#609 – January 18, 2025
Key tactics include mastering code search, writing smaller diffs and efficient testing methods
Everything I Know About Shipping Code Faster
7 minutes by Ryan Peterman
In this article Ryan discusses strategies for increasing coding productivity and efficiency based on his experience at Meta. The key tactics include mastering code search, writing smaller diffs, efficient testing methods, getting faster code reviews, and maintaining focus through techniques like noise cancellation and scheduled focus blocks.
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20 lines of code that will beat A/B testing every time
6 minutes by Steve Hanov
Steve discusses the limitations of A/B testing and proposes a better alternative using the multi-armed bandit algorithm. This approach automatically finds and implements the best option while continuing to explore alternatives, potentially performing two to three times better than traditional A/B testing.
Software Folklore
45 minutes by Andreas Zwinkau
Sometimes bugs have symptoms beyond belief. In this article Andreas brings a collection of such stories from around the web.
Don't use cosine similarity carelessly
13 minutes by Piotr Migdał
Midas turned everything he touched into gold. Data scientists turn everything into vectors. In this article Piotr discusses the limitations and proper use of cosine similarity in vector embeddings, particularly in AI applications. While cosine similarity is widely used for comparing vectors, it can be misleading when models weren't explicitly trained for it or when the type of similarity doesn't match the intended use case.
The documentation problem in development
5 minutes by Herman Martinus
Writing documentation has never been easy but good documentation is more than just nice to have—it's a powerful way to spread knowledge. In this article Hermna provides a comprehensive guide to creating effective software documentation, emphasizing that good documentation is essential for both development teams and users.