The hottest Software Development Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

AI isn't a stable building block

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 08 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Tech Innovation Programming Software Development Artificial Intelligence
  1. AI technology, especially generative AI, is evolving rapidly in the tech world, making it challenging to keep up with the pace of change.
  2. In the AI space, the constant evolution means that engineering efforts might easily become obsolete, leading to a struggle to build and maintain stable foundations for projects.
  3. Navigating the AI landscape requires a balance between keeping up with emerging technologies and avoiding getting stuck in a perpetual tutorial mode, waiting for the 'right' tools to use.

Just another scripting language

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Programming Software Development Engineering Artificial Intelligence Frameworks
  1. Python and JavaScript are both considered scripting languages, which are good for quick script implementation but can become challenging for managing large code repositories
  2. Python offers a wide range of packages for AI development, but some aspects like its 'magical' nature and unintuitive design in frameworks like Django may pose challenges for developers transitioning from other languages
  3. While Python can enable faster development, it may also lead to falling into bad patterns and lacking a deeper understanding, compared to the functional and intricate nature of JavaScript

I tried GitHub Copilot

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Software Development Programming Languages
  1. Large language models have been trained on dominant languages to generate legible and coherent language, a significant accomplishment.
  2. GitHub Copilot can be helpful for writing boilerplate, refactoring code, and exploring different patterns, but may suggest distracting or lazy coding options at times.
  3. While GitHub Copilot can save time in certain scenarios like code refactoring, some developers may not fully trust it due to potential debugging challenges and a desire to personally write and understand the code.

Full-stack overflow

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Engineering Software Development Team Collaboration Testing
  1. Understanding the full stack is valuable for engineers to make connections between different parts of an application and solve problems more holistically.
  2. Having a breadth of knowledge across the full stack can lead to building higher quality features at a faster pace and creating a better overall system.
  3. Developing a generalist approach with knowledge spanning from CSS to database architecture can benefit software engineering teams, especially in startups with limited budgets.
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You want bugs in your app

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Software Development User Experience Customer Feedback
  1. Bugs in your app should be seen as valuable feedback from users, not just negative issues to fix.
  2. Having a few bugs can indicate that people are actively using your application and engaging with its features.
  3. Non-bug issues like FAD bugs and lack of documentation also provide important insights that can help improve your app and user experience.

You are building a communication tool

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 06 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Communication User Experience
  1. Humans are not great at communication, so we build tools to help us communicate better across all industries.
  2. Software development is heavily focused on improving communication, making it easier, faster, and clearer.
  3. When evaluating new features in software, always consider if it will enhance communication for users, as communication is key in building successful tools.

Documentation is Hard

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 29 Oct 22
🕹 Technology Software Development Documentation Engineering Coding Startups
  1. Documentation often gets neglected in fast-paced environments like startups due to time constraints and prioritization of immediate tasks.
  2. In software development, trade-offs are inevitable, and sometimes opting for 'good enough for now' is a valid choice to balance business needs with engineering solutions.
  3. Documentation should focus on improving code readability, saving time for both current and future developers, and should be informative yet concise to serve its purpose effectively.

Fight for the Users

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 12 May 22
🕹 Technology Software Development Usability Features User Experience
  1. When developing a tool, it's crucial to balance usability and features for user adoption and retention.
  2. Self-service tools can lead to organic growth and better user understanding, ultimately benefitting the long-term success of the product.
  3. Engineers play a significant role in advocating for usability improvements in tools, which can enhance user experience and overall product success.

My Knowledge Is Your Knowledge

Tribal Knowledge • 0 implied HN points • 21 Mar 22
🕹 Technology Software Development Startup Documentation Onboarding Community
  1. Tribal knowledge refers to information known within a group but not outside of it, commonly seen in fast-moving teams like startups where documentation might be lacking.
  2. Onboarding new team members to a system built on tribal knowledge can be challenging and time-consuming, taking up to 6 months for full understanding.
  3. Building a community to share collective knowledge can help individuals survive and thrive in various fields by leveraging unique experiences and backgrounds.

ORMs do not ORM

Stateless Machine • 0 implied HN points • 10 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Data Engineering Database Management Programming Languages Web Development
  1. There’s a debate about whether using an ORM is beneficial or not. Some people think it’s unnecessary and prefer to write SQL directly.
  2. ORMs and raw SQL both try to solve similar problems but don’t actually provide a true 'mapping' between objects and database queries.
  3. Query builders can be a good compromise, allowing easier SQL query creation while helping with the mapping between database and code.

Newletter #17: Textbooks are all you need!

