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Set Branch Alias with Git
28.3.2019
Version control systems can be difficult to use, especially when you don’t use a UI app. Just think about main branch or revision names: svn uses “trunk”, git uses “master”, and mercurial (hg) uses “tip”. I need to switch between mercurial and...
Breaking CSS Custom Properties out of :root Might Be a Good Idea
27.3.2019
CSS Custom Properties have been a hot topic for a while now, with tons of great articles about them, from great primers on how they work to creative tutorials to do some real magic with them. If you’ve read more than one or two articles on the topic, then I’m sure you’ve noticed that they start...
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...
An Illustrated (and Musical) Guide to Map, Reduce, and Filter Array Methods
26.3.2019
Map, reduce, and filter are three very useful array methods in JavaScript that give developers a ton of power in a short amount of space. Let’s jump right into how you can leverage (and remember how to use!) these super handy methods.
Array.map()
Array.map() updates each individual value in...
Understanding Event Emitters
26.3.2019
Consider, a DOM Event:
const button = document.querySelector("button");
button.addEventListener("click", (event) => /* do something with the event */)
We added a listener to a button click. We’ve subscribed to an event being emitted and we fire a callback when it does. Every time we click that...
Build a Decentralized Web Chat in 15 Minutes
25.3.2019
In this 15 minute tutorial we’re going to build a simple decentralized chat application which runs entirely in a web browser. All you will need is a text editor, a web browser, and a basic knowledge of how to save HTML files and open them in the browser. We’re going...
Creating A Social Follow Component in React
25.3.2019
On almost every website, you're going to watch to share your Social Media accounts for visitors to follow. In this article, we are going to create a Social Follow component in React!
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...
Using <details> for Menus and Dialogs is an Interesting Idea
21.3.2019
One of the most empowering things you can learn as a new front-end developer who is starting to learn JavaScript is to change classes. If you can change classes, you can use your CSS skills to control a lot on a page. Toggle a class to one thing, style it this way, toggle to another class...
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...
It’s pretty cool how Netlify CMS works with any flat file site generator
21.3.2019
Little confession here: when I first saw Netlify CMS at a glance, I thought: cool, maybe I'll try that someday when I'm exploring CMSs for a new project. Then as I looked at it with fresh eyes: I can already use this! It's a true CMS in that it adds a content management UI on top of any static site...
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...
Using Local with Flywheel
19.3.2019
Have you seen Local by Flywheel? It's a native app for helping set up local WordPress developer environments. I absolutely love it and use it to do all my local WordPress development work. It brings a lovingly designed GUI to highly technical tasks in a way that I think works very well. Plus...
Creating a Python Class Generator for VS Code
19.3.2019
My motto...when you have a problem, do something about. I hated stubbing out Python classes so I created an extension in Visual Studio Code to do it for me. In this article, let's walk through how
Schematics: A Plug-in System for JavaScript Projects
18.3.2019
Schematics is a tool from the Angular team that allows you to manipulate projects with code. You can create files, update existing files, and add dependencies to any project that has a packag
Write Your First Service Worker in 5 Minutes
18.3.2019
What is a service worker? A service worker is a little file that will allow you to cache files and other assets on a user’s machine. How is this different from server-side caching? Because the assets are stored on a user’s machine, rather than a server, there is no need to go across...
React Starter: Getting Started with React (2019 Edition)
18.3.2019
React is the uber popular JavaScript library that is almost everywhere you look these days. Learning React opens up a whole new way to build front-end experiences like websites, mobile apps, and mo
People Digging into Grid Sizing and Layout Possibilities
15.3.2019
Jen Simmons has been coining the term intrinsic design, referring to a new era in web layout where the sizing of content has gone beyond fluid columns and media query breakpoints and into, I dunno, something a bit more exotic. For example, columns that are sized more by content and guidelines than...
Design Systems and Portfolios
15.3.2019
In my experience working with design systems, I’ve found that I have to sacrifice my portfolio to do it well. Unlike a lot of other design work where it’s relatively easy to present Dribbble-worthy interfaces and designs, I fear that systems are quite a bit trickier than that.
You could make things...
See No Evil: Hidden Content and Accessibility
15.3.2019
There is no one true way to hide something on the web. Nor should there be, because hiding is too vague. Are you hiding visually or temporarily (like a user menu), but the content should still be accessible? Are you hiding it from assistive tech on purpose? Are you showing it to assistive tech...