A total redo of the onboarding process.
This is a WIP, and should not be used as a be all end all of resources used within the Dallas Formula Racing - Software subteam.
Unfortunately, as goes for many schools, UTD does not (in most cases) provide the needed learning material for many of the technologies that are utilized within DFR (Dallas Formula Racing). The same goes for many of the technologies that you will likely end up using in your professional life. Thus the goal of this "onboarding" is to get you "Up To Speeeeed, on everything you need to knoooow, about DFR Software!" (yea I'm a Donut fan, so what), and hopefully along the way you'll learn some things that will actually be applicable to your professional life in the future.
When it comes to learning any language or technology, I always recommend that you go ahead and give yourself an end goal of what you want to accomplish before starting anything. For example if you want to learn python, then you could give yourself the goal of wanting to make your own local webserver. From that goal learning how to build it with your own research, or knowledge you carry from elsewhere, will allow you to learn how different parts of the Python language interact, along with also actively learning how to problem solve, instead of simply following a tutorial that tells you everything to do.
(This section is ordered from most to least importance, and each subsection is ordered from least to most experience required. Although, nothing in this list will be all that difficult for any level of experience by design.)
Outside of its use within DFR, Git is probably one of if not the most critical single piece of technology for collaborative workflows. It is essentially imparative that you at least understand how to use basic Git commands such as CHECKOUT, CLONE, COMMIT, PUSH, & PULL.
| Name | Description | URL |
|---|---|---|
| OH MY GIT! | This time in "game" form. One of my personal favorite means for teaching new / want to be developers the ropes in a method that they are likely more "used" to. | ohmygit.org/ |
| Learn Git Branching | Another visually interactive platform for learning Git. Like OH MY GIT! this is much more tailored towards beginners to Git, and makes the learning process much more enjoyable than mindlessly reading documentation. |
learngitbranching.js.org/ |
| Pro Git book | A textbook that contains anything and everything Git. You can purchase a physical copy, or use the publically available E-Book found on the same website that you will likely be downloading the Git CLI from, git-scm.com. |
git-scm.com/book/en/v2 |
The Python language is the CORE of all the software within DFR. It is critical that you are at the very least willing to learn the language, as otherwise your participation within the DFR Software team will be highly limited.
| Name | Description | URL |
|---|---|---|
| freeCodeCamp.org | A public charity dedicated to making some of the best guides for learning all kinds of programming related topics. | freecodecamp.org/news/tag/python/ |
| awesome-python | My personal favorite repo for more in depth learning about python and how to actually apply it in a more real world use case. | github.com/vinta/awesome-python |
| learn-python | A very well written and still decently maintained GitHub repo dedicated to being a "cheatsheet" for everything Python. | github.com/trekhleb/learn-python |
Unlike the rest, Docker isn't necessarily required that you know how to "program" in it (AKA, write .dockerfiles), more so that you know what it is, and how to use it to its fullest potential.
| Name | Description | URL |
|---|---|---|
| Docker 101 Tutorial | A "self paced, hands-on tutorial" straight from the horse's mouth. This "short" tutorial will educate you on how to understand the concepts of the Docker environment, while also giving you practical knowledge on how to use the Docker environment locally. | docker.com/101-tutorial/ |
| awesome-docker | Like awesome-python, this is a repo designed to educate you through all the in's and out's of Docker on a beginner to advanced level, and can be utilized by anyone regardless of their experience with Docker. |
github.com/veggiemonk/awesome-docker |