FOCUS

I created and published my first npm package! It taught me how write, package, and publish projects to npm. The joy of it was almost equal to the joy I got from pushing getting my first PR merged. eslint-config-cdrainxv.

One thing that I always wanted to create was my own library, albeit a small one, that was easily maintainable. It seemed out of reach considering all the libraries I had seen on github had countless files and extensions I had previously never seen before. However, I watched this amazing course, Creating an Open Source JavaScript Library, which proved to be a wealth of knowledge. Following along with it, but implementing my own version, I learned a lot relatively quickly about how to create, maintain, update, and make contributions to a library and/or project. The driving message was about making your libraries, projects, etc inviting so that others can contribute to it. I have seen some projects with that same kind of welcoming view to first-time contributors which I also want to incorporate in my own libraries, starting with this one.

CHANGELOG

vim

Deliberately using vim means that you constantly pick up new things out of necessity, lest you revert to your previous editor. Each new thing you pick up , add to your .vimrc, and incorporate in your everyday use helps to repel some of those urges, especially when you are used to doing things the most inefficient way with your previous editor. I have picked up some interesting aspects of vim this week that I either didn’t know existed or just didn’t know how to implement. I feel like I’ll be learning vim for years, but here are some tidbits I learned this week:

Things learned in vim:
Usage and difference b/t tabs and buffers.
Autoreload files -- looking at you package.json :rage.
Write custom snippets using UltiSnips plugin (tutorial upcoming?).
Use vim spell to check, add, and fix spelling.
Configure some plugins. Reading the docs has gotten considerably easier.


I found a great resource to learn vimscript!

tmux

Additionally, I dived even deeper into tmux. I love how easy it is to integrate it with vim as well. I read another book to help reinforce my understanding of some of the commands, but also what is happening in the background, such as how the servers are spun and where they exist. One thing that I did come across was gpakosz when I was looking into customizing my tmux status-line from the default bland one. That repo boasts extensive configurability, coming fully loaded with battery status, time, date, powerline symbols, etc, however the added bonus is the builtin bindings. These are very easy to learn and memorize, considering that they are set to be familiar to vim users, making use of the same directional, and vi-copy/paste commands. This inspired me to write my own plugin to add to the tmux status-line, a spotify song playing displayer using applescript. That post is here.

WEEKLY GOALS

  • I didn’t get to much of what I listed as goals in last week’s Weekly Update. It’s disappointing considering that I want to be able to start seeking out jobs by the end-of-the-year/beginning-of-the-new-year time frame. It’s an ambitious goal, but I have to set some kind of goal if I want to jump-start my career in software development early in 2018. It’s not that I don’t know react (I do), it’s a matter of having a better grasp of it (and learning testing and incorporating redux (or some form of state management)). This week I will strive to create and post (here and a live version) of projects (regardless of size and difficulty), which both incorporate redux and some testing.

  • Finish the vimscript book and create something from the knowledge attained from it to reinforce the learning.

  • Finish the anml library. By finish I mean have it ready for initial release on npm. Furthermore, I noticed some more test cases I have not accounted for as of yet, but I can create PRs for them after the deploying it. I somehow have to get others to contribute to this repo, with the most enticing reason being that it will be a great and easy first-commit.

  • I have several drafts of which I have yet to post. This week I hope to have all of them fully written up and posted.

GOOD LUCK! See you next week!