Okay, let’s continue from my first post about Python. This time I want to share how I learned Python easily, at least according to me 😂. Currently, I’m learning Python through one of the online course platforms.
After studying several modules, did I immediately understand all of Python’s syntax? No. Because not all syntax can be understood from just one source, often we need to look for it from other places. The advantage of learning from online courses is that the modules are already structured, there are code examples, and there’s progress that can be tracked per module, all in one platform. But in this blog, I want to share how I learned Python by combining various sources.
This blog is purely a sharing medium (as well as a personal note), not a course platform. In my opinion, there are three components that need to be prepared before starting to learn Python:
1. Learning progress tracker
On course platforms, there’s usually a progress bar to make monitoring easier. But no matter the method, the most important thing is intention and consistency. Like me, it can be combined with any method to make it easier to understand.
2. Code writing application (for beginners)
To learn independently, we need to find an application that’s easy to use. Many developers use Visual Studio Code, but for beginners like me who have tried it, this application is not as easy as imagined. A more beginner-friendly option at that time was Python’s built-in IDLE or Jupyter Notebook, which is widely used in data science courses.
3. Learning modules
This is where the biggest challenge lies. In 2020, Python learning resources in Indonesian were still limited. Most quality materials were available in English, ranging from Python’s official documentation to platforms like Codecademy and Udemy. I combined several sources: structured online courses for the foundation, then YouTube for specific topics that weren’t yet understood.
For beginners who are just starting, it’s best to choose modules that are light and don’t immediately dive into complex syntax. What’s important is to get used to how Python thinks first, namely how it reads data, runs commands line by line, and processes logical conditions.
Since my background is in agronomy, my goal of learning Python is quite specific: data analysis and machine learning exploration for agriculture. So the modules I chose were geared towards that, starting from basic Python, then slowly moving into libraries like pandas and numpy. But that’s a story for the next post.
What’s most important to me is to get used to using Python as a daily work tool. For example, to process Excel data, calculate simple statistics, or create graphs from field data. If we’re already used to using Python for routine tasks, our skills will eventually develop on their own without feeling it. I hope this note is useful for those who are starting the same journey.