Coding, Collaborative Coding, Computers, Programming

How to Collaborate On a Coding Project

Real-time code collaboration has accelerated in recent years. This has affected the way developers work in teams using the same code base. In this article, we will introduce some of the best tools available today.

The tools

I bet my lunch money that every developer has moments in their career when they need to share the code or get help when something is wrong. Typical scenarios can include isolated demonstrations, copying and pasting fragments into lists, or entering the code in a repository.

The following tools (in no particular order) are a selection based on searches, documentation searches and some personal testing.

Atom

Teletype is a free open source package designed specifically for Atom. For those who love privacy, shared data streams are transmitted over an encrypted point-to-point connection. Servers never see your files or editions, which preserves privacy and minimizes latency between you and your employees.

To install the Teletype package, enter the following line from your terminal with the command apm:

apm install teletype

You can also install Teletype from your package manager by typing “teletype” in the search bar. After installation, perform the following steps:

  • Click the antenna icon in the Atom status bar in the lower-right corner of the editor window.
  • Authorize Teletype via GitHub.
  • Select Teletype in the Atom Package menu and select the shared resources portal.
  • Copy the Portal ID, which is located in the lower right corner of the Editor window.
  • Share the portal’s secret identification with employees about your preferred method.
  • Collaborators access their portal by clicking Join after entering their unique portal ID.

Upon joining their portal, contributors will see a new tab in their workspace that will allow them to view and edit the contents of their active editor. Everyone gets their own cursor and everyone can write at the same time, but only the owner can save. Currently, Teletype only transmits text, so combining it with a voice communication application is a good idea. Ultimately, the developers hope to include this functionality directly in the package, along with a long list of other enhancements.

Brackets

With this Adobe Code Editor, you can collaborate in real time with an extension. To begin, follow these steps:

  • Open the folder containing your project.
  • Press the Sync icon in the right toolbar.
  • Enter the same room ID.
  • Click the sync button again to leave the room, join the voice call, or search for the code.

The brackets do not allow access to the microphone by default. However, you can enable voice calls by starting parentheses from the terminal with the following command:

brackets –args –enable-media-stream

By default, the extension points to an author’s server and no code is sent over another server as long as the version of Bracket is compatible with WebRTC (most do).

Coda

Experienced Coda users may not know that there is already a real-time sharing capability. Originally developed by Coding Monkeys, this file share lives since version 1 in Coda. It allows two or more users to share files on a LAN or another user through the computer’s IP address or “shared URL” to connect a remote user with your file. This allows multiple users to work simultaneously in the same file in real time.

First of all, this real-time feature requires users to select the option to share files from the system preferences menu. Once completed:

  • Select the file you want to share.
  • Click Share and press the Bonjour button at the lowest side of your editor screen.
  • Copy the shared URL from the menu > File.
  • The distant user will click on the specified link (open with Coda) and his file will automatically open in his application.

CodePen

If you’re a pro in CodePen, you already know that you have access to “collab mode”, which allows more than one person to release a Pen at a time. When you open the Collab mode, the URL of your pen changes to the address bar of your browser. Copy this provided collaborative URL and shares it with the people you want to work with.

Cloud-based tools, such as CodePen, require developers to move parts or entire parts of the workflow in a host environment. Collab also has a chat feature that allows communication between them during the session. Whenever someone writes, a green border message appears at the bottom of the chat button. Employees can edit and write at the same time, but employees cannot save. Employees can even add external files and change configurations, but not descriptions.

Depending on the plan, you are limited to the number of contributors that can be invited, and only the founder needs a pro subscription; all others can have free accounts or remain anonymous. If you are working with a public pen and want to save the progress, you can click the Fork button to save the exact status at the time of the current progress.

Two heads are always better than one. So don’t be afraid to ask for help. Although programming can often feel like a solitary pursuit. Collaboration is often the best way to learn and improve your skillset. Developing a network of relationships with other coders and programmers allows you access to various strengths and skill sets. Like a fuck buddy who offers hookup benefits as part of the relationship, a coding collaborator can be a friend that shares there knowledge and experience. Relationships are meant to be beneficial and the programming world is different. Being active on forums or working in a co-working space that is tech focused are great ways to reach out and meet other programmers. However you do it. Those relationships with undoubtedly prove very valuable at some point in your coding pursuit.

Computers, Open Source

Best Open Source Projects

open source programming projects

Learning programming has never been easy. Despite the many ways you can program, we believe that the best way to improve your skills is to contribute to open source projects.

The open source community offers a great opportunity for aspiring programmers to stand out, and by contributing to various projects; developers can improve their skills and get inspiration and support from like-minded people. But the most important thing is that they can show that they can make fantastic experiences that people love.

