Trending Posts

Trending

The Software Life

Tips for Tech Workers: On Embracing Winter

A friend shared an episode of NPR’s Life Kit podcast about thriving in winter, and I've reflected on similar ways I cope with the cold.

Ian Culver Software Consultant & Designer in Ann Arbor. Passionate about crafting meaningful experiences that balance human, technical, and business needs. Forever curious and eager to learn.

Categories

Most Recent View more recent posts →

Development Practices • Feb 19

What Makes Good API Documentation?

API documentation can turn integrating a service from a three-day endeavor to a 10-plus-day endeavor depending on its quality.

TypeScript • Feb 18

Tanstack Start – Is it the Next NextJS?

From the makers of TanStack Query and TanStack Router comes their entry into the world of full-stack JavaScript frameworks: Tanstack Start.

Project & Team Management • Feb 17

A Hot Tip for Retros: Dot Voting with Miro

Here's how Miro's dot voting feature transforms virtual meetings by prioritizing discussions, engaging participants, and capturing feedback.

View more recent posts

Developer Tools View more Developer Tools posts →

A Guide to Browser DevTools - The Inspector

Developer Tools

A Guide to Browser DevTools – The Inspector

read post

Scrutiny Docker Image on TrueNAS Scale

Developer Tools

How to Run the Scrutiny Docker Image on TrueNAS Scale

read post

Master JSON Processing with jq

Developer Tools

Master JSON Processing with jq

read post

Create diagrams with ChatGPT, Mermaid, and ExcaliDraw

Developer Tools

Effortlessly Create Diagrams Using ChatGPT, Mermaid, and Excalidraw

read post

View more Developer Tools posts

UX/Design Tools View more UX/Design Tools posts →

View more UX/Design Tools posts

React / Redux View more React / Redux posts →

Improve Asynchronous State UX in React with useOptimistic

React / Redux

Improve Asynchronous State UX in React with useOptimistic

React 19’s useOptimistic hook helps reduces annoyances by providing a built-in hook for Optimistic Updates.

Decide Between Server and Client Components

React / Redux

The Only Question to Ask Yourself to Decide Between Server and Client Components

Can't decide between server components and client components in React? Here's one question to ask yourself to pick correctly.

Manage Side Effects with an Elm-inspired Redux Middleware

React / Redux

Manage Side Effects with an Elm-inspired Redux Middleware

Managing side effects in Redux applications is sometimes complex. I'll introduce a lightweight middleware solution.

View more React / Redux posts

Web Apps View more Web Apps posts →

Embedding Payload CMS 3.0 Admin UI in Your Next.js App

Web Apps

Embed Payload CMS 3.0 Admin UI in Your Next.js App

read post

About a year ago, I used Remix on a short prototype app to that displayed a series of reports and I loved it. For those who don’t know. Remix is a framework for building websites. It uses React JS as a base and adds some specialized compiling. The app was a great use case for Remix for a few reasons. First, the pre-built stacks got the app deployed quickly. The main parts of Remix that shined were its prefetching, directory-based routing, and its loader functions. The prefetching helped the reports load faster because some data would be retrieved before the user navigated. The directory-based routing made it easy to setup the structure of the app. Last, Remix’s loader functions were able to retrieve small amounts of data each as it was needed. I am now using Remix on a second website that has a different structure than the prototype and we aren’t able to use the same features to the same degree. This time around, I am finding myself using fewer of the features mentioned previously. We aren’t using perfecting because we have a single page with a lot of complexity. We have fewer loader functions retrieving lots of information at once which makes them perform worse. The main difference that I found between the two projects is that the prototype was a multipage app and the second has been turning into a single page app (SPA). Based on Remix's documentation and my experience the best use cases for Remix are ones that can be modeled as multiple pages. Challenges for single page apps For this post, when I refer to a single page app I am referring to an app that tries to pack a variety of behaviors onto a single route. An example would be Google Calendar. Pictured below: In order to render this page, we need to load a few different things. We need to load all the events for this month, all the calendars for the user, and the details for the apps along the lefthand side. Then to use the app, we need to track which event is selected. When the user drags an event, we need to keep track of the calendar it is on. Then when it is placed, an alert is displayed if there are any conflicts. This state and behavior may need to be done in one component, which means one loader function. We may also want to perform component tests which are only partially supported in Remix, based on this git conversation. Make it optimal Instead, let’s talk about structuring an app to leverage Remix’s strengths. I am assuming we want to make use of Remix’s speedy loading while getting around some of its component testing limitations.The files that are used for routing should each be responsible for retrieving, displaying and mutating a limited set of information. As an example of a UI structure that could work well in Remix let’s look at Slack. Slack's UI can be visually broken down into three sections. The workspaces are on the far left. Then the channels within the selected workspace are listed, and lastly, we have the current chat for the selected workspace. A Remix app with this UI could have a URL like: slack/workspace2/proj-new-website. The root of the app would get the list of all workspaces, then /workspace2 would load the details for the selected workspace. Lastly, the chat window for /proj-new-website would load the chats and display them. This app can be modeled as a multipage app because the responsibilities are spread at different levels of the page instead of being concentrated in one component, like with the Google Calendar example. This would be a Slack-like app, and a better use case for Remix than a calendar app. Use the right tool for the job Remix is a powerful tool for web development. It can produce polished prototypes quickly and can build performant production apps. However, an app in Remix needs to keep Remix's design principles in mind. This means splitting the app's pages into pieces that can be loaded and rendered separately and keeping components as simple as possible in order to limit component testing on the frontend. Designing an app this way will enable the app to leverage the performance benefits promised by Remix.

