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How complex is Hello World really?

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The text discusses the challenges of creating a simple program in Linux, emphasizing that simplicity is often harder to achieve than complexity. Initially, the program appears straightforward, but upon compiling, it reveals a complex structure with multiple symbols and sections. The author highlights that even seemingly simple output operations are optimized by the compiler, which complicates the understanding of the program's underlying mechanics. Instead of directly starting with the `main` function, the program actually begins with an `_start` function, leading to further complexities.

Glimmer Hangman (RubyConf 2024 Hack Day App)

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/ruby

The author shares their progress on a Ruby project initiated during the RubyConf 2024 Hack Day, where they began creating a GUI desktop application for the word game Hangman using the Glimmer DSL for LibUI. They are pleased to announce the completion of version 1.0.0 of the game, which can be easily installed via the `glimmer_hangman` Ruby gem. Users can run the game by simply entering the command `hangman`. The project is available on GitHub

Experimenting with software architectures for video games inspired by tabletop roleplaying games

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The blog post, authored by a reflective practitioner, details the author's recent work on a video game prototype inspired by tabletop roleplaying games. The author has been exploring the adaptation of Forged in the Dark systems into a text-based video game, building upon concepts from their previous game, "The Endless Storm of Dagger Mountain." After wrapping up the fall semester, the author began to delve deeper into this prototype but recently encountered doubts regarding some decisions made in the software architecture. They chose to work with

Go-Prequel: POC for google’s prequel load balancer

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The post discusses the implementation of a load balancer inspired by the paper "Load is not what you should balance: Introducing Prequal." The author focuses on the general load balancing policy rather than the testing environment or benchmark results, encouraging readers interested in those details to refer to the paper directly. The load balancer uses a mechanism called Hot Cold Lexicographic (HCL) to select a server based on a quantile metric called RIF (Request Intensity Factor). Each client maintains a R

Log-structured file systems: There's one in every SSD

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

Subscriptions are crucial for the sustainability of LWN.net, encouraging readers to support the platform for more content. An article contributed by Valerie Aurora discusses the innovations in file systems, particularly the log-structured file system (LFS) developed by John K. Ousterhout and collaborators around 1988. They proposed treating the file system as a single log to streamline writing operations, avoiding the need for a second write. Changes are made using a copy-on-write method, which allows for the old data to

Improving API Latency with Server-Side Caching

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The article discusses the issue of API latency, which negatively impacts user experience by causing slow response times. The author shares their experience in a project where rising API latency metrics became a concern for users. To address this, they implemented server-side caching, resulting in a 40% reduction in latency. The backend, developed with Java Spring, served a React frontend and faced challenges with endpoints that frequently accessed data, as these requests consistently overloaded the database. The piece emphasizes the importance of optimizing performance for modern applications

Portspoof: Emulate a valid service on all 65535 TCP ports

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: Hacker News

Portspoof is a security tool designed to enhance operating system security by keeping all 65,535 TCP ports open and responding with SYN+ACK to connection attempts, making traditional port scanning ineffective. It emulates services on open ports using a vast database of dynamic service signatures, effectively masking the true state of the ports from attackers. Portspoof also acts as an "Exploitation Framework Frontend," allowing it to exploit attackers' tools. It is intended to be a lightweight, fast, and secure

Dashlane Publishes Web Extension Code for Transparency and Security

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

CyberInsider reports that Dashlane has publicly released the source code for its web extension, aiming to enhance transparency and foster collaboration within the cybersecurity community. This release, however, is not a traditional open-source initiative as it redacts key proprietary elements to protect intellectual property and security. Dashlane likens this to sharing a recipe with secret ingredients omitted, allowing developers to understand its approach without enabling replication of the extension. To ensure security, Dashlane employs a secure review process that removes sensitive data before sharing

PostgreSQL Meets ScyllaDB's Lightning Speed and Monstrous Scalability

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The content discusses the challenges faced by OTAs, particularly tiket.com, in managing a large inventory of hotel pricing and availability data. With 2.7 billion database rows and the need for real-time updates, the company encountered significant bottlenecks with PostgreSQL, leading to delays of up to four hours in data reflection. Despite attempts at optimization, the performance issues persisted, prompting the need for reconsideration of their database system to accommodate growing workloads and real-time demands. The content hints at the necessity

