I'm finally going to finish the draft for the third blog post in Kotlin/JS series during the Canada Day long weekend! I'm feeling hopeful about it! Wish me good luck :)
Logging In Software
Logging (in software) is usually a hot topic of discussion. I recently read this rant post about the case against logging from Sebastian Daschner. I have read similar arguments against logging, and I tend to agree with having less logging. I am also not a fan of log levels. Using levels gets confusing without proper team consensus about how and when to use a particular log level.
Jesse Wilson's EventListener is Like Logging also mentions logging, and also links to another post from Nikita Sobolev about do not log
That said, having a general-purpose logging library can be helpful. Touchlab develops and maintains Kermit logging library for Kotlin Multiplatform projects.
Security
Github posted a well in-depth article about implementing a robust digital identity. The application security podcast I mentioned In journal #2 also has discussions around similar content.
Overall, OWASP guides are pretty good for basic guidelines that every developer should get familiar to. It's a good win for a team if every developer has gone through OWASP material. Providing single sign-on with OAuth is a solid option from a developer perspective, especially if one has a small product/team. It takes away a lot of complexity around password management and infrastructure. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is becoming a security feature I look for in any information sensitive websites I use. I consider it critical for better UX.
Recommended reads
Github's copilot is now generally available to all, and Redmonk posted a great new blog post about it.
The post also dives into the morality, security, and legality around using copilot. It would be interesting to try out, but I'm not willing to pay monthly $10. I do not have a prime objection to copilot as long as Github is transparent and clear about not using code from non-open repos. I haven't thought in depth about the morality aspect of copilot as others mentioned in the post.
Below is an innteresting case study on stock photos on tech websites and the Developer Aesthetic. People don't generally pay attention to stock photos usage on websites, but when they do, they probably realize the problems. I've always disliked stock photos on tech websites as they never really served a purpose to me. I read reviews from real users/clients that some websites like Superbase show.
55% of startups fail because of people problems, according to researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Chicago!
A good read from Google about findings in The Effective Founders Project report