Computers are used in every part of science from ecology to particle physics. This introduction to computer science continually reinforces those ties by using real-world science problems as examples. Anyone who has taken a high school science class will be able to follow along as the book introduces the basics of programming, then goes on to show readers how to work with databases, download data from the web automatically, build graphical interfaces, and most importantly, how to think like a professional programmer.
Topics covered include:
* Basic elements of programming from arithmetic to loops and if statements.
* Using functions and modules to organize programs.
* Using lists, sets, and dictionaries to organize data.
* Designing algorithms systematically.
* Debugging things when they go wrong.
* Creating and querying databases.
* Building graphical interfaces to make programs easier to use.
* Object-oriented programming and programming patterns.
About the Author
Jennifer Campbell is a senior lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Toronto who created the course this book is based on.
Paul Gries, is a senior lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Toronto. He has won numerous teaching awards and authored other introductory computer science texts.
Jason Montojo, is a former student of Jennifer Campbell and Paul Gries, who has since worked on the Eclipse programming platform at IBM; he is also a professional photographer and digital artist, and created all of the diagrams for this book.
Greg Wilson worked in industry for many years before returning to academia; he has been using Python for over a decade, and has written several other programming books.
Book Details
- Paperback: 350 pages
- Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf; 1 edition (May 28, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1934356271
- ISBN-13: 978-1934356272
- File Size: 6.2 MiB
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