Syntax &#8211; Tasty Web Development Treats

958: 2025 Holiday Gift Guide Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

The Syntax team brings us their annual Holiday Gift Guide! They’ve curated the best gadgets, tools, food, and even kitchen essentials for the dev in your life — plus a few treats anyone would love to unwrap.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax
00:54 Our Favorite Things
01:03 Wes - Bambu Lab 3d Printers
01:50 Wes - Leatherman Arc Multi-tool
03:07 Kaitlin - Ruffwear Roamer Bungee Dog Leash
04:49 Niki - Magic Mirror Home Screen
06:42 Randy - Everything Presence Light
08:22 Randy - Henson Safety Razor
10:24 CJ - Viltrox 28mm Pancake Lens
11:17 Scott - 3D Printers
11:37 Scott - Anker 4-Port Charger
12:45 Randy - DJI Mic Mini
13:37 Randy - Velcro Cable Ties
14:22 Kaitlin - Prequel Skin Care
16:18 Kaitlin - Coros Pace 3 Running Watch
17:30 Niki - Steam Machine
18:02 Niki - VR Headset
18:18 Under $30
18:25 Wes - ESP32
18:45 Wes - WS2811 LED Strips
19:44 CJ - Precision Screw Driver Set
20:42 Scott - Magsafe Popsocket
21:23 Wes - Digital Calipers
22:45 CJ - Microfiber Device Cloth
23:33 Scott - Candle Warmer
25:30 Wes - Matte Screen Protectors
25:38 Desk Items
25:46 Wes - MX Master 4 Logitech Mouse
26:40 Scott - Elgato Stream Deck
29:12 CJ - Magsafe Phone Stand
30:13 Office Items
30:21 Wes - Heated Vest
31:33 CJ - USB Hand Warmers
32:23 Tech / Storage
32:32 Scott - MoCa Ethernet Adapter
33:41 CJ - 4TB Drive and 1TB SD Card
35:06 Wes - BenQ Programming Monitors
37:28 Food
37:37 Scott - Biena Edamame
38:08 Wes - Heartbeat Hot Sauce
39:11 Wes - Seoul Sisters Kimchi Mix
39:32 CJ - Clif Protein Bars
39:55 CJ - Z Energy Strips
40:51 Kitchen Gadgets
41:00 Wes - Carbon Steel Frying Pan
42:35 CJ - Air Fryer
44:45 Scott - Zojirushi Water Boiler
45:43 Scott - Teak Cutting Board
47:36 Clothes
48:26 Wes - Hooke / Naked and Famous
49:24 Scott - Octobre Clothing
50:31 Scott - Sezane Clothing
52:11 CJ - Blank Mineral Wash Shirts
53:10 Kids
53:17 Wes - Yoto Player
54:47 Scott - Tonie Box
56:06 CJ - Large Hedgehog Plush
56:43 CJ - Tortilla Blanket
57:04 Smarthome
57:08 Scott - Lutron Caseta
57:38 Wes - Meross and Refoss
01:00:41 Scott - Apollo Automation
01:01:29 CJ - Kauf Smart Home
01:02:52 CJ - Plant LED Bulb
01:04:03 Scott - Roland Electronic Drum Set
01:04:58 Thanks!

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957: CSS: Advanced and Obscure Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

Scott and Wes face off in a CSS-themed round of STUMP’d, quizzing each other on shape functions, scroll snap types, obscure functions, and long-forgotten spec history. From ray() to cross-fade() to print-color quirks, this episode is packed with rapid-fire frontend trivia guaranteed to sharpen your CSS brain.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:54 Which of the following are valid CSS Shape Functions?
02:03 CSS Selectors 4 specification demo.
03:20 How many functions are there in CSS?
04:22 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
04:47 Explain the 3 CSS Scroll Snap types.
06:38 What does the xywh() do?
09:15 What about ray()?
11:25 What do CSS Namespaces do?
14:37 What year was CSS paint() bug tracker introduced in Firefox?
17:34 What does print-color-adjust do?
20:26 What is cross-fade()?
23:54 Name 3 reasons you might use CSS @property.
27:36 List all 10 CSS Filter Functions.
32:41 Name 5 font properties.

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956: Should I Keep Using WordPress? Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

In this potluck episode, Wes and Scott answer your questions about paid vs. free SSL, the state of frontend jobs, headless WordPress trade-offs, organizing TypeScript types, and more!

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:51 Recapping the GitHub Meetup
05:14 Is there any real benefit to picking a paid SSL over Let's Encrypt?
08:03 Is the pure frontend role disappearing?
11:17 Is the gravy train over for software devs?
20:48 How Scott automates versioning with GitHub Actions
25:16 Brought to you by Sentry.io
25:41 Thoughts on VS Code alternatives and the rise of Zed
33:01 Should I switch to headless WordPress or continue rolling my own PHP templates?
37:33 How do you organize TypeScript types in a frontend project?
40:55 How do I continue to level up as a developer?
45:36 Stay in a comfortable job or embrace new challenges?

