DEV Community: DigitalDump

Let's Git it!

DigitalDump — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 23:45:38 +0000

What is Git?

Git is a command-line version control system that enables users to manage and keep track of source code history. This allows users to fork and play around with open-source code without messing with the original code.

What is GitHub?

A web-based Git repository hosting service that enables users to manage projects. It has three main features:
*Share your repositories with others
*Access other user's repositories
*Store remote copies of your repositories (GitHub servers) as a backup of your local copies

So what?

Git and GitHub are commonly used in open-source and commercial development projects. The two enable teams to effectively collaborate on and manage projects regardless of size and complexity. Multiple developers are able to work separately and together without worrying about overwriting others' work or making irrecoverable changes.

How does this work?

Check out this video which shows an example of how effective collaboration is possible on Git & Github.

Audit Your Website!

DigitalDump — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 00:52:21 +0000

Today I will be auditing the website of a Penn State Student Organization I have proudly dedicated over 3 years to, Engineering-Consulting Collaborative.

Web.dev (aka Lighthouse) and WAVE are the services I will be using to analyze the accessibility, SEO, and performance of http://eccpsu.weebly.com/.

Accessibility / a11y

Providing and supporting access to the web and technologies regardless of ability, connection quality, device capabilities, or human capabilities.

Search Engine Optimization / SEO

The discoverability of a website, based on how high it ranks on Google, Bing, and other search engines. This also comes into play with how often it shows up on social media feeds. Good SEO means more traffic.

Check out the video of the results of the audit, where I also share the steps we plan to take to improve the website.

Vue Who?

DigitalDump — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 21:51:32 +0000

Vue.js is a progressive framework for building user interfaces. It is essentially reusable components of code that have their own HTML, CSS, and JavaScript which define, style, and print each individual component. Vue.js enables coders to build custom and reusable bits of code which makes the code cleaner, easier to debug and edit when needed.

I used Vue.js to improve the code of my online resume on codepen. This has made the resume easier to edit when needed. For example, I can change the photo much faster through the JavaScript window instead of having to search for the specific image in a long and messy HTML code. Additionally, it is easy to duplicate the Vue.js component in case I want to repeat the same format later in my resume.

Check out this video to see how I implemented Vue.js into my resume project: Better code with Vue.js

Monoliths vs Microservices

DigitalDump — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 20:44:59 +0000

MONOLITHS

Monolithic application architecture consists of one system, where business logic, codebase and all other parts are interconnected and dependent on each other.

MICROSERVICES

Microservices application architecture consists of individual services that function independently. Each service is responsible for a specific business goal, have their own logic and database, while working together as a distributed system with API-driven inter-process communication.

Advantages of Monolithic Architecture

Easy to develop and monitor

Initial development of monolithic architecture is fast because it is built with the mindset that all parts should be interconnected and dependent on each other.

High performance

Unlike microservice applications, monoliths don't require API for communication between components, enabling higher performance.

Advantages of Microservices Architecture

Increased Scalability

Since microservices are independent of one another, new components can easily be added with out downtime.

Autonomy

Microservices enable independent, cross-functional teams dedicated for each business goal, since the deployment/actions of one team won't affect other services. This increases the rate at which new updates and features can be deployed.

Disadvantages of Monolithic Architecture

Low Flexibility

Due to the high interdependence between services and elements, any change is likely to affect the entire network. Making updates, upkeep and additions time-consuming and the need to be carefully coordinated.

Difficulty in Scaling

Monolithic architecture prevents scaling individual components, instead you have to scale the entire app.

Disadvantages of Microservices Architecture

High resource requirement

The initial deployment and development of a microservices architecture requires a high number of resources and can take time. Since there needs to be seamless integration of the varying individual components.

Difficulty in testing

Due to the complexity of this architecture, testing can prove to be difficult, especially in terms of the interactions between services.

Docker Deployment Videos

Part 1

Part 2

Web Components Aren't Just The Future, They Are The Now

DigitalDump — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 00:58:45 +0000

What are web components and why should you care?

web components are building blocks of the web which refer to a set of four browser standards that work together to create reusable, custom, encapsulated HTML tags which can be used in web pages and web apps.

From a technical perspective, web components comprise of:

< template > elements allow developers to quickly reuse portions of the DOM
custom elements connect JavaScript to custom HTML tags, enabling developers to create their HTML elements
shadow DOM encapsulates style and markup in the web components, making them self-contained
JavaScript modules package and publish the components

For more details on the technical aspects of web components check out this article by Benny Powers.

As can be seen in the graph from chrome metrics below, approximately 10% of all page loads today use web components. According to Arthur Evans, this makes them one of the most successful web platform features shipped in the last five years.

What are the benefits for large companies?

Web Standards Future-Proof Development

Web components are standardized, they are built on pre-determined web standards. Especially, when it comes to thinking long-term, cleaner, standardized and more semantic markup allows for increased accessibility and easier maintainability.
For example, if a new developer is hired to the team, he can easily and quickly read and understand a standardized code. Increasing their productivity, since less time is wasted learning company-specific coding jargon.

Interoperability Allows for Seamless Updates

An additional advantage of the standardized base of web components allows them to be natively supported in all browsers, mobile devices and desktops, as can been seen in the screenshot below.

This enables your team to seamlessly and efficiently introduce new functionalities on your web pages and web apps, as often as you want! With the certainty that the functionalities will run successfully on existing and legacy applications. Overall, cutting unnecessary costs of maintaining code.

Shadow DOM Self-Contains Web Components

Shadow DOM is what makes web components self-contained, in other word, isolates them from the rest of the code. This unique DOM and CSS scoping prevents CSS styles and element API from leaking out into the global scope. This plays a crucial role when editing specific components, adding them to or removing them from pages, etc. All of this can be done easily without worrying about affecting (or worst nightmare, breaking) other parts of the page or app. Enabling your teams to build and deploy projects much faster and at a lower cost.

Who is using web components?

The video below shows web components in action on the above websites.

Final Words

Web components are the future of web development. They are ideal for large organizations where a specialized team can make the best components (like Legos), and share them with the rest of the company, to give developers and users a consistently great experience. Overall, web components improve development efficiency and allow businesses to cut costs while reducing time to market.

Who What Why is Digital Dump?

DigitalDump — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 20:22:32 +0000

Who

Hey reader, welcome to my first blog post, how exciting.
I'm Deeksha Vishneek, the brain behind Digital Dump, ready to dump all of my technological knowledge on the web, as I come across it! I'm a senior at Penn State University pursuing an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and a minor in Information Science and Technology. I like to describe myself as a self-motivated problem-solver and creative on the hunt for opportunities to push the boundaries of my comfort zone. When I'm not working (from home, unfortunately), I enjoy graphic design, tennis, and counting down the days till skydiving season is back in this terribly cold state where I live!

What

The aim of this blog series is to take you all along with me on the journey as I learn about emerging technologies in reference to the web, or as one of my professors @btopro likes to call them "DyStOpIaN Technologies".

To truly get a feel of my journey, I'd encourage you to not only continue reading these blogs but also check out my GitHub and my YouTube channel which are both named "Digital Dump", shocking I know.

Why

Because why not! It's a new way to step out of my comfort zone and explore things from a new perspective, and you already know how I feel about that (refer to the section "Who").

My Youtube Channel: Digital Dump on YouTube
My Intro Video: Diversify Your Portfolio By Investing in Kittens!