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Cory House

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Avoid Sprints

Sprints create an arbitrary deadline every x days. This creates estimation overhead, and fosters short-term thinking.

👎

Instead:

1. Break work down into small tickets.

2. Estimate future flow by tracking the number tickets completed.

Simple.

Breaking tickets down is naturally … Read on...

Posted byCory HouseMarch 19, 2023March 19, 2023Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Avoid Sprints

13 Reasons Software Development is a Unique, Amazing Career

1. Creative freedom.

Product managers and designers specify *what* I should build. But, I get to decide *how* to build it. I choose my patterns, libraries, technical approach, workflow, and more. There are infinite ways to solve a given problem. … Read on...

Posted byCory HouseAugust 17, 2022August 31, 2022Posted inUncategorized1 Comment on 13 Reasons Software Development is a Unique, Amazing Career

Stop disabling copy/paste

Hey developers, please stop disabling copy/paste in form fields! 🚨

  • It’s awful UX.
  • It’s confusing.
  • It doesn’t improve security.
  • It breaks password managers.
  • It risks typos on critical info.

If asked to do so, push back. Please don’t break the … Read on...

Posted byCory HouseMarch 14, 2022March 14, 2022Posted inUncategorized1 Comment on Stop disabling copy/paste

Adding Custom Testing Library Queries

Testing Library is great. But it’s lacking a few queries I would find useful.

Here’s an example of enhancing Cypress Testing Library with a plain function:

I often write tests that target a specific HTML <section> tag using @TestingLib.

… Read on...
Posted byCory HouseJanuary 25, 2021January 25, 2021Posted inJavaScript, Testing

React Server Components in 5 Minutes

Server rack

I’m excited about React Server Components. In this post, I will summarize the benefits and limitations in a few quick points.

For more details, check out the Facebook team’s announcement video.

The Big Idea

Render React components in one … Read on...

Posted byCory HouseJanuary 24, 2021January 24, 2021Posted inJavaScript, React

6 Signs a Dev Team is Out of Control

“We don’t have time to write tests.”
“We don’t have time for code reviews.”
“We don’t have time to set up a CI server.”
“We don’t have time to automate deploys.”
“We don’t have time to make it accessible.”
“We … Read on...

Posted byCory HouseNovember 11, 2020November 17, 2020Posted inClean Code, Methodology, Source Control

Formik vs Plain React for Forms – Worth it?

I typically use plain React for forms. But I just converted a React form to use Formik.

Results (sizes minified):

  • Plain React: 130 lines of code, 46K
  • Formik: 105 lines of code, 58K
  • Formik + Yup (validation): 104
… Read on...
Posted byCory HouseAugust 19, 2020August 22, 2020Posted inJavaScript, ReactTags: React

Four Reasons React Renders (and three ways to stop it)

Paint brushes

There are four events that cause a React component to render:

  1. State change
  2. Prop change
  3. Parent render
  4. Context change

When state changes, you can skip the render via:

  1. shouldComponentUpdate
  2. React.memo

When props change or a parent renders, you can skip … Read on...

Posted byCory HouseJuly 16, 2020July 16, 2020Posted inReactTags: JavaScript, React

Four Ways to Fetch Data in React

Fetch data from REST APIs in React

React is a focused component library. So it has no opinion on how to request remote data. If you’re requesting and sending data to web APIs via HTTP, here are four options to consider.

  1. Inline
  2. Centralized
  3. Custom Hook
  4. react-query/swr

Let’s … Read on...

Posted byCory HouseJuly 6, 2020July 15, 2020Posted inJavaScript, React3 Comments on Four Ways to Fetch Data in React

On Admiring Simplicity

Plant on white background

A poorly-designed solution may seem impressive. Why? Because it’s complex and unapproachable. So it looks like it was hard to build.

A well-designed solution may seem unimpressive. Why? Because it’s simple, and approachable. So it looks like it was easy … Read on...

Posted byCory HouseJuly 4, 2020July 5, 2020Posted inClean CodeTags: Architecture, Clean Code

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About Cory

Cory HouseCory House is a React and JavaScript specialist. Cory is principal consultant at reactjsconsulting.com. I'm a Pluralsight author, a Microsoft MVP, and an international speaker. I believe in clean code, test-driven development, and responsive web UIs. I'm a retired wedding singer, lousy golfer, and lover of fine automobiles.

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