useEffect is a seemingly simple function, but it requires a non-trivial knowledge of React and of Javascript in order to use it well. Programmers of all experience levels find themselves grappling with the hook at one time or another. One reason it is tricky is because many people who are…

Summary In our frontend application, we make use of components that subscribe to context providers, and those providers often contain state-updating logic. Test setup for context-wrapped components is often confusing, and quite frankly, a pain. There are two main options for testing these context-wrapped components: Use a static context provider with…

I recently went down a rabbit hole with a coworker, asking ourselves, “What is the difference between a map and a keyword list?” We knew that they both provide the similar seeming capabilities to store and access key-value information but were unsure of the underlying differences. Consulting the docs on…

At Fast Radius, we’re building responsive and performant applications in Elixir + Phoenix and React. We’ve leveraged Phoenix channels to help improve our UX. What are channels? Channels are a way to send messages in real time between server and client over a persistent connection. Channels make use of Phoenix’s built-in websocket capabilities…

Recently I was debugging some React code that was allowing a form to submit its contents even when the user did not check a required checkbox. Client side, HTML5 validations weren’t running at all, and the user had to wait for server errors to know that they had typed…

I love testing and am always looking for quality-of-life improvements that decrease the barriers to writing good tests. Here’s a small one with a big impact. Problem: I can’t access react-modal from the component I’m testing I’m working on a component that leverages react-modal and wraps it in a custom modal component. In this simplified example, I have a parent…

In November I attended my first RubyConf and spent a whirlwind three days trying to learn all the things. Now that the dust has settled, here is part two of three themes that have crystalized, which I know I will find myself mulling over for weeks to come. Read my…

In November I attended my first RubyConf and spent a whirlwind three days trying to learn all the things. Now that the dust has settled, here is part two of three themes that have crystalized, which I know I will find myself mulling over for weeks to come. TL;DR — Speakers and Talks Jess Rudder…

In November I attended my first RubyConf and spent a whirlwind three days trying to learn all the things. Now that the dust has settled, here is the first of three themes that have crystalized, which I know I will find myself mulling over for weeks to come. 1. What if Ruby…? In February…