PyCon US 2026 Tutorial - Python for Absolute Beginners

This page contains the resources for Al Sweigart's 3-hour tutorial, "Python for Absolute Beginners" given at PyCon US 2026 in Long Beach, California.

TUTORIAL DESCRIPTION: It's time to stop putting it off. You know that Python is a powerful language with a huge ecosystem and friendly community. Maybe you've dabbled with some tutorials before, but it never quite stuck. It's time to join some fellow beginners and learn to program in the Python programming language. This tutorial for absolute beginners go through basic programming concepts, Python syntax, and a few fun programs along the way. It's not a math-heavy hacker challenge; just the sensible foundation concepts heavy with examples. If you've started and stopped learning to code before, or never got around to starting at all, sign up for this tutorial and start PyCon on a strong step. You'll end with a set of tools, the knowledge of where to go next, and the confidence to continue your programming journey.

Install Mu Code Editor

• codewith.mu

Workbook

• Workbook PDF

Slides

Presentation Slides Google Slides, ODP, PDF, ODP

Source Code

• chohan.py
• clevercarl.py
• clockhands1.py
• clockhands2.py
• guess.py
• hello.py
• starfield.py
• tempconvert.py
• yourname.py
• yourname2.py

Visualizations

• Evaluation animation
• Nested loops visualization
• Truth Table Generator

Online Debugger

Mobile users can follow along with this:

• View chohan.py in the debugger
• View clevercarl.py in the debugger
• View clockhands1.py in the debugger
• View clockhands2.py in the debugger
• View guess.py in the debugger
• View hello.py in the debugger
• View tempconvert.py in the debugger
• View yourname.py in the debugger
• View yourname2.py in the debugger

Links

• scrollart.org - a collection of text animation programs
• inventwithpython.com - My free books on Python programming

Resources for After the Tutorial

• Free book: Automate the Boring Stuff with Python finishes basic Python programming concepts and explores several useful third-party packages.
• Free book: Python Programming Exercises, Gently Explained is a series of simple Python exercises with heavy guidance for beginners.
• Free book: The Big Book of Small Python Projects is a large collection of simple, text-based programs similar to the ones in this tutorial.