Your Intended Pathway to Programming
Kia Ora Friend,
Interested in learning Programming?
I've come up with a simple pathway to learn Python leading into data science/machine learning.
I'm even doing it right now!
It involves three books:
For a more comprehensive discussion, please head over to this post.
Automate The Boring Stuff
This book by Al Sweigart covers the basics of Python as well as programming.
At the end of most chapters, there are problems to complete. This is excellent because you are forced to immediately apply what you have learnt rather than soak up the information passively.
The best way to learn is through projects. Projects keep you motivated while it puts your knowledge to the test.
The problem is that you may have ideas but not the skills to back it up. Sweigart provides projects at the appropriate skill level.
Python for Data Analysis
After building up some Python skill, its time to look at the underpinning libraries needed to work with data.
They include:
numPy - allows for quick mathematical operations concerning arrays
pandas - wrangling of a large amount of data
matplotlib - visualise data
Wes McKinney is the writer of this book as well as a core developer for one of these libraries, pandas.
It's fitting to read material written by one of the creators.
Hands On Machine Learning
Finally, the two previous books leads you to the last one here.
This book by Aurélien Géron provides mini-projects concerned with machine learning.
Like before with Automate The Boring Stuff, you get to immediately apply your skills.
Conclusion
Python is an easy language to get started with. Despite is ease, it can be applied at the production level.
This is a simple pathway to get you started and I will report my progress because I'm on the same road.
Did you find this useful? If you did, please forward this on to family and friends so they can find it useful too.
Thanks for reading and all the best for the week ahead.
Mā te wā,
Shivan :)
Recent Blog Post
My Programming Learning Pathway in Progress — shivansivakumaran.com
Learning Python the simple way with three books. I'm doing it right now.
Kindle Highlight of the Week
The world doesn’t necessarily need more great artists. It needs more decent human beings. Art is for life, not the other way around.
Austin Kleon, Keep Going
Video by me
Example of Machine Learning Applied with Topaz OCR — www.youtube.com