Python Institute PCPP1 Course Notes

Highest-weight domain: 35% / 15 items. The exam is less about memorizing OOP definitions and more about predicting runtime behavior. Trace attribute lookup, MRO, descriptor/property behavior, decorator replacement, closure state, exception chaining, and object identity carefully. Know Python conventions precisely: `_name` is non-public by convention; `__name` triggers name mangling—it is not true access control.

• Calling `_name` private or `__name` protected; Python uses convention and name mangling, not those Java-style access levels.

• 35%: spend the most review time here.

GUI Programming is 20% / 8 items. Think event loop. Creating widgets does not make an app responsive; `mainloop()` processes events and dispatches callbacks. Know the practical difference between `command=` callbacks and `.bind()` event handlers, tkinter variable objects, and geometry managers.

• Calling the callback during widget construction instead of passing it.

• 20%: know event flow more than obscure widget options.

Network Programming is 18% / 8 items. The biggest technical trap is bytes versus text: sockets transmit bytes, while JSON APIs and HTTP libraries often expose text/structured conveniences. Also, POST does not universally mean 'update' and PUT does not universally mean 'create'; HTTP method semantics and the API contract control behavior.

• Sending a Python string directly through a raw socket.

• 18%: memorize socket bytes semantics and HTTP method/status families.

This 15% / 7-item domain combines SQLite and structured-file/environment tools. The original draft incorrectly suggested JSON/YAML as the configuration-file focus; the official syllabus specifically tests `configparser` and `.ini` interpolation. For SQLite, know parameter binding and transaction behavior—never build SQL with string concatenation from untrusted input.

• Building SQL by concatenating user input.

• 15%: SQLite transactions + logging/configparser are the high-value details.

This 12% domain is small but easy points if the rules are precise. PEP 8 is a style guide, not the Python grammar; PEP 257 governs docstring conventions; PEP 484 defines type-hint conventions. Do not invent rigid rules the PEPs do not state: 79 characters is a recommended code-line maximum in PEP 8, not a runtime limit, and type hints are not enforced by Python itself.

• Treating PEP 8 violations as Python syntax errors.

• 12%: learn the high-certainty style rules and move on.