Frequently asked frontend developer interview questions in 2022

Frontend development is a good starting point for beginners to foray into web development. Due to the ease of learning and the option to choose from dozens of technologies, frontend is also considered the first step towards becoming a full stack developer.

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the skills that are mandatory for any frontend development, but that’s not enough to build a career. The journey from beginner to intermediate frontend developer also requires learning development tools and frameworks.

Being familiar with these frequently asked frontend developer interview questions will help you form a strategic plan to crack the next interview. So, let’s get started.

What is CORS? How does it work?

Cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) is the mechanism used to improve a webpage’s performance by allowing it to access resources, such as fonts, JavaScript, images, etc., from another domain. HTML5 supports CORS, which uses the XMLHttpRequest to access resources on a different domain.

Developers must include new HTTP headers for CORS, providing access to permitted origin domains. The HTTP OPTIONS request header is necessary for browsers to be able to get responses from servers. For CORS, the header must also include credentials verifying the authenticity of the request’s origin to access resources on other domains successfully.

Explain the output of the following code 

var hero = {

   _name: ‘John Doe’,

   getSecretIdentity: function (){

     return this._name;

   }

};

var stoleSecretIdentity = hero.getSecretIdentity;

console.log(stoleSecretIdentity());

console.log(hero.getSecretIdentity());

The output of the code will be:

undefined

John Doe

The first output of the code is undefined because the code extracts the method from the hero object. It is not accessible because of its local scope, so stoleSecretIdentity() is being invoked globally. However, the _name property does not exist.

To fix the issue, we will need to fix the stoleSecretIdentity() function such that it can access the method like this:

var stoleSecretIdentity = hero.getSecretIdentity.bind(hero);         

What is a Callback Hell error in frontend development, and what causes it?

Callbacks are used in JavaScript, also known as Asynchronous JavaScript. Many developers mess up the code, and their function ends up looking like this:

fs.readdir(source, function (err, files) {

  if (err) {

   console.log(‘Error finding files: ‘ + err)

  } else { 

files.forEach(function (filename, fileIndex) {  

console.log(filename)

    gm(source + filename).size(function (err, values) {

     if (err) {

      console.log(‘Error identifying file size: ‘ + err)

     } else {     

console.log(filename + ‘ : ‘ + values)

      aspect = (values.width / values.height)    

widths.forEach(function (width, widthIndex) {

       height = Math.round(width / aspect)     

console.log(‘resizing ‘ + filename + ‘to ‘ + height + ‘x’ + height)      

this.resize(width, height).write(dest + ‘w’ + width + ‘_’ + filename, function(err) {

        if (err) console.log(‘Error writing file: ‘ + err)

       })  

}.bind(this))

     }

    })

   })

  }

})

The pyramid share of the closing parenthesis ‘})’ is called callback hell in frontend development.

It occurs when a frontend developer tries to write JavaScript functions so that the execution happens visually from top to bottom. It slows down the entire code and must be avoided. Most developers from programming languages like C, Python, and Ruby commit this mistake because these languages serially execute the code line by line. So the execution happens from top to bottom.

What is a strict mode?

In ECMAScript 5, a version of JavaScript, there is the ability to declare Strict Mode. It allows developers to put code blocks in the “strict” operating context that prevents specific actions from being taken. Strict Mode is a tool that highlights potential problems in an application without rendering any visible UI. It throws more exceptions than other methods because it activates additional checks and warnings.

The typical syntax for using strict mode is like this:

// Non-strict code…

(function(){

  “use strict”;

  // Define your library strictly…

})();

// Non-strict code…

What is Coercion in JavaScript?

In JavaScript, when one build-in type is converted to another it is called coercion. It is also known as Type Coercion and is a valuable function for adding validation to the frontend elements. Compared to Type Conversion, coercion is different because it can be used in two forms in JavaScript: explicit and implicit.

Here is an example code for explicit coercion:

var a = “42”;

var b = Number( a );

a; // “42”

b; // 42 — the number!

An implicit coercion uses no type declaration:

var a = “42”;

var b = a * 1; // “42” implicitly coerced to 42 here

a; // “42”

b; // 42 — the number!

Conclusion 

Ability to deploy agile solutions and fully exploit modern frontend technologies is what employers are looking for in candidates at present. As you gain experience as a frontend developer, there will be more complex questions to answer, but as a beginner, you must focus on fundamentals.

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Cracking Node.js interview for senior backend engineers in 2022

Modern software application development is a requirement for most businesses to adopt and benefit from new technologies. Fortunately, backend developers have too many options to choose from. Node.js is a current application framework that has made large-scale application development easier.

Today, many companies use this backend technology for their tech stack. This includes well-known brands like Netflix, Uber, Twitter, and PayPal. According to StackOverflow’s 2021 Developer Survey, Node.js is the 6th most popular technology for backend development. According to a user survey report by Node.js, backend developers prefer this technology as it results in a 68% increase in developer productivity, boosts application performance by 48%, and results in a 13% increase in customer satisfaction.

Here we discuss the Node.js developer career landscape in detail.

Career Path in Node.js

Node.js developers as junior developers work on applications such as websites, native apps, and enterprise solutions. After spending 5-6 years on the technology as a senior developer, they get promoted to roles such as team lead, architect, scrum master, and product owners. Node.js developers can pursue a career as app developers, game developers, and product developers.  

