

**Edit:** This post was scheduled to be published on the 8th of April, but due to the COVID pandemic and the uni-related consequences it brought about, I had to delay the post. However, I can now confirm that I am now working on another project idea that I have a genuine interest in and enjoy working on.

As some of you may know, I am currently in the process of completing my final year project (FYP). Up until recently, I have been doing a dementia based project for my FYP. This included a web portal for carers to manage patients, as well as an Android app which the patients would have on their phone. The app was to help assist with daily tasks such as reminders to take medication, assist in making calls to carer and family members, as well as provide daily mental stimulation games.

The completed app itself would be designed with little-to-no learning curve, so that patients with stage 1 to 3 of dementia and those with memory deficiency would be able to use it with no problem. This would have relied heavily on the principal of repetition and inforcement.

The web platform would be accessible by the carer (who could potentially be assigned to multiple patients) and would allow them to remotely update medication reminders, update contact information, change the mental stimulation games and track behavioural changed based on time taken to carry out each task over time.

Initially, I had so much excitement and ideas for this project, but over time I became more and more demotivated and lost all excitement and will to work on it. This got to the point where it made development depressing and I hated it 😭😭

So I got in touch with my Tutor and Module leader and requested a change of topic. The initial response was "Normally; we'd say its too late, but due to circumstances we could look into the possibility. Do you have a rough idea of how long it will take?". Once I calculated the time and sent a response I felt pretty sure this would be it... I'm still waiting.

I've decided to take the risk and start working on the new project (called *rejig* - thanks to my friend [@rizbizkits](https://twitter.com/rizbizkits) for the name idea) despite the fact I am yet to hear back from the module leader. What i've discovered is that i'm much happier doing this work than I was when I was doing work on the previous topic.

"*I kindly await your response...*"


<p><strong>Edit:</strong> This post was scheduled to be published on the 8th of April, but due to the COVID pandemic and the uni-related consequences it brought about, I had to delay the post. However, I can now confirm that I am now working on another project idea that I have a genuine interest in and enjoy working on.</p>
<p>As some of you may know, I am currently in the process of completing my final year project (FYP). Up until recently, I have been doing a dementia based project for my FYP. This included a web portal for carers to manage patients, as well as an Android app which the patients would have on their phone. The app was to help assist with daily tasks such as reminders to take medication, assist in making calls to carer and family members, as well as provide daily mental stimulation games.</p>
<p>The completed app itself would be designed with little-to-no learning curve, so that patients with stage 1 to 3 of dementia and those with memory deficiency would be able to use it with no problem. This would have relied heavily on the principal of repetition and inforcement.</p>
<p>The web platform would be accessible by the carer (who could potentially be assigned to multiple patients) and would allow them to remotely update medication reminders, update contact information, change the mental stimulation games and track behavioural changed based on time taken to carry out each task over time.</p>
<p>Initially, I had so much excitement and ideas for this project, but over time I became more and more demotivated and lost all excitement and will to work on it. This got to the point where it made development depressing and I hated it 😭😭</p>
<p>So I got in touch with my Tutor and Module leader and requested a change of topic. The initial response was “Normally; we’d say its too late, but due to circumstances we could look into the possibility. Do you have a rough idea of how long it will take?”. Once I calculated the time and sent a response I felt pretty sure this would be it… I’m still waiting.</p>
<p>I’ve decided to take the risk and start working on the new project (called <em>rejig</em> - thanks to my friend <a href="https://twitter.com/rizbizkits" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="l" hreflang="en">@rizbizkits</a> for the name idea) despite the fact I am yet to hear back from the module leader. What i’ve discovered is that i’m much happier doing this work than I was when I was doing work on the previous topic.</p>
<p>“<em>I kindly await your response…</em>”</p>


Something needs a Rejig 👀



As some of you might have heard, ProjectFunction is partnering up with NTU to deliver a 2 weeks intensive course. As with other PF courses we have run in the past, this one will be open to those who are under-represented in the industry. As part of this programme, learners will have the opportunity to take part in workshops and attend talks related to working in tech. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to apply all the skills they gather and the knowledge they gain, to design and implement their own website.

