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Learn moreIntroduction to Python Programming
Free Course
Learn to solve practical problems with Python.
Estimated time
Approx. 5 Weeks
Skill level
Beginner
Prerequisites
See prerequisites in detail
About this course
In this course, you'll learn the fundamentals of the Python programming language, along with programming best practices. You’ll learn to represent and store data using Python data types and variables—and use conditionals and loops to control the flow of your programs. You’ll harness the power of complex data structures like lists, sets, dictionaries, and tuples to store collections of related data. You’ll define and document your own custom functions, write scripts, and handle errors. Lastly, you’ll learn to find and use modules in the Python Standard Library and other third-party libraries.
What you will learn
Why Python Programming
- Receive an overview of what you’ll be learning and doing in the course
- Understand why you should learn programming with Python
Data Types and Operators
- Represent data using Python's data types: integers, floats, booleans, strings, lists, tuples, sets, dictionaries, compound data structures
- Perform computations and create logical statements using Python’s operators: Arithmetic, Assignment, Comparison, Logical, Membership, Identity
- Practice whitespace and style guidelines
Control Flow
- Write conditional expressions using if statements and boolean expressions to add decision making to your Python programs
- Use for and while loops along with useful built-in functions to iterate over and manipulate lists, sets, and dictionaries
- Condense for loops to create lists efficiently with list comprehensions
Functions
- Define your own custom functions
- Create and reference variables using the appropriate scope
- Use iterators and generators to create streams of data
Scripting
- Install Python 3 and set up your programming environment
- Experiment in the terminal using a Python Interpreter
Prerequisites and requirements
This course is ideal for students who are new to Python, but have some experience programming in another language. If you're a complete beginner to programming, we recommend checking out the Learn to Code program, which will help you understand how code is used all over the web.
See the Technology Requirements for using Udacity.
Why take this course?
Python is a powerful programming language used in a variety of professions, ranging from data science to web development. It's in the top 10 for "most popular" and "most loved" technologies (according to StackOverflow's 2016 Developer Survey), making it a relatively friendly language for beginners. Learning Python will enable you to program pretty much anything.
Learn with the best.
Juno Lee
Instructor