This Python Beginner's workshop will be running from 9.30am - 5pm on Monday the 26th of March, at the CoLab training space, also known as Room 329, Level 3, Eastern Resource Centre, Building 171. Enter at the glass doors next to the Resource cafe, head to the back of the lobby (keep the ERC library entrance on your left) and enter at back right.
This workshop is designed for those trying to explore and learn about the wonders of Python for the very first time. The content is suitable for a range of learners - from those who have never programmed before, to those who are already proficient in other coding languages.
This workshop will be using Python 3.6 inside the Jupyter Notebook. You can find installation instructions inside the Python_Installation.md instruction file.
Note if you are having trouble installing Python, feel free to show up 15 minutes early so I can help you with the installation
While we will be learning in the Jupyter environment, you may find this a bit heavy for your day-to-day coding life. There are a number of light-weight text editors and Integrative Development Environments (IDEs) freely available on the internet. The primary difference is that IDEs allow you write and run your code all within the same program. On the other hand, text editors only allow you to write the code - to run them you have to use the command line. Either of these options can be more appropriate for you, depending on how you want to use them.
IDEs:
- Spyder. This comes installed with the Anaconda package, and you should be able to find it in your system's programs list after installation
- Pycharm. This one has a free community-edition license, but anybody working on research which could be patented, beware! The pycharm owners dislike the free version being used on for-profit projects, and the licensing reflects this.
Text Editors:
- Atom. Free. No ads. Allows Git/Github integration
- Sublime Text. Unlimited free license. Occasional pop-up ads.
You will also find that the content for the workshop is available in both the markdown (*.md) format, for online viewing, and as an iPython notebooks (*.ipynb), which will contain useable code fragments, challenges and explanations for the workshop content. This content is mostly adapted from "Python Basics" chapters of Dan Sandiford's Python Gitbook, as well as from previous iterations of this workshop.
The basic progression for the workshop should be as follows:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9.30am - 10.00am | Intro to Jupyter and Python |
| 10:00am - 10.45am | Lists |
| 10.45am - 11.00am | Tea Break |
| 11.00am - 11.30am | Dictionaries |
| 11.30am - 12.45am | Conditionals, For Loops |
| 12.45pm - 2.00pm | Lunch Break |
| 2.00pm - 2.45pm | While Loops, Functions |
| 2.45pm - 3.00pm | Tea Break |
| 2.45pm - 3.30pm | Functions continued |
| 3.45 pm - 4.00pm | Tea Break |
| 3.45pm - 5pm | Where too next |