In preparation for this, I have started writing up some documentation and tasks for the learners. While doing the documentation for this, I came across 2 issues; firstly, there was no way to natively embed non-gist GitHub code into webpages, and secondly the option provided by GitHub does not make it difficult, if not impossible to restyle.

As it currently stands, GitHub allows you to embed gists into your webpage using the _embed_ option. But this comes in the form of a `<script>` tag that you insert into the page. This makes embedding simple, but at the cost of interface customizations. So I made my own. Now I know there are other solutions out there such as [_gist-it_](https://github.com/robertkrimen/gist-it) but I thought it would be a good challenge to implement my own.

My main priority when creating this was simplicity and customizability. I wanted the library to be easy to use, but also provide some customization options. Furthermore, I wanted to keep the element in the light DOM (outside of the shadow DOM) to ensure users could go even further with their customizations by using custom CSS.

Here is what I ended up creating:
![Screenshot of PyroGist in use](/images/PyroGist_Example_Screenshot.png)

As pictured above, the result allows the user to match the style of the embedded content to fit their page design. In order to use the library, you first have to link the stylesheet and put the script in the `<head>` of the destination document. Once you have this, PyroGist can be initialized.

<link rel="stylesheet" href="//cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/highlightjs/cdn-release@9.18.0/build/styles/github.min.css">
<script src="//cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/highlightjs/cdn-release@9.18.0/build/highlight.min.js"></script>

<link rel="stylesheet" href="//darylcecile.net/scripts/PyroGist_v1/PyroGist.css">
<script src="//darylcecile.net/scripts/PyroGist_v1/PyroGist.js"></script>

<div id="preview">
PyroGist("#preview",{
    url: "https://github.com/daryl-cecile/MiniTest-1/blob/master/test.js",
    theme: "normal",
    autoFit: true,
    highlight: true
});
</div>

The example above shows how to embed a simple mock test file from a GitHub repository. If you wish to embed custom content (not hosted on GitHub), you can put the content directly into the body of the containing element and ignore the 'url' option.

<div id="preview2">
PyroGist("#preview2",{
    name: "My custom file",
    theme: "normal",
    autoFit: true,
    highlight: true
});
</div>

Currently, the highlighting is done by the highlightjs library (which users have to link themselves if they want syntax highlighting). However, the default colors can be easily overridden using custom CSS.

<script>
PyroGist("#preview",{
    name: "test.js",
    theme: "normal",
    autoFit: true,
    highlight: true
});
    
PyroGist("#preview2",{
    name: "example",
    theme: "normal",
    autoFit: true,
    highlight: true
});
</script>

Even though this library has a long way to go, I feel fairly comfident that it has met my initial goals and can serve its original purpose. In the near future, I intend to make GitHub gists embeddable via url. Additionally, I may create an adapter or customElement to automatically load the previews directly from markup (something like `<pyro-gist url="/file/example.js"></pyro-gist>`).


Until then... ✌🏽

--

_P.S. This library can be found [here](https://github.com/daryl-cecile/PyroGist), on my GitHub account!_


