Basics of programming

Presentation & objectives

The objective of session 1 is to put into practice the concepts seen in algorithmics session 1, using the tools installed in environment session 2. In addition to work on writing, executing and debugging Python code, we will also focus on good programming practices, i.e., how to write clean programs, that are easy to maintain and read.

At the end of this first session you should be more comfortable manipulating an IDE, and should have all the keys to start writing more complex programs.

Before the class

Technical requirements

To be able to start working on the activity, you should meet the following requirements:

• Please bring your own computer.
• Make sure to have a functional network connection.
• Make sure you complete the practical activity of environment session 2.

During the class

Knowledge acquisition

To be able to start the practical activity efficiently, we will introduce some needed concepts at the beginning of the class. To save you some time, we will present you a few slides, that you can find hereafter:

• Slides of the session.

These slides only cover the main elements of the course, and many more details are given in the associated articles. Thus, you should study the following articles at home after the session:

• What is a program?.
• Good programming practices.
• Assessing quality of a Python code.
• Programming errors.

You can verify your understanding of these articles here:

• Self-assessment quiz.

Practical activity

The rest of the class is dedicated to a practical activity. When ready, click on the link below to start:

• Practical activity.

After the class

Complete the current session

Before the next session, you should:

• Review the contents of the articles above.
• Complete the non-optional parts of the practical activity.

Prepare the next session

Also, you should:

• Check the “Before the class” section of the next session, and make sure you do everything required to prepare it.