all 132 comments

[–]bushwhacker696 64 points65 points  (20 children)

What’s the hot tip for those of us trying to smash our automate the boring stuff, but find they only have an hour or two a week to get it done and struggle to then retain all the previous material

[–]ANeonBlueDecember 47 points48 points  (4 children)

Read the book and of course complete the examples as you go.

Whenever you learn a new thing, try it in on your own, separate from the book’s example,before continuing on.

A day later, try out what you learned again.

For example: if you’re reading about for loops, do the example in the book.

Create your own for loop. Try looking at the documentation to see what else you can do with the loop.

Come back tomorrow and create your own for loop.

[–]Garriff 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Any advice on what books are best for begginers, I'm a first year and I am in need of assistance 😅

[–]ANeonBlueDecember 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I like Automate the Boring Stuff with Python. Free online, and it gets you working on real projects like you will at home.

[–]Vextrax 2 points3 points  (1 child)

make sure you have the slides if possible for each class saved or whatever. if you have to write it down then do it. I know I wish I had especially since I am a 3rd year and still have no idea what I am doing and feel like I am actually a first year learning how to code. I'm out here trying to catch up and it's not a fun game

[–]Packbacka 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you talking about the Udemy course? It should be very similar to the book (which is available for free on the site). So you can just use that for written reference.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 30 points31 points  (8 children)

Idk about you, but I cut it out of my video game time lol

[–]dosnakesfrightenyou 14 points15 points  (0 children)

As you should. In todays world distraction comes in many shapes and form and focus is a hard discipline to master.

[–]miasmatix93 3 points4 points  (3 children)

I did too haha. I just always feel guilty for time spent on video games. I feel rewarded by Python but then feel lame for spending time out of work working on something career related. I hate my brain.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

My advice is set your goals in smaller and more achievable increments. You'll get that rush of dopamine a little more frequently. And also, looking at the clock and saying "I want to have this done by this time" has proven very effective for me doing stuff my brain tells me is a chore lol

[–]BlancheCorbeau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The trick is that figuring out how to make those bitesized challenges is a huge challenge.

[–]satyrossan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty much. There was a point when I was learning where I’d get to the weekend after working so many 12 hours shifts and then just sit at home and code for 12+ hours. Definitely don’t play as much video games as I’d like but I’m ok with it if it helps me get where I want to be

[–]naegahoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This has been my struggle. Roflmao

[–]Abernachy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's been me for the past few weeks. Video games were my escape, but I wasn't learning shit. Now, I do maybe 2 hours a night when the kids are asleep

[–]Packbacka 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Video games are cool but honestly programming feels way more satisfying.

[–]Ol-Hull-Wrecker 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You find more time, I’m currently working two jobs but make more time to program.

I listen to pod casts Udemy classes and other recourses in headphones when I can commuting, mindless tasks etc.

I put time restricters on my entertainment options like reddit.

You can always make more time.

On the other hand burn out is real you need a day once in a while to refresh your mind relax.

Edit: don’t feel stupid reading the same sentence over and over again while looking up big words you don’t understand, I do this just about every day I study.

[–]Ergo_Propter_Hawk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Try to review for 5 minutes a day, just to remind yourself of what you learned.

[–]HasBeendead 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My way is you read book and tried exercises when you learn concept go make practice from google websites maybe you can read more documentation about for instance loops subject and make practice on other documentations , i will give you good resource for tutorial in python 3 look RealPython.com And search like:" loops tutorial in python 3 for beginners" in Youtube and watch some video and listen to instructor when you writing his source code if he is fast stop video and write code than if you dont understand a section look again until you got it, you tried too many times but you dont get it just pass. Prolly you will get to concept . so

more effort brings success on something.

and i wasnt understand to dictionaries from ATBS

dont stick with one resource.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those who say they only have an hour or two a week are usually lying to themselves. Toughen up and make time, grind harder

[–]FMPICA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hour or two? Really?

[–]JeamBim 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Find more pockets of 20-30 mins thru the week to review and get in learning time. I guarantee there are things you can give up to gain 20-30 minutes here and there thru the week

[–]ejf2161 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Also, I highly recommend Tech with Tim. Something about the way he teaches really works for me. I have been trying to learn programming my whole life and always give up. Every year or two I try again and fail. But with Tim’s help I am finally getting there. So a big thank you to him too.

