1
Please put units in names
Using strong types, or putting units in names, is a small effort that can make a tremendous difference for code readability.
Ruud van Asseldonk
Hi, I am Ruud. I like low-level systems programming for bare metal performance, but I also enjoy high- level functional programming. Sometimes I write about that here. I try to write interesting posts, such as this series about building a typechecker, but by far my most popular post is a rant about yaml . I am mildly…
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Visit ruudvanasseldonk.com → RSS feedOn Hacker News Nov 2016 – Oct 2025
Software Engineering 5Tools & Productivity 4Systems & Performance 1
2
The Yaml document from hell
As a data format, yaml is extremely complicated and it has many footguns. In this post I explain some of those pitfalls by means of an example, and I suggest a few simpler and safer yaml alternatives.
3
Zero Cost Abstractions
Rust claims to enable abstraction without overhead. How does that claim hold up in practice?
4
A reasonable configuration language
I was fed up with the poor opportunities for abstraction in configuration formats. The many configuration languages that exist already were not invented here, so I wrote my own, at first just for fun. But then it became useful.
5
Abstraction, not syntax
Alternative configuration formats solve superficial problems. Configuration languages solve the deeper problem: the need for abstraction.