How to: Jan 7, 2023
1. Happy 2023. A few years back, one of the major book publishers from New York City reached out to me about a book deal. I met with them. But was too busy running freeCodeCamp. Well, last year I finally got caught up enough to write the book. And today I published it, right on freeCodeCamp. It's now freely available to anyone who wants to learn to code and become a professional developer.

This book will teach you insights I've learned over the past decade: from my own journey into coding as a teacher in my 30s, from working as a software engineer, and from running freeCodeCamp.org.

If you're looking for a good starting point for your developer journey, this book is for you. You can read the whole thing now. (full-length book): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-to-code-book/

2. Learn Python for web development. This crash course by freeCodeCamp teacher Tomi Tokko will teach you how to use Python with SQL and web APIs. You can code along at home and build several projects with both the Django and Flask frameworks. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-use-python-for-web-development/

3. You may have heard the programming term "abstraction". But what exactly does it mean? This in-depth tutorial from software engineer Ryan Michael Kay will delve into abstraction, interfaces, protocols, and even lambda expressions. It should give you a basic grasp of these important programming concepts. (20 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-is-abstraction-in-programming-for-beginners/

4. If you enjoy listening to music, why not make some yourself? This beginners tutorial will teach you how to use a popular Digital Audio Workstation called FL Studio. In it, professional music producer Tristan Willcox will teach you about Virtual Instruments, Samples, Layers, Arrangement, Leveling, Mixing, Automation, Mastering, and more. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-produce-music-with-fl-studio/

5. Hundreds of universities around the world have made programming and computer science courses openly available on the web. My friend Dhawal has compiled 860 of these courses that you can explore. If you want, you can strap these together to build your own school year. (browsable list): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/free-online-programming-cs-courses/

Quote of the Week: *"Give someone a program, you frustrate them for a day. Teach them how to program, you frustrate them for a lifetime."* – David Leinweber, Mathematician and Berkeley Computer Science Professor