I've built some projects with AI, but I'm still new to Python basics and want to understand the code myself. I've started the University of Helsinki course and am trying to solve the exercises on my own.
Is it a good starting point for learning to read and debug code? Should I study anything alongside it, and is it okay to use AI for explanations?
Yes, it's a solid place to start from zero. It takes you through fundamentals like conditions, loops and functions, with exercises to put them into practice. Those are useful building blocks for reading code and figuring out simple bugs.
Give the exercises a real try rather than just reading the explanations. Finishing the course won't make you an expert, but it can give you a foundation for understanding and changing code that AI produces.
Try doing the course without AI at all, at least for a while. If your goal is to break the habit of leaning on it, struggling through an exercise yourself is useful practice. Read the course material again and work through the code before reaching for an assistant.
_m52+sparegrommet.9:
There's a difference between asking for an explanation of why your attempt failed and asking AI to write the whole solution, though. The first can still help you learn.
Don't worry about stacking another course on top right now. Stick with the exercises and focus on understanding your mistakes. CS50P is another beginner Python course if you want an alternative later, but you don't need to do both at once.
Think of the course as a first step, not the whole journey. Getting comfortable with programming takes time and more practice after the fundamentals, whether you eventually use AI or not. Additional courses or books can be useful later, depending on what you want to build.
Answers are reviewed before publication.
3p~funnelstaple_458:
That's what I'm aiming for. I want to understand what's happening instead of just accepting whatever the assistant generates.