DEV Community: gabesharpton

How did you get past learning on your own to working on real projects?

gabesharpton — Sat, 30 May 2020 20:45:09 +0000

I have been learning software development for the past 8 months and still have trouble working on projects I did not help build from the ground up. I have tried to contribute to multiple open source projects (mostly JS libraries like Gatsby or React) but have not been able to successfully merge a pull request. Usually the reason being the commit does not provide enough to improve the project. Even though I feel confident in my skills they don't seem to be enough to land my first job. I have created multiple small projects and try to learn as much as I can but it lately has felt more like running in a circle. I would love to hear some ideas or things you have tried to get to the next level in my development career.

My first close encounter from the third kind... of React with Gatsby!

gabesharpton — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 22:20:58 +0000

What is Gatsby?

Gatsby is a free and open-source framework based on React that helps developers build blazing-fast websites and apps

You can build seriously fast static websites very quickly with Gatsby. Gatsby also uses GraphQL which is a really nice query language that just might replace REST for my personal projects. Another great thing about Gatsby is all of the plugins available! There are so many great ones that can really make Gatsby shine.

Being a new developer I try to not get to distracted by the new shiny technologies, but I can say that I am really glad I got distracted by Gatsby. It has not only helped me understand React on a larger scale but has also really helped me understand query languages and API development. After finishing Scott Tolinksi Pro Gatsby 2 tutorial on Level up Tutorials I fell in love with the way Gatsby handles not just API calls but the way you can build multiple pages very quickly using Markdown files.

Getting started

You can download the Gatsby CLI to get started very fast, just run npm install -g gatsby-cli
Gatsby comes equipped with a create-react-app <appName> clone of its own in gatsby new <appName>.
After that cd <appName> and run gatsby develop and see your base site appear at localhost:8000

One really cool thing that gatsby new <appName> does for you is after the app is running on localhost:8000, you can go to localhost:8000/__graphiql (thats two _ _) and have your own mini Postman built-in. It makes it really easy to write your queries and confirm the data is what you want. Then you can simply copy and paste the query you wrote in graphiql into your code! Pretty great in my opinion.

Next, I want to become more familiar with GraphQL, as it has been fairly simple to pick up given my previous knowledge of REST. I would also like to learn about implement Apollo into my stack because I recently attended a React JS Meetup and really like hearing what the speaker was able to do with Apollo. If anyone has any resources for strengthening these skills I would appreciate any advice!

My personal reflection after completing a coding boot camp

gabesharpton — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 19:58:55 +0000

I graduated from General Assembly Software Engineer Immersive Program this week. And there is a lot of mixed emotions I have now that it is done. First off I would like to say that attending the boot camp was the best decision I have made for my career. I have worked in multiple different industries before trying to tackle the world of development. And while I was able to learn a lot on my own, attending the boot camp really gave me the direction and discipline to continue being successful on my own.

There is an entire world that has just opened up for me and the skill to pick up a new language and build a simple app in just a few weeks is a skill I will cherish for the rest of my life. I did not expect my culinary skills to be so transferable to software development, but I constantly find myself using the skills I learned in a kitchen to problem solve problems in my apps. I loved figuring out different techniques and which ingredients I could use to improve a dish and now I love figuring out different ways to write an app to improve performance and overall design. The first project I will learn on my own will be a basic blog app in Vue.js and the same app in React.

I am also excited to learn about things like Gatsby and CSS libraries like LESS and SASS. These are all things they did not teach us about in the boot camp, but I do not know if I would have been motivated to learn them without the discipline it gave me. And there is so much more out there I can not wait to find out about!

Some great podcasts I have found have been:

Syntax FM
Ladybug
CodeNewbie

Some other great resources I will continue to use are:

FreeCodeCamp
Pluralsite
CodeCademy
CodeWars

And general social media and places to talk about code are:

Twitter @GabrielSharpton
Stack Overflow
Medium
Dev.to(Obviously ;)

I would love any suggestions you all have found that has helped you on your coding journey! Feel free to reach out to me to talk about all things code. And if you are interested to follow my journey check out my Github at

https://github.com/gabesharpton

All in all, I am very excited to join the Dev community so look out world! You have a new member joining your ranks.

What I learned in Coding Bootcamp is...

gabesharpton — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 20:26:08 +0000

I am almost done with my General Assembly SEI Program and can't believe how much has changed the last two months. So many new and exciting doors have opened in my life and I am thrilled to have been a part of such a great cohort. I have learned a whole new way of thinking and have excelled at breaking down problems I come across. I learned how to learn a whole new language and build an app within three weeks. Paired programming has become a favorite solution to tough projects. But one of the main things I learned, is that there is so much more to learn.

Throughout this experience I have seen myself grow in ways I didn't know I could. I have always been interested in learning new things, and programming has been such an inspiring journey. I have found a new passion for front end languages like JavaScript and CSS. React has been a nice addition and would like to tackle Angular after the cohort. I am excited to start my job search as I have already found a few companies I would love to work for that I am finally qualified for.

I have increased my problem-solving ability 10 times over not only in programming but in my day to day life. I have taken on a whole new way of thinking and looking at issues. Not to mention I see code in everything nowadays. This is great I have never really immersed myself if something like software development before but I am so glad I did. I can't wait to show everyone my capstone project!

My first Back-end Project!

gabesharpton — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 22:14:18 +0000

Hello World!

My second project I created using Express.js and MongoDB. I learned a lot and found it really cool being able to create edit and update data on a page I created. It has full C.R.U.D capability and at its essence is a fitness planner. The idea being you can create your workout plan and change the amount of reps or pounds you do for that day. It definitely is a work in progress but I am excited to share what I have learned so far.

One thing I got good at while working on this project was reading warning messages. It made it really easy to catch my bugs faster than in my front end projects that could have bugs anywhere and not display a message. I felt I did not have a good grasp on the concepts until I started implementing them into the app and it sort of clicked with me! And I am excited to show everyone my next project that will include both front end and back end repositories.

For this project I used Handlebars as my views in MVC and am happy to not have to anymore! It was a lot more difficult to understand and get working than just using a front end folder or project and linking them together(which will be my next task!). But overall it was a fun experience and would love feedback from anyone interested in checking out my app!

Thanks for reading!

This is the link to my Github Repo!