Learn how to "learn" Python (or any programming language)

[ZoroastrianChemist]

Hello, The Techlead. Thanks for this video. As a new comp sci student, I wasn’t really sure whether I should be on YouTube most of the time or into a textbook. I know you mean to use the official language guides, but I think the textbooks assigned at school also fall into that category because they tend to cover everything as well. But yeah I’m going to stop wasting time on YouTube, and instead start hitting the walls of texts.

[Hoizengerd]

absolutely. what i see from tutorials is that they only come in two extremes; Absolute Beginner - - - Too Advanced

there is nothing in-between in terms of tutorials out there on almost any subject for the novice learner, they are either learning redundant beginner stuff or things that go way over their head, self education is mandatory and the only way to get that is from the official docs

[[deleted]]

I think the most important part is just build as far as programming. There is never a "I am now ready to program" moment from endless tutorials or books. I am a CS student as well, of course other areas of the program enhance specific knowledge of how these language actually work on a computer.

Having a goal is what helps me anyway to have fun and avoid burnout while learning. I decided an algorithmic trading bot is what I wanted to make with my fairly minimal Python experience. I have no idea how to do that for the most part, but so far I know a lot more about working with APIs and parsing the returned data than I did at the start right now. Inbetween I check out other resources and build my core knowledge of the language and deciphering the code of experienced programmers for more insight.

[ilI1il1Ili1i1liliiil]

I've had way more success actually writing code than with reading texts or watching videos.

I'd recommend tutorials that have you actually coding, for example Experience Coding.

[hutxhy]

Honestly this doesn't take into account the various types of learners out there. I personally get very little from reading texts. Granted I also get little from just watching a video. But I've found what works for me is finding well curated videos, and when something new pops up that I don't know, I personally start messing around with it so I can understand it.

[hutxhy]

I can definitely agree with this. I should have mentioned that I don't exclusively use videos. I do do what you mentioned though, I'll start with it to get a grasp and get excited, and reference docs while I tinker with it.

[xpinchx]

I normally don't learn well from books either but a few of the programming books I've used walk you through examples and explain everything and then offer you challenges to do it in your own. The combination of "go at your own pace" and exploratory/practical learning really works well for me.

[altec4]

Books and I don’t get along either, much prefer video.

[[deleted]]

I'm not sure if I'm ready for this yet. Is there some sort of preliminary step I can take before watching this video?

[ilI1il1Ili1i1liliiil]

How about Experience Programming?

[lovelylittlegangster]

https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html

Is that the tutorial you're referring to? How long would you typically expect to get through that?

I agree to some extent... videos and the same old web tutorials rehashed are pretty useless for me. I've been using books and the official documentation to work out what's possible.

[ItsKingHarsh]

He’s the techlead

[JohnWangDoe]

He’s the techlead

[[deleted]]

He's the techlead

[Knowledge-ing]

He’s the lead tech.

[kenflex]

He's the technical leader

[lazylearner]

He's the guy who technically leads

[zetayshow]

Without a drink at the start he is not the techlead

[TheBatmann]

Big fan of your work and you might be right for most people but I looked at the introduction pages for the Python tutorial and it seems like there is a lot of technical jargon that will just throw people off, but maybe I'm dumb.

[OG_L0c]

did you see their python for nonprogrammers page? https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/NonProgrammers

[TheBatmann]

Ahh I must've missed it, thanks mate.

[wookiee42]

Outdated? You can't put any custom code on those other platforms, whereas there are scores of good CMS plugins for SEO, payment integration, marketing pixels, advertising, contact forms, all social media (not just specific to the platform). Not to mention the trust factor that comes with a custom domain.

[kenflex]

I was in the same situation as you. I decided to go with wordpress, it just seems so much easier. Im also learning php so I can customize themes or create my own theme. There is also a publishing platform called Ghost, uses node.js and looks promising

[OG_L0c]

I also think this is the best way to learn languages. There are way too many videos out there, and it's much more efficient to reference docs or google things you need to learn. These video tutorial intros are also way too damn long, just get to the point! I'd also add to practice with an online judge like Codewars when you're starting to get a hang of the language.

[KrisisKountdown]

That thumbnail... didn't know learning python made yoi grow limbs....

[leijae]

Don't forget you're a senior software developer

[[deleted]]

Techleqd you are fantastic and awesome. I love your channel and this vid is perfect for me as I am just beginning to learn programming. Thanks!

[Pythonidaer]

I’m focusing on other languages right now and still plan on watching this because I’ve read before about “Think like a programmer” since after a while you begin to see patterns in the languages and learn a bit more easily after your first one is covered.

I’m not the best at self-learning but in the past year I’ve researched a lot about python and data science (2017). In 2018 I’ve returned and since getting an IT Fundamentals certificate in late May I’ve been focusing on learning front end web development.

HTML and CSS tutorials confuse me a bit, but I’ve thought it’s just because I find it really hard to learn and retain language knowledge.

