Python Full Stack

Roadmap 2026

A structured, week-by-week guide to becoming a full stack developer with Python. Covers
Python fundamentals, backend development with FastAPI and Django, frontend essentials
with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, connecting the two with REST APIs, databases,
authentication, deployment, and interview preparation.

14 Weeks · 7 Phases · Python · FastAPI · Django · JavaScript · PostgreSQL · Docker

2026 Edition

Maintained by Yatin Sharma

Python Full Stack Roadmap 2026 Maintained by Yatin Sharma

Contents
Phase 01 Python Fundamentals Weeks 1 – 2

Phase 02 Intermediate Python & Ecosystem Week 3

Phase 03 Frontend Essentials — HTML, CSS, JavaScript Weeks 4 – 5

Phase 04 Backend with FastAPI Weeks 6 – 7

Phase 05 Backend with Django & Full Stack Integration Weeks 8 – 10

Phase 06 Databases, Auth & Deployment Weeks 11 – 12

Phase 07 Capstone Project & Interview Preparation Weeks 13 – 14

Appendix A Resources Master List

Appendix B Projects Reference
Appendix C Interview Checklist

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Python Fundamentals
01 Weeks 1 – 2 · The language before the framework

Python's simplicity is deceptive. The fundamentals are quick to pick up, but most beginners skip the parts that
matter — how Python actually works, how it handles memory, and how its data model is built. Spend two full
weeks here. Everything else in this roadmap depends on this foundation.

WEEK 1
Syntax, Data Types & Control Flow

Topics to cover:

– Installing Python 3.12+ and setting up VS Code with the Python extension

– Variables, dynamic typing, type() and isinstance() — Python's type system

– Built-in types: int, float, str, bool, NoneType — and their methods

– String formatting: f-strings (preferred), .format(), % formatting

– Lists: indexing, slicing, list comprehensions, common methods (append, pop, sort, reverse)

– Tuples: immutability, unpacking, when to use over lists

– Dictionaries: CRUD operations, .get(), .items(), .keys(), .values(), dict comprehensions

– Sets: add, remove, union, intersection, difference — and when they matter

– Control flow: if/elif/else, while, for, break, continue, pass

– Functions: defining, calling, default arguments, *args, **kwargs

– Scope: local vs global, the LEGB rule

– Modules: import, from x import y, as aliases, the __name__ == '__main__' pattern

Resources:

Primary [Link] Tutorial — [Link]/3/tutorial (the official one, genuinely good)

Course CS50P — [Link]/python (free, project-based, excellent pacing)

Practice [Link] Python track — 20 exercises in Week 1

Reference Python Docs — [Link]/3/library/stdtypes (bookmark this)

Milestone:

Build a command-line contact book: add, search, update, delete contacts stored in a dictionary. Persist to a
JSON file. Handle missing keys and invalid input gracefully. No libraries, pure Python.

WEEK 2
Functions, OOP & Error Handling

Topics to cover:

– Functions as first-class objects — passing functions as arguments, returning functions

– Lambda functions — when they help and when they hurt readability

– Decorators — how they work mechanically, writing your own simple decorator

– Classes: __init__, instance methods, class methods (@classmethod), static methods (@staticmethod)

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– Dunder (magic) methods: __str__, __repr__, __len__, __eq__, __lt__

– Inheritance, super(), method resolution order (MRO)

– Exception handling: try/except/else/finally, raising exceptions, custom exception classes

– Context managers: the with statement, writing your own with __enter__ and __exit__

– Iterators and generators: __iter__, __next__, yield keyword, generator expressions

– File I/O: reading, writing, appending text files and JSON with the json module

Resources:

Primary Real Python — [Link] (filter by topic, highest quality Python articles online)

OOP Real Python — Object-Oriented Programming in Python (comprehensive guide)

Practice LeetCode Easy problems — solve 10 using Python, focus on clean Pythonic style

Video Corey Schafer YouTube — Python OOP Tutorial playlist (6 videos, very clear)

Milestone:

Build a Library Management System using OOP: Book, Member, Library classes. Borrow/return logic,
overdue tracking, search by author or title. Custom exceptions for invalid operations. Save state to JSON.

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Intermediate Python & Ecosystem

02 Week 3 · Write Python the way professionals write it

This week bridges beginner Python and production Python. You will learn the features that make Python code
clean, idiomatic, and interview-ready. Interviewers will notice immediately if you write Java-style Python —
nested loops instead of comprehensions, missing type hints, no use of the standard library.

