Michael Dawson - Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner

Copyright 2003 by Premier Press, a division of Course Technology.

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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003104024

Printed in the United States of America

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To my parents, who have read everything I've ever written

Acknowledgments

Writing a book is like giving birthand I have the stretch marks of the brain to prove it. So, I want to thank all the people who helped me bring my little bundle of joy into this world.

Thanks to Todd Jensen for being such a terrific editor. I appreciated your patience, encouragement, and understanding.

Thanks to Edalin Michael for leading the team at Argosy Publishing. I appreciated all of your effortsespecially as we got down to the wire.

Thanks to Bill McManus for his copyediting. I always appreciated your suggestions and your eagle eye.

Thanks to Greg Perry for his technical editing (and for your non-technical suggestions too).

Thanks to Andy Harris for setting such a fine example with this book series. I hope I lived up to the standards.

I also want to thank Pete Shinners, author of Pygame, and all the folks who contributed to LiveWires. Because of all of you, writing multimedia programs (especially games!) is now within reach of a new Python programmer.

Last, and certainly not least, I want to thank Matt for his audio expertise, Chris for his musical expertise, and Dave for wearing a chef's hat.

About the Author

Michael Dawson is a writer who has worked as both a programmer and a computer game designer. He has written for several different television shows, including a sitcom and an animated series. Michael earned his bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California. This is his first book.

Staring back at me on the screen was an image I recognized: a facemy face. Grainy and pixilated, it was still me. I watched with detached curiosity as my expression twisted and contorted beyond human limits until finally, an alien embryo burst from my skull. A voice behind me said, "You wanna see it again?"

No, this wasn't some horrible dream, it was my job. I worked at a company producing and designing computer games. I also got to "star" in our first release, an adventure game where the player clicks me around the screen. And if the player fails to solve the game in time... well, I think you know how that turns out. I've also worked as a programmer for a major Internet services company, traveling to sites around the country. And while those two lines of work may seem quite different, the basic skills necessary to succeed in each started to take shape while I wrote simple games on my home computer as a kid.

The goal of this book is to teach you the Python programming language, learning to program the same way I did: by creating simple games. There's something more exciting about learning to program by writing software that's fun. And even though the examples are entertaining, you'll still see some serious programming. I cover all of the fundamental topics you'd expect from an introductory text and then some. In addition, I point out concepts and techniques that you can apply to more mainstream projects.

If you're new to programming, you've made the right choice. Python is the perfect beginners' language. It has a clear and simple syntax that will get you writing useful programs in short order. Python even has an interpreted mode, which offers immediate feedback, allowing you to test out new ideas almost instantly.

If you've done some programming before, you've still made the right choice. Python has all the power and flexibility you'd expect from a modern, object-oriented programming language. But even with all of its power, you may be surprised how quickly you can build programs. In fact, ideas translate so quickly to the computer, Python has been called "programming at the speed of thought."

Like any good book, this one starts at the beginning. The first thing I cover is installing Python under Windows. Then, I move through concepts, one step at a time, by writing small programs to demonstrate each step. By the end of the book, I'll have covered such fancy-sounding topics as data structures, file handling, exceptions, object-oriented design, and GUI and multimedia programming. I also hope to show you how to design as well as program. You'll learn how to organize your work, break problems down into manageable chunks, and refine your code.

You'll be challenged at times, but never overwhelmed. Most of all, you'll have fun while learning. And in the process, you'll create some small, but cool computer games.

Throughout the book, I'll throw in a few other tidbits, notably the following:

IN THE REAL WORLD