Learn Docker, Firefox and React-router

Docker containers wrap a piece of software in a complete filesystem that contains everything needed to run: code, runtime, system tools, system libraries – anything that can be installed on a server. This guarantees that the software will always run the same, regardless of its environment.

docker

The end is nigh. Your application is almost ready, and you will need to deploy it. And with the deployment, the endless tweaking to get everything running on your production servers. 

If only there were a way to test everything first. That is where containers will come in to save the day. With containers, you not only run your code in an environment similar to the production server, but you also run your code in precisely the same environment. 

In this talk, the attendees will learn about how to create container friendly applications and how to use containers to share their code with their team.

Containers for Software Developers

While "It works on my computer" might give you an excuse to close a bug ticket in the backlog, it doesn't really work when you're working on a team.

You need to ensure that your application can run regardless of what hardware your teammates are running or libraries they have installed.

Docker solves this problem by collecting everything your application needs to run into a container.

Containers aren't just for source code. They can hold configuration, scripts, and even their own filesystem. It's similar to a Virtual Machine, without having to bring a full operating system along for the ride.

Because containers run in isolation, there is some configuration involved to allow for files to be saved and containers to communicate with one another.

One of the most useful ways to get your head around Docker is to see it in action.

Follow along with Joel Lord as he works through the process of preparing an application to run in separate containers for the frontend and backend of an application that searches for gifs and re-encodes them with a caption supplied by the user.

You'll see how to configure the separate containers to communicate with one another, work with environment variables, and persist data to your local machine. Along the way, you'll pick up some tips on useful commands and bash scripting. Finally, you'll learn how to use Docker Compose to make it easy to run multiple containers simultaneously.


Containerize Full-Stack JavaScript Applications with Docker

Now that all three tiers of your application are available in containers, you'll need to push those images to container registries. Registries are the container equivalent to repositories for your code. Registries can be public or private. 

In this lesson, we'll use Docker Hub to push our images. Docker Hub repositories allow you share container images with your team, customers, or the Docker community at large.

Docker images are pushed to Docker Hub through the `[docker push](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/push/)` command. A single Docker Hub repository can hold many Docker images (stored as **tags**).

Images pushed to a public registry can be downloaded by using the `docker pull` command. Once they have the image downloaded, they can use Docker run to start each container just like you did in the previous steps.

Push a Docker Container Image to Docker Hub

In the last lesson [Create a Custom Image with a Dockerfile running Node.js](https://egghead.io/lessons/docker-create-a-custom-image-with-a-dockerfile-running-node-js?pl=introduction-to-docker-afaf), our backend stopped working again because it couldn’t find the database.

One of the advantages of running containers is that they run in isolation. As far as the container is concerned, nothing exists outside of it. It behaves as if it was its own operating system. This is why the backend can’t find the database on "localhost". The two containers are running on the same host but as far as the backend is concerned, there is no database. The same goes for the database. It can’t see anything outside of what is running in its container therefore it can’t see the backend application running.

When you need a way for multiple containers to talk to each other, Docker has a tool called networks to help you. We'll use a network to allow our backend to successfully connect to the database.

Allow Containers to Communicate through Docker Networks

You will learn how to create your own images that will include all the source code of your application, along with a specific version of Node.js and all the dependencies that are needed. Once you are done, you will be able to share this image with other people and this will ensure that everyone is running the same environment. It will event let people that don’t have Node.js run this server. This will also have the added benefit of cleaning up everything once you close the application.

You'll notice that we will run into the same error stating we can't connect to the database. This is expected and we'll fix this in [Allow Container to Communicate through Docker Networks](https://egghead.io/lessons/docker-allow-container-to-communicate-through-docker-networks)

Create a Custom Image with a Dockerfile running Node.js

First, we'll see how you can have different run-times installed in a docker container that isn't dependent on your system's current installs. You don't need anything but docker to run these containers! We will demonstrate this by installing the latest version of Node.js in a docker container and compare that to the version of Node.js I'm running on my machine.

Next, you'll see how to pass environment variables to containers. This is important because you will use these variables for API calls as well as configuring databases, and more!

Use Environment Variables for Docker Containers

In this lesson, you will learn how to start basic containers and how to use them in your day to day developer life. You will also learn how to start a database container that can be used with the demo application for this course.

