Are you a beginner or intermediate Python programmer who has made it through some of the fundamentals? Have you tried to tackle a big project but got stuck and frustrated? Completing some small projects might be the answer. This week on the show, we have author Al Sweigart and talk about his new book, “The Big Book of Small Python Projects.”

We discuss the advantages of sometimes thinking small in terms of Python programs. We talk about completing projects and the benefits of manually copying code by typing it in yourself. Al also has suggestions about tools for beginners and intermediate developers.

Course Spotlight: Grow Your Python Portfolio With 13 Intermediate Project Ideas

Get started on 13 Python project ideas that are just right for intermediate Python developers. They’ll challenge you enough to help you become a better Pythonista.

Topics:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction
  • 00:01:53 – Writing books and PyCascades 2021 Author panel
  • 00:06:58 – Did you type in code from books as beginner?
  • 00:10:16 – About the book
  • 00:20:53 – Sponsor: Rev AI
  • 00:21:30 – General instructions on how to start with the book
  • 00:27:39 – Working with a debugger
  • 00:30:28 – Experimenting with existing code
  • 00:34:27 – Tools for learning touch typing
  • 00:38:31 – Video Course Spotlight
  • 00:39:37 – IDEs, Mu, and Python’s IDLE
  • 00:45:42 – Online diff tool
  • 00:47:27 – Some of the projects, games, animations
  • 00:51:58 – Finishing things
  • 00:54:07 – What are areas of Python you see beginners struggle with?
  • 00:59:41 – What is something you wish you were shown as a beginner?
  • 01:02:07 – What are you excited about in the world of Python?
  • 01:04:34 – What do you want to learn next?
  • 01:07:27 – Shout outs and social connections
  • 01:08:33 – Thanks and goodbye

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