Introduction to Computing

Lecture 1: Getting started & basic syntax

Baskar Balasubramanyam
August 2025
IISER Pune

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Welcome to Python Programming!

• Today we’ll explore the fundamentals of Python

• You’ll write your first Python program
• By the end of this lecture, you’ll understand:
• Basic syntax and structure
• Variables and some data types
• Input and output operations
• import command
• Hands-on programming exercises

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What is Python?

• High-level, interpreted programming language

• Created by Guido van Rossum in 1991
• Named after Monty Python’s Flying Circus
• The Zen of Python 3: ”Simple is better than complex”
• It is an open-source programming language
• Used by Google, Netflix, Instagram, Spotify, and many more
• Perfect for beginners, powerful for experts

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Why Learn Python?

Advantages: Applications:
• Easy to read and write • Web development
• Extensive libraries • Data science
• Cross-platform • Machine learning
• Large community • Automation
• Versatile applications • Game development

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Understanding the Python Interpreter

• Python is an interpreted language, as opposed to compiled

languages like C++, Java
• Code is executed line by line
• No separate compilation step needed
• The interpreter translates Python code to machine code
• Two modes:
• Interactive mode: Execute commands immediately – using
Jupyter Notebook or ipython3
• Script mode: Run entire programs from files

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Installing Python

• Download from python.org

• Choose Python 3.x (latest version)
• Installation includes:
• Python interpreter
• IDLE (Integrated Development Environment)
• pip (package installer)
• Standard library
• Verify installation: python --version

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Running python3 - Interactive Mode

• Open terminal/command prompt

• Type python3
• You’ll see the Python prompt: >>>

$ python3
Python 3.12.0 ( main , Oct 2 2023 , 20:42:31)
[ GCC 9.4.0] on linux
Type " help " , " copyright " , " credits " or " license " for
more info .
>>> print ( " Hello , World ! " )
Hello , World !
>>> 2 + 3
5
>>> exit ()

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Running ipython3 - Interactive Mode

You can alternatively run ipython3 instead of python3

$ ipython3
Python 3.9.6 ( default , Apr 30 2025 , 02:07:17)
Type ’ copyright ’ , ’ credits ’ or ’ license ’ for more
information
IPython 8.18.1 -- An enhanced Interactive Python . Type
’? ’ for help .

In [1]: print ( " Hello , World ! " )

Hello , World !

In [2]: 2+3
Out [2]: 5

In [3]: exit ()

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Running Python - Script Mode

• Create a file with .py extension

• Write Python code in the file
• Run with: python filename.py

hello.py:
print ( " Hello , World ! " )
print ( " Welcome to Python programming ! " )

Running the script:

$ python3 hello . py
Hello , World !
Welcome to Python programming !
$

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Your First Python Program

Let’s create the classic ”Hello, World!” program:

# This is my first Python program
print ( " Hello , World ! " )

• Line 1: A comment (starts with #)

• Line 2: The print() function displays text
• Save as hello.py and run it!

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Python Syntax Rules

• Case sensitive: Print ̸= print

• Indentation matters: Used to define code blocks
• No semicolons: Line endings are natural breaks
• No curly braces: Indentation replaces {}
• Comments: Start with #
• Strings: Use single ’ or double " quotes

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Indentation - The Python Way

Other languages:
Python:
if ( x > 0) {
if x > 0:
printf ( " Positive " ) ;
print ( " Positive " )
printf ( " Number " ) ;
print ( " Number " )
}

• Use 4 spaces for indentation (recommended)

• All lines at the same level must have the same indentation
• IndentationError occurs if indentation is wrong

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Comments in Python

# This is a single - line comment

print ( " Hello ! " ) # Comment at end of line

# Multi - line comments can be written

# using multiple single - line comments
# like this

"""
This is a multi - line string
that can serve as a comment
for documentation purposes
"""

• Comments are ignored by the interpreter

• Use them to explain your code
• Good comments make code readable
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The print() Function

print ( " Hello , World ! " )

print ( ’ Single quotes work too ’)
print ( " You can print " , " multiple " , " items " )
print ( " Number : " , 42)
print ( " Sum : " , 2 + 3)

# Controlling output
print ( " Hello " , end = " " )
print ( " World ! " ) # Prints : Hello World !
print ( " A " , " B " , " C " , sep = " -" ) # Prints : A -B - C

• print() displays output to the screen

• Can print text, numbers, and expressions
• end="" controls line ending
• sep="" controls separator between items
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Variables in Python

# Creating variables
name = " Alice "
age = 20
height = 5.6
is_student = True

# Using variables
print ( " Name : " , name )
print ( " Age : " , age )
print ( " Height : " , height )
print ( " Student : " , is_student )

• Variables store data values

• No need to declare type explicitly
• Variable names must start with letter or underscore
• Can contain letters, numbers, and underscores
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Variable Naming Rules

Invalid names:
Valid names:
2 name # starts with
name
number
age
first - name # contains
first_name
hyphen
_private
class # reserved
count2
keyword
userName
my . var # contains dot

Conventions:

