- 100% free and open source (https://github.com/alexmojaki/futurecoder), no ads or paid content.
- No account required at any point. You can start instantly. (You can create an account if you want to save your progress online and across devices. Your email is only used for password resets)
- 3 integrated debuggers can be started with one click to show what your code is doing in different ways.
- Enhanced tracebacks make errors easy to understand.
- Useful for anyone: You can have the above without having to look at the course. IDE mode (https://futurecoder.io/course/#ide) gives you an instant scratchpad to write and debug code similar to repl.it.
- Completely interactive course: run code at every step which is checked automatically, keeping you engaged and learning by doing.
- Every exercise has many small optional hints to give you just the information you need to figure it out and no more.
- When the hints run out and you're still stuck, there are 2 ways to gradually reveal a solution so you can still apply your mind and make progress.
- Advice for common mistakes: customised linting for beginners and exercise-specific checks to keep you on track.
- Construct a question that will be well-received on sites like StackOverflow: https://futurecoder.io/course/#question
- Also available in French (https://fr.futurecoder.io/), Tamil (https://ta.futurecoder.io/), and Spanish (https://es-latam.futurecoder.io/). Note that these translations are slightly behind the English version, so the sites themselves are too as a result. If you're interested, help with translation would be greatly appreciated! Translation to Chinese and Portuguese is also half complete, and any other languages are welcome.
- Runs in the browser using Pyodide (https://pyodide.org/). No servers. Stores user data in firebase.
- Progressive Web App (PWA) that can be installed from the browser and used offline.
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A frequent question is how does futurecoder compare to Codecademy? Codeacademy has some drawbacks:
- No interactive shell/REPL/console
- No debuggers
- Basic error tracebacks not suitable for beginners
- No stdin, i.e. no input() so you can't write interactive programs, and no pdb.
- No gradual guidance when you're stuck. You can get one big hint, then the full solution in one go. This is not effective for learners having difficulty.
- Still on Python 3.6 (futurecoder is on 3.10)
I am obviously biased, but I truly believe futurecoder is the best resource for adult beginners. The focus on debugging tools, improved error messages, and hints empowers learners to tackle carefully balanced challenges. The experience of learning feels totally different from other courses, which is why I claim that if someone wants to start learning how to code, futurecoder is the best recommendation you can make.