Coding Dojo

codingdojo

The Following Article is Satire  - It is not Meant to be Taken Seriously Channeling my inner Sherlock Holmes and armed with the wisdom of every iconic animated sitcom and sci-fi series known to man, I  present to you the unseen and unheard intricacies of the programming realm. This ain't your grandma's knitting circle, folks. This is the coding dojo, and it’s filled with both Yodas and the "poo-doo"-talking Jar Jar Binks of programming. To shed light on what sets the former apart from the latter, here are the five commandments of becoming a programming prodigy. Code to the Rhythm Picking up coding is like learning to play the Death Star's intergalactic anthem on a Wookie harp or attempting to write prose that would make a Vogon poet weep. Perseverance, young Padawan, is the name of the game. Just as Stewie Griffin won't perfect his diabolical world domination plans overnight, you won't become a virtuoso coder by coding only when the stars align. No, you've got to code regularly. Imagine it as doing push-ups with your brain - strengthening those sinewy tendrils of neurons until your programming prowess becomes as much a part of you as a yellow-skinned Simpson. And remember to review the work of coding virtuosos, for you wouldn't scoff at learning the symphonies of Mozart or studying the spellbinding scripts of Rick Sanchez. The Force of Different Paradigms In the cosmos of coding, , C++, Java, and Python are like the inhabitants of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant - the procedural or object-oriented workhorses. But why constrain yourself to the Homer Simpsons when you could embrace the Mr. Spocks of the coding universe, the paradigms of functional and logic programming? Diversify, don't standardize. JavaScript Become a Communication Klingon You might be the R2-D2 of coding, churning out flawless code like Professor Farnsworth cracks out crazy inventions, but if you can't convey your grand ideas in human language, you're more of a coding Kif Kroker. In the programming world, persuasion is as essential as Bender's brew. So hone your communication skills as passionately as you devour programming languages. You want to be the charming Han Solo, not the tongue-tied Zoidberg when it comes to speaking up and collaborating. The "Bottom-Up" Programming: A Grahamian Odyssey Paul Graham, our Obi-Wan Kenobi of programming, has been playing a symphony of “bottom-up” programming for years. Just like constructing Bender’s shiny metal ass before his boozehound persona, it’s about creating the language and tools that define your unique problem. This way, you can solve your coding conundrums as elegantly as Professor Farnsworth navigates the laws of quantum physics to create yet another Doomsday device. The Persistent Pursuit of Knowledge Programming is like living in the Citadel of Ricks. New dimensions (languages, technologies, platforms) are discovered every so often, and if you don't keep up, you'll be left behind like a three-eyed fish in Springfield's heavily radiated waters. You wouldn't want to become the Principal Skinner of coding, now, would you? Becoming the of programming is not a stroll through Quahog. It takes a growth mindset that's stronger than Homer Simpson's love for donuts, a lot of practice that could rival Peter Griffin's clumsy mishaps, and a readiness to make mistakes and learn from them, just like Fry forgetting to put his pants on. But with these quintessential traits, anyone can boldly go where no programmer has gone before and reach the stars. Remember, with the right mindset and experience, even a clumsy, well-meaning Jar Jar Binks can transform into a wise, skillful Jedi Master of coding. Rick Sanchez If you like the article then I recommend subscribing to my HackerNoon newsletter, by hitting the subscribe button on my profile page.

Are You the Baby Yoda or Jar Jar Binks of Programming?

New Year’s resolutions usually aren’t my thing. I enjoy setting goals, but I typically do so on a weekly or monthly basis; short-term targets feel more attainable and grounded for me. This year, however, is different from so many others. I moved to a new home and made bold decisions to carve out more independence across finances, wellness, and relationships. I parted ways with my corporate job and have been observing a more creative calling in the crypto space — meeting Bitcoiners and NFT enthusiasts, publishing newsletters and articles, and even filming just to “see what happens” (what happened: a few people watched, I had fun making thumbnails). YouTube videos My lifestyle has shifted, so my goals and timelines have too. I came up with five resolutions this year based on my crypto journey thus far and the milestones I’m excited to achieve in the coming months. My hope is that these might serve as a lightbulb moment for your own thoughts and aspirations in crypto — or maybe you’ve already checked these off your list and can feel a sense of pride knowing how much you have accomplished in 2021. 1. Make an NFT For the past few months, I’ve been toying around with NFT ideas to create, convert, and upload — maybe even sell. As part of a collective launched by @alchemistpoetry on IG, I’ve been dabbling in world-building and NFT creation with talented poets and artists. It’s so inspiring, and I’m realizing that the ingredients it takes to make a non-fungible token are right at my fingertips. I have some sketches and concepts that I’d love to put forth into the world early in 2022. If this is something you feel called to, I’ll let you in on a little secret: there are lots of great creative tools (from editing tech to AI-generated art to Twitter accounts for inspiration) that can help you get started. 2. Take another crypto class My first steps into the world of decentralized currency took place within the halls of Pomp’s Crypto Academy, a digital Bitcoin learning space that provided a lively foundation for growth. This initial investment prompted me to join more accessible classes through MIT Open Courseware along with Copenhagen Business School and Stanford on Coursera. While I enjoyed all of those, and may even revisit a couple, the is infinite (and even affordable). I may never want to stop learning in this space. landscape of crypto knowledge My top choices for 2022 are blockchain tech classes on Coursera, fintech Bootcamp offerings, and basic coding classes (via Coding Dojo, Udemy, or OCW). The beauty of continued education in tech is convenience; insight doesn’t always have to carry a crazy price tag or restrictive schedule. 3. Support more women-led crypto and NFT collectives One of the things I love most about the crypto community is how kind-spirited, celebratory, and hopeful it is. The spirit of WAGMI is not to be underestimated! The people I’ve met in seminars, creative collectives, and across social channels through mutual connections have all encouraged me to pursue my dreams and taught me so much about various topics in fintech. That said, there are some gaps in this community that should be addressed. One of these is the underrepresentation of women in the space. Most of us are aware that “it’s a thing,” but the numbers still don’t yet reflect . My third resolution for 2022 is to join more women-run collectives and support more efforts in the crypto space — as well as to help facilitate the onboarding of females showing interest in cryptocurrency. the change we hope to see pioneered by women In 2021, I teamed up with my colleague Maria to create a newsletter called . Our work aims to bridge that gap and educate individuals on Bitcoin and fintech across the gender divide. I hope to continue these efforts next year, but also to amplify this work by joining more collectives and monetarily backing art and tech created by and for diverse, global groups of women. LFG. Womxn in Crypto 4. Join a DAO DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) are groups or collectives that run peer to peer, in order to achieve common goals without the traditional hierarchy native to many companies and corporations. They do this by using blockchain technology to run smart contracts, templated rules, and voting systems through governance tokens. I once heard the structure of a DAO likened to a “town hall” as opposed to a board room. Since corporate settings aren’t always my perfect match — and I honestly hate climbing ladders and kissing up — this analogy piqued my interest. While there are certainly some argued downsides to these initiatives (legalities, accountability, resistance to adoption), their pervasiveness and innovation in the space are unparalleled and growing fast. As we see web 3.0 unfold — and spark across Twitter (isn’t that always a sign that something is increasing in global awareness?) — the role of digital native currency across inventive crypto developments like DAOs is a movement to watch. hot debate Since all this sounds pretty cool, one of my resolutions for next year is to find a DAO that is in need of creative skills like writing or content strategy…and to learn the ins and outs of decentralized autonomous organizations by joining one myself. 5. Decentralize my life I feel certain that this next year will bring forth a lot of change. Instead of fighting it, I want to embrace the weird. 2022 is calling and it may just be telling me to follow the white rabbit and, more or less, decentralize my life. A big part of this is exploring the metaverse. In this spirit, I hope to expand my world-building efforts on discord and in-game to purchase land, build spaces, and bring NFTs into a hyper-realistic arena. I also want to connect with creative minds through educational talks, crypto conferences, Twitter Spaces, and beyond — to better understand where artistry and tech collide in this vast digital, cultural underbelly. It’s important to consider metaverse realities that deviate from centralized models, as surely (and like all of crypto, these traits exist on a spectrum). Since this theatre is growing rapidly, my first order of business will be to research the spaces I’m already familiar with — as well as lands I’ve never heard of — in order to better understand the fabric of what’s being created and how these spaces might look in the future. not all of them do Next, I want to explore decentralized platforms for my writing and social endeavors. I love sharing thoughts and ideas on more traditional spaces and will certainly continue to do so. But I’d also love to be more adventuresome with where and how I’m publishing or communicating…by exploring more decentralized outlets where I can contribute and connect. What do you think of these resolutions in the world of crypto and burgeoning tech? Does anything excite you — or is there something on this list you have zero interest in for 2022? I hope this post could give a flicker of consideration or even a sense of hope for all the unknown that’s to come. Because as wild as last year was, it’s the newness on the horizon (and rebels and renegades I see there) that has me fired up for another one. Note: None of the information in this article is financial advice. It is intended for educational or entertainment purposes only. As always, if you’re looking to make any investment decisions, do your own research and do not rely on any of the material here.

