How to learn Python programming | Guido van Rossum and Lex Fridman

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GUEST BIO:
Guido van Rossum is the creator of Python programming language.

PODCAST INFO:

SOCIAL:

[LexClips]

Guest bio: Guido van Rossum is the creator of Python programming language.

[mt-qcqh]

The first 2 minutes of this clip is perfect advice. I built a 50 year programming career on just this principle. If you have a problem to solve, you will be motivated to learn the tool to solve it.

[kwrifles]

I learned Python on freecodecamp. The beginner course with Charles Severence was an amazing intro. Now I'm advance intermediate, I have several certs from different places. I've moved on to c++, but I'm refreshing on python every other day or so so I don't dull

[timthompson]

I think that’s great advice. In my last job, I needed to automate a test procedure with the Keithley DAQ6510. I had never used Python, so I decided to use that project to learn Python. I focused my learning on the task at hand and was able to get the project up and running in a reasonable amount of time. My code was far from perfect, but it did the job exceptionally well and took a 90 minute manual test procedure down to 20 minutes. As I learn more about Python, I can see better ways to do some of the things I did, but this was a great way to learn the basics. Using MicroPython with a microcontroller is even better.

[PerfectSense]

This is very helpful for someone learning programming. That Guido says he forgets stuff every day and just looks it up and drops it in as needed. Because I'm constantly looking up stuff I've already learned and it's good to know even the greats need to do the same thing every day. I felt like I should just remember it all but I guess it doesn't matter.

[jmlt-zbpx]

Working through a book and doing the coding exercises is so underrated

[colerogers]

The blog post he refers to is probably "Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years" by Peter Norvig. A great, short read.

[NorlynCodes]

It's never the language, it's the ability to solve problems logically.

[Websitedr]

I'm a huge fan of autocomplete. We know what we want, what it does, why we're doing it, to have the machine just assist where possible so all we have to do is tweak things a bit, huge time save vs just trying to type everything out like in a console or text editor.

[johnnytoobad]

Coming from c/c++ & VB background I thought Python was a natural evolution of the best parts of those languages. Plus a lot cool built-in stuff. My first Python project was "data-science" project using numpy & matplotlib. Then I learned tkinter to add a gui front end. Just finished two small interesting projects using threading and multi-processing. Also created a gui front end to test my sub-classes of python's built in threading. I get a "kick" watching my threads get created, running and done. Cheap Thrills. (as the saying goes...)😁

[FictionHubZA]

He's totally right. People learn more when they're passionate bout what they learn.

[Dent]

I can't recommend code-generation enough! I currently use co-pilot, but I'd like to use that and Codex to make my own intelligent typing assistant. I can focus so much more on the higher-abstraction CompSci concepts without wasting time typing. They're not perfect, but they're still a HUGE time-saver for me.

[dudeabides]

This is great advice. I reverse engineer scripts doing what I do and then it's off and running. It's easier to write after you read and that applies to coding as well.

[beenay]

learn python in 5 minutes or 1 hour is absolutely crucial for a person with sort attention span like me. I can't stress enough how helpful these types of tutorials to get your foot into something new. If you just have a 5 minute tutorial, it gives you so much insight into what coding feels like, what you might be able to do with it etc. Once you get that overview, adding new skills, syntaxes, ideas, algorithms, workflows is a breeze.

Those five minutes or one hour videos that gives you overview of a programming language is 1000 times better than some books I studied in undergraduate passed the exam and still after 10 years i don't know what did i studied then and for what?, ; where or how is that meant to be used etc.

memorizing a dictionary will get you no where in new language learning. just go outside and interact with the people who speak that language. learn few basic sentences and build on that over time.

[johnstarfire]

totally agree, get something you want to make and then figure out how to do it (with python) you will know what you need to do it and after that you continue adding knowledge to that first branch of knowledge

[xTheConsultant]

Good stuff. Learning by building something you are interested in is the best way to learn programming. It allows you to learn what you need to get the job done without being overwhelmed by all the other technical fluff. Some people get bogged down with thinking you need to learn everything in a book before you are considered good. In my opinion, knowing where to find, read, and use the documentation is 90% of the battle.
For me, I've been programming long enough that I've gotten used to code snippets as boiler plate for faster prototyping then modifying them for what I need. Could I build without them yes, but I would be slower for sure.

[Hecticam]

That last point is so crucial and insightful from Guido..
That answers the question on whether a coder's job will be replaced by AI, which we have heard alot in the past and will continue hearing in the future.

[Tyf]

Has anyone studied the casual relationship between the programmer and the language? It seems we all have biases in our languages.

[andrews]

People can try to teach you a lang in a couple hours/day. People claim they can to take you from a beginner to doing something like ML in a record time. People often cite salaries for certain tech positions. Lex not really doing it here, but 99% of the time you hear these kinds of things, someone is trying to sell you something. True skill in this domain takes years, often decades. I'm disgusted when I see ads like "python devs make 112k, enroll now!". Not what's happening here, but it happens.

[blackmoonco]

Coders don’t really think of themselves like musicians, but they totally are. Music is a language just the same and you might learn general music in an hour but you will also learn it over a lifetime. It’s relative to both the user and their experience with that language over time.