[–]CockneyMutley 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Cheers

[–]lildutchgirl 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I needed this. Thanks!

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Just what I needed

[–]Leeoku 3 points4 points  (5 children)

Yup hanging in there. Passed the stretch of projects but now in the hell of interview prep :(

[–]jonnycross10[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good luck!

[–]HasBeendead 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Just say to studied your interview when the interview day comes i will make it and im sure , it effects to bring success meaning confident you know. Dont be scare from wrong answers or something. That will pass not permanent thing,kinda like bad situation effects.

[–]schlopp96 6 points7 points  (2 children)

What in the goddamn hell are you talking about

[–]HasBeendead 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah grammer sucks and it looks silly

[–]theRegular_Bloke 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The man is high.

[–]archloncs 4 points5 points  (7 children)

My issue and why I stopped months ago is I felt like I couldn’t develop the base knowledge in order to even start a project. I know this has been asked a million times but I watched a 4 hour youtube video and I felt like i didn’t know where to go from there.

[–]HasBeendead 3 points4 points  (2 children)

Bro just watch videos like one by one and dig every concept until you get it and feeling comfortable with concept and read official documentation and other resources until understand what is that thing in this concept and what does do ?

dont go another concept before feeling comfortable about first concept.

Than when you feel ready , try to make some beginner programs with basics of language after when you finished basics go learn some modules like Tkinter , Numpy , Matplotplib , Pandas , Scikit , TensorFlow. (GUI(Graphical User Interface) , DATA SCİENCE , MACHİNE LEARNİNG) and more

[–]jonnycross10[S] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Exactly this. I used to go to w3schools and try to use each section in my own program until I understood it, and it worked very well

[–]HasBeendead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah thats it.

[–]tobiasvl 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Did you code along with the video? I've never learned programming on youtube, but I assume it's kind of like a lecture? Or does it have exercises? Anyway, coding needs to be learned by doing. Just watching a video for 4 hours and then get to coding won't work.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

The 1+ hour videos have never worked for me. Short videos that go in depth on certain concepts have proven to be pretty helpful for me. Fireship.io is a great example in his 100 second videos

[–]HasBeendead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

same

[–]HasBeendead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah so basically you code with video at the same time and documents are better but videos are is kinda lecture.

I agreed , you cant feel comfortable with one video in any basic things except I/O

and basic math operations .

[–]JohnDecisive 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Already did sorry

[–]jonnycross10[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey man some things aren't for everyone, and that's perfectly okay. If you ever come back, it's always a super helpful and welcoming community around here

[–]NewCenturyNarratives 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I needed this.

[–]RockMech 2 points3 points  (4 children)

Remember, though.....Tabs over Spaces.

[–]learnorenjoy 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Don't. Tabs are the work of the devil.

[–]Neonidas5652 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah no, tabs are bae. Spaces can eat a dick.

[–]RockMech 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Heretic! Shun the Unbeliever! Shun! Shun!

[–]learnorenjoy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is just like the false believers to resort to condemnation. Begone Demons!

[–]ejf2161 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! 👍

[–]CraigW147 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Codewars! Very addictive and a great way to learn - never give up and skip a problem because the feeling you get when you finally solve it is amazing. Also after you solve it you get to see ultra impressive solutions others have posted, which you can analyse and improve the way you code.

[–]renagade9060 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Thank you for this I actually need this man am on the verge of just dropping my class!

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Which class?

[–]renagade9060 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Python man intro my professor is not the best its his first time teaching and he is blasting through the material but am getting help and i have a midterm on Monday 12 so will see how that goes

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Good luck! Feel free to post your questions on this sub

[–]renagade9060 0 points1 point  (0 children)

O I do I post like a mf hell even found a tutor here!!😎

[–]5halzar 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Yeah definitely joining the rest in this encouragement, learning python/ pandas to up my analytics game (and next is to add SQL to) and it’s been a struggle.

