This hands-on practical training course will give you an introduction to using AI coding agents (like Claude Code, Codex, etc.) to write code for a range of scripting and data analysis tasks
This is a course for people from various backgrounds who may or may not have coded before. It is preferable if you have any programming experience, but if not, some familiarity with using the command line is required.
You will learn how to write programs to solve everyday tasks using AI coding agents. You'll learn key patterns to ensure your programmes work effectively and how to avoid common pitfalls that cause some AI-written software to fail.
You'll learn about: test-driven development; effective prompting patterns to write robust software; and common errors AI assistants make.
We are happy to offer on-the-spot problem-solving after each day of the training for you to ask one-on-one questions — whether about the course content and exercises or about specific problems you face in your work and how to solve them. If you would like us to prepare for this in advance, you are welcome to send us background info before the course.
Format:
Courses are conducted online via video meeting using Python Charmers' cloud notebook server for sharing code with the trainer(s).
Computer:
Hardware: we recommend ≥ 8 GB of RAM and a webcam. Preferably also multiple screens and a quiet room (or headset mic).
Software: a modern browser: Chrome, Firefox, or Safari (not IE or Edge); and Zoom.
Coding: we have a cloud-based coding server that supports running code and sharing code with the trainer(s).
Timing:
Most courses will run from 9:00 to roughly 17:00 (AEST/AEDT) each day, with breaks of 50 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes each for morning and afternoon tea.
Certificate of completion:
We will provide you a certificate if you complete the course and successfully answer the majority of the exercise questions.
Materials:
You will have access to all the course materials via the cloud server. We will also send you a bound copy of the course notes, cheat sheets, and a USB stick containing the materials, exercise solutions, and further resources.