/Intro-Python

Introduction to Python basics

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Intro to Python

Goals

It's time to learn a new language! Python!

Python is a popular, easy-to-use programming language that has significant traction in the field.

Remember the goal is learning to learn, so keep track of what works for you and what doesn't as you go through the process of exploring Python.

Techniques for learning new languages

  • Try to relate things you already know in another language (e.g. what an array is) to the corresponding things in Python (e.g. a list) and how to use them.

  • Write a bunch of "toy programs" that demonstrate different key features of the language

  • Explore the standard library that's available for the language. Skim it briefly for now--the idea isn't to memorize everything but to file away generally what functionality is available.

  • Write a more substantial toy program that uses a variety of the features.

Again, keep track of what works for you. Try different things to see what works best for learning new languages.

Resources

Getting started

  1. Make sure you have Python 3 and pipenv installed.

  2. Go to the directory with the Pipfile and run

    pipenv install

  3. After the install completes, run

    pipenv shell

    This will get you into the virtual environment. At this point, you should be able to run Python 3 by just running python:

    $ python --version
Python 3.6.5

    You can exit the virtual environment by typing exit.

Day 1

Learn the basics of Python with a pile of toy programs.

Take a look in the src/ directory.

NOTE: adv.py is for Day 2, so ignore it for today.

Suggested order for implementing the toy programs:

  • hello -- Hello world
  • bignum -- Print some big numbers
  • datatypes -- Experiment with type conversion
  • printf -- Formatted print output
  • lists -- Python's version of arrays
  • comp -- List comprehensions
  • dicts -- Dictionaries
  • func -- Functions
  • cal -- Experiment with module imports
  • obj -- Classes and objects

Day 2

Put it together into a bigger toy program: a simple text adventure!

This is in src/adv.py. Check it out!