The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition

A fast-paced introduction to Python for intermediate developers–now with coverage of generative AI!

For over 25 years, The Quick Python Book has been one of the best Python books money can buy. It concisely covers programming basics, while introducing Python's comprehensive standard library and unique features in depth and detail. In this fourth edition, you’ll find new coverage of AI coding tools like Copilot and Google's Colaboratory (Colab), and develop a mindset that can make the most of AI.

The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition includes:

• Python syntax, data structures, and best practices
• Python as an object oriented language
• Common Python libraries
• Basic data handling with Python
• Using AI code generation tools with Python

Whether you’re new to Python or looking to advance your basic skills, The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition will get you writing effective Python code fast. Python authority and former Chair of the Python Software Foundation Board or Directors Naomi Ceder has returned to author this extensively revised fourth edition. With the personal touch of a skilled teacher, Naomi beautifully balances details of the language with the insights and advice you need to handle any task.

Foreword by Luciano Ramalho.

About the technology

System automation. High-performance web apps. Cloud and back-end services. Cutting edge AI. No matter what you’re building, it pays to know how to read and write Python! The Quick Python Book has helped over 100,000 developers get up to speed with the Python programming language. This revised Fourth Edition, fully updated for Python 3.13, explores the latest features and libraries and shows you how to code smarter with AI tools like ChatGPT.

About the book

The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition teaches you the essential Python features and techniques you need for most common scripting, application programming, and data science tasks. Written for developers comfortable with another programming language, it dives right into the good stuff. New interactive notebooks, quick-check questions, and end-of-chapter labs all help practice and consolidate your new skills. Plus, you’ll find practical advice on writing prompts and using AI assistants to accelerate your day-to-day work.

What's inside

• Python syntax, data structures, and best practices
• Object-oriented Python
• Must-know Python libraries
• Data handling

About the reader

For beginning-intermediate programmers. No prior experience with Python required.

About the author

Naomi Ceder has been learning, teaching, and writing about Python since 2001. An elected fellow of the Python Software Foundation, Naomi is a past chair of its board of directors. In 2022 she became the seventh person to receive the PSF Distinguished Service Award.

Table of Contents

Part 1
1 About Python
2 Getting started
3 The quick Python overview
Part 2
4 The absolute basics
5 Lists, tuples, and sets
6 Strings
7 Dictionaries
8 Control flow
9 Functions
10 Modules and scoping rules
11 Python programs
12 Using the filesystem
13 Reading and writing files
14 Exceptions
Part 3
15 Classes and object-oriented programming
16 Regular expressions
17 Data types as objects
18 Packages
19 Using Python libraries
Part 4
20 Basic file wrangling
21 Processing data files
22 Data over the network
23 Saving data
24 Exploring data
Appendix
A guide to Python’s documentation

Naomi Ceder is chair of the Python Software Foundation. She has been learning, using, and teaching Python since 2001.