Learn Elixir, Ramda and Reactfire

Elixir is a dynamic, functional language designed for building scalable and maintainable applications.

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.

elixir

Some common uses for pattern matching in Elixir include checking conditions and passing parameters into functions. It's useful for pulling out only specific variables from collections of data.

Additional resources:
- [Elixir docs on pattern matching](https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/pattern-matching.html)

Pattern match in conditions and function parameters in Elixir

Elixir uses `=` as an operator, but rather than assigning values to variables with it, it *matches* values on the right hand side of the `=` with the left side. This can be used in simple values, more complex data structures, and powerful condition checking.

Put into simpler terms, pattern matching is Elixir's way of assigning variables.

Additional resources:
- [Elixir docs on pattern matching](https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/pattern-matching.html)

Pattern match values in Elixir

These videos include the introductory steps to writing your first Elixir function and beginning to understand some key concepts in Elixir that make it unique. 

Some of those concepts include:
- the Mix build tool
- project structure
- collections of functions written in modules
- function *arity*
- pattern matching and common uses for it
- the pipe operator

Getting Started with Elixir

The syntax to pass arguments into functions is akin to many other languages. Elixir functions are uniquely recognized when running based off of the number of arguments passed in (a term called *arity*). This means you can define functions with the same name, so long as a different number of arguments is passed in.

Arity is a key concept to be aware of when reading documentation and writing your own code.

Additional resources:
- [Information about arity](https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/modules-and-functions.html#function-capturing)
- [Default arguments in functions](https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/modules-and-functions.html#default-arguments)

Pass arguments into Elixir functions and understand arity

Elixir code is organized into groups of functions called modules. You can create your own modules and built on top of predefined modules that are a part of Elixir by default.

Additional resources: 
- [Getting started with Modules and function from Elixir docs](https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/modules-and-functions.html)

Write a New Function Inside of an Elixir Module

Bootstrap a new Elixir project using Mix (a build tool included when you install Elixir), with its built in project generation.

Additional resources:
- [Official introduction to Mix](https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/mix-otp/introduction-to-mix.html#our-first-project)

Generate a new Elixir project using Mix

A library designed specifically for a functional programming style, one that makes it easy to create functional pipelines, one that never mutates user data.

ramda

In this lesson we'll see how to use the `without` function to remove items in a known list from an array. Then we'll generate our exclusion list and apply it to `without` using `reduce`, `min`, `max` and `converge` to detect the highest and lowest values in an array and creating a new array that excludes those values.

Discard the High and Low Values From an Array of Numbers with Ramda

Learn how you can use ramda.js to bring functional programming concepts into your JavaScript code. Ramda offers composability and immutability right out of the box, so you can leave your imperative code behind and build cleaner, more maintainable code.

Functional Programming in JavaScript with Ramda.js

The pipe operator is an easy to use and powerful feature of Elixir. It takes the output from the expression on the left, and automatically passes it as the first argument to the function on the right. This is especially useful when chaining together multiple function calls or data transformations. Using the pipe operator results in code that's easier to read, write and refactor.

Chain Function Calls with the Pipe Operator in Elixir

Most.js is a toolkit for reactive programming. It helps you compose asynchronous operations on streams of values and events, e.g. WebSocket messages, DOM events, etc, and on time-varying values, e.g. the "current value" of an <input>, without many of the hazards of side effects and mutable shared state.

most

Unlike RxJS, Most does not include an observable-based AJAX helper utility. However, it can be very convenient to have one, because it allows you to use streams to do things like declaratively handling errors & setting up cancellation. In this lesson, we use currying & functional composition to create an Observable-based wrapper around the fetch API with Ramda & Most.

Create an Observable-Based Fetch Wrapper Using Ramda & Most

React is one of the web’s most popular frameworks for building JavaScript applications. 

If you know what you’re doing, React can drastically simplify how you build, use, and maintain code.

Whether you’re a React newbie or you’re ready for advanced techniques, you can level-up with egghead. Explore our in-depth courses, lessons, and community resources to build more powerful applications and crack open your career.

react

In this lesson we'll take a stateful React component and look at how we can refactor our `setState` calls to use an updater function and then leverage Ramda's `evolve` function to make our updater function a reusable utility that isn't tied to the React API.

