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Invent with Python ☰

Learn to Program. For

Free.
Learning to program makes you a smarter and more capable human being. Rocket science
uses programming, but programming isn't rocket science. Whether you're a student preparing
for a software career, an office worker buried under spreadsheet files, or a hobbyist who wants
to make video games, the Python programming language is an excellent start in the world of
programming.

I'm Al Sweigart, and I write books to teach beginners to code. I put them online for free because
programming is too valuable and needs to be accessible to all. (You can also buy print and
ebooks versions.) My approach takes out the intimidation so that you can become productive
and enjoy the creative aspects of coding.

Get started today. And good luck on your programming journey!

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New Books!

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Python Programming Exercises, Gently Explained is 99 cent ebook

with 42 programming challenges for beginners. The Recursive Book
of Recursion: Ace the Coding Interview with Python and JavaScript
takes you from beginner of this intimidating programming topic to
mastery.

Programming Books by Al
Sweigart

Automate the Boring

Stuff with Python

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More Info

Python Programming
Exercises, Gently
Explained

More Info

The Recursive Book of

Recursion

More Info

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The Big Book of Small

Python Projects

More Info

Beyond the Basic Stuff

with Python

More Info

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Coding with Minecraft

More Info

Cracking Codes with

Python

More Info

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Invent Your Own

Computer Games with
Python, 4th Edition

More Info

Scratch 3
Programming
Playground

More Info

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Making Games with

Python & Pygame

More Info

Learn Coding for Automation

Everyone in the 21st century needs to learn to code, right? But not
everyone needs to become a software engineer or computer
scientist. Automate the Boring Stuff with Python is written for office
workers, students, administrators, and anyone who uses a computer
how to write small, practical programs to automate tasks on their
computer.

You don't need to know all the complexities of algorithms and

syntax, you just want to write basic programs to automate mundane
computer tasks. In the process, even total beginners will learn to

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use Python to control their computers without having to learn

complex information about computer science. This is a practical
programming guide for the rest of us.

You can also take the online course of this book on Udemy. Use this
link to purchase the course for about $14 (about a 70% discount!)

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher (Free ebook!)

Read Online for Free

Like this book? Writing a review helps get it in front of more

people!

Recursion, Understandable by
Humans

Recursion, and recursive algorithms, have a reputation for being

intimidating. They're seen as an advanced computer science topic
often brought up in coding interviews. Moreover, coders often
perceive the use of a recursive algorithm as a sophisticated solution
that only true programmers can produce. But there's nothing
magical about recursion. Its fearsome reputation is more a product
of poor teaching than of the complexity of recursion itself.

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This book teaches the basics of recursion, exposes the ways it's
often poorly taught, and clarifies the fundamental principles behind
all recursive algorithms. It is project-based, containing complete,
runnable programs in both Python and JavaScript, and covers
several common recursive algorithms for tasks like calculating
factorials, producing numbers in the Fibonacci sequence, tree
traversal, maze solving, binary search, quicksort and merge sort,
Karatsuba multiplication, permutations and combinations, and
solving the eight queens problem.

The book also explains tail call optimization and memoization,

concepts often employed to produce effective recursive algorithms,
and the call stack, which is a critical part of how recursive functions
work but is almost never explicitly pointed out in lessons on
recursion. The last chapter, on fractals, culminates with examples of
the beautiful fractal shapes recursion can produce.

You can get a free review copy of this ebook!

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher (Free ebook!)

Read Online for Free

Simple Exercises to Improve Your

Skills

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Many books and websites have aggressive programming challenges

for top coders. However, Python Programming Exercises, Gently
Explained is for the rest of us. We want challenges that improve our
coding skills, not leave us confused and discouraged. Other
tutorials and books have taught you the basics of Python, but the
42 programming exercises in this book let you practice what you've
learned. Selected for their simplicity, these programming problems
include gentle explanations of the problem, the prerequisite coding
concepts you’ll need to understand the solution, and helpful
templates to put together the programs if you have trouble starting
from scratch.

This is the perfect book for beginner and intermediate

programmers who want to test their Python skills but aren’t ready
to begin professional-level software development. You don’t need
the frustration of being expected to create complex algorithms and
computer science theory; you need a large set of programming
challenges that meet you at your level, with gentle explanations.

The professionally-formatted ebook is available on Amazon for 99

cents.

Buy on Amazon Read Online for Free

81 Easy Practice Programs

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If you’re tired of standard step-by-step tutorials, you’ll love the

learn-by-doing approach of The Big Book of Small Python Projects.
It’s proof that good things come in small programs! Watch a video
trailer of the projects in this book.

If you’ve mastered basic Python syntax and you’re ready to start

writing programs, you’ll find The Big Book of Small Python Projects
both enlightening and fun. This collection of 81 Python projects will
have you making digital art, games, animations, counting programs,
and more right away. Once you see how the code works, you’ll
practice re-creating the programs and experiment by adding your
own custom touches.

These simple, text-based programs are 256 lines of code or less.

And whether it’s a vintage screensaver, a snail-racing game, a
clickbait headline generator, or animated strands of DNA, each
project is designed to be self-contained so you can easily share it
online.

You’ll create:

Hangman, Blackjack, and other games to play against your

friends or the computer
Simulations of a forest fire, a million dice rolls, and a Japanese
abacus
Animations like a virtual fish tank, a rotating cube, and a
bouncing DVD logo screensaver
A first-person 3D maze game
Encryption programs that use ciphers like ROT13 and
Vigenère to conceal text

You can get a free review copy of this ebook!

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher (Free ebook!)

Read Online for Free

Like this book? Writing a review helps get it in front of more

people!

