The Python Workshop

A Practical, No-Nonsense Introduction to Python Development

Andrew Bird, Dr Lau Cher Han, Mario Corchero Jiménez, Graham Lee, Corey Wade

• Editore: Packt Publishing
• Anno: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781838984533
• Edizione: 1
• Argomento: Computer Science
• Categoria: Programming in Python

Learn the fundamentals of clean, effective Python coding and build the practical skills to tackle your own software development or data science projects

Key Features

• Build key Python skills with engaging development tasks and challenging activities
• Implement useful algorithms and write programs to solve real-world problems
• Apply Python in realistic data science projects and create simple machine learning models

Book Description

Have you always wanted to learn Python, but never quite known how to start?

More applications than we realize are being developed using Python because it is easy to learn, read, and write. You can now start learning the language quickly and effectively with the help of this interactive tutorial.

The Python Workshop starts by showing you how to correctly apply Python syntax to write simple programs, and how to use appropriate Python structures to store and retrieve data. You'll see how to handle files, deal with errors, and use classes and methods to write concise, reusable, and efficient code.

As you advance, you'll understand how to use the standard library, debug code to troubleshoot problems, and write unit tests to validate application behavior.

You'll gain insights into using the pandas and NumPy libraries for analyzing data, and the graphical libraries of Matplotlib and Seaborn to create impactful data visualizations. By focusing on entry-level data science, you'll build your practical Python skills in a way that mirrors real-world development. Finally, you'll discover the key steps in building and using simple machine learning algorithms.

By the end of this Python book, you'll have the knowledge, skills and confidence to creatively tackle your own ambitious projects with Python.

What you will learn

• Write clean and well-commented code that is easy to maintain
• Automate essential day-to-day tasks with Python scripts
• Debug logical errors and handle exceptions in your programs
• Explore data science fundamentals and create engaging visualizations
• Get started with predictive machine learning
• Keep your development process bug-free with automated testing

Who this book is for

This book is designed for anyone who is new to the Python programming language. Whether you're an aspiring software engineer or data scientist, or are just curious about learning how to code with Python, this book is for you. No prior programming experience is required.

1. Vital Python – Math, Strings, Conditionals, and Loops

Overview

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to simplify mathematical expressions with the order of operations using integers and floats; assign variables and change Python types to display and retrieve user information; apply global functions including len(), print(), and input(); manipulate strings using indexing, slicing, string concatenation, and string methods; apply Booleans and nested conditionals to solve problems with multiple pathways; utilize 'for loops' and 'while loops' to iterate over strings and repeat mathematical operations and create new programs by combining math, strings, conditionals, and loops.

This chapter covers the fundamentals of the Python language.

Introduction

Welcome to the Python Workshop. This book is for anyone new to the Python programming language. Our objective is to teach you Python so that you can solve real-world problems as a Python developer and data scientist.

This book will combine theory, examples, exercises, questions, and activities for all core concepts; so that you can learn to use Python best practices to solve real-world problems. The exercises and activities have been chosen specifically to help you review the concepts covered and extend your learning. The best way to learn Python is to solve problems on your own.

The material (in this book) is targeted at beginners but will be equally as beneficial to experienced developers who are not yet familiar with Python. We are not teaching computer science per se, but rather Python, the most beautiful and powerful coding language in the world. If you have never studied computer science, you will learn the most important concepts here, and if you have studied computer science, you will discover tools and tricks for Python that you have never seen before.

Python has become the most popular programming language in the world due to its simple syntax, extensive range, and dominance in the field of machine learning. In this book, you will become fluent in Python syntax, and you will take significant steps toward producing Pythonic code. You will gain experience in Python development, data science, and machine learning.

Many introductory Python books provide full introductions to computer science. Learning computer science with Python is an excellent way to start, but it is not the method of this book. Units on software development and data science are rarely covered in such books. They may be touched upon, but here, they represent 40% of our book.

By contrast, many books on software development and data science are not designed for beginners. If they are, the Python fundamentals that they teach are usually summarized in one brief unit. This book devotes considerable space to Python fundamentals and essentials. Beginners are not only welcome; they are guided every step of the way.

In addition to the unique focus on Python fundamentals and essentials, the fact that the content is written by seasoned educators, data scientists, and developers makes this Python book more than just a text or reference.

Python is not the language of tomorrow; Python is the language of today. By learning Python, you will become empowered as a developer, and you will gain a significant edge over the competition. The journey will be fun, compelling, challenging, and ultimately, rewarding.

Vital Python

In this chapter, we present vital Python concepts, the core elements that everyone needs to know before starting to code. You cover a breadth of topics with a focus on math, strings, conditionals, and loops. By the end of this chapter, you will have a strong foundation in Python, and you will be able to write significant Python programs as you continue with the rest of this book.

You will start with a very famous developer example; that is, Python as a calculator. In addition to the standard operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation, you will learn integer division and the modulus operator. By using only basic Python, you can outperform most calculators on the market.

Next, you'll learn about variables. Python is dynamically typed, meaning that variable types are unknown before the code runs. Python variables do not require special initialization. Our first variables will be integers, floats, and strings. You will identify and convert between types.

Next, in order to work with strings, you will utilize string methods, in addition to indexing, slicing, and string concatenation. You'll also use built-in functions such as print() and input() to communicate with the user.

Moving ahead, you'll encounter Booleans, true or false Python types, that precede conditionals, statements with if clauses that lead to branching. Booleans and conditionals allow us to write more complex programs by taking a greater number of possibilities into account.

Finally, you close the chapter with loops that allows us to repeat operations. In particular, we apply while loops and for loops, utilizing break and continue.

For true beginners, this introductory chapter will get you up to speed with basic programming concepts. If you are new to Python, you will see why the Python language is so clear, powerful, and valuable. By the end of this chapter, you will be comfortable running Python basics on their own, and you will be prepared to tackle more of the...