Python Projects for Beginners

Introduction

• Course focus: Building Python projects and developing problem-solving skills.
• Emphasizes understanding problems, breaking them down, and creating maintainable solutions.
• Course includes explanations of coding processes and methodologies.

Prerequisites

• Basic familiarity with Python is required.
• Familiarity with variables, loops, functions, and some file handling.
• More advanced features will be explained as needed.
• For further learning: YouTube tutorials and a full course available on the instructor's website.

Course Materials

• Project Handbook: PDF outlining all projects with additional challenges.
• GitHub Repository: Complete source code for each project for comparison and experimentation.

Course Structure

• Designed to be hands-on and practical.
• For each project:
  • Start with project overview and requirements.
  • Encouragement to attempt solutions independently before watching the instructor's breakdown.
  • Solutions are meant to inspire different coding approaches.
• Emphasis on learning through challenges and building a strong foundation in problem-solving.

Project 1: Dice Rolling Game

• Functionality: User can roll dice or exit the game.
• Structure:
  • Ask user if they want to roll the dice.
  • Generate two random numbers if yes, print them.
  • Terminate the program if no, else show an error message for invalid inputs.
  • Use an infinite loop to allow continuous play until the user decides to stop.

Project 2: Number Guessing Game

• Functionality: User guesses a random number between 1 and 100.
• Structure:
  • Generate a random number.
  • Validate user input (ensure it’s a number).
  • Provide feedback on guesses (too high, too low, correct).
  • Allow multiple guesses using a loop.

Project 3: Rock, Paper, Scissors Game

• Functionality: User plays against the computer.
• Structure:
  • Get user's choice of rock, paper, or scissors.
  • Validate input and produce an error message for invalid choices.
  • Let the computer randomly select a choice.
  • Determine and display the winner based on the game's rules.
  • Ask the user if they want to play again.

Refactoring Techniques

• Modularization: Break down code into smaller, reusable functions.
  • Functions for getting user choice, displaying choices, determining winners, and managing game flow.
• Avoiding Duplication: Use constants for choices to avoid typos and make modifications easier.
  • For example, use constants like ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS.

Project 4: QR Code Generator

• Functionality: Generates a QR code from user input (text/URL).
• Setup:
  • Use third-party library qrcode.
  • Set up a virtual environment to manage dependencies.
• Structure:
  • Get user input for data and filename.
  • Strip any whitespace from inputs.
  • Generate and save QR code image with specified parameters.

Conclusion

• Encouragement to explore further with the full course for more projects and advanced concepts.
• Invitation to join the instructor on the python journey.