This Month in React

Join ⁠⁠⁠Carl Vitullo⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Mark Erikson⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Sebastien Lorber⁠⁠⁠ as they cover all the latest news in the React community!

• [00:01:04] Next 13.4, App Router and Server Actions
• Next 13.4
• Server Actions
• Isomorphic Development
• Rich Harris on frameworks, the web, and the edge
• RSC data leak security footgun
• [00:14:20] William Candillon – The Joy of Painting with Skia | App.js Conf 2023
• [00:17:42] My Struggle With Remix
• [00:21:53] You Might Not Need React Query
• Using Apollo Client with Next.js 13
• [00:28:25] Write Once, Route Everywhere: File System-based Navigation for Native Apps
• [00:32:07] Improving Performance with HTTP Streaming
• [00:33:50] React Canaries: Enabling Incremental Feature Rollout Outside Meta
• [00:45:56] Client-side rendering of HTML and interactivity
• [00:46:22] React Summit
• Debugging JavaScript
• [00:46:48] Debugging should be easier | App.js Conf 2023
• [00:47:23] React from Another Dimension by Dan Abramov at RemixConf 2023
• [00:48:14] Server-side rendering React in OCaml
• [00:49:17] Several links on React rendering
• The Interactive Guide to Rendering in React
• The Journey of the React Component
• React reconciliation: how it works and why should we care
• A (Mostly) Complete Guide to React Rendering Behavior
• [00:50:36] TV Spatial Navigation

• (00:00) - May – This Month In React

Developing software requires a lot of communication with other developers, with other teams and divisions, with managers or less experienced developers. Carl Vitullo is joined by Elizabeth Woolf to talk about feedback, team conflicts, salary negotiation, and more.

Elizabeth has worked at the intersection of tech and communication for years, getting her start in 2016 helping professors and students prepare talks and presentations. She’s just launched a new coaching business, Woolf Communication, in January after seeing a gap between what was expected of engineers in the workplace and what training is made available to them.

Links mentioned:

• ⁠https://softskills.audio/
• ⁠⁠https://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/

Timestamps:

• [00:00:45] “Soft skills”
• [00:04:08] Fear of feedback
• [00:06:47] Deciding whether to give feedback
• [00:08:21] Trusting your gut
• [00:09:29] Building feedback into team culture
• [00:10:43] Giving upward feedback
• [00:13:20] Communication as personal improvement
• [00:14:53] Importance of listening
• [00:17:43] Separating tone and content
• [00:23:51] Negotiations
• [00:29:03] Information gathering
• [00:30:25] Different dimensions of value to negotiate
• [00:34:02] Information asymmetry in negotiating
• [00:36:17] Finding and knowing your worth
• [00:37:52] Value of a genuine mentor figure
• [00:38:51] Finding a mentor
• [00:40:03] Asking good questions to a mentor
• [00:42:29] Mentors and genuine networking
• [00:45:27] Networking effectively
• [00:46:57] The power of showing up consistently
• [00:50:02] Learning to trust your gut
• [00:51:02] Looking backwards to find what gives you joy
• [00:56:19] What if your no could have taught you more than yes?
• [00:59:32] Handling being underleveled when hired
• [01:01:49] What if your manager under-leveled you?

• (00:00) - Elizabeth Woolf

Join ⁠⁠Carl Vitullo⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Mark Erikson⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Sebastien Lorber⁠⁠ as they cover all the latest news in the React community!

• 00:40 ⁠⁠⁠React Visualized, react.gg⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Launch tweet⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠The Story of React, uidotdev⁠⁠⁠
• 03:49 ⁠⁠⁠Immer v10⁠⁠⁠
• 08:41 ⁠⁠⁠NextJS 13.3⁠⁠⁠
• 15:09 ⁠⁠⁠New React documentation translation⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Rich Harris talk⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Notes on talk⁠⁠⁠
• 18:00 ⁠⁠⁠TypeScript 5.1⁠⁠⁠
• 21:08 ⁠⁠⁠MillionJS, one-function React perf wins⁠⁠⁠
• 23:51 React Server Components
• ⁠⁠⁠RSC Quiz thread⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠XHP v JSX⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Lenz RFC for Apollo/RSC⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Asynccontext stage 2⁠⁠⁠
• 30:06 ⁠⁠⁠Recommending uncontrolled components⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠API Reference⁠⁠⁠
• 35:33 ⁠⁠⁠Super Apps in React Native⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠RN PS5⁠⁠⁠
• 40:03 ⚡️ Core team layoffs
• ⁠⁠⁠Mengdi Chen⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Robert Balicki⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Matt Carroll⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Sean Keegan⁠⁠⁠
• 40:47 ⚡️ React Miami
• 41:21 ⁠⁠⁠⚡️ react-three offscreen⁠⁠⁠
• 42:04 ⁠⁠⁠⚡️ Lingui v4.0⁠⁠⁠
• 43:14 ⁠⁠⁠⚡️ Redux Toolkit 2.0 alpha⁠⁠⁠
• 45:13 ⁠⁠⁠⚡️ Netlify framework popularity⁠⁠⁠
• 47:09 ⁠⁠⁠⚡️ PartyKit⁠⁠⁠

