Chapter 1

Introduction to Computers,
Programs, and Python
SE 201 (Programming D r. H a n a d i H a k a m i
1) [Link]@[Link]

©
Software
 Sections
• 1.2. What is a Computer?
• 1.3. Programming Languages
• 1.4. Operating Systems
• 1.5. The History of Python
• 1.6. Getting Started with Python
• A Simple Python Program
• Simple Examples
• Anatomy of a Python Program
• 1.7. Programming Style and Documentation
• 1.8. Programming Errors
Programs Check Points
 Programs
• Program 1: Welcome with Two Messages
• Program 2: Welcome With Three Messages
• Program 3: Compute an Expression

3
 Objectives
• To understand computer basics, programs, and operating systems (
1.2-1.4).
• To write and run a simple Python program (1.5).
• To explain the basic syntax of a Python program (1.5).
• To describe the history of Python (1.6).
• To explain the importance of, and provide examples of, proper
programming style and documentation (1.7).
• To explain the differences between syntax errors, runtime errors,
and logic errors (1.8).

4
 Textbook
Introduction to Programming Using Python, By: Y. Daniel Liang

5
 1.2. What is a
Computer?
• CPU
• Memory
• Storage Devices
• Output Devices
• Input Devices

6
 What is a Computer?
• A computer is an electronic device that stores and processes data.
• A computer includes both hardware and software.
• In general, hardware comprises the visible, physical elements of
the computer, and software provides the invisible instructions that
control the hardware and make it perform specific tasks.
• A computer consists of: CPU, memory, storage devices (such as
disks and CDs), input devices (such as the mouse and keyboard),
output devices (such as monitors and printers), and
communication devices (such as modems and network interface
cards).

7
 What is a Computer?
• A computer’s components are interconnected by a subsystem
called a bus.
• You can think of a bus as a sort of system of roads running among
the computer’s components; data and power travel along the bus
from one part of the computer to another.
• In personal computers, the bus is built into the computer’s
motherboard, which is a circuit case that connects all of the parts
of a computer together.
Bus

Storage Communication Input Output

Memory CPU Devices Devices Devices
Devices
e.g., Disk, CD, e.g., Modem, e.g., Keyboard, e.g., Monitor,
and Tape and NIC Mouse Printer

8
A computer consists of

9
 CPU
• The central processing unit (CPU) is the brain of a computer.
• It retrieves instructions from memory and executes them.
• The CPU speed is measured in megahertz (MHz).
• 1 megahertz equaling 1 million pulses per second.
Bus

Storage Communication Input Output

Memory CPU
Devices Devices Devices Devices

e.g., Disk, CD, e.g., Modem, e.g., Keyboard, e.g., Monitor,

and Tape and NIC Mouse Printer

10
CPU

11
 Memory
• Memory is to store data and program instructions for CPU to
execute.
• A memory unit is an ordered sequence of bytes, each holds eight
bits. (a bit = 0 or 1)
• A program and its data must be brought to memory before they
can be executed.
• The current content of a memory byte is lost whenever new
information is placed in it.
Bus

Storage Communication Input Output

Memory CPU Devices
Devices Devices Devices

e.g., Disk, CD, e.g., Modem, e.g., Keyboard, e.g., Monitor,

and Tape and NIC Mouse Printer

12
Memory

13
 Storage Devices
• Memory is volatile, because information is lost when the power is
off.
• Programs and data are permanently stored on storage devices and
are moved to memory when the computer actually uses them.
• There are three main types of storage devices: Disk drives (hard
disks and floppy disks), CD drives (CD-R and CD-RW), and Tape
drives (magnetic tape).

Bus

Storage Communication Input Output

Devices Memory CPU Devices Devices Devices

e.g., Disk, CD, e.g., Modem, e.g., Keyboard, e.g., Monitor,

and Tape and NIC Mouse Printer

14
Storage Devices

15
 Output Devices
• An output device is any device used to send data from a computer
to another device or user.
• Most computer data output that is meant for humans is in the
form of audio or video such as monitors.
• The monitor displays information (text and graphics).
• The resolution and dot pitch determine the quality of the display.

