1. Why we use our own hardware
Total comment counts : 45
Summary
Summary of “Technical Rob Mueller Founder & CTO” Article:
The article discusses Fastmail’s approach to hardware management and their decision to continue using their own infrastructure rather than moving to cloud services, which they refer to as “cloud repatriation.” Here are the key points:
Historical Context: Fastmail has over two decades of experience with managing their own hardware, optimizing cost and performance compared to cloud solutions.
Hardware Evolution: Initially, Fastmail used a combination of spinning disks and RAID controllers for their IMAP servers. Over time, they transitioned to more efficient systems.
Recent Upgrades: A few years ago, Fastmail upgraded to a new server platform featuring AMD processors and NVMe SSDs, which significantly improved performance and storage density.
Redundancy and Storage: They faced challenges with RAID configurations for NVMe SSDs, eventually opting for ZFS due to its performance and features like transparent compression and built-in encryption.
Compression and Optimization: With ZFS, Fastmail enabled Zstandard compression, achieving about 40% space savings. Further tuning showed that changing record sizes could offer minor improvements, but more intensive compression wasn’t justified due to CPU cost.
Decision on Infrastructure: Despite the additional responsibilities of managing their own hardware, Fastmail finds the benefits in cost and performance optimization to be significantly worthwhile, continuing their practice of using on-premises solutions over cloud services.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article details the evolution of FastMail’s infrastructure decisions from its inception in 1999. Initially, FastMail used a single server hosted by Rackspace due to the lack of viable alternatives like VPS or SaaS at the time. As the company grew, they switched to colocation with IBM hardware at NYI in New York, prompted by cost considerations and logistical challenges related to international shipping and payment. Over time, automation was introduced, allowing for easy setup of new machines with basic Linux tools and open-source software. Despite the rise of cloud services like AWS, the author prefers sticking with bare metal servers for their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and the freedom from vendor-specific lock-ins. The author also expresses interest in potentially teaching others how to manage their own infrastructure, noting a possible shift in interest away from SaaS solutions.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s skepticism towards the widespread adoption of cloud computing. Here are the key points:
Cost and Control: The author argues that businesses, especially those with significant hosting needs, might find it more cost-effective and secure to manage their own hardware rather than relying on cloud services.
Cloud Advocacy: There’s a critique of the pro-cloud arguments, suggesting they often lack depth and are more about marketing than factual benefits. These arguments are said to mislead those without technical expertise.
Fanaticism: The author is puzzled by the strong, sometimes irrational advocacy for cloud solutions, where people argue passionately without solid data or understanding.
Reasons for Avoiding Cloud: The author lists several reasons for preferring on-premises solutions including cost, privacy, security, and a desire to avoid centralizing the internet.
Acknowledgment of Neutral Stance: The author appreciates an article from Fastmail for its neutral, fact-based approach, indicating a respect for well-reasoned arguments over emotional or promotional rhetoric.
Changing Attitudes: There’s a hopeful note that the fanatical promotion of cloud services might be diminishing, allowing for more open discussions about its appropriateness for various applications.
In summary, the article reflects on the cloud computing debate, questioning the fervor of its proponents and advocating for a more balanced consideration of cloud versus on-premises solutions based on specific needs rather than general trends or marketing.
2. City Roads: A tool to draw all roads in a city at once
Total comment counts : 27
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article criticizes the lack of distinction between different types of pathways in a map view, suggesting that varying line thicknesses could improve clarity, particularly in European cities which currently appear messy. The author recommends “prettymaps,” available on GitHub, as a better alternative for mapping.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article expresses surprise and admiration for the efficient rendering of a resource-heavy application, noting that it runs smoothly without lag or stuttering, even on a mobile phone.
3. JEP 483: Ahead-of-Time Class Loading and Linking
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
The article discusses a new feature in the HotSpot Java Virtual Machine (JVM) designed to enhance the startup performance of Java applications. Here’s a summary:
Mechanism: The JVM now supports an Ahead-of-Time (AOT) cache which stores classes in a pre-loaded and linked state. This cache captures the state of classes after they’ve been read, parsed, loaded, and linked during an initial “training” run of the application.
Process:
- Training Run: First, the application is run to generate an AOT configuration file (
app.aotconf). - Cache Creation: Using this configuration, a cache file (
app.aot) is created without running the application again. - Subsequent Runs: In future runs, the application uses this cache to skip the initial loading and linking steps, thus speeding up startup.
