DEV Community: Franklin Ohaegbulam

Understanding Blockchain Explorers

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 10:30:00 +0000

Unlike the traditional banking system, where the record of transactions is kept in a physical ledger or issued as a statement of account. Every transaction involving cryptocurrencies, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), or any digital token exists in a decentralized and distributed public ledger known as the blockchain.

According to Wikipedia;

A bank statement is an official summary of financial transactions occurring within a given period for each bank account held by a person or business with a financial institution.

What is a blockchain explorer?

Blockchain explorers (also known as block explorers) are scanning tools that allow users to access details related to transactions, on specific wallet addresses existing on any blockchain network. They are like blockchain search engines for tracking blocks, wallet address balances, transaction fees, the destination of funds, the status of the transactions, the history of a chain, and more.

What you can do with a blockchain explorer

Here are some of the uses of blockchain explorers:

To examine the history of all transactions and the total balance of a wallet address.
To detect the mining pool of a specific block.
To look up the first block (known as the genesis block) that was mined on a chain.
To track the status of a pending transaction (known as Mempool status).
To explore every block and the miner/validator in the chain.
To look up the largest or smallest transactions.
To ascertain the number of double-spend transactions occurring in a blockchain.
To track the destination of transferred digital tokens such as Cryptocurrency, NFTs, and domain names.
To explore other relevant pieces of information like the most recently mined block, hash rate, mining difficulty, mempool size, nodes, gas fees, and more.

Common Examples of Blockchain Explorers

Blockchain explorers differ based on the cryptocurrency or token, however, some enable one to search multiple blockchains. In this article, I will emphasize the Ethereum block explorer to highlight how the blockchain explorer works in the main network.

1. Bitcoin Whos Who

This blockchain explorer allows you to view, monitor, and search Bitcoin ownership and wallet balance to track who's who in the world of Bitcoin.

With this blockchain explorer you can;

Find a Bitcoin address owner and check to see if it has been reported as a scam.
Report a Bitcoin scammer like an investment scam, or mining scam.
The Bitcoin wallet transaction alerts feature notifies you by email when a Bitcoin address has activity on the blockchain.

The screenshot below shows details of the Bitcoin (BTC) address: bc1qf8cedqguh2ucc3fgsphmgt789q9szh35vtl38m

N/B: Most Bitcoin addresses have "bc" as the prefix, this helps distinguish them from other blockchain wallet addresses.

There is a more modern block explorer for Bitcoin, Blockchain.com which enables the user to search multiple chains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash.

As shown in the screenshot above, this specific BTC address has transacted 48 times on the Bitcoin blockchain. It has received a total of 0.07094964 BTC ($2,195.52) and sent a total of 0.05970737 BTC ($1,847.63). The current value of this address is 0.01124277 BTC ($347.89). The current value of this address is 0.28831935 BTC ($9,959.89).

N/B: This information is valid as of when this screenshot was taken.

2. Etherscan

Etherscan is a block explorer and analytics platform for Ethereum, a decentralized smart contracts platform. It allows users to conduct searches for ETH addresses, wallet balances, transactions, smart contracts, and more.

Ethereum (ETH) addresses can also be identified with the "0x" prefix. You can easily look up an Ethereum address using the ENS if there's an existing one. Here, I will be demonstrating how to track an ETH address using the ENS domain name of the Co-founder of Ethereum Blockchain (vitalik.eth), which maps to the hard-to-read hexadecimal address - 0xd8da6bf26964af9d7eed9e03e53415d37aa96045

To look up this ETH address via the ENS domain, enter it in the search bar.

A brief overview of this address shows;

Balance: The total balance of about 5,717 Ether.
EtherValue: This is calculated by multiplying the balance by the current price of one ETH. Here, the Ether value is worth $13,492,754 (at the cost of $2,359.94 per ETH).

Transaction details related to this wallet address can be printed as well like a bank statement in PDF format.

As indicated below, the ENS (Ethereum Naming System) username vitalik.eth directs to the wallet address 0xd8da6bf26964af9d7eed9e03e53415d37aa96045 . This can be compared to a DNS (Domain Name System) of a web page that redirects its IP Address to a human-readable URL.

Related Transactions also appear below this given section. See the screenshot below:

vitalik.eth is a registrant of other ENS names categorized as Owned Ethereum Names which includes elddem.eth, legendgames.eth, iamfuckingrich.eth, klock.eth, vitalik-buterin.eth, denarius.eth, vbuterin.eth, vitalik.eth, publicgod.eth, denarii.eth and also happybirthdayvitalik.eth, skynft.eth, carsen.eth, satoshichained.eth and theowen.eth as you navigate to the corresponding page. See screenshot:

The ENS domain, for example, iamfuckingrich.eth expired on 19th February 2022. This entails anyone can register this domain to claim ownership away from the former registrant. The same applies to every expired domain that wasn't renewed.

The Latest Block and Transactions can be explored as well. As of when the screenshot was taken, the Lastest Block was Block 14735440, resolved through a consensus mechanism by Ethermine miner, and the reward for mining this transaction (block) was 2.15607 ETH.

From the Transaction section, the highlighted fifth transaction indicates that 500 Ether was transferred from vitalik.eth (0xd8da6bf26964af9d7eed9e03e53415d37aa96045) to another Ethereum address (0x517...) which was validated and processed at the cost of 0.022103 ETH. You can also click on the recipient wallet address to verify how 500 ETH was spent.

Below is a more in-depth detail of the fifth transaction as indicated in the previous snapshot:

Transaction Hash: A unique identifier given to every verified transaction that gets added to the blockchain.
Status: The state of a transaction, if it was successful or not.
Block: A data structure where transactions are permanently recorded in a blockchain.
Timestamp: The date and time of a processed transaction in a blockchain network.
From: The sender's wallet address.
To: The recipient's wallet address.
Value: The amount of Ether transacted/transferred.
Transaction Fee: The amount of Ether spent to reward the miner of a transaction.
Gas Price: The amount of Ether that must be paid to miners for processing transactions in a blockchain.
Ether Price: The current price/value in the cryptocurrency market.

Internal Transactions (Internal Txns)

ERC-20 Transactions

This tab shows tokens implemented as non-unique value and fungible assets in a smart contract i.e Ether or any ERC-20 cryptocurrency.

ERC-721 Transactions section tracks transactions of non-fungible tokens i.e NFTs.

ERC-1155 Transactions section tracks transactions involving fungible, semi-fungible, and non-fungible tokens, specifically gaming assets. As highlighted, vitalik.eth interacted with a popular NFT marketplace known as Opensea.

Analytics - shows key metrics of the Ethereum address, such as the highest or lowest balance, the amount spent on gas as a sender, recipient, and more.

Comments - In this section, you can drop a question or review but please avoid spamming or pasting your wallet address here.

3. Polygonscan

PolygonScan allows you to explore and search the Polygon blockchain for transactions, addresses, tokens, prices, and other activities taking place on Polygon.

