Courses for Front-End Web Developers

In this episode of What's Good, Joel Hooks sits down with Dev Agrawal, a member of the SolidJS core team, to discuss the evolving landscape of web development, AI-assisted coding, and modern framework architecture.

## Episode Highlights

### SolidJS and Modern Framework Architecture
- Detailed comparison between SolidJS and React, highlighting key advantages
- Deep dive into Suspense implementation and reactive state management
- Overview of Dev's work on cross-boundary reactivity in SolidJS
- Discussion of his $7,000 Solid Hack competition winning project
- Exploration of stateful server components with WebSocket updates

### AI-Assisted Development
- Discussion of AI agents managing tasks and grooming backlogs during meetings
- Exploration of using AI tools like Cursor for development
- Joel shares his experience building [JoelFit](https://joelfit.app), a full-stack application developed primarily through AI prompting
- Analysis of AI's current limitations and the importance of human guidance in development

### Emerging Technologies and Trends
- Analysis of React Server Components and their impact on the ecosystem
- Discussion of Cloudflare Durable Objects as individual compute units
- Introduction to Zero Sync and its implications for local-first applications
- Exploration of incremental view maintenance and its performance benefits
- Overview of Vite 6's improvements for server components and meta frameworks

### Featured Projects and Resources
- [JoelFit (code)](https://github.com/joelhooks/joelfit) - Joel's AI-assisted development project on github
- [Solid Suspense Demo v2](https://github.com/devagrawal09/solid-suspense-demo-v2) - Dev's demo showcasing Solid's advantages
- [Building Asynchronous UIs Without the Hassle](https://youtube.com/watch?v=pX5r_jTLbvw) - Dev's conference talk

## Key Takeaways
- SolidJS offers built-in support for async operations without React's bailout issues
- The entire Solid ecosystem was built with suspense support from v1
- Durable Objects are often misunderstood - they're individual compute units rather than just shared state
- Zero Sync's incremental view maintenance pairs particularly well with Solid's architecture
- React has moved away from traditional SPA towards full-stack architecture
- Framework choices continue to evolve with different approaches to reactivity and state management

## Connect with Dev
- Watch Dev's talk on [Building Asynchronous UIs Without the Hassle](https://youtube.com/watch?v=pX5r_jTLbvw)
- Check out his [Solid Suspense Demo](https://github.com/devagrawal09/solid-suspense-demo-v2)

---

*Note: This episode was recorded in January 2024 and discusses emerging technologies and trends in web development.*

Full-Stack Signals in Solid, AI Development, and the Future of Web Frameworks

A deep dive into AI-assisted development, modern web framework architecture, and emerging technologies like full-stack Solid signals and local-first databases.

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Dax Raad, known for his strong opinions on Twitter, sat down for a chat about web dev, career moves, and building cool stuff. He's not afraid to throw some heat at popular tools like [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/), though he still helps people use it. Dax is particularly excited about local-first development, which he thinks isn't getting enough attention. He argues that sometimes the best web dev move is to step away from web dev entirely and explore other areas of programming.

When it comes to career growth, Dax encourages developers to think beyond the "web dev" label and see themselves as programmers capable of tackling any challenge. He advocates for trying out weird stuff and learning unusual languages, as these experiences can lead to unexpected opportunities. Taking smart risks in your career can open doors to awesome possibilities.

In the business world, Dax is a fan of making "asymmetric bets" - moves with low downside but huge potential upside. He applies this philosophy to his work on [SST](https://sst.dev/), reasoning that even if it fails, he'll walk away with valuable experience. He also emphasizes the importance of resisting quick payouts in favor of potentially bigger wins down the road.

Looking to the future of tech, Dax is betting on local-first development. He sees potential in getting in early on emerging technologies like [Solid.js](https://www.solidjs.com/). Building in public and making connections in new tech communities can pay off in unexpected ways.

Dax also challenges the notion of constant hyper-productivity in tech. He suggests balancing focused work with time for exploration and learning. Sometimes, he points out, what seems like a "dumb" choice (like learning a niche language) can turn out to be a smart career move in the long run.

## Good Stuff Mentioned

- [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/)
- [Vercel](https://vercel.com/)
- [SST](https://sst.dev/)
- [Elixir](https://elixir-lang.org/)
- [Solid.js](https://www.solidjs.com/)
- [RepliCache](https://replicache.dev/)
- [Linear](https://linear.app/)
- [Remix](https://remix.run/)
- [Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/)
- [React](https://react.dev/)

Developer Career Growth and Asymmetric Bets with Dax Raad

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Dev and Joel discuss React Miami conference, praising its fun atmosphere and location. They chat about React Server Components, with Dev sharing his experience building a mini framework. They talk about Vinxi, Nitro, and the unjs ecosystem as tools for creating custom frameworks. The conversation touches on Vue's popularity outside web dev circles and non-web dev conferences. They discuss the benefits of TypeScript and strongly-typed APIs. Dev mentions his upcoming talk on durable objects at [a conference in Dallas](https://x.com/DThompsonDev/status/1829674506237194456). They end by discussing WebSockets, PartyKit, and platform-specific frameworks.

## What's Good?

- [React Miami Conference](https://www.reactmiami.com/) 
- [Brenley Dueck's blog post on Simple RSC with Vinxi:](https://www.brenelz.com/posts/simple-rsc-with-vinxi/)
- [Vinxi](https://github.com/nksaraf/vinxi)
- [Nitro](https://nitro.unjs.io/guide/configuration)
- [unjs ecosystem](https://unjs.io/)
- [Solid Start](https://start.solidjs.com/)
- [TanStack Router](https://tanstack.com/router/latest) 
- [PartyKit](https://github.com/partykit/partykit) 
- [Durable Objects (Cloudflare)](https://developers.cloudflare.com/durable-objects/)
- [Flightcontrol](https://www.flightcontrol.dev/) 
- [SST](https://sst.dev/)
- [OpenNext](https://open-next.js.org/)

Nitro, Vinxi, and RSCs - What's Good with Dev Agrawal

<p>Sara Vieira, developer advocate and professional maker of dumb shit, talks through why she does her weird experiments on the internet. Sometimes it is out of need, but honestly a lot of the time it is a random thing that she thinks of or something that someone says that brings up the idea, and she just has to make it. A lot of it is out of boredom, and also procrastination from other projects that she just doesn't want to do. </p><p>Sara calls herself a lazy developer, but that doesn't mean she isn't working. She finds simpler solutions that involve less coding and also avoids things that aren't necessarily interesting or fun for her to do, like CSS or writing her talk for a conference... A part of being a lazy developer is using the right tool for the job. GraphQL and Redux have an almost cult-like following, but for small apps, their solutions for state management and fetching data are complete overkill.</p><p>Netlify and Zeit's Now are great for deploying your projects, they allow you to get your unique dumb-shit out there quickly. There was this period where services were all focusing on scalability, but it wasn't easy to just throw your wacky side-projects out on the internet. </p><p>Sara is organizing the conference ReactJS Girls which will be happening in London on May 3rd, 2019. It started last year while Sara was living in London. She hosted a meetup where all the speakers would be women, but everyone was welcome to attend as a guest. Organizing it this way had multiple benefits, it acted as a filter for the dicks who wouldn't want to learn from women, and it empowered first-time speakers who'd otherwise feel imposter syndrome or fear of judgment. </p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/a63f7af2/transcript">"Making Dumb Stuff That Makes Strangers on the Internet Smile - with Sara Vieira" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://reactjsgirls.com">ReactJS Girls Conference</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/reactjsgirls?lang=en">ReactJS Girls Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://meme.iamsaravieira.com/">meme.iamsaravieira.com</a></li><li><a href="https://dan.church/">dan.church</a></li><li><a href="https://awesometalks.party/">awesometalks.party</a></li></ul><h3>Sara Vieira:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/NikkitaFTW">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://iamsaravieira.com/">Website</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/SaraVieira">GitHub</a></li><li><a href="https://medium.com/@nikkitaftw">Medium</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Today we are joined by Sara Vieira, a developer advocate and maker of wacky stuff on the internet. She joins us today to talk about why she makes all of her weird experiments, how being a lazy developer doesn't mean she isn't doing work, the Redux cargo cult, why you shouldn't always use GraphQL, her meetups and upcoming conference for woman speakers, and of course making people smile. 

