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ULIDs and Primary Keys
Not all non-sequential primary keys are created equal, the ULID format is a fantastic substitute for the typical UUIDv4 choice.
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The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 125 posts.
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SQLite's Automatic Indexes
SQLite's optimizer creates indexes automatically to improve query performance with only nested loop joins.
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SQL + M4 = Composable SQL
I often work with clients who have large “data lakes” or big star schema style enterprise databases with fact and dimension tables as far as the eye can see. Invariably said clients end up with a substantial SQL codebase composed of hundreds of independent queries with lots of overlap between them. I want to be able…
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Cracking encrypted LastPass vaults
The recent (2022) compromise of Lastpass included email addresses, home addresses, names, and encrypted customer vaults. In this post I will demonstrate how attackers may leverage tools like Hashcat to crack an encrypted vault with a weak password.
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For Want of a JOIN
Once upon a time, I was on a small team tasked with building a data pipeline. On this team was someone we’ll call Bob, who was fresh out of grad school and hadn’t had much experience with software engineering, and no experience with SQL. As part of this data pipeline, Bob had to combine the data from two tables. JOIN…
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SQLite internals: How the most-used database works
Explore SQLite Internals: How The World's Most Used Database Works by Abdur-Rahmaan Janhangeer. Deep dive into database internals, systems engineering, and advanced Python.
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I almost failed to search a 37 GB text file in under 1 millisecond
... in which we check if your password has been compromised in many inconvenient ways, in a tale of destruction, obsession, and self-discovery.
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I found a bug in SQLite
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database written in Go, which uses SQLite as its storage engine. Recently I introduced a high-performance write-path into rqlite and, to my great surprise, it exposed a bug in SQLite. The SQLite team quickly addressed the issue but let's take a look at the…
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Just use Postgres for everything
Replace Redis, MongoDB, Kafka & more with PostgreSQL. Reduce complexity, boost development speed. Complete guide with real examples.
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Go and SQLite in the Cloud
Why SQLite and Go in the cloud are a great match, getting started, best practices, and more.
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Datasette’s new JSON write API: The first alpha of Datasette 1.0
This week I published the first alpha release of Datasette 1.0, with a significant new feature: Datasette core now includes a JSON API for creating and dropping tables and inserting, …
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Goodbye, data science
This is more of a personal post than something intended to be profound. If you are looking for a point, you will not find one here. Frankly I am not even sure who the target audience is for this (p…
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Index Merges vs. Composite Indexes in Postgres and MySQL
Composite indexes aka multi-column indexes are about 10x faster than index merges. In Postgres, the gap is larger than in MySQL because Postgres doesn’t support index-only scans for queries that involve index merges.
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Data-Oriented Programming in Python
Many users of Python deprioritize performance in favor of soft benefits like ergonomics, business value, and simplicity. Users who prioritize performance typically end up on faster compiled languages like C++ or Java.
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Moving Away from UUIDs (2018)
If you need an unguessable random string (for a session cookie or access token, for example), it can be tempting to reach for a random UUID, which looks like this: 88cf3e49-e28e-4c0e-b95f-6a68a785a…
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Building a BFT JSON CRDT
CRDTs are a family of data structures that are designed to be replicated across multiple computers without needing to worry about conflicts when people write data to the same place.
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The 12-bit rainbow palette
A palette of twelve colours chosen with consideration for how we perceive luminance, chroma, and hue
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Building a semantic search engine in Rust
If you're interested in building a semantic search engine in Rust, this article will show you how! We'll cover building a basic engine using sentence transformers and a kd-tree.
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It's not Ruby that's slow, it's your database
Many people keep repeating that Ruby is slow. It is. But that doesn't matter, because your database is so much slower that it is the bottleneck. So, an alternative title would be "Ruby is slow, but that doesn't matter for you."
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Push-based outbox pattern with Postgres logical replication
There are only a few patterns that I’m comfortable saying: “You should use it always if you want to build mature system”. One of them is the Outbox Pattern. Why? Because…
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Maintaining sufficient free space with ZFS
TLDR: ZFS free-space reporting is a lagging indicator. Background I use Proxmox VM server backed by a ZFS array of hard drives for various personal infrastructure. I also have security cameras that upload motion-triggered videos to my server (via FTP!). Problem Description I would like to use 90% of my available space…
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Modeling Starlink Capacity
Prior attempts to calculate Starlink’s potential for service have been theoretical. We simulate based on the actual constellation.
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SAT score distributions in Michigan
The state of Michigan required all public HS seniors to take the SAT last year (~91k out of ~107k total seniors in the state). This generate...
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Partitioning in Postgres, 2022 Edition
Tracking improvements to Postgres partitioning since 2017. In just five years it’s gone from a non-feature to a very good one.
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Analysis of Apple Watch running data
Analysis of Apple running measurements and statistics
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TIL–Python has a built-in persistent key-value store (2018)
Simplex Sigillum Veri
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Dabbling with Dagster vs. Airflow
Dissecting the Octopus