 Installed: cx_Oracle.x86_64 0:5.2.1-1 Complete! |
After you install the cx_Oracle-5.2.1-1.x86_64 package, you can find the installed files with this rpm command:
rpm -ql cx_Oracle-5.2.1-1.x86_64 |
It lists:
/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/cx_Oracle-5.2.1-py2.7.egg-info /usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/cx_Oracle-5.2.1-py2.7.egg-info/PKG-INFO /usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/cx_Oracle-5.2.1-py2.7.egg-info/SOURCES.txt /usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/cx_Oracle-5.2.1-py2.7.egg-info/dependency_links.txt /usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/cx_Oracle-5.2.1-py2.7.egg-info/top_level.txt /usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/cx_Oracle.so /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1 /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/BUILD.txt /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/README.txt /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/samples /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/samples/DatabaseChangeNotification.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/samples/DatabaseShutdown.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/samples/DatabaseStartup.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/samples/ReturnLongs.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/samples/ReturnUnicode.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/samples/RowsAsInstance.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/3kArrayDMLBatchError.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/3kNumberVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/3kStringVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/ArrayDMLBatchError.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/BooleanVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/Connection.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/Cursor.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/CursorVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/DateTimeVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/IntervalVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/LobVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/LongVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/NCharVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/NumberVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/ObjectVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/SessionPool.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/SetupTest.sql /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/StringVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/TestEnv.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/TimestampVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/test.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/test3k.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/test_dbapi20.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uArrayDMLBatchError.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uConnection.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uCursor.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uCursorVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uDateTimeVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uIntervalVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uLobVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uLongVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uNumberVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uObjectVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uSessionPool.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uStringVar.py /usr/share/doc/cx_Oracle-5.2.1/test/uTimestampVar.py |
After you installed the software, you can test whether inside Python’s IDLE environment with the import command, like this:
Python 2.7.5 (default, Apr 10 2015, 08:09:05) [GCC 4.8.3 20140911 (Red Hat 4.8.3-7)] on linux2 Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. >>> import cx_Oracle Traceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module> ImportError: libclntsh.so.11.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory |
This error indicates that Oracle Client software isn’t installed, which is true in this case. I only installed the Oracle Database 11g Express Edition. You need to download the Oracle Client software and install it as the root user.
You download the Oracle Client software from the Oracle web site. Assuming your Linux user’s name is student, you download the cx_Oracle library into the /home/student/Downloads directory. Then, you use the su or sudo command to become the root user.
As the root user, run the following yum command:
yum install -y ~student/Downloads/oracle-instantclient11.2-basic-11.2.0.4.0-1.x86_64.rpm |
You should see the following output:
Loaded plugins: langpacks, refresh-packagekit
Examining /home/student/Downloads/oracle-instantclient11.2-basic-11.2.0.4.0-1.x86_64.rpm: oracle-instantclient11.2-basic-11.2.0.4.0-1.x86_64
Marking /home/student/Downloads/oracle-instantclient11.2-basic-11.2.0.4.0-1.x86_64.rpm to be installed
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package oracle-instantclient11.2-basic.x86_64 0:11.2.0.4.0-1 will be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution
Dependencies Resolved
================================================================================
Package
Arch Version
Repository Size
================================================================================
Installing:
oracle-instantclient11.2-basic
x86_64 11.2.0.4.0-1
/oracle-instantclient11.2-basic-11.2.0.4.0-1.x86_64 179 M
Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install 1 Package
Total size: 179 M
Installed size: 179 M
