Intro to Python Programming
(Resources)
Pamela A. Moore
Zenia C. Bahorski
Eastern Michigan University
March 7, 2012
A language to swear by, not at.
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Topics Covered
Resources
 Ending Poem: The Zen of Python
 Contact Information
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Resources:
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Free online Tutorial/Was book by Guido with
good examples. Easy read.
◦ Book: van Rossum, G. (2011). The Python Tutorial
◦ Available through a link on the Documents site

Open Book Project: http://openbookproject.net/
◦ Must see to appreciate…
◦ LOTS of links to books/materials

Free Online Book (with lots of praises) Python
and Java versions
◦ Book: Jeffrey Elkner, Allen B. Downey, & Chris
Meyers. (2010). How to Think Like a Computer
Scientist, 2nd edition (2010).
◦ http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english2e/
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Resources:

Tutorial/Online Book: Learning to Program by Alan
Gauld
◦ http://www.alan-g.me.uk/
◦ Frames-based (Good stuff but it hijacks your page)

Although written to supplement his physics students
learning to program in Python, this looks very promising
as a text....
◦ Williams, Michael. (2009). Introduction to computer
programming (using Python).
◦ http://pentangle.net/python/

Online Documentation: One Day of IDLE Toying
◦ HOW TO USE IDLE with screen shots
◦ Nice tutorial to get you started using IDLE
◦ https://hkn.eecs.berkeley.edu/~dyoo/python/idle_intro/index
.html
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Resources:

Python Bibliotheca ***Teacher
Resources***
◦ Link through http://openbookproject.net/
◦ Teacher tools: Books/tutorials
◦ Multimedia: 24 minute video with interviews
of some notables from the Python community
◦ Workshops: Collection of programs and a
"course" with worksheets and example
projects
◦ Community: People (with email addresses)
who teach Python
◦ Links: to other Python-related places
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Resources:

More that we didn’t get to look at…
◦ PythonTurtle: Logo-like environment for kids
and beginners.
 http://pythonturtle.org/
 “Very interesting!” Wish I could play right now!
◦ Book: Swaroop, C. (2005). A Byte of Python.
 Online versions of 2.x and 3.x found at:
 http://www.swaroopch.com/notes/Python
◦ Livewires: A course intended for 12 - 15 year
old summer camp in Britain.
 Includes worksheets.
 http://www.livewires.org.uk/python/home
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Resources:

Books:
◦ Python Programming: For the Absolute
Beginner (Third Edition)
 by Michael Dawson. Course Technology, 2010.
ISBN: 1-4354-55500-2 (Used at EMU, online
version available for students through library).
◦ Learning Python (2nd Edition)
 by Mark Lutz & David Ascher. O'Reilly and
Associates, 2003. ISBN: 0-596-00281-5
◦ Programming Python (2nd Edition)
 by Mark Lutz. O’Reilly and Associates, 2001. ISBN:
0-596-00085-5
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Resources:

Other Stuff:
◦ Python Cookbook
 http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/P
ython
◦ Magazine Article: Collette, B. & Falck, D. (Fall 2010).
Open-source CAM application bares all. Digital Machinist.
◦ 2011 Digital Machinist CNC Workshop:
 http://www.digitalmachinist.net/workshop
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The Zen of Python (by Tim Peters)
1. Beautiful is better than ugly.
2. Explicit is better than implicit.
3. Simple is better than complex.
4. Complex is better than complicated.
5. Flat is better than nested.
6. Sparse is better than dense.
7. Readability counts.
8. Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
9.
Although practicality beats purity.
10. Errors should never pass silently.
11.
Unless explicitly silenced.
12. In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
13. There should be one- and preferably only one- obvious way to do it.
14. Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
15. Now is better than never.
16. Although never is often better than right now.
17. If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
18. If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
19. Namespaces are one honking great idea - let's do more of those!
(Tim’s poem was presented at a talk on the History of Python by Guido
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van Rossum in 2005 at EuroPython in Gothenburg, Sweden.)
Contact Information

Pamela A. Moore
◦ Pamela.moore@emich.edu
◦ http://people.emich.edu/pmoore

Zenia C. Bahorski
◦ zbahorski@emich.edu
◦ http://people.emich.edu/zbahorski

Department of Computer Science
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI 48197


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If you are not already a member of the MACUL
SIGCS, please consider joining!
◦ To subscribe to the group, send an E-Mail message
to: SIG_CSsubscribe@googlegroups.com
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