LEARNING_PATH.md

Full Learning Path

Curriculum for this repository. For the quickstart, see the main README. For pedagogy (Q/A/R, instrumentation), see Teaching Method.

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Audience and prerequisites

These exercises assume you can read and write Python at a working-engineer level (functions, classes, exceptions, packaging basics). They are not a first programming course.

• Solid on basics, new to asyncio: Use Cursor with "profile: junior" for gentler explanations; you still work the same tests.
• Absolute beginners: Use an introductory Python resource first, then return here for mechanism-level practice.

The project requires Python 3.11+.

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Modules (current state)

Each row is a learning_* directory. Registered tests are lesson files discovered by pytest under that module’s tests/ directory.

Module	Registered tests	Notes
learning_asyncio	4	Coroutine basics, tasks/gather, Event/Queue, cancellation/timeouts.
examples	1	test_try_it_out — good first run after install.

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Suggested learning order

1. Orientation — pip install -e ".[dev]", then pytest examples/test_try_it_out.py -v.
2. Asyncio / coroutines — work learning_asyncio one lesson file at a time:
   1. test_coroutine_basics.py
   2. test_tasks_and_gather.py
   3. test_event_and_queue.py
   4. test_cancellation_and_timeouts.py

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Time and scope (rough)

Area	Indicative hours	Comment
Asyncio / coroutines	8–12	Four lesson files; cancellation/shield is the steepest.

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Success metrics

You can explain, with EventLog evidence:

• Why calling an async def does not run its body
• How create_task / gather schedule concurrent progress
• How Event and Queue coordinate without threads
• How cancellation and wait_for interact with shield and why swallowing CancelledError breaks the contract