So I have been learning python for a little while now, approximately a month off and on.  But so far haven't really committed to consistent learning.  I was given the advice of setting up a blog to post regular updates of my progress to keep me honest!

So here is update no.1

I recently found a great book on coding at a charity shop in the UK - Coding for Beginners using Python (Louis Stowell with Rosie Dickins):

OK, so this book is pitched at people a lot younger than I, but it is really easy to follow, the concepts are explained brilliantly and I find I am actually learning a lot working through this book.

Very quickly, you are building programmes and can see the output.  This is a very encouraging way of learning, especially for a brain like mine that wants instant rewards.  So the small programmes, for example writing a Caesar cypher, is excellent preparation for the more complex theories and programme designs later on in the book.

I've not yet completed the book but have taken my practically zero knowledge of python and created:

- Simple text adventure game

- Alien invasion - guess the password before the earth gets overrun

- Random phrase generator - this has given me an idea for a twitter bot which is now a side project in dev!

- Caesar Cypher

- Turtle Drawings

- Simple paint programme using tkinter (see thumbnail picture)

Currently working through the programme for creating a game in the 'Minesweeper' design.  

*I'm hoping to share the basic programming for the above projects - once I decide where best to dump it.

~~~~~

So that's my quick update number one for learning to code, which is probably more of a book review.  But exciting to say I have a couple of side projects that are starting to get fleshed out the more I learn.  And I hope to share progress of these as they take shape.