 Courses from Lindsey Kopacz

Bite-size video tutorials for badass web developers.

egghead

We'll use Chrome Dev Tools to understand where the accessible name comes and how the accessible name priority is computed depending on what attributes you use.

Understanding Accessible Name Computation

WAI-ARIA, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite, defines a way to make Web content and Web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. It especially helps with dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with Ajax, HTML, JavaScript, and related technologies. 

aria

We'll go over the work it takes to use ARIA to show why Semantic HTML is almost always the safer bet. 

Create a Semantic Checkbox vs an ARIA Checkbox

Debug Computed Accessibility Properties with Chrome Dev Tools

In this lesson, we use the element inspector in Chrome to test and improve our contrast to meet WCAG AA Contrast Ratio Standards.

Resources:
- [WebAIM - Contrast and Color Accessibility](https://webaim.org/articles/contrast/)

Debugging Accessible Contrast with Chrome Dev Tools

“a11y” stands for “accessibility.” It is a numeronym, with 11 representing the count of letters between the letter a and the letter y.

Accessibility is broken down into 4 categories of disability: visual, cognitive, auditory, motor. 

Regardless of the category of disability, accessibilities aim in web development is to make applications and websites usable for everyone.

a11y

In this course, we'll be focusing on building an accessible component by using a built-in browser API with React to implement best practices in accessibility custom features. 

Everyone is responsible for accessibility, and we need to start creating features and websites with that in mind. The goal of this course is for you to exploit your understanding of HTML and aria, and be able to look at any common features and identify the different accessibility patterns. 

With this course you won't only learn about accessibility, but also will learn about `HTMLMediaElement` API, and state management in React. 


 





Introduction to Creating a Custom Accessible Audio Player with React

React's `forwardRef` function allows a component to receive a ref that has been created outside of it. This can be useful in cases where you want to have a specific part of your component, such as a section of a long transcript or a specific part of an audio recording, referenced from outside the component.

One example of when this might be useful is if you have a "listicle" type of audio, such as "5 things your tech resume needs", and you want to allow users to jump to specific parts of the audio. By converting the component to a forwarded ref component, you can create a ref in the parent component (in this case, the "App" component) and pass it into the audio component. This allows you to create a few buttons in the parent component that can control the audio ref and jump to specific audio sections.

To convert a component to a forwarded ref component, you can use React's `forwardRef` function to wrap the component, and then remove the audio ref and replace all instances with the new ref.

By doing this, you can now control the audio component, like play, pause and jump to a specific time, by interacting with the `audioRef` ref object created in the parent component and passed into the audio component.

**Think about:** What ways to control the audio outside the component could help with accessibility?

Using a forwardRef to Create External Controls

We are creating an accessible popup menu for a web application. It covers various concepts, including handling keyboard events, creating a new dropdown component for reuse, using arrow keys to navigate through buttons, using the Tab key to close the menu and go to the next item in the tab order, using the Escape key to close the menu and focus on the button that closes it, using the `aria-expanded` attribute to communicate whether the menu is open or closed, and the difference between the tab index values of 0 and -1. 

**Think about:**
- Why tabindex -1?
- Why would you use arrows versus tab key to navigate through the dropdown?

Create a Dropdown Menu for Rates

In this lesson, we are using HTML, accessibility concepts, and ARIA attributes to improve the time scrubber feature of an audio player. 

The goal is to make it accessible to users of screen readers so that the time scrubber announces the actual time (e.g. 12 minutes and 15 seconds) rather than just the value (e.g. 735). 

We are also creating a new folder called "helpers" in the "src" folder and a new file called "format time.js" within it to hold a function called "format human read time" that takes time as a parameter and returns the human-readable equivalent of that time. Additionally, the author debugs the code and uses console.log to check the variable.

**Think about:** Why does a human-readable name help?

Create a Human Readable Time Formatter

I suggest using the previously learned approach but keep in mind that it may lead to an overly complex markup. We also use the `aria-label` attribute, which can be used to override the text within a label element.

**Think about:** Why would you use an `aria-label` instead of creating a visually hidden span?

Using Aria-Label as a Solution for Overly Complex Markup

In this lesson, we are creating the audio player interface more visually appealing using icons from the React Icons library and Font Awesome, in this process, we are also ensuring that the interface remains accessible to screen readers by providing text descriptions for the icons, first by using the `title` prop on each icon, and then by implementing a `visually hidden` technique that hides the text descriptions from sighted users but makes them available to screen readers. This involves copying and pasting some CSS code to create a visually-hidden class, adding an `aria-hidden` attribute to each icon, wrapping each icon in a React fragment, and then adding a `span` element above each icon with the corresponding text description and the `visually-hidden` class.

