Python has never been hotter. It’s a skill that everyone can use to improve their career — to improve your current job, or to get a great new job. So it’s a good idea to learn Python. Or if you already know it, it’s a good idea to improve your skills, to sharpen your understanding.…
The economy has been feeling a bit shaky as of late, with lots of layoffs, shakeups, and general uncertainty about what’s coming next. With the right skills, you need not be too nervous. That’s because companies are always interested in people who can help them to create new products, understand and improve the ones they’re…
Python and Pandas can improve your career. I say this all the time, partly because it’s my job (as a Python/Pandas trainer), and partly because I’ve seen how people’s lives and careers can improve with this knowledge. But what if you’re already familiar with Python and Pandas? The good news (and bad news, for that…
I’ve been blogging a lot less lately, in part because I’ve been writing more on Twitter and recording more YouTube videos. Among those YouTube videos are: Intro to Python exceptions, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilJfD65d-2Q “for” loops vs list comprehensions, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY8lD_fk0r4 Understanding the “if __name__ == ‘__main__’” line in Python modules: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf3vENkPKj8 All about Python identifiers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTxLVMFkbT8 Peeking at…
[This blog post is taken from my “Trainer Weekly” newsletter, all about the business, logistics, and pedagogy of corporate training. Given that PyCon US 2023 just opened its call for participation, I thought that this would help people interested in proposing a talk. Bottom line: Go for it!] If you’re a trainer, then your job…
I spend each day teaching Python and data science to companies around the world. From “Python for non-programmers” to day-long advanced workshops, I earn my living by helping people to improve their skills — which is great for their own careers, and great for the organizations where they currently work. However much I love teaching…
When I ask people — in my corporate training, or when they join my “Better developers” newsletter — what frustrations they have with Python, many people say that it’s object-oriented programming. Even if they have a decent background in procedural (i.e., traditional, non-OO) development, objects confuse and surprise them. That’s a shame, because the whole…
It’s that time of year — Black Friday, when everything goes on sale. At my online store, with more than 25 courses about Python, data science, Git, and regular expressions, I’m giving 30% off of the usual price. Here’s what some students have said about my courses: “This is by far the most amazing Python course I…
If I mention “decorators,” even if you’ve been programming with Python for a while, what comes to mind? To many, decorators are mysterious and powerful — and beyond the reach of mere mortals. Their @ signs pop up in all sorts of places, from “pytest” to Flask to properties… but it’s not really clear what…
Are you confused about object-oriented Python? You’re not alone. In teaching Python to companies around the world for more than 20 years, I’ve found that almost everyone is confused by Python objects: Newcomers to object-oriented programming are just plain ol’ confused — by the terminology, the syntax, and why we even need to use objects.…