Python Web Application Introduction
Student Qualifications
- Grades 6–12 (Accelerated learners in earlier grades are welcome with instructor approval)
- Logical thinking and math skills
- Facility with computers
- Moderate experience with Python (or another language like C, Java, or JavaScript):
- variables
- conditions (if)
- loops (while or for)
- sequences (tuples, lists)
Class Description
A Web application is a program that people interact with using a Web browser. Some Web apps you may know:
- Google search, gmail, contacts, calendar, maps
There are many ways to make Web apps, using many languages. With Python, using a package called Flask, we can easily make simple Web apps. In this class we will:
- first review the relevant parts of Python
- learn to use Flask
- practice making simple Web applications, such as:
- random joke and quote servers
- name pickers
- write client programs to automatically connect to other students’ Web apps
- begin to work on a more advanced Web app that includes images and sounds
- learn how computers communicate over networks
- IP addresses
- ports
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) basics
- learn some tools to explore networking
- ping
- traceroute (tracert on Windows)
- netstat
- ifconfig (ipconfig on Windows)
- lsof (Windows alternatives discussion on Reddit)
By the end of class, each student should have created a simple Web app that others can run from the same private local area network.
Preparation
Before class, please set up your laptop for Python.