4. FTMScan

Fantom (FTM) Blockchain Explorer allows you to explore and search the Fantom blockchain for transactions, addresses, tokens, prices, and other activities taking place on Fantom (FTM).

5. BscScan

Binance Smart Chain Blockchain Explorer allows you to explore and search the Binance blockchain for transactions, addresses, tokens, prices, and other activities taking place on Binance.

6. Solscan

This is a block explorer for the Solana Ecosystem for tracking Solana and Solana-related tokens to get transaction information.

Final Thoughts

Just like a Blockchain explorer, bank statements are usually used to monitor cash flow, check for possible fraudulent transactions, etc. This is not true in all scenarios, for instance, physical cash expenditures like buying an item, gifting someone cash, or paying for a service, can't be accounted for in the future because there is no record of these transactions. However, blockchain explorers have records of every transaction stored permanently, immutable, and not prone to errors compared to bank statements. It is also worth noting that, there are similarities amongst these blockchain explorers, so you can easily use any, once you have a mental model of the user interface and features of each one.

Introduction to Blockchain Wallet

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 09:30:00 +0000

A blockchain wallet is a must-have tool for any cryptocurrency investor or Web3 enthusiast interested in interacting with decentralized applications, purchasing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or holding cryptocurrencies.

What is a blockchain wallet?

A blockchain (or crypto) wallet is a digital wallet that allows users to store, manage, and trade their cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-based digital assets. It securely enables users to store, send, or receive cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-based digital assets through a combination of public and private cryptographic keys. It usually consists of a pseudonymous 32-character public key address that can be easily restored with the 12-24 word mnemonic or seed phrase associated with it and also requires passwords for the users' protection.

It consists of:

Public key: The user wallet address that is shared with the public or other crypto users to receive cryptocurrencies or NFTs or process transactions like transfers.
Private key: This act like a unique password or address that grants complete access to a user's funds. It proves ownership of digital assets associated with a wallet address and therefore should be kept private.

Uses of blockchain wallet

A blockchain or crypto wallet allows you to:

Interact with decentralized applications and blockchain networks.
Manage not only your funds, but also NFTs, POAPs, DAO governance tokens, and other collectibles.
It acts as a personal on-chain identity or passport.

Classification of Blockchain Wallets

Blockchain wallets are classified into:

1. Non-custodial blockchain wallets

Non-custodial blockchain wallets offer private keys and complete control of funds to their users. They are not convenient to use and don't have trading functionality, although they have support for decentralized exchanges for swapping cryptocurrencies with others.

Examples of Non-custodial blockchain wallets
Hardware Wallets: Common examples of hardware wallets are Trezor and Ledger, which are portable just like flash drives. They are notably the safest blockchain wallets for cold storage of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. They are less vulnerable to hacks since they are offline and not connected to any decentralized application or protocol through the internet.
Web-Based Wallets: They come as browser extensions and offer efficient use of web3 protocols such as NFT marketplaces. The majority of blockchain wallets nowadays exist as web browser extensions. Examples of Web-Based Wallets include MetaMask, Wallet Connect, Phantom, Argent X, Tally Ho, Petra, and so on.
Mobile Wallets: These are application software downloadable from app stores. They are vulnerable to the risks of malware infections and virus attacks. Some examples of wallets that fall into this category are Valora, Zerion, Pera Algo wallet, Rainbow, MetaMask, Blockchain.com, and Trust Wallet.
Multisignature wallets: Commonly called multi-sig wallets are blockchain wallets that require two or more users to sign in with their private keys to confirm or make a transaction. For example, Gnosis Safe is a suitable multi-sig wallet for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and enterprises' management of funds.

2. Custodial blockchain wallets

These classes of blockchain or crypto wallets are provided and managed by centralized exchanges that act as custodians, responsible for securing and holding their user's funds. The wallet provider controls the security keys that grant access to the stored cryptocurrency and digital assets.

To own a custodial wallet, the user is required to complete verification through Your Customer (KYC) identity to have total access to all options and features provided on the platform. They have inbuilt trading functionality for easy buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. It also offers the freedom to create multiple individual wallets in an account. The cons of this wallet are that it is vulnerable to hacks, rug pulls, or scams since the user's private keys are held by a third party and the wallet holdings are kept in hot storage.

Examples of Non-custodial blockchain wallets

Binance
Coinbase
Kraken
Kucoin
Gate.io
and other wallets provided by centralized exchanges (CEXs).

How a Blockchain Wallet Works

A user is provided with a unique address, similar to a bank account, once they sign up. To make a purchase or exchange cryptocurrency, a user can either send a request to another user to transfer a token in exchange for fiat, or they can fund their wallet from a bank if it's a custodial wallet. For a non-custodial wallet, there is an option to swap a cryptocurrency for another using decentralized exchanges. Every cost of processing a transaction is covered by gas fees.

How to keep a blockchain wallet safe

Wallet security is an important consideration for users, as a compromised account may result in users losing control of their assets. Here are some things to note to keep your cryptocurrency wallet secure:

Your seed phrase or private key should keep confidential written on physical paper and not shared with anyone.
Large crypto holdings should be stored in a cold wallet such as Ledger.
Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for additional wallet security.
Confirm links to protocols or exchanges before interacting with them to avoid scams from phishing websites.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, I hope you found it helpful. Please share and check out other articles on my blog.

What is ReFi? Regenerative Finance Explained

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Today, climate change is one of the most crucial challenges that humanity has ever faced, and lots of work are on going to develop innovative ways to curb environmental challenges and save the planet from greenhouse gas emissions.

This article will explore everything you need to know about Regenerative Finance (ReFi), highlighting the aims of ReFi and notable web3 protocols in the ReFi space.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

What is Regenerative Finance?

Regenerative Finance (also known as ReFi) is a new financial model focused on the biodiversity of global ecosystems, leveraging money as a tool to address the climate impact and renew the Earth.

In the ReFi economy, natural carbon-backed assets (e.g Rainforest) can be assigned monetary value by tokenization. The tokenized assets can be traded, used, or bought through the ReFi project's infrastructure under the control of smart contracts. Lands are also tokenized as a regenerative physical asset that regenerates harmful effects of negative externalities. They are stored in the Regen registry for sale as carbon credits to large investments and industries.

The Objectives of the ReFi Economy

This financial model leverages blockchain technology to solve climate issues through the use of carbon credits. Lands can be regenerated by minting them into carbon credits on-chain and sold to individuals or a group looking to offset their carbon emissions.

Now that you understand what ReFi is all about, let's dig into the nitty-gritty to learn why this innovation is existing.

Some of the objectives and goals of ReFi include:

Ensure transparency in the climate impact report.
Build a financial system to enable more capital flow into regenerative activities and efforts.
Redesign money for innovative climate finance and action.
Sustain the vast carbon store in plants and the environmental ecosystem.
Address climate change by protecting plant trees from further deforestation.
Support projects through the issuance of blockchain-based green bonds, to ensure carbon removal for climate impact.
Regenerate Earth's ecosystem and offset carbon to net zero.

