The Best Python Tutorials to Accelerate Your Programming Skills

Python has exploded in popularity to become one of the most widely-used and influential programming languages in the world. It ranked #1 in the TIOBE Index of programming language popularity in 2021 and #3 in Stack Overflow‘s 2022 Developer Survey for most popular technologies.

So why has Python become so ubiquitous? Its versatility, beginner-friendliness, and vast collection of libraries make it an ideal choice for an incredibly wide range of applications. From web development to data science to automation and beyond, Python is a general-purpose language that can handle almost any programming task you throw at it.

As Stack Overflow co-founder Jeff Atwood put it, Python epitomizes the "principle of least power":

Python is a dynamic, interpreted, high-level programming language that trades off runtime performance for programmer productivity and code simplicity. What it lacks in speed, it more than makes up for in power and flexibility. Python lets you do more with less code.

One of the best ways to learn Python, whether you‘re a complete beginner or an experienced programmer looking to add it to your toolkit, is by working through coding tutorials. Tutorials break down concepts step-by-step, offer hands-on practice, and allow you to progress at your own pace.

Luckily for aspiring Pythonistas, there is no shortage of high-quality Python tutorials available online, many of them completely free. But with so many options, it can be hard to know where to start.

Through years of experience both learning and teaching Python, I‘ve found that the best tutorials share a few key characteristics:

Clear, concise explanations: The tutorial breaks down Python concepts in an easy-to-digest way. It explains the "why" behind the concepts, not just the "how".

Progressive, logical curriculum: Lessons build on each other in a logical sequence, moving from basic to more advanced topics. The scope is comprehensive but not overwhelming.

Ample practice opportunities: Learners get to actually write Python code through inline coding windows, downloadable files, or integrated development environments (IDEs). There are frequent challenges to test and reinforce understanding.

Real-world applications: The tutorial demonstrates how to apply Python to actual programming tasks and projects, not just toy examples. It provides relevant context for the skills being taught.

Quality instruction: The instructors are experienced Python developers who can anticipate common points of confusion and explain things clearly. Production quality is high in terms of audio, visuals, and/or copy.

With those criteria in mind, let‘s dive into some of the best Python tutorials available for different levels, backgrounds, and use cases.

Python Tutorials for Beginners

If you‘re completely new to programming or just getting started with Python, begin your journey with these novice-friendly tutorials that will give you a solid foundation in Python syntax and concepts.

1. Codecademy‘s Python Course

Codecademy‘s interactive, browser-based Python courses are some of the most popular introductions to the language – and for good reason. Their flagship Python course offers a comprehensive curriculum that covers all the fundamentals:

• Basic data types (strings, numbers, lists, etc.)
• Loops and conditionals
• Functions and modules
• File I/O
• Object-oriented programming principles

Lessons are bite-sized and engaging, with a mix of video instruction, informative slides, and interactive coding windows where you write and run real Python code. The curriculum is thoughtfully structured, moving from basic syntax to more complex applications with plenty of quizzes and projects along the way to solidify your learning.

Codecademy‘s course is free, though a paid Pro version unlocks additional projects and content. It‘s an excellent choice for aspiring Python programmers who prefer a guided, interactive learning experience.

2. Google‘s Python Class

Google, a company that‘s used Python extensively for years, offers its own free Python course aimed at people with a little programming experience who want to learn Python. The curriculum is designed to be completed in about two days and covers essential Python concepts like:

• Strings and lists
• Dictionaries and files
• Regular expressions
• Utilities and OS modules
• Web crawling and HTTP

Rather than browser-based coding, you download actual Python files and edit them in your preferred IDE. Video lectures are mixed with written materials and hands-on exercises. It‘s a concise yet practical introduction to Python that emphasizes real-world applications relevant to Google‘s own work.

As Google says in the course description: "Our intent is that this course be used as a primary educational tool for someone to go from knowing little about any programming language to being an advanced beginner in Python." If you have some coding experience and want a quick on-ramp to Python proficiency, Google‘s Python class is a great option.

