Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about bike shedding - issues that are hotly debated, but may not matter that much in the long run. LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session re-player and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 3:03 - What is Bike Shedding? Technical disputes over minor, marginal issues conducted while more serious ones are being overlooked. The implied image is of people arguing over what color to paint the bike shed while the house is not finished. 4:39 - Tabs vs spaces Two spaces 5:50 - Single vs double quotes Single in JS, double in HTML 7:05 - Semicolons or not Semicolons 9:01 - Grouping/ordering CSS properties Wes: Format Scott: Alphabetical 12:35 - var vs let vs const Scott: const for life — let when needed Wes: const by default — change to let when needed 14:24 - Default vs named exports Use both Mix-n-match 15:58 - Should designers code? If interested, sure 17:58 - Which front-end framework Whichever one best suits your needs 19:30 - Vim/Emacs vs Atom/VS Code/Sublime VS Code 21:53 - Small perf wins Micro optimization often aren’t needed 25:14 - Browser support If you’re required to support it, then support it 25:47 - Block formatting Function block Else on a new line vs else after block 29:07 - Trailing comma Links Law of Triviality React Vue.js AngularJS Ember.js Vim Emacs Atom Sublime VS Code Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott talk about VueJS - what it is, how it compares to other frontend frameworks, and how to get the most out of it. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Clubhouse - Sponsor Clubhouse is the first project management software that brings everyone together so that teams can focus on what matters: creating products that customers love. Clubhouse provides a perfect balance of simplicity and structure for better cross-functional collaboration. Check out https://clubhouse.io/syntax and get your first two months free. Show Notes 2:22 - What’s the deal with VueJS? Combines ideas from Angular 1, React and Blaze Ease of Angular 1 App structure of React 8:02 - Components Template syntax is similar to handlebars aka {{stuff}} v-bind:property v-bind:property or simply :bind allows you to dynamically bind a value to a property Props Props must be declared before they can be used in a template. Script tag Where imports happen Where props are defined, computed properties, action events and lifecycle Actions v-on:click="doSomething" @click="doSomething" These will run a doSomething event defined in your script export via methods Lifecycle How does data fetching work? CSS Can be scoped to file by adding to your property Global Registration You can register a global component and not have to import it 36:38 - Features CLI Easy to use when creating new projects Animations Baked in to core A transition component wraps your code and just have a v-if on the element you are transitioning There is also more intense javascript options via v-on Routing 1st party router vue-router with support for 3rd party routers Global State Vuex 45:57 - Ecosystem Nuxt — AKA Next.js for Vue Gridsome — AKA Gatsby for Vue Native? Links Angular React Blaze What Hooks Mean for Vue Nuxt.js Next.js Gridsome Gatsy NativeScript Vue Native ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Wes: Modified Power Wheels Scott: Ezy Jeans by Uniqlo Shameless Plugs Wes: Node.js and React Scraper Tutorial Scott: Static Vue with Gridsome Coming Soon! Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about frontend frameworks — what they are, when you need one, how to organize your code for maximum efficiency, and more! Stackbit - Sponsor Build modern JAMStack websites in minutes. Stackbit lets you combine any theme, site generator and CMS without complicated integrations. Join the beta today by visiting stackbit.com/syntaxfm. Show Notes 3:08 - What is a frontend framework? JavaScript based Controls applications such as: Routing Rendering Data Fetching Examples: React Angular VueJS Ember Backbone Svelte 5:54 - When to use a frontend framework The Link between your JavaScript data and the DOM (your HTML) isn’t live The use of frameworks makes re-updating the DOM (after the initial variable update) easy You need an opinionated way to handle complexity Example: You add an item to a shopping cart, send the event to the backend, and update both the number of items in the cart and the “Add to cart” button Event Handlers - binding and un-binding Your client wants a fast, modern experience Seamless routing and page transitions Fast prototyping Access to battle-tested libraries Security Perf 14:24 - When not to use a frontend framework When using CMS like WordPress and Drupal A medium amount of JavaScript is needed - Vanilla JS will work fine Modals Slideshows Form submits Static pages, no JS functionality Updating an existing project 17:20 - Why can’t I just use jQuery? Vanilla JS contains all of jQuery’s available DOM APIs Frameworks provide structure Organizes code for big projects Links Syntax 039: Is jQuery Dead? Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott talk about how to find freelance clients — tangible things you can do to position yourself and set yourself up for success. Stackbit - Sponsor Build modern JAMStack websites in minutes. Stackbit lets you combine any theme, site generator and CMS without complicated integrations. Join the beta today by visiting stackbit.com/syntaxfm. LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 1:27 - Question from Andreas Trattner: I am a backend developer with 4+ years experience working on large systems in Europe and am considering moving toward freelancing/contracting. However, I find it difficult to discover quality opportunities. Any tips you can share on how to strategically get projects? There isn’t a secret trove of work, and there’s no one way to do it. 4:50 - Relationships Trust and relationships rule all. The best paying gigs are never advertised. Who should you know? Other developers How? Meetups, Conferences, Twitter, Slack rooms, Friends Tip: Volunteering is a great way to get in to conferences, plus you often get to know people Tip: If you are friends of a friend who gets a lot of work, as for a introduction Designers and marketers You usually work together How? Twitter, Email, Dribbble, Instagram Project managers How? Cold emails, tweets Office managers Life blood of the office - they know everyone Often move into other roles How? Meetups, previous employees Entrepreneurs Lots of connections, often switching gears How? Demo camps, Facebook marketing groups Venture capitalists Have dozens of companies and tons of connections How? Demo camps, introductions, cold email 19:08 - Display of expertise It certainly is an option to just be really freaking good at what you do Speaking at conferences and local meetups Working on open source Helping in chat rooms Posting guides Maintaining docs Offering reviews / Make things public Performance - Harry Roberts from CSS Wizardry Accessibility - HeydonWorks WordPress speed React checking Start a podcast Blogging Volunteering 9:22 - Visibility You need to let everyone know what you do. Your mom’s uncle’s friend’s cousin on Facebook might casually ask for recommendations. Instagram / Photos. Showing people what you are doing and what you are working on will make a mental note in their head that you do that type of work. Facebook / Twitter / Instagram Blogging This makes the “vetting” process much easier Tweeting YouTube videos Slack channels you are involved in 38:02 - Other tactics SEO - Locality (Toronto designer), specific technologies (Redux contractor) Craigslist This one sucks, but it can lead to decent work occasionally You need to be more vigilant in screening, most clients will suck Cold asks - Just ask people what works well “Hey, I’m looking to book a few contracts starting June 2019. I love working with ______ and you can see my work here” Put a phone number on your website. Seriously. UpWork Won’t make as much money here because of competition Local business listings Find online and offline biz listings Old fashioned — putting your card on bulletin boards 47:29 - Maintaining Relationships Check in every few months with non-biz related contact But also just straight up ask for work Christmas / Thank-you gifts Links Canadian Couch Potato ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Google Drive Scanner Wes: Endy Mattress Shameless Plugs Scott’s React Hooks For Everyone Wes’ All Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about React Suspense — what it is, how it works, support and more! Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes Not live yet - it may/will change. Be warned! 3:59 - The problem we have with React right now API calls Image loading Code splitting 7:16 - What is React Suspense? First we convert our async data fetching functions into resources Resources can then be read inside render - above the return Resources can be read from cache Resources can be preloaded into a cache if you anticipate needing them Resources reads are blocking for that function - you can’t return JSX until the resource is read In your component that fetches data, there is no need to maintain a loading state Then, anywhere higher up in that tree, you can introduce a suspense component The suspense component can detect if any of it’s children are currently loading data If they are, we can then choose to show a loader via the fallback prop We can also choose to show nothing via the maxDelay prop — this is helpful for fast connections that shouldn’t see the spinner for a short split-second 15:20 - Support React.lazy and suspense for code splitting is already here The React.lazy function lets you render a dynamic import as a regular component Loadable Components is recommended if you need splitting with SSR Data Resources is not here yet Links React 16.x Roadmap Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott talk about developer education — what to look for, what to avoid, and how to be a life-long learner with good problem solving skills. Sanity.io - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get up and running by typing npm i -g @sanity/cli && sanity init in your command line. