Open source tools to boost your productivity

TLDR Open source technology offers alternatives to many proprietary software tools, providing benefits like added transparency, customizability, and security. Highlighted tools include Penpot for design, Cal.com for scheduling, Screenity for screen recording, Jitsi for video conferencing, Nextcloud for cloud storage, Ghost for publishing, and more. Each offers features to help individuals and businesses move away from Big Tech incumbents without compromising productivity.

🔗 https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/11/a-not-quite-definitive-guide-to-open-source-alternative-software/

How does Garbage Collection work?

TLDR Garbage collection is a crucial automatic memory management feature used in many programming languages. Java offers multiple garbage collectors tailored to different scenarios, Python employs reference counting alongside a cyclic collector to handle circular references, and GoLang utilizes a concurrent mark-and-sweep garbage collector to minimize application pauses. Additional topics include tools for designing fault-tolerant systems and key system design trade-offs.

🔗 https://blog.bytebytego.com/p/ep125-how-does-garbage-collection

What is a Load Balancer?

TLDR A load balancer distributes network or application traffic across multiple servers to ensure availability, reliability, and performance. There are different types of load balancers, including hardware, software, cloud-based, Layer 4, Layer 7, and Global Server Load Balancing. Load balancers improve scalability and help manage large-scale applications efficiently. The post also touches on various design patterns for Kubernetes and highlights a sponsored service by QA Wolf for improved QA cycles.

🔗 https://blog.bytebytego.com/p/ep123-what-is-a-load-balancer

Using GPT-4o for web scraping

TLDR A developer experimented with using GPT-4o's structured outputs for web scraping, creating an AI-assisted web scraper. While the model performed well with simple and complex tables, it struggled with combined rows and generating XPaths. Cost is a concern due to the model's character volume requirements. Future improvements could include better UX through capturing browser events and further refining HTML data cleanup.

🔗 https://blancas.io/blog/ai-web-scraper

10 Best Resources to Learn Software Architecture in 2025

TLDR Mastering software architecture is crucial for handling complex systems and transitioning from a developer role to an architect role. Essential resources include books like 'Designing Data-Intensive Applications' and courses such as 'The Complete Microservices and Event-Driven Architecture' on Udemy. Additionally, whitepapers and engineering blogs provide valuable insights. These resources cover various architectural styles, principles, and real-world challenges, helping you design scalable, maintainable, and high-performing systems.

🔗 https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-best-resources-to-learn-software-architecture-in-2025-2524ac91dc76

11 open source AI projects that developers will love

TLDR Explore 11 open source AI projects aimed at easing software development. Projects like Upscayl enhance image resolution, Nyro automates mundane tasks, and Wren AI translates natural language into SQL. Tools like Geppetto and E2B sandboxes integrate AI with productivity tools, while DSPy and Guardrails optimize AI model training and accuracy. These projects demonstrate the potential of AI in transforming everyday tasks and development workflows.

🔗https://www.infoworld.com/article/3566915/11-open-source-ai-projects-that-developers-will-love.html

Toasts are Bad UX

TLDR Toasts often appear far from the user's focus, leading to jarring interactions. For example, YouTube's toast notifications conflict with other on-screen actions. A redesign suggests directly integrating feedback into user actions, such as placing indicators near interacted elements. Examples from Gmail and clipboard actions further illustrate unnecessary toast usage. Ultimately, no feedback is worse, but there are better methods than relying on toasts.

🔗 https://maxschmitt.me/posts/toasts-bad-ux

How Senior Software Engineers Document Their Project

Software engineers often dislike documenting projects, but it distinguishes good engineers from bad. The Architectural Decision Record (ADR) is highlighted as an effective way to document architectural changes, providing benefits like aiding memory, improving team learning, and assisting future developers. The post outlines the importance of ADRs and provides a template and examples for implementation.

🔗 https://dev.to/koladev/how-senior-software-engineers-document-their-project-1nf4

Avoid SELECT *, even on a single-column tables

TLDR Avoid using SELECT * in SQL queries, even for single-column tables, as it can lead to inefficient database operations and performance issues. Explicitly selecting only necessary columns allows for better optimization, reducing overhead related to deserialization, network costs, and query unpredictability. Specific column selection also facilitates easier code maintenance and database schema updates.

