JavaScript Jabber

Latest Episodes:

JSJ 393: Why You Should Be Using Web Workers with Surma Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

Episode SummarySurma is an open web advocate for Google currently working with WebAssembly team. He was invited on the show today to talk about using web workers and how to move work away from the browser’s main thread. His primary platform is bringing multithreading out of the fringes and into the web. The panel talks about their past experience with web workers, and many of them found them isolated and difficult to use. Surma believes that web workers should pretty much always be sued because the main thread is an inherently bad place to run your code because it has to do so much. Surma details the differences between web workers, service workers, and worklets and explains what the compositer is. The panel discusses what parts should be moved off the main thread and how to move the logic over. Surma notes that the additional cost of using a worker is basically nonexistent, changes almost nothing in your workflow, and takes up only one kilobyte of memory. Therefore, the cost/benefit ratio of using web workers gets very large. They discuss debugging in a web worker and Surma details how debugging is better in web workers. Surma wants to see people use workers not because it will make it faster, but because it will make your app more resilient across all devices. Every piece of JavaScript you run could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. There’s so much to do on the main thread for the browser, especially when it has a weaker processor, that the more stuff you can move away, the better.The web is tailored for the most powerful phones, but a large portion of the population does not have the most powerful phone available, and moving things over to a web worker will benefit the average phone. Surma talks about his experience using the Nokia 2, on which simple apps run very slow because they are not being frugal with the user’s resources. Moving things to another thread will help phones like this run faster. The panel discusses the benefit of using web workers from a business standpoint. The argument is similar to that for accessibility. Though a user may not need that accessibility all the time, they could become in need of it. Making the app run better on low end devices will also increase the target audience, which is helpful is user acquisition is your principle metric for success. Surma wants businesses to understand that while this is beneficial for people in countries like India, there is also a very wide spectrum of phone performance in America. He wants to help all of these people and wants companies acknowledge this spectrum and to look at the benefits of using web workers to improve performance.Panelists

Charles Max Wood
Christopher Buecheler
Aimee Knight
AJ O’Neal

With special guest: SurmaSponsors

Adventures in DevOps
Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry’s small plan
Adventures in Angular

Links

Follow DevChatTV on Facebook and Twitter PicksCharles Max Wood:

For Love of Mother-Not

Surma:

Follow Surma @DasSurma on Twitter and at dassur.ma
WebAssembly Spec

AJ O’Neal:

Christopher Buecheler

CinemaSins Sincast podcast

Special Guest: Surma.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/javascript-jabber/donations
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/javascript-jabber--6102064/support.

JSJ 392: The Murky Past and Misty Future of JavaScript with Douglas Crockford Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

Episode SummaryDouglas is a language architect and helped with the development of JavaScript. He started working with JavaScript in 2000. He talks about his journey with the language, including his initial confusion and struggles, which led him to write his book JavaScript: The Good Parts.Douglas’ take on JavaScript is unique because he not only talks about what he likes, but what he doesn’t like. Charles and Douglas discuss some of the bad parts of JavaScript, many of which were mistakes because the language was designed and released in too little time. Other mistakes were copied intentionally from other languages because people are emotionally attached to the way things “have always been done”, even if there is a better way.Doug takes a minimalist approach to programming. They talk about his opinions on pairing back the standard library and bringing in what’s needed. Douglas believes that using every feature of the language in everything you make is going to get you into trouble. Charles and Douglas talk about how to identify what parts are useful and what parts are not.Douglas delves into some of the issues with the ‘this’ variable. He has experimented with getting rid of ‘this’ and found that it made things easier and programs smaller. More pointers on how to do functional programming can be found in his book How JavaScript Works Charles and Douglas talk about how he decided which parts were good and bad. Douglas talks about how automatic semicolon insertion and ++ programming are terrible, and his experiments with getting rid of them. He explains the origin of JS Lint. After all, most of our time is not spent coding, it’s spent debugging and maintaining, so there’s no point in optimizing keystrokes.Douglas talks about his experience on the ECMAScript development committee and developing JavaScript. He believes that the most important features in ES6 were modules and proper tail calls. They discuss whether or not progression or digression is occurring within JavaScript. Douglas disagrees with all the ‘clutter’ that is being added and the prevalent logical fallacy that if more complexity is added in the language then the program will be simpler. Charles asks Douglas about his plans for the future. His current priority is the next language. He talks about the things that JavaScript got right, but does not believe that it should not be the last language. He shares how he thinks that languages should progress. There should be a focus on security, and security should be factored into the language. Douglas is working on an implementation for a new language he calls Misty. He talks about where he sees Misty being implemented. He talks about his Frontend Masters course on functional programming and other projects he’s working on. The show concludes with Douglas talking about the importance of teaching history in programming. Panelists