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. The Armoury - Sponsor The Armoury is a men’s clothing and accessories retailer that provides some of the highest quality clothing you can buy. Designed for those of you who want the highest quality clothing that feels great and will last forever. Buy less, buy better. Follow them on Instagram @thearmourynyc and check out their website TheArmoury.com. Show Notes 3:59 - Our experiences Scott: Went to college - Go Blue! Worked odd jobs while self teaching Was mentored and taught more while working at my first job Self directed since then Started teaching via LUT in 2012 Wes: Went to university for Business Tech - entirely self-taught Led and created part-time HTML + CSS program at HackerYou Led and created first bootcamp at HackerYou Led and created first JS part-time at HackerYou Been offered jobs at colleges + universities 10:02 - School - $$$ Pros The best thing about school was unrestricted free time to find out what I enjoyed, which lead me to coding Co-ops can help you find what you like and what you don’t like Life skills that involve you being on your own and figuring things out more You are exposed to interesting people and ideas CS Degree work can open more career doors Professional networking Many companies wont hire you without some sort of bachelor’s degree (this might change) Cons Not everyone has the time or money to devote two to five years to school — especially to something they might not end up enjoying Potentially outdated staff and course material Wes was often asked to lead a video editing course, print design course and a web development course Lot’s of distractions 23:10 - Bootcamp - $$ Pros Very fast, lots of info, but can be a bit overwhelming You can get up-to-speed extremely quickly Focused on hire-ability and job-ready skills Focused information Personality is really the deciding factor here - lots of people do well, and some don’t Cons Hit or miss — quality of bootcamps aren’t vetted, so do your research Talk to someone who took it, find out who the instructors are You absolutely must continue learning after the bootcamp The bootcamp is just a push and you are expected to continue learning once you are done Not great for individuals that can’t handle the pace You have to quit your job 37:09 - Self-Taught - $ Pros Self-directed people will prevail here Can be drip-fed while earning money at another job Can be supplemented by a job (e.g. you are front-end and want to go full stack) Can get real world experience as a freelancer while you evolve Cons Not for everyone Can be difficult to self-motivate Hard to get help - sometimes you can be stuck for hours on a two-second fix Potentially discouraging You might go down the wrong path without guidance on what you should learn 47:11 - Part Time Programs - $ Pros Fantastic way to get up to speed with a new tech Goes at a good pace - twice a week usually Offered on weekends and evenings where you can maintain a regular job Very low risk - you can try it out Cons Might not be as fast as you like it Quality is all over the map 49:55 - Mentored Self Learning - $ Pros Best to do with a mentor on the job Mentor can help steer what to learn in your free time Good feedback and a place to ask lots of questions Cons Can’t be done without someone willing to mentor you Only as good as your mentor 52:55 - What approach would we take? Bootcamp > then immediately supplement with courses Links Notion ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport Wes: American Kingpin Shameless Plugs Scott’s React Hooks For Everyone Wes’ All Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about communication — why it’s important, how to improve, building good habits, tools and more! Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 3:59 - Why it’s important Projects can live or die by the team’s communication Project timelines can be disrupted leading to big problems with scheduling 5:53 - How to improve communication skills PRACTICE Pay attention to what works Have a system – standups, weekly meetings, etc. Over communicating can be annoying but effective Realize that people can’t read your mind, so having your intentions and timelines public and known is important 9:12 - Building good habits Need to practice Build systems to support new habits 11:04 - Tools we use to communicate Email / Standups Notion GitHub Issues Slack Missive Links Syntax 075: Hasty Treat - Feedback and Criticism Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

It’s another potluck episode in which Wes and Scott answer your questions! This month - are classes dead?, tutorials vs real life, the smart home, developers and mental health, and more! Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 1:30 Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get involved with the open source community, coming from closed-source full-time work? How do people make time to code on the side and balance a life/family? 5:38 Q: In Syntax 060, you mentioned making your life easier as a motivation. How do you get your data from sites that may not have an API? Web scraping? Any tools you’d recommend? 11:34 Q: Do you think React aims toward a world with functional components only or will class based components always play a role? 17:10 Q: Just feedback on the recent Smart Home podcast…I really enjoyed it! I have about 48 (color) HUE lights throughout my home, and use an IFTTT applet for my Ring PRO doorbell, so when someone rings the doorbell, all the lights in the home blink (e.g. so I can see when an Amazon Prime package arrives, or know someone is at the front door, etc…while I’m working and wearing my Bose QC35II’s, and of course listening to your podcast)! I’m a huge fan of the podcast since early last summer (I rarely comment, but you guys are great)! 21:37 Q: What would you do in the event your clients sends you a “thank you” card along with cash that is MUCH lower than you are preparing to invoice them? Would you remove it from the invoice, ask them what they would prefer, etc? I’m stuck in an awkward situation and it doesn’t even cover the hosting costs. 24:39 Q: I’ve heard a lot of good things about Next.js, but what exactly is it? How does it compare to just using the create-react-app? Is it worth it to migrate a small side project that I have to Next.js? 28:26 Q: I take tutorials all the time for web dev. I have taken many of both of your courses. Thank you, they are great! I am completely self taught and have zero computer science education whatsoever. As well as your courses and other tutorials have taught me various languages and libraries, they do not prepare me for real work interviews or jobs. No offense. How do I make the jump from tutorials to real life? 34:39 Q: Do you have exercises to warm up your brain before you start coding? I always find it a bit difficult to jump straight into a project. I would never start working out before warming up and I feel that’s also true about development! 36:42 Q: How should developers deal with depression and mental health? Links Sentry Freshbooks Syntax 060: The Undocumented Wed Syntax 118: The Smart Home IFTTT Hue/Ring applet Syntax 120: Gatsby vs Next Next.js ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Clarity Money Wes: Wyze Camera Shameless Plugs Scott’s React Hooks For Everyone Wes’ CSS Grid Course Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about authentication — the difference between localStorage, cookies, session, tokens and more! LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 4:20 - How should we track users? Token based - generally stored in the client Session based - stored on the server Token Based (JWT) 6:00 - Token-based auth Stateless - the server does not maintain a list of logged in users Scalable - you can use serverless functions easily Cross domain Data can be stored in JWT Easy to use on non-web sites like mobile apps Hard to expire tokens — you must maintain a list of blacklisted tokens 7:48 - Session-based auth Stateful - generally you maintain a list of session IDs Passive - once signed in, no need to send token again Easy to destroy sessions 10:48 - How do we identify the user on each request? localStorage or Cookies? A common misconception is that localStorage is for tokens while cookies is for sessions With localStorage, we need to grab the token and send them along on each request With cookies, the data is sent along on each request 11:25 - Security Issues XSS for Tokens - make sure bad actors can’t run code on your site Sanitize inputs XSRF - CSRF tokens are needed Links Cookies vs Tokens: The Definitive Guide Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode, Wes and Scott talk about life management — the systems and tools for managing all the the busy details of life and work. Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 5:00 - Todos GTD philosophy Todoist Things 12:31 - Focusing Focus app Turn off all notifications on iOS and desktop Rename apps Ask yourself why you feel the way you do Should be doing email? Do I need to eat that frog? Why do I not enjoy this? Sticky note on screen or desk 21:27 - How we track ideas, thoughts, and notes Get everything out of your head Markdown files Evernote Notion 27:23 - Calendar and schedule Google calendar USB light switch 33:30 - Goal tracking / Life progression Keep concepts and ideas in Notion Milestones (bigger ideas) are separated Use the system that works best for you 36:58 - Fun things with Notion What is Notion? Cross-linking/referencing between boards Episode calendar and possible episodes kanban Links Freshbooks Sentry Todoist Things Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Focus Notion Evernote Bryant Electric USB light switch Bear app Airtable ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: LG Ultrawide Monitor Wes: LG 4k 32" Monitor Shameless Plugs Scott’s React Hooks For Everyone Course Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk tips to succeed on YouTube! Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Show Notes 1:55 How YouTube has affected our careers 3:45 YouTube money is just OK 6:28 SEO is king 7:15 The title is most important 8:59 Description is important 11:00 Use Tags. All of them. 12:00 Scheduled content works 13:26 Keeping Viewers 15:20 Pinning comments 15:41 Liking Comments 17:00 Practice Finishing Sentences 17:34 Collaborate when you can 19:00 Use all the features YouTube has to offer 20:44 Don’t get sucked into the BS Links TubeBuddy Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode, Wes and Scott debate Gatsby vs Next — how they compare, the pros and cons of each, why you might chose one over the other for your next project, and more! LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free at https://logrocket.com/syntax. The Armoury - Sponsor The Armoury is a men’s clothing and accessories retailer that provides some of the highest quality clothing you can buy. Designed for those of you who want the highest quality clothing that feels great and will last forever. Buy less, buy better. Follow them on Instagram @thearmourynyc and check out their website TheArmoury.com. Show Notes 5:07 - Server Side Rendering Next.js will render on demand — this allows you to have server rendered pages on demand. Think of a blog website — publish a new blog post and it will immediately start working. Authenticated pages can be server rendered, and thus, pre-loaded for better performance. Gatsby runs at build time only — so you need to have all of your data ready at build time. Pro: This makes for very fast page load. Con: Large websites can take a long time to build. Con: Gatsby can do network fetches from the client, but these lose the benefit of SSR. Ease of SSR: Next.js requires a complicated document.js file if you are fetching data anywhere other than a page component. This will probably get easier with Suspense. Demos are simple, but any real application requires harder config. Gatsby is Easy Peeezy! 