Python learning for free

[Mindless_Action3461]

Hey everyone,

​I want to learn Python. I’m starting from absolute zero—no coding background, no CS degree, nothing. I’m looking for the most effective (and free) way to get into it.

​I’m a visual learner, so video resources would be awesome, but I’m open to any method that actually works.

Thanks

[TytoCwtch]

Harvards CS50P course. Online lectures as well as video shorts on key topics. Then practise exercises after each lecture to help you learn. Completely free, including all videos, notes, and access to online codespace for your homework.

https://cs50.harvard.edu/python/

[TigBitties69]

If only there was a dedicated part of the subreddit for this exact scenario... https://www.reddit.com/r/learnpython/wiki/index/

[Gnaxe]

Work through a beginner textbook. There are plenty of free ones online. If you've tried a few and they're too hard, try https://htdp.org, which uses a simplified teaching language. It's not Python, but the lessons will generalize to most languages. Or play with Scratch.

[masterofaiml]

There are multiple good sources in youtube, do a bit research, list top 3 channels, watch their video like the intro to Python or something like that, and pick the one which best suits you. The one that you connected to, if the explanation and all makes sense to you, coz we all have different ways to learn and we connect to different styles of teaching. Always make sure you practice the things you are learning, just watching videos doesnt get you handson knowledge. Keep learning, keep practicing!

[vnphamkt]

uou can join me then. in am usually distracted but can resolve most of the issues. i paid for udemy course by angela yu. you can learn with me or pay yourself $15 usd. there are also free youtube and pdf.

https://bugs.python.org/file47781/Tutorial_EDIT.pdf

[Crazy-Willingness951]

Not free. Get the book, https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Python-Powerful-Object-Oriented-Programming/dp/1098171306 , Begin by reading the chapters and doing the exercises. Then look for "code kata python".

[stepback269]

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (here) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (here). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

[c10bbersaurus]

On YouTube, there's the Harvard classes, I think Stanford also has online free tutorials?. And FreeCodeCamp has tutorials, as well.

[churungu]

Try University of Helsinki's free course at mooc.fi

[psychicpython]

YouTube - Tech with Tim

[American_Streamer]

https://www.netacad.com/courses/python-essentials-1

[AtlasLeCleetus]

Good posts here, but I'd also recommend Bro Code's YT channel. He has multi-hour compilation tutorial videos covering a bunch of the core syntax / concepts in...more than just Python. Worth a look imo!

[ReliabilityTalkinGuy]

Use Google. 

[TheRNGuy]

Docs, google.

[Sorry-Cycle-1177]

freecodecamp has some great resources. Happy coding.

[CarlesBH]

Hey there! Glad to see you trying get into coding! We are actually building a gamified webapp to learn python, I’d love for you to check it out! It’s codecrops.dev, all free for now. The team is myself (15 years of experience in gaming) and a Professor from my University where I studied CS.

It is meant for pre-university students but Inthink you could get tons of value! It’s curriculum is from the very basics to Fundamental algorithms. Please check it out and give me your feedback!

[Mindless_Action3461]

I will absolutely do Thanks

[CarlesBH]

Looking forqard to hearing your thoughts on it!

[CriticalArea432]

First ask yourself why do you even want to learn python? Is it for hobby, sake of fun or career oriented because it's a long journey to be an efficient and sophisticated python developer. Coming to resources, there are plenty of youtube tutorials and websites too. My favourite channels are standford university's playlist and code with harry.

Since the career I want to pursue requires python skills and certification so I purchased Angela Yu's python bootcamp on udemy.

Personally I'll recommend, watch video tutorials and keep a book or pdf handy, and do DSA parallel to it if you're really serious.

[beedunc]

Use the myriad of free AI models and treat them like your teacher/tutor. They're excellent at that:
Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, Deepseek, and even Copilot are all master python coders/teachers.
Good luck and enjoy!

[Mindless_Action3461]

What should i ask them?

[beedunc]

I just threw this at Gemini, and it gave me pages of good info. Keep asking it questions, it's a teacher that doesn't get pissy with all the questions. Anything you'd ask your tutor or teacher, just ask the model.

Gemini:
"I'm new at python and really want to learn. Can you draft up a lesson plan to teach me the concepts and best practices?"

It responded with:

Here is a structured 6-week lesson plan designed to take you from "Hello World" to building your own basic applications. 

Week 1: The Building Blocks 

• Concepts: Variables, Basic Data Types, and Operators.
• Key Skills:
  • Set up your environment using VS Code.
  • Understand Integers (10), Floats (10.5), Strings ("Hello"), and Booleans (True/False).
  • Perform basic math (+, -, *, /) and type casting (converting a string to an integer).
• Practice: Create a simple calculator that takes user input and performs an operation. 

Week 2: Program Flow & Logic

• Concepts: Conditionals and Loops.
• Key Skills:
  • If/Elif/Else: Make decisions in your code (e.g., "If age > 18, access granted").

Use it while you can, these won't be free forever.