Published inCodeX·Jul 19, 2021AWS Lambda and MongoDB Atlas Microservices: From Local to LiveBuilding software for the cloud is daunting for a variety of reasons, the particular difficulties extending beyond choosing the fundamental approach and the underlying services; providing a decent local developer experience and provisioning infrastructure in a deterministic, repeatable way provide considerable challenges of their own. As part of my recent…AWS9 min readAWS9 min read
Nov 19, 2020The Future of Manchester Web MeetupSince its inaugural event at AO’s Salford office in June 2018, Manchester Web Meetup has gone from strength to strength; thanks to the support of the Mancunian tech scene, including the attendees who have regularly participated in our events, and the companies who have hosted and sponsored us, Manc Web…Manchester3 min readManchester3 min read
Oct 9, 2020Nothing to see here!This is a test post published from a cross-platform, native desktop app I’m building. It’s still in its infancy, but I hope to share more with you in the not-too-distant future!1 min read1 min read
Published inYLD Blog·Nov 26, 2019Optimising Manchester Web MeetupIt has been an absolute privilege to witness the growth of Manchester Web Meetup over the last 18 months. Since our pilot event at ao.com, …Meetup3 min readMeetup3 min read
Published inYLD Blog·Aug 20, 2019Saving Bytes in React Apps with Suspense and Lazy ComponentsI’ve recently been building a client-side router for React that also abstracts the Suspense API; that is, the router will provide particular components for the current path (i.e. window.location.pathname), but will also support Suspenseful components out-of-the-box. …JavaScript5 min readJavaScript5 min read
Jul 26, 2019Some Thoughts on Software Engineering, Learning, Community, and DeliveryOn Friday 26th July 2019, I took part in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) over on Venturi’s Slack channel. …JavaScript10 min readJavaScript10 min read
Published inYLD Blog·Jan 7, 2019Rolling your own Redux with React Hooks and ContextFor managing shared state in complex JavaScript applications, Redux is undisputedly the most popular choice. …React7 min readReact7 min read
Published incodeburst·Oct 22, 2017Getting Into Software DevelopmentEarlier this month, I received a message on LinkedIn: Hi James, I’m a frontend developer looking for a junior position in London. Do you have any recommendations for someone looking to get into software development? Since I’ve been asked this question previously, I thought I’d publish my response as an…Programming11 min readProgramming11 min read
Published inA Cloud Guru·Jul 3, 2017What I’ve learned in my first 5 years as a software developerToday marks the five-year anniversary of beginning my software engineering career. Before then, I did undertake some work experience and completed some freelance projects — but I had no commercial exposure until I started my graduate scheme at Sky on this very day in 2012. Rather than dive into some…Programming6 min readProgramming6 min read
Mar 16, 2017Why I Look Forward to Leaving LondonWith trembling knees and a cane in his hand, an elderly fellow enters my carriage on this Piccadilly Line service to Uxbridge. Without wanting to convey a sense of entitlement, he shuffles around in the hope of encountering a kind commuter who will cede their seat. …London2 min readLondon2 min read