📝 Your First Program: Hello, Engineering! 🚀

📝 Your First Program: Hello, Engineering! 🚀#

Let’s dive right into programming with Python by writing a simple but iconic first program: “Hello, World!”—but with an engineering twist. This program will introduce you to the basics of Python, how to run it in Jupyter, and most importantly, how to inject a little personality into your code. 🎉

The Program 🖥️#

Here’s the Python code for your first program:

# Your first engineering program
print("Hello, Engineering World! Let's solve some problems 🚀")
print("Stress = Force / Area")
force = 1000  # Newtons
area = 50  # Square meters
stress = force / area
print(f"The stress is {stress} Pascals. 💪")

Hello, Engineering World! Let's solve some problems 🚀
Stress = Force / Area
The stress is 20.0 Pascals. 💪

This is not just a “Hello, World!” program. It’s Hello, Engineering World!—complete with a basic stress calculation to flex your engineering muscles. 💪

Step-by-Step Breakdown 📝#

Visualizing the Program Execution 🎥#

To better understand how your program works, you can visualize its execution step-by-step using Python Tutor. This tool helps you see how Python executes your code, making it easier to grasp the flow and debug if necessary.

1. Printing a Greeting 👋#

print("Hello, Engineering World! Let's solve some problems 🚀")

Hello, Engineering World! Let's solve some problems 🚀

  • What it does: Prints a friendly welcome message.

  • Why it’s cool: Adds personality to your program while setting the stage for engineering awesomeness.

  • Output: Hello, Engineering World! Let's solve some problems 🚀

2. A Formula for Engineers 📐#

print("Stress = Force / Area")

Stress = Force / Area

  • What it does: Outputs the formula for stress. This is a classic equation that most engineers know by heart.

  • Why it’s cool: It shows that programming can directly relate to engineering concepts.

3. Defining Variables 📊#

force = 1000  # Newtons
area = 50  # Square meters

  • What it does: Assigns values to force (in Newtons) and area (in square meters).

  • Why it’s cool: Introduces variables, which are like containers for storing data in your program.

4. Calculating Stress 🧮#

stress = force / area

  • What it does: Divides force by area to calculate stress.

  • Why it’s cool: Performs an actual engineering calculation with just one line of code.

5. Displaying the Result 📢#

print(f"The stress is {stress} Pascals. 💪")

The stress is 20.0 Pascals. 💪

  • What it does: Prints the calculated stress using an f-string, a powerful way to include variable values in text.

  • Why it’s cool: It’s concise, readable, and outputs meaningful information with flair (💪 included).

How to Run This Program in Jupyter 🧑‍💻#

Jupyter is an amazing tool for engineers because it lets you write, run, and document Python code interactively.

Step 1: Open Jupyter 🚀#

  1. Click the rocketship icon in JupyterBook to launch JupyterLab.

Step 2: Create a New Notebook 📓#

  1. Click “New” and select Python 3 to create a new notebook.

  1. You’ll see a fresh code cell, ready for action.

Step 3: Write Your Code ✍️#

  1. Copy the Python code into the first cell:

# Your first engineering program
print("Hello, Engineering World! Let's solve some problems 🚀")
print("Stress = Force / Area")
force = 1000  # Newtons
area = 50  # Square meters
stress = force / area
print(f"The stress is {stress} Pascals. 💪")

Hello, Engineering World! Let's solve some problems 🚀
Stress = Force / Area
The stress is 20.0 Pascals. 💪

Step 4: Run the Code ▶️#

  1. Press Shift + Enter (or click the “Run” button) to execute the code.

  1. Watch the magic happen as your output appears below the cell! ✨

Expected Output 📈#

When you run the program, here’s what you should see:

Hello, Engineering World! Let's solve some problems 🚀
Stress = Force / Area
The stress is 20.0 Pascals. 💪

Why This Program is Awesome 🌟#

  • It’s Interactive: You can change the values of force and area and see how the result updates instantly.

  • It’s Relatable: It uses a formula you’ve likely seen before, connecting programming to real engineering problems.

  • It’s Fun: Emojis? Yes. Your first program should be fun, not just functional.

Next Steps 🔜#

Want to spice it up further? Try these:

  1. Add more calculations: Extend the program to calculate strain or Young’s modulus.

  1. Use user input: Let the user provide force and area values with input().

  1. Visualize it: Use a library like Matplotlib to plot stress versus area.

Congratulations! You’ve just written and run your first Python program. Welcome to the world of programming—where engineering meets creativity! 🎉👷‍♂️👩‍💻