AMA Archives - OpenJS Foundation

Apr 16

WebdriverIO: OpenJS Foundation Live Q &A

By rromoff AMA, Blog, Project Update, WebdriverIO

WebdriverIO was created to allow users to automate any application written with modern web frameworks, as well as native mobile applications for Android and iOS. WebdriverIO is a Project hosted at the OpenJS Foundation.

Members of the WebdriverIO team recently joined the OpenJS Foundation for a live Q and A on YouTube. This aimed to give insight into how WebdriverIO works as well as where it expects to go in the future. This was moderated by Christian Bromann, and included insights from Kevin Lamping, Erwin Heitzman, and Wim Selles. Users were able to ask questions via Twitter and live YouTube chat.

Questions ranged from how users can participate in the WebdriverIO project with no technical background to best practices for storing credentials and variables.

The full AMA is available here: OpenJS Foundation AMA – Webdriver

Timestamps

0:00 Brief Introduction

0:59 Moderator Introduction

6:30 Donation Announcement

14:00 Why doesn’t Web.io support JEST?

17:40 Can I contribute with no background knowledge?

22:45 Could you mock responses through selenium grid?

24:14 Web.io for mobile apps?

25:50 Udemy/Coursera

29:58 best way to categorize test suite

30:55 How to achieve a good test environment?

34:08 Best practice for variables

35:28 Where to store credentials

36:00 Testing Accessibility with WDIO

41:26 Could we ever see WebdriverIO use AI?

43:30 Sync Mode

48:38 Layer Automation

50:50 Who owns WDIO?

54:00 Where do you see Webdriver in 5 years?

To learn more about Webdriver and how you can get involved, please visit their website here.

Feb 17

Love8

Tips for submitting a talk to OpenJS World

By rromoff AMA, Blog, Event, OpenJS World

Want to find out how to successfully submit a talk to OpenJS World? The OpenJS Foundation’s monthly AMA this time focused on OpenJS World and dug into some of the do’s and don’ts when submitting a talk. The deadline to submit is February 22, 2021. Moderated by members of the OpenJS World Program Committee, the AMA aimed to share insight into submitting talks and successfully presenting at OpenJS World.

Participants included Rachel Romoff, Joe Sepi, Jory Burson, and Divy Tolia. People were able to ask questions via Twitter and live YouTube chat. Questions ranged from what OpenJS World means to the JavaScript community, to ways to get mentored before presenting an approved talk. Discussion outside of the Q&A focused mostly on the importance of participating in OpenJS World.

The full AMA is available here:

Timestamps

0:00 Brief Introduction

1:29 Introductions

5:40 What is OpenJS World?

10:45 Details about OpenJS World

12:58 What is a Program Committee?

17:00 CFP Process

19:40 How Many Keynotes Are Expected for 2021?

22:22 Can You Submit More than One Talk?

24:10 Can Committee Members Submit Talks?

25:10 Is the CFP Process Blind?

27:30 Diversity Goals

29:39 Do’s and Don’ts of Submitting a Talk

45:15 Mentorship for First Time Presenters

47:00 Resources for Talks

51:25 Tracks at OpenJS World

55:15 Review Process

57:17 Getting Involved

58:25 Wrap-Up Comments

Nov 19

Love12

Dojo AMA – The Dojo Framework From Then to Now

By rromoff AMA, Blog, Dojo

The Dojo Project joined the OpenJS Foundation for an AMA on YouTube on November 9th, 2020. The AMA aimed to share insight into the Dojo Project from inception to beyond the current application. Dojo co-creator Dylan Schiemann moderated the AMA with Anthony Gubler, co-maintainer and architect of current Dojo. In this AMA, users were able to ask questions via Twitter and live YouTube chat.

Questions ranged from how Dojo has been iterated on over the years to what similarities and differences Dojo has with various other frameworks. Discussion outside of Q&A focused mostly on the ways Dojo has changed over the years.

The full AMA is available here: OpenJS Foundation AMA – Dojo

If you’d like to check out specific topics from the AMA jump down to the timestamps.

Timestamps

0:00 Brief Introduction

0:50 Moderator Introduction

1:30 Where Dojo Is Today

2:40 Why the Name “Dojo”?

5:15 What do People need from a Framework Today?

6:40 Modern Dojo

9:15 Dojo 8 Enhancements and Modern Dojo Changes

12:05 Modern Dojo New User Questions?

15:42 Are Custom Elements the Future?

20:15 Dojo Improvements to Application Loading Time?

23:35 Dojo Styling

26:58 Building Dojo

30:18 Getting Dojo Theming Right

31:58 Largest App Built With Dojo?

