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Introduction to Programming

Course Summary

The Intro to Programming training course is designed to teach students the art of computer programming. This course targets students who have either never written a computer program, or those who learned to program long ago and are not daily programmers. The course will be taught in Python, a language which is easy to get started with, yet powerful enough that students will likely continue to use it on a regular basis.

The course begins with a brief look at the basics of computer architecture, offering students a high-level understanding of the concepts and terminology of a computer enabling them to understand what's going on "under the hood." The course then goes on to explain programs, algorithms, errors, debugging, and the processes necessary for a programmer to take a problem statement and turn it into working code which will solve real-world problems. Converting problems into code will be a recurring theme throughout the course, and students will have many opportunities to write code through hands-on labs and challenges. At the end of the course, students will have the knowledge and skills necessary to write code, and if desired, enroll in our Introduction/Core programming courses (e.g., Java, JavaScript-or even Python), all of which assume knowledge of programming as a prerequisite.

An optional third day will consist primarily of additional programming exercises and challenges, one-on-one help, and additional material which will further students' knowledge of programming. The course is definitely NOT for developers who write code on a regular basis.

Purpose
Learn how to create basic programs using Python.
Audience
Students who have either never written code before, or who learned to program long ago and haven't written code for some time now.
Role
Business Analyst - Project Manager - Q/A - System Administrator
Skill Level
Introduction
Style
Workshops
Duration
3 Days
Related Technologies
JavaScript | C# | Python | Java

 

Productivity Objectives
  • Associate programming terminology (e.g., variables, keywords, statements, conditionals, expressions, loops, functions, algorithms, debugging, etc.).
  • Transform a problem statement into an actionable mental model.
  • Write Python code to solve real-world problems.
  • Translate and debug Python programs at a beginner level.
  • Transition to other programming languages/courses.

What You'll Learn:

In the Introduction to Programming training course, you'll learn:
  • The Basics of Computer Architecture
    • bits bytes binary
    • RAM CPU hard drives
  • What is Computer Programming?
    • What are program algorithms pseudocode?
    • What is debugging?
    • Interpreted languages (eg PythonJavabash)
    • vs compiled languages
    • Source code vs object code
    • Syntax vs semantic vs run-time errors
  • Introducing Python
    • Hands-on with the Python interpreter
    • The print() function
    • Writing our first program
  • The Art of Programming
    • Mental models
    • Handling errors
    • Converting a problem into code
    • Debugging strategies
  • Data Variables and Expressions
    • Values and simple data types (int float string)
    • Variables
    • Variables names and keywords
    • Evaluating expressions
    • Operators and Operands
    • Boolean expressionslogical operators
    • Type conversion functions
    • String operations
    • Composition
  • Statements
    • Conditionals
    • Chained conditionals
    • Nested conditionals
  • Iteration
    • The for statement
    • The range() operator
    • The while statement
    • The breakcontinue statements
    • The else clause
    • Middle-test loops (one and a half loops)
    • Post-test loops
    • Nested loops
  • Advanced Data Types Operation
    • Lists (vs arrays)
    • Slicing
    • Tuples
    • Dictionaries
  • Functions
    • Arguments
    • Scope
    • The return statement
    • Void functions and None
    • Boolean functions
    • Functions can call other functions
  • Modules
    • What are they?
    • Random numbers
    • The math module
    • The time module
  • Wrapping Up
    • What have we learned?
    • How can we apply it to larger problems?
    • Where do we go from here?
“I appreciated the instructor's technique of writing live code examples rather than using fixed slide decks to present the material.”

VMware

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