Synk #11

For my 11th birthday, I was allowed to stay up past 11pm. For Synk's 11th release, I'll probably be in bed by 9pm. While growing old might be disappointing, this issue is full of excitement (hopefully)!

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📰 The News

It's not very often that dev hirings are newsworthy but for all of you Python devs out there, this is worth a mention. Python creator Guido Van Rossum has now come out of retirement and joined Microsoft in a position which he syas he'll use to "make using Python better for sure (and not just on Windows)". What that means, exactly, remains to be seen. As I said, exciting!

💬 Discuss: Reddit | HackerNews

More Python news slithering in? Don't mind if I do! According to the TIOBE index, Python has overtaken Java to become the 2nd most popular programming language for the first time in nearly 20 years. A pretty good time to be a Python dev indeed!

💬 Discuss: Reddit | HackerNews

Chrome's DevTools CSS helpers have been getting better and better. This latest release brings additional support for flexbox which will be very handy, especially to those who aren't flexing everyday (why are you still using tables?!). There are plenty of other nifty features, including a new Web Vitals lane in the Performance tab for all you performance junkies out there (you know who you are)!

💬 Discuss: Reddit | HackerNews

Honestly, good news regarding copyright notices are so rare that when they do come along, they should be celebrated with appropriate gusto. In the last update, we told you that youtube-dl had to be taken down due to a DCMA notice. Not only has the EFF managed to argue against the decision, not only has GitHub brought the repo back, but the company is also putting measures in place, including a "developer defense" fund, to fight such notices in the future. Joy all around!

💬 Discuss: Reddit | HackerNews

🔭 Code Discovery

There are plenty of joys to using Linux but attempting to run Windows apps on any of its distros is not one of them. WinApps was created to make the process of running and using certain apps like Microsoft Office a breeze, and they've definitely succeeded! Packages like this might make it easier to convince people unfamiliar with Linux to give something like Ubuntu a try, unlikely as it might still be.

Sometimes, all you need is an indecent amount of fake data. Depending on the language and tools you use, this can range from piece-of-cake to "Why God why!" levels of frustration. With faker.js, you'll hopefully get your cake and eat it too.

Look, I'm not saying that collections of endless links are always exciting to me but, let's face it, they most often are. There's just something uniquely satisfying about browsing through well-curated, useful pieces of material knowing that someone took the time to share it with the world. Get some knowledge in ya!

Sometimes, all you need to say to me is "it's free". There have been perhaps too many occassions where I've agreed to invest my time and emotional stability just because someone uttered that phrase. Hopefully, your time will be well spent with this massive list of free resources, especially if you're an infrastructure developer.

While not a style guide per se, clean-code-javascript will hopefully be a good resource for anyone who feels like their code could be cleaner, or anyone who wishes to just read another opinion on what makes clean code. You don't have to agree with everything on the list, but mix-and-matching is one of the best tools you can possess.

🎓 Career Development

When you are just graduating uni, or have just finished bootcamp, or are just trying to get into development via any path you've chosen, you're probably full of hope that your first job will bring good experiences, excellent mentors, and a quality workplace. The truth is, however, that you may get none of those things. And you know what? That's okay! Hang in there, do what you can, and try to find another workplace that will appreciate your talents and try to foster them even further. Basically, don't despair!

🤔 Miscellaneous

Security researchers often preach about the doom and gloom of the digital age, and not without reason. You may think that the devices you use are secure and private, but is it ever really? While this article focuses on Apple and some admittedly shady practices, I'd urge everyone to consider brushing up on digital security as an overarching concept.

💬 Discuss: Reddit | HackerNews | Twitter

Above, we showed you a resource on how to write cleaner, more readable JS code. Items like that weren't born out of thin air but rather out of mounting frustration. If you're among those frustrated with JS, this article might be a fun little read, though perhaps you won't agree with everything on the list.

💬 Discuss: Reddit

If you asked me what tech I'll be using more in lockdown than ever before, QR codes wouldn't have even crossed my mind. If you are interested in that kind of tech, then Spotify Codes is probably equally intriguing. Thankfully, you can now learn how they work and even ask their creator a question or two on Reddit!

💬 Discuss: Reddit | HackerNews

Game development is often incredibly cool if only because of the limitations that devs have to overcome and the insanely creative solutions they come up with. Here, you can see how Mojang runs end-to-end tests inside Minecraft. Very cool stuff!

💬 Discuss: Reddit