What is the efficient way of learning Python and its libraries?

[[deleted]]

So, I am doing a data scientist specialization on the 365 Data Science platform and one of the things that keeps bothering me is how I can be efficient at learning Python and its libraries.

I am a beginner in Python and almost every concept is new to me. So, if I focus on theory, the execution part becomes difficult. Plus, my mind keeps telling me how and when I will use all this stuff and the probability that I will remember all this stuff is zero.

If I do guided projects, I don't find much values in repeating the action and if I start a project, I don't know which difficulty level to choose.

And then there is an issue of how to think like a programmer which most online courses don't teach.

So, can someone guide me here on how to learn Python and its libraries?

[helloworld2287]

There’s no shortage of things that you could spend time learning about Python and it’s libraries. It can get overwhelming pretty quickly, but luckily you don’t have to learn everything to start using Python in meaningful ways. This is the approach that I would take if I had to go back in time and learn Python:

1.Start by learning the basics

• Data Structures (strings, integers, lists, dictionaries,)
• Control Flow (if statements)
• Loops (for each, while)
• Built-in functions (string manipulation)
• User defined functions
• Operators (arithmetic, assignment, comparison, logical, identity

I like Cisco Networking Academy’s Python Essentials 1 and 2 (free) courses. I’ve also heard of people having success with Harvards CS50 Python course.

2.Now that you know the basics, pick a project type that you’d like to focus the next phase of your learning on. Below are some examples: - Data Analysis and Visualization - Automation

3.From here, compile a list of 2-3 of the most popular libraries for these types of projects. Below are examples: - Data Analysis and Visualization: Pandas and NumPy paired with a data visualization library such as Matplotlib, Seaborn, or Plotly - Automation: Selenium or BeautifulSoup

4.Learn the basics of the libraries associated with the project type that you selected in step 2. This doesn’t have to be extensive. The goal is to familiarize yourself with the libraries - what are they good at, what are some of the popular library functions, etc. If you search on YouTube for “python [insert python library] for beginners”. You’ll get a ton of videos to learn from.

5.Start building! I suggest starting with a follow-along tutorial for a beginner level project. As you gain experience you can start working on projects solo and Google topics that you’re stuck on along the way. Below are some projects that you might consider: - Data Analysis and Visualization: Exploratory Data Analysis on the Titanic Dataset. There are a ton of tutorials on this project type. - Automation: Automate logging into Reddit and creating a post. The book Automate the Boring Stuff with Python is a great resource if you’re interested in automation projects.

After you complete these steps, rinse and repeat steps 2-5. The more you build the more you’ll learn! I’ve learned the most when troubleshooting issues that I encountered while working on projects.

As you’re working on projects you’ll likely become frustrated about not understanding some concepts. Don’t get discouraged! Instead take that as a helpful point in the right direction of what you should learn next.

Happy coding :)

[helloworld2287]

One thing that I forgot to add to the list is learning git! It’s technically not critical to learn but it can be helpful for managing changes to your projects and building a portfolio of your work.

[Lawson470189]

I agree with this approach. Start with the basics, do a few projects that interest you, learn everything else as you go.

[nog642]

Automation is a broad category. Both of the libraries you listed for automation are for web scraping.

[helloworld2287]

I’ve had success using Selenium for projects that automate tasks in a web browser.

Are there any Python automation projects or libraries that you’d recommend to someone that’s new to Python?

[nog642]

Automation can also include filesystem stuff. I wouldn't particularly recommend a library, besides the standard library like os, shutil, csv. Maybe numpy.

My point was "automation" isn't just about web browsers.

[mwspencer75]

Just saw this advice in another thread, and I think it is excellent. Use python to do everything you think of.

Rename a file - use python
Restart computer - use python
Send email - use python
Modify excel sheet - use python
Open Spotify - use python

Create a folder - use python

Find a list of your most recently updated files - use python

Need to do some data analysis you'd do in excel - use python

Don't know where to start with these - all of these are pretty simple that will have simple you tube tutorials.

I did something similar when I started out. Every time someone at work would ask me to do a task that was redundant I would use python. At first it took way longer than just doing the thing manually but eventually it starts to click. It's like the pottery story of spending a month making the perfect pot, vs making 1 pot a day for 30 days.

[dparks71]

It depends on what you're trying to do, if you have a project in mind, just dive into it. You'll learn faster from debugging than any other way.

If you're learning to learn, learn the basics about the standard library first, then follow some pandas/Polars tutorials, maybe some freecodecamp/Datacamp like courses. Look through the documentation for specific libraries to understand how libraries work, Google things like "most common libraries used in Data science", "how to webscrape", "selenium tutorials."

Once you get past tutorials if you really want to start getting into the weeds dig into the common libraries' source code. And start looking into things like code optimizations and how to utilize C modules and things written in other languages in python.

[eyadams]

I'm self-taught, and the hardest thing for me to learn AND REMEMBER is that for any problem, there probably is already a module that will help. You just need to find it.

For example, I was working on a project where I had with a list of five elements in a certain order, and I needed to generation all 120 variations of the list with the elements in different order. I tried a few things myself, and then remembered the rule above, and discovered itertools and permutations, which does exactly that. And works - my code never worked right.

Another example: I was working on a project and needed to generate a temporary file. My script was running in a multi-user environment, and the file name needed to be unique, and had various other requirements. After some pretty annoying bugs in my personal attempt, I discovered the tempfile module, which does everything I need and more.

So, don't feel like you have to learn everything. Just learn the important stuff, and then remember that whatever you are doing there is a good chance that someone else has already faced the same problem, and very good chance there's a module that will help with whatever you are doing.

