Release 1.3
Download the worksheets here
This is the LiveWires Python Course, release 1.3. It consists of a number of worksheets which are intended to help people who have not programmed before to learn the Python language. The sheets were written for use in an environment where there are knowledgeable programmers around to answer questions, rather than for self-teaching, but it should be possible to use them to teach yourself Python.
The course consists of a collection of worksheets. The Beginners' course consists of 5 numbered worksheets (numbered Sheet 1 to Sheet 5), which are intended to be worked through in numerical order, and a whole load of lettered worksheets (lettered A to Z, with some gaps) which provide background or go deeper into a particular topic.
As well as this, there are some games worksheets which are intended for people who have been through the numbered sheets. Each sheet takes the reader through the process of writing a simple graphical game (such as Space War, or Pacman).
Sheet W contains an documentation on the LiveWires package. Sheet V contains an overview of the course.
The games sheets are a lot newer than the beginners' sheets, so the quality of them is probably more uneven. Let us know if you find mistakes (see the Comments section below for how to tell us).
The worksheets are distributed under the LiveWires Documentation Licence, which is a BSD-like licence for documentation. You may not distribute or modify the sheets unless you comply with the licence. You can find the licence in the COPYING.txt file, which should have come with this distribution, and also in the LaTeX source files themselves (if you've downloaded an archive which includes the source of the sheets).
-
You will need Python to use the course. Python can be obtained from: http://www.python.org/download/ We recommend you download Python 2.1 as it's the latest version of Python at the time of writing.
-
You will need the Tk graphics libraries if you want to use the graphical parts of the worksheets. The Windows installer for Python comes with Tk, otherwise you'll need to install it yourself. See the documentation that comes with Python for details.
-
You will need the Pygame libraries if you want to use the games worksheets. Pygame can be found at http://www.pygame.org/
-
You will also need the LiveWires package, which is a set of Python modules we've provided to simplify your first steps with Python. You can obtain the package from http://www.livewires.org.uk/python/
If you have comments on the course or you spot any typos, you can email the maintainers at python@livewires.org.uk
Please don't email us with general Python programming queries as we don't have time to answer them all. You could try posting a question to the comp.lang.python newsgroup if you get stuck. Better yet, the python-tutor email list exists to help people learn Python: you can find details at http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
Note: we don't consider the use of British spellings (licence, colour, grey and so on) to be typos. :-)
LiveWires is a Scripture Union holiday for 12 to 15 year olds, which takes place in the UK every summer. The LiveWires Python Course was written by the some of team of volunteers who run the holiday, to help us to teach Python to some of the young people on the holiday.
The LiveWires web site is at http://www.livewires.org.uk/
Scripture Union is an organisation whose aim is to make Jesus known to children, young people and families. SU staff and volunteers work in more than 130 countries; in the UK its work includes schools work, missions, family ministry, helping Christians to read the Bible and supporting the church through training and resources. Scripture Union holidays have been happening for more than 100 years.
For more information on SU, see http://www.scripture.org.uk/