Settlin

settlin

Yarn and NPM are two of the most popular Node.js package managers. They allow downloading, installing, and managing packages when developing in JavaScript. Yarn (Yet Another Resource Negotiator) and NPM (Node Package Manager) are package managers used for coding. They work with Node.js, which serves to help users develop and run JavaScript code outside a web browser. JavaScript Node.js uses a large number of open-source packages and libraries to make coding more straightforward and efficient. Package managers like Yarn and NPM allow users to easily install, manage, update, and remove packages, libraries, and dependencies. As I said, we're going to settle things out: We are going to compare Yarn vs. NPM similarities and differences. History Before talking about anything, we need to talk about the history of these two at some points: 2010: npm is released with support for Node. 2016: Yarn is released. It shows much greater performance than npm. It also generates a yarn.lock file that makes sharing and exact replication of repos much easier and predictable. 2017: npm 5 is released. It offers auto-generation of a package-lock.json file in answer to yarn.lock. 2018: npm 6 is released with improved security. Now npm checks security vulnerabilities before dependencies are installed. 2020: Yarn 2 and npm 7 are released. Both packages come with great new features, as we’ll see later in this tutorial. 2021: Yarn 3 is released with various improvements. Popularity Choosing a technology that is widely adopted can assist you in getting help faster when experiencing any implementation challenges. While Yarn is newer as compared to npm, it seems to be catching up quickly in popularity. For example, if we compare the number of downloads between npm and Yarn in the past five years, we can see that npm is the clear winner here. However, if we use the extent of their GitHub activity to compare the popularity of the two tools, we notice a totally different story. Installation Installing npm seems much easier than that of Yarn—npm comes already bundled with your Node.js installation, so there’ll be no need to install it. Yarn is available as an npm package. So, you can simply install it by running the following command on the terminal: npm install yarn Managing dependencies However, the Yarn core team does not recommend installing it via npm. Depending on your system requirements, you can go for any of these installation options. Yarn and npm have more or less similar ways of managing dependencies. They both provide the package.json file that exists at the root of the project’s working directory. This file keeps all the relevant metadata associated with the project. It assists in managing the project’s dependencies version, scripts, and more. In Yarn, it is called yarn.lock, while in npm, it is called package-lock.json. As the name implies, this file locks the dependencies to their stipulated versions during the installation process after establishing the versioning parameters in the package.json file. When installing a dependency, the lock file ensures the same file structure in node_modules is maintained across all environments. This provides determinism, supports collaboration with other developers, and prevents code breakages from installing new or incompatible dependencies. While Yarn and npm follow a similar style of managing dependencies, it’s advised not to use them together unless they are pointed at different registries from their default installations. If used together, they can create conflicts, particularly due to resolution inconsistencies arising from unsynchronized lock files. Performance One of the main reasons why Yarn was developed was to overcome the performance issues with npm. So, initially, Yarn was the clear winner in terms of performance. However, in recent times, especially from v5 and v6, npm has been considerably bridging the gap with Yarn. While Yarn is still faster in most cases, npm is quickly tightening this competition. Several benchmark tests have been done to compare the speed of these two stacks. For example, here is a table that summarizes the results of one test that compared the speed of installing some simple dependencies under different conditions: CLI commands Developers usually spend a lot of time interfacing with terminals; it’s where they live. Therefore, another vital point for comparison is the CLI. Let’s look at some commands common to both tools: Lifecycle scripts Both npm and Yarn support lifecycle scripts. These are entries in the scripts property of the package.json file that let you define various commands you can use to automate tasks related to your package. Lifecycle scripts greatly ease the lives of developers, especially in automating repetitive tasks. Security One of the main criticisms of npm is regarding security. Previous npm versions have a couple of serious security vulnerabilities. As of version 6, npm audits packages during installation and tells you if any vulnerabilities are found. We can do this check manually by running against the installed packages. If any vulnerabilities are found, npm will give us security recommendations. npm audit As you can see in the screenshot above, we can run npm audit fix to fix package vulnerabilities, and the dependency trees will be fixed if it’s possible to do so. Both Yarn and npm use cryptographic hash algorithms to ensure the integrity of the packages. Conclusion We’ve seen how important package managers are for modern web development, and we’ve compared the two most popular rivals on the market. They both have their advantages and shortcomings, and in order to choose the best for you, you need to have a clear idea of your requirements. The best way to decide which is more suitable for you is to try them both and see which performs better. Sources: . https://www.imaginarycloud.com/blog/npm-vs-yarn-which-is-better/#:~:text=As%20previously%20stated%2C%20Yarn%20installs,files%20to%20the%20offline%20cache https://phoenixnap.com/kb/yarn-vs-npm https://www.section.io/engineering-education/npm-vs-yarn-which-one-to-choose https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-npm-and-yarn https://www.mend.io/free-developer-tools/blog/npm-vs-yarn-which-should-you-choose Also published . here

