PyDev of the Week: Adrienne Tacke

This week we welcome Adrienne Tacke (@AdrienneTacke) as our PyDev of the Week! Adrienne is the author of Coding for Kids: Python: Learn to Code with 50 Awesome Games and Activities and her book came out earlier this year. You can see what Adrienne is up to on Instagram or via her website. Let's take some time to get to know her better!

Can you tell us a little about yourself (hobbies, education, etc):

I'm a software engineer in Las Vegas and have a degree in Management Information Systems from UNLV. I've worked in the education and healthcare industries and now focus on building awesome things in the fintech space. I love learning new languages (spoken and programming), eating every dessert imaginable, traveling the world with my husband, and finding ways to encourage more young girls and women to try out a career as a software engineer.

Why did you start using Python?

I truly began using the language when I started writing my book Coding for Kids: Python. It was a simple language that allowed me to focus on the programming concepts versus the syntax which is important for anyone new to coding.

What other programming languages do you know and which is your favorite?

My main languages are C# and JavaScript. I use these everyday for work. My first language was vb.net *blushes*. I don't really have a favorite language, but I do strongly believe in some principles. These include separation of concerns, reusability, human-readable > machine-readable code, and clean code and design.

What projects are you working on now?

I have several projects that involve me teaching something related to software engineering. I can't wait to share more in the coming months! As far as code, I just (FINALLY) updated my website which has been in dire need of a refresh. And the project I'm most excited about: I am starting the migration for our company's client-side architecture to React!

Which Python libraries are your favorite (core or 3rd party)?

I'm don't have any favorites yet as I've barely scratched the surface of what's available. That said, I have tried TensorFlow and Luminoth and absolutely love their potential. I hope to work with them more in a future weekend project!

How did your book come about?

I was approached by a publisher with this opportunity through my Instagram account! I share peeks into my career, serve as an example of a feminine software engineer, and more importantly, share educational posts and mini-tutorials. One of my series is called #DontBeAfraidOfTheTerminal where I explain common and widely used commands in an approachable way. I think they liked they way I taught technical topics, so they asked me to write this book!

What sorts of things did you learn while writing your book?

It is very difficult to reduce topics down into a manageable and kid-friendly way! Writing this book for this type of audience (kids or someone with absolutely no programming experience) was a welcome challenge as it required me to rephrase and refine how I explain things work in programming.

Do you have advice for other aspiring authors?

If you have to re-read something you wrote, start over or find a way to make the sentence flow better. More importantly, just start! The sooner you get your ideas into a draft, the faster you can refine and polish it to become a valuable piece of work. 🙂

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

I just want to remind everyone that there is no developer uniform. Knowledge is power and if you know your stuff, it shouldn't matter what you look like!

Thanks for doing the interview, Adrienne!