A Whirlwind Tour of Python

by Jake VanderPlas

To tap into the power of Python's open data science stack—including NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Scikit-learn, and other tools—you first need to understand the syntax, semantics, and patterns of the Python language. This report provides a brief yet comprehensive introduction to Python for engineers, researchers, and data scientists who are already familiar with another programming language.
Author Jake VanderPlas, an interdisciplinary research director at the University of Washington, explains Python’s essential syntax and semantics, built-in data types and structures, function definitions, control flow statements, and more, using Python 3 syntax.
You’ll explore:
- Python syntax basics and running Python code
Basic semantics of Python variables, objects, and operators
- Built-in simple types and data structures
- Control flow statements for executing code blocks conditionally
- Methods for creating and using reusable functions
Iterators, list comprehensions, and generators
- String manipulation and regular expressions
- Python’s standard library and third-party modules
- Python’s core data science tools
- Recommended resources to help you learn more

Genres: Programming, Nonfiction, Software, Computer Science, Technical, Reference

98 pages, ebook

Published August 15, 2016

About the author

Jake VanderPlas is a well-known data scientist, researcher, and educator. He is recognized for his contributions to the fields of machine learning, data science, and astronomy. VanderPlas is particularly famous for his work in Python programming for data analysis and scientific computing.
He is the author of several popular resources, including:
"Python Data Science Handbook": A highly regarded book that provides a comprehensive guide to data science with Python, covering topics such as data manipulation, visualization, and machine learning.
He has also contributed to open-source projects related to data science and scientific computing, particularly within the Python ecosystem.
In addition to his work in data science, Jake VanderPlas is also an academic with a background in astronomy. He has worked at the University of Washington and has been involved in research related to both machine learning applications and astrophysics.

Reviews

[Anuar Zhumabayev · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an introduction to one of the most used programming languages in modern era, this book is very good choice.

Simple English, straight-forward instructions and a lot of love links to other useful resources.

Author did a great job, and all potential big data enthusiasts should be thankful.

[Dash Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is not false advertising.

[Shelly (YI-Hsuan) LIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great high level introduction of python.

[Lee Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative, concise overview of the key features of the Python language. VanderPlas avoids excessive text/prose, and gives 'straight-to-the-point' descriptions of key parts of the Python language.

I really enjoyed the "level-of-the-reader" VanderPlas imagined: someone who wants to spend a couple hours learning the basics of the language, and is proficient enough in other languages (e.g. R or Matlab) to get the gist quickly. Vanderplas doesn't pontificate, and I was able to work through it, including running all the code, in under 3-hours with my laptop.

I wonder if these are the "types" of books that will really excel in the 21st century. It is basically a concise summary of a large and technical topic, from a reliable source, that provides intuitive descriptions of the key ideas and instantiates these ideas with code. It reminds me a lot of Hadley Wickham's "R-packages" book, which someone can basically keep open in a tab while they build an R-package.

[J.W. Donley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great intro to python for those of us who are proficient in another language already.

[Mark Pedigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good, quick no-kidding intro to the Python programming language. Deeper than you'd expect for a ~100 pager.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I read one of these programming books, but it was a fairly quick and easy read. I have some programming background, but with someone with less experience, this might be a fire hose of information. However, this book was meant to be a quick overview of many basics of Python.

Jake provides an overview of many of the very basic functions and syntax for Python. He provides examples of code to show how to do certain basic tasks in different ways. He describes the benefits of using one method over another. He describes operators, functions, modules/packages, loops. After this book, you'd be able to do some math problems and create numerical sequences.

This book does not go in depth, but it is essentially just a basic get-your-feet-wet tour of Python. You would still need other training to truly perform tasks in Python. Recommended for anyone who wants to get a better idea of the syntax, whether as a coding manager, a coder learning Python, a project manager, a coding recruiter, and others.

[Suhrob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

More of the technical literature should take a note here.
Short, to the point and covering the most important parts of the language.
A great, fast intro for a programmer new to python, or a refresher for a stray son/daugher returning to the language and handy reference for the rest.

Small gripes: classes could have been covered (and optionally regexp left out). The distinction between generators and iterators is far from clear just from this review (could have been fixed by a paragraph).

[Atif Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great to the point book for those getting quickly into programming in python. I got to know about this book from the author's book on data science using python, coming from an R world, I was wondering whether it would be a good idea directly going into data science packages using Python without learningt the intricacies of it during the process but this quick 100 page book just removes all drama.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had programmed in Python before, but I needed a quick reminder of Python syntax and the most handy ways of writing Python code. Many of the books/tutorials which provide an introduction to Python were too slow in their explanations for my liking. After all: I already know how to program! This book was a quick, enjoyable way of reacquainting myself with Python basics.

[jacques tree cartesian · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s just like tour guide. even though the page is less than 100. it really is great tour introduction of python. don’t expect to get basic python just from this book, although it covers a lot information despite that mini pages.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't learn anything about snakes 😞 but I could out program one now.

[Marius Colacioiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and good overview of python basics. Enjoyed diving in the code examples.

[Miguel Veliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Begginner's guide to Python

[Dovydas Ceilutka · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books to learn Python for non-Python developers.

[Shamsuddeen Mohammad]

An easy read for both experienced and non-experience programmer. If you are an experienced programmer and want a shift to python, this is definitely one of the best choices.

[Amin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, very handy, a book I am gonna go back to a million times

[David]

Perfect reading for severe weather conditions

[Yi Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick review of the python language

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good introduction to Python, easy to follow for those who've never used python. Lessons are all in the form of jupyter notebooks.

[Chris Dedow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and follow.

[Flash Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the O’Reilly Python book I wish I’d read first. It’s not the cornucopia O’Reilly has for Perl, but it’s a good short introduction. It avoids the excesses of O’Reilly’s other Python books, e.g., it doesn’t go into enough depth to need to be 3.x–only. It lacks an index, which is a problem even for an eBook, e.g., for the use of “all” in the section on the Prime Number Generator. (Sadly, O’Reilly’s indexers would probably have missed that anyway; they’re heavy-handed with their stop-words, and don’t answer their email.) But the Generator section is a joy to read, focussing on the important simple usage and avoiding unnecessary complexity.

[Aleksandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're already a programmer, skip the other Python books. This guide won't waste your time, and it'll cover everything you need to get you going. No time is wasted on introductory concepts, and Vanderplas goes over everything from syntax, to control structure, so that you can get building right away.

And if you already know a bit of Python, and you're in need of a refresher, this little book will do the job admirably as well.

Strongly recommended to programmers with an interest in Python.

[Vishell · Rating 3 out of 5]

So it's definitely for beginners, but it's good to skim that book to know(if you are good with python), that you haven't missed anything from that book. For newcomers it is really a good one, i would be glad to start learning Python with it.

[Venkatesh-Prasad · Rating 4 out of 5]

It provides a great overview and introduction of the imperative programming features of Python. Given that it is free :), it is the obvious place to start if you are looking for a light first read about Python.

[Alan Ortiz pimentel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good book for introductory purpose on Python language. It really gives you a summary of all the things you can do in Python language, but it do not fully enter you on a specify topic.