Welcome to this whirlwind course in Programming and the History of Computer Science!
In this course, you will learn the basics of Python programming, finishing with an introduction to pygame and two "game jams," one in which you create your own first independent game in one week, and another where you will work with a team for one month to complete an original project.
In between the basics, you will be introduced to various figures from the history of computer science, and the events surrounding each of them. Without the efforts of the many (and often unsung) giants of our field, modern computers would not exist. Neither would Python, or this course, for that matter.
This is a self-driven version of the course, so time limits and teamwork are ultimately up to you. Each lesson should be possible to study in a day or less, and the exercises will say how long they should likely take, if that's longer than a day. Attempting the game jams as you have time for them is highly recommended. It's a good way to really feel how much you've improved.
To begin the course, please start from this link, at
Lesson 1
where will will go through the installation of Python 3.
Contents of this course © Aubrey Smith, Lotus Fox LLC.
This project was supported in part by a grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
Lilian / Lily mascot, the header image for this course's pages, and the Lotus Fox logo are trademarks of Lotus Fox LLC. The Python logo is a trademark of the Python Software Foundation. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation logo and pygame logo belong to their respective organizations, and are inferred to also be trademarks of those organizations.
Legal Disclaimer: This course contains many links to outside resources. These resources are not under control of Lotus Fox LLC, and the status and content of these linked resources cannot be guaranteed. Lotus Fox LLC cannot be held liable for any contents seen on links leading outside of this course, nor for any effects of visiting such pages or interacting with their contents.
This course also contains a number of images from various resources online, which are reproduced here for educational purposes. The origin of each image is cited on the pages those images appear, except on this main index page, where the images in question are cropped versions of portraits that appear in the course itself, and are cited on their respective lesson pages.
The contents of this course are provided as-is. Programming allows for the creation of new files by the student which may have effects not anticipated by the student and/or Lotus Fox LLC. No warranty is expressed or implied regarding results of actions performed by the student in the process of taking this course. Lotus Fox LLC cannot be held liable for any damage or harm that may result directly, indirectly, incidentally, or coincidentally in any way while using these files and/or taking this course.