The hottest Software Development Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Developers: Why do we need containers?

Weekend Developer • 19 implied HN points • 17 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Containerization DevOps Microservices Cloud Computing
  1. Containers are crucial for modern software development, solving issues with managing environments and configurations manually.
  2. Docker revolutionized development by providing a simple way to package applications with dependencies, ensuring consistency and portability across environments.
  3. Docker and containers have reshaped the software industry, enabling microservices, DevOps, and cloud-native development, but also brought challenges like container management, networking, security, and efficiency.

Vibes Driven Development: Trust Your Vibes (and ignore everything else)

An Ode to Restlessness • 1 HN point • 26 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Agile methodologies Creative Process Workplace culture Innovation
  1. Vibes Driven Development (VDD) is all about using your mood and environment to guide your coding. Instead of sticking to strict plans, you let your feelings and instincts shape your work.
  2. To implement VDD, create a cozy workspace, choose music that inspires you, and stay flexible with your coding ideas. Trusting your vibes can lead to unexpected creativity and solutions.
  3. VDD offers a fresh break from traditional methods like Agile and Waterfall, which can feel rigid and stressful. It encourages developers to embrace spontaneity and find their own rhythm while coding.

Episode 35: Better Built By Burkhard

burkhardstubert • 39 implied HN points • 01 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Decision-making Embedded Systems Asynchronous communication
  1. Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) help document important decisions about projects clearly. They let everyone involved understand the reasons and consequences behind decisions.
  2. Using ADRs improves communication by allowing team members to think through decisions at their own pace. This leads to better discussions and less conflict in meetings.
  3. ADRs include details like context, options, and the final decision, making it easier to revisit and adjust earlier choices if needed. This establishes a structured and flexible decision-making process.

Any Cables Monthly #7

AnyCable Broadcasts • 19 implied HN points • 03 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Programming Web Development Communication Software Development
  1. AnyCable development is active - version 1.3.0 released with new features like embedded NATS and StastD support.
  2. RubyConf Australia videos are available, including talks on Asynchronous Rails and building Stream Processing Applications with Ruby & Meroxa.
  3. Real-time applications go beyond human users - examples include integrating phone calls into web apps and controlling EV chargers with WebSockets using protocols like OCPP.
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Conversation with a Cloud Solutions Architect at AWS[Storytime Saturdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 13 Aug 22
🕹 Technology Cloud Computing Mentoring Software Development Learning Resources
  1. Working on basic software engineering skills is key to succeeding in emerging fields like cloud computing.
  2. Starting to mentor others, regardless of your level, can help you learn, network, and develop communication skills.
  3. Continuous learning and broadening your knowledge across various domains is essential for software developers to stay relevant and adaptable.

Unmasking Imposter Syndrome in Software Developers: Why Do Even the Best Doubt Themselves?

Weekend Developer • 19 implied HN points • 26 May 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Imposter syndrome Psychology
  1. The tech industry is constantly changing, with new technologies and programming languages being developed regularly, leading to feelings of inadequacy among software developers.
  2. The tech industry is competitive, making it challenging for developers to stand out and potentially creating feelings of insecurity and fear of being replaced.
  3. Setting high expectations and fear of failure can contribute to imposter syndrome in software developers, as well as comparing oneself to others and attributing success to external factors.

Three Dimensions of Developer Productivity

Engineering Enablement • 31 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Developer Productivity Software Development Engineering Metrics
  1. Developer productivity can be conceptualized through three dimensions: Velocity, Quality, and Satisfaction.
  2. Leaders should clarify their goals for measuring productivity by considering stakeholders, level of measurement, and time period.
  3. Transitioning from dimensions to selecting metrics can be done using the Goals, Signals, Metrics approach.

A new coding regime is being created

Sunday Letters • 1 HN point • 21 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Programming Artificial Intelligence Internet
  1. Coding has evolved from a simple one-person setup to complex applications that multiple users can access at the same time. This shift has changed how we think about what an application really is.
  2. The arrival of the internet brought new challenges like data outages and scaling issues, leading to new practices like Agile development. This adaptation took time and created many best practices that we now rely on.
  3. With the rise of AI and LLM-based coding, we face new questions about how to create and maintain software. It's crucial to remain open and adaptable as the industry figures this out.

Inspire Your Team to Write Tests

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 19 implied HN points • 23 May 23
🕹 Technology Team Management Software Development
  1. Inspiring a team to write tests involves more than just explaining why, you also need to provide guidance on how to inspire them.
  2. Encouraging your team to write tests can be a challenging task that requires effective leadership and communication.
  3. To successfully inspire your team to write tests, consider utilizing a combination of motivation, training, and support.

