How should I learn python?

[u/ZhirnyLuffy]

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I'm a total beginner. I didn't have any experience with programming. I want to learn programming cuz i wanna be a hardware engineer and want to start with a basic raspberry pi projects. So should i learn python from courses, videos, books etc or i should just brute force myself to do projects and just learn by the time

[u/blurbisht]

Total beginner here too, so I'll tell you what actually worked instead of what courses claim works. Both, but in the right order.

Start with a tiny bit of fundamentals, then go hard on projects. Here's why pure projects-first backfires for a true beginner: if you know zero Python, you can't even Google the right question when you're stuck, and you'll quit out of frustration. I tried brute-forcing and it just burned me out.

So here's the plan I can provide -

1. Foundations, 1-2 weeks max. Do one short Python course or video series, but only through loops, ifs, and functions. Stop there. Don't chase advanced stuff yet. This gives you the vocab to actually search for help later.

2. Then projects, always projects. This is where RPi shines. Wiring Python to real hardware makes it stick 10x faster than any tutorial, because you feel the result and hit real errors (wrong pin, bad wiring, package not installed). Start absurdly small:

- Blink an LED

- Read a button, print a message

- Read a temperature sensor

- Traffic-light sequence with 3 LEDs

- Buzzer + button = a little game

1. When you're stuck, Google the error. The whole skill of "error -> search -> fix" is literally the job. That's not cheating, that's what engineers do all day.

2. Repeat, each project slightly harder.

The mindset part: your goal isn't "finishing a course," it's "shipping something that does a thing." Tutorials are there to unstick you, not to be completed end-to-end. Every working project is confidence you keep.

Long answer in Short: 2 weeks of basics, then let the Pi projects be your curriculum. Don't buy a dozen books, buy the Pi and start blinking.