Introduction to Python

The NASA uses it, Google uses it and you can use it too: Python

Since 1991 when the first version of the programming language Python was published, it became one of the most important programming languages in the natural sciences, finance and the today's data-driven business world applying machine learning. It is basically used everywhere where (big) data has to be analyzed and visualized without the fuzz of dealing with data typing, memory preallocation and pointers like in other high-level programming languages. Python is also one of the most demanded skills by future employers outside academia.

 

In short: Python is a valuable skill and it makes your life a lot easier since there is much less to worry about.

 

This course does not require any prior experience with any programming language. Therefore it is suitable for participants of any discipline with no experience in programming at all or basic knowledge in another programming language.

The participants of this course will become familiar with the foundations of coding/programming by the example of the popular programming language Python using Jupyter Notebooks.

 

In detail, you'll become familiar with

  • built-in data types, variables and operators: int/float, strings, tuples, lists, dictionaries
  • control flow structures: for/while loops, conditional execution - if/elif/else statements, switch, list comprehensions, maps
  • structuring your code: (lambda, variable argument) functions, modules and namespaces
  • writing clear code: proper code documentation with comments and clear naming
  • running your code from the command-line: handling of command-line arguments
  • reading your data: handling different formats like (multi-column) CSV, excel sheets, JSON, batch processing from folder
  • visualizing your data: from plotting simple graphs to animations with matplotlib and seaborn
  • working with your data: number crunching with numpy, scipy, pandas