Majoring in Genetics and Molecular Biology, I were fortunate enough to meet one of my lecturer who works primarily on Next Generation Sequencing and its downstream analysis. Knowing the importance of how computer science will be in the near future and its power, he urges us to learn about programming and suggests us to extend our semester to take some programming courses from my university. It was the first time I heard about those words: Linux, big data, programming languages such as Java, Python et cetera.

I started searching about some summer courses in my university and also other part time courses from other universities in my countries, but none of them is satisfactory. And then I found coursera, and decided to register for this course - Programming for Everybody. It is really a great solution, I don't have to extend my semester, I can learn something so useful to my major yet it is not included in my own course program, and most importantly, I can learn whenever I am free and proceed in my own pace. In this way I find it easier to figure out things which I am confused of and clear them out before I think I am ready for the next.

Dr. Chuck is indeed one of the most inspiring and encouraging lecturer I have ever met. Clear explanation, and step by step guidance, he clears all doubts in an interesting way. It is his humour that helps me to remember things. Programming can be boring and dull, it is so technical, imagine that you have to follow a certain number of rules to talk to someone, but Dr. Chuck makes sense out of it (I still remember the first lecture: while you think you are joking with python, it says syntax error).

As my first programming course, I really learn a lot from Dr. Chuck, a lot more than I expected to. I truly appreciate all the efforts made by Dr. Chuck and his teams, and also, the teams behind Coursera. Thank you.

If anyone is unsure where and how to start and feel like they aren't very "tech-savvy", this class is the place to start. Best Computer Science intro class I had taken without the pressure of learning the more technical stuff. Professor Severance introduced coding with very simple and layman terms. I came in hesitant and unsure if coding was within my reach, and after taking his course I am not only amazed with how much I was able to understand, but am looking forward to learning more. His lectures are easy, short and to-the-point, no computer jargon or overly complicated terms. And the assignments push you enough to really understand the new concepts he is teaching. Rather than just coding, he is teaching us to to be hyper-aware of our writing, how a computer interprets it and its affect in the end result in our code. If he is teaching any other classes in Python I will definitely take them. If not, I feel like I have a solid foundation to continue my self studies. I was very lost where to begin in my desire to learning coding.

Thank you very much Professor Severance, your passion and desire for people to learn coding through Python shines through this course. I appreciate your effort to make learning such a foreign area of study (to most people) much more approachable, and even coming alongside in sympathizing with our frustrations. Learning something new is difficult, but having a teacher who understands this and wants to help the student is beyond what a student can ask for of his/her teacher.

Again if you have had a desire to learn coding and thought it was impossible, feeling lost going through all the different youtube videos and forums. Take this course! It'll give you that basic foundation in learning to code without being overwhelmed by technical jargon.

This is a great course. The teacher not only knows his material, but has a lot of experience working with first time programmers and so knows what errors they are likely to make and what questions they are likely to ask and addresses them all. He is fun to listen to, unlike some moocs I have taken where the teachers were reading and got the intonation all wrong--very distracting. This one wasn't like that by far. He was interesting and even funny at times. The only issue I have is that if you are auditing the class, it isn't as nice an experience. You can't submit quizzes to see if you got them right and all your coding problems are marked wrong. You can still do the coding and the website will error check and all, but you won't get the pass/fail grade to be sure you got it right.

The videos covers what's in the book, but in an easy to understand way, so when you read the chapter associated with it, you can follow along without it being too dry or laborious. Then you are ready for the quiz and coding problem(s), and then a little wrap up material before moving on to the next lesson. I'm glad we are allowed to work ahead. I'm moving on to the second course in the specialization, which picks up where this one left off. If you want to learn Python or just "a" programming language to get a start or just dabble in programming, this is a great place to start!

I like this program mucho! Yes, you can learn Python from a book or from an automated, text-based course. But the videos by Dr. Chuck give the course the human touch and a real-world college feel. With a human in the loop, slight and useful nuances of coding and perspective on coding come through subtly and informally, beyond what text alone can provide. -- My only hangup was with the Autograder, the automated checker of submitted programs. For the final program I delivered output as required. My code was syntactically and semantically correct. However I had to rewrite my code several times to fit the hidden requirements of the tool. That was frustrating. To resolve the problem I went to the Forum and received prompt feedback on my efforts. Again, the human support aspect of Coursera distinguishes it from other tools. On the way to resolution, I did get feedback on alternate and cleaner ways to code. Thanks very much to those that monitored and respond to the forum. -- I am VERY HAPPY with my experience with Coursera and this course. I am very excited: I feel empowered and confident that I can achieve my goals of not only acquiring a good, basic foundation of programming (Algorithms, Data Structures, etc.) but continue to advanced and current topics (Machine Learning, Big Data, etc.) Thanks to all!

