Python Development

Course Overview

I reworked the 100 and 200 level Python courses to be run from a Jupyter notebook interface. Students also had the option to create their code using PyCharm. These courses were made available both in-person and remotely. Lectures/demonstrations were also recorded and made available.
Here are a few example demonstrations Lecture 7 Demonstration, Lecture 8 Demonstration  

In the 100 level course, students were required to achieve these competencies:

Perform basic programming operations in Python

1. 1. Identify different component of an IDE

   2. Declare and initialize variables

   3. Distinguish between data types and character sets using variables and constants

   4. Create GUI applications

   5. Generate random numbers

   6. Demonstrate writing to and reading from a file

   7. Write and execute programs via the command line

2. Incorporate Processing Data

   1. Write a program to input and output numeric values

   2. Use arithmetic operators

   3. Use logical operators

   4. Format output

   5. Use exceptions handling

   6. Use a debugger to find coding errors

   7. Process strings

   8. Cast data to appropriate types

3. Implement Decision Making

   1. Write if-else statements and nested if statements

   2. Use compound conditions

   3. Define dictionaries and functions to use for selection

4. Implement Loops

   1. Code using while

   2. Code using for and range() function

   3. Use nested loops

   4. Use pass, break, continue and pass statements appropriately

5. Create Functions

   1. Write function calls

   2. Write a function that returns a value

   3. Write a function that with default argument values

   4. Write a function using keyword arguments

   5. Write a function that accepts an arbitrary number of arguments

6. Implement Collections

   1. Define and manipulate arrays

   2. Demonstrate how to declare and initialize lists

   3. Demonstrate sort and search in arrays and lists

   4. Use a tuple to solve a problem

   5. Use a set/frozenset to solve a problem

7. Create code using Object-Oriented Principles

   1. Create class and class object(s)

   2. Implement inheritance

   3. Use polymorphism in a program

   4. Implement abstract class and abstract methods

   5. Implement multiple inheritance

   6. Use Test-Driven Development for writing classes

   7. Use class composition

8. Utilize appropriate tools to manipulate data

   1. Use appropriate methodology to display data

   2. Connect to an existing database for queries and updates

9. Incorporate code readability, application testing and demonstrate communication to other developers

   1. Demonstrate the use of comments, good code layout and coding conventions

   2. Develop strategies for testing your program including the use of unit testing framework

   3. Develop strategies for Test-Driven Development

For the 200 level course, students got into much more advanced topics. Here are some example demonstrations. Lecture 8 Demonstration, Lecture 9 Demonstration  

Students had to achieve the following competencies:

Build projects that integrate with open source databases

1. 1. Create a program that stores output in a database

   2. Create a program that utilizes data from a database

   3. Apply CRUD operations (create, replace, update, delete) on a database from Python

2. Utilize popular Python data analytics libraries to analyze datasets and draw conclusions about the data

   1. Make use of data frames, arrays in analyzing dataset

   2. Apply statistics to find useful results from datasets

3. Create consumable visuals of data utilizing popular Python data visualization libraries

   1. Construct graphs and charts from Python

   2. Experiment with different ways to make visualizations more appealing and consumable

4. Investigate data structures for efficient numerical computing

   1. Identify the differences between the Python list and array-like data structures used in numerical libraries

   2. Demonstrate indexing and slicing of N-dimensional arrays

   3. Utilize methods for array conversion, shape manipulation and item selection

5. Create web outputs utilizing popular Python libraries

   1. Construct simple HTML web pages using available web frameworks

   2. Create an interactive data visualization in HTML

6. Incorporate the use of web APIs in Python development

   1. Discuss RESTful Web Services

   2. Implement a REST client

   3. Develop a server application that provides a REST endpoint

7. Apply the concepts of threading and multiprocessing

   1. Explain the difference between threading and multiprocessing in Python

   2. Demonstrate an understanding of the value and uses of multiprocessing

   3. Use the multiprocessing library to reduce the execution time of an algorithm on a multi-core processor

8.  Build programs that are capable of working with large datasets by utilizing generators

   1. Create a program that includes a generator function

   2. Apply generators to analyze a large data file

   3. Demonstrate an understanding of the value and uses of generators

9. Design code using the “Pythonic” style

   1. Write a program that utilizes wrapping instead of inheritance

   2. Design a program that includes dependency injection

   3. Utilize factories in a program

   4. Demonstrate understanding of duck typing and monkey patching and their pros and cons.

My Role

My role as instructor for these courses was to run the courses, grade submissions, and ensure students had the knowledge they needed to be successful developers. I was also responsible for determining the content and setting up all courses in Blackboard.