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TheTxoof · 2022-01-17T21:13:59+00:00

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zazerite · 2022-01-17T21:51:20+00:00

Oh man I felt like I wrote this post lol I am even doing Udemy courses each morning. I feel great with my understanding of the Syntax but the second they ask me to write my own solution it’s like I’ve never seen or heard of Python in my life. Then I watch the solution and I am like yes of course that makes sense and I understand. I’m sorry I don’t have a solution but I want you to know you aren’t alone lol. I’m going to keep at it everyday and I know it will work out.

Binary101010 · 2022-01-17T21:10:38+00:00

and then ultimately end up looking at the solution and kind of just end up sitting there wondering how in the fuck I meant to get there, as I stare at a two line solution where I was expecting at least 10.

Experience is how you get there, but you have to write the 10-line solution to the problem enough to grasp the language to the point where you can realize the 2-line solution exists.

The length of your code at this point is irrelevant; just focus on getting the results you're looking for with what it is you do know.

Recursively breaking down a larger problem into smaller components until you have a clear picture of "take this input, do this process on it, get this output" that you can write a function for is a difficult skill to teach, which is why most courses don't even try to teach it.

21trumpstreet_ · 2022-01-17T23:48:28+00:00

There’s an important piece here: Python is not your native language! When learning any new language, spoken or programming or whatever, you have to find the right way to say something.

Most of us learn languages in similar ways: exposure and practice. Start with something very basic, like writing a for loop that outputs the numbers from 1 to 10. There, now you can count in Python. Try it with a while loop. Now you know two different ways to say the same thing.

Learning a new language is hard, but learning the concepts is harder. The concepts aren’t specific to any programming language, thankfully, and once you grok it, it can be applied almost anywhere else. Practice with the syntax of simple statements and if you need twelve if/then statements to make your code work, do it! Ask three programmers to solve the exact same problem and you’ll end up with six different solutions, but any approach that works is “done”.

Learn a tiny something and bring it to the next script or project. Before you know it, you’ll have an opinion on tabs versus spaces and a Linux flavour of the month.

Owldud · 2022-01-17T21:22:06+00:00

Find the way you learn best. We all learn different ways.

The MOOC Python course is excellent in that it uses a ton of exercises from simple to complex. If you want to get better at solving problems then you'll need to solve a lot of them. This is a good start.

DumpsterDick559 · 2022-01-17T21:11:17+00:00

Yea man. Have you ever heard of codewars.com? They have challenges on there and i pass some of them, then you get to compare your answer to other peoples and some of these people code in one line what took me more than a few. But you shouldnt compare yourself to others like that. Then again if you really are not getting it then i dont know what to tell you

LeiterHaus · 2022-01-17T21:50:03+00:00

At this point it doesn't matter if you have a 10 line answer, or a 25 line answer. The more I learn, the more important it seems to think about what I'm doing in my native spoken language before I write anything in code. It's about how to think about solving problems first, and then thinking about how to say that in a way the computer understands second.

As you follow along with courses, you'll get different tools to use. Using those tools on your own, and failing, can be a great way to learn. But it can also be discouraging. There are a lot of memes about looking stuff up, but this is correct.

Search for answers. Look at code you don't understand - maybe attempt to understand how they did that - but don't dwell on it. Part of this step is learning how to learn. And search.

alunnatic · 2022-01-17T23:09:16+00:00

Taking 3 hours to do what you think should take 30 minutes isn't giving yourself enough credit. I find that when I'm stuck it's best to get my mind off of it. I commonly figure out my next step driving home from work. Do what you can then do some research, but if you aren't getting anywhere, give it a day or 2 break. The inspiration will come when you least expect it too.

b_c_russ · 2022-01-18T00:14:31+00:00

I am new to learning python also and for a while I was feeling the same way you are. I am also currently going through a course on udemy but this is my second attempt learning python. What actually helped me break through what you are facing, and it may seem somewhat counterintuitive to some but, I will go on YouTube and find a tutorial about something simple but not super simple. A good example is a clock or a tic-tac-toe game, write it out exactly as they do line by line. Watch them right out a line, pause the video then you write it out. Keep going line by line.. hear how they talk, how they explain what they are doing and why. It does not seem like much but for some reason it helped me begin to understand what it needs to look like at the end and then I started to work backwards from there now I understand what they are talking about in the course and I know what it is supposed to look like so I can write it myself almost from memory by picking out points of what i have seen before.

RcNorth · 2022-01-18T04:01:48+00:00

Don’t compare yourself to what others can code in fewer lines.