5 Crypto Resolutions for 2022: Decentralizing My Life

It is doubtlessly a rapidly changing field, and the only chance to remain an in-demand specialist is to always be in the know of all changes and keep up with developing. That is why the coders who know two or more programming languages and are constantly expanding their knowledge base are especially wanted among employers. Because knowing several programming languages is trendy today and I am often approached by my students with questions like “How long does it take to learn Java if I know JavaScript?”, I’ve decided to write an article covering that topic. Why Should You Master Java if You Already Know JavaScript? Choosing the language to switch to is sometimes tricky, and coders are often looking for proof that the switch is worth making their effort. To facilitate your choice of the right language, I’ve collected some evidence on why Java is a good way to go if you already have JavaScript mastered. Broader Skills Knowing more than one programming language can be compared to the work of a handyman, who has a bunch of tools with which he can perform various tasks. Similarly, programmers with two or three languages under their belt can build complex projects. Given the problems you want to solve with a project, you can pick up the language (from those you have at hand) that can surely help you find a resolution. Greater Opportunities The more knowledge and skills the programmer has, the more employment opportunities and career prospects he or she gets. Today, many companies are looking for universal developers. As a “monolingual” programmer, you significantly limit yourself to only a few roles in projects, while knowing two or three programming languages provides you with multiple career paths and lets you land a dream job. Higher Revenue The more languages you know, the more you can earn to support yourself — the companies are willing to pay more to “multilingual” specialists. Back in 2018, analyzed job listings in Fortune 25 companies and found out that none of them worked with a single language. They adopt polyglot codebase, and hence are interested in specialists with more than one language at hand. Coding Dojo Being proficient in more than one programming language lets you remain flexible and quickly adapt to technology shifts that happen in the programming world quite often. One technology replaces the other and those languages that have been less sought-after suddenly become more rewarding than others. So, knowing many technologies makes it possible for you to stay ahead of the competitors and ensures upward mobility. Last but not least benefit of knowing two or three technologies is that you can manage a team of coders working in different languages and bring more value to a project than a “monolingual” specialist. Java vs JavaScript: What Are the Principal Differences? Java and JavaScript are often confused and thought to be related to each other. But even though there are some similar features between them, these two languages still play dramatically different roles in programming. So, let’s find out what distinguishes them. Use cases Java is mainly used for backend, Android, and desktop app development, while JavaScript basically focuses on making the web more interactive and creative. The way language programs are executed. Java compiles code being executed on JVM. This means that object types are checked on compilation and classes and methods are linked before execution. JS code doesn’t require compilation before execution. All type checks and linking are performed on execution time by browser/interpreter. Java vs JavaScript Differences [Comparison Table] How Long Does It Take to Learn Java if I Already Know JavaScript? The transition from JavaScript to Java could be both easier and harder than from C++, for instance. The time it may take to learn Java depends on different factors: your studying pace, coding background, or willingness to do the hard work. If you set aside a few hours for studying every day, it may take you up to two-three weeks to grasp an idea of principle concepts and start creating something basic. However, if you want to start working with Java at your earliest convenience, it’s all up to you — give your day and night, and you’ll be able to apply for your first Java programmer position at short notice. The sky’s the limit. Sources to Master Java For a more engaging and fast learning process, there are multiple interactive Java programming courses on the web. But, I would highlight a few of my favorites that should be interesting for you. CodeGym is a single-language online course focused on providing you with as much practical experience as possible. It offers to complete 1200+ coding tasks to master Java. The tasks can promptly be verified by the virtual mentor (AI, not a person), so you can get recommendations on what to improve in your code. You can also create your own version of one of the classic video games and hence end up the course with your first small project. CodeGym The Complete Java Masterclass This is perfect for students who already know another programming language and want to add Java to their skills as well. The program allows mastering Java without a hassle. It covers all important features and concepts from Java fundamentals to more advanced topics, such as OOP, Java collections, lambda expressions, multithreading, etc. Java course by Udemy Java Programming for Complete Beginners When mastering Java, you will surely get confused because of the differences between Java and JavaScript. This is where you might need a course that would sort things out about a new language. is one of them. It is created following the modern learning approaches, so you will learn Java step-by-step, starting with the language basics and step up to more advanced topics. The course creator promises that you will polish up your Java skills in a bit more than 250 steps. A Java course for complete beginners Codewars is another gamified learning platform that makes it possible for you to learn Java from scratch. While mastering it, you will train on the challenges called kata with the other students. Upon completing every next level, you will gain honor and rank. Codewars also allows you to create your own kata and challenge your peers. Codewars Java Certification by Duke University This will help you acquire the basics of Java language. You will learn to code in Java, improve your problem-solving skills, learn new data structures, and even solve real-world problems using Java classes. Apart from that, you will have a chance to brush up on foundational JavaScript programming concepts. Coursera specialization Cyber-Dojo Unlike many other gamified learning platforms, encourages you to improve your programming skills rather than finishing the coding game as soon as possible. The platform comes with challenges and exercises that allow practicing more than 30 programming languages, including Java. The students can practice individually or join groups. Every offered task has detailed instructions on how the end result is supposed to look like. Cyber-Dojo CodeChef platform is known for its coding contests and challenges run twice a month. Users can practice over 50 programming languages by competing with other programmers. CodeChef is an ideal place that allows specialists from the whole world to show off their programming skills and even win trophies. If you don’t want to participate in contests yet, CodeChef offers to join training sessions and discussions related to algorithms, binary search, and other tech topics. CodeChef Wrap Up As long as you are already a part of the programming world and have a coding background, learning one more language will not be that tricky and time-consuming. If you already know JavaScript, it will not take you more than a month to master the basics of Java from scratch. So, set aside enough time for it and start learning today. Previously published at https://levelup.gitconnected.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-java-if-i-know-javascript-a3ce654baf63

