Unit Overview, Introduction, Outline

 Why another Python Site?  -  I think the main reason for another Python site, is that you can never find just the right site, with just the right examples... or structured just the way you want it.  Some are too hot and some are too cold... for me, I'm hoping this site is just right. :-)   I'm teaching  Mechatronics Engineering High School students, and I want to run my class a certain way, with lessons that are a specific length and complexity... While there are some AWESOME programming sites out there, I wanted a site I could point my students to, that was organized around my Mechatronics  Engineering Raspberry Pi & Python Units.  Believe me, I'm going to beg, borrow and "steal" any good code and point to sites that help me teach my students Raspberry Pi & Python.   So, sorry... Not sorry, for another site for learning Raspberry Pi & Python.  

Much of my Python coding material is primarily derived from  an Awesome class by Charles R. Severance, and his collateral can be found on the https://www.py4e.com/ site.   He has a Copyright 2010 - Charles R. Severance (www.dr-chuck.com) of the University of Michigan School of Information and has, like me,  made his material available under a Creative Commons Attribution License.  If you use mine or his collateral, please  maintain your collateral with the attribution requirements of the license.  

Learning Objective:

This Raspberry Pi & Python Unit is intended to introduce students not just the syntax of coding, but to the concept of Design Thinking when playing with a Raspberry Pi or planning and writing a Python Program. 

• Inspire Life Long Learning by applying concepts like Design Thinking and Computational Thinking,  Top Down Design and step by step Problem Decomposition and Debugging

• Students will have a basic, but fundamental knowledge of setting up, configuring, and connecting a Raspberry Pi to the physical world.

• Apply Scientific Methods, fundamental principles of computer science to design Top Down, modular and reusable  Python code

• Demonstrate the principles of object-oriented programming and the interplay of algorithms and data structures in well-written modular code;

• Solve Python coding exercises and problems requiring the writing of well-documented programs in the Python language

• Demonstrate significant experience with the Raspberry Pi Idle Python program development environment

Prerequisites:

• No explicit prerequisite course work or coding knowledge is required, but students are expected to have a good understanding of basic computer principles. You will need to have access to a Raspberry Pi or personal computer so you can write programs and do the lab assignments and the final project. Python runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, so almost any computer will do.

• Access to a Raspberry Pi - In class, we'll be showing programming examples on a  Raspberry Pi, using the Python IDLE application or working inside a Terminal window.  We'll be using Python 3 in this course.  

Getting Started

There are lots of resources for Python, but much of what we will learn in these lessons will come from Dr. Charles R. Severance from the University of Michigan.  He has created a site called Python  4 Everyone.  www.PY4E.com  Much of the lectures and lessons will be adapted from his site, lectures and lessons.   If you are ready, jump on down to the first lesson.

Online Python Interpreters

There are a few Python interpreters online.  This lets you try code with out having to install Python on your own PC or physically have a Raspberry Pi or other hardware.  Here are a few.  If you find a better one, please let me know

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• Repl.it - Browser based coding site - I like this best, though , even better is installing Visual Studio Code

• Python Shell - Python.org

• Python 3 On-Line  Python Interpreter - Tutorials Point

  • Python 2.7 On-Line  Python Interpreter - Tutorials Point

• Python Interpreter - Online GDB

PY4E (Python 4 Everyone) Resources - Learn at your own pace

• PY4E Video Lessons and Lectures - Watch these as homework or  during Open Lab time

• PY4E Python Text Book -  Use this as a Python Reference

Raspberry Pi & Python Lessons, Lectures, Labs

• Lesson 1 - Raspberry Pi - Introduction - Programming The Raspberry Pi - Getting Started With Python-SimonMonk  

  • This is the start of the Raspberry Pi and Python Module.  This Lesson is an introduction to the physical Raspberry Pi and the Python language.  As part of class, you will receive a  Raspberry Pi and will be  introduced to the “textbook” we will be using, Programming the Raspberry Pi – Getting Started with Python by Simon Monk  and Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (HTML) by Allen B. Downey (other text are fine, and some are referenced in lesson and the resources section).  This lesson will include the following activities: Research on what you can do with a Raspberry Pi, Instruction Lecture, where the textbook is introduced, where you can read chapter 1 and take a quiz;  Then you will get a Raspberry Pi checked out to you for the semester and you will be lead through the process of setting up your Raspberry Pi, and then maybe even having time to play Minecraft...

• Lesson 2 - Raspberry Pi - Getting Started - Intro To The Raspberry Pi Desktop and the Linux Bash Shell in the Command Line Terminal 

  • This lesson focused on the Raspberry Pi Desktop menus and the Linux Bash Shell in the Command Line Terminal .  You learn and  will understand how to navigate the desktop menus, use get-apt to update tools and applications, have experience using and learning about some basic command line commands on their Raspberry Pi’s. 

