Forem: Catherine Esther Vuthi

Learning, Growing, and Thriving: My Journey from Coding Bootcamp to Software Guru

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 10:47:22 +0000

When I finished my coding bootCamp 2 years ago, I was super excited to start my first job as a junior developer. Without any hesitation, I started the daunting job application process, and within a few weeks, I landed a remote role as a junior web developer. But when I got there, I found something huge waiting for me — a giant codebase! I didn’t know where to start, and I felt lost.

My biggest challenge: The Big Code Base

The codebase was so big and complicated! It was like a big, tangled ball of yarn, and I didn’t know how to untangle it. Every time I tried to make a change, I was worried I’d mess something up. But then, I remembered what I learned in bootCamp: take one step at a time. So, I started reading the code bit by bit, asking lots of questions, and slowly, things started to make sense.

Learning New Tech

In the BootCamp, we were not taught everything. So, in my new job, I came across new technologies, that were being used there - Next.js, Storybook, Docker, Typescripts, Wordpress. One of the coolest things I learned at the startup was how to use Next.js. Next.js is a special tool that makes building websites easier and faster. At first, it was confusing, just like the big codebase. But as I kept practicing, I got better at it. I learned how to make web pages load faster, how to connect different parts of a website, and how to make everything look nice and work smoothly.

Beating the Perfectionism Monster

When I was new, I spent way too much time on simple tasks. I wanted everything to be perfect, so I kept checking and re-checking my work. This made me slow, and sometimes, I felt like I wasn’t doing a good job. But then, I realized that trying to be perfect all the time wasn’t helping. It was okay to make mistakes because that’s how I learned. So, I started to focus on doing my best and not worrying too much about being perfect. This made me faster and better at my job.

From Junior Developer to Guru

Fast forward two years, and now I’m not just a junior developer anymore. I’ve grown a lot, and learned so many new things, and now I’m ready to take on bigger challenges. I’m confident in my skills, and I know I can handle bigger projects. I’ve gone from feeling lost in the big codebase to being a guru who can help others find their way. Now, I feel like I’m ready to move up to a mid-level or even a senior software engineering position.

What I learned through all of this is that it’s okay to feel lost at first. It’s okay to struggle and make mistakes. What’s important is to keep learning, ask questions, keep growing, and never give up. If I can do it, so can you!

Are Coding Bootcamps Worth It? My Experience!

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 16:28:27 +0000

I won't lie! Being in a coding bootcamp was probably one the hardest, exhausting, and most frustrating times in my life, but at the same time one of the most gratifying experiences in my career.
It's one week since I completed a very intensive 6-month coding bootcamp...and I had to take a one week resting vacation to reflect and recover. Was the bootcamp worth my time and efforts? Without doubts...a very big YEEES! Here is my experience in a software engineering bootcamp.

The Bootcamp structure

Just a few weeks into the bootcamp, my school partnered with Flatiron bootcamp and we started learning flatiron's coding content. This content was very well detailed with coding labs and quizzes to test your understanding. The content was divided into 3-weeks modules after which we were supposed to do an independent project. Here is what I learned, and the skills that I gained:

Frontend Web Development

HTML
CSS
Bootstrap
Javascript
jQuery
ReactJS
Git & Github

Backend Web Development

Ruby
Sinatra Framework
Rails
SQLite3
API Design & Development
Debugging - pry, irb
Testing - RSpec
Deployment - Heroku, Vercel

Self-taught Skills

These were not included in the course content but I self-learned in between the bootcamp period.

Tailwind CSS
PostgreSQL
NextJS
Typescript
API Documentation

My Next Step!

Looking for a Software Developer Internship

What's the purpose of getting all these skills if you are not going to utilise them in the real corporate world? I feel confident in myself and the skills that I have gained from the coding bootcamp. That's why I am actively seeking for an internship, whether it is a Full stack, Frontend or Backend developer role. Here is my LinkedIn Profile, where you can reach me if you are looking for a software developer intern. I will be happy to hear from you.

