Do you know the feeling when you’ve read the theory behind some programming concepts but you’re at a loss when it comes to writing actual code? Vertabelo Academy’s new course—Python Data Structures in Practice—addresses this exact problem by explaining the practical aspects of basic data structures. The course discusses frequent use cases and teaches you optimal solutions to common problems. As a bonus, you’ll create a real Python game!

Although you can find countless online courses teaching Python, very few of them actually explain how to use Python data structures in practice. If you want to learn when to apply certain data structures and how to use them to solve typical problems efficiently, our Python Data Structures in Practice course is right for you.

The course is intended for people who already know basic Python concepts. If you are completely new to Python, take a look at our Python Basics Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 first.

This course discusses how to perform typical operations on four data structures: lists (including nested lists), tuples, dictionaries, and sets. It’ll be of interest to anyone who wants to gain practical knowledge of Python or prepare for a coding interview.

Why Learn Python Data Structures?

In computer science, data structures are the building blocks of nearly all applications and scripts. They allow us to organize multiple pieces of information into logical collections that can be processed easily. Data structures can be used to put data into a specific order, ensure uniqueness of elements, or provide nearly instant access to data.

We’ll start with lists, which store items in a specific order. You’ll learn how to iterate over lists and modify their contents. We’ll teach you how to rearrange list elements and compare two lists with identical or different sizes. You’ll also learn how to compute basic statistics, such as identifying the minimum, maximum, or average value of a list. Apart from that, we’ll also create and work with nested lists.

We’ll then move on to tuples. You’ll learn how tuples can be used to return multiple values from functions, how you can pack or unpack tuples, navigate lists of tuples, and use them with the zip() function. You’ll learn to represent real-world objects, states, or positions using tuples.

We’ll also discuss dictionaries. We’ll explain how you can iterate over dictionary keys or values and how you can use tuples as dictionary keys. We’ll discuss typical dictionary use cases such as counting, grouping, and linking elements .

Finally, we’ll take a look at sets. You’ll learn how to create sets from lists, how you can use sets to delete duplicate elements, and how to perform single or multiple set operations. We’ll also demonstrate how sets can simulate state machines.

Once you master all of the above, you’ll be able to easily pick the right data structure for the right task. You’ll also gain the ability to write more complex applications and scripts that can solve difficult problems efficiently. After completing the course, you’ll easily be able to create an application that manages orders or a script that operates on multiple system files. The contents of this course are also excellent recap material before a coding job interview.

Bonus—Write a Real Python Game

Once we’ve finished discussing all the data structures and their usage, we’ll have a final project for you. Your task will be to write a real Python game named Cyber Battle. You’ll have a chance to use all the data structures presented in the course to create a console game in which two robots fight each other until one of them runs out of lives. Can you imagine a more practical usage of data structures than a real Python game?

Our Approach

We apply the principle of learning by doing in Python Data Structures in Practice. The course contains nearly 120 interactive exercises that you can do straight from your web browser. Every single piece of knowledge we introduce comes with an exercise.

Each part of the course contains a short summary quiz so you can check how much you remember. All of this will boost your confidence in using Python data structures.

What’s in It for Me?

• 118 interactive exercises. Learn at your own place, from anywhere and anytime. Interact with hands-on exercises for improved retention.
• Lifetime access to the course. When you purchase the course, you’ll get instant personal access to all of its content.
• Certificate of completion. After you successfully finish all of the exercises, you’ll get a downloadable PDF certificate to showcase your accomplishment.
• 30-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with the quality of the course, you can get a refund within 30 days of your purchase.
• Hints for the exercises. You can make use of ready-made hints for all exercises, or ask questions and share insights with other members of the Vertabelo Academy community through the Discuss tab. You can also drop us a line at academy@vertabelo.com, and we’ll be more than happy to answer!

Boost your programming skills with our new Vertabelo Academy course and learn the practical aspects of basic Python data structures!