Charles Max Wood

With special guest: Douglas CrockfordSponsors

Sustain Our Software
Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry’s small plan
Views on Vue

Links

Follow DevChatTV on Facebook and Twitter PicksCharles Max Wood:

Superfans by Pat Flynn
SEO course Agency Unlocked by Neil Patel

Douglas Crockford:

The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth
Game of Thrones
Follow Douglas at crockford.com

Special Guest: Douglas Crockford.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/javascript-jabber/donations
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/javascript-jabber--6102064/support.

JSJ 391: Debugging with Todd Gardner Sep 12, 2019

Show notes

Episode SummaryTodd Gardner is a software developer, podcaster on the show Script and Style, startup founder, and comedy host for Pub Conf, a ‘comedy after party for developers’. Since he was last on the show 6 years ago, he has seen his startup TrackJS become quite successful. TrackJS is a JavaScript error monitoring service which gives you visibility into your client side experience. It’s different from other tools because focused on simplicity, so you’ll never need a guy on your team dedicated solely to TrackJS because everyone can use it.The panel begins by talking about debugging methods and tools. Some rely solely on the debugger built into their platform while others prefer to use a third party service. They discuss the necessity of using a third party debugger and if there are better solutions than just the built in debugger. They then discuss what to do after you’ve fixed a bug, such as if it is necessary to write a test to make sure it was completely fixed They talk about things to do to make debugging more effective. Todd and Aimee believe that code needs to begin by being designed for debug-ability. The panel discusses issues with invisible boundaries encountered while debugging, such as running out of memory. They talk about ways to mitigate issues that happen outside of your code base. Todd talks about the dangers of ad-blockers, and the panel agrees that it is important to consider how your website will be crippled by the user’s own technology. The end user in a production environment will have a different experience than you did writing it on a professional computer. Todd talks about the difference between debugging for the web versus a mobile application. Todd has encountered particular problems with debugging on a remote device, and he talks about how he solved the issue. The show concludes with Todd giving a quick elevator pitch for TrackJSPanelists

Chris Ferdinandi
Christopher Buecheler
Aimee Knight
Charles Max Wood
Steve Emmrich

With special guest: Todd GardnerSponsors

Adventures in Blockchain
Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry’s small plan
React Round Up

Links

Follow DevChat on Facebook and Twitter PicksChristopher Buecheler:

React/TypeScript cheat sheet

Chris Ferdinandi:

Aimee Knight:

TechLead Youtube channel

Charles Max Wood:

Atomic Habits
Getting up at 4 am

Steve Emmrich:

Trello
Babushkas and grandmas to help you with your newborn

Todd Gardner:

PubConf
Follow Todd @toddhgardner or todd.mn

Special Guest: Todd Gardner.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/javascript-jabber/donations
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/javascript-jabber--6102064/support.

JSJ 390: Transposit with Adam Leventhal Sep 10, 2019

Show notes

Episode SummaryAdam Leventhal is the CEO and cofounder of Transposit. Transposit was born from the desire to build a way for developers to work with lots of different APIs, take authentication and pagination off the table, and let developers focus on the problems they’re trying to solve. Transposit is a serverless platform that’s free and gives you a combination of SQL or JavaScript to start playing with your API.Since interacting with API data securely can be difficult, the panel discusses how Transposit might replace the personally built tools and how does it compare to JAMstack. They talk about some common things that people do wrong with security. Transposit is often used as the full backend, and Adam shares how that works. There is a list of APIs that Transposit can talk to, and you can build your own connector. You can also work with JavaScript and SQL simultaneously. Chris Ferdinandi asks some more specific questions about how Transposit can work with email lists. Adam clarifies the difference between connectors and apps in Transposit. He delves into more detail on what makes it work under the hood. There are some 450,000 Stack applications but the majority have one user because they built it to communicate specifically with their API. The panel discusses how Transposit can help with this. Since Transposit is still in startup mode, it is free for now, and can connect to any public facing API. Adam talks about their decision not to make it open source and gives more details on where the authentications occur. The show wraps up with the panel talking about the pros of going serverlessPanelists

Chris Ferdinandi
Christopher Buecheler

With special guest: Adam Leventhal Sponsors

Adventures in .NET
Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry’s small plan
Elixer Mix

Links

Follow DevChat on Facebook and Twitter PicksChristopher Buecheler:

Manchester Orchestra

Chris Ferdinandi:

Adam Leventhal:

Hamilton the biography
Antler
Follow Adam on Twitter @ahl

Special Guest: Adam Leventhal.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/javascript-jabber/donations
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/javascript-jabber--6102064/support.

