What stumped me during my technical interview marathon month
Happy Saturday and welcome back to the newsletter! As always, read on for some of the best software engineering insights, opinions, and news pieces from the week.
//From Triplebyte
The Best, Worst, and Most Interesting Moments From My Marathon Month of Technical Interviews
Software engineer Uduak Obong-Eren recently shared his story on the lessons he learned from doing 60+ technical interviews in 30 days. In this article, he gets into more specifics of the various challenges and tests he encountered during this period – including a walkthrough of the trickiest design system question he nailed and the content of the introductory phone call he failed. read()
Next.js + React Bootstrap = Micro App Magic
Sometimes, when a project is the right size and scope, it can make for a fun opportunity to try out a new framework on a stand-alone app. Triplebyte growth engineer Dylan Wright recently had such an opportunity while working on a new startup equity value calculator for the site. read()
Algorithms and Vaccine Discovery: Computational Immunology
As the debate heats up over whether a COVID-19 vaccine can be delivered by the end of this year, I’m bringing back our recent blog about computational immunology. The emerging field is speeding up the discovery of vaccine candidates for COVID-19 and many other diseases. Included in this read is a rundown of many of the open-source programs in computational immunology. read()
//Around the Web
📱 In Apple’s antitrust fight, could the fate of iOS as we know be on trial? Fortnite developer Epic might be on its way to convincing courts that the iPhone maker’s ways of App Store enforcement is indicative of a monopoly. As a result, we could see changes come to iOS that allows for installing apps from third-party markets and sites (like what Android already allows). Of course, as ZDNet points out, Apple would need to supports security in this new scenario by, perhaps, creating a fresh certificate system that devs would have to comply with. New APIs and ways to containerize Apple’s system apps from these downright feral apps could also be in the cards, the tech site posits. It’s all speculation city at this point, but one thing is for sure: iOS devs should stay tuned to this case. read()
💬 What are the things you would go back to teach your younger programmer self? One dev took to Medium this week to give us his insightful list, including the importance of clean code, learning to design on paper before writing a piece of code, and the ins and outs of coupling and cohesion. If you’re new to coding, it’s very possible some of these tips can soften your learning curve a bit! read()
⌨ Big changes are coming to today’s most-wanted language. If you’re a user of Go, you may know that generics have been on the language’s upcoming features list for a while. Well, Go’s maintainers have finally spelled out specifics on the generics drafts, and tidbits include syntax that uses square brackets and no “type” command. The, perhaps controversial, changes to the belovedly simple language are coming soon to its experimental build. read()
❤️ Let’s all remember to be kinder in code reviews this week. LinkedIn engineering manager Ben Hendricks recently kicked off his new Software, My Dream Job newsletter with advice (reminders, really) on how to make code reviews less painful. In short: It’s on the reviewer to speak to the reviewee in compassionate, constructive terms – more “Do you need this variable here?” and less “This variable doesn’t belong here!” On the receiving end, it’s also important, for your own sanity, to try to not take criticisms personally when they do come in a little hotter than necessary. read()
🤣 Finally, for your engineering meme of the week, an ICYMI classic Google Search easter egg:
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