ChrisBell.eu

AWS Amplify Caching

Mon, 02 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0100

It has been a while since I last blogged to say the least, but I just wanted to share a tip on working with AWS Amplify as I struggled to find this information easily. I’ve been working with Amplify since the beginning of 2019 and recently launched a SaaS that leans on Amplify Console quite a bit. In the polishing phase of the project, it seemed unintuitive on how to apply caching (Cache control headers) on static assets.

Goodbye LeedsPHP

Wed, 23 May 2018 08:04:30 +0000

Last week turned out to be my last event as LeedsPHP co-organiser since joining Tom de Bruin back in March 2017. Tom was due to step down at the end of June after a heroic 2+ year spell in charge, although my fate was undecided. Now we’ve found a great team to takeover the reins, the time is right for me to step away and refocus on other priorities.

Together, we voluntarily organised 13 events, hosting 25 speakers and roughly 500 attendees.

2017 review

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 18:01:55 +0000

2017 turned out to be a quite big year for me and a lot of which wasn’t necessarily in the master plan. Here’s the rundown:

Bus timetables for the smart home with Alexa, node.js and AWS Lambda

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 07:42:41 +0000

For my sins, I use public transport for commuting, specifically First Buses in Leeds. I don’t work to a strict regiment, so on a morning I’ll catch the next bus into the city centre, whichever that may be, and from whichever stop that might be (I have the luxury of being served by two different bus stops).

Whilst First Group have made good efforts to bring bus timetables into the 21st century with the release of their native apps, they leave somewhat to be desired in terms of usability and convenience. What I really want on a morning is to know when the next bus is, and I want to do it as I’m walking out of the door. It’s possible with the existing apps, but they are slow and clunky - especially when you need to request information about multiple bus stops.

Without further ado, I’d like to introduce the Alexa skill I’ve been developing recently - “NextBus UK”.

You WILL use LetsEncrypt. StartSSL certs invalid overnight.

Tue, 07 Feb 2017 22:33:38 +0000

“You WILL use LetsEncrypt.”

A client recently complained a securely hosted widget was loading without styling (stylesheet not loading). Seemed to look fine in both Chrome and Firefox.

Then I updated to the most recent version of Firefox, and I could see the issue in all its glory. A hard refresh in Chrome also surfaced the issue - presumably clearing out any cert related caching.

2016 in review

Sun, 29 Jan 2017 20:22:19 +0000

Keeping in with the tradition, here’s my 2016 in review.

2016 TLDR: Got married. Travelled. Went to work.

Setup your own private docker based continuous delivery pipeline... for free!

Tue, 02 Aug 2016 00:17:03 +0000

Now Docker for Mac is production ready, developing docker based applications has never been easier. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a local, CI and production environment, all powered by docker, and enabled to support continuous delivery. The aim is to complete this all within 30 mins. Ready? You’ll need the following ingredients.

2015 in review

Sun, 03 Jan 2016 17:39:57 +0000

Continuing the trend from last year, here’s my personal review of 2015.

Why you should join Sky Technology Leeds

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 00:36:29 +0000

Sky Technology in Leeds is growing at a fast pace, and we need lots of software developers to join us on this journey. Not sure if it's right for you? Hesitating to make the first steps? Too comfy in your current role? Well, here's the inside scoop on why I think it's great to be a software engineer at Sky Technology.

Maintaining software quality with defect detection

Sun, 15 Mar 2015 09:45:29 +0000

I’ve been reading Steve McConnell’s excellent “Code Complete 2” and wanted to share this section on defect detection rates.

2014 in review

Fri, 02 Jan 2015 14:49:31 +0000

After getting a whiteboard for Christmas 2013, I decided to get into the habit of writing down my goals for the coming calendar year. This post is just to reflect on how that went, but also review some of the other achievements I’ve had in 2014.

It’s important to recognise the wins in your career and life, as it’s so easy for them to get hidden amongst the drama of the daily grind. I’d urge you to do the same, whether it’s on a blog or on a piece of paper.

