Python is a good language, especially for beginners. I'm not really sure what the best way to start learning it is, but you can try the official tutorial: https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/ At least finish up to (and including) chapter 5 of the tutorial. I'm pretty sure about 75% of the stuff I do in python is using the information covered in ch 1-5. Probably another ~20% is just googling some other library's API and using it.
I haven't had the opportunity to use Python much, but I like it a lot. Learned it through "Learn Python the Hard Way", which I thought was a pretty good introduction.
I was going to have an edit to my post but you replied before I could type it: and I agree with Creativity, it's important to try your newly-found skills and actually make something. Try to think of something cool to do (that doesn't necessarily require a GUI, i.e. something in the terminal). You could look into python's urllib and make some sort of website scraper, or you could find some website you use's API and try to do something with that. If you're completely lost, you can try some problems on Project Euler - since you're a math major, some of those things might be right up your alley anyway. ---- That having been said, it might be easier to learn a little bit of programming first without trying to also create something, then later after you feel comfortable you can start trying to apply it.
This seems like the ideal way to start. Great response! I appreciate it.That having been said, it might be easier to learn a little bit of programming first without trying to also create something, then later after you feel comfortable you can start trying to apply it.
I can also recommend edX, they offer a couple of courses where you'll get introduced into programming basics (granted, at a pretty decent speed). I did there a Python as well as a C# course, and both would be fine for beginners, if they're eager to learn. If you look specifically for Python, I can recommend Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python by the MIT. It started just two weeks ago, so you'd have to do a bit of catching up, but while teaching you the basics of Python (a very versatile and beginner friendly language), the course also teaches to 'think like a programmer'. A book I'd recommend, would be Think Python which is free and available for Python 2.x as well as 3.0. Another resource: once you started to get a feeling for the stuff, you can also check out pluralsight.com, a great resource for tutorial videos. While lacking a bit of content for Python, it offers a lot of general programming tips or for example C# stuff. Good luck! PS: The cs50x course amar mentioned is also one of the courses I did and I liked it as well! With the MIT and this one, you should be more than fine on a basic level.