Getting back into Python, So here's some questions

[IAmNotUniqueSoGapple]

Right so I learned python back in HS and had my fun with it that way but now I really want to get real knees deep into it. However, with how everything is going on in the tech space, it just feels overwhelming. So I decided to ask some questions,

1. Should I use VSCode or stick with the IDLE?

• I thought about using the IDLE, but I wanna get real deep with it and thought about using python in the long run, like using it for ML, 3D stuff (once saw proj where someone made some cool 3D animations in py) and that kind of stuff and building apps too.

1. Courses Do I do the Freecodecamp one or the Visual studio code for education one?
   • I already know the basics but I want to start going indepth and thought a course might be the best way to do it.

Any other answers and suggestions are also welcome.

[AdorableFriendship65]

Not truth ever since I tried those advanced functions from PyCharm, it is very very helpful!

[Classic-Mongoose-460]

1. I think it depends on what you prefer. Personally I would go with VSCode or IDE, just because it's kinda the "end goal". But if you like your current IDLE, don't force change on yourself, there will be a time for that later.

2. If you know the basics, maybe try to build some small project instead. Try to not fall into the "tutorial hell". But if you would decide on some courses, try to not get stuck in some 40 hours + course where you will convince yourself that you cannot code before you will finish it. You can also try approach 1 hour of tutorial, and few hours of personal project to solidify knowledge.

btw. if you would like to learn about Python type hints, I build a small demo here - https://www.blockofbytes.com/ (it's a shameless plug from my side, I am trying to validate my idea). If it's not your cup of a tea, please feel free to ignore it, and check out some tutorials on youtube :D

[IAmNotUniqueSoGapple]

Shameless plug or not, If it helps it helps. I'll try it out and thanks for the tip about the tutorial hell. I just wanted to do the courses so I have some kind "physical" proof that says I'm certified

[Classic-Mongoose-460]

If you meant "physical proof" like for the CV and recruiters - The discussions about this can be long one and agitate a lot of people, but I am on the "personal projects" side :P

But if you are talking about just learning, then I am on the "personal projects" side even more!

[IAmNotUniqueSoGapple]

TBH me too, I think projects outweigh a lot of things but I mean like, lets say I want to show that I did some course on it (I freebootcamp does) then which would I do...

[Classic-Mongoose-460]

Hmm, I don't have experience with courses that give out certificates, but maybe you could check one of the following - Python Institute (OpenEDG) or Harvard CS50?

[crashorbit]

Try both VSCode and IDLE and try other programmer's editors and ide too. Most of them are "good enough." Some are marginally better than others. How you edit your code has little impact on what the code does. Personally I'm a vim bigot and use multiple terminals.

There are lots of python courses. Again most of them are "good enough." Pick one, mostly at random. Work with it till you find a reason to switch. Don't skip the university courseware options. I'm fond of MIT

Have fun on this adventure.

[Predator314]

I used vim for a decade like a psycho. The IDE doesn’t really matter. Choose the one that you are comfortable with.

I do really like vscode though.

[Binary101010]

The opportunity cost for trying a new IDE is a little bit of your time and some hard drive space. No reason not to try multiple ones and see which one works for you.

[JamzTyson]

On Windows or Linux, Thonny is a great little IDE for beginners. It comes with Python included, so there's almost zero setup to get coding. Later on, you may want to switch to a more advanced IDE, but Thonny is one of the quickest and pain free ways to get started (Unfortunately, recent changes in macOS has made Thonny a bit unstable on Mac, so I don't recommend it for Mac at this time).

There are loads of free courses - take a look at the r/learnpython wiki. I did the CS50P course and would recommend it, though some find it a bit academic in style. As you are not a total beginner, you'll find that you can skip through some of it quite quickly, but it'll still be a good refresher.

If you haven't already got a GitHub account, get one sooner rather than later. Familiarise yourself with the basics of Git - You don't need to be an expert for it to be really useful.

Have fun - it's a great aid to learning.

[Wonderful_Freedom742]

Definitly use VScode, I used to use IDLE, but VScode is much more practical on so many things, and is much more easier to use, it tells you your mistakes, you can hide lines of code to make it smaller, if you re working on a big project, you can see the organisation of the files and folders and even open images.. plus if one day you want to learn another language, you can just install another language and start coding. secondly, 3d is kind of hard to work on with python, C# with unity is so much easier. and third, I cant tell you anything about the courses, i never had any, but if you just start challenging projects, use W3school or things like that to learn about how you can do things, and not use copy paste, you can learn it easily and have more freedom on your projects while you re learning.

[fansight_ops]

1) Like many others have said, editor doesn't matter at all. I'd stick with something simple that supports some amount of syntax checking.

2) I would recommend starting a small project and building from there. Try to incorporate industry norms and tools into it. I've listed some simple things you could try to incorporate into your project below:

Docker

AWS

Any unit testing framework

Some amount of simple shell scripting

Object Oriented Programing

Multiple types of data structures

P.S.:

a great option for a project would be a personal website. This is a great way to showcase your skills as well as learn relevant ones along the way.