NPM vs Yarn: Settling The Debate

Settling Down

“The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities.” – Benjamin E. May Do you ever get the feeling that you're settling for a mediocre life? Maybe you're doing the bare minimum at work, or spending quality time with your family has gone down the drain. It's something I feel we've become quite prone to as a society (although I'm not certain as to why). Maybe I'm wrong; it could just be that we're settling for stability, since we no longer live in an age where we're constantly being threatened by war or famine. But there has to be more to life than just getting by. Personally, I know that the biggest rush of energy and self-esteem I ever get comes from trying new things. Going above and beyond my limits is what makes me thrive. I spoke to a guy recently who made me ponder this whole idea of putting in maximum effort, and of becoming the best at what you do. Carlos Rodriguez is the founder of G2, the 'greatest esports company in the world'; he's spent the majority of his career becoming the best at each game he touches. He's also the person inspiring today's newsletter. I'll be touching on some of Carlos' story – you can listen to the full thing – but on top of that, I want to delve deeper into what it takes to be the best. How can you make incremental changes in your life so that you're constantly progressing and reaching new levels? here Let's take a look. Why Do We Settle For Less? This is the first thing I typed into Google when exploring this topic. We all choose to be mediocre at times; it's the path of least resistance, and it's also the best way to remain 'safe'. The interesting part, however, is that we have much more to gain from putting in maximal effort. Showing initiative at work is more likely to lead to a pay rise. Spending time with your spouse and kids leads to stronger relationships. Learning a new skill can lead to an entirely new career. In other words, it's not easy – but it's worth it. So why do we still settle for less? We Have an Intense Fear of Failure Humans fear failure; it's a fact of life. Some of us more, some of us less – but all of us have some fear of failure. It's something that stems from pain avoidance – if we do something and it doesn't work out, we're likely to feel regret or disappointment. A psychologist by the name of Guy Winch in a way that really interested me. He reframed it as not a phobia, but an act of self-sabotage; our pain-averse mindset causes us to deprive ourselves of opportunities, and ultimately, happiness. explained fear of failure It's Easy To Settle While I was down the research rabbit hole, another contributing factor kept popping up: the idea that life is becoming increasingly easy to enjoy in the short-term. Almost everything we interact with now is designed to deliver little hits of dopamine. Perhaps we're so doped up on the stuff that we don't need the endorphins from exercise, the satisfaction from a job well done, or the sense of accomplishment that comes with learning something new. If you've ever listened to Tristan Harris, a design ethicist and former Google employee, you'll know the between technology and slot machines. Both are built to give us the same short-term hit that keeps us in a self-sabotaging state of mind. scary parallels he draws Effort Takes... Well... Effort Stating the obvious here, but it's relevant. A key reason we don't push ourselves to be the best is that it takes a heck of a lot of effort. I mean real, physical energy – whether it's brain power, time, or bodily resources. It's tiring to be constantly learning and growing, especially if we're not used to it. I found a great study on this called "The Effort Paradox: Effort Is Both Costly and Valued". As to be expected, it highlights the fact that effort takes a mental and physical toll. What it asserts, however, is that the value we gain from effort far outweighs the cost. "Mountaineers value mountain climbing precisely because it is so arduous and effortful; through a process of learned industriousness, effort itself can become a secondary reinforcer and be rewarding by itself; and objects that one effortfully crafts and assembles oneself (e.g., IKEA furniture) are valued more than the same objects that come preassembled." You can read the study – it's super interesting, and it makes a lot of sense to me. here Why Mediocre Hurts Us There's part of all of us that wants to be better. It's evolutionary; in the past, when being better meant survival, it was key. But it's a lot easier to silence that instinct now that we don't need it to survive. Here's the kicker, though. While choosing to give a half-assed effort feels easier and better in the short-term, there are studies to prove the way it hurts us in the long-term. My favorite study on delayed gratification is the infamous Marshmallow Experiment. James Clear wrote an about it. Kids were offered a choice: one marshmallow now, or two if they could wait 15 minutes. Most kids (unsurprisingly) chose instant gratification and ate the one marshmallow. excellent article The kids who were able to wait for the two marshmallows, though, were followed into adulthood. The study found that the kids who were able to delay gratification had better life outcomes – they did better in school, had healthier relationships, and earned more money. In other words, choosing the easy path now resulted in a worse life later on. And that's what we get for refusing to better ourselves: a mediocre life. Choosing To Do Better The whole reason why I started thinking along these lines was my interview with Carlos Rodriguez. We didn't even talk about instant vs. delayed gratification, or any of that. But I was speaking to a guy who had spent years becoming the best at what he does – and that inspired me. Let's hear a little from the interview. Carlos' Story and Rise To Success As you might know, Carlos is the – one of the world's most successful esports companies. But his story didn't start there. In fact, he began as a competition gamer himself, and he was passionate about it. founder of G2 "[eSports is] two clicks into direct competition with someone I don't know. I don't know their background, I don't know their race or color or anything. And that, to me felt beautiful." Carlos got into the world of eSports almost as soon as he heard about it, even though his sporting history consisted of mostly physical team sports like paddle and soccer. "I never really liked high school; never liked to study too much. But with eSports, there was a way in which I could compete with other people in a game that I would consider myself good at. Then, somebody would give me the truth – after competing against him or her – that I was a bit sh*t. And I appreciated it." It's rare to hear someone talk about their appreciation for constructive criticism. I think it was a great way to start out his career; he got used to seeing areas that needed improvement and fixing them. Making A Career From Scratch Carlos was proactive about becoming the best, because if you were the best, that's how you got into the big leagues. Eventually, he teamed up with other top-ranking World of Warcraft players to form a professional team. Their first comp left him with $2000 to take home to his family – more money than his parents made combined. "Back then, it was like the world to me. My mom and my dad worked pretty much all day. My mum was a makeup artist, my dad was an electrician. And between them both, they didn't bring home 2000 bucks a month. So I thought I was the richest man on the planet." Carlos continued studying at this point, but he got better at World of Warcraft in the meantime – so good, in fact, that he won in all of Europe and came third in the World Championships. Now, imagine becoming the best at something. You're almost guaranteed to win your competitions and bring home the big bucks. Would you give it up and start from scratch? I'm not sure how many of us would give up certainty to challenge ourselves. But Carlos did. "I said to myself, 'Okay, I want a career out of this. So what games should I play next? What games fit my skill set, and what game is played by a lot of people?' And that's when I consciously decided to go for League of Legends, which is one of the largest games on the planet." Not only did this guy decide to make eSports his career – a gutsy move to begin with – but he also decided to switch to a new game that was even more competitive, and that would require even more hours of practice. He was playing the long game. Carlos' Approach To Becoming The Best You can hear the full story in his interview (and I highly recommend doing so) – but let's switch gears a little. I was interested to find out Carlos' thoughts on how he approaches becoming the best at a new game. "With video games, I always say: if your mind can take it, you should be training. You're not going to get exhausted...if you just do the ABC of what to do when you play games, like a stretch every now and then, get up from your chair, and stretch." It was pretty clear to me that Carlos is someone who practices pretty much non-stop, which I admire a lot. And, while some people would argue that playing video games is 'lazy' or 'easy', playing on a professional level is work. It's hard work. "Mentally it's very taxing. Every game you play, you have to think about 1000 things; you're controlling your character while you're thinking about what your team is doing. What moves should the team do next? What is my opponent thinking of doing? It's just very taxing, and you have to take it seriously so that you can develop good habits." By good habits, Carlos meant practice – hours and hours of it. "I think that an average successful career has a player training eight to ten hours a day. And there are players that can take more, there's players that can take less. I think that the rule of thumb is that if you can take it, you should be practicing." Can You Take It? I wanted to focus in on that last sentence for a moment,= because it's such a succinct way of putting things. If you want to be the best at something, you put in the maximum effort – which is whatever you can feasibly take. Think about . To train for an Everest climb, they have to do things like hike with heavy packs, sleep in cold conditions, and expose themselves to altitude sickness. They push themselves to the absolute limit. Cave divers have to do something similar. Everest climbers But our lives don't need to be so drastic, though. To become the best at what you do, you simply find what you're comfortable with and then do more of it. For example, I want to be an excellent podcast interviewer. I don't interview one person per month, or per year; I do as many interviews as my schedule allows because I want to get better. The people I talk to are also diverse, offering new challenges and opportunities for growth. (That's not to blast my own horn – there are things I could be more proactive about, of course). But that's what I've learned from the people I interview, too; the successful entrepreneurs who have achieved a lot in their field. The consistent pattern is that these people never settle for mediocre. Every single person I have the pleasure of interviewing have become successful by their above-and-beyond effort – not by waiting around. How To Choose Excellent Over Mediocre To round out today's newsletter, I want to share some of the advice and strategies I found whilst exploring the delayed gratification rabbit hole. The reality is that most of us are wired to find the path of least resistance. We crave pain reduction, or better still, pain avoidance – so seeking the opposite needs to be an active decision. Here's what I found. Reframe the Effort-Performance Relationship If you're looking to change the way you think about effort and gratification, is an awesome read. In it, Fabrice Cavarretta (Ph.D., Associate Professor of Management at ESSEC Business School) talks about effort as a 'feedback loop'. this article Usually, we think of effort as a one-time payment for a one-time reward. We study for one exam to get one good result. We work one shift to earn one shift's wages. But what if we thought of effort as a continuous process? Cavarretta explained that there's another way to think about effort. We can see it as a repeating loop, like this: effort > performance > pleasure > motivation > effort. Rather than assuming that the loop ends after receiving the pleasure, we can see that the pleasure is actually the beginning of the next loop. I understand this to mean that putting in effort gives us the motivation to continue putting in effort. If you view it this way, putting in effort begins to have a lot more payoff. You're constantly motivated to improve your performance so that you can experience more pleasure, and more motivation to attain that pleasure. (A pay raise, a new milestone in your startup, a strategic breakthrough, etc.). Don't Avoid Your Fears from the University of Texas, demonstrating the way that aggression builds up if the aggressor doesn't deal with it as it builds. The same can be said for other emotions – like fear. A study recently came out When it comes to fear of failure, the more you ignore it, the bigger it gets. The best way to beat fear of failure and allow yourself to take risks, like putting in more effort or trying something new, is to break it down by degrees. Acknowledge the root of your fear as it arises. If you notice an area of life where you're settling for mediocre, is there a fear that's holding you back? Are you doing the bare minimum in your role at work because you're afraid of screwing up responsibilities you've never had before? Acknowledge Your Conditioning One reason it's so hard to break out of the habit of settling for less is because we've been conditioned to do so from a young age. In her book, , Carol Dweck discusses the power of a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset. A growth mindset is the belief that you can always improve, while a fixed mindset is the belief that your abilities are static. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success If you have a growth mindset, then you're more likely to take on new challenges and put in extra effort, because you know that you can improve with time and practice. If you have a fixed mindset, you're more likely to avoid new challenges, because you're afraid of not being good at them from the start. Dweck's research has shown that people with a growth mindset are more successful in life than those with a fixed mindset. Why? Because they're constantly challenging themselves and growing. Seek Out Role Models And Mentors A sure-fire way to motivate yourself to new heights is seeking out people who excel at what they do. Simply being around their energy and their attitude can help you change your perspective and raise your standards. For me personally, I get an enormous surge of motivation when I interview people like Carlos on the podcast. It's possibly because I'm consistently faced with proof that hard work and high effort pays off; the entrepreneurial minds I get to interact with on a weekly basis have all put in an incredible amount of work to get where they are. Wrapping Things Up It's been a while since I wrote a mammoth deep-dive like this! I hope you've gained something from the newsletter. If nothing else, know this: putting in the work pays off. It pays off psychologically, and it pays off in improvements to your career and life. Head over to with Carlos Rodriguez if you're interested in hearing more about his unique career. I loved it, and I'm sure you will too. watch the full interview Thanks for reading!

