Use `z` to Quickly `cd` to Frequent/Recent Folders
The `z` command makes it much faster to `cd` between frequently- or recently-used directories.
Author Archives: Ian Dunn
Array of Countries, Indexed by Continent
I recently needed an array of 2-digit countries codes split up by their continent, but couldn't find a good one. Here's my version in case you need one too.
Nuanced Opinions in the JavaScript Community
I Don’t Hate Arrow Functions is an interesting step back from the debate about arrow functions, to comment on how we treat nuanced opinions in our culture, and how tooling helps and hurts our efforts to collaborate together.
Why You Probably Don’t Need a VPN
I keep getting cold emails from VPN companies asking me to blog about their services. So, as a middle finger to them, I thought I’d share this instead:
The Simplest Way to Build a Gutenberg Block
The "Content Blocks: Advanced" repository has an example of the absolute minimal code you need to build a custom block, and progress from there.
Figure out What Feels Funny, and Why
Mira Jacob has some great advice on what to do when you feel pressured to give an answer right away, but your gut is telling you there's a problem with it.
A Short Guide to Consensus Decision Making
The Short Guide for Consensus Decision Making is a compelling introduction to the process.
Minimal CacheStorage API Example
It's not easy to find examples of using the
CacheStorage API outside of service workers, or with the `await` operator, so I put one together. Composition vs Context to fix Prop Drilling in React Apps
People will often argue that either Composition or Context should be used to remove prop drilling, but I think it's better to use them both in a more nuanced way.
Sending Custom Data between WordPress Customizer Preview and Controls Panes
Arbitrary data can be sent back and forth between the Customizer's Control and Preview panes by reusing the
Messenger class. `await` is the Best Thing to Happen to JavaScript in Years
`await` makes dealing with JavaScript Promises simple and intuitive.
Preventing a Tragedy of the Commons
Dries Buytaert wrote a compelling article on the challenges that large open source projects like Drupal and WordPress face in seeking to be sustainable, and preventing a tragedy of the commons, where large corporations use open source software without giving back.
Snapshot Testing and Vague Assertions
Nick Gard's article on the bad parts of snapshot testing does a great job of articulating what I don't like it.
Exercising Care and Giving Users Control
Aaron Gustafson makes a great point about the responsibility that developers have to respect the users of their applications.
Fully Trusted Self-Signed SSL Certificates for Local Development
Getting fully-trusted self-signed certificates in Firefox requires setting up a self-signed certificate authority.
Programmatically Adding Comment Metadata from JavaScript
Creating comment meta from a client side script isn't as easy as it is on the PHP side, but it can be done.
Prevent Manual Admin Notices From Being Moved to the Top
WordPress normally moves all elements with a
notice style to the top of the page, but that can be prevented with the inline CSS class. Death to Bullshit
Death to Bullshit.com has been around for a long, long time (in Internet years), but it’s still just as relevant as ever.
Replacing Exclusionary Terms in Tech Jargon
There are a lot of cringe-worthy terms in technical jargon, but in addition to being exclusionary, they're also often bad metaphors, and more descriptive alternatives exist.
Gutenberg and WordCamp.org’s Shortcodes
Corey McKrill presented a case study at WordCamp Portland about the process we went through to build Gutenberg blocks for WordCamp.org.