Boot.dev Blog
The Boot.dev Beat. August 2026
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
July was a big month: The Pandas course is live, boss fights got a full rework, the playground received some love, and we shipped a whole new batch of interactive widgets - we even embedded a couple in this newsletter so you can play with them right here.
The Best SQL Certifications of 2026 (and Which to Skip)
by Maya Chen - Computer science and programming educator at Boot.dev
Every SQL certification worth knowing in 2026: Microsoft's brand-new DP-800, Oracle 1Z0-071, DataCamp, free options, and when a portfolio beats them all.
Functions in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Functions in Go can take zero or more arguments.
Variables in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Variables in Go have a type that is known before the code runs. Here's how declarations, type inference, conversions, and scope work.
Slices in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
99 times out of 100 you will use a slice instead of an array when working with ordered lists.
If Statements in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
if statements in Go do not use parentheses around the condition.
Go Run vs Go Build vs Go Install
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
go run, go build, and go install compile Go packages for different purposes. go run executes a program without saving the binary in your working directory, go build produces an executable from a main package, and go install installs a compiled command on your machine.
Error Handling in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Go programs express errors with error values. Keep in mind that the way Go handles errors is fairly unique. Most languages treat errors as something special and different. For example, Python raises exception types and JavaScript throws and catches errors. In Go, an error is just another value that we handle like any other value - however we want! There aren't any special keywords for dealing with them.
Structs in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Structs are one of Go's core tools for organizing related data.
Channels in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Channels are one of Go's core tools for concurrency. They let goroutines communicate with each other, and their blocking behavior helps coordinate work.
Runes in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Go's rune type lets you work with Unicode code points that can take more than one byte in a UTF-8 string.
Go Packages vs Modules
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Packages, modules, and repositories organize Go code at different levels. A package is a directory of code that's compiled together, a module is a collection of packages released together, and a repository can contain one or more modules.
Switch Statements in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Switch statements are a way to compare a value against multiple options. They are similar to if-else statements but are more concise and readable when the number of options is more than 2.
String Formatting in Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Go follows the printf tradition from the C language. In my opinion, string formatting/interpolation in Go is less elegant than Python's f-strings, unfortunately.
What Does git push -u origin main Do?
by ThePrimeagen - Ex-Netflix engineer, NeoVim ricer, and Git rebaser
The git push -u origin main command pushes your local main branch to the remote named origin and sets origin/main as its upstream. The push sends commits now; the -u saves the relationship for later.
Python Bitwise AND and OR Operators
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Bitwise operators are similar to logical operators, but instead of operating on boolean values, they apply the same logic to all the bits in a value by column. The two operators covered here are & (AND) and | (OR).
Python Break vs Continue: What's the Difference?
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Sometimes, while looping through a sequence, you may find items that you want to skip. Python provides a way to do this: the continue statement. But what if you want to exit the loop entirely? That's where the break statement comes in.
Git Push vs Pull: What's the Difference?
by ThePrimeagen - Ex-Netflix engineer, NeoVim ricer, and Git rebaser
git push sends your local commits to a remote repository. git pull brings remote commits into your current local branch. They move Git history in opposite directions, but pull also integrates what it downloads, which is where the comparison gets interesting.
What Does git remote -v Do?
by ThePrimeagen - Ex-Netflix engineer, NeoVim ricer, and Git rebaser
The git remote -v command lists the remote repositories connected to your local Git repository. The -v means "verbose": it includes each remote's URL and shows whether Git uses it for fetching or pushing.
Python Default Parameters: How They Work
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
In Python you can specify a default value for a function parameter. It's useful when a function has parameters that are "optional." You can specify a default value in case the caller doesn't provide one.
How to Return Multiple Values in Python
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
A Python function can return more than one value by separating them with commas.
Python / vs //: Floor Division Explained
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Python's // operator divides and rounds down, so -7 // 3 is -3. See how floor division differs from / and when to use each.
Git Fast-Forward Merge: How It Works
by ThePrimeagen - Ex-Netflix engineer, NeoVim ricer, and Git rebaser
The simplest type of merge is a fast-forward merge. Git moves the base branch's pointer forward instead of creating a merge commit.
How Hard Is It to Learn to Code? A Realistic Guide and What to Expect in 2026
by Maya Chen - Computer science and programming educator at Boot.dev
How hard is it to learn to code? Learn what makes coding challenging, how long it takes, which languages are easiest, and how to make the process easier.
How to Learn to Code in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Learn to code in 2026 with a realistic, step-by-step roadmap: pick one language, follow a structured path, build real projects, and practice daily until you're job-ready.