**Think about:**  
- Why use `aria-hidden` or visually hide spans? 
- What value does this add to screen reader users?

Design Accessible Buttons Using Icons

We create an input range with a label, where the range is between 0 and 1 with a step of 0 - 1. The input's value should be determined by a ternary statement that checks if the volume is muted and sets it to 0 or to the current volume if not muted. 

An `onVolumeScrubberChange` function is also added that sets the volume to the event target value when the input value changes and updates the volume in the state and an audio reference. The `onVolumeChange` function does not need to be used and the logic needs to be adjusted to ensure that the volume can be updated and that it mutes when the volume reaches 0.

**Think about:** Why do we have to add `audioRef.current.volume === 0` in addition to `audioRef.current.muted`?

Implementing a Volume Range with an onChange Event

We are creating a toggle button for muting and unmuting an audio element using React hooks `useState` and `useRef`. It destructures `isMuted` from the `useState` hook and sets the initial state to false. 

The button's inner text is dependent on the state of `isMuted`, and a `toggleMute` function is created which sets `isMuted` to the opposite of its current state and also sets the `audioRef.current.muted` property to the opposite of `isMuted`. 

A `onVolumeChange` function is added to the audio element that sets the `isMuted` state based on the value of `audioRef.current.muted`. This allows the `isMuted` state to change even when the mute button on the audio element itself is pressed.

**Think about:** 
- Why do we have to add `onVolumeChange` for instead of `onMuted`? 
- How can we use `onVolumeChange` to check for things being muted?

Creating a Toggle Button for Muting and Unmuting an Audio Element in React

We are creating a playback rate button in a React application. An array of rates is created, and each element of the array is mapped to a button. Each button is given an onClick handler that calls an anonymous function called `changeRate`. 

`changeRate` sets the playback rate of an audio element to the rate passed as an argument. When the button is pressed in the browser, it shows the new playback rate.

**Think about:** We have all these states for volume, media time etc, why don't we have one for rate?

Creating a Playback Rate Button

We will create two buttons labeled "rewind 15 seconds" and "fast forward 15 seconds." Then, we created two functions, `onRewind` and `onFastForward`, to adjust the current time of a media by 15 seconds. The `onRewind` function will use `Math.max` to ensure that the time does not go into negative, and the `onFastForward` function will use `Math.min` to set a max limit. These functions will be added to the click events of the corresponding buttons. Finally, it sets the new time for the media state and the audio reference.

**Think about:** Why do you need the second parameter for `math.max` and `math.min`?

Add Fast-Forward and Rewind 15 Second Buttons

In this lesson, we will create event listeners for the play and pause events on an audio player element and use these listeners to update the value of a variable called `isPlaying` that tracks the current state of the player (e.g., whether it is currently playing or paused). The event listeners, named `onPlay` and `onPause`, will be triggered when the user presses the play or pause button on the audio player element itself, not on a custom play button that may have been created.

Add Play and Pause Events to the Audio Player

We are creating an input of type range with an associated label, this input is to represent the current playback position in the audio, and the user will be able to change the playback position using the input.

The input value is set to be the media time state, it is added a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value as the duration. The demonstration shows how the media time state updates accordingly when the user changes the time using the input range.

A function called `onScrubberChange` is added, which takes in an event as an argument and `console.logs` the value of that event. The `onChange` event is added to the input, ensuring it works as expected. A variable sets the media time state and the current time on the audio ref.

**Think about:** Why do we use the `event.target.value` to set the new `mediaTime` (reminder that the value of the range is bound to `mediaTime`....maybe take a look at that with the formatter)

Create the Audio Scrubber to Control Playback Position

In this lesson, we are creating a new state called `mediaTime` with an initial value of 0, updating sample text in the markup to display the value of `mediaTime`, and adding an event listener to the audio element for the `timeUpdate` event.

In the `timeUpdate` event listener callback function, the `mediaTime` state is set to the audio element's current time, which can be accessed using the `audioRef.current.currentTime`. A function is added to the `onTimeUpdate` event of the audio element, to be able to track the current time. And a time formatter is added to format the time for displaying elapsed time and total time.

**Think about:** How often does onTimeUpdate update? (every second, not every millisecond) 

Tracking Audio Playback Progress by Adding Elapsed Time 

We created a duration state with an initial value of zero, then added an event listener to the audio element for the `loadedMetaData` event. In the event listener callback function, you set the duration state's value to be the audio element's current duration. This ensures that the value of the duration state is only set once the audio element metadata is loaded, allowing you to display the accurate total time of the audio file.

