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Discussion on: Learn to Code (for Free)

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joehobot profile image
Joe Hobot

Although I am "good/ok" with Python, I must say that biggest asset for me was to start small, like very small things..

Some people are more visual, and want results fast therefore py for me at least was best thing that I ever learned.

I started with just random cook books to get familiar with the syntax , then back in the days when I did something like

cp thisfile.xml /path/to/somedir/

I said to my self, how would I write this in python ?

First , I just created a script that did exactly that, copied a file from one location to another. While that was a win situation, I said to my self.. how would I run this same script that it asks me for which file to copy and which destination to chose.. 30min later I had that running as well...

And then I said, well how would I put some text to it like, xx amounts of files have been successfully copied. ..

So thats how I started my python knowledge, its quite different nowadays, but anything new to me is the same principle.. start small with small wins and rewards are constant...

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dannydore profile image
Danny Dore

I took a systems programming class, and that class fascinated me so much because we learned how to write programs like copy in C. It was so interesting because you got to see how terminal programs/commands are made.

The way you learned Py is awesome, and it is how I learned JavaScript to the ability that I know it. I was like I want to build X and I need to use these tools to develop it and it was a slow learning process, but I loved the idea of thinking of building something and using the tools to get there.

I learned Python from "The Self Taught Programmer" by Cory Althoff. I was a beta reader, so at the time I received a free copy of the book. From there, I was really interested in data analysis, so I started learning packages like NumPy and SciPy and Pandas.

There are so many ways to learn coding, and people should pursue the best way that works for them. I just provided traditional routes in this guide because I know they are effective for most people, and I really am a fan of every resource I mentioned.

Thanks for sharing your story and thank you for clicking on this post and reading it!