Charging Forward with Redux
Posted January 28, 2019
My automated blog is a big step closer — thanks to a new understanding of React's helper library Redux.
The basic definition of redux is to "bring back or revive." In the JavaScript library world, Redux makes state mutations more predictable by imposing certain restrictions on how and when updates — aka dispatch actions — happen.
Exploring blog automation solutions
Why explore Redux? Back in December, I blogged about learning projects I hoped to execute in 2019. It's not quite February, but I've already made progress on one: automating my blog. It's non-linear progress, because I don't think Redux will be useful for my purposes. But learning what won't work is part of the process.
On the other hand, Redux IS a popular library. It works with other single page applications too, not just React. And understanding Redux has helped me better understand state, the benefits of a central data store, how dispatch actions maintain order in bigger apps, React life cycles, ES6, etc., all of which propels my coding progress forward.
What's the big deal about blog automation?
My blog doesn't even accept comments right now, but there are still a lot of moving parts. And the manual updates required to keep those moving parts in sync take longer with every post I write. As of now, every update entails these steps:
- Creating an image in two sizes — one for the post itself, and one for the blog page
- Updating the third post preview on my Blog page with an excerpt from the new post
- Adding a link to the post I removed from the blog page to the Blog Archive
- Adding the newest archived post to all archived posts
- Switching out the right column on the now-archived blog from Twitter feed to archive list
- Switching the new post excerpt on my About and Content pages
- Writing the new post
- Pushing all updates to Github
- Pushing all updates to my portfolio host, GoDaddy
Automation won't eliminate all of these steps, but I should be able to auto-push archived posts to a searchable list. It also should make my blog more dynamic, interactive, and less time-consuming.
My biggest little portfolio update so far
Portfolio visitors who happen to click on my new Redux app will be underwhelmed. What's so important about a couple of clickable post excerpts you can delete? On its face, nothing. But when I demo that app, I'll explain it represents the research I've done to determine the best method for creating a more automated, interactive blog. It's also the first project I wasn't specifically assigned. Despite choosing my own path of study, I believe my app displays progress, and I'm proud to post it online. It's well-commented, it's successfully deployed to Heroku, and it's an amazing learning tool that illustrates my eagerness for and commitment to growing as a developer.
I have the next step in my blog research journey ready to go — including first-row portfolio placeholder spots for it and my future final product: a lean, mean React-based blog.