Python For Everyone: Mastering Python The Right Way

AbogeJr — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 17:00:38 +0000

"The joy of coding Python should be in seeing short, concise, readable classes that express a lot of action in a small amount of clear code — not in reams of trivial code that bores the reader to death." - Guido van Rossum

In recent years, Python has become by far one of the most popular programming languages on the planet. So, you might be wondering what all the hype is about. A side from its elementary-level simple syntax, Python is as versatile as potatoes. No seriously, it can do almost anything in the programming paradigm. From Artificial Intelligence, to machine learning, to web development. The applications are endless. If you don't believe me, ask your favorite FAANG company (or is it MAANG).

Python is used by Intel, IBM, NASA, Pixar, Netflix, Facebook, JP Morgan Chase, Spotify, and a number of other massive companies. It's one of the four main languages at Google, while Google's YouTube is largely written in Python. Same with Reddit, Pinterest, and Instagram.

— brainstation.io

The best investment you can make for future you, after buying a bunch of NFTs of course, is learning Python today!

How To Master Python

Practice! Practice! Practice!
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of practice. It has a compounding effect on any skill you can imagine. If you work on something for an hour everyday, it doesn't matter whether you;re flipping pancakes or shooting basketballs. You will get good at it!

"Don't practice till you get it right, practice till you can't get it wrong" — Anonymous
Utilizing Resources
One of the most underrated educational resources i have found is YouTube! A plethora of free tutorials all over. It's amazing! There's literally more content there than you can consume. Did i mention it was FREE. Udemy is another very resourceful platform for anyone learning programming. It has both free and paid courses.
Build in Public (not on the streets, on social media)
Well, I feel like a hypocrite for suggesting this (because i work in private), but learning and working on projects in public will attract like-minded people in the tech space and probably even mentors. This also solves the infamous problem of tutorial hell. You know, when you're stuck binge-watching tutorials and not making any real progress. Make use of platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and DEV.

Ultimately, mastering Python is an achievable feat. it only asks for your discipline and consistency.

Thanks for Reading. Code Away!

PYTHON 101 : Introduction to Modern Python

AbogeJr — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:11:14 +0000

Python! No, not the non-venomous snake, the programming language. Python is a high level programming language released in 1991 - fathered by the legendary Guido van Rossum. Over the years, Python has gained popularity due to its relatively simple syntax and versatility. It has countless use cases such as Web Development, Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and automation just to mention a few.
This article will walk you through one of the greatest human inventions since sliced bread, the Python Programming language!

Getting Started with Python

Just like most programming languages, Python requires an environment to be set up in your computer. Luckily, it's very easy to do so. As popular as it is in the tech space to pick up the latest version of everything, it is advisable to install a version or two below the latest release(for stability purposes).

Step 1
Visit The Python Download Page

Step 2
Select a version to download. I personally went with 3.9.10. Then, go ahead and select an installer based on your Operating System.

Step 3
Run the installation executable.

Step 4
Install Python and the available dependencies. Make sure to add Python to Path!.

Wait...

Voila!

To check that Python was successfully installed and added to path, open up your command prompt.
Key in:

python --version

You should see something along the lines of:

We're all set!

Now to the fun part. Let's code!

Building your first Python program

As fun as it would be for us to build an AI face recognition system, that is far beyond the scope of this article and quite frankly, my expertise. We will have to settle for the illustrious "Hello World" program.

On your desktop or destination of your choice, create a new text file.

In the text file type the following code:

print("Hello World")

Change the .txt extension in the text file to a .py extension.

Expect something similar to this:

(Tip: When using modern text editors e.g. VS Code, you can create a .py file directly and write code in it).

To run the Python Script we'll have to visit our pal, the command line.

To navigate to the directory containing the 'hello.py' file (In my case, Desktop). Run the command:

cd Desktop

Then run:

python hello.py

You should be staring at a similar output;

Congratulations! You just wrote your first Python program. Time to start applying to those remote senior software engineering positions on indeed!

Sike!

Patience young grasshopper. The journey has just but begun. So before you add Python to your resume and LinkedIn skills, here are some of the best FREE resources you can get your hands on:

Codecademy Python Tutorial
W3schools Python Tutorial
Amigoscode Python Tutorial

These will surely give you a good bearing with regards to becoming a Pythonista(yes, this is a thing).

Code Away! And remember, consistency is key

I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much I enjoyed writing it. If nothing else, at least you learnt that pythons are actually non-venomous!

Good luck on your Pythonista journey. Godspeed!

Forem: AbogeJr

Python For Everyone: Mastering Python The Right Way

PYTHON 101 : Introduction to Modern Python

Getting Started with Python

Building your first Python program