Developers who have a thorough knowledge of agile processes and ceremonies like backlog grooming, scrums, retrospectives, and demos are preferred for senior Node.js developer roles. Furthermore, the technical expertise of GitHub is also essential.

What skills will be evaluated during Node.js interviews?

Companies hiring Node.js developers look for some particular skill-sets. Along with good practical knowledge of Node.js, proven skills in fixing bugs and developing patches make a candidate stand out.

A competent Node.js developer, you should be comfortable with front-end technologies. Often, Node.js developers need to integrate various backend functionalities with front-end elements. Their HTML5, CSS3, and core JavaScript concepts are evaluated during an interview.

There are several Node.js frameworks, Express being the basic. Apart from Express, most interviews test developers’ knowledge of additional Node.js frameworks like Koa.js, Total, and Hapi. As these frameworks have expanded functionalities, you must familiarize yourself with them to demonstrate your experience.

Knowledge of Model-View-Controller (MVC) frameworks used in Node.js development is necessary. Sinatra, Rails, and StrongLoop are some important MVC frameworks.

Another responsibility of Node.js developers is to deal with interfaces between multiple systems. Here you can highlight your experience in working with RESTful APIs.

We already have great API-related resources for backend developers:

Tips on creating robust APIs as a backend developer

Best Practices to Design RESTful APIs

Also, check our guide on in-demand skills for a backend developer.

Interview Questions and Answers

Can Node.js support multi-processor platforms? 

By default, Node.js is a single-threaded language that will run on the single processor core, thereby not taking full advantage of multi-core processors. However, Node.js supports the development of multi-core systems to take full advantage of the available hardware.

Node.js has the Cluster module that allows running multiple Node.js worker processes from the same port.

How does Node.js handle child threads?

Node.js is a single thread process that does not expose child threads to the developer. There is no way for a programmer to do thread management in Node.js, as everything goes behind the scenes. 

Technically, Node.js does create child threads for specific tasks such as asynchronous I/O, but there is no way to execute any application JavaScript code for these child threads.

What are Promises in Node.js? 

A promise is a placeholder in Node.js for a value available in the future. Commitments allow asynchronous methods in Node.js to return values just like synchronous methods. Instead of a final value, they return a promise. They have separate callback functions that are executed based on the status of the way, i.e., success/ failure and handling timeouts. 

Promises in Node.js can have three different states:

  • The initial or the pending state 
  • The fulfilled state represents a successful operation
  • The rejected state that results from a failed operation

What is REPL? What purpose is it used for?

REPL stands for READ, EVAL, PRINT, and LOOP. Node.js comes with a REPL environment bundled in its setup. This allows for the easy development of CLI (Command Line Interface) applications, usually part of enterprise software development.

Explain the preferred method of resolving unhandled exceptions in Node.js.

It is easy to catch unhandled exceptions in Node.js at the Process level by attaching a handler for uncaughtException event, something like this: 

process.on(‘uncaughtException’, (err) => {
console.log(Caught exception: ${err});
});

However, as the uncaughtException remains a crude method for exception handling in Node.js, it is most likely to be removed in future language versions. 

Also, this method catches the exception at the Process level, implying that the application and Node.js are in an undefined state. A better way to resolve unhandled exceptions in Node.js is to add another layer between your application and the Node.js process, called the domain. 

As the domains provide a layer to handle multiple different I/O operations as a single group, you can safely handle exceptions at the domain level. It helps to prevent any exceptions from reaching the Process level.

The time required to run the following code snippet in Google Chrome is considerably more than the time it takes to run in Node.js. 

{
console.time(“loop”);
for (var i = 0; i < 1000000; i += 1){
// Do nothing
}
console.timeEnd(“loop”);
}

Even when both the applications use v8 JavaScript Engine, explain why there is such a time difference.

In a web browser such as Chrome, we make it global when declaring the variable I out of the function’s scope. It binds the variable as a property of the window object. This results in repeated resolving of the property I with each for loop iteration within the heavily populated window namespace.

However, Node.js binds any variable declared outside of any function’s scope only to the module’s scope and not the window object. This is why the code resolves the value of I faster.

To improve the performance of the code in Chrome, we can replace var with let in the for loop declaration. It will reduce the loop’s run time by over 50%.

For more backend developer interview questions, you can check out:

Essential Interview Questions For Backend Developers With 1-3 Years Of Experience

Backend developer: interview preparation resources

Job prospects and average payscale Node.js developers

As of creating this guide, there were over 30,000 active job openings for Node.js developers on Naukri.com. Most of these ads were for experienced developers with at least one year of experience. LinkedIn has 55,000+ job listings for Node.js developers. Indeed has over 7000 active job openings for the same profile.

According to Glassdoor, the average salary of Node.js developers is INR 4,70,380 for junior developers. With experienced senior developers earn around INR 12,00,000 a year. Those in software developer IV roles get an average salary of INR 27,00,000.

Free Online Assessments 

Node.js developers can use online free assessment tools to brush up on their skills and practice interview questions. Here are some online assessment sites:

Testdome.com

Devskiller.com

Tutorialsteacher.com

Conclusion 

A career as a Node.js developer will be a long-term venture. As some of the biggest companies uses this technology and offer productivity benefits, Node.js will continue to be a dominant JavaScript framework.

Talent500 provides a global platform for elite developers. Our clients include fast-growing startups and Fortune 500 companies—signup today for a career change.

