A Philosophy of Software Design Summary: Deep Modules Beat Small Ones
John Ousterhout's book in one sitting: complexity is the enemy, deep modules fight it, and 10–20% of your time should go to design. Five ideas to use on Monday.
9 min read
Understand JavaScript, React & Next.js — one short post at a time.
Practical, diagram-first explanations you can read over coffee. 75 posts and counting.
Newest postXSS vs CSRF: Two Browser Attacks With Two Different Fixes
XSS runs the attacker's code on your page. CSRF makes the browser send a request you didn't mean to. Each cookie flag stops only one of them.
7 min read
Read post →Latest
All 75 posts →React Server Components vs 'use client': What Actually Ships to the Browser
Server Components send the result; Client Components send the result plus the code. What 'use client' really does, why it doesn't mean browser-only, and where to put it.
7 min read
Why React Needs key: The Bug That Moves Your Input to the Wrong Row
React matches list items between renders by key. Use the index and React gets the wrong match, so state ends up in the wrong row. How keys work and when an index is fine.
6 min read
How V8 Makes JavaScript Fast: Ignition, Sparkplug, Maglev and TurboFan
V8 translates your code in four stages and spends more effort only on code that runs a lot. Why the same function got 43× faster without changing a line.
8 min read
Next.js use cache, cacheLife and cacheTag: How One View Counter Rebuilt Every Page
use cache stores a result, cacheLife decides when it goes stale, cacheTag lets you throw it out on demand. When to use each, and where TanStack Query fits.
8 min read
Packed vs Holey Arrays in V8: Why new Array(n) Makes Spread 4x Slower
V8 labels every array by what it holds and whether it may have gaps. Labels only get more general, and holey arrays take slower paths.
8 min read
How 'this' Works in JavaScript: Decided by the Call, Not the Code
'this' in JavaScript depends on how a function is called, not where it's written. Four rules and one arrow-function exception cover every case.
3 min read
turbopackRustReactCompiler: Running the React Compiler in Rust Inside Next.js
The React Compiler normally runs through Babel in Node.js. Next.js can run a Rust version inside Turbopack instead. Learn what that changes and what it saves.
4 min read
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View all →Short posts on one theme, meant to be read in order. Each part stands alone, and together they build the full picture.
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