Featured image: courtesy of Real Python

This article does not have any basis on paid advertisement, affiliation, or sponsorship by any of the organizations or people mentioned below. This article expresses my opinion based on my personal experience and views.

When i first heard of Python I didn’t know what to expect. There was this tendency to consider Python a very easy language to learn. As a student I undertook modules such as programming with Basic, Pascal, Visual Basic, C, C++ , and others. Later on as a web developer, I learned JavaScript, ES5, ES6, PHP, and some years later during my MBA studies for the sake of my thesis I used R to perform sentiment analysis on tweets. I was always fond of programming and I was lucky enough to be mostly surrounded by programmers and Computer Scientists. This brought me even to the point where I learned some Java. However, I never used Python. I never knew what to expect until one day, I was involved in a Python module. This is where I came across this magnificent language. Yes, it is considered quite easy by programming beginners probably due to its comprehensive standard library. However, if you take a deeper dive, you will notice that Python is a very strong language that “supports multiple programming paradigms, including structured (particularly, procedural), object-oriented, and functional programming. ” (Source: Wikipedia)

We all know the feeling of being stuck for hours at a certain point while writing our code where suddenly everything seems unknown and impossible to comprehend. This moment seems like an eternity. Nothing moves on, your mind gets stuck. You think that this is it! You are useless, you know nothing, the code is worthless, you need to rewrite everything from the beginning! Then the endless search begins. You go everywhere, you visit every possible resource online. Your first choice is stackoverflow. Yes, there is a solution there, but you don’t quite understand it. (No! I am not going to do something I don’t understand!) You search every possible link available. GitHub is full of other approaches but you want to write your own unique code. Everything is so blurry, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. You can’t even see a tunnel! Suddenly, you discover Real Python! You search at the website. There is an example! You are not alone, someone was there before you! There are more examples. There is also the theory that explains why this is happening. But what is Real Python? I have never seen something like this before! (I want to hug these guys!)

This is how I felt when I discovered Real Python and there is more. There is absolutely nothing about Python that is not included at the Real Python website. For instance, did you know that there is an option to create an Instagram bot with Python and InstaPy? Yes, there is! And you can find so many more applications, examples, and lessons at Real Python. So what exactly can you use Real Python for?

Courtesy of Real Python

At Real Python you’ll learn all things Python from the ground up. Their tutorials, books, and video courses are created, curated, and vetted by a community of expert Pythonistas. With new content published weekly, custom Python learning paths, and interactive code challenges, you’ll always find something to boost your skills. Join 3,000,000+ monthly readers and take your Python skills to the next level at realpython.com. (Source: Real Python)

Do you have to pay?

Well, no, it is absolutely free but if you need a membership that includes everything, then yes, you need to pay a very small fee which is too small for what you receive in exchange. It is natural to pay something as in this way you support an amazing learning resource to continue growing. In a sense, it is like helping the rest of the world as well, as, the more the resource is growing, the more free content there will be available for those that can not afford to pay. In the following video Mr Dan Bader is speaking about about Real Python’s mission at the official Real Python YouTube channel.

Courtesy of Real Python

Products

(Source: Real Python)
Professional developers and organizations around the world level up their programming skills with Real Python‘s online Python training resources:

Real Python Membership

Members get unlimited access to Real Python‘s library of 1,600+ expert-made Python tutorials and video lessons. Weekly “Office Hours” virtual workshops and the Real Python Community Slack chat provide hands-on support.

Real Python for Teams

Membership access for groups of learners through a single billing account. Team license management and progress analytics helps new developers get up to speed with Python and keeps them up-to-date with the latest best practices.

Books

All of Real Python‘s materials are created, curated, and vetted by a team of expert Pythonistas. At Real Python, developers get the trusted resources they need on their path to Python mastery. (Source: Real Python)

Courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I am thrilled about Real Python not only for the high quality and vast amount of content it offers, but also because Real Python is one of the most friendly connections on social media. Please feel free to connect them or get in touch. Here are all Real Python social media channels: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, for any other info their email is: info@realpython.com. The Real Python team will respond in the most friendly manner.

