If you’re like me and knee deep in Leetcode (or any other sites that offer practice problems in algorithms & data structures), you’ve probably come across this catchy term: binary search.

Sounds catchy right? So catchy that there’s a Leetcode-type website named after it.

Tired of Leetcode or need a change of scenery? Check out: https://binarysearch.com/. In addition to offering practice problems, I like their private room feature where you can create a room for you & your friends to solve problems in a timed setting (you set the time limit, # of questions and difficulty level). …

In recent weeks, I have been fortunate to be involved as a class mentor for a wonderful organization called Code The Dream (CTD). This opportunity has allowed me to take intermittent breathers from JavaScript and re-enter the back-end world of Ruby on Rails & SQL.

To learn more about Code The Dream & how you can get involved, visit their website! https://codethedream.org/

While I was excited to get my hands dirty with Ruby again, I unexpectedly learned that the first couple of weeks in CTD’s curriculum was SQL, or Structured Query Language.

Oh man…I definitely glossed over this part when…

And here I thought I was making decent progress with my early studies of algorithms.

Enter recursion. Even now, studying recursion feels like I keep getting pushed back to the starting line of the same race each time I hit the mile mark.

If you’re still here after that lame recursion joke, thank you for not giving up on me.

However, with anything in life, there’s nothing like practice in developing a certain comfort level in a skill. Someday, hopefully, recursion will become second nature, like going for a run or pouring water into a cup.

Maybe not. But one…

Welcome to the world of data structures algorithms, reader.

Coding bootcamps are a past now, but we’ve been introduced to this cruel but fascinating world. I’ve quickly developed a love-hate relationship in solving algorithm questions — I’ve spent the last couple of weeks being introduced to different algorithm patterns and complex problems on the web, most notably Leetcode.

I hate it because it’s such a humbling experience tackling each problem (and often times I question my ability & confidence), but I love it because each problem offers a opportunity to learn something new — a new way to use a…

On September 4th 2020, I received a call from my employer at the time, informing me of their decision to place me on furlough with no set return date. Like many individuals, my employment was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the future was uncertain.

I anticipated the call, and honestly speaking thought the decision would have been made much sooner, but the news was still devastating. I had already changed my career just a couple of years ago & barely got my feet wet. …

When I found out that there is a concept in functional programming with the same namesake as one of my favorite dishes in the world, it was only natural for me to “follow my nose” and dig deeper into the topic.

Introduction to Currying

During my initial research, I quickly realized that the fundamental idea of currying is not as exotic & spicy as our favorite dish. Currying, in it’s simplest definition, a technique of evaluating functions with multiple arguments, and decomposing it into a sequence of functions with a single argument.

In other words, a “curried” function, instead of taking all arguments…

As I continue my journey in becoming a Software Engineer, I’ve recently been thrusted back into the world of JavaScript after spending my first couple of months studying Ruby. Enjoying the “magic” of Ruby and it’s emphasis on convention over configuration, I was able to put together some functional applications without truly understanding what happens behind the scenes, assisted by Active Record and the numerous helper methods. I felt like I was on a highway to success of becoming a full-stack developer.

Then JavaScript happened, and the harsh reality of where I’m currently at in my growth and the canyon…

Validations are a powerful tool for developers to implement to control the data before it’s inputted & stored in the database. Without validations, our data can get really out of hand.

Imagine an application without proper validations — we’d have cases where an account is created without a username, a shipping address with no address, an email address that is missing the @ sign, etc. Our data quickly becomes useless, and we’d quickly have an ineffective application.

Having these validations in place allows the developers to store useful (and valid) data. …