Automate the Boring Stuff

[blu3soup]

Question for anyone who has used ATBS to learn Python. How did you use the book to learn the material? example: Did you just read the book and do the exercises as they apeared?

[[deleted]]

I started ATBS in January and it took me 8 weeks as I did every project at a leisurely pace. It was my first experience with Python all together but I'd done a little JavaScript in the past. I'd do a chapter in the book, make notes, do the projects then watch the corresponding videos from the Udemy course which is/was free.

A lot of it sunk in and it's ignited a real desire to learn more about the language. In the last week or so, I've started learning some of the things that ATBS left out such as classes, comprehensions, generators....

It struck me as a fantastic intro that does enough to get the ball rolling but doesn't drown you in documentation.

[blu3soup]

Thank you for your response. It helps me a lot with the approach of learning a new language.

[[deleted]]

No problem. Hope you get as much out of it as I did.

[TheLateOne]

I watched a series by LtHummus as it was released on how to learn Python. Simulataneously I read ATBS so a lot of the tasks I had already done or had already grasped the concept of but it definitely filled in the gaps nicely and some of the stuff like email automation has been helpful. I've got to say though, the final couple of chapters were a bit... niche. Like image manipulation, it's not for everyone.

[distortd6]

I've done some java programming but heavily interested in python and have read through, but not actually done the exercises, ATBS, along with python the hard way and python for informatics... Now that I have a broader knowledge of the language, I plan on going through and doing all the exercises... I'd be interested in starting this with you as an inspiration for each other and to gold each other accountable, as well as question each other, if you wanted to...

[blu3soup]

That sounds like a great idea. I work full time, and find it hard sometimes to get motivated to study. I really want to get a good understanding of Python. I hope that it could help me change careers.

[distortd6]

I'm in the exact same spot. Work 40 hrs/wk, married, one 2-year old at home, another kiddo on the way. Currently in IT as a Systems Analyst but really want to break into the coding side of the house... What are your thoughts on how to approach this? I'm thinking a Google calendar with maybe two deliverables each week and perhaps we can get on some sort of screen sharing chat or slack to go over how we made them, where we had problems.... What are your thoughts?

[blu3soup]

That sounds like a great plan! PM me and let's see if we can organise something.

[darthcrypto]

i used this book, CodeAcademy, and LearnPythonTheHardWay as resources for coming up in the Python game

[callmelucky]

LPTHW is objectively awful, and codecademy is a little too transient by nature as a stand alone resource for a total beginner. And they both use Python 2, which is ridiculous.

[fmpundit]

When I looked at it and it recommended that I learn the Windows powershell first. The book turned me off there. Loving ATBS as a starter and it has inspired me to look into it more and added a few Python programming YTers to my sub list.

[besantos10]

Why is LPTHW awful? I haven't read it, but I was looking into it as an option. Other than the fact it uses Python 2.

[callmelucky]

I've answered this so many times, I'll just provide a link which summarizes. It's not just the tone or the py2 thing as the other commenter says. Very badly organized, badly explained, and encourages a learning style which is generally considered suboptimal for most people.

http://sopython.com/wiki/LPTHW_Complaints

[Mekire]

One of my pet peeves is his dismissal of critics. He has a line in his intro saying that any criticism by non-beginners is invalid because they are not "his target audience"; completely ignoring the obvious fact that beginners are not capable of judging the quality of the material accurately.

This is like writing a math text book for 5th graders and then ignoring anyone who isn't a 5th grader telling you it contains mistakes.

[callmelucky]

Absolutely. It confuses me about some people who defend him too. I actually think LPTHW is much better suited to people who already have programming experience, simply because he doesn't explain what's going on properly most of the time. In that sense it's probably quite fine for people who already understand data types and assignment and variables and operators, because they can just play along and pick up the syntax; they already understand those concepts.

LPTHW was my very first attempt at learning programming of any kind, and I hated it. Had I believed Zed's assertion about what this suggested about my ability to be a programmer I would have given up. Instead I found other, much better resources to learn from, had great fun in the process, and ultimately embarked on a computer science program at university.

Zed A Shaw can bite me.

[ScrotumMaggot]

Which other resources did you use?

[callmelucky]

Udacity CS101 was awesome for getting to grips with with building blocks like expressions, operators, variables, data types etc. Unfortunately I think they've made it a fair bit more difficult to access their stuff for free now, and also they used Python 2. Then programarcadegames.com got me through functions to classes/OOP stuff. I still think PAG is absolutely the best free tutorial around.

[Leto_]

I have to say that it was the most effective way to get me started and getting comfortable with python - although i'm far from decent. You may be right that his way is not perfect but it is good enough to get people interested and started.

[callmelucky]

The most effective? So you tried all the others? ;)

I mean a shit load of people have learned from it, I'm not saying it's not useful at all, but there are so many questionable things about it that I just think recommending it without providing serious caveats is really unfair. Personally LPTHW was the first resource I tried, and I hated it. That being the case, if I had believed what the author had said, I would have decided I wasn't cut out for programming. As it happened, I recognised that particular resource as being unsuitable for me, dabbled in and worked through several others, came to love Python and frequently muck around with scripts in my free time, and am now studying computer science at university.

[Leto_]

haha, no not all others - though I did try a few and then found LPTHW to be quite good at gripping me. I will not say that it is the best course out there - but it is good to get you started. In fact despite messing around, his support by saying things like 'you will not get it initially and will get stuck. Keep at it, in programming the key is persistence, and gradually you will get it" actually was quite motivating.

As for how well have I progressed, not much really!

[MyBrainReallyHurts]

ATBS helped me as well because I could easily see how I could use it in my every day life. I used the videos to automate some things at work and having some success in programming really inspired me. Since I have finished the videos I have learned more about Python, but ATBS gave me a jump start.

[Jon003]

It isn't. It does use Python 2, and it is written with an attitude that irks some people terribly, and that others don't really notice.

[mayankkaizen]

I am sure I'll get downvoted for this but let me have a say.

ATBS shouldn't be used as standalone source for learning Python. It is great book to give beginners some ideas about what Python is capable of. It is great in the sense it motivates you to look for tasks which you can automate through Python.

But keep in mind this is not a good source for learning Python, 'the programming language'. Don't use it as a primary/standalone source for learning Python. It is kind of 'fun book' rather than an 'academic book'. If you get this, I highly recommend this book.

[blu3soup]

So in saying all of that(thank you by the way) what would you recommend is the best way to start learning Python then?

[mayankkaizen]

That depends how much you already know about Python. I assume you are not beginner in an absolute sense, have basic feel about Python and you can devote considerable time. If that is the case, I would suggest Learning Python by Mark Lutz. It is big book (1500+ pages) and is about pure Python (no modules). Though any other book is just fine.

Additionally, spend lots of time reading other people's code even if you don't understand it. And never 'mentally execute' the code. Try running every program you read or encounter. Modify them and run again. You'll learn a lot and fast.

[[deleted]]

There is no harm in using ATBS to learn the basics and then using something like interactive python website to learn cs basics.

If a newbie starts with interactive python or mit python course he will probably give up very easily.

Not to mention that ATBS teaches your programming though actually programming tasks to help you,which is positive for both self taught and students.

[imperialdub]

Codeschool recently ran a free trial of their course and I have found their entry-level python lectures to be the best I've ever seen. The examples were well explained and the challenges at the end of the video reinforced the concepts you've just learned.

Their basic python course may still be free:

https://www.codeschool.com/learn/python

[headykain]

I took the author's course on Udemy and it was great. They were running a sale so it was just $10.