LPWR ACADEMY

PYTHON 101
A CRASH COURSE

Python Quickly and Efficiently

LEARNPYTHONWITHRUNE.ORG
What Makes This Python
Crash Course Different?
Did you know that most people don’t understand what
programming is?

Because of this, many people struggle to learn about

programming and spend too much time learning insignificant
aspects of it.

A senior programmer knows that code is written once but read

hundreds of times.

How does that change their approach to programming?

Well, a programmer knows that it’s about creating the most

efficient, unintuitive, and complex code constructions. They
know that code is about readability.

Code should be intuitive and straightforward to

understand.

WHY HOW WHAT

PYTHON LEARNING LESSONS

This e-book will cover

Why Python is a good choice for beginners and scientific

studies.
How the learning approach is tailored for the best learning
experience.
Finally, the 17 lessons with a getting started guide.
 WHY HOW WHAT
PYTHON LEARNING LESSONS

Python is ideal for programmers because the syntax is minimal

and constructed with a readability as a core focus point. In
addition, Python can be used for simple scripts and full-scale
object-oriented programming.

Simplicity is the key to Python‘s success and popularity.

Most people do not understand this aspect of Python and,
more importantly, programming.

This means that many courses teach Python and programming

incorrectly, making it too complex, covering too many topics,
and teaching edge-case optimizations.

Senior programmers make their code easy to understand and

read.

Why do most teachers not understand this?

Well, because they teach coding and have little to no

experience with production code. Their code is written once
and then never seen again. They have an academic and not
practical approach to coding.

Hello! I am Rune from Denmark, and I have been programming

professionally for over 15 years. In addition, I have had a
passion for teaching since I began studying at the university
for my Ph.D.
 WHY HOW WHAT
PYTHON LEARNING LESSONS

Crash Course Design

This course is designed as follows to keep it simple, intuitive,
and as coding is intended.

One concept at a time Each lesson will only focus on one

new concept at a time to avoid overloading information.

Simple explanations The explanations will relate to

things you already know – it will make it easier for you to
learn to program.

Use-case focused We will cover the most important use

cases, which will allow you to unlock the full power of
programming. This will help you stay focused on what is
relevant to successful programming.

Project-based Each concept will have a project you will try

to make on your own because that’s how you learn to
program. But do not worry, I present a solution with an
explanation for each project.

Resource Options Each lesson has video explanations

with code-along instructions, notebooks with the code, and
an eBook chapter with a written explanation. This will help
you review the concepts in 3 different ways if necessary.
 WHY HOW WHAT
PYTHON LEARNING LESSONS

Crash Course Structure

To optimize your learning the course is structured into 17
lessons. It will start from zero helping you to set up your
environment with Jupyter Notebook (Python environment) and
run your first program.

In your final project, you will create a full Machine Learning

model from scratch.

All 17 video lessons include the following.

An introduction to new Python and programming

concepts.

Prepared Jupyter Notebooks you can follow along with.

A project is introduced in the video lecture along with a

Jupyter Notebook.

At the end of the video lesson, a solution to the project

is given.

Each lesson is covered in the eBook for easy access.

The best way to learn Python is to program projects tailored to

your level. This course comes with 17 projects. One project for
each lesson and a new concept learned.
 WHY HOW WHAT
PYTHON LEARNING LESSONS

Crash Course Learnings

After this course, you will have achieved the following
Created 17 projects including Machine Learning.
Understand and use variables.
Use lists and dictionaries.
Program flow with if-statements and loops.
How to create functions.
Using randomness in a program.
Created simple games.
Read and process CSV files.
Object-Oriented Programming (OOP).
Visualization of data.
Created projects with NumPy and Pandas.
Created a Machine Learning model from scratch.
Recursive functions.
List comprehension.
 WHY HOW WHAT
PYTHON LEARNING LESSONS

Setup and Installation

You will use Jupyter Notebooks for your learning.

In the first lesson you will be introduced to them, for now, you
need to install Anaconda.

1. Go to Anaconda and download the individual edition.

2. It will install Python and Jupyter notebook. This is all you
need to get started and it is free.
3. Launch Anaconda.
On Windows, you may need to add conda in User
Variable‘s path.
4. In Anaconda launch Jupyter Notebook.
5. Navigate Jupyter Notebook to the downloaded Notebooks
from the link (button) above.
Alternatively, you can import them.