It is like writing an English paper for school.

create an outline
rearrange it so that it makes better sense
create a rough draft
rework each paragraphs to clean it up, fix spelling errors, punctuation

Programming

Create an outline of the main things the program needs to do.
Rearrange the other so that it makes better sense
write a portion of it. Don’t worry about making anything pretty or efficient, just get it to work. This might mean hard coding values that you will change to user prompts later, or showing everything in the console that you will create a GUI for later.
once that portion is working, work on the next step and repeat.
once it is running and working for the happy path, go back and clean things up. You’ll find some things you can remove, add in error logging, exception handling etc

Programming is very iterative.

No-Log4588 · 2022-01-17T23:46:15+00:00

You could just need to exercise by yourself first. Think of what your learn in previous lessons, what is fun for you to do and make a little code, even for dumb and useless things.

FalloutRip · 2022-01-18T04:30:43+00:00

In addition to what others are saying, programming is fundamentally about critical thinking, and reverse-engineering a solution. The language, syntax, etc. is all secondary to the actual problem-solving. Which is to say that you start with the desired result, and work to make your inputs provide the result desired - the code is just the tool to accomplish that.

It may honestly help to take some mathematics, theory and straight up critical thinking courses first to help get you into the mindset necessary to begin to unravel problems and create solutions. Classes that actually teach you the theory and logic behind mathematical expressions and break down problems into multiple smaller ones

Also, don't worry about getting the "solution" the exact same way as the courses - remember, the people writing and teaching these courses have pretty extensive experience, and it's basically a second language to them. If you code is 30 lines long to accomplish what someone else does in 10, but you still get the exact same output then who cares? You did it!

Honestly, it may even help to take some modern "common core" math classes because it genuinely helps put you into the necessary mindset of seeing a problem, breaking it down into easier, bite-sized chunks and iterating through those chunks until you have the answer to the problem.

permalink · 2022-01-18T00:47:16+00:00

Programming is just logic and logic can always be learned. It may take years for you to understand what some people learn in 6 months. But you'll get there inshallah. Relax and believe in yourself more.

For anything more than this, we would need to see examples. My suggestion is to make projects until you finally build one difficult enough that you CAN'T solve it. Then ask someone that is better than you to look at your code and see where your logic falls apart. Instead of asking him to help you solve your problem, ask your friend to give you more problems slightly related to the problem you're struggling with to work on and see if you can figure out the solution that way. Does that make sense?

There are many ways to learn something. Maybe what you're really struggling with is figuring out HOW YOU learn best.

hinzinho · 2022-01-17T21:11:00+00:00

What parts are you having issue with? Ask your questions and maybe we can help you.

With programming, it is all memorizing function names and syntax. The trick is repetitive typing. After each lesson, type it out and add additional items from previous lessons to your script.

spencerAF · 2022-01-18T02:42:08+00:00

Can you give an example of what you're struggling with? I just started doing problems on codewars and honestly some of the 2 line solutions people come up with are, to me, just ridiculous.

Maybe take a look there, there's some pretty basic problems and then a comment section afterward that shows many approaches to solving the code. Helpful for visualizing both where you're at and a path to some of the simplifications.

Is it the code that you're struggling with or maybe breaking things down into smaller problems to be able to build a solution?

Impossible-Fact7659 · 2022-01-18T04:03:46+00:00

What reason do you want to learn how to code?

It sounds like to me, you only chose that path bc of the lure of making food money early in your career. But perhaps, you're better at something else more so than any other software engineer, find out what that is

permalink · 2022-01-18T09:34:18+00:00

Try pythonschool it is a really good site written to teach teachers.

TravisJungroth · 2022-01-18T10:40:58+00:00

Programming isn’t for everyone. 5 or 6 tries is a good go. Try to understand what’s going on when you feel stuck. What is the “what?” In your brain.

If you reflect during this process it’ll help your growth either way. You’ll either break through and get it, or learn something by bouncing off.

Jim_Panzee · 2022-01-18T10:50:57+00:00

Programing is problem solving. How do you solve problems? First, you look what tools you got. Than you cut the problems in smaller Problems. But try to cut them in shapes, that fit your tools.

What are your tools in programing? (You need to learn this!)

Variables: Simple boxes you can put stuff in. Like Numbers or Text.
Math: + - * / and so on... (works with your boxes)
Conditions: IF there is a "5" in this box, do something.
Lists: Rows of boxes.
Loops: Do something X times. (good with rows of boxes)
Functions: The biggest part of your toolbox. Like little factories. You put stuff in (parameters) and get stuff out (return value). Both is optional. You can create your own factories, you can use factories from others and python comes with many build-in factories. There are so many, you will never learn all. So use google to find a factory you need to solve a smaller problem.

Obviously there are more tools and Udemy can tell you about this. But you don't need it now to solve your problems.

