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Programming Basics

A beginner-friendly repository demonstrating fundamental programming concepts using Python and Jupyter notebooks.

About This Repository

The demonstration notebook showcases three major programming paradigms through practical, easy-to-understand examples. But the real goal of the repository is for you to get comfortable with git/GitHub and your development environment - if you can run the code in the dog_simulation.ipynb notebook that's a win, even if you don't completely understand it!

What You'll Learn

The programming_basics.ipynb notebook demonstrates three different approaches to solving the same problem (making a dog bark) using:

  1. Procedural Programming - Using functions and step-by-step procedures
  2. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) - Using classes and objects to model entities
  3. Functional Programming - Using pure functions and immutable data

Each example is complete, runnable, and includes detailed explanations to help you understand the core concepts and trade-offs of each programming style.

Getting Started

Follow these step-by-step instructions to get the notebook running. Don't worry if you're new to Git or Jupyter - we'll walk through everything!

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

  • VS Code installed on your computer
  • Git installed on your computer
  • Python installed (version 3.7 or higher)

Note: if you are working in Vocareum, all of this is done for you already!

Step 1: Fork the Repository

  1. Go to this repository on GitHub: https://github.com/gperdrizet/programming_basics
  2. Click the "Fork" button in the top-right corner of the page
  3. This creates your own copy of the repository in your GitHub account

Step 2: Clone Your Fork

  1. On your forked repository page, click the green "Code" button
  2. Copy the URL (it should look like: https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/programming_basics.git)
  3. Open your terminal or command prompt
  4. Navigate to where you want to store the project (e.g., cd Desktop)
  5. Run the clone command: 
    git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/programming_basics.git
  6. Enter the project directory: 
    cd programming_basics

Step 3: Open Project in VS Code

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Go to File → Open Folder (or press Ctrl+K, Ctrl+O on Windows/Linux or Cmd+K, Cmd+O on Mac)
  3. Navigate to and select the programming_basics folder you just cloned
  4. Click "Select Folder" to open the project

Step 4: Install the Jupyter Extension

  1. In VS Code, click on the Extensions icon in the sidebar (or press Ctrl+Shift+X)
  2. Search for "Jupyter"
  3. Install the Jupyter extension by Microsoft (it should be the first result)
  4. Wait for the installation to complete

Step 5: Create a Virtual Environment

A virtual environment keeps your project dependencies isolated from other Python projects.

  1. Open the Terminal in VS Code: View → Terminal (or press Ctrl+`` )

  2. Make sure you're in the programming_basics directory (you should see it in the terminal prompt)

  3. Create a virtual environment:

    python -m venv venv

  4. Activate the virtual environment:

    On Windows:

    venv\Scripts\activate

    On macOS/Linux:

    source venv/bin/activate

    You should see (venv) appear at the beginning of your terminal prompt, indicating the virtual environment is active.

Step 6: Install Required Packages

  1. With your virtual environment activated, install the required packages: 
    pip install -r requirements.txt
    This installs ipykernel, which allows VS Code to run Jupyter notebooks.

Step 7: Open and Run the Notebook

  1. In the VS Code file explorer, navigate to the notebooks folder
  2. Click on programming_basics.ipynb to open it
  3. VS Code will automatically detect it's a Jupyter notebook
  4. If prompted to select a kernel, choose the Python interpreter from your virtual environment (it should show something like Python 3.x.x ('venv': venv))
  5. You can now:
    • Read through the markdown cells (text sections)
    • Run code cells by clicking the ▶️ Run button next to each cell or pressing Shift + Enter
    • Experiment with the code by making changes

How to Use This Notebook

  • Read First: Start by reading the markdown cells (text sections) to understand each concept
  • Run Code: Execute each code cell in order by pressing Shift + Enter
  • Experiment: Try modifying the code to see how it affects the output
  • Compare: Notice how each programming paradigm solves the same problem differently

Troubleshooting

VS Code can't find Python or the kernel?

  • Make sure your virtual environment is activated (you should see (venv) in the terminal)
  • Try restarting VS Code after creating the virtual environment
  • In the notebook, click on the kernel selector (top-right) and choose the correct Python interpreter

Virtual environment activation not working?

  • On Windows, try: venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1 (PowerShell) or venv\Scripts\activate.bat (Command Prompt)
  • Make sure you're in the programming_basics directory when creating/activating

Import errors?

  • Make sure you've activated your virtual environment before running pip install -r requirements.txt
  • Try running pip list to see if ipykernel is installed

Jupyter extension not working?

  • Try reloading VS Code: View → Command Palette → "Developer: Reload Window"
  • Make sure you have the official Jupyter extension by Microsoft installed

Need help with Git?