Founders and Coders is a non-profit organisation that focuses on developing and running tuition-free, peer-led training programmes in web development, guided by their core values of cooperation, inclusion and social impact.
They run an intensive 16-week full-stack Javascript bootcamp three times a year and I was lucky enough to be selected to be part of the FAC16 cohort running in their London campus from March - June 2019.
For the first half, every week we
- completed workshops in a new area
- participated in research afternoons surrounding a number of new topics
- completed a group project consolidating all of the learning outcomes
- delivered presentations
- reviewed another group's code
For the second half, we worked on two extended projects. One was a cohort-selected student project, and the other was a client-driven Tech for Better project to develop a social impact app.
Here is a log of my experiences!
I learned:
- pair programming techniques
- the importance of checking accessibility when programming
- how to code review
Research topics:
- command line
- regular expressions
- accessibility
- CSS conventions
Project:
Create an accessible one-page portfolio website for your team
| Triumphs | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Creating a responsible, accessible website within the given deadline | Learning to work completely as part of a pair after solely coding alone in the past |
| Getting to know the people on the course | Using regular expressions for validation |
I learned:
- test-driven development
- how to test code using tape and measure coverage using istanbul
- about event loops
Research topics:
- Unit vs integration testing
- Technical spikes
- DOM manipulation
- Test coverage
Project:
Use test driven development to create a to-do app with the ability to add a task, delete a task, and mark a task as done
| Triumphs | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Developing better communication skills | Understanding the tape testing format |
| Problem-solving via explaining out loud | Splitting up tasks fairly between group members |
I learned:
- sending an API request with XMLHttpRequest
- about the request-response relationship
- the importance of planning out software architecture
Project:
Create a web app that queries two APIs using xhr requests and document the use of a well-considered software architecture
| Triumphs | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Learned new CSS animation techniques | Finding good, key-free APIs |
| Excellent planning | Debugging errors in the console (CORS) |
I learned:
- the structure of a server, router and handlers
- what Node is and how to use Node modules
- the importance of code modularisation
Research topics:
- Architecting (front-end vs back-end)
- Engineering (node modules)
- Packaging (npm and dependencies)
- Deploying (Heroku and env)
Project:
Create an autocomplete widget which enables users to find and select words from a list of suggestions as they type. Host the project on Heroku
| Triumphs | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Successfully used a fetch request for the first time | Did not manage to design a desktop view |
| Creative brainstorming session | Hosting the project on Heroku (installed dependencies as devDependencies) |
I learned:
- how to test server routes using Supertest
- three approaches to error handling
- error first callbacks
- try-catch
- return to caller
- how to make requests from the back-end using the Request or HTTP Get module
Research topics:
- continuous integration
- buffers and streams
- node shell modification
- making requests from the server
Project:
Create a web app which sends API requests from the Node.js server
| Triumphs | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Clean, modular code | Merging the responses from 2 back-end API requests into one object to return to the front-end script |
| Excellent evenly-split group work | Writing tests |
I learned:
- what a relational database management system is and how to use it
- how to use Postgres locally and remotely
- the standard query structure of SQL
- how to test database queries
Research topics:
- schemas and relationships
- database setup and maintenance
- script injections/safety issues
Project:
Set up a database connected to a node.js server and use the data to create a dynamic web app
| Triumphs | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Excellent planning | Completing project styling |
| Working as a team of four the entire time and understanding every part of the code | Testing the database |
I learned:
- cookie management
- hashing passwords using bcrypt and JSON web tokens
- session management by signing cookies
Research topics:
- HTTP vs HTTPS
- Stateless vs stateful authentication
- Web storage
- Attacks
Project:
Building on an existing project or creating a new one, write an app with a login page and using cookies to store logged in status and username
| Triumphs | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Mastering cookies | Very short of time |
| Successful password management | Struggling with callbacks |
I learned:
- how to set up a project in Express
- templating with Handlebars
- CSS animation
Research topics:
- Promises and fetch
- Server-side rendering/Templating
- Express middlewares
- Session-management in Express
Project:
Create an app using an Express server, with a postgreSQL database. Use a handlebars template to render retrieved data server-side.
| Triumphs | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Using the amazing Handlebars helpers! | Learning the new Handlebars syntax |
| Quickly understanding Express | Database testing |
In progress...