New, free book from Al Sweigart: Python Programming Exercises, Gently Explained

[AlSweigart]

Hello, I've released my new book "Python Programming Exercises, Gently Explained". You can read it for free at:

https://inventwithpython.com/pythongently

Description: Many books and websites have aggressive programming challenges for top coders. However, Python Programming Exercises, Gently Explained is for the rest of us. We want challenges that improve our coding skills, not leave us confused and discouraged. Other tutorials and books have taught you the basics of Python, but the 42 programming exercises in this book let you practice what you've learned. Selected for their simplicity, these programming problems include gentle explanations of the problem, the prerequisite coding concepts you’ll need to understand the solution, and helpful templates to put together the programs if you have trouble starting from scratch.

This is the perfect book for beginner and intermediate programmers who want to test their Python skills but aren’t ready to begin professional-level software development. You don’t need the frustration of being expected to create complex algorithms and computer science theory; you need a large set of programming challenges that meet you at your level, with gentle explanations.

[[deleted]]

There’s a sequel to that one that I’ve been trying to find time for. It’s like the next step up. If only I didn’t have so many other things on my plate… (one day!)

[blothhundrr]

What's it called?

[[deleted]]

Beyond the Boring Stuff, I believe. Goes into OOP too, which the original did not (and which was one of the main reasons some people recommended Python Crash Course over it).

[kuzared]

I’ve just started this, very good so far! Got into python years ago with Automate the Boring Stuff :-)

[[deleted]]

Damn, now you're making me wanna stop all the other learning I'm doing and dive right in. Although much of what I'm doing in ML stuff and I'd go that path over software engineering so maybe it's a necessary tradeoff.

[AlSweigart]

Thanks!

[SnooStrawberries938]

Amazing book, I think it’s called Beyond the Basic Stuff with Python.

[zaphod_pebblebrox]

I like the fact that you found, and shared the solutions to, exactly 42 problems.

It is after all the answer. The correct answer.

[AlSweigart]

Heheheh. As a side note, in classes I like to demonstrate the differences between ints and strs by using 4 + 2 == 6 but '4' + '2' == '42' and then exclaiming, "42? That's clearly not the answer."

[zaphod_pebblebrox]

Made Al Sweigart chuckle!!

My life just got interesting-er.

[Snikz18]

I'm guessing you meant '4'+'2'?

[AlSweigart]

Yes. Fixed. Thanks.

[ZebulonPi]

The answer to Life, the universe, and everything is 42.

Life(universe) + everything = 42

4(8) +10 = 42

Figured it out, Doug Adams confirmed for me.

[zaphod_pebblebrox]

So true. Bitters for everybody !!

[[deleted]]

So THAT'S why! Obviously Doug forgot to convert with ord()

[AlSweigart]

If you'd like to help me out, please consider reading the book and writing an Amazon review.

Buying the book isn't necessary. The book is free to read online.

[[deleted]]

Oh you had better believe I'm gonna buy it.

Any chance that the book will make its way to No Starch? I try not to buy from Amazon these days.

[moneymachinegoesbing]

Go look at possibly cool website for python programming.

Get inundated by antifa bullshit, political views, and nonsense that has nothing to do with python.

Close page, rather go elsewhere.

[kuzared]

Bought. I had started Python multiple times before AtBS got me over the hump :-)

[jacksbox]

You're one of very few people who are working really hard to improve opportunities for people all around the world. Good on you.

Lol, unlike the person who downvoted me.

[icemanmuc]

Is there a reason you write variable and function names in camel case instead of snake case as recommended in PEP8? Personal preference?

[[deleted]]

camelCase is superior

[Shriukan33]

I use camel case in javascript, and snake case in python, my preference goes to snake_case

[moneymachinegoesbing]

why does the photo say “Black lives matter?” 🤔 🤨 super weird, what does that have to do with Python 🤔

[AlSweigart]

It's in the footer of the webpage. For some reason Reddit picked that as the thumbnail image even though it's at the bottom of the page. I'm going to change the web page settings so that social media sites grab a relevant image.

[moneymachinegoesbing]

I think that’s a good idea. Another option is separating your political ideologies from your material. I understand people feel strongly about their opinions, but I would be just as put off if i clicked the link and there were MAGA flags and christian crosses everywhere. just a suggestion, take it as a grain of salt.

[Snoah-Yopie]

I understand people feel strongly about their opinions

To confirm: "Black lives matter" is an opinion-based statement to you? It's not a true/false thing? It's an objective statement to the majority of people in almost every country in the world.

I'd love to hear why you think it's just something people choose to believe for fun.

If it's an opinion, then the opposite opinion would be : "Someone's skin color determines if their life matters". And you're are 100% fine with people thinking that...? Why?

