Table of contents for Vol 5 2023 in Coding User

Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language that was developed by Guido van Rossum in the late eighties and is based upon a number of other languages, while being the successor to the popular ABC language. It has been devised to work on a human level, so it’s readable and understandable without needing to delve into obscure volumes of machine code, hexadecimal characters, or even ones and zeros. It’s clear, logical, comprehensive, powerful and functional, yet also easy to follow and learn. You will find Python at the heart of some of the most interesting and cutting-edge technologies in the world. It’s the code that binds supercomputer algorithms together; it’s used in the space industry, and in science and engineering. AI, and the likes of Alexa and Siri, Cortana and…

Python’s ability to create highly readable code within a small set of instructions has a considerable impact on our modern digital world. From the ideal, first programmers’ choice to its ability to create interactive stories and games; from scientific applications to artificial Intelligence and web-based applications, the only limit to Python is the imagination of the person coding in it. It’s Python’s malleable design that makes it an ideal language for many different situations and roles. Even certain aspects of the coding world, that require more efficient code, still use Python. For example, NASA utilises Python both as a stand-alone language and as a bridge between other programming languages. This way, NASA scientists and engineers are able to get to the data they need without having to cross multiple language…

THE POWER OF PI While having a far more powerful coding platform on which to write and test your code is ideal, it’s not often feasible. Most of us are unable to jump into a several hundred-pound investment when we’re starting off and this is where the Raspberry Pi can help out. While having a far more powerful coding platform on which to write and test your code is ideal, it’s not often feasible. Most of us are unable to jump into a several hundred-pound investment when we’re starting off and this is where the Raspberry Pi can help out. The Raspberry Pi is a fantastic piece of modern hardware that has created, or rather re-created, the fascination we once all had about computers, how they work, how to code…

Getting started with Python may seem a little daunting at first, but, thankfully, the language has been designed with simplicity in mind. Like most things, you need to start slow, master the basics, learn how to get a result, and how to get what you want from the code. This section covers numbers and expressions, user input, conditions and loops and the types of errors you will undoubtedly come across in your time with Python: the core foundations of good coding and Python code.…

INSTALLING PYTHON 3.X Microsoft Windows doesn’t come with Python preinstalled as standard, so it will be necessary to install it yourself manually. Thankfully, it’s an easy process to follow. STEP 1 Start by opening your web browser to www.python.org/downloads/. Look for the button detailing the Download link for Python 3.x. Python is regularly updated, changing the last digit for each bug fix and update. Therefore, don’t worry if you see Python 3.8, or more, as long as it’s Python 3, the code in this book will work fine. STEP 2 Click the Download button for version 3.x and save the file to your Downloads folder. When the file is downloaded, double-click the executable and the Python installation wizard will launch. From here, you have two choices: Install Now and Customise…

IT’S ALL MATHS, MAN You can get some really impressive results with the mathematical powers of Python; as with most, if not all, programming languages, maths is the driving force behind the code. STEP 1 Open up the GUI version of Python 3, as mentioned you can use either the Shell or the Editor. For the time being, you’re going to use the Shell just to warm our maths muscle, which we believe is a small gland located at the back of the brain (or not). STEP 2 In the Shell enter the following: You can see that Python can handle some quite large numbers. STEP 3 You can use all the usual mathematical operations: divide, multiply, brackets and so on. Practise with a few, for example: STEP 4 You’ve…

MASTERING MODULES Think of modules as an extension that’s imported into your Python code to enhance and extend its capabilities. There are countless modules available and as we’ve seen, you can even make your own. STEP 1 Although good, the built-in functions within Python are limited. The use of modules, however, allows us to make more sophisticated programs. As you are aware, modules are Python scripts that are imported, such as import math. STEP 2 Some modules, especially on the Raspberry Pi, are included by default, the Math module being a prime example. Sadly, other modules aren’t always available. A good example on non-Pi platforms is the Pygame module, which contains many functions to help create games. Try: import pygame. STEP 3 The result is an error in the IDLE…

