Boot.dev Blog
The Boot.dev Beat. November 2023
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Hope you had a fantastic Halloween. I spent last weekend in Seattle with Allan and Hunter (the other two full-timers here at Boot.dev) at the DotA 2 International. Absolute blast. I've never been to such an enormous gaming event in person. Ah, well, back to coding.
Queue Data Structure in Python: Ordering at Its Best
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
A queue is an efficient collection of ordered items. New items can be added to one side, and removed from the other side.
Understanding Stacks: Python Implementation of a Core Data Structure
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
A stack is an abstract data type that serves as a collection of elements. The name "stack" originates from the analogy of items physically stacked on top of each other. Just like a stack of plates at a buffet, plates can be added, removed, and viewed from the top. However, plates further down are not immediately accessible.
Can Go Be Used in Web Development?
by Natalie Schooner - Computer science educator and technical writer
Recently I saw an interesting post on Reddit: "I would like to be more full-stack," user Fenugurod said. "I was studying Tailwindcsss and I'm pretty sure I can create really nice UIs with it. But what do you guys think about web development with Go? Most of my friends simply say to embrace the JS ecosystem with Nuxt or Next and use Go simply as an API."
The Boot.dev Beat. October 2023
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Happy All Hallow's Eve. I hope you enjoy this month's cover art. It might be my favorite so far.
What Does a Web Developer Earn?
by Natalie Schooner - Computer science educator and technical writer
As always, the short answer is easiest: On average, according to Indeed, an American web developer earns \$81,034 per year.
Learn to Code the Slow Way
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Ever since starting Boot.dev, I've been flooded with what I call "quicksand questions". On the surface, a quicksand question seems like a good question. If you could answer it, it would catapult you from where you are (nightshift at the Wendy's drive-in) to where you want to be (telling friends that you work at Netflix btw).
Top 10 Books on Web Development in 2026
by Natalie Schooner - Computer science educator and technical writer
If you’re looking for good web development books, you’re probably interested in becoming a web developer. Makes sense – great pay, solid job security, and interesting work. But beyond that broad goal, you might be looking for some web development reading to satisfy other goals.
The Boot.dev Beat. September 2023
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
The best part of working on Boot.dev is seeing you all make almost unbelievable strides in not only your understanding of fundamental concepts, but what you can now build from scratch. It's not just that, I've been hearing a lot of stories about the confidence that's being gained by our alumnis after shipping so much code. That's a critical part of the journey.
Python Web Development: How It Works and What to Learn
by Natalie Schooner - Computer science educator and technical writer
Learn how Python fits into web development, when to use Django, Flask, or FastAPI, what front-end skills you still need, and how to start building web apps.
The One Thing I'd Change About Go
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Go is built for grug brained programmers like me.
What is Backend Web Development?
by Natalie Schooner - Computer science educator and technical writer
The boring answer is that backend web development is the process of building the server-side of websites and web applications. It primarily focuses on handling the logic, data processing, and communication between the user's web browser and the server.
The Boot.dev Beat. August 2023
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
As I'm writing this on July 28th, we've had 118,984 lessons successfully completed by students on Boot.dev so far this July. This marks the first time we've had over 100k lessons completed in a month. While I'm ecstatic that we've been able to join you in so many of your learning journeys, I just want to emphasize that it's your journey. We're here to provide the best resources and experience that we can, but you deserve every ounce of credit for your hard work. Keep it up friends.
The Pros and Cons of Django for Backend Development
by Natalie Schooner - Computer science educator and technical writer
Django is a popular Python-based framework for building web applications. It provides pre-built components and conventions, which simplifies the web app development process and allows developers to focus on writing their application's specific logic rather than dealing with repetitive tasks. Basically, it’s all about reusability.
I Mock Your Mocks
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Several years ago I started my first job as a "senior" Go developer. You see, after a modest 3 years in the industry, my arcane ability to use the Go standard library's strings.Contains() function managed to leave a powerful impression on the hiring team.
The Best Backend for Vue: 6 Options
by Natalie Schooner - Computer science educator and technical writer
Part of being in the software development space means I’m near a lot of entrepreneurs. Code is a powerful building block, and that appeals to a lot of self-taught big thinkers.
Frontend? Gross. This is Why I've Always Preferred the Backend
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
As a kid, I always wanted to be good at drawing. I practiced drawing my favorite anime characters, but frankly, my mom was the only one who thought they were good.
Build Your First Coding Project and Avoid Tutorial Hell
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
While "real" hell may or may not exist (no need to get into religious beliefs here), tutorial hell is very real.
What’s the Best Backend For React? 5 Options to Choose From
by Natalie Schooner - Computer science educator and technical writer
"I already know React," mused my friend. "What popular backend language should I learn that will make me a useful hire to companies?"
The Boot.dev Beat. July 2023
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
June was hot. I got sunburned. What else happened... Oh yeah, I finished the new CI/CD course! It's slated to launch on July 10th, so watch out for that. We also are in the process of hiring a new Boot.dev team member to help us build harder better faster and stronger.
Awww, do I Really Need to Learn X to Get a Job as a Developer?
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
A developer's life is a never-ending saga of learning new things. It's like you're playing Diablo where every new Jira ticket can feel like the next mini boss to slay. Exciting? Absolutely. Scary? Sure. Especially at first.
Boot.dev Team Handbook
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Our goal: To make the best place to learn to code. The most effective, the most fun, and the most thorough.
Boots, a Wizard Bear that Codes
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Boots is the heart and soul of Boot.dev. Not only is he capable of helping you through any lesson on Boot.dev, but he's a friendly wizard bear with a charming personality. Some things you should know about Boots:
The Boot.dev Beat. June 2023
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
May was a historic month for Boot.dev. We added more students to the backend learning path than we ever have in a single month before, and we're doing everything we can to build and release new, better courses at a faster clip. Thanks for hanging out and learning with us.
Format on Save in Go with VS Code [2026]
by Lane Wagner - Boot.dev co-founder and backend engineer
Go has hard opinions about how you should style and format your code. Setting up your VS Code environment to enforce the standard linting and formatting rules can save you a ton of time.
