Although there are many ways to learn Python, the entire process can be pretty intimidating, difficult and frustrating. This is why finding the most suitable and best way to learn Python online is necessary.
Python is one of the essential programming languages which every developer must have a clear knowledge about. Several seasoned programmers use Python language for building websites, creating learning algorithms and performing other prominent tasks.
Wondering about what is the best way to learn Python? The very first step while learning a programming language is to ensure that you have a clear understanding of how you can learn it. The most critical skill which is involved in any kind of programming language is this very step of learning how to learn.
This is important because, as languages like Python keep evolving, new libraries will be created and even the tools undergo an upgrade. By knowing how you can learn the language, it will be easy for you to keep up with the ever-evolving world of programming languages and eventually become a successful programmer.
According to Tiobe Index, Python remained third most popular programming language after Java and C in 2019.
This article lists out all the essential details which you must be aware of if you are trying to find the best way to learn Python.
What is Python and what is the Best Way to Learn Python?
Python is an object-oriented and interpreted programming language that is equipped with dynamic semantics. This high-level programming language has built-in data structures which are blended with dynamic binding and dynamic typing.
This makes this programming language highly attractive for RAD or Rapid Application Development. This also is the reason why it is used for gluing or scripting languages to blend all the existing components together.
Python drastically reduces the cost of program maintenance since the syntax used is pretty simple, easy to learn and emphasizes readability. Python’s packages and modules encourage code reuse and modularity of the program.
The extensive standard Python library and Python interpreter are available in binary or source form can be distributed freely without charge for the major platforms available. Knowing what is the best way to learn Python online begins with the strong Python programming basics. Here are the details.
Best Way to Learn Python Characteristics
It is very important to learn about Python characteristics while researching the best way to learn Python. We have plenty of programming languages available which are all unique with their own set of specialties.
The characteristics and features of a language make them unique from each other. Also, it is due to the characteristics of a programming language that it gets chosen for processing a project.
Here is a Python basic video:
So, let’s look at the essential Python characteristics which are detailed below.
1. Easy
Python programming language is easy to code when compared to other programming languages like C++ and Java. Although mastering this programming language takes a lot of time and effort as it involved learning the advanced packages and concepts, the basic syntax of Python can be learnt in just a few hours.
This high-level language is extremely programmer-friendly and very easy to read. With a mere glance at a Python code, you can easily tell what the exact purpose of the code is. Python mandates indentation as it is typed dynamically. This is what aids the readability of this programming language.
2. Expressive
The best way to learn Python is by making yourself aware of its expressive characteristics. For instance, assume that two programming languages are there, A and B. All the programs which can be made using language A can also be made using language B. However, the reverse is not true.
This way, we can say that programming language B is much more expressive than the programming language A. Python language provides programmers with plenty of constructs that lay focus on finding solutions rather than laying the focus on the syntax.
3. High-Level
Python, as discussed in the earlier sections, is a high-level programming language. This implies that the system architecture need not be remembered and the memory need not be managed by the programmers.
4. Open-Source and Free
Firstly, before knowing about the best way to learn Python, you should know that it is available freely and can be downloaded off the internet. It is also open-source, which means that Python’s source code is readily available to anyone.
You can download, change, use and distribute it freely. This is why it is referred to as FLOSS which means Free/Libre and Open Source Software.
5. Interpreted
One thing which you will come across while learning the best way to learn Python for non-programmer is that it is interpreted. The popular programming languages like Java or C++ need to be compiled first prior to running them on a system. But, this is not true in case of Python, you need to compile this language before running it on a system.
The Python source code is internally converted into bytecode which is an immediate form. So, while running the Python code, you do not have to worry about linking it to other libraries and other such things.
Python is an interpreted programming language, which means that its source code is executed one line after the other and not all the lines at once. This makes it slightly slower than programming languages like Java, but this is overcome by the several other benefits which it offers.
6. Portable
Assume a scenario, wherein you have written a Python code for running it on a Windows system. Now, imagine that a certain need arises and you need to do the same for a Mac system as well. In such a case, you can use the same Python code, without any modifications, for the Mac system as well.
In other words, in the case of Python programming language, you need not write separate codes for running it on different systems, making it extremely portable. However, in such a case, any kind of system-dependent features need to be avoided.
7. Extensible
While educating yourself about the best way to learn Python, you must also be aware of the fact that this language is highly extensible. This means that, when the need arises, you can write a few Python codes in C++ or some other programming language.