Notable ReFi Projects

Various web3 Protocols are at the forefront of ensuring the reduction of carbon footprint. Let's look at some of them:

1. Celo

Celo is a carbon-negative, EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain network launched on "Earth Day" 2020. It allocates a percent of Celo reserve to carbon credits and other tokenized natural assets such as rainforests for the regeneration of global ecologies.

They are the network behind the product Valora— an application positioned to drive mass adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. This app makes it easy for people to access financial services. With the help of the phone identity system (PIS), their phone number is confirmed as a wallet address for sending and receiving cryptocurrency tokens.

2. Toucan Protocol

Toucan protocol builds the infrastructure that brings carbon credits and planet-positive activity onto blockchains, unlocking innovation and financing for meaningful climate action at scale.

This protocol converts carbon offsets to toucan bridges and tokenizes real-world carbon credits in exchange for semi-fungible tokenized Carbon dioxide.

3. Flow Carbon

Flowcarbon finances solutions that mitigate climate change, protect the planet, and make natural assets more valuable intact than destroyed while connecting corporations, individuals, and developers to a carbon market rich with incentives.

The aim is to accelerate decarbonization through the preservation and protection of earth’s natural ecosystems and bring carbon credits onto the blockchain to create democratized access, price transparency, immutable tracking of credits, and incentivize high-impact climate change mitigation projects.

4. Earthbanc

Earthbanc offers verified carbon credits, incentives and investment opportunities in land regeneration and carbon removal projects for farmers and land stewards.

It makes investing in climate action easy and profitable for those who are sequestering carbon. It also finances agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, mangrove and sea grass restoration, kelp forest protection, holistic grazing, and more.

5. Nori

Nori is a platform that makes it easy to fund carbon removal and emissions to eliminate climate catastrophe. They are building a massive marketplace for carbon removal.

6. Future Quest

Future Quest is a web3 ecosystem that makes it easy and rewarding for people to take meaningful action on climate change.

7. Return.green

Return Protocol builds web3-based infrastructure for incentivized climate action empowering consumer, business or community to take transparent and value aligned climate action by funding impactful climate projects.

8. ClimeDAO

Clime DAO is a Carbonbank as a service (CAAS) platform that helps leading businesses and cities create climate equity, and engage their community members to make a positive impact, reducing the time and cost to take and verify climate action.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not investment or trading advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author.

Final Thoughts

As we have seen, what Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is to the banking and financial system in terms of lending, borrowing, etc, is what ReFi is to the environmental ecosystem. It ensures universal access to financial tools to compensate for all negative externalities for ecosystem restoration, sustainability, and social justice.

Do you think I have missed out on something? If yes, then do let me know in the comment section. Also, check out other articles on my blog.

Internet of Things (IoT): A Revolutionary Technology To Our Social Problems

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 10:05:00 +0000

It was reported that between 2008 and 2009, the number of connected objects exceeded the number of people connected to the Internet.

This article aims to provide a review of the Internet of Things, and its applications in healthcare, environmental monitoring, automotive, manufacturing, inventory, and logistics management.

It will not only introduce you to the fundamentals of the Internet of Things but will help you gain insights into how the technology will solve some common problems we face today in our society.

What is the Internet of Things?

The "Internet of Things" (IoT) is a term describing a network of interconnected physical objects in our world operating autonomously, connected via a network with unique identifiers enabling human-to-object interactions and object-to-object interactions; real-time monitoring of changes in the physical area.

It deals with entities in the real world like cars, electronic devices, household appliances, industrial machines, and more. Thus, anything can become a "smart object" by embedding sensors and internal network capabilities.

How does IoT Work?

An IoT system consists of different physical objects embedded with sensors and communication technology and assigned a unique address. They are connected via cables or wirelessly. They interact with the environment to form a network of smart things, that sense the real world and send data for intelligent analysis used for independent decisions.

Any physical object can be seen as a smart object if it can connect to the internet, receive data, and transmit information about itself and its environment to other devices.

These smart objects can:

be controlled remotely using actuators.
detect their location using embedded geolocation devices.
evaluate conditions of surrounding items to recommend better solutions.
get identified by a hard-coded serial number, QR code, or electronic tag.
provide real-time information and feedback about their current state or environment.
adapt to the user's preference or routine using artificial intelligence technology.

Dimensions of the IoT Architecture

There are four major technological dimensions of the Internet of Things:

Object identification.
Embedded systems.
Sensors and wireless sensor networks.
Nanotechnology.

Application of IoT Technology

IoT is considered one of the revolutionary technologies that have the potential to radically change lives. It is also applicable in all fields, including medicine, industry, transportation, education, agriculture, green energy, and the environment.

1. Home Automation (Smart Homes)

IoT technologies are used to improve security and surveillance in buildings and homes such as automatic control of the entry and exit from the door, remote power on or off of light bulbs based on the ambiance, smart alarm systems to schedule wake-up time based on routine activity, cooling and heating systems, and gas leakage detection to monitor the atmosphere of homes.

These IoT-based devices at home can also be controlled by an intelligent virtual assistant offering a personalized experience through voice commands.

This video shows a real-life application of IoT in homes:

IoT in Smart Homes

IoT-based devices at home communicate and ensure real-time monitoring of climate changes and weather conditions such as rainfall, humidity, wind speed, etc, and also send notifications to warn about drastic weather, suggesting safety actions such as wearing sunscreen, a cold jacket, or taking an umbrella.

2. Smart Healthcare

IoT applications create digitized and remote health monitoring through biosensors, wearables, and sensor-based medical devices used to collect and process health data such as blood pressure, sugar levels, oxygen levels, and body weight. This plays a vital role in disease diagnosis, management, prevention, and control.

3. Smart Farming and Agriculture

IoT applications in the field of agriculture include monitoring the level of rainfall, soil conditions, effects of chemicals, pest infestation, and better time to cultivate or harvest plants. Sensors can determine the reduction of soil water level and trigger a pump to supply water to crops through an adaptive irrigation system.

This increases productivity prevents risk and reduces costs in agriculture by monitoring conditional changes with real-time data analytics which can be used to improve the quality of farming.

4. Smart Transportation

Sensors connected to cars can suggest available parking spaces, and better routes with less traffic congestion, run diagnostics to check their status and send relevant information to manufacturers for possible repair or maintenance.

This information can be reported to the transportation system to simulate potential problems, smart traffic control, and real-time obstacle detection to ensure safer transportation and avoid accidents.

5. Smart Cities

The Internet of Things is applied in the environmental monitoring of temperature, humidity, and energy consumption to reduce environmental impact, control pollution, or warn against natural disasters like flooding, and earthquakes.

This creates more eco-friendly surroundings where greenhouse gas emissions are monitored in real-time. It can be integrated into street lights and cameras to automatically detect the presence of humans, and turn on lights for safety and crime prevention.

6. Industrial IoT Application

IoT technology can be used for the optimization of production processes and industrial equipment by embedding sensors that trigger an alert about the condition.