• Lesson 3 - What Is The Shell - More Command Line (update lesson link)

• Lesson 4 - Raspberry Pi - Introduction to the Raspberry Pi IDLE3 (update lesson link)

• Lesson 5 - Python - Introduction (update lesson link)

• Lesson 6 - Python - Shell - Runtime Interpreter (update lesson link)

• Lesson 7 - Python  - My First Python Program (update lesson link)

• Lesson 8 - Python  - Conditional (update lesson link)

• Lesson 9 - Python - Functions (update lesson link)

• Lesson 10 - Python - Loops & Iterations (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 11 - Python - Top Down Design (update lesson link)

• Lesson 12 - Python - Strings (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson-13 - Python - Files (update lesson link)

• Lesson 14 - Python - Lists (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 15 - Python - Dictionaries (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 16 - Python - Tuples (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 17 - Python - Regular Expressions (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 18 - Python - HTTP (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 19 - Python - Web Services (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 20 - Python - Objects (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 21 - Python - Databases (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 22 - Python - Data Visualization (update presentation - py4e - lessons) 

• Lesson 23- Python - Whats Next? 

Python Resources:

Main Resources:

• Python 4 Every one - Open Source University level Python class - Dr Charles Severance

  • Text Book - Python 4 Everybody (HTML)

• Think Python - Free book by Allen B. Downey

  • Text Book - Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (HTML)

• Python Tutorial - From Tutorial Point - Good Easy Learning - Python reference and examples

Online Python Interpreters

There are a few Python interpreters online.  This lets you try code with out having to install Python on your own PC or physically have a Raspberry Pi or other hardware.  Here are a few.  If you find a better one, please let me know

• Python Shell - Python.org

• Python 3 On-Line  Python Interpreter - Tutorials Point

  • Python 2.7 On-Line  Python Interpreter - Tutorials Point

• Python Interpreter - Online GDB

On -Line Classes You can sign up for:

• CodeCademy - Python 3 - You can sign up.  They want you to get a 7 day trial, but then they revert to a free option.  Don't enter any Credit Card info, jut register for the free options. 

• CodeCademy - Python 2  (looks like this is a Python 2 class)  

Resources:

• Python Code In An Hour - This is an Hour long Webinar (if the link is broken check here on YouTube for a crappy recording)

Cool Sites You Should Look At:

• How To Raspberry Pi - Site has lots of tutorials like Instructables...

Teachers - Unit, Module and Lesson Plans

To access this area, you will have needed to connect with me so I can Share the content with you.  Please go to  the Teachers & Partner Page,, check out my Licensing and fill out my Curriculum Request Form.  I'll review and then grant you access to the requested areas and lesson plans

Random Stuff To Sort

• Raspberry Pi Resources on Kerry Bruce's Google drive

• Cheat sheet - https://programmingwithmosh.com/python/python-3-cheat-sheet/

• good tutorial series -  Introduction and Parts - Raspberry Pi and Python tutorials p.1 - maybe assign this as home work when we take our Raspberry Pi's home

• Element 14 - Getting Started With The Raspberry Pi 3

• How To Log Into Python Learning Sites

• PY4E - Log in to the Python For Everybody at  - https://www.py4e.com/  

  • You will need a Google account to login to the MOOC 

  • PY4E Text Book - Chapter 1 - Why should you learn to write programs?

  • PY4E Class Materials 

  • YouTube Videos for PY4E

  • PY4E Slides 

• TryPython - Fun Interactive Class  (you have to pay now)

• CodeCademy - Learn Python 

Mechatronics Python Class Slides

• Python Introduction - Some python and some cygwin command line

• PY4E - Introduction 

• Lesson 1 - Running The Python Interpreter

• Lesson 2 - Getting Ready to Write a Program

• PY4E - Chapter2 - Variables, expressions, and statements

• Lesson 3 - Writing and Running a Program 

• PY4E - Chapter3 -  Conditional

• PY4E - Chapter4 - Functions 

• PY4E - Chapter5 - Iterations 

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Code Example Sites

• jim.the.STEAM.Clown's Github - https://github.com/jimTheSTEAMClown/Python-Code

Tutorials

•  Adafruit Raspberry PI & Python Project Tutorials  <-- lots of Python specific projects

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Links To Web Based Python Compilers

• ideone - https://ideone.com/

• codepad - http://codepad.org/

Reference Sites 

• The Python Tutorial   - Good place to Start

• https://www.python.org/  - 

• Official Pi Project Book - magiPi link to Raspberry Pi projects 

• Introduction to Python  - 

• Full Stack Python - Some useful Full Stack Videos too...

• Introduction Slide Deck for Python - Mr Ganesh Bhosale 

More Random site use as reference while creating this site

• https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/Outreach/pc204/objectives.html

• Random Resource Links - Stuff to review and sort...

• UC Davis C-STEM - C++ & Python for Raspberry Pi

• VnC Connect - Raspberry Pi

• This is where my Raspberry Pi Resource will go... they will show up in about 2 weeks (Jan 7 2019)... in the mean time you can see my Python Resource page from last year 2017-2018 <-- this will go away as soon as I have made this organizational update