Introduction to Python Two Day Intensive

This two day intensive workshop is an introduction to Python programming, with a focus on skills that are relevant to students and researchers who are working with data, particularly tabular data.

When: February 19th and 20th, 10am – 12pm and 1pm-4pm
Where: Online synchronous over Zoom or in the Presentation Room, r. 548 and 552, Koerner Library (participants can choose whether to attend in person or virtually).

The five sections cover the following:

• Part 1: To understand the basics of Python syntax, variables, and data types.
• Part 2: To learn how to work with tabular data in Python, including reading, manipulating, and visualizing data.
• Part 3: To learn how to automate tasks in Python, including working with multiple files.
• Part 4: To learn to use logic and modularity to make Python code flexible and reusable.
• Part 5: To develop good habits for programming for research in Python, including handling errors, debugging, and writing reliable code.

Each workshop day will be broken out into a 2h morning session, 1h lunch, and 3h afternoon session. 

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites needed for this series; no prior programming experience is required.

Setup Instructions:

In these workshops, we will write Python code in a text editor called Visual Studio Code (VS Code).

Please follow the following steps/links to complete the setup for this workshop series before you attend:

1. Install a Python Interpreter
2. Install Visual Studio Code
3. Install the Python extension for VS Code. If you want more info on installing extensions for VS Code, see this page on their “Extension Marketplace”
4. Install this Python Debugger extension for VS Code

NOTE: You may use your own preferred text editor or Jupyter Notebooks to write code in these workshops, but keep in mind that some aspects may be unpredictably different from the way things appear on the instructor’s screen. For example, the instructor will frequently use the Python Debugger in VS Code, and other text editors may have entirely different mechanisms for debugging, and you may have to figure that out on your own. If you want to follow what the instructor is doing exactly, you should install VS Code and the extensions listed above.

Presenter(s): Kendra Oudyk