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Apache ZooKeeper: The perfect tool for configuration management

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Tags event-driven software-architecture management devops apache

Apache ZooKeeper is an open-source distributed coordination system that provides a platform for configuration management, process synchronization, and lock management. Originally developed by Yahoo, it is now maintained by the Apache Software Foundation. By datascientest.com.

Further in the article:

  • How does Zookeeper work?
  • What is a data model?
  • What are the different types of knot?

ZooKeeper uses a data model based on a hierarchy of nodes, similar to the structure of a file system. Therefore, each node is identified by a unique path within the tree. They can have children, which are essentially nodes placed under the parent node in the hierarchy. This tree-like structure allows for the creation of complex data structures to represent the information required for the coordination and synchronization of distributed applications.

Apache ZooKeeper is a distributed coordination system, which presents itself as a single entity, but conceals an entire complex system. It solves all the problems encountered by distributed applications thanks to its framework, which also provides a number of services, including configuration management and naming services. Excellent read!

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Building components for consumption, not complexity

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Tags ux css learning web-development frontend

Design systems are on the tip of every designer’s tongue, but the narrative in the industry mainly focuses on why you need a design system and its importance rather than the reality of endless maintenance and internal politics. The truth is that design teams spend years creating these systems only to find out that few people adhere to the guidelines or stay within the “guardrails”. By Luis Ouriach.

A concept that has been long-used in the developer world and loosely agreed upon in the design community is termed “component slots.” This approach allows the design system maintainers to ship component containers with agreed properties — sizing, padding, and styles — whilst allowing for a flexible arrangement of components inside it Ultimately, all we want are components which are:

  • Flexible
  • Repeatable
  • Adoptable
  • Indexable
  • Logical
  • Specific

Components are inherently part of a system that spans design and engineering — and often brand and marketing, too. We, as designers, are seemingly on a mission to call this a design system, but author’d much prefer for us as an industry to steer away from applying the word “design” to activities that are cross-functional by nature. Good read!

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Revamping your code: Masterful techniques for effective code refactoring

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Tags oop learning code-refactoring programming performance

Enhance code quality, reduce technical debt, and boost software reliability with essential code refactoring techniques. By Shivali Maheshwari.

In the dynamic world of software development, change is the only constant. As projects evolve and requirements shift, it’s easy for codebases to become tangled, complex, and hard to maintain. That’s where the art of code refactoring comes into play.

Author then focuses on:

  • Clean code
  • Code smells
  • Refactoring techniques

Clean code is easy to understand, with clear and descriptive variable and method names, consistent formatting, and a well-organized structure. It also code minimizes dependencies, reduces the risk of errors, and simplifies maintenance.

By making code refactoring a continuous process, you can ensure long-term project success and increased team satisfaction. So, embark on this journey of code improvement, and watch your codebase evolve into a masterpiece of clean, maintainable software. Happy coding!

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FunSearch: DeepMind unlocks math discoveries with AI

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Tags data-science google big-data programming

FunSearch teams up creative AI that spits out code with a system that checks if the ideas are actually good. This back-and-forth helps it evolve initial thoughts into solid discoveries. By Alex Ivanovs.

In a leap for artificial intelligence, Google DeepMind researchers have unveiled a new AI-driven tool named FunSearch, which has made unprecedented discoveries in the realm of mathematical sciences. This tool marks the first instance where a Large Language Model (LLM) has contributed to solving complex open problems in mathematics and computer science.

FunSearch by Google DeepMind

Source: https://blog.postman.com/2022-api-platform-landscape-trends-and-challenges/

At its core, FunSearch is a marriage of creative AI and precise evaluation. It starts with an LLM, like Google’s PaLM 2, which generates inventive solutions in code. These are then sifted through by an automated evaluator, ensuring only accurate and viable ideas progress. This back-and-forth process allows initial concepts to evolve into groundbreaking discoveries.

What sets FunSearch apart is its problem-solving ability and how it does so. Unlike black-box solutions, it produces programs that reveal the ‘how’ of the solutions, not just the ‘what’. This transparency allows scientists to understand and learn from the AI’s approach, sparking new insights and strategies. Good read!

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How to learn Scala for data engineering?

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Tags data-science scala big-data learning programming

Scala has been one of the most trusted and reliable programming languages for several tech giants and startups to develop and deploy their big data applications. Top companies from Netflix and LinkedIn to Foursquare and AirBnB take advantage of the many benefits of Scala in reliably developing their platforms and integrating with state-of-the-art machine learning models. By ParamRaval.

The article makes a good job explaining:

  • What is Scala for data engineering?
  • Why should data engineers Learn Scala for data engineering?
  • Java vs. Scala for data engineering
  • Python vs. Scala for data engineering
  • Learn Scala for data engineering - How to get started
  • Scala for data engineering tutorial - Beginning to code in Scala

Although not widely known, Scala has been developed over several years to tackle some significant problems in handling massive data pipelines. Several months ago, worldwide feedback from companies working with large datasets showed us how they had shifted their big data projects to Scala, given its flexibility and production performance. Nice one!