Report on NixOS Governance Discussions

Chris' Blog • 3 HN points • 12 May 24
🕹 Technology Open Source Community Management Software Development Governance Moderation
  1. The NixOS governance discussion process was poorly organized, with the Nix Foundation board failing to provide clear direction and wasting participants' time.
  2. There was a lack of transparency, inconsistent enforcement of moderation, and potential manipulation of the process, leading to a censure of participants and a seemingly pre-ordained outcome.
  3. Participants with differing views felt unwelcome, demonstrating a reluctance to include those with centrist social and fiscally conservative values, potentially affecting future contributions and interactions with the Nix community.

Revisiting the Core-JS situation

On Engineering • 44 implied HN points • 22 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Open Source Software Development Web Development JavaScript
  1. Core-JS is a crucial JavaScript library with significant dependencies in the open-source community and popular software.
  2. The project faced financial difficulties due to the sole maintainer's plea for support and threats to its future.
  3. There are concerns about the security and continuity of Core-JS, emphasizing the need for community involvement, financial support, and alternative solutions.

Newsletter #13: StructGPT

Decoding Coding • 19 implied HN points • 25 May 23
🕹 Technology AI Data science Machine Learning Natural Language Processing Software Development
  1. StructGPT helps large language models (LLMs) work better with structured data like graphs and databases. It converts this complex data into a simpler format that LLMs can understand.
  2. There are three key tasks that StructGPT can do: answer questions based on knowledge graphs, process data tables, and perform text-to-SQL queries. Each task has its own specific steps.
  3. The method focuses on linearizing raw data so that LLMs can process it more effectively. This allows LLMs to handle a wider variety of tasks more efficiently.

Newsletter 21: To keepdims or not to keepdims!

Decoding Coding • 1 HN point • 19 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Machine Learning Deep Learning Software Development Data science Artificial Intelligence
  1. Understanding the 'keepdims' parameter in tensor operations is important for getting correct results in PyTorch. If you set 'keepdims' to True, the dimensions are preserved, which helps with broadcasting correctly.
  2. When summing tensors, if 'keepdims' is False, it can lead to incorrect calculations because the tensor's shape changes. This can result in dividing values incorrectly, leading to unexpected outputs.
  3. It's crucial to be careful with tensor shapes and broadcasting rules in machine learning models. Even a small oversight can cause models to produce wrong predictions, so always double-check these details.

Why Are Teams So Slow to Adopt Simple Continuous Delivery?

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 19 implied HN points • 11 May 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Continuous Delivery
  1. Releasing high quality features sooner is emphasized with trunk-based development, feature flags, and frequent deployments.
  2. Coaching teams on accelerating adoption of minimum quality controls like trunk-based development is crucial.
  3. Signing the MinimumCD movement shows commitment to advancing team practices in continuous delivery.

Newsletter #12: System Design for Machine Learning - Part II

Decoding Coding • 19 implied HN points • 18 May 23
🕹 Technology Machine Learning Data science System Design Case Studies Software Development
  1. Airbnb uses a special tool called Zipline for feature engineering in their Customer Lifetime Value model, which helps them pick and create over 150 features needed for predictions.
  2. Chicisimo built a recommendation system based on user data, which includes both objective and subjective features, to give personalized fashion advice using their Social Fashion Graph.
  3. Case studies provide valuable lessons in applying frameworks to real-world projects, showing that you need both a good framework and experience from past projects to succeed.

Software Supply Chain Attack Types

Resilient Cyber • 39 implied HN points • 24 Dec 22
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Software Supply Chain Software Development Malware
  1. Software supply chain attacks can happen in many ways. It’s important to understand the different attack types to protect against them effectively.
  2. Negligence in software practices can lead to serious problems. Simple mistakes like not checking dependencies can let bad code slip into your projects.
  3. Using digital signing helps ensure software integrity, but it’s not foolproof. It's vital to use additional security measures to keep systems safe from multiple vulnerabilities.

Adopting AI: patterns and tensions in the wants/needs of software company’s leaders and their teams

Nadia’s Substack • 1 HN point • 17 Jul 24
🕹 Technology AI Software Development Leaders Artificial Intelligence Productivity
  1. Technical leaders are feeling pressure to adopt AI tools to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.
  2. There is a disconnect between the expectations of AI capabilities and the reality of using AI for software development, leading to concerns about proper utilization and potential issues.
  3. Despite challenges, there is excitement about AI code generation tools for accelerating software creation and a focus on improving software development processes through tools like software simulation.