Imaging a black hole is pretty difficult. The very nature of a black hole means that nothing can escape its immense gravitational field, even light itself. To quote the Wikipedia entry for a black hole: “A black hole is a region of spacetime exhibiting gravitational acceleration so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole. The boundary of the region from which no escape is possible is called the event horizon. Although the event horizon has an enormous effect on the fate and circumstances of an object crossing it, no locally detectable features appear to be observed. In many ways, a black hole acts like…

This handy, mains-powered device is more than just a tablet stand. Sure, it can hold your iPad Pro (2018 or later, either size), or iPad Air (2020), in Landscape or portrait mode, so you can watch media, draw with your Apple Pencil or type comfortably by connecting a keyboard and mouse. But it’s also a wireless charger for your smarttphone and/or ear pods. Just place them on the pad at the foot of the stand. You can also buy an optional Apple Watch charger that fits on the side of the device. The stand connects to your iPad’s USB-C socket, and you can plug in peripherals using the ports at the back. There’s three USB 3 ports, a HDMI port and an Ethernet port. There’s an SD Card reader and…

A wireless extender is designed to compliment your wireless router by extending the reach of your Wi-Fi network. Set it up in a location that’s within the range of your current network, and it provides an access point of its own, which in turn transfers data to and from your router. The FRITZ!Repeater 6000 wireless repeater is an update of AVM’s popular FRITZ!Repeater 3000 model, and it makes several advances on the older product. Most importantly, the FRITZ!Repeater 6000 is Wi-Fi 6 compatible. This new Wi-Fi standard is designed for the modern network, where far more connected devices are present than was the case just a few years ago. These days, as well as computers, mobile devices and smart TVs, you’re likely to have Internet radios, connected smart devices such…

iMazing is a device management tool for all iOS and iPadOS devices. Open iMazing on your desktop and connect an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV or even a classic iPod, and you can explore and organise its contents with a far greater degree of control than macOS natively allows. Various price points are available, depending on how many mobile devices you wish to use with it. The app can back up your device to your computer, without deleting previous backups. These backups are encrypted, and unlike regular backups, they can be stored on any connected hard drive or NAS drive – it doesn’t have to be your boot drive. Backups can be scheduled and carried out automatically, and you can review and restore their contents just like you can…

I blooming love Double Dragon. Back in the late Eighties, at the local arcade – a dingy, dishevelled dive, complete with sticky carpet and drenched in eye-watering neon – my mate Daz and I would force-feed ten pence pieces into the Double Dragon arcade machine and settle in for an afternoon of cooperative digital violence. It was superb. Imagine how happy I was to get my hands on the complete trilogy on the iPad. Sadly, Daz and I have parted ways in the years since 1987, but these days I have a couple of children who can help me take on the bosses and finally rescue poor old Marian from the clutches of the Black Warriors gang. Often, when it comes to arcade conversions for mobile devices, the end result…

Tengai or Sengoku Blade as it is know in its homeland, Japan, is a horizontal scrolling arcade shoot-‘em-up which was released in arcades in 1996; and via several excellent home ports at the time. Yet this mobile conversion somehow feels the most fitting of the home releases. Allow me to explain. As a long-time fan of the genre, I have always experienced issues with lifespan vs price when it came to purchasing stand-alone releases. Numerous shooter collections litter my games collection, but very few stand-alone packages join them. This is far from a criticism, but the genre itself lends itself well to short bursts of intense gameplay coated in rich, over-the-top visuals, sonics and a pumping soundtrack. This is perfect arcade fare, as a handful of credits offer fans their…

Python creator Guido Van Rossum named Python after reading scripts from Monty Python’s Flying Circus. 3rd PYTHON AND LINUX SKILLS ARE THE THIRD MOST POPULAR I.T. SKILLS IN THE UK. Alexa, Amazon’s Virtual Personal Assistant, uses Python to help with speech recognition. As of the end of 2018, Python was the most discussed language on the Internet. Data analysis and Machine Learning are the two most used Python examples. Disney Pixar uses Python in its Renderman software to operate between other graphics packages. OVER 75% OF RECOMMENDED CONTENT FROM NETFLIX IS GENERATED FROM MACHINE LEARNING – CODED BY PYTHON. 90% OF ALL FACEBOOK POSTS ARE FILTERED THROUGH PYTHON-CODED MACHINE LEARNING. IT’S ESTIMATED THAT OVER 75% OF NASA’S WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEMS ON-BOARD THE I.S.S. USE PYTHON. 16,000 There are over 16,000…

