Learning paths
Where to start reading
14 reading routes through the library. Each one picks pages from several books and puts them in an order that builds up, one idea at a time.
Start here
No background needed: each page builds on the one before it.
- 23 pages · 3 chapters · 45 minHow the web worksWhat happens between typing an address and seeing a page.The route
- Addresses and names11 pagesURL, Domain Name, DNS…
- The page itself5 pagesWeb Browser, HTML, CSS…
- Getting it there fast7 pagesLatency, Bandwidth, Throughput…
- 39 pages · 4 chapters · 75 minFrontend developerFrom HTML and CSS to frameworks, rendering and shipping fast pages.The route
- The building blocks7 pagesHTML, CSS, Flexbox…
- JavaScript in the browser10 pagesJavaScript, DOM, Event Loop…
- Frameworks and rendering10 pagesReact, JSX, State Management…
- Shipping it12 pagesnpm, Package Manager, TypeScript…
- 31 pages · 4 chapters · 60 minDatabases from scratchTables, queries and transactions, then what changes when data outgrows one server.The route
- Tables and queries8 pagesDatabase, Relational Database, PostgreSQL…
- Designing well5 pagesDatabase Normalization, Denormalization, Database Index…
- Keeping data correct7 pagesTransaction, OLTP, ACID…
- Beyond one server11 pagesNoSQL, Document Database, MongoDB…
- 40 pages · 4 chapters · 80 minSecurity essentialsLogins, secrets, the attacks everyone should know, and how to stop them.The route
- Who are you, and what may you do?10 pagesAuthentication, Authorization, Two-Factor Authentication…
- Keeping secrets11 pagesHashing, Salting, HMAC…
- Common attacks11 pagesOWASP Top 10, XSS, CSRF…
- Defending the whole system8 pagesInput Validation, Content Security Policy, Web Application Firewall…
- 41 pages · 4 chapters · 80 minAI and large language modelsHow machines learn, what's inside a chatbot, and how to build with one.The route
- How machines learn10 pagesArtificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Training Data…
- Inside a language model10 pagesNatural Language Processing, Transformer, Attention Mechanism…
- Working with LLMs12 pagesPrompt, System Prompt, Prompt Engineering…
- Agents and beyond9 pagesChatbot, Tool Calling, AI Agent…
- 35 pages · 3 chapters · 70 minWorking on a software teamGit, the way teams plan their work, and the habits that keep code healthy.The route
- Sharing code13 pagesGit, Repository, GitHub…
- Ways of working12 pagesAgile, Scrum, Kanban…
- Keeping code healthy10 pagesUnit Test, Jest, Integration Test…
- 39 pages · 5 chapters · 80 minProgramming fundamentalsThe ideas every programming language shares, from variables to classes.The route
- The first ideas10 pagesProgramming Language, Variable, Data Type…
- When things go wrong3 pagesException, Stack Trace, Debugging
- Organizing code10 pagesObject, Class, Constructor…
- Thinking in functions8 pagesFunctional Programming, Pure Function, Immutability…
- Tools of the trade8 pagesIDE, Terminal, Compiler…
- 39 pages · 5 chapters · 75 minGit from zeroCommits, branches and pull requests, then undoing mistakes without fear.The route
- Saving your work9 pagesVersion Control, Git, Repository…
- Branches8 pagesBranch, Git Checkout, Merge…
- Working with others10 pagesGit Remote, Git Fetch, Git Pull…
- Going back7 pagesGit Reset, Git Revert, Cherry-pick…
- Team workflows5 pagesTrunk-Based Development, Gitflow, Hotfix…
A step further
For when the basics feel familiar.
- 33 pages · 4 chapters · 65 minBackend developerAPIs, servers, data and the jobs that keep running when nobody's watching.The route
- APIs9 pagesAPI, HTTP Method, Endpoint…
- Servers and requests10 pagesWeb Server, Nginx, Node.js…
- Working with data6 pagesDatabase, SQL, ORM…
- Doing work reliably8 pagesMessage Queue, RabbitMQ, Background Job…
- 40 pages · 4 chapters · 80 minDevOps and the cloudWhere code runs, how changes ship safely, and how you know it all works.The route
- Where code runs13 pagesLinux, Bash, Virtual Machine…
- Shipping changes11 pagesCI/CD, GitHub Actions, Jenkins…
- Running at scale7 pagesKubernetes, Pod, Helm…
- Knowing it works9 pagesObservability, Logging, Metrics…
- 42 pages · 4 chapters · 90 minComputer science foundationsData structures, classic algorithms and what really happens when code runs.The route
- Measuring code4 pagesAlgorithm, Big O Notation, Recursion…
- Data structures11 pagesArray, Linked List, Stack…
- Classic algorithms15 pagesLinear Search, Binary Search, Two Pointers…
- Under the hood12 pagesOperating System, CPU, RAM…
- 33 pages · 4 chapters · 65 minSystem design basicsHow big systems are shaped, scaled and kept running when parts fail.The route
- Shapes of a system9 pagesClient-Server Architecture, Monolith, Microservices…
- Scaling up10 pagesScalability, Vertical Scaling, Horizontal Scaling…
- Staying up8 pagesHigh Availability, Fault Tolerance, Consensus Algorithm…
- Designing well6 pagesSeparation of Concerns, Loose Coupling, Cohesion…
- 36 pages · 4 chapters · 70 minTesting softwareHow teams know their code works, and keep it working as it changes.The route
- What a test is8 pagesQuality Assurance, Test Case, Assertion…
- Writing tests that help8 pagesTest Fixture, Mocking, Test Coverage…
- Finding what tests miss8 pagesBlack-Box Testing, White-Box Testing, Exploratory Testing…
- Speed, scale and automation12 pagesPerformance Testing, Load Testing, Stress Testing…
- 24 pages · 4 chapters · 45 minBuilding with LLMsPrompts, retrieval, tools and evaluation: what it takes to ship an AI feature.The route
- Talking to a model8 pagesLLM, Token, Prompt…
- Giving it your data7 pagesEmbedding, Cosine Similarity, Chunking…
- Letting it act4 pagesTool Calling, Model Context Protocol, AI Agent…
- Making it good5 pagesEvals, Fine-tuning, LoRA…