DEV Community

Chaance T. Graves
Chaance T. Graves

Posted on

When is Python a good choice to start with?

Are you new to programming? have questions about which language would be a good to start with?

This is actually more a personal preference depending on what the project and solution you're looking to achieve. However, for a beginner, you have lots of flexibility to experiment which one is right for you. One programming language I enjoy working with and others have found useful is Python. I recommend to start with Python 3 as it has more community support to be developed and used for years to come.

There are likely millions of developers around the world using Python to build projects, tools, and using it to teach others the fundamentals of programming. You can do all kinds of other amazing work in a multitude of domains.

Example applications:

  • Web applications
  • Machine Learning / Deep learning
  • Automating weekly emails
  • Setting up jobs to update a spreadsheet
  • etc....

Helpful online resources & books

There are plentiful resources you can find online to teach yourself Python or pair with a small group to work on projects!

Codeacademy: Codeacademy offers free code tutorials are very popular for good reason. The tutorials should give a good idea of what it's like to code Python with hands-on lessons where you actually get to write some code.

Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw: This book is well received and aims to teach beginners how to read and write basic Python as a foundation to understand other books on Python. It is high quality which I recommend regardless of where your current skill is. You can try the free sample to see if it would work for you.

Real Python: This website offers tutorials to learn any aspect of Python you curious about learning about.

Automate the boring stuff with Python by Al Sweigart: This is a enjoyable read and practical for anyone who has or currently working a tedious, routine job! He also offers a video course provided through Udemy.

Udemy: You can find all sorts of courses and projects offered on this online education website. They range from beginner to advanced and have instructors teaching subjects in finance, data science, full-stack web development and more.

This will jumpstart your programming journey for success. Feel free to discuss any other useful resources or projects you've discovered learning Python. 👌🏾

- Chaance

Top comments (2)

Collapse
 
dianacoman profile image
Diana Coman

Before you look for "a good choice", it's worth getting clearer as to what are you trying to start even. That aside, it's really never the tools that you start with - it's the people! So python like anything else will be a good choice to start only when that is what your mentors recommend - the trouble is really to find your mentors first and actually do as they say.

Collapse
 
ctg123 profile image
Chaance T. Graves

Hi Diana,

That's a great point. That was how I started learning Python actually. My mentors brought me up to speed when I was an intern 👍🏾