Decoding Coding • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence Software Development Data science Education
  1. Using online code for training LLMs can cause problems because that code often needs extra info to be useful and includes repetition. It's not always high-quality or useful code.
  2. The phi-1 model improves training by using a specific set of high-quality code from textbooks and exercises, making it better for learning how to code.
  3. This approach shows that just changing the training data can lead to better results, highlighting the importance of using good resources for teaching coding.

Newsletter #16: PEARL — A LLM brain for large texts

Decoding Coding • 0 implied HN points • 22 Jun 23
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Software Development Data science Research
  1. LLMs can act like a 'brain' for processing and understanding large texts. They help plan and execute tasks by breaking them down into smaller steps.
  2. The process consists of three main parts: discovering the necessary actions, creating a plan using those actions, and finally executing the plan carefully to avoid mistakes.
  3. Though this method shows promise, it still has limitations, like generating incorrect plans and being restricted by the size of information it can handle. Improvements are expected as technology advances.

Newsletter #15: ViperGPT

Decoding Coding • 0 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Software Development Computer Vision Programming
  1. ViperGPT is a new AI model that can answer questions about images and videos. It combines powerful text and vision models to understand visual inputs better.
  2. The model generates Python code based on user questions, allowing it to be flexible and efficient. It uses all available online Python code for improvement.
  3. ViperGPT's execution engine runs the generated code and provides results based on the visual content. This helps users make sense of raw data in a more meaningful way.

Newsletter #6: Prompt Engineering

Decoding Coding • 0 implied HN points • 23 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Natural Language Software Development Programming Data processing
  1. When using language models, the way you ask or prompt them affects the answers you get. More context often leads to better responses.
  2. You can use specific prompts to generate summaries, create text in different styles, or even test your ideas by simulating expert responses.
  3. Language models can greatly assist in coding tasks by generating templates and examples quickly, but it's important to double-check the versions of any libraries they suggest.

Git commit hooks with Husky

The Open Source Expert • 0 implied HN points • 17 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Programming DevOps Open Source Tools
  1. Using Husky for Git hooks gives you quick feedback before making a commit. This helps catch errors early, saving time later.
  2. Automating checks like linting or testing before a commit prevents you from forgetting to run them manually. It improves the code quality before you share it.
  3. Even with local hooks, don't skip CI checks since they're still important. CI runs on a fresh setup and ensures everything works properly in the project.

Quality Engineering Basics: Prioritizing Bugs

QUALITY BOSS • 0 implied HN points • 18 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Quality Assurance Project management Automation
  1. Understanding how to prioritize bugs is key for efficient quality engineering. It's important to have a common agreement on what each priority level means.
  2. Using a matrix to categorize bugs by their scope and impact can help in deciding their priority. This method allows teams to see which bugs are more urgent and need immediate attention.
  3. Automation tools, like GitHub actions, can streamline the bug prioritization process. They can help automatically assign priority based on set parameters, saving time and reducing errors.

Quality Assistance, Not Assurance

QUALITY BOSS • 0 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Quality Engineering Team Collaboration Process Improvement
  1. Quality Assistance means Quality Engineers work closely with developers. They help ensure high-quality software by sharing best practices and tools, rather than just checking for mistakes later.
  2. This approach moves away from the old method where a separate QA team is responsible for quality. Instead, everyone in the organization shares the responsibility for maintaining quality throughout the entire development process.
  3. Finding and fixing bugs early saves time and money. Waiting until the end of a project to test can cost a lot more if errors are found later.

A Crazy Week for AI! 🤯

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Software Development Tech news Innovation Computing
  1. OpenAI launched SearchGPT, which could compete strongly with Google and disrupt its monopoly. It's exciting to see new options in search engines.
  2. Meta released Llama 3.1, putting it ahead of GPT-4 in terms of AI advancements. This shows how rapidly technology is evolving.
  3. Elon Musk is introducing updates to Grok, aiming to surpass current AI models, which means we can expect even more powerful AI tools soon.

The Week of Small Language Models

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 22 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Data science Software Development Innovation
  1. Small language models are gaining popularity, with companies like Hugging Face and OpenAI participating in their development. This means we could see more accessible and efficient AI tools in the near future.
  2. Mistral AI has launched a new model called Mistral NeMo that can handle a lot of information at once, making it useful for various applications. This could help improve how we use AI in complex tasks.
  3. There's an increasing focus on creating smaller models that still perform well, which suggests a shift in how we think about AI technology. Smaller models could make AI more practical for everyday use.

