What's a good resource to build my first python project?

Question

I'm tired of books and tutorials who walk me through how to print things before I can do anything fun. I want to build simple apps or programs. Any suggestions for where to start so I can make and learn at the same time?

Answer 1

Might i suggest pygame http://www.pygame.org/news.html ? If you want to do things with visuals, your not going to get anywhere with the default python modules unless, of course you know how to implement SDL. As stated above in the comments, the tutorials are there for a reason; although they are simple, they are meant to teach you the basics and perhaps, have you think about ideas of implementing such given tools to larger projects. Give pygame I try. You can create a window with lines and shapes in a little as ~10 lines. From there you can expand your knowledge to Object-Oriented programming(which a must for UI) and be on your way to larger projects such as AI, graphics, etc.

P.S. Check this book out http://apress.com/book/view/1590598725. Although you might not want to get into game development, it will teach you some rather useful techniques which may help your research in application development.

Answer 2

If you are tired of tutorials, then just start building something. Anything. If you get stuck, glance back over the tutorials, or consult the documentation. I'm a big fan of learning by doing.

A short list of options from off the top of my head:

1. If you're into web development, Django is a popular python web framework that is very well documented. The Blog app is a popular starting point.

2. Python itself is pretty well documented. If you're a complete beginner to python AND programming in general, you may want to try something less complex. Pick a random task and try to do it using python:

   • Read and print the ID3 tags from all your mp3 files using mutagen.
   • List or download your email using the python imaplib or poplib modules.
   • Write a zip/unzip utility using zipfile.

Don't be in too much of a hurry, and be realistic. Unless you've got a pile of programming under your belt, you won't be able to jump into a complex project after reading a few tutorials. Patience and practice will get you to the place where you can tackle really interesting projects. Impatience will merely lead to frustration.

Answer 3

If you're just looking for something to do that will challenge you to start actually using Python rather than reading about it, try the Ruby Quiz. You don't have to use Ruby to create solutions.

Each quiz is a problem that can be scripted (using any language, really). Ideally it'll force you to apply the concepts you've been reading about to "real life" problems.