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Dunno. I'm having a heck of a time figuring it out. All I want to do is read the GPIO's from my r-pi, but I just can't get there. Note to self -- the long term project of replacing my 1980's era burglar alarm with a bunch of raspberry Pi GPIOs and having it alert me is, so far, a non starter.

I've tried about half dozen youtube videos, but they just don't get me where I want to go. They go down some bunny trail and I quickly tire of them before I learned anything.

Does anyone know a good strategy for actually learning it the right way? - and quickly?

Hopefully this old dog can learn new tricks Smile


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Posts: 10860 | Location: 45 miles from the Pacific Ocean | Registered: February 28, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I don't 'know' python, but I've played with it a bit, in similar ways that you describe.

Adafruit has some tutorials that are Pi-specific to get you started - then you should know enough to be able to google similar projects & steal, er, borrow their code with minor changes.

I personally think it looks easier than node.js, which I use with PI/beaglebone. It's more descriptive, so you can see where it's going.
 
Posts: 3297 | Location: IN | Registered: January 12, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Not even sure I've even heard of it. Good luck on your quest!


Bill R.
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Posts: 4547 | Location: Madison, AL | Registered: December 06, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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If you are serious about running Python, you really can't beat O'Rielly and Associates series of books for Python.

Start with "Learning Python", and move on to the 'Running' and 'Nutshell' series. Their 'Pocket Reference' is a must have for your back shelf.

H&K-Guy
 
Posts: 3720 | Registered: April 08, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
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quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
I've tried about half dozen youtube videos, but they just don't get me where I want to go. They go down some bunny trail and I quickly tire of them before I learned anything.

Does anyone know a good strategy for actually learning it the right way? - and quickly?

Those are mutually exclusive goals

What you do is search on terms like "best python tutorial," then read why certain people feel what they feel is the best. Then you buy the one you think will suit you best and you begin.

H&K-Guy's recommendation, re: O'Reilly, is probably a safe bet.

You go from cover-to-cover, doing Every. Last. Exercise. at the end of each chapter. For extra credit, you integrate previous chapters' exercises into those of the current exercises. For extra extra credit you think about what you learned and different ways to accomplish what the exercises demonstrate and you try them.

Then, when you're all done with the tutorial, you may be ready to try your hand.

There is no "instant" way to learn a programming language.

If you have no thorough knowledge and understanding of good software design techniques or any other programming languages: It will take you a good bit longer to understand the underlying principles of what you're studying. And you will have to understand the underlying principles if you expect to be able to work on $randomCodeSomebodyElseWrote or write your own, from scratch.

Btw: Unless you're doing this this way because it amuses you: You're probably going about it the hard way, IMO.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26005 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Check These Out

I've purchased UDEMY courses to learn REACT and ANGULAR. They have some pretty top notch instructors in those two java script frameworks. I would bet it's the same story with PYTHON.
 
Posts: 7523 | Registered: October 31, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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+1 to ensigmatic

One job I did was to teach a team of software developers a new language and tech.

"Here read these two books (that don't even mention the language in question) and after that I'll show you the basics.. then read _these_ two books and we'll work on getting it right."

That language wasn't python so my library won't help ya, and I'm sure lambda calculus isn't where you want to start. Smile but I am working on a similar project.. I'm working on an elixir nerves nervous system for pluggable modules each module being a pi configured for any of many things..
 
Posts: 231 | Location: Reidville, SC | Registered: October 24, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Python and a bunch of psi and lambda stuff?

Greek snakes?


———-
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.
 
Posts: 4306 | Location: DFW | Registered: May 21, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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(chuckle)

picking up a (another/a new one after years/whatever) programming language, quickly, from some YouTube videos or the like, and jumping into a custom DIY project.

you're killing me.

Smile

I mean, if you already understand software development, and were at some point fluent in one or so programming languages, or are otherwise a particularly bright and inclined sort, then maybe you can wing your way through it all by skipping a bunch of steps.

You can always go camp out at your local big bookstore and sit there and ready the books that were suggested above, taking notes, looking up things on your phone or iThing to better understand it in context from some forum online, then yeah, maybe.

Debugging problems could be a mess.

It's certainly easier than picking up Mandarin Chinese, quickly, from YouTube. But it's no small thing to do *and* know what you're doing in a meaningful sense.