**Think about:** Why do we need to set the duration on the `onLoadedMetadata` event?

"The `onLoadedMetadata` event occurs when metadata for the specified audio/video has been loaded." You can read the docs [here](https://www.w3schools.com/tags/av_event_loadedmetadata.asp) 


 Implementing a Duration State 

We Introduce [MDN Media docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/HTMLMediaElement) and all the APIs. 

In this lesson, we added the `useRef` and created an `audioRef` in our components. We also added the `ref` to the audio element to control it outside of the audio element. We use the `useState` hook, and we created an `isPlaying` state. And finally, we added a `button` that dynamically renders the text as pause and play depending on the `isPlaying` state. On click of that button, we toggle the `isPlaying` state, and depending on that state, we either pause or play it.


Creating a Toggle for Playing and Pausing the Audio

In this lesson we are going to create an `AudioPlayer` component that takes two props `src` and `transcript`, where it returns the audio element and renders the transcript, and we write some pseudo-code for the audio player to reference.

**Think about**: What do we get for free with common HTML elements?

Setup Native Audio and Plan our Audio Player Code

In this exercise, we will be going over 2 examples of when to use aria-hidden (hint: decoration) and when to use hidden.

In the first example, we will be hiding a "middle dot" that we have for formatting. This middle dot isn't necessary to be read out, so we add an aria-hidden attribute on that span.

When we use hidden, we will completely hide things from the viewport AND the screen reader.

aria-hidden vs. hidden

How you build with Angular has changed quite a lot over the years.

For example, the `inject` function was introduced in version 14 but you might still be familiar with Angular's constructor injection.

Similarly, structural directives like `ngif` or `ngfor` have been replaced with `@if` and `@for` blocks since version 17 and beyond.

These are patterns that need to be adjusted if you want to stay up-to-date with the latest Angular has to provide.

Luckily, Angular gives you great tools in the form of a migration CLI for supporting your migration efforts as you incrementally update your App from older version features and patterns. 

When you're done with this course you'll know how to target specific features, folders, and files to migrate to the latest Angular version.

You'll learn how to 'migrate':
- Structural directives with control flow syntax
- Constructor dependency inject to inject function
- Make components standalone
- Lazy load routes
- Input/Output decorators to signal-based API


Angular Migrations in Practice

Migrate old Angular patterns for version 18 and beyond

When we import assets in React components outside of the `public` folder that Nitro reads for assets by default when running the development server we need to tell Nitro how to find them with the `devProxy` configuration option.

```typescript
export default defineNitroConfig({
  renderer: './renderer.ts',
  devProxy: {
    '/app/assets': 'http://localhost:5173/app/assets'
  }
})
```

This is ultimately inadequate in scenarios where you want to import assets arbitrarily and have them "just work" but works in a pinch.



Use devProxy in Nitro Config to Serve Static Imported Assets in Dev Mode via Vite

Learn how to use devProxy in Nitro Config with Vite to serve static assets in React components in dev mode.

Start with a basic Vite React TypeScript app and enhance it for production use by integrating Nitro as the server. 

This requires a custom Vite plugin for nitro as well as a custom renderer and manually creating Nitro config.

The other way to approach this would be to add Vite to a Nitro app instead. Same basic result.

The [Nitro config reference](https://nitro.unjs.io/config) is a great read of you'd like to explore more options.


Configure a Vite React TypeScript Application on a Basic Nitro Server

Configure a Vite React TypeScript app by integrating Nitro for production, using custom plugins, renderers, and configs.

Quick Get Started style introduction to Vite using `pnpm create vite` with the React TypeScript template.

See [more in the official docs](https://vite.dev/guide/).

Create a Vite App with the React TypeScript Preset

Quick guide to start a Vite app using React TypeScript template with pnpm.

Over the years, your application have grown huge. Sometimes, really HUGE.

Many developers have contributed to the codebase. One day they pushed one coding style, a different one another day. Sometimes even different patterns and solutions for similar problems.

You want to keep your codebase consistent. In the Angular ecosystem, there were well established patterns for doing things the right way ™️. But the old solutions are being challenged by signal-based approach.

Eventually, you ask yourself the key question: **Should you integrate with the NEW solutions or stick to the battle-tested ones, but already considered LEGACY**?

That's a very good question indeed. Don't rush with architectural decisions 🤓.

