Challenge 2: Github Profile Searcher

As mentioned in the previously blogpost I had to adjust my schedule for the first three weeks due to an unforeseen flu and portfolio preparation for an interview. Upon completion of this project and pending I finish my next section before Sunday I am now entirely on schedule.

This week's task was to create a Github Profile Search using the GitHub API. In this section I created my first service in Angular 2. I also worked with data binding and learned a new syntax for if statements, for loops and how to call functions. The originally intended application does not have any form validation and I plan to add that on completion of my self-directed study. The screenshot in Figure 1. shows that I completed all video tutorials associated with the Github profile searcher.

Figure 1. Completion of Github Profile Searcher Tutorial Videos finished February 6th

I have included below a video demonstrating the functionality of the application that I created. A user may type in a user name and the information of the associated user is displayed on keyup. This was my first time using the API of a popular social media/ versioning website and it was very interesting to see the information made available to all developers.

A difficulty I faced in this challenge was to wrap my head around the syntax of the service requests. I did a lot of research into what was occurring to make sure I understood the process. I found that my knowledge of Angular1 was not particularly helpful in this tutorial because the syntax in Angular2 is quite different than what I am used to. 

Based off of this project I have decided to try to use the Twitter API to create a similar application. That application will not be a part of this course however this application motivated me to start a new project. I would say this application created that new opportunity for me.

I am becoming much more comfortable using Angular2 and feel as though I am learning a lot. The next section will be my first project, a ToDo app using the MEAN stack. It will be my first look at how to integrate Angular 2 with a database.