- Training Run: First, the application is run to generate an AOT configuration file (
Benefits:
- Faster Startup: By reusing the cached state of classes, the application can start up much faster as it does not need to perform these steps each time.
- No Code Changes: This improvement does not require modifications to the application’s code or changes in how the application is launched from the command line, aside from specifying the cache.
Future Improvements: The foundation laid by this AOT caching mechanism is expected to pave the way for further enhancements in both startup and warmup times of JVM applications.
Context: The JVM’s dynamic nature, which includes features like dynamic class loading and dynamic dispatch, allows for flexibility and high performance at runtime but at the cost of slower startup times. This AOT cache strategy aims to mitigate these startup costs by pre-processing some of the dynamic loading work.
The article emphasizes that this feature leverages the repetitive nature of application startups to improve performance without altering the core dynamic capabilities of the Java platform.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the implications of certain changes or updates for the Clojure programming language, particularly focusing on how these might affect the loading of the Clojure runtime and application code. It questions whether these changes will improve the efficiency or speed of loading both the Clojure runtime and the application-specific code.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses concerns regarding flags that influence code generation in computing environments:
Subarchitecture Flags: These relate to specific features of hardware like whether an AMD64 processor supports AVX2 instructions. Such flags are crucial when system states like cache might differ between machine states or kernel configurations, affecting how code is generated or executed.
Java-Specific Flags: Flags in Java, such as those controlling compressed pointers or disabling intrinsic functions, can also impact how Java code is compiled or interpreted. This might change the performance or behavior of applications when these settings are altered.
4. Slow deployment causes meetings (2015)
Total comment counts : 15
Summary
The article discusses the relationship between organizational overhead, like meetings and reviews, and the capacity of an organization to deploy code changes. Here are the key points:
Meetings as a Response to Overload: The author suggests that the traditional complaint about too many meetings might be misguided. Instead, meetings could be an adaptive organizational response to manage the number of code deployments, which seems to have a fixed limit per deployment cycle.
Deployment Frequency: At Facebook, there has been a noticeable increase in deployment frequency over time, driven by efforts to manage the number of changes per deployment. This shift from weekly to multiple daily deployments indicates an adaptation to increase overall deployment capacity.
Changes Per Deployment as an Inelastic Metric: The article posits that the number of changes an organization can handle in one deployment (changes per deployment) is relatively fixed and hard to increase. When this limit is approached, instead of increasing this number, organizations might unconsciously increase overhead to reduce the actual number of changes pushed through.
Feedback Loop of Overhead: Increasing overhead leads to less work getting done, which then increases pressure, leading to more mistakes, and further increases in overhead, creating a negative feedback loop.
Improving Deployment Capacity: The author suggests that instead of reducing overhead, organizations should focus on expanding deployment capacity through:
- Reducing deployment cycle times.
- Improving testing, monitoring, and team dynamics to allow for more changes per deployment.
Cultural Impact of Shipping: The article concludes with a reflection that frequent releases can significantly boost team morale and efficiency. Regular releases provide immediate feedback, reducing the need for speculative planning meetings and enhancing direct, focused communication.
In summary, the article proposes a rethinking of how we view organizational overhead in tech companies, suggesting that overhead might be a symptom rather than a cause of deployment issues, and emphasizes the importance of increasing deployment capacity for both productivity and team morale.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article critiques a conventional approach to software deployment risk management by suggesting that instead of improving testing to handle large changes, teams should reduce the number of changes per deployment. The argument is that fewer changes per deployment reduce the risk of introducing bugs or operational issues, thereby allowing for more frequent and smaller updates. This method, known as deploying small changes often, enables quicker value delivery and smaller failures if any. The author supports this strategy with references to DORA research and books like “Accelerate,” “The Phoenix Project,” and “The Goal,” which advocate for continuous deployment practices like canary releases and gradual rollouts. These practices shift the deployment model from an all-or-nothing switch to a more controlled, progressive rollout, effectively turning potential outages into manageable degradations.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of “software literacy,” where businesses operate using code in much the same way they currently use written language for policies, emails, etc. Here are the key points:
Software as a Primary Business Tool: The author suggests that just as English words are used to run companies today, software (code) should be used in the future, implying a shift where coding becomes essential for business operations.
