Skip to content
Happy Programming Guide
Start learning

Python

Plain-English Python guides, from installing it to writing small programs that do real work. Short examples you can copy, run and change.

30 guides

Python

Handling Warnings in Python

What Python warnings mean, how to see them all, silence the ones you have decided about, and turn the dangerous ones into…

3 min read

Python

Python try / except Explained

How to handle errors instead of crashing: catching specific exceptions, else and finally, raising your own, and why a bare except will…

4 min read

Python

Python Functions Explained

Defining functions, parameters and defaults, keyword arguments, return values, scope, docstrings and when to split code into functions.

2 min read

Python

Python Dictionaries Explained

Dictionaries store labelled values. Here is how to create, read, update and loop over them, plus how to avoid the KeyError that…

2 min read

Python

Python Lists Explained

Creating lists, indexing, slicing, adding and removing items, sorting, and the copy trap that catches every Python beginner at least once.

2 min read

Python

Python For Loops Explained

How for loops work in Python: looping over lists, using range, enumerate and zip, break and continue, and building a list from…

2 min read

Keep going — pick your next guide

The fastest way to improve is to read one guide, then build the thing it describes. Start with the basics, or jump straight to a project.