October Meetup, Cross platform with Electron + Testing Big!

We will also be giving away a FREE ticket to Modern ReactJS Training with Ryan Florence.

Slot 1:
Developing cross platform desktop apps can be a bit intimidating to get started.
With electron, that is no longer the case.
We can use the same tools we build web frontends with (Javascript, HTML, CSS, and even React with Redux).

This talk will provide an overview of Electron, its process architecture, and process communication options (including redux middleware).
This will include 15 minute presentation and 10 min of coding examples.

Richard Cowin is an independent full-stack developer that has been developing software on various computer platforms most of his life (he has even programmed on lisp machines). He started developing with React in 2015 as part of his never ending quest to make his side projects easier to finish. Richard finally delved into Electron last year and discovered the powers and pain points of that platform. In addition to software, Richard is a bit of a foodie that loves to create in the kitchen.

Testing Big with Robert Deluca
Full acceptance test suites that run in the browser are slow, flakey, awkward to write, and hard to maintain. This is the lore that has been handed down to JavaScript developers for generations. But what if that fact was fiction? What if your UI tests were fast, robust and a breeze to maintain? Introducing BigTest. The framework that believes you don't need to make compromises in order to make tests that faithfully replicate your production environment. We’ll explore how BigTest upends the boring and often painful subject of UI testing and makes it fast, robust, and a pleasure to work with.

"Robert has been contributing to open source for almost as long as he has been writing code. As Director of Open Source & Community Engagement, Robert is in charge of making sure Frontsiders are engaging with the wider community & giving back where they can. When not contributing to open source, he enjoys designing great JavaScript powered user experiences by crafting them in CSS/SCSS and ensuring their accessibility. In his spare time, you can find Robert hanging out by the pool with his wife & dog, tinkering on home automation, & watching college football on Saturdays (go 'canes!)."