Author: venkatesh

Angular developer toolkit: Essential skills, upskilling resources, interview prep & more

Posted on by venkatesh

Angular is one of the leading JavaScript frameworks that Google’s Angular Team leads. The TypeScript-based open-source front-end web application language is used by corporations like Google, Forbes, PayPal, UpWork, and Deutsche Bank.

Front end developers can build complex web applications using Angular as it combines declarative templates, dependency injection, and end-to-end tooling. You can build web, mobile, and desktop applications using Angular, and we are here to help.

This toolkit is a comprehensive listicle of all Angular essential resources you must keep in a tab.

Npm: The Node Package Manager has become a required tool for web developers today. While npm is a package manager designed for NodeJS, it can install thousands of client-side web development packages, including Angular. When working on a web application, you will eventually need npm for Angular and non-Angular packages import.

Angular CLI: Angular Command Line Interface or CLI is an essential Angular package a front-end developer must learn to work with. This package makes it possible to easily install necessary Angular packages for a web application with a single command line. Not only for new applications, but you can also use Angular CLI to add new services, modules, or components to existing applications.

TypeScript: JavaScript is one of the most critical languages for client-side web applications, but it is not strongly typed. TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript that overcomes this limitation. It is better to build Angular applications with TypeScript instead of JavaScript because of its strong typing syntax. Any front-end developer working with Angular must know TypeScript.

RxJS: It is a library for reactive programming that has observable streams. While it exists independent of Angular, it is bundled with the framework as it automates several web application development tasks, such as making HTTP requests for data. Learning RxJS will help front end developers create consistent APIs using Angular for performing asynchronous tasks.

Git: Source control is essential for developers, and Git is the most popular version control tool that helps developers track changes made to the code throughout the project development cycle.

Here is a complete list of resources to learn, upskill and prepare for Angular job interviews.

Angular Components: Tips and Tricks

How To Build Dynamic Components in Angular 6

AngularJS Interview Questions

12 Essential AngularJS Interview Questions

Minko Gechev Blog

Understanding the front-end developer job landscape

Front end developer interview preparation resources

How to get ahead as a front-end developer

Official resources

Introduction to the Angular Docs

Angular — Tutorial: Tour of Heroes

Official Angular Blog

Angular YouTube Channel

Online courses

Angular – The Complete Guide (2022 Edition): A complete course to learn Angular 13 and build reactive web apps using Angular.js. 

The Complete Angular Course: Beginner to Advanced: It is one of the most comprehensive online courses to learn Angular 4 by building an eCommerce app using Angular, Bootstrap 4, and Firebase. 

Angular Crash Course for Busy Developers: An online course designed especially for experienced front developers who want to add Angular to their toolkit. 
Getting Started with Angular 2+: Teaches front end developers how to build applications using Angular 2+.

Books for Angular developers

The Ng-book — The Complete Book on Angular

Angular 2+ Notes for Professionals book

Angular Projects: Build modern web apps by exploring Angular 12 with Ten different projects and cutting-edge technologies, 2nd Edition

Angular Development with TypeScript

Angular for Enterprise-Ready Web Applications

Online communities for Angular developers

Angular Twitter Community

Angular GitHub Repository

Angular Stackoverflow Community

Podcasts for Angular developers

Angular Air

Adventures In Angular Podcast

The Creative Coding Podcast

The Web Platform Podcast

Outside these technical skills, Angular Developers need some essential soft skills to be desirable candidates that companies want to hire.

Time management: Angular developers might work under stringent deadlines, so they must practice delivering on tasks in a well-defined time frame for every application development phase. As a developer, you must practice successful time management skills such as organization, prioritization, goal setting, delegation, planning, stress management, and flexibility. Time management skills will help complete tasks on time.

Communication skills: Developers need to interact with other team members and stakeholders. Angular developers should have practical communication skills to understand clients’ requirements and share their views and ideas with other developers. Employers prefer developers with strong written and verbal communication skills.

Patience: Software development is a complex effort that often takes time. A typical development project kicks off after planning and then execution, testing, and deployment. Afterward, continuous updates are maintained to keep the project relevant with changing technologies. Most of these activities and developers must keep their patience even in an agile environment. Errors will occur, missed deadlines, and project requirements will change, but being patient helps developers bear it all without losing focus.

