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Let's face it. The only way to learn computer programming is to do it. Whether you want to skill up for your next job interview or just get a few pet projects done, programming can be an amazing tool. Python is an especially great tool for beginners, and it’s also a language that grows with you. You can use Python for everything from web development to data science by taking advantage of its huge array of frameworks and toolkits. Know the basics of Python, and you can go (nearly) anywhere in the programming world!
Exploring Python Basics is a collection of chapters from several different Manning books, blended together to give you a tour of everything Python. Hand-picked by Naomi Ceder, the founder of the Python Education Summit, these chapters will get you covering the basics of programming and the quirks and syntax of Python, coding with a Raspberry Pi, and even using Python to model your data to create accurate predictions! After you’re finished, you’ll have a real appreciation for Python, ready to continue your journey into this ever-useful language.
Exploring Python Basics is a collection of chapters from several different Manning books, blended together to give you a tour of everything Python. Hand-picked by Naomi Ceder, the founder of the Python Education Summit, these chapters will get you covering the basics of programming and the quirks and syntax of Python, coding with a Raspberry Pi, and even using Python to model your data to create accurate predictions! After you’re finished, you’ll have a real appreciation for Python, ready to continue your journey into this ever-useful language.
Table of Contents takes you straight to the bookdetailed table of contents
Learning how to program
Basic principles of learning a programming language
2.1 Programming as a skill
2.2 A parallel with baking
2.3 Think, code, test, debug, repeat
2.4 Writing readable code
Summary
3 Introducing Python: a programming language
3.1 Installing Python
3.1.1 What is Python?
3.1.2 Downloading Python version 3.5
3.1.3 Anaconda Python Distribution
3.1.4 Integrated development environments
3.2 Setting up your workspace
3.2.1 The IPython console
3.2.2 The file editor
Summary
4 Variables and expressions: giving names and values to things
4.1 Giving names to things
4.1.1 Math vs. programming
4.1.2 What the computer can and can’t do
4.2 Introducing variables
4.2.1 Objects are things that can be manipulated
4.2.2 Objects have names
4.2.3 What object names are allowed?
4.2.4 Creating a variable
4.2.5 Updating a variable
Summary
Object types and statements of code
5.1 Types of things
5.2 Basic type of objects in programming
5.2.1 Integers as whole numbers
5.2.2 Floating point as decimal numbers
5.2.3 Booleans as true/false data
5.2.4 Strings as sequences of characters
5.2.5 The absence of a value
5.3 Working with basic types of data values
5.3.1 Building blocks of expressions
5.3.2 Converting between different types
5.3.3 How arithmetic impacts object types
Summary
Capstone project: your first Python program—convert hours to minutes
6.1 Think-code-test-debug-repeat
6.2 Divide your task
6.3 Implement the conversion formula
6.3.1 How many hours?
6.3.2 How many minutes?
6.4 Your first Python program: one solution
6.5 Your first Python program: another solution
Summary
Meet Raspberry Pi
Meet Raspberry Pi
Exploring your Raspberry Pi’s parts: hardware
Giving your Pi a cozy home: Pi cases
The brain of your Pi: system on a chip
Connecting a keyboard and mouse: USB ports
Storing memories: your Pi gets a memory card
Connecting a TV or monitor: HDMI port
Other ports and connections
Powering your Pi: microUSB power port
Getting your Pi running: software
Installing the Raspbian operating system
Configuring the operating system: making it yours
Saving your configuration and rebooting
Getting around: learning Raspbian
Finding and opening applications on your Raspberry Pi
Your files and folders
Writing code
Fruit Picker Extra: shopping at the Pi Store
Challenge
Scavenger hunt
Summary
Blinky Pi
Setting up your Pi for physical computing
GPIO pins
Breaking out the GPIO pins to a breadboard
Breadboard basics
Building the LED circuit
Step 1. Connect the jumper from GPIO pin 21
Step 2. Add the red LED
Step 3. Connect a resistor
Software: blinkLED program
Running the program
blinkLED: how it works
Adding more LEDs
Building the circuit
Multiple LEDs: program it!
Challenges
Wave pattern
Simon Says
Random blinking
Summary
Python—Absolute Basics
4 The absolute basics
4.1 Indentation and block structuring
4.2 Differentiating comments
4.3 Variables and assignments
4.4 Expressions
4.5 Strings
4.6 Numbers
4.6.1 Built-in numeric functions
4.6.2 Advanced numeric functions
4.6.3 Numeric computation
4.6.4 Complex numbers
4.6.5 Advanced complex-number functions
4.7 The None value
4.8 Getting input from the user
4.9 Built-in operators
4.10 Basic Python style
Summary
Lists, tuples, and sets
5.1 Lists are like arrays
5.2 List indices
5.3 Modifying lists
5.4 Sorting lists
5.4.1 Custom sorting
5.4.2 The sorted() function
5.5 Other common list operations
5.5.1 List membership with the in operator
5.5.2 List concatenation with the + operator
5.5.3 List initialization with the * operator
5.5.4 List minimum or maximum with min and max
5.5.5 List search with index
5.5.6 List matches with count
5.5.7 Summary of list operations
5.6 Nested lists and deep copies
5.7 Tuples
5.7.1 Tuple basics
5.7.2 One-element tuples need a comma
5.7.3 Packing and unpacking tuples
5.7.4 Converting between lists and tuples
5.8 Sets
5.8.1 Set operations
5.8.2 Frozensets
Summary
Modeling and prediction
Modeling and prediction
3.1 Basic machine-learning modeling
3.1.1 Finding the relationship between input and target
3.1.2 The purpose of finding a good model
3.1.3 Types of modeling methods
3.1.4 Supervised versus unsupervised learning
3.2 Classification: predicting into buckets
3.2.1 Building a classifier and making predictions
3.2.2 Classifying complex, nonlinear data
3.2.3 Classifying with multiple classes
3.3 Regression: predicting numerical values
3.3.1 Building a regressor and making predictions
3.3.2 Performing regression on complex, nonlinear data
3.4 Summary
3.5 Terms from this chapter
What's inside
- “Learning how to program” based on chapters from Get Programming: Learn to code with Python by Ana Bell
- “Meet Raspberry Pi” based on chapters from Hello Raspberry Pi! by Ryan Heitz
- “Python—Absolute Basics” based on chapters from The Quick Python Book, Third Edition by Naomi Ceder
- “Modeling and prediction” based on chapters from Real-World Machine Learning by Henrik Brink, Joseph W. Richards, and Mark Fetherolf
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