software development

双语

Help wanted
2 months ago
- 尽管用户要求，作者拒绝将其软件的许可证从AGPLv3或更高版本改为MIT。
- 他们拒绝未经请求的贡献，并将拉取请求限制为仅自己和一位朋友。
- 作者优先考虑对软件的热爱等价值观，而不是GitHub星标等流行度指标。
- 他们嘲笑AI驱动的开发和公司赞助，同时肯定自己的开源原则。
- 作者讽刺地回应了供应链攻击的指控，并坚持其无担保许可证。
- 他们忽略漏洞报告并将其重定向到AI公司。
- 一位值得信赖的贡献者变得敌对，分叉了该项目，并在添加Windows支持后获得了更多人气。
- 作者最后以挑衅的语气寻求工作机会。
AI doesn't generate working products, that's still your job
2 months ago
- AI tools can rapidly create working prototypes, but the distance from a prototype to a production-grade system remains significant.
- Building production-grade software requires judgment, system design, error handling, security, scalability, and observability—areas AI does not automate.
- Learning computer science is more valuable than ever because it provides a mental model to evaluate AI-generated code for flaws like performance issues or race conditions.
- The demand for mechanical coding is declining, but engineers with deep understanding who use AI as a force multiplier will reach new productivity heights.
- Engineers who rely on AI as a substitute for understanding will be left behind, unable to fix, scale, or explain their systems.
- Success comes from using AI as a tool on top of strong fundamentals, not as a replacement for them.
The development pipeline is a production system
2 months ago
- 开发管道应被视为生产系统，因为故障直接阻碍开发者交付软件。
- 构建工具、QA环境、CI/CD及其他管道组件的问题与面向客户的生产故障同样紧急。
- 当管道中断（例如代码无法编译或QA服务器宕机）时，团队无法生产软件，因此应视为最高优先级的故障。
- 管道涵盖从“客户需求”到交付的所有步骤，包括问题追踪器、IDE、构建工具、测试套件和部署系统。
- 以处理客户故障的同等优先级处理管道故障，对于维持生产力和软件交付至关重要。
The Conductor Developer
2 months ago
- 人工智能将软件开发的瓶颈从编码转向了人类注意力，使其成为稀缺资源。
- 如今，开发者的角色更像是指挥家，并行协调多个AI智能体，而非独自进行深度工作。
- 优秀的开发者需提供上下文、评估输出并管理精力，类似于高管角色。
- 软件行业需要围绕注意力和精力管理重新设计工程职业发展路径。
LLMs and Xfwl4
2 months ago
- 大语言模型是一种兼具积极和消极方面的工具，包括对训练数据和版权侵权的担忧。
- 大语言模型的环境和社会影响包括高资源消耗以及加重地方纳税人负担的秘密交易。
- 人工智能需求加剧了GPU和内存供应问题，使得个人硬件升级成本高昂。
- 作者在开发xfwl4时广泛使用Claude进行研究和规划，例如分析xfwm4源代码。
- 实现主要手动完成，Claude用于验证、代码审查以及偶尔的模板代码生成。
- Claude在修复漏洞方面非常高效，通常比作者更快地发现问题。
- 由于作者不喜欢测试，xfwl4中的单元测试由Claude编写。
- 作者避免‘氛围编码’，而是专注于理解代码以备将来手动维护。
- 使用大语言模型节省了数月的时间，特别是在问题解决和调试方面，尽管存在伦理上的不安。
- 作者在xfwl4开发过程中对LLM的使用保持透明。
How To Build A Smartwatch: Software - Setting Expectations & Roadmap
2 months ago
- Pebble 2 Duo shipping: 70% delivered, 14% in transit, 16% shipped next week; sold out with no more production.
- Company operates with 5 full-time employees (vs. 180 previously) to ensure sustainability; prioritize core features and manageable growth.
- Software development trade-offs: core functions must work reliably, but bugs, rough edges, and occasional broken features are accepted; focus on stability over new features.
- Software roadmap priorities include: getting PebbleOS ready for Pebble Time 2, improving battery life from 17 to 30 days, adding language packs, quality-of-life improvements, PebbleKit Android, adjustable watch settings from mobile, notifications overhaul, developer SDK enhancements, voice assistant, and watchface generator.
