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CBDCs have been discussed quite a bit in recent years, and various countries are exploring the possibilities of implementation. You may have heard or read about this digital currency, but do you have a good understanding of how CBDC is structured, how it can be used, and what impact central bank digital currency will have on the future of finance? Welcome to my Now You Understand article series, where I share my expertise to explain the most complicated blockchain and web3 topics. This is the first part of my article on CBDC, where I will cover what it is, the use cases, and the solutions used to implement it. What is CBDC? Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) - a digital form of national bank money that is created, controlled, and maintained by the central bank. It is legal tender and is the same central bank debenture as ordinary bank notes. CBDC is operated by a digital ledger that might or might not be a blockchain. This provides faster and more secure transactions between banks, institutions, and individuals. Central banks control the issuance of CBDCs and stand as guarantors of this form of money as compared to cryptocurrencies. CBDCs now can take the following forms: Retail is used for settlements between individuals and legal entities, is designed for simple payments, and represents a digital form of currency. Wholesale is used for interbank payments as a new infrastructural solution. CBDCs can also represent digital assets, they are also registered in a digital registry, which can be distributed or not distributed. CBDC is a major step forward in the digitalization of money and the economy as a whole,  increasing its transparency, security, and efficiency, including the automation of many processes and the reduction of transaction costs. CBDC: Use Cases CBDC is implemented mainly on platforms based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) with support for smart contracts (applications). That gives us many areas of usage and makes this implementation of a digital form of currency really useful for the financial system. Due to the platform’s support for smart contracts, it extends CBDC beyond just digital currency to a programmable form of currency. Smart contract support allows you to deploy programs that interact and operate with digital currency. For example, when we execute a property deal, we need someone to check the deal for compliance, approve it, and register it. In the case of CBDC, we do not need a third party to do this, we can just implement a smart contract, the logic of which will be similar to the logic of the deal. For instance, to control that one side owns the property, the other side has paid the declared value, and then makes the transfer of this property, as an option in the form of a token. In this way, we can automate the majority of transactions with almost any property, which significantly increases their availability, speed and performance. It also removes the workload from the infrastructure that is created for deals, cutting out the need for intermediaries and thereby reducing transaction costs. Tokenization is the process of converting rights to assets or property into digital tokens. Exactly it allows to be fully digital and automated with the use of smart contracts. It has been researched that the cost of clearing and settlement of securities for the Central Banks of the G7 countries is more than $50 billion per year, due to the resource costs of asset transfers and account reconciliation. A DLT-based CBDC successfully solves the problem of inefficiencies and vulnerabilities compared to the current infrastructure. CBDC is natively digital and does not demand the expensive and labor-intensive reconciliation currently required for e-commerce and cross-border payments. It also allows to optimization of the operation of any registry that is responsible for storing records of rights to property or assets. For example, DLT technology can replace and improve the work of registries of movable and immovable property, securities such as stocks, bonds, etc. It also makes it possible to make deals available 24/7 by eliminating the need for a third party to determine the availability of transactions. Digital property/asset transactions increase the accuracy and security of transactions. Offline payment technology, which provides access to the financial system in areas not covered by banking services and allows transactions to be made without access to the Internet, is currently being actively researched and realized. We can see that CBDCs move the financial system into a digital form, which opens up many possibilities and optimizes the operation of the system as a whole. Thanks to this, CBDC has direct control over the money supply, simplifying the distribution of state benefits, and improving the control over transactions for tax control. Thus, timely payment of taxes or payment of bond coupons can be automated. The implementation of CBDC also allows for reduced costs and increased availability of cross-border payments, including reducing credit risks by providing payment versus payment settlement. CBDC vs Stablecoins: what’s the difference? There are several types of : fiat-backed, cryptocurrency-backed, commodity-backed and algorithmic. In this comparison, we will focus on the first type - fiat-backed ones, because they have more in common with CBDCs and are the most popular. Examples of this type of stablecoins are Tether ( ) and USD Coin ( ). stablecoins USDT USDC The principle of Stablecoins is that organizations issue tokens based on the reserves of traditional money in their accounts. That is, in this case the issuance and control of such tokens remain with private institutions and they are not directly controlled by Central Banks. While CBDC is a form of national currency, their issuance and control is owned by Central Banks, which provides higher security. Due to such regulation CBDC can ensure compliance with tax policy, while in stablecoins do not. It is also important to note that stablecoins use private money as collateral, while CBDCs are backed by government-issued money. What is the difference between private solutions and public blockchains ? Public blockchains are primarily defined by the fact that they are open to the public. That means anyone can join and participate in the network. A popular example of public blockchains is Ethereum. The consensus mechanism means that such a network is managed by the majority. In particular, transactions are verified and included in new blocks. They are completely open and transparent, everyone can see all transactions and balances of any accounts. In order to complete a transaction in a public network, it is necessary to verify and confirm the agreement of the majority of participants, which involves commissions, which are the motivation, as well as a longer waiting time due to the fact that it is necessary for the majority of nodes to reach an agreement. Among the advantages of this solution, we have full transparency and no need to rely on a single control structure due to the high decentralization of the network, which ensures that no single entity controls the network. A private network is closed and restricted to authorized participants who have full control over the network and transactions on it. Private solutions allow centralized control over the network and also enable private transactions and private smart contracts. This solves privacy challenges that are very important for governments and corporations. Private solutions consensus mechanisms involve a very limited number of participants who verify and approve transactions, so transactions are much faster because they do not require majority verification. They also do not need such a concept as native currency and there are no transaction fees. These solutions appeal to governments and companies because of their centralized control and confidentiality solutions that also allow them to control the legality of their operations. Guarantee of this network are their participants, for example, governments and corporations. Examples of this type of solutions are Quorum, Corda, Hyperledger Besu etc. CBDC: Why use private solutions? There are several key reasons why public solutions are not suitable for CBDC implementation. Public cryptocurrencies mean an open market and they are subject to significant price movements, which entails heavy risks for both the government and ordinary users. High volatility: This makes it difficult to use as a payment method, as changes in value can be in the tens of percent. In the case with private solutions, the Central Bank is the guarantor and has full control over the digital currency. CBDC is a form of currency rather than a cryptocurrency in its traditional meaning. In public solutions, all data is publicly available. Open data potentially brings risks for directions in which this is a key factor. In private solutions, it is possible to control privacy issues through private smart contracts, private transactions, and restrictions on network participants. Privacy considerations: With public solutions, accounts and funds are under the control of the users themselves or organizations to which the users have delegated control.  In the case of private solutions, account control is usually performed by authorized entities. Account control:

Now You Understand: Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Explanation and Usage - Part I

On the Effect of Taxes and of Legal Restrictions upon Manufactures

In many years of writing and reviewing code, I learned a few secrets to craft better pull requests and review code more efficiently. I poured all these secrets into my new book , but you’ll find here a preview with these 13 tips, that you can already use in your developer activity. Pull Requests and Code Review Can you think of more tips? Share them in comments 😉 1. Create your PR before the code is ready for review A PR draft helps you organize your ideas and document your progress, while you’re still working on your feature. 2. Make people want to review your PR The best way to get a quick and efficient review is to keep your PR small and well documented (with all the necessary context). You’ll also increase you chances for future PRs by delivering great code now! Find all these tips with and more, with more real-life examples and actionable insights in my free book . Pull Requests and Code Review: Best Practices for Developers, from Junior to Team Lead 3. Be your PR’s first reviewer Put yourself in the shoes of your reviewer, anticipate questions and use comment your own code when you think it can help them. 4. Assign the right reviewers to your PR Don’t assign your PR to the entire world. Choose your reviewers carefully to get a relevant review, without waiting too long for approval. 5. Be responsive to comments Be open to feedback, ask for clarification, say when you disagree (with respect), and always respond to comments. 6. If you want people to review your PRs, you have to review theirs Everybody has many PRs to review and little free time to. If you review other PRs, you increase the chances of getting yours reviewed too. 7. You can review code even if you are a junior developer As a junior developer, you can let others know when you don’t understand part of the code, as it should be understandable by any developer in the team. More about it in my post . How to give code review as a junior developer? 8. Check the right things during code review Code review’s goal is to check for bugs and edge cases, and challenge the implementation. It should neither be used to nitpick about minor formatting or styling preferences, nor for large-scale architectural discussions. 9. Use the right tone in your comments Use “why not” instead of “you should”, be open and positive and always suggest an alternative when you ask for a change. 10. Be clear about whether a change is required for you to approve the PR or not Not all comments require a change, and not all asked changes are required for the PR to be approved. Be clear in your comment if the change isn’t urgent. 11. Review your review before submitting it Before making your review public, re-read each comment: check for the tone you use and ensure you provide all the context to help the PR submitter. 12. Approve the PR when the submitter made all the changes you asked You don’t want the reviewer to wait for your approval two days after they made all the changes you asked. When you review it, assume you’ll approve it as soon as all the fixes are made. 13. Some conflicts can’t be solved in comments When a comment thread becomes a debate in your PR, you’d better cut it off and suggest to continue the discussion elsewhere, e.g. in a Slack thread. If necessary, dedicate a meeting to it, and/or involve a third-party. That’s it! What did you think of these tips? Can you think of one tip you’d like to give other developers? Share them here in comments 👇 If you liked these tips and want to learn some more, check out my book , it’s free! Pull Requests and Code Review Also published . here

