DEV Community: Diego Moura

One year as a self-taught dev and employed!📚

Diego Moura — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 22:20:24 +0000

This post, in any way, attempts to be a road map for becoming anything. So don't try and make sense of any particular order I present some of the things I learned. First, because this post would be rather long if I were to enumerate all the fantastic things I came across, and second because they may not follow any particular order, other than how it will come to me while I try to piece this together.

Soon it will be one year of my journey into teaching myself a new career, and it's funny how it came full-circle. I started to code with HTML and CSS, static websites and not a lot of fuzz. Now, on my 9-5, I do pretty much the same thing, plus a little programming here and there.

It was crucial to me to get as much of each language's fundamentals as I could think of when I started with them. I put it in such a worldly manner because now I realize that what I thought were fundamental, more often than not, were just the very basics. I just started to brush the surface of the fundamentals. Lol!

Let's take HTML, for example. I realize I know very little about meta tags, ARIA code, or the canvas element and its API. On the other hand, I strive to write semantic HTML considering the content-management side of things and the assistive technology side of things. I can use the srcset property to load images based on the user's device resolution or bandwidth limitation, saving them time with faster loads and money with extra unused downloaded content.

I even had professional experience in the ancient art of HTML tables for newsletter templating. Which in and out itself was a patience exercise, but also a great lesson in building deeply nested structures (and why we should avoid that!)

Between the things, I have professional experience or a solid, researched and tested knowledge on the topic, and things I know very little, are the things I'm acquaintance. Like forms and their input fields! They both are ubiquitous elements of the web. They are also sort of dynamic when passed in attributes, in the way those attributes can trigger a response from the DOM based on conditions. Take in the case of a validation error on a password field, for example. I would say forms and input fields are my topic of choice for studying HTML at the moment.

In particular, because forms are the pillar of the front-end I'm building for my NodeJS back-end project. But that's a topic for the next time I try to write something.

Until next time! Bye!

First Impressions ANNE PRO 2

Diego Moura — Sat, 26 Dec 2020 00:42:22 +0000

What better way to test a new keyboard than actually typing on it? My friend lent me his Anne Pro 2, and so far, this little keyboard has amazed me with its power.

It uses brow switches and four fully customizable layouts, and the possibilities are endless. Its compact size makes it perfect for travel or working-from-home adventures into different rooms (aka the kitchen.)

I saw tones of tutorials where people share their setups for the different layers. Still, I first need to get used to the super tall keys it has compared to my Apple Magic Key before venturing myself with configurations.

That's it for me, guys! As I said, this was my very first test on the new keyboard, and so far, my impressions are excellent.

1 month of learning to code (check-in)⌨️

Diego Moura — Wed, 13 May 2020 01:13:10 +0000

Photo by Max Duzij on Unsplash

Tomorrow, May 13, I complete one month of pursuing a new career as a front-end developer. It feels like more when I think the number of things I've learned, podcasts I heard, and blogs I read.

The path to follow

Over those 30 days, I started to build a path for myself in regards to the topics, languages and tools I wanted to incorporate in my skill set. So, which other better way to validate my experience so far, then to share my ideas with my community and ask for feedback.

Below is just a list of topics I'm currently studying or plan to tackle soon. Attention! I'm not considering frameworks as of yet, but I would appreciate opinions of when you think I should start.

I will post at the end, some of the projects I've been working on, feel free to give feedback on those as well.

HTML

DOM
BEM model
Semantics
Forms
Accessibility (ARIA)
Emmet
Responsive Images
SEO

CSS

Resetting x Normalizing
Selectors (Pseudo / Attribute)
Sass (Scss)
SVG (creation and manipulation)
Box Model
Layout (float/ flex/ grid)
Animation (Webkit/ transform/ transition)
Responsive / Mobile first (Media query)
Browser support
CSSOM

Javascript

I'm following the book Eloquent Javascript as the base to guide my studies*
Values, Types, and Operators
Program Structure
Functions
Data Structures: Objects and Arrays
Higher-order Functions
Bugs and Errors
Regular Expressions
Modules
Asynchronous Programming
JavaScript and the Browser
The Document Object Model
Handling Events
Drawing on Canvas
HTTP and Forms

Tools

NPM
GIT
Github
Server
Network
Node.js

Natours Landing Page
Fylo Landing Page
Four Cards Section
Single Price Grid

Code newbie and anxiety!

Diego Moura — Wed, 06 May 2020 01:43:00 +0000

I had plans to write about something different today. I even started on the post where I talk about my career change, moving to Canada, and how all that led me to web development, but I'm feeling a little anxious, and my first advice to destress is to - PUT IT OUT THERE! -.

Anxiety feeds on itself, and other thoughts. The more we let it locked inside our heads, the faster and bigger it grows. So, PUT IT OUT THERE! Either on a post here on dev.to, over the phone with a friend, or however you feel comfortable doing it.

For me, in particular, I rather seek guidance, advice or a kind response in people I don't really know that well, over family or close friends. You may find that weird, but that's the only way I don't feel judge. When I'm anxious, the sightless condescending tone puts me in defensive mode. Especially if it's from a person I love or care. To my relief, I don't feel the same about co-works or I would be F****. hahaha!

Se I'm even laughing by the end. Feeling lighter already! Thank you, whoever you are!

I saw the link for this post on Twitter and that's what motived me to right

20 days into learning how to code 👨🏾‍💻

Diego Moura — Fri, 01 May 2020 22:54:18 +0000

Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash

It was April 8 when I finished the LinkedIn Learning course HTML Essential Training. To be completely honest, I don’t even know why I started it in the first place. Maybe it was due the boredom COVID-19 brought into our lives with the social isolation measures, or maybe it was something else, who knows. One thing is sure though, I stayed because of the enthusiasms and passion with which Jen Simmons teach the course.

From there, I jump right into the CSS Essential Training from Christina Truong, and that was it for me. I was hooked! The avalanche of information I’m being exposed is overwhelming only by the same degree it is fascinating. Seven to ten hours of my day are being dedicated to becoming a front-end developer. Shifting between learning, practicing, and interacting with other developers online, I’m more and more in love with coding each day.

I have much more to say about those 20 days, and that’s why I decided to write about it. Not only about them but also the many other days to come in this crazy journey. Hoping to inspire others, but mostly help me keep focus and track of my studies.

Come along! Fasten your seat belt, because this is going to be a crazy ride.

See some of the projects I’ve been working on at Frontend Mentor, or pick into my Github repository. Also, find me on Twitter, and Codepen.