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Intro to Computer Science Using Python
Part I

Patti Ordóñez & Sue Evans



Adapted from the CS1 Course at Swarthmore College by Lisa Meeden

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Learning Outcomes

What is Computer Science?

  1. Programming
  2. Problem Solving
  3. Building Computers
  4. All of the Above

Computer Science is about problem solving.

Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) defines computer science as

the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. It is frequently described as the systematic study of algorithmic processes that describe and transform information; the fundamental question underlying computer science is, "What can be (efficiently) automated?"

Computer Science

What kinds of problems can I solve with Computer Science?

Python

Python is the programming language that we will use to tell the computer what to do.

Python...

linux3[72] % python
Python 2.4.3 (#1, Jun 11 2009, 14:09:58)
[GCC 4.1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-44)] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> print "Hello Class!"
Hello Class!
>>>