13 Tips for Better Pull Requests and Code Review

13টি টিপস ভাল টান অনুরোধ এবং কোড পর্যালোচনা

13 Tipps für bessere Pull-Anfragen und Codeüberprüfung

13 consejos para mejorar las solicitudes de extracción y la revisión del código

13 conseils pour de meilleures demandes d'extraction et révision du code

बेहतर पुल अनुरोध और कोड समीक्षा के लिए 13 युक्तियाँ

より良いプルリクエストとコードレビューのための 13 のヒント

더 나은 Pull Request와 코드 검토를 위한 13가지 팁

13 dicas para melhores solicitações pull e revisão de código

13 советов по улучшению запросов на включение и ревью кода

Daha İyi Çekme İstekleri ve Kod İncelemesi için 13 İpucu

13 mẹo để có yêu cầu kéo và đánh giá mã tốt hơn

更好的 Pull 请求和代码审查的 13 个技巧

Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Containing an Answer to the Love Letter here Containing an Answer to the Love Letter. Alice had had a week allowed to her to write her answer; but she sent it off before the full week was past. "Why should I keep him in suspense?" she said. "If it is to be so, there can be no good in not saying so at once." Then she thought, also, that if this were to be her destiny it might be well for Mr. Grey that all his doubts on the matter should be dispelled. She had treated him badly,—very badly. She had so injured him that the remembrance of the injury must always be a source of misery to her; but she owed to him above everything to let him know what were her intentions as soon as they were settled. She tried to console herself by thinking that the wound to him would be easy to cure. "He also is not passionate," she said. But in so saying she deceived herself. He was a man in whom Love could be very passionate;—and was, moreover, one in whom Love could hardly be renewed. Each morning Kate asked her whether her answer was written; and on the third day after Christmas, just before dinner, Alice said that she had written it, and that it was gone. "But it isn't post-day," said Kate;—for the post illuminated Vavasor but three days a week. "I have given a boy sixpence to take it to Shap," said Alice, blushing. "And what have you said?" asked Kate, taking hold of the other's arm. "I have kept my promise," said Alice; "and do you keep yours by asking no further questions." "My sister,—my own sister," said Kate. And then, as Alice met her embrace, there was no longer any doubt as to the nature of the reply. After this there was of course much close discussion between them as to what other steps should now be taken. Kate wanted her cousin to write immediately to Mr. Grey, and was somewhat frightened when Alice declined to do so till she had received a further letter from George. "You have not proposed any horrid stipulations to him?" exclaimed Kate. "I don't know what you may call horrid stipulations," said Alice, gravely. "My conditions have not been very hard, and I do not think you would have disapproved them." "But he!—He is so impetuous! Will he disapprove them?" "I have told him— But, Kate, this is just what I did not mean to tell you." "Why should there be secrets between us?" said Kate. "There shall be none, then. I have told him that I cannot bring myself to marry him instantly;—that he must allow me twelve months to wear off, if I can in that time, much of sadness and of self-reproach which has fallen to my lot." "Twelve months, Alice?" "Listen to me. I have said so. But I have told him also that if he wishes it still, I will at once tell papa and grandpapa that I hold myself as engaged to him, so that he may know that I bind myself to him as far as it is possible that I should do so. And I have added something else, Kate," she continued to say after a slight pause,—"something else which I can tell you, though I could tell it to no other person. I can tell you because you would do, and will do the same. I have told him that any portion of my money is at his service which may be needed for his purposes before that twelve months is over." "Oh, Alice! No;—no. You shall not do that. It is too generous." And Kate perhaps felt at the moment that her brother was a man to whom such an offer could hardly be made with safety. "But I have done it. Mercury, with sixpence in his pocket, is already posting my generosity at Shap. And, to tell the truth, Kate, it is no more than fair. He has honestly told me that while the old Squire lives he will want my money to assist him in a career of which I do much more than approve. It has been my earnest wish to see him in Parliament. It will now be the most earnest desire of my heart;—the one thing as to which I shall feel an intense anxiety. How then can I have the face to bid him wait twelve months for that which is specially needed in six months' time? It would be like the workhouses which are so long in giving bread, that in the mean time the wretches starve." "But the wretch shan't starve," said Kate. "My money, small as it is, will carry him over this bout. I have told him that he shall have it, and that I expect him to spend it. Moreover, I have no doubt that Aunt Greenow would lend me what he wants." "But I should not wish him to borrow from Aunt Greenow. She would advance him the money, as you say, upon stamped paper, and then talk of it." "He shall have mine," said Kate. "And who are you?" said Alice, laughing. "You are not going to be his wife?" "He shall not touch your money till you are his wife," said Kate, very seriously. "I wish you would consent to change your mind about this stupid tedious year, and then you might do as you pleased. I have no doubt such a settlement might be made as to the property here, when my grandfather hears of it, as would make you ultimately safe." "And do you think I care to be ultimately safe, as you call it? Kate, my dear, you do not understand me." "I suppose not. And yet I thought that I had known something about you." "It is because I do not care for the safety of which you speak that I am now going to become your brother's wife. Do you suppose that I do not see that I must run much risk?" "You prefer the excitement of London to the tranquillity, may I say, of Cambridgeshire." "Exactly;—and therefore I have told George that he shall have my money whenever he wants it." Kate was very persistent in her objection to this scheme till George's answer came. His answer to Alice was accompanied by a letter to his sister, and after that Kate said nothing more about the money question. She said no more then; but it must not therefore be supposed that she was less determined than she had been that no part of Alice's fortune should be sacrificed to her brother's wants;—at any rate before Alice should become her brother's wife. But her brother's letter for the moment stopped her mouth. It would be necessary that she should speak to him before she again spoke to Alice. In what words Alice had written her assent it will be necessary that the reader should know, in order that something may be understood of the struggle which she made upon the occasion; but they shall be given presently, when I come to speak of George Vavasor's position as he received them. George's reply was very short and apparently very frank. He deprecated the delay of twelve months, and still hoped to be able to induce her to be more lenient to him. He advised her to write to Mr. Grey at once,—and as regarded the Squire he gave her to act as she pleased. If the Squire required any kind of apology, expression of sorrow,—and asking for pardon, or such like, he, George, would, under the circumstances as they now existed, comply with the requisition most willingly. He would regard it as a simple form, made necessary by his coming marriage. As to Alice's money, he thanked her heartily for her confidence. If the nature of his coming contest at Chelsea should make it necessary, he would use her offer as frankly as it had been made. Such was his letter to Alice. What was contained in his letter to Kate, Alice never knew. carte blanche Then came the business of telling this new love tale,—the third which poor Alice had been forced to tell her father and grandfather;—and a grievous task it was. In this matter she feared her father much more than her grandfather, and therefore she resolved to tell her grandfather first;—or, rather, she determined that she would tell the Squire, and that in the mean time Kate should talk to her father. "Grandpapa," she said to him the morning after she had received her cousin's second letter.—The old man was in the habit of breakfasting alone in a closet of his own, which was called his dressing-room, but in which he kept no appurtenances for dressing, but in lieu of them a large collection of old spuds and sticks and horse's-bits. There was a broken spade here, and a hoe or two; and a small table in the corner was covered with the debris of tradesmen's bills from Penrith, and dirty scraps which he was wont to call his farm accounts.—"Grandpapa," said Alice, rushing away at once into the middle of her subject, "you told me the other day that you thought I ought to be—married." "Did I, my dear? Well, yes; so I did. And so you ought;—I mean to that Mr. Grey." "That is impossible, sir." "Then what's the use of your coming and talking to me about it?" This made Alice's task not very easy; but, nevertheless, she persevered. "I am come, grandpapa, to tell you of another engagement." "Another!" said he. And by the tone of his voice he accused his granddaughter of having a larger number of favoured suitors than ought to fall to the lot of any young lady. It was very hard upon her, but still she went on. "You know," said she, "that some years ago I was to have been married to my cousin George;"—and then she paused. "Well," said the old man. "And I remember you told me then that you were much pleased." "So I was. George was doing well then; or,—which is more likely,—had made us believe that he was doing well. Have you made it up with him again?" "Yes, sir." "And that's the meaning of your jilting Mr. Grey, is it?" Poor Alice! It is hard to explain how heavy a blow fell upon her from the open utterance of that word! Of all words in the language it was the one which she now most dreaded. She had called herself a jilt, with that inaudible voice which one uses in making self-accusations;—but hitherto no lips had pronounced the odious word to her ears. Poor Alice! She was a jilt; and perhaps it may have been well that the old man should tell her so. "Grandpapa!" she said; and there was that in the tone of her voice which somewhat softened the Squire's heart. "Well, my dear, I don't want to be ill-natured. So you are going at last to marry George, are you? I hope he'll treat you well; that's all. Does your father approve of it?" "I have told you first, sir;—because I wish to obtain your consent to seeing George again here as your grandson." "Never," said the old man, snarling;—"never!" "If he has been wrong, he will beg your pardon." "If he has been wrong! Didn't he want to squander every shilling of the property,—property which has never belonged to him;—property which I could give to Tom, Dick, or Harry to-morrow, if I liked?—If he has been wrong!" "I am not defending him, sir;—but I thought that, perhaps, on such an occasion as this—" "A Tom Fool's occasion! You've got money of your own. He'll spend all that now." "He will be less likely to do so if you will recognise him as your heir. Pray believe, sir, that he is not the sort of man that he was." "He must be a very clever sort of man, I think, when he has talked you out of such a husband as John Grey. It's astounding to me,—with that ugly mug of his! Well, my dear, if your father approves of it, and if George will ask my pardon,—but I don't think he ever will—" "He will, sir. I am his messenger for as much as that." "Oh, you are, are you? Then you may also be my messenger to him, and tell him that, for your sake, I will let him come back here. I know he'll insult me the first day; but I'll try and put up with it,—for your sake, my dear. Of course I must know what your father thinks about it." It may be imagined that Kate's success was even less than that which Alice achieved. "I knew it would be so," said John Vavasor, when his niece first told him;—and as he spoke he struck his hand upon the table. "I knew all along how it would be." "And why should it not be so, Uncle John?" "He is your brother, and I will not tell you why." "You think that he is a spendthrift?" "I think that he is as unsafe a man as ever I knew to be intrusted with the happiness of any young woman. That is all." "You are hard upon him, uncle." "Perhaps so. Tell Alice this from me,—that as I have never yet been able to get her to think anything of my opinion, I do not at all expect that I shall be able to induce her to do so now. I will not even make the attempt. As my son-in-law I will not receive George Vavasor. Tell Alice that." Alice was told her father's message; but Kate in telling it felt no deep regret. She well knew that Alice would not be turned back from her present intention by her father's wishes. Nor would it have been very reasonable that she should. Her father had for many years relieved himself from the burden of a father's cares, and now had hardly the right to claim a father's privileges. We will now go once again to George Vavasor's room in Cecil Street, in which he received Alice's letter. He was dressing when it was first brought to him; and when he recognised the handwriting he put it down on his toilet table unopened. He put it down, and went on brushing his hair, as though he were determined to prove to himself that he was indifferent as to the tidings which it might contain. He went on brushing his hair, and cleaning his teeth, and tying his cravat carefully over his turned-down collar, while the unopened letter lay close to his hand. Of course he was thinking of it,—of course he was anxious,—of course his eye went to it from moment to moment. But he carried it with him into the sitting-room still unopened, and so it remained until after the girl had brought him his tea and his toast. "And now," said he, as he threw himself into his arm-chair, "let us see what the girl of my heart says to me." The girl of his heart said to him as follows:— My dear George, I feel great difficulty in answering your letter. Could I have my own way, I should make no answer to it at present, but leave it for the next six months, so that then such answer might hereafter be made as circumstances should seem to require. This will be little flattering to you, but it is less flattering to myself. Whatever answer I may make, how can anything in this affair be flattering either to you or to me? We have been like children who have quarrelled over our game of play, till now, at the close of our little day of pleasure, we are fain to meet each other in tears, and acknowledge that we have looked for delights where no delights were to be found. Kate, who is here, talks to me of passionate love. There is no such passion left to me;—nor, as I think, to you either. It would not now be possible that you and I should come together on such terms as that. We could not stand up together as man and wife with any hope of a happy marriage, unless we had both agreed that such happiness might be had without passionate love. You will see from all this that I do not refuse your offer. Without passion, I have for you a warm affection, which enables me to take a livelier interest in your career than in any other of the matters which are around me. Of course, if I become your wife that interest will be still closer and dearer, and I do feel that I can take in it that concern which a wife should have in her husband's affairs. If it suits you, I will become your wife;—but it cannot be quite at once. I have suffered much from the past conflicts of my life, and there has been very much with which I must reproach myself. I know that I have behaved badly. Sometimes I have to undergo the doubly bitter self-accusation of having behaved in a manner which the world will call unfeminine. You must understand that I have not passed through this unscathed, and I must beg you to allow me some time for a cure. A perfect cure I may never expect, but I think that in twelve months from this time I may so far have recovered my usual spirit and ease of mind as to enable me to devote myself to your happiness. Dear George, if you will accept me under such circumstances, I will be your wife, and will endeavour to do my duty by you faithfully. I have said that even now, as your cousin, I take a lively interest in your career,—of course I mean your career as a politician,—and especially in your hopes of entering Parliament. I understand, accurately as I think, what you have said about my fortune, and I perfectly appreciate your truth and frankness. If I had nothing of my own you, in your circumstances, could not possibly take me as your wife. I know, moreover, that your need of assistance from my means is immediate rather than prospective. My money may be absolutely necessary to you within this year, during which, as I tell you most truly, I cannot bring myself to become a married woman. But my money shall be less cross-grained than myself. You will take it as frankly as I mean it when I say, that whatever you want for your political purposes shall be forthcoming at your slightest wish. Dear George, let me have the honour and glory of marrying a man who has gained a seat in the Parliament of Great Britain! Of all positions which a man may attain that, to me, is the grandest. I shall wait for a further letter from you before I speak either to my father or to my grandfather. If you can tell me that you accede to my views, I will at once try to bring about a reconciliation between you and the Squire. I think that that will be almost easier than inducing my father to look with favour upon our marriage. But I need hardly say that should either one or the other oppose it,—or should both do so,—that would not turn me from my purpose. I also wait for your answer to write a last line to Mr. Grey. Your affectionate cousin, Alice Vavasor. George Vavasor when he had read the letter threw it carelessly from him on to the breakfast table, and began to munch his toast. He threw it carelessly from him, as though taking a certain pride in his carelessness. "Very well," said he; "so be it. It is probably the best thing that I could do, whatever the effect may be on her." Then he took up his newspaper. But before the day was over he had made many plans,—plans made almost unconsciously,—as to the benefit which might accrue to him from the offer which she had made of her money. And before night he had written that reply to her of which we have heard the contents; and had written also to his sister Kate a letter, of which Kate had kept the contents to herself. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Anthony Trollope (2006). Can You Forgive Her?. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19500/pg19500-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

Containing an Answer to the Love Letter

Heyo Hackers. HackerNoon and IONOS bring you the finalists of Round 2 of the . We are happy to share that we have published #web-development stories so far, generating for the contest submissions! Kudos to our writers and readers for making this contest a success. Web Development Writing Contest 208 45 days of reading time With writing contests, HackerNoon shares a part of its revenue with our community, rewarding the best stories. So far, we have distributed almost $300,000 in our community via these contests. We aim to get all our top tags sponsored for our writers as it encourages the tech community to share high-quality educational content, making learning accessible to everyone. We thank IONOS for supporting the web development tag and sharing the same sentiments of appreciating original and educational content by technologists, for technologists. Here’s the message from Annabelle Atchison, Head of Communications and Product Marketing at IONOS. "We're thrilled to partner with HackerNoon for this web development writing competition. Recognizing the passion developers share for community-driven content, it's a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow enthusiasts and showcase the collective talent in the field." How to Qualify for the Third Round of the ? Web Development Writing Contest We have now entered the third round of the web development writing contest. This is your chance to showcase your expertise in web app development and win a from $6,000 prize pool! All you have to do is submit a web development story before September 15th, and if our editors approve it, you’ll enter the contest's final round. Here are some ideas shared by our sponsor: - we would love to see how you have developed your web apps and what challenges you faced during development. Write anything about web app development and choose a relevant topic that interests you. IONOS Cloud cubes are powerful KVM-based virtual servers designed for maximum flexibility and on-demand scalability. You can also explore the services, features, and use cases offers IONOS Cloud Cubes in web app development Data security, backup, and recovery challenges Creating instances for web apps Web dev environment automation Test automation for web apps You can use to enter the web development writing contest. this template This contest is different. We have decided to further gamify this contest and factor in the feedback of our fantastic community. If you are one of the finalists or rooting for one of these to win, you have a chance to convince the judges by commenting on this announcement why they should win. You can share this announcement on social media with your followers to add more comments to convince the editorial! We will feature the best comments in our winners’ announcement. Now, without further ado - here’s the list of round 2 finalists. The Web Development Writing Contest Round 2: Top 10 Nominations We have shortlisted the top 10 stories on the following factors: Content relevancy and quality Originality - only those stories have been shortlisted that are published first on HackerNoon Total number of reads proportionate to the reading time. (We monitor bot traffic, so a higher number of reads doesn’t automatically qualify your story to be in the top 10). Here are the top 10 finalists: by Mastering JavaScript Shorthands @leandronnz by Unleashing the Power of TypeScript: Improving Standard Library Types @nodge by Build a Document Analyzer with ChatGPT, Google Cloud, and Python @shanglun by Over 40, With no Technical Background, This is How I Learned a Frontend Framework in 2 Weeks @codingjourneyfromunemployment by Understanding React's useEffect Hook: A Deep Dive @lastcallofsummer by Over 40, With No Technical Background, This Is How I Learned Javascript in 2 Weeks @codingjourneyfromunemployment by Is AI Eavesdropping on You?: Defend Your Passwords From AI Keystroke Pattern Detection @induction by Is Migrating From Java 11 to Java 17 Worth It? @sergeidzeboev by How to Create a Blackjack Game With Alpine.js and the Deck of Cards API @raymondcamden by Boosting Website Performance: Leveraging Webpack for File Compression and Optimization @fed4wet Congratulations to the top 10 finalists because two of you will win from $2000! What will happen next? Our Editors will vote on these stories, and the winner will be announced in October. The top two stories with the most votes by editorial will win $1000 each! Share this announcement with your support circle, and comment below why your story should win. We invite all our readers to share their favorite stories in the comments section. Our editors will be reading all the comments. Read the announcement of . The Web Development Writing Contest, Round 1, here The primary purpose of these contests is to celebrate quality and recruit educational content for our community. We congratulate all the finalists. However, the Editorial team can disqualify a writer or a story if we find any misconduct like plagiarism, copyright infringement, or disinformation.

The Web Development Writing Contest: Round 2 Finalists Announced!

ওয়েব ডেভেলপমেন্ট রাইটিং কনটেস্ট: রাউন্ড 2 ফাইনালিস্ট ঘোষণা করা হয়েছে!

Der Webentwicklungs-Schreibwettbewerb: Finalisten der zweiten Runde bekannt gegeben!

Concurso de redacción sobre desarrollo web: ¡Se anunciaron los finalistas de la segunda ronda!

Le concours de rédaction pour le développement Web : les finalistes de la deuxième ronde sont annoncés !

वेब विकास लेखन प्रतियोगिता: दूसरे चरण के फाइनलिस्ट की घोषणा!

Web 開発ライティング コンテスト: 第 2 ラウンドのファイナリストが発表されました!