WHAT WE’RE USING Thankfully, Python is a multi-platform programming language available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi and more. If you have one of those systems, then you can easily start using Python. ◻ COMPUTER Obviously you’re going to need a computer in order to learn how to program in Python and to test your code. You can use Windows (from XP onward) on either a 32 or 64-bit processor, an Apple Mac or Linux installed PC. ◻ AN IDE An IDE (Integrated Developer Environment) is used to enter and execute Python code. It enables you to inspect your program code and the values within the code, as well as offering advanced features. There are many different IDEs available, so find the one that works for you and gives the…

EDITING CODE You will eventually reach a point where you have to move on from inputting single lines of code into the Shell. Instead, the IDLE Editor will allow you to save and execute your Python code. STEP 1 First, open the Python IDLE Shell and when it’s up, click on File > New File. This will open a new window with Untitled as its name. This is the Python IDLE Editor and within it you can enter the code needed to create your future programs. STEP 2 The IDLE Editor is, for all intents and purposes, a simple text editor with Python features, colour coding and so on; much in the same vein as Sublime. You enter code as you would within the Shell, so taking an example from…

FUNKY FUNCTIONS A function is a command that you enter into Python to do something. It’s a little piece of self-contained code that takes data, works on it and then returns the result. STEP 1 It’s not just data that a function works on. They can do all manner of useful things in Python, such as sort data, change items from one format to another and check the length or type of items. Basically, a function is a short word that’s followed by brackets. For example, len(), list() or type(). STEP 2 A function takes data, usually a variable, works on it depending on what the function is programmed to do and returns the end value. The data being worked on goes inside the brackets, so if you wanted to…

DEBUGGING Errors in code are called bugs and are perfectly normal. They can often be easily rectified with a little patience. The important thing is to keep looking, experimenting and testing. Eventually your code will be bug free. STEP 1 Code isn’t as fluid as the written word, no matter how good the programming language is. Python is certainly easier than most languages but even it is prone to some annoying bugs. The most common are typos by the user and whilst easy to find in simple dozen-line code, imagine having to debug multi-thousand line code. STEP 2 The most common of errors is the typo, as we’ve mentioned. The typos are often at the command level: mistyping the print command for example. However, they also occur when you have…

Data is everything; it can topple governments, change election results, and tell us the secrets of the universe. Over these coming pages we look at how you can create lists, tuples, dictionaries and multi-dimensional lists, and then how you can use them to forge exciting and useful programs. In addition, you will learn how you can use the date and time functions, write to les to your system and even create graphical user interfaces that will take your coding skills to new levels and into new project ideas.…

EXCEPTIONAL OBJECTS Rather than stop the flow of your code, Python includes exception objects which handle unexpected errors in the code. You can combat errors by creating conditions where exceptions may occur. STEP 1 You can create an exception error by simply trying to divide a number by zero. This will report back with the ZeroDivisionError: Division by zero message, as seen in the screenshot. The ZeroDivisionError part is the exception class, of which there are many. STEP 2 Most exceptions are raised automatically when Python comes across something that’s inherently wrong with the code. However, you can create your own exceptions that are designed to contain the potential error and react to it, as opposed to letting the code fail. STEP 3 You can use the functions raise exception…

The video game industry generates something in the region of $140 billion each year, and that number is growing fast. It’s a long way from the 8-bit days of the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum; the arcade titles that used to devour our pocket money and the wood panelled home consoles that Atari lovingly developed. These days, it’s all about teams of coders, graphic artists, musicians, PR, projects and development platforms. GAME CODE Coding a game from scratch, using raw code, has become something of the past. Most games these days are created using a range of development tools. These tools can be off-the-shelf engines, such as the Unreal Engine, while others are custom built around an original product, such as the world generating engine that Bethesda use for the…

