Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/programming

The content discusses misconceptions about timezones and introduces an exploration of the most unusual timezones through the lens of the raw timezone files used by software. The author notes that rather than focusing on false beliefs about timezones, they will highlight their peculiarities. An aside is made regarding calendar systems, particularly the dominance of the Western Gregorian calendar, which is widely accepted and understood globally, including in countries that traditionally observe different calendars. The author touches on the minimal need for software adapting to other calendar systems, asserting

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/programming

The HTTP Deprecation header is a mechanism for notifying clients about the deprecation status of an API endpoint, either already deprecated or set for future deprecation, with the date expressed in Unix time as per the latest draft proposal. Some API providers prefer using the RFC 7231 HTTP-date format instead due to its readability, though it may be harder for some tools to parse. An alternative is using a boolean value indicating whether the API is deprecated, but this has limitations, including the need for prior

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/programming

The content introduces a Christmas-themed SQL advent calendar that offers daily SQL challenges via email from December 1st to Christmas Eve. Each day participants will receive a new challenge related to the holiday season, along with a database dump and instructions. The initiative is designed for individuals at an early intermediate level of SQL, and there's no cost to participate. Challenges will take approximately 10-20 minutes each day and are primarily based on Postgres, though they should be adaptable to other SQL databases. The program invites

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: Hacker News

The content, titled "Surfing Complexity," explores the dynamics of decision-making in software development through a dialogue in a meeting room. The participants discuss the feasibility of completing features by the end of Q2 while considering the concept of a "carefulness knob," a metaphor for the balance between thoroughness in testing and adherence to processes versus the need to expedite development. TL (Team Lead) explains that the team allocates effort based on perceived risks, acknowledging that they occasionally misjudge these risks. EM (

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/programming

The content discusses the misconception that "sprints" are central to Agile methodologies, using the analogy of sprinting in athletics to illustrate the exhaustion and pressure that software teams often experience. It critiques the focus on strict adherence to processes over the Agile principles of valuing individuals, interactions, and responsiveness to change. The author highlights common issues faced by teams, such as prioritization of minor tasks over important features, pressure to complete sprint goals, and an overemphasis on velocity and metrics at the expense of

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/ruby

DHNN is a prominent design agency in Argentina, collaborating with major companies like IBM and AVON. They partnered with a development team for a project centered on ChewChoo!, a subscription-based e-commerce service offering pet toys. The project faced three primary challenges: theming the product bundles, integrating third-party services, and time constraints. ChewChoo! planned to provide themed bundles (e.g., Halloween and Christmas) with fully customizable pages, which added complexity. The integration of immature

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/ruby

Ayush Newatia discusses the importance of Rack in creating Ruby web applications as it standardizes the interface between Ruby applications and web servers. This allows any Rack-compliant server (like Puma or Unicorn) to work with any Rack-compliant framework (such as Rails or Sinatra). While this separation provides flexibility, it also imposed limitations, such as the lack of support for persistent connections like WebSockets in Rack 2. Rack 3 has addressed these limitations. A basic Rack application structure is introduced, consisting

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses the concept of open source governance and the importance of trust within technology and communities, using the example of Ghost, a distributed non-profit foundation that operates under a permissive MIT license. Ghost has no owners or investors, and it has generated about $7.5 million in annual revenue over the past 12 years. The author reflects on their past experiences as a contributor to WordPress, expressing frustration with internal politics and conflicts of interest that detracted from the ideals of open source and

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/ruby

In a Rails application, querying databases across associations can lead to performance issues. Julian Rubisch discusses efficient solutions, particularly emphasizing the importance of full-text search. For those using PostgreSQL, the pg_search gem offers a streamlined approach without adding significant operational complexity, unlike the PostgreSQL extension of the same name. After integrating the gem, developers can enable full-text search by including the PgSearch::Model module in relevant models. This involves setting up a global search index and defining searchable attributes with the multis

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/ruby

In 2023, Jean Boussier discussed improvements made to Ruby's garbage collector (GC) for Shopify's monolith, specifically the implementation of out-of-band garbage collection to enhance latency. Although this approach significantly reduced latency, it still relied on average-based heuristics that compromised capacity and allowed major collections to occur during request cycles, albeit rarely. In December 2023, after discussions with Koichi Sasada, a new idea emerged to completely disable major GC during request cycles. By March

