How to learn Python programming | Guido van Rossum and Lex Fridman
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- Опубліковано 16 чер 2024
- Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Guido van Rossum: Pyth...
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GUEST BIO:
Guido van Rossum is the creator of Python programming language.
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Guest bio: Guido van Rossum is the creator of Python programming language.
Lex, this machine has power unlike any other. This is so much harder than I could have imagined.
how to learn python for a job?
MLI is AI.
You can memorise the syntax. It’s like we’re computers. Symantics comes with enough syntax. It’s not if we can get computers to understand. It’s for us to understand we’re computer based. Maybe.
The first 2 minutes of this clip is perfect advice. I built a 50 year programming career on just this principle. If you have a problem to solve, you will be motivated to learn the tool to solve it.
Absolutely true, that’s the only thing that resonated well with me.
Then you need a problem first.🤑
What problem did you originally have to solve and what coding languages do you know if you dont mind me asking?
I was just about to say the same thing. Great advice in the first 2 minutes. I'm learning Python to finish an MIS degree, and hated it at first because I'm not very computer savvy. I'm a newby to coding/programming and have only scratched the surface. Started with a little bit of R but not enough in one semester to be proficient. After getting my first machine learning model to work in Python and doing some visualizations with data I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Now I'm starting to think in terms of how to incorporate data analysis and machine learning into things I'm interested in. In my case the copy/past way of learning did help spark my interest because I actually got something to work. I appreciate the comment coming from a seasoned CS expert. I most likely will never get to your level but that doesn't matter. It's a powerful tool to dive deeper into our own interests. Hopefully somebody will pay me to do that lol.
50yrrs????
I think that’s great advice. In my last job, I needed to automate a test procedure with the Keithley DAQ6510. I had never used Python, so I decided to use that project to learn Python. I focused my learning on the task at hand and was able to get the project up and running in a reasonable amount of time. My code was far from perfect, but it did the job exceptionally well and took a 90 minute manual test procedure down to 20 minutes. As I learn more about Python, I can see better ways to do some of the things I did, but this was a great way to learn the basics. Using MicroPython with a microcontroller is even better.
It's never the language, it's the ability to solve problems logically.
I learned Python on freecodecamp. The beginner course with Charles Severence was an amazing intro. Now I'm advance intermediate, I have several certs from different places. I've moved on to c++, but I'm refreshing on python every other day or so so I don't dull
I took Charles’ PHP/SQL courses on Coursera. Highly recommended!!
Were you able to land a job or anything using it?
How did you get job
@@krox477 he has several certificates, he definelly got a job
@@Fresh_N_FitNot a single college accreditation, nor verified course, will ever land you a job. You land the job. Many men and women have the skill with no qualifications, who have waked in and proved themselves to be a more liable option. The definition of put your money where your mouth is. Just an example, everyone thinks you must have a License to buy and sell houses, you don’t. You just need to know how.
Working through a book and doing the coding exercises is so underrated
I'm a huge fan of autocomplete. We know what we want, what it does, why we're doing it, to have the machine just assist where possible so all we have to do is tweak things a bit, huge time save vs just trying to type everything out like in a console or text editor.
This is very helpful for someone learning programming. That Guido says he forgets stuff every day and just looks it up and drops it in as needed. Because I'm constantly looking up stuff I've already learned and it's good to know even the greats need to do the same thing every day. I felt like I should just remember it all but I guess it doesn't matter.
He's totally right. People learn more when they're passionate bout what they learn.
Incredible. In seconds, the video starts with a true gem. Thanks gents...
The blog post he refers to is probably "Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years" by Peter Norvig. A great, short read.
Thank you.
I can't recommend code-generation enough! I currently use co-pilot, but I'd like to use that and Codex to make my own intelligent typing assistant. I can focus so much more on the higher-abstraction CompSci concepts without wasting time typing. They're not perfect, but they're still a HUGE time-saver for me.
How can I download it?
Coming from c/c++ & VB background I thought Python was a natural evolution of the best parts of those languages. Plus a lot cool built-in stuff. My first Python project was "data-science" project using numpy & matplotlib. Then I learned tkinter to add a gui front end. Just finished two small interesting projects using threading and multi-processing. Also created a gui front end to test my sub-classes of python's built in threading. I get a "kick" watching my threads get created, running and done. Cheap Thrills. (as the saying goes...)😁
Good stuff. Learning by building something you are interested in is the best way to learn programming. It allows you to learn what you need to get the job done without being overwhelmed by all the other technical fluff. Some people get bogged down with thinking you need to learn everything in a book before you are considered good. In my opinion, knowing where to find, read, and use the documentation is 90% of the battle.