Industrial IoT provides real-time tracking of the supply chain, automates and speeds up complex manufacturing processes, detection of dangers in factories to ensure safety, and improves quality control, and inventory management.

Conclusion

The concept of IoT is the connection of every physical object to the internet by integration of Sensor and Radio Frequency Technologies, which collect information that is sent to the IoT network and actuators. With IoT, objects now have internal processors, network connectivity, and the ability to detect and respond to their physical environment.

Although there are many challenges facing the IoT, such as reliability, security, data storage, and management. It is likely to evolve and become more sophisticated by combining its platform with other technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain technology, etc.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article. Please be kind enough to share and drop your thoughts.

Learn Blockchain Development By Playing Games

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 10:25:00 +0000

Learning something new through interactive tutorials can be fun, especially for gamers. The interesting thing about this is the concept of gamification that was employed, which makes it compelling and increases learner engagement.

Gamified tutorials create a great impact on the user's behavior, by leveraging point systems such as experience points (XP), badges, reputation points, and other game mechanics.

In this article, I curated common gamified and interactive tutorials that will teach everything about blockchain, and cryptography, how to deploy and audit smart contracts, build decentralized applications, and more.

Some popular games and interactive tutorials for blockchain enthusiasts include:

1. Cryptozombies

This is my favorite and the most popular blockchain development game. It is an interactive school that teaches you all things technical about blockchain. You will learn to make smart contracts in Solidity or Libra by making your own crypto-collectibles game.

2. Ethernaut

Ethernaut is a web-based wargame played in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It is open source and would educate you on how smart contracts are vulnerable to hackers.

3. Capture the Ether

Commonly known as the game of Ethereum smart contract security, Capture the Ether helps you learn how to hack Ethereum smart contracts for fun and educational purposes to understand security.

4. Vyper.fun

Vyper is a language for smart contracts with a similar syntax to Python. In this game, you will learn to build a Pokémon game—a decentralized application.

5. Damnvulnerable Defi

This is another war game that helps you study the offensive security of decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts. Upon completion, you will gain the necessary skills to become a bug hunter or security auditor in the blockchain ecosystem.

6. Cryptohack

This is a free platform to learn modern cryptography and solve a series of interactive puzzles and challenges. It covers courses on introduction to cryptography, modular arithmetic, symmetric cryptography, public-key cryptography, and elliptic curves.

7. Space Doggo

Space Doggo is an interactive Solidity tutorial by BitDegree where you will learn how to code in Solidity, write a smart contract, and make a blockchain application.

Hopefully, these interactive tutorials and games can help your learning process and keep you engaged. If you liked the article, please share it with others. Thank you for reading!

Best Tools and Resources Best Tools and Resources For Self-Taught Developers

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 16:08:00 +0000

Selecting the right tools and resources from the myriad of available resources can be challenging for self-learners and anyone looking to make a transition to web development.

Below are some of my favorite free learning resources and tools that helped me in my journey as a self-taught web developer.

Learning Resources

1. FreeCodeCamp

It is a non-profit organization with the mission to help people learn to code for free by creating thousands of videos, articles, and interactive coding lessons.

It has the most comprehensive lessons and an up-to-date curriculum. It also includes an interactive learning web platform, a community forum, chat rooms, and online publications.

2. W3Schools

It’s one of the oldest online learning platforms that create simplified and interactive learning experiences. If you are looking to learn basic frontend development technologies - HTML, CSS, and Javascript, this is definitely a great website.

3. Javascript.info

Javascript.info created in 2007 by Ilya Kantor covers modern javaScript tutorials from the basics to advanced topics with simple, but detailed explanations.

4. CSSreference.io

Cssreference is a free visual guide to CSS. It features the most popular properties and explains them with illustrated and animated examples.

It gives illustrated and animated examples to improve understanding of the cascading style sheet (CSS) covering topics like flexbox, grid, box model, positioning, transitions, animations, and typography.

The sister website is HTMLreference.io - if you are interested in learning HyperText Markup Language(HTML) indepth.

5. DevDocs

DevDocs is a web app aimed at providing you with quick access to the reference manual of just about every front-end language and library. It combines multiple documentation of over 100+ for lots of developer tools into a single searchable interface.

6. MDN Web Docs

MDN (formerly Mozilla Developer Network) is a free resource for in-depth and well-explained documentation on web standards such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Web APIs, and much more.

7. Frontend Mentor

Frontend Mentor is a collaborative learning platform that provides designs so that you can practice your front-end skills using a real-life workflow.

It helps you improve your front-end skills and knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript by building real projects.

8. Scrimba

Scrimba is a code-learning platform that helps motivated newbies become professional web developers without spending a fortune. Its mission is to give students the quality of a coding Bootcamp with interactive courses and tutorials on React, Vue, Angular, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and more.

9. CSS In Real Life

CSS-irl is designed, written, and developed by Michelle Barker covering tips, tricks, and tutorials on the web's most beautiful language known as CSS.

10. Learn X in Y minutes

It’s one of the most popular tutorial websites that provides a concise and introductory guide on any programming language and technologies including Solidity, Python, JavaScript, C, C++, etc.

Youtube Channels

11. Traversy Media

Traversy Media features the best online web development and programming tutorials for all of the latest web technologies from the building blocks of HTML, CSS & JavaScript to frontend frameworks like React and Vue to backend technologies like Node.js, Python, and PHP.

12. FreeCodeCamp.org

Learn how to code for free from computer programming, game development, web development, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and more.

13. ProgrammingWithMosh

Learn how to code Javascript, Python, and C# as a professional software engineer.

14. The Net Ninja

Black-belt your web development skills with free programming tutorials about Modern JavaScript (beginner to advanced), Node.js, React, Vue.js, Firebase, MongoDB, HTML & CSS, PHP & MySQL, Laravel, React Native, Flutter, and many more topics.

15. Kevin Powell

This youtube channel helps you learn CSS with confidence using simple tips and tricks. Helping you learn how to make the web, and make it look good while you're at it.

16. Web Dev Simplified

If you are just getting started in web development Web Dev Simplified has all the tools you need to learn the newest and most popular technologies to convert you from a no-stack to a full-stack developer. It also deep dives into advanced topics using the latest best practices for you seasoned web developers.

17. Dev Ed

Learn web development, web design, 3d modeling, tools like Figma, and more without getting bored.

18. Clever programmer

Learn how to clone popular websites like Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify, including programming tips and tricks that will take your coding skills to the next level.

19. Adrian Twarog

Adrian is a designer and developer who makes websites and apps using platforms like React Native.
This channel covers topics like web development for React, React Native, Javascript, HTML, CSS, UI & UX, techniques for creating style guides, reviews of existing businesses' online presence, and tips on improving them.

20. Academind

This channel creates courses and tutorials that teach you everything related to web development like JavaScript, runtimes like NodeJS, popular frameworks like ReactJS, Angular, or VueJS, and much more.