WEEK 3
Modern Python Features & Standard Library

Topics to cover:

– Type hints: basic annotations, List[str], Dict[str, int], Optional, Union, from __future__ import annotations

– dataclasses — replacing boilerplate classes with @dataclass

– Enums with the enum module — cleaner than magic strings or constants

– Collections module: Counter, defaultdict, OrderedDict, namedtuple, deque

– itertools: chain, product, combinations, permutations, groupby — know when to reach for these

– functools: reduce, partial, lru_cache (memoization in one line)

– pathlib — modern file and directory handling (replace [Link] entirely)

– datetime module — parsing, formatting, timedelta, timezone-aware datetimes

– Virtual environments: venv, activating, pip, [Link], pip freeze

– Package managers: pip vs pipenv vs poetry — use poetry for new projects

– Writing clean Python: PEP 8, using Black formatter, Flake8 linting, isort

– Testing with pytest: writing test functions, fixtures, parametrize, running the suite

Resources:

Primary Real Python — Python Type Checking Guide (thorough, practical)

Testing pytest docs — [Link] (read the Getting Started section fully)

Style PEP 8 — [Link]/pep-0008 (the Python style guide)

Video ArjanCodes YouTube — Python Best Practices playlist (highly practical)

Tool Black formatter — [Link] (run it on all your code from now on)

Milestone:

Refactor your Week 2 Library System: add full type hints, convert classes to dataclasses where appropriate,
write a pytest test suite with at least 15 tests covering all operations, format with Black. Add a CLI interface
using argparse or click.

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Frontend Essentials — HTML, CSS, JavaScript

03 Weeks 4 – 5 · What users actually see

Full stack means you can build both sides. You don't need to be a frontend specialist, but you need to be
dangerous enough to build functional interfaces, consume your own APIs, and understand what frontend
developers are talking about. Two weeks is enough to get there.

WEEK 4
HTML & CSS

HTML topics:

– Document structure: DOCTYPE, html, head, body, meta tags

– Semantic elements: header, nav, main, section, article, aside, footer — why semantics matter

– Text: h1–h6, p, span, strong, em, blockquote, pre, code

– Links and images: a, img, alt text, relative vs absolute paths

– Lists: ul, ol, li, dl, dt, dd

– Forms: input types (text, email, password, number, date, checkbox, radio), label, select, textarea, button

– Tables: table, thead, tbody, tr, th, td — for tabular data only

– HTML5 APIs overview: data attributes, canvas, audio, video

CSS topics:

– Selectors: element, class, ID, attribute, pseudo-classes (:hover, :focus, :nth-child), pseudo-elements

– Box model: margin, border, padding, content — and box-sizing: border-box

– Display: block, inline, inline-block, none

– Flexbox: flex-direction, justify-content, align-items, flex-wrap, gap — the main layout tool

– CSS Grid: grid-template-columns, grid-template-rows, grid-area — for 2D layouts

– Positioning: static, relative, absolute, fixed, sticky

– Responsive design: media queries, mobile-first approach, viewport meta tag

– CSS custom properties (variables): --primary-color, var()

– Transitions and basic animations

Resources:

HTML MDN Web Docs — [Link]/en-US/docs/Learn/HTML (the definitive reference)

CSS MDN Web Docs — [Link]/en-US/docs/Learn/CSS

Practice The Odin Project — [Link] (HTML/CSS sections, project-based)

Tool CSS Flexbox Froggy — [Link] (visual Flexbox learning)

Tool CSS Grid Garden — [Link] (visual Grid learning)

Milestone:

Build a fully responsive personal portfolio page: about section, projects grid, contact form. No frameworks, no
JavaScript yet — pure HTML and CSS. Must look good on mobile and desktop.

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WEEK 5
JavaScript Essentials

Topics to cover:

– Variables: var vs let vs const — always use const by default, let when reassigning

– Data types: string, number, boolean, null, undefined, symbol, object

– Functions: declarations, expressions, arrow functions — and the difference in 'this' binding

– DOM manipulation: getElementById, querySelector, querySelectorAll, innerHTML, textContent

– Event listeners: addEventListener, event object, event bubbling and delegation

– Fetch API: making GET and POST requests, handling Promises with .then().catch()

– async/await — cleaner syntax for Promises, try/catch for async errors

– JSON: [Link](), [Link]()

– ES6+ features: destructuring, spread/rest operators, template literals, optional chaining

– Array methods: map, filter, reduce, find, some, every, forEach

– Modules: import and export (ES modules)

– localStorage and sessionStorage — storing data in the browser

– Form handling: preventDefault(), reading input values, basic client-side validation

Resources:

Primary [Link] — The Modern JavaScript Tutorial (best free resource available)

Reference MDN Web Docs — [Link]/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript

Practice The Odin Project — JavaScript Fundamentals section

Video Traversy Media — JavaScript Crash Course (YouTube, 1.5 hours)

Milestone:

Add JavaScript to your portfolio: fetch your GitHub repos via the GitHub API and display them dynamically in
the projects section. Add a working contact form that validates inputs and shows success/error feedback
without page reload.

