Software Engineering for Absolute Beginners

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiv

   PDF

2. Editors

   • Nico Loubser

   Pages 1-10

3. Containerizing Your Environment

   • Nico Loubser

   Pages 11-35

4. Repositories and Git

   • Nico Loubser

   Pages 37-61

5. Programming in Python

   • Nico Loubser

   Pages 63-129

6. Object Calisthenics, Coding Styles, and Refactoring

   • Nico Loubser

   Pages 131-157

7. Databases and Database Design

   • Nico Loubser

   Pages 159-192

8. Creating a RESTful API: Flask

   • Nico Loubser

   Pages 193-233

9. Testing and Code Quality

   • Nico Loubser

   Pages 235-256

10. Planning and Designing Your Code

    • Nico Loubser

    Pages 257-291

11. Security

    • Nico Loubser

    Pages 293-312

12. Hosting and CI/CD

    • Nico Loubser

    Pages 313-324

13. Back Matter

    Pages 325-334

    PDF

Start programming from scratch, no experience required. This beginners’ guide to software engineering starts with a discussion of the different editors used to create software and covers setting up a Docker environment. Next, you will learn about repositories and version control along with its uses. Now that you are ready to program, you’ll go through the basics of Python, the ideal language to learn as a novice software engineer. Many modern applications need to talk to a database of some kind, so you will explore how to create and connect to a database and how to design one for your app. Additionally you will discover how to use  Python’s Flask microframework and how to efficiently test your code. Finally, the book explains best practices in coding, design, deployment, and security. 

Software Engineering for Absolute Beginners answers the question of what topics you should know when you start out to learn software engineering. This book covers a lot of topics, and aims to clarify the hidden, but very important, portions of the software development toolkit.

After reading this book, you, a complete beginner, will be able to identify best practices and efficient approaches to software development. You will be able to go into a work environment and recognize the technology and approaches used, and set up a professional environment to create your own software applications.

What You Will Learn

• Explore the concepts that you will encounter in the majority of companies doing software development
• Create readable code that is neat as well as well-designed
• Build code that is source controlled, containerized, and deployable
• Secure your codebase
• Optimize your workspace

Who This Book Is For

A reader with a keen interest in creating software. It is also helpful for students.

• software creation
• Engineering
• repositories & git
• Basic programming Python
• MVC and RESTfull APIS
• coding and designing

“The content is appropriate for someone who has had some minimal programming experience, for example, classwork or playing around at home, and is ready for their first real project or professional job. … definitely good enough to guide motivated users to search the web for deeper information as each topic becomes relevant. … I enjoyed reading the book and think it will be a useful aid for new developers learning Python production skills.” (David Goldfarb, Computing Reviews, July 22, 2021)

• London, UK

  Nico Loubser

Nico Loubser has been working in the software development environment for more than 16 years, and holds a post-graduate degree in software engineering from the University of South Africa. He has spent quite a bit of his career as a team lead, and advising on architecture, which prompted him to amalgamate his knowledge and experience into one book. He currently lives in London, where he seeks exposure to an even greater variety of ideas and methods in today’s software development industry. 

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