https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/XB_0082This course aims to teach students how to solve problems by means of a computer program. Learning Python is actually a side effect that happens because the programming language used to solve problems during the course is Python. However, the knowledge acquired by the students during the course is transferable to other programming languages like Java or C. Knowledge and understanding: at the end of the course, students will be familiar with basic programming concepts, such as data types, data structures, variables, expressions, control flow statements, methods, and classes. Applying knowledge and understanding: Students will be able to write and read small to medium-sized programs when given a natural language description of the problem. Communication skills: Students will be able to read code written by others and write code such that others can understand it. Learning skills: Students will learn how to read technical documentation (e.g., programming language and library references) and how to use programming as a tool for solving problems. Making judgments: Students will be able to judge whether a given program solves or not a certain problem.This course will equip students with a wide range of programming skills. They will learn how to write programs for solving problems using different data types (e.g., int, boolean, float, string, and custom types), data structures (e.g., lists, sets, dictionaries, tuples, and matrices), expressions, control flow statements (e.g., conditionals, and loops), and more advance programming techniques such as comprehensions. They will also gain a thorough understanding of standard functions, learn how to define functions, perform I/O tasks, and grasp the basics of Object-Oriented Programming.There will be 1 lecture per week, as well as 1.5 hours of practical session per week. There is also a significant amount of programming exercises to practice the different programming concepts taught during the course.A mandatory midterm (25%) and final exam (65%) determine the course's final grade. Students must obtain at least a 5.0 on the midterm exam to be able to take the final exam. Moreover, there are several programming assignments (10%) that are non-resit. This means completing them on time and to the best of your abilities is important. There will be a resit exam, and only students from the previous year (2023-2024) can transfer grades for assignments. Possible bonus points are not transferable to the resit exam.The book used in this course is Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist, Allen B. Downey, Green Tea Press. The book is available online at: https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/.Bachelor students of Artificial Intelligence (year 1)You will be allocated to a TA in the first week of period 1; this also determines the scheduling of the practical sessions.