Many businesses have a dedicated software engineering department, whether to maintain a website or develop apps. The majority of these departments will perform code reviews as part of their daily routine. But what’s the difference between a negative experience, and a constructive review? What is a code review? A code review is a common practice in software engineering that aims to ensure the quality of an implementation is maintained, by having the author’s work examined by one or more of their peers. Where should you start with a code review? Productive code reviews should always start with two elements: the ticket for the issue any test files in the change request. The ticket will include an overview of the scenario and any further information required for the review, such as designs or non-technical considerations. These help to understand the context behind the work. The test files detail the various scenarios and outcomes that the functional changes are hoping to solve and achieve, giving the reviewer a better understanding of the problem and the proposed solution. When reviewing the test files (and later on the functional code itself), it is essential to consider any edge cases that may have gotten overlooked. These edge cases may seem insignificant but could result in a service outage due to unexpected behaviour. Following on from these, the reviewer should turn their attention towards the files with the most changes in them. These files are likely to be the core of the implementation and therefore saves time when reviewing. How should you conduct the code review? A constructive code review is often tough to achieve. Teams and individuals will often only identify the problems with the change request. Some will even solutionise after spotting a potential issue. The pitfall that many forget is that a review is an evaluation of both the strong and weak points. Not many reviewers praise the positives of an implementation, even when a solution is elegant or when edge cases are addressed. As mentioned above, some reviewers will identify a problem and proceed to solutionise. Solutionising is the responsibility of the author of the change and not the reviewer. Reviewers that solutionise squander time when it could be spent on other problems while also demotivating the author. Many software engineers thrive on the problem-solving element of their work and would prefer to do this themselves. What about the finer things? The reviewer should also are made before approving the work. avoid demanding that trivial changes Identifying issues such as spelling mistakes, poor naming and micro-optimizations are useful, as they affect the code quality. However, concerns like these should be noted and fixed in a follow-up change — , so it doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect on the first iteration. the purpose of a change request is to improve the overall product and codebase When reviewing a change request, pay attention to the finer details like file paths and names referenced in the code. These are easily overlooked, particularly during refactoring, but will break the feature if they are not correct. Similarly, with any resources or files referenced, confirm that these are in the change. When should you do the review? Many engineers are reluctant to carry out code reviews because of the need to context switch. To avoid unnecessarily context switching, conduct code reviews before or after another unavoidable context switch such as a break or meeting. Doing so provides the reviewer with a choice of regular but flexible times to conduct reviews. Despite the focus on flexibility, code reviews should not stagnate for more than a day. It’s easy for multiple reviews to stack up and begin to block other engineers or tickets. The velocity of the team is more important than the velocity of the individual.

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The pandemic has fuelled a wave of digitalisation within research and development, with many laboratories adapting to the new way of working by implementing digital software and technology that facilitate remote work. , have the potential to radically transform the laboratory environment, enabling scientists to work smarter, not harder. The disruptive technologies that characterise Laboratory 4.0, from basic connectivity of documentation to automation, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) Research and development (R&D) has been on the digitalisation trajectory for years and to a greater extent, COVID-19 has merely acted as a for change, forcing laboratories to implement these technologies to continue to have access to their research during the pandemic. Despite unfavourable circumstances that have forced this change, laboratories will benefit from digitalisation in the long run, COVID-19 has just sped up the inevitable. catalyst Laboratories after COVID-19 will be different, but better. They'll be able to capitalise on increased productivity, streamlined documentation and automated laboratory processes, allowing scientists to make the most of their valuable time and effort. The connected lab It is expected that a large number of laboratories will have switched or will be preparing to switch to a form of digital documentation where research is stored on a unified, online platform, accessible through a local server or the cloud. The Electronic Lab Notebook ( ) is the most renowned software to replace the traditional paper lab notebook. Facilitating data retrieval, reproducibility, and compliance, the ELN has proven it's worth over the course of the pandemic, enabling scientists to continue vital research remotely. ELN Whilst specific features differ according to which ELN is selected, overall, laboratories that implement this software have an immediate advantage over competing institutions that still use paper, being able to easily access their research from anywhere in the world. A few ELNs also provide the ability to manage inventory lists, helping lab managers not only keep track of material stocks but also allowing scientists to connect their inventory lists directly to their research. These features are also available with the Laboratory Information Management System ( ) that helps researchers manage samples and data efficiently. LIMS features vary, with some offering the ability to create and scan barcodes, while others offer integration capabilities with other software and laboratory equipment. Ultimately, both digital solutions have seen an increase in uptake since the pandemic, making them staple features of the laboratories after COVID-19. LIMS The automated lab In comparison to the ELN, full-scale automation was not as common in laboratories before the pandemic largely due to the big expense of implementing such systems. Yet, that is not to say that automation was left off research institutions’ roadmaps for the future. As comes in a number of shapes and sizes, different research fields require different features with their automation, finding the best one suited for a laboratory can be difficult, especially when a large price tag is attached. Scientists, therefore, put a lot of thought and consideration into the decision behind which automation system is right for their laboratory. lab automation The pandemic has to a greater extent increased reliance on digital technology and many industries have used it as an opportunity to implement forms of automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) to increase productivity, despite the restricted access to the workplace. The laboratory is no different, being the perfect environment for automation, given the importance for laboratories to produce accurate, compliant research. With automation, repetitive tasks that were typically the task of the researcher can be executed expertly by a machine, reducing human error and maximising a scientist’s time and effort. The lab of the future The emphasis placed on the digitalisation of processes will not diminish after the pandemic, it is likely to increase significantly. Over the course of the pandemic, many industries have relied heavily on the connectivity digital platforms provide and with increased trust an emphasis placed on these disruptive solutions, digital implementation is likely to continue at an increased pace. Research institutions will continue to look for ways to improve productivity in the laboratory. In incorporating digital documentation software alongside forms of automation, the laboratory environment will be taken to another level that will be able to help scientists overcome many of the existing barriers within science, such as research reproducibility, accessibility and accuracy. Whilst , there is pressure for laboratories to implement these solutions, particularly as competition within research fields increase. The end result of embracing the opportunities these technologies provide is the creation of a system that works alongside scientists to produce the best possible standard of research: the ‘smart lab’. it is difficult to conclusively know what the lab of the future will look like

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Did you know that around in the US are home-based? And about ? 50% of small businesses 82% of them fail because of cash flow problems If you are reading this article, then you may be one of them. We understand how hard it is for business owners like you to promote their businesses, especially when you start out. Often, the marketing budget is non-existent or tight. In such scenarios, the owners have to get creative in their ways to promote their businesses. But that requires a great deal of time as well. This article will list out 7 proven and creative ways to promote your small business in 2021, even with no marketing budget. 7 Cost-effective Ways to Promote Your Business 1. Google My Business Building Google Listing using Google My Business is among the most effective free marketing strategies, especially if you are a local business. Your business gets visibility on the local section of Google Search, Google Maps, and the knowledge panel of branded searches that appears on the right side. Not only that, but Google My Business also boosts your organic rankings. (Source: ) Reshift Media Using your Google My Business Account, you can optimize your Google listing to rank higher for the Google Maps search results. You can optimize your listing only if you have of the same. Note: verified ownership Here are some tips and tricks to rank higher in the Google My Business listing: Navigate to the and add posts relevant to your business or industry. You can also publish links of content along with images. Adding content increases your business' authority, and it becomes a good way to showcase your expertise. Add relevant posts: post section in your Google My Business app Write an in-depth description of your business. Make the description engaging and conversational. Try to add targeted keywords in your description for which you want to better your rankings. Add a detailed description: Add the primary keyword in your name—for example, XYZ Agency - Best Digital and Creative Agency in New Delhi. Use for keyword research and planning. Keywords in the name: Google Keyword Planner Tool 2.  Host events, webinars and create content Create as much content as you can. In the form of blogs, videos, webinars, etc. Creating and publishing content can be a great way to showcase your expertise, building credibility and reputation. When done with the right intent, among the right audience. content can drive organic traffic to your website, generate quality leads, and strengthen your overall SEO. Content Marketing can boost your rankings and give your business proper and increased visibility Tips to write great content: Use simple language or language that your audience understands. Do your research - creating in-depth and value-adding content is the way to go. for keywords, also make them catchy Optimize your headlines Educate instead of selling Add actionable items like links to other content, free downloadables, etc. Types of videos you can produce: If your product is technical or requires multiple steps, videos are a great way to connect with your audience. If not, then videos make a great medium to promote your business and build your brand credibility. You can create: Instructional videos DIYs How-tos Behind-the-scenes Interviews with industry experts, your employees, etc. Another great way to build your credibility: hosting classes, events, and webinars relevant to your target audience. For example, if you are running a small local gym, then host online classes to educate them about Yoga, Nutrition, Weight loss techniques, etc. Usually, hosting events and classes can be expensive undertakings, but with everything going virtual, you can now host them on Zoom or . other webinar platforms 3.  Attend industry networking events, exhibit at local trade shows, and participate in community events Industry events and conferences make a great way for like-minded business people to network and market. You can develop B2B relationships to help you get bulk orders or turn into strategic partnerships to expand in new territories and markets. Such events also have exclusive seminars to help sharpen your business and marketing skills. Does your city or town host weekly farmers' markets, annual exhibitions or celebrations, or other community events? Then, by all means, participate. If possible, set up your booth or table to promote your local audience's products and services. Such affairs are inexpensive and offer great opportunities to build a brand locally. Other great ways to connect and contribute to your community: Sponsoring youth groups Distributing free coffee to volunteer groups, local police officers, etc. Organizing food or clothing drives to help less fortunate Sponsoring local trade shows or fairs 4.  Turn your customers into promoters Having a great product or providing impeccable service will help you achieve half of your marketing goal. And for the other half, reach out to your customers. Ask them to leave reviews on Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Social Media, and other customer review platforms. To make sure your customers leave reviews, send a thank-you message or note once they've done business with you. A small thank you can go a long way. Moreover, your loyal customers would love to help expand your business' reach. Here are other great ways to turn your customers into promoters and engage with them: Running a business card drawing contest Running social media contents Setting up a customer referral program Tips for running social media contests: Offer incentives Set your budget and prizes Determine your goals: is it engagement? Is it brand awareness? Do you want to build your email list? Determine contest type: this will be based on your goals Pick your platforms Go through the platform's contest guidelines 5.  Turn your vehicle into a billboard This is an excellent way to promote your business locally. Use the real estate of your car, truck, or even a two-wheeler. Add your business name, contact information, and address. Pro tip: If possible, add a unique number or email address as your contact information. This will help you track the effectiveness of this marketing strategy. You can also add a QR code that redirects your customers to a specific landing page. This form of marketing is known as vehicle branding. You can also use your close friends, family, and employees' vehicles to market your business. A Few Tips for Effective Vehicle Branding: Keep it simple. Don't overhaul your vehicle with graphics and information. Use simple fonts for better readability. Use the vehicle's three dimensions wisely. Make sure you are sending the right message. Don't overcomplicate things for them. Don't try to save a few bucks on photography and printing. Make sure the print is of high-quality. And lastly, be creative. 6.  Write and submit guest posts and leave comments on relevant forums Many publications and websites would love to publish your content. You can put promotional links to your business within the content and provide value first. This entire process of writing for other platforms and websites is guest blogging. This was an oversimplified version, but it's not as simple. Here's a quick overview of how you can go about guest blogging: List down blogs/websites relevant to your target audience. For example, if you have a SaaS product, you might want to post on tech or product blogs. Create a customize pitch Write an impressive post Join guest post communities Monitor your competitor's moves Leaving opinionated comments, value-adding, and showing expertise in a relevant topic can also help build a personal and your business' brand. All you need to do is find relevant forums and websites where your audience might be hanging out. 7.  Social media - to create and promote relevant content This one is a no-brainer and hence is listed at the end. Social media has democratized content publishing and is a great way to target and engage with your audience. Not only can . You can turn your blogs into bite-sized image content to post on Twitter, Instagram, etc. you get extremely creative with different content formats, but you can also cross-promote your blogs, videos, etc Some other social media ideas to promote your brand: Host an AMA - once you've built your reputation as an expert in your domain, host an AMA (ask me anything) to engage with your audience and followers. A social media takeover - you'll see influencers collaborating and taking over brands' social media accounts. You can invite influencers or collaborate with relevant brands for a mutually beneficial takeover. Develop bite-sized video clips and how-tos Go live to interact with the audience in real-time Give your customers a platform to speak about their experience with your brand A list of a few more in-expensive marketing strategies you can explore: Industry partnerships LinkedIn marketing Brand ambassadors Business awards Email marketing Social media tagging and hashtags Creative business cards and magnets Summing Up Marketing has never been this accessible and free. You just need to streamline your brand's messaging strategy, set realistic goals, create necessary resources, and start marketing. Pro tip: Since all the platforms, resources, etc. are available to your competitors as well, you might have to put in extra efforts to get an edge over your competitors. The key lies in being innovative with your approach.

