A course on computer programming emphasizing the program design process and pragmatic programming skills. We will primarily use the Python programming language and no previous programming experience is needed or expected. The course will include data types, variables, assignment, control structures, functions, scoping, compound data, string processing, modules, basic input/output (terminal and file), as well as more advanced topics such as recursion, exception handling and object-oriented programming. We will also teach program development, debugging, and how to write documentation. Projects will include problems drawn from many different areas such as physics, chemistry, math, and games. At the end of the course, students will be ready to take more advanced courses in the computer science option.