My first Python script took 6 hours and printed 'Hello World'

Last Tuesday I decided to finally learn coding from scratch. I found a free Python guide online and spent 6 hours installing stuff, fixing errors, and getting a single line of code to run. My dad walked by and asked if I just typed 'print' - he was laughing so hard. Is it normal for beginners to struggle this much just to set up the environment?

2 comments

2 Comments

mia_fox9823d ago

The setup part is honestly the hardest part of learning to code and nobody talks about it. Your first time you gotta deal with paths, permissions, and a million cryptic error messages that mean nothing to you yet. Took me three separate nights just to get Python recognized in my terminal without crashing. Once you get past that initial wall everything else starts making more sense because at least you know the tools work. The actual coding is way easier than getting the environment to cooperate in my experience. Stick with it because that feeling when "Hello World" finally prints is the same rush you'll get for way bigger programs later.

christopher_singh9223d ago

Yeah thats totally normal. The environment setup is honestly the worst part of starting out. I spent a whole weekend just trying to get Python to run without crashing on my old laptop. The terminal errors mean nothing at first and you just have to google each one line by line. Once you get past that first hurdle the actual coding part is way more straightforward. Stick with it because once you know how to set everything up it gets way easier the second time around.