The New Python Certificate

Today I received an email from the O'Reilly School of Technology that was touting their new "Python Programming Certificate". It appears to be an online set of four courses created by Steve Holden, current Chairman of the Python Software Foundation and owner of Holden Web.

Here is what their website says about the four courses:

The first course introduces the Python language, and by the end of the second you have created graphical user interfaces, accessed a relational database and analyzed email messages. The third class increases your language mastery by explaining some of the secrets of the interpreter "under the hood". The fourth rounds out whole experience, providing you with a holistic knowledge of Python that will leave you ready to continue your programming career confident in your command of Python.

And here are the four course titles:

• Python 1: Beginning Python
• Python 2: Getting More Out of Python
• Python 3: The Python Environment
• Python 4: Advanced Python

The certificate is actually issued by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I was unable to discover if one could CLEP out of any of the classes or not for a reduced price. Anyway, this is an FYI to all you aspiring Python Professionals that would like to be "certified".

To my knowledge, this is the first and ONLY Python Certification program. As I recall, Steve Holden mentioned that people were wanting Python Certificates a couple of years ago in his column in the now defunct Python Magazine.