## First, think of what problems you want to solve by introducing the change.

Do you have 1k LoC Angular components? Maybe even 2k? Do you and your team enjoy working with these? 😏

Where does the **domain logic and state management code** belong to - do you have a clear guidance on which code should be put where? Have you spot that different devs implement similar features in totally different ways?

Do you keep on asking the same questions over and over again: **whether this certain piece of code** should be **imperative** (plain old object properties and variables) or **reactive** (streams)? It'd be nice to keep all thinga reactive, but more often than not, it introduces complexity.

## Second, think of long-term consequences.

You are going to have more than one way to **manage the state**. But is that really an issue? If your codebase is modular, separate modules should not depend on each other in any way. Inner abstractions of one should be invisible to the other, etc.

You are going to introduce a **new tool**. On one hand, you need to learn it, and so does your team. But on the other hand, it's a breathe of fresh air. And it's useful to question the way you've been doing things so far. Maybe there's a more effective way?

You are going to embrace signal-based APIs. And that means taking taking advantage of Zoneless Angular. This means using all modern Angular APIs. And you know that signals are the future. Why would you want to stick to the **less performant, less type-safe, less flexible and, objectively, less effective solutions**?

## Finally, plan your INCREMENTAL integration.

INCREMENTAL is the absolute keyword here. You don't want to tell your PM you need to stop delivering features because of a refactor.

Actually, there's no need for a "refactor". Just pick the first new feature to be implemented. Or pick the one that needs to be extended.

NGRX Signal Store allows you to create both very simple & small stores, as well as bigger ones. **Composition** is the key here.

**Start simple**.

Create a `withState` section with the signals that hold the state. That's already reactive. And relatively simple.

```ts
const initialState: CartState = {
  items: ...,
  rebate: ...,
}

export const CartStore = signalStore(
  withState(initialState)
);
```

Create a `withMethods` section to provide ways to change the state:

```ts
export const CartStore = signalStore(
  ...
  withMethods((store) => ({
    addItem(item: ShoppingItem): void {
      patchState(store, (state) => ({ items: [ ...state.items, item ] }));
    },
    ...
);
```

Create a `withComputed` section to provide all derived computations:

```ts
export const CartStore = signalStore(
  ...
  withComputed(({ items }) => ({
    totalPrice: computed(() => items().reduce(...))
    ...
);
```

**Start simple**.

Now you can (literally) **`inject` this code into your existing solution**. All you need is to inject your brand new NGRX Signal Store implementation into a component, or a service:

```ts
@Injectable()
class ExistingBigService {
  cartStore = inject(CartStore)
  //...  
}
```

and that's it! What's beatiful is that NGRX Signal Store should remain an implementation details (of a component, service, etc). It **shouldn't leak outside to the entire application unintentionally**. Small NGRX Signal Stores help us to **keep logic more modular**.

Don't hesitate - give NGRX Signal Store a try! Start with the [_**Scalable Signals Angular Architecture with NGRX Signal Store**_](https://egghead.io/courses/scalable-signals-angular-architecture-with-ngrx-signal-store-a33abd39) course now!

Integrating NGRX Signal Store with an existing Angular application

Integrate NGRX Signal Store into your Angular app incrementally for modular, reactive state management. Improve consistency and performance with modern APIs.

In React 19, managing script tags efficiently within components can lead to performance enhancements and simpler code structures.

Originally, using script tags directly in a React component involved complex setups, like using `useEffect` to dynamically add JavaScript code. For instance, a component might dynamically inject script tags to load external widgets. This approach, while functional, resulted in multiple script tags and duplicate iframe elements. This duplication not only cluttered the output but also negatively impacted performance by loading scripts multiple times.

The workaround for this would be to manually hoist any common scripts and maybe load them when they weren't needed by any components.

With React 19 we now have a more effective method. This involves directly placing the script tag within the React component's return statement. This approach ensures that React handles the script loading, avoiding the duplication of script tags.

By implementing the script tags this way, the loading initiator becomes React DOM, which efficiently manages script loading and deduplication. This setup prevents multiple requests for the same script when the component is rendered multiple times, enhancing the overall application performance.

Furthermore, directly embedding the script tag simplifies the code, making the component cleaner and more maintainable.

Efficiently Render Script Tags in React 19 Components

Learn how to efficiently render script tags in React 19 components to improve performance by avoiding duplicate script loads and simplifying your code.

