Introduction to Python Programming

A first course in programming using Python, focusing on algorithmic problem-solving and core language features from control flow to data processing with Pandas and Numpy.

As the first formal programming course in the curriculum, this was a comprehensive introduction to Python with an emphasis on algorithmic thinking. The course was designed to build programming skills from the ground up. We started with the basics of algorithms and control flow, including conditionals and loops. A significant portion of the course was dedicated to mastering Python’s core data collections—lists, tuples, sets, and dictionaries. We then moved on to practical skills like file operations and understanding Python’s module system, concluding with an introduction to the powerful Pandas and Numpy libraries, which are essential for data science.

Instructor

Sudarshan Iyengar, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Ropar

Course Schedule & Topics

The course is structured over 12 weeks, building from foundational concepts to practical data processing applications.

Week(s) Primary Focus Key Topics Covered
1 Introduction to Algorithms Foundational concepts of algorithms and problem-solving strategies.
2-3 Conditional Logic if, else, elif statements, boolean logic, and nested conditional structures.
4-5 Loops and Iteration for and while loops, using the range() function, and controlling loop execution.
6-8 Python Data Collections In-depth work with lists, tuples, sets, and dictionaries; their methods and use cases.
9-10 File Input/Output Reading from and writing to files, handling file modes, and managing file objects.
11 Python Modules Understanding Python’s module system, importing libraries, and organizing code.
12 Data Processing with Libraries Introduction to data processing and numerical computation using Pandas and Numpy.

Material used