VJC Chapter 1 Introduction to Python

2022/VJC/JC1/H2Computing/9569 Chapter 1: Introduction to Python Contents 1 Getting started with Python 1.1 Version used 1.2 Platforms for Python programming 2 Starting Python with Hello World 2.1 IDLE 2.2 Python file 2.3 Jupyter Notebook 3 Python Syntax 3.1 Indentation and white space 3.2 Naming conventions 3.3 Write comments Appendix A – Tips for using IDLE Appendix B – Jupyter keyboard shortcuts Appendix C – The Importance of Good Comments: A Tale of the Baker's Apprentice Syllabus Learning Outcomes 2.1 Coding Standards Use common coding standards for programming style (which is dependent on programming language used). 2.1.1 Use indentation and white space. 2.1.2 Use naming conventions (e.g. meaningful identifier names). 2.1.3 Write comments (name of programmer, date written, program description and version bookkeeping/control). References Computational Fairy Tales: The Importance of Good Comments: A Tale of the Baker's Apprentice (computationaltales.blogspot.com) https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_syntax.asp

2022/VJC/JC1/H2Computing/9569 1 Getting started with Python 1.1 Versions used The latest version of Python for Windows is 3.10.1. However, we are using version 3.6.4 for the A-Level H2 Computing Syllabus 9569. 1.2 Platforms for Python programming There are many ways to do programming in Python. 1) One way is to use Python’s Integrated Development and Learning Environment a.k.a. IDLE. It is installed with Python installation. 2) Creating a Python file and run it using IDLE. 3) Jupyter notebook is another platform for Python programming. The version we will be using is 5.5.0. 4) Google Colaboratory. This is a convenient way to do Python programming, as there is no installation of software required. It is a free application available in Google drive. 5) CodeCollab is an online real-time collaborative code editor and compiler. Its web-based application allows users to collaborate in real-time over the internet. It is a powerful editor that supports many other languages on top of Python. https://codecollab.io/ 2 Starting Python with Hello World We will illustrate how to write Python programs using the first three ways mentioned in section 1.2. These three ways are most essential to A-Level H2 computing. Let’s start by printing “Hello World!” 2.1 IDLE The code is simple as such: print("Hello World!") 1. Launch the IDLE app to open a Python shell. Shell is good for experimenting with short expressions or statements to learn new features of th