How To Get Better At Problem Solving
Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats20 Nov 2019

How To Get Better At Problem Solving

In this episode of Syntax, Scott and Wes talk about how to get better at problem solving — one of the most important skills to build as a developer. 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/syntax for more info. Prismic - Sponsor Prismic is a Headless CMS for your next front end project. Create complex content type, relate data, and have your clients edit it all with the Prismic UI. Then pull the data into your project with their JSON or GraphQL API. Try it out with your next project - Gatsby, React + Apollo, or any other language. Check out their examples to get you started at Prismic.io/syntax. Show Notes 2:43 - Gather info What is this thing trying to do? Use tools DevTools are your best friend during this phase 8:01 - Know where to look (and use tools) Dev tools for client side Error logs Sentry LogRocket The most experienced people in any field know how to ask the right questions. Some of this will come with experience and nothing else. If you’ve seen a problem before, it’s easier to solve. 10:00 - Look at the end game What are you really trying to do here? Don’t focus so much on the tech that you miss the bigger picture. 13:17 - Read Again Error logs provide the best clues. Read them closely. Actually read your code — don’t skim it. Write comments while reading it, or follow existing comments — good for documenting, but also for structuring your thoughts. 18:08 - Make it simple (break it into smaller parts) Limit the number of inputs and outputs Get it working in a limited capacity (e.g. safe mode, Codepen, etc.) Comment out major sections of code until you have a working example Does this problem exist outside of the framework? Does this work in a clean environment? 25:35 - Take yourself out of your environment You should be able to take a look at the problem at all zoom levels Does it work locally but not on the server? Does it work in other browsers? 27:32 - Stay calm It’s easy to get nervous or worked up when the stakes are high It won’t serve you to panic. If you are panicking, take a 10 min walk to deep breath Take a shower, lift weights (seriously) 30:14 - Talk it over Getting the perspective of another developer can be invaluable 32:28 - Make things obvious Use debugger or label logs — don’t let it be ambiguous For CSS bugs, use primary colors to make things stand out Use the right tool to make the problem stand out Layers for CSS issues Network for network issues Performance tab (etc.) 35:12 - Use Git correctly to free up your techniques If you’re code commits are up to date, you can heavily modify code without fear of deleting things — just revert to a previous commit once you find the issue and fix. 36:10 - Don’t jump at solutions Take the time to fully dissect the problem Question you assumptions It can’t possibly be a problem with ____. Well maybe it is. Wes once spent hours trying to diagnose a check engine light when the gas cap was lose. 43:51 - Get good at pattern matching This comes with experience When did this problem start? Did we deploy any code? Did we change any logic? 44:54 - Get good at googling Being able to describe your problem is key. Search the error from Firefox Links DevTools Sentry LogRocket CodePen Syntax 154: SVGs with Sara Soueidan @walpolea Syntax 152: Debugging Tools + Tips @bowlendev @dan_abramov Ryan Dahl on creating Node.js @LaurieonTech Firefox DuckDuckGo ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Jeremy Ethier Youtube Channel Wes: Marpac Rohm Sound Machine Shameless Plugs Scott: Typescript in React Course - Sign up for the year and save 25%! Wes: Beginner Javascript 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

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923: Getting the Most Out of AI Coding

923: Getting the Most Out of AI Coding

Scott and Wes share their top strategies for getting high-quality results from AI coding tools like Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, and Windsurf. From better prompting to building reusable rule sets, they cover practical tips for making AI your most productive coding partner. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! Wes' Tweet 02:56 How to get the best results when using AI. 03:15 Scaffold it out yourself. 05:40 Be clear with your prompts. 07:45 Use XML tags around specific items 08:47 Utilize Rules like Cursor rules or Copilot rules. 13:20 Ask it to create some rules based on an existing codebase. 16:03 Break things down into clear concise actionable items. 17:22 Where to store your rules files. 18:37 Utilizing llm.txt files. 19:24 Context7. 20:28 Tag relevant files, functions, etc. 21:38 Feed logs back into the AI. 22:36 Logging Errors. 22:54 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 24:14 Long running chats get worse. Wes' Tweet 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 Jul 26min

