DEV Community: Michael Ukachi

You do not know Javascript and i mean it.

Michael Ukachi — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 23:26:11 +0000

How do we learn to get good at programming

Michael Ukachi — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 23:14:27 +0000

well, for the most part, we all know learning is a continuous, never-ending adventure that forces the hungry to leave their comfort zone. we will also agree that it's not always the easiest challenge. This is where I fall into. For a while, I've been trying to wrap my mind around the JavaScript language. I always feel a sense of achieving this whenever I go through the learning material, well at least until I run into a problem. Then I realize I don't know how this works and in that very moment, we are back to square one, relearning and relearning and of course, trying to relearn.

So, back to square one exhausted, at this point, I begin to question myself, what went wrong, and no sooner do I find the answer from a post on Twitter

The article brings to light one crucial mistake I might have been making, skipping the very basics of the language itself,
It is easy to brush through the functions and objects, variables, and the like and say you have gotten a firm grasp of the language, But like I always figure out the reverse is the case.

I always go through the language time and time again, I mean I could explain these concepts and give valid examples pretty well, what was wrong? The answer stared me in the face LEARNING TECHNIQUE

Advice for new developers: Learn how you learn best pic.twitter.com/RQIX4S3mdI
— Frontend Masters (@FrontendMasters) October 14, 2024

The video above from frontend masters explained what the problem could be and what the solution was, the advice clear and straight to the point

*Learn how you learn best *

Videos, blogs, text-based teachings, YouTube project-based learning, books, and the like are all examples of various methods and mediums of acquiring skills, especially in the software engineering industry.
As I continue to navigate this challenge, I've made major changes, one being that I will now document the journey, and the other, I switched to reading books on JavaScript. I currently use the book ELOQUENT JAVASCRIPT and honestly, it has been quite helpful I'm learning a ton of new stuff I skipped with other tutorials

Learning is continuous and can be a huge challenge especially when you are new in a said field, but you can apply some techniques to solving theses your problems

Be brutally honest with yourself about your limits and what you know
Consider changing learning techniques to suit yourself, not forgetting what the video says

learn how you learn best

Be consistent and know your stuff

To end this article, here is a tweet that gives you the bare truth of overcoming any challenge while learning and also while advancing in your learning adventure

the original post

A LINUX IN MY WINDOWS OS.

Michael Ukachi — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 09:06:10 +0000

Getting into programming as a beginner is no easy feat. While the Internet is a library of tons and tons of resources, sometimes you run into certain obstacles ( errors ) while practicing and also learn a ton of stuff. One of those obstacles would come from being unable to run certain commands in your terminal from a Windows OS.

Most online resources offer the solution to this problem, which is quite simple WSL. The window subsystem for Linux(WSL), is a whole new world in your Windows OS, giving you the same powers you would have on a Linux system. So how do we unlock this superpower on the Windows OS and what are the benefits, challenges, and practical use cases of the Windows subsystem for Linux

*But first, The benefits *

Developers can access the power of both Windows and Linux at the same time on a Windows machine. Allowing for a complete environment. You will have heard the joke if you are serious about programming don't use a Windows
The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) lets developers install a Linux distribution (such as Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, Kali, Debian, Arch Linux, etc) and use Linux applications, utilities, and Bash command-line tools directly on Windows. more power
You can perform all tasks like running docker and other heavy operations as you would on Linux without the overhead of a traditional virtual machine or dual boot setup right on the Windows OS.

*HOW DO WE ACTIVATE THIS SUPERPOWER *

One way for sure is by following the official Windows documentation so as not to run into any errors that might do some serious damage to your OS. link to documentation

You can follow along using the documentation for more info but today will be focused on how to get it up and running.

In your Windows menu, open the PowerShell and click run as administrator once in type in the following command

wsl --install

The command will enable all WSL features necessary to run WSL and also install the default Linux distribution Ubuntu.

Once the installation is done, it will require you to create a profile for your new superpowered system, keep in mind that this does not remove the windows from the system instead, it creates a separate partition in your system for both Linux and windows

Once done as seen in the image, the successful installation message is prompted

several times when trying to use the WSL it will prompt for your username and password, what happens when that is forgotten? Luckily there is a fix, simply head to your PowerShell of course running as administrator, and run the following command.

wsl -u root

You will be prompted to enter a new UNIX password and then confirm that password. Once you're told that the password has been updated successfully, close WSL inside of PowerShell using the command: exit.

To make sure your new Linux system is up to date and always running properly considering that Windows does not automatically update or upgrade your Linux distribution, run the following command on your Ubuntu command line

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

SETTING UP THE WINDOWS TERMINAL AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Just like your command line interface on your Windows, let's set up something similar on our new playground to allow a friendly user interface while running and using the wsl system.

consider installing a Windows terminal from the Microsoft store
To allow for complete customization to the look and taste of the user, refer to this documentation link from the official Microsoft documentation to learn more about customizing the appearance, themes, color schemes and so much more

I mean who doesn't want to look like a badass software engineer once he opens up the terminal

Following every step listed here would have you add Windows Subsystem for Linux to your arsenal of software weapons. Doing so would also mean learning to navigate around files and folders, using code editors, and mastering the Linux command lines and methods as well as methodologies. To learn more about that refer to the official documentation that shares tips and guides on setting up docker, vs code and the likes on your new wsllearn to set up docker, work with databases, and install vscode the Linux way

See you on the other side of the terminal.

Feel free to reach out to me through the following channels
LinkedIn : Michael ukachi
Twitter : @mike_ukachi