Your first steps into coding
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Python Basics
4-Step Learning Journey

Start small, ask questions, practise in your editor, and build projects one step at a time.

1IDLE
2AI Tutor
3VS Code
4Projects
Step 1 of 4 · Quick start25%
🚀 Step 1 · Get started

Meet Python IDLE

Your first goal is simple: install Python and make it print a message. You do not need to understand everything yet.

1

Install Python IDLE

Open the Python website in a new browser tab and follow the setup steps.

2

Test IDLE

Type these lines into the IDLE Shell. Press Enter after each line.

Your first Python code 
print("Hello Python")
Var1 = 10
Str1 = "Py"
print(Var1, Str1)
Success check: Did IDLE display Hello Python and then 10 Py? Both printed? IDLE works.
🧠 Step 2 · Learn with AI

Set up your AI Tutor — NotebookLM

NotebookLM is your AI Tutor to learn the concepts behind code. Use it to ask questions and understand examples, not just copy answers.

First, prepare your Gmail login

If you have Gmail: Right-click the link and choose Open link in new tab: gmail.com → Login.

If you don't have Gmail: Right-click and open accounts.google.com/signup in a new tab → Create an account → Then log in.

Keep this setup tab open, with Gmail in a new tab.

1

Create your AI Tutor notebook

Follow the steps in order to add all three learning sources.

📚 Resources for your AI Tutor

Try asking follow-up questions: If an explanation is confusing, ask NotebookLM to explain it in simpler words or give you another example.
🛠️ Step 3 · Set up your tools

VS Code & GitHub Copilot

You will use VS Code to write and organise Python programs. GitHub Copilot can help explain code and suggest ideas as you learn.

A

Set up GitHub via Google

This account is used to sign in to GitHub Copilot.

  1. Open github.com/signup in a new tab.
  2. Choose Continue with Google.
  3. Select the Gmail account you used in Step 2.
B

Install VS Code

Open code.visualstudio.com in a new tab → Download → Install.

C

Install extensions & sign in to Copilot

Inside VS Code, follow these steps:

Remember: AI suggestions can be helpful, but read the code, ask why it works, and run it yourself.
🎯 Step 4 · Practise & build

Your learning path: Basics to Projects

In VS Code, choose File → Open Folder and open or create the folder named PythonPractice. Follow the topics in this order. Type, run, observe, and experiment with each example.

1

Variables

Store values and print them 
Var1 = 1
Str1 = "Py"
print(Var1, Str1)
2

Data Types — Basic

Check the type of a value 
x = 10
name = "Python"
print(type(x), type(name))
3

Print / Input

Display text and ask the user a question 
print("Learn", "Python", sep=',')
name = input("Your name?\n")
print("Welcome", name)
4

Comments & Indentation

Notice the four spaces inside the if block 
# comment
if True:
    print("inside - 4 spaces")
print("outside")
5

If / While / For

Make decisions and repeat actions 
yearofexp = 4
if yearofexp > 3:
    bonus = 10000
else:
    bonus = 5000
print(bonus)
for i in range(3):
    print("Hi", i)
What should you notice?
The if and else blocks choose a bonus based on the condition. The for loop runs three times, with i taking the values 0, 1 and 2.
6

Advanced Data Types

Lists, tuples, sets and dictionaries 
nums = [1,2,3]
t = (1,2,3)
s = {1,2,2,3}
p = {1: 6, 2: 6, 3: 6, 4: 6, 5: 6, 6: 6}
for i, j in p.items():
    print("ROW:", i, "-\t", j * '1 ')
Explore the data structures
  • nums is a list.
  • t is a tuple.
  • s is a set, so repeated values are stored only once.
  • p is a dictionary mapping each key to the value 6.

The loop visits each key-value pair in p and prints a row made from repeated 1 text.

⭐ Optional project extension — Pop-it Game & Tower of Hanoi

These project examples were included in the original learning document as an optional commented-out section. Try them after you are comfortable with functions, loops, conditions and recursion.

Pop-it Game starter

def letusplay():
    p = {1: 6, 2: 6, 3: 6, 4: 6, 5: 6, 6: 6}
    for i, j in p.items():
        print("ROW:", i, "-\t", j * '1 ')
user_response = input('Do you want to play?\n')
if user_response.lower() in ["yes","y"]:
    letusplay()

Tower of Hanoi

def hanoi(n, source, target, aux):
    if n == 1:
        print(f"Move disk 1 from {source} to {target}")
        return
    hanoi(n-1, source, aux, target)
    print(f"Move disk {n} from {source} to {target}")
    hanoi(n-1, aux, target, source)
hanoi(3, 'A', 'C', 'B')
🎉 Completed all 4 steps!
IDLE → AI Tutor → VS Code & Copilot → Projects built in VS Code.