Pseudocode to Python Translation Guide
Basic Syntax Comparison
Concept Pseudocode Python
Output OUTPUT "Hello" print("Hello")
Input INPUT name name = input()
Assignment total ← 0 total = 0
Comments // This is a comment # This is a comment
Selection (If Statements)
Pseudocode:
IF age >= 18 THEN
OUTPUT "You can vote"
ELSE
OUTPUT "Too young to vote"
ENDIF
Python:
if age >= 18:
print("You can vote")
else:
print("Too young to vote")
Multiple Conditions
Pseudocode:
IF score >= 90 THEN
OUTPUT "Grade A"
ELSE IF score >= 70 THEN
OUTPUT "Grade B"
ELSE IF score >= 50 THEN
OUTPUT "Grade C"
ELSE
OUTPUT "Fail"
ENDIF
Python:
if score >= 90:
print("Grade A")
elif score >= 70:
print("Grade B")
elif score >= 50:
print("Grade C")
else:
print("Fail")
Iteration - For Loops
Pseudocode:
FOR i ← 1 TO 5
OUTPUT i
NEXT i
Python:
for i in range(1, 6): # Note: range(1, 6) gives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
print(i)
Iteration - While Loops
Pseudocode:
counter ← 1
WHILE counter <= 5 DO
OUTPUT counter
counter ← counter + 1
ENDWHILE
Python:
counter = 1
while counter <= 5:
print(counter)
counter = counter + 1 # or counter += 1
Iteration - Repeat Until
Pseudocode:
counter ← 1
REPEAT
OUTPUT counter
counter ← counter + 1
UNTIL counter > 5
Python:
counter = 1
while True:
print(counter)
counter = counter + 1
if counter > 5:
break
OR
counter = 1
while not (counter > 5):
print(counter)
counter = counter + 1
Arrays/Lists
Pseudocode:
DECLARE numbers : ARRAY[1:5] OF INTEGER
numbers[1] ← 10
numbers[2] ← 20
OUTPUT numbers[1]
Python:
numbers = [0] * 5 # Creates [0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
# Python uses 0-based indexing!
numbers[0] = 10 # First element
numbers[1] = 20 # Second element
print(numbers[0])
Functions/Procedures
Pseudocode (Procedure):
PROCEDURE greet(name)
OUTPUT "Hello, " + name
ENDPROCEDURE
greet("Alex")
Python:
def greet(name):
print("Hello, " + name)
greet("Alex")
Pseudocode (Function):
FUNCTION square(number)
RETURN number * number
ENDFUNCTION
result ← square(4)
OUTPUT result
Python:
def square(number):
return number * number
result = square(4)
print(result)
Essential Programming Constructs
1. Variables and Constants
Python:
# Variables
name = "Alex" # String
age = 16 # Integer
height = 1.75 # Float
is_student = True # Boolean
# Constants (by convention, use uppercase)
PI = 3.14159
MAX_STUDENTS = 30
Key points:
• Python automatically determines data types
• Variable names should be descriptive
• Cannot use reserved words (if, for, while, etc.)
