Aug 20: Getting Started with Thonny

Learning Objectives

After today's class, you should be able to:

• Open, edit, save, and run a program in Thonny.
• Submit a homework exercise on Gradescope.
• Ask and answer questions (later) on Piazza.

Lesson Outline

Welcome! [10 min]

• Name tents; get to know other students around you
• About the course; introductions by professor and TA
• This website (purple) vs the shared website (blue)

Mini Lab [25 min]

• Walk through Installing Thonny, etc. instructions
  • Skip steps 2 and 7 in the CS computer lab
  • Complete all steps on your own computer
• Walk through how to submit on Gradescope
  • Click "Log In" then click "School Credentials"
  • Write a program that prints "Hello World"

Getting Help [15 min]

• Click the Piazza link in Canvas and set up your account
• What questions do you have about the syllabus/course?

Your To-Do List

By the end of today

• Pre-Survey: Please submit this "quiz" if you haven't already!

Before Friday's class

• Install Thonny on your laptop so you can work from home

Due Tuesday at 11pm

• Get the required textbook and read Week 1
• Submit HW 1 on Runestone and Gradescope

Example Code

Here is the solution for today's mini-lab. Notice how lines 1–6 are formatted. When you submit to Gradescope, always include (1) a short description, (2) your name, and (3) the date. These lines must be formatted exactly as shown.

"""Lab0 Hello World.

Author: Chris Mayfield
Version: 08/20/2025
"""

print("Hello, World!")

Here is a more interesting example that uses turtle graphics. If you have time during/after class, try extending the following code to draw a picture. Check out Trinket's Visual Introduction to Python for ideas.

"""Example turtle program.

Author: Chris Mayfield
Version: 08/20/2025
"""

import turtle
import time

turtle.shape("turtle")
turtle.speed(1)
time.sleep(0.5)

turtle.penup()
turtle.forward(25)
turtle.write("Hello there!")
turtle.backward(25)