SurviveJS - Webpack 2, Reactabular, Training, and then some
Time to catch up! View this email in your browser (|ARCHIVE|)
** It has been a long year
** Time to catch up
If someone had told me a couple of years ago I would be having a keynote to 500 people at Kharkiv (http://kharkivjs.org/) in 2016, I would have thought they were joking. But that’s exactly what’s going to happen next Saturday! It’s most both and scary at the same time. And that’s not all.
I’ll be spending the following week at Barcelona. If you want to meet up, join me at a local meetup on Thursday (https://www.meetup.com/ReactJS-Barcelona/events/235239149/?eventId=235239149) (10th of November). Both the keynote and the meetup will be focused on Reactabular (https://reactabular.js.org) , a table component that has received a lot of my attention this year.
** Reactabular - Spectacular Tables for React
I got lucky in that I found a client (or a client found me to be exact) that was interested in pushing this particular project further. You could say this transformed the entire project. The principles are the same, but they have been packaged in a way that makes sense.
I know a lot of table implementations exist for React already. The point here was to focus on clear principles. Instead of focusing features, I focused on fundamentals. It’s all driven by a column definition, data transformations (separate from React), and table definition. As it happens, you can achieve a lot with this simple design. The features needed appear almost as a consequence.
On project level I leverage Lerna (https://lernajs.io/) , a tool for managing monorepos, and it has transformed the way I think about projects these days. Some parts of it are still a little rough, but on the plus side it takes a lot of the pain related to package authoring away.
Developing Reactabular has taught me a lot and I will put a lot of the gained experience in good use in my next efforts. You can learn more about the project by checking out my interview (http://survivejs.com/blog/reactabular-interview/) . Even if you aren’t interested in tables, it might be worthwhile to understand the design.
A lot more has fit into this year. Webpack 2 documentation effort has been one highlight.
** Webpack 2 Documentation Effort
Historically webpack hasn’t been known for high quality documentation. Quite the opposite actually. A couple of interesting things have happened that can change this: * webpack project has a core team now (https://medium.com/webpack/webpack-its-getting-real-92c60fca1db1) - I am one of the five persons involved and so far my responsibilities have had to do with issue tracking and watching over the new documentation effort. * webpack 2 has a new site! (https://webpack.js.org/) - I designed the information architecture, wrote the site generator it relies upon, and edit the content that goes in. The site generator relies on progressive enhancement so that the site is snappy and works without JavaScript while being light. * webpack is a part of Open Collective (https://opencollective.com/webpack) - Earlier gathering funds for the project has been problematic. I’ve done my part (30% of the webpack book goes to Tobias), but obviously that’s a drop in the ocean. Open Collective has changed this as it enabled both individuals and companies to donate easier and help fund the project. * webpack is a part of the JS Foundation (https://js.foundation/) - JS Foundation, earlier jQuery Foundation, is an umbrella organization for popular JavaScript projects and provides a legal entity for them while fostering collaboration between the projects.
Overall the trend has been towards scaling the project from a one man project to something bigger. I believe that’s the only way the project can survive over longer term. We are still scaling the development efforts, but I would say the situation is looking a lot better than a year ago.
As a part of my training offering I have prepared a set of slides on advanced webpack techniques (https://presentations.survivejs.com/advanced-webpack) . It complements the existing book and goes even further in certain parts.
** SurviveJS Training
Given it’s the first year (half to be exact) of my company, this has meant I’ve had to figure out a good direction for it. I’ve been balancing between content production, consulting, and training. So far training has been limited to Finland, but the situation is changing. The next week in Spain will be focused on training actually and it’s a great positive challenge for me.
In order to give people a better idea of training topics, I’ve compiled a site for my presentation slides (https://presentations.survivejs.com) . Even though they are just that, I believe you can gain value by studying the topics through it. I’ve gathered specific sets on topics, such as state management in React. They should be good refreshers if nothing else.
If you are interested in JavaScript, webpack, or React related on-site training, get in touch and we’ll discuss. Especially Finland and London thanks would work well although I’m comfortable traveling across Europe. Other places may require longer preparation time unless they are in the Nordic area.
** Next Versions of the Books
After I get through traveling, I will put my focus on getting the webpack book to a nice shape (webpack 2 + all the tricks I have learned since the previous version). The big goal is to get a paper version out. That will put me in a better position to focus on the React one. The experience gained this year will help me to push both books to the next level.
To keep the flame burning, I’ve been publishing interviews of library and tool authors through the blog. To give you some idea of the content, consider the following: * Glamor - Inline CSS for React et al - Interview with Sunil Pai (http://survivejs.com/blog/glamor-interview/) * react-game-kit - Make games with React - Interview with Ken Wheeler (http://survivejs.com/blog/react-game-kit-interview/) * Reactotron - A CLI and OS X App for Inspecting - Interview with Steve Kellock (http://survivejs.com/blog/reactotron-interview/) * Assetgraph - Optimization Framework for Web Pages and Applications - Interview with Peter Müller (http://survivejs.com/blog/assetgraph-interview/) * redux-saga - Saga Middleware for Redux to Handle Side Effects - Interview with Yassine Elouafi (http://survivejs.com/blog/redux-saga-interview/)
That’s just a tip of an iceberg and there’s more for you to learn from if you dig the blog.
** Conclusion
Remember that you can reach me through Gitter. There are specific channels for both React (https://gitter.im/survivejs/react) and webpack (https://gitter.im/survivejs/webpack) related discussions. It’s cool to talk with you guys every once in a while. That’s why I’m there after all.
To make it easier to keep up to date what’s going on with the world of JavaScript, I maintain a separate mailing list known as Biweekly JSter. It’s an older project, but the content should be solid. Feel free to subscribe! (http://eepurl.com/zB_g5)
Enjoy the weekend! I think there might be some reading to do if you are up for it. :)
P.S. Something with the letters R, I, and B might be making a comeback. Stay tuned for more news!
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