Workshops/Python for Beginners

Information for our introductory workshops on Python

Important things

• Date & time - 28th of July, 2013 10am sharp till 5pm
• Bring a laptop with the required software
• We recommend a donation of £20 for the session if you are a non-member
• Please sign up at the bottom of the page or use Eventbrite

Things you will Need

Python3

We'll be working in Python3, so to begin with, you'll need a copy of that. If you are using Windows, Linux or MacOSX you can get a copy from

http://www.python.org/download/releases/3.3.2/

3.3.2 is a good version to use. Grab the one you need.

Alternatively, if you are a l33t haxor you can use something like

 apt-get install python3

or python3.2 or whichever your version of Ubuntu is.

If you like to use Mac Homebrew you can use something like

 brew install python32 

Some kind of Terminal thing

If you are using Windows, get used to using the cmd program. You'll need it. Under MacOSX you have the terminal.app or you can use iTerm2. If you are using Linux, thats no bother, you'll have a terminal application no doubt.

A good text editor

Python comes with IDLE on some systems and thats alright but its largely a pain in the long run.

Windows

Notepad ++ is pretty much the best text editor on Windows. You can also use sublime text 2

OSX

sublime text 2 is pretty good but also Text Wrangler. Dont use the default TextEdit!!!

Linux

Vim. Not emacs :P

Pyglet

The library we are using is called Pyglet. Dont worry, I've included it in the lessons

THE CODE

So all the lessons can be downloaded from the github page here: https://github.com/OniDaito/PythonCourse

You can download the whole thing as a zip (which is a good thing to do I'd say, if you dont have git installed). All the source code we are playing with, the examples and such, can be downloaded from here. Please download it and see if you can follow it before you arrive.

Resources for the Day

There are a great many resources for Python on the web. Here are a few of the ones I like:

Learning Python in General

• http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/NonProgrammers
• http://docs.python.org/py3k/
• http://docs.python.org/
• Learning Python the Hard Way - a great little PDF that is actually quite easy to follow
• Common python pitfalls

Pyglet Related

• http://www.pyglet.org/doc/programming_guide/index.html

Sign up

Please add you name to the list below OR use the http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/edit?msg=1&saved=1&eid=7229340151 - EVENTBRITE page

• Oni
• Solexious (talk)
• CaptainTerrible (talk)
• SamLR (willing to help)

For who?

Anyone!

If you can't program, still come along. The pace will be fast but if you want to start programming for the first time, Python is a great language to learn.

How much?

There is no charge HOWEVER the space survives on donations and member subscriptions. We recommend a voluntary donation of £20 for the day.