Posts tagged with

programming

Learning New Programming Languages by Building on Existing Foundations

One of the things about being a developer is that you’re never done learning. You might have a favorite language, or framework, or library, but in all likelihood you won’t be able to use those exclusively. You may love JavaScript, but the project you’re working on may demand Python. You may be great with Perl, but your company’s codebase may be in C++. To new developers, the idea of learning a new language can be very daunting, especially if there are deadlines hanging over your head. That’s the bad news. The good news is that learning a new language doesn’t have to be hard.

September 4, 2018
14 min read

learning programming
Graceful Error Handling in JavaScript

If there’s one thing that every programmer knows for sure, it’s that nothing ever works perfectly, every time, all the time. Errors are a part of daily programming life and learning to deal with them gracefully is an important part of writing good code. Like most fundamental concepts in coding, error-handling is an immense topic full of complexity; however, we can learn a lot just from understanding the basics.

August 15, 2018
14 min read

javascript exceptions programming
JavaScript Data Types and Mutability

One of the most fundamental concepts in programming is the idea of *data types*. It’s a concept that is shared near-universally across major programming languages. In short, data types are instructions to a program’s compiler (or interpreter) regarding how it should handle a given value.

August 8, 2018
16 min read

javascript programming
Making Sense of Closures in JavaScript

One of the most powerful features of JavaScript is the concept of closure. It is this feature that lets us do things like create private data and define application interfaces. However, for new JavaScript programmers, the idea of closures, and how to use them, can be a bit confusing.

August 1, 2018
11 min read

javascript programming
Learning Alone, Together

A few weeks ago we took a break from JavaScript to talk more generally about how to use a structured problem solving approach. This week, we’re going to depart even further from the norm and talk about learning specifically, what I call “lonely learning,” and why it’s an outdated method for new coders.

July 25, 2018
11 min read

learning programming
Understanding Links on the JavaScript Object Prototype Chain

One of the things software developers think about a lot is how to DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) up their code. The reason for this is relatively simple. The more you can reuse your code, the easier your codebase is to maintain. If you have two objects that share behavior, why define that behavior in two places? And if you do, what happens if you need to change something later?

July 18, 2018
13 min read

javascript programming
An Introduction to Iteration and Enumerability in JavaScript

One of the most common tasks for a developer is iteration. Sometimes the purpose is to carry out a particular operation with each value in a data structure. Other times the goal is to transform the data structure itself. Still other times the intent is to operate on the data structure as a whole, such as in the summing of a list of values.

July 8, 2018
10 min read

javascript programming
Using a Structured Problem-Solving Approach

A common misconception about coders is that their job is to write code. OK, maybe that’s not totally wrong, but it fails to capture the essence of what a coder does, which is solve problems. Every day coders are confronted by myriad problems that need to be solved, whether it is sorting a set of data, transforming messy input into something organized, or figuring out when and how to return some value to a user. We spend all day solving problems, which is why problem solving is a skill worth practicing.

July 1, 2018
10 min read

learning programming
An Introduction to First-Class Functions in JavaScript

JavaScript, for all of its power and expressiveness, is a language that refuses categorization. Some prefer to use it in the object-oriented style and others in the functional style. And the mere fact that it can be used in either tells us something about JavaScript’s dynamism. JavaScript is a flexible language that provides a wealth of features that, if well understood, can be leveraged in powerful ways.

June 24, 2018
9 min read

javascript programming
Fundamental Object Design Patterns in JavaScript

As a JavaScript developer, much of the code you will be writing will deal with objects. We create objects to help organize code, reduce redundancy, and reason about problems using object-oriented techniques. The benefits of object-oriented design are readily apparent, but recognizing the usefulness of objects is just the first step. Once you have decided to use an object-oriented structure in your code, the next step is to decide *how* to do it.

June 17, 2018
11 min read

design patterns javascript programming
What in the World is this?!

If you’re like me, then one of your first thoughts when you started reading JavaScript code was “why in the world is 'this' written all over the place?!” It is a strange syntax indeed, and confusing to read about because “this” is one of the most common words in the English language! Rest assured though, with a little practice you’ll master the necessary mental gymnastics to understand 'this'.

June 9, 2018
13 min read

javascript programming
All About Scope

Scope got you down? No problem! This article is all about scope--one of the most fundamental parts of the JavaScript we know and love. Scope defines what is visible to whom, and where--with the what being some variable, the where being some point of execution in your program, and the whom being your friendly neighborhood functions.

May 24, 2018
11 min read

javascript programming
What I Learned About Life by Learning to Code

My journey in life is a good deal longer than my journey in code, and yet, I feel at times that my understanding of the latter exceeds my understanding of the former. Life and code are not the same thing--but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something about the one from the other."

April 6, 2018
15 min read

learning programming life
Pour Some (Syntactic) Sugar On Me

Apologies to Def Leppard for, shall we say, “borrowing”, the name of one of their greatest hits to introduce this article. However, if any programming language has had a lot of sugar poured into it, surely it’s Ruby!

March 22, 2018
10 min read

ruby programming
Knowing One's Self (in Ruby)

In Ruby, as in life, knowing one’s self is a vital element for long-term success. Let’s take a minute to explore self and why it matters.

March 3, 2018
9 min read

ruby programming