Scott and Wes ring in the new year, answering listener questions on the rise of durable objects, handling tricky tab state in e-commerce apps, and their top picks for headless CMS. They also chat about the future of CSS, deployment platforms, and whether Syntax beanies might finally be a thing! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:52 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:10 What Are Durable Objects? 08:25 CSS Anchor Positioning: Cross-Browser Support Update. Implement CSS Anchor Positioning . 12:48...
Jan 01, 2025•52 min
Scott and Wes look back at 2024 and share highlights from a big year for Syntax and the web dev world. They review their 2024 predictions to see what they got right (and wrong), and break down the major moments in web development from CSS improvements to AI editors and beyond. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:30 Changes to the Syntax podcast. 05:56 What happened this year? 06:07 React. 06:36 Solid Start. 07:04 Tanstack Start. 07:43 Remix 09:42 AI Editors. 11:53 Vite 6. 14:02 Bluesky. 19:52...
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Is Svelte becoming React? Scott and Wes explore the exciting updates in Svelte 5, including Runes, Snippets, odd font choices, and performance benchmarks, while discussing custom event updates, migration tips, and potential performance gains. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! Scott’s Svelte5 Overview . 01:27 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 02:06 What’s new in Svelte 5 ? 02:13 Runes . 04:47 $state 07:00 $state.snapshot 11:47 $derived 12:46 $derived.by 15:41 $effect 17:24 $effect.pre 18:05 $effect...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Scott and Wes dive into the world of local data storage, breaking down the pros and cons of Sqlite, LocalStorage, SessionStorage, Cookies, and IndexedDB. They cover real-world use cases like user settings, offline data, and auth tokens, while sharing their favorite tools and strategies for keeping your data fast and secure. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:30 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 01:43 Why store data locally. 01:55 User preferences and settings. 02:50 Not logged in state (shopping...
Dec 16, 2024•25 min
Wes and Scott talk with Zack Jackson about Module Federation, and the innovative ways it streamlines collaboration across large teams and complex applications. Zack also dives into simplifying microfrontends, optimizing builds with Rspack, and his work at ByteDance. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:48 Zach background and role at ByteDance 03:10 ByteDance’s web and native apps How ByteDance Became the World’s Most Valuable Startup Lynx ByteDance GitHub Coze Lark MarsCode 06:48 What is Modul...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Scott and Wes break down the tech behind video streaming for the web, from transcoding and variants to CDN and access control. They also share insights on tools like Mux, Cloudflare Stream, and ffmpeg, plus tips for managing bandwidth, hosting, and costs. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:50 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 01:15 The history of video streaming. 02:10 How video streaming works: The Tech. 03:54 How video streaming works: Transcoding. 06:37 How video streaming works: Variants. ff...
Dec 11, 2024•51 min
Want to level up your web dev game? Scott and Wes share their top tips for going deeper with your learning—covering everything from reading the docs and source code to finding mentorship and engaging with the community. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:48 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:54 How do you go deeper? 04:23 Pick a project and build it. 06:36 Read the docs. Svelte Docs . 09:07 Read the source. 11:19 Consume content: blogs, conference talks, etc. Dot Conferences on YouTube . GitNa...
Dec 09, 2024•25 min
Wes and Scott talk with Syntax Producer Randy Rektor. From mastering mic technique to lighting hacks and choosing the right camera, they discuss the best ways to upgrade your audio and video setup on any budget. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:01 Brought to you by Sentry.io 04:14 Understanding signal-to-noise ratio 06:48 Using de-noise iZotope Voice De-noise 09:12 The importance of mic technique 10:28 Dealing with electrical noise 11:15 The proximity effect 13:01 Sound treatment vs sound ...
Dec 06, 2024•59 min
Scott and Wes dive into your questions on Hono and SvelteKit, partitioned cookies, redirect codes, and using Rspack instead of Vite. Plus, they share insights on quoting projects, interview best practices, and whether you should slow down those speedy loading spinners. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:50 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 02:23 Apple developer accounts and certificates. 06:58 Hono, SvelteKit, and using them together. 11:14 Rspack & Rsbuild over Vite? Rspack , Rsbuild . Rolldown...
Dec 04, 2024•56 min
Scott and Wes dive into the Speculation Rules API and why it’s a game-changer for building blazing-fast websites. They break down how pre-loading, prefetching, and pre-connecting work together to boost performance while weighing the costs for both users and developers. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:49 Pre-loading, prefetching, and pre-connecting. CSS Wizardy . CSS Wizardy on GitHub . 02:06 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:16 Benefits of pre-loading, prefetching, and pre-connecting? 07:0...
