11 Habits of Highly Effective Developers

Wes and Scott talk about the new If statements in CSS, breaking down how they work, why they matter, and when to use them. They explore use cases, syntax quirks, and how this feature pushes CSS closer to true conditional logic—no JavaScript required. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:30 Brought to you by Sentry.io 02:37 CSS If statements in action CSS if() functions & reading-flow (in Chrome 137) CodePen - If with style without attr 09:08 Advanced examples and the attribute function CodePen - CSS If() Themes 13:43 Mixing If statements with media queries CodePen - CSS If() Mixed Logic 16:54 Can’t this be done with classes? 18:16 The future of CSS: declarative APIs CSS Battle LIVE! in Denver | Switch Edition 21:10 Is CSS now a programming language? 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

11 Juni 24min

We break down how to properly throw, catch, and log errors in JavaScript and TypeScript. They cover client-side and server-side strategies, using tools like Sentry, and how to handle errors without taking down your whole app. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:19 Error terminology. 01:42 Thrown and catching. 03:01 What’s in an error. 04:09 Name and message. 04:42 Stack. 07:12 Node system errors. 07:34 Messages: strings, objects, or custom errors. 08:19 Throwing errors. 12:01 Promise errors. 12:10 Try catch block, .catch(). 14:13 Using awaited-to. 15:10 Finally. 16:29 promise.try() 17:14 Re-throwing errors. Error Cause 18:12 Client-side errors. 18:15 Catching at different levels. 18:51 Displaying errors. 21:59 Transforming server errors into client errors. 24:12 Error boundaries. 25:26 Server errors. 26:10 JSON API. 27:41 HTTP response codes. 30:09 Logging and solving errors. 31:16 Proudly supported by Sentry.io. Logging within Sentry 36:16 TypeScript and errors. 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 Juni 39min

Wes and Scott talk with Jeppe Reinhold about Storybook 9’s powerful new features—including drastically reduced bloat, seamless Vite integration, and next-level component testing. They dive into visual regression testing, accessibility, performance, and best practices for writing robust, isolated UI components developers can actually enjoy testing and documenting. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:40 What is Storybook? 03:48 How Storybook makes component design easier 04:41 Vite integration and compatibility with other tools Vite webpack RSpack 06:50 Storybook’s significantly smaller bundle size e18e polka 13:31 Upgrading to Storybook 9 17:34 Testing components with Storybook Vitest 19:51 How do you write a component “story”? 24:29 Brought to you by Sentry.io 24:54 How visual testing works 28:38 How Storybook makes money 29:33 Best practices for component design 32:24 Mocking and testing strategies 34:49 Accessibility testing 40:51 Add-ons and future features 44:43 Storybook’s documentation 46:33 Sick Picks + Shameless plugs Sick Picks Jeppe: JBL Boombox 3 Wi-Fi Shameless Plugs Jeppe: chromatic 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 Juni 50min

Wes rebuilt his personal site from Gatsby to a modern stack using Waku, React Server Components, and Cloudflare Workers — all while keeping the same design. Scott and Wes break down the pain points with Next.js, MDX, image handling, caching, and the custom setup that now powers a blazing-fast blog. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:03 Barcelona Conference. 04:09 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 04:33 Existing stack, goodbye to Gatsby. 06:11 New stack, the goals for moving. 06:56 So what is the new stack? 08:32 Challenges with NextJS. 08:58 Problems with plugins. 09:30 Problems with dynamic imports. 10:21 Problems with Cloudflare deployment. 12:37 Landing on Waku. 13:59 Hot Tips functionality updates. 16:30 Blog Posts + JavaScript Notes. 17:09 Moving from Gatsby. 19:03 Page speeds. 19:29 Removing nav resizing process. 21:03 Writing custom MDX plugins. 23:28 Hosting. 24:08 Why is the build so fast? 28:01 Pricing. 32:25 Caching. 34:49 Migration errors. 36:37 CSS. 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

2 Juni 44min

Wes and Scott talk with VC Dan Levine about how developers can raise venture capital, what investors look for in early-stage startups, the realities of bootstrapping vs. fundraising, and why great ideas often start as simple side projects. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:55 Dan’s background and career 03:10 Is it common for tech investors to come from a tech background? 04:40 How can developers raise money? 08:35 What investors look for 12:39 How much funding is enough? 15:41 Are founders working with multiple investors? 18:26 What can you use the money for? 22:49 How much influence do investors have in the business? 29:56 Brought to you by Sentry.io 29:56 How involved are VCs in the business? 34:22 How do you know a startup is in trouble—and what can you do about it? 38:56 How much of the company do investors own? 40:43 What’s the endgame for investors? 44:02 How do acqui-hires work? 46:29 Is the AI space a real opportunity or just hype? 53:22 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Dan: Dandelion Chocolate Jules Pizza Shameless Plugs Dan: Linear 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 Maj 56min