3. Automate the Boring Stuff with Python

If you‘re wondering what you can actually do with Python, Automate the Boring Stuff has plenty of answers. This popular beginner-focused book teaches Python fundamentals through practical projects that demonstrate how to, well, automate boring stuff with Python.

You‘ll learn how to write scripts to automate tasks like:

• Web scraping
• Parsing PDFs and Excel files
• Updating spreadsheets
• Sending emails and texts
• And much more

The book is available to read for free online, and each chapter comes with a corresponding video lesson. Working through the guided projects is an excellent way to experience Python‘s utility firsthand while building a portfolio to showcase your new skills.

Automate the Boring Stuff has been widely recommended for years as a beginner Python resource. As the author Al Sweigart says: "If you‘ve ever spent hours renaming files or updating hundreds of spreadsheet cells, you know how tedious tasks like these can be. But what if you could have your computer do them for you?" Python is the perfect tool for that, and this book will get you automating your own tedious tasks in no time.

Intermediate and Advanced Python Tutorials

Once you‘ve nailed down Python basics, you‘ll probably be itching to tackle some deeper topics and more complex projects. These tutorials will help you level up from Python beginner to power user.

4. Real Python

Don‘t let the name fool you – Real Python has tutorials for Python programmers of all levels, including intermediate and advanced users. Their intermediate learning path covers key topics like:

• Lambdas and higher order functions
• Variable scopes and namespaces
• Decorators
• Coroutines and concurrency
• Networking and internet protocols
• Metaprogramming and more

Tutorials include a healthy mix of conceptual explanations and hands-on guided projects. For example, the web scraping tutorial walks through the process of inspecting and extracting data from websites step-by-step, culminating in a script that scrapes data from Real Python‘s own site.

Real Python‘s tutorials go deep – most are long, comprehensive explorations of their subject matter with plenty of code snippets. They‘re great for Python developers looking to master specific skills in a thorough, hands-on way.

5. Effective Python

Inspired by the renowned Effective C++ series, Effective Python is a book by Brett Slatkin that teaches intermediate and advanced Python programming techniques through 90 actionable tips and tricks. While not strictly a tutorial, each "item" explains a Python best practice or gotcha in depth, with plenty of code examples.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Pythonic idioms like list comprehensions, generators, and context managers
• Leveraging Python‘s built-in types effectively
• Mastering functions, classes, and metaclasses
• Testing, debugging, and optimizing Python code
• Concurrency and parallelism
• And much more

Effective Python is an indispensable resource for Python developers who want to write clean, efficient, and idiomatic code. It‘s not a book for total beginners – you should be familiar with Python basics to get the most out of it. But if you‘re ready to go beyond introductory tutorials and learn how to write truly Pythonic code, Effective Python is a great place to start.

6. Ultimate Guide to Python Debugging

Debugging is an essential skill for any programmer, and this comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know to debug Python code effectively. It explains key debugging concepts and walks through Python‘s built-in debugging tools like:

• print statements
• The Python Debugger (pdb)
• Assertions and unit tests
• Debugging with an IDE

But it goes beyond just the basics, delving into more advanced techniques like:

• Debugging with breakpoint()
• Profiling memory usage
• Visualizing program flow
• Remote debugging
• Post-mortem debugging with core dumps

Each concept is explained clearly and illustrated with example code. Whether you‘re a Python novice or a seasoned pro, you‘re sure to learn some new debugging tricks from this in-depth guide. Debugging is often considered a frustrating part of programming, but with the right tools and techniques, it can be a powerful ally in your Python journey.

Python Tutorials for Specific Applications

Python is a general-purpose language used for all kinds of applications. If you‘re interested in using Python for a specific domain, these tutorials will help you get started.

