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I Built a VS Code Extension: Ngrok for VS Code

Over the Easter weekend, a four day weekend characterized by lockdowns all over the world, I decided to use the extra time I had at home to start a new project and learn a new skill. By the end of the weekend, I was proud to release my first VSCode extension: ngrok for VSCode.

What’s That Now?

ngrok is a command-line tool built by Alan Shreve that you can use to expose your localhost server with a publicly available URL. It’s great for sharing access to an application running on your own machine, testing web applications on mobile devices, or testing webhook integrations. For example, I’m a big fan of using ngrok to test my webhooks when I am working with Twilio applications.




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Xamarin Native vs. Xamarin.Forms: How to Choose

As Android and iOS continue to dominate the mobile market, businesses need to develop applications that meet the diverse requirements of each operating system. Launching native mobile applications for Apple App Store and Google Play Store is going to be a long and expensive process. Not every business has adequate time and funds for developing native mobile applications. That is why cross-platform app frameworks have been rising to popularity.

Choosing cross-platform mobile app development services enables organizations to add their presence to both Android and iOS markets. Xamarin, recently acquired by Microsoft, is one of the best frameworks for cross-platform mobile app development. Rich features, agility, and cost-effectiveness make it an ideal choice for building cross-platform apps.




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The Complete Tutorial on the Top 5 Ways to Query Your Relational Database in JavaScript - Part 2

Welcome back! In the first part of this series, we looked at a very "low-level" way to interact with a relational database by sending it raw SQL strings and retrieving the results. We created a very simple Express application that we can use as an example and deployed it on Heroku with a Postgres database.

In this part, we're going to examine a few libraries which build on top of that foundation, adding layers of abstraction that let you read and manipulate database data in a more "JavaScript-like" way.




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Go Visitor Pattern

Summary

One feature that Go does not offer that is really useful in visitor patterns is overriding methods. The basic idea is to write a concrete class that contains all the VisitX methods with empty implementations, and a subclass can choose to only override the methods it cares about, ignoring the rest.

We'll see an example of how to implement this pattern in idiomatic Go code.




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Destination Heroku

[In the second part of his series, a Zone Leader begins the process of using Heroku for the very first time. In this article, he walks through the new account process, then performs the necessary setup of a database and RESTful API for use with the application built for a family member.]

In the "Moving Away From AWS and Onto Heroku" article, I provided an introduction of the application I wanted to migrate from Amazon's popular AWS solution to Heroku. While AWS is certainly meeting the needs of my customer (my mother-in-law), I am hoping for a solution that allows my limited time to be focused on providing business solutions instead of getting up to speed with DevOps processes.




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Let's Discuss Memoization, or Should I Say Memoisation

“In computing, memoization or memoisation is an optimization technique used primarily to speed up computer programs by storing the results of expensive function calls and returning the cached result when the same inputs occur again” — Wikipedia article on memoization

I've written a two part article in Memoization in JavaScript. The first part explains the concept with basic implementation in JavaScript code. It details a way to apply the technique on function calls. It is generic to handle most JavaScript functions.




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Syncing Local Alexa Skills JSON Files With Alexa Developer Console Settings

In the Alexa Skills for Node.JS ASK SDK development world, the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) Command-Line Interface (CLI) is one of the most overlooked tools.

Boosting Developer Productivity

With proper use, one could really increase productivity when developing Alexa Skills. This is especially so if you are creating many Alexa Skills, either because you are in the learning process or you are just managing multiple Alexa Skills projects for yourself or your clients.




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.NET Development Tools for Smart Development in 2020

.NET is indeed an important application development platform, as it's secure, robust, and quite easy to learn and implement. Developers are widely using the .NET framework to build web applications and even modernize legacy programming based applications into .NET-based ones. .NET developers also use many third-party tools to carry out development. These tools have proven to provide the best support for development.

Here are some of the top useful tools being used by many.NET development teams, .NET developers, individual .NET programmers, etc.




