CityJSConf 2021 talks to Matteo Collina
Matteo is Technical Director at NearForm, where he consults for some of the top brands in the world. In addition, he is a member of the Node.js Technical Steering Committee focusing on streams, diagnostics and http. He is the author of the fast logger Pino and of the Fastify web framework, and also co-author of the book ‘Node.js Cookbook, Third Edition’, edited by Packt. We caught up with him briefly in the run-up to the 2021 CityJSConf.
Is TypeScript the future of JavaScript? And why?
TypeScript provides intellisense and autocompletion to JavaScript. It’s a critical feature to enable better productivity for all developers. I don’t think it’s the future of JavaScript (yet) because it does not support the full language (e.g. using Object.create() is really awkward). Moreover, TypeScript has a myriad of configuration options which makes it REALLY hard to configure properly.
Tell us what new JS stuff is coming and how you feel about those?
Fastify is growing a lot lately, as well as Undici — the http client I will be speaking about.
What was your first programming language? And how long have you been using JavaScript?
Basic. I have been using JavaScript since it came out in NetScape Navigator.
What advice do you have for junior devs starting out in JavaScript in 2021?
Be curious and read the source code of the modules you are using.
What are you working on right now in your job? And what are you using to do this?
As part of my job, I seek to improve the development workflows of Node.js developers. I created Fastify for this purpose.
How has COVID-19 affected the way you work?
I stopped traveling and it was both a good and bad thing. I miss all my friends around the globe, however I’m enjoying spending some time at home.
Do you have any side projects you’re willing to talk about? If so, spill the beans!
Shhh, I might be writing a book about Node.js.
How has your journey as a conference speaker been affected by COVID-19 over the past year?
I miss the connection with the audience. Being able to interact with them and meet new people has been hard in the past year. I think I’m getting better at it through social media, before/after virtual events.
What would be your ideal online conference set-up?
The workshop format is good because I can interact with 30–40 people and see what they are thinking. However it requires more time investment and energy.
How is the COVID-19 situation where you are?
I live in Forlì, Italy and we’re in a sort of semi-lockdown.
How do you relax and de-stress?
I spend time with my 3-month-old daughter.
Have you made a bucket list for the end of lockdown and restrictions? If so, what will you be doing?
I want to take a vacation in a galaxy far, far away.