웹 개발 글쓰기 콘테스트: 2차 결선 진출자가 발표되었습니다!

Concurso de redação para desenvolvimento da Web: anunciados os finalistas da segunda rodada!

Web Geliştirme Yazma Yarışması: 2. Tur Finalistleri Açıklandı!

Cuộc thi viết về phát triển web: Công bố những người lọt vào vòng chung kết vòng 2!

Web 开发写作大赛：第二轮决赛入围名单公布！

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . CACHALOTS AND WHALES here CHAPTER XII: CACHALOTS AND WHALES During the nights of the 13th and 14th of March, the returned to its southerly course. I fancied that, when on a level with Cape Horn, he would turn the helm westward, in order to beat the Pacific seas, and so complete the tour of the world. He did nothing of the kind, but continued on his way to the southern regions. Where was he going to? To the pole? It was madness! I began to think that the Captain’s temerity justified Ned Land’s fears. For some time past the Canadian had not spoken to me of his projects of flight; he was less communicative, almost silent. I could see that this lengthened imprisonment was weighing upon him, and I felt that rage was burning within him. When he met the Captain, his eyes lit up with suppressed anger; and I feared that his natural violence would lead him into some extreme. That day, the 14th of March, Conseil and he came to me in my room. I inquired the cause of their visit. Nautilus “A simple question to ask you, sir,” replied the Canadian. “Speak, Ned.” “How many men are there on board the , do you think?” Nautilus “I cannot tell, my friend.” “I should say that its working does not require a large crew.” “Certainly, under existing conditions, ten men, at the most, ought to be enough.” “Well, why should there be any more?” “Why?” I replied, looking fixedly at Ned Land, whose meaning was easy to guess. “Because,” I added, “if my surmises are correct, and if I have well understood the Captain’s existence, the is not only a vessel: it is also a place of refuge for those who, like its commander, have broken every tie upon earth.” Nautilus “Perhaps so,” said Conseil; “but, in any case, the can only contain a certain number of men. Could not you, sir, estimate their maximum?” Nautilus “How, Conseil?” “By calculation; given the size of the vessel, which you know, sir, and consequently the quantity of air it contains, knowing also how much each man expends at a breath, and comparing these results with the fact that the is obliged to go to the surface every twenty-four hours.” Nautilus Conseil had not finished the sentence before I saw what he was driving at. “I understand,” said I; “but that calculation, though simple enough, can give but a very uncertain result.” “Never mind,” said Ned Land urgently. “Here it is, then,” said I. “In one hour each man consumes the oxygen contained in twenty gallons of air; and in twenty-four, that contained in 480 gallons. We must, therefore find how many times 480 gallons of air the contains.” Nautilus “Just so,” said Conseil. “Or,” I continued, “the size of the being 1,500 tons; and one ton holding 200 gallons, it contains 300,000 gallons of air, which, divided by 480, gives a quotient of 625. Which means to say, strictly speaking, that the air contained in the would suffice for 625 men for twenty-four hours.” Nautilus Nautilus “Six hundred and twenty-five!” repeated Ned. “But remember that all of us, passengers, sailors, and officers included, would not form a tenth part of that number.” “Still too many for three men,” murmured Conseil. The Canadian shook his head, passed his hand across his forehead, and left the room without answering. “Will you allow me to make one observation, sir?” said Conseil. “Poor Ned is longing for everything that he can not have. His past life is always present to him; everything that we are forbidden he regrets. His head is full of old recollections. And we must understand him. What has he to do here? Nothing; he is not learned like you, sir; and has not the same taste for the beauties of the sea that we have. He would risk everything to be able to go once more into a tavern in his own country.” Certainly the monotony on board must seem intolerable to the Canadian, accustomed as he was to a life of liberty and activity. Events were rare which could rouse him to any show of spirit; but that day an event did happen which recalled the bright days of the harpooner. About eleven in the morning, being on the surface of the ocean, the fell in with a troop of whales—an encounter which did not astonish me, knowing that these creatures, hunted to death, had taken refuge in high latitudes. Nautilus We were seated on the platform, with a quiet sea. The month of October in those latitudes gave us some lovely autumnal days. It was the Canadian—he could not be mistaken—who signalled a whale on the eastern horizon. Looking attentively, one might see its black back rise and fall with the waves five miles from the . Nautilus “Ah!” exclaimed Ned Land, “if I was on board a whaler, now such a meeting would give me pleasure. It is one of large size. See with what strength its blow-holes throw up columns of air an steam! Confound it, why am I bound to these steel plates?” “What, Ned,” said I, “you have not forgotten your old ideas of fishing?” “Can a whale-fisher ever forget his old trade, sir? Can he ever tire of the emotions caused by such a chase?” “You have never fished in these seas, Ned?” “Never, sir; in the northern only, and as much in Behring as in Davis Straits.” “Then the southern whale is still unknown to you. It is the Greenland whale you have hunted up to this time, and that would not risk passing through the warm waters of the equator. Whales are localised, according to their kinds, in certain seas which they never leave. And if one of these creatures went from Behring to Davis Straits, it must be simply because there is a passage from one sea to the other, either on the American or the Asiatic side.” “In that case, as I have never fished in these seas, I do not know the kind of whale frequenting them!” “I have told you, Ned.” “A greater reason for making their acquaintance,” said Conseil. “Look! look!” exclaimed the Canadian, “they approach: they aggravate me; they know that I cannot get at them!” Ned stamped his feet. His hand trembled, as he grasped an imaginary harpoon. “Are these cetaceans as large as those of the northern seas?” asked he. “Very nearly, Ned.” “Because I have seen large whales, sir, whales measuring a hundred feet. I have even been told that those of Hullamoch and Umgallick, of the Aleutian Islands, are sometimes a hundred and fifty feet long.” “That seems to me exaggeration. These creatures are only balaeaopterons, provided with dorsal fins; and, like the cachalots, are generally much smaller than the Greenland whale.” “Ah!” exclaimed the Canadian, whose eyes had never left the ocean, “they are coming nearer; they are in the same water as the .” Nautilus Then, returning to the conversation, he said: “You spoke of the cachalot as a small creature. I have heard of gigantic ones. They are intelligent cetacea. It is said of some that they cover themselves with seaweed and fucus, and then are taken for islands. People encamp upon them, and settle there; lights a fire——” “And build houses,” said Conseil. “Yes, joker,” said Ned Land. “And one fine day the creature plunges, carrying with it all the inhabitants to the bottom of the sea.” “Something like the travels of Sinbad the Sailor,” I replied, laughing. “Ah!” suddenly exclaimed Ned Land, “it is not one whale; there are ten—there are twenty—it is a whole troop! And I not able to do anything! hands and feet tied!” “But, friend Ned,” said Conseil, “why do you not ask Captain Nemo’s permission to chase them?” Conseil had not finished his sentence when Ned Land had lowered himself through the panel to seek the Captain. A few minutes afterwards the two appeared together on the platform. Captain Nemo watched the troop of cetacea playing on the waters about a mile from the . Nautilus “They are southern whales,” said he; “there goes the fortune of a whole fleet of whalers.” “Well, sir,” asked the Canadian, “can I not chase them, if only to remind me of my old trade of harpooner?” “And to what purpose?” replied Captain Nemo; “only to destroy! We have nothing to do with the whale-oil on board.” “But, sir,” continued the Canadian, “in the Red Sea you allowed us to follow the dugong.” “Then it was to procure fresh meat for my crew. Here it would be killing for killing’s sake. I know that is a privilege reserved for man, but I do not approve of such murderous pastime. In destroying the southern whale (like the Greenland whale, an inoffensive creature), your traders do a culpable action, Master Land. They have already depopulated the whole of Baffin’s Bay, and are annihilating a class of useful animals. Leave the unfortunate cetacea alone. They have plenty of natural enemies—cachalots, swordfish, and sawfish—without you troubling them.” The Captain was right. The barbarous and inconsiderate greed of these fishermen will one day cause the disappearance of the last whale in the ocean. Ned Land whistled “Yankee-doodle” between his teeth, thrust his hands into his pockets, and turned his back upon us. But Captain Nemo watched the troop of cetacea, and, addressing me, said: “I was right in saying that whales had natural enemies enough, without counting man. These will have plenty to do before long. Do you see, M. Aronnax, about eight miles to leeward, those blackish moving points?” “Yes, Captain,” I replied. “Those are cachalots—terrible animals, which I have met in troops of two or three hundred. As to those, they are cruel, mischievous creatures; they would be right in exterminating them.” The Canadian turned quickly at the last words. “Well, Captain,” said he, “it is still time, in the interest of the whales.” “It is useless to expose one’s self, Professor. The will disperse them. It is armed with a steel spur as good as Master Land’s harpoon, I imagine.” Nautilus The Canadian did not put himself out enough to shrug his shoulders. Attack cetacea with blows of a spur! Who had ever heard of such a thing? “Wait, M. Aronnax,” said Captain Nemo. “We will show you something you have never yet seen. We have no pity for these ferocious creatures. They are nothing but mouth and teeth.” Mouth and teeth! No one could better describe the macrocephalous cachalot, which is sometimes more than seventy-five feet long. Its enormous head occupies one-third of its entire body. Better armed than the whale, whose upper jaw is furnished only with whalebone, it is supplied with twenty-five large tusks, about eight inches long, cylindrical and conical at the top, each weighing two pounds. It is in the upper part of this enormous head, in great cavities divided by cartilages, that is to be found from six to eight hundred pounds of that precious oil called spermaceti. The cachalot is a disagreeable creature, more tadpole than fish, according to Fredol’s description. It is badly formed, the whole of its left side being (if we may say it), a “failure,” and being only able to see with its right eye. But the formidable troop was nearing us. They had seen the whales and were preparing to attack them. One could judge beforehand that the cachalots would be victorious, not only because they were better built for attack than their inoffensive adversaries, but also because they could remain longer under water without coming to the surface. There was only just time to go to the help of the whales. The went under water. Conseil, Ned Land, and I took our places before the window in the saloon, and Captain Nemo joined the pilot in his cage to work his apparatus as an engine of destruction. Soon I felt the beatings of the screw quicken, and our speed increased. The battle between the cachalots and the whales had already begun when the arrived. They did not at first show any fear at the sight of this new monster joining in the conflict. But they soon had to guard against its blows. What a battle! The was nothing but a formidable harpoon, brandished by the hand of its Captain. It hurled itself against the fleshy mass, passing through from one part to the other, leaving behind it two quivering halves of the animal. It could not feel the formidable blows from their tails upon its sides, nor the shock which it produced itself, much more. One cachalot killed, it ran at the next, tacked on the spot that it might not miss its prey, going forwards and backwards, answering to its helm, plunging when the cetacean dived into the deep waters, coming up with it when it returned to the surface, striking it front or sideways, cutting or tearing in all directions and at any pace, piercing it with its terrible spur. What carnage! What a noise on the surface of the waves! What sharp hissing, and what snorting peculiar to these enraged animals! In the midst of these waters, generally so peaceful, their tails made perfect billows. For one hour this wholesale massacre continued, from which the cachalots could not escape. Several times ten or twelve united tried to crush the by their weight. From the window we could see their enormous mouths, studded with tusks, and their formidable eyes. Ned Land could not contain himself; he threatened and swore at them. We could feel them clinging to our vessel like dogs worrying a wild boar in a copse. But the , working its screw, carried them here and there, or to the upper levels of the ocean, without caring for their enormous weight, nor the powerful strain on the vessel. At length the mass of cachalots broke up, the waves became quiet, and I felt that we were rising to the surface. The panel opened, and we hurried on to the platform. The sea was covered with mutilated bodies. A formidable explosion could not have divided and torn this fleshy mass with more violence. We were floating amid gigantic bodies, bluish on the back and white underneath, covered with enormous protuberances. Some terrified cachalots were flying towards the horizon. The waves were dyed red for several miles, and the floated in a sea of blood: Captain Nemo joined us. Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus “Well, Master Land?” said he. “Well, sir,” replied the Canadian, whose enthusiasm had somewhat calmed; “it is a terrible spectacle, certainly. But I am not a butcher. I am a hunter, and I call this a butchery.” “It is a massacre of mischievous creatures,” replied the Captain; “and the is not a butcher’s knife.” Nautilus “I like my harpoon better,” said the Canadian. “Every one to his own,” answered the Captain, looking fixedly at Ned Land. I feared he would commit some act of violence, which would end in sad consequences. But his anger was turned by the sight of a whale which the had just come up with. The creature had not quite escaped from the cachalot’s teeth. I recognised the southern whale by its flat head, which is entirely black. Anatomically, it is distinguished from the white whale and the North Cape whale by the seven cervical vertebrae, and it has two more ribs than its congeners. The unfortunate cetacean was lying on its side, riddled with holes from the bites, and quite dead. From its mutilated fin still hung a young whale which it could not save from the massacre. Its open mouth let the water flow in and out, murmuring like the waves breaking on the shore. Captain Nemo steered close to the corpse of the creature. Two of his men mounted its side, and I saw, not without surprise, that they were drawing from its breasts all the milk which they contained, that is to say, about two or three tons. The Captain offered me a cup of the milk, which was still warm. I could not help showing my repugnance to the drink; but he assured me that it was excellent, and not to be distinguished from cow’s milk. I tasted it, and was of his opinion. It was a useful reserve to us, for in the shape of salt butter or cheese it would form an agreeable variety from our ordinary food. From that day I noticed with uneasiness that Ned Land’s ill-will towards Captain Nemo increased, and I resolved to watch the Canadian’s gestures closely. Nautilus About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

