Python is one of the most powerful languages in the world -- and one of the easiest to learn! Whether you're new to programming or coming from another language, this book's self-paced approach meets you where you are. If you're new to programming, you can slow down when necessary and do the exercises at the end of each chapter to build confidence and skill. If you already know other languages, you can move quickly through the familiar to focus on the new as you learn Python faster than you've ever learned a language before. Either way, by the end of the book, you will have mastered the Python skills employers are looking for today.

Here's how the book is organized: Section 1 is an 8-chapter course that gets you started with Python fast. By the end of this section, you'll be able to use functions and modules to organize a program that uses file I/O to read and write data. Section 2 builds on that foundation with additional skills every Python programmer needs. Section 3 dives into object-oriented programming. And section 4 brings it all together as you build realistic database and GUI applications.