The hottest Programming Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

The Last Programming Language?

Maximum Tinkering • 19 implied HN points • 02 May 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Learning to program may become more accessible with the use of large language models (LLMs) that allow anyone who can read and write to code.
  2. Programming languages are gradually being abstracted to be more English-like and user-friendly, potentially leading to the development of a 'last programming language' that simplifies coding for everyone.
  3. While traditional programming languages might still have a place, new tools like LLMs could revolutionize the way people approach learning to code and building software.

#4 - Build a powerful pagination

A Good Interface • 19 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Learn how to create effective pagination between inventory and leaderboard.
  2. Understand the benefits of pagination like facilitating navigation and saving data in a game.
  3. Improve pagination with tips like correct placement, next/prev buttons, visible states/actions, and offer more control with filters and sorts.

Links from July

nic thinks about things • 19 implied HN points • 01 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Actuaries have the lowest divorce rate, while Gaming managers and Bartenders have the highest.
  2. Creating a "physical" camera in Blender feels like simulating physics.
  3. Improving indoor air quality is a cost-effective way to enhance health and cognition.
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My Notes on Using the ListenableBuilder Widget

Widget Tricks • 19 implied HN points • 09 May 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. ListenableBuilder is available in Flutter 3.10 and is used to update specific widgets without rebuilding the entire UI.
  2. ListenableBuilder is useful for objects like TextEditingController, AnimationController, ScrollController, TabController, etc., to enable specific updates based on listener state changes.
  3. ListenableBuilder can be used with any Listenable object, providing a more flexible and convenient way to update UI elements.

Widget Tricks Newsletter #5

Widget Tricks • 19 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The newsletter will now be bi-monthly instead of monthly based on feedback.
  2. Highlighted senior Flutter engineer job opportunities with specific requirements.
  3. Recommended reading articles and watching videos related to Flutter and design for IT career success.

This week: Tactical DDD Patterns

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 19 implied HN points • 29 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. This week's stream will focus on common traps that disrupt adoption of DDD patterns, exploring nuance on aggregates, domain events, and testing.
  2. There is a call for feedback regarding the chat participation on LinkedIn, the ease of finding the weekly events, and the value derived from the content.
  3. Readers can access the full post archives with a 7-day free trial subscription to Crafting Tech Teams.

#OpenSourceDiscovery 75: AutoGPT

#OpenSourceDiscovery • 19 implied HN points • 23 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. AutoGPT is a Python script that autonomously chains together GPT responses to achieve a set goal
  2. Text to speech feature in AutoGPT helps users follow along without constantly looking at the screen
  3. Limitations of AutoGPT include token limits with OpenAI GPT APIs, lack of headless browser support, and potential security risks

How to commit like a pro?

Programming in Public • 19 implied HN points • 08 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Writing clear and thoughtful commit messages is crucial for version control.
  2. Follow a structured format like Conventional Commits to make your commits more meaningful.
  3. Utilize git hooks to enforce commit message conventions within your project.

Must Learn KQL Part 17: The Let Statement

Rod’s Blog • 19 implied HN points • 31 May 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The Let statement in KQL allows you to create variables that can be used throughout the query, aiding in better query performance.
  2. Let statements can be used to create variables either from scratch, from existing data, or from Microsoft Sentinel Watchlists.
  3. It's important to properly finalize the Let statement with a semicolon to ensure the variable is stored correctly for query execution.

Software Engineering Radio

One Thing at a Time • 19 implied HN points • 08 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Dave Cross shared his experience of being a guest on a podcast to discuss GitHub Actions.
  2. Dave Cross found Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot to significantly boost his productivity in coding.
  3. Dave Cross is exploring AI services like CodeWhisperer at the AWS Summit and is looking for work opportunities in Perl, Linux, web development, databases, and more.

Must Learn KQL Part 15: The Distinct Operator

Rod’s Blog • 19 implied HN points • 31 May 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The Distinct operator in KQL helps in delivering results based on a distinct combination of provided columns.
  2. Distinct can be used to get precise results and is essential for tasks like security hunting operations.
  3. By combining Distinct with other operators like Summarize, you can manipulate data to show specific insights and counts in KQL.

Must Learn KQL Part 13: The Extend Operator

Rod’s Blog • 19 implied HN points • 31 May 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Custom data views in KQL are crucial for tailoring information to each environment's unique requirements for security and operations.
  2. The Extend operator in KQL allows users to create custom columns in real-time for query results, enhancing data analysis and presentation.
  3. By using the Extend operator, it's possible to generate calculated columns, append them to results, and combine existing data to display meaningful information in KQL queries.

GM Shaders Guest: Bart

GM Shaders Mini Tuts • 19 implied HN points • 27 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Using 'shader_enable_corner_id()' in vertex shaders for 3D particles allows identification and manipulation of vertices in GameMaker.
  2. Understanding vertex buffers and formats in GameMaker is essential for drawing and manipulating shapes.
  3. By manipulating corner IDs in shaders, it is possible to transform particles and sprites in GameMaker into 3D billboards.

Must Learn KQL Part 11: The Summarize Operator

Rod’s Blog • 19 implied HN points • 31 May 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The Summarize operator in KQL is used to aggregate and summarize data, making it more meaningful.
  2. The operator can be used for both simple aggregations like count, sum, and average, as well as more advanced functions like arg_min and percentiles.
  3. To master the Summarize operator, it's important to practice with different types of queries in tools like the KQL Playground.

