Mazhar is a front-end developer on HubSpot’s development team. In this installment of Behind The Coding, Mazhar and Sajeel discuss their favorite Spider-man storylines, what new skills he’s adding to his development arsenal and why people around him are always crying.  

Hi Mazhar! Let’s get to it; what are the last 3 things you Googled and why?  

1 – Mutation Observers

Ok, for those that don’t know, what exactly is a MutationObserver. Is it someone watching little sewer-dwelling turtles walking into some ooze and transforming into teenagers that know karate and eat pizza?

No, this has nothing to do with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Actually, the MutationObserver is an HTML5 API used to basically help load websites faster. Haseeb Ilyas (Project Manager at Computan) asked me to practice my skills on it, so I have been working on this and some other Advanced JS tactics. Having a good understanding of JavaScript will help me be a better front-end developer.

2 – Awesome! What else?

Closures

Do you mean like things closed on holidays?

No. More JavaScript stuff! In general, closures are used to keep certain elements of JS code private. We use it to create private variables and functions. These days I’m trying to sharpen up my JS skills, and Haseeb is giving me direction on it.

Nice! Is the third thing you Googled JS-related also?

Hahaha no. Actually, I was looking for when the latest What-If episode came out on Disney+.

Ah! Do you like superheroes?

No, I don’t like them. I love them.  

What superheroes do you like?

I watch some Anime (Naruto), but my favorite character is Spiderman. I read his comic books as a kid, and of course, I have seen all of the movies.

Wow! We have that in common. What is your favorite Spiderman story?

There are too many stories, but I actually like the one where Doctor Octopus takes over his body for a little while. I forgot what it was called.

That’s called ‘The Superior Spiderman’…it’s a new story.

Yes! That’s it. With Spiderman, the best part is that every fight seems personal. What is your favorite?

I couldn’t agree more. The reason why Spiderman is such a great character is that he is relatable. You’re putting me on the spot to pick a favorite. One of the most ‘personal’ stories for sure is ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’… Kraven The Hunter buries him alive, and while buried, you see Spiderman’s thoughts and desperation to rise out of the situation he is in and get free.

I also like the origin story. That I can watch or read anytime!

Ok, switching gears…when was the last time you worked after hours to solve a hard problem?

I actually do that often. I really enjoy coding late at night and find it really peaceful. Imran Majeed (another HubSpot developer on the Computan team and a close colleague of Mazhar’s) and I were doing a HubSpot speed optimization project. One of the HubSpot Partners we support had a client complain about their site being slow, so we worked late to get the site a better score on Lightspeed.

Who are three people you’d like to have for dinner at the same time, and why?

I would never have dinner with only three other people if given a chance.  

Why not?

Not enough people, actually. I like being in groups with more people.

Ok. How many people do you want at this dinner?

A minimum of 5. Is that ok?

Ok, ok, fine. We’ll take it. Who do we have?

Definitely my parents. They are the biggest supporters and influencers in my life. Then my fiancée, of course. We are all into cricket, so the 4 of us (my folks and my fiancée) would talk to my two favorite cricket players – Wasim Akram and Muhammad Amir.

Not bad! An ask-me-anything session with cricket legends. When was the last time you cried tears of laughter?

Never! I have never cried tears of laughter, but believe it or not, I can make other people cry tears of laughter, and it happens all the time.

Do you mean you’re a developer with a sense of humor?

Yeah, kind of! Like take my display picture on the Computan internal chat system (Rocket Chat)…everyone always mentions they like my white hat.

Yes. What about it?

Well, I’m wearing that white hat because someone wanted to take a picture of me, but my hair was dirty since I just woke up. So I just tossed it on.

Hahaha! And that makes you funny?

You’re laughing, aren’t you? See? You are laughing.

Ok, fair enough. When was the first time you saw a computer

I remember it vividly. My uncle bought a 386 desktop machine. I had no idea what he was doing, but he had the DOS prompt on the screen. I was mesmerized.

What’s something your teammates don’t know about you?

I already told you about my white hat, right?

Yes

Ok. Then they know everything there is to know about me!