How to: Apr 5, 2024
1. In an era of powerful off-the-shelf AI tools, there's something to be said for building your own AI from scratch. And that's what you'll learn how to do in this beginner course. Dr. Radu teaches computer science at a university in Finland, and is one of freeCodeCamp's most popular instructors. He'll show you how to manually tweak neural network parameters so you can teach a car how to drive itself through a Grand Theft Auto-like sandbox playground. (4 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/understand-ai-and-neural-networks-by-manually-adjusting-paramaters/

2. Learn how to code your own playable Super Nintendo-style developer portfolio website. Instead of just reading your résumé, visitors can walk around a Legend of Zelda-like cabin and explore your work. This tutorial includes all the sprites, tiles, and other pixel art assets you need to build the finished website. Practice your JavaScript skills while building an interactive experience you can share with friends and potential employers. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/create-a-developer-portfolio-as-a-2d-game/

3. Learn Git fundamentals. freeCodeCamp just published this new handbook that will teach you how to get things done with a version control system. You'll learn how to set up your first code repository, create branches, commit code, and push changes to production. You can code along at home with this book's many tutorials, and bookmark it for future reference. (full-length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-git-basics/

4. Learn the latest version of the popular React Router JavaScript library. This course will teach you how to build Single Page Apps where your users can navigate from one React view to another without the page refreshing. You'll also get practice defining routes, passing parameters, and managing state transitions. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-react-router-v6-course

5. On this week's freeCodeCamp Podcast, I interview 100Devs founder Leon Noel. Growing up, Leon felt he needed to become a doctor in order to be considered successful. But his interest in coding inspired him to drop out of Yale and build software tools for scientists. He went through a startup accelerator, taught coding in his community, and ultimately built a Discord server with 60,000 people learning to code together. We talk about the science behind learning, and what approaches have helped his students the most. We even talk about Jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, and Leon's love of the animated X-Men show. (2 hour watch or listen in your favorite podcast app): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/100devs-founder-leon-noel-freecodecamp-podcast-interview/

Quote of the Week: *"I wrote nearly a thousand computer programs while preparing this material, because I find that I don't understand things unless I try to program them."* — Donald Knuth on all the code he wrote from scratch in researching his classic book “The Art of Computer Programming”