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The question is not any longer if a project is open source or not, the question is how open the project is. Open source is everywhere, but so is fake open source. Recently, there have been more and more cases of open source projects turning into non-open source, at the same time there are examples of non-open source (as per ) projects building communities as if they are open source. (Featured image source ). OSI definition How is that possible? Aren’t open source projects supposed to remain so for life? Open source is not black and white, it has multiple of openness, transparency, collaboration, and trust. dimensions For some, open source is any project on Github, for some it has to pass the OSI definition, and for some, there it has to comply with the unwritten but commonly accepted open source norms. Here I’ll share with you how I think about evaluating open source projects by looking at some of the business and technical aspects first and then exploring the community management customs. Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions and not of my employer or the software foundations and projects I'm affiliated with. This is not a legal or professional opinion (I’m not a lawyer, nor specializing in OSS evaluation), but a layman’s opinion. This blog post is sponsored by the subscribe and share buttons, hit these buttons to express support. Intellectual Property The very first question to ask about an “open source” project is about the ownership of intellectual property. The good news is that, even without understanding these legal implications, there is a simple Litmus test you can apply. Does the project belong to a reputable open source foundation that you trust? For example, if a project belongs to , , and similar foundations, they usually own the copyright and are the trademark of the projects and you can be assured that they will act as good stewards and won’t change a project’s future direction overnight. If a project doesn’t belong to a reputable software foundation but is backed by a single company, the question is whether you trust the company owning the right as a software supply chain partner. ASF LF If the answer to these questions is yes, move to the next section. If the answer is no, then you better investigate and find out who the copyright owner is, and what are their long-term intentions for the project and potential risks for you. License The reason why trademark comes before the license is because the rights-holder (usually the author) of software grants the end-user permission to use one or more copies of software through a license. A free-software license is a notice that grants the recipient of the source code or its binary form, rights to modify and redistribute that software. Without the license, these actions would be prohibited by copyright law. The important point here is that the rights-holder can change their mind and change the license. The rights-holder can decide to distribute the software under multiple licenses or change the license to a non-open source license at any point. It is also possible the software is in the , in which case it is not restricted by copyright law. Public domain does not equate to an open source license and this is a less popular approach we can ignore here. public domain Again, without being a lawyer, here is a layman's Litmus test for a license: Is the project licensed under an OSI approved ? If the answer is yes, then you can rely on the due diligence of these foundations for reviewing, classifying licenses and pointing out any limitations. If the answer is a no, ask your company lawyer to review and interpret every word on the license and the possible license compatibility implications. licenses list Governance With the remaining checks, we are moving from more business and legal aspects, towards technological and community concerning areas of open source projects. Opens source evaluation framework Assuming that there are no concerns about the trademark holder party (your future partner), the license (the terms under which you consume the open source software), the next question is governance. is the rules or customs by which projects decide who gets to do what, how they're supposed to do it, and when. Governance It defines the duties, privileges, and authorities associated with different project roles, and how people get assigned to and removed from roles. Examples here are small day-to-day activities such as who has the power to approve a pull request, to vote for a release candidate, agreeing on the project architecture, defining a project roadmap, and electing the project governance board. If you are evaluating a project that is strategic for your organization, you want to know who is in charge. Not only that, you might even have the for your developers to have a say in the direction of the project. ambition There is again a simple Litmus test: for projects in open source foundations, there are clear rules on who can vote on important decisions, and how you can be part of decision-taking committees. In some foundations such as ASF, it is based on individual community member merit, and in some such, as it starts by being an employee of a paying member organization. In the blockchain based open source projects it is based on the vote of the holders. CNCF token Other foundations have different rules but they all strive for neutrality and decentralization of power among multiple participants. If a project is governed by a single company, or a single individual, you are trusting them to make the best decisions in the interest of the project and the community. Some of these projects may have written down governance rules that they follow, and some might not at all. It is up to you to figure the governance dynamics and their importance for your project involvement. In addition to having governance transparency and taking decisions in the open, the other aspect here is the level of trust and reputation of the governing body. When you look at the governance board of a project, is there a leader or a group of leaders with proven technical and social skills that give you the confidence that they can take the project to the next level? Or do you see a group that is constantly arguing in political fights? These are some indicators of whether an open source project will be successful and grow in the long term, or headache and stagnation are to be expected. Infrastructure Having an open source license may qualify a project technically as open source, but that doesn’t say if a project is built the open source way. There are many examples of software released under an OSI-approved license but developed behind closed infrastructure. By infrastructure, I mean chat channels for quick questions by users. Forums and mailing lists where deeper developer discussions happen. Source code management systems where pull requests are reviewed, and build servers where tests are run and nightly binaries created. For business people and lawyers looking at an open source project, these might not be important, but for the techies that are going to use an open source project, these are some of the assumed benefits. The check to do here is to explore if the software is developed the open source way using an open infrastructure and not behind closed doors. Here are a few example questions: Can a user ask a question on the project chat and get an answer from another user without a middleman? Can a developer reach out to project committers and get a deep technical question answered? Can you run the latest build and confirm a reported bug is fixed? Can an architect the weekly community call and figure out the future direction of the project? With a closed infrastructure, you have to create a support case and pay to get answers to similar questions. With an open infrastructure and open participation, the answers are available for those who know how to work the open source way. Community and Adoption One of the main benefits of open source software is that it allows great ideas to be developed and spread around virally. You may have the greatest technology, the most permissive license, and open development, but if the software doesn’t have a growing community and increasing adoption rate, that is a sign to investigate. Different projects will have different adoption rates. Some may quickly grow into the mainstream or be replaced by others who do that. Some projects may have a small but persistent growth rate and a niche community lasting for decades. Community size and adoption rate are the ultimate longevity indicator for an open source project. Here are some of the example questions you can ask: How many active developers (committers) are in the project and what is the average commit rate? How many users are subscribed to the user forums and how many questions have been asked in the last month? How many times the latest stable version of the software has been downloaded? What other projects and services are on and using this project? dependent How many commercial organizations are backing this project? Are there commercial organizations offering products, support, and services around it? How many StackOverflow questions are about this project? How many books, conference talks, and job descriptions are mentioning this project? Running these questions will give you an indication if the project is growing and becoming a de facto standard in its domain or stagnating and likely to be replaced with the next big thing. Typically, open source is associated with fast-paced development and innovation. At the same time, open source is also a mechanism for creating wide adoption and creating unofficial standards. Many open source projects have turned into standards such as Kubernetes for container orchestration, Apache Kafka for streaming, Apache httpd for web servers, etc. One of the most expensive things in software is finding people with the right skills. Using open source projects that have a high adoption rate will give you a better chance of finding skilled people and allow them to reuse their skills for longer. Conclusions Depending on the criticality of the open source project, there are different risks and criteria for evaluation. For strategic, hard to replace projects, that will be at the foundation of your IT infrastructure, you want well-established projects that have turned into de facto open source standards in their fields. It is important here to identify who owns the trademarks of the project and who is going to be your long-term partner. Typically these partners would be the member organizations of the software foundation where the project belongs or the single company holding the project IP. For the latter, you may want to consider the long-term risks such as the chances of core developers forking the project, a hyperscaler offering the project as a service, company acquisition, etc. For non-strategic, tactical, short-lived projects where the speed of delivery is most important, you can let your developers drive the selection and pick a project based on openness, community collaboration, and hotness (important for some frontend technologies). Here short-to-medium term risks such as regular security fixes, developer support, and license compatibility checks might be enough. In either case, there are no single evaluation criteria that fit all. You will have to balance among long term business risks, technology stability on one hand, with the latest hotness, innovation and developer satisfaction, on the other. The framework here will give you an overview of the areas to explore and some of the risks to consider. Good luck!

