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by Jaya Zhané  10 Comments  basics python

Improve Your Python

All Tutorial Topics
Table of Contents
advanced api basics best-practices
What Others Do With Python community databases data-science
What You Can Do With Python devops django docker flask
#1: Automate the Boring Stu front-end intermediate
#2: Stay on Top of Bitcoin Prices machine-learning python testing tools
#3: Create a Calculator web-dev web-scraping
#4: Mine Twitter Data
#5: Build a Microblog With Flask
#6: Build a Blockchain
#7: Bottle Up a Twitter Feed
#8: Play PyGames Improve Your Python
#9: Choose Your Own Adventure
...with a fresh 🐍 Python Trick 💌  
#10: Say “Hello World!” to Machine Learning code snippet every couple of days:
#11: Get Challenged
What You Probably Shouldn’t Do With Python
Email Address
What if My Idea Isn’t on This List?
What to Do Next
Send Python Tricks »

Table of Contents
You’ve done it: you’ve finished a course or finally made it to the end of a book that What Others Do With Python
teaches you the basics of programming with Python. You’ve mastered lists, What You Can Do With Python
dictionaries, classes, and maybe even some object oriented concepts. What You Probably Shouldn’t
Do With Python
So… what next?
What if My Idea Isn’t on This
Python is a very versatile programming language, with a plethora of uses in a variety of List?
di erent fields. If you’ve grasped the basics of Python and are itching to build What to Do Next
something with the language, then it’s time to figure out what your next step should
be.

In this article, we o er several di erent projects, resources, and tutorials that you can
use to start building things with Python.

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What Others Do With Python

You’re probably wondering what people are building with Python in the real world. So
first, let’s take a quick look at how some of the big tech companies are using the
language.

Google is a company that has used Python from the start, and it’s gained a place as one
of the tech giant’s main server-side languages. Guido van Rossum, Python’s
Benevolent Dictator for Life, even worked there for several years, overseeing the
language’s development.

Instagram likes Python for its simplicity. The service is known for running “the world’s
largest deployment of the Django web framework, which is written entirely in Python.”

Spotify puts the language to use in its data analysis and back-end services. According
to their team, Python’s ease of use leads to a lightning-fast development pipeline.
Spotify performs a ton of analyses to give recommendations to their users, so they
need something that’s simple but also works well. Python to the rescue!

You can check out this article to see what other companies are doing with Python.

If you’re already convinced, then let’s get you started!

What You Can Do With Python

From web development to data science, machine learning, and more, Python’s real-
world applications are limitless. Here are some projects that will assist you in finally
putting your Python skills to good use.

#1: Automate the Boring Stu

This is a resource on “practical programming for total
beginners.” Like the title says, this book will teach you
how to automate tedious tasks such as updating
spreadsheets or renaming files on your computer. It’s
the perfect starting point for anyone who’s mastered
the basics of Python.

You’ll get a chance to practice what you’ve learned so

far by creating dictionaries, scraping the web, working
with files, and creating objects and classes. The hands-
on applications that you come across in this book will
provide you with real-world results that you can see
immediately.

This resource is available in di erent formats to give you the best learning experience
possible. Buy the book on Amazon or read it online for free.

#2: Stay on Top of Bitcoin Prices

Everyone seems to be talking about Bitcoin these days. Ever since topping out at a
price of almost $20,000 in December 2017, the cryptocurrency has been on the minds
of millions. Its price continues to fluctuate, but many would consider it a worthwhile
investment.

If you’re looking to cash in on the virtual gold rush and just need to know when to
make your move, then you’ll need to stay on top of Bitcoin’s prices. This tutorial can
teach you how to use your Python skills to build a Bitcoin price notification service.

The foundation of this project is the creation of IFTTT (“if this, then that”) applets.
You’ll learn how to use the requests library to send HTTP requests and how to use a
webhook to connect your app to external services.

This is the perfect starter project for a beginner Pythonista with an interest in crypto.
The service you build with this tutorial can be extended to other currencies as well, so
don’t worry—Ethereum is fair game, too.

#3: Create a Calculator

This simple project is a solid gateway into GUI programming. Building back-end
services is one important part of deployment, but there may be a front-end that needs
to be taken into account. Creating applications that users can easily interact with is
paramount.

If you’re interested in UX and UI design, then take a look at this tutorial. You’ll be
working with the tkinter module, the standard graphical user interface package that
comes traditionally bundled with Python.

The tkinter module is a wrapper around Tcl/Tk, a combination of the Tcl scripting
language and a GUI framework extension, Tk. If you have Python installed, then you
should already have the tkinter framework ready to go as well. A simple call will get
you started:

Python

from tkinter import *

Once you’ve got that set up, you can get to work on building your first GUI calculator in
Python.