Making Dumb Stuff That Makes Strangers on the Internet Smile with Sara Vieira

<p>Marcy Sutton is the Head of Learning at GatsbyJS, but what does that mean? One of Gatsby's core focuses is the community, and a part of that is making the experience with Gatsby as friendly as possible. A large part of making Gatsby friendly is having <i>excellent</i> documentation, so that learning and debugging experiences would be smooth. </p><p>So the learning experience is smooth but what is Gatsby's potential on the web? Marcy talks about how Gatsby has the potential to make a huge impact. Currently WordPress is powering about a third of the web, that's huge, but it has its issues. WordPress is centered around the authoring experience but the front-end experience is not good. Gatsby is looking more towards the future, it doesn't use a database, it can build out static HTML, it's accessible, and it's also democratizing the experience with a themes ecosystem. </p><p>This brings up the point that JavaScript is eating the web and it's making it more difficult for folks who've had a different intro to webdev. This is a real challenge and people are having their careers impacted, what can we do to reconcile this? The decisions made by tech teams aren't considering this when the pick the technologies that they use, they're picking tech that's going to deliver a high preformance application, where does HTML and CSS fit into this? Marcy discusses how we can bridge the gap and find ways to include people with different skill sets. </p><p>Marcy also discusses the inclusive community that she has helped build, NW Tech Women, a small group out of Bellingham WA that hosts social events, but also volunteers and pairs with non-profits to make a community impact. </p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/7c3086d2/transcript">"Heading Gatsby's Learning Experience and Bridging Gaps - with Marcy Sutton" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/NWTechWomen">NW Tech Women Twitter</a></li><li><a href="http://www.blackgirlscode.com/">Black Girls Code</a></li><li><a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.org/">GatsbyJS</a></li></ul><h3>Marcy Sutton:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/marcysutton">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://marcysutton.com/">Website</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/marcysutton">GitHub</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Marcy Sutton is the Head of Learning at GatsbyJS. She discusses the van life, migrating her blog from Wordpress to Gatsby, what she does as the Head of Learning, the potential that Gatsby has as a platform, championing accessibility, static CSS versus inline CSS, how JavaScript is impacting roles and careers, and creating inclusive communities. 


Heading Gatsby's Learning Experience and Bridging Gaps with Marcy Sutton

<p>Web development is a fantastic field where people, for little to no money, can self-teach everything you need to make a career, and it's amazing, right? That doesn't mean that there isn't a time cost though, it isn't easy, but the internet has an overwhelming amount of information that you can use to teach yourself. Authors who write this free content are the life-blood of the internet and provide an invaluable service to countless people.</p><p>However, in the sea of information, it's easy for your content never to get noticed. You wrote that blog-post that killer blog-post on medium, but no-one seemed to have seen it. Where you write your content is important, there are communities like the amazing dev.to that reach a specific audience and are more focused towards engagement, but the reason why you create your content is also important. People can smell inauthenticity if you are writing your content for the sole purpose of brand-building and getting views people are going to notice. Create content that you love and that you find interesting. You don't even have to be an absolute expert to teach, writing about what you are learning helps people learn right along with you!</p><p>Learning a discipline you love profoundly is invaluable, but that doesn't mean you should turn a blind eye to other subjects. It's valuable to have a breadth of general knowledge across different disciplines and be able to have high-level conversations.</p><p>A huge part of learning is asking people good questions. When you don't ask good questions, you are doing both yourself and the person you are asking a disservice. When you are too vague about what you are missing, and you don't give enough context, it's difficult to get a clear answer, and you are putting the burden of figuring that stuff out on the person you are asking.</p><hr /><h3>Resources:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask">Stack Overflow: How do I ask a good question?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.vuemastery.com/conferences/vueconf-us-2018/7-secret-patterns-vue-consultants-dont-want-you-to-know-chris-fritz">Chris Fritz: 7 Secret Patterns</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KREV1_2mA4">Jason Lengstorf: Cutting Work in Half</a></li></ul><h3>Emma Bostian:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/emmabostian?lang=en">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/emmabostian">GitHub</a></li><li><a href="https://emmabostian.com/">Website</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Today we are joined by Emma Bostian who will speak about self-teaching, creating authentic content, what being a T-shaped developer means, how to ask good questions, and how she manages her work-life balance. 

Creating Authentic Content and Developing Yourself with Emma Bostian

<p>JavaScript fatigue is a topic that has been trending for a while now. It's easy to get overwhelmed with the constant influx of new technology, but it's also thrilling to learn the latest cool new thing! Stacey Mulcahy discusses how she embraces this deluge of technology by being a generalist, allowing her to make connections with more people than she would have if she specialized in one thing.</p><p>Stacy is a Maker, a kind of tech-based DIYer and inventor. Creativity is, of course, important for the DIY hacker, but it's essential for everyone else too. Creativity is creative problem solving, and it's something that you can train. If you aren't "working your creativity muscle," your creative skills are going to degrade. Try to push the envelope and find outlets where you can apply your creative skills!</p><p>Like a lot of people in the tech world, Joel has a box of Arduino stuff that is gathering dust somewhere. How do you get past that initial "hello world" LED blink project? Stacey recommends to immerse yourself, see what other makers are doing and find inspiration from them. Try to find something that you enjoy and find fun and see if you can do it with an Arduino. </p><p>Lastly, Stacey tells us her story of what caused her to begin teaching children technology, and how she got to where she is now. It's rewarding to celebrate people's successes and provide them with a space where they can fail safely. If there isn't a community meetup for something you enjoy in your area you have the complete ability to start one yourself and be the organizer. There are multiple platforms that help organize events. The key for your community to grow is to be consistent with it. </p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/49266475/transcript">"Being Curious and Facilitating the Success of Others - with Stacey Mulcahy" Transcript</a></p><h3>Stacy Mulcahy:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/bitchwhocodes">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="http://thebitchwhocodes.com">thebitchwhocodes.com</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Stacey Mulcahy joins us today to discuss Arduinos, cute dogs, growing your creativity, organizing a community, and facilitating the success of others. 

