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Lessons

Instructions on how to delete the git history from a project and then upload without the history.
Posted: 3.26.19 by Jamie in Programming - General
Remove a file from git but not the local machine.
Posted: 3.26.19 by Jamie in Programming - General
Save the current version of git for future reference in a new branch, revert to an older git copy. Also information on creating and checking out a branch, merging branches, and handling a merge conflict.
Posted: 3.13.19 by Jamie in Programming - General
Build a password strength meter based on zxcvbn password checker.
Posted: 3.11.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
I recently added a contact form to my Power Todos app, these are my notes on how I achieved setup this form using Google's ReCaptcha and the react-google-recaptcha package.
Posted: 3.10.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
getDerivedStateFromProps is a static method, which means it does not have access to the 'this' keyword, so how then do you update the state?
Posted: 3.8.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
When interviewing for a react javascript job, these are some questions other programmers have encountered in job interviews. Side effects, functional programming, component lifecycles, state, props, inheritance, composition.
Posted: 3.8.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Commands for using postgres on heroku's server. See source link for all the commands you can run for postgres on heroku.
Posted: 3.6.19 by Jamie in Programming - Hosting
Server robots.txt file, certbot verifcation file, or other plain html or other pages using this React Router trick...
Posted: 3.1.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Lamda functions served up using Amazon's AWS server using the lambda functions module allow you to host simple functions and pay only when those functions are called. Uses npm install serverless
Posted: 2.24.19 by Jamie in Programming - General
Without using the redux-persist plugin we can easily use localStorage to persist the redux store, or even just parts of the store.
Posted: 2.24.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Learn about Redis installation, commands for storing and getting data types: strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets.
Posted: 2.21.19 by Jamie in Programming - General
When you run more than one container in Docker you use the Docker Compose tool to build and connect all the different containers. In this case we will use postgres and explain how to extend the postgres Dockerfile image. Add seed folder to have mock data already included in the database.
Posted: 2.20.19 by Jamie in Programming - General
Basic Dockerfile setup and Docker commands. Docker Compose. Use proper docker commands to create containers from Image files or use Docker Compose to create containers from docker-compose.yml file.
Posted: 2.20.19 by Jamie in Programming - General
When joining a new project or a new team you will need to analyze new codebases and familiarize yourself with the project. This is a typical workflow for getting started on a new project in javascript or node.
Posted: 2.18.19 by Jamie in Programming - General
We use a package called dotenv to protect variables like username, passwords and api keys on the backend in express, and also on the frontend with React to save things that might be repeated like the website URL in api calls.
Posted: 2.17.19 by Jamie in Programming - JS
A logger middleware for node/express will save data about every api request and log it so that developers can see exactly what happened with the request.
Posted: 2.17.19 by Jamie in Programming - JS
When a user logs out we want to clear all state. But state may be present in different reducers, so how do we clear all of the different state properties?
Posted: 2.11.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
By running npm create-react-app a ton of stuff happens behind the scenes.
Posted: 2.6.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Understanding how Javascript stores variable values in memory will help you produce code that uses less memory. In React, we can use this memory to understand when we should create stored functions, rather than arrow functions that need to be recreated with each render.
Posted: 2.6.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Thunk vs Saga vs Observable/RxJs vs Promise Middleware.
Posted: 2.2.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Firebase cloud functions are functions stored on the firebase server. They have a similar concept to an express server. They are meant to listen for things that happen on the server and then send responses to the frontend.
Posted: 1.29.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Register a new user using Firebase Authentication services in React. Use Firebase to store the user's profile data. Auth handles the password and email validations.
Posted: 1.28.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Setup a Firebase project. Start a Firestore database. Sync firestore and firebase reducers with the rootReducer. Add data via actions and update the state. Retrieve and display data on the frontend.
Posted: 1.25.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Notes from the popular article 'How to think like a programmer.' First, understand the problem, then come up with a plan, then break the problem down into steps. If you get stuck, take a breath and relax. Then, continue practicing.
Posted: 1.17.19 by Jamie in Learning
Link to NPR interview with professor who believes we should not be teaching our kids abstinence when it comes to technology. Instead, we should allow screen time, while implementing the Socratic method of learning to train our kids how to think about technology in the world.
