Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[Alan Gauld via Tutor]

On 01/06/16 20:06, Anindya Mookerjea wrote:
> Hi experts,
> 
> I am going to start learning Python and have got no coding
> experience/knowledge whatsoever . So Python would be my first programming
> language

Start with one of the tutorials on the non-programmers page of python.org

http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/NonProgrammers

If you are comfortable with IT things in general (editing files,
navigating directories etc) then you could try mine(see below)

-- 
Alan G
Author of the Learn to Program web site
http://www.alan-g.me.uk/
http://www.amazon.com/author/alan_gauld
Follow my photo-blog on Flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alangauldphotos


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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[Steve Lett]

Gday!
On 31/05/2016 8:52 AM, "Steve Lett"  wrote:

> Thank you for the reply.
> On 30/05/2016 3:45 PM, "Steve Lett"  wrote:
>
>> Hi folks,
>> Just started learning python. I've been having a really hard time in
>> getting started, and still am! I have a slight learning difficulty,
>> including a stroke in Jan.2010. You wouldnt know even if u were here
>> looking at me! Praise God for the great salvation!
>> I have a slight learning difficulty. Has anyone got any tips on how to
>> study programming and what approach would be best for me?
>>
>> Out of a long list of books that I have collected ( python, Blender, etc
>> ) I have decided to start on Introducing Python (hard copy 2nd Ed, ebook
>> 3rd ed) by Bill Lubanovic. Before that I was going to start with Python
>> Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Michael Dawson.
>>
>> Any thoughts on these issues and especially the study tips already
>> mentioned.
>>
>> Thank you, Steve
>>
>
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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[Anindya Mookerjea]

Hi experts,

I am going to start learning Python and have got no coding
experience/knowledge whatsoever . So Python would be my first programming
language

Please suggest

Thank you
Anindya

On Wednesday, June 1, 2016, William Ray Wing  wrote:

>
> > On May 30, 2016, at 1:45 AM, Steve Lett  > wrote:
> >
> > Hi folks,
> > Just started learning python. I've been having a really hard time in
> > getting started, and still am! I have a slight learning difficulty,
> > including a stroke in Jan.2010. You wouldnt know even if u were here
> > looking at me! Praise God for the great salvation!
> > I have a slight learning difficulty. Has anyone got any tips on how to
> > study programming and what approach would be best for me?
> >
>
> Quick question - just to be sure everyone is on the same page.  Is Python
> your first programming language?  That is, are you comfortable with the
> process of decomposing a problem into a series of steps (an algorithm) that
> will yield an answer?  Do you already know how to program in some OTHER
> language.  If yes - the answers you have gotten are great.  If NOT, then we
> should be talking on a whole different level.
>
> -Thanks,
> -Bill
>
>
> > Out of a long list of books that I have collected ( python, Blender, etc
> )
> > I have decided to start on Introducing Python (hard copy 2nd Ed, ebook
> 3rd
> > ed) by Bill Lubanovic. Before that I was going to start with Python
> > Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Michael Dawson.
> >
> > Any thoughts on these issues and especially the study tips already
> > mentioned.
> >
> > Thank you, Steve
> > ___
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>
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-- 
Best regards
Anindya
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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[William Ray Wing]

> On May 30, 2016, at 1:45 AM, Steve Lett  wrote:
> 
> Hi folks,
> Just started learning python. I've been having a really hard time in
> getting started, and still am! I have a slight learning difficulty,
> including a stroke in Jan.2010. You wouldnt know even if u were here
> looking at me! Praise God for the great salvation!
> I have a slight learning difficulty. Has anyone got any tips on how to
> study programming and what approach would be best for me?
> 

Quick question - just to be sure everyone is on the same page.  Is Python your 
first programming language?  That is, are you comfortable with the process of 
decomposing a problem into a series of steps (an algorithm) that will yield an 
answer?  Do you already know how to program in some OTHER language.  If yes - 
the answers you have gotten are great.  If NOT, then we should be talking on a 
whole different level.