A list of questions to improve your performance on arrays[Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 14 Jun 22
🕹 Technology Coding Problem Solving Interview Preparation Software Development
  1. The post discusses a list of questions to enhance your array problem-solving skills. It emphasizes coding each solution for beginners and mentally solving for advanced readers.
  2. There is a reminder to use a specific system to maximize learning from each question presented.
  3. The publication includes a special request to show support by completing a form to feature the newsletter on Substack.

No smooth discontinuities

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 22 May 22
🕹 Technology Software Development Innovation Engineering Disruption Progress
  1. It's tough to make a big change in software if you're only trying to improve things a little at a time. Sometimes you need to take a big leap to really disrupt the norm.
  2. Incremental progress can help lead to new inventions, but after a big jump, you still have to do a lot of smaller work to make it successful.
  3. Embrace some chaos and messiness in your work. Sometimes these messy moments can lead to amazing results and breakthroughs.

Time Pressure in Software Development

Engineering Enablement • 28 implied HN points • 11 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Engineering Teams Research Efficiency
  1. Time pressure in software development is influenced by poor effort estimates, project management issues, and company culture.
  2. Three theories explain the effects of time pressure: Yerkes-Dodson Law, Job Demands-Resources Model, and Dimensional Model of Emotions.
  3. Time pressure impacts individuals by decreasing confidence, process by affecting quality assurance, and efficiency and quality by increasing efficiency up to a certain point.

Attentional Blindness [Storytime Saturdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 22 May 22
🕹 Technology Psychology Development Cognitive Biases Personal Story Software Development
  1. Inattentional blindness is when your mind filters out certain stimuli to focus on what it deems important.
  2. Biases like inattentional blindness can help you focus but also cause you to miss important connections and ideas.
  3. To counter attentional blindness, consider gaining diverse experiences, taking a step back, and pausing to reassess.

Think Like a Detection Engineer, Pt. 2: Rule Writing

Detection at Scale • 39 implied HN points • 25 Jul 22
🕹 Technology Security Software Development Testing Alerts Automation
  1. Analyzing security data effectively involves identifying and flagging bad behaviors near high-risk assets.
  2. Writing rules based on observed attacker techniques and behaviors allows for a clear path to action in response to detected threats.
  3. Testing rules through phases like unit testing, backtesting, staging, and production helps refine and ensure alert accuracy before implementation.

Recursive Leap of Faith [Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 18 May 22
🕹 Technology Programming Recursion Dynamic Programming Algorithms Software Development
  1. The 'Recursive Leap of Faith' technique is a powerful approach in recursion where we assume our recursive calls will work as expected, simplifying our problem-solving process.
  2. By using the Leap of Faith, we can break down recursive problems into base cases and recursive steps, making it easier to navigate through complex coding challenges.
  3. To master the Recursive Leap of Faith technique, consistent practice is key. Breaking down problems into base cases and making assumptions about recursive calls helps build proficiency over time.

Native Support for CJS/ESM Interoperability Begins in Node.js 22

Web Dev Explorer • 3 HN points • 28 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Node.js JavaScript Web Development Software Development
  1. Node.js has started to support ECMAScript Modules (ESM) natively with version 22, making it easier to use modern JavaScript modules alongside CommonJS (CJS) modules.
  2. ESM allows for synchronous and asynchronous loading, but Node.js' support for it is currently experimental and comes with limitations like not supporting top-level 'await'.
  3. The addition of synchronous loading for ESM in Node.js simplifies interoperability between ESM and CJS, easing the transition to ESM and potentially reducing module size in projects.

#49

The Nibble • 12 implied HN points • 02 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Cryptocurrency Software Development Hardware Web Development
  1. Figure raised $675M for humanoid robots with investments from big tech players like Microsoft and NVIDIA.
  2. Tim Cook hints at Apple's groundbreaking move in Generative AI and discontinues Project Titan.
  3. Elon Musk sues OpenAI for prioritizing profits over public good, marking a significant development in the tech industry.

Finding your niche in the startup industry[Story Time Saturday]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 01 May 22
🕹 Technology Product Design Decision-making Software Development Competition Innovation
  1. Develop products that stand out from the competition by focusing on unique features or solutions.
  2. Find a balance between high performance through focus and scalability by considering factors like resources and challenges.
  3. When deciding between powerful but expensive techniques and simple, inexpensive options, weigh the benefits of each to make an informed choice.