21. CodeSTACKr

The tutorials are generally about web development and include coding languages such as HTML, CSS, Sass, JavaScript, and TypeScript.

22. Eddie Jaounde

Eddie Jaounde is a GitHub Star and Open Source Advocate that teaches you coding, community building, DevOps, and open source.

23. Code with Ania Kubów

Ania Kubow is a Software Developer (ex-Eurostar) who teaches how to code by building retro Games and awesome projects using JavaScript, React, React-Native, Next.js, Node.js, Express, GraphQL, Serverless Functions, DataBase work and so much more.

24. DesignCourse

Gary Simon creates courses from graphic design and UI/UX design to advanced front-end development.

Browser Extensions and Tools

25. Daily.dev

Daily.dev is the fastest growing online community for developers to stay updated on the best developer news. It shortlists trending and high-quality articles collected from 400+ sources like medium, hashnode, dev.to, hackernoon, hackernews, etc.

26. Pesticide

Until recently, margins and paddings around any website can be inspected using:

border: 1px solid red;

Pesticide extension makes this easier by inserting the Pesticide CSS into the current page, outlining each element to better see the placement on the page.

27. Wappalyzer

Wappalyzer is a technology profiler and browser extension that shows you what websites are built at glance. It helps you find out the content management systems, eCommerce platforms, web servers, frameworks, analytics tools, and many other technologies used on websites.

28. Responsively App

This extension makes it easier to build responsive websites and web applications on various screen sizes. It gives a handy way to send the current page URL to the Responsively App desktop application.

29. CSS Viewer

CSSViewer is a simple CSS properties viewer originally made by Nicolas Huon as a Firefox add-on.
It is used to inspect web pages to identify properties.

30. WCAG Color Contrast Checker

This extension checks the color contrast between the foreground and background of the elements that are on the page according to the WCAG accessibility requirements.

It evaluates the contrast on all elements of the page considering their computed style for the color and background-color CSS properties. It can also simulate color blindness and evaluate the contrast for the simulations. In this way, developers can see how the pages look for colorblind users. It also allows you to select a color from any document.

Wrapping Up

It is pertinent to understand this list isn't exclusive, and these are my personal recommendations.

Thank you very much for reading! Follow me on my blog for more resources and tips.
You can also find me on Twitter.

How To Achieve Effective Open Source Collaboration

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 08:50:00 +0000

In this article, principles, tips, and tools are highlighted to demonstrate the various ways of collaborating efficiently and effectively in the open source community.

Introduction

Open source collaboration requires open-mindedness since individuals with varying personalities, work experience, and attitudes are involved. Creating an atmosphere that respects diversity increases engagement, encourages open communication, and fosters accountability among every participant.

People can collaborate better to open source projects using the right collaboration and project management tools. Organizing meetings daily or weekly, asking questions, networking with coworkers, making suggestions, asking for feedback and guidance, sharing knowledge, and assigning roles to everyone as a group or individually also ensures efficient collaboration. It is pertinent for everyone to communicate effectively and also respect people’s opinions to accomplish a successful open source collaboration.

Here's a video presentation on effective open source collaboration:

How to achieve effective open source collaboration presentation

Defining the term "Collaboration"

Collaboration simply means working together with one or more people to complete a project or develop ideas. It requires interpersonal skills, communication skills, knowledge sharing, and strategy. It also involves using modern technologies to unite teams from different locations and time zones.

This gives team members an equal opportunity to share ideas, respect diversity better, and make decisions for the achievement of a common goal. Effective collaboration can be challenging since each person on a team has their respective strengths, weaknesses, perspectives, communication preferences, and personal goals.

Principles of effective Open source collaboration

The mindset and approach used in collaboration can make a world of difference.

1. Efficiency

Outlined action items and a project-focused team to encourage efficiency and increase productivity.

2. Trust

People need to feel safe to give and receive genuine constructive feedback, be inspired by a common goal, and have the tools and opportunities to connect.

3. Empathy

The more you get to know your colleagues and understand how they work and what challenges they’re dealing with, the better chance you’ll have at successfully collaborating with them. Having empathy for your teammates can allow you to better understand their motives and feelings. Taking the time to listen and understand how others think and work can help you to communicate with them in the right ways.

4. Optimism

Just because you had a group project go poorly in the past doesn’t mean that the same thing will happen again. Approach every group work situation like a new start, with an open and positive mindset.

Another extremely important component of collaboration is being able to think long-term and envision the end result of your collaborative work. Gaining an understanding of a project’s scope and everyone’s role encourages collaboration.

5. Clarity

It’s natural for people to have their own priorities or interests. That’s why it’s important to identify everybody’s priorities and agendas upfront to find a common denominator that will move the project forward.

6. Accountability

The most successful open source communities have modes of operation and processes where peers can reference a project’s schedule and tasks so they have a clear understanding of how their contributions affect the group.

7. Respect for Diversity

For a diverse Open Source community, reflect on any implicit biases or decisions that could be discriminating while working with colleagues from other countries and cultures.

8. Adaptability

Collaborative projects often don’t go as planned. Priorities shift, obstacles or unforeseen issue delay progress, and problems occur. Adapting well to change comes with practice and experience. Encourage adaptability by skipping the initial freak-out stage and brainstorming a solution to the problem.

9. Transparency

Practicing honesty and transparency at work might mean working through a disagreement, explaining that you were not able to complete a certain task on time, or sharing difficult updates. Without transparency, it can be difficult for a team to develop trust and therefore work together efficiently.

10. Organization

Collaboration can’t be successful unless people can delegate workload, take care of their responsibilities, and keep themselves organized.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller

Ways To Achieve Effective Open Source Collaboration

1. Provide Support

Although, you might have ideas about the direction of a project, it is essential to take others’ opinions into account. The best way to approach differing perspectives is often to reach a compromise.

2. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of team members

It is a great strategy to work with team members’ strengths rather than working around their weaknesses. This enables each person to get to know themselves better and their individual strengths. Then, pair them with convenient and apt tasks and roles.

When teams are connected in this way, everyone is set up for success because they are assigned tasks that play to their respective strengths.

3. Clarity of team goals and purposes.

To drive success in a team, it’s important to set measurable goals for each on a quarterly basis. Having a clear cause on why to get involved, makes them passionate about the goals and objectives. For collaboration to work, the vision and purpose must be clear.

When working with others, always be sure to state your intentions before you begin tackling a task or assignment. Let your teammates know what you’re doing and set realistic expectations regarding your timeline. If something unexpected happens and you won’t be able to deliver results as expected, communicate these changes too.

4. Assign roles and responsibilities

Members should be assigned defined individual roles and collective responsibilities. Analyze, evaluate and match tasks with a person who is in possession of the ability necessary for the task. Having a clear understanding of their position encourages them to work effectively.

5. Create an atmosphere of trust

As a team leader, it is mostly up to you to create a safe environment based on trust.
Setting up visible and realistic goals is a good way to start. It shows that you are able to manage performance in a way that motivates team members. And when a team can trust each other, it is easier to have a healthy approach to the project, and admit a mistake the moment it occurs, so the damage is minimized.

