What is programming?
A computer is programmed to provide it with a set of instructions to perform.
This is achieved by a human using a programming language to write a computer program to tell the computer what to do.
This produces software, and without it, computers would be a useless collection of hardware.
Thonny IDE
Software that can be used to write a computer program is known as an IDE.
IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment.
The IDE that we will use to write Python code is called Thonny.
The main parts of Thonny are the:
Code Editor – where you write your code
Shell(run-time environment) – where the user of the program views the output and interacts with it.
Variables
A variable is a named memory location that stores a value which can change during the running of a program.
A variable is can be likened to a box that has a name (identifier) and can store a single value.
Variables in Python
To assign a value to a variable in Python, you give it a name (an identifier)
then use an equals sign followed by the value.
Assigning a value to a variable is called declaring a variable.
Outputting the contents of Variables
Output is used to display information to the user.
Once a value has been assigned, the value is held in memory and can then later be used by writing the variable’s name.
The value inside of a variable can change
The value stored inside of a variable can change during the running of a program.
This happens in sequence.
User Input
User input is used in the programs that you use on an every-day basis.
User Input in Python
In order to enable to interact with a computer program, user input is used. This is code that prompts the user to enter data, which is then stored inside of a variable.
Examples of user input in Python are shown below:
When wanting the user to enter an integer (number) then you must code the input function inside of an int() function.