Slack AI data exfiltration from private channels via indirect prompt injection

PromptArmor Blog • 4 HN points • 20 Aug 24
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity AI Data Privacy Cloud Computing Software Development
  1. There is a serious risk in Slack where attackers can steal sensitive information from private channels. They can do this by tricking the AI into revealing data through malicious instructions.
  2. The inclusion of files and documents into Slack AI's responses has greatly increased the potential for these attacks. Now, attackers could even hide malicious instructions within documents that users upload.
  3. Slack's recent changes have made it easier for attackers to exploit these vulnerabilities without needing direct access to the private channels. It's crucial for organizations to manage and restrict these features to protect sensitive information.

Newsletter #8: HuggingGPT

Decoding Coding • 19 implied HN points • 06 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Software Development Programming Automation
  1. HuggingGPT helps solve complex tasks by breaking them down into smaller steps. It uses different AI models to handle each part, making the whole process easier and more organized.
  2. Current AI models struggle with processing various types of data and managing multiple tasks at once. HuggingGPT aims to improve this by using LLMs to plan and execute tasks more efficiently.
  3. The model operates in four main stages: planning tasks, selecting the right model for each task, executing them, and generating a final response. This structured approach makes coding more productive.

BKAV lại bị hack

Thái | Hacker | Kỹ sư tin tặc • 79 implied HN points • 09 Aug 21
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Software Development IT Management Social Networks
  1. BKAV, a cybersecurity firm, faced a hack where the source code was leaked, revealing potential insider threats within the company.
  2. The company's response to the hack drew attention to the importance of robust security measures and handling of insider threats in the cybersecurity industry.
  3. The incident showcased the need for companies, like BKAV, to continuously update security strategies and maintain transparency in response to cyber threats.

2 years of building a commercial open-source company

Navaneeth’s Newsletter • 49 implied HN points • 31 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Open Source Startups Funding Software Development Competition
  1. Started ToolJet as a project during home quarantine and faced challenges but received positive feedback from users.
  2. Launched ToolJet's public beta and open-sourced the codebase, gaining quick traction on ProductHunt and HackerNews.
  3. Raised VC funding for ToolJet, transitioned to ToolJet 1.0 with enhanced features, and continued building towards ToolJet 2.0 despite competition.

✋ Newsletter #38: Me Too

Women On Rails Newsletter - International Version • 19 implied HN points • 03 Nov 22
🕹 Technology Web Development Software Development Ruby on Rails Algorithms Data Visualization
  1. The newsletter discusses a case of justice served in a #MeToo context, emphasizing the importance of identifying and addressing abnormal situations in professional environments.
  2. The community encourages creating safe spaces, advocating for victims of sexual violence, and providing support for legal processes.
  3. Recommendations are offered for joining women-centered Ruby communities, along with resources for building sustainable digital products and insights on improving team workflows.

Startups and Crippling Technical Debt

Polymath Engineer Weekly • 31 implied HN points • 27 May 23
🕹 Technology Startups Technical Debt Software Development
  1. Startups can face challenges with technical debt as they aim for rapid growth, impacting software delivery and hindering future success.
  2. As startups grow, diverse technology adoption can lead to fragmentation, complicating development and increasing technical debt accumulation.
  3. Investing in healthy codebases, engineering processes, and sustainable foundations early can provide startups with a competitive advantage and avoid costly migrations.

What Is Yak-shaving?

Load-bearing Tomato • 7 implied HN points • 15 May 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Product Management Technical Debt Project management Task management
  1. Yak-shaving happens when you start a task and then realize it leads to a bunch of other unrelated tasks that you didn't expect. It's like going to wax your car and ending up at the zoo, needing to shave a yak instead.
  2. This situation often arises from not understanding the dependencies of a task before you start working on it. Properly planning and identifying prerequisites can help avoid getting tangled in unnecessary tasks.
  3. To prevent yak-shaving, it's important to scope tasks carefully and flag assumptions early. Being aware of how tasks connect can help you manage time better and avoid going down rabbit holes.

How GPT killed then saved my startup

How Software "Sells Itself" • 10 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Startups Artificial Intelligence Software Development Innovation Automation
  1. Before ChatGPT, the startup's product seemed impossible, automating meeting recordings into highlight videos.
  2. The introduction of more advanced AI like GPT4 raised the bar for intelligence, leading to a major overhaul of the startup's technology.
  3. Despite the initial setback, utilizing GPT-based pipeline enabled the creation of more flexible highlight videos in a simpler, streamlined process.