Attacking the Python

In 2019, I spent about four months taking some introductory online courses in Python, Excel VBA, and TradeStation EasyLanguage. This year, I’ve made a somewhat larger commitment to learn Python by subscribing to DataCamp (DC).

DC offers hundreds of online courses in Python, R, and other subjects pertaining to data science and programming. Classes include roughly 15 videos with each averaging around four minutes in length. The videos are punctuated with multiple-choice questions and fill-in-the-blank programming exercises. If I don’t know the answer then I can click to get a hint and, if necessary, click to get the answer. At any point, I can submit my answer to be checked. If correct, I gain points and move onto the next exercise or video (watched videos also accrue points).

One thing I found lacking at DC was a detailed explanation of solutions. I usually found provided solutions to be self-explanatory (especially in combination with the videos), but occasionally I was left scratching my head. To this end, DC has a Slack platform with multiple channels where questions can be asked or comments made. I have found this community to be of significant benefit thanks to a number of people eager to help.

DC bundles together classes into career tracks and skill tracks. The former encompass more classes and a broader education. I completed the “Data Science with Python” career track while going through 100+ classes. I was only a few courses away from completing a few other career tracks, but I took all the classes that captured my interest. I feel like I definitely gained a solid, introductory foundation for what programming in Python is all about.

In addition to the classes, DC offers additional practice exercises, assessments, and some open-ended (not fill-in-the-blank) projects. I plan to do some of these, but I have not yet started.

I have been doing supplemental practice exercises at w3resource.com. This is not the only website that offers such practice exercises, but it has a lot of them along with working solutions.

To aid with my review, I have also started my first bigger project: a futures backtester. This will take a lot of time (and require extra help since I have such limited programming experience) but should be very educational. I will write about this soon.