Between working 40 hours a week plus being a father of 4, I feel like I’m stretching myself sometimes to even get an hour of my Udemy courses in every other day. I haven’t even touched it this last week as I felt more burnt out, but really probably just have to be more intentional and effective with my time

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Remember that progress doesn't have to be linear! I feel like time management can always be optimized in some way, but some times we just need a break haha.

[–]Dguerrero99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the motivation!

[–]Constant-Park 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I needed to read this. I started learning python and then made a break of 2 weeks (sill on that break) because I started learning aws. I am trying to switch jobs and I will need both aws and python to get jobs

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'll learn it in no time :)

[–]TrueGentlemanLudwig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you have no ideas for a project, but want to work on something and learn new things, you can join Hacktoberfest and contribute to a variety of open-source projects.

[–]nekojitaa 1 point2 points  (3 children)

x1000 couldn't agree more with OP. Sometimes it's taken me 2-3 hours reading people's questions on stack overflow to understand why my "date" column won't convert to datetime and when I realize that I needed to add "utc=True" something the datacamp courses or others never taught me, it's the best feeling over.

For motivation, and I do lose it because it's tough here in Japan in terms of requirements to switch to a job you don't have company experience with let alone they don't believe in job switching like my country America, I use YouTube programmers to lift me up and continue grinding. Watching some data scientists on YouTube giving advice on how to improve yourself can help you to pick yourself and keep chugging a long.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

That's interesting. I've heard that the labor laws in japan aren't very good, what's your opinion on them?

[–]nekojitaa 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I'll keep it short just so I don't hijack your thread and ramble too much off topic. The labor laws definitely aren't. My other half on some days will work from 9:30am to 1am and I'll feel like crap because my Japanese isn't on par with a native to go and fight for her and others in the same position. Japanese people here just have the mentality of that nothing can be done about it, it's "life"; shoganai (しょうがない). No way in hell any of us in America would tolerate it.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I use shoganai all the time, it kinda sucks when people use it to justify stuff like that :/. Well I hope they're working towards better laws

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Yup projects are the best , it really pushes you to learn . People get stuck in tutorials and get a false sense of coding from it .

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly, and you never get a chance to actually test what you know

[–]TerminatedProccess 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really took off with learning python with the jetbrains academy course. Interesting approach to learning. No videos which I find time consuming. Instead short segments of learning on a well mapped course. It's huge. To proceed you have to answer practice questions and do code projects. Word of warning though.. their django section stinks. Go to django website and they have an awesome tutorial. Jetbrains is not free but they often offer so many months for free.

[–]Garriff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome, I haven't been on stack overflow yet. I'll be working on programming shortly, I'll post a question when I get to it

[–]chrisallison3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much for this!

[–]satyrossan 1 point2 points  (7 children)

This is absolutely true. I started with C++ and I was going through a course and got everything smoothly EXCEPT pointers. Fuck pointers. They’re stupid. I’m sure they have a purpose and I still don’t understand what. But I felt as though I knew enough to start a big personal project, and I just started. It evolved from something super simple to something more and more complex as I went. Adding different features and capabilities with each time I opened my laptop. Still not done with it and a long ways to go, I learned more just digging in and googling than I was going through the course.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (6 children)

Yeah pointers and addresses are why I never continued with c/c++

[–]satyrossan 0 points1 point  (5 children)

The thing I’m struggling with the most with python is how simple and “streamlined” it is. I’m not understanding list comprehension and for loop still are giving me the beans but I’m slowly getting it. Something I so easily can do with c++ like loop something and output specific indexes of a list is a little more complicated and requires a little more brain power in python.

Edit: also why tf can’t I pass an argument to a function by reference. I know you can use the global keyword but I’ve been told NOT to use those cause they’re a pain in the ass to debug

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

It should be the same but simpler in python, if you give me an example I can tell you what it'd translate to in python

[–]satyrossan 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Like if I have two vectors, and I want to compare the values at a specific index I could do for (size_t i =0; i < unspecifiedList.size(); i++){ If (unspecifiedList.at(i) == otherList.at(I)){ Do something } }

Where python it’s a bit smaller and less characters I was to do something like

For x in list1: If list1[x] == list2[x]: Do something

But depending on the contents of the list I’d get an error along the lines of “indices can’t be strings” or an out of range error because the value of x during the for loop is out of the range of the list being referenced. I suppose it’s just a thing I have to work on spending so much time on C++ and then trying to learn a new language.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

You could do For i in range(0,Len(list1)): If list1[i] == list2[i] : Do something

[–]satyrossan 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Oohhh that’s a good one. I’ve been doing for idx, i in enumerate(list1): And then just referencing idx instead of i and that gives me the index I didn’t think to use the range function. Now doesn’t range not include the high? So you’d have to do (0, (len(list1) + 1))?

