Every Project Counts

The year is halfway over, and with that, many people are counting down the days to their next vacation or holiday. This week’s round-up of apps mostly share a common theme of counting so let’s kick things off in 3…2…1…🚀

Christmas Comes But Once A Year #

Glitch user Crystal Camarao (@crystalcamarao) is a huge fan of Christmas. While she’s been busy counting down the days until the big holiday, she couldn’t find a bot that would do this for her. So she built one on Glitch!

Crystal details her process in a Medium post, but you can see the bot in action on Twitter over at @time_until_xmas. Right now, the bot updates once a day until Christmas Eve, when it then updates every 30 minutes.

Tracking Referrals Without Being Tracked #

On the web nowadays, it’s fairly well-known that web pages and apps are collecting data and tracking your usage on a consistent basis. And if you host a website and want to know where your users are visiting you from, then you’ve encountered referrer logs filled with these trackers. It can really throw off the numbers of which pages on your site are being visited by humans, not bots.

Glitch user Ada Rose Cannon (@adarosecannon) made a simple solution to this by spinning up her own tracker! Remix the app for yourself, make a few simple changes, and include the provided code on the websites you want to track. If you need a more complex version with real-time updating, Ada’s got you covered there as well.

Playing With Pendulums #

Meetings can be a great time for unexpected inspiration to strike. For Rowan Merewood (@rowan-m), Glitch is his new “doodling in meetings”, and that brought forth this delightful rainbow pendulum animation!

One of the great things about Glitch is how easy it is to get started creating a project based on any idea you have. What changes would you make to this app? Try remixing it and make it your own.

Learning JavaScript Functions #

Functions are one of the most fundamental tools in JavaScript, but when you’re learning to code it can be difficult to remember when to use the right function (or what to use it for). Even experienced programmers run into this issue!

Glitch user David Sharp (@davidsharp) devised a great way to illustrate how the slice(), substr() and substring() functions work, which can save you a lot of time and stress in case you get them confused. What other JavaScript functions can be easily explained by creating an app like this?

Getting Good with GraphQL #

Apollo Architect and Glitch user Jake Dawkins (@JakeDawkins) likes learning, building and teaching others to do the same. His Twitter presence is a prime example of this, including a recent thread of example apps he built on Glitch answering some common questions about GraphQL!

There are several more examples, all of which use an Apollo Server playground app which you can remix and use for your own GraphQL projects. I love how Jake is using Glitch as a way to educate others while also showing off the capabilities of Apollo Server!

Our New Mini-Zine — “Understanding Webpack”! #

Webpack gets millions of downloads every month, and powers tens of thousands of websites and apps. But what does Webpack actually do? And why is it useful?

We’ve just released a shiny new mini-zine on Instagram that shows you the basics of Webpack, along with a video example so you can see it in action. There’s even a remixable example app for you to work with once you’ve finished the zine.

What other mini-zines would you like to see from Glitch? Let us know!

Here It Is, Your Moment of Zen #

There’s a lot going on out there in the world, and social media and our 24-hour news cycle can keep all of us anxious, stressed, and on heightened alert. Sometimes, you just need to chill out and relax, and Glitch user @MinervaArcher came up with an app that can help you ease into a state of calm.

Your Moment of Zen guides you through a simple mindful breathing exercise — just inhale and exhale along with the throbbing circle. This app is a fantastic way to use technology to solve a real world problem. Bookmark the app on your phone and use it whenever you need to feel some peace.

Whether you’re counting characters in a string, counting the pages in our new mini-zine, or counting down the days until Christmas, you’ll find the app you’re looking for on Glitch. Even better, you can build the app of your dreams with the support of a helpful and friendly community. So what will you create today? Show us what you’ve got in 3…2…1…. 👍