Web Review, Week 2024-37
Alright… this is published a bit later than usual due to travels and lack of energy. Anyway, let’s go for my web review for the week 2024-37.
Fediverse Discovery Providers
Tags: tech, fediverse, search
Nice to see such a project be funded. Let’s see how far this will go.
2024: 0.5% of the Global Top 200 Websites Use Valid HTML
Tags: tech, html, quality
This is clearly not a great outcome. The browser monoculture probably doesn’t help.
https://meiert.com/en/blog/html-conformance-2024/
Family poisoned after using AI-generated mushroom identification book
Tags: tech, ai, machine-learning, gpt, law
This is bad. There was no way to know the book was AI generated and clearly it contained errors and lies.
Baiting the bot
Tags: tech, gpt, security
Looks like an interesting venue to attack systems which use LLMs.
https://conspirator0.substack.com/p/baiting-the-bot
Building a browser using Servo as a web engine!
Tags: tech, web, browser, servo
It’s good to see servo getting closer to being usable in a browser. Makes me dream of Falkon or Konqueror being resurrected with Servo as the engine.
https://servo.org/blog/2024/09/11/building-browser/
Windows NT vs. Unix: A design comparison
Tags: tech, windows, unix, design, system, architecture
Interesting exploration of the NT design compared to Unix. There was less legacy to carry around which explains some of the choices which could be made. In practice similarities abound.
https://blogsystem5.substack.com/p/windows-nt-vs-unix-design
The Insecurity of Debian
Tags: tech, debian, redhat, security
Interesting comparison of the difference in approaches between RedHat and Debian about default system hardening.
https://unix.foo/posts/insecurity-of-debian/
Linux’s Bedtime Routine
Tags: tech, linux, kernel, power
Ever wondered what happens when you suspend or hibernate on Linux? Here is a very deep exploration of the process from the kernel perspective.
https://tookmund.com/2024/09/hibernation-preparation
Operating system threads are always going to be (more) expensive
Tags: tech, multithreading, system, kernel
Good reminder of what OS threads entails and why they can’t be optimized much further. There’s so much you can do properly in userland.
https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/tech/OSThreadsAlwaysExpensive
QUIC is not Quick Enough over Fast Internet
Tags: tech, networking, performance, quic
Looks like there is still some work required on QUIC. There is a path forward though.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145⁄3589334.3645323
JSON diff and patch
Tags: tech, json, tools
Looks like a very nice tool to deal with JSON files.
https://github.com/josephburnett/jd
proctrace - a high level profiler for process lifecycle events · Tinkering
Tags: tech, linux, profiling, tools, processes
Looks like an interesting little profiling tool. The article explains quite well how it’s been done. Can be a nice blueprint to make other such tools.
https://tinkering.xyz/proctrace/
Docker images using uv’s python
Tags: tech, python, packaging
It feels more and more that uv might turn out to be a game changer for the Python ecosystem.
https://mkennedy.codes/posts/python-docker-images-using-uv-s-new-python-features/
uv under discussion on Mastodon
Tags: tech, python, foss, community, business
There is a sane conversation going on around uv in the Python community. Here is a good summary.
https://simonwillison.net/2024/Sep/8/uv-under-discussion-on-mastodon/
What’s new in C++26 (part 1)
Tags: tech, c++
Clearly nice examples of better quality of life adjustments coming with C++26.
https://mariusbancila.ro/blog/2024/09/06/whats-new-in-c26-part-1/
Replace strings by views when you can
Tags: tech, c++, performance, memory
Good reminder that packing your data is generally the right move when squeezing for performances.
https://lemire.me/blog/2024/09/09/replace-stdstring-by-stdstring_view-when-you-can/
Why I Prefer Exceptions to Error Values
Tags: tech, failure, exceptions
A couple of flaws in this article I think. For instance, the benchmark part looks fishy to me. Also it’s a bit opinionated and goes too far in advocating exceptions at the expense of error values. Still, I think it shows quite well that we can’t do without exceptions at all, even in the case of error values being available. In my opinion, we’re still learning how both can be cleverly used in code base.
https://cedardb.com/blog/exceptions_vs_errors/
Why some of us like “interdiff” code review systems (not GitHub) · GitHub
Tags: tech, version-control, git
A bit too much of a rant for my taste (even though I agree with the GitHub flaws). That said it illustrates nicely a use of git range-diff which is often overlooked.
https://gist.github.com/thoughtpolice/9c45287550a56b2047c6311fbadebed2
Scope Management 101 - by Kent Beck
Tags: tech, quality, agile, project-management, product-management
He is spot on again. The scope is what will allow to create flexibility in a fixed price project. This is what leads to the necessity to work incrementally.
https://tidyfirst.substack.com/p/scope-management-101
The Impossibility of Making an Elite Engineer
Tags: tech, engineering, career, learning
Interesting musing about what it takes for engineers to grow. Clearly there are a few paradoxes in there… that gives ideas to manage your career though.
https://tidyfirst.substack.com/p/the-impossibility-of-making-an-elite
Bye for now!