Intro to Python Programming

Catalog description

This course introduces the Python language using key computer programming concepts and techniques. Students are introduced to core programming concepts like data structures, conditionals, loops, variables, and functions. This course utilizes the integrated development environment (IDE) of IDLE for writing and running Python and gets students coding quickly. Students are encouraged to explore PyCharm and Eclipse IDEs as well. It also provides hands-on coding exercises employing commonly used data structures, writing custom functions, and reading and writing to files. Python is a language which has a simple to learn syntax, and a powerful set of available libraries. It is an interpreted language, containing a rich programming environment which includes a robust debugger and profiler. While it is easy for beginning coders to learn, it is widely used in many scientific areas for data exploration and in data science.