If you ever got the error Rate Limit Exceeded from the GitHub API, then this article will help you understand what the error means and how to solve it. What did we use GitHub API for? At Acorns, we have some seriously cool Continuous Integration (CI) going on. Basically,...

Prerequisite: A common way to host static websites is to store your website files in an AWS S3 bucket and then cache it using AWS CloudFront. This blog article assumes you already have this setup for your website or web application. Why did we want to invalidate the cache?...

What is a cache? Caching is basically storing a result, so that next time, it will be faster. Say you get the data you need the first time, and then you save that result. The next time you need the data again, you’ve already cached the result, so the...

In my 5 years working professionally in web development, I noticed that every time WordPress is brought up, programmers sneer and scoff. “That is not real programming.” “That’s not real coding.” “Why would we ever bother using something like that?” Some programmers are just so damn snobby. I believe...

Sometimes you want to run a script in the console, but sometimes it’s too flippin long. It could be a script to lint, to build, to test, to deploy that might include additional variables. For example, to build my React app, I have to run this command in the...

Why did I want to automate the commit message? When I first started at Acorns and got access to the repository for the web application, I saw we were working with a big React application. Lots of routes, lots of products, and lots of functionality. On top of that,...

I had done a freelance project for a client as an Angular app. One day, I got an email from this client that said something quirky is happening. Not on my watch, it’s not! He told me that he created a Facebook ad that linked to the web page,...

What is a Query Parameter (or “query param”)? A query parameter is a pair that includes key and value that is listed in the url. Query params usually start with a question mark, ?. You can have multiple keys and values in the url too, which are separated by...

How can you get a job when you have no experience? It’s HARD! They don’t want to hire you because you have no experience, but how can you get experience if you can’t get a job?! It’s a vicious cycle, and by using these 9 tips, you’ll be able...

I meet a lot of people who tell me that they’re interested in coding. After the movie, The Social Network, about the start of Facebook, and the TV series, Silicon Valley, about the startup Pied Piper, it seems like coding is the next hot thing to do. This seems...