News Nug
Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: Hacker News

Phoenix is a new X server developed from scratch using Zig, intended as a modern alternative to the Xorg server. Currently, it is not fully operational but can render simple applications using GLX, EGL, or Vulkan graphics nested within an existing X server. Initially, nested mode will be the only supported configuration until further development enables it to handle real-world applications. Designed to be a simpler X server, Phoenix will support only a limited subset of the X11 protocol necessary for modern applications (developed in

Numbers Every Programmer Should Know

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

Of course! Please provide the content you'd like me to summarize.

Show HN: Minimalist editor that lives in browser, stores everything in the URL

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: Hacker News

The content expresses a commitment to valuing user feedback and encourages users to refer to the documentation for available qualifiers. It describes a minimalist text editor web application that operates within the browser and saves data using the URL hash. However, it repeatedly indicates an error in loading the page, prompting users to reload.

Fabrice Bellard: Biography (2009) [pdf]

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: Hacker News

The provided content appears to be raw, unprocessed data from a PDF file, starting with the PDF header "%PDF-1.4" and containing a stream of encoded information. The content seems to be compressed and does not contain any discernible text or structured information that can be summarized meaningfully in a traditional context. It is likely intended for use by software that can interpret PDF file structures and contents, rather than being readable human text.

Zelda: Twilight Princess Has Been Decompiled

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

The source code of "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" has been successfully decompiled, allowing for the potential development of native ports to other platforms, particularly PCs. This process, known as decompilation, converts executable files back into high-level source code. While a previous decompilation project for "Ocarina of Time" quickly led to a native PC port, the timeline for "Twilight Princess" could be longer due to its GameCube and Wii origins, depending on who undert

What This Year Taught Me About Engineering Leadership

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

The author reflects on Christmas Eve, expressing that this time of year is for reflection and preparation for the upcoming year. In the article, they will share key lessons and insights affecting engineering and engineering leadership from 2025, emphasizing the impact of AI in the industry. They plan a comprehensive year recap, including popular articles and insights, and will outline what it takes to be an effective engineering leader in the future. The article will cover topics such as the misconception that AI will replace software engineers, managing expectations

Choosing the Right C++ Containers for Performance

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

The blog post on "Tech For Talk" by Vivek Bhadra discusses the importance of selecting the right C++ containers in performance-critical applications. The choice of container impacts memory layout, cache efficiency, and data access patterns. Some commonly compared containers include `std::vector`, `std::list`, `std::map`, and `std::unordered_map`. `std::vector` is recommended for sequential data due to its contiguous memory storage, which enhances cache efficiency and allows for constant-time

Serverless Panel • N. Coult, R. Kohler, D. Anderson, J. Agarwal, A. Laxmi & J. Dongre

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

Sure! Please provide the content you'd like me to summarize.

2025: The year SwiftUI died

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

The author reflects on their experience with SwiftUI since its release in 2019, initially struggling with its limitations during the first year while developing a side project. Despite the issues, they grew fond of the framework. By 2020, SwiftUI had improved significantly with iOS 14, enabling faster development compared to UIKit. In subsequent years, further advancements in iOS 15+ allowed for increased productivity. Fast-forward six years, the author notes two major developments. First, Apple enhanced UIKit

We reduced transformer inference calls by ~75% without changing model weights (MFEE control-plane approach)

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

The paper introduces Meaning-First Execution (MFEE), a control-layer framework designed to minimize unnecessary inference by high-capacity language models. MFEE determines when to invoke these models and when they can be avoided, thus maintaining output consistency without altering the results. It categorizes requests into four actions: direct response, no-operation, abstention, or full transformer rendering, ensuring that any transformer invocation matches the baseline output exactly. Evaluation shows that MFEE can avoid invoking the transformer 75.1% of

Why runtime environment variables don't really work for pure static websites

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

The article discusses the process of building and deploying a static website as a reusable Docker image using Nginx, specifically focusing on a static Astro website. The objective is to create a setup that requires only a single .env file for different environments. The tutorial builds on a guide related to Next.js and emphasizes the importance of having a static website, as it simplifies hosting and makes it widely accessible. Key requirements include having no server-side code and only assets, which results in a collection of static files

Commit naming system.

