"It's been 925 summers since the Jemen introduced zyme, a bioluminescent algae, into the world's ocean and unwittingly triggered an Ice Age that has consumed most of the planet. All but a handful of Jemen flew to the stars, but before they left, they recreated several extinct species that had thrived in the last Ice Age. After almost a thousand summers, the archaic hominins that struggle along the edges of massive glaciers are dwindling. All they...

Finn has escaped Incarceron only to find that he must defend his right to the throne from another challenger. His life and Claudia's hang on Finn convincing the Court that he is the lost prince, even though he has his own doubts about being the true heir. After his escape from the sentient prison, Incarceron, Finn finds that the Realm is not at all what he expected, and he does not know whether he is to be its king, how to free his imprisoned friends,...

Examine a famous graph algorithm called breadth-first search, which shows the shortest path connecting nodes in a tree. Use this technique to write a program creating an entertaining game, in which a word is transformed one letter at a time, with each new iteration required to be a valid word.

Data structures allow you to perform operations more effectively. Start with two of the most basic data structures, stacks and queues, discovering that both can be executed using lists. Then move to non-linear data structures, exemplified by dictionaries and sets, which can be implemented using a hash table.

Delve into data visualization and simulations—two areas where computers have had a revolutionary but under-recognized impact. Learn how to do both with matplotlib, a Python package for creating plots, graphs, and charts. Use it to design a financial simulation that can help you plan your retirement.

Learn the fundamentals of files: what they are, how they’re named, and how to interact with them. Typically, the file format that you write to and read from will be one long string—a sequence of alphanumeric characters. See how these differ from binary files such as images, which are composed of 1s and 0s.

Enter the realm of algorithms, the heart of computer science. See how a well-designed algorithm—a general set of steps that accomplish a task—allows you to work out the logic of a program before you commit it to code. Try this with search and sort exercises.

Now experiment with bottom-up design, an approach that starts with the available elements and builds from there. Utilize a Python module called turtle graphics to model robot motion, relying on the basic turtle commands: forward, backward, and turn left or right by an angle you specify.