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Backend with FastAPI

04 Weeks 6 – 7 · Modern Python APIs

FastAPI is the fastest-growing Python backend framework and the right place to start for API development. It
is built for Python 3.6+ type hints, generates documentation automatically, and is significantly faster than
Flask and Django REST Framework. Learning FastAPI also teaches you how modern async Python works.

WEEK 6
FastAPI Core

Topics to cover:

– What FastAPI is, why it is faster than Flask, and when to use it vs Django

– Project setup: poetry, creating a FastAPI app, running with uvicorn

– Path parameters and query parameters — @[Link]('/items/{item_id}')

– Request body with Pydantic models — automatic validation and serialization

– Pydantic deep dive: Field(), validators, model_config, nested models

– Response models — controlling what gets returned, hiding internal fields

– HTTP status codes with status module and HTTPException

– Dependency injection in FastAPI — Depends() for shared logic

– Routers — APIRouter for organizing endpoints into modules

– Middleware — CORS, request logging

– Automatic OpenAPI docs at /docs and /redoc — demo this to interviewers

– Environment variables with python-dotenv and pydantic BaseSettings

Resources:

Primary FastAPI official docs — [Link] (genuinely excellent, read all of it)

Video Amigoscode — FastAPI Tutorial (YouTube, free, 3 hours)

Pydantic Pydantic v2 docs — [Link] (read the concepts section)

Practice Build the same Task API from scratch using FastAPI instead of any notes

WEEK 7
FastAPI with Database & Async

Topics to cover:

– Async Python: event loop, async/await, when async actually helps

– SQLAlchemy 2.0 with async support — the ORM for Python backends

– Alembic — database migrations for SQLAlchemy (equivalent to Flyway in Java world)

– FastAPI + SQLAlchemy pattern: session management, dependency injection

– Async database operations with asyncpg and PostgreSQL

– Background tasks in FastAPI — BackgroundTasks for sending emails, etc.

– File uploads: UploadFile, reading file contents, saving to disk

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– Writing tests for FastAPI: TestClient, pytest fixtures for database

– Structuring a FastAPI project: routers, schemas, models, services, dependencies

Resources:

SQLAlchemy SQLAlchemy 2.0 docs — [Link] (ORM tutorial section)

Async Real Python — Async IO in Python ([Link], comprehensive guide)

Testing FastAPI docs — Testing section ([Link]/tutorial/testing)

Pattern FastAPI Best Practices GitHub repo — [Link]/zhanymkanov/fastapi-best-practices

Milestone:

Build a fully functional Blog API with FastAPI and PostgreSQL: users, posts, comments, tags. JWT
authentication (covered in Phase 6), pagination, search by tag, full CRUD, tests for every endpoint, Alembic
migrations, auto-generated Swagger documentation.

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Django & Full Stack Integration

05 Weeks 8 – 10 · The batteries-included framework

Django is the most widely used Python web framework in production. It comes with an admin panel, ORM,
authentication, form handling, and templating out of the box. Full stack Django means you build both the
backend and the frontend templates in the same project. You will also learn to integrate your Python backend
with a JavaScript frontend.

WEEK 8
Django Core

Topics to cover:

– Django project structure: project vs app, [Link], [Link], [Link]

– MTV pattern: Model, Template, View — how Django's architecture differs from MVC

– Models: field types (CharField, IntegerField, DateTimeField, ForeignKey, ManyToManyField)

– Django ORM: QuerySet API — filter, exclude, get, order_by, annotate, aggregate

– Migrations: makemigrations, migrate, understanding migration files

– Django admin: registering models, customizing list_display, search_fields, filters

– Views: function-based views (FBV) vs class-based views (CBV) — know both

– URL routing: path(), include(), named URLs, reverse()

– Templates: Django template language, template inheritance, {% block %}, {% include %}

