TLDR Web Dev 2024-04-29

Web development started with simple HTML and CSS. Eventually, client-side JavaScript allowed for more dynamic websites. The need for SEO and performance led to the creation of server-side rendering and frameworks like Next.js. JavaScript's shortcomings led to TypeScript and Svelte. At the end of the day, the core goal of all these evolutions was to create enjoyable user experiences, so the tools being used don't matter much.

Tailwind CSS has some lesser-known features that can make developing web UIs easier. This article goes over a couple of them, such as using gap-* to add space between elements, accent-* utilities to change the color of checkboxes/radio buttons, and peer-* modifiers to style elements based on the state of sibling elements.

C++ build times at Figma were getting so long that it was reducing dev productivity. Figma was able to reduce build times by 50% by using libclang's Python bindings to identify and remove unnecessary header file inclusions, reducing the amount of code the compiler needs to process. It also used a tool to track and address build time regressions over time and “fwd.h” files to centralize forward declarations within code directories.

Reading academic whitepapers can help engineers build a strong foundation of technical expertise and keep up with industry trends. To get the most out of reading them, devs should use a three-step process to internalize them: first do a high-level skim of the paper, then go through it in a slower, detailed manner, and lastly, write down your takeaways to fully internalize your understanding.

This author built a web game called "Binary Duel" using only Go and claimed that features like a cache, queue, and database weren't necessary. However, he admitted that his initial claim was premature and wrong. For better user retention, he decided to add features like a database, login, leaderboard, and ranking system, using Go to implement solutions like in-memory caching and bulk database writes efficiently.

Teable is a no-code database built on Postgres. It uses a simple, spreadsheet-like interface to create enterprise-level database applications.

A collection of prebuilt components allowing developers to quickly build and deploy RAG applications.

PySheets provides a spreadsheet UI for Python in the browser. Users can load any Python package and JS module and perform exploratory data science, use Pandas, create charts with matplotlib, import Excel sheets, analyze data, and create reports.

To monetize their website, this author reluctantly added low-quality content to their site to appeal to Google's AdSense approval process. They used AI-generated recipes, poetry, riddles, and a fictional blog to have more content on their site to get through the process successfully. Ironically, despite the site's original high quality, this absurdly bad content allowed them to gain Google's approval to display ads.

Apple's strategy of locking users into its ecosystem with exclusive features and tight control over the App Store is facing external pressures through antitrust lawsuits, legislation, and developer dissatisfaction. Apple is being forced to slowly make concessions, such as the allowance of third-party app stores following European regulation.

A simple ~30MB Word document is sluggish in Google Docs (on a capable laptop), whereas the same file opens instantly in LibreOffice.

To improve the readability of complex Boolean expressions, break them down into smaller, well-named intermediate Booleans or encapsulate the logic within a separate method.