Unit 3: PythonLesson 1: Introduction to Programming

December 2, 2013

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Programming

LoopsDesigning a Game

Working with Files

Lesson 8 Lesson 7 Lesson 6

Data Types

Lesson 5

Functions

Lesson 4

Boolean Logic

Lesson 3

Introduction to Programming

Hardware & Software

Lesson 1 Lesson 2

Putting It All Together

Lesson 12

Navigating the Web (?)

Lesson 11

Sorting and Searching

Advanced Algorithms

Lesson 9 Lesson 10

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Technology is transforming our lives!

• Computers and technology are changing the way we live• Many people carry smartphones wherever they go• Newspapers are vanishing now that people read the news online• And most people send far more email than regular mail

• All of this is possible because people learned to program with computers…but what exactly is programming?

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Programming means giving instructions to a computer to do specific tasks (I)

• In our everyday life, we can have many different kinds of conversations with people around us:

• We argue about the best Harry Potter book• We discuss the latest Champions League standings• We explain how to put together that IKEA bookshelf

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Programming means giving instructions to a computer to do specific tasks (II)

• In our everyday life, we can have many different kinds of conversations with people around us:

• We argue about the best Harry Potter book• We discuss the latest Champions League standings• We explain how to put together that IKEA bookshelf

• When we talk to computers, we can only have one kind of conversation:

• We order the computer to complete tasks for us

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Computers do not understand English!

• If you were to move to France, you might be able to get by through speaking English alone…but it wouldn’t be easy

• Eventually, you would have to learn to speak French to talk to all the native French speakers around you

• In the same way, you need to learn a programming language to communicate with computers

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Many different programming languages exist

• Just like there are different languages spoken around the world, there are many programming languages in existence (in fact, new ones are developed all the time!)

• Some programming languages may be easier to learn while others may be more concise, but all serve a common purpose: to give instructions to a computer

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Python is one of the more popular programming languages

• Python is a programming language used for everything from working with scientific data to building web applications

• Python is used on many websites you have probably heard of (and use!), such as Google, Pinterest, and Instagram

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Python was not named after the snake, but…

• …instead after Monty Python, the British comedy series!

• The language got its name because it is intended to be playful and more fun to learn than traditional programming languages

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Python is actually very similar to English

• Python is a popular programming language famous for its readability

• Compared to other languages, Python is more similar to English and therefore more friendly to first-time programmers

• See if you can guess which of the following code snippets are written in Python!

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Can you guess which program is written in Python? (I)

#include <iostream>int main(){ std::cout << “Hello, World!” << std::endl; return 0;}

a.b.c.d.

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Can you guess which program is written in Python? (II)

#include <stdio.h>int main(int argc, char ** argv){ printf(“Hello, World!\n”);}

a.b.c.d.

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Can you guess which program is written in Python? (III)

public class Hello{ public static void main(String argv[]) { System.out.println(“Hello, World!”); }}

a.b.c.d.

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Can you guess which program is written in Python? (IV)

print(“Hello, World!”)

a.b.c.d.

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You can see now why it’s so much easier to learn Python!

#include <iostream>int main(){ std::cout << “Hello, World!” << std::endl; return 0;}

#include <stdio.h>int main(int argc, char ** argv){ printf(“Hello, World!\n”);}

public class Hello{ public static void main(String argv[]) { System.out.println(“Hello, World!”); }}

print(“Hello, World!”)

a. C++

b. C

c. Java

d. Python

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Summary

• Programming means giving instructions to a computer to do specific tasks

• Since computers do not understand English, we must learn to use programming languages to communicate with them

• As a programming language used on many top websites and with a concise syntax similar to English, Python is both powerful and easy for beginners to learn

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What to do on your own

1. Go to URL to complete the Codecademy course online

2. Do the practice set on the material learned

3. Take the follow-up quiz to test your understanding