37:02 MobX vs Dojo

40:37 Overlap between Overlap and Dojo

44:05 Dojo Naming Design

49:50 What Can Be Done To Support Syntax Beyond JSX?

51:50 If You’re Writing an App in React or Angular, What Should You Do To Port Your Project to Dojo?

55:25 What’s Possible for Dojo?

58:05 Wrap-Up

Oct 29

Love13

OpenJS Foundation AMA: AMP Project TSC

By rromoff AMA, AMP, Blog, Project Updates

AMP Project joined the OpenJS Foundation this past summer as a Growth project, aiming to create a more “user-first” open web experience for all. In this AMA, users were able to ask questions via Twitter (#AskAMP) and live YouTube chat. This AMA followed AMP Fest, which can be viewed here. AMP Fest focuses on content where participants could “learn about the latest ways the community is working to make the web better for everyone – publishers, platforms, advertisers, creators, and of course, users.”

Moderated by Naina Raisinghani, the AMA was a way to learn more about the project with David Strauss, Chris Papazian, Dima Voytenko, Malte Ubl, Saulo Santos, Kasiana McLenaghan, and Rudy Galfi.

Questions ranged from what project individuals were most excited about to whether there should be ramifications or praise for net neutrality or the lack thereof. The talk took a mix of inquiries from chat and preset questions.

The full AMA is available here: OpenJS Foundation AMA – AMP Project

Timestamps

0:00 Brief Introduction

1:09 Introduction

4:42 AMP Fest Recap

6:10 AMP Projects You’re Excited About?

9:50 Can TSC Share What Platforms Support AMP?

11:47 What Is The Most Critical Part of Stories?

15:25 What’s One Use Case For AMP In Email?

19:20 Does the TSC Have Any Thoughts On NYT Content Application Framework Proposal?

25:20 What Improvements Does The TSC Want To Make In The New Year?

31:35 Will Websites Need AMP and HTML To Get Picked Up By Publishing Platforms?

40:20 More Approachable Architectural Options For HTML Conversion On High Volume Sites

43:58 Do You See The Project Working On Components Or User-Built Components

48:44 Should Publishers or Companies Be Encouraged or Penalized For Prioritizing Websites?

50:45 Are There Any Updates On AMP Runtime Giving a PWA For Navigating Amongst AMP Pages. Any Update?

52:00 Any Chance That People Will Be Able to Embed>React>AMP as Opposed to Embed>AMP>React?

56:00 Closing Thoughts

Sep 09

Love9

How ESLint Helps Developers to Write Better Code

By rromoff AMA, Blog, ESLint

In the OpenJS Foundation “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) series, we get to hear from many inspiring leaders in the JavaScript community. We will highlight the key questions answered by the panel members and provide resources to help developers save time and improve their code. This month, we feature ESLint.

In the middle of a project it can be difficult to identify redundant or problematic sections of code. Frustrations compound when multiple developers, all using different styles, need to collaborate and write using a unified format. However, the aforementioned problems can be avoided with gentle reminders and automated feedback.

This is where linters come in. Linters are essentially spell checkers for code. They highlight syntax errors, refactoring opportunities and style/formatting issues as code is written. This helps developers to notice and fix small errors before they become a major problem. ESLint is an especially powerful tool that identifies problematic sections of code based on the user’s plugins, rules and configurations. Due to its flexibility, it has become an incredibly popular addition to many projects. Kai Cataldo, a maintainer of ESLint, and Brandon Mills, a member of the Technical Steering Committee, answered questions and explained how to get started with the OpenJS project in a recent AMA.

In the talk, Cataldo clarified that ESLint is designed to help developers write the code they want. It should not tell them whether their code is “right” or “wrong” unless the error is code-breaking. The default settings of ESLint help developers to recognize syntax errors early on, but the tool can be made more powerful with the addition of user defined rules or downloadable configurations. Additionally, teams can standardize code across a team by defining a set of rules for the linter. Therefore, developers save time by writing consistent code that can be easily understood by other members.

Cataldo and Mills also revealed future plans for ESLint — updated documentation, simplified configuration and parallel linting. They also discussed common problems of linters and how developers can contribute to the project to make ESLint even more powerful.

Full AMA Replay

https://youtu.be/9BnJWfyZre4

You can find the full AMA broken up by section below:

0:57 Member Introductions

3:19 Background of ESLint

5:55 What is a linter?

11:42 Why ESLint is moving away from correcting styling “errors”

13:32 Future plans for ESLint

21:57 Will you add HTML linting?

26:15 Exciting features in newest release

27:35 What is the most controversial linting rule?

