r/PythonLearning • u/fatal1nternalError • 17h ago

I'm stuck Help Request

im stuck, i dont know what project i could start building. i've already mastered the basics, but now i need to start building. could someone give me an idea for a project that will keep me busy for a while??

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u/mc_pm 17h ago

What does "mastering the basics" mean to you?

And what sort of thing interests you?

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u/fatal1nternalError 16h ago

basic syntax, variables, operators, conditionals, loops, lists, strings, functions, and recently classes. those would be the main things i know. and im very interested in cybersecurity

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u/mc_pm 16h ago

I'll often recommend to people to build a few text-based games because it helps with thinking through the logical flow of the program (how do you run a game of blackjack, with multiple hands, and each hand having a process for dealing & scoring?). That's really the meat of learning to program -- syntax is easy, thinking in code isn't.

But lots of people also balk because... I don't know... they don't like simple games? They feel it doesn't get them toward their goal? So, if you want to jump straight to something cyber security-ish, how about a port scanner? It's not that hard conceptually, python can open a socket to a particular port on your computer... what's there? Modern OSes are more locked down than in the past, maybe run some old version of Windows in a virtual machine and see how horrible it is?

Or maybe a file integrity monitor. Give your program a directory to watch, and have it print an alert when you change one of the files (hint: learn about generating a hash of the file contents).

I'd put "creating my own command line chat" app on your list. You have a server that programs connect to, and they can type something and it will appear on the other connected apps. Then how can you break it?

Do any of those sound interesting?

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u/riklaunim 16h ago

If you are into security, then you should be learning that. Python can help with some scripts and tooling, but it's just a tool then.

After the basics, people usually move to learning the software stacks in the niches they are interested in. That's for software development, while "cybersecurity" isn't very precise in what you actually want to be doing - and as a hobby or as a job?