profile

The Friday Loop

I'm in prison | Issue #52

Published about 2 months ago • 2 min read

Hi there,

​

I’m emailing you from prison. 🚨

​

No, not like that.

​

The new ArjanCodes office is inside a 19th-century prison in Utrecht. And it’s actually… amazing. The cells are now offices, the vibe is creative, and it’s got just the right kind of gloominess for video production (because direct sunlight and camera lenses don’t mix).

​

In this week’s video, I take you on a little tour of the space and talk about what’s ahead for the channel. After a year of scaling down, I’m finding more balance—and bringing back more of the real coding content you’ve been asking for.

​

🛠️ Think design patterns, Python concepts, and refactoring code that’s on life support.

​

Happy coding and enjoy the tour!

​

Cheers,

Arjan

# News

⚡️Hot Module Replacement in Python? Yes, Please.

Restarting your Python app after every little change? 😩 Been there.

Evan Doyle from Gauge has written a super practical guide on implementing Hot Module Replacement (HMR) for Python projects. Think instant reloads, preserved state, and a massive boost to your development speed.

Instead of restarting your entire app, this method only reloads the modules that actually changed. It’s a clean, dependency-aware approach—and it works really well.

Perfect for bigger projects, or if you just value your time. 🚀 Read the article here.​

🐍 Python, But Make It Elliptical

Can you write Python code that’s clever, minimalist, and still surprisingly functional? Absolutely.

In Elliptical Python Programming, Susam Pal takes a playful detour through Python’s more obscure corners—highlighting how even the most roundabout expressions can lead to beautifully unexpected results.

It’s a fun, thoughtful read that blends technical insight with a touch of code artistry. If you enjoy bending the rules (without breaking them), you’ll love this. 👉 Check out the full article here.

# Community

Recently in our #📚resources channel, JamesParrott shared an interesting video on how to securely store secrets for cloud software—no more .env files in your Docker images!

🔐 The video covers a clever method for handling secrets and even answers a long-standing dev dilemma: “How do I generate MFA codes if my phone breaks?”

Head to the thread in our Discord and check it out—lots of great insights and a helpful video recommendation await.

Do you enjoy my content on YouTube and would you like to dive in deeper?

🚀 Check out my online courses

My courses have helped thousands of developers take the next step in their careers. Check out these courses to help grow your skills and become a senior developer:

🔧 Need help with a complex codebase?

If your team is struggling with tech debt, unclear architecture, or cloud costs that keep creeping up, my team and I can help. We don’t just review, we get in and fix things. We’re only working with a few companies at a time to stay focused, so if it sounds like a fit:

​Unsubscribe | Send by ArjanCodes

Wolvenplein 25, Utrecht, UT 3512 CK

The Friday Loop

by ArjanCodes

Every Friday, you'll get a recap of the most important and exciting Python and coding news. The Friday Loop also keeps everyone posted on new ArjanCodes courses and any limited offers coming up.

Read more from The Friday Loop

Hey everyone, I was reviewing some of the projects I’ve worked on over the past year, and I noticed something interesting: I almost never use Python’s @dataclass anymore. Not because it’s bad. In fact, dataclasses are still a great feature of the language. But as my projects have grown more complex, especially with tools like FastAPI, Pydantic, and SQLAlchemy, I’ve found that dataclasses just… don’t fit the way I design software anymore. In my latest video, I dive into this in detail. You’ll...

4 days ago • 1 min read

Hi there, You’ve probably heard that serverless is the easiest way to deploy code to the cloud. And on the surface, it is. With Google Cloud Functions, you can literally deploy a simple Python function like this: def hello(request): return "Hello from Cloud!" A few lines of code. No servers. No infrastructure. But... there are quite a few limitations: No FastAPI or async support One route per function requirements.txt only, no pyproject.toml Cold starts for large dependencies No custom...

11 days ago • 1 min read

Hey there, Heard of MCP? It stands for Model Context Protocol: an open standard that lets AI models like Claude or ChatGPT connect to real tools and data. In my latest video, I explain what MCP actually is, and show a working example where Claude can search YouTube videos using MCP. In the video you’ll learn: Why AI models can’t just call your API How MCP bridges that gap Two ways to structure your MCP integration Happy coding! Cheers, Arjan # News Upcoming Python Documentary CultRepo...

18 days ago • 1 min read