Helpful Resources

Software
Books
Websites
Courses
YouTube Channels

This page will be contain learning resources that I found helpful for studying coding and data science. I only recommend items that I believe are useful and why I think so. Hopefully it helps others with their journey into data science.

There are no affiliate links on this page. All links are directly to the author or publisher websites.

This list is still a work in progress, so check back later for more info.

Software

Anaconda

Through Anaconda Navigator, managing programs and packages is simple with its GUI. For new coders, this interface provides the simplest way to start without the need to make many changes during installation. It also provides simple updating and the option to choose specific versions of programs if needed.

Jupyter Notebook

This is my preferred IDE for Python and where I spend the most time coding as it is ideal for data science and testing. One of my biggest gripes with the program is that it does not look the best and lacks some features, but extensions make it more customizable. I mostly use Hinterland through Nbextensions for its dropdown menu for autocomplete and Jupyter Themes for dark mode (Chesterish).

Google Colab

Colab provides free access to cloud GPUs and allows users to execute code in cells directly in their browsers. I was first introduced to it during my Masters and while I still prefer using Jupyter Notebook locally on my machine, it makes working on small teams easier and also provides an alternative environment when I am troubleshooting issues with packages or dependencies.

Spyder

Currently I prefer Spyder over PyCharm as it is more lightweight and requires less setup for environments. However, I mostly code Python in notebooks, so my preference may change over time. Update - My preference did change and PyCharm became my IDE of choice for .py scripts. I have not used it much yet for notebooks, but will update with more information once my opinion solidifies.

PyCharm

Description to be added - my new IDE of choice

GitHub Desktop

Description to be added - I prefer it over cmd line or git integration inside atom/pycharm/anything as I use different programs for different tasks and it brings all my commits to one place - I have a very small screen in my laptop touchpad and it hangs out there mostly

Spotify

Description to be added - should I add this here?

PostgreSQL and pgAdmin

After using several different SQL O/RDBMS and platforms, I found these two the simplest to setup and maintain while also providing helpful language specific functions making them my preferred choices. I had previously used MySQL and MySQL Workbench , but made the switch after seeing the expanded features PostgreSQL offers, such as better native GIS support.

Notion

Notion is a productivity app that allows individuals or teams to manage tasks or make notes. I mostly use it for keeping track of my work with different projects and to create lists of resources or items that I may need in the future.

Atom

I began using Atom while making my website and it quickly became my favorite text editor. From its library view to Git integration, it makes editing markdown or simple code files easy to change and includes spellcheck, automatic code formatting and multiple tabs to compare code among other features.