What this book covers

Chapter 1, A Gentle Introduction to Python, introduces you to fundamental programming concepts and constructs of the Python language. It also guides you through getting Python up and running on your computer.

Chapter 2, Built-In Data Types, introduces you to Python built-in data types. Python has a very rich set of native data types, and this chapter will give you a description and examples for each of them.

Chapter 3, Conditionals and Iteration, teaches you how to control the flow of the code by inspecting conditions, applying logic, and performing loops.

Chapter 4, Functions, the Building Blocks of Code, teaches you how to write functions. Functions are essential to code reuse, to reducing debugging time, and, in general, to writing higher quality code.

Chapter 5, Comprehensions and Generators, introduces you to the functional aspects of Python programming. This chapter teaches you how to write comprehensions and generators, which are powerful tools that you can use to write faster, more concise code, and save memory.

Chapter 6, OOP, Decorators, and Iterators, teaches you the basics of object-oriented programming with Python. It shows you the key concepts and all the potentials of this paradigm. It also shows you one of the most useful features of the language: decorators.

Chapter 7, Exceptions and Context Managers, introduces the concept of exceptions, which represent errors that occur in applications, and how to handle them. It also covers context managers, which are very useful when dealing with resources.

Chapter 8, Files and Data Persistence, teaches you how to deal with files, streams, data interchange formats, and databases.

Chapter 9, Cryptography and Tokens, touches upon the concepts of security, hashes, encryption, and tokens, which are essential for writing secure software.

Chapter 10, Testing, teaches you the fundamentals of testing, and guides you through a few examples on how to test your code, in order to make it more robust, fast and reliable.

Chapter 11, Debugging and Profiling, shows you the main methods for debugging and profiling code and some examples of how to apply them.

Chapter 12, Introduction to Type Hinting, guides you through the syntax and main concepts of type hinting. Type hinting has become more and more popular in recent years because it enriches both the language and the tools that are part of its ecosystem.

Chapter 13, Data Science in Brief, illustrates a few key concepts by means of a comprehensive example, using the powerful Jupyter Notebook.

Chapter 14, Introduction to API Development, introduces API development using the FastAPI framework.

Chapter 15, CLI Applications, introduces command-line interface applications. They are run in a console or terminal, and are a common and natural way in which developers write several of their own day-to-day tools.

Chapter 16, Packaging Python Applications, guides you through the process of preparing a project to be published, and shows you how to upload the result on the Python Package Index (PyPI).

Chapter 17, Programming Challenges, introduces the concept of competitive programming, by showing you how to solve two problems from the Advent of Code website.