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Bridge the Gap Between Novice

and Professional

You've completed a basic Python programming tutorial or finished

Al Sweigart's best selling Automate the Boring Stuff with Python.
What's the next step toward becoming a capable, confident
software developer?

Welcome to Beyond the Basic Stuff with Python. More than a mere
collection of advanced syntax and masterful tips for writing clean
code, you'll learn how to advance your Python programming skills
by using the command line and other professional tools like code
formatters, type checkers, linters, and version control. Sweigart
takes you through best practices for setting up your development
environment, naming variables, and improving readability, then
tackles documentation, organization and performance
measurement, as well as object-oriented design and the Big-O
algorithm analysis commonly used in coding interviews. The skills
you learn will boost your ability to program—not just in Python but
in any language.

You can get a free review copy of this ebook!

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher (Free ebook!)

Read Online for Free

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Like this book? Writing a review helps get it in front of more

people!

Program Robots in Minecraft

You've mined for diamonds, crafted dozens of tools, and built all
sorts of structures—but what if you could program robots to do all
of that for you in a fraction of the time?

In Coding with Minecraft, you'll create a virtual robot army with Lua,
a programming language used by professional game developers.
Step-by-step coding projects will show you how to write programs
that automatically dig mines, collect materials, craft items, and build
anything that you can imagine. Along the way, you'll explore key
computer science concepts like data types, functions, variables, and
more.

You can get a free review copy of this ebook! (Scroll to the
bottom of this link for info.)

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher (Free ebook!)

Read Online for Free

Like this book? Writing a review helps get it in front of more

people!

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1/9/25, 12:34 PM Invent with Python

Encrypt Messages and Hack

Ciphers

Cracking Codes with Python teaches complete beginners how to

program in the Python programming language. The book features
the source code to several ciphers and hacking programs for these
ciphers. The programs include the Caesar cipher, transposition
cipher, simple substitution cipher, multiplicative & affine ciphers,
Vigenere cipher, and hacking programs for each of these ciphers.
The final chapters cover the modern RSA cipher and public key
cryptography.

You can get a free review copy of this ebook!

Cracking Codes with Python is the new edition of the older book,
Hacking Secret Ciphers with Python.

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher (Free ebook!)

Read Online for Free

Like this book? Writing a review helps get it in front of more

people!

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Create Computer Games

Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python teaches you how to
program in the Python language. Each chapter gives you the
complete source code for a new game, and then teaches the
programming concepts from the examples. Games include Guess
the Number, Hangman, Tic Tac Toe, and Reversi. This book also has
an introduction to making games with 2D graphics using the
Pygame framework.

You can get a free review copy of this ebook!

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher (Free ebook!)

Read Online for Free

Like this book? Writing a review helps get it in front of more

people!

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Graphical Game Programming

for Kids

Scratch 3 Programming Playground teaches you how to program in

Scratch, the graphical programming language from MIT for ages 8
to 16. It features 8 game and art projects.

Scratch 3 Programming Playground is for young adults or

parents/teachers who want to lead kids through a fun programming
journey. Additionally, there are also many video tutorials on
YouTube from the author's website, Invent with Scratch.

There is also an online Udemy course that follows the book, and
you can sign up for free. (This course covers the old Scratch 2
version. It will be updated in the future.)

You can get a free review copy of this ebook!

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher (Free ebook!)

Read Online for Free

Like this book? Writing a review helps get it in front of more

people!

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1/9/25, 12:34 PM Invent with Python

Make Python Games with

Graphics

Making Games with Python & Pygame covers the Pygame library
with the source code for 11 games. Making Games was written as a
sequel for the same age range as Invent with Python. Once you
have an understanding of the basics of Python programming, you
can now expand your abilities using the Pygame library to make
games with graphics, animation, and sound.

The book features the source code to 11 games. The games are
clones of classics such as Nibbles, Tetris, Simon, Bejeweled, Othello,
Connect Four, Flood It, and others.

Buy on Amazon Read Online for Free

Like this book? Writing a review helps get it in front of more

people!

Udemy Online Courses

You can supplement your book reading with Udemy online video
courses for "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python" and "Scratch
Programming Playground". Use these links to receive large
discounts:

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"Automate" Udemy Course

70% Discount

"Scratch" Udemy Course

Now free!

Videos
There are several programming tutorial videos I create on my
YouTube channel:

Free preview of my "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python"

Udemy course
Scratch game programming project tutorials
Preview of my "Get Good at Python Programming" Udemy
course (under development)
"Scratch Blocks in 60 Seconds" series
"Blank Editor" series, covering practice coding problems in
Python

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Donate
All of my books are free to download and share under a Creative
Commons license and have been part of Humble Book Bundles
benefitting charities. If you'd like to help me out, there are several
options:

Donate through Paypal

Support me on Patreon
Use my Udemy referral discount codes. My referral links
bring me more income than even paying full price without the
referral. Sign up for the Automate course with this link for a
70% discount.
Write a review on Amazon helps get the word out about my
books:
Python Programming Exercises, Gently Explained
The Recursive Book of Recursion
The Big Book of Small Python Projects
Beyond the Basic Stuff with Python
Coding with Minecraft
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python
Cracking Codes with Python
Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python, 4th
Edition
Making Games with Python & Pygame
Scratch 3 Programming Playground

About Al Sweigart
Al Sweigart is a software developer and tech book author. Python is
his favorite programming language, and he is the developer of
several open source modules for it. His cat weighs 11 pounds.

Email | Mastodon | Twitter | Twitch | YouTube | GitHub | Blog |

Patreon | Amazon Author | LinkedIn

Copyright 2009-2025 | [email protected] | @AlSweigart

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BLACK LIVES MATTER | TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS | TAX

THE RICH

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