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Python for Excel Power Users

by Tracy Stephens
April 2025, 200 pp.
ISBN-13: 
9781718503984
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Excel is a mainstay of the modern workplace, but it isn’t always the best tool for the job. Python for Excel Power Users offers a better way, showing how Python and other coding tools can boost your productivity by streamlining your workflow. Even if you’re inexperienced at programming, you are not starting from scratch—this book leverages what you already know in Excel to introduce you to useful Python concepts that will have you up and coding in no time. Beyond Python, you’ll learn skills such as:

  • Managing and querying database data using SQL
  • Obtaining data from external sources through API calls
  • Developing basic web pages with HTML
  • Creating attractive dashboards and reports with Dash
  • Collaborating with others and tracking how projects evolve using Git

Practical examples illustrate how your new coding skills can be immediately applied to your day-to-day work. You’ll be amazed at how much more you can do once you escape the confines of the spreadsheet and replace Excel in your workflow.

Author Bio 

Tracy Stephens is a quantitative developer based in New York City. She specializes in architecting quantitative infrastructure that is robust, flexible, and operationally efficient. In her experience building systematic trading strategies at some of the world’s top financial institutions, she’s observed how even rudimentary coding skills can elevate any workflow, and this book aims to share that insight with a wider professional audience. Tracy holds a bachelor’s degree in Math & Statistics from Barnard College and a Master’s in Data Science from University of California Berkeley.

Table of contents 

Chapter 1: When Is Excel Not Enough?
Chapter 2: Configuring Your Python Environment
Chapter 3: Python Concepts and Their Excel Equivalents
Chapter 4: Writing Scripts Instead of Sheets
Chapter 5: Version Control with Git
Chapter 6: Coding Interactively with Jupyter Notebooks
Chapter 7: Data Analysis with Pandas
Chapter 8: Storing, Retrieving, and Manipulating Data with SQL
Chapter 9: Accessing External Data with APIs
Chapter 10: Visualizing Data with Plotly 
Chapter 11: Finding, Fixing, and Fending Off Code Errors
Chapter 12: The Basics of Object-Oriented Programming
Chapter 13: Principles of Quality Code 

The chapters in red are included in this Early Access PDF.