This is a review of the first og five parts in the Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python. It deserves 5 stars. The video tutorials are great and informative and the course also includes PowerPoint slides used in the lectures, the complete book which can be downloaded, quizzes and assignments, an autograder for the assignments and a playground where you can try out your Python skills and examples covered in the lectures. And, even though I haven't used it, a discussion group categorized in weeks (for the different topics covered), where both students and staff are very active. There really isn't a negative side, but if I where to mention something, it would be that I am guessing the PowerPoint slides originally where used for Python 2.7, because some of them have not been updated all the way, to Python 3. And, even though some of the quiz questions are very simple, some harder questions should be available, to make us prepare more. And of course, a few more assignments per week would help boost our confidence, even though I know we could do that on our own. Great course and great teacher.

I learned more in this course than the introductory course I paid for through a private company. The assignments are practical and helpful, and most of all: Dr. Chuck is truly amazing. He presents technical information in a clear way using plain language, and makes it easy to pick up the Python lingo (and programming lingo in general). He is a clear speaker who doesn't talk too fast, and his teaching slides are helpful and easy to follow. The interactive transcripts and closed captioning are high quality and extremely helpful. This class was so great that I decided to sign up (pay) for the full specialization program.

I whizzed through all the course materials in a day, but I had a (very) little bit of introductory experience before coming to this course. I believe someone without any programming experience whatsoever could comfortably complete this course well within the suggested time frame.

Honestly I can't believe it doesn't cost anything to take (audit) a course of this caliber. If you're considering taking this class, I don't think you'll regret it.

Dr Chuck is amazing! He can make you understand all you need to know without any previous knowledge. All the open-sourced material is very helpful too and the exercises are spot-on, perfect for revision and for testing your knowledge. I read several comments from people who were already familiar with programming, saying that for them this course is pretty basic. I would like to share my understanding of the matter, having finished the first part of the specialisation. This course is an introduction to programming, for EVERYONE. This means that it has to build up from scratch assuming that the student has no idea even what is inside a computer! And it achieves it perfectly. So, I recommend this course for everyone that want's to get started on Python; don't be intimidated, you can learn how to do this because this is an excellent step-by-step approach. You will learn same as you learned how to speak English. And I also recommend it for everyone who knows how to program already and would like to touch-base and put things back into context.

This introductory course in Python was great, overall I found the instructor (Charles Severance) to be an excellent Lecturer. He has a wealth of experience and a great personality which helped motivate me a lot.

If I think back throughout the 7 weeks, knowing what I had ahead of me from one week to the next, it sometimes felt daunting not knowing what might be expected of me in the next class or section of the course. Then..before you know it..Charles is back and at a click of a button..explaining everything you need to know with excellent examples of code (what to do, what not do do etc) and reference to additional resources to dip in and out of, to help bolster my understanding, push me out of my comfort zone and complete the assignments.

This really is one of the best software engineering classes I could find. Charles is an excellent lecturer, mentor and coach and really knows how to help get you started and most of all, get you through it!

I seriously can't wait to start my next Coursera course "Python Data Structures" - Enjoy!

I started this course having zero knowledge about python software. I had learnt c++ in my school days so i started to grasp the concepts quickly without much difficulty. I am really happy that this online course has proper assignments and quizzes to test our knowledge instead of just having to learn the concepts. A huge thanks to Prof. Charles Severance for making this course seem easy to learn. His way of teaching is very unique and i feel lucky to have got him as the instructor in an online learning platform. Anybody without a prior knowledge about programming can learn this course by taking their time. This course has been planned correctly and adequately instead of rushing with loads of concepts. In a way this course provides time for the individuals to learn, practice, and correct their mistakes while programming. In case of any difficulties, there are forums where we can discuss about the problems and get a solution. I eagerly look forward for my upcoming courses on this specialization.

Programmers using complex lingo in your life making you feel lost when they explain something to you?

This is the course for you!

Other resources you tried on how to program are too complicated, and sound like an alien is speaking to you?

This is the course for you!

Why?

Everything is explained so "Everybody" (anybody!) can learn! Plus, everything is communicated slowly, and compared to things in everyday life (of that of the "99%" of the population) so that "Everybody" can understand.

Note: Great for LEARNING the basics. Not for PRACTICING. I used this course alongside "Learning Python the Hard Way" since that is an exercise only focused book, and this course is strong in terms of it's ability to communicate complicated concepts.

Also, if you are someone in the tech industry who thinks his explanations are too "dumbed down", take this as a chance to learn and improve your own communication skills by watching someone who is able to communicate "complex ideas" so that "Everybody" can understand.