Let's learn how to dynamically manage title tags in React 19 applications. Rendering `<title>` dynamically is simple enough, however, a challenge arises when multiple title tags are present in the document, which can lead to issues with screen readers and search engine optimization (SEO). The solution presented involves ensuring that only one title tag is rendered at a time by using conditional rendering.

Also we need to make sure to have a single string within the title tag using a template literal, ensuring our HTML remains valid and optimized.


Deduplicate Title tags with React 19

Learn to manage multiple title tags in React 19 dynamically. Ensure accessibility and SEO by preventing duplicate title tags with clear examples.

In React 19, we can easily add a title tag like "Starship Deets" which then appears in the head section of the HTML even when we render it inside our components. This method also applies to meta tags such as character set and viewport settings, which are also lifted to the head section automatically.

This is an awesome feature because it maintains the same composition style we are familiar with in React components. It simplifies the handling of HTML head elements without needing extra setups like `useEffect` for accessing the head section. Even in situations where our components are rendering within a body element, like within a div, we can manage our head content directly within our components. React takes care of hoisting these elements where they need to go.


Hoist Title and Meta tags in React 19

Hoisting title and meta tags directly in React 19 components allows for simpler composition, similar to other React elements. Manage meta and title tags.

<PodcastLinks />

Dax Raad, known for his strong opinions on Twitter, sat down for a chat about web dev, career moves, and building cool stuff. He's not afraid to throw some heat at popular tools like [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/), though he still helps people use it. Dax is particularly excited about local-first development, which he thinks isn't getting enough attention. He argues that sometimes the best web dev move is to step away from web dev entirely and explore other areas of programming.

When it comes to career growth, Dax encourages developers to think beyond the "web dev" label and see themselves as programmers capable of tackling any challenge. He advocates for trying out weird stuff and learning unusual languages, as these experiences can lead to unexpected opportunities. Taking smart risks in your career can open doors to awesome possibilities.

In the business world, Dax is a fan of making "asymmetric bets" - moves with low downside but huge potential upside. He applies this philosophy to his work on [SST](https://sst.dev/), reasoning that even if it fails, he'll walk away with valuable experience. He also emphasizes the importance of resisting quick payouts in favor of potentially bigger wins down the road.

Looking to the future of tech, Dax is betting on local-first development. He sees potential in getting in early on emerging technologies like [Solid.js](https://www.solidjs.com/). Building in public and making connections in new tech communities can pay off in unexpected ways.

Dax also challenges the notion of constant hyper-productivity in tech. He suggests balancing focused work with time for exploration and learning. Sometimes, he points out, what seems like a "dumb" choice (like learning a niche language) can turn out to be a smart career move in the long run.

## Good Stuff Mentioned

- [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/)
- [Vercel](https://vercel.com/)
- [SST](https://sst.dev/)
- [Elixir](https://elixir-lang.org/)
- [Solid.js](https://www.solidjs.com/)
- [RepliCache](https://replicache.dev/)
- [Linear](https://linear.app/)
- [Remix](https://remix.run/)
- [Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/)
- [React](https://react.dev/)

Developer Career Growth and Asymmetric Bets with Dax Raad

<PodcastLinks />

Dev and Joel discuss React Miami conference, praising its fun atmosphere and location. They chat about React Server Components, with Dev sharing his experience building a mini framework. They talk about Vinxi, Nitro, and the unjs ecosystem as tools for creating custom frameworks. The conversation touches on Vue's popularity outside web dev circles and non-web dev conferences. They discuss the benefits of TypeScript and strongly-typed APIs. Dev mentions his upcoming talk on durable objects at [a conference in Dallas](https://x.com/DThompsonDev/status/1829674506237194456). They end by discussing WebSockets, PartyKit, and platform-specific frameworks.

## What's Good?

- [React Miami Conference](https://www.reactmiami.com/) 
- [Brenley Dueck's blog post on Simple RSC with Vinxi:](https://www.brenelz.com/posts/simple-rsc-with-vinxi/)
- [Vinxi](https://github.com/nksaraf/vinxi)
- [Nitro](https://nitro.unjs.io/guide/configuration)
- [unjs ecosystem](https://unjs.io/)
- [Solid Start](https://start.solidjs.com/)
- [TanStack Router](https://tanstack.com/router/latest) 
- [PartyKit](https://github.com/partykit/partykit) 
- [Durable Objects (Cloudflare)](https://developers.cloudflare.com/durable-objects/)
- [Flightcontrol](https://www.flightcontrol.dev/) 
- [SST](https://sst.dev/)
- [OpenNext](https://open-next.js.org/)

Lindsey Kopacz

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