NotionNext BLOG

How to set up your web app project that helps you write high quality code

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT

This article introduces tools that can help you boost code quality and detect errors early. The life cycle of development can be described as follows:

Development → Commit & Push → Build

In each stage, there are tools that help us.

Development Stage

Linting

Linting tools help enforces coding best practise. With the use of IDE, like VSCode it can flag issues at runtime. But it can also be integrated as pre-commit hook (more on this later) to detect issues. Some of the widely used linting tools for each programming language are

PyLint for Python

RuboCop for Ruby

PHP_CodeSniffer for PHP

TSLint for TypeScript

Stylelint for CSS and other web languages

ESLint for JavaScript

Code formatter

The purpose of code formatter is to automatically format code according to a set of predefined rules, helping to ensure consistent code formatting across a project or team. Here are some examples of code formatter for some programming languages

JavaScript/TypeScript: Prettier

Python: Black

Java: Google Java Format

Ruby: RuboCop

Go: gofmt

C/C++: ClangFormat

Unit Test

Unit test is one of the most important parts of development as it detects error early on in the development process. Unit tests should be introduced in more details, but for the sake of the length of this article, lets just look at some general rule of thumb for unit test briefly.

Test only one thing at a time.

Test all possible paths through the code.

Use real-world data.

Keep tests independent and repeatable.

Keep tests fast and efficient.

Use assertions to check for expected results.

Maintain and update tests as the code evolves.

Commit & Push

Before publishing your code, it's important to ensure that it meets certain standards of quality and is free of errors. To do this, several tools can automatically run processes such as linting checks and unit tests to help catch any potential issues and safeguard against errors.

Git commit hook

Git hooks are scripts that run automatically at specific points during the Git workflow, such as before or after a commit is made. By using commit hook tools, developers can automate processes such as code formatting, linting, and testing, and ensure that changes meet certain standards of quality before they are committed to the repository

As usual, here is the list of git commit hook tools for different programming languages

Java: JGit

Python: GitPython

Ruby: Rugged

C#: LibGit2Sharp

PHP: PHP Git Hook

Javascript: Husky

Build

CI/CD Pipeline

CI/CD is again another huge topic. So here I just give a short introduction first. CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (or Continuous Delivery).

Continuous Integration involves automatically building, testing, and merging code changes into a shared repository frequently to catch and resolve conflicts early. It ensures that the code is always in a working state and that changes made by developers do not break the build.

Continuous Deployment/Delivery, on the other hand, involves automatically deploying the code changes to production as soon as they are ready, with minimal manual intervention. It allows for faster and more frequent releases, reducing the time it takes for new features and bug fixes to reach users.

Other Tools

SonarQube

SonarQube is a cool tool that helps developers make sure their code is high-quality and free of bugs and security issues. It does this by providing a bunch of helpful metrics and reports that show how well your code is written, and it integrates with all sorts of popular software development tools. By using SonarQube, developers can catch and fix issues early on, making sure their software works well and is reliable for users.

Conclusion

That’s it. These are the tools and processes that used in my previous projects. Happy Coding!

Other resources

NextJs + Typescript project setup

Reinventing and controlling my life financially

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

I used to save every penny and invest at least half of my salary into the stock market. But there is always an unsettling feeling in my heart. What if the return isn’t as much as the theory promised? Shouldn’t I try more when I am still young and have nothing to lose? After reading several books about personal finance, I have decided the best investment I can make is to invest in myself and take risks when I still can.

1. Know your expenses and cut unnecessary one

To save more, you either increase more income or lower your expense. I choose to lower my expense because I think it brings me more autonomy and less dependent on materials. It is a matter of lifestyle and personal choice. The most important thing is you should always know where your money goes.

2. Invest in a passive index fund — the baseline of investment

Investment is not an all-or-nothing game and it is better to invest in something than nothing at all. If you ask me what is the return rate of a passive index fund in the future decades, I don’t have a single clue. I don’t believe the future rate will be as high as 7% on average in the past. But right now, I couldn’t find a better alternative that allows me to sleep peacefully at night.

