Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News

The 2019 paper titled "Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor" claimed that Google's Sycamore quantum computer, utilizing 53 qubits and a depth of 20, executed a specific computation in roughly 200 seconds, whereas a classical supercomputer would allegedly take about 10,000 years for the same task. However, there are significant doubts regarding these claims that may stem from methodological errors rather than objective findings. The criticisms are centered around two main points: 1. **Flawed

Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/ruby

The content discusses a minimalistic ahead-of-time Ruby compiler called Lightstorm, which targets C instead of machine code. It emphasizes the importance of user feedback and provides a link to additional documentation. Lightstorm can significantly improve code execution speed, with an example showing a nearly 30% reduction in execution time for the aobench benchmark. Users can set up the compiler using either a codespace or a devcontainer, with specific instructions for macOS and Ubuntu, including requirements for Ninja, CMake (

Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses the release and features of Electric, a Postgres sync engine that allows real-time partial replication of data for local apps. Electric has now entered its BETA phase with version 1.0.0-beta.1, and earlier versions include various enhancements like support for Postgres, shape filtering, JSON, and integration with platforms such as Supabase and Ionic. The development of Electric emphasizes a local-first approach, enabling applications to utilize instant, real-time local data without the need for custom

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: Hacker News

The content outlines a comprehensive guide on various financial topics and services, categorized into several key areas: 1. **Credit Cards**: Information on finding the right credit card, including best categories like rewards, travel, 0% APR, cash back, and options for building credit. 2. **Loans**: Guidance on selecting personal loans, including debt consolidation, refinancing credit card debt, fast funding options, and student loan refinancing. 3. **Banking**: A focus on savings and checking accounts

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/programming

The author argues against the practice of naming scientific and mathematical discoveries after their creators, advocating instead for names that convey the essence of the concepts. Recognizing contributors through awards is sufficient, while informative names help users understand and communicate ideas effectively. The author cites examples like "breadth-first search" and "Gaussian distribution," which are descriptive, compared to less informative names like "Dirichlet distribution." They emphasize that knowledge should be built upon compositional understanding, where core concepts can be combined meaningfully,

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/programming

The content, authored by Kevin Bourrillion, discusses the complexities programmers face when dealing with dates and times in their code. Despite the fact that we learn about these concepts early in life, programming requires a much higher degree of precision and correctness, leading to frequent bugs and confusion. The Java and Kotlin Ecosystem team at Google has spent years working to minimize date/time-related errors in their codebase and has gained valuable insights from this experience. Instead of offering a list of programming practices, the author intends

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/programming

The author reflects on the evolution of the C programming language, particularly its portability issues in the early days of "K&R C". They recount their experiences with different systems, such as the Radio Shack Color Computer and the Commodore Amiga, highlighting the challenges of varying "int" sizes between architectures—16-bit on one and potentially 32-bit on another. After starting a job at Microware in 1995, they encountered the ANSI-C compiler and the need for specific type definitions to address

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/programming

A viral tweet has emerged claiming that 9.5% of engineers are "ghost engineers," who barely contribute to work yet earn significantly through multiple jobs. While the claim has gained traction, supported by research attributed to Stanford and various news outlets, the original methodology has not been peer-reviewed, raising concerns about its validity. The author of the research lacks a background in software engineering, which questions the reliability of their conclusions about productivity and credibility in the field. The blog post emphasizes the need for skepticism towards

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: Hacker News

U.S. fourth and eighth graders experienced significant declines in math scores between 2019 and 2023 on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a test assessing foundational math and science skills among students in 64 countries. While American fourth graders' scores dropped steeply, the declines were more pronounced among lower-performing students, a trend that predates the pandemic. Despite the declines, U.S. students remain in the middle tier internationally. Leading countries in the rankings include Singapore,

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/programming

On December 10, 2024, the creators of libSQL, a project forked from SQLite to enable a more open contribution model, announced a new initiative called the Limbo project. LibSQL has gained significant traction, amassing over 12,000 stars on GitHub and 85 contributors, while introducing features like native replication and vector search. They initially chose to fork SQLite to leverage its existing features while allowing for compatibility with its developments. However, the proprietary nature of SQLite’s test

