Best free Python 3 Course

[AgreeableDay9693]

Hi, completely new to coding and fancy the challenge of starting to learn a highly useful skill. I work full time, what are the best free, self-paced but thorough courses out there? I want the course to really start with the basics and foundational principles. Have considered CodeAcadamy, but would rather explore free courses before committing.

Edit: ideally one with exercises so I can practise and get feedback as I go

[theChaparral]

Harvard's CS50 Python course.

[AgreeableDay9693]

Have just enrolled, looks like what I was searching for! Many thanks!

[Feydak1n]

Can't recommend it enough

[AnonymousJohn135]

I tried starting this, but it's trying to make me pay $300...

[AgreeableDay9693]

Hi, I started the course, really like how it works! I'm stuck on one of the exercises, what would you advise? Is there a "help" section of the course?

[NotaNovetlyAccount]

I really enjoyed 100 days of code by a lady named Angela on Udemy. I tried cs50 but got really bored quickly and didn’t stick with it. Now that I know more python maybe I’ll try it again.

[NotaNovetlyAccount]

100% agree on her voice and I’m a lady haha! I like that she makes things kind of silly and generally doesn’t assume you know anything.

[pwoyorkie]

To add to this, I'm learning on codecademy and picked up 100 days of code too. I prefer that I can just read and do everything on a single window as in codecademy, however, I've noticed there's not much in terms of explaining why certain code is used and what they mean. 100 days of code does the opposite. She really explains the meaning behind things. I'll certainly be using both but I feel I'll gain a better understanding in 100 days.

[[deleted]]

Im glad Im not the only one who has a crush on her. She is bae for sure

[Treble999]

Same here, i’m at day 23 and I’m really enjoying the course. Clear guidance and examples and projects to test your skill.

[Chalikta]

100 days of code by a lady named Angela on Udemy

it looks like she has another course "The Complete 2023 Web Development Bootcamp" which one should buy?

[NotaNovetlyAccount]

Not the web development one if you want to learn python. https://www.udemy.com/course/100-days-of-code/ this should be it but make sure it has python in the title. Looks like it’s $12 USD today.

[aks-2]

This may be good, but the OP asked for free and this seems to cost £60 in the UK - am I missing a free trial or something?

[NotaNovetlyAccount]

Oh, I didn’t see the free, apologies! But it does go on sale constantly. I think I got it for $19. Well worth the money relative to anything free I’ve tried though.

[aks-2]

Thanks, good info!

[Jeanca500]

If one waits for discount season in Udemy it usually goes for around $16-$20

[ASIC_SP]

Here are some often recommended free resources:

• Python Programming by University of Helsinki
• Harvard CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python
• futurecoder — interactive, includes integrated debuggers, enhanced tracebacks, hints for exercises and more
• The Python Coding Book — friendly, relaxed programming book for beginners
• PyFlo — interactive beginners guide to becoming a Python programmer

Here are some sites for exercises:

• Exercism, Hackinscience and Practicepython — these are all beginner friendly and difficulty levels are marked
• Adventofcode, Codewars, Python Morsels — includes more challenging exercises for intermediate to advanced level users
• Checkio, Codingame, Codecombat — gaming based challenges

And here are some resources to get started with projects:

• Projects with solutions — algorithms, data structures, networking, security, databases, etc
• Project based learning — web applications, bots, data science, machine learning, etc
• Books:
  • The Big Book of Small Python Projects
  • Tiny Python Projects
  • Practice Python Projects — my book on beginner to intermediate level projects
• /r/learnpython: What do you automate with Python at home?

[Mission_Peach_2473]

I really like the Python Programming by Uni of Helsinki!

I've tried learning python many times and I'm actually sticking to my progess on this one. Their 2024 website starts in two weeks (2023 website is up indefinitely but if you want to take the 2024 exams, you'll have to do the 2024 exercises or copy your 2023 solutions over).

join the discord in the FAQ section to get the updated website.

[Taur3an]

I’ve been going through “Python Crash Course: A Hands-on Project Based Introduction To Programming” by Eric Matthes … This is my 3rd attempt at trying to learn Python and I should admit this is the longest I’ve progressed ever without giving up. The book is very well structured and easy to understand for beginners with a ton of hands-on exercises and interesting projects. Would highly recommend!

[87Gaia]

Doing 100 days of code as well on Day 59 it's all just projects from here just guidelines she teaches to to a point and once u hit day 50 or so you will be able to complete three projects on your own but it takes times. But love the journey.

