How to: Dec 20, 2022
1. Programming is a skill that can help you blast your imagination out into the real world. This book – by software engineer and freeCodeCamp teacher Estefania – will give you a strong conceptual foundation in programming. You'll learn about binary, and how computers “think.” (More on this in the Quote of the Week below.) You'll also learn how to communicate with computers through code, so they can do your bidding. This book is an excellent starting point to share with friends and family who want to learn more about technology. (full-length book): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-is-programming-tutorial-for-beginners/

2. Learn JavaScript by coding your own card game. This course is taught by one of freeCodeCamp's most experienced teachers. Gavin has worked as a software engineer for two decades, and it really comes through in his teaching. You can code along at home while you watch this, and build your own responsive web interface for the game. You'll use plain vanilla JavaScript to flip, shuffle, and deal cards from your deck. Once you're finished, you'll have a fun project to show your friends. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/improve-your-javascript-skills-by-coding-a-card-game/

3. And if you're a bit more experienced with JavaScript, I encourage you to learn the powerful Next.js web development framework. freeCodeCamp uses Next.js in several of our apps. And it's steadily growing in popularity. This course – taught by Alicia Rodriguez – will teach you Next.js fundamentals. You'll learn about server-side rendering, API routing, and data fetching. You'll even deploy your app to the cloud. (5 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-next-js-tutorial/

4. You may have heard about GPT-3, DALL-E, and other powerful uses of artificial intelligence. But what if you want to code your own AI? You'll want to start with something simple. In this tutorial, you'll learn about the Minimax algorithm, and how you can use it to create an game AI that always wins or ties at tic-tac-toe. (15 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/build-an-ai-for-two-player-turn-based-games/

5. Did you know you can use your command line as a calculator? If you open your terminal in Mac or Linux (or in Windows Subsystem for Linux) you can type equations, and then your computer will solve them for you – usually in just a few milliseconds. This is handy if you are fast at typing and don't want to use a spreadsheet or click around in a calculator. This tutorial will show you some of the key syntax and features for crunching numbers right in the command prompt. (12 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/solve-your-math-equation-on-terminal/

Quote of the Week: *"The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim."* — Edsger Dijkstra, Mathematician and Computer Scientist