Learning & lots of Practice

The vacation is over, it's time to get back on track! You don't come out of a coding bootcamp as an expert, you still need more. That's why I will be going through the content and revisiting the concepts that I feel I am not confident in. I will also be challenging myself by doing a lot of projects to expand my knowledge.I will not be learning a new programming language until I am best at what I have learned at the bootcamp.

Looking for a Ruby Mentor

Why Ruby and not any other mentor? I have to say the moment I started learning Ruby I got so much interest in it and I would like to get much deeper understanding about it. Also, where I come from Ruby hasn't picked up yet so I might not get the help I need in Ruby language.
Regardless of where you are in your career everyone can use a mentor to help guide them. If you are willing to mentor me into Ruby, you can reach me through my LinkedIn Profile

Final Thought

Coding Bootcamp was an amazing and intense time, and I think I’ve never learned so much in such a short period of time. If you are planning to join a bootcamp, be prepared to spend sleepless nights, get physically and mentally exhausted and also to motivate yourself to push through, because once you are done you will thank yourself later. Being able to build something, even though it is a small thing, is a rewarding feeling and worth all the effort.

Getting Started with Ruby - Beginner

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 10:39:36 +0000

Introduction

4 weeks ago I kicked off a new journey of learning Ruby, a backend programming language. Coming from Javascript language, I find Ruby interesting and easy to learn. And as a result, I've decided to document my experience with Ruby by sharing what I have learned, starting from Ruby basics to more complex concepts.

What is Ruby?

Ruby is a dynamic object-oriented, general-purpose programming language - Definition from Ruby documentation.
Ruby was designed to make programmers happy. It's simple to use but capable of designing complex things.
Everything in Ruby is an object.

Enough of theory part, let's get into our code editor and start coding.

VS Code extensions for Ruby

In this series I will be using Visual Studio Code editor. To get started install these extensions:

Ruby - For Ruby language support and debugging
Ruby Solargraph - Provides code completion, intellisense.

Creating your first Ruby Application

In your VSCode create a folder and name it as you wish. Inside that folder create a file with .rb extension Eg hello.rb
You will be using the .rb (stands for Ruby) extension when creating your Ruby files.
For now don't worry about the Ruby project file structure, we will be discussing it in another post.

Ruby Comments

Comments are line of code that are not executed or are ignored by the interpreter. Its a good practice to add comments into your code for better understandability and readability.

Single line Comment
Write this line in your hello.rb file
#My first Ruby App
starting with the hash(#) sign.
For single line comments, you use a # in the beginning of the line. The sentence that follows the # is not executed.

Multi-line Comment
You may want to comment out several lines of code in your file. You might think of adding the the # sign in each of those lines but this will be tiresome and repetitive.
So how do you do this?

=begin
several lines of code goes here
several lines of code goes here
several lines of code goes here
=end

Every line of code between the =begin and =end - don't forget equal sign(=), is regarded as a comment hence not executed.
In your hello.rb file, try out the multi-line comment by adding several lines of code and enclosing them between =begin and =end

Displaying Ruby Output(String) - puts and Print

If you are coming from Javascript language, do you remember what console.log method does? If you answered displaying output to the terminal, then you are right.
In Ruby we use puts or print methods to output string output to the terminal.
Add this code into your file:

puts "Hello World!"
puts "My name is Cate"

print "Hello World!"
print "My name is Cate"

Difference between puts and Print

Puts adds a new line break after the output while print does not.

To see this difference, let's run our Ruby application to see results in the terminal.

Running Ruby Application

To run Ruby code in the terminal we use this format : ruby filename.rb whereby the filename.rb is the name of file you want to run. In our case, we named ours as hello.rb if you have been following along.
In your terminal write this command:
ruby hello.rb
And hit Enter.
What do you see? Do you see the difference between the puts output and that of print?

puts output

Hello World!
My name is Cate

print output

Hello World!My name is Cate

You see the difference now. puts adds a new line between its output while print displays the output as one sentence.
If you want to see your output nicely and clearly use the puts method.

