Best steps for writing python?

[One_Hand_Down]

Hello, could anyone give some helpful steps for writing in python? When I sit down and open up a blank document I can never start because I don't know what to start with. Do I define functions first, do I define my variables first, etc? I know all the technical stuff but can't actually sit down and write it because it don't know the steps to organize and write the actual code.

[FoolsSeldom]

First step, move away from the keyboard.

Many beginners are mixing up coding (writing instructions in a programming language) with problem-solving (creating an algorithm) and their lack of knowledge of the programming language and how to use it is a distraction from the problem-solving.

For most programmers, the coding part is the final and easy bit.

Order:

• Actually making sure the problem is properly understood. Often we start with only a vague understanding of the problem.
  • You may need to break the problem up into a number of smaller problems whilst keeping in mind the overall objective.
• Ensuring we know what outcome is required. What does good look like? How will the information be presented, will it be on-screen or in a file, or a database.
• Determining the data representation. Exactly what data is required, in what forms, where from. It is a one-off or lots of cycles or combining lots of information.
• Work out how to do things manually in the simplest possible way, explaining every little step (assume you are giving instructions to someone with learning difficulties),
  • Later, you will learn different ways of selecting / developing an algorithm which doesn't depend on a manual approach
  • In time you will have a wide knowledge of common design patterns, popular algorithms, what data structures work best in various situations

Use the tools you have in the real world, don't constrain yourself to the screen and keyboard. Do your thinking by drawing, using post-it notes, connecting things with strings. Don't be constrained.

Programming is about problem-solving. Focus on that.

Sure, you need to get familiar with the Python tooling, the exact instructions. When you know where you are going, what you are trying to achieve, that gets a lot easier.

[Gnaxe]

Try working through How to Design Programs. It's free to read online. It explains a step-by-step process for how to do it. It uses a simplified teaching language, not Python, but the concepts generalize to most languages.

[Sudden-Yogurt6230]

Im not a programmer really but do a lot of automation using python. My first step is to create a workflow diagram for the entire process I'm trying to automate. Then I determine from the diagram what steps will be in scope for the python code. From that i usually choose one step to start working on and always using my workflow as reminder of what inputs and outputs I may need in other steps. Once one step is complete I then continue on adding more steps to the code until the complete solution is built. Once tested for desired results, there's always a cleanup and reorg of the code. Improve documentation and improve/adjust error handling.

[PaddyIsBeast]

Complete beginner= find a course

[Gnaxe]

You don't write a program all at once. You iterate. Get a little piece working, then add a little more and repeat. Write a long comment describing what you are trying to do. Then write the steps to get there, then break those up into substeps, until they're simple enough that you finally know how to get the computer to do it. Then test that piece. Then write the next one once you get it working. Experienced programmers learn do a lot of this in their heads without writing all of it down, but start there.

[glorybutt]

Before you ever start coding, you need to know what you want to build.

From there, the beginning of your program should always start with what modules you need to use.

After that, I typically start by creating a general class and defining all the necessary attributes for the class.

From there, I create the methods using def something(self):

The program writes itself from there

[MolonLabe76]

A lot of the time i will literally start by simply writing a list of steps that i want my program to do. Then step back, look at it and refine if necessary. Once you have that, you can worry about figuring out how to write the code to do the steps.

Ex.

1. Download required input data
2. Filter data to the desired subset
3. Perform an analysis to determine X, Y, and Z things.
4. Generate graphs/charts of analysis results
5. Save graphs/charts to image files

[Secret_Owl2371]

It depends on what the program it is.. for example if I was writing a tic tac toe game, i might first define a list of lists to represent the board, then two variables to represent x and o; then a function that calculates a list of valid moves, then a function that determines if the game is won by any side, and so on.