Dec 02, 2024•24 min
Wes and Scott talk with Matt Perry, the creator of Motion (formerly Framer Motion). Matt discusses building intuitive tools, transitioning Motion to open source, and the future of web animation. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:15 The Framer Motion story Motion 05:16 What’s the status of Framer Motion today? 09:08 What tech is Motion built on? 13:40 Is Motion entirely WAAPI? 16:06 Why hasn’t the Web Animation API gained more traction? 17:46 Does Matt design his demos? 19:25 Performance and...
Nov 29, 2024•50 min
Scott and Wes dive into the State of Frontend 2024 Survey, breaking down the latest trends, tools, and frameworks shaping the developer ecosystem. Tune in as they react to hot takes on frameworks, state management, hosting, and what’s next for frontend devs! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:53 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 01:15 About the survey. Follow along! State of Frontend Survey 02:10 Frameworks. 06:15 Rendering frameworks. 07:35 State management. 09:14 Other libraries. Just: Depende...
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Explore the power of Cloudflare Tunnels with Scott and Wes as they break down this essential tool for secure remote server access. Learn how to establish and configure tunnels safely, integrate public webhooks with services like Snipcart and Apple Pay, and master the security practices that keep your connections protected. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:17 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 02:09 How do Cloudflare Tunnels work? 03:52 Publicly exposed webhooks. 04:09 Apple Pay. 04:40 Snipcart ...
Nov 25, 2024•19 min
Wes and Scott talk with Cassidy Williams and Harald Kirschner about exciting new features in VS Code and GitHub Copilot, including custom instructions, UI/UX improvements, and the future of AI and Copilot within different editors. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:32 Cassidy’s keynote at GitHub Universe 03:23 New Copilot features 04:55 Use cases for prompt engineering 09:20 UI and UX enhancements 19:18 Copilot Extensions 20:38 Brought to you by Sentry.io 21:26 Multi-line suggestions? 27:00 ...
Nov 22, 2024•42 min
Scott and Wes serve up state management in JavaScript, breaking down key concepts like reactive state, state updaters, and global vs local state. They also explore various approaches and libraries, mutation-based state, and tools like Zustand and xState, to help you manage state like a pro. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:22 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:10 What is state? 03:29 Common state jargon. 03:48 Reactive State. 04:14 Store. 04:46 Immutable vs Mutable State. 05:53 State updater...
Nov 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min
You’ve got a project, and you need the right tool—but how do you know if that JavaScript package is the one? Scott and Wes guide you through finding and validating packages, from checking NPM to scoping out social proof, so you can pick tools you can trust. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:29 Brought to you by Sentry.io . Take The Pledge 01:44 How to find a JS package. 02:56 Searching via NPM . 03:28 Searching via Socket.dev . 06:02 Searching via Reddit . 06:24 Searching via Perplexity . 0...
Nov 18, 2024•22 min
Scott and Wes talk with Scott Jehl about the benefits, challenges, and use cases of web components, particularly in design systems and performance. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:55 Scott’s background and career Responsible Responsive Design Webpagetest.org 06:46 An overview of web components 09:06 Why should people care about web components? 13:16 Should you write your own web components? 14:39 Reactivity in web components 15:56 DOM parts 18:23 Styling web components 22:08 Brought to yo...
Nov 15, 2024•51 min
Scott and Wes are back with their annual Syntax Holiday Gift Guide! They’ve curated the best gadgets, tools, games, and even kitchen essentials for the dev in your life — plus a few treats anyone would love to unwrap. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:46 Brought to you by Sentry.io . Open Source Pledge Members . 01:59 Syntax holiday gift guide. 02:25 Our absolute favorites. Leatherman Arc . Peak Design Everyday . 1.5 KG of Maldon , Salt Cellars . Anker Cube . Anker MagGo . Theragun , Off-Br...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Scott and Wes unpack their experiences as electric car owners, sharing the highs and lows of making the switch. From range anxiety to charging infrastructure and cost savings, they talk about everything from the tech perks to the unexpected challenges of driving electric. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:11 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:14 What cars and how long have we had them. Hyundai IONIQ 5 . Tesla Model Y Long Range . 10:41 Range and dealing with range anxiety. 11:45 The EPA specs...
Nov 11, 2024•44 min
Scott and Wes talk with Taylor Desseyn about the shifting developer job market. Taylor shares practical tips for standing out, building genuine connections, and finding opportunities in a competitive hiring landscape. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:38 Meet Taylor Desseyn 03:51 Is the dev job market as bad as it seems? 06:47 How to stand out when applying for a dev job? 11:03 Who is getting hired? 14:16 What tech/languages are companies hiring for right now? 16:37 Is there less work? 20:1...