Being Curious and Facilitating the Success of Others with Stacey Mulcahy

<p>There's a kind of "black box" mystery that surrounds illustrators and programmers, to someone who isn't one their skills seem like a form of magic, but to someone who is these skills are just the tools that they've been learning to use through time and hard work. </p><p>Maggie is the course logo illustrator at egghead.io, and she has the challenge of turning the concepts being taught in the course into something more visually concrete. The challenge isn't necessarily the drawing, but the research that is needed to understand a topic to the point of being able to create an accurate metaphor that people who don't know what is being taught can grasp. Maggie discusses her process in research and creative thinking to get to that point.</p><p>The beginner's mindset is critical to Maggie for creating these illustrations. When someone becomes an expert in something, they tend to overlook things that have become muscle memory to them that make beginners struggle. You don't have to be an expert to teach something to someone! The problems that you ran into when learning a topic and the things that helped you wrap your head around it are still fresh in your mind and can be extremely valuable for other beginners and even those with experience. </p><p>Maggie started a site called illustrated.dev to bring visual learning perspective of web development and internet concepts. There is a lot of content out there that teaches with language, but for many people, that style of learning makes it difficult for things to click. Never be afraid to teach things that are already being taught, often it is the way that you teach that matters most. </p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/e855d7bc/transcript">"Turning Technical Concepts into Approachable Illustrated Metaphors - with Maggie Appleton" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.schoolism.com/">Schoolism</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nma.art/">New Masters Academy</a></li><li><a href="https://illustrated.dev/">Illustrated.dev</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Design-Synectics-Stimulating-Creativity/dp/0871921987">Design Synectics</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Art-Synectics-Stimulating-Creativity/dp/0871921510/ref=pd_sim_14_1/147-9062490-5704104?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0871921510&pd_rd_r=5593d07f-6d37-11e9-9f57-c98fbdd56605&pd_rd_w=bz0Nf&pd_rd_wg=BdRmc&pf_rd_p=90485860-83e9-4fd9-b838-b28a9b7fda30&pf_rd_r=Y8M5NA27Z5PJKT9EE9F2&psc=1&refRID=Y8M5NA27Z5PJKT9EE9F2">Art Synetics</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Addiction-Design-Machine-Gambling-Vegas/dp/0691160880">Addiction by Design</a></li></ul><h3>Maggie Appleton:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/Mappletons?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="http://maggieappleton.com/">maggieappleton.com</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Today Maggie Appleton, the course illustrator at egghead.io, discusses how she became an illustrator, researching a technical topic she plans to illustrate,  accidentally becoming a web developer, and how she turns technical concepts into digestible illustrations.

Turning Technical Concepts into Approachable Illustrated Metaphors with Maggie Appleton

<p>Jen Looper, developer advocate and the founder of Vue Vixens, didn't study software development in college, she has a Ph.D. in French Literature. Her degree might seem unrelated, but it strengthened her ability to explain complex ideas as well as her overall communication abilities, skills that are essential for her role as a developer advocate. These skills also come into play in her work building the Vue Vixens community, which now has over 20+ chapters all over the world!</p><p>The workshop has been a powerful tool for growing the Vue Vixens. Jen explains how the shared experience of learning, eating, and hanging out together can build a lot of lasting connections. Vue Vixens has also branched out from workshops into also hosting meetups, the structure of which is determined by the local chapter leader to suit the needs of their particular location. </p><p>But what makes a great workshop? Minimal installation, maximum output. Codesandbox and Nativescript playground have massively cut down on the initial setup times for the Vue Vixen workshops by doing away with all of the installing and installation issues that will always come up. Jen likes to use a cute app project to make the workshop more fun and to make exploring the deeper concepts less dry. To Jen, workshops are about empowerment first and foremost. If a student can leave the workshop feeling empowered and hungry to learn they'll end up much better off than if they learned more but left feeling disinterested. </p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/b14002cc/transcript">"Building Vue Vixens With Education and Inclusiveness – With Jen Looper" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://VueVixens.org">VueVixens</a></li><li><a href="https://yomamaisa.dev/#/">yomamaisa.dev</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0060589469">Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance</a></li><li><a href="https://www.notion.so/">Notion</a></li></ul><h3>Jen Looper:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.jenlooper.com/">jenlooper.com</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jenlooper?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/jlooper">Github</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Jen Looper, the founder of Vue Vixens, joins us today to talk about the Vue Vixens community, what makes a great workshop, how she chooses what tools to invest into for her career, and how her Ph.D. in French Literature has empowered her career in software development. 

Building Vue Vixens With Education and Inclusiveness With Jen Looper

<p>Teaching provides a learner with more information, but the information isn't the only thing that is required to teach effectively. Doing is almost just as essential as the information itself for the learner to solidify what was taught. Creating an effective learning path is challenging, and we tend to start from what we know and take it from there. Janelle challenges the tendency to start from our knowledge, and instead, we should start from where we want our learners to end up being and work backward from there, this is called <i>Backward Design</i>.</p><p>Backward design doesn't just apply to education, it applies directly to software development. As developers, it's essential that we get out of our head and start with the user.</p><p>How do you start teaching if you have no one to teach? Janelle says there are three critical components to building your audience, having an email list, providing valuable content, and consistency. If you stay genuine and provide value you'll filter out anyone who doesn't resonate with you and what you offer.</p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/edf78b39/transcript">"Get out of Your Head and Start with Your Users - with Janelle Allen" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24737268-badass">Badass: Making Users Awesome</a></li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/336248.Shambhala">Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior</a></li></ul><h3>Janelle Allen:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/janelleallen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Today we are joined by Janelle Allen, a learning designer, who talks to us about backward design, how she grew into her role, the increase in quality of online courses, the importance of contact with users, and how to grow your audience. 

Get out of Your Head and Start with Your Users with Janelle Allen

<p>Keith Peters joins us today to talk about his experiences with experimenting with code and math, the transition from Flash to Go, woodworking and blacksmithing, and getting books published.</p><p>Keith talks to us a bit about multi trochoids; they're what happens when you take a circle and roll it around something, like a spirograph. He was inspired to do this project by Sodaplay, a site back in the flash days that had stuff you could hook up to various engines.</p><p>What language did Keith use to write his multi trochoid experiments? Initially, Keith wrote it in Go, but he wanted to put it out on the web and make it interactive, so he ported it to Javascript.</p><p>Back in the 90s Keith worked with Flash, when Flash left he moved over to Javascript and using the html5 canvas. Javascript is great if you want it live on the web but for still images and animations it was a pain in the neck, so Keith tried out Rust, Python, and finally settling on Go.</p><p>Keith is into some non-coding hobbies like woodworking and knife making, Joel has even bought some of his knives. It started when Keith wanted to build an arcade cabinet, he bought tools and got into learning how to use them. Keith has found a lot of crossover with working with his hands and building things with code, both of them can be boiled down to learning a technology to create things and solve problems.</p><p>Finally, Keith explains the pros and cons of going through a publisher to get your book out. He says that self-publishing is easier than ever, but a publisher provides you with a lot of assistance with editing, marketing, artwork, and a healthy dose of pressure.</p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/3737ee32/transcript">"Learning and Experimenting with Physical and Digital Mediums with Keith Peters" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://bit101.github.io/lab/dailies/170117.html">Trochoid Experiments</a></li><li><a href="http://www.playingwithchaos.net/">playingwithchaos.net</a></li></ul><h3>Keith Peters:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/bit101">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/bit101">Github</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bit-101.com/blog/">Website</a></li></ul><h3>John Lindquist:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/johnlindquist?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://johnlindquist.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Today Keith Peters walks us through his experiences with getting books published, experimenting with code and math for the last two decades, and his time spent working in physical mediums like woodworking and blacksmithing. 

