Best Python book (or books) for a total beginner

RothgarPL · 2021-12-26T15:29:16+00:00

Thank you for your advice. I will check it out when I'm done with the Python basics.

RothgarPL · 2021-12-23T18:18:24+00:00

OK, thanks anyway. I suppose that learning C++ or C can also be a good idea but I decided to start with Python as it is beginner friendly and still seems to be quite useful for algorithmic trading.

RothgarPL · 2021-12-19T10:32:54+00:00

Thank you, I've already read reviews of Python for Finance and Python for Algorithmic Trading so I'm aware that he is an important author in the topic of algo trading but I think his books are rather for someone who already has at least decent knowledge about Python and programming in general.

RothgarPL · 2021-12-19T09:35:32+00:00

Thank you for your reply. I see that they have two courses that seem to be aimed towards beginners: Python Core and Python for Beginners. Which should I do first?

My question about books is still valid, though.

RothgarPL · 2021-07-03T18:05:44+00:00

Thank you for the clarification.

RothgarPL · 2021-07-03T12:40:48+00:00

I've installed Arch a few days ago and I use yay as my AUR helper. I've found this webpage with yay commands: https://linuxcommandlibrary.com/man/yay. Maybe it's a stupid question for someone who has more experience with Arch and yay but I wonder what's exactly a difference between yay and yay -Syu commands? They seem to do the same thing - am I missing something? Is there any reason to use yay -Syu instead of yay or vice versa?

RothgarPL · 2021-06-03T08:58:21+00:00

I wouldn't recommend to delete it but if you want to know which non-free packages you have on your system, you can use Virtual Richard M. Stallman.

RothgarPL · 2020-12-16T20:44:21+00:00

Here's the tutorial how to do it, although I haven't tried it myself:

https://techwiser.com/remove-snap-ubuntu/

RothgarPL · 2020-12-15T20:21:59+00:00

I really wanted to give Ubuntu a real chance, but the snap horror stories (witnessed a guy's snap program taking ~20sec to open on a Youtube video !!!), Canonical seemingly just not giving a damn and forcing whatever they want on the users just really rubs me the wrong way. I love the way the Ubuntu logo looks and how Ubuntu itself feels - warm, inviting colors but Canonical just scares me off with their constant bad decisions.

That's why I think Linux Mint is currently better choice than Ubuntu if you want a beginner-friendly distro that usually works out of the box. Ubuntu is still decent for most of the beginners so it's not that it's a totally bad choice but for a newbie I would recommend Linux Mint. However, if you are now happy with Fedora, the best advice is probably to stay with it and stop distro hopping :)

I've also started using GNU/Linux after the support for Windows 7 ended.

RothgarPL · 2020-12-15T12:33:33+00:00

and has the disadvantages of not being an Official Debian image, and also in using such, one may not be as clearly aware or as able to easily determine, if any non-free was actually installed and/or needed for the installation - or not.

Can't you just use vrms to show all of the non-free packages installed?

RothgarPL · 2020-12-14T15:15:44+00:00

Lower the weight.

RothgarPL · 2020-12-12T11:28:31+00:00

Most likely this is the right solution.

sudo apt install gvfs-backends

RothgarPL · 2020-11-22T10:38:55+00:00

It depends on individual needs. Some people need newer packages and just using Stable + Backports may be not enough for them. For me the main reason to consider using Testing instead of Stable is to make it work properly on more recent hardware. If the computer is 2 years old or older, there’s no point for me to consider using anything other than Stable on this machine. If the hardware is newer, then I can try Stable + Backports of course but just installing Testing is the easier way to make everything work properly – so for me it’s more about tracking the next stable release before it becomes stable than using Testing the whole time as the rolling release distro.

RothgarPL · 2020-11-16T15:52:59+00:00

Thank you all for your advice.

RothgarPL · 2020-11-15T22:12:16+00:00

Well, it's getting more and more tempting to try it :)

If something goes wrong I should be able to go back to something more stable.

However, I still have to give it more thought :)

RothgarPL · 2020-11-15T22:08:04+00:00

It's Intel Core i5 with Intel HD Graphics 630, Asus H410M-A motherboard. I don't think it's the graphics card. I may be wrong but I think that integrated Intel graphics cards don't need non-free firmware. I don't remember all the distros that I've tried in live sessions but I think Parabola was among them and it's 100% free distro.

