Paul Cowan Contract software developer.

Stories by Paul Cowan

Put the TypeScript enums and booleans away

Put the TypeScript enums and Booleans away

Dev

While enums and Booleans may be familiar, you might want to think about using some other TypeScript constructs.

Paul Cowan
Dec 14, 2020 ⋅ 3 min read
Does my bundle look big in this?

Does my bundle look big in this?

Dev

Whatever the bundler, it is making more and more sense to move away from CommonJS.

Paul Cowan
Sep 30, 2020 ⋅ 3 min read

async/await is the wrong abstraction

Dev

I still do use async/await and it is excellent for a one-call scenario, but I, and many others, have discovered it is minimal for more complex real-world situations.

Paul Cowan
May 20, 2020 ⋅ 4 min read

The single-page application must die

Dev

My main problem with single-page applications is that they generally do not start life using progressive enhancement.

Paul Cowan
Mar 16, 2020 ⋅ 7 min read

Code splitting React components with TypeScript and NO Babel

Dev

In the React ecosystem, tools like loadable-componets add a much simpler veneer of sanity around dynamic imports.

Paul Cowan
Mar 12, 2020 ⋅ 5 min read

Real-world Azure resource management with Terraform and Docker

Dev

Learn about how to use Terraform in a real, production-ready environment.

Paul Cowan
Feb 24, 2020 ⋅ 9 min read

Act now to make your React website accessible

Dev

I do not care about the various WCAG 2.x standards. People use these standards as an excuse to do the bare minimum to make a site accessible. What I do care about is that real users of assistive technologies can verify what we have developed is accessible.

Paul Cowan
Jan 27, 2020 ⋅ 7 min read

Is TypeScript worth it?

Dev

I am, for the most part, a TypeScript fan but I do have some nagging doubts that I would like to discuss in this post.

Paul Cowan
Jan 15, 2020 ⋅ 4 min read

Automated testing is not working

Dev

And here’s why

Paul Cowan
Nov 18, 2019 ⋅ 7 min read

Solutions to frustrations with React Hooks

Dev

In a previous post, we talked about Frustrations with React Hooks. Here are some solutions to those frustrations.

Paul Cowan
Nov 4, 2019 ⋅ 4 min read

New in TypeScript 3.7

Dev

I have waited a long time for these changes, and I think the TypeScript official announcement does its usual job of underselling the great new features.

Paul Cowan
Oct 15, 2019 ⋅ 3 min read