Are You Settling, Or Doing Your Best?

¿Se está conformando o está haciendo lo mejor que puede?

Êtes-vous en train de vous installer ou faites-vous de votre mieux ?

क्या आप सेटल हो रहे हैं, या अपना सर्वश्रेष्ठ कर रहे हैं?

落ち着いていますか、それとも最善を尽くしていますか?

Você está se acomodando ou fazendo o seu melhor?

Bạn đang định cư hay đang cố gắng hết sức?

你是安定下来，还是尽力而为？

We live in a time when there are numerous options for outsourcing your development work. Post on LinkedIn about a coding job that you need to do, and you will get 10's to 100's of responses. But how do you pick an outsourced development team? Since 2015, Carnedd director Edward Aslin has worked as a technical lead, a fair chunk of this time as a consultant. As such, he has worked in quite a few development teams. During this time, he has seen the running of development teams done well and badly. How a development team is run directly translates to the quality of the code produced, and in turn affects your return on investment. If you are considering hiring an outsourced development team to work on a project for you, The below list, while not exhaustive. Is a set of questions that you can ask. The answers to this can help you distinguish teams with a higher likelihood of producing good code, and a successful project. Question 1: How do you motivate your staff If your development team is not properly motivated, your project is doomed from the start. So finding out how a company motivates its dev team is important. Due to the fact skilled developers are in demand, you would typically expect bigger motivators than you would see in other sectors. It used to be you could motivate a development team by offering them free snacks and a football table; it does not work like that anymore. The bar has been raised. The suggests that you motivate developers by giving them good work-life balance, flexible working, strong culture, and remunerating them well. 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey Make sure the company you are outsourcing motivates their staff, with methods that are in line with what developers actually want. Question 2: Do your staff work overtime Staff who work overtime make mistakes. There is only so long any individual can stare at a screen and do what is effectively a complicated puzzle. . Proper rest and downtime are required, to get the best code out of people Staff who work unpaid overtime not only make mistakes but resent their employees. Neither of these things makes for happy contributors to code bases. Look for an agency that has not built its business around expecting staff to work for free, and realizes the value of well-rested, happy developers. Check out websites such as Glassdoor. Don’t just want to take their word for it? Question 3: What is your staff retention rate like? Linked closely to the first two questions. Poor retention rate is also an indicator that things are not quite as they should be in the team elsewhere. In a typical dev team, switching developers on projects can be disruptive and time-consuming. It will eat into the hours you are paying for, and it will result in technical debt, directly affecting the quality of the product produced. LinkedIn can quickly reveal average retention rates. Don't just want to check out their word for it? Question 4: Do you use Git? Git is a form of version control. Used properly, it is like a time machine for your code, and it facilitates multiple developers working together on a project simultaneously. Version control, such as Git, is a cornerstone in all good development practices. If a development team is not using Git, you can guarantee there is a very little workflow or process elsewhere in the team, projects will take longer, and be prone to software development issues that were resolved for most people in 2005...by correct implementation of Git. Check if the company has a GitHub Company Profile (or similar), with public packages in. Don't just want to check out their word for it? Question 5: Are the senior members of staff coders? The classic response here is They wrote a little bit of code once See translation "No, they can not code". You want a development manager, to have done their time in the trenches, and to still be actively coding and staying relevant. Writing a bit of code as a hobbyist, or writing some code long ago, does not qualify you to run a team of developers. If a technical manager cannot code, they cannot review their developer’s code. They cannot tell the difference between a well-built product, and one made of string and bubble gum. They are far less likely to have a profound appreciation for the intricacies and the trade-offs, that have to be made every day. As a result, they are less likely to oversee the build of a quality project and deliver it on time and within budget. A quick glance at the company profile on linked in can reveal the work history of key members of staff, and if they actually have the creds. Don't just want to check out their word for it? Question 6: Can you provide an example of a client for whom you built, and maintained a codebase for over a number of years? Building a product is one thing, maintaining it, and a relationship with the client over a number of years is a very different thing altogether. You do not want to work with an agency that will build your project, and then "throw it over the wall". Providing minimal support for a short length of time before ghosting you. This is particularly common when a product is not built well in the first place, as it’s very difficult to monetize the maintenance of poor-quality code. A supplier “ghosting you” comes to wit notable problems. Passing projects between agencies like this is time-consuming and pricey for you. Find an agency that has a track record of building products and long-term relationships with its clients. Question 7: Tell me about how you foster inclusivity in the workplace? The best development teams are made up of a diverse mixture of people. Diverse in gender, education, experience, and neurology. But you can only make a development team like this if you are a truly inclusive workplace. Saying “Everyone is welcome here" Yet not making the required changes to make the workplace inclusive to all is why a lot of development teams tend to be dominated by university-educated white men. To accompany the university educated, you want self-taught coders, you want coders that came to coding later in life after doing something else, you want people with different perspectives on life, you want people that think,  look at, and solve problems differently to anybody else. A quick glance at the company profile on LinkedIn can reveal the details of staff past and present. Don’t just want to check out their word for it? Question 8: Can you provide examples of how you use automation in your development process? It is a very "old school" mindset to be averse to automation in the development process. Nowadays, it is the best practice to automate everything. It saves busy work, prevents human errors, and frees developers up for the bigger challenges that they face in the creation, and long-term maintenance of a product. Yet numerous older developers can be reluctant to change. There is no right or wrong way to do this, as there are many forms of automation. What matters is that the team is embracing it, and not doing all the donkey work manually whilst charging you for it. Question 9; How do you ensure smooth communication with us, and ensure nothing is lost in translation? The ability to communicate technical ideas, to the none technical. Is a crucial skill for a successful development project. Ask potential partners how they do this. When outsourcing to a development team where the language and culture do not match your own can often lead to problems too. Little details are often lost in translation, and these little details can have big consequences on the success of a project. Ask a potential partner to demonstrate how they prevent this from happening. Also published . here

