Episodes

  • Welcome back to the Pybites Podcast! This week, Julian talks with Tanner Martin, a Python developer and valued graduate and community member of our Pybites Developer Mindset (PDM) program.

    In this episode, Tanner shares insights on productivity, mindset, and personal growth.

    He reflects on his journey to transform his productivity approach, reduce anxiety through weekly planning, and embrace self-kindness.

    Tanner and Julian also dive into strategies for setting priorities, managing time, balancing personal and professional life, and share book recommendations.

    Plus, hear about Tanner's current project with his coach Robin in the PDM program.

    Whether you’re a developer or simply looking for ways to improve your time management, this episode offers practical tips for achieving more with less stress.

    Chapters:
    00:00 Intro
    01:15 Meet Tanner
    03:06 Wins of the week
    05:08 Tanner's productivity before PDM
    08:18 Applying Pybites productivity course lessons
    11:18 How to manage productivity in a corporate environment
    13:40 How do you manage priorities?
    16:16 What about sound habits?
    18:20 PDM coaching ad segment
    18:50 Planning, tracking and managing distractions
    23:20 Impact for Tanner of increased productivity
    26:30 What are you building in PDM?
    29:08 Rapid fire productivity tips
    32:13 Book tips
    35:20 Reach out to Tanner
    36:15 Wrap + outro

    Book tip:
    - Extreme Ownership

    Reach out to Tanner:
    - On Circle
    - On LinkedIn

    Do you want to seriously upskill in Python and as a developer? Check out our PDM program

  • Welcome back to the Pybites podcast! Today we have some really exciting news: we’ve just launched our brand-new coding platform!

    Check it out here.

    After nearly 7 years and almost 50K sign-ups on v1 (codechalleng.es), the design started to show its age. That’s why we did a complete overhaul to create our new 2.0 platform. It's faster, cleaner, more responsive, and more affordable.

    In this episode, Bob and Julian discuss why v2 is such a big improvement, the motivation behind the rewrite, behind-the-scenes insights into how it all came together, some technical challenges we faced, and one of our most exciting new features: parity pricing (pricing in your local currency based on where you live).

    Enjoy, and we hope to see you coding more Python with us on the new platform!

    Chapters:
    00:00 Intro
    02:00 PyBites Platform 2.0!
    02:46 Platform’s history
    05:10 How v2 came about: ruthless minimalism
    08:10 Why v2 is faster and more responsive
    12:02 Challenges of migrating from v1 to v2
    14:20 Seamless design improvements
    17:40 Parity pricing: making it more affordable
    24:05 Humble bundles now available on v2
    25:00 Roadmap and Julian’s use of GitHub Issues!
    27:44 Wrap up

    Don’t forget to join our Python developer community

    And feel free to reach out to us with any feedback or questions on Circle or LinkedIn:

    - Bob: Circle / LinkedIn
    - Julian: Circle / LinkedIn

    Thanks for listening, and we’ll be back next week!

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  • "The sooner you make your first five thousand mistakes, the sooner you will be able to correct them." - The Natural Way to Draw - Kimon Nicoliades

    Jeff Haemer’s career spans over five decades, and in this episode, he openly talks about his continuous passion for learning and solving interesting problems.

    We talk about his experience teaching computer science with almost no prior knowledge, his love for Unix, how he landed a job at Twitter in his late sixties, and why he believes networking is key to landing jobs.

    Jeff also generously shared his list of books he keeps going back to for inspiration and wisdom.

    If you’ve ever felt stuck or uncertain in your tech career, Jeff’s journey will inspire you to take bold steps, embrace failure and adopt a persistent mindset to succeed at work and in life.

    Reach out to Jeff or us if you like this conversation, thanks for listening.
    - Jeffrey Haemer
    - Pybites community

    Chapters:
    00:00 Introduction, welcome Jeff
    03:33 Wins: learning Rust / Pybites Rust platform
    08:10 Jeff’s journey: from punch cards to modern programming
    16:20 Random luck vs being prepared (networking!)
    20:04 What's great about Unix, what makes it timeless?
    25:05 How to learn and making engaging presentations
    29:21 Persistent mindset, embracing failure (it's inevitable!)
    33:37 PDM ad segment
    34:02 Jeff's favorite books
    44:11 Practical SW dev vs book learning
    46:35 Wrap up and CTA

    ---
    Jeff's reading list:

    * Current audiobooks
    - J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter y La Piedra Filosofal
    - Robert Galbraith's The Ink Black Heart

    * Paper
    - The Living Talmud
    - Edward Frenkel Love and Math
    - Tulsi Gabbard For Love of Country

