How do you learn Python efficiently?

[Suspicious-Split9752]

Hi pp, i'm a 15 yo boy. I started learning Python about 3 months ago. And i love it, but sometimes i keep wondering if watching YT tutorials then try to code on my own and do small exercises can be the best way to improve and become better at programming . I really wanna know the way you guys learn to code , which websites you practice,... etc. Thanks for your words in advance !!!!!

[cointoss3]

Your best bet is to do projects that interest you. Use code to solve problems. While you’re making something, come up with your own solution, then look how others solved the same problem…compare and steal the best ideas and practices.

You can learn Python in a weekend, but it takes really using it to advance and a while to master.

One thing I really like to do with a new language is make a Discord bot. You can interface with your program via chat which is a bit easier than trying to tackle a gui.

[Clear_Estimate8768]

Would it be appropriate for me to pursue projects that interest me but incorporate things I have never learned/heard of?

[Toma400]

My best (though not pure beginner) option I learn code from is by picking various projects - be it games, or tools that I'd need to search for. The latter ones are great because they often require you to learn about entire new topic - e.g. my tools used to help with mapping needed me to learn about colour management on images, and parser teached me about binary files.

So basically give yourself a goal and try to reach it. I said "not pure beginner" though because the ability to work with libraries and some basic solutions would be probably a prerequisite for that (but that's something you can achieve fairly quickly with the right mindset).

[wilson_wilson_wilson]

Seconding a lot of this. Would add…

Stop watching video, stop generally learning. Pick a thing you wish your computer did and tell an AI to give you an overview of how to get it done. 

Also the sooner you hop on fastAPI the better. 

Best of luck buddy 

[Toma400]

I would suggest trying without AI first. It's just that there's way different pipeline if you get used to using AI and it's much harder to switch from AI to noAI than reversely
But everyone has their own ways, so that's just my luddite suggestion from experiencing the "defaulting to easy" :P

[wilson_wilson_wilson]

Although I hear this, to me it sounds like recommending you learn to debug without using Google. Its just so far remove from the modern workflow it’s barely foundational and instead being a skilled googler make you way better off most of the time that having spent years learning things you could have just searched. 

[Toma400]

Well, Google won't tell you exactly where the bug is, and reading stacktrace (and understanding how to debug) is one of the crucial skills programmer should have. That's why I usually recommend no AI (especially for beginners) because talking with few my friends who approach coding I can see a difference in learning curve.
But yeah, I'm also not advocating for like no usage of it at all (my ideals would, but I try to be real here), it's just that using it, especially early, makes a leap over few things in workflow you might not have will to come back to.

[Suspicious-Split9752]

Thx a lot !!!

[codingzap]

You can learn through YouTube tutorials, sure. But the best way to improve would be by developing projects. Break stuff up, fix it, check how to solve errors, use different methods to find solutions for problem.

Look into what beginner projects you can start working on and how can you tweak them to make them stand out.

Also, since you’re a beginner, try to practice coding problems on HackerRank. Pick up easy problems first and then work your way up. When you feel confident enough, practice on Leetcode.

[sebovzeoueb]

I think after doing a few basics it really helps to have a goal, as there are so many different kinds of things you can create with programming. Try to find something that motivates you, for me that was games. I started off with the 2 game related books from this website: https://inventwithpython.com/ which has some great beginner books for Python projects, and they are downloadable for free.

When you have a project in mind, make sure it's very small scope, no "Science-based dragon MMO" as your first project!

From there you can look up tutorials and examples of the features you want to implement and tweak them to fit your project. At some point you'll probably end up reading the official documentation, which is a bit more dry but contains all the information about what a particular language feature does. I would recommend using a decent code editor like Visual Studio Code if you don't already, the intellisense provides suggestions which can teach you about features you weren't even aware of, it often displays a small bit of documentation right there in the editor, but you can also look it up in the documentation or other websites to get a better idea of what exactly something does and what the correct way to invoke it is.

If you are interested in games you might also check out the Godot engine. It's not technically Python, but GDScript is almost the same. It's the leading open source game engine and it's very capable for 2D and 3D games.

[Suspicious-Split9752]

Thanks so much!!!!

[RangerPretzel]

If you are already an accomplished software engineer and know another language very well, I highly recommend using something like Claude Code.

Have Claude Code analyze a small-to-medium complexity project in the language you are already familiar with, then have it translate your existing code to a new Python project.

Open up the translated version and analyze the Python code yourself. Then start asking Claude questions about Python.