Is it Easy to Learn Java if You Already Know JavaScript?

Learning to program can be frustrating if you’re not sure you’re headed in the right direction. How do you know you’re making real, legitimate progress? Is it when you’ve earned a certification? Completed an online course? Chances are, you’ve taken a course from Codecademy, Data Camp, or FreeCodeCamp. You may have even completed one. Online courses are great because there are clear goals. They tell you, “if you complete an intermediate class, you are now an intermediate level coder”. You’re meant to feel accomplished after completing each course module. I remember the time I completed Coding Dojo’s intermediate Python course. I felt happy and accomplished because Coding Dojo told me I “knew” Python. Yet, something didn’t feel right. I would look at other people’s Python scripts on GitHub and feel completely lost. I would look at intermediate-level interview problems and have no idea how to solve them. Worst of all, I would “complete” different tutorials by copying and pasting code. When I realized I wasn’t learning anything I felt uncertain and adrift. I wasn’t sure if I was heading in the right direction or completing online courses and tutorials in circles. As accessible and simple as these courses are, they don’t paint a clear picture of what it takes to learn a language. Almost everyone struggles with this part of the learning process. How do you get out of the copy and paste rut? How do you apply what you’ve learned so you can garner interviews and get a job? Here are the ways you can overcome all those obstacles: Find Topics You’re Most Passionate About If you want to apply your coding knowledge, I encourage you to find coding niches that interest you. You may have no idea where to start or what to look for. Here’s a question to help you get started: What types of projects did you dream of completing when you decided you wanted to code? I want you to pay attention to the types of projects you found yourself thinking about. Did you want to code a mobile app? A fancy predictive algorithm? Did you want to write a script that automated all your reporting? When I started to learn Python, I loved the idea of data mining and finding scrappy ways to pull data. I thought the idea of being a data geek was (kinda) cool and, at the very least, valuable in the job market. I started to google phrases like “data mining” and “best beginner’s data projects”. Those searches brought me to articles about API’s, web scraping, and Selenium. Most of the information was over my head, but I didn’t care. I was having fun. Several searches later, I settled on web scraping. I found a simple tutorial that scraped a NASDAQ stock name and price. I liked this tutorial because I understood what it was saying-I wasn’t copying and pasting! The tutorial took me three hours to complete. I had a ton of fun mulling through the code, debugging, and running the script on various stock prices. You can check out my simple web scraper . way here Practice Your Skills Using Real World Data I remember a particular time I enrolled in a online SQL course for beginners. The course took me through SELECT statements, JOINS, and aggregate functions. The course was helpful and thorough in the way it taught syntax. But there was one problem: all I was learning syntax, but unable to translate my knowledge to finding a job. I soon found out companies were not interested in my outdated SQL experience. Every company I looked at wanted candidates to be familiar with the data from their specific domain a.k.a. not outdated movie data. If you’re in a similar position, I recommend you check out . A good friend of mine suggested this site to me and I found it very helpful. I immediately thought, “I wish I knew about this while I was taking that SQL course with outdated movie data”. Kaggle is great because it offers Python, SQL, and ML courses that use engaging data. You’re also able to download real world data sets so you can practice solving problems in any domain. If you’re looking to get into FinTech, they have finance data sets. If you want to work in AI, they have Twitter, Youtube, and Amazon Review data to feed your model. Whatever your data needs are, they’ve got it. Kaggle Seek Out Mentors Who Can Help You (Bonus: and how to do that!) Find an experienced programmer and ask them to mentor you. If you don’t know an experienced programmer, that’s okay. Here are a few ways you can find an experienced programmer to help you out: If you’re at a company, see if you can find where your engineering department sits. Find one of the software engineers and ask if you can buy them a coffee, lunch, or both. If you kindly ask for their help and aren’t annoying, they may be willing to show you the ropes.If you’re in school, spend some time getting to know the C.S. (computer science) majors. Ask if you can buy them lunch, and see if they’d be willing to help you.Go through your 1st, 2nd, and even 3rd connections on LinkedIn. Has anyone recently made the job switch into being a software engineer? If you’re up to it, go ahead and make the ask. The number of programmers willing to help may surprise you.If you went to school, you have an alumni network at your disposal. Go through LinkedIn and start with alumni you have connections with. Some schools have an internal database of alumni so you can also look there. You may have a professor who can introduce you to an experienced programmer. Find a way to contact them, say you went to the same school, and ask if they’d consider mentoring you. An experienced programmer is important for a couple of reasons. For starters, they’ll show you how a real programmer operates. One meeting my coding mentor challenged me to solve a problem while using Stack Overflow. At first, I was resistant. Was this guy not experienced? Did I pick the wrong guy? Turns out, most programmers, even the expert-level ones, use Stack Overflow. In fact, the best programmers always take time to comb through Stack Overflow. Take time to observe what your mentor does and how they solve problems. Pretty soon you’ll pick up on their behavior. Syntax will be easier to read, problems will be easier to solve, and your confidence will grow. An experienced programmer will also point you towards helpful resources. They may send you a script they wrote to solve a real problem. They may send you a helpful website with problems to solve on your own time. A few weeks into meeting my coding mentor suggested I find a few books on data structures and read them. I went to the public library a day later and read through a few. Up to that point, the only data structures I knew about were lists. After reading about other data structures, I started to understand more advanced problems. Terms like “hashing” or “matrix” were more recognizable to me. Go to Coding Meetups, Ask Questions, and LISTEN There are millions of people who want to learn how to code and millions more who are willing to help. Given the demand, people have formed coding meetups all over the world. The sole purpose of these meetups is to learn from and help one another. Everyone is there provide mutual encouragement to keep learning. Coding meetups are valuable for many reasons. You’ll get face time with experienced programmers and reap all the benefits of a coding mentor. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask a ton of questions. The best part? People won’t get annoyed at you. Finally, you’ll have the opportunity to listen. Try attending a meetup without touching a single line of code. Listen to how programmers interact, approach a problem, and come up with a solution. In-person meetups can be difficult to attend during COVID-19. If you can’t attend an in-person meetup, virtual meetups are a great second option. Check out if you’re interested in virtual coding meetups. this site In the End, it’s all about the Hustle Learning to code and applying what you’ve learned can be hard. The uncertainty and a lack of direction can be difficult to manage. But if the journey was easy, everyone would be doing it. That’s not you. You’re not going to give up because you don’t want the easy path. You want a job that’s going to pay you well and give you the opportunity to use your technical skills. Keep learning syntax and applying what you know. Find people who are willing to help you and make sure you thank them! You’re one step closer to landing that job. Keep up the great work. P.S. if you’re still uncertain of where to go from here, I launched a to help you out. I’ll be sending out tips and strategies for going from free coding course to job offer. Reach out with any questions, I always respond! site