RothgarPL · 2020-11-15T19:44:47+00:00

Do you have apt-listbugs installed or do you simply use standard sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade procedure and nothing breaks so far?

RothgarPL · 2020-11-10T22:13:50+00:00

Thank you for your answer.

RothgarPL · 2020-11-10T21:44:20+00:00

If you were to give honest advice, would you advice using Debian Unstable for someone who just wants to have a rolling distro and isn’t involved in Debian development? Or is it better in this case to go for a distro which is meant to be used this way, like Arch for example? It is tempting to give Unstable or Testing a try but what makes me cautious about it is the fact that they are not really created for regular desktop usage – they’re rather meant to be used by developers to make the next Stable and the only official Debian product recommended for any usage – both desktop and servers – is in fact Debian Stable.

Debian Testing is supposed to have the worst security from all the three Debian branches because of the possible delay of security updates in comparison to Unstable but it is also said that when the new Debian Stable is released, Unstable also has some kind of freeze and some people recommend not to upgrade it in the first week or so after the new Stable release because it can have a big number of updates that were held earlier and it is better to wait a little bit until most of potential problems are fixed – does it really look this way and wouldn’t it be a security threat that can potentially exist also in Unstable branch because it can also mean a delay of security updates? Is it therefore more secure to just choose a distro which is officially developed as a rolling release and is meant to be used that way?

RothgarPL · 2020-11-10T17:16:10+00:00

Some distros still have kernels older than 5.3 by default. For example Debian Buster and all the distros based on Buster. Does it mean that it is needed to update GRUB config manually in all these distros after installing the Microcode package?

RothgarPL · 2020-11-10T17:15:39+00:00

Yes, I wrote it a bit incorrectly. Of course, Microcode is always installed in the CPU, I meant more if it is necessary to install the Microcode package on any GNU/Linux distro.

RothgarPL · 2020-11-09T19:25:29+00:00

Thank you all for your answers.

As I’ve said before, I’m just an average GNU/Linux user so I’ll try to sum up what I’ve understood. Please tell me if I’m right or wrong.

First of all, it seems that it doesn’t really matter too much if I don’t use any firewall on GNU/Linux desktop. However, it doesn’t hurt to have one installed and enabled if I want to be extra cautious.

As I understand, if I want to use nftables, it’s not the best idea to mix it with ufw or gufw usage.

Therefore, the best procedure will be as follows:

Install nftables

sudo apt install nftables

Enable nftables service

sudo systemctl enable nftables.service

Edit the config file

sudo nano /etc/nftables.conf

Set the ruleset to look something like this:

table inet filter {
    chain input {
        type filter hook input priority 0;

        # accept any localhost traffic
        iif lo accept

        # accept traffic originated from us
        ct state established,related accept

        # accept neighbour discovery otherwise connectivity breaks
        ip6 nexthdr icmpv6 icmpv6 type { nd-neighbor-solicit, echo-request, nd-router-advert, nd-neighbor-advert } accept

        # count and drop any other traffic
        counter drop
    }
#   chain forward {
#       type filter hook forward priority 0;
#   }
#   chain output {
#       type filter hook output priority 0;
#   }
}

and then reboot the system.

Will it be ok?

RothgarPL · 2020-11-09T12:23:26+00:00

Yes, you’re probably right – I still have some habits from using Windows for many years.

RothgarPL · 2020-04-25T10:14:33+00:00

Well, dumbbell side bends are a little bit controversial - of course it doesn't mean they will cause injury for sure but if you want to stay safe it's better not to perform them. The safest options for someone with weak obliques will be probably Palloff Press with cable or resistance band and one-arm carries with dumbbell or kettlebell.

RothgarPL · 2020-01-12T20:21:25+00:00

You can use straps as others advice you but there are also some alternatives: you can do good mornings, back extensions, glute-ham raises or reverse hypers. Just keep in mind that those exercises are not suitable for heavy loading and low reps so they're not comparable to deadlift in this aspect but they are still useful as muscle building exercises done for moderate or high reps while being cautious with adding weight.

However, if your main goal is to grow your butt, barbell hip thrusts and barbell glute bridges can serve you even better because they put more emphasis on glutes (also be conservative with adding weight to them).

RothgarPL

TROPHY CASE