FastAPI is a modern, high-performance web framework for building APIs that run on Python. It has gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. However, it does come with a little bit of learning curve. I am squarely in the middle of this FastAPI Learning Journey and this post aims to share my strategy for learning new programming technologies that have worked well for me in the past. This might help guide beginning software developers who are interested in learning FastAPI.

My first strategy is to “Understand the Basics”. It’s extremely important to first understand the basics before diving into the advanced topics. My plan is to start by reading the official FastAPI documentation (https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/). The documentation is well-structured and covers everything you need to know to get started. You can also take advantage of various online resources such as YouTube, blogs and online forums (https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/search/?query=fastapi and https://www.tutorialspoint.com/fastapi/index.htm)

My second strategy is to “Practice Constantly”. To learn anything fast, you need to practice constantly. Build your own projects and APIs while following tutorials. Put them on your Github. Don’t just practice writing the code but also actually do the testing and debugging of your code. This will not only help you get better at understanding FastAPI, but it also promotes your growth as a developer.

“Take Advantage of FastAPI Libraries”. When I was learning ReactJS, I would use Google the list of common React/JavaScript packages and try them out. I am also doing the same thing as I learn FastAPI since it too has various libraries that can help you reduce the amount of time it takes to write API advanced functionalities. These features can be easily integrated into your project. Take advantage of libraries such as SQLAlchemy, Pydantic and many others.

Finally, “Collaborate with Others”. Collaborating with others can be a great way to learn FastAPI fast. Reach out to other teams in your company that also it. Joining communities such as FastAPI Discord and Slack communities can be helpful. You can also pair program with friends or colleagues that are knowledgeable about it. In addition, if you are into it, contributing to open-source FastAPI projects can give you hands-on experience with the framework.

I believe that with the right approach, anyone can learn FastAPI fast. This blog post has outlined the four tips that I use to learn FastAPI fast. Whether you’re just starting or already have some experience, it is my hope that these tips can help you achieve success faster.