Update State in React with Ramda's Evolve

In this lesson, we'll refactor a React component to use Ramda lenses to update our component state. We'll create a lens to focus on the property we want to target and use `over` to apply the existing state value to a utility function and we'll get back a new state that will be reflected in our rendered UI.

Update Component State in React With Ramda Lenses

When doing comparisons inside of functions, you end of relying heavily on the argument passed into the function. Ramda's `converge` allows you to do comparisons in a Point-Free style allowing you more flexibility with composing and constructing functions. This lesson walks through refactoring a function to Point-Free style using Ramda's Converge.

Eliminate Function Arguments (Point-Free Style) with Ramda's Converge

You can really unlock the power of ramda (and functional programming in general) when you combine functions. Counting words in a string may seem like a relatively difficult task, but ramda makes it easy by providing a `countBy` function.  This lesson walks through using the `countBy` to count words in a string.

Count Words in a String with Ramda's countBy and invert

This lesson demonstrates how to utilize DeepSeek's R1 model to access its reasoning capabilities and then seamlessly transition to other models for subsequent tasks. By extracting the reasoning output from DeepSeek R1, you can leverage its powerful reasoning while gaining the speed, cost efficiency, and configuration flexibility of alternative models. This two-phase approach begins with DeepSeek’s new R1 model, praised for its open-source nature and value. You then gain the adaptability to switch to other models depending on your needs or existing workflows. This lesson provides a step-by-step walkthrough of this process, along with demo code to help you implement this technique yourself.

Combine DeepSeek R1 Reasoning with GPT 3.5 Turbo for the Cheapest, Fastest, and Best AI

While much focus in AI has been on optimizing input and generating concise outputs, a new model in Google's AI Studio dramatically expands output possibilities with a capacity of 65,000 tokens. This represents a significant shift, opening doors to new application scenarios, especially for developers and creators. This lesson explores a practical and immediately useful scenario: leveraging this large output capability within Google's AI Studio to generate extensive sample datasets for your projects. Whether you are developing a new application, building a resource, or require robust datasets for testing and validation, this model offers a powerful solution. We'll demonstrate how to move beyond the constraints of short responses and utilize the full potential of large output models to generate the data volume and variety you need, enhancing your development workflow through Google's AI Studio.

AI Studio's New 65k Output Opens Exciting Possibilities

This lesson explores how to use Cursor to generate and maintain English specifications as a form of living documentation. Learn how these automatically created documents can serve as a consistent and up-to-date representation of your code's behavior. The video highlights how reviewing and refining these English specifications can help ensure that code modifications align with the intended purpose and that documentation accurately reflects the current codebase, promoting better long-term code maintainability and clarity.

Here's the "english-spec.md" used in the video:

```markdown
> You are an AI specialized in analyzing source code and producing structured, plain-English representations of its functionality.  
>  
> **Your Task**:  
> 1. Read and interpret the code I provide.  
> 2. Produce a technical, English-only summary of what the code does.  
> 3. Use headings and bullet points to clearly outline the roles of each function, class, variable, or important logic block.  
> 4. **Do not include any actual code** in your final output. Instead, translate the code’s content into an English explanation (like a specification or documentation).  
> 5. Keep the explanation concise but thorough. Focus on explaining the purpose, process, and relationships between functions or modules in the code.  

**User Prompt to the AI**:

> **Instruction**: Convert the following code into a single file of pure English text that outlines exactly what each part of the code does. Use bullet points, headings, and descriptive language. Do not show any code—only explain how the code behaves. This is intended to serve as a human-readable spec or “translation” of the code.  
>  
> **Code**:  
> ~~~  
> [PASTE YOUR CODE HERE]  
> ~~~  

**Example Input/Output #1**:

- **Example Code (Input):**
  ~~~js
  // example1.js
  const greetUser = (userName) => {
    const greeting = `Hello, ${userName}!`;
    console.log(greeting);
  };

  greetUser("Alice");
  ~~~

- **Example Explanation (Output)**:
  ~~~
  # Overview
  - This file defines a single function which greets a user by name and prints a message to the console.
  
  # Function: greetUser
  - Accepts one parameter (`userName`).
  - Constructs a greeting string that combines static text with the `userName`.
  - Outputs the greeting using `console.log`.

