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    Swizec's articles in the "frontend" category

    I aim to write mindblowing emails with real insight into the career and skills of a modern software engineer. "Raw and honest from the heart!" as one reader described them.

    Below are 15 articles filed under frontend. Enjoy ❤️

    Async React with NextJS 13

    We look at React's native async support and how to use it in a NextJS 13 app. Learn how to use async components, parallel loading states, and caching with React.js and NextJS 13.
    January 14th, 2023

    useCallback is a code smell

    One of my favorite ways to simplify and de-gotcha React code is to rip out all the useCallback and useMemo drama. 90% of the time you don't need it.
    September 16th, 2022

    Datalist, the pure HTML typeahead you didn't know about

    If you ever want to build a searchable typeahead field, `<datalist>` can do that for you. On all browsers. Across devices. Standards compliant. With no JavaScript. 🤯
    December 14th, 2021

    You can use React Query for slow computation, not just API

    You can use the ergonomics of React Query for any slow operation and it's wonderful.
    November 8th, 2021

    How to configure Jest with TypeScript

    Using plain Jest on a TypeScript codebase is kinda rough. No types in tests no thanks. Making Jest and TypeScript work together smoothly is something you do just rarely enough to forget the details. Hope this helps you and future me too ✌️
    October 19th, 2021

    React 18 and the future of async data

    Friend, I have glimpsed the future and it is amazing. React 18 is shipping with <Suspense> and startTransition for deferred component rendering, but not data loading. That's coming in a future 18.x version.
    July 22nd, 2021

    A better React 18 startTransition demo

    Demoing startTransition is hard. Modern computers are too fast 😅 – Dan Abramov, a React core team member, helped me fix it up. Here's what I learned
    June 16th, 2021

    How React Query gives you almost everything you thought you needed GraphQL for

    GraphQL solves every problem you've ever had talking to APIs on the frontend. Mention a switch to GraphQL to your team and they think it's a joke. Rewrite our entire app? oh you jokester. React Query is the perfect middle ground ❤️
    September 7th, 2020

    In 2020's, what is "frontend"? 🤨

    "He's a frontend guy, is this even a fair question to ask?" The head of engineering was worried about our systems design question …
    August 7th, 2020

    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.
    August 22nd, 2019

    Just for fun 👉 React vs. jQuery vs. Svelte, same 🐱 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 😛
    May 24th, 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 … 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. 😱
    April 17th, 2019

    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?
    February 1st, 2018

    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 👆 question reliably is god.
    May 11th, 2017

    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.
    January 14th, 2015

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