– Static files: STATIC_URL, STATICFILES_DIRS, collectstatic

– Forms: Django Form class, ModelForm, validation, rendering in templates

– Django's built-in authentication: login, logout, signup, @login_required

Resources:

Primary Django official docs — [Link] (read the Tutorial fully, all 7 parts)

Book Django for Beginners (William Vincent) — very practical, project-based

Video Traversy Media — Django Crash Course (YouTube, 2 hours)

Admin Django Girls Tutorial — [Link] (excellent end-to-end walkthrough)

Milestone:

Build a fully server-rendered blog with Django: user registration, login, creating and editing posts,
commenting, admin moderation panel. All pages rendered with Django templates. No JavaScript framework.

WEEK 9
Django REST Framework

Topics to cover:

– Django REST Framework (DRF) setup and configuration

– Serializers: ModelSerializer, nested serializers, SerializerMethodField

– APIView vs generic views (ListAPIView, RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView)

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– ViewSets and Routers — reducing boilerplate for CRUD endpoints

– Permissions: IsAuthenticated, IsAdminUser, custom permission classes

– Authentication: SessionAuthentication, BasicAuthentication, TokenAuthentication

– Filtering with django-filter: DjangoFilterBackend, SearchFilter, OrderingFilter

– Pagination: PageNumberPagination, LimitOffsetPagination, CursorPagination

– Throttling — rate limiting your API

– Testing DRF: APIClient, APITestCase

Resources:

Primary DRF official docs — [Link] (read the Tutorial section)

Book Django for APIs (William Vincent) — covers DRF end to end

Video Dennis Ivy — Django REST Framework Full Course (YouTube)

Practice Add a DRF API layer to your Week 8 Django blog project

WEEK 10
Full Stack Integration — Python Backend + JavaScript Frontend

Topics to cover:

– Separation of concerns: Django/FastAPI as pure API backend, JavaScript as frontend

– CORS: configuring django-cors-headers, allowing specific origins

– Fetching data from your API using the Fetch API and async/await in JavaScript

– Handling authentication tokens in JavaScript: storing JWT in memory or httpOnly cookies

– Building dynamic pages: rendering data from API responses into the DOM

– Introduction to React (optional but high-value): create-react-app, components, state, props, useEffect for
API calls

– Connecting a React frontend to a DRF or FastAPI backend

– Environment variables in frontend: .env files, REACT_APP_ prefix

– Error handling: loading states, error states, empty states in the UI

Resources:

CORS django-cors-headers docs — [Link]/adamchainz/django-cors-headers

React React official docs — [Link] (if going the React route, read the Tutorial)

Video Traversy Media — Django REST Framework & React (YouTube)

Pattern Full stack project structure: /backend (Django/FastAPI) + /frontend (React or vanilla JS)

Milestone:

Build a full stack Task Manager: FastAPI or DRF backend with JWT auth, PostgreSQL, and a JavaScript (or
React) frontend that consumes the API. Users can register, log in, and manage their tasks. Frontend and
backend are separate projects communicating via REST.

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Databases, Auth & Deployment

06 Weeks 11 – 12 · Make it real

Building something that runs locally is one thing. Building something that is secure, handles real users, and
runs on a server is another. These two weeks cover the gaps between a working prototype and a
production-ready application.

WEEK 11
PostgreSQL, Redis & Authentication

PostgreSQL topics:

– PostgreSQL setup and connection from Python using psycopg2 or asyncpg

– Indexing strategy: when to add indexes, composite indexes, partial indexes

– Database transactions in Python: commit, rollback, connection pooling with pgBouncer

– Query optimization: EXPLAIN ANALYZE, identifying slow queries

– Full-text search in PostgreSQL: tsvector, tsquery, GIN indexes

– JSON and JSONB column types — when to denormalize

Redis topics:

– What Redis is and when to use it: caching, session storage, rate limiting, queues

– redis-py basics: set, get, expire, hset, lpush, lrange

– Caching API responses in FastAPI/Django with Redis

– Django cache framework with Redis as backend

Authentication topics:

– JWT deep dive: header, payload, signature — never store sensitive data in payload

– Implementing JWT in FastAPI with python-jose or authlib

– Refresh tokens: access token (15 min expiry) + refresh token (7 day expiry) pattern

– OAuth 2.0 concepts: authorization code flow, client credentials flow

– Social login with Google using django-allauth or authlib

– Password hashing with bcrypt via passlib — never store plain or MD5 passwords

– Rate limiting login endpoints to prevent brute force

Resources:

