Introduction to Computing & Programming in Python

For courses in Introduction to Computing or Introduction to Programming. There is a growing interest in computing for non-CS majors, or for students who have not yet determined their majors (sometimes called the "CS0" market). Computer science professors are also confronted with increased attrition and failure rates. Guzdial introduces programming as a way of creating and manipulating media-a context familiar and intriguing to today's students. Students begin actual programming early on (sometimes over 100 lines of code in the second assignment). Guzdial's approach has met with substantial success in class testing. Relevant context (Computing for Communications)-Shows students that computing has a role in their professions and that it's worth learning. Manipulation of media-Includes implementing Photoshop-like effects, reversing/splicing sounds, creating animations, etc. Use of Python-Provides a programming language that is easier to learn and use than Java or Scheme in real commercial use (e.g., Google, Industrial Light & Magic). HTML-Acknowledges that students in this audience care about the Web; introduces HTML and covers writing programs that generate HTML. The Web as a Data Source-Teaches how to read from files, but also discusses how to write programs to directly read Web pages and distill information from there for use in other calculations, other Web pages, etc.~Examples include temperature from a weather page, stock prices from a financials page. Real CS1 content-Meets the ACM/IEEE Computing Curriculum 2001 guidelines for a CS1 course, including coverage of procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming approaches, even though the book has been used most with non-CS majors. Brief JavaScript introduction-Helps students recognize that they can learn a second language. Full-chapter treatment of GUIs. Exercises at the end of each chapter, including programming projects.~Many of these projects involve creative, open-ended programming for media creation (e.g., creating visual or audio collages.~Several encourage exploration of cross-disciplinary issues between computer science and other professions. Four types of boxed items-Includes CS Key Ideas, Common Bugs, Debugging Tips, and "Making It Work" tips on how to study and be successful at computer science. List of learning objectives at the start of each chapter-Most chapters have two lists: One with the media learning objectives (e.g., "Be able to explain how a grayscale image can be created from a color image") and computer science learning objectives (e.g., "Be able to explain the role of modularity in debugging").