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"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now." No, the second best time was 19 years and 364 days ago... but I get what you mean. You read all these stories of the early investors in bitcoin, racking in their millions today, the tech billionaires who got the jump on the competition. It's easy to make yourself believe that you have missed the opportunity for greatness. In todays climate, that could not be further from the truth. Whatever you want to do in life, the best time to start is now. Waiting for the perfect opportunity or for confirmation that your idea is good will lead to a paralysing state of inaction. You don’t need validation for your idea to get started. Just get to work, see how you feel about it, and keep going if it feels right. Take this newsletter for example, my instinct is to feel that I should give readers scientific, solid, evidence-based content. Why would anyone care about me and my opinion? The honest answer is - they probably won't, but that's not stopping me. I'm not writing to garner an audience or for profit, I'm writing because I wanted a way to document my journey, so I just started writing. The Flywheel This is one of my favourite concepts that I've read about recently after reading "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. Picture a huge, heavy flywheel—a massive metal disk mounted horizontally on an axle, about 30 feet in diameter, 2 feet thick, and weighing about 5,000 pounds.... Now, imagine that your task is to get the flywheel rotating on the axle as fast and long as possible. Pushing with great effort, you get the flywheel to inch forward, moving almost imperceptibly at first. You keep pushing and, after two or three hours of persistent effort, you get the flywheel to complete one entire turn. You keep pushing, and the flywheel begins to move a bit faster, and with continued great effort, you move it around a second rotation. You keep pushing in a consistent direction. Three turns ... four ... five ... six ... the flywheel builds up speed ... seven ... eight ... you keep pushing ... nine ... ten ... it builds momentum ... eleven ... twelve ... moving faster with each turn ... twenty ... thirty ... fifty ... a hundred. Then, at some point—breakthrough! The momentum of the thing kicks in in your favor, hurling the flywheel forward, turn after turn ... whoosh! ... its own, heavy weight, working for you. You’re pushing no harder than during the first rotation, but the flywheel goes faster and faster. Each turn of the flywheel builds upon work done earlier, compounding your investment of effort. A thousand times faster, then ten thousand, then a hundred thousand. The huge heavy disk flies forward, with almost unstoppable momentum. It's human nature to look at a successful person or business, and think of a thousand ways in which they could grow their audience / revenue, many of which are easy to implement for them. However - when it comes to going from nothing to something, the idea of growth seems far more aloof. If you’ve studied chemistry, you’ll know about activation energy - the ‘hump’ of energy required to get a reaction started. It’s the same in real life - if we want to get anything done, we need to first put in a burst of activation energy to begin with, and then things become a lot easier. To overcome activation energy, you can force yourself to start. Everything takes care of itself after that. I've started telling myself that I'll "only work for 10 minutes", but by the time thats up, I'm too engrossed in what I'm doing to be able to stop. Building habits and routine is fundamental to productivity and success - in essence; don't think, just do. All this isn't to say that planning isn't paramount. Don't make a mistake that hundreds have made before you, but there comes a point where no amount of planning will be enough, you'll paralyse yourself. I recently learned about AI and deep learning, and with so many options for frameworks, I was overwhelmed and frustrated that no one could give me the answer to which was the "best". Eventually, I just said fuck it and picked PyTorch and ran with it, so when it came time to try out another, I had the fundamentals and it was easy to learn! No amount of planning is a substitute for action. Get an idea of what you want to do, write down how you will get there, and figure the rest out on the way! At the start, stop worrying about the outcome, and just enjoy the journey. After all, "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." So: stop fucking around, and just start.

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At a job interview, how many times have puzzles pestered you? Rather than focusing on your core skill, your interviewer might ask you to solve those irrelevant puzzles for adults. Alas! That ridiculous puzzle, an unacceptable part of job interview questions, is going to determine your future. It might be a deal maker or a breaker when they become common interview questions. Imagine attending an interview for the position of Data Scientist. Here goes the question thrown upon you by the "panel": “Sam’s uncle’s mother’s brother’s sister’s daughter’s grandfather’s name is John. How are Sam and John related?” Wouldn’t you be muddled on how this particular question can undermine your chances of working for that reputed MNC? What about your certificates, courses, and hackathons for which you have meticulously burnt your midnight oil? Many companies have been using puzzles for adults in the tech sector. Be it lateral-thinking questions or riddles, we still don’t have any clarity on how this long-time practice can help an HR professional pick out the right candidate and what questions to ask in an interview. The idea of leveraging a puzzle for job interview questions Many businesses are of the idea that puzzles are a reflection of software development tasks. While solving a bug, it might resemble a riddle or a puzzle. True, the proven myth is that people identifying patterns can solve more bugs faster and vice versa. But that needn’t be the case always. The false positives, where the coder wouldn’t be in a position to solve a puzzle, might not be good at his job. The false negative, which is a smaller problem, might involve excellent debuggers who think it’s not their duty to solve the math problem. There would be instances where the puzzle solver might be a bit smarter than the asker. They could provide a better answer than what the asker had in mind, which might be mistaken as a wrong answer. In such cases, the organization might be missing out on gems while looking for pebbles if they make puzzles and brain teasers as one of the common interview questions. Why aren’t puzzles a great idea? Many Fortune 500 companies are notorious for their way of filtering interview candidates. From scrutinizing candidates with brain teasers to dwindling their patience with logical questions, they have successfully missed out on many candidates who could have been the best fit ever. For at least two decades, companies have pampered an impression that candidates solving puzzles under stressful conditions would be better in comparison with those who fail to do that. That is nothing less than lore. According to , puzzle interviews aren’t preferred by many cognitive scientists and psychologists. With conventional job interviews, the applicants can straight away jump onto goals and achievements. The chances are high that candidates can exploit the chances of HR by providing fake information about themselves. HBR There were times when HR professionals asked questions about the worst technical fault of a candidate. Can they expect nothing but the truth from the employee while looking for an answer to these questions? That’s up to to the knowledge of the almighty. Uncovering the bottom layer An HR professional would form a first impression of a candidate within 6 minutes and 25 seconds, as per . Monster But is that all? Is that candidate who failed to give a firm handshake or who didn’t pass the brainteaser session a rookie? Not at all. Situational and immersive interviews can tell a different story for these same candidates. What’s that? It could be a scenario where an employee might be asked about their real-time job atmosphere and how they would solve a particular work-related problem. Sounds sensible, right? 73% of HR professionals use behavioral interviews. ( ) LinkedIn We are hiring humans, not robots The problem is, the candidates taking up puzzle interviews are humans. Who cannot deny the effects posed by a bad hair day? An early flight, alien atmosphere, fatigue, or an uncomfortable experience at the reception can ruin the day for even a tech genius. In that case, companies cannot risk losing them just because they could not answer a puzzle question on trigonometry or Algebra. We shouldn’t forget that hiring the right candidate would demand craft, experience, money, and time. A wrong decision in hiring can prove to be a costly affair for the organization. The is nearly $15,000! average cost of one bad hire Not all candidates who solve puzzles can be ethically strong. Working as a team is more than being intellectually capable. Hence companies should look for good enough to collaborate with your team, listen to constructive criticism earnestly, and support the team at challenging times. ways to hire candidates According to on applying Bayes theorem, a renowned enterprise architect, the probability that a particular candidate with a high-profile resume and work experience would fail to be the best fit after flunking the puzzle interview is just a mere 5%. Mauro Morelli Chunk out those mind-boggling puzzles There is a phenomenon called where we form an opinion on someone with frivolously limited information. Many HR teams fall prey to this ideology. Instead of focusing on the short-term achievements (those 30-minutes of their interview performance), start looking at the bigger picture. Think about what long-term value they can offer to your business. thin-slice judgment Every candidate has a story to tell. You are just viewing the cover when you ask them to solve the puzzles, not the actual book. And we know what the adage says! It’s partially true that puzzles are going to blurt out problem-solving ability in new-gen candidates who might just have limited work experience. But it’s only one side of the fence. A few companies skip puzzles for senior management positions. That wouldn’t do complete justice when the candidate with 8+ years of experience is technically stronger than a candidate with 2+ years of experience. Your questions should challenge the first impression. Delve deeper into their previous projects. Ask how they would go about solving a particular business challenge. It is always advisable to avoid questions that possess plenty of right answers. Not all candidates would possess the same values or thought process. Hence avoid them. They are not the right questions to ask in an interview. Form better phone interview questions. Talk to them elaborately before judging their ability or asking them to appear in person. To sum it up You might still argue that puzzles can reveal a lot about a candidate. The undeniable truth is that they can only show a handful of information. There should be a lot of other criteria to choose the candidate who fits. Only when they are implemented would the company rather than wasting their money and time on a bad fit. choose the right candidate

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The entire world has experienced an economic downturn over the past year, and businesses in every sector were affected. However, the software as a service industry was strong. As an isolating populace looked for more mobile and web-based solutions, they were able to find them through SaaS companies. However, the growing need for these services has created a busy marketplace full of competition. You will have to do whatever you can to compete in 2021 and beyond. Here are some of the top marketing strategies for SaaS companies for this year that will help you blow past your targets. Educate While it’s true that you want to sell your products, providing something extra to your clients and potential clients holds value as well. If you are bombarding them with constant sales copy, you are going to turn people off and have them click away. This is why is so important. sharing and producing educational content When people search for SaaS products, they are looking to solve problems. That means that you should be positioning your brand as one that can help them. That could mean having educational blog posts, or producing workshops and seminars. This will place your brand as an authority in your field that is relevant to your clients’ interests. Not only that, but by being more educational, you can create effective keyword rich content that answers questions, which will get more visitors to your site when they search using those same questions. of SaaS companies take this approach, so it’s a great way for you to stand out. Less than 40% Provide Demonstrations For some, software and technology is intimidating. They don’t understand it, or they've simply had frustrating experiences trying new things. When marketing technology, this can be one of the trickiest parts. You know that you can help a prospect, but they are hesitant to take the plunge, in case it ends up being “too complicated,” or “difficult to use.” That’s why many SaaS businesses offer free trials. However, this also provides an obstacle to an intimidated consumer. A happy middle ground is the product demo. You can offer them a chance to experience the software without committing to anyone. This can be done either through video, streaming on your site, or in-person through a remote connection. You can guide them through using the service, and answer any questions they might have. Does this involve more work? Yes, but it may be worth it in the long run. Customer Service Technology You might not think that customer service is part of an effective , but it absolutely should be. Every connection you have with customers and prospects is a chance to showcase your brand and show that you are ready to help. That’s what SaaS is all about: helping customers get over their pain points. SaaS business marketing strategy Since your product is a digital one, your market could potentially be worldwide. That means that you might have people contacting you at any time, day or night. You may also be a small shop with only a few people and have very little time for customer interaction. That’s where technology such as chatbots come into play. Customers want fast communication. This is especially true when it comes to B2B sales. Someone who has the power to make purchasing decisions doesn’t want to wait to get answers to their questions. The longer you make them wait, the better the opportunity will be for your competitors. that will allow your customers and potential customers to get information immediately. If you are worried about the impersonal feel of them, you don’t have to be. customer satisfaction score of around 80%. You can get quick answers to your consumers, day or night, without having to lift a finger. Chatbots are simple solutions Chatbots have a strong Feature Marketing Every industry must evolve, and SaaS is no different. There’s been a boom in cloud-based solutions since Covid-19 came on the scene, but in reality . With so many businesses having quickly gone remote for safety, they had to find quick and easy solutions to make it work. Now, however, those same businesses are looking to fine-tune their experiences and make them better. the pandemic only accelerated a trend That’s where feature marketing will come into play. As a service provider, it’s crucial that you have a finger on the pulse of your clients’ wants and needs. Provide them with easy ways to give you feedback and data, whether it’s through surveys or personal communication. Then you can create solutions to provide more value to your products. You will get happier clients who will be more likely to resubscribe with you every year, and an attractive product that now has the solution to problems that your prospects are having as well. Video Continues to Dominate Video will continue to dominate the marketing and content landscape in 2021 and well beyond. Users want it, and they engage with it more than they do with text or images. You can craft better stories with video by combining images and sound to build your narrative. Video is easier to digest for people on the go or who might have small phone screens that make reading more difficult. Whatever the case, the behind the value of video when it comes to marketing are staggering. statistics , traffic-building, they grab attention, and they can give your brand more authority. It’s flexible as well. You can develop video content that targets certain demographics much better than you can with text, which will allow you to expand the scope of your marketing. Video can provide you with many benefits, such as increased user engagement 2020 was a year of growth for the SaaS industry. 2021 is the year when you will truly need to work to stand out from the crowd. By building a marketing strategy that incorporates these elements, you can set yourself up for success for this year and beyond.