JWT [Link] — understand the structure before implementing

Auth Real Python — Token-Based Authentication with FastAPI (comprehensive guide)

Redis Redis University — [Link] (free courses)

SQL [Link] — PostgreSQL-specific practice problems

WEEK 12
Docker & Deployment

Topics to cover:

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– Docker fundamentals: images, containers, layers, Dockerfile

– Writing a Dockerfile for a FastAPI or Django app

– docker-compose: running your app + PostgreSQL + Redis together

– Environment variables in Docker: .env files, docker-compose env_file

– Nginx as a reverse proxy: routing traffic to your Python app

– Gunicorn as a production WSGI server for Django, uvicorn workers for FastAPI

– Deploying to a VPS (DigitalOcean Droplet or Hetzner): SSH, setting up the server

– CI/CD basics: GitHub Actions — run tests on every push, deploy on merge to main

– Domain and HTTPS: setting up Let's Encrypt SSL with Certbot

– Basic monitoring: server logs, Sentry for error tracking (free tier)

Resources:

Docker Docker official docs — [Link]/get-started (complete the tutorial)

Deploy DigitalOcean Tutorials — [Link]/community/tutorials (Python deployment guides)

CI/CD GitHub Actions docs — [Link]/en/actions

Video TechWorld with Nana — Docker Tutorial for Beginners (YouTube, thorough)

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Capstone Project & Interview Preparation

07 Weeks 13 – 14 · Ship and get hired

The final two weeks are about producing your best work and getting interview-ready. The capstone project
should demonstrate everything you have learned in one cohesive, well-structured, deployed application.

WEEK 13
Capstone Project

Choose one:

Option A — Full Stack E-Commerce Platform

– Backend: FastAPI + PostgreSQL + Redis for cart sessions

– Frontend: React or vanilla JS with proper state management

– Features: product catalog with search/filter, cart, checkout flow, order history, admin dashboard

– Auth: JWT with refresh tokens, Google OAuth for customer login

– Payment: Stripe integration (test mode)

– Deployment: Docker Compose, deployed to VPS, HTTPS enabled

Option B — Real-Time Collaboration Tool

– Backend: Django Channels for WebSocket support + DRF for REST

– Frontend: React with real-time updates via WebSocket

– Features: shared workspaces, live document editing, online presence indicators, notifications

– Auth: JWT, role-based permissions (Owner, Editor, Viewer)

– Storage: PostgreSQL for data, Redis for WebSocket channel layer

Option C — Developer Portfolio + Blog CMS

– Backend: Django with DRF, Markdown support for blog posts

– Frontend: React with server-side rendering concepts or [Link] (if time allows)

– Features: admin CMS for writing posts, public blog with search/tags, project showcase, contact form

– Extras: RSS feed, [Link], OpenGraph meta tags for social sharing

Requirements for all options: full test suite (>70% coverage), API documentation with Swagger/OpenAPI,
Docker Compose file, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, deployed and accessible at a real URL, clear README
with setup instructions.

WEEK 14
Interview Preparation

Python interview topics to review:

– GIL (Global Interpreter Lock) — what it is, why it exists, how to work around it (multiprocessing, async)

– Memory management: reference counting, garbage collector, weak references

– Mutable vs immutable objects — why you never use a mutable default argument

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– Generators vs lists — memory tradeoffs, when to prefer each

– Decorators — implement a timing decorator and a retry decorator from scratch

– Metaclasses — what they are conceptually (you won't implement them but you should explain them)

– Python's data model — __dunder__ methods, operator overloading

– Threading vs multiprocessing vs asyncio — when to use which

Django/FastAPI interview topics:

– Django ORM query optimization — select_related vs prefetch_related, N+1 problem

– Django signals — what they are, when to use them, their drawbacks

– Django middleware — request/response lifecycle

– FastAPI dependency injection system — how Depends() works

– Pydantic validation internals — validators, root_validators, model_validators

– Async vs sync in FastAPI — when does async actually help?

