Beginner's Guide and Instructions to Programming in Python using the JupyterLab IDE

• This tutorial is based on the following website. No tutorial is perfect, so please feel free to email me. There are multiple ways to do things. Like anything, learning how to program takes practice. However, a big flaw in computer programming courses is that there is no practical aspect. Below is a summary in tabular format.

1. Spyder IDE
2. Repetitive Tasks with the IDE

Tutorial

• This tutorial is based on this website. Each program builds on the other, so I recommend going in order. Because computer programs can escalate in size, I periodically write reviews that summarize the previous section and I try to keep the text of the summary to a single page. I made PDF versions of the programs. The best way to learn how to program is to hand type these programs and change them around. Therefore, I have made PDF versions of the programs in addition to the Python language versions.

Section #1-Comments, Print Statements, Variables and Concatenation

Section #1

#	Topic	Reference	Command(s)	Individual Files Explorer	Console Output	Variable Explorer	Plots	PDF	Python Program	Comments
1	Comments	Link	# Style #1 for line comments ''' Style #2 for block comments '''		None	None	None	001-Comments.pdf	001-Comments.py	I put this first because I put comments throughout the programs, so that students understand.
2	Print Statements	Link	print("Some Text") or print('Some Text') use of a backward slash \	frameless|100x100px	left|frameless|100x100px	None	None	002-HelloWorld.pdf	002-HelloWorld.py	This is a classic beginning program Hello, World!. You learn how to output characters in the console using the print('output") Python command. You can put single quotes within double quotes and vice-versa. The backward slash (i.e., \) can be used to output invisible characters such as tab
3	Variables	Link	variable types casting: int(), str() and float() type()				None	003-Variables.pdf	003-Variables.py	You learn about three different types of variables, namely string (str), integer (int), and real numbers (float). You also learn how to convert a variable using a process called casting.
4	Variables with Concatenation		Similiar as previous, but will demonstrate a computer concept of concatenation.				None	004-Variables+Con.pdf	004-Variables+Con.py	You learn how to concatenate your output. Concatenate essentially means to combine. You can combine using a plus (i.e., +) or a comma.
5	Short Review of Exercises 1-4		All the Above, but shorter				None	005-Short_Review.pdf	005-Short_Review.py	Reviews the above in a shortened and less wordy format.

Section #2-Making decisions with the Python language using if-then-else statements and comparisons.

Section #2

#	Topic	Reference	Command(s)	Individuals Files Explorer	Console Output	Variable Explorer	Plots	PDF	Python Program	Comments
6	Code Sections, If-then-else-statements	Link	if, elif, else				None	006-If-then-else.pdf	006-If-then-else.py	In this part, you will learn how code is put into sections. You will also learn how Python language makes decisions through if, elif and else commands.
7	Code Sections, Boolean, equivalent (equals to)		True, False, ==				None	007-Booleans.pdf	007-Booleans.py	In this part, you will learn about booleans. Basically, booleans are things like true or false, yes and no. You will also learn about the Python equivalent of "equivalent to", which is double equals ==
8	Code Sections, Comparison operators (CO) and Logical operators (LO)		CO: >,<,==, >=, <= LO: and, or not				None	008-Operators.pdf	008-Operators.py	This part teaches you about comparison operators (i.e, comparing two values) and logical operators. We will also talk more about booleans.
9	Short Review of Exercises 1-4 and 5--8.						None	009-Short_Review.pdf	009-Short_Review.py	This short review encompasses everything from exercises 1-4 and 6-8. The program has concatenation, type() function, if-then-else statements, comparative operators and logical operators.

Section #3-Arrays and Modules ⇒ Plotting with Matplotlib

• I feel the best way to learn computer programming is to do something interesting and useful. You will need to know the above exercises 1-9 very well before you proceed. Computer programming builds on itself. If you prefer a slower introduction, I would recommend this tutorial. I have added a priority section to give you an idea of how you should prioritize learning Python. Some things you should know and others you can just be aware of it as you need it such as the Built-in Python Array Methods.