Ruby Changes: Ruby 3.4 annotated changelog

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/ruby

The author, who is currently serving in the Ukrainian Army amid the ongoing Russian invasion, has shared insights on updates related to the Ruby programming language while highlighting the vital support from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and international allies. The changelog focuses on language changes rather than internal implementation, and while many important internal modifications are omitted, notable changes for users include the introduction of a naming convention for anonymous parameters and a new opt-in warning for unnecessary blocks. Additionally, Ruby 3.4 will issue deprecation warnings

Writing slower Go programs

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The article argues that optimizing Go programs for readability rather than performance is often more beneficial. While many may instinctively prioritize speed, the author suggests that performance gains typically have minimal impact on most applications, particularly those that run infrequently or take only a couple of minutes to execute. The examples provided illustrate that, in many cases, bottlenecks arise from factors like waiting for HTTP requests or transferring large files, rather than the efficiency of the Go code itself. Overall, the author contends that focusing on

Ruby 3.4.1 Released

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/ruby

Ruby 3.4.1 has been released, addressing an issue with the version description. For more details, users can check the GitHub releases. Download links for the new version are provided in tar.gz, tar.xz, and zip formats. The announcement also highlights that the website is available in multiple languages and is maintained by the Ruby community.

Ruby 3.4.0 Released

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/ruby

Ruby 3.4.0 has been released, introducing several enhancements. Key features include: 1. **Block Parameter Reference**: A new way to reference block parameters without variable names, similar to `_1`, simplifying code readability, especially in one-line blocks. 2. **Default Parser Change**: The default parser has been switched from `parse.y` to Prism, with minimal user-visible changes. Users can revert to the prior parser using the `--parser=parse.y` command-line argument if

End to End Testing No More

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The content describes a typical Tuesday afternoon in a software development team preparing for a routine release involving minor features and bug fixes. After developers and testers complete their work, end-to-end (E2E) tests are conducted, resulting in a few failures. This prompts an investigation where the team discovers one bug and four false positives, leading to delays and increased pressure on managers to manage timelines and stakeholder expectations. The narrative highlights that such challenges are common in microservices architectures, where the complexity of interconnected services

Merry Christmas Everyone

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: Hacker News

The content describes two personal experiences around Christmas time. The first anecdote recounts a Christmas in 1999 when the narrator, alone due to his girlfriend being out of town, decided to watch three movies. Despite a delay that would have caused scheduling conflicts, a manager adjusted the timetable so that the group could enjoy all three films together, making for a memorable day. The second experience involves a college student who, being the only individual on campus during the holidays, was invited by the new Warden

Show HN: FixBrowser – a lightweight web browser created from scratch

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: Hacker News

Failed to fetch content - HTTP Error - SSL_connect returned=1 errno=0 peeraddr=144.76.186.151:443 state=error: certificate verify failed (unable to get local issuer certificate)

A Taping of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Saved an Innocent Man from Death Row (2017)

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: Hacker News

A new documentary highlights the case of Juan Catalan, who narrowly avoided a wrongful death sentence for the murder of 16-year-old Martha Puebla in May 2003. After Puebla was fatally shot, police mistakenly linked Catalan to the crime based on a witness's testimony, despite the absence of any direct evidence. While in custody, Catalan's girlfriend reminded him he was at Dodger Stadium with family during the murder. His attorney, Todd Melkin, sought video footage from the game,

CRT Simulation in a GPU Shader, Looks Better Than Black Frame Insertion

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses a new algorithm developed by Mark Rejhon and Timothy Lottes aimed at reducing motion blur in displays, particularly for those who appreciate CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) technology. This algorithm is suitable for CRT enthusiasts, software, and hardware developers, as well as emulator authors who want to enhance the visual quality of legacy 60Hz content. An update indicates that this algorithm has been quickly integrated into the Retroarch emulator, allowing users to simulate CRT effects. The performance of the algorithm

T * sin (t)' ≈ Ornamented Christmas Tree (2013)

Published: 2024-12-25 | Origin: Hacker News

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macOS menu bar app that shows how full the ISS urine tank is in real time

Published: 2024-12-24 | Origin: Hacker News

The content describes a macOS menu bar app called pISSStream, which displays the real-time fullness of the International Space Station's urine tank. The developer emphasizes that they value user feedback and acknowledges that this is their first app created using Swift and macOS, suggesting it may not adhere to best coding practices and could be prone to errors. They discovered the data source for the app from a website that offers more comprehensive statistics related to the ISS but have decided not to incorporate additional features. Users can download