- PebbleOS history: built on FreeRTOS with $15M+ investment and 20 firmware engineers; open sourced by Google in 2025 after Fitbit acquisition.
- Key PebbleOS strengths: constraints-driven creativity, efficient protocol, backwards compatibility, excellent SDK that enabled 10,000+ apps/faces, and community-driven development.
- Core plans: retain existing UI/UX, preserve backwards compatibility, replace old mobile apps with new open-source libpebble3 library, and add local speech-to-text.
- Firmware work includes supporting new microcontrollers (nRF52840, SiFli), reducing power consumption, and integrating Moddable JavaScript runtime.
- SDK improvements: web-based Pebble Cloud SDK (under 1 minute to start), new code examples, APIs for touchscreen/speaker, and easier app submission.
- Appstore enhancements: better discoverability, filtering non-working apps, highlighting new watchfaces, and exploring a donation subscription funnel for developers.
History of PuTTY's development
2 months ago
- PuTTY最初是1996年为了改进Windows Telnet客户端中糟糕的终端模拟而开始的个人项目（STel）。
- 1998年，它被转换为支持SSH-1的多协议客户端，并更名为PuTTY。
- 1999年首次公开发布，只有一个可执行文件，没有安装程序、手册或压缩包。
- 通过社区贡献添加了关键功能：SCP（1999年）、X11转发（2001年）、TCP端口转发（2001年）和Unicode支持（2001年）。
- 终于在2002年编写了手册。
- 2002年，终端模拟器被移植到Linux，创建了pterm和PuTTY的完整Linux版本。
- 后来的主要功能包括串口支持（2007年）和连接共享（2015年），两者都需要大量的代码重构。
- 2019年对服务器端SSH的重构是作为开发工具进行的，并非用于生产环境。
- 开发由
<antirez>
2 months ago
- Redis 自首次在 HN 上发布以来，已庆祝了其第五周年。
- 该项目的成功归功于早期采用并贡献补丁和想法的优秀程序员。
- Redis 社区由杰出的程序员组成，他们的技能并非通过社交媒体粉丝或 GitHub 仓库数量来体现。
- Redis 旨在探索非传统设计理念，并推广了诸如键值存储中的数据结构以及数据库中的脚本等概念。
- 该项目将弃用薄弱功能并追求多样目标，例如在 Redis 3.2 中专注于 API 改进。
- 作者仍保持动力继续开发 Redis，将其视为一段持续旅程，而非受外部压力驱动。
LotusNotes
2 months ago
- 军方是数字计算早期的重要客户和资助者，许多创新来自为军事合同服务的大学研究实验室。
- PLATO（自动教学操作的编程逻辑）是在伊利诺伊大学开发的早期计算机教育系统，由军方资助，强调协作和用户生成内容。
- PLATO的“笔记”系统由高中生创建，成为一个流行的公共消息平台，影响了后来的社交网络和在线社区。
- Lotus Notes由Ray Ozzie和Iris Associates开发，是一个源自PLATO笔记系统的群组软件平台，使用复制数据库模型进行协作。
- Lotus Notes是一个灵活、无模式的平台，可根据各种业务需求进行定制，包括电子邮件、日历和工作流自动化。
- 尽管早期占据主导地位，但由于来自Microsoft Exchange的竞争、专有标准以及其复杂的多功能特性，Lotus Notes逐渐衰落，最终于2018年被出售给HCL。
Algorithms we develop software by
2 months ago
- Start each day by writing a feature from scratch, deleting previous work except unit tests, to enforce clean solutions.
- If a feature can't be implemented after a few days, first implement the groundwork infrastructure or refactoring needed.
- Rewriting code twice can yield 2x quality for 1.25x time, beneficial for long-term maintenance.
- Solving the same problem repeatedly helps retain knowledge of patterns, crucial for junior engineers to reach 100K lines of experience.
- The 'gun to the head' heuristic breaks anchoring bias by forcing a radically different solution under a tight deadline, often reducing time from weeks to days.
