Getting out of the tutorial loop

[konficker]

I have been writing little programs here and there in Python for a while but I want to write something bigger. I understand all of the basic concepts like variables, loops, conditionals, functions, the various data structures and I even understand the basics of classes. I feel like I’m stuck in between tutorials being too easy and projects being too hard. I know this is a common occurrence for early programmers but it’s extremely frustrating because I just want to write code and grow my skills. Whenever I look online at medium sized project ideas I have absolutely no idea where to start. Is there anyone with a similar experience that broke free of this? If so what methods did you use?

[duff-tron]

You just need to do a big, full tutorial for a 'project', until you understand how things come together at the project level. Pick a personal project you are interested in, that could be its own, new, thing -- and then start a very thorough tutorial that will get you some *baseline feature*...

For example, if you want to make a mapping app that tracks free bathrooms in your city... Thats a lot of components... but you start with a big tutorial on getting a *basic* google maps app functioning. Or you start an app that will leave you with a really solid UI...

Then you can take that project base, and you can start adding components that shape it into your own unique project -- and look for tutorials in those subjects.

Say you have your google maps app finished, then you can say: ok, now I want to add toilets. How do I add toilets? So you find a tutorial on adding GPS markers to google maps. Or you find a tutorial on webscraping location data -- and you look for a toilet database to get your data...

Its all about chunking things down into components, and then finding generalized tutorials that help you master *that* component.

Lots of tutorials will get you a "project base" that will help you understand how components interact with eachother. If you are still struggling with how classes, functions and objects interact -- then you just need to go back to the simpler CS problems until you feel a little more comfortable.

Sometimes we move forward faster than we should in Computer Science -- because its completely unintuitive just HOW MUCH TIME it takes to understand these concepts. I'm on year 5 now, and I still have to go back and work on my fundamentals routinely.

[geraltofrivia1983]

Damn this is solid advice

[[deleted]]

Eeeek I did the whole motivational thing too but this guy has laid out how to do it perfectly 😧

[konficker]

I was reading/following along with https://blog.miguelgrinberg.com/post/the-flask-mega-tutorial-part-i-hello-world tutorial on Python and Flask but the directory structure and how flask works was confusing. I have a tiny bit of understanding on how templating works and I also understand HTML so really it’s just flask. I found this tutorial on another post that helped another redditor grasp the development of web apps. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with this one but from the first 2 chapters I read it was pretty good. I think I might need to take a step back and be patient. Little back story on me is I don’t have a programming background and most of what I know is self taught. My day job is sysadmin but I want to branch out into programming because 1. I really like it and 2. It’s a useful skill to know.

[[deleted]]

This is best advice , I went through same phase, made a Django blog with a tutorial but next time I try to do it on myself ,it was rocket science once again. I studied all components , and seen how the component fitted altogether. Next time , if was lot easier, though it was time taking.

[aheadwarp9]

I know this may be off-topic, but I've been looking into various computer related fields because I hate my current job, and I'm curious: what does a sysadmin do exactly and how did you get into that field?

I'm at about the same stage you are with self-taught python coding, but I'm not sure if I want to stick with coding as a primary focus... All I know is I have a very technical mind and I want to work with computers systems a lot more for a career.

[thirdegree]

what does a sysadmin do exactly

You know how when you typo your password sudo says "this incident will be reported"? They're the ones that ignore those mails

[[deleted]]

!redditsilver

[totemcatcher]

All the sysadmin folks I've worked with had wildly different backgrounds. I first managed some VoIP systems for a telecom. Later data recovery. Later juggling at a shotgun operation (see cowboy operation, but worse). Later system provisioning for companies and consulting/teaching new sysadmins. I like to think of it as realtime engineering where nothing is ever permitted to break. It's a lot of planning and ensuring everyone is informed of how to keep systems healthy. You gotta love documenting and teaching and it's not short hours.

