by HELLO EVERYONE!!! It’s January 31st 2025 and you are reading the 46th edition of the Codeminer42’s tech news report. Let’s check out what the tech world showed us this week!
A Major Postgres Upgrade with Zero Downtime – by Stepan Parunashvili & Daniel Woelfel
The InstantDB team achieved zero downtime during a Postgres 13→16 upgrade by manually replicating data to a new instance, resolving replication slot conflicts and sequence mismatches. Their final approach prioritized minimal operational disruption. Check it out this interesting case.
The Nuances of Constants in Go; Go Isn’t JavaScript – by Lane Wagner
This article discusses how Go’s constants differ from JavaScript’s by being compile-time, untyped entities that enhance type safety and performance. The article advises using constants for magic numbers and enum-like patterns while cautioning against overuse in dynamic contexts.
Dopamine addiction to coding – by Gheorghe Ungureanu
This very recommended article discusses how coding’s instant feedback loops can trigger dopamine-driven compulsive behaviors, leading to burnout and reduced creativity. The author shares personal struggles with overwork and suggests structured breaks, mindfulness, and hobby diversification. Balancing flow states with intentional rest is framed as critical for sustaining long-term productivity and mental health.
Two features Typescript will never include – by Daniel Craciun
TypeScript intentionally excludes nominal typing and multiple inheritance to preserve structural typing simplicity and JavaScript compatibility. The post explains how branded types and intersection types address these gaps while aligning with TS’s design goals. Check it out!
Why LLMs and AI Agents Won’t Remove the Need for Software Engineers – by Gareth Brown
Gareth Brown, an experienced software engineer, remains hands-on despite AI advancements, believing software engineers will continue to be essential. While AI aids coding, it lacks precision and control, leading to challenges in understanding and maintaining complex codebases. The need for quality and meticulous documentation means AI alone cannot replace engineers in large-scale projects. And you, what do you think? Will the Skynet rise? 🤖
How Learning Assembly Changed my Programming – by Higor Dinis
Studying assembly deepened understanding of memory management, stack operations, and compiler optimizations, leading to more efficient high-level code. The author advocates learning low-level concepts to debug performance issues and appreciate abstraction trade-offs in modern languages.
When Greedy Algorithms Can Be Faster – by Benjamin Summerton
Greedy algorithms outperform dynamic programming in problems with optimal substructure and no backtracking needs. The post contrasts greedy approaches with divide-and-conquer, emphasizing their O(n log n) efficiency in specific, well-defined cases. If you like data structures and pure computer science topics, this post is for you!
Has Deepseek R1 Just Burst the AI Hype Bubble? – by Kaustubh Saini
Deepseek R1’s modest performance gains in Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks challenge claims of near Artificial general intelligence (AGI) capabilities, highlighting limitations in reasoning and generalization. The analysis urges tempered expectations, stressing incremental innovation over hype-driven narratives in AI development.
Magic behind Ruby code you see every day – by Paweł Dąbrowski
Ruby’s metaprogramming and DSLs enable expressive syntax like Rails’ ActiveRecord. The article demystifies conventions (e.g., _path helpers) and duck typing, illustrating how “magic” emerges from deliberate design choices favoring developer ergonomics. Check it out!
Rust’s worst feature – by Michał Nazarewicz
In the article, Michał Nazarewicz expresses strong criticism of Rust’s core::io::BorrowedBuf. This feature aims to optimize memory usage in I/O operations by allowing uninitialized memory to be used efficiently. However, the author highlights several issues, including poor integration with existing Rust code and complexity. Ultimately, while BorrowedBuf has its intentions, it raises concerns about safety and usability in programming practices.
What’s OAuth2 Anyway? – by Roman Glushko
OAuth2 is a widely used framework that allows users to grant third-party applications limited access to their data without sharing their passwords. When you log into a service using your Google or Facebook account, you’re using OAuth2. Check it out to know more.
Solving Prop Drilling in Vue: Modern State Management Strategies – by Alexander Opalic
Vue 3’s composables offer scalable state management, reducing prop drilling in complex apps. The post compares solutions like Context API and event buses, advocating for modular stores to enhance maintainability and testing. Check it out!
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And that’s all for this week! Wish you all a great weekend and happy coding!
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