11:09 - Data Next.js is unopinionated. Like React, it doesn’t care where your data comes from. getInitalProps(); Gatsby has a number of “source” plugins which will pull in data from sources — markdown, WordPress, API, file system. Once you have that data sourced, you can query it with GraphQL. 22:50 - Routing and Creating Pages Next.js makes you create a page in a pages directory. You can nest these as deep as you like. If you want to pass query params, you must do so with a ?query=string. There are several third-party options for getting around this that require a node server. Gatsby allows you to programmatically create pages with their createPage API. For both navigating between pages, they make a Link Component available. 30:49 - Plugins In Gatsby, everything goes through the Gatsby pipeline. This makes things like image compression, pagination, sass, service workers and many other progressive web app pieces very easy. Gatsby makes building a really good website easy. Gatsby Image is SOOOOO amazing. The scope of Next.js is much smaller. They give you a few things, but you generally bring your own approach for most things Routing Linking and prefetching Dynamic Importing 38:42 - Deploying and Hosting Gatsby is just HTML, CSS, and JS at the end of the day, so it can be deployed almost anywhere — Netlify, Github Pages, cheap PHP hosting, etc. Next.js is a Node app. It can be integrated into an existing Express app, or run by itself. Requires a Node server to run it. Next.js has a static generation option, but you’re better off using Gatsby for that. 44:41 - The verdict? Us Next.js for Apps, Gatsby for Websites Links LogRocket The Armoury Next.js Gatsby Netlify Node Express ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Motion LED Lights Wes: The Dream Podcast Shameless Plugs Scott’s Pro Gatsby 2 Course Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about side projects — what you can learn, why they’re great, how to come up with ideas, and more! Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 2:17 - Why? Keeps you sharp It’s actually useful Try new technology 5:28 - How to come up with ideas What sucks in your life? How do you get a competitive advantage in life? 12:10 - Quick and dirty tech Next.js Express diskDB Meteor Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode, Wes and Scott talk about the Smart Home — all the different tech available, how it works together, pitfalls to avoid, hardware, software, and more! Sanity.io - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get up and running by typing npm i -g @sanity/cli && sanity init in your command line. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. Stackbit - Sponsor Build modern JAMStack websites in minutes. Stackbit lets you combine any theme, site generator and CMS without complicated integrations. Join the beta today by visiting stackbit.com/syntaxfm. Show Notes 2:25 - The tech Wifi devices Zigbee Can operator on low power Usually Cheaper Water Sensor, door sensor, temperature iOS HomeKit sucks You need an Apple TV or iPad to access outside of your house 9:13 - Controlling your smart home Smart Things Home Assistant Host your own Lots of add-ons You need to babysit it Android Google Assistant Google Pixel squeeze to assistant is way better than saying “Hey Google”. Google Home Google Home is awesome Custom sayings with IFTTT Custom via Routines Alexa 23:52 - Software Stringify IFTTT Basic automations Makers accounts Web hooks to trigger actions Homebridge Make non-iOS stuff work with HomeKit Swipe up control is nice 28:15 - Hardware Light Switches Leviton Lutron Bulbs LIFX Philips Hue AMAZING Much cheaper now than before Blinds Chromecast — turn the TV off Plugs Wemo Leviton Sonoff Power strip Change each plug or have timers Thermostat Ecobee 3 Lite Ecobee 4 with Alexa Nest Nest-E Cameras Ring Doorbells Ring Flood Light Camera Super slow to open the app Wyze cameras Small one Larger Panning Camera Mesh Wifi Google Wifi Amplifi Fire Alarms / CO2 Nest Protect Dumb Lithium Garage Door Opener Non-connected “smart items” Solar powered lights on a timer. No app needed, no WiFi connection needed Roomba - meh. We play “find the body” when it comes home. Locks - Code based lights 67:32 - What we want in the future Scott Motion sensors Door sensors Locks Blinds More bulbs Wes Fireplace Constantly recording cameras Sensors galore Windows open Doors open Garage door Zigbee Hub Xiaomi Sensors Gear Best Links Sanity Stackbit Google Home Mini Amazon Echo Google Pixel Apple Homepod Raspberry Pi GearBest ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Philips Hue Wes: All the recommendations from above Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Pro Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes tackle email, specifically, how to email busy people — how to write emails that actually get read, and don’t just get tossed in the archive. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 4:05 Subject lines 11:26 The body 14:33 Best practices Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

It’s another potluck episode in which Wes and Scott answer your questions! This month - organizing your Git repos, the difference between freelancing and contracting, changing careers, how to deal with spammers and more! Sanity.io - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get up and running by typing npm i -g @sanity/cli && sanity init in your command line. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. Techmeme Ride Home Podcast From Techmeme.com, Silicon Valley’s most-read news source, The Techmeme Ride Home podcast is a short daily podcast about the day’s tech news. Mark Zuckerberg called Techmeme the one news source he definitely follows. New episodes are published every day at 5p.m. You can check out the show here, or search for “Techmeme Ride Home” in your favorite podcast player. Show Notes 1:55 Q: Do you prefer to have your backend and frontend in separate Git repos or together? What are the trade-offs? 5:12 Q: In web dev, what’s the difference between a freelancer and independent contractor? 9:45 Q: Default export vs named export? 11:35 Q: I’m looking to change careers, but I’m 41 this year. Is it too late? 16:12 Q: Have you guys made much use of multicolumn layout? If so, only for text, or have you come up with (or seen elsewhere) any interesting out-of-the-box uses? 20:11 Q: Since you publish your courses’ source code on Github, what do you think about people using that to learn instead of buying your course? Is it an intentional decision, or is it a compromise you’re willing to make? 23:52 Q: When is a certification needed for both jobs and side-projects? 29:35 How do you deal with spammers filling out forms? 34:05 Q: Could you better explain what a slug is? I’ve heard the term thrown around on a number of your episodes, but I don’t really know what it means. 37:44 Q: I am currently going through some currency conversion stuff for a project, what would you recommend to use for international conversions? Links Sanity Techmeme Ride Home Podcast Concurrently Rachel Andrew CSS Grid auto height of elements? Cloudflare Intl.NumberFormat ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Voxon Screwdriver Set Wes: Technology Connections Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Pro Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes continue their discussion about code quality tooling - how to get your code extra nice and clean, and the tools that will help you along the way. LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 2:28 Typescript and Types 5:42 Jest and Testing 7:48 Exceptions & Error Tracking Links Sentry Log Rocket Rollbar Jest Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Scott and Wes continue their discussion about the freelance client lifecycle—from design and development, to project hand-off, and everything in between. Sanity.io - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get up and running by typing npm i -g @sanity/cli && sanity init in your command line. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Show Notes 1:47 - Design Collect all assets from your client Logo Brand guidelines List of likes and dislikes Create initial look and feel Don’t show client too early—they can be distracted by little unfinished things Back up the “whys” of what you did. Otherwise, it’s just a pretty picture and and the client only thinks about it in terms of taste. Remember, you are the expert they hired, so it’s not totally subjective—you have the expertise and you need to flex that. This button is teal because it’s your call to action—this is the button that makes you money so we want to highlight that Grey text on white background is hard to read—you’ll be leaving people out if you do this. When possible, draw circles or golden ratio lines around everything ;) Be prepared for non-standard feedback E.g. this feels cloudy, can it look more sunny? Please make it pop, etc. Don’t get offended by feedback on creative work Clients didn’t go to art school and don’t know about good feedback. Clients will ignore all finished aspects of a design and only focus on the one minor thing that’s incorrect. Revisions 17:58 - Development Clear requirements make development much easier. Sometimes this starts at the same time or in the process of design. Only show dev progress if client is capable of understanding dev process. Showing a developed site too early can cause clients to worry about visual aspects that aren’t yet in line with the design. Showing to early is also a recipe for a feedback list of things you already know. Give regular progress updates, as previously established. Make it happen on a schedule so expectations are set and so you won’t forget. Stick to your timeline! Clients don’t care about technical jargon. Don’t tell clients about Gatsby/React as much as telling them about the benefits, how fast the site is, etc. 23:48 - Feedback and revisions Feedback is done in revisions or rounds. For smaller projects, have your client email (one email) a list of feedback. For larger projects, and more technical clients, use bug tracking software, such as Github issues, Trello, etc. Write down everything, and then have a follow-up call to discuss the feedback. 