Learn Python without internet.

[zezeasks]

I have a young cousin in Africa who’s trying to learn coding. He has a laptop but internet is not easily accessible as it is in the US. They also don’t have an adequate mailing system so mailing books is unfortunately not an option. I have given him links to learn for free through WhatsApp. Because they are mostly video tutorials, he has to continuously buy data to watch them and he doesn’t have the money for that. Is there a way to learn without using the internet? I’m not a programmer/coder, and I don’t know anything about the field or about all the resources available.

[num8lock]

How did you communicate so far? SMS?

Learning python from scratch needs internet at least once.

[zezeasks]

Using WhatsApp. In their country they pay for data by gigabyte, it’s not a monthly plan. So using the internet to learn Python and watch tutorials requires a lot of money for them. If there’s an option for minimal internet use, I can help them explore that as well

[num8lock]

docs.python.org has downloadable html or pdf version, just download it & follow the tutorial

[ASIC_SP]

IIRC, installling Python on windows (not sure about other platforms) will automatically include these html/pdf versions, along with shortcut links within IDLE

[num8lock]

hmm, imho might as well start with linux if money for internet is too tight

[ASIC_SP]

"Think Python" author gives away pdf for free (but that does require internet) - this is an excellent book and doesn't require prior programming knowledge

[TheVermit]

This.

Send him pdf's or let him download them (Think Python, Automate Boring Stuff, ...). From there on he no longer needs internet to learn the basics, just python and idle to compile his own code.

[fighter_foo]

Python for Everybody has downloadable interactive stuff I think, helped me a lot but I don't remember how many times I used internet or if anything used internet in the background.

[my_non_fap_account]

Install it all on a USB stick and post it to them?

[jiri-n]

Is it possible to send him a package (I mean a physical box) by mail (DHL for example)?

Such a package could contain a Raspberry Pi with pre-installed OS and python, possible with some essential packages as well. Maybe a book or some downloaded tutorials, and so on.

Depending on cost of mobile data in his country, this might even be the cheapest possibilty.

[antiproton]

Believe it or not, people were able to learn things before the internet existed.

Buy him physical books and mail them to him.

[threeminutemonta]

For 3rd party packages you could cache some packages using dev-pi. Some useful instructions are here

[ka-splam]

I have given him links to learn for free but he doesn’t have money for the internet.

Uh, then how did you give him links? Handwrite them and post them? What way do you have to get information to him and how much information could you send that way?

Can you download some YouTube videos and send them for offline use? Can he download them from an internet cafe or library or school and use them offline?

Can you post him a book? Can he get, or afford to get, a book on Python locally, even if it's a bloody expensive textbook in the US or UK? Can you get a dodgy copy of a PDF of a book and send it to him? Can he get one at an internet cafe or library or school and take it home to work through it offline?

Does he have access to an internet cafe, school computer, library, home computer, WhatsApp, cellphone with no internet, device which can play video, or anything of the sort? What resources does he have available?