OPS445 Prep: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "* Learning outcomes: ** Two ways to go through the course: *** Easy way to get your mark *** Hard way to learn something ** Think like a programmer ** Learn typical programming language constructs ** Use existing tools/libraries/techniques to solve new problems * Prerequisite skills ** none * Set up Linux mint *") |
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== Learning outcomes == | |||
** Two ways to go through the course: | Once upon a time people read books in order to learn things. At one point a particular type of learning book became popular "XYZ for dummies", or "Learn XYZ in 21 days". It was the time when learning was particularly important to me, because I was at the beginning of choosing my career (which turned out to be programming and system administration) and I knew I had a lot to learn. | ||
I read a number of such books, and despite my insecurities: it became apparent that: | |||
* No useful skill can be mastered by a dummy. | |||
* You're not going to actually learn a programming language in 21 days, unless you're already a programmer. | |||
Times have changed. Books were replaced by the internet, and now it's hard to find anything on the internet that wasn't AI-generated. But the bullets above are still my position today. As a professional in the field who worked with many technologies and hundreds of people (including some unbelievable geniuses): I assure you that if this is your first course in programming: you will not be able to honestly call yourself a programmer by the end of it. That doesn't necessarily mean it's useless, it can be a good start on a decade-long self-development journey. | |||
Here's what you can hope to get out this course: | |||
*Understand that a computer is a tool, like a hammer. It's more complicated than a hammer, but it's a tool, and it will do whatever you can make it do. | |||
*Hopefully start to distance yourself from the idea that a computer will do your thinking for you, despite how impressive you might think ChatGPT is. | |||
*Learn how to get a computer to do what you want it to do, rather than you doing what the computer tells you to do. | |||
*Become familiar with universal concepts understood and used by all programmers: | |||
**Values | |||
**Variables | |||
**References | |||
**Flow control statements (conditions, loops) | |||
**Functions | |||
**Data structures | |||
**Classes | |||
**Libraries | |||
*Write simple programs in Python using those concepts. | |||
*Maybe even read someone else's Python code. | |||
== Prerequisite skills == | |||
* Two ways to go through the course: | |||
** Easy way to get your mark | |||
** Hard way to learn something | |||
* Prerequisite skills | * Prerequisite skills | ||
** none | ** none | ||
* | * Delivery mode | ||
* | * Workstation setup | ||
[[Category:OPS445]] | |||
Latest revision as of 21:01, 14 December 2024
Learning outcomes
Once upon a time people read books in order to learn things. At one point a particular type of learning book became popular "XYZ for dummies", or "Learn XYZ in 21 days". It was the time when learning was particularly important to me, because I was at the beginning of choosing my career (which turned out to be programming and system administration) and I knew I had a lot to learn.
I read a number of such books, and despite my insecurities: it became apparent that:
- No useful skill can be mastered by a dummy.
- You're not going to actually learn a programming language in 21 days, unless you're already a programmer.
Times have changed. Books were replaced by the internet, and now it's hard to find anything on the internet that wasn't AI-generated. But the bullets above are still my position today. As a professional in the field who worked with many technologies and hundreds of people (including some unbelievable geniuses): I assure you that if this is your first course in programming: you will not be able to honestly call yourself a programmer by the end of it. That doesn't necessarily mean it's useless, it can be a good start on a decade-long self-development journey.
Here's what you can hope to get out this course:
- Understand that a computer is a tool, like a hammer. It's more complicated than a hammer, but it's a tool, and it will do whatever you can make it do.
- Hopefully start to distance yourself from the idea that a computer will do your thinking for you, despite how impressive you might think ChatGPT is.
- Learn how to get a computer to do what you want it to do, rather than you doing what the computer tells you to do.
- Become familiar with universal concepts understood and used by all programmers:
- Values
- Variables
- References
- Flow control statements (conditions, loops)
- Functions
- Data structures
- Classes
- Libraries
- Write simple programs in Python using those concepts.
- Maybe even read someone else's Python code.
Prerequisite skills
- Two ways to go through the course:
- Easy way to get your mark
- Hard way to learn something
- Prerequisite skills
- none
- Delivery mode
- Workstation setup