September 2017 Summaries

React 16 introduces a new tool called error boundaries to handle errors with a more correct and rigorous strategy by unmounting the entire component tree when errors are thrown inside render or lifecycle methods, preventing situations where an error causes invalid state and results in undefined behavior. Error boundaries are analogous to try/catch statements but live inside and are scoped by component hierarchy instead of inside a given block of synchronous JavaScript. They exist because this approach doesn't work with the JSX rendering model. By using error boundaries, developers can isolate sections of their app's component tree from each other's errors, improving error resiliency without sacrificing React 16's more predictable behavior and risking corrupted state or undefined behavior. The API surface of error boundaries is simple, requiring any React component to implement the new lifecycle method, componentDidCatch(error, info), which will be called with uncaught errors that bubble up from children's lifecycle methods, constructors, or render methods. When an error is caught, developers can do whatever they see fit, but must replace rendered props.children with a fallback UI and ensure it doesn't throw its own errors. Error boundaries should be wrapped at the granularity they can be independently useful, protecting certain components from being unmounted on an error while giving users an easy way to back out and return to working parts of the application. Developers should also send errors to Sentry for insights and fix them.

Welcome Richard Huffaker Sentry is welcoming Richard Huffaker to its team as a Technical Content Strategist, bringing experience from Weebly where he was the fourth employee and has also co-directed a musical comedy film recently screened in Louisville. He will utilize his skills in writing, filmmaking, and public speaking at Sentry, creating content including videos and new employee gifs. In his free time, Richard enjoys activities that match his work style, such as writing, making videos, and saying words out loud, which can be found on his personal website richardsomething.com.

Forge by Sentry: Connect, Learn, Eat, Drink Forge is a conference where developers can connect with each other and learn about the future of software development. The event features an impressive lineup of expert speakers from across the industry who will share their insights on various topics related to building and using software. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions and get help directly from Sentry's engineers and other speakers during a reception, dinner, and afterparty. The conference takes place at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa Valley, California, and includes a one-night stay for attendees. Overall, Forge is an event that brings together software developers to discuss and shape the future of the industry.

Observability is a crucial aspect of product development, allowing teams to understand the user experience and identify areas for improvement. Sentry error monitoring provides a starting point for observability, but it can be challenging to reproduce errors in context. SessionStack adds an additional layer of observability by visually recreating errors, enabling teams to see what users see and understand the problem in action. By integrating SessionStack with Sentry, Onvey was able to reduce developer cycles spent on reproducing highly context-specific errors and increase speed to resolution, ultimately improving both user experience and engineer productivity.

Welcome to Sentry Evan Purkhiser joins us from Crunchyroll where he spent 3 years designing backend services to bring Anime to the masses following his passion for building high quality software Evan made his way to the Platform team at Sentry with an eye for details and a drive to build things right he’s ready to make an impact by shipping out new features and optimizations when not behind the keyboard Evan spins his favorite genre Happy Hardcore check him out on SoundCloud

The Sentry Releases feature integrates with Bitbucket to provide insights into code changes that may be causing errors, making it easier to diagnose and resolve issues. This integration allows developers to link their Bitbucket repositories with Sentry, enabling them to track commits and releases in one place, and connect the dots between specific code changes and errors. By tying errors to specific commits and deployments, teams can improve error visibility and reduce frustration, ultimately leading to faster resolution of issues and a more efficient workflow. This integration also enables support teams to quickly identify the root cause of issues and direct them to the right developer, improving overall customer experience.

Welcome Jon Cedercreutz` Sentry is pleased to welcome Jon Cedercreutz to its team, where he will be working on the sales team to help customers leverage Sentry at their organizations. Jon joins from Dropbox, where he was part of the Enterprise Sales team, and previously worked at Mimecast, helping to make email safer for businesses. In his new role, Jon brings his experience in sales and collaboration to help companies improve their workflows and security with Sentry's platform. Outside of work, Jon enjoys golfing, cooking, watching sports, and finding relaxation in the sun.

Forge by Sentry: Better With Friends` Sentry's Forge conference is a three-day technical conference in Napa Valley that brings together industry leaders to discuss the future of software development. The event offers a +1 discount for attendees who bring friends, with 20% off all passes for groups of two or more. Additionally, Sentry provides scholarships for students and underrepresented members of the community to attend the conference. Forge is a single-track conference featuring speakers from prominent companies such as Datadog, Stripe, Honeycomb, Optimizely, MailChimp, Zeit, LightStep, and Muve Health, covering topics like UX for AI-driven monitoring, observability, and rethinking software development processes. The event aims to provide a unique and engaging experience for attendees, fostering connections among peers over food, wine, and great content.