How do you go about learning other programming languages?

[caracalled]

Hi everyone!!

I've been wanting to learn python for a while since it's so versatile and used in so many (SO SO MANY) different aspects of my life. But I feel like I can never get into that same spirit of exploration and joy that I have when I mess around with html/css, and I think a big part of that is that there isn't a visual feedback right away. When i print something with python that's kind of... it? And I don't get that little boost of "wow that worked and now my website has this!"

A lot of people online say to do little projects, but the projects they propose never seem all that interesting to me, like they're just things to do for the sake of learning, not for their own sake. People here usually prioritize having fun and being okay with being an amateur, and that's exactly the environment I learn best in, so I wanted to ask what experiences people here have made with learning a new programming language. How do you go about the basics, what kind of projects do/did you do, what are tips you might have or even things you've been struggling with?

[MediocreMetastasis]

I kinda just do it. but that's because I know like 20 different languages.
You kinda need a reason to use a new programming language. Either a project forces you to or it is the best fit for what you're making.
Why do you want to learn Python? Do you want to make a game. Do you want to use flask annd self host a dynamic website. Do you want to use python's OpenCV library to create a emotion analyser that uses your webcam as an input? If you have no reason to use it. You won't have any motivation. I recently learned C++ as I wanted to make a custom 3D engine from scratch and other programming languages I know would've been too slow.

Now if you ONLY used html and css. It's going to be difficult to learn python or other languages as html and css syntax is very unique, however, if you have used javascript before. Syntax is pretty much one to one.

Code

Javascript if statement:
if (thing == true) {
console.log("thing is true")
}
Python if statement:
if thing == True:
   print("thing is true")

Try making a game using pygame as that is a fun way of learning a new programming language.

I recommend using w3schools to learn about all the different syntax https://www.w3schools.com/python/default.asp

Also google search any errors or questions you have (...or use ChatGPT if you're okay using a LLM)

[akchizar]

In my experience...

...there is a certain period at the start of learning any new thing (a language, a tool, a framework) where everything is just hard, because you don't even have the basics in your brain yet. That sucks! But, to quote a wise person, sucking at something is the first step to being good at something. I've generally found that once you get up that initial step, things will start to get, if not easier per se, at least slightly more forward-momentum-soaked? Unfortunately Musk has poisoned the well on grok, but there is an element, I think, of getting those grooves worn in your brain that will make solving later problems easier. You start to think in the language, as it were.

(And also: it's easy to think that if you were really meant to do this thing, it'd be a little work and then boom, flow state. But it turns out getting good requires hard work over time! Convenience and lack of friction can be warning signs, it turns out.)

Once you've got that basis for learning, the friction is an opportunity to deepen your understanding of the language and its underpinnings. Again, at the beginning you may find yourself wanting to do a whole project, only to find that you just spend two hours browsing Stack Overflow trying to find a solution. But at the end of that, if you solve the problem, you'll have internalised it in a way that you won't by either just copy-pasting a solution, or (shudder) getting an LLM to do the work for you.

Regarding projects: they are, unfortunately, a great way to get the skills you need. A lot of the learning-for-the-sake-of-learning projects often feel somewhat shallow to me (and I think from your post you feel the same way). Picking something you actually want to do with the language, and going from there, is a good way to both try solving real-life problems, and also to (hopefully) keep you coming back to the coal face when things seem insurmountable, or like too much trouble.

What kind of things do you want to build with python? What projects would you like to accomplish? And of those, which do you feel you could at least make a start on right now, with the knowledge you have?