Learning and Experimenting with Physical and Digital Mediums with Keith Peters

<p>What do we do when all of our needs are met when we are making seventy-five thousand plus a year, working for a company with some prestige, have a home, and don't have to worry about food. Jason Lengstorf wrestled with this after the company he was contracting with didn't have anything for him to do, but kept him around. New goals have to be set, and growth still has to happen.</p><p>Jason discovered that what he wanted was to help other people grow in their personal and professional lives. To help other people you have to have a set of skills beyond your technical skills, typically these skills would be called "soft skills," but they are often just as important as technical skills, Jason prefers to call these skills "meta" or "catalytic" skills. These are the skills used in planning, bringing people together, decision making, all of these being essential in our careers.</p><p>You don't just use these kinds of skills in a software project; they are also the tools that are used to build communities of people. Jason explains how the trick to bringing a group of people together with something is to make everyone feel invested in what they are a part of, and like they belong.</p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/figuring-out-what-s-next-after-your-nee/transcript">"Figuring Out What's Next after Your Needs are Met - with Jason Lengstorf" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.org/">GatsbyJS</a></li></ul><h3>Jason Lengstorf</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jlengstorf?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://lengstorf.com/">lengstorf.com</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/jlengstorf">Github</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Figuring Out What's Next after Your Needs are Met with Jason Lengstorf

<p>J.C. Hiatt put together the conference MagnoliaJS in the town of Jackson, Missouri to help his community and combat the growing problem of brain drain in his state.</p><p>MagnoliaJS is not only for his community, but it was put together with the help of it too. J.C. put it together, publically by using Github issues, blogging, and posting about it on Twitter. The community responds well when you are genuine and trying to do something good, and bringing them in and giving them a sense of ownership is what J.C. attributes as the single most significant contributor to the conference's success.</p><p>If you have the opportunity to do something like this for your city, go for it. Bring in as many people as possible, contact your city officials, plan it publically. Technology can have a significant positive impact on a community!</p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/organizing-a-conference-to-combat-brain-drain-in-his-hometown-with-jc-hiatt/transcript">"Organizing a Conference to Combat Brain Drain in His Hometown - with J.C. Hiatt" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/swyx?lang=en">Twitter - Shawn Wang</a></li></ul><h3>J.C. Hiatt</h3><ul><li><a href="https://jchiatt.com/">Website</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jchiatt?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li></ul><h3>John Lindquist</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/johnlindquist?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://egghead.io/instructors/john-lindquist">egghead.io</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/johnlindquist">Github</a></li><li><a href="https://johnlindquist.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

J.C Hiatt talks about what he did to organize the conference MagnoliaJS and why he did it to help his community. 

Organizing a Conference to Combat Brain Drain in His Hometown with J.C. Hiatt 

<p>Vue has a reputation of being the most beginner-friendly framework, but that didn't just happen by accident. The Vue CLI is an excellent example. New developers often struggle with using the terminal and remembering all the commands. The Vue CLI provides a visual interface for the developer to generate a project. By making it easier for newcomers to make Vue projects, they've reduced the barriers to entry. Beginner-friendly doesn't mean basic. Many large-scale projects use Vue.</p><p>Another example of something that fosters beginners and benefits established developers is how friendly, and inclusive the Vue community is. Natalia Tepluhina talks about gender mismatch in JavaScript and how the Vue Vixens are making efforts to make the gender ratio evener.</p><p>The Vue Vixens are using free and accessible education as the primary means of getting more women into tech. Natalia Tepluhina goes on to share her two main ideas when it comes to designing a good workshop. Stay accessible to people of all skill levels; don't assume what people know. Stick to one stack and one concept. People have a finite amount of mental resources; trying to do too much can end up just overwhelming people.</p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/how-vue-earns-its-beginner-friendly-reputation-with-natalia-tepluhina/transcript">"How Vue Earns Its Beginner-Friendly Reputation - with Natalia Tepluhina" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources</h3><ul><li><a href="https://vuevixens.org/">Vue Vixens</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Explorations-Instructional-Performance-Technologies/dp/144198125X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=69U55EJB4LGI&keywords=cognitive+load+theory&qid=1563586184&s=books&sprefix=cognitive+load+%2Cstripbooks%2C193&sr=1-2">Cognitive Load Theory</a></li></ul><h3>Natalia Tepluhina</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/n_tepluhina?lang=en">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/NataliaTepluhina/">Github</a></li><li><a href="https://dev.to/n_tepluhina">Dev.to</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Natalia Tepluhina talks about why Vue has such a great community and gets regarded as the most beginner-friendly framework.

How Vue Earns Its Beginner-Friendly Reputation with Natalia Tepluhina

<p>You don't have to be passionate about code to have a successful career as a developer. Pariss Athena talks about how it isn't the code itself that motivates her to get better at understanding it. It's what being good at code provides that drives her.</p><p>The financial freedom code gives Athena enables her to give more to the people and communities that are important to her. Success to her is freedom and helping others find success too. She is working on the Black Tech Pipeline, a platform to bring resources and exposure to the black tech community.</p><p>What can those of us who are already established in this industry do to help underrepresented people? Athena says speak up, reach out to the community with opportunities for jobs, speaking engagements, podcasts, etc. Diversity doesn't just happen by default. Systemically we don't have a society that enables that. We have to be active and be a part of the team to make it happen.</p><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/gaining-freedom-and-helping-others-find-success-with-pariss-athena/transcript">"Gaining Freedom and Helping Others Find Success - with Pariss Athena" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources</h3><ul><li><a href="https://blacktechpipeline.substack.com/welcome">#BlackTechPipeline</a></li></ul><h3>Pariss Athena</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/parissathena?lang=en">Twitter</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Pariss Athena talks about how becoming a developer gave her freedom and the means to help others succeed. 

Gaining Freedom and Helping Others Find Success with Pariss Athena

<p>There are a few options for those trying to start a career in web development, teach yourself, join a bootcamp, or go to college. Veni chose the college route, she got a master's degree in computer science, which is awesome, but it didn't fully prepare her for web development. Computer science is primarily theory and it doesn't really prepare you for the engineering side of the job. There are only so many research positions where you'll get to applying your degree directly, the vast majority of us are facilitating commerce.</p><p>When Veni was earning her degree the competition between her peers was fierce, but in order to grow she had to let go of that competition mentality. It becomes a puzzle for you to solve instead a competition between others. Having this kind of growth mindset is key to unlocking your learning potential.</p><p>You hear about JavaScript fatigue everywhere and all the time. It's exhausting to try to keep up with the Joneses. Let go of the competition and do this for yourself. Each new technology is an interesting puzzle for you to solve.</p><p>Veni is currently working towards increasing the diversity in the tech industry. She's building a community, figuring out what people need, and building awareness of opportunities. A lot of companies are trying to improve their diversity, but a lot of them aren't aware of how to do it in the best away.</p><p>To work for diversity we need to realize that we all have biases, and figure out how to do something about them. We also need to understand that visibility and representation has a considerable impact. When you're a white male you get role models everywhere you look, people to look up to and help you realize that you too can get where they are. Underrepresented people don't have role models everywhere you look in every field you could possibly want to be in.</p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/embrace-challenges-with-a-growth-mindset-with-veni-kunche/transcript">"Embrace Challenges With A Growth Mindset - With Veni Kunche" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.diversifytech.co/">Diversify Tech</a></li></ul><h3>Veni Kunche</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/venikunche?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="http://www.codewithveni.com/">codewithveni.com</a></li><li><a href="https://dev.to/venikunche">Dev.to</a></li><li><a href="https://www.diversifytech.co/">Diversify Tech</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Veni Kunche discusses computer science degrees, growth mindsets, and diversity. 

