How to: June 7, 2025
1. freeCodeCamp just published our first-ever chemistry course. Over the years we've published hundreds of courses on math and computer science, and we're gradually adding other academic subjects as well. This is an excellent starting point for beginners, and a great refresher for folks who want to get back into learning chemistry. Chad, the instructor, has taught chemistry for more than 15 years. He'll teach you the absolute basics of matter, chemical bonding, and scientific notation. Then you'll dive into more intermediate topics like thermodynamics, kinetics, and electrochemistry. (35 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/general-chemistry-college-course/

2. Learn low-level game development by building your own Candy Crush-style match-3 video game using the C programming language. That's right – instead of using a powerful game engine like Unreal or Unity 3D, you're going to use some of the most fundamental tools imaginable. You'll implement the core game logic, detect player input, and even add bursts of animation using the Raylib graphics library. This is a fun way to spend an afternoon while getting reps with the world's most widely run language. (1 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/c-game-development-with-raylib/

3. On this week's podcast, I interview software engineer and O'reilly programming book author Joe Attardi about the many changes he's seen during his 21 years in industry. He talks about how AI tools are changing development, and how he thinks devs with a strong foundation in computer science are best positioned to fully leverage these tools. Joe's one chill, humble dude. I had a blast learning from him. And I think you will, too. (1 hour watch or listen in your favorite podcast app): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-survive-in-tech-when-everythings-changing-w-21-year-veteran-dev-joe-attardi-podcast-174/

4. freeCodeCamp published a couple handbooks this week, too. This first one will teach you how to build your own AI agents using open source tools like LangChain and LangGraph. You'll learn about automation workflows, agent loops, multi-agent collaboration, and more. (full-length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/the-open-source-llm-agent-handbook/

5. And this second handbook will take you on a deep dive into the world of Front End Monitoring. You'll learn how to collect performance data, error data, user behavior data, then make sense of these insights through modern reporting tools. If you're serious about leveling up your full stack development skills, I think you'll find this to be well worth reading. (full-length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/the-front-end-monitoring-handbook/

Quote of the Week: *"Computer Science fundamentals are more important than ever. As a software engineer, I want to understand things. I don’t like just taking stuff at face value. I want to know why it works and what’s going on behind the scenes."* —  21-year industry veteran Joe Attardi on this week's freeCodeCamp podcast