Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

python beginner book

  • 17-10-2019 10:07am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,287 ✭✭✭


    Good afternoon all,

    I am new to programming, however I did do quite a lot of Matlab 15years ago, not used one line of it since. Im an engineer by profession.

    I would like to learn Python, Im interested in Artificial Intelligence and would like to understand some more details.

    Anyone able to recommend some beginner Python books which would be suit me please.


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,472 ✭✭✭Talisman


    Not a book but take a look at Google's Python Class, it will get you up to speed with the fundamentals.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 911 ✭✭✭heffsarmy


    Learn python the hard way is good

    https://learncodethehardway.org/python/

    This is a good tutorial to get you up and running

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlrxD0HtieHhS8VzuMCfQD4uJ9yne1mE6

    Recommend using Visual Studio Code

    https://code.visualstudio.com/


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭CalamariFritti


    Not sure how python would help you with artificial intelligence though. I haven’t stayed with it but last time I looked nobody really had a clue yet what artificial Intelligence was or how to achieve it. If it ever will be achieved I doubt that it will involve python.

    In any case python is a very simple programming language and is often used to introduce people to programming in general. It is a good choice for getting back into it. Also has large array of powerful libraries for all sorts of tasks and is very powerful in that sense. While it’s simple and easy to understand its not a kiddy language you can accomplish serious stuff with it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 911 ✭✭✭heffsarmy


    Not sure how python would help you with artificial intelligence though. I haven’t stayed with it but last time I looked nobody really had a clue yet what artificial Intelligence was or how to achieve it. If it ever will be achieved I doubt that it will involve python.

    That's rubbish, python is probably one of the best languages for learning AI and machine learning

    https://djangostars.com/blog/why-python-is-good-for-artificial-intelligence-and-machine-learning/

    https://steelkiwi.com/blog/python-for-ai-and-machine-learning/


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭CalamariFritti


    heffsarmy wrote: »

    Ok... if your definition of ‘AI’ is crawling through large amounts of data


  • Advertisement
  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 15,881 Mod ✭✭✭✭smacl


    Ok... if your definition of ‘AI’ is crawling through large amounts of data

    Fair enough, machine learning and deep learning don't amount to AI, but the terms are interchanged all too regularly. Python is commonly used in computer vision and is probably decent enough language for an engineer looking to play with much of the related tools out there.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,287 ✭✭✭aidanki


    smacl wrote: »
    Fair enough, machine learning and deep learning don't amount to AI, but the terms are interchanged all too regularly. Python is commonly used in computer vision and is probably decent enough language for an engineer looking to play with much of the related tools out there.

    your comment is interesting Computer Vision Algorithms are common described as AI from what I read.

    Whats your definition ? and what languages do you recommend


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 15,881 Mod ✭✭✭✭smacl


    aidanki wrote: »
    your comment is interesting Computer Vision Algorithms are common described as AI from what I read.

    Whats your definition ? and what languages do you recommend


    I did Satya Malik's course on OpenCV earlier this year which I found excellent, see https://www.learnopencv.com/ for more details. I don't see the old course any more, which gave the option of either C++ or python as the main language, but he seems to have another course in the pipeline. I'm a long time C++ hack myself so went with that, but most people went with python. My daughter is currently having to do some python in college as part of her course, so I'll probably use it as an excuse to pick up some myself.

    OpenCV python tutorials are here


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,472 ✭✭✭Talisman


    aidanki wrote: »
    your comment is interesting Computer Vision Algorithms are common described as AI from what I read.

    Whats your definition ? and what languages do you recommend
    AI is a catch all term that describes the use of computers to model or replicate intelligent behavior. It encompasses all of the following:

    Machine Learning (learn to do things by understanding data)
    Deep Learning (artificial neural networks - learn and make their own decisions)
    Natural Language Processing (make sense of the human languages)
    Expert Systems (emulate the decision making ability of a human expert using rules)
    Robotics
    Computer Vision (identify and process images/objects as a human does)
    Speech Recognition (identify words and phrases in spoken language)

    You can use any language you desire but Python is synonymous with the field because there are so many battle tested libraries available.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,575 ✭✭✭WhiteMemento9


    Automate the Boring Stuff is often recommended on Reddit. The book is free to read and use on his website. He has a Udemy course of the same name which you can sometimes pick up for $5. I haven't used it so I can't vouch for it personally but it is always voted near the top of the Reddit threads when someone asks this question. Python Crash Course is the other top book recommended. It is more a comprehensive programming book than ATBS one which from what I can gather is supposed to be somewhat of a soft introduction for people with little to no prior programming experience.

    In terms of courses this always is highly recommended - EDX MIT - Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python. It is fairly intense from what I have read and requires you to be putting in 15-20 hours a week to keep pace.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,575 ✭✭✭WhiteMemento9


    Just a bump as the author is currently giving away Automate the boring stuff for free.

    Automate the Boring Stuff with Python Programming

    You can see the post here from the author if you are having trouble with that link.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 225 ✭✭Computer Science Student


    I recommend PyCharm, and find something simple you want to build/automate and have at it - there's a pylib for just about every use case you could imagine.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,275 ✭✭✭bpmurray


    There are a number of wwb pages with lists of good python books, for example: and I'm sure there are plenty more


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,795 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manach


    I'd recommend Python Crash Course, 2nd Edition: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming. It is currently on sale on Amazon Kindle for $5.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,472 ✭✭✭Talisman


    If you've got kids that are into video games then I'd recommend "Code The Classics Volume 1". The hard cover book costs £12 but it's freely available as a PDF and all of the code is on Github.

    Code the Classics Volume 1 Review

    PDF Download & Code

    It has been especially handy for getting people off of the Xbox for a while in the past few weeks.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27 AaronMic95


    I would recommend How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Learning with Python 3 Documentation. This has helped me a lot in terms of understanding it better as I'm also studying Python. I would consider myself still a beginner but already moving towards the intermediate level probably.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27 AaronMic95


    To those who have advanced a bit in python already(if there are any), what are the first paid jobs you acquired for python programming?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1 Keans


    It is really great you are learning. But what I want to say. The best study is practice! I know a company that is hiring newbies. Here they are https://sloboda-studio.com/ I advise you to contact them.



  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 10,716 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jim2007


    Just ignore. Clearly a limited perspective that is of use to the OP.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1 AmandaWill775


    Just ignore it. It's clearly a narrow point of view that's useful for FP.



  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,590 ✭✭✭✭Esel
    Not Your Ornery Onager


    Just ignore it. It's clearly a bot point of view that's useful for FA.

    Not your ornery onager



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1 JulianFan
    CUSTOM WEB APP DEVELOPMENT


    It is really great you are learning. https://gloriumtech.com/



Advertisement