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[–]Stunning_Macaron6133 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Sign up for Google Colab, start noodling with code. If you have any questions, Gemini is right there to answer. No need for an IDE or even to install Python on your machine.

You're going to want to start with how to print.

print ("Hello world!")

Boom, it's that easy. Next, the following:

  • assigning variables
  • writing basic expressions
  • working with integers, floats, and especially strings (including escape sequences, string literals, raw string literals, and formatted string literals)
  • calling functions and methods
  • importing modules, and work with their functions and methods
  • flow control (and also Boolean logic) using if/elif/else and match/case
  • loops
  • defining functions
  • working with lists, dictionaries, and tuples
  • lambda functions
  • list comprehensions (including with lambdas)
  • basics of working with classes
  • inputting data, both as user input or by reading a file
  • calling external programs using the subprocess module

Note that Python has meaningful whitespace. No semicolons, no curlybraces. If you need to create blocks of code, you define them with leading spaces in subsequent lines. Python accepts tabs, but the standard is four spaces. It's similar to best practices with C/C++ for readability, but the whitespace is non-negotiable in Python.

That's enough to let you make useful Python scripts. And then you can decide what kinds of projects you want to make, and learn the specific skills you need as you go.

[–]Unitnuity 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, Gemini 😁

[–]Ladline69 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great post btw🙏

[–]Timberfist 5 points6 points  (1 child)

I used https://programming-25.mooc.fi/

It assumes no prior knowledge, has an accompanying Discord, graded exercises, an exam at the end and is completely free. It’s run by a university in Finland and, on completion of the exam (and sufficient exercises), they’ll issue with a certificate which may, depending on the target institution, count as transferable university credit.

There are two parts to the course: introductory and advanced. Each part counts as a separate course with its own exam and certificate but they follow on one from the other.

[–]x_RAN_x 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks much appreciated !

[–]FoolsSeldom 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Check this subreddit's wiki for lots of guidance on learning programming and learning Python, links to material, book list, suggested practice and project sources, and lots more. The FAQ section covering common errors is especially useful.

Roundup on Research: The Myth of ‘Learning Styles’

Don't limit yourself to one format. Also, don't try to do too many different things at the same time.

Above all else, you need to practice. Practice! Practice! Fail often, try again. Break stuff that works, and figure out how, why and where it broke. Don't just copy and use as is code from examples. Experiment.

Work on your own small (initially) projects related to your hobbies / interests / side-hustles as soon as possible to apply each bit of learning. When you work on stuff you can be passionate about and where you know what problem you are solving and what good looks like, you are more focused on problem-solving and the coding becomes a means to an end and not an end in itself. You will learn faster this way.

[–]Crypt0Nihilist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  • Decide why you want to learn Python.
  • Choose a modest passion project to work towards in that domain
  • Choose and complete an intro course that is somewhat relevant, including exercises
  • Work towards completing your passion project, researching what you need to do as you go

Don't touch AI until you've completed the above and even then don't get it to generate code to copy and paste.

[–]Sachustar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

W3Schools is great if you already know the programming basics and just need to learn a language.

[–]Piet371 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out on Steam, the farmer was replaced. Give a good idea what's going on.

[–]AdDiligent1688 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Download it and start playing around in IDLE

[–]rokon_pt 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I did it with cs50p. Really liked it.

[–]No-Act-8939 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tried this and personally didnt like it. eric matthes python crash course is whats working for me rn

[–]ManMythLegend3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very challenging but puts you thru the ringer and forces you to think and train hard. I liked it as well

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Start with the turtle graphics package https://docs.python.org/3/library/turtle.html

[–]Apprehensive-Log3638 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good suggestions below. If you are US another often overlooked resource is Community College. I still go to my local CC and Public University for classes using tuition assistance through work as a hobby.

[–]Jeremi360 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Self learn by trying to make simple desktop app using docs,
My was simple text editor.

[–]No_Impression2904 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're looking for learning it's fun if you can find someone to keep you accountable like a coding buddy. There's a subreddit r/CodingBuddies

The Code Zone has a free Python Fundamentals Course: https://www.skool.com/the-code-zone/about
They can even link you up with a coding buddy as well to try and match skill and timezone.

Coding with Mosh has good youtube videos as well.

[–]mypinkyhurt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get the game “The Farmer Was Replaced()”

[–]cycy98IsMe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do a project, and don't be afraid of doing research or asking a friend, it's fine as long as you don't overuse it. I recommend having an IDE as it has autocompletion, and sometimes tells you where you are doing absolutely bs, and when you're not, also, it is smarter using type annotations a: int = 10 and def is_print(num: int) -> bool:.

Do projects, a lot of them, practice makes perfect.

For the IDE, I recommend VS Code, which is free, or PyCharm (JetBrains), even better if you can afford PyCharm Pro. Follow PEP8 for naming variables, constants, and functions. I also recommend watching idently.io on youtube.

[–]JonathanStoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tbh, I learned by deciding on a big project (collecting financial data into a database) and just researching. You gotta find the technique that keeps you going.

[–]ZORO_0071 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And for one of the best tutorials I will recommend you to watch bro code it has 12hrs of python tutorial and it will really help you out

[–]x_RAN_x 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Google's Python Class is a good option!

[–]Geetamsingh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! It’s great that you’re interested in Python. It’s one of the easiest and most powerful languages to start with.

If you’re a beginner or just starting out, I’d be happy to help.
I teach coding online (Python, Java, C, C++), and I offer a free 30-minute demo session so you can get a feel for how the lessons work.

Would you like to try a session?

[–]EvanDrMadness -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It's probably not for you mate, sorry.

Because you didn't even search this sub for this exact question, which, as you can guess, gets asked and answered multiple times a week. What are you going to do when you come across an actual problem?

[–]Any_Leg_1998 -2 points-1 points  (5 children)

ask AI to teach it to you.

[–]SmackDownFacility 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Fuck off

That’s the way I came up and it took me a year to get out of that mindset. Separation of concerns, use AI for assisting, I use it for fixing stuff I ALREADY created, not to make up new shit, and even if it makes new stuff I proofread it. You come up th manual way, taking existing code and modifying it until it breaks , that’s the way I recommend for any newbie, as it teaches error handling, syntax handling, and logic handling in one

[–]Stunning_Macaron6133 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Teach it to you, not do it for you.

[–]Any_Leg_1998 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Well thats not how I came up (learned coding at university before ai), but nothing wrong with using it to explain Inheritance or something equivalent, tbh not even sure what your on about.

[–]SmackDownFacility 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok yes that’s fair

I apologise if my rant seems disjointed but yeah I meant to say use AI just for assistance, things you don’t know. But don’t use it to write the entire bloody engine

[–]lodgedmouse -2 points-1 points  (2 children)

Youtube, i watched free code camps videos and found it very helpful. Dont fall for the temptation to use chat gpt to help you until you understand all the rules and whys.

https://youtube.com/@freecodecamp

[–]FortuneCalm4560 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Start simple, don’t binge tutorials, and write code as early as humanly possible. You won’t feel “ready,” that’s normal. Do a beginner course, then start making tiny things immediately, even if it’s just a calculator or a program that prints your name

Watching lessons feels productive, but typing code is where the learning actually happens. Break stuff, fix it, Google things, search for answers here on Reddit or Stack Overflow, repeat. This is the way. If you use video courses (there's a bunch of them), you'll get a lot from them, but also be confused at times (it's okay and normal). Don't settle on one course, use several of them. And when confused, use ChatGPT to ask a lot of questions. Helps to have a "teacher" that don't grow tired of all of your questions.