- Engineering heuristics are like pathfinding algorithms, each with pros and cons; becoming a better engineer involves better navigation of problem space.
Implementing OpenSSH certificate support in PuTTY
2 months ago
- PuTTY 的证书支持需要对几乎所有代码区域（终端模拟除外）进行更改，使其成为一个影响广泛的功能。
- 该实现跨子系统并行进行，并频繁切换上下文以避免已完成部分的返工。
- 引入了新的全局配置系统用于 CA 设置，因为针对主机密钥证书而言，按会话配置并不足够。
- 为 CA 信任规则设计了一种自定义布尔表达式语法，支持如 '*.example.com' 的简单通配符以及使用 '&&' 和 '||' 的复合表达式。
- 用户证书可以通过修改后的 PPK 文件、独立的证书文件或命令行选项提供，每个密钥支持多个证书。
- Pageant 的密钥存储被重构为独立的公钥和私钥数据结构，以确保相关密钥一起加密/解密。
- 由于测试疏忽，一个重新密钥错误导致一小时后崩溃；已在发布前修复。
- 首次公开预发布版本以收集用户反馈，成功在最终发布前捕获了错误。
Symbiosisware
2 months ago
- "共生软件"是专为单一用户（同时也是其开发者）设计的软件。
- 它通常有更多小缺陷，因为修复这些缺陷的效率低于绕过它们。
- 它针对开发者的特定环境量身定制，忽略了可移植性和通用性。
- 用户界面隐喻往往缺失，因为开发者已理解程序的内部运作。
- 软件与用户相互适应，使得二者难以分离，类似于生物共生。
- 将共生软件转化为发布的软件需要巨大的努力，既包括重新设计软件，也包括重新训练开发者的习惯。
Code review antipatterns
2 months ago
- Code review can be used constructively to improve code and skills, but also obstructively with dark-side antipatterns.
- The 'Death of a Thousand Round Trips' involves repeatedly nitpicking to delay the patch, often across time zones.
- Hostage-taking: demanding unrelated work in exchange for approving a critical patch.
- Review ping-pong: two reviewers make incompatible demands, bouncing the developer back and forth.
- The Guessing Game: vague criticism of a solution without suggesting alternatives, forcing the developer to guess.
- Small nits first, then dropping a major rewrite: making the developer waste effort on trivial fixes before a fundamental change.
- Design wholesale: demanding justification for the entire project design during a minor patch review.
- One big patch vs. many small patches: criticizing whichever approach the developer chose.
- Arbitrary inconsistency: objecting to a pattern previously accepted, forcing the developer to update old code.
- The article is a joke; the real message is to avoid these behaviors, use review authority responsibly, and be constructive.
- In peer review, authority is temporary and should be used only to improve the patch, not for personal agendas.
- In gatekeeping (e.g., unsolicited patches), criticism can be legitimate but should be clear and not passive-aggressive.
Optimising for trust
2 months ago
- 软件开发中最难的问题是管理人员，而非技术。
- 软件团队的流程依赖于具体环境；没有放之四海而皆准的方法。
- 评估流程和工具的关键启发式方法是“以信任为优化目标”。
- 信任可以在四个方面建立：技术方面（测试）、架构方面（代码审查）、人际方面（团队建设）和组织方面（敏捷方法论）。
- 高绩效团队在所有方面都建立信任，但所需努力因团队环境而异。
- 如果流程不起作用，检查信任缺失的地方并相应做出改变。
How Do You Speak Pidgin To A Probability Distribution?
2 months ago
- Frameworks are like a master carpenter's jigs: they remember which specific shape matters, unlike AI that can generate any shape but lacks context.
- Pidgin languages emerge as simplified bridges between speakers of different languages for trade, and when children grow up speaking them, they become full creole languages.
