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https://dabeaz-course.github.io/practical-python/

Practical Python Programming (course by @dabeaz)
https://dabeaz-course.github.io/practical-python/

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Practical Python Programming (course by @dabeaz)

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README 

        
# Welcome!



When I first learned Python nearly 27 years ago, I was immediately

struck by how I could productively apply it to all sorts of messy work

projects. Fast-forward a decade and I found myself teaching others the

same fun.  The result of that teaching is this course--A no-nonsense

treatment of Python that has been actively taught to more than 400

in-person groups since 2007.  Traders, systems admins, astronomers,

tinkerers, and even a few hundred rocket scientists who used Python to

help land a rover on Mars--they've all taken this course. Now, I'm

pleased to make it available under a Creative Commons license--completely

free of spam, signups, and other nonsense. Enjoy!



[GitHub Pages](https://dabeaz-course.github.io/practical-python) | [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python).



--David Beazley ([https://dabeaz.com](https://dabeaz.com)), [@dabeaz](https://mastodon.social/@dabeaz)



(P.S. This course is about Python. If you want a Python course that's about programming,

you might consider [Advanced Programming with Python](https://www.dabeaz.com/advprog.html))



## What is This?



The material you see here is the heart of an instructor-led Python

training course used for corporate training and professional

development. It was in continual development from 2007 to 2019 and

battle tested in real-world classrooms.  Usually, it's taught

in-person over the span of three or four days--requiring approximately

25-35 hours of intense work. This includes the completion of

approximately 130 hands-on coding exercises.



## Target Audience



Students of this course are usually professional scientists,

engineers, and programmers who already have experience in at least one

other programming language. No prior knowledge of Python is required,

but knowledge of common programming topics is assumed.  Most

participants find the course challenging--even if they've already been

doing a bit of Python programming.



## Course Objectives



The goal of this course is to cover foundational aspects of Python

programming with an emphasis on script writing, basic data manipulation, and

program organization.  By the end of this course, students should be

able to start writing useful Python programs on their own or be able

to understand and modify Python code written by their

coworkers.



## Requirements



To complete this course, you need nothing more than a basic

installation of Python 3.6 or newer and time to work on it.



## What This Course is Not



This is not a course for absolute beginners on how to program a

computer.  It is assumed that you already have programming experience

in some other programming language or Python itself.



This is not a course on web development.  That's a different

circus. However, if you stick around for this circus, you'll still see

some interesting acts--just nothing involving animals.



This is not a course on using tools that happen to be written

in Python. It's about learning the core Python language.



This is not a course for software engineers on how to write or

maintain a one-million line Python application. I don't write programs

like that, nor do most companies who use Python, and neither should

you. Delete something already!



## Take me to the Course Already!



Ok, ok. Point your browser [HERE](Notes/Contents.md)!



## Community Discussion



Want to discuss the course?  You can join the conversation on

[Gitter](https://gitter.im/dabeaz-course/practical-python).  I can't

promise an individual response, but perhaps others can jump in to help.



## Acknowledgements



Llorenç Muntaner was instrumental in converting the course content from

Apple Keynote to the online structure that you see here.



Various instructors have presented this course at one time or another

over the last 12 years. This includes (in alphabetical order): Ned

Batchelder, Juan Pablo Claude, Mark Fenner, Michael Foord, Matt

Harrison, Raymond Hettinger, Daniel Klein, Travis Oliphant, James

Powell, Michael Selik, Hugo Shi, Ian Stokes-Rees, Yarko Tymciurak,

Bryan Van de ven, Peter Wang, and Mark Wiebe.



I'd also like to thank the thousands of students who have taken this

course and contributed to its success with their feedback and

discussion.



## Questions and Answers



### Q: Are there course videos I can watch?



No. This course is about you writing Python code, not watching someone else.



### Q: How is this course licensed?



Practical Python Programming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International License.



### Q: May I use this material to teach my own Python course?



Yes, as long as appropriate attribution is given.



### Q: May I make derivative works?



Yes, as long as such works carry the same license terms and provide attribution.



### Q: Can I translate this to another language?



Yes, that would be awesome.  Send me a link when you're done.



### Q: Can I live-stream the course or make a video?



Yes, go for it!  You'll probably learn a lot of Python doing that.



### Q: Why wasn't topic X covered?



There is only so much material that you can cover in 3-4 days.  If

it wasn't covered, it was probably because it was once covered and it

caused everyone's head to explode or there was never enough time to

cover it in the first place.   Also, this is a course, not a Python

reference manual.



### Q: Why isn't awesome `{command}` in awesome `{tool}` covered?



The focus of this course is on learning the core Python language,

not learning the names of commands in tools.



### Q: Is this course being maintained or updated?



This course represents a "finished product" that was taught and

developed for more than decade.  I have no plans to significantly

revise the material at this time, but will occasionally fix bugs and

add clarification.



### Q: Do you accept pull requests?



Bug reports are appreciated and may be filed through the

[issue tracker](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python/issues).

Pull requests are not accepted except by invitation. Please file an issue first.