Bus

Storage Communication Input Output

Memory CPU Devices Devices Devices
Devices
e.g., Disk, CD, e.g., Modem, e.g., Keyboard, e.g., Monitor,
and Tape and NIC Mouse Printer

16
Output Devices

17
 Input Devices
• An input device is any hardware device that sends data to a
computer.
• Input and output devices let the user communicate with the
computer.
• The most common input devices are keyboards and mice.

Bus

Storage Communication Input Output

Memory CPU Devices Devices Devices
Devices
e.g., Disk, CD, e.g., Modem, e.g., Keyboard, e.g., Monitor,
and Tape and NIC Mouse Printer

18
Input Devices

19
 1.3. Programming
Languages
• Programs
• Machine Language
• Assembly Language
• High-Level Language
• Popular High-Level Languages
• Interpreting/Compiling Source Code
• Interpreting Source Code
• Compiling Source Code
20
 Programs
• Computer programs, known as software, are instructions to the
computer.
• You tell a computer what to do through programs.
• Without programs, a computer is an empty machine.
• Computers do not understand human languages, so you need to
use computer languages to communicate with them.
• Programs are written using programming languages.

21
 Programming Languages
Machine Language Assembly Language High-Level Language
• Machine language is a set of primitive instructions
built into every computer.
• The instructions are in the form of binary code, so you
have to enter binary codes for various instructions.
• Program with native machine language is a tedious
process.
• Moreover the programs are highly difficult to read and
modify.
• For example, to add two numbers, you might write an
instruction in binary like this:
1101101010011010

22
 Programming Languages
Machine Language Assembly Language High-Level Language
• Assembly languages were developed to make
programming easy.
• Since the computer cannot understand assembly
language, however, a program called assembler is
used to convert assembly language programs into
machine code.
• Writing code in assembly language is easier than in
machine language. However, it is still tedious to write
code in assembly language.
• For example, to add two numbers, you might write an
instruction in assembly code like this:
ADD 2, 3, result

23
 Programming Languages
Machine Language Assembly Language High-Level Language
• The high-level languages are English-like and easy to
learn and program.
• Since the computer cannot understand high-level
languages, however, a program called interpreter or
compiler is used to convert high-level language
programs into machine code.
• For example, the following is a high-level language
statement (instruction) that computes the area of a
circle with radius 5:
area = 5 * 5 * 3.1415

24
Popular High-Level
Languages

25
 Interpreting/Compiling
Source Code
• The instructions in a high-level programming language
are called statements.
• A program written in a high-level language is called a
source program or source code.
• Because a computer cannot understand a source
program, a source program must be translated into
machine code for execution.
• The translation can be done using another programming
tool called an interpreter or a compiler.

26
 Interpreting Source Code
• An interpreter reads one statement from the source
code, translates it to the machine code or virtual machine
code, and then executes it right away.
• Note that a statement from the source code may be
translated into several machine instructions.

27
 Compiling Source Code
• A compiler translates the entire source code into a
machine-code file, and the machine-code file is then
executed.

28
1.4. Operating Systems

29
 Operating Systems
• The operating system (OS) is a
program that manages and
controls a computer’s activities.
• You are probably using Windows
10, Linux, or macOS.
• Windows is currently the most
popular PC operating system.
• Application programs - such as
an Internet browser and a word
processor - cannot run without
an operating system.

1.4 30
 1.5. The History of Python
 What is Python?
 Python’s History
 Python 2 vs Python 3

31
 What is Python?
General Purpose Interpreted Object-Oriented
• Python is a general-purpose programming
language.
• That means you can use Python to write code for
any programming tasks.
• Python are now used in Google search engine, in
mission critical projects in NASA, in processing
financial transactions at New York Stock Exchange.

