# Welcome!

When I first learned Python nearly 25 years ago, I was immediately
struck by how I could productively apply it to all sorts of messy work
projects. Fast-forward a decade and I found myself teaching others the
same fun.  The result of that teaching is this course--A no-nonsense
treatment of Python that has been actively taught to more than 400
in-person groups since 2007.  Traders, systems admins, astronomers,
tinkerers, and even a few hundred rocket scientists who used Python to
help land a rover on Mars--they've all taken this course. Now, I'm
pleased to make it available under a Creative Commons license. Enjoy!

[GitHub Pages](https://dabeaz-course.github.io/practical-python) | [GitHub Repo](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python).

--David Beazley ([https://dabeaz.com](https://dabeaz.com)), [@dabeaz](https://twitter.com/dabeaz)

## What is This?

The material you see here is the heart of an instructor-led Python
training course used for corporate training and professional
development. It has been in continual development since 2007 and
battle tested in real-world classrooms.  Usually, it's taught
in-person over the span of three or four days--requiring approximately
25-35 hours of intense work. This includes the completion of
approximately 130 hands-on coding exercises.

## Target Audience

Students of this course are usually professional scientists,
engineers, and programmers who already have experience in at least one
other programming language. No prior knowledge of Python is required,
but knowledge of common programming topics is assumed.  Most
participants find the course challenging--even if they've already been
doing a bit of Python programming.

## Course Objectives

The goal of this course is to cover foundational aspects of Python
programming with an emphasis on script writing, data manipulation, and
program organization.  By the end of this course, students should be
able to start writing useful Python programs on their own or be able
to understand and modify Python code written by their
coworkers.

## Requirements

To complete this course, you need nothing more than a basic
installation of Python 3.6 or newer and time to work on it.

## What This Course is Not

This is not a course for absolute beginners on how to program a
computer.  It is assumed that you already have programming experience
in some other programming language or Python itself.

This is not a course on web development.  That's a different
circus. However, if you stick around for this circus, you'll still see
some interesting acts--just nothing involving animals.

This is not a course for software engineers on how to write or
maintain a one-million line Python application. I don't write programs
like that, nor do most companies who use Python, and neither should
you. Delete something already!

## Take me to the Course Already!

Ok, ok. Point your browser [HERE](Notes/Contents.md)!

## Community Discussion

Want to discuss the course?  You can join the conversation on
[Gitter](https://gitter.im/dabeaz-course/practical-python).  I can't
promise an individual response, but perhaps others can jump in to help.

## Acknowledgements

Llorenç Muntaner was instrumental in converting the course content from
Apple Keynote to the online structure that you see here.

Various instructors have presented this course at one time or another
over the last 12 years. This includes (in alphabetical order): Ned
Batchelder, Juan Pablo Claude, Mark Fenner, Michael Foord, Matt
Harrison, Raymond Hettinger, Daniel Klein, Travis Oliphant, James
Powell, Michael Selik, Hugo Shi, Ian Stokes-Rees, Yarko Tymciurak,
Bryan Van de ven, Peter Wang, and Mark Wiebe.

I'd also like to thank the thousands of students who have taken this
course and contributed to its success with their feedback and
discussion.

## Questions and Answers

### Q: Are there course videos I can watch?

No. This course is about you writing Python code, not watching someone else.

### Q: How is this course licensed?

Practical Python Programming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

### Q: May I use this material to teach my own Python course?

Yes, as long as appropriate attribution is given.

### Q: May I make derivative works?

Yes, as long as such works carry the same license terms and provide attribution.

### Q: Can I translate this to another language?

Yes, that would be awesome.  Send me a link when you're done.

### Q: Can I live-stream the course or make a video?

Yes, go for it!  You'll probably learn a lot of Python doing that.

### Q: Why wasn't topic X covered?

There is only so much material that you can cover in 3-4 days.  If
it wasn't covered, it was probably because it was once covered and it
caused everyone's head to explode or there was never enough time to
cover it in the first place.   Also, this is a course, not a Python
reference manual.

### Q: Do you accept pull requests?

Bug reports are appreciated and may be filed through the
[issue tracker](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python/issues).
Pull requests are not accepted except by invitation. Please file an issue first.