29:39 How to get started

32:25 Why doesn’t ESLint have default configurations?

36:44 How to contribute

For those interested in becoming involved in the projects please check out the following resources:

Sep 02

Love12

OpenJS Foundation AMA: Node.js Certifications

By rromoff AMA, Blog, Certification, Node.js

In this AMA, we discussed the benefits of the OpenJS Node.js certification program. The certification tests a developer’s knowledge of Node.js and allows them to quickly establish their credibility and value in the job market. Robin Ginn, OpenJS Foundation Executive Director, served as the moderator. David Clements, Technical Lead of OpenJS Certifications, and Adrian Estrada, VP of Engineering at NodeSource, answered questions posed by the community. The full AMA is available at the link below:

The OpenJS Foundation offers two certifications: OpenJS Node.js Application Developer (JSNAD) and OpenJS Node.js Services Developer (JSNSD). The Application Developer certification tests general knowledge of Node.js (file systems, streams etc.). On the other hand, the Services Developer certification asks developers to create basic Node services that might be required by a startup or enterprise. Services might include server setup and developing security to protect against malicious user input.

In the talk, Clements and Estrada discussed why they created the certifications. They wanted to create an absolute measure of practical skill to help developers stand out and ease the difficulties of hiring for the industry. To that end, OpenJS certifications are relatively cheap and applicable to real world problems encountered in startup and enterprise environments.

A timestamped summary of the video is available below:

Note: If you are not familiar with the basics of the two certifications offered by the OpenJS Foundation, jumping to the two bolded sections may be a good place to start.

AMA Topics

Introductions 0:20

How did the members start working together? 2:35

How did work on the certifications start? 5:07

Is it possible to have feedback on the exam? 9:50

Applications of psychometric analysis 12:26

What is the Node.js Application Developer certification + Services Developer certification? 14:54

How do you take the exam? What should you expect? 18:22

Will there be differential pricing between countries? 22:04

How is the criteria for new npm packages chosen? 24:55

Are test takers able to use Google or mdn? 31:52

What benefits do OpenJS certifications have for developers? 33:22

How to use the certification after completion 39:43

What are the exam principles? 40:56

How much experience is required for the exam? 44:12

Course available in Chinese 49:09

How will new Node versions affect the certifications? 53:43

Closing thoughts 56:35

Jul 17

Love8

Node.js Security Working Group AMA Recap

By rromoff AMA, Blog, Node.js

Members of the Node.js Security Working Group recently answered questions regarding what their group does, and how the security of Node.js can be improved. The Node.js Security Working Group is a community driven project that investigates security reports to reduce the vulnerability of the Node.js ecosystem. Liran Tal, a senior developer advocate at Snyk served as the moderator for the AMA series. Vladimir de Turckheim, a developer at Sqreen, and Michael Dawson, IBM community lead for Node.js, answered questions and discussed topics posed by viewers of the live stream.

Full panel discussion available here

The content of the AMA generally fell into two categories: a discussion of how the Security Working Group functions or a response to a viewer’s security concern. The talk began with a discussion of “bug bounties” — monetary rewards given to developers who report potential security vulnerabilities in the Node.js ecosystem. Dawson and Turckheim discussed problems with this system, challenges that the working group has faced and the future of the group in a changing landscape.

Dawson and Turckheim also addressed security concerns that viewers of the live stream had. The questions spanned a wide range of topics, from identifying security risks to using https to protect online data. Finally, the members of the panel reviewed how people can join working groups. They admitted that working groups take up a lot of time, but are a good way to give back to the community, and meet people who share similar interests.

A summary of the video is available below:

Panel starts 0:25

Member introductions 1:33

What is the Node.js Security Working Group? 04:52

How the members got started, what current members do (Vladimir) 10:18

Bug Bounties 12:13

Where can you find the Security Working Group? 14:43

How Bug Bounties can create tension 15:21

Potential alterations to the Bug Bounty system 19:19

How to roll out a patch to the Node.js ecosystem 23:04

Challenges that the Security Working Group faces 24:19

Interactions with the OpenJS and larger Node.js community 33:58

Using pattern searches to detect security issues early 40:09

How to secure JSON data transmissions 43:30

Should a best practice security guide be created? 46:50

Are malicious modules as common as they used to be? 50:30

How to tell between unintended bugs and malicious modules 53:35

Closing thoughts 55:28

May 13

Love9

Node-RED Creators AMA Recap

By rromoff AMA, Blog, Node-RED

Node-RED AMA participants answer community questions live.