-Thanks,
-Bill


> Out of a long list of books that I have collected ( python, Blender, etc )
> I have decided to start on Introducing Python (hard copy 2nd Ed, ebook 3rd
> ed) by Bill Lubanovic. Before that I was going to start with Python
> Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Michael Dawson.
> 
> Any thoughts on these issues and especially the study tips already
> mentioned.
> 
> Thank you, Steve
> ___
> Tutor maillist  -  Tutor@python.org
> To unsubscribe or change subscription options:
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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[Steve Lett]

Thank you for the reply.
On 30/05/2016 3:45 PM, "Steve Lett"  wrote:

> Hi folks,
> Just started learning python. I've been having a really hard time in
> getting started, and still am! I have a slight learning difficulty,
> including a stroke in Jan.2010. You wouldnt know even if u were here
> looking at me! Praise God for the great salvation!
> I have a slight learning difficulty. Has anyone got any tips on how to
> study programming and what approach would be best for me?
>
> Out of a long list of books that I have collected ( python, Blender, etc )
> I have decided to start on Introducing Python (hard copy 2nd Ed, ebook 3rd
> ed) by Bill Lubanovic. Before that I was going to start with Python
> Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Michael Dawson.
>
> Any thoughts on these issues and especially the study tips already
> mentioned.
>
> Thank you, Steve
>
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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[Colby Christensen]

I completely agree with what's been said. I also have used online learning 
sites like Coursera, Udacity and Lynda. There's something about being able see, 
hear and do that clicks for me.
Good Luck
Colby

> From: david.r...@gmail.com
> Date: Mon, 30 May 2016 18:07:57 -0500
> To: tutor@python.org
> Subject: Re: [Tutor] Study Tips
> 
> * Alan Gauld via Tutor  [2016-05-30 22:11]:
>> On 30/05/16 06:45, Steve Lett wrote:
>> 
>> write code., lots of it.
>> 
>> Don't just settle for the examples/exercises in your book.
>> Use them as a start but extend them. Add extra features.
>> Change the output format or the sort order.
>> Combine examples to make bigger programs.
>> 
>> Writing code means making mistakes and, in finding the solution,
>> you learn far more than from just reading code.
> 
> And a corollary to this: have a purpose for why you are writing it.
> 
> Learning code for the sake of learning it will get old quickly. You will get a
> lot further if you are trying to solve a problem that you care about. Think of
> something you would like to automate, or calculate, or process. Do you have
> data you would like to analyze? As you learn different elements and apply them
> to a practical use that does something for you, it will be more satisfying and
> more likely to stick in your brain.
> 
> -- 
> David Rock
> da...@graniteweb.com
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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[Alex Kleider]

On 2016-05-30 12:02, boB Stepp wrote:
...

Are you totally new to programming in *any* language?  If yes, you
have much more to learn than *just* a programming language.  I am
going to assume that you are very new to programming in general.
Forgive me if I am mistaken!  But if you are, then some of the things
you must learn that are language-independent:



With the above comments in mind, this might be worth looking at:
http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/

I cut my teeth on the original version which was Python 2.7 based and
was just the thing meeting the criteria mentioned by Bob.
I assume the Python 3 version has the same merits.
Best wishes,
Alex

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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[David Rock]

* Alan Gauld via Tutor  [2016-05-30 22:11]:
> On 30/05/16 06:45, Steve Lett wrote:
> 
> write code., lots of it.
> 
> Don't just settle for the examples/exercises in your book.
> Use them as a start but extend them. Add extra features.
> Change the output format or the sort order.
> Combine examples to make bigger programs.
> 
> Writing code means making mistakes and, in finding the solution,
> you learn far more than from just reading code.

And a corollary to this: have a purpose for why you are writing it.

Learning code for the sake of learning it will get old quickly.  You will get a
lot further if you are trying to solve a problem that you care about.  Think of
something you would like to automate, or calculate, or process.  Do you have
data you would like to analyze? As you learn different elements and apply them
to a practical use that does something for you, it will be more satisfying and
more likely to stick in your brain.

-- 
David Rock
da...@graniteweb.com
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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[Alan Gauld via Tutor]

On 30/05/16 06:45, Steve Lett wrote:

> Out of a long list of books that I have collected ( python, Blender, etc )
> I have decided to start on Introducing Python (hard copy 2nd Ed, ebook 3rd
> ed) by Bill Lubanovic. Before that I was going to start with Python
> Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Michael Dawson.

Bob has mentioned many useful bits of advice.

I'd just emphasise one thing:

write code., lots of it.

Don't just settle for the examples/exercises in your book.
Use them as a start but extend them. Add extra features.
Change the output format or the sort order.
Combine examples to make bigger programs.

Writing code means making mistakes and, in finding the solution,
you learn far more than from just reading code.

