News Nug
One year after switching from Java to Go

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

The author is one of the creators of the Glasskube Open-Source Package Manager for Kubernetes and emphasizes the ease of use of their software distribution platform. Reflecting on their journey in Java, which began in 2011 during their computer science studies at Vienna University of Technology, they recall using basic tools like jEdit and hand-compiling programs. Their initial projects involved Java Swing applications and web apps with JSP and Servlets. Professionally, they started programming in Java in 2016 within a

Stop Over-Engineering AI Apps: The Case for Boring Technologies

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The content provides an overview of various features and resources related to PostgreSQL and Timescale. Key offerings include: - **SVG Downloading**: Options to copy logos and brandmarks as SVG files and access a brand kit. - **Product Capabilities**: Emphasis on time series and real-time analytics, fast data ingestion and querying, and the integration of AI and vector functionalities within PostgreSQL. - **Deployment Services**: Introduction to Timescale Cloud, noted for its reliability for PostgreSQL workloads

What XOR is and why it's useful

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

Simon Tatham reflects on his experience explaining the 'XOR' (exclusive OR) operator to someone unfamiliar with its practical applications. He notes that while low-level programming in the past necessitated an understanding of XOR, today's high-level programmers often can ignore it. Tatham prepared a lecture on XOR, which surprisingly lasted an hour, and later realized he had more insights to share. He decided to document his thoughts to create a more permanent resource. The summary begins with defining XOR through its truth table but

Math Academy, part 1: My eigenvector embarassment

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

The content describes a student's journey to learn about eigenvectors, stemming from a background in math and physics. Despite graduating with a 4.0 GPA and considering graduate school, the student found it challenging to learn linear algebra and eventually stalled before reaching the chapter on eigenvectors. However, upon discovering Math Academy, an online educational service, the student became motivated to restart their learning. After researching the program, reading related materials, and evaluating its effectiveness, the student decided to subscribe, motivated by the desire

Lessons from 30 years in a programming chair

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The author, a professional programmer since 1988 with extensive experience, shares insights gained from decades in the field. They emphasize that complexity is a significant challenge in software development, arising not only from poor decisions but also from the nature of optimization and flexibility, which, while useful, contribute to this complexity. The local tools can aid in managing complexities, but at a larger scale, the intricacies of interconnected code and non-coherent object states pose ongoing challenges. The author concludes that after over 30

Reviewing the Cryptography Used by Signal

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The author criticizes the use of the Telegram messaging app for its lack of real privacy protections, contrasting it with Signal, which they endorse without any financial motivation. They address accusations of being a paid promoter for Signal, stressing their opposition to promotional work. The author also highlights the common trend of influencers promoting VPN services over Tor, despite Tor being free and offering similar privacy. They express suspicion toward those who recommend VPNs over Tor and emphasize the importance of understanding their relative privacy. As a security engineer,

I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The author, a high school student who began coding in 2019, reflects on the concept of "code is dead" and how AI, specifically large language models (LLMs) for developer tooling, has influenced the learning process. Initially, the author learned to code using documentation, tutorials, and online forums, which fostered a deep understanding of coding principles through experimentation and problem-solving. While they found the process frustrating at times due to errors, they believe this hands-on experience was crucial for their

Why Clojure?

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The article discusses Gaiwan's commitment to using Clojure, despite it being a niche technology. Gaiwan, a Clojure consultancy, emphasizes that their identity is not solely defined by Clojure but by their choice of technologies that maximize productivity and reduce complexity. With an average of over 10 years of industry experience, the team is intentional about selecting tech that provides the highest leverage. The article is aimed primarily at engineers and technical leaders, but is also accessible to business leaders

Augurs demo

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

Augurs is a time series analysis library for Rust that also has JavaScript bindings. It offers tools for clustering, outlier detection, forecasting, and changepoint detection in time series data. Users can analyze similar behaving series and detect outliers using algorithms like DBSCAN. Augurs includes several forecasting methods, such as MSTL for modeling multiple seasonalities and the Prophet algorithm, which focuses on trend, seasonality, and holidays. Additionally, it utilizes the changepoint crate for Bayesian changep

Microsoft Edge Developer VM Remote Code Execution

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The Microsoft Edge Developer VMs were provided by Microsoft for testing websites on various versions of Edge or Internet Explorer, featuring a pre-configured Windows environment. Recently, a user discovered they could execute any code on the VirtualBox Windows 10 version of this VM by hosting a specific DNS name. The VMs were popular for reverse engineering tasks and contained a peculiar process: ruby.exe running as SYSTEM, linked to Puppet, a configuration management tool. After downloading the VM again from archive.org, the same process

