TLDR Web Dev

TLDR WEB DEV 2024-07-09

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01GENERAL

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IS INTEGRATION MAINTENANCE TAKING OVER YOUR LIFE?

Integrating your app with external services such as email and calendar is taxing (time, headcount, effort, etc.). The bad news is, building the integration is just the beginning.

get.nylas.comSponsor

02ARTICLES & TUTORIALS

REVERSE ENGINEERING TICKETMASTER'S ROTATING BARCODES

TicketMaster's SafeTix, a system that uses rotating barcodes for mobile entry, is marketed as a security measure against fraud and scalping, but it can be easily reverse-engineered. The barcodes contain time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs) and a bearer token, which can be extracted and used to generate valid barcodes offline. Despite claims of preventing offline saving and transfer, the system's vulnerabilities allow for ticket duplication and potential resale outside of TicketMaster's platform.

conduition.io15 min read

EXPLAINER FOR THE PROMPT API

The "Prompt API" proposal by the Chrome built-in AI team suggests a JavaScript API that provides access to browser-provided language models. This will allow for local processing without server round-trips while also allowing web developers to use AI capabilities in web apps without worrying about costs. The proposal has a uniform interface for prompting models and handling failures gracefully.

github.com14 min read

HOW FAST IS JAVASCRIPT AT SIMULATING 20,000,000 PARTICLES?

This article explores how to simulate millions of particles in JavaScript, achieving a smooth 60 frames per second using only the CPU, particularly focusing on optimization for mobile devices. The author details their process, which involved several iterations, starting with a basic multi-threaded approach using web workers and SharedArrayBuffers. They faced challenges like flickering and performance bottlenecks in rendering and data transfer. To improve performance, they implemented strategies like double buffering and a particle grid count.

dgerrells.com35 min read

03OPINIONS & ADVICE

THE RIGHT KIND OF STUBBORN

Persistent individuals differ from obstinate individuals who are resistant to change and often attached to their initial ideas. Persistence is essential for solving complex problems, while obstinacy can be counterproductive, especially when dealing with challenging tasks that require flexibility and adaptability. The optimal level of obstinacy is not zero, as it can be beneficial in preventing panic in the face of setbacks, but excessive obstinacy often leads to failure due to an unwillingness to consider alternative solutions.

paulgraham.com10 min read

PYTHON HAS TOO MANY PACKAGE MANAGERS

Python's package management ecosystem is fragmented, lacking a single tool that effectively handles versioning, dependency resolution, and environment setup like Rust's Cargo. Classic tools like pip and venv have limitations in dependency management and environment isolation. Newer tools like Poetry and PDM offer improved features but still face challenges in areas like dependency resolution speed.

dublog.net14 min read

MAYBE YOU'RE NOT SICK OF PROGRAMMING

Some programmers who feel burned out and disillusioned with their careers may be wrongly attributing their discontent to programming itself. The real culprits are often extraneous factors that hinder creative fulfillment and lead to burnout like bureaucracy, lack of ownership, and unfulfilling work environments.

shubhamjain.co1 min read

04LAUNCHES & TOOLS

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Discover the latest technology with Vultr Cloud GPU, Powered by NVIDIA. Our 32 cloud infrastructure locations ensure global reach, enabling enterprises to power AI and ML at the edge efficiently. While avoiding the complexity and cost of the hyperscalers. Visit Vultr and

links.tldrnewsletter.comSponsor

ONLOOK

Onlook enables developers to build their React + TailwindCSS apps visually in the browser.

github.comGitHub repository

SQL STUDIO

SQL Studio is a SQL database explorer that supports SQLite, libSQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, DuckDB, and partially ClickHouse servers. It features an overview page, tables metadata display with disk usage details, infinite scroll for rows, and a customizable query interface.

github.comGitHub repository

INCIDENTAL

An open-source incident management platform.

github.comGitHub repository

05MISCELLANEOUS

WHAT'S THE QUICKEST YOU'VE SEEN A CO-EMPLOYEE GET FIRED? (REDDIT THREAD)

Redditors share stories of the coworker they had who was the fastest to get fired. For example, a newly hired senior developer at a company was working on a customer enhancement directly in the production environment and accidentally turned off a crucial setting. When asked why he didn't work on a local copy, he replied, "We can do that?". He was fired.

links.tldrnewsletter.com

ENTERING TEXT IN THE TERMINAL IS COMPLICATED

Entering text in the terminal can be confusing due to the inconsistency in text-editing capabilities across different programs. Some programs don't support arrow keys while others use the Readline library for basic editing functions, some have custom input systems, and some offer no text-editing features at all.

jvns.ca10 min read

AN ORIGIN TRIAL FOR A NEW HTML `PERMISSION` ELEMENT

Chrome is introducing an origin trial for a new HTML element, `permission`, designed to address the challenges of current imperative permission request methods like permission spam and lack of contextualization. The `permission` element allows developers to declaratively ask for permission to use features like geolocation.

developer.chrome.com13 min read