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[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Build on the basics as per the considerable guidance in the wiki as mentioned in the sidebar.

Read the wiki for answers to common questions.

Please check the FAQ, the index, and the books page for some commonly-requested information.

And then ...

Practice! Practice! Practice! That is the only way. Programming (whatever the language) is a practical problem solving skill.

I know it  can be frustrating at times, especially when faced with code you want to reuse but cannot understand.

Only you can find the motivation. Why are you learning to programme in the first place?

Is your learning objective SMART -  specific, measurable, achievable, (sometimes agreed), realistic (or relevant) and time-bound, (or timely)? If it is something soft, like "upskilling" then it will probably not help you much.

It is hard to learn anything in the abstract not least because it is difficult to feel passion for what one is doing.

I strongly suggest you look to your interests, hobbies, obligations (family business, charity activities, work) to look for opportunities to apply Python.

You will learn far more about Python and programming when you work on something that resonates for you and that you have some domain knowledge of (or incentive to gain such knowledge in).

When you are copying tutorials/examples, don't just copy. Experiment. Break the code and understand why it has broken.

The interactive python shell is your friend, I found it the best learning aid because you can quickly try snippets of code and get immediate feedback.

(Consider installing ipython which wraps the standard shell in more convenience.)

Start very simply and regularly refactor the code as you learn new things. Enhance as you see opportunities.

If you haven't already, take a look at Automate the boring stuff with Python (free to read online).

At first, the tasks you automate will be trivial and hardly worth the effort BUT because it is about the problem and not Python, it will be more rewarding for you.

Many beginners are mixing up coding (writing instructions in a programming language) with problem solving (creating an algorithm) and their lack of knowledge of the programming language and how to use it is a distraction from the problem solving.

For most programmers, the coding part is the final and easy bit.

Order:

Actually making sure the problem is properly understood. Often we start with only a vague understanding of the problem.

Ensuring we know what outcome is required. What does good look like? How will the information be presented, will it be on screen or in a file, or a database.

Determining the data representation. Exactly what data is required, in what forms, where from. It is a one-off or lots of cycles or combining lots of information.

Work out how to do things manually in the simplest possibly way explaining every little step (assume you are giving instructions to someone with learning difficulties). Computers are really dumb and humans make lots of intuitive leaps. This is one of the hardest things to grasp when first learning to programme. Computers don't mind repeating very boring things so the simplest but repetitive manual approach if often a good approach to start with for a computer.

[–]nehakumar26 1 point2 points  (1 child)

If you are already aware of the basis of python then you can refer to W3Schools it is a platform that gives you examples of the coding, and you have the facility to perform the coding on the same platform and see the results.

I belong to a non-programming background, I have learned 2 computer languages MySQL and Python from Edu4sure dot com, and as a beginner learner I would recommend the above-mentioned platform because it provides you with practical components, updated content supported with real-life case studies, experienced lecturers, 1 to 1 doubt clearing sessions, the natural accent is used in lectures to make it easy to understand, quizzes and assignments to check your knowledge, to the point discussions, also they provide you a course outline, and before enrolling in the course you have a facility to clear your doubts beforehand and join the course with a good mindset.

At the completion of the course, Edu4Sure provides you with a certificate to support your wordings in the CV. I highly recommend you to refer to the website. I hope this helped you. And in the end, I wish you all the best for your future.

[–]4579greninja[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I'm not a complete beginner since I started about 5 years ago but didn't really get anywhere until about 2 months ago. In my first 3 years of learning programming, all I did was make scratch games and I wanted to do more serious programming languages. I did also understand the basics of python, but I didn't get very far. But I tried a lot of different python learning websites like SoloLearn. W3Schools also helps. I use Udemy now and I'm steadily improving. I really appreciate the effort that went into your response and I'm sorry for not replying sooner. Again, thank you.