However, to balance the risk and reward, I would lower my investment to a passive index fund. Why? Let’s see the next section.

3. Invest in yourself

I consider passive index funds a relatively low-risk investment (at least for my age). Low risk means low return or moderate return. Controllable risk and predictable return are good for long-term investment. But I think life is too boring without some risk and I have nothing to lose right now (except my few investments in the index fund). After all, the best investment we make is ourselves. So I would reinvest the other part of the saving that should go to the index fund into myself and my side hustle.

4. Know the game you are playing

Is cosmetic an expense or an investment? I used to think that it is an expense because I am a software engineer and I don’t have a need to present myself beautifully in front of the client. But for others, it may be an investment. Or even for me, you know, pretty girls always have advantages. Anyway, what I am saying is everyone is playing different games. Everyone is playing their own game. Don’t compare yourself to others. Know what game you are playing and focus on it.

5. Saving money doesn’t need a reason

Saving and investment are lifelong games. The more you save, the more you can invest. When you have enough money, you can buy a car. We don’t start saving when we want to buy a car. We should save when we can (in a moderate way). Personally, I save whenever I can and I actually have to teach myself to spend when I should. But I have friends that save when they have the need. But the problem is it lacks a long-term perspective. Imagine one day, you decide to study an expensive course, which causes 5000 dollars, but you have no savings. It may take you one or two years to reach the amount of saving you need. When you form the habit of saving without the immediate need, you can use it when you need it immediately.

So these are some of my principles of personal finance. I have been trying to find a balance between risk and reward. After being a person who is extremely conservative on money, I realise that life is much more than saving for retirement. There are countless people who enjoy a fruitful life but don’t invest a penny into the index fund, instead, they invest in themselves. There is more than one way to be financially secure and we all need to find our own.

Thing is always better than you think

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

So I break down again. It was supposed to be another quiet night, but as I focus more on coding my portfolio, my disappointment in myself continues to build me. I keep pushing myself to do a bit more but my mind said otherwise. I want to move around, I want to challenge myself to all sorts of challenging yoga positions. I hate programming. I hate having to seat down in front of the computer every night after work and doing the same thing as work.

One small thing became the trigger. My mum occupied my desk for an hour, just an hour. She said my computer was on the desk anyway and I wasn’t going to do anything anyway. Yes, what I am doing is unimportant. I was already really unhappy about myself and yeah what I am doing is unimportant.

I don’t understand why I am so angry.

Take out a pen and write, understand your anger

I don’t understand where my anger comes from. Everything seems so trivial. At least the trigger point is trivial. To understand the emotion, instead of expressing it verbally or even worse violently, I write everything down on paper. I didn’t control myself, I just let my anger be expressed on the paper. If someone looks at how I am writing, s/he would have known I am angry.

Don’t try to control any emotion. Don’t try to calm yourself down. Just write whatever comes to your mind.

As I write I get more understanding..

I am about to move to a new country with a very high probability that I would be able to find an IT job, given how bad the economy right now is. I am insecure. On the other hand, I always want to try something else, because I don’t feel like I like software engineering is my true calling. If you ask me whether I would regret when I die if I didn’t try out the other career path, it is a definitive yes. But, software engineering is a high-paying and stable job. I am afraid of losing my current living standard. The uncertainty is great. The risk is great. ‘

Is the risk really that big?

What’s the worst-case scenario? Losing my saving and have to go back to Hong Kong and wasted a year or two. How likely is that scenario? How likely that I learn nothing during that two year? Well, I can get a job as a waiter at least. But I will still have enough income to cover my expense. I will waste two years exploring a new country. But I would also set my IT career for 2 years if I have to go back.

What’s the potential return? Finding a career that I enjoy more. Finding a country that I am willing to stay.

The risk is limited and the reward is immense! Why do I worry?

from Reading to Action

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Notes: This article is the notes inspired by another article, which is the interview with the founder of Advantech. Unfortunately, it is only in Chinese. But I put the link below anyway.

