Reddit Programming

What breaks when you try to put tables, graphs, and vector search in one embedded engine?
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qsbj66/what_breaks_when_you_try_to_put_tables_graphs_and/

I’ve been working on an embedded database engine that runs in-process and supports multiple data models under one transactional system: relational tables, property graphs, and vector similarity search (HNSW-style). Trying to combine these in a single embedded engine surfaces some interesting programming and systems problems that don’t show up when each piece lives in its own service. A few of the more interesting challenges: 1) Transaction semantics vs ANN indexes
Approximate vector indexes like HNSW don’t naturally fit strict ACID semantics.
Per-transaction updates increase write amplification, rollbacks are awkward, and crash recovery becomes complicated. In practice, you have to decide how “transactional” these structures really are. 2) Storage layout tension
Tables want row or column locality.
Graphs want pointer-heavy adjacency structures.
Vectors want contiguous, cache-aligned numeric blocks. You can unify the abstraction layer, but at the physical level these models fight each other unless you introduce specialization, which erodes the “single engine” ideal. 3) Query planning across models
Cross-model queries sound elegant, but cost models don’t compose cleanly.
Graph traversals plus vector search quickly explode the planner search space, and most optimizers end up rule-based rather than cost-based. 4) Runtime embedding costs
Running a full DB engine inside a language runtime (instead of as a service) shifts problems: - startup time vs long-lived processes - memory ownership and GC interaction - crash behavior and isolation expectations Some problems get easier (latency, deployment); others get harder (debugging, failure isolation). The motivation for exploring this design is to avoid stitching together multiple storage systems for local or embedded workloads, but the complexity doesn’t disappear — it just moves. If you’ve worked on database engines, storage systems, or runtime embedding (JVM, CPython, Rust, etc.), I’d be curious: - where would you intentionally draw boundaries between models? - which parts would you relax consistency on first? - does embedded deployment change how you’d design these internals? For concrete implementation context, this exploration is being done using an embedded configuration of ArcadeDB via language bindings. I’m not benchmarking or claiming this is “the right” approach — mostly interested in the engineering trade-offs.  submitted by /u/Plastic_Director_480 (https://www.reddit.com/user/Plastic_Director_480)
[link] (https://github.com/humemai/arcadedb-embedded-python) [comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qsbj66/what_breaks_when_you_try_to_put_tables_graphs_and/)

2 views04:44

Reddit Programming

The Hardest Bugs Exist Only In Organizational Charts
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qscpr5/the_hardest_bugs_exist_only_in_organizational/

The Hardest Bugs Exist Only in Organizational Charts. Some of the most damaging failures in software systems are not technical bugs but organizational ones, rooted in team structure, ownership gaps, incentives, and communication breakdowns that quietly shape how code behaves. https://techyall.com/blog/the-hardest-bugs-exist-only-in-organizational-charts  submitted by /u/justok25 (https://www.reddit.com/user/justok25)
[link] (https://techyall.com/blog/the-hardest-bugs-exist-only-in-organizational-charts) [comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qscpr5/the_hardest_bugs_exist_only_in_organizational/)

2 views04:45

Reddit Programming

In Praise of –dry-run
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qse1g5/in_praise_of_dryrun/

submitted by /u/henrik_w (https://www.reddit.com/user/henrik_w)
[link] (https://henrikwarne.com/2026/01/31/in-praise-of-dry-run/) [comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qse1g5/in_praise_of_dryrun/)

2 views04:46

Reddit Programming

C3 Programming Language 0.7.9 - migrating away from generic modules
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qsexe1/c3_programming_language_079_migrating_away_from/

C3 is a C alternative for people who like C, see https://c3-lang.org (https://c3-lang.org/). In this release, C3 generics had a refresh. Previously based on the concept of generic modules (somewhat similar to ML generic modules), 0.7.9 presents a superset of that functionality which decouples generics from the module, which still retaining the benefits of being able to specify generic constraints in a single location. Other than this, the release has the usual fixes and improvements to the standard library. This is expected to be one of the last releases in the 0.7.x iteration, with 0.8.0 planned for April (current schedule is one 0.1 release per year, with 1.0 planned for 2028). While 0.8.0 and 0.9.0 all allows for breaking changes, the language is complete as is, and current work is largely about polishing syntax and semantics, as well as filling gaps in the standard library.  submitted by /u/Nuoji (https://www.reddit.com/user/Nuoji)
[link] (https://c3-lang.org/blog/c3-0-7-9-new-generics-and-new-optional-syntax/) [comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qsexe1/c3_programming_language_079_migrating_away_from/)

3 views04:47

Reddit Programming

The 80% Problem in Agentic Coding | Addy Osmani
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qsexgr/the_80_problem_in_agentic_coding_addy_osmani/

 Those same teams saw review times balloon 91%. Code review became the new bottleneck. The time saved writing code was consumed by organizational friction, more context switching, more coordination overhead, managing the higher volume of changes.  submitted by /u/waozen (https://www.reddit.com/user/waozen)
[link] (https://addyo.substack.com/p/the-80-problem-in-agentic-coding) [comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qsexgr/the_80_problem_in_agentic_coding_addy_osmani/)

2 views04:48

Reddit Programming

Are We Ready For Spec-Driven Development
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qsfho6/are_we_ready_for_specdriven_development/

submitted by /u/Flag_Red (https://www.reddit.com/user/Flag_Red)
[link] (https://dumbideas.xyz/posts/are-we-ready-for-spec-driven-development/) [comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qsfho6/are_we_ready_for_specdriven_development/)

3 views04:49

Reddit Programming

minion-molt: Python SDK for AI agent social networking
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qspr48/minionmolt_python_sdk_for_ai_agent_social/

submitted by /u/femtowin (https://www.reddit.com/user/femtowin)
[link] (https://github.com/femto/minion-molt) [comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qspr48/minionmolt_python_sdk_for_ai_agent_social/)

3 views05:44

Reddit Programming

I am building a payment switch and would appreciate some feedback.
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qt0vzz/i_am_building_a_payment_switch_and_would/

submitted by /u/TickleMyPiston (https://www.reddit.com/user/TickleMyPiston)
[link] (https://github.com/malwarebo/conductor) [comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1qt0vzz/i_am_building_a_payment_switch_and_would/)