30:08 - Deployment Get your client to pay for domains and hosting. Make sure their old website has everything off of it, or host the website somewhere else. If you’re moving servers, best to just point the A records at the new server. If changing nameservers for DNS, make sure the client doesn’t have email or any other apps on that server that will be nuked or broken when moving. Many clients use their server to uploaded PDFs and other files that may still need to be accessible. If you are changing URL structure, you’ll need to be aware of any redirects. Backup strategies Restoration strategies 40:05 - Handoff Create a video detailing how to do each thing Don’t give more options than they need in the back end. Do in-person training when possible. Only teach them the things that are important for their day to day usage. 44:28 - Bug fixes and support Very common for clients with wrong idea of project guidelines to want to add on at the end of a project. Not about adding new, non-established features. Emergency bugs require an emergency response if they are your fault Set expectations and be careful what you promise. 48:03 - What to do when things go to shit There should be a trail of communication leading up to things going awry. Project is behind. Product is not met with acceptance. Client isn’t paying. When to fire your client. Links Syntax 112: The Freelance Client Lifecycle - Part 1 Syntax 088: Pre-launch Checklist ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Synology 4 bay NAS DiskStation DS918+ Wes: Backblaze Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Pro Wes’ Advanced React Course Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about code quality tooling - how to get your code extra nice and clean, and the tools that will help you along the way. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 3:11 - ESLint / JSHint / Linters in general Eslint took over as a flexible solution for code style and quality Use plugins and presets to set your rules for different types of project Don’t be afraid to tweak rules, they are not the word of god 10:55 - Prettier Strictly formatting Can work with or without ESLint Provides an enforceable standard for teams Configurable Prettier for CSS, PHP, GraphQL, etc. 18:46 - VS Code Red underlines like spellcheck for code Tooltip for lint errors Fix on save vs fix on command Links ESLint JSHint Prettier Wes’ dotfiles Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Scott and Wes talk about the freelance client lifecycle—from gathering requirements, to project hand-off, and everything in between. Techmeme Ride Home Podcast From Techmeme.com, Silicon Valley’s most-read news source, The Techmeme Ride Home podcast is a short daily podcast about the day’s tech news. Mark Zuckerberg called Techmeme the one news source he definitely follows. New episodes are published every day at 5p.m. You can check out the show here, or search for “Techmeme Ride Home” in your favorite podcast player. LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 03:29 - Gathering Requirements Probably the most important part of the process. If you botch this, you’ll be dealing with change orders and scope-creep throughout the entire project. Poor planning is why agencies have project managers and why many freelancers hate their clients. Ask lots of questions Get lots of examples Break down each page into functionality Ask about budget Clarify who will be updating the site Do this in person if possible 17:00 - Quote Figuring out the quote Break it down into major functional areas that don’t necessarily depend on each other. Multi-staged quotes are great because if it’s too expensive, the client knows they can add additional features later in the project. Explain the tech you will use in relation to how it will help their business, or how easy it will be for them to manage. Presenting the quote List what will be included List what won’t be included Make your quote valid for two weeks Create a template that looks professional Our agency had a professional template, printed on heavy paper in an embossed folder with our logo on it. You don’t have to go this far, but experience matters. Think Apple. You can quote more if you have a higher perception of quality. 30:20 - Timelines Timelines should include hard dates. You should have a “hard on” and and “hard off”. Assume 24-hour turnaround on questions Be generous with your estimates. Under promise, over deliver. Quoting time is a huge skill 35:58 - Contract You best have one Spell out what the client is getting (from quote) At the very least, have the client sign your quote Clear communication and a good relationship is extremely important Use online templates, or have a lawyer create something specific 41:09 - Setting Expectations Don’t make yourself available 24/7 Establish a professional environment by not being too casual Your choices will set the course for your relationship Don’t be too quick to reply to email Schedule emails for 10a.m. Links Syntax 036: Hasty Treat - Freelancing Hot Tips docracy Boomerang for Gmail ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: The Great Suspender Wes: Food Busker YouTube Channel Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level 1 Styled Components Course Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about tidying up your code - why it’s important and how it can make your (dev) life better. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 3:24 - Removal Unneeded comments Unused CSS Unused Functions 8:06 - Organizing A system that works for you Know when to break things out into a new file, components, functions otherwise Index file works sometimes - other times it’s too much work 11:45 - Tiding Up Refactoring bad/old code Non-ironically, does this code spark joy? Unused Functions Add in comments Folding - use a code formatter CSS Links Tidying Up with Marie Kondo Better Comments VS Code Prettier ESLint Nicole Sullivan - Object Oriented CSS Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Scott and Wes talk about work life balance. These tips aren’t hard-and-fast - part of the beauty of being a web developer is that you do get to enjoy some flexibility. Work is a big part of our live and these are tips that will hopefully allow you to get the most enjoyment out of both work and life. Sanity.io - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get up and running by typing npm i -g @sanity/cli && sanity init in your command line. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the "How did you hear about us?" section. Show Notes 8:06 - Know when you work best The 9-5 isn’t for everyone - you know when you work best, so use that to your advantage 9:39 - Work when it’s time to work, life when it’s time to life Don’t do laundry during work time 11:08 - Make it clear to family members when you are working Wishy-washy in-between can cause tension - are you working? Can I interrupt you? Working after hours Text if you need me 14:34 - Have a defined space for work If I bring my laptop downstairs, I don’t bring a charger Clean yo nasty desk space It’s a mental shift when you sit down - “okay now I am working” 21:14 - Know how to “zone it” Headphones Music or podcasts Block all distractions Close email Pay attention to what gets you there, when it stops working, change it up 24:46 - Keep hobbies Away from screens Physical or relaxing or both 26:37 - Exercise Good for mind and body Huge gains long term and short term 27:31 - Prioritize your to-do list One reason many people over-work is that they feel they have too much to do Add items to your to-do list when they pop into your head - out of your head, into your system 31:28 - Walk away from difficult problems Your brain will chew on problems as time goes on and help you solve them Literally take a walk outside 34:04 - Meetups, conferences or tutorials Reinvigorate your hunger for coding and make you happier both at home and work Easy to get burned out from working too much (or not paying enough attention to your work) Links Wes’ Head Bob Spotify playlist Portable Text from Sanity Portable Text Forget about Gutenberg, no seriously What you need to know about block text ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott 1: Todoist Scott 2: Notion Wes: PassSource Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Tutorials Pro Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about CSS Grid Level 2 - aka subgrid. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 3:27 - CSS Grid Level 2 and subgrid CSS subgrid will allow you to place grid-items’ children along the same lines at the parent grid 5:40 - How it works - Why do we need it? What problem do we have right now? Create your grid as normal - you can create columns, rows, named lines, etc. Your grid-item will also be display grid - this is nothing new - just regular nesting of grid The magic comes in when you want to define the rows and or columns of the sub-item. You can inherit the parent item’s grid-rows / columns by simply saying display: subgrid 11:19 - Browser support It’s about a year out Links Sentry is hiring Grid Level 2 and Subgrid by Rachel Andrew Css Grid Level 2 specs CSS Grid Level 2: Here Comes Subgrid Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

It’s another potluck episode in which Wes and Scott answer your questions! This month - thoughts on frameworks for 2019, React Native, when should you start freelancing, where to start with JS, cron jobs, split testing and more! DevLifts — Sponsor DevLifts - Thad and JC are on a mission to make web developers healthy. They’re currently offering two options: The first is Fit.Start - perfect for beginners or those looking to get back at it. Use the coupon code “syntax” to get 50% off the fit.start plan. The second is DevLifts Premium - for those looking for a laser-focused approach and maximum accountability. Use the coupon code “tasty” to get 50% off the premium plan. Check it out today! Just for January their eight-week plan is back. Use the coupon code “newyear19” to get $50 off. Kyle Prinsloo’s Freelancing & Beyond — Sponsor Kyle Prinsloo teaches you everything you need to know about freelancing, including how to quit your job, earn a side-income and start taking control of your life. Check it out at https://studywebdevelopment.com/freelancing and use the coupon code “syntax” at checkout to get 25% off. Show Notes 1:40 Where is the best place to start with JS coming from WordPress? 5:36 How do you set up cron jobs? What are the best tools to use, should they run on their own server or on the application server, etc.? 17:13 What new skills, frameworks, projects are you look forward to learning in 2019? 21:35 Do you use any software for tracking analytics on your site and do you ever use this data to run split tests? If so, what is your preferred method for running split tests? 28:24 What’s your best tip for young coders to stay productive and not lose time? 32:08 I’m 17 and learning web dev. I’m pretty concerned about my skills and feeling some impostor syndrome. Is it ok to start freelancing? 