Resources:

DSA NeetCode 150 — [Link] (solve in Python, focus on clarity)

Python Real Python — Python Interview Questions ([Link])

System System Design Interview (Alex Xu) — Chapters 1–6

Mock [Link] — free peer mock interviews

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Appendix A — Resources Master List

Free Learning Platforms

– CS50P — [Link]/python (best free Python course)

– Real Python — [Link] (best Python reference articles)

– The Odin Project — [Link] (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)

– [Link] — The Modern JavaScript Tutorial

– FastAPI docs — [Link] (read every page)

– Django docs — [Link] (read the full tutorial)

– MDN Web Docs — [Link] (HTML, CSS, JS reference)

– SQLZoo — [Link] and [Link] (SQL practice)

– NeetCode — [Link] (DSA practice)

YouTube Channels

– Corey Schafer — Python OOP, Django, Flask, best practices

– ArjanCodes — Python design patterns, clean code

– Dennis Ivy — Django and Django REST Framework tutorials

– Traversy Media — Django crash courses, JavaScript, React

– Amigoscode — FastAPI, Spring Boot, full stack tutorials

– TechWorld with Nana — Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD

– NeetCode — algorithm walkthroughs

– Gaurav Sen — system design fundamentals

Books

– Python Crash Course (Eric Matthes) — best Python introductory book

– Fluent Python (Luciano Ramalho) — intermediate to advanced Python

– Django for Beginners + Django for APIs (William Vincent) — practical Django

– Architecture Patterns with Python (Percival & Gregory) — production patterns

– System Design Interview (Alex Xu) — entry-level system design

Tools to Install (all free)

– Python 3.12+ — [Link]

– VS Code + Python extension — [Link]

– Poetry — [Link] (dependency management)

– PostgreSQL 16 — [Link]

– DBeaver Community — database GUI

– Postman — API testing

– Docker Desktop — containerization

– Git — [Link]

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– [Link] (for React frontend) — [Link]

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Appendix B — Projects Reference

Each project builds on the previous. Do not skip projects — each one introduces patterns you will use in the
next.

Wk 1–2 Contact Book + Library System 4–6 hrs

Pure Python, OOP, file I/O, JSON, custom exceptions

Wk 3 Refactored Library System + CLI 3–4 hrs

Type hints, dataclasses, pytest suite, argparse CLI

Wk 4 Responsive Portfolio Page 4–5 hrs

HTML, CSS, Flexbox, Grid, mobile-first responsive design

Wk 5 Dynamic Portfolio with JS 4–5 hrs

JavaScript, Fetch API, DOM manipulation, GitHub API

Wk 6–7 Blog API (FastAPI) 12–16 hrs

FastAPI, Pydantic, PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy, Alembic, tests

Wk 8 Django Blog (server-rendered) 8–10 hrs

Django templates, ORM, forms, admin, authentication

Wk 9 Blog API with DRF 6–8 hrs

Django REST Framework, serializers, ViewSets, permissions

Wk 10 Full Stack Task Manager 12–15 hrs

FastAPI/DRF + JS/React frontend, JWT auth, CORS

Wk 13 Capstone Project 25–35 hrs

Full stack, deployed, tested, documented, CI/CD

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Appendix C — Interview Checklist

Python Core

– What is the GIL? How do you work around it?

– Explain Python's memory management and garbage collection

– What is the difference between a generator and a list? When do you use each?

– What are decorators? Write a decorator that measures function execution time

– Explain mutable default arguments — why is def f(lst=[]) a bug?

– What is the difference between deepcopy and copy?

– Explain Python's data model — what are dunder methods?

– What is the difference between __str__ and __repr__?

– How does Python's import system work?

– What is a context manager? Write one using __enter__ and __exit__

Django / FastAPI

– Explain Django's request/response lifecycle

– What is the difference between select_related and prefetch_related?

– What causes the N+1 problem in Django ORM and how do you fix it?

– What are Django signals? When should you avoid them?

– Explain FastAPI's dependency injection system

– What is the difference between sync and async views in Django?

– How does Pydantic validation work under the hood?

– What is Django middleware? Write a simple logging middleware

Databases

– Explain database indexing — when to add, when not to, what the tradeoffs are

– What is a database transaction? Explain ACID properties

– What is the difference between INNER JOIN and LEFT JOIN?

– What is a database migration? Why is it important to never edit old migrations?

– Explain connection pooling — why is it important in production?

REST & System Design

– What makes an API RESTful? What are the constraints?

– What is idempotency? Which HTTP methods are idempotent?

– How would you design an API rate limiter?

– Explain the difference between authentication and authorization

– How does JWT work? What is stored in each part?

– Walk me through your capstone project — architecture decisions and tradeoffs

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This roadmap gives you everything you need to get your first full stack job with Python. The technology
changes — the fundamentals don't. Understand why things work, not just how to make them work. Build
real things. Ship them. Good luck.

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