Python from Zero to Hero Part 1
Netherlands, Maastricht
| Study location | Netherlands, Maastricht |
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| Type | Summer Courses, Intensive - Full time |
| Nominal duration | 1 week (2 ECTS) |
| Study language | English |
| Tuition fee | €599 one-time Maastricht University Students and Staff Discount: €449 Two scholarships available for this course. The successful applicants will get the course for the special prize of €250. |
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| Entry qualification | Enrolled as an Undergraduate student or Undergraduate diploma This course is the first module of a Maastricht Summer School series on Python for (scientific) research. It organically prepares participants for the skills and knowledge taught in the part 2 course. Both modules can be followed independently. In case participants wish to follow only this first part of the series, no prior knowledge of the Python Programming Language is required. Participants would benefit from prior experience in research skills and basis knowledge. The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English. Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original. |
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| Language requirements | English The language of the course is English, so we expect a fluent level and the ability to follow and participate in class. |
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| More information |
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Overview
Course Description
In this Python course, you will be introduced to Python, a pythonic way of working and thinking, and to web scraping—a powerful method to collect born-digital data for your (scientific) research projects.
Python is currently the most popular programming language in the world, according to the TIOBE Index (www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/). TIOBE ranks programming languages by popularity, and Python has been five times the “language of the year” and is steady in the top 3 since 2018. Python is such a versatile language that it can be used for a wide variety of applications, such as app and web development, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, game development, and much more.
In this course, no prior knowledge of Python is required—we will start at the absolute basis. You will be gradually trained from scratch. We will start with the very basic steps, including getting to know the Python language and its grammar up until a hackathon exercise in which you will collaboratively build your web scraper.
This course is offered in tandem with “Python from Zero to Hero Part 2,” which builds further on the skills and knowledge built in this course.
Goals
• Building a solid foundation for Python programming and getting well-prepared for further projects or advanced activities in Python.
• Getting an immersive introduction to Python as a programming language.
• Developing an in-depth and hands-on understanding of the different Pythonic concepts, including (but not limited to):
- Variables, data types, data structures, and operators
- Control Structures (e.g., if-else statements) and Loops (e.g., for-loops and while-loops)
- Functions and Modules
• Building a capacity to integrate these concepts into your Python application for web scraping.
• Getting familiar with a digital and pythonic workflow, including file handling.
• Developing basic knowledge of HTML and web scraping.
Recommended Literature
All course materials (including slides, scripts, audio-visual materials, and written media) and will be made available to all participants.
Teaching Methods
Lectures, Assignments, Hackathon, Research, Skills, Coding
Assessment Methods
There is no formal examination for this course, but attendance and participation are required. Participants who have actively attended and participated will receive a certificate.
Course Coordinator
Dr. Thomas Frissen
Programme structure
Full course description
In this comprehensive four-day workshop, you will dive into the magic world of programming with Python. We will start with the very basics such as pythonic variables, data types, data structures, loops, functions, and modules. Gradually you will work towards the development of your own web scraper relying on HTML extraction and browser automation. Web scraping is the process of automatically extracting data from websites. With a simple computer program of a few Python lines, we can browse websites and collect all desired information (including text, images, links, etc.) in a systematic way.
This course will follow a workshop-like format, combining lectures with hands-on exercises and assignments. By the end of the course you will be able to write your own Python code to automate everyday practices, and autonomously build a web scraper to sift through large volumes of web data.
Day 1: Basic Building Blocks in Python
- Setting up Python and your IDE
- Variables and data types
Day 2: Advanced building blocks in Python
- Loops and control structures
- Functions
- Modules
Day 3: HTML and web scraping
- Into to HTML
- Parsing HTML data
Day 4: Browser automation
- Working with Selenium