Practice using the tkinter module and watch your vision materialize on the screen.
Then, once you’ve got your feet wet, you can branch out and start working with
Python’s other GUI toolkits. Check out the o icial documentation on GUI Programming
in Python for more information.

#4: Mine Twitter Data

Thanks to the Internet—and, increasingly, the Internet of Things—we now have access
to hordes of data that weren’t available even a decade ago. Analytics is a huge part of
any field that works with data. What are people talking about? What patterns can we
see in their behavior?

Twitter is a great place to get answers to some of these questions. If you’re interested
in data analysis, then a Twitter data mining project is a great way to use your Python
skills to answer questions about the world around you.

Our Twitter sentiment analysis tutorial will teach you how to mine Twitter data and
analyze user sentiment with a docker environment. You’ll learn how to register an
application with Twitter, which you’ll need to do in order to access their streaming API.

You’ll see how to use Tweepy to filter which tweets you want to pull, TextBlob to
calculate the sentiment of those tweets, Elasticsearch to analyze their content, and
Kibana to visualize the results. A er you finish this tutorial, you should be ready to dive
into other projects that use Python for text processing and speech recognition.

#5: Build a Microblog With Flask

It seems like everyone has a blog these days, but it’s not
a bad idea to have a central hub for yourself online.
With the advent of Twitter and Instagram,
microblogging in particular has become exceedingly
popular. In this project by Miguel Grinberg, you’ll learn
how to build your own microblog.

It’s called “The Flask Mega-Tutorial,” and it truly lives up

to its name. With 23 chapters to work through, you’ll
develop a deep understanding of the Flask micro web-
framework. At the end of this project, you should have a
fully functional web application.

You don’t need to know anything about Flask to get started, so it’s perfect for those of
you who are itching to get your hands dirty with web development.

The tutorial was recently updated to include content that will help you become a
better web developer in general. You can read it for free online, purchase a copy on
Amazon, or have the author walk you step by step through his online course. Once
you’re done, you’ll be able to move on to Django and creating even larger-scale web
applications.

#6: Build a Blockchain

While the blockchain was initially developed as a financial technology, it’s spreading to
a variety of other industries. Blockchains can be used for almost any kind of
transaction: from real estate dealings to medical record transfers.

You can get a better understanding of how they work by building one yourself.
Hackernoon’s tutorial will assist you in implementing a blockchain from scratch. At the
end of this project, you’ll have gained an in-depth understanding of how this
transactional technology works.

You’ll be working with HTTP clients and the requests library. Once you install the Flask
web framework, you’ll be able to use HTTP requests to communicate with your
blockchain over the Internet.

Remember, blockchain isn’t just for crypto enthusiasts. Once you’ve built one for
yourself, see if you can’t find a creative way to implement the technology in your field
of interest.

#7: Bottle Up a Twitter Feed

Interested in building web applications but unsure about starting a mega-project? No
worries—we’ve got something for you. Follow along with us to learn how to create a
simple web app in just a few hours.

Bob Belderbos shares how he implemented the 40th PyBites Code Challenge, where
participants were instructed to create a simple web app to better navigate the Daily
Python Tip feed on Twitter. You can walk through his implementation of the challenge
and code alongside him.

Instead of Flask, you’ll be using the Bottle micro web-framework. Bottle is known as a
low-dependency solution for deploying apps quickly. Since it is designed to be
lightweight and simple to use, you’ll have your application developed in no time.

You’ll also use the Tweepy module to load data from the Twitter API. You’ll store the
data in an SQLAlchemy database, so you’ll get some practice writing SQL queries as
well. Fork the repo to get started!

#8: Play PyGames

This one is for those of you who like to have fun! Python can be used to code a variety
of arcade games, adventure games, and puzzle games that you can deploy within a few
days. Classics like hangman, tic-tac-toe, ping-pong, and more are all doable with your
newly acquired programming skills.

The Pygame library makes it even easier to build your own games. It contains almost
anything you could need when starting to develop a game.

Pygame is free and open source. It includes computer graphics and sound libraries that
you can use to add interactive functionality to your application.

There are scores of games you can create with the library. Whatever you choose to
invent, feel free to share your stu with the Pygame community!

#9: Choose Your Own Adventure

If you’re more into storytelling, then you can still build something cool with Python.

The language is extremely easy to write in, which makes it the perfect environment for
developing interactive fiction. This free resource will guide you through the process of
writing a text-based adventure game in Python.

The tutorial assumes basic knowledge of programming in Python, but it helps you
bridge the gap between what you know and how to use that knowledge to build an
application.

