Beginning Programming with Python For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part
1 Getting Started with Python
	Chapter 1 Talking to Your Computer
		Understanding Why You Want to Talk to Your Computer
		Knowing that an Application is a Form of Communication
			Thinking about procedures you use daily
			Writing procedures down
			Seeing applications as being like any other procedure
			Understanding that computers take things literally
		Defining What an Application Is
			Understanding that computers use a special language
			Helping humans speak to the computer
		Understanding Why Python is So Cool
			Unearthing the reasons for using Python
			Deciding how you can personally benefit from Python
			Discovering which organizations use Python
			Finding useful Python applications
			Comparing Python to other languages
	Chapter 2 Getting Your Own Copy of Python
		Downloading the Version You Need
		Installing Python
			Working with Windows
			Working with the Mac
			Working with Linux
		Accessing Python on Your Machine
			Using Windows
			Using the Mac
			Using Linux
		Testing Your Installation
	Chapter 3 Interacting with Python
		Opening the Command Line
			Starting Python
			Using the command line to your advantage
			Using Python environment variables to your advantage
		Typing a Command
			Telling the computer what to do
			Telling the computer you’re done
			Seeing the result
		Using Help
			Getting into help mode
			Asking for help
			Leaving help mode
			Obtaining help directly
		Closing the Command Line
	Chapter 4 Writing Your First Application
		Understanding Why IDEs Are Important
			Creating better code
			Debugging functionality
			Defining why notebooks are useful
		Obtaining Your Copy of Anaconda
			Obtaining Analytics Anaconda
			Installing Anaconda on Linux
			Installing Anaconda on MacOS
			Installing Anaconda on Windows
		Downloading the Datasets and Example Code
			Using Jupyter Notebook
			Defining the code repository
		Creating the Application
			Understanding cells
			Adding documentation cells
			Other cell content
		Understanding the Use of Indentation
		Adding Comments
			Understanding comments
			Using comments to leave yourself reminders
			Using comments to keep code from executing
		Closing Jupyter Notebook
	Chapter 5 Working with Anaconda
		Downloading Your Code
		Working with Checkpoints
			Defining the uses of checkpoints
			Saving a checkpoint
			Restoring a checkpoint
		Manipulating Cells
			Adding various cell types
			Splitting and merging cells
			Moving cells around
			Running cells
			Toggling outputs
		Changing Jupyter Notebook’s Appearance
			Finding commands using the Command Palette
			Working with line numbers
			Using the Cell Toolbar features
		Interacting with the Kernel
		Obtaining Help
		Using the Magic Functions
		Viewing the Running Processes
Part
2 Talking the Talk
	Chapter 6 Storing and Modifying Information
		Storing Information
			Seeing variables as storage boxes
			Using the right box to store the data
		Defining the Essential Python Data Types
			Putting information into variables
			Understanding the numeric types
			Understanding Boolean values
			Understanding strings
		Working with Dates and Times
	Chapter 7 Managing Information
		Controlling How Python Views Data
			Making comparisons
			Understanding how computers make comparisons
		Working with Operators
			Defining the operators
			Understanding operator precedence
		Creating and Using Functions
			Viewing functions as code packages
			Understanding code reusability
			Defining a function
			Accessing functions
			Sending information to functions
			Returning information from functions
			Comparing function output
		Getting User Input
	Chapter 8 Making Decisions
		Making Simple Decisions by Using the if Statement
			Understanding the if statement
			Using the if statement in an application
		Choosing Alternatives by Using the if. . .else Statement
			Understanding the if. . .else statement
			Using the if. . .else statement in an application
			Using the if. . .elif statement in an application
		Using Nested Decision Statements
			Using multiple if or if. . .else statements
			Combining other types of decisions
	Chapter 9 Performing Repetitive Tasks
		Processing Data Using the for Statement
			Understanding the for statement
			Creating a basic for loop
			Controlling execution with the break statement
			Controlling execution with the continue statement
			Controlling execution with the pass clause
			Controlling execution with the else statement
		Processing Data by Using the while Statement
			Understanding the while statement
			Using the while statement in an application
		Nesting Loop Statements
	Chapter 10 Dealing with Errors
		Knowing Why Python Doesn’t Understand You
		Considering the Sources of Errors
			Classifying when errors occur
			Distinguishing error types
		Catching Exceptions
			Basic exception handling
