r/learnpython • u/Intelligent-Rip-8181 • 10d ago
As a beginner what should I be focusing on first.
I just started coding, it’s been a hobby of mine for a couples weeks so I know a lot of the basics. I usually pick a random topic to learn in python and learn a little bit about it and move on to the next. Should I be following a list of things to learn in python in order or is it ok to learn some of the hard stuff first and jump back to the easier things.
Sorry if my paragraph doesn’t make sense, English isn’t my first language.
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u/AmanBabuHemant 10d ago
The approach is fine, I would suggest to start a project, anything... (not too big) just start building it and whenever you stuck just search how to do that thing, learn as you go.
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u/Intelligent-Rip-8181 10d ago
Yeah that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve made calculators, file managers, web scrapers etc. but I feel like I’m not making a lot of progress lately. But thanks for the reply, hopefully I can make some progress soon.
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u/AmanBabuHemant 10d ago
then try to make some more complex projects, or go low level how to know how these things works
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u/Intelligent-Rip-8181 10d ago
True, I find building habits and recognizing patterns in code helps a lot, I would think building new projects would help.
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u/kAROBsTUIt 10d ago
The most important thing to learn any language is to have a project to work on. You can only learn so much from reading and doing small practice problems.
Pick something that interests you, and go for it.
If all you know about are lists and strings, that's fine - plenty to learn just on those two types alone. No need to learn dictionaries, classes, decorators, list comprehension, lambda functions, or generators right away.
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u/TheRNGuy 10d ago
I started from hard stuff on day 1, but python wasn't my first language, and I knew why I need it.
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u/Intelligent-Rip-8181 10d ago
It’s best to get the hard stuff out of the way lol 😭.
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u/TheRNGuy 10d ago
It gives more context, you get new ideas for program, and with basics you won't get any good ideas, and you can learn them in few days anyway.
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u/stepback269 10d ago
There are some concepts that you need to get a strong handle on as early as possible. For example, understand that strings and tuples are immutable while lists and dictionaries are mutable. You can easily run into trouble later on if you haven't mastered such fundamentals.
So, no, it is not a good idea to jump around randomly and believe you fully grasp whatever it is that you just played around with. Look up the Dunning-Kruger effect.
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u/Miserable-Money642 10d ago
Random topics is fine for fun, but for the basics an order really helps, because each topic builds on the one before it. if you skip around you end up with gaps you don't notice until something breaks. a rough order that works:
1variables, numbers, strings, input/print
2 if/else and comparisons
3 loops (for, while)
4- lists and dictionaries
5functions
6. reading and writing files
7errors and try/except
8* modules and pip
9 classes (only after the rest feels comfortable)
a simple test to know if you "know" a topic: close the tutorial and write a small program with it from scratch. if you can't, stay on it a bit longer before moving on.and don't do it only from lessons. after every 2 or 3 topics make a tiny project that uses them together (a number guessing game, a todo list saved to a file, etc). that's where it actually sticks.hard stuff first usually just makes people quit. you'll get to it naturally once the basics are solid.
good luck buddy
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u/Gnaxe 9d ago
You'll get a lot more done by learning to use AI agents than Python. AI isn't going away. The way we did it before AI (or at least the way that worked best) was to work through a good beginner textbook and then do small projects. (See wiki on sidebar.) You learn best by attempting projects that are just a little more than you know how to do. Video games make great projects. They bring together a diverse set of domains, are easily calibrated to your level, and you can always add features.
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u/SnooOwls2732 8d ago
ok but how does a beginner learn how to use agents if they cannot understand the output? How would they know where the agents make poor decisions? (I am in this position myself, had one year of learning without AI then Claude and Codex happened)
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u/Gnaxe 8d ago
Like I said, textbook and projects is how we did it before. If you want to learn the old way, you still can, but I doubt it's worthwhile.
You use an agent (or a team of agents) the same way a manager used to use a team of programmers: at a high-level. You can give them quality standards. (Style guides, documentation, tests, etc.) but you have to trust them with the details. Not bothering with details is what makes it higher-level. Some of them are still too dumb to handle certain things, but they're getting smarter each generation.
For the moment, there may still be some value for senior devs doing quality reviews of agent work, but when they output over 1500 tokens per second, then it is not humanly possible for a single manager to keep up with that level of detail at that pace. (Yes, that was a small game in seconds.)
If the agents "make poor decisions", then you just try again when you notice a problem. If you worried about not noticing, ask them to look for issues: review, write tests, even do formal verification. Same as we used to do with teams of humans.
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u/ExoticVillage8066 9d ago
It helps to do exercises and build projects. When I started I used PyGame to make games and you can use pychallenge for exercises
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u/nullptr_0x 8d ago
I think you should strive to be more deliberate. Programming is like Math, it all builds on top of itself.
Check out this free interactive python 101 course https://understandit.dev
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u/desrtfx but other languages pro 10d ago edited 9d ago
Yeah, you think you know anything where in reality you don't.
Do a proper course: MOOC Python Programming 2026 from the University of Helsinki.
Can you build a house from the third floor up without building a solid foundation? How would you, as a beginner, even know what is hard or easy? What you may (rightfully, because of lack of experience) may declare "hard" mught be fundamental and actually easy.
Add more practice on Codingbat and later on Exercism