<p>As some of you might have heard, ProjectFunction is partnering up with NTU to deliver a 2 weeks intensive course. As with other PF courses we have run in the past, this one will be open to those who are under-represented in the industry. As part of this programme, learners will have the opportunity to take part in workshops and attend talks related to working in tech. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to apply all the skills they gather and the knowledge they gain, to design and implement their own website.</p>
<p>In preparation for this, I have started writing up some documentation and tasks for the learners. While doing the documentation for this, I came across 2 issues; firstly, there was no way to natively embed non-gist GitHub code into webpages, and secondly the option provided by GitHub does not make it difficult, if not impossible to restyle.</p>
<p>As it currently stands, GitHub allows you to embed gists into your webpage using the <em>embed</em> option. But this comes in the form of a <code>&lt;script&gt;</code> tag that you insert into the page. This makes embedding simple, but at the cost of interface customizations. So I made my own. Now I know there are other solutions out there such as <a href="https://github.com/robertkrimen/gist-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="l" hreflang="en"><em>gist-it</em></a> but I thought it would be a good challenge to implement my own.</p>
<p>My main priority when creating this was simplicity and customizability. I wanted the library to be easy to use, but also provide some customization options. Furthermore, I wanted to keep the element in the light DOM (outside of the shadow DOM) to ensure users could go even further with their customizations by using custom CSS.</p>
<p>Here is what I ended up creating:<br />
<img src="/images/PyroGist_Example_Screenshot.png" alt="Screenshot of PyroGist in use" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p>As pictured above, the result allows the user to match the style of the embedded content to fit their page design. In order to use the library, you first have to link the stylesheet and put the script in the <code>&lt;head&gt;</code> of the destination document. Once you have this, PyroGist can be initialized.</p>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="//cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/highlightjs/cdn-release@9.18.0/build/styles/github.min.css">
<script src="//cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/highlightjs/cdn-release@9.18.0/build/highlight.min.js"></script>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="//darylcecile.net/scripts/PyroGist_v1/PyroGist.css">
<script src="//darylcecile.net/scripts/PyroGist_v1/PyroGist.js"></script>
<div id="preview">
PyroGist("#preview",{
    url: "https://github.com/daryl-cecile/MiniTest-1/blob/master/test.js",
    theme: "normal",
    autoFit: true,
    highlight: true
});
</div>
<p>The example above shows how to embed a simple mock test file from a GitHub repository. If you wish to embed custom content (not hosted on GitHub), you can put the content directly into the body of the containing element and ignore the ‘url’ option.</p>
<div id="preview2">
PyroGist("#preview2",{
    name: "My custom file",
    theme: "normal",
    autoFit: true,
    highlight: true
});
</div>
<p>Currently, the highlighting is done by the highlightjs library (which users have to link themselves if they want syntax highlighting). However, the default colors can be easily overridden using custom CSS.</p>
<script>
PyroGist("#preview",{
    name: "test.js",
    theme: "normal",
    autoFit: true,
    highlight: true
});
    
PyroGist("#preview2",{
    name: "example",
    theme: "normal",
    autoFit: true,
    highlight: true
});
</script>
<p>Even though this library has a long way to go, I feel fairly comfident that it has met my initial goals and can serve its original purpose. In the near future, I intend to make GitHub gists embeddable via url. Additionally, I may create an adapter or customElement to automatically load the previews directly from markup (something like <code>&lt;pyro-gist url=&quot;/file/example.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/pyro-gist&gt;</code>).</p>
<p>Until then… ✌🏽</p>
<p>–</p>
<p><em>P.S. This library can be found <a href="https://github.com/daryl-cecile/PyroGist" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="l" hreflang="en">here</a>, on my GitHub account!</em></p>


I did a thing... PyroGist 👨🏽‍💻



This month's entry is comparatively short to the last, as it is not what I had initially planned to post. This is due to me spending almost an hour and half doing the write up for the original post to then decide at the very last minute that I needed more time to refine the wording of the content. So here is a short post 😂

As of two weeks ago, Rizwana and I have made the decision to overhaul the ProjectFunction website. This decision is a result of the increased intake in students. When I first wrote the original website, It was done very haphazardly. At the time, it felt more important to launch something that the learners could make use of to enhance their experience of ProjectFunction; and so I prioritised meeting a delivery deadline over maintainability, and as you can guess, this has not gone down well. 🤦🏽‍♂️

The backend for the original database was written in PHP and the data was maintained in a (very) _loosely_ relational MySQL database. Even though this allowed me to make changes to the database structure within minutes without losing any data, it did lead to a lot of redundant data. During the development of the website, I knew deep down it would need rewriting from the ground up. After all, the website was made as a proof-of-concept, and it was so well received that we ended up adding more features instead of re-writing. But now it is time.

