React to InfoQ Software Architecture Trends Report 2024
The 2024 InfoQ Software Architecture Trends Report just got published, so it’s time to react to it. Links:
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Are design patterns outdated?
Are design patterns outdated? Aren’t they old? Aren’t they already part of our languages? These questions come up again and again, and the conversation simply takes place at the wrong level of analysis. Watch to see why and how design patterns would be useful.
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xz Backdoor and Other News
We start with some short commentary on a few things that piqued Alex’ interest, and then we move to the main topic: the xz backdoor. For a few years, a malicious actor managed to gain enough credibility in the xz / libxzma project to gain maintainer status, which they then used to try and push
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Modular Monolith + Smart Runtime > µservices?
A recent white paper from Google advocates for the replacement of microservices with a modular monolith that has strong module boundaries and a smart runtime able to run the components in a distributed environment. Is this a good idea? Alex explores the benefits, downsides, and potential problems that would come up from such a model.
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Qualitative Metrics for Developer Productivity?
Productivity metrics strike back! A recent article from martinfowler.com details a method of measuring productivity with qualitative metrics instead of quantitative ones. Could this be a viable method? Watch this video to find out! (Spoiler alert: it seems generally ok, but it might miss a few things). Links:
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Herb Sutter on C++ Safety
Herb Sutter has published a few days ago the first deep analysis of the C++ language problems related to security and safety, following the NSA, NIST, and White House recommendations to switch to memory safe languages. Alex reacts to this analysis and connects it to the larger trend of improving cyber security. Links:
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Reframing Software Design
The construction metaphor for software development has outlived its usefulness, and it’s time to reframe software design by reconnecting it to its similar disciplines from other domains. In this video, Alex offers a possible reframing and goes in depth on why and how UX laws apply to software design. Links:
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Programmers, Take Responsibility
An essay by Alex Bolboaca, 1 March 2024 Listen to the essay on YouTube, or read it below the embedded video. This week, I followed closely the reactions to the White House recommendation for memory-safe programming languages. To my disappointment, many programmers took up to social media to poke fun, instead of admitting our collective
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White House Recommends Memory Safe Languages
Just out of White House, we got a press release and an attached report that recommends memory safe programming languages for new products, and switching legacy code bases to memory safe programming languages. The text of the report excludes C and C++ explicitly. Alex read the first part of the report and offers a quick
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Answer Comments for “NSA deems C++ Memory Unsafe”
One year ago we published a video on the recent NSA recommendation for memory safe programming languages, which excluded C++. The video provoked many interesting comments, with the last of them being posted two weeks ago. So in this video, Alex goes through the comments and replies to them, adding more context where needed. Original
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