The goals of this course are to 1) introduce students to Python, a simple and powerful programming language that is used for many applications and 2) to expose students to the practical bioinformatics utility of Python and programming in general. The course will allow students to apply programming to the problems that they face in the lab and to leave the course with a sufficiently generalized knowledge of programming (and the confidence to read the manuals) that they will be able to apply their skills to whatever projects they they happen to be working on.