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You can choose to be someone who's competent in many things, or unbelievably good at one thing

Published: 2024-09-26 | Origin: /r/programming

The content contrasts two types of tech professionals: generalists and specialists. Generalists are adaptable, possessing a broad range of skills across various areas (e.g., programming languages, UI/UX, and architecture), making them valuable in startup environments where they can prototype ideas, pivot when necessary, and fill multiple roles. They are often seen in leadership positions due to their holistic understanding of tech ecosystems. On the other hand, specialists focus intensely on specific fields such as AI or database technology, driving innovation and

PostgreSQL 17 Released!

Published: 2024-09-26 | Origin: /r/programming

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group has released PostgreSQL 17, enhancing the open-source database's performance and scalability. This version includes significant improvements such as revamped memory management for vacuum processes, better storage access optimizations, and enhancements for high concurrency workloads. Key features include a new SQL/JSON command for developers and improved logical replication management for high availability. Jonathan Katz from the PostgreSQL core team highlighted that the update is beneficial for all users, regardless of their database's scale or type. Notably,

Rearchitecting: Redis to SQLite

Published: 2024-09-26 | Origin: /r/programming

Wafris, an open-source web application firewall company, is releasing version 2 of its Rails client, which now uses SQLite instead of the previously required Redis datastore. This article discusses the shift from Redis to SQLite, highlighting the performance considerations and architectural changes that led to this decision. The initial choice of Redis was influenced by its ease of use in the Heroku ecosystem, but feedback from users revealed many experienced difficulties in deploying and managing Redis, which complicated the user experience. The transition to SQLite aims

Rewriting Rust

Published: 2024-09-26 | Origin: /r/programming

The author compares the Rust programming language to the first-generation iPhone, noting its initial appeal due to features like algebraic types and memory safety, but expressing disappointment over its slow progress and lack of new features in recent years. After four years of using Rust, the author feels it has not fully realized its potential, with many proposed features, such as coroutines, remaining unimplemented despite being available in the compiler. The author attributes this stagnation to the inability of Rust's consensus process to scale effectively

Show HN: Cronexpr, a Rust library to parse and iter crontab expression

Published: 2024-09-26 | Origin: Hacker News

The `cronexpr` library is designed for parsing and operating on crontab expressions. It supports standard crontab syntax as well as many non-standard extensions, with the key distinction that it requires a timezone to be specified in the expression for accurate timestamp determination. The library can interpret various formats for month and day values (both numerical and abbreviated names) and supports wildcard (*) for indicating "all", hyphens (-) for defining ranges, and slashes (/) for specifying step values. Users

Leveraging Falcon and Rails for Real-Time Interactivity

Published: 2024-09-26 | Origin: /r/ruby

Over the past seven years, the author has focused on improving concurrency, scalability, and interactivity in the Ruby ecosystem. They released Async in 2017, a framework for concurrent Ruby applications, but it initially required wrappers for blocking operations, limiting its compatibility. To solve this, they developed the fiber scheduler, introduced in Ruby 3.1 and Async 2 in 2021, which allows existing Ruby code to run concurrently by redirecting blocking operations to an event loop. In response to the

Git-absorb: Git commit –fixup, but automatic

Published: 2024-09-26 | Origin: Hacker News

The text discusses a tool called "git absorb," which automates the process of creating fixup commits for identified bugs in a feature branch without resorting to opaque commits or manual interactive rebases. It helps maintain atomic commits by automatically associating staged changes with the correct previous commits. Users can then integrate these fixup commits into their branch using the --and-rebase flag or review the changes manually. The tool can be installed from the latest tagged release artifacts available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux

Scientific rigor proponents retract paper on benefits of scientific rigor

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: Hacker News

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How to run Llama 3.1 locally on Mac and serve it to a local Linux laptop to use with Zed

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The post discusses how to share a Llama model running on a Mac with other computers on the same local network for privacy and cost efficiency. It highlights that Apple silicon (M1, M2, etc.) performs well for this purpose, and the default Llama3.1:8b model runs effectively on a Mac Mini M1 with 16GB of RAM, while simpler models may be needed for 8GB systems. The process begins with installing Ollama on the Mac, followed by

Procs, lambdas, and performance

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: /r/ruby

The author, a software engineer and musician, explores the performance differences between using procs, lambdas, and blocks in Ruby. After some research, the author conducts performance tests using the Benchmark module and finds that blocks generally should be faster but their method-calling overhead can negate this speed advantage when using them in certain ways. The author initially set up the tests with a large number of iterations and realized that direct passing of procs and lambdas is more efficient than calling the method repeatedly with blocks.

