It’s been exactly a year since my 2020 look at the tech I use, so let’s see what’s changed.

Code Editor

As expected, I’m still using Visual Studio Code as my primary code editor but seeing as I’ve recently switched from macOS to Windows, and I’m dipping my toes into .NET development, I’m also using Visual Studio 2019 for some portion of my day.

Languages and Frameworks

My day job consists writing code in Angular so for the most part I’m writing plain HTML with a little added Angular logic for HTML templating.

For smaller personal projects (like this website) I’ve started using Eleventy with Markdown and Nunjucks templates.

I still always reach for Sass when writing CSS but I’ve also started introducing CSS custom properties (aka CSS variables) in an attempt to slowly become less reliant on Sass.

Since I’m now working with Angular, I’m writing all of my JavaScript in TypeScript. It took a little getting used to but it’s definitely introducing good habits which giving me more of an appreciation for strongly typed languages.

Design

One of my 2020 Goals as discussed on the podcast was to give Figma a try, and now in 2021 I’ve ditched Sketch and use Figma for all of my UI design work.

Other tools and hardware

With COVID-19 pushing many people to work from home full time in 2020, I ended up giving my home desk setup a bit of an upgrade. Aside from moving to Windows, I also picked up a nicer chair, keyboard and mouse. Check all the hardware and software I use on a regular basis.

Final thoughts

As a creature of habit, I’m not surprised that much of the tech I’m using in 2021 is much the same as last year, however I’m always keeping an eye on the latest trends and tech to try and stay up to date.

See you again this time next year to see whats changed in '22!