Python Crash Course - A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming book

The goal of this book is to bring you up to speed with Python as quickly as

possible so you can build programs that work—games, data visualizations,

and web applications—while developing a foundation in programming

that will serve you well for the rest of your life. Python Crash Course is written

for people of any age who have never before programmed in Python or

have never programmed at all. This book is for those who want to learn the

basics of programming quickly so they can focus on interesting projects,

and those who like to test their understanding of new concepts by solving

meaningful problems. Python Crash Course is also perfect for middle school

and high school teachers who want to offer their students a project-based

introduction to programming. If you’re taking a college class and want a

friendlier introduction to Python than the text you’ve been assigned, this

book could make your class easier as well.

Part I: Basics 1

Chapter 1: Getting Started . 3

Chapter 2: Variables and Simple Data Types . 15

Chapter 3: Introducing Lists 33

Chapter 4: Working with Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter 5: if Statements . 71

Chapter 6: Dictionaries 91

Chapter 7: User Input and while Loops 113

Chapter 8: Functions . 129

Chapter 9: Classes 157

Chapter 10: Files and Exceptions 183

Chapter 11: Testing Your Code 209

Part II: Projects . 223

Project 1: Alien Invasion

Chapter 12: A Ship that Fires Bullets . 227

Chapter 13: Aliens! . 255

Chapter 14: Scoring . 279

x Brief Contents

Project 2: Data Visualization

Chapter 15: Generating Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Chapter 16: Downloading Data 333

Chapter 17: Working with APIs 359

Project 3: Web Applications

Chapter 18: Getting Started with Django . 379

Chapter 19: User Accounts 409

Chapter 20: Styling and Deploying an App . 437