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You can access this book in different file formats that are optimized to give you a great reading experience, no matter which device you are using. The options are as follows:

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Python Basics (PDF)

5.8 MB

ePub version for e-reader devices and phones/tablets:

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Python Basics (ePub)

3.8 MB

Mobipocket (.mobi) version for reading on Kindle devices:

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Python Basics (Mobipocket)

11.9 MB

Changelog

2023-12-12

Update Tuple Unpacking section in chapter 9.1 to avoid potentially misleading terminology

2023-11-21

Typo fix

2023-11-07

Typo fix

2022-09-13

Typo fix

2022-01-03

Typo fix

2021-07-12

Typo fix

2021-03-29

The paperback version has been released!
Update Python installer screenshots
Fixed a few typos we found when proofreading the paperback
Formatting improvements ported over from the paperback version

2020-12-30

ePub/Kindle: Improve how keyboard shortcuts are displayed
ePub/Kindle: Improve info box formatting

2020-12-14

Formatting & typo fixes
Made resources page link more prominent

2020-10-05

Hooray, we’re officially ending the Early Access phase!
Major updates and edits throughout the book
Full proofreading pass
Updated to Python 3.9

2020-05-18

Fixed ePub code blocks on Apple Books (iPad and macOS 10.15)
Formatting fixes and cleanups
Proofread chapters 1–4, 14, 16

2020-03-28

Clean up resource links
Formatting fixes and cleanups
Clean up long lines of code bleeding into the page margins

2020-02-25

Updated images to show Python 3.8 instead of Python 3.7
Chapter 2:
- Added note about installing multiple Python versions
- Added some page breaks and other formatting fixes
Chapter 8:
- Explained why .lower() is used to compare strings in sport example
- Converted players scores to integers in sport example
- Added parentheses in compound logical expressions to make them clearer
- Explained how assignment statements work with compound logical expressions where assignment operator = and equality comparator == appear in the same statement
- Removed an extra coin flip in Challenge 8.9 Solution C that didn’t affect the final result but was inconsistent with the problem statement. Also cleaned up the solution and added docstrings and comments.
- Fixed bug in Challenge 8.9 Solution B by replacing undefined num_trials variables with NUM_TRIALS
Chapter 9
- Fixed a typo in Challenge 9.5 saying to choose 3 prepositions when it should be 2
- Cleaned-up the solution to Challenge 9.5
Typo fixes

2020-02-14:

Update book for Python 3.8
Update book cover

2020-02-11:

Added new Modules and Packages chapter with exercises and a new quiz
Replaced monospace keyboard shortcuts with fancy formatting
Replaced italicized menu shortcuts with fancy formatting

2020-02-04:

Updated the File Input and Output chapter to focus on pathlib; added new challenges
Revamped the PDF chapter, including a discussion of concatenating and merging PDF files; added new challenges
Updated the pip chapter based on editorial feedback; replaced pip install with python3 -m pip install
Added a brief discussion of list comprehensions to the Tuples, Lists, and Dictionaries chapter; added new exercise
Typo fixes and formatting cleanup

2019-11-15:

Revamped GUI chapter
Typo fixes, cleanups

wikusvdemerwe on Oct. 2, 2019

I can’t download my book :/

Dan Bader RP Team on Oct. 3, 2019

If you’re having trouble downloading the book files, can you please email me at info@realpython.com so we can get to the bottom of this. Thanks :)

Walter E Gunter Jr on Oct. 21, 2019

ah…i had trouble at first because I clicked on the link for the book, and not the button that said ‘redeem’. I am good now.

Aditya Joshi on Feb. 2, 2020

Hello Team, Is the Nov 15th 2019 early access version, the latest so far? Any plans on the next release in this year? Thanks.

Ricky White RP Team on Feb. 4, 2020

Hi Aditya. The book should be ready and published by PyCon US 😁

Dan Bader RP Team on Feb. 4, 2020

And we’ll have a new digital Early Access release coming out today or tomorrow! 😃

JLee on Feb. 4, 2020

With early access, we get access to the pre-released ebooks, but will we also get a printed copy when it’s released? Or we have to make a separate purchase?