6. Organize the process

There is no chance for a collaborative environment unless you organize the work processes. In addition to providing support, building trust, and clarifying team member roles and responsibilities, your task is to provide a team with a platform to share their ideas or leave feedback. Try to allow teams to communicate the work status in real time.

7. Encourage participants to network

Socializing with co-participants is an effective way to open channels of communication, share common interests or talk about some challenges outside of work. This helps to decrease individual bias. For the Open Source community to grow they must be encouraged to brainstorm and exchange thoughts on a regular basis.

8. Recognize and reward efforts

For collaboration to work it must be consistent and purposeful, with resources and rewards dedicated to its success. When team members feel they are a part of something exceptional they are more than willing to work together.

9. Resolve problems without assigning blame

Sometimes when working with others, problems arise or people make mistakes. In these circumstances, it’s essential to analyze the issue as a group without blaming any team member. Instead, focus your energy on working together to find solutions.

To enhance collaboration, it’s important you’re willing to forgive mistakes when others make them and take responsibility when you make an error. This helps build trust between team members and ensures everyone feels comfortable communicating, even if they do something wrong.

Essential Skills For Successful Open Source Collaboration

1. Goal setting

Every effective team needs to understand what the common goals are, how these goals are measured and what the team should focus on. Set realistic expectations, otherwise, your team will find frustration instead of success.

Everyone should understand the purpose and vision behind the project, as well as how you’ll be determining success. Establishing transparency and identifying goals before you kick off a project will ensure everyone is committed to success and aligned with a common purpose.

2. Communication

People communicate differently, some of us feel perfectly comfortable speaking in groups; others don’t. Clear and thoughtful communication means being mindful of different communication styles and adapting the way you communicate accordingly. The collaborative process should incorporate alternative communication means - written, verbal or non-verbal.

3. Active listening

Active listening implies focusing intently on one person as they share their ideas, thoughts, or feelings. You might also ask follow-up questions to dig deeper into what they are communicating.

You might not always agree with the outcome, but at the end of the day, you need to prioritize the needs and responsibilities of the group over your own wants.

4. Problem-solving

When problems arise, analyze the issue as a group without blaming anyone. Rather, focus your energy on working together to find solutions. This helps build trust between team members and ensures transparency.

5. Time management

Being able to prioritize your tasks and schedule them accordingly is key to ensuring you can meet deadlines and complete the work that your team is counting on you to deliver.

6. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your emotions, recognize emotions in others and react appropriately, and apply your emotions to tasks. This is one of the most sought-after soft skills in the workplace.

Some traits to cultivate to increase your emotional intelligence include, resilience, not being offended easily, not taking criticism personally, being able to recognize and detach from strong emotions when needed, curiosity, empathy, compassion, and conflict resolution

7. Open-mindedness

When discussing a project or during brainstorming sessions, ideas come from different areas of expertise and should have equal opportunity to be heard, mulled over, criticized, or expanded upon. Also, set up some parameters on what will be discussed in a given meeting or discussion.

To be a successful collaborator, you must remain open to new ideas. It’s critical you acknowledge others’ contributions and consider their ideas without judgment.

Tools That Help In Effective Collaboration

Essentially, collaboration takes place when two or more people work together to produce or create something. This can happen either in person or virtually, thanks to the many communication tools and cloud-based programs that are created for this very purpose.

Some of the tools required for efficient and effective collaboration include:

Asana - a popular project management tool that allows you to assign tasks to other teammates, add followers to projects and monitor deadlines.

Trello - is another project management tool that organizes projects and tasks into draggable cards. Good for monitoring projects, assigning tasks, and quickly see the status of your team’s projects at a glance.

Discord - an instant messaging social platform for seamless communication and collaboration that help small teams to become more productive by featuring instant messages with unlimited searchable history.

Slack - a team messenger with an impressive list of collaborative tools. Your team can benefit from file sharing, search and archiving, and integrations with services like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

Backlog -
an all-in-one online project management tool for task management, version control, and bug tracking. It enhances team collaboration across organizations large and small.

Zoom -
a popular video chat and voice call service. Useful for making daily or weekly calls, video conferences with remote teams, job interviews, and communicating with clients.

Google Workspace - a collection of cloud computing, productivity, and collaboration tools great for remote teams. It comes with abilities to store, organize and search files combined with collaborative features like sharing, editing, and commenting within documents and applications. It comprises Google Drive, Google Excel, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Calendar.

Notion - a powerful note-taking tool that helps members of organizations coordinate deadlines, objectives, and assignments for greater efficiency and productivity.

Conclusion

Successfully collaborating with peers can drive efficiency and foster healthy relationships.

Additionally, sharing ideas and brainstorming is helpful for developing unique solutions to complex challenges.

This blog post was inspired by my talk on Open Source Collaboration at the FOSS Backstage. You can find the presentation slides here.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

First timers’ Practical Guide to Open Source Contribution

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 09:43:00 +0000

The source code for open-source software or projects is made public, allowing anyone to understand how the program works. You can also modify it, by fixing the issue(s) or bug(s) you noticed, proposing new features, or even interacting with the developers or maintainers.

This overview highlights a thorough, easy-to-understand guide to making open-source contributions as a beginner. Let’s dive in!

What is Open Source?

Open source implies that it is freely and publicly available for anyone to use, inspect, modify, or enhance.

As a first-timer, you might get confused about how to make your first open-source contribution. I'm sure you will find a way out after going through this article. Without further ado, let's get started!

A general approach to open source contribution

Find open source projects on GitHub: Search for open source projects built with your preferred programming language.
Pick an open issue: Choose an issue with first-timer, or beginner-friendly. If you are interested in fixing the issue, add a comment stating you would be working on it.
Work on the issue: Go through the CONTRIBUTING.md file to know how to contribute.
Submit your pull request: Make sure you follow the conventions stated in the CONTRIBUTING.md file while submitting a pull request (PR). Add a good commit message too.
Wait for feedback: The open source maintainer(s) will review the PR or suggest changes if there’s a need before it’s merged.

Practical steps to take before making any open source contribution

Find a project you would like to contribute to.
Go through the README file.
Read the Code of Conduct.
Read the Contributing Guideline.
Read the Development and setup instructions.
Indicate you are will work on an issue by commenting.
Fork and clone the project into your computer locally.
Submit a Pull Request.
Wait for the Pull Request to be reviewed and/or merged.

A step-by-step guide to open-source contribution

There are two basic ways of contributing to open source;

a. Create your project publicly: This involves starting your project and hosting it on GitHub.

b. Contribute to existing open-source projects

Before participating in open source, you should understand the project, its codebase, and the use of Git and Markdown. Check out Learn Git Branching for an interactive lesson on Git.

Let's look at the guidelines for downloading the project locally, making changes, and then publishing them online for review:

1. Fork the repository

By forking a repository, you have a copy of the project. Now, you can edit and submit your own updated copy through a pull request, to be included in the main project.

