The Python programming language is rapidly gaining popularity in all directions. Universities are teaching programming with Python. Jobs for the language is also on the rise. It has so many use cases – web development, data science, machine learning, command line tools, security research, desktop applications and what not.
Because of it’s massive popularity, mastery of the language has become a highly valuable skill in the job market these days. Many large enterprises are starting to adopt the language. Small startups are also betting their money on it. Google, Spotify, Instagram, NASA, Twilio, Disqus, Dropbox – all the cool brands are using it in their products / services.
The triumph in the academia is another major win for the programming language. This area has mostly been dominated by languages like C/C++/Java. Beginners have had the first taste of programming in those languages. However, I personally believe, Python is a much better choice in such cases. People who are just getting familiar with programming needs an easy and fun way to learn the basic concepts. C family or Java might require much more efforts on their side. That is why the following chart makes me happy.
Why is Python so popular?
That is an excellent question. What makes Python so special? Well, to begin with Python is a nice, easy to learn general purpose language. You can use it for many different purposes, it suits many use cases. You will find necessary libraries, frameworks, toolkits for Python which will make your work easier. Python syntax is very clear and concise. It is very readable and easy to comprehend. When you read some source code, it all makes sense so easily. The only thing that might confuse you in the beginning is the forced use of whitespace for indentation. This might be a little difficult to grasp in the beginning but once you get it, you will start appreciating the value of properly indented code. Your code will look so much better and cleaner. Don’t you want your code to look beautiful?
Apart from the code being very nice and easy to read, Python codes can be very often shorter than other languages. The language is very expressive so you can actually do more while writing less. While reading Python code, you may often feel that you’re actually reading English. The ease of learning and the powerful syntax makes Python very fun to learn and use. We all love fun, no?
Python is dynamically and strongly typed. This will make things easier to handle. Don’t worry if you do not understand the concepts of dynamic or strong typing. You will learn more about them as you start learning the language.
Friendly Community
Probably the best thing about Python is it’s community. The community has crafted a huge amount of well maintained resources that you can learn from. From free to read online books to free video tutorials on youtube – the freely available resources have you covered. Need to up your Python game? There are excellent paid books and courses which will help you level up your programming skills. There are places like StackOverflow where fellow Pythonistas will answer any questions you have. You can also hang around IRC or Slack rooms for help. The community is very friendly and will warmly welcome you. The good people there will also guide on your journey and help you make right choices from time to time. Got a question? Just ask!
Learning Resources
These are the resources I recommend for learning the language:
- Automate The Boring Stuff with Python: Excellent book. Really really well written. The author will guide you through a series of interesting tasks which will also teach you various concepts of the language. It will be a very exciting journey for the beginners and an effective learning experience. This is the book I currently recommend to most beginners. You can read the book free online. The author is also creating free youtube videos based on the content.
- Python 101: Another excellent book. This one is free too. The book will cover the basics of the language. The content is very well written and beginner friendly.
- Official Tutorial: The official Python documentation is very user friendly. It contains it’s own getting started kind of tutorial. And of course freely available.
- Python 202: Another good book from Mike Driscoll, the author of “Python101” mentioned above. Once you have learned the basics, this book will help you dive into some more advanced concepts and language features.
- Pro Python: This is another recommended book for levelling up your Python skills.
- Fluent Python: I can’t recommend this book enough. When it comes to learning advanced Python, this book is a must read. It is worth every penny!
Practice Makes Us Perfect
Reading books or watching videos are not enough. We need to practise what we learn. There’s a common belief that you need to work at least 10 thousands hours before you can become expert in an area. The same idea applies here too. Read the books, watch the tutorials but at the same time, write codes by hand, every time! You will learn far more by trying those codes yourself and making mistakes. Mistakes are okay – we all make them when we begin. Learning from the mistakes is far more important.
While learning to code, these websites can be of great help. They will help you practise what you have learned so far. Some of them will also get you started with problem solving and challenge your brain. I recommend you pick a site and continue with it.
- Hackerrank: They have all sorts of problems to challenge you. From data structures to machine learning algorithms, they have you covered. They have excellent support for Python. They even have a dedicated track for Python where you can further shun your skills.
- Codewars: They have a very diversified set of programming problems to solve. The problems are classified into difficulty levels, so you can work your way through the various levels.
- Codecombat: Want to learn coding while playing games? Codecombat would allow you to program your character with your language of choice. You can even fight other players.
- Project Euler: Solve different mathematical problems on this platform.
There are many other online judges for practising algorithmic problem solving. You can try those too. But some of them might not be very Python friendly.
How to get help?
It is very likely that when you are learning Python for the first time, you will be stuck and seeking help. Please remember, Google is your best friend. Searching in Google will often find you the solutions. If it does not, feel free to join StackOverflow and ask there. You can also join this Slack Community to get help from the people there. They are very friendly.
What’s Next?
Once you have had a solid grasp of Python, you probably want to dive into a certain industry. if you want to learn web development, start learning Django or Flask. If you are into Machine Learning or Data Science, start learning the relevant tools / frameworks.
Finally, always remember – learning one language will never be enough. You have to become a Polyglot Ninja!