Python from scratch
A course for people starting from zero: exactly as much theory as you need to write the next line of code. Across twelve modules we go from installing Python to a program that fetches data from the internet on its own, parses JSON and puts the result in a file.
What you will be able to do
12 modules, one project
01 Installation, running code and your first program3 lessons · 1 h 45 minOpen
We install Python and an editor, work out how a script file differs from the interactive console, and run the first program from the terminal. By the end of the module the code already works.
02 Variables, types and input3 lessons · 2 h 05 min
Numbers, strings, booleans and None: what you can do with them and why Python sometimes refuses to add different types together. We learn to read user input and convert it to the type we need.
03 Strings2 lessons · 1 h 44 min
Text is the most common data type early on. We cover indexes and slices, search and replace methods, f-strings, and then take a line from a real file apart.
04 Conditions and loops3 lessons · 2 h 16 min
The program starts making decisions and repeating actions. Comparisons, if, elif and else, while and for, break and continue — on examples where you can see the behaviour change.
05 Lists, dictionaries and sets3 lessons · 2 h 18 min
The core data structures and the main question: which one fits the task. Lists and tuples keep order, dictionaries give lookup by key, sets take care of uniqueness and comparing collections.
06 Functions3 lessons · 2 h 12 min
How to stop copying the same piece of code. Arguments, default values, returning a result and scope — plus the rule that tells you when code should move into a function.
07 Errors and debugging2 lessons · 1 h 38 min
An error is not a failure but a message with the address of the problem. We learn to read a traceback, catch exceptions with try and except, and check data that comes from outside.
08 Working with files3 lessons · 2 h 08 min
Data has to survive the program closing. We open files with with, read and write text, walk through folders and parse a CSV table from a real export.
09 Modules, packages and the virtual environment3 lessons · 2 h 02 min
The code outgrows one file. We split it into modules, use the standard library, create a virtual environment and pin the dependencies so the project runs on another computer too.
10 Classes: when you need them2 lessons · 1 h 34 min
The minimum of OOP without the academia. We show the tasks where a dictionary and functions stop being enough, rewrite that code as a class with methods, and separately look at the cases where a class is not needed.
11 Third-party libraries, HTTP and JSON3 lessons · 2 h 20 min
We install a third-party library and talk to someone else's service: the request, parameters, response codes, parsing JSON into dictionaries and lists. This is where automation and work with any API begins.
12 The final project2 lessons · 1 h 58 min
We put it all together: the program fetches data from an open API, processes it and saves a report to a file. We go through the project structure and what to learn next — Telegram bots and automation, for example.
What you get
Videos with timecodes and a written version: the code from a lesson can be copied instead of retyped off the screen.
Small tasks with a finished solution: you write the code yourself and then compare your version with the one explained.
Exports, text files and sample service responses — the same data as in the lessons, so your result matches.
A step-by-step guide for Windows, macOS and Linux: installing Python, the virtual environment, pip and running the project from the terminal.
The whole first module is open
Watch the lessons of the first module and the first task. If the format does not suit you, you have lost nothing.