Posted: 1.15.19 by Jamie in Parenting
A function that returns the result of another function is using function composition.
Posted: 1.15.19 by Jamie in Programming - JS
Promises help JS appear to run code asynchronously. JS runs synchronously on one thread. A promise runs the code, but says continue running other code and I will let you know when this code returns data. fetch() is just a promise that gets an api. async/await is syntactic sugar for running promises.
Posted: 1.14.19 by Jamie in Programming - JS
Create a store. Subscribe to the store. Create the root reducer. Provide access for the store to the App. mapStateToProps in a component. mapDispatchToProps in a component. Connect component props to maps. Create actions. Process the actions in the reducer.
Posted: 1.11.19 by Jamie in Programming - React
Javascript was not built to be used as an Object Oriented Programming language. So at first, using OOP in JS was weird and awkward. But it has come a long way and its evolution is explained in detail here.
Posted: 1.9.19 by Jamie in Programming - JS
Warren Buffet says the key skill you need to succeed is communication. No matter how smart you are, no matter how much you know, if you can’t effectively share your ideas with the world they will mean nothing. Now, read some tips on how to improve your communication skills.
Posted: 1.9.19 by Jamie in Behavior
Get in shape in 8 minutes. Get stronger in 20 minutes. Lose stress in 2 minutes. Live longer by deleting 1 thing from your diet.
Posted: 1.8.19 by Jamie in Health
Top 20 questions most JS developers get stumped on. They are pretty basic and if you are a JS developer you should know most of them off the top of your head. But you may need a refresher on a few.
Posted: 1.3.19 by Jamie in Programming - JS
Connect with others who have big audiences and get them to use your product. For every one of them, they bring in their audience, in which there may be another big influencer who will use your product. This creates a traffic generating cycle for your website.
Posted: 1.2.19 by Jamie in Website Promotion
The very basics of React. Practice coding to increase memory retention.
Posted: 12.29.18 by Jamie in Programming - React
A psychoanalyst studied successful and mentally strong people for years and found that they all shared things they don't do in common more than they shared things they do do. These are the thirteen things they all don't do.
Posted: 12.27.18 by Jamie in Behavior
Stephen King released a book in 2000 about his writing process, from the start of his career until publication. These are some notes I found particularly important.
Posted: 12.25.18 by Jamie in The Writing Process
According to one dietician, rosemary cures heartburn in a jiffy and has great effects on the gut microbiome when eaten on a regular basis.
Posted: 12.24.18 by Olinations in Healthy Food
This article explains in detail when to use which and when to use that.
Posted: 12.23.18 by Jamie in Grammar
The founder of Alibaba, the world's biggest, ever-expanding company, gives his advice on how to focus on what you want so that you actually achieve your goals.
Posted: 12.23.18 by Jamie in Life
Jim Kwik gives lessons on how to stop procrastinating, how to remember things easier, and how to be happier with your life.
Posted: 12.12.18 by Jamie in Behavior
Logical people are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to persuading people of a different mindset. That is because they use logic and data to 'prove people wrong,' but that is a scientifically ineffective approach.
Posted: 12.10.18 by Jamie in Behavior
Most of the time you can't make money at things you are passionate about, but that's okay, because science reveals we are actually passionate about things we are good at. So, find something that can support a life, then become a master at it. The passion comes with the mastery.
Posted: 12.10.18 by Jamie in Life
The quickest way to mastery of a skill is to watch and copy an expert over and over again.
Posted: 12.10.18 by Jamie in Learning
Smart people tend to easily accept data that proves their preconceived beliefs, while they search for faults in data that goes against their ingrained beliefs. So how then do you get people to change their mind?
Posted: 12.9.18 by Jamie in Behavior
Take ten minutes a day for a few days and think kind thoughts about strangers you see. Ultimately, this will change your attitude from negative to positive.
Posted: 12.9.18 by Olinations in Human Behavior
Not all features are important for every site, but most sites will benefit in some way by utilizing the features made available by Progressive Web Apps.
Posted: 12.6.18 by Jamie in Programming - PWA's
The most important thing to health and longevity is having a healthy relationship.
Posted: 12.2.18 by Olinations in Human Behavior
External link to the best fish with some recipes and ideas for the best ways to cook them.
Posted: 11.16.18 by Jamie in Nutrition