• (00:00) - This Month in React 2023 April

Michelle Bakels is co-organizer of React Miami and Program Director of Developer Health at G2i, a hiring platform for Javascript and React developers with deep ties to Reactiflux! We talked about the upcoming conference, how speakers are selected, and how developer health was core to the conference. Learn more at https://www.reactmiami.com, and if you buy a ticket, use our discount code REACTIFLUX10.

https://twitter.com/ReactMiamiConf

https://twitter.com/MichelleBakels

https://www.reactmiami.com/schedule

https://www.instagram.com/ReactMiamiConf/

Topics:

• [00:01:33] Developer health, and planning a conference
• [00:03:01] Tejas Kumar, React as a developer health tool
• [00:03:26] Jenny Truong, unexpected states of burnout
• [00:03:55] Andrew Shew, mental tooling from professional baseball
• [00:05:09] Early bird outdoor activities
• [00:05:54] Who is the target audience for React Miami?
• [00:07:44] Speakers Michelle is excited for
• [00:10:55] Michelle's philosophy for organizing a conference
• [00:15:56] Putting on a conference in 2023
• [00:22:27] Choosing topics for the conference
• [00:26:51] Reaching out to first-time speakers
• [00:30:32] Tips for wanna-be speakers?
• [00:36:37] Will talks be recorded? (yes)
• [00:37:12] Documentary screening, afterparty, beautiful venue
• [00:39:52] Where can people learn more?

• (00:00) - Michelle Bakels

Join Carl Vitullo, Mark Erikson, and Matt Pocock as we break down This Month in React. A lot of news this month, with a major progress update from the React core team, TypeScript 5.0, and TC39 meeting news. We'll break down what's new in an hour-long conversation. (Sebastien Lorber is on vacation this week, and Matt Pocock of totaltypescript.com is graciously filling in!)

• [00:01:44] Retire SPA and MPA?
• [00:10:09] Create React App no longer officially recommended
• [00:12:16] React encouraging server capabilities
• [00:15:27] Three TypeScript 5 highlights
• [00:16:30] TS5 performance improvements
• [00:19:41] TS5 decorators
• [00:23:58] TS5 const annotations
• [00:26:52] TC39 proposal advancements
• [00:30:46] React labs update
• [00:31:28] React Forget 
• [00:38:39] Offscreen rendering
• [00:41:58] Server Components
• [00:47:03] Asset Loading and Transition Tracing

• (00:00) - This Month in React – March 2023

Rewrites! Everyone wants to do one, but the software industry is littered with examples of failed rewrites. Our host Carl Vitullo is joined by Mark Erikson and Sunil Pai to talk shop about what they’ve looked like in our careers, and how to help make sure they’ll be successful.

Sunil Pai has loomed large in the React ecosystem for years, working on the core team, and he’s now building https://partykit.io. Mark Erikson needs no introduction! He’s maintained Redux and Redux Toolkit for years, is currently building http://replay.io, and has been a fixture of the Reactiflux community since the early days.

Join us and we’ll help you avoid the worst of the many footguns when rewriting software.

• @threepointone / ⁠threepointone⁠@m.webtoo.ls
• @acemarke
• @reactiflux
• @vcarl_

Topics discussed:

• [00:01:11] First rewrite
• [00:02:52] Some web dev history
• [00:03:54] Mark's refactor experience
• [00:06:36] Zero cost feedback loops
• [00:07:26] Sunil's two largest rewrites
• [00:10:51] Mark's experience, government project timelines
• [00:12:59] Replay, Mark's current work
• [00:19:29] Rewrites on small teams
• [00:20:11] Suspense rewrite at Facebook
• [00:24:51] Tooling support to make rewrites work
• [00:28:56] Zero cost feedback loops, revisited
• [00:35:27] Automation as a way to enable communication
• [00:36:32] How to evaluate a possible rewrite
• [00:40:09] Smell tests for justifications
• [00:44:45] Joel's Spolksy's cultural impact on rewrites
• [00:46:23] Readability as a justification for rewriting
• [00:50:15] Software lifespan

• (00:00) - Introductions

Ankita Kulkarni is an engineer manager and educator with more than 10 years of experience as a software engineer, now teaching developers about the transition into management.

When Ankita became a manager, she had to find mentors to help her learn the subtle intricacies of being a successful manager. Now, she’s taking what she learned and teaching developers about what that transition looks like, and how to decide if that’s how you’d like to further your career.

