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Starting Out with Python, 5th edition

Published by Pearson (March 13, 2020) © 2021

  • Tony Gaddis Haywood Community College

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For courses in computer programming in Python.

A clear and student-friendly way to teach the fundamentals of Python

Starting Out with Python® uses author Tony Gaddis's accessible, step-by-step approach to present essential programming concepts. Control structures, functions and lists are covered before classes. This ensures that students understand fundamental programming and problem-solving concepts. Every chapter includes clear and easy-to-read code listings, practical real-world examples and an abundance of exercises.

The 5th Edition includes a new chapter on database programming, as well as new coverage of GUI programming, string processing and formatting, and turtle graphics topics.

Hallmark features of this title

  • The text teaches Python in a step-by-step fashion. Each chapter covers a major set of topics and builds knowledge as the student progresses.
  • Written for novice programmers, information is presented in easy-to-understand language in a concise, practical way.
  • The Turtle Graphics library, which is a standard part of Python, is a fun and motivating way to introduce programming concepts to students who have never written code before.
  • Example Programs provide practical, real-world examples that test students' knowledge of key information.
  • Programming Exercises solidify students' knowledge of the topics being studied.
  • In the Spotlight, Concept Statements, Checkpoints, and Program Outputs throughout each chapter reinforce students' understanding.

New and updated features of this title

  • NEW: A new chapter on database programming, Chapter 14, introduces SQL and Python database programming with SQLite.
  • NEW: Comprehension expressions, such as list comprehensions, dictionary comprehensions, and set comprehensions, are introduced and explained.
  • UPDATED: Several new string topics include the use of f-strings throughout the text, a new discussion of string tokens in Chapter 8, and an expanded discussion of string concatenation in Chapter 2 to include implicit concatenation of adjacent strings.
  • UPDATED: New GUI programming topics in Chapter 13 include adding borders to widgets, internal and external padding, and Listbox widgets and scrollbars.
  • NEW: The random.choice() function is introduced in Chapter 7 as a way to randomly select list elements.
  • NEW: New function topics in Chapter 5 include the pass keyword, an expanded discussion of the value None, and why a function might return None, and the standard practice of conditionally executing the main function.
  1. Introduction to Computers and Programming
  2. Input, Processing, and Output
  3. Decision Structures and Boolean Logic
  4. Repetition Structures
  5. Functions
  6. Files and Exceptions
  7. Lists and Tuples
  8. More About Strings
  9. Dictionaries and Sets
  10. Classes and Object-Oriented Programming
  11. Inheritance
  12. Recursion
  13. GUI Programming
  14. Database Programming

APPENDICES

  1. Installing Python
  2. Introduction to IDLE
  3. The ASCII Character Set
  4. Predefined Named Colors
  5. More About the import Statement
  6. Formatting Numeric Output with the format() Function
  7. Installing Modules with the pip Utility
  8. Answers to Checkpoints

Tony Gaddis is the principal author of the Starting Out With series of textbooks. Tony has 2 decades of experience teaching computer science courses, primarily at Haywood Community College. He is a highly acclaimed instructor who was previously selected as the North Carolina Community College “Teacher of the Year” and has received the Teaching Excellence award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development. The Starting Out With series includes introductory books covering C++, Java™, Microsoft® Visual Basic®, Microsoft® C#®, Python®, Programming Logic and Design, Alice and App Inventor, all published by Pearson. More information about all these books can be found at www.pearsonhighered.com/gaddisbooks.

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