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/programming

The article discusses the author's successful migration of a software project from C++ to Rust, completing the transition to a 100% Rust codebase while maintaining a stable public C API. The process was executed incrementally, allowing for the addition of new features during the transition without redundant work. The author notes that the new Rust code, while similarly sized to the old C++ code, ultimately turned out to be simpler and more manageable. The migration revealed opportunities to optimize performance, such as recognizing fixed-size data

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/ruby

Ruby is appreciated for its ease of use and depth, featuring a standard library filled with hidden gems. One such gem is the command line utility "un," designed to provide portable UNIX commands when a UNIX environment isn't available. It's particularly useful in embedded systems. Notably, two standout tools are "httpd," which serves files over HTTP quickly, and "colorize," which highlights Ruby code syntax in terminal outputs, potentially serving as an alternative to the 'cat' command.

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/programming

The article discusses the benefits of using memory arenas in programming, which involve grouping multiple allocations with the same lifetime into a single batch that is allocated and deallocated at once. This method, known for simplifying code and improving performance, avoids frequent deallocation during the program's operation and reduces complexity associated with pointer management. An arena typically requires a single request for a region of memory from the OS, allowing for consistent behavior across different operating systems since it bypasses standard allocation checks. The author shares a personal experience

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: /r/programming

The "Comprehensive Linux Basics" repository offers a thorough guide to foundational Linux concepts, essential commands, and best practices. It caters to both beginners and those looking to reinforce their Linux knowledge. Users can easily navigate the repository via a Table of Contents that links to detailed sections presented in Markdown format. Contributions and feedback are encouraged, and users are advised to star the repository for convenient future access. The project operates under the MIT License.

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: Hacker News

An editorial piece from Quanta Magazine discusses the emergence of eukaryotic cells over three billion years ago. Initially, life was simple and dominated by prokaryotic cells, such as bacteria and archaea, which lived in primordial environments. The development of the first eukaryotic cell marked a significant transformation in life's complexity, leading to all multicellular organisms we see today, including plants, animals, and fungi. Although the exact process behind the emergence of eukaryotes is not fully

Published: 2024-10-30 | Origin: Hacker News

Google is heavily investing in AI, with over 25% of new code created using AI tools, as stated by CEO Sundar Pichai during the Q3 earnings call. Pichai emphasized that AI is enhancing productivity and efficiency among employees, who still review and refine the AI-generated code. Additionally, Google has introduced an internal AI model called "Goose," trained on 25 years of the company's engineering knowledge, to assist in coding and product development. While this raises concerns for some employees

Published: 2024-10-29 | Origin: Hacker News

On 29 October 2024, the creator of botsin.space announced the painful decision to shut down the platform, which was launched in April 2017 as a space for creating bots on the fediverse and Mastodon. Initially intended as a personal project, botsin.space attracted a community of bot enthusiasts, artists, and students. Despite its modest user base of a few thousand accounts generating around 32 million statuses, the server faced unique challenges due to its distinctive usage patterns compared to larger instances

Published: 2024-10-29 | Origin: Hacker News

The tutorial by Michal Zalewski provides a guide for achieving superior results with benchtop CNC mills and modern polymers, particularly aimed at hobbyists interested in robotics. Recognizing the challenges faced by enthusiasts, such as the high cost of materials or the need for advanced skills, Zalewski describes his personal experience transitioning into CNC machining and resin casting. He emphasizes that while many can program a microcontroller, fewer can create custom mechanical components due to a lack of knowledge in CAD software and materials

Published: 2024-10-29 | Origin: Hacker News

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Published: 2024-10-29 | Origin: /r/programming

The content discusses an alert notification system that informs users when selected records are cited. It emphasizes the need to manage alert preferences via a login. The text touches on topics in human-centered computing, such as human-computer interaction (HCI), and critiques current integrated development environments (IDEs) for their reliance on file-based systems. A novel user interface using "bubbles," which are editable fragments, is proposed. The document highlights the predictability of both natural languages and programming languages and presents a particle