Python workshop for MATD students

Students to-do list

• install Atom
• install Script package via Atom > Preferences > Install
• install DrawBot
• install free trial of Gitbox or GitHub app for Mac or GitHub app for Windows
• set up an account on GitHub

Agenda

A very brief intro to Python 2.x, its use in font engineering and type design. Optionally, an intro into Git.

Thursday morning (9:30–13:00)

• basic concepts
  • expressions
  • variables
  • types
  • mutable vs. immutable types
  • methods
  • assignment
  • commands
  • blocks (indentation)
• environments (Python interactive mode, Python command, Atom with Script package, font editors, …)
• note on naming variables
• basic types (None, int (integer), float, bool (boolean), tuple)
• arithmetic operations (+, -, *, /, %, ()), priority
• comparisons (==, <, >, !=, <>, <=, >=, in, not in, is, is not)
• boolean operations (and, or, not, ())
• basic commands
  • assignments (=, +=, -=)
  • print
  • comment
• ☕️
• conditionals (if, elif, else)
  • note on indentation
  • nested conditionals
• strings (str)
  • accessing items in strings
  • string operations (+, *)
  • escape and special characters (\", \n, \t, \\)
  • multi-line strings
  • unicode strings
  • formatting strings (also with a tuple)
  • string methods (startswith, endswith, join, split)
• tuples (tuple)
  • accessing items in tuples
  • modifying tuples
  • packing, unpacking
• error messages
• task: try to code and run simple Python scripts in Atom

Thursday afternoon (14:00–17:00)

• lists (list)
  • creating lists
  • assignment does not create new list
  • accessing list items
  • nested lists
  • list operations (+, *, in)
  • list and string slicing
  • list methods (append, extend, insert, sort, reverse, index)
  • list functions (sorted, reversed, sum, len, range, min, max)
  • removing items from lists
• iterative loops (for)
  • looping over list or range
  • nesting loops
  • loops with conditionals nested
  • using indexes
  • mention while loops
• task: write scripts with loops
• ☕️
• dictionaries (dict)
  • creating new dictionary
  • adding an item to a dict, changing an item
  • what can be a key
  • dictionary methods (keys, values, items)
  • iterating over dictionary (conversion to list happens)
  • testing if key exists (in)
• built-in functions
  • re-typing (int, str, list, …)
  • enumerate
  • zip and creating dict from lists
  • abs
• introduction to Drawbot
• task: write scripts for DrawBot
• 🍺🍟

Friday morning (9:30–13:00)

• functions (def)
  • parameters
  • returning value
• modules (import)
• note on name spaces
• ☕️
• task: advanced code with DrawBot

Friday afternoon (14:00–17:00)

• introduction to Glyphs API
• task: write scripts for Glyphs
• ☕️
• task: write scripts for Glyphs
• explain Git
• task: work with this repo
  • clone this repo
  • create your own forder within the repo
  • push the changes to the GitHub
  • pull other students’ commits
• 🚀

Additional topics not covered in this workshop

• set type
• while loop
• break, else, continue statements used with loops
• dealing with exceptions (try, except)
• object oriented programming

Resources

• Python documentation
• Robodocs
• Stack Overflow
• Robofab
• Git
• GitHub - hosting of Git repos – free public repos, large community
• BitBucket – free private and public repos