June Update: All about the tech

Technology Choices

Let's talk about the technology that makes LearnGit.io tick. At its core, LearnGit.io is a web application that delivers content in the form of video, text, interactive snippets, visualizations, etc. It's a search engine, video player, wiki, and courseware tool. To accomplish this, I reached for ReactJS — not only do I have professional experience with React, but as the web's dominant JavaScript framework, it also has more than enough power to accomplish the task.

I've enlisted Gatsby as a static-site generator to weave together the rich-text content and ReactJS components that form the core content offerings. Though not everything can be rendered statically, I'm a big believer in the speed and responsiveness of static sites. If you're thinking static means a boring, one-dimensional web application, you'll find that very far from the truth. I'm sure I'll speak more about this in future newsletters.

LearnGit.io will be hosted using AWS Amplify. For the components that require dynamic data, I'll be using a standalone API Gateway routing request through to Lambdas.

Lastly, LearnGit.io will be a paid service. I'm still weighing options for payments and authorization, but the shortlist includes: a DIY approach with Paddle, or an off-the-shelf solution like MemberStack. I'll keep you posted in future newsletters.

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Feature Preview: Dark Mode

Though there are many features in development, I'll give you a sneak peek of one of my favorites: dark mode. From the beginning, I knew dark mode was a non-negotiable, but building it has turned out to be tricky. I was faced with creating an entirely new palette and precariously organizing colors via CSS variables — and a tricky case known as "dark mode flash" required some complex finagling. I want to mention that Josh Comeau's articles have been a huge help in this area, and it's partially thanks to him that you'll be able to enjoy LearnGit.io without searing your retinas.

There is a lot more to come in future newsletters. Thanks again for joining the waitlist. Cheers,

Jack

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What's next?

On the next newsletter, we'll discuss equipment and video production. I'll talk through my camera gear and editing software, plus some extra goodies that help turn up the production value.

I have a suggestion

I'd love to hear any and all ideas you have for LearnGit.io! If you have a suggestion, please click the button below to let me know. You'll be taken to the LearnGit.io GitHub page where you can submit a feature request or idea using GitHub Issues.

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