If you want to take your story to the next level, you can use a so ware engine like
Ren’Py to add sounds and images to your game, creating a full-fledged visual novel.
(Then, you can put it up on Steam and see how it does! The best way to get feedback
on your work is to release your creation out into the world.)

#10: Say “Hello World!” to Machine Learning

Machine Learning can be a critical field of understanding for anyone interested in
Artificial Intelligence. However, it can be intimidating to get started, because the space
is fast and ever-changing.

Luckily, there are resources online that can help you get your feet wet before you dive
into the world of data science. This tutorial by Jason Brownlee is a wonderful
introduction to using Python for machine learning.

You’ll walk through some of the most common machine learning algorithms as well as
the Python libraries that will assist you in making predictions.

The tutorial is extremely simple and very easy to follow. You can complete it in as little
as a few hours. By the time you’re done, you’ll have gained a quick understanding of
how to use Python to perform data science.

When you’re sure you’re ready to dive in, check out our stock of data science tutorials,
where you’ll learn how to analyze fingerprints, create visualizations, and recognize
speech and faces, all in Python.

#11: Get Challenged

If you’re not sure about taking the plunge with some of
the larger projects listed above, but the smaller ones
don’t interest you either, then you might be wondering
what else there is. How on earth can you find
something that excites you?

Coding challenges can help you practice your Python

skills and gain a surface-level understanding of all the
di erent things you can do with Python.

To put it simply: you’re presented with a problem, and

you have to find a solution that uses Python.

You’ll get a chance to develop implementations that

make sense to you, but you’ll also have the opportunity to dive deep into the Python
language by way of hints. These give you an idea of which modules you should be
importing to help you solve the challenge.

Coding challenges are a great way to learn breadth-first about as many libraries,
methods, and frameworks as possible. You’re guaranteed to find something that you’ll
want to explore more on your own time. You might even come back to this list and find
that something you used in one of your challenges has sparked a new interest for you!

To get started, try one of these on for size:

The Python Challenge has over 20 levels for you to work through. Create small
Python scripts to find a solution to the level. There are hints scattered about the
Internet, but try to see the clues and figure it out for yourself!

PyBites Code Challenges has 50 challenges and counting! These challenges

encourage you to master Python by building applications that accomplish tasks.

If you’d rather push yourself by coding through these challenges on your own instead
of working through a step-by-step tutorial, then it’s always a good idea to have a
resource you can turn to for help. Python Tricks: The Book is an amazing source of
information to have on hand when you are working through these challenges. It will
take you through some of the lesser-known parts of Python that you’ll need to solve
them.

What You Probably Shouldn’t Do With Python

Clearly, Python is an extremely versatile language, and there’s a lot you can do with it.
But you can’t do everything with it. In fact, there are some things that Python is not
very well suited for at all.

As an interpreted language, Python has trouble interacting with low-level devices, like
device drivers. For instance, you’d have a problem if you wanted to write an operating
system with Python only. You’re better o sticking with C or C++ for low-level
applications.

However, even that might not be true for long. As a testament to Python’s flexibility,
there are those out there who are working on projects that extend Python’s usability to
low-level interactions. MicroPython is just one of these projects, designing low-level
capability for Python.

What if My Idea Isn’t on This List?

That’s okay! This list isn’t exhaustive—there are countless other tools and applications
you can build with Python that we haven’t covered here. Don’t think you’re limited to
what’s on this list. It is simply a resource to give you a place to start.

This video will give you some ideas on other projects that Python is well-suited for. You
can also check out this blog post to learn where to find inspiration for more Python
projects.

In the end, it’s up to you to do the research and find projects that pique your interest. If
you’re not sure where to begin, then follow us on Twitter. We regularly share cool and
interesting Python projects from our reader community. You might find something that
you can’t wait to contribute to!

What to Do Next
So there you have it! Eleven ways to start working your way from Python beginner to
savvy Pythonista.

No matter where you choose to begin, you’re sure to open up countless avenues for
developing your programming skills. Pick something—anything—and get started! Do
you have an idea for a project that didn’t make this list? Leave a comment down below!
You could suggest the perfect project for a fellow programmer.

If you get stuck and need a nudge in the right direction, check out our tips for
developing positive learning strategies to help get yourself back on track.

Another great way to get unstuck is to talk it out. Coding doesn’t have to be a solitary
activity. If you need a way to ask questions and get answers quickly from
knowledgeable professionals, then consider joining the PythonistaCafe. This private
community allows you to network with those who will help push you through any walls
you may hit on your journey to Python mastery. Click here to learn more, or go ahead
an apply!

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About Jaya Zhané

Jaya is an avid Pythonista and writes for Real Python.

She's a Master's student at Georgia Tech and is interested
in data science, AI, machine learning and natural
language processing.

» More about Jaya

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