CodePush is a service from Microsoft that helps improve the deployment experience of your React Native apps. React Native code has a native part (written in Objective-C or Java) and a JavaScript part (the code we write). Normally, when deploying an app to the App Store, the JavaScript code is bundled together with the compiled native code.

If there is a minor JavaScript code change, the app is recompiled and submitted to Play Store or App Store for rollout.…

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Running MySQL in a Docker container is a fairly straight-forward task. In this article, I will take an opportunity to use this task to explain a few basic concepts about how Docker works.

Docker machine

The first step is to create a droplet in DigitalOcean. And then install Docker engine in it. Thankfully, docker-machine does both with a single command.

docker-machine create 
--driver digitalocean 
--digitalocean-access-token <accesstoken> 
mysql-droplet

We specify the driver as DigitalOcean to create our droplet.…

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And why it matters to you?

Disqus comments works better than WordPress comments. It allows you to comment without having to type in your name or email. If you are like me who comments regularly, you are already logged-in to Disqus. And there is no need to login more than once. Disqus authenticates with social providers like Facebook or Gmail. So, this should look familiar to most people.…

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Redux is a state management library for JavaScript apps. The core Redux library implements the flux pattern. In this post, I won’t be writing about the Redux library but the react-redux library which has the plumbing code to integrate Redux into React apps. When we use react-redux library, the plumbing code that makes it work is hidden from us. Without knowing how it works, we may not know how to optimize our apps.…

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I have a few requests from friends in India who want to become a freelancer. I thought of sharing these tips in a blog post.

Getting projects

Getting projects may not be easy when you start. There are a few proven channels for a freelancer in India. They are:

  1. Upwork
  2. TopTal
  3. LinkedIn
  4. Your blog

Yes, you should have a blog of your own and proudly declare that you are a full-time freelancer.…

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My blog runs on WordPress app hosted in BlueHost. Backup and Restore is simple with WordPress. But it requires a plugin. We should have a process for backup and restore. In this post, I will explain a process outline.

WordPress stores data in a MySQL database. It also has media uploads in a separate folder in the file system. To backup, we should make a copy of both the files and the database.…

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