Congratulations!!! You just run your first Ruby app.

Let's talk about two other Ruby's output methods **p** and **pp**.

Outputting complex data using `p` and `pp` Methods

We have seen how to display string output in the terminal using puts and print methods.
But when it comes to more complex data like arrays and nested hashes, puts and print might not be the best way to inspect that data.
Don't worry about array and hashes concept if you are new in programming. We will be going through them later.

Outputting array data using p

p method calls the .inspect method on our data and output it in a nice format.

p [10, 20, 30, 40]

**Output**
[10, 20, 30, 40]

Outputting nested hashes data using pp

pp stands for Pretty-printing and is used to pretty-inspect our complex nested data and output it in a nice readable format.

pp [{name: "cate", age: 22},{name: "Kyle", age: 30},{name: "Joy", age: 25}]

**Output**
{:name=>"cate", :age=>22},
{:name=>"Kyle", :age=>30},
{:name=>"Joy", :age=>25}

Conclusion

That's enough for today. Practice working with puts, print, p, and pp methods as well as running your Ruby application in the terminal to see the resulting output.

Happy Coding!

Migrating from SQLite3 to PostgreSql Database - Heroku

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 08:48:28 +0000

Introduction

Are you planning to deploy your SQLite3 based backend to Heroku? If you answered this question with a yes, then you are at the right place. This is because you will have to migrate your databases from SQLite3 to PostgreSql.
Most of the time we use SQLite for development purposes but when the time for deployment comes, we have to migrate our databases to PostgreSql in order to host it to Heroku.
This is the process I went through to migrate my SQLite based project to PostgreSql then deployed it on Heroku:

Install PostgreSql

I started by installing PostgreSql app in to my laptop. This app provides a simple user interface to manage your databases. Depending on your laptop's OS, go ahead and download this app.

Edit Gemfile

In your Ruby project, Gemfile contains all of the gems that your project is dependent on. Locate the SQLite gem and replace it with PostgreSql gem.
gem 'sqlite3' to gem 'pg'
After editing your Gemfile, run bundle install command to install PostgreSql gem.

Edit database.yml file

This file contains information about your database configurations. Since we want to migrate from SQLite3 to PostgreSql, change adapter setting as follows:
adapter: sqlite3 to adapter: postgresql

Run rake db:migrate command to setup a PostgreSql Database and schema.

Conclusion

At this point, your PostgreSql setup should be working. Next time I will be showing you how to host the project to Heroku.

Just Finished my 1st #100daysOfCode Challenge

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 18:03:04 +0000

124 days ago I started #100daysOfCode challenge. With the help of a goal tracker app I have been able to track my daily progress - the screenshot above.
I only missed to code for only 24 days and those are the days that I felt like not touching my laptop and needed to rest.
But it has been a great journey of learning alot.

Achievements

What I learned in those 100 days:

JavaScript
React
Tailwind css
Ruby
SQLite
Creating Backend API using Ruby, SQLite, Active record, Sinatra

I won't say I am a pro in these Languages but I can create a small to medium project, and ofcourse I'm still continuing to master them. And I'm proud of my progress.

Next step

I will restart the challenge and within those 100 days this is what I'm planning to do:

Rails Framework
PostgreSql db
Continue expanding my knowledge in the languages that I have been learning.

Wishing myself a good luck!

Setting up your first ReactJS & Firebase Auth project

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Sat, 28 May 2022 08:01:29 +0000

Nowadays, security is very important on websites and apps. Sometimes, developers make their own backend incorporating their own custom security methods. Other developers use various cloud platforms so that they don’t need to worry about security logic, and these platforms help developers with most secure ways of authenticating users.

