Target audience

Students who want to learn programming on their own, the book was written so you can gradually learn to program. The first chapters explain the basic programming concepts in a logical order, with practical exercises. All you need to know is how to use a computer and a browser (Firefox, Edge, Safari, or Google Chrome). The book starts by showing how to download and install Python on Windows, but it also covers Linux (Ubuntu) and macOS. Special attention was given to conditional structures (if), loops (while), and functions (including recursion). The book also covers string manipulation (text processing), so you learn to work with variables containing text and prepare to write more complete programs. At the end, we cover files, creating simple web pages, a light introduction to object-oriented programming, regular expressions, and graphical interfaces.

You might wonder if this book is what you're looking for. This book is ideal for:

  • Anyone who wants to learn how to program computers.
  • Anyone who is studying programming logic in school or college and is looking for a study aid to support their learning.
  • Anyone who is a Introduction to Computer Science (ICC) student.
  • Anyone who wants to learn Python to use in other programs.
  • Anyone who wants to learn at their own pace
  • Anyone who has been using computers for a while and wants to learn how to program them.

Upon finishing the book, you should be ready to write programs that:

  • Read data from the keyboard.
  • Use lists.
  • Manipulate directories and files.
  • Calculate averages and sums.
  • Define their own functions, including recursive functions, lambdas, and passing functions as parameters.
  • Read and write files, including simple home pages.
  • Use simple classes and objects.
  • Manipulate text (strings), being able to find a word or letter.
  • Use databases and SQL.
  • Regular Expressions (REGEX)
  • Use the command line, receive parameters and create files in JSON format.
  • Graphical interfaces (GUI) with Tkinter.

What this book doesn't teach but prepares you to learn:

  • Django or web frameworks