Empathy: Lack of empathy can be dangerous for developers. Empathy is required to be sensitive to the experience of others. Angular developers who are empathetic build stronger human connections and work better with teammates. It also helps build futuristic web systems and has scope for scalability.

There is a long list of soft skills that you can build and practice to be a more desirable Angular developer. Here are some valuable resources to check out:

Six soft skills that still impress employers in 2022

How to provide criticism to your team as a senior or lead developer

7 Most valuable soft skills of exceptional software engineers

5 Key Skills You Will Need To Succeed At Work In A Post Pandemic World

Conclusion

While preparing for an interview as an Angular developer, you will need resources. This Angular toolkit has included the best sources to learn skills and discover industry information. We hope we saved you time by gathering and listing these fantastic resources, but please tell us in the comments below if we missed any.

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Top 7 technical JavaScript interview questions

Posted on by venkatesh

Jeff Atwood, the co-founder of programming question-and-answer website Stack Overflow, famously quoted, “Any application that can be written in JavaScript, will eventually be written in JavaScript.”

Atwood’s law has proven correct. With the availability of modern JS-based frameworks like Node.js and Vue, the versatility of the programming language has increased multi-fold. Today, industry-leading companies like Google and Facebook use JavaScript to build their most complex web applications.

Interviewing for the position of a JavaScript developer can be challenging, given that the scope of the language is so vast. Your JavaScript concepts will be tested in-depth for a mid or senior-level position. Here are some essential JavaScript interview questions you must know.

Explain the output of the code below on the console

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 will be:

outer func: this.foo = bar

outer func: self.foo = bar

inner func: this.foo = undefined

inner func: self.foo = bar

The outer function uses both this and self to refer to myObject. Therefore both the variables can properly reference and access foo.

But in the inner function, this no longer refers to myObject, which is why this.foo is undefined. However, the reference to the local variable self remains in scope and will remain accessible.

How will you convert a string of any base to an integer in JavaScript?

JavaScript has the parseInt() function to convert numbers between different bases. It takes the string to convert as its first parameter, and the other parameter is the base of the given string.

For example, to 4F (or base 16) to integer in JavaScript, we will use:

parseInt (“4F”, 16);

A common practice is to wrap the entire content of a JavaScript source file in a function block; what is the significance of this approach?

Many popular JavaScript libraries like NodeJS and jQuery support this approach. Using this technique, we can create a closure around the entire content of the file creating a private namespace. This helps avoid any name clashes between different JS libraries or modules.

Also, jQuery plugins often use this technique to create an easily referenceable alias for a global variable. Here’s an example:

(function($) { /* jQuery plugin code referencing $ */ } )(jQuery);

This code uses the closure technique to use $ in jQuery code even if it is disabled by using jQuery.noConflict() function.

Explain the “closure” in JavaScript with an example

In JavaScript, a closure is an inner function with access to the variables defined in the outer (enclosing) function.

A closure function can access variables in three scopes:

  1. Global variables
  2. Variable in its scope
  3. Variables in the enclosing function’s scope

Example of closure function in JS:

var globalVar = “xyz”;

(function outerFunc(outerArg) {

   var outerVar = ‘a’;

   (function innerFunc(innerArg) {

   var innerVar = ‘b’;

   console.log(

     “outerArg = ” + outerArg + “\n” +

     “innerArg = ” + innerArg + “\n” +

     “outerVar = ” + outerVar + “\n” +

     “innerVar = ” + innerVar + “\n” +

     “globalVar = ” + globalVar);

   })(456);

})(123);

Here the innerFunc has access to variables from the global namespace, innerFunc, and outerFunc.

Therefore, all the output functions will be valid. The output will be:

outerArg = 123

innerArg = 456

outerVar = a

innerVar = b

globalVar = xyz

How do timers work in JavaScript? 

We can execute a code at a set time using timers in JavaScript. Using setTimeout, setInterval, and clearInterval functions, we can also repeat a code in a given interval.

We use these functions: 

setTimeout(function, delay): It starts the timer calling a particular function after the mentioned delay

 setInterval(function, delay): It repeatedly executes a given function within the said delay.

clearInterval(id): It stops the timer. 

Timers in JS are operated in a single thread, implying they cannot run concurrently. It can cause events to queue up, waiting for execution.

What is the difference between ViewState and SessionState?

‘ViewState’ is a session state specific to a single web page, while ‘SessionState’ is specific to user-specific data. You can access the SessionState data across all web application pages.

