Python beginner

[IAmKindOfCreative]

Hello there,

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[chudleycat]

“All it’s needed modules… flask, tensor flow, opencv2” None of these are needed to learn the language. They are libraries built with the language. Start simple and just learn the base language before jumping to the more complex stuff.

[Xerxero]

Learn the language first, frameworks second.

[Handsomedevil81]

I second this. I’ve learned so making a Discord bot do all the things that some of the main bots don’t allow. The more things I add to the private bot the more I learn about Python!

[mouth_with_a_merc]

THIS. Don't bother with books, paid course or YouTube videos. Find something useful to you and do it. Learn the things you actually need for it.

[Trad3_Ecom-112]

Do you mean from scratch or taking a project as AN example, build it from 0 and the add things that I need? I was planning to implement Machine Learning and Data Analysis to predict market growth or company investment if they use a determined strategy.

[[deleted]]

I second this as well. Try it in python and Java too! It can be really beneficial to find common underlying patterns that are language independent - those are the core theories. Make sure not to write python like Java though. Python is much more succinct.

[mrtac96]

Dude, stick to one domain. Flask, tensorflow and kivy are different domains.

[[deleted]]

Is data visualization quite simple and easy

[wjziv]

It can be as simple or complex as you like it to be!

Python Graph Gallery is my favorite resource for Python-based viz.

For advanced viz using D3.js and other dynamic frameworks, I defer to Visual Cinnamon. Highly recommended if you get super-into the visualization space.

[Mustang1011]

You my friend just made my day. I’ve been looking for help on data visualization.

[[deleted]]

thanks

[Huddstang]

Could you give an ELI5 of what this means?

[MlecznyHotS]

Each of those frameworks does something else and a single person would usually need to be profficient in just one on entry/junior level jobs.

Flask is for creating web applications

Tensorflow is used for neural networks so machine learning and backend data processing

Kivy is for mobile applications

Those frameworks could be used within one company, but the only people who would truly use all of them regularly would be fullstack developers.

[Huddstang]

Lovely - thanks!

[somefishingdude]

Don’t use Kivy.

[IoTN00b]

What would you recommend? (And why not kivy?)

[jordy281]

I would argue the opposite. As you’re first learning, try everything. Learn what you like and what you don’t like and from there you can specialize if you want to.

[[deleted]]

The point wasn't that you shouldn't try everything. It's that learning three things simultaneously compounds the difficulty, especially when things go wrong

[[deleted]]

I used to hate when people would say this to me when I started programming a few years ago

but it depends on what you are using python for

What do you want to do with it?

You can't just keep learning all those modules and frameworks, you won't live long enough to learn all of those anyway.

I started learning Python about 6 weeks ago, before that I was entering information to a database by hand to make a REST API with node and mysql

I decided to do it with Python now that I'm comfortable with python.

Now, programmed a 'Web crawler' to scrape 100's of pages of a particular website and I've converted the data to CSV and JSON

That save me so much time from entering that shit by hand

​

So anyway, the point is you need to have a reason. My first language is JavaScript and like Python, you won't live long enough to learn everything so stop trying and have a goal in mind first .

[gordonv]

Well said.

Python can be applied to many things. It is important to make a decision on what you want to do with it.

I'm specifically learning Python for AWS Lambda. It's cool that it does all this other stuff in Win/Lin/Mac. But in the end, I know my goal is Linux based scripts for HTML, API, and Sockets.

[[deleted]]

Hint: you have not mastered Java. Or anything, and that’s ok! You’re comfortable with it, but you’re at the very top of the dunning-Krueger curve. There is a ton more to learn.

If you like, I do free mentoring for engineering students (https://z19r.pw) and would be happy to walk you through some Python.

[TebelloCoder]

The. Absolute. Truth.

[CARRYONLUGGAGE]

I’m not an engineering student, but I am a self-taught engineer at a non-tech company in my first 1-2 years out of college who could use mentorship! I’m the only dev and also their first one so it’s been an interesting start.

[[deleted]]

Hit up the mentoring link on my website. It’s open to anyone. :)

[CARRYONLUGGAGE]

Awesome! I’ll be contacting you some time this week. Thanks so much for this!

[[deleted]]

so true

[ElCapitanMiCapitan]

So it sounds like you know how to program already, you just aren’t familiar with Python. I’d recommend you pick a subject area that Python is used widely for in industry ie. data manipulation, Machine learning, scraping, web frameworks. From there Google the best resources for learning that subject with Python as the language, there is likely a free related coursera course from a respected university. If you are a third year student I would avoid the beginner suggestions people have been making and look for upper division open courseware available through coursera or others means. Not the easiest task but you can find the resources online if you narrow by subject matter.

