Programming fundamentals on one card

Lesson notes

Key points

• Data type: Defines which values a variable holds and which operations are allowed.
• if / elif / else: Runs exactly one branch, the first whose condition is true.
• for vs while: Use for over a known sequence; while until a condition becomes false.
• Function: A named block taking parameters and returning a value to the caller.
• Scope: Variables made inside a function are local and vanish when it returns.
• Debugging: Reproduce the bug, isolate it with prints or breakpoints, fix, then retest.

Takeaway: Types, branches, loops, functions, scope, debug: in that order.