Featured image: courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The second Coronavirus lockdown is happening! Despite the fact that COVID-19 remains a huge threat, we need to stay positive and active and treat this situation as an opportunity for personal development.

With this in mind, I did some online research and found some interesting resources that may help anyone convert the “lockdown” time to personal development time.

The edX^® platform

Founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012, edX Inc. is a leading MOOC provider. The edX® platform is an online learning destination offering high-quality courses from the world’s best universities and institutions to learners everywhere. EdX is the only leading MOOC provider that is both nonprofit and open source.
Source: edX Inc. EdX is a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved

C ourses are offered in a plethora of subjects such as Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Economics & Finance, Math, Business & Management, Law, Medicine, Humanities, Language, and many more. edX^® offerings are: the MicroBachelors® program, the MicroMasters® program, Professional Certificate programs, XSeries programs, the Global Freshman Academy, and online Master’s degrees. Students can attend courses for free or obtain certificates for a small fee. Tuition for attending Master’s degrees is quite affordable.
MicroBachelors is a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MicroMasters is a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved.
EdX is a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved.

For those interested in acquiring unique, cutting edge tech skills form technology experts, Udacity is the only online learning platform that offers nanodegrees such as: Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Digital Marketing, Flying Car and Autonomous Flight Engineer, Intro to Self-Driving Cars, Machine Learning Engineer, and Robotics Software Engineer. Additionally, there are numerous other subjects available to study that lead to a nanodegree.

Courtesy of Udacity

Nanodegree courses are interactive, project based and paid (Udacity offers many free courses as well). Projects are real world projects, not toy examples. For instance, when I was attending the Digital Marketing program at Udacity, some modules included Facebook and Google advertising. From my experience working at the Digital Marketing department of an agency, the only difference between the projects at the agency and the projects at Udacity was the amount of money spent by each student on ads. Moreover, Udacity offers one to one mentor support, a personal career coach, and career services to every student. There are numerous examples of successful students that advanced or changed their career completely through Udacity.

“Life-transforming learning experiences”

Moreover, Coursera which was founded back in 2012 by Stanford University‘s computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller is also a leading online learning platform, offering numerous courses from top Universities such as Stanford, Penn and many others and organizations such as Google and IBM, and a plethora of others, both free and paid (at an affordable low price). There are several subjects to choose from such as: Computer Science, Data Science, Information Technology, Math and Logic, Business, Health, Arts & Humanities and many more. Potential students may also pursue (full paid) Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs in fields such as Computer Science, Data Science and others. Of course there is the option to obtain a verified certificate for a relatively small fee. Since its beginning Coursera’s vision was to provide “life-transforming learning experiences to anyone, anywhere.”

“You can learn anything”

Another amazing resource for free online learning is also Khan Academy. This resource has been quite popular to mathematics students since this is how it originally started back in 2008 by Sal Khan. Today it offers courses in math for school, high school, and college, science, arts & humanities, and reading & language arts. What is amazing about Khan Academy is that it is nonprofit and relies only on donations (I encourage anyone who finds it useful to donate and help this great organization continue existing and growing). Moreover, Khan Academy recently updated its website and now provides Distance learning resources for teachers, districts, and parents to keep everyone learning. I think during the COVID19 crisis this is a huge offering to the global community.

Courtesy of Real Python

If you are a Python lover like me, and you do not already know Real Python, you need to visit at least once this wonderful Pyhon resource. I am confident one visit is enough for you to make you stick with Real Python forever.

Please feel free to watch what Mr Dan Bader has to say at the official Real Python YouTube channel about Real Python’s mission in the video below.

Courtesy of Real Python

Products offered at Real Python

Professional developers and organizations around the world level up their programming skills with Real Python‘s online Python training resources: (Source: Real Python)