This repository contains all of the materials needed for the 2020 Python Programming Workshops at the University of California, Merced, made possible through a partnership between Engineering Service Learning and the Solar Energy Association at UC Merced.
These workshops aim to teach the fundamentals of computer programming to beginners through a series of hands-on projects. Attendees are encouraged to focus on the logic behind these projects as opposed to being focused solely on the programming language itself.
All times are in Pacific Time.
October 15, 2020 @ 7:30 p.m. -> 8:30 p.m.
Topics:
- Input/Output
- Data Types and Variables
- Conditionals
Project: Rock, Paper, Scissors!
October 22, 2020 @ 7:30 p.m. -> 8:30 p.m.
Topics:
- Loops
- Data Types (continued)
- Functions
Project: Snake Game
October 29, 2020 @ 7:30 p.m. -> 8:30 p.m.
Topics:
- Object-Oriented Programming
- Libraries
- Project Structure
Project: Checkers
Workshop 1 contains some functionality made specifically for the workshop that can help you make your program. Please note that these are not built into the actual base Python programming language. These are things that I've made specifically for this workshop for you to use so that you can focus on developing logic instead of memorizing language.
computer_choice() will make a random choice for the computer. It will return either "rock", "paper", or "scissors".
computerChoice = computer_choice()
print("The computer choice is", computerChoice)Workshop 2 contains some functionality made specifically for the workshop that can help you make your program. Please note that these are not built into the actual base Python programming language. These are things that I've made specifically for this workshop for you to use so that you can focus on developing logic instead of memorizing language.
Like in real-life programming, you have tools in a toolbox. You don't need to use all of the tools in your toolbox. Sometimes, you might need to make your own tools.
UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, and ESCAPE are all arrow keys.
NORTH, EAST, SOUTH, and WEST are all headings that are (x, y) tuples.
cells is a list of ordered pair tuples denoting all the coordinates that the snake resides on.
foods is a list of ordered pair tuples denoting all the coordinates that the foods reside on.
add_snake_cell(x, y) adds a cell to cells at the coordinate (x, y).
remove_snake_cell(x, y) removes a cell from cells at the coordinate (x, y).
remove_all_snake_cells() removes all cells from cells.
add_food_cell(x, y) adds a cell to foods at the coordinate (x, y).
remove_food_cell(x, y) removes a cell from foods at the coordinate (x, y).
remove_all_food_cells() removes all cells from foods.
wait(n) pauses the program for n seconds, which can be a float or integer.
show_display() shows the display to the player. This display is the window in which the game resides.
get_keystroke() gets the player's keystroke. It can return UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, or ESCAPE.
lose_game() loses the game.
quit_game() quits the game immediately.
random_number(minimum, maximum) generates a random integer from the minimum (inclusive) to the maximum (inclusive).
Workshop 3 contains some functionality made specifically for the workshop that can help you make your program. Please note that these are not built into the actual base Python programming language. These are things that I've made specifically for this workshop for you to use so that you can focus on developing logic instead of memorizing language.
Like in real-life programming, you have tools in a toolbox. You don't need to use all of the tools in your toolbox. Sometimes, you might need to make your own tools.
Note how all of these start with self.. Remember that we're talking about methods now instead of functions!
self.get_coordinates(event) takes a Pygame event and returns a set of coordinates (x, y) corresponding to the tile that the player clicked.
self.player_selected_their_own_piece(color, coordinates) takes the current player's color and the selected coordinates and returns True if the player selected their own piece.
self.selected_piece(piece) returns a copy of the selected piece.
self.highlight_selected(coordinates) highlights the piece at the given coordinates.
self.player_selected_their_own_highlighted_piece(color, coordinates) takes in the player's color and a set of coordinates and returns True if they selected their own highlighted piece.
self.unhighlight_selected(coordinates) takes in a set of coordinates and unhighlights the piece there.
self.piece_highlighted_and_player_selects_another_tile(color, coordinates) takes in the player's color and a set of coordinates and returns True if a piece is currently highlighted and the player selects another tile.
self.move_highlighted_piece_to_was_successful(coordinates) takes in a set of coordinates and moves the highlighted piece there. If it was successful, then it will return true.
Some other things you might want to know:
self.turn is a variable storing an integer that keeps track of turns. You will need to implement incrementing this in your code!