Python workbook: a brief introduction with exercises and solutions

Includes index.

While other textbooks devote their pages to explaining introductory programming concepts, The Python Workbook focuses exclusively on exercises, following the philosophy that computer programming is a skill best learned through experience and practice. Designed to support and encourage hands-on learning about programming, this student-friendly work contains 174 exercises, spanning a variety of academic disciplines and everyday situations. Solutions to selected exercises are also provided, supported by brief annotations that explain the technique used to solve the problem, or highlight specific points of Python syntax. No background knowledge is required to solve the exercises, beyond the material covered in a typical introductory Python programming course. Features: Uses an accessible writing style and easy-to-follow structure Includes a mixture of classic exercises from the fields of computer science and mathematics, along with exercises that connect to other academic disciplines Presents the solutions to approximately half of the exercises Provides annotations alongside the solutions, which explain the approach taken to solve the problem and relevant aspects of Python syntax Offers a variety of exercises of different lengths and difficulties Contains exercises that help the development of programming skills using if statements, loops, basic functions, lists, dictionaries, files, and recursive functions Undergraduate students undergoing their first programming course and wishing to enhance their programming abilities will find the exercises and solutions provided in this book to be ideal for their needs. Dr. Ben Stephenson is a Senior Instructor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary.