917: AI Tools You Should Know

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about the non-glamorous skills that will improve your life as a developer! Prismic - Sponsor Prismic is a Headless CMS that makes it easy to build website pages as a set of components. Break pages into sections of components using React, Vue, or whatever you like. Make corresponding Slices in Prismic. Start building pages dynamically in minutes. Get started at prismic.io/syntax. Show Notes 3:13 - Why it’s needed Make you a better dev Make big tasks easier 7:00 - Why we don’t do it Because it’s hard It’s boring - sometimes It’s not our focus 7:24 - Good command line skills Get around file system Copy, move, delete things 8:58 - Keyboard skills Jump by word/line/BOL/EOL Learn 1 new shortcut per week Custom keybindings for common tasks 14:22 - Communication and interpersonal skills Check out Syntax 125: Hasty Treat - Communication Skillz 14:41 - Time management Focus apps to help How long will something take? Revisit past projects when they are done and see how long it took 16:36 - Good file hygiene Good folder structure Delete old cruft Clear your recycle Desktop and downloads are off-limits Create template structures or tools for commonly used structures Links Wes’ Command Line Power User Course Synology VSCode React PropTypes Generate Syntax 125: Hasty Treat - Communication Skillz CleanMyMac DaisyDisk 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

3 Feb 202023min

It’s another potluck! In this episode, Scott and Wes answer your questions about dev culture fit, Slack communities, vanilla Javascript, backpacks, Raspberry Pi, beards, and more! .TECH Domains - Sponsor If you need eyes on your project, you’ll need a domain, and .TECH is perfect for representing your brand. Find out if your .TECH domain is available at go.tech/syntax2020. Use the coupon code Syntax2020 and get 90% off 1- 5- and 10-year domain names. 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. Show Notes 3:10 - Q: Recently I took a job as a lead dev doing the exact kind of work I’ve always wanted to do. But after the first week, I really hate it. I feel like I don’t fit in and I’m seeing many red flags. There are no processes and there doesn’t seem to be any real excitement around what we are building. What should I do? Do I suck it up for a while? Or do I start looking for something else, potentially taking a pay cut (and moving back into doing web dev as opposed to building apps) to work at another creative agency with people who are more my jam? 10:32 - Does Syntax have a Discord or Slack community channel to collaborate on topics? 12:00 - What is one thing that really annoys you about Javascript? I’m curious if you could change one thing about the language itself, what would it be? 15:08 - Have you tried Fauna DB? 19:13 - What are your thoughts on including tutorial projects in a portfolio? (For example, putting the Sick Fits site from Wes’ Advanced React course in a portfolio.) I’m relatively new to React and have a couple of my own projects, but a bunch of projects from following a course. 23:58 - A site you’re maintaining is hacked, how do you handle fixing it? 30:28 - My bookmarks are overwhelming! I just started learning web dev and even though I sort my bookmarks into folders, I end up with so much that I don’t even know how to use them. What do you guys do for managing bookmarks on browsers? 34:15 - How would you recommend integrating React and other modern JS frameworks into (more or less) “static” or “brochure” websites? Say for instance I have a banking website that has mostly static content, but also has complicated JS pieces such as calculators, location finders and sign-up forms? I currently reach for jQuery & jQuery plugins for these pieces of functionality, but React and Vue sound like they could also help solve these one-off pieces of functionality. Most tutorials and examples are based on creating apps from the ground up, but what if you only want to sprinkle these frameworks in and only use them where JS is necessary? How might the both of you solve for these scenarios? 38:00 - I was wondering whether you could share which backpack, or bag do you use for carrying your laptops? I’m looking for something that would be useful for carrying my 16" Macbook Pro, but also could hold some other stuff like groceries, clothes, or other various things that one may want to put there. 41:50 - Do you write out a vanilla fetch() in your components that need it, or do you use a fetch “wrapper” written by yourself or someone else? If so, what does it look like? 46:16 - Have you ever done any automation projects using a Raspberry Pi? I am trying my hand at remote access to the solar power setup at our ‘bach’ (pronounced ‘batch’) here in New Zealand, which is the same thing as a ‘cottage’ in Canada. Finding it hard to find good resources for this online as most get really technical really fast. My idea is to take the RS485 modbus data and just send it up to a DB every 5 minutes or so. 51:38 - What do Wes and Scott think about beards and have you ever thought about growing one? Links Syntax 215: Hasty Treat - Picking the Stack for uses.tech - Gatsby, React, Context, Styled Components r/SyntaxFM/ Fauna Hasura neo4j Wes’ Advanced React Course Pocket Full Stack Radio 132: Caleb Porzio - Just Enough JavaScript with Alpine.js Peak Design Everyday Bag Raspberry Pi Extreme ironing ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Shogun Wheel Yoga Wheel Wes: Velcro Cable Ties Shameless Plugs Scott: How To Make a GraphQL Server - Sign up for the year and save 25%! Wes: Beginner Javascript - Use the coupon 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

