It’s been a month since I started the full-time course at Founders & Coders, and it seems like a good time to talk about what I’ve been learning.

The FAC course is a software development bootcamp taught at Space4 in Islington and remotely. It is a peer-led course facilitated by mentors from a previous cohort and aims to create an inclusive environment, especially for those who are currently underrepresented in tech. For more details and how to apply visit their website.

Git workflows 🔨

Git is software used for tracking changes in any set of files. It is used to enable collaborative working by developers. Before starting at FAC, I didn’t have much opportunity to use its more powerful features. Now I start a branch whenever I start working on a new issue and create a PR to have my code reviewed by my teammates before it gets merged into the main branch.

Node.js and Express 🚀

Node.js is a JavaScript Runtime that allows you to run JavaScript code outside of the browser. It is useful for developers who are building the client side of their application in another JS framework like React. I didn’t have any previous experience with server-side frameworks so this has been a steep learning curve, but I can now build simple web applications.

Testing with Cypress 🧪

Before FAC, I had tested that my code was working manually in the browser. However, as the codebases I’ve been working on have grown and the interactions between the features have become more complex, I’ve discovered the benefits of writing automated tests. Cypress is a great tool for end-to-end testing, simulating the user flow through your application.

SQL 🗃️

SQL (Structured Query Language) is used for extracting and organizing data in a relational database system. I have been using it to store user data, manage authentication, and allow users to post information to the server that is then displayed on the page. SQL is also incredibly powerful - look up SQL injection attacks to see what I mean.

We’ve covered a lot in such a short space of time, and I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks to put these skills into practice. Check out my GitHub if you want to see more of what I’ve been up to.