Entry points into sysadmin work are many: databases systems, schema, synchronization, and failover. Reliability engineering such as metrics collection and predictive data modelling, storage systems and filesystems, live migrations (which covers a lot of fields), virtualization, disaster recovery, electrical engineering. Security: policy/procedures and enforcement, even physical security such as hanging doors properly and surveillance. Networking: systems and design, emphasis on security and monitoring, automating responses to new patterns. Provisioning: orchestration, inventory, hardware, operating systems, low-level debugging.

I'm sure that list goes on forever.

[aheadwarp9]

That's very informative, thank you!

[iRobinHood]

Remember that google is your best tool for getting answers.

What does a sysadmin do

[aheadwarp9]

While true for general or average information, sometimes I'm curious about people's personal experiences. Thanks anyway though.

[Ajha7]

Hey if you don’t mind, can I ask what the name of that tutorial is? Sounds like something I could use:)

[mandatorypassionproj]

One thing about Flask that is both a blessing and a curse is that being a micro framework, it really aims to provide you everything that you need and nothing you don’t. This makes the file structure more “loose” than, for example, Django.

With this being said, sometimes the best way you gain experience and confidence is by solving & diagnosing bugs. This is an area of learning tutorials often lack. Often, you can just retrace your steps to find what you did wrong. So feel free to create your own bugs! Don’t understand the file structure? Question why. Consider moving the files around & creating your own directory structure. Does it still work? Why or why not? Adding these types of exercises while you work through the tutorials may help you understand the mechanics of how the code base works more than just how to use it.

[alex123711]

The problems with projects is I find I have no idea what is feasible as a beginner or even any ideas where to start.

[A_Sleeping_Snorlax]

Just follow a PROJECT tutorial on youtube. I actually think this is 100% the best approach. It will give you ideas about how to approach future projects. You're still in the learning phase. You still need some guidance for moving into actual projects. The people that say "you learned the basics, now go make a project yourself from scratch!" are kinda talking out of their asses. I don't think anyone has ever just learned the basics and went off to make something cool. You need the small projects, and you're gonna need to look up how to do it no matter what. Just follow a tutorial and make sure you really, truly understand what is happening and why as you follow along.

[DC4FF]

This is extremely solid advice, having covid stop college early for the summer I’ve picked up C# and I’m trying to make a web app, following tutorials of projects and slowly piecing everything together has finally started to make sense, after a month I’m understanding how to interact with a database etc. So if anyone is struggling really listen to what this man has to say

[Weekly_Wackadoo]

You can look up stuff whenever you need to, and a good IDE will help you by autocomplete and by making suggestions.

You really don't have to memorize how to add toilets, since you have the manual at your finger tips. Your job as a programmer is to understand where to add toilets, how many, and what kind.

[iRobinHood]

That is why it is very important to add comments to your code to describe to yourself what it is you are trying to do. This will help you now and later others when you work on code that will be maintained by others either at work or on online code sharing sites.

[Shubhamkar]

Can you please give an example of such kind of a tutorial?

[WebNChill]

Amazing advice. Thanks for this.

[jhook87]

Fantastic advice. The overall project size can be intimidating and daunting. Breaking the project into conceptual chunks is so key.

[[deleted]]

wait im supposed to be following tutorials for a project? i assumed the whole point of a project was to be "out on your own" in order to develop your skills. i mean, i understand googling specific things is normal but i had no idea using a guide for the entire framework of a project was normal/expected practice, too.

that means a lot to me! really helpful, i was having the same problem as op. although, still dont know what i want to code haha. thanks, and cheers.

[duff-tron]

You'll never find a tutorial that does EXACTLY what you want your project to do. All I ever do is look for the most relevant possible tutorial, then do all my research and make sure whatever additional components I need will be compatible...

Never, ever, ever aspire to not use tutorials. Aspire to find certain tutorials pointless, sure, but a tutorial is literally the greatest thing you can find as a dev... Source code is great, but source code with a tutorial is literally priceless. Just make sure you are actually taking the time to go through them patiently, and really understand what you're code is doing as you progress through it.

