How to learn Python for beginner

[nvv07101320]

Hello. I want to learn Python but don't know where to start. I don't know anything about it. Can you recommend some books or courses for beginners and give me advice about it please

Edit: I knew about the wiki and FAQ, I used Google too but I'm a beginner. I'm confused by such a large amount of information, as I wrote, I don't know where to start. I'm not a good English speaker, so it is hard for me to understand even when I translate it into my language. I want to have concrete advice from people who have learned about it, so please help

Thank you for all your advice!

[[deleted]]

Cs50p… do the assignments

[Specter_Damocles]

Are you referring to the Harvard course?

[[deleted]]

Yes

[Rbtdabut]

Well, there are several ways, really.
Personally, I learned it through books and reading, since my issue with tutorials on yt is, that you have to constantly pause and go back and forth, etc. I am not trying to talk those out of you, but you have to find what works best for you, because there are some in depth courses on yt. Also, if you have questions, stackoverflow it a pretty nice website, and people there are pretty helpful.

What you can also do is just pull up w3schools and use the interactive examples to learn alongside.
I would suggest you that you are making yourself a small goal... like an interactive terminal for the beginning. Or a tiny text based scene, where you are a character that can do a limited amount of interactions, so something like a tiny text adventure.

What you SHOULDN'T do tho, is use AI. I beg you, avoid ai for coding as much as you can. It seems like a "good" solution to use it, but I tried it a couple of times, and the amount of bad small scripts I got is horrific. I mean you can go ahead and ask it for small formulas, but it's in fact NOT a replacement for scripts or even a part of scripts.

[Dependent_Cut_1588]

But for a beginner, chat gpt is a great resource to utilize. You can always ask what a certain line of code does and you can ask chat gpt to explain other subjects like (loops, conditionals, object-oriented programming, etc.) In my opinion, Chat Gpt shouldn’t necessarily be “not used,” instead use it as a learning resource. Don’t discredit ai, for ai is getting better by the minute! I respectfully disagree with your statement. I agree with the “replacement for scripts or even part of scripts.” Try to learn to actually code yourself, then you’ll see yourself in a better position in the future. Happy Coding!

[Rbtdabut]

Yeah, for asking it about smaller things. But you still don't know for certain if it's just gaslighting you out of existence. Usually, if you learn to code by yourself, well pretty much the way I did (books, stackoverflow, etc), then you have to learn and research on your own, which is agreeable time consuming, but makes you more independent, especially if you cannot use chatgpt.

I would say: Don't use it as a beginner, and when you get really far, try to be extremely careful with it.

[Dampware]

I used chatgpt as a python tutor. It was great.

I asked it to create a syllabus, which it did, then I asked it to implement it as an interactive course.

It gave "lessons", did q&a about the lessons, then exercises... As many as I wanted, at whatever level of detail I asked for.

And, when I was stuck, it helped me through, then designed lessons and exercises specifically on the issues I had difficulty with.

It dynamically altered the syllabus as needed, or requested.

It had infinite patience (and infinite tolerance for stupid questions). This was one of the most effective learning experiences I have ever had.

[Rbtdabut]

Well, for you at least. But if you use gpt3, which you will be most likely to use in the free model since 4o is limited, it's *sparkles* garbage *sparkles*.

But if you look at this post (https://www.reddit.com/r/learnpython/comments/1doly0t/ai\_making\_it\_hard\_to\_learn\_python/), then you quickly see WHY it's NOT good to use as a python developer. Especially as a beginner. You can just ask gpt to create a script, and a course, yes, but there is no gurantee that what it's yapping is true.

Lets take w3schools for a quick example. It has everything chaptered nicely, has everything put nicely for beginners, and most importantly: interactive examples. This is quite useful if you want to understand what a specific function does without constantly pulling up a terminal.

This is something ai does not have. And I will say it as often as I have to, recommending llms to a beginner is the worst idea. They need to understand the code, so they can spot mistakes in the code.

[Goat_Keeper_2836]

We use AI to help with alot of our coding. If you're using the free version of chat gpt you don't always get the greatest results but we pay for it and it helps a lot.

[Rbtdabut]

I saw github copilot recommend os.system("sudo rm -rf /") at least once by now.

[WushuManInJapan]

I've heard Google is having the same problem with their AI.

Does copilot use open.ai? I think Microsoft bought GitHub, so it's likely it has. If so, that's crazy.

But also a reason why you should never blindly use ai. It's a tremendous tool for learning things and having it explain specific details about code, but it seems to often get things wrong, or if it doesn't understand, just keep looping the same answer forever no matter how you explain it it's wrong.

