Learning Python

Key Features

• Learn the fundamentals of programming with Python – one of the best languages ever created
• Develop a strong set of programming skills that you will be able to express in any situation, on every platform, thanks to Python's portability
• Create outstanding applications of all kind, from websites to scripting, and from GUIs to data science

Book Description

Learning Python has a dynamic and varied nature. It reads easily and lays a good foundation for those who are interested in digging deeper. It has a practical and example-oriented approach through which both the introductory and the advanced topics are explained. Starting with the fundamentals of programming and Python, it ends by exploring very different topics, like GUIs, web apps and data science. The book takes you all the way to creating a fully fledged application.

The book begins by exploring the essentials of programming, data structures and teaches you how to manipulate them. It then moves on to controlling the flow of a program and writing reusable and error proof code. You will then explore different programming paradigms that will allow you to find the best approach to any situation, and also learn how to perform performance optimization as well as effective debugging. Throughout, the book steers you through the various types of applications, and it concludes with a complete mini website built upon all the concepts that you learned.

What you will learn

• Get Python up and running on Windows, Mac, and Linux in no time
• Grasp the fundamental concepts of coding, along with the basics of data structures and control flow.
• Write elegant, reusable, and efficient code in any situation
• Understand when to use the functional or the object oriented programming approach
• Create bulletproof, reliable software by writing tests to support your code
• Explore examples of GUIs, scripting, data science and web applications
• Learn to be independent, capable of fetching any resource you need, as well as dig deeper

About the Author

Fabrizio Romano was born in Italy in 1975. He holds a master's degree in computer science engineering from the University of Padova. He is also a certified Scrum master.

Before Python, he has worked with several other languages, such as C/C++, Java, PHP, and C#.

In 2011, he moved to London and started working as a Python developer for Glasses Direct, one of Europe's leading online prescription glasses retailers.

He then worked as a senior Python developer for TBG (now Sprinklr), one of the world's leading companies in social media advertising. At TBG, he and his team collaborated with Facebook and Twitter. They were the first in the world to get access to the Twitter advertising API. He wrote the code that published the first geo-narrowcasted promoted tweet in the world using the API.

He currently works as a senior platform developer at Student.com, a company that is revolutionizing the way international students find their perfect home all around the world.

He has delivered talks on Teaching Python and TDD with Python at the last two editions of EuroPython and at Skillsmatter in London.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction and First Steps – Take a Deep Breath
2. Built-in Data Types
3. Iterating and Making Decisions
4. Functions, the Building Blocks of Code
5. Saving Time and Memory
6. Advanced Concepts – OOP, Decorators, and Iterators
7. Testing, Profiling, and Dealing with Exceptions
8. The Edges – GUIs and Scripts
9. Data Science
10. Web Development Done Right
11. Debugging and Troubleshooting
12. Summing Up – A Complete Example