Arcadia Public Library

Data structures allow you to perform operations more effectively. Start with two of the most basic data structures, stacks and queues, discovering that both can be executed using lists. Then move to non-linear data structures, exemplified by dictionaries and sets, which can be implemented using a hash table.

Expand your study of algorithms to cover recursion, one of the most fascinating ideas in computer science. Apply recursion to form a pair of sorting algorithms. Then see how another approach, iteration, excels at tasks that take too long with recursion, such as calculating the Fibonacci sequence.

Learn the fundamentals of files: what they are, how they’re named, and how to interact with them. Typically, the file format that you write to and read from will be one long string—a sequence of alphanumeric characters. See how these differ from binary files such as images, which are composed of 1s and 0s.

Now experiment with bottom-up design, an approach that starts with the available elements and builds from there. Utilize a Python module called turtle graphics to model robot motion, relying on the basic turtle commands: forward, backward, and turn left or right by an angle you specify.

Discover the remarkable programming tools called modules that you have at your fingertips with Python. Modules are ready-made programs that can be imported into your code as you write it, enhancing your creativity, expanding your options, and saving you time. Bundles of modules are called packages.

Delve into data visualization and simulations—two areas where computers have had a revolutionary but under-recognized impact. Learn how to do both with matplotlib, a Python package for creating plots, graphs, and charts. Use it to design a financial simulation that can help you plan your retirement.

One of the major trends in the present and future of computing is parallel processing. Put this clever technique to work in Python. Then close the course with Professor Keyser’s suggestions for your further explorations of programming, along with his reflections on the personal benefits of this remarkable human achievement.

Take what you have learned about lists, loops, files, and other techniques and design a program that lets you analyze weather data. Sound daunting? Discover the trick of top-down design, which breaks a complex task into manageable parts and is applicable not just to coding but to any major project.

Use the knowledge you’ve gained so far to design a grid-based matching game—an entertaining way to practice top-down development of more complex programs using functions. You’ll see how rough-and-ready lines of code known as stubs come in very handy as you tackle such projects.

Examine a famous graph algorithm called breadth-first search, which shows the shortest path connecting nodes in a tree. Use this technique to write a program creating an entertaining game, in which a word is transformed one letter at a time, with each new iteration required to be a valid word.