React 18 is finally here 🎉
Plus... Apple attempts to tackle data privacy and tracking, an AI system that talks to animals and we dive into the touchy subject of salary disparities
Hey 👋 Welcome to the monthly edition of our newsletter. We’re Haystack, and each month we deliver a roundup of the biggest stories and updates from across the tech landscape.
Enjoy our content? Why not share it with your friends! 👇
💥 Big Tech & Start-ups
Wired
We all (or should at least), lock our doors before we go to sleep at night or double-check windows are shut before we go away. Security is important. 🔒Which is why we’re seeing this shift in tech companies, governments, etc putting more emphasis on it.
With the latest iOS 14 update and the debut of App Tracking Transparency, Apple has reversed the default position on in-app tracking from opt-out to opt-in. A huge leap forwards. However, current proposed EU tech rules are threatening the security of iPhone users. CEO, Tim Cook said, "It would destroy the security of the iPhone, and a lot of the privacy initiatives that we've built into the App Store or the privacy intrusion labels and app-tracking transparency”.
For both businesses and users, the entire concept of user tracking is set to go through huge changes over the next few years. Google, for example, is still forging ahead with its intention to eradicate third-party cookies from the Chrome browser by January 2022 despite concerns. 🍪
Side note - 💰 Bitcoin update was featured last month, but it was recently announced that El Salvador looked like it was going to be the world’s first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Interesting.
🔭 Science & Future Tech
giphy
AI is everywhere now, so is it still the ‘hot’ thing in tech or have we moved on?
Anyway, we uncovered that AI is being used to talk to animals, including whales - and that’s pretty cool. 🐋 Scientists know that animals communicate in complex ways, but it’s not been until now that we’ve had the technology or means in order to research and explore it.
In 2017, AI also helped to analyse whether or not a sheep was in distress or not, purely based on AI images of their facial expressions. What would you ask your pet if you could talk to them? 🐶
📢 Psst… we’re on Reddit now. Join us for memes, chats, help and advice, all those good things 👉 reddit.com/r/HaystackCommunity/
💻 Programming, Design & Data
OpenReplay
Calling all React fans - we’ve got a new version! After taking some time to build on the fundamentals in React 17, the team finally announced the plans for React 18 which included upcoming features, a release timeline, a publicly available alpha and a new Working Group. In short, there’s a lot going on, so let’s dive into a few of the highlights!
The Working Group
A new concept in React development, the Working Group is there to provide feedback and prepare the community for the upcoming React release. It’s limited to a select few members, but its conversations are publicly available in a Read-only format on GitHub Discussions. There’s a whole host of helpful React-related info already on there - go check it out!
Root API
// Old
ReactDOM.render(<App />, container);
// New
const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(container);
Out with the old, in with the new. The familiar render
function (the one you use at the start of every React app) will be replaced by createRoot
. This is essentially the gateway to accessing all of the shiny new React 18 features. Check out the Working Group thread here.
Strict Mode
The React Team have also been working on some changes to Strict Mode, specifically adding new behaviour called “strict effects” which double-invokes the mount
and unmount
effects. The idea here is that these checks will test against multiple mount/unmount cycles and ensures correct behaviour when using Fast Refresh in development, as well as a new “Offscreen API” which is currently a WIP.
The Offscreen API will enable better performance by hiding components instead of unmounting them, keeping the state, and still calling the mount
/unmount
effects. That’ll play a crucial role in optimizing components like tabs, virtualized lists, etc.
Checkout this thread for a deeper dive.
Concurrent Rendering
Arguably the most significant update, “concurrent mode” also known as, “concurrent rendering” ushers in the adoption of concurrent features without the need for rewrites.
Fresh APIs
Plenty of new opt-in APIs for you to dive into.
startTransition
This mark’s state updates as transitions, making handling them non-urgent. The aim of startTransition
is to mitigate lag when handling heavy state updates such as data fetches or list filtering.
useDeferredValue
Helpful when you need to implement complex state-based deferred behaviour.
SuspenseList
The component is meant to handle cases where fetched data can arrive in an unpredictable order. Thanks to <SuspenseList>
, it can be orchestrated and keep the UI in check.