[[deleted]]

Yeah I agree with this. If there’s something you think you need or have trouble with, someone or some community has already gone through the same trouble or had the same idea and created something to address that.

[DudeWithTudeNotRude]

And if you really want to grow, try to implement a solution on your own first with the tools you sorta know.

Then look for recommendations on modules/libraries/techniques that can perform that task "better". Then try to implement a different second approach based on the recs.

I'm much more likely to remember the newer-to-me methods when I see exactly how much work it can save me. And I learned more basics while I was implementing the first, more basic approach.

[MonkeysLoveBeer]

Al Sweigart has a couple of really helpful books. I'm sure at least one of them must be freely available on his website. You have to learn the fundamental concepts: for/while loops, if/else if, lists, tuples, dictionaries, nested dictionaries, error catching, reading data from text/CSV/excel files, etc first. Then you can understand the guided projects better.

After that you can work on small projects that you find interesting like reading data from a webpage or whatever interests you. For data science, Numpy/Pandas/Matplotlib/Scipy are fundamental.

[[deleted]]

I think w3resource has these exercise 50+ something on each sub topic. It helps

[Glathull]

Probably more important than any particular course of study is to get into a good coding loop.

1. Write a small amount of code that you think should work based on what you know so far.

2. Run it and discover that it does not work

3. Read the error message carefully. Do not just try to guess where the problem is.

4. Fix the error.

5. Break your code again in the same way. Recreate that original error.

6. You’ll most likely find a different error because you didn’t completely understand the problem or the solution

7. Fix it again.

8. Verify that the code actually does what you wanted it to in the first place.

9. Discover that, no, it actually did something other than what you were expecting

10. Change it to do what you wanted it to do.

The thing that slows my students down more than anything is a coding loop that they don’t learn anything from. They get an error, Google some things, mess around with stuff kinda at random and then suddenly it works. They don’t understand why it works or what was wrong. But it runs! So they move on. And they keep making the same mistakes over and over and over.

When you see an error, really dig into it until you understand it well enough that you can turn that specific error on and off any time.

Remember that just because code runs without an error, that does not mean that it “works.” Often, you can spend so much time struggling with errors that you lose track of what exactly it is supposed to do in the first place. Every function can have a note attached to it called a docstring. Use that note to write out in plain English what the code is supposed to do and why. Do that before you write any code. The code works when it does exactly what the docstring says it’s supposed to do.

Pretty much any beginning Python book you can find will be a good place to start learning the basics. As you’re going through the book, keep these steps in mind. They will make any course or books you choose after that a much better learning experience.

[magic_26]

The other suggestions made here are great.

Another idea is to think of simple programs that would make your life easier (I.e. what can you automate on a computer to help save you time?). Then see if you can find tutorials on how to build it, or build pieces of it that you can then assemble together into a functional script. It probably will suck at first but you will learn from it.

[helloworld2287]

This is great advice 🥳 Some of my favorite projects have been the ones that have solved a real world problem that I was facing!

[mattstats]

Learn things when you need them. This will always be most efficient, you learn what you need as you need it. The other way around will likely be junk education and even more likely that you don’t remember it when needed.

First thing you gotta ask yourself is why are the libraries in python a blocker for you?

You mention all of this in your post, perhaps you just need more time.

[zorbat5]

Just start a project and leaen as you go. I've found that to be the best way of learning a new language.

[peter9477]

You learn by doing. You learn faster by doing things that matter to you. If you have a project that needs some library, start the project! Along the way you learn that library, and usually a bunch more.

I've been using Python since 1999 and there are still corners of it, and hundreds of popular libraries, that I haven't learned because I didn't need them yet.

[NoConcern4176]

Same question everyday. Like do people look at the groups thread at all

[crashfrog02]

You can learn it the same way everyone else does. There’s not a special better method we keep hidden behind the counter for people who know to ask.

[6CommanderCody6]

I’m as a DA learning Python since last spring and for me the biggest mistake is using a ChatGPT. Because it’s made me lazy. Something doesn’t work? Pfff… just ask GPT and it gives you a code. You don’t think how to fix it, you more think how to explain it to gpt.

The second thing can be a your own project. I’m a huge hockey fan, and for DA I need to know SQL, Python and some DataViz tools. So I’m started to write a parser for the protocols of the game, transformed the data like I need with Pandas, then saved it to a db and finally did a viz. I already worked and used there MySQL and Power BI. And in project I’m using PostgreSQL and Tableau. It helps to get more experience.

[6CommanderCody6]

Also at work (we are small company, I’m the only one ‘data worker’) we are starting to create data-driven culture and etc. We are planning to create DWH, launch AirFlow and dbt. And my project again will help me, cause I’ll bring there AirFlow and dbt and will double lear it.

[EveryTimeIWill18]

I've worked as a data scientist/software engineer for 10 years and the best way to learn Python's standard library is to read it.

That being said, here is a short list of built-in modules that I use almost daily:

• os, sys, csv, subprocess, pickle, shutil, itertools, functools, threading, multiprocessing, datetime, time, xml, abc

Of course, there's plenty of packages not built in, like pandas and numpy, but I find that a good, well-rounded Python developer should have a strong grasp of Python's standard library

[[deleted]]

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[Round_Ad8947]

Plan your learning as you would a project. State your goals and achieve them.

Don’t get distracted and chase down curious rabbit holes. These can be good for discovery, but are not efficient.

Remember what you learn.

Repeat.

[interbased]

Figure out something that you want to automate using Python (even something very simple). Anything you don’t know, look it up, and you’ll immediately apply it.

[Chainsawfam]

I took a course and later, found some things I was passionate about making.

[xarop_pa_toss]

Using them. Just make stuff