2009 101

From XPUB & Lens-Based wiki

Technical Day 1.01: Introductions

Introduction to the Technical Day

Why programming?

A Manifesto for Change

What is Python?

Why Python?

Introduction to Computation (including performance)

The Number System is abstract

The system we use to write down numbers is based on an abstract relationship of symbols to notions of quantity.

There have been alternatives, for instance Wikipedia:Roman Numerals

Minimalist Math

... [Y]ou can think of programming as the process of breaking a large, complex task into smaller and smaller subtasks until the subtasks are simple enough to be performed with one of these basic instructions.
ThinkPython, p. 3

Exercise

  • Human Adding Machine

distribute ThinkPython

A brief introduction to Python

First exercise: A dialog with Python