CACHALOTS AND WHALES

At the moment, there are spaceports and launch facilities worldwide that can launch satellites or spacecraft into sub-orbit, orbit, and beyond. Some of these are shared with existing airports due to the nature of their horizontal launch preference, and others are dedicated sites — 35 but what if, in the near future, this changed and watching a launch from your local international airport became the norm? Before we begin, here are some ‘fun facts’ — As of January 2022, the Airports Council International serves 717 members, operating 1950 airports in 185 countries. In total, there are with a passenger volume of over , which the ACI classifies as major airports. Of these, around one-third are located in North America and one-quarter in Europe. The rest are spread across Asia, Australia, and South America. 61 airports 25 million per year In total, there are 9300 airports across the globe, including — Highest altitude airport: Charana Airport in Bolivia (4060m) Lowest altitude airport: Bar Yehuda Airport in Israel (-385m) Number of airports in the northern hemisphere: 3317 Number of airports in the southern hemisphere: 1798 Top 5 countries with the most airports — USA (552) Germany (529) France (472) South Africa (262) Canada (259) The problem right now facing the spaceport industry is that the current launch cadence just can’t accommodate them all, financially and operationally. There’s a rush to build spaceports and launch facilities on new sites, mostly due to the civilian impact of having rockets launch so close to people, but the splitting of a finite resource over increasing numbers means it’s just not going to work long-term. For example, at the moment, there are only some 60-odd planned launches in Europe. There are seven spaceports about to become operational in the UK alone, and Sweden has just announced their intention to build another. Each caters to a type of launcher — horizontal and/or vertical — the majority allowing for the smaller launches only. As this number of spaceports looks to grow, conversely, so too will the availability of suitable sites begin to shrink. There will come a point where spaceports will not only eventually reach a saturation point beyond launch cadence ( ) but also a point where the various aviation authorities step in after a civilian airplane accident takes place. if this won’t happen sooner than they expect anyway all over the globe. Let’s say an average length of a flight is two hours — that would mean that six million people fly somewhere every day. Add on top of that multiple rocket launches from multiple sites on a regular basis, and the skies could get a bit more crowded and more dangerous, especially being managed by different control authorities, different mission controllers, and so on. Roughly 100,000 flights take off and land every day “We believe in a world where more people can go to more places more often. Sustainable supersonic travel unlocks new possibilities for business relationships, prospects for vacation, and opportunities for human connection.” — Blake Scholl, CEO Boom Supersonic and now I know why there’s a new race to build supersonic and hypersonic passenger planes. But the space race is about to get a lot bigger and not for orbital launchers, . Venus Aerospace’s “Stargazer” aircraft is claimed to be capable of crossing the Earth in one hour. Hypersonic technology is all the rage right now, though the specific concepts and applications are hardly anything new. For example, Venus Aerospace unveiled its new Mach 9 hypersonic plane design last year , a potential successor to the ever-loved but now-retired Concorde. And Boom Supersonic is currently building its new Overture supersonic passenger plane Now SpaceX has said that it eventually wants to run 15 million ( ) flights of a passenger version of Starship and could challenge them all. yeah, you read that right But why the focus on ludicrous speed air flight? Simple. Los Angeles to New York, which normally takes five hours and 25 minutes, will take . 25 minutes Bangkok to Dubai, which takes six hours and 25 minutes by plane, will take . 27 minutes Tokyo to Singapore, which can take seven hours and 10 minutes, would take just . 28 minutes London to New York, a seven hours and 55 minutes plane ride, takes just . 29 minutes New York to Paris, which takes around seven hours and 20 minutes by plane, would take just . 30 minutes Starship will be capable of performing long voyages to Mars carrying 100 passengers and over 100 tons of cargo, but the terrestrial version of Starship would rival commercial airliners, offering to transport 1,000 passengers from one spaceport to another across the globe at 4.6 miles per second, that is equivalent to about 12 times as fast as a supersonic flight. How much would a ticket cost? Sam Dinkins, writing for the , estimated in October 2017 it would cost over $1 million to transport 853 passengers, working out to $1,200 per person. Once this becomes a steady reality, these costs will fall — the price of a seat on Concorde was roughly the same back when it flew the skies, so this is frankly a bit of a bargain. Space Review Obviously, this is years out, but whichever becomes the favored method of air travel in the near future, one thing is clear — and civil aviation/ flight control authorities will have to approve it all on top, but the reality is that progress in developing advanced civil aerospace capabilities will stem from the innovations that come out of any and all space programs, including the updating of tracking systems for civil aviation. it means every major airport would need to rethink its capabilities to become spaceports or space hubs in their own capacity It is highly unlikely that the ability to fly Starship from one end of the globe to the other will require building new vertical launch and landing sites near those major destinations, it makes zero sense to do this, and against every other launcher, especially with their cadence and success record so the alternative to building completely new sites owned and operated by others, having their own immigration procedures, emergency infrastructure, flight control, etc is to adjust the existing airport infrastructure to cater for both vertical and horizontal hypersonic flight — no major airport owner in their right mind will want to ignore SpaceX’s current lead and that means airports becoming spaceports in their own right. It makes far more sense to utilize, merge and work with the existing aviation authorities, ground staff, and mission controllers all under one roof and take advantage of economies of scale than to continually add more pressure to an already overburdened staff with oftentimes antiquated computer systems with building a spaceport next door managed by other people with their own agendas and processes. This then opens up new opportunities for airport owners to act as sites for orbital launches, too, since they’ll have the facilities and operations to do so. We won’t need dedicated launch sites in the middle of nowhere, where there are no existing road, rail, or sea infrastructure around them. I remember being taken to the airport to see planes taking off when I was very young, it was a Sunday afternoon treat. Perhaps one day in the future, that’ll be a thing again, only this time, we’ll be watching rockets launch to New York or the Moon just as often. Hypersonic aviation is going to open up more opportunities than it realizes, and airports need to be on the ball to not only capture this new market but also play a vital role in the space race itself. Unfortunately, any time saved on a hypersonic flight will still be lost dicking about in immigration queues and being forced to walk around airport shops. Some things may never change… Also Published Here

Advancements in Airplane Tech Could Lead Major Airports to Become Spaceports

The CMA's intervention in the Meta Giphy acquisition could have long-term implications for the precedent of regulatory oversight in the digital economy. With the proliferation of tech giants and the growing dominance of a few major players, regulators around the world are facing pressure to ensure that competition is not stifled and that consumers have access to a wide range of choices. The outcome of the CMA's investigation into the Meta Giphy acquisition could set a paradigm for future deals in the tech sector, and it already spells more scrutiny for Meta. In the first few days of 2023, fines totaling more than half of the regional total from last year, and additional penalties may be on the way. Meta has already received On May 15th, 2020, when it became that Meta wished to acquire Giphy in an alleged $400 million transaction, the tech industry was abuzz with speculations about how Meta's purchase of Giphy might change the scene, and the Uk government was paying careful attention. known Giphy, the company in question, was by Jace Cooke and Alex Chung in February 2013. The firm was first launched as a straightforward GIF search engine. Later in its first year, the website offered a feature that permitted sharing via Facebook; shortly after winning the Top 100 Website of 2013 by Twitter was added as a second integration. This was the company's first significant product expansion. founded PC Magazine, With the addition of these features, Giphy will be able to reach both social media and website users, giving it access to a much bigger user base than it did previously, and ultimately laying the groundwork for its exponential development. According to the most recent statistics, Giphy with the support of investors such as DFJ Growth, Lightspeed, Betaworks, GV, Lerer Hippeau, and others had raised $150.9 million over five rounds. Crunchbase It is now clear that Meta was following closely, waiting for the right moment to hit the merger button. Why did Meta Decide to Buy Giphy? When Meta announced that it had paid a stunning $400 million for Giphy, the true reasons weren't immediately apparent. However, the firm claims that it was done solely to .” “make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs and stickers The company has used GIPHY's API for years in applications like Instagram, Facebook app, Messenger, and WhatsApp. However, Meta no longer wants to be just a user; they want to be the platform's owner. Though Meta claims it will fund further technological advancement for Giphy and establish new connections with both content creators and endpoint developers, stating that it only has good intentions, the UK government, meanwhile, held a different opinion and continued opposing the merger because it did not believe it to be a good deal. “The CMA found that Giphy’s advertising services had the potential to compete with Facebook’s own display advertising services. They would have also encouraged greater innovation from others in the market, including social media sites and advertisers. Facebook terminated Giphy’s advertising services at the time of the merger, removing an important source of potential competition.” Meta’s run-ins with regulators The blockage of the Meta Giphy acquisition is not the first conflict UK regulators or any other regulatory body have had with Meta nor is it the only instance of regulatory bodies getting involved in Meta's M&A deals. In 2014, the the purchase, which would make the social network one of the dominant players in the mobile messaging market, was viewed as a test case for how EU competition rules should be applied to the social media industries. Even though the deal was later approved, on May 18, 2017, the €110 million for producing false or misleading material during the Commission's 2014 investigation of Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp under the EU Merger Regulation. EU investigated the Facebook-WhatsApp acquisition, European Commission fined Facebook Also, back in 2012, just before Facebook had its IPO, into Facebook's purchase of the photo-sharing application Instagram. The investigation involved the FTC interviewing Facebook's rivals and assessing the overall effects of the acquisition. Although the purchase was thought to put Facebook on a speedier path to mobile supremacy the the FTC opened an investigation FTC would ultimately approve it. On 2 August 2021, the potential acquisition of Kustomer. Not just the European Commission, but even the . According to the commission, the planned deal would lessen competition in the market for CRM (customer relationship management) software. The regardless.  But, why all the investigations? European Commission launched a thorough inquiry into Facebook's CMA deal was later cleared “It is important to closely review potentially problematic acquisitions by companies that are already dominant in certain markets. This applies in particular to the digital sector, where Facebook enjoys a leading position in both online display advertising and in over-the-top messaging channels, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram. Our investigation aims to ensure that the transaction will not harm businesses or consumers and that any data that Facebook gets access to does not distort competition.” - Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition Impact of the UK regulatory action Meta, like other tech companies, has had a complex relationship with regulatory bodies. The company has faced regulatory scrutiny and criticism for a variety of issues, including its handling of user data and the spread of misinformation on its platform. Regulators from all across the world are beginning to step up their pressure on Meta to address these and other problems. For instance, for breaking data privacy regulations. In the United States, the company has faced investigations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other regulatory agencies just like the one it is facing with the CMA. Facebook was recently fined 265 million euros in Ireland The bottom line is that Meta has agreed to sell Giphy and is now facing more surveillance than ever. " I don't agree that the UK should be allowed to block the sale of a company. However, I do understand the point that Giphy is very popular in the UK and it would take them out of the UK social media and advertising markets. But I still think that should be Meta's decision not a decision for the UK government to make. If Meta wanted to buy and do nothing with it that should be their own decision. that's my opinion at least." - Jeff Krauss, Co-Founder, FanRoom Live Aside from the fact that this case specifically highlights the significant influence that national regulators can have on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), even when the involved companies are headquartered in other countries, history is being made. Note that Meta was forced to sell off Giphy by regulators in the United Kingdom, not the United States, though both Meta and Giphy are US-based companies. Withal, due to the global reach of the internet Meta and Giphy remain subject to U.K. law, which is why  Meta is caving in and selling Giphy as requested. More importantly, since the global antitrust authorities started to pay attention to its economic supremacy, despite the fact that Meta has a track record of consistently battling with regulatory organizations. this is still the first time regulators have successfully split up a piece of the media giant Never before has a major tech company been told to unwind a prior acquisition rather than pay a penalty or make guarantees about how the combined companies will function. It’s definitely a huge blow to Meta and a big win for regulatory bodies. Giphy is a minor acquisition compared to some of Meta’s other well-known mergers. The company has invested far more money in past transactions. Like the virtual reality system from Oculus, the messaging platform Redkix, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the majority of Meta’s acquisitions have been user-focused. With the exception of businesses-focused projects like CRM tool Kustomer, which was purchased for $1 billion a year ago. “The "right now" conversation is that Meta recognizes its core product platform, Facebook, has aged. To stay relevant they need to continue to acquire fresh companies, products, and developer talent from more nimble startups. That's in no way a slight on Meta. Digital products age quickly and companies must rapidly adapt. At Decasonic, we refer to this as "Rapidapt", or “rapid adapt.” These days we talk in videos, emojis, and GIFs. Thus, if Meta doesn't upgrade their text-based experiences with startups like Giphy to adapt, its relevance will be challenged.” - Paul Hsu, Founder, and CEO of Decasonic But Giphy is just a GIF company, isn’t it? Still, regulatory bodies consider the merger to be significant. “Strategic acquisitions to reinforce the dominance of any platform through the acquisition of smaller, disruptive and innovative rivals should be a red flag for competition enforcers,” - Diana Moss, president of, the American Antitrust Institute Cost implications for Meta While it is difficult to accurately predict the price someone would pay for Giphy, one thing is for certain: the sale of Giphy will have some financial implications. In the fullness of time, the CMA's ruling is expected to result in Meta selling Giphy for a significant loss because . Additionally, the valuation of enterprises is falling as governments abandon their 0% interest rate policies. the U.S. Federal Reserve is actively raising interest rates Back in 2020, when Meta acquired Giphy the times were a bit different. As the old saying goes, "A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow."  Even if Meta were to sell Giphy for the same amount it acquired, it’s still a loss due to inflation and the decrease in the value of the currency. Furthermore, Meta after purchasing Giphy shut down the company's advertising company and now the CMA order to sell Giphy also comes with the mandate to upgrade Giphy so that it can deliver GIF-based advertisements. Meta is also expected to deposit a minimum of $75 million in cash with Giphy. Undoubtedly, all these increase the financial impact the sale is going to have on Meta. “Meta's failing acquisition of Giphy is another blow to the tech conglomerate. It is now a target for politicians and a poster child for what's wrong with big tech. The CMA has put the company on the defensive again in relation to its push to support Marketplace, and, separately, its acquisition of Within hasn't gone as planned, either. If you consider these trials and tribulations in conjunction with Meta's ill-conceived dalliance in the metaverse, it is hard to find the sunshine for investors, particularly in the short term.” - Richard Gardner, CEO, Modulus It is probable that Meta will announce a loss after going through the process of selling. What next? As we’ve seen the relationship between Facebook and regulatory bodies has been dynamic, with both parties working to address concerns and establish rules and guidelines for the company's operations. It is likely that this relationship will continue to evolve as new issues arise and as regulators seek to address the challenges posed by the rapid development of technology. The Meta-Giphy case may indicate that a new set of principles for international antitrust law is taking shape. Apart from the potential minor yet significant loss that Meta might experience. Efforts to bust major tech giants might also pick up steam. “The impact of the UK regulatory intervention on Meta's attempted Giphy acquisition will, besides affecting the two businesses directly, have a potentially beneficial indirect effect on the tech industry in general. Primarily, it will reverse Meta's acquisition of Giphy and all the related agreements, and then restore both companies to pre-negotiation states. But indirectly, we might see a greater regulatory involvement in tech overall, which could lead to a more diverse and less monopolized online environment. We all stand to benefit from greater access to tools and features that were meant to be open to all, and not just up for grabs by megacorporations.” - Goran Luledzija, CEO, Localizely It is not surprising that Meta is now facing a growing trend where its mergers and acquisitions are being blocked by regulatory bodies. The to stop the company from buying Within Unlimited, a virtual reality technology business, on the grounds that the transaction might give Meta more leverage to build a "virtual reality empire." FTC recently filed a lawsuit “Instead of competing on the merits, Meta is trying to buy its way to the top” - John Newman, FTC Bureau of Competition Deputy Director. Additionally, the to get Meta to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram with allegations that Facebook engaged in anti-competitive business practices when it acquired both platforms. Federal Trade Commission is seeking “The impact of the decision by the Competitions and Mergers Authority will alert other big tech companies to the increased regulation level now being witnessed in the tech space. More tech mergers will be scrutinized, and with it, fewer companies will be willing to merge with so-called competitors to strengthen their own positions. With the reduced frequency of mergers, we can expect smaller tech companies to focus more on their growth since this channel of buyouts that previously seemed lucrative has become less desirable due to regulation. It will help the tech industry grow and make the competition landscape fairer. For users, the good news is that now they have a watchdog that will always seek to question what is the fine print of any big tech mergers ensuring that cartels are not formed against them.” - Alvin Wei, CMO and Head of Strategy at SEOAnt

