DEV Community: Taariq Elliott

Looking Back

Taariq Elliott — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 22:10:16 +0000

Reflecting on My Tech Journey

Looking back, I realize I’m much further along in my tech journey than I expected, especially when I compare where I was last year to where I am today. Last year, I was searching for jobs, trying to learn as much as possible, and struggling to bring the app ideas in my head to life. My final project for my cohort was nothing more than a concept I’d been sitting on the year before, but over the past six months, I turned it into a reality thanks to better access to resources, improved understanding of documentation, and the guidance of my mentors. Along the way, I’ve expanded my skill set by learning new frameworks and even picking up two additional programming languages beyond JavaScript and Python.

While I do feel some pressure to maintain my momentum, it’s entirely self-imposed rather than driven by external factors like industry trends. This internal drive stems from a desire to keep sharpening my programming skills and ensuring I continue to grow as a developer. Reflecting on how far I’ve come has shown me that progress takes time, but with consistent effort and support, it’s possible to achieve goals that once seemed out of reach.

Security🔒

Taariq Elliott — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 22:05:02 +0000

Security is a shared responsibility, and in my current role, I can have a meaningful impact on my project's overall security by following best practices and promoting a culture of awareness. This includes carefully reviewing code for vulnerabilities, enforcing proper access controls, and staying informed about emerging security threats. Secure coding practices—such as input validation, encrypting sensitive data, and avoiding hard-coded secrets—help protect against common risks. Additionally, it's critical to avoid sharing or copying proprietary company code or sensitive information into external tools like ChatGPT or Claude to prevent unintended data exposure.

To ensure others are working securely, I can lead by example and foster open discussions about security within the team. Sharing resources, attending training sessions, and providing constructive feedback during code reviews can help everyone better understand potential risks. Highlighting the importance of safeguarding sensitive information, such as refraining from using unapproved tools for handling company data, reinforces good habits. By integrating security into our everyday processes and emphasizing its importance, we can collectively ensure the project's integrity and protection.

Lessons Learned from My Apprenticeship Experience👨🏾‍💻

Taariq Elliott — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 21:34:45 +0000

As graduation approaches, I’ve been reflecting on my apprenticeship journey and identifying the lessons that will provide the most value moving forward. Here are four key takeaways, along with insights into where my time could have been better spent.

The Four Most Valuable Lessons

1. Teams Are the Best Way to Complete a Project

The power of collaboration cannot be overstated. Working in a team environment showed me how diverse perspectives and skill sets come together to create more efficient and quality outcomes. Teams offer a support system, where ideas are refined through discussion, obstacles are tackled collectively, and success is a shared accomplishment.

2. Asking Questions Is the Quickest and Most Efficient Way to Learn

Early on, I realized that trying to figure out everything on my own was not only inefficient but also unnecessary. Asking questions, whether in meetings, during code reviews, or through simple conversations allowed me to tap into the expertise of others and gain clarity faster. This approach not only accelerated my learning but also strengthened my connections with team members.

3. Learning a New Language Gets Easier After the First One

Once you feel proficient one programming language, picking up additional ones becomes significantly easier. Most of the time, you’ll rely on the core concepts and features that translate well across languages—except Python, which is definitely much simpler syntax wise! This adaptability will be invaluable as technology continues to evolve, demanding constant growth and learning.

4. Time Flies When You Have Tickets

Working within a ticket-based system taught me just how quickly time passes when you’re focused on specific tasks. Breaking larger projects into manageable tickets not only helps track progress but also instills a sense of purpose and urgency. It’s a great reminder to stay organized and prioritize effectively to make the most of each day.

Where My Time Was Spent Poorly

Stressing About Getting Up To Speed with the Tech Stack

Looking back, I realize I spent too much time worrying about my inexperience with Java + Spring. In reality, everyone is “new” when joining a project or team, as there’s always a learning curve to catch up on the context and details. Fortunately, my team was filled with supportive Java wizards who were always ready to help, and asking for assistance early on would have saved me a lot of unnecessary stress.

Feedback🗒️💻

Taariq Elliott — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:01:51 +0000

I’m fortunate to receive a lot of feedback, especially from my team. Whenever I’m unsure about something, whether it’s a specific ticket or a bigger task, I make sure to ask questions to stay on the right track and avoid wasting time. My team is always open to helping, which makes the process smoother. I also get regular feedback from my mentors on my personal project. I share my progress with them, and they provide great suggestions for improvement or new features. Their insights are valuable and help me catch things I might miss. Overall, the feedback from both my team and mentors helps me stay on track and improve my work.
With my cohort members, we often collaborate and provide feedback when new features are added or when someone needs a second pair of eyes. This extra input is helpful, especially when we’re deep in the details and might miss the bigger picture. Having someone review the work ensures we stay aligned and avoid overlooking important things. While we don’t always exchange feedback daily, these check-ins are really valuable for making sure we’re all moving in the right direction and learning together.