Non-programmers can also contribute to open source projects. Documentation is necessary for all projects, sometimes poorly written and maintained. Therefore, you can help by writing, updating or even translating the documentation. In addition, your design skills can be useful: after all, each application needs an interface. Finally, you can contribute by managing a community by answering questions and guiding newbies.

This article is for developers who are just starting their careers and want to get involved in the community (and maybe become a programming genius).

What To Keep In Mind Before You Go To Open Source

Okay, you cannot wait to start your first OSS project. Let’s take a look at some tips that can help you choose.

Programming language
The most basic technology behind every application is a programming language. The most accepted languages ​​on GitHub (a mutual code hosting platform) are Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Java, and PHP. There are a variety of projects that can adapt to your abilities and tastes.

Type of project
After selecting the language in which you want to work, you must select the project type you want. Github projects are divided into folders called Showcases. Here are some examples of shop windows: “Security”, “Virtual Reality”, “Text Editor” and “CSS Preprocessors”. Just pick a topic that interests you.
However, we recommend paying special attention to projects that can be used by a large number of people. So you have the opportunity to test your code in the real world in a large audience. For example, the storefront “Emoji” contains 25 repositories that represent their popularity. Great projects can be found on dating apps and websites as well. Plenty of fish, match, and fuckbook are great places to start. Hook up apps often provide opportunity to practice your skills as they are always looking to optimize their user’s chance of hooking up through their website. Another piece of advice for choosing an OSS project is to start working on the software you already use or the software you want to use. This will motivate one to keep working.

Best Open Source Projects Used In Most Android-Based Applications

Retrofit
License: Apache 2.0
GitHub Stars: 20,370
This open-source Android project can convert the REST API to the Java interface. With Retrofit, you can write a pure Java quality code with almost any RESTful API.
It is worth noting that the main features include dynamically generated requests, error procedures, and the ability to transfer files. In addition, this open-source git library provides a powerful infrastructure for authenticating and interacting with APIs, as well as sending web requests via OkHttp.
Retrofit automatically converts JSON into objects using another open source Android repository called Gson. All library logic is based on annotations that allow the creation of dynamic requests within a server.
Also for the Android-based library, it’s light enough and relatively easy to use.
Advantages:
Easy to use and install
Excellent documentation
Disadvantages:
Lack of image loading

Glide
License: Apache 2.0
GitHub Stars: 14,600
Uploading images is a fairly common task in the development of Android. The open source repository Android Glide can download and display images from multiple sources. It also takes care of caching and memory usage.
However, to find the balance between quality and memory usage, you need to change the Glide default settings from RGB-555 to ARGB-8888. With this simple step, you increase the image quality and maintain a balanced storage volume.
Advantages:
Fast loading
Low memory consumption
GIF support
Disadvantages:
Size in 430 kb


Butter Knife
License: Apache 2.0
GitHub stars: 15,500
As you know, it often happens that a seemingly repetitive code is used during the project. In order to keep up with a good programming style, you should avoid the so-called repetitive code. For this purpose, Android open source libraries such as Butter Knife were created. This library uses an InjectView annotation to eliminate repetitive text and shorten its code.
Advantages:
Easy configuration
It allows you to write less code
Good performance
Disadvantages:
No support from Pojo Injection


Parceler
License: Apache 2.0
GitHub Stars: 2,700
In addition to Butter Knife, the repetitive code problem could also be solved by Parceler, an open source Android project. GitHub has allowed developers to easily search for tools like this that make code building easy. The Parceler library generates the required container classes and compiles the data automatically. In this way, the library allows reducing the number of repetitive steps necessary to obtain the maximum performance of the packages.
Advantages:
Eliminate the manual generation of the parcelable code
Good basis for counting methods
Disadvantages:
RealmList cannot be controlled by default

Conclusion

Open source projects bring many benefits to those who attend and this experience is great for their resume. As you join a community of like-minded people and refine your skills, as an aspiring developer, you can go one step further.

Computers

Introduction

Hello! Welcome to Help Desk Lite. We hope to be the starting point for programmers looking for valuable information on a variety of topics within the world of computers and programming. On the site you will also find links to resources that we found valuable when we were starting out. There is a lot of information out there for people interested in becoming a programmer. Unfortunately that also means there is a lot of not so helpful and confusing information out there. Our goal is to provide easy to digest information for the aspiring programmer. If you have relevant advice, guidance, or support feel free to submit an article that you would like to see added to the site. We hope that we can make the journey a little bit easier than it was for some of us and wish you the best of luck on your entry into the world of programming!