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README.md

@@ -1,37 +1,85 @@
-## Welcome to GitHub Pages
+# Practical Python Programming
 
-You can use the [editor on GitHub](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python/edit/master/README.md) to maintain and preview the content for your website in Markdown files.
+When I first learned Python nearly 25 years ago, I was immediately
+struck by the ease at which I could productively apply it to all sorts of messy
+work projects. Fast-forward a decade and I found myself teaching
+others the same fun.  The result of that teaching is this
+course--A no-nonsense Python course that has been actively taught to more than 400
+in-person groups since 2007.  Traders, systems admins, astronomers,
+NASA rocket scientists, and even a few software engineers--they've all
+taken this course.  Now, the course is available for all.  Enjoy! 
 
-Whenever you commit to this repository, GitHub Pages will run [Jekyll](https://jekyllrb.com/) to rebuild the pages in your site, from the content in your Markdown files.
+--David Beazley (http://www.dabeaz.com)
 
-### Markdown
+## Prerequisites and Target Audience
 
-Markdown is a lightweight and easy-to-use syntax for styling your writing. It includes conventions for
+The material you see here is the core of an instructor-led Python
+training course.  It is typically taught in-person over the span of
+three or four days--requiring approximately 25-35 hours of work. This
+includes the completion of approximately 130 hands on coding exercises.
 
-```markdown
-Syntax highlighted code block
+The target audience is scientists, engineers, and programmers who
+already have experience in at least one other programming language. No
+prior knowledge of Python is required, but knowledge of common
+programming topics is assumed.  Most participants find the course
+challenging--even if they've already been doing a bit of Python 
+programming.
 
-# Header 1
-## Header 2
-### Header 3
+The goal of this course is to cover foundational aspects of Python
+programming with an emphasis on script writing, data manipulation, and
+program organization. The course does NOT focus on Python tooling,
+IDEs, or third-party packages (i.e., it's not focused on using data
+science libraries in Jupyter Notebooks or on how to deploy web apps).
+It IS a course that aims to cover fundamental ideas about how Python
+programs work and how they are organized.  Students WILL have to write
+functions and classes, work with code spread across multiple source
+files, deal with modules, and solve various problems related to
+refactoring.
 
-- Bulleted
-- List
+To complete this course, you simply need a basic installation of
+Python 3.6 or newer and time to work on it--especially the latter.
 
-1. Numbered
-2. List
+## What This Course is Not
 
-**Bold** and _Italic_ and `Code` text
+This is not a course for absolute beginners on how to program a
+computer.  It is assumed that you already have programming experience
+in some other programming language or Python itself.
 
-[Link](url) and ![Image](src)
-```
+This is not a course that aims to cover everything there is to know
+about Python.  There is only so much material you can cover in 3-4 days
+before heads start to explode.  If you're working through the material
+and wondering "why isn't X being covered?" there's probably a good 
+reason--it was once included and it made everyone's head explode.
 
-For more details see [GitHub Flavored Markdown](https://guides.github.com/features/mastering-markdown/).
+This is not a course that simply covers reference material, tricks, or
+recipes that you could just look up on [python.org](https://python.org),
+Google, or Stack Overflow. Yes, there is a certain amount of reference
+material to be functional, but the course is more focused on how to
+work with and think about Python coding.
 
-### Jekyll Themes
+This is not a course for software engineers on how to write or
+maintain a one-million line Python program. I don't write programs
+like that and neither should you. Delete something already! 
+Python is a great language for personal productivity, prototyping ideas,
+and hacking cool things together. The course is about doing THAT in
+a way that's both practical and not too "hacky."
 
-Your Pages site will use the layout and styles from the Jekyll theme you have selected in your [repository settings](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python/settings). The name of this theme is saved in the Jekyll `_config.yml` configuration file.
+## Take me to the Course Already!
 
-### Support or Contact
+Ok, ok. Point your browser [HERE](Notes/Contents)!
 
-Having trouble with Pages? Check out our [documentation](https://help.github.com/categories/github-pages-basics/) or [contact support](https://github.com/contact) and we’ll help you sort it out.
+## Acknowledgements
+
+Llorenç Muntaner was instrumental in converting the course content from
+Apple Keynote to the online structure that you see here.
+
+Various instructors have presented this course at one time or another
+over the last 12 years. This includes (in alphabetical order): Ned
+Batchelder, Juan Pablo Claude, Mark Fenner, Michael Foord, Matt
+Harrison, Raymond Hettinger, Daniel Klein, Travis Oliphant, James
+Powell, Michael Selik, Hugo Shi, Ian Stokes-Rees, Yarko Tymciurak,
+Bryan Van de ven, Peter Wang, and Mark Wiebe.
+
+I'd also like to thank the thousands of students who have taken this
+course and contributed to its success with their feedback and
+discussion.