How to: Feb 23, 2024
1. Data Structures and Algorithms are tools that developers use to solve problems. DS&A are a huge chunk of what you learn in a computer science degree program. And they come up all the time in developer job interviews. This in-depth course is taught by a Google engineer, and will teach you the key concepts of Time Complexity, Space Complexity, and Asymptotic Notation. Then you'll get tons of practice by coding dozens of the most common DS&A using the popular Java programming language. (48 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-data-structures-and-algorithms-2/

2. Many of the recent breakthroughs in AI are thanks to advances in Deep Learning. In this intermediate-level handbook, Data Scientist Tatev Aslanyan will teach you the fundamentals of Deep Learning and Artificial Neural Networks. She'll give you a solid foundation that you can use as a springboard into the more advanced areas of machine learning. You'll learn about Optimization Algorithms, Vanishing Gradient Problems, Sequence Modeling, and more. (full-length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/deep-learning-fundamentals-handbook-start-a-career-in-ai/

3. The Document Object Model (DOM) is like a big Christmas tree that you hang ornament-like HTML elements on. This front-end development handbook will teach you how the DOM works, and how you can use it to make interactive web pages. You'll learn about DOM Traversal, Class Manipulation, Event Bubbling, and other key concepts. (full-length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/javascript-in-the-browser-dom-and-events/

4. On this week's episode of the freeCodeCamp Podcast, I interview Jessica Wilkins, an orchestral musician from Los Angeles turned software engineer. We talk about how ridiculously competitive the world of classical music is, and how it gave her the mental toughness that she needed to learn to code. Jessica ultimately turned down contracts from Disney and other music industry titans so that she could focus on transitioning into tech. She was a prolific volunteer contributor to the freeCodeCamp codebase and core curriculum, and now works on our team. I think you'll dig our conversation – especially if you're interested in the overlap between music and technology. (2.5 hour listen in your browser or favorite podcast app): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/podcast-jessica-wilkins-classical-music-learning-to-code/

5. Finally, if you have Spanish-speaking friends, tell them about this new CSS Flexbox course that we just published. freeCodeCamp now has tons of courses in Spanish, along with a weekly Spanish podcast – all available on our freeCodeCamp Español channel. (1 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-css-flexbox-in-spanish-course-for-beginners/

Quote of the Week: *"Less than 10% of code has to do with the ostensible purpose of a system. The rest deals with input-output, data validation, data structure maintenance, and other housekeeping."* — Mary Shaw, Software Engineer and Carnegie Mellon Computer Science Professor