The perfect course for beginners.If you, like me, have been over thinking about giving programming a try for a few years now and been too afraid, this is the course for you.From any reason that you might be interested in programming, or from any previous knowledge or experience prof. Charles Severance is a marvelous teacher! I felt as he really understood where am I coming from as a non-technical student that never touched a piece of code before. And that shouldn't be forgotten! The course progress is nice and in a good paste (some might say even too slow) giving you the time to deal with this new world as it's not letting you feel that you are too slow to learn. I know that I acquired the most basic understanding of Python. Which was exactly what I wanted! With that knowledge, I believe I have the infrastructure to keep learning independently or at list was encouraged to deal with my fears. Now, I feel much more confident and sure I will continue to learn. Thank you so much!

Encouraging. This is a course you are not likely to drop out of. The order of info being given, and the explanations are very easy and relatable. The foundational knowledge and skills this course passes on is solid, essential, and prepares for future learning very well. No computer background required for this at all. I also commend the Dr. , for his ability to simplify the concepts without teaching anything which is untrue. You won't need to unlearn anything you learn here as you continue to advance. It's all good stuff, and I appreciated a little bit of the trivia. I can tell this is an old course given some of the bonus videos of historical nature were recorded a few years ago.... but I'm doing it in 2018, but it's still relevant. I appreciate that I do not need to wait for a session to start, and there are plenty of peers still doing this course. You can do this at your own pace, and won't need to wait long at all for any peer review.

Excellent course for those, like myself, who have no experience with computer science or programming. This course will give you a great introduction to Python as well as the skills necessary to take other courses. The pace of the course is just right so you will be challenged and motivated until the end. Furthermore, you will receive a lot of support from the Professor as well as the community so whenever you get stuck, there will be a lot of people helping you understand the problem your are having. The Professor, Dr. Chuck, is extremely engaged, motivating and passionate about enabling people around the world to learn programming skills. He participates in the course and forums, making the long distance learning more personal and exciting. I strongly recommend this course for beginners - if you are afraid of starting a programming course because you do not know whether you will be able to learn, go ahead, enrol and have fun!

It's a great introduction to programming and Python 2 specifically. The way Dr. Chuck explains every step proving it's all doable is very encouraging for those of us who may think that programming is far beyond their competences. It's also a very good course for those who either had learned some Python elsewhere, or know other programming language as it organizes everything in a comprehensive manner so it all does make a lot of sense :) Dr. Chuck provides a free book "Python for Informatics" which is a very good reference of the key Python things with real case scenarios targeted at exploring information that anyone of us an use rather than sorting and other algorithms which are more suitable for computer science students. This course covers chapters 1-5 of this book so it's more of getting started with Python while the following courses continue with the next chapters when things are getting very exciting.

I'd been intimidated by python for awhile, despite having experience in other programming languages. This was a really good introduction for a beginner and made digesting the blocks incredibly easy. Another great benefit of the course is the extensive media through which you can access the information for the course. Video, the textbook and even podcasts (which I have listened to on bike rides); Dr. Severance clearly wants to make the information as accessible as possible. Additionally, Dr. Severance is incredibly personable and funny. I would love to have him as a professor.

My one complaint with the course would be that it moves really slow if you already have any coding experience. To give you an idea, I have a background in R and got through this course in 2 days. Either way, I'm on to the next course in the series and will continue on with the rest of them.

Thank you, Dr. Severance!

This is the first online course in which I've enrolled. Before stepping my feet into COURSEA's course (Programming for Everybody) I tried my level best to learn Python but never went beyond "if/elif/else" but after taking this course though I'm in the middle of it but I can proudly say that I've crossed my previous milestone & a new horizon has rose in front of me. InshAllah I will go beyond that horizon.

I am a bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Studies in English Language (HONS)) holder but this is the best thing that ever happened to me in my whole 16 years of education career.

Thanks COURSERA for providing such a marvelous opportunity and courses along with perfectly modified course outlines and study related content to students who previously never got exposed to what they want to learn on COURSERA. This is such a wonderful platform for every beginner.

Thanks COURSERA, I owe you.

It was my first programming experience in my life!! I would like to honestly mention here that I had some doubts and insecurities about overall difficulty level and few other things of the " Learning Programming Languages" and whether I would be able to do it successfully or not sort of things. But I m very glad to state that this course really helped me a lot to get over this fear and to obtain an excellent grade. It guided me even how one should think while learning a programming language. Dr. Severance was more than helpful and kind to guide us during this whole learning process. I believe he has successfully understood the mindset of newbies and is encouraging. Overall, I feel very positive and I am going join next Course as well.

Thank you Coursera for all the facilities and thank you very very much Dr. Charles Severance for conducting this great course. Good luck!!

Mukta

I really enjoyed the course and found programming very exciting. The particularly exciting part was when I was able to apply what I learned, for example, I played around making programs to execute some physics formulas when some unknowns are inputted (I wish I had this knowledge last year my physics lab reports demanding the same calculations to be made repetitively would be considerably less time consuming).