Top JavaScript interview code-based questions

JavaScript is an undisputed leader in web application development. In the last two decades, the programming language has grown to the extent that 98% of websites use JavaScript.

Technological giants like Google and Facebook use JavaScript to build complex web applications because of the availability of vast open-source frameworks and libraries supporting JavaScript. Given the versatility of the language and its excessive use, any software developer can expect to face JavaScript code-based questions during interviews.

If you’re planning to become a JavaScript developer or interviewing as one, here are the essential code-based JavaScript questions.

1. Explain the output of the following JavaScript code

(function(){

  var a = b = 3;

})();

console.log(“a defined? ” + (typeof a !== ‘undefined’));

console.log(“b defined? ” + (typeof b !== ‘undefined’));

The output of the above code will be:

a defined? false

b defined? true

Explanation: Most JavaScript developers expect that the output of this code will be undefined because both a and b are defined within the enclosing scope of the function. Since the code begins with the var keyword, they assume ‘typeof a’ and ‘typeof b’ to be undefined.

That’s a mistake. It is because the statement var a = b = 3; is not shorthand for:

var b = 3;

var a = b;

But, it is shorthand for:

b = 3;

var a = b;

As a result, b ends up in a global variable available outside the scope of the enclosing function.

However, note that, in strict mode, the statement var a = b = 3; will generate a runtime error of ReferenceError: b is not defined.

2. What will be the output of the code below, and why?

var myObject = {

   foo: “bar”,

   func: function() {

     var self = this;

console.log(“outer func: 

this.foo = ” + this.foo);

console.log(“outer func: 

self.foo = ” + self.foo);

     (function() {

console.log(“inner func: 

this.foo = ” + this.foo);

console.log(“inner func: 

self.foo = ” + self.foo);

     }());

   }

};

myObject.func();

The output of the code will be:

outer func: this.foo = bar

outer func: self.foo = bar

inner func: this.foo = undefined

inner func: self.foo = bar

As both this and self refers to myObject in the outer object, they can properly reference and access foo.

Back in the inner function, they no longer refer to myObject, which results in undefined this.foo in the inner function. However, the reference to the local variable self remains in scope and therefore is accessible.

3. Will the following two functions return the same output? Why or why not?

function foo1()

{

  return {

    bar: “hello”

  };

}

function foo2()

{

  return

  {

    bar: “hello”

  };

}

No, these two functions will not return the same output.

The following statements:

console.log(“foo1 returns:”);

console.log(foo1());

console.log(“foo2 returns:”);

console.log(foo2());

will return:

foo1 returns:

Object {bar: “hello”}

foo2 returns:

undefined

It is a tricky JavaScript code-based interview question because surprisingly foo2() returns undefined without any error being thrown.

The reason for this outcome is that in JavaScript, semicolons are technically optional. As a result, when the return statement is encountered in foo2(), a; is automatically inserted at the end of the return statement. Hence no error was thrown as the remainder of the code is perfectly valid.

This is why you should always follow the convention of placing an opening curly brace at the end of a code line in JavaScript rather than beginning on a new line. It is not just a stylistic preference but also essential to avoid unexplained bugs.

4. Write a simple JavaScript function (less than 160 characters) that checks whether a string is a palindrome or not. 

Here is the function that will check the input and return True if the string is a palindrome, otherwise, the output will be False.

function isPalindrome(str) {

  str = str.replace(/\W/g, ”).toLowerCase();

  return (str == str.split(”).reverse().join(”));

}

Some console output examples:

console.log(isPalindrome(“level”)); // logs ‘true’

console.log(isPalindrome(“levels”)); // logs ‘false’

console.log(isPalindrome(“A car, a man, a maraca”)); // logs ‘true’

5. Consider the following JavaScript code:

for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

  var btn = document.createElement(‘button’);

btn.appendChild(document.createTextNode(‘Button ‘ + i));

btn.addEventListener(‘click’, function(){ console.log(i); });

document.body.appendChild(btn);

}

What will be logged into the console when the user clicks Button 4 and why?

Also, provide an alternative JavaScript implementation of the same.

No matter what the user clicks on the keyboard, the number 5 will be displayed every time. It is because by the time the onclick method is invoked, irrespective of what button is clicked, the for loop has already been completed and the variable i is assigned a value of 5.

As an alternative, we need to write a function to capture the value of i at each pass when the for loop executes and pass the value into a newly created function object. Here is the alternative code:

for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

  var btn = document.createElement(‘button’);

btn.appendChild(document.createTextNode(‘Button ‘ + i));

btn.addEventListener(‘click’, (function(i) {

   return function() { console.log(i); };

  })(i));

document.body.appendChild(btn);

}

Conclusion 

JavaScript code-based questions can be a bit tricky. It would help if you focused on understanding the basics of the JavaScript components to tackle such interviews. Here are some more technical JavaScript interview questions.

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7 useful Chrome extensions for developers in 2022

Google Chrome has nearly 70% of the browser market share, and for good reasons too. It is lightweight, secure, and independent of device screen size. Besides everyday users, Google Chrome is an excellent browser for developers. It comes with versatile developer tools that can be used for testing web applications. However, this article is not about the developer tools capabilities, but another feature instead.

We are about to discuss the top Chrome extensions for developers. We will list the most useful Chrome extensions to help developers automate and accelerate their tasks.