2. Clone the repository

Once, the repository is forked on your own GitHub profile, the next step is to download it to your computer. To clone a repository, copy the HTTPS or SSH URL

In your GitBash or terminal, run the command, which should look like this:

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/project-name.git

Note: Install Git on your computer and connect your GitHub account to it, if you haven't already.

3. Change to the repository directory

Navigate to the project folder using the command below:

cd project-name

4. Synchronize and reference your local repository to the remote repository

Add the main project repository upstream to your already cloned local project files by running the following command on your terminal:

git remote add upstream https://github.com/<Project-owner>/project-name.git

Check if your cloned repository syncs with the remote repository.

git remote -v

You can easily pull any changes from the remote repository to your computer by entering the command:

git pull

5. Create and switch to a new branch

Creating a new branch gives you room to make any changes, or experiment with the project without affecting the main branch.

git checkout -b branch-name

6. Open the project folder in a Code Editor

Locate the repository folder on your computer, and open it or drag and drop it into your favorite code editor. Then, make the necessary changes, fix an issue, or add new features.

Confirm the state of the current branch and all modified files with the command:

git status

Note: Changed file names should appear in red while unchanged files appear in green.

7. Stage all files to Git

Apply all changes and add all the files to the git tracking list. Enter the command in your terminal:

git add .

8. Commit changes to Git

Now, you should commit all the changes to your branch. The command below commits the changes with a unique hash on Git:

git commit -m"describe the changes made"

Note: Writing a concise commit message in the active voice is recommended.

9. Push the new branch to the remote repository

In this step, publish your branch and the file changes to GitHub. In your terminal, enter the command:

git push origin branch-name

10. Submit a pull request for review

Go to the forked repository on GitHub, where you can see all of your file changes and a "Compare and Pull Request" button. Click it to open a pull request from your featured branch to the project repository's main branch.

Add the appropriate title and description to your pull request. Once, it is reviewed, your pull request will be merged by the project maintainer.

Congratulations! You just contributed to open source.

Do you want to gain first-hand experience? Check out the following GitHub repositories:

No-code open-source contribution

A common misconception is that learning to code or becoming a developer is required before working with open source. Fortunately, most contributions are "code-free."

Let's look at some non-coding approaches to open source. Below are ways to contribute to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) without knowledge of programming or code:

Submit Bug reports by opening new issues.
Ask questions by getting involved in the project discussions.
Answer others' questions or provide feedback.
Write a blog post about an open-source project or open-source in general.
Become an advocate or evangelist of open source project(s).
Write tests for FOSS projects.
Help with design and UX research.
Sponsor, donate, or provide any financial support for the open-source project you use.
Improve the documentation of open-source projects on GitHub.

Summary

Contributing to open source may seem quite daunting as a first-timer, but you will get familiar with the process through continuous practice. As a recap, there are many ways to make open-source contributions other than just code, such as by opening issues, updating the documentation, or suggesting new changes.

References

What Inspired Me To Be A Developer

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Sat, 18 Feb 2023 20:00:00 +0000

Hi, I'm Franklin. I will be sharing a brief story of why I made this career transition into web development, after studying science laboratory technology and biochemistry.

Choosing a career path is one of the most difficult decisions anyone will ever make. In the course of discovering our true selves, we might explore other fields of study and jobs.

Early Interest

Science and technology were always a part of my life as a child; I was always fascinated by the seven wonders of the world and how airplanes flew in the sky. How information is easy to access without the need for an encyclopedia, and how bridges are built across bodies of water all left me in awe.

I could remember creating my first email, Yahoo!, at a cybercafé, having firsthand experience of how messages can be transmitted within seconds abroad without the service of a post office.

But it wasn’t until high school that I got my first mobile phone and discovered how powerful technology was.

It all started when I spent time playing games like Real Football, Need for Speed, Splinter Cell, Vice City, and Die Hard, to name a few. I was curious about how entertaining apps like these were developed

With time, I built my first website on wapka.mobi, cloned some Java phone apps, created custom themes, and experimented with mobile software-hacking Infrared and Bluetooth mobile connectivity. All of these were done using my mobile phone with no formal education.

Self-discovery

After graduation from high school, I learned basic computer skills, got better at typing with the help of the Mavis Beacon desktop app, and also gained mastery of Microsoft office suites such as MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint. I yearned to learn more, so I focused on graphic design because I loved aesthetics and had a natural ability to sketch.

As I further developed my skills, I tried out different paths like content creation, social media management, and public relations for some time and I discovered that my strength lies more in technical problem-solving and creativity.

However, I have been nursing the idea of learning web development for a long time until the outbreak of the global pandemic Covid-19. Having reflected on how I always wanted to be an inventor, to bring some ideas to life and build something humans can use. I carried out some research on Google and found W3Schools. Dedicating an average of 5 hours daily to study and practice.

Adventure

At some point, I was not sure what I wanted to do until I came across the Sololearn mobile app. The lessons introduced me to basic front-end development technologies in a gamified approach. I dedicated time to learning and maintaining a longer streak while gaining extra points (XPs) and interacting with the community. It was from there I knew that this is the perfect career for me.

With time I kept exploring the internet for relevant web development tools and resources and also started taking up online courses to stay abreast. Freecodecamp came in handy, having a great curriculum for a self-learner like me. On completion of the responsive web design, I was able to build over ten side projects, participate in two internship programs, and make my first open-source contribution.

What interests me so much about being a developer is that I get to learn something new every day as technology is evolving.

Final thoughts

As a developer, you will likely get criticized especially if you are making a career transition. You may also get burnout and imposter syndrome, which is normal. You should reflect and focus more on your personal development without comparing yourself with others, but rather learn from others' failures and successes.

Never stop learning and keep practicing.

Thanks for reading! Feel feel to share your thoughts in the comment section.

10 Reasons You Should Contribute To Open Source Projects

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 15:55:00 +0000

1. Advancement in your Career

Open-source software provides an opportunity to practice your programming skills. Writing documentation, identifying issues, and fixing bugs inevitably boost your career. A junior developer can also learn to write code that is readable and maintainable.

2. Become a better communicator

By joining a community of like-minded people and participating in open source projects, you learn to give suggestions, explain problems clearly, and communicate because of the level of cultural diversity.

3. Mentorship from more experienced developers

As a member of an active open-source community, you get to work with like-minded people and learn from and gain feedback from more accomplished and above-average programmers.

4. Enhance your Technical skills

Contributing to free and open-source projects trains you to conform to the norms, rules, and best practices associated with the project. You also become better at interpreting other people's code or understanding how codebases work.

5. Grow Your Network

By joining an open-source community, you gain new acquaintances, learn from them, and exchange ideas, as well as broaden your professional horizons.

6. Get Job offers

The benefit of joining an open source community is that visitors to the open source project you contribute to can offer you a job or employment. In the same way, it can also improve your career prospects.

