Joy Gao
@joygao.bsky.social
software engineer at ClickHouse; prev: Figma, WePay
long-form ✍️: https://expertofobsolescence.substack.com
long-form ✍️: https://expertofobsolescence.substack.com
Just like how human are bad at writing correct concurrent code, we are also bad at solving concurrent problems in our lives (both leads to *panic*, lol)
So the advice of only introduce concurrency if you must applies as life advice too: solve one problem at a time, multitask only if you must.
So the advice of only introduce concurrency if you must applies as life advice too: solve one problem at a time, multitask only if you must.
October 30, 2025 at 6:09 AM
Just like how human are bad at writing correct concurrent code, we are also bad at solving concurrent problems in our lives (both leads to *panic*, lol)
So the advice of only introduce concurrency if you must applies as life advice too: solve one problem at a time, multitask only if you must.
So the advice of only introduce concurrency if you must applies as life advice too: solve one problem at a time, multitask only if you must.
This is great and to-the-point.
For everyone interested in data infra, want to get a quick sense of how big data works, how data systems are designed, and what the tradeoffs are, start with this share from @xiangpeng.systems, really nice intro!
intro-data-system.xiangpeng.systems
intro-data-system.xiangpeng.systems
October 30, 2025 at 2:54 AM
This is great and to-the-point.
Best of OSS -- when your customer find new ways optimize your Postgres ingestion pipeline.
github.com/PeerDB-io/pe...
github.com/PeerDB-io/pe...
add support for CTID bucketing with snapshotNumPartitionsOverride by jgao54 · Pull Request #3624 · PeerDB-io/peerdb
PeerDB supports parallel snapshotting to optimize initial load time. To do this there are two ways today:
we compute the total row count in a table, bucket the data evenly by watermark column -- ...
github.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Best of OSS -- when your customer find new ways optimize your Postgres ingestion pipeline.
github.com/PeerDB-io/pe...
github.com/PeerDB-io/pe...
Reposted by Joy Gao
Hello, friends! After 10(!) years of #AdventOfCode, I've made some changes to preserve my sanity: there will be 12 days of puzzles each December (still starting Dec 1) and there is no longer a global leaderboard. Read more:
adventofcode.com/2025/about#f...
adventofcode.com/2025/about#f...
adventofcode.com/2025/about#f...
adventofcode.com/2025/about#f...
October 22, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Hello, friends! After 10(!) years of #AdventOfCode, I've made some changes to preserve my sanity: there will be 12 days of puzzles each December (still starting Dec 1) and there is no longer a global leaderboard. Read more:
adventofcode.com/2025/about#f...
adventofcode.com/2025/about#f...
adventofcode.com/2025/about#f...
adventofcode.com/2025/about#f...
Quite optimistic about this project and the great people behind it.
I care more about helping developers build reliable systems than chasing vanity metrics such as GitHub stars. Still, seeing the DBOS Python repo reach 1K 🌟 makes me smile.
Thanks for building durable workflows with @dbos.dev. Full speed ahead - Java release coming soon!
Thanks for building durable workflows with @dbos.dev. Full speed ahead - Java release coming soon!
October 26, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Quite optimistic about this project and the great people behind it.
Really great opportunity for those who want to learn more about sync engines / building real time applications.
October 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Really great opportunity for those who want to learn more about sync engines / building real time applications.
Now that we have all retreated from Monday’s world wide war rooms… anybody beat this chaos monkey on hard mode?
Netflix had it all wrong, don’t waste engineering resources to build your own chaos monkey infrastructure, just put production on AWS us-east-1 and you get chaos monkey for free.
Just kidding, just kidding…
Just kidding, just kidding…
October 22, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Now that we have all retreated from Monday’s world wide war rooms… anybody beat this chaos monkey on hard mode?
People are like programming languages, with personalities on a spectrum between strongly typed and weakly typed.
The strongly typed prefer routines, structures, and consistency; the weakly typed prefer and thrive in a dynamically changing environment.
Yes I am strongly typed 😆
The strongly typed prefer routines, structures, and consistency; the weakly typed prefer and thrive in a dynamically changing environment.
Yes I am strongly typed 😆
October 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM
People are like programming languages, with personalities on a spectrum between strongly typed and weakly typed.
The strongly typed prefer routines, structures, and consistency; the weakly typed prefer and thrive in a dynamically changing environment.
Yes I am strongly typed 😆
The strongly typed prefer routines, structures, and consistency; the weakly typed prefer and thrive in a dynamically changing environment.
Yes I am strongly typed 😆
We are hiring an EM for the database integration team (ClickPipes) at ClickHouse!
job-boards.greenhouse.io/clickhouse/j...
job-boards.greenhouse.io/clickhouse/j...
