Google Cloud Platform Blog: Improve your App Engine skills with Google Developers Academy

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Improve your App Engine skills with Google Developers Academy

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Are you developing on Google App Engine today or interested in learning how to use it? If you've gone through all the great App Engine docs and Getting Started tutorials (Python, Java, or Go) but want to take your App Engine skills a step further, then Google Developers Academy (GDA) is the place to go! We launched GDA this past summer at Google I/O 2012, with content for beginners as well as seasoned developers. What can you find on App Engine in GDA today?

If you’re interested in getting more background on what cloud computing is and where App Engine fits into that ecosystem, then this intro class (Introduction to Google App Engine) is for you. Once you’re done with this class, you’ll be ready to tackle the Getting Started tutorial, and after that, move on to the App Engine 101 in Python class.

While some of the material found in App Engine 101 is similar to what's in the Getting Started tutorial, the 101 class targets developers who skipped the tutorial or completed it at some point in the past but don't want to repeat the exact same thing. The main differences include the following changes to the tutorial's content:

Use of the Python NDB API

Jinja2 templates

Discussion of data consistency and datastore indexes

You can use the relational MySQL-compatible Google Cloud SQL service as an alternative to App Engine's native non-relational datastore. Some applications do require a relational database, especially if you’re porting an existing app that relies on one. In this case, you want to learn about Cloud SQL and how to use it with App Engine. That’s why we have the Using Python App Engine with Google Cloud SQL class.

Of course, Google is best known for search. With App Engine's powerful Search API, you can index not only plain text, but also HTML, atoms, numbers, dates, and locations (lat/long). Getting Started with the Python Search API is a two-part class that will indeed get you started: in the first part of the class, you’ll create an application using a variety of data and learn how to index such data (using “documents”). In Part 2, you’ll learn how to execute queries as well as how to update your indexes when you modify your data.

If variety is what you're after, then look no further than the newest class in GDA: Getting Started with Go, App Engine and Google+ API. You will not only learn how to create an App Engine app using the Go programming language, but also learn how to connect to the Google+ API with the Google APIs Client Library for Go.

These are just a few examples of the types of classes you'll find in GDA. We also have content that features many other Google technologies, including Android, Chrome, YouTube, Maps, Drive, and Wallet. We invite you to swing by for a visit soon.
-Posted by Wesley Chun, Google Developer Relations team