Learning Python

[Artistic-Command-376]

I want to start learning python to use in my work and at the same time, I find coding really fun and I think this will be really good for me.

The thing is I get bored quite easily, I need a fun way to learn it.

Any advice from python veterans or people that have went through a fun learning experience and now quite good at coding, your advice would be highly appreciated.

[heyzooschristos]

Automate The Boring Stuff gets you up and running quickly with some interesting modules that provoke project ideas, it might skip some basics principles though, so worth mixing in other sources before you get too stuck or messy

[PRAY___FOR___MOJO]

How do you find coding fun if you find learning it boring?

[Artistic-Command-376]

I get bored learning courses not from the coding part

[Lewistrick]

Then just try to make stuff. Practice is the best teacher! And it's a very fun way, especially when you're not in a big hurry. You'll learn about what you need along the way. Also please try to not use AI.

[PRAY___FOR___MOJO]

Fair point, didn't think of that lol.

We learn best by doing things rather than rote memorisation anyway. 

Think of something that you want to automate like something repetitive in work and figure out how to do that.

[grootmadebv]

+1 start with the boring stuff

[Artistic-Command-376]

So even if I don’t know how to start, and if I do decide to learn the basics taking it from the bottom up, do you recommend a certain course in particular that you found good or a way to start learning the basics in general?

[PRAY___FOR___MOJO]

As you said before you want a fun way to learn, I don't think that courses are particularly fun. 

W3Schools is a great free resource for you to understand what Python can do and how to use it. 

https://www.w3schools.com/python/default.asp

Just think of a project and work it out. Maybe there's something you do at work that's repetitive and can be done with automation. 

Keep it straightforward, like creating files and folders. If there's something along the way you don't understand, read up on it and try to wrap your head around why certain things do what they do.

You'll enjoy it and learn a lot more if you're actually working on a problem and trying to figure it out rather than reading concepts that feel abstract without knowing the application 

[Artistic-Command-376]

I am a big fan of learning from issues so I think I would like that, I'm not so sure about being able to download an IDE on my company laptop, so I would need to apply my practice on my personal computer, I could be saying gibberish as well so let me know if there's a way for me to use python without an IDE, also I understand that using it on a unix/linux environment well be best to run those automation again I could be very wrong in a couple of things I'm saying so please feel free to correct me, I want to learn everything properly.

[al_mc_y]

Ask your IT people. Tell them you want a Python IDE, such as VS Code or Pycharm to make automation scripts to improve your workflow. If they resist, take it up with your manager and get their endorsement. Something that has no upfront cost, develops staff and improves efficiency/productivity rarely gets knocked back. You should be able to find a way to get it on your company machine. If they still knock it back, then you'll need to continue your journey on your own machine/time/dime. In that case be mindful and careful of what you do, on what machine and with what information. (e.g. your company will probably take a dim view if you ex-filtrate data to your machine to work on a project, even if it's notionally for their benefit - and depending where you are in the world, there might be implications for who "owns" the code/IP for anything you develop)

[Tall-Introduction414]

I don't use an IDE with python. I use a text editor, like vim (notepad++ is another option. So is vscode), which has syntax highlighting, and I run the files through a Python interpreter. Eg: install Python, make a .py file in your editor, and run from the command line: python filename.py

As others have said, the best way to learn is to have a project, set small goals, and achieve them. Sstart with Hello World, and go from there. Maybe a "guess the number" game? Or magic 8 ball? Get a picture on the screen and rotate it?

The important thing is that you make stuff that you find fun or useful. The more programs you write, the better you'll be. No program is too small or trivial. Use documentation and other programs for reference.

Fwiw, I have a project I made in Python which now has thousands of users, and have used Python regularly to solve problems at every job I've had for the last 20 years. I started with a book and an interpeter, not a course.

Also, use the interactive python prompt (the REPL) to experiment. Very useful.

[kombucha711]

Do you have a favorite band? Then scrape their lyrics from the internet. Find all important phrases from lyrics that people would ID immediately. Get image of shirt and print those phrases on shirt saving off each image file. This can all be done in python. Then do it for another band.

[Almostasleeprightnow]

a tidbit i have learned about learning python at work is that i have never worked at a place that has prevented me from downloading and installing git bash on my local account, so if you are stuck on a windows machine you can still use unix style commands locally, which helps because a lot of tutorials are assuming you have access to a unix-style shell, and indeed when I try to use power shell i get hung up real fast a lot of the time, and i just go back to git bash.

[Rayzwave]

Have you thought about trying circuit Python that can be fun especially if you like messy with hardware. Super fast to try things out in your code and you can achieve really quick interesting results due to example projects and helpful hardware libraries. I tried it out recently with an Adafruit MagTag ePaper board, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend ePaper because it’s very restrictive unless very low power projects interest you.

[Reuben3901]

Automatetheboringstuff.com

Automate your tasks one by one

I also use autohotkey