5 Marketing Strategies for SaaS Companies In 2021

Photo-voltaic modules (otherwise known as ) have been around for a while, allowing us to use sunlight as a source of energy. The issue with solar panels is that they need sufficient space on rooftops or on the ground to produce enough energy for them to be worth it, space that is limited in big cities. In recent years, companies have been working on a solution to this problem: (often referred to as “Solar Windows”), which can turn windows into power-generating panels. Solar Panels Solar Glass What is Solar Glass? Solar glass is used to replace conventional building materials in parts such as the roof, skylights, facades and windows, whilst also generating electricity on-site. The key difference between this recent technology and traditional solar PV (Photo-voltaic) is that the panels are built into the building rather than being added on. This allows for more of a relationship between aesthetics and functionality. The most common type of Solar Glass is (e.g. amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride) which been around for a few years. They can be designed into the fabric of a building and can perform in conditions/locations where crystalline silicon panels (conventional solar panels) cannot. Thin-film modules This solar glass has a varying efficiency that depends on its opacity which it’s self varies between 50% transparent and fully opaque. The greater opacity they have, the more efficient they’ll be, but on the other hand, being less transparent will allow less light to penetrate through. Why use Solar Glass? In the current state that the world is in, we need to start properly transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy if we want to reduce our . There are several options when it comes to renewable energy: Wind, Hydro, Tidal, Geothermal, Biomass and of course Solar energy. carbon emissions Sunlight is one of our planet’s most abundant and freely available energy resources. The amount of solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface in one hour is more than the planet’s total energy requirements for a whole year so trying to harness that energy seems obvious. Up until now, crystalline silicon Solar Panels have represented the majority of solar panels on the market. These panels, however, aren’t transparent meaning they must be placed on roofs or the ground. This makes them perfect for houses on the outskirts of town, but for big cities on the other hand, where most buildings are several stories high, close together and made primarily out of glass, there’s simply not enough space, which is why solar glass, with the ability to turn these glass windows into energy-generating panels, seems like the perfect solution. Other Benefits to Solar Glass Other than producing electricity, solar glass offers several other benefits when : integrated into buildings allows for light to penetrate the building whilst also providing . Transparency shading and glare control Thanks to their multi-layer structure, Solar modules possess . The insulation can even be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the thickness of the glazing. sound insulating properties Because the temperature of a PV module can increase significantly when the module is exposed to radiation, the heat it then radiates can be harnessed to provide like , . thermal control thermal insulation reduction in thermal gain : Different colours and effects can be applied to Solar Glass. Aesthetics Where can it be used? Solar Glass technology can be used in many different applications thanks to its partial transparency making it much more versatile, for example: are probably the most obvious way of using this technology, allowing skyscrapers for example to have power-generating facades. Solar Windows Solar Glass can also be used for Bus Stops. and Atriums skylights. It’s also perfect for because it doesn’t let in too much light seeing as it can only go up to 50% transparency. privacy protection panels The Solar Glass pioneers There are many companies around the world working on making Solar Glass mainstream, here are some of the pioneers. Ubiquitous Energy First off there is , a Silicon Valley technology company leading the development of next-generation solar technologies. Born from research at MIT and Michigan State University, founded on the principle of seamlessly integrating solar technology into everyday products and surfaces. They have since developed a transparent solar coating that integrates into standard windows, with endless possibilities for future applications. Ubiquitous Energy Physee The European manufacturer was actually the first to install transparent solar panels. The company developed a technology they call the “Power Bar” which is small solar panels that are installed along the window pane edges to generate power. Physee Physee is also working on power generating glass coating. It directs sunlight onto integrated solar cells in PowerWindows. Without impacting the transparency of its glass, windows will produce the same energy as 1/5 of a solar panel placed on a building’s roof. Bottom Line The bottom line is that, although this technology is not yet widely available and still in it’s early stages, Solar Glass seems like a very promising new way to generate electricity from the sun. With companies continuing to innovate and improve their products, we may well be seeing our first Solar Glass buildings within the next decade, let’s wait and see! Thanks for reading! This story was originally published on , my blog that discusses technological innovations, ! The Detechtor check it out

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Whenever it comes to work, whether you are casually working on your side project while sipping a cup of coffee or have intense working hours to deliver your task before the deadline, you want to know that you’re doing your best. That’s when productivity tools for developers come in handy. In this article, I'll not mention tools like Trello, Slack, Jira, etc which are pretty widely known instead I'm going to talk about tools that are underrated and not really that famous(but definitely should be adopted more). Keeping in mind how software developers work best, the following productivity tools for developers are recommended for individuals as well as teams. 1. Cold Turkey If you blame yourself for being unable to stay away from social media or get easily distracted by AI driven notification of your favourite streamer streaming right now! Then this is the perfect application for you. Using Cold Turkey, you can proactively restrict your access to specific desktop applications, websites, or even your access to the internet in general. You set your own schedule and daily limits for access, based on areas of weakness. RescueTime pairs nicely with this tool, in that it can help you audit major timesucks. Find it here: https://getcoldturkey.com 2. 7pace Do you follow a DevOps practice pretty often in your development cycle! I'm assuming you/your team is using Kanban or Scrum boards to manage your work already. Well, wouldn't it be convenient if you could fit a time tracker solution right into your development team's board and keep track of your activities, automate burndown reports and also manage resources and budget in large organizations! Well, then 7pace is the right solution for you. 7pace Timetracker was built specifically for software development teams that work in an Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall environment. Individuals using the tool experience an average of just three seconds to log each task. 7pace Timetracker integrates with Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) and Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) for even greater efficiency. Even if you use GitHub project boards to manage your projects 7pace has a beta offering to integrate their time tracking solution right in. Check it out here: https://www.7pace.com/ 3. Time Out Unfortunately only available for the macOS currently, Time Out definitely tops the list of the best productivity tools for programmers to organize breaks. We love it for the plain & clear interface as well as wide customization capabilities. You can take either a of 15 seconds every 15 minutes or for 10 minutes every hour. Thus whether you want to do a short 15 seconds eye exercise or brew your coffee in a 10 minutes break is all up to you. short break long ones Check it out here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/time-out-break-reminders/ 4. F.lux During the day, computer screens look good—they're designed to look like the sun. But, at 9 PM, 10 PM, or 3 AM, you probably shouldn't be looking at the sun. If you have a bad sleeping habit like me and you're probably coding late nights! Trust me, you just might want to consider this tool. f.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you're in, all the time. When the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again. Tell f.lux what kind of lighting you have, and where you live. Then forget about it. f.lux will do the rest, automatically. Check it out here: https://justgetflux.com/ 5. WakaTime This tool follows your work when you’re programming. It shows you all the details of your work as a developer – what file you’ve been working on, operating system, and even language. You can also compete against your teammates on the Leaderboard and see who has the highest score in coding. It is very useful when it comes to managing your budget and productivity as a developer at once. Since this is also a time tracking solution, if you combine this with you basically become the time god. TimeCamp Check it out at: https://wakatime.com/ 6. Habitica One of my personal favourites, Habitica is a free habit-building and productivity app that treats your real life like a game. With in-game rewards and punishments to motivate you and a strong social network to inspire you, Habitica can help you achieve your goals to become healthy, hard-working, and happy. Habitica takes you to the old pixel-like platform world in which you’re a hero fighting through daily, weekly, and long-term goals, habits, and to-do lists. For every goal achieved you receive points, discover new animals, and can buy weapon to gain strength. The more you fail at your tasks, the more strength you lose. And the challenge is to keep your character alive. Check it out here: https://habitica.com/static/home That's all folks 👨‍🏫, Thank you for reading it till the end.  These are the resources I found to be really helpful for me. I'm sure there must be tons of other amazing tools out there too. These are the ones that I really found helpful and often get myself indulged into. 👨🏻‍💻 Also published here . Don't forget to share these resources with someone who you think might need some help being more productive at work too. Peace out. ✌🏼

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Ever wish you could combine the portability of containers, with the scalability of Lambda functions? Well, now you can! Recently AWS released a new way for developers to package and deploy their Lambda functions as “Container Images”. This enables us to build a Lambda with a docker image of your own creation. The benefit of this is we can now easily include dependencies along with our code in a way that is more familiar to developers. If you have used docker containers before, then this is much simpler to get started with than the other option - Lambda layers. AWS has provided developers with a number of base images for each of the current Lambda runtimes (Python, Node.js, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby). It is easy for a developer to then use one of these images as a base, and build their own image on top. Of course, there are many sensible use cases for container images. Perhaps you want to include some machine learning dependencies? Maybe you would love to have FFMPEG in your lambda for your video processing needs? Or you want to nuke your entire AWS account to avoid a hefty bill? You heard me, in this blog article, we are going to build a container image with installed! This will delete everything in an AWS account (excluding our fancy new container image lambda). Nuke is built using Go but we are going to get started with the and build our own Lambda using JavaScript. This library isn’t available on NPM, so there is no easy way to pull it into our Lambda function, but with container images we see that it provides a way for developers to mix and match different tools to build a scalable solution to the problem they are trying to solve. aws-nuke node.js base image To get started with our new container image, we can create a Dockerfile like so: public.ecr.aws/lambda/nodejs: FROM 12 COPY ./lambda/nuke.js ./lambda/package*.json ./ RUN npm install CMD [ ] "nuke.lambdaHandler" As you can see we are building from the lambda/nodejs:12 base image, and copying over our Lambda function code. Notice the last line of our Dockerfile, CMD [ "nuke.lambdaHandler" ]. Because we are using one of the base images, it comes pre-installed with the Lambda Runtime Interface Client The runtime interface client in your container image manages the interaction between Lambda and your function code. The Runtime API, along with the Extensions API, defines a simple HTTP interface for runtimes to receive invocation events from Lambda and respond with success or failure indications. Therefore CMD [ "nuke.lambdaHandler" ] lets the interface client know what handler function to call when it receives an invocation event. Before we add the nuclear option, lets create the skeleton for our handler function: exports.lambdaHandler = (event) => { response = { : }; response;
}; async const statusCode 200 return For now, it simply returns a 200 response. Not only does our container image include the Lambda Runtime Interface Client, it also includes the . This allows you to test your function locally, which in my opinion, is one of the killer reasons to adopt container images for your project. Runtime Interface Emulator Given we have a project structure like this: .
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose └── lambda
    ├── nuke └── package.json .yml .js Then to build our container image, we simply use the docker cli: -f ./Dockerfile -t instil-nuke . docker build And to run it locally: docker run -p : instil-nuke 9000 8080 Then to test our function locally, we just need to hit our lambda with an http request. In this example, we are posting an empty JSON body: ➜  curl -XPOST -d { : } "http://localhost:9000/2015-03-31/functions/function/invocations" '{}' "statusCode" 200 % The url seems strange, but the Runtime Interface Emulator is simply providing an endpoint that matches the . The only difference between this local URL and the real API URL is that our function name is hardcoded as a function. Invoke endpoint of the Lambda API Being able to run our function locally like this greatly reduces the feedback loop when developing your Lambda. There are other options out there for running Lambdas locally; for example, , but the container image approach gives you a local test environment that is much closer to how it will be run on AWS. sam local Now that we have our project structure in place, let's take a look at adding aws-nuke to our container image. public.ecr.aws/lambda/nodejs: FROM 12 LABEL maintainer= "Instil <team@instil.co>" RUN yum -y update RUN yum -y install tar gzip COPY ./resources/aws-nuke-v2.15.0.rc.3-linux-amd64.tar.gz ./resources/nuke-config.yml ./ RUN tar -xzf ./aws-nuke-v2.15.0.rc.3-linux-amd64.tar.gz && mv aws-nuke-v2.15.0.rc.3-linux-amd64 aws-nuke COPY ./lambda/nuke.js ./lambda/package*.json ./ RUN npm install CMD [ ] "nuke.lambdaHandler" Adding dependencies is just how you would expect if you have used docker before. In the above example, we are adding dependencies using yum and copying nuke onto our image. Then all we need to do it update our function to execute aws-nuke. { execSync } = ( ); { .log(command); result = execSync(command, { : }); (result) { .log(result.toString());
    }
} { .log( ); accessKey = process.env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID; secretAccessKey = process.env.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY; sessionToken = process.env.AWS_SESSION_TOKEN;
    run( ); .log( );
}