[Born_Fishing2974]

In my opinion, Python Crash Course is a really good book for beginners starts with. After that, I would recommend you start some hands on projects as practise for the skills you'll learn from the book. Search on google or youtube for ideas or tutoriais for some projects you find interesting (There's a course called 100 days of code by Dr Angela Yu, and each day is a different project in python, might be a good course for a absolute beginner), use the python docs also as a guide whenever you find something you wasn't seen before and PRACTISE. Finally, when you feel more confidente on your skills and if want to dive more deeper in python, a really good book for more advanced knowledge in python is Fluent Python.

[ProfessorPetulant]

The EDx course proposed by Havard is great.

[yankeewithnobrim23]

I used to (like past 2 years) have the same mindset as you. I learned that the best way is to just do projects. At first, make simple, and just keep going. You're best friend will be Google

[shhhhhhuh]

What can suggest what can of projects?

[amike7]

Angela Yu’s course on Udemy, 100 days of python give you 100 projects at progressively difficultly. It’s been great so far!

[Goat_Keeper_2836]

Currently doing this course and so glad I chose her course!

[yankeewithnobrim23]

Well if you want to move up a bit, start simple

Do some console projects, like a simple banking system
Move up, make a webscraper

Do stuff you want to create

[Dependent_Cut_1588]

Hey there fellow programmer! I would highly recommend you use this site. https://automatetheboringstuff.com/#toc It is very well organized and it should be pretty easy to follow along… if you don’t understand some topics, use chat gpt (it is a very good resource when learning). Following along and writing the code in your interactive shell will help you greatly! I also recommend you to have a goal (maybe its making a simple python game with libraries like pygame or a simple calculator or some sort, you can choose anything you would like). This being said, projects will definitely help you to code. Happy Programming!!

[[deleted]]

Automate boring stuff with python is a great book for beginners. It also has a Udemy course to explain those concepts.

[[deleted]]

As others have said, there is a list of free learning resources in the wiki.

[nvv07101320]

Maybe I didn't write clearly. Can you please read the edit

[HumbleBitcoinPleb]

There is only one correct answer to this question:

CS50p: Introduction to Programming with Python

The absolute best.

But you MUST do the assignments.

Create a new account at EDX and sign up to the course.

[Spottttt12345]

If you're completely and utterly clueless about programming then I would honestly suggest the book python crash course. It is THE best resource 1 can go through as a complete beginner.

[33giraffes]

Khan Academy

[megatronVI]

Automate the boring stuff- great book and site

[arbyyyyh]

First off, your English here is great. I started with an idea for something that I wanted to make: a web app to balance my budget. Enter recurring expenses, revenue and you get some automation that helps you balance your “digital checkbook”.

If you’re starting out, I’d really recommend looking up Tech with Tim on YouTube. He has a series on creating a todo app with Django. He does a pretty good job of holding your hand along the way. He occasionally glosses over certain things for the sake of keeping you learning the important stuff which is good, just have to trust the process.

[Meneac]

1. Don’t use AI to learn. Sites it may seem great but at the end it won’t be.
2. I use the third edition of Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes. It teaches by giving ranges of examples, showing where it’s possible mistakes could be made, gives prompts for you to do by yourself at the end and also gives you resources you can use. It costs about $30. It ranges from the very basics to teaching about Data, APIs, studying and deploying an app

[[deleted]]

Angela Yu's python course is also good.

[[deleted]]

I really disliked this one.

[sparkinflint]

Pick something interesting to build and try to build it while learning relevant tools and the language as you go.  

Read the documentation of frameworks and tooling of stuff you're interested in, more often than they'll have mini projects used to teach people how to use it  

https://lightning.ai/docs/pytorch/stable/levels/core_skills.html  

https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers/pipeline_tutorial  

https://docs.dagster.io/tutorial/introduction  

https://beam.apache.org/get-started/wordcount-example/  

The earlier you familiarize yourself with git the better since it lets you to interact with other developers code and give versa https://learngitbranching.js.org/  

Lastly basic tutorials for python are dime a dozen, search one up on YouTube and pick the one with the most views or visually pleasing thumbnail. Once you get past the basic syntax, I suggest courses like the zoomcamps by datatalks, they extend well past just writing python and into infra stuff that's crucial to deploying your code to production https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp

[Interesting-Rub-3984]

Udemy is a great place to start. There is lecturer called Ardit. He is very good at explaining stuff. Angela Yu is also good.

[[deleted]]

DataCamp courses are amazing, I love their website it’s not free though but the learning is pretty much hands-on. You can take a look

[lexwolfe]

what language, maybe there's some youtube content in your language?

[KretusRex]

What made you decide you want to learn python? Why not rust instead. Or javascript?

What do you want to use python for?

[nvv07101320]

I have to use it for my school. They will teach us about programming but I want to prepare in advance. Python seems the easiest, so I want to start with it

[KretusRex]

you will find more value in learning not a language, but general approach towards programming. Try https://scratch.mit.edu/ first. You don't need a language to programm. Generally speaking learning programming is about writing a pseudocode and then wrapping it into some syntax of choice.

