Huge thanks to DUCSS and NeuroSoc, Chiara and Catalina for inviting me to run our beginners Python workshop on Tue, Feb 29 at TCD.
And what a great turnout, so thank each and everyone of you for making it possible also. And big thanks to Chiara and Anna for helping out also on the night.
I mentioned interactive games at the beginning, and one of them was The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy game on BBC, try it yourself (be warned, it's really hard): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1g84m0sXpnNCv84GpN2PLZG/the-game-30th-anniversary-edition
For those who had problems on Windows running Python3 in their terminal (integrate in their IDE or just cmd, please make sure you have followed all the steps when installing Python3. Here's a good installation guide by DjangoGirls for all platforms: https://tutorial.djangogirls.org/en/installation/
I was using Visual Studio Code (https://code.visualstudio.com/ and it's free) for my workshop, but you can use any of the following, it supports lots of other languages and have lots of great plugins to help make your life even easier when writing code:
- PyCharm Editor (Python; free) - https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/
- Sublime Text Editor (Windows/Mac/Linux and support lots of other languages including Python; free trial, not too expensive to buy) - https://www.sublimetext.com/3
Another one to use (which is great for playing around, note-taking, research, writing lecture/tutorials) is something called Jupyter Notebooks (https://jupyter.org/. It supports "interactive data science and scientific computing across all programming languages", it's open-sourced and is free to use. It supports lots of different languages as well including Python.
The code is available to download via https://bitbucket.org/codinggrace/python-project-workshop/downloads/
I've mentioned the PEP 8 style guide as well (4-spaces when indenting, naming conventions, etc): https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/
The official Python site itself has great documentation - https://docs.python.org/3/
I didn't mention it on the night, but you can using something called "linters" to "syntactical and stylistic problems in your Python source code", you can enable this on VSCode (Read how to via https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/linting). Other editors might have plugins or built-in, you may need to read docs or search for "PyLint".
I also forgot to mention that all the game_xx_comments.py contains more detailed comments on each section of new code that's introduced. Hope it helps, if I'm missing something, do email me at vicky@codinggrace.com.
If you are interested in making games with Python, you should check out PyGame (https://www.pygame.org)
Python-related Orgs & Events
I do recommend folks to attend meetups around Dublin, it's open to everyone, and a great way to meet other like-minded folks, it's not just for coders. It's also a chance to talk to folks from industry, other researchers and even coding groups like our ones.
Tip: A lot of conferences would have diversity grants/scholarships to help subsidise folks who need assistance to attend the conference (e.g. ticket, travel, accommodation), so check the site and email the organisers what assistance they have for students (even though they have student tickets).
Python Ireland
- When: 2nd Wed of each month
- Details: https://python.ie | @PythonIreland
This meetup is free to attend, talks from various industry professionals, a chance to network and meet other cool Pythonistas.
Enquiries: contact@python.ie
PyLadies Dublin
- When: 3rd Tue of each month
- Details: https://dublin.pyladies.com | @PyLadiesDub
Our next meetup is on Tue Feb 19 at Dogpatch Labs, and it's a free data workshop presented by one of our members on an "Introduction to Jupyter Notebooks & Data Analysis using Kaggle"; we welcome everyone of all backgrounds, and for more info: https://www.meetup.com/PyLadiesDublin/events/dclgvlyzdbzb/
Enquiries: dublin@pyladies.com
PyCon Limerick (just announced)
- When: Saturday, March 23, 2019
- Where: The Strand Hotel Limerick
- Details: https://www.meetup.com/pythonireland/events/258498112/
Tickets coming soon, but their Call for Papers are open right now, if you are interested in giving a talk. Check their website for updates.
Enquiries: contact@python.ie
PyCon Ireland
- When: Annually (Oct or Nov)
- Where: TBC (Mainly in Dublin)
- Details: https://python.ie
Nothing announced yet, but keep an eye on @PythonIreland, they have student tickets and diversity programme.
Enquiries: pycon@python.ie
Dublin Raspberry Pi Jam
- When: Saturday, March 2, 2019
- Where: TOG Hackerspace
- Details: https://ti.to/dublin-raspberry-pi-jam/raspberry-jam-big-birthday-event-2019
Celebrating Raspberry Pi's 7th Birthday with other PiJams around the world. It's a free event, if you have a project or something you want to get started with your Raspberry Pi, come along and meet other makers.
PyWeek 2019
- When: March 24, 2019
- Where: Online
- Details: https://pyweek.org/
If you are interested in making games with Python, there's an 1-week online event you can enter called PyWeek, which runs annually. You can join as a team or by yourself.
International Python Conferences
Following are some of the recommended major conferences that you should check out, there's many more around the world, you can check https://www.python.org/events for other PyCon/Python-related events.
FOSDEM - Python
- When: Feb 2 - 3, 2019
- Where: Brussels, Belgium
- Details: https://fosdem.org/2019/schedule/track/python/
FOSDEM is a free event for software developers to meet, share ideas and collaborate.
EuroPython 2019
- When: July 8 - 14, 2019
- Where: Basel, Switzerland
- Details: https://ep2019.europython.eu/
They have a Financial Aid Programme also, at the moment they are still working on finalising details, check their FAQ for more info: https://ep2019.europython.eu/faq
PyData London
- When: July 12 - 14, 2019
- Where: London, UK
- Details: https://pydata.org/london2019/
PyConUK
- When: Friday 13 Sept - Tuesday 17 Sep, 2019
- Where: Cardiff, UK
- Details: http://2019.pyconuk.org/
PyCon 2019
- When: May 1 - 9, 2019
- Where: Cleveland, US
- Details: https://us.pycon.org/2019/
I want to mention this as they have Financial Aid to attend PyCon US, the original and biggest Python conference and a great way to meet many international Python and PyData folks. Apply for their Financial Aid here: https://us.pycon.org/2019/financial-assistance/
Resources
Some resources I mentioned from post as well as some extra ones that you might find useful:
- Official Python Documentation: https://docs.python.org/3
- Django Girls Tutorial - Self-driven tutorial incl. setup, basic Python, github, html/css to create your own blog: https://tutorial.djangogirls.org
- Hitchhikers Guide to Python by Kenneth Reitz - "[...] provide both novice and expert Python developers a best practice handbook to the installation, configuration, and usage of Python on a daily basis." : https://docs.python-guide.org/
- NewCoder.io - now you have the basics, what to do next? A few self-driven projects to get you going to the next level: http://newcoder.io/
- PyGame - make games in Python: https://www.pygame.org
- Python Tutor - a great way to visualise Python code and understand what each line does: http://pythontutor.com/
If you have any other questions...
- Email me: vicky@codinggrace.com
- @whykay | @CodingGrace | @PyLadiesDub | @EventGeekie
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickyleeire/
I'm also involved with
- Women Who Code Dublin (monthly free event open to all): https://www.meetup.com/Women-Who-Code-Dublin/
- GameCraft - We run game jams (community events to make your own video games and tabletop games): https://www.gamecraft.it/
I collaborate with other user groups, communities and orgs, if you like to collaborate with me, drop me an email and let's talk about it. 😊
Again, thanks for giving me an oppotunity to spread the word of Python and its community. I've been involved with the Python community since 2005, and it is still an amazing journey, so go to the meetups, you will learn so much and you never know where it may take you.