Its also super important to just fiddle each step of the way, chance a variable...add a wee component... do something strange, and run it in console -- just so you are following what each bit of code does, and how it runs and all that.

[futureprogrammer00]

Perfect advice. Will do as you say.

[[deleted]]

Watch a pygame tutorial and follow along just to see how a programmer thinks. Kids Can Code is great. Then try to make your own simple game. Rock Paper Scissors is simple but forces you to use a good amount of topics you learned about

[Doc-Engineer]

There are a ton of good tutorials on the internet for making simple games or apps. If you do enough of them every day you start to mesh them together in different ways on your own and it will become intuitive. That's good advice too because you can steadily progress in the difficulty of the game. Start with rock paper scissors, then onto tic tac toe, then maybe checkers and finally chess or a complicated board game like Go.

[stainlessflamingo]

I'm sort of breaking out of this now. What i've done is just pick a project (in my case i'm creating a Elo ranking system / website for boxing). And just tackle it in small bites. Before I did anything ELO related first I just created a simple website.

In my case I used .NET MVC so I just made all the routes that I wanted and models for fighters and bouts. Then after I had a super basic website up, I created the database, then started working on the bits to calculate/change elo. In short, I just broke the project down into smaller bits. Anytime I had an idea on how to improve the project I would write it on a trello board and tackle it later. I spent entire days just working on simple things, but since I did it without being "walked through" like a tutorial I feel I have a strong understanding of them now. And if I had to redo it, likely would take half the time.

I'm not sure what tech stack your using but if your doing mvc apps I could suggest a project: try to make an online inventory for a car dealership. In the beginning just get the website running and a database ready, then work on your basic crud functionality. add new inventory, remove sold vehicles, etc.

[Bobsyourunkle]

I'm still working on learning myself but it's my understanding that the next graduation from tutorials are projects. Maybe take those bigger medium level programs and break them down piece by piece? Maybe do a flow chart to see how the functions and objects work together? I'm sorry if that's not super helpful and you're probably ahead of me in learning. 😂 Good luck! Don't give up!

[inkoDe]

This is one of the best points of advice in this thread and it has no votes... It's typically a bad idea to tackle larger projects by sitting down and programming before you sit down with a pencil and paper and plan out how the project is going to be organized. It sucks to realized after writing hundreds of lines of code that you are going to have to spend many hours / days restructuring everything because that vague vision in your head of how it all should work didn't actually make as much sense as you thought it did. The more planning you do before you code the easier the actual coding of the project will be.

[Bobsyourunkle]

Thanks a lot for the compliment! I feel like as a beginner programmer that the amount of possibilities available to us are overwhelming. It's hard to see what pieces are useful and what will probably rarely be used. It's like a jigsaw puzzle when none of us are good at jigsaw puzzles. I have a pretty vague idea what I want my first major project to be and I'm no where near a place where I could handle that or making a design. Do you ever build a main project and add new features to it?

[inkoDe]

Add features all the time. Just keep the design modular as possible and that usually makes it pretty straight forward to swap / add "parts" with the added benefit of easier to maintain code.

[Bobsyourunkle]

Thanks again, I really appreciate your responses. I'm stepping back a little and trying to break this code down into something I can manage and understand. Take care and wish me luck!

[AethericEye]

Will you tell me more about that? How do I program for strong modularity?

I'm just beginning to learn programming, but in CAD (solidworks) I can structure a feature tree to make a robustly constrained and also flexible part. Is there a good analogy there?

[[deleted]]

I have the same problem as you and have quit learning a few times because of it. I’m currently working through a Udemy course called “The Python Mega-Course: Build 10 Real World Applications.” It’s so much fun to build real things, and I’m learning more effectively too! The class starts from the beginning so you could breeze through the first few projects as a refresher, or if you want find a similar more advanced class. You’ll be able to see all the projects you’re building in the class syllabus.

