Advanced Python Topics

For those that really want to go beyond the basics of intro course level Python

Here are some advanced topics in Computing and Computer Science that can be explored with your Python skills.

Please note that the items on this list tend to be “far beyond the scope of an intro level course”. They are not items that we’d expect a typical CS8 student to dive into. However, not every CS8 student is “typical”, and we want to be sure that there are challenges for everyone.

• Symbolic Computation in Python: https://www.sympy.org/en/index.html
  • Symbolic Computation involves computing with algebraic expressions rather than with numbers. Examples include simplifying algebraic expressions and finding integrals and derivatives symbolically. You may be used to using systems such as Wolfram Alpha or Mathematical for this application.
  • Some advantages of sympy over Wolfram and Mathematica
    • It’s free and open source, while Wolfram and Mathematica both cost money in certain configurations
    • Wolfram and Mathematica each have particular limitations, while sympy, as an open source project, is one that, in principle, can be extended to solve any problem we know how to solve (if we are willing to put in the work.)