Web Developer

The Web Developer Chrome extension adds a toolbar to the browser, making it quite convenient for web developers to check various elements of their web design.

This Google Chrome extension has a lot of handy tools for web developers, but web designers and programmers can also use it. Apart from the usual tools you get with Chrome Inspector, this add-on also provides tools such as grid rulers, the ability to easily add outlines to elements just with a click, find broken images automatically, and many more.

Githunt

Githunt is one of the top Chrome extensions for developers who spend much time on GitHub. If you are an enthusiast who is actively looking for open source projects to work on, this add-on can bring you all GitHub’s trending projects within the browser. It highlights all trending projects in the new tab area in Chrome.

With Githunt, you can see all the essential information about a GitHub project within the new tab area. It displays the language of the project, the project description, and the number of currently open issues. You can open the project directly by simply clicking on the project card displayed in the browser. It is a convenient tool if you spend much time contributing to open-source projects.

JSON Viewer

JSON Viewer is one of the best developer tools to add to the Chrome browser as it can quickly manage JSON data into a recognizable hierarchy view. As a developer, you often have to work with JSON data, mainly with APIs. Working with the raw JSON data can be highly tedious and time-consuming. By using JSON Viewer, developers can easily read and use JSON data.

WhatFont

If you often spend much time identifying the fonts used on web pages, WhatFont is one of the top Chrome extensions that you can use to identify the fonts used within a web page automatically. 

It is an excellent developer tool for web designers to identify individual fonts within a web page quickly and effectively. Not only the font family, but this add-on also determines the font size, weight, and color.

WhatFont is ideal for web developers who typically design web pages around typography. Also, this Chrome extension is lightweight and does not slow down the browser.

UX Check

The user experience measures the quality of a web design and how intuitive is the overall interface. It helps to have an evaluation tool in your kitty that you can use to analyze the UX elements used within a web page quickly. 

UX Check is a great Chrome extension that uses Nielsen’s 10 heuristics to assess a web page. This usability analyzer can help web developers quickly highlight potential usability issues that can lead to poor user experience. It is a potent add-on that allows developers to add notes, take screenshots, and export findings in the report that they can share with their team.

This Chrome extension provides a fast and effective way to quickly perform lightweight user testing to find UX issues.

Web Developer Checklist

Checklists are essential for developers, but in 2022 it is too crude to maintain manual checklists. It is why developers should add the Web Developer Checklist extension to their Chrome browsers. This add-on gives you a checklist of all the essential web development factors that must be checked before the page is published. Once installed, with a single click, the extension will pull up a checklist of the best practices you must complete before making the page live. The add-on has a checklist on several measures such as SEO, accessibility, usability, mobile responsiveness, performance, social, and many more.

EditThisCookie

EditThisCookie is a must-have developer tool for creating web pages or testing websites. This exceptionally fast Chrome add-on enables developers to edit, delete, create, and protect cookies within the browser per page. 

Cookies are essential for speeding up websites and creating personalized user experiences. This developer tool lets you export cookies for analysis. You can block cookies, import cookies in JSON format, and do anything you need to do to a cookie. Most developers appreciate how easy it is to search and read cookies using this Chrome extension.

Conclusion 

The list of valuable Chrome extensions for developers in 2022 we have created is diverse. We picked the developer tools that are useful whether you are designing a web page, testing a website, or working with APIs. We hope these Chrome extensions will help increase productivity, solve problems, and streamline your web development process.

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5 essential habits of highly successful programmers

Software engineers are part of a highly dynamic industry. Millions of people are passionate about software development but often struggle to find the pathway to becoming part of the industry. Developer, programmer, coder, software developer, and software engineer are often used interchangeably but differ a bit. Anyone can be a coder or developer, but you need more than just familiarity with a programming language or syntax to be a good programmer. Being a programmer requires teaching habits that put you on a track to becoming a highly successful software professional.

Here we list the critical programmer habits that can help you develop your skills as a programmer.

1. Be on a path to lifelong learning  

Even most experienced programmers never stop learning. As a successful programmer, you must try to learn and be the best you can be. Computer science is a vast field with limitless scope for innovation and creativity. Many new technologies, concepts, and principles appear in the industry every day, and to be at the top of the trade, you have to keep learning. For instance, JavaScript has seen fast-paced development over the last two decades. A JavaScript developer must keep learning the new frameworks like Reach, Angular, Vue, Node, and more to benefit from the new features and capabilities these frameworks offer.

As a successful programmer, you won’t just write code but will also be tasked with helping others through online communities like Stack Overflow and GitHub. You must select some reliable resources that provide news and updates on your chosen tech to keep ahead.

2. Learning and mastering multiple programming languages 

As a beginner, a developer can start with a single programming language and work their way up. To be a successful programmer, you must learn and master several programming languages. Programming languages always have different areas for which they are best suited. As an experienced programmer, you will have to use multiple languages within a project to solve various challenges. 

For example, Java can be your choice for cross-platform development, and C/C++ may be used for developing much faster systems. For writing a web application, you will have to use PHP, Ajax, ASP, or JavaScript, and for the server-side of things, Perl, Python, or Ruby are best suited. One of the essential programmer tips we want to share is that you must keep exploring more technologies to broaden your horizon. The more familiar you are with multiple programming languages, then your approach will be more holistic.