1.5 32
 What is Python?
General Purpose Interpreted Object-Oriented
• Python is interpreted.
• Which means that python code is translated and
executed one statement at a time by an interpreter.
• In a compiled language, the entire source code is
compiled and then executed altogether.

1.5 33
 What is Python?
General Purpose Interpreted Object-Oriented
• Python is an object-oriented programming
language.
• Data in Python are objects created from classes.
• A class is essentially a type that defines the objects
of the same kind with properties and methods for
manipulating objects.
• Object-oriented programming is a powerful tool for
developing reusable software.

1.5 34
 Python’s History
 Python is created by Guido van Rossum in
Netherlands in 1990.
 Python is open source.
 Open-source software is a type of computer software
in which source code is released under a license in
which the copyright holder grants users the rights to
study, change, and distribute the software to anyone
and for any purpose.

1.5 35
 Python 2 vs Python 3
• Python 3 is a newer version, but it is not backward
compatible with Python 2.
• That means if you write a program using Python 2, it
may not work on Python 3.
• For example, the following command works on Python
2, but it doesn't work on Python 3: print "Hello World".
• To get the previous command working on Python 3, you
can write it as the following: print("Hello World").
• We will learn and use Python 3 in this book.

1.5 36
1.6. Getting Started with
Python
 Install Python
 PyCharm IDE
 Install PyCharm
 Modes of Python Interpreter
 Interactive vs Script Mode

37
 Install Python
 Go to [Link]/downloads and then download
and install the last version of Python 3.11.x for your
operating system.
 See Lab 1 for more details.

1.6 38
 PyCharm IDE
 An integrated development environment (IDE) is an
application that provides comprehensive facilities to
programmers for software development.
 IDEs are large size programs, and many of them are
not free.
 For Python programmers, PyCharm is one of the best
IDE for Python.
 Also, it has a free version called “Community Edition”.
 In general, using IDEs are the best way to develop
programs especially mid-large programs.

1.6 39
 Install PyCharm
 Go to [Link]
and then download and install “Community” version.
 See Lab 1 for more details.

1.6 40
 Modes of Python
Interpreter
Interactive Mode Script Mode
• Interactive mode provides us with a quick way of
running blocks or a single line of Python code.
• The code executes via the Python Shell (also known
as Python Interactive Shell), which comes with
Python installation.

Python Shell on CMD

1.6 41
Modes of Python Interpreter
Interactive Mode Script Mode
• The >>> indicates that the Python shell is ready to
execute and send your commands to the Python
interpreter.
• The result is immediately displayed on the Python
shell as soon as the Python interpreter interprets
the command.

Python Shell on PyCharm IDE

1.6 42
 Modes of Python Interpreter
Interactive Mode Script Mode
• This is the normal mode where a python code is
written in a text file with a ‘.py’ extension, and
Python interpreter executes the file.
• The result of the code will be displayed after the
Python interpreter runs the file.

PyCharm IDE Notepad

1.6 43
 Interactive vs Script Mode
The key differences between programming in interactive
mode and programming in script mode:
1. In script mode, a file must be created and saved
before executing the code to get results. In
interactive mode, the result is returned
immediately after pressing the <enter>
key from the keyboard.
2. In script mode, you are provided with a direct way of
editing your code. This is not possible in interactive
mode.

1.6 44
 A Simple Python Program
 Program 1: Welcome with Two Messages
 Creating and Editing Using PyCharm
 Tracing The Program Execution
 Code Tracing

45
 Welcome with Two Messages
Program 1

Write a program that displays Welcome to Python and

Programming is fun. The output should be as the
following:
Welcome to Python
Python is fun

 The Solution:
LISTING 1.1 [Link]

1 # Display two messages

2 print("Welcome to Python")
3 print("Python is fun")

A Simple Python Program Program 1 46

 Step
Welcome with Two Messages
1 of 7

Creating and Editing Using PyCharm

 First step: open PyCharm and click on “Create New
Project”.