A Shortcut From Coding Courses to Job Offers

When you are looking to hire skilled programmers, how do you know if the person you are interviewing indeed has the capabilities he or she is talking about? Well, just let them show you! Over the years, I have been involved in interviews with job applicants quite a lot. In my experience, just talking, though important, will never help in determining whether the applicant actually possesses the skills at the required level. Therefore, I started doing a coding dojo with applicants that passed the first ‘just talking’ interview. A Coding Dojo is a meeting where a bunch of coders get together to work on a programming challenge. They are there to have fun…¹ I usually ask up to three existing members of my team to participate in a coding dojo with the applicant. To make sure we enjoy the coding dojo as well, each time a different challenge is selected. During the coding dojo the applicant can show his/her programming skills, but it will also challenge the applicant in analytic thinking, teamwork, asking for help and explaining what is going on. This is great input to select the right person for the job! One of the coding dojos I enjoyed most is not necessarily a real programming challenge. However, it appeared to be a challenge for sure and will certainly appeal to developers who also like escape rooms! The challenge consists of an escape room serviced as a RESTful API, hence the name . You can run it yourself using the instructions provided on its ². By sending HTTP requests to the API, you discover the room you are in from the JSON response. restcaperoom GitHub repository { : { : , : }, : , : [
    { : }
  ], : } "enters" "link" "http://localhost:8080/rooms/aecrpncaxqjhvarisd" "type" "room" "i_am_a" "door" "panel" "color" "green" "self_link" "http://localhost:8080/doors/0000" Picking-up items, solving puzzles and unlocking doors brings you to other rooms and hopefully to the exit. Having some knowledge about RESTful APIs might be helpful, but that could be picked-up during the coding dojo as well. The fastest team I saw going in was able to find the door to outside just after an hour. Maybe you want to give it a try as well? The room IDs are randomly generated every time you start the restcaperoom. If you are really desperate, you could add some logging to print them, or you could try to break the SHA256 encoded door keys. But be aware, I would consider that cheating! References , retrieved 24 July 2020 https://codingdojo.org/WhatIsCodingDojo/ , retrieved 24 July 2020 https://github.com/vwt-digital-solutions/restcaperoom

Restcaperoom is an Interactive Exercise for Programmer Interviews

Originally Posted Here Have you ever wanted to learn how to program in Python? Have you started Python tutorials before and failed to finish or maybe you just never could find the right one. Well, we have found the best Python tutorial for everyone. We have scoured the Youtube, and watched hours upon hours of Corey Schafer, Coding dojo, and many other great channels that are also good options but just…don’t seem to cut it. No, if you want to learn more about using Python to automate server backends and frameworks, connect with databases, develop frontend and pet projects. Then we have the best Python Tutorial below.It will teach you how to learn Python, vs just blindly following tutorials. Teaching a man to fish..so to speak. If you enjoy this video, consider following TheTechLead on youtube. He creates a lot of videos. All with his special form of dry humor. If you are interested in taking classes, then consider checking out courses on one of our recent posts that has our . 25 Top Courses For Learning Data Science and Programming Are You Interested In Learning About Data Science Or Tech? Engineering Data Products, Metrics and Algorithms Part 1 How Algorithms Can Become Unethical and Biased Learning Data Science: Our Favorite Data Science Books Automating File Loading Into Sql Server With Python And Sql How To Develop Robust Algorithms Dynamically Bulk Inserting CSV Data Into A SQL Server 4 Must Have Skills For Data Scientists