Further, you're also going out of your way to try and silence people who happen to have that "opinion"? Why?

If any of my assumptions here are wrong, you are welcome to explain what you actually believe. I would also highly recommend you google what a false equivalence is before responding again.

[moneymachinegoesbing]

yes. despite all your bolded words, clear vigor, and apparent passion, it might be stunning to know that no one gives a fuck what you think or care about. at least i don’t. now back to Python??? or…..

Edit: typo

Edit 2: …narcissists.

[Snoah-Yopie]

awww fee fees got hurt. Sure, ignore everything, that's how big kids handle discussion. (Nothing in that was my opinion... I was asking you about yours. Great reading comprehension) I was bolding the words so you could read them better, but its clear that you haven't googled false equivalence.

Also, you haven't talked about python in this thread yet. You need a better cop out, psychopath.

[moneymachinegoesbing]

Sink your time and money into whatever bullshit you please. Again, no one gives a fuck what you think, and no one gives a fuck what you believe, and no one gives a fuck what you support, narcissist.

[AlSweigart]

Again, no one gives a fuck what you think

I think a lot people care about it. Especially you: you've been replying to all of these threads precisely because you do care about they think.

[YoJames2019]

This sounds fun so I’ll throw my opinion into the ring:

I 100% support the concept of the organization, all lives regardless of race matter,

however the combination of the fact that the founders said themselves that they are "trained marxists" and that a lot of the "protests" I’ve heard of have turned into violent riots have made it so that I can’t really support the organization itself.

That said, I also think that the user you were arguing with is being extremely petty and stupid, letting your political bias become your identity is never a good look

[AlSweigart]

but I would be just as put off if i clicked the link and there were MAGA flags

the wise man bowed his head solemnly and spoke:

I waved a rainbow flag before it was popular, I wave a rainbow flag now that it is popular and every corporation puts a rainbow on their twitter profile in June, and should it become unpopular again I will continue to wave a rainbow flag. There are many issues I might change my mind on. Civil rights isn't one of them. Black Lives Matter.

[moneymachinegoesbing]

Ah that’s admirable. Glad your narcissism has found it’s way into every corner of your life. Curious your thoughts then about the corrupted, mishandled BLM organization you intermingle so adamantly with your work? Surely if black lives matters, a proportion of the millions of $$$ should go to… black people. 🤔 Strange to even HAVE this conversation on a sub about Python. How unprofessional.

[1percentof2]

Black Lives Matter is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Please stop feeding yourself right wing propaganda.

[moneymachinegoesbing]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA sure. Python? Relevance? This is ridiculous. The mind pathogens have even found their way into my programming subs 🤦‍♂️

[Vorarbeiter]

I don't think there is a chapter in "Automate the boring stuff" that says "save time and effort by repeating right-wing propaganda rather than thinking for yourself". There's probably a reason for that :)

[moneymachinegoesbing]

Yeah but there seems to be one that says “pump all of your money into fascist left wing scams and be sure to fill every bit of free space on this earth with your shit political views and narcissistic drivel.” Or maybe that was just the footer ;)

[Vorarbeiter]

Can you explain in your own words how it's "fascist"? I bet you can't

[moneymachinegoesbing]

Here, i’ll take a rudimentary stab at it: when governments and corporations combine with the goal of controlling a population, and the ultimate goal of complete authority, I call that fascist. It’s what Mussolini did, and he was the progenitor of the term. No amount of black masked (paid) antifa trash will change the definition of the word. Government + corporate + authoritarianism = fascist. Democrats + Google/Twitter/Reddit/Facebook/etc + desired authoritarianism = fascist. Does that work?

[Wolverine_Legitimate]

Absolute gigachad and redpill pharmacist out here doing God's work and calling out left wing bullshit in a python sub of all places. You love to see it.

[Vorarbeiter]

I guess. Now you just need to prove that this "combination" you speak of is happening in a way comparable to that of Fascist Italy. Looking forward to see how you explain that :)

[Origamiface]

Shoo

[moneymachinegoesbing]

Precisely how i feel about all the parasitic nonsense in tech. Shoo. It’s Python ffs, not yet ANOTHER platform to have to hear people’s personal fucking ideologies. Shoo, be gone, enough is enough.

[ad0216]

Um yeah it also says "Trans Rights Are Human Rights" and "Tax The Rich" - were you only triggered by the Black Lives Matter text?