A Simple Python Program Program 1 47

 Step
Welcome with Two Messages
2 of 7

Creating and Editing Using PyCharm

 First step: open PyCharm and click on “Create New
Project”.

A Simple Python Program Program 1 48

 Step
Welcome with Two Messages
3 of 7

Creating and Editing Using PyCharm

 Then, change the default name of the project
“untitled1”. For example, name it as “My First Project”,
and then click on “Create”.

A Simple Python Program Program 1 49

 Step

Welcome with Two Messages

4 of 7

Creating and Editing Using PyCharm

 Then, the new project is created and opened. After
that, you have to create a new Python file inside the
project to write the code on it.

A Simple Python Program Program 1 50

 Step
Welcome with Two Messages
5 of 7

Creating and Editing Using PyCharm

 Select the project name on the left menu, right click on
it and select “New” → “Python File”.

A Simple Python Program Program 1 51

 Step
6 of 7 Welcome with Two Messages
Creating and Editing Using PyCharm
 Then, name the new file “Welcome”, and click on “OK”.

A Simple Python Program Program 1 52

 Step
Welcome with Two Messages
7 of 7

Creating and Editing Using PyCharm

 Now, the new file is created and opened. Write the
code in it:

A Simple Python Program Program 1 53

 Step
1 of 2
Welcome with Two Messages
Running The Code Using PyCharm
 To run the file, right click on any area of the editor and
click on (Run ‘Welcome’), which is the name of the file.

A Simple Python Program Program 1 54

 Step
Welcome with Two Messages
2 of 2

Running The Code Using PyCharm

 After that, PyCharm is going to run the file using the
Python interpreter, and then display the output of the
file for you.

A Simple Python Program Program 1 55

 Welcome with Two Messages
Tracing The Program Execution

LISTING 1.1 [Link]

1 # Display two messages

2 print("Welcome to Python") It is a comment, so do
nothing.
3 print("Python is fun")

A Simple Python Program 1 of 3 Program 1 56

 Welcome with Two Messages
Tracing The Program Execution

LISTING 1.1 [Link]

1 # Display two messages

2 print("Welcome to Python") Execute a statement
3 print("Python is fun")

The output of the

Welcome to Python statement

A Simple Python Program 2 of 3 Program 1 57

 Welcome with Two Messages
Tracing The Program Execution

LISTING 1.1 [Link]

1 # Display two messages

2 print("Welcome to Python") Execute a statement
3 print("Python is fun")

The output of the

Welcome to Python
statement
Python is fun

A Simple Python Program 3 of 3 Program 1 58

 Code Tracing

 Code tracing is when the programmer

interprets the results of each line of code and
keeps track of the effect of each statement.

A Simple Python Program 59

 Simple Examples
 Program 2: Welcome With Three Messag
es
 Program 3: Compute an Expression
 Check Point #1 - #2

60
 Welcome With Three Messages
Program 2
Write a program that displays Welcome to Python ,
Programming is fun , and Problem Driven . The output
should be as the following:
Welcome to Python
Python is fun
Problem Driven

 The Solution:
LISTING 1.2 [Link]

1 # Display three messages

2 print("Welcome to Python")
3 print("Python is fun")
4 print("Problem Driven")
Simple Examples Program 2 61
 Compute an Expression
Program 3
Write a program that evaluates and print its result.
 The Solution:

LISTING 1.3 [Link]

1 # Compute expression
2 print((10.5 + 2 * 3) / (45 - 3.5))

 The output:

0.39759036144578314

Simple Examples Program 3 62

Write a program that evaluates and print its result.
 The Solution:

 The output:

63
 Check Point
#1
Identify and fix the errors in the following code:

1 # Display two messages

2 print("Welcome to Python")
3 print("Python is fun").

