Surviving Cancer Doesn't Suck
My post-treatment recovery has been a period of joy, connection, and rest.
Abbey Perini's Digital Garden
Welcome to Abbey's Garden! Dig through my articles individually, by topic, or by series.
Latest posts
Gang of Four Design Patterns in Memes - Creational
There are five creational design patterns - they cover the instantiation of objects.
How To Reload a Page Whenever a User Makes a Change with React/Redux
How do you get the whole page to reload to show the updated data every time a user makes a change?
State Management in Front-end Web Development: Actions, Dispatch, and Reducers
This part of the series assumes that you need a state tool that uses the actions, dispatch, and reducers pattern.
State Management in Front-end Web Development: State 101
Learn where to keep your variables to improve your app design, performance, and readability.
What the First Rule of ARIA Really Means
Multiple times, I have suggested an aria-label, and heard "I thought I was never supposed to use ARIA because the first rule of ARIA is don't use ARIA."
If They'll Adopt It, It's Right
The challenge is getting people to use whatever system you come up with.
Cancer Treatment Sucks
Patients like me are so rare that healthcare professionals struggled to hide their surprise. They sincerely and reflexively blessed my heart.
We've Been Here Since the Beginning: 2025 Edition
Last time, I was tired. This time, I'm angry.
10 Tips from 10 Tech Conferences in 2024
I attended 10 conferences this year, spoke at 6 of them, and I'm not in DevRel. Here are are my top 10 tips - one for each conference!
Dark Mode Toggle in HTML Web Components
When designing my digital garden, I knew I wanted a cute dark mode toggle.
So You Need to Give a Talk...
Take it from someone who barely passed their college public speaking course - you can definitely give a tech talk.
Cancer Sucks
Even after I started tweeting about cancer, I debated writing about it.
Share Your Experience Loudly and Often
When I encourage people to share their experience via writing or talking, their response usually implies I'm more naturally suited to speaking and writing then they are. I'm not.
12 Tips from a Mid-level Developer
I officially have three years of experience and a mid-level job title. My best advice has changed significantly since I wrote 12 Things I learned During My First Year as a Professional Developer two years ago.
A Love Letter to the Underrepresented in Tech
Dear "Underrepresented,"
Slots, Slots, Slots, Everybody!
Slots turn components into wrappers that enhance your dynamic content.
Three Human Problems in a Technical Trench Coat
In technical roles, we want to believe everything has a technical solution. However, software development involves humans, so what can seem like a technical problem is often three human problems in a technical trench coat.
#DEVImpact2023 Reflections
From getting answers for pain I'd struggled with all my life to starting a new job in November - my 2023 has been a bit of a roller coaster.
12 Tips for Attending a Tech Conference
Conferences are filled with fun and opportunities. Do a little prep beforehand to set yourself up for success.
Cognitive Load and Your Development Environment
Let's talk about Cognitive Load Theory, how some disabilities affect it, and designing a developer environment around it.
How I Got Feedback After Every Tech Interview
We put a lot of time and energy into interviewing, so giving feedback is the least an interviewer can do.
Getting Started in a New Codebase
Whether it's contributing to open source or starting a new job, the first step is familiarizing yourself with the codebase, and it can be daunting. Here are some tips to help you hit the ground running.
NodeIterator and TreeWalker Web APIs
NodeIterator and TreeWalker are usually more powerful than you need. However, if you have to do something complex with a collection of DOM nodes, you will love what you can do with these iterator APIs.
Live Regions in React
When using aria-live, there is one simple rule to follow for reliable live region updates.
From Idea to Design for Non-Designers
Here are some practical tips on how to get from your idea to minimum styling without knowing anything about design.
Dark Mode Toggle and prefers-color-scheme
When I wrote An Accessible Dark Mode Toggle in React back in 2021, @grahamthedev suggested I implement a prefers-color-scheme check in my theme setter. I finally got around to it.
8 Ways to Support Women Developers
This International Women's Day, I have regained a teensy bit of optimism, so it's all about how to support the women developers in your life. Basically, if you see something, say something.
From Research to Writing Reference Material
Here's how to take research and turn it into reference material.
TL;DR CommonJS vs ESM
Here's how to tell these module types apart at a glance.
Writing a Technical Blog
I found myself reflecting on how I get my ideas and turn them into published technical blogs.
Web Security 101 - Part 2: User Input
Never trust anything a user puts into your app.
Web Security 101 - Part 1: Secrets
Starting my web security series by sharing my secrets - just kidding! Let's talk about keeping our secrets safe.
About My Digital Garden
The more I read about digital gardens, the more I wanted to build one, so I started drawing plants.
#gitPanic - Tools
A list of tools you can use with git to make your life easier.
#gitPanic - Files
Turns out git will always track file name changes, moving files, and deleting files ...if you tell it about them.
#gitPanic - Removing and Restoring Work
When you think you've lost work, don't #gitPanic. As far as your commit history goes, git may as well be Ironborn, repeating "what is dead may never die."
#gitPanic - Documentation and Profiles
Documentation in GitHub goes far beyond a repo README.
#gitPanic - Stash
Just realized you've been working in the wrong branch? Forgot to pull before you started working? Think of git stash as stuffing your working directory in your pocket for later.
#gitPanic - Interactive Rebase
Once you understand this powerful tool, people will think you're a git wizard.
#gitPanic - HEAD
Understanding HEAD and refs helps with reading git logs and using git commands.
#gitPanic - Working in a Repo
I was surprised to find out how much I had to interact with other developers to get my code deployed. Let's talk about expectations when working with other developers in a repo.
#gitPanic - Merging and Rebasing
what if other developers are working in the repo at the same time as you? How do you add changes from one branch to another?
#gitPanic - Git 101
Look, git is hard, and it's almost inescapable in software development today. #gitPanic will be an open ended series on all the git things I've learned - mainly by making git mistakes.
Transforming Tired Tabbing
Take typical focus indicator styles and turn them totally tabbular!
Troubleshooting Tabbing
I've been tackling tabbing trouble a lot recently, so I thought I'd share some debugging tips.
Tabbing Tactfully
Try your hand at HOCUS :FOCUS or spend today tabbing instead of your typical mouse navigation. Frustrating? Let's talk about tabbing on the web.
Coding and ADHD - Where We Excel
While being aware of our struggles and finding healthy coping mechanisms are necessary, we receive enough negative messaging on a daily basis. This article is all about how ADHD traits can be a benefit when you're coding.
Coding and ADHD - Can't Remember
Gabor Maté has described ADHD as "forgetting to remember the future." If it's not written down, I'm not getting it done.
Coding and ADHD - Can't Stop
I find "hyperfocus" and "flow state" to be analogous with one key difference - when hyperfocusing, I struggle mightily to stop.