UK CMA Intervention in Meta-Giphy Deal Could Signal Increased Tech Space Regulation

La intervención de la CMA del Reino Unido en el acuerdo Meta-Giphy podría indicar una mayor regulación del espacio tecnológico

L'intervention de la CMA britannique dans l'accord Meta-Giphy pourrait signaler une réglementation accrue de l'espace technologique

मेटा-गिफी डील में यूके सीएमए का हस्तक्षेप टेक स्पेस रेगुलेशन को बढ़ा सकता है

Meta-Giphy 取引への英国 CMA の介入は、技術分野の規制強化を示唆する可能性がある

A intervenção da CMA do Reino Unido no acordo Meta-Giphy pode sinalizar o aumento da regulamentação do espaço tecnológico

Sự can thiệp của CMA Vương quốc Anh vào Thỏa thuận Meta-Giphy có thể báo hiệu việc tăng cường quy định về không gian công nghệ

英国 CMA 干预 Meta-Giphy 交易可能预示着技术空间监管的加强

Good governance needs a clear understanding of consequences. When I worked for financial institutions, strict change management processes protected the technology from unintended harm during changes. Senior staff was responsible for implementing changes, but their busy schedules and the complexity of the changes often made this challenging. To avoid rejection, one had to carefully describe the intended change and follow the rules and check the appropriate boxes. Blockchain technology is reinventing finance, including change management processes. We have been successful in making senior staff responsible for changes through the use of multisigs and DAOs, but we have not been as successful in ensuring that these signers understand what they are signing off on. As a result, it is necessary to implore them to sign. Despite the real risk of a governance attack, it has become somewhat of a joke to simply sign off on things without understanding their implications. Early on at Yield, I focused on the problem of multisig members not understanding what they were signing off on. This was unacceptable to me, and I wanted to prevent developers like myself from being able to rug the protocol before higher valuations might influence judgments. If your multisig members are unsure of what they are signing, there are ways to make the process easier for them. I’ll show you how. How Governors See Change Some blockchain applications, such as Uniswap, are permissionless and require no further action after deployment. However, most other applications have adopted change-by-governance patterns, where changes can be made as long as they are signed off by a multisig or a DAO. Some changes are simple, such as transferring tokens or adjusting a parameter, while others are more complex and involve deploying contracts and orchestrating them. Obtaining signatures for any change requires a significant amount of effort, so it is common to ask for a single signature for all elements included in a change. At Yield, the largest change I've seen included more than three hundred individual calls. For simpler changes, multisig members may be willing to review the call data and may even have the ability to understand it. However, for more complex changes, this is not possible. Governors approving a change should know which functions are being called, what parameters are being used, and what effects these will have. They should be able to find this information on their own, without help from others. It is possible to achieve this, and it is easier than it may seem. However, first, we must understand how governance changes are executed by smart contracts. Governance Technology At Yield, we built our own Timelock, taking inspiration from Compound but making a crucial change. While the original Timelock can store and delay a single call, our Timelock can store a batch of calls with any number of calls included. Other protocols may use different contracts, but the basic process remains the same: a batch of function calls is recorded, approved, and then executed. In our Timelock, a call is a target and call data representing a call on the target: struct Proposal {
       STATE state;
       uint32 eta;
    } A proposal, or change, is simply an array of calls. function propose(Call[] calldata functionCalls)
       external override auth returns (bytes32 txHash)
   {
       txHash = keccak256(abi.encode(functionCalls));
       require(proposals[txHash].state == STATE.UNKNOWN, "Already proposed.");
       proposals[txHash].state = STATE.PROPOSED;
       emit Proposed(txHash);
   } The propose function is permissioned and, in our implementation, only allowed to our developers. There is also an approve function that can only be called by the multisig. The approval time determines the earliest possible execution time. function approve(bytes32 txHash)
       external override auth returns (uint32 eta)
   {
       Proposal memory proposal = proposals[txHash];
       require(proposal.state == STATE.PROPOSED, "Not proposed.");
       eta = uint32(block.timestamp) + delay;
       proposal.state = STATE.APPROVED;
       proposal.eta = eta;
       proposals[txHash] = proposal;
       emit Approved(txHash, eta);
   } Only developers are allowed to execute a change, and they must supply the same batch that was used in the propose function. If the batch is different or the change identifier is incorrect, the change will fail to find the approval and will not be executed. function execute(Call[] calldata functionCalls)
       external override auth returns (bytes[] memory results)
   {
       bytes32 txHash = keccak256(abi.encode(functionCalls));
       Proposal memory proposal = proposals[txHash];
 
       require(proposal.state == STATE.APPROVED, "Not approved.");
       require(uint32(block.timestamp) >= proposal.eta, "ETA not reached.");
       require(uint32(block.timestamp) <= proposal.eta + GRACE_PERIOD, "Proposal is stale.");

       delete proposals[txHash];

       results = new bytes[](functionCalls.length);
       for (uint256 i = 0; i < functionCalls.length; i++){
           require(functionCalls[i].target.isContract(), "Call to a non-contract");
           (bool success, bytes memory result) = functionCalls[i].target.call(functionCalls[i].data);
           if (!success) revert(RevertMsgExtractor.getRevertMsg(result));
           results[i] = result;
       }
       emit Executed(txHash);
   } In any situation where a change is being considered, there will be someone who decides that the change should be made, and there will be developers who turn that idea into code. This code, in the form of a batch of function calls, is then fed to the Timelock using `propose`. The next step is for responsible senior staff, a multisig, or a DAO to review the change and decide whether to approve it, calling `approve`. This step is the one that is often difficult because understanding the proposed change from the Timelock is difficult. We can make this process easier for them by using existing development tools to provide them with detailed information about the nature of the change. Reviewing Change in Detail Once a change has been proposed in the Timelock, it becomes immutable thanks to its unique identifier. If a governor approves this identifier, only that exact batch of calls can be executed. With this in mind, we can: `propose` on the real network. Fork that network. Impersonate the governor and `approve` the proposal in the fork. `execute` in the fork The change being executed is the same as the one that was proposed because we forked the network after the proposal. Not only that, but anyone can analyze the execution with a transaction decoder. At Yield, we use Tenderly, but there are other options available. I made public for educational purposes. one of our proposal executions in a fork As a multisig member at Yield, I review the execution of every proposal in a fork. I compare the change identifier for approval in the multisig against the change identifier in the fork, and then I know with total certainty that what is in the multisig is what would be executed. All changes must include of their purpose and the parameters being used. I use this to understand what the change does in a broad sense, and then use the transaction decoder to review the detail. a text-based description I start by comparing the description against the contracts involved in the execution to ensure that they match. Conducting due diligence in this process includes verifying all new contracts and ensuring that their verified code is what is in the repository. Knowing the contracts involved, the events of the transaction provide all the necessary information for reviewing the rest of the execution. I review the permissions granted and revoked, any changes to the oracles, and that the numerical parameters match what was discussed and agreed upon. and make it publicly available for each change. Other governors can review my work or conduct their own due diligence in any other way they choose. In any case, I believe that the risk of being caught if I misrepresent a change is now sufficiently high. I document my review on Notion Gnosis Safe as a Simpler Alternative Gnosis Safe now offers a batch builder and automatically creates a simulation on Tenderly for all executions. This is the same functionality I described, with a friendlier interface. If your governance proposals are simple enough to be created manually in a web interface, Gnosis Safe would be a simpler option. You can share the simulation report from Gnosis Safe and achieve the same result. Conclusion Governance of blockchain applications is difficult, and as a governor, you risk signing off on changes that could lead to the failure of the application, either by mistake or by design. Recent events have only emphasized the need to protect our users from harm. By using developer tools and following simple processes at , we have been able to provide governors with clear information about what they are signing off on. We have successfully executed over one hundred separate changes, totaling thousands of contract calls, have reduced the number of governance errors, and are able to catch more mistakes earlier than before. Yield Nothing we do is magic; it is simply common sense. Please make sure that you understand what you sign, and ask for the necessary tools if you must. We owe it to our users.

How To Review a Governance Action

Holocaust

The Essays of Adam Smith: Part III, Chapter III - Of the Influence and Authority of Conscience.

