Syntax &#8211; Tasty Web Development Treats

888: You Need a Monorepo × Client Only React × TanStack + More Mar 26, 2025

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887: Vibe Coding Is a Problem Mar 24, 2025

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Is Vibe Coding the future of software development or just a fun way to experiment? Scott and Wes talk about coding with AI, the risks of ignoring the details, and the cool (and sometimes cursed) projects they’ve Vibe Coded.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:31 “Personal Software”.
01:30 What exactly is Vibe Coding.
02:46 The challenges of coding with AI.
- Levelsio Airplane Game.
04:49 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
05:39 Vibe coding quality concerns.
07:25 Vibe Coding as a learning tool.
10:11 Things we’ve Vibe Coded.

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886: AWS and IAC for Dummies with SST Mar 19, 2025

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Wes and Scott talk about Infrastructure as Code and how SST makes deploying to AWS easier than ever. They dive into SST’s features, developer experience, and how it simplifies managing services like databases, email, and more. Plus, insights on Cloudflare integration, auto-scaling, and real-world use cases.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- Supper Club × Next.js on AWS + Serverless with Dax Raad
02:37 Brought to you by Sentry.io
04:52 Intro to SST config
- SST
- AWS
05:40 Overview of Scott’s SST config file
12:33 Exploring SST’s endless capabilities
- SST’s docs
- Cloudflare
15:42 The SST developer experience
- Infrastructure for TS Devs: Kubernetes, WASM and Containers with David Flanagan
- Supper Club × Flightcontrol with Brandon Bayer
19:05 SST console and GUI overview
22:13 Resource management and pricing
24:52 Secrets management
27:38 Tunneling and security
- https://sst.dev/docs/live
30:52 Simplifying DNS
35:18 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

Scott: Aquaphor Healing Ointment
Wes: Magnetic Picture Hanger Frame

Shameless Plugs

Syntax YouTube Channel

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885: CSS Fonts Fallbacks, Variable and Trimming Mar 17, 2025

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Scott and Wes dig into the wild world of CSS fonts—covering fallbacks, variable fonts, and new tricks like text-box-trim. They also break down font-display, font kits, and how to avoid layout shifts when loading custom type.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:06 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
- Damnit Sans.
02:53 @font-face.
03:27 Font Display.
07:40 Avoiding layout shift.
- Fallbacks.
10:45 Variable fonts.
- Fontaine.
- font-kit
- Wakamai Fondue.
- Syntax Ep. 782.
- Font Variation Settings.
16:23 Variable font sizing.
17:46 v-fonts.
19:10 text-box-trim & text-box-edge.
- text-box-trim examples.
21:28 Browser support.

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884: Typescript Just Got 10x Faster Mar 11, 2025

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Wes and Scott talk with Anders Hejlsberg and Daniel Rosenwasser about TypeScript’s leap to native code. They discuss the challenges, trade-offs, and the decision to port TypeScript to Go, unlocking faster compilation, better concurrency, and new possibilities for AI-assisted development.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:38 TypeScript compiler goes native
05:24 Challenges in rebuilding TypeScript
08:49 How long has this been in development?
10:32 What does porting TypeScript to native entail?
16:36 Why choose Go?
26:48 The porting process
35:02 Brought to you by Sentry.io
35:27 Type checking and parallel compilation
42:36 Fixing TypeScript’s performance bottlenecks
49:09 Large TypeScript codebases
54:11 What’s the timeline for the new compiler?
58:39 Optimization and AI
01:00:32 New features?
01:04:15 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

Daniel: pprof-it
Anders: USB Hand Warmers

Shameless Plugs

TypeScript

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883: Web Vitals Explained Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

What are Web Vitals, and why should you care? Scott and Wes break down metrics like LCP, FCP, CLS, and INP, explaining what they measure, how they impact your site’s performance, and how to track them yourself.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
03:26 What each web vital means.
- Web Vitals Playground.
- 03:38 LCP - Largest Contentful Paint.
- 05:04 FCP - First Contentful Paint.
- 06:07 CLS - Cumulative Layout Shift.
- 10:58 INP - Interaction to Next Paint.
  - 13:43 Measuring the impact.
- 14:22 TTFB - Time to First Byte
15:27 How to track this on your own.
17:42 Checking the performance of Syntax.fm.
21:07 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
- Sentry Web Vitals.
21:49 Checking the performance of Wes’ site.

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882: Aaron Francis is putting PHP in Your JS Files Mar 05, 2025

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Wes and Scott talk with Aaron Francis about Fusion for Laravel, a new way to seamlessly integrate PHP into JavaScript. They discuss how Fusion expands on Inertia, its potential for React support, and how it simplifies full-stack development.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:22 Aaron’s background in PHP
- Yii
- Laravel
02:27 What is Fusion for Laravel?
- Fusion for Laravel
09:14 How Fusion works
13:57 The benefits of Laravel
19:18 Invalidation and caching
25:20 Brought to you by Sentry.io
25:32 Optimistic UI
28:28 React integration?
31:44 Fusion’s original name (and the naming process)
33:30 Laravel’s approach to frontend frameworks
- Livewire
37:32 Databases and scaling
41:27 Postgres extensibility and hosting options
- Crunchy Data
- Xata
47:44 The vision for Fusion
48:31 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

Aaron: Better Display CLI

Shameless Plugs

Aaron:

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881: What Happened to Remix. Worth Using Axios? Client Only Next.js? Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

Scott and Wes answer your listener questions! They debate Axios vs. Fetch, discuss whether Next.js is overkill without a backend, talk htmx and Alpine, dive into tech career transitions, and tackle everything from podcast ads to password hashing myths.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:55 Scott’s health update.
04:11 Submit your questions.
04:26 Is Axios still worth using over Fetch?
- shiki.
- xior.
- ky.
10:17 Does Alpine.js solve HTMX’s client-side limitations?
16:47 How should I host my database for a local-first app?
- Neon Tech
22:50 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
24:14 Should I use Next.js if I want a separate backend?
- Create Vite Extra.
32:08 Are ad networks like BuySellAds worth it for podcasts?
36:36 Can I transition from airline pilot to senior software developer?
41:23 Is Base64 encoding a valid alternative to password hashing?
45:43 How do I use unexported functions from a third-party package?
48:09 How do you stay on top of package and browser updates?
- Syntax Ep. 425: Updating Project Dependencies.
- npm-check-update.
52:38 Why are Chrome and Firefox’s mobile presets outdated?
57:20 Should I give feedback on bad UX/UI designs from agencies?
01:01:53 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs.

Sick Picks

Scott: Nothing Ear (a).
Wes: SmallRig Phone Cage.

Shameless Plugs

Wes: Syntax on YouTube.

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