    * Daily Reads
    - Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic
    - The Holy Bible

    * PDM books (useful advice + inspiration)
    - Kimon Nicoliades, The Natural Way to Draw
    - Eric Temple Bell, Men of Mathematics - There is no one, true path.
    - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (I recommend All Minus One, which is just Mill's arguments on free speech, and only about 30 pages).
    - Plutarch, Life of Caesar - Caesar was assassinated; when I read this, I was amazed that he lived long enough to get assassinated.
    - Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn - “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.” – Ernest Hemingway)
    - Bob Drury & Tom Clavin, The Last Stand of Fox Company - Marines
    - Jim Watson, The Double Helix
    - Kernighan & Plauger, Software Tools (not "... in Pascal") - Perhaps the best practical book ev

  • Welcome back everybody! This week we have another exciting podcast episode, this time with Claudio Jolowicz, well known for his "Hypermodern Python" article series which he recently turned into a book.

    We dive into what Hypermodern Python means, uv's current quick rise, Nox, 80/20 tooling for (beginner) Python devs, Rust, mindset, and last but not least, some good book tips.

    We hope you enjoy this interview with Claudio and make sure to check out his great materials.

    Chapters:
    00:00 Intro episode
    01:42 Intro Claudio
    02:44 Music background
    04:21 Hypermodern Python
    08:20 uv rapid develment
    10:20 Making uv default tool
    12:56 Nox for local CI
    15:20 Hypermodern Python, the book
    19:57 80/20 tooling for beginners
    22:37 PDM ad segment
    23:03 uv making it easier
    25:02 Cloudflare and Rust
    27:33 Developer mindset and persistence
    30:23 Book tips
    32:25 Design patterns and TDD
    33:40 Monkeypatching and dependency injection
    37:12 Final CTA and wrap up

    Links:
    - Hypermodern Python article series
    - Hypermodern Python book
    - NOX vs TOX – WHAT are they for & HOW do you CHOOSE? 🐍
    - Harry Percival's Stop using mocks video
    - Book tip #1 - The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier
    - Book tip #2 - Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann
    - Book tip #3 - Architecture Patterns with Python by Harry Percival and Bob Gregory
    - Claudio's GitHub and X

  • In this episode, we reconnect with the Pixi team after our last conversation in November 2023 to dive back into the world of Python packaging, with a special focus on the latest advancements in Pixi.

    Joining us are Tim and Ruben, both of whom bring their unique expertise in robotics and game development. Ruben shares his experience contributing to conda-forge, pixi and Python package management in general.

    We explore recent enhancements to Pixi, including its integration with VS Code, the evolution of pyproject.toml support, and the addition of PyPI dependency resolution along with Conda.

    We also discuss the current state of Pixi for enterprises, touching on its readiness for production and enterprise-specific features like package registries.

    The conversation also delves into how pixi resolves issues reported by the community, such as platform-specific Pixi.lock file regeneration - and how developers can contribute to the open source ecosystem.

    Finally, we look ahead to the future, discussing the team's vision for Python packaging over the next one to five years.

    Tune in for a deep dive into the present and future of Python packaging, packed with personal stories and expert insights.

    --

    Links:
    - Prefix-dev
    - Add pixi as an workflow/package manager PR
    - Our PDM coaching program

  • In this episode Bob chats with David Hewitt, passionate Python and Rust programmer, core maintainer of PyO3, and part of the Pydantic team.

    PyO3 lets you write a native Python module in Rust, or to embed Python in a Rust binary. David shares his journey of getting involved and how this tool set helps Python programmers integrate with Rust more easily.

    We talk about how PyO3 helped the Pydantic v2 Rust integration, how to design for a great developer experience, the mindset of dealing with complex issues, PyPI getting more packages with Rust, how to best learn Rust and more.

    Enjoy and let us know when you give PyO3 (and maturin) a try ...



    Reach out to David:
    https://github.com/davidhewitt
    (additional social media links there)

    Ad segment: Pybites PDM coaching program:
    https://pybit.es/catalogue/the-pdm-program/

    Join our community:
    https://pybites.circle.so

  • A brief description for the time being for episode 168:

    In this episode Julian interviews Joao Pedro Chaib (JP), a Software Engineer based in Sydney, Australia. JP achieved what so many people dream of every day: transitioning from another industry into the Tech Industry, all while moving countries!

    Listen to JP's story where he shares the journey, the many mindset hurdles that he overcame along the way, and tips for others looking to make this change. As always, mindset plays a BIG part!

