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YOUR NEXT DISCOVERY

Programming basics: build your first small programs

Learn what programs do, how variables remember information, and how decisions, loops and functions work together.

5 Units16 MissionsAbout 3 hours

Complete the Course to Earn a Certificate and Join the Hall of Fame

Stored values pass through a branch, a loop and a function.

See it. Try it. Make it yours.

  1. What a program is and how variables remember information.

  2. How a program decides what to do next.

  3. How loops repeat a task and know when to stop.

For beginners. · What to know before you start

Bring with you: Add, subtract and multiply small whole numbers. Compare numbers: greater than, less than and equal.

A game score, a ticket price and a repeated reminder all need precise instructions. Learn to turn a small goal into steps a computer can follow—and find the mistake when its result is wrong.

Begin with one stored value. Add input, decisions, repetition and reusable functions, then assemble and test a small program. Every new symbol is explained before you need it; no installation is required.

By the end, you can…

  • Explain how a program stores and replaces a value.
  • Work out and repair updates to a stored value.
  • Follow inputs, outputs and saved copies without mixing them up.
  • Write a small decision that works at its limits.
  • Use repetition without losing a total or running forever.
  • Build and use a small function with inputs and a result.
  • Plan, assemble and test a small program that combines these ideas.

For another Course

  • A complete Python language reference or installing a development environment.
  • Lists, recursion, object-oriented programming, websites and production applications.

YOUR LEARNING PATH

One idea leads to the next.

View Course Map →
Unit 1

Programs, variables and information

Explain what programs do, then store, change, receive and display values.

  1. Mission 1 of 16Programs and variables: store a valueExplain what a variable remembers, and predict its value after two instructions.Up next
  2. Mission 2 of 16Update a variable, one instruction at a timeUse the current stored value to calculate each update, then put updates in the right order.Up next
  3. Mission 3 of 16Get information in; show a resultDistinguish input, a stored value and output, using numbers and text.Up next
  4. Mission 4 of 16Keep a copy before a value changesSave an original value and explain why changing the source does not change its copy.Up next
Unit 2

Decisions and conditions

Choose actions with clear conditions and handle boundary cases.

Unit 3

Loops and running totals

Repeat useful work and explain when repetition stops.

Unit 4

Functions: reusable instructions

Define, call and combine small functions with clear inputs and outputs.

Unit 5

Plan, build and debug

Turn a small problem into a program and check that it meets its requirements.

A Debsie Course · beginner