miniblog.

Idle thought: you can view a type system as just an abstract interpretation of code. `x = 1` can be abstracted as assuming that x is a number, then checking that numbers are appropriate wherever x is used.

Overhauling the Rust homepage, and a superb discussion of effective writing to sell your ideas amd enable your users:

The existence of a null value isn't a billion dollar mistake. The issue is when static type systems allow null anywhere. Even some dynamic languages don't have a null value. For example, some lisps only have the empty list, which they use as a null-like value by convention.

Using open source projects has tangible benefits for both companies and their staff:

Building a unikernel based on standard Linux, no init process, and link time optimisation: https://next.redhat.com/2018/11/14/ukl-a-unikernel-based-on-linux/

Awesome talk on IDE culture, live programming, and ideas that we can take from Smalltalk: https://youtu.be/baxtyeFVn3w

Awesome talk on IDE culture, live programming, and ideas that we can take from Smalltalk: https://youtu.be/baxtyeFVn3w

On older, more experienced developers, and the remarkable growth of the programming community:

From Rust's latest community survey: https://blog.rust-lang.org/2018/11/27/Rust-survey-2018.html As consumer platforms become less programmable, perhaps we will increasingly see development primarily on Linux? (The year of Linux on the desktop is coming! 😂)

Adding a language feature is like adding a new shape to a lego set. It enables a huge range of new combinations (for better or worse).

I had no idea how many tech companies have created their own fonts! https://www.arun.is/blog/custom-typefaces/ (Unique branding, better language coverage, and it may be cheaper than licensing an existing typeface.)

@MightyPork@dev.glitch.social Stupid question: why not? Surely you'd still push the relevant commits to your git repo?

Interesting question: how do you do comments in block oriented programming languages?

Today's compromised npm package: https://github.com/dominictarr/event-stream/issues/116 only had the malicious code in the minified version. We don't always think of JS as a compiled language, but reproducible/verifiable compilation would have helped here.

A fun overview of basic operating system development: