The Joy of Self-Study: Learning Python with ChatGPT

After delving into ChatGPT and discovering the vast world of Artificial Intelligence, I realized that I need to learn Python. This programming language is widely used in machine learning and data science, and despite having a background in software development, I haven't worked on complex projects in years. Recently, I've been using app script and Google Sheets for some work-related tasks, but when it comes to Python, I have no experience whatsoever. As someone who enjoys self-studying, I asked ChatGPT to create a "curriculum" for me to learn Python. My main goals are to master this programming language and to demonstrate ChatGPT's usefulness for self-learning. it is quite helpful in providing code examples and instructions such as how to setup a Python environment on Windows.

I was inspired to start my journey tonight after watching a video on Twitter that showcased Azure's computer vision and OpenAI text-to-speech to identify a museum and use ChatGPT to ask for more information about it. While my ultimate goal is to create a similar program, I know I have to start from the basics, and I'm excited to begin this new chapter in my learning journey. I will update this blog post as I progress through the lessons designed by ChatGPT.

Prompt: Create a self-study curriculum for python for a beginner. Include exercises.

Week 1: Introduction to Python

Lesson 1: Getting started with Python

• Overview of Python: history, applications, advantages
• Installing Python on your computer: latest version, different ways to install
• Basic setup: running Python scripts, using the Python shell
• Using an IDE or code editor for development

Lesson 2: Variables, data types, and operators

• Variables: assigning values, naming conventions, data types
• Data types: numbers (integers, floats), strings, Booleans, type casting
• Operators: arithmetic, comparison, logical, identity, membership

Lesson 3: Basic input/output and string manipulation

• Input and output: using the input() and print() functions, reading from and writing to files

Note: Just an example, I asked chatGPT to provide more details for this section. The following is what it generated.

Input and Output

Printing Output with the print() Function

In Python, you can use the print() function to display output to the console. The print() function takes one or more arguments, which can be strings, variables, or expressions.

Getting Input with the input() Function

In Python, you can use the input() function to prompt the user for input. The input() function takes a single argument, which is the prompt to display to the user.

Reading from Files

Python has built-in support for reading and writing files. To read from a file, you can use the open() function to open the file, and then use the read() method to read the contents of the file.

Writing to Files

To write to a file, you can use the open() function to open the file in write mode ("w"), and then use the write() method to write data to the file.

Exercises:

1. Write a program that prompts the user to enter a file name, and then reads and displays the contents of the file.
2. Write a program that prompts the user to enter a string, and then writes the string to a file.
3. Modify one of the previous exercises to handle any exceptions that might occur when opening or reading/writing to a file.

• String manipulation: indexing, slicing, concatenation, formatting
• Common string methods and functions

Lesson 4: Simple control structures: if-else statements and loops

• Conditional statements: if, else, elif
• Loops: for, while, range(), enumerate()
• Using loops to iterate over lists, tuples, and dictionaries
• Control flow: break, continue, pass statements

Exercises:

1. Write a program that prompts the user to enter their name and greets them. The program should print a message that says "Hello, [name]!".
2. Write a program that calculates the area of a rectangle given its length and width. The program should prompt the user to enter the length and width, and then print out the area.
3. Write a program that prints out the first 20 numbers of the Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers. The first two numbers in the sequence are 0 and 1. The third number is 0 + 1 = 1, the fourth number is 1 + 1 = 2, and so on. The first 20 numbers in the sequence are: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181.

Week 2: Functions and Modules

Lesson 1: Defining and calling functions

• What are functions?
• Defining functions: syntax, parameters, return statement
• Calling functions: passing arguments, return values, default parameters

Lesson 2: Function arguments and return values

• Arguments: positional arguments, keyword arguments, *args, **kwargs
• Return values: returning multiple values, unpacking values

Lesson 3: Built-in functions and standard modules

• Built-in functions: range(), len(), print(), input(), type()
• Standard modules: math, random, time, datetime, os

Lesson 4: Creating and using your own modules

• Creating modules: defining functions, importing modules
• Using modules: accessing functions, importing specific functions or variables

Exercises:

1. Write a function that takes a list of integers as input and returns the sum of the even numbers.
2. Write a program that imports the math module and calculates the area of a circle given its radius. The program should prompt the user to enter the radius, and then print out the area.
3. Create a module that contains a function that prints out the lyrics to a popular song. Import the module and call the function.

Week 3: Object-Oriented Programming

Lesson 1: Classes and objects

• What are classes and objects?
• Defining classes: syntax, instance variables, instance methods
• Creating objects: instantiating a class, accessing object attributes

Lesson 2: Attributes and methods

• Attributes: class variables, instance variables, property decorators
• Methods: instance methods, class methods, static methods

Lesson 3: Inheritance and polymorphism

• Inheritance: creating subclasses, inheriting attributes and methods
• Polymorphism: using subclasses in place of parent classes, method overriding

Exercises:

1. Define a class called Car that has a make, model, and year as attributes. Add a method called start that prints out "The car is starting".
2. Define a subclass of Car called ElectricCar that has an additional attribute called battery_size. Add a method called charge that prints out "The car is charging".
3. Create an instance of the ElectricCar class and call the start and charge methods.

Week 4: Advanced Topics

Lesson 1: Exceptions and error handling

• What are exceptions?
• Handling exceptions: try-except block, handling multiple exceptions, raising exceptions

Lesson 2: File input/output

• Opening and closing files: modes, file objects
• Reading and writing files: reading entire files, reading line by line, writing to files

Lesson 3: Regular expressions

• What are regular expressions?
• Using regular expressions in Python: search(), match(), findall(), sub(), split()

Exercises:

1. Write a program that reads in a file and counts the number of lines, words, and characters in it.
2. Write a program that prompts the user to enter a regular expression and then searches a file for all occurrences of that regular expression.
3. Modify one of the previous exercises to handle any exceptions that might occur.

Final Project:

• Using the skills you've learned, create a project that demonstrates your understanding of Python programming. This could be anything from a simple game to a web application.
• Plan your project, break it down into manageable parts, and implement each part one at a time.
• Test your project thoroughly and make any necessary modifications.
• Share your project with others and get feedback to help improve it.
• By the end of this self-study curriculum, you should have a good understanding of Python programming and be able to create your own Python programs. Remember to practice regularly and don't be afraid to ask for help when needed. Good luck!