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7 Useful JavaScript Tricks
16.4.2019
Just like every other programming language, JavaScript has dozens of tricks to accomplish both easy and difficult tasks. Some tricks are widely known while others are enough to blow your mind. Let’s have a look at {x} JavaScript tricks you can start using today! Get Unique Values of an Array...
A Website is a Car and Not a Book
15.4.2019
I’ve been wondering for a good long while why it feels like web design and development isn’t respected as much as native app development= and why the front-end role in many organizations is seen as a nice-to-have rather than a vital part of the business. Why is it so hard to see that this gig...
Accessibility Events
11.4.2019
“There isn't some way to know when—…?”
There is always a pause here. The client knows what they're asking, and I know what they're asking, but putting it into words—saying it out loud—turns unexpectedly difficult.
In the moments before the asking, it was a purely technical question—no different...
Open FaceTime Call from Command Line
11.4.2019
Communication tools are always associated with UIs, and for good reason — if you want communication to be easy and intuitive, you need easy and intuitive interfaces. We need communication tools to provide the lowest barrier of entry, since not all users will be tech savvy. For tech experts...
In Defense of the Ternary Statement
10.4.2019
Some months ago I was on Hacker News (as one does) and I ran across a (now deleted) article about not using if statements. If you’re new to this idea (like I was), you’re in a for a real treat. Just search for "if statements" on Hacker News. You'll get articles proposing that you might not need...
How to Reverse a Video
9.4.2019
One of my favorite media utilities is ffmpeg. This command line utility allows us to do some pretty amazing stuff like; Slice videos Convert video formats Modify video speed Combine audio and video Every once in a while I see a meme or funny video that reverses a video for effect. Since ffmpeg does...
What Are Design Tokens?
3.4.2019
I’ve been hearing a lot about design tokens lately, and although I’ve never had to work on a project that’s needed them, I think they’re super interesting and worth jotting down a few notes about. As I understand it, the general idea is this: design tokens are an agnostic way to store variables...
Make it hard to screw up driven development
2.4.2019
Development is complicated. Our job is an ongoing battle between getting the job done and doing that job in a safe, long-lasting way.
Developers say things like, "I'm just going to do this quick and dirty first," because it's taken as fact that if you code anything quickly, it not only will...
The 10 Things We Built on Twitch in March
1.4.2019
This year feels like it's on moving too fast! March is done and it was an eventful month for us here at Scotch.
We've gotten the following done:
Scotch home page redesign launch
Powers of Two
28.3.2019
Refactoring is one of those words that evokes fear in the eyes of many folks, from developers to product owners and everyone in between. It may as well be a four-letter word in many ways. It's also something that we talk about quite a bit around here because, like books on the topic, where to start...
A Gutenburg-Powered Newsletter
28.3.2019
I like Gutenberg, the new WordPress editor. I'm not oblivious to all the conversation around accessibility, UX, and readiness, but I know how hard it is to ship software and I'm glad WordPress got it out the door. Now it can evolve for the better.
I see a lot of benefit to block-based editors. Some...
Better Than Native
27.3.2019
Andy Bell wrote up his thoughts about the whole web versus native app debate which I think is super interesting. It was hard to make it through the post because I was nodding so aggressively as I read:
The whole idea of competing with native apps seems pretty daft to me, too. The web gives us...
Free Programming Courses from Harvard, MIT, Microsoft and more (Sponsored)
26.3.2019
Did you know that you can learn programming online from institutions like Harvard, MIT and Microsoft on edX.org? The nonprofit site offers 2000 online courses from 140 institutions worldwide. Courses are free to try. EdX has over 200 courses from Microsoft alone, including an 11 course program...
Buddy: 15 Minutes to Automation Nirvana
26.3.2019
(This is a sponsored post.)
Deploying a website to the server in 2019 requires much more effort than 10 years ago. For example, here's what needs to be done nowadays to deliver a typical JS app:
split the app into chunks
configure webpack bundle
minify .js files
set up staging environment
upload...
Simple & Boring
25.3.2019
Simplicity is a funny adjective in web design and development. I'm sure it's a quoted goal for just about every project ever done. Nobody walks into a kickoff meeting like, "Hey team, design something complicated for me. Oh, and make sure the implementation is convoluted as well. Over-engineer that...
All About mailto: Links
22.3.2019
You can make a garden variety anchor link (<a>) open up a new email. Let's take a little journey into this feature. It's pretty easy to use, but as with anything web, there are lots of things to consider.
The basic functionality
<a href="mailto:someone@yoursite.com">Email...
How blockchain will disrupt the communication industry
22.3.2019
From the CMC editorial desk: One of the things we’ve always wanted to explore is what mass adoption of blockchain technology looks like. Here we have some examples of how it will change the face of the communication industry in […]
The post How blockchain will disrupt the communication...
Technical Debt is Like Tetris
21.3.2019
Here’s a wonderful post by Eric Higgins all about refactoring and technical debt. He compares giant refactoring projects to being similar to Tetris:
Similar to running a business, Tetris gets harder the longer you play. Pieces move faster and it becomes harder to keep up.
Similar to running...
Some Notes About Accessibility
20.3.2019
Earlier this month Eric Bailey wrote about the current state of accessibility on the web and why it felt like fighting an uphill battle:
As someone with a good deal of interest in the digital accessibility space, I follow WebAIM’s work closely. Their survey results are priceless insights into...
Adding Search to Your Site with JavaScript
20.3.2019
Static website generators like Gatsby and Jekyll are popular because they allow the creation of complex, templated pages that can be hosted anywhere. But the awesome simplicity of website generators is also limiting. Search is particularly hard. How do you allow users to search when you have...