8 Things To Learn To Get Started With Python: A Newbie’s Guide

For quite a while, software development has been among the most well-paid and demanded jobs in the labor markets across the world. Now, when 2019 is running to the end and we are standing on the threshold of the new year, this tendency seems to stay with us.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, app and software developer is among the top 20 fastest-growing occupations that are predicted to be in the highest demand in the following years.

If lately, you have been thinking about a job that would pay well enough and be in demand in 2020, software development may be just the right option for you. This job keeps gaining momentum and though it can seem confusing and complicated to get started with, everything is possible if you have decent motivation! The learning curve of programming indeed can be pretty overwhelming. However, don’t let this fact get in your way because our comprehensive guide will help you get on the right track!

Most Popular Programming Languages

Before we can go on to the tips on how to start programming, let’s make a quick overview of the top languages that you should be familiar with:

JavaScript

Since 2014 and till now, JavaScript is the most used language among developers according to GitHub. It has been around for so long that it is
simply impossible to imagine the industry without this language.

Some of the biggest pros of JavaScript are its compatibility, flexibility, and ease of use. It helps to create smooth and highly-interactive products with ease, which is why many beginners get started with it.

Python

For several years, Python held its position at the third place of the most popular languages. However, the situation has slightly changed since 2018, and now it is #2 on the list.

So, why is it such a popular choice? In brief, it is clear, user-friendly, intuitive, and can be used for a variety of purposes. Many developers claim that its learning curve is much easier compared to other languages because it’s almost similar to the English language.

Java

A simple, compatible with most platforms, independent, and efficient – Java has been leading the parade for almost two decades. One of the main reasons that explain its popularity is that with its help developers can write code just once, and then run it pretty much everywhere.

All these pros make Java another all-time favorite language for newbies.

PHP

As for today, PHP has overtaken about 83% of all websites, which proves its versatility and flexibility. It is a language for general purposes and is widely used to create web pages in HTML.

Some of the reasons why we love it are because it is easy to set up, master, and use, cheap, dynamic, and flexible. However, it does have certain downsides compared to other languages. First and foremost, it is known for downgrading the performance of the website and slow down its loading time.

C/CPP

This is one of the oldest programming languages that pretty much shaped the industry. The contribution of C language to the world of web development is hard to undervalue and it has numerously proven its leading positions.

This language is perfect for creating high-performance apps, which is why it is still very popular. Besides, it served as a fundamental for a plethora of other languages, which means mastering it can help you move on to other languages overcoming a great deal of those learning curves.

In many ways, choosing the right language is the most important step. Making a wrong choice can really get you stuck at the learning stage, not giving enough space for professional development. The languages mentioned above are among the most demanded and used ones as of today. Choosing any of them will be wise, but it is important to keep in mind that each has certain pros and cons.

Python – Your Perfect Guide To The World Of Programming

Although there are quite a few programming languages that you could begin with, in this article, we are going to focus specifically on Python.

This language has originated in 1989. Its creator, Guido van Rossum, was using the ABC language when he stumbled upon several major downsides, namely exception handling and extensibility. Rossum wanted to create something way more advanced, so he used the ABC language with all its pros as the fundamental and added a set of missing features on top of it. That’s how Python was created and first released in 1994.

Over the decades, the language has undergone numerous fixes and experienced some drastic improvement in terms of functionality, stability, and overall quality.

Python developers know today is much different from what it used to be. Today, it is one of the most widely used languages in the world of programming and it has quite a few benefits.

Why choose this language? First of all, it is an all-purpose language, which means it has a variety of applications in development, including:

• Prototyping.
  
• GUI based desktop applications (including games, image processing, and design software, etc.).
  
• Language development.        
  
• Web frameworks and apps.        
  
• Operating systems.        
  
• Enterprise and business apps.

Also, compared to the rest of languages, Python has a number of undoubted advantages, which include:

• Open Source And Large Community – Python is free to use and distribute, which is a significant benefit. Besides, its drastic development is supported by a large community of developers, who collaborate, provide modules, and host conferences.
• Extensive Libraries – the presence of a sufficient number of support libraries is one of the core elements of success for a programming language and Python has it all! It features a broad library that already includes plenty of areas including OS protocols, string operations, Internet protocols, web service tools, and many high use tasks. This all makes the use of this language pretty simple.
• Easy To Learn – the biggest benefit for a newbie is that Python features an easy to read and learn syntax. This fact significantly reduces its learning curve, giving beginners a chance to master this language quickly and almost effortless. Besides, there is strong support for adopting this language, which includes lots of guides, tutorials, and much more.
• Third-Party Modules – one more thing that makes it so good is that it features lots of third-party modules that make interacting with most platforms and languages pretty easy.
• Simple To Install And Update – not less important is the simplicity of installment and updates. Here, you can learn more about the technical side of the matter.
• User-Friendliness – the length of code in Python is reduced. It
  features dynamic high-level data typing and built-in list and dictionary data
  structures, which makes it extremely user-friendly.
• Efficiency– last, but not least important benefit is the productivity and high speed offered by this language. It offers great control features, strong text processing capabilities, excellent integration, which all contribute to high speed and exceptional efficiency.

