Effective Python Development for Biologists: Tools and techniques for building biological programs
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781539103035
Publisher: Createspace
Published: Sep 26 2016
Pages: 298
Weight: 1.18
Height: 0.62 Width: 7.44 Depth: 9.69
Language: English
Python is rapidly becoming the standard language for many talks in scientific research, and is particularly popular in biology and bioinformatics. One of the great strengths of Python is the ecosystem of tools and libraries that have grown up around it.
This book introduces the novice biologist programmer to tools and techniques that make developing Python code easier and faster and will help you to write more reliable, performant programs. Written by a biologist, it focusses on solving the problems that students and researchers encounter every day:
- How do I make my program run faster?
- How can I be sure that my results are correct?
- How do I share this program with my colleagues?
- How can I speed up the process of writing my code?
Chapters include:
- Environments for development - learn how you can take advantage of different tools for actually writing code, including those designed specifically for scientific work.
- Organising and sharing code - learn how Python's module and packaging system works, how to effectively reuse code across multiple projects, and how to share your programs with colleagues and the wider world.
- Testing - learn how automated testing can make your code more reliable, how to catch bugs before they impact your work, and how to edit code with confidence.
- Performance - learn how to make your code run quickly even on large datasets, how to understand the scaling behaviour of your code, and explore the trade offs involved in designing code.
- User interfaces - learn how to make your code more user friendly, how to design effective interfaces, and how to automate record-keeping with Python's logging system.
Martin started his programming career by learning Perl during the course of his PhD in evolutionary biology, and started teaching other people to program soon after. Since then he has taught introductory programming to hundreds of biologists, from undergraduates to PIs, and has maintained a philosophy that programming courses must be friendly, approachable, and practical. In his academic career, Martin mixed research and teaching at the University of Edinburgh, culminating in a two year stint as Lecturer in Bioinformatics. He now runs programming courses for biological researchers as a full time freelancer.
Praise for Martin's previous booksGreat, great book. I think this is the perfect book for any biologist to who wants to start learning to code with Python... I didn't know a command-line from a hole in the ground when I first opened up this book, and mere days later I was impressing my colleagues with my own DNA analysis programs.
Zero to writing useful programs in a weekend... Python for Biologists arrived last Thursday, 6/16/16, I spent the whole weekend glued to my laptop in a 2 1/2 day frenzy of coding, and I just finished it -- and came on Amazon to order the next one!
One of the BEST coding books I've used in a long time. Direct applications in bioinformatics. I bought the advanced python book too.
The most useful guide to Python I've found...I've tried a few Python books, and this is by far the best for me.
Also in
Programming
Interactive Theorem Proving and Program Development: Coq'art: The Calculus of Inductive Constructions
Castéran, Pierre
Bertot, Yves
Hardcover
Seven Databases in Seven Weeks: A Guide to Modern Databases and the Nosql Movement
Redmond, Eric
Wilson, Jim
Perkins, Luc
Paperback
The Legend of Zelda(tm) Tears of the Kingdom - The Complete Official Guide: Collector's Edition
Piggyback
Hardcover
Python Crash Course, 3rd Edition: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming
Matthes, Eric
Paperback
Crisis Engineering: Time-Tested Tools for Turning Chaos Into Clarity
Nitze, Marina
Weaver, Matthew
Dickerson, Mikey
Paperback
Vibe Coding: Building Production-Grade Software with Genai, Chat, Agents, and Beyond
Yegge, Steve
Kim, Gene
Paperback
Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations
Forsgren Phd, Nicole
Humble, Jez
Kim, Gene
Paperback
Embedded Systems with ARM Cortex-M Microcontrollers in Assembly Language and C: Fourth Edition
Zhu, Yifeng
Paperback
The Legend of Zelda(tm) Tears of the Kingdom - The Complete Official Guide: Standard Edition
Piggyback
Paperback
I Have an App Idea: The Essential Guide to Building an App Without Tech Skills
Spann, Amanda
Paperback
Fundamentals of Software Architecture: A Modern Engineering Approach
Richards, Mark
Ford, Neal
Paperback
AI Projects with Raspberry Pi: High-Performance Artificial Intelligence for Robotics, Security, Home Automation, and Vision
Hattersley, Lucy
Jepson, Brian
Paperback
The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change
Fournier, Camille
Paperback
Make: Electronics: Learning by Discovery: A Hands-On Primer for the New Electronics Enthusiast
Platt, Charles
Paperback
The Devops Handbook, 2nd Edition: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, & Security in Technology Organizations
Kim, Gene
Humble, Jez
Debois, Patrick
Paperback
Building Applications with AI Agents: Designing and Implementing Multiagent Systems
Albada, Michael
Paperback
The Developer's Guide to AI: A Field Guide for the Working Developer
Orshalick, Jacob
Reghunadh, Jerry M.