Soon India Might Run Out of Skilled Software Engineers

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 19 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Education Engineers Competitiveness
  1. Many fresh graduates in India are not ready for real-world software engineering jobs. They might have degrees but lack essential skills like using libraries or APIs.
  2. There's a growing competition from Southeast Asia, as their engineers are becoming more skilled and are able to do the work better.
  3. The Indian education system needs to improve to prepare students for the actual demands of the tech industry. If it doesn't change, India could face a shortage of skilled software engineers.

India is Finally Making AI Happen

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 05 May 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Cloud Computing Software Development Tech industry Digital innovation
  1. India's AI ecosystem is rapidly growing with new announcements and updates.
  2. Ola Krutrim is launching its own AI Cloud to compete with big tech companies like AWS and Google Cloud.
  3. The new cloud service aims to provide affordable AI solutions along with developer tools and an Android app.

Apple Giving up on Intelligence (AGI)

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 26 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Consumer Electronics Software Development Tech Partnerships Market Trends
  1. Apple is shifting its strategy by outsourcing some of its artificial intelligence work. Instead of creating everything in-house, they're looking to collaborate with other tech companies.
  2. They have partnered with Baidu to use its AI model for future iPhone and iOS updates. This decision shows they are willing to work with other companies to enhance their technology.
  3. This new approach seems to be a response to the competitive landscape in AI development. Apple is adapting rather than trying to do everything alone.

Mojo🔥Steals the Show

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 13 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Programming Artificial Intelligence Software Development Machine Learning Performance optimization
  1. Mojo is a new programming language that combines the user-friendliness of Python with the speed of C and CUDA. Developers can now download it and see great results.
  2. A developer named Aydyn Tairov got a significant performance boost using Mojo, proving it can be faster than traditional C implementations.
  3. Mojo is designed to work with Python and aims to be even better for AI tasks by significantly increasing performance—up to 68,000 times faster than Python!

Amazon Crashes the GAI Party with a Bang!

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 16 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Data science Cloud Computing Software Development
  1. Amazon was focusing on transfer learning to improve their AI, like making Alexa learn new languages. However, they recently stopped this project because it was losing a lot of money.
  2. The company has experienced several failures in the past, showing that they are not unfamiliar with setbacks. This suggests they are trying to learn and adapt from their mistakes.
  3. Despite their challenges, Amazon's efforts in AI and technology continue to impact the industry, making them a major player in the field.

Why So Quiet?

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 30 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Software Development Tech regulation Data Privacy Machine Learning
  1. OpenAI is working hard to make a significant impact in AI with tools like ChatGPT, but Apple is surprisingly quiet about its plans for AI technology.
  2. Experts believe that Apple should pay attention to large language models (LLMs) because they can lead to exciting new ways for people to interact with technology.
  3. There's a possibility that LLMs could create a new operating system or ecosystem, similar to how the iPhone changed everything with its touchscreen.

We’ve Got Bills to Pay, Too

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 01 Feb 23
🕹 Technology AI Big Tech Data Privacy Copyright Software Development
  1. OpenAI is facing issues regarding copyright infringement, which has stirred up discussions about the company. This situation shows that even big tech companies are not immune to legal troubles.
  2. There's a lot of ongoing conversation around OpenAI and its technologies, indicating that interest in AI and its implications is growing. People are curious about the impact and future of AI tools like ChatGPT.
  3. The article hints at rising challenges in the tech space, suggesting that companies need to stay aware of legal standards as they develop new technologies. It's important for businesses to be careful and understand the laws surrounding their innovations.

OpenAI Mafia

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Software Development Tech Companies Innovation
  1. OpenAI has attracted many top experts in artificial intelligence since it started. This has helped them make big advancements in the field.
  2. The company has formed important partnerships with big names like Microsoft and Shutterstock. These partnerships allow them to enhance their technology and reach more users.
  3. OpenAI is known for creating leading-edge AI models like ChatGPT and DALL.E 2. These tools are changing how we interact with and use technology in everyday life.

Face-PaLM, ChatGPT 🤦

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 29 Dec 22
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Software Development Internet Data science
  1. Google has created a new language model called PaLM, which is much larger than OpenAI's GPT-3. PaLM has 540 billion parameters compared to GPT-3's 175 billion.
  2. There is a growing interest in comparing who will lead the AI race, PaLM or the next versions of GPT models.
  3. The popularity of ChatGPT is rising, creating more competition in the language model space.

The Belamy: Favorite Deep Learning Techniques of Facebook & Deepmind 🏗🚦🎟

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 17 Oct 21
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Data science Software Development Internet
  1. Facebook and DeepMind have some favorite techniques in deep learning that they use for their AI projects. These techniques help improve their models and make AI smarter.
  2. The Machine Learning Developers Summit is back after two years and will be held both in-person and online. This is a great chance for people in the AI field to connect and learn.
  3. Attendees at the summit can expect talks from various experts, but there’s limited space for in-person participants to keep things safe. It's an exciting opportunity for anyone interested in machine learning.

