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Python is an excellent way to get started in programming, and this clear, concise guide walks you through Python a step at a time—beginning with basic programming concepts before moving on to functions, data structures, and object-oriented design. This revised third edition reflects the growing role of large language models (LLMs) in programming and includes exercises on effective LLM prompts, testing code, and debugging skills. With this popular hands-on guide at your side, you'll get: • A grounding in the syntax and semantics of the Python language • A clear definition of each programming concept, with emphasis on clear vocabulary • How to work with variables, statements, functions, and data structures in a logical progression • Techniques for reading and writing files and databases • A solid understanding of objects, methods, and object-oriented programming • Debugging strategies for syntax, runtime, and semantic errors • An introduction to recursion, interface design, data structures, and basic algorithms • How to use LLMs—including effective prompts, testing code, and debugging • And more Cover Copyright Table of Contents Preface Who Is This Book For? Goals of the Book Navigating the Book What’s New in the Third Edition? Getting Started Resources for Teachers Conventions Used in This Book Using Code Examples O’Reilly Online Learning How to Contact Us Acknowledgments Chapter 1. Programming as a Way of Thinking Arithmetic Operators Expressions Arithmetic Functions Strings Values and Types Formal and Natural Languages Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 2. Variables and Statements Variables State Diagrams Variable Names The import Statement Expressions and Statements The print Function Arguments Comments Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Chapter 3. Functions Defining New Functions Parameters Calling Functions Repetition Variables and Parameters Are Local Stack Diagrams Tracebacks Why Functions? Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 4. Functions and Interfaces The jupyturtle Module Making a Square Encapsulation and Generalization Approximating a Circle Refactoring Stack Diagram A Development Plan Docstrings Debugging Glossary Exercises Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Ask a Virtual Assistant Chapter 5. Conditionals and Recursion Integer Division and Modulus Boolean Expressions Logical Operators if Statements The else Clause Chained Conditionals Nested Conditionals Recursion Stack Diagrams for Recursive Functions Infinite Recursion Keyboard Input Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 6. Return Values Some Functions Have Return Values And Some Have None Return Values and Conditionals Incremental Development Boolean Functions Recursion with Return Values Leap of Faith Fibonacci Checking Types Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 7. Iteration and Search Loops and Strings Reading the Word List Updating Variables Looping and Counting The in Operator Search Doctest Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 8. Strings and Regular Expressions A String Is a Sequence String Slices Strings Are Immutable String Comparison String Methods Writing Files Find and Replace Regular Expressions String Substitution Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 9. Lists A List Is a Sequence Lists Are Mutable List Slices List Operations List Methods Lists and Strings Looping Through a List Sorting Lists Objects and Values Aliasing List Arguments Making a Word List Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 10. Dictionaries A Dictionary Is a Mapping Creating Dictionaries The in Operator A Collection of Counters Looping and Dictionaries Lists and Dictionaries Accumulating a List Memos Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 11. Tuples Tuples Are Like Lists But Tuples Are Immutable Tuple Assignment Tuples as Return Values Argument Packing Zip Comparing and Sorting Inverting a Dictionary Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 12. Text Analysis and Generation Unique Words Punctuation Word Frequencies Optional Parameters Dictionary Subtraction Random Numbers Bigrams Markov Analysis Generating Text Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 13. Files and Databases Filenames and Paths f-strings YAML Shelve Storing Data Structures Checking for Equivalent Files Walking Directories Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 14. Classes and Functions Programmer-Defined Types Attributes Objects as Return Values Objects Are Mutable Copying Pure Functions Prototype and Patch Design-First Development Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 15. Classes and Methods Defining Methods Another Method Static Methods Comparing Time Objects The __str__ Method The __init__ Method Operator Overloading Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Chapter 16. Classes and Objects Creating a Point Creating a Line Equivalence and Identity Creating a Rectangle Changing Rectangles Deep Copy Polymorphism Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 17. Inheritance Representing Cards Card Attributes Printing Cards Comparing Cards Decks Printing the Deck Add, Remove, Shuffle, and Sort Parents and Children Specialization Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 18. Python Extras Sets Counters defaultdict Conditional Expressions List Comprehensions any and all Named Tuples Packing Keyword Arguments Debugging Glossary Exercises Ask a Virtual Assistant Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Chapter 19. Final Thoughts Index About the Author Colophon 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.