We are going to see how you can use Firebase auth service to secure your react APP.

Setting up Firebase

First you will need to set up our own Firebase project through the Firebase Console. To get started, navigate your browser to Firebase Console. Make sure you are logged into your Google account.

Now, click on Add project and follow the simple instructions provided. Once presented with a dashboard, click on Authentication on the sidebar and click on Get Started to enable the module. Now you will be presented with various authentication options. Click on Email/Password, enable it, and save it. We will come back later, let create our react app first.

Setting up React project

Navigate to your terminal and use npx create-react-app appname to create a new react app.
Next lets install firebase and react router dom: npm install firebase react-router-dom react-firebase-hooks

Integrating Firebase into our React app

Now lets go back to the Firebase Console dashboard, click on Project Settings. Click on the third icon (</>) to configure our Firebase project for the web. Here you will see a config file. Copy the config. Create a new file in the src folder named firebase.js, import firebase modules, and paste the config file here.
Next we will initialize our app and services so that we can use Firebase throughout our app. This will use our config to recognize the project and initialize authentication and database modules.

With this on your react app you can now start to create login and signup forms and use the firebase authentication module.

Embed Responsive Maps To Your Website - Mapbox GL API

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Sun, 24 Apr 2022 19:39:29 +0000

Did you know that using maps on your website not only helps users find your location but also signifies trust in the credibility of your organization? Whether you are working on a side project or your web design client asked you to embed an interactive map on their site, there are many reasons why you would want to use one of the map APIs to accomplish that task. I recently used the Mapbox GL API on one of my projects, and here is my experience with it.

Initial Configuration

It's incredibly simple; with just a few lines of html, CSS, and JavaScript, you'll have an interactive map on your site in no time. Mapbox provides you with a default access token without the need for billing information. Their documentation provides one with clear, step-by-step instructions on how to get your map up and running.

Extensive Customization Possibilities

Mapbox provides its users with a cool feature known as Mapbox Studio. Here you can customize your map to your desired style. If you want to target a small area like your street or a bigger area like your city, Mapbox has got you covered. It also provides you with different map themes. If you like your map in dark mode or light mode, you won't need to code it from scratch.

Controls

Mapbox comes with navigation controls such as zoom buttons and a compass to enable users to maneuver their way around the map. Another feature of Mapbox that I liked is the ability to add marker components to your map. You can embed default markers or customize ones using your own data.

Last Thoughts

I just highlighted a few cool features of the Mapbox GL API that I used in my project, Hospital Finder, that is meant to help users locate nearby medical centers and directions in case of medical emergencies.

Repo Link

Live Link

Week 1: In a Coding Bootcamp - My experience!

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 10:21:28 +0000

Sometime ago I announced here that I had been awarded a full scholarship to join a software development Bootcamp. So the Bootcamp started last week with an orientation and onboarding sessions. And the real lessons started this week on Monday.

My first week experience has been good and exciting since we have been covering Html, css, bootstrap, Git, and Linux - Ubuntu. I have a good background with these topics apart from Ubuntu. I have been using windows but the Bootcamp instructions are based on Linux so everybody was required to install and learn how to use it.

A while ago I had started the 100daysofcode challenge, but on the way I lost track of the days, but now with this new chapter in my career, I will document my weekly experience here for the next 6month until the Bootcamp is over.

New things learned

Using Ubuntu terminal and command line to create, delete,move, rename, etc stuff.
Git branches, github pages, writing a readme file. I was already using git but I haven't used these command before.
Weekly independent projects - this week our project involved developing my portfolio landing page using html and css. I just finished mine, I will post the site here after the TM has graded it.

See you next Sunday with an update of what I learned on my week 2.

Most insightful thing learned.

How to write meaningful git commit messages.
So your commit message should be in present tense and, as a rule of thumb, they should complete the phrase "This commit will.....".
Eg. This commit will add an index.html page".

