Play with python started with a simple idea over the winter break of 2013. I realized like the hour of code organizers that while computers are becoming ubuquitous, the community with the skills for making computers do anything is not growing that fast. The fear of learning something new and arcane, or lack of clear and concise introductory materials, no matter what the reason, programming is not popular among young people. So I decided to write this tutorial series to teach anyone (with at least grade 5/6 education), how to code. As a result I have not assumed any programming or math background and used python, because in my experience the language is as close as we can get to human language. Plus I took a storytelling approach to make the content easier for all age group. If even one person can learn programming with this tutorial, I believe the effort will be worth it.
The chapters are posted on my personal blog as separate easily learnable chunks.
I am listing all the completed series and a short description of their contents here:
Part 0: Introduction
Explains why we need programming and who can learn with this tutorial.
Part 1: The Magic Behind Computers
Explains how programmers find algorithms and write instructions (programs) for computers to solve problems for us.
Also explains the reason for choosing python.
Part 2: Preparing for the Magic
Installation of python and learning to do basic calculations
Part 3: The Magic Starts with Variables
The basic concepts of programming including variables, data types, screen input, and output.
Part 4: Playing with Strings and Inputs
Part 5: Functions and Conditions
Part 6: Riding on the Loops
Part 7: Array, Tuple, and the Truth
Part 8: Let’s Make a Game!
Part 9: Dictionary and Working with Other Files