#85 - 21.06.2023 18:00

#85: Incomprehensible and enigmatic front-end code – how does xState help guard against it?

Many front-end developers take their first steps into the precipitous world of browsers and JavaScript by creating simple sites based on a header, landing page, footer and a menu with buttons. Over time, the fatigue associated with creating ordinary sites begins to grow, and React, Vue or Angular seem to be an enticing and extremely profitable development path.

Images, large headers and uncomplicated contact forms are replacing multi-page forms, complex geographic maps, flexible data visualization and much more, designed with sweat by UX designers.

As the complexity of applications increases, there are more and more concerns about code quality. Is a function with several “if” constructs a good idea? Maybe a switch would be better? Maybe use a design pattern? Just which one? Will the pattern be clear to developers who look at the code three years from now? What to do when patterns are not enough, state management is bursting at the seams, and pushing a button in a component causes the deletion of three others, completely unrelated to it?

With help comes an implementation of the state machine idea called xState. The library’s developers are on the last straight to release version five, which simplifies many of the concepts on which it is based. How to create solutions using it? What is state, transition, context, guard, delay or parallel state? And above all: what does xState provide that justifies devoting your precious time to it? This is what you will find out at the next Talk4Devs! Przemysław Pędziwiatr will not only talk about theory, there will also be live coding with an example of an enterprise pipe and valve control panel.

Przemysław Pędziwiatr

He has stayed away from the land of WordPress for 7 years now, having left it in favor of JS, TS and Angular. A proponent of reactive programming and an unstoppable seeker of solutions to facilitate the creation of simple and understandable applications. For the past four years at j-labs, he has been involved in creating soluctions for the logistics industry and has been continuously recruiting technically since his first days in the Zablocie office. Privately, he is interested in photography, has visited almost 80 countries and is constantly looking for more ideas for life.