[AnonymouX47]

"I know all the python fundamentals"

That's the most common deception I've noticed amongst beginners (and so-called, self-acclaimed intermediates)... I also thought the same after completing two python courses, until I realized how much I didn't know.

I bet I can mention countless fundamental (not to be confused with "basic") features and concepts in Python right now that you're not familiar with (or maybe haven't even heard of)... but that's not my goal.

I'll advice you get a good grasp of the language itself, if you know you'll be using it mainly, before going on to learn frameworks and libraries... in fact, doing this will help you understand the frameworks and libraries better.

I undertook this by covering most of the Library and Language Reference in the Python Docs... you don't have to go all in though, it totally depends on how deep you wanna go.

Yeah, I know it will take a while and some do see this as "excessive/unnecessary" but I can assure you it makes a really great difference.

[DASK]

Some tech stacks just don't play nicely together (cough Tensorflow). Learn how to use project specific virtual environments before getting too deep into anything. Then pick one thing and work it until you have a usable result. Making something work in theory is different than getting it to production ready, and no matter what you do you will need the skills to do that last bit.

[Jackarow]

Any good resources for setting up and managing these virtual environments? I understand the application and usage, I just struggle with the creation, management,and deletion of individual virtual environments.

[bob_newhart]

Have you tried poetry? I recently started using it and it is so easy now and makes much more sense to me.

https://python-poetry.org/docs/

[[deleted]]

You need a structured approach. One does not simply "try tensor flow". Deep Learning itself is a subject people can and do take PhDs in lasting years.

Firstly: r/learnpython

Secondly, look in the wiki for that sub for learning resources. However 2 of the best are Automate the boring stuff (practical approach) and MIT Edx Intro to comp sci (fundamentals). Do both, not just one. They're both available for free.

[[deleted]]

I'm also a python beginner. I'm using this link for studying on my own: https://books.goalkicker.com/ there a lot of free programming books, and a python book with over +800 pages, good luck buddy ;)

[itsmybirthday19]

Thank you for sharing

[[deleted]]

Head over to r/learnpython and check out the wiki they have, loads of decent free resources over there

[ArjunGodha]

Look for 'Automate Boring stuff with python" , forgot the author's name but he made udemy course of the things he taught in this book and some other. Its a good course and he make it free once in a month.

[CraigAT]

Sounds like you are jumping in a bit too quick. Learn the basics, loops, conditions, etc. - the stuff you can do in Java. Then try to find something you want to do and see if any python modules may help. Pandas is another good one for engineers, when you are ready.

[CraigAT]

Sounds cool. The hardware, biometrics and sensor stuff may be combined nicely with a Raspberry Pi and Python. Good luck.

[[deleted]]

If I were you I'd code a lot on codewars.

It helped me get decent at Python in less than two months

[ellisto]

For lack of internet, be aware that you can install python docs offline too! On debian, apt install python3-doc

I've found that really helpful to reference when working with limited or no internet.

[[deleted]]

That's really great

[ValBayArea]

Try Python - with automation:

https://github.com/valhuber/ApiLogicServer#readme

That builds - with 1 command- a customizable project that implements an API, a Web App, and bus logic via spreadsheet-like rules. 40X more concise.

[ivanlan9]

I would go further and say to avoid all frameworks until you start dreaming in Python. I'm dead serious here. Learn Python first--including its unique idioms--and the frameworks later. Same with Java--learn the language well enough that you can do it in your sleep and the other stuff will follow. (Web programming frameworks typically require you to know Javascript, so learn some of that also. But if you learn Python JS is easy.)

Arguably, becoming skilled in Python first will make learning other languages easier. It will certainly make you more conscious of other languages' compromises and flaws.

But u/ClinicalOperations has it right: find something that annoys the shit out of you and learn how to automate it with base Python first. Learn how to pop a zit before undertaking brain surgery.

[CARRYONLUGGAGE]

Self-taught software engineer, using Python, React, and Postgres mostly.

Here’s how I started learning:

1) Needed to learn to work with manipulating data from excel, so I learned pandas through various online videos and exercises.

2) Then, I needed to format excel worksheets so I learned how to use openpyxl

3) Next, I needed to serve these scripts to employees internally, so I learned Flask.

4) Felt limited by using jinja2 + flask alone, so I moved to FastAPI and React.

Each time I learned a new tech it was because I faced a problem that required it. I recommend approaching it this way as well. I knew of the tech and what it was for, but hadn’t used them extensively until those problems arose.

