Python Playground: Geeky Projects for the Curious Programmer

353 Pages·2015·12.57 MB·English

by  Mahesh Venkitachalam

G E E K Y P R O J E C T S F O R T H E

C U R I O U S P R O G R A M M E R

M A H E S H V E N K I T A C H A L A M

PY THON
PL AYGROUND

PY THON
PL AYGROUND

SHELVE IN:
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES/
PYTHON

$29.95 ($34.95 CDN)

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.

A B O U T T H E A U T H O R

Mahesh Venkitachalam is a software engineer with
two decades of programming experience. He has
nurtured a passion for technology since the eighth
grade, which he channels into his popular electronics
and programming blog, electronut.in.

P R O G R A M M I N G
B A C K I N
P U T T H E F U N

P R O G R A M M I N G
B A C K I N
P U T T H E F U N

The projects in this book are

compatible with Python 2 and 3.

PY T HON PL AYGROUND
PY T HON PL AYGROUND

VE N K I T A C H AL A M

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Python Playground

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Python
Playground

geeky Projects for
the Curious Programmer

by Mahesh Venkitachalam

San Francisco

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Python Playground. Copyright © 2016 by Mahesh Venkitachalam.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval
system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher.

First printing

19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

ISBN-10: 1-59327-604-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-604-1

Publisher: William Pollock
Production Editor: Serena Yang
Cover Illustration: Josh Ellingson
Interior Design: Octopod Studios
Developmental Editor: William Pollock
Technical Reviewers: Nicholas Kramer and Raviprakash Jayaraman
Copyeditor: Kim Wimpsett
Compositor: Kathleen Miller
Proofreader: Paula L. Fleming

Figure 8-4 was created by Fred Hsu (March 2005) and has been reproduced under the Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch Press, Inc. directly:

No Starch Press, Inc.
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