Episode 65: Our Favorite Python Libraries

In this episode, Sean and Kelly discuss their top 5 favorite Python libraries, and how they use these libraries in the classroom to reinforce student learning. From the standard library to teaching how to use pip, learn more about our favorite libraries to share with our students.

Our lists:

Sean

• Datetime
• random
• Matplotlib
• bullet

Kelly

• Pillow
• Math
• Turtle
• getpass
• Regex

Support Teaching Python

Links:

• Tutorial — Pillow (PIL Fork) 8.3.0.dev0 documentation — Tutorial Using the Image class The most important class in the Python Imaging Library is the Image class, defined in the module with the same name. You can create instances of this class in several ways; either by loading images from files, processing other images, or creating images from scratch.
• Episode #45: Processing Images in Python With Pillow – The Real Python Podcast — Are you interested in processing images in Python? Do you need to load and modify images for your Flask or Django website or CMS? Then you most likely will be working with Pillow, the friendly fork of PIL, the Python imaging library. This week on the show, we have Mike Driscoll, who is writing a new book about image processing in Python.
• Pillow: Image Processing… by Michael Driscoll [PDF/iPad/Kindle] — Have you ever wondered how to use Python to process your images? Wonder no longer! The Pillow package is Python's Imaging Library. In this book, you will learn how to crop photos, apply filters and transforms, work with colors and much more!
• math — Mathematical functions — Python 3.9.4 documentation — This module provides access to the mathematical functions defined by the C standard.
• Gallery — Matplotlib 3.4.1 documentation — This gallery contains examples of the many things you can do with Matplotlib. Click on any image to see the full image and source code.
• bchao1/bullet: 🚅 Interactive prompts made simple. Build a prompt like stacking blocks. — 🎨 Customize prompts in your Python CLI tool. Extensive support for formatting, colors, background colors, styling, and etc. Also supports emojis!
• datetime — Basic date and time types — Python 3.9.4 documentation — The datetime module supplies classes for manipulating dates and times.
• Amazon.com: Petoi Bittle Bionic Open Source Robot Dog which has Customized Arduino board, Compatible with Raspberry Pi, Arduino IDE and graphical programming, Easy to operate and Rich curriculum resources: Computers & Accessories — Petoi Bittle is a small but agile and powerful bionic robot dog which has the unique bionic system can perform dynamic movement and has excellent coordination.The bionic structure of the legs gives it more freedom in unstructured terrain.This dynamic mobility can only be seen in some of the best laboratories or some luxury robots of big companies, such as Boston Dynamics Spot or Sony Aibo.
• The Beginner's Guide to Python Turtle – Real Python — When I was a kid, I used to learn Logo, a programming language that involved a turtle that you could move around the screen with just a few commands. I remember feeling like a computer genius as I controlled this little object on my screen, and this was what got me interested in programming in the first place. The Python turtle library comes with a similar interactive feature that gives new programmers a taste of what it’s like to work with Python.
• turtle — Turtle graphics — Python 3.9.4 documentation — Turtle graphics is a popular way for introducing programming to kids. It was part of the original Logo programming language developed by Wally Feurzeig, Seymour Papert and Cynthia Solomon in 1967.
• re — Regular expression operations — Python 3.9.4 documentation — This module provides regular expression matching operations similar to those found in Perl.
• getpass — Portable password input — Python 3.9.4 documentation — getpass — Portable password input

Episode source