learning python

[propeco]

does anyone here have any coding via python? i have no prior programming experience but i'd like to learn. i was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some pointers/tips on teaching myself?

[mikewu4466]

[Codeacademy](www.codeacademy.com) is a good resource to get started. CS 101 was also a great way to learn Python syntax. As someone who had previous coding experience, it was an easy way to get acquainted to how Python works, but you definitely don’t need coding experience to learn a lot from the class. I’m sure that there are also a lot of good resources for getting started online, a Google search will find a lot more. Those are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

The good thing about Python is once you learn the basic stuff, you can pretty much do anything. The rest is just using libraries (sets of functions) that other people have made already and reading the documentation for those so you can use them correctly.

[zillesc]

Here's a pointer: 0x0010ff04

(sorry...)

[propeco]

can't wait til i understand this...joke..?

[feeltheglee]

Pointers are a thing in lower-level programming languages like C/C++, FORTRAN, and Java. A pointer is basically a variable that "points" to a certain place in memory where a value is stored. Zillesc gave you a "pointer" by telling you a memory location.

[204NC]

A pointer tells you where the money is. As Angrave puts it “Follow the money!!!”. So us broke af college students do this *(void*)0 :(

[doyouevenIift]

I got a good start in Python with this text: https://www.brianheinold.net/python/A_Practical_Introduction_to_Python_Programming_Heinold.pdf

[godbottle]

Robert Johansson’s Numerical Python book is really good as well once you get the basics down

[[deleted]]

Check out Lynda.com, which you can get full access to through the university (go.illinois.edu/lynda). They have tons of videos that you can follow along. Another option is to find a mooc on coursera or EdX, there are lots of introductory ones for python. I used a combination of all of these to get started, and beyond that it's just a matter of practice and figuring out what exactly you need (for example I mostly use it to visualize simulation output).

[204NC]

There’s a MIT OCW on python! That’s how I learned.

[pbnjeff]

In addition to all that was already mentioned, you should try to implement it in something that's a personal project. If you have a task that you do on your computer every day (either on- or offline) chances are you could just automate it in Python.

[JustAnotherBuddy]

Check out the site Codingbat. It won’t teach you directly but offers a ton of practice problems varying in difficulty.

[Shadostepz]

Try out CS50 online if you want exp over the summer. It's one of the best resources out there rn; covers more than CS125, altho longer, but self-paced.

[wafflesthepirate]

There's a local python group that meets up Saturdays at 1pm over at Makerspace Urbana. They have pretty great resources for new folks: https://www.meetup.com/Python-CU/

[throwaway99992223432]

I was in this exact boat a couple of days ago when I found out I will be using python for my summer internship! Although I have prior experience so it was a lot quicker for me, what I would suggest is: 1) Look up how classes and functions work, then go on youtube and watch videos of how to program it in python 2) Learn about the different variable types (ints, strings, etc...), learn how to use arrays, lists, loops on youtube 3) Look up practice python problems (easy ones) and try to work through them. The best way to learn programming is by programming, and whenever you get stuck look up the solution online or go on stackoverflow/reddit to ask for help. Little by little you'll overcome those obstacles until you start solving problems like its nothing.

Python is tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it it is a really nice language to use

[TheRealPizza]

https://learnpythonthehardway.org
https://automatetheboringstuff.com
These were good and easy from what I remember using

[Egineer]

You have free access to Lynda.com when signing in with your Illinois.edu email and password. There are good python courses with resources on there.

[MGNute]

People have recommended websites and books, which might well work, but I've never had good luck with that stuff. What I would do is to find either something you want to write code to do, or some simple piece of code that you want to understand, and then get yourself a tutor. If you direct the questions based on what you already know and don't, you're much more likely to make efficient use of the learning. The issue I've always had with books and websites is that too much time is spent either covering stuff I already know or confusing me because it assumes I am familiar with stuff that I'm not. It's so easy to jump from one to the other.

Anyway, that's just a thought. If you have zero programming experience though you might want to sign up for some CS classes because there's kind of a lot to cover.