9 Questions To Ask Before Settling on an Outsourced Software Development Team

In July 2023, I had the opportunity to start working remotely for a couple of blockchain companies. Not wanting to waste a single moment of this opportunity, I dove into a digital nomad lifestyle, traveling across three continents, 13 countries, and 20 cities over the course of a year. Even before I graduated college, I started working in an office at an IT startup, so after three and a half years of office work, there was nothing more liberating and enchanting than opening my MacBook in cafés with an uniquely exotic backdrops. The freedom to go anywhere I wanted was ecstasy. During the first three months of remote work, I probably visited almost every café in Seoul. Then, I went on a trip to Europe with my parents and also visited my sister in Philadelphia, working remotely while traveling freely. Then, at the beginning of 2024, I decided to set off to Southeast Asia, starting with a month-long stay in Bangkok, the mecca for digital nomads in Asia after Bali. Experienced digital nomads would usually pack as lightly as possible, but as an overjoyed beginner, I left home with a fully packed 25kg suitcase and a 7kg carry-on. Of course, I regretted it several times along the way. My luggage included multiple dresses that would have been a bit too flashy to wear in Korea, along six pairs of shoes in anticipation of any special occasion that might just come up. I was so thrilled that I even published a post on my Medium blog titled How I Became a Digital Nomad in 6 Months With No Coding Skills. At the time of the post, I only had 22 subscribers, but it gained quite a bit of traction, attracting 20 new fans and receiving over 100 reactions. Seeing the enthusiastic response to my blog, which remains my most popular piece to this day, I was able to reaffirm that this lifestyle is something many people aspire to. This reaffirmation became very valuable to me because, in reality, the digital nomad life I experienced was lonely, unstable, and extremely stressful. The idea of breaking free from the constraints of traditional work and daily life felt like such an adventure for me. I thought that my days would be filled with delightful peaks if I just stepped outside of my regular routine—so much so that I packed six pairs of shoes! But reality turned out to be quite different. Settling into new places is undoubtedly fun and exciting, but even the excitement of newness becomes routine after about two weeks - but this is all on just the surface-level of our perception. Within our subconscious systems, circuits and gears are working tirelessly to adapt to the new environments we’ve placed ourselves in. When we’re in unfamiliar surroundings, our brain’s orientation system activates. This system helps us navigate our surroundings, recognize patterns, and adjusts our behavior accordingly. The hippocampus and amygdala play key roles in this process, helping us to perceive and remember spatial information and evaluate safety within those spaces. This cognitive load that comes from processing a vast amount of new stimuli and situations consumes significant brain energy, unlike the familiar routine tasks that used to take minimal effort. Imagine your brain only used to walk familiar paths, but now everywhere needs is new and needs to be calculated. As this cognitive load builds up until the environment feels sufficiently familiar, we start to consciously experience it as pressure or stress. I never stayed in a single city for over a month. I had believed the best way to get the most of remote work was to explore as many places as possible. The second reason was that until I felt certain that this was the right place to settle down, I didn’t want to deal with the uninspiring hassle of administrative procedures like visa issuance. At that time, my job involved frequent business trips, so I often planned my travels by extending my stay for a few weeks at the locations I visited for work. However, my ambition in wanting to see the world, and failure to take the leap and commit resulted in a cumulative unconscious workload of constantly having to adapt to multiple places in a short period—which scientifically resulted into stress. Moreover, I had full-time work on my plate, which psychologically felt like a heavier burden than it should have been. I was working more hours and on the weekends trying to make up for the time that I spent unfocused. I often found myself getting irritated with people around me, fearing I wouldn’t complete tasks on time, or becoming almost obsessive about getting things done in a certain way. I think I had this underlying sense of being unable to control my life in constantly changing environments, and it was quite overwhelming. Excerpt from my journal entry on the 12th of February, 2024 which is 19 days after I arrive in Bangkok. Oh God, this morning I felt this dense ball of air stuck in the back of my head, like an air bubble. Although air physically carries no weight, the one back there felt heavy that my head was tilting back as I was walking out from the bed. It’s like my brain was trying to stop me. Back home, I maintained a regular routine with five workouts a week with home-cooked meals. However, when my fatigue level reached its peak, it became difficult to stick to my regular exercise routine at local gyms, and even cooking meals at home became a luxury once I started traveling. I knew that home-cooked meals are the best, so I bought the necessary soy sauce, Gochujang, Mulyeot etc. that were needed to cook Korean meals when I arrived at my first destination in Southeast Asia. However, I didn’t even get to use a quarter of them before leaving them behind as I moved on to Phuket, making eating out was much less wasteful. Korean food abroad is more expensive than it is in Korea, and healthy meals are just as pricey. So, I mostly relied on local cuisine, and found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the oily fried dishes and unfamiliar flavors. While it's quite obvious that traveling would make it hard to maintain the diet I wanted, I intend to highlight the irony of how gaining freedom in place means but losing freedom in meals. Now, I often joke that people living this lifestyle should be called "digital homeless" rather than digital nomads. In fact, historically, nomadic living was primarily based on collective or communal life. However, digital nomads don't travel with their community. They travel alone, or sometimes as a couple. So in my joke, the word "home" in "digital homeless" doesn’t refer to a house or an apartment, but rather to a community where one belongs— family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Yes, there are digital nomad communities that can be accessed anywhere in the world, but those digital nomad communities can be more simply put as ‘a group of strangers that hosts co-working and after hour bar sessions’. A community isn’t a community until it starts feeling like yours over a period of time. A segment of people from history that actually resembles a digital nomad would be the Mountain Hermits and Monastic Wanderers. For example, Christian hermits in medieval Europe or wandering Buddhist monks in East Asia often chose to live away from home, moving from place to place to find spiritual enlightenment, or solitude. So, why do people choose the digital nomad lifestyle? Like the wandering Buddhist monks and Christian hermits - the instability and stress from exploring so many different places does in fact provide spiritual enlightenment and growth. That’s the for story next week. Thanks for reading. In July 2023, I had the opportunity to start working remotely for a couple of blockchain companies. Not wanting to waste a single moment of this opportunity, I dove into a digital nomad lifestyle, traveling across three continents, 13 countries, and 20 cities over the course of a year. Even before I graduated college, I started working in an office at an IT startup, so after three and a half years of office work, there was nothing more liberating and enchanting than opening my MacBook in cafés with an uniquely exotic backdrops. The freedom to go anywhere I wanted was ecstasy . During the first three months of remote work, I probably visited almost every café in Seoul. Then, I went on a trip to Europe with my parents and also visited my sister in Philadelphia, working remotely while traveling freely. liberating enchanting ecstasy Then, at the beginning of 2024, I decided to set off to Southeast Asia, starting with a month-long stay in Bangkok, the mecca for digital nomads in Asia after Bali. Experienced digital nomads would usually pack as lightly as possible, but as an overjoyed beginner, I left home with a fully packed 25kg suitcase and a 7kg carry-on. Of course, I regretted it several times along the way. My luggage included multiple dresses that would have been a bit too flashy to wear in Korea, along six pairs of shoes in anticipation of any special occasion that might just come up. I was so thrilled that I even published a post on my Medium blog titled How I Became a Digital Nomad in 6 Months With No Coding Skills . At the time of the post, I only had 22 subscribers, but it gained quite a bit of traction, attracting 20 new fans and receiving over 100 reactions. Seeing the enthusiastic response to my blog, which remains my most popular piece to this day, I was able to reaffirm that this lifestyle is something many people aspire to. This reaffirmation became very valuable to me because, in reality, the digital nomad life I experienced was lonely , unstable , and extremely stressful . How I Became a Digital Nomad in 6 Months With No Coding Skills lonely unstable extremely stressful The idea of breaking free from the constraints of traditional work and daily life felt like such an adventure for me. I thought that my days would be filled with delightful peaks if I just stepped outside of my regular routine—so much so that I packed six pairs of shoes! But reality turned out to be quite different. Settling into new places is undoubtedly fun and exciting, but even the excitement of newness becomes routine after about two weeks - but this is all on just the surface-level of our perception. Within our subconscious systems, circuits and gears are working tirelessly to adapt to the new environments we’ve placed ourselves in. When we’re in unfamiliar surroundings, our brain’s orientation system activates. This system helps us navigate our surroundings, recognize patterns, and adjusts our behavior accordingly. The hippocampus and amygdala play key roles in this process, helping us to perceive and remember spatial information and evaluate safety within those spaces. This cognitive load that comes from processing a vast amount of new stimuli and situations consumes significant brain energy, unlike the familiar routine tasks that used to take minimal effort. Imagine your brain only used to walk familiar paths, but now everywhere needs is new and needs to be calculated. As this cognitive load builds up until the environment feels sufficiently familiar, we start to consciously experience it as pressure or stress. orientation system As this cognitive load builds up until the environment feels sufficiently familiar, we start to consciously experience it as pressure or stress. I never stayed in a single city for over a month. I had believed the best way to get the most of remote work was to explore as many places as possible. The second reason was that until I felt certain that this was the right place to settle down, I didn’t want to deal with the uninspiring hassle of administrative procedures like visa issuance. At that time, my job involved frequent business trips, so I often planned my travels by extending my stay for a few weeks at the locations I visited for work. However, my ambition in wanting to see the world , and failure to take the leap and comm it resulted in a cumulative unconscious workload of constantly having to adapt to multiple places in a short period—which scientifically resulted into stress. ambition in wanting to see the world failure to take the leap and comm Moreover, I had full-time work on my plate, which psychologically felt like a heavier burden than it should have been. I was working more hours and on the weekends trying to make up for the time that I spent unfocused. I often found myself getting irritated with people around me, fearing I wouldn’t complete tasks on time, or becoming almost obsessive about getting things done in a certain way. I think I had this underlying sense of being unable to control my life in constantly changing environments , and it was quite overwhelming . underlying sense of being unable to control my life in constantly changing environments overwhelming Excerpt from my journal entry on the 12th of February, 2024 which is 19 days after I arrive in Bangkok. Oh God, this morning I felt this dense ball of air stuck in the back of my head, like an air bubble. Although air physically carries no weight, the one back there felt heavy that my head was tilting back as I was walking out from the bed. It’s like my brain was trying to stop me. Oh God, this morning I felt this dense ball of air stuck in the back of my head, like an air bubble. Although air physically carries no weight, the one back there felt heavy that my head was tilting back as I was walking out from the bed. It’s like my brain was trying to stop me. Oh God, this morning I felt this dense ball of air stuck in the back of my head, like an air bubble. Although air physically carries no weight, the one back there felt heavy that my head was tilting back as I was walking out from the bed. It’s like my brain was trying to stop me. Back home, I maintained a regular routine with five workouts a week with home-cooked meals. However, when my fatigue level reached its peak, it became difficult to stick to my regular exercise routine at local gyms, and even cooking meals at home became a luxury once I started traveling. I knew that home-cooked meals are the best, so I bought the necessary soy sauce, Gochujang, Mulyeot etc. that were needed to cook Korean meals when I arrived at my first destination in Southeast Asia. However, I didn’t even get to use a quarter of them before leaving them behind as I moved on to Phuket, making eating out was much less wasteful. Korean food abroad is more expensive than it is in Korea, and healthy meals are just as pricey. So, I mostly relied on local cuisine, and found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the oily fried dishes and unfamiliar flavors. While it's quite obvious that traveling would make it hard to maintain the diet I wanted, I intend to highlight the irony of how gaining freedom in place means but losing freedom in meals. the irony of how gaining freedom in place means but losing freedom in meals. Now, I often joke that people living this lifestyle should be called "digital homeless" rather than digital nomads. In fact, historically, nomadic living was primarily based on collective or communal life. However, digital nomads don't travel with their community. They travel alone, or sometimes as a couple. So in my joke, the word "home" in "digital homeless" doesn’t refer to a house or an apartment, but rather to a community where one belongs— family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Yes, there are digital nomad communities that can be accessed anywhere in the world, but those digital nomad communities can be more simply put as ‘a group of strangers that hosts co-working and after hour bar sessions’. A community isn’t a community until it starts feeling like yours over a period of time. Now, I often joke that people living this lifestyle should be called "digital homeless" rather than digital nomads. digital nomad communities A community isn’t a community until it starts feeling like yours over a period of time. A segment of people from history that actually resembles a digital nomad would be the Mountain Hermits and Monastic Wanderers . For example, Christian hermits in medieval Europe or wandering Buddhist monks in East Asia often chose to live away from home, moving from place to place to find spiritual enlightenment, or solitude. Mountain Hermits Monastic Wanderers So, why do people choose the digital nomad lifestyle? So, why do people choose the digital nomad lifestyle? Like the wandering Buddhist monks and Christian hermits - the instability and stress from exploring so many different places does in fact provide spiritual enlightenment and growth. That’s the for story next week. Thanks for reading.

