It’s high time for me to level up my developer mojo. Clearly, doing side projects isn’t the way to do so. They usually aren’t tough enough. Then what is? Why, of course, large enterprise projects. Based on this logic, I have decided to dedicate a couple of hours everyday to working on complex, large-scale open-source projects.
I recently picked up a new skill, Redux, and renewed my knowledge of React. So much so that I have drifted away from Angular in favor of React. React+Redux is a deadly combination. It sort of brings out the JS nerd out of you, and makes you better at best practices. No wonder why the best websites around are using React. (install the React DevTools browser extension and discover for yourself)
After looking around, I have shortlisted these two projects to focus on:
- Calypso – a new frontend for WordPress.com
- Mattermost webapp – frontend for an amazing free & open-source Slack replacement
Both are written in JavaScript (my love) and extensively make use of React and Redux. I have already started making slow but steady progress. My first pull request, although trivial, was recently approved and merged at wp-calypso.