This tekst and the files in this directory were copied from https://github.com/eka-foundation/numerical-computing-is-fun and slightly adapted for ScienceData.

As much as this series is to educate aspiring computer programmers and data scientists of all ages and all backgrounds, it is also a reminder to myself. After playing with computers and numbers for nearly 4 decades, I've also made this to keep in mind how to have fun with computers and maths.

Using Jupyter notebooks as an interactive learning medium, this series provides an introduction to:

  • Computer Science
  • Python programming language
  • Numerical computing
  • Numbers theory
  • Prime numbers
  • Data visualization
  • Deep learning

Run on ScienceData:

Open a notebook and click on the import icon, ; then choose a ScienceData folder, open in ScienceData and click "run".

Part 1 : Introduction

Start learning here or

What you will learn:

  • print is the command to print something on the screen
  • Math operations are very easy to perform in Python
  • Python deals with numbers based on data types
  • In Python there are two numerical data types; int and float
  • Functions are powerful tools to easily perform various operations
  • Functions may accept arguments (parameters) as input
  • Functions are computer processes, and arguments are what is being processed
  • It's very easy to create your own functions

Part 2 : Prime Numbers

Continue learning here.

What you will learn:

  • Prime numbers relate with divisibility
  • Divisibility means that when one number is divided by other, the product is not a whole number
  • A prime number is any number that is divisible only by itself and 1
  • Binary means 0 and 1
  • Boolean logic is the binary language of computers
  • Python gives us an easy to use way to instruct computers
  • Boolean logic statements involve is, is not, and and or statements
  • Boolean statements can be joined together
  • Boolean statements always return either True or False as output
  • It's easy to perform computing operations with small numbers
  • The biggest prime number is a really big number
  • Very big numbers require vast networks of computers joined together

Part 3 : Algorithms Overview

Continue learning here.

What you will learn:

  • Algoritms are like insides of factories
  • Algoritms process inputs to produce outputs
  • Conditional statements are a tool for putting boolean logic in to action
  • Conditional statements are part of "flow control"
  • Flow controls give us the ability to create rules for computer programs
  • The three conditional statements in Python are if, else and elif
  • Even just if alone can be used to create a conditional statement

Part 4: Automation Overview

Continue learning here.

What you will learn:

  • Generally speaking computer programs are focused on process automation
  • Loops are a highly effective method for automation
  • With small changes to our code, we can make big improvements in capability
  • Sometimes we can get more done with less code!
  • It's very convinient to store values in to memory
  • Computer memory is nothing like human memory, and also not like a safe deposit box
  • Any value can be stored in to memory
  • Numbers can be automatically generated with range function
  • It's meaningful to learn new concepts by gradually improving things

CREDITS

Numerical Computing is Fun is an Eka Foundation project.