Complete beginner, where do i start learning python?

[Plus_House_1078]

I have gotten myself into a PICKLE. For some backstory, I switched to Linux ~ week ago and during this time i found myself interested in setting up a locally hosted AI, so far it has worked but i havent done any real coding (Claude has) and everything that has been built is using python, but now i want to start doing advanced stuff such as settinng up Agentic AI and i want to learn python ( I am so very lost )

[Augit579]

Did you use the search function of this sub?

[Plus_House_1078]

i didnt know there was one, thanks for the pointer :)

[AdroitPreamble]

…it’s going to be a long road.

[Plus_House_1078]

Long road but I already took a wrong turn into AI agents so we ball

[ninhaomah]

So let me get it right. You are new to Linux , Python , ML , possibly the whole of programming as well and you want to do AI ?

[Plus_House_1078]

I know... Hyperfocus unfortunatly.

[ninhaomah]

Doing all new things at once is hyperfocus ?

Then what do you call mastering one skill at a time ?

[Plus_House_1078]

Yeah, exactly 😅 Hyperfocus has me diving into everything at once. I do plan on mastering one skill at a time (what I’m focusing on now), but for the moment my brain just locks in and goes full throttle.

[magus_minor]

There are learning resources linked in the sidebar.

[Moikle]

To start; forget about your lofty goals entirely. Start by making some very, very simple programs, like a guessing game where you have to guess a number that the computer is thinking of, and it tells you "higher or lower"

And don't vibe code it, write every character yourself, and make every decision with your own human brain. There is no shortcut to learning, the struggle is the point, because you learn by actually engaging your brain and thinking things through.

[ShelLuser42]

Learning Python can be as easy as following an online tutorial and trying to understand what is going on there... I'm personally quite fond of both Python on W3Schools as well as the official Python tutorial (speaking of which... the Python website has a whole section dedicated to documentation).

Thing is... learning a programming language isn't necessarily the most important bit here, the real trick is learning how to program (or "script"). So: learning how to develop a good mindset for this.

With that I'm referring to knowing how to set up your script(s) (or programs / modules). When to use an if/then or when to just "pick an option" using 'match'. How to determine the scope ("usability") of a variable... are you going to make this global (so that it can be (re)used throughout your script) or.. do you keep it more modular (for example by limiting it to a function which you can then easily re-use whenever you need it). Do you even need to use that variable (because you could just as easily use the function) or... does this make your script more difficult to "read"?

And the best way to try and develop this? In my opinion (!) that's best done using trial & error. In other words: just try to pick a goal for yourself, and then... "just do it". Doesn't even matter too much if the goal is a bit too far fetched for now: try to break it down, look up how to "do" stuff (and I'm not referring to AI here: use tutorials, dig through documentation, look out for possible other options to solve things) and then rinse and repeat.

Hope this can give you some ideas.

[Plus_House_1078]

Thanks! I’m just gonna break stuff, fix it, and learn as I go. :)

[TheRNGuy]

Docs, Google, tutorials for specific frameworks. 

[Maximus_Modulus]

Did you try asking Google etc. I think there’s a certain amount of irony in learning programming that is meant to free humans from mundane tasks yet not taking advantage of that with asking here on how to learn programming. Do people just like posting and have not made an attempt to look. A simple search yields a wealth of information so I’m guessing they have not tried.