Python Datastructures Backed by Redis
I've been working with Redis quite a bit at work lately, and I've really taken to it. At some point it occurred to me that it would be terribly straightforward to use Redis as the backend for the most...
View ArticlePython Default Parameter Value Gotchas
Imagine you have a trivial Python function which looks like this: >>> defx(a=[]):... returna... >>> x()[]Did you know what happens when you perform destructive operations on the...
View ArticleBeing Defensive
One of the most provocative books I've read in the last couple of years is George Lakoff's Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate. In part it's an exploration of how the...
View ArticleArticles and Series
This page is a collection of particularly interesting series and articles on Irrational Exuberance. Take a look around:A Distributed Key-Value StoreHands On Review of the Dynamo Paper (November 30,...
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Coding Projects
This page used to be django-portfolio portfolio (which made it possible to filter projects by technology and field), but I'd rather spend more time working on projects than maintaining this portfolio,...
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Irrational Exuberance's Third Rebirth
Before I get discuss the newest iteration of Irrational Exuberance, let me start by asking, nay, begging, for any suggestions! Ok, with that out of the way. What has just happened here? Did I really...
View ArticleIE's New Infrastructure and Writing Workflow
Following up on the discussion on design changes to Irrational Exuberance, this time I've put together a look at the implementation of Sisyphus. I know you really really don't care, so I promise to...
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Don't Make Me Defend Your Claims
Recently I've been spending more time discussing website usability, and kept getting caught in the endless pit of differing opinions. You know, the one where two people have different opinions about...
View ArticleHow to Filter Bots From Analytics
Despite a plethoraofoptions, people keep reimplementing the analytics wheel. There are even, one might venture, probably some good reasons for doing so. But rather, than discuss the merits of building...
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Introduction to Architecting Systems for Scale
Few computer science or software development programs attempt to teach the building blocks of scalable systems. Instead, system architecture is usually picked up on the job by working through the pain...
View ArticleUsing Flot.js with the Digg Streaming API
.js-example { margin: 20px; width: 550px; height: 300px; } #digg-comment { margin: 20px; border: 1px solid #999; padding: 20px; } Last year Digg released our Streaming API, but there still aren't too...
View ArticleStoring Bounded Timeboxes in Redis
So, you're trying to write a simple report system for tracking error rates in your system. And, hey--who knew?--you've decided to use Python and Redis. It'll be a breeze!Or will it?InstallationFirst,...
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Writing, Analytics and Analysis
You're either running on data or running on intuition.If you have good intuition and a potent team, then you're going to do very well. The crux is that you can't measure your intuition without data,...
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Digg v4's Architecture and Development Processes
A month ago history reset with the second launch of Digg v1, and memories are starting to fade since much of the Digg team joined SocialCode four months ago, so it seemed like a good time to describe...
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Slack and Hope for Middle Management
My first year managing a development team, I chronically ignored the team, had my entire team leave, and argued with them all of the time. When their performance feedback came in, it was staggering: no...
View ArticleWhy Pagination Was Hard at Digg
My previous coworker Can Duruk recently posted an excellent article covering some web development tips he picked up working at Digg. One of his comments about pagination provoked some confusion on...
View ArticleHosting a Paper Reading Group
Every engineering team I've been a part of has eventually started a technical paper reading group. At Yahoo! it was a group of engineers from a variety of teams, and at Digg it included the entire...
View ArticleBuilding Technical Leverage
Last year I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Kevin Scott, SVP of Engineering of LinkedIn, and he mentioned building technical leverage as one of his engineering organization's primary...
View ArticleCreating Multi-Worksheet Excel Docs with xlwt
This tutorial walks through using the xlwt library to create a multi-worksheet Excel document in Python. We'll be using the example of calculating our AWS server expenses, and in adition to xlwt, we'll...
View ArticleSocial Hierarchies in Engineering Organizations
I recently read Anthropology of Mid-Sized Startups, which argues that as technology companies grow they begin behaving as tribes or religions. The article's premise captured me more than the execution,...
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