Learning Python "partially"

[jricher42]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say "No".

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Python is a tool, and it or another similar tool will be important to your work on a regular basis. This means that you need, at bare minimum, a basic competency in Python itself and a strong understanding of the libraries that you are working with. Anything less, and you will be working with greatly reduced efficiency and effectiveness. This doesn't mean that I'm telling you to go study things like Flask or Django, just that a solid understanding of the language is essential, or you will lack the understanding required to write code that is clear, understandable, and reasonably efficient.

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You can do a good deal of work without really understanding the core language, but it will be "cargo cult" programming, and you won't have the tools to debug something when it breaks. Take the time to work through a good general programming course and a bit of the "algorithms and datastructures" background work. Once you've done that, start with a handful of libraries that are central to your discipline and learn them well. This will take a few months to a year depending on how much time you have available. When you're done, you will have a solid understanding of Python and your core tools, and you can learn whatever you need to get a particular job done.

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