INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER
PROGRAMMING
COMPUTER
A computer can do many things with its
• high computing power and
• large memory
But, it needs to be programmed to perform a specific
task or solve a certain problem.
PROGRAMMING
Programming is telling a computer what to do.
01010111011010
Hey computer, do
00011000010111
something!
010000111111
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
• A programming language is a set of vocabulary and grammatical rules for
instructing a computer or computing device.
• Each has a unique set of keywords that it understands and a special syntax
for organizing instructions.
SYNTAX SEMANTIC AND PRAGMATIC
• Syntax : the structure or grammar of the language (How to construct a valid
sentence?)
• Semantic : the meaning of the sentence (What does a sentence mean?)
• Pragmatic : the right usage of the language (How the language is used?)
LANGUAGE HIERARCHY
High Level Language
Assembly Language
Machine Language
Computer Hardware
HIGH LEVEL PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
• Human readable
• Used by developers to create
software and applications across
various platforms
• Can’t be understood by the machine
directly
COMPILER AND INTERPRETER
Programs written in high level languages must be translated into a format the
computer can understand (machine code) before they can be run.
There are two primary ways:
• Compiling
• Interpreting
COMPILER
A program that reads source code Can do optimizations
and produces a stand-alone
executable program
Need to be run only once
INTERPRETER
• A program that directly execute the source code
• Need to interpret every time the program is run
• More flexible than compilers but less efficient
INTRODUCTION
• Created by Guido van Rossum
• High level, interpreted language
• Multiple programming paradigms (OOP, functional programming)
• Two major versions (Python 2 and Python 3) not compatible with each other
• Free, open-source, portable and platform independent
• Simplicity, readability, fast development
IS USED
• Game development
• Web development
• Software development
• Raspberry Pi
• AI and machine learning
GETTING STARTED
Being an interpreted language, the python interpreter is necessary. Open the
command prompt and try typing “python” and press “Enter”.
If it results as the following, python is already installed.
If not, you need to install python first!
You can get the installer from [Link] the
python official website.
Run the installer! You will see the following window.
INTERACTIVE MODE
• Good for learning, testing and exploring new things.
• Cannot save the statements written.
• You can get into this mode with the command “python” and quit with “Ctrl+Z”
• Three options:
• python –c command
• python –m module
• python –i filename
IDE
• IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a software application that
provides comprehensive facilities to programmers.
• An IDE normally consists of a source code editor and build automation tools
• There are many IDEs to develop python. (Eclipse with PyDev, spyder, VScode,
sublime text, pycharm, etc.)
• You can also use IDLE already installed together with python.
PYTHON SYNTAX
• A line is considered terminated with newline character.
• Block of codes are written with indentation.
• Comments are written with “#” prefix.
WRITING A PYTHON FILE
• Python files have extension “.py”.
Create a new file and type “print(‘Hello World’)” then save as “[Link]”.
• A python file can be run from –
• IDE
• Command prompt