Open and closed universes (2021)

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

Type systems are essential for modeling different choices in programming, particularly in the context of library development versus end-user applications. While developers can freely choose their approach for personal projects, library authors must prioritize API stability and forward compatibility. An illustration of this is the Option type in Rust, which is a closed universe that can only be Some or None, allowing for simple and predictable usage. However, this approach restricts future expansion and can lead to API breakage if new values are needed. In scenarios where the

Making my debug build run 100x faster so that it is finally usable

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The article discusses the author's experience in developing a torrent application in C, focusing on the download and verification process of torrent files. The application reads pieces of a download from disk, computes the SHA1 hash for each piece, and checks against expected hashes from the corresponding .torrent file. Initially, the downloaded file is empty, but some pieces may have the correct hash if they consist of zeroes. The author prefers a complete verification process at startup to eliminate potential synchronization issues that can arise from not using a

Short Ruby Newsletter - edition 123

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/ruby

On February 17, 2025, Vladut Cosmin and Lucian Ghinda provided a roundup of recent updates related to Ruby and its community. Key highlights include: - Joel Drapper announced the release of Phlex 2.0. - Offer Lab launched a new product, offerlab.com. - Donn Felker completed the Hotwire Native Android course. - Wilbert Liu introduced a new tool, Markdown to email. - Ruby Central initiated a community spotlight and opened applications for their

Web What? - How gaming is coming to browsers

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The rise of WebAssembly is driving the popularity of web browser games, transforming browsers from simple image and text renderers into powerful platforms for complex applications. Recent advancements have allowed browsers to replicate native platform technologies safely, enabling enhanced game performance similar to native applications, which improves game compatibility and distribution. Key technologies facilitating this evolution include: - **WebAssembly (wasm)**: This established binary instruction format allows developers to write code in various languages and compile it for the web. It offers strong compatibility across major

Go 1.24

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

The content provides an overview of common uses of the Go programming language, highlighting how it helps companies solve specific problems, improves security by default, and offers tips for writing effective Go code. It includes a comprehensive introduction to software development with Go and serves as a reference for the standard library's documentation. Users can also learn about the latest changes in each Go release, access videos from past events, and connect with local and global Go developers through the official Go project's blog and community resources. The latest release,

How an AI agent helped me build a high quality new feature in Rails, without much "prompt engineering" getting in the way

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: /r/ruby

The author, working at Buoy, has been developing an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) to establish a common foundation for upcoming projects. After thorough consideration and discussions with team members, they began implementing a new feature for the "Bariloche" Rails app, which aims to automate processes for Plasma Donation Facilities. The implementation involves creating a new route and controller in a package called “actions.” To assist with this task, the author decided to use Cursor's AI agent, configured with the claude

My washing machine refreshed my thinking on software estimation

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

The content describes a personal experience of the author moving into a newly built home and facing unexpected challenges while installing a washing machine, which took four hours instead of the anticipated ten minutes. This experience parallels the difficulties in software effort estimation. The first blocker was that the builder neglected to drill a necessary hole for the power supply, preventing the washing machine from being powered. The author solved this by researching and purchasing a hole saw. The second blocker arose when the hole saw didn't fit the author's consumer-grade

Gravel Map

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

Gravelmap allows users to log in using their Facebook or Google accounts, ensuring that no personal information other than for login purposes is used. Users can also log in with an email address and password. The platform has recently updated its features to enhance gravel route planning, making it more intuitive for users. You can add routes by clicking on the map, adjusting points, and marking surface types. It's important to ensure submissions are accurate and do not trespass on private properties. Users can manage their favorite routes

Surface-Stable Fractal Dither on Playdate

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

Rune Skovbo Johansen has developed a Surface-Stable Fractal Dithering technique that allows dither dots to adhere to 3D surfaces while adjusting their density based on view distance and zoom levels. The author explores its applicability to the Playdate, a device with a one-bit color screen, and has produced a video and code available on GitHub for further examination. The content is structured into several sections, discussing the practicality of the technique, technical aspects of Surface-Stable Fractal D

A web platform for using YouTube as a drum sequencer

Published: 2025-02-18 | Origin: Hacker News

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