Learn A11y, Mongoose and Svelte

SvelteKit is an application framework that builds on top of Svelte that provides you the app level functionality you need. It does the boring stuff that you don't want to so you can execute on the projects you want. 

As you build with SvelteKit, you'll find it continues the philosphy of Svelte by adhering to Web Standards and APIs. It builds on top of Web APIs so when you're develop SvelteKit sites you are also learning skills that will transfer to any web-based project

In this course, you will build a modern SvelteKit blog powered by Sanity CMS. You'll start from scratch and build out a site that dynamically generates pages that you create inside Sanity. 

As you build your blog, you will learn how to:

- Style Svelte components with TailwindCSS
- Add error pages to different routes
- Query your CMS in the front end
- Parse and validate your data with Zod and JSDoc
- Deploy both Sanity and your app to the web

The magical disappearing UI framework

 - The web's JavaScript bloat crisis, solved. Svelte turns your templates into tiny, framework-less vanilla JavaScript.
 - Simple and familiar. Build apps out of composable, easy-to-write blocks using languages you already know.
 - Super fast, rock solid. Compile-time static analysis ensures the browser does no more work than it needs to.

svelte

Build a Sanity CMS Powered SvelteKit Blog

We are now ready to deploy. We can first deploy our CMS by running the command `npm run deploy`. Make sure you are in that project's terminal when you deploy.

Next we need to set up a github repository for our app. Then we can push our code to the repository.

Finally, we can go to Vercel. Create an account if you do not have one and link it to your github. If you are creating an account you will need to make sure that you give Vercel permission to read your repositories or a selected repository. 

Then in your Vercel dashboard click 'New Project' and choose your newly created project for your SvelteKit blog. 

Add your environment variables (you can copy and paste them)

Then deploy 🎉

After deployment go to the url it provides and now you have a deployed blog. 

To make sure all works as expected go ahead and log in to Sanity. Choose your project. It will be named whatever name you gave it when creating your Sanity project. Then click "Open Sanity Studio".

Now navigate to Posts and click the create new post icon. Go ahead and create a second post. Click "Publish" and then navigate back to your posts page on your blog site and now we have posts uploading to our site as we write them. 

Note: If you are already on the the /posts page on your blog site when you go back to it, you will need to refresh the page.

Deploy Sanity and Sveltekit to Production

TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.

typescript

Up to this point in our app, the only help we are getting from typescript is from SvelteKit's built in types. But these types don't infer our data structure so we need to add types using JSDoc and zod. 

One of the benefits of zod is that it can be used for schema validation in javascript by using the built in parse helper function. You can also infer type definitions from zod schemas using the infer helper. 

We can then use those types that we infer from zod schemas in our JSDoc comments to get type safety where we need. 

If you want a deeper dive into typescript and zod, Matt Pocock has created to great free resources at [Total Typescript](https://www.totaltypescript.com/tutorials)

Parse and Infer Data Being Fetched in SvelteKit with Zod and JSDoc

MDX is an authorable format that lets you seamlessly use JSX in your markdown documents. You can import components, like interactive charts or notifications, and export metadata. This makes writing long-form content with components a blast.



We will combine our knowledge of Dynamic routing to pass a dynamic parameter to a function that will query a single post from our Sanity CMS. When we fetch our blog post data this is a great place to do some processing of the content that we get back. If you didn't process your blog post markdown, it would come back as a string which doesn't look too great on the page.

To make our markdown pretty we will install and use the `MDSvex` library to use it's compile function and render our markdown.
  
We'll see that `MDSvex` gives us a Promise from `compile` because it's an async function so we'll use the Svelte `await` block to conditionally show the post body when it is ready, otherwise we'll show a loading state.

Load a Single SvelteKit Post Dynamically & Render Markdown with MDSvex

We will install the `@sanity/client` package and use the GROQ query language to query all of our posts from our CMS. 

