Real-World Python

A Hacker's Guide to Solving Problems with Code

by Lee Vaughan

November 2020, 360 pp.

ISBN-13:

9781718500624

Look Inside!

Download Chapter 2: ATTRIBUTING AUTHORSHIP WITH STYLOMETRY

You can find code files and solutions to the book's programs at its GitHub page.

PROGRAM PYTHON LIKE A PROFESSIONAL

With its emphasis on project-based practice, Real World Python will take you from playing with syntax to writing complete programs in no time. You’ll conduct experiments, explore statistical concepts, and solve novel problems that have frustrated geniuses throughout history, like detecting distant exoplanets, as you continue to build your Python skills.

Chapters begin with a clearly defined project goal and a discussion of ways to attack the problem, followed by a mission designed to make you think like a programmer. You’ll direct a Coast Guard search-and-rescue effort, plot and execute a NASA flight to the moon, protect access to a secure lab using facial recognition, and more. Along the way you’ll learn how to:

Use libraries like matplotlib, NumPy, Bokeh, pandas, Requests, Beautiful Soup, and turtle
Work with Natural Language Processing and computer vision modules like NLTK and OpenCV
Write a program to detect and track objects moving across a starfield
Scrape speeches from the internet and autosummarize them
Use the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) map to select spacecraft landing sites
Survive a zombie apocalypse with the aid of data-plotting and visualization tools

The book’s programs are beginner-friendly, but as you progress you’ll learn more sophisticated techniques to help you grow your coding capabilities. Once your missions are accomplished, you’ll be ready to solve real-world problems with Python on your own.

Author Bio

Lee Vaughan is a programmer, pop culture enthusiast, educator, and author of Impractical Python Projects (No Starch Press). As a former executive-level scientist at ExxonMobil, he spent decades constructing and reviewing complex computer models, developed and tested software, and trained geoscientists and engineers.

Table of contents

Introduction
Chapter 1:Saving Shipwrecked Sailors with Bayes’ Rule
Chapter 2: Attributing Authorship with Stylometry
Chapter 3: Summarizing Speeches
Chapter 4: Sending Super-secret Messages
Chapter 5: Finding Pluto
Chapter 6: Winning the Moon Race with Apollo 8
Chapter 7: Selecting Martian Landing Sites
Chapter 8: Detecting Distant Exoplanets
Chapter 9: Identifying Friend or Foe
Chapter 10: Restricting Access with Face Recognition
Chapter 11: Escaping the Walking Dead with Data Science
Chapter 12: Are We Living in an Alien Simulation?
Appendix: Solutions to Practice Problems
Index

View the detailed Table of Contents

Reviews

"Python programmers with a little bit of experience, looking for a fun challenge that relates to real-world examples, should read [this book]."
—Geek Tech Stuff

"This is the most amazing book anyone could pick up if they are unsure about what machine learning job they should focus on."
—Ian Mizer, Atlanta Python Programmers Group

"Read this book and do the work. You will find yourself building programs that address real-world problems and readying yourself to attack similarly challenging problems in whatever field you are working."
—Sandra Henry-Stocker, Linux journalist, NetworkWorld (IDG)

"I recommend this book for all Python learners!"
—Kelly Paredes, Teaching Python podcast

Featured as Book of the Day at Anastasia Suen blog

Updates

Page 15: Listing 1-4, lines 4 & 5 (90 & 91 in code) that read:
self.sailor_actual[0] = np.random.choice(self.sa1.shape[1], 1) self.sailor_actual[1] = np.random.choice(self.sa1.shape[0], 1)
Should read as:
self.sailor_actual[0] = np.random.choice(self.sa1.shape[1]) self.sailor_actual[1] = np.random.choice(self.sa1.shape[0])

Page 54: The last line of Listing 3-1 should read as:

speech = ' '.join(p_elems) # Use a space to join the paragraph elements.

Page 60: There are only about a dozen sentences in the whole speech with 10 or fewer words, not 7 as stated.

Page 61: gensim 4.0, released on March 25, 2021, dropped support for the Summarization module. To complete Project #4, install an older
version of gensim, such as 3.8.3 (see https://pypi.org/project/gensim/3.8.3/).

Page 62: The last line of Listing 3-6 should read as:

speech = ' '.join(p_elems) # Use a space to join the paragraph elements.

Listing 3-7 should read as:
Print("\nSummary of Make Your Bed speech:")
Print(summarize(speech, word_count=225))

Page 179: The reference for the “Experimenting with Transit Photometry” section should be page 186, not 182.