CodeClan week 12: more JavaScript with bonus APIs

While CodeClan week 11 was all about learning JavaScript syntax, this week was an introduction to the language's front-end power. I was quite excited to get stuck in, because so far we'd been using Javascript without any browser interaction and one of its key strengths lies in the way that end users engage with it.

So followed a fun but quite challenging week, where cohort E20 were introduced to the organisation and structuring of a front-end Javascript project via the DOM, models, views and the PubSub pattern.

That sounds pretty confusing

All these new concepts did feel a bit scary at the beginning of the week, but after thinking about it and practising the patterns I kinda feel that my Android and Sinatra experiences have consistencies to what we learned.

• We covered how to hook elements in to the DOM from our HTML, which reminded me of event listeners in Android. Because I had built an app using fragments, it was common for me to use event listeners. So, not totally new.
• The model and view pattern felt close to what we had covered with Sinatra. No controller so far, but that's ok - it still felt similar.
• PubSub* felt new. It took a day or two to get my head around this, but I can see why it's such a useful way to do things. It keeps code modular and tidy, and despite the pain of errors and mistakes from this newbie coder, it's a super useful pattern.

API goodness and ideas galore

Towards the end of the week we learned how to call APIs and render JSON Format in the browser. This was my favourite part of the week, because I've worked a bit with APIs in my previous life as a digital marketeer and comms bod. I know their amazing power and have a long list of projects in the back of my mind about what I'd like to build.

Most of the APIs I would like to work with require keys and authentication, so there's still a bit of learning for me on this front, but some of the data I'm looking forward to being able to work with include Strava and also TMDb - but not in the same app, haha.

I'm also interested in local and national government open data as a bit of a campaigner and change-maker. I'm specifically keen to explore data around transport, sustainability and cities. The Urban Big Data Centre has some incredible datasets that I'd like to work with once I feel confident working and manipulating data.

Saying that, there are still a huge number of free and accessible APIs to explore. See a long list of examples to get a flavour for what could be built with the open data that's available online. How exciting!

On the jobs front

I'm getting serious about jobs now, and have started to look for junior roles with employers who are keen to benefit from my existing skillset, as well as support me to grow my technical knowledge.

It's still relatively early days, but I have my eye on the prize and continue to put effort in to meet people working in technology, ask questions and learn about what employers look for in a new junior hire. Although there are still several weeks until I finish my course, I am feeling a personal pressure to ensure that I lay the groundwork for roles.

As always, if you are an employer and looking for a new junior member of your engineering team, I would love to hear from you.

Key takeaways

• It's great to now be able to work with APIs and render data in the browser. I'm interested in data and data vis generally, so these baby-steps are a great introduction to help me on my way with personal projects.
• JavaScript continues to be mad but fun. While callbacks were confusing in week 11, they've now sunk in and I feel way more comfortable working with them. I know that the JS ES6 release does away with callbacks and replaces them with promises, so this is a perfect example of how learning will be continuous in software development.
• I am getting nervous and excited about jobs.

*I tried to find a good web link to describe the PubSub pattern to a new coder, but couldn't find anything accessible for beginners. Boo!