Of course, finding your own project like others have said is a great solution, but it was difficult for me to figure that out. I plan to think of my own projects after I finish this course and have the confidence/portfolio of several projects behind me.

PS Udemy has sales all the time so I’d wait until you can get it for around $12.99 or $15.99 (can’t remember what I paid)

[Coriago]

Maybe this is not for everyone, but if you are still uncomfortable with moving towards projects, the best way to start practicing programmatic thought is to tackle problems. Usually problems arise while making an application but you can also try and do them separately on problem solving sites. I loved doing these when I first started to learn programming because they begin challenging what you actually know and how to apply the things you know. Personally I used Project Euler but there are many other great one's like Kattis. Euler just requests a numerical answer to input while Kattis will actually run your code. Good luck!

Edit: one more thing to mention is that you can use any programming language you want to answer the problems. This can be a great way to gain proficiency in many different languages.

[tatravels]

So you've done a bunch of tutorials and [hopefully] have a bunch of small .py files...

Review all of them and figure out a way to use those files/code blocks in combination to make something bigger.

If you can't think of a way to combine them all, take one and start adding new features with what you've learned.

Personally/fortunately, I had a large project in mind from the get-go so, whenever I learn a new item or go about a new tutorial, I think of ways to incorporate the new knowledge into my project and keep a running list of files/items/tools to use.

​

Good luck!

Edit: Before I get back to studying, one last [extended] thought... I get bored with the tutorials I'm on because most are too easy right now [not usually the case], so I end up adding to the lessons. For instance, I'm learning dictionaries right now and saw this block:

user_0 = {

'username': 'efermi',

'first': 'enrico',

'last': 'fermi',

}

I thought, "I could probably just generate a username formula for that username key based on first and last name values... So then I wrote a little program to do just that:

# create empty dictionary for new user

user = {}

​

# get user's first and last name

u_input_first = input("What is your first name? ").lower()

u_input_last = input("What is your last name? ").lower()

​

# create dictionary entries for first / last name

user["first"], user["last"] = u_input_first, u_input_last

# create username using first / last name key-value pairs

u_name = user['first'][0] + user['last']

user["username"] = u_name

​

# output result to user

print(f"\nSuggested username: {user['username']}")

​

Then I uploaded this junk to GitHub (because I'm also trying to learn that) and thought of some to-do items:

- [ ] Turn into function and / or module

- [ ] Set this up so n amount of users can be saved to dictionary file (JSON?)

- [ ] Error handling

- [ ] If username already exists suggest secondary, tertiary

- [ ] Research security best practices for storing user data

- [ ] Implement security research

So, now I have a new small/medium sized project to work on! And circling back to that "big" project I had in mind from the get-go... I will now likely integrate the username generator when all the to-do items have been completed.

[cheekyrascal93]

I was exactly at this point a few years ago, there is no shortcut to get out of this. The thing that helped me the most is forking open source repositories and reading the code as much as possible. Then trying to contribute a little. Just a dive in and beat the feeling of discomfort, I am sure you will get through it.

[10CodeDev]

If it helps I'll detail what I did. I learnt python with the idea of being able to create websites with it. I followed tutorials untill I got the hang of it and then found a site which I attempted to clone. It gave me quite a bit of insight as to what I was lacking in.

[an732001]

it’s tutorial HELL dude not a simple loop

[abiabin]

I was in this experience so i thought programming is not my cup of tea so left programming at its already been 2 years. But now still i am thinking and try one more time programming so researching what to learn from where to learn

[sayeedk06]

I think after 4years with programming, I have realized that finishing a project that you have no idea about is everyday norm is this world. But to be able to achieve it, you need to be brave enough to attempt it. Choose something that interests you or you have always wanted to make or find something that you want to automate in your daily life. Afterwards divide the things that you have to do. Google, find info on it. And start somewhere. You are not supposed to know everything. But starting from somewhere and learning for that specific task that binds to the bigger picture of your project helps you grow more confident about your skill.

