The Invent with Python Blog

Writings from the author of Automate the Boring Stuff.

How to Run Pip From The Python Interactive Shell

Thu 25 August 2022 Al Sweigart

Installing Python modules with the pip tool is surprisingly hard to describe to beginners learning to code. There are several potential issues: multiple Python installations, virtual environments, PATH environment variable settings. You have to introduce command-line terminals and file system navigation, and the differences between Windows and Mac/Linux. However, there is a line of code you can run from the interactive shell to handle all this for you.

Introducing Humre: Human-Readable Regular Expressions

Tue 23 August 2022 Al Sweigart

Regular expressions (aka regexes) are a mini-language to specify a pattern of text to look for. However, regex syntax is composed of various punctuation marks that can be hard to remember. Humre is a Python module that gives a more human-readable syntax that works better with code editing tools. You can install Humre just like any other Python module with pip install humre and the full documentation is available in the git repo's README file.

Which Al Sweigart Python Books Should I Start Reading?

Mon 22 August 2022 Al Sweigart

I've been writing programming books for beginners since 2009. All of them are free to read online at InventWithPython.com Many people email me asking which of my books they should read, so I wrote this guide to help beginners get started with my free learning materials.

New Book: The Recursive Book of Recursion by Al Sweigart

Tue 09 August 2022 Al Sweigart

My new programming book, the Recursive Book of Recursion, is released in August 2022. The book covers several classic recursive algorithms and breaks down recursion's fearsome reputation as a programming technique. The book has the code for its numerous programs in both Python and JavaScript. When you buy it direct from the publisher, No Starch Press, you'll receive a DRM-free ebook copy with your print book order.

How Many Recursive Cases and Base Cases Does a Recursive Function Need?

Sun 20 March 2022 Al Sweigart

Let's look at a simple example of a recursive function to see what it needs at minimum.

Bootstrap 5 Boilerplate Code for New Web Pages

Fri 11 March 2022 Al Sweigart

Here's the boilerplate that you can copy and paste when creating a new web page with Bootstrap 5.

Make Fractals in Python Turtle with the FractalArtMaker Module

Wed 09 March 2022 Al Sweigart

FractalArtMaker is a module for creating fractal art in Python's turtle module. You can install the module by running pip3 install FractalArtMaker

How to Use Python 3.11's New TOML Parser, tomllib

Wed 23 February 2022 Al Sweigart

Python 3.11 will include a TOML parsing module called tomllib. Let's learn what TOML files are (they're similar to JSON), how they're useful for configuration files, and how you can write Python code to read them.

Downloading Web Pages and Files in Python 3 and 2 Without the Requests Module

Mon 21 February 2022 Al Sweigart

How to download web pages and files off the internet only using Python 3 and 2's standard library.

I Like Al Sweigart's Books, What Can I Read to Get Into Game Programming?

Fri 18 February 2022 Al Sweigart

If you like my programming books, here's a few more resources you can use to get into video game development.

What Kind of Computer Do I Need to Learn Programming?

Thu 03 February 2022 Al Sweigart

You don't need to buy a new computer to learn programming. It's a common misconception that you need a powerful computer to program. This guide will give you some hints to guide you in the right direction.

Book Review: Make Python Talk

Thu 13 January 2022 Al Sweigart

Mark H. Liu’s “Make Python Talk” is a solid book for anyone who wants to leverage the power of the Python programming language to add speech capabilities to their programs. The chapters cover third-party libraries for speech recognition and text-to-speech in an engaging way.

Book Review: Serious Python

Thu 13 January 2022 Al Sweigart

Serious Python by Julien Danjou is an excellent book for those who have gone through the "hello world" tutorials or those coming to Python from other programming languages, and want a book that teaches you not just how to write code, but how to write code the pythonic way.

Book Review: Tiny Python Projects

Thu 13 January 2022 Al Sweigart

Writing for an intermediate audience is hard, but Ken Youens-Clark has nailed it with Tiny Python Projects. This is a great book for those who have dabbled with a few beginner Python tutorials but still feel like they don't "get" programming. The projects in this book are short and simple; perfect for beginners who want to get experience with actual programs instead of just code snippets.

How to Represent a 2D Grid in Python Code

Tue 28 December 2021 Al Sweigart

This blog post examines different ways that Python lists and dictionaries can be used to represent a 2D data structure. I also write some test programs to measure the performance of each data structure.

JavaScript Books That Misspell "JavaScript": How Amazon Became a Minefield of Low-Quality Programming Books

Mon 27 December 2021 Al Sweigart

Here's a hint for programmers writing their resumes: "JavaScript" is spelled as one word, capital-J, capital-S, and no hyphen. But this isn't a blog post about programmers who make typos on their resumes, but about what a minefield of low-quality programming books that Amazon has become.

How to Test Multiple Variables Against a Single Value and a Single Variable Against Multiple Values in Python

Mon 20 December 2021 Al Sweigart

Python has a more concise syntax that uses the in operator and the multiple values packaged in a tuple. To check if one of multiple variables is one of many values, you can use a list comprehension and the any() function.

How, As a Kid, I Taught Myself to Code

Sun 07 November 2021 Al Sweigart

I was one of those kids in the 90s who taught themselves how to code by making video games in the BASIC programming language. Later, I majored in computer science, moved to Silicon Valley, became a software engineer, started writing programming books including Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, and then quit my job to write full-time. I now wake up whenever I want and work from home or nearby cafes. I'm financially secure while being my own boss.

This is a completely true story.^*

22 Examples of Recursive Functions in Python

Mon 04 October 2021 Al Sweigart

Here are 22 actual, runnable Python code for several recursive functions, written in a style to be understandable by beginners and produce debuggable output.

What is a Python Generator? (Implementing Your Own range() Function)

Fri 24 September 2021 Al Sweigart

Generators in Python (also called generator functions) are used to create a series of values one at a time. Let's learn how they work by re-creating the built-in range() function.