Happy (Almost) Mario Day

1800s Nintendo, formatting code, and the Pokemon sleep schedule

Author

David Thurman
March 06, 2025

Morning folks! This is Beyond Code - the newsletter designed to help developers build their careers, one Thursday at a time.

Special Edition! Did you know 3/10 is considered Mario Day (Mar10)

In honor of everyone’s favorite plumber, we’ve added a Nintendo theme for this week’s edition

Note: This newsletter is not sponsored. Any websites/tools/apps we recommend are purely because we enjoy them personally

Did You Know…

Nintendo was founded in the 1800s

Nintendo Timeline - from gamesfreezer

Founded in 1889, Nintendo first began as a playing card company. The decks they created, called Hanafuda, were a popular gambling tool in Japan (and were actually banned until around 1885).

It wasn’t until the 1960s that Nintendo began pivoting towards toys and games. Their first video game, EVR Race, was released in 1975.

I guess when Nintendo launched the Pokemon Card Game in the 90s, they were really just returning to their roots

Handy Coding Tool

Format Your Code Without Arguments - Prettier

Sourcetree

Tired of arguing over tabs vs. spaces? Prettier has you covered. This opinionated code formatter ensures your code is clean, consistent, and free of debates. It supports a wide range of languages and integrates with most popular editors.

Key Features:

  • Automatically formats code on save.

  • Works with most modern languages and IDEs.

  • Ensures consistent styling in collaborative projects.

Tech Highlights

Gamification Enters.. Interesting Places

Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo

  • Wake Up to… Coins? - We all know our favorite sound to here is.. our morning alarm? A new product that’s so weird only Nintendo could come up with it, the Sound Clock Alarmo wakes you up to video game music. It then tracks your movement and plays sound effects as you try to smash it silence it - Link

  • Pokemon Go for Narcoleptics - Have you ever considered how much time you waste sleeping each night when you could be out there.. catching Pokemon? Well Nintendo is here to solve that problem. Pokemon Sleep tracks your sleep and lets you catch Pokemon based on how well you did - Link

  • Enjoy Sonic Roleplaying? - Aviron, a company that specializes in combining workout equipment with video games, has recently launched their latest product-a $2,499 treadmill that lets you play various games while you run - Link

All this “innovation” and meanwhile I’m just waiting for Nintendo to bring back the Wii Fit

Programming Tip

Delete Unused Code

Don’t comment out half your file and leave it there for eternity. This is one of the easiest ways to dirty up your codebase over time. If you must comment out code temporarily, include a reason or a TODO, and clean it up when it’s no longer needed.

Why It Matters:

  • Keeps the codebase clean and relevant.

  • Avoids confusion for teammates wondering, “Why is this here?”

  • Reduces bloat.

Don’t fall into the “but what if I need it?” trap. Remember that even your deleted code is available in source control if you ever actually do need to use it again.

Plus, 11 times out of 10, you never actually need it.

Ask the Experts

“What are some of your favorite questions to ask/be asked during interviews?”

What is your favorite language and why? What is your biggest oops moment and how did you recover? (Everyone makes mistakes; recovery shows character)

Kimberly Brown, Engineering Manager @ TestBox

Open Source Highlight

Share Knowledge with Docusaurus

He kind of looks like a Yoshi..right?

Docusaurus is an open-source tool for building documentation websites. It’s perfect for project wikis, API documentation, and anything else that needs clear organization.

Why It’s Awesome:

  • Easy setup with pre-designed themes.

  • Markdown support for quick content creation.

  • SEO-friendly and customizable.

What’s Open Source?
“Open sourced projects” refer to projects that have their code open to the public. They allow anyone to contribute to the project and help maintain it. Not only are they a great way to get hands on experience early on in your career, they also provide you a way to add bigger projects to your resume!

Shameless Plug

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