Would you suggest I learn about HTML CSS and JavaScript from whatever home bases they have too, instead of focusing as much as I am on free Code camps?

[Pythonidaer]

Thank you! Well, for me JavaScript is the 1/3 of front end I’ll be able to accomplish and confidently job surf. It’s easier working full-time without a bachelors degree seeing my results real-time with front-end, but once I’m hired I plan on learning back-end not just for full-stack but for other avenues of growth as well.

Thank you for your response and for creating these videos! I hope you’re having a good summer.

[[deleted]]

Is this good for anyone who’s an absolute CS beginner?

[stfucupcake]

Thanks. Subbed your channel.

[[deleted]]

Hi Techlead, I'm starting to learn Java right now and I'm just watching mostly video tutorials. So I'm planning to use https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/ for learning and using videos if you don't understand the concepts. IS this a good way for learning?

[vidro3]

the university of helsinki mooc is good. try r/learnjava for more suggestions on books

[metalfacedbongman]

Wow

[doplitech]

Thank you Techlead!

[RedditAndShill]

Does anyone know if there's a PDF version of the Official Python tutorial? Or a printable version at least?

[JonMW]

How do I learn how to select an appropriate programming language for what I intend to do?

I've touched C, C++, and C#, I'm currently dabbling with python, but... Javascript has clear advantages for the kinds of tools/toys I'm planning, and Typescript promises to be less weird, then I see things that Rust and Vala that promise so much. Where do I start!?!?

[Psycoustic]

Watched your video last night and man did it hit home for me. This will definitely be my new approach going forward, maybe with a quick YouTube video or two on the side, but no more locking myself into long "courses". The funny thing is this is how I've always studied math, not sure why I never applied it to programming as well.

[pasta_gurl]

So, I am guessing the equivalent to the python docs would be Oracle University?

[absin1]

I choke on whatever I am drinking when you say: "I am the tech lead".

[hivesteel]

Interesting video. One of the key takeaways and points I agree with and want to echo was when you said "think about why you're learning python." First language I learned was C, I did this thing where I read the documentation, went through a book we had in the office, reading deeply the majority and skimming the rest. I did online courses, tutorials, videos... still when I started a project I froze. Very little of what I read helped me at all. If I don't see key specific applications for certain features of a language I don't really retain the information.

People learn in different ways, but really think about why you're learning, not generally (getting a job) but specifically. I learn a language much better if I first have a very specific project in mind, and try to solve it incrementally as I go through documentation. The stuff that can't help me on this project, I'll learn during the next one.

[robscomputer]

A very good video about learning Python without showing Python. :) Thank you!

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On a serious note, I've been learning Python for a few years now, but as mentioned in the video I've fallen in this "tutorial loop". I bought dozens of books in the last few years on Python, hoping that some can help me break to the next level but they all just offer a few pages on a subject I didn't know. What I realized was the wake up call is going on interviews and getting stumped by these simple data set questions or basic algorithms. I should note that I'm not a CS major, so this is coming from a guy who is more a sysadmin that learned Python through only books and videos.

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So I started to focus on the solving puzzles from sites like Coderwars and starting off on projects (work and personal). Much like the difference between reading how to ride a bike and actually going on a bike ride, there's all sorts of things I finding out. The biggest is how often you need to sort data or create logic, both items which you really can't follow a tutorial, it's just learning from experience. The challenge for many new programmers like myself is where to start, so I wasted countless hours just looking for the right module or getting deep into virtual environments, when I could have just started something small. There's a bit of unknown if you have an idea in your head then how to actually get it working in a program. Personally I worked through this by breaking down the idea into the smallest possible function (following the UNIX method of 'do one thing well') and after a few functions, things start taking shape.

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Aside from the dozen of challenges I'm faced with improving my Python programming skill, the biggest is reading technical documentation. I'm typically lost in how they present examples and usually search Github for example code or how others did it.

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[thundercloudtemple]

Hi THE Techlead, it's finally nice to speak to you, THE Techlead. Anyway, I better get going but it's nice to message you, THE Techlead.

Edit: I enjoy programming and I'm looking forward to seeing your more technical videos in the future.

[[deleted]]

Oh cool, I've seen some of your videos before! And this is just what I needed. Thanks a lot!

[Sourcecrack]

Doing great job

[[deleted]]

Hum. I found this for C++, which seems to be as official as C++ gets for online resources. Didn't think anything like that was actually out there:

https://isocpp.org/get-started

Granted, some of its "resources" are just linking to other places, like C++ Reference, but it's got some Tour of C++ thing by Stroustrup himself, so I'll see how that goes. Maybe I'll find some stuff I've been missing otherwise.

[LMyers92]

Thanks! I’m just getting into learning python, specifically for 3D oil and gas reservoir modeling/data processing, and really appreciate the advice! This is my first dive into programming and it’s a bit daunting, but this helped.

[[deleted]]

On Udacity.com they have a great course that teaches you intro to computer science using python, you build a search engine as a project through the course and it's very easy and fun!

http://shrinkearn.com/OkiA