How to Code in Python

Digital Ocean’s How to Code in Python 3 tutorial series is available for free as an open educational eBook in both EPUB and PDF formats. Having these tutorials together in an eBook format provides you with a resource that you can use on your favourite e-reader without maintaining a constant internet connection. This way, you can use the book to learn key concepts while offline, or as a reference guide while you are coding on your computer.

Because it is available in an eBook format, How to Code in Python can be used as an Open Educational Resource and therefore as an alternative to a textbook in the classroom. Additionally, the eBook can be made available for the wider public through libraries.

This eBook can be used in a variety of ways, so this guide will break down how the general reader may want to approach the book, how teachers and students can use the book as part of their classes, and how public and university librarians can increase availability of this eBook as an educational resource. Finally, for any reader who works through the book and wants guidance on what to do next, additional resources are discussed at the bottom of this page.

How to Use This Book as a General Reader

This book is designed to be used in a way that makes sense for you. While it is arranged to ramp up an emerging developer, do not be constrained by the order: feel free to move throughout the book to suit your needs. Once you are familiar with the concepts, you can continue to use the book as a source of reference.

If you use the book in the order it is laid out, you’ll begin your exploration in Python by understanding the key differences between Python 3 and the previous versions of the language. From there, you’ll set up a programming environment for your relevant local or server-based system, and begin by learning general Python code structure, syntax, and data types. Along the way, you'll gain a solid grounding in computational logic within Python, a set of skills relevant even when moving to other programming languages in the future. While the beginning of the book focuses on scripting in Python, object-oriented coding concepts are gradually introduced to help make your code more modular, flexible, and complex without repetition. By the end of the book, you’ll learn how to debug your Python code and finally how to port Python code across versions.

Use How to Code in Python in Your Classroom

If you’re a student, you can let your teacher, professor, or Computer Science department know about the availability of this free eBook on Python programming. Your school or university may have an open educational resource repository where they can make the eBook available to students or teachers. You can also share this eBook with clubs or groups you belong to that may be interested in learning more about Python programming. In addition to Computer Science clubs and programs, those involved in Data Science, Statistics, and the Digital Humanities may find this free resource useful.

If you’re a teacher offering classes or workshops on Python training, you can use this open educational eBook for free with your students. You can follow the order of the chapters in the eBook for your own curriculum, or you can pick and choose based on what you are planning to accomplish within your class. You can also supplement the eBook with the growing number of Digital Ocean project-based tutorials that are available for free online and can support students as they put their programming knowledge into practice by working through solutions to real-world scenarios.

Add How to Code in Python to Your Library’s Catalogue

If you’re a librarian, you can consider adding How to Code in Python to your library’s catalogue. Having the eBook available in a greater number of libraries will increase public access to a free resource that will support people as they learn to code. While not everyone is interested in a career in computer programming, everyone who learns some coding principles will be able to contribute to a larger discourse around software development and technology.

This free eBook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License and is available to be used as an Open Educational Resource.

The following information will be useful to librarians seeking to add the eBook to their library’s collection:

• Entry on World Cat: How To Code in Python 3
• OCLC number: 1020289950
• Book summary: This educational book introduces emerging developers to computer programming through the Python software development language, and serves as a reference book for experienced developers looking to learn a new language or re-familiarize themselves with computational logic and syntax.

If the Digital Ocean Community team can provide additional guidance, feel free to reach out in the comments section below.

Next Steps and Where to Go From Here

When you are done with the book, you can take a look at project-based tutorials to put your knowledge into play while creating projects that can help you solve problems. While you are working on these projects, you can continue to refer to the chapters in this book as reference material.

Anyone who learns how to code can contribute to an open-source project. Open-source software is software that is freely available to use, redistribute, and modify.

Contributing to open-source projects helps improve software by ensuring that it is representative of the broad base of technology end-users. When users contribute to open-source projects through code, technical documentation, or repository maintenance, their diverse perspectives provide added value to the project and the larger developer community.