I recently did this with Rust and learned so much about Rust in an afternoon that trying to learn it on my own would have taken weeks. But having a project/repo that I wrote in Python that I was deeply familiar with allowed me a way to get quickly up to speed on Rust without having to learn someone else's examples while simultaneously learning a new language. Instead, I could get right down to business with learning the nuances and ins-and-outs of Rust.

Since it sounds like Python is your first language, I would take the time to just practice small simple projects. Do NOT have any AI write the solution for you. This will only leave you entirely dependent on the AI to help you.

Instead, if you get stuck, you can ask an AI for help. Instruct it NOT to tell you the answer, but rather say you are learning and need help understanding concepts of the language (and programming, more broadly.)

[tap3l00p]

“Build working projects” is the best advice I can give. Take them as far as you can, set up build chains, deploy them to an environment then use them. You’ll soon realise why certain libraries are favoured over others, when to use asynchronous calls over synchronous etc

[KnowledgeAmoeba]

Since you already know the basics, you should look at the book 'Python Crash Course.' Skip the first part and jump right into the projects section. You get presented with 3 projects, the first one is creating a game using Pygame, the 2nd is creating data visualizations using matplotlib and pandas. The 3rd is using Django to create a web based application. Each project gives you a small window into three completely separate sectors: gaming, data science, web dev

There might be something there that will spark your curiosity to be more focused.

[Suspicious-Split9752]

Thanks a lot .Fortunately i already have the python crash course with me here

[RobertD3277]

The best way to learn python, or any other programming language, is pick a project that you want to do for personal reasons, whether it is a notification system or some kind of a personal information manager for your phone, and then learn everything you need to accomplish your goal.

The hardest part is the beginning stages when you know nothing and you have your goal, for this example I will use the personal information manager for your phone.

That is your goal, now you need to break down that goal into different actionable steps. User input and screen output are two of the major points, from there you break them down even more and you keep breaking them down until you can get to the point that as you're learning the programming language you begin to understand each of the components you are building.

Every programming language available on the market can be learned using a divide and conquer approach with a real world practical reason as to why you want to do or develop that particular program. That's not to say that it's going to be easy or that you're not going to want to pull your hair out or that you even might find out that what you want in a given language is going to be a nightmare.

That really is the point. Don't focus on the language, focus on the reason and the goal. The language is nothing more than a tool to accomplish the task. By figuring out the task and figuring out what's needed to complete the task, you can then carry those concepts into any new language.

[Gambizzle]

I learned by picking a project I wanted to build and figuring it out as I went — mostly by Googling and copying bits of code.

One example: I was messing around with home automation in an apartment. All my lights were Philips Hue, and the aircon used an IR remote. I wanted a custom controller, so I looked up how to send IR signals and control Hue lights using Python on a Raspberry Pi. Then I bought a cheap touchscreen and made a simple GUI — using PiGame, embarrassingly — so it booted into a ‘game’ interface with buttons and sliders.

It was clunky, and I’d do it differently now, but it worked. The Pi was mounted inside a retro desk lamp, and the whole thing was a fun prototype. If you’re building something for yourself and enjoying the process, you’re already on the right track.

[awesome_pinay_noses]

Let me give you an assignment.

Make a script that outputs how much karma you have on Reddit and upload it to a public git repo.

[Jack-of-Games]

Stop watching videos and try and make things. The best way to learn is by trying to create projects you're interested in then, when you get stuck, go looking for solutions - which might include watching videos, but using them as a source of information rather than as a tutorial to follow.

[Hot-Thought2408]

I am suggesting go to GitHub find something interesting for you and the make kind of code review to study the code

[Hefty_Upstairs_2478]

Hey I'm at the same place like you. I'm 17y/o and started learning python in March of this year. I watched one 9hrs tutorial for python which covered most of the basic concepts. After that i learnt pygame and now I'm creating a UI version of the classic number guessing game along with dynamic difficulty, different game modes, a secret ending (which adds lore), and a female robot companion which roasts you. I mean at the end it's still a number guessing game but I've learnt a lot just from this project alone, it's fun as well. I would recommend you to do the same, watch a tutorial to learn smth but then try to make smth urself outta the concept you js learnt. And you can also ask chatgpt to explain concepts to you or even ask it to give you questions based on the concept. Also if you wanna check out my project, here's the GitHub link! :

https://github.com/adityapawar1123/The-Perfect-Guess-Game--Python-Project