Python Playground

Python Playground, 2nd edition coming soon. Click here for details.

• Download Chapter 3: Conway’s Game of Life
• Download the code used in the book

Python is a powerful programming language that’s easy to learn and fun to play with. But once you’ve gotten a handle on the basics, what do you do next?

Python Playground is a collection of imaginative programming projects that will inspire you to use Python to make art and music, build simulations of real-world phenomena, and interact with hardware like the Arduino and Raspberry Pi. You’ll learn to use common Python tools and libraries like numpy, matplotlib, and pygame to do things like:

• Generate Spirograph-like patterns using parametric equations and the turtle module
• Create music on your computer by simulating frequency overtones
• Translate graphical images into ASCII art
• Write an autostereogram program that produces 3D images hidden beneath random patterns
• Make realistic animations with OpenGL shaders by exploring particle systems, transparency, and billboarding techniques
• Construct 3D visualizations using data from CT and MRI scans
• Build a laser show that responds to music by hooking up your computer to an Arduino

Programming shouldn’t be a chore. Have some solid, geeky fun with Python Playground.

The projects in this book are compatible with both Python 2 and 3.