A Concise Introduction to Programming in Python

A Concise Introduction to Programming in Python, Second Edition provides a hands-on and accessible introduction to writing software in Python, with no prior programming experience required.

The Second Edition was thoroughly reorganized and rewritten based on classroom experience to incorporate:

• A spiral approach, starting with turtle graphics, and then revisiting concepts in greater depth using numeric, textual, and image data
• Clear, concise explanations written for beginning students, emphasizing core principles
• A variety of accessible examples, focusing on key concepts
• Diagrams to help visualize new concepts
• New sections on recursion and exception handling, as well as an earlier introduction of lists, based on instructor feedback

The text offers sections designed for approximately one class period each, and proceeds gradually from procedural to object-oriented design. Examples, exercises, and projects are included from diverse application domains, including finance, biology, image processing, and textual analysis. It also includes a brief "How-To" sections that introduce optional topics students may be interested in exploring.

The text is written to be read, making it a good fit in flipped classrooms. Designed for either classroom use or self-study, all example programs and solutions to odd-numbered exercises (except for projects) are available at: http://www.central.edu/go/conciseintro/.

Mark J. Johnson is professor of computer science and mathematics at Central College in Pella, Iowa, where he holds the Ruth and Marvin Denekas Endowed Chair in Science and Humanities. Mark is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Ph.D., mathematics) and St. Olaf College. He is the author of A Concise Introduction to Data Structures using Java, also published by Chapman & Hall/CRC Press.