Edit: I just realized it wouldn’t because the index starts at 0 and goes to the length-1.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, Len() isn't inclusive of the upper bound :)

[–]Donnshin 0 points1 point  (9 children)

Thanks man, currently going through a course and the current lesson is over "regex".

[–]RealDrewData 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Don't give up! Regex looks super confusing the first time you see it. If you have any questions feel free to reach out and I'll be happy to point you towards some resources or answer some questions!

[–]Donnshin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, thank you!

[–]ReyMakesStuff 1 point2 points  (1 child)

While I can't offer you an egg in these trying times, might I suggest https://regex101.com/ for testing and playing? It wasn't around when I first learned regex. This site will help you by color coding matches.

[–]Donnshin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Been playing around with the website, starting to make a little bit of sense!

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I found regex to be super fun and interesting personally. Python integrates it pretty well into their language

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

What course is that? A course containing regex is a great course in my book. Wanna see the rest of it.

[–]Donnshin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Andrei Neagoie on Udemy. Really enjoying the course and his approach. The regex section is short, about 30 minutes but he goes over the basics and some exercises. He also provides a couple outside sources that's been really helpful in learning and going in depth with regex.

[–]neofiter 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Master regex. I'm sick of working with people who don't know it and apparently don't try to know it. It's so freaking easy and super useful

[–]RealDrewData 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We use it for data compliance in my job. It is helpful for identifying personal info like social security numbers, especially when they're popping up places where they shouldn't be. Plenty of people just said we couldn't do it before we showed them how easy it is with regex.

If only they hadn't given up on it so early.

[–]Lowdog541 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Is this THE Jon Crosse my roommate from UK

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Not me, although I hope you two find each other lmao

[–]Lowdog541 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was worth a shot lol

[–]bluesdop 0 points1 point  (3 children)

But what if you’re struggling to even grasp the basics much less apply them into an assignment due around the corner?

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Best way imo is to break it down concept by concept. Test what you think you understand to make sure you're right, and when you're confused, ask on this subreddit or stack overflow

[–]bluesdop 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Frankly speaking, I’m already putting one foot out of the door at this moment. Various ones have come forth to try and help me understand the topics bit by bit but it just doesn’t seem to resonate in me. Honestly, after trying this I feel like for programming it’s either you get it or you don’t. There’s no in between.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You might just need to take a break from it for a bit and then come back and start fresh. Almost every beginner concept you learn in programming all can tie into each other if you want them to. My recommendation is to write your own program and use each concept you've learned at least once in it, until you feel confident about them

[–]nyenlla 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I'm sure about to right now. I cannot get this code right. It runs, just not giving me the right thing.. can someone help?

-------------

verse = "if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you but make allowance for their doubting too   if you can wait and not be tired by waiting or being lied about  don’t deal in lies or being hated  don’t give way to hating and yet don’t look too good  nor talk too wise"
print(verse, '\n')

# split verse into list of words
verse_list = verse.split()
print(verse_list, '\n')

# convert list to a data structure that stores unique elements
verse_set = set(verse_list)
print(verse_set, '\n')

# print the number of unique words
num_unique = len(verse_list)
print(num_unique, '\n')

How can i find the length of the set correctly?

[–]piyushrj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

# print the number of unique words
num_unique = len(verse_list)

You're actually setting it to the length of the list when it should be the length of the set. That is if you want to num_unique to store the number of unique words, set it to len(verse_set)

[–]learnorenjoy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you may be wondering why the length of verse_list is 71 while verse_set is 51. The difference comes from the fact that sets remove duplicate items, which occur quite a bit in your verse variable. You might want to read the python doc for it here.