The Best And Only Python Tutorial You Will Ever Need To Watch

MEAN is a user-friendly full-stack JavaScript framework which is highly preferred today for creating dynamic websites and applications. It is a free and open-source stack developed to offer developers with a swift and highly organized method for building rapid prototypes of MEAN-based web applications. One of the key benefits of the MEAN stack is that a single language, JavaScript, runs on each application level, making it resourceful and offering an up to date approach to web development. The mean stack is projected to deliver a straightforward and an initial point for cloud native full stack JavaScript applications. MEAN is a set of Open Source components that collectively offer a comprehensive framework for creating dynamic web applications; commencing from the top (the code running in the browser) to the bottom (the database). Key Features of MEAN • The Employability: More and more employers require best engineers who are familiar with MEAN Stack and other advanced JavaScript-based technologies. • Straightforward & Swift: Creating websites and applications that rotate across a single language such as JavaScript is comparatively less complicated and swift in project development in today’s multifaceted technology space. • Overall Adaptability: Due to the flexibility of MEAN Stack’s common programming language, JavaScript, it is exceedingly adaptable for a wide array of web applications. • Useful and Active Dev Community: MEAN Stack operates on JavaScript, which undoubtedly the most common programming language across the globe. Also, it comes with one of the most active developer communities, making solutions to issues effortless and highly accessible for all the stakeholders. The Stack is made up of: MEAN Stack MongoDB : It is a highly used document database put into practice by back-end applications to store their data as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) documents. MongoDB The major advantage of having MongoDB is the utilization of JSON format which assists in transferring the required data. Additionally, it is even cost-effective and be successfully used for the transfer of client and server-side data. It can be further used for storing of files, creating an index, load balancing as well as the aggregation. ExpressJS : Also, referred to as Express.js, it is a back-end web application framework running on top of Node.js. It assists the APIs while developing the required web applications. Express.js It is through this competent technology that the developer can add new functionalities and needed features. And further, when it merges with Node.js, the development procedure gets more straightforward. It enables speed and offers secure applications. Angular Angular is a platform that makes it trouble-free to create applications with the web. Angular merges declarative templates, dependency injection, end to end tooling, and integrated top practices to resolve development confronts. Angular powers developers to create applications that meet all the expectations working consistently on the web, mobile, or the desktop. Angular You can easily develop dynamic web applications that are completely robust and scalable in functionality with the needed modular structure using Angular solution platform. NodeJS : NodeJS works on a runtime environment which enables and empowers to implement your application back-end in JavaScript. NodeJS It is unique is the existence offering run-time features that can help in developing lively and scalable web applications. Benefits of Selecting MEAN Stack Now, let’s evaluate a few imperative reasons why MEAN stack is gaining success while making the way forward in the : JavaScript frameworks 1. Flexibility in Budget One of the essential reasons why MEAN stack has topped the list of both the clients and programmers is due to its flexibility in the budget. The clients will not require looking for diverse developers as this framework is a full stack. Since it has gained eminence, the young aspiring developers are taking great interest in this technology platform. It enables a resourceful team where all JavaScript developers are allocated a project module and they can work with complete coordination. The developers can even share their codes with each other which can be reused within the stack. 2. Complete JavaScript Framework Another point that goes into the goodwill of MEAN stack is that it is a complete JavaScript framework that turns it advantageous for both the client as well as on the server side. It supports both the Windows and the Linux OS. For the reason that it has a presence of JavaScript, it provides optimal user experience (UX) and also helps in handling the data fittingly. It supports the recovery of the data and is a powerful framework that assists developers to deliver effective web applications with a high level of scalability. 3. Known for its Suppleness and Effectiveness MEAN Stack is a supple and effective JavaScript framework that can manage projects of all sizes and organizations successfully. If you are helped out by a practiced team and have a sturdy coordination, then it becomes much simpler to work on an assortment of projects. Also, the sharing of data is effortless; all you are required to do is just add a field and pursue the further guided procedure. 4. The Benefits of Having JSON JSON is one of the immense assets to have on the board as far as the MEAN stack developers are involved. It assists in the flawless distribution of the data amid the layers in case the developer is picking either MongoDB or the AngularJS. You are saved from the hard work of writing the codes over again. The developers can also have a way into PHP. The data can also be imported with the assistance of the codes through the MSQL server and also route it as well. JSON enables the MEAN to use easier formats while you are reformatting so that you can save time. It also supports the external APIs so that you can better work with them. 5. The Scalability All the 4 frameworks that create a MEAN stack, are open source and highly scalable. Mean even supports and contains a set of added libraries along with the reusable modules. All these elements play a notable role in accelerating the swiftness of the development and save a great amount of time. Key Takeaways There is no doubt that MEAN stack is an ideal selection when it comes to developing a dynamic and extremely visited web application. It offers you the right platform to create a single-page application and most diverse applications. In fact, Node.js has by now got some of the massive players on the platform, to name a few of them are Netflix, Uber PayPal, LinkedIn and more. Also, it can be observed well that MEAN to a larger extent is getting to a superior level and is on the way of going beyond LAMP at some point of time. So, if you need a professional MEAN stack developer to cater your requirements, then get in touch with the specialists. Reference Links: https://www.codingdojo.com/what-is-the-mean-stack http://mean.io/ http://angular.io/ https://www.mongodb.com https://nodejs.org/en/

