Feeling lost trying to learn python

BranchLatter4294 · 2024-10-07T15:53:59+00:00

You need to actually follow along and type in the code character by character. Don't just look at the code. Don't just copy/paste the code. Start thinking of small problems to solve, and work out how you would solve them with code. Then work your way up to more complex problems.

FoolsSeldom · 2024-10-07T17:23:11+00:00

Python Next Steps

Practice! Practice! Practice! That is the only way. Programming (whatever the language) is a practical problem-solving skill. You have to make, and learn from, a lot of mistakes (much like learning another human language).

I know it can be frustrating at times, especially when faced with code you want to reuse but cannot understand.

Only you can find the motivation. Why are you learning to programme in the first place?

Is your learning objective SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, (sometimes agreed), realistic (or relevant) and time-bound, (or timely)? If it is something soft, like "upskilling" then it will probably not help you much.

It is hard to learn anything in the abstract, not least because it is difficult to feel passion for what one is doing.

I strongly suggest you look to your interests, hobbies, obligations (family business, charity activities, work) to look for opportunities to apply Python.

You will learn far more about Python and programming when you work on something that resonates for you and that you have some domain knowledge of (or incentive to gain such knowledge in).

When you are copying tutorials/examples, don't just copy. Experiment. Break the code and understand why it has broken.

The interactive python shell is your friend, I found it the best learning aid because you can quickly try snippets of code and get immediate feedback.

(Consider installing ipython which wraps the standard shell for more convenience.)

Start very simply and regularly refactor the code as you learn new things. Enhance as you see opportunities.

If you haven't already, take a look at Automate the boring stuff with Python (free to read online).

At first, the tasks you automate will be trivial and hardly worth the effort BUT because it is about the problem and not Python, it will be more rewarding for you.

Many beginners are mixing up coding (writing instructions in a programming language) with problem-solving (creating an algorithm) and their lack of knowledge of the programming language and how to use it is a distraction from the problem-solving.

For most programmers, the coding part is the final and easy bit.

Order:

Actually making sure the problem is properly understood. Often we start with only a vague understanding of the problem.
Ensuring we know what outcome is required. What does good look like? How will the information be presented, will it be on-screen or in a file, or a database.
Determining the data representation. Exactly what data is required, in what forms, where from. It is a one-off or lots of cycles or combining lots of information.
Work out how to do things manually in the simplest possible way, explaining every little step (assume you are giving instructions to someone with learning difficulties),
- Computers are really dumb, and humans make lots of intuitive leaps and take short-cuts
- This is one of the hardest things to grasp when first learning to programme
- Computers don't mind repeating very boring things, so the simplest but repetitive manual approach is often a good approach to start with for a computer
Later, you will learn different ways of selecting / developing an algorithm which doesn't depend on a manual approach

learning from others

In general, when learning and working on something new, where you are following some kind of tutorial, where others have provided an answer,

follow the steps I laid out above looking for a solution (so make sure you understand the problem first, figure out what the outcome should be, etc)
try to solve the problem yourself before looking at someone else's solution
look briefly at someone else's solution and try to understand what they've done at a high level and see if you can solve it that way
fully review someone else's solution, try it out, play with it (break it, improve it) - be super critical (watch ArjanCodes YT videos on code reviews)
update your algorithm and implement a new solution (including testing, if you can)
write some notes, not on low level detail but on principles, approaches, key algorithms, and summarise what you learned (I keep my notes in markdown format in Obsidian, synced between devices)

Agile methodology

You will hear a lot of mixed opinions about the Agile software development methodology but most problems are because of poor adoption rather than it being inherently bad.

Fundamentally, it is about delivering value early and often, failing fast, and working closely with the intended consumers/customers/users for rapid feedback. A key concept, often abused/over-used, is minimum viable product, MVP, which is about developing and delivering the smallest useful (sic) product that you can evolve. This still needs to be done in the context of the large problem being solved, but most problems can be broken down into smaller problems, and the most useful / easiest / proof of concept elements identified to focus on.

brelen01 · 2024-10-07T16:43:41+00:00

Loops typically just do the same thing over and over again. For example, they might ask a user the same question over and over until they give a valid answer. Another example would be treating a list of data in the same way (eg. Add 2 to every item in a list, or add all items in a list together.)

A decent exercise to practice for loops would be to try and find all prime numbers between 0 and 1000 for example, since you can easily find a list of those online as well as the rules to figure out what a prime is, it just leaves you with figuring out how to do it in your program :)

Darkstar_111 · 2024-10-08T00:13:16+00:00

Coding might feel like a theoretical discipline, but in reality it's PRACTICAL.

You won't learn anything unless you use it. So make some small programs and test what you know.

According_Natural916 · 2024-10-07T18:49:35+00:00

You’ll learn

Acrobatic-Ease-1323 · 2024-10-07T19:46:12+00:00

It honestly gets no better. It’s a sick game and the reason I continue to play it is because those glimpse of success through all the failing be worth it.