It was relatively easy to complete the course not only because it's a beginner's course but also because it is thoroughly explained making it easy to follow so I didn't have moments when I was stuck in trying to understand something. Also, the python playground tasks were very helpful and I wish there were more of those. Since those tasks forced me to truly engage with python and learn how to use it. Regardless, I think the course deserves 5 stars.

This is something really great and I appreciate all the efforts of the creators of that course, especially Dr. Charles Severance, who has an amazing ability of imparting his knowledge in a very colourful and enjoyable way, while fully substantively and clearly.

This is my first ever on-line course, and if the remaining parts are conducted in similar way, I am more than impatient to start it immediately. It is a pity, it is 3:54 AM... :)

And one more thing - this course as well as the book is indeed for the very beginners however with some ability of logical thinking (if you are not such a very beginner it will take just couple of days to finish it, as it was in my case).

So listen carefully what Dr. Chuck is saying, read the book, take look at the slides, and other available stuff and don't hesitate to start and don't give up if something goes wrong.

Awesome Class! I'm currently studying mechanical engineering but I want to work in more of a mechatronics position when I graduate so I decided to take this course as an introduction to programming. I am completely new to this area of study (before this course, the most "programming" I've done is in excel). As a novice, I like how easy the course was to follow. Other courses I have taken were too overwhelming - too much information was thrown at us at once. This course assumes you have no working knowledge of the subject and appropriately exposes you to the basics. I also loved the book; it was such an easy read. Sometimes not enough information was given in the chapter so you will need to look up supplemental material but all this is provided with the course. Dr. Chuck keeps the classes fun and interesting. You can tell he loves what he does.

It is a very nice course, easy to understand the basics and the logic of programming as well. I really liked the way the course is structured, it is easy for even those who are new to programming.

The course material is good and so are the lectures. I am postdoc in Cancer biology and I deal with a lot of Next gen. sequencing data. We collaborate with a group of Bioinformaticians but, it often takes ages to get the data analyzed. Another problem is that most of them are programmers or biostatisticians who do not understand the biology. So, I was looking for a course which will help me learn Python (the programming language used for Bio-data analysis) where being a biologist will give me an advantage and also save time.

This course was just perfect.

Thank you Team Py4e and especially to Prof. Severence

Best regards

Dr. Lahiri Kanth Nanduri

I really liked this course by prof. Charles Severence. He is really good at teaching. He uses humour to teach ya which is a good thing because u can study for hours without getting bored. The course needs a little introduction to any other programming language like C++ or C to learn this because what u gonna learn is new language which not many people know, it is new and quite complex than other languages(I mean programming languages XD). So, u need a base in which u r good enough to relate python to and understand the difference and complexity of python. In all, this is a very good course which u can take to become a pro in python. ADVICE:: Take python for everybody course only if u r a newbie to programming but in any case, if think that u know basics of any other programming language take the specialization one. TNX

I have been self teaching myself programming for many years. But I have never really specialized in anything. It's always been a little knowledge here and there for various languages. The problem was that after time I would forget some important syntax for each of those languages. So I decided that I wanted to, for lack of a better word, "master" a language, and I decided on Python.

This course did very well at going over the basics, I thought I would blow through this first course and learn nothing since I have been programming for years, but it was wrong. Although I did blow through the course in a couple of days. The instructor

Charles Severance's way of explaining things has made me view the code differently, and has helped me write more efficiently as a result. I can't wait to get into the more advanced classes.

Excellent introduction to Python for me--someone with limited prior coding experience, but strong Excel and math backgrounds. I enjoyed the core and optional lectures and found them to provide excellent instruction on using Python. I would have liked more assignments which would help to reinforce the instruction and get the syntax locked in. I will probably try to find separate sources for getting the additional practice I need to achieve these objectives.

As a side note, one-third of my total course time was spent trying to figure out how to get atom to recognize Python. Evidently, it is a path issue which can be solved with defining a path with some code I don't understand or by checking a path box when you load Python. I figured out the latter and reloaded Python, but it was a lot of time spent on this issue.

Hello Professor!

Just wanted you to know that this course have helped me gain more confident as I am drop-out student who still struggles to compete with peers who has higher degree. Although I am blessed to obtain trust from the management to head a team in a multinational company, my insecurity sometimes does comes out and I still always feel people doubt my knowledge.

I have been wanting to learn to code for a very long time, but I always too scared to get started as a lot of programmers seems super smart and I thought I will never be like them. The way you introduce the course and all materials are entertaining & easy to digest/understand. Your lesson destroyed my belief that programming is scary.

I will continue this lesson as a challenge for myself and to prove myself that I can also program. Thank you again!