• Use lowercase with underscores: my variable

• Be descriptive: student count not sc
• Avoid reserved keywords

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Getting Input from Users

# Basic input
name = input ( " What ’s your name ? " )
print ( " Hello , " , name )

# Input is always a string

age_str = input ( " How old are you ? " )
age = int ( age_str ) # Convert to integer
print ( " You are " , age , " years old " )

# One - liner conversion

height = float ( input ( " Your height in feet : " ) )
print ( " Height : " , height )

• input() always returns a string

• Use int(), float() to convert. We will see more about data
types in the next lecture
• The prompt message is optional 17
Hands-on Exercise 1: Enhanced Hello World

Task: Create a program that asks for the user’s name and age,
then provides a personalized greeting.
# Get user information
name = input ( " What ’s your name ? " )
age = int ( input ( " How old are you ? " ) )

# Create personalized greeting

print ( " Hello , " , name + " ! " )
print ( " You are " , age , " years old . " )
print ( " Nice to meet you ! " )

# Bonus : Calculate birth year

current_year = 2025
birth_year = current_year - age
print ( " You were born in " , birth_year )

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Hands-on Exercise 2: Basic Calculator

Task: Create a simple calculator that performs basic arithmetic

operations.
# Simple Calculator
print ( " Welcome to the Python Calculator ! " )

# Get two numbers from user

num1 = float ( input ( " Enter first number : " ) )
num2 = float ( input ( " Enter second number : " ) )

# Perform calculations
addition = num1 + num2
subtraction = num1 - num2
multiplication = num1 * num2
division = num1 / num2

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Hands-on Exercise 2: Basic Calculator (cont’d)

Task: Create a simple calculator that performs basic arithmetic

operations.
# Display results
print ( " Results : " )
print ( f " { num1 } + { num2 } = { addition } " )
print ( f " { num1 } - { num2 } = { subtraction } " )
print ( f " { num1 } * { num2 } = { multiplication } " )
print ( f " { num1 } / { num2 } = { division } " )

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String Formatting

# Different ways to format strings

name = " Alice "
age = 25
score = 95.5

# Method 1: + concatenation
print ( " Name : " + name + " , Age : " + str ( age ) )

# Method 2: Comma separation

print ( " Name : " , name , " Age : " , age )

# Method 3: . format () method

print ( " Name : {} , Age : {} " . format ( name , age ) )

# Method 4: f - strings ( Python 3.6+)

print ( f " Name : { name } , Age : { age } " )
print ( f " Score : { score :.1 f }% " ) # One decimal place
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String Formatting (cont’d)

• f-strings are the most modern and readable

• Can format numbers, dates, and more
• We will look at this in greater detail in the next lecture

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Common Mistakes and Debugging

# Common Error 1: Forgetting quotes

print ( Hello ) # NameError : name ’ Hello ’ is not defined
print ( " Hello " ) # Correct

# Common Error 2: Wrong indentation

print ( " Start " )
print ( " Indented " ) # IndentationError

# Common Error 3: Type mismatch

age = input ( " Age : " ) # Returns string
print ( age + 1) # TypeError : can ’t concatenate str and
int
print ( int ( age ) + 1) # Correct

# Common Error 4: Undefined variable

print ( name ) # NameError if name not defined
name = " Alice "
print ( name ) # Correct 23
Practice Problem: Personal Information Manager

Task: Create a program that collects and displays personal

information in a formatted way.
# Personal Information Manager
print ( " === Personal Information Manager === " )

# Collect information
first_name = input ( " First name : " )
last_name = input ( " Last name : " )
age = int ( input ( " Age : " ) )
city = input ( " City : " )
favorite_color = input ( " Favorite color : " )

# Calculate additional info

full_name = first_name + " " + last_name
decades = age // 10

# Display formatted information 24

Importing Packages in Python

• Python uses the import statement to bring external

functionality into your script.
• Three common patterns:
• import math — import the entire module, then access with
math.
• import math as m — same as above, but with the shorter
alias m.
• from math import sqrt, pi — import only the names you
need.
• Third-party packages must be installed first (e.g.
pip install numpy) before they can be imported.

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Example: Working with math

import math # whole - module import

radius = 3.0
area = math . pi * math . pow ( radius , 2)
print ( f " Circle area = { area :.2 f } " )

from math import sqrt , factorial # selective import

x = 144
y = 5
print ( " sqrt ( x ) = " , sqrt ( x ) ) # 12.0
print ( f " { y }! = " , factorial ( y ) ) # 120

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Best Practices for Python Programming

• Use meaningful variable names

• student count instead of sc
• temperature instead of temp
• Write comments to explain your code
• Use consistent indentation (4 spaces)
• Test your code frequently
• Handle user input carefully

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Should I learn python in the age of AI?

• This is like asking Why should I learn math when I can

just use a calculator?
• AI amplifies your capabilities:
• Use AI to write code faster, but you need to understand it
• Debug AI-generated code and customize it for your needs
• Popular AI frameworks are Python-based:
• TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, OpenAI API are python
based
• Python is the #1 language for AI/ML development
• Understanding code helps you work with AI tools effectively

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Today’s Summary

You’ve learned:

• How to run Python programs (interactive and script mode)

• Basic syntax rules and the importance of indentation
• How to use variables and basic data types
• Input and output operations with input() and print()
• How to create simple programs

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Questions and Discussion

Questions?

Next topic: Working with data types

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