Leo vs Python

I’ve always thought that coders, hackers, and other computer geniuses in movies were awesome, but I never thought I would get close to how good these characters were. A few weeks ago I started watching some great YouTubers: Clever Programmer and Tech With Tim. They do a lot of great, fun and serious tutorials on a lot of programming languages. The videos are great because they go through everything slowly, to make sure the viewer understands. I was hooked, but scared to start, thinking it was too hard. Then a few weeks later I decided to try.  “Why not?” I thought. I figured out which programming language to try out, Python. Then I decided to make my Digital Journalism piece on something that I’m interested in: Coding.  I have been learning Python for about one month. I started because I thought it was very fascinating and stunning. Also because my dad was interested in it when he was younger, so my dad encouraged me to try it.

Why Python?

Finding a programming language is a big part. Programming languages are different languages that are written differently and are better at certain things. 

If you pick a language that is hard to learn, it could take you months just to understand the basics. I watched a lot of videos online and most of them said the same thing: Learn Python. Why python? Because it’s easy to read and understand. Python writing is actually very similar to normal writing, much easier than trying to understand Malbolge, which was designed to be almost ‘impossible’ to use.

Python Code

Malbolge Code

What did I do to learn?

First I decided on what python project I would do. This was very important in my journey. Should I make a really easy project? Should I make an exciting game with animations? Should I try a little harder project that will help me out in the future? 

I decided to try to make a little game using the PyGame module. PyGame module helps you create games with Python. I was going to be following online Python tutorials.

How did I measuring my progress?

Evidence that I was getting better was my understanding of the code. If I’m reading an example from another programmer and I understand a bit of what the code is supposed to do, that’s evidence of my progress. As you'll see in the video below, progress was slow to come when I first got started. 

Week #1

The video below is on my second week on learning python. I did have some small problems, but overall my second week went good. I created the buttons for my Hangman game and next week a lot of progress is going to be made.

Week #2

The video below is my  video on ending my Learning Python journey.  The video is mostly me showing my code and talking about it.  I as a beginner would be bored watching someone explain code. I also sometimes get headaches when looking at a lot of text. The link to Tech with Tim’s code (same one as mine) is here.

Week #3

Conclusion

Overall I definitely learned plenty. I learned that I work hard when doing something that I am interested in and willing to do. Usually, when I am doing something I don’t enjoy doing, I give up early or don’t put my full effort into the work. Learning a new skill outside of school is not easy. To be honest, I forgot that I had to work on my code a bunch of times, this made me have to work a lot for a couple of days, but I am proud that I ended up creating something.