November lecture in the company "React Native - what it is and what are its features" from our outstanding expert Victor.
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At the event, Victor discussed in detail the basics of React Native and highlighted its unique features. 
The participants of the lecture had the opportunity to learn that React Native allows you to create mobile applications for iOS and Android using the same code. This simplifies development and makes it more efficient. They also noted the use of JavaScript and the possibility of reusing components, which contributes to rapid development. It's important to note that React Native allows you to use native modules and components while providing a full user experience, and using React knowledge is another advantage of this framework] and get valuable advice from an experienced specialist.
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We always follow the trends in the development world and implement the latest technologies in our projects. Lectures from highly qualified specialists like Viktor allow our team to stay on the leading positions.
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Speaker: Viktor Sysiuk

Successful lecture "React Native - what it is and its features", delivered by Viktor Sysiuk. The lecture carefully considered the basic principles and most important features of this powerful tool. 

React Native - what it is and its features

Backend developers Andriy and Mykola demonstrated their development, SchemaWizard - Impressive OOP-based Migrations Library, at the lecture, which they were working on - a Java library for automated management of database schema changes (aka db migrations). There are other analogues in the Java ecosystem, such as Flyway or Liquibase, but they have some inconveniences/disadvantages. For example:
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- Flyway requires you to write native SQL;
- Liquibase allows you to write migrations using JSON, XML, YAML files, which gives a certain advantage and minimises the amount of native SQL, but still native parts remain and when you need to migrate from one database provider to another, problems may arise. Also, Liquibase is a bit difficult to use if you haven't worked with it before.
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When developing our library, we decided to focus on a few things:
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- simplicity and convenience;
- writing migrations using Java code;
- cross-database compatibility (the same Java code can be run on different database providers);
- use of OOP principles when writing migrations;
- extensibility.
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Actually, these things were shown at the lecture. And finally, future plans for further development:
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- gradle/maven plugins;
- integration with spring/hibernate;
- develop extension modules for different databases - each module will be focused on extending the library's functionality within the framework of the respective database provider.
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Speakers: Andriy Bosyk, Mykola Prokopchuk

Backend developers Andriy and Mykola demonstrated their development, which they had been working on - a Java library for automated management of database schema changes (aka db migrations). There are other analogues in the Java ecosystem, such as Flyway or Liquibase, but they have some inconveniences/disadvantages.

SchemaWizard-OOP-based Migrations Library

Our team organized an incredible online New Year's corporate party that brought together our entire talented team. This exciting evening was filled with interesting games and New Year's quizzes and immersion in the world of New Year's fun adventures. We not only had a great time together, but also celebrated the New Year in a fun and friendly way. These unsurpassed emotions and incredible memories will undoubtedly remain in our hearts and will only strengthen our team unity.

Our team organized an incredible online New Year's corporate party that brought together our entire talented team. This exciting evening was filled with interesting games and New Year's quizzes and immersion in the world of New Year's fun adventures. 

New Year's online corporate parties

Within the company, an exciting lecture on message brokers was held, led by our expert, backend developer Mykola!  
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During the lecture, the basics of working with message brokers were discussed, including their role in organizing communication between services, as well as the ways they can be used in synchronous and asynchronous interactions. Mykola introduced the workings of RabbitMQ, a popular message broker, and talked about its features.
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Additionally, alternatives to RabbitMQ, including Apache Kafka, were explored and compared. Participants learned which tasks are better suited for RabbitMQ and which for Apache Kafka.
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Mykola provided a brief example of using RabbitMQ and shared his experience working with it on real projects. It was an excellent opportunity to learn how message brokers are applied in practice and which tasks can be effectively solved with their help.
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Speaker: Mykola Prokopchuk

Application of message brokers in organizing communication between services, and their role in ensuring effective interaction in synchronous and asynchronous data transfer.

Event Driven Development and RabbitMQ

The company hosted a lecture where we enthusiastically explored Next.js under the guidance of experienced developer - Mykyta. Together, we glimpsed into the future of web development and discovered numerous intriguing possibilities of this innovative framework.
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**Introduction to Next.js:**
Starting with the basics, Mykyta introduced us to the concepts and functionality of Next.js, helping us understand why this tool is becoming increasingly popular among web developers. 
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**Advantages of Next.js:**
We delved into the differences between a classic React app and using Next.js, identifying the advantages of the latter in creating powerful and scalable web applications. 
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**Routing in Next.js:**
We learned about various routing options in Next.js, including App Router and Pages Router, and discovered when it's best to use each of them. 
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**Working with Images:**
We immersed ourselves in image optimization in Next.js, exploring methods of prefetching, remote pattern configuration, and image caching. 
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**Practical Application:**
At the end of the lecture, Nikita conducted a practical demonstration of working with Next.js, showing how to effectively apply the acquired knowledge in practice.
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**Conclusion:**
The Next.js lecture with Nikita Porkhomenko was an excellent opportunity to glimpse into the future of web development and master new tools and technologies. We are grateful to Nikita for the informative and engaging lecture and look forward to applying our new knowledge in practice.
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Speaker: Mykyta Parkhomenko

The lecture on Next.js explored various aspects of the framework, from its advantages to practical applications, under the guidance of experienced frontend developer Mykyta.

