No.43 Chatting with SimonHe, who loves writing VSCode plugins, about open source participation, bursting inspiration, and the journey of learning front-end.

Listening Methods#

Introduction#

A new episode of the podcast is here! This time, we invited the enthusiastic SimonHe to join the conversation. We talked about VSCode plugins, and SimonHe shared his developed plugins and the thinking behind them. We discussed his transition from a different field to front-end development and his active participation in the open-source community. From his amazing experiences, we can learn the secrets of continuous improvement and increased work efficiency in the current competitive job market! Welcome to listen and interact!

Hosts: Xinbao Otto @xinbao965, Xiaobaicai @Cabbage00001, Kaiyi @real_kai42, Shen Qingchuan @Shenqingchuan
Guest: SimonHe @simon_he1995

Guest Background

Articles: Plugin Summary and Learning Methods

Timeline#

00:00 Simon's career transition from non-programmer to programmer.

Simon shared his experience of transitioning from a non-programmer to a programmer, his influence in the open-source community, and his experience in helping other programmers improve their efficiency. He also talked about his plugin development experience and some useful plugins.

11:46 Simon's VS code plugins and open-source experience

Simon introduced the VS code plugins he developed, including search icons, templates, and the functionality and background of the fast-jump plugin. He also shared his experience in participating in open-source, starting with Antfu's live stream and self-learning through pirated videos. He talked about his career development path and his passion for development.

21:25 Challenges and solutions in front-end learning

We discussed the challenges of front-end learning, including the vast amount of knowledge to learn and the fast pace of learning. The speaker proposed methods for deepening community involvement and learning, emphasizing the importance of English proficiency. We also discussed the development of translation tools and believed that learning foreign language knowledge has become more convenient in today's technological environment.

27:25 Advice on open-source and English learning

We provided some advice on open-source and English learning. For open-source, we believe that participating in the open-source community is very easy, requiring only a willingness to read documentation, provide PRs, and maintain library points. Regarding English learning, we mentioned that there is no need to excessively pursue fluent English pronunciation and reading speed. Instead, one should choose a learning method that suits their own situation and focus on obtaining first-hand information and English expression methods. We believe that a balance should be struck and choices should be made based on different tasks and goals during the learning process.

31:11 How to improve work efficiency and successfully transition careers

We mainly discussed how to improve work efficiency, the value brought by participating in open-source, and the experience of quitting a job to learn. We shared our experiences of using plugins and open-source projects to improve work efficiency. Additionally, we discussed the mindset of career transition and quitting a job to learn, and shared some thoughts on the current work environment and confusion.

43:13 Work mindset and code reuse for front-end developers

We discussed how front-end developers spend a lot of time on VSCode at work and advocated for code and page logic reuse through programming to improve work efficiency. We also shared the implementation process of a problem and some technical pitfalls encountered at work. Finally, we mentioned a code prompt plugin for component libraries to enhance development experience and efficiency.

55:45 Source of demand and capabilities of VS Code plugins

We discussed the source of demand and capabilities of VS Code plugins, including how to solve problems and accumulate solutions, as well as how to use encapsulation and APIs to simplify code understanding and usage. Additionally, we mentioned the capabilities and development methods of VS Code plugins, as well as how to improve skills through templates and plugin connections.

01:01:24 Simon's plugin development experience and advice

Simon shared his experience of solving business pain points in the community, abstracting problems into plugin development, and advised finding one's own pain points to work on projects. He also talked about the importance of abstract thinking and tool libraries. For beginners, he recommended maintaining enthusiasm and trying to do things they enjoy in their work. Only by doing what they love can they remain competitive in the industry.

01:06:07 What is the most recommended way to develop with VS Code?

We asked about the most recommended way to develop with VS Code and whether it is still necessary to refer to official documentation. We discussed the effectiveness of using ChatGPT for problem consultation and the difficulty of the official documentation in solving specific problems. We suggested handing over the official documentation to AI for enhanced parsing. Additionally, we discussed the arrangement of work time and non-work time, as well as recent learning and future plans.

01:12:14 How to get more people to use open-source projects

We mainly discussed how to get more people to use open-source projects. This includes the importance of promotion, how to write low-threshold project introductions, the mindset of encapsulating VS Code plugins, and how to abstract problems into general plugins. Through these experiences and methods, more people can be encouraged to participate in open-source development, improve work efficiency, and solve pain points.