Did a "DEI Programmer" Cause the Crowdstrike Disaster?

Code and Context • 0 implied HN points • 20 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Cybersecurity Programming Languages Tech Policy Digital Culture
  1. A technical bug in CrowdStrike's code caused a major outage, mainly due to a NULL pointer dereference issue. This means the program tried to access a place it shouldn't have, causing systems to crash.
  2. The incident highlights the importance of robust testing and coding practices. It shows how a small error in a significant system can lead to serious, widespread problems.
  3. Scapegoating trends, like blaming DEI initiatives for tech failures, often distract from the real, complex issues at play. It's easier to point fingers than to acknowledge the multiple factors that contribute to such failures.

AI Drop: Streamlining Development with Claude's Artifacts

Code and Context • 0 implied HN points • 04 Jul 24
🕹 Technology AI Tools Software Development Automation Programming Development Tools
  1. Artifact Alchemy is a tool that helps developers quickly organize files generated by Claude. This saves time and reduces mistakes when adding files to projects.
  2. The tool automatically extracts different types of files from Claude and arranges them in a way that matches how a project is structured. This makes it easier to find and use the files later.
  3. Using Artifact Alchemy is simple and straightforward; just follow a few commands to install and run it. It allows developers to focus more on building software instead of managing files.

AI Engineer World's Fair–Day 1: Foundations and Frameworks

Code and Context • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Software Development Automation Frameworks Data science
  1. Foundational technologies are key to developing powerful AI systems. Without strong systems, we can't fully utilize AI's potential.
  2. Automation and intelligent agents like LangChain are pushing AI to new heights. These tools can help us work smarter and improve efficiency.
  3. Knowledge graphs play an important role in connecting information. They help AI understand and make sense of data better.

AI Drop of the Week: Social Compliance Generator

Code and Context • 0 implied HN points • 24 Jun 24
🕹 Technology AI Social media Content creation Programming Software Development
  1. The Social Compliance Generator uses AI to create content for social media, including text, images, and music. This tool helps users easily share posts related to trending topics.
  2. Building the generator was more complicated than expected, especially with connecting to different social media platforms. Each one has its own rules and requirements for posting content.
  3. There are plans to improve the generator by making it faster, adding support for more platforms, and allowing users to customize their posts. This can help make the content more relevant and engaging.

Composition is a function of communication

Tech and Thoughts • 0 implied HN points • 24 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Communication Microservices Programming Languages Systems Design
  1. Communication is key for building software. Systems work best when they have clear and simple ways for different parts to talk to each other.
  2. Just like on the internet, software should focus on how parts interact, not just what those parts do. This makes it easier to adapt and grow.
  3. When designing software, spend time planning how components will communicate. Get this right early on to avoid problems later.

Cyber Security Firm Discloses Four Critical Vulnerabilities That Affect Millions of Apps on the Apple Platform

Apple Wire • 0 implied HN points • 03 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Cyber Security Software Development Open Source Information Security Vulnerabilities
  1. CocoaPods, a tool used by many Apple apps, has serious security flaws that could let hackers inject harmful code into millions of apps. This is a big issue because it affects about 3 million applications.
  2. The vulnerabilities allow attackers to access sensitive information on users' devices, like private messages and medical info. This shows how valuable open-source code can be when it's not properly secured.
  3. It's important for developers to be cautious about third-party code and regularly check their dependencies. They should make sure they're using well-maintained libraries and avoid unclaimed or orphaned code to keep their apps safe.

Android Interview Experience — Wolt

Better Engineers • 0 implied HN points • 19 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Programming Mobile Apps Career development Interviewing
  1. The interview process at Wolt includes several steps, starting with a friendly conversation with a recruiter to discuss your background and motivation.
  2. Candidates complete a technical assignment to build an Android app, focusing on clean code and chosen architectures, which is then discussed in a follow-up interview.
  3. The final interview assesses cultural fit, exploring past experiences in teamwork and problem-solving, making it important to show good communication and collaboration skills.

Setup your Push Notification Server using Firebase

Better Engineers • 0 implied HN points • 09 May 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Mobile Apps Cloud Services Programming Languages Web Development
  1. Push notifications are important for keeping users engaged with mobile apps. They help to improve user retention by providing timely updates.
  2. Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) is a powerful tool that allows developers to send push notifications to different platforms like Android, iOS, and web applications.
  3. To set up a push notification server using Java Spring Boot, you need to configure the Firebase admin SDK and create an API endpoint to send messages to devices with FCM tokens.