Python: The Essentials

This course will go through some Python basics before moving into code examples. You can always learn the most about Python by writing programs instead of just reading about it. Follow along, tweak different parts of the programs in the following chapters, and do not be afraid to think, “Huh, that’s weird…” or “I wonder what would happen if…” or “I wonder if I can do [x] in Python…” (Hint: yes, you probably can.) If you feel that this chapter moves too quickly, I recommend trying another Educative course or some Edpresso shots to get some of the basics down. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act request, the National Security Agency (NSA) declassified and published its 595 page Introduction to Python course syllabus. This document, and the rest of this course’s example programs, can be found at this course’s GitHub repository [2]. In this section, you will learn some Python basics, and then in the next chapter, you can begin coding. I would ...