Dan Bader RP Team on Feb. 4, 2020

@Jun Lee: The print version will be a separate purchase. Once the print version has been released you’ll be able to buy it on Amazon or order a copy at any book store near you.

David Amos on Feb. 4, 2020

@Aditya Joshi, we just released a new version today with lots up updates!

ronyod on Feb. 11, 2020

Success! Looking forward to learning and applying this material.

Dan Bader RP Team on Feb. 15, 2020

We’ve got a new version out with an updated cover :) Happy Pythoning!

Jose Luis Ocana on Feb. 19, 2020

Thanks Dan. This book is great!!

paulmeek87 on Feb. 21, 2020

Hey, Do you think you will have the paperback out by March 25? wont be able to use electronic devices for a month.

Dan Bader RP Team on Feb. 22, 2020

Hi Paul, we’re planning to release the paperback version after PyCon, which is in mid-April.

David Amos on Feb. 25, 2020

Hey, everyone! There’s a new version out with lots of updates! I worked hard to clear up some descriptions in the chapter on conditional logic. We’ve also updated all the images in the book for Python 3.8!

You can see all the updates for this version in the changelog above.

Have a look and let us know what you think!

Carlos on April 26, 2020

Hello Folks, Great read so far. Quick Question: One of the projects listed in the page that describes the book before buying was a project about Stock Investment Tracker. Skimming through the book, I cannot see this one included. Are you planning to add it anytime soon? Would love to work on something like that.

Dan Bader RP Team on May 18, 2020

Quick heads up everyone, the version released today includes a fix for the Apple Books bug that was making code examples invisible in the ePub version. Just download the new files here :)

takerkan on Aug. 14, 2020

Is this book also for mac users?I tried reading some of the pages but seems like it’s made for windows. I’m stuck on the debug section, it says I need to press F5, but we don’t got that on Mac.

Dan Bader RP Team on Aug. 14, 2020

Yep, the book was written with Windows, Linux, and macOS users in mind, as is explained in the intro chapter. In fact, I’m working on macOS right now :-) Macs do have F1…F12 function keys, they’re just accessed via a keyboard shortcut, please see here:

Dan Bader RP Team on Oct. 5, 2020

I’ve got some great news to share: We’re officially ending the Early Access phase for the book today :) This update is huge, with a full proofreading pass, minor and major improvements to pretty much every chapter, as well as updates for Python 3.9. So go ahead and download your updated book files on this page under the Description tab.

Happy Pythoning!

sonnieavens on Oct. 9, 2020

Do we have the paperback yet. Please let me know what it will take to have it if you have one ready.

Dan Bader RP Team on Oct. 9, 2020

We are in the process of getting a paperback version ready for publishing. When the paperback version is released it will be a separate purchase from Amazon or your favorite local book store. The release date we’re aiming for with the paperback is later this year. Pricing for the hard copy will depend on our printing costs and we will try to have some kind of discount available for customers who purchased the digital version. So stay tuned for further announcements on the RP email newsletter!

Dan Bader RP Team on Dec. 31, 2020

Hey folks, we just released new files with visual improvements for the ePub/Kindle version of the book. You can download the updated book files on this page under the Description tab.

Happy Pythoning!

Dan Bader RP Team on March 29, 2021

The paperback version has been released! You can get your copy on Amazon or any local book store by giving them the ISBN code 1775093328. Happy Pythoning! :)

r99 on Oct. 3, 2021

Do we get notified if/when the changelog gets updated?

Dan Bader RP Team on Oct. 6, 2021

Yep, we announce book updates with a notification that will show up in your RP account, and also be emailed to you (if you’ve got that enabled in your account settings) :)

Captain Faff on Feb. 11, 2023

Hey, I’ve noticed an inconsistency on pages 450 and 451. I’ve no idea whether one or the other spelling is correct-er ;)

P450: “This is called a parameterized statement.” P451: “Avoid Security Issues With Parametrized Statements”

Bartosz Zaczyński RP Team on Feb. 13, 2023

@Captain Faff Thanks for flagging this! Both variants, i.e., parameterized and parametrized are acceptable spellings. (source)

Dan Bader RP Team on Nov. 7, 2023

Thanks, I’ve just uploaded a new version that standardizes on parametrized. Hurray for consistency! 🙂

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