New to Python?
New to Python?
Hey everyone! Hope all is well. I've created this thread to hopefully help aid those who are looking to or are currently learning Python and may need some guidance. Below I'll outline some useful programs/tips/etc to help you.
Firstly, you need to make sure you have Python installed and an IDE (a program that simulates a coding environment). Google is your friend here, below I'll name off some IDE's that you can use:
- IDLE (I personally use this for college)
- PyCharm (I hear its a favorite but never tried it)
- Visual Studio (I have it and it functions well, visually appealing to)
Once you have that taken care of, you are ready to start coding Python! But where should you start? Well that all depends on your reasoning, I started coding Python because of college but others may want it as a skill or hobby. Below I've linked some useful resources when it comes to learning Python:
https://stackoverflow.com/
https://www.w3schools.com/python/
https://www.codecademy.com/catalog/language/python
https://docs.python.org/3/
I've personally used all of these to help aid in my coding exercises/projects and understanding certain topics. Of course, Youtube has some very useful tutorials as well and I would never recommend not using them!
Now let's change pace here and say you have started coding Python, maybe you have made your first program! My first Python project was to code a program that calculated the area of a circle given any radius. Below is that code:
Now maybe this may look confusing to the beginner but this was actually extremely easy to code given Python's simple syntax. It's not like other languages where you have to focus on curly braces, etc but rather just watch your indentation and use of colons! But with that aside back to dissecting this code. You'll want to familiarize yourself with some lingo as you start coding with Python. Such as:
- Variables
- Comments
- Syntax
- Data types (strings, ints, floats)
Just to name a few and of course the ones used in my beginner Python program. Everything program in Python will have these and it's a good foundation to know what these are.
Variables: This right here is a variable. It is used to store a value of sorts, in this instance the float value of Pi.
Comments: This is a user comment. They are initiated by the '#' symbol and is just basically text not read by the program which aids the programmer/user of the program with understanding the code/program as an entity.
Syntax: Picture syntax as the grammar rules in your language. All programming languages have them and will throw a syntax error is not properly formatted. In Python, common syntax errors are forgetting to indent or put a colon on specific statements.
Data types: In Python there are multiple data types. The first 3 you'll most likely come across are strings, integers and floats. I look at strings just like text or words. They are used to build sentences, etc. Integers are whole numbers and are used for mathematical functions in a program. Lastly, floats are decimals and have the same purpose as ints do in Python, just that they aren't a whole number.
In short, these are some of the basic concepts in Python and most users will start here and work up. I myself am still a beginner but peer help has gotten me far so why not share this info here. Hope this helps someone and let me know if I missed something!
Firstly, you need to make sure you have Python installed and an IDE (a program that simulates a coding environment). Google is your friend here, below I'll name off some IDE's that you can use:
- IDLE (I personally use this for college)
- PyCharm (I hear its a favorite but never tried it)
- Visual Studio (I have it and it functions well, visually appealing to)
Once you have that taken care of, you are ready to start coding Python! But where should you start? Well that all depends on your reasoning, I started coding Python because of college but others may want it as a skill or hobby. Below I've linked some useful resources when it comes to learning Python:
https://stackoverflow.com/
https://www.w3schools.com/python/
https://www.codecademy.com/catalog/language/python
https://docs.python.org/3/
I've personally used all of these to help aid in my coding exercises/projects and understanding certain topics. Of course, Youtube has some very useful tutorials as well and I would never recommend not using them!
Now let's change pace here and say you have started coding Python, maybe you have made your first program! My first Python project was to code a program that calculated the area of a circle given any radius. Below is that code:
Code:
variable_pi = 3.14 #value of pi rounded for simplicity
variable_radius = float(input('What is the radius of the circle? ')) #input from user regarding circle radius
variable_area = (variable_pi * variable_radius **2) #area formula of a circle
print ('The area of the circle with given radius', variable_radius, 'is:', variable_area) #print statement that calls on our my radius and area variables
- Variables
- Comments
- Syntax
- Data types (strings, ints, floats)
Just to name a few and of course the ones used in my beginner Python program. Everything program in Python will have these and it's a good foundation to know what these are.
Variables: This right here is a variable. It is used to store a value of sorts, in this instance the float value of Pi.
Code:
variable_pi = 3.14
Code:
#input from user regarding circle radius
Data types: In Python there are multiple data types. The first 3 you'll most likely come across are strings, integers and floats. I look at strings just like text or words. They are used to build sentences, etc. Integers are whole numbers and are used for mathematical functions in a program. Lastly, floats are decimals and have the same purpose as ints do in Python, just that they aren't a whole number.
