Start Your Salesforce Coding Journey With Camp Apex

In my recent article, 5 Goals for Every Salesforce Developer in 2024, I declared 2024 the year of the developer – a bold claim, but one I stand by. But what if you want to become a Salesforce Developer and need some help reaching that goal?

This is where Camp Apex, an online tool created by Saman Attar at Okta, comes into play. In this article, we’ll discover how and why this tool was created and, more importantly, how it can accelerate your journey to learn Apex.

About Camp Apex

Camp Apex was created by Saman Attar, a 7x Salesforce Certified Senior Software Engineer at Okta, with seven years of experience as a software engineer.

If you’re curious about coding but don’t know where to start, Camp Apex keeps it simple. They believe the best way to become a developer is by actually typing code on a keyboard, claiming that learning by doing is better than simply reading or watching.

At Camp Apex, they’ve organized coding lessons into easy-to-understand parts. Each part has a small coding challenge to try directly on the website. There’s no need to spin up Trailhead playgrounds or download and configure VS code – just straight to coding. These challenges help you learn step by step.

If I had to start learning coding all over again, I’d choose this way. Saman Attar, Senior Software Engineer at Okta and creator of Camp Apex

Privacy is a big deal at Camp Apex. When you connect your Salesforce org to Camp Apex, they save a special code but don’t care about who you are. Your information is safe. And the best part? It’s all free!

You can help by using the website, telling others about it, and giving feedback. There is even a Slack workspace dedicated to Camp Apex where you can connect with other people going on a similar journey to learn Apex.

All of this obviously costs, so although Camp Apex is a totally free resource, you can also donate money to help with the website’s maintenance and future enhancements.

Getting Started

Getting started with Camp Apex is very straightforward. First, you go to Camp Apex and select “Login” in the top right corner. Next, you authorize a Trailhead playground to use – and that’s it. From here, you can dive into the lessons and begin your journey to develop your skills with Apex!

Courses Available

Camp Apex breaks down its lessons into four categories: Apex Fundamentals, Object Oriented Programming, Projects, and SOQL.

In the Apex Fundamentals category, learners progress through a series of courses. Starting with “Datatypes and Variables”, they master the creation of variables for data manipulation.

Advancing to “Expression Operators”, participants engage in comparing and executing mathematical operations on variables. “Classes” delve into effective data modeling, while “Methods” teach the definition of code behavior. The course on “List, Maps, and Sets” introduces efficient storage of multiple items using a single variable. “Conditionals” and “Loops” guide users through decision-making and data iteration, collectively providing a comprehensive and accessible approach to mastering coding fundamentals.

Within the Object Oriented Programming category, there are lessons on the intro to “SObjects”, “OO”, “Complexity, and Quality”, “OOP’s Four Principles”, and “Interfaces”. There are also lessons on “Abstract & Virtual Classes” and “Design Principles”, reportedly coming in February 2024.

The SOQL category is still currently under development; however, it will consist of “SOQL Foundations” (launching March 2024), “SOQL Relationships” (launching April 2024), and “SOQL Aggregates & Functions” (launching April 2024).

Also, in the SOQL category, there are a number of practical hands-on SOQL challenges, ranging from fairly straightforward to pretty challenging. These will really test to see if you’ve taken on what you’ve learned.

Each course at Camp Apex is designed to make coding accessible and enjoyable – whether you’re just starting out or looking to enhance your skills.

How Does Camp Apex Work?

So, “How does it work?” I hear you ask. Below is a screenshot of a Camp Apex lesson layout showing exactly how…

Initially, you have your lesson (1), where you learn about the subject. Next is the challenge for the lesson (2). Similar to Trailhead, each lesson has a challenge to complete. Then, there’s the code panel (3), where you enter your code to solve the challenge. Below that is the results panel (4), which shows whether you’ve passed or failed the challenge.

From a navigation perspective (5), in the bottom left, you can navigate between your lessons. Along to the right, you’ll find the run button (6) for running the code and attempting to pass the challenge, the option to clear your cache and restart the challenge (7), and the ability to view the solution (8) if you’re stuck and need assistance.

Summary

One of Trailhead’s limitations has long been the difficulty of learning Apex via the platform. It isn’t a problem unique to Trailhead; teaching someone how to code in an online environment is a challenging task that very few people seem to get right.

Here, Saman has definitely succeeded. Camp Apex helps you to learn the fundamentals of Apex in an easy-to-digest way. Personally, one of my biggest pitfalls with learning Apex is that it doesn’t develop into muscle memory, and so far, I can honestly say Camp Apex does an amazing job of helping with this.

It is worth mentioning that not everyone learns in the same way, so things like Camp Apex may not work for you if you’re more of a visual or reading learner – for those, Trailhead is still a pretty good resource. There are also plenty of courses available on Salesforce Ben, such as the Apex Academy: A-Z of Salesforce Apex or the Complete Salesforce Developer Bundle, so make sure to check them out!