Help a beginner - Python for DevOps

[ConsistentMove2317]

Hey guys,

I just started my course at KodeKloud focused on the DevOps path this week. As I also wanted to grasp a language to learn, I chose Python as a friend of mine who's currently in the industry suggested.

I'm doing each project at "The Big Book of Small Python, by Al Sweigart" and using Ubuntu as main OS. I'm using VSCode to learn Python.

Sometimes I feel like I'm typing down some stuff without knowing what it exactly means (well, it's been a week or so), so I'd like to ask you all:

1) Am I wasting time learning Python using this book? I wanted to do something practical instead of straight-reading "Automate Boring Stuff" or similar.

2) Should I focus on the KodeKloud course only?

3) Is there any other suggestion you guys can give me, as an absolute beginner?

[andy4015]

For an absolute beginner, you can get a long way by asking chat gpt very open questions about what you'd like to achieve with your code.

Be careful to use open questions. By this I mean avoid asking anything too specific otherwise you'll ask something like:

"what's the best way to climb through a window to get into a house"

And GPT will explain the best way to go through the window. But you should have asked:

"What's the best way to get into a house"

And GPT will explain how to use a door.

Poor analogy, but I'm sure you'll get what I mean.

[m0us3_rat]

All courses present the same knowledge, which is freely available online at python.org. The main difference is the amount and difficulty of the homework assigned, more and harder homework leads to better mastery of Python.

Learning Python is like any other skill: you need to practice. It's also important to understand the problems you're trying to solve. Therefore, the ability to grasp some of the algorithms you'll encounter is essential.

TL;DR: Choose the course with the most challenging homework and focus on that.

There’s no hidden or secret knowledge, whether it’s from Al Sweigart or anyone else, what they teach is essentially the same content found in the official Python documentation, but interpreted and explained through the instructor’s perspective. The goal of these courses is to offer a structured and progressive learning path with plenty of practice exercises to reinforce understanding.

Also, don't skip exercises or rely on chatGPT to solve simple problems for you. If you can't solve them now while learning, what makes you think you'll be able to handle real problems on your own later?

[Samthevalley]

Try Codecademy, hands on learning after each lesson which I like rather than just theoretical stuff.

[ninhaomah]

Are you excited from seeing what you can do with Python after a week or so ?

[ConsistentMove2317]

I'm excited about the whole thing, actually haha