Python

Python is a powerful, multi-purpose programming language designed to write simple and readable code. Python is what we’ll be running to power the majority of our projects, as it’s the easiest way to quickly write very practical code for both UIs and controlling projects themselves. Python is both one of the most accessible and most common programming languages out there, which means that it’s widely used in industry and academia both in computer science and out of it.

The best way to learn Python is to write it! There’s many ways to do so, of which two suggestions are offered below. You can do one, both, or suggest an alternative to Mr. Harlow to learn in your own way. Learning is an individual process, so choose what you feel suits you the best. Don’t worry if you don’t have any programming experience, as these will start from the basics and work their way up to more advanced topics.

The first suggestion is to watch and follow along the following 4.5 hour video. Watch, pause, and follow along on your own screen to be able to gain intuition for writing code!

If you’re looking for an alternative, these videos by Prof. Farid also work great – https://farid.berkeley.edu/learnPython/ – though are likely going to be a little bit more rigorous/time-consuming.

Note – the first thing he’ll tell you to do is to install Pycharm/python3. These are already installed on your computer, so don’t worry about that.

The second suggestion is to follow the online tutorial, linked here: complete the first 12 sections, through modules and packages.

After you feel like you have some Python under your belt, it’s now time to test your skills with the following online python coding games! Create a free account using your dpengineering.org email address so you can return and track your progress.

Finxter: https://app.finxter.com/learn/computer/science/

CheckIO: https://py.checkio.org/

Go through as much as you need to feel comfortable with the language.

For your reference, I’ve also created a short review video on inheritance. If you already know this concept, there’s no need to go over it, but if not you’ll need to step through the below video.

VIDEO HERE