Why To Choose Mean Stack For Your Website Development

I’m a Chassidic Jew and I’m proud of who I am. That’s very nice, Mendel, but what does that have to do with technology or the workplace? Well, recently, there was an issue at the software development bootcamp that I’m attending. Apparently, some people were using methods to pass their belt exams (the exams in the Coding Dojo Software Development Bootcamp are called belt exams) that were heavily frowned upon. While I know that those students believed themselves to be acting with positive intentions, those who were determined by the staff to have acted untowardly were required to retake their Python belt exams. So, that was embarrassing for everyone. When I asked our lead instructor about the issue, he seemed more disappointed than upset. Potential employers don’t really care about your 14 week coding bootcamp certificate. However, since anyone can write on their LinkedIn profile that they went to a bootcamp, if you have earned a black belt, what it does show is that you have achieved the expectations of the bootcamp instructors and that you are receiving a form of “recommendation” from them and the company as a whole. A person who cheats will undoubtedly be proven to have poor skills in interviews or during actual development. Additionally, this will inevitably reduce the perspective of the general tech community towards that bootcamp. There is really no purpose to cheat, except perhaps if someone would feel poorly if they didn’t place well on an exam. Now, how does this relate to religion? It has something to do with what the lead instructor told me as we were discussing the issue. Although my exam had also been reviewed by the teaching staff to ensure compliance with testing standards, he mentioned that he was confident that I would not have used such methods to pass my exam. The reason for his confidence? The fact that I was a religious Jew. One of Judaism’s main tenets is the pursuit of truth and living a truthful life. I had discussed with my instructor many times how, as a religious Jew, I live my life differently from many, in the attempt to seek that truth. Judaism teaches us, for example, to be exceedingly careful with our words, in order to only speak the truth as well as to avoid harming people with our words. I therefore attempt to speak appropriately, refrain from speaking gossip about others, and avoid crude conversations. Another example is that Judaism teaches us not to steal. Stealing is obviously a morally reprehensible action, but how many of us are guilty of it, even if only due to simple carelessness? This reminds me of a story of a young girl who was expressing her pride in her grandfather. What was her claim as to the special qualities that her grandfather possessed? It was that while most of the other employees at the factory where he worked punched in to the time clock and then changed into their coveralls and prepared themselves for work, this little girl’s grandfather first changed into his coveralls, prepared for his work, and only then did he punch in. Paying attention to small details like this can make the difference between living a truthful and honest life, and the opposite. Many people have told me to leave my faith and religion at home or at the shul (synagogue). Many of my friends and peers adopt non-jewish names to more easily integrate and to, at least conceptually, prevent their religious appearance from being a barrier to their success in the workplace. I would like to respectfully disagree with people who are of that opinion. Needless to say that I would disapprove of people who proselytize at work, who are being overbearing by making demands that are extremely difficult to comply with, or are generally creating a difficult and uncomfortable work environment, I would also strongly disapprove of those who would lessen their work productivity while using religion as their pretext. This would likely fall under the previously discussed category of thievery and must not be done. However, as implied by my instructor, a truly religious individual would be an inherently trustworthy asset, and not a potentially hazardous liability. The pursuit of self improvement, necessitated that I not cheat on my exam, otherwise, I would have passed easily, but would not have learned or improved myself. A practical example of this value brought by religious people into the workplace and to their employers can be seen with my father. My father, a senior developer with a lengthy career in the finance industry, takes off for religious holidays, like myself, and sometimes has obligations or restrictions that enter into the sphere of his work. However, instead of celebrating his liberation from responsibilities due to religious privilege, he strives to figure out how to balance the equation and pull more than his weight. So, if he must take off for a Jewish holiday, he’ll come in on Labor Day or some other public holiday. Since he can’t stay late on Fridays, he’ll instead volunteer for a tedious or frustrating assignment. I aspire to be like my father. My religious observance should improve my value to my employers and co-workers, not decrease it. I aspire to represent the values espoused in the Torah truthfully, and be a positive, hardworking, honest, kind, and valuable asset to any team. If you have a respectful response, for or against, my arguments for the value brought by religious employees, please express it below. PostScript: The staff at the Coding Dojo have addressed the exam issue, are recreating all the exams, and are continuing to work towards the training of motivated, creative, and capable, fullstack developers. Post PostScript: There is a reckoning of the times for immoral behavior, currently. There has been much news, much of it horrifying, regarding sexual abuse or harassment, lately. I would further like to point out that Judaism has strict guidelines which help prevent much of that behavior. For instance, men and women who are not related to each other should not touch one another, even casually, as the power of touch is great and can lead to undesired scenarios. There are additional guidelines that state that a man and a woman cannot be together, alone, privately, since that too can also easily lead to undesired outcomes. Essentially, Judaism, when adhered to properly, helps provide us with safeguards against our own desires. Immoral and inappropriate behavior has a much more difficult time occurring if a person is constantly striving to improve those areas, is following time-tested and proven safeguards against such behavior, and is, generally, living with the recognition of a power higher than himself. This idea, of moral and ethical self policing would seem to me a very valuable trait in a potential employee.

Religion In The Workplace?