CJ steps in for Scott and joins Wes to share his experience working with Nuxt, from routing and data fetching to the pros and cons of the framework. They break down the Nuxt ecosystem, directory structure, and how it handles server routes and modules. Show Notes 00:00 Syntax Meetup! 00:26 Welcome to Syntax 01:21 The deal with Nuxt. CJ’s Nuxt Course. 02:51 Why do you like Vue? 04:52 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 05:17 Routing with Nuxt. h3 - The Web Framework for Modern JavaScript Era. Nuxt Guides. 06:12 Built on Nitro. 06:49 The Nuxt Ecosystem. 07:52 API Route Support. 08:15 Nuxt Directory Structure. 09:09 Does Nuxt do too much for you? 11:15 Data fetching in a Nuxt app. 13:25 RPC, Form Actions, Server Actions? 15:00 Nuxt Server Folder Hastle. 15:57 useFetch Hook. CJ’s Nuxt Crash Course. 17:29 Core Modules and Community Modules? Nuxt Modules. shadcn-nuxt. @nuxt/ui. DaisyUI. Pinia. 21:17 Nuxt Hosting. Deploy. hub.nuxt. 23:59 Anything you don’t like? 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

26 Maj 27min

In this potluck episode of Syntax, Wes and CJ answer your questions about OpenAI’s $3B Windsurf acquisition, the evolving role of UI in an AI-driven world, why good design still matters, React vs. Svelte, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! Devs Night Out 02:35 OpenAI acquires Windsurf for $3B Windsurf Ep 870: Windsurf forked VS Code to compete with Cursor. Talking the future of AI + Coding 05:20 What is the future of UI now that AI is such a heavy hitter? 08:45 Handling spam submissions on websites Cloudflare Turnstile 14:18 Duplicating HTML for desktop and mobile websites? 17:03 Is it okay to use a JSON file for simple website data? 19:04 How to handle anonymous and duplicate users Better-Auth 21:55 Working with TypeScript Object.keys() and “any” vs “@ts-ignore” 25:51 Brought to you by Sentry.io 26:38 What is the difference between React and Svelte? 30:24 How should you name your readme file? 31:55 How do you find time to refactor code? 35:20 Best practices for testing responsiveness Polypane 39:19 Avoiding layout shift with progressive enhancement 46:56 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks CJ: Portable Chainsaw Wes: White Lotus Shameless Plugs CJ: Nuxt Wes: Full Stack App Build | Travel Log w/ Nuxt, Vue, Better Auth, Drizzle, Tailwind, DaisyUI, MapLibre 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 Maj 51min

Scott and Wes are joined by Erich Gamma, creator of VS Code, and Kai Maetzel, Copilot Lead, to share some big news about the future of VS Code and Copilot. They discuss what it means for developers, how AI is shaping the future of coding, and why staying open to the community is key. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:00 The inception of VS Code. 02:49 VS Code adoption. 04:31 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 04:55 Syntax Denver Meetup! 05:19 The big announcement. 06:25 The current state of Copilot and VS Code. 08:31 The challenges with LLMs running outside of the codebase. 09:31 How to make a business case for AI. 10:47 The maturing of the AI landscape. 13:01 The limitations of extensions. 14:06 Open source vs closed source. 14:49 Copilot’s context is public. 19:23 Is context language-specific? 21:23 How does this affect paid Copilot features? 23:27 Secrets of Copilot’s server-side. 28:36 What will be open and what will not? 29:03 Is Copilot’s UI influenced by VS Code forks? 31:31 Maintaining VS Code identity in forks. 33:07 What does open-sourcing GitHub Copilot mean for Cursor and Windsurf? 38:42 Were you surprised to see VS Code forks? 40:03 Are other extensions able to tap into the AI offerings? 43:20 There’s work to be done. 44:13 The timeline. 45:39 Simulation Tests (S Tests). 48:07 How to test LLMs. 49:10 The future of software development with AI. 52:47 What’s your favorite model? 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

19 Maj 57min