Aug 22, 2023·edited Aug 22, 2023Liked by Jack Hagley
React
You should commit to learning the React framework. The ecosystem is massive and you'll find lots of support for whatever it is you end doing because of that. Think of it as including ready-made (Lego) bricks to your build. Don't reinvent the wheel. Learning the most widely used framework in the world well will pay dividends you can't conceive of right now.
Git
Being able to return to a previous state is invaluable. The directory you're working from should include a git folder. Then whenever you develop a new feature you branch out first, away from the main tree. Git is basically a tree consisting of nodes that you can return to whenever you please. Each node is a "commit". You're committing to its history and growth. Whenever you change something you should make a new commit and add a description of what it is you're trying to accomplish. I use active phrases for my commits for a variety of reasons that I may return to later. Git allows you to select a branch and say to a service like Netlify "hey this is the production branch, only deploy automatically from this branch". Now you can safely test, and experiment with, your other branches without affecting the product your customers are using. I won't dive into how Git works here but I will urge you to prioritise it as a learning goal.
Data Structures
You will probably want to look at the graph data structure instead of arrays. I couldn't tell if you aren't already familiar. I don't know if Markdown works in the comment section but [this might help](https://blog.javascripttoday.com/blog/graph-data-structure-in-javascript/). I don't have any experience to offer but my gut tells me you're on the right track. Maybe [this](https://nodes.io/story/) blog post will help you feel more at ease with making the assumption that a node based paradigm is the best way to go about it.
Other
Incomplete sentence? "There was a good base that made all of the common tasks very easy, but actually using the program for client work was pretty slow to kick off. It had value to me, but it"
Incorrect word order? "How can easily I make multiple pages of static graphs?" Sounds wrong to my ear, and almost made me stop reading, but I'm overly sensitive. You may not care or maybe it's correct and I'm just a whiny asshole.
Pitch
Your pitch is excellent for its intended audience. "Scratch for data viz" . It's short and easy to remember. Easy to google for.
Final words
That initial draft made me pause. I'm impressed. I think your aim is to develop a proper user interface to make the design of such visualisations easier to accomplish. If that's incorrect, please correct me.
You better salute me I read to the end but with not much understanding of your problem. I learned something however, the Dunning Kruger Effect which made me smile.
React
You should commit to learning the React framework. The ecosystem is massive and you'll find lots of support for whatever it is you end doing because of that. Think of it as including ready-made (Lego) bricks to your build. Don't reinvent the wheel. Learning the most widely used framework in the world well will pay dividends you can't conceive of right now.
Git
Being able to return to a previous state is invaluable. The directory you're working from should include a git folder. Then whenever you develop a new feature you branch out first, away from the main tree. Git is basically a tree consisting of nodes that you can return to whenever you please. Each node is a "commit". You're committing to its history and growth. Whenever you change something you should make a new commit and add a description of what it is you're trying to accomplish. I use active phrases for my commits for a variety of reasons that I may return to later. Git allows you to select a branch and say to a service like Netlify "hey this is the production branch, only deploy automatically from this branch". Now you can safely test, and experiment with, your other branches without affecting the product your customers are using. I won't dive into how Git works here but I will urge you to prioritise it as a learning goal.
Data Structures
You will probably want to look at the graph data structure instead of arrays. I couldn't tell if you aren't already familiar. I don't know if Markdown works in the comment section but [this might help](https://blog.javascripttoday.com/blog/graph-data-structure-in-javascript/). I don't have any experience to offer but my gut tells me you're on the right track. Maybe [this](https://nodes.io/story/) blog post will help you feel more at ease with making the assumption that a node based paradigm is the best way to go about it.
Other
Incomplete sentence? "There was a good base that made all of the common tasks very easy, but actually using the program for client work was pretty slow to kick off. It had value to me, but it"
Incorrect word order? "How can easily I make multiple pages of static graphs?" Sounds wrong to my ear, and almost made me stop reading, but I'm overly sensitive. You may not care or maybe it's correct and I'm just a whiny asshole.
Pitch
Your pitch is excellent for its intended audience. "Scratch for data viz" . It's short and easy to remember. Easy to google for.
Final words
That initial draft made me pause. I'm impressed. I think your aim is to develop a proper user interface to make the design of such visualisations easier to accomplish. If that's incorrect, please correct me.
Best of luck and never give up.
Great comment. Thank you for taking the time to write this!
I amended the wonky word order and completed the missing sentence.
I _think_ I agree that React is the way to go, but it can’t hurt to understand why and how it is built the way that it is.
I haven’t heard of Graph Data Structure. I’ll have a look at it!
I’m glad you liked the initial commit. I took a while to think about the inheritance of the classes before I even started.
You are correct about my aim.
You better salute me I read to the end but with not much understanding of your problem. I learned something however, the Dunning Kruger Effect which made me smile.
🫡