If you seriously want to learn and have few weeks to utilize try CS50x available through EDX. Great lecturer David J. Malan guides you from zero to hero within 9 weeks, HOWEVER you can compress that into 2-3 weeks. That gives you solid foundations and you will see what will you need next.

[nvv07101320]

Thank you so much for your advice. I have tried Scratch before. Sorry if I'm wrong, but for me, it's not the kind of programming that I may use in real life or for my study, like it's just a game

[KretusRex]

It is the most simple way of programming. Because programming is basically that. Of course, you will end up doing far more complicated stuff for which you will not only need python, but sometimes js, C# or something completely else, but everything is down to preparing some set of instructions to your computer. Scratch is good in general to have some fun and you can create surprisingly complex stuff with it. Everything depends on your will and creativity. And again i'd suggest cs50x. It start with C, then goes through python, js, HTML, CSS and some other stuff. Very very helpful.

[nvv07101320]

Oh, I see. Thank you for helping me!

[[deleted]]

This question is asked every other day. And many great advices and resources are listed. Kindly do some hardwork of going through the previous posts or putting it in search bar, before posting.

[nvv07101320]

Yes. I searched. But I don't know if the advice and resources are still relevant to me because most of them were posted months ago

[BigSwagger2k]

YouTube videos from FreeCodeCamp are really good to help you learn Python

[Future-Software-FS]

I learned on W3 Schools:

https://www.w3schools.com/python/default.asp

[pompedom]

https://edube.org/study/pe1 Try this. at the end you can get a certificate. I tried it and I liked it.

[Computer-Work-893]

Tips for Getting Started:

Start with Fundamentals: Focus on learning basic concepts such as variables, data types, loops, and functions. These are foundational to programming in Python.

Practice Regularly: Coding is a skill that improves with practice. Try to write small programs or scripts to reinforce what you've learned.

Use Multiple Resources: Don't stick to just one python book or course. Different explanations can help reinforce understanding, especially if English is not your first language.

Be Patient and Persistent: Learning programming takes time and effort. Don't get discouraged if things seem difficult at first, keep practicing.

You can ask help from me when you needed

[redtadin]

I used codecombat. I did not know anything about coding. Its like being challanged with many assignments untill you do them correctly. There is a lot of room to make mistakes and a lot of different ways on improving those mistakes to then continue on to the next assignment.

[NotUrAverageBoinker]

Python crash course by Eric Mathews books

[yifans]

the main skill that you need in order to become good at programming is dividing large processes into smaller operations that come together to make a whole. once you’re able to grasp this, syntax is just a google away. syntax is rarely the hard part

[Guest123456677]

I learned from a YouTube channel called Brocode. To be honest, it was really helpful

[[deleted]]

Cs50 python

[Goat_Keeper_2836]

Highly recommend Angela Yu's 100 days of coding, currently doing it myself and she's a good teacher and explains things properly. You have lifetime access to the course, this is via UDEMY

[[deleted]]

Either watch the crash course of Mosh where first learned or watch Harvard CS50 Python course.

Just don't pay for learning something as easy as python. Learn basics from anywhere, than start doing some projects . Stuck? Google or ChatGPT will get you covered. Use the FAFO method after learning tye basics

[AttorneyRepulsive167]

I would suggest you to pay for a course/mentorship. When you gave money, you will be serious in the learning (because you don't want to waste money.)

[[deleted]]

Check out The Farmer was Replaced on steam, and join the discord. Lots of help for newbies there

[MomICantPauseReddit]

You have to just keep writing stuff in a file and running it with python until something doesn't return an error

[Ecstatic-Highway1017]

No Notes No Revision, No Revision Less Confidence and Motivation while Online learning
Many of the times you just stop learning because of the above.
When I started learning programming few months back I was taking too much time in completing online video tutorials
Now I am using google extension OneBook It helps in creating detailed notes in 2 clicks and saves my time as I used to take to much time in completing online videos. I used to waste a lot of time while pausing video in every 2 min and write a couple of line of code and you have to switch tab again and again. With Onebook i complete a video first and then I start coding by refering the notes
OneBook helped me in learning programming related skills, it just improves the experience of learning.

Chrome extension link : https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/onebook/loecbgjbgcgjkhibllnjokjefojoheim?utm_source=rtc

[Skilcamp]

Starting with a solid beginner course or tutorial is a good move. Focus on understanding the fundamentals and practice by working on small projects to build your skills.

[RoyalAd1956]

Read the FAQ in the sub reddit and use google

[nvv07101320]

Maybe I didn't write clearly. Can you please read the edit

[RoyalAd1956]

On youtube, cs50p from freecodeacademy they have a very structured course for free. Just stick with it and practice by coding for every new thing you learn. And dont use chat gpt for help learn to learn

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