The Essays of Adam Smith, by Adam Smith is part of HackerNoon’s Book Blog Post series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Part II, SEC. II, Chapter III: Of the Utility of this Constitution of Nature. Chapter III. Of the Utility of this Constitution of Nature IT is thus that man, who can subsist only in society, was fitted by nature to that situation for which he was made. All the members of human society stand in need of each others assistance, and are likewise exposed to mutual injuries. Where the necessary assistance is reciprocally afforded from love, from gratitude, from friendship, and esteem, the society flourishes and is happy. All the different members of it are bound together by the agreeable bands of love and affection, and are, as it were, thereby drawn to one common centre of mutual good offices. But though the necessary assistance should not be afforded from such generous and disinterested motives, though among the different members of the society there should be no mutual love and affection, the society, though less happy and agreeable, will not necessarily be dissolved. Society may subsist among different men, as among different merchants, from a sense of its utility, without any mutual love or affection; and though no man in it should owe any obligation, or be bound in gratitude to any other, it may still be upheld by a mercenary exchange of good offices according to an agreed valuation. Society, however, cannot subsist among those who are at all times ready to hurt and injure one another. The moment that injury begins, the moment that mutual resentment and animosity take place, all the bands of it are broke asunder, and the different members of which it consisted are, as it were, dissipated and scattered abroad by the violence and opposition of their discordant affections. If there is any society among robbers and murderers, they must at least, according to the trite observation, abstain from robbing and murdering one another. Beneficence, therefore, is less essential to the existence of society than justice. Society may subsist, though not in the most comfortable state, without beneficence; but the prevalence of injustice must utterly destroy it. Though Nature, therefore, exhorts mankind to acts of beneficence, by the pleasing consciousness of deserved reward, she has not thought it necessary to guard and enforce the practice of it by the terrors of merited punishment in case it should be neglected. It is the ornament which embellishes, not the foundation which supports, the building, and which it was, therefore, sufficient to recommend, but by no means necessary to impose. Justice, on the contrary, is the main pillar that upholds the whole edifice. If it is removed, the great, the immense fabric of human society, that fabric which to raise and support seems in this world, if I may say so, to have been the peculiar and darling care of Nature, must in a moment crumble into atoms. In order to enforce the observation of justice, therefore, Nature has implanted in the human breast that consciousness of ill-desert, those terrors of merited punishment which attend upon its violation, as the great safeguards of the association of mankind, to protect the weak, to curb the violent, and to chastise the guilty. Men, though naturally sympathetic, feel so little for another, with whom they have no particular connexion, in comparison of what they feel for themselves; the misery of one, who is merely their fellow-creature, is of so little importance to them in comparison even of a small conveniency of their own; they have it so much in their power to hurt him, and may have so many temptations to do so, that if this principle did not stand up within them in his defence, and overawe them into a respect for his innocence, they would, like wild beasts, be at all times ready to fly upon him; and a man would enter an assembly of men as he enters a den of lions. In every part of the universe we observe means adjusted with the nicest artifice to the ends which they are intended to produce; and in the mechanism of a plant, or animal body, admire how every thing is contrived for advancing the two great purposes of nature, the support of the individual, and the propagation of the species. But in these, and in all such objects, we still distinguish the efficient from the final cause of their several motions and organizations. The digestion of the food, the circulation of the blood, and the secretion of the several juices which are drawn from it, are operations all of them necessary for the great purposes of animal life. Yet we never endeavour to account for them from those purposes as from their efficient causes, nor imagine that the blood circulates, or that the food digests of its own accord, and with a view or intention to the purposes of circulation or digestion. The wheels of the watch are all admirably adjusted to the end for which it was made, the pointing of the hour. All their various motions conspire in the nicest manner to produce this effect. If they were endowed with a desire and intention to produce it, they could not do it better. Yet we never ascribe any such desire or intention to them, but to the watch-maker, and we know that they are put into motion by a spring, which intends the effect it produces as little as they do. But though, in accounting for the operations of bodies, we never fail to distinguish in this manner the efficient from the final cause, in accounting for those of the mind we are very apt to confound these two different things with one another. When by natural principles we are led to advance those ends which a refined and enlightened reason would recommend to us, we are very apt to impute to that reason, as to their efficient cause, the sentiments and actions by which we advance those ends, and to imagine that to be the wisdom of man, which in reality is the wisdom of God. Upon a superficial view, this cause seems sufficient to produce the effects which are ascribed to it; and the system of human nature seems to be more simple and agreeable when all its different operations are thus deduced from a single principle. As society cannot subsist unless the laws of justice are tolerably observed, as no social intercourse can take place among men who do not generally abstain from injuring one another; the consideration of this necessity, it has been thought, was the ground upon which we approved of the enforcement of the laws of justice by the punishment of those who violated them. Man, it has been said, has a natural love for society, and desires that the union of mankind should be preserved for its own sake, and though he himself was to derive no benefit from it. The orderly and flourishing state of society is agreeable to him, and he takes delight in contemplating it. Its disorder and confusion, on the contrary, is the object of his aversion, and he is chagrined at whatever tends to produce it. He is sensible too that his own interest is connected with the prosperity of society, and that the happiness, perhaps the preservation of his existence, depends upon its preservation. Upon every account, therefore, he has an abhorrence at whatever can tend to destroy society, and is willing to make use of every means, which can hinder so hated and so dreadful an event. Injustice necessarily tends to destroy it. Every appearance of injustice, therefore, alarms him, and he runs (if I may say so), to stop the progress of what, if allowed to go on, would quickly put an end to every thing that is dear to him. If he cannot restrain it by gentle and fair means, he must bear it down by force and violence, and at any rate must put a stop to its further progress. Hence it is, they say, that he often approves of the enforcement of the laws of justice even by the capital punishment of those who violate them. The disturber of the public peace is hereby removed out of the world, and others are terrified by his fate from imitating his example. Such is the account commonly given of our approbation of the punishment of injustice. And so far this account is undoubtedly true, that we frequently have occasion to confirm our natural sense of the propriety and fitness of punishment, by reflecting how necessary it is for preserving the order of society. When the guilty is about to suffer that just retaliation, which the natural indignation of mankind tells them is due to his crimes; when the insolence of his injustice is broken and humbled by the terror of his approaching punishment; when he ceases to be an object of fear, with the generous and humane he begins to be an object of pity. The thought of what he is about to suffer extinguishes their resentment for the sufferings of others to which he has given occasion. They are disposed to pardon and forgive him, and to save him from that punishment, which in all their cool hours they had considered as the retribution due to such crimes. Here, therefore, they have occasion to call to their assistance the consideration of the general interest of society. They counterbalance the impulse of this weak and partial humanity by the dictates of a humanity that is more generous and comprehensive. They reflect that mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent, and oppose to the emotions of compassion which they feel for a particular person, a more enlarged compassion which they feel for mankind. Sometimes too we have occasion to defend the propriety of observing the general rules of justice by the consideration of their necessity to the support of society. We frequently hear the young and the licentious ridiculing the most sacred rules of morality, and professing, sometimes from the corruption, but more frequently from the vanity of their hearts, the most abominable maxims of conduct. Our indignation rouses, and we are eager to refute and expose such detestable principles. But though it is their intrinsic hatefulness and detestableness, which originally inflames us against them, we are unwilling to assign this as the sole reason why we condemn them, or to pretend that it is merely because we ourselves hate and detest them. The reason, we think, would not appear to be conclusive. Yet why should it not, if we hate and detest them because they are the natural and proper objects of hatred and detestation? But when they are asked why we should not act in such or such a manner, the very question seems to suppose that, to those who ask it, this manner of acting does not appear to be for its own sake the natural and proper object of those sentiments. We must show them, therefore, that it ought to be so for the sake of something else. Upon this account we generally cast about for other arguments, and the consideration which first occurs to us, is the disorder and confusion of society which would result from the universal prevalence of such practices. We seldom fail, therefore, to insist upon this topic. But though it commonly requires no great discernment to see the destructive tendency of all licentious practices to the welfare of society, it is seldom this consideration which first animates us against them. All men, even the most stupid and unthinking, abhor fraud, perfidy and injustice, and delight to see them punished. But few men have reflected upon the necessity of justice to the existence of society, how obvious soever that necessity may appear to be. That it is not a regard to the preservation of society, which originally interests us in the punishment of crimes committed against individuals, may be demonstrated by many obvious considerations. The concern which we take in the fortune and happiness of individuals does not, in common cases, arise from that which we take in the fortune and happiness of society. We are no more concerned for the destruction or loss of a single man, because this man is a member or part of society, and because we should be concerned for the destruction of society, than we are concerned for the loss of a single guinea, because this guinea is a part of a thousand guineas, and because we should be concerned for the loss of the whole sum. In neither case does our regard for the individuals arise from our regard for the multitude: but in both cases our regard for the multitude is compounded and made up of the particular regards which we feel for the different individuals of which it is composed. As when a small sum is unjustly taken from us, we do not so much prosecute the injury from a regard to the preservation of our whole fortune, as from a regard to that particular sum which we have lost; so when a single man is injured or destroyed, we demand the punishment of the wrong that has been done to him, not so much from a concern for the general interest of society, as from a concern for that very individual who has been injured. It is to be observed, however, that this concern does not necessarily include in it any degree of those exquisite sentiments which are commonly called love, esteem, and affection, and by which we distinguish our particular friends and acquaintance. The concern which is requisite for this, is no more than the general fellow-feeling which we have with every man merely because he is our fellow-creature. We enter into the resentment even of an odious person, when he is injured by those to whom he has given no provocation. Our disapprobation of his ordinary character and conduct does not in this case altogether prevent our fellow-feeling with his natural indignation; though with those who are not either extremely candid, or who have not been accustomed to correct and regulate their natural sentiments by general rules, it is very apt to damp it. Upon some occasions, indeed, we both punish and approve of punishment, merely from a view to the general interest of society, which, we imagine, cannot otherwise be secured. Of this kind are all the punishments inflicted for breaches of what is called either civil police, or military discipline. Such crimes do not immediately or directly hurt any particular person; but their remote consequences, it is supposed, do produce, or might produce, either a considerable inconveniency, or a great disorder in the society. A sentinel, for example, who falls asleep upon his watch, suffers death by the laws of war, because such carelessness might endanger the whole army. This severity may, upon many occasions, appear necessary, and, for that reason, just and proper. When the preservation of an individual is inconsistent with the safety of a multitude, nothing can be more just than that the many should be preferred to the one. Yet this punishment, how necessary soever, always appears to be excessively severe. The natural atrocity of the crime seems to be so little, and the punishment so great, that it is with great difficulty that our heart can reconcile itself to it. Though such carelessness appears very blamable, yet the thought of this crime does not naturally excite any such resentment as would prompt us to take such dreadful revenge. A man of humanity must recollect himself, must make an effort, and exert his whole firmness and resolution, before he can bring himself either to inflict it, or to go along with it when it is inflicted by others. It is not, however, in this manner, that he looks upon the just punishment of an ungrateful murderer or parricide. His heart, in this case, applauds with ardour, and even with transport, the just retaliation which seems due to such detestable crimes, and which, if, by any accident, they should happen to escape, he would be highly enraged and disappointed. The very different sentiments with which the spectator views those different punishments, is a proof that his approbation of the one is far from being founded upon the same principles with that of the other. He looks upon the sentinel as an unfortunate victim, who, indeed, must, and ought to be, devoted to the safety of numbers, but whom still, in his heart, he would  be glad to save; and he is only sorry, that the interest of the many should oppose it. But if the murderer should escape from punishment, it would excite his highest indignation, and he would call upon God to avenge, in another world, that crime which the injustice of mankind had neglected to chastise upon earth. For it well deserves to be taken notice of, that we are so far from imagining that injustice ought to be punished in this life, merely on account of the order of society, which cannot otherwise be maintained, that Nature teaches us to hope, and religion, we suppose, authorises us to expect, that it will be punished, even in a life to come. Our sense of its ill desert pursues it, if I may say so, even beyond the grave, though the example of its punishment there cannot serve to deter the rest of mankind, who see it not, who know it not, from being guilty of the like practices here. The justice of God, however, we think, still requires, that he should hereafter avenge the injuries of the widow and the fatherless, who are here so often insulted with impunity. In every religion, and in every superstition that the world has ever beheld, accordingly, there has been a Tartarus as well as an Elysium; a place provided for the punishment of the wicked, as well as one for the reward of the just. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Smith, Adam. 2018. The Essays of Adam Smith. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved May 2022 from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58559/58559-h/58559-h.htm#page78 This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

The Essays of Adam Smith: Part II, SEC. II, Chapter III

The Essays of Adam Smith, by Adam Smith is part of HackerNoon’s Book Blog Post series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Part I, SEC. II, Chapter I: Of the Passions which take their Origin from the Body. Chapter  I. Of the Passions which take their Origin from the Body. 1. IT is indecent to express any strong degree of those passions which arise from a certain situation or disposition of the body; because the company, not being in the same disposition, cannot be expected to sympathize with them. Violent hunger, for example, though upon many occasions not only natural, but unavoidable, is always indecent, and to eat voraciously is universally regarded as a piece of ill manners. There is, however, some degree of sympathy, even with hunger. It is agreeable to see our companions eat with a good appetite, and all expressions of loathing are offensive. The disposition of body which is habitual to a man in health, makes his stomach easily keep time, if I may be allowed so coarse an expression, with the one, and not with the other. We can sympathize with the distress which excessive hunger occasions when we read the description of it in the journal of a siege, or of a sea voyage. We imagine ourselves in the situation of the sufferers, and thence readily conceive the grief, the fear, and consternation, which must necessarily distract them. We feel, ourselves, some degree of those passions, and therefore sympathize with them: but as we do not grow hungry by reading the description, we cannot properly, even in this case, be said to sympathize with their hunger. It is the same case with the passion by which Nature unites the two sexes. Though naturally the most furious of all the passions, all strong expressions of it are upon every occasion indecent, even between persons in whom its most complete indulgence is acknowledged by all laws, both human and divine, to be perfectly innocent. There seems, however, to be some degree of sympathy even with this passion. To talk to a woman as we should to a man is improper: it is expected that their company should inspire us with more gaiety, more pleasantry, and more attention; and an entire insensibility to the fair sex, renders a man contemptible in some measure even to the men. Such is our aversion for all the appetites which take their origin from the body; all strong expressions of them are loathsome and disagreeable. According to some ancient philosophers, these are the passions which we share in common with the brutes, and which, having no connexion with the characteristical qualities of human nature, are upon that account beneath its dignity. But there are many other passions which we share in common with the brutes, such as resentment, natural affection, even gratitude, which do not, upon that account, appear to be so brutal. The true cause of the peculiar disgust which we conceive for the appetites of the body when we see them in other men, is that we cannot enter into them. To the person himself who feels them, as soon as they are gratified, the object that excited them ceases to be agreeable: even its presence often becomes offensive to him; he looks round to no purpose for the charm which transported him the moment before, and he can now as little enter into his own passion as another person. When we have dined, we order the covers to be removed; and we should treat in the same manner the objects of the most ardent and passionate desires, if they were the objects of no other passions but those which take their origin from the body. In the command of those appetites of the body consists that virtue which is properly called temperance. To restrain them within those bounds which regard to health and fortune prescribes, is the part of prudence. But to confine them within those limits which grace, which propriety, which delicacy, and which modesty, require, is the office of temperance. 2. It is for the same reason that to cry out with bodily pain, how intolerable soever, appears always unmanly and unbecoming. There is, however, a good deal of sympathy even with bodily pain. If, as has already been observed, I see a stroke aimed, and just ready to fall upon the leg, or arm, of another person, I naturally shrink and draw back my own leg, or my own arm: and when it does fall, I feel it in some measure, and am hurt by it as well as the sufferer. My hurt, however, is, no doubt, excessively slight, and, upon that account, if he makes any violent outcry, as I cannot go along with him, I never fail to despise him. And this is the case of all the passions which take their origin from the body: they excite either no sympathy at all, or such a degree of it, as is altogether disproportioned to the violence of what is felt by the sufferer. It is quite otherwise with those passions which take their origin from the imagination. The frame of my body can be but little affected by the alterations which are brought about upon that of my companion: but my imagination is more ductile, and more readily assumes, if I may say so, the shape and configuration of the imaginations of those with whom I am familiar. A disappointment in love, or ambition, will, upon this account, call forth more sympathy than the greatest bodily evil. Those passions arise altogether from the imagination. The person who has lost his whole fortune, if he is in health, feels nothing in his body. What he suffers is from the imagination only, which represents to him the loss of his dignity, neglect from his friends, contempt from his enemies, dependence, want, and misery, coming fast upon him; and we sympathize with him the more strongly upon this account, because our imaginations can the more readily mould themselves upon his imagination, than our bodies can mould themselves upon his body. The loss of a leg may generally be regarded as a more real calamity than the loss of a mistress. It would be a ridiculous tragedy, however, of which the catastrophe was to turn upon a loss of that kind. A misfortune of the other kind, how frivolous soever it may appear to be, has given occasion to many a fine one. Nothing is so soon forgot as pain. The moment it is gone the whole agony of it is over, and the thought of it can no longer give us any sort of disturbance. We ourselves cannot then enter into the anxiety and anguish which we had before conceived. An unguarded word from a friend will occasion a more durable uneasiness. The agony which this creates is by no means over with the word. What at first disturbs us is not the object of the senses, but the idea of the imagination. As it is an idea, therefore, which occasions our uneasiness, till time and other accidents have in some measure effaced it from our memory, the imagination continues to fret and rankle within, from the thought of it. Pain never calls forth any very lively sympathy unless it is accompanied with danger. We sympathize with the fear, though not with the agony of the sufferer. Fear, however, is a passion derived altogether from the imagination, which represents, with an uncertainty and fluctuation that increases our anxiety, not what we really feel, but what we may hereafter possibly suffer. The gout or the tooth-ache, though exquisitely painful, excite very little sympathy; more dangerous diseases, though accompanied with very little pain, excite the highest. Some people faint and grow sick at the sight of a chirurgical operation, and that bodily pain which is occasioned by tearing the flesh, seems, in them, to excite the most excessive sympathy. We conceive in a much more lively and distinct manner the pain which proceeds from an external cause, than we do that which arises from an internal disorder. I can scarce form an idea of the agonies of my neighbour when he is tortured with the gout, or the stone; but I have the clearest conception of what he must suffer from an incision, a wound, or a fracture. The chief cause, however, why such objects produce such violent effects upon us, is their novelty. One who has been witness to a dozen dissections, and as many amputations, sees, ever after, all operations of this kind with great indifference, and often with perfect insensibility. Though we have read or seen represented more than five hundred tragedies, we shall seldom feel so entire an abatement of our sensibility to the objects which they represent to us. In some of the Greek tragedies there is an attempt to excite compassion, by the representation of the agonies of bodily pain. Philoctetes cries out and faints from the extremity of his sufferings. Hippolytus and Hercules are both introduced as expiring under the severest tortures, which, it seems, even the fortitude of Hercules was incapable of supporting. In all these cases, however, it is not the pain which interests us, but some other circumstance. It is not the sore foot, but the solitude, of Philoctetes which affects us, and diffuses over that charming tragedy, that romantic wildness, which is so agreeable to the imagination. The agonies of Hercules and Hippolytus are interesting only because we foresee that death is to be the consequence. If those heroes were to recover, we should think the representation of their sufferings perfectly ridiculous. What a tragedy would that be of which the distress consisted in a colic! Yet no pain is more exquisite. These attempts to excite compassion by the representation of bodily pain, may be regarded as among the greatest breaches of decorum of which the Greek theatre has set the example. The little sympathy which we feel with bodily pain, is the foundation of the propriety of constancy and patience in enduring it. The man, who under the severest tortures allows no weakness to escape him, vents no groan, gives way to no passion which we do not entirely enter into, commands our highest admiration. His firmness enables him to keep time with our indifference and insensibility. We admire and entirely go along with the magnanimous effort which he makes for this purpose. We approve of his behaviour, and from our experience of the common weakness of human nature, we are surprised, and wonder how he should be able to act so as to deserve approbation. Approbation, mixed and animated by wonder and surprise, constitutes the sentiment which is properly called admiration, of which, applause is the natural expression, as has already been observed. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Smith, Adam. 2018. The Essays of Adam Smith. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved May 2022 from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58559/58559-h/58559-h.htm#page26 This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