On the next page, you will download the Notebooks with all
the lessons and projects you will do in this course.
 WHY HOW WHAT
PYTHON LEARNING LESSONS

Notebooks
IMPORTANT You need to download all the Notebooks and
course material to follow along.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ZIP FILE

The above link will download a ZIP file with all the
Notebooks and files.

Unzip the file (main.zip)

You find the first Notebook under
Jupyter -> starter
You find the Notebooks from the recordings under
jupyter -> final

Alternatively, you can go directly to my GitHub and get

the files.

https://github.com/LearnPythonWithRune/LearnPython
LESSON

00
WHY
PYTHON
HOW
LEARNING
WHAT
LESSONS

Learn Python

Learn Python for Beginner a 8H full course in 17 lessons. Each

lesson will introduce concepts and a project with a solution.
This course comes with 34 Jupyter Notebooks, an installation
guide, and basically everything you need to get started.

Do you want to Learn Python? Don’t know how to get started?

Not sure programming is for you? Don’t know why you should
start with Python?

The goal of this session is how to get started learning Python.

It will show you how to get started with Anaconda Python.

This will take you on a learning journey with Python. It will

show you what aspects of programming are ideal with Python.
Learn everything you need to get started with development,
Data Science, Machine Learning, Object-Oriented
Programming, Creating Fun Games, NumPy and Pandas, Excel
Sheet Automation, and much more…

In this first lesson, we will learn to take input from the user
and print it. Also, how to apply string methods that convert the
string to upper case or similar.
LESSON

WHY
PYTHON
01HOW
LEARNING
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LESSONS

Variables and Types in Python

In this section, you will learn about variables and types in

Python.

Variable and types are needed to make program operations,

like adding numbers. This will enable you to understand how
programs execute operations on data.

Variables and types are the foundation of programming.

Without an understanding of them, it is difficult to start
programming. A variable has a type, in Python, among them
are integer, float, string, list, and dictionaries.

Learn why types in Python are important to master. They

enable you to use specific functions, like Math functions,
manipulate specific string operations, and more.

In the project, we will learn how to make calculations assigning

values to variables. The variables will have types and we will
see how the types are important to master.

1 type(b)
LESSON

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Type Conversion in Python

Learn how to convert between types in Python.

Type Conversion in Python is important as input to functions

needs to be correct.

The goal of this section is to take user input and convert it to

an integer or float. It will also teach you how to convert a
Python integer (int) to a string.

In the project, we will make interactive calculations. We will

prompt the user for input, and convert the input to an integer
or float before further computations are done. This will
demonstrate the use of type conversion.

1 name = input("What is your name? ")

2 print(f"Hello {name}!")
3 birth_year = input("What is your birht year? ")
4 print(f"You were born in {birth_year}.")
LESSON

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Conditional Flow in Python

Learn to use conditional flows in your Python program. This
enables you to let the program perform different tasks based
on input and calculations.

The goal of this section is to teach you how to do if-else

statements in Python and master conditional flow in Python.
This will enable you to implement a decision tree in Python.

Does it rain? Yes, take an umbrella. No, no need for an

umbrella. This is how you make decisions based on the context
you are exposed to. Conditional flows in Python enable you to
simulate the same behavior. This is done with if-else
statements in Python. These can be extended to if-else or if-
elif-else statements to make more advanced flows.

In the project, we will implement a decision tree for a car

insurance company. This is a great thing to master as a
programmer.

1 if a == b:
2 print("a equals b")
LESSON

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WHY
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HOW
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Randomness and Simple Games

To make a Game fun you need to add randomness to it.
Otherwise, it will be predictable. Learn how to use Python's
random number generator.

The Python Random Module is important to master to make

things interesting in many aspects. For one, when creating
games. Learn how to use the Python random generator to
create random integers, a random float, and more.

The goal of this lesson is to teach you how to use the Python
random number generator.

In the project, you will create a Math game and the classical
Rock-Scissor-Paper game.

1 import random
2 a = random.randint(1, 6)
3 b = random.uniform(0, 1)
4 c = random.gauss(0, 1)
LESSON

WHY
05
PYTHON
HOW
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LESSONS

Python Lists and Jumbled Game

Python lists are the most important data structure to master in
Python. Learn the most important Python list operations.

Python lists are versatile and easy to use. The Python list can
be used for containing any Python types or objects.

The project is to create the classical Jumbled Game. This will

use a Python list and demonstrate a use-case of them.

