Are you a programmer who wants to get started quickly in a new language? This book is for you.
Are you a novice who wants to learn to program? This book is not for you.
Are you a Python programmer who needs encyclopaedic information? This book is not for you.
Like any mainstream language, Python has loops, if statements, assignment statements, functions, etc. I’ll show you what these look like in Python. I won’t waste your time telling you what they’re good for.
Python has features you may not be familiar with--iterators, list comprehensions, maybe even dictionaries. I’ll spend more time on these.
I’ll cover some of the library functions I found most immediately useful, and tell you where to find more.
In short, this book will help you hit the ground running. Next week, you’ll be ready to buy that Python encyclopaedia.
1. The Absolute Bare Minimum
1-1. Python and IDEs
1-2. IDLE
1-3. Variables
1-4. Important Data Types
1-5. Basic Arithmetic
1-6. Comparisons
1-7. Booleans
1-8. Lists
1-9. Strings
1-10. Comments
1-11. Statement Types
1-11-1. Assignment Statements
1-11-2. Print “Statements”
1-11-3. If Statements
1-11-4. While Loops
1-11-5. For Loops
1-11-6. Import Statements
1-12. Input from the User
1-13. Functions
1-14. Syntax
1-15. Order of Execution
1-16. Summary
1-17. Wait, that's it?
2. Better Tools
2-1. Object Notation
2-2. Lists
2-3. Tuples
2-4. Sets
2-5. Dictionaries
2-6. String methods
2-7. Loops For Objects
2-7-1. Looping over Lists
2-7-2. Looping over Sets
2-7-3. Looping over Dictionaries
2-8. Handing Exceptions
2-9. Type Conversions
2-10. Scope
2-11. File I/O
2-12. Pickling
3. Classes
3-1. Classes and Inheritance
3-2. Constructors and self
3-3. Subclasses
3-4. Printing Objects
3-5. Comparing Objects
3-6. Bindings
3-7. Shallow and Deep Copies
4. Getting Fancy
4-1. Statements
4-2. Identifiers
4-3. Type Hints
4-4. Numbers
4-5. Strings
4-6. F-strings
4-7. Bit Operations
4-8. List Comprehensions
4-9. Iterators
4-10. Generators
4-11. Parameters and Arguments
4-12. Functional Programming
5. Testing
5-1. Philosophy
5-2. Doctest
5-3. Unit Testing
5-4. Unit Test Example
5-5. Test Suites
6. Graphical User Interfaces
6-1. Dialogs
6-2. Tkinter
6-3. Putting Widgets Into the GUI
6-4. Creating Widgets
6-5. Tkinter Example
Afterword
Appendix A. String Methods
Appendix B. Numerical Functions
Appendix C. Functions on Iterables
Appendix D. Unit Test Methods
Biography
David L. Matuszek was Director of the Master's in Computer and Information Technology course at the University of Pennsylvania, USA (2001-2017). With 40 years' teaching experience, and 45 years' programming experience, David is skilled in both the design of innovative software systems and in teaching others how to master programming languages in an accessible and engaging way.
“When a gifted teacher presents a new concept, they first cover every needed building block. The new concept becomes such a necessary and obvious extension of those building blocks, it feels like something you already knew. That is how Dave Matuszek’s books read. In sparse, concise language he tells you exactly what you most need to know about programming, and lays it all out so clearly and logically it seems inevitable. His cheerful, intuitive examples progress step by step from introductory to advanced stages carrying you along painlessly.
I cannot recommend this series highly enough to anyone wanting a quick primer on a language they have yet to use. Whether a computer science student or a self-taught programmer, there are treats in store.”
- Martha Palmer, Arts and Sciences Professor of Distinction for Linguistics, and the former Helen & Hubert Croft Professor of Engineering in the Computer Science Department, University of Colorado Boulder, USA.