⚙️ Misc
giphy
Have you ever stopped and thought to yourself ‘what am I worth?’.
Some say that money can’t buy happiness, which is true to some extent. The amount of money we get paid to do a job can have a huge impact on how we carry out that said job, as well as the hit it can take on our self-worth.
Using Haystack’s database of tech industry employees and employers, we have analysed how much those in the industry think they should be paid for their role. From this some key factors came to light, which may or may not surprise you - the gender pay gap is affecting more than just people’s bank accounts, your location can affect your self-worth as well as tech talent valuing themselves as much as 10k LESS than the average salary!
According to research from LinkedIn, 150 million new technology jobs will be created in the next five years; however, 39% of the UK didn’t have the digital skills required to match this demand. Our data revealed that Docker should be at the top of a techies must-have list, with GIT coming in at second place and Java in third.
In the tech industry, where skills, stacks and specifics of the role can differ so vastly, it is difficult to know what salary you should be expecting, but the take-home message is that you should always value yourself for who you are, the skill set you possess and respectively ask for the salary you deserve. 👏
🚀 Sponsored Roles
Dev
Bede: Software Engineer (Newcastle upon Tyne/ Open to Remote)
TDS: Graduate Software Developer (Newcastle upon Tyne/ Open to Remote)
Gear4Music: Senior Software Engineer (York)
Loveshark: Senior Frontend Developer (London)
Design
Asda: Senior UX Designer (Leeds)
Gear4Music: UI Designer (Manchester/ York)
Ori Industries: Senior Product Designer - UX/UI (Remote)
Opencast: Interaction Designer (Newcastle upon Tyne/ Open to Remote)
Data
Lloyds Banking Group: Data Engineer (London)
AO: Data Platform Engineer (Manchester/ Open to Remote)
Asda: Data Architect (Leeds)
Yorkshire Building Society: Data Design Analyst (Leeds/ Open to Remote)
♻️ Blog Round-Up
The Dark Side of React
It’s inevitable that challenges will arise, no matter what it is you are doing. It’s useful to know how to overcome these challenges, especially those related to React and other Javascript frontend frameworks. Read more
Tips to improve your mental health as a Developer
Focus on yourself, give yourself a break and enjoy the present moment. Learning to look after yourself can be one of the most important tools for sustaining lasting growth and success. Read more
Design Patterns in TypeScript for Frontend Developers
Design Patterns are best software practices used by Developers in solving recurring problems in Software Development. Whilst they aren’t typically code-related, they can be referred to as a blueprint to use in designing a solution for a myriad of use cases. Read more
Improve your React applications instantly
How can you code cleaner and more reliable? Take a look at these amazing tricks that are aimed to improve your React applications instantly, as well as making the development experience easier and more enjoyable! Read more
🏳️🌈 Show Off The Real YOU
June is Pride Month 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️. A month for celebration and to reflect and honour experiences, as well as raising awareness of the issues that the LGBTQ+ community still continue to face today.
This month, we spoke to Ruth, a software developer and proud trans woman on her experiences.
Q. In your personal blog, you talk about your transition into your true self, while working as a software developer. Can you talk a bit more about that experience?
I began my transition whilst contracting for a very small company in Wolverhampton back in 2012. Thankfully the business owner had known trans people whilst living in the States, and was fine with my transition. The following year, I found a new contract with another Wolverhampton-based firm, who offered me a permanent role a few months later, which I accepted. I’ve found software engineering to be a great environment to work in for someone who is transitioning – all the companies I have worked for since starting my transition have been welcoming and accepting, and I have not experienced any problems. Conversely, I’ve found huge benefits from being able to work as my true self – especially around feeling happier and more engaged at work.
Q.What steps do you think employers can take to make the workplace more inclusive?
I think, at the very minimum, having an equality and diversity policy that explicitly mentions gender identity – as well as race, gender, sexuality, disability, etc. But – more importantly, to live equality and diversity day-to-day through the company’s core values, rather than it just being a box-ticking exercise. So, at Click Travel, for example, we put a lot of focus on respect, psychological safety and mental health – as well as having a no-blame culture – and it’s certainly a place where being different just isn’t an issue – everyone is accepted for who they are.