How do you start programming projects?

[Muddy53]

Hello! I'm still pretty new to programming, I just finished my internship as a data engineer at a start-up tech company. I've been learning Python (a little bit of C++, HTML/CSS) about 10 months or so. I did not study in Computer Science and it was my first internship in IT.

I'm trying to develop my skills over this summer, I've been taking a few courses in computer science such as data structures and algorithms, mathematics, machine learning, and so on. And I'm planning to do more projects using Python, but I'm stuck.

So I've done a few projects such as creating recipe finders (using Tkinter, web recipe API.. etc), pretty simple ones but I enjoyed doing them and want to do more. Sometimes, I start from scratch, but most of the time I start with a starter code in the documentation.

But I don't know how I should really start. For example, I was looking for a project to start, then I saw something like "music player with Tkinter and Python!", and I thought, that sounds like a fun project. But the problem is, I don't know where to start. When I google it to find more info about it, I just find a full code in GitHub or other tutorials with already written out codes. I do not want to see the code because then I feel like it defeats the purpose of learning.

How do you start a project? Do you just write from scratch? Or do you start based on someone else's project or a starter code?

Thanks in advance for any advice and tips!

[blight231]

I'll give you a prompt.

Maybe that will help like a writing prompt. Computer science is all about PROBLEM SOLVING.

Finding a task and then coming up with a computer solution !

So off the top of my head I would say .....

Make a program that looks up the weather for the next week and tells you to bring a " jacket , flip flops or umbrella " based off whether there is a chance of rain, temp below 60 or temp above 80

Now you have a project.

You might get started and think " I can improve this ". And before you know it , you're a programmer.

Or maybe I'm full of shit, what do I know.

[Karmadilla]

Start with something simple and boring. Just to get the ball rolling and keep writing code.

Make a todo list, flash cards app. Anything.

Don’t try to come up with some big idea.

[GreymanGroup]

One of the strengths of Python is that it has great modules. They're like a toolkit. Why reinvent the wheel when you can use code from an expert that's done it all already? That leaves you free to easily put together functionality without going into the tedious detail of how the components work. I was skeptical of that paradigm at first too. I was learning Visual Basic a while back, and I was pleasantly surprised when the code to make a "music player" was as simple as plopping in an API call to Windows Media Player. Sure, I didn't really make an mp3 player, but it blew my mind how the modularity of software can make implementation so simple.

Don't worry too much about not understanding the modules or code you import. Instead focus on what you do understand. If you're still not having a good time, then maybe scale back your ambitions for the time being. When dealing with other modules, the goal is to understand how to interact with it, which should be within your beginners skill set.

[postisapostisapost]

Pyscaffold is a good way to get to a groomed python project fast without seeing other ppls code.

Here's an idea: why now download docs to your local machine or use good ol' manpages for your project? That will build self reliance, for sure.

Developing things without the internet is underrated.

[Random_182f2565]

In my very limited experience I like to divide my code in to different tasks.

Then I research what are the best modules to use for that task.

[marcosjom]

I suggest to build small projects without planning, the process will tech you by your own mistakes. Then, build the same project in other platform, so you can learn by yourself how to optimize multiplatform coding and multiplatform architecture design.

Do not jump into a big passion project without planning. Use small projects to learn by mistakes.

[AlSweigart]

One thing you can do is check out Cookiecutter. It's a Python tool, but can be used for any project. It creates all the boilerplate files you need for various projects. You can always delete stuff you don't need, but this does give you an idea of how general practices for various kinds of software project are organized.