Engineering Manager - Database Integrations
United States (remote)
job-boards.greenhouse.io
September 30, 2025 at 11:01 PM
We are hiring an EM for the database integration team (ClickPipes) at ClickHouse!
job-boards.greenhouse.io/clickhouse/j...
job-boards.greenhouse.io/clickhouse/j...
Great blogpost summarizing a paper that I now must read.
[new blog post]
Supporting our AI overlords: Redesigning data systems to be Agent-first
muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2025/09/supp...
Supporting our AI overlords: Redesigning data systems to be Agent-first
muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2025/09/supp...
Supporting our AI overlords: Redesigning data systems to be Agent-first
This Berkeley systems group paper opens with the thesis that LLM agents will soon dominate data system workloads. These agents, acting on b...
muratbuffalo.blogspot.com
September 18, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Great blogpost summarizing a paper that I now must read.
One of my favourite things about working at ClickHouse (and storage systems in general) is we get to nerd out on performance optimizations constantly.
September 10, 2025 at 7:47 PM
One of my favourite things about working at ClickHouse (and storage systems in general) is we get to nerd out on performance optimizations constantly.
Reposted by Joy Gao
Woke up this morning to find my gophers playing Go. Huh.
September 10, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Woke up this morning to find my gophers playing Go. Huh.
When working on an international team, one thing I learned is that interpersonal communication and team culture is navigated very differently from when the entire team comes from a similar cultural background.
September 9, 2025 at 3:49 AM
When working on an international team, one thing I learned is that interpersonal communication and team culture is navigated very differently from when the entire team comes from a similar cultural background.
Reposted by Joy Gao
[new blog post]
Disaggregation: A New Architecture for Cloud Databases
muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2025/09/disa...
Disaggregation: A New Architecture for Cloud Databases
muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2025/09/disa...
Disaggregation: A New Architecture for Cloud Databases
This short VLDB'25 paper surveys disaggregation for cloud databases. It has several insightful points, and I found it worth summarizing. T...
muratbuffalo.blogspot.com
September 8, 2025 at 9:26 PM
[new blog post]
Disaggregation: A New Architecture for Cloud Databases
muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2025/09/disa...
Disaggregation: A New Architecture for Cloud Databases
muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2025/09/disa...
Netflix had it all wrong, don’t waste engineering resources to build your own chaos monkey infrastructure, just put production on AWS us-east-1 and you get chaos monkey for free.
Just kidding, just kidding…
Just kidding, just kidding…
September 7, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Netflix had it all wrong, don’t waste engineering resources to build your own chaos monkey infrastructure, just put production on AWS us-east-1 and you get chaos monkey for free.
Just kidding, just kidding…
Just kidding, just kidding…
Underrated comment 😂
it’s like if Haskell and Rocq had a baby but the baby dressed like Go
August 30, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Underrated comment 😂
Short visit to Bay Area. Caltrains got a lot nicer but a lot less commuters comparing to pre-pandemic.
August 29, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Short visit to Bay Area. Caltrains got a lot nicer but a lot less commuters comparing to pre-pandemic.
It's so gratifying to introduce new users to ClickHouse's powerful JSON data type; and seeing their reaction when they test out its performance for the first time.
If you like a good technical reading, don't miss out on this blogpost:
clickhouse.com/blog/a-new-p...
If you like a good technical reading, don't miss out on this blogpost:
clickhouse.com/blog/a-new-p...
How we built a new powerful JSON data type for ClickHouse
We’re excited to introduce our new and significantly enhanced JSON data type, purpose-built to deliver high-performance handling of JSON data. Our core engineer, Pavel Kruglov, dives into how we built...
clickhouse.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:07 AM
It's so gratifying to introduce new users to ClickHouse's powerful JSON data type; and seeing their reaction when they test out its performance for the first time.
If you like a good technical reading, don't miss out on this blogpost:
clickhouse.com/blog/a-new-p...
If you like a good technical reading, don't miss out on this blogpost:
clickhouse.com/blog/a-new-p...
JSON data type is one of my favorite features at ClickHouse for its elegant design and impressive performance.
Now, excited to share what our team has been working on over the last few months to bring this feature to more people.
clickhouse.com/blog/mongodb...
Now, excited to share what our team has been working on over the last few months to bring this feature to more people.
clickhouse.com/blog/mongodb...
MongoDB CDC to ClickHouse with Native JSON Support, now in Private Preview
Learn about the launch of the private preview of our MongoDB CDC connector in ClickPipes, ClickHouse Cloud’s native ingestion service.
clickhouse.com
August 11, 2025 at 4:44 PM
JSON data type is one of my favorite features at ClickHouse for its elegant design and impressive performance.
