How to: Aug 16, 2024
1. freeCodeCamp just published a comprehensive guide to the Amazon Web Services Developer Associate certification exam. If you're interested in learning some DevOps and cloud computing, this course will prepare you to earn this popular cert. Andrew Brown is a CTO who has passed dozens of similar cloud cert exams. He'll teach you all about AWS EC2, S3, Lambda, DynamoDB, and other key cloud computing tools. (81 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/ultimate-aws-certified-developer-associate-dva-c02-course-from-andrew-brown/

2. Most machine learning these days is done with Python, but there are some JavaScript libraries for building AI systems as well. ml5.js is a developer-friendly open source library that's built on top of Google's TensorFlow. This crash course will teach you key concepts, and how to use an open dataset from Kaggle to code your first model. (1 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-ml5js-for-machine-learning-in-javascript/

3. This week on the freeCodeCamp Podcast, I interview Angie Jones, a test engineer and inventor who holds 27 software patents. She's worked at companies like IBM and Twitter, doing both test engineering and developer advocacy. We talk about how a bad performance review from a boss early in her career taught her to be less timid and more vocal about her ideas. We also talk about her love of virtual worlds like Second Life, and how she uses AI to debug code. (2 hour watch or listen in your favorite podcast app): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/developer-and-inventor-with-27-software-patents-angie-jones-interview-134/

4. Developers often build small chunks of reusable code called Components. And at some point it makes sense to pull these together into a full-blown Component Library. This tutorial will give you a solid understanding of what Component Libraries are, their history, and how they differ from Design Systems. You'll learn how to wield the power of Component Libraries for yourself, so you can avoid rewriting code that other devs have written so many times before, and instead focus on the novel work to be done. (40 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-is-a-component-library-when-to-build-your-own/

5. Learn Control Theory by building a rocket control system. You're going to be sending real rockets up into space and making sure they don't explode. Just kidding – freeCodeCamp doesn't have the budget for that. So you'll have to use a bit of imagination here. This tutorial will teach you Control Theory concepts like Signal Input, Signal Processing, and Feedback. You'll learn about PID controllers, Transfer Functions, Nyquist Plots, and more. Have fun and don't blow up any expensive satellites in the process. (20 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/basic-control-theory-with-python/

Quote of the Week: *"The first step of any project is to grossly underestimate its complexity and difficulty."* — Nicoll Hunt, programmer and game developer