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I'd like to learn Python to help out with tasks at work and also for tinkering with at home. The trouble is finding the time to go and sit down at my desktop and getting into it (don't have a laptop). This got me looking at apps for my iPad, I figured I'd find it easier to squeeze this into my day. I was just wondering if anyone on STW had any experience of any of these apps/could reccommend anything?
For a bit more background: at work I've managed to automate quite a few mundane tasks using VBA (in excel). The thing I'm really using it for is reading and restructuring output data arrays in text files so nothing really touches excel, I'm just using it as a platform because thats what I know. I've self taught just picking up scraps from forums so I'm sure I've got lots of terrible coding habits. I'd also maybe like to start interacting with Software APIs.
I'd also like to build some type of Raspberry Pi historian for my Honeywell Evohome system.
Ultimately I'll start playing with stuff on a proper computer. But I just need to get things rolling, to break into it. I bought "Effective Computation in Physics - Field Guide to Research with Python" which seems great and looks like it will teach me lots of the things I want to do, but as I say I'm struggling with the initial inertia!
I can't answer your question, but I'd imagine learning coding on a tablet would be a pain in the arse. If nothing else I'd want to invest in a decent physical keyboard.
i assume the iOS apps are fairly limited in the libraries they have available.
numpy, pandas and matplotlib are my standard imports for data manipulation, processing and plotting.
download the anaconda distribution to get started on PC. spyder IDE is good as you can easily inspect variables/arrays/plots etc.
I can't follow tutorials unless they are very specific to what I'm trying to do. start with a problem you need to solve.
For messing around in Python, I recommend Jupyter. Lets you mess about with re-running bits of the code kind of step by step and instantly seeing the results, even with embedded plots and other data visualisation stuff.
Haven't a clue about IOS apps to help with learning Python.
Blatantly piggybacking on this, are there any decent Chromebook apps for this kind of thing? My lad is learning coding for CS A Level and claims his Chromebook isn't that great for it.
Isn't there someone on here who specialises in Python, I'm sure they'd give a perfect rendition of the Lumberjack song
TBH, Python and the Raspberry Pi go well together. You can use the GPIO pins to drive flashing lights and cool stuff. It's probably what I'd use if I was learning Python in anger.
You know there's the Python 2 / Python 3 schism to worry about, yeah?
Python 2 end of life is imminent.
Python 3 all the way. It's more logical.
Chromebook and Javascript go hand in hand (can't comment on the Android app compatibility on them, since mine's too old for that). Python wouldn't be the logical choice for developing on a Chromebook imho. Do that on a real PC or a Raspberry Pi (which is a real PC - just a really small low powered one).
Currently doing a Data Scientist free course with Dataquest.io
I've learned more in 3 hours on that website than I have with countless hours of "learn Python" apps. You get well-paced decent explanations of everything and an in-browser Python environment to put what you're learning into practice, which helps me cos I'm on a work computer and can't install anything. Very highly recommended indeed.
Thanks everyone, lots for me to look into! It seems going tablet based isn't worth it. That Dataquest.io course looks good TFO. Will give it a whirl
I would concur with the advice above. Once you get past anything other than very basic Python code, I think you will quickly find working on a tablet very frustrating.
I have just started learning Python for a home project, and I found the standard Windows installation and the tutorials from Python.org were very good for hitting the ground running. This gives you everything you need to get started, including a basic editor, and I found that it all pretty much worked out of the box, without any tweaking or configuration.
If you are looking for an IDE, I can recommend Visual Studio Code with the Python plugin. It is free, runs pretty fast and gives you the essential stuff like a debugger, code completion, etc. I tried PyCharm, which a lot of experienced Python users recommended, but it's a bit of a monster. I ditched it after waiting five minutes just for the application to launch!