Setting Up Python

Python is the language this course programs in, and you need a place to run it — in class and, ideally, at home. Good news: the zero-setup option takes about thirty seconds.

In the browser — zero setup

Any online Python interpreter will do: search for one, open it, and you have a box to type code in and a Run button. Nothing to install, nothing to configure, works on any machine including a library computer or a locked-down school laptop. This is what we use in class, and it is completely enough for this course. If one site is down or ad-cluttered, pick another — they are interchangeable.

On your own computer — for the curious

Installing Python locally is optional but worth it if you have your own machine: it works offline and matches how professionals run code. Download the installer from the official Python site (python.org), accept the defaults, and use the included IDLE editor to write and run programs. If anything goes wrong, Finding Answers Online is made for exactly this — and installation problems are the classic first use of it.

The first program checklist

Wherever you run it, type this — do not paste it — and run:

name = input("What is your name? ")
print("Hello,", name)

• It asks the question, waits, and greets you by name
• Change the greeting text, run again — your change shows up
• Add a second question and a second reply, all by yourself

If it crashes instead: capital letters matter (print, not Print), and every opening quote and bracket needs its closing twin. Read the error before retyping — Debugging Step by Step shows how — and know that a crash on your first program is the traditional welcome to programming. You now have everywhere you need to start building.

Organising your files and workspace

Whether working in an online sandbox or on your local machine, sound file management practices start on day one:

• Create a dedicated folder for this course (such as icd2o/) with subfolders for exercises, programs, and tasks.
• Save with the .py extension using descriptive lowercase names (like greeter.py or dice_roller.py) rather than generic names like temp.py.
• Sync to cloud storage so your code is backed up and accessible from both school and home, as detailed in Files and the Cloud.

Curriculum connection

B2.1

use file management techniques, including those related to local and cloud storage, to organize, edit, and share files

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C2.1

use variables, constants, expressions, and assignment statements to store and manipulate numbers and text in a program

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