Beginning Python

Section 1: Python Basics

1.1 The Course Overview and Installing Python

 Install Python 3.4.

 Go to the Python.org website
 Download Python
 Install Python

1.2 Setting Up a Programming Environment

Set up a programming environment for the user.

 Review the difference between an IDE and text editor

 Show the user different IDEs and text editors that they can choose from
 Learn how to use a text editor in action

1.3 Variables

Introduce the user to Python variables.

 Create basic variables, such as integers and strings

 Explain naming conventions
 Explain some of the shortcuts to create variables

1.4 Introduction to Types

Introduce the user to various Python data types, such as strings, integers, and floats.

 Introduce standard types and terminology

 Give examples of strings, ints, longs, and floats

1.5 Basic Operators

Explain what the basic Python operators are.

 Introduce examples with the +, -, /, and * operators

 Do more examples with advanced operators, such as **, //, and %
 Mention that operators of different types have different effects

Section 2: String Manipulation

2.1 Introduction to Strings

In this video, you will be introduced to single-quote and double-quote strings. Also, we will take a
look at the usage of triple quotes.

 Do A demo of what a string is

  Explain difference between single quotes and double quotes
 Take a look at an example of how to use triple quotes

2.2 String Functions

Introduce basic string functions.

 Do a demo of how to use a simple method, such as upper and lower

 Have an example of how to use another method, such as capitalize
 Learn what the Python string API is

2.3 Advanced String Manipulation

Demonstrate advanced string manipulation methods.

 Do a demo of how to use the count function

 Have an example of how to use the replace function

2.4 String Formatting

Demonstrate how to use the .format method.

 Take a look at a demo of basic formatting (using integer/floats as examples)

 Learn more advanced formatting using strings and padding
 Know how to format with named arguments

2.5 User Input

Print and display someone’s name in a particular format.

 Get user input

 Capitalize input names
 Format the strings using the .format method from the previous video

Section 3: Lists
3.1 Introduction to Lists

In this video, we want to introduce the user to lists.

 Create a simple list with names and another with numbers

 Explain the concept of indexing
 Access and delete elements with indexing

3.2 List Methods

In this video, get introduced to basic list methods.

 Do a demo of what the .append method is and how it works

 Take a look at the Python API and know that there are many list functions that can be used.
  Finish off with an example of using the .index and del commands to implement the .remove
list method

3.3 Advanced List Methods

Get introduced to more advanced list functions.

 Set up a scenario whereby we have a bunch of lists and want to form the alphabet using list
methods
 Use the .sort method and the .insert method
 Pull the example together using the .join method to finish the alphabet

3.4 Built-in List Functions

In this video, we will get introduced to Python’s built-in functions.

 Explain how the min/max functions work

 Learn how the sum function works and how it’s not meant to be used for strings
 Explore how the len() function works

3.5 2D Arrays and Array References

Take a look at 2D arrays and array referencing.

 Do a demo of what a 2D array is

 Take a look at how to query from a 2D array
 Have an example of how array referencing works

3.6 List Slicing

Learn the Python range function and array slicing

 Take a look at a demo of what the range function is and how it works
 Explore array slicing examples
 Learn how to use negative indexing

Section 4: Conditionals
4.1 Control Flow

We aim to introduce to what control flow and branching is.

 Explain how the computer can make a decision with an “if” statement
 Take a look at a simple example of how to use an if statement by writing a program to
identify a given name

4.2 Comparison Operators

The aim of this video is to introduce the fundamental comparison operators.

 Give a demo of using the “==” operator and why it differs from “=”
  Show the difference between >, >= and <, <= and give a demo

4.3 Else and Elif

The aim of this video is to introduce the else and elif keywords.

 Know what “else” is with the help of a demo

 Explore what elif is and how it differs from if with a demo
 Use both keywords in an if statement

4.4 and, or, and not

Introduction to the “and”, “or”, and “not” keywords.

 Explain what the “and”, “or”, and “not” keywords are for and when you would use them
 Explain what the concept and True and False is
 Give a few examples of how “and”, “or”, and ”not” work with True and False. In the next
video, give more detailed examples

4.5 Conditional Examples

In this video, we want to show the user the “and”, “or”, and “not” statements.

 See a demo of how to use an “and” clause

 Take a look at a demo of how to use an “or” clause
 Do a demo of how to use a “not” clause

4.6 Mini Program

Create a mini program that uses conditionals.