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955: SvelteKit has solved data loading Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

Scott and Wes break down SvelteKit’s new remote functions and why they finally solve the long-standing pain of page-level data in Svelte. They cover queries, forms, batching, caching, and all the clever RPC ergonomics that make Svelte’s approach feel surprisingly powerful and refreshingly simple.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:45 Lots of RPC library options.
01:22 Svelte’s Page-Level Data Always Felt Off
02:12 Progress on the new Syntax site.
03:47 Remote functions explained.
- Svelte Remote Functions Docs.
04:15 Make a .remote.ts file.
05:07 Querying data.
07:52 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
08:17 Svelte’s leg up on React.
10:13 Query Arguments.
11:39 The benefits of Standard Schema.
13:13 Refreshing Queries.
13:29 query.batch
15:18 Form function.
21:13 Enhance.
22:31 Refresh.
23:16 Command query.
24:25 Prerender.
25:22 Caching.
27:44 My Local Cache Service Worker.
31:23 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs.

954: Fullstack TanStack! The Scoop with Tanner Linsley Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

Live from GitHub Universe, Wes and Scott talk with Tanner Linsley about the latest from TanStack, including TanStack DB’s local-first syncing, new routing ideas, and fresh perspectives on server components and “magic” directives. They explore performance, incremental adoption, and what’s next for the rapidly growing TanStack ecosystem — plus a few spicy takes along the way.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:12 What’s new in the TanStack universe?
01:57 Introducing TanStack DB: local-first sync engine
05:17 How syncing and transactions actually work in TanStack DB
07:03 Next.js 16 Workflows: durable functions and the directive debate
08:46 Brought to you by Sentry.io
09:41 Tanner’s case for fewer “magic directives”
12:36 TanStack’s approach to React Server Components
14:30 The momentum of leading an ecosystem
15:38 Top-secret TanStack project in the works

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953: Why v0 creator left Vercel to fix GitHub (GOAT Jared Palmer) Nov 10, 2025

Show notes

Scott and Wes sit down with Jared Palmer of GitHub (formerly of Vercel) to unpack all the biggest announcements from GitHub Universe 2025. They dive into the future of developer workflows with agents, how GitHub is rethinking project interfaces, and where there’s still room to improve the dev experience.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- GitHub Universe Recap.
00:21 Who is Jared Palmer?
01:19 The developer workflow with agents.
03:33 Opening ongoing tasks in VS Code.
06:08 The benefit of agnostic agents.
07:04 GitHub’s biggest opportunities for improvement.
09:38 What’s your interface of choice for a new project?

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952: VS Code, GitHub & Copilot - UNIVERSE 25 Announcements + Reactions Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

Live from GitHub Universe, Wes, Scott, and CJ talk about the latest AI and developer tools from GitHub, including Agent HQ, Copilot integrations, and the new mission control for agents. They also share stories from the Syntax meetup, hack their conference badges, and debate AI’s role in coding.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
03:39 This year’s GitHub Universe badges were next-level
07:35 Keynote recap: GitHub Agents, Copilot, and Mission Control
18:21 Brought to you by Sentry.io
20:33 Plan Mode and the future of collaborative coding
23:40 Cursor’s new trick: firing off agents straight from Slack
25:32 Copilot Metrics Dashboard and agent analytics
27:53 Effortless MCP integration and custom agent workflows
31:35 Wrapping up GitHub Universe 2025

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951: A first look at Remix 3 Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

Scott and Wes dive into Remix 3, exploring how it embraces native web standards like Events, Signals, and Streams to become a truly full-stack framework. They unpack what “LLM-ready,” thin APIs, and a standards-based approach mean for the future of web development.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
03:21 Uses the platform - native Events, Signals, Streams, Fetch
04:16 Remix 3, Fully Fullstack.
04:57 LLM‑ready + thin APIs
05:53 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
06:18 My previous predictions.
07:44 The value of ‘Standards Based’.
09:13 Component model - JSX/TSX; state = variables; call this.render()
11:56 Adding reactivity to Remix.
15:15 Event‑based architecture - custom events, EventTarget, interactions
20:52 Context & type‑safe access.
22:46 Composing interaction logic within events.
24:25 Signals - AbortSignal to cancel async ops
25:21 Benefits of standards - bring your own tools/libraries
- Michael Asnong X Post.
26:42 CSS - built‑in CSS prop; Svelte‑like scoping
28:34 Server - Web Request/Response, Web Streams across runtimes
31:23 Frames - async URL‑addressable components with fallbacks
33:07 Tooling - ESM; use Vite or esbuild
34:47 Routing - code‑based named routes
35:57 Questions/Concerns - manual rendering vs reactivity
38:47 URL Pattern API - modern, fast routing foundations
41:33 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs.

Sick Picks

Scott: MoCA 2.5 Network Adapter
Wes: Bosch Dishwasher

Shameless Plugs

Scott: Syntax on YouTube.

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