Introduction
Learn about the contents and importance of this course.
We'll cover the following
Importance of coding
A computer is an electronic device. Therefore, every piece of information stored in it is in the form of 0s and 1s where 0 means a low voltage and 1 means a high voltage. It also means everything in the digital world is made up of 0s and 1s, including:
- Documents
- Pictures
- Movies
- Websites
- Games
In short, any application we use on a computer or mobile device is made of 0s and 1s. Programs control and create all these sequences of 0s and 1s. The tools that help create documents, movies, and games are all programs. In this course, we’ll learn to develop programs.
Coding is a fundamental skill for several jobs in computer and information technology. The highest ranked coding occupations had 4,257,200 jobs in 2021 per the U.S. Department of Labor. The following table from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s “Occupational Outlook Handbook” from 2022 lists a few such occupations along with their median salaries, vacancies in 2021, and expected growth from 2021–2031.
Highest Ranked Occupations
Occupation | Median Pay | Number of Jobs | Expected Growth |
Computer and information research scientists | $131,490 | 33,500 | 21% (Much faster than average) |
Information security analysts | $102,600 | 163,000 | 35% (Much faster than average) |
Software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers | $109,020 | 1,622,200 | 25% (Much faster than average) |
Web developers and digital designers | $78,300 | 197,100 | 23% (Much faster than average) |
It’s easy to see the benefits of coding skills while looking at this table simply by keeping in mind that the median annual wage for all occupations is $45,760 and the expected job growth for most professions is just 4%.
Intended Audience
Anyone can learn to code regardless of age, gender, or background. Usually, people think that coding is a skill for math and science experts. It helps to have a mathematical and analytical mindset, but being a math or science expert is not required to learn coding. You can learn to code if you are willing to put in the time and effort.
Programming is a valuable skill in a lot of different areas:
- Web design and development
- Business and accounts
- Robotics and computer vision
- Speech and language processing
- Medical and healthcare
- Space science
Note: The best thing about this course is that all you need is a device and an internet connection to acquire coding skills.
Course contents
The programs we learn in this course are simple and specially designed for learners with no programming background. This course introduces the basics of programming, which are as follows:
- Declaring and using variables
- Making decisions
- Performing repeated tasks
- Understanding lists and strings
- Reusing the code with functions
Advantages of Python
The programming language used in this course is Python. It’s a high-level language, which means it’s understandable to humans. Python has many advantages; a few are listed below:
- It’s a general-purpose programming language used in many different fields.
- Programmers who use it are in high demand for jobs. It also presents other financial opportunities for professionals who use it for software development.
- It’s easy to read, write, and learn.
- It has a large community and forums where developers can actively share and resolve issues.
Methodology
The essential ingredient to help you learn this course is your interest. The fact that you’re here and reading this page means that you’ve got what it takes!
Even if you know nothing about programming and Python, you can learn a lot from this course. The practice programs and embedded code will help build your confidence and skills.
In this course, we’ll begin with simple math and real-world problem-solving examples. We’ll write the solutions to these problems as steps written in simple English. Next, we’ll translate these English sentences into Python syntax that a computer can understand. The course will explain the logic of these steps with the help of an execution sheet.
Flowcharts represent these steps in the form of a diagram. With their help, we can quickly understand the flow of branching decisions in the code. Throughout the course, we’ll write and execute practice programs so you can enhance your practical skills along the way.