Chapter 1
Introduction to Computers,
Programs, and Python
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Objectives
F To understand computer basics, programs, and operating
systems (§§1.2-1.4).
F To write and run a simple Python program (§1.5).
F To explain the basic syntax of a Python program (§1.5).
F To describe the history of Python (§1.6).
F To explain the importance of, and provide examples of,
proper programming style and documentation (§1.7).
F To explain the differences between syntax errors,
runtime errors, and logic errors (§1.8).
F To create a basic graphics program using Turtle (§1.9).
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Programs
Computer programs, known as software, are instructions to
the computer.
You tell a computer what to do through programs. Without
programs, a computer is an empty machine. Computers do
not understand human languages, so you need to use
computer languages to communicate with them.
Programs are written using programming languages.
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Programming Languages
Machine Language Assembly Language High-Level Language
Machine language is a set of primitive instructions
built into every computer. The instructions are in
the form of binary code, so you have to enter binary
codes for various instructions. Programming with
native machine language is a tedious process.
Moreover the programs are highly difficult to read
and modify. For example, to add two numbers, you
might write an instruction in binary like this:
1101101010011010
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Programming Languages
Machine Language Assembly Language High-Level Language
Assembly languages were developed to make
programming easy. Since the computer cannot understand
assembly language, however, a program called assembler is
used to convert assembly language programs into machine
code. For example, to add two numbers, you might write an
instruction in assembly code like this:
ADDF3 R1, R2, R3
Assembly Source File
Machine Code File
…
ADDF3 R1, R2, R3
Assembler …
1101101010011010
… …
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Programming Languages
Machine Language Assembly Language High-Level Language
The high-level languages are English-like and easy to learn
and program. For example, the following is a high-level
language statement that computes the area of a circle with
radius 5:
area = 5 * 5 * 3.1415
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Popular High-Level Languages
•COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language)
•FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslation)
•Java (Developed by Sun, now part of Oracle)
•BASIC (Beginner All-purpose Symbolic Instructional Code)
•Pascal (named for Blaise Pascal)
•Ada (named for Ada Lovelace)
•C (whose developer designed B first)
•Visual Basic (Basic-like visual language developed by Microsoft)
•Delphi (Pascal-like visual language developed by Borland)
•C++ (an object-oriented language, based on C)
•C# (a Python-like language developed by Microsoft)
•Python 0
Compiling Source Code
A program written in a high-level language is called a
source program. Since a computer cannot understand a
source program. Program called a compiler is used to
translate the source program into a machine language
program called an object program. The object program is
often then linked with other supporting library code before
the object can be executed on the machine.
Source File Compiler Machine-language
Linker Executable File
File
Library Code
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Operating Systems
The operating system (OS) is
a program that manages and User
controls a computer’s
activities. You are probably Application Programs
using Windows 7 or 8.
Windows is currently the Operating System
most popular PC operating
system. Application programs
Hardware
such as an Internet browser
and a word processor cannot
run without an operating
system.
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What is Python?
General Purpose Interpreted Object-Oriented
Python is a general purpose programming language.
That means you can use Python to write code for
any programming tasks. Python are now used in
Google search engine, in mission critical projects in
NASA, in processing financial transactions at New
York Stock Exchange.
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What is Python?
General Purpose Interpreted Object-Oriented
Python is interpreted, which means that python
code is translated and executed by an interpreter
one statement at a time. In a compiled language, the
entire source code is compiled and then executed
altogether.
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What is Python?
General Purpose Interpreted Object-Oriented
Python is an object-oriented programming
language. Data in Python are objects created from
classes. A class is essentially a type that defines the
objects of the same kind with properties and
methods for manipulating objects. Object-oriented
programming is a powerful tool for developing
reusable software.
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Python’s History
• created by Guido van Rossum in Netherlands in
1990
• Open source
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Python 2 vs. Python 3
Python 3 is a newer version, but it is not
backward compatible with Python 2. That
means if you write a program using Python
2, it may not work on Python 3.
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Launch Python
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Launch Python IDLE
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Run Python Script
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A Simple Python Program
Listing 1.1
# Display two messages
print("Welcome to Python")
print("Python is fun")
Welcome Note: Clicking the green button displays the source code
with interactive animation. You can also run the code in
a browser. Internet connection is needed for this button.
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Creating and Editing Using Notepad
To use Notepad, type
notepad Welcome.py
from the DOS prompt.
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animation
Trace a Program Execution
Execute a statement
# Display two messages
print("Welcome to Python")
print("Python is fun")
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animation
Trace a Program Execution
Execute a statement
# Display two messages
print("Welcome to Python")
print("Python is fun")
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Two More Simple Examples
WelcomeWithThreeMessages
ComputeExpression
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Anatomy of a Python Program
• Statements
• Comments
• Indentation
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Statement
A statement represents an action or a sequence of actions.
The statement print("Welcome to Python") in the
program in Listing 1.1 is a statement to display the
greeting "Welcome to Python“.
# Display two messages
print("Welcome to Python")
print("Python is fun")
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Indentation
The indentation matters in Python. Note that the
statements are entered from the first column in the
new line. It would cause an error if the program is
typed as follows:
# Display two messages
print("Welcome to Python")
print("Python is fun")
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Special Symbols
Character Name Description
() Opening and closing Used with functions.
parentheses
E
# Pound sign Precedes a comment line.
" " Opening and closing Enclosing a string (i.e., sequence of characters).
quotation marks
''' ''' Opening and closing Enclosing a paragraph comment.
quotation marks
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Programming Style and
Documentation
• Appropriate Comments
• Proper Indentation and Spacing
Lines
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Appropriate Comments
Include a summary at the beginning of the program
to explain what the program does, its key features,
its supporting data structures, and any unique
techniques it uses.
Include your name, class section, instructor, date,
and a brief description at the beginning of the
program.
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Proper Indentation and Spacing
• Indentation
– Indent four spaces.
– A consistent spacing style makes programs clear
and easy to read, debug, and maintain.
identifyandremoveerrors
• Spacing
– Use blank line to separate segments of the code.
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Programming Errors
• Syntax Errors
– Error in code construction
• Runtime Errors
– Causes the program to abort
• Logic Errors
– Produces incorrect result
