Table Of Content

For kids aged 9+ (and their parents) TT ee aa cc hh PPrrooggrraammmmiinngg ssoo eeaassyy aa pPaarreenntt TT Y o u r K i d s ccaann ddoo iitt!! ee Y o u r K i d s aa Teach Your Kids to Code is a parent’s  Create fun, playable games like War, cc t o C o d e T o C o d e and teacher’s guide to teaching kids basic Yahtzee, and Pong hh programming and problem solving using  Add interactivity, animation, and sound Python, the powerful language used in to their apps YY college courses and by tech companies like Te ach Your Kids to Code is the perfect com- Google and IBM. oo A Parent-friendly Guide to Python Programming panion to any introductory programming Step-by-step explanations will have kids class or after-school meet-up, or simply your uu learning computational thinking right away, educational efforts at home. Spend some fun, while visual and game-oriented examples rr B r y s o n P a y n e productive afternoons at the computer with hold their attention. Friendly introductions your kids—you can all learn something! to fundamental programming concepts such KK as variables, loops, and functions will help ABOUT THE AUTHOR even the youngest programmers build the ii Dr. Bryson Payne has taught computer dd skills they need to make their own cool science at the University of North Georgia games and applications. ss for more than 15 years. He has also taught Whether you’ve been coding for years middle school math and programming, and or have never programmed anything at all, continues to work with K–12 schools to tt Teach Your Kids to Code will help you show promote technology education. oo your young programmer how to:  Explore geometry by drawing colorful shapes with Turtle graphics CC  Write programs to encode and decode oo messages, play Rock-Paper-Scissors, dd and calculate how tall someone is in Ping-Pong balls ee P A $29.95 ($34.95 CDN) PROGRAMSHELVE IN YN M: ING LAN E G UAG wwTwH.En oFsINtaErScTh .IcNom ES/PYTH GEEK ENTERTAINMENT™ ON Praise for Teach Your Kids to Code “The text is clear, the graphics are engaging, and the apps are awesome. This is the programming guide for parents and kids to enjoy together.” —Aaron Walker, Cybersecurity Expert, NASA “The energy and excitement Bryson brings to teaching is captured perfectly in Teach Your Kids to Code, with colorful, captivating games and graphics that help develop real-world skills.” —Bindy Auvermann, Executive Director, Next Generation Youth Development, Inc. “An easy five stars . . . kids (and adults) will have a solid foundation from which to jump to more advanced programming books.” —James Floyd Kelly, GeekDad “Provides the building blocks of a great future in the rapidly changing world of technology.” —JoAnne Taylor, former Vice President, Global Telecommunications, IBM “The concepts in Teach Your Kids to Code can help any young person enhance their college prospects and expand their career opportunities.” —Dr. Raj Sunderraman, Department Chair of Computer Science, Georgia State University “Every child on the planet should have this book, and so should every parent.” —James E. Daniel, Jr., Founder, App Studios, LLC “An innovative, motivating guide . . . Builds skills that can last a lifetime.” —Dr. Steven Burrell, Vice President for Information Technology & CIO, Georgia Southern University “The kind of book I wish I’d had as a kid.” —Scott Hand, Software Engineer, CareerBuilder “Dr. Bryson Payne is a computer scientist and professor of the highest caliber, and with Teach Your Kids to Code, he brings the power of computers within easy reach for readers young and old.” —Dr. Antonio Sanz Montemayor, Informatics Professor, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain “A brilliant combination of engaging, imaginative apps and valuable, lifelong skills.” —Ted Cunningham, author of The Power of Home “Teach Your Kids to Code and the logical thinking it introduces will help build the next generation of technology leaders.” —N. Dean Meyer, author and executive coach “This book can jump-start your child’s success in a high-tech world.” —Ken Coleman, leadership author and former radio host of The Ken Coleman Show “Dr. Payne set us on the path that led us to our dream jobs! With Teach Your Kids to Code, he’s providing parents and teachers everywhere the chance to do the same for the next generation of creative problem-solvers.” —Shah and Susan Rahman, Riot Games “Bryson helps people improve their lives with technology. His book does the same.” —Ash Mady, Technical Manager, RedHat, Inc. “Enjoyable and accessible to parents and children alike.” —Steve McLeod, Deputy CIO, University of North Georgia “It’s so straightforward that you could easily hand this book to a child in upper elementary school or beyond and have them teach themselves. A win in my book when it comes to summer activities.” —Mel Ford, BlogHer “The graphics are impressive, the games are fun, and the explanations are clear and encouraging.” —Sandra Henry-Stocker, ITworld Teach Your Kids to Code T e a c h Yo u r K i d s to C o d e A Parent-Friendly Guide to Python Programming By Bryson Payne San Francisco TeAch Your Kids To code. Copyright © 2015 by Bryson Payne. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher. 19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ISBN-10: 1-59327-614-1 ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-614-0 Publisher: William Pollock Production Editor: Riley Hoffman Cover Illustration: Josh Ellingson Illustrator: Miran Lipovac� a Developmental Editors: Tyler Ortman and Leslie Shen Technical Reviewers: Michelle Friend and Ari Lacenski Copyeditor: Rachel Monaghan Compositor: Riley Hoffman Proofreader: Paula L. Fleming Indexer: BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch Press, Inc. directly: No Starch Press, Inc. 245 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 phone: 415.863.9900; [email protected] www.nostarch.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Payne, Bryson. Teach your kids to code : a parent-friendly guide to Python programming / by Bryson Payne. -- 1st edition. pages cm Includes index. Summary: "A guide to teaching basic programming skills for parents and teachers, with step-by-step explanations, visual examples, and exercises. Covers programming concepts including loops, lists, functions, and variables, and how to build games and applications"-- Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-1-59327-614-0 -- ISBN 1-59327-614-1 1. Python (Computer program language)--Study and teaching (Elementary) 2. Computer programming--Study and teaching (Elementary) 3. Python (Computer program language)--Study and teaching (Middle school) 4. Computer programming--Study and teaching (Middle school) I. Title. QA76.73.P98P39 2015 005.13'3--dc23 2015006794 No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch Press, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no inten- tion of infringement of the trademark. The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty. While every precau- tion has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in it. To Alex and Max, my two favorite coders About the Author Dr. Bryson Payne is a tenured professor of computer science at the University of North Georgia, where he has taught aspiring coders for more than 15 years. His students have built successful careers at Blizzard Entertainment, Riot Games, Equifax, CareerBuilder, and more. He was the first department head of computer science at UNG, and he holds a PhD in computer science from Georgia State University. In addition, he works extensively with K–12 schools to promote technology education. Dr. Payne has been programming for more than 30 years. The first program he sold was to RUN magazine (Commodore 64) for their “Magic” column in 1985, for $10. Dr. Payne lives north of Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Bev, and two sons, Alex and Max. About the Illustrator Miran Lipovac� a is the author of Learn You a Haskell for Great Good!. He enjoys boxing, playing bass guitar, and, of course, drawing. He has a fascination with dancing skeletons and the number 71, and when he walks through automatic doors he pre- tends that he’s actually opening them with his mind. About the Technical Reviewer Ari Lacenski is a developer of Android applications and Python software. She lives in San Francisco. She writes about Android programming at http://gradlewhy.ghost.io/, mentors with Women Who Code, and plays songs about space pirates on guitar.