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Software Engineering

The most popular blog posts about software engineering on Hacker News. 1,508 posts.

2020
1052

JITs are un-ergonomic

I lift my LAMP beside the github door. Keep ancient Fortran your storied numeric libs cries she. Give me your interpreted, your slow, the wretched refuse of your (insert pun for ‘teeming shore’).

1057

How to Write a Book in Emacs (2015)

Writing a book is a time consuming process, and if you’re going to dedicate a year, or more, of your life to it, it makes sense to pick the best tool for the job. If you’re technically inclined – and if you use Emacs – then the choice is obvious.

1058

Foreign data wrappers: PostgreSQL's secret weapon?

EnterpriseDB (“EDB”), the leader in accelerating Postgres® in the enterprise, today announced its acquisition of Splitgraph, an early-stage disruptor that provides a Postgres compatible serverless SQL API for building data driven applications from hundreds of datasources. This move is seen as a meaningful step in…

1067

Controlling My A/C with a Gameboy

Last year, I was lucky enough to be gifted a Gameboy Color in great shape. Apart from its intended gameplay features, I also wanted to try and build something meaningful with it, so I made this application to control my air-conditioner over its existing, reverse-engineered infrared protocol.

1072

Fighting Rust's Expressive Type System

Herein I share an experienced developer's first foray into a real-world Rust project. It focuses closely on the type system, and the key insights I needed to begin "thinking in Rust". Written for those getting to grips with the language, it will be especially useful if your background isn't functional programming.

1075

Rust testing or verifying: Why not both?

Dijkstra famously dissed testing by saying “Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!” As if you should choose one over the other. I don’t see them as opposites but as complementary techniques that should both be used to improve the quality of your code.