Python Quest

Learning map · Track 1 · beginner

Getting Started with Python

Your first steps in programming, assuming no experience at all. You'll write real Python from the first minute: print results, do arithmetic, work with text, name values, ask the user for input and turn it into numbers. Along the way you'll learn to read error messages calmly, plan a small program before writing it, and find bugs step by step. The track ends with a guided mini project, a shop receipt built from the user's input.

Start the trackTrack test

By the end of this track you can

  • Write and run Python programs that print exactly the output you intend
  • Do calculations with Python's arithmetic operators and control their order with parentheses
  • Build text with strings, escape sequences, print() options and f-strings
  • Read input from the user, convert it to numbers and store values in well-named variables
  • Read a traceback to find the line and cause of an error, and fix SyntaxError, NameError and TypeError
  • Plan a small input-process-output program and debug it one change at a time

Lessons

  1. 1Your first programWhat a program is, how Python runs it line by line, and how print() shows results.15 min · 3 exFree
  2. 2How Python reads your codeStatements, top-to-bottom execution, comments, blank lines, capital letters and why spaces at the start of a line matter.20 min · 3 exFree
  3. 3Numbers and arithmeticUse Python as a calculator: the seven arithmetic operators, the order they run in, and whole versus decimal results.25 min · 4 exFree
  4. 4Text and stringsWrite text with quotes and escape sequences, join and repeat strings, and count characters with len().25 min · 4 exFree
  5. 5Printing in depthControl exactly what print() writes: several values, custom separators with sep, line endings with end, and a first look at f-strings.25 min · 3 exFree
  6. 6Naming values with variablesA first look at variables: store a value under a name, reuse it in calculations and update it as things change.25 min · 4 exFree
  7. 7Asking for inputMake programs interactive with input(), and convert the text you receive into numbers with int() and float().30 min · 4 exFree
  8. 8Reading error messagesErrors are normal. Learn to read a traceback from the bottom up and fix SyntaxError, NameError, TypeError and ValueError.30 min · 3 exFree
  9. 9Writing small programsStructure programs as input, process, output, and plan them in plain language before writing any code.35 min · 4 exFree
  10. 10Debugging: first stepsFind bugs in programs that run but give wrong answers: reproduce, trace, print values, and change one thing at a time.30 min · 3 exFree
  11. 11Mini project: a shop receiptCombine everything from this track to build a complete receipt program, one tested milestone at a time.50 min · 5 exFree