Embrace Challenges With A Growth Mindset With Veni Kunche

<p>When you are a consultant, you can't just learn a framework and then choose a place to work that uses it. Your clients will have their own needs and constraints that you're going to have to adapt to serve your client well.</p><p>The constant learning can feel like a freefall. Constantly feeling dumb is panic-inducing. There's this trough of despair in software, where you swing between feeling like a genius and then going right back to despair.</p><p>We can't just learn, but we have to learn well. It's critical to retain what you learned. Keep a developer journal, start a blog for yourself, discuss what you learned in a study group, etc. The less you have to relearn things, the less time you'll be spending in the trough of despair.</p><p>The dreaded technical interview tends to have the problem of not testing you on anything that you should be learning. You have to spend your time cramming and hoping that the interviewer gives you problems that are still fresh in your mind. A one size fits all solution doesn't work and doesn't end up being objective. Candidates should get the opportunity to show off their skill and what they already know instead of figuring out what they don't know.</p><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/escaping-the-software-trough-of-despair-with-laurie-barth/transcript">"Escaping the Software Trough of Despair - With Laurie Barth" Transcript</a></p><h3>Laurie Barth</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/laurieontech?lang=en">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://laurieontech.com">Website</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Laurie Barth talks about how to retain what you learn and provides solutions to the broken interview process. 

Escaping the Software Trough of Despair With Laurie Barth

<p>Marisa Morby is a professional product manager. A common question she gets is "what's the difference between a product manager and a project manager?" There's a lot of overlap, but the difference is a product manager has to understand what needs to get done and why and be able to communicate that, and the project manager makes sure that everything stays on the rails and results in a cohesive product.</p><p>Many teams put significant of focus on user outcomes. A user outcome is the ultimate goal of the user. It's what they need to happen. If we don't know what the user needs to happen, we'll end up focusing on the wrong thing.</p><p>To figure out what a user wants user research needs to get conducted. No, you don't have to break out the lab coat. Research doesn't have to be so rigid. Just have conversations with your users and try to gain an understanding of their wants, needs, and frustrations. Make sure that you don't make assumptions about your user's needs. Ask questions that might seem painfully obvious to you</p><p>Marisa also talks about working with all-remote team. We live in an amazing day and age that allows us to do our work wherever we want, but there are challenges we have to overcome for everyone to still be productive. We have lizard brains that make it challenging to build trust with people whose faces we never see. Regular video meetings that give some space for non-work conversations are essential in building that trust with people. Meeting people in person also has a substantial positive impact on communication; it gives you a lot of context with people's mannerisms!</p><hr /><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/putting-emphasis-on-user-outcomes-with-marisa-morby/transcript">"Putting Emphasis on User Outcomes with Marisa Morby" Transcript</a></p><h3>Resources</h3><ul><li><a href="https://abookapart.com/products/just-enough-research">Just Enough Research</a></li></ul><h3>Marisa Morby</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/marisamorby?lang=en">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://marisamorby.com/">Website</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Marisa Morby talks about what she does as a product manager.

Putting Emphasis on User Outcomes with Marisa Morby

<p>Everything is a system, and every system is a box in another larger system. It's up to managers to think in systems to make choices and understand their consequences. The manager has an obligation to their team. The decisions of managers make a tremendous impact on folk's lives.</p><p>But managers are only human.</p><p>"When we go into school there's kind of this sense that authorities are these all-knowing kind of perfect figures that are responsible for everything." The reality is that managers are humans that are dealing with their circumstances. It's easy to put all of the responsibility on them, but they need to be seen as people.</p><p>People fail. Managers aren't the only people burdened with responsibility. There's the "10x Engineer" or "The Hero Programmer," that end up with severe burnout.</p><p>Managing is an ethical and moral profession. Managers have to make ethical decisions in regards to deciding who gets promoted, fired, given a raise. How do we get justice and results? That's what makes management an elegant puzzle.</p><h3>Transcript</h3><p><a href="https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/the-elegant-system-of-management-with-will-larson/transcript">"The Elegant System of Management - with Will Larson" Transcript</a></p><h3>Episode Quotes</h3><blockquote><p>"At companies that are struggling there is a lot of opportunity. And sometimes it's not easy opportunity, and it's not structured super well it's not packaged up, or you just get to have an easy entry into management."</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>"There's not someone teaching you there's not an easy path. You just have to go learn by trying, thinking, um going back to the principles and trying to figure out how to make it all come together."</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>"When we go into school there's kind of this sense that authorities are these all-knowing kind of perfect figures that are responsible for everything."</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>"Really any fast-growing company is the best place in the world to learn quickly about systems and how they work in reality."</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>"if you get good at the cold email of asking one short, crisp question that's a good question you can meet anyone."</p></blockquote><h3>Resources</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Puzzle-Systems-Engineering-Management/dp/1732265186">An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557">Thinking in Systems: A Primer</a></li><li><a href="http://www.greenhouse.io/">Greenhouse.io</a></li></ul><h3>Will Larson</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/Lethain?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://lethain.com">Website</a></li></ul><h3>Joel Hooks</h3><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jhooks">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://joelhooks.com/">Website</a></li></ul>

Will Larson talks about the moral dilemmas and decisions that managers have to make.

The Elegant System of Management with Will Larson

How many of us still almost exclusively use `console.log()` when trying to debug something? It's okay, plenty of us do it that way, but you could be saving yourself a lot of pain and suffering by using the debugger and stepping through the execution. 

There are several advantages to using a debugger, you get a tighter feedback loop, a lot more information, and it allows you to go into places you wouldn't have even thought about. 

Now debugging can take you far, but there are times when we need another human to help us. Asking questions is anxiety-inducing, "what if this is something I should already know?" "am I being annoying?" "am I interrupting them from doing something important?" 

The key is to remember that there is no such thing as a dumb question, but there are questions that haven't been thoroughly vetted. Stack overflow has an [excellent wiki](https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask) on asking good questions. Learn how to form good questions, and everything will end up being okay!

Justin is doing good work in bringing awareness to Atlanta's rich culture and advocating for people who are under-represented in technology. Be sure to check out the [Render(ATL)](https://www.renderatl.com/) conference upcoming in May 2020.

---
### Transcript
["Learn To Debug Properly And Ask Better Questions With Justin Samuels" Transcript](https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/learn-to-debug-properly-and-ask-better-questions-with-justin-samuels/transcript)

### Quotes
> "It's a good combo though. Computers, business, and teaching people, and passing on information. I think it's a trifecta, right? It's a killer combo."

> "But I loved React, because I already knew JavaScript. So it was like, 'Hey, here's some tools that you could just wrap around your JavaScript and you could make things better.'"

> "I feel like when you use the debugger, that invokes a curiosity. It allows you to go into places that you wouldn't have even thought about. It also gives you a sneak peek of what's going on underneath the hood."

> "So you'll always have three lanes, I call it. You either know what you do know, or you know what you don't know, or you don't know what you don't know. And I'm like, 'Okay, I could get past the first two.' But the last category of you don't really know what you don't know is scary all the time."

> "You have to learn how to formulate a question that engineers are going to be able to be like, 'Oh, here's your problem.'"

### Resources
- [The Power of Habit](https://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/081298160X)
- [Atomic Habits](https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits)
- [Render(ATL)](https://t.co/KJGSTBeqVM?amp=1)
- [Stack Overflow: How do I ask a good question?](https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask)

### Justin Samuels
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ThugDebugger)
- [Dev.to](https://dev.to/thugdebugger)
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinsamuels/)
- [Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/users/4110635/justin-e-samuels)

### Joel Hooks
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/jhooks)
- [Website](https://joelhooks.com/)

Justin Samuels talks switching majors, debugging, asking questions, and representing Atlanta.