    If you'd like to follow JP you can catch him here:

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joao-pedro-chaib-39839915a/

    Instagram: @jotachaib

    Github: https://github.com/jpchaib

    Learn more about _nology, the company that supported JP on his journey in Sydney: https://nology.io/

    Join the Pybites Community here: https://pybites.circle.so

    Learn more about Pybites' Coaching here: https://pybit.es

  • In this episode Blaise Pabon shares his experience joining a Code Reading Club and how it helped him improve as a developer.

    He hosted one in PDM last week and it was a cool experience, a great exercise to better read unfamiliar code and to learn from each other in a group setting.

    Enjoy this insightful conversation with Blaise ...

    Resources:

    Code Reading Club website

    Felienne Hermans' work:
    - The Programmer's Brain (also discussed with AJ here)
    - Code Reading Club

    Connect with Blaise:
    - Pybites Community
    - LinkedIn
    - GitHub
    - Fosstodon

    Ad segment: PDM developer coaching program.

  • In our new podcast episode we explore the importance of asking for help and pushing through the fear in order to do so.

    We delve into how sharing your expertise can create valuable reciprocal relationships and emphasize the benefits of asking questions, especially for junior developers.

    We share personal anecdotes, highlighting how overcoming fear and leveraging your network can propel your career forward, in all professional endeavors really.

    As usual we also talk about wins and books.

    Join our Python Community here
    Join our flagship coaching PDM program here

  • Welcome back to our Pybites podcast. In this exciting episode we talk again with Kelly Schuster-Paredes about teaching Python, Pycon's education summit, how we are all learners and teachers, AI in education and for learning, how coding / programming skills evolve your brain far beyond their initial aim, exciting tech trends, mindset, wins and books. Phew that is a whole lot so make sure you tune in and get inspired!

    Welcome back to the Pybites podcast. In this exciting episode, we reconnect with Kelly Schuster-Paredes to discuss the dynamic world of teaching Python.

    We delve into PyCon's education summit, the dual roles of learners and teachers, and the transformative power of AI in education.

    Discover how coding skills can evolve your brain, explore the latest tech trends, and gain insights into the right mindset for developers.

    Plus, Kelly shares her recent wins and book recommendations. There's a lot to unpack in this episode, so tune in and get inspired!

    ---
    Teaching Python podcast

    Book tip: Artificial Artifacts

    Reach out to Kelly:
    - X
    - LinkedIn

  • Welcome back to the Pybites podcast! This week, we delve into six common pitfalls that Python developers face and offer insights on how to gain control and influence in your programming career.

    Tune in for tips on networking, continuous learning, developing good habits, showcasing your work, bouncing back from failed interviews, and the importance of community.

    Check out our PDM coaching
    If you're more beginner, check out PDI first

    Join our Pybites Community

    Rust:
    - Exercises
    - Bob's blog

    Kids book tip:
    - The Anxious Generation

  • Join our community here
    Become a better developer through our coaching
    ---

    Join host Bob as he sits down with Andrew Farr, a seasoned data engineer, to explore his career trajectories, triumphs, and challenges.

    In this episode, Andrew shares his recent transition from the US to the UK, landing a new data job, and the daily grind of becoming a data engineer.

    From adopting a growth mindset to honing his Python skills, Andrew reveals the secrets behind his success. Dive deep into his passion for data analysis, content creation, and the importance of self-promotion in the tech industry.

    But it's not all about code. Discover Andrew's diverse interests beyond the screen, from photography to historical conservation projects. Join us as we uncover the importance of continuous learning, non-coding activities, and the encouragement needed to pursue your dreams in the world of tech.

    Tune in for invaluable insights, practical advice, and a dose of inspiration to fuel your own data journey.

    Chapters:
    00:00 Intro snippet and music
    01:00 Andrew Farr intro and win of the week
    02:25 Experience of new job
    03:18 1% per day improvement compounding
    03:56 Only compare to your yesterday's self
    04:36 Python journey and mindset
    07:08 Always be coding + PDM challenge mindset
    09:00 What fascinates you about data?
    10:32 Some of your data projects (link with history)
    12:25 Sharing work and current projects
    14:07 PDM ad segment
    14:33 Newsletter and consistency
    15:34 How do you come up with interesting ideas
    17:30 Critical thinking and the data analyst mindset
    19:10 Importance of online presence for a developer
    20:05 Does it become easier over time?
    21:16 Additional mindset tips / selling yourself
    23:15 Influence of non-coding skills
    25:07 Book tips
    26:42 Final shout-out / piece of advice
    27:51 Wrap out and outro music

    Andrew's LinkedIn and newsletter

    Books:
    - Elizabeth's Spymaster
    - Data Engineering with Google Cloud Platform

    ---
    Subscribe here to not miss any future episode! 🐍 💡 📈

    Ad segment: PDM, become a more capable and confident developer in 12 weeks 💪 - more info

  • In this episode we share our experience + takeaways from attending Pycon US 2024.

