Learn to Code with Python: A Practical Bootcamp for Beginners

Course overview and expectations. What is programming and why does it matter? The programming process: Idea → Algorithm → Code. Your first algorithm: Giving directions. Setting up your tools: Scratch account creation.

Exploring the Scratch interface. Building your first Scratch program: A greeting application. Introduction to Replit for Python. Your first Python program: Hello, Uganda! Understanding program execution and output.

What are variables? The box analogy. Creating variables in Scratch. Data types: Numbers, text (strings), and booleans. Operations on variables: Math and text manipulation.

Python variable syntax and naming conventions. Getting user input with input(). Converting between data types (casting). Best practice: Commenting your code. Comparing Scratch blocks to Python code.

Boolean values: True and False. Comparison operators: equals, greater than, less than. Combining conditions with AND, OR, NOT. The if statement: Making your program choose. else and elif: Handling multiple options.

Introduction to flowchart programming. Drawing decision diamonds and process boxes. Python if/elif/else syntax. Indentation matters! Python's way of grouping code. Temperature checker activity.

What are lists? Storing multiple values together. Creating and displaying lists in Scratch. Adding, removing, and accessing list items. Zero-based indexing: Why computers count from 0.

Python list syntax: square brackets. List methods: append(), remove(), len(). The 'in' keyword for checking membership. Validate user input against a list of valid options. Combining lists with conditions.

Why loops? Avoiding repetitive code. Repeat X times: The for loop concept. Repeat until condition: The while loop concept. Loops in Scratch: repeat and forever blocks. Flowchart representation of loops.

Python for loop with range(). Python while loop syntax. Looping through lists. Improve previous projects using loops. Creating new lists from existing lists using loops.

What are functions? Reusable blocks of code. Creating custom blocks in Scratch. Function inputs (parameters) and outputs (return values). Calling a function from another function. Flowchart representation of functions.

Python function syntax: def keyword. Parameters and arguments. The return statement. Variable scope: Local vs global variables. Build a calculator with functions for each operation.

What are libraries? Pre-written code you can use. Python's built-in libraries: time, random, os. Using the time library: Delays and timestamps. Using the random library: Games and simulations. Installing external libraries with pip.

Installing Python on your computer. Setting up VS Code or PyCharm. Running Python programs locally. Reading from and writing to files. Why local development matters for real projects.

Project overview and planning. Building the vocabulary database. Creating the quiz functionality. Tracking user progress. Adding features: Levels, scoring, persistence.

How your skills transfer to other languages. Quick look: JavaScript, C++, and others. Programming best practices recap. Career pathways in tech. Next steps: Level 2 and beyond.