In short, these are some of the basic concepts in Python and most users will start here and work up. I myself am still a beginner but peer help has gotten me far so why not share this info here. Hope this helps someone and let me know if I missed something!
some questions about python 3
Hello,
I have been learning python for about half a year now through college and I had some questions.
1. variable types. so for school, we learned about strings, floats, and integers as well as conversions like int(input('type a number')) but we also had to cover booleans, and I never really got what that is.
2. I use PuTTy and Jython to do all my work for class which works well but would switching to visual studio be better or the same?
I have been learning python for about half a year now through college and I had some questions.
1. variable types. so for school, we learned about strings, floats, and integers as well as conversions like int(input('type a number')) but we also had to cover booleans, and I never really got what that is.
2. I use PuTTy and Jython to do all my work for class which works well but would switching to visual studio be better or the same?
Originally Posted by SmoothFrog
Hello,
I have been learning python for about half a year now through college and I had some questions.
1. variable types. so for school, we learned about strings, floats, and integers as well as conversions like int(input('type a number')) but we also had to cover booleans, and I never really got what that is.
2. I use PuTTy and Jython to do all my work for class which works well but would switching to visual studio be better or the same?
I have been learning python for about half a year now through college and I had some questions.
1. variable types. so for school, we learned about strings, floats, and integers as well as conversions like int(input('type a number')) but we also had to cover booleans, and I never really got what that is.
2. I use PuTTy and Jython to do all my work for class which works well but would switching to visual studio be better or the same?
Originally Posted by SmoothFrog
Hello,
I have been learning python for about half a year now through college and I had some questions.
1. variable types. so for school, we learned about strings, floats, and integers as well as conversions like int(input('type a number')) but we also had to cover booleans, and I never really got what that is.
2. I use PuTTy and Jython to do all my work for class which works well but would switching to visual studio be better or the same?
I have been learning python for about half a year now through college and I had some questions.
1. variable types. so for school, we learned about strings, floats, and integers as well as conversions like int(input('type a number')) but we also had to cover booleans, and I never really got what that is.
2. I use PuTTy and Jython to do all my work for class which works well but would switching to visual studio be better or the same?
Use visual studio code
Get miniconda to manage different python environments, or learn virtualenv.
https://automatetheboringstuff.com/
Learn Software Engineering.
Always research on topics and have an open minded to approaching things. (You might know something else, someone knows something else. Sometimes you are correct, sometimes you are not).
(Optional) Get yourself a specific Ubuntu VM and program on that since most servers are unix based.
Get miniconda to manage different python environments, or learn virtualenv.
https://automatetheboringstuff.com/
Learn Software Engineering.
Always research on topics and have an open minded to approaching things. (You might know something else, someone knows something else. Sometimes you are correct, sometimes you are not).
(Optional) Get yourself a specific Ubuntu VM and program on that since most servers are unix based.
Amazing thanks for this guide
I want to learn python
Thanks a lot friend! Great guide for beginners!
A good IDE for beginners is:
- pyzo
you just have to know how to configure the shell but with a youtube video you can easily find that.
Personally, I have a fairly low level on python because I have only been doing it for 1 month in my studies. I use python for mathematics, but it also taught me to score to do for example account checkers (when it is not very complicated (I have trouble for netflix for example: /), but for small forum it works fine)
in short I am deviating from the main subject, if I am talking about pyzo, it is because personally I find this IDE very practical and easy to use.
in particular the shell constantly available on our screen and many other functions of the IDE that we discover as we use and progress.
I put you a preview of the IDE just below
Regards,
A friend who wishes you good luck with your learning in python.
- pyzo
you just have to know how to configure the shell but with a youtube video you can easily find that.
Personally, I have a fairly low level on python because I have only been doing it for 1 month in my studies. I use python for mathematics, but it also taught me to score to do for example account checkers (when it is not very complicated (I have trouble for netflix for example: /), but for small forum it works fine)
in short I am deviating from the main subject, if I am talking about pyzo, it is because personally I find this IDE very practical and easy to use.
in particular the shell constantly available on our screen and many other functions of the IDE that we discover as we use and progress.
I put you a preview of the IDE just below
Regards,
A friend who wishes you good luck with your learning in python.
Really nice of you to get this started!
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thanks for the detailed tutorial
Thanks for share this Guide, i use R for Datascience but i will learn python soon.
Thank you for this guide, I am trying to learn Python soon 