    * correction: where Bob said "Hablemos Español" he actually referred to: http://hablemospython.dev


    ---
    Join our Python community here.
    ---

    Books:
    - Scarecrow
    - Four Thousand Weeks
    - Algorithms
    - Build a Large Language Model (From Scratch)

  • In this episode of the Pybites Podcast, hosts Bob Belderbos dives into the essential components you need for a successful public Python project on GitHub.

    From organizing your code and creating a standout README.md to setting up automated tests and ensuring your project is contribution-friendly, he covers everything to help you build a robust and collaborative Python project.

    Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, these tips will enhance your project's usability, maintainability, and community engagement.

    Join the discussion and learn how to set a solid foundation for your open-source projects ...

    Mentioned / related links:
    - Starting a Python project - poetry, pip-tools, git + GitHub, package or not?
    - Using pip-tools to manage Python dependencies
    - Increase Python code quality with pre-commit
    - How to handle environment variables in Python
    - How to test a Python project against multiple versions using tox
    - What are Makefiles and why + how to use them in your Python projects

  • Join our Pybites Community for free here
    We coach people with their Python, developer and mindset skills, more info here.
    ---

    This week we have an exciting interview with Pydantic's creator Samuel Colvin.

    ---
    NOTE that it's best to watch this episode on YouTube, because Samuel demos Pydantic's new Logfire product as well as a bit of FastUI. 💡 💪 😍
    ---

    Delving into the origins, Samuel shares with us how Pydantic was conceived to streamline data validation, drawing inspiration from similar tools but quickly exceeding expectations in popularity and adoption. 📈

    Samuel touches on the monumental speed improvements in version 2, achieved by incorporating Rust, shares insights into the transition of Pydantic into a company and its future vision. We also touch upon front-end development for which he developed another library called FastUI. 😎

    And last but not least Samuel demos Pydantic's new exciting Logfire product that was just released. 💡 😍

    Chapters:
    00:00 Intro Samuel
    01:57 Win of the week
    02:23 Pydantic framework and company backstory
    05:10 FastAPI's part in Pydantic's grow
    06:20 Adapting to framework dependencies
    07:50 Making Pydantic faster with Rust
    12:15 Learning Rust or not as a Python dev
    14:16 Pydantic as a company
    15:46 Open source ideas vs business requirements
    17:20 Introducing Pydantic Logfire
    19:15 Live demo (YouTube)
    25:12 Resource / energy measuring with Logfire
    26:41 Pydantic's vision for the next years
    29:46 Doing front-end with FastUI (short demo)
    31:13 Using FastUI at Pydantic and the team
    33:56 Pybites ad
    34:12 FastUI vs Streamlit for fast prototyping
    36:46 Key skills for Python devs / open source in 2024
    38:10 Work life balance / build things as a customer
    41:00: Advice for entrepreneurial minded developers
    42:48 Hobbies / interests outside of work
    43:26 Podcast recommendation
    43:50 Wrap up and outro

    Links:
    - Check out Pydantic Logfire here
    - Reach out to Samuel on X
    - Pybites Ad segment: The PDM Program

    ---
    Connect with us on LinkedIn:
    - Julian
    - Bob

    And to get our weekly developer / mindset emails, sign up here.

  • Join our Community for free here
    Get your personal coach here
    ---

    In this episode Julian speaks with Luis Palacios, an IT Analyst and aspiring Cloud Architect.

    What makes this conversation extra special is that Luis shares his journey from a traditionally "blue collar", labour intensive role, to his first job in I.T. Full disclaimer: he achieved this after completing our PDM Program.

    Luis shares how learning Python and Mindset skills built his confidence such that he was able to apply for his first tech role and then continue pushing through the complexities and challenges that came with it.

    This really reinforces one of our current messages to folks that Python makes coding accessible to everyone. It doesn't matter who you are, or what industry you're in, Python can help you achieve your goals!

    Enjoy!