Implications for Management: The rise of software literacy implies changes in management roles. For instance, if GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) handle most of the work, coders might take on roles traditionally held by managers. This shift necessitates that all decision-makers understand and engage with code directly, rather than through secondary means like project management tools or plans.
Challenges in Implementation: A major hurdle is the lack of software literacy among current management. The author notes that without this literacy, effective communication and management of changes in tech-driven environments become problematic. This generational gap in understanding has persisted longer than expected.
Cultural Shift Needed: There’s a call for a cultural shift where not being able to code would be as disadvantageous as a newspaper editor not being able to write. This shift would require companies to adopt new operational concepts like standard operating procedures (SOPs) and rigorous testing over traditional meetings for communication.
Conclusion and Future Work: The author acknowledges that the idea needs further development and plans to refine the explanation later.
Overall, the article argues for a transformation in how businesses are managed, emphasizing the integration of coding into all levels of business operation and decision-making processes.
5. Translating 10M lines of Java to Kotlin
Total comment counts : 23
Summary
Summary:
Since adopting Kotlin as their primary language for Android development in 2020, Meta has embarked on a comprehensive project to convert its Java codebase to Kotlin. Rather than just writing new code in Kotlin or translating only critical files, Meta decided to translate virtually all of its Java code, totaling tens of millions of lines, into Kotlin. This decision was driven by the desire to maximize developer productivity, enhance null safety, and avoid the complexities of maintaining a mixed-language codebase.
To manage this massive translation, Meta developed the “Kotlinator,” a tool built around IntelliJ’s J2K (Java to Kotlin) converter, automating the process to minimize disruption to daily development work. The process involves several phases including running a headless version of J2K, which allows for batch processing without tying up developers’ local machines. Additionally, Meta uses an internal system to automate the review and approval of these translations, ensuring they meet quality standards before being merged. The effort also addresses issues like slow build speeds and the need for parallel toolchains in a mixed Java-Kotlin environment. For detailed insights into this migration, references are provided to Meta’s blog posts and talks.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article expresses skepticism about the benefits of migrating from Java to Kotlin. The author points out that Java has numerous tools (like NullAway, ErrorProne, Immutables) that enhance code safety and usability, and recent Java updates like record types have further improved developer experience. While acknowledging Kotlin’s role in pushing Java to evolve, the author views Kotlin as a less favorable option now, suggesting that the effort to switch a large Java codebase to Kotlin might not be worth it.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a scenario at the author’s previous job where management approved a complete rewrite of their software from Java and Python to Kotlin. The primary motivation was not technical but rather to make the project more appealing to developers who found the original languages uninteresting. The project itself was not engaging, as all significant design decisions had already been made. By allowing the switch to Kotlin, management aimed to boost developer interest and retention, essentially trading short-term developer satisfaction for potential future maintenance challenges. The author reflects on how social factors like developer enjoyment and preferences can sometimes be considered as crucial as traditional technical considerations in project decisions.
6. The essays of Michel de Montaigne online
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
Summary of Article:
The article discusses HyperEssays, a project aimed at creating a modern, accessible online edition of Michel de Montaigne’s “Essays.” Here are the key points:
Search Functionality: The search tool is optimized for short queries, focusing exclusively on the text of the Essays, not the entire website. Some common words are excluded from individual searches but are searchable within phrases.
Editions and Accessibility: HyperEssays hosts four editions of Montaigne’s Essays, with options for different reading devices. The project includes free PDFs for offline reading.
Content and Structure of Essays: Montaigne’s “Essays” are described as a collection of writings on various topics, evolving over time with multiple revisions and editions. Readers can approach the text non-linearly.
Project Goals: The project aims to provide context, tools, and resources for both new and seasoned readers of Montaigne, with ongoing work on editing, translation, and annotation.
Support and Licensing: The project is supported by contributions, and its translations are licensed under a Creative Commons license, allowing for sharing and adaptation with attribution, non-commercial use, and share-alike conditions.
Engagement and Contact: Readers are encouraged to support the project financially and can engage with the creators through email or social platforms.
Biographical Insights: The article touches on Montaigne’s life, questioning common perceptions of him as a philosopher and detailing his writing process.
