I reviewed Dan Abramov’s list of things he did not know as of 2018. I am compelled to write my evaluation report on the same list of things he has mentioned in his blog post.
Unix commands and Bash
I was a Windows guy till 2014. Even with my Mac, I use all the neat UI. My level of command line knowledge ends with NPM or Yarn. I use these Unix commands quite a bit
mkdir
cd
rm -rf node_modules
Low Level Languages ... MicroServices
Don’t care about this and the next few – Networking, Containers, Serverless, MicroServices. I have some experience with MicroServices while working in Dell eCommerce – mostly WCF or .NET services. I know a little bit of Serverless with AWS Lambda and Google Cloud Functions. But, I don’t care about any of these.
Python
At one time, around 2010, I thought of seriously learning Python. And that was before seriously learning JavaScript. I somehow quit my effort because there were no seriously good API frameworks in Python. Even now, Python continues to be only the domain of Machine Learning specialists. I also had the question of Why Python? Why not Go (programming language)? I know a little bit of both but not serious enough for professional work.
Node backends
I am good with Node backends. I don’t think I will have problems working on writing an API or even using Tensorflow.js or Blockchain programming for doing some backend stuff. Of course, everyone loves doing their own CRUD apps with MongoDB.
Native Platforms
I am good with C# and .NET platform. I tried my hand with Objective-C and xCode. And quit it when Swift came up. Eventually, I use React native for any app development efforts.
Algorithms
I took Tim Rutherford’s course on Algorithms in Coursera. It was extremely useful and I just loved that there was a way to think through difficult problems. I never had a chance to use it in my professional career.
Functional languages
And terminology. I don’t care about these.
CSS, SASS, BEM
I got a little ahead of Dan in these areas. I know quite a bit of modern CSS – Flexbox and Grid. Most of the times, I use BEM in my work. And SASS in as many projects as I can. I am happy to know a little bit more than Dan. Of course, expertise lies in understanding the nuances and not knowing something.
CORS ... TypeScript
I don’t care about any of these - CORS, Sockets, HTTPS, Electron or TypeScript. I worked a little bit in Web sockets and SocketIO. Did not have a chance to work in Electron. And absolutely hate TypeScript. Why? Because Microsoft (M$) invented it. And Angular uses it.
GraphQL
I know GraphQL from an Udemy course by Stephen Grider. But have not worked in a real-life project yet. Yes, I am familiar with its use in Gatsby. But that does not make me an expert yet.
DevOps
I am somewhat familiar with Docker. In 2019, I should learn a little bit more about Kubernetes than what I currently know. Overall, I struggle with Devops whenever I get a chance to deploy. But somehow get around doing it.
Graphics
I am somewhat good with SVG and doing it within React. But as with all the above topics (except CSS), I am not an expert in this either. I definitely have professional competence to work in SVG or Canvas. But there are some advanced topics which I don’t know.
Thanks again to Dan Abramov’s post for reminding us to work on our skills whenever we can.