Think Python : [how to think like a computer scientist

If you want to learn how to program, working with Python is an excellent way to start. This hands-on guide takes you through the language a step at a time, beginning with basic programming concepts before moving on to functions, recursion, data structures, and object-oriented design. This second edition and its supporting code have been updated for Python 3.Through exercises in each chapter, youâ??ll try out programming concepts as you learn them. Think Python is ideal for students at the high school or college level, as well as self-learners, home-schooled students, and professionals who need to learn programming basics. Beginners just getting their feet wet will learn how to start with Python in a browser.Start with the basics, including language syntax and semanticsGet a clear definition of each programming conceptLearn about values, variables, statements, functions, and data structures in a logical progressionDiscover how to work with files and databasesUnderstand objects, methods, and object-oriented programmingUse debugging techniques to fix syntax, runtime, and semantic errorsExplore interface design, data structures, and GUI-based programs through case studies Preface The way of the program What is a program? Running Python The first program Arithmetic operators Values and types Formal and natural languages Debugging Glossary Exercises Variables, expressions and statements Assignment statements Variable names Expressions and statements Script mode Order of operations String operations Comments Debugging Glossary Exercises Functions Function calls Math functions Composition Adding new functions Definitions and uses Flow of execution Parameters and arguments Variables and parameters are local Stack diagrams Fruitful functions and void functions Why functions? Debugging Glossary Exercises Case study: interface design The turtle module Simple repetition Exercises Encapsulation Generalization Interface design Refactoring A development plan docstring Debugging Glossary Exercises Conditionals and recursion Floor division and modulus Boolean expressions Logical operators Conditional execution Alternative execution Chained conditionals Nested conditionals Recursion Stack diagrams for recursive functions Infinite recursion Keyboard input Debugging Glossary Exercises Fruitful functions Return values Incremental development Composition Boolean functions More recursion Leap of faith One more example Checking types Debugging Glossary Exercises Iteration Reassignment Updating variables The while statement break Square roots Algorithms Debugging Glossary Exercises Strings A string is a sequence len Traversal with a for loop String slices Strings are immutable Searching Looping and counting String methods The in operator String comparison Debugging Glossary Exercises Case study: word play Reading word lists Exercises Search Looping with indices Debugging Glossary Exercises Lists A list is a sequence Lists are mutable Traversing a list List operations List slices List methods Map, filter and reduce Deleting elements Lists and strings Objects and values Aliasing List arguments Debugging Glossary Exercises Dictionaries A dictionary is a mapping Dictionary as a collection of counters Looping and dictionaries Reverse lookup Dictionaries and lists Memos Global variables Debugging Glossary Exercises Tuples Tuples are immutable Tuple assignment Tuples as return values Variable-length argument tuples Lists and tuples Dictionaries and tuples Sequences of sequences Debugging Glossary Exercises Case study: data structure selection Word frequency analysis Random numbers Word histogram Most common words Optional parameters Dictionary subtraction Random words Markov analysis Data structures Debugging Glossary Exercises Files Persistence Reading and writing Format operator Filenames and paths Catching exceptions Databases Pickling Pipes Writing modules Debugging Glossary Exercises Classes and objects Programmer-defined types Attributes Rectangles Instances as return values Objects are mutable Copying Debugging Glossary Exercises Classes and functions Time Pure functions Modifiers Prototyping versus planning Debugging Glossary Exercises Classes and methods Object-oriented features Printing objects Another example A more complicated example The init method The __str__ method Operator overloading Type-based dispatch Polymorphism Debugging Interface and implementation Glossary Exercises Inheritance Card objects Class attributes Comparing cards Decks Printing the deck Add, remove, shuffle and sort Inheritance Class diagrams Debugging Data encapsulation Glossary Exercises The Goodies Conditional expressions List comprehensions Generator expressions any and all Sets Counters defaultdict Named tuples Gathering keyword args Glossary Exercises Debugging Syntax errors Runtime errors Semantic errors Analysis of Algorithms Order of growth Analysis of basic Python operations Analysis of search algorithms Hashtables Glossary If you want to learn how to program, working with Python is an excellent way to start. This hands-on guide takes you through the language one step at a time, beginning with basic programming concepts before moving on to functions, recursion, data structures, and object-oriented design. Through exercises in each chapter, youll try out programming concepts as you learn them.Think Python is ideal for students at the high school or college level, as well as self-learners, home-schooled students, and professionals who need to learn programming basics. This updated second edition has a more direct focus on Python 3, along with simplified installation instructions. You'll also get added coverage of more topics, including list comprehensions and additional data structures "If you want to learn how to program, working with Python is an excellent way to start. This hands-on guide takes you through the language a step at a time, beginning with basic programming concepts before moving on to functions, recursion, data structures, and object-oriented design. This second edition and its supporting code have been updated for Python 3. Through exercises in each chapter, you'll try out programming concepts as you learn them. Think Python is ideal for students at the high school or college level, as well as self-learners, home-schooled students, and professionals who need to learn programming basics. Beginners just getting their feet wet will learn how to start with Python in a browser."--Provided by publisher If you want to learn how to program, working with Python is an excellent way to start. This hands-on guide takes you through the language one step at a time, beginning with basic programming concepts before moving on to functions, recursion, data structures, and object-oriented design. Through exercises in each chapter, you’ll try out programming concepts as you learn them. Think Python is ideal for students at the high school or college level, as well as self-learners, home-schooled students, and professionals who need to learn programming basics. *Think Python* is an introduction to Python programming for beginners. It starts with basic concepts of programming, and is carefully designed to define all terms when they are first used and to develop each new concept in a logical progression. Larger pieces, like recursion and object-oriented programming are divided into a sequence of smaller steps and introduced over the course of several chapters. In January 1999 I was preparing to teach an introductory programming class in Java.