JSJ 389: What Makes a 10x Engineer? Sep 05, 2019

Show notes

Sponsors

Sustain Our Software
Sentry– use the code “devchat” for $100 credit
Adventures in Blockchain

Panel

Charles Max Wood

Episode Summary In today’s show, Chuck talks about the recent tweet thread about 10x engineers. He goes through each of the points in the tweet and talks about each of them in turn. There are only two points he sort of agrees with, and believes the rest to be absolute garbage. One of the issues with this tweet is that it doesn’t define what a 10x engineer is. Defining a 10x engineer is difficult because it is also impossible to measure a truly average engineer because there are many factors that play into measuring productivity. Chuck turns the discussion to what a 10x engineer is to him and how to find one. A 10x engineer is dependent on the organization that they are a part of, because they are not simply found, they are made. When a 10x engineer is added to a team, the productivity of the entire team increases. Employers have to consider firstly what you need in your team and how a person would fit in. You want to avoid changing the entire culture of your organization. Consider also that a 10x engineer may be hired as a 2x engineer, but it is the employer that turns them into a 10x engineer. Overall, Chuck believes these tweets are asinine because it’s impossible to measure what makes a 10x engineer in the first place, and hiring a person that fits the attributes in the list would be toxic to your company. Links

10x engineer twitter thread

Follow DevChat on Facebook and Twitter PicksCharles Max Wood:

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/javascript-jabber/donations
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/javascript-jabber--6102064/support.

JSJ 388: Functional Programming with Brian Lonsdorf Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

Sponsors

Adventures in Blockchain
Sentry– use the code “devchat” for $100 credit
My Ruby Story

Panel

Aimee Knight
Chris Buecheler
AJ O’Neal

With Special Guest: Brian LonsdorfEpisode SummaryBrian Lonsdorf works for Salesforce, specializes in functional programming, and wrote a book called Professor Frisby’s Mostly Adequate Guide to Functional Programming. Brian talks about when he got into functional programming and when in their career others should be exposed to it. He talks about the fundamental tenets of functional programming (static mathematical functions), how it differs from object oriented programming, and how to manipulate data in a functional environment. The panel wonders if it is possible to use functional and object oriented programming together and discuss the functional core imperative shell. Brian talks about what is ‘super functional’ and why JavaScript isn’t, but includes methods for making it work. He shares some of the trade-offs he’s found while doing functional programming. Brian defines a monad and goes over some of the common questions he gets about functional programming, such as how to model an app using functional programming. The show concludes with Brian talking about some of the work he’s been doing in AI and machine learning. Links

Follow DevChat on Facebook and Twitter PicksAimee Knight:

After The Burial (band)

Chris Buecheler:

Minecraft in JavaScript

AJ O’Neal:

Brian Lonsdorf:

Follow Brian @drboolean
Chris Penner Comonads

Special Guest: Brian Lonsdorf.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/javascript-jabber/donations
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/javascript-jabber--6102064/support.

JSJ 387: How to Stay Current in the Tech Field Aug 29, 2019

Show notes

Sponsors

GitLab | Get 30% off tickets with the promo code: DEVCHATCOMMIT
Sentry– use the code “devchat” for $100 credit
Views on Vue

Panel

Charles Max Wood
Joe Eames

Episode SummaryToday Joe and Charles are discussing how to stay current in the tech field. Since looking at all the new technology can be overwhelming, they advise listeners on what to focus on, which will differ depending on your career. Joe brings up that one of the top reasons people choose a job is because it has a technology they want to learn. Joe and Charles discuss trends in the tech world, such as the rise and fall of Rails. They discuss what to do if you’re happy with what you’re doing now but want your career to stay viable. While it is important to continue moving along with technology, they agree that the stuff that’s really important is the stuff that doesn’t change. Charles believes that if you have a solid knowledge on a subject that isn’t necessary current, that is still very valuable. Joe and Charles discuss the importance of having a learning plan and the importance of having soft skills in addition to technological know-how. Another important part of staying current is figuring out where you want to end up and making a plan. If you want to work for a specific company, you need to learn the technology they’re using. Joe talks about some of his experiences trying to get a job with a big company and how he was reminded of the importance of the fundamentals. They discuss the merits of being a generalist or a specialist in your studies and the best approach once you’ve chosen a technology to learn. Once you’ve learned a technology, it’s important to start building with it. Charles and Joe talk about different ways of learning, such as books, videos, code reading, or tutorials, and the importance of finding a medium that you can understand. They discuss the isolating nature of tutorials and how it is important to have real-world experience with the code. They discuss how to know if you’ve learned a technology well enough to move onto the next thing, and whether the technologies you studies should be career focused or passion based. Charles advises listeners to divide their time as follows: 50% of your learning should be focused on what you’re currently doing at your job, 25% looking towards the future and studying upcoming technology, and 25% on your passion. Links

