Module The Basics of Programming

Big title, right? I am about to introduce you to the function! Dum dum dah! Every programmer will go on and on about functions and all the different ideas about how they work and what they do, but I will give you the simplest explanation you can use right now.

You're now going to combine functions with what you know of variables from previous exercises.

Remember your checklist for functions, then do this exercise paying close attention to how functions and files can work together to make useful stuff.

You have been using the = character to name variables and set them to numbers or strings.

To do this exercise you'll need to download a text file that I've written named `languages.

Most programming languages have some way to store data inside the computer.

In this exercise we'll use the same data from the previous exercise on lists and use it to learn about Dictionaries or dicts.

In this exercise we're going to do something fun by combining functions with dicts.

In this exercise you're going to explore how the dict works with modules.

This exercise is intended to be studied periodically while you study the next exercises.

Today is the day you start learning about logic.

The logic combinations you learned from the last exercise are called "Boolean" logic expressions.

Here is the next script of Python you will enter, which introduces you to the if-statement.

In the last exercise you worked out some if-statements and then tried to guess what they are and how they work.

In the first half of this book you mostly just printed out things called functions, but everything was basically in a straight line.

You should now be able to do some programs that are much more interesting.

Now to totally blow your mind with a new loop, the while-loop.

You have learned if-statements, functions, and lists.

Now that you know if-statements, I'm going to give you some rules for for-loops and while-loops that will keep you out of trouble.

It's time to review the symbols and Python words you know and to try to pick up a few more for the next few lessons.