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Beginners Guide to CSS Flexbox With Examples

Flexbox is not a single property; it's a complete module that comes with a number of features. In this article, we will look at a complete guide for CSS Flexbox.

Before going into detail, I just want to answer why we should use flexbox layout instead of a traditional way of doing layout webpage using display properties, float properties, positional properties




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What’s New With Node? Interview With Bethany Griggs, Node.js Technical Steering Committee

Node.js 14 is available now. We wanted to get more context and details about the state of Node, and why developers should care about Node.js 14. We talked with Bethany Griggs, Node.js Technical Steering Committee member and Open-source Engineer at IBM, to find out more. 

Bethany has been a Node Core Collaborator for over two years. She contributes to the open-source Node.js runtime and is a member of the Node.js Release Working Group where she is involved with auditing commits for the long-term support (LTS) release lines and the creation of releases. 




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Using Heroku for Static Web Content

In the "Moving Away From AWS and Onto Heroku" article, I provided an introduction of the application I wanted to migrate from Amazon's popular AWS solution to Heroku.  Subsequently, the "Destination Heroku" article illustrated the establishment of a new Heroku account and focused on introducing a Java API (written in Spring Boot) connecting to a ClearDB instance within this new platform-as-a-service (PaaS) ecosystem.  My primary goal is to find a solution that allows my limited time to be focused on providing business solutions instead of getting up to speed with DevOps processes.

Quick Recap

As a TL;DR (too long; didn't read) to the original article, I built an Angular client and a Java API for the small business owned by my mother-in-law.  After a year of running the application on Elastic Beanstalk and S3, I wanted to see if there was a better solution that would allow me to focus more on writing features and enhancements and not have to worry about learning, understanding, and executing DevOps-like aspects inherent within the AWS ecosystem.




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Use Of Ngx-Bootstrap Typehead In Angular 8

Introduction

Ngx-Bootstrap has released a package of open-source tools which are native Angular directives for Bootstrap 3 and 4. It contains all core components powered by Angular. In this article, we will learn about the Typehead component which is a cool feature of Ngx-bootstrap.

What Is Typeahead?

Typeahead — Also known as autocomplete or autosuggest is a language prediction tool that many search interfaces use to provide suggestions for users as they type in a textbox. This is a method for searching and filtering through text. It is also sometimes known as autocomplete, incremental search, search-as-you-type, and inline search.




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Getting Started With Angular Reactive Form Validation

Handling user input with forms is the cornerstone of many common applications.

Applications use forms to enable users to log in, to update a profile, to enter sensitive information, and to perform many other data-entry tasks




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All About Lambda Functions in C++ (From C++11 to C++17)

Lambda functions are quite an intuitive concept of Modern C++ introduced in C++11, so there are already tons of articles on lambda function tutorials over the internet. But still, there are some untold things (like IIFE, types of lambda, etc.) left, which nobody talks about. Therefore, here I am to not only show you lambda function in C++, but we'll also cover how it works internally and other aspects of Lambda.

The title of this article is a bit misleading. Because lambda doesn't always synthesize to function pointer. It's an expression (precisely unique closure). But I have kept it that way for simplicity. So from now on, I will use lambda function and expression interchangeably.






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Gradients

See the Code - See it Full Page - See Details

Playing with non -intersecting circles and gradients. Sometimes gives an impression of relief. When clicking, mouse horizontal position chooses hue and vertical position chooses with or without nested circles.

