Python 3 Programming

Chapter 1: Introduction to Python 3

• What is Python?
• What is Python 3?
• Why Python?
• Performance downsides
• The community
• Running Python interactively
• Python scripts
• Python help
• Anatomy of a Python script
• Modules
• Functions and built-ins

Chapter 2: Fundamental Variables

• Python is Object Oriented
• Python variables
• Variable names
• Type specific methods
• Operators and type
• Augmented assignments
• Python types
• Switching types
• Python lists introduced
• Python tuples introduced
• Python dictionaries introduced

Chapter 3: Flow Control

• Python conditionals
• Indentation
• What is truth?
• Boolean and logical operators
• Chained comparisons
• Sequence and collection tests
• Object types
• A note on Exception Handling
• While loops
• Loop control statements
• For loops
• enumerate
• Counting 'for' loops
• Zipping through multiple lists
• Conditional expressions
• Unconditional flow control

Chapter 4: String Handling

• Python 3 strings
• The print function
• Cooking strings
• String concatenation
• 'Quotes'
• String methods
• String tests
• String formatting
• Other string formatting aids
• Slicing a string
• String methods – split and join

Chapter 5: Collections

• Python types – reminder
• Useful tuple operations
• Python lists
• Tuple and list slicing
• Extended iterable unpacking
• Adding items to a list
• Removing items by position
• Removing list items by content
• Sorting
• List methods
• Sets
• Exploiting sets
• Set operators
• Python dictionaries
• Dictionary values
• Removing items from a dictionary
• Dictionary methods
• View objects

Chapter 6: Regular Expressions

• Python regular expressions
• Elementary extended RE meta-characters
• Regular expression objects
• Regular expression substitution
• Regular expression split
• Matching alternatives
• Anchors
• Class shortcuts
• Flags
• Repeat quantifiers
• Parentheses groups
• Back-references
• Global matches

Chapter 7: Data Storage and File Handling

• New file objects
• Reading files into Python
• Reading tricks
• Filter programs – fileinput module
• Binary mode
• Writing to files from Python
• Standard streams
• More tricks
• Random access
• Python pickle persistence
• Pickle protocols
• Build some shelves
• Compression
• Database interface overview
• Example – SQLite from Python

Chapter 8: Functions

• Python functions
• Function parameters
• Variadic functions
• Assigning default values to parameters
• Named (keyword) parameters
• Enforcing named parameters
• Returning objects from a function
• Variables in functions
• Nested functions
• Variables in nested functions
• Function documentation
• Lamdba functions
• Lambda as a sort key
• Lambda in re.sub

Chapter 9: Advanced Collections

• Advanced list functions – filter
• List comprehensions
• Set and dictionary comprehensions
• Lazy lists
• Generators
• Generator objects and next – coroutines
• List comprehensions as generators
• Copying collections – problem
• Copying collections – slice solution?
• Copying collections – deepcopy solution

Chapter 10: Modules and Packages

• What are modules and packages?
• Multiple source files
• How does Python find a module?
• Importing a module
• Importing names
• Directories as packages
• Writing a module
• Module documentation
• Testing a module
• Python debugger
• Python profiler
• Distributing libraries – distutils

Chapter 11: Introduction to Classes and OOP

• Classes and OOP
• Object-Oriented terminology
• Object-Oriented Programming
• Using objects
• Defining classes
• Defining methods
• Constructing an object
• Special methods
• Operator overload special methods
• Properties
• Properties and decorators
• Class methods
• Inheritance
• Inheritance terminology

Chapter 12: Error Handling and Exceptions

• Writing to stderr
• Controlling warnings
• Exception handling
• Exception syntax
• Multiple exceptions
• Exception arguments
• The finally block
• Order of execution
• The Python exception hierarchy
• A common mistake
• The raise statement
• Raising our own Exceptions
• assert

Chapter 13: Multitasking

• Family life
• Creating a process from Python
• Old interface examples
• Waiting for a child
• Using the subprocess module
• The subprocess.Popen class
• Running a basic process
• Capturing the output
• Passing data through a pipe
• Processes and threads
• Very basic threads in Python
• Synchronization objects in threading
• The trouble with threads
• Using the multiprocessing module
• Queue objects

Chapter 14: The Python Standard Library

• The Standard Library
• Example – converting Python 2 scripts to Py3
• Pretty Printer – a useful utility
• Operating System interfaces – os and friends
• System specific attributes – sys
• Signal handling – signal
• Converting a signal to an exception
• Configuration files
• The configparser module
• The datetime module and friends
• The platform module
• External function interface – ctypes
• The socket module
• __future__
• Other modules

• Some experience with scripting or programming: if you can explain what a variable is, write a loop, or define function in some language or script – this course is for you.
• No previous knowledge of Python is assumed.
• Candidates must be comfortable with reading and writing in English