How do I get started with trading in the programming category with little experience?

Getting started with trading in the programming category can be both exciting and overwhelming, especially with little experience. First, let's break down the basics: you have a foundation in Python, which is a great language for trading due to its simplicity and the vast number of libraries available. You've mentioned Backtrader and Zipline, which are indeed popular choices, but let's explore a few more options to see what might suit you best.

For a beginner, it's essential to start with the fundamentals of trading and then merge that knowledge with programming. The type of trading you're interested in (day trading, swing trading, etc.) will significantly influence the tools and strategies you'll use. For instance, day trading often involves making multiple trades in a single day, based on short-term price movements, and might require more immediate data and quicker execution times compared to swing trading, which involves holding positions for a few days or weeks, aiming to profit from larger price movements.

Let's consider some libraries and frameworks that are particularly well-suited for beginners. Backtrader is a popular choice because it allows you to focus on writing trading strategies and provides a lot of built-in functionality for backtesting and executing trades. Zipline, on the other hand, is another robust backtesting library that's especially good for testing algorithms on historical data. Additionally, Alpaca API and Robinhood are platforms that offer commission-free trading and have APIs that you can use with Python to execute trades and fetch data.

For learning resources, there are numerous online courses and communities that can help. Websites like Udemy and Coursera offer a wide range of courses on trading and Python programming.