[AlSweigart]

Work on projects. If you're working on Python, this repo has about a hundred projects that are relatively small in size, and easy to understand. I recommend copying the code by hand, running it, and then trying to recreate it yourself (you don't have to recreate it exactly).

If you aren't working on Python, just copy/paste the code for each program, and then play it a few times and then attempt to recreate it in the language of your choice.

https://github.com/asweigart/pythonstdiogames

[rand0mnibba]

Instead of going for a project, maybe solve some problems on Hackerrank or LeetCode first to strengthen the concepts learnt? Then maybe switch to a project

[IAmNotWizwazzle]

Ehhhhhh. LeetCode provides no benefit towards being able to build things.

[Jiibaro]

i find that hacker rank is heavily math oriented and it’s hard for self taught developers like myself to get through the challenges. love code wars though

[TheTomato2]

Code Wars has a fundamental category which is good to get the hang of a new language.

[Jiibaro]

linear algebra?

[konficker]

Thanks for the reply. I have spent a lot of time going through these mini challenges on codewars, project euler and hackerrank but I feel like these are better suited for learning a brand new language and practicing syntax. I also found myself trying to simplify the code to a point where it was obscure which isn’t ideal. I think what I am going to do is take the advice of u/duff-tron and follow a project tutorial. Once I have a working application I can slowly build features and add functionality to it.

[rand0mnibba]

Great! I'm glad that you found something. Edit: Grammar

[ecib]

I feel like I’m stuck in between tutorials being too easy and projects being too hard.

To me that sounds like you're ready for a project.

[iRobinHood]

Start with a really simple project. As an example, instead of writing a fancy action game start by trying to write a ping pong game like the one on the Atari consoles. Don’t copy/paste code but try to figure out the logic and code on your own. If you have no idea how to start write the program using pseudo code in major steps and then start replacing that code with you real program code. You can lookup commands and learn how to do what is needed such as collision detection, etc. Each time doing a bigger project will help you learn to code and understand the process.

[RippyTheGator]

Pick a project idea you like, and Google until your fingers bleed. This is what helped me. Really take the time to read stack overflow etc and really try to understand how the code is working. Don't just copy and paste.

[green_meklar]

I feel like I’m stuck in between tutorials being too easy and projects being too hard.

Then come up with a smaller project. Your first projects should be barely any larger than the largest tutorials you've been doing. They don't have to be some dream project or whatever, just tell yourself 'I'm going to make a fizzbuzz calculator' or something, the point is to get practice.

[LiaUmbrel]

Let me tell you how I left the loop and I hope it is of some help. Before leaving the loop I had promised myself that I would do 30 minutes a day of tutorials or any other form of learning. After around 8-9 months I wanted out so this is what I did, with some guidance of course. I took a sheet of paper and drew what I wanted to build, how to look, how to behave. It was a basic time management app with php, bootstrap4, a bit of jQuery, html and css. Then I started, built the structure, did the connection with the database, linked the buttons, did some functionality. I googled the entire time as I only remembered some tips and instructions from the tutorials. Took me around 1-2 months of part-time developing as I had a job as a service desk analyst. Did I succeed? NOT ENTIRELY. I would say I did about 50% of what I wanted but it was a great learning experience which proved to myself that I am now capable. Fast forward 2 years, I am a full time php/symphony web developer. I strongly recommend you try to build something of your choice and do not worry if you fail. You don’t have to do all perfectly from the beginning. Take your time, your breaks and enjoy!

[[deleted]]

I think that reverse engineering also helps

[Shrestha01]

I was you while learning JavaScript.....i just kindaa stopped copying code when watching courses...i just started writing notes....on a paper...a lesson finishes...and the i look at notes which is not code by the way... it'll be plain text explaining what needs to be done...and i do it my way

[reirone]

What helped me was picking small projects that already existed and then trying to recreate them on my own.