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: /r/programming

The Conventional Commits specification is a guideline for creating clear and structured commit messages that are both human-readable and machine-readable. It aims to facilitate the automation of tools that rely on commit history and aligns with Semantic Versioning (SemVer) to communicate updates, fixes, and breaking changes. Commit messages should follow a specific structure, potentially including a scope for additional context (e.g., "feat(parser): add ability to parse arrays"). Key terms such as "MUST" and "SHOULD

Correspondence Between Don Knuth and Peter van Emde Boas on Priority Deques 1977 [pdf]

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: Hacker News

The provided content appears to be a snippet from a PDF file, specifically containing metadata and compressed data. It includes references to PDF object structure with identifiers like "1 0 obj" and "15 0 obj", indicating objects within the PDF. The content seems to use the FlateDecode filter for compression. However, without decompressing the actual stream, it's not possible to provide a meaningful summary of the content itself. The majority of the text is unintelligible binary data typical of a PDF file

Show HN: Turn raw HTML into production-ready images for free

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: Hacker News

The HTML to image generation API, found at https://html2png.dev, allows users to convert raw HTML into production-ready images without the need for sign-up or additional configurations. It supports various formats such as PNG, JPEG, WEBP, and PDF, enabling users to specify output dimensions, retina scaling, wait time, viewport zoom, and background transparency. The API is designed for use with AI models like Claude and GPT-5, offering a straightforward way for LLMs to create images directly

Autonomously navigating the real world: lessons from the PG&E outage

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: Hacker News

Waymo aims to be the most trusted driver, a goal built on consistent behavior over time. During a recent PG&E outage that affected power in San Francisco, their autonomous service faced significant challenges due to numerous traffic lights being disabled, resulting in citywide congestion. The Waymo Driver typically manages dark signals as four-way stops but required confirmation checks more frequently during the outage, causing delays. To address these issues, Waymo is refining their confirmation protocols to improve navigation during such events, allowing for more decisive

Unifi Travel Router

Published: 2025-12-24 | Origin: Hacker News

On December 22, 2025, a portable UniFi Travel Router was introduced, enabling users to maintain their familiar network environment while traveling. With features such as location-aware policies, routing rules, and seamless WiFi connectivity, users can enjoy a consistent network identity and uninterrupted connectivity. The compact router supports various uplink options, including Ethernet, WiFi, or 5G via USB, and efficiently manages captive portal logins for hotel networks. This device allows users to travel light while staying connected

Is Northern Virginia still the least reliable AWS region?

Published: 2025-12-23 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses a service that offers a centralized status page to monitor various cloud providers, particularly tailored for K12 and enterprise needs. Key features include proactive monitoring, outage alerts, and the ability to manage custom status pages. The service allows users to aggregate status data, monitor website uptime, and track dependencies to prevent revenue loss. It emphasizes special plans for educational institutions and highlights recent incidents, including a significant AWS outage in the N. Virginia region. The analysis also includes a review of outage data from

Texas app store age verification law blocked by federal judge

Published: 2025-12-23 | Origin: Hacker News

A Texas federal judge has blocked the implementation of the App Store age verification law, set to take effect on January 1, 2026, citing First Amendment violations and the likelihood of the law being unconstitutional. The Texas App Store Accountability Act (SB2420) would require Apple and other app marketplaces to verify the age of users creating accounts, with additional restrictions for minors. The injunction was prompted by a motion from the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which includes Apple and Google, as Apple argues that

X-ray: a Python library for finding bad redactions in PDF documents

Published: 2025-12-23 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses a tool called "x-ray," a Python library developed by Free Law Project to detect bad redactions in PDF documents. The problem it addresses is that many users improperly redact information by simply covering it with black rectangles, which can be easily bypassed. The x-ray tool allows users to analyze PDFs by identifying ineffective redactions. While it currently works well for many cases, it is not exhaustive, and feedback and contributions from users are encouraged. Instructions for installation and usage are provided, including

Some Epstein file redactions are being undone with hacks

Published: 2025-12-23 | Origin: Hacker News

Un-redacted text from documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case was shared on social media on Monday after users found ways to bypass redactions using techniques like Photoshop or simple text-pasting. This text came from an exhibit in a civil case against Darren K Indyke and Richard D Kahn, executors of Epstein's estate, revealing allegations about how Epstein and associates facilitated child sexual abuse. One notable section mentioned Indyke signing payments exceeding $400,000 to young female models, including one particular Russian model