I opened and started this course because I was searching for a Python courses. I somehow misunderstood the fact that this course is for "beginner programmers" and not "beginners in Python" (could be just simply me, I am new to Coursera). I am already a skilled programmer with more than 10 years of commercial practice. And I have some reasons to review this course poorly. If I'd be a beginner programmer, this course is not bringing some real life problems and not explaining their solutions and how to solve it in computer program. Such an example is crucial for beginner programmers. Padding output in a string with spaces is just a waste of time. Implementing a console program with menu in infinite loop and reading from and writing to a CSV file, which is called a "database", was fancy maybe 20 years ago. I don't think this course is teaching much about Python nor is bringing a beginner programmer any further. It's 21st century, IT world is full of millions of technologies, and pure Python is not going to help in real life on it's own. Explaining more about data structures, some basic but important programming principles, involving a real database for data persistence, some real life problems and their solutions, even if one or two more weeks would be needed to finish the course, and it could get on a completely different level.

It is well done but it is very basic. The method is good since we get the basic programs to work with them and follow the lectures. The instructor explains things in a detailed and clear manner.

Quite interesting introduction to Python, focusing on the most important components of the language. Looking forward to other courses using the same format. Thank you Bill and team for your hard work.

This course is useful for three groups of people. In the first group, there are people who don't know any programming: the course provides the programming essentials in Python. Python is one of the best, if not the best, languages to learn programming. In the second group are people who learned programming long ago but haven't used until know. For the second group, of which I was a member until recently, the course serves as a refresher that comes with a modern and widely used language. In the third group, there are active programmers who want to switch to Python. The course can help these grasp and use Python quickly.

This course was pretty okay, I'd say. I did learn several new things and consider myself "introduced" to the world of python. Unfortunately, as a BRAND NEW programmer, it was, at times hard to keep up. There were a number of elements that weren't sufficiently explained during the lessons/assignments (presumably because we 'should' have a basic understanding of coding already...I guess?). If this is the case, some outside study/background research may be necessary, at times. The instructor was actually relatively helpful, though the forum format makes for lag in help time, meaning you could be stuck on a problem or with a question for a while (again...outside study/research required). Overall, as I said, I learned things- yay! This course is for the very patient, however, and may likely by too simplistic for those with programming experience, too difficult for those who have never coded or maybe just right for some lucky few.

Excellent structure of the course. Bill sir is extremely knowledgeable and patient with all doubts & inquiries regarding the course or python in general. The course is highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn the language and start their data analytical journey. The tests at the end of each week is perfectly designed for a beginner and well-balanced with a good amount of learning all the right things to get started with python programming. Happy leaning! And of course, don't hesitate to make mistakes, always try out the lesson exercises on your own before watching the videos so you know how to tackle and get to know your strengths & weaknesses better :)

I could have asked Quora if a retired engineer can learn Python for data analysis. But enter this course concise and practice to answer the question by myself. And I was able to understand, practice and learn with the method of this course, which I indicated as suitable to start at any age. I got 92.5 % !

A very nice introduction to Python 3 programming. The course lectures are quite engaging with hands-on practice and the programming assignments revise the learned concepts in step-by-step manner.

The course is good to learn python for students starting programming but for a student who has experience in other languages may find it slow......

Very basic Python intro. Will teach you most of the basics, but I personally expected a bit more in-depth learning. The course will be definitely useful for people who have never programmed before but to those familiar with some other programming languages it will likely be too easy.Another problem was auto-grader, because of formatting issues in some cases it was very difficult to get the result to look like the auto-grader expected it to. It would help if auto-grader returned more helpful messages, for example showing what lines of the submission output have mismatched the expected.Overall, the course is a good intro to Python, recommended for those with no prior experience in programming.

it is horrible

This was an excellently written and excellently delivered course for the programming beginner or even someone who wants to brush up their skills with the basics! I always thought I was hopeless with programming but this course has convinced me that when it is taught well and I understand the fundamentals I can push myself to do bigger and even more exciting things with my understanding! I loved how this course made me see the problem solving aspect of computer science and has given me a legitimate interest in adding Data Science as a career choice.

Thanks so much to Bill for his hard work and excellence in responding to questions on the discussion forum! The dedication was amazing to see.

Un curso muy completo y bien explicado

Muy buenas las clases y además las tareas son divertidas, te ponen a pensar pero aprendes mucho.

El instructor es muy atento y resuelve tus inquietudes.

Recomiendo este curso además de que este conocimiento es muy importante.

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A very complete and well-explained course

The classes are very good and the tasks are also fun, they make you think but you learn a lot.

The instructor is very attentive and solves your concerns.

I recommend this course in addition to that this knowledge is very important.

Great overview course in python. I was super excited it uses Spyder. The auto-grader is finicky sometimes, but fair and quick. Highly suggest this for anyone looking to cut their teeth on python.

A well paced intro, lots of examples to show you the way

Good basic course, but a bit clunky. Some of the weekly courses would place critical details at later points of the course and I would have to go back and repeat lessons.

