TLDR Index
TLDR Web Dev

TLDR WEB DEV 2024-04-05

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01ARTICLES & TUTORIALS

HOW WE’VE SAVED 98% IN CLOUD COSTS BY WRITING OUR OWN DATABASE

HiveKit, a company focused on tracking vehicles and people, faced a scaling problem where storing billions of location updates per month became prohibitively expensive with conventional databases. To overcome this, the company built a custom database specialized for its write-heavy load. It also optimized storage by storing delta updates instead of full state for each update. These changes, combined with moving from AWS Aurora to EBS, reduced the company's cloud storage costs by 98%.

hivekit.io6 min read

HOW GITHUB COPILOT WORKS

GitHub Copilot analyzes code in your editor to understand what you’re working on and then sends gathered context to a backend service that sanitizes the input by removing harmful content and irrelevant prompts. The cleaned prompt is run through OpenAI’s ChatGPT API and then a final suggestion is presented in your editor.

blog.quastor.org8 min read

REVERSE SEARCHING NETFLIX’S FEDERATED GRAPH

Netflix's Graph Search has improved to include reverse search functionality, enabling precise notifications and dynamic updates for users. By using Elasticsearch and CockroachDB, Netflix efficiently handles SavedSearches, improving performance. The system's flexibility also allows for expanding reverse search to other teams and exploring responsive UIs through subscriptions.

netflixtechblog.com8 min read

02OPINIONS & ADVICE

ADVICE TO YOUNG PEOPLE, THE LIES I TELL MYSELF

This essay from a software engineer gives a wide range of advice on life topics, covering personal growth, choosing the right things, and happiness. Generally, the author believes that effort matters more than inherent talent and confidence stems from action. Engineers should try to “be the plumber” by being someone who is trusted to solve tough, crappy problems.

jxnl.co24 min read

MY WAY BACK FROM MANAGEMENT TO CODING

After transitioning from an Individual Contributor to an Engineering Manager role at LeanIX, this author found that management didn't align with their passion for coding. Despite their tough journey, they want to encourage everyone who is willing to try out management to do the step and not feel bad if they figure out it is not how they intend to work.

engineering.leanix.net7 min read

IMPROVING CODE REVIEWS WITH STORYTELLING

Adopting a storytelling approach to code reviews has greatly improved the process for the company Doppler. By focusing on clear commit narratives (using comments, commit messages, and PR comments), it has made reviews easier to understand and better organized.

doppler.com11 min read

03LAUNCHES & TOOLS

OPENUI

Describe UI components in natural language and then see them rendered live as AI codes them to your specifications.

github.comGitHub repository

PLANDEX

Plandex automates complex tasks by breaking them into smaller subtasks and executing them sequentially using AI. It’s useful for developers who want to get through boring coding tasks.

github.comGitHub repository

INTRODUCING BABYLON.JS 7.0

Babylon.js 7.0 has new features like procedural geometry and support for global illumination and Gaussian splat rendering, alongside enhanced WebXR features and Apple Vision Pro support. The new version also brings advanced animation system upgrades.

bit.ly7 min read

04MISCELLANEOUS

HOW STACK OVERFLOW REPLACED EXPERTS EXCHANGE

Experts Exchange came before Stack Overflow and had a paywall model. Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky created Stack Overflow as a free, open-source Q&A platform for developers that was a big improvement over Experts Exchange. Stack Overflow has its own share of challenges with the rise of ChatGPT and the battle with ever-changing technologies.

graphite.dev15 min read

IN-APP BROWSERS ARE STILL A PRIVACY, SECURITY, AND CHOICE PROBLEM

European and UK competition authorities are investigating in-app browsers, driven by claims they bypass user-selected default browsers, compromising privacy and user choice. These internal browsers are under scrutiny for potentially collecting data without clear user consent. The issue emphasizes the challenge of balancing tech innovation with safeguarding user preferences and security.

theregister.com8 min read