Python Monthly Newsletter 💻🐍

40th issue! If you missed the previous ones, you can read all the previous issues of my monthly Python newsletter here.

If it’s your first time here… (otherwise, skip this part)

Being a Python developer is a fantastic career option. Python is now the most popular language with lots of growing job demand (especially in the fields of Web, Data Science and Machine Learning). You have many job opportunities, you can work around the world, and you get to solve hard problems.

One thing that is hard, however, is staying up to date with the constantly evolving ecosystem. You want to be a top-performing python developer, coder, programmer, software developer, but you don’t have time to select from hundreds of articles, videos and podcasts each day.

This is the best Python newsletter for you if you want to keep up-to-date with the industry and keep your skills sharp, without wasting your valuable time.

I curate and share the most important articles, news, resources, podcasts and videos of the month.

Think the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) meeting the Python world. What’s the 20% that will get you 80% of the results?

Let's dive in. Here's what you missed in March 2023 as a Python Developer…

ChatGPT Hype 🤖

You can't go anywhere this month without hearing something new about ChatGPT.

If you scroll down to the Big Tech News section, you will see that it's all ChatGPT news... but for now, what are some of the interesting things you should check out?

Things are evolving very quickly so I've compiled a list to help you stay up-to-date:

1. Watch the ChatGPT 4 launch stream.
2. Learn how ChatGPT works.
3. Build your own ChatGPT with this or with this.
4. Watch this brand new ChatGPT/LLM ZTM course.
5. Play around: ChatGPT + Code Interpreter = Magic

Python and Multiprocessing 🪴

Unless you are doing Machine Learning or using NumPy, using Python for anything performance sensitive may not be a good idea (there are better languages for that). The problem is not just GIL.

Because multithreading is not so common in python, it’s really hard to know if some external library is thread safe.

Python also supports async but a lot of libraries do not have asyncio compatibility, so you need to mix threads with asyncio which leads to a big mess.

It's a bit of a mess, but you should still read about it here.

Why Python Keeps Growing 🐍

A deep dive into why more people are using Python than ever, its key use cases, and why it’s still so popular 30+ years after it was first released.

Enjoy the read.

Django Developers Survey 🦁

What is Django up to?

4,900 Django users and enthusiasts from 248 countries and regions took the survey and here is what they said about the current state of the framework and the ecosystem around it.

Weekend Project Idea 🧰

This is going to blow your mind.

First, use this tool to use Python for building websites.

Then combine it with this library to bring stable diffusion models to web browsers. Everything runs inside the browser with no server support.

Show off to your friends and family.

A Rabbit Hole 🐇

This is a fun little rabbit hole you can go down on: Lazy recursion, with generators

Why is 3.12 So Fast? 🚄

We have covered this topic in previous issues of this newsletter, but it never hurts to repeat ourselves:

Python 3.12, the latest version of the Python programming language, is expected to bring major optimizations and improvements to the language, with a focus on enhancing the speed, performance, and stability of the interpreter. This new release is designed to make Python a more powerful and efficient tool for developers, particularly for large and complex applications.

Here is how it improves performance.

What To Automate? 🚠

Code review is the main quality gate in many software projects. Often, it also takes up a significant amount of developer time.

This brings up the question: Can we automate at least parts of it?

Can we make the review more consistent and free up some developer time by making tools do the job? Find out here.

Want A Competitive Advantage? 🎯

Want an unfair advantage in your tech career?

Consume content meant for other roles. Learning about roles you work with can provide a meaningful competitive advantage in the modern tech world.

I agree with this article... it's what helped me accelerate my career/roles when I first got started in this industry.

How Quantum Computers Work 🤿

Watch the first 10 minutes of this video. If you want to get down to the nitty gritty, then watch the whole thing and try not to have your brain explode.

How Quantum Computers Break The Internet.

Metaverse Was A Bad Idea 🎭

If you want some motivation today, spend 2 hours watching this.

This is why problem solving skills and common sense are all you need to succeed in the tech industry long term.

To be average is quite achievable and we tend to overestimate what the "average" knowledge is. To be average is to be mediocre... being in the top 10% isn't actually that hard (mileage may vary, strong opinion alert).

Enjoy the entertainment/motivation.

P.S. Meta Plans Thousands More Layoffs and Disney Eliminates Its Metaverse Division as Part of Company’s Layoffs Plan.

News Around the World 🗺

• In case anyone didn't know, NFTs didn't turn out the way people with monkey jpegs hoped.

• Was there a tech hiring bubble? Yes. It just means now you can't fake your way to a job. You'll actually need to have solid skills and knowledge to get hired (Surprised pickachu face).

• Docker is deleting Open Source organizations. Engineers lost their mind at this news, and now Docker is turning back and saying oopsie.

Big Tech News (AKA ChatGPT News) 🏢

The new hype train has entered the station. A lot of ChatGPT/AI/LLM news this past month:

• DALL-E was OpenAI’s image creator last year, which was interesting but far less impressive than Stable Diffusion or Midjourney. Following the OpenAI partnership, (Microsoft) Bing’s AI mode can now make images using DALL-E.

• Adobe announced a beta of Firefly, a generative ML tool for making images. Microsoft is getting in on the action with Microsoft Designer.

• Github (owned by Microsoft) has added GPT-4 to its existing Copilot code assistant. Meet Copilot X.

• Google announced the release of Bard, an early experiment that lets you collaborate with generative AI.

• ChatGPT also announced a ton of new things like Plugins.

Completely useless to your career but still great 🙃

• Can you land it safely? Too hard? Then use an autopilot.

• Scribble Diffusion - Turn your sketch into a refined image using AI.

Best Resource of the Month 🥽

Will ChatGPT and AI take over your job?

Maybe hear it from someone that has been through a lot in the tech space.

However, you should take note that LLMs will fundamentally change software engineering forever.

Pay attention to this space.

P.S. Here at the ZTM Academy, we're going to be introducing a lot of ChatGPT / LLM / AI content over the next few months to help keep you on top of the industry and continue to have a competitive advantage over those that are just slacking.

You can start by understanding the fundamental technology underlying ChatGPT here.

We've also already updated our DevOps Linux course with a new ChatGPT section.

More coming soon :)

Trick of the Month 🎩

Easily create styled web pages with Python: PyVibe

Thanks for reading!

See you next month everyone... also share this with your friends... pretty please! ❤️

By the way, I teach people how to code and get hired in the most efficient way possible as the Lead Instructor of Zero To Mastery Academy. You can see a few of our courses below or see all ZTM courses here.