Due to our future plans and use-cases involving user-automated-tests, we have decided to move over to a NodeJS backend. This would mean we could re-use some of the libraries we have created over the year in both the front and backend, as well as run all user-automated-tests on our own end (instead of using heroku and hooks and hacky magic stuff 🧙🏽‍♂️)

Last week, I started some work on the new system, setting up the server, services, and database structure. The number one difficulty I had with this process was moving the data we had over from the current (un)relational database, to our new one. Because of how much redundant data there was, as well as the lack of relations between some of the tables, I ended up having to create a data dump of the old database, then use a js script to read, analyse and re-associate each of the data entries so that they could be seeded into the new fully-relational database. Surprisingly, this process only took 4 minutes.

So far, the database is fully set up and functional. All that is left to do now is move-over some of the old php-based views to EJS, and create routers for the new website. As for the design of the new website, we intend to keep the same look and feel, so the stylesheets we already have will be reused.

As we've done in the past, we wont be minifying or obfuscating any of the resources. This was a conscious decision to enable learners to view the source of our website and see an untouched version of the resources. And based on the feedback we got from some learners, this was a good move as it enabled them to understand how we implemented some parts of our website.⚡️

Over the next few weeks, we intend on working solely on the LMS side of the ProjectFunction website, so that it is ready for use in June. During this time, some parts of the website may change (for the better) as we decide what to keep, remove, and update. Once the site is ready for launch, we shall decomission the old LMS, and start working on moving the current visitor-facing site (i.e. The ProjectFunction homepage) over to NodeJS.

Until then... ✌🏽

--
_P.S. I realise now that this wasn't exactly a "short" entry, but I know if I go back to make changes, this post wont be out on time... So, here_ 🤷🏽‍♂️

_P.P.S. We got us some customized ProjectFunction business cards!_


![Me holding my new PF business card](/images/business_card_1.jpeg)

<p>This month’s entry is comparatively short to the last, as it is not what I had initially planned to post. This is due to me spending almost an hour and half doing the write up for the original post to then decide at the very last minute that I needed more time to refine the wording of the content. So here is a short post 😂</p>
<p>As of two weeks ago, Rizwana and I have made the decision to overhaul the ProjectFunction website. This decision is a result of the increased intake in students. When I first wrote the original website, It was done very haphazardly. At the time, it felt more important to launch something that the learners could make use of to enhance their experience of ProjectFunction; and so I prioritised meeting a delivery deadline over maintainability, and as you can guess, this has not gone down well. 🤦🏽‍♂️</p>
<p>The backend for the original database was written in PHP and the data was maintained in a (very) <em>loosely</em> relational MySQL database. Even though this allowed me to make changes to the database structure within minutes without losing any data, it did lead to a lot of redundant data. During the development of the website, I knew deep down it would need rewriting from the ground up. After all, the website was made as a proof-of-concept, and it was so well received that we ended up adding more features instead of re-writing. But now it is time.</p>
<p>Due to our future plans and use-cases involving user-automated-tests, we have decided to move over to a NodeJS backend. This would mean we could re-use some of the libraries we have created over the year in both the front and backend, as well as run all user-automated-tests on our own end (instead of using heroku and hooks and hacky magic stuff 🧙🏽‍♂️)</p>
<p>Last week, I started some work on the new system, setting up the server, services, and database structure. The number one difficulty I had with this process was moving the data we had over from the current (un)relational database, to our new one. Because of how much redundant data there was, as well as the lack of relations between some of the tables, I ended up having to create a data dump of the old database, then use a js script to read, analyse and re-associate each of the data entries so that they could be seeded into the new fully-relational database. Surprisingly, this process only took 4 minutes.</p>
<p>So far, the database is fully set up and functional. All that is left to do now is move-over some of the old php-based views to EJS, and create routers for the new website. As for the design of the new website, we intend to keep the same look and feel, so the stylesheets we already have will be reused.</p>
<p>As we’ve done in the past, we wont be minifying or obfuscating any of the resources. This was a conscious decision to enable learners to view the source of our website and see an untouched version of the resources. And based on the feedback we got from some learners, this was a good move as it enabled them to understand how we implemented some parts of our website.⚡️</p>
<p>Over the next few weeks, we intend on working solely on the LMS side of the ProjectFunction website, so that it is ready for use in June. During this time, some parts of the website may change (for the better) as we decide what to keep, remove, and update. Once the site is ready for launch, we shall decomission the old LMS, and start working on moving the current visitor-facing site (i.e. The ProjectFunction homepage) over to NodeJS.</p>
<p>Until then… ✌🏽</p>
<p>–<br />
<em>P.S. I realise now that this wasn’t exactly a “short” entry, but I know if I go back to make changes, this post wont be out on time… So, here</em> 🤷🏽‍♂️</p>
<p><em>P.P.S. We got us some customized ProjectFunction business cards!</em></p>
<img src="/images/business_card_1.jpeg" alt="Me holding my new PF business card" loading="lazy" />