We've long been fans of devolo’s excellent homeplug devices. Plug one into the mains near your router and connect it with a supplied Ethernet cable, then set up the other bundled homeplugs anywhere in the house, and they use your home’s electrical cabling to carry your network data. Individual plugs offer Wi-Fi hotspots and/or Ethernet ports, so you can make cabled and wireless connections to the homeplug instead of directly to your router. At last, you can have Wi-Fi throughout the house, even a long way from the router, and cabled Internet access without having to drill holes in the walls and trail cables under the carpets. These latest devolo homeplugs conform to the newx Wi-Fi 6 protocols, which give up to 50% faster wireless connectivity than before. At up…

Earlier in the year we saw the release of the NEO P2 4-Port GaN Charger. This is a remarkable and extremely useful multi-port charger that’s bristling with features and comes in at a fantastic price. However, MINX has since upped its game yet again and released the P2’s smaller but just as capable brother, the NEO P1. The MINIX NEO P1 is a three-port charging station, with a pair of USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 ports offering 65W, 5~15V/3A, 20V/3.25A and a single USB-A1 36W Quick Charge 3.0 port at 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A and 20V/1.8A. While it may lack an extra port over its sibling, it certainly makes up for that in portability. The NEO P2 wasn’t a huge charging station by any stretch of the imagination but the P1 is…

Airpulse’s latest offering, the P100X stereo Bluetooth speaker, should appeal to those who like their tech to be beautiful as well as practical. Inspired by traditional FM radios of old, it has a gorgeous mesh finish at the front and back, and an elegant cherry wood speaker casing at the top and sides. Sound-wise, it features a pair of custom-designed 10w tweeters and a 4.5-inch 40w mid-woofer, for 60w in total. The tweeters use an oval-shaped diaphragm to deliver a better high frequency response, accurately reproducing even the highest audio frequencies. The mid woofer is a 4.5-inch unit, featuring a hard anodised aluminium alloy cone suspended in a heavy, rigid cast magnesium alloy frame. The device connects to your audio source via Bluetooth v5.1, supporting the aptX HD codec, or…

It’s always nice to come across an app that does something a little bit differently, or takes an existing idea and puts its own unique spin on it. Especially considering that everyone is talking about Netflix’s new undead action romp, Army of the Dead. Zombies, Run! does exactly that, and it helps you to get fit as well. It’s part adventure game, part fitness app and part interactive story. The concept might sound a little strange at first but it makes perfect sense when you start using it, so you just have to trust us that it works. Zombies, Run! is an app designed to help people who want to run, but lack the motivation to actually get out there and do it. The incentive in this case is to…

Camera+ 2 Developer: LateNiteSoft S.L, http://latenitesoft.com Price: £2.99, $2.99, 3,49 € Camera+ 2 is a complete overhaul of the popular photography app Camera +. It’s compatible with smartphone, tablet and iPod touch, and gives far more control over your shots than the standard OS Camera app. You can capture photos in RAW mode, set shutter speed, ISO and white balance, and in dual camera iPhones, use the impressive depth capture mode. You can also set it to only trigger the shutter when the device is stable, or when it detects a smile. Halide Camera Developer: Chroma Noir LLC, https://halide.cam Price: £5.99, $5.99, 6,99 € Another replacement for the standard OS Camera app, Halide intelligently optimises ISO and shutter speeds for sharp, clean photos. The interface is designed around touchscreen gestures,…

Part game, part interactive movie, when Another World was first released for the Amiga it was more than just another game. It was a real interactive experience. Rather than falling into one of the established genres of the time, Another World was neither a puzzle game, a shoot-’em-up nor a platformer, but it was all of these and more. Playing it now it’s easy to forget how revolutionary it was at the time. The spookily realistic sprite animation still looks very nice, but it was gob-smacking in 1991. The game begins with a scientific experiment gone wrong, which transports the main character to a strange, dream-like world and so begins the adventure where you take on challenge after challenge as you try to stay alive and figure out a way…