The joys of (nearly) becoming a Windows Phone developer

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 06:30:42 +0000

After developing SalaryBot for both iOS and Android platforms, it had crossed my mind that may be the next step would be to develop the app for Windows Phone. After a bit more thought, I decided not to bother, as for the market share I just couldn’t see how this would be worth my effort. Then I got incentivised by Nokia.

Accessing your development server on a mobile device

Sun, 20 Oct 2013 18:03:39 +0000

A common setup in a web development team is to have a shared local development box, which is usually located on a private local area network. Whilst this setup has previously worked well, with the shift of consumer activity to mobile devices well underway, a big problem with this workflow has surfaced itself: how do we develop/test on mobile devices?

Separate mobile and tablet segmentation finally arrives on Analytics

Fri, 19 Jul 2013 18:00:37 +0000

A Google Analytics feature that's been eagerly anticipated for years appears to have been rolled out without any press at all. The ability to accurately segment mobile (smartphone), tablet and desktop has long been desired, and has at some point recently, finally been delivered to Analytics users.

How to become a Zend Certified Engineer (ZCE) on a budget

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:37:59 +0000

Last year I finally took the plunge and went in for my ZCE exam, and thankfully passed first time. I’d like to share with you why and how I did it (on a budget).

Implementing AdMob in your hybrid iOS app (Apache Cordova)

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 18:10:48 +0000

Looking to monetise the hybrid iOS app that you built using a framework like Apache Cordova/PhoneGap? I’ll make the assumption that you aren’t all that familiar with Objective-C, but you’re happy to code away using frontend web technology. This poses an interesting question: How the hell do you integrate AdMob on iOS?

A mobile review of The Drum top 100 digital agencies 2011

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 08:00:40 +0000

As mobile continues to disrupt the ways in which we think about traditional digital marketing, I thought I’d take the opportunity to look at how mobile has been used within the UK’s leading digital agencies.

My DIY SEO success story - MySalaryCalculator

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:30:38 +0000

UPDATE 2013: This is actually more like a success, failure, then success story - teaching us all to NEVER rely solely on SE traffic. Read the updated version here.

Having just realised the last time I updated this blog was eight months ago, I feel the need to make a post; and what better way to do it than explaining my absence from it. Well folks, this is my story about MySalaryCalculator.co.uk - where quite a bit of my spare time has been spent for the past while.

Salary calculator widget

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:39:13 +0000

Following the recent development of the salary calculator, I’m now pleased to announce the launch of the salary calculator widget.

Salary Calculator launched

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:00:59 +0000

Today I’ve launched a brand new online salary calculator. Although the concept of salary calculators is nothing new, this one aims to give the user a better experience and also produce accurate results. A common issue between current calculators is misconceptions of tax rules, resulting in inaccurate calculations - defeating the purpose of the product.

StaffsLocator - iPhone app for indoor and outdoor navigation

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:08:59 +0000

It’s been a long time coming, but finally I have got round to producing a video for the iPhone app that I developed in my Final Year Project at university - StaffsLocator.

I’ve had a number of academic enquiries about it over the past year, so I think it’s about time I published some information about it.

About Chris Bell

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:45:29 +0000

Chris Bell is a web developer from the city of Leeds, UK. Becoming involved with web development at a young age, he has slowly built up a small client base in amongst achieving his first class honours degree in Web Media Technology & Network Computing from Staffordshire University. His award winning final year project saw him explore iPhone development and caused him to develop a passion for the world of mobile technology.

How to get a job as a web developer

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:12:14 +0000

There is one golden rule to finding a career in web development: get experience.

Web development can be a rewarding career choice, although getting your foot in the door is not always easy, especially in the current climate. As a result of the weakened economy, it could be said that less opportunities have been available to people hoping to get into web development. Companies now require personnel that can hit the ground running, and that are well seasoned with web technologies, even for a junior role.

So, just how do you get the experience, if you don't have experience?