how to use this book how to use this book the first half of this book is quick but thorough overview of all the python fundamentals you don' need any prior experience with programming to get started the second half is focused on finding practical solutions to interestingreal-world coding problems if you're beginnerthen we recommend that you go through the first half of this book from beginning to end the second half covers topics that don' overlap as muchso you can jump around more easilybut the do increase in difficulty as you go along if you're more experienced programmerthen you may find yourself heading toward the second part of the book right away but don' neglect getting strong foundation in the basics firstand be sure to fill in any knowledge gaps along the way most sections within are followed by review exercises to help you make sure that you've mastered all the topics covered there are also number of code challengeswhich are more involved and usually require you to tie together several different concepts from previous the practice files that accompany this book also include full solutions to the challenges as well as some of the trickier exercises but to get the most out of the materialyou should try your best to solve the challenge problems on your own before looking at the example solutions if you're completely new to programmingthen you may want to supplement the first few with additional practice we recommend working through the entry-level tutorials available for free at realpython com to make sure you're on solid footing if you have any questions or feedback about the bookyou're always welcome to contact us directly