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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Using React with Rails: Things to consider

Frontend development has come a long way in the last decade. The domain is rapidly developing with new technologies to utilize modern infrastructure more efficiently. Of all the technologies, React remains a significant player. According to Statista, ReactJS is the second most widely used JavaScript library, with a market share of 42.62%.

Developers are using ReactJS to make their Ruby on Rails applications more powerful. This article will look at things you need to consider while using React with Rails.

When to use React and Rails?

Ruby on Rails and React are both standalone frameworks. You can build applications using either Rails or ReactJS, but there are scenarios where combining the two offers a technological edge. If you are not sure when to use React with Rails, here are some preferred applications:

  • Complex simple-page applications
  • Applications with a large volume of dynamic content
  • Mobile-first applications that need to be scaled rapidly
  • Applications handling larger database
  • Applications with higher performance speed

If you are working on any such application, then you can plan to use the two technologies in combination.

Now let’s look at the considerations to make.

1. Is fast development possible?

Ruby on Rails has many built-in modules and code libraries that developers can use to rapidly build enterprise applications. There are also options to strengthen communication with frontend libraries like ReactJS. However, to reduce cost and development time, you need to ensure that developers in your team understand how to build a Ruby on Rails app with a ReactJS frontend. Some prerequisites exist to fully utilize the combination for product development, like understanding protocols to transfer data between Rails backend and React frontend.

Also, there are tricks to clean up your React components that can make your apps much faster. It helps you scale the performance of the applications without increasing the resources.

2. What is your app speed requirements? 

Not every app benefits from using React and Ruby on Rails as the tech stack. If your app has to handle a high volume of dynamic data or too much traffic, you can build your app using any one of the frameworks.

However, it’s the best tech stack if your app needs to load lightning fast, even with dynamic content, and handle increasing traffic. When you use Ruby on Rails with React, you can reduce the server response time by up to 80%, making your apps much faster. The low speed of web apps is one of the main reasons businesses lose users.

If minimizing the server request time is your priority, you should consider Rails and ReactJS for your application.

3. Cut down memory usage 

It is a common issue for applications as they scale. If not managed correctly, increased memory usage can lead to poor performance and even timeouts. The solution lies in optimizing the memory utilization by the app. React with Rails API can be used to prevent unnecessary memory usage by optimizing processes to allocate and empty available space more efficiently. Egghead.io, an online learning platform for web developers, struggled with timeouts every hour before they decided to deploy a React with Ruby on Rails solution. It significantly improved their application’s performance and improved memory usage.

4. Development speed, quality & business model

App development is increasingly popular, driven by the increase in the use of smartphones. The ‘time to market’ is significant in a competitive domain. It simply determines how much time it will take to build and publish an application. When Rails is combined with React, you have a complete technology stack to develop and deploy apps in the least time possible. Also, if you aim to offer an app based on the freemium model, Rails works great because it’s a cheaper technology. Also, it provides additional features like scalability once your user base starts growing.

Another reason to try a combination of React with Ruby on Rails is that you can build a fully functional prototype fast. It helps you test the market and get feedback from the users to guide appropriate future decisions. However, if you aim to earn revenues from ads with a huge base of free users, you should not use Rails with React as it is not entirely a free option.

Conclusion 

Whether or not you should use React with Ruby on Rails depends on the project’s requirements. There is no straightforward answer, as the tech stack is not a universal solution but a potential combination for developing dynamic applications with innumerable micro-interactions. If you are building large scalable web applications, you need to consider the points mentioned above.

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