For me, I've been programming long enough that I've gotten used to code snippets as boiler plate for faster prototyping then modifying them for what I need. Could I build without them yes, but I would be slower for sure.
This is great advice. I reverse engineer scripts doing what I do and then it's off and running. It's easier to write after you read and that applies to coding as well.
Yes, if possible _start_ with some open code that is similar to what you want & go from there.
I learned SQL from running standard scripts and looking at what they do.. so hopefully can learn python the same way..
That’s how I learned too! Good advice for sure
Nailed it. True. Even if it writes to correct code. Somone need to validate. And instruct to write what they exactly want in the first place. May be boring stuffs are taken out..
That last point is so crucial and insightful from Guido..
That answers the question on whether a coder's job will be replaced by AI, which we have heard alot in the past and will continue hearing in the future.
Hopefully! Then all we would need is an EMP to take out the AI.
Lol, no. A.I. will always require human intervention. That's it's one weakness it can never get rid of.
Best explanation I've heard about coding bots and websites, threatening jobs of programmers! In order to find and use code snippets, first you've got to have an understanding of coding/programming to be able to ask the right questions leading you to that code snippet you actually need in the first place, AND, afterwards to be able to adjust or even rewrite that snippet and integrate it into your code so it works and solves your specific problem. Copy-paste "coders/programmers" wont last a day in the industry.
yup expertise comes from experience, having seen the problems and learning how to solve them.
Couldn’t agree more, I had zero experience with python and wanted a simple digital movie poster for our modest home theater, completed it with python! Easy, dumb project, but I did it!!
thanks lex for informative podcasts
totally agree, get something you want to make and then figure out how to do it (with python) you will know what you need to do it and after that you continue adding knowledge to that first branch of knowledge
Beautifully put
@@artofexistance thanks 😊
Well said 👏🏻
learn python in 5 minutes or 1 hour is absolutely crucial for a person with sort attention span like me. I can't stress enough how helpful these types of tutorials to get your foot into something new. If you just have a 5 minute tutorial, it gives you so much insight into what coding feels like, what you might be able to do with it etc. Once you get that overview, adding new skills, syntaxes, ideas, algorithms, workflows is a breeze.
Those five minutes or one hour videos that gives you overview of a programming language is 1000 times better than some books I studied in undergraduate passed the exam and still after 10 years i don't know what did i studied then and for what?,; where or how is that meant to be used etc.
memorizing a dictionary will get you no where in new language learning. just go outside and interact with the people who speak that language. learn few basic sentences and build on that over time.
@@kerim7158 keep gatekeeping mr engineer
@@kerim7158 they do help, obviously you’re not gonna know how to code after watching 5 minutes, but if you’re learning by yourself and you watch these short videos focusing on certain concepts or methods they’re very useful(assuming they’re high quality).
In 5 minutes you can learn a few new ways of doing a certain operation that you never thought of or learned before or how to write clearer, more readable code. If you watch a few of these every day well you just learned over 1000 new things in a year
@@kerim7158 front end and web development is enough for me! Python (and computer languages) are supposed to be able to help you DO STUFF. Pythonmaniacs wanna be armchair philosophers. The ivory tower "boot camp" stuff is about as "clear" as Gnosticism. I feel like the end-result of most Pythoners is... fugazi crypto exchanges. lol
@@kerim7158 there’s a lot of money to be made in web development so that sounds good to me
I've been having this exact issue, the attention span stuff:
I've been trying to learn programming. Was on a dedicated schedule of 4-6 hours a day, on my two days off during a week, trying to learn C.
I thought it would be good to learn the original first, but I really wanted to get into Python.
I love video games, and want to make my own.
I gave up C when I felt I had the concept down, and tried to learn Python, and I could get what the instructors where putting down, but couldn't make anything on my own.
I felt disappointed in myself, and took a break for months.
I felt inspired a week ago to get back into learning it.
I can't single out my hang-up I'm having. Maybe too eager, and not enough experience.
I've been coming home from work, and every other day, working on a lesson for an hour or 2, no more.
One thing I can do is "bug fix", like, take the coding lesson I was working on, and troubleshoot it until it works.