Beginner’s Guide: How To Start Programming In Python?

As you now know, Python has plenty of advantages for developers, both experienced and aspiring. It is already great for different purposes and it keeps evolving, so every new update offers us even more benefits.

If you decided to get started with Python, it can first seem a bit overwhelming and confusing. But, don’t let this stop you! As was mentioned earlier, this language is fairly easy to master and the following tips will help you get started and succeed:

1) Install Python

Before you can get into learning, if you are a Windows user, first, you will have to download and install the Python to your computer. It is available at the official website python.org and is free to download. Downloading is easy and only takes a few moments. The only important tip here is to make sure you are getting the latest available version (currently, it is 3.8.0) and the one that suits your operating system.

If you own a Linux or OS X computer, you will only need to install a text editor (for example, TextWrangler) because Python already comes installed on these operating systems.

2) Test It

Before you can start creating your first simple program, it is always a good idea to run a short test to see if Python was installed properly. To run such a test, simply open Python, type

print("Hello, World!")

and press enter. If everything works as supposed, you will now see the same text shown right below the command line.

3) Grasp The Basics

First of all, you have to learn the basic properties of the language. Some of the key properties of Python are:

• It is dynamically and implicitly typed, which means that developers don’t need to declare variables;
• It is strongly typed, which insists that types are enforced;
• It is case sensitive and, thus, VAR and var are two different variables and you have to keep this in mind;
• Finally, it is object-oriented, which means that everything is an object.

Also, at the initial stage, it is vital to learn the possible ways of getting the needed help. There are several commands that will help you when you need assistance:

help(<object>)

helps clarify how an object works;

dir()

reveals all the object’s methods;

<object>.__doc__shows

the documentation string. Here’s a clear example:

4) Syntax

Next, you will need to learn a few vital rules related to Python’s syntax. First of all, keep in mind that all blocks in Python are specified by indentation and there are no mandatory statement termination characters. This means that to start a new block, developers need to indent and, respectively, dedent to end a block. Here are more characters to learn:

• (:) - at the end of statements that expect an indentation level
• # - identifies comments
• = - is used to assign values
• == - initiates testing of equality
• += / -= - used to increment or decrements values

Here is also an example of how you can use multiple variables on a single line:

5) Types Of Data

This language features three structures of data. Namely, those are tuples, lists, and dictionaries.

1. Tuples – immutable one-dimensional arrays
2. Lists – one-dimensional arrays
3. Dictionaries – associative arrays

Sets can be found in the relevant

sets

library. The first item in any type of arrays is indicated with 0. If you have to deal with negative numbers, they count from end to the beginning, where

-1

is the last item. Variables in Python can point to functions, here’s an example:

To access array ranges, developers can use

(:)

. An empty start index and an empty end index assume the first and, respectively, the last items. The form of indexing is inclusive-exclusive. Therefore, specifying

[2:10]

will return items

[2]

(the third item, because of 0-indexing) to

[9]

(the tenth item), inclusive (8 items).

Negative indexes, on the contrary count backward, so -1 is the last one:

6) Strings

Strings in Python use both single and double quotation marks and this language allows using one kind inside the other one. Strings that include multiple lines are enclosed in triple quotation marks (either single or double).

All strings are always Unicode, however, there are also byte strings indicated with the prefix b. Adding values to strings, use a tuple and

% 

operator. Once you do this, every

%

will be replaced with an item from tuple:

7) Basic Control Statements

The flow control statements that you should learn are:

while for

(used to enumerate different members of a list), and if (used instead of

switch

since it is not present in Python).

range(<number>)

is used to create a sequence of numbers you can iterate over:

8) Functions

Def

is a keyword that declares functions. Here are a few things you should know:

• Optional arguments – are set in function declaration once mandatory arguments are assigned a default value;
• Named arguments – stand for the name of the argument that is assigned a value;

• Lambda functions –

  ad hoc

  functions comprised of a single statement;

Tuples can be returned by functions since binding a variable with another object discards the previous one, which results in the replacement of immutable types:

The Bottom Line

Stepping into the world of web development can be daunting. There is no need to sugarcoat it – learning programming takes time, passion, motivation, and lots of effort. However, that’s not always the case. Luckily for those who are just planning to make the first steps in this industry, some languages take only a few days to grasp the basics and Python is one of them!

The tips given above are far from being an exhaustive guide to using Python. They can help you grasp the general idea and main features of this language, and help create basic programs with ease. Of course, there is much more you will still have to discover and learn. But, hopefully, this article will give a good kick-start into the world of development and encourage you to keep boosting your knowledge and skills further!