Tomek Sułkowski, founding engineer of StackBlitz, talks about the latest updates in StackBlitz, including CodeFlow, environment variables, and the integration with Figma for faster app development. They also discuss the limitations of StackBlitz and the addition of notable people to the team. The podcast covers the new features and updates announced in the 2023 Stack Blitz announcement, including Stack for teams and Stack for enterprise.
StackBlitz introduced CodeFlow, a browser-based development environment that allows running apps and programs typically found in local environments, expanding production use cases for StackBlitz.
StackBlitz's integration with Figma enhances collaboration between designers and developers by providing seamless access to design changes and enabling code implementation directly from the Figma document.
Deep dives
Stack Blitz: An Integrated Development Environment in the Browser
Stack Blitz is an integrated development environment (IDE) that allows developers to code directly in a browser without having to set up a local environment. It eliminates the need to install software or configure code editors, making it easy to get started with coding. Stack Blitz recently introduced CodeFlow, which provides a development environment within a browser tab using web containers. CodeFlow allows developers to run apps and programs usually found in local environments, such as the open-source version of Visual Studio code. Additionally, CodeFlow now supports environment variables, enabling developers to securely store private keys for deployment and database authentication. This new feature unlocks even more production use cases for Stack Blitz.
Enhancing Developer and Designer Collaboration with Figma Integration
Stack Blitz has introduced new integrations with Figma, a popular design tool, to reduce friction and improve collaboration between designers and developers. The integration allows developers to easily access and implement design changes directly from the Figma document without the need to switch between different tools or environments. By adding a special link in Figma layers, developers can open the corresponding repository file, make code changes, and commit them seamlessly. This integration not only streamlines the design-to-development workflow but also enables a closer connection between developers and the source of truth, Git. The Figma integration is part of Stack Blitz's effort to bridge the gap and improve collaboration between designers and developers.
Expanding Language Support and Enabling Web Applications with Web Containers
Stack Blitz's web containers provide an operating system (OS) within the browser, opening up possibilities beyond JavaScript and allowing developers to leverage other languages. Python support has been introduced, allowing developers to write Python scripts and test them within the browser environment. This expansion of language support demonstrates Stack Blitz's commitment to providing a versatile and inclusive development experience. The web containers API serves as a library for using web containers and enables developers to integrate OS-level functionalities on web applications. This paradigm shift in web development eliminates the need for local setups and brings developers closer to the production environment while maintaining the flexibility and convenience of a browser-based IDE.
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Special Guest: Tomek Sulkowski.
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