Learn Nx and Screen-reader

In a monorepo, all of your apps and packages reside in a single repo. Structuring your code this way has many organizational benefits. You can more easily manage your dependencies, and you can maintain more consistency across your various apps. 

But, if you attempted to do this with just yarn or pnpm alone, you'll quickly start running into productivity issues. Your build times will be very long, and you'll have to make sure to run builds for any internal packages an app is depending on.

That's where Nx comes in.

Combining the speed of pnpm with the efficiency of Nx gives you an amazingly performant monorepo setup.

Nx builds a graph of your workspace and all of the connected dependencies. If there is a change anywhere, Nx will know about it and everything that is affected by it. 

Which means that Nx is able to use caching to prevent unnecessary builds when nothing has changed. Nx's caching features enable blazing fast <10ms build times 🔥

You get to have all the advantages of the monorepo with none of the performance issues! 

So start watching this course and learn how to achieve these speeds today. 

A Monorepo is where you have multiple projects inside a singular repository.

monorepo

Build High-Speed Monorepos with Nx and pnpm Workspaces

On the surface, starting a project sounds easy. First you make some directories, install some dependencies, then you write some code.

But there's a bit more to it than just those three steps.

The type of project you're working on impacts the decisions you make. It gets more complicated when you're working on multiple projects that are related. For example, maybe you have a customer-facing frontend app, an admin dashboard app, and a single backend used for both.

How does this change your directory structures? How should you share code between projects? What happens when you add a Design System into the mix?

It can get hard to keep things straight in your head.

Nx is a tool that aims to solve these problems for you, whether you're working solo on a small full-stack app or on a dev team of thousands.

It's not just an opinionated folder structure. When you create an app with Nx, it generates unit and e2e test setups as well as preparing bundling and code-splitting with Webpack, and stubbing out common features like routing.

One of the coolest features of Nx is its Dependency Graph. The graph can visually show you the relationship between the parts of your application, and is optimized to ensure that compiling, testing, and linting only happens in the affected areas of your project.

In this course, Juri Strumpflohner demonstrates these features and more through the iterative creation of a React + Storybook + Express app. Don't worry if this isn't your preferred stack! Nx supports the most popular frameworks & libraries on the web.

More importantly, the focus of this course is more on the workflow than the implementation.

Watch Juri's course, and see if the Nx tooling & workflow is right for you and your team!

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

Scale React Development with Nx

A large number of people are unable to use the web effectively due to an impairment or disability.

As developers there are several tools and techniques we can use to make our web applications accessible, ensuring a great user experience that includes everyone.

We all agree that Accessibility is important. However, it’s a broad landscape and can be overwhelming figuring out where to start!

Erin Doyle is an expert in creating accessible React applications and has developed a course that will give you a concrete process for testing, refactoring, and building your applications with accessibility in mind.

After this course, you'll have a jump start on auditing and fixing accessibility issues in your applications and gain a better understanding of your target users and how to approach your web app design from their perspectives.


Develop Accessible Web Apps with React

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

tailwind

Architect an Extensible Digital Garden with Next.js, Tailwind, and Nx

screen-reader

There are many techniques for hiding content in user interfaces, and not all are created equal! Learn how different hiding techniques in HTML, CSS and ARIA impact keyboard and screen reader users in addition to visual display. As a bonus, we'll also take a look using a screen reader on a mobile device.

How Visible vs. Hidden Elements Affect Keyboard/Screen Reader Users

The Chrome Developer Tools (DevTools for short), are a set of web authoring and debugging tools built into Google Chrome.

chrome-devtools

What's in a name? In this lesson, I'll explain the concept of naming interactive elements for screen reader users, including forms, buttons, and links. You'll learn how to debug accessible names and descriptions using the Chrome Accessibility Developer Tools (previously a Canary experiment, now in Chrome), using multiple labeling techniques. We'll also listen to the effects of proper accessible names and descriptions in Voiceover and Safari.

For more information and the nitty-gritty browser implementation algorithm, refer to WAI-ARIA 1.1: 
- https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-1.1/#namecalculation
- https://www.w3.org/TR/accname-1.1/

What is Accessible Name Calculation?

Landmark regions are used by screen readers to make it easier for users to navigate the content on the page by defining the structure of the page.  Tools like the Rotor in VoiceOver rely on landmark regions to provide users with the ability to skip directly to the desired section of the page.  We can do this either using HTML5 landmark elements or `<div>` elements with aria roles. In the past, the recommendation was to use both but now we should only use one or the other.

