Book Image

The Python Workshop

By : Olivier Pons, Andrew Bird, Dr. Lau Cher Han, Mario Corchero Jiménez, Graham Lee, Corey Wade
Book Image

The Python Workshop

By: Olivier Pons, Andrew Bird, Dr. Lau Cher Han, Mario Corchero Jiménez, Graham Lee, Corey Wade

Overview of this book

Have you always wanted to learn Python, but never quite known how to start? More applications than we realize are being developed using Python because it is easy to learn, read, and write. You can now start learning the language quickly and effectively with the help of this interactive tutorial. The Python Workshop starts by showing you how to correctly apply Python syntax to write simple programs, and how to use appropriate Python structures to store and retrieve data. You'll see how to handle files, deal with errors, and use classes and methods to write concise, reusable, and efficient code. As you advance, you'll understand how to use the standard library, debug code to troubleshoot problems, and write unit tests to validate application behavior. You'll gain insights into using the pandas and NumPy libraries for analyzing data, and the graphical libraries of Matplotlib and Seaborn to create impactful data visualizations. By focusing on entry-level data science, you'll build your practical Python skills in a way that mirrors real-world development. Finally, you'll discover the key steps in building and using simple machine learning algorithms. By the end of this Python book, you'll have the knowledge, skills and confidence to creatively tackle your own ambitious projects with Python.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)

Python Scripts and Modules

In previous chapters, you have been executing Python in an interactive Python console or a Jupyter Notebook. However, you may be aware that most Python code lives in text files with a .py extension. These files are simply plain text and can be edited with any text editor. Programmers typically edit these files using either a text editor such as Notepad++, or Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) such as Jupyter or PyCharm.

Typically, standalone .py files are either called scripts or modules. A script is a file that is designed to be executed, usually from the command line. On the other hand, a module is usually imported into another part of the code or an interactive shell to be executed. Note that this is not a hard distinction; modules can be executed, and scripts can be imported into other scripts/modules.

Exercise 34: Writing and Executing Our First Script

In this exercise, you will create a script called my_script.py and execute it on the...