Absolute beginner have zero experience

So I use Linux mint as my main OS and I play around with Kali Linux in virtual box using other ppl’s programs, I have some basic to average command line skills in Linux but don’t know everything. I feel like if Im gonna learn a programming language to get better then using and learning python seems best. So I have some programs in Kali like Emacs, Vim etc… I have no clue how to even use these programs or even get started. Can I get help with which editor I should use for python and what lessons ? Thanks. Never done any programming.

IDLE, which comes with CPython, is aimed at beginners. I started with the tutorial in the Python docs, but I was experienced with other languages, so I cannot recommend anything else.

You may find Gedit or xed to be somewhat easier to use than Emacs or Vim, but each to their own and there are a few other text editors that are ‘Python aware’ (that is to say that you’ll get code highlighting and auto completion options), such as CudaText

As for the ‘learning python’ side of things, I’d say that motivation plays a huge part, so what is your motivation?

Also, are you a ‘watcher’ or a ‘reader’?

You could start with this Python Tutorial site. It’s a little dry and to the point, but it’s a very good reference site and one of my go to sites, even after years of Python coding, just to check on a function or a method.

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Err, that’s not the Python Tutorial (EDIT: as the use of Proper Case would imply), that’s just W3Schools :slight_smile:

You could start with the (official) Python Tutorial. Or, if you’d prefer something more beginner- and tutorial-focused but much higher quality than W3Schools (and similar sites like TutotialsPoint or Programiz…or, heaven forbid, shameless article mills like Geeks4Geeks), I find RealPython to be the best of that bunch.

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Humm… given that the home page says " Python Tutorial", maybe you should contact the site and put them straight then.

It’s not as if the PSF has any particular leverage there. Everyone is free to use the name “Python” to talk about the programming language, and their tutorial clearly is a “Python Tutorial”.

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As can be seen from it’s location on the page (in the article content area), that’s merely the (quite natural) title of that particular W3Schools article, not the site itself. Nor is the canonical Python Tutorial, as the use of Proper Case in the post above (making it a proper noun) would imply; rather just a Python tutorial.

I’m not a member of the PSF Trademarks committee, but I don’t see anything improper or confusing about W3Schools’ usage of the Python wordmark in this case, either per the PSF trademark guidelines (as it is used accurately and nominatively to refer to a tutorial about the Python programming language, which is a permitted use; nor does that use seem likely to lead a “reasonable person” (per the legal definition) to potentially confuse the site with one that is part of, sponsored/endorsed by or otherwise officially associated with the PSF or the Python language (as could, potentially, naming the site itself The Python Tutorial).

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My point is that the site (or the part there of) to which I linked is “a Python Tutorial”, if not “the canonical Python Tutorial” (not that I suggested that it was) and from which the OP could learn a great deal in a very short time frame, is all. If you disagree with me, that’s fine, you’re free to do so.

Hey Rob hope you get this. My main motivation is just cybersecurity or some pentesting maybe getting some small IT work. Im getting better with commands and ding the practising using metasploit. I always hear how python is best for pentesting and that particular language is the best when it comes to cybersecurity. I figure if I just learn this 1 language it would give me a good head start. I downloaded several lessons but I have issues navigating the editors like Emacs, Vim ( I also have Improved vim ) along with a few others. I tested some basic code even in terminal but its all so foreign. Is there any books I should look into ? Maybe even borrow from a library ? Im pretty sure knowing Python is a good asset for IT, right now im just script kiddie all the way. Im better at terminal minus the crazy long commands. I can do output, input chain commands and piping but its still not enough.

Yep, I think everyone agrees with this; as a small point of clarity, I would word it as “a Python tutorial” and “the Python Tutorial”, as there is a single official Python Tutorial, but there can be many tutorials for many things, including Python.

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Yeah, I got it just fine, ty.

I’d refer you back to my first post, for alternate text editors, with the addition of Kate, if you’re a KDE user; not so much for Gnome, mind.

Python is certainly as good a place to start as any, but you’re going to need more than just Python for cybersecurity/pentesting.

I’d suggest that you look into Cisco CCENT/CCNA for a deep dive into computer networking.

But, before investing in any books, learn as much as you can from the freely available sites and tutorials that are all over the internet. Be a little selective, as it’s all to easy to become overwhelmed and have dozens of sites bookmarked, many of which simply reiterate the same concepts.

To add: Automate the Boring Stuff with Python is a site that is well worth a BM.

I would learn Code or Jupiter, which are newer editors with newer features. As off lessons I cannot recomend you one, but yes its better than to read documentation, like odler geeks would recomend. You can read it, but you need a course to start coding.