exports.lambdaHandler = (event) => {
    nuke(); response = { : }; response;
}; const require 'child_process' ( ) function run command console const stdio 'inherit' if console ( ) function nuke console "Nuking this AWS account..." const const const `./aws-nuke -c nuke-config.yml --access-key-id --secret-access-key --session-token --force --force-sleep 3` ${accessKey} ${secretAccessKey} ${sessionToken} console "Your AWS account has been nuked, you can sleep peacefully knowing that you will no longer get an unexpected bill." async const statusCode 200 return We can use execSync to execute a command in our running lambda, it’s easy to see how simple it is to utilise external dependencies in our Lambda environment with this new container image option. Notice that we are pulling AWS access tokens from environment variables so that nuke can use them, this is for Lambda functions and they are the access keys obtained from the function’s execution role. default behaviour With our updated container image ready to nuke our account, all we need to do is deploy it. For this we need to create an ECR repository and push our image to it: [ . 1. | [ . 1. [ . 1. # Replace [AWS_ACCOUNT_NUMBER] with your own AWS account number aws ecr create-repository --repository-name instil-nuke --image-scanning-configuration scanOnPush= true docker tag instil-nuke:latest AWS_ACCOUNT_NUMBER] dkr. ecr. eu-west- amazonaws. com/ instil-nuke:latest aws ecr get-login-password docker login --username AWS --password-stdin AWS_ACCOUNT_NUMBER] dkr. ecr. eu-west- amazonaws. com docker push AWS_ACCOUNT_NUMBER] dkr. ecr. eu-west- amazonaws. com/ instil-nuke:latest Now that our container image lives in AWS, we just need to create our Lambda function. In the Create function page of the AWS management console, you will notice there is a new option to use a Container image as your starting point: Choosing this option then enables you to pick your container image; click the Browse images button to select your freshly uploaded image. You should be left with something like this: And that’s it! All that’s left to do is trigger our Lambda function. For our example, we could detonate the nuke once we get a billing alarm over a certain threshold but for the sake of keeping this article focused on container images, let's just trigger it with a test event for now and inspect the output. We will publish another article in the future explaining how to hook this up to a billing alarm. Notice the very disappointing output of our detonation: The above would be deleted the supplied configuration. Provide --no-dry-run actually destroy . resources with to resources You didn’t think I was actually going to did you? 😊 nuke my AWS account, This article was originally posted here

How to Package and Deploy Lambda Functions as Container Images

Yes, you've heard it all before: "The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a level of disruption that very few people could have anticipated when drawing their predictions for 2020..." My question is, with tech markets making remarkable gains, and further developments in augmented reality technology just around the corner, are we staring at a period of sustained success for the sector? It’s tricky to anticipate a global health crisis that would inadvertently accelerate our transition from office commutes to a and the widespread digital transformation that’s impacted virtually all of our lives. remote work culture The pandemic appears to have brought the future forward on an unprecedented scale. In April 2020, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella announced that the company had seen two years of digital transformation . If such a rate continued, 2021 would be looking more like 2030 in the accelerated timeline of tech. in two months (Image: ) Newsweek The industry has been further bolstered in 2020 by widespread investments - particularly from millennials who may be staring at some extra personal wealth in an era that’s free of expensive office commutes - in leading tech companies. With the arrival of vaccines and their rollout around the world, we may be looking forward to a future of the ‘new normal’ return to daily life, but could the momentum of tech stocks continue to gather pace as new developments in augmented reality come to fruition? The Arrival of Augmented Reality Significantly, the risks associated with travelling and the experiences from the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to greater levels of demand for solutions that could generate greater employee and business efficiency while guaranteeing their safety. software providers will continue to update and enhance their offerings, alongside new features and more strategic collaborations to bring greater levels of support, automation and large-scale deployment while offering businesses greater analytical tools for insights and agile decision making. Augmented reality Although enterprise AR hardware may not undergo dramatic shifts due to current offerings serving value use cases, consumer hardware is likely to be considerably more dynamic. Eric Abbruzzese, AR/VR Research Director at ABI Research believes that this will be a significant year for the future of reality technology: “2021 will be an important one for AR consumer hardware. nReal will ship its first headsets to consumers, while Mad Gaze will also look to expand,” . Abbruzzese explained “Also, Facebook is expected to roll out its AR smart glasses out of its Reality Labs initiative; Google may join as well after the acquisition of North, and with pressure from Facebook and others. The total AR market, including content and usage on mobile devices, will be strong. Media & entertainment and retail & commerce will lead in terms of growth and adoption rates due to the establishment of ‘at home entertainment’ and the rise of online shopping.” As major players in the world of tech look to acquire companies to develop their own entries onto the AR hardware market, we may well see their market position strengthened by their utilization of fledgeling technology. The Rise and Rise of Tech As technology actively reshapes business and everyday life, this trend is continuing to be reflected in their performance in the stock market. With more investors planning out their long-term growth and protection against inflation and the volatility of current economic conditions, tech stocks continue to offer some potentially attractive and they could help to influence the market’s overall performance. opportunities for investors One example of a stock that could benefit largely from this market growth and the further development of augmented reality technology is , which rallied as demand for the company’s display drivers has rebounded. These display drivers regulate the colors shown by pixels on display screens and as a result of an exceptional 2020, the semiconductor specialist’s share value is up significantly over its 2019 performance. Himax Technologies (HIMX) The third-quarter sales grew by as much as 46% year-over-year and its adjusted earnings per share rocketed by 281.6%. Although this earnings growth stems from a low basis of comparison, it’s still certainly been an impressive rebound. With augmented reality applications and 5G network support set to facilitate a new era of growth in mobile technology, Himax is likely to be an example of a beneficiary to the new screen and camera technologies that are soon to push the market forward. Development initiatives in AR may well become a catalyst for the stock itself, and it may be interesting to see how the company fares as these new developments in the technology become a reality. The Year of The Tech IPO Alongside the significant growth of the tech industry, another somewhat unexpected trend for 2020 has been the the market. With more tech companies looking to expand on what has been a watershed year, initial public offerings have been cropping up at a rapid rate. explosion of IPOs entering (Image: ) Business Standard As we can see from the chart above, the 2020 IPO boom bears a remarkable resemblance to that of the dotcom boom of the late 1990s. In what’s already been a fruitful year for tech IPOs, the arrival of cloud data warehouse vendor really underlined the power of initial public offerings in the current market. As it went public, the Californian company priced shares at $120 - up on its initial pricing of around $80. However, on its first day of trading, the share price leapt 111% to $245 per share - helping to raise $3 billion - the highest ever for a software firm at IPO. Snowflake This managed to catapult the company’s value to $70 billion - nearly six-times its $12.4 billion valuation prior to the event. Although the rise of tech may bring greater levels of interest for investors, sadly much of this market is reserved for institutional investors. IPOs However, some retail investors may be able to utilize the services of companies like the Nasdaq-listed investment firm, Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC) - which enables users to for certain listings through its subsidiary platform - Freedom24. However, this is subject to an application process and a threshold of at least $2,000 is needed. participate in IPOs More traditional brokers like Fidelity and TD Ameritrade also offer IPOs to investors, though the threshold is typically considerably higher. For instance, with Fidelity, investors are required to have between in household assets, while TD Ameritrade requires your account to hold a value of . $100,000 and $500,000 at least $250,000 The uncertainty of the may have prompted tech shares to rise exponentially, but the key question is whether this growth can be sustained in the era of the ‘new normal.’ However, with further innovations in the exciting world of augmented reality around the corner, the good times may continue to roll for publicly listed tech companies. COVID-19 pandemic

