Intro

As developers, whether just beginners or seasoned pros, we always need to go online and search for information related to a problem we’re trying to solve. We may need to do this a few times a week or even multiple times in one day.

How I Learned to Find Answers Up Until Now

I became familiar with three tools to search online during my journey to become a more skilled developer:

Old-fashion Google searching.
Stack Overflow
The technology’s documentation website.

So, with time I became better at Google searching to return specific answers to my questions instead of broad answers that didn't return what I needed. I woke up each morning, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and raised my hands to the sky, thanking the world for Stack Overflow. O.k. maybe I'm exaggerating just a little about raising my hands to the sky, but that site is the sh*t.

As I was learning more and more about Web development, I would find myself searching through docs for a particular technology. I realized that initially, I didn't particularly enjoy searching for answers this way. Sometimes I would search around a bit, looking for the answer to my question, and get tired of looking and resort back to Google or Stack Overflow. But, on the other hand, sometimes, I was able to find answers to my questions. I learned that sometimes it was simply a matter of figuring out how a site organized its information while sites had poor documentation.

How Could I Do This Better?

I wondered if there was a better way to search for what I needed to help me solve coding problems. I wanted something that would allow me to quickly and easily return search results to spend more time writing code. Then, I discovered a tool called Dash. Dash is a tool for Mac (sorry, Windows users) that allows you to have instant access to over a hundred API docs right on your computer or mobile device. This tool has allowed me to search documentation a lot faster and easier.

Dash Features

From the Dash site:

Dash is an API Documentation Browser and Code Snippet Manager. Dash stores snippets of code and instantly searches offline documentation sets for 150+ APIs. You can even generate your own docsets or request docsets to be included.

This tool is excellent! Now when I need to search something, say I had a brain fart and couldn’t remember the syntax for javaScript’s map() method, I could pull up the JavaScript documentation saved in my Dash program and copy code right from the screen if needed.

Search results not only pull from docs but also from Stack Overflow and Google too. Dash's search results allow you to search multiple places and see them all at once quickly. Using this tool has allowed me to feel more comfortable with using documentation sites. It is important to use official docs because the best source for information about a technology or product is the folks who created it. Some plugins allow you to use Dash directly in your text editor or IDE. I haven't used that feature, but maybe you will feel differently.

Getting Started with Dash

If you would like to try it out, go to https://kapeli.com/dash to download the program. If I remember correctly, you can try it free for at least 30 days or purchase it outright for $24.99. If you are like me and hate searching through documentation sites, then maybe this tool can help ease the process. Check it out!