Gergely Orosz
@gergely.pragmaticengineer.com
Writing The Pragmatic Engineer (@pragmaticengineer.com), the #1 technology newsletter on Substack. Author of The Software Engineer's Guidebook (engguidebook.com). Formerly at Uber, Skype, Skyscanner. More at pragmaticengineer.com
I am so annoyed at scare tactics as a dark pattern trying to get you to upgrade your SaaS subscription.
This is Google Docs doing so. I am already a paying customer - and no, I don't have "sensitive files" shared externally.
Such a cheap way to try to get more $$, Google
This is Google Docs doing so. I am already a paying customer - and no, I don't have "sensitive files" shared externally.
Such a cheap way to try to get more $$, Google
November 8, 2025 at 9:22 AM
I am so annoyed at scare tactics as a dark pattern trying to get you to upgrade your SaaS subscription.
This is Google Docs doing so. I am already a paying customer - and no, I don't have "sensitive files" shared externally.
Such a cheap way to try to get more $$, Google
This is Google Docs doing so. I am already a paying customer - and no, I don't have "sensitive files" shared externally.
Such a cheap way to try to get more $$, Google
Chris Lattner is one of the most influential engineers of the past two decades. He created LLVM, Swift, contributed to TensorFlow, and created the Mojo language.
What was the story about creating Swift - and why did he face resistance inside Apple when wanting to replace Objective C?
(cont'd)
What was the story about creating Swift - and why did he face resistance inside Apple when wanting to replace Objective C?
(cont'd)
November 5, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Chris Lattner is one of the most influential engineers of the past two decades. He created LLVM, Swift, contributed to TensorFlow, and created the Mojo language.
What was the story about creating Swift - and why did he face resistance inside Apple when wanting to replace Objective C?
(cont'd)
What was the story about creating Swift - and why did he face resistance inside Apple when wanting to replace Objective C?
(cont'd)
Blind (and much of mainstream media!): the AWS outage is the result of “mass layoffs, outsourced talent.”
Me: talks to the AWS engineers handling the incident. Turns out the creators of the systems impacted were in the call (not laid off!), no outsourcing etc
Will share more
Me: talks to the AWS engineers handling the incident. Turns out the creators of the systems impacted were in the call (not laid off!), no outsourcing etc
Will share more
November 5, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Blind (and much of mainstream media!): the AWS outage is the result of “mass layoffs, outsourced talent.”
Me: talks to the AWS engineers handling the incident. Turns out the creators of the systems impacted were in the call (not laid off!), no outsourcing etc
Will share more
Me: talks to the AWS engineers handling the incident. Turns out the creators of the systems impacted were in the call (not laid off!), no outsourcing etc
Will share more
Coming tomorrow on @pragmaticengineer.com - with Chris Lattner!
November 4, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Coming tomorrow on @pragmaticengineer.com - with Chris Lattner!
Rare to read a post arguing about the importance of software architecture BUT doing it without software architects than this one.
And you can just sense the hard-earned scars Matt got on the way: at Netflix, Twitter & other places:
Such a good read: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/what-is-go...
And you can just sense the hard-earned scars Matt got on the way: at Netflix, Twitter & other places:
Such a good read: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/what-is-go...
November 4, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Rare to read a post arguing about the importance of software architecture BUT doing it without software architects than this one.
And you can just sense the hard-earned scars Matt got on the way: at Netflix, Twitter & other places:
Such a good read: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/what-is-go...
And you can just sense the hard-earned scars Matt got on the way: at Netflix, Twitter & other places:
Such a good read: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/what-is-go...
An under-discussed topic: how the hottest software engineering job of the early 2010s is seeing a steady but ongoing decline the last few years.
I'm talking about the native iOS and Android positions. Outside of Big Tech, few startups/scaleups hire for this. Since ~2022?
I'm talking about the native iOS and Android positions. Outside of Big Tech, few startups/scaleups hire for this. Since ~2022?
November 3, 2025 at 3:29 PM
An under-discussed topic: how the hottest software engineering job of the early 2010s is seeing a steady but ongoing decline the last few years.
I'm talking about the native iOS and Android positions. Outside of Big Tech, few startups/scaleups hire for this. Since ~2022?
I'm talking about the native iOS and Android positions. Outside of Big Tech, few startups/scaleups hire for this. Since ~2022?
Another instance of mainstream media reporting on a trend I covered in @pragmaticengineer.com months before.
This time with The Financial Times, 4 months later:
My deepdive in Aug: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/forward-de...
