I often see developers comparing JetBrains WebStorm and Visual Studio Code. There’s often some argument about which one is better. Since is the internet and every else shares their opinion here, I figure I’ll do the same. Here’s what I think: I love VS Code and use it every day. But I often like JetBrains’…
Thoughts on SQL Query Builders and ORMs
Are SQL query builder libraries and ORMs more trouble than they’re worth? A couple of days ago, I read Stop using Knex.js via a link on Reddit. I understand the point the author is trying to make. And I used to be pretty firmly opposed to ORMs and query builders. I like SQL a lot.…
Is Software Development a Stressful Career?
Software development can, at times, seem like a stressful, thankless career. A recent discussion thread on Reddit got me thinking and reflecting back on the decade I’ve been working as a software developer. Some people seemed to lament the fact that working as a developer can feel like a thankless task with a backlog that…
JavaScript Array Push Performance
This is a short response I wrote to a question on /r/javascript. The user who asked it was curious whether there would be any performance difference between adding elements to a JavaScript array by calling push, or manually adding a new object to an array by making a call like myArray[myArray.length] = obj. Let’s take a…
CNE Pickle Pizza Location
If you’re trying to find where to buy pickle pizza at The Ex and you don’t know where it is, you’re not alone. It took me a lot of wandering around to find where to buy a pickle pizza slice. I found lots of articles and Instagram posts saying you can get pickle pizza from…
JavaScript indexOf vs includes performance
This is a short response I wrote to a question on /r/javascript. The user who asked it was curious whether there would be any performance difference between using a JavaScript string’s indexOf vs includes performance when trying to find a substring within a larger string. Let’s take a look at the ECMAScript specification to see what it says. …
How to remove /api from Azure Functions URLs
Note: All of the following assumes you’re working with Azure Functions 2.0. Azure Functions are great. By default, all HTTP functions on Azure have their URLs prefixed with /api. For example, if you have functions named Function1 and Function2, you’d reach them by calling http://my-app.azurewebsites.net/api/Function1 and http://my-app.azurewebsites.net/api/Function2. Usually, this is fine. But it seems like…
So You Want to be a Freelance Web Developer
I originally wrote this as a comment on Reddit. Since it ended up being 1700+ words, I figured it would be worth posting here too! A caveat upfront: I haven’t done these things myself, because I’ve been lucky to have some awesome jobs I don’t want to leave. However, I’ve watched many of my peers…
How do JavaScript arrays work under the hood?
Front-end and full-stack developers use JavaScript arrays every day. Most of them, however, haven’t done a deep dive to understand how JS arrays are implemented in native code. Not doing this doesn’t mean you’re a bad developer. It’s entirely possible to use JavaScript effectively without digging in to understand how JS arrays are implemented. But…
Advice for Freelance Web Developers
This post is based on a reply I wrote on /r/webdev. Someone decided it was worth giving Reddit gold to, so I figure it’s worth posting here and expanding on it a bit. Just to be clear, I’m not currently working as a freelance web dev, although I’ve done it in the past. My advice…