76 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
76 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
# Course Setup and Overview
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Welcome to Practical Python Programming!
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## Setup and Python Installation
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You need nothing more than a basic Python 3.6 installation or newer.
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There is no dependency on any particular operating system, editor,
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IDE, or extra Python-related tooling. There are no third-party
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dependencies.
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That said, most of this course involves learning how to write scripts
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and small programs that involve data read from files. Therefore, you
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need to make sure you're in an environment where you can easily work
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with files. This includes using an editor to create Python programs
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and being able to run those programs from the shell/terminal.
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You might be inclined to work on this course using a more interactive
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environment such as Jupyter Notebooks. **I DO NOT ADVISE THIS!**
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Although notebooks are great for experimentation, many of the
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exercises in this course teach concepts related to program
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organization. This includes working with functions, modules, import
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statements, and refactoring of programs whose source code spans
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multiple files. In my experience, it is hard to replicate this kind
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of working environment in notebooks.
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## Forking/Cloning the Course Repository
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To prepare your environment for the course, I recommend creating your
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own fork of the course GitHub repo at
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[https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python](https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python).
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Once you are done, you can clone it to your local machine:
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```
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bash % git clone https://github.com/yourname/practical-python
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bash % cd practical-python
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bash %
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```
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Do all of your work within the `practical-python/` directory. If you
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commit your solution code back to your fork of the repository, it will
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keep all of your code together in one place and you'll have a nice
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historical record of your work when you're done.
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If you don't want to create a personal fork or don't have a GitHub account,
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you can still clone the course directory to your machine:
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```
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bash % git clone https://github.com/dabeaz-course/practical-python
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bash % cd practical-python
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bash %
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```
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With this option, you just won't be able to commit code changes except
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to the local copy on your machine.
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## File Layout
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Do all of your coding work in the `Work/` directory. Within that directory,
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there is a `Data/` directory. The `Data/` directory contains a variety of
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datafiles and other scripts used during the course. You will frequently have
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to access files in `Data/`. Course exercises are written with the assumption
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that you are creating programs in the `Work/` directory.
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## Solutions
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The `Solutions/` directory contains full solution code to selected exercises.
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Feel free to look at this if you need a hint.
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