This Pen uses: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and




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CSS Only, Content Overflow Shadows

See the Code - See it Full Page - See Details

Horizontal and Vertical scrolling with faded out content. **Please note:** I have not cross browser tested this, however this method leverages `background-attachment: local`, currently usable in everything except Android Browser & Opera Mini according to <a href="https://caniuse.com/#feat=background-attachment" target="_blank">caniuse.com</a>, meaning there is great support across devices and many Android devices use Google Chrome for Android rather than the OS browser. **Additional note:** There is a bug when previewing this pen on mobile, due to loading the example within an `iframe`. The shadow rgba values are read as a non transparent, this does not happen when previewing locally not in an iframe :-)

This Pen uses: HTML, SCSS, JavaScript, and





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Elantris

PRINCE Raoden of Arelon awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been damned for all eternity. What a way to start a novel. As a reader, I don’t think about the first words of a book when…




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Writing again

The mid-year slump hit hard this year. I’m rarely a prolific writer or blogger during the summer. Perhaps it’s the heat down here in south Alabama. It makes you want to sit under the shade of an old…




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2019-2020 network TV schedule

It’s that time of the year again. A new TV season is upon us. With some shows beginning to air this week, I thought it best to post my “to watch” schedule for the fall. Unlike last year, I…




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(Probably) No NaNoWriMo This Year

I’ve been getting the itch again. For the better part of this year, I’ve been looking forward to tackling National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) once again this November. I’ve been running over plot scenarios in my head…




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2019 year in review

It has been a whirlwind of a year. Looking back at where I ended 2018 and started 2019, I was not fully prepared for everything that happened. The big items from 2019 were: Yours truly turned 35. Shut down the business side of Theme…




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Writing a WordPress book. Again.

TL;DR: Brad Williams, John James Jacoby, and I will be publishing the 2nd edition of Professional WordPress Plugin Development this year. It is hard to believe, but it has been nine years since I was approached by Brad Williams…




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4K UHD Collection: April 2020

I am back in the collecting game. After several months of work and keeping an eye on deals, I am now inching closer toward 100 titles and have built a pretty nice 4K UHD collection. It started with my first DVD…




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Weed can help your anxiety - or make it a ton worse

The Cannabis Issue Times are stressful, what with a virus rampaging, people dying, hospitals being overloaded, the economy imploding and unemployment soaring.…




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In Washington's rural pot shops, the effects of the coronavirus scare can be dramatic

The Cannabis Issue During normal times, I-90 Green House is like a destination resort for marijuana lovers.…




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From culinary arts to binge-watching, here are some weed-friendly activities to get you through your isolation

The Cannabis Issue It's been almost a month since the COVID-19 pandemic forced folks inside and made "social distancing" part of our daily lexicons.…




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So it's your first time trying CBD...

The Cannabis Issue Search online for information on CBD (cannabidiol), one of the main active components in marijuana and hemp plants, and you're likely to come across claims that it can help with everything from curing cancer to helping you sleep a little better.…




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Melt your problems away with this cannabutter ice cream

The Cannabis Issue As we look ahead to sunnier days, few things are as satisfying as a scoop of nice, cold ice cream.…




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Weed-friendly movies to make you feel a little better about your own isolation

The Cannabis Issue So many of us are stuck inside right now, and that lack of socializing means we're all probably going a little bit stir crazy.…




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Regional summer camps hope the pandemic doesn't put activities on pause, but have backup plans ready if it does

[IMAGE-1]After having their school year totally disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, a return to some semblance of normalcy come summer is all many school-age kids and their families are looking forward to. For many, this anticipation includes annual summer camp traditions, from sleep-away adventures on the lake to fun-filled day camps for arts, learning or team sports.…




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Resident

Summer Camps 2020 Boy Scouts Camp Easton Spend a week on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene at camp, which offers activities like swimming, water-skiing, boating, sailing, kayaking, paddleboarding, hiking and more.…




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Special Needs

Summer Camps 2020 Beats and Rhythms Cardiac Camp A medically-supervised resident camp for children with congenital heart disease, who can enjoy traditional camp activities, including outdoor activities, crafts, team building exercises and more, in a safe medically supervised environment.…




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Education

Summer Camps 2020 ACT/SAT Prep Camp Students can use their free time this summer to get ready to take the ACT or SAT test with educational staff at Gonzaga Prep.…