29 Jan 20201h

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about community building online — some of the different software techniques and things you can do to either get started with a web community or join one. 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 7:16 - Chat options Slack Discord Level Up Tutorials Discord Faster communication 9:00 - Forum based Indexable Searchable Slower communication Discourse Spectrum Facebook groups Reddit Syntax Reddit 27:27 - Commenting systems YouTube comments Comments systems in general Links Github Slack Discord Discourse Spectrum Reddit r/reactjs 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

27 Jan 202030min

In this episode of Syntax, Scott and Wes talk about tech to watch in 2020 — things you should keep an eye on and learn this year! Sanity - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get a Sanity powered site up and running in minutes at sanity.io/create. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. 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 logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 6:39 - CSS Subgrid 8:10 - CSS Houdini 11:20 - CSS features not supported in older browsers yet Scrollsnap - IE 11 and up. Lot’s of mobile issues. position:sticky - no IE at all 14:24 - NPM tink installer-less npm Load packages at runtime into a shared cache across all projects Intelligently download the parts you need 17:25 - Yarn PnP Hard links to eliminate package duplication Shared cache across all projects 18:31 - Pika & Snowpack 21:10 - Deno New Node? 25:39 - React Suspense in more libraries Suspense for Server Rendering Meteor New ownership. v1.9 just dropped with lots of promise for future growth Svelte 3 Vue 3 Apollo Next.js 36:37 - Serverless Going to get easier Begin.com Next.js / Now Functions 38:14 - Gatsby A single useQuery (made possible by suspense) 39:36 - Headless CMS Thunderdome 42:20 - Next Gen Frameworks Keystone Strapi Meteor Vulcan.js 43:46 - Cypress End to end testing Currently no Firefox support, but hopeful for 2020 44:21 - Modulz Exports to JS component 45:00 - Figma Was already amazing in 2019 Constantly improving and adding new features Can import from Sketch Links Syntax 109: CSS Grid Level 2 aka Subgrid CSS Houdini Interactive Introduction to CSS Houdini Tweetdeck Next Generation Package Management tink Pika Yarn PnP Syntax 212: Pika Pkg Snowpack Entropic Deno Ryan Dahl - 10 Things I regret About Node.js https://github.com/denoland/deno Cloudflare Hover Meteor Meteor roadmap tiny Svelte 3 Apollo Nextjs Vue Begin Firefox Keystone Strapi Vulcan.js Prisma Hasura Syntax 209: Hasty Treat - Wes Teaches Scott about Keystone.js Cypress Modulz Framer Figma Sketch James Quick YouTube Channel ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Govee Thermometer Wes: Rack Mount Power Bar Shameless Plugs Scott: Fullstack React and Firebase - Sign up for the year and save 25%! Wes: All Courses - Use the coupon 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

22 Jan 202055min

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about Wes’ new website, uses.tech — the stack he chose for building it, as well as what it does and how to use 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”. Show Notes 2:23 - What is uses.tech? 5:33 - The stack 8:13 - Avatars 10:43 - Filtering 15:51 - Github actions 19:25 - Favicon 21:30 - Search 22:03 - Hosting Links uses.tech awesome-uses repo Gatsby React Gatsby Node API Clearbit API unavatar Now.sh webserv.nl country-emoji Andrew Luca joi Making setInterval Declarative with React Hooks Netlify Algolia 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