- Similarly, frameworks like Rails and React are 'creoles' that AI models understand natively, enabling efficient communication.
- Even when AI can write any code, frameworks remain essential for shared vocabulary among humans, AIs, and future developers.
- Internal or obscure frameworks are like pidgins—AI hasn't seen them, so we must teach them each time, often with limited success.
- The author's VSM framework explores building frameworks that can explain themselves, using meta-tools and CLI generators to facilitate pidgin conversations with AI.
- Senior developers get the most from AI coding assistants because they share a creole language with the AI, while beginners get pidgin and poorer results.
- Frameworks may evolve into self-aware participants that teach their own idioms, becoming active translators rather than static code.
- All frameworks start as pidgins; the ones that become widespread become creoles that shape how AI thinks and dreams.
Passive Voice Considered Harmful
2 months ago
- 被动语态省略了关键信息，比如谁执行了动作，造成歧义。
- 主动语态遵循“行为者→动词→宾语”结构，更清晰且易于解析。
- 将被动句转换为主动语态常常能揭示思考或设计中的缺陷。
- 在问题讨论中，被动语态有助于避免归咎责任。
- 它可以委婉地传达错误，而不显得带有指责意味。
- 它可以省略与核心叙述无关的细节。
- 识别被动语态需要找出“be动词”加过去分词的形式。
Can You Spot the Passive Voice?
2 months ago
- The exercise tests the ability to recognize passive voice in software development context.
- Users must click 'Active' or 'Passive' for each sentence.
- The results show accuracy, correct and incorrect answers, and a score percentage.
Can You Spot the Passive Voice?
2 months ago
- 该练习测试在软件开发语境中识别被动语态的能力。
- 对于每个句子，用户点击'Active'（无被动语态）或'Passive'（含被动语态）。
- 结果显示准确率百分比、正确和错误答案的数量，以及用被动语态书写的最终得分陈述。
How to Write Useful Commit Messages
2 months ago
- 有效的提交信息能简化代码审查、向团队和用户传达变更、辅助未来调试，并为开发工具提供数据。
- 采用“倒金字塔”结构组织提交信息，将最关键信息放在最前面，长信息可使用标题。
- 提交标题应描述变更的效果（“做了什么”），而正文必须清晰解释动机（“为什么”）以及它如何影响用户。
- 通过交叉引用问题和缺陷、总结外部参考、证明新依赖的合理性来提供必要背景。
- 记录学习心得、考虑过的替代方案、测试说明和限制，以及可搜索的工件（如特定错误消息）。
- 突出破坏性变更，用截图/视频补充UI变更，并将吐槽或故事放在信息的最末尾。
- 省略代码差异中显而易见的信息、短暂的审查讨论，以及应直接记录在代码中的关键维护细节。
'Weekly' Links for February 14, 2025
2 months ago
- 攻读博士学位的学生人数正在减少。
- 频繁使用人工智能工具与批判性思维能力之间存在显著的负相关。
- AI代码生成导致代码量增加、重复代码增多、系统凝聚力降低以及缺陷增多。
- 住宅电话网络连接正在被探索。

software development

Help wanted

AI doesn't generate working products, that's still your job

The development pipeline is a production system

The Conductor Developer

LLMs and Xfwl4

How To Build A Smartwatch: Software - Setting Expectations & Roadmap

History of PuTTY's development

<antirez>

LotusNotes

Algorithms we develop software by

Implementing OpenSSH certificate support in PuTTY

Symbiosisware

Code review antipatterns

Optimising for trust

How Do You Speak Pidgin To A Probability Distribution?

Passive Voice Considered Harmful

Can You Spot the Passive Voice?

Can You Spot the Passive Voice?

How to Write Useful Commit Messages

'Weekly' Links for February 14, 2025