Comp 150 - Introduction To Computing, Online, Summer 2013

Dr. Harrington

http://connect.luc.edu/comp150/ is the URL for class meetings.

This page is the center of public information added throughout the course. Initially, please see the Course Syllabus, about course content, administration, and requirements. That page will introduce and point to the other important documents. Looking at them in the order they are introduced in the syllabus is an easy way to keep on track. Alternately, or later for reference, you can look at the sublist underneath the syllabus link below of links to the other documents.

Look at the Prep assignment due before the first class!

The class meets online Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 5:30-6PM at http://connect.luc.edu/comp150/

To get used to the technology, please try to join us to get up to speed on the tools Monday May 13 and/or Thursday May 16, at 5:30PM. Before joining your first meeting, go over instructions and videos on the page for Adobe Connect. Particular points people have missed: earphones and a quiet space are very important.

• Course Syllabus Quick access to links more completely described in the syllabus are below:
  • Daily Reference: Schedule and Assignments
  • Adobe Connect
  • Sakai
  • Piazza
  • Pair Programming: How to Pair Program, Administration
  • Hands-on Python Tutorial Mac users see extra Mac notes.
  • Class notes (first day and after Python)
  • Examples: (Referenced files to download)
  • Http://python.org Home site for the Python language, where you can find out more and download the latest production version starting with a 3 (3.3.2 in April 2013). Caution: an incompatible 2.7 version may be listed first in the downloads.
  • http://www.pythontutor.com/ A site where you run code in your browser step by step and save and email a URL reference to any step.
• Other Free Online References for Python. All except the official Python Tutorial are intended for people with no programming background.
  • There is a pdf How to Think Like a Computer Scientist and a derived, somewhat different interactive web version, and both versions start with pretty much the same basics as the Hands-on Python Tutorial, but in a somewhat different order with different graphics library, and goes further.
  • http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-Programmer's_Tutorial_for_Python_3 Another introduction to Python basics in different words. No graphics, few major examples, lots of basic syntax.
  • http://codecademy.com step by step, but with Python 2, not 3. Using Python 2 does not change a lot, but things that it does change at the beginner level are the treatment of print, input, and / for division.
  • Official Python 3 Tutorial covers a lot, going well past our course! It moves fast for someone with no programming background.
  • Software Carpentry is a Python-centered video introduction to many subjects, some very introductory, some beyond this course. It uses Python 2, not 3, which has slightly different syntax for reading from the keyboard (raw_input), printing (a statement, not a function), and they use an old form of division where / can mean either the // or / of Python 3, depending on the types involved. It is intended as a quick way to get scientists programming.
  • A long further list at http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/Programmers