 Solution:
The errors are the incorrect indentation
in line 2 and the punctuation (.) in line 3.
1 # Display two messages
2 print("Welcome to Python")
3 print("Python is fun")

Simple Examples 64
 Check Point
#2
Show the output of the following code:
1 print("3.5 * 4 / 2 - 2.5 is")
2 print(3.5 * 4 / 2 - 2.5)

 Solution:
3.5 * 4 / 2 - 2.5 is
4.5

Simple Examples 65
Anatomy of a Python Program

 Statement
 Indentation
 Comment
 Special Symbols

66
 Statement
 A statement represents an action or a
sequence of actions.
 The statement print("Welcome to Python") in
the program in Listing 1.1 is a statement to
display the greeting "Welcome to Python“.
LISTING 1.1 [Link]
It is a statement
1 # Display two messages (action)
2 print("Welcome to Python")
3 print("Python is fun") It is a statement
(action)

Anatomy of a Python Program 67

 Indentation
• The indentation matters in Block 1
Python. Block 2
• The following figure is a Block 3
block structure visualizing Block 2, Continuation
indentation. Block 1, Continuation

 Note that the statements are entered

from the first column in the new line. It
would cause an error if the program is
1typed as follows:
# Display two messages It would cause an error
2 print("Welcome to Python") because this statement
has a wrong
3 print("Python is fun") indentation.

Anatomy of a Python Program 68

 Caution
 Don’t put any punctuation at the end of
a statement.
 For example, the Python interpreter will
report errors for the following code:
1 # Display two messages
2 print("Welcome to Python").
3 print("Python is fun").

Anatomy of a Python Program 69

 Note
 Python programs are case sensitive.
 It would be wrong, for example, to
replace print in the program with Print.

1 # Display two messages

2 print("Welcome to Python")
3 Print("Python is fun")

Anatomy of a Python Program 70

 Comment
 A comment is a programmer-readable
explanation or annotation in the source
code of a computer program.
 In Listing 1.1, line 1 is a comment that
documents what the program is and how
it is constructed.
LISTING 1.1 [Link]

1 # Display two messages It is a comment, so the

2 print("Welcome to Python") Python interpreter will
3 print("Python is fun“) ignore it when
executing the
program.

Anatomy of a Python Program 71

 Comment
 Comments help programmers communicate
and understand a program.
 They are not programming statements and
thus are ignored by the interpreter.
 In Python, comments are preceded by a pound
sign (#) on a line, called a line comment, or
enclosed between three consecutive single
quotation marks (''') on one or several lines,
called a paragraph comment.

Anatomy of a Python Program 72

 Comment
 When the Python interpreter sees #, it
ignores all text after # on the same line.
 When it sees ''', it scans for the next '''
and ignores any text between the triple
quotation marks.
 Here are examples of comments:
1 # This program displays Welcome to Python (a line comment)
2 ''' This program displays Welcome to Python and
3 Python is fun (a paragraph comment)
4 '''
5 print("Welcome to Python")
6 print("Python is fun")

Anatomy of a Python Program 73

 Special Symbols

Anatomy of a Python Program 74

1.7. Programming Style and
Documentation

 Programming Style
 Documentation
 Appropriate Comments and Comment St
yles
 Proper Indentation and Spacing

75
 Programming Style
 Programming style deals with what programs look like.
 When you create programs with a professional
programming style, they not only execute properly but
are easy for people to read and understand.
 This is very important if other programmers will access
or modify your programs.

1.7 76
 Documentation
 Documentation is the body of explanatory remarks and
comments pertaining to a program.
 These remarks and comments explain various parts of the
program and help others understand its structure and
function.
 As you saw earlier in the chapter, remarks and comments are
embedded within the program itself; Python’s interpreter
simply ignores them when the program is executed.
 Good programming style and proper documentation make a
program easy to read and prevent errors.
 Programming style and documentation are as important as
coding. In the following slides, there are a few guidelines.