The Reality of Digital Nomads: Chasing Adventure, Finding What?

حقيقة البدو الرقميين: ملاحقة المغامرة، العثور على ماذا؟

Рэальнасць лічбавых качэўнікаў: у пагоні за прыгодамі, у пошуку чаго?

La realidad de los nómadas digitales: ¿en busca de aventuras y qué encuentran?

Digitaalisten nomadien todellisuus: jahtaavat seikkailua, mitä löytää?

A realidade dos nómadas dixitais: perseguindo aventuras, buscando que?

Stvarnost digitalnih nomada: jureći avanturu, pronaći što?

デジタル遊牧民の現実: 冒険を追い求めて、何を見つけるのか?

ຄວາມເປັນຈິງຂອງ Digital Nomads: ແລ່ນການຜະຈົນໄພ, ຊອກຫາຫຍັງ?

De realiteit van digitale nomaden: op zoek naar avontuur, wat vinden?

Rzeczywistość cyfrowych nomadów: w pogoni za przygodami i w znalezieniu czego?

ڈیجیٹل خانہ بدوشوں کی حقیقت: مہم جوئی کا پیچھا کرنا، کیا تلاش کرنا؟

Inyani yeeNomads zeDijithali: Ukusukela i-Adventure, ukufumana ntoni?

