Python Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming (2nd Edition)

This is an introductory Python tutorial for readers at all levels. The original is Eric Matthes's Python Crash Course, 2nd Edition; the Chinese edition was translated by Yuan Guozhong. The book has two parts. Part I, "Basics," uses 11 chapters to introduce the concepts every Python programmer must master, step by step: from setting up a programming environment and writing your first Hello World program, to variables and simple data types, lists and working with lists, if statements, dictionaries, user input and while loops, functions, classes, files and exceptions, and finally testing your code, helping readers write clean, readable, and reliable code. Part II, "Projects," puts knowledge into practice through three complete projects. Project 1, "Alien Invasion," spans three chapters—arming the ship, aliens are coming, and scoring—to build a 2D shooting game. Project 2, "Data Visualization," spans three chapters—generating data, downloading data, and working with APIs—using libraries such as Matplotlib and Plotly to create interactive infographics. Project 3, "Web Applications," spans three chapters—getting started with Django, user accounts, and styling and deploying an application—to build and launch a simple web app. The second edition is fully revised: the Python installation process is simplified, f-strings, the get() method, large-number notation, and constant notation are added, and the projects use Plotly along with new versions of Django and Bootstrap. The book ends with appendices on installation and troubleshooting, text editors and IDEs, getting help, and version control with Git, plus accompanying source code, exercise answers, and learning videos.