Learn python for free

Are you new to python? No worries, we have put together a list of great resources to help you learn python for free. All of the resources listed in this article are free and have been selected because of the quality of the content and the frequency of which developers at TG4 use them.

Looking for a website that provides self-paced learning? Well we have two great tutorial websites that are worth you checking out. Both W3Schools and TutorialsPoint are good resources to learn the basics of python. W3schools has a slight edge over TutorialsPoint, simply for the fact W3Schools has an interactive code simulator. Their code simulator enables students to test code snippets directly in the browser.

W3Schools

TutorialsPoint

As developers, there are scenarios in which we do not have time to learn all of the basics prior to jumping into the code. During these scenarios, we need tutorials that focus on our intent rather than provide general knowledge. This is where Real Python comes in. On Real Python, you can learn how to develop a python application for your specific need. Examples of these intent based tutorials include:

• Sending emails with python
• How to speed up your pandas projects

These types of tutorials are great for intermediate and expert programmers. The content is focused solely on the intent of the developer, removing the fluff about basic information they’re already knowledgeable of. These tutorials are also great for beginners who are trying to get up to speed fast, because the content is focused solely on their desired solution.

Writing beautiful code is more than just a vanity thing. Beautiful code provides the following benefits:

• Makes code easily understood by the developer
• Helps new developers to the codebase get up to speed faster
• Removes certain pain points when working with a team of developers

We believe the below link is a good resource for beginner and intermediate developers looking to write cleaner code. It explains python best practices, provides examples, and mentions tools that can be used to simplify your effort to write cleaner code.

https://realpython.com/python-pep8/#why-we-need-pep-8

The Beginner’s Python Cheat Sheet is a resource we found on GitHub. It’s a great resource for developers that have some experience with python or developers who are switching from another language. The cheat sheet covers everything from data structures and error handling to unit tests and django. This resource is a great for its comprehensive topic list and ease of use.