Published in Better Programming·Apr 19Member-only5 Anti Patterns to Avoid When Writing Code in a Functional Programming LanguageUse case examples with Scala — Functional programming languages have gained so much traction in these past few years. Many people can see the benefit of writing code that contains features such as functions as a first-class citizen. …Programming7 min read
Published in Better Programming·Apr 5Member-onlyA Distributed System Interview Question: How to Avoid Read Inconsistency During a TransactionCreate snapshot isolations in a distributed environment — Imagine when you are trying to transfer 100 dollars from account A to account B, and both accounts are in the same bank. After you initiate the transfer, you refresh your screen. However, when you refresh your screen, your total balance dip — that 100 dollars seem to vanish out…Programming7 min read
Published in JavaScript in Plain English·Mar 23Member-onlyShould You Fear Being Replaced by Younger Engineers Who Know Newer Technology?Will the newest generation of programmers end up taking older developers’ jobs since they are younger and know the latest technology? — “It’s great to be a software engineer nowadays.” One of my family members mentioned that at our family holiday party. I grinned and responded, “Yea, it is. However, there is a catch.” I explained, “Although the job market has been hot these days, we must keep up with the current…Careers5 min read
Published in Better Programming·Mar 18Member-onlyA Distributed System Question: How To Detect a Dead NodeAny why it can be so hard — If AWS only provides a bare-metal server, you will need to pay per request or per month for their node detection service. That will be harsh for them not to provide this service, but it will be expensive for companies to have to pay for such a feature. Detecting if…Programming8 min read
Published in Better Programming·Mar 9Member-onlyThis is How 1:1 Should Be Utilized To Maximize Career Growth#1 — Pursue awkward topics — 1:1 is an essential part of career growth, no matter which role you are in the company. However, 1:1 can be intimidating. It is scarce between two people talking about emotions, fears, and hope. Sadly enough, many engineers wasted their 1:1 — you make a little agenda, status updates, or…Programming6 min read
Published in JavaScript in Plain English·Mar 4Member-onlyIf You Want to Go Deep, Go for Big Tech. If You Want to Go Wide, Go for Startup. Here’s Why.Use This Mantra to Decide Whether You Want to go to Big Tech or a Startup — When I left the Disney Streaming Service to pursue another opportunity, my colleagues asked, “Where are you going next?” I told him about a company that wasn’t as big as Disney. They responded with a joke saying, “I bet it is easier to solve the problem over there than it…Software Development7 min read
Published in Better Programming·Dec 1, 2021Member-onlyWhy Functional Programmers Prefer For-Comprehension Over Imperative Code BlocksShort-answer: readability — “Why do you wrap everything into an effect and put a for over here?” — a Senior engineer in another team commented on my second code review. I looked into the code, and the first thing that popped up on my mind was, “Because it is readable.” Readability is very…Programming4 min read
Published in Better Programming·Sep 22, 2021Member-onlyDo Seniority Titles Really Matter in the Software Industry?With great power comes great responsibility — Uncle Ben once said — I remember that day when I gave my two weeks’ notice to my manager at Macy’s Tech in San Francisco. A few minutes later, the director in our department called me to schedule a one-on-one. “Why do you want to leave?” he asked. “Is it because of the money?” It…Programming6 min read
Published in Better Programming·Sep 16, 2021Member-onlyAn Interview Question That Truly Tests Your Experience as a Software EngineerDo you know how to avoid cache stampedes? — Leetcode has always been the holy grail to cracking the coding interview. Many engineers have said that the technical interview pipeline is broken. Three years ago, a technology company would not have told you to solve two Leetcode hard questions in a single setting. …Programming6 min read
Published in Better Programming·Sep 15, 2021Member-only6 Hard Truths To Accept Before Working on Side Projects2. Obsession with best practices will slow you down — Every side project comes with an idea. For instance, I came up with creating a Medium publication index to search for publications. Therefore, I want to do this side project. An interesting fact about ideas and thoughts is that they come and go. According to studies, we have 6,200 thoughts…Programming10 min read