			Handling more specific to less specific exceptions
			Nested exception handling
		Raising Exceptions
			Raising exceptions during exceptional conditions
			Passing error information to the caller
		Creating and Using Custom Exceptions
		Using the finally Clause
Part
3 Performing Common Tasks
	Chapter 11 Interacting with Packages
		Creating Code Groupings
			Understanding the package types
			Considering the package cache
		Importing Packages
			Using the import statement
			Using the from. . .import statement
		Finding Packages on Disk
		Downloading Packages from Other Sources
			Opening the Anaconda Prompt
			Working with conda packages
			Installing packages by using pip
		Viewing the Package Content
		Viewing Package Documentation
			Opening the Pydoc application
			Using the quick-access links
			Typing a search term
			Viewing the results
	Chapter 12 Working with Strings
		Understanding That Strings Are Different
			Defining a character by using numbers
			Using characters to create strings
		Creating Stings with Special Characters
		Selecting Individual Characters
		Slicing and Dicing Strings
		Locating a Value in a String
		Formatting Strings
	Chapter 13 Managing Lists
		Organizing Information in an Application
			Defining organization using lists
			Understanding how computers view lists
		Creating Lists
		Accessing Lists
		Looping through Lists
		Modifying Lists
		Searching Lists
		Sorting Lists
		Printing Lists
		Working with the Counter Object
	Chapter 14 Collecting All Sorts of Data
		Understanding Collections
		Working with Tuples
		Working with Dictionaries
			Creating and using a dictionary
			Replacing the switch statement with a dictionary
		Creating Stacks Using Lists
		Working with queues
		Working with deques
	Chapter 15 Creating and Using Classes
		Understanding the Class as a Packaging Method
		Considering the Parts of a Class
			Creating the class definition
			Considering the built-in class attributes
			Working with methods
			Working with constructors
			Working with variables
			Using methods with variable argument lists
			Overloading operators
		Creating a Class
			Defining the MyClass class
			Saving a class to disk
		Using the Class in an Application
		Extending Classes to Make New Classes
			Building the child class
			Testing the class in an application
Part
4 Performing Advanced Tasks
	Chapter 16 Storing Data in Files
		Understanding How Permanent Storage Works
		Creating Content for Permanent Storage
		Creating a File
		Reading File Content
		Updating File Content
		Deleting a File
	Chapter 17 Sending an Email
		Understanding What Happens When You Send Email
			Viewing email as you do a letter
			Defining the parts of the envelope
			Defining the parts of the letter
		Creating the Email Message
			Working with a text message
			Working with an HTML message
		Seeing the Email Output
Part
5 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 18 Ten Amazing Programming Resources
		Working with the Python Documentation Online
		Using the LearnPython.org Tutorial
		Performing Web Programming by Using Python
		Getting Additional Libraries
		Creating Applications Faster by Using an IDE
		Checking Your Syntax with Greater Ease
		Using XML to Your Advantage
		Getting Past the Common Python Newbie Errors
		Understanding Unicode
		Making Your Python Application Fast
	Chapter 19 Ten Ways to Make a Living with Python
		Working in QA
		Becoming the IT Staff for a Smaller Organization
		Performing Specialty Scripting for Applications
		Administering a Network
		Teaching Programming Skills
		Helping People Decide on Location
		Performing Data Mining
		Interacting with Embedded Systems
		Carrying Out Scientific Tasks
		Performing Real-Time Analysis of Data
	Chapter 20 Ten Tools That Enhance Your Python Experience
		Tracking Bugs with Roundup Issue Tracker
		Creating a Virtual Environment by Using VirtualEnv
		Installing Your Application by Using PyInstaller
		Building Developer Documentation by Using pdoc
		Developing Application Code by Using Komodo Edit
		Debugging Your Application by Using pydbgr
		Entering an Interactive Environment by Using IPython
		Testing Python Applications by Using PyUnit
		Tidying Your Code by Using Isort
		Providing Version Control by Using Mercurial
	Chapter 21 Ten (Plus) Libraries You Need to Know About
		Developing a Secure Environment by Using PyCrypto
		Interacting with Databases by Using SQLAlchemy
		Seeing the World by Using Google Maps
		Adding a Graphical User Interface by Using TkInter
		Providing a Nice Tabular Data Presentation by Using PrettyTable
		Enhancing Your Application with Sound by Using PyAudio
		Manipulating Images by Using PyQtGraph
		Locating Your Information by Using IRLib
		Creating an Interoperable Java Environment by Using JPype
		Accessing Local Network Resources by Using Twisted Matrix
		Accessing Internet Resources by Using Libraries
Index
EULA