Web Apps

Remix is Incredible — If It Fits Your Use Case

read post

Vercel: A Valuable Debugging Tool

Web Apps

Vercel: A Valuable Debugging Tool

read post

Common CSS Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Web Apps

Common CSS Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

read post

View more Web Apps posts

Development Practices View more Development Practices posts →

View more Development Practices posts

DevOps & System Admin View more DevOps & System Admin posts →

Hot Reloading Kubernetes with Skaffold

DevOps & System Admin.

How to Hot Reload Kubernetes with Skaffold

read post

Docker Compose Dependency Management Isn't a Silver Bullet

DevOps & System Admin.

Docker Compose Dependency Management Isn’t a Silver Bullet

read post

Working with Docker Containers Made Easy with the dexec Bash Script

DevOps & System Admin.

Working with Docker Containers Made Easy with the dexec Bash Script

read post

How and Why You Should Add Color to Your Scripts

DevOps & System Admin.

How and Why You Should Add Color to Your Scripts

read post

View more DevOps & System Admin posts

Extracurricular Activities View more Extracurricular Activities posts →

A photo of multiple stacked networking switches with many blue ethernet cables coming out of them

Extracurricular Activities

How to Run the Pterodactyl Game Panel Behind Tailscale

By setting up your Pterodactyl panel behind Tailscale, you can ditch risky open ports and secure your server with a simple, private mesh VPN.

Building a Game with AI: A 30-Minute Experiment

Extracurricular Activities

Building a Game with AI: A 30-Minute Experiment

I wanted to see how far I could get programming a game with an AI chatbot, while only using two keyboard shortcuts—copy and paste.

Transform Technical Reading into Podcasts with NotebookLM

Extracurricular Activities

Transform Technical Reading into Podcasts with NotebookLM

Learn how I created AI-generated podcasts based on technical sources with NotebookLM, a free, experimental project.

View more Extracurricular Activities posts

.NET / WPF View more .NET / WPF posts →

View more .NET / WPF posts

Personal Optimization View more Personal Optimization posts →

Software Developers: Don't Do it Later. Do it Now-ish.

Personal Optimization

Software Developers: Don’t Do it Later. Do it Now-ish.

read post

Why Slack Sucks. And this is how to cope. Pictured: a sign saying "Lost" pointing one way and "very lost" the other way.

Personal Optimization

Sometimes, Slack Sucks. This is How to Cope.

read post

Crucial Conversations: The Right Way to Prep for Tough Talks at Work and in Life

Personal Optimization

Crucial Conversations: The Right Way to Prep for Tough Talks at Work and in Life

read post

View more Personal Optimization posts

TypeScript View More TypeScript posts →

View More TypeScript posts

React Native View more React Native posts →

How to Style MUI Line Chart Components

React Native

How to Style MUI Line Chart Components

Styling an MUI component can be challenging. This guide shows ways to customize the LineChart component to achieve your desired look.

Embrace App Monitors: A Solution for State Changes in React Native

React Native

Embrace App Monitors: A Solution for State Changes in React Native

Let's look at why relying solely on useEffect might make your code a bit of a puzzle and how App Monitors can alleviate this issue.

Resolve "Non-std C++ Exception"

React Native

Resolve “Non-std C++ Exception” in React Native with the “lsof” Command

React Native is powerful, but, like any technology a developer has to work through an occasional errors, such as the "Non-std C++ Exception".

View more React Native posts

Growing as Makers View more Growing as Makers posts →

Consultants: Here's How You Optimize for Client Value

Growing as Makers

Consultants: Here’s How You Optimize for Client Value

read post

From Beginner to Contributor: Habits for Long-Term Growth as a Programmer

Growing as Makers

From Beginner to Contributor: Habits for Long-Term Growth as a Programmer

read post

Hosting Events with Impact

Growing as Makers

Host Events with Impact: Lessons Learned from Atomic’s Latest Events

read post

Four people sit at a meeting table

Growing as Makers

How to Pick a Conference: Advice from a Fish out of Water

read post

View more Growing as Makers posts

Atomic Thinking View more Atomic Thinking posts →

Build a Culture of Bold, Candid Feedback

Culture

Build a Culture of Bold, Candid Feedback

At Atomic, we hold practice sessions so junior developers give candid feedback to leaders and peers, receiving immediate coaching in return.

It's All Gone A Bit Pete Tong - Unstated Expectations in the Workplace

Culture

It’s All Gone A Bit Pete Tong – Unstated Expectations in the Workplace

When I moved from the U.K. to the U.S. several years ago, I had to learn new rules and cultural differences, both tacit and explicit.

Returning to Office is Great and Everyone Should Do It

Business Practices

Returning to Office is Great and Everyone Should Do It

After almost five years of working remotely, I have some observations about returning to the office. It's great, but not a magic wand.

View more Atomic Thinking posts