Syntax Highlight — We Review Your Portfolios

Scott and Wes talk with Taylor Desseyn about the shifting developer job market. Taylor shares practical tips for standing out, building genuine connections, and finding opportunities in a competitive hiring landscape. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:38 Meet Taylor Desseyn 03:51 Is the dev job market as bad as it seems? 06:47 How to stand out when applying for a dev job? 11:03 Who is getting hired? 14:16 What tech/languages are companies hiring for right now? 16:37 Is there less work? 20:10 The small things that get you hired 24:19 What to do when you get laid off 27:42 Brought to you by Sentry.io 28:07 How to make yourself more appealing to employers 32:39 Networking tips and tricks 39:01 Remote work and office return trends 40:58 Why you should negotiate carefully 43:38 What’s the most important thing right now for getting hired? 45:48 Should devs understand stakeholders and business goals? 46:42 Creating a good resume 52:00 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Taylor: heydey mic Randy Rektor’s YouTube Channel Shameless Plugs Taylor: Torc Guidance Counselor 2.0 Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

8 Nov 202457min

Scott and Wes serve up listener questions on everything from SvelteKit’s limits and the quirks of branded types in TypeScript to handling email queues and secure token storage in cookies. Plus, they get into app security, the evolution of checkout flows, and why QA teams can actually be game-changers for dev teams. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:50 Catching up. 01:52 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 02:56 What are the limitations of SvelteKit? 06:41 Svelte 5 updates. 07:53 Branded types in TypeScript. EggHead.io Blog. 11:56 Queue applications and a ‘poor man’s queue’. 17:20 The real value of a functional QA team. 21:34 Invoker commands. Invokers Explained. Denver Script Talk. 26:29 Growing security and permissions concerns. Little Snitch. 33:03 Stripe vs PayPal in 2024. 38:24 Christmas gift guide. 38:39 Websockets vs streams vs polling. 41:04 Storing access and refresh tokens in a cookie. 45:41 Shipping with TypeScript errors. 49:34 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs. Sick Picks Scott: The Black Stuff Deodorant. Wes: Apple Watch Charging Brick. Shameless Plugs Scott: Syntax on YouTube. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

6 Nov 202456min

Scott and Wes react to the big GitHub Universe announcements, recorded live at GitHub Universe. They dive into Copilot’s new features, exploring how its advancements stack up against Cursor AI in the battle for the ultimate AI-driven developer tool. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:12 Our Syntax Meetup. 02:54 AI is everywhere. 03:22 Sherlocking and jockeying for position. 04:49 GitHub Copilot introduces alternative LLMs. GitHub Copilot 06:31 New tools are build upon existing LLMs. 09:14 VSCode reclaiming ground from Cursor. Cursor 10:31 The new features. 10:34 Multi-file editing. 10:54 Use-cases for multi-file editing. 12:58 Multi-model selection. 13:05 Repo indexing. 13:50 Copilot instructions. 14:34 Examples of Cursor rules. 16:39 No mention of multiple-line suggestions. 18:02 Multi-file edit? 20:26 Code review. 22:36 GitHub Pull Requests plugin. 24:34 Investing in AI ‘big bets’. 26:29 Scott’s mysterious YouTube unreleased feature. 27:11 3-minute YouTube shorts. Wes’ TikTok. 28:29 GitHub Marketplace. 32:18 Copilot Workspace. 34:53 Copilot Workspace features yet to come. 36:25 GitHub Spark. Bolt.new. 42:44 Final thoughts on Copilot vs Cursor. 44:03 What products do you think are in trouble? 50:26 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs. Sick Picks Scott: Waymo. Wes: Waymo. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

4 Nov 202455min

Scott and Wes talk with Andrea Giammarchi (aka WebReflection) about his projects, including LinkDOM and PyScript, and the exciting future of running Python in the browser via WebAssembly. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:04 Andrea’s background and early work LinkDOM 07:25 Brought to you by Sentry.io 09:56 Pyscript 14:31 Why run Python in the browser? 20:17 Using WebAssembly to run different languages in JS 23:33 The advantages of WebAssembly 25:55 What excites Andrea about WASM Proposal: ESX as core JS feature 31:10 What is WASI? 32:21 Andrea’s experience with IOT and microcontrollers 35:35 How can the JS ecosystem be improved? 38:07 Should we have reactivity in the browser? Signals 41:06 Andrea’s thoughts on server-side APIs 43:43 Andrea’s thoughts on TypeScript 49:13 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Andrea: ESP32 Shameless Plugs Andrea: Andrea’s X / Twitter Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

