DjangoCon Africa 2023, Almost a Year Later …

The Announcement I only saw Django Conferences happening in European and American countries. From the content and updates shared on X and by speakers/attendees, I realized that these events had serious content to share. I envied that. This right here, the X(tweet 😂) on May 10th. Hello World 👋🏼 We are more than excited to announce the first-ever DjangoCon event in Africa. It will take place this year in Zanzibar, Tanzania, from 6th - 11th November 2023! Please visit https://t.co/qC69TfKnPt to learn more! 1/3 🧵#djangoconAfrica #djcafrica #djangocon pic.twitter.com/gypAJD07hX ...

July 10, 2024 · 4 min · Chris Achinga

Before starting React, I think you should ...

React is a front-end JavaScript library. So you probably want to know the basics of JavaScript before diving into react, otherwise you will end up having a rough journey which isn’t good for your productivity. I wouldn’t advice you to fully rely on my article, I had a quite rough journey and after I finally understood React, I better document it for a future me. In this article, I’ll highlight the essentials and most important things to learn and provide a link to the resources as we gear up to creating your first React application. ...

June 9, 2024 · 2 min · Chris Achinga

Deploying A React app on GitHub Pages

GitHub offers more than just a host for your code. In this short tutorial, I will walk you through deploying a static react app/project on GitHub Pages. I will be using one of my React projects from GitHub: %[https://github.com/achingachris/myRepos] A programmer’s learning tool is by practicing –I said that… Let’s Get Started: This tutorial assumes you already have your react project setup and ready to deploy Step 1: Install the Dependencies (gh-pages): I use npm for my projects, so while in your project root directory, open the project on your terminal or cmd (windows). ...

June 9, 2024 · 1 min · Chris Achinga

Git and GitHub SSH Configuration

Installing git Install git from here Choose a selection based on your operating system. For Linux and Ubuntu OS, you may use this alternative: Open your terminal and paste the command below: sudo apt-get install git Ensure you have a GitHub account. If not, create one here Join GitHub. First of all, we’ll configure your details to git. “Assuming your GitHub username is DevAcc, and the email used on GitHub is [email protected]” On your terminal, use the following commands: ...

June 9, 2024 · 2 min · Chris Achinga

GitHub Students Developer Pack

Access the best real-world tools, learning events, and training to shape the next generation of software development, using student benefits from GitHub Education GitHub Education helps students, teachers, and schools access the tools and events they need to shape the next generation of software development. %[https://education.github.com/] Well as a student whose goal/dreams or maybe ambitions are to prosper in the developer zone, GitHub Education offers the bridge to your success using the GitHub Student Developer Pack. Really cool tools available for free of course. ...

June 9, 2024 · 6 min · Chris Achinga

The GitHub CLI (gh repo clone)

The GitHub CLI (gh repo clone) GitHub CLI beta version was released a while ago, and it comes with really cool features. I have been using and interacting with GitHub without necessarily visiting the website, that’s fun right. An alternative to using GitHub CLI is HUB, which was there before GitHub cli was introduced. GitHub CLI is an open-source project, here on GitHub. I had an article before on using GitHub CLI and its commands, so this is kind of like an update because the cli is up on version 1.x.x right now, better to stay on the know/updated. To get the latest releases of the cli https://github.com/cli/cli/releases ...

June 9, 2024 · 2 min · Chris Achinga

Using Github's CLI on Ubuntu & Commands.

gh cli web Working with GitHub has never been boring, as a matter of fact, it’s the best part of the development process on my side. As usual, we use git and other distributed version control systems like Mercurial and many more. I have been using the GitHub cli since February this year, and it is great. So let me show you how I got to use it. I’m on Ubuntu by the way. But I guess the process is the same on other OS, I’ll check it out. ...

June 9, 2024 · 2 min · Chris Achinga

Using Netlify Forms

It’s normal to have a back-end on your website for your forms to be functional. Say no More! Netlify offers hosting to static websites and serverless technologies, and it comes with super great features including form handling without a back-end. Let’s build a form with Netlify: What you will need: Netlify account GitHub account First off let’s start with a simple html form: Create a new html file and paste the snippet below: ...