The following are ARIA roles for landmark regions:
* `banner`
* `complementary`
* `contentinfo`
* `form`
* `main`
* `navigation`
* `search`
* `application`

## References
* https://dequeuniversity.com/assets/html/jquery-summit/html5/slides/landmarks.html
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wiki/Using_ARIA_landmarks_to_identify_regions_of_a_page
* https://www.w3.org/TR/html-aria/#docconformance

Define Landmark Regions of a web page using ARIA roles

Using our accessibility auditing toolkit we can find issues concerning landmark regions in our web application.  The react-axe library will report findings in the JavaScript console of the browser.  We could also run the axe browser extension to see the same results.  The tota11y browser extension will annotate any landmark regions on the page and therefore if none are annotated it may indicate that they aren't any (_NOTE: tota11y will only annotate landmark regions using aria roles and not those using HTML5 elements_).  Finally using the VoiceOver Rotor in Safari will show us whatever landmark regions have been defined in the Landmarks menu. 

Test for Landmark Region Accessibility Issues in React

Landmark regions are used by screen readers to make it easier for users to navigate the content on the page by defining the structure of the page. Tools like the Rotor in VoiceOver rely on landmark regions to provide users with the ability to skip directly to the desired section of the page. We can do this either using HTML5 landmark elements or <div> elements with aria roles. In the past, the recommendation was to use both but now we should only use one or the other.  We should prefer HTML5 to ARIA roles when possible.

The following are HTML5 elements for landmark regions:
* article
* aside
* header
* footer
* main
* nav
* section

## References
* https://dequeuniversity.com/assets/html/jquery-summit/html5/slides/landmarks.html
* https://www.a11ymatters.com/article/intro-html5-sectioning-elements/
* https://www.w3.org/TR/html-aria/#docconformance

Define Landmark Regions of a web page using HTML5 sectioning elements

We can find issues with heading levels by utilizing our accessibility auditing tools.  The library react-axe, as well as the browser extension axe, will report any findings concerning heading levels.  The browser extension tota11y will annotate all heading levels on a page and show any in red that have issues.  Finally, we can check the Rotor in VoiceOver in Safari.  The Rotor should have a Headings menu and will list in order all of them that are found on the page.  If headings are missing or inappropriate this will help us find them as well.

Test for Heading Level Accessibility Issues

Similar to Landmark Regions, Heading Levels are used by web browsers, plug-ins, and assistive technologies to provide in-page navigation.

## Rules
* Each page should have at least one `<h1>`
* Pages should be structured in a hierarchical manner
    * `<h1>`: being the most important (usually page titles or main content heading)
    * `<h2>`: usually major section headings
    * `<h3>`: sub-sections of the `<h2>`
    * and so on
* Do not skip heading levels - always follow consecutive order
* Do not use text formatting, such as font size or bold to give the visual appearance of headings.  
    * Use actual heading (`<h1>` - `<h6>`) for all content headings
* Do not use heading levels to achieve visual results only

## References
* https://webaim.org/techniques/semanticstructure/
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/page-structure/headings/

Correctly Define Heading Levels of a Web Page

The pluggable linting utility for JavaScript and JSX.

eslint

We have a number of options to use when testing for accessibility issues concerning alternative text for images.  The react-axe library and axe browser extension will both report when an image is missing alternative text.  The tota11y browser extension will annotate any images that are missing alternative text.  Running eslint with the eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y plugin installed will report on any `<img>` elements missing an `alt` attribute.  Finally, we can use a screen reader to actually hear what is read when an image has focus.

Test for Image Alternative Text Accessibility Issues

Images must have text alternatives that describe the information or function 
represented by them so they can be read and understood by those using screen readers.

## Alternative text for images
* All `<img>` elements should have an `alt` attribute provided
    * When not provided many screen readers will fallback to reading the file name instead
* The `alt` value should not include words like _“image”_, _“picture”_ or _“icon”_
    * Screen readers are already announcing that the element is an image
* Images that are decorative only and provide no information or function to the page should be hidden from Assistive Technologies by providing an empty `alt` attribute (`alt=””`)

## References
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/tips/
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/informative/
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/functional/
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/textual/

Define Images with Appropriate Text Alternatives

Labeling inputs, elements, and widgets add context and clarity for assistive technology such as screen readers. Some elements do not already have some sort of labeling text being displayed visually, such as a `<button>` without descriptive text or an `<icon>` or part of a more complex widget.  Others may have some form of text label but it is not descriptive enough for those who cannot see it.  The addition of an `aria-label` attribute to the element will provide it with an accessible label so that when that element is focused by a screen reader, for instance, a label is read that better describes the element and what a user can expect from it.