BADLAND is a beautifully designed side-scrolling action adventure puzzleplatformer that takes place in an atmospheric forest packed full of deadly traps you must navigate through to reach the end of each level. The game is controlled by using one finger to guide the peculiar furry character through the treacherous BADLAND, much like the highly addictive 2D Helicopter PC game if you recall, or the side-scrolling sections in classic Mario. However, this is a great deal more in-depth and obviously visually superior. The screen automatically scrolls from left to right. You simply tap your device’s screen in order to cause the furball to rise higher, thus avoiding the many traps and obstacles in your path. Releasing your finger causes him to drop back down. There are many power-ups available in each…

01000011 01101111 01100100 01101001 01101110 01100111 Essentially all forms of coding are made up of ones and zeros - on or off states. This works for both a modern computer and even the oldest known computational device. ~87 BC It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact start of when humans began to ‘program’ a device. However, it’s widely accepted that the Antikythera Mechanism is possibly the first ‘coded’ artefact. It’s dated to about 87 BC and is an ancient Greek analogue computer and orrery used to predict astronomical positions. ~850 AD The Banū Mūsā brothers, three Persian scholars who worked in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, published the Book of Ingenious Devices in around 850 AD. Among the inventions listed was a mechanical musical instrument: a hydro-powered organ that played…

PYTHON POWER Ever since the earliest home computers were available, enthusiasts, users and professionals have toiled away until the wee hours, slaving over an overheating heap of circuitry to create something akin to magic. These pioneers of programming carved their way into a new frontier, forging small routines that enabled the letter ‘A’ to scroll across the screen. It may not sound terribly exciting to a generation that’s used to ultra high-definition graphics and open world, multiplayer online gaming. However, forty-something years ago it was blindingly brilliant. Naturally these bedroom coders helped form the foundations for every piece of digital technology we use today. Some went on to become chief developers for top software companies, whereas others pushed the available hardware to its limits and founded the billion pound gaming…

Coding can be one of those experiences that sounds fantastic, but to get going with it, is often confusing. After all, there’s a plethora of languages to choose from, numerous apps that will enable you to code in a specific, or range, of languages and an equally huge amount of third-party software to consider. Then you access the Internet and discover that there are countless coding tutorials available, for the language in which you’ve decided you want to program, alongside even more examples of code. It’s all a little too much at times. The trick is to slow down and, to begin with, not look too deeply into coding. Like all good projects, you need a solid foundation on which to build your skill and to have all the necessary…

WHAT IS PROGRAMMING? It helps to understand what a programming language is before you try to learn one, and Python is no different. Let’s take a look at how Python came about and how it relates to other languages. PROGRAMMING RECIPES Programs are like recipes for computers. A recipe to bake a cake could go like this: Put 100 grams of self-raising flour in a bowl. Add 100 grams of butter to the bowl. Add 100 millilitres of milk. Bake for half an hour. CODE Just like a recipe, a program consists of instructions that you follow in order. A program that describes a cake might run like this: PROGRAM COMMANDS You might not understand some of the Python commands, like bowl.append and cake.cook(bowl). The first is a list, the…

STARTING PYTHON Everything you need to begin programming with Python is available from the Raspberry Pi desktop. However, if you want, drop into the Terminal and update the system with: sudo apt-get update. STEP 1 With the Raspbian desktop loaded, click on the Menu button followed by Programming > Python 3 (IDLE). This opens the Python 3 Shell. Windows and Mac users can find the Python 3 IDLE Shell from within the Windows Start button menu and via Finder. STEP 2 The Shell is where you can enter code and see the responses and output of code you’ve programmed into Python. This is a kind of sandbox, where you’re able to try out some simple code and processes. STEP 3 For example, in the Shell enter: 2+2 After pressing Enter,…

COMMAND THE CODE Using the code we created in the previous tutorial, the one we named hello.py, let’s see how you can run code that was made in the GUI at the command line level. STEP 1 Python, in Linux, comes with two possible ways of executing code via the command line. One of the ways is with Python 2, whilst the other uses the Python 3 libraries and so on. First though, drop into the command line or Terminal on your operating system. STEP 2 Just as before, we’re using a Raspberry Pi: Windows users will need to click the Start button and search for CMD, then click the Command Line returned search; and macOS users can get access to their command line by clicking Go > Utilities >…

