It has happened more than once, that I've been asked by several peers and juniors about the first steps towards learning Python. In this blog post, I've tried to enlist & summarize all the possible methods & sources which helped me when I was a beginner, and all those things which I wish I had known.
Don't go reading the syntax
There are many students, who go about reading the syntax & structure of Python, and get completely lost in it. While I don't discourage people from reading literature of a new language, but 'only' reading about a laguage is definitely no way to learn it.
While reading about the syntactical details of a new language or framework, you might feel that you are getting a hang of it, but the moment you see the keyboard, your fingers freeze! This is because the brain can only take so much. Unless you type the code with your own hands, the odds of you getting well versed in that language are almost negligible. Trust me, I learned it the hard way.
Now that I've mentioned, what all you mustn't do, I believe its time to discuss the things you need to do in order to become a Pythonista.
Pick a project and stick to it
The best way to master a new language/framework is to work on it. So pick a small project. It doesn't need to be something too cool or awesome. All you need to have is a clear idea, of what exactly you want your application to do.
Then take a look at the basic syntax from one of these links:
- http://anandology.com/python-practice-book/index.html
- http://pymbook.readthedocs.org/en/latest/
- openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english2e/
- http://www.stavros.io/tutorials/python/
- http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_basic_syntax.htm
In case you want a cheat sheet, you can use this one.
Now, if you are already familiar with python but are looking for Python libraries for use in a particular field, then head over to this repo on Github. It's a "curated list of awesome Python frameworks, libraries"
What Project??
If you are uncertain about what project you should make, first of all watch this presentation. Then go through the following links, which provide a list of projects you can pursue:
I hope this helps the beginners of today in their journey to becoming the Pythonistas of tomorrow.
Happy Hacking!!
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