# The Week That Was # Once Again Seven Days makes a week. Unless things have gone *very* wrong... which is always a possibility! I am coming up on the Difficult™️ part of my Trimester, whereupon I need to perfect my Japanese; Get ready to be a Teaching Assistant for [Testing for Good](https://hopin.com/events/testing-for-good-workshops/registration), complete a new talk (more on those later); and sundry other responsibilities. Such fun. # The GentleHacker At Large ## Testing for Good Perhaps this is your first time hearing of [Testing for Good](https://hopin.com/events/testing-for-good-workshops/registration). It is a free up-skilling workshop for all testers, SDETs and Developers, run by industry leaders, with hands-on exercises and immediately applicable knowledge. While free, you may make donations in thanks, with the entire sum going towards Charitable Works. For October, the funds are going towards the [Environmental Working Group](https://www.ewg.org/who-we-are/our-mission). ## QConf [QConf](https://qconsf.com/) is a Product-Pitch-Free conference for technology leaders, helping them stay on top of emerging trends. I am fortunate enough to be speaking in October, upon the topic of whether [Programming languages are *actually languages*](https://qconsf.com/). This talk grew out of my observations as a Linguistics student, that while complicated tooling and languages probably don't meet the full requirements to count as a human language, they do share many similarities. As such, research on Second Language Acquisition should have much to tell us about how we can learn new tools and techniques. I intend to review the contemporary research, demonstrate the similarities and differences, and discuss what this *means* for a modern team. It is a brand new talk and to be quite honest feels a bit like I've invented myself a Thesis, except one without marks, or an ensuring qualification. Nevertheless! I am most keen to deliver it. Should you be interested, please grab a ticket, or invite me to your own conference! # Items of Interest ## For Developers ### Writing an Emulator A fun little read by [Ravidev Pandey](https://hashnode.com/@literalEval) on writing your own emulator. Of an emulator. [A meta-emulator, if you will](https://literaleval.hashnode.dev/guide-to-writing-your-first-emulator-chip-8). ### Conditionally Spreading an Object in JavaScript Object spreading allows you to populate one object with the properties of another: ``` let raven = { notes: "flat", letters: "aberruu" } let writing_desk = { ...raven, bills: "outstanding" } console.log(writing_desk) // { notes: "flat", letters: "aberruu", bills: "outstanding" } ``` But supposing you only wish to spread an object under certain circumstances? Well, [Amir Merchant](https://www.amitmerchant.com/conditionally-spreading-objects-in-javascript/) has a solution for you. ### Is Your Memory Poor? Mine certainly is, which is why I like using [Dash](https://kapeli.com/dash) for documentation. (Although, ironically, I often forget to do so). This is why [Hynek Schlawack's article](https://hynek.me/articles/productive-fruit-fly-programmer/) on the Dash Ecosystem was a must-read. ### Search I stumbled across [Meilisearch](https://www.meilisearch.com/pricing), a configurable search solution with a free Open Source version and low-cost hosted edition. I've not used it yet but it remains in my mind, pending. ## For Designers ### React and all it's Options Part of the love for [React](https://reactjs.org/) stems from the ability to create composable, separate components, allowing teams to easily mix-and-match elements as needed. This all sounds very good in theory but can prove something of a stumbling block for new players. Which is why [Brent Jackson](https://twitter.com/jxnblk)'s list of [Style Composition Patterns](https://jxnblk.com/blog/patterns-for-style-composition-in-react/) is an excellent resource. ## For Managers ### Are The Teams Alright? Atlassian has [recently published a "State of Teams" report](https://www.atlassian.com/blog/state-of-teams), looking at whether teams are healthy, and what that even means. Of sad interest is that only 20% of teams are "Healthy". This is not due to location (although nearly 2/3rds of the healthy teams are Remote or Hybrid-Remote); Instead, it reflects a lack of alignment and psychological safety. The GentleHacker finds it miserable and dolorous that over half of the notional adults in our workplaces are unable to conduct themselves in a way that re-enforces psychological safety. Proper Workplace Conduct should be *paramount*. Is your own team healthy? What are the most effective measures for ensuring it is thus? Please leave a Comment! # Note Taking App of the Month : Joplin Joplin is an Open Source, Privacy and (ironically) Open-ness focused app for note taking. It features end-to-end encryption, a plugin architecture, and the project works with security researchers to enhance and improve functionality. Over at Opensource.com, Richard Chambers interviewed the developer behind Joplin, [Laurent Cozic](https://twitter.com/laurent2233?lang=en), and it is [Worth a Read](https://opensource.com/article/22/9/joplin-interview) # With Thanks Should you have enjoyed this edition of The Week That Was, I would greatly appreciate you sharing with your fellows, or a Subscription or Follow over on [My Web Log](https://blog.gentlehacker.io/). Should you wish to find previous entries, you shall find them all collected [here](https://blog.gentlehacker.io/series/the-week-that-was).