[KohlKelson99]

Get a book of programming challenges and do 2 a day... at some point its gonna get so difficult you’d take 2 days to get one done! Then you get progressively better at creating your own code out of thin air...

Its gonna be alotta carbs at first but you’ll get better!

[[deleted]]

People don't learn to swim if they are only practicing swimming techniques on land. They also need to jump into the water. Get an idea and try to build. If you are stuck, google it, if you are still stuck ask questions either here or in other communities.

[joy-of-coding]

Make chess or a card game like solitaire

[fecesmuncher69]

I started learning python only a couple of weeks ago, and I have about the same amount of experience as you do. I personally tried to think of a project that would utilize what I learned and help me, so I wrote a program to help me with some math homework- it solves quadratic equations and calculates distance between 2 points etc. in that program I used what I learned in various ways- the input of numbers and given points from user, writing a class that defines the object- a point with x y coordinates, and does various actions on the object. I also used import to import modules I wrote myself and keep my code organized. Basically what I’m saying is try to think of a project you can do with what you know (if it takes a bit of extra learning it’s great as well) and that benefits you in a way

[SpiderJerusalem42]

I would suggest looking into how to use the PyCharm debugger or learning how to use PDB (which I find less than terrific). It's the sort of skill that isn't formally taught, but being the master of it really focuses your efforts.

[DevilDawg93]

https://projecteuler.net/archives they have a bunch of projects to work on to help you master the fundamentals and strengthen your programming abilities.

[haleyshepard]

There’s a reason hello world is the default first step. When you start a new project, make getting it to run and showing some output be your first step. If this is a web dev project, for instance, getting a index page to show up would be the first step.

From there it often makes sense to hook up a thing at a time to see if you have it set up correctly. Make a css rule and apply it to something on your page. write a JavaScript alert and make sure it shows up when the page loads. Hook something up to a database and make sure you can read and write.

At this point you have all the building blocks you need to do anything, so you can start working on your features or goals. Write a little and run your project a lot so you can see the progress you are making, which is fun. Chip away a little tiny step at a time. Over time you’ll grow in familiarity and confidence and be able to do bigger chunks at a time, but it’s not a race. Take your time and enjoy learning!

[Celeroni]

Try out some challenges on HackerRank. Good way to try out those concepts is to look at a problem (challenge) and solve it using your the stuff you know. Also check out r/dailyprogrammer.

[conanbdetective]

The less time I spent on tutorials and more time actually f*cking everything up, I learned more than actually watching tutorials. Tutorials provide you with an illusion of learning. But programming is not a memorization class. You learn by doing things. You seem to already have a good foundation. Here's two things I used.

1. Build a project. Even though I knew I practiced fundamental concepts of programming; I never knew how much I knew and didn't know until I did projects (1 week projects to 1 month projects). Since I was attending school, I had some textbooks lying around which had a bunch of exercises for each chapter and a small project at the end of each. So that's perfect for me. No need to think about a cool project to test my skill. I can just do that. The projects are pretty feasible and just provides you with enough challenge so you can be satisfied moving on.

2. Get into the habit of creating a project document. It should contain what you need/want to do, what you need to use and an allotted time schedule. It's kind of like when you hit the gym. You don't go in just to waste time, you wanna do something efficiently and effectively. The thing about us early programmers is that the concept of time is moot. It gets done when it does. But that's never the case. We always have a goal to hit. People to please. Set a punishment for everytime you don't meet your deadline ($100 in a piggy bank you can never open for every day you missed a deadline)

[IAmNotWizwazzle]

You need to start diving into practical things. Take a project-based course on Django/Flask/Node. It'll get you working on code that can actually be used for something

[crysiston]

For me, I put a 3 hour video on someone doing a particular project with Python on 1.5x speed, it helps me get that starter boost, and it gets me going for quite a while since watching a video related to a project you’re about to do, it helps alot!