🔗 https://medium.com/@hnasr/avoid-select-even-on-a-single-column-tables-d6deed7b4aee

10 new Git commands you should start using today

TLDR Discover ten lesser-known Git commands that can streamline your workflow and enhance repository management. Learn about git switch for safer branch changes, git restore for precise undoing, git maintenance for automating repository health tasks, and more efficient handling of large monorepos with git sparse-checkout. Master these practical solutions to improve your productivity and maintain clean, optimized repositories.

🔗 https://appwrite.io/blog/post/10-git-commands-you-should-start-using

React Tech Stack [2025]

TLDR Discover a comprehensive React tech stack for full-stack applications in 2025. Key components include Next.js for its powerful features, optional use of Astro for landing pages, Tailwind CSS for rapid styling, Shadcn UI for UI management, and various tools for data fetching, state management, authentication, and more. The stack is based on extensive research and practical experience from developing a profitable SaaS application.

🔗 https://www.robinwieruch.de/react-tech-stack

TypeScript Utility Types: A Complete Guide

TLDR TypeScript utility types are predefined functions that allow the transformation of existing types, simplifying the code and making it easier to maintain. This guide covers essential utility types like Partial, Required, Readonly, Pick, Omit, and more, with real-world examples demonstrating how to update user profiles, manage configurations, and filter data securely. Combining these utility types can yield powerful results, enhancing flexibility and security in applications. It's crucial to use these types wisely to maintain code clarity and avoid performance issues.

🔗 https://www.syncfusion.com/blogs/post/master-typescript-utility-types

Which IDEs do software engineers love, and why?

TLDR This post examines the current landscape of AI-powered IDEs popular among software engineers. It highlights favorites like Cursor, Visual Studio Code with GitHub Copilot, and new entrants like Windsurf and Zed, detailing their standout features and pricing. Insights include why developers prefer these tools over established options, and how startups are out-innovating giants like Microsoft and JetBrains in this space.

🔗 https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/ide-that-software-engineers-love

Just say no to JavaScript

TLDR JavaScript, created in a week in 1995, has become the most common programming language despite its numerous pitfalls. The author argues for TypeScript as a superior alternative due to its expressive and powerful type system, which enhances code clarity and maintainability. The post rebuts common objections to TypeScript and advocates for its gradual adoption.

🔗 https://www.infoworld.com/article/3616471/just-say-no-to-javascript.html

Goodbye ChatGPT: Here Are 8 (New & Free) AI Tools That Will Blow Your Mind

TLDR Discover 8 new and free AI tools that can significantly enhance your productivity. The featured tools include Fiverr's Logo Maker for quick logo designs, APIDNA for easy API integration, Mailbox AI for email management, Skibs for creating animated 3D characters, Overlap for converting long videos into short clips, Loomos for enhancing video presentations, Paperguide for conducting research, and Runway Act-One for generating expressive videos. These tools provide innovative solutions for various tasks while being accessible for free up to certain limits.

🔗 https://medium.com/swlh/goodbye-chatgpt-here-are-8-new-free-ai-tools-that-will-blow-your-mind-11623c297107

200+ Tailwind CSS Resources: Tools, Tutorials, and More

TLDR Tailwind CSS is a utility-first framework that emphasizes rapid styling, customization, and responsive design. This comprehensive guide offers over 200 Tailwind resources, including essential tools, component libraries, plugins, tutorials, optimization tips, and more. From installation and configuration to complex integrations and debuggings, such resources aim to streamline development and boost productivity. Additionally, it showcases various learning materials, templates, and community support channels to help developers efficiently build stunning websites with Tailwind CSS.

🔗 https://tailgrids.com/blog/tailwind-resources

Advanced TypeScript

TLDR Mapped types are a great way of transforming existing types into new types. We create the helper type that takes a type and maps all properties to be of return type.

🔗 https://angularexperts.io/blog/advanced-typescript