Learn To Debug Properly And Ask Better Questions With Justin Samuels

To executives, new features mean more money, but even if you had terrific features, they wouldn't be worth a thing if they only worked half the time. Reliability isn't something you want to put off until later after the project has grown, it will save you a lot of time and money if you factor it in from day one. Everyone has adapted to a speedy internet these days. Users leave if the site is taking more than even a few seconds to load. 

It's easy to get overly focused on features while losing the context of the overall application. The first and foremost solid you can do future you is to keep things as simple as possible. Never get overly complicated, that's where you run into scaling troubles. Complexity also causes significant headaches when bringing other people on. 

In addition to keeping complexity low, make sure documentation gets written and that it's kept up to date. A solution that Molly's company has put in place to keep the docs fresh is to give every document an expiration date three months out from when it gets written. When someone references the docs, they check if it's past the expiration date, if it is they go through and make sure that the information is still current, and afterward extending the expiration date another three months.  

---

### Transcript
["Build Performant And Reliable Applications With Molly Struve" Transcript](https://egghead.simplecast.com/episodes/build-performant-and-reliable-applications-with-molly-struve/transcript)

### Quotes
> "To me, a site reliability engineer is a software engineer, but with their focus on performance and reliability."

> "So, it's a dev, but they've got a little bit of something extra in there that just helps them kind of step back and look at the whole system and ensure that it's performing and reliable."

> "There's only so much you can just attribute to the black box. Sometimes you actually got to go in there and figure out what's going on."

> "You can have all the great features in the world, but if they're only working 50% of the time, none of your clients are going to be happy."

> "A lot of times, if you're just focused on just the feature you're building, you'll lose the context of the overall application."


### Resources
- [Making On-Call Not Suck](https://dev.to/molly_struve/making-on-call-not-suck-490)
- [What It Means To Be A Site Reliability Engineer](https://dev.to/molly_struve/what-it-means-to-be-a-site-reliability-engineer-32ki)
- [Scaling Elasticsearch Part 1: How to Speed Up Indexing](https://dev.to/molly_struve/scaling-elasticsearch-part-1-how-to-speed-up-indexing-2pel)
- [Scaling Elasticsearch Part 2: How to Speed Up Search](https://dev.to/molly_struve/scaling-elasticsearch-part-2-how-to-speed-up-search-53of)


### Molly Struve
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/molly_struve)
- [Github](https://github.com/mstruve)
- [Dev.to](https://dev.to/molly_struve)
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollystruve/)
- [Website](https://www.mollystruve.com/)

### Joel Hooks
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/jhooks)
- [Website](https://joelhooks.com/)

Molly Struve shares her approach to ensuring that projects are performant, reliable, and well-documented.

Build Performant And Reliable Applications With Molly Struve

Finding the *perfect* code editor theme is a myth.  There are always small visual tweaks you'd like to make, but forking and maintaining an entire theme is overkill.  This lesson shows you how to quickly and easily customize *any* theme directly within Cursor (or VS Code) using the `workbench.colorCustomizations` setting in your `settings.json` file.

**The Problem:**

*   No single theme perfectly matches everyone's preferences.
*   Minor visual annoyances (like search highlight colors) can impact focus and productivity.
*   Forking and publishing a theme for small changes is excessive.

**The Solution: `workbench.colorCustomizations`**

This setting allows you to override specific color values of your current theme *without* creating a new theme.  You get fine-grained control over the editor's appearance.

**How it Works:**

1.  **Open Settings (JSON):** Use the command palette (`Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P`) and search for "Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)". It is best to create a new editor group to the right, and then open the json settings, so that you can visualize your changes.
2.  **Add `workbench.colorCustomizations`:**  Within your `settings.json`, add a `"workbench.colorCustomizations"` object.
3.  **Use Autocomplete:** Inside this object, start typing "editor." and use Cursor's/VS Code's autocomplete to explore the available customization options.  Examples include:
    *   `editor.findMatchBackground`: Background color of search matches.
    *   `editor.findMatchHighlightBackground`: Background color of the *current* search match.
    *   `editor.findMatchBorder`: Border color of search matches.
    *   `editor.findMatchHighlightBorder`: Border color of the *current* search match.
    *   `editor.background`: Overall editor background color.
    *   ...and many more!
4.  **Set Color Values:** Assign valid color values (hex codes, named colors, etc.) to the properties you want to change.  You can even use transparency (alpha channel) with hex codes (e.g., `#FF000022` for a semi-transparent red).
5.  **Save and See the Changes:**  As soon as you save `settings.json`, the changes are applied *live* to your editor.  Experiment with different colors until you find what works best.

**Benefits:**

*   **Precise Control:**  Tweak individual elements of your theme without affecting others.
*   **No Forking Needed:**  Make personal adjustments without the overhead of creating and managing a separate theme.
*   **Live Updates:**  See your changes instantly as you edit the JSON.
*   **Easy Experimentation:**  Try out different colors and settings quickly.

This lesson demonstrates a simple yet powerful way to personalize your coding environment, improving focus and making your editor truly your own. No need for extensive theme development – just targeted tweaks to make things *just right*.


John Lindquist

Personalize Your Cursor/VS Code Theme with workbench.colorCustomizations

You will learn how to create and manage complex, nested schemas using a real world example (room bookings with guest details) used throughout all lessons. All created schemas are tested against potential bugs and we verify error messages.

The course covers topics such as:

- Utilizing Zod's shape and unwrap features to perform partial validations without losing the overall schema structure.
- Managing optional, nullable and nullish properties.
- Implementing unions and intersections to handle different types of data.
- Ensuring type safety with sets and maps, including custom validation logic for primitive values.
- Creating custom error messages for improved user feedback.

Get a solid understanding of how to leverage Zod to enhance runtime data validation in JavaScript/TypeScript applications 🔥

Tomasz Ducin

Advanced Type Checks with Zod

Get a solid understanding of how to leverage Zod to enhance runtime data validation in JavaScript or TypeScript applications

AI coding assistants (like Cursor's Composer) are powerful, but running a single instance can become a bottleneck, especially for larger tasks or when experimenting with different approaches.  This lesson shows you how to break free from that limitation by leveraging Git worktrees to enable *parallel* AI development.

**The Problem:**

*   Single Composer instances can be slow for complex tasks.
*   Multiple agents modifying the same files simultaneously lead to conflicts.
*   Traditional branching can be cumbersome for rapid experimentation.

**The Solution: Git Worktrees**

Git worktrees allow you to create multiple, *independent* working directories linked to the *same* Git repository. Each worktree can be associated with a different branch, providing isolated environments for development.

**Workflow:**

1.  **Create Worktrees:** Use `git worktree add -b <branch-name> ../<project-name>-<branch-name>` to create a new worktree and associated branch.  The `-b` flag creates the branch. The path (`../<project-name>-<branch-name>`) places the worktree in a sibling directory (cleaner organization). Repeat for each variation you want to explore.
2.  **Launch Multiple Cursor Instances:** Open Cursor in each worktree directory (e.g., `cursor ../my-project-variant1`). Each instance is now isolated and can work on its assigned branch.
3.  **Assign Tasks to Composer:**  Within each Cursor instance, use Composer (Chat or Agent mode) to work on specific tasks or implement different approaches to the same problem. Use `@` to provide context (files, directories, docs).
4.  **Monitor and Iterate:** Check in on each Composer instance's progress. Because they're in separate worktrees, there are no conflicts.
5.  **Merge the Best Solution:**  Once a branch has a successful solution, merge it back into your main branch using `git merge <branch-name>`.
6.  **Clean Up:** Remove the worktrees with `git worktree remove ../<project-name>-<branch-name>`.

