Introduction to Programming with Python for Fun and Profit

Workshops to Get You Started Doing Great Things

Author : Nathan Danielsen @nate_somewhere

Purpose

Have you been curious about writing code? Have you tried to get started but just couldn't get things to work? Have you heard that python is a great language to learn but not sure where to start? These workshops got you covered.

In these workshops, we will:

• Get you set up for success and continued learning afterwards
• Introduce basic python syntax including variables, data types, functions and for-loops
• Demonstrate common operations for cleaning and parsing data

Each workshop will review some basic elements of the python programming language and will deep dive into a particular useful data type or common operation. It will conclude with a real world type exercises and homework to will apply the materials covered in the workshop.

A high emphasis is placed on working with other students to debug and troubleshoot your code. It's the best way to learn!

Set Up Before Workshop

Please download and install Mu, a simple Python editor, for beginner programmers

Recommended Reading: Getting Starting with Mu

Create a github account at https://github.com/

Why It's Great to Learn Python

:snake: It's free. You can download it for free, there are ways to learn it for free, and there's a whole range of packages available for free.

:snake: It's easy. Other languages make you remember strange commands or keep track of curly braces everywhere. Not so with Python. That makes it a great beginner programing language.

:snake: It's everywhere. It's a powerful language that is used by a wide variety of companies and organizations to solve all sorts of problems.

:snake: It's community-focused. Python exists solely because of volunteers and has a great community both online and off that connects people.

Recommended Resources for Continuing Your Python Journey

Automate the Boring Stuff Learn python through small practical projects that might reduce the tedium in your job! (Highly recommended)

How to Think Like a Computer Scientist An equally good book and allows you to use python right in your browser.