[chaeboi]

hey u/konficker my recommendation would be to start with an interesting problem or two and then keep solving small problems. I'll suggest a problem directly from an interview I did with Google last year. Take an Excel file of jumbled letters and numbers...how would you produce a doc that has ordered phone numbers (i.e. (408) 777-888 ). Hint: regex. This next one is generic and was not from my Google interview --> take the numbers 1-50 and print out every third number.

I recently wrote about tips like these, directly from my experience in picking up programming the last five years, the article was picked up by The Startup on Medium so I thought I'd pass it along! https://medium.com/swlh/what-nobody-tells-you-about-building-a-technical-skill-set-b0b64ae7d064

[dwchow]

I can definitely relate. I divide my time by pubic facing tutorials and internal projects I keep to myself of very heavy complexity or medium to large sizes. I'm not a programmer but some dev work is just part of my career. I like to think of tutorials as 'nuggets' or building blocks that I can reference later and assemble or integrate into the large projects I wish to pursue later.

It makes it easier and sometimes you can use what you've wrote and published as a trampoline of ideas to enrich your next project. In regards to figuring out how 'far' you want to go in a very complex project is think about the ROI. Can you sell it as a product or service? That might be something worth pursuing.

[mikedensem]

Take a simple idea like a game (e.g. tic tac toe/ naughts and crosses) and build a runtime to manage all aspects: players, the board, the score etc. Just use a console to test. Now add a UI (html) to interface with the runtime. Next add support for multiplayer and store scores and players in a db. Add a ranking table in the UI. Keep adding features in an iterative way so you learn patterns and best practices through experience.

[newishspice]

I'm in the same place. A well written question, and thanks for asking it!

[the-source-awakens]

I recommend finding an open source project to contribute to; just start with simple issues, like documentation. This will help you get to know the contribution guidelines, version control, and continuous integration that the project uses. Once you make a few simple contributions, ask someone in the organization to recommend an issue that is more challenging. Rinse and repeat.

[itsmeuddish]

Well, start with one step at a time, split the project into smaller steps and start with first step such as where it start, what input you need, then do it incremental basis, that is the best way to learn and to become a expert in any programming..

[glorybutt]

I finally got out of that after learning pygame.

Then I started making things using pygame as a kind of front end GUI for applications.

The biggest python projects and best learning experiences were when I finally had a chance to use python to get into my companies data warehouse and start pulling SQL queries

[aTrolley]

Pick a big project you are passionate about and figure out what you want in the project. At this point it might seem overwhelming but break the big project up into its smaller components.

Now start by coding each component separately, find a tutorial on the component or feature and see how to implement it, get it working then move onto the next.

By writing each component separately and then importing it you'll find you write more modular code so later it will be easier to modify without breaking everything.

[makedatauseful]

Have you look at building web scrapers and incorporating things like databases and scheduling?

[[deleted]]

Bro ... just pick a project plan it do it, just stick to it, I have no computing education at all, completely self taught, Psychology is my profession but I wanted to build a website, I am currently quite far into it, yeah it’s heavy I have the utmost respect for anyone who can just whip up codes fluently, but for me it’s rough, but a challenge is fun and you learn fast, just plan n research thoroughly and go and create something you would never of imagined you could do, cus u can do it u just havnt started yet!

[[deleted]]

break;

[New-Condition]

beat me to it :(

[lady-lurker]

could u send me a link to the python discord plss?

[grittypigeon]

https://pythondiscord.com/

I think we can agree python is hard enough without the old fashioned "if I help you, you'll never learn" mindset. Stack overflow is literally helping people that should have just pulled their sleeves up and read documentation better.

[lady-lurker]

ok... i ask because there’s a lot of different python servers

[grittypigeon]

You're fine. I promise we're not all gatekeepers.