1 my_list = ['Apple', 'Orange', 'Banana']

2 another_list = ['France', 'Denmark', 'Sweden']
3 new_list = my_list + another_list
4 ' '.join(new_list)

1 import random
2 random.choice(new_list)
3 random.shuffle(new_list)
LESSON

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For and While Loops in Python

The for and while loops help you repeat the same task again
and again in Python. Learn how to make loops that terminate
based on user input.

The difference between for and while loops can be a bit

confusing at first. The for-loop is used when you know how
many repetitions you have. The while loop is used when you
do not know how many repetitions you have before you enter
the loop.

The goal of this section is to teach you how to use Python for
and while loops. The while loop is especially powerful when
there is user input in form of a string like we will use in the
project.

The project will be to implement the classical Hangman Game.

1 my_list = ['First', 'Second', 'Third']

2 for i in my_list:
3 print(i)
LESSON

WHY
07
PYTHON
HOW
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LESSONS

Python Functions and Caesar Cipher

Learn how to structure your code with Python functions. How
to master arguments and return statements with Python.

We will learn about Python functions in Jupyter notebook. How

to call functions with arguments. Master how to return values
from Python functions. Also, why and when to use functions.

The objective of this section is to learn about Python functions

for beginners. It will contain clear examples and use cases of
how and why to use functions in Python.

The project for this section will be to implement the Caesar

Cipher. Both encryption and decryption. This will teach you
how to use functions as well as how encryption with Caesar
Cipher works.

1 def print_name(name):
2 print(f"Hello {name}")
3
4 print_name("Rune")
LESSON

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Dictionaries and Game & Frequency

Counting

Learn how to use Python Dictionaries with keys and values.

This section will teach you how to use Python Dictionaries to
count occurrences of unknown types.

Master one of the most important data structures in Python:

The dictionary (dict). Learn how to add key and value pairs in a
dictionary. How you can add new items to a dictionary. Also,
learn how to iterate over a Python Dictionary with Key-Value
pairs.

The project will be to implement a Guess a Capital Game and

how to make frequency count using Python Dictionaries.

1 my_dict = {
2 'Key 1': 'Value 1',
3 'Key 2': 'Value 2'
4 }
LESSON

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WHY
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HOW
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LESSONS

CSV files with DictReader

What is a CSV file? A great way to store tabular data.
How to read CSV files with Python? This is the focus of this
lesson.

Learn how to read CSV files with DictReader in Python. This will
read the CSV content into a Python list of dictionaries
representing one row each with key-value pairs.

In this lesson, you will learn what a CSV file is, and how do you
read a CSV file in a convenient way in Python. Also how to
iterate over the CSV content with a for-loop in Python.

This can all be done simply by using the CSV library with the
DictReader.

In the project, you will read a huge CSV file and make some
nice data processing utilizing what you have just learned.

1 import csv
2 with open("files/NameRecords.csv", "r") as f:
3 csv_reader = csv.DictReader(f)
4 name_records = list(csv_reader)
LESSON

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10
HOW
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Recursive Functions & Tower of Hanoi

Learn what Recursive Functions are and why they are

powerful. The classical example is solving the Tower of Hanoi,
which solves a complex problem in a simple manner with
recursion.

In this lesson, we will first learn what recursive functions are,

and why they are useful and gives you great power. We will
break recursive functions down with a simple counting
function. Then learn what the Fibonacci numbers are and how
to implement them recursively.

In the project, we will learn the complex mathematical game:

Tower of Hanoi. It is a seemingly complex problem to solve,
but with recursion it becomes easy. Tower of Hanoi is the best
example to learn what recursion is and how it can help craft
readable code.

1 def count(n):
2 if n <= 0:
3 return n
4 return n + count(n - 1)
LESSON

WHY
PYTHON
11
HOW
LEARNING
WHAT
LESSONS

List Comprehension

List Comprehension in Python is something you need to

master. When you know how to use them, you will write
simpler code.

In this lesson, we will learn what List Comprehension is and

how to use it. We will start off with a simple example and
explore similar code without list comprehension. Then we will
make list comprehension with calculations, with if-statements,
if-else-statements, and list comprehension from another list.
We will also learn how to make Dict Comprehension.

In the project, we will re-do some of our previous code with list
comprehension. Specifically, we will make the Caesar Cipher
encryption and decryption with List Comprehension. Also, we
will make Frequency count with Dict Comprehension.