**ZSH Functions (Optional but Powerful):**

The lesson introduces two ZSH functions (provided as code snippets) to automate this process:

*   `wtree()`:  Takes branch names as arguments, creates corresponding worktrees, installs dependencies (with `-p` flag for PNPM), and optionally launches Cursor in each.  This streamlines setup.
*   `wtmerge()`:  Takes a single branch name as an argument, merges that branch into `main`, and then *cleans up all* worktrees created by `wtree()`. This simplifies merging and cleanup.

**Benefits:**

*   **Parallel Development:**  Run multiple Composer instances simultaneously, drastically speeding up development.
*   **Conflict-Free Experimentation:**  Isolate different approaches in separate branches/worktrees, eliminating merge conflicts.
*   **Rapid Iteration:**  Quickly create, test, and merge (or discard) variations of your code.
*   **Clean Workspace:**  Worktrees keep your main project directory uncluttered.

This lesson empowers you to unlock the full potential of AI coding assistants by running them in parallel, fostering faster experimentation and more efficient development. You'll learn a practical technique that significantly boosts your productivity when working with AI-generated code.

```bash
# wtree: Create a new worktree for each given branch.
# Usage: wtree [ -p|--pnpm ] branch1 branch2 ...
#
# This function does the following:
#   1. Parses command-line arguments; if -p/--pnpm is provided, it will later run "pnpm install".
#   2. Determines the current branch and repository root.
#   3. Uses a fixed parent directory (~/dev) to house all worktree directories.
#   4. For each branch passed:
#        - If the branch does not exist, it is created from the current branch.
#        - It checks that a worktree for that branch does not already exist.
#        - It then creates a worktree in ~/dev using a naming convention: <repoName>-<branch>.
#        - If the install-deps flag is true, it runs "pnpm install" inside the new worktree.
#        - Finally, it either opens the new worktree via the custom "cursor" command (if defined)
#          or prints its path.
wtree() {
  # Flag to determine whether to run "pnpm install"
  local install_deps=false
  local branches=()

  # Parse command-line arguments
  while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
    case "$1" in
      -p|--pnpm)
        install_deps=true
        shift
        ;;
      *)
        branches+=("$1")
        shift
        ;;
    esac
  done

  # Ensure at least one branch name is provided.
  if [[ ${#branches[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
    echo "Usage: wtree [ -p|--pnpm ] branch1 branch2 ..."
    return 1
  fi

  # Determine the current branch; exit if not in a git repository.
  local current_branch
  current_branch=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD) || {
    echo "Error: Not a git repository."
    return 1
  }

  # Determine repository root and name.
  local repo_root repo_name
  repo_root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) || {
    echo "Error: Cannot determine repository root."
    return 1
  }
  repo_name=$(basename "$repo_root")

  # Set fixed parent directory for worktrees.
  local worktree_parent="$HOME/dev"
  # Ensure the worktree parent directory exists.
  if [[ ! -d "$worktree_parent" ]]; then
    if ! mkdir -p "$worktree_parent"; then
      echo "Error: Failed to create worktree parent directory: $worktree_parent"
      return 1
    fi
  fi

  # Loop over each branch provided as argument.
  for branch in "${branches[@]}"; do
    # Define the target path using a naming convention: <repoName>-<branch>
    local target_path="$worktree_parent/${repo_name}-${branch}"
    
    echo "Processing branch: ${branch}"

    # Check if a worktree already exists at the target path.
    if git worktree list | grep -q "^${target_path}[[:space:]]"; then
      echo "Error: Worktree already exists at ${target_path}. Skipping branch '${branch}'."
      continue
    fi

    # If the branch does not exist, create it from the current branch.
    if ! git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/heads/${branch}"; then
      echo "Branch '${branch}' does not exist. Creating it from '${current_branch}'..."
      if ! git branch "${branch}"; then
        echo "Error: Failed to create branch '${branch}'. Skipping."
        continue
      fi
    fi

    # Create the new worktree for the branch.
    echo "Creating worktree for branch '${branch}' at ${target_path}..."
    if ! git worktree add "$target_path" "${branch}"; then
      echo "Error: Failed to create worktree for branch '${branch}'. Skipping."
      continue
    fi

    # If the install flag is set, run "pnpm install" in the new worktree.
    if $install_deps; then
      echo "Installing dependencies in worktree for branch '${branch}'..."
      if ! ( cd "$target_path" && pnpm install ); then
        echo "Warning: Failed to install dependencies in '${target_path}'."
      fi
    fi

    # Optionally, open the worktree directory via a custom "cursor" command if available.
    if type cursor >/dev/null 2>&1; then
      cursor "$target_path"
    else
      echo "Worktree created at: ${target_path}"
    fi

    echo "Worktree for branch '${branch}' created successfully."
    echo "-----------------------------------------------------"
  done
}


# wtmerge: Merge changes from a specified worktree branch into main,
# then clean up all worktrees and delete their branches.
#
# Usage: wtmerge <branch-to-keep>
#
# This function does the following:
#   1. Verifies that the branch to merge (branch-to-keep) exists as an active worktree.
#   2. Checks for uncommitted changes in that worktree:
#        - If changes exist, it attempts to stage and commit them.
#        - It gracefully handles the situation where there are no changes.
#   3. Switches the current (main) worktree to the "main" branch.
#   4. Merges the specified branch into main, with proper error checking.
#   5. Uses "git worktree list" to retrieve all active worktrees (under ~/dev
#      and matching the naming pattern) and removes them.
#   6. Deletes each branch that was created for a worktree (skipping "main").
wtmerge() {
  # Ensure exactly one argument is passed: the branch to merge.
  if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
    echo "Usage: wtmerge <branch-to-keep>"
    return 1
  fi

  local branch_to_keep="$1"

  # Determine the repository root and its name.
  local repo_root repo_name
  repo_root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) || {
    echo "Error: Not a git repository."
    return 1
  }
  repo_name=$(basename "$repo_root")

  # Fixed parent directory where worktrees are located.
  local worktree_parent="$HOME/dev"

  # Retrieve all active worktrees (from git worktree list) that match our naming convention.
  local worktrees=()
  while IFS= read -r line; do
    # Extract the worktree path (first field)
    local wt_path
    wt_path=$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $1}')
    # Only consider worktrees under our fixed parent directory that match "<repo_name>-*"
    if [[ "$wt_path" == "$worktree_parent/${repo_name}-"* ]]; then
      worktrees+=("$wt_path")
    fi
  done < <(git worktree list)

  # Check that the target branch worktree exists.
  local target_worktree=""
  for wt in "${worktrees[@]}"; do
    if [[ "$wt" == "$worktree_parent/${repo_name}-${branch_to_keep}" ]]; then
      target_worktree="$wt"
      break
    fi
  done

  if [[ -z "$target_worktree" ]]; then
    echo "Error: No active worktree found for branch '${branch_to_keep}' under ${worktree_parent}."
    return 1
  fi

  # Step 1: In the target worktree, check for uncommitted changes.
  echo "Checking for uncommitted changes in worktree for branch '${branch_to_keep}'..."
  if ! ( cd "$target_worktree" && git diff --quiet && git diff --cached --quiet ); then
    echo "Changes detected in branch '${branch_to_keep}'. Attempting auto-commit..."
    if ! ( cd "$target_worktree" &&
            git add . &&
            git commit -m "chore: auto-commit changes in '${branch_to_keep}' before merge" ); then
      echo "Error: Auto-commit failed in branch '${branch_to_keep}'. Aborting merge."
      return 1
    else
      echo "Auto-commit successful in branch '${branch_to_keep}'."
    fi
  else
    echo "No uncommitted changes found in branch '${branch_to_keep}'."
  fi

  # Step 2: Switch to the main worktree (assumed to be the current directory) and check out main.
  echo "Switching to 'main' branch in the main worktree..."
  if ! git checkout main; then
    echo "Error: Failed to switch to 'main' branch."
    return 1
  fi

  # Step 3: Merge the target branch into main.
  echo "Merging branch '${branch_to_keep}' into 'main'..."
  if ! git merge "${branch_to_keep}" -m "feat: merge changes from '${branch_to_keep}'"; then
    echo "Error: Merge failed. Please resolve conflicts and try again."
    return 1
  fi

  # Step 4: Remove all worktrees that were created via wtree().
  echo "Cleaning up worktrees and deleting temporary branches..."
  for wt in "${worktrees[@]}"; do
    # Extract branch name from worktree path.
    local wt_branch
    wt_branch=$(basename "$wt")
    wt_branch=${wt_branch#${repo_name}-}  # Remove the repo name prefix

    echo "Processing worktree for branch '${wt_branch}' at ${wt}..."
    # Remove the worktree using --force to ensure removal.
    if git worktree remove "$wt" --force; then
      echo "Worktree at ${wt} removed."
    else
      echo "Warning: Failed to remove worktree at ${wt}."
    fi

    # Do not delete the 'main' branch.
    if [[ "$wt_branch" != "main" ]]; then
      if git branch -D "$wt_branch"; then
        echo "Branch '${wt_branch}' deleted."
      else
        echo "Warning: Failed to delete branch '${wt_branch}'."
      fi
    fi
  done

  echo "Merge complete: Branch '${branch_to_keep}' merged into 'main', and all worktrees cleaned up."
}
```


