Add Gimbalabs PPBL to Plutus page

[rphair]

I just noticed this in Catalyst Weekly #70 ... https://plutuspbl.io ... and then ran to add it to the Plutus page, as an alternative / supplement to the Plutus Pioneer Program, only to realise I had no idea how to position it relative to that alternative.

I believe it should be displayed with corresponding rank, so that people know there's an alternative or addition to PPP that offers something similar. I stopped my pending edit when I realised that putting them both on the Plutus page would require at least a brief explanation of how they are different.

Once clarified, I would be happy eiether to formulate this PR or to leave it to one of the contributors to https://github.com/cardano-foundation/developer-portal/pull/910 which had some good comments on the same subject by @OlofBlomqvist @rdlrt.

Maybe also we can ping someone at Gimbalabs to see how this could be introduced (the Catalyst text above seems a little too informal): @katomm @fill-the-fill, know of anybody?

[katomm]

Ok, summoning @rcmorano since I can't think of any other related GitHub account, but we could also send classy email. 😏

[rdlrt]

I believe it should be displayed with corresponding rank

Not sure if I fully understood, but it could be mentioned briefly as an alternative learning module from gimbalabs (under Getting Started with Haskell , followed by a seperate section with short description before Demeter run (thus, education modules followed by sample simulation env)?

[rphair]

@rdlrt by "rank" I meant that I think it should have its own section: so yes, a section as you say, and because it's an educational programme it would be after PPP and therefore yes exactly before Demeter.run. 🤓

[OlofBlomqvist]

In my opinion, PPBL is a bit more beginner-friendly, but it also covers a broader scope of topics, including Plu-TS, PlutusTX, Aiken, Mesh, Koios, Demeter.run etc. I'd say it provides a more general introduction to the smart contracts landscape, so it might be better suited for the smart-contract overview page rather than the Plutus-specific page. This way, perhaps people who are interested in learning about Aiken or other non-plutus (read non-haskell-based) languages are more likely to notice it?

Regardless, it would ofc be polite to allow the Gimbalab team to describe their own project :) Maybe @jamesdunseith @workshop-maybe has some input?

[rphair]

@OlofBlomqvist I'd be happy to wait for a chance to @jamesdunseith @workshop-maybe to contribute, and if so will write up a PR with any text they provide, especially if it includes what you mention above.

[workshop-maybe]

Hi all - thanks for this thread, just catching it now!

We are framing PPBL as a complement to PPP, not as an alternative, and students have reported benefits to doing both in parallel or in sequence. @OlofBlomqvist has it right above - PPBL is beginner friendly and introduces core concepts in Cardano development, not limited to Plutus. The full list of topics covered is at: https://plutuspbl.io/get-started/modules

Can it work to emphasize the complementary roles of PPP + PPBL? I can draft a blurb tomorrow if needed.

(And thanks for tracking me down - Gimbalabs doesn't have too much of a github presence because we gitlab as a reminder that there are always alternatives in the decentralized world we're buliding)

[rphair]

@workshop-maybe - a blurb with everything you just mentioned sounds perfect & such a positioning of PPBL relative to PPP is exactly what I was hoping for in posting this issue 🤓

p.s. if you post some markdown in this thread I'll copy it into a PR for that page.

[workshop-maybe]

Thank you @rphair - just submitted a PR. Feel free to change anything I wrote as you see fit -- and thanks for the opportunity to share!

[rphair]

and thank you @workshop-maybe ... https://github.com/cardano-foundation/developer-portal/pull/1009 looks all in order so any further editing can continue in the PR.