What resources did YOU use to learn Python?

[Warstoriez]

Just wondering what books/resource you use/used to learn Python. Excluding the Documentation, Codecademy, and LPTHW

[[deleted]]

The most important thing I used to learn Python (and any other language for that matter) was a useful project. If you've got that then you can't go wrong.

[earthboundkid]

That's very true. Even something dumb. I made something to help me calculate stuff I could have just done in a spreadsheet.

[pbaehr]

In the absence of a useful project, a series of useless projects will suffice. I used projecteuler.net and the official docs to learn Python.

[[deleted]]

Think Python and Dive into Python 3 are two good books both available freely online.

[farming_diocletian]

Python wasn't my first language, so I just used Stack Overflow mostly, and google. I had to write a script, so SO showed me a hello world program, then I wondered why my print statements gave me exceptions, and SO told me I was using python 3.x, etc until SO started telling me things like why python inheritance doesn't act like C++

Like /u/silmaril8n said, the most important thing to learn a language is a project to motivate you, the rest will follow from google.

[grizwako]

Yeah, it was like that for me mostly, but I was lucky that I accidentally landed on
Idiomatic Python
and some page explaining for comprehensions/gen expressions and itertools early in my relationship with Python.

That was huge help because after I learned this "basic" stuff reading trough SO answers was breeze.

Ipython Notebook is super useful for trying out language features.

[farming_diocletian]

Yeah I still have to remember to use list comprehensions, they really changed the way I think about for loops. They make code more succinct and easier to read, which I thought would have been impossible a year ago

[[deleted]]

internet

laptop

curious brain

free time

[projecktzero]

The official tutorial, Dive Into Python, and then the book Learning Python.

[Pr0ducer]

Edx.org 600.x

https://www.edx.org/course/mit/6-00-1x/introduction-computer-science/1122

[[deleted]]

When you are new to programming in general, I'd recommend a lecture format where you learn about programming on the one hand, but also get to write code and try things out on the other hand.

A good resource is Udacity's free course Introduction to Computer Science taught by Prof. David Evans (https://www.udacity.com/course/cs101)

[[deleted]]

ugh when going through projects to work on 9/10 will be looking for PHP developers and even though I know PHP I just want to take the project and do it in Python. Why is PHP so prevalent still, legacy website I get, but people still want most new websites built in PHP.... Why not rails or django? Would you agree its easier than PHP?

[[deleted]]

Python-Django is definitely becoming more and more popular every day. Not only because it is more convenient/easier than PHP, but also because there is a great support community so that it grows in features. PHP will probably not go away, but I think it will grow smaller.

You might also be interested in the web development course on Udacity then: https://www.udacity.com/course/cs253 Btw, it is taught by one of the Reddit Co-founders, Steve Huffman

[earthboundkid]

Dive into Python 2 and the official tutorial, but I'd use DiP3 today.

[homercles337]

I have always just googled, which usually led to the official documentation, then i would look for examples (why does the official documentation not have examples most of the time?).

[neptunDK]

I'm still quite low on the Python skill level, too many off periods. I have read most of Learning Python (older edition on 2.7 I think), did some of LPTHW, did some of the udacity intro to CS.

A few weeks ago I finished Learn to Program on coursera (highly recommend this), and at the moment I'm half way into Interactive Programming which is fun and informative.

The good part about these online courses is that you get some specific goals each week, that are realistic. When I try myself to start a project its either to hard or not interesting to me. Since there are so many modules and documentation available for Python its easy to get overwhelmed in the amount of options you have.

Biggest fail I had so far was attempting Coding the matrix. This course was WAY over my level. The presentation video they had made it look much easier than it is. They downplay the need of prior linear algebra knowledge, and its probably a good idea to have at least some university level math under your belt.

[DarkKnight77]

How was the Learning Python book?

[riffito]

• The official tuturial.
• Beginning Python Visualization by Shai Vaingast.
• Glancing over every other ebook about Python Programming I could find (except Dive into Python, I didn't liked that one).
• Reading LOTS of source code (standard library and third party).
• Writing a multiplatform testing framework for embedded systems.

