Dalia's Coding Course

FAQs

• Who is this for?

  I've designed this course for women who don't yet feel confident writing code or designing software. I struggled to learn all these things, and I know how hard it is for other women, especially if you don't have a STEM background.

  I can't guarantee outcomes, but if you work hard and study some of the things I learned, then you can definitely expect to become a better engineer.

• What if I don't know any programming?

  You are still welcome to attend! I will make sure everyone can keep up. If you'd like to do a bit of preparation work beforehand, here are my recommendations.

  It would help to learn:

  • How to create variables

  • How to write control statements (if/else/else if)

  • How to write loops (while/for loops)

  • How to write functions

  • Some basic data structures (lists, dictionaries)

  We will work in Python and/or JavaScript to begin with. If you don't know either of those, I recommend that you work through the first 8 chapters of this book: https://automatetheboringstuff.com/

  You don't have to complete every exercise, just make sure you understand the basic concepts. But feel free to attend either way and see how you find the classes.

• What will we learn?

  As much as possible. I'll be starting you off with the details of how some Python functions work. From there, we will be learning C, some systems programming, and then some more advanced materials. Topics will depend a bit on who is attending, but we can learn how to make graphics, video games, databases, servers, web browsers, and more.

• Can I join if I don't attend the first week?

  Yes. If you miss a few weeks, I will still make an effort to keep everyone on board. I intend to loosely structure the classes around some theory, followed by a lot of exercises. You will be writing your own code to solve certain problems, and helping your peers where you're able to.

  The best way to learn is to teach others, and I hope to incorporate that in these classes as much as possible.

• What do I need to bring?

  Just a laptop. If you'd like to take notes by hand, bring a pen and paper.

  Bring a water bottle, and snacks/food if you think you'll need it. We will be in a library, so I can't provide any catering.