To the faculty page of James Tam | Return to the course web page |
Day/Time |
Lectures will
be held live during the scheduled day/time (passcode for both =
hope)
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James Tam |
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Office time: Tuesday and Thursday 4:00 - 4:30 PM via Zoom (different meeting link than for the lecture but the same passcode):
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Email: tam@ucalgary.ca (Make sure you specify the course name and number in the subject line) |
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General information |
[Official course
information sheet (summary of official course requirements)] (includes the university approvals for topics such as grading)
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General assignment information |
Grade calculator to estimate your term grade: [Excel spreadsheet]! [Academic misconduct vs. collaboration: what is allowed for this class] [Practice assignments]: They won't be for credit but they're extra problems that you can try in order to improve your programming and problem solving skills |
Official recommended textbooks |
Print, available via the UC bookstore: "Python
for everyone: 3rd edition" (Cay
S. Horstmann, Rance D. Necaise) Wiley,
3rd edition. Electronic text, available via a PDF: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-18873-3
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Link to other UC licensed textbooks | Also you can search the UC library website [Link 1] or [Link 2] for 'free' python eTexts (requires authentication). |
To use the computers in the first floor Math Sciences lab you will login using your CPSC account. By default the account name and password will be identical to that of your university account. For more information about your CPSC account (such as how to change your password) see the following [Information link]. The labs are accessible 24/7 using your UC ID card If you have access problems then contact [Campus security] to your card can be enabled.
Teaching tutorials (you registered for a section with you signed up for the course): Teaching will be in person in the computer labs - below - starting the week of [first tutorial week]). Teaching materials will be available in D2L under 'content' in D2L and under Content->Teaching tutorials
- Tutorials include mandatory information for the course. Time will be spent on the following: TA's teaching new skills, discussion of assignment requirements.
Tutorial
Location Instructor name
Contact information
T01: MW 12:00 - 1:50 PM MS 160 Danissa Sandykbayeva (Windows user) danissa.sandykbay1@ucalgary.ca T03: TR 10:00 - 11:50 AM MS 160 Mika Ong (primarily a Windows user, secondary OS is Linux) mikaelahope.ong@ucalgary.ca Teaching schedule for the teaching tutorials (additional links will be added during the semester)
Shortcuts for each week of tutorial
Week
Activities for the teaching tutorials
Tutorial week 1: May 4 - 10 (in person tutorials start Wed./Thur. this week): [locations/days/times] Tutorial week 2: May 11 - 17 Tutorial week 3: May 18 - May 24 Tutorial week 4: May 25 - 31 Tutorial week 5: June 1 - 7 Tutorial week 6: June 8 - 14 Tutorial week 7: June 15 - 21 (last day of the term is Monday June 17)
Help tutorials = Continuous tutorials (or CT for short) where you can go for help outside of class
- These in-person sessions will typically be staffed by the tutorial instructors but they are not mandatory for students and are provided so that you can get help.
- Location: First floor Math Sciences computer lab (near MS151 at a long table).
- The CT is not inside of MS151 (the sign on the wall is out of date)
- You are NOT restricted getting help from the CT session staffed by the person whose tutorial you are registered in (you can go to any TA for help).
- If you have questions then it's best to ask them during the CT unless it's a question that can be answered fairly quickly via email.
Continuous tutorial schedule: [Schedule for spring 2025]
Shortcuts for each week of lecture
- Pre-lecture: student orientation
- Week 1: May 4 - 10
- Week 2: May 11 - 17
- Week 3: May 18 - 24
- Week 4: May 25 - 31
- Week 5: June 1 - 7
- Week 6: June 8 - 14
- There are no lectures during week 7
Approximate time each topic will be covered in lecture Lecture topics & schedule Relevant textbook chapters: "Python for Everyone (3e)" Wiley Also you can search the UC library website [Link] for 'free' python eTexts (requires authentication).
Graded & ungraded component due during the week: Note that all assignments are due at 4 PM Student orientation
- Getting started as a new CPSC student. Includes information on how to access the CPSC computer network when you are working from home. A portion of these lessons will be covered in tutorial later in the term other resources are available for your reference. [Orientation link]
Not applicable [Link to practice problems] Lecture week 1 (1st lecture is Tuesday May 7): May 4 - 10
- Introduction to the course, administrative about how the course will be run such as grading information. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint]
- Introduction to computer programming Part I
- Writing and running a python program, variables, displaying information to the user, common math operators. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Introduction to computer programming Part II
- Getting information from the user, simple text formatting. [[Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Introduction to computer programming Part III
- Named constants, documenting programs, prewritten python functions, common programming errors, programming style: layout and formatting of your program. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
Introduction to programming: Section 1.4 - 1.6, Chapter 2, Appendix A, B, C. Lecture week 2: May 11 - 17
- Introduction to computer programming Part III (continued from last week)
- Branching Part I
- IF, IF-Else, Logical-AND, Logical-OR, Logical-NOT. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Branching Part II
- Logic and branching, multiple IFs, the IF-ELIF structure, nested branches, the IF-IN operator, using an epsilon.[Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples] [Branching: Exercise]
- Looping/repetition Part I
- While-loops, for-loops, sentinel controlled loops. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Introduction to programming (as listed above).
