Web Developer Monthly Newsletter 💻🚀

56th issue! If you missed them, you can read the previous issues of our Web Developer Monthly newsletter here.

If it’s your first time here… (otherwise, skip this part)

Being a web developer is a fantastic career option. You have many job opportunities, you can work around the world, and you get to solve hard problems.

One hard thing, however, is staying up-to-date with the constantly evolving ecosystem. You want to be a top-performing web developer, coder, programmer, software developer, but you don’t have time to select from hundreds of articles, videos and podcasts each day.

This monthly web development newsletter is focused on keeping you up-to-date with the industry, without wasting your valuable time. I curate and share the most important articles, news, resources, podcasts and videos of the month.

Think the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) meeting the Software Development world. What’s the 20% that will get you 80% of the results?

Let's dive in. Here's what you missed in February 2023 as a Web Developer…

My Guide To Keeping Up with ChatGPT? 🫥

Just to get caught up on all the ChatGPT saga, I recommend you read/watch these 5 resources:

1. ChatGPT Plus
2. Windows added it to Bing search
3. It wasn't perfect but it wasn't as bad as Google's execution
4. Will it steal your job?
5. It won't if you learn to work with it

Bonus... our ZTM SEO instructor just wrote AI + SEO: How To Use ChatGPT For SEO Success.

React News 💎

Mostly everyone's favourite frontend library. What crazy things have they been up to?

1. There have been a number of criticisms levied at the React project over the years, some of them handled and some of them still wavering in the wind. In this post, you'll get a little historical context of all the major React criticisms.

2. I prefer HOCs over Hooks. I may be in the minority, but this is worth a read regardless.

3. React.js Documentary just came out. Learn its history... it's very well done.

4. A summary of libraries that are commonly used with React. Here is another one.

Gatsby is joining Netlify 🫡

Vercel buys NextJS, Shopify buys Remix, and now the company behind the Gatsby framework is joining Netlify with many Gatsby Cloud features expected to be integrated into Netlify.

Everything is becoming consolidated.

Removing Event Listeners 🗣

Cleaning up your code in runtime is a non-negotiable part of building efficient, predictable applications. One of the ways that’s done in JavaScript is by stewarding event listeners well — specifically, removing them when they’re no longer needed.

Here are some of the ways to do this.

94th TC39 meeting 🏯

If you wear a "I was at the 94th TC39 meeting" T-Shirt, you've reached full JavaScript nerd nirvana. On another note, there were several items on the agenda, this post focuses on feature proposals and their progress from the 94th TC39 meeting.

Stage 4 features are the ones you should be paying attention to.

No More _ Lodash 🎈

List of JavaScript methods which you can use natively + ESLint Plugin without having to use the popular Lodash or Underscore libraries.

A nice little Github repo to bookmark.

Visual Design Rules 👘

Even if you are not a designer, you can follow these visual design rules to make your apps looks nice and clean. Check it out.

All About That State 💄

The song was wrong. It's not all about the bass. It's all about the State.

All Programming Philosophies Are About State.

Inside Github 🤿

A fun technical read for those that are interested in a look at what went into building the world's largest public code search index. It's impressive, but uses tried and true computer programming principles: The technology behind GitHub’s new code search.

Vue in 2023 🔋

Vue.js creator Evan You explains how Vue 3 is different from Vue 2, and in particular how its use of the Virtual DOM has evolved.

Check it out if you love Vue.

Speeding Up JavaScript Eco 🚣‍♀️

How can you speed up your JavaScript apps? This 3 part series will take you through some tried and tested methods to speed up your JavaScript ecosystem: PostCSS, SVGO, module resolution, and linting with eslint.

Web Trends in 2023 👛

History repeats itself.

The Future (and the Past) of the Web is Server Side Rendering.

Do you agree?

Here are 10 Web Development Trends in 2023 to keep an eye on.

P.S. I'm still bullish on Deno.

Build Systems Suck 🏗

Nobody likes Webpack. That's a fact. Build systems in JavaScript are nice, but when something isn't working right, they can be a real pain in the buttocks.

So... can you write Javascript without a build system?

4 Ways To Building Apps 🎛

This is an opinionated list of four approaches to building websites and web applications. Publicly hosted on the internet, serving HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, etc over HTTP.

Which do you prefer?

New Libraries and Tools 🗿

There are a ton of shiny new libraries and tools every month which is why I have this dedicated section for them...

KonstaUI: mobile UI components built with Tailwind CSS.

Actually... not much else this month, so instead I'm giving you a list of great tools/plugins to use to remove all the annoying parts of browsing the web (inspired from a hackernews comment):

• uBlock Origin;
• Disconnect;
• F.B Purity;
• Consent-O-Matic (auto fill cookie consent forms);
• Kagi Search;
• PopUpOFF;
• ClearURLs;
• Return YouTube Dislike

News Around the World 🗺

• How to build a Chrome extension that steals everything. Chrome plugins are a nightmare and you should be careful.

• DOJ Preps Antitrust Suit to Block Adobe’s $20 Billion Figma Deal. Figma may not join Adobe after all...

Big Tech News 🏢

• Twitter is now making you pay for using their API. Probably a good way to get rid of a lot of the spam bots.

• A big fight between Google and Microsoft is happening. Microsoft's big AI announcement means that Bing could replace Google as top search app. Seems unlikely for a number of reason but still worth keeping an eye on this as it's evolving fast.

• Shopify has Shopify Function now and is adding JavaScript right next to Rust as their first-class languages for Shopify Functions.

• AMD Grabs Over 30% CPU Market Share As Intel Continues To Decline.

• The release of iOS and iPadOS 16.4 beta 1 happened, and with it comes support for Web Push and other features for Home Screen web apps (something iPhones have held off on for years).

Completely useless to your career but still great 🙃

Paper computers.

Construct the computer from your childhood or build an entire computer museum at home with these paper models, free to download and share.

Best Resource of the Month ✅

"Toxic mimicry and recalcitrant ignorance must not be rewarded."

With a line like that in the article, you know this is going to be juicy. Has the JavaScript ecosystem created a monster? This is worth pondering.

Trust me, read this.

Once you read that, read the rebuttal here.

And then form your own opinions.

Trick of the Month 🌗

• Kagi (a search engine) has a new feature that's super cool: Summarize any content on the web - from articles to books - in a jiffy!

• See ChatGPT's response to every question on StackOverflow, even the unanswered ones.

• How to self host in 2023.

Thanks for reading!

Don't be shy now... Share this newsletter with your friends.

See you next month! ❤️

By the way, I teach people how to code and get hired in the most efficient way possible as the Lead Instructor of Zero To Mastery Academy. You can see a few of my courses below or see all ZTM courses here.