Topics

Want to learn more about a specific Python topic?

You've come to the right place! In this section of the website I'll explain many Python concepts in my own words and I'll also link you to related resources (articles, talks, videos, documentation, etc.) on each concept.

Python Morsels exercises touch on a wide range of topics. You can think of this page as a sort of appendix to the Python Morsels exercises.

For more general Python resources, see the Python Resources page (in the footer of this site).

Essentials

• Variables and Values: Python's variables are not buckets containing objects but pointers referring to objects
• Looping: you're going to be looping a lot and there's a lot more to looping in Python than just knowing how for loops work
• Sequences: the word "sequence" is an important one because it describes the shared behavior of lists, tuples, and strings, which are all sequences
• Functions: functions are the primary way we wrap up bits of code in Python for later use and reuse
• Classes: you may not need this right now, but you'll probably make a class in Python eventually

Handy Syntax

• Comprehensions: we make new lists out of old lists very often in Python; so often that we have a special syntax just for this one operation
• Tuple Unpacking: you'll see tuple unpacking in for loops very often and it's great to know how to use this feature
• Iterators & Generators: you may not need to make generators often, but when you need to refactor some looping code, they can be really handy to know about

Other Useful Topics

• Duck Typing: Duck typing is such a fundamental part of Python that it's a hard topic to put your finger on
• The Standard Library: Python comes bundled with an extensive library of modules that you can import
• Regular Expressions: a lot of folks dislike regular expressions, but if you're doing data processing, you'll probably need to use these eventually