Eliminating Memory Safety Vulnerabilities at the Source

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: /r/programming

Memory safety vulnerabilities pose a significant threat to software security, and at Google, the solution lies in adopting Safe Coding practices that emphasize a transition to memory-safe languages. This approach not only addresses new code but also reduces overall security risks in existing codebases, ultimately leading to a notable decline in memory safety vulnerabilities. For example, data on Android shows that the percentage of these vulnerabilities decreased from 76% to 24% over six years due to a shift towards memory-safe languages. Even in a growing code

All Proton Drive apps are now open source

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: /r/programming

Proton is committed to privacy and security, offering a suite of services designed to protect user data, including encrypted email, a secure calendar, cloud storage, a password manager, and a self-custody Bitcoin wallet. Their mission emphasizes transparency, allowing users to inspect and verify the open-source code of their applications. Proton promotes a non-profit model that prioritizes people over profits and encourages community involvement in improving internet privacy. The company is actively seeking talented individuals to further develop their services and offers guides and

A search engine in 80 lines of Python

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: /r/programming

In a recent article, a Data Scientist at Wallapop shares their journey of building a simple search engine from scratch using Python. The motivation behind this project stems from the "Small Website Discoverability Crisis," a challenge where small websites struggle to be found on popular search engines like Google. The author aims to enhance the visibility of these lesser-known sites by creating a straightforward search engine that demonstrates the underlying mechanics of search technology. Although the engine consists of approximately 80 lines of code, the complete project,

Program a Real 6502 using your Browser.

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The 6502 chip is now available for programming in the Chiplab, which allows users to upload and queue their programs for execution on a real 6502 chip. This provides a highly accurate alternative to emulators, facilitating both testing and research into the chip's behavior. Users can write assembly code or upload pre-assembled programs, which will run for 100 cycles, approximately one second. After execution, a trace is provided, displaying the values of the chip's address and data busses

Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: Hacker News

Meta has announced the launch of Orion, described as the most advanced augmented reality (AR) glasses to date, designed to seamlessly bridge the physical and virtual worlds. The company emphasizes that these glasses will empower users, allowing them to access information while remaining present in their surroundings. The development of AR glasses is seen as a crucial step towards significant advancements in human-oriented computing, merging the convenience of wearables with intelligent displays and AI in a comfortable format for daily use. Previous products like the Ray-Ban Meta

Llama 3.2: Revolutionizing edge AI and vision with open, customizable models

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: Hacker News

Meta has announced the release of Llama 3.2, which includes varied model sizes (11B, 90B for vision and 1B, 3B for text) to enhance accessibility for developers lacking significant compute resources. This follows the earlier success of the Llama 3.1 models, including the groundbreaking 405B model. Over the past year and a half, Llama has achieved substantial growth and is recognized as a standard in responsible innovation, emphasizing openness, modifi

The bizarre world of V

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: /r/programming

The V programming language (vlang) was created by Alexander Medvednikov and emerged in 2019 as a simple, fast, and safe compiled language inspired by Go, Rust, Swift, and C. Its goal is to combine the positive features of these languages while minimizing complexity. Despite its ambitions, V received mixed reviews upon release, with criticisms focusing on unmet promises and questionable decisions. The article seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of V, including its historical context and current status, in response to

Launch HN: Haystack (YC S24) – Visualize and edit code on an infinite canvas

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: Hacker News

The Haystack Editor is developed by Haystack Software in collaboration with the community, with a focus on user feedback and input. It features a combination of a code editor and a canvas UI for better code comprehension, alongside tools for editing, navigation, debugging, and integration with existing tools. The software is updated weekly and available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Developers are encouraged to contribute by addressing issues and participating in the code base, with various extensions available for enhanced functionality. The project is open

The lost language extensions of MetaWare's High C compiler (2023)

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: Hacker News

The author reflects on an unexpectedly engaging '80s C compiler manual from their collection of FM TOWNS books. They highlight the historical context of C and its vendor extensions, noting how, in the competitive environment of the 1980s, smaller companies like Phar Lap and MetaWare contributed significantly to the C programming landscape. Phar Lap developed a DOS extender that enabled better utilization of the 32-bit 80386 processor in a 16-bit MS-DOS environment, and the High C Compiler,

Hanami 2.2.0.beta2

Published: 2024-09-25 | Origin: /r/ruby

The latest update to Hanami's database layer introduces support for MySQL, allowing users to create a MySQL-backed application easily. The new features include full validation contract support for actions and the ability to work with multiple databases within any slice. This is facilitated by gateways in ROM, which represent connections to distinct databases and can be configured without additional setup using environment variables. Hanami's database commands have been updated to handle multiple gateways, enabling users to specify which database to target during operations like migrations. Overall