8. Object-Oriented
Python is an object-oriented language, which means that it has the capability to model reality. Its major focus lies on the objects and through this, it combines functions and data. When a language is procedure-oriented, it greatly focuses on functions in Python which are the codes that are reusable.
The best part about Python is that it supports both products as well as the object-oriented approach to programming. Apart from this, multiple inheritances are also supported by Python, unlike the Java language.
9. Large Standard Library
Python has a large standard library which eliminates the need for programmers to type their own code for different purposes. Python library consists of documentation-generation, regular expressions, web browsers, unit-testing, databases, threading, email, CGI, and image manipulation, among several other functionalities.
10. Embeddable
When you get to know more about the best way to learn Python, you will get to know that it is embeddable. We discussed in the above sections that other language codes can be put in Python source codes.
However, it is also possible to put the Python language code in other language’s source codes. This feature allows programmers to integrate the capabilities of the scripting of other languages in a program.
11. Dynamically Typed
Python is a dynamically typed programming language. This means that the decision regarding the type for value is done at runtime and not in advance. This is one of the reasons why programmers do not need to specify which type of data is being used while declaring the data.
12. GUI Programming
While knowing about the best way to learn Python, you must be aware of the fact that Python programming language can be used for creating basic GUIs.
Applications
Learning about the applications makes it easier for you to grasp the concepts better while knowing about the best way to learn Python online. Python programming language is well-known for its nature of being a general-purpose. Due to this, Python is applicable in almost every software development domain. As a whole, Python can be used in any particular developmental sphere.
When you research about the best way to learn Python for non-programmers, it is also important to know the applications where it is used. Here are a few such application areas where Python programming language finds its use.
1. Web Applications
The majority of web applications can be developed using Python. Python offers a massive range of libraries that are needed for the handling of internet protocols like XML, HTML, email processing, JSON, BeautifulSoup, request, Feedparser, etc.
Even the frameworks like Pyramid, Django, Flask, etc, are provided by the Python libraries which are needed for designing and developing web-based applications. A few important developments in this field are Pocoo, PythonWikiEngines, PythonBlogSoftware, etc.
2. Software Development
Python works in the form of a support language that can be used for building control, testing, and management.
3. Desktop GUI Applications
Tk GUI library is provided by Python which is useful while developing the user interface of an app based on Python. A few other tools which are useful in several other platforms include Kivy, wxWidgets, pyqt.
4. Business Applications
When you are trying to gain insight into the best way to learn Python online, it would be interesting to note that it finds its application in the business domain as well. It is majorly used in building business applications like e-commerce systems and ERP.
5. Numeric and Scientific
Numeric and scientific computations can be made easy with the use of Python programming language. A few useful Python packages and libraries with respect are Pandas, SciPy, IPython, etc.
6. Console Based Application
Python language can be used in the process of building a console-based application. One such example is IPython.
7. Video or Audio Based Application
Python is a great language that can be used in processes that are meant for performing multiple tasks. This quality of this language makes it is widely used in multimedia applications. A few such real application examples include cplay, TimPlayer, etc.
8. Enterprise Applications
While getting to know about the best way to learn Python for non-programmers, you will be intrigued to know that this language is very useful for creating applications that find their use in an organization or an enterprise. A few of such real-time applications are Tryton, Open Erp, Picalo, etc.
Python File Handling
A very concept to gain insight into while educating yourself about the best way to learn Python for non-programmers is the Python file handling system. While using Python, you need not import an external library in order to read or write the files as it has an inbuilt function for all this.
It allows programmers to read the files, write and delete any file. The key function for opening any file in Python is the “open( )” function. It takes two components, namely the filename and mode.
The following are the modes used for different functions.
“r” – Read
“a” – Append
“w” – Write
“x” – Create
“t” – Text mode
“b” – Binary mode
For creating a file, the following command needs to be used.
open(“filename”,“w+”)
The “+” sign lets the Python interpreter know that the file needs to be opened with the write and read permissions.
In order to append any data to the existing file the following command needs to be used.
open(“filename”,“a”)
The read function can be used to read the whole content of a file and the read lines function can be used to read the whole content of the file one after the other.
Conclusion
You would now have got a fair idea about what is the best way to learn Python. Python programming language is very easy to learn and use language and finds its use in several applications development domains.
Although this tutorial does not give you a comprehensive and advanced knowledge about the subject, it sure does give you a clear understanding of Python programming language.
With a Python Programming course, you can become a Python coding language master and a very qualified Python programmer. After the course, any aspiring programmer can learn from Python’s basics and continue to master Python.
