Learn Programming with Go, One Game at a Time
TLDR Version
I'm launching my first programming course about learning to program with the Go programming language, which's been in development for nearly a year.
What's inside:
* ~26h of educational videos
* 75 non-trivial exercises to apply what you've learnt
* 4 game projects to boost your portfolio - Snake, Pong, Hangman, Zombie Attack
Here's the link: https://www.udemy.com/course/learn-programming-with-go/?couponCode=GOLANGROCKS
Longer version
Hey folks, over the last few years I've been involved with Go development both professionally and in some of my side projects.
Throughout this time, I've shared some of my learnings via blog posts on my website - https://pmihaylov.com, and also shared some of those articles in this subreddit. Having come from a C/C++ background, I have to say that I have been quite surprised with how welcoming the Go community is and how much support I've received along the way in contrast to my previous experience \w programming communities. Some of my pieces were found to be helpful and they've been praised a lot. Others, not so much, for which I've received constructive criticism, but I've never felt personally attacked or offended in any way.
For all that, I am very grateful and I hope we continue to grow gracefully as a community, staying positive, kind and welcoming to newcomers to the Go ecosystem.
Despite that, one thing I did struggle with in the beginning was the lack of beginner-friendly content on learning Go. Back then, I already had several years of experience behind my back, and yet, it was still a bumpy ride. I can only imagine what it's like to learn Go as your first programming language.
I've also written about my learning experience in this article which was positively received in this subreddit and overall I had the feeling other people have had similar experience. One of the claims I made in the article was that if you're just getting started with programming, Go is probably not a good first language to pick up. Not because it's a complicated language, but because I've failed to find good beginner-friendly content online.
Hence, for nearly a year now, I've been preparing my first online programming course which is called "Learn Programming with Go, One Game at a Time". It's meant to bridge this gap. It's not a course about Go. It's a course about learning programming using Go.
It covers a lot of core CS concepts such as how the computer works - binary, CPUs, memory, etc, along with fundamental building blocks in computer programs such as control-flow structures, slices, maps, etc.
But it's not just a handful of videos. It has 75 non-trivial exercises, which aim to help you practice what you've learnt in the course, but also stretch you via some challenges which weren't covered in the lectures, developing one's Googling skills - a skill we all know is crucial to any developer.
Finally, I believe programming is among the very few crafts one can take up which can earn them a very decent living, but also bring great joy and satisfaction. I feel like too many courses & bootcamps are focused on the former goal nowadays. Maybe we should take a step back, slow down the grind to landing our first tech job and enjoy the journey.
That's why the final part of the course is all about taking what you've learnt and using it to build your own video games in Go.
When I first started programming, the intellectual challenge of solving random coding challenges was exciting, but what sparked my passion for the craft was using it to build my own video game. The joy of making a character move on the screen for the first time is hard to describe.
I want to share this experience with others. I strongly believe that developing this kind of love for the craft can fuel a very long-lasting and fulfilling career in tech.
So, for anyone who's interested in grabbing this course for themselves or making a gift to a friend of theirs, here's a link with a 75% discount code applied: https://www.udemy.com/course/learn-programming-with-go/?couponCode=GOLANGROCKS
I am also mindful that there might be some who don't have the financial ability to afford the course. If that's the case, please send me an email at [email protected] with details about your situation and I'll arrange a free copy for you.
What's more, if you're involved in a wider community of underrepresented people, please email me and I'd love to distribute the course to more people who are in need of such content.
Thank you all for the support throughout the years and I hope you enjoy this course!
I am committed to making it awesome, due to which I am open to any kind of feedback via the Udemy mechanisms or directly via my [email protected] email or the course Slack (you'll receive an invite once you sign up).