Day 10 Of #100DaysOfCode Challenge - My experience

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 18:22:23 +0000

I just completed 10 days of the #100DaysOfCode challenge. Although the whole of last week I didn't code due to unavoidable circumstances, the good part is that I was awarded a full software development scholarship. I will be starting my lessons this Feb for the next 6 months, I'm really excited.
So, here is what I learned in those 10 days.

JavaScript

JS functions, objects, classes, Arrays.
JS callback methods, async, and promises - although I didn't understand these very well. I will be going through them again.

I completed Frontend Mentor Challenges - Html & Css - newbie level and today I started the junior level. I'm proud of myself about this.

General experience

Coding for only one hour a day seems very short to me. I usually use a pomodoro app to time myself, but after 1 hour is over, I let myself code until I can't take it anymore. So, I usually code for more than 3 hours a day.
I usually post my daily report on Twitter and there is a very great supportive community their, and a lot of people doing the same 100daysofcode challenge. This motivates me to continue coding without giving up.
Those 10 days have made me realise that I love coding. Seeing myself build a wesite component from scratch is my biggest joy.

See you on day 20, as I share my great coding journey.

My journey to becoming a frontend software developer - The Plan

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 17:37:50 +0000

I'm publicly committing to #100DaysOfCode Challenge to start my journey to becoming a frontend software developer. Here is my plan:
Learn:

Vanilla JavaScript
Vuejs
Debugging
Webpack
Complete frontend mentor challenges

Improve on:

Sass/Scss
Grid and Flexbox

I will be posting my progress here every week. I'm also looking for an accountability partner, someone who has the same vision as mine of becoming a frontend developer. We can learn together and encourage each other in this journey. If you are interested comment on this post and we will link up.

Advise me! Just about to start learning Javascript

Catherine Esther Vuthi — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 19:41:15 +0000

Hello dev community!
I just finished learning html, css, git, and bootstrap, and now I want to expand my frontend web development skills by diving into JavaScript. As a beginner, what are some of the best resources that I can use to learn Js?
Also, what are a must-to-know concepts of Js that I need to master to be able to land my first job as a frontend developer?
Note: I'm aiming at mastering vanilla Js before diving into js frameworks and libraries.

Forem: Catherine Esther Vuthi

Learning, Growing, and Thriving: My Journey from Coding Bootcamp to Software Guru

My biggest challenge: The Big Code Base

Learning New Tech

Beating the Perfectionism Monster

From Junior Developer to Guru

Are Coding Bootcamps Worth It? My Experience!

The Bootcamp structure

Frontend Web Development

Backend Web Development

Self-taught Skills

My Next Step!

Looking for a Software Developer Internship

Learning & lots of Practice

Looking for a Ruby Mentor

Final Thought

Getting Started with Ruby - Beginner

Introduction

What is Ruby?

VS Code extensions for Ruby

Creating your first Ruby Application

Ruby Comments

Displaying Ruby Output(String) - puts and Print

Difference between puts and Print

Running Ruby Application

Outputting complex data using p and pp Methods

Outputting array data using p

Outputting nested hashes data using pp

Conclusion

Migrating from SQLite3 to PostgreSql Database - Heroku

Introduction

Install PostgreSql

Edit Gemfile

Edit database.yml file

Conclusion

Just Finished my 1st #100daysOfCode Challenge

Achievements

Next step

Setting up your first ReactJS & Firebase Auth project

Setting up Firebase

Setting up React project

Integrating Firebase into our React app

Embed Responsive Maps To Your Website - Mapbox GL API

Initial Configuration

Extensive Customization Possibilities

Controls

Last Thoughts

Week 1: In a Coding Bootcamp - My experience!

New things learned

Most insightful thing learned.

Day 10 Of #100DaysOfCode Challenge - My experience

My journey to becoming a frontend software developer - The Plan

Advise me! Just about to start learning Javascript

Outputting complex data using `p` and `pp` Methods