Link to the article: https://www.cheers.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5100821&page=3

Read to assist your thinking

3 steps. Read, think and act. From reading to acting, we need to think and internalise the knowledge we get from books. Often I feel there is a disconnection between reading to living. When I read a book, I usually get an urge for motivation that lasts for a few days. When the motivation faded, so did the book and all the knowledge. The missing step in between is thinking and building a system or integrating everything into our system.

In fact, thinking is more important than reading. Only when you have the habit of thinking, and forming your own opinion, would you be able to act in the right direction. Reading is the tool to open the horizon. But the knowledge will never be yours if you can’t integrate it into your own system. So forming the habit of thinking is prior to forming the habit of reading. To think clearly, you would need the habit of writing.

Think → Write → Read → Think → Write...

Think and write is output and read is input. The ratio of input and output is at best 20/80 and the input needs to be of high quality.

But, the quality of the reading is determined by the reader. A poorly written article can also inspire you to write a good one. Think creatively and you will be able to turn any material into a magic piece. That’s why thinking is essential. Without thinking, any form of reading won’t give you any value.

From reading to acting

In the article, it mentioned a framework that the founder uses to aid his thinking.

1. Subject

2. Key point

Fact

Analyse

Action

Personally, I think it is a pretty solid thinking framework, that emphasises asking the right question and ultimately leads to actions. Actions don’t need to be perfect at first. The use of the first initial few steps is to build momentum.

So this is the take away of the article! I am writing this article casually to build momentum as well!

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fu*k

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT

A few words about this book

Recently I have been repressing myself from reading self-help books because I am tired of it. They are repetitive and can only give you a burst of motivation just for that short period of time.

But this book is different. I didn’t get more motivated after reading this. My life still sucks and is full of problems. Mark Manson, the author, didn’t claim to solve all of my life problems after all. Instead, he told you the truth that suffering is inevitable, but what matters is what are you suffering for. This is the biggest talk away I have from this book.

Real happiness is solving problems that matter. It is the second biggest takeaway for me. Our work is solving problem after problem. I am the happiest when I can focus on solving a coding problem. I am depressed when I have nothing to do at work and am idle in front of the computer. But not every problem is worth solving, even at work. In fact, I often think most of the tasks at work doesn’t worth spending time on and I have tried hard to discover their meaning (or invent their meaning). So happy life is about solving meaningful problems is indeed the very truth for me.

Another thing I like about this book is that it didn’t tell you to be positive. I have been trying for years to be positive all the time, but each trial only gets me more depressed. I got stuck in the feedback loop from hell. I am guilty of my guilt, which makes me more guilty. No one can be positive all the time. The pursuit of happiness can only result in unhappiness. The pursuit itself already indicates that you are not happy.

Ask and solve the right problem ←- The motto of life

So WTF does this book talk about in short?

Only gives a fuck on what matters.

Pain is inevitable. Accept it and be open to it

Real happiness in life comes from solving the problem of what matters

The meaning of life is solving problems that mean something

Self-worth is being able to look at your negative side honestly and seek improvement.

Entitlement and victimised are the real dangers, self-deceptive and create false confidence. Selfishness

The question to ask is what you are suffering? Too precise for what value you are suffering for. Suffering always exists. But we should suffer for good value, worthy that worth pursuing

You always have a choice and you are always choosing. Fault and responsibility are two things. It may not be your fault but it is your responsibility to act or not to act, to give a fuck or to not give a fuck

We are often very wrong about ourselves.

Value is an ongoing process of lifelong fulfilment. Failure is part of growth. Pain is unavoidable when we fail. But success is made by countless attempts and failures

Rejection could make your life better by allowing you to focus on what you should give a fuck on. Don’t be afraid that rejection could break a relationship. Solid relationships should build upon trust, not condition.

Don’t exchange breadth for depth. There are things you can only experience when you commit to it