 Write a program to evaluate simple mathematical expressions in a file

 Make the program extract out the largest value in the file

Section 5: Loops and Iterables

5.1 For Loop

In this video we want to introduce for loops

 Introduce the “in” keyword used in the for loop structure

 Do a demo of how to use a for loop with a list
 Loop over a list with a for loop displaying the index of each element

5.2 While Loop

In this video, we will get introduced to the while loop.

 See a demo of how to use a while loop

 Talk about the advantage of using a while loop and when you would want one
 Know what an infinite loop is and why while loops are prone to infinite loops
5.3 Iterables

In this video, we will know more about iterables.

 See a demo of what an iterable is by checking for the __iter__ property

 Learn how to use a for loop to iterate over an iterable
 Explore how a for loop works behind the scenes using an iterator

5.4 Loops and Conditionals

Get introduced to combining conditional with loops.

 See a demo of how to extract the consonants from a string

 Take a look at another demo of how to add up only the even numbers in a list

5.5 Prime Number Checker

Get introduced to problem solving using loops, conditionals, and other things that were learned.

 Creating a prime number checker incorporates all these things

 Learn how to create a prime number checker using a loop
 Patch the bugs created in the first prime number checker with if statements

Section 6: Functions
6.1 Function Basics

Get introduced to functions.

 Know what a function is and why you would want to use one
 Learn about condensed code, which is code that is clearer, reusable, and with fewer bugs
 Take a look at a small example function to calculate the area of a circle for instance

6.2 Parameters and Arguments

Get introduced to the idea of parameters and arguments.

 Explore the difference between arguments and parameters and then go on to learning
examples
 Create a function that uses default parameter
 Explain what a variadic function is and how to make one

6.3 Return versus Void Functions

This video aims to introduce the functions that return a value and those that do not.

 Explanation with slides of what a void function is and what a function that returns a value
looks like
 Learn when to use one instead of the other and compare and contrast with functions that
are built into Python
6.4 Working with Examples

Expose the writing functions.

 The first example will be a function that can reverse a string

 The next function will be a void function that checks whether a number is a palindrome
 Take a look at additional examples

6.5 Advanced Examples

Learn to create slightly more complex functions.

 Implement a generalized shift cipher

 Code the encryption function
 Code the decryption function

6.6 Recursion

Introduce function recursion.

 Explore the basics of recursion (a function that calls itself and the base case)
 Take a look at the advantages of using recursion
 Give simple examples including doubling a number recursively and computing an
exponential recursively

6.7 Recursion Examples

Get introduced how to write recursive functions.

 See a demo of how to sum up the digits of a number recursively

 Make another recursive function to count the number of vowels in a string

Section 7: Modules
7.1 Import, as, and from

Get introduced to the “import”, “from”, and “as” keywords.

 See a demo of importing the math module

 Take a look at the difference between importing and importing with from
 Know when to use the “as” keyword while importing something

7.2 Python API and Modules

Get introduced to the Python API and reading docs.

 Showcase the Python standard library modules on the Python.org website

 See a demo of how to import something from a Python standard module and use it
 Learn to copy a file using the shutil module
7.3 Creating Modules

Create your own modules.

 Walk the viewer through how to create a simple module to compute the volume of simple
solids
 Import the new created module
 Have an example of how to use a function in the new module

7.4 Modules and Testing

Take advantage of the module structure to test code.

 Take a look at a demo of what if __name__ == ‘__main__’ is and why it is used

 See how to test code in a module using if __name__ == ‘__main__’

Section 8: Python and Picture Manipulation

8.1 Installing PIL/Pillow

Get introduced to installing third-party libraries.

 Begin by introducing pip, a Python command-line utility

 Learn how to install PIL/Pillow for picture manipulation
 Run a small program with the new library just to make sure it works

8.2 Basics of Using PIL/Pillow

In this video, we want to introduce working with PIL/Pillow.

 Take a look at a simple example of how to open and display an image

 Create a function that will resize multiple images to a certain size
 Have a demo on how to crop an image

8.3 Picture Manipulations

Get introduced to picture color manipulations.

 See a demo of how to do edge detection

 Grayscale an image
 Learn to increase the contrast and brightness of an image

8.4 Custom Picture Manipulation

Introduce picture manipulation at the pixel level.

 Begin by introducing what the color channels in an image are

 Access the pixels in the picture and transform the channel to produce a negative image

8.5 Wrapping UpIn this video, we will wrap up the entire series.
 Where to go next
 Review sections 1 to 8