Upon looking at the title of this post, you may be under the impression that
I am starting to learn python from scratch. Although that is most definitely
what the title implies, I am doing something a little bit different.
For the past 6 months I have been using python. I first started with a hackathon
project Recipr, where I implemented a server backend using Flask. This gave me the confidence I needed to start using python for other projects.
By its own standards, python is a language that allows you to quickly prototype
ideas. With that being said, it’s perfect for homework assignments where all
that matters is the final answer. (I don’t think many students are very proud
of the actual code that is submitted along with these assignments). Thus,
I also used python to implement several machine learning algorithms for a course
I was taking at the time.
Since then, I wrote a working replacement for my Programming Competition
framework, PCFramework, in python. I uncreatively called it PyCFramework.
I also used python for a fairly-large professional project during an internship
I held this summer.
With that being said, it is obvious that I have a decent amount of experience
with python. However, there is a clearly defined difference between knowing
a language and really knowing a language. To simply know a language is to
code in that language. To really know a language is to understand its principles,
design paradigms, and hidden features that make the language great.
Over the course of the next few months, I intend to really know and understand
python. Here is what to expect:
- Progression guided by Intermediate Python
- Refactoring and recreation of old projects, such as machine learning algorithms
- Creation of new projects, such as a new version of PyCFramework
- Discussion of the topics via this blog
