Need programmer's advice on Python.

Hey ATS, one of your younger members in need of some programming help.

I'm 18, and have been doing quite a bit of HTML XTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PhP, and so on, and have been getting quite the hint onto start Python programming for the extreme benefit it will have very soon.

Mainly Python 3.0 + is what I am looking to learn, nothing earlier as it would be a waste of time to learn a language that will become extinct soon enough. I have loads of programming experience, so connecting the dot's is not a problem.

I just need somebody that has gone down this path to give me their best references (books, websites, so on) to learn this language.

I have a line of websites I planned on releasing within a year, the earliest been in a month, but now I may hold off for the potential benefits, if any.

Thanks, sorry if this is in the wrong forum, best i could do.

OFFNOTE:

For what it's worth in the news world, my city just had a great get together of our youth (Kitchener Ontario) called We Day, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, and various bands came. Quite the time it twas.

I've started to do python just yesterday. I was coding in java before.
There are lots of info about python, but I'd like an advice too.

reply to post by Etherguide


Right on, I'll post what i find here for you as well then. Good luck!

I don't even know Python, but you may find these links useful:

docs.python.org...
python.about.com...

I'm actually learning PHP and MySQL at the moment. And for anyone interested in ruby on rails the following website is brilliant: railsforzombies.org...

reply to post by WhizPhiz


Thoes links are perfect, I'm truly thankful.

The rails for zombies seems pretty cool, I'll check that out too.

I learned from the Python website tutorials. They are really good. However, I know some C++ at that time, so I had some coding experience under my belt already.

Years later, I still use it to script things... and sometimes work on math projects.

It mostly gets out of your way so you can spend more time thinking, architecting, and re-working your code to get the job done. I like it. But... I still know the 2.7xx versions.

One of the main things to run a file by double-clicking is this:
if __name__ == "__main__":
CallMeFirst()

It means, if the name of your file is called, the main/first method it will call will be CallMeFirst().

Try everything you see in the tutorials yourself. A lot of the basic funtionality in Python you find with PHP and Ruby, so having those common elements is a good thing.

If you want to try your hand at some complicated problems (probably too hard):
www.pythonchallenge.com...

Shortly after I learned Python I did one of the old Google Challenges:
googleblog.blogspot.com...

I was able to solve all 3 problems, but they were pretty tough at the time. I doubt the site works anymore... that was years ago.

I guess my best advice is to learn from someone way better than you.

Best of luck.

And Rails for Zombies was a lot of fun, but I think of it as being more advanced. Learning Ruby typically means you already know one or two other languages. It gets pretty advanced pretty quickly.

C# 4, MVC 3, and Entity Framework 4.1 are all attempts by Microsoft to catch up to RoR (Ruby on Rails).

In Microsoft's defense, Rails 3 was an attempt to catch up to simplified LINQ syntax (originally from Microsoft). LINQ syntax is pretty awesome but has a nasty little learning curve. Now that I know LINQ, I never want to go back.

A few more pieces of advice:
Dictionaries are often called maps. Python "map" is NOT the same thing.
Dictionaries are a special type of Hash Table.
Know the difference between a stack and a queue (said like 'cue').
A stack is like a Pez dispenser or a stack of books. The last one you put on is the first one you take off.
A queue is a line you stand in. The first person in line is the first person to get into the store.
Both of these are common ways to add and remove items to a list.
Learn the difference between = and ==.
= assigns
== compares (gives a true or false)
Learn bitwise operations:
&& and, || or, ! not, < less than, > greater than.

There's a lot to learn, but if you enjoy it, then keep at it.

One bit of advice I would give to any programmer is to ensure that you learn the concepts and practices of programming in general. Once you know the structure behind programming it makes picking up languages easier as it means you just need to learn the syntax.

Also, be flexible when "adopting" new languages. The best thing I ever did was learn PHP, Javascript, .NET, Java, C and Python. I am currently unemployed but I am finding lots of jobs available due to the different range of languages I can code in.

reply to post by gandhi


These links should help you or anyone wishing to learn Python...

Python.org
Dive into Python
Learn Python the Hard Way
Zet Code's Python Tutorials

...all are free.

st.