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Launched back in 2015, the AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) Project didn’t immediately get an influx of early adopters. Yet news outlets and bigger publishers soon jumped on the bandwagon to leverage the AMP benefits. Then, all those with large inflows of mobile traffic joined the club. Yet with mobile-first now covering , we can expect more and more sites to try AMP, which - as simple as it may seem - actually comes with a few challenges that may hinder your anticipated results. the entire web This post will uncover what AMP is, as well as reveal the top AMP issues you might face and show how to resolve them. What is AMP? AMP, previously known as Accelerated Mobile Pages, is the “lite” version of your existing web page intended to provide users with a lightning-fast and more friendly mobile experience. Think of Facebook Instant Articles, or Apple News, as a similar-ish thing. In Amp’s own , it is “an open-source HTML framework that provides a straightforward way to create webpages that are fast, smooth-loading and prioritize the user experience above all else.” words Essentially, for going AMP, you should create a mobile-optimized version of your already existing HTML5 page. Only it has to be more lightweight, which means that you will face a set of : limitations CSS shouldn’t exceed 75KB; JavaScript can only be up to 150KB; Ad and UI design restrictions. So, if you’ve correctly created an AMP alternative for your page, Google will prioritize it and serve the AMP version to the user rather than its original. Key AMP Benefits What you should know is that AMP pages are hosted on Google servers, thus, allowing for a faster load speed and boosted visibility on SERP. But let’s deep-dive into where each AMP perk finds its roots: While Google’s John Mueller stated that , page speed definitely is. When AMP is correctly implemented, you can see a drastic improvement on the speed front. As per , AMP pages median load time is less than a second. And, in its turn, higher speed has a triple down effect on other crucial UX factors that positively affect your bounce rate, time on site, and eventually, conversions. Accelerated page load time AMP isn’t a ranking factor Google AMP pages are believed to bring enhanced performance within Google search results on mobile. This, essentially, has to do with two factors - the visual one (the AMP badge) and the technical one (structured data for getting into rich results). Some show that the lightning bolt icon, or the so-called AMP badge, is widely recognized by users and can bring in 11% higher CTR. Moreover, combining can also up your chances of showing up within a host carousel (movies, recipes, bars, etc.) or other rich result features like Top stories, Visual stories, and more. Extra SERP visibility studies AMP with validated structured data The Most Common AMP Optimization Issues Now, if AMP seems like a good fit for your site, you have to understand all the potential pitfalls you might face along the way. Like with any other page, you have to think of making it SEO-friendly. Semrush has a really powerful Site Audit tool that runs sites through 140+ checks to detect any issues that affect its performance. Out of these checks, 40 are dedicated to the most common AMP errors. Start your Semrush 14-day FREE trial now! In its that analyzed 250,000 sites for health issues, Semrush uncovered the key AMP errors which we will discuss here today. extensive research 1. AMP HTML errors In fact, this is the number one problem when it comes to mobile SEO - a whopping 27% of sites are faced with AMP HTML issues. If you want your AMP pages to be properly served to mobile users, they have to meet the . AMP guidelines If your HTML doesn't comply with AMP standards, your accelerated mobile page might simply fail to be indexed by search engines, and, hence, show up within mobile search results. To go AMP, you have to limit your HTML, which may cause multiple issues - from invalid protocols and invalid attribute values to missing and duplicate tags. You have run your page through the , or a more intuitive and comprehensive Site Audit that has over 20 HTML-issue-related checks and hot-to tips to detect all the issues and fix them right away to leverage all the AMP benefits. AMP validator 2. Missing canonical tag This issue occurs if you forgot to place a canonical tag on your AMP page: If you only have the AMP version, you should add a self-referential canonical tag. If you created an AMP page out of a non-AMP version, you should add a canonical tag to both to avoid any duplicate content issues. Troubleshooting In this case, the fix is quite simple: add a rel="canonical" tag within the <head> part of each accelerated mobile page. 3. AMP style and layout issues Style and layout issues negatively affect the loading speed and even get your page to fall out of SERP, so you need to really pay close attention here. AMP styling has to do with CSS, yet you get a set of restricted and disallowed styles and a ban on using external style sheets. Furthermore, you should include the height and width attributes per each displayed tag to make your page more scrollable. Also, make sure that you are using custom AMP, and not common HTML attributes within the path. 4. AMP templating issues Within AMP, you can render dynamic content with the help of AMP-document-defined templates placed inside dedicated tags. The syntax of the templating language is checked by an AMP validator to safeguard AMP documents against various vulnerabilities. The only tip to provide you with here is to simply escape the prohibited template. Over to You Even if you’ve managed to get all your AMP pages in order, keep in mind that it is an ongoing commitment. So, revisit your AMP page performance to timely spot any AMP SEO pitfalls that might deprive you of all the AMP benefits. And to make your error detection job easier, try out our to leverage the power of Semrush’s Site Audit tool that has the largest-on-the-market number of AMP health checks. Hacker Noon special FREE Semrush trial

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Ever wish you could combine the portability of containers, with the scalability of Lambda functions? Well, now you can! This enables us to build a Lambda with a docker image of your own creation. The benefit of this is we can now in a way that is more familiar to developers. If you have used docker containers before, then this is much simpler to get started with than the other option - Lambda layers. Recently, AWS released a new way for developers to package and deploy their Lambda functions as “Container Images”. easily include dependencies along with our code AWS has provided developers with a number of base images for each of the current Lambda runtimes (Python, Node.js, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby). It is easy for a developer to then use one of these images as a base and build their own image on top. Of course, there are many sensible use cases for container images. Perhaps you want to include some machine learning dependencies? Maybe you would love to have FFMPEG in your Lambda for your video processing needs? Or you want to nuke your entire AWS account to avoid a hefty bill? In this article, we are going to build a container image with installed! This will delete everything in an AWS account (excluding our fancy new container image Lambda). Nuke is built using Go but we are going to get started with the and . This library isn’t available on NPM, so there is no easy way to pull it into our Lambda function, but container images provide a way for developers to mix and match different tools to build a scalable solution to the problem they are trying to solve. AWS-nuke node.js base image build our own Lambda using JavaScript To get started with our new container image, we can create a Dockerfile like so: public.ecr.aws/lambda/nodejs: FROM 12 COPY ./lambda/nuke.js ./lambda/package*.json ./ RUN npm install CMD [ ] "nuke.lambdaHandler" As you can see, we are building from the base image, and copying over our Lambda function code. Notice the last line of our Dockerfile, . Because we are using one of the base images, it comes pre-installed with the . lambda/nodejs:12 CMD [ "nuke.lambdaHandler" ] Lambda Runtime Interface Client The runtime interface client in your container image manages the interaction between Lambda and your function code. The Runtime API, along with the Extensions API, defines a simple HTTP interface for runtimes to receive invocation events from Lambda and respond with success or failure indications. Therefore lets the interface client know what handler function to call when it receives an invocation event. CMD [ "nuke.lambdaHandler" ] Before we add the nuclear option, let's create the skeleton for our handler function: exports.lambdaHandler = (event) => { response = { : }; response;
}; async const statusCode 200 return For now, it simply returns a 200 response. Not only does our container image include the Lambda Runtime Interface Client but it also includes the . This allows you to test your function locally, which in my opinion, is one of the killer reasons to adopt container images for your project. Runtime Interface Emulator Given we have a project structure like this: .
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose └── lambda
    ├── nuke └── package.json .yml .js Then to build our container image, we simply use the docker cli: docker build -f ./Dockerfile -t instil-nuke . And to run it locally: docker run -p 9000:8080 instil-nuke Then to test our function locally, we just need to hit our lambda with an http request. In this example we are posting an empty JSON body: ➜  curl -XPOST -d { : }% "http://localhost:9000/2015-03-31/functions/function/invocations" '{}' "statusCode" 200 The URL seems strange, but the Runtime Interface Emulator is simply providing an endpoint that matches the . The only difference between this local URL and the real API URL is that our function name is . Invoke endpoint of the Lambda API hardcoded as a function Being able to run our function locally like this when developing your Lambda. There are other options out there for running Lambdas locally; for example, , but the container image approach gives you a local test environment that is much closer to how it will be run on AWS. greatly reduces the feedback loop sam local Now that we have our project structure in place, let's take a look at adding AWS-nuke to our container image. public.ecr.aws/lambda/nodejs: FROM 12 LABEL maintainer= "Instil <team@instil.co>" RUN yum -y update RUN yum -y install tar gzip COPY ./resources/aws-nuke-v2.15.0.rc.3-linux-amd64.tar.gz ./resources/nuke-config.yml ./ RUN tar -xzf ./aws-nuke-v2.15.0.rc.3-linux-amd64.tar.gz && mv aws-nuke-v2.15.0.rc.3-linux-amd64 aws-nuke COPY ./lambda/nuke.js ./lambda/package*.json ./ RUN npm install CMD [ ] "nuke.lambdaHandler" Adding dependencies is just how you would expect if you have used docker before. In the above example, we are adding dependencies using yum and copying the nuke onto our image. Then, all we need to do is update our function to execute the AWS-nuke. { execSync } = ( ); { .log(command); result = execSync(command, { : }); (result) { .log(result.toString());
    }
} { .log( ); accessKey = process.env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID; secretAccessKey = process.env.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY; sessionToken = process.env.AWS_SESSION_TOKEN;
    run( ); .log( );
}

exports.lambdaHandler = (event) => {
    nuke(); response = { : }; response;
}; const require 'child_process' ( ) function run command console const stdio 'inherit' if console ( ) function nuke console "Nuking this AWS account..." const const const `./aws-nuke -c nuke-config.yml --access-key-id --secret-access-key --session-token --force --force-sleep 3` ${accessKey} ${secretAccessKey} ${sessionToken} console "Your AWS account has been nuked, you can sleep peacefully knowing that you will no longer get an unexpected bill." async const statusCode 200 return We can use to execute a command in our running lambda, it’s easy to see how simple it is to utilize external dependencies in our Lambda environment with this new container image option. Notice that we are pulling AWS access tokens from environment variables so that nuke can use them, this is the for Lambda functions and they are the access keys obtained from the function’s execution role. execSync default behaviour With our updated container image ready to nuke our account, all we need to do is deploy it. For this we need to create an ECR repository and push our image to it: # Replace [AWS_ACCOUNT_NUMBER] your own AWS account number
aws ecr create-repository --repository-name instil-nuke --image-scanning-configuration scanOnPush= docker tag instil-nuke:latest [AWS_ACCOUNT_NUMBER].dkr.ecr.eu-west amazonaws.com/instil-nuke:latest
aws ecr get-login-password | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin [AWS_ACCOUNT_NUMBER].dkr.ecr.eu-west amazonaws.com
docker push [AWS_ACCOUNT_NUMBER].dkr.ecr.eu-west amazonaws.com/instil-nuke:latest with true -1. -1. -1. Now that our container image lives in AWS, we just need to create our Lambda function. In the Create function page of the AWS management console, you will notice there is a new option to use a Container image as your starting point: Choosing this option then enables you to pick your container image; click the Browse images button to select your freshly uploaded image. You should be left with something like this: And that’s it! All that’s left to do is trigger our Lambda function. For our example, we detonate the nuke once we get a billing alarm over a certain threshold. For the sake of keeping this article focused on container images, let's just trigger it with a test event for now and inspect the output. We will publish another article in the future explaining how to hook this up to a billing alarm. could Notice the very disappointing output of our detonation: The above would be deleted the supplied configuration. Provide --no-dry-run actually destroy . resources with to resources You didn’t think I was actually going to did you? 😊 nuke my AWS account, If you would like to speak to us about how we can help your business either with serverless training or software development, please . get in touch by email . This article was originally posted here

