Hacker News with Generative AI: Best Practices

Code reviews: A success story (blogsystem5.substack.com)
Code reviews have a bad rap: they are antagonistic in nature and, sometimes, pure red tape. Some argue that they are bad practice; others say that peer programming is better. And while these may be true, I want to tell you a story about a case where code reviews worked well!
Software Development, Code Reviews, Best Practices
64 points by mu0n 5 days ago | 60 comments
Be Aware of the Makefile Effect (yossarian.net)
Software Development, Programming, Tools, Best Practices
9 points by Aissen 8 days ago | 1 comments
Six Sins of Platform Teams (serce.me)
Software Engineering, Platform Teams, Best Practices
58 points by kaycebasques 10 days ago | 27 comments
Systems ideas that sound good but almost never work (learningbyshipping.com)
Some engineering patterns that sound good but almost never work as intended
Software Engineering, Design Patterns, Best Practices
419 points by kaycebasques 18 days ago | 261 comments
Database mocks are not worth it (shayon.dev)
It’s tempting to rely on mocks for database calls. Mocking is faster and often feels more straightforward. However, testing against a real database uncovers hidden pitfalls that can appear as the application matures. Issues like unique constraint violations, default value handling, or even performance bottlenecks may only surface when the code is exercised against actual data.
Database Testing, Software Development, Best Practices
178 points by shayonj 18 days ago | 262 comments
State of the Art Python in 2024 (4zm.org)
Software development is about making choices. But available options change and so do the tradeoffs. Are you up to date with the best practices for creating a Python application in 2024? Let’s take a look at some great default choices.
Python, Software Development, Best Practices, Programming Languages, 2024
9 points by belter 18 days ago | 0 comments
Test Accounts: A Hidden Risk (cacm.acm.org)
When it comes to the fundamental principle of never testing in production, nearly every software engineer is guilty of breaking that rule at some point in their career. But this is not just a best practice. It is a keystone value meant to protect your reputation, your customers, and your sanity.
Software Engineering, Best Practices, Security
19 points by yarapavan 26 days ago | 0 comments
15 Times to use AI, and 5 Not to (oneusefulthing.org)
There are several types of work where AI can be particularly useful, given the current capabilities and limitations of LLMs. Though this list is based in science, it draws even more from experience. Like any form of wisdom, using AI well requires holding opposing ideas in mind: it can be transformative yet must be approached with skepticism, powerful yet prone to subtle failures, essential for some tasks yet actively harmful for others.
Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Tools, Best Practices, Limitations
12 points by twapi 39 days ago | 3 comments
The Rules of Programming (2023) (therulesofprogramming.com)
The Rules of Programming were born of exasperation.
Programming, Software Development, Rules, Best Practices
109 points by davikr 40 days ago | 41 comments
Refactoring in C++: Top Techniques and Best Practices (jetbrains.com)
Whether you’re a seasoned C++ developer or just starting out, refactoring is a key way you can make your code cleaner, more efficient, and easier to maintain.
C++, Refactoring, Software Development, Best Practices
47 points by signa11 42 days ago | 19 comments
Yet Another List of Random Opinions on Writing Readable Code and Other Rants (lucavall.in)
After more than a decade of writing software, I've read lots of opinions on how to write good software. Everyone loves to throw around rules and principles, so I'll do it too. Writing readable code is about making life easier for the people who have to deal with it later - not about flexing your cleverness or following trends that sound smart on social networks.
Software Development, Programming, Readability, Opinions, Best Practices
4 points by ingve 45 days ago | 0 comments
Codin' Dirty (htmx.org)
“Writing clean code is what you must do in order to call yourself a professional. There is no reasonable excuse for doing anything less than your best.” Clean Code
Web Development, Software Development, Programming, Best Practices
34 points by todsacerdoti 54 days ago | 5 comments
Ask HN: Best practices using AI as an experienced web dev (ycombinator.com)
As an Old, I came up learning the OG web dev languages - HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, etc. As a solo dev, I still largely work with these as natively as possible. But I am not a total dinosaur. I embraced jQuery in the early 2000's, Bootstrap scaffolding, and now often build reactive UI's using Vue 3.
Web Development, AI, Best Practices, Programming Languages
9 points by thebordella 61 days ago | 8 comments
My Modern CSS Reset (jakelazaroff.com)
How many of us start every web project by copy-and-pasting Eric Meyer’s famous CSS reset?
Web Development, CSS, Best Practices
12 points by alexharri 72 days ago | 0 comments
Lessons learned from a successful Rust rewrite (gaultier.github.io)
I have written about my on-going rewrite-it-to-Rust effort at work: 1, 2, 3. And now it's finished. Let's have a look back at what worked, what didn't, and what can be done about it.