To do this in SvelteKit we need to make a few adjustments to how we load data. We now need a async `load` function that runs on the server because sanity needs to access our environment variables. To do this we'll convert our `+page.js` to `+page.server.js` and make our function `async`.

Query a Sanity CMS from a SvelteKit Blog Frontend with +page.server.js

In this lesson, we use Sanity's Vision feature that provides us with a playground editor to use Sanity's GROQ query language to interact and get specific data from our CMS.

GROQ affords us the ability to query our CMS data in the specific format that we want. 

If you want a deeper dive into the GROQ query language, check out this [free course](https://egghead.io/courses/introduction-to-groq-query-language-6e9c6fc0) on egghead from John Lindquist

Query Sanity Content with GROQ to Return a List of Posts

Instead of writing all of our posts as files in our code editor, we can get the benefit of a CMS to help us store our content. We will use Sanity to write our posts in markdown. Then we can use Sanity's javascript client in our project get our content data from our CMS.

Set Up Sanity CMS to Power a SvelteKit Blog

Dynamic routing is a critical part of most applications. For our blog, we want to have pages load dynamically given a post or article slug. Continuing with our dummy data, we will use the slug to navigate dynamically to a new page and only display information for that singular item from our data.

These dynamic pages include an accompanying `+page.js` file that we can load data from. In this file we will check that the current page slug equals the post from our data store and display that posts data on the page.

Render Dynamic Pages in SvelteKit with Parameter Based Routing

We have some dummy data that we will use to get a grasp on data loading patterns in SvelteKit. Each route gets its on `+page.svelte` but we can also provide a route with a `+page.js` file that allows us to load data and expose it to our page.

You'll learn how this `+page.js` exports a load function that exposes a data object to the page you are loading data to. During this process, we'll use JSDoc to type our page data for some nice types.

Load Data on a SvelteKit Page with +page.js load Function 

Tailwind is a utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.

tailwind

We will go through and add tailwind to our project and create a simple navbar. Tailwind is an incredibly easy to learn 'utility-first' css framework. 

Tailwind has a great CLI to help initialize the set up for use so that we don't have to create every config file by hand.

When you run `npx tailwindcss init tailsind.config.cjs -p` you'll have the proper postcss and tailwind config files create. 

We will then add the tailwind base styles to our global css and point tailwind to all the files we want it to process.

From there we'll get some practice in by building out a `<Navbar />` component that will have some basic styles applied.

Add TailwindCSS to a SvelteKit Project and Build a NavBar Component

SvelteKit gives us unique files for adding layouts. Using the `+layout.svelte` file name, we can set layouts for all levels of routes. We can also set `+error.svelte` in each route so that we can handle any errors for these routes. 

We'll do that in this lesson by adding a `<h1>Header</h1>` and `<h4>Footer</h4> ` that wraps a `<slot />` to see it rendered on different pages. Notice that we will need to utilize `<slot />` to render the routes content onto the page as well. This gives us finegrain control of where content goes in our layout.

Add an Error Page and Layouts to SvelteKit Routes 

A route is very simple to create in SvelteKit. Using 'file-based routing' you simply add a .svelte file (posts.svelte) in the routes folder. Then we can navigate to where our app is running. In this case, we go to localhost:4000/posts. 

The index.svelte file can be thought of as the home route which evaluates to localhost:4000. 

We will see more types of routes as we go along. 



Add a Route to a SvelteKit Application

In svelte, you define components in a file. 

This is a special file extension that allows you to add your script, style and template all in one place. You’ll see how a counter component will hold state in Svelte as well as interact and style that component through the different parts of the file.

We'll implement the classic counter example that will show you how to update component state.

You can do a deep dive on Svelte with Tomasz Łakomy’s [Up and running with Svelte 3](https://egghead.io/courses/getting-started-with-svelte-3-05a8541a)

Understand the Structure of a Svelte Component

“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

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

Differences between Firebase Callable and onRequest Cloud Functions and when to use each

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/)

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