Are you new to Python? New to programming? Exciting! Welcome to this new adventure!
Learning a new programming language can feel daunting, but we’ve put together a list of guides for adults and kids that will help you get started.
If you want to meet others in the Python community, you should absolutely check out our meetups and annual conference.
Python Software Foundation guides
The Python Software Foundation (PSF) is the organisation that looks after Python worldwide. As the language grows and develops, the PSF guides these changes and helps grows an international community of Python programmers.
There are two main types of guides to start with on your journey. If you have never programmed before then you want to head over to Python for Non-Programmers and start there. If you have programmed before in another language and want to learn Python, then Python for Beginners is a great place for you to start.
Some handy things to know
The current version of Python is version 3 – if you see guides online that recommend using Python 2 they are out of date.
Python is not just a programming language, it’s also a collection of things you can use called the Standard Library which ships with all versions of Python. There’s a lot in the Standard Library, so we won’t go into it in detail here, but it includes support for time, command line utilities and random number generation amongst others.
In addition to the Standard Library you can also install a wide array of what we call packages. These packages give you access to features written for Python by the community – everything from large, detailed mathematical analysis tools (pandas, numpy) to smaller utilities like requests, which makes it possible to download website content.
These packages are mainly hosted on the Python Package Index (PyPI) and you’ll most likely install them using a tool called pip, which is a package installer. There are more ways to install things than just pip, but it’s a solid place to start.
Resources for Kids learning Python
Programming is a great thing to introduce your kids to at a younger age – they can let their creativity loose and explore if this is something they want to pursue as a career later in life. Learning how to write programs that can run on a computer can be an amazing experience.
These resources are also great as introductions to Python for adults starting out – the exercises are aimed at kids, but the learning applies at any age.
Recommended by the PSF
- Python for Kids (book) – by Jason R Briggs. Book with sample code and puzzles.
- PythonTurtle – A learning environment for Python suitable for beginners and children, inspired by Logo. Geared mainly towards children, but known to be successful with adults as well.
Recommended by members of Python New Zealand and the NZ Python community
- So You Want to Learn Python: Python Tutorial For Kids! [many thanks to Tom Clark @tom_clark for the recommendation]
- The Beginner’s Guide to Python Turtle “If you’re a beginner to Python, then this tutorial will help you as you take your first steps into the world of programming with the help of the Python turtle library!” [many thanks to Everett Toews @etoews for the recommendation!]
- Intro to Programming (Python) “An introductory course using the programming language Python for people with no programming experience.” From Grok Learning in Australia. Their courses (of which this is only one) are aligned to the Australian school curriculum. GL courses are setup to work in a school environment but they have a home schooling option, which is the one you will want, all nicely explained here. [many thanks to Christopher Neugebauer @chrisjrn for the recommendation!]
- Extension! (once you’ve got the basics): check how easy is to make fun things Games with PyGame Zero [many thanks to Eliot @bigben for the recommendation]
- Python for non-programmers Reuven Lerner has generously made this course free and given us his blessing to post it here. In Reuven’s own words: “Want to learn programming, and aren’t sure where to start? This 15-part course will get you where you need to go.It was originally recorded over 15 weeks in the spring-summer of 2020. Homework exercises are no longer in the forum, but printed at the bottom of each lesson. Enjoy!”