The Camel Principle: Why Adding Zero is the Most Powerful Trick in Mathematics

The Palindrome • 1 implied HN point • 12 Jan 26
🚌 Education Programming
  1. The camel principle is the idea that you can add zero in clever ways to transform problems, and that tiny trick can unlock big simplifications.
  2. Adding zero is essential because it helps rewrite expressions, simplify derivations, and connect different methods across mathematics and machine learning.
  3. A practical workshop can teach these foundations by building linear regression from scratch, covering vectors, vectorized code, optimization, and gradient descent with notebooks and recordings for practice.

unix 1 liner to get total minutes of audio

CodeFaster • 108 implied HN points • 25 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The Unix one-liner uses commands like find, grep, xargs, and math-sum to get total minutes of audio files.
  2. The find command lists all files and directories in the current location.
  3. The xargs -L 1 mp3-minutes command calculates the duration in minutes for each mp3 file and then sums up the total duration using math-sum.

Read code when you're somber

CodeFaster • 72 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Reading code while feeling somber can match personal experience and enhance focus.
  2. Having a specific playlist of somber, melodic music for coding tasks can be effective.
  3. Consider supporting reader-supported publications by becoming a subscriber.

Unix 1-liner using jq

CodeFaster • 108 implied HN points • 20 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The Unix 1-liner using jq efficiently filters and extracts specific data from a JSON response.
  2. Creating a small script like get-all-accounts to gather data beforehand is crucial for this command to work effectively.
  3. The jq command simplifies data processing by breaking down the process into four transformations.

How the CIA Writes Python

Luminotes • 28 implied HN points • 15 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The CIA has a unique Python style guide, focusing on clarity and readability, with special rules for exceptions, globals, and list comprehensions.
  2. They use specific tools like PyCharm for development and have a custom setup for installing Python and managing packages within secure environments.
  3. There are no strict rules governing coding practices; instead, individuals make choices based on their preferences and the limitations of their working conditions.

[Solution]Problem 57:Longest Repeating Character with Replacement[Google]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 23 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The problem involves finding the longest substring with the same character after changing up to k characters. It can be seen as Leetcode problem 424.
  2. The examples provided illustrate the concept, showing how replacing characters can change the length of the longest repeating substring.
  3. Constraints like string length and character types are important to consider when solving the problem.

Mocking OpenAI - Unit testing in the age of LLMs (Part One)

Laszlo’s Newsletter • 21 implied HN points • 23 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Unit tests are still important even with LLMs. They help ensure your code behaves as expected, even when using unpredictable AI tools.
  2. Mocking is needed to effectively test code that relies on LLMs. Instead of calling the actual AI, you create a 'fake' version that simulates its behavior.
  3. Using libraries like 'respx' can simplify mocking in your tests, and it's essential to handle things like retry logic carefully to keep tests fast.

A Bet Against AI & Hype-Driven Migrations

ppdispatch • 8 implied HN points • 06 Aug 25
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Many developers are questioning the hype around AI agents, believing that most will fail due to errors and costs. They think only simpler, well-designed tools will succeed.
  2. Most language migrations in software development are driven by trends rather than solid reasoning, leading to more problems than benefits. Developers should evaluate if a change is really necessary.
  3. Live coding interviews don't really show a candidate's true skills because the stress of being watched can hurt their performance. There are better ways to assess coding ability.

Why i==j is slow[Math Mondays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 12 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Checking if i!=j is much more efficient than checking if i==j in programming.
  2. In low-level programming, the assembler often flips the conditions to check for inequality, simplifying the process.
  3. Optimizing code by checking for inequality can streamline compiler design and simplify decision-making in system and compiler design.

The Prompt Engineering Layer

From the New World • 134 implied HN points • 15 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Prompt engineering is the process of designing specific inputs for machine learning models.
  2. Creativity in prompt engineering can lead to novel results and opportunities beyond bypassing censorship.
  3. Artificial intelligence, like OpenAI, presents both benefits and challenges, particularly in terms of legal considerations and activism.

Understanding the Compilation Process in C: A Step by Step Guide

Deus In Machina • 72 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. The compilation process in C involves preprocessing, compilation to assembly, assembly into an object file, and linking for the final executable.
  2. Each step in the compilation process serves a critical role in converting high-level C code to machine-executable instructions.
  3. Understanding the compilation process helps programmers appreciate the intricate steps involved in turning source code into functioning programs.

The abstraction trap

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 08 May 22
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Abstraction helps make complex things simpler, but not everyone understands it like tech people do. It's essential to remember that what seems easy to us can be quite confusing for others.
  2. When designing software, we should think about how users perceive it. Not all users will understand the technical thinking behind it, so we need to create a user-friendly experience.
  3. We have to be aware of our biases and design for those who find abstraction difficult. Gathering user feedback and constantly improving is key to making software accessible.

An Ode to Emacs. The Greatest Operating System

Deus In Machina • 108 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Programming
  1. Emacs is a versatile and powerful text editor with a rich history and unique features.
  2. Learning Emacs can be challenging due to its steep learning curve, but the effort is rewarding.
  3. Emacs offers extensive customization options, additional packages, and various modes to suit different preferences and needs.