Overall, HyperEssays seeks to make Montaigne’s work more accessible, engaging, and relevant for contemporary audiences.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article quotes Michel de Montaigne from his essay “Of Experience,” emphasizing the idea that no matter how high one’s status or position, fundamentally, human conditions remain the same. Montaigne critiques the human tendency to seek external changes or improvements in life while failing to appreciate or understand one’s own current state. He uses the metaphor of stilts and thrones to illustrate that despite elevating ourselves, we are still bound by our basic human nature and physicality. The article also mentions a modern translation of Montaigne’s quote, which simplifies the message into contemporary language, highlighting the universality and timelessness of his observation.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the surprising resemblance of Michel de Montaigne’s “Essays” to a modern blog. The author notes the variety of topics, consistent themes, conversational tone, and the use of references and humor to engage readers, much like a contemporary blogger would. Despite Montaigne’s fame, the author points out that it’s difficult to define what he actually did beyond writing, likening him to a blogger one might follow on platforms like Substack or watch on Instagram for his engaging content.
7. Rosetta 2 creator leaves Apple to work on Lean full-time
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
The article primarily focuses on several LinkedIn posts and announcements related to software development and technology:
Cameron Zwarich Joins Lean FRO: Cameron, previously with Apple and known for creating Rosetta 2, has joined Lean FRO to enhance their code generator. His expertise is anticipated to significantly benefit the Lean ecosystem.
Software Development Insights: Various posts highlight the importance of software development, emphasizing not just coding but the broader impact on innovation, future-building, and the legacy of code. There are invitations to learn from experts about building software from scratch, crafting quality and timeless software, and understanding the principles of software engineering like Agile, Design, Coding, and Testing.
Cultural Environment in Software Engineering: An article mentioned discusses the often overlooked importance of culture and emotions in software engineering teams, suggesting that these elements are crucial for the success and well-being of the teams.
Low-Code Development Platforms: There’s an analysis of the rising trend of low-code development platforms, discussing their pros, cons, and the impact on traditional coding practices.
Overall, the article touches on community engagement within the tech industry, the evolution and methodology of software development, and the emerging tools reshaping how software is created.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article is a personal introduction from someone who has joined the Lean FRO (presumably a group or project related to the Lean theorem prover). This individual has a background in mathematics and has long been interested in interactive theorem provers. They are excited to now work full-time in this field, which aligns with their previous interests and professional background in software engineering.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article mentions Gary Davidian, who initially worked alone on significant architecture changes at Apple. His contributions are highlighted in an interview available in the Computer History Museum archive. Links to a discussion on Hacker News and the YouTube video of the interview are provided for further reading and viewing.
8. Keeping a Changelog at Work (2020)
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
The article by aka dB., a former CTO at Artsy and current employee at AWS, discusses the benefits and implementation of maintaining a personal CHANGELOG at work. Here are the key points:
Purpose and Origin: Inspired by the practice in open-source software, aka dB. started keeping a CHANGELOG at AWS to track and share his work activities transparently.
Benefits:
- Transparency and Trust: It promotes transparency, thereby increasing trust among colleagues and managers by detailing what he does.
- Efficiency in Meetings: His 1:1 meetings become more productive as others can quickly review his activities, leading to more meaningful discussions.
- Help for New Employees: The CHANGELOG serves as an informal guide for new engineers, illustrating typical activities in the first weeks at Amazon.
- Personal Reference: Acts as a wiki for personal reference, making it easy to find documents or recall past activities.
- Motivation and Reflection: It encourages honesty about productivity and helps in reflecting on work efficiency.
Implementation: He uses a simple method of jotting down weekly activities on a sticky note, then transferring this information to a company wiki, ensuring no confidential details are included.
Encouragement: aka dB. encourages others to adopt this practice and shares a piece of Ruby code for generating a Table of Contents for his CHANGELOG.
Overall, the article advocates for the use of a CHANGELOG in professional settings to enhance transparency, improve team communication, and foster personal growth.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the challenge of maintaining productivity and focus in a work environment filled with interruptions. The author mentions adopting a practice (though not specified what it is) that can be helpful for managing workload. However, on particularly hectic days filled with meetings, helping colleagues, handling production issues, and attending to managerial requests, this practice often falls by the wayside. The author highlights the irony that these chaotic days are precisely when such organizational tools or practices would be most beneficial, yet they struggle to balance these demands effectively.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s experiences with different methods of tracking work and information in various company settings:
Redundancy and Siloing: At one company, the author stopped using a separate tracking system because it duplicated efforts (since information was already available in project management tools) and sometimes led to information silos where data was not universally accessible.
