A Gentle Introduction to Programming Using Python

This course will provide a gentle introduction to programming using Python™ for highly motivated students with little or no prior experience in programming computers. The course will focus on planning and organizing programs, as well as the grammar of the Python programming language. Lectures will be interactive featuring in-class exercises with lots of support from the course staff. This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

The course serves as an introductory course in parallel programming. It offers a series of lectures on parallel programming concepts as well as a group project providing hands-on experience with parallel programming. The students will have the unique opportunity to use the cutting-edge PLAYSTATION 3 development platform as they learn how to design and implement exciting applications for multicore architectures. At the end of the course, students will have an understanding of: - Fundamental design philosophies that multicore architectures address. - Parallel programming philosophies and emerging best practices. This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month. The course can be tailored to a normal semester time line. Acknowledgements The course instructors are extremely grateful to {{% resource_link "ee4d70a0-2d0e-40e7-bebb-1f304fdd9cfb" "Sony" %}}, {{% resource_link "b0073b49-edd7-4c6e-878d-a4607038a655" "IBM" %}}, and {{% resource_link "20c3dac4-dbbd-4448-bfda-50c0279d24d6" "Toshiba" %}} for their support.