The FT yesrterday: www.ft.com/content/9100...
This time with The Financial Times, 4 months later:
My deepdive in Aug: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/forward-de...
The FT yesrterday: www.ft.com/content/9100...
November 3, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Another instance of mainstream media reporting on a trend I covered in @pragmaticengineer.com months before.
This time with The Financial Times, 4 months later:
My deepdive in Aug: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/forward-de...
The FT yesrterday: www.ft.com/content/9100...
This time with The Financial Times, 4 months later:
My deepdive in Aug: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/forward-de...
The FT yesrterday: www.ft.com/content/9100...
OpenAI has started to hire junior software engineers, and it's working great for them.
This comes from me talking with Sulman Choudhry (Head of ChatGPT Engineering). They've started calling them "super juniors" because of the impact they are having newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/san-franci...
This comes from me talking with Sulman Choudhry (Head of ChatGPT Engineering). They've started calling them "super juniors" because of the impact they are having newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/san-franci...
October 31, 2025 at 10:22 AM
OpenAI has started to hire junior software engineers, and it's working great for them.
This comes from me talking with Sulman Choudhry (Head of ChatGPT Engineering). They've started calling them "super juniors" because of the impact they are having newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/san-franci...
This comes from me talking with Sulman Choudhry (Head of ChatGPT Engineering). They've started calling them "super juniors" because of the impact they are having newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/san-franci...
Why does "vibe coding" usually not lead to anything productive? A great person to answer is @addyosmani.bsky.social: working on Chrome for 10+ years, and is the author of the book Beyond Vibe Coding.
Watch or listen:
• YouTube: youtu.be/dHIppEqwi0g
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/12dW...
Watch or listen:
• YouTube: youtu.be/dHIppEqwi0g
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/12dW...
October 29, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Why does "vibe coding" usually not lead to anything productive? A great person to answer is @addyosmani.bsky.social: working on Chrome for 10+ years, and is the author of the book Beyond Vibe Coding.
Watch or listen:
• YouTube: youtu.be/dHIppEqwi0g
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/12dW...
Watch or listen:
• YouTube: youtu.be/dHIppEqwi0g
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/12dW...
... well, they might move later (to optimize infra costs), but they don't always do!
Cursor is an example of one where they moved to AWS for databases... got burnt and moved to Turbopuffer + Planetscale:
Are these one-offs or a trend?
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/cursor
Cursor is an example of one where they moved to AWS for databases... got burnt and moved to Turbopuffer + Planetscale:
Are these one-offs or a trend?
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/cursor
October 29, 2025 at 11:38 AM
... well, they might move later (to optimize infra costs), but they don't always do!
Cursor is an example of one where they moved to AWS for databases... got burnt and moved to Turbopuffer + Planetscale:
Are these one-offs or a trend?
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/cursor
Cursor is an example of one where they moved to AWS for databases... got burnt and moved to Turbopuffer + Planetscale:
Are these one-offs or a trend?
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/cursor
I have no affiliation with Wispr - but saw devs like @arvidkahl.bsky.social use it and love it, tried it, and stopped at their offices to learn more.
A really cool team, neat idea + execution, and they somehow got the world's supposedly largest 3D printed keyboard there as well
A really cool team, neat idea + execution, and they somehow got the world's supposedly largest 3D printed keyboard there as well
October 29, 2025 at 9:15 AM
I have no affiliation with Wispr - but saw devs like @arvidkahl.bsky.social use it and love it, tried it, and stopped at their offices to learn more.
A really cool team, neat idea + execution, and they somehow got the world's supposedly largest 3D printed keyboard there as well
A really cool team, neat idea + execution, and they somehow got the world's supposedly largest 3D printed keyboard there as well
I talked with CEO and cofounder Tanay Kothari and he showed me this chart on how devs who start to use Wispr.. type less over time
I was sceptical tbh. But now I do talk more *with agentic coding* because I can give more context, easier/less effort
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/san-franci...
I was sceptical tbh. But now I do talk more *with agentic coding* because I can give more context, easier/less effort
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/san-franci...
October 29, 2025 at 9:14 AM
I talked with CEO and cofounder Tanay Kothari and he showed me this chart on how devs who start to use Wispr.. type less over time
I was sceptical tbh. But now I do talk more *with agentic coding* because I can give more context, easier/less effort
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/san-franci...
I was sceptical tbh. But now I do talk more *with agentic coding* because I can give more context, easier/less effort
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/san-franci...