Downloading packages:
Running transaction check
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded
Running transaction (shutdown inhibited)
Installing : oracle-instantclient11.2-basic-11.2.0.4.0-1.x86_64 1/1
Verifying : oracle-instantclient11.2-basic-11.2.0.4.0-1.x86_64 1/1
Installed:
oracle-instantclient11.2-basic.x86_64 0:11.2.0.4.0-1
Complete! |
You can create a Python program that checks your ability to connect to the Oracle database, like the following oracleConnection.py file:
# Import the Oracle library. import cx_Oracle try: # Create a connection. db = cx_Oracle.connect("student/student@xe") # Print a message. print "Connected to the Oracle " + db.version + " database." except cx_Oracle.DatabaseError, e: error, = e.args print >> sys.stderr, "Oracle-Error-Code:", error.code print >> sys.stderr, "Oracle-Error-Message:", error.message finally: # Close cursor. db.close() |
You can run this from the Linux command line with the following syntax:
python oracleConnection.py |
It should return the following string:
Connected to the Oracle 11.2.0.2.0 database. |
Now, you can create a Python program that reads data from the Oracle database. The following oracleString.py file reads a string literal from the pseudo table dual:
# Import the Oracle library. import cx_Oracle try: # Create a connection. db = cx_Oracle.connect("student/student@xe") # Create a cursor. cursor = db.cursor() # Execute a query. cursor.execute("SELECT 'Hello world!' FROM dual") # Read the contents of the cursor. for row in cursor: print (row[0]) except cx_Oracle.DatabaseError, e: error, = e.args print >> sys.stderr, "Oracle-Error-Code:", error.code print >> sys.stderr, "Oracle-Error-Message:", error.message finally: # Close cursor and connection. cursor.close() db.close() |
You can run this from the Linux command line with the following syntax:
python oracleString.py |
It should return the following string:
Hello world! |
Now, you can create a Python program that reads actual table data from the Oracle database (assuming you have a copy of my video store database). The following oracleTable.py file reads a string literal from the pseudo table dual:
# Import the Oracle library. import cx_Oracle try: # Create a connection. db = cx_Oracle.connect("student/student@xe") # Create a cursor. cursor = db.cursor() # Execute a query. cursor.execute("SELECT item_title, item_subtitle FROM item") # Read the contents of the cursor. for row in cursor: print (row[0], row[1]) except cx_Oracle.DatabaseError, e: error, = e.args print >> sys.stderr, "Oracle-Error-Code:", error.code print >> sys.stderr, "Oracle-Error-Message:", error.message finally: # Close cursor and connection. cursor.close() db.close() |
You can run this from the Linux command line with the following syntax:
python oracleTable.py |
It should return the following strings (only a subset of the returned values):
("Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone", 'Two-Disc Special Edition')
('Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets', 'Two-Disc Special Edition')
('Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban', 'Two-Disc Special Edition')
('Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets', None)
('Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', 'Widescreen Edition')
('Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', 'Two-Disc Special Edition')
('Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', 'Widescreen Edition')
('The Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring', 'Widescreen Edition')
('The Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring', 'Platinum Series Special Extended Edition')
('The Lord of the Rings - Two Towers', 'Widescreen Edition')
('The Lord of the Rings - Two Towers', 'Platinum Series Special Extended Edition')
('The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King', 'Widescreen Edition')
('The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King', 'Platinum Series Special Extended Edition')
('Star Wars - Episode I', 'The Phantom Menace')
('Star Wars - Episode II', 'Attack of the Clones')
('Star Wars - Episode III', 'Revenge of the Sith')
('Star Wars - Episode IV', 'A New Hope')
('Star Wars - Episode V', 'The Empire Strikes Back')
('Star Wars - Episode VI', 'Return of the Jedi') |
As always, I hope this helps others who want to work with Python and the Oracle database.
IT Salary Thought
During the holidays, I check salaries for my students and the IT industry overall. I’m never surprised by the reality, after all salaries pay for return on skills and effort. Here’s my annual look, which some may find unkind but reality is seldom kind.
Before looking at IT salaries, it seems like a good opportunity to first look at the overall job market for Millennials in the United States. AOL provides a great graphic of the median income for Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1997), which is $18,000 to $43,000 a year:
That’s a stark contrast to Forbes’ statistics on the top college baccalaureate degrees. In fact, the top five with the highest salary are between $58 to $67 thousand a year. They are:
- Computer Science ………… $66,800
- Engineering ………………… $65,000
- Mathematics & Statistics … $60,300
- Economics ………………….. $58,600
- Finance ……………………… $58,000
Computer science, applied computer science, and information technology are probably lumped into the first category. Information systems, exposure without real skills, is a management degree and probably opens positions equivalent to the business degree at $50 thousand a year. More or less, that’s a nine thousand dollar difference between having real skills and being able to talk the game and supervise technical resources. (The 10 hottest IT skills for 2015 are listed in Computerworld.)