1 Nov 202453min

Scott and Wes continue to share hair-raising developer horror stories submitted by listeners. From accidentally severing access to crucial databases to a limitless coupon code that cost millions, these tales will have you on the edge of your seat. Tune in for more wild mishaps, close calls, and hard-learned lessons from the dark side of coding. You won’t want to miss this second round of spooky web dev stories! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:49 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 01:32 ‘Monkey Business’ 03:21 ‘Spooky Integration Bug’ 06:25 ‘Worst Case Wake Up’ 08:57 ‘Severed Trunk and Missing Backups’ 11:21 ‘Brute Force Too Brutal’ 12:30 ‘A Dorm Room Bee Movie’ 15:46 ‘No Goats’ 16:45 ‘Pokémon Problems’ 18:08 ‘Late Night’ 22:21 ‘Bootcamp Bungle’ 26:19 ‘Film School F*** Up’ 30:26 ‘AWS Clusterf***’ 31:26 ‘Limitless Coupon Disaster’ Episode #451, Episode #609. 33:55 ‘Ruined Vacation’ 35:47 ‘Console.swear’ 37:28 ‘Another Coupon Disaster’ 40:46 ‘The Doctor’ Wes’ Burner List. 43:01 ‘Marketing Nightmare’ 45:10 What did we learn this year? 45:12 You need processes. 48:42 Ask for help. 49:44 Dry-run queries + soft delete. 51:14 Code reviews. Episode #830. 52:11 Version control. 53:58 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs. Sick Picks Scott: Nobody Wants This. Wes: Truffle Hot Sauce. Shameless Plugs Scott: syntax.fm. Wes: syntax.fm/spooky. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

30 Okt 202458min

Scott and Wes unpack the spookiest web dev stories submitted by listeners in this episode. From forgotten MX records to infinite loops, these real-life coding horrors will have you double-checking your WHERE clauses and git backups. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:39 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 00:48 What is Spooky Stories? Submit a story. 02:45 ‘Needs a Coffee’ 04:43 ‘Deleting Github’ Defunkt X Post. 07:42 ‘Rejected’ 09:08 ‘Infinite Loop’ 09:26 ‘MySqueeel Horror’ 11:02 ‘Pet Company’ 12:09 ‘Git Corrupted’ 12:57 ‘Circular Horror’ 14:25 ‘The Haunting of the Forgotten MX Records’ Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

28 Okt 202417min

Scott and Wes talk with Søren Bramer Schmidt, Founder and CEO of Prisma, about database best practices, including the latest developments in serverless, local-first, and typed SQL solutions. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:55 Søren’s thoughts on GraphQL 03:53 Brought to you by Sentry.io 06:57 Common database mistakes 08:52 Prisma’s stability and user experience 10:42 Typed SQL and advanced querying Announcing TypedSQL: Make your raw SQL queries type-safe with Prisma ORM Prisma Optimize 20:47 Serverless challenges and solutions Prisma Accelerate 27:11 Cloudflare’s potential to dethrone AWS 29:13 Prisma and local-first development Prisma & Expo: A Better Path to Local-First Apps | App.js Conf 2024 35:30 Making local-first development mainstream 40:10 Challenges with async 42:43 Søren’s thoughts on Drizzle 43:41 Søren’s favorite database 47:21 The read your writes problem 48:58 Prisma hosted Postgres 51:44 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Søren: Cursor Shameless Plugs Søren: 1: Prisma Optimize 2: Prisma Postgres (coming soon) Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

25 Okt 202454min

Get your productivity game on point! Scott and Wes serve up the best tools for web developers, covering everything from password managers and to-do apps to mind-mapping tools and little scripts that make life easier. Plus, find out what snippet managers they swear by and how they keep their email under control. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:01 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 03:44 Syntax meetup San Francisco. 04:26 Breakdancing update. Kid Cruz Instagram. 05:18 Password management. 1Password. 08:30 Apple stomping on apps. 09:50 To-do applications. Things. Getting Things Done. Tweek. 18:18 To-do in code. Todo Tree. Better Comments. 20:21 Snippets. 25:55 Mind-mapping. MindNode. FigJam. 29:01 Note-taking. Obsidian. Stashpad. ObservableHQ. Jupyter. 36:34 Little scripts. Script Kit. 39:50 Email. Superhuman. 48:11 Some honorable mentions. Habitpath.io. Focus. 52:10 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs. Sick Picks Scott: The Legend of SwordQuest. Wes: The Economics of Everyday Things. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

23 Okt 202454min