• - @kulkarniankita9: https://twitter.com/kulkarniankita9
• - @vcarl_: https://twitter.com/vcarl_
• - @reactiflux: https://twitter.com/reactiflux

Links referenced:

• 1. Engineering manager's mind map: https://bit.ly/3J7HzVC
• 2. Developer to Leader Program Waitlist: https://bit.ly/3Lb1Zj5
• 3. KulkarniAnkita.com: https://bit.ly/3ZyDYak

Topics discussed:

• [00:00:17] Being laid off as a bittersweet opportunity
• [00:01:32] Building databases at IBM and doing freelance web dev on the side
• [00:03:31] New appreciation for coworkers after freelancing
• [00:06:56] Getting her first management opportunity
• [00:08:15] Leadership vs management
• [00:11:28] Intrinsic motivation and finding a team that supports your goals
• [00:14:03] Developer to Leader program
• [00:15:50] How do you recognize a good leader?
• [00:17:42] Teams as a group of individuals
• [00:20:33] Psychological safety in software teams
• [00:23:01] Having empathy as a leader
• [00:27:25] Serving those you lead
• [00:29:06] Spotting burnout as a leader
• [00:30:27] Setting the tone on a team
• [00:32:27] Proactively setting team norms
• [00:34:49] Prioritizing your own growth as a leader
• [00:36:42] The value of informal chats
• [00:39:48] Soft skills in your career
• [00:40:50] How to get a taste of the management track

• (00:00) - Recording

A documentary about React, produced by Honeypot.io, was released on February 10th, and Carl Vitullo spoke with two of the people instrumental in making it happen: Ida Bechtle, staff filmmaker from Honeypot; and Christopher Chedeau, whose contributions to the React and JS ecosystem are nearly innumerable — React, React Native, Prettier, Docusaurus, Excalidraw, and more.

We talked about the documentary itself, how it got made, and some other behind-the-scenes info — an unofficial “DVD commentary” for the documentary.

• Ida on being a 1-person production team [00:01:06]
• Christopher Chedeau as a driving force [00:01:50]
• Why Honeypot makes these documentaries [00:04:15]
• Getting trapped in a park while filming [00:05:49]
• Jordan Walke's participation [00:07:04]
• About the focus on the early days of React [00:08:44]
• Deciding where to focus your attention [00:10:24]
• Going in a submarine and ignoring your manager [00:14:10]
• Making Prettier pretty through data [00:15:15]
• Ida's documentary process [00:16:58]
• Christopher's involvement in the early days of Reactiflux [00:21:20]
• Christopher's largest human-centered accomplishment [00:26:15]

• (00:00) - Main recording

Josh Comeau is an indie hacker, educator, and long-time member of the React community. He has a brilliant way of intuitively explaining complex subjects, and we're excited to talk with him about content creation, his experiences being an independent educator, and his new course, Joy of React. We talked about his career, job hopping, content creation, RSI injuries, replacing "best practices" with "happy practices", and more!

Some links referenced in the conversation:

Mind Body Prescription

Maxim Heckel

Nanda Syahrasyad

Paradox of Expertise

• Early career [00:01:35]
• Mid-career [00:04:12]
• RSI Injury [00:07:52]
• A finite number of keystrokes in us [00:09:40]
• An expectation of being able to code [00:12:16]
• Job hopping [00:13:25]
• Unconventional job hunting tips [00:16:09]
• Personal projects, open source, and networking [:18:46]
• Ideation for blog posts [00:24:12]
• Writing for advanced audiences [00:27:32]
• Other creators and the power of interactive explanation [00:31:15]
• Going before you think you're ready [00:36:19]
• Ignoring imposter syndrome [00:39:01]
• "Best practices" vs "Happy practices" [00:41:16]
• Taking breaks, not unit testing [00:43:34]
• How do you work in public? [00:45:50]
• AI's impact on web development [00:49:45]

• (00:00) - Introductions

Tejas has worked in developer relations for years at companies like Vercel, Spotify, Xata, and G2i, and is now an independent educator and content creator. He's a mentor, keynote speaker, and angel investor, and we're exited to talk tech! He's super interested in edge computing, Qwik, and React. 

He and Carl talked about why he's starting a company, not letting fear of failure stop you from trying, investing, and about keeping the focus in devrel on relationships.

• Why are you starting a company [00:00:35]
• DevRel and community are immeasurable [00:03:30]
• Extractive relationships in DevRel and community [05:58]
• Swag and broken trust [00:06:50]
• Transactional relationships [00:09:07]
• Fear about trying something new [00:11:28]
• Trying something new; an exercise in empathy [00:17:13]
• Carl's past failed company [00:18:25]
• New web technologies you're excited for [00:21:34]
• Zod and tRPC, type safety on network calls [00:22:27]
• Chronological Snobbery and jQuery [00:24:18]
• React as a middle aged man [00:26:02]
• React compared with Qwik's design goals [00:28:27]

• (00:00) - Introduction