Exploring Next.js

The company held a lecture "Building Modern Web Applications", which was presented by Ilya. The event covered the most important aspects of developing modern web applications using advanced technologies.
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The lecture covered the following issues:
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- Optimality, speed of operation and ease of use as key criteria of modern web applications.
- Project overview, including key development steps such as user authorization, CRUD operations, file uploads and the use of MongoDB middleware layers.
- The importance of using React and Express.js technologies to build modern web applications is emphasized.
- The main benefits of full-stack development are identified, including speeding up the development process, improving productivity and flexibility.
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Conclusions:
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Full-stack development using technologies such as React and Express.js offers many benefits including faster development process, improved performance, scalability, flexibility, broad capabilities, and cost benefits. Utilizing this approach allows developers to build robust, feature-rich web applications that meet the demands of today's dynamic digital world.
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Speaker: Ilya Ilyin

Building modern web applications is a demanding task, but with the right approach, it is quite doable. It is important that they are optimal, fast, easy to maintain and use, and popular among users.

React SPA+Express.js: Focus on Node.js API


Sergey Bogdan, softwaere engeener, presented a fascinating lecture on one of the most advanced technologies in content management - Strapi. Sergiy shared with the audience his knowledge and experience in using this powerful headless CMS that changes approaches to web application development.
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### What is a CMS and why is it convenient?

At the beginning of the lecture, Sergiy explained what a CMS (Content Management System) is and why they are extremely convenient for creating and managing content. CMS allows you to easily create, edit, and publish content without deep technical knowledge, which makes this tool indispensable for many companies and developers.
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### Strapi: Headless CMS without a Head

The main topic of the lecture was Strapi, a headless CMS. Sergey explained in detail why Strapi has no head. This means that the backend and frontend are separated, which allows developers to choose any technology stack to display content, be it React, Vue, Angular, or any other platform.
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### Strapi's usability and flexibility

One of the key topics was explaining how Strapi makes the content management process convenient and flexible. Sergiy demonstrated how easy it is to install Strapi with one command in the terminal and set up a project with a SQLite database. He also showed how to use the admin panel to create and edit content types.
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### Important Concepts and Functions

Sergiy also talked about important concepts, such as the connection between the English word “populate”, data, and REST API. He explained how you can become a backend developer without having deep knowledge in this area thanks to Strapi's user-friendly interface and features.
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### Benefits for Developers

During the lecture, the benefits of using Strapi were discussed in detail. These include the ability to customize the data structure in a matter of minutes, a user-friendly interface for adding and editing records, and support for many field types: text, numbers, dates, media, and others.
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### Conclusion

The lecture was a real eye-opener for many attendees who were first introduced to Strapi's capabilities. It demonstrated how modern technologies can greatly simplify the content management process and give developers flexibility and freedom in choosing tools.
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Strapi is a revolutionary tool that can change the way we develop web applications, and this lecture helped many people understand its advantages and capabilities.
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Speaker: Serhii Bohdan

A lecture on Strapi, which discussed the basics of CMS, the advantages of the headless approach, and the convenience of using Strapi for content management. Demonstration of Strapi installation and configuration, as well as its flexibility and capabilities. The lecture emphasized how Strapi can simplify web application development and content management.

Strapi: Modern Content Management

##### Lecture at the company on the topic  Serverless Spring Boot: Instant startup on AWS Lambda
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>>>The lecture described the key concepts of serverless architecture using AWS Lambda. This paradigm reduces the need to provision, scale, and maintain servers and allows developers to focus more on writing business logic. However, serverless architecture has certain tradeoffs that should be considered when choosing an architecture for the API part of the project. These compromises include ColdStarts, limits on the duration of execution and initialization.
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In addition, it was explained how to make Spring Boot suitable for AWS Lambda using the AWS Lambda SnapStart feature or using Spring Boot Native Support.
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Finally, the lecture emphasized the cost-effectiveness of using a serverless architecture on AWS. AWS Lambda's pricing model ensures that you pay for the compute time you consume, making it a cost-effective and powerful choice for many applications, especially those with low traffic.
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Speaker: Andrii Bosyk

Experience instant startup with Serverless Spring Boot on AWS Lambda for rapid deployment and scaling.

