Zed A. Shaw, Writer (@lzsthw) / X

Zed A. Shaw, Writer

21.2K posts

Zed A. Shaw, Writer

@lzsthw

Learn to code at learncodethehardway.com. I stream programming, games, and teach art at twitch.tv/zedashaw every day.

Miami Beach, FL

learncodethehardway.com

Joined April 2014

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Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Jun 30
Heads up, I teach old school style programming. No vibe coding. Just terminal, a text editor, and the language. Every course is written for _total beginners_. If you want to actually learn, all of my courses are currently 25% off:
learncodethehardway.com
Learn Code the Hard Way Courses
Programming courses for pre-beginners.
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Jun 26, 2024
Linux: "You are missing the library 'gl'." Me: Ok so I install libgl? Linux: LOL, no dumbass. Me: Uh libgl-dev? Linux: Nope, guess again. Me: libopengl1-mesa-freeglut-dev-lib-dev-free-opensource-agpl-masterclass-dev? Linux: libsndfile-dev. Me: What? You...you...asshole.
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Sep 10, 2023
If you just learned C and are looking for more modern C content then this book "Computer Science from the Bottom Up" looks very well done: bottomupcs.com It covers a lot of computer science and architecture using C code, and could be tackled after my book and/or K&R C.
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Oct 27, 2023
For those of you learning C--or programming languages in general--here's a very good writeup and implementation of a virtual machine in 125 lines of C code: andreinc.net/2021/12/01/wri… Article has really great diagrams showing memory layout, making it a great study project.
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Sep 10, 2025
I started working on a new Go course called "Learn to Learn Go the Hard Way" with the premise of showing you how to learn a language using Go's documentation. I kind of don't know if I like it, but I made 15 videos, so I'm going to post them here, as a thread starting with Ex00:
00:00
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Aug 7, 2023
If you're studying C and looking for something to study try this barco project: github.com/lucavallin/bar… It's a minimalist educational implementation of a Linux container system. Think lxc, docker, kubernetes. The C code is decent and small with most files < 100 lines.
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Jan 1, 2020
If you are contemplating joining a coding bootcamp in 2020 then let me give you a list of the top scams they use to steal your money (yes, even with an ISA, the #1 scam):
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Nov 12, 2025
Tonight, I'm hacking on Go Code on my Twitch. I'm making a tool that does mass video crunching to mp4, vp9, and av1 with ffmpeg, then figuring out how to make them better/faster if possible.
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Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Nov 14, 2025
For tonight's C++ game dev stream I'm working on my cutscene system. It's so deliciously jank you'll die of cringe from just watching this video.
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Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Sep 21, 2023
The exercise on Pandas in Learn Python the Hard Way 5th Edition is going to actually teach how to study "programmer docs." You know what I mean. Everything is clearly described, but nothing makes sense because it's all described in isolation. Here's my explanation.
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Oct 31, 2023
If you're looking for a slightly esoteric advanced topic for C there's a book on OOP in C that looks very nicely done. Main page is: cs.rit.edu/~ats/ And the PDF is: cs.rit.edu/~ats/books/ooc… for English cs.rit.edu/~ats/books/ooc… German by Axel-Tobias Schreiner. More:
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Oct 17, 2025
I posted the first 30 exercise DRAFTs of Learn Go the Hard Way, and laid out the final module where you make a bunch of GNU coreutils tools. The whole course will be free to read, videos will be $15 to cover the cost. Please review and send me bugs:
learncodethehardway.com
Buy Learn Go the Hard Way
A course for total absolute know-nothing beginners who want to learn to code.
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Jan 1, 2020
Replying to @lzsthw
Don't ruin 2020 by believing anything a bootcamp tells you about anything they promise. Do your research. If you see 40 TAs, a massive curriculum, and an ISA then run for you life. Happy New Year!
Zed A. Shaw, Writer
@lzsthw
Sep 2, 2023
This is an amazing article of Postgres trivia that goes through an _entire_ SQL Iceberg meme covering everything mentioned: avestura.dev/blog/explainin… It's not fluff either, each part described is full of information.
Explaining The Postgres Meme
From avestura.dev