.
App-Builder Map (from Zero → Any App)
0) Tooling & Mindset (your workshop 🧰)
venv/poetry/pip = toolboxes for keeping projects separate.
o Trick: “One project, one toolbox.”
o python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
Git = CCTV + time machine for your code.
o Trick: “Commit small, commit often.”
Editor: VS Code with Python, Ruff (lint), Black (format), isort (imports), mypy (types).
o Trick: “Let robots nag you, not reviewers.”
1) Python Core (the language muscles 💪)
Variables & Types (labels on boxes 📦)
int/float/str/bool: countable, pourable, writable, switch.
list/tuple/set/dict = bag / tiffin / playground / phonebook.
bag = ["apple", "banana"]; lunch = ("roti","dal"); kids = {"A","B","A"};
phone = {"Mum": 98_76}
Control Flow (traffic signals 🚦)
if/elif/else, for, while, break/continue.
for item in bag:
if item == "banana": continue
print(item)
Functions (recipes 📜)
defaults, *args, **kwargs, closures, decorators.
Trick: “Function = recipe; Decorator = extra topping.”
def log(fn):
def wrap(*a, **k):
print("→", fn.__name__); return fn(*a, **k)
return wrap
Classes (factory 🏭)
__init__, dunder methods, inheritance, composition.
Trick: “Prefer has-a (composition) over is-a (inheritance) when unsure.”
Data Models (make it strict 🧱)
dataclasses for light models; Pydantic for validated I/O.
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
class UserIn(BaseModel):
email: str
password: str = Field(min_length=8)
2) Asynchrony & Concurrency (kitchen with many cooks
👩🍳👨🍳)
threading = many hands, one brain (GIL); good for I/O.
multiprocessing = many brains; good for CPU.
asyncio = one brain switching fast; great for many slow I/O tasks.
Trick: “I/O bound → threads/async; CPU bound → processes.”
import asyncio, httpx
async def fetch(u): async with httpx.AsyncClient() as c: return (u,
(await c.get(u)).status_code)
async def main(): print(await asyncio.gather(*(fetch(u) for u in
["https://example.com"]*5)))
asyncio.run(main())
3) Files, Streams & CLI (library & megaphone 📚📣)
pathlib over os.path; with to auto-close.
CLI frameworks: argparse (std), Typer (fast & typed).
import typer
app = typer.Typer()
@app.command()
def greet(name:str): print(f"Hi {name}")
if __name__ == "__main__": app()
4) Data & Storage (pantry 🧺)
SQL (PostgreSQL/SQLite) for relations; NoSQL (Mongo) for docs; Redis for
cache/queues.
Trick: “If you JOIN a lot → SQL; if documents vary → NoSQL.”
ORMs: SQLAlchemy / SQLModel.
from sqlalchemy import create_engine, text
engine = create_engine("sqlite:///app.db", future=True)
with engine.begin() as conn:
conn.execute(text("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users(id INTEGER
PRIMARY KEY, email TEXT)"))
ACID memory hack: ATM Cash
o Atomicity (all or nothing), Consistency (rules), Isolation (parallel lines),
Durability (crash-proof).
5) Web Backends (restaurant )
FastAPI (speedy, typed) or Django (batteries included).
Analogy: Client = customer; API = waiter; service = kitchen; DB = pantry; Redis = head
waiter’s memory; queue = order slips.
# fastapi_app/main.py
from fastapi import FastAPI
from pydantic import BaseModel
app = FastAPI()
class Todo(BaseModel):
title: str
done: bool = False
DB: list[Todo] = []
@app.post("/todos")
def create(todo: Todo): DB.append(todo); return {"ok": True, "count":
len(DB)}
@app.get("/todos")
def list_todos(): return DB
Run: uvicorn fastapi_app.main:app --reload
Auth basics: hash passwords (bcrypt/argon2), issue JWT (short-lived), refresh tokens,
role-based checks.
Security mnemonic “PASTA”: Password hashing, Access control, Secrets (env vars),
TLS, Audit logs.
6) Tasks, Caching, Realtime (speed & scale 🚀)
Celery/RQ + Redis/RabbitMQ for background jobs.
Caching: cache DB reads, rate-limit, store sessions.
WebSockets (FastAPI/Django Channels) for realtime features (chat, live dashboards).
Trick: “If it can wait → queue it.”
7) Testing, Quality & Observability (safety net )
pytest: unit + integration; factories/fixtures; coverage.
property-based: hypothesis for weird edge cases.
logging: stdlib logging or structlog; metrics: Prometheus; tracing: OpenTelemetry.
Trick: “Test the contract, not the private parts.”
def add(a,b): return a+b
def test_add(): assert add(2,3)==5
8) Packaging & Config (shipping 📦)
12-Factor: config via env (not code).
.env + pydantic-settings for typed settings.
Poetry for deps & build; semantic-versioning.
CLI entry points, wheels, private indexes.
9) Deployment & DevOps (from kitchen to franchise 🏪)
Docker = portable kitchen.
FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY pyproject.toml poetry.lock* /app/
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir poetry && poetry config
virtualenvs.create false && poetry install --no-interaction --no-ansi
COPY . /app
CMD ["uvicorn","fastapi_app.main:app","--host","0.0.0.0","--
port","8080"]
Run behind Uvicorn/Gunicorn, reverse proxy Nginx/Caddy.