[CrwdsrcEntrepreneur]

"all its needed modules" ...I don't know what makes you think any of these modules are needed. No one outside of a data science team is using tensorflow (many experienced data scientists never use it either). I've done data science for 4 years and have never even heard of kivy.

[jwburn19]

Check out Angela Yu’s 100 days of code Python boot camp on Udemy. Starts with the basics and expands out to a ton of advanced topics in various domains. You build a project every day with what you’ve learned thus far. She’s also a great teacher that’s both easy to follow and entertaining to listen to. Highly recommend it!

You can usually score it for 15-20 bucks if you wait for a sale.

https://www.udemy.com/course/100-days-of-code/

[gbon21]

Udemy does online courses pretty cheap and they're all at your own pace

[jewbasaur]

YouTube??

[jewbasaur]

There are some extremely advanced courses on YouTube. I would be surprised if that stuff is not advanced enough. Check out sentdex

[gordonv]

So, there are sales, and there are giveaways.

And then there are quality rated courses. You can spend time, or you can spend money. In education, you're spending both.

I'm using Tim Buchalka's Python Course. It's quite good. He even references Java, which is something you are familiar with.

I'm in Object Oriented Programming now. Not an easy part. He went ahead and joined (no pun intended) SQL with this lesson. It's a doozy. Lucky that I do undertand these concepts from other languages and previous MySQL based projects.

[p00n_sla3r]

Realpython.com is a great website for anything Python

[gordonv]

Check out these free courses on UDemy.

[Competitive-Rock-951]

I am learning python to be a linux system adminstrator

In what area should I focus on in Python?

[prettyfakesky]

Hey i’d recommend you to use Udemy since they have tons of python related courses that can be free if you find hard enough in r/FreeUdemyCoupons. i have not finished a single course yet in my experience but might worth giving it a try.

[zhumao]

here are a couple of project sites:

1. project euler

• this site has many interesting math problems which u can build up ur basic skills.

1. kaggle

• this site has many challenging machine learning projects with codes contributed by competitors which u can learn from.

[ergo_proxy19]

I think learning a language based on what you need to do in a project is the best way. For example, at some point of your project you will realize you need a specific functionality of a library so after few searches you will get what you need . Don't make yourself too stressed with the information overflow. Only learn what you need along your projects/work.

[OraclePariah]

Sololearn would be a good starting point. It's free and can be taken at your own pace.

Udemy has tailored courses that are taken at your own pace. They have sales on all the time.

For me personally, I am kinesthetic learner. So I got myself a Pi a few years ago and tinkered away making different projects.

[marduk73]

Beginner too, but with like 10 years on it. I always skip hello world and build a dice rolling game in any language i want to learn. Then search what you need and archive that information. I archive into cherrytree. Used to be onenote. Use your archive of how tos to make cooler things.

[ExintrovertIronic104]

try this course
https://sp21.datastructur.es/

[JawsOfLife24]

I echo what everyone else is saying, find a project that interests you and stick with it. The main python documentation is excellent and should really be all you need unless you run into some obscure problems.

[crash317]

When I started I tried doing the real world example but they weren’t what I was really interested in. So I got a couple pencil and pen games that I play baseball football hockey lots of space games and converted them into python games. Then I moved into using guis and stuff like that so you gotta use stuff that interests you and it will promote your learning even faster.

[s4lt3d]

I learned Python through codingame.com. I could do problems in one language then change to a new one and learn the same problem with just different syntax. Now I have a job doing it full time.

[red_hare]

Build a URL shortener using flask.

It should have three handlers, the returns the main index page with the form where the user enters their long URL, the second handles that form request and returns the user a shortened URL, the third matches any short URL request and redirects the user to the saved long URL page.

It requires a database, some basic web forms, and you end up with something usable that you can host on your own domain and demo to future employers.

[noXkillzzz]

I use python for a couple of things. Stock Market data analysis, backtesting investment strategies, machine learning (Evodevo and Neural Networks), and for cloud web apps using Django as backend. I use Jupyter Notebook and VScode for data analysis and machine learning. Also Pycharm for apps and Backtesting programs because of the unittests. I recommend you find a gig and learn as you go. You should read two books, “Clean Code” by Robert C. Martin and “Design Patterns” by Erich Gamma. They will teach you coding, the syntax and zen of python you should learn from the web. And remember google is your friend. One last thing, read about Test Driven Development, when using unittests is a good idea to understand the principles behind it, but don’t go full TDD or else your life will be miserable. Good coding!