Efficient Tracking in a Small Team: In an early startup where the author was the sole engineer, they used a streamlined GitLab board in a Kanban style. This method ensured all work was visible and easily reviewable during weekly meetings by sharing the screen and discussing recent updates directly from the board. This approach avoided redundancy and ensured information was accessible.
Informal Help and Performance Tracking: The author notes that informal help (assisting others without formal task creation) isn’t captured in this system. For larger companies focused on performance evaluations, a suggested workaround is to mention helpers in task comments, allowing managers to track contributions through system reports.
Overall, the author prefers environments where performance evaluations are less emphasized, focusing instead on company success, but acknowledges that tracking mechanisms can be useful in larger settings or where detailed performance metrics are valued.
9. The legacy of NeXT lives on in OS X (2012)
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
The article discusses the enduring impact of NeXT technologies on Apple’s current operating systems, OS X and iOS. Here are the key points:
Historical Context: In the 1990s, Apple faced challenges updating the original Mac OS. The solution came through acquiring NeXT in 1996, which brought Steve Jobs back to Apple and introduced NeXTSTEP technologies.
UNIX Foundation: NeXTSTEP’s most significant contribution was its UNIX-based architecture, which provided robust features like protected memory, pre-emptive multitasking, and daemon-based services. This foundation helped stabilize and enhance the functionality of Macs and iPhones, allowing them to perform multiple tasks efficiently and recover from app crashes without affecting the entire system.
Portability: The POSIX compliance of OS X made it easier to port software from other UNIX systems, enhancing the ecosystem with tools like FFmpeg.
Objective-C: This object-oriented programming language, central to NeXTSTEP, continued in OS X and iOS development. It allowed for the integration of both object-oriented and procedural coding styles, revolutionizing software development as predicted by Steve Jobs. Despite some criticisms of its syntax, enhancements like dot syntax and automatic reference counting have been made.
Legacy: The article reflects on how these technologies from NeXT continue to underpin the functionality and success of Apple’s products, illustrating Jobs’ vision of object-oriented programming transforming software development.
This summary encapsulates how NeXT’s technological contributions have shaped Apple’s software development and system architecture, continuing to influence its devices 16 years after the acquisition.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s experience with Mac OS X 10.0 (Cheetah) in 2001, noting the strong similarities to NeXTSTEP, the operating system developed by NeXT, Inc. The author observed that Apple essentially adapted NeXTSTEP by adding its own window manager and application framework. Key indicators of this lineage included nearly identical filesystems and tools, as well as configuration files still referencing NeXTSTEP. The influence of NeXTSTEP persisted into the iOS development era, as evidenced by the use of NSObject, a fundamental class in iOS whose prefix ‘NS’ stands for NeXTSTEP.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how macOS, despite its initial appeal to tech enthusiasts due to its Unix foundation, has not evolved significantly in terms of developer tools and system integration:
- Initial Appeal: macOS (OS X) was popular among developers and tech enthusiasts for its Unix base, which allowed for real Unix terminal usage.
- Comparison with Windows: Windows has tried to appeal to similar audiences by enhancing their console applications and supporting Linux, while macOS has not made comparable advancements.
- Lack of Progress:
- The Terminal app in macOS remains largely unchanged.
- macOS lacks a robust, integrated package management system like third-party tools such as Homebrew, which can potentially destabilize the system if not managed correctly.
- Xcode, Apple’s development environment, has limitations like restrictions on extensions.
- Current State: The author feels that modern macOS is somewhat stagnant and not particularly focused on serving the developer community’s needs, making it less exciting for this group.
10. Train a Mnist VAE with C and CUDA
Total comment counts : 1
Summary
The article discusses an individual’s project to train a Variational Autoencoder (VAE) on the MNIST dataset using the ggml pipeline, specifically focusing on its implementation of the ADAM optimizer. The author expresses dissatisfaction with the optimization methods found in one example (baby-llama) and instead uses a more suitable approach from another example in llama.cpp. They share progress by showing results from each of the 10 training epochs. Feedback is invited to improve the training capabilities within ggml, which are currently limited. There’s also an interest in future projects like training a tiny GPT model using ggml. The article includes placeholders for user feedback on the helpfulness of the translation or content.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a broken link issue, indicating that the intended content or resource is not accessible due to an incorrect or outdated URL.