Planetpostgres on Janusworx

Learning Backend WebDev, Log #6 - Focus Followup

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 19:18:48 +0530

Today, I did not quite care how much progress I made.
Instead I focussed on getting my focus periods in, like I described yesterday.

It’s about an hour earlier than when I usually call it a day.
And yet, now that I am checking, I have ‘worked’ fewer actual hours than usual.
And I have gotten a bit of exercise and housework done too!
(This does not usually happen on a normal study day)

What I did
#

Set a timer for 30 minutes.
Got to work. Butt in seat.
If I got distracted, I’d reset the timer to 30 minutes and start again. The aborted session would not count.
Tried to be patient with myself. Realised that doing things over, was not really a negative, if it meant that in the long run I’d be able to focus better.

How I fared
#

I did six, 30 minute sessions of Django.
I did three, 30 minute sessions of Postgres.
Don’t think I could have lasted this long, if it was just Django.
Had to scratch and start over six times.
Ended up doing close to 4 and a half hours of focussed Deep Work.

What I learnt
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Learnt about tables in Postgres and did basic commands with a single table
Learnt about forms in Django and how they are built and all the niceties Django provides.
Worked through some exercises in Django, where I built forms and then hooked it up to models using Views.
Then learnt just how much time and effort Django saves me by using generic ClassViews.
Also got into a rhythm of doing stuff, blowing Django up, looking at the error, figuring it out and then going on the next blowup.

What I feel
#

Did a whole day today, after yesterday’s run
Tired, but not exhausted.
Still feel energetic enough to write this blog post
Actually love this time, when I can sit peacefully and write. All I need now, to complete this setting is a glass of cheap Goan port.
I don’t feel rushed.
At four and a half hours, it might feel like I spent less time, but I got much more done than I do in a eight hour day. I realise that the tiny rest periods in between are doing me good. The first few breaks, I kept checking all my feeds. By afternoon, I had settled down to either doing small chores or just enjoying the solitude as I did gentle physical stretches

If I can do 30 minute stretches at will this week, I’ll increase them to 45 minutes next week.
Here’s to hoping, this is a sustainable way to focus and learn lots daily.

Learning Backend WebDev, Log #4 - Beginning to Learn PostgreSQL

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 16:15:18 +0530

Like I mentioned the other day, Django is driving me batty!

Ok, I cannot completely blame Django.
A dental procedure has left me in quite a bit of pain and unable to focus.

So I was wondering what else I could do, instead of Django and decided I’d learn PostgreSQL.
I was tickled pink when I read that Postgres is actually Post Ingres.
I am old enough to remember Ingres databases that ran on computers I supported as a junior hardware engineer in the late 90s. I was warned not to ever touch the database machine unless I was supervised :P
I also attended seminars for another ‘Post Ingres’ database called NonstopSQL in the early oughts when I worked with Compaq as a support engineer for their laptops. Engineers would have open sessions. But what did a boy servicing laptops have to do with Tandem machines? How did they let me attend? That I will never know. Just that I found them fascinating :)

Now it all comes full circle when I actually need to learn about databases.
And what better database to learn than Postgres? :)

All those random videos about Postgres the other day, led me to the University of Michigan’s, PostgreSQL for Everybody Specialization.
Dr Chuck Severance is an engaging instructor, so I promptly signed up.

I’ll log the journey and what I learn, here in the days to come.

So long, for now!

Learning Backend WebDev, Log #2

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 19:55:43 +0530

I miss writing about what I learn.
So I am going to try and begin again.

I was too focussed on trying to learn all the stuff as quickly as possible, so I can go job hunt.
But I realise, I need to strike some sort of balance between learning slow enough, so that I can learn and document and enjoy vs going full tilt to finish up the blocks that I need.

One good thing that I’ve figured out for myself though is that I would love to use Python to do web stuff.
Ergo, I’d like to be a Python backend developer.
To that end, I am learning Python and Django and HTML and CSS and Postgres and I want to learn Flask and FastAPI and some low level network engine like Twisted.
Writing this, I realise there is no end to what I want to learn.
And once again, I need to strike a balance between what I’d want and love to learn vs what is actually needed to land a job that pays the bills, at least to begin with.
I’ve been on a learning rampage the past month, and I have learnt lots, but something niggles me.
My mind hates it when it cannot quite make out the shape of the thing it’s learning.
When I don’t have a mental model of it in my head.

So this post is kind of clearing out my head, to see where I am at.

Python, I consider myself a slow writer, but now I understand gosh darn nearly everything I lay my eyes on. I can read Python.
I need to practice writing a lot more to gain fluency. But I am comfortable with the language. Like I mentioned above, I have the shape of Python in my head. I know what it feels like, how to intuit things, and what the entire Python continent looks like and the areas that I’m comfortable with.
HTML & CSS, I’ve learnt enough to be dangerous. Once again, I know what’s involved, and the areas that I need to work on.
JavaScript, is something I need to work on. If I want to become a web developer, then this is a skill I need to have. I’ve learnt the basics. But I need to figure out what this world looks like.
Django, is what I am trying to learn currently and it’s driving me bananas. It has so many moving parts. This feels like learning Python basics all over again. Hopefully the CS50W course that I’m doing will help me gain perspective.
PostgreSQL, is the final piece of what will make me think that I have the basics in place. I’ve just begun learning this today, as a break from Django. I’ll go mad otherwise. Let’s see how this pans out.

All the rest can wait.
So anything I learn about any of these things in the days going forward, I’ll write about how it felt and what I understood, over here.

Wish me luck!

Planetpostgres on Janusworx

Learning Backend WebDev, Log #6 - Focus Followup

What I did #

How I fared #