- Branching: Chapter 3
- Repetition/Loops: Chapter 4
- [Mini-A1b] Due Friday May 16 (TA deadline to release grades May 23)
Lecture week 3: May 18 - 24 (Monday May 19 is a holiday: no office hours or CT sessions)
Looping/repetition Part I (Continued from last week)
Looping/repetition Part II
- Nesting branches and loops the break instruction and why it generally shouldn't be used, infinite loops, testing loops.[Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples] [Case study: branching, looping, nesting in a simple adventure game] [A few practice traces to try on your own]
- Optional extra resource, nesting and loops. This semester some of this material was incorporated into Part II of the repetition notes: [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint]
- Functions/decomposition Part I
- Part I: The top down approach to functional decomposition, defining functions, calling functions you have defined, scope (local and global), declaring variables locally, benefits of declaring variables locally. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Functions/decomposition Part II
- Parameter passing, function return values, function specific style requirements, documenting function. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Repetition/Loops: Chapter 4
- Functions: Chapter 5 (don't worry about the material in Section 5.9, 5.10 yet)
- [Full A1] Due Friday May 23 (TA deadline to release grades May 30)
Lecture week 4: May 25 - 31
- Functions/decomposition Part II (Continued from last week)
- Functions/decomposition Part III
- Return to scope, what level/where to declare variables, Boolean functions, splitting up long functions, common errors with functions, program design & testing functions. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Functions/decomposition: Helper exercises/programs:
- Functions: Chapter 5
- [Mini-A2a] Due Tuesday May 27 (TA deadline to release grades June 2)
- In class midterm examination (location TBA) Thursday May 29 2:45 - 3:45 [Midterm information link available later]
- [Mini-A2b]: Friday May 30 (TA deadline to release grades June 4)
- [Mini-A2c]: Friday May 30 (TA deadline to release grades June 4)
Lecture week 5: June 1 - 7
- Composites Part I
- Declaring list variables, accessing a list vs. elements in a list, passing list as parameters, methods of parameter passing, avoiding list bound exceptions.[Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples] [Exercises]
- Composites Part II
- Using multi-dimensional lists, creating 2D lists, accessing a 2D list and its parts, basic list operations. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
Composites (Lists): Chapter 6
- [Full A2] Tuesday June 3 (TA deadline to have grading sent to instructor: June 10)
- [Mini-A3a] Due Wednesday June 4 (TA deadline to release grades June 11
- [Mini-A3b]Due Friday June 6 (TA deadline to release grades June 11)
Lecture week 6: June 8 - 14 (last lecture is Thursday)
- Composites Part II (continued from last week)
- [Intermediate exercise: two parallel lists]
- [More advanced exercise: accessing the neighbouring elements of a particular list element]
- Introduction to problem solving (if there is time)
- How to come up with a program when the solution or even a definition of the problem isn't immediately self-evident. [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Files & exceptions
- Reading from and writing to text files using python's iterating for-loop as well using the more generic algorithm employing a while-loop. Exception handling to deal with common run-time errors. Creating dynamic 2D lists when the dimensions are unknown ahead of time (such as reading the data from a file). [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Object-Oriented programming): [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Recursion: [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
- Composites Part III (last two types of composites)
- Other composites such as strings or tuples, accessing the entire composite vs. elements of the composite variable, passing strings and tuples as parameters, mutable vs. immutable types, how functions only return a single piece of data (tuple): [Notes: PDF notes] [Notes: PowerPoint] [Examples]
Lists (as above)
Problem solving: Not applicable
Files: Section 7.1 - 7.2, 7.5 - 7.6
- [Mini-A3c] Due Wednesday June 11 (TA deadline to release grades June 18)
- [Full A3] Due Thursday June 12 (TA deadline to release grades June 19)
- [Mini-A4] Due Friday June 13 (TA deadline to release grades June 20)
Lecture week 7: June 15 - 21 (17th is the last day of the term).
- Lecture material you can learn on your own time (not covered live but instead will be pre-recorded).
- No lecture this week as the last day of the term is Monday June 17
Not applicable
- [Mini-A5] Due Monday June 16 (TA deadline to release grades June 23)
- [Full A5] Due Monday June 16 (TA deadline to release grades June 23)
Final exam period: June 18 - 21 Final exam information: it will be scheduled by the Office of the Registrar ([Final exam from the office of the Registrar]). [Final exam information - available later]