Annyce Davis

Helping you write beautiful code

Talk: Getting a Grip on GraphQL

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GraphQL is a query language for your API. This allows you to interact with your existing web services and databases in a new way. Instead of relying on a predetermined output structure from your API, you can “query” it and choose only the fields that you’re interested in. In this talk, learn what GraphQL is all about and how you can take advantage of it in your applications.

A few key GraphQL terms we’ll cover are:

  • Fields/Types
  • Variables
  • Queries/Mutations

We’re going to explore how you can create a GraphQL Server with a stack written entirely in Kotlin. Then we’ll take a look at how you can integrate the Apollo Client library inside of a Kotlin-powered Android application. GraphQL isn’t going away, so here’s your chance to get a grip on this exciting technology!

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[NEW COURSE]: “Intermediate Kotlin for Android Developers”

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My second course with LinkedIn Learning is now available, “Intermediate Kotlin for Android Developers”! As an avid fan of the Kotlin programming language, I had lots of fun putting this course together. I hope you enjoy watching and learning!

Course Description:

Kotlin is now officially supported by Google as an Android development language. If you’re an Intermediate Developer interested in learning more about Kotlin, this course can help you get acquainted with this concise, fun language by learning about its efficiencies and power in Android development! The course starts with a general overview of what Kotlin has to offer, and how to leverage the Kotlin Android Extensions plugin. It also explains how to work with Anko, and provides an overview of some of the library’s main artifacts: commons, layouts, and coroutines. To wrap up, the course covers how to work with collections.

Topics Included:

  • What Kotlin has to Offer
  • Working with Lambdas
  • Common Android Extension functions
  • Kotlin Android Extensions overview
  • Making use of the Anko library
  • Working with Coroutines
  • Nullability and Collections

For more great video content, check out my course page!

Talk: RxJava in Baby Steps

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Reactive Programming with RxJava has widely been adopted by both backend services and Android applications alike. Yet, the steep learning curve leaves many developers hesitant about adding it to their own Software tool belt. I was one such developer. Over the past two years, I’ve watched countless videos, read numerous blog posts and attended several conference talks on the subject. Yet, I often left each experience feeling only slightly more knowledgeable, but not quite empowered to start using RxJava in my apps. That’s not going to happen in this talk!

We cover the bare minimum concepts you need to grok, in order to start using RxJava today. In particular, we focus on:

  • The 3 O’s: Observable, Observer and Operator
  • The most common Operators: map(), flatMap(), and filter()
  • Understanding those Marble Diagrams

Reactive Programming is not going away any time soon. It’s a powerful way to create asynchronous, event-based applications. It allows developers the ability to craft applications that can easily combine multiple network calls, gracefully handle failures, all while providing a snappy user experience. I want everyone to feel comfortable with the basic concepts of RxJava. Today can be your first step…

 

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