I walked through a Python game, just a dumb shooter thing, and even though I was just copying the code along with the tutorial, I was so proud of myself for going in and bug fixing it, and changing values to play like I wanted it to.
My goal is to be a game designer and the programmer. I have talented family members that can do general art, pixel art, 3D models, writing stories/plot/ect
Awesome advice, I wrote a really interesting master's thesis while learning Python and I couldn't agree more.
What was the subject of your thesis?
As far as machine learning goes, would you recommend someone learns python over JS? There is a JS framework for TensorFlow… not sure which is best.
Learn both@@wynton921
Python vs. JavaScript or Assembly is like building a bridge in German or French. Seeing what is underneath is what matters.
Love the conversations great!
interesting, I realised I like to code a lot more after switiching from sublime to pycharm.
Great interview. Really enjoy these non mainstream guests who have a lot more to bring than a Kanye west
100% agree with this!
It really depends is it your first language.Finishing Java in university, it is def easier for me to switch using python rather than someone that just opened their IDE. Currently experimenting with python, even though i love java, it just makes typing code more enjoyable. I thought i wouldnt like it after java, still takes time and practise but so far so good.
Java is like riding a bicycle without training wheels up a hill, and also on fire.😂
I badly needed this
No one can motivate me now but still i love to listen father of python.
learning python think of a program you really want to work and you will learn it
Being used to the indentation is even hard. And this is totally different from other programming languages
Has anyone studied the casual relationship between the programmer and the language? It seems we all have biases in our languages.
I like how at 3:47 Lex kinda laughed about the code generation thing. I think his reaction would be a little different today
I'm 62 years old... have tinkered with coding a small amount over the years. Just went through a 2 hour Python tutorial from UA-cam. First and foremost... at least it was easy to download Python and set up PyCharm. You're able to start super simple coding in a matter of minutes. Just looked up what PyCharm actually is... an "IDE". Integrated Development Environment. See, total beginner. Tried learning C++ once, it took 2 hours just to get the IDE portion working. Python is interesting... it does a lot of things by making assumptions and it must be doing things you don't know about because I can't figure out how it counts loops... or at least where it stores the count. That is as far as I've gotten... barely remember what I learned, but it was better than watching senseless crap.
How do you set up a proper terminal and get started pls help im a brainlet
@@fleshplushieinstall git bash in your drive and from there you can install pip in your command line.
From there use pip to install libraries and languages etc.
@@fleshplushie on Linux/Max, your user home directory has hidden profiles (ex.: .profile, .bashrc and .vimrc) you can modify. They apply terminal preferences to the user account of that home directory.
on Windows, The old command line (cmd) you would have to create a batch file, add it to Autorun registry key. Alternatively, you should use the new PowerShell (steals Linux ideas as usual) and offers similar profile script to customize environment, set aliases, and execute other commands. Stackoverflow must has tons of examples.
@yeshuabinyankee5017 yeah i might be too dumb for this might have to go to school 😭😭
@@fleshplushie Everyone learns better from video tutorials by passionate online instructors. No industry experience University dinosaurs are no match. Believe me lol Search UA-cam, or better, create a free ChatGPT account (invest in a premium account, better than funding blue haired university profs), and let the AI guide you step-by-step with all the follow-up questions you can muster. Can't fail. Believe me.
Repl(it) will try to auto complete lines of code too. Which is awesome, I def see how much of a benefit it is. But I am in my infancy learning Python and I have to constantly remind myself to type some sort of gibberish before looking at the monitor, else I will not soak in the material as well as I should.
Late to comment here but he's definitely right about really wanting to solve something that would get you coming back daily no matter how trivial the problem is. There was a project that was super interesting to me a couple years ago I saw where someone used Python to order a pizza on Dominos with 1 click of a button and because I'm very lazy, I loved the idea of upfront work to have endless time saved doing this and if I actually get some time and mental focus to do it, I'd build it for making gaming sessions much more enjoyable.
"....but the creative work of deciding sort of what you want the code to do is totally yours."
perfect timing! I'm going through a coding bootcamp RIGHT NOW =D
Which boot camp?
Golden advice
It takes 20hrs of concentrated practice to get proficient in a skill. Exceptions being when a skill is actually multiple skills.
@@M1cko33 look it up 20hr rule. For basic proficiency, it's around 20 hours. Note this does not mean mastery or advanced level. And pertains only to the things you practiced. Example, you spend 20 hours learning to play a specific song on the piano. Don't expect to magically play another song with chords you've never used.
