Links #3
How SSDs work, difference b/w hsl and rgb, revolution that made computing personal and much more
This iteration is about two weeks off but better late then never.
Some ways DNS can break
From really slow network requests to an email landing in your spam folder. There are many problems that can arise from incorrectly configured DNS. This post is a lists some of such problems that don’t look like DNS problems at all on first look.
Coding for SSDs
SSDs are not slower RAMs. There are lot of things that are practically different from the mental model of SSDs being faster HDDs and slower RAMs. This 6 part blog series covers more than enough on what you should know to update your mental model of how SSDs work, sixth part being the summary of first five.
Split panes in Terminal using trees
You may have used a terminal multiplexer like tmux or a terminal which supports split panes. This post is about how engineers at warp implemented split panes in warp using tree (data-structure) behind the scenes and the thoughts that guided this decision.
Next time when you get an opportunity to rattle some fancy examples of data structures and algorithms in real life you can use this.
Make beautiful gradients
I have been creating digital art for some time now and used to think that rgb and hsl are two different ways to get the same final color, it doesn’t matter which one you use. This post is about how to not end up with gradients greying out in the middle due to bad color choices. Even if you’re not a front end dev, it helps to know how hsl and rgb are fundamentally different and why we need different color modes.
Git Internals
Git is worth any investment you can make learning it. This tutorial aims to explain important git operations and how they are implemented actually so that you have a better understanding on how some operation is going to affect your project.
TSMC Analysis by Asianometry | Youtube playlist
TSMC files around 1000 patents a year. World’s leading foundry at the moment and doing so great that some even call it printing press for money. If you’re interested in knowing more about TSMC this playlist by Asianometry is very detailed and interesting take on TSMC and chipmaking landscape
Books
I am reading The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop (there are two dream machines). Book is biography of J.C.R. Licklider and role of other computer scientists and mathematicians during and after world war II in transforming the computers from just being massive calculators to the device we know and use today as an aid to human intellect.
I’m about 30% into the book, it is well written, reads itself and explores interesting history. For example how MIT changed from an engineering school to world class center for physics, chemistry, architecture, mathematics and much else.
That is all for today. You can comment or reply to this mail if you have any suggestions/feedback or want to share something that I can use in next iteration.
Thanks for reading.