2. String Operations
Python:
name = "Computer Science"
# Length
length = len(name) # 16
# Accessing characters (zero-indexed)
first_char = name[0] # 'C'
# Slicing
substr = name[0:8] # 'Computer'
# Concatenation
greeting = "Hello, " + name # 'Hello, Computer Science'
# String methods
lowercase = name.lower() # 'computer science'
uppercase = name.upper() # 'COMPUTER SCIENCE'
3. Mathematical Operations
Python:
a = 10
b = 3
addition = a + b # 13
subtraction = a - b # 7
multiplication = a * b # 30
division = a / b # 3.3333... (float)
integer_division = a // b # 3 (integer)
remainder = a % b # 1
power = a ** b # 1000 (10^3)
4. Logical Operators
Python:
x = 5
y = 10
# Comparison operators
is_equal = x == y # False
not_equal = x != y # True
greater_than = x > y # False
less_than = x < y # True
greater_equal = x >= y # False
less_equal = x <= y # True
# Logical operators
and_result = (x > 0) and (y > 0) # True
or_result = (x > 10) or (y > 0) # True
not_result = not (x > 0) # False
Common Algorithm Patterns
1. Input Validation
Python:
# Validate numeric input
valid_input = False
while not valid_input:
user_input = input("Enter a number between 1-10: ")
if user_input.isdigit():
number = int(user_input)
if 1 <= number <= 10:
valid_input = True
else:
print("Number must be between 1 and 10")
else:
print("You must enter a number")
2. Finding Maximum Value
Python:
numbers = [45, 22, 67, 34, 18]
max_value = numbers[0] # Assume first is largest
for num in numbers:
if num > max_value:
max_value = num
print(max_value) # 67
3. Counting Occurrences
Python:
text = "hello world"
target = "l"
count = 0
for char in text:
if char == target:
count += 1
print(count) # 3
4. Linear Search
Python:
def linear_search(arr, target):
for i in range(len(arr)):
if arr[i] == target:
return i # Return position if found
return -1 # Return -1 if not found
numbers = [5, 8, 12, 16, 23]
position = linear_search(numbers, 12)
print(position) # 2
5. Binary Search (for sorted lists)
Python:
def binary_search(arr, target):
low = 0
high = len(arr) - 1
while low <= high:
mid = (low + high) // 2
if arr[mid] == target:
return mid
elif arr[mid] < target:
low = mid + 1
else:
high = mid - 1
return -1 # Not found
sorted_numbers = [2, 5, 8, 12, 16, 23, 38, 56, 72, 91]
position = binary_search(sorted_numbers, 23)
print(position) # 5
6. Bubble Sort
Python:
def bubble_sort(arr):
n = len(arr)
for i in range(n):
for j in range(0, n-i-1):
if arr[j] > arr[j+1]:
# Swap elements
arr[j], arr[j+1] = arr[j+1], arr[j]
return arr
numbers = [64, 34, 25, 12, 22, 11, 90]
sorted_numbers = bubble_sort(numbers)
print(sorted_numbers) # [11, 12, 22, 25, 34, 64, 90]
7. Total and Average
Python:
numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
total = 0
for num in numbers:
total += num
average = total / len(numbers)
print(f"Total: {total}, Average: {average}") # Total: 150, Average: 30.0
Data Structures
1. Lists (Arrays)
Python:
# Creating lists
empty_list = []
numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
mixed = [1, "hello", True, 3.14]
# Accessing elements (zero-indexed)
first = numbers[0] # 10
last = numbers[-1] # 50
# Modifying elements
numbers[1] = 25 # [10, 25, 30, 40, 50]
# List operations
length = len(numbers) # 5
numbers.append(60) # Add to end: [10, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60]
numbers.insert(1, 15) # Insert at position: [10, 15, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60]
numbers.remove(30) # Remove by value: [10, 15, 25, 40, 50, 60]
popped = numbers.pop() # Remove & return last: 60, list becomes [10, 15, 25,
40, 50]
numbers.sort() # Sort in place: [10, 15, 25, 40, 50]
2. Two-dimensional Lists (2D Arrays)
Python:
# Creating a 2D list (3x3 grid)
grid = [
[1, 2, 3],
[4, 5, 6],
[7, 8, 9]
]
# Accessing elements (row, column)
element = grid[1][2] # row 1, column 2: value 6
# Iterating through a 2D list
for row in grid:
for item in row:
print(item, end=" ")
print() # New line after each row
3. Dictionaries (Key-Value Pairs)
Python:
# Creating a dictionary
student = {
"name": "Alex",
"age": 16,
"grades": [85, 90, 78]
}
# Accessing values
name = student["name"] # "Alex"
# Alternative safer method
age = student.get("age", 0) # 16 (returns 0 if key doesn't exist)
# Adding/modifying entries
student["school"] = "High School"
student["age"] = 17
# Checking if key exists
has_email = "email" in student # False
# Iterating through a dictionary
for key in student:
print(f"{key}: {student[key]}")
# Get all keys or values
keys = student.keys()
values = student.values()
