Introduction to Computing Using Python An Application Development Focus

Perkovic's Introduction to Computing Using Python: An Application Development Focus, 2nd Edition is more than just an introduction to programming. It is an inclusive introduction to Computer Science that takes the pedagogical approach of "the right tool for the job at the right moment," and focuses on application development.  The approach is hands-on and problem-oriented, with practice problems and solutions appearing throughout the text. The text is imperative-first, but does not shy away from discussing objects early where appropriate. Discussions of user-defined classes and Object-Oriented Programming appear later in the text, when students have more background and concepts can be motivated. Chapters include an introduction to problem solving techniques and classical algorithms, problem-solving and programming and ways to apply core skills to application development. This edition also includes examples and practice problems provided within a greater variety of domains.  It also includes case studies integrated into additional chapters, providing students with real life applications using the concepts and tools covered in the chapters.

Ljubomir Perkovic joined the CDM School of Computing faculty in September of 2000, after two years on the faculty of the Mathematics and Computer Science department at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Dr. Perkovic obtained his Ph.D. in Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, and he holds a B.A. degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Hunter College of the City University of New York. His research interests include distributed and wireless computing, computational geometry, graph theory and algorithms, probabilistic analysis of algorithms, and computational thinking. He is Co-PI on an NSF funded project to expand Computational Thinking across the Liberal Studies curriculum. He is also the coach of the DePaul Programming teams.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Computer Science

Chapter 2. Python Data Types

Chapter 3. Imperative Programming

Chapter 4. Text data, Files, and Exceptions

Chapter 5. Execution Control Structures

Chapter 6. Containers and Randomness

Chapter 7. Namespaces

Chapter 8. Object-Oriented Programming

Chapter 9. Graphical User Interfaces

Chapter 10. Recursion

Chapter 11. The Web and Search

Chapter 12. Databases and Data Processing