David Majda
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majda.cz
David Majda
@majda.cz
40 followers 10 following 36 posts
Software engineer and engineering manager with a passion for programming languages, web technologies, software craftsmanship, and sustainability. https://majda.cz
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Reposted by David Majda
Politics isn't manipulation and backstabbing. It's understanding how decisions actually get made and learning to navigate that reality.

Refusing to engage doesn't make politics go away. It just means you lose by default.

terriblesoftware.org/2025/10/01/s...
Stop Avoiding Politics
Most engineers think workplace politics is dirty. They’re wrong. Refusing to play politics doesn’t make you noble; it makes you ineffective.
terriblesoftware.org
“What happens when something we enjoy doing that took effort becomes effortless? And what happens if that original effort was a foundation on which we saw value in ourselves?”

I have exactly the same feelings regarding AI writing code as the author of this post.

weakty.com/posts/efforts/
Our efforts, in part, define us
weakty.com
It reminds me of my favorite thought experiment: imagining a world where organizations with more than 150 members (Dunbar’s number) are simply not allowed.

It’s an interesting exercise to think through what the world with such a rule would look like and what the gains and losses would be.
Nice post showing how to write a simple recursive descent parser in Rust:

jhwlr.io/intro-to-par...
A practical introduction to parsing
jhwlr.io
The above is really just the first approximation: many other factors can sway the decision in one way or the other. But I still think it’s a good starting point for making the choice.
If you’re not in such a situation, but still need speed, Go is usually a better choice (unlike Rust, it can be learned in a week). In all other cases, it’s probably best to go with the language your team feels most productive in.
The main issue is that Rust is quite complex and takes time to learn. I believe this complexity, which is a result of making a fast language secure, is warranted only in specific situations.
Your decision tree should look like this:

▪ If you need raw speed and absolute control over memory (e.g., can’t tolerate GC pauses and/or memory overhead), go with Rust.
▪ If you only need speed, but can live with GC, use Go.
▪ Otherwise, use Python, Node.js, or whatever else your team prefers.
My recent talk sparked some discussion (both online and offline) on when to use Rust, especially on the backend. My take in mini-🧵 below.
Omlouvat se netřeba 🙂 Doufám, že jste si to užili.
Jasné, chápu. A díky za prvotní impulz k té přednášce (přenesený následně přes Janu)!
Po přednášce jsem mimochodem od účastníků několikrát slyšel stejný příběh o tom, jak se Rust začali učit, ale z různých důvodů toho po čase zanechali. Zdá se, že Rust vyžaduje větší motivaci než jiné programovací jazyky.
Připomínám svou zítřejší přednášku o Rustu na Pražském Pyvu. A přidávám malou ochutnávku ze slajdů. #python #rust

pyvo.cz/praha-pyvo/2...
Ve středu 17. září budu na Pražském Pyvu povídat o Rustu z pohledu Python vývojáře. Pokud vás zajímá, co vám Rust může nabídnout, jak se v něm ve srovnání s Pythonem programuje a jak ho můžete začlenit do svého projektu, přijďte se podívat. #python #praha #pyvo

pyvo.cz/praha-pyvo/2...
Pražské Pyvo #172 Rust for Python People
Pyva jsou setkání příznivců programovacího jazyka Python a spřízněných technologií.
pyvo.cz
In case you think string length is a simple topic, here is a really thorough write-up that should convince you otherwise:

hsivonen.fi/string-length/
It’s not wrong that "🤦🏼‍♂️".length == 7
hsivonen.fi
When I’m programming in Go, I tend to be pragmatic and down-to-earth. When programming in Rust, however, I suddenly become a perfectionist and have to restrain myself from abstracting too much.

I wonder whether this is just a cultural influence or a manifestation of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis.
Playing with Zed, trying to use it as my primary code editor.

The experience so far has been great. Zed is a bit rough, but much faster and less bloated than VS Code. I think I’ll stick with it.

zed.dev
Zed — The editor for what's next
Zed is a high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter.
zed.dev
I feel the same, some of the joy is definitely gone for me. I’ve decided not to use AI for personal/learning projects precisely for this reason.
Baví mě, že (zřejmě) tréninkové lety policejních vrtulníků často vypadají jako výlet po českých hradech a zámcích. Schválně, kolik jich tady z hlavy dokážete identifikovat?

(Zachyceno náhodně pár týdnů zpátky.)
“I’ve noticed something interesting about almost every engineer I’ve managed: their biggest strengths and their most frustrating weaknesses are often the exact same trait showing up in different contexts.”

terriblesoftware.org/2025/03/31/y...

So true. Discovered this too a few years ago.
Your Strengths Are Your Weaknesses
The qualities you value most in engineers are also creating your biggest problems. Here’s how to handle this paradox.
terriblesoftware.org