Maybe, if you're lucky, you can find some similar snippet of someone else's code that'll work for you, and maybe that's good enough - if it works, it works... but also understanding it is different, as are the associated design principles, debugging techniques, and so on.

Sorry. Smile
 
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How should I know...I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition!



Live every day as if it is your last, for one day you’re sure to be right
 
Posts: 752 | Location: Historic Southpark, Dayton Ohio | Registered: October 18, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
I've tried about half dozen youtube videos, but they just don't get me where I want to go. They go down some bunny trail and I quickly tire of them before I learned anything.

Does anyone know a good strategy for actually learning it the right way? - and quickly?

Those are mutually exclusive goals

What you do is search on terms like "best python tutorial," then read why certain people feel what they feel is the best. Then you buy the one you think will suit you best and you begin.

H&K-Guy's recommendation, re: O'Reilly, is probably a safe bet.

You go from cover-to-cover, doing Every. Last. Exercise. at the end of each chapter. For extra credit, you integrate previous chapters' exercises into those of the current exercises. For extra extra credit you think about what you learned and different ways to accomplish what the exercises demonstrate and you try them.

Then, when you're all done with the tutorial, you may be ready to try your hand.

There is no "instant" way to learn a programming language.

If you have no thorough knowledge and understanding of good software design techniques or any other programming languages: It will take you a good bit longer to understand the underlying principles of what you're studying. And you will have to understand the underlying principles if you expect to be able to work on $randomCodeSomebodyElseWrote or write your own, from scratch.

Btw: Unless you're doing this this way because it amuses you: You're probably going about it the hard way, IMO.


I disagree that there's no instant way to learn a programming language.

I think what you were attempting to convey is that there's no instant way to learn to program.

Once you can think like a programmer, the language is all interchangeable. It's syntax. Learn what a function is, how to return a value, what a class is, what recursion is, etc.

Then the language is easy. Week or two and you can have most of what you need to be effective.

I've seen me do it.
 
Posts: 15665 | Location: Location, Location  | Registered: April 09, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I switched from Perl to Python several years ago, I find it easier to code without the associated idiosyncrasies and hoopla surrounding a powerful but somewhat cryptic language. I wrote a rather lengthy function in Perl, and a couple years later I couldn't easily follow it to make some changes. That is when a friend told me about Python. So I wrote my next heavy duty function using it, and I was hooked. It's easy to write, easy to understand, and powerful enough for programmers far more skilled than me. But it's a beautiful language with tons of existing code, functions, and classes available on the web.

I'm not familiar with what you want to do, but if others with experience with what you're working with recommend Python, take their advice and try it. I don't know where you're at in the world of programming, except that if you enjoy it, and are willing to put in the time, you should have a pretty good chance of meeting your goal.




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Posts: 8634 | Location: Nowhere the constitution is not honored | Registered: February 01, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by exx1976:
quote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
I've tried about half dozen youtube videos, but they just don't get me where I want to go. They go down some bunny trail and I quickly tire of them before I learned anything.

Does anyone know a good strategy for actually learning it the right way? - and quickly?

Those are mutually exclusive goals

What you do is search on terms like "best python tutorial," then read why certain people feel what they feel is the best. Then you buy the one you think will suit you best and you begin.

H&K-Guy's recommendation, re: O'Reilly, is probably a safe bet.

You go from cover-to-cover, doing Every. Last. Exercise. at the end of each chapter. For extra credit, you integrate previous chapters' exercises into those of the current exercises. For extra extra credit you think about what you learned and different ways to accomplish what the exercises demonstrate and you try them.

Then, when you're all done with the tutorial, you may be ready to try your hand.

There is no "instant" way to learn a programming language.

If you have no thorough knowledge and understanding of good software design techniques or any other programming languages: It will take you a good bit longer to understand the underlying principles of what you're studying. And you will have to understand the underlying principles if you expect to be able to work on $randomCodeSomebodyElseWrote or write your own, from scratch.

Btw: Unless you're doing this this way because it amuses you: You're probably going about it the hard way, IMO.


I disagree that there's no instant way to learn a programming language.

I think what you were attempting to convey is that there's no instant way to learn to program.

Once you can think like a programmer, the language is all interchangeable. It's syntax. Learn what a function is, how to return a value, what a class is, what recursion is, etc.