VARIOUS VARIABLES You’ll be working with the Python 3 IDLE Shell in this tutorial. If you haven’t already, open Python 3 or close down the previous IDLE Shell to clear up any old code. STEP 1 In some programming languages you’re required to use a dollar sign to denote a string, which is a variable made up of multiple characters, such as a name of a person. In Python this isn’t necessary. For example, in the Shell enter: name=”David Hayward” (or use your own name, unless you’re also called David Hayward). STEP 2 You can check the type of variable in use by issuing the type () command, placing the name of the variable inside the brackets. In our example, this would be: type (name). Add a new string variable:…

OPEN, READ AND WRITE In Python you create a file object, similar to creating a variable, only pass in the file using the open() function. Files are usually categorised as text or binary. STEP 1 Start by entering some text into your system’s text editor. The text editor is best, not a word processor, as word processors include background formatting and other elements. In our example, we have the poem The Cimmerian, by Robert E Howard. You need to save the file as poem.txt. STEP 2 You use the open() function to pass the file into a variable as an object. You can name the file object anything you like, but you will need to tell Python the name and location of the text file you’re opening: STEP 3 If…

This second-generation STM ChargeTree makes a few minor, but welcome, changes from the original model. Like the original ChargeTree it’s available in black or white, and it once more charges a Qi-compatible smartphone, AirPods (with a wireless charging case), and an Apple Watch - all at the same time, using only one power socket. You just need a USB-C mains adapter of at least 20W. It’s not supplied, but they’re not hard to come by. As before, you charge your phone by resting it on the backward-leaning mat at the front of the ChargeTree Swing. It’s comfortably cushioned, and there’s an optional rubber raiser to fit over the foot if you have a smaller smartphone that needs the extra height. Also as before, your earbuds sit on a charging pad…

You can use this double-ended flash drive to transfer files between devices, and back up your photos and videos from your tablet or smartphone. Available in 64GB, 128GB or 256GB capacities, it has a USB-C 3.1 plug on one end, and a Lightning connector at the other. You can only copy media and contacts from a smarttphone or tablet, using the iXpand app, but plug it into a desktop and you can copy any file. Transferring files to the flash drive is super speedy; it’s certainly faster than its predecessor, the iXpand Flash Drive Go. The iXpand app is easy to use too. It’s a great way of getting more from your mobile device’s internal storage, without clogging it up with things that could be stored elsewhere. Info// SanDisk www.westerndigital.com…

What a delightfully clever idea. At a glance, PowerPic looks like an attractive but unremarkable photo frame, but it’s also a powerful wireless charger that’s perfect for your Qi-compatible smartphone or ear pods. PowerPic is a solid, clear photo holder, with a black or white charging unit on the back. It houses a six-inch by four-inch photograph in landscape or portrait mode; which is held in place by a plastic cover, held on by a magnet in each corner. The whole thing slots into a black or white base. It looks excellent with a decent photo in place; right at home in any room. You connect it to the mains using a USB-C cable (supplied) and a 20w USB-C power adapter (not supplied). On a charge Of course, the PowerPic…

Sites that collate Internet radio stations aren’t exactly thin on the ground, but Radio Garden does it differently. Instead of listing broadcasters by genre or country, it locates them on a globe which you can rotate on the screen, and zoom in and out of for a better view. Every shining dot on the map is a radio station (or for pedants, an Internet streaming broadcast). Click on a dot, or drag the globe until it’s in the centre of the circle in the middle of the screen, and that station plays. Using the controls at the foot of an smartphone screen and in the bottom-left on an tablet or desktop, you can play and pause the stream, or move to the next or previous local station. Tap the heart…

It’s hard to believe Grand Theft Auto III is well over 20 years old. It’s also hard to imagine how the games industry would look without this iconic brand that transcends video gaming. Even non-gamers are familiar with the title, although often for the wrong reasons. Controversy! Violence! Adult content! Yet GTA didn’t become an institution because of its controversial storylines. It invented the ‘sand box’ genre which has changed the face of gaming in subsequent years, with the growth and development of the franchise to the levels one would once question possible with the masterful GTA 5 and the devastating badness of the much anticipated and much savaged Grand Theft Auto Collection. Despite the fantastic ports of Vice City and San Andreas, there was enormous trepidation and excitement about…