3. Avoid restricting yourself to a single development environment

Every programmer has their own favorite tools and technologies to be more productive and write better code. Some programmers prefer veteran IEDs like Vi and Notepad, while others go for Emacs and Gedits. Most new-age programmers prefer GUI code editors like VS Code and VC++. There is much debate about what tools a programmer must use to be productive, but successful programmers know that tools don’t matter as long as they provide the ability to write clean and concise code faster. 

This is why experienced programmers never limit themselves to a particular development environment. They explore and optimize several environments that allow them to compare several tools and learn which one is best suited for the job. It also helps them develop attention to detail. Being a skillful developer involves learning tools faster and sometimes on the go.

4. Be a good team player

Successful programmers have more than just technical attributes; they are also skilled team players. For programmers, soft skills are as necessary as technical skills. There is hardly any software you can write alone, and if you cannot bring your abilities to a team, it is doubtful that you will ever be a successful programmer.

Team play is a vital habit that separates good software engineers from great programmers. Answer the following honestly:

  • Do you have the correct manner of communicating with other team members?
  • Do you communicate regularly to anticipate and welcome their ideas?
  • Do others enjoy discussing projects with you?
  • Think outside the work. Are you a great team player in activities?

These are a few questions that will help you understand whether you are a team player or not. Apart from this, there are other mandatory soft skills that developers should have.

5. Turn your work into documentation

A clean and maintainable code has comments. But a well-documented code is the tell-tale sign of an expert programmer. When documentation is available, it helps other developers and team members understand your code. It also makes it much easier to transfer knowledge and conserve the thought process around the code. Make it a habit to always document your code to make it readable and maintainable.

Inculcating these programmer habits will ensure you are successful in your career. To explore better job opportunities as a successful programmer, join Talent500.

 

4 effective tips for mentoring your junior developer

In your development career, after specific years of experience, you will be expected to mentor junior developers. While programming and other technical skills are a forte for most developers, they often lack the skills to be mentors.

A junior developer will write buggy code, make mistakes more often than you anticipate, and mess up the project timeline a few times. However, they can become a valuable development team member with proper guidance and mentorship.

Mentoring a junior developer correctly spares them from making errors you made once as a beginner. It is how you help them learn faster. But make no mistake, mentoring takes time and effort but, above all, tests your patience.

So how do you mentor junior developers without feeling like it’s a chore?

You can use these tips for mentoring juniors and turning your development team into a high-performance engine.

1. Determine the baseline

A bad mistake you can make is to assume the potential of a junior developer before working with them. Whether you underestimate or overestimate their current skills, it’s going to hinder their growth which is why you must determine the skill level of every new member before you start mentoring them.

For instance, suppose three new junior developers join your team, each specializing in JavaScript. Say, one has a CS degree, the other went through coding boot camp, and the last one is self-taught.

Do you think you can mentor all three in the same way and manner?

You need to assess them individually; maybe you can refer to their pre-interview sample coding tests or give them practice assignments. Once you have determined the baseline for each junior developer, you can tailor the mentoring approach that best suits their individual growth.

2. Document critical information on coding practices

Junior developers will ask questions about the company and its coding practice. You should build a base of documentation covering these topics to save assigned mentor time. Even senior developers have some uncertainties about projects when they join a new company, so it can be expected that junior developers will need much attention.

Developers who ask questions indicate they are ready to learn rather than make assumptions. Answering their questions that are not repeated is all right, but if you have to answer the same question regarding the project, again and again, it can get frustrating. It is better to refer them to the company’s knowledge base or internal wikis.

According to the popular knowledge-sharing tool, Slite, junior developers must be referred to the following company resources:

  • Company and team structure
  • Company Policies
  • HR process
  • Onboarding material
  • Process documents
  • Product roadmaps and projects

As for software development companies, some additional documents must be created to help senior developers mentor juniors. These documents include:

  • Coding standards and style
  • Programming tutorials
  • Workflow procedures

With all this info, junior developers will get the answer to a good number of questions on their own. This will help them feel more confident and encourage them to continue self-learning.

3. Do code reviews

The only way to encourage junior developers to write better code is to tell them exactly what needs improvement. Code reviews are excellent for gaining insight into their coding practices and helping them understand the best ways through constructive feedback.

Even Google has a practice of regularly reviewing the codes of their senior and junior developers alike. While the number of comments a developer receives over time decreases, it is never zero. This implies that coding review is one of the best ways to help developers improve their skills.

As a mentor, you have to ensure that you critique the code and not the coder. While reviewing the code, never miss to find and complement good things about the code. In terms of mentoring, it is even more valuable to tell a developer what they did right than to tell them what they did wrong.

Ultimately, the purpose of code reviews must be to help developers upgrade their coding skills and not to punish them for mistakes or criticize their work.

4. Start small

You can help junior developers gain confidence by assigning tasks on actual projects. However, you must supervise their code and give them tasks aligned with their current capabilities.

There is a highly popular Subreddit started by a distraught junior software developer who got fired on his first day at the job. He tells how he was assigned the massive task of running the script to create personal database instances on his first day at work. During the first 30 minutes on the job, he managed to delete the production database. The CTO of the company asked him to leave and never come back.

The important lesson is that the company was at fault for assigning such an essential task to a junior developer. As a mentor, you must gradually introduce them to critical tasks. Getting them started in a controlled environment with smaller tasks is better.

