Lockdown Projects
Along with most of the work force, I spent some time over the last few months in lock down and away from work. Left twiddling my thumbs, I saw this as an opportunity to improve my programming and make some progress on a side-project. By the time I returned to the office, I had gained valuable skills and confidence in my programming.
Quick JavaScript Projects
To begin, I decided to practice JavaScript, especially using ES6 functionality. Instead of falling into tutorial purgatory, I tasked myself with writing multiple small projects where each project could target new skills and build in complexity.
To-do list
I started with the typical first project – a to-do list app. I was quickly able to get a basic app up and running, so I spent some time experimenting with styles using CSS.
Random Joke generator
As a way of practising REST API, wrote a Random Joke Generator. This was a quite straight-forward project that made calls to a free API. Why not click here to see for yourself.
Filtering Search Bar
This app displayed a series of images which could be filtered by clicking buttons. The list could also be reduced by typing in the search box. This was good practice writing in vanilla JavaScript and was a good refresher on event listeners and querySelector.
Nicolas Cage Counter
Lockdown can make anyone crazy. This can be seen in my next project – The Nicolas Cage Counter – which included sound effects from the great man himself. The less said about this, the better.
Course Form and Calculator
This page contained a form that allowed users to display learning courses. It used Object Oriented Programming - not something I’ve used a lot in JavaScript. I have much more experience using this approach in C#. The calculator involved string manipulation and was a worthwhile task.
Totally Unclutchable – React/Redux
Prior tolockdown, I had spent a while trying to get my head around React and Redux. Icompleted tutorials and watched videos.. Initially, I found it quite difficultto grasp. There was a lot of boilerplate for Redux in particular. I hadn’t cometo understand the differences between using React’s state and Redux’s store. Itturned out that all I needed was repetition. With long days to fill at home, Ihad plenty of time for that!
When I first join Quaytech Systems as an apprentice, I was tasked with writing a car hire portal using Windows forms. Since then my skills have improved and technology has thankfully moved on. Totally Unclutchable would be an ideal project for my new React skills. I built an API to access my car database using C#.
I built the front-facing UI using React and Redux where necessary. This was a valuable lesson to learn – you don’t always need to use Redux when React State can suffice. Over the course of a few weeks, I overcame many problems and bugs. As the front end took shape, I was able to see the benefits of a React front end.
Withthe experience gained over lockdown, I returned to the office with new toolsunder my belt. Immediately, I have been able to start developing using React onsome exciting new projects and support tickets. The earlier JavaScript projectshave helped to secure my knowledge of new ES6 functionality.