Exercise: Hello Claude¶

Level: Beginner Time: 15-20 minutes Skills: Basic commands, file operations, running code

Objective¶

Get comfortable with Claude Code by creating, modifying, and running a simple program.

Setup¶

Navigate to this exercise directory:
```
cd exercises/01-hello-claude
```
Start Claude Code:
```
claude
```

Tasks¶

Complete these tasks using only Claude Code (don't edit files manually):

Task 1: Create a Greeter¶

Ask Claude to create a file called greeter.py that: - Asks for the user's name - Prints a personalized greeting

Hint: "Create a Python file called greeter.py that asks for a name and prints a greeting"

Task 2: Run the Program¶

Ask Claude to run your program.

Hint: "Run greeter.py"

Task 3: Add a Feature¶

Modify greeter.py to also: - Ask for the user's favorite color - Include the color in the greeting

Hint: "Update greeter.py to also ask for and include their favorite color"

Task 4: Add a Time-Based Greeting¶

Modify greeter.py so the greeting changes based on time of day: - "Good morning" before noon - "Good afternoon" from noon to 6pm - "Good evening" after 6pm

Hint: "Add time-based greetings - morning, afternoon, or evening"

Task 5: Run and Verify¶

Run the final program and test it.

Success Criteria¶

Your final greeter.py should: - [ ] Ask for the user's name - [ ] Ask for their favorite color - [ ] Display a time-appropriate greeting - [ ] Include both name and color in the output

Bonus Challenges¶

Add error handling for empty inputs
Create a greeter_test.py file with simple tests
Add a "goodbye" message at the end

Reflection Questions¶

After completing this exercise, consider: - How did you phrase your requests to Claude? - Did Claude understand your intent on the first try? - What did you learn about effective prompting?

Solution¶

Don't peek until you've tried! But if you're stuck, here's an example interaction:

Click to reveal example prompts

> Create a Python file called greeter.py that:
  1. Imports datetime
  2. Asks for the user's name
  3. Asks for their favorite color
  4. Determines if it's morning, afternoon, or evening
  5. Prints a greeting like "Good morning, Alice! I hear you love blue!"

> Run greeter.py to test it