Basic computer programming can be intimidating to anyone who has ever attempted to write their first line of code. Idiot's Guides: Basic Programming takes the fear out of learning programming by teaching readers the basics of programming with Python, an open-source (free) environment which is considered one of the easiest languages to learn for beginners, Python has consistent syntax, a solid standardized library, and a simplicity that isn't always present in other languages. Readers will learn not only the "how" of programming but the "why" so that they not only know how to write code, but why that code works, and how it relates to other languages and forms of programming. Readers will learn how to program through simple projects that help them to learn how basic programming works, while encouraging them to be creative and enabling them to see the tangible results of their coding.

Beginning Programming takes the fear out of learning programming by teaching readers the basics with Python, an open-source (free) environment which is considered one of the easiest languages to learn. Readers will learn not only the "how" of programming in Python, but the "why," so they understand how the code really works and how it relates to other programming languages. Included are simple coding projects that reinforce lessons.


Basic computer programming can be intimidating to anyone who has ever attempted to write their first line of code. Idiot's Guides: Basic Programming takes the fear out of learning programming by teaching readers the basics of programming with Python, an open-source (free) environment which is considered one of the easiest languages to learn for beginners, Python has consistent syntax, a solid standardized library, and a simplicity that isn't always present in other languages. Readers will learn not only the "how" of programming but the "why" so that they not only know how to write code, but why that code works, and how it relates to other languages and forms of programming. Readers will learn how to program through simple projects that help them to learn how basic programming works, while encouraging them to be creative and enabling them to see the tangible results of their coding.

Includes bibliographical references (page 387) and index.

Background on computers and terminology. So you want to program computers ; Programming with Python ; Your first Python program -- Learning Python. Variables ; Conditional programming ; Loops ; Arrays ; String basics ; The new way of strings -- Basic programming concepts. Functions ; Does anybody really know what time it is? ; Error handling, or when things go terribly wrong ; Files, directories, and other things that persist ; Programming with class(es) -- Working with the Python environment. Graphics and Python ; Packages and modules ; Designing programs ; Testing ; The Python debugger and debugging.

Full of easy-to-follow lessons for understanding and coding with the user-friendly open-source programming language Python, this guide will have you creating your own scripts in no time.