What to Test?🤔👨🏾‍💻

Taariq Elliott — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:44:57 +0000

When building a new app, deciding what and how to test usually comes down to priorities. I start by focusing on the important blocks of the app, like core features and anything that could break easily, such as authentication or form data. Writing tests for these areas first ensures the foundation is solid before moving forward. As for how to test, you can mix unit tests for smaller pieces of code and integration tests for how everything works together. It’s about covering the most important parts without spending too much time on every little detail early on.
Testing has some big benefits. It catches bugs early, saves time later, and gives confidence when making changes or adding new features. Without tests, you risk running into unexpected issues, especially as the app scales. Debugging becomes harder, and you might accidentally break something without realizing it. Testing helps avoid those headaches and keeps the app more stable overall.

Joyful Languages👨🏾‍💻⌨️

Taariq Elliott — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 18:45:59 +0000

I like JavaScript because it’s widely used on the web, and you can do a lot with it. It works well with other languages, and there are many helpful frameworks out there. The ability to build interactive websites and applications makes it really fun to work with.

Python is another favorite of mine. It's great for data science and neural networks, and I love using it for quick scripts. It’s also handy for music production in FL Studio, allowing me to automate tasks and create unique sounds. Its simplicity and readability make it easy to learn and use for various projects.

I want to try Go for its speed and security, and because it’s good for building apps. It’s designed to be simple and efficient, which makes it attractive for developers. Plus, the built-in support for concurrency could help me handle multiple tasks at once without much hassle.

I’m also interested in Rust for game development and making audio plugins. Its focus on safety and performance is appealing, especially in areas where you need to manage memory carefully. I’ve heard great things about its tooling and community, which makes it even more exciting to explore.

Open-Source👨🏾‍💻🌍🔬

Taariq Elliott — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 21:27:39 +0000

I'm a huge fan of anything free and open-source, as it allows access to many different products and communities that are otherwise closed off by some paywall. From designing to visuals to code, there are so many people to thank for being integral in helping me express myself and get work done! 🙌✨

I'll name a few and how they've helped:

p5.js 🎨 - The best open-source JavaScript library for creative coding.
Blender 🛠️ - The best software for 3D modeling and rendering; nothing comes close.
Bruno 🐶 - An amazing API client, much like Postman, but no email is required.
VS Code 💻 - This one is touchy since it's a Microsoft product, but it's so helpful and accessible.
Processing 🌟 - Another really cool open-source development environment for creative coding.
Python 🐍 - A crowd favorite for all types of computational applications, data analytics and web apps.
Linux 🐧 - Essential for literally anything related to computers, especially Raspberry Pis!

We need more open-source projects because they are truly at the epicenter of creativity, innovation, and community. I love knowing that I've created or contributed to something built out of love and not for monetary gain. That spirit extends into my work, and I hope that energy permeates from my creations to the next person. 🌍❤️

MIDWAY🏎️🏁

Taariq Elliott — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:47:48 +0000

At the start of the apprenticeship, I was filled with a lot of anxiety—about starting, about my team, the tech stack, the project, being productive, work-life balance... basically everything. Since this is my first dev role, I had no idea what to expect, and there were a lot of unanswered questions that could only be resolved through experience.

I’ve grown a lot in the last few weeks. One big area of growth has been learning to accept the discomfort. We're constantly learning, and coding isn’t easy, especially when you’re dealing with a new language, framework, and a bunch of developer tools just to contribute to the team’s codebase. I’ve also gotten better at speaking up about my issues and getting comfortable with technical language so I can explain my problems, solutions, or theories clearly. I can't just say, "I need this to make this work" anymore. Now I break it down, like: "My issue is I need this data type to be passed as the payload, but I'm currently receiving an error referencing a mismatch between payloads and headers" (yay, Java & Spring!).

I've also grown more patient with myself, realizing that I’m still very new to this environment. I’m learning to be okay with the fact that it takes time to feel comfortable and fluent enough to be self-sufficient.

I’ve learned a lot in these few weeks, but the main lesson is this: anything is possible, and everything has a solution—you just have to find it! If it doesn’t work, refactor, ask questions, and advocate for yourself!