😂😂😂😂😂 too funny
@@M1cko33 clearly doesn't know how to read. Point still stands you can reach proficiency in 20hrs in what you DIRECTLY practice. If you only practice A song you would only get good at THAT song. But piano is multiple skills sets if you devoted 20hrs each to, finger coordination, harmonies, scales, chord progression, etc. Yes you would reach proficient. At 30 minutes a day that's 40 days.
We all might have different definitions of proficient.
I've always hear the 1k hour rule. I worked in two different boxing gyms that churned out champs from amateurs. When a boxer was lacking in a basic fundamental like throwing a good off hand hook.....we made them only throw that punch for 100 hours. Literally put some of them in straight jackets. After that they would have basic level proficiency they almost all took an additional ten months to have a professional level proficiency. There were a few outliers that would learn quicker but they were rare.
I just do something interesting with it. Sound Image processing, games, simulations, etc. are fun
I Just Love your Voice.
The Goat Guido, changed my life when i learned Python.
Learn Python for cybersecurity is my interest and machine learning
People can try to teach you a lang in a couple hours/day. People claim they can to take you from a beginner to doing something like ML in a record time. People often cite salaries for certain tech positions. Lex not really doing it here, but 99% of the time you hear these kinds of things, someone is trying to sell you something. True skill in this domain takes years, often decades. I'm disgusted when I see ads like "python devs make 112k, enroll now!". Not what's happening here, but it happens.
As with any Gold rush, it brings out the charlatans and snake oil salesman. The syntax and simple semantics of languages might only take months, but as you said, the fundamental "craft" of programming and actually doing it properly takes years.
Keep venting
For junior entry level positions you can get them by doing some online courses. At least thats how I got my job.
@@sotoskun861how much do those entry positions pay?
@@sotoskun861 how much do those junior positions make?
But the whole point is not that it’ll replace programmers right now but that the increased efficient will reduce the demand for new workers as the supply of new works is quickly increasing
Where can i find this hour long tutorial about ml and python that Lex mention in this video ?
I am using GPT chat bot to learn python its easier that way, if I dunno something I plug in in and it explains it better than lot of videos fr
Learn on a project you find interesting or FUN!
Coders don’t really think of themselves like musicians, but they totally are. Music is a language just the same and you might learn general music in an hour but you will also learn it over a lifetime. It’s relative to both the user and their experience with that language over time.
Coding is a craft on its own...a very rewarding one too
Interestingly, early in the computer revolution when there were no “programmers”, companies hired musicians and trained them.
the blog post he's referring to at 2:20 is by non other than Peter Norvig
🙌🏿im 2 hours into my python journey 🦾
You can learn any coding in day or week but
When it's comes to implementation on creative and expert level it takes practice or skill
Different game altogether
For me the final straw for getting into Python was the realization that you really shouldn't do data analysis of large files (>1 mill. cells) in pure Excel (-VBA) 🤣
The problem is that people associate learning with only one thing and think this is gonna be my career, if u are sure, take it but it; 's not then learn everything which fasinates you one by one at a time, learn the language, build things, take a job and keep learning, you cant stop learning in cs, interesting things keep coming and u keep trying things but burnout happens, so gotta schedule ur life with family, health, and weath along with spiritual part.
Spoken from the BDFL himself, and I couldn’t agree more with his lack of concern on Github Copilot.
Love this 🧠
Stack Overflow = Hammer
OpenAI = Sledge hammer
New tool to help do your job. Just don’t rely on it completely, read documentation and keep learning. You can’t call yourself a “programmer” if your not writing it yourself.
Basically, do a project
5:52 just want to 👏🏻 clap👏🏻 for those words. 👌🏻👍🏻
Its okay to use code generator but before that you should have the knowledge if that code is useful for you..
Allahumma Barik
He is right someone who has never code can tell CoPilot or/and chatGPT please create x program for me the AI have the capability but the3 issue is that person does not know the output and computer science behind the scenes.
Obsessing about language itself is absurd. The question is “how can I improve the experience of people?”
'that is hilarious' says in the most straight face ever hahah
2:20 "That's hilarous..." My man didn't even flinch! No reaction whatsoever! Lex is indeed a BoT! 🤖
yeah sure.. i want to build a bot for trading. is that good start?
Guys just learn, don’t let AI fool you into thinking you don’t need to learn. Just do it and it’ll pay off in the end😊
@5:21 Mic Drop answer to his question.