There’s no surprise that Ruby, Objective C (iPhone, iPad, Mac OS X), Python, Java, C++ are at the top of the pyramid. Starting salaries in the Salt Lake area are higher for programmers college than they are for other computer science skill sets. In fact, my informal contacts peg them as starting at $70+ thousand. That’s higher than Forbes average for computer science. Here’s a visual on experienced programmers by language:
It seems fair to say that a computer science, applied computer science, and information technology degree with an emphasis in real programming skills is the best bet to pay off student loans. However, some will wait for politicians to do that for them, but really that’s quite unlikely, isn’t it?
Reality is always blunt. Reality also seems to frequently differs from what politicians say. After all, politicians pander to audiences, which generally means they say a great deal of nonsense. Nonsense like economics doesn’t matter, everyone should earn the same regardless of their education, skills, or work ethic. Aldous Huxley said it more elegantly when he said, “That all men are equal is a proposition to which, at ordinary times, no sane human being has ever given his assent.”
MySQLdb Manage Columns
Sometimes trying to keep a post short and to the point raises other questions. Clearly, my Python-MySQL Program post over the weekend did raise a question. They were extending the query example and encountered this error:
TypeError: range() integer end argument expected, got tuple. |
That should be a straight forward error message because of two things. First, the Python built-in range() function manages a range of numbers. Second, the row returned from a cursor is actually a tuple (from relational algebra), and it may contain non-numeric data like strings and dates.
The reader was trying to dynamically navigate the number of columns in a row by using the range() function like this (where row was a row from the cursor or result set):
for j in range(row): |
Naturally, it threw the type mismatch error noted above. As promised, the following Python program fixes that problem. It also builds on the prior example by navigatung an unknown list of columns. Lines 16 through 31 contain the verbose comments and programming logic to dynamically navigate the columns of a row.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 | #!/usr/bin/python # Import sys library. import MySQLdb import sys try: # Create new database connection. db = MySQLdb.connect('localhost','student','student','studentdb') # Create a result set cursor. rs = db.cursor() rs.execute("SELECT item_title, item_subtitle, item_rating FROM item") # Assign the query results to a local variable. for i in range(rs.rowcount): row = rs.fetchone() # Initialize variable for printing row as a string. data = "" # Address an indefinite number of columns. count = 0 for j in range(len(row)): # Initialize column value as an empty string. datum = "" # Replace column values when they exist. if str(row[count]) != 'None': datum = str(row[count]) # Append a comma when another column follows. if count == len(row) - 1: data += datum else: data += datum + ", " count += 1 # Print the formatted row as a string. print data except MySQLdb.Error, e: # Print the error. print "ERROR %d: %s" % (e.args[0], e.args[1]) sys.exit(1) finally: # Close the connection when it is open. if db: db.close() |
There are a couple Python programming techniques that could be perceived as tricks. Line 24 checks for a not null value by explicitly casting the column’s value to a string and then comparing its value against the string equivalent for a null. The MySQLdb returns a 'None' string for null values by default. The if-block on lines 27 through 30 ensure commas aren’t appended at the end of a row.
While the for-loop with a range works, I’d recommend you write it as a while-loop because its easier to read for most new Python programmers. You only need to replace line 20 with the following to make the change:
20 | while (count < len(row)): |
Either approach generates output like:
The Hunt for Red October, Special Collectornulls Edition, PG Star Wars I, Phantom Menace, PG Star Wars II, Attack of the Clones, PG Star Wars II, Attack of the Clones, PG Star Wars III, Revenge of the Sith, PG-13 The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, PG RoboCop, , Mature Pirates of the Caribbean, , Teen The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Everyone MarioKart, Double Dash, Everyone Splinter Cell, Chaos Theory, Teen Need for Speed, Most Wanted, Everyone The DaVinci Code, , Teen Cars, , Everyone Beau Geste, , PG I Remember Mama, , NR Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Attack on Pearl Harbor, G A Man for All Seasons, , G Hook, , PG Around the World in 80 Days, , G Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, , PG Camelot, , G |
As always, I hope this helps those looking for clarity.
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