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First-Contact Map

Concept Position

flowchart TD
  family["Python Programming"] --> program["Python Functional Programming"]
  program --> module["Module 00: Orientation and Study Practice"]
  module --> concept["First-Contact Map"]
  concept --> capstone["Capstone pressure point"]
flowchart LR
  enter["Arrive with no stable route yet"] --> promise["Read the course promise"]
  promise --> map["Read the course map"]
  map --> primer["Read the capstone primer"]
  primer --> start["Open the capstone README"]
  start --> proof["Leave with one small proof route"]

Use this page for your first honest session with the course. The goal is not to cover as much ground as possible. The goal is to make the first hour coherent enough that later reading choices feel deliberate instead of random.

The first-contact route

Take this route in order:

  1. Read ../index.md to understand the course promise and what it does not claim to teach.
  2. Read course-map.md to see the four-course-arc structure.
  3. Read ../guides/course-guide.md to understand how modules, guides, reference pages, and the capstone fit together.
  4. Read ../guides/funcpipe-rag-primer.md so the capstone vocabulary is no longer friction.
  5. Read ../capstone/index.md to understand why the capstone is the executable proof for the course.
  6. Open ../capstone/capstone-map.md and scan the repository shape, working commands, and proof route.
  7. Run one small command: make PROGRAM=python-programming/python-functional-programming capstone-test or make PROGRAM=python-programming/python-functional-programming capstone-tour.

That is enough for a first session. Do not try to settle every advanced concept before Module 01.

What you should know before Module 01

Before you start the first content module, you should be able to answer:

  • What problem is this course trying to solve in real Python systems?
  • Why is the capstone part of the teaching surface instead of an optional side project?
  • Which broad arc covers your current pressure: semantics, failures, effects, or sustainment?
  • Which command will you use when you want your first inspectable proof surface?

What not to do on the first pass

  • do not jump straight into async material because it feels more advanced
  • do not treat the capstone as a separate project that can be ignored until the end
  • do not browse every guide before you have one stable starting route
  • do not confuse "I recognize the terminology" with "I can explain the boundary"

Best companion pages

  • course-map.md
  • course-orientation.md
  • ../guides/start-here.md
  • ../guides/funcpipe-rag-primer.md
  • ../capstone/index.md