🧠 50 Articles to Level Up
Tags: webdev, javascript, frontend, node
Published: 2024-06-05 19:23:02

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This year I started a new series on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-rappl/) - "Advanced Links for Frontend". Each issue has 10 links to outstanding posts / articles. This bundle contains the links from the last 5 issues (issue 31 to issue 35).

I hope you enjoy this collection. Let me know in the comments which of these articles is your favorite (and why).

## Issue 31

1. The perfect site doesn’t exist (https://branch.climateaction.tech/issues/issue-8/the-perfect-site-doesnt-exist/) by Michelle Barker
The reason you haven't heard of it, Mr. Scott, is because you haven't discovered it yet.

2. 3 Features of Modern CSS You Should Know About (https://spin.atomicobject.com/3-features-modern-css/) by Danielle Wisen
Great least, even though I think there should be at least 7 features of modern CSS that everyone has to know about.

3. 7.css (https://khang-nd.github.io/7.css/) by Khang
Windows 7 - who does not love it?!

4. Build an authentication handler for a minimal API in ASP.NET Core (https://www.infoworld.com/article/3715243/build-an-authentication-handler-for-a-minimal-api-in-aspnet-core.html) by Joydip Kanjilal
I am still unsure why minimal API is (or has to be) different, but I still think this is the way to go. Maybe they just did not want to call it "modern".

5. Remix for Next.js Developers (https://remixfornextdevs.com) by Tommy Rossi
Don't make me jealous! Seriously, I'd avoid both.

6. I Reviewed 1,000s of Opinions on HTMX (https://konfigthis.com/blog/htmx/) by Dylan Huang
Alright, then let me review 10,000. But I think it does not matter if its 1,000 or 10 - it'll be about the same.

7. Passkeys: A shattered dream (https://fy.blackhats.net.au/blog/2024-04-26-passkeys-a-shattered-dream/) by William Brown
Unfortunately, I share pretty much everything discussed in the article.

8. Small Language Models (SML) for the Win (https://medium.com/cloudera-inc/small-language-models-sml-for-the-win-ea0c6fee8061) by Tim Spann
Small enough to run on my machine - or even in the browser?

9. Text Manipulation Kung Fu for the Aspiring Black Belt (https://zed.dev/blog/text-manipulation) by Joseph Lyons
Give me that belt already!

10. You Don’t Need a CSS Framework (https://www.infoq.com/articles/no-need-css-framework/) by Tyson Gern
Framework is a big word - but what about a styleguide or a component library?!

## Issue 32

1. Best Practices for Building Responsive design in 2024 (https://dev.to/linusmwiti21/best-practises-for-building-responsive-design-in-2024-48c4) by @linusmwiti21 
Essentially the same as the best practices in 2023.

2. Headless UI v2.0 for React (https://tailwindcss.com/blog/headless-ui-v2) by Adam Wathan and Jonathan Reinink
Not sure if I would pick this one over React Aria, but it's definitely good, too.

3. Astro 4.8 (https://astro.build/blog/astro-480/) by Astro Team
Astro actions are not to be confused with React actions!

4. esbuild 0.21 is out! (https://github.com/evanw/esbuild/releases/tag/v0.21.0) by Evan Wallace
Decorators for the win.

5. Why React Query (https://ui.dev/why-react-query) by UiDev
A colorful article with a lot of bright points.

6. Harnessing Control: Exploring JavaScript’s AbortSignal Timeout and Any Methods (https://netbasal.com/harnessing-control-exploring-javascripts-abortsignal-timeout-and-any-methods-f479992a9615) by Netanel Basal
From my experience the AbortSignal is one of the least known, yet most useful API elements.

7. Combining CSS :has() And HTML select For Greater Conditional Styling (https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/05/combining-css-has-html-select-conditional-styling/) by Amit Sheen
Did not know what to expect, but the result was actually great.

8. The evolution of Figma’s mobile engine: Compiling away our custom programming language (https://www.figma.com/blog/figmas-journey-to-typescript-compiling-away-our-custom-programming-language/) by Brandon Lin
Who would thought that inventing a custom proprietary programming language for an ordinary task is a bad idea?!

9. 5 Reasons You Should Consider Using Next.js in 2024 (https://www.telerik.com/blogs/5-reasons-you-should-consider-using-nextjs-2024) by Petar Todorov
It's good, but I have 6 reasons not to use it.

10. Why Patching Globals Is Harmful (https://kettanaito.com/blog/why-patching-globals-is-harmful) by Artem Zakharchenko
I'm looking at you, Zone.js!

## Issue 33

1. How to document your JavaScript package (https://deno.com/blog/document-javascript-package) by Luca Casonato
TLDR: Use JSDoc.

2. Raspberry Pi Connect (https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-connect/) by Gordon Hollingworth
Finally, a way to connect to my PIs without SSH - graphically and from anywhere.

3. We can have a different web (https://www.citationneeded.news/we-can-have-a-different-web/) by Molly White
Can we?! Honestly, I still believe in the good of the web.

4. 7 JavaScript language elements every developer needs (https://www.infoworld.com/article/3715393/7-javascript-language-elements-every-developer-needs.html) by Matthew Tyson
Interesting that "for in" is included, but "for of" is not (but instead the forEach method).

5. WebKit Features in Safari 17.5 (https://webkit.org/blog/15383/webkit-features-in-safari-17-5/) by Jen Simmons
They continue to boost their CSS arsenal.

