A Java Geek weekly 2

Keeping CALM: when distributed consistency is easy

A good explanation of the CALM theorem. If you’re working on distributed systems and are not familiar with the latter, it’s a must-read.

Running Wasm Workers Server in Docker Desktop

Wasm Workers Server is a tool that allows running WebAssembly-powered containers. Either use code compiled to WebAssembly, e.g., Rust, or interpreted code when the interpreting runtime has already been compiled, e.g., Python. Results are impressive.

Row Columns That the Select Statement Hides From You

A very short read that proves beyond any doubt that SELECT * don’t return every column of the table.

You Don’t Need a Dedicated Cache Service - PostgreSQL as a Cache

Tables with UNLOGGED have some nice properties, e.g., no Write-Ahead-Log. I still wouldn’t recommend using this trick in production, but I learned something new.

Microservices without reason

I’ve advised against using microservices unless…​ The post mentions the only two reasons why you should start considering microservices. Good sum-up all in all.

7 Code Virtues Explained

Some good stuff, the rest is highly subjective. I need to write a post about it.

Making Rust supply chain attacks harder with Cackle

Somebody implemented a compile-time security feature for Rust to decrease the likehood of supply-chain attacks. Meanwhile, the great powers at Oracle have deprecated the Security Manager. I must admit that I’m eagerly waiting for the next Log4Shell.

GraalVM Replaces the GraalVM Updater with Language Libraries

I need to understand how it works if you are not using Java at all, i.e., use GraalVM’s TruffleRuby to run your Ruby app.

Why a Computer Science Degree Isn’t Enough

Most top-performing computer science students aren’t able to implement basic industry-related tasks. With more than two decades of industry experience and the same time teaching at universities, I concur with the observation.

The fix is both unbelievably simple and utterly unachievable: replace all teachers who are buried in research and don’t bother keeping up with anything outside their field with industry professionals.

It looks like you’re a developer. Would you like help upgrading Windows 11?

Microsoft adds a PC setup option and tools just for coders in Win 11 23H2.

We definitely live in interesting times. I wonder if Apple is going to follow the move.

Leverage the richness of HTTP status codes

If you’re not a REST expert, you probably use the same HTTP codes over and over in your responses, mostly 200, 404, and 500. If using authentication, you might perhaps add 401 and 403; if using redirects 301 and 302, that might be all. But the range of possible status codes is much broader than that and can improve semantics a lot. While many discussions about REST focus on entities and methods, using the correct response status codes can make your API stand out.

This post sparked a great lot of debate on Reddit.

Nicolas Fränkel

Nicolas Fränkel

Developer Advocate with 15+ years experience consulting for many different customers, in a wide range of contexts (such as telecoms, banking, insurances, large retail and public sector). Usually working on Java/Java EE and Spring technologies, but with focused interests like Rich Internet Applications, Testing, CI/CD and DevOps. Also double as a trainer and triples as a book author.

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A Java Geek weekly 2
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