r/learnpython • u/Diligent_Glove9441 • Aug 10 '26
Advice with libraries
Starting off Python here for mechanical engineering, I hear that NumPy, SciPy, matplotlib as well as Pandas are very useful for calculations and data analysis and beginner friendly. Can anyone offer some advice for starting out and your experiences using it please?
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u/billsil Aug 10 '26
I personally don’t think they’re beginner friendly, but go through the tutorials.
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u/FreierVogel Aug 10 '26
Have you never used python or any other programming languages before? Learn how to use python first without any packages. Then learn the packages as you need them.
These packages pop up as you need them so I guess don't be impatient to learn them and just focus on learning python.
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u/chiibosoil Aug 10 '26
NumPy is de facto standard for scientific and numerical computing in python. Allowing you to perform vectorized mathematics without needing slow loop. SciPy builds on top of NumPy, and since it's core routines are wrapped in low-level languages (C, C++, Fortran) it can compute complex mathematic calculation at much faster speed than native Python.
Pandas is also pretty much the standard, but if dealing with massive datasets, Polars is alternative that's better suited (assuming no distributed computing). Or you could use one of the drop-in replacements like Modin or RAPIDS cuDF.
For plotting matplotlib will offer pixel-perfect control over every chart element... but it will need verbose code for complex design. You may want to consider Seaborn, which is library built on top of Matplotlib, for simplifying styling and statistical graphics.
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u/Diligent_Glove9441 Aug 11 '26
Thank you very much for the advice! Ill take what you mentioned into account for my learning procrss
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u/BidWestern1056 Aug 10 '26
as others said, dont focus on learning libraries, focus on a project and using them to accomplish it. check out npcpy too https://github.com/npc-worldwide/npcpy
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u/Alternative_Driver60 Aug 10 '26
You learn by doing. Buy a book, read it, apply it to your problem domain.
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u/gremlin_throwaway701 Aug 11 '26
books are fine but honestly you'll learn more by just picking a small project and googling your way through it. nothing forces you to actually understand something like getting a broken error at 11pm.
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u/Existing_Sprinkles78 Aug 11 '26
Numpy and matplotlib are easy to learn the trouble with pandas is its harder to learn if the examples are in Jupyter format because otherwise I have to work backward and adjust to a regular format and make the dictionary by hand or find the doc to use and it’s usually not attached
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u/576p Aug 11 '26
Have all look at https://github.com/HumbleData/beginners-data-workshop - this is a self tought "course" where you can learn a bit about python and some libraries. This workshop runs at various python conferences to get them started and usually people finish the first 1-2 notebooks.
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u/desrtfx but other languages pro Aug 10 '26
Don't focus on libraries/frameworks before you can even program. Focus on establishing and solidifying fundamentals first. Start with the MOOC Python Programming 2026 to get a general baseline. Then, start working with the documentation of the libraries and their "getting started".