I think a nice approach to describe HW + visual systems is kind of patterns. Similar to what is done in this project to describe waveforms: http://wavedrom.com/
we had tons of discussions what Unit test framework should be used, and how much the code coverage should be. Then, whether and how to use mocks in Unit tests did not help to make better software IMHO - that is why I claimed that much fuzz about TDD is politics.
interesting how you generate blocks from the language: http://cx-lang.org/documentation/structure - I guess visual feedback would make the language attractive to non-HW designers. I gave a small talk once on sharing HW projects in the browser: https://speakerdeck.com/mulderp/sharing-hardware-with-javasc... - of course this is a different level, but still, having web/svg kinds of HW representations would be interesting. I guess for HW, good representations of schematics/waveforms are at least as important as he actual HDL, but I might be wrong.
Hm.. as hardware becomes a commodity, I don't think that custom designs can beat the commodity price point. What would be helpful, more web/interactive kind of tools to make hardware better accessible. For example, simple power calculators, that would compare the power consumption of an Arduino with special low-power devices. Or, how a 5V system compares to a 3V or 1.2V.
it often depends on the size of your team or projects, if a certain technology makes sense. would be interesting to hear more about projects that "failed" with React. So far, I have not heard many people who failed.
I worked on a book about Node.js and Backbone.js last year as a side project. Keeping motivation is easier if you have some rythm. For the book, I wrote mostly on Friday evening and Saturday/Sunday mornings. From publication to first sales, it took much time. So, in that time, I was missing mostly feedback, what others think about my project. For my new sideproejct, a meetup group about Arduino, I find it great to have regular feedback from a "known" audience.
you could also start writing a blog. oreilly for example support bloggers with a book review program, and usually you can find blogging peers giving you feedback. in any case, feedback would be helpful for authors too, and for my book, i thought gathering discussions on books with similar subjects on a site: http://backbonebooks.info
the main purpose of a backend is the access to data... e.g. like Firebase. For open-source approaches, ArangoDB Foxx looks more intersting with this regard: https://www.arangodb.com/foxx
very interesting! I was looking for some solution to maintain a photo blog lately. could you give a clearer example how to work with images with your solution? do you maintain the pictures in a directory before/after a build?