
Learn React with Copywork - mnmlsm
https://daveceddia.com/learn-react-with-copywork/
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ChicagoBoy11
I learned React Native by copying the PGA Tour's live scoring app for my group
of golf friends -- we'd run weekly tournaments (there are about 20 of us), but
we only would ever find out who won when we got back to the clubhouse. Whelp,
now we track our scores on the course and have a live leaderboard just like
the pros.

One tremendous benefit was that it made it so easy to focus on just the
"learning part". With a clear example I was trying to copy, it was surprising
how much easier it made it to know what exact "target" I was trying to
achieve, and to slowly pick apart all the things that I didn't yet know.
"Hmmm, when you click the player's name a sub-view scrolls down to reveal
hole-by-hole details.... ummm.... so how do I animate things?" And on and on.
Often when learning some of this stuff, you have to kind fight your way
through the weeds, and it is oh so tempting in these side projects to then
just change the spec all of a sudden. Trying to copy the app kinda held my
feet to the fire many times, and gave me the persistence to fight through it.

The other benefit was that since I was learning by copying a polished and
well-thought out UX/UI, every step of the way felt like real progress, and not
just like I had spent all of this time grokking this thing only for it to
look/feel like shit.

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jjuel
Not going to lie that sounds like an awesome idea, and a sweet app.

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azangru
My only question is... what does React have to do with it?

\- Learn Angular with Copywork.

\- Learn Vue with Copywork.

\- Learn Cycle.js with Copywork.

\- Learn Purescript with Copywork.

...

\- Learn CSS with Copywork.

~~~
dceddia
It applies to basically everything, yes :) Since my blog is focused on React I
talked about how to apply it to React.

I debated calling it "Learn UI Development with Copywork" or something broader
like that, but I think people have an easier time identifying/benefitting from
a thing when it fits their circumstances more closely.

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metasean
This is similiar to goals of [http://codekata.com/](http://codekata.com/)
except, this focuses on design, while Code Katas are more focused on
algorithms.

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gjjrfcbugxbhf
This looks more like practising software development following a precise
specification than copying.

~~~
weego
Yeah I'm not sure the parallel drawn here between art and webdev really holds
up.

It's basically "learn by building things" which isn't particularly insightful
or novel. I'd argue that building something close to what you are invested in
/ care about is the key element of any learning process.

~~~
danohu
No, it's "learn by building things" _with a very tight feedback loop_.

When copying, you can immediately see where your expert has done something
differently from you. And you can either learn to do it their way, or
understand how different methods lead to different outcomes, and so
consciously build your own style.

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bloomca
I started my career in front-end world with similar ideas, and copied couple
of websites (mostly markup and css). So, while I can agree that it is a good
thing to put into your portfolio in the beginning, when you are closer to some
middle level, I can't really recommend it.

What does it show, when you just have copied websites in your portfolio? And
what is the problem to _almost_ copy (e.g. create a twitter clone, but allow
to use only images, or some other limitation)?

So I believe that one should be inspired by existing solutions, but don't copy
it blindly. Don't know nice colour scheme? Just go to bootstrap and copy their
colours; or simply get it from a website, which design you like.

~~~
maroonblazer
Unless I missed it, nowhere in the article does the author suggest including
these kinds of projects in your portfolio.

As Clark Terry said about the road to jazz improv: "Imitate, assimilate and
innovate."

~~~
wlj
In the Smashing Magazine article the author links to, Erik Kennedy actually
recommends against including in your portfolio [0]

[0] [https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/02/improving-ui-
design...](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/02/improving-ui-design-
skills-copywork/#can-i-put-it-in-my-portfolio)

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barrystaes
And.. in other news: _Amateur chef that tries to make a 5-star dish ruins it._
* gasp _

