Teach Your Kids to Code

Chapter 1. Python Basics: Get to Know Your Environment

Just about anything could have a computer in it—a phone, a car, a watch, a video game console, an exercise machine, a medical device, industrial equipment, a greeting card, or a robot. Computer programming, or coding, is how we tell a computer to perform a task, and understanding how to code puts the power of computers at your fingertips.

Computer programs—also called applications, or apps—tell computers what to do. A web app can tell the computer how to keep track of your favorite music; a game app can tell the computer how to display an epic battlefield with realistic graphics; a simple app can tell the computer to draw a beautiful spiral like the hexagon in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1. A colorful ...