  # Behavior Flow
  - The function is called with the argument "Alice".
  - Upon invocation, "Hello, Alice!" is logged to the console.

  # Key Points
  - Shows how to create a greeting with a dynamic name.
  - Demonstrates basic string interpolation and console logging.
  ~~~

**Example Input/Output #2**:

- **Example Code (Input):**
  ~~~py
  # example2.py
  class Calculator:
      def __init__(self, initial=0):
          self.value = initial
      
      def add(self, amount):
          self.value += amount
      
      def subtract(self, amount):
          self.value -= amount
      
      def get_value(self):
          return self.value

  calc = Calculator(10)
  calc.add(5)
  calc.subtract(3)
  result = calc.get_value()
  print(result)
  ~~~

- **Example Explanation (Output):**
  ~~~
  # Overview
  - This file defines a `Calculator` class that keeps track of an internal numerical value and provides methods to modify it.
  
  # Class: Calculator
  - **Constructor** (`__init__`):
    - Accepts an optional initial value (default is 0).
    - Stores the initial value in a `value` property.
  - **Method: add**:
    - Takes an `amount` and increments the internal `value` by that amount.
  - **Method: subtract**:
    - Takes an `amount` and decrements the internal `value` by that amount.
  - **Method: get_value**:
    - Returns the current internal `value`.
  
  # Behavior Flow
  - An instance of `Calculator` is created with an initial value of 10.
  - The `add` method is called with 5, raising the value to 15.
  - The `subtract` method is called with 3, lowering the value to 12.
  - The `get_value` method is called to retrieve the current value (12).
  - The result (12) is printed to the console.

  # Key Points
  - Demonstrates basic OOP with a class that manages state.
  - Showcases constructor, addition, subtraction, and retrieval of a stored value.
  ~~~  

---

## Final Prompt

Below is a full, combined version of the prompt you can provide to an AI to guide it in generating the English-only, bullet-pointed explanation. Feel free to modify or adapt this as needed:

~~~
You are an AI specialized in analyzing source code and producing structured, plain-English representations of its functionality.

Your Task:
1. Read and interpret the code I provide.
2. Produce a technical, English-only summary of what the code does.
3. Use headings (e.g. # Overview, # Functions, # Classes, # Behavior Flow) and bullet points.
4. Do not include any code in your final output—only explain how the code behaves.
5. Keep it concise but thorough, focusing on purpose, process, and relationships between functions or modules.

Below are some examples of how code might be transformed into an English-only explanation:

Example Input:
-------------------
~~~js
// example1.js
const greetUser = (userName) => {
  const greeting = `Hello, ${userName}!`;
  console.log(greeting);
};

greetUser("Alice");
~~~
Example Output:
-------------------
# Overview
- This file defines a single function which greets a user by name and prints a message to the console.

# Function: greetUser
- Accepts one parameter (`userName`).
- Constructs a greeting string that combines static text with the `userName`.
- Outputs the greeting using `console.log`.

# Behavior Flow
- The function is called with the argument "Alice".
- Upon invocation, "Hello, Alice!" is logged to the console.

# Key Points
- Shows how to create a greeting with a dynamic name.
- Demonstrates basic string interpolation and console logging.


Example Input:
-------------------
~~~py
# example2.py
class Calculator:
    def __init__(self, initial=0):
        self.value = initial
    
    def add(self, amount):
        self.value += amount
    
    def subtract(self, amount):
        self.value -= amount
    
    def get_value(self):
        return self.value

calc = Calculator(10)
calc.add(5)
calc.subtract(3)
result = calc.get_value()
print(result)
~~~
Example Output:
-------------------
# Overview
- This file defines a `Calculator` class that keeps track of an internal numerical value and provides methods to modify it.

# Class: Calculator
- **Constructor** (`__init__`):
  - Accepts an optional initial value (default is 0).
  - Stores the initial value in a `value` property.
- **Method: add**:
  - Takes an `amount` and increments the internal `value` by that amount.
- **Method: subtract**:
  - Takes an `amount` and decrements the internal `value` by that amount.
- **Method: get_value**:
  - Returns the current internal `value`.

