The story of how weeks of taunting from non-sensical compiler errors and a supportive community turned this "lowly" frontend developer into a core contributor to Libsass - a large C/C++ project.
Why? Because all too often we see the subtext that "frontend developers aren't real programmers". I see this idea propagating through our industry, and worst of all, into the hearts and minds of fellow frontend developers.
Whether you write CSS, JavaScript or COBOL you're a programmer. It's not our languages that define us but our willingness to learn and master our domain.
I have dabbled in many programming languages over the years. Each with their own "ism" but at their cores they're all just functions and variables right?
With that in mind, having never written a line of C/C++ that compiled, in August I set out to start working on Libsass. A few short months later I was fortunate enough to became a core committer to Libsass. Like many others I thought C++ was intimidating - the realm of real programmers - but I had a problem that needed solving.
A unique syntax
Linkers and compilers
Makefiles
Binaries
Strict typing
Forward declarations
Are just a few of the things I needed to come to grips with, and did so by relating them to their frontend counter parts.
I want the audience to leave inspired to step out of their comfort zone, try something new and crazy, and know that failure the hardest and yet most rewarding part of being a real programmer.
I'm a full stack engineer at 99designs focusing primarily on frontend and tooling.
An advocate for open source software I'm currently the project lead for Node Sass and a core contributor to Libsass.
I'm also heavily involved in the local developer community as part of the CSSConf AU and the MelbCSS meetup organising teams.
It's all just functions and variables right..?
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The story of how weeks of taunting from non-sensical compiler errors and a supportive community turned this "lowly" frontend developer into a core contributor to Libsass - a large C/C++ project.
Why? Because all too often we see the subtext that "frontend developers aren't real programmers". I see this idea propagating through our industry, and worst of all, into the hearts and minds of fellow frontend developers.
Whether you write CSS, JavaScript or COBOL you're a programmer. It's not our languages that define us but our willingness to learn and master our domain.
I have dabbled in many programming languages over the years. Each with their own "ism" but at their cores they're all just functions and variables right?
With that in mind, having never written a line of C/C++ that compiled, in August I set out to start working on Libsass. A few short months later I was fortunate enough to became a core committer to Libsass. Like many others I thought C++ was intimidating - the realm of real programmers - but I had a problem that needed solving.
Are just a few of the things I needed to come to grips with, and did so by relating them to their frontend counter parts.
I want the audience to leave inspired to step out of their comfort zone, try something new and crazy, and know that failure the hardest and yet most rewarding part of being a real programmer.
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I'm a full stack engineer at 99designs focusing primarily on frontend and tooling. An advocate for open source software I'm currently the project lead for Node Sass and a core contributor to Libsass. I'm also heavily involved in the local developer community as part of the CSSConf AU and the MelbCSS meetup organising teams.
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