episode 02 comments

[elliewix]

Nothing so huge to warrant it's own issue...

• More FYI; One of the challenges in the first lesson uses a variable in it. That challenge doesn't seem dependent on the variable assignment usage, so I suggest it is moved to the other lesson or changed so they aren't using it before introduction. Likewise, you were already using print in the first lesson with demos.
• The transition from variables to string slicing could use some smoothing.
• Can we change the atom examples to maybe book titles?
• Introduction of the len() function could use more narrative. E.g. "Just like you've been using print() to make values appear on the screen, there are many more functions to perform other tasks. One of the other essentials is len(), which will return the length of what you pass it (watch out! Not all things in Python have a length). You can pass it a string or a variable for a string into the (), and len will tell you how long it is. For example, len("hello") will say 5, because there are three letters in there. Most everything in python has a length of some sort, which you'll learn about in later lessons."
• This lesson really quickly leaves variables and assignment and goes into string processing. Some of the string slicing could be taken out to reduce the time and other examples used instead. You can spend 10+ minutes alone explaining start:stop, and it's worth taking that time as well. Maybe even making slicing into it's own episode, since it's utilized by both strings and lists. I also usually put in some added note that string[inclusive-start:exclusive-stop:step] is something just worth writing down and referencing, since it will be a very foreign concept.
• Also, "Mathematically, you might say that a slice selects" will not resonate with a majority of librarians.

[c-martinez]

• Introduced Text strings section to smooth transition to slicing and a When would I use this? section
• Changed atom examples
• Removed the mathematically part.