solo
A
The original form of this book is L TEX source code. Compiling this L TEX source has the effect of generating a device-independent representation of a textbook, which can be converted to other formats and printed. A
The L TEX source for the Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist version of this book is available from http://www.thinkpython.com.
The cover image shows social connectivity of NSF grant investigators at the University of Michigan from
September 1999 through October 2010 and was provided by Eric Hofer and visualized using the GUESS software developed by Eytan Adar, both of the University of Michigan. The cover design is by Terri
Geitgey of the University of Michigan Library.
Preface
Python for Informatics: Remixing an Open Book
It is quite natural for academics who are continuously told to “publish or perish” to want to always create something from scratch that is their own fresh creation. This book is an experiment in not starting from scratch, but instead “re-mixing” the book titled Think Python: How to Think
Like a Computer Scientist written by Allen B. Downey, Jeff Elkner and others.
In December of 2009, I was preparing to teach SI502 - Networked Programming at the University of Michigan for the fifth semester in a row and decided it was time to write a Python textbook that focused on exploring data instead of understanding algorithms and abstractions.
My goal in SI502 is to teach people life-long data handling skills using Python. Few of my students were planning to be be professional computer programmers. Instead, they planned be librarians, managers, lawyers, biologists, economists, etc. who happened to want to skillfully use technology in their chosen field.
I never seemed to find the perfect data-oriented Python book for my course so I set out to write just such a book. Luckily at a faculty meeting three weeks before I was about to start my new book from scratch over the holiday break, Dr. Atul Prakash
The original form of this book is L TEX source code. Compiling this L TEX source has the effect of generating a device-independent representation of a textbook, which can be converted to other formats and printed. A
The L TEX source for the Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist version of this book is available from http://www.thinkpython.com.
The cover image shows social connectivity of NSF grant investigators at the University of Michigan from
September 1999 through October 2010 and was provided by Eric Hofer and visualized using the GUESS software developed by Eytan Adar, both of the University of Michigan. The cover design is by Terri
Geitgey of the University of Michigan Library.
Preface
Python for Informatics: Remixing an Open Book
It is quite natural for academics who are continuously told to “publish or perish” to want to always create something from scratch that is their own fresh creation. This book is an experiment in not starting from scratch, but instead “re-mixing” the book titled Think Python: How to Think
Like a Computer Scientist written by Allen B. Downey, Jeff Elkner and others.
In December of 2009, I was preparing to teach SI502 - Networked Programming at the University of Michigan for the fifth semester in a row and decided it was time to write a Python textbook that focused on exploring data instead of understanding algorithms and abstractions.
My goal in SI502 is to teach people life-long data handling skills using Python. Few of my students were planning to be be professional computer programmers. Instead, they planned be librarians, managers, lawyers, biologists, economists, etc. who happened to want to skillfully use technology in their chosen field.
I never seemed to find the perfect data-oriented Python book for my course so I set out to write just such a book. Luckily at a faculty meeting three weeks before I was about to start my new book from scratch over the holiday break, Dr. Atul Prakash