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In the , we answer a lot of questions about database performance, especially between Postgres and MySQL. Performance is a vital yet complex task when managing a database. It can be affected by the configuration, the hardware, or even the design of the system. Interestingly, both PostgreSQL and MySQL are configured with compatibility and stability but depend on our database design's hardware infrastructure. Arctype Community Not all relational database management systems (RDBMS) are created equal. Although PostgreSQL (or Postgres) and MySQL share some similarities, they also have unique qualities that make one a better choice over the other in specific situations. . Still, in terms of performance, they have a lot of differences. We discussed a lot of these differences in a previous post In this article, we would discuss workload analysis and the running queries. We shall then further explain some basic configurations to improve our MySQL and PostgreSQL databases' performance. After that, we would outline some key differences between MySQL and PostgreSQL. Table of Contents How to Measure Performance Query performance for JSON Indexing overhead Database replication and clusters Concurrency Conclusion How to Measure Performance MySQL has had a reputation as a fast database for read-heavy workloads, although frequently at the expense of concurrency when mixed with write operations. PostgreSQL, popularly called Postgres, presents itself as the most advanced open-source relational database, plus it's developed to be standards-compliant and feature-rich. The recent versions of MySQL and Postgres have slightly erased the performance difference between the two databases. Previously, Postgres performance was more balanced, i.e., reads were generally slower than MySQL, but then it improved and can now write large amounts of data more efficiently, making concurrency handling better. Using the old engine in MySQL makes reading data extremely fast. Unfortunately, it's not readily available in recent versions of MySQL. But if using InnoDB (which allows key constraints, transactions), differences are negligible. These features are critical to enterprise or consumer-scale applications, so using the old engine is not an option. The good news is that MySQL is continuously improved to reduce the differences in heavy data writes. MyISAM A is a reproducible experimental framework for characterizing and comparing the performance (time, memory, or quality) of systems or algorithms on those systems. Such a practical framework defines the system under test, the workload, metrics, and experiments. database benchmark database In the next 4 sections, we would discuss a few performance differences that make each database stands out. JSON Queries are Faster in Postgres In this section, we would see the benchmarking difference between PostgreSQL and MySQL. Steps performed Create a project (Java, Node, or Ruby) where used DBs are PostgreSQL and MySQL.Create a sample JSON object to perform the WRITE and READ operation. The entire JSON object's size is assumed to be ~14 MB, creates around 200–210 entries into the database. Statistics PostgreSQL: Avg time (in ms)- WRITE: 2279.25 | READ: 31.65 | UPDATE : 26.26 MySQL: Avg time (in ms)— WRITE: 3501.05 | READ: 49.99| UPDATE : 62.45 Final Say If we look at the numbers, it reflects that PostgreSQL is way better than MySQL if it’s a matter of dealing with JSON data type which is, of course, one of the key features of having PostgreSQL. The frequent type of operation (READ, WRITE, UPDATE) performed in a database determines which database suits your personal or professional project. The definite conclusion from these metrics is that out of the box, while MySQL is architected to run faster than PostgreSQL - sometimes benchmarks are particular to the application. Indexes The index is a critical factor in all databases. It enhances database performance, as it allows the database servers to find and retrieve specific rows much faster than without an index. But, indexes add a particular overhead to the database system as a whole, so they should be used sensibly. Without an index, the database server would begin with the first row and then read through the entire table to find the relevant rows: the larger the table, the more costly the operation. Both PostgreSQL and MySQL have specific ways of handling indexes. PostgreSQL includes built-in support for regular B-tree and hash indexes. Indexes in PostgreSQL also support the following features: Standard B Tree Indexes: can be created with an index of the result of an expression or function instead of a column's value. Expression indexes: index only a part of a table. Partial indexes: Let us assume we have a table in PostgreSQL named users, where each row in the table represents a user. The table is defined as follows. CREATE TABLE users (id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, email VARCHAR DEFAULT NULL, name VARCHAR); Now, let us assume we create the following indexes on the table below. What is the difference between the two indexes shown above? The first index #1 is a partial index while index #2 is an expression index. As the PostgreSQL docs states, “A partial index is built over a subset of rows in a table defined by a conditional expression (called the predicate of the partial index). The index contains entries only for those table rows that satisfy the predicate. A major reason for using a partial index is to avoid indexing commonly occurring values. Since a query searching for a commonly occurring value (one that accounts for more than a few percent of all the table rows) will run through most of the table anyway, the benefit from using an index is marginal. A better strategy is to create a partial index where such rows exclude altogether. Partial indexing reduces the index's size and hence speeds up those queries that do use the index. It will also speed up many write operations because the index does not need to update in all cases” - - Postgres Docs. Documentation on Partial Indexes Most MySQL indexes (PRIMARY KEY, UNIQUE, INDEX, and FULLTEXT) are in B-trees. Exceptions include the indexes on spatial data types that use R-trees. MySQL also supports hash indexes, and the InnoDB engine uses inverted lists for FULLTEXT indexes. MySQL: Database Replication Another performance difference as it concerns both PostgreSQL and MySQL is . Replication is the ability to copy data from one database server to another database on a different server. This distribution of information means that users can now access data without directly affecting other users. One of the difficult tasks of database replication is harmonizing data consistency across a distributed system. MySQL and PostgreSQL offer several possible options for database replication. Apart from one master to one standby and multiple standbys, PostgreSQL and MySQL offer the following replication options: replication Multi-Version Concurrency Control When users read and write to a database simultaneously, that phenomenon is known as concurrency. So, multiple clients reading and writing at the same time can lead to various edge cases/race conditions, i.e., read followed by write happened for same record X and numerous other conditions. Various modern databases make use of to mitigate problems in concurrency. transactions Postgres was the first DBMS to rollout multi-version concurrency control (MVCC), which means reading never blocks writing and vice versa. This feature is one of the main reasons why businesses prefer Postgres to MySQL. "Unlike most other database systems, which use locks for concurrency control, Postgres maintains data consistency by using a multi-version model. Furthermore, while querying a database, each transaction sees a snapshot of data (a database version) as it was some time ago, regardless of the underlying data's current state. It protects the transaction from viewing inconsistent data caused by (other) concurrent transaction updates on the same data rows, providing transaction isolation for each database session." — " " — PostgreSQL Documentation Multi-Version Concurrency Control MVCC lets multiple readers and writers concurrently interact with the Postgres database, eliminating the need for a read-write lock every time someone interacts with the data. A side benefit is this process provides a significant efficiency boost. Utilizing the InnoDB storage engine, MySQL supports writes and reads of the same row to not interfere with each other. Every time MySQL writes data into a row, it writes an entry into the rollback segment. This data structure stores “undo logs” used to restore the row to its previous state. It’s called the “rollback segment” because it is the tool used to handle rolling back transactions. MySQL also "InnoDB is a : it keeps the information about old versions of changed rows to support transactional features such as concurrency and . This information is stored in the tablespace in a data structure called a (after an analogous data structure in Oracle). InnoDB uses the information in the rollback segment to perform the undo operations needed in a transaction rollback. It also uses the information to build earlier versions of a row for a ." - — MySQL MVCC multi-versioned storage engine rollback rollback segment consistent read InnoDB Multi-Versioning Conclusion We have treated a few performance differences between PostgreSQL and MySQL in this post. It’s important to note that database performance relies on several other factors such as Hardware, type of OS, and most importantly, your understanding of the intended database. Both PostgreSQL and MySQL have unique qualities and drawbacks, but understanding what features would suit a project and integrating those features would ultimately result in performance. I’d love to hear about your experience with database performance. Resources — Uber Engineering Why Uber Switched from PostgreSQL to MySQL — Programmer Sought Who is better MVCC PostgreSQL and MYSQL? Previously published at https://blog.arctype.com/performance-difference-between-postgresql-and-mysql/

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In this episode of the Koinos Group podcast, co-founder and Koinos blockchain architect Nathan Caldwell talks about the special programming language we are architecting to make it easier for developers to add support for more programming languages to Koinos. As Nathan explains, at Koinos Group we are obsessed with cultivating a super developer-friendly environment, which is why Koinos is so highly modularized. That modularization enables developers to understand every piece of the system without having to understand any other piece. Koinos Types takes the developer-friendliness of Koinos to the next level by enabling full-stack multi-language support, but as we were working on Koinos Types we realized that having to use the programming language C to target languages created a poor developer experience which would negatively impact the rate at which Koinos could be improved. Audio Podcast Koinos Types Koinos Types is like the Rosetta Stone for blockchain data structures. It allows programs written in different languages to talk to one another in a simple and unified way by giving them access to the same objects (the “building blocks” of modern programming languages). Koinos Types allows for the interpretation of Koinos (i.e. blockchain) data structures into practically any programming language which will be extremely useful for the development of blockchain-related microservices, clients, and smart contracts. You can learn more about Koinos Types . here One of the things we realized while working on Koinos Types in the programming language C was that the general utility of C actually made it more difficult to target languages with Koinos Types. This would slow down the rate at which Koinos could acquire support for new languages because it would be more difficult for developers to work with Koinos Types. What v. How Languages In order to represent the Koinos Types in different languages, they must be declared. Since Koinos Types already had C as a supported language, it made sense to use C to specify types which also helped us to get off the ground quickly. The problem is that C is not ideal because like most programming languages it can be used to specify both the “what” and the “how” of a program. C can be used to program both a given thing should do, and it should be done. But the whole point of Koinos Types is just to specify the “what” of the blockchain, not the “how.” It literally specifies objects Koinos possesses and that’s it. what how what In the blockchain context, this specific task provides incredible value. But if we make developers use C to specify types, they would be misled into thinking that they could, and maybe should specify these objects work when this is not necessary or ideal for Koinos Types. This would only slow progress and lead to confusing implementations. how Types Specification Language That’s why we decided to architect a special programming language dedicated to specifying the “what.” This language can’t possibly be used to specify the “how,” which is why it’s called a “specification language.” This will be very user-friendly because it has a simple grammar that is custom-tailored to just specifying types. This “buttons down” the supported feature set which makes it so much easier for developers to understand how you convert these objects into the target language. We are developer-obsessed which means that we want to cultivate a super developer-friendly environment. That’s why Koinos is so highly modularized. That modularization enables developers to understand every piece of the system without having to understand any other piece. Koinos Types takes the developer-friendliness of Koinos to the next level by enabling full-stack multi-language support. We’re not just talking about being able to write smart contracts in additional languages. We’re talking about being able to write smart contracts, AND microservices, AND client-libraries in ANY language, and making that support easy to add, maintain and upgrade. Rapid Improvement Architecting this specification language might not appear to be a good use of time if you’re used to projects that are designing their protocols around a single feature like transactions per second or sharding. But we’re designing Koinos with the objective of creating a blockchain that than any other blockchain out there, and that’s exactly what the Koinos Types specification language will feed in to. improves at a more rapid rate The microservice architecture will enable us to improve the node software at a rapid rate. Modular upgradeability will enable us to upgrade the system logic of Koinos at a rapid rate. Koinos Types will pour gasoline on that fire by enabling developers to work on those components in the programming languages they already know and that are the best tools for the job, but the Koinos Types specification language will pour rocket fuel on top of the gasoline to make it even easier and faster for developers to target new languages which will then give developers even more tools to choose from. When Koinos mainnet launches it won’t have all of the nifty tools that older and more mature blockchains have, which is why it is critical to ensure that Koinos can acquire those tools at a more rapid rate so that it can not only catch up to older protocols, but ultimately outpace them. At that point, not only will Koinos have all the "bells and whistles" but it will also have a younger, and more state-of-the-art architecture. Koinos Types, and their dedicated specification language, are key to accomplishing that objective. “As soon as you’ve made the assumption that you’ve done something right, you’re probably wrong.” - Nathan Caldwell To learn more about Koinos, go to koinos.io