7. Enhance your portfolio and resume

Gaining experience in open-source software can help you secure employment. A hiring manager is more likely to recruit a developer who actively participates in open source than a more certified candidate with no open source experience.

8. Asynchronous Collaboration and Remote work experience

You gain remote work experience and learn how to work on a project more efficiently as a team when you are part of an open-source community.

9. Gain Credibility and Recognition in the technology industry

Generally, open-source contributions build your reputation as a great developer. Recognition from the open-source community can also motivate you to improve your skills and make a greater impact.

10. Become a better person

Getting in involved in an open-source project exposes you to a multicultural environment. This enables you to become a better individual as you learn to be empathetic, thoughtful, and tolerant.

Thanks for reading! If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section.

Http Request Exception Encountered [SOLVED]

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 12:56:11 +0000

GitHub recently stopped the use of usernames and passwords to authenticate git push due to identity and security reasons. And this new development was challenging for me because I found it difficult at first to push my project to the remote repository.

The old way to associate a commit was:

git config --global user.name "your username"
git config --global user.email "your email"

The above method works when you fork and clone a repository using HTTP. Following this update, if you try pushing to GitHub, you are likely to come across this error;

Support for password authentication was removed on August 13, 2021. Please use a personal access token instead.

Solution: Use an open SSH public key to authenticate the Git push

1. Generate an SSH public key

Open your GitBash desktop app, and enter the command:

ssh-keygen -o -t rsa -C "yourname@email.com

You should see, "Enter file in which to save the key". Hit the ENTER key to bypass, and use the default file location ~/.ssh/id_rsa. You will also be prompted to enter a passphrase, which is the password for the key. Press the ENTER key to skip.

Bypass the prompt "Enter file in which to save the key" by hitting the ENTER key. Do the same when asked to enter a passphrase.

If you already have an SSH key, skip this step and enter the following command to display your SSH key:

ls .ssh

This command displays your SSH key, if you have one.

If none exist yet, you should get notified with the message "No such file or directory."

2. Show the contents of your SSH public key

In GitBash, run the command:

cat .ssh/id_rsa.pub

This returns a long string of SHA256 encrypted messages known as "key fingerprints." You should get something like this:

The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:BG/dbxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/pE4xxxxxxxx yourname@email.com

The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 1234]----+
|      oo o       |
|       oo.+.o o  |
|        +++Bo*.o |
|       o .====B. |
|       ES.+o*+o..|
|        . ooo=++=|
|         ...o.o=o|
|           o .   |
|            .    |
+----[SHA256]-----+

Copy this key fingerprint to the clipboard.

3. Add SSH to the SSH agent program

To add SSH to the SSH agent, enter this instruction in your GitBash:

ssh-agent -s

4. Add RSA key to SSH

Next, add an RSA key to SSH using the command:

ssh-ad .ssh/id_rsa

The RSA key is alphanumeric and looks like gc_54340.

5. Sync the SSH key to your GitHub account

Now, sign in to your account on GitHub. Navigate to Profile, then Settings, and locate the tab labeled "SSK and GPG keys."

Click on "New SSH key," then paste the encrypted SSH key. Give this key a name you can easily remember; it could be a pet name or your PC name.

6. Optional: Verify the authentication between your local system and GitHub

ssh -t git@github.com

Voila! You just set up a public SSH key. Now, you can clone a repository via an SSH URL and successfully push your commits to your remote GitHub repository, like:

You don't have to copy the HTTP URL of a repository, which looks like this:

https://github.com/<Username>/<Project>.git

Instead, use the SSH URL;

git@github.com:<Username>/<Project>.git

Additionally, you can set the URL to use SSH for git push using the command:

git remote set-url origin git@github.com:<Username>/<Project>.git

References

Web 3.0 and the evolution of the Internet

Franklin Ohaegbulam — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 16:17:38 +0000

Lately, Web3 has become a trend and everyone is talking about it. The internet has evolved to this stage following the creation of Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto and subsequently Blockchain technology.

Before discussing about what the web3 is, we need to know how it all started. Here is an overview of what it is all about.

Web 1.0 (1999 - 2005): This is was the first generation of the web made of static pages, texts and little or no images coupled with slow internet speed. Users can't interact, add comments or upload images because it is read-only. Webmasters only have permission to post contents.

Web 2.0 (2005 - Present): The second generation of the web which brought about the World Wide Web (WWW). There is exchange of information between users and web servers/companies providing services in exchange for user's data to better serve them.

Web 3.0 (Now): Here, everyone has full ownership of contents such as images, texts they post on the Internet. It is decentralized because it runs on Blockchain. There is no censorship or monetization of personal data and it is permissioned regardless of gender, age or nationality. Any changes to information on the web is made through Voting by all participants.

The web3 space is still in it's early stage with so many potentials. And everyone should get involved.

DEV Community: Franklin Ohaegbulam

Understanding Blockchain Explorers

What is a blockchain explorer?

What you can do with a blockchain explorer

Common Examples of Blockchain Explorers

Final Thoughts

Introduction to Blockchain Wallet

What is a blockchain wallet?

Uses of blockchain wallet

Classification of Blockchain Wallets

1. Non-custodial blockchain wallets

2. Custodial blockchain wallets

How a Blockchain Wallet Works

How to keep a blockchain wallet safe

Further Reading

What is ReFi? Regenerative Finance Explained

What is Regenerative Finance?

The Objectives of the ReFi Economy

Notable ReFi Projects

1. Celo

2. Toucan Protocol

3. Flow Carbon

4. Earthbanc

5. Nori

6. Future Quest

7. Return.green

8. ClimeDAO

Final Thoughts

Internet of Things (IoT): A Revolutionary Technology To Our Social Problems

What is the Internet of Things?

How does IoT Work?

Dimensions of the IoT Architecture

Application of IoT Technology

1. Home Automation (Smart Homes)

2. Smart Healthcare

3. Smart Farming and Agriculture

4. Smart Transportation

5. Smart Cities

6. Industrial IoT Application

Conclusion

Learn Blockchain Development By Playing Games

1. Cryptozombies

2. Ethernaut

3. Capture the Ether

4. Vyper.fun

5. Damnvulnerable Defi

6. Cryptohack

7. Space Doggo

Best Tools and Resources Best Tools and Resources For Self-Taught Developers

Learning Resources

1. FreeCodeCamp

2. W3Schools

3. Javascript.info

4. CSSreference.io

5. DevDocs

6. MDN Web Docs

7. Frontend Mentor

8. Scrimba

9. CSS In Real Life

10. Learn X in Y minutes

Youtube Channels

11. Traversy Media

12. FreeCodeCamp.org

13. ProgrammingWithMosh

14. The Net Ninja

15. Kevin Powell

16. Web Dev Simplified

17. Dev Ed

18. Clever programmer

19. Adrian Twarog

20. Academind

21. CodeSTACKr

22. Eddie Jaounde

23. Code with Ania Kubów

24. DesignCourse

Browser Extensions and Tools

25. Daily.dev

26. Pesticide

27. Wappalyzer

28. Responsively App