Then the language is easy. Week or two and you can have most of what you need to be effective.

I've seen me do it.

This.




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Posts: 8634 | Location: Nowhere the constitution is not honored | Registered: February 01, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by wrightd:
quote:
Originally posted by exx1976:
[Snip]
Once you can think like a programmer, the language is all interchangeable. It's syntax. Learn what a function is, how to return a value, what a class is, what recursion is, etc.

Then the language is easy. Week or two and you can have most of what you need to be effective.

I've seen me do it.

This.

not quite this. Python is one of the easiest languages to pick up if you already are a programmer, but he is not. Just moving from one programming paradigm to another is as difficult as I laid out before. That was a team of experienced programmers moving from objective to functional programming. he's doing more than the equivalent, moving from no programming through iterative and structured into objective.

BUT also.. the best people I've ever hired had no experience.. or clue... but what they did have was the drive to go figure it out for themselves. So have at it. Smile Just work on learning programming first, then learning python will be easy.

https://home-assistant.io/ is good to look at for what you're planning.
 
Posts: 231 | Location: Reidville, SC | Registered: October 24, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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https://home-assistant.io/comp...ts/#search/raspberry

possibly can do what you want to do without any programming even. Other than the logic needed to configure it to do what you want.

And then it's all in python.. so have fun setting it up and configuring while you learn programming methodologies, then a few hours learning python and you can hack it all up. Smile
 
Posts: 231 | Location: Reidville, SC | Registered: October 24, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:

Once you can think like a programmer, the language is all interchangeable
True, within a given programming model: Procedural (like C), OO (like c++), or Functional (like Erlang).

Even moving from one programming model to another is easier than learning how to program in the first place.

Once you know how to program, swapping syntax within a given programming model is indeed trivial.

Learning how to program in the first place can be challenging until you get the hang of it.
 
Posts: 1318 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: April 24, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by SirBeep:
quote:
Originally posted by wrightd:
quote:
Originally posted by exx1976:
[Snip]
Once you can think like a programmer, the language is all interchangeable. It's syntax. Learn what a function is, how to return a value, what a class is, what recursion is, etc.

Then the language is easy. Week or two and you can have most of what you need to be effective.

I've seen me do it.

This.

not quite this. Python is one of the easiest languages to pick up if you already are a programmer, but he is not. Just moving from one programming paradigm to another is as difficult as I laid out before. That was a team of experienced programmers moving from objective to functional programming. he's doing more than the equivalent, moving from no programming through iterative and structured into objective.

BUT also.. the best people I've ever hired had no experience.. or clue... but what they did have was the drive to go figure it out for themselves. So have at it. Smile Just work on learning programming first, then learning python will be easy.

https://home-assistant.io/ is good to look at for what you're planning.

You misunderstood my "This" reply. By "this", I meant exactly what you just said above, we're in 100% agreement. The previous poster said "once you learn to program"..., so I'm agreeing with you, that an experienced programmer can learn a new language or modern object framework as long as he puts in the time. If said person is not already a programmer, then he as two hurdles, the second one following the first - learning programming theory and practice. All of the programmers I support have 20 to 30 years of experience or more, so picking up new stuff is just a matter of securing the time to do it, the challenge is not really a new or different language, as you say.




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Posts: 8634 | Location: Nowhere the constitution is not honored | Registered: February 01, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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A small update on where I'm at with learning Python...

you guys are correct, there's learning programming and there's learning Python.

Luckily, I found a bunch of courses on Lynda.com, which I have unlimited access to. There are 2 courses. "learning programming" and "learning Python".

I'm just getting into these courses, but they are compete courses and much , much higher quality than anything found on youtube.

We'll see how it goes.


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Posts: 10860 | Location: 45 miles from the Pacific Ocean | Registered: February 28, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
A small update on where I'm at with learning Python...

you guys are correct, there's learning programming and there's learning Python.

Luckily, I found a bunch of courses on Lynda.com, which I have unlimited access to. There are 2 courses. "learning programming" and "learning Python".

I'm just getting into these courses, but they are compete courses and much , much higher quality than anything found on youtube.

We'll see how it goes.


Glad you're finding some good courses. I've been impressed at the few I've used on that site.


My local library membership gives me access to Lynda.com - you might want to check to see if yours has that option.
 
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