7. Django Tutorial

Django is one of the most popular web frameworks for Python, used by sites like Instagram, Disqus, and Bitbucket. The official Django tutorial walks you through the creation of a basic poll application, covering key concepts like:

• Models and databases
• The Django admin site
• URL routing
• Views and templates
• Forms and user input
• Testing

It‘s a great way to get your feet wet with Django and see how the various components of a Django app fit together. Once you complete this tutorial, you‘ll be ready to dive into more advanced Django topics and start building your own web apps.

8. Scikit-learn Tutorials

Scikit-learn is a popular Python library for machine learning, and their official tutorials are a great place to start if you‘re interested in using Python for ML. The tutorials cover fundamental ML concepts and techniques like:

• Supervised and unsupervised learning
• Model selection and evaluation
• Dimensionality reduction
• Clustering
• Feature extraction
• Pipelines and composite estimators

Each tutorial includes clear explanations and code examples using the Scikit-learn API. It‘s assumed that you‘re already familiar with Python and basic ML concepts, so these tutorials are best suited for intermediate to advanced Python developers looking to apply their skills to machine learning.

9. NLTK Tutorial

Python is widely used in the field of natural language processing (NLP), and the Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) is one of the most popular Python libraries for NLP. The NLTK tutorial, available as an online book, guides you through the essential concepts and techniques of NLP using Python, including:

• Accessing text corpora and lexical resources
• Processing raw text
• Writing structured programs
• Categorizing and tagging words
• Classifying text
• Extracting information

The tutorial is comprehensive and example-driven, making it accessible to Python developers new to NLP. At the same time, it doesn‘t shy away from more advanced topics like semantic interpretation and linguistic structure. If you‘re interested in using Python to work with human language data, the NLTK tutorial is an excellent starting point.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Python Tutorials

As you work through Python tutorials, keep these tips in mind to maximize your learning:

Code along with the examples: It‘s tempting to just read through a tutorial, but you‘ll retain far more if you actually write and run the code yourself. Fire up your favorite IDE or Python environment and type out the examples as you go.

Experiment and break things: Once you‘ve got the example code working, try modifying it to see what happens. Change variable values, add new functions, or introduce errors intentionally. Debugging your own code is a great way to learn.

Read the documentation: Tutorials are great for getting started, but they can‘t cover everything. Get in the habit of reading the official Python documentation and the docs for any third-party libraries you use. The more you understand what‘s going on under the hood, the better Python programmer you‘ll be.

Take breaks: It‘s easy to get overwhelmed when learning a new language or technology. If you find yourself getting frustrated or confused, step away from the tutorial for a bit. Go for a walk, chat with a friend, or work on something else entirely. Your brain will keep processing the new information in the background, and you may find that concepts "click" better when you come back.

Build your own projects: Tutorials are ultimately a means to an end – they give you the skills you need to create your own programs. As soon as you feel comfortable, start working on a Python project of your own. It doesn‘t have to be ambitious at first, but having a goal in mind will help you stay motivated and give you a way to apply your new knowledge.

Join a community: Learning Python can be daunting, but remember that you‘re not alone. There are vibrant communities of Python developers all over the web, from the Python subreddit to the official Python mailing lists. Don‘t be afraid to ask questions, share your projects, and learn from others.

Conclusion

We‘ve covered a lot of ground in this post, from beginner-friendly Python tutorials to advanced techniques and domain-specific applications. No matter your background or goals, there‘s a Python tutorial out there that can help you on your journey to mastering the language.

Keep in mind that learning Python is not a linear process. You may fly through some concepts and struggle with others. You may get stuck on a problem for hours, only to have the solution come to you in a flash of insight. This is all part of the learning process – embrace the challenges and celebrate the victories.

As a full-stack developer who‘s worked with Python for many years, I can attest to its power and versatility. Python has been an indispensable tool in my kit, allowing me to build everything from simple scripts to complex web applications. It‘s a language that can grow with you as your skills and interests evolve.

So what are you waiting for? Pick a tutorial from this list and start your Python journey today. With dedication, curiosity, and a willingness to learn, you‘ll be writing clean, efficient Python code before you know it. Happy coding!