Unlocking Hidden Secrets

I find that often we can take things for granted. For example, I turn the key and my car starts. Never mind that just a few feet from me is several hundred pounds of cast metal containing several controlled explosions, each propelling small metal pistons in perfect synchronicity, and in turn forcing the wheels to turn and propel me forward at incredible speed.

These hidden secrets are often locked away, kept from view of the average person. But for those who learn those tools, a powerful new reality becomes apparent. I recently read a wonderful post by another programmer who dealt with the shortcomings of a checkout system for an eBook purchase system until a customer complained. It was then that he realized that as a programmer, he had at his fingertips the ability to create his own tools:

Yesterday, I was reminded of this fact as I finally got fed up with the way payments are processed for my book. After being unhappy with the three different digital-goods payment processors I’ve used since the book came out, I took two hours and wrote my own solution using Python and Flask. That’s right. Two hours. – source

Knowing how to code allows programmers to create custom solutions that fit their needs better than anything else that is off the shelf.

For the past several years, I have learned iOS programming so I could create apps for the iPhone and iPad. However, in recent years, having a cloud-based backend has gone from a nice luxury to a core framework that must be included.

And so, I am beginning my journey to understand how to create these server side applications in Python so I can create the tools I need. As I proceed, I’ll post what I am learning and how I am able to use Python to create these tools. It will be an interesting journey and I welcome you to join me.

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