Python Playground, 2nd Edition

by Mahesh Venkitachalam

July 2023, 352 pp

ISBN-13:

9781718503045

Now that you’ve gotten the basics of Python programming down pat, what's next? The fun part! Learn how to use common Python tools and libraries, like numpy and matplotlib, for making art and music, simulating real-world sounds, generating 3D visualizations, and hacking hardware. This new edition is fully updated and features five brand-new projects!

Transform a Raspberry Pi Pico into a playable instrument
Create an IoT system to monitor your garden or indoor plants
Use machine learning to develop a speech-recognition system
Build a laser light show that responds to music

Programming shouldn’t be a chore, so have some geeky fun with Python Playground, 2nd Edition!

Author Bio

Mahesh Venkitachalam is a consultant who works in the areas of 3D computer graphics and embedded systems. He has over two decades of programming experience, and is the founder of Electronut Labs, a consulting firm known for building interesting open source hardware.

Table of contents

Part I: Warming Up
Chapter 1: The Koch Snowflake
Chapter 2: Spirographs
Part II: Simulating Life
Chapter 3: Conway’s Game of Life
Chapter 4: Generating Musical Overtones with the Karplus-Strong Algorithm
Chapter 5: Boids: Simulating a Flock
Part III: Fun with Images
Chapter 6: ASCII Art
Chapter 7: Photomosaics
Chapter 8: Autostereograms
Part IV: Enter 3D
Chapter 9: Understanding OpenGL
Chapter 10: Conway’s Game of Life on a Torus
Chapter 11: Volume Rendering
Part V: Hardware Hacking
Chapter 12: The Karplus-Strong Algorithm on a Raspberry Pi Pico
Chapter 13: Laser Audio Display
Chapter 14: An IoT Garden
Chapter 15: Speech Recognition with a Raspberry Pi

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

Reviews

Reviews of the first edition:

"If you want to become adept at doing clever things with Python, I doubt you'll find a better group of projects or more useful help for understanding how the language works."
—IT World

"This is a book that belongs in every Python programmer's library."
—Full Circle Magazine

"Packed with interesting projects."
—iProgrammer

"Python Playground targets programmers that want to further improve their skills and knowledge of the language. The book does a good job at explaining all relevant details and makes sure that readers get a clear pictures of what is going on."
—InfoQ