Follow DevChat on Facebook and Twitter PicksCharles Max Wood:

Joe Eames:

Gatsby

JSJ 386: Gatsby.js with Chris Biscardi Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

Sponsors

GitLab | Get 30% off tickets with the promo code: DEVCHATCOMMIT
Sentry– use the code “devchat” for $100 credit

Panel

Chris Beucheler
AJ O’Neal
Aimee Knight

With Special Guest: Chris BiscardiEpisode SummaryChris is an independent consultant working with open source startups. He taught himself to program and started in open source. He talks about how he got into programming and how he learned to code. One of Chris’ current clients is Gatsby, a static site generator. Chris talks about his work with Gatsby themes, how he got started working with Gatsby, and how you can get started with Gatsby. Chris talks about how Gatsby differs from other static site generators and how difficult it is to use. The panel discusses possible use cases for Gatsby, and agree that if your site is going to get more complex and larger over time, something like Gatsby is what you want to use. Chris talks about what it’s like to migrate to Gatsby from another service. The panel discusses the pros and cons of server-side rendering. Chris talks about building more app-oriented sites with Gatsby and things that you can plug into a Gatsby theme besides a blog. The show concludes with Chris and the panelists agreeing that if you can write it in JavaScript, you can ship it in a Gatsby theme. Links

Follow DevChat on Facebook and Twitter PicksAJ O’Neal:

Aimee Knight:

Some things that might help you make better software

Chris Beucheler:

Venture Cafe Providence

Chris Biscardi:

Special Guest: Chris Biscardi.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/javascript-jabber/donations
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/javascript-jabber--6102064/support.

JSJ 385: What Can You Build with JavaScript? Aug 22, 2019

Show notes

Sponsors

RxJS Live

Panel

Charles Max Wood
Christopher Beucheler

Episode SummaryToday Charles and Christopher discuss what can you do with JavaScript. They talk about the kinds of things they have used JavaScript to build. They discuss non-traditional ways that people might get into JavaScript and what first drew them to the language. They talk about the some of the non-traditional JavaScript options that are worth looking into. Christopher and Charles talk about some of the fascinating things that have been done with JavaScript, such as Amazon Alexa capabilities, virtual reality, and games. They spend some time talking about JavaScript usage in game creation and building AI. They talk about how they’ve seen JavaScript change and progress during their time as developers. They talk about areas besides web that they would be interested in learning more about and what kinds of things they would like to build in that area. They finish by discussing areas that they are excited to see improve and gain new capabilites. Links

Follow DevChat on Facebook and Twitter PicksCharles Max Wood:

Instagram
JavaScript Jabber Reccomendations
New shows: Adventures in Block Chain, Adventures in .Net

Christopher Beucheler:

Pair programming
VS Code Live Share

JSJ 384: FaunaDB: Support for GraphQL and Serverless Development with Evan Weaver Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

Sponsors

Sentry– use the code “devchat” for $100 credit

Panel

Charles Max Wood
AJ O’Neal
Joe Eames
Aimee Knight

With Special Guest: Evan WeaverEpisode SummaryEvan Weaver is the CEO and cofounder of FaunaDB, a serverless database and a great way to get started with GraphQL. Evan talks about what went into building the FaunaDB and his background with Twitter. FaunaDB arose from trying to fix Twitter’s scalability issues, and the panel discusses scalability issues encountered in both large and small companies. They talk about the difference between transient and persistent data. They discuss how to develop locally when using a serverless database and the importance of knowing why you’re using something. Evan talks about how developing locally works with FaunaDB. He addresses concerns that people might have about using FaunaDB since it is not backed by a tech giant. Evan talks about some of the services FaunaDB offers and talks about the flexibility of its tools. He talks about how to get started with FaunaDB and what the authentication is like. Finally, Evan talks about some well known companies that are using FaunaDB and what they are doing with it. Links