There were also parts that I would get hung up on and need person to person discussion to get past. It would be helpful to have a chat function or other forum to discuss sections (maybe a class discussion forum, or an 'ask an instructor).

a good course, especially as an introduction to Python 3

biggest drawback: assignment autograding - if something fails, you do not know what fails, only that it fails (no info about test cases and results; negligible feedback from TAs)

A quick introduction, just what I was looking for.

Very good course! I went from not even knowing what Python was to being able to write my own functions and learn about the programs. The video tutorials are pretty straightforward and instructions were provided so that even if you have newer versions of spyder and python, you can still do the coursework. The graded assessments truly tested your skills in Python. Though some problems seemed very simple and similar to those that appeared in the lessons, many were quite difficult and involved critical thinking and problem solving. You have access to all the code used in the lesson exercises which make the graded assessments easier to complete and follow along with. Although this course is listed as four weeks, it can definitely be completed by a determined learner in much shorter time so don't shy away from it due to the listed four week commitment if you think that is too long. Once again, great course and I recommend it for teens (not just teens but all ages can gain something from this) looking into computer science and programming.

A Truly For-Beginner Python Programming Course.

I've tried and given up several Python courses meant for beginners. What I found was they were anything but. Exercises required knowledge of syntax not covered in lecture. I had to google here and there just to find the right one to do the exercises. It was frustrating. In one course, the second week exercise was to create a tic-tac-toe table(!!). It was unimaginable just how to begin, let alone to code.

This one is different. Each lecture begins with a run of the function to be discussed to see how the output looks like. This gives us an idea what we're going into. Then we cover the programming part. As the lecture moves along, we can simultaneously play with the Spyder, step-by-step to experience what the lecture is about. The weekly exercises are just the adaptation of that week's content. This keeps a beginner like me to stay on course, not being intimidated by the out-of-the-world questions. Well done Bill. You are the best.

I have attempted to learn programming numerous times. I've tried to learn Java Script, C, Python, Java, and HTML all within the past few years. Each time I've lost interest. This time, under the tutelage of Professor Bill Boyd, I have finally finished a course and I can say that I am captivated with Python.

Dr. Boyd, thank you so much for reinvigorating what I thought I had lost. You have given me the basic understanding of surface level programming in Python. I can confidently say that I will continue this journey.

For those of you reading this and wondering why this program worked for me... here is my answer: I finally sat down and took notes. The course is structured on videos and exercises. I took notes on syntax, coding tricks, and functions that I knew I would forget. Now I have over 40 pages of notes that I can reference with future challenges. My journey has just begun. I encourage the reader, you, to begin yours now.

Pros: I liked the programming examples and problems approach. I learned a lot, and feel confident to use python in future for more complicated scientific computing.

cons: The videos were too long, and I found I had all the info in the examples. I would have liked more guidance on how to build up simple structured programmes - the final assignment you have a giant programme already built, whereas you could have set some exercises for "split this code into two subroutines that handle different jobs".

The autograder was really frustrating (sorry, I know it must be difficult to make something fair and automatic), but the great thing about a compiler or running a program is that you get to see the errors. The autograder just says "3 errors", and the problem turns out to be nothing to do with my program, which already produces the desired output.

I am studying Systems Engineering at a university in Argentina, quite one of the most pretigious and important around here. I can tell the difference between "good" and "bad" teaching, and I have some experience in the subject. Took a course in C, and keep on learning.

This course is just GREAT. Simplicity in the explanations, which are straight forward, complemented with accuracy and clear examples is, by far, an indeed marvellous recipe to teach Python. I have some background, and I understand that if I hadn't, I would have learned the same way.

I am deepfully grateful for this course, to Coursera and specially to the teacher. Keep on doing this, developers around the world will be better after taking this one; and the ones that just start will become quite proficient really quick.

Excellent! Thanks!

I found this course very useful indeed. I had previously learned programming in Java but in a very formal fashion and without ever really producing anything that made sense. I wanted to learn Python as I consistently come up against references to it in my work. I found Bill's approach to be very engaging and with a sensible series of steps to improve my confidence. Personally, I would have preferred more of a hands on 'project' at the end, rather than watching Bill work through it. Weirdly I found the final assessment to be the easiest, but I still learned a ton and look forward to finding a course that builds on my new skills. If you are looking to get a basic understanding of programming without getting hung up on terminology and structure and just see that you can do it, this is a a great course.

Had an amazing experience .It was my first time with learning on an online platform everything is very well designed thank you Coursera .The course will help me in my next semester.

The course is very well defined and covers all the necessary topics as a beginner in python I needed to learn . Assignments are relatively easier than I expected them to be .Great Instructor and Mentor . Everything was great all my queries and questions were answered . Discussion Forums also helped me a lot and I hop I also helped someone . Though I feel the course should be updated with using IDEs like IntelliJ ( I used it anyway but it wasn't a problem) .Thank You Wesleyan University for designing this course .Again Thank You very much.