Tools to Improve the Workflow of a Junior Web Developer
Life as an intern can be difficult, especially if you do not have any industry experience beyond working on side projects using a company’s API. Similarly to the chicken and egg debate, many companies expect you to start with experience, but you have yet to accept your first role.
Fortunately, I interned at Stitch Fix this past summer where the engineering org believes heavily in pair programming. The intimate time spent coding with Senior level developers helped me find useful apps and tools that streamlined my workflow as a developer. I want to past these gems 💎 on to you to especially if you are just starting off.
Postman
Postman is an application that allows you to mock HTTP Requests without even touching a line of code. This is great for testing API endpoints to see if the requests being made are valid. It is also useful for planning out an application if you are depending heavily on the response from a company’s API and can even be used to check responses for an application that is hosted locally.
Sequel Pro / Postico
Remembering commands to query a database can be tedious. Therefore, interactive database applications such as Sequel Pro (MySql) and Postico (PostgreSql) make it relatively easy for you to dive deep into the rows of a database on the fly. I have found this very helpful when trying to find rows that I can join tables together on. Don’t get me wrong, learning how to query a database using commands is still important, but this can serve as your training wheels until you get the hang of respective database syntax.
Spectacle (Mac)
Mostly all of the companies I have interned for have provided me with work laptops Mac OS. Unfortunately, as a native Windows user, I am used to having commands that allow me to manage window panels on the fly. Since I find Macs do not have those commands readily available, Spectacle helps with it and makes screen manipulation a breeze.
W3Schools
W3 is an amazing reference guide that has code snippets for most programming language out. Example, if you forgot the optional fields for an input tag for HTML, it will have an interactive IDE where it shows outputs for the field and allow you to practice the implementation. It is always great to have
Repl.it
Repli.it is a Cloud IDE that lets you hop into coding for popular languages such as Python, Ruby, Node.js and may more. Navigating a codebase and finding where you code fits can be difficult. Therefore, I usually have a Repli.it open on a separate tab to test out my logic without touching the codebase. This can be beneficial, especially when you want to mock out your implementation on the fly and get a second opinion.
Google Chrome Developer Tools
- On Mac — ⌘ + Shift + C.
- On Windows / Linux — Ctrl + Shift + C OR F12.
Many browsers have a developer tools into it, but I personally find Google Chrome’s Developer tool to be my favorite. There is a full suite of tools at your disposal that help you debug code from the front end implementation all the way down to the network level. Many unintended behavior can be spotted in the console provided, saving you hours of hair pulling and more time dedicated to coding.
React Developer Tool
Many companies have introduced React into their tech stack which is great. However, Google Chrome out of the box does not have the tools to investigate the Dom as React Components. Don’t be dismayed, there is a Chrome Extension called React Developer Tools that allows you to get into the nitty gritty of how data is passed through components using props.
ColorPick EyeDropper
Nothing is worse than trying to create a compelling UI, but not being able to capture the right color. Downloading a Color Picker extension has proved very useful because you can copy the exact color of a pixel in browser. Although it may be a minor feature, but it can cut down on time when you trying to tinker around with different color palettes.
Conclusion
Being a Junior Developer isn’t easy, but having the right tools in your tool belt can help you become successful and cut down the time needed to debug certain issues. Ultimately, you will be perceived as a value to your organization, because of the speed you are able to tackle problems.
If you have any other useful apps or tools, share it with me in the comment section below!
You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram by my name @Officialdalvinj . Hope to hear about useful my tips have proven. I have also launched my on Digital Design Agency and and selling 👕 T-Shirts to promote it .
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