Andrew's Substack

Andrew's Substack focuses on web technology and frontend software engineering, addressing both technical and professional development themes. It discusses evolving AI impacts on programming, interview techniques, dealing with uncertainty, software development practices, improving code quality, management guidance, and optimizing work-life through productivity hacks and evaluating technology use.

Artificial Intelligence in Programming Professional Development Software Engineering Practices Coding and Technology Tutorials Management and Leadership Productivity and Work-Life Balance Personal Development

The hottest Substack posts of Andrew's Substack

And their main takeaways

Am I still relevant as a programmer now that there's AI?

33 HN points • 14 Mar 23

🕹 Technology AI Programming Software Development Machine Learning

Computers can now do impressive things with AI like answer questions and generate code or art.
Concerns exist over the relevance of human programmers in the future due to advancements in AI technology.
To remain pertinent, focus on developing human skills, learn about AI, and stay updated on software development practices involving AI.

One weird trick to minimize Docker image size for Node apps

1 HN point • 09 Jan 24

🕹 Technology Software Development Containerization Node.js

To reduce Docker image size for Node apps, remove dev dependencies from node_modules.
Consider bundling an app's dependencies with the app instead of including node_modules in the image.
Using shared lockfiles can complicate determining which dependencies to remove.

How to answer "what's your biggest weakness?"

2 HN points • 27 Feb 23

💼 Business Career development Personal Growth

Be honest and smart when answering 'What's your biggest weakness?' in interviews.
Share a real weakness but also explain how you are working on improving it.
Frame your weaknesses positively and show growth from past experiences.

Don't build your own blogging software

2 HN points • 17 Feb 23

🕹 Technology Blogging Platforms Content creation Web Development

Focus on writing and publishing your ideas, not on building blogging software.
Consider using platforms like Substack, Medium, Twitter, or LinkedIn for writing.
Think about your goals and don't get lost in activities that don't align with them.

Uncertainty is unavoidable

2 HN points • 11 Feb 23

Uncertainty is unavoidable. It's scary not knowing how things will turn out.
In your journey, there's no one with all the right answers. You're the authority now.
Keep moving forward despite uncertainty. Focus on improving decision making and don't be afraid to change course.

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It's your job to help new managers

1 HN point • 09 Jun 23

💼 Business Management Leadership Career development

You will eventually have a manager less experienced than you, and that's normal.
Managing is a different role than doing the work.
New managers need guidance and mentoring, so help them learn the ropes.

Dignify mistakes and questions

1 HN point • 04 May 23

🚌 Education Teaching Learning Questions Mistakes

Encourage learning by dignifying mistakes and questions.
Foster an environment where people feel comfortable asking questions and trying things.
Acknowledge and support people asking questions, while still aiming for the right answer.

Quality with purpose

1 HN point • 01 Apr 23

🕹 Technology Quality Coding Project management

Code quality is important, even if it's tempting to prioritize speed over quality
Quality is subjective and needs to be applied to the right aspects of a project
Great work is crucial, but it must be focused on the right areas to be truly effective

Monday Memo #2

0 implied HN points • 26 Jun 23

🕹 Technology Software companies System Design

Understand the core insight in questions from executives to address feedback effectively.
When users consistently do something 'wrong,' it might be the system that needs adjustment, not the users.
Quality of screen time matters more than quantity - evaluate how apps respect your time and attention.

What async function doing?

0 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24

🕹 Technology Programming JavaScript Web Development

Making a function async means it always returns a promise
Using await is like calling a promise's then and continuing on
Async/await helps avoid nested callback hell by dealing with promises

Monday Memo #1

0 implied HN points • 12 Jun 23

🍲 Food & Drink Recipes Productivity Leadership Desserts Cooking

Cross out tasks once completed to improve focus and productivity.
Develop executive presence by being concise, confident, and open to feedback.
Try a timesaving twist on a yummy lemon tart recipe for a delightful dessert.

Monday Memo #3

0 implied HN points • 03 Jul 23

💼 Business Productivity Career development Music history

Asking for help can be a competitive advantage and enlists people in your journey.
Focus on doubling down on strengths rather than neutralizing non-fatal weaknesses.
Find a balance in your skills - not too specific to limit opportunities, but not too general to be undervalued.

Tailwind 4 alpha thoughts

0 likes • 28 Mar 24

🕹 Technology Web Development CSS Frontend Performance Programming Languages

Tailwind 4 alpha is faster and smaller, but the impact might not be noticeable on small projects.
Tailwind 4 alpha significantly reduces dependencies, making codebases easier to manage.
Languages like Rust are increasingly popular for frontend tooling to maximize performance during bundling.

React 19 beta thoughts

0 likes • 27 Apr 24

🕹 Technology React

React 19 introduces actions, making it easier to handle data mutations and state updates in response to async requests, with features like useActionState to simplify state management.
Server components in React 19 allow rendering components ahead of time, separate from the client app, which can be beneficial for static site generation or running server components on CI servers.
Server actions in React 19 are a magical feature that combines server-side actions not included in client bundles but accessible to client components, enhancing network request capabilities.