It is crucial that web servers compress files before sending them to web browsers. When compressed files are sent across the wire, smaller files are sent across the wire. Smaller files mean faster loading times and decreased bounce rates. …

In the past, integration/E2E tests have been hard to orchestrate and getting different applications coordinating with each-other in CI has been non-obvious. However, with the meteoric rise of microservices and containerization, it’s no longer an option to skip this layer of testing if we want to have the most confidence…

Why do we write tests at all? I write tests because I want to be confident about two things: That I didn’t break any existing code. (Existing tests to the rescue). That my new code works as intended. (New tests, written along with a new feature, are my assurance here). Which type of test gives us the…

**Last Updated — May 2022** I thought it would be fun to share some of the steps I follow whenever I setup a new MacBook for development (when not using Apple’s Migration Assistant). Obviously, you will have to install additional dependencies depending on the specific tasks you are trying to…

It’s a question that most scrum development teams ask every sprint. What works for one team may not work for another team. However, establishing some guidelines and daily practices can provide enormous benefits, especially for medium-sized development teams (4–9 people) that consist of engineers with a wide range of skill…

Mmmystery started when three other developers and I were discussing how people choose where to eat. Yelp is obviously the top dog when it comes to online reviews of local businesses and eateries. Some people I talked to said that they don’t even consider a restaurant that has less than…

Parking sucks. Especially in Los Angeles and especially in Santa Monica. A group of four developers, including myself, wanted to build an application to help alleviate some parking pain. There are already a lot of parking apps out there but none were quite what we were looking for. Take a…

“Real-time” is a buzzword that will only get more popular in the future. The term itself is a little indistinct and I can’t help wanting to roll my eyes every time I hear it. If “real-time” is a thing, is there such thing as “fake-time”? When an app or business…

Ian Johnson, @enjalot, is creating Building Blocks — “a simple web application for editing code samples that are compatible with http://bl.ocks.org which is the de facto medium for sharing d3.js code examples.” His kickstarter campaign for the project is already funded twice over with 22 days left to go. It’s…