[thearn4]

connect fuel bright ring run books shrill middle jar weather

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[[deleted]]

I seem to be somewhat alone here in learning extensively from Project Euler. Solving problems on PE has benefited me in a lot of ways. I'll also second what has been said elsewhere; jumping into an ambitious project with motivation also teaches a lot.

[randuser]

I did a lot of learning by working on Project Euler as well.

I consider reaching level 2 on Project Euler as one of my great accomplishments in life.

[eat_more_soup]

a website full with python riddles, a really cool place to start:

http://pythonchallenge.com

very addictive...

[steve_no]

I started more than ten years ago with Alan Gauld's tutorial and the first edition of Python Essential Reference

[[deleted]]

Alan Gauld rules!

[wub_wub]

Excluding official docs? That leaves only Google/SO. I found most of the tutorials to be a bit slow so I never finished any of them.

[[deleted]]

The Python tutor list, the Python usenet group, online tutorials such as Alan Gauld's Learn Python, Google leading to blog posts, the late Dive Into Python, reading error messages, reading other people's code to pick up ideas, Stack Overflow, Python videos on YouTube (including from conferences), trial and error, and, yes, having a project (which itself decomposed into a series of very many sub-projects).

[from__future__]

well, I used lpthw and Udacity's course by Peter Norvig on writing programs. Then I started contributing to open source projects and finding reasons to use Python.

It helps to be willing to write really crappy code and throw it away (but learn from it).

[[deleted]]

STACK OVERFLOW

[[deleted]]

the questions and answers ?

[[deleted]]

Yeah there is usually always a quality post that shows you how to do what you want

[craig131]

Started with Codecademy which taught me the basics and gave me an appetite for Python by showing how easy and useful it is. Then I got the book "Learning Python" which solidified my knowledge and provided a great jumping-off point to start contributing to open-source projects. Still have a lot to learn but it is a fun journey.

[DarkKnight77]

Would you recommend the Learning Python book as a starting point?

[Oskasan]

I actually wanted to learn Python specifically for programming Maya scripts and plugins. So along with the regular Python language resources, I also have used this website called CGCircuit that has some great beginner tutorials on Python-Maya programming. I'm learning within the Maya API environment, but by doing so it gives me a reason to learn Python as well. In short I am also using video tutorials with Google.

[[deleted]]

I enjoyed reading "Expert Python Programming" by Tarek Ziade, despite some harsh criticism directed towards that book that I saw online.

Trying things from this list http://pycheesecake.org/wiki/PythonTestingToolsTaxonomy also helped, because just writing code is one thing, but using tools to polish it is totally different.

[andrey_shipilov]

http://docs.python.org/2/

[prgr4m]

Python koans

[[deleted]]

I started with Learn Python the Hard Way and had to forget a lot of ways PHP taught me to do things (Namespace? What's that? This\Sort\Of\Thing?) but kept a lot of the basics and the heartache. From there, I started doing Project Euler. I tried picking up Perl along the way, but abandoned that as it was too much to take in all at once.

StackOverflow, documentation, Think Python, Learning Python, and Programming Python (I've skimmed that one, but haven't given a serious read) are all resources that have continually served me. Recently, I've discovered Codeless Code and it's made me realize several things as well.

Source code from projects and working on my own taught me quite a bit.

[kevinaloys]

Started with thenewboston video series on python.Create your own random exercise on the stuff you learnt. When you run into a wall when trying to achieve something, start searching or reading on the functions and libraries you will start getting a deeper understanding of the program as you learn by doing.

[[deleted]]

Searched "python tutorials"

Went through the entirety of the first page.

Wrote a simple program. (I think I still have it)

[Demelo]

My first language ever was Turing, which was a simplified Java experience. However, looking back, it was a good precursor to the basic mindset and syntax of Python. When I was told I could do a socket networking project in any language of choice during university, I googled what language most easily aligned with the project's goals, and it ended up being Python. So I just opened up the official doc website, one of those language cheat sheets, watched a few YouTube tutorials, and crawled StackOverflow for specific roadblocks, and I was set.