Running Your First Container

JavaScript® (often shortened to JS) is a lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions, most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic, and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

javascript

First, we'll get a tour of the application and what it does then we will start configuring a fresh project. 

The application UI is simple. It asks for a keyword and will search and display a random GIF from Giphy. Once you are satisfied with the image, you will be able to add a caption to it. The server will deconstruct the GIF frames, add the caption and re-create the GIF for you. Everything is then saved to a database so that all the users can benefit from your creations.

The tech involved to do this is a Vue frontend, Node.js backend, and MySQL database. I'll walk you through cloning, installing dependencies, configuring the giphy API key that we use, and starting the application. You'll notice at the end we'll need to configure the database. We'll get an error but this is expected!

Configure and Run a Node.js API Powered by a Vue Application

Now that you have three containers ready to be used, you will learn how to create a docker-compose.yaml file. By using Docker Compose, you will be able to share a single YAML file and anyone will be able to run your application.

Docker-compose is part of the Docker tools suite and is an application that will take a YAML file to start all of your containers with one single command. 

Using Compose is basically a three-step process:

1. Define your app’s environment with a `Dockerfile` so it can be reproduced anywhere.
2. Define the services that make up your app in `docker-compose.yml` so they can be run together in an isolated environment.
3. Run `docker-compose up` and Compose starts and runs your applications. 

Compose works in all environments: production, staging, development, and testing.

Use Docker Compose To Share An Entire Application

Introduction for the lesson on using environment variables in a front-end container

Mini talk - Access Environment Variables in a Dockerfile to Build a Front-End Container

In this small talk, the instructor explains why you need to use a multi-step build to prepare your front-end container.

Mini talk - Containerize the Front End of an Application with a Multi-Step Docker Build

Docker containers that are running on your local machine can't communicate with each other. In this mini talk, the instructor explains why and shows a demonstration of Docker networks.

Mini talk - Allow Containers to Communicate through Docker Networks

This course will take you through the process of preparing an application that's configured for development to deployed on a Kubernetes cluster.

First, you will need to tweak your application so that it can run in containers. Then, you will see how you can use containers to complement your application and run a database without even installing the actual software. Eventually, you will create a whole environment with your containers that will enable you to start all the applications with a single command. This can be useful to share the application with your colleagues.

We'll make sure you have the correct software installed on your machine to get started.

You will need a few software installed:

- [Node.js](http://nodejs.org)
- [Docker](http://docker.com/) or [Podman](http://podman.io/)
- [git](http://git-scm.com/)

As well as an [API key from giphy](http://developers.giphy.com/)

Course Intro: Containerize Full-Stack JavaScript Applications with Docker

Running our server as a Non-Root user is very important for testing things such as quality assurance. Many things can get missed when using a privileged account such as your root user account. Here we need to set up and change the Nginx configuration to run as a Non-Root user. 

This container uses two steps. The first step uses a container to build the production version of your VueJs application. This container won’t be deployed on a server, its purpose is to create the necessary files for the second step. It's fine to leave this container running as root. 

In the next step of the build, the Nginx server is the one that will need to run as a non-root user because it is actually run on servers you want to deploy to. To do so, you will first need to change the Nginx configuration to run the build using the Nginx user with files modified for that user to access them.

Run an Nginx Image as Non-Root Within a Multi-Step Docker Build Process

Starting up our server and running the curl command `curl localhost:3000/health`, we find that we get an error. Our server is complaining about us not having a database. Since this is a fresh install, we have no data at all. SQL comes with a file called `init.sql` inside of your `db` folder that will create a database, add the necessary tables for our application, and prepopulate the table with a single entry. We just have to put it in the folder that MySQL will use to populate the database!

Integrate a MySQL Docker Container Into an Application

Running MySQL in a Docker Container is great for being able to emulate various environments. The more advanced containers will include a bunch of executables and runtimes that will allow you to do run more intricate commands. These commands can be very useful for sharing with other teams for testing purposes. It doesn't matter what runtimes they have on their end, by using the `docker` command, you'll be able to specify what runtimes to use to execute your code. 

