Contributor spotlight: Victor Novy
Second, in a series of interviews with Mockoon's open-source contributors. Today, we are talking with Victor Novy.
In the realm of open-source, the community plays a major role in building innovative products. No matter the form the contribution takes, feedback, code contribution, bug reports, or word of mouth, Mockoon wouldn't be what it has become without all of you. We started this series of interviews to put some more light on the contributors who spent time crafting features or fixing bugs for the benefit of all. Today, we are talking with Victor Novy, who shares his enthusiasm for contributing to and using Mockoon.
Can you introduce yourself and your background in software development, your passions or hobbies?
Hi, my name is Victor Novy (@victornovy), I've been a software developer since 2014 living and working in Brazil. I started my career focusing on the front end, working with PHP and JS. I also met someone who changed the way I see software development. With that, I stopped caring about stacks and tried to delve deeper into concepts, the one that caught my attention the most was software quality. I also studied microservices and domain-driven design. I use several tools such as Docker, AWS (SNS, SQS, EC2, S3, EKS, Lambda, etc.), Ionic, and Angular, among others. In February, my son was born and it was one of the best experiences in my life. Nowadays it's a rush but a very good rush. As a hobby, I like cycling and playing soccer.
Don't be afraid! Just try to contribute, and you will find a community that will help you.
How long have you been using Mockoon? Are there any particular contributions you've made that you'd like to emphasize or showcase?
I found Mockoon at the 2022 Hacktoberfest, and I loved the idea that the project has. After that, I tried to use it within the company, but before being able to implement it, I switched companies. I still brought Mockoon to this new company where we started using it for some tests. I contributed by adding a parameter to automatically start the environments when opening the application.
💡 The auto-start feature is available since Mockoon v1.23.0 in the application settings (ctrl + ,)
What inspired you to contribute to a project like Mockoon and open-source in general?
There were times when I wanted to contribute to open-source projects, but I was always afraid to. I found a project with which I was delighted and wanted to see if I could help with something. Guillaume (Mockoon’s founder) was very helpful in helping me better understand the project and how I could implement the functionality. It broke my fear of helping with open-source projects.
How do you balance your contributions with other commitments? Are your open-source contributions part of your work (as an employee)?
My contributions are not part of my work as an employee. So, it gets a little busy as I have to dedicate some separate time. Nowadays, I'm still trying to balance things and find a routine because of my son, who is still young and needs attention. I have a few hours left after work where I'm helping a friend on a project. I also intend to use this time to help contribute to open-source.
What general advice would you give to someone interested in contributing to open-source projects?
Don't be afraid... whether of your code or communication! Just try to contribute, and you will find a community that will help you.
How has your involvement with open source contributed to your growth as a developer or your career?
It broke my communication barrier, and I saw that I didn't need to be afraid, besides this contribution being my first contact with ElectronJS and Angular.
What makes Mockoon unique compared to other API mocking tools? Can you share some key features or functionalities that you find particularly useful?
I have never tried using other API mocking tools. The most useful functionality for me is the possibility to simulate the result based on some condition. With this option, I can create lots of test cases.
Have you integrated Mockoon into any specific projects or workflows, and if so, how has it improved or streamlined those processes?
We carried out test automation using Mockoon. It brought more quality to the project and helped catch unmapped error scenarios.
What are your favorite tools or resources for software development outside of Mockoon?
I really like a database management tool called DBeaver!
We thank Victor for sharing his journey with us. We are grateful he chose to dedicate his time and talent to improving projects like Mockoon, making it an indispensable tool for developers worldwide.
More interviews are in the pipeline. Be sure not to miss any by subscribing to our newsletter or joining our Discord server. Happy mocking!