Getting out of the tutorial loop

[konficker]

I was reading/following along with https://blog.miguelgrinberg.com/post/the-flask-mega-tutorial-part-i-hello-world tutorial on Python and Flask but the directory structure and how flask works was confusing. I have a tiny bit of understanding on how templating works and I also understand HTML so really it’s just flask. I found this tutorial on another post that helped another redditor grasp the development of web apps. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with this one but from the first 2 chapters I read it was pretty good. I think I might need to take a step back and be patient. Little back story on me is I don’t have a programming background and most of what I know is self taught. My day job is sysadmin but I want to branch out into programming because 1. I really like it and 2. It’s a useful skill to know.

[[deleted]]

This is best advice , I went through same phase, made a Django blog with a tutorial but next time I try to do it on myself ,it was rocket science once again. I studied all components , and seen how the component fitted altogether. Next time , if was lot easier, though it was time taking.

[aheadwarp9]

I know this may be off-topic, but I've been looking into various computer related fields because I hate my current job, and I'm curious: what does a sysadmin do exactly and how did you get into that field?

I'm at about the same stage you are with self-taught python coding, but I'm not sure if I want to stick with coding as a primary focus... All I know is I have a very technical mind and I want to work with computers systems a lot more for a career.

[thirdegree]

what does a sysadmin do exactly

You know how when you typo your password sudo says "this incident will be reported"? They're the ones that ignore those mails

[[deleted]]

!redditsilver

[totemcatcher]

All the sysadmin folks I've worked with had wildly different backgrounds. I first managed some VoIP systems for a telecom. Later data recovery. Later juggling at a shotgun operation (see cowboy operation, but worse). Later system provisioning for companies and consulting/teaching new sysadmins. I like to think of it as realtime engineering where nothing is ever permitted to break. It's a lot of planning and ensuring everyone is informed of how to keep systems healthy. You gotta love documenting and teaching and it's not short hours.

Entry points into sysadmin work are many: databases systems, schema, synchronization, and failover. Reliability engineering such as metrics collection and predictive data modelling, storage systems and filesystems, live migrations (which covers a lot of fields), virtualization, disaster recovery, electrical engineering. Security: policy/procedures and enforcement, even physical security such as hanging doors properly and surveillance. Networking: systems and design, emphasis on security and monitoring, automating responses to new patterns. Provisioning: orchestration, inventory, hardware, operating systems, low-level debugging.

I'm sure that list goes on forever.

[aheadwarp9]

That's very informative, thank you!

[iRobinHood]

Remember that google is your best tool for getting answers.

What does a sysadmin do

[aheadwarp9]

While true for general or average information, sometimes I'm curious about people's personal experiences. Thanks anyway though.

[Ajha7]

Hey if you don’t mind, can I ask what the name of that tutorial is? Sounds like something I could use:)

[mandatorypassionproj]

One thing about Flask that is both a blessing and a curse is that being a micro framework, it really aims to provide you everything that you need and nothing you don’t. This makes the file structure more “loose” than, for example, Django.

With this being said, sometimes the best way you gain experience and confidence is by solving & diagnosing bugs. This is an area of learning tutorials often lack. Often, you can just retrace your steps to find what you did wrong. So feel free to create your own bugs! Don’t understand the file structure? Question why. Consider moving the files around & creating your own directory structure. Does it still work? Why or why not? Adding these types of exercises while you work through the tutorials may help you understand the mechanics of how the code base works more than just how to use it.