Get Programming: Learn to code with Python teaches you the basics of computer programming using the Python language. In this exercise-driven book, you'll be doing something on nearly every page as you work through 38 compact lessons and 7 engaging capstone projects. By exploring the crystal-clear illustrations, exercises that check your understanding as you go, and tips for what to try next, you'll start thinking like a programmer in no time.

This book works perfectly alongside our video course Get Programming with Python in Motion, available exclusively at Manning.com: www.manning.com/livevideo/get-programming-with-python-in-motion

What's Inside

• Programming skills you can use in any language
• Learn to code—no experience required
• Learn Python, the language for beginners
• Dozens of exercises and examples help you learn by doing

About the Reader

No prior programming experience needed.

Table of Contents

LEARNING HOW TO PROGRAM

Lesson 1 - Why should you learn how to program?

Lesson 2 - Basic principles of learning a programming language

UNIT 1 - VARIABLES, TYPES, EXPRESSIONS, AND STATEMENTS

Lesson 3 - Introducing Python: a programming language

Lesson 4 - Variables and expressions: giving names and values to things

Lesson 5 - Object types and statements of code 46

Lesson 6 - Capstone project: your first Python program-convert hours to minutes

UNIT 2 - STRINGS, TUPLES, AND INTERACTING WITH THE USER

Lesson 7 - Introducing string objects: sequences of characters

Lesson 8 - Advanced string operations

Lesson 9 - Simple error messages

Lesson 10 - Tuple objects: sequences of any kind of object

Lesson 11 - Interacting with the user

Lesson 12 - Capstone project: name mashup

UNIT 3 - MAKING DECISIONS IN YOUR PROGRAMS

Lesson 13 - Introducing decisions in programs

Lesson 14 - Making more-complicated decisions

Lesson 15 - Capstone project: choose your own adventure

UNIT 4 - REPEATING TASKS

Lesson 16 - Repeating tasks with loops

Lesson 17 - Customizing loops

Lesson 18 - Repeating tasks while conditions hold

Lesson 19 - Capstone project: Scrabble, Art Edition

UNIT 5 - ORGANIZING YOUR CODE INTO REUSABLE BLOCKS

Lesson 20 - Building programs to last

Lesson 21 - Achieving modularity and abstraction with functions

Lesson 22 - Advanced operations with functions

Lesson 23 - Capstone project: analyze your friends

UNIT 6 - WORKING WITH MUTABLE DATA TYPES

Lesson 24 - Mutable and immutable objects

Lesson 25 - Working with lists

Lesson 26 - Advanced operations with lists

Lesson 27 - Dictionaries as maps between objects

Lesson 28 - Aliasing and copying lists and dictionaries

Lesson 29 - Capstone project: document similarity

UNIT 7 - MAKING YOUR OWN OBJECT TYPES BY USING OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING

Lesson 30 - Making your own object types

Lesson 31 - Creating a class for an object type

Lesson 32 - Working with your own object types

Lesson 33 - Customizing classes

Lesson 34 - Capstone project: card game

UNIT 8 - USING LIBRARIES TO ENHANCE YOUR PROGRAMS

Lesson 35 - Useful libraries

Lesson 36 - Testing and debugging your programs

Lesson 37 - A library for graphical user interfaces

Lesson 38 - Capstone project: game of tag

Appendix A - Answers to lesson exercises

Appendix B - Python cheat sheet

Appendix C - Interesting Python libraries

Review

"Accessible and intuitive. After going through the many examples in the book, I felt much more confident in my Python programming skills." -Nicole Kogan, MIT

"A definitive resource for anyone wanting to grasp how to solve problems using Python." -Vester Thacker, AIG Technologies

"Very helpful in creating a solid foundation of generic programming principles." -Prabhuti Prakash, Atos

"Kick-starts programming concepts with Python-but useful to anyone getting started with programming." -Sam Johnson, Intouch Solutions

"An easy-to-follow intro to Python." -David Moravec, Mainstream Technologies --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Ana Bell is a lecturer at MIT in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department, where she co-lectures the Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python course aimed at students with no programming experience.