I didn't believe it until I saw it: but it *really* works in open offices!
This is ML engineer Menoua Keshishian at Wispr Flow HQ, in SF, coding... by whispering into his mic (a BOYA Gooseneck that costs ~$70).
I was standing next to him and heard nothing. Everyone in the office does the same
This is ML engineer Menoua Keshishian at Wispr Flow HQ, in SF, coding... by whispering into his mic (a BOYA Gooseneck that costs ~$70).
I was standing next to him and heard nothing. Everyone in the office does the same
October 29, 2025 at 9:08 AM
I didn't believe it until I saw it: but it *really* works in open offices!
This is ML engineer Menoua Keshishian at Wispr Flow HQ, in SF, coding... by whispering into his mic (a BOYA Gooseneck that costs ~$70).
I was standing next to him and heard nothing. Everyone in the office does the same
This is ML engineer Menoua Keshishian at Wispr Flow HQ, in SF, coding... by whispering into his mic (a BOYA Gooseneck that costs ~$70).
I was standing next to him and heard nothing. Everyone in the office does the same
If only it worked as it is advertised! Cursor moved off of it, because it did not live up to expectations (and reliablity)
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/i/165641889/...
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/i/165641889/...
October 28, 2025 at 9:34 AM
If only it worked as it is advertised! Cursor moved off of it, because it did not live up to expectations (and reliablity)
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/i/165641889/...
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/i/165641889/...
Delta's version of "we get a lot of 500s, don't really care about fixing these ourselves; let's put the burden on the users"
October 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Delta's version of "we get a lot of 500s, don't really care about fixing these ourselves; let's put the burden on the users"
I hate how airlines treat their software department as a cost center - and as a result, their websites are unusuable for edge cases; but there is no monitoring on these; passengers suffer, devs don't know or care.
This is Delta, when trying to submit a reimbursement request 👎
This is Delta, when trying to submit a reimbursement request 👎
October 25, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I hate how airlines treat their software department as a cost center - and as a result, their websites are unusuable for edge cases; but there is no monitoring on these; passengers suffer, devs don't know or care.
This is Delta, when trying to submit a reimbursement request 👎
This is Delta, when trying to submit a reimbursement request 👎
Exactly this:
In the replies to Robinhood’s tweet, customers are asking if Robinhood will compensate them for losses thanks to being stuck in a trade they opened but now cannot close…
For a mom&pop spp, running off one region is understandable. For a trading app to blame AWS 🧐
In the replies to Robinhood’s tweet, customers are asking if Robinhood will compensate them for losses thanks to being stuck in a trade they opened but now cannot close…
For a mom&pop spp, running off one region is understandable. For a trading app to blame AWS 🧐
October 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Exactly this:
In the replies to Robinhood’s tweet, customers are asking if Robinhood will compensate them for losses thanks to being stuck in a trade they opened but now cannot close…
For a mom&pop spp, running off one region is understandable. For a trading app to blame AWS 🧐
In the replies to Robinhood’s tweet, customers are asking if Robinhood will compensate them for losses thanks to being stuck in a trade they opened but now cannot close…
For a mom&pop spp, running off one region is understandable. For a trading app to blame AWS 🧐
Can we for a second appreciate how Robinhood took no responsibility for being down, and tried to put the blame on AWS.
However, it was Robinhood that decided to run from a single AWS region, and not be preapred to fail over, like other, more resillient AWS users did...
However, it was Robinhood that decided to run from a single AWS region, and not be preapred to fail over, like other, more resillient AWS users did...
October 23, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Can we for a second appreciate how Robinhood took no responsibility for being down, and tried to put the blame on AWS.
However, it was Robinhood that decided to run from a single AWS region, and not be preapred to fail over, like other, more resillient AWS users did...
However, it was Robinhood that decided to run from a single AWS region, and not be preapred to fail over, like other, more resillient AWS users did...
The Wall Street Journal is coveing today the same trend I shared in @pragmaticengineer.com, back in August: extreme hours at AI startups.covering
Pretty validating when mainstream media covers the same trends months later!
(And a reason to be subscribed to The Pragmatic Engineer!)
Pretty validating when mainstream media covers the same trends months later!
(And a reason to be subscribed to The Pragmatic Engineer!)
October 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM
The Wall Street Journal is coveing today the same trend I shared in @pragmaticengineer.com, back in August: extreme hours at AI startups.covering
Pretty validating when mainstream media covers the same trends months later!