A tough reality is settling in for small business owners across America, who already have a full plate: beyond staffing challenges, rising rents, and supply chain issues, now even your local deli needs to figure out how to appear on Perplexity and ChatGPT. Visibility on the increasing number of platforms - especially voice and artificial intelligence - is a necessity for business owners. I don’t use the word “necessity” lightly - it’s the truth. A survey of 550 American small businesses conducted by The Discoverability Company offers the proof. Respondents rated “how critical online discovery is” to their businesses an 8.4 out of 10, clearly linking their success to how they appear online. And yet, only 38% of these same respondents said they felt “sufficiently represented” on the platforms that matter so much. Woof. These responses underscore a broader reality: digital discovery is already a tough challenge for small businesses, and it’s only going to get tougher. Historically, small businesses have focused their efforts on Google search rankings, maps, and social media. But as AI platforms grow and traditional search engines lose ground, small businesses need to adapt to stay competitive. Optimizing an online footprint for AI visibility is quickly becoming one of the most critical strategies for businesses hoping to stand out in a fragmented user experience landscape. Here are a few key tips to improve your small business visibility in AI-based platforms and help future-proof your online footprint. The First Step: Optimize Your Google Business Listing for Voice and AI Search AI-driven platforms like to pull information from established online sources that offer information in a way that is clear and easy to understand. That means that your listings and reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Bing Places, Trustpilot, and elsewhere have a renewed importance: the more complete and accurate your business listings, the more likely you are to appear in responses from AI tools. Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing AI platforms, especially those offered by Google, often use information from Google My Business listings when providing results. Ensure your listing is accurate, detailed, and complete, including up-to-date hours, phone numbers, locations, and service information. Prioritize Consistency Across Directory Listings AI-driven algorithms look for consistent information to verify a business’s authenticity. Inconsistent listings across Google, Yelp, Bing Places, and other directories can hurt your chances of being recommended. Ensure your business name, address, phone number, and other details match exactly across every platform. Create AI-Friendly Content on Your Google Business Listing AI platforms look for specific, relevant answers to questions, so by tailoring your content accordingly, you can significantly improve your visibility. Remember that end-users ask AI platforms direct questions, so create content that answers these questions concisely. For instance, if you own a dental practice, you might look to ensure your Google Business listing Q&A section addresses questions like, “How often should I get my teeth cleaned?” or “What’s the best way to whiten teeth at home?” AI algorithms favor clear, straightforward answers, so make sure you provide them. Along those same lines, be mindful of “near me” and location-based phrases in your questions and answers. Many voice searches and AI-driven queries are location-based. Creating Q&A content, blog posts, service pages, or FAQ entries that reflect this intent—such as “quick oil change in (your city)” or “where to find quality computer repair near me”—can help capture local searches and boost visibility. Collect Reviews and Be Mindful of Your Online Reputation Reviews have always been valuable, but they’re even more important in the age of AI-driven search. Positive reviews increase trust, which are a factor in whether an AI platform recommends your business over others. Positive reviews on Google, Yelp, and other platforms increase your credibility and can boost your visibility in AI-driven searches, since the nature of review sites is such that it’s easy for an AI platform to understand. Engaging with customer reviews (both positive and negative) shows that your business is active and invested in customer satisfaction. AI algorithms value this engagement as a sign of trustworthiness and relevance, which can improve your position in search results. How to Update Your Website and Content So It’s Featured on AI Search While this is a little more technical, it’s critical to understand: to ensure your website is legible to the scrapers curating content for AI platforms, you need to ensure your page has properly-configured schema markup or structured data. Schema markup, also known as structured data, is a form of code you add to your website to provide search engines and AI-driven platforms with extra context about your business. Think of schema markup as a way of “tagging” specific details—like your location, services, hours, and even pricing—in a way that makes it easy for AI scrapers to understand and categorize your business. It takes the guess-work out and helps AI platforms quickly interpret what your business offers, thereby making it more likely you’ll show up in relevant results. If you use popular content management platforms like Wordpress, there are many guides to adding schema markup to your website by AIOSEO or you can engage the services of a consultant, though don’t be over-sold: it’s the kind of thing that should not be an expensive or time-intensive effort. But if you’re the DIY type, once you get “under the hood” and find where to implement this, there are two best-practices to keep in mind: Implement Local Business Schema: Adding local business schema allows AI platforms to recognize important details about your business, such as your industry, address, hours, and service offerings. This structured information improves your chances of appearing in local voice search results and “near me” queries, putting you front and center when potential customers are looking for nearby solutions.
Optimize for Common Queries: Schema markup can also help you target specific questions customers often ask. Think about the most common inquiries your business receives—questions like, “What are your sandwich rolls made from?” or “Do you offer same-day services?” Adding structured data for these queries makes your content more likely to appear in response when users ask an AI platform similar questions, increasing your visibility for search phrases that matter to your audience. Using schema markup strategically allows you to target AI-driven platforms with precision, ensuring they pull the right information about your business to answer user questions accurately. By leveraging this structured approach, you can improve your chances of reaching customers in a way that’s both relevant and reliable. Extra Credit: Social Proof and Off-Page Signals While optimizing your website with structured data and schema markup enhances your visibility on AI platforms, there’s another essential piece to digital discoverability: social proof and off-page signals. These elements—things like customer reviews, mentions on other websites—provide AI platforms with valuable context about the credibility and popularity of your business. Those off-page signals, like backlinks from news outlets that permit AI-scraping of their content, bolster your discoverability. When reputable sites link back to your website, it demonstrates credibility and authority, things AI scrapers consider. Future-Proofing Your Online Footprint The truth is this article, while accurate for how to drive AI visibility, also contains universal truths that will help bolster your small business visibility everywhere your users spend time online, including search and other platforms, too. That’s something we call a “holistic approach to digital discovery.” Done properly, these steps won’t just boost your current visibility—it lays the groundwork for long-term relevance and growth as AI and other technologies continue to evolve. A tough reality is settling in for small business owners across America, who already have a full plate: beyond staffing challenges, rising rents, and supply chain issues, now even your local deli needs to figure out how to appear on Perplexity and ChatGPT. now even your local deli needs to figure out how to appear on Perplexity and ChatGPT. Visibility on the increasing number of platforms - especially voice and artificial intelligence - is a necessity for business owners. I don’t use the word “necessity” lightly - it’s the truth. A survey of 550 American small businesses conducted by The Discoverability Company offers the proof. Respondents rated “how critical online discovery is” to their businesses an 8.4 out of 10 , clearly linking their success to how they appear online. survey of 550 American small businesses conducted by The Discoverability Company 8.4 out of 10 clearly And yet, only 38% of these same respondents said they felt “sufficiently represented” on the platforms that matter so much . only 38% of these same respondents said they felt “sufficiently represented” on the platforms that matter so much Woof . Woof These responses underscore a broader reality: digital discovery is already a tough challenge for small businesses, and it’s only going to get tougher. Historically, small businesses have focused their efforts on Google search rankings, maps, and social media. But as AI platforms grow and traditional search engines lose ground, small businesses need to adapt to stay competitive. already Optimizing an online footprint for AI visibility is quickly becoming one of the most critical strategies for businesses hoping to stand out in a fragmented user experience landscape. Optimizing an online footprint for AI visibility is quickly becoming one of the most critical strategies for businesses hoping to stand out in a fragmented user experience landscape. Here are a few key tips to improve your small business visibility in AI-based platforms and help future-proof your online footprint. The First Step: Optimize Your Google Business Listing for Voice and AI Search AI-driven platforms like to pull information from established online sources that offer information in a way that is clear and easy to understand. That means that your listings and reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Bing Places, Trustpilot, and elsewhere have a renewed importance: the more complete and accurate your business listings, the more likely you are to appear in responses from AI tools. Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing AI platforms, especially those offered by Google, often use information from Google My Business listings when providing results. Ensure your listing is accurate, detailed, and complete, including up-to-date hours, phone numbers, locations, and service information. Google My Business listings Prioritize Consistency Across Directory Listings Consistency Across Directory Listings AI-driven algorithms look for consistent information to verify a business’s authenticity. Inconsistent listings across Google, Yelp, Bing Places, and other directories can hurt your chances of being recommended. Ensure your business name, address, phone number, and other details match exactly across every platform. AI-driven algorithms look for consistent information Create AI-Friendly Content on Your Google Business Listing AI platforms look for specific, relevant answers to questions, so by tailoring your content accordingly, you can significantly improve your visibility. Remember that end-users ask AI platforms direct questions, so create content that answers these questions concisely. Remember that end-users ask AI platforms direct questions, so create content that answers these questions concisely. For instance, if you own a dental practice, you might look to ensure your Google Business listing Q&A section addresses questions like, “How often should I get my teeth cleaned?” or “What’s the best way to whiten teeth at home?” AI algorithms favor clear, straightforward answers, so make sure you provide them. Along those same lines, be mindful of “near me” and location-based phrases in your questions and answers. Many voice searches and AI-driven queries are location-based. Creating Q&A content, blog posts, service pages, or FAQ entries that reflect this intent—such as “quick oil change in (your city)” or “where to find quality computer repair near me”—can help capture local searches and boost visibility. Collect Reviews and Be Mindful of Your Online Reputation Reviews have always been valuable, but they’re even more important in the age of AI-driven search. Positive reviews increase trust, which are a factor in whether an AI platform recommends your business over others. Positive reviews on Google, Yelp, and other platforms increase your credibility and can boost your visibility in AI-driven searches, since the nature of review sites is such that it’s easy for an AI platform to understand. Engaging with customer reviews (both positive and negative) shows that your business is active and invested in customer satisfaction. AI algorithms value this engagement as a sign of trustworthiness and relevance, which can improve your position in search results. How to Update Your Website and Content So It’s Featured on AI Search While this is a little more technical, it’s critical to understand: to ensure your website is legible to the scrapers curating content for AI platforms, you need to ensure your page has properly-configured schema markup or structured data. Schema markup, also known as structured data, is a form of code you add to your website to provide search engines and AI-driven platforms with extra context about your business. Think of schema markup as a way of “tagging” specific details—like your location, services, hours, and even pricing—in a way that makes it easy for AI scrapers to understand and categorize your business. It takes the guess-work out and helps AI platforms quickly interpret what your business offers, thereby making it more likely you’ll show up in relevant results. If you use popular content management platforms like Wordpress, there are many guides to adding schema markup to your website by AIOSEO or you can engage the services of a consultant, though don’t be over-sold: it’s the kind of thing that should not be an expensive or time-intensive effort. guides to adding schema markup to your website by AIOSEO But if you’re the DIY type, once you get “under the hood” and find where to implement this, there are two best-practices to keep in mind: Implement Local Business Schema: Adding local business schema allows AI platforms to recognize important details about your business, such as your industry, address, hours, and service offerings. This structured information improves your chances of appearing in local voice search results and “near me” queries, putting you front and center when potential customers are looking for nearby solutions. Optimize for Common Queries: Schema markup can also help you target specific questions customers often ask. Think about the most common inquiries your business receives—questions like, “What are your sandwich rolls made from?” or “Do you offer same-day services?” Adding structured data for these queries makes your content more likely to appear in response when users ask an AI platform similar questions, increasing your visibility for search phrases that matter to your audience. Implement Local Business Schema : Adding local business schema allows AI platforms to recognize important details about your business, such as your industry, address, hours, and service offerings. This structured information improves your chances of appearing in local voice search results and “near me” queries, putting you front and center when potential customers are looking for nearby solutions. Implement Local Business Schema Optimize for Common Queries : Schema markup can also help you target specific questions customers often ask. Think about the most common inquiries your business receives—questions like, “What are your sandwich rolls made from?” or “Do you offer same-day services?” Adding structured data for these queries makes your content more likely to appear in response when users ask an AI platform similar questions, increasing your visibility for search phrases that matter to your audience. Optimize for Common Queries Using schema markup strategically allows you to target AI-driven platforms with precision, ensuring they pull the right information about your business to answer user questions accurately. By leveraging this structured approach, you can improve your chances of reaching customers in a way that’s both relevant and reliable. Extra Credit: Social Proof and Off-Page Signals While optimizing your website with structured data and schema markup enhances your visibility on AI platforms, there’s another essential piece to digital discoverability: social proof and off-page signals . These elements—things like customer reviews, mentions on other websites—provide AI platforms with valuable context about the credibility and popularity of your business. social proof and off-page signals Those off-page signals, like backlinks from news outlets that permit AI-scraping of their content, bolster your discoverability. When reputable sites link back to your website, it demonstrates credibility and authority, things AI scrapers consider. Future-Proofing Your Online Footprint The truth is this article, while accurate for how to drive AI visibility, also contains universal truths that will help bolster your small business visibility everywhere your users spend time online , including search and other platforms, too. That’s something we call a “holistic approach to digital discovery.” universal truths that will help bolster your small business visibility everywhere your users spend time online Done properly, these steps won’t just boost your current visibility—it lays the groundwork for long-term relevance and growth as AI and other technologies continue to evolve. current

