Remote Self Study Python - Group 3

Daniel Wheeler

What is Software Carpentry?

• Teach computer skills for research tasks
• "get more done in less time with less pain"
• Since 1998
• 500 workshops, 16000 learners, 450 instructors
• Volunteer organization

Why is this useful?

• Improve productivity
• Fundamental tools (command line / programming language / version control)

• Otherwise difficult to learn

• Testimonials: https://software-carpentry.org/testimonials/

How does this work?

• Software (Jupyter, Text Editor + command line,
• I'm assuming you have no experience with Python (if I teach)
• Please ask me to slow down in the chat interface
• Just 1 hour today and then 2 x 1 hour subsequent meets
• Is everyone on the Slack channel?
• Pre-workshop survey: https://bit.ly/2zmWZFz
• I'm signed in twice in case my computer crashes
• You'll need a view of the presentation in Google Meet and a view of your python environment (two windows)

Code of Conduct

• Comfortable and enjoyable environment to learn

https://software-carpentry.org/conduct/

Etherpad

• Please add your name, choose a color
  • Include why you want to learn Python?
• Etherpad: https://bit.ly/2xPC8dj
• Please chat in the Etherpad (Google Meet chat is not persistent)

Questions?

Setup

• https://pages.nist.gov/2020-04-10-nist-python/
• Ensure you have Jupyter installed (it will help)
• Does everyone have a Python environment?
  • print("hello world")
  • What version of Python?
  • import numpy
• Please contact me in Slack afterwards to work through any setup issues

Using Jupyter (notebook or lab)

Why learn Python?

• It's a programming language - doesn't matter

• Alternatives: Matlab, Mathematica, Perl, Ruby, Julia

• Widely used in science

• Widely used outside of science (web platforms, data science)

• Number 3 on TIOBE index (Java, C, Python), https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/

• What else: huge active community, many scientific libraries, high level, open

• Some drawbacks (types, reproducibility)

Study Material

• SWC, heavily Pandas based

  • http://swcarpentry.github.io/python-novice-gapminder/

• Python like you mean it

  • https://www.pythonlikeyoumeanit.com/module_2.html

• Automate the boring stuff

  • https://automatetheboringstuff.com/  

• Any other ideas? Other books, learning materials?

• Would you like me to teach this with live coding?

  • 1. Self study only

  • 2. Self study + live coding from select parts

  • 3. Turn into workshop with all live coding

Homework

• Find a problem in Python that you have an issue with as you work through the material
• Either show that you now understand it or ask for help in the meeting
• Homework for next week
• Show the code and talk through it a little bit
• Example
  • How do I merge two dictionaries?
  • How do I reindex a dataframe in Pandas?
  • How do I even read my data into Pandas or a Numpy array?