Course Topic

Introduction to imperative programming, using the programming language Python.

Course Objectives

• Learn to write, read and reason about simple programs.

• Use programming to solve interesting problems:

  • Decompose complex problems into simpler subproblems,
  • solve each subproblem,
  • and combine the solutions to solve the original problem.

Course Audience

Is this course for you?

• background

  • comfortable using computers

    (running programs, opening/saving files, editing text)

  • little or no programming experience

• intended plans

  • want to use programing in the laboratory/social sciences, humanities, arts etc.

• alternatives:

  • COMP 211

    more rigorous/mathematical, more complex assignments/projects

  • QAC 155

    Python programming for data management

Course Components

Lecture

weekly (Tuesdays, 8:50AM, Exley 109)

Lab

weekly (Tuesdays, 8:50AM, Exley 74)

Reading

free online book: Think Python (2nd ed.). Readings assigned weekly.

Homework

weekly (released to Moodle shortly after each lecture, due by beginning of following lecture)

Exam

two midterms (on March 8 and May 3)

Programming Project

in lieu of final exam at end of semester (details to follow)

Course Resources

Lab

instructor and C.A.s

Drop-In Help Clinic

run by C.A.s on Sun., Mon. and Thurs. evenings 7:00-9:00 in Exley 103

Office Hours

scheduled and by appointment

What do Computers do?

(discussion)

What is an Algorithm?

(discussion)

How can we Communicate an Algorithm to a Computer?

(discussion)

Programming Languages

A programming language is a formal language for representing and manipulating information and performing tasks.

Why Learn to Program?

• Interact with computers on your own terms.

• Automate laborious tasks.

• Bring your ideas to life.

• Gain a mental force multiplier.

• It’s fun!

How to Learn Programming

• Learn what – i.e. concepts (lecture, readings)

• Learn how – i.e. skills (lab, homework)

Programming is Like…

A natural language

it has a vocabulary and rules of grammar that we need to learn and follow.

A natural science

to understand how a piece of software works we can perform observations and experiments.

A mathematical theory

computers operate by following precise rules; by learning to mentally model them we can predict and direct the computer’s behavior.

Why Might Programming Seem Hard?

• High level of precision and detail required.

• Unfamiliar syntax.

Syntax and Parsing

• Syntax is the rules for expressing an idea in a particular language.

• Example: English has rules for spelling, punctuation and grammar.

• To be understood, we must express our thoughts according to the rules. (…sorta)

• Extracting the idea from the representation is parsing.

for x in xs :
    acc += len (x)

Example: Parsing Arithmetic

3 + 4 × 5

3 + (4 × 5)

Algorithms

Named for Al-Khwārizmī, a 9th c. Persian mathematician, astronomer and cartographer.

Algorithm

a complete description of a procedure for accomplishing some task.

• must be clear and unambiguous

• no ingenuity or creativity required

• must handle every possible case

• must eventually produce a result

Example: Evaluating Arithmetic

3 + (4 × 5)

3 + 20

23

Python

Python is:

• a popular high-level imperative programming language,
• a collection of software tools to manipulate and run programs written in that language.

Python, the Language

popular

lots of users, platforms, libraries and tools

high-level

details of the underlying hardware, operating system, etc. are abstracted away

Python, the Platform

• An open-source project (http://python.org)

• An interpreter (python, python3)

• A program editor (IDLE)

• Documentation (books, videos, reference manuals, etc.)

• Community (mailing lists, blogs, conferences, etc.)

To Do This Week:

• Download the book Think Python (2nd ed.) and read chapter 1 (8 pages).

• Complete assignment 0.

• Follow instructions to download and install Python3 for your computer (if you don’t already have it installed).