About Me
Hello! My name is John Balke. I am an aspiring software developer, with a passion for full stack web development; primarily React, JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.JS and SQL.
I have over 20 years experience in InfoTech, in a variety of roles including network and systems administration, database developer, product specialist and trainer. I thrive on engaging with people, working with technology and delivering solutions.
Currently based in Northumberland, United Kingdom.
Projects
A selection of past and present projects.
E-commerce
Tech stack: React, Redux, React Query, TailwindCSS, JWT-based authentication, Express, Mongoose (MongoDB), REST API.
Testing: Jest.
Deployment: Heroku.
Reddit Clone
Tech stack: NextJS (React, SSR), urql, Apollo Server (GraphQL), TypeORM, PostgresSQL, JWT-based authentication & TypeScript.
Deployment: Vercel and Digital Ocean VPS.
Small Business Website
Tech stack: NextJS (React, SSR), React Map GL, React Hook Forms, Framer Motion, Styled Components, Serverless functions, MongoDB.
Deployment: Vercel.
Real-time Chat
Tech stack: React, Fastify + Socket.io, TypeScript.
Deployment: Heroku.
Trello Clone
Tech stack: React, React-Beautiful-DnD, Zustand, TypeScript.
Deployment: Netlify.
Skills & Tools
One of the reasons I enjoy full stack development is the variety of languages and technologies available to build effective solutions. There's always something new to learn!
The following is what I've worked with to date.
Development Languages
- JavaScript
- TypeScript
- HTML
- CSS
- Go
- Rust
Data
- PostgreSQL
- Microsoft SQL Server
- MongoDB
- REST APIs
- GraphQL
- TypeORM
- TypeGraphQL
- Websockets / Socket.io
Client Frameworks & Libraries
- React
- NextJS
- GatsbyJS
- Apollo Client
- Urql
- React Query
- React Hook Forms
- Framer Motion
- Emotion / Styled Components / TailwindCSS
Backend Technologies
- Node.js
- ExpressJS
- Fastify
- Apollo Server
- Docker
- Redis
Testing Frameworks
- Jest
- Mocha
- React Testing Library