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I have had prior experience with python as coding is somewhat of a hobby of mine. In grade 9 of Brebeuf STEAM, as part of the TIJ102-02 technology course we coded programs using python turtle graphics using for and while loops, conditional statements and functions to create different graphic designs and games. From the principles of this python course, we then moved on to Java as part of the ICS3U2 course

Here is a list of basic commands used in various programs in the python course. Python is a very versatile and easy entry level coding language due to it's easy readability and comprehensive library and learning sources surrounding it. It can work in/with many types of code such as object oriented, structured/procedural and functional. Python is also case and indent sensitive and each command usually is followed by parentheses and/or a colon

Functions are a very useful tool to use, as they make code more easy to read, reusable and more efficient. Functions perform a series of pre-set code, making it so that code to do a specific thing, such as draw a square is stored and can be reused. To define a method, we use the def command followed by the function name, brackets and a colon. all indented code that follows will be a part of the function. To use and call upon the function we simply type the function's name followed by brackets and a colon.

Loops and iteration are the key way to make your code more efficient, as it eliminates repeated and tedious code that needs to be written more than once. To create a "for loop", we use for i in range(x):. Following indented code underneath will be repeated the x amount of times. In this form, the for loop index starts at zero, and increases by one each iteration until it hits the number x. Alternatively, we can instead put three numbers separated by commas within the brackets to create a loop set to (starting index/num, ending index, number to increase by after each loop). The letter i in for i in range is a variable that stands for index, and can be called upon and used for code within the loop as a variable, but cannot be changed through the loop.

Conditional statements add variety to your code, making it so that your code can have one of many different outcomes based on the conditions. To first start a conditional statement, start with the first if statement by using ; if conditional_statement:. following indented code underneath will be used only if the condition is true. If there is another condition you want to check for other than the first if then after you use elif conditionalstatement:. which will check and run only if the first if statement was false. Lastly, if you want some code to run after all cases are false, you use else:. All code here will run only if all checks for if and elif statements are false.

BONUS: A while loop is like a for loop mixed with a conditional statement. Code within the while loop will continue running as long as the conditional statement is not true. To use a while loop, while conditionalstatement:.

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