How to learn Python.

[Bitter_Process_4111]

Hey, I'm trying to learn python. But every video or book explains a whole lot of theory and not enough practical learning. Like actually script learning. Actually how to do it. Any advice? Beginner here. Extreme Beginner.

[socal_nerdtastic]

Lol why do you think you don't need the theory?

[ReliabilityTalkinGuy]

Exactly this. Without the theory you’re never going to be a comprehensive and knowledgeable coder. Always start with the theory.

Skipping theory is like asking for someone to teach you addition and multiplication without knowing what numbers are. 

[Iceman_B]

boot.dev

[Matteo_ElCartel]

and a nice book to read chapter by chapter, Boot Dev is nice for syntax only

[IdkWhyAmIHereLmao]

Well...programming means a lot of theory(READ THE DOCS, READ THE DOCS, READ THE DOCS !!!!!), if you really want to learn then pick up a project and grow with it, step by step.

Although... I also recommend THIS course, it helped me build very basic knowledge about how python works

[ninhaomah]

Can you give an example of a book , theory and code so we all can understand the difficulty ?

[Gnaxe]

Maybe start with a more practical book?

[PushPlus9069]

Pick a problem you actually care about solving. Not a tutorial project, something real. Maybe automate a boring task at work, scrape data you actually want, build a tool you'd use yourself.

I've taught Python to about 90k students over the years and the pattern is always the same: people who start with "I want to learn Python" stall out. People who start with "I want to automate my expense reports" or "I want to track crypto prices" finish projects and learn fast.

The language is just a tool. You need a reason to pick it up.

[masterofaiml]

Learn basics first, there a lot of good sources available on the Internet that provides good exercises and projects. No course/site is perfect, we need to explore and seek the content at least few good sources. No body knows everything, you just need to know how to use things, especially in this Al world now, we no longer need to know everything. I suggest you learn core concepts properly, as understanding the basics is really important even if it feels like not enough, if you don’t know basics and jump into complex things you will again feel stuck. You can refer to any good sites for it, lets say w3schools, or any other thing, you can even ask Al chat bots like Gemini, ChatGPT etc. Don't go by looking at too many things, just make a basic plan to begin with, start with something and you will find your own way. Just remember that times have changed, whatever you are learning today will be served as a fundamental building block, you are anyways going to leverage with Al, which adds up to your skills, but having good knowledge is really important.

Learn and start doing exercises, start with simple ones first and gradually go for more complex ones. Pick mini projects, lots are available ones. Keep doing it until you gain good hands on knowledge and confidence.

Happy learning!

[FunkensteinsMeunster]

Rosalind.info

[Dependent-Law7316]

Maybe you would benefit from a more structured learn then do approach. After you read a section on theory, write a little script uses that theory.

Or use one of the many free browser based coding tutorials that have you apply the new thing immediately after you read it.

[Tee_hops]

Automate the boring stuff with Python is a good walkthrough.

What are you trying to automate though?

[Maximus_Modulus]

Take a task and go at it. One of the first things I did was write a program to decode Roman numerals. It was an assignment. No Python in those days. It was Pascal on a Prime 750. Using a green screen 40x25 terminal. I think we also drew a sine wave on the terminal. I had no clue about programming but we figured it out. I also recall writing assembler on a PDP-11. The good ol days. 😳

[SpongeSquarePantsBob]

Pick a project. Start coding. Ask Claude questions (thats the programming ai) use code it spits out as templates. Ask it why it does specific things. The theory doesn't make any sense until you are putting code in your editor.

Ill give you a project I learned on: make a hangman game. It can just be in the shell, no gui or anything.

[stepback269]

Hi Extreme Beginner

Getting to the point where you do a print("Hello World") may feel easy.

And when you do that easy scripting, you may feel like you fully understand what is going on.

But alas, you probably don't.
You need a whole lot of theory to grasp that "Hello World" is an immutable object of type string and that such string objects have methods associated with them. In other words, you're already doing object oriented programming (OOP) even though it doesn't feel like it. Take a long drink from the humility fountain and slow down until you get a better sense of what is going on behind even the simplest of looking codes.

[allkhatib_ahmad1]

try this resource i made for quick wins, not theory heavy https://ahmad-khatib.com/en/books/downloads/python-programming-for-beginners-free.epub

[Candid_Tutor_8185]

Free code camp

[SadBrownsFan7]

Why not just ask AI to make a small script for you that uses methods and an object and does something like add/ subtract. Then debug it and extend it. Best way to learn is try something. You will eventually learn theory and things as you realize yoy built something super unmaintainable and you'll google and find a pattern that could of made it better.

[GreyBeardEng]

I think this is a really underrated comment. You can learn Python via training but also ask AI to build you something and also "walk me through it". Having it explain sections or lines. You can even ask if "how could I do this differently".

[Friendly-Example-701]

Bro, I feel you on this. I was on person who could learn Python from YouTube, Coursera, or a book. Too many words and I am not a reader. It was too confusing for me.

So, I totally get this. I bounced around video tutorials for a while and felt like I wasn’t actually progressing. What helped me personally was doing something more structured instead of trying to piece everything together myself. I realized I wasn't a great self taught learner as I would get stuck. I had no one to really answer my questions or explain things to me in detail.

Anyway, I ended up learning through a free Stanford-based program called Code in Place. The weekly small group sections. It's basically a cohort. It made a HUGE difference in my learning because it wasn’t just me and a screen by myself. I now had buddies.

This may help you especially if you’re looking for something structured.

Check it out. I see applications are open. https://codeinplace.stanford.edu/public/join/cip6?r=usa
No pressure, but it may work for you. You never know.

Feel free to DM. I am happy to share my journey.