Finding a good resource to study Python
Getting back into studying coding after a long hiatus
Two-and-a-half years ago I went through a coding bootcamp where we mostly studied JavaScript, Ruby on Rails and HTML. While going through the course, I wrote a lot about what I was learning. I was lucky after the course to get a job as a customer service rep at a Linux based web hosting company. It’s been really good, and learning Linux has been really valuable in a lot of ways. I’ve since wanted to get back into coding, though rather than focus on JS like I was, I decided to dive into Python.
The main reason for this is that it’s a really robust scripting language, and I’ve been finding that a lot of the things I’d like to do at work to make my job easier, or to contribute in meaningful ways, require me to understand more about scripting.
It took me awhile to find a good resource for this, I think because there are just so many. After trying out a few, and consulting with other more experienced programmers, I decided to go with Learn Python 3 the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code.
I’ve worked through about twenty of the exercises so far, and I’m trying to take the author’s advice to not rush ahead, and to go through the study drills at the end of each exercise.
I think it moves at a good pace for me, and breaks things down piece by piece, which is really helpful.
One of the things he encourages you to do is write comments above each line of code, explaining what it does, which has been really useful.
I’m looking forward to continuing with this, and to start documenting my coding journey again.