What property will you use to detect the operating system on a client machine? 

JavaScript has the ‘navigator. Platform string (property)’ function that detects the client machine’s OS.

This article is a reference guide to give you an overview of some essential domains within JavaScript that interviewers emphasize. Besides technical skills, you will need some crucial soft skills to ace the interview. Check out these resources:

Most valuable soft skills of exceptional software engineers

Soft skills that still impress employers in 2022

Are you a JavaScript developer exploring remote work opportunities? Talent500 can connect with top-tier companies across the globe. Sign up today.

Things to keep in mind during front end performance testing

Posted on by venkatesh

Developers need to perform several performance tests before launching a website or application. The back end and front end performance tests are mandatory to ensure that the application works properly and meets users’ expectations.

Front end performance testing helps you determine whether the built application is made as instructed by the developers or not. It tests browser-based applications or services for load speed, user interface design, responsiveness, and functionalities.

What is front end performance testing?

A front end performance test is a user-oriented test to check the usability of a program or a webpage. It verifies the presentation architecture of the system from the user’s point of view to ensure the functionality of various function buttons, tabs, and other display elements.

For instance, the performance testing of a school website will include inspecting all display elements and checking if they are in place and easy to navigate. Also, the front end performance test will affirm that other essential features such as access to the school curriculum, form downloads, and e-learning portal are operational.

Comprehensive front-end performance testing is essential to deploy robust and usable applications and websites. Without a doubt, front end performance testing can be challenging. This article will explore these challenges and discuss ways to meet them.

1. Understanding the elements of front-end performance 

You can’t fix the issue if you are unaware of its occurrence. Front-end testing tools like Google PageSpeed, Lighthouse, and GTmetrix provide an instant glimpse of essential front-end elements that QA testers must know.

Important metrics to know:

First Contentful Paint (FCP): According to Mozilla, “First Contentful Paint (FCP) is when the browser renders the first bit of content from the DOM, providing the first feedback to the user that the page is actually loading.” FCP is important to consider as it tells how fast the first text, image, and non-white canvas content is rendered when a user opens the URL. It is the first time when users have started consuming the page content.

First Input Delay (FID): It measures the time lapse between when a user first interacts with the web page, such as clicking a button, filling in a form, or any custom JavaScript-powered control, and when the browser can respond to the interaction.

Render-blocking resources: These are the resources that block or delay the browser from rendering the page content on screen, thereby increasing the load time. It can include stylesheets, scripts, and HTML imports. It is essential to eliminate render-blocking of resources to load the page faster.

Switch to HTTP2: Modern servers support a new version of HTTP Protocol, allowing web browsers to utilize multithreaded and multicore capabilities to make apps and web pages function faster. Using HTTP2 Protocol offers many improvements:

  • It can accept multiple simultaneous requests on the same connection.
  • There is no need to negotiate and re-create a link for each request, saving lost time.
  • It can send multiple files into one response (multiplexing).
  • It offers better compression (30% higher).

2. Testing in proxy and legacy browsers

While Chrome and Firefox have over 67% of the market share, there are other browsers too. You must test for proxy and legacy browsers as well. Browser use varies from country to country. For instance, UC Browser and Opera Mini have a significant market share in Asia.

Front end performance optimization tools like BrowserStack can help you create custom test cases depending on average internet speed in a market, network throttling, and type of device.

3. Testing 404 pages

Don’t skip testing 404 pages. In a research, Matt Hobbs discovered that the 404 responses clients receive could be huge. He found that most 404 reactions result from missing images, favicons, broken JS requests, CSS and font files, and more.

Testing and optimizing 404 pages is necessary. Include a small error payload in these pages to improve server response time.

4. Using Performance Diagnostic CSS

You can use CSS to identify some of the performance issues quickly. Tim Kadlec created the idea of Performance Diagnostic CSS, which is further inspired by Harry Robert’s code snippet.

If you visit the link above, you will see how brilliantly Roberts used CSS to highlight common issues like legacy format images, unsized images, and synchronous scripts.

Performance Diagnostic CSS can be an excellent front end testing tool to detect errors and issues that can cause performance issues visually.

