How to learn python programming the fastest way in 2023

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Introduction

Everyone wants to learn python programming and they want the best tips to learn quickly in the easiest way. You are in a right place to get the best answer. The most demanded skill in the technology era is your skill in coding. Every brilliant startup around the globe needs a web and app developer, software engineer, data analyst, database designer, and brilliant ideas to implement artificial intelligence to cost-cut human effort and increase profit. Python being one of the top listed programming languages, the demand in the tech company is very high compared to other programming languages.

A few years back, I was a college student pursuing my BSc in computer science and I learned programming languages such as C, C++, Java, and PHP. Python was never a part of the curriculum and haven’t heard of it. However, things have totally changed were I picked python as the main programming language. Now, it is a great joy to know how I became a self-taught python programmer though it wasn’t an overnight success story. My journey to learn python was long, inefficient, and frequently discouraging. Learning to code without a mentor and friends has been pretty challenging. However, I knew its doable.

I am so excited that you have decided to embark on the journey of learning python! In this article, I offer the best learning outline and tips to learn python so that you become a rock star in python programming.

Why you have to learn python programming

Python is an easy-to-learn and powerful programming language. It has efficient high-level data structures and a simple but effective approach to object-oriented programming. Python’s elegant syntax and dynamic typing, together with its interpreted nature, make it an ideal language for scripting and rapid application development in many areas on most platforms. Moreover, unlike other programming languages, it is rich in extensive standard libraries freely available in open source and binary form for all major platforms. The maximum of the library is freely distributed to ease the work of programmers and developers.

The recent data from stake overflow shows that HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and Python are almost tied as the most popular languages for people learning to code.

Stack Overflow data (71K + responses)

Python language is applicable in many technological fields. It has huge community support and lots of standard libraries are freely available on open-source platforms. Some of the areas where python comes into play are

  • Data Science / Machine learning
  • Mobile Apps
  • Web Application
  • Software development
  • Game development
  • Web scraping
  • Data Processing and Analysis
  • Hardware / Sensors / Robots
  • Automating Work Tasks
  • Desktop application (GUI)
How to learn python the better way

It took me around 4 months to learn python programming the hard way. I could not figure out better ways to learn to code. At times I have to give up, I’m lost, frustrated, and not knowing what I am actually doing.

Following the steps outlined below will guide you to learn at an incredible rate. I figured it out based on my experience and teaching python programming to high school students. The steps outlined below are not only fun but also effective ways to learn to code.

Step 1: Code for a purpose

When I first started learning how to code, there were countless times when I picked it up and then gave up, again and again. This is a typical story among self-taught coders. A lot of beginners start learning to code by picking an arbitrary language and following along with a bunch of tutorials. Copying code, line by line, sometimes writing code to work out prime numbers, other times to find all the even numbers.
But you know what? We can find prime numbers a lot faster by Googling for them and picking out even numbers is not all that interesting.

But the irony is you need to find what motivates you and get excited about it! You should code for a purpose. The real joy is in the creation part. The making part. Of course, in the beginning, you won’t be able to build a big software or web application, or a high-level game. But you will be able to make something interesting. It could be as simple as creating a text-based Rock, Paper, or Scissor game. One day, this tiny step will help you to create a product, something that would have never seen.

Always learn to code with the purpose. Otherwise, you will end up copying every line from Google. There is no joy and learning in copy-pasting it. Do it yourself though the same projects are available online freely. When you do it yourself, you learn how to solve complex problems. It increases your problem-solving skills and creativity. Don’t just learn it for the sake of learning. You need to have some purpose and this should motivate you to keep going.

Step 2: Learn basic syntax quickly(the learning outline)

With a strong motivation to learn. Now, you should have a clear outline of where to begin and proceed. I would recommend the following outline which was categorized into eight main topics:

The basic syntax

  1. Hello world program
  2. Comments
  3. Variables
  4. Primitive data types (string, float, integer, and Boolean)
  5. Type conversion
  6. print() and input() function
  7. Operators

Flow Controls

  1. if, elif, and else statement
  2. for loop
  3. while loop
  4. continue and break the statement
  5. pass statement

Functions

  1. functions
  2. recursive function
  3. lambda function
  4. Scope and namespaces

Data structure

  1. List
  2. Tuple
  3. Dictionary
  4. Sets and Frozensets

Modules

  1. Random Module
  2. Date and Time module
  3. Math module
  4. User-defined module

File handling

  1. File operation
  2. Exception handling

Classes and Objects

  1. Python class
  2. Python object
  3. Class Inheritance
  4. Multiple inheritances
  5. Polymorphism

Advance topic

  1. Iterators
  2. Generators
  3. Decorators
  4. List comprehension
  5. Stack and Queue implementation in python
  6. JSON files
  7. Regular Expression(Regex)

The above-mentioned topics will have a fair idea of python programming. Having a concept of the above topics will make you so comfortable to further deep dive into the application part of python programming.

Related article:

All the above topics are well outlined here.

If you wanted to teach python programming to your kids, check out turtle programming.

Step 3: Build some projects

The golden rule to learning coding is to practice and practice. You need to build lots of projects. Just knowing the concepts and syntax is not enough. Your problem-solving skills will develop only when you build some projects. As a beginner, you do not need to think of complex and complicated projects. I have a few recommendations for you all(beginners):

  1. Rock Paper Scissor game
  2. Lucky Number Game
  3. Advance text-based calculator
  4. Student result system
  5. The banking system(ATM)
  6. Password Generator
  7. Lottery Program
  8. YouTube Downloader
  9. URL shortener
  10. Text-based quiz program
Step 4: Test your Python skill

One way to check your programming skill is to break somebody else’s code or participate in a coding challenge. There are lots of high-rated web applications to participate in and enhance your coding skills. Here, I will share the top 5 websites to participate in the coding challenge and enhance your skill in programming. Practicing your coding through these websites will increase your knowledge and prepare you for programming job interviews.

  1. LeetCode
  2. HackerRank
  3. CodeWars
  4. CodeChef
  5. CoderByte
Step 5: Choose your field of interest

After completing all the above 4 steps, now you are here to learn real applications in python. Assuming you have all the fundamentals and object-orientated programming concepts in python. You are good to go and build a real application.

The application of python is huge. It depends on what motivates you as well as what your goals are for Python programming. Here, I will share the list of python applications:

  1. Data Science / Machine Learning: TensorFlow, NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Keras, SciKit-Learn, PyTorch, Scrapy, and BeautifulSoup
  2. Web Development: Django, Pyramid, Bottle, Tornado, Flask, web2py
  3. Games: pygame
  4. GUI Development: Tkinter, PyGObject, PyQt, PySide, Kivy, wxPython
  5. Software Development: Buildbot, Trac, Roundup
  6. System Administration: Ansible, Salt, OpenStack, xonsh
Conclusion

Learning to code can be pretty challenging, you have to maintain consistency and understand what you are writing. It is a skill that requires a lot of time to hone, it will even eat into your pool of internal motivation. Something from within that makes you forget to eat and sleep.

The joy of being a programmer is when you create something by on your own!

“Coding is not easy but it’s doable”