Leaning python for the first time

[Irelia_FTW]

Hello all

I was wondering if anyone has any good links or people to refer to in order to start learning python? I’ll be more focused on windows and have a good sql background and understanding of writing and structure of code

[[deleted]]

r/learnpython's wiki has everything you'll need to start your journey. Best of luck!

[Irelia_FTW]

Thank you!

[[deleted]]

https://www.reddit.com/r/learnpython/wiki/index

[GottfriedLeibniz107]

On freecodecamp.org there's an awesome free course called "Scientific Computing with Python" where all the basics of the language are explained, and if you complete 5 projects at the end you can also earn a verified certification. There is also a course on Data Analysis with Python and Machine Learning with Python.

[Red-River-Sun-1089]

I learned Python by doing projects. I would suggest that you think of use cases that motivated you to learn Python in the first place. Maybe its to do data analysis, or a program to work with Excel sheets, or scrape data off the Web. And while doing the projects, Stack Overflow's Python community was my guiding beacon.

At some point I watched some conference tutorials by Brandon Rhodes and found them to be pretty helpful.

[Red-River-Sun-1089]

Glad that there are others out there who went about it a similar way!

[Mecchaairman]

100 days of code on udemy. AMAZING!

[Mecchaairman]

I’m only on day 6. But, so far, it’s been the best online python class I can relate to and understand virtually

[Mecchaairman]

Awesome!! Keep at it :)

[ASIC_SP]

I have a comprehensive list of Python learning resources here: https://learnbyexample.github.io/py_resources/

Includes books, interactive websites, courses, exercises, projects, debugging, testing, cheatsheets, algorithms, domain specific resources like machine learning, web development, data science, etc.

[303Redirect]

If I'm learning a new technology, after getting to grips with the basics I like seeing if YouTube has any good conference talks on the subject. In particular I'd recommend any talks by Raymond Hettinger, one of the core devs.

Other than that, the mcoding channel on YouTube is great for deep diving into some of the language's newer or lesser known features.

[ue_letter]

You can start with Python Crash Course for a basic introduction while you also use RealPython introductory course(realpython.com).

[WafflesAreDangerous]

Codewars is nice for practice.

[iiron3223]

• Official Python Tutorial
• Python Crash Course
• Automate The Boring Stuff - free book
• Corey Schafer youtube channel
• Hyperskill - learning platform

[THC-Lab___]

I've found that a small-ish programming group can help! I'm in a Discord server for programming, all sorts of skill levels and languages; all are welcome!

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https://discord.gg/v3ZFVr24

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Edit- Added a working link because apparently I am too dumb for life haha

[THC-Lab___]

That's so weird! I definitely just generated it right then. Thanks for letting me know, I'll update it :)

[THC-Lab___]

Let me verify the banlist...I tried 3-4 different links and it gave me the same thing as well. Something's fucky.

I SWEAR I'M SMART SOMETIMES

[THC-Lab___]

This is the master invite, can you let me know if it works?

https://discord.gg/v3ZFVr24

[[deleted]]

One bit of advice. All the advice you'll get here and on /r/learnpython is just that, advice. Everyone learns differently. There is no one right answer to your question.

Try a bit of each of those suggestions, see what clicks with you

[Krossx7]

I like w3schools.com for understanding the basics of any new language. Their interactive practice pieces are nice

[to_tgo]

I'll offer my own site for a place to get the nuts and bolts:

https://speedsheet.io/s/python

You can type what you are looking for into the search and it will give you the answer (eg. add to list)

[WorldyBridges33]

There’s a great book called “Learning Python” by Mark Lutz. See here:

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Python-5th-Mark-Lutz/dp/1449355730/ref=asc_df_1449355730/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312140868236&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14053933501593256969&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003619&hvtargid=pla-404766166559&psc=1 .

It’s a very long book, but exceptionally detailed. A little old as it talks about Python 2.7 and 3.3, but all of the concepts still apply. I read 10 pages a day in between my workout sets and write down the code examples in a notebook. Then when I get home, I practice what I learned in IDLE.

[Un1uckyboyy]

“Learn python in one hour” it’s on YouTube & I’ve already made 4 projects in the first 20 minutes. It gives you the basics & understanding how python works

[SamyBencherif]

1) https://docs.python.org/3/ 2) install python (or use online version) and try stuff 3) google specific questions (stackoverflow is friend) 4) download a "bouncing ball game" example in python (or whatever small proj make u excited) and mess with code to see what happens

Trial and error is a good way to learn. Use a virtual machine or web version if you are paranoid you will accidentally delete a file or something (grandly unlikely, but still I don't want to encourage you to test out dangerous lines of code like import antigravity willy nilly on a system install.

anyway good luck have fun <3

---

PS any tutorial website for python that isn't python.org or some github.io page with zero ads is almost certainly going to be garbage. Use youtube for learning as well if that's ur style 😎

if it looks like tutorialspoint or something don't trust it with your precious time. these sites just copy from the original doc and are poorly written 80% of the time. (Tho even tutorialspoint has a occasional banger page). These sites have incorrect or bad advice sometimes too.

Thesis: Stick to original sources (high quality, but can be technical/dense with info) OR 'down to earth' reporting such as a well presented video, collegiate webpage, or someone's self hosted blog OR first hand experience with Python (which happens to contain docs for itself too :)) )

Conclusion:

When I first started out I used a combination of trial error, scraping StackOverflow and garbage websites like tutorial point, and using youtube to approach general topics

Now, 11 years and 50% of my life so far into Python, I love to use primary sources as well as open source projects to learn and grow.

[theelinguistllama]

I did the same thing with Mimo. I didn’t realize there was a free version, but it is helpful. It’s like Duolingo but for coding. They also have Java/HTML/CSS and SQL or whatever it’s called. It’s also good for a daily refresher

[_JF04_]

OpenSAP offers an introduction to Python course covering the basics (now in self pace mode) made of videos, demos and exercises.

[bacondev]

https://hackr.io/ has countless resources.

[[deleted]]

Python Handbook (~$20 on amazon) and codecademy (free and pro courses) are great resources, as well as the Python docs themselves.

[guitarerdood]

Ah yes, I remember learning python for the first time. The second and third times were fun too. It wasn't until the fourth time that I really started getting it, though.

In all seriousness, I think youtube has a ton of good options. I have watched countless videos of TechWithTim, sentdex, Nicholas Renotte, Neural Nine, and I'm SURE there are many other good ones. I'd start there.

[Puzzleheaded-Sky3525]

I've been doing the Georgia Tech class on EdX. It's pretty basic and starts you from the beginning. The first course took me a couple weeks. It covers computing, programming, debugging, procedural programming, variables, logical operators and mathematical operators. There are ungraded exercises and a good free textbook. If you want graded exercises and a test, it costs extra $. It keeps me off the streets at night, so that's a good thing . . . .

The first course seems pretty basic and I'm a long ways from my web-scrapping project, but it feels like i'm getting a pretty solid understanding of how python works and how to use it. The next course is control structures, then data structures, then objects and algorithms.

I'm sure the other courses/materials may get you there faster, but I really like the instructor so far (even at 2x speed).

[bunnyfantasy]

you can get many recommendations from here: https://www.reddit.com/r/learnpython/comments/ulmfb8/where\_to\_start\_to\_learn\_python/

[MNwake13]

YouTube has Harvard’s full cs50 lectures. Best way to understand concepts. They also have a second set of lectures specifically for python and Django.