PF February Update ⚡️🧙🏽‍♂️



For the past 4 years, I've been telling myself that I will be ready for adult life when it comes - and until recently, that was true. I've always had a clear image of what I wanted to achieve in the future; Since college, I knew that I wanted to start my own (side?) project/company, and find a job in development somewhere that is chill. But now that I am finally about to step into proper "adult life", I cant help but feel like i'm not as ready as I thought 😬

The plan throughout uni was that i'd move back to London once my degree was over, find a job somewhere there as a software developer, and maybe start a company of my own (on the side). In fact, I was so confident in that plan until recently. Last year, during my time on placement at a company in Nottingham called ERT, a dear friend of mine ([@rizbizkits](https://twitter.com/rizbizkits)) and I co-founded an initiative called ProjectFunction (find out about it [here](https://projectfunction.io)).

ProjectFUnction has been quite successful, however, I never expected it to gain so much traction in the Nottingham Tech community. This made me realize that I would need to stick around in Notts a bit longer after uni to see it through its untapped potential. After some mental back and forth, I accepted that my plans to go back home to London would have to be put on hold. So now, I find myself looking for a place to stay for next year (as I'm currently staying in a student-only accomondation).

I've been looking around Nottingham for a chill 2 bedroom flat - ideally one with parking, cat-friendly and on the ground floor. After all, Panther needs a place to stay too 😼

![Panther cat doing a big stretch on the bed](/images/pantherCat.jpg)

The places i've seen so far are quite afordable too, but then I realized, if I'm staying in Nottingham, I need to start looking for places _in_ Notts 🤦🏽‍♂️. So I started looking...

_In retrospect, I realize that moving away from home to university in Nottingham was nothing compared to the "adult life" im finding myself flying towards this year. In fact, I'm not even sure I am ready for it in all honesty. But here we are 🤷🏽‍♂️_

In December, my friend Rizwana and I were discussing what kind of places I was looking for in terms of jobs, and after giving it some thought, considering my past experiences, it became clear that I had a rough idea of what I wanted 👇🏽

- A startup-like environment would be great (1 - 30 people)
- Being flexible enough to work from home
- Having personal-development budget and opportunities
- No crunch-time (clear seperation of work and personal life)
- Countless opportunities for career-progression
- Diverse and inclusive teams
- Experimental when it comes to implementing new ideas
- A place that is not afraid to make their own tools to aid development
- Open-souce contributors would be nice
- Friendly/community-like team
- A place that is happy to work and give back to the community
- Somewhere that uses cutting edge technology

All in all, I have a clear idea of the kind of workplace where I want to work as a Web developer 👨🏽‍💻. Now I just need to find it and make it happen. I guess i'll find out when it gets to it. I just hope that the place I find meets those points as closely as possible 🤞🏽. Once I do that, I can finally start focusing on ProjectFunction, and the many plans we have for it in the near future!