Launch Multiple Cursor Composer AI Agents to Work in Parallel

AI-generated code often comes riddled with errors, especially TypeScript errors.  Trying to fix these *one by one* with in-editor AI tools (like Cursor's "Fix with AI") can be slow, frustrating, and sometimes even *introduce* new problems.  The fixes can be too localized, missing the bigger picture.

This lesson demonstrates a more efficient workflow: leveraging the power of **reasoning models** (like those found in AI Studio or advanced ChatGPT models) to fix errors *in bulk*.

Here's the process:

1.  **Identify All Errors:** Use the "Problems" panel in your editor to get a comprehensive list of all errors in the file.  Don't try to fix them individually yet! (Use `Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P`, then type "problems".)
2.  **Gather Context:**
    *   Copy the *entire file's code*.
    *   Copy the *entire list of errors* from the Problems panel.
3.  **Prompt the Reasoning Model:** Paste *both* the code and the error list into a reasoning model.  Your prompt should be something like:  "Please fix all of these errors and rewrite the entire file with the corrections."  The key is to give the AI the *full context*. Wrap your code with XML tags to help the AI recognize it.
4.  **Iterate (if needed):**  Copy the corrected code back into your editor.  If a few errors remain, *now* it's time to use in-editor AI tools (like Cursor's Composer or "Fix with AI") for the final cleanup. These tools are better suited for small, isolated issues.
5.  **Provide Additional Context (for Stubborn Errors):** If a specific error persists (e.g., related to a library like `yargs`), provide *even more* context to the AI:
    *   Include links to the library's documentation (NPM page, official docs).
    *   Use Cursor's `@` feature to add specific files or documentation to the context.
6. Make sure to test! Run `npm test` or whichever testing command you're using for this project.

**Why this works:**

*   **Holistic Understanding:** Reasoning models excel at understanding the *relationships* between different parts of the code. They can see how a change in one place affects others, leading to more consistent and correct fixes.
*   **Efficiency:** Fixing multiple errors in a single pass is *much* faster than addressing them individually.
*   **Reduced "Whack-a-Mole":**  Fixing one error often reveals another.  Bulk fixing with a reasoning model minimizes this frustrating cycle.

This lesson teaches you a practical, powerful technique to tame AI-generated code and get it working quickly, even when it arrives full of errors. By combining the strengths of reasoning models and in-editor AI, you'll become a more efficient and confident developer.


Bulk Fixing AI-Generated Code Errors with Reasoning Models and Cursor Composer

In this lesson, we learn that when querying MongoDB collections, we can control which properties are returned by using projections with the `findOne` method.

We demonstrate how to include or exclude fields by setting them to 1 or 0, respectively. For example, we can choose to include the name and position while excluding the `_id` field.

We also cover how to access nested properties and project specific elements from arrays using the `$slice` operator, allowing for more precise data retrieval based on our needs.

Return a subset of properties of a MongoDB Document (projections, $slice)

Return specific properties from MongoDB documents using projections in the findOne method, including nested fields and array slicing, $slice

In this lesson, we learn that counting documents that meet certain criteria in MongoDB can be done with the countDocuments() method.

We demonstrate how to retrieve the total number of documents when no query is specified and how to filter results using regular expressions.

For example, we can count employees with names containing a lowercase "a" or those with specific skills, using `$regex`.

Additionally, we show how to count documents where age is not equal to a given value, illustrating the versatility of the `countDocuments()` method in various scenarios.


Count documents satisfying a query in MongoDB Collection (countDocuments, $regex, $in)

Count documents in MongoDB collections using countDocuments() with query filters, including regex and specific conditions, using $regex, $in

In this lesson, we learn that searching for a MongoDB document by its ID can be a little tricky in the beginning.

We demonstrate how to use the `_id` field to search for specific documents and emphasize the necessity of wrapping the ID with the `ObjectId` constructor. This step is crucial because failing to do so can result in empty results, underscoring the importance of proper syntax when querying by document ID.


Find Document by id in MongoDB Collections

Find MongoDB documents by their unique _id using the ObjectId constructor without mistakes.

In this lesson, we learn that we can perform advanced filtering in MongoDB by using expressions within our queries. All thanks to `$expr`.

We demonstrate how to compare multiple document properties, such as ensuring age is less than salary using comparison operators (`$lt`, `$lte`, `$gt`, `$in`, `$nin`, etc).

Additionally, we explore filtering based on the length of an array (`$size`) to check for specific skills.


Filtering Documents using Expressions in MongoDB Collections ($expr, $size, $in, $and, etc)

Filter MongoDB documents using expressions $expr with comparison operators $lt, $gt, $eq and array length checks $size

In this lesson, we learn that combining multiple criteria in MongoDB queries can be done using logical operators such as `$and` and `$or`.

We demonstrate how to create queries that filter documents based on various conditions, such as _age_ and _skills_.

Additionally, we explore the use of the `$in` operator for matching any values in an array and the `$all` operator for ensuring all specified values are present.

This lesson provides essential skills for effective use of operators such as: `$in`, `$nin`, `$lt`, `$lte`, `$gt`, `$gte`, `$eq`, `$ne` (and many others) in querying MongoDB collections.



Combine Filtering Documents in MongoDB Collections ($and, $or, $in, $eq, etc)

Combine filtering criteria in MongoDB with logical operators like $and, $or; use $in and $all for array filtering in this lesson on document queries.

In this lesson, we learn that filtering documents from MongoDB collections can be achieved through the `find` and `findOne` methods.

We demonstrate how to use these methods to retrieve documents based on specific criteria, such as names or emails, and how to apply regular expressions for more general searches.

Additionally, we explore filtering by array values and using conditions like less than or greater than for numerical properties.


Filtering Documents in MongoDB Collections (find, findOne)

Learn to filter MongoDB documents using find and findOne methods with query criteria, regex, and array filtering in this lesson on document retrieval.

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