    Chapters:
    00:00 Introduction episode and Luis
    03:22 Luis' career journey
    06:58 PDM takeaways, mindset and building confidence
    09:21 From custodian to IT analyst
    14:23 Favorite helpdesk experiences and networking
    16:58 Python coding, side projects and LLMs
    21:16 2 mindset tips
    24:58 Importance of podcasts for learning
    27:58 What's next?
    30:56 Final piece of advice / takeaway
    32:06 Book tip: Wiring the Winning Organization
    34:10 Wrap up / outro

    Links:
    - Reach out to Luis on LinkedIn
    - Book tip: Wiring the Winning Organization

    ---
    Connect with us on LinkedIn:
    - Julian
    - Bob

    And to get our weekly developer / mindset emails, sign up here

  • Join our Community for free here
    Get your personal coach here
    ---

    In this episode, Bob and Julian explore the challenges of being laid off and discuss strategies for adopting the right mindset to effectively navigate this difficult phase. They provide practical advice on taking decisive action and continuing to build a meaningful career.

    Chapters:
    00:00 - Introduction
    01:11 - Wins: veterans program and Pybites AI
    07:04 - Lay off experience Julian
    14:09 - Lean on your network and be proactive with your career
    18:00 - Books
    20:20 - Wrap and outro

    ---
    Links:
    - Books tip : Factfulness by Hans Rosling / The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith
    - Grow as a Python developer in record time with our PDM coaching program
    - Pybites merch: https://pybites.bigcartel.com/
    - Pybites Podcast: The Gift of Time: https://www.pybitespodcast.com/1501156/10769416-073-the-gift-of-time

    ---
    Connect with us on LinkedIn:
    - Julian
    - Bob

    And to get our weekly developer / mindset emails, sign up here

  • Join our Community for free here.
    Get your personal coach, check out our coaching options here.
    ---

    🎶 Dive into the intriguing journey of Christopher Bailey, video tutorial producer at Real Python, host of their weekly podcast, and an advocate for learning and teaching Python. 🐍 😍

    In this episode Christopher shares his unique path from music to programming, illustrating how his passions for music, education, and coding have intertwined to shape his career in tech.

    From early coding fascinations and playing in a band to becoming a key figure in Python education, discover how Christopher's diverse background and persistent learning mindset have propelled him through an inspiring transition into the world of technology.

    We also delve into Python industry trends that excite him and what's next on his learning radar, along with a win of the week + book recommendation.

    Join us for a captivating discussion on the intersections of code, music, and education with Christopher Bailey, and discover how embracing diverse experiences can enrich your tech journey. 🚀

    Check out The Real Python Podcast hosted by Christopher here.

    Chapters:
    00:00 Intro
    02:00 Christopher Bailey intro and win of the week
    03:47 Background and career progression
    13:12 Real Python work and how to stay technical
    17:10 Mindset of learning, music and teaching influence
    21:20 Immersive learning, deliberate practice and building for others
    26:12 How to get unstuck when coding and dealing with perfectionism
    29:39 Python trends and what to learn next
    36:40 Books
    39:15 Wrap up and outro

    Book tip:
    - The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

    Reach out to Christopher:
    - LinkedIn
    - Fosstodon
    - X
    - Pybites Circle

    ---
    Grow as a Python developer in record time - check out our PDM coaching program

    ---
    Connect with us on LinkedIn:
    Julian
    Bob

    And to get our weekly developer / mindset emails, sign up here.

  • This episode features a discussion with Louise Oprel, a cloud advocate, on her career journey and experiences with networking, mentoring, and personal growth.

    Louise and Bob share insights into developing the right mindset for success and overcoming challenges through small, consistent actions like volunteering, reading, and daily reflection.

    Practical tips are provided for using technology to connect with others, gain experience through events, and unlock one's potential through mentoring.

    Links:
    - Follow Louise on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseoprel/
    - Connect with her in our community: https://pybites.circle.so/

  • Join us as we journey through Django, open source, and PyCon conferences with special guest Paolo Melchiorre.

    We explore Django's evolution, the impact of open source, and the vibrant atmosphere of PyCons.

    Paolo shares his developer odyssey, offering personal insights and experiences from the tech world. Don't miss this insightful episode on the heart of Python development and community collaboration.

    Chapters:
    00:00 Podcast intro
    00:47 Intro Paolo, how did you get into python and open source
    03:47 What do you like about Django
    05:34 Django and Pelican contributions
    09:17 Getting into open source through Pycon sprints
    10:31 Coaching Django girls and teaching
    12:44 Your role / work at 20tab
    15:33 Handling complex issues and problem solving
    18:47 AI tools vs Stack Overflow (and articles)
    19:47 Python / Django / web trends
    21:27 Front-end and HTMX
    22:37 Rust based tools
    23:52 The importance of mindset for developers
    26:02 Book recommendations
    27:47 Pycon Italia shoutout and how to reach out
    30:04 Wrap up

    Links:
    - Follow Paolo on Mastodon
    - Check out his blog
    - Connect with him in our community
    - Pycon Italia

    Books:
    - Fluent Python
    - Django by Example