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Graduation at Hogwarts and Other Python Stories | August in Review

August is a quiet month, right? Well, not at The Python Coding Stack and Breaking the Rules, my two Substacks. On The Python Coding Stack, I experimented with some different styles of articles. The month started with The Mayor of Py Town's Local Experiment: A Global Disaster. This is Py Town looks like (thanks to… Continue reading Graduation at Hogwarts and Other Python Stories | August in Review

Lots of Special Methods. And a Special Article | July in Review

I was expecting this month's review to cover fewer articles than previous months. It is July, after all. But then, I launched my second Substack last month, Breaking the Rules, which means I now have two sets of articles coming out every month. It may not have been the smartest move to launch the new… Continue reading Lots of Special Methods. And a Special Article | July in Review

More Python Magic and More Stories | June in Review

What a month. June has been very busy. And that's an understatement. Where shall I start? Interviews and Podcasts I was honoured to be invited to two interviews in June. Mike Driscoll, one of the leading figures in the world of Python communication, kindly invited me as one of the first guests on his new… Continue reading More Python Magic and More Stories | June in Review

Breaking the Rules — My Thoughts on Narrative Technical Writing

If you read my Python articles regularly—and thank you if you do—you'll know that I try to present content from a somewhat different perspective. I don't like writing classic "textbook-type" tutorials and articles. I've been reading and thinking a lot about my writing over the years. I've decided to start journaling those ideas and thoughts,… Continue reading Breaking the Rules — My Thoughts on Narrative Technical Writing

From Classes to Turtles via Functools and more | May in Review

I kept myself quite busy May. Not only did I finish running the first The Python Coding Programme cohort and starting running the second. I published seven new articles on The Python Coding Stack. Here's a roundup: The second and third Years at Hogwarts School of Codecraft and Algorithmancy are now out. Year 2 deals… Continue reading From Classes to Turtles via Functools and more | May in Review

Introducing The Stack, From Harry Potter and OOP to Data Structures | April in Review

The Python Coding Place is taking shape nicely. I'm doing a rolling launch, making bits of it available as they're ready. The "official launch" will happen when we launch the website and give The Place its visual look and feel. However, the look and feel of the content at The Python Coding Place is clear… Continue reading Introducing The Stack, From Harry Potter and OOP to Data Structures | April in Review

The Python Coding Programme: A Live Course for Beginners With Small Cohorts & Active Mentoring

The Python Coding Programme logo

Writing on these pages is not enough. I want to meet you, interact with you, answer your questions, discover new things with you. That's why I'm launching The Python Coding Programme. It's not just any Python beginner's course—it's an active mentoring programme with live sessions. It has very small groups and a private forum to… Continue reading The Python Coding Programme: A Live Course for Beginners With Small Cohorts & Active Mentoring

What’s a Python Sequence? [Python Data Structure Series #2]

Image of wooded boxes — used in article on Python sequences

Note: This article has now moved here: Sequences in Python (Data Structure Categories #2) – Sequences are different from iterables • Part 2 of the Data Structure Categories Series Here's an introduction to the article: You started your journey through Python's main data structure categories in the first article in this series, which dealt with… Continue reading What’s a Python Sequence? [Python Data Structure Series #2]

What’s a Python Iterable? [Python Data Structure Series #1]

Old boxes - image used in Python data structure series

Note: This article has now moved here: Iterable: Python's Stepping Stones – What makes an iterable iterable? Part 1 of the Data Structure Categories Series Here's an introduction to the article: You're familiar with data structures such as lists, dictionaries, tuples, sets, and more. You may even know about the similarities and differences between their… Continue reading What’s a Python Iterable? [Python Data Structure Series #1]

Anatomy of a 2D Game using Python’s turtle and Object-Oriented Programming

2D Python game

When I was young, we played arcade games in their original form on tall rectangular coin-operated machines with buttons and joysticks. These games had a resurgence as smartphone apps in recent years, useful to keep one occupied during a long commute. In this article, I'll resurrect one as a 2D Python game and use it… Continue reading Anatomy of a 2D Game using Python’s turtle and Object-Oriented Programming