1 my_list = [i for i in range(10)]

2 my_list = [i for i in range(10) if i % 2 == 0]
3 my_list = [i if i % 2 else -i for i in range(10)]
4 {i: i*i for i in my_list}
LESSON

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12
HOW
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LESSONS

Object-Oriented Programming

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is the best tool to

implement complex problems in a simple way.

In this lesson, we will introduce Object-Oriented Programming

(OOP) with a concrete example of implementing a Card Game.
This will teach you Python classes and objects. More precisely,
we will implement three classes (Card, Deck, and Hand) from a
description of a diagram. This will include implementing string
representation of the objects, passing parameters to class
instance variables, comparison of objects, and adding custom
methods.

The project will be implementing a Card Game using the

classes we will have implemented.

1 class Card:
2 def __init__(self, suit, rank):
3 self.suit = suit
4 self.rank = rank
LESSON

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13
HOW
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LESSONS

Matplotlib Visualization
When working with data you need to be able to visualize it.
This is easy with the Python library Matplotlib.

In this lesson, we will learn how to visualize data using

Matplotlib in Python. We will learn how to plot lines and make
scatter plots and histograms. Also, we will learn how to use the
Matplotlib library in both functional and object-oriented ways.
This is important to understand to utilize the library efficiently.
We will also learn how to set titles and labels and color scatter
plots.

In the project, we will investigate if there is a connection

between Horsepower and Torque in a long CSV file full of cars.
This investigation will be done visually with Matplotlib in a color
full scatterplot. Secondly, we will use a histogram to investigate
the value of the roll of two dice.

1 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

2 %matplotlib notebook
3 plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4])
LESSON

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14
HOW
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LESSONS

Linear Regression with NumPy

We will learn about Machine Learning and use a Linear

Regression model to fit it to a real-world dataset.

In this section, we will learn the difference between classical

computing and Machine Learning. How Machine Learning
works, as well as, the types of Machine Learning. We will get a
brief introduction to the NumPy library, which is useful for
Machine Learning. Finally, we will learn how to use a Linear
Regression model from sklearn, to predict from a dataset.

In the project, we will use real-world data and see how well the
Linear Regression model can predict a connection between
Horsepower and Torque.

1 from sklearn.linear_model import LinearRegression

2 lin_regressor = LinearRegression()
3 lin_regressor.fit(X, Y)
4 Y_pred = lin_regressor.predict(X)
LESSON

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15
HOW
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LESSONS

Pandas and Excel Automation

Learn how to use pandas to create Excel sheets with charts –
all from Python.

In this lesson, we will get a short introduction to pandas data

structure DataFrames, which are very similar to Excel sheets.
Among the things we will master with pandas, are filtering and
GroupBy operations. We will learn how to read data properly
from a CSV file into pandas DataFrame. From the DataFrame,
we will export it to an Excel sheet and insert charts of the data.

In the project, we will read a sales dataset and make some nice
Excel sheets with charts representing the sales reps.

1 d = {
2 'Cars': ['Fiat', 'Porsche', 'Ferrari', 'Ferrari'],
3 'Speed': [120, 215, 305, 195]
4 }

1 import pandas as pd
2 df = pd.DataFrame(d)
LESSON

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PYTHON
16
HOW
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LESSONS

Reinforcement Learning from Scratch

Create your own Machine Learning model from Scratch
without using any libraries. That is, you will learn how the
Reinforcement Learning Machine Learning algorithm works
and create it yourself from scratch in Python.

In this last lesson, you will make your Cap Stone project.
Creating your own Machine Learning model from scratch. First,
we will learn what the Reinforcement model is, how it works,
and a description of the algorithm.

Then we will look at the problem we want to solve and use

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) to create a Field class
where our algorithm will exist in. The field will contain actions
that the model can make, and reward it according to the
behavior we want.

Then we will continue to create a naive solution to the

problem, to see how well it performs. This will be a baseline for
the implementation of our Reinforcement Learning algorithm.

We continue to implement a Q-table, the learning part of the

algorithm. Finally, we will see how it performs compared to the
naive solution. And I will promise you, you will be impressed by
how little code is needed to make such an efficient algorithm.
Congratulations
You have created 17 projects
with Python!
You know a lot about Python
types and variables
lists, dictionaries
program flows
randomness
CSV files
...and much more.

But...
It is the first step

Don't expect
to write big programs
not to need help

I started programming at 12, got a Ph.D. in computer science,

coded professionally for almost 15 years, and I still need help
and to learn new stuff all the time.

One step at a time... but enjoy the learning journey!

Rune