TLDR WEB DEV 2024-05-07

LEAVING RUST GAMEDEV AFTER 3 YEARS

This is a long collection of thoughts and problems that two indie developers faced when trying to use Rust for game development after completing development of several games written in Rust. They conclude that Rust presents fundamental challenges to game development, even after one becomes experienced with it. For example, Rust's borrow checker often requires code restructuring for even basic tasks, leading to a frustrating development experience. Also, Rust's focus on refactoring and correctness can lead to over-engineered solutions that prioritize code purity over being able to ship the game to a playable state quickly.

HANDLING THE INDENTATION OF A TREEVIEW COMPONENT

Different tools tackle the UI challenge of indenting nested treeview components with varying solutions. GitHub uses CSS Grid and calculated spacer widths for a clean, adaptable layout. Figma uses JavaScript-driven spacer management, which works well but is much more complex. Adobe uses either padding adjustments (Photoshop) or pseudo-elements (Spectrum) for visual depth.

HOW MOUSE DATA REVEALS USER SECRETS (AND HOW TO USE IT)

Mouse clicks, scrolls, and movements leave a data trail that reveals user behavior. Machine learning can analyze this data to predict what users will do next or who they are. This can be used to personalize experiences and improve security, but factors like the type of mouse can affect accuracy.

A USEFUL PRODUCTIVITY MEASURE

Measuring software engineering productivity is notoriously tough, so this author, a VP of Engineering, tracks indicators related to building an ideal engineering organization, like profitability. One useful profitability indicator is 'value-add capacity', the percentage of engineering time spent adding value for customers.

PRACTICAL LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR ENGINEERS

Engineers who want to learn more effectively should be intentional about it. They should plan focused reading time, minimize distractions, and take notes while reading. This article covers memorization techniques like the Link Method and Memory Palace to help understand connections between concepts better.

Learn more about their 90-day pilot

JSONATA

JSONata is a JSON query and transformation language. It lets you select one or multiple matching nodes with simple queries. It also provides helper functions, such as arithmetic, comparisons, sorting, grouping, datetime manipulation, and aggregation for more complex JSON querying and transformation.

EFFECT

Effect is a TypeScript framework that provides a full-fledged functional effect system with a comprehensive standard library. It contains multiple effects that deal with SQL schemas, RPCs, and more.

INVERSION - MENTAL MODEL

Inversion is a mental model where you invert a problem to gain a different perspective on how to solve it. For example, instead of focusing on how to make your team happy, you think about how to make them miserable. This helps you identify your current shortcomings and make better future decisions that affect them.

THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE JOINING AN ACCELERATOR — INSTEAD THEY LOST THEIR STARTUPS

Newchip, a startup accelerator, promised introductions to investors and other resources, but instead filed for bankruptcy, leaving over a thousand startups in jeopardy. The warrants Newchip held in these startups are now being auctioned off by the bankruptcy court. Some founders have lost their companies as a result, since now their cap tables have unknown investors.

START YOUR OWN ISP

A complete guide to starting your own Wireless ISP.

GITHUB COMMENTS ABUSED TO PUSH MALWARE VIA MICROSOFT REPO URLS

GitHub's comment file upload feature is being used to distribute malware disguised as legitimate files from trusted Microsoft repositories.

DEEP DIVE INTO XZ UTILS BACKDOOR (80 MINUTE VIDEO)

A lecture that explains the implementation details of the XZ Utils Backdoor and the multi-year effort to put it in place.