Fun: The Textbook Authors Meet @PyCon

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From the course by University of Michigan

Python Data Structures

30032 ratings

University of Michigan

Python Data Structures

30032 ratings

Course 2 of 5 in the Specialization Python for Everybody

This course will introduce the core data structures of the Python programming language. We will move past the basics of procedural programming and explore how we can use the Python built-in data structures such as lists, dictionaries, and tuples to perform increasingly complex data analysis. This course will cover Chapters 6-10 of the textbook “Python for Everybody”. This course covers Python 3.

From the lesson

Chapter Six: Strings

In this class, we pick up where we left off in the previous class, starting in Chapter 6 of the textbook and covering Strings and moving into data structures. The second week of this class is dedicated to getting Python installed if you want to actually run the applications on your desktop or laptop. If you choose not to install Python, you can just skip to the third week and get a head start.

Bonus: Office Hours New York City2:26

Bonus: Monash Museum of Computing History7:03

Fun: The Textbook Authors Meet @PyCon3:55

Meet the Instructors

Charles Severance
Professor
School of Information

Another camera, and you're fine.

>> I don't know. >> Is it working?

>> Is it working?

>> It's working. >> Are you selfieing?

>> Yeah, this is my selfie cam.

My Gimbal selfie cam.

>> It works great.

>> Yeah.

So this way, I can tape my meeting of Allen Downey.

>> Sweet.

>> That's gonna be sweet.

>> The moments.

>> The moment that I meet Allen.

>> That's how helpful.

>> It is.

>> Very cool indeed actually.

[LAUGH] >> Folks,

that's Allen Downey, who started the whole Think Java,

Think Python, revolution back 1999 and I'm gonna meet him now.

For the first time.

>> And you can ask him that question, that I should have asked him a long time ago.

Right?

>> So what are your thoughts, Jeff?

Right before we meet the great Allen Downey?

>> I'm excited, I'm excited, I'm excited. >> Okay.

>> [LAUGH] >> It's very exciting, but

you've met Allen before.

>> I have, I have. >> This is my first time.

>> But it's always exciting.

>> Exactly >> [LAUGH

>> Hi.

>> It's Allen Downey.

>> [LAUGH] >> I'm Charles Severance.

>> Charles, it's great to see you.

>> We're co-authors.

>> Yes. >> We've never met in person.

We talked on the phone.

This is the famous Jeff Elkner of course.

>> I'm thrilled. Jeff, it's nice to meet you.

>> Made famous by this guy.

>> [LAUGH] Yeah, well we all, everybody got made famous.

>> That's right.

>> So the first question I was asking Jeff, and

he doesn't even know the answer to.

Is why did you choose GFDL back in 1999?

That was before creative commons, before OCW.

Before everything.

>> Yeah. >> What possessed you?

>> You know actually the first version of the book I put it under the Gnu three.

>> GFDL?

>> No, not.

>> GPL >> The GPL.

>> Oh, you did GPL?

>> Because I didn't even know about the FTL.

>> And then somebody got a hold of you from MIT.

>> And they said, wait a minute, this is documentation, this is not code.

You should have used this other license and so I switched.

And then when Creative Commons came along, some of those licenses have been useful.

>> Yep. >> Actually part of the reason that

working with O'Reilly has worked out very well.

>> Yeah. >> I do things usually under

a non commercial >> Yeah.

>> Creative Commons license.

And then that's kind of a compromise.

>> Yep. >> It's maybe not ideal.

>> But those are the details the why questions.

>> No the non-commercial's I think

a beautiful thing >> Yeah.

>> And actually Creative Commons is thinking about getting rid of it.

I'm sad about that, because I think it's a fine middle ground, for

e-copies can be delivered free and no one feels bad about that.

Print copies you make money off of so it's pretty cool.

>> I agree.

I think there's a nice huge case for it.

>> So have you ever tried to count the number of derivative books

of Think Python?

>> No. >> Do you think it's 100, 200, 300?

>> I don't think it's 100. >> How

to think like a computer scientist, Java version.

The original.

>> If you go all the way back.

Yeah, all the way.

>> Java's the original.

There are a number of English language books that are modified versions.

>> Including mine.

>> There are also- yep. >> We need to get that data.

>> There are translations into other languages.

>> I count those as separate ones.

>> Yep. >> But

like Runestone like Brad Miller's stuff.

>> But then there's the interactive one.

>> The interactive ones, yes.

>> And then his book now.

>> Do you have an interactive version?

>> No, no, no, I just have the Python for Informatics print and e-version.

>> Yeah, but that's been out for a while.

>> Yeah.

>> I did that many years ago.

And then I fought with Cambridge Press, remember that?

>> Yes. >> Remember those calls?

So but why did you give it away?

I mean it wasn't so cool in 1999 just to give books away.

It was not normal.

>> True, no.

>> That's the question I had.

>> Can we pause?

I do wanna, I wanna finish signing books so these folks are-

>> Okay, so we'll have to talk later.

>> Okay, okay, we'll get back to this.

>> Let's talk more.

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