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Tech stack: Meaning, examples & explanations

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Tags web-development app-development learning programming javascript

Understanding the concept of a tech stack is essential. In this blog post, we look at the meaning of the term “tech stack,” explore its components and provide examples of common tech stacks. By Daragh Ó Tuama.

Further in this article you will learn:

  • What is a tech stack?
  • What is in a tech stack?
  • Presentation layer (Front End)
  • Application layer
  • Data layer
  • The best tech stacks for programmers
    • LAMP stack
    • MEAN stack
    • MERN stack
    • .NET stack
  • Which tech stack should I learn?

By starting with the fundamentals and gradually exploring different technologies, you can develop a strong foundation in software development and stay adaptable in this ever-changing field. So, embrace the world of tech stacks and embark on your journey to become a proficient developer. Good read!

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AWS Lambda functions now scale 12 times faster when handling high-volume requests.

Categories

Tags serverless web-development event-driven performance

Now AWS Lambda scales up to 12 times faster. Each synchronously invoked Lambda function now scales by 1,000 concurrent executions every 10 seconds until the aggregate concurrency across all functions reaches the account’s concurrency limit. By Marcia Villalba.

Building scalable and high-performing applications can be challenging with traditional architectures, often requiring over-provisioning of compute resources or complex caching solutions for peak demands and unpredictable traffic. Many developers choose Lambda because it scales on-demand when applications face unpredictable traffic.

Before this update, Lambda functions could initially scale at the account level by 500–3,000 concurrent executions (depending on the Region) in the first minute, followed by 500 concurrent executions every minute until the account’s concurrency limit is reached. Because this scaling limit was shared between all the functions in the same account and Region, if one function experienced an influx of traffic, it could affect the throughput of other functions in the same account. This increased engineering efforts to monitor a few functions that could burst beyond the account limits, causing a noisy neighbor scenario and reducing the overall concurrency of other functions in the same account. Excellent news!

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Migrate to Vite from Create React App (CRA)

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Tags web-development app-development react javascript

A quick migration guide to Vite from Create React App, because (apart from Next.js) Vite is the natural successor of CRA for creating a modern React application as SPA. By Robin Wieruch.

"scripts": {
  "start": "vite",
  "build": "vite build",
  "serve": "vite preview"
},

The article then guides you through all the necessary steps:

  • Install Vite and all React related libraries (here: Vite’s React Plugin) as development dependencies
  • Uninstall create-react-app’s dependency
  • Adjust your package.json to use the following new scripts
  • Rename all extensions of files which are using JSX from “.js” to “.jsx”
  • Create a vite.config.js file in your Vite + React project’s root directory
  • Move the public/index.html into the project’s root folder, because Vite expects it there
  • Remove all %PUBLIC_URL% occurrences in the index.html file
  • Last, link the src/index.js file in your moved index.html file

If you have been using a create-react-app project without any further configuration (e.g. a fresh create-react-app installation), you are ready to start your new Vite based React application with npm start. Good read!

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How to use Kaggle for data science

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Tags data-science how-to big-data programming learning

Kaggle is the largest platform for data scientists and machine learning experts, offering aspirants with the most hands-on experience in the complicated field of data science. Due to this, experts have high praise for the Kaggle community for its role in data scientist upskilling. The study of any subject requires classification. If you want to crack open all the data types for the juicy information inside, check out the different types of big data articles here. By Abhresh Sugandhi.

Further in this article:

  • What is Kaggle?
  • Skills required by a data scientist to master Kaggle
  • How to use Kaggle for data science
  • Equip yourself with the basic skills

Kaggle is the largest platform for data scientists and machine learning experts, offering aspirants with the most hands-on experience in the complicated field of data science. Due to this, experts have high praise for the Kaggle community for its role in data scientist upskilling. The study of any subject requires classification. Good read!

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What is code smell and how to reduce it?

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Tags learning code-refactoring how-to programming performance

In today’s digital world, when having good and reliable software plays a crucial role in the operational processes of every business, the developers bear the responsibility to produce high-quality code. However, that’s easier said than done. They may encounter various challenges during the development process that can lead to unintentional mistakes, resulting in what is known as code smells. But what is code smell? By softteco.com.

Back in the late 1990s, Kent Beck, the creator of extreme programming, emphasized the importance of design quality in software development. He played a significant role in popularizing the term “code smell” to describe certain patterns or characteristics in code that indicate potential issues or weaknesses.

In this article you will learn about:

  • Why do code smells occur?
  • How to identify code smells?
    • Common types of code smells
    • Automated analysis tools
    • Experience-based knowledge
  • Common types of code smells
    • Bloaters
    • Change preventers
    • Couplers
    • Object-orientation abusers
    • Dispensables
  • Best practices to reduce the code smell

Although code smells themselves may not directly cause the code to break, it is indeed crucial to be mindful of their presence. It can serve as warning signs that something could be wrong in the code, indicating potential issues or weaknesses. Interesting read!

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