Thompson, Danny
Paperback
Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions
McDowell, Gayle Laakmann
Paperback
The New AI Cold War: Liberty vs. Tyranny in the Age of Machine Empires
Maginnis, Ltc Robert L.
Paperback
Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to Html, Css, Javascript, and Web Images
Robbins, Jennifer
Paperback
The Staff Engineer's Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change
Reilly, Tanya
Paperback
Software Architecture: The Hard Parts: Modern Trade-Off Analyses for Distributed Architectures
Ford, Neal
Richards, Mark
Sadalage, Pramod
Paperback
SQL QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Managing, Analyzing, and Manipulating Data With SQL
Shields, Walter
Hardcover
Linux Basics for Hackers, 2nd Edition: Getting Started with Networking, Scripting, and Security in Kali
Occupytheweb
Paperback
The Official Raspberry Pi Handbook 2026: Astounding Projects with Raspberry Pi Computers
Makers of Raspberry Pi Official Magazine, The
Paperback
The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery, 20th Anniversary Edition
Hunt, Andrew
Thomas, David
Hardcover
Generative AI Design Patterns: Solutions to Common Challenges When Building Genai Agents and Applications
Lakshmanan, Valliappa
Hapke, Hannes
Paperback
Forecasting: Principles and Practice, the Pythonic Way
Athanasopoulos, George
Hyndman, Rob J.
Paperback
Observability Engineering: Achieving Production Excellence
Miranda, George
Majors, Charity
Fong-Jones, Liz
Paperback
Head First Design Patterns: Building Extensible and Maintainable Object-Oriented Software
Robson, Elisabeth
Freeman, Eric
Paperback
Frictionless: 7 Steps to Remove Barriers, Unlock Value, and Outpace Your Competition in the AI Era
Forsgren, Nicole
Noda, Abi
Paperback
The Return on AI: From Promise to Profit in the Age of Intelligent Business
Mittal, Ashwin
Sawhney, Mohanbir
Paperback
Arduino Programming for Beginners: A Comprehensive Beginner's Guide to Learn the Realms of Arduino Programming from A-Z
Protosmith, Ada
Paperback
Building AI-Powered Products: The Essential Guide to AI and Genai Product Management
Nika, Marily
Paperback
Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science
Knuth, Donald
Graham, Ronald
Patashnik, Oren
Hardcover
Grokking Algorithms, Second Edition: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers and Other Curious People
Bhargava, Aditya Y.
Paperback
Debugging: The 9 Indispensable Rules for Finding Even the Most Elusive Software and Hardware Problems
Agans, David J.
Paperback
Learning Generative AI Tools for Excel: Speed Up Your Everyday Tasks with Microsoft Excel, Copilot, Chatgpt, and Beyond
Duca, Angelica Lo
Paperback
Learning Domain-Driven Design: Aligning Software Architecture and Business Strategy
Khononov, Vlad
Paperback
Computer Science from Scratch: Building Interpreters, Art, Emulators and ML in Python
Kopec, David
Paperback
The Software Architect Elevator: Redefining the Architect's Role in the Digital Enterprise
Hohpe, Gregor
Paperback
Python Programming for Young Coders: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Coding for Beginners, Kids, and Teens
Pandey, Anand
Paperback
Learning Php, MySQL & JavaScript: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Websites
Nixon, Robin
Paperback
Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time
Wright, Hyrum
Winters, Titus
Manshreck, Tom
Paperback
Living a Jewish Life, Revised and Updated: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families
Diamant, Anita
Cooper, Howard
Paperback
Pro C# 10 with .Net 6: Foundational Principles and Practices in Programming
Japikse, Phil
Troelsen, Andrew
Paperback
Prompt Engineering for Llms: The Art and Science of Building Large Language Model-Based Applications
Ziegler, Albert
Berryman, John
Paperback
Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience
Greever, Tom
Paperback
Adobe Photoshop, 2nd Edition: A Complete Course and Compendium of Features
Laskevitch, Stephen
Paperback
Kubernetes in Action, Second Edition: Deploying and Managing Containers and Cloud-Native Applications
Conner, Kevin
Luksa, Marko
Paperback
Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence
Zegart, Amy B.
Paperback
Site Reliability Engineering: How Google Runs Production Systems
Jones, Chris
Beyer, Betsy
Murphy, Niall Richard
Paperback
Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It
Monteiro, Mike
Paperback
Electronic Music and Sound Design - Theory and Practice with Max 9 - Volume 1 (Fifth Edition)
Cipriani, Alessandro
Maurizio, Giri
Paperback
Designing AI Interfaces: Design Principles for Creative and Autonomous AI
Macfadyen, Louise
Paperback