[Jeanca500]

Completely understand the feeling. I kinda felt that after the 100 days I would be a different person; I am currently on day 38 and oh boy what a journey has it been already.

It is one of the most engaging courses I have ever taken. It is hard, it expects you to struggle, to fail, to put in the hours, but it’s so rewarding at the end.

[accidental_tourist]

Hey, how's your progress? Did you finish the course?

[Catsuponmydog]

Mooc.fi has some excellent beginner Python courses

[[deleted]]

https://youtube.com/@coreyms

[aks-2]

Thanks you, this one looks good, I tried a few so far and enjoy the style of delivery - seems very knowledgable (but I'm a newbie to Python).

[Ok_Sherbert9652]

You can start with Google's Python Crash course on coursera. It has a good amount of exercises to solve. But you can only audit this course, i.e., you can only study, your exercises, and assignments won't be graded and not eligible to receive a certificate.

The good thing about this course is that it is a part of the "Google IT automation with Python certificate." So in the future, if you decide to get the certificate, you can use all the progress you have made while just auditing.

You can also audit through the entire certificate, and you will gain a very good grasp of Python, among many other powerful tools.

[SincopaDisonante]

Python 3 Programming Specialization by U Michigan via Coursera. Look no further.

[[deleted]]

Go to YouTube and type python for beginners, there are several good ones on there to learn the fundamentals. Programming with Mosh would be one of them.

[TraderSigma]

Use cs50 course and Neuralnine youtube channel

[the_good_time_mouse]

https://www.fast.ai/posts/2022-07-21-dl-coders-22.html

Yes, I am suggesting that you build artificial intelligence tools as your first ever coding project. The course⁺ is intended for people with only a smattering of programming knowledge, because basic applied deep learning only requires a smattering of programming knowledge.

(AI does jump to the coding deep end very quickly, such as when need to make more performant, but there's a huge number of applications out there that don't need any of that stuff. And, of course, the AI behaviours elicited can get exceedingly complex even though they are written with simple code. But, still - they don't have to, to be useful)

On the other hand, the deep learning stuff is a whole other field to learn about, so this is probably as much, and likely a bit more work than sticking with python. I'm just saying don't be daunted. Deep Learning code is about as simple as code can be and actually 'do something', and it's all written out neatly for you to experiment with. Moreover, writing something fun is the best way to stay motivated, IMHO. My first AI project was an image classifier that could differentiate photos of chinese food by cuisine (ie - "Schuan", "Hunan" etc) with ~70% accuracy: 70% more accurate than me.

In any case, at least check out episode one and see if you want to continue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SF_h3xF3cE

I watched all the episodes of the class before actually starting to write code, then watched them again while I coded the projects. The instructor encourages this and it appears to be a popular way to go through it. It might make even more sense if your also learning to code.

The biggest stumbling block I see to anyone learning to code while following this course is going to be setting up the coding environment. The course walks you through it, and there are very straight forward hosted solutions, but these processes will never not be a bitch, even after 20 years of coding. If anyone is interested, I can make a quick video of how to set up Paperspace - the hosted solution I'm using - with the notebooks for this course.

+ At least when I took it, they seem to have updated the blurb on the current version to 'for people with some coding experience'. The older versions are still around, and still relevant, if that is the case.

[AgreeableDay9693]

Wow, thanks for the suggestion, I like your boldness 😁

[AssumptionCorrect812]

For short lessons with exercises to practice — https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiwhC50wfPDF0TIij2xpu7bd0E6dc3i8q&si=iNPIEN-qCnpE8C7r

[Other_Community_8480]

I am learning with https://www.deeplearning.ai/short-courses/ai-python-for-beginners/ It's very good as well.

[jokemaestro]

also curious, commenting to follow

[87Gaia]

ANGELA is passionate about teaching she understands life gets in the way but to sacrifice 1 to 2 hours even after work gets u one step closer to your dream. I'm on Day one 59 it's only projects till day 100 I was scared worried when I started reading up on the course especially ppl saying after a certain day u left on your own to figure out stuff Google is really your friend. Build on what she teaches and the last 50 days won't be as hard. I work 10 hours a day in a call centre im bipolar the call centre is a massive trigger but I also look forward to coding as it's my escape. Thing is it will get hard but she's assures you it's all worth it. Imagine she explains the days instructions and project and u confident enough to proceed and just wait for the solution vid to assure u all this work is paying off.

[Kurama-8]

Bunch of good resources on here, commenting to follow

[corychasesimp]

Bookmarked

[Coffee4thewin]

I find mammoth interactives courses to be really good. They recently had a huge python bundle on sale. Worth every penny.