CI/CD: GitHub Actions, test → build → push → deploy.
Cloud: Fly.io, Render, Railway, AWS/GCP/Azure.
10) Frontend & Full-Stack (front of house )
API first: OpenAPI docs from FastAPI.
Frontend: React/Next.js fetches JSON; Auth via cookies/JWT.
Trick: “Backend = kitchen; Frontend = waiter; speak JSON.”
11) App Patterns (architecture 🧩)
Clean/Hexagonal: domain core independent of frameworks.
Services over fat models; Repository for persistence port.
CQRS when reads dominate.
Trick: “Framework at the edges, business in the center.”
12) Performance (tune the engine 🔧)
Measure first: time.perf_counter, cProfile, py-spy.
Hot paths → vectorize (NumPy), cache, batch DB queries, paginate.
Async HTTP/DB clients for concurrency.
🧠 Memory Pal — Big Analogies Recap
Web app = restaurant.
DB = pantry, Cache = head waiter’s memory, Queue = order slips, Docker = food
truck, CI/CD = conveyor belt, Logs = CCTV, Tests = seatbelts, Types = spec sheet.
Your “Any-App” Starter Template
Project tree
anyapp/
fastapi_app/
__init__.py
main.py
api/
__init__.py
v1.py
core/
config.py
security.py
models/
__init__.py
services/
__init__.py
tests/
test_health.py
pyproject.toml
.env.example
Dockerfile
README.md
Typed settings (12-Factor)
# fastapi_app/core/config.py
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
class Settings(BaseSettings):
APP_NAME: str = "AnyApp"
DEBUG: bool = False
DATABASE_URL: str = "sqlite:///./anyapp.db"
JWT_SECRET: str
class Config: env_file = ".env"
settings = Settings()
Security primitives
# fastapi_app/core/security.py
import bcrypt, jwt, datetime as dt
from typing import Any
def hash_password(pw: str) -> str:
return bcrypt.hashpw(pw.encode(), bcrypt.gensalt()).decode()
def verify_password(pw: str, hashed: str) -> bool:
return bcrypt.checkpw(pw.encode(), hashed.encode())
def make_jwt(sub: str, secret: str, minutes: int = 15) -> str:
payload = {"sub": sub, "exp": dt.datetime.utcnow() +
dt.timedelta(minutes=minutes)}
return jwt.encode(payload, secret, algorithm="HS256")
API with health & versioned routes
# fastapi_app/api/v1.py
from fastapi import APIRouter
router = APIRouter(prefix="/v1")
@router.get("/health")
def health(): return {"ok": True}
App entry
# fastapi_app/main.py
from fastapi import FastAPI
from .api.v1 import router as api_v1
from .core.config import settings
app = FastAPI(title=settings.APP_NAME, debug=settings.DEBUG)
app.include_router(api_v1)
Test
# tests/test_health.py
from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
from fastapi_app.main import app
def test_health():
c = TestClient(app)
assert c.get("/v1/health").json() == {"ok": True}
Run locally:
uvicorn fastapi_app.main:app --reload
pytest -q
📈 Skill-Building Projects (each adds a layer)
1. Todo API: CRUD, pagination, validation, tests.
2. Auth & Users: registration, login, JWT, password reset mail.
3. Files & Images: S3/GCS upload, thumbnails via Celery.
4. Realtime Chat: WebSockets + Redis pub/sub.
5. Payments: Stripe integration, webhooks, idempotency keys.
6. Search: Postgres FTS or Meilisearch.
7. Analytics: background ETL to warehouse + dashboards.
8. Multi-tenant SaaS: orgs, roles, billing, audit logs.
Gold Rule: each project gets tests, Docker, CI.
8-Week Mastery Plan (do this, you’re
dangerous)
Weeks 1–2 (Core & Tools)
Python core, typing, lint/format, pytest.
Build Todo API + tests. Ship a Docker image.
Weeks 3–4 (Data & Auth)
SQLModel/SQLAlchemy + Postgres + Alembic.
Users, JWT, RBAC, email verification.
Weeks 5–6 (Async & Scale)
Async FastAPI clients, caching with Redis, Celery tasks.
File processing pipeline + WebSockets notification.
Weeks 7–8 (Obs & Deploy)
Logging/metrics/tracing; rate limiting; security headers.
CI/CD to Fly.io/Render. Add synthetic tests & smoke checks.
🧩 Cheat Cards
I/O vs CPU: slow network/disk → async/threads; heavy math → multiprocessing.
Indexes: add for columns you filter/sort/join on.
JWT: short expiry, rotate refresh, store server-side revocation (Redis).
Idempotency: for webhooks/payments, dedupe by key.
Never store plaintext passwords; always hash with bcrypt/argon2.
🎯 What you can build after this
SaaS dashboard, chat app, e-commerce backend, file-processing service, analytics
pipeline, or an API for a mobile app—end to end.
If you want, I’ll start right now with Module 1: Core Python → Exercises & micro-quizzes
and we’ll progress app-by-app following the plan.
