Introduction to Programming and the Course Coding Environment

Program (Software)

A set of instructions that a computer follows to perform a task

Examples of higher-level languages

• Python

• C++

• Java

• JavaScript

Examples of lower-level languages

• Machine languages

• Assembly languages

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

A visual interface that allows a user to interact with a program through elements such as windows, buttons, and other on-screen controls

Programmer (Developer)

A person that creates programs

User

A person running/executing programs

Analyst (Power-User)

A person tasked with solving ad-hoc business problems by skillful use of a variety of software tools

Python

A high-level, relatively easy to learn, interpretative programming language

What was emphasized when Python was developed?

Simplicity and readability

Why is Python useful for people who are not professional programmers?

It allows for quick and relatively easy scripting by people who are not professional programmers (such as analysts)

What is one major advantage of Python?

There is an extensive set of available libraries, such as pandas and NumPy

What Python library is associated with data analysis?

Pandas

What Python libraries are associated with data visualizations?

Matplotlib and Seaborn

What data science areas can Python be used for?

• Machine Learning (ML)

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Deep Learning (AI)

• Neural Networks (NN)

• GenAI

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Software for building applications that combines common developer tools into a single graphical user interface (GUI)

Examples of interactive/notebook programming environments

• Google Colab

• Jupyter Notebook

Examples of script-based IDEs

• PyCharm

• VS Code

What two things are interactive/notebook environments best for?

Learning and exploration

What is the strength of interactive/notebook environments?

Immediate feedback

What are script-based IDEs best for?

Large projects

What is the strength of script-based IDEs?

Project management

What are the basic steps for creating and running a program in Google Colab?

• Create a new notebook

• Rename the file

• Write code in the cell

• Run the cell

• Observe the output

Debugging

The process of finding and removing errors

What can AI help with when debugging?

• Explain error messages

• Trace code logic

• Suggest possible fixes

• Help the person understand why the error is there

What types of problems can a search engine help with when debugging?

• Package/library-specific issues

• Version-specific bugs

• Recent problems

• Community workarounds

What is the recommended debugging workflow?

• Use GenAI to reason through what is going wrong in the code

• Search for official documentation, syntax rules, etc. to fact check

• Combine information to try to fix the bug

Dangers of feeding GenAI with code

The leak of API keys, passwords, sensitive data, or private information