Code Talk - August 2018
Tags: webdev, discuss, learning, career
Published: 2018-08-20 15:31:55

---
title: Code Talk - August 2018
published: true
description: Top 6 Blog Posts that I've read this month, and you should too.
tags: webdev, discuss, learning, career
cover_image: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/xo0ituj2y44v81ddzhf6.png
---

<strong>Code Talk</strong> is back again, sharing the best blog posts I've read this month.
<h3 class="mdm-hero-title mdm-hero-title--large"><a class="link link--primary u-accentColor--hoverTextNormal" href="https://medium.com/@NetflixTechBlog/artwork-personalization-at-netflix-c589f074ad76" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Artwork Personalization at Netflix</a></h3>
First up is this post on how Netflix are personalising the graphics they show individuals when searching through the catalogue. It's a great analysis of how A/B Testing works in the wild and even more impressive when you see the details they go into.

<A href="https://medium.com/@NetflixTechBlog/artwork-personalization-at-netflix-c589f074ad76" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/hwhictw9vwxuclbfwph0.PNG"/></a>
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<h3><a href="https://trishkhoo.com/2018/07/what-happens-when-your-first-coding-experience-is-test-automation/" target="_top">What happens when your first coding experience is test automation?</a></h3>
Next up is this though provoking article about test automation. As a relatively new concept it seems that most automation testers I've encountered are current testers looking to up-skill or grads looking for a way into development. The crazy thing is, having dabbled in automation before is, it's extremely difficult to get right, and in essence is another form of programming altogether. This article really gets you thinking about our approach to this subject, and how in essence we're doing it incorrectly.

http://trishkhoo.com/2018/07/what-happens-when-your-first-coding-experience-is-test-automation/
<h3 class="mdm-hero-title mdm-hero-title--large"><a class="link link--primary u-accentColor--hoverTextNormal" href="https://medium.com/@moretothat/travel-is-no-cure-for-the-mind-e449d3109d71" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Travel Is No Cure for the Mind</a></h3>
Following on, is this lovely post on Travel. Travel has been propelled to dithering heights as a way to complete yourself and gain enlightenment. OK maybe that's a little hyperbolic , but ultimately we look at it as a way to make us happy and improve our mood. This post explains why that is not always the case.

<img src="https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/sihq1sank7hku9i3ordb.PNG">

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<h3 class="medium"><a href="https://dev.to/s_awdesh/timsort-fastest-sorting-algorithm-for-real-world-problems--2jhd">Timsort: Fastest sorting algorithm for real world problems.</a></h3>

{% link https://dev.to/s_awdesh/timsort-fastest-sorting-algorithm-for-real-world-problems--2jhd %}

Algorithms are great, so If you create one, why not name it after yourself! Well that's exactly what Tim Peters did back in 2002 with <strong>Timsort. </strong>If you don't know this story, or why it's the defacto sorting algorithm for Python then have a read of this great overview.

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<h3><a href="https://medium.com/@addyosmani/the-cost-of-javascript-in-2018-7d8950fbb5d4">The Cost Of JavaScript In 2018</a></h3>

With Javascript all over our browsers, what is the real cost to using it?

<img src="https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/9gaf5qdw4tw3w0eesd58.PNG"/>



<h1 id="8321" class="graf graf--h3 graf--leading graf--title"><a href="https://engineering.videoblocks.com/web-architecture-101-a3224e126947">Web Architecture 101</a></h1>
A great run through of how <strong>most</strong> tech companies build their stack!

As someone coming into the industry it's important to understand the bigger picture, seeing how all the cogs fit together, and how infrastructure, developers and more recently devops need to work together cohesively to keep your application alive!  Obviously others may do it  slightly differently, but this is the common approach I've see out in the wild.

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<h3><a class="ytp-title-link yt-uix-sessionlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S89ox7oQn8s" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-sessionlink="feature=player-title">GOTO 2018 • Breaking Things on Purpose • Kolton Andrus</a></h3>
My favourite conference to view the videos from is <strong><a href="https://blog.gotocon.com/blog/">Goto</a>. </strong>Here we have another great talk on breaking things! Who doesn't love breaking things! I think we all look at our production environment as something sacred, that shouldn't be touched with too much in case it breaks. Well this approach flips that on it's head. Break it, break it all!

{% youtube S89ox7oQn8s%}


Let me know if any of these have been useful for you, and if there is anything else I should be reading, then please link it below.

Til next time, 

Chris