Python for non-Pythonians : how to win over programming languages

Whether or not you are familiar with the world of programming languages, you would probably know that there are currently hundreds of them. They can serve very different goals and their characteristics might change quite dramatically. We can be sure about one thing, though: developing the correct mindset to start using one of these languages is fundamental in order to solve complex real-world problems. Whether we have to deal with remote databases or with Social Media data, being able to access and manipulate the information contained in this data is a key competitive advantage in today's world. The goal of this book is to give you an easy access point to start exploring the vast world of programming languages. In particular, in this manuscript we focus our attention on one of the most common and versatile languages, called Python. The book uses a very simple and accessible language. All the descriptions of Python functionalities come with intuitive examples to make you learn by doing. This is not a theoretical book and does not cover some of the most internal features of Python. The intention of the authors is to allow business oriented people to start using Python. The main reason for such a choice of style is due to the increasing number of requests by non-technical professionals to solve daily problems and tasks. Whether we want to append multiple spreadsheets or profile the customer base, being able to use a solid infrastructure which enables to collect, check, process, analyze data, and report results has become a basic requirement in most industries. This work starts with a brief introduction to the Python language by presenting some of its most important features. We will learn how to install Python and how to start talking with it through different front-ends. We will then begin to define objects and to recognize their different characteristics and functionalities. Each section ends with a few exercises to make the reader comfortable with the concepts just introduced. This book comes with an online version available at http://mybook.egeaonline.it. The online version cannot be downloaded but it is a colour version to facilitate code reading