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: Hacker News

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Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: Hacker News

The author arrived in Santa Clara for the Q2B (Quantum 2 Business) conference, where they will speak and participate in a closing session. Concurrently, Google’s Quantum group announced its new 105-qubit superconducting chip, “Willow,” which showcases an error-corrected surface code qubit and a larger quantum supremacy experiment. The author attended the announcement at the Computer History Museum, where Google representatives, including Dave Bacon, provided high-level explanations and answered questions. Sundar P

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/programming

The content discusses the benefits of Immutable Arrays, highlighting their safer and more efficient nature compared to read-only lists. These arrays achieve true immutability while offering performance and memory optimizations. They compile as regular arrays in bytecode but lack mutating capabilities. Immutable Arrays are especially suitable for memory-constrained and performance-critical applications, such as those in Android and JVM environments. Performance benchmarks, conducted using the Java Microbenchmark Harness, involve 1,000 collections with various sizes based on a realistic probability distribution

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/programming

The article discusses using a statistical model to translate Code Health scores into measurable business benefits, specifically faster software development and fewer defects. It proposes that improving code quality can lead to a 43% acceleration in development, emphasizing that code quality, though often vague and subjective, can be quantified through the CodeHealth™ metric. This metric, based on peer-reviewed research, links code maintainability directly to business outcomes. The article highlights the need for a clear understanding of a "good" codebase and presents the

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: Hacker News

The goal of the initiative is to apply the low-fee investment model popularized by Robinhood to ETFs and mutual funds. After a previous announcement, they have achieved over $10 million in Assets Under Management (AUM). The service charges a flat fee of $1 per month, significantly lower than the typical 1% fee charged by financial advisors and the average ETF expense ratio of 0.17%. It allows users to invest by purchasing individual stocks that compose popular indices, enabling customization and tax

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/ruby

The content discusses a Rack App example that connects the OpenAI real-time API to Twilio using a Falcon server. It emphasizes the importance of feedback and provides a basic guide for setting up the server, which enables bi-directional asynchronous streaming in Ruby using Websockets. Users are instructed to add their OpenAI API key to a `.env` file, set up Twilio webhooks to link to the server, and use NGrok for local development. Additionally, it mentions the Twilio dev phone

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/ruby

The "State of Hanami" update provides an overview of the achievements and future plans for the Hanami framework. In 2024, Hanami experienced significant progress, including the release of version 2.2, completing its vision for full-stack applications. A leadership transition took place in April, with the new lead expressing excitement about the role. The update acknowledges contributions from various community members and outlines plans to simplify the process for new contributors by highlighting "good first issues." Looking ahead to 202

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: /r/ruby

The content discusses a Ruby debugging tool called `dbg!`, which is inspired by Rust. It serves as a minimalistic debugging helper that enhances `puts` statements by providing caller context and improved formatting for easier debugging. Users can add the `dbg!` method globally through a Gemfile, allowing them to see the file and line information alongside their output. The tool also supports outputting local variable names with their values and pretty-prints hash values, with options for colored output and highlighting configurations. Users

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: Hacker News

In Axol's blog, the author discusses the merits of Test-Driven Development (TDD) while addressing common misconceptions. They emphasize that TDD encourages developers to write tests for edge cases, as proper adherence to TDD can highlight potential oversights in the code. However, the author notes that identifying these edge cases can be challenging, particularly before most of the code is written. Additionally, the blog highlights how TDD can serve as effective "guardrails" when outsourcing implementation tasks. Unlike written

Published: 2024-12-10 | Origin: Hacker News

Tree Calculus is a programming framework that allows for program analysis directly through its built-in reduction rules, enabling type checking, compilation, and optimization without the need for external tools. It supports a variety of type systems and integrates static and dynamic checks seamlessly. This framework enables the compilation and deployment of programs from within the program itself, leading to powerful interactive environments akin to Jupyter Notebooks for managing entire product lifecycles. Tree Calculus is Turing-complete and focuses on a trivial abstract syntax where