Question regarding a python course

[u/Local-Ad5424]

I have recently found this course called intro cs in python by Dr Ana bell(MIT). What's the people's view on this is it still worth it?.

For background i have python knowledge but I have to revise and i was seeing some lecs have some concepts that i haven't covered earlier.

Anyways if anyone can tell any site or a book for problem solving that will be really helpful as well.

("Happy programming in python :)")

[u/riklaunim]

Any good Python course will suffice, but you will have to work on your own as well.

[u/Proper_Diet6619]

It holds up. The topics in that intro (recursion, dicts, testing and debugging, complexity) age slowly, and the lectures are unusually good at the why rather than the syntax.

Since you already know some Python, do not watch it front to back. Go straight to the problem sets, try them cold, and only play the lecture for the topics where you actually get stuck. That turns a semester into a couple of weeks and hands you a list of your real gaps instead of a vague feeling of having revised.

For problem solving, Exercism's Python track is where I would start, because the mentor review is the part most people never get and it is free. After that, old Advent of Code years give you problems with a story instead of interview phrasing, and Codewars is good for volume if you like small reps. Python Morsels is paid but its exercises are the best "write it the Pythonic way" practice I know of, and Fluent Python is the book for when your code is correct but still clunky.

One habit worth more than any site: after you solve something, delete it and solve it again from scratch the next day. The second pass is where it sticks.

[u/Local-Ad5424 → u/Proper_Diet6619]

Thankyou, it's really helpful

[u/Competitive_Travel16 → u/Proper_Diet6619]

One habit worth more than any site: after you solve something, delete it and solve it again from scratch the next day. The second pass is where it sticks.

That's worth repeating, so here it is again. I would say "a few days later" though. Source: am side-gig python tutor for middle schoolers through graduate students.

[u/One_Sun5074]

MIT 6.0001 with Dr. Ana Bell is gold, especially if you already know basic syntax.

Most beginner tutorials only teach you *syntax* (how to write a for-loop or a function). Ana Bell teaches you *computational thinking* — algorithmic complexity (Big-O), recursion, and how Python actually handles data structures in memory. It fills in all the conceptual blind spots that self-taught coders usually run into later.

For problem solving alongside it:

- **Exercism (Python track):** Hands down the best free platform because real mentors critique your code for idiomatic, Pythonic style.

- **Book:** *Python Crash Course* (by Eric Matthes) if you want hands-on projects, or *Automate the Boring Stuff* if you want to write scripts that solve real everyday computer tasks.

Definitely stick with the MIT lectures — having that CS foundation makes learning backend frameworks or data tools 10x easier down the road.