Example.com / Field notes on software and systems. Updated daily since 2014. en-us Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000 The future of distributed systems (and why most of them aren't)/article/the-future-of-distributed-systems.htmlAfter a decade of writing and reviewing distributed systems, I have a confession.Fri, 29 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/the-future-of-distributed-systems.html Why Rust is overhyped/article/why-rust-is-overhyped.htmlRust is wonderful. I have written it professionally for four years.Wed, 27 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/why-rust-is-overhyped.html A defense of monoliths/article/a-defense-of-monoliths.htmlEvery team I have worked on has, at some point, decomposed a monolith prematurely.Sun, 24 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/a-defense-of-monoliths.html Migrating from Postgres to SQLite/article/migrating-from-postgres-to-sqlite.htmlFor a particular shape of workload, SQLite outperforms Postgres by a wide margin.Fri, 22 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/migrating-from-postgres-to-sqlite.html The cost of premature optimization/article/the-cost-of-premature-optimization.htmlKnuth was right, but he was also a compiler guy.Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/the-cost-of-premature-optimization.html Lessons from three startups/article/lessons-from-three-startups.htmlOne is profitable. One was acquired. One quietly wound down.Fri, 15 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/lessons-from-three-startups.html Redis is not a database/article/redis-is-not-a-database.htmlPeople keep using Redis as a primary store. The Redis team has been clear.Tue, 12 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/redis-is-not-a-database.html How we cut our AWS bill by 90%/article/how-we-cut-our-aws-bill-by-90.htmlOur CFO sent a thank-you note. The trade-offs were not as advertised.Fri, 08 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/how-we-cut-our-aws-bill-by-90.html Why I stopped writing unit tests/article/why-i-stopped-writing-unit-tests.htmlTwelve years in, I have changed my mind twice.Wed, 06 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/why-i-stopped-writing-unit-tests.html The quiet rise of edge computing/article/the-quiet-rise-of-edge-computing.htmlFor the right workloads, edge is faster, cheaper, and more reliable.Mon, 04 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/the-quiet-rise-of-edge-computing.html Kubernetes is a platform for platforms/article/kubernetes-is-a-platform-for-platforms.htmlMost teams should not be running Kubernetes. Most teams who do run it, run it badly.Sat, 02 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/kubernetes-is-a-platform-for-platforms.html The end of SaaS/article/the-end-of-saas.htmlThe unbundling has been underway for years. The rebundling is now.Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/the-end-of-saas.html Lessons from our first outage/article/lessons-from-our-first-outage.htmlOn a Tuesday in March, our entire platform was down for 47 minutes.Wed, 30 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/lessons-from-our-first-outage.html How to hire engineers in 2026/article/how-to-hire-engineers-in-2026.htmlTake-home assignments are dead. Live coding is also dead. Here is what works.Mon, 28 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/how-to-hire-engineers-in-2026.html The pager is a product/article/the-pager-is-a-product.htmlOn-call rotations are not infrastructure. They are a product that the engineering org ships to itself.Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/the-pager-is-a-product.html We rewrote our monolith in Go/article/we-rewrote-our-monolith-in-go.htmlIt was a mistake. We are sharing the postmortem because we are generous.Sat, 19 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/we-rewrote-our-monolith-in-go.html The coming collapse of the cloud/article/the-coming-collapse-of-the-cloud.htmlThe unit economics are not sustainable at current prices.Thu, 17 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/the-coming-collapse-of-the-cloud.html Why TypeScript won/article/why-typescript-won.htmlNot because of types. Because of the IDE.Tue, 15 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/why-typescript-won.html A year of serverless/article/a-year-of-serverless.htmlTwelve months in, here is the honest accounting.Sun, 13 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/a-year-of-serverless.html Our attempt to replace Postgres/article/our-attempt-to-replace-postgres.htmlSix months, three rewrites, zero regrets. The lessons were not what we expected.Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/our-attempt-to-replace-postgres.html The second-system effect/article/the-second-system-effect.htmlFred Brooks was right. He was also too kind.Wed, 09 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/the-second-system-effect.html You don't need a queue/article/you-dont-need-a-queue.htmlYou need a Postgres table. Hear me out.Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/you-dont-need-a-queue.html What I learned from 100 standups/article/what-i-learned-from-100-standups.htmlAfter two years of running daily standups with six different teams.Sat, 05 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/what-i-learned-from-100-standups.html The real reason for tech debt/article/the-real-reason-for-tech-debt.htmlIt is not the code. It is the org chart.Thu, 03 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000/article/the-real-reason-for-tech-debt.html