Week 3 - Code and Logic

Week 3 will give an introduction to the technical aspects of code itself, as well as practical exercises essential for starting your programming journey. The material this week will provide a comprehensive introduction to the foundations of code, as well as get into the nitty-gritty details of what to actually write when you sit down to program for the first time. The material will give both an overview and serve as a practical resource to help you get started.

You will find that the reading material this week is as technical, if not more so, than Week 2 and covers fewer pages, allowing you to study and understand the content more effectively.

  • Introduction to Code - We explore the essence of coding as the method by which humans communicate with computers, by translating human intentions into binary. This section introduces the concept of binary code and explains how programming languages are translated into binary digits. We also delve into how computers operate on electrical signals, translating binary instructions into physical actions using transistors.

  • Programming Languages and Their Purpose - This section examines how programming languages have evolved to become more user-friendly, allowing developers to write code in a form that is closer to human language. We explore programming languages, covering Python, JavaScript, Java, C++, C#, and Swift. We'll also cover the differences between statically and dynamically typed languages.

  • The Evolution of Coding and Abstraction - We discuss the shift from low-level languages, which resemble binary code, to high-level languages that abstract away complex hardware details.

  • The Coding Process - This part gives an overview of how code is developed in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), tested for functionality, and then deployed to various environments where it can be used by end-users.

  • Variables & Datatypes - We explore variables as containers that store different types of data and how you work with them during the coding process. You'll also learn about data types, that define the kind of data a variable can hold.

  • Logic and Algorithms - We learn how to structure code using logical conditions and algorithms. For example, you'll learn about how code runs sequentially, line by line. We'll also cover some conditional statements, like if-then, allowing programs to make decisions based on specific conditions.

📚 MATERIALS

Part📖 PDFs📺 Videos🖥️ Tutorials
Part 1Intro to Code - Overview and Essential ConceptsIntro to Code - Overview and Essential Concepts
Part 2The Anatomy of Code - Basics UnpackedThe Anatomy of Code - Basics UnpackedTutorial 1 - Replit "Hello, World"
Tutorial 2 - Variables and Basic Logic

⬇️ DOWNLOADS & ACCOUNTS

To follow the tutorials and complete the exercises this week you need to:

  • Make an account on Replit