-- 
Alan G
Author of the Learn to Program web site
http://www.alan-g.me.uk/
http://www.amazon.com/author/alan_gauld
Follow my photo-blog on Flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alangauldphotos


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Re: [Tutor] Study Tips

[boB Stepp]

Hi and welcome to Tutor, Steve!  I am one of the learners, and I can
honestly say that you have found the right place to ask questions when
you get stuck.  Things on the list seem slow this weekend.  In the US,
where I am at, we are having Memorial Day weekend.  I still have to
chew over two meaty answers to questions I asked this weekend from two
resident Pythonistas, Peter Otten and Alan Gauld (Who is also one of
the list's moderators.), but I can't quite get out of holiday mode!
As a way out of learning about decorators, particularly property ones
(Which Peter used in his illustrative code.), I now will post a
lengthy response to your question(s), including some general stuff you
were not asking about that I think you might find helpful.

On Mon, May 30, 2016 at 12:45 AM, Steve Lett  wrote:

> I have a slight learning difficulty. Has anyone got any tips on how to
> study programming and what approach would be best for me?

First, I would like to mention some things I have observed that tend
to trip up newcomers to programming and especially in using this
mailing list.  When you successfully subscribed to Tutor, you should
have received a welcome email which attempted to explain some of the
rules this list follows.  If I recall correctly, it even contains a
link to a web page that explains how to ask intelligent questions on
technical mailing lists (Like this one.).  If you vary from this
practice, then you will probably be given that link again
(http://sscce.org/).  If you have not read it, please do.  It is quite
helpful, not just for you, but for those who *do* wish to help you.

For instance, I trimmed your post down to what I am going to try to
respond to, but I fear I may run on a bit.

The most basic thing is to always respond to the whole Tutor list, not
just to the person who posts a response to your email.  Tutor is a
collaborative learning environment.  Answers to your questions could
easily prove helpful to me and others.  Also, by posting to the entire
Tutor list, you ensure to get a variety of perspectives on your
issue(s).

I notice you have a Gmail address.  If you are using the Gmail email
program, too, then you need to make sure that ALL of your emails and
responses to Tutor are in plain text with no attachments.  If you
don't do this, you will have problems.  The main technical one is that
Python's structure is dependent on consistent and proper indentation
(Four spaces per indent preferred.).  If that indentation gets altered
by using rich text, html formatting, etc., which this list does not
use, then people will not be able to copy and paste your code as is.
The Gmail email program will not do plain text automatically for you,
so if you do not know how to ensure this, then you have some Googling
to do!  If you want to see what your just sent email looks like to the
list members, point your browser to either

https://mail.python.org/pipermail/tutor/

or,

https://www.mail-archive.com/tutor@python.org/

and find your email and view it.  Looks like you are doing fine so
far.  Note:  The first link will have your email show up very quickly.
The second often seems to have a noticeable lag before it shows up.

Also, make sure when you have a problem with one of your programs that
you do the following:

1)  Usually state your operating system (OS) and version of Python
being used.  As you appear to be newly learning both programming and
Python I highly recommend you start with Python 3, which is now the
only version of Python being actively developed.  Python 2 is still
heavily in use, but now is in maintenance mode and will eventually no
longer get even new bug fixes.  The two books you mentioned both use
Python 3, so I suspect you have already realized this.

2)  COPY and PASTE the code you are having issues with.  Do NOT try to
hand-type your code in.  You will probably make a typo along the way,
producing code in your email that is NOT the code you actually ran and
inevitably introducing new errors in that hand-copied code which have
nothing to do with your original problem.  Another Gmail warning:  I
have found that when I copy something from the Python interpreter and
attempt to paste it into an email, my indentations vanish!  This means
I have to go carefully through my code and ensure that all of the
indents are recreated.  Eventually I will have to switch email
clients, but I have many things tied to making Google's environment
work (Android Nexus 5 phone, calendars, etc.) that I dread having to
figure out how to stitch together a variety of programs to recreate my
currently seamless digital experience.).

[An aside:  There are two ways to run Python code, in the Python
interactive interpreter and by invoking Python (Often from the command
line.) on a file containing valid Python code.  The first is handy to
experiment in as you get immediate feedback.  The latter is the form
your applications will be done in.  Python supplies IDLE, which
functions as 

[Tutor] Study Tips

[Steve Lett]

Hi folks,
Just started learning python. I've been having a really hard time in
getting started, and still am! I have a slight learning difficulty,
including a stroke in Jan.2010. You wouldnt know even if u were here
looking at me! Praise God for the great salvation!
I have a slight learning difficulty. Has anyone got any tips on how to
study programming and what approach would be best for me?

Out of a long list of books that I have collected ( python, Blender, etc )
I have decided to start on Introducing Python (hard copy 2nd Ed, ebook 3rd
ed) by Bill Lubanovic. Before that I was going to start with Python
Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Michael Dawson.

Any thoughts on these issues and especially the study tips already
mentioned.

Thank you, Steve
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