Conclusion 

Hundreds of junior developers will come across in your career, but the opportunity to pick a few and guide them to become great programmers is invaluable. If you get the chance to mentor a junior developer, keep these tips in mind to get them started on the right track.

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Best free professional coding resources to try in 2022

Do you want to learn coding without the commitment of college classes? Bootcamps offer an easy option to get started with coding, but quality boot camps are expensive. Fortunately, there’s an alternative – the self-taught route.

From Apple’s Steven Wozniak to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, the industry is full of noted figures that learned to program independently. While most of these people were restricted to books and coding magazines for their learning, today, you have abundant online coding resources to learn from.

 

Why become a self-taught programmer? 

Self-taught programmers don’t want someone to take the initiative and start coding independently by any means available. The journey of learning programming is not a few days or months, but it is worth it. There are several benefits of self-taught programming:

Self-taught programmers are good at problem-solving as they learn through repeated trials. It improves their analytical abilities.

You develop an innate understanding of programming concepts as you figure them out.

When you learn by coding and practising, you get skilled in various algorithms and methodologies, unlike reading books or following a school curriculum.

Self-taught programmers are not just good at coding but also have developed skills such as testing, project deployment, using multiple tools, etc.

That said, self-taught developers are known to commit some common mistakes.

 

Self-taught programming mistakes 

No clear purpose: Why do you want to learn to program? If you do not have a clear answer, you will walk in circles following trending skills rather than an objective. Have a solid reason to learn to program; maybe you want to build a website or a unique web app.

Not practicing enough: You can read as many books on programming as you want, but without getting your hands dirty, you can never learn to code. You have to code and code some more until you understand the concepts.

Choosing the wrong resources: The Internet is full of coding resources, but not all are quality sources. You have to know which websites offer good courses for developers. While the above two mistakes you have to fix on your own, we can help you discover the best learning resources.

 

Top 5 free coding resources for beginners

 

1.Udemy

Udemy has the most extensive collection of coding resources to help beginners learn. There are over 55,000 courses on offer to help anyone learn to code easily. The courses range from front-end to back-end development and many more. You can start learning to program with beginner-level Udemy courses and move on to classes for professionals and experts. 

The site has in-depth coding resources on several programming languages, including Python, C, Java, Ruby, Go, Scala, and many more. We recommend you start with these free Udemy courses


2. GitHub Student Developer Pack

GitHub is a tool that enables software to build, ship, and maintain their software. As you advance in your learning process, you must use this tool to deploy code. But, that’s not something we are covering in this post. Instead, we are focused on the GitHub Student Developer bundle, a free coding resource that teaches how to write code for scale and deploy it to the production environment. You get a lot of free resources in this student bundle that includes:

  • A 1-year domain name registration
  • $100 in platform credit for DigitalOcean
  • 12-month subscription to Canva, a graphic editing SaaS service
  • Access to 25+ Microsoft Azure cloud services
  • 6-months access to all courses on FrontendMasters

There are many more resources. If web development is on your mind, this is the best coding resource to learn web development.

 

3. FreeCodeCamp

FreeCodeCamp is a non-profit online learning platform that offers free online coding classes and certification courses specializing in responsive web development, machine learning, data visualization, and blockchain development. Their motive is to teach the world how to code for free. 

With over 30,000 hours of free content, you can learn almost any programming language with their courses. However, FreeCodeCamp is especially beneficial for those who want to learn data science. The site offers advanced courses like Data Analysis with Python, JavaScript and Data Structures, Data Visualization, Machine Learning with Python, and Scientific Computing with Python. All these courses are entirely free. 

4. Codecademy

Codeacademy is another excellent resource for learning to code for beginners. Compared to the above-listed free coding resources, the number of courses is less, but the website offers mentor-initiated learning. Free coding resources are available to learn Python, Java, C++, Ruby, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and SQL.

The website has helped over 24 million students to learn to code and upskill. It is an excellent site for the free learning experience. However, no community support is available here, so you must seek help elsewhere if you get stuck with a problem.

 

5. Udacity

Another excellent learning platform for developers, Udacity, offers a mix of free and paid classes. A distinctive feature here is, however, ‘nanodegrees.’ These are specialized curriculums designed to teach beginners the basics and practical implementation of programming languages. There are over 200 free nanodegrees offered by Udacity.

Intro to Programming,  Version Control with Git, and Intro to HTML and CSS are three nanodegree courses we recommend for beginners who want to accelerate their learning process. These coding courses will cover almost every aspect of web development you need to know to start working on projects in a live environment.

 

Conclusion 

These are the top 5 best free professional coding resources to learn programming in 2022. Self-taught programmers are some of the best professionals in the industry. If you can avoid the pitfalls of self-learning coding mentioned above, you can be a professional developer on your own.

And once you have the skills join Talent500 to find career-redefining opportunities. We are the platform elite Indian talent relies upon to find opportunities with global companies.

4 major bad habits you should avoid as a developer

A career in software development is promising not only because of the versatility of the field but also when taking into account the growth prospects. According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the demand for software developers is expected to grow by 25% between 2021 and 2031. It’s much faster than the average growth rate of all other professions. Unfortunately, the industry is struggling with a shortage of talented software engineers. In a market study, Indeed.com found that frontend developers, backend developers, full stack developers, and mobile developers rank in the top 10 most challenging to fill technical jobs.

