TL;DR and the "no anxiety principle"

The TL;DR on how to connect is that we will use Jitsi for our videoconference. No accounts or registration needed, just go to:

https://meet.jit.si/santafe-python-pd

We start at 2pm on Wednesday 2020-06-23 (and again the 24th and 25th), and I will probably be on at 1:30pm in case you want to make sure it works. But videocons are subject to Murphy's Law, so down below I give more information about different ways you can connect with jitsi and a backup option using google meets in case all that fails.

Remember: you don't have to do anything beforehand. If you follow the instructions below that's fine, if you have a linux computer that's also good, but most of all just show up.

OK, that was an exaggeration - you actually do need a couple of things: a python interpreter of some sort (go to http://python.org/ to download it if your computer does not have it), and an editor for simple text files - this is usually different from a word processor, which would be awkward for text files. If you don't have a favorite, a simple light-weight editor is geany which you can find at:

https://www.fosshub.com/Geany.html

Motivation

Motivation for Python is simple: it's a language that is fun to program in, you really feel like using it, and it is also used for large scale serious work in many areas of computing. That is a rare combination of things.

We might have seen a bit of python, or had some exposure to programming in another language, or we might have never programmed but are curious.

In this course we will discuss both the detailed work of programming in python, as well as understanding how the language is framed in the context of computing in general: what problems it solves well, what libraries are available for it, and what aspects of the language make it useful for those tasks.

Any teacher in Santa Fe is welcome. Serious computing is a part of every academic field, so we hope to have participants from all areas, not just from physical and mathematical sciences.

So you are welcome! There is no cost, and to sign up just send an email to:

Mark Galassi <mark@galassi.org>

letting us know that you will participate. Call +1-505-629-0759 with questions.

You should then prepare according to the instructions below. If anything seems daunting, please don't worry: it will unfold well.

Check this page for updates: some details might change or new information might appear here in the days before we start.

Preparation

For this course we will not require much preparation. You will need a reasonable web browser to follow the videocon (modern versions of firefox and chromium/chrome should work - sometimes older safari has problems).

You should also have a python interpreter that you can type commands in. At https://www.python.org/ you will find download instructions for different types of hardware and operating system.

Communications

[details might be udpated here as our date approaches]