Now, excited to share what our team has been working on over the last few months to bring this feature to more people.
clickhouse.com/blog/mongodb...
Now, excited to share what our team has been working on over the last few months to bring this feature to more people.
clickhouse.com/blog/mongodb...
Reposted by Joy Gao
I'm a big fan of choosing the right tool for the job.
As much as I love Postgres and MySQL, these are optimized for OLTP workloads. When you have an analytical / time-series need, Clickhouse is a great choice.
Read the paper this weekend. Tons of interesting engineering!
As much as I love Postgres and MySQL, these are optimized for OLTP workloads. When you have an analytical / time-series need, Clickhouse is a great choice.
Read the paper this weekend. Tons of interesting engineering!
August 11, 2025 at 3:49 PM
I'm a big fan of choosing the right tool for the job.
As much as I love Postgres and MySQL, these are optimized for OLTP workloads. When you have an analytical / time-series need, Clickhouse is a great choice.
Read the paper this weekend. Tons of interesting engineering!
As much as I love Postgres and MySQL, these are optimized for OLTP workloads. When you have an analytical / time-series need, Clickhouse is a great choice.
Read the paper this weekend. Tons of interesting engineering!
I love this piece from @charity.wtf -- it's so well articulated and deeply meaningful. I also love how many people resonated with it -- on a fundamental level we are all truth/purpose seekers
New post up, with a bunch of thoughts on what drives me personally, and my own 40-year career (h/t @lethain.com).
I have a pretty unusual life story. But one of the reasons I love the tech industry so much is how common unusual stories like mine have historically been.
charity.wtf/2025/07/09/t...
I have a pretty unusual life story. But one of the reasons I love the tech industry so much is how common unusual stories like mine have historically been.
charity.wtf/2025/07/09/t...
Thoughts on Motivation and My 40-Year Career
I’ve never published an essay quite like this. I’ve written about my life before, reams of stuff actually, because that’s how I process what I think, but never for public consumption. I’ve been pus…
charity.wtf
July 30, 2025 at 12:42 AM
I love this piece from @charity.wtf -- it's so well articulated and deeply meaningful. I also love how many people resonated with it -- on a fundamental level we are all truth/purpose seekers
Well, this explains why the 2 mile long FAA corridor extending off the airport runway is off-limits to kiteboarders.
![11-panel comic. (1) [Person approaches another person with short hair who is flying a kite with a large spool at her feet.] PERSON 1: Ooh, flying a kite? PERSON 2: Yeah. I found this big spool of fishing line in a closet. (2) [The kite is now flying far away.] (3) [Kite is even farther away.] PERSON 1: Are we allowed to fly a kite this high? Should we Google whether there are rules? PERSON 2: Eh, it’s probably fine. (4) [Kite is now off-panel.] PERSON 2: The string is really starting to sag. PERSON 1 [touching lower curve of line]: Maybe we could attach another kite? I’ll go get one. (5) [Another kite now attaches above the line, bringing the curve higher in the air.] PERSON 1: It worked! PERSON 2: Nice! (6) [Two empty spools at Person 2’s feet in addition to one in use. The kite line has a knot in it.] PERSON 1: I bought another package of string. PERSON 2: Oh good, these spools are almost empty. I think we’re in the jet stream. (7) PERSON 1: How many kites are on there now? PERSON 2: I’ve lost count. (8) [long distance shot of people with all the empty spools and beginning of the kite line] (9) [large panel showing many attached kites coming back around] PERSON 1: Uhh… (10) PERSON 1: ...Did it blow in a circle? PERSON 2: I don’t know. Lemme look up a map of where the jet stream goes. PERSON 1: Hey, do you hear sirens? (11) [Headline] *Breaking* Kite Incident Duo Speaks. [Person 2 at Podium flanked by Person 1 and a person with a ponytail carrying a briefcase] PERSON 2: On the advice of our lawyer, we would like to apologize for the events that shut down global air travel last week...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihp4fbjmdxy5eount5rh24fdil5k6lkhi3cikcltjcidgem2x7hpm@jpeg)
July 29, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Well, this explains why the 2 mile long FAA corridor extending off the airport runway is off-limits to kiteboarders.
Reposted by Joy Gao
We are live with the ClickHouse 25.7 release webinar.
Join us for demos & Q/A
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Ts...
Join us for demos & Q/A
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Ts...
ClickHouse v25.7 Release Webinar
YouTube video by ClickHouse
www.youtube.com
July 24, 2025 at 3:01 PM
We are live with the ClickHouse 25.7 release webinar.
Join us for demos & Q/A
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Ts...
Join us for demos & Q/A
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Ts...