922: Pre-commit Hooks, requestAnimationFrame, Code Reviews, and More

922: Pre-commit Hooks, requestAnimationFrame, Code Reviews, and More

In this potluck episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott answer your questions about code reviews, migrating legacy apps, CSS attr() use cases, pre-commit hooks, the future of creative web development, whether front-end devs need to be full-stack, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:43 When is the appropriate time to use requestAnimationFrame? 05:10 How do you handle code reviews on larger teams? 13:08 When to use the CSS attr() function 19:01 The future of browsing websites and the impact of AI 28:45 Brought to you by Sentry.io 29:10 Navigating browser preview in VS Code 31:31 Pre-populating email content with mailto 34:29 Is there increasing pressure for front-end developers to become full-stack? 43:14 What pre-commit checks should you run and how? 46:16 How do you deal with a poorly-built codebase when you already have thousands of active users? 50:05 What GitHub Copilot features should you disable while you’re learning something new? 52:22 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott: WOLFBOX MF100 Electric Air Duster Wes: Competition Kettlebells Shameless Plugs Syntax YouTube Channel 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 Jul 58min

921: AI Coding Roadmap for Newbies (And Skeptics)

921: AI Coding Roadmap for Newbies (And Skeptics)

Scott and Wes break down how to code with and for AI; perfect for skeptics, beginners, and curious devs. They cover everything from Ghost Text and CLI agents to building your own AI-powered apps with embeddings, function calling, and multi-model workflows. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:56 How to interface with AI. 04:07 IDE Ghost Text. 05:45 IDE Chat, Agents. 08:00 CLI Agents. Claude Code. Open Code. Gemini. 11:13 MCP Servers. Context7 14:47 GUI apps. v0. Bolt.new. Lovable. Windsurf. 19:07 Existing Chat app like ChatGPT. 22:37 Building things WITH AI. 23:32 Prompting. 26:53 Streaming VS not streaming. 28:14 Embeddings and Rag. 31:09 MCP Server. CJ’s MCP Deep Dive. 32:36 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 33:25 Multi-model, multi-provider. 36:27 npm libs to use to code with AI. OpenAI SDK. AI SDK. Cloudflare Agents. Langchain. Local AI Tensorflow. Transformers.js. Huggingface. 44:12 Processes and exploring. 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

21 Jul 48min

920: How to Build MCP Servers

920: How to Build MCP Servers

Wes and Scott talk about how developers can expose powerful tools to AI using the Model Context Protocol. They discuss tool calling, remote MCP specs, authentication, and real-world use cases that make AI more capable through smarter integrations. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:36 What is MCP? 07:23 MCP tools 11:33 MCP resources 13:43 Saving reusable prompts 16:18 Creating and validating MCP tools 18:31 Brought to you by Sentry.io 18:31 Tool calling vs MCP servers 21:28 Remote vs local MCP servers mcp-remote 26:24 Useful MCP servers mcp-server-cloudflare use-mcp awesome-mcp-servers 32:48 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott: Mario Kart World Wes: anyloop Kid’s Watch Shameless Plugs Syntax YouTube Channel 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

16 Jul 37min

919: Better Auth with Better Auth

919: Better Auth with Better Auth

Scott and Wes recap the current state of web authentication and explore how Better Auth simplifies the whole process. With built-in plugins, modern features, and no need to hand-roll your own solution, Better Auth makes secure login a breeze for developers. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:59 Scott’s history with authentication. 02:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 03:15 My opinion has changed on auth. 04:40 Current authentication options. 06:32 Arctic. 06:56 OpenAUTH. 07:36 Auth.js. 08:02 Better Auth. 10:45 Better Auth CLI. 11:37 Email integration. 12:09 Hooks and Tokens. 13:43 CAPTCHA Integration. 14:36 Database Integration. 15:04 Integrations. 15:19 Plugin Ecosystem. 17:40 Admin features. 19:41 The Docs. 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