Life at a Coding Bootcamp I am currently enrolled in the Chicago branch of Coding Dojo, a fullstack development bootcamp. Here is my view and perspective on bootcamps, which I hope will help other potential students to make an informed decision as to where to study programming. Note: As I’m currently enrolled in Coding Dojo’s Chicago branch, my observations are based almost entirely on this experience and may not accurately reflect other programs. You Spend How Many Hours? Properly, you should spend at least 12 hours a day of coding, without many long breaks. If you’re like most people, you probably have a dearth of software development experience going in and in order for you to gain the needed skills in the 14 weeks of the program (program lengths will vary) you will need to eat, sleep, and breathe, code. Additionally, while you should definitely take a day or so off at the weekend where you don’t look at a screen or touch a keyboard, you should set aside at least 6–12 hours to do work on the weekend. This will enable you to keep up and get a little ahead. maybe Be aware that this pacing is not voluntary. Bootcamps will expect you to work this hard. Their curriculum, lesson plans, and assignments, assume you have this schedule and work ethic. If you do the bare minimum, i.e less than 12 hours per day, you’ll fall behind. Falling Behind: Oh boy! This is not a place you want to be! If you’re behind your cohort you will struggle to understand lectures, may miss key concepts, and may be told to skip certain assignments in order to catch up, which will further decrease your experience and familiarity with the subject matter. The good thing about bootcamps (at least Coding Dojo) is that since they teach multiple stacks you can move on to another set of technologies without being impacted too negatively by your lack of understanding of another stack. Thus, you get a chance at a nearly clean slate every month. Social Life: Life at a coding bootcamp is not easy. This is a choice far from a traditional college experience where part of the college experience is assumed to include pursuits other than scholastic achievement. While making friends is encouraged, don’t imagine you’ll have time to see anyone outside of it. In fact, during my preparations, I told my friends and social groups not to bother contacting me during the upcoming several months. I have my phone on silent the entire day and literally only check it on the train ride home. Doctor visits had better be done before, or after. Vacations are a foolish undertaking. You’re here to work, so leave all distractions at the door. When you finish, in a few short months, you’ll have the freedom to socialize once more, as well as having gained a powerful new skill. Plus, think about all the cool stories you’ll have to relate about your new, insane, work ethic. in the bootcamp Another great aspect of the coding bootcamp is the way they attempt to model your bootcamp experience after a real life development team. During project periods, you will work on a team, which can be awesome, but is sure to be a vital learning experience. You will appoint a team manager from among your peers, hopefully that manager will be excellent and will help direct your project on a well directed and executed journey (maybe that manager may even be you!). Perhaps your manager may not have the necessary foresight to run a team of developers. Dealing with managerial imperfections will also give you great practice for real life development. Working on a team can be a blast! Spending all your day struggling through complex material at blazing speeds will help you bond with your peers. It’s a great experience and you are sure to make excellent friends. Lifestyle Balancing and Dealing With the Pressure: While I’ve discussed how hard you have to push yourself, I must also mention that you must not push yourself past limits (at least not too far; obviously you should be pushing yourself past your comfort zone, just not to your breaking point). If you burn out in the second week, you’ll waste your time and money, and nobody wants that. your own personal Ensuring you stay healthy is extremely important. Remember, your higher brain functionality is directly correlated to your physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. If you aren’t sleeping enough, constantly binging on snack food, drinking copious amounts of energy drinks or coffee, or stressing out due to the general intensity of the program, it’ll just slow you down more and can potentially lead to bigger problems. So make sure you get proper sleep, that you workout a few times a week, and that you’re eating healthily. Every once in a while (key phrase: not everyday) treat yourself! Go out for a drink on the weekend. Eat a bar of that nice chocolate, go to a spa treatment or visit the Russian The purpose of the bootcamp is not to punish yourself, and if you hate the thought of waking up in the morning, well, there’s something wrong. Make it exciting to get to school every morning. Stash your favorite coffee at school and use that as a motivational factor. Make friends with your cohort mates and try to improve your ping-pong game until one day will be the best player in the Dojo… once in a while, Banya. you While it’s easy to be worried and stressed about that exam you have tomorrow while you still have no idea which way is up, and although it sounds incongruous, you should relax! Due to the advanced pacing of the programs you may often not “break through” in your understanding until the last minute. I know that by both of my belt exams (at this point in the program), I only had my breakthrough the night before the exam. Worrying about your performance and abilities, as compared to others in your cohort and any other potential issue, will only serve to slow your thinking processes and make you miserable. To survive, you need to become a ninja, with perfect inner calm, and a positive outlook at all hardships and challenges. Just don’t forget to cut yourself some slack! The Short Term Is the Long Run: Are bootcamps better than traditional software development educational experiences? If you ask an industry veteran his or her advice on the most important skill or quality needed to become the best developer I’d be willing to bet that most of them would say something like “The best way for developers to improve their skills is with time and practice.” From my exposure in attempting to learn various different languages and skills in a very short amount of time, the theoretical understanding that hard work is what enables people to develop this new skill and the ability to literally push yourself to spend 12+ hours a day, is what separates those who can become a developer within 3.5+ months and those who can’t. The simple fact that your brain needs time to mull over new concepts, needs to develop new pathways and associations for this entirely new method of thought and expression requires that you spend as much time as possible involved in the software world as soon as possible, until you dream in code. So, the reason why bootcamps are a great educational option is that they get you out into the workplace where you will be immersed in realistic and practical applications of software development. While you might be learning interesting and valuable knowledge in college, the process will take you years, whereupon you will then be required to make that transition from academia to real life development. Everyone needs to make that leap, it’s just that bootcamp grads make that leap years sooner, and thus have years more practical experience. Does that make college educated developers bad? I don’t think so. I just think that if you are looking to grow as a developer while maximizing your return, and if the best way to improve your skills is through real life applications of your skills, it seems to me that learning enough to get started and then getting started is a good idea. I love learning new information; it’s both a hobby and a way of life for me. However, if you’re learning something as a profession, versus a casual hobby learn it in the fashion that will allow you to begin practicing using that skill as soon as possible. Life is simply too short to sit around waiting for perfection. Computer Science vs Coding Bootcamp: Now, don’t bootcamps have a fatal weakness? They don’t teach rather, they teach computer programming. Which means that bootcamp grads only have a surface grasp of what they are actually doing, right? They may know how to use the tools, but do they understand the tools? Can they craft a new and better tool? computer science, The answer to this question is one that I’m still struggling with now. I’m attempting to determine whether or not I should return to school to earn my MS in Computer Science. However, here is my current opinion on the matter. Undoubtedly, having an advanced degree in a computer related field would be invaluable to most people. However, as I mentioned in the previous section, there seems to be a point of divergence where there are, typically, diminishing returns as measured by the increase in your education versus your salary, an easily quantifiable metric. Do MS:CS grads get paid more, typically? They probably do get paid more, but how much more? Is it worth two years and $20,000–$70,000+? Maybe… The best argument I’ve heard for receiving a traditional degree is for the purpose of creating something radically different and new. I doubt a bootcamp grad would have done much groundbreaking work on AI, self driving cars, machine learning, or robotics, although I’m leaving room for people to prove me wrong. To create something wholly new, instead of iterating on prior ideas or to devise a radically new concept would probably be in the realm of those who have advanced computer science knowledge. That, would be the best reason, on a practical level, for my return to earn an MS. If you’ve noticed, I’ve only been discussing a Master’s Degree, not a BS in Computer Science. I’ve done some rough calculations, late at night while at the Dojo, and it seems that a bootcamp grad, in 3.5 months, would do approx 1.5 years of work that a 12 credit university student would do. That, together with the fact that a BA student would only be spending ~2 years on his major seems to indicate that a BA would not be an incredibly useful pursuit, as least as far as technical achievements are concerned and when bootcamps could get the job done much sooner for much less money. I’m not going to discuss my views on liberal education in this article (the education principle; not the political view). The crux of the issue is that it comes down to you. When people are judging a university graduate against a bootcamp graduate, they typically do while making a majorly incorrect and easy to make, assumption. That is, they judge both people on their skills, knowledge, and abilities, at When comparing a bootcamp grad, with ~4 months of learning under his belt, against a university student with 2–4 years (depending on whether you only count his major studies), it’s no wonder that the results will mostly be skewed to the universities. The wonder is that bootcamps look as good as they do! The logical fallacy with this sort of comparison is that you must not assume that a bootcamp grad will simply stagnate after he has finished his “formal” education. The hallmark of a good developer, as any number of blog post and articles will tell you, is that they are driven to solve problems, and always seek to improve themselves and their technical skill set. Furthermore, a bootcamp grad will undoubtedly only learn new skills and technologies, from his program, and which are in high demand and are at the cutting edge of development, whereas university curriculum’s are often slow to change and may not accurately reflect the current technological environment. the time of graduation. Thus, if you wish to make a proper comparison, you must then juxtapose a university graduate, who has 2–4 years of learning, but very little real life experience, against a bootcamp graduate who has 3–4 months of learning and then 1.75–3.75 years of constant learning, improvement, and real-world experience which can be immediately leveraged into use as an experienced and useful member of a development team. Resolution: What can you take away from this article? A few things: You must prepare yourself to work harder than you have likely ever done before. This will be both difficult mentally, physically, and emotionally. Don’t fall behind. If you are ahead, keep going! Falling behind will cause a host of problems and insecurities to plague you. Plus, it’s a good idea to give yourself a buffer in case your computer goes on the fritz or in case you’re having a bad day and can’t seem to concentrate. Don’t plan any parties, social events, vacations, or meetups with friends. Spend nearly all your available time studying, learning, and applying for jobs. Focus on learning and creating useful connections with your peers. Don’t forget to take care of yourself! Exercise, eat well, and sleep well. Be the person that people turn to for a smile, a joke, or a homemade cookie (I never brought those in, but other did, and that added an extra spark of friendliness to the Dojo). Don’t burn yourself out! The short term is the long term. The faster you get a real job, the faster your skills will improve. Get in the door of development and then never stop growing. Yes, you can always learn that hot new technology or that amazing framework but instead of attempting perfection, attempt to grow and to provide excellent value to those looking for you. Getting an advanced degree in Computer Science may be extremely valuable. If thing align to enable you to do so, I’d look at that option very carefully. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed my article please let me know by clapping, sharing, or commenting below. Mendel Bakaleynik