Run MySQL in Docker Container

The containers you built in the previous lessons are running as root for a few reasons. First of all, we read and write files from the file system in order to install tools like jq or to change some configuration files. And second, we are running servers on ports that are restricted to the root user (such as port 80).

While the risks are very limited in your own environment, you will need to have security in mind when you are deploying those containers to a production server. Some hosts will prevent any container where the user is root to be running at all.

From the Dockerfile, we will specify the use that builds the container will be the `node` user that the node image gives us. To do this we will need to set permissions for the node user to add and modify specific files.

Create a Node.js Non-root Image

This lesson uses some advanced concepts and some bash scripting to build a better Dockerfile. By using the concepts showed here, you will be able to build more future-proof and production-ready containers. If you prefer to focus on the content about containers, feel free to ignore this lesson and come back to it later on if needed.

Currently, we use `sed` to overwrite the hard-coded path to the API. This works well when there is a single value to replace. Now if one of your team members replaced the value of localhost:3000, your build will break.

We'll use `jq` to fix this issue. Jq is a command-line tool that makes it easy to change values in a JSON file. The base image that we used for building the application does not contain this tool, but that is not an issue. To install `jq`, you will need to download the [binary](https://github.com/stedolan/jq/releases/download/jq-${JQ_VERSION}/jq-linux64.), we'll need that to execute `jq` commands in our Dockerfile. This will allow us to update specific properties i

Modify a JSON Configuration File with jq

In the previous lesson, [Containerize the Front End of an Application with a Multi-Step Docker Build](https://egghead.io/lessons/egghead-containerize-the-front-end-with-a-multi-step-build?pl=introduction-to-docker-afaf), we managed to put all of our front-end in a container and we can now distribute this container to the rest of our team. This will work well with stand-alone websites but as soon as you need to connect to an API, this could become an issue. 

You will need to specify the base URL of your server and this would need to be done as an environment variable. The problem here is that since our application lives in a browser, it can’t read the environment variables from the server.

In the last lesson, you’ve seen that all requests were made to `http://localhost:3000`. This means that this value was hard-coded somewhere in the front end source code. The first thing you will want to do is to find out where this was coded and make sure that it is only defined in one place.

The fix here will be to create a bash script that updates the hardcoded `localhost:3000` URL to a BASE_URL environment variable and update the instances that are used within the frontend app to your environment variable. This script will be called in the projects Dockerfile and override the original entry point.

Access Environment Variables in a Dockerfile to Build a Front-End Container

For your front end, a VueJs application has been created from the CLI. VueJS, just like React and Angular applications have a development mode as well as a production mode.

Once you are ready to deploy this application, you won’t want to use the same code as you do when you develop. In fact, you will need to run another script to build a production application. This script will take all of your JavaScript files and merge everything into a single minified JavaScript file. It will do the same for your CSS. By doing so, you will end up with a minimal set of files that can be served over any static file webserver. In this case, you will be using an Nginx server to serve those files. Nginx is an open-source, high-performance HTTP server that will be able to handle many requests to your front end.

We'll do this with a multi-step build in a Dockerfile that will discard the first container that we use to build the source code and run it in a container that's built on top of the nginx image.

Containerize the Front End of an Application with a Multi-Step Docker Build

Cascading Style Sheets bring order and beauty to our applications.

CSS Media queries are heavily used across web pages for different reasons, such as make your web pages responsive, but what if we can use them to improve web accessibility as well?

In this video, I’m sharing How to use CSS Media Queries for web accessibility in your web app, combining the user preferences choice with `prefers-color-scheme` media query and enabling dark mode in your web app.

Create a Dark Mode Theme in Your Web App Using CSS Media Query

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/)

Nitro, Vinxi, and RSCs - What's Good with Dev Agrawal

**Note:** This course is being actively developed and more lessons will be added in the future.

Cursor is an AI-enhnaced code editor that allows you to call upon the robots to refactor or stub out functions for you with natural language. 

In this course, John will show you workflows that will save you time and effort by utilizing the features such as its mult-line editing and context.

In particular, by giving Cursor's AI the proper context, whether that's lines of code or multiple files, you'll get better output when trying to extend or refactor logic that's present.


Bite-size video tutorials for badass web developers.

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