AI Discoverability for Small Business

KI-Auffindbarkeit für kleine Unternehmen

Ανακάλυψη AI για μικρές επιχειρήσεις

Découvrabilité de l'IA pour les petites entreprises

יכולת גילוי בינה מלאכותית לעסקים קטנים

Rilevabilità dell'intelligenza artificiale per le piccole imprese

中小企業向け AI 検出機能

How To Build a Decentralized Betting Platform With Solidity and React.js

Reminder: Bitcoin CAN Make Civilization Sane

Fiber Network: A Lightning Network Based on CKB

Оптавалаконная сетка: маланкавая сетка на аснове CKB

Red de fibra: una red Lightning basada en CKB

شبکه فیبر: یک شبکه رعد و برق مبتنی بر CKB

Rede de fibra: unha rede Lightning baseada en CKB

Fiber Network: Lightning mreža temeljena na CKB-u

ファイバーネットワーク: CKB に基づくライトニングネットワーク

Fiber Network: Mheni Network Yakavakirwa paCKB

Shabakadda Fiber: Shabakad hillaac ah oo ku salaysan CKB

Фибер мрежа: Лигхтнинг мрежа заснована на ЦКБ

Tolali tarmoq: CKB-ga asoslangan chaqmoq tarmog'i

Mạng cáp quang: Mạng Lightning dựa trên CKB

Inethiwekhi yeFayibha: Inethiwekhi yoMbane esekwe kwi-CKB

Introduction The Data space is almost as volatile as the AI space this year, with many players consolidating. In the summer of 2022, I wrote about The Data Table Format Wars, and the ecosystem has only gotten more interesting since then. I won’t get deep into the weeds on Data Lakes vs. Data Warehouse, etc., but suffice it to say, we are seeing everything coalesce around decoupling data storage from computing. Table formats are a way to standardize lightly opinionated storage. As I opined a couple of years ago, Apache Iceberg seems to be where they are settling. These formats tend to use Apache Parquet on object storage and provide a method for tracking new data and data state changes. In 2023, Databricks announced the open-sourcing of their Unity Catalog, and Onehouse announced OneTable (now X-Table). These projects are meant to give you a single interface to the three popular table formats: Delta, Hudi, and Iceberg. Then, June 2024 happened… What Happened? Snowflake was having its annual Snowflake Summit conference, and on June 3, 2024, they announced Apache Polaris (incubating), a vendor-neutral, open catalog for Apache Iceberg. The next day, and a week before the Databricks conference, Databricks announced their acquisition of Tabular, a company founded by the creators of Iceberg. This still seems weird to everyone from the outside because Iceberg is a spec; it isn’t a product, and Tabular isn’t even the main contributor to Iceberg. In my opinion, Databricks will somehow roll their Deltalake into Iceberg. Behind the scenes, Snowflake had been trying to acquire Tabular. Something happened at the 11th hour, and Databricks came in and laid down a ton more money, and the Snowflake bid was discarded. Snowflake was already two years into their commitment to supporting Iceberg as external storage, which made a lot of sense for them regardless. Snowflake has a reputation concerning the release speed after an announcement, so there was some skepticism, and some even wondered if any code had been written. It turns out Snowflake had been working on this for a while, and it was made available in very short order, with vendors like Dremio, Starburst, CelerData, and Upsolver showing solutions using it in less than two months: a delightful surprise, and a positive sign of things to come. All of that is a long way to set up Apache Polaris, and hopefully, it will give you a sense of the importance that a good catalog plays in all of this. How will any of your compute tools work if you don’t have a unified system to describe all those parquet files in your data lake? Polaris Overview Apache Polaris is an open-source catalog implementation for Apache Iceberg tables. Its main features include: REST API implementation: Polaris implements Iceberg's REST API, enabling interoperability across multiple query engines.
Multi-engine compatibility: It allows various query engines, such as Apache Spark, Apache Flink, Trino, and others, to read and write Iceberg tables through a single catalog.
Centralized management: Polaris provides centralized and secure access to Iceberg tables across REST-compatible query engines.
Namespace and metadata management: It supports creating namespaces for logical grouping and manages metadata for Iceberg tables.
Storage configurations: Polaris offers robust storage configurations for cloud providers like S3, Azure, and Google Cloud Storage.
Security features: It implements role-based access control (RBAC) and uses credential vending to secure query execution.
Open-source nature: Polaris is fully open-source, allowing for community contributions and vendor neutrality.
Interoperability: It enables multiple engines to be used on a single copy of data, reducing storage duplication and ETL costs.
Consistent access control: Polaris allows you to manage role-based access control and storage layer security consistently across engines from one place.
Flexibility in hosting: It can be hosted on various infrastructures, providing flexibility and reducing vendor lock-in. And a lovely little graphic from the docs to put a picture on everything. Borrowing from the Polaris docs for a picture once again, let’s dive into what is happening here in this entity hierarchy graphic: We can have multiple catalogs in a single Polaris install; in this diagram, it is only Catalog1 that has any namespaces or tables defined. A single catalog can be either internal or external. The internal tables allow for read/write functionality, meaning you have full control. The external tables are currently read-only and are intended to mirror data that is in some external catalog, such as a Glue catalog, which Polaris will see as the source of truth once connected. The catalog organizes your iceberg tables; you’ll want to configure it with your storage configuration for the applicable cloud system that you are on. This forms the first architectural layer in the Iceberg table spec. A namespace can have an arbitrary level of nesting and is used to logically group Iceberg tables within a catalog. An Iceberg table will always belong to a namespace. With this configuration in place, you can then use the Polaris catalog to describe your Iceberg tables in such a way as to make them easily accessible and manageable using a large variety of tools. That’s a quick overview of what is happening and what it looks like. The implementation inside of Snowflake provides a really handy UI to manage the implementation; other vendors have their own, and you can just do it through Spark if you like. Summary I continue to believe that Apache Iceberg is going to “win” the table format wars. Apache Polaris focusing on Iceberg is not a bad thing. I want to dig into how RBAC has been implemented in Polaris another time and see if it is as robust as what the Tabular product implemented, which I was a big fan of. I believe Polaris is a big win for the Iceberg community and will help accelerate adoption even further. I’ve seen talk about the Dremio Nessie project getting rolled in, and I’m curious to see what that will look like. I haven’t looked at Nessie in a couple of years, and I thought their git-like semantics mainly had been covered by the Iceberg tagging and branching, which I wrote about last year—yet another story for another day. I’m a big fan of what is happening here. If you are in this space, this is the right train to jump on. Check out my other What the Heck is… articles at the links below: What The Heck Is DuckDB?
What the Heck Is Malloy?
What the Heck is PRQL?
What the Heck is GlareDB?
What the Heck is SeaTunnel?
What the Heck is LanceDB?
What the heck is SDF?
What the Heck is Paimon?
What the Heck is Proton?
What the Heck is PuppyGraph?
What the Heck is GPTScript?