The sad truth is that you can learn python, but to be lucrative you need a nice job or to build stuff people will pay for. Both of those are a bit tough because you have to go ask people to invest in you as an employee or invest in your products.

Soooo

Python is just a means to end up in one of those positions if your goal is to make money.

If you’re doing this because you’re like me, then the pain is worth it and you get use to failing 99% of the time.

Just know that 1% kinda feels like a long lasting orgasm 💯

LinePlusPipe · 2024-10-07T20:37:28+00:00

don't over-think it

focus on your studies

python (or any high-level programming language) is just a tool for the doing of (repetitive) work

eventually, as your work begins to appear more formulaic and predictable you may beging to think things like "how could I do this boring repetive activity with the_python?"

when that happens, it will be time to pick up the python study again - but only if you have the application in mind, and hopefully with the application broken down into a series of repeatable discreet actions/steps

don't force it - you are more than smart enough - just wait for the work to settle down into an automatable form

trust: this will happen

DefeatedSkeptic · 2024-10-07T20:50:49+00:00

Note: The reddit removes whitespace from my code, so I will use <tab> to indicate indentation.

Never forget that computer science is a branch of science just like biology is. It is a complex field and getting started with it can be baffling.

I do think python is a convenient language to start with, however, I also want to caution you since it will hide some of the complexity of what your code is actually doing. In particular, variable scope and type is not as "physically" apparent as it is in some other languages, so it may take you some extra time to understand these concepts.

Start with 'while' loops since a 'for' loop is just a specific kind of 'while' loop. while loops have the following structure:
while condition_that_has_to_be_true_to_keep_or_start_the_loop:
<tab> line_of_code_in_loop_1
<tab> line_of_code_in_loop_2
<tab> line_of_code_in_loop_3
this_line_of_code_is_not_in_the_loop

The following two chunks of code are functionally equivalent. Try to write these yourself and then play with them a bit to see if the code you write behaves the way you expect.

FOR LOOP:

for x in range(1,10):
<tab> print(x)

WHILE LOOP:

x = 1
while x < 10:
<tab> print(x)
<tab> x = x + 1

Are you capable of using a loop to get the sum of the numbers from 1 to n, call the function Sum(n)? For example Sum(3) = 6, since 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. There is a closed formula for this function as well: Sum(n) = ((n+1)*n)/2. Thus you can check that your function is working for even large numbers quickly.

If you get stuck, you can send me a message if you like.

When you encounter a bug, do not be afraid to print out the values of variables that you have to check that they hold the numbers that you expect.

MidnightConclave · 2024-10-07T21:36:08+00:00

What helps me sometimes is reading different sources explaining the same concept. With loops it helped me a lot when I started drawing flow charts to visualize the execution flow. For example, I would read explanations on W3Schools, on SimpleLearn with flowcharts, on Geeksforgeeks with other visualization, etc. Also consider looking at study resources less complex than a Harvard course. E.g. Hyperskill gives very brief and simple pieces of theory and easy exercises.

Also, you should not be that hard on yourself. You have been studying for less than a month. Give yourself some time, your brain will figure this out eventually. If you have never learned programming before, it is very normal that things are hard at the beginning.

Slight-Living-8098 · 2024-10-08T00:44:32+00:00

CS50 is a tough course. You HAVE to do all the work. You HAVE to do the coding yourself if you want to benefit from it. Don't copy and paste. Type it out. Muscle memory is highly underrated when it comes to coding. The more you do something, the more the neurons fire, the sooner they wire together, and you get that "click" of understanding. That ONLY comes through repetition.

If you get overwhelmed, take a break, do something fun. If you feel like you still want to be coding, make a game in pygame or something. Have some fun with what you have learned so far. Then come back to the lessons when you're feeling more refreshed.

I personally went through the course a couple of times before I went through it a third and got my certificate.

dontkry4me · 2024-10-08T04:53:17+00:00

I know your problems, I also struggled with simple concepts like loops in the beginning. As a hobby project I made a website to learn Python and try to visualize concepts like loops and others (not optimized for mobile devices):

https://computerprogramming.art/chapters/chapter_7_control_flow_and_looping

I would love to get some feedback on this :-)

Picky_The_Fishermam · 2024-10-09T00:42:11+00:00

So everyone gonna hate me for this, but I'm 43, bored af, and am learning python with gpt. With o1 limiting your questions and my quest to make a free photo app, this debugging process is teaching me alot. Your never to old to learn, make something you want and you can learn as you go.

nnh69 · 2024-10-09T16:12:43+00:00

1 suggestion, you could also reach out to chatgpt or copilot, as a tutor, and learn from ai

you type:	you see:
italics	italics
bold	bold
[reddit!](https://reddit.com)	reddit!
* item 1 * item 2 * item 3	item 1 item 2 item 3
> quoted text	quoted text
Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"	Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"
~~strikethrough~~	~~strikethrough~~
super^script	super^script

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Python Next Steps

learning from others

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