20 Jan 202024min

In this episode of Syntax, Scott and Wes talk about fitness — how to stay in shape as a developer, nutrition, goals, and more! DevLifts - Sponsor Refactor your body with DevLifts. They have a few different programs: 1) fit.Start (normally $19/month) has a few options (lean, bodyweight, and strong). Workouts are delivered via email each month, with access to a Slack community for questions and accountability. 2) Premium (normally $199/month) is a custom-tailored option, where you get your workouts and nutrition advice after answering a questionnaire. They also check in with you each week via Slack to see how it’s going and make changes if necessary. Get 50% off fit.Start plans with code SYNTAX and 50% off Premium with code TASTY. 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 4:42 - Past year reflections Scott Tried several different lifting Breaking didn’t happen as much, so my cardio took a hit I finally found a full body plan / bro split that has been very effective Weight belt has really helped my form Wes Overcommitted in 2019 Feeling great - physically Gained about 12 pounds past where I want to be - rough year! Noticeable loss in energy when I don’t hit the gym DevLifts since November Cardio / HIIT up 12:15 - What we’re doing now Scott 4 day split Chest/Triceps Back/biceps Shoulders Legs Abs every day Wes 3 days a week Set A - Chest and back Set B - Legs and chest Set C - Legs and back Cardio finisher (BLASTERS) At home helpers Kettle bells Foam roller 30:32 - Nutrition Scott Nothing too hardcore, salads for lunch - not religiously though Good dinners IF occasionally (e.g. not eating before 10 and not eating after dinner snacks) Desert items allowed Wes Macro Tracking - still want to enjoy things Low Carb High on veggies Brussel sprouts Green beans Salads Chickpeas Olives Still super into fermentation, crunchy + sour + fizzy + spicy No sweets either Beer is my downfall 41:04 - Supplements Scott Not doing anything right now other than high quality protein On meds for nerve damage Probiotic Fish Oil Psylluim husk Wes Megafood Men’s Once Daily Multivitamin - they are natural and organic, empty stomach Magnesium Fish Oil Lions Mane Ashwagandha Shilajit 53:49 - Year Looking Forward Scott New gym remodel going to help life Yoga once twice a week Breaking once a week Lifting every day Stretching every day VR Gaming (I burned 400 cals last night playing Super Hot) Goals to dead lift 350, weighted GHR, continue to progress at current rate Make cardio a thing Wes Lose a Few Pounds + Energy + consistency Kettle Bells in office Consistent Gym before life takes a dive Lock down macros Stretches Less beer HIIT Links HeavySet App Syntax 020: Fitness, Nutrition, and Losing Weight Syntax 084: Fitness for Developers Skinny Taste Recipes Daniel Tiger MegaFood Men’s One Daily Multivitamin Examine.com Caffeine App Superhot VR ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Fitness Blender Bob & Brad YouTube Channel Jeremy Ethier YouTube Channel Wes: TechBoss Torch Lighter Shameless Plugs Scott: Level Up Tutorials Pro - Sign up for the year and save 25%! Wes: All Courses - Use the coupon 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

15 Jan 20201h 5min

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about a month of using Firefox — what they liked, what they didn’t, and whether or not they’ll keep using it. 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 logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 3:42 - Dev tools are really good 19:16 - Browsing experience 22:40 - Setup and switchover tips 26:45 - What we didn’t like 29:57 - Will we stay? Links Firefox Errors in Firefox Debugging messages in Firefox Harald Kirschner GraphQL 1Password WhatsApp Videostream for Chromecast 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

13 Jan 202032min

In this episode of Syntax, Scott and Wes talk with Fred Schott about Pika Pkg, a new kind of package registry for the modern web. Sanity - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get a Sanity powered site up and running in minutes at sanity.io/create. 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 3:24 - What is Pika? 9:40 - What about peer dependencies? 12:53 - What does migration look like? 17:30 - Are these tools making things easier? 21:25 - What is the Pika Registry? 34:48 - What is the Pika editor? 41:13 - Is it open source? 47:30 - What about security? Links Fred Schott @FredKSchott Pika @pikapkg Snowpack Pika Builders Babel Typescript Webpack CSZ Parcel Deno VSCode Entropic Homebrew Plex Synology NAS Luke Jackson Toolsday Podcast ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Fred: Idle Supermarket Scott: Theragun Wes: Emby Shameless Plugs Fred: Pika Scott: Level Up Tutorials Pro - Sign up for the year and save 25%! Wes: All Courses - Use the coupon 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

8 Jan 202056min