Hello, World

I was not a complete novice with programming, but beyond some basic HTML, it has always been an area that I felt like I did not know much about. I chose to begin with Python because I have read that it’s easy to learn and provides a good foundation for learning some of the other languages.

The first thing I noticed when looking for resources is that there are a lot of them. It was hard to know where to begin. Many of them are aimed at ‘beginners’, but some are quite intense. Initially, I was looking at Google’s Python Class, which claims you need a ‘little bit of programming experience’. I was overwhelmed! I knew some of the Python concepts, but it was too much all at once. After some bouncing around, I settled on W3School’s Python Tutorial. I spent a few months going through the tutorials and familiarising myself with the concepts.

Other resources I have come across are:

• Kaggle
• Automate the Boring Stuff with Python
• Real Python Tutorials
• Python For Everybody

If you’re a complete beginner, I recommend W3Schools. What I did was download the Python program itself and Notepad++ and tested each tutorial by copying the code and running it myself. It was boring at times, but I believe it was beneficial in the long run. When I branched out and tried creating my own Wordle using Real Python, I was able to complete several stages before I got stuck and felt demoralized. What helped me was going back to W3Schools and taking the time to go through all the functions.

After going through the tutorials, I decided that I wanted to do some more project-based learning. Now, I am going through the 100 Days of Code: The Complete Python Pro Bootcamp on Udemy. It has been interesting to see different Python functions being used in project form. At times, it has been frustrating because actively putting an application together is much different from the examples on W3Schools. However, I think this is a good learning experience and as always, patience is required.