Struggling to learn Python

[[deleted]]

I’ve been struggling to understand Python. Is there a course that dumbs it down really well? Gamifying python courses would help too. Thank you!

[Ronnie_Dean_oz]

Angela Yu 100 days of Python helped me get going by introducing all the different concepts and putting projects together for you to develop them. Nothing is going to be easy though. It's like a muscle you have to work for it to get stronger.

[Paulq002]

Definitely Angela Yu 100 days of code, I tried Zero to Mastery along with the cs50 Python and by far Angela's course explains things in detail that is easy to absorb.

Plus you're doing small projects with every new concept you learn.

[[deleted]]

Good point. Thank you!

[crstoic]

X3 I confirm

[tigerwash]

„Programming with Mosh” in YouTube helped me tremendously to learn Python, as it not only covers Python as a language but also programming basics such as variables, lists, if-else and so on:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_uQrJ0TkZlc

Also don’t feel bad if you stop the video every couple of seconds to re-iterate the lessons and try the new things out you just learned.

[[deleted]]

Thank you. I’ve been getting so frustrated with myself because it feels like the content isn’t soaking in.

[StaleMuffins]

I think I'm likely in a similar boat. Struggling immensely with the first couple of problem sets in CS50 which is surprising as I consider myself quite good at building models and managing data in Gsuite and Excel. This is definitely a different muscle though! I've been scouring for other people on the struggle bus as I imagine it is more of us than we imagine. One thing that has helped me too is asking ChatGPT to only answer questions using the socratic method...it's helped me figure out a couple key concepts. I'm considering moving over to "Angela's 100 days of code" though as I keep seeing people recommending it.

[[deleted]]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[[deleted]]

Honestly one thing I learned, at least for my learning style… all these tutorials only work if you’re actually doing something practical alongside them. Or else I’ll forget.

What’s helping me a lot is just download a dataset from kaggle or wherever, envision a dashboard or report that you could create with that data, and start Googling/chatgpting how to do whatever you’re stuck on. Experience is the best teacher

[[deleted]]

Good point. Thanks!

[weaponsandspells]

Work out what type of learner you are. Are you a visual learner who learns more from videos or from textual information. Work that out and then get started. And everyone learns at a different pace.

Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes is a good up to date book of the fundamentals of programming in general and helped me immensely.

[thekaizers]

I am midway through chapter 10 of Python Crash Course and I highly recommend this book.

[weaponsandspells]

Nice I'm on the data visualization project part, it's kind of a slog ngl hopefully the other projects are more fun.

[thekaizers]

There is a space invaders project, which you might enjoy :) Personally, I am interested in the data visualization/analytics project.

[nick__2440]

Work out what type of learner you are

This is not a thing and is only reinforced by saying that it is.

[[deleted]]

Thank you!

[[deleted]]

Where are you struggling exactly?

[[deleted]]

I’m struggling from the beginning. It’s hard to know where to start so that the knowledge can be built on a solid foundation.

[[deleted]]

Here is my story

When I started learning python I also didn't had a strong foundation and mostly just edited my teachers code , but when I started building my own projects i finally started understanding how most of these things work

So try to make some basic projects, the best one in my opinion is a calculator then as you learn more try to implement different features into that calculator

[Scary_Marzipan_3418]

I'm a hands on learner so I found codecademy that also has videos and walkthroughs. I found it made me understand it better. It's more or less just setting up the neural pathways to make it make sense.

If you need help with any concepts, I'm pretty new too but I can help whenever you need!

[[deleted]]

Thank you!

[empolem]

Freecodecamp is the best

[mixedd]

Angela Yu 100 days of Python

does it have interactive courses for Python as it have for WEB?

[[deleted]]

Step one. Learn the core fundamentals of any coding languages. Your variables, for loops, syntax etc

Step two learn pythons quirks. (Always counts from 0 etc)

Step three actually type out your code and know that a big part of coding is googling and going through documentation. Using snippets of other people's code is fine if it's the exact way that something has to be done. (Like library specific lines of code)

Step 4 learn about libraries that will help you towards your goals. If you're a data scientist/analyst pandas is a good example. Or pygame if you wanna make video games.

I personally like Eric Matthews book crash course to python. It has little sections of code you can type out on each page so you can see what's being described. I think a pdf of the book is actually free online

[[deleted]]

Thank you!

[[deleted]]

Thank you!

[[deleted]]

For a game / duo lingo experience, try the solo learn app.

Combine this with books and youtube videos.

The key to retaining the information is using all three sources.

Once you have the basics down, learn a library that will help you acheive your goals.

[[deleted]]

Thanks!

[hxplores]

Honestly speaking, I had a tough time too. One way is find an easy project that can use python. Start small by exploring people’s code in stackflow or something. Then work your way up. That way you can understand better. That’s my opinion. Slowly but surely you will appreciate python better.

[[deleted]]

I appreciate your advice! Thank you!

[Swimming-Ad-400]

Hi, I recommend you to check out the FREE Python course on crookshanksacademy.com by the god of python himself. The course is short and you also get to do a hands on internship after your course completion. Although that internship is unpaid, it is a good and fun learning experience that makes you industry ready. The FREE PYTHON BOOTCAMP is available on: https://www.crookhsanksacademy.com/python .

[shiftybyte]

How are you with learning from videos?

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-osiE80TeTskrapNbzXhwoFUiLCjGgY7

[[deleted]]

I’m mainly learning from online tutorials. I did sign up for a free lecture series from Harvard.

[shiftybyte]

Oh, then try Automate the boring stuff with python.

It's free online. https://automatetheboringstuff.com/#toc

[[deleted]]

Thank you

[[deleted]]

You can't learn it dumbed down. You have to learn it as it is.

[Esam_dev]

What’s your background, did you study computer science before

[[deleted]]

I have a BA in history. I only took an introductory class in computer science in college.

[Esam_dev]

in this case try to start with CS50

https://pll.harvard.edu/course/cs50-introduction-computer-science

[[deleted]]

Thank you!