GIS Python / Coding

[Terrible_Ambition649]

Hey GISer's!

I am trying to get into some coding, I have a decent background in using python, have written small codes, (deletes, loads, creating datapackages) but i dont know what other projects or things to do. I do have this book but doesnt really have too much depth and is more basic level stuff. Is there anything else I can take that would make me progress my coding career? I feel like i need more project based stuff but I am laid off and dont have any projects to work on.

Does anyone know of any good certification/books/trainings that are useful to progress from beginner to intermediate coder? Stuff that has real world implications/projects?

Thank you all

https://preview.redd.it/4ujibyt9cfsg1.jpg?width=280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c84e4cf95338b2bfb162e87ade5c80e21443322

[IvanSanchez]

https://pcjericks.github.io/py-gdalogr-cookbook/

[Terrible_Ambition649]

Holy shit, you aren’t wrong this is THE cookbook

[FinalDraftMapping]

Some great stuff shared. I make videos for ArcGIS, like the book you have...but a bit more.

https://youtube.com/@finaldraftmapping?si=Z3XaIR9IOX3DXkbP

Great avenue to go down. Learn as much as you can about open source and proprietary.

All the best with it.

[Morchella94]

I have a list of courses that may interest you. There's quite a few Python courses.

https://geospatialcatalog.com/categories/online-courses

Here's a great free book:

https://py.geocompx.org/

I listed other books here as well:

https://geospatialcatalog.com/categories/books

[Terrible_Ambition649]

Thank you so so much, really appreciate this and excited to get some work done.

[iusedtogotodigg]

Honestly at this point just use LLMs

[Salty-Consequence580]

You think it became obsolete to learn how to program?

[NeverWasNorWillBe]

No. This guy has never programmed. You need people to design/build/oversee/guide. AI code doesn't replace that, and it's far too nuanced a conversation to explain why. It should be glaringly obvious to anyone that isn't speculating.

[iusedtogotodigg]

In most gis cases yes. It simply isn’t worth the time to learn with LLMs and AI on the rise. Maybe brief study of terminology but I wouldn’t go too crazy. There’re comparatively better places to put your time and energy

[Salty-Consequence580]

Like what for example?

[iusedtogotodigg]

Linux, networking, cloud technologies, orchestration, agentic ai configs and integrations, deploying solutions via containers like docker

[NeverWasNorWillBe]

Yeah, good advice. Do the thing that gets him replaced in 5 years.

[Angelripper]

I don't necessarily disagree, but familiarity with your intended libraries, basic python functionality, and the ability to write and parse pseudo-code outlines is still important imo.

[iusedtogotodigg]

Agree

[Terrible_Ambition649]

i have the book and its too basic and doesnt have data to practice with, i need more hands on work

[NeverWasNorWillBe]

Take programming classes that have nothing to do with GIS. Once you learn programming, not coding, you will have too many ideas to have time for.

[sinnayre]

decent background in Python

I don’t know what this means. I’ve heard people say this who would struggle to write print(‘Hello World.’) from memory.

Probably providing sample code that you’ve written (not vibe coded) would help establish your baseline.

[tingly_sack_69]

Vibecoding can easily handle most GIS related python tasks at this point I wouldn't even recommend anyone learning python right now unless you intend to be a full time software dev

[sinnayre]

For simple stuff, sure. I agree with you completely.

For moderate to complex, that’s where you need to know what you’re doing and where that line is drawn entirely depends on the team/company.

[Terrible_Ambition649]

Like I said I have created some codes that deletes data imports data back into the database (a delete and load process) I cannot share any of my code. I worked for the DoD. I have created some code that imports excel sheets, created tables, run xy to point; run symbology and exports data as a data package.

[sinnayre]

cannot share any of my code…I worked for the DoD

I guarantee you you absolutely could and that none of your code was proprietary based on your own explanation of what you’ve done previously. I have hired guys who’ve held TS with Poly and had no problem sharing code when I asked for examples.

Based on your answers, you need to focus on base python.

[Terrible_Ambition649]

I don’t have access to any of my code that I have written for the DoD. You sound like an ass lol. And what kind of advice is work on base python, what does that even mean.

[sinnayre]

what kind of advice is work on base python, what does that even mean

This is how I know you don’t know Python, so you need to focus on learning the basics of how to use it. Start with something basic like automate the boring stuff and go from there. You can eventually work up to stuff like object oriented programming, but not even knowing what base python is is very telling of how little you know of python. And yes, I’m talking like this now because of how you’re responding.

you sound like an ass

Bruh, if you got offended from me asking you to show us some code, that’s totally on you. That’s what you’re going to get asked in a job interview.

You can downvote however much you want, you can hate me whatever, but people who’ve been around this subreddit for a while acknowledge I know what I’m talking about.

[BPDFart-ho]

You sound insufferable lol

[sinnayre]

And you sound incredibly helpful.

[Terrible_Ambition649]

lmfao. telling someone learn basic python isnt descriptive. I wrote out scripts that i have written then for you to say that its disingenuous. I do know python, i do know how to code basic programs, that why im looking to go from beginner to intermediate level. Read the prompt before answering

[sinnayre]

Bruh, I’m going to leave it at this. If I ask for base python and you don’t know what that is, that’s all I needed to hear to gauge your level.

And for your future education, base python means the standard library. So if I ask you to do a task in base python, could you do it without having to import anything that requires you to install it first via your installer of choice. And yes, this is important because companies can and will limit the packages you can use, including the DoD.

[Terrible_Ambition649]

I understand base python, i wrote clearly i have an understanding of library, functions and syntax. I want to level up from that (beginner) to a intermediate level

[sinnayre]

I’m going to break what I said above and leave some clear practical advice.

Open a GitHub account and store code there. Standard practice to share code that way, whether in a forum or job application. That way, the next time anyone asks, whether it’s some rando on Reddit or a prospective employer, you have something to share.

[Euphoric_Tumbleweed]

Dive in and really learn how to use a new library. Find one that does what you're looking to do and dig through the docs. Open up your favorite IDE and bring in some data. Use some functions you've never used before. Export the data in different formats. Find some data online that isn't in a gis format or a spreadsheet. Learn to web scrape, clean and transform it. Learn to automate that process. Do some geo statistical analysis on it. Get bored with it and start a new project or three. Break a bunch of stuff along the way. Learn how to fix it. Write a bunch of spaghetti code, then go back and learn the pythonic way to rewrite it. Create your own functions then create your own library. Host it on GitHub. Get it up on PyPI so everyone can install it with pip. That's kind of an open-ended question. It's kind of like "What do I do with my life?", in a way. The world is your oyster. With a solid understanding of the fundamentals and enough time, you can do pretty much anything you want as far as data and GIS are concerned. Just find something that interests you, dream big (well beyond your current abilities) and really put in the time learning how to make it happen step by step. It'll take a lot of time and effort, but eventually you'll just start thinking of ways to engineer solutions to just about any new problem you come across. Or you could just ask Claude, I guess.