conwy

How do you optimise your window layout when working?

> Summary: To understand how a code-base is connected and functions at runtime, we can use execution flows.

> Summary: User flows help digital teams get on the same page and view the user interface and interactions holistically.

> Summary: Typescript's built-in enum structure can be replaced with better patterns.

What do we need assertions for?

> Summary: Using a checklist, and a mindset of expecting and seeking out bugs, we can eliminate bugs from our code before going to production.

There are many good reasons to make our software applications accessible.

> Summary: The BDD-style "Given/When/Then" syntax adds an additional learning curve and can be cumbersome for long flows.

I have mixed feelings about Tailwind, having used it on a [client project](/work/optus), built a [Typescript adapter](/projects/tailwindjs) for it and my own website for a while (before switching to [Vanilla Extract](https://vanilla-extract.style/)).

> Summary: Subformats is a technique by which I extend an established format (such as Markdown), to add my own custom features, while remaining backwards-compatible, so I can re-use the content with third-party tools.

> Summary: Completing an Introduction to Calculus taught me a range of interesting lessons including lessons about learning, such as the importance of understanding fundamentals, visualisation, geometric analogies, parts vs. whole, focussing on correcting…

## Motivation Engineers are increasingly called upon to provide on-call support for complex software running in production.

> Pull-quote: “The word 'isomorphism' applies when two complex structures can be mapped onto each other, in such a way that to each part of one structure there is a corresponding part in the other structure, where "corresponding" means that the two part p…

> Summary: Understanding and documenting existing systems and code can be a better use of time than large-scale refactoring.

> Summary: Using a generic HOC creator pattern, I can compose two React components together in a highly decoupled way.

> Summary: The problem was: how to load a list of items, then load details of each item, then combine all of this information and render it to the user, all within one component.

> Summary: Rigorous use of mock data can benefit complex, long-term software projects by thinking about examples during modelling, providing unit test inputs, quickly simulate any desired application state and decouple immediate inter-team dependencies.

> Summary: Recently I started the habit of practicing mindfulness-meditation daily.

> Summary: Manual testing offers distinct and powerful benefits such as understanding system behaviour with minimal documentation, verifying changes rapidly in multiple environments and empathising with end-users.

> Summary: To lose unwanted fat in a healthy, sustainable, frugal and environmentally-friendly way, follow a whole-food plant-based low-fat diet and perform steady fasted cardio and strength exercises on a daily basis.

Imagine you're a new joiner in a corporate environment.

In this article I want share the keyboard shortcuts that I use on a daily basis, in various environments.

> Summary: Interaction wireframes depict a user interface at low fidelity including additional information on each component and interactions – how the interface responds to user activity.

I've noticed a recent trend toward traditionally more specialised developers (including my own area, front end) working more full stack.

> Summary: Observability can be applied to front end code, specifically: user events, HTTP events and browser events.

I thought I would share my front end development checklist. ## Why I use a checklist Many who worked with me will know I'm a big fan of checklists.

Flaky tests are tests that produce inconsistent and non-deterministic results, sometimes passing and sometimes failing.

> Disclaimer: The information and the links provided here are for general information only and should not be taken as constituting professional advice.

> Summary: Typescript structures can be diagramming in a UML-like format, depicting Interfaces and Types (including inheritance and composition), Enums and Functions (including parameters and return types) as rectangles, with suitable connecting lines.

> Summary: React components can be diagramming in a UML-like format, depicting Components, Component calls (with props and render props), Functions and Types or Interfaces.

As a Front End Engineer – a weird yet oddly common cross between software engineer and designer – I made three self-discoveries early on: 1.

It's best practice to keep an eye on dependency updates, especially where security fixes are needed.

> Summary: Combinators (from functional programming) can be used to generate data-driven tests that cover many combinations of inputs, without having to spell out every possible combination in code.

Have you ever posted a code sample in a discussion thread and wanted to focus the reader on some important parts?

> Summary: Code reviews can be made easier and more efficient by following a repeatable process.

Pull requests are _the_ fundamental unit of change on many software projects.

I prefer to avoid anonymous tuples in code.

> Caveat: As always, I'm open to, and actively seeking, critiques.

> Summary: AI-enabled capabilities can be surfaced in user interfaces in a variety of ways, including inline suggestions, single and multi-agent chat, providing hints for filling in inputs and through controls that allow the user to nudge a preview until…

> Summary: AI, when used by developers, can assist code writing with autocomplete, provide helpful information for diagnosing error messages and technical problems, generate code such as bash scripts and unit tests, summarise technical conversations and p…

> Summary: Core concepts in the AI landscape include: > - **Prompts** and **Commands** issued by humans to Assistants > - **Assistants** that use LLM technology to provide useful output > - **Models** (LLM) that Assistants query > - **Skills** and **Tools…