Serverless Spring Boot: Instant AWS Lambda

Our developer Oleksandr successfully connected scales to the Healthcare app using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. In this article, we'll look at the features of BLE, the challenges Oleksandr faced, and the solutions used.
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#### Varieties of Bluetooth
There are two main types of Bluetooth challenges:
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1. **Classical Bluetooth:** Connects devices that require constant contact, such as headphones. These devices support continuous communication with the device.
2. **Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE):** An energy-saving technology that does not require a constant connection. This makes BLE ideal for devices such as scales that need to operate for long periods of time without frequent recharging.
###

#### BLE Standardization

BLE has standards that simplify the process for devices. Device manufacturers adhering to these standards ensure that any smartphone can connect to it. If a device does not meet the standards, app developers must write additional code to connect it.
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#### Connecting non-standard scales

The scale that Oleksandr connected did not comply with the BLE standards. The manufacturer of the scales provided documentation describing the process of correctly reading the data and interpreting the current readings. Oleksandr's main task was to use this documentation to retrieve and correctly display the weight values.
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#### Using React Native BLE PLX

To implement the connection to BLE devices in a React Native application, Oleksandr used the **react-native-ble-plx** library. This library provides all the necessary functions to scan, connect and interact with BLE devices.
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```javascript
import { BleManager } from 'react-native-ble-plx';

export const manager = new BleManager();
```
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Creating a single instance of ``BleManager`` allows you to manage all BLE operations.

#### Requesting Location Permissions

In order for BLE to work correctly, the application must request location permissions from the user. This allows the application to determine if the device is within range to connect.

###
```import { PermissionsAndroid } from 'react-native';

async function requestLocationPermission() {
  try {
    const granted = await PermissionsAndroid.request(
      PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION,
      {
        title: "Location Access Required",
        message: "This app needs to access your location to detect Bluetooth devices",
      }
    );
    if (granted === PermissionsAndroid.RESULTS.GRANTED) {
      console.log("Location permission granted");
    } else {
      console.log("Location permission denied");
    }
  } catch (err) {
    console.warn(err);
  }
}
```
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#### Conclusion

Through the efforts of our developer and utilizing the documentation provided, the scale has been successfully integrated with the Healthcare app. This allows users to conveniently and accurately read weight readings through the app, providing better control over their health. The use of React Native BLE PLX and proper management of location permissions made this process efficient and reliable.

Connecting scales to Healthcare application using React Native and Bluetooth Low Energy

Connecting scales to Healthcare app

Our company held another soft-skills training, where employees learned in practice what a team is and how to work together effectively. This training was not only instructive, but also fun, filled with a variety of activities aimed at strengthening team spirit and improving teamwork.
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One of the key moments of the training were musical games, in which participants used improvised means to synchronize and coordinate their actions to the rhythm of music. This helped to achieve harmony in the team, showing how important it is to synchronize and work together to achieve common goals.
###
Another important part of the training was the activity of guessing the features we were developing. This process reminded us that each of us contributes uniquely to the overall work, and that only by working together can we identify and understand what should be done best and how it should be done.
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In addition, the game of creating a personalized story helped us develop skills in communication, trust building, decision making, and cohesion. This exercise showed how collaboration and co-creation can lead to the most unexpected and interesting results.
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Overall, the soft-skills training was not only useful but also fun. It strengthened team spirit, improved teamwork and showed how important soft-skills are for successful teamwork. 
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Speaker: Olha Maksymets

Discover how our latest soft skills training session helped enhance teamwork, improve communication, and foster a more cohesive and effective work environment.

Building Teamwork via Soft Skills Training

Code testing has become an integral part of successful development, especially when it comes to modern frameworks like React.js and Next.js. To ensure that your applications run stably and reliably, it is crucial to implement testing at all stages of development.
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Our latest lecture was dedicated to the topic of "Testing in React.js and Next.js," where participants had the opportunity to dive into the world of testing modern applications. The lecture covered essential aspects that will help developers implement effective testing in their projects. Here are some of the most interesting points we discussed during the event:
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- **Development Methodologies.** Participants learned about key approaches, such as Test-Driven Development (TDD), Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), and others. It was particularly interesting to discuss their practical benefits in real projects.

- **Testing Methodologies.** The speakers focused on selecting the right testing methodologies, such as Risk-Based Testing and Requirements-Based Testing. We also explored various types of tests, including unit testing, integration testing, snapshot testing, and UI testing.

- **Testing Tools.** We introduced the most popular testing tools, including Jest, React Testing Library, Cypress, and Playwright. Each tool was analyzed in terms of its advantages and disadvantages, helping developers choose the optimal resources for their projects.

- **Testing in Next.js:.** The lecture also covered testing for Server-Side Rendering (SSR) and Static Site Generation (SSG) in the two main routers of Next.js: Pages Router and App Router. We specifically discussed testing API Routes for both routers.

The lecture was a true revelation for all participants, providing them with the tools and knowledge to build reliable and stable applications in React.js and Next.js. Practical examples, in-depth analysis of methodologies and tools, as well as interactive discussions allowed developers to significantly enhance the level of testing in their projects.
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Speaker: Volodymyr Mechkauskas

Testing is not just about checking the code, but a key stage that ensures the stability, reliability, and development of your applications. 

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