Usability Experiences👨🏾‍💻

Taariq Elliott — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:51:25 +0000

Accessibility & Broadening Your Audience

This week, we discussed accessibility and opening your apps to a broader audience. Think about a time when you struggled to use a website or application. What could have improved your experience? What are you incorporating into your own engineering practice to prevent this from happening to your users?

Many websites often forget to consider the diverse range of users who will be accessing them, focusing heavily on how they, as developers, would use the platform. What gets lost is the usability of the site or service for people with specific accessibility needs. While it's hard to account for every accessibility requirement, there are some that should come standard.

Common Accessibility Issues:

Lack of alt tags for navigation
Poor responsiveness across web, tablet, and mobile
Button functionality
Confusing structure
Inconsistent or overly nested routes/URLs
Lack of dark mode/light mode options
Limited language choices

These are common issues that, if addressed, could make a website far more user-friendly and accessible to a wide range of users.

A Personal Experience

I own a Raspberry Pi 5, and one day I accidentally pressed two keys on my keyboard, which turned on the screen reader. I had no idea what I did, but suddenly, every action I took was narrated—what I clicked on, where my mouse was, etc. Even though it wasn’t useful for me, I couldn’t help but feel this was a necessary tool that many people could benefit from.

I found the package responsible for this functionality, and I’m planning to look into integrating it into my app.

Crucial Conversations

Taariq Elliott — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 02:23:33 +0000

A conversation that we've all had before and can be a bit difficult to prepare for is an interview. These conversations are tough because they don’t always give clear guidance on how to prep. Every interview is different, and every interviewer is different. Add the word "technical" in front of that for software engineers, and you open up a world of possibilities. Technical interviews can be simple, where we talk about code concepts and answer basic coding questions, or they can be the kind we'd rather skip—like solving algorithms or LeetCode problems.

How I prepared was by researching others’ experiences, looking into the company, ensuring my portfolio projects were up to date, reviewing my resume, and preparing some scenario-based questions and answers. I also made a list of questions to ask my interviewer at the end. The interview went much better than I expected, even though I was unfamiliar with the tech stack, which I made known. I was moved to the next round and given a coding challenge. I believe this is where the decision was made not to offer me the job, despite completing the challenge.

Some things I’m working on now are asking better questions, letting people finish their thoughts before jumping in, being more direct when I need help, and asking clarifying questions. Overall, I’ve been communicating more, and it’s really helping me understand the team environment better.

Effective Collaboration

Taariq Elliott — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 20:28:39 +0000

Pair programming and effective collaboration are crucial throughout the entire software engineering life cycle. These rely heavily on clear communication, consistent updates, and the ability to clearly express your current tasks, past tasks, and any obstacles. Our full stack project and host company experience offer a unique opportunity to learn how to communicate in a team environment and gain insights from both seasoned developers and newer devs. We get to model our daily communication after a proven system, one that yields proven results from a company with a reputation that exceeds client expectations. During my first DSU, I was very nervous about speaking up and being in that environment, but the team expressed how grateful they were to have me on board and were more than willing to help me get up to speed. Their communication and openness to collaborate have helped me with all my tasks, from onboarding to my first ticket, for which I’m very thankful.

Currently, I’m working solo on my full stack project, which means all the responsibility is on me to bring my ideas to life, write code, and stay organized. Even though I technically don’t have a teammate, I still collaborate with my mentors to discuss issues I’ve encountered, ask for guidance, present demos, and give updates—everything that’s involved in working within a team environment. I see it as having a ticket that only I can technically work on, but I still receive support and expertise from those willing to listen. The amount of work between my full stack project and my host company can be overwhelming, so I really appreciate having a team to help me manage the workload by keeping me focused and productive.

The Importance of Non-Technical Skills in Tech Spaces👨🏾‍💻🤝🛠

Taariq Elliott — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 00:20:39 +0000

Importance of Non-Technical Skills

As a first-time intern, my non-technical skills are as important as my technical skills. I rely on clear communication to share updates on my onboarding in DSU, which helps keep my team in the loop about my progress. Whether it's discussing a setup bug or asking for clarity, effective communication ensures everyone understands the goals and can work together smoothly.

Key Skills

Listening

Listening is another key skill for me. By paying close attention to advice from colleagues and mentors, I can grasp what’s needed and learn from their experiences. This helps me avoid common pitfalls and improve my ability to integrate into the team, making me a more valuable team member.

Organization and Research

Staying organized and knowing how to Google effectively also boost my productivity. I manage my tasks and deadlines by keeping things organized, and when I encounter challenges, I use my Googling skills to find solutions. Additionally, being supportive by sharing useful information and assisting teammates fosters a collaborative and positive work environment.