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Co-op forms the core parts of some games or can be the most memorable parts. While some games are dated or not as engaging as others, the interactions players make with each other playing these games makes them worthwhile. These are some of the games that stood out to us. This Slack discussion by Nicolas Ng, , JeffreyHarris-HackerNoon, richard-kubina, Jack Boreham and Limarc Ambalina occurred in 's official #gaming channel, and has been edited for readability. Slogging What's the finest co-op experience you remember? Nicolas Ng Mar 10, 2021, 7:01 PM I used to run levels with my friends for hours after school. Does anyone have anything similar? Nicolas Ng Mar 10, 2021, 7:02 PM Payday 2 I know that people aren’t as fond on these Resident Evil titles as much as the older ones, but I had a blast playing with my brother. Scared to death while trying to solve puzzles is something I look back at fondly. Mar 10, 2021, 8:25 PM Resident Evil 5 and 6 I remember watching Youtubers play Resident Evil and 6 always seemed like it went between tense horror and emulating a Michael Bay film Nicolas Ng Mar 11, 2021, 9:49 AM Went to a barcade event and a friend and I finally . It took quite a few quarters. JeffreyHarris-HackerNoon Mar 11, 2021, 12:19 PM Spider-Man: The Arcade game Without a doubt it would be playing on the Sega Genesis.  The game takes a lot of inspiration from rogue-likes with it's randomly generated levels, random presents are like unidentified items, you can level up to get more life.  You need to explore uncharted levels to find all your spaceships parts to get back home.  The levels are like dungeon floors, but you take an elevator upwards and can fall off the side of levels and drop back down a level.  It has great music, sfx, art and animation.  Really goofy and light-hearted fun for all ages. richard-kubina Mar 11, 2021, 3:19 PM Toe Jam and Earl Also from the same era, for the Super Nintendo Entertainment system was ..  similar aesthetics even more visually appealing I'd say.  Loads of great artwork are in this one.  Lots of secrets to discover.  It's more about shooting baddies up a bit like or . richard-kubina Mar 11, 2021, 3:25 PM Zombies Ate My Neighbors Smash TV Gauntlet The was a good time too, could host a lot more friends and randoms to play through the levels that required team work to get through the levels and unlock gates to allow other players to continue. richard-kubina Mar 11, 2021, 3:41 PM Sven Co-op mod for the original Half-Life on the ds or . I loved both coop experiences, having played countless hrs with my sister playing both games. Jack Boreham Mar 11, 2021, 6:12 PM New Super Mario bros lego star wars I've never head of those games, richard-kubina. I notice that both of these games have very strong exploration mechanics that were absent in many of the co-op games I've played. Was it a staple of co-op games during that era? Nicolas Ng Mar 12, 2021, 10:12 PM good question!  I reckon there was a good mix.  Like I can think of other "co-op" games that didn't really have you explore and were more like a single track ride, but maybe those are hardly considered co-op since you didn't really have to work together as much as just take out all the baddies... games like like streets of rage, teenage mutant ninja turtles, sunset riders. the only other co-op that had you exploring I can think of is , that was a full blown JRPG experience! richard-kubina Mar 12, 2021, 10:16 PM Secret of Mana Great question!!!! There are so many answers here. I'd say campaigns have been really fun for me. Playing couch co-op castle crashers with 3 of my cousins on the xbox 360 is one of my fondest gaming memories. Limarc Ambalina Mar 13, 2021, 8:12 PM Halo 2, Army of Two, Castle Crashers, and just basic Call of Duty co-op I remember watching people play Army of Two on YouTube! I even remember scissors-paper-stone being used as a minigame in the sequel. I didn't get the chance to play it myself, but I can imagine why it's up there on your list Nicolas Ng Mar 13, 2021, 10:10 PM

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15 Most Memorable Co-op Games from the Sega Genesis to the Xbox

Going through my calendar, in the last 8 months, I had 179 calls with potential clients and users of Webiny. Some were small web agencies, others were Fortune 500 businesses. Through those calls, I've noted down over 1000 lines of feedback items. It was clear, there was a great interest in a solution like Webiny, but for many of them, Webiny was missing certain features. From DynamoDB compatibility and VPC support to publishing workflows and better user permissions. In the last ~6 months, we put 100% of our focus on addressing this feedback and getting Webiny to the next level. Today the team is happy to present the Webiny v5 release. As a quick summary of the update, here are the main highlights: 🚀 Drastic performance improvements (benchmark included below) 🔐 Default VPC and private VPC deployment now supported 🗄 DynamoDB and Elasticsearch support 🏗 Page Builder overhaul - way faster and more stable than before 💻 Improved developer experience 🧱 IaC implementation via Pulumi In this post we won't go through all the changes, as there's a lot of them. Instead, we'll focus on the most important ones. In case you're new to Webiny, we're prepared a quick overview video for you: Let's go through the updates. DynamoDB support Pretty much the #1 top requested feature is now implemented. Webiny by default ships with DynamoDB. For this, we had to rewrite all our apps, from Page Builder to Headless CMS, and completely change the way how we store and retrieve content from the database. DynamoDB is used for write operations, so you have super-fast writes, and then the information is transformed and synced into an Elasticsearch cluster. If you are doing a read operation and are fetching an object via its PK, then DynamoDB is used. For all other operations, Webiny goes directly to the Elasticsearch cluster. This makes the querying of data more flexible and you'll also take the advantage of the amazing full-text search capabilities of ElasticSearch. With this implementation, we also created an ORM-free layer that still allows integration with other databases, both SQL and NoSQL ones. Performance improvements We improved the performance in multiple layers. The cold-start times are now 60-70% shorter, the Headless CMS API response times are 3-5x faster. You might want to check the full performance benchmark we did, it's . available here There isn't a single change, but numerous changes in a combination that we implemented to get to this level. We moved away from having several Lambda calls in a chain, which is usually the case with a distributed GraphQL schema. That architecture heavily bloats the cold start times. We now run Webiny and the GraphQL schema inside a single Lambda function. (note: you can still create a distributed schema, but by default, we don't ship with one). The second change we made was to get rid of the Commodo data layer and now we only use a super-thin layer without any "smart" functionality to communicate with the database. The Commodo library worked great with a slim data structure, but the moment you had numerous nested references, typical for a headless CMS, it caused performance issues. The third change we did was to use DynamoDB and Elasticsearch as the default databases instead of MongoDB Atlas. No longer we need to worry about connection pooling and overflowing the connection pool. VPC support You can now choose if you want to deploy Webiny inside a VPC or outside a VPC. You can also configure the VPC settings inside your project, use existing VPCs, and similar. Here's a quick snapshot of the architecture, for the full overview, check out . this page Replaced API Gateway with HTTP Gateway By default, Webiny will deploy an AWS HTTP Gateway instead of an AWS API Gateway. This is better both in terms of cost as well as performance. In case you want to go with API Gateway because you need WebSocket support or for some other reason, you can adjust the deployment settings inside your project. Pulumi support Webiny by default now uses to deploy your architecture instead of a custom deployment mechanism. Pulumi The deployment mechanism is registered as a plugin, so if needed you can replace Pulumi with a custom one that supports something like CloudFormation, TerraForm, or Serverless Framework. The benefit we saw with Pulumi is that we can truly control infrastructure as code, and not use some templating language such as YAML. The additional feature we implemented on the IaC side is that now you can have several different infrastructure layouts for the same project. For example, if you're deploying a project in a dev environment, you might not want to have a super big Elasticsearch instance or use a private VPC with a NAT gateway, this is something you would consider for production use-cases. Have a look at the prod and dev stack we have for the default Webiny API: https://github.com/webiny/webiny-js/tree/next/api/pulumi Multi-tenancy support This is one of our first enterprise-only features. It enables you to have 1 instance of Webiny to run as many projects or websites as you want. Each tenant has full data separation and they act as if you had a completely different Webiny installation. This is ideal for building SaaS solutions. In case you want to know more about the multi-tenancy feature, please . book a call Refactored user security and permissions In v4 the roles and user permissions were based on the GraphQL API scopes, which was a bit clumsy as in many cases you didn't know what some of the scopes meant and in other cases, they were not granular enough. V5 features a completely new security implementation that focuses on business requirements. Now you can create permissions like: A user can only access the "Products" content model in the English locale and they can only request to publish a new record, but not publish it themselves. A user can only read his own records in the German locale. A user can create pages in Page Builder, but can't change the categories and menus. The cool thing is that the new security implementation and permissions now reflect on both the API side as well as the UI side. If a user can't perform a certain action, like publishing a new content record, the publish button will be hidden for them. Finally, to mention, the security layer now acts as a mini framework of its own. You can use it to define and control permissions for your custom Webiny APIs and apps. And now it's way simpler to implement 3rd part auth providers like OKTA, Auth0, ActiveDirectory, and others. Multi-language support Webiny v4 had partial multi-language support, but in v5 we now have 100% coverage across all apps and modules. Page Builder - massive improvements Redux out, Recoil in We've rewritten the Page Builder pretty much from the scratch. We removed the redux as the state management inside the editor and replaced it with recoil. As a result, the editor is more responsive, undo/redo works way better, and no more broken pages. UX improvements We took the UX to the next level. We've implemented a new sidebar for much better control of the styles of your elements. We also implemented the support to view your page across different devices and screen sizes like tables and mobile. Performance improvement The overall performance and scalability of delivering Page Builder pages have been also re-architected and improved upon. Now the delivery path is CloudFront > S3 and nothing in between. This makes it super scalable, cost-efficient, and performant. However, to get to this setup, we had to build a whole new pre-rendering mechanism with a queuing system and improve on the caching mechanism and publishing workflow. This mechanism now replaces the SSR mechanism we had previously. There are 2 more exciting new features coming to Page Builder that we'll reveal in one of the next releases. Documentation Unfortunately, we have to admit, this is one area where we failed to deliver quality to our users. We acknowledge that, but also we have a plan on how to turn things around. We've written an extensive guide for ourselves on how to structure and write better documentation. We've implemented a peer review process, automated quality checks, and worked hard on how the overall content should look like → mainly based on your feedback. At the moment we're provided more than 40 brand new articles, and even more, are coming in the upcoming weeks. Developer experience Finally, to mention, we've made numerous code refactors with the primary purpose of "hiding the magic" and showing the developers how things are connected, how they work, and how to expand or change them. Now it's easier than before to grasp the inner workings of Webiny. V5 Summary We built the very first Webiny version based on what we wanted and what at the time was possible to build with serverless technologies. Since then we learned a lot, technologies have evolved and gotten better, new best practices were found. Our users tested Webiny inside and out and were quite vocal about their feedback, which we really appreciated. The v5 release is 100% driven by what our users wanted, with a few minor adjustments here and there. We believe this one is going to put a lot of smiles on developers around the world. npx create-webiny-project my-project We believe we built the most complete, self-hosted serverless solution out there that's open-source. It scales almost infinitely, you're charged per 1ms of consumption and no servers to maintain. And best of all, it's completely free! So go ahead, give Webiny a spin and let us know what you think. In case you want to reach out to the team you can find us on our and . community slack GitHub Also published at: https://www.webiny.com/blog/webiny-v5-the-big-update

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