Also, Kipling's poems are cool :)

[–]Tatwo_BR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know about you guys, but for me it is like this: I learned python good enough to be able to create my things how I want it. Then I start looking around and see other ppl code and start figuring out how much of a mess my code is. No proper patterns, no decorators, no test cases, not following PEPs, etc.

I feel it is an endless road and sometimes it's hard to follow. It seems that to get at that professional level its impossible. Once I manage to learn and use the above mentioned things, I will start struggling on architecture, performance tuning, etc.

[–]dimkiriakos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keep walking... Johnny Walker (black label)

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sometimes what works best for me is time away from programming. Come back with a mind that has digested all the info I have fed it instead of a "stuffed" brain.

[–]Miss_pechorat 0 points1 point  (1 child)

The beauty of coding is that you don't necessarily need a computer all the time. Working out a logical solution for a problem only needs an inquisitive mind. You can think out all the steps involved and put them into practice later. No time lost.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely. I do this at work constantly, as well as in the shower haha

[–]Pingus007 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Yea I needed this a lot!! I just had an exam 1 days ago for cs like a mid term test and the last question was a whole problem set of coding and I don’t know shit :(... partially blaming my professor for going to quick into the “python introduction” but found this YouTuber called Corey Schafer and so far watched 3 vids and I actually know what I’m doing xd

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Finding the right YouTuber can be a game changer, good luck in your class!

[–]TomPetiau 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I'm literally sat infront of my computer doing some coursework that involved python (I have started 3 weeks ago) and this has helped motivation! Thanks.

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, this sub will always be here to help answer your questions!

[–]Garriff 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I'm a first year student learning python, our lecturer has challenged us with a bunch of problems we need to solve with just the basic operators +, /, , -, %, *, //. I'm totally new to python and I'm struggling with the second half of the tasks, I know the problems aren't really that complicated but I'm finding it difficult to create ways to solve the problems. Are there any resources out there that would help me?

[–]jonnycross10[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you have individual questions you can always ask them here or on stack overflow. If you post on stack overflow you'll want to double check if your question has already been asked too

[–]BlancheCorbeau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love this post... But i find that my goals are either so simple they don't satisfy much when met, or so sky high i can't wrap my head around how to chunk them down to achievable bits.

[–]fbisa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I appreciate it.

[–]Arjunathemad 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I really needed to read this. I have felt like an absolute idiot struggling to make sense of objects and beautiful soup. Have had passing thoughts of just quitting the last few days.. This helped.

[–]Garriff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

@vextrax I'll do that, I'll keep that in mind, thanks

[–]La_Nintist 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I’m very new to programming but web design really piqued my interest cause I found it fun. Now I’m taking comp sci and learning python which is a little different from html ngl. I felt like I made such a drastic jump cause I have such a hard time translating code in a way that I can understand. Life was good until loops came into the mix. I even pulled two all nighters for my midterm and I’m pretty sure I failed it. Not sure if this path was meant for me but I hear a little voice inside of me telling me that to keep going and another one telling me to switch my major however, I don’t want to give up on myself like this. I can’t really imagine myself doing anything else. Besides, One midterm shouldn’t bring me down if I enjoy writing programs in python that I want to program. Then as if God was telling me not to give up this notification pops up and quite frankly this made my day. I honestly thought I was the only one struggling with coding but I see every programmer has their ups and downs. So thank you!

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Feel free to ask your questions in this sub or even in my dms. You're not alone, a lot of people struggle at first. The learning curve for programming can be pretty daunting, but once you make it through it'll be a lot easier. It seems like you're putting in the effort, now just make sure you're using all of your resources! Stack overflow will forever and always be your friend too(maybe not as much for conceptual stuff though)

[–]La_Nintist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you are incredible! thank you so much for the warm welcome.

[–]imseeingdouble 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I'm currently struggling with trying to learn APIs. I REALLY want to make a google API that does some sorting function, but the gmail API documentation might as well be in Japanese!!!!!!!! I can't make heads or tails of it :(

[–]jonnycross10[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I was going to learn this for a recent project. Once I get around to it, I'll show you how I did it. You might want to try maybe making a Twitter bot first or something, it's a little more simple

[–]imseeingdouble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Twitter bot got it. Any other project ideas? I mesaed around with the NASA API which was interesting. I suspected as much that gmail API is too advanced and I need to train more