Changes in contents

[rakaar]

W.R.T 2021-session branch

In Basic/2. Strings

1. Aligning strings - This is a hardly used thing, we don't align strings using python occasionally.
2. Remove .join in lists and tuples as it is suitable in lists chapter

In Lists and Tuples

1. In list.extend we should first show an example, where it works rather than where it doesn't work, showing initially that list+tupple doesn't work is not a good idea.

In functions

1. dictionaries example should not be considered, it might confuse audience. Pass by value and Pass by reference has been already covered well with examples of list!
2. A practical example of doc string should be given like telling param types and return types to get a practical idea
3. First class objects can be removed, as it is confusing as they don't know what objects exactly are

In Dict

1. We should tell the use of using dictionary.get('NOT_PRESENT_KEY') instead of dictionary["NOT_PRESENT_KEY"']
2. Removing function as keys, we can remove it since not used in real life!
3. Reading from a dictionary is not present initially. We are teaching Modifying, adding, removing but not reading?????
4. Counting unique words example is a bit confusing example, it contains ideas of strings also. We don't want people to get lost in string things. So better to have an example that includes a list directly with repeated entries first and then use it make a frequency counter. After that it is okay to include twinkle twinkle example.

May be we can reduce the content of Strings module(and also other modules may be) because a lot of time goes into teaching it every year.
For beginners, true learning can happen when they get hands-on. I think we should focus on teaching a handful of highly frequently used methods for each module, and let them practice exercises in the class and discuss. And the miscelleous and not frequently used method can be introduced quickly at the end. Because they have a core idea of the basics they will be able to grasp the miscellaneous things faster, even if we don't teach in detail