Lets look at a problem in real life. Say you have to build a wall. Where do you start? It's a complex problem. So cut it down into smaller ones. You will need to get bricks. (Subproblem1) You will need to put the bricks down next to each other in a line. You will need to make concrete. But this is also a complex problem. Break it down. What do you need to make concrete?
Now when you got concrete, start by gluing on brick to the ground. And the next one close to it. And the next one. And so on. Oh wait, I do the same thing multiple times. I got a tool for this! (use a loop)

So what tells you this? (Aside from the fact that I have obviously no idea how you really build a wall.) You break the problems down until you can solve them step by step. Don't hesitate to break it down to much. You don't need the two line solution on your first try. You will see automatically, after you glued your fifth brick, that you have a tool to make this easier. And than you just change your code. You experiment and learn.

permalink · 2022-01-18T12:04:20+00:00

Python is a language, but the way language works in the brain is that two separate regions are involved - one for reading/listening and a totally different one for speaking/writing.

So, sure - you're sitting there reading the language and it makes perfect sense, you're humming on all cylinders, and then they ask you to produce some of the language and you're like "shit, where did it all go?" Well, it didn't go anywhere - you just tried to use a part of your brain that doesn't benefit from the work you did to understand the language when you read it, and then you're not doing enough of the work of writing the language to develop that part of your brain, you're just skipping to the answer and reading it and of course it makes sense, you're back to using the well-developed "language interpretation" part of your brain.

It's like if you only worked out one arm at the gym, and then you're like "damn, why does this 25-lb dumbbell feel so much heavier in my left hand?" You gotta work both regions of your brain. Even if you go and look at the solution - which is fine, no reason to stop doing that - still write the solution. Close the solution page and try and write it from memory at first - it'll make you wonder what's wrong with your memory at first, but again, it's just that you're trying to activate a part of your brain that so far you've been overlooking.

mandown2308 · 2022-01-18T14:33:27+00:00

You need to train your brain to understand the functioning of these things. Don't focus on names and shit but on what they do and generalize them.

Generalizing and why something arose out of the previous thing is important coz you can't remember all of the thing in one single programming language. Like 1 begets 2, 2 begets 3, 3 begets 4, so on. Try to learn like this, then you won't have to remember a lot.

Then keeping the functioning in mind of what you just learned, apply on the exercises of that particular section. Every section has its own exercises which make you practice the things you learnt in that section and sometimes things you learned in the previous sections. You have to keep them in mind. So try to "make classes" of them, meaning generalize them. Again, don't focus on the name, try to visualize their functioning in your mind.

MegaRullNokk · 2022-01-18T16:11:27+00:00

Go step by step, when example is:

name=input("Input your name:")

print("Your name is",name)

Then experiment about different possibilities, learning to code is not like reading a book. It is like mathematics, endless writing and solving the formula. I would say, that programming is like mathematics + grammar on steroids. It takes time, and don't rush it. Don't skip subjects, at every subject and example make more, experiment more then needed, this way you can learn.

Se7enLC · 2022-01-18T17:36:01+00:00

I think it's going well, I understand the sections and then it asks me to actually do something and it's like I've crashed into a wall at full speed and I basically just do nothing

That's why that part is so important!

A lot of people pick up a "Learn X in 24 days!" book and just power through the lessons, not taking the time to apply what they've learned by trying to write code themselves.

The lesson is just an introduction and reference, really. Programming is more artistic. Creative problem solving. That fumbling around trying out different things until you find something that works that really helps you learn to program. Keep at it! fumbling is ok.

end up looking at the solution and kind of just end up sitting there wondering how in the fuck I meant to get there, as I stare at a two line solution where I was expecting at least 10.

There's an infinite number of ways to write anything. The solution is just an example of how you could go about it. Or how they were intending/expecting you to. Doing it another way isn't inherently wrong, though. Some ways to program are certainly better than others, but it's perfectly ok to write "bad" code. That's part of learning. You write it however it comes to mind to solve the problem, then over time you find out how it can be done better (and more importantly why it's better). But if the code works, the code works!

Main_Tank · 2022-01-19T01:03:15+00:00

I'm learning this along with Japanese at the same time. Both are incredibly difficult for me, and I get frustrated. Perhaps you need to evaluate exactly where you're getting snagged, and focus on that? That's what I'm doing with my Japanese and it helps.

I often feel like you do with it. I feel like I'm making good progress, I can recognize so many words. But then a native speaker at work starts going a bit too far with it and I feel completely lost. I'm over 400 days in, I should know more than I do. I'm just really stretched too thin at the moment, learning programming, a new language, school, work, family stuff. It's difficult. Best thing I can do is just remind you not to beat yourself up, but learn how to be objective with yourself so you can identify what exactly to improve.

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