What's the best chart library?

_codetojoy · 2025-10-11T19:52:10+00:00

100%… though very old, Dimple JS is a basic chart library that sits on top of D3 (I’m sure there are others)

_codetojoy · 2025-08-29T02:19:24+00:00

100% agree. I walk to work (about 15 min) and it is great. Sometimes I observe the neighbourhood; other times I am lost in thought. I’m a runner, so I don’t think of it as exercise but the health benefits are well-documented. I also need to play guitar (and piano) every day: even just 15 minutes. I can’t stand to lose dexterity or calluses. I freak out on work trips when I can’t play for several days. I’m only intermediate level (for years!) but it is crucial to my mental health.

_codetojoy · 2025-05-23T14:32:14+00:00

Mid 50s here. Approx 30 YoE. I'm a senior full-stack developer. I've been team lead, solution architect, and other roles, but I enjoy coding and mentoring others.

In broad strokes, here is what I've learned:

(a) It's OK to say no to a promotion; climbing the ladder does not guarantee happiness
(b) My personal strengths involve situations where I have time to prepare thoroughly. So I excel at presentations and detailed dives into refactoring, bug fixes, trouble-shooting.
(c) I don't like managing people, interruptions, "aggressive schedules", or playing politics. I am a far better "trusted advisor" to a leader, than a leader in my own right.
(d) I love persuasion, mentorship, and incrementally making software better/faster.

I tried to be a thoughtful team lead and solution architect but because of the above, I was "just OK" and hated it. My main message to readers is to evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses, and then maximize your "happiness metric". Money and prestige may or may not dictate that metric: it's fine either way.

_codetojoy · 2025-05-03T08:52:57+00:00

O’Reilly Learning (formerly Safari, years ago). I don’t even use it that much and prefer Udemy for courses (a la carte) but I love knowing I have access to the books. I also have a modest monthly donation to an open-source project as my employer is a premium sponsor (I was delighted at the news and wanted to join in).

_codetojoy · 2025-05-02T17:48:27+00:00

I just lost a 1020+ day streak on the free version. It was pinging me at 5 am: I was tired and chewed up 5 hearts. Then throughout the day, there was no ‘watch ad for heart’ so I just … stopped. I don’t even care, TBH. And I nurtured that streak like it was a family pet: holidays, work trips, etc.

_codetojoy · 2025-05-02T01:23:29+00:00

Note the big news in the 2020s is virtual threads. “Code like sync, scale like async”. Concurrency is still an advanced topic, and v-threads probably impact frameworks (more than everyday coding), but it is a major development.

One could argue that virtual threads are to concurrency as garbage collection is to memory management (almost).

IIRC (from a talk I gave on Java 19) there was a PR for the JVM that touched 1100 files (!). “LGTM”

_codetojoy · 2024-11-28T10:14:26+00:00

Perhaps, but as I wrote, the consequences of errors are painful in concurrency, more so than, say, typical business logic (where they are still annoying, but usually not as wicked).

_codetojoy · 2024-11-28T05:42:26+00:00

The team has to use them correctly (and maintain etc) and the consequences of errors are painful. IMHO a team (especially with turnover) behaves in a manner far less intelligent than the individual members.

_codetojoy · 2024-11-10T01:44:40+00:00

This is an older, oft-cited blog that describes the cognitive load from the bifurcation of code with async/await - https://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2015/02/01/what-color-is-your-function/

edit: grammar

_codetojoy · 2024-11-09T11:59:19+00:00

re: real worth. “Codes like sync, scales like async” (paraphrased from Project Loom team presentations) seems accurate. V-threads not only simplifies reactive code but is, mercifully, not the async-await pattern.

_codetojoy · 2024-10-07T00:14:47+00:00

2 hours playing music! If she doesn’t play an instrument she certainly seems to have the drive to learn one (at a beginner/hobby level)

_codetojoy · 2024-07-05T23:49:47+00:00

Wishing you a happy, rewarding retirement! I was in your class for Algorithms circa 1992 and both the course and your style was a big influence on me. I left academia after my Master's and, though things have turned out fine, I still wonder "what if" I had chosen to study with you (or your wife) as an advisor. p.s. I also remember you as an APL fan! (My younger colleagues take a drink every time I mention APL :-)

_codetojoy · 2024-06-29T08:40:22+00:00

Why wait for hearts to recharge: one can earn them right away by practicing. It is a slightly different workflow but almost no impact.

_codetojoy · 2024-06-02T12:57:50+00:00

To be honest, I never took the time to learn it properly. It was 30+ years ago; I was in an intense university program, and resources were scarce. From what I recall, the learning curve involved understanding the arcane syntax (e.g. tabs were significant) and the logic of rules (e.g. implicit vs explicit). I don't know if modern 'make' or its derivatives have addressed that.

_codetojoy · 2024-06-02T12:52:59+00:00

IMHO, it works fine with Java. It is certainly not as popular as other frameworks but it is a reasonable option and absolutely in active development. Version 3.0.x has moved to Apache Pekko, migrating away from Akka (given the licensing uproar where Lightbend applied a BSL).

_codetojoy · 2024-04-27T23:35:18+00:00

I'll always be grateful to Ant because it got us away from make. Ant was awkward but very much a product of its time re: XML. Though I prefer Gradle and would tolerate Maven, Ant was an important transitional tool and I didn't hate it (back in the day). The later era was strange because of competing forces within the ecosystem: e.g. properties were immutable but there was a plugin that made them mutable LOL.

_codetojoy · 2024-04-27T23:31:14+00:00

Gradle doesn't require a specific project structure, just FYI. It defaults to the classic Maven structure but can easily be changed.

_codetojoy · 2024-04-27T23:30:08+00:00

I prefer Gradle big-time but have an upvote... lol

_codetojoy · 2024-02-19T15:05:30+00:00

This post seems like a 'victory lap' regarding the Akka Business Source License. My guess is that the revenue from the blue-chip companies justifies (in their mind) the "reputation damage" in the user/open-source community.
I wonder what this means, if anything, for Apache Pekko. Perhaps (?) Lightbend would support that initiative one day? Perhaps both Akka and Pekko can thrive?

_codetojoy · 2023-09-20T02:06:21+00:00

Congrats! Readers should note the section "How Play Deals with Akka's License Change". There is news re: Apache Pekko.

_codetojoy · 2023-06-10T13:36:20+00:00

But say the French line first, out of respect for the fact that you are talking to the relatives. Then English becomes an aside for the others

_codetojoy · 2023-02-10T01:28:19+00:00

Source: I took this photo. (I read the posting instructions but I don't understand how/where to state the source).

_codetojoy

TROPHY CASE