Welcome Welcome
Build your own website with no previous experience
Deployed Final Checkpoint
Begin The Tutorial
Beyond this Gate is your very own personal website that you learned to code from the ground up. This tutorial is aimed towards those with very minimal amounts of coding background, but who are interested in coding their own personal website.
Topics covered include getting a development environment set up on Linux and OS X (and kind of Windows), navigating with the command line, and using Vim as a text editor. Python, HTML, CSS, and a small amount of Javascript will make up the bulk of the tutorial, along with putting it all together using Google's webapp2 framework. This will allow for the app to easily be hosted with Google App Engine with very minimal further effort.
By the end of the tutorial, you should have a simple blogging app where you understand how all of the parts fit together and how to tweak them to make it your own.
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FAQs
Already know how to code?
If you are already comfortable with you're development environment, coding in Python, and working with HTML and CSS and just want to see how to get started with Google App Engine skip ahead to the Hello World section.
Already have a webapp2 project?
If you're just looking for how to deploy a webapp2 project, skip ahead to the Publishing on GAE section.
Just want to host a simple, mostly static site?
If you're not interested in learning about the whole MVC pattern and how to set up a full blown application with webapp2, I created a checkpoint just for you! Checkpoint 3.5 - Portfolio is a single page, static app that has enough of the webapp2 components to easily be hosted on Google App Engine. It uses Jinja templates and the MVC architecture still exists, but it can easily be stripped down. Most of the content is in the static directory. This is an example of Checkpoint 3.5 hosted on Google App Engine.
Why am I doing this?
I've used a lot of tutorials and I figured it was time to try and give back. I also noticed that there are a handful of people in my life that could find this useful at the moment. Some of them have taken multiple CS classes and are just interested in utilizing some free web hosting, while others only took one CS classes many years ago and have never built a website before.
I want this to be a complete guide for anyone who has no developement experience, but is interested in building their own website (and not some dopey Wordpress blog).
Why the name 'Gate'?
When I initially started working on this project, I considered it to be a Google App Engine Tutorial. I started calling it GAE-Tut for short which soon morphed into just 'Gate'.
Don't like to read?
Tough. However, I want the barrier to entry to be as low as possible so I have an Introduction to Gate video on the Welcome page! I explain the lay of the land, what resources I have tried to provide, where all of the example code is and how to get it, and then I do a quick screencast all the way through the Python Basics page.
Don't like something?
I love feedback. If something is sucky or there is an error and something doesn't work, please let me know. If you already have an account on GitHub just Open up an issue, or just send me a message.
Any last words?
Wowww..... this is ambitious; not for me, but for you. This is a ton of information to throw at you: using the Command Line, four different language syntax (Python, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), the MVC pattern and other general web information, and how to put it all together. Bravo.