Add Accessible Labels to Elements Whose Labels are Not Clear Enough

Labeling inputs, elements, and widgets add context and clarity for assistive technology such as screen readers. Some elements do not already have some sort of labeling text being displayed visually, such as a `<button>` without descriptive text or an `<icon>` or part of a more complex widget.  Others may have some form of text label but it does not provide enough context to be useful enough for those that cannot see it.  The addition of an `aria-label` attribute to the element will provide it with an accessible label so that when that element is focused by a screen reader, for instance, a label is read provides better context for the element and what a user can expect from it.

Add Accessible Labels to Provide Elements with More Context

Labeling inputs, elements, and widgets add context and clarity for assistive technology such as screen readers.  When there are already one or more other elements that themselves can be used to provide labeling text to another element an `aria-labelledby` attribute can be added to that element.  

Some examples of appropriate use cases for using an `aria-labelledby` are:
* Combine multiple labels together
* Associate headings with regions
* Label for a widget

Add an Accessible Label to an Element from the Text of Other Elements

Labeling inputs, elements, and widgets add context and clarity for assistive technology such as screen readers. Beyond adding accessible labels to elements and widgets we can also provide additional descriptions.  Similar to how an `aria-labelledby` attribute works, an `aria-describedby` attribute can link the text from another element or elements to be used as a description for the given element.  

Some example use cases for using an `aria-describedby` are:
* providing instructions
* providing important usage details

Add Accessible Descriptions to Elements

When dynamic changes occur to content on a page they are usually visually apparent to users who can see the page but may not be made apparent to users of assistive technologies. ARIA live regions provide a way to make those dynamic content changes able to be announced by assistive technologies.

## ARIA attributes
* `aria-live`: the priority with which updates are read
* `aria-atomic`: whether the screen reader should always present the live region as a whole, even if only part of the region changes
* `aria-relevant` - takes a list of what type of changes should be announced

## Resources
* https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility/ARIA/ARIA_Live_Regions
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/aria-1.1/states_and_properties#aria-live
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/aria-1.1/states_and_properties#aria-atomic
* https://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/aria-1.1/states_and_properties#aria-relevant
* http://html.cita.illinois.edu/nav/form/aria/index.php?example=3

Define a Live Region to Ensure Dynamic Changes are Announced by Assistive Technologies

Keyboard/screen reader navigation relies on focus proceeding in a logical and linear 
order and not getting lost such that the user does not know where they are 
or how to get back to the desired point in a web page.

## References
* https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-1.1/#managingfocus
* https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/accessibility/focus/
* https://reactjs.org/docs/accessibility.html#programmatically-managing-focus 
* https://reactjs.org/docs/accessibility.html#programmatically-managing-focus
* https://reactjs.org/docs/refs-and-the-dom.html
* https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-reference.html#useref
    * https://medium.com/@teh_builder/ref-objects-inside-useeffect-hooks-eb7c15198780
* https://www.gatsbyjs.org/blog/2019-07-11-user-testing-accessible-client-routing/

Appropriately Set the Focus on Each Page Load of a Web Application

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

Learn to test for accessibility using Google's Lighthouse tool -- an open-source, automated tool for auditing web pages.
Lighthouse can audit with quite a few different tests (SEO, performance, PWA, etc.). We will only be looking at the Accessibility portion. The audit will show any issues that the site has with links to learn more as well as which elements specifically failed the tests.  


Test Web Accessibility using Lighthouse

Nx helps architect, test, and build at any scale:
integrations with modern frameworks, distributed task execution, computation caching, smart rebuilds of affected projects, powerful code generators, editor support, GitHub apps, and more.

In an Nx monorepo, you typically have multiple applications and lots of libraries. When we configure [Vercel](https://vercel.com) for deployment, we set one Vercel deployment for each app in our monorepo. However, we would want to make sure that not all the apps are being deployed all the time, but only if the app was really affected by the change. [Nx affected commands](https://nx.dev/l/r/core-extended/affected#rebuilding-and-retesting-what-is-affected) can help here.

In this lesson we're going to create a simple script, that leverages the Nx affected commands to determine whether we should cancel or continue a given Vercel deployment.

Prefer to read along as well? Here's the [accompanying article](https://blog.nrwl.io/publishing-a-next-js-app-to-vercel-with-nx-df81916548f5).

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