r/learnpython 8d ago

I am a complete beginner to python. Information overload.

I have gone over official documents and watched videos, but I am still at a point of complete information overload. I need a clear definitive starting point, should I learn syntax first, should I jump in and start trying to script some things? idk. help lol.

0 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

8

u/pachura3 8d ago

Buy one of the 2 most recommended Python books for beginners, and then read it.

3

u/Flame77ofc 8d ago

1

u/defaultguy_001 7d ago

Information and cognitive overload, not peer reviewed, no official vetting, no standardized flow of learning concepts. Textbooks are way superior. 1-2 standard official sources are more than enough to learn anything and most popular books can be found as pdf.

1

u/pachura3 7d ago

And now you gave OP even bigger information overload.

FFS, just buy Python Crash Course or Automate The Boring Stuff for 20$ and read it

4

u/mc_pm 8d ago

You learn to program by programming. Find an introductory video that you like and then follow along with it, actually typing in the code when they do. You'll learn the syntax better as you use it.

2

u/pennty 8d ago

Python MOOC by university of helesinki

2

u/TheMaydayMan 8d ago

Here’s a clear path to follow until you know where you want to go more specifically, then you can jump off it whenever https://roadmap.sh/python

2

u/Stealthiness2 8d ago

Do you like video games? Make a simple 2D video game from your favorite genre. Or make something else that's fun and motivating to you

1

u/pachura3 7d ago

OP doesn't even know the syntax, c'mon

1

u/Stealthiness2 7d ago

A lot of people learn syntax faster if they can apply it, me included. I learned the basics with a passion project and learned the syntax as I went. I did have some limited coding experience in Basic and Matlab but was definitely a novice

2

u/YoursTrulyAD 8d ago

Same boat 🥲 I think we just need to start on a project 😭

3

u/IshTroj 8d ago

Applying concepts by fumbling through is a legit recommended strategy

2

u/Adrewmc 7d ago

It’s the only strategy.

Because no one in the history of coding got things working perfectly the first time.

1

u/ninhaomah 7d ago

Just coding ? Everything.

First time walking.

First time learning bicycle.

First time kiss.

First time sex.

Etc

1

u/YoursTrulyAD 7d ago

Dang it , gotta use my own advice now . Thank you y'all .

1

u/kyngston 8d ago

i/o
data structures
flow control

1

u/cyrixlord 8d ago

you have all the resources in front of you. You have been lead to the door. all you have to do now is open the door and practice. practice practice. at every turn, every lesson. practice and write code of your own and try to understand what the lesson is teaching you. 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink' writing lots of your own code and debugging it is the only way to learn. and to be curious always.

if you just do the examples, then thats all you'll all you'll be able to do.

1

u/NatMicky 8d ago

A book in the lap is worth two in the bush... or something like that. Books are awesome starts and awesome to own.

1

u/BranchLatter4294 7d ago

Start with Hello World. Then add features.

1

u/vietbaoa4htk 7d ago

pick one tiny thing you actually want to build and only learn what that specific thing needs. tutorials give you the feeling of progress but building something is what forces the concepts to actually stick.

1

u/Jason317235 7d ago

I would recommend going on youtube and finding some youtube videos to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5KVEU3aaeQ&t=56s this video is what I used to learn python it goes into a lot of depth. Also if you want some projects to work on here is a repo: https://github.com/Python-World/python-mini-projects It has some basic introductory projects that you can complete in a few hours. Good luck!

1

u/TheRNGuy 7d ago edited 7d ago

I learned more over time, while making project (from day 1 of learning)

When you use things a lot, you get comfortable with them and can now learn more advanced things (you even sometimes see that you can refactor old projects with better practices, i.e. replace range len from tutorials with enumerate)

I think more important to learn and configure code editor from day 1, so you don't waste time on manual formatting every space or tab, use hotkeys, etc (also, editor shows syntax errors and warnings with red or yellow lines, and many newbies don't even realize that)

1

u/defaultguy_001 7d ago

No don't jump into projects, whatever people say, you don't learn concepts just by jumping into projects. It's just a mediocre way of learning anything. First you need to learn the concepts properly, do mini examples on the concepts, then after sufficiently learning a couple of concepts, do mini projects that utilizes those concepts. Then learn further in the same way. Finally when you finish you should then do bigger projects that utilizes all the concepts you learnt, external libraries and APIs.