37:26 What is React Native? How do people tend to use it? If you want a native and web app, do they share code? Links WordPress Gatsby Javascript30 Dead Man’s Snitch Corntab Syntax106: A Look Forward to 2019 Drip Segment.io Hotjar ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Tiding Up on Netflix Wes 1: Capital Gaines by Chip Gaines Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level 1 Styled Components Course Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about CSS units (e.g. rems vs ems, px, ch, vmax), when and why you want to be using them, tips and tricks, and more! LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free over at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 2:32 Typography with CSS units 12:04 Pixels 15:17 Viewport units 15:51 ch units 16:35 inch/cm for print 17:19 Percentages 18:10 Media queries 19:41 Flexbox (flex-grow) 20:28 CSS Grid: flexible units: 1fr 2fr Links Sentry Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott take a look back at 2018 as well as a look forward to what’s coming in 2019. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. CSS In Depth and In Motion - Sponsor Electron in Action from Manning Publications guides you, step-by-step, as you learn to build cross-platform desktop applications that run on Windows, OSX, and Linux. As a Syntax listener, you can get 40% off all their books and courses by visiting deals.manning.com/webdev and using the coupon code syntax40 at checkout. Show Notes 3:00 - What was hot in 2018? Tooling got easier GraphQL got easier and more accessible New GraphQL companies left and right CSS has gotten more awesome React Improvement in React Dev Tools JavaScript frameworks overall Edge adopting Chrome engine Microsoft bought Github Vue continues to impress and evolve VS Code continued to get amazing 31:29 - Predictions for 2019 Headless CMS game is going to get really real We’re gonna see rails for JavaScript start making some noise React will continue to see growth Design tools will get more code-y (Figma, etc.) VueJS will continue to see growth Developer Experience Tools will continue to get easier Wasm Code splitting easier ES6 Modules in Node Server Side Hot reloading 41:00 - Scott’s Year in Review Released 12 courses Major growth in Level Up as a platform Hired first employees to work and grow site Greatly improved quality and video production Gave first conf talks and spoke internationally 44:03 - Wes’ Year in Review Released two courses - CSS Grid and Advanced React Started work on JavaScript course Delegated lots of development to contractor Continued to work well with assistant Spoke at lots of confs Live Syntax! Grew Instagram Continued hot tips on twitter 47:00 - BIG ANNOUNCEMENT We’re both having babies! 48:09 - Wes’ Goals for 2019 Keep doing what I’m doing! New Website! JavaScript course Platform upgrades - been in the works for months - working on a faster rollout CSS course? VS Code course? More React? 8 YouTube Videos Instagram to 30k Parental Leave 52:26 - Scott’s Goals for 2019 Courses First non-Scott LUT courses (big plans / announcements here ) Parental Leave Major platform updates that are stuck in bottleneck More hires, more growth More free content More teaching from real world code Codebase to Hooks & Suspense Links Next.js Gatsby Parcel Hasura Prisma TakeShape GraphCMS Contentful WPGraphQL Apollo Github VS Code Microsoft Edge WordPress Svelte Vue.js Syntax 067: Goal Setting ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Fake or Fortune? Wes: Heavyweight Shameless Plugs Scott’s new course on design systems Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about pointer events in CSS and JS - what they are, their differences, why you may want to use them, potential downfalls and more! Sanity.io - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get up and running by typing npm i -g @sanity/cli && sanity init in your command line. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. Show Notes 3:24 CSS pointer events 10:50 JavaScript pointer events 14:24 What are pointer events 17:56 Browser support Links CSS pointer events JS pointer events Pointer events support in WebKit Pointer events Polyfill Wes’ Javascript 30 Course Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott are talking all about CSS layout - how it works, things to watch out for and more! Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. CSS In Depth and In Motion - Sponsor CSS in Depth in Motion from Manning Publications is a great way to master CSS. Modern CSS can handle a dizzying array of styles and effects without external frameworks, and this liveVideo course from Manning Publications will get you there. As a Syntax listener, you can get 40% off all their books and courses by visiting deals.manning.com/webdev and using the coupon code syntax40 at checkout. Show Notes 4:15 When to use position fixed/static/absolute/relative/sticky 15:18 When to use height, width, max-height, max-width, top, bottom, left, right, etc. 21:28 What about relationships between containers and their children? 27:37 What about positioning behaviors of elements like , , , etc.? 30:09 Floating and clearing 35:55 Flexbox, Grid and responsive design 36:58 Mobile-first or desktop-first? 41:20 Viewport units - vw, vh, vmin, vmax, etc Links Keycode.info ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Last Seen Podcast Wes: Flying a DJI Tello Drone with React and Node.js Shameless Plugs Scott’s Design Systems Course Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes continue their discussion of libraries and tech that where super hot in the past, but not so much any more. Sanity.io - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get up and running by typing npm i -g @sanity/cli && sanity init in your command line. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. Show Notes 3:40 - jQuery UI / jQuery Mobile jQuery UI jQuery Mobile Sencha Touch 6:10 - Flash / Silverlight Flash Cufon Silverlight Netflix Happy Gilmore The Wedding Singer 10:54 - Grid systems 960.gs Golden Susy Bootstrap Foundation 16:02 - CoffeScript CoffeScript Compass 18:18 - Underescore.js Underscore.js Lodash jsPerf 20:04 - Less CSS Less CSS Vue.js Drupal Cappuccino Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

It’s another potluck episode in which Wes and Scott answer your questions! This month - thoughts on Typescript, e-commerce platforms vs custom, working for agencies, job-hopping and more! Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Vue.js In Action - Sponsor Vue.js in Action from Manning Publications is a great way to learn Vue.js. If you’re looking for a book that will teach you Vue.js from start to finish, this is the one. As a Syntax listener, you can get 40% off all their books and courses by visiting deals.manning.com/webdev and using the coupon code syntax40 at checkout. Show Notes 1:20 How do you distinguish between normal and virtual pixels on high dpi devices. How do you call Pixels? Which tools do you use for optimizing Images? 5:02 What are your thoughts on TypeScript (and selfishly, I’d like to learn about using it with React)? Any temptation to try it out if you’re not already doing so? Why or why not? Any resources you’d like to share on TypeScript? 8:35 I have heard you guys say good things about Digital Ocean before, but am reading a lot of bad reviews about them on various websites. Are these just frustrated developers or is there any merit to these claims? 12:48 If you were to build an eCommerce store, given that your business requirements specify that custom functionality is needed, would it be smart to roll your own solution or use Magento/Shopify/Woocommerce? If the later, what is the developer experience like? Which has the greater ability to implement custom functionality for server and client side code? 19:50 I feel like I’m pretty “bos” at starting projects but so terrible at finishing them. As people who finish courses and projects all the time, what is your advice for getting to that finish line? 23:32 Could you please explain how you organize your files? What is the folder structure you use for both your projects and other documents/videos and stuff? 31:38 You guys mention working for “agencies” in the past. As a freelance web developer, what’s the best way to find these agencies, and to be employed by them? Also, can you explain what “agencies” are? 38:14 I once read an interview Wes gave in which he mentioned that frequently changing jobs is the best way to get salary increases. Do you both believe that to be true? Is job-hopping a bad thing? Is the criticism of it justified? 41:53 If I choose to use Next.js, does that mean I won’t be able to use new React features like hooks and suspense until/if the Next.js team implements those? 43:12 When do you use and when do you use to wrap your many returned components from render()? Links Devon Govett tweet about Typescript Digital Ocean Magento Shopify WooCommerce Reaction Commerce Snipcart Next.js Gatsby.js True Grit Texture Supply ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Undertale Wes: Ghostly Pixels Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Pro Wes’ YouTube Channel Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about libraries that have been super hot in the past, but not so much any more. Contentful - Sponsor Contentful is a great way to manage your data. Update once and publish everywhere. Contentful gives you a ton of flexibility and reliability and everything you need to build excellent front-end content without having to worry about the back-end of your site. Check out contentful.com/syntax and get a free pair of socks! Show Notes 4:14 Grunt / Gulp 8:56 Backbone / Marionette 13:00 Bower / Components 15:46 Compass Links Grunt Gulp Backbone Marionette Bower Components Compass Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

