In the fast-paced world of web development, it's crucial to choose the right tools and technologies that can empower us to create dynamic and efficient websites. As a blogger, I have always strived to deliver a seamless user experience while maintaining the flexibility to experiment with new technology. After using Eleventy for a while, I realized that it didn't quite meet my evolving needs. In search of a more powerful and flexible solution, I embarked on a journey of migrating my blog to Next.js. Join me as I share the reasons behind my decision and the benefits I've gained from this transition.
The Need for Power and Flexibility: Eleventy is undoubtedly a fantastic static site generator that offers simplicity and speed. However, as my blog started to grow, I found myself yearning for more dynamic capabilities. Next.js, a React-based framework, seemed like the perfect fit due to its robustness and flexibility. Its ability to render both server-side and client-side, combined with features like data fetching, routing, and code splitting, enticed me to explore this powerful alternative. Especially considering the alternative being markdown files that are not as powerful as React that I use everyday.
Enhanced Server-Side Rendering (SSR): One of the main advantages of Next.js over Eleventy is its built-in server-side rendering capabilities. SSR allows me to fetch data from external APIs or databases at build time or on each request, ensuring that my content is always up to date. This dynamic rendering greatly improves the user experience, providing real-time data and enabling interaction with the site without relying mostly on client-side rendering.
Seamless Routing and Code Splitting: Next.js takes care of routing effortlessly, offering a convenient and intuitive system for handling different pages and routes. With Eleventy, managing complex routing structures required additional effort and customization. Next.js simplifies the process, allowing me to focus more on creating engaging content rather than worrying about manual routing configurations. Additionally, Next.js incorporates automatic code splitting, optimizing the performance by loading only the required JavaScript for each page, resulting in faster load times.
React and Component-based Development: As a React-based framework, Next.js leverages the power of reusable components and provides a vast ecosystem of React libraries and tools. This enables me to build highly interactive and responsive user interfaces with ease. By transitioning to Next.js, I gained access to React's extensive community and its ever-growing collection of pre-built components and utilities.
Developer Experience and Community Support: The Next.js community is incredibly active, constantly sharing best practices, solving problems, and providing valuable insights. The framework itself is widely adopted, ensuring continuous development and improvement. The availability of comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and examples further enhances the developer experience, enabling me to troubleshoot issues and implement new features efficiently.
Migrating my blog from Eleventy to Next.js was undoubtedly a transformative decision. The transition unlocked new levels of power and flexibility, empowering me to create a more dynamic and engaging user experience. Next.js' built-in server-side rendering, seamless routing, code splitting, and React's component-based development approach have elevated my blogging capabilities to new heights. Furthermore, being part of a thriving and supportive community has given me confidence in my choice and ensures continued growth and development. If you're seeking a robust and flexible solution for your website or blog, I highly recommend considering Next.js as an ideal platform to unlock your full potential. When I noticed the hobby plan from Vercel included cookie free tracking I will be migrating from Netlify to Vercel as well.
As we step into the year of 2024, investors are searching for valuable opportunities in a challenging stock market with both high inflation and interest. Choosing the right stocks requires careful research and analysis to maximize potential returns while managing risks. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at seven intriguing stock picks for 2024: Novo Nordisk ( NVO), Adyen N.V. (ADYEN.AS), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM), Oatly Group AB (OTLY), DNB ASA ( DNB), SPAREBANK 1 SR-BANK (SRBNK) and Netflix (NFLX). Let's explore the reasons behind these selections and their potential for the year ahead.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) : Novo Nordisk is a global leader in diabetes care and has a strong presence in the pharmaceutical industry. Notably, in February 2024, they will expand its reach into its sixth country with the launch of Wagovy in Japan. This move signifies the company's commitment to providing innovative solutions to the global healthcare market. Additionally, Novo Nordisk is working diligently on another form of Wegovy, a pill instead of an injection. This will be an even more popular version I belive making NVO an even more compelling long-term investment.
Adyen N.V. (ADYEN.AS): Adyen is a Dutch payment technology company that provides payment solutions for online and in-store transactions. As e-commerce continues to thrive, ADYEN.AS stands to benefit from the growing demand for secure and convenient digital payment services. Their strong partnerships with major global brands further solidify their position in the fintech industry.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM): While Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company remains a leader in semiconductor manufacturing, it's important to acknowledge a significant risk in its operations. The biggest risk to TSM is its relationship with China. Given the geopolitical tensions and trade issues between China, there could be potential disruptions in TSM's supply chain and business operations. However, TSM's strong position in the market and diversified customer base help mitigate some of these risks.
