My January In Code
Tags: webdev, programming, career, react
Published: 2021-02-05 20:29:35

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title: My January In Code
published: true
description: 
tags: webdev, programming, career, react
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---

Because I want to take greater pains to learn in public, let's see what my January in code looked like!

# What I Studied/Learned

![Logo for Andrei Neagoie Python Course](https://pythoncoursesonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/complete-python-developer-2020.jpg)

I spent a fair amount of time with Andrei Neagoie's Python course. Coming from a JS background, there weren't a lot of surprises for me here, but I'm glad to be spending some time with this. I should be done with this course before the end of February. I was going to have that be that with Python for the time being, 

I also discovered a new learning platform called [Educative.io](educative.io) that forgoes video courses in favor of courses made up of text lessons supplemented with code challenges and quizzes that has a lot of promise. Over here, I spent some time with their React, TypeScript, and system design courses.

# What I Read

![Cover of Practical Object-Oriented Design](https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780134456478-us.jpg)

Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby by Sandi Metz: This is probably one of the better books about OOP, and I enjoyed it. Mastering OOP isn't something that strikes me as a high-priority

![Cover of The Tech Resume Inside Out](https://static-2.gumroad.com/res/gumroad/7948343501524/asset_previews/9002f85f87744e208e2de6e2b57b52a4/retina/Gumraod_20Book_20Cover_201280x1280.png)

The Tech Resume Inside Out by Gergely Orosz was completely outstanding, and belongs on the shelf of every software developer, at any stage in their career. If you have doubts on how to approach any aspect of your resume, this book will put them to rest.

![Cover of Fullstack React with TypeScript](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nyExzoWgL.jpg)

Fullstack React with TypeScript by Maksim Ivanov and Alex Bespoyasov: [I didn't like it](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3722959546?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1). I've read a fair amount of newline books, and with some exceptions like their Data Visualization with D3 book, there are a lot of limitations surrounding price point, keeping the material current, and how well the material is presented for the medium.

I spent a lot of time going over the portions of [Epic React](epicreact.dev) that I didn't get a rock-solid understanding of the first time around, and I now have a much deeper understanding of the various Hooks, and when to employ specific advanced React patterns.

# What I Built

- Lots of changes for my MPQ application that include feature additions, error fixes, the first automated unit tests, and converting some state management from `useState` to `useReducer` to enable derived state and make the logic cleaner and easier to follow.

- Began a new portfolio in Gatsby using [Sai Krishna's starter](https://www.gatsbyjs.com/starters/s-kris/gatsby-minimal-portfolio-blog/) as a jumping off point. I removed a bunch of the boilerplate that wasn't applicable to my use cases and need to carve out more time in the coming month to add needed content: I want a basic version of this deployed by mid-February.