<p>For the past 4 years, I’ve been telling myself that I will be ready for adult life when it comes - and until recently, that was true. I’ve always had a clear image of what I wanted to achieve in the future; Since college, I knew that I wanted to start my own (side?) project/company, and find a job in development somewhere that is chill. But now that I am finally about to step into proper “adult life”, I cant help but feel like i’m not as ready as I thought 😬</p>
<p>The plan throughout uni was that i’d move back to London once my degree was over, find a job somewhere there as a software developer, and maybe start a company of my own (on the side). In fact, I was so confident in that plan until recently. Last year, during my time on placement at a company in Nottingham called ERT, a dear friend of mine (<a href="https://twitter.com/rizbizkits" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="l" hreflang="en">@rizbizkits</a>) and I co-founded an initiative called ProjectFunction (find out about it <a href="https://projectfunction.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="l" hreflang="en">here</a>).</p>
<p>ProjectFUnction has been quite successful, however, I never expected it to gain so much traction in the Nottingham Tech community. This made me realize that I would need to stick around in Notts a bit longer after uni to see it through its untapped potential. After some mental back and forth, I accepted that my plans to go back home to London would have to be put on hold. So now, I find myself looking for a place to stay for next year (as I’m currently staying in a student-only accomondation).</p>
<p>I’ve been looking around Nottingham for a chill 2 bedroom flat - ideally one with parking, cat-friendly and on the ground floor. After all, Panther needs a place to stay too 😼</p>
<img src="/images/pantherCat.jpg" alt="Panther cat doing a big stretch on the bed" loading="lazy" />
<p>The places i’ve seen so far are quite afordable too, but then I realized, if I’m staying in Nottingham, I need to start looking for places <em>in</em> Notts 🤦🏽‍♂️. So I started looking…</p>
<p><em>In retrospect, I realize that moving away from home to university in Nottingham was nothing compared to the “adult life” im finding myself flying towards this year. In fact, I’m not even sure I am ready for it in all honesty. But here we are 🤷🏽‍♂️</em></p>
<p>In December, my friend Rizwana and I were discussing what kind of places I was looking for in terms of jobs, and after giving it some thought, considering my past experiences, it became clear that I had a rough idea of what I wanted 👇🏽</p>
<ul class="para">
<li>A startup-like environment would be great (1 - 30 people)</li>
<li>Being flexible enough to work from home</li>
<li>Having personal-development budget and opportunities</li>
<li>No crunch-time (clear seperation of work and personal life)</li>
<li>Countless opportunities for career-progression</li>
<li>Diverse and inclusive teams</li>
<li>Experimental when it comes to implementing new ideas</li>
<li>A place that is not afraid to make their own tools to aid development</li>
<li>Open-souce contributors would be nice</li>
<li>Friendly/community-like team</li>
<li>A place that is happy to work and give back to the community</li>
<li>Somewhere that uses cutting edge technology</li>
</ul>
<p>All in all, I have a clear idea of the kind of workplace where I want to work as a Web developer 👨🏽‍💻. Now I just need to find it and make it happen. I guess i’ll find out when it gets to it. I just hope that the place I find meets those points as closely as possible 🤞🏽. Once I do that, I can finally start focusing on ProjectFunction, and the many plans we have for it in the near future!</p>


Hey! I'm Daryl.

Notes 🖋

Something needs a Rejig 👀

I did a thing... PyroGist 👨🏽‍💻

PF February Update ⚡️🧙🏽‍♂️

Futuristic Pursuit 🐣