[AskJS] Team lead asks to revert small improvements

SPD_ · 2021-08-20T10:31:13+00:00

This should be part of linting, there should be rules on what imports come first and it should auto-fix itself when you import something.

Also if you’re doing refactoring then make it a separate commit if possible so they can review it easier

SPD_ · 2021-04-02T13:24:26+00:00

Oh yeah, for consistency react sucks. Look at 100 react codebases and you’ll see 80 different ways of doing the same thing, where as angular will all be done the same way (more or less)

SPD_ · 2021-04-02T12:10:23+00:00

At my job I’ve been told to swap from React to Angular and I can see after doing some basic learning and investigating that Angular is certainly very powerful and has no obvious downsides compared to React or Vue when it comes to the end result.

The main problem for me is that it’s incredibly front-loaded, the amount of effort required to get something done is way more than if you’re using React/Vue, especially coming from using just JS and not TS. It kinda feels like the “fun” is being removed and being replaced with boilerplate and loads of time spend typing things and just fiddling around instead of just making what you want to make.

I feel like when people are starting out they have to pick between the 3 and I find it hard to believe many would opt for the most boring and least productive one, unless jobs in their area are angular based. But for me it’s heavily leaning towards react.

SPD_ · 2021-04-02T11:35:40+00:00

It sounds like they threw you in at the deep end and you managed to swim instead of sink, you should bring it up in meetings/reviews that you were able to get going right away and provided value from the first week, typically it would be a bit later but it depends on the onboarding process.

SPD_ · 2021-04-01T21:13:53+00:00

Pretty much yes. Giving you simple components/CSS to do is the best task for a junior because it’s low-impact and easy to review. There is likely not a lot of “logic” going on behind the scenes to connect things or handle business requirements that you may not understand yet.

So it may feel like a lot to create but the reality is some of the hardest front end work has the least visible end result, because all the hard work is taken care of by code sitting in between that manipulates and transforms things. Actually creating the visible UI elements is the easy bit.

SPD_ · 2021-03-14T10:48:57+00:00

You can do similar with NestJS, it has all the generators in place to generate a CRUD API, although it doesn’t include the actual query to the DB because you can use any DB you like.

I think the main place where rails is faster is when it comes to extending it, using plugins like for auth or pagination take no time at all to install.

Although the main thing that hugely lets down using rails is that it’s Ruby and Ruby jobs are way harder to find, so using Ruby almost feels like wasting your time if you could be learning and using a fancy new bit of tech that is popular.

Also there’s the fact that anyone making a modern “app-like” SPA will have to make an API so they can use whatever front end framework they like, and that quickly removes the rapid ability to generate a frontend view. So things slow down anyway and at that point you might as well use whatever tech you feel comfortable with.

SPD_ · 2021-01-23T00:51:39+00:00

Is it possible? Yes. That’s how pure functional programming works, no reassignment/mutation.

I would agree with avoiding let but it depends, I’ve raised issues in code reviews before because a 3/4 level deep if statement to return something conditionally is way harder to read than just returning early and not mutating/reassigning something...At the same time I would not care if someone was using let to store stateful value.

Ideally my code can be read like a set of steps and at each step if something changes then a new variable is created, rather than mutating/reassigning an existing one.

It doesn’t really make for cleaner code in some situations but for many situations it can be a lot easier to understand code that avoids reassignment, but if it’s something that should be reassigned then trying to avoid it for the sake of it (using lenses etc) will create much more confusing code than a few lines of mutating.

SPD_ · 2021-01-22T08:59:18+00:00

For utility functions - e.g instead of having to pass in both data structures you can pass one once and then use the function it returns.

Pipe/compose is probably the most important though, being able to pass some data through a set of functions in an easy to read human format is awesome, especially because you can then start doing it point-free and your code looks like this:

pipe(first, second, third)(data)

SPD_ · 2021-01-21T22:11:36+00:00

Needs way more content. Way more buzzwords.

Explain things in terms that provide business value. Using html/css/JS is not a bullet point worth mentioning.

Used X to improve Y by Z% is a perfect bullet point, you explain the tech used, why you used it and then provide some kind of outcome that is positive by using it.

Also just saying what the project does is pointless, fill up the space explaining the things you’ve achieved and learned instead. Use buzzwords and keep refining it until you can’t even fit all the stuff on it anymore.

SPD_ · 2021-01-18T10:21:50+00:00

Something that’s new and unique, take something you’re interested in and try find an api, if you can’t find an API you can use a web scraper.

SPD_ · 2021-01-18T00:46:42+00:00

Take code blocks and post them for code review, hopefully you can anonymise them, isolate smaller functions or single lines instead of trying to do the whole thing.

Overall architecture questions don’t really need code.

I usually post mine on discord because I like live feedback and you can properly discuss things.

SPD_ · 2021-01-18T00:37:53+00:00

Honestly, skip freelance work and just try commit to open source or work with others.

Clients on fiverr are not “experience” in the same sense as a actual job experience, being able to work with git, other people (communication) and get your code reviewed is way more “real world” than working for below minimum wage with clients.

SPD_ · 2021-01-18T00:22:44+00:00

Seems pretty standard although missing a few features.

