Web development improvement: Learning ReactJS

Folks,

Sometimes I believe that being in the software engineering world is like a doctor: You have to catch up all the time in the new technology, frameworks and tools that are out there. 

Most of the time I have written programs and stuff for the back end, but you know that as a web developer you need to have the knowledge to work both front (at least something that can be eye-candy for the customer) and back.

I have a personal love-hate relationship with javascript, because I know it has a lot of potential but it is frustrating at the same time. Being honest tough, I empirically learned this programming language, but I wanted more.

Polishing my javascript coding skills is a must for me right now, specially when I was first introduced to ReactVR. I am a huge fan of this new way of doing things with the computer and I have my dreams where I want to create something fantastic using Virtual Reality. Therefore, little by little I will start creating that opportunity learning ReactJS.

So I looked up for nice books and courses, starting in codecademy and then moving to something else. I don’t remember how but I found the Complete React Course link , created by Andrew Mead which I paid in a sale he offered (can’t remember if I found him on twitter or somewhere else), it has been a hell of experience!

I had no clue how this new way of using javascript worked, but then I starting to understand how to use this in order to create nice web applications.

The course is long but I think it covers important stuff like setting up your environment, build your first web app, third party tools, understanding components, props, states, etc.

So yeah, I’ll keep posting stuff about the course here, which helps me to go over again the concepts and exercises in the course. When I finish it, I could share new tips and tricks and keep learning!

How to redirect after payment confirmation in your website using Paypal?

Hello again…

I want to share with you some tips on how to use the Paypal module in your website, specially when you try to redirect to your website after the payment is verified and completed.

I am not going to explain the whole process, just want to share a few tips on how to complete the purchase flow and get back to your site. There should be many other options out there as well, hopefully this one can be useful in your project.

That being said, let us proceed with this quick tip!

I have used the basic implementation of Paypal: Express Checkout. Once you set up the script provided by Paypal according to your needs, pay attention on the ‘OnAuthorize’ function:

You can use the window.location.href object in Javascript to redirect to your site once the REST api authorized the payment. Originally, the script has the window.alert object so it shows you the window with the ‘Payment completed’ message.

This small snippet has worked for me in basic implementations when I only want to know if the user paid correctly. If you need any extra information (i.e. transaction ID) then I think you should need a different solution.