5. RUM-solutions to monitor changes in performance over time

It is impossible to control your users’ digital experience and their level of satisfaction without a monitoring strategy. Real User Monitoring (RUM) tools can help visualize how users interact with your app or website from their perspective. You can automate continuous monitoring with front end testing tools like Calibre, SpeedCurve, and Site speed. These tools allow measuring business-specific metrics for performance enhancement. You can set your user-timing marks and automatic alerts to monitor performance changes over time for comprehensive testing.

Conclusion

Front end performance testing helps paint a complete picture of how your website or web app will perform in the real world. Factor in the insights we shared above to cover all the aspects prone to performance anomalies and get actionable insights faster.

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10 Useful websites to refer for front end design

Posted on by venkatesh

Front end development is a fast-paced domain. Solving real-world problems requires learning from technology upgrades and utilizing the knowledge in real-world projects. Front end developers do not have much chance to progress if they are not learning and evolving.

How does one keep up with so rapidly evolving front end designer skills? By being part of the community, staying in touch with other developers, and knowing resources to turn to when they start a new project, the professionals can keep up with the latest designing skills.

Depending upon at what point you are in your career, you can benefit from resources that help you learn new skills such as discovering new ways to implement CSS or shortcuts to improve work efficiency.

Our experts handpicked the top 10 websites that front end developers can use to upskill and learn more about quality design practices.

1. Frontendmentor

Whether you are just getting started or have prior experience, Frontendmentor can help you enhance your front end skills. The website has many challenges focused on real-life projects. You can practice improving your skills alongside networking with other front end developers from all over the world. The Frontendmentor community is very active in providing meaningful feedback to shared code. Participating in challenges is a great way to collaborate and find work opportunities.

2. Dev Challenges

Another platform similar to Frontendmentor, Dev Challenges, lets you customize the problems based on the difficulty level such as functionality, the scale of the project, and security features. You can further divide the challenges into three groups: front end developers, responsive web developers, and full-stack developers. You can choose to focus on any group. It also allows using Github a cloud-based Git repository as the submission tool and front end developers can also use it to store, manage, track and control changes to their code.

3. CSS-tricks

Chris Coyier founded CSS-tricks in 2007, and since then, it has grown to become a go-to resource for front end developers to learn CSS. Digital Ocean acquired the website in March 2022 because of its massive popularity among front end developers. Still, it is the most incredible resource on the internet to explore the tricks and tweaks of cascading style sheets. It is an excellent resource for developers with some experience with CSS to study the language further.

4. DEV Community

Among some of the most active developer communities on the internet, DEV Community stands out due to its content. It is an open-source platform with over a million users. Anyone can read, write and explore content on DEV Community. Front end developers can learn many new skills, explore different technologies and discuss projects here.

5. 30secondsofcode

Front end developers need to write code for some of the most basic functions. 30secondsofcode is the website that makes it easier for developers to find code snippets that they can use in their projects. With over 1000 code snippets, the website is a valuable resource to accelerate project development. You can search for code with a name, tag, description, or language. It is one of the best sites to bookmark when creating a prototype.

6. Frontloops

If you are not afraid to take up challenges to upskill as a front end developer, Frontloops is your website. Here practice challenges are categorized as follows:

  • Markup-HTML and CSS problems
  • Elements-JavaScript problems

It is primarily an educational website helping users improve their front end designer skills through real-life challenges.

7. CodeMyUI 

It helps when referring to a quality repository with code snippets, JavaScript examples, and HTML elements that you can use in your project directly. CodeMyUI offers a great collection of front end code snippets to experiment with or explore various aspects of UI design. There are resources on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript available.

8. Shortcuts.design

Shortcuts.design makes life easier for front end developers by listing every shortcut a designer could possibly need. It is challenging to keep a tab on all shortcuts when using multiple front end design tools. You can count on this website to speed up your workflow. With its simple interface and clear-to-follow search option, you can search for shortcuts for some widely used front end design tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe XD, Figma, After Effects, etc.

9. CodePen

CodePen is one of the best social platforms to share your code with the community in front end, back end, or full stack development. The site is popular among designers and front end developers who share their work for others to evaluate or learn from.

10. Adobe Color CC

Front end development requires using suitable color schemes to create professional designs for the project. Adobe Color CSS is a front end design tool that can help you create appropriate color schemes for your projects. You need to input the hex color code to get started, and the tool generates a color scheme of your choice. You can choose between various styles such as complementary, monochromatic, analogous, compound, etc.