To celebrate episode 100, Wes and Scott are talking about Syntax - their most popular episodes, stats, Q&A, and a bunch of cool stuff about what it’s been like making this show for 100 episodes. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Show Notes 1:45 - Celebrating 100 episodes 04:18 - Our first episode Syntax001 - React Tools 06:23 - Our first sponsor Delicious Brains 09:37 - Most popular episodes 10 - Syntax074 - 11 Habits of Highly Effective Developers 09 - Syntax039 - Is jQuery Dead? 08 - Syntax046 - What’s New in Javascript 07 - Syntax048 - VS Code Round Two 06 - Syntax050 - Progressive Web Apps 05 - Syntax018 - All About CSS Grid 04 - Syntax051 - Our Workflows: Design, Development, Git, Deployment 03 - Syntax066 - The React Episode 02 - Syntax043 - 20 JavaScript Array and Object Methods to make you a better developer 01 - Syntax044 - How to Learn New Things Quickly 21:35 - Top countries Just passed 3 million downloads 10 - Poland - 38,731 downloads 09 - Brazil - 40,475 downloads 08 - Netherlands - 47,601 downloads 07 - India - 50,724 downloads 06 - Sweden - 55,378 downloads 05 - Australia - 80,654 downloads 04 - Germany - 109,842 downloads 03 - Canada - 138,250 downloads 02 - United Kingdom - 231,835 downloads 01 - United States - 1,220,519 downloads 27:34 - Top players AppleCoreMedia Overcast Chrome Pocket Casts iTunes 30:35 - Lessons learned about sponsors Pays the bills - editing, hosting, etc… Podcast Royale - Podcast production Libsyn - Podcast hosting They want hard numbers Conversions are hard to track It’s really cool companies and users that enjoy the product hook up How do we get them? 35:10 - Favorite episodes Wes - Syntax043 - 20 JavaScript Array and Object Methods to make you a better developer Scott - Syntax044 - How to Learn New Things Quickly 38:49 - Q&A Q: What’s your favorite soundboard sound? Q: What’s your recording process like? Do you each record your streams locally then edit them together or are there any “hax” you guys have cooked up as developers? A: Pay someone who is good at editing We both have good recording gear We record separate files and send them our production team, Podcast Royale, for editing We do show notes in Dropbox Paper, which are also edited by Podcast Royale Q: Does Scott practice his segues, or do they just come to him on the fly? A: On the fly 😎 Q: Although I am all for peace, why did you choose “peace” as your outro statement? A: It was a random note from Wes in the first episode and we stuck with it Q: how did you meet each other and decided to start the podcast? A: We both released a course around the same time with the same name - we started talking and the rest is history Syntax007 - Scott Tolinski Origin Story Syntax008 - Wes Bos Origin Story 51:20 - Most asked questions What episode was it that you ______ ? Can my boss come on the show and talk about bitcoin? Can you sick pick my thing? Can you do an episode on VueJS? Can you do an episode on Angular? NO EP TODAY? 54:20 - Random thoughts Neat to have community - lots of experts Twitter is great Sales of our own products Transformed Level Up Tuts Doing fitness, hobbies, and life as a developer is fun Learned a lot from researching shows and from community feedback Different voices can give different breakthroughs 57:10 - Future of Syntax No. 1 goal is to always be a fun, helpful show Not going to become a promotional tour stop Maybe more interviews Easy to listen to and and understand Links Netlify Podcast Royale Libsyn Dropbox Paper Studio 3T ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Wes: MongoDB Compass Scott: Notion Shameless Plugs Scott - Level Up Pro Wes - All courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about the costs of running a business when you’re a solopreneur or solo founder. Contentful - Sponsor Contentful is a great way to manage your data. Update once and publish everywhere. Contentful gives you a ton of flexibility and reliability and everything you need to build excellent front-end content without having to worry about the back-end of your site. Check out contentful.com/syntax and get a free pair of socks! Show Notes 3:48 - Email GSuite Missive Drip Postmark Mailchimp Mandrill SendGrid Mailgun 10:44 - Transactional Costs Stripe PayPal Braintree 12:31 - Software Sketch Figma Screenflow iShowU DaVinci Notion Todoist Things Principle For Mac Textexpander Transmit Cyberduck 17:03 - Services PO Box 17:18 - Domains Hover Cloudflare Name.com Gandi 19:30 - Backup NAS Dropbox Backblaze S3 22:12 - Labor Assistant Part-time developer Contractors for projects 24:53 - Insurance Prescriptions Dental Optical Critical illness Home insurance is higher because of business 26:51 - Professional Accountant Lawyer Bookkeeper TransferWise 29:08 - Hosting CDNs Galaxy Heroku Dokku Netlify Compose Vimeo Amazon S3 Digital Ocean Now.sh Bluehost mlab 34:16 - Travel Taxi / Hotel Dinner Transportation Uber Links Codepen Radio - Software We Pay For Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott are joined by their first ever guest on the show: Sacha Greif. Sacha is one of the makers of the State of Javascript - the topic for today’s show. Wes, Scott and Sacha discuss the results of 2018’s survey, what they think, and implications for the industry. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Show Notes 1:48 What is the State of JS survey 3:58 The tech behind State of JS 12:55 How was the data collected? 16:38 JavaScript Flavors 23:14 Frameworks 31:49 DataLayer 34:53 Backend 40:09 Other Tools 44:37 Opinions 47:48 Awards 49:58 Criticism Links Nivo Gatsby Netlify Reason Parcel Relay Express KeystoneJS Ghost Jest GraphQL VueX Storybook Real Analysis of Angular, React, and Vue ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Sacha: DIY and woodworking Wes: Alex French Guy Cooking Scott: Silverback Open 2018 Shameless Plugs Sacha - Vulcan.js Scott - Level Up Pro Wes - All courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about CSS variables, a.k.a CSS Custom Properties - why you might want to use them, why they’re better than various preprocessor’s variables, and pitfalls to watch out for and avoid. Kyle Prinsloo’s Freelancing & Beyond — Sponsor Kyle Prinsloo teaches you everything you need to know about freelancing, including how to quit your job, earn a side-income and start taking control of your life. Check it out at https://studywebdevelopment.com/freelancing and use the coupon code “syntax” at checkout to get 25% off. Show Notes 3:25 - What --example-name, represent custom properties called using var() Overwrite with a more specific style Use JavaScript to append .style.setPropert( How are they scoped? Just like normal CSS Can be set on :root {} Can be set on any element down 9:10 - Why Uses: Can make more sense if used semantically var(–accent) vs var(–yellow) Independent values for things that can’t be broken up: box-shadow: 2px 2px 2px 2px red transform: rotate(var(–rotate)) scale(2); Inline properties can be picked up by regular CSS (color, size, etc.) hey Themes that can easily be changed at runtime for entire app 19:15 - Calculations You can use them inside of calc() Animations 20:10 - Bummers Not super well supported just yet (IE 11) No good fallback other than manual fallback Syntax - Old Browsers, Fallbacks and Polyfills series Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 PostCSS Custom Properties Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott bring you their holiday gift guide - things, ideas or experiences that would make great gifts for any developer, ranging from a few bucks to a few hundred bucks. Contentful - Sponsor Contentful is a great way to manage your data. Update once and publish everywhere. Contentful gives you a ton of flexibility and reliability and everything you need to build excellent front-end content without having to worry about the back-end of your site. Check out contentful.com/syntaxfm and get a free pair of socks! Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Show Notes 3:57 - Foodie Gifts Hot Sauce Merfs Every Cholula Hot Sauce Jalapeno from Trader Joes Blue Top Creamy Buffalo Everything but the bagel Spice Loose leaf Teas from Teahaus.com Wes’ Tea Steeper Scott’s Tea Mug & Steeper Flavored Salts (No link, just go find them) Savory Spice Shop Rainbeers - make it yourself Beer Making Kit Umai Dry Steak Aging and Charcuterie Bags 11:27 - Experiences Knife Skills Class Butchering Class Cooking Class Float tank Subscription Massages 18:15 - Subscriptions Headspace Spotify HBO Go YouTube TV MeUndies Underwear Subscription Memrise LastPass Magazines Mantry Crates Kids Crates 23:07 - Books / Audible BadBlood Beat the bank - for Canadians Only American Kingpin Rich Dad / Poor Dad Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground Anything You Want Essentialism The E-Myth Revisited 29:47 - Clothes Uniqlo Jeans - w/ elastic Carhart Beanie (TOQUE) Naked and Famous Raw Selvedge Denim Jeans Skinny Guy Weird Guy Nudie Raw Selvedge Denim “thin Finn” “Unbranded” Raw Denim Custom Leather Belt TNF Fanorak Windbreaker Hoodies Adidas Black-on-black NMD crewneck Champion Hoodie Sneakers Nike Airmax 270 Jordans DonTrip RayBans with mirrors Original Wayfarer Sunglasses Under Armour Boxer Jock Underwear Reebok Boxer Brief Underwear dvlpr.io Merch 39:08 - Gadgets Mechanical Keyboards CTRL Keyboard WASD Keyboard Code Keyboard Ergodox 10W qi Wireless Fast Charger Charging Pad USB C Gadgets 8-in-1 USB Type-C Hub with HDMI USB C Hub LaCie Rugged USB-C Hard Drive Koomus Car CD Slot Magnet Mount for your phone Anker Portable Battery Extra Long Braided Phone Cables Lighting Micro USB USB-c Anker USB Power Block 4 ports with Fast Charge 6 ports with Fast Charge Wifi Hotspot SkyRoam Solis Magnet Breakway USB-C Cable that handles 87w Tello Programable drone High end mini screwdrivers MaxCraft 7-in-1 iFixIt 64 bit set 48:00 - Smart Home Google Home Ring Doorbel Nest Doorbell Ring Floodlight Security Camera EcoBee WeMo Plugs TP Link Smart Plug Leviton Smart Wifi Dimmers LIFX Bulbs Sonoff $5 wifi Switch 54:40 - Grooming and Wellness Seki clippers CBD balm A nice comb Burts Bees Lip Balm in a tin 58:57 - High End Apple AirPods Bose QC 35 Wireless Headphones Samsung QLED TV - very high end Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level 1 Typescript Course Wes’ updated course platform Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about installing dependencies vs rolling your own - the advantages and disadvantages, and how to know when to do either. LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free over at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 2:15 - Reasons To roll your own Learning Experience Fun Features Add your own features Lightweight - only use what you need 8:08 - Reasons not to roll your own Battle Tested Actually Tested Time Money Experience 11:27 - Fork Something needs extra features Upstream your changes 13:10 - Some Examples Fetch + function vs Axios Date functions vs Stack Overflow copy/paste Lodash vs your own - try it with map/reduce/filter first, but lots of cases need Lodash Links React PowerPlug Lodash Axios Stack Overflow Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