6. I’m worried about the tabbing behaviour, rather than the syntax and name of CSS masonry (https://piccalil.li/blog/masonry-and-tabbing/) by Andy Bell
Until this post the tabbing behavior was my least concern about this!

7. Phoenix LiveView 1.0-rc is here! (https://phoenixframework.org/blog/phoenix-liveview-1.0-released) by Chris McCord
LiveView is the "mother" of all HTML-over-the-wire libs. Happy to see it being 1.0 soon!

8. The Times You Need A Custom @property Instead Of A CSS Variable (https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/05/times-need-custom-property-instead-css-variable/) by Preethi Sam
Fairly good case and indeed a handy occassion for unleashing @property.

9. Shipping Ship: Behind the Particle Shader Effect for Vercel’s Conf (https://basement.studio/blog/shipping-ship-behind-the-particle-shader-effect-for-vercel-s-conf) by Matias Gonzalez
I've played Unreal in the browser; but this is the first website that fully exhausted my computer.

10. Creating Dynamic and Flexible Components with Angular Content Projection (https://www.telerik.com/blogs/creating-dynamic-flexible-components-angular-content-projection) by Dany Paredes
Content projection is super important especially when your component tree does not control the whole DOM.

## Issue 34

1. Emoji history: the missing years (https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2024/05/10/emoji-history-the-missing-years/) by Matt Septhon
A great post - personally I've known a bit of this already, but the images alone have been interesting not only for historic purposes.

2. Build Your Own React.js in 400 Lines of Code (https://dev.to/zacharylee/build-your-own-reactjs-in-400-lines-of-code-3l1e) by @zacharylee 
Been there, done that - recommend doing it for everyone.

3. Thinking out loud about 2nd-gen Email (https://gabrielsieben.tech/2024/05/17/thinking-out-loud-2nd-gen-email/) by Gabriel Sieben
In any case I recommend using Fastmail!

4. New Architecture is now in Beta! (https://github.com/reactwg/react-native-new-architecture/discussions/189) by Riccardo Cipolleschi
React Native seems to make an architecture change every couple of years... but this is it, is it?!

5. The problem with new URL(), and how URL.parse() fixes that (https://kilianvalkhof.com/2024/javascript/the-problem-with-new-url-and-how-url-parse-fixes-that/) by Kilian Valkhof
TL;DR: The problem is that constructors should not throw.

6. An Organizer’s Retrospective on the 11ty Conference (https://www.zachleat.com/web/11ty-conf-retro/) by Zach Leatherman
With the micro frontends conference around the corner this is a great retro!

7. The Modern Guide For Making CSS Shapes (https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/05/modern-guide-making-css-shapes/) by Temani Afif
I always enjoy those articles, even though I rarely create CSS shapes.

8. Why Designers Aren’t Understood (https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/05/designers-business-ux-language/) by Vitaly Friedman
Code if you want to be understood.

9. At some point, JavaScript got good (https://jonbeebe.net/2024/05/javascript-got-good/) by Jonathan Beebe
The story of JavaScript highlights to me that anything can become good - adoption is key.

10. React Compiler Playground (https://playground.react.dev/) by React Team
Speaking of JS becoming good - you should throw in some complex components into this.

## Issue 35

1. Angular v18 is now available! (https://blog.angular.dev/angular-v18-is-now-available-e79d5ac0affe) by Minko Gechev
Grab it while it's hot!

2. Misconceptions about CSS Specificity (https://www.bram.us/2024/05/05/misconceptions-about-css-specificity/) by Bramus Van Damme
I guess the greatest misconception is that people mostly don't know it exists and how it works.

3. It’s not just you, Next.js is getting harder to use (https://dev.to/propelauth/its-not-just-you-nextjs-is-getting-harder-to-use-67f) by @victoria_propel 
I'm glad it's not just me!

4. Beyond CSS Media Queries (https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/05/beyond-css-media-queries/) by Juan Diego Rodriguez
I fully agree that most responsive design can actually be done without using media queries.

5. New Firefox Features in Mozilla Roadmap: Vertical Tabs, AI + More (https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/05/mozilla-shares-firefox-roadmap) by Joey Sneddon
Wouldn't be a 2024 roadmap if AI would not be listed.

6. Google launches Firebase Genkit, a new open source framework for building AI-powered apps (https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/14/google-launches-firebase-genkit-a-new-open-source-framework-for-building-ai-powered-apps/) by Frederic Lardinois
There it is AgaIn.

7. Recall is Microsoft’s key to unlocking the future of PCs (https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/20/24159258/microsoft-recall-ai-explorer-windows-11-surface-event) by Umar Shakir
Beforehand it was just done in secret, now you will know how they spy on you.

8. Announcing the Web Platform Dashboard (https://web.dev/blog/web-platform-dashboard) by Rachel Andrew
This finally brings together all the agreements and advances from the different browser vendors.

9. What UI density means and how to design for it (https://matthewstrom.com/writing/ui-density) by Matthew Ström
Super interesting (and technically well based) article for an underrated yet crucial topic!

10. Meta Releases Open Source React Compiler (https://thenewstack.io/meta-releases-open-source-react-compiler/) by Loraine Lawson
Is this the end of React being referred to as "lightweight"?! (or was that already the case since RSC?)

## Conclusion

These are all outstanding articles by masterful authors. I enjoyed reading them all - I hope you did find something in there, too.

👉 Follow me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-rappl/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FlorianRappl), or here for more to come.

🙏 Thanks to all the authors and contributors for their hard work!