14 Jul 26min

918: Extreme Native Perf on the Web with Superhuman

918: Extreme Native Perf on the Web with Superhuman

Wes and Scott talk with Loïc Houssier about how Superhuman builds lightning-fast, delightfully-designed email software. They dig into engineering philosophy, offline-first architecture, local databases, AI-powered productivity, and what it takes to create tools that people love. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:05 Inside Superhuman and Loïc’s role 06:49 Is Superhuman native? What’s the tech stack? 08:16 How Superhuman approaches product design and speed 12:17 Local-first architecture – Sync, storage, and performance Realm 13:46 Vector search, AI, and privacy considerations 18:12 How the team ships fast and stays focused 21:27 Rethinking email for the future 26:54 Brought to you by Sentry.io 27:19 How calendar integration and smart features work 29:54 Where new ideas come from 31:54 Will there ever be a true dark mode? 33:02 Are people actually using keyboard shortcuts? 36:42 How shortcuts work and the role of the command palette 41:28 Engineering for speed – Costs and trade-offs 43:32 How Superhuman’s sync engine works 46:09 What code runs locally and what runs on the server? 46:51 How Superhuman handled the Google and Cloudflare outage 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

9 Jul 48min

917: AI Tools You Should Know

917: AI Tools You Should Know

Scott and Wes round up the hottest AI tools you should have on your radar; from text-to-speech wizards to self-hosted image generators. They break down what they’re using, what’s worth paying for, and which tools are changing their workflows. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:49 Getting too cozy with your tools. 01:34 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 03:40 LangFlow. 08:44 Super Whisper and Whisper Flow. 15:00 Dia. 23:16 Chat apps. Claude ChatGPT Raycast Cursor Midjourney (Imagine.art) 26:58 Self-hosted. 27:01 Comfy UI. 31:27 Automatic1111 and Forge UI. Xenova Shoutout 34:11 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs. Sick Picks Scott: Rat A Tat Cat Card Game. Wes: Syntax Hats Shameless Plugs Wes: Syntax Hats 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

7 Jul 37min

916: I got fired, what should I focus on?

916: I got fired, what should I focus on?

In this potluck episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott answer your questions about maintaining popular open-source projects, where to start after a layoff, impostor syndrome, Scott’s recording setup, whether a computer science degree is still worth it in the age of AI, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:44 Brought to you bySentry.io 04:16 How to maintain a successful NPM package 08:03 What to do in Denver while attending Laracon 11:18 How to branch out and learn new frameworks while balancing work life and family 15:55 Built-in state management vs external state managementFull Stack App Build | Travel Log w/ Nuxt, Vue, Better Auth, Drizzle, Tailwind, DaisyUI, MapLibre 19:43 Suggestion for CSS battles: Removing white space and new lines after the time limit? 23:06 What is Scott’s recording setup? Aputure Light Dome Aputure Amaran 150c Sony FX3 Electro-Voice RE20 27:46 Snake case vs camel caseEye Tracking Study on camelCase and under_score Identifier Styles 31:16 Have you ever had impostor syndrome? 34:56 Is a degree worth it for computer science or machine learning? 38:41 Should I use a reverse proxy server?Ep 798: Self Hosting: Reverse Proxy Servers 42:03 Where to start when updating your webdev skillset 50:11 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott:Cardboard Cutter Wes:Kitchen Scissors Shameless Plugs Syntax YouTube Channel Hit us up on Socials! Syntax:XInstagramTiktokLinkedInThreads Wes:XInstagramTiktokLinkedInThreads Scott:XInstagramTiktokLinkedInThreads Randy:XInstagramYouTubeThreads

2 Jul 58min

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