# Behavior Flow
- An instance of `Calculator` is created with an initial value of 10.
- The `add` method is called with 5, raising the value to 15.
- The `subtract` method is called with 3, lowering the value to 12.
- The `get_value` method is called to retrieve the current value (12).
- The result (12) is printed to the console.

# Key Points
- Demonstrates basic OOP with a class that manages state.
- Showcases constructor, addition, subtraction, and retrieval of a stored value.

---

**Now**: Please apply the same conversion process to the following code. Convert it into a plain-English document that describes what the code does in detail, using bullet points and headings. Create the document next to the original with the filename as `${fileName}.md`. Do not include any source code in the output—only the explanation:

[INSERT YOUR CODE HERE]
```

Programming in English with Cursor

In this lesson, you'll learn how to enhance the accuracy of components generated by Cursor Composer by aligning your project's package.json with Cursor's rules. We'll guide you through extracting the list of installed packages from your package.json and incorporating them into your .cursorrules file, along with brief descriptions of their functionalities. By providing Cursor with this contextual information, you'll enable it to generate components that are more precise and functional on the first attempt. The lesson includes demonstrations of component generation both with and without these enhancements, highlighting the improvements in accuracy and efficiency.

Boost Cursor Composer Accuracy: Integrating package.json with Cursor Rules

Speed up your bug-fixing process dramatically with Cursors Composer. Take a warning from your logs, search for relevant terms, then seamlessly import both the warning and search results into Composer. Add documentation and apply fixes to all search results in one go. This streamlined workflow resolves multiple issues rapidly, saving valuable development time.

Batch Fix Every File in Search Results with Cursor's Composer

 We map over the initial set of results then use `Promise.all` to efficiently fetch the details of each pokemon rendered in the table. This allows us to add more columns to our pokemon table.

Fetch and display row details with Promise.all in Tanstack Table

map over the initial set of results then use `Promise.all` to efficiently fetch the details of each pokemon rendered in the tanstack table

Create a custom hook to fetch remote data by passing a promise to the React 19 `use` hook. Then render this data in Tanstack Table by memoizing the results and passing them to `useReactTable`.

Render remote data in a Tanstack Table with React 19's use hook and a promise

Create a custom hook using React 19’s use to fetch data with a promise. Render it in a Tanstack Table by memoizing and using useReactTable.

You know when you're deep in the code trenches and need someone to challenge your assumptions? That's exactly what this is about.

Instead of waiting for someone to poke holes in your master plan, you can paste that strategy straight into AI Studio and let it pressure test your ideas. We're talking about using this tool to validate everything from your feature proposals to your ambitious refactoring strategies.

The real magic happens when you hit that microphone button. Now you're in a real-time verbal sparring match. It's like rubber duck debugging but the duck actually pushes back and makes you defend every architectural decision you've made.

Here's the workflow:
1. Drop your master plan into the system instructions
2. Tell the AI to challenge every assumption
3. Hit that mic and defend your choices like you mean it
4. Watch your plan either emerge stronger or get rightfully dismantled

This approach is perfect when you're:
- Stuck in your own head with a complex problem
- Need to validate if your approach holds water
- Want to catch edge cases before they catch you
- Looking for opportunities you might have missed because you're too close to the code

It's like having a senior dev on call 24/7, ready to challenge your ideas and push you to think deeper about your solutions.

Now go forth and get your ideas challenged. Your projects will thank you for it.


An Uncomfortable and Challenging Conversation with AI Studio

In this lesson, you'll learn how to effectively brainstorm your project ideas before working with AI agents. We'll cover:

1. The importance of having a clear plan before starting work with AI agents
2. Using traditional brainstorming techniques to gather your thoughts
3. Leveraging video recording to capture your brainstorming session
4. How to review and analyze websites for inspiration
5. Documenting likes, dislikes, and potential features for your project
6. Using AI tools (like AI Studio) to organize and process your recorded brainstorming session

The lesson emphasizes a modern approach to brainstorming that combines traditional techniques with video recording, making it easier to later process your ideas through AI tools. This method helps ensure that no ideas are lost and that your thoughts can be effectively organized by AI for future reference.

How to Brainstorm Your Project Features to Prepare for AI Agents

fast-check allows us to create composite generators that suit our testing needs. We'll generate two numbers to create a point simulating an X and Y and assert that the distance should always be greater than or equal to 0.