Stephen Gruppetta @s_gruppetta@qoto.org

I was rewatching Star Wars recently (kids are now interested) and it reminded me of (tenuous link warning!) when I decided to explore `__copy__()` in Python and dive a bit deeper

Copy->Clones->Storm Troopers->there's the tenuous link

Anyway, here's the article for those interested - note the image with Lego storm troopers has been there since I published this article!

#Python #coding #programming #LearnPython #LearnToCode

https://thepythoncodingbook.com/2022/08/10/shallow-and-deep-copy-in-python/

Why is Python the ideal language for beginners to learn?

Let's look at the main reasons:

• It's more accessible for a beginner, allowing you to focus on programming concepts and not language detail. Too many give up coding early on–Python makes this less likely

• It's very powerful–which means you can write any program you'll need and it scales well as you deal with more complex programs and larger data sets

• It's very broad–it has applications in very many fields and not just a narrow scope. It also has libraries for very many fields!

• As it's very popular, it has a large user-base which is very helpful, so you'll find a lot of resources (not just mine!) and a lot of help from the community

• It's a language that's still improving and progressing rapidly. Latest speed improvements is just one example

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The main thing you're learning is programming, and not a programming language. The language itself is "just" a tool, but you don't want the tool to get in the way of learning, as would happen with some other languages.

Once you become proficient in programming in one language, it's easier to switch to/learn other languages

So my advice is, yes, start with Python and stick with it until you feel you're very proficient. If and when you need other languages, they'll be easier to learn then…

#Python #programming #coding #LearnPython #LearnToCode

A while ago, my son asked me how to draw using the two-point perspective technique…

"I haven't got the slightest idea", was my honest answer (kids need to know we don't know everything, after all)

Could have left it at that. Instead we went on YouTube, one thing led to another, and…

…anyway, here's the answer, using a program which uses Python's `turtle`

#Python #programming #coding #LearnPython #LearnToCode #drawing #perspective

https://thepythoncodingbook.com/2022/04/10/understanding-two-point-perspective-drawing-using-python/

How often have you used the function `range()` in Python? It's often something you use early on as you learn about the `for` loop…

But… did you know it's not really a function, after all?!

Have a look at the docs or use `help()` to check…

`range` is a class. And therefore `range()` creates an instance of the class as is always the case with a class.

So, my question is: "Does it matter?"

Technically, it does. A function is not a class – they're different things

But in practice, what matters is how it behaves and not what it is!

This is a key principle in Python when thinking about data types. What they do and how they behave matters more that what they are!

So you can use `range()` like a function, even though it's not!

#Python #programming #coding #LearnPython #LearnToCode

When you learn to code, in Python or other languages,, you start by learning about the tools you’ll need and the rules for each one of those tools. You learn the syntax of the for loop and what it does, for example. With time, you also learn when to use this tool and when not to use it.

What’s more challenging in the early and not-so-early days when you learn Python coding is to join the dots between the various topics you learn and to view them as a coherent set of tools all working together.

Making the transition from knowing how to use lots of separate programming tools to seeing those tools as aspects of the same story is one of the rites of passage to move from beginner to intermediate, whichever way you define beginner and intermediate.

What has helped me get this type of understanding is good analogies. Here’s the one that works for me:

#Python #Programming #Coding #LearnPython #LearnToCode

https://thepythoncodingbook.com/2021/08/12/learn-python-coding-with-monty-and-the-white-room/

You've possible heard the quote which says that "Debugging is like being the detective in a crime movie where you are also the murderer”

A while ago, I decided to take this quote a bit more literally, but no, not "fully literally" (if you know what I mean - I didn't commit any crimes, just to be clear!)

Don't take this article too seriously, though!

–> Debugging Python Code Is Like Detective Work — Let’s Investigate

#Python #coding #programming #debugging #LearnPython #learntocode

https://thepythoncodingbook.com/2022/04/17/debugging-python-code-is-like-detective-work-lets-investigate/

This is a QT (although I suspect only those on qoto server will see it as such?
@hynek

Here's a "from-the-archives" post

I've been recently having more and more conversations – some privately and some publicly – on using the `turtle` module for more than just drawing circles and patterns!

Some of you may know this is one of my favourite topics – in this example, we're using it to visualise how sines and cosines are linked to the motion in a circle

How many children (and adults) learn about sines and cosines but don't know what they _really_ are?

https://thepythoncodingbook.com/2022/05/08/do-you-really-know-what-sines-and-cosines-are-visualising-maths-using-python-and-turtle/

#Python #turtle #programming #coding #LearnToCode #LearnPython #Maths #Visualisation

Are you comfortable with the difference between positional arguments and keyword (or named) arguments when calling a Python function?

And which order to use them in?

Here's the second article in the Intermediate Python Function series, hot off the press, so to speak

https://thepythoncodingbook.com/2022/11/11/positional-arguments-and-keyword-arguments-in-python/

#Python #programming #coding #functions #LearnToCode #LearnPython