The creators of Node-RED recently gave an informative Ask Me Anything (AMA) which you can watch below. Node-RED is a Growth Project at the OpenJS Foundation. Speakers include Nick O’Leary (@knolleary), Dave Conway-Jones (@ceejay), and John Walicki (@johnwalicki).

This AMA can help individuals interested in Node-RED get a better understanding of the frameworking tool. Using a combination of user generated and preexisting questions, the discussion focuses heavily on the processes employed by the creators of Node-RED to optimize the tool.

The creators of Node-RED answered questions from the live chat, giving insight into how Node-RED is iterated and improved. Questions ranged from where Node-RED has gone in the last 7 years to whether or not Node-RED is a prototyping tool.

Full Video Here

Video by Section

Introductions (0:00)
What’s been going on last 7 years (2:21)
Did you have use cases in mind? (4:46)
What’s it been like to work with open source? (7:10)
Why is Node red so popular in iOT space? (9:30)
Where else is node red popular? (12:25)
How do you answer the question “is it a prototyping tool?” (15:00)
Where does Node-RED fit in the low programming world? (17:20)
2020 Recap, what’s next? (20:00)
New features in 1.1? (23:10)
Flow change for nodes? (26:00)
Thoughts about encryption? (28:40)
Do you see Node-RED scaling? (31:50)
Best practices for sharing readable flows (34:15)
Do you have large applications and flows being created now? (37:15)
What would you say to a developer who should use Node-RED? (40:00)
What can developers help? (41:25)
Open is a mindset, how do you wade through forums and open source? (43:30)
YouTube Q, on the edge constrained environment modeling? (45:40)
Node Red + AI? (48:50)
POV on containerization (50:30)
Refreshing node red dashboard, thoughts on replacing framework? (53:40)
Node Red conference? (57:45)
Last thoughts? (59:25)

Our next AMA is with the Node.js Security Working Group on June 3 at 9 am PT. Submit your questions here.

Apr 06

Love4

AMA Recap from the Node.js Technical Steering Committee

By rromoff AMA, Blog, Node.js

Members of the Technical Steering Committee (TSC) for Node.js gave an informative AMA, which you can watch below. Speakers include Michael Dawson (@mhdawson1), Matteo Collina (@matteocollina), Gireesh Punathil (@gireeshpunam), Gabriel Schulhof (@gabrielschulhof), Bethany Griggs (@BethGriggs_), Colin Ihrig (@cjihrig), and Myles Borins (@MylesBorins).

Full video here

In this AMA, the TSC took questions from the live chat and gave insight into how they got involved. Questions ranged from whether Node.js is good for image processing to thoughts on Deno. The TSC focused on a mix of preexisting and user generated questions.

Beginning with suggestions on how to get involved with Node and ending on the same note, this AMA can inspire individuals to join Node.js.

Video by Section

Introductions (1:08)

How to Get Involved (4:48)

When To Update Your LTS? (13:45)

Is Node Good For Image Processing Applications? (34:45)

Upcoming 14RX (42:00)

What Do You Think About Deno? (44:20)

Yarn v2 Module (51:07)

Wrap Up (53:55)

Our next AMA will feature OpenJS Project NodeRED! Submit your questions for the NodeRED team here!

Mar 06

Love3

webhint AMA Replay: Best practices for the web and other useful stuff

By rromoff AMA, Announcement, Blog, Project Update

The OpenJS Foundation recently hosted its monthly Ask Me Anything with folks from the webhint team. webhint, a hosted project at the Foundation, is a customizable linting tool that helps you improve your site’s accessibility, speed, cross-browser compatibility, and more by checking your code for best practices and common errors. Pretty useful stuff, huh!?

Joining the AMA was moderator Rachel Weil, and panelists Harald Kirschner and Tony Ross.

Catch the full replay below:

https://youtu.be/SIF6W8Livek

Below are some key moments and topics from the AMA:
3:15: Panelists discuss how webhint came about.

8:27: AMA participants talk through the unique things that drew them to the project.

11:45: What the webhint offerings are, what are the forms it takes.

16:10: What are the biggest problems webhint solves for devs and the community at large?

18:35: How does webhint help developers fix problems they find in the codebase?

25:05: What’s the most interesting challenge working in the webhint codebase?

36:52: What’s in store for webhint in the future?

39:50: Code schools and webhint as a teaching tool.

The panel also encouraged folks to get involved by following the project on Twitter (@webhintio), at their website (webhint.i) or by checking them out on GitHub- https://github.com/webhintio/hint.

Big thanks to Rachel, Tony, and Harald for their knowledge and expertise!

The next OpenJS AMA will feature the Node.js Technical Steering Committee and will happen April 1st at 9 am PT. Submit your questions here.

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