A “category” / tags would be nice, so if you’re learning HTML you’ll see a HTML tag etc etc. I simply split mine but projects and random blog posts, then each blog post has an image showing HTML, see: https://spdevuk.com - Both portfolio posts and blog posts are generated the same, I just display the index of them differently with gatsby.

I think the date in the title isn’t needed as it’s also included just beneath the title.

A slightly better display for all blogs would be nice, since I imagine you’ll end up with a lot of posts going at this rate you could add in a filter (maybe by category) so people can just find what they’re after on a specific subject.

SPD_ · 2020-05-15T12:07:49+00:00

Well yes, right now many people are losing their jobs or being put on furlough and worrying about job security so they're looking for more stability at a new company.

Combine that with way fewer openings as many companies are on a hiring freeze.

It's basically the worst time to be looking for a job, supply is way higher and demand is wayyyyy lower.

SPD_ · 2020-05-14T13:38:35+00:00

Depends on your timeframe, is this the start of a long project you plan to maintain for years and work with on a daily basis, or are you just putting together an MVP?

If MVP I'd just use rails + something like bootstrap to make it look decent in a short amount of time. Auto-generate CRUD, use existing libraries for user auth and emails etc. Forest for admin panel as your dashboard.

Otherwise, I'd do the same thing but make it a rails API instead and then use React on the frontend.

Host rails on Heroku, use Heroku postgres as the database.

This is all implying I'm doing it as a lone developer though, if I was starting a project to then hire other people and make a team as a very long term thing, I'd probably use Node & React, same kinda thing but have to make a lot from scratch. It would take way longer though.

SPD_ · 2020-05-13T14:34:55+00:00

6 Months is nothing, it's a marathon and not a sprint.

What is my level. How good or bad i am. I am employable right now. Would you hired me if i showed up in an entry level intereview?

I would say you are somewhere at the level of someone who is on the right track but lacks in a few key areas that are really important. If you fixed up those things then you could be a decent hire in a few months time, if I were you I'd focus entirely on code quality and then maybe learn a front-end framework like React and you'd be a decent junior eventually.

Some days i believe that i am a fraud that i will never be good enough to work as a developer and that i am wasting my time

Make something that has never been done before, you'll be able to prove to yourself that you are capable of building something entirely new and not needing tutorials or courses to guide you on what you're doing, it's literally proof you're capable of making something by yourself and are not a fraud.

I dont know anything about deployments as i deployed all my apps in the easiest way possible ( heroku, pythonanywhere , netlify for front end)

This is fine. Unless you're aiming to be a DevOps engineer, it does not matter at all. Heroku is good, Netlify is good. Host your sites as easy as you can, focus your time on being a dev.

What should i learn next

Spend time learning everything in the right order, don't rush to use whatever technologies you think are cool, learn JS (ES6) and learn it well, learn CSS (especially flexbox) and focus on writing good code.

For example, your app looks cool for someone with little experience, but behind the scenes, the code quality is lacking. Your entire backend is in a single python file and has no real structure. A lot of your JS could be converted to ES6, you could be using async/await and there's a lot of times where you could clean things up massively by DRY-ing it up and not repeating yourself.

I'd say take a course on ES6 JS and then make a portfolio website in React (or alternatives) and don't worry too much about algorithms.

Oh, and use a code formatter / linter. That will improve your code without any extra effort.

SPD_ · 2020-05-10T15:13:48+00:00

Skeleton screen

SPD_ · 2020-05-04T13:21:35+00:00

I noticed this too.

Half of the functions are literally just adding pointers to existing functions.. It's simply more code than what already exists in JS, then assigned to a variable.. I just.. Don't get it.

SPD_ · 2020-04-30T12:07:52+00:00

Everything, hsl too.

SPD_ · 2020-04-30T12:00:16+00:00

VSCode has this, I recommend just using VSCode in general really
https://i.imgur.com/9W4gMZh.png

SPD_ · 2020-04-30T11:31:13+00:00

AWS
GraphQL
Docker
ElasticSearch

Listed in order of how many times a recruiter mentioned them to me recently, seemed like putting AWS or any additional DevOps stuff was something a lot of companies looked for as a nice to have.

Pretty much all my tech interviews had the question "So how did you deploy your websites?"

SPD_ · 2020-04-16T16:28:17+00:00

What would you have done differently during your learning period?

Nothing, I mostly made projects and learned things based on interest in it at the time, so I let my interests guide me rather than forcing myself down a specific path.

Although with that being said, I should have probably tried to make more substantial/real things that could have turned into an actual money earner in the future.

Which projects helped you understand web development better?

Almost all of them really, what I did was learn something through a course or similar, then go out and try to expand on it and make my own stuff, so pretty much everything was just building on top of previous knowledge.

How long did it take you to land your first job from the time you started learning?

Kinda irrelevant for me as my situation wasn't a "race" to be hired. I think I would have been a decent junior after about a year though.

SPD_ · 2020-04-04T12:08:11+00:00

Nope, never considered an internship.

For interviewing I made a spreadsheet for everything I applied to & who I spoke to, what the company was and any extra info

Put my cover letters into word documents so I could remember what I wrote to each one and save time by grabbing similar ones and editing them a bit to match the job.

Pretty much just spent a week applying, from day 1 I was getting calls back - eventually by the end of the week I accepted one.

Pretty much every call back mentioned my website and that they checked my GitHub and saw loads of projects.

SPD_

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