Baking Pi — 1-Motivation
I’ve been into programming/toying with technology for a while, but I’ve never really had the time nor motivation to actually keep going at it for a while. Although I consider messing around with Python fun, it’s not the easy accessible kind of fun you get from playing videogames or playing a boardgame with friends.
Now, however, I’ve found myself with some surplus of motivation to boot up my laptop and just run through some simple stuff learning Python each day and I’d like to share my experiences. Why am I managing now to keep self-educating while I’ve been struggling for months?
Pillar of motivation — PyCharm Edu.
So one of the things that held me back to invest some serious time into Python is selecting a proper platform to learn from.
I started with simply downloading Python. If you boot the program, you’ll be confronted with something non-geeky people dread as if their mother came home early from holiday and you’ve just set up a big house party.
Yet I tried and felt instantly defeated. Obviously this was not the way to go, so I took another approach. Google’s your best friend right? Well, this doesn’t count when it comes to learning Python. “Learn Python” brings about pretty much the most incohesive bunch of Python learning approaches you can find.
First of all, there’s all kinds of Youtube videos instructing you on how to learn Python. I would only advise to go here once you’re established a certain topic in Python you want to learn more about.
Next, there’s a bunch of websites that focus on teaching you Python using instructional videos or in-browser applications that simulate “a” Python environment. These are actually made quite well, however there are 2 big no-no’s for me regarding this option.
- They’re expensive.
- You’re not actually using Python, you’re using something that simulates Python. The environment makes things too easy and gives an unrealistic feel.
Why the first one is a problem is rather obvious. You don’t know yet whether you want to continue using Python, so why pay the money? However, there’s a much bigger problem than simply the money. Most of these websites allow you to take the first class for free. Only after completing the class it becomes clear you have to pay to for the remainder of the classes while at first they promise you a “free course”. To me, this was utterly frustrating. I didn’t want to pay anything yet and while I was finally getting into it, I couldn’t continue any longer. This forced me to once again search for alternatives to and start all over giving my motivation a serious kick in the face.
The second problem isn’t that obvious until you try it. This might sound weird, but I’ll explain. The in-browser applications allow you to write code right away. Examples are neatly shown at the side of your screen and pop-up boxes reveal what you have to do next. You’ll be given a specified problem and some hints on how to solve it.
The thing is it’s too simple. You’re not thinking about how to write your code at all. There’s very little room for making errors because it’s really difficult to make any kind of errors. You don’t actually learn all that much from these environments. When you do something wrong, you get instant feedback on what you did wrong and how to correct it. Besides, the application doesn’t always react the way Python reacts and solving the problem would probably take more effort in an actual programming environment. The level of challenge was just too low.
Result: Pycharm Edu
My search for a proper platform ended when I came across PyCharm Edu. This properly installs Python on your PC and can be used in all the ways that Python can be used as if it’s a normal copy of Python. That’s because it simply is Python, combined with it’s most popular editor (called Pycharm; a thingy that transforms the black DOS screen with something that looks like a normal program) and a plugin that shows exercises! Oh, and did I tell you it’s completely free?
This environment (although it doesn’t always look esthetically pleasing) checks all of my boxes. It’s simply Python. I can mess around and do anything I would do when in a real program. And it’s free.
You’ve got your normal, code typing space in the middle. A “console” at the bottom (something that shows you the results of your code). Some structure panel to the left which allows you to navigate through your exercises and to the right, the actual exercises.
Lo and behold one of my first “programs” I’ve written in Python. It’s one function which calls the Fibonacci series up untill a number I’ve specified.
Up untill now, the hours spent searching for a proper platform to learn from and the time actually spent learning python are gigantically in favor of searching for a proper platform (mind you I’ve read several introductions of several Python introduction books as well). I’m trying to turn a page now and this PyCharm Edu thing might just be the thing to keep me going.