1.7 77
 Appropriate Comments and
Comment Styles

 Include a summary comment at the beginning of the

program to explain what the program does, its key
features, and any unique techniques it uses.
 In a long program, you should also include comments
that introduce each major step and explain anything
that is difficult to read.
 It is important to make comments concise so that they
do not crowd the program or make it difficult to read.
 In homework and exams, Include your name, class
section, instructor, date, and a brief description at the
beginning of the program.

1.7 78
 Proper Indentation and Spacing
 Indentation
 Indent four spaces.

 Spacing
 A consistent spacing style makes programs
clear and easy to read, debug, and maintain.
 Use blank line to separate segments of the
code.
print(20+50) print(20 + 50)
print(20- 10) print(20 - 10)
print(60*5+30) print(60 * 5 + 30)
print("A","B") print("A" ,"B")

1.7 79
 1.8. Programming Errors
 Types of Programming Errors
 Syntax Errors
 Runtime Errors
 Logic Errors
 Notes
 Check Point #3

80
 Types of Programming Errors
 Programming errors can be categorized into
three types:
 Syntax Errors
 Error in code construction.
 Runtime Errors
 Causes the program to abort.
 Logic Errors
 Produces incorrect result.

1.8 81
 Syntax Errors
 Syntax errors result from errors in code construction,
such as mistyping a statement, incorrect indentation,
omitting some necessary punctuation, or using an
opening parenthesis without a corresponding closing
parenthesis.
 Python has its own syntax, and you need to write code
that obeys the syntax rules. If your program violates
the rules Python will report syntax errors.

1.8 82
 Runtime Errors
 Runtime errors are errors that cause a program to
terminate abnormally.
 They occur while a program is running if the Python
interpreter detects an operation that is impossible to
carry out.
 Input mistakes typically cause runtime errors.

1.8 83
 Runtime Errors
 An input error occurs when the user enters a value
that the program cannot handle.
 For instance, if the program expects to read in a
number, but instead the user enters a string of text,
this causes data-type errors to occur in the program.

1.8 84
 Logic Errors
 Logic errors occur when a program does not perform
the way it was intended to.
 Logic errors produce unintended, incorrect or
undesired output or other behavior, although it may
not immediately be recognized as such.
 In fact, they do not cause the program to terminate
abnormally.

1.8 85
 Logic Errors
Example
The following is a program that converts a temperature
(35 degrees) from Fahrenheit to Celsius.
LISTING 1.4 [Link]

1 # Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius

2 print("Fahrenheit 35 is Celsius degree ")
3 print(5 / 9 * 35 - 32)

The produced result (-12.55)

Fahrenheit 35 is Celsius degree
is not correct. The correct
-12.555555555555554 result is (1.66).
 Replace the expression 5 / 9 * 35 – 32 with 5 / 9 * (35 – 32) to get
the correct result.
 That is, you need to add parentheses around (35 – 32) so Python
will calculate that expression first before doing the division.

1.8 86
 Notes
 In Python, syntax errors are actually treated like
runtime errors because they are detected by the
interpreter when the program is executed.
 In general, syntax and runtime errors are easy to find
and easy to correct, because Python gives indications
as to where the errors came from and why they are
wrong.
 Finding logic errors, on the other hand, can be very
challenging.

1.8 87
 Check Point
#3
If you forget to put a closing quotation mark on a string,
what kind of error will be raised?
 Answer:

If your program needs to read data from a file, but the

file does not exist, an error would occur when running
this program. What kind of error is this?
 Answer:

Suppose you write a program for computing the

perimeter of a rectangle and you mistakenly write your
program so that it computes the area of a rectangle.
What kind of error is this?
 Answer:

1.8 88
 Check Point
#3
If you forget to put a closing quotation mark on a string, what kind of
error will be raised?
 Answer: Syntax Error

If your program needs to read data from a file, but the file does not
exist, an error would occur when running this program. What kind of
error is this?
 Answer: Runtime Error

Suppose you write a program for computing the perimeter of a

rectangle and you mistakenly write your program so that it computes
the area of a rectangle. What kind of error is this?
 Answer: Logic Error

89
The End