Newsletters

Understanding how Facebook disappeared from the internet

October 17, 2021

This issue explores Facebook's sudden internet disappearance, delves into NP-hard puzzle-solving techniques, examines BGP after the outage, critiques IBM Cloud's struggles, and poses questions about engineering culture in tech companies.

Gentle introduction to GPUs inner workings

October 10, 2021

This issue explores the inner workings of GPUs, the responsibilities of software developers, performance insights from a Cassandra database on Ubuntu, and highlights from Postgres 14. Plus, gain wisdom from two decades in software engineering.

The code worked differently when the moon was full

October 03, 2021

In this issue, explore the quirks of programming with a deep dive into DMARC, tackle pesky bugs, and learn about designing low-maintenance software. Plus, discover how to enhance your coding experience in VS Code.

What makes a good changelog

September 26, 2021

In this issue, explore the nuances of changelogs, delve into the psychology behind pair programming, and gain insights on practical API design at Netflix. Plus, learn the art of reading code and tackle engineering challenges in mobile app development.

Exploring 120 years of timezones

September 19, 2021

In this issue, we tackle timezones' complexities, the importance of writing debuggable code, Kubernetes best practices, software's role in productivity, and how data visualization can diagnose engineering failures.

Writing well-documented code

September 12, 2021

In this issue, we explore the importance of well-documented code, scaling systems with caching, Netflix's A/B testing for decision making, and a new branching strategy for smoother collaboration. Plus, the challenges of app localization.

Operations is not Developer IT

September 05, 2021

This week's issue dives into software engineering challenges, from operations mishaps to the quirks of job interviews. We also explore retro software licensing, popular game engines on Steam, and GitHub Copilot's security findings.

Life before Unicode

August 29, 2021

In this issue, explore the complexities of Unicode, the significance of blue hyperlinks, a curated list of impactful computer science papers, the challenges of user-hostile software, and insights on API design from Slack.

How Google bought Android—according to folks in the room

August 22, 2021

In this issue, explore Google's acquisition of Android, delve into the intricacies of B-Trees, rethink the relevance of CSVs, master service reliability math, and discover how writing can elevate your developer career.

Best practices for writing code comments

August 15, 2021

This week's issue dives into essential coding practices, from writing effective comments and understanding Zero-based versioning to mastering HTTP/3 and key questions for new software engineers. Enhance your skills.

Use spreadsheets everywhere!

August 08, 2021

This week’s newsletter dives into the power of spreadsheets, visualizing codebases, must-know command line tools for productivity, the impact of AI on understanding, and the reality of security in tech. Explore these insights.

Zip: How not to design a file format

August 01, 2021

In this issue, explore the intricacies of file formats, the mesmerizing world of particle rendering, and the complexities of software development. Plus, uncover the journey of Dwarf Fortress and learn how to optimize SQLite for massive databases.

What I learned from software engineering at Google

July 25, 2021

In this issue, we explore valuable lessons from Google’s software engineering, insights on software testing from hardware perspectives, and a dive into MySQL's sorting algorithm. Plus, first impressions of GitHub Copilot and Ably's infrastructure.

How to improve your website’s uptime from 9 5’s to 5 9’s

July 18, 2021

In this issue, we explore enhancing website uptime, WhatsApp's multi-device experience, SRE best practices, the benefits of using events over webhooks, and the "Test Like You Fly" methodology for robust system testing.

Programming language memory models

July 11, 2021

This issue delves into programming language memory models, a new concurrent key-value store, the widespread impact of SQLite, visual explanations of SQL join types, and the complexities of compiling Rust. Explore the latest insights.

A day in the life of a professional software engineer

July 04, 2021

This issue explores the daily life of a software engineer, dives into programming pitfalls and bad practices, and highlights the importance of effective testing. Plus, discover an invaluable regex trick.

What every programmer should know about SSDs

June 27, 2021

This week, dive into essential insights for programmers, from understanding SSDs and the importance of thorough testing to evaluating site speed with the Performance API. Plus, a fresh perspective on modern CPU comparisons.

Disasters I've seen in a microservices world

June 20, 2021

This week’s issue dives into the evolution of microservices, showcases an unforgettable open-source demo, and humorously outlines principles to become a bad developer, plus a look at code comments. Don't miss it.

An incomplete list of skills senior engineers need, beyond coding

June 13, 2021

In this issue, explore essential skills for senior engineers, best practices for organizing code, the debate between clever vs. insightful coding, a summary of a recent Fastly outage, and the philosophy of "always be quitting" for personal growth.

Leaky abstractions

June 06, 2021

In this issue, explore the complexities of software design with insights on leaky abstractions, email validation pitfalls, color processing challenges, and essential developer tools for enhancing security.