Leo's

Blog

  • Oh man

    15 years ago, having a 1 Mbps internet connection was the norm. Progress.

  • Bare bones Docker containers

    Ever since I started using Docker, six years ago, I’ve wanted to use it for every single thing I work on, be it a project from my day job or a hobby project I’d like to start.

    Back in January, I wrote about wanting to learn React and automated deployments using GitHub Actions. I learned about the latter and tried to do the former but got stuck in the initial setup and gave up.

    How are these two things related? Well, I got stuck trying to create and run a node environment with Docker. A downside of getting used to Docker is that it now feels dirty installing and configuring stuff directly in my host OS. There’s a lot of valid reasons to avoid doing it but that’s not the point of this post.

    I’ve tried to learn React, Node, Go, and Python, and every single time I would get stuck trying to create a Docker environment for each of those languages and frameworks. It was a combination of a lack of experience with them (and their ecosystem) and a lack of information on using Docker for development. There actually is a lot of info out there but for some reason most of, if not all, the examples and tutorials are directed to containerize existing applications, which I don’t have because I’m starting from scratch.

    I’ve been looking for a way to setup a container with a Linux OS and just the language installed so I can tinker with it and install anything I need inside… and I finally found it.

    It turns out I wasn’t using the right terms when searching because the information was there.

    By adding these two lines to a container specification in the compose.yml file, it makes it an interactive one where you can log into and do whatever you need to:

    stdin_open: true # docker run -i
tty: true        # docker run -t

    This helps me because the last line of my Dockerfile would look like this:

    CMD ["/bin/bash"]

    That’s not a long lasting process so if you try to run the container the normal way, it’ll automatically stop and exit.

  • New year, same goals

    Since my last post where I talked about my short to mid-term goals, I haven’t really made any progress. But, with the new year here, I finally found some time (and the motivation) to dig into setting up a GitHub Actions workflow for automating deployments in my project. Managed to set it up so that tests run whenever there’s a commit or a PR waiting to merge into the stage branch.

    Now, when it comes to frameworks, let’s just say I haven’t made any headway. I tried getting into a React.js course, but my excitement for it faded after a while.

    So, to fix this slump, I decided to come up with a plan. The main issue? I struggle with self-discipline and rely too much on having the motivation to keep going. Here’s where I usually lose that motivation:

    1. Tutorials and courses that start from square one, assuming the reader has zero knowledge of programming. Gets me bored just thinking about having to go through stuff I already know.
    2. Even when they assume some basic knowledge, they tend to move at a snail’s pace, explaining every tiny detail. That, too, makes me lose interest.
    3. I’d rather spend my free time gaming than continue programming.

    So, here’s the plan to turn things around. The solution to the first two issues is pretty straightforward. There’s this public GitHub repo loaded with app ideas ranked by difficulty (beginner, intermediate, and advanced).

    I’m gonna build each of those ideas first in a language/framework I’m already comfortable with (for clarity). Then, I’ll replicate it in the ones I’m aiming to learn, like Node.js + React.js.

    For the third issue, I’m committing 30 minutes of my free time to this. If, by some miracle, I catch a good flow, I might extend it a bit (but keeping an eye on not burning out).

    Let’s see how this goes.

  • What to write about

    This is my personal blog, so I can literally write about anything. Still, I’d like to set some expectations (for myself).

    I work in software development, and what made me want to open this blog was the idea of recording my progress in different areas of it. For example, I plan to solidify my knowledge in infrastructure and also learn some popular frameworks for both backend and frontend. Having this blog kind of gives me a sense of accountability, which I really need.

    Buuuuut, I would also like to write about more personal stuff, like hobbies or general thoughts on general stuff.

    I think I’ll keep the software related stuff in English and write the rest in Spanish. Or maybe not, we’ll see.

  • Hello world!

    I finally bought a domain and rented a VPS.

    I’ve always wanted to start, and maintain, a blog. I actually have, but I always used free services and they weren’t as good as having your own server.

    Let’s see how it goes.