Conclusion

Front end development is easier when you have the right resources to learn from. The websites listed here are worth spending your valuable time on to learn the tricks of the trade.

If you are a skilled front end developer who is not afraid to take up challenges and innovate with technology, Talent500 has a career redefining opportunities for you. Join our elite pool of talent to connect with the best companies.

Tips to boost creativity as a front end developer

Posted on by venkatesh

Front end development is a unique space in programming. To be a genuinely creative front end developer, one has to strike the right balance between the creative and analytic sides of the brain. Once you break free from conventional and rigid frontend practices, you can create websites that people will remember.

Visual art capabilities bring much-needed creativity to front end developers. Also, developing an understanding of digital psychology, color theory, graphic patterns, and design is essential. All these disciplines help front-end developers create impactful designs.

Here’s how you can nurture creativity.

Practice more

There is no alternative to practice. To be more creative at what you do, you need to keep practicing to recreate some of the best front end works. Awwwards is an excellent source to look out for inspiring designs to clone for practice. With the availability of online resources like Freecodecamp and Frontendmentors, you can practice problems that boost your creativity.

A practical way to be more creative is to create a clone of designs you like. For instance, if you want a particular website, take note of the essential elements like color, typography, layout, content, and media. The more creative websites you choose, the better you will get at understanding design concepts.

Pay attention to typography and color theory

Fonts and colors are arguably the essential building blocks of a website design. You can create attention-grabbing designs if you apply color theory and follow guidelines to use fonts. For instance, if you design a website with humor and fun at its core, use playful fonts like Mouse Memoirs and Fruktur. But if you are working on a website that requires a professional-like appearance, use simple fonts like Roboto, Arial, or Open Sans. Modern websites often use two or more fonts on a single page. It would be best if you learn how to pair fonts properly. You can learn more about typography here.

To be a creative front end developer, you need a basic understanding of color theory. For example, when designing corporate websites, light or toned-down colors are appropriate. If you are working on a brand website, keep colors consistent with the logo. To create a vibrant and dramatic experience, you can use contrasting dark colors.

If you haven’t tried guiding your design based on color theory, you can learn about it here.

Utilize negative space in the layout

Negative space is the empty area between page elements. Creativity is more about balance. It’s not about including too many features to clutter the canvas or leaving too much white space. Appealing designs make use of negative spaces to make elements stand out. Furthermore, negative spaces make pages look organized and clean with evenly spaced segments.

Maintain the beginner’s mindset

As you become a more proficient front-end developer, you may spend less time brainstorming ideas. Over the years, as your coding skills have progressed, you might have created a repository of code snippets that you can plug into different projects.

It’s a great way to save time when working on new projects. But it is hindering your curiosity as you are no longer trying new ways to achieve the same functions. It would help if you never lost the beginner’s mindset. It is essential to ensure that you don’t curtail creativity.

When you get a new project, take some time to work on alternative designs. Look around and draw inspiration from non-conventional art pieces, objects, or nature. A simple trick is to come up with three design ideas. Never settle for the first idea you brainstorm. If you find yourself stuck with the first one, flex your creative muscles.

When faced with a challenge, try to find the best solution. Maybe you need to learn a new tool or work with a language you are not pro at but don’t walk away. The harder you force your brain to develop an idea, the more creative juices will start flowing.

Get feedback

You might be aware of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours rule. It states that to master any skill, we need to spend a minimum of 10,000 hours practicing or developing that skill.

Unfortunately, that’s half the truth, as discovered by Anders Ericsson, an expert scientist who tested Gladwell’s hypothesis and found it incomplete. He argued that for Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours rule to work, good instructions and feedback are needed to make adjustments. This is why you need mentors who can guide your work and help you innovate.

To be a creative front end developer, you can’t just practice in isolation; you need honest feedback and adjustments.

Join communities like Dev Community and Stack Overflow to connect with other front end developers, share your work, and seek their feedback.

And, if you are looking for a challenging job opportunity to stimulate your creativity, we can help. Talent500 is the platform that connects the best of talent with fast-growing startups and Fortune500 companies. Signup today and discover global opportunities.

Talent500 helps the world’s fastest growing businesses build their global workforce.

We help companies hire, build and manage global teams. We are trusted by industry leaders across the globe – from Fortune 500s and larger enterprises, to some of the world’s fastest-growing startups. We are backed by Accel Partners & ANSR, a global leader and enterprise transformation platform.

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