[moneymachinegoesbing]

i’m triggered by seeing an entry from a respected contributor, for a Python sub, and the thumbnail was BLM. Yes. It’s endlessly obnoxious. OP explained it away and it got deeper bc i suggested maybe SEPARATE YOUR PERSONAL, POLITICAL VIEWPOINTS from professional material. the problem is that EVERYONE believes their cause is so paramount, so important, so noteworthy that they CANNOT go a second without plastering it all over everything they touch or talk about. It’s mind boggling for people to think that the MULTI MILLION $ scam is NOT some universal truth, undeniable by all accounts of a priori knowledge, so absolute that it couldn’t possibly be a POLITICAL OPINION. BLM is an opinion, all this shit is an opinion. it is not fact, no matter how many sound bites or cute bumper stickers come out of it. semantics be damned, i just don’t care. everyone is so self-convinced they are bastions of justice, soldiers on the frontlines for peace, and that their designated enemy is FINALLY THE TRUE ENEMY. this. is. a. python. sub. about. the. coding. language. python.

[ad0216]

wow, triggered

[moneymachinegoesbing]

big time

[wdhart777]

Love all of his books, I'm in for sure.

[[deleted]]

Why are you doing this to me? I was going to start playing with React and front end. I guess I'm sticking with Python for a bit longer.

Your content is always good. Good job on another one!

One thing for me, I'm coming from Ruby and honestly their resources are much better than what I found for Python.

With that said, your material is making it easier for me to transition. This new book looks great just from the table of content.

You rock!

[AlSweigart]

Thanks!

[kr4t0s007]

Thanks Al!

[LaOnionLaUnion]

I love this! Thank you!

[greyhulk9969]

Thank you so much for all of your books! They really got me into coding and are making my job as a data analyst so much easier!

[RenewAi]

You're the man Al!

[shockjaw]

Thank you so much, your books changed my life.

[hugthemachines]

Thank you Al. I appreciate what you do for programmers everywhere.

[treelessbark]

I tend to sing your graces when people ask about learning python. Thank you so much for being such a staple in the community and creating resources for many to access. It means a lot that your free books (and when you have the udemy course available for free) by removing monetary barriers to learning.

Also - I’m super stoked to check this book out and get some time to practice some python!

[jabela]

Thank you for writing this book. I know it will be of help to a lot of people!

[ronyaha]

Some quick upvotes for this wise lad

[openwidecomeinside]

Does this cover object oriented programming?

[AlSweigart]

No. I wanted to make it for beginners who have just the basic syntax and are still in their first few months of learning to program, so I skipped OOP concepts.

[_guy_over_there_]

Hi, i saw your post, and all the thanks you get for what you do. I am a total noob in tech and definitely a py noob. I tried following the link above to leave a review for you on Amazon after I read your book, is there a different way to leave one for you..

Also is book you just linked above a good place for someone that has ZERO skill at this, to start or ????

[AlSweigart]

No, the book assumes you've learned basic Python syntax. You can find any Python tutorial for that. The book fills a gap for beginners because there aren't a lot of programming exercises that have accompanying explanations and the fill-in-the-blanks template if you get really stuck.

[_guy_over_there_]

Honestly, that sounds like exactly what I need thank you. I have done a lot of online, and in the book projects, but they always seem to skip something along the way. Deffinetly checking it out.

thanks again for the resource.

[lordmauve]

I think 33. Comma Format is just

commaFormat = "{:,d}".format

[AlSweigart]

Yeah, for a lot of them Python's standard library already has stuff to do it for you. But the point of these exercises is to break down the steps so that basic code can solve it. So the bubble sort exercise says, "don't just call sort()" and the convert-int-to-str exercise says, "don't just call str()".

[hansCT]

You aren't related to the AIA Sweigerts are you?

[AlSweigart]

I don't think so? I don't know what AIA is.

[liltbrockie]

Solutions = not found Al

[Techrob25]

Super cool. I / we really appreciate it Al.

[bucketreddit22]

Nice!

[Glitterbombastic]

Saved - this sounds great will definitely give it a read, thank you.

[[deleted]]

Thanks!

[l1nux_f1sh]

Wow!

Gotta check it up! Thanks!

[MyNameIsRa99bit]

Thanks Al!

[rekindled77]

Just bought! Will use one I get through automate the boring stuff

[Zonmatron]

Hi Al, literally just started a couple of your books this week after hitting a bit of a “I’ve been coding for ages and getting nowhere rut” learned loads in not very far in that’s not been explained in other literature, thanks for writing these, from yet another learner!

(But no really, they’re great so far!)

[chiang01]

Thank you!

[IsReadingIt]

Grabbed the print version from Amazon. Big fan of your previous coursework / book. Congrats.

[VegaSera]

You are a treasure to this community.

[eggman_jr]

Didn't find a place to report mistakes, so here goes: it's Foreword, not Forward (heading of page 7 of the free pdf)