The Essays of Adam Smith: Part I, SEC. II, Chapter I

This tutorial will demonstrate how to use to create a Merge queue in your GitHub flow. Mergify Understanding the fundamental building blocks of merge queues allows you to apply this knowledge in whatever way you see fit in the future. Adding queues to your CI/CD pipeline with : Mergify Mergify Save time by automating your pull requests and securing the code merge with a merge queue. Mergify can assist you with a variety of tasks. Mergify allows you to define your own rules. When your pull request matches any of the rules you specified, the bot will take action. It can merge, close, comment, request a review, backport, copy, etc. It will notify you of its progress and which rules may be triggered in real time. A Queue will keep your Merges safe. Automate and protect your merges using the market's best and fastest merge queue. Maintain the main evergreen branch and stop causing problems with your deployments. Introduction Merging code into branches could be a very time-consuming task, especially on big projects with many developers or in any case. So when you have a lot of branches and a lot of pull requests that have to be reviewed, approved, and merge in the correct order and it’s not just merging itself because for each pull request, you need to decide who the reviewers are. You need to assign labels, perhaps rebase your branches, consider the most updated versions that have been pushed in the meantime to the main branch, and much more. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a free automation tool that works with any CI and integrate natively with GitHub? It can do all the just mentioned. Mergify revolutionized how we work with our pull requests and do our merges. What is Mergify is a tool that helps prioritize, queuing, and automatically merge your pull requests. It can also rebase and update your branches while commenting, labeling, assigning, and closing your pull requests. Mergify If it sounds compelling, it’s because it is. But, of course, you can do some of these things in Github directly; well, yes, some features are covered by Github, but you either need to activate them manually or any way they are not as powerful as counterparts that Mergify provides and in other cases these features are simply missing from Github. is a GitHub pull request automation tool with a merge tool. Mergify Mergify gives user automation when you create a new project on GitHub. To design your merge policy, you write code. You won't have to wait for anything because it's automatic. You will achieve a deployment rate of 10-20 times each day. is a "Tools for GitHub" tool. Mergify What problem does Mergify solve? Mergify is a powerful GitHub pull request automation engine that enables you to automate everything, particularly merging. You write the rules, and it takes care of the rest. They also deal with more complicated use cases. For example, they offer a merge queue so that your pull requests are merged serially and tested by your CI one after the other, avoiding code regression. Classic problem A common issue is when a PR has been sitting for some time awaiting review. Because CI passed too long ago, you've merged many things into the main branch, and your PR is outdated. The CI stated that it is still green and that "it worked one week ago, so it is fine to be merged." So you approve it, merge it, and then problems arise due to the merged changes. Another everyday use case is when you or a colleague is doing a PR and asks, "Hey, can you review it?" So you review it, approve it, and then realize the CI did not complete because your CI takes more than an hour. But, according to your rules, this is stupid because it is ready and has the appropriate label, approval, and CI passing. Why Mergify You can save time by having your pull requests automatically merge, comment, rebase, update, label, backport, close, and assign. For example, suppose you want your pull request to be merged once your CI passes and the pull request has been approved. You write such a rule, and our engine merges the pull request as soon as it is ready. Their goal is to make pull request management and automation simple. For example, you can use your bot to trigger a rebase of your pull requests or a backport to a different branch with a single comment. Why do we need Merge Queue? Merging the separate work of a large team of experts into one codebase is a challenging task to carry out. The problem lies deeper than our regular merging conflicts, which the version control is perfect at handling. Experts can encounter way more complex conflicts when continuous changes are made to multiple fields of code built on one another. Let me explain with an example to understand it in a better way Using , you can gain a better understanding of the problem. GitHub We create a Pull Request that passes the main branch's CI & there is another commit before our PR is merged. It makes no difference whether the commit is made by merging another PR or by committing directly to the main branch; the CI checks remain green even after the commit. As novice maintainers, we would think that this is fine as long as the checks pass. As a result, we merge the PRs, and guess what? The production environment is at risk. The requirement for arises because general CI checks or any version control system fail here. Merge Queue You might be confused; even if all the checks pass, how can merging the PR break the code at production? Let's say I'm adding a function call to some new code, and my colleague is editing it at the same time, perhaps modifying the signature or return values. The CI would still pass because the file I changed had no new modifications when my colleague committed. Only merge queue can help solve this problem where Version control and even tests and checks in CI can’t help. What is Merge Queue, and what value does it provide Every day large companies encounter millions of conflicts between daily changes that are solved by merging, where stakes are high, and 1 error can cost billions of dollars. For example, At Netflix, developers merge and deploy over 300-600 pull requests every day. More than a million customers depend on Netflix streaming services; an error while merging may fire up billions of dollars & customer dissatisfaction. The tech expert team at Netflix reported a 4% chance of an actual conflict between two changes; this number grows to 30% with only 15 concurrent and potentially conflicting customization. So these problems can occur almost every day for large companies. Here comes the part of the Merge queue to solve that problem quickly. A is precisely what its name implies: it is a queue to which you add your branch/Pull-Request in order for it to be merged. Merge Queue is a First-In-First-Out queue that carries out the merge workflow for our Github repository. Merge Queue It's always straightforward for developers to commit directly to the master branch. However, as the project grows in size and complexity and the number of participants, branching becomes necessary. A merge queue is a mechanism that combines the benefits of directly committing to the master with the scalability of establishing branches. Apart from the convenience of not having to wait for builds to merge, the main benefit of employing a Merge Queue is that it can help us avoid bad merges, saving us both time and money. A merge queue solves this problem by updating any pull request out of sync with its base branch before merging it. The change makes the continuous integration system retest the pull request with the new code from the base branch, catching any potential regression. Why using a Merge Queue is the best option If you consider the ever-increasing size of your engineering team, its velocity at creating pull requests, and the emergence of bots that continuously generate code, the chance of breaking a production system arises as the system expands. Over the last decade, the industry centered on building a pre-submit testing approach focused on individual changes and did not consider concurrent changes. At Mergify, they envision that this has to change. However, the cost of faulty branches is too expensive, considering its consequences, such as delayed rollouts, deployment of rollbacks, and the hampering of developers' productivity due to local failure. provides a merge queue for GitHub that is easy to set up and customize to your needs. Mergify If you have been using Git for some time now, I am sure working with Pull Requests is now at your fingertips. You may have started getting irritated with merge conflicts a lot. But what if I tell you, even after merging the conflicts, we can't be sure if the pull request will break our production or not? Have you ever thought about how enterprise projects are maintained? How do so many contributors work together in sync without breaking the production? Engineering teams at Shopify, Uber, and almost every other company have faced the same issue with merging and used the same hammer to break and finish off the problem. Many engineering teams and open-source projects introduce merge queues as part of their workflows. Every day, Mergify merge code for top companies Mozilla Netflix AXA Uber IBM Airtable Fedora and many more. Mergify Vs. MergeQueue Mergify is a comprehensive automation service for pull requests, whereas MergeQueue is a simple merging queue. Every large team requires a merge queue, but it is ineffective in the absence of automation. Mergify is a MergeQueue alternative that is entirely automated. Mergify provides the quickest merge queue in the industry at this moment. Mergify allows you to define a variety of custom rules and workflows. There are a variety of criteria for defining rules, such as the author of the pull request, the base branch, labels, files, and so on. With over 25k monthly active users, they are the industry expert and leader in code merge automation. The quickest merge queues Multiple and ordered queues Complete automation You can create your own that can be used in pull request rules and queue rules to determine whether a pull request meets a specific rule. conditions If a pull request meets all of the conditions listed in a rule, the subsequent actions listed in that rule will be carried out. Conditions must be specified in the pull request rules or queue rules entries section — see below for more information. COPY pull_request_rules:
  - name: automatic merge for main when reviewed and CI passes
    conditions:
      - check-success=Travis CI - Pull Request
      - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
      - base=main
      - label=ready-to-merge
    actions:
      merge:
        method: merge Visit the doc page to learn more about the many conditions you can add. conditions Mergify executes the actions configured in that rule when a pull request matches the list of Conditions of a rule. The actions should be placed in the pull request rules entry under the actions key — see below for an image of more information on how we added a comment. COPY pull_request_rules:
  - name: automatic merge for main when CI passes and 2 reviews
    conditions:
      - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
      - check-success=Travis CI - Pull Request
      - base=main
    actions:
      merge:
        method: merge You can add 15+ actions types to your PR: assign backport close copy comment delete_head_branch dismiss_reviews edit label merge post_check queue rebase request_reviews review update squash Learn more about . actions Let's talk about an example " " Use labels to merge important & urgent PRs. Some pull requests may be more urgent when using the queue action than others. In that case, you could use a label to add a condition and set the priority of the queue action: COPY pull_request_rules:
  - name: automatic merge of 🚑 hotfix (high priority)
    conditions:
      - check-success=Travis CI - Pull Request
      - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
      - base=main
      - label=🚑 hotfix
    actions:
      queue:
        method: merge
        priority: high
  - name: automatic merge of bot 🤖 (low priority)
    conditions:
      - author~=^dependabot(|-preview)\[bot\]$
      - check-success=Travis CI - Pull Request
      - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
      - base=main
    actions:
      queue:
        method: merge
        priority: low
  - name: automatic merge for main when reviewed and CI passes
    conditions:
      - check-success=Travis CI - Pull Request
      - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
      - base=main
    actions:
      queue:
        method: merge
        priority: medium As the prior example demonstrates, the pull request will be submitted to the merge queue as soon as two contributors have approved it. Pull requests labeled "hotfix" will be merged first in the merge queue. I strongly advise you to look at these excellent examples listed . here Conclusion The work of a developer does not finish with creating a pull request. There are numerous variables to consider, such as: Please do not fail the CI tests. Reviewers, Who should I ask to look through my PR? Conflicts, When it comes to rebasing, there are a lot of them! Merging, I'm hoping it goes well. And as we increase our teams, whether we're working at a startup or a large corporation, this becomes increasingly unpleasant. So why not automate everything? Mergify does precisely that. If you already have a GitHub account, sign up with Mergify & enable Mergify on your Git repository in a few steps and start automating. That concludes this blog. Today I hope you learned something new. Please like/share if you did so that it reaches others. is a great place to follow my journey. Twitter Also Published here