It’s another potluck episode in which Wes and Scott answer your questions! This month - raising your rates, full stack designers, JWT, VS Code tips, and more. Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. React in Action - Sponsor React in Action by Mark Thomas from Manning Publications is a great way to learn React. It’s a clearly written, example-rich book, introducing front-end developers to the React framework and related tools. Not everyone likes learning from a video. If that’s you, React In Action is a great book that covers everything you need to know. Also be sure to check out this page for 40% off all manning books and videos. Show Notes 2:29 I listened to your episode on Freelancing and I was wondering how to justify an increase in my hourly rate. You mentioned that you just increased it to $100/hr and nobody griped, but I seem to have a steady stream of clients who want things for free or nearly free and I usually have that fear that if I charge them more, then I won’t get the business. Thoughts? 6:55 I’ve started a YouTube web development channel. Recently, I was approached to produce content for money for another website. For some reason, I immediately thought I might be taken advantage of (I’m pretty new and it’s odd to be offered something like this so quickly, no?) if accepting. What do you think? Should I create content for a (small) website that I never heard of or continue with YouTube (or both)? 14:00 I’ve read on Twitter that React.Context can be a good replacement for Redux. Why? 18:40 What’s it like running a podcast?! 24:03 I’ve seen a rise in the term “full-stack designer”. Is this a title you think will become a real thing? Someone capable of overseeing a project from concept to prototype? Thanks! 27:36 What has been the most awkward situation you’ve been in as a dev? 31:20 Do you have any good resources on JWT? I’m unclear when my front end needs to send what to my back end, to ensure my sites and only my sites can get the data requested from my server. Thanks for everything you do! 35:34 How do you move selected text horizontally (or vertically) in VSCode? I’ve seen it in Wes’ videos and I tried to ask him on Twitter, but I’m sure that is a chore to keep up with. I’ve googled a ton, but the only thing I found was an extension that adjusts indentation, which is not really what I’m after. 38:57 How do you recommend providing feedback on “bad” code to a developer more experienced than you, without coming off as an uppity, know-it-all junior who just read a bunch of textbooks?? 42:39 How do you set up an IP whitelist? I am just getting started managing databases and I am using Mongo Atlas. They require an IP whitelist for all connections. Developing from my computer is fine because I can just add my IP to the whitelist, but what do I do if I actually want to make my API or website public? Just whitelist everything? That sounds like a terrible idea… Links useReducer Full Stack Radio Ep 98: Ryan Chenkie - Securing Single Page Applications ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Jelle’s Marble Runs Wes 1: Good Quality Baking Sheet Pans Wes 2: Pre-cut Parchment Paper Sheets Shameless Plugs Scott’s Pro Gatsby 2 Course Wes’ Advanced React Course - use the code SYNTAX for $10 off Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about how to be well liked at work - dealing with difficult co-workers, being a better co-worker yourself, and general tips for improving your people skills. LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free over at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 5:01 - Foster a culture of asking “why” and “how” 7:58 - Show your own mistakes 9:26 - Be understanding of people’s life situations and accommodate them accordingly 11:36 - Be okay with people taking your time 13:10 - Don’t take up other people’s time 15:40 - Be nice 15:57 - Share things 16:50 - Respect personal space 18:08 - Respect people’s time Links Adam Grant - Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott discuss React Hooks - what they are, why you might want to use them, their differences with regular classes, and more. Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 2:30 Function components 4:50 What are React hooks? 8:12 What problem does this solve? 12:00 State hooks 21:50 Context hooks 26:02 Effect hooks 36:46 Reducer hooks 40:40 Ref Hooks 48:00 Libraries already using React hooks Rehooks → Listing of hook libraries React Spring React Measure Formik Immer 50:30 Resources Dan Abramov’s Talk Harry Wolf Use Hooks Newsletter Awesome React Hooks ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Bad Blood Wes 1: Swindled Podcast Wes 2: Scrub Brush Drill Shameless Plugs Scott’s Pro Gatsby 2 Course Wes’ Advanced React Course - use the code SYNTAX for $10 off Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about stickers and break down Wes’ entire process for creating and selling his sticker packs. Check out Bos.af for more info. LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free over at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 6:08 Design 9:23 Printing 16:08 Types of Stickers 19:34 Selling 21:43 Envelopes, stamps and shipping 30:47 Returns 32:42 The future Links Bos.af Patrick DePuydt Alibaba Sticker Mule Shipstation Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

This week Scott and Wes are live at JAMstack_conf with games, Spicy JAM Tips, Q&As and more. Netlify — Sponsor Netlify is the best way to deploy and host a front-end website. All the features developers need right out of the box: Global CDN, Continuous Deployment, one click HTTPS and more. Hit up netlify.com/syntaxfor more info. Show Notes 7:14 - Spicy JAM Tips Set default headers in your request library - this way it comes along for the ride on every request Don’t get hung up on “static” - static sites can be as dynamic as needed Don’t wait to use new tech - progressively enhance and gracefully degrade where needed There are many JAMStack libraries in the sea - there are many different approaches so don’t be afraid to experiment Side projects are key to learning - test out new tech on smaller projects first and get comfortable with it 10:10 - This, That or Both? Evo RX - High end Carbon Fibre Road Bike or Library for composing asynchronous and event-based operations in JavaScript? Jumpsuit - A rap/rock group from Flint Michigan or a minimal React/Redux Framework? Aphrodite - React Styling Library or Best Selling Erotic novel? Yugo - A minimal static site generator built in O-CAML or a super mini hatchback built in the former Yugoslavia? C-Control - A modern state management library for web components or studio headphone mixer? Yakbak - A recordable HTTP testing interface or a popular 90’s electronic toy? Joose - A hip east coast juice bar or a metaobject system for JavaScript? Easy Rooter - A client side object oriented router written in modern Vanilla JavaScript or a drain cleaning plumbing apparatus popular among local plumbers? Aqueduct - A server-rendered ORM and oAuth 2.0 based framework built in Dart or a early 2000’s pop group hailing from Venice Beach? Gort - A 1980’s animated series cartoon villain or a CLI Toolkit for RobotOps written in Go? Raptorize - A jQuery plugin that plays a Velociraptor screech or A popular DIY spray on truck bed liner? 21:13 - Stumped! Question 1: What does “age” console.log to and why? let age = 26; age /= 2; console.log(age); // ?? Question 2: What are all seven types in JS? Question 3: How do you pronounce “specificity”? Question 4: What is event delegation and when might you want to use it? Question 5: What is CSS @supports for? Question 6: An arrow function takes in an unlimited number of arguments - how would you capture them? Question 7: What is the difference between .slice() and .splice()? Question 8: How would you calculate the number of milliseconds since midnight of January 1, 1970? Question 9: What does “age” console.log to and why? const age = console.log(100) || 200; console.log(age); 31:26 - Overrated or Underrated? Arrow Functions Downtown scooters Using Sass inside Styled Components Website that play sound in the interface The amount of JS frameworks Soft close toilet seats GraphQL ES6 Destructuring Instapots Implicit Return CSS Houdini Service Workers and Offline Applications Modern Design Tools - Figma, FramerX, Moudlez, Sketch, Studio Decorators Optional Chaining Proposal 42:35 - Q+A with Scott and Wes Since this is your first time meeting, what was the thing that surprised you the most? If you could create any Tycoon game, what would you create? In 2018, how concerned should we be about no-JS users? How many spaces should a tab be? How important is integration testing and the decentralized ecosystem? What are your thoughts on the new React Hooks API? Are we going to have a serverless function architecture apocalypse? Are you ever going to create an online course together? How will the future look for component-based design? What’s your least favorite jam? What would be your goto headless CMS? What do you disagree on? Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Pro Subscription Wes’ Advanced React Course Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes are back for another edition of Stumped! where they try to stump each other with interview questions. Today’s questions are from Flashcards for Developers. EmailOctopus - Sponsor Email marketing for less, via Amazon SES. EmailOctopus sends your emails through Amazon’s Simple Email Service (SES), saving money without sacrificing deliverability. With simple setup and all the features you would expect, EmailOctopus is as flexible as you need it to be. Get started today at emailoctopus.com/syntax and get your first three months free. Show Notes 4:03 What’s the difference between synchronous and asynchronous code? 5:56 What’s the difference between .call and .apply? 7:08 How do you share code between files? 8:18 What’s the difference between double equals and triple equals? 10:40 What’s the difference between null, undefined, and undeclared? 14:18 What is the event loop? Philip Roberts - What the heck is the event loop anyway? 16:02 Why is extending built-ins never a good idea? Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott discuss their pre-launch checklists. They talk about performance, accessibility, compatibility, SEO, analytics, and more - all the things you should check before launching something to the world. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. .tech Domains - Sponsor Finding a great domain name is tough with so many names already taken. If you’re looking for a domain name for your startup, side project, or anything at all, check out .tech Domains. Syntax listeners can get 90% off both one-year and five-year registration by visiting go.tech/syntax and using the coupon code “syntax”. Show Notes 1:45 - Overall Let robots do the work for you - use auditing tools Lighthouse SEO Checkers Accessibility checkers like axe 2:58 - Performance Compress those images Build process Cloudinary ImageOptim imgIX Minify Code Splitting Smaller bundles where it makes sense A future where it’s done for us Run page speed tests like Google PageSpeed Insights Don’t service worker on launch Syntax Ep 50 - Progressive Web Apps 11:43 - Compatibility Test on actual browsers that need to be supported Ask people to check on their devices Use a service like Browserstack Browser resolution and ratios Cache busters 16:00 - Sales / Credit Cards Use package.lock Have multiple people test your checkout Make sure your company name is listed on customer’s credit card bills Have a phone number listed for disputes 24:55 - Tips from the Trenches Secure API endpoints Scale up server just in case Early access Soft launch Make sure URLs are correct - no “localhost:3000”, etc. 31:25 - Content Check spelling and grammar A working 404 page Check for leftover placeholder text → launching with lorem ipsum is not good 34:39 - Accessibility Alt text Run color contrast checker Run Lighthouse Correct tab order Use the site with keyboard only and make sure it’s a good experience 37:35 - SEO Sitemap created and uploaded to Google Webmaster Tools SEO checkers Meta tags Correct heading hierarchy 41:55 - Analytics Google analytics Facebook tracking pixel Drip 43:23 - Server config & access .htaccess redirects where needed robots.txt prevent indexing of some pages Enable GZIP Caching Cloudflare or other CDN 46:12 - Company Processes Make sure tests are passing Git issues are closed Merge pull requests Write documentation on processes (readme, etc.) Deploy to staging environment and test production build No unwanted logs or errors left in production build DNS Propagation ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Swindled Podcast Wes: FIFO Bottles Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Pro Wes’ Advanced React Course - use the code SYNTAX for $10 off Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes conclude a three-part series about old browsers, fallbacks and polyfills. In part three, they talk specifically about transpiling and polyfilling. VueSchool.io — Sponsor Check out VueSchool.io’s new subscription plans. Get access to their entire catalog with more than 160 lessons, including The Vue.js Masterclass, for one low monthly fee. New content and courses are added regularly. Visit VueSchool.io/syntax and get your first month for only $5. Show Notes 2:20 - Polyfills and Transpile 5:18 - Back in the day Border-radius htc hack PNG fix for transparent PNGs Flash for custom fonts Cufon and SIFR 10:48 - JavaScript Polyfills Features are polyfilled MDN Polyfill Core-js Polyfill.io HTML5 Cross Browser Polyfills 13:47 - JavaScript Transpile Syntax is transpiled babel-preset-env Babel has plugins and presets Meteor bundle to different browsers on demand There are polyfills for most things, but performance can be an issue Resize observer Intersection Observer Some things can’t be done with either New browser APIs Service workers, device access, inline video on old iOS, etc. Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

It’s another potluck episode in which Wes and Scott answer your questions! This month - working with designers, criticisms of WordPress, avoiding burnout, time management, and more. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. .tech Domains - Sponsor Finding a great domain name is tough with so many names already taken. If you’re looking for a domain name for your startup, side project, or anything at all, check out .tech Domains. Syntax listeners can get 90% off both one-year and five-year registration by visiting go.tech/syntax and using the coupon code “syntax”. Show Notes 5:05 - How can you help a designer understand how styling works and how layouts work in the web? In other words: How do I explain my boundaries as a front-end developer to a designer? Work closely with the designer Allow the designer to push your limits You can help them understand by: Showing them poor performing websites Showing them things that usually are taxing on the GPU to paint - rotations, background images, drop shadows, etc. Don’t be afraid to let a tough design push your boundaries 13:23 - How do you manage your time for learning new things when you have children and a daily full-time job? Those who figure out how to make it a priority will win out Family first - talk to your spouse Ask your boss for time to learn and grow Find ways to get paid for learning 19:45 - How do you deal with burnout in this constantly evolving front end tech ecosystem? Make time for hobbies away from the computer Do projects just for fun Solve your own problems Syntax 035: Keeping Up with the Codeashians Syntax 041: Preventing and Dealing with Burnout in Web Development 25:00 - Do you code at night (past 9pm)? Start your wind-down time earlier Let your brain wok on problems while you sleep Get it out of your head Listen to podcasts, audiobooks, etc. 29:23 - How do you compress your videos/audio for your courses/tutorials? Handbrake Fast 1080 Use presets Output from video editor, rip from YouTube, or compress directly from video editor 33:10 - It seems like in the web dev community, a lot of people give WordPress crap. Any idea why? WordPress is dope - people just like to complain. WordPress is often one of the first things people learn and have bad memories of it It’s easy to write bad code with WordPress It can be slow It can attract a certain type of developer 33:10 - What are some of the biggest mistakes that people make when they are learning programming and what’s the best way to overcome them? Don’t focus on too many things Don’t worry about picking the right technology Focus on the fundamentals Let your curiosity and excitement drive you Celebrate wins 40:29 - What are your best tips for writing documentation? Start with basic API documentation, them move to more “article style” docs Use tools like CodeSandbox and Swagger Syntax 073: Reading Documentation 43:08 - What are some good questions or techniques to better understand a client’s requirements? How does your business work right now? What are people coming to the website for? Questionnaires are good - they get people thinking It’s your job to understand what a client want out of a website - what problems they have and need solved 45:38 - Do you guys have any tips for taking over maintenance and development of existing websites where the previous developer is no longer reachable? Take time to asses the codebase before writing anything Learn what’s there any and why Don’t start ripping out code without understanding what’s really going on Don’t leave it worse than you found it It depends on the stack, but it’s probably worth giving it an honest go before re-writing the whole thing ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott 1: Drillbrush Bathroom Surfaces Tub, Shower, Tile and Grout All Purpose Power Scrubber Cleaning Kit Scott 2: iOttie Wes 1: Sabrent Wireless Charger Wes 2: CD Player Mount Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Pro Subscription Wes’ Advanced React Course Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes continue a three-part series about old browsers, fallbacks and polyfills. In part two, they talk specifically about CSS Grid, Flexbox, new features and fallbacks, and how to use them. VueSchool.io — Sponsor Check out VueSchool.io’s new subscription plans. Get access to their entire catalog with more than 160 lessons, including The Vue.js Masterclass, for one low monthly fee. New content and courses are added regularly. Visit VueSchool.io/syntax and get your first month for only $5. Show Notes 3:08 - CSS Grid and Flexbox Flexbox old spec Flexbox new spec CSS Grid Some popular options for supporting for supporting CSS Grid and/or Flexbox: Just serve the mobile layout Display block Separate layout that you will eventually delete Can I Use Do websites need to look exactly the same in every browser? Modernizr CSS3, Please! Autoprefixer 12:38 - CSS Variables Double define Just like Grid, unknown def will be ignored and fallback to CSS CSS Houdini 17:00 - Fallback Code @supports Display block then display grid Feature Testing Detect the browser as a last resort Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott discuss fitness for developers. As a follow-up to Episode 20, they talk about the status of their fitness goals from that episode, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and how you can be more fit yourself in 2018. DevLifts — Sponsor DevLifts - Thad and JC are on a mission to make web developers healthy. They’re currently offering two options: The first is Fit.Start - perfect for beginners or those looking to get back at it. Use the coupon code “syntax” to get 50% off the fit.start plan. The second is DevLifts Premium - for those looking for a laser-focused approach and maximum accountability. Use the coupon code “tasty” to get 50% off the premium plan. Check it out today! Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Show Notes 3:30 Why is fitness important as a developer? 6:08 Working Out Update: Wes 14:37 Working Out Update: Scott 25:06 Nutrition Update: Wes 35:12 Nutrition Update: Scott 45:40 Supplement Update: Wes 48:00 Supplement Update: Scott 52:18 Plans for the future: Wes 54:53 Plans for the future: Scott ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Fitness Blender Wes: Dr. Peter Attia - The Drive Podcast Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level Up Pro Wes’ Advanced React Course Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes kickoff a three-part series about old browsers, fallbacks and polyfills. In part one, Scott and Wes talk specifically about old browsers, how best to support them, and whether or not you should support them at all. VueSchool.io — Sponsor Check out VueSchool.io’s new subscription plans. Get access to their entire catalog with more than 160 lessons, including The Vue.js Masterclass, for one low monthly fee. New content and courses are added regularly. Visit VueSchool.io/syntax and get your first month for only $5. Show Notes 5:10 - How do you decide if you should support an older browser? Google Analytics Data User base / Money earned from that audience IS it worth it? Time vs Money? 11:35 - How do you test your websites and app in older browsers? Actual hardware - there’s no substitution for the real thing Browser Stack Virtual Box Modern.ie Can I Use 18:24 - Supporting and Testing Mobile Browsers Resize your browser Build a device lab Remote Debugging Browser device view Faking Geolocation Emulators in XCode / Android dev tools Browsersync Ghostlab Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

In this episode Wes and Scott continue the discussion of their favorite top 18 new things in Javascript. Freshbooks - Sponsor Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the “How did you hear about us?” section. Graph CMS - Sponsor GraphCMS is trying to be the world’s most developer friendly CMS. It’s a great way to build a GraphQL API without having to write a custom GraphQL server. Try out the API-first CMS of the future today at graphcms.com/syntaxfm. Show Notes 3:30 Spread 8:40 Rests 11:54 Arrow Functions 15:48 Default Function Arguments 19:47 Named params 21:26 Modules 35:35 Classes 41:54 Things we never use Links Jake’s Minesweeper ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Trader Joe’s Everything by the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend Wes: Trader Joe’s Green Dragon Hot Sauce Shameless Plugs Scott’s Better Javascript Course Wes’ ES6 For Everyone Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets