Python Basics

In this chapter you‘ll get to know our programming environment - the Data Lab - and execute your first code commands. You will learn how to represent data or text in Python. Using a set of rules, you will learn how to create, assign and test data in variables. You will then learn how to read out common error messages and practice how to use them productively in your daily work. You will also get to know basic Python standard functions such as type() or str() and then use them in practical examples. After you‘ve learned about the if statement and can use it to condition the flow of your code, you‘ll finish the chapter with the first part of a two-hour mini-project: You will program a user interface that reacts flexibly to the user‘s input.

In the second chapter you will work out two essential operations to make your code even more flexible: You will learn about lists and for loops. Lists allow more flexibility in storing data and are essential for advanced programming. You will learn how to create them, and how to change them in a targeted manner. You will use lists to extend the functionality of your user interface from the first chapter and complete the first mini-project. After that, you will work with for-loops that allow you to automatically execute your code multiple times, taking you to the next level of programming. Chapter overview.

In the third chapter, you‘ll round out your programming skills in Python and learn advanced techniques. These include functions and methods. You‘ll learn to define functions on your own, so you can structure your code better. You will also combine individual programming elements such as conditions, loops and functions together within programs. Using different methods, you will learn how to import Python modules correctly and how to ensure functionality as a whole. You will build on this by learning how to import and export data as a simple test. A one-hour mini-project using telephone data will allow you to consolidate what you have learned in the chapter.

In the fourth chapter, recap what you learned in chapters 1-3, as well as learning some new skills. You will learn what dictionaries are, and how they can make your code more efficient. You will get to know complex data structures that you will need for your final project. In a four-hour practical project to create a complex user interface to facilitate automated processing of customer inquiries, you will need to combine everything you learned in the previous chapters.