Automating Pull Request Merges with Mergify

Photo by Alex Nghiem on Unsplash We’ve all got used to an abundance of all sorts of gadgets and gizmos in our everyday life. Indeed, corporations spend billions of dollars each year to satisfy the needs of ever-fastidious consumers by designing, developing and launching hundreds of brand-new products that assist, entertain, clean, inform, and monitor. But how does this process work for independent development studios? To find this out, I talked to Stan Bakaliar, the CEO of , a product design and development company with over 70 projects in its portfolio. Woodenshark What products is Woodenshark behind? Tell us about your most outstanding projects. There are some which make our engineering hearts proud. For example, we have developed a lightpack which uses high-resolution video as an input, analyzes color at every part of the screen edge and sends color commands to RGB LEDs all over the screen to light in matching colors. The main challenge here is the calculation speed—you have to change LED commands very quickly, or else the user will notice the delay and, instead of relaxation or excitement, the product will only bring irritation. We’ve also helped the team with their product, a 3-dimensional console and a gaming platform, which, too, involved plenty of engineering challenges. How to ensure the smooth rotation of all the modules and make the design reliable, so that the device doesn’t fall into pieces in the user's hands? WowCube How to arrange data and charge sharing among all the modules? How to charge eight modules at once? How to fit all the necessary functions, three screens and a battery into a size of 3x3x3 cm and keep production costs moderate? It’s been a pleasure for us to solve these problems. Our partner, , has also brought in some interesting enterprise IoT projects, which require rigorous analysis of the whole logistics and manufacturing processes as well as the users and their goals, and the development of user scenarios in the first place. Moeco This project has shifted our perspective a bit, because we had to keep in mind that our mistakes could make the work with the devices uncomfortable, and, given the huge volumes, it could result in immense extra labor time and labor costs, which could eventually become much higher than the production costs. How do you accept an application to work on a project, and how does work begin? How do you design your products? What processes do you provide to your customers? We always start with the problem research to find out what result should be achieved to meet the needs of the customer and their users. If the customer already has a solution idea, we look into it and try to suggest better options—that’s our job as engineers. We can refuse the project if the customer doesn't have any specific clear goals for the product, or if the project is too complex for us. Next, we develop a list of technical requirements and success criteria and approve it with the customer. Usually, we provide them with a guesstimation—a project timeline and budget with ±100% accuracy, which can be used to estimate the amount of future funds and time needed. Then we develop a product description, with all the details about interfaces, indication, structure, architecture and so on and send it to the customer for approval again. From this point, we are ready to provide an accurate timeline and a budget, based on the decomposed features of the future product. We can also prepare a quality assurance plan to include it in the development tasks. First, we design all the main functions as prototypes. After the approval, we put more bones to this skeleton, adding other features to it. Finally, the EVT (engineering verification test) takes place. We are used to working in one-month sprints, keeping in mind the 1-1,5 timelines and the customer’s goals—it gives us enough flexibility to make short planning sessions once a month and get approvals for our work results periodically. You have been involved in more than 70 hardware startups, including your own projects. What principles do you adhere to when it comes to product design? How do you define the success of this process? Usually, there are two basic principles: there should be a business sense in launching the project, and the idea should have a considerably higher value for the user than the existing products. We always try not to invent anything complex if there is a simple existing solution on the market—because if we do, we will repeat their mistakes and waste the customer’s budget with poorer results. Also, many product teams do not realize the amount of capital required to launch a hardware startup, so we help them to develop an approximate financial model of their future business to see if it’s possible to build a viable company with their current business ideas. Speaking about added value, it requires the analysis of the product users, their problems and their experience with the problem. There are some nice frameworks in customer development that can help with it. For instance, we like to use corridor tests and problem interviews, and we also use JTBD as the main method to describe our product success. So, if your customer sees a value in solving their problem with the new device, is willing to pay for it, and it’s enough for a product team to be sustainable—that’s the definition of product success for us. There are other success criteria, such as finishing the project within the timeline, within the budget, with the required quality, but all these are standard for service companies. Were there any failed products? What has working on them taught you? Yes, a lot. We’ve learned that if you have an engineering team that  develops hardware, instead of making an internal product, always strive to start a new company that will own the intellectual property and will manage all the manufacturing, marketing, sales, and support operations. Also, we’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to postpone the development until the customer has a clear understanding of what they want to achieve and how they want to make a profit from the product. And never start a project unless you describe when it will end. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves—how far our estimates can be from reality and how different the estimates can be even within one and the same team, so you need to archive data about your projects to improve estimates in the future. We also have a list of bad engineering decisions—decisions that can cause you a lot of pain during testing/manufacturing/using/utilization, though they can seem valid at first glance. Also, we’ve had some problems with the gap between what customers would like to see and what our engineering team is actually developing, so we started to use more of the Behavior Driven Development approach, and it fits well in our team. What’s the biggest challenge your company has faced so far? The most serious problem concerns not so much professional challenge, but an unfathomable disaster that hit us recently. An essential part of our team was in Ukraine when the war began. Our colleagues had to leave their homes and offices in Kharkiv and move to less dangerous regions of Western Ukraine. They work facing a stressful reality every day. Our colleagues from Russia also had to relocate to other countries because they could not feel safe. Considering the circumstances, we now have to build new logistics chains and communication for distributed teams. Despite all the difficulties, we support our entire international team in such devastating times. What specialists work in your company and which of them usually work on the product? How do you organize the work on a product within a team? We are a service company, and our team members have various specializations, like PCB design, Mechanical design, Industrial design, Project management, Supply chain management, Firmware and Software development. Together we can solve a wide range of tasks. But we don’t have any dedicated product teams, because, usually, each of our team members is involved in two or three projects, and it is much more efficient in the case of outsourced development than a dedicated development team. There is a lot of talk about generative design these days. Do you use it at work? What perspectives do you see for this approach? We don’t use generative design because it’s too chaotic as of now. It can be used to fill an inspiration board or generate a huge number of concepts, but all subsequent tasks should be addressed by a specialist who understands user scenarios and experience and knows how different ideas can change the product price and complexity. For now, generative design can’t evaluate those factors and can’t make a product optimized for mass production. What products will be in demand in 5 and 10 years? What niches for business development and product development would you recommend considering? There is always a lag between the moment you hear about new technology and the moment you can actually find it commonly used. So, in 5 years, you will find many already existing technologies which will leave the stage of limited testing and go fully into the market. And more than that, there are limitless ideas to combine existing technologies. There are technologies that are already in our world but aren’t fully integrated.For example, 5G. It will take around 5 years to grow a market of 5G devices, so the whole 5G infrastructure will develop for sure. Ecology-related projects will continue to grow since there are too many problems that still require solutions. There are still no good replacements for oil and gas energy, and even coal is still used in huge volumes. So, there should be a lot of projects aimed at using renewable energy sources with higher efficiency and making them easier to manufacture and use. There is also a search for alternatives to lithium to replace it in our batteries. When we have one—be sure, there will be a lot of projects based on it. Some countries can probably develop atomic energy programs as an alternative to the current energy challenges. Probably, in 10 years, neural interfaces will become a common thing for a number of devices—they can enhance the gaming experience, recovery processes, and manipulate other objects. There is a limitless number of ideas that can be developed, but the important thing is: in the last couple of years, the world has been shocked by crises that couldn’t have been predicted. So let’s just dream about a bright future and be ready for new challenges.

How Does Innovative Product Engineering Work?

HOW TO GET THE WEBSITE YOU DESERVE? While many companies utilize their website to generate interest in their products or services, many fail to convert those visitors into customers. When it comes to the website, the goal is to attract qualified leads and allow them to submit their contact information to the firm, which will then follow up with a sales call or notification. By keeping this purpose in mind, have you been noticing experiencing the following on your own website: Zero to a small number of inquiries? Appearing a little shabby and like it belongs in the 1990s? Search engines aren’t finding your website? Not mobile-friendly and displays oddly on some devices? Branding changes are in the works? 👍 If you said at least one yes, it means you most probably will benefit from a website redesign. This is how popular Airbnb looked back in 2008. Definitely needed to redesign the whole thing! But, don’t worry. It is only normal to do so. And we are here to guide you through it. In this article, we will be discussing website redesign, its cost, strategies in doing so, and the top 3 mistakes you’d want to avoid. Now, You Are Thinking About How Much It Costs To Redesign A Website? The total cost highly depends on the agency you will be working with. Designers at the higher end of the spectrum charge for extra storytelling, deeper research, highly improved user experience, and increased conversion rates. Moreover, if the vendor is quite popular and won multiple awards the price tag will go up. We say that not complex websites like ours can be designed and developed under 4 months; however, the research is not included in this estimate, and the ICP was developed prior to the design stage. The more complex it gets, the more time it will require, as well. More time = more money, as simple as it is. The Website Redesign Timeline: 99 times out of 100, the redesign process always begins with an audit.  It’s the best way to evaluate the effectiveness of your site overall, the language you use, and look at the big picture and the user journey. Audit phase (20h+) Here we examine everything you have got and what are the main struggling point Secondly, we list down all the issues we noticed and think how to solve them with a new design. Research (20h+) Based on the available information, we go deep into market research and user research User Interviews (20h+) If there is extra time or the project is quite complex or new to the market, we advise conducting user interviews We sit down with your target audience and ask them all sorts of questions to get a clear picture of their pain points and expectations Moodboard Creation (20h+) Having all the data we need, we gather together to brainstorm the style ideas for your website We come up with several directions for you to choose from All this is done via online presentation, where we talk about solutions Informational structure (20h+) Since we strive to satisfy user needs, we map out the info structure to organize content in a flow engaging for visitors Wireframes (20h+) This is when you see your website structure and we ask you to approve it You are able to see the content layout, functionality and how all the screens are connected. It’s highly needed for a smooth development process too. Design concept (20h+) When all the technical work is done, we proceed with the first design concept We show you the very first design and what the main Your feedback plays a major part here in navigating us further UI work (100h+) The direction is set, so we get to UI work to make the best design for you UI kit, handover (10h+) After finishing the pages’ design and getting your final approval, we get all the documentation (UI kit) ready, so you can easily use your new graphic elements in other visual materials Development (100h+) Ready to make your design into a functioning site? With all documentation, wireframes you can easily convert them into the website Top 3 Mistakes While Redesigning A Website A website makeover may significantly influence a company’s bottom line. With this, we avoid committing these top mistakes before or throughout your redesign process. 🚫 Starting the redesign process without a proper understanding of what is wrong with the current website At the very least, not every website or page within one should be changed at the same time. Your present design should not be changed only because you are tired of it. That’s a terrible excuse. A typical motivation for a website redesign is to increase usability, update the brand, or bring in a new phase of success for the site. 🚫 Not telling about all your ideas and concerns Be open and vocal to what you expect with the design. If you have any picture in mind of how your future website should look – make sure to translate it to the team and at the very beginning, and we will always send you some examples to see what you prefer. Our team is also here to prevent you from repeating the same pattern of the original design with the new one. Sometimes the cause of low traffic or conversion might be in the product or wording itself. We may help you understand if this is the case. 🚫 Letting perfectionism take over As long as we love to praise ourselves, there are no ideal websites. You can always change, upgrade, test, and experiment with something new. But it’s important to stop on time and try the latest version of the website before improving it more. Wrap Up Are you considering a website redesign because you’ve found one or more of its intended objectives to be unproductive? Then setting a budget and formulating a strategy is a crucial first step for you. Before you begin a website redesign, you must avoid making the top 3 mistakes that businesses usually make, it’s always better to do your homework first. In , we often get inquiries about website redesign however redesigning is not always the best solution. We are here to help you choose the right direction for your website and provide you with a complimentary consultation. Ralabs Design

Website Redesign Strategy With a 9 Stage Timeline

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Localization of any type of application, be it a web, mobile or desktop app, can be tedious and irritating. In this article, I’ll show you how can you handle that easily with Localazy and in a way that you’ll spend your time effectively and actually enjoy the localization process. vue-18n Localazy’s most prominent features are a pro-active review process, highly accurate translation memory supported by community-shared translations and non-disturbing, and crystal clear UI which is not bloated with rarely used options. And as I’ll show shortly, it works seamlessly with . Thanks to that, managing translation strings, even with open-source projects where anybody can contribute (with varying quality), is a piece of cake 🍰. vue-i18n tldr; sign up for , Localazy with English as source language and option enabled, create an app Use community translations (ShareTM) select integration option and install Localazy , Vue.js CLI install and configure vue-i18n create in root and paste in and modify the localazy.json configuration create folder and in it create . Add any translation key-value pair, e.g. locales en.json run , localazy upload in Localazy, add any language. Then review it and accept the suggested phrases, run and check folder for the new locale, localazy download locales run the app npm run serve Sign up and app creation First of all, let’s on Localazy and create a . In this article, we’ll use English as the source language, but you can generally choose any other. Make sure that the option is enabled. is the highly accurate translation memory I mentioned. Thanks to it, most of the new applications have as much as 50 % of their strings automatically available for translation into 80+ languages. set up a new account new application Use community translations (ShareTM) ShareTM Proceed to create the app. Afterward, select on the integration screen. We’ll use the powerful CLI tool to manage the upload and download of phrases. is available for Linux, MacOS and Windows. Note the read and write keys in step 2. We’ll need it shortly. Vue.js Installation Set up Vue project If you don’t want to follow the step-by-step guide here, you can take a look at the . Otherwise, stay awhile and listen. finished repo Create a new Vue project with (if you don’t have Vue CLI installed, run ) and use preset. Once everything is installed, add . vue create vue-i18n-example npm install -g @vue/cli Vue 2 vue-i18n npm install vue-i18n Now it’s time to add integration with Localazy. Create in the root folder and paste the following configuration. Use the write and read keys from the step 2 of the integration guide page. localazy.json { : , : , : { : , : }, : { : }
} "writeKey" "your-write-key" "readKey" "your-read-key" "upload" "type" "json" "files" "src/assets/locales/en.json" "download" "files" "src/assets/locales/${lang}.json" Additionally, create folder and file inside. Since we’ve set English to be the source language, this file will contain the source phrases for our application. You can fill in any key-value pair you like. I’ll add this. src/assets/locales en.json { : , : } "hello" "Hello, my friend" "stay_awhile_and_listen" "Stay awhile and listen" At this point, the application is ready to have localization managed by Localazy. Before we upload the first bunch of strings, let’s prepare a test scenario with to get it off our plates. vue-i18n First modify . main.js Vue App VueI18n ; en ; messages = {
    en,
}

Vue.use(VueI18n); i18n = VueI18n({ : ,
    messages
})


Vue.config.productionTip = Vue({
  i18n, : h(App),
}).$mount( ) import from 'vue' import from './App.vue' import from "vue-i18n" import from "../src/assets/locales/en.json" const const new locale 'en' false new render => h '#app' And then App.vue < > template < = > div id "app" < > h1 {{$t('hello')}} </ > h1 < > h2 {{$t('stay_awhile_and_listen')}} </ > h2 </ > div </ > template < > script { : ,
} export default name 'App' </ > script < > style { : Avenir, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; : antialiased; : grayscale; : center; : ; : ;
} #app font-family -webkit-font-smoothing -moz-osx-font-smoothing text-align color #2c3e50 margin-top 60px </ > style When you run , you should see the two English phrases. Nothing fancy so far. npm run serve Uploading and downloading phrases Let’s upload the English file to Localazy. From the root folder, run the following command localazy upload -s The argument stands for simulate. It is a good practice to test out the configuration without uploading anything to assure that nothing unexpected happens (such as some of the key-value pairs are incorrectly matched and override each other). The output should be something along these lines, depending on the CLI version -s Localazy CLI, v1.1.9
Advanced file uploader/downloader for the Localazy translation platform.

Read more information at https://localazy.com/docs/cli

Uploading...
  - deprecate missing: false
  - import as new: false
  - app version: 0
  - groups: (default only)
  - folder: .

Processing files...

./src/assets/locales/en.json
  (file=file.json, lang=inherited, type=json)

Verifying...

Validating...

Done. Everything worked out well and our English file was matched. This time let’s let upload it for real. localazy upload Refresh your app page and you should see the English language on the list. Open the tab and there you find a couple of languages with info about the percentage of automated translations. It is possible that you will see either 50 % or 100 %. The automated matching with ShareTM improves all the time and it’s likely that thanks to this article you would have all the phrases automatically translated. How cool is that? 🙂 Add languages One way or another, look up German and add it to your app. You’ll see there is a review button. Every time ShareTM provides a translation suggestion it will have candidate status. This means that it will be ready for review and any reviewer can either approve it or decline. Go ahead and approve the suggested phrase(s). In case that the ShareTM did not translate 100 % of phrases, come back to the languages list and notice that the review button now reads translate. Localazy recognizes that there is nothing to review but still something to translate, so it offers you the next most likely action in one click. Translate the other phrase (you may use a suggested phrase on the translation page). This time you do not need to go through the review process since you are a trusted translator as owner by default, so the translation is immediately approved. It’s time to go back to the Vue project. localazy download With this command, you’ll download all the newly accepted phrases and newly added languages. In the folder, we can see there is newly . locales de.json The last thing to be done is to update and add the German locale resource file. main.js Vue App VueI18n ; en ; de ; messages = {
    en,
    de
}

Vue.use(VueI18n); i18n = VueI18n({ : ,
    messages
})


Vue.config.productionTip = Vue({
  i18n, : h(App),
}).$mount( ) import from 'vue' import from './App.vue' import from "vue-i18n" import from "../src/assets/locales/en.json" import from "../src/assets/locales/de.json" const const new locale 'de' false new render => h '#app' Now when you run the app again, you’ll see that the phrases were correctly translated to German. Closing words I hope you’ve enjoyed this short intro into Localazy with . If you’d like to get closer to us, join us on . vue-i18n Discord Previously published at https://localazy.com/blog/how-to-localize-vuejs-app-with-vue-i18n-and-localazy

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