Oatly Group AB (OTLY): Oatly has gained popularity for its plant-based dairy alternatives, tapping into the growing trend of health-conscious and environmentally aware consumers. As consumers shift towards sustainable and healthier choices, OTLY is well-positioned to capitalize on the plant-based food movement. With an expanding product line and a commitment to sustainability, it's a company worth considering for 2024.
DNB ASA (DNB): DNB ASA is a leading financial institution in Norway, with a strong presence in the Nordic region. As the global economy stabilizes and interest rates gradually rise, traditional banking institutions like DNB may see increased profitability. Additionally, DNB's focus on sustainable finance aligns with the growing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing trend.
SPAREBANK 1 SR-BANK (SRBNK): SRBNK is a Norwegian bank that offers a wide range of financial services to individuals and businesses. As the economy recovers from the pandemic and interest keeps rising, SRBNK stands to benefit from the increased demand for loans and mortgages. Additionally, SRBNK's focus on digitalization and innovation will help them stay competitive in the evolving financial services.
Netflix (NFLX): Netflix has revolutionized the entertainment industry with its streaming platform. As the demand for online streaming services continues to grow, NFLX stands to benefit from its extensive library of content and global reach. With a commitment to producing original content and expanding its international footprint, Netflix remains a compelling choice for investors in 2024.
These stock picks for 2024 – NVO, ADYEN.AS, TSM, OTLY, DNB, SRBNK, and NFLX – represent a diverse range of industries and sectors. It's essential to remember that investing in the stock market involves risks, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Before making any investment decisions, it's advisable to consult with a financial advisor and conduct thorough research. Additionally, consider your financial goals, risk tolerance, and investment horizon when building your portfolio. As you navigate the dynamic world of investing, staying informed and adaptable will be key to making sound decisions in the year ahead. Keep an eye on Novo Nordisk's innovative developments in diabetes care, be mindful of potential geopolitical risks when investing in TSM, and consider the long-term growth potential of Netflix in the streaming entertainment sector. By staying informed and adaptable, you can make sound investment decisions in 2024 and beyond.
In the ever-evolving landscape of software development, the principles of DevOps have become paramount for teams striving to achieve efficiency, collaboration, and rapid deployment. DevOps, a fusion of development and operations practices, emphasizes automation, continuous integration, and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines to streamline the software development lifecycle. However, as a seasoned developer with a decades of experience, I've come to realize that the key to successful DevOps lies not only in the tools we use but also in how effectively we communicate and collaborate as a team. Enter SlackOps—a paradigm that leverages Slack, the popular team communication tool, as a central hub for DevOps activities. Recently, I embarked on a project to enhance our DevOps workflow by integrating our feature toggle service, Firebase Remote Config with Slack. The goal was to enable seamless communication and real-time notifications whenever changes were made to feature toggles, allowing our team to stay informed and react promptly.
Firebase remote config provides a convenient way to manage feature flags and control feature rollout. However, tracking changes and ensuring all team members were aware of updates proved to be a manual and cumbersome process. This inefficiency led to delays in deployment and confusion among team members regarding the current state of feature toggles.
Slack Notifications to address this challenge, I developed a script that monitors changes to feature toggles on Firebase and automatically posts notifications to a dedicated Slack channel I created. Here's how I approached the implementation:
See below for my example of the function I used.
The integration of Firebase feature toggles with Slack proved to be an improvement for our DevOps or SlackOps workflow and team communication. By automating the notification process, we experienced several benefits:
While the initial implementation addressed our immediate needs, there are several avenues for future enhancements and optimizations:
In the dynamic landscape of DevOps, effective communication and collaboration are indispensable. By embracing the concept of SlackOps and integrating our feature toggle service with Slack, we've not only streamlined our DevOps workflow but also fostered a culture of transparency, agility, and teamwork. As we continue to evolve and innovate, I'm excited about the possibilities that SlackOps presents for enhancing our development processes and driving business outcomes. With the right tools, mindset, and collaboration, we can navigate the complexities of modern software development with confidence and success.
Link to gist with code. In the future I could try to embed the code here.