(And a reason to be subscribed to The Pragmatic Engineer!)
Pretty validating when mainstream media covers the same trends months later!
(And a reason to be subscribed to The Pragmatic Engineer!)
I have yet to see an successful example when a non-devtools company launches a devtools product
Spotify is trying just this: offering a more advanced, hosted version of Backstage
A for effort, but given this is not Spotify's focus (at all!) if this could/would work this time?
Spotify is trying just this: offering a more advanced, hosted version of Backstage
A for effort, but given this is not Spotify's focus (at all!) if this could/would work this time?
October 22, 2025 at 2:52 PM
I have yet to see an successful example when a non-devtools company launches a devtools product
Spotify is trying just this: offering a more advanced, hosted version of Backstage
A for effort, but given this is not Spotify's focus (at all!) if this could/would work this time?
Spotify is trying just this: offering a more advanced, hosted version of Backstage
A for effort, but given this is not Spotify's focus (at all!) if this could/would work this time?
A weird outcome of yesterday's AWS outage:
Atlassian's Status Page was down (customers could not record outages.)
So today, dashboards for companies that were down are green... because they could not record the downtime!!
Substack one example (the site was down, hard)
Atlassian's Status Page was down (customers could not record outages.)
So today, dashboards for companies that were down are green... because they could not record the downtime!!
Substack one example (the site was down, hard)
October 21, 2025 at 5:26 PM
A weird outcome of yesterday's AWS outage:
Atlassian's Status Page was down (customers could not record outages.)
So today, dashboards for companies that were down are green... because they could not record the downtime!!
Substack one example (the site was down, hard)
Atlassian's Status Page was down (customers could not record outages.)
So today, dashboards for companies that were down are green... because they could not record the downtime!!
Substack one example (the site was down, hard)
And let this be a reminder that the best teams in the planet can get caught offguard by issues.
In 2021, ALL of Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger) went fully down for 6 hours.
Not partial degradation, like today on Amazon... fullly down
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Fa...
In 2021, ALL of Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger) went fully down for 6 hours.
Not partial degradation, like today on Amazon... fullly down
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Fa...
October 20, 2025 at 8:45 PM
And let this be a reminder that the best teams in the planet can get caught offguard by issues.
In 2021, ALL of Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger) went fully down for 6 hours.
Not partial degradation, like today on Amazon... fullly down
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Fa...
In 2021, ALL of Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger) went fully down for 6 hours.
Not partial degradation, like today on Amazon... fullly down
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Fa...
I cannot recall this ever happening: Amazon's flagship property (and cash cow) Amazon .com having issues throughout the day, due to AWS infra problems.
It's easy to criticize Google for not building Google Search on GCP - but as a result, Search has no GCP dependencies!
It's easy to criticize Google for not building Google Search on GCP - but as a result, Search has no GCP dependencies!
October 20, 2025 at 8:36 PM
I cannot recall this ever happening: Amazon's flagship property (and cash cow) Amazon .com having issues throughout the day, due to AWS infra problems.
It's easy to criticize Google for not building Google Search on GCP - but as a result, Search has no GCP dependencies!
It's easy to criticize Google for not building Google Search on GCP - but as a result, Search has no GCP dependencies!
Status pages everywhere show green, because Statuspage.io is ALSO down: customers cannot log in to update their status page and indicate the outage their eng teams know about!!
So a fail for Statuspage to depend on an AWS region... or DynamoDB (that seems to depend one AWS region?)
So a fail for Statuspage to depend on an AWS region... or DynamoDB (that seems to depend one AWS region?)
October 20, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Status pages everywhere show green, because Statuspage.io is ALSO down: customers cannot log in to update their status page and indicate the outage their eng teams know about!!
So a fail for Statuspage to depend on an AWS region... or DynamoDB (that seems to depend one AWS region?)
So a fail for Statuspage to depend on an AWS region... or DynamoDB (that seems to depend one AWS region?)
Oh great, my own newsletter is down, because Substack is down, because AWS is down (newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com). Same with all Substacks...
My blog, running on Ghost, is up tho (this blog: blog.pragmaticengineer.com)
My blog, running on Ghost, is up tho (this blog: blog.pragmaticengineer.com)
October 20, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Oh great, my own newsletter is down, because Substack is down, because AWS is down (newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com). Same with all Substacks...
My blog, running on Ghost, is up tho (this blog: blog.pragmaticengineer.com)
My blog, running on Ghost, is up tho (this blog: blog.pragmaticengineer.com)