Making sense of computers

Internet Metrics: Latency vs Throughput

For Internet connections, there are two metrics that are relevant when measuring its performance. These are latency, which measure how quickly a data packet gets across, and throughput, which measure how much volume of data the network is able to transfer per second. These two concepts are related but distinct. In this post, we shall understand the meaning of these two concepts in detail, and dig into their practical implications in the some practical use-cases, Read more…

By Sohhom, ago

The Art of Building a Consumer App

From Code to Experience Creating a consumer-facing application isn’t simply about writing clean, efficient code. It’s about creating an experience. It’s a constant dance between user needs, business goals, technological constraints, and unpredictable human behavior. When we think about programming, we often focus on algorithms, data structures, or architectural patterns. But the reality of building consumer apps is much more nuanced. It’s an ongoing psychological assessment, as much about human interaction as it is about Read more…

By Sohhom, ago

LLMs : A base layer for building applications

I came across this tweet recently: ISA, short for Instruction Set Architecture, is a standard way to expose the ability of computers to programmers. It is a standardized interface that allows humans to write sequences of operations to build up to more complex pattern processing capabilities, such as displaying images or playing music. In the post-transformer world, we have an emerging new paradigm where the LLMs (or rather, LMMs) have created the ability to express Read more…

By Sohhom, ago

Computer Science vs. Computer Engineering

This post was written entirely by ChatGPT The fields of Computer Science (CS) and Computer Engineering (CE) are foundational to the technological world, each playing a crucial role in the advancements and innovations that define our digital age. While intertwined and often overlapping, these disciplines diverge in their core philosophies, methodologies, and applications. This article explores the distinctions between CS and CE, tracing their evolution from the past to the present, and projecting future trends, Read more…

By Sohhom, ago

What is JSON and why is it so popular?

JSON, short for JavaScript Object Notation, is a lightweight data interchange format used for storing and exchanging data between a server and a client, or between different parts of an application. JSON is widely recognized as a popular data storage and transfer mechanism on the web, and its significance in modern software development cannot be overstated. In this article, we shall look at some of the key features of JSON and highlight the use-cases that Read more…

By Sohhom, ago

Composability – A Secret Sauce For Computers

(26 January 2024) This post is incomplete, please check back later for the finished version. Composability is the term used to describe a principle that allows a lot of magic to happen. How? We shall take a look in this article. By the end of it, we hope that you will have a good grasp on the meaning of the principle. More importantly, we will try to provide an outline on how it relates to Read more…

By Sohhom, ago

How to use LeetCode without melting your brain

Update: there are jobs and hiring managers and perhaps CTOs who prefer to hire based on actual programming skills as opposed to LeetCode skills. Check out noleet dot com. For those of you who are preparing for the so called “technical interviews” at any kind of coding position, LeetCode is probably your bread and butter. For the rest of the blissfully unaware folks, LeetCode (often abbreviated as LC) is a platform where people go to Read more…

By Sohhom, ago

Python Availability In Excel – A New Era Of Data Analysis

Microsoft announced on August 22, 2023 that Excel will support Python functions. What does it mean for you, a data wrangler? Let’s find out what the official docs say and how other people have reacted. Microsoft Excel needs no introduction to anyone who has used tabular data. Spreadsheets were introduced was (and continues to be) the workhorse of data storage, manipulation and behind businesses at all levels. Python, along with the scientific computing packages NumPy, Read more…

By Sohhom, ago

Future of technology with artificial intelligence: what did experts say in 2022 and 2023?

This page is a collection of recent videos on the significant advances in artificial intelligence. These advances are actually did not happen overnight. However, since the release of Stable Diffusion in August 2022 and ChatGPT in November 2022, there seems to be an ongoing race to release new AI/ML based products for various purposes. Between the giant tech companies such as Microsoft, Google and Meta, and new contenders such as OpenAI, Cohere and Anthropic, we Read more…

By Sohhom, ago