Python : Visual QuickStart Guide, Second Edition

This task-based tutorial is for students with no programming experience and programmers who have some experience with Python and now want to take their skills to the next level. The book walks a reader through all the fundamentals and then moves on to more advanced topics. Cover......Page 1 Table of Contents......Page 5 Chapter 1: Introduction to Programming......Page 8 The Python Language......Page 9 What Is Python Useful For?......Page 10 How Programmers Work......Page 11 Installing Python......Page 12 Chapter 2: Arithmetic, Strings, and Variables......Page 14 The Interactive Command Shell......Page 15 Integer Arithmetic......Page 16 Floating Point Arithmetic......Page 18 Other Math Functions......Page 21 Strings......Page 22 String Concatenation......Page 24 Getting Help......Page 25 Converting Between Types......Page 27 Variables and Values......Page 29 Assignment Statements......Page 31 How Variables Refer to Values......Page 33 Multiple Assignment......Page 35 Chapter 3: Writing Programs......Page 36 Using IDLE’s Editor......Page 37 Compiling Source Code......Page 40 Reading Strings from the Keyboard......Page 41 Printing Strings on the Screen......Page 44 Source Code Comments......Page 46 Structuring a Program......Page 47 Chapter 4: Flow of Control......Page 48 Boolean Logic......Page 49 If-Statements......Page 54 Code Blocks and Indentation......Page 56 Loops......Page 59 Comparing For-Loops and While-Loops......Page 64 Breaking Out of Loops and Blocks......Page 68 Loops Within Loops......Page 69 Chapter 5: Functions......Page 70 Calling Functions......Page 71 Defining Functions......Page 73 Variable Scope......Page 76 Using a main Function......Page 79 Function Parameters......Page 80 Modules......Page 84 Chapter 6: Strings......Page 88 String Indexing......Page 89 Characters......Page 92 Slicing Strings......Page 94 Standard String Functions......Page 97 Regular Expressions......Page 103 Chapter 7: Data Structures......Page 106 The type Command......Page 107 Sequences......Page 108 Tuples......Page 109 Lists......Page 112 List Functions......Page 114 Sorting Lists......Page 117 List Comprehensions......Page 119 Dictionaries......Page 122 Sets......Page 126 Chapter 8: Input and Output......Page 128 Formatting Strings......Page 129 String Formatting......Page 131 Reading and Writing Files......Page 133 Examining Files and Folders......Page 136 Processing Text Files......Page 139 Processing Binary Files......Page 143 Reading Web Pages......Page 146 Chapter 9: Exception Handling......Page 148 Exceptions......Page 149 Catching Exceptions......Page 151 Clean-Up Actions......Page 154 Chapter 10: Object-Oriented Programming......Page 156 Writing a Class......Page 157 Displaying Objects......Page 159 Flexible Initialization......Page 162 Setters and Getters......Page 164 Inheritance......Page 169 Polymorphism......Page 172 Learning More......Page 176 Appendix A: Popular Python Packages......Page 178 Appendix B: Comparing Python 2 and Python 3......Page 182 What’s New in Python 3......Page 183 Converting Python 2 to Python 3......Page 184 C......Page 186 F......Page 187 I......Page 188 N......Page 189 Q......Page 190 T......Page 191 X–Y–Z......Page 192

Python is a remarkably powerful dynamic programming language that is used in a wide variety of application domains such as Web, database access, desktop GUIs, game and software development, and network programming. Fans of Python use the phrase "batteries included" to describe the standard library, which covers everything from asynchronous processing to zip files. The language itself is a flexible powerhouse that can handle practically any application domain. This task-based tutorial is for students with no programming experience as well as those programmers who have some experience with the programming language and now want to take their skills to the next level. The book walks a reader through all the fundamentals and then moves on to more advanced topics. It's a complete end-to-end tutorial and reference.

A guide to the Python computer language covers such topics as strings and variables, functions, data structures, exception handling, and object-oriented programming