Develop a Computer Program

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Welcome to Develop a Computer Program!

Python is a powerful programming (coding) language that developers love to use. It's easy to write and understand. Now's the time to find out for yourself!

You’ll learn all the basic skills to understand key concepts and use key commands. You'll create a range of simple programs, using different online platforms.

You’ll then use this knowledge to create and thoroughly test your own Python program in an assessment task, working towards Achievement Standard 92004

What is programming?

Coding, also called computer programming, is how we communicate with computers.

Code tells a computer what actions to take, and writing code is like creating a set of instructions.

By learning to write code, you can tell computers and other digital devices what to do or how to behave.

How Does Programming Work?

Computer programming languages instruct machines to complete specific actions. They work a bit like manuals.

A programmer writes instructions describing the information and tasks needed to create a visual or sound output, or to perform a task. Computers scan extensive coded manuals very quickly, executing the tasks that create and run a successful website or application.

Users interact with websites, programs, and apps with the help of these coded instructions. The code itself does not show up on the screen. Instead, people see the words and images a developer or programmer asks the computer to display.

Introduction to Python

Python is a powerful and friendly programming language that lots of developers all over the world love to use. It's known for being easy to understand and write, and it's really useful.

It was created by Guido van Rossum in the late 1980s, and because it's open-source (which means anyone can use it and help make it better), there are lots of developers working on it. This has led to a big collection of tools and things you can use with Python.

Python is great for all sorts of things, like making websites, looking at data, creating artificial intelligence, and doing tasks automatically. Whether you're just starting to learn to code or you've been doing it for a while, Python is a good choice because it's clear and can handle both simple and complex projects.

Because Python is used in so many ways, there are a huge range of guides to help you learn. There are also millions of ready made blocks of code available to use for doing just about anything. This means you don’t need to code everything from the ground up.

However, you still need to know the basics really well!!

Course structure

The course is divided into two main sections:

Part one: Accelerated Python and Thinking Like a Programmer

You'll start by learning the basics of Python programming.

This will help you understand all the most important commands, know how to write them, and have chances to practice them.

To make sure we all develop this knowledge, we’re going to use a tutorial platform to help us. This is way more useful than just following video tutorials as it makes sure you understand and can use all the basic building blocks.

Once we've completed this we will learn three important practices that will help you realy think like a programmer.

Part two: Develop a computer program

You'll then be set a problem that you have to overcome through creating and testing your own python program.

You'll need to show your abilities to:

construct a program that performs a specified task
test and debug the program to ensure it works on expected, boundary, and invalid cases
document the program with comments
use succinct and descriptive variable names

You may also show how to:

use conditions and control structures effectively
use constants, variables, or derived values in place of literals to make the program flexible

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