What the Heck is WarpStream? Introduction Introduction The Data space is almost as volatile as the AI space this year, with many players consolidating. In the summer of 2022, I wrote about The Data Table Format Wars , and the ecosystem has only gotten more interesting since then. I won’t get deep into the weeds on Data Lakes vs. Data Warehouse, etc., but suffice it to say, we are seeing everything coalesce around decoupling data storage from computing. The Data Table Format Wars Table formats are a way to standardize lightly opinionated storage. As I opined a couple of years ago, Apache Iceberg seems to be where they are settling. These formats tend to use Apache Parquet on object storage and provide a method for tracking new data and data state changes. In 2023, Databricks announced the open-sourcing of their Unity Catalog, and Onehouse announced OneTable (now X-Table). These projects are meant to give you a single interface to the three popular table formats: Delta, Hudi, and Iceberg. Then, June 2024 happened… announced announced What Happened? Snowflake was having its annual Snowflake Summit conference, and on June 3, 2024, they announced Apache Polaris (incubating), a vendor-neutral, open catalog for Apache Iceberg. The next day, and a week before the Databricks conference, Databricks announced their acquisition of Tabular, a company founded by the creators of Iceberg. This still seems weird to everyone from the outside because Iceberg is a spec; it isn’t a product, and Tabular isn’t even the main contributor to Iceberg. In my opinion, Databricks will somehow roll their Deltalake into Iceberg. announced announced Behind the scenes, Snowflake had been trying to acquire Tabular. Something happened at the 11th hour, and Databricks came in and laid down a ton more money, and the Snowflake bid was discarded. Snowflake was already two years into their commitment to supporting Iceberg as external storage, which made a lot of sense for them regardless. Snowflake has a reputation concerning the release speed after an announcement, so there was some skepticism, and some even wondered if any code had been written. It turns out Snowflake had been working on this for a while, and it was made available in very short order, with vendors like Dremio, Starburst, CelerData, and Upsolver showing solutions using it in less than two months: a delightful surprise, and a positive sign of things to come. All of that is a long way to set up Apache Polaris , and hopefully, it will give you a sense of the importance that a good catalog plays in all of this. How will any of your compute tools work if you don’t have a unified system to describe all those parquet files in your data lake? Apache Polaris Polaris Overview Apache Polaris is an open-source catalog implementation for Apache Iceberg tables. Its main features include: REST API implementation: Polaris implements Iceberg's REST API, enabling interoperability across multiple query engines. Multi-engine compatibility: It allows various query engines, such as Apache Spark, Apache Flink, Trino, and others, to read and write Iceberg tables through a single catalog. Centralized management: Polaris provides centralized and secure access to Iceberg tables across REST-compatible query engines. Namespace and metadata management: It supports creating namespaces for logical grouping and manages metadata for Iceberg tables. Storage configurations: Polaris offers robust storage configurations for cloud providers like S3, Azure, and Google Cloud Storage. Security features: It implements role-based access control (RBAC) and uses credential vending to secure query execution. Open-source nature: Polaris is fully open-source, allowing for community contributions and vendor neutrality. Interoperability: It enables multiple engines to be used on a single copy of data, reducing storage duplication and ETL costs. Consistent access control: Polaris allows you to manage role-based access control and storage layer security consistently across engines from one place. Flexibility in hosting: It can be hosted on various infrastructures, providing flexibility and reducing vendor lock-in. REST API implementation: Polaris implements Iceberg's REST API, enabling interoperability across multiple query engines. Multi-engine compatibility: It allows various query engines, such as Apache Spark, Apache Flink, Trino, and others, to read and write Iceberg tables through a single catalog. Centralized management: Polaris provides centralized and secure access to Iceberg tables across REST-compatible query engines. Namespace and metadata management: It supports creating namespaces for logical grouping and manages metadata for Iceberg tables. Storage configurations: Polaris offers robust storage configurations for cloud providers like S3, Azure, and Google Cloud Storage. Security features: It implements role-based access control (RBAC) and uses credential vending to secure query execution. Open-source nature: Polaris is fully open-source, allowing for community contributions and vendor neutrality. Interoperability: It enables multiple engines to be used on a single copy of data, reducing storage duplication and ETL costs. Consistent access control: Polaris allows you to manage role-based access control and storage layer security consistently across engines from one place. Flexibility in hosting: It can be hosted on various infrastructures, providing flexibility and reducing vendor lock-in. And a lovely little graphic from the docs to put a picture on everything. Borrowing from the Polaris docs for a picture once again, let’s dive into what is happening here in this entity hierarchy graphic: We can have multiple catalogs in a single Polaris install; in this diagram, it is only Catalog1 that has any namespaces or tables defined. A single catalog can be either internal or external. The internal tables allow for read/write functionality, meaning you have full control. The external tables are currently read-only and are intended to mirror data that is in some external catalog, such as a Glue catalog, which Polaris will see as the source of truth once connected. The catalog organizes your iceberg tables; you’ll want to configure it with your storage configuration for the applicable cloud system that you are on. This forms the first architectural layer in the Iceberg table spec. A namespace can have an arbitrary level of nesting and is used to logically group Iceberg tables within a catalog. An Iceberg table will always belong to a namespace. With this configuration in place, you can then use the Polaris catalog to describe your Iceberg tables in such a way as to make them easily accessible and manageable using a large variety of tools. That’s a quick overview of what is happening and what it looks like. The implementation inside of Snowflake provides a really handy UI to manage the implementation; other vendors have their own, and you can just do it through Spark if you like. Summary I continue to believe that Apache Iceberg is going to “win” the table format wars. Apache Polaris focusing on Iceberg is not a bad thing. I want to dig into how RBAC has been implemented in Polaris another time and see if it is as robust as what the Tabular product implemented, which I was a big fan of. I believe Polaris is a big win for the Iceberg community and will help accelerate adoption even further. I’ve seen talk about the Dremio Nessie project getting rolled in, and I’m curious to see what that will look like. I haven’t looked at Nessie in a couple of years, and I thought their git-like semantics mainly had been covered by the Iceberg tagging and branching, which I wrote about last year—yet another story for another day. wrote about I’m a big fan of what is happening here. If you are in this space, this is the right train to jump on. Check out my other What the Heck is… articles at the links below: What The Heck Is DuckDB? What the Heck Is Malloy? What the Heck is PRQL? What the Heck is GlareDB? What the Heck is SeaTunnel? What the Heck is LanceDB? What the heck is SDF? What the Heck is Paimon? What the Heck is Proton? What the Heck is PuppyGraph? What the Heck is GPTScript? What the Heck is WarpStream? What The Heck Is DuckDB? What The Heck Is DuckDB? What the Heck Is Malloy? What the Heck Is Malloy? What the Heck is PRQL? What the Heck is PRQL? What the Heck is GlareDB? What the Heck is GlareDB? What the Heck is SeaTunnel? What the Heck is SeaTunnel? What the Heck is LanceDB? What the Heck is LanceDB? What the heck is SDF? What the heck is SDF? What the Heck is Paimon? What the Heck is Paimon? What the Heck is Proton? What the Heck is Proton? What the Heck is PuppyGraph? What the Heck is PuppyGraph? What the Heck is GPTScript? What the Heck is GPTScript? What the Heck is WarpStream? What the Heck is WarpStream?

What The Heck is Apache Polaris?

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