Excellent advice. Similar goals should be used throughout the entire educational experience from K-12 and beyond.
K-12 doesn't know what they want. That's why they're at school in the first place to introduce them to the wide world of possibilities
What is machine learning - do you have a link
Disagreeing the point on how to learn python with the Creator of Python takes experience, knowledge and confidence to do. I agree with both of them.
Honestly though, the whirlwind tour of python pdf from O'Reilly is excellent, and quick enough that a beginner can be ready to start a project in a day or two. I think getting a pretrained model to run is a recipe for poor fundamentals.
Built a news web scraper, while learning python.
This is true.
I wish that Guido was my mentor.
Early wins are important. It is the reason "hello world" has always been a thing since the 1970s.
Isn't copilot is like a calculator, excel, different analytics and other tools that exist for mathematicians, statistician, analysts, and even accountants etc?
You have the knowledge, you need the basics, and then you take the basics, and you make something much more complex with it, in a much shorter amount of time.
Same can be said about even a truck.
You can bring all the materials to a building site, by hand, alone, in the dark, and build everything without any machinery.
Or you can use modern tools to make a more precise, more aesthetically beautiful, more environmentally friendly and more specifically suited to the needs of the own's home.
The fact that a machine writes part of the code, is great. Because you still check it, you still approve it. And you can focus on building the more complex stuff, get more into the finer details.
Just want to do/learn test automation 😁
Great Britain - a small country amongst big trading blocks.
So Many Libraries!
Thank you for tracking me UA-cam
that guy has a programmer's way of thinking. I know a few guys like him.
Are they programmers?
@@JackyRogue Guido? I believe, yes. He is overly logical in every way.
I started learning to program and even though I understand stuff and even implement in my code, I do not understand how people think you can get a job and even career quickly? Its madness honestly. You need to know so much when it comes to fundamentals (arrays, algorithms, data structs etc) in order to even consider learning Python and whatever technology you want to use. Programming is not about code, its about logic and problem solving, you cant teach that in 2 weeks.
@hyniki8363 Sounds like you have some work to do on yourself. This is VERY unhealthy.
But WHERE do beginners go to learn Python then? Where could they learn if everyone is just either trying to sell you something (which may not be reliable for producing actual results) or push you away and say "you have to know this and that". Yeah, I know that I have to know "this and that", THAT'S WHY I'M HERE. I'm simply tired of people saying "Hey! This is for beginners! Come to me!" only for X person to begin using a whole bunch of already in the know terminology to supposed "beginners". Beginner literally means absolutely zero experience with this specific things whatsoever.
I'm in a beginner class for programming( I'm majoring in electrical engineering) and I have zero knowledge in programming besides a few lectures. I enrolled in cs50 the course Harvard provides to help gain knowledge out side of class but I have no idea on how to practice programming and write code… I feel like if their was something I could practice on it would be nice
bro, That's great that you're taking steps to learn programming. To practice coding, you can start with small exercises like solving coding problems on websites like LeetCode or HackerRank. Additionally, you can work on mini-projects that align with your interests, such as building a calculator or a simple game. Remember, practice is key, so keep coding and don't hesitate to ask for help when needed.
3:10 This is already outdated with Chat GPT. It would be nice to have an updated answer from different specialists in Python and Machine Learning. The study methods and even the execution are radically different now.
I've coded a website using just Chat GPT, but still is useful to learn Python right?
I tried to use chatgpt to build a project using python flask framework, turned out it didn't help much because chatgpt provided outdated version of the libraries.
How to use GPT3 to program Python for you
3:44 👏
How do u learn programming the right way? Do something very challenging that you want to solve. So like a twitter bot or social bot or email bot?
3:20 😂
R is better for Data analysis and algorithms
I would Lex to have Linus Torvalds in for a discussion.
If i wanted to learn to Code, does anyone have any advice for what videos i should watch? I see hundreds online and not sure which are actually helpful for a beginner.
You should probably use a book that's highly rated.
Will there be a need of paying a coder $100k in 10 years when AI will be able to fill and fix most errors in the code?
mhhh! very interesting points shared
If you have zero experience in programing start with python, if someone could make a language fast enough like C++ with the python syntax that would be the best language ever, you can read a python code in seconds you would know what they are doing when you go to java script it is a nightmare.
I want to solve my financial state
I guess thats enough motivation
Right. Not having a job is my current problem.
3:43 what does he use every day? I didn’t figure it out
GitHub Copilot