Nov 08, 2024•57 min
Scott and Wes serve up listener questions on everything from SvelteKit’s limits and the quirks of branded types in TypeScript to handling email queues and secure token storage in cookies. Plus, they get into app security, the evolution of checkout flows, and why QA teams can actually be game-changers for dev teams. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:50 Catching up. 01:52 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 02:56 What are the limitations of SvelteKit? 06:41 Svelte 5 updates. 07:53 Branded types in ...
Nov 06, 2024•56 min
Scott and Wes react to the big GitHub Universe announcements, recorded live at GitHub Universe. They dive into Copilot’s new features, exploring how its advancements stack up against Cursor AI in the battle for the ultimate AI-driven developer tool. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:12 Our Syntax Meetup. 02:54 AI is everywhere. 03:22 Sherlocking and jockeying for position. 04:49 GitHub Copilot introduces alternative LLMs. GitHub Copilot 06:31 New tools are build upon existing LLMs. 09:14 VS...
Nov 04, 2024•55 min
Scott and Wes talk with Andrea Giammarchi (aka WebReflection) about his projects, including LinkDOM and PyScript, and the exciting future of running Python in the browser via WebAssembly. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:04 Andrea’s background and early work LinkDOM 07:25 Brought to you by Sentry.io 09:56 Pyscript 14:31 Why run Python in the browser? 20:17 Using WebAssembly to run different languages in JS 23:33 The advantages of WebAssembly 25:55 What excites Andrea about WASM Proposal: E...
Nov 01, 2024•54 min
Scott and Wes continue to share hair-raising developer horror stories submitted by listeners. From accidentally severing access to crucial databases to a limitless coupon code that cost millions, these tales will have you on the edge of your seat. Tune in for more wild mishaps, close calls, and hard-learned lessons from the dark side of coding. You won’t want to miss this second round of spooky web dev stories! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:49 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 01:32 ‘Monkey...
Oct 30, 2024•58 min
Scott and Wes unpack the spookiest web dev stories submitted by listeners in this episode. From forgotten MX records to infinite loops, these real-life coding horrors will have you double-checking your WHERE clauses and git backups. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:39 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 00:48 What is Spooky Stories? Submit a story . 02:45 ‘Needs a Coffee’ 04:43 ‘Deleting Github’ Defunkt X Post . 07:42 ‘Rejected’ 09:08 ‘Infinite Loop’ 09:26 ‘MySqueeel Horror’ 11:02 ‘Pet Company’ ...
Oct 28, 2024•17 min
Scott and Wes talk with Søren Bramer Schmidt, Founder and CEO of Prisma, about database best practices, including the latest developments in serverless, local-first, and typed SQL solutions. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:55 Søren’s thoughts on GraphQL 03:53 Brought to you by Sentry.io 06:57 Common database mistakes 08:52 Prisma’s stability and user experience 10:42 Typed SQL and advanced querying Announcing TypedSQL: Make your raw SQL queries type-safe with Prisma ORM Prisma Optimize 20...
Oct 25, 2024•55 min
Get your productivity game on point! Scott and Wes serve up the best tools for web developers, covering everything from password managers and to-do apps to mind-mapping tools and little scripts that make life easier. Plus, find out what snippet managers they swear by and how they keep their email under control. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:01 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:44 Syntax meetup San Francisco . 04:26 Breakdancing update. Kid Cruz Instagram . 05:18 Password management. 1Pas...
Oct 23, 2024•54 min
CJ joins Scott and Wes to dive into why he’s all-in on Hono, a fast and lightweight web framework for every JavaScript runtime. From familiar route creation to type-safe middleware, find out how Hono keeps things simple, powerful, and ready to use inside Next.js. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:46 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 01:11 What is Hono ? Watch CJ’s Video Here 03:21 Syntax Meetup San Francisco . 04:02 Why I like Hono, and why you should try it. 04:08 Familiar route creation. Conn...
Oct 21, 2024•30 min
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Do you really need a framework? Scott and Wes bring on CJ to break down when frameworks like Vue, Svelte, and Astro are worth it—and when they might just add complexity. They dive into everything from rendering strategies to auth solutions, deployment options, and how to choose the right tool for the job. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:32 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:17 What is a framework? Syntax Meetup San Francisco . 08:21 Examples of frameworks for Vue, Svelte and Angular. 12:39 ...
Oct 16, 2024•59 min