If you plan to become a successful software developer, there are some critical mistakes that you must proactively avoid.

Here we list the bad habits that you must avoid as a developer.

1. Blindly copying and pasting codes

Software reusability is a practice that’s encouraged in the industry, but you must not blindly include other developers’ code in your projects. Copying and pasting code snippets can be devastating until you understand it’s working. When you work on large software development projects, you will use code created by other developers but being mindful of the logic of the code is mandatory.

Junior developers often use code from other sources, but as you gain experience and move to a senior developer position, you will have to get your hands dirty. The problem with blindly copying and pasting codes is that not every character is displayed in Unicode, which is why it might not be the same as visible on the screen. 

For instance, “е ẹ ė é è” all these characters are not alphabetical E in Unicode but appear to be. Some characters might not even be visible on the screen. Such characters are known as non-printing characters. Error arising from such character copy/paste can keep you stuck for a long time.

2. Assuming the product or its requirement from the end user’s perspective 

Humans are innately poor at predictions. A software developer is susceptible to predicting the end-use of a product or how users will react to it after its release. But it’s one of the worst habits a developer can nurture. Overconfidence in your assumption of a project requirement will only result in difficulties.

You might have a unique and brilliant tech idea, but you must work on every possible product’s functional specification scenario. If you fail to do so, the product will underperform. Most of the time, you will work on projects that others envision; they know what they want but don’t have the technical expertise to get there. As a software developer, you must understand and anticipate customers’ needs. You need skills other than programming, such as communication and researching, among other essential software developer soft skills.

3. Being too rigid with your skills

Among common comments on new hires is their rigidity. It is good to master a particular programming language, framework, or type of development, but you must always be ready to adapt to changes. Software development is one of the fastest-changing industries. Hence you cannot afford to be rigid with your learnings as a software developer.

You often cannot fully utilize technology or programming language before a new one arrives. If you want to be a competitive and successful software developer, you have to be versatile. Ditch your belief system that a specific problem or challenge can be handled only a certain way. Focus on continuous learning and development of your skills. Knowing several programming languages and frameworks makes you resourceful and boosts your confidence.

4. Writing large functions

New software developers are often found to write large functions. We understand that once you are in the ‘zone,’ it is easy to get lost in writing code line after line, which results in more extensive functions.

The problem with writing large functions is that it makes your code difficult to read. Software developers seldom write code for themselves but for others too. Long functions also limit the reusability of quality code and make testing difficult. If you write larger functions, you will make it difficult for other developers on the team to collaborate. A single function must do one thing and not multiple tasks.

However, not writing larger functions doesn’t imply you cannot have long lines of code. Large software projects will have functions that run up to hundreds of lines of code. But it would help if you kept it readable for everyone such that testing code doesn’t become a nightmare.

Conclusion 

Success software developers are not led by their technical proficiency alone. A competitive software developer knows what bad habits to avoid to make their work collaborative, easy to read, and functional enough to deliver the best user experience.

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6 developer communities you should join in 2022

Developers should take note of the African proverb, “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,“. Learning to code well is a precursor for a successful career, but to accelerate your growth in the industry, being part of some developer communities is essential. 

Beginners and experienced developers can scale their learning experience by asking questions and sharing their knowledge.

We did all the legwork as we don’t want you to waste your energy trying to discover the best developer resources on the internet. Here we list the best developer communities you should join in 2022.

1. Stack Overflow

No developer community can even match the extent and reach of Stack Overflow. Stack Overflow enjoys unmatched dominance as the world’s largest developer community with over 100 million monthly visitors, more than 21 million questions, and 50.6+ billion answers. It is one of the most significant developer resources to learn code, share knowledge, showcase expertise, and get hired.

It is not surprising that 98% of software developers use Stack Overflow in some capacity once a month, while 30% use it daily. From web development to enterprise software architecture, you can ask questions on any programming topic in this community. Don’t be surprised if you find an answer to your query already posted on Stack Overflow. With such an active community of developers, likely, that someone has already asked the same question before.

2. Frontend developers

As the title implies, it’s a developer community on Discord dedicated to frontend developers. With over 18,000 front-end developers from across the globe, it is a highly diversified community. Unlike other frontend developer communities that focus on a particular tech stack or framework, this developer community is valuable for every front-end programmer irrespective of what technology they work with. From core frontend technologies – HTML, CSS, TypeScript, JavaScript, and PHP to modern frontend frameworks like React, Angular, Vue, and Svelte, there are developers from all backgrounds in this community. There is a separate design segment for UI/UX discussion.

3. Reactiflux

A great Discord community for React developers, Reactiflux is highly niche-specific, with over 185,000 React developers. It is a highly organized developer community with multiple categories. The React General section is where you can ask questions regarding React, testing, tooling, and everything related to front-end or back-end development. There are tools, libraries, promotions & events categories, and more. Reactiflux is one of the largest communities for React developers outside Facebook’s official community. And, if you need access to more resources, check out our React developer toolkit.

4. Postman student community

API is an essential technology for frontend and backend developers to understand and learn. While most communities focus on frontend or backend technologies, the Postman student community is dedicated to API development hacks. Here you can ask anything related to APIs, participate in API events, and connect with industry leaders to learn what’s happening in the API market. It is a great developer community to join, even if you have never worked with API tech. The Postman student community is a great starting post to learn, participate, and master any concept of API development.