Life at a Coding Bootcamp

It’s a bird; it’s a plane! No, it’s just the latest installment of the Developer Spotlight Series, where Developers serve as the Hero of our story. We sat down with , a web application developer and JavaScript evangelist. Check him out on , and enjoy the Q/A. Cosmic JS Phil Andrews Twitter Medium I’m relatively new to the game, having started writing software a little less than three years ago. I needed some custom software for my company. The problem was that I didn’t know exactly what I wanted but I knew how expensive it would be to have someone else build it and then always have to contract them back each time a change was necessary. So I decided to learn how to do it myself. How long have you been building software? I started with , then , then . Haven’t looked backed since. In fact, I’m shutting down my previous company at the end of this month in order to split time between freelancing and personal projects. Swift Python JavaScript If it made sense I wouldn’t leave the Apple ecosystem. The tools (Xcode), the language (Swift), they’re just too good to not love. Particularly when they’re paired together. It’s very impressive the power Apple has put behind their IDE. What is your preferred development stack? But in the real world / / are my everyday tools. JavaScript, written everywhere developers want to be. That really should be it’s tagline. For all my backend needs I use AWS. They handle all of my database, server, and storage components. My IDE is Atom. Again, if it worked the same for every language you can’t beat Xcode. Node Express React The second thing that I built was far too complex for my skillset. A multiplayer iOS trivia app. It came complete with matchmaking, global leaderboards, complicated game logic (It was more like chess and less like Trivia Crack), and almost the entire suite of mobile add-ons from payments to geolocation to push notifications. I was in over my head. Which was great as it forced me to learn an immense amount in a short period of time. The app, landing page, preview video, I wrote everything. It was a big weight off my shoulders when that came to a completion. What past projects are you most proud of and why? If I want to use all of my JavaScript toolbox to put together a beautiful blog, where should I store my content? I’m going to need to retrieve and update large portions of it frequently. Plus it needs to have rich-text editing and preservation capabilities built-in to the dashboard. Talk a little bit more about your process for building apps in your world and vertical. The answer is the place where it takes the fewest lines of code to retrieve your pre-formatted content in a manner that is simple and flexible to work with. That is a single endpoint that returns a bunch of objects (all of my blog posts) or just one object (one blog post). It’s at the top of every object page in . Sending a get request to it will return a JSON response object that includes all of the associated content and metadata. And for me specifically, post body content is delivered in HTML form so it can be directly injected into a page. Cosmic That link being at the top of the page is great design. Copy and paste it into any browser and you can see the JSON object instantly. It makes testing and debugging very quick. Two input boxes below that and there’s a full-powered editor. It toggles between WYSIWYG and straight HTML formatting. That allows you to easily add in custom classes or tags. To top it all off is platform agnostic. I can write a post once and access it from anywhere. One fetch request, one post. Or, one fetch request, all my posts. I don’t need to incorporate anything else into my project. No add-ons, no downloads, just a simple and effective content delivery system. Cosmic It was a few hours before I stumbled on . But as soon as I played around with it for a few minutes I stopped searching. For content management of a blog or portfolio I can’t think of a better system. I’m already thinking about how to incorporate it into client projects since the interface is friendly to developers and non-developers. Cosmic I have bit hook, line, and sinker on React for frontend work. The next big project I’m working on is a dual-platform React Native app so I’ll be wading even deeper into those waters. To me, the really interesting stuff is in the world of AI. Self-driving cars captivate me. The idea of not having to drive places will have a profound effect on society. I’m a full proponent of “If it can be automated, it should be automated”. What are some technologies you are excited about that you are using today, or want to learn more about? The personal project I’m working on right now relies heavily on machine learning. The more I incorporate it the more I realize just how far off we are from the AI we are all fictionally familiar with, i.e. Jarvis from Iron Man. The main problem is in processing power. I believe that we won’t get a stellar AI experience until we develop a new kind of CPU. But I digress. We’ll get there. Even just the fraction of AI that we have right now is really useful. Cosmic JS Developer Spotlight Series Developer Spotlight: Jason Price Developer Spotlight: Abe Hendricks Developer Spotlight: Brian Mullis Developer Spotlight: Micah Walter Developer Spotlight: Joe Tuson Developer Spotlight: Coding Dojo Developer Spotlight: Simple Media Developer Spotlight: Jon Kalfayan Developer Spotlight: Jon Bloomer is an API-first cloud-based content management platform that makes it easy to manage applications and content. If you have questions about the , please reach out to us on or join the community on . Cosmic JS Cosmic JS API Twitter Slack

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