Newsletter #1: Front-End Technology Talk

Hi folks 👋!

When I redesigned fettblog.eu I added a newsletter subscription, not thinking that somebody actually would sign up. We’ve just reached 100 subscribers, and I’m flattered! Thank you all for showing so much interest in my little side-project. I try to make this newsletter a worthwhile addition to the main site! So expect some nice extra content!

Enjoy!

New on fettblog.eu #

TypeScript and ECMAScript modules – If you want to go bundle-free, but still enjoy using TypeScript, you need to keep a couple of things in mind. Here’s everything about using regular ES modules with TypeScript

this in JavaScript and TypeScript – I wanted to write this for the last couple of months, and I finally did it! All about the this keyword in JavaScript, and how to best type this in TypeScript.

Speaking of this #

The meme with the two guys arguing. What is the difference between arrow functions and normal functions. This is the difference! What is the difference? This is the difference! And so on and so on.

Rob Draper #

Before COVID-19 struck, I worked on a couple of conferences together with my friends. We wanted to host the first European TypeScript conference in my hometown and were pretty far. We had the complete line-up (including Anders), had a sold-out venue, and we were kicking off production.

And just like that, 30 days before the conference was supposed to happen, we had to pull the plug. It still hurts a little, but it was obviously the right choice to make.

For TSConf:EU we worked again with Rob Draper. Rob did the amazing intro titles for the 2019 ScriptConf edition:

For TSConf:EU, Rob was doing T-Shirt designs and they were stunning. I try to get photos so I can show you how amazing they looked.

I’m happy to say that I work with Rob again, on something TypeScript related. I can’t wait to show you! In the meantime, make sure to check out his amazing work on his website.

Upcoming in the Cinema #

I hope you folks like the fettblog.eu Cinema. I try to collect interesting talks all-around software development. I love listening to everything Bryan Cantrill has to say. Especially when things go from tech and toys to culture and ethics.

His talk on the ethical dilemmas is something every software engineer has to watch. Check it out:

💡 JavaScript’s apply vs. call #

I recently found a nice mnemonic on how to remember what call does vs. what apply does in JavaScript. What’s the difference between call and apply? Think of a function with arguments:

    function sum(a, b) {
      return a + b
    }

With call you can pass the arguments one by one:

sum.call(null, 2, 3)

null is the object sum should be bound to, so no object.

With apply, you have to pass the arguments in an array:

sum.apply(null, [2, 3])

An easy mnemonic to remember this behaviour is array for apply, commas for call.

On Mozilla #

I’m sure you’ve heard that Mozilla had to lay off 25% of their staff in areas that hurt us, web developers, most. The Servo team that rewrote a good part of Firefox’s render engine in Rust is gone entirely, so is the MDN staff, and a good portion of the dev tooling team.

There will still be work in those areas, but not in the way we are used to.

MDN is already governed by a group of browser vendors and individuals, but it was always helmed by people at Mozilla. Some of them have technical writing experience for Mozilla’s docs that precedes MDN. If you know German, I highly recommend you listening to this interview with Kadir Topal who has been guiding MDN since its inception.

The Rust project takes immediate action to form a foundation to ensure the stability and longevity of the Rust project.

We yet have to see what this means for web browsers in the long run.

What hurts me most is that Mozilla was one of the few organizations where you knew the people. They were individuals. Idealists. People who put their talent towards an admirable goal. I had the pleasure to work with Mozilla during their roadshow last year, and they were fueled with excitement and passion for what they have been working on.

All of them are extraordinarily smart, so I’m sure they find their way in the landscape of today’s software engineering. But I can’t help to feel that something has been lost.

Interesting projects #

TS Engine – TS Engine is supposed to give an all-in-one toolchain for writing TypeScript applications in Node! Pretty powerful and great Developer Experience

That’s it for today #

As with everything I do, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a DM or shoot an e-Mail. I’m happy to discuss all things TypeScript, programming languages, software engineering, and more!

See you around 👋