How to Pick Your Battles on a Software Team

Creating software is an emotional process for the team members who all want to see it succeed, and this can create tension. The phrase “you have to pick and choose your battles” is commonly used. But, how do you make those decisions?

Avoiding “Undefined is Not a Function” with Constants

How many times have you come across JavaScript’s “Undefined is not a function”? Too many. JavaScript is known for being so flexible that it’s easy to create unintentional bugs. One way we can add structure to JavaScript code is to make a habit of using constants. Constants pair well in JavaScript with JS’s powerful object data structure, […]

The Two Types of SPA Components: Widgets & Structural Components

Recent trends in Single Page Applications (SPAs) show that controllers are going away. This is reflected in ReactJS and AngularJS 2.0, and it’s in the future for Ember.js, as well.

Why You Should Consider Mentoring a FIRST Robotics Team

If you’ve read my bio, you know I mentor FIRST Robotics Team 3322. Developed as a student competition, FIRST Robotics gives teams six weeks to design, build, program, and test a robot that can perform the necessary tasks to succeed in each year’s game. FIRST exists for students of all ages, but I work with a high […]

Why You Should Use JSX and ReactJS

JSX is a syntax extension for ReactJS that adds support for writing HTML tags in JavaScript. On top of ReactJS, it creates a very powerful way to express a web application.

Unit Testing Frontend Network Requests

Unit testing is a great way to help ensure the continuous delivery of working code over a product’s lifecycle. In client-side applications, unit testing data retrieval is especially important since using data from these asynchronous calls is at the core of what most of these apps do. Unfortunately, asynchronous calls aren’t easy to test.

Comparing Directive Scope Options in AngularJS

When defining directives in AngularJS, there are three different ways to pass in variables: no scope, inherited scope, or isolated scope. Whether or not you’re using the “controller as” syntax (and I hope you are), you still have to decide which one to use. In this post, I’ll explain the differences and suggest why you might—or might not—want to […]

Many Directives, One Controller in Angular

Recently, I was implementing a feature that could toggle between related data in a minimized, detail, and list view. It looked something like this: Simplifying the Process Going into implementation, I knew I wanted to use directives (which is what AngularJS v1 calls components). Components are the best way to group views and logic in front-end applications, […]

Optimize Web App Performance through Drawing

Recently, we needed to take an in-depth look at the performance of a complex web application. We wondered: What calls were being made when? How could we improve them? What impact would changing our API have on our application overall? And what would be the best way to get our heads around all of this? For a complex […]

How to Fight Unconscious Bias & Become a Better Ally

Are you supportive of underrepresented groups (like women and minorities) in technology? Yes (I hope). But, ask yourself this: Do you support individual members of underrepresented groups in technology? Maybe not. It’s important to recognize that being supportive is different than showing support. One reason why is Unconscious Bias.

Atomic Spin

Atomic Object’s blog on everything we find fascinating.

By: Jeanette Head

Author: Jeanette Head