Foreword
By David Beazley
As an educator, researcher, and book author, I am delighted to see the com-
pletion of this book. Python is a fun and extremely easy-to-use programming
language that has steadily gained in popularity over the last few years. De-
veloped over ten years ago by Guido van Rossum, Python’s simple syntax and
overall feel is largely derived from ABC, a teaching language that was developed
in the 1980’s. However, Python was also created to solve real problems and it
borrows a wide variety of features from programming languages such as C++,
Java, Modula-3, and Scheme. Because of this, one of Python’s most remark-
able features is its broad appeal to professional software developers, scientists,
researchers, artists, and educators.
Despite Python’s appeal to many different communities, you may still wonder
“why Python?” or “why teach programming with Python?” Answering these
questions is no simple task—especially when popular opinion is on the side of
more masochistic alternatives such as C++ and Java. However, I think the
most direct answer is that programming in Python is simply a lot of fun and
more productive.
When I teach computer science courses, I want to cover important concepts
in addition to making the material interesting and engaging to students. Un-
fortunately, there is a tendency for introductory programming courses to focus
far too much attention on mathematical abstraction and for students to be-
come frustrated with annoying problems related to low-level details of syntax,
compilation, and the enforcement of seemingly arcane rules. Although such
abstraction and formalism is important to professional software engineers and
students who plan to continue their study of computer science, taking such an
approach in an introductory course mostly succeeds in making computer sci-
ence boring. When I teach a course, I don’t want to have a room of uninspired
students. I would much rather see them trying to solve interesting problems by
exploring different ideas, taking unconventional approaches, breaking the rules,