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Dance, Cheer, Gymnastics

Summer Camps 2020 Adventure Gymnastics Camp This popular camp is now in its 17th year, offering themed days of challenges and adventures in gymnastics, like scavenger hunts and obstacle courses, costumes and more.…




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A guide to the Inlander's list of 2020 summer camps

Summer Camps 2020 "Regional Summer Camps Hope the Pandemic Doesn't Put Activities on Pause, But Have Backup Plans Ready if it Does" …




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North Idaho Rep. Heather Scott reaps the glory — and the consequences — of being one of Matt Shea's biggest allies

At these gatherings in northeast Washington, the jackboot of tyranny is always said to be descending, the hand of the federal government always inches away from stealing your guns, your land, your freedom to speak or to pray.…



  • News/Local News

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The cannabis industry is putting people to work

Legal marijuana might be putting dealers out of work, but it's definitely not harming the job market in general.…



  • News/Green Zone

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They keep inventing new ways to consume cannabis

We've come a long way since the olden days before legalization, when basically the only product on the market was the flower you got from a dealer.…



  • News/Green Zone

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Key Missteps at the CDC Have Set Back Its Ability to Detect the Potential Spread of Coronavirus

The CDC designed a flawed test for COVID-19, then took weeks to figure out a fix so state and local labs could use it. New York still doesn’t trust the test’s accuracy By Caroline Chen, Marshall Allen, Lexi Churchill and Isaac Arnsdorf Propublica…



  • News/Nation & World

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Coronavirus update: UW busy with testing, new guidelines for visiting grandma and other COVID-19 headlines

Coronavirus Family Tree The University of Washington Virology lab, which is testing samples for coronavirus, tweeted last night.…



  • News/Local News

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With a new coronavirus sweeping the world, how much should you really worry?

Since late last year, a new coronavirus, now dubbed COVID-19, has been sweeping the globe, sickening more than 114,000 with flu- and cold-like symptoms and killing more than 4,000 so far.…



  • News/Local News

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Should I quarantine because of coronavirus? It depends on who you ask

Agencies, local authorities and national governments do not agree on who should be quarantined or what that should actually look like. Here’s what we do know. By Maya Miller, Caroline Chen and Joshua Kaplan ProPublica People who have been exposed to the coronavirus are being given incomplete or misleading information about whether they should quarantine themselves, exposing major gaps in the public health response to the pandemic and illuminating disagreement among officials about how useful the tactic even is at this point in the disease’s spread.…



  • News/Nation & World

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Dozens of Spokane, Coeur d'Alene events canceled due to public health concerns over COVID-19

After Governor Jay Inslee announced a prohibition on gatherings of 250 people or more in three Washington counties (Snohomish, King, Pierce) on Wednesday, and with public health concerns growing over the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations in Spokane are following suit. The Inlander will be frequently updating its online calendar of events to reflect local cancelations as we hear of them.…



  • Culture/Arts & Culture

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How South Korea scaled coronavirus testing while the U.S. fell dangerously behind

By learning from a MERS outbreak in 2015, South Korea was prepared and acted swiftly to ramp up testing when the new coronavirus appeared there. Meanwhile, the U.S., plagued by delay and dysfunction, wasted its advantage. By Stephen Engelberg, Lisa Song and Lydia DePillis ProPublica…



  • News/Nation & World

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The Innovia Foundation's former president has finally won his three-year battle to stop the organization from donating to a racist website

There's one thing the Innovia Foundation can never say: That it hadn't been told.…



  • News/Local News

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Coronavirus: The latest news on COVID-19

We at the Inlander are committed to keeping people informed and connected throughout the coronavirus outbreak. We'll continue to update this page with the latest headlines.…



  • News/Local News

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The cruelest part of the coronavirus: It's cut us off from community and solace

There’s a cliche that always follows a big tragedy — something we say after natural disasters, economic collapses, school shootings, acts of terrorisms.…



  • Comment/Columns & Letters