Book Image

The Python Workshop

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

The Python Workshop

By: Bird, Pons, Dr. Lau Cher Han, Mario Corchero Jiménez, Lee, 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 Algorithms

An algorithm is a series of instructions that can be executed to perform a certain task or computation. A recipe for a cake is an example of an algorithm. For example, preheat the oven, beat 125 g of sugar and 100 g of butter, and then add eggs and other ingredients. Similarly, simple computations in mathematics are algorithms. For example, when computing the perimeter of a circle, you multiply the radius by . It's a short algorithm, but an algorithm, nonetheless.

Algorithms are often initially defined in pseudocode, which is a way of writing down the steps a computer program will make without coding in any specific language. A reader should not need a technical background in order to read the logic expressed in pseudocode. For example, if you had a list of positive numbers and wanted to find the maximum number of positive numbers in that list, an algorithm expressed in pseudocode could be as follows:

  1. Set the maximum variable to 0.
  2. For...