June 9, 2024 · 1 min · Chris Achinga

Seeding Data in Django Using Faker

Seeding data in a Django project can be essential for development and testing. Faker, a Python library, provides a convenient way to generate placeholder data realistically. This guide will explore how to seed data using Faker in Django. Here is an example model: First, let’s consider an example model consisting of Skill and Category. from django.db import models import uuid class Skill(models.Model): id = models.UUIDField(primary_key=True, default=uuid.uuid4, editable=False, unique=True) title = models.CharField(max_length=200, unique=True) def __str__(self): return self.title class Category(models.Model): id = models.UUIDField(primary_key=True, default=uuid.uuid4, editable=False, unique=True) title = models.CharField(max_length=200, unique=True) def __str__(self): return self.title Creating a Seeder Command To seed data easily, we’ll create a custom management command. ...

March 27, 2024 · 2 min · Chris Achinga

Beginners Guide to Using APIs in Python

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are crucial in the world of software development. They serve as the backbone for communication between different software applications. This article explores how to interact with a simple API using Python. We’ll use a dummy server set up using JSON-Server, a package that allows you to create a fake API for testing and development purposes. Setting Up the Dummy Server Before diving into Python code, let’s set up our dummy server. JSON-Server provides a full fake REST API with zero coding in less than a minute(not literally). Here’s how you can set it up: ...

January 2, 2024 · 3 min · Chris Achinga

Building Progressive Web Apps in Angular (using pwafire)

Progressive Web Apps(PWA) are basically sites that use modern web tools to provide app-like experiences to users. https://web.dev/explore/progressive-web-apps Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are built and enhanced with modern APIs to deliver enhanced capabilities, reliability, and installability while reaching anyone, anywhere, on any device with a single codebase: https://web.dev/articles/what-are-pwas PWAs is a very interesting topic when it comes to user experiences and why businesses would use it. It comes down to users needs and organization goals and agenda, but hear me out: ...

December 12, 2023 · 5 min · Chris Achinga

Creating an installable Next.Js Application

Next.js, a React framework for server-side rendering, provides a solid foundation for creating fast and efficient web applications. In this article, we will explore the process of creating an installable Next.js application, taking advantage of the PWA features offered by modern browsers. What is a Progressive Web Application (PWA)? A Progressive Web Application is a web application that utilizes modern web capabilities to deliver an app-like experience to users. PWAs are built with web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and can be accessed through a browser without installing an app store. PWAs offer several advantages, including offline functionality, push notifications, and the ability to be added to the user’s home screen for quick access. ...

June 25, 2023 · 5 min · Chris Achinga

How to Fetch Data from an API in Angular

The Dad Jokes App: Spreading Laughter One Click at a Time Humor has a unique way of brightening up our day and creating moments of joy. In the digital age, countless apps cater to various interests, and one app that stands out is the Dad Jokes App. This lighthearted application brings a collection of witty and groan-inducing dad jokes to your fingertips, ensuring laughter is just a click away. In this article, we’ll explore the features and development of the Dad Jokes App and its impact on users’ daily lives. ...

May 29, 2023 · 5 min · Chris Achinga

Deploying A Django Project on PythonAnywhere

Deploying a Django project on PythonAnywhere lets you make your web application accessible online. With PythonAnywhere, you can create a web app, configure it with a WSGI file, and host your Django project seamlessly. Prerequisites: Pythonanywhere Account An existing Django project is ready for deployment. GitHub (Code Repo) Basic Familiarity with Django and the command line interface For demo purposes, please refer to the following project: It’s a voting app from the official Django Tutorial ...

May 23, 2023 · 4 min · Chris Achinga

Building a Weather and Time Telegram Bot using Node.js

Telegram bots are automated applications that run inside Telegram. Users can interact with bots by sending messages, commands, and inline requests. Today, we’ll walk you through how to build a simple Telegram bot using Node.js that provides weather and time information for any city. Prerequisites Before we start, make sure you have the following: Node.js and npm are installed on your machine. A Telegram account to create and manage bots. An API key from OpenWeatherMap. Setting Up Your Project Firstly, install the required Node.js packages: dotenv, node-telegram-bot-api, axios, and moment-timezone. ...

May 15, 2023 · 4 min · Chris Achinga