5. WeLearnJS

JavaScript is a powerful technology for web development, and we must add a trusted developer community around this technology. WeLearnJS is a great community that is available as Slack Workspace. It has ten channels that share resources, guides, and roadmaps on various JavaScript frameworks. You can narrow it down to particular channels using hashtags like #angular-talk, #react-talk, and #vuejs-talk.

There are over 12,000 active members in the WeLearnJS community. If you have queries or want to learn a concept in-depth, you can join the #chat-room channel. The #jobs channel for exploring job opportunities is highly active with regular job postings. As a JavaScript developer, you can significantly benefit from joining this community.

6. Dev

At first glance, Dev.to might appear to be a blogging platform, but as you explore deeper, you will realize it’s an amazingly diverse and dynamic developer community. Not only are great developer resources in the form of articles and tutorials shared, but you can also discuss any topic or ask your doubts with the community. There are coding events and hackathons regularly held within the community. The support from other developers is fantastic and encourages you to participate more.

Conclusion

Here you have the best developer communities you should join in 2022. Picked by our experts, these communities are appropriate for beginners and experienced programmers as they share valuable resources for every developer. Being part of a developer community helps you avoid isolation and inculcate a sense of inclusion in the learning process. We hope you will find these developer resources relevant.

Talent500 is another excellent resource for developers to explore career opportunities with Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups. Join us today and be part of our elite talent pool.

 

4 habits that keep programmers from becoming senior developers

A career as a software developer ranks as #2 in the best technology jobs. Computing technology is growing exponentially, and we are at the cusp of automation. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts software developer jobs will grow 17% between 2014 and 2024, a much faster growth rate than any other profession. Still, there is a server shortage of senior developers, and over 40 million technical jobs go unfulfilled due to a lack of skilled talent. One might argue that with so many people passionate about software development, why do they lack the skills to advance in the field?

The problem is a lack of understanding of what makes successful senior developers. Your technical skills and experience can only get you so far. To be a highly successful developer career, you might have to keep away from some of the fairly common developer habits. 

Talent500 team evaluated several successful developers and noted their habits and traits. Here are the programmer habits that can keep you from becoming a senior developer.

1. Not making active decisions

As a programmer, you will spend most of your time coding. However, you must work proactively and make operational decisions for career progression. There is no set path to becoming a senior developer. It is not a position that you will be upgraded to automatically after spending a few years as a junior developer. Depending on the competition within your organization, it can take time.

At most IT companies, even with exceptional skills, developers wait a long time to become senior developers. To stay ahead of the competition, you should not depend on your manager to progress your career. Instead, make an effort and take calculated risks based on your skills and experience. If you are stuck in a dead-end job, don’t expect your leaders to rescue you, upskill, seek more responsibilities, and take risks to break free.

2. Incessant complaining about the workplace issues

As a programmer, you are expected to be good at solving problems. But, when it comes to workplace issues, just your coding skills aren’t enough. Suboptimal tools and processes can hinder your productivity and reduce the code quality. Another challenge developers face when working within a team is uncollaborative teammates. When faced with such workplace issues, you have two options: solve them or complain about them.

What do you think senior developers do?

Emotional maturity is another trait of senior developers that employers look for. If you incessantly complain about workplace issues, you lack the maturity to become a senior developer. Senior developers never blame the team or management; instead, they put effort into solving workplace issues to create a healthy work environment.

Complaining and blame-game are programmer habits that prevent developers from growing in their careers. Such professionals are seen as troublemakers by leaders. Therefore, nurture patience and maturity that will earn you the respect of peers. It ultimately contributes to your promotion to a senior level.

3. Assuming the user, or the environment of the product

This comes from the desk of Karen Panetta, IEEE fellow and associate dean of the school of engineering at Tufts University. She explains that a habit that can limit a developer’s career is to assume what’s not specified within the functional requirements of a product. Wrong assumptions can kill the product. As a developer, it is your responsibility to anticipate the needs of the product as often clients are not tech savvy and depend on you to lead the project development. Senior developers are outstanding communicators with presentation skills and the ability to convey a concept to any audience.

Developers who lack the skill to communicate with stakeholders and help them understand the requirements and needs of a product will find it hard to climb up the career ladder.

4. Lacking professional discipline

Professional discipline is a virtue necessary for success in any career. Any programmer aspiring to become a senior developer must have a disciplined approach.

What does professional discipline for software developers encompass?

Developers must possess important discipline elements, among other essential soft skills, including fulfilling commitments at work, meeting deadlines, being collaborative, showing empathy, asking for help when needed, effective delegation, and assisting team growth.

In theory, these traits might sound easy to possess, but on the ground, many software engineers fail to adhere to them. The most common reason for their failure is the lack of understanding or willingness to amp up their performance to become better developers. However, any senior developer will have these attributes, and if you aspire to be one, you must actively work on nurturing them.

Being a senior developer requires working hard to meet deadlines, delivering products under pressure without venting out on the team, guiding the team through challenges, and being fully aware of your capabilities and limitations. If you lack professional discipline, you will become a bottleneck for your growth and the entire team.

Conclusion 

These four programmer habits can prove costly to your career growth. To become a senior developer, you proactively need to adjust your technical and soft skills to avoid or overcome these habits.

Talent500 is a platform for developers to find senior roles with global companies. Sign up here to join our elite pool of talent.