Frontend Web
8 articles ยท all categories
September 2025
You may be looking for a useSyncExternalStore
When you see a `useEffect` that updates a `useState` and returns a value, you might be looking for a `useSyncExternalStore`. This is my current vendetta.
August 2020
In 2020's, what is "frontend"? ๐คจ
"He's a frontend guy, is this even a fair question to ask?" The head of engineering was worried about our systems design question โฆ
August 2019
The Big Mac index and Jest fetch testing
The Big Mac index is a purchasing power parity index published by The Economist. Jest fetch testing is a tech task so frustrating that it almost made me quit the industry. I'm writing this so you don't have to read 8234721 different blog posts, stack overflow answers, and GitHub threads with conflicting info on how to get Jest and fetch to play together.
May 2019
Just for fun ๐ React vs. jQuery vs. Svelte, same ๐ฑ app
I was bored Monday night and decided to see if I still know how to build with jQuery. Nothing better to do, no pressing ideas, a bit of fun. Also a favor for a friend who's preparing to talk about React to a bunch of people who've never seen it before ๐
April 2019
Finally, a practical use case for JavaScript generators!
JavaScript generators are amazing. They let you write infinite loops that terminate. Yield values from functions before they finish โฆ and I bet you've never used a JavaScript generator even once did you? I FOUND A USE! A real world practical use-case where generators make your code better. ๐ฑ
February 2018
You don't want to build your own list virtualization
Chatroom is slow? I know, I'll just use list virtualization! List virtualization is hard, dear reader. So, how do you virtualize a list?
May 2017
Counting web sessions with JavaScript
How many touch points does your sales process require? Do you need 2 ad clicks or 5? Two shiny demos or one fat video? As an engineer, you might not care, but this is the stuff that keeps your CEO and growth lead and head of product up at night. A business owner that can answer that ๐ question reliably is god.
January 2015
Javascript debugging [slightly] beyond console.log
My favourite tool for javascript debugging is `console.log`. I mean, I love `console.log`. If I ever get a programming tattoo, it's going to be `console.log` or some variation thereof. Simple to use, works every time, and every programming language I've used since I was 9 has had some variation of it.