Rust, Software Development, Programming Languages, Case Study, Best Practices
146 points by broken_broken_ 80 days ago | 42 comments
Mastering JavaScript Type Detection: Techniques and Best Practices (medium.com)
This guide dives deep into JavaScript type detection, demystifying how to accurately judge data types — a skill essential for coding precision and clean code. We’ll explore powerful methods, from basic typeof to the advanced instanceof, Array.isArray, and Object.prototype.toString.call. Each technique is carefully crafted to help you handle JavaScript data types efficiently and avoid common pitfalls. Here’s your toolkit for JavaScript type handling.
JavaScript, Programming, Best Practices, Software Development, Data Types
5 points by javatuts 82 days ago | 1 comments
A Modern CSS Reset (2024 update) (joshwcomeau.com)
Whenever I start a new project, the first order of business is to sand down some of the rough edges in the CSS language. I do this with a functional set of custom baseline styles.
CSS, Web Development, Best Practices
37 points by marban 85 days ago | 12 comments
Developing with Docker (danielquinn.org)
You'd think that this topic would have been done to death, but given that every job I've started in the past 10+ years has used Docker differently (if at all) to varying degrees of success, I feel like we need some sense of consensus around how to Do This Right™. And, as someone with an ego the size of a small moon, I'm here to decide what's right... on my own blog anyway.
Docker, Software Development, Best Practices
76 points by bruh2 86 days ago | 65 comments
Don't use "click here" for link text (dont-click-here.com)
Never link the words “click here”. Or “here” or “this”.
Web Design, User Experience, Best Practices
114 points by jonathanberger 87 days ago | 61 comments
__init__.py files are optional. Here's why you should still use them (bovenberg.net)
If you’ve ever googled the question “Why do Python packages have empty __init__.py files?”, you could get the idea that Python packages wouldn’t work without them. This is a common misconception—they’ve been optional since Python 3.3! Why then, do most Python projects still have them?
Python, Programming, Best Practices, Software Development
33 points by todsacerdoti 88 days ago | 46 comments
How I use git (thorstenball.com)
Recently I tried to explain to a colleague my mental model for when to put something in the same pull request and when not to. I caught myself saying “well, except…” a few times, I decided to write down how I use git — to examine my idiosyncracies, see where I could improve, and possibly share something useful.
Git, Version Control, Software Development, Best Practices
41 points by signa11 91 days ago | 21 comments
How I Use Git (thorstenball.com)
Recently I tried to explain to a colleague my mental model for when to put something in the same pull request and when not to. I caught myself saying “well, except…” a few times, I decided to write down how I use git — to examine my idiosyncracies, see where I could improve, and possibly share something useful.
Git, Version Control, Software Development, Best Practices
4 points by tosh 94 days ago | 0 comments
A dictionary of single-letter variable names (jackkelly.name)
Haskell’s expressive type system means that type signatures can carry a lot of information. Haskell’s polymorphism means that you sometime write a function that works across an enormous range of types, and are often left wondering “what do I actually call my variables?”. It is often the case that there’s nothing to say beyond “this variable is a Functor”, or “this variable is a monadic action”, and so a single-letter variable name is appropriate.
Haskell, Programming Languages, Type Systems, Variable Names, Best Practices
110 points by todsacerdoti 98 days ago | 91 comments
The Ultimate Guide to Error Handling in Python (miguelgrinberg.com)
I often come across developers who know the mechanics of Python error handling well, yet when I review their code I find it to be far from good.
Python, Programming, Error Handling, Best Practices
96 points by kdamica 100 days ago | 28 comments
A popular but wrong way to convert a string to uppercase or lowercase (microsoft.com)
It seems that a popular way of converting a string to uppercase or lowercase is to do it letter by letter.
Programming, String Manipulation, Best Practices
209 points by ingve 102 days ago | 260 comments
Do not use secrets in environment variables (nodejs-security.com)
We developers are well too fond of using environment variables to set application configuration and often use it to store secrets and other sensitive information.
Security, Node.js, Development, Best Practices
79 points by dangtony98 102 days ago | 92 comments
The importance of local development (fastpaced.com)
Local development is crucial for efficient software development, it enables faster iteration, better debugging and ensures consistency between local and production environments.
Software Development, Best Practices, Efficiency
103 points by davnn 104 days ago | 91 comments
Avoiding downtime: modern alternatives to outdated certificate pinning practices (cloudflare.com)
In today’s world, technology is quickly evolving and some practices that were once considered the gold standard are quickly becoming outdated.
Security, Web Development, Best Practices, Cloud Computing, Certificates
45 points by cpach 111 days ago | 36 comments
What was the point of [ "x$var" = "xval" ]? (2021) (vidarholen.net)
In shell scripting you sometimes come across comparisons where each value is prefixed with "x". Here are some examples from GitHub:
Shell Scripting, Programming, Code Analysis, Best Practices
82 points by fanf2 111 days ago | 49 comments
The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python (python-guide.org)
This opinionated guide exists to provide both novice and expert Python developers a best practice handbook to the installation, configuration, and usage of Python on a daily basis.
Python, Programming, Best Practices, Software Development, Guides
28 points by infodaemon 118 days ago | 5 comments