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# Welcome!
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2022-11-26 09:29:04 -06:00
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When I first learned Python nearly 27 years ago, I was immediately
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struck by how I could productively apply it to all sorts of messy work
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projects. Fast-forward a decade and I found myself teaching others the
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same fun. The result of that teaching is this course--A no-nonsense
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treatment of Python that has been actively taught to more than 400
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in-person groups since 2007. Traders, systems admins, astronomers,
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tinkerers, and even a few hundred rocket scientists who used Python to
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help land a rover on Mars--they've all taken this course. Now, I'm
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pleased to make it available under a Creative Commons license--completely
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free of spam, signups, and other nonsense. Enjoy!
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[GitHub Pages](https://dabeaz-course.github.io/practical-python) | [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python).
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2023-02-27 11:07:22 -06:00
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--David Beazley ([https://dabeaz.com](https://dabeaz.com)), [@dabeaz](https://mastodon.social/@dabeaz)
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(P.S. This course is about Python. If you want a Python course that's about programming,
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you might consider [Advanced Programming with Python](https://www.dabeaz.com/advprog.html))
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2020-05-29 04:24:42 -05:00
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## What is This?
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The material you see here is the heart of an instructor-led Python
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training course used for corporate training and professional
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development. It was in continual development from 2007 to 2019 and
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battle tested in real-world classrooms. Usually, it's taught
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in-person over the span of three or four days--requiring approximately
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25-35 hours of intense work. This includes the completion of
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approximately 130 hands-on coding exercises.
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## Target Audience
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Students of this course are usually professional scientists,
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engineers, and programmers who already have experience in at least one
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other programming language. No prior knowledge of Python is required,
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but knowledge of common programming topics is assumed. Most
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participants find the course challenging--even if they've already been
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doing a bit of Python programming.
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## Course Objectives
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The goal of this course is to cover foundational aspects of Python
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programming with an emphasis on script writing, basic data manipulation, and
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program organization. By the end of this course, students should be
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able to start writing useful Python programs on their own or be able
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to understand and modify Python code written by their
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coworkers.
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## Requirements
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To complete this course, you need nothing more than a basic
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installation of Python 3.6 or newer and time to work on it.
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## What This Course is Not
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This is not a course for absolute beginners on how to program a
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computer. It is assumed that you already have programming experience
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in some other programming language or Python itself.
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This is not a course on web development. That's a different
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circus. However, if you stick around for this circus, you'll still see
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some interesting acts--just nothing involving animals.
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This is not a course on using tools that happen to be written
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in Python. It's about learning the core Python language.
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This is not a course for software engineers on how to write or
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maintain a one-million line Python application. I don't write programs
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like that, nor do most companies who use Python, and neither should
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you. Delete something already!
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## Take me to the Course Already!
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Ok, ok. Point your browser [HERE](Notes/Contents.md)!
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## Community Discussion
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2025-12-22 13:51:27 -06:00
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Want to discuss the course? Feel free to use [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python/discussions).
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I can't promise an individual response, but perhaps others can jump in to help.
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## Acknowledgements
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Llorenç Muntaner was instrumental in converting the course content from
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Apple Keynote to the online structure that you see here.
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Various instructors have presented this course at one time or another
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over the last 12 years. This includes (in alphabetical order): Ned
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Batchelder, Juan Pablo Claude, Mark Fenner, Michael Foord, Matt
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Harrison, Raymond Hettinger, Daniel Klein, Travis Oliphant, James
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Powell, Michael Selik, Hugo Shi, Ian Stokes-Rees, Yarko Tymciurak,
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Bryan Van de ven, Peter Wang, and Mark Wiebe.
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I'd also like to thank the thousands of students who have taken this
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course and contributed to its success with their feedback and
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discussion.
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## Questions and Answers
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### Q: Are there course videos I can watch?
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No. This course is about you writing Python code, not watching someone else.
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### Q: How is this course licensed?
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Practical Python Programming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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### Q: May I use this material to teach my own Python course?
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Yes, as long as appropriate attribution is given.
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### Q: May I make derivative works?
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Yes, as long as such works carry the same license terms and provide attribution.
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2020-05-31 07:55:05 -05:00
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### Q: Can I translate this to another language?
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Yes, that would be awesome. Send me a link when you're done.
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### Q: Can I live-stream the course or make a video?
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Yes, go for it! You'll probably learn a lot of Python doing that.
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### Q: Why wasn't topic X covered?
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There is only so much material that you can cover in 3-4 days. If
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it wasn't covered, it was probably because it was once covered and it
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caused everyone's head to explode or there was never enough time to
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cover it in the first place. Also, this is a course, not a Python
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reference manual.
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### Q: Why isn't awesome `{command}` in awesome `{tool}` covered?
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The focus of this course is on learning the core Python language,
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not learning the names of commands in tools.
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### Q: Is this course being maintained or updated?
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This course represents a "finished product" that was taught and
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developed for more than decade. I have no plans to significantly
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revise the material at this time, but will occasionally fix bugs and
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add clarification.
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### Q: Do you accept pull requests?
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Bug reports are appreciated and may be filed through the
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[issue tracker](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python/issues).
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Pull requests are not accepted except by invitation. Please file an issue first.
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2020-05-27 20:14:07 -05:00
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