Section #3

#	Topic	Priority	Reference	More Info	Command(s)	Console Output	Plot Output	PDF	Python Program	Comments
10	Basic Built-In Math Functions	know +,-,/,*,** be aware of %			+,-,*,/,%,**		None	010-Basic_Math.pdf	010-Basic_Math.py	With these exercises, you will learn basic math functions with Python.
11	List (a.k.a. Array)	know it			len() indexing		None	011-Arrays.pdf	011-Arrays.py	This exercise teaches you the basic of Python arrays. To plot data, you need to know arrays because they are the basis of all datasets.
12	List Methods	know the append() method.	Link		append() copy() clear() count() extend() index() insert() pop() remove() reverse() sort()		None	012-Array_Methods.pdf Only append() 012-1-Append().pdf	012-Array_Methods.py Only append() 012-1-Append().py	Set the Method2Try variable to the following programs: 1) append() method 2) copy() method 3) clear() method 4) count() method 5) extend() method 6) index() method 7) insert() method 8) pop() method 9) remove() method 10) reverse() method 11) sort() method The 012-1-Append().py is only part of the 012-Array_Methods.py to show how to separate it from the larger program.
13	List Functions range() data type tuple() data type	know len() and range. Be aware of the rest			len() min() max() list() tuple() range()		None	013-Array_Functions.pdf	013-Array_Functions.py	Set the Function2Try variable to the following programs: 1) len(list1)- Gives the total length of the list.p> 2) max(list1)- Returns item from the list with max value. 3) min(list1)- Returns item from the list with min value. 4) list(tuple1)- Converts a tuple into list. 5) range(start,stop,step) - Make a list of numbers with certain parameters
14	Introduction to Modules- NumPy	know np.array() and be aware of np.matrix().	Link	Examples	np.array() np.matrix() 2D indexing		None	014-Introduction_to_Modules.pdf	014-Introduction_to_Modules.py	In this exercise, you will learn what modules are and then NumPy module functions np.array() and np.matrix() that you need for the next section.
15	Python Plotting Module: Matplotlib	Be aware of the different plots available in the Matplotlib module.	Link	Examples	plt.plot()plt.show() plt.xlabel() plt.ylabel() plt.title() plt.grid()			015-Matplotlib_Module.pdf	015-Matplotlib_Module.py	Set the Plot2Try to the following programs: 1) Line Plot 2) Scatter Plot 3) Line and Point Plot 4) Dashed Line Plot 5) Line Plot with Axes Labels 6) Line Plot with Axes Labels and Title 7) Line Plot with Labels with Color 8) Line plot with Labels and Grid

Section #4-Loops and Loading Data

Section #4

#	Topic	Priority	Reference	More Info	Command(s)	Console Output	Plot Output	PDF	Python Program	Comments
16	Dictionaries, Arrays and Loops	know it	Link #1 Link #2 Link #3		Dictionary Data Type for loops while loops			016-Dictionaries_Arrays_Loops.pdf	016-Dictionaries_Arrays_Loops.py	Set the Program2Try variable to the following programs 1) This program will print out the list of names using the for loop 2) List of names from a simple dictionary using a for loop 3) List of names from a complex dictionary using a for loop 4) Using a for loop with a range of numbers 5) Learn about a new type of loop called a "while loop" 6) Same as 5 except a different style of doing an Increment. Nested Loop (Loop within a Loop) 7) Uses a nested loop for a two dimensional array 8) Uses a nested loop for a two dimensional numpy array 9) Uses a nested loop for a dictionary variable type. This has a similar output to #3
17	Reading, Parsing and Saving Files	be aware of it			split() lower() strip() replace() open()			017-Reading_and_Parsing_Files.pdf	017-Reading_and_Parsing_Files.py	Set the Program2Try variable to run the following programs 1) Display the file line by line using readlines() command. 2) Display a file all at once. 3) Same as 1, but use replace() function to remove hidden characters. Also, learn the strip() function that removes space at the beginning and end of the line. 4) Same as 2, but use replace function to remove hidden characters. 5) Similar to 4, learn how to split file into sentences using the split() function. 6) Similar to 5, but splits the file into words. 7) This is a more sophisticated program that makes a frequency. dictionary of text. Uses functions split(), lower(), strip() and replace(). 8) Same as 7, but we are going to save the output using the csv module.