Python intermediate difficulty.

Question

I recently just finished Introduction to Python, and I went from understanding everything on the course to feel completely lost on the Python intermediate.

Am I missing something? Should I do another course before I start with the Python intermediate course?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I do agree intermediate course is rush compare to introduction course.
If you take the intermediate course there is no need to enroll Python Developer. Not only they are the same, in Developer the exercise is a standalone lesson while intermediate is not, so you can view comments when you are stuck in an exercise.

You may want to take a look at this website
https://automatetheboringstuff.com/
It discusses all the topics in the intermediate course except OOP.

If you continue intermediate course and found OOP is difficult you are not alone.
You can find a book called "Learn Python 3 the Hard Way" written by Zed A. Shaw. Lesson 40 to 44 discusses OOP in general. While not comprehensive it should help you understand about OOP better.

Answer 2

Thank you for your quick reply!

The way it worked on the Introduction was: explanation followed by practice. Whereas in the Intermediate feels more like a practice with few previous tips that not necessarily help you with the practice.

Some of the topics that were not explained on the introduction and I had difficulties with on the Intermediate were:
-Dictionaries
-Tuples
-Sets
-List of Comprehension

After that last one I gave up, because I was using GPT in order to complete the tasks, not understanding the theory.

I just started the Python Developer course which actually begins as the Introduction to Python but eventually touches the topics I just mentioned. Is making more sense now. Can't tell though until I make it to specifically those lessons regarding dictionaries, sets etc..

Thanks again for your time answering.

Answer 3

Alejandro Sánchez ,

You're not alone. If you read the comments in the Python Intermediate course, many people complain about the same thing.

Let's just say the lessons could benefit from some editing.

The way to get through it with your brain intact is to use Sololearn as a handy bread-crumb path of topics to follow, but parallel that by reading about each topic from other sources to fill in the holes.

The official Python site is python.org. Its writing is 100% accurate (as well as being prescriptively definitive) but can get a bit arcane.

There are also many free educational sites with excellent writers who cover Python in friendly fashion. I won't list them, but a search engine will.

However, none of those sites that I've seen has the social integration Sololearn has.

I also recommend the following excellent free video course from Harvard University.

Harvard CS50’s Introduction to Programming with Python – Full University Course
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nLRL_NcnK-4&pp=ygULY3M1MCBweXRob24%3D

Answer 4

You did not miss anything, Python Intermediate course is the next step after Introduction to Python.

Can you explain why you feel completely lost? What is the new concept in the Intermediate course, which was not sufficiently explained before?
Maybe you just need to take some time to practice a little more, what you have learned so far.

Answer 5

To be honest, I did not yet complete these courses, only the older python content. So I cannot judge if the approach is different.
Based on the list of topics, it seems to me that Python Developer course is a combination of the Introduction + Intermediate course, with exactly the same chapters... I wonder if there is any difference in the actual lessons, maybe not.

In any case, if you feel the lessons are not perfectly explaining some new concepts, often the user comments below the lesson are useful to add more context. And you can always search the internet or even look at the official language reference for more explanations. Or if everything else fails, ask a more specific question here on the forum. :)