Improve your Python code style in one hour each week
Hone your team's Python acumen week-by-week
Your team's Python skills could use some sharpening, but teaching software engineers isn't your full-time job. Python Morsels is here to help.
Python Morsels is not an introduction to Python, but a habit-based skill-building system for professional Python programmers. This system is based around writing Python code and reflecting on the code you've written.
Each week your team will solve one interesting Python problem and then we'll walk through notable solutions, with a focus on what makes one solution better than another. After that, you'll reflect on your learning by considering what import ideas you'd like to remember. It's sort like a reverse code review.
Three of our developers are doing Python Morsels. My biggest concern when signing up for Morsels was the time-involvement. Would it not cost too much time from my development team? The purchase was definitely worth it.
The challenges provided by Python Morsels are practical and relevant for the working software developer. The automated tests assure you're not only solving a problem, but know that it works. The solution e-mail provides a very thorough reasoning behind the chosen implementations. Also the weekly challenges are fun!
I would definitely recommend Python Morsels to others. It's a lot of fun, and includes very practical information. Thank you for providing us with the weekly Morsels, Trey. They're well worth it.
This is not a Python course
A tennis class can help you get into tennis, but experience comes from habitual practice. Python Morsels is less like a tennis class and more like weekly tennis practice.
A long-time user Python Morsels user described it as like Hannon's finger exercises for piano, but for Python
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Whether your skill is tennis, piano, or Python, the best practitioners use practice to stay sharp.
I just did my semi-annual review with my supervisor, and realized that in the six months or so I've been doing Morsels, my Python skill levels have significantly improved. I have been a programmer for over 20 years and have deep expertise in C++, Perl, and Bash, but when I signed up for Morsels, I was frustrated at the gaps in my Python knowledge, especially with all its idiosyncrasies. The weekly exercise model really works for me, and now I'm confident handling all the Python problems work throws at me, and feel confident calling myself an intermediate to advanced Python programmer.
Your time is precious and should not be wasted
YouTube has tons of Python videos and websites like Exercism and Hacker Rank have lots of free Python exercises. So why pay for Python Morsels? There's really one reason: you're trading money to save learning time.
Python Morsels has:
- No ads: you're not the product, the screencasts are
- No filler content: no ad revenue means no need for long videos
- My own expertise: I'll teach you what I know (but not what I don't)
All Access
$240 / user / yr
- Level-based recommendations
- Time-effective weekly practice
- Helpfully bite-sized hints
- Progress through reflection
A learning habit for experienced Python practitioners
As part of Python Morsels, your team will get:
- Weekly exercise recommendation emails customizable by your skill level and interest
- Access to over 150 multi-part exercises, including over 400 bonuses
- Access to over 100 micro-tutorials (about 3 minutes each)
- Gentle nudges to keep you moving forward on a regular basis
The exercises currently include practice with:
- Text processing
- Generator functions
- Decorators
- File manipulation
- First-class functions
- Command-line interfaces
- Context managers
- Immutability
- Comprehensions
- Creating custom collections and data structures
- Object-oriented Python
- Descriptors
- Binary files and streams
- Recursive functions and data structures
- Time complexity optimizations
- Metaclasses
... and lots of discussions about code-style best practices along the way!
The exercise infrastructure is great! I like the dashboard that I can show my boss and it's easy to turn Trey on during lunch and watch videos. The purchase was worth it, but I have to admit that I had my employer pay it.
I would definitely recommend Python Morsels to others. It provides a good way to level up Python skills.
What can you expect from this?
We don't learn by putting information into our heads. We learn by trying to retrieve information from our heads. That's why Python Morsels is based around writing Python code, with a focus on specific skills that are often overlooked when writing production Python code.
I seem to learn more each week for the couple of hours that I spend on these exercises than the rest of the week combined.
Learning is more effective as a team, but so is invoicing. With a Python Morsels team plan, you'll get:
- A quote for your company's internal approval process
- One simple invoice each billing cycle, with a purchase order of your choice
- The ability to pay by either credit card or bank transfer (SWIFT accepted)
- An easy dashboard showing who actively uses Python Morsels and who doesn't
I signed up for a Python Morsels subscription for my small team. The team subscription in particular is nice as it provides insight into what people are learning.
Python Morsels is nice on its own, but it's a bit difficult to link all the information altogether. If a person uses Python Morsels as a single use repository of information, they won't getting as much out of it as they could.
Once we started a weekly "learning meeting" combined with a team subscription to Python Morsels, the benefit significantly increased. Those discussions help solidify what we've learned and lead to other discussions within our team. These are valuable discussions that perhaps wouldn't have happened otherwise.
The exercises are definitely my favorite part of Python Morsels. They are challenging and varied while focusing entirely on standard library features.
The screencasts are excellent too. Python Morsels provides the same information in multiple mediums, allowing a person to learn how they learn best. There's a clear effort to make the subject matter concise and informative.
I would recommend Python Morsels to other remote teams that are looking for a way to improve team communication and chemistry. It provides the perfect subject matter to start an objective technical discussion with low stakes. This can help people be more vulnerable with their opinions and experiences which makes for great discussions.
Using Python Morsels as a discussion starter is especially beneficial when two people disagree. The disagreement will end at the conclusion of the meeting, but you're still getting practice at having a productive technical disagreement. Each party learns to see the other side and how to argue effectively for their own. Often, each party also ends up teaching the other something new, that hasn't come up yet in their day-to-day jobs.
I want to help your team feel proud of their Python skills
My name is Trey Hunner I hold remote and on-site Python training sessions for teams.
I love the hands-on learning that comes from in-person training, but I also know that a little bit of learning each week is often more effective than a lot of learning all at once. I created Python Morsels to help Python developers level-up their skills effectively.
I'm looking forward to working with you and your team!
My biggest hesitation was not knowing if it would be worth the money before signing up. It most definitely IS worth it! Deliberate practice coupled with the clear and concise explanations make it the best way to improve my Python skills.
The insightful answers Trey provides at the end, followed up with plentiful hints and links to external resources are my favourite thing about Python Morsels. Also the fact that each exercise takes no more than roughly 30 mins means that there's little excuse to procrastinate. That, coupled with the regular emails to my inbox, make for a highly effective habit for me and my team.
I recommend Python Morsels to every person I know who is either interested in learning Python, starting out in Python, or an expert at Python. No matter the level, I think everyone has something to gain from a subscription!
Ready to get access to all Python Morsels exercises?
✨ Get started with a team subscription ✨