Python Crash Course: Get programming in no time with this great book!

A hands on, project-based introduction to Python programming

python crash course a hands-on project-based introduction to programming pdf free

Python Crash Course review: a first Python book for beginners?

Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes teaches programming fundamentals and then applies them through projects. Our view: it suits beginners who want to write programs as they learn, rather than only read explanations.

Do you need prior coding experience? It is written as an introduction to programming. Expect to spend time running examples, solving exercises, and debugging; finishing the reading alone will not build fluency.

Edition note: the publisher’s third-edition page describes the fundamentals and game, visualization, and web-app projects. Use the supporting materials for your edition. For an ML learning path, complete the basics before adding pandas and model evaluation.

Looking for a practical path into ML? Read the free Starter Kit excerpt on test sets to preview the €19 handbook. No email required.

Review of Python Crash Course:

Python Crash Course is one of the best selling Python books of all time. It is an straightforward and easy to follow introduction to the core of Python programming. If you are a beginner who is looking to get programming quickly, this is your book. In no time you will be coding awesome programs that will make you feel proud.

The author ignores all the jibber-jabber, unnecessary information that could slow down the learning process and instead provides a strong foundation of general programming concepts and Python fundamentals, through many practical examples. Three real-world projects in the second part of the book allow readers to apply their knowledge in useful ways.

Readers will learn how to create a simple video game, use data visualisation techniques to make graphs and charts, and build and deploy an interactive web application. Python Crash Course teaches beginners the essentials of Python quickly so that they can build practical programs and develop powerful programming techniques.

It is, above all, a book that makes learning to program fun and dynamic, getting the reader coding all the time and learning through doing and trial and error rather than reading line after line of text or code.

Contents of Python Crash Course:

The contents of Python Crash Course are the following:

–Part I: Basics. We get introduced to all the fundamentals of Python programming. The different data types, program flow mechanisms, loops, user input and output, how to handle files, and Object Oriented Programming.

– Part II: Projects. Part two is solely project focused. Yo have better grasped well the content displayed in Part I, because part two gets you working from the first page. You will build a video game, a code a fun visualisation exercise and finish building a web page with the famous Django library.

The following video summarises the book very well:

You can find some further resources about this book here or here, on the authors website.

Summary of Python Crash Course

The projects give you opportunities to practise reading errors, organizing code, and testing changes. Make one small modification of your own to each project so you can distinguish understanding from copying.

Before buying, try a sample chapter and complete an exercise without looking at the solution. This is a better test of fit than assuming one book is ideal for every beginner.

Is Python Crash Course enough for machine learning? It builds programming foundations, but you will still need data handling, basic statistics, and evaluation skills. Next, try our pandas introduction, then follow the Machine Learning 101 guide.

If you still want to deepen your Python Knowledge after Python crash course, check out our sections on Python Books or Python Online Courses.

Also, some similar books (introductory Python books) to this one are: