Avoiding Over-engineering
and Unnecessary Dependencies
Every piece of software we create begins with a simple goal: to solve a problem. Yet, somewhere between the initial idea and the final commit, complexity often creeps in. We anticipate future needs that never arrive, incorporate libraries for problems we don't have, and build elaborate architectures for straightforward tasks. This journey away from simplicity usually starts with good intentions but leads to fragile, hard-to-maintain systems. In this article, I'll walk through the core principles that help me stay on track, from defining clear problem contexts to making small, tangible steps and critically evaluating every dependency. It’s a plea for building what matters and avoiding the 'arrogance tax' of over-engineering.
Mastering Go's Concurrency:
Goroutines and Channels
When I first encountered Go, what struck me wasn't just its clean syntax or fast compilation, but how it reimagined concurrent programming. Where other languages burden developers with complex thread management and synchronization primitives, Go offers something fundamentally different. The combination of goroutines and channels creates a concurrency model that's not only powerful but also accessible and practical for everyday development. This approach has evolved significantly since Go's early days, with improved patterns and abstractions that make concurrent programming more intuitive. In this article, we'll explore how these features work together and why understanding them is essential for any Go developer looking to build scalable, efficient applications.
Beyond the Cloud Hype:
Building Resilient Systems
It was October 20, 2025, and for a while, it felt like the digital world was holding its breath. Services we rely on daily were faltering, and the culprit was a widespread AWS disruption. This wasn’t just an isolated incident; it was a powerful, real-world lesson in the fragility of centralized architectures. In this article, I want to dissect why putting all our trust in a handful of cloud providers undermines the internet's inherent resilience. I'll then walk through some concrete approaches—like multi-region distribution, Local First principles, and P2P technologies—that can help us build systems that don't have a single point of failure.
CGo vs. Purego: Integrating C with Go
Go strikes a brilliant balance, offering developers a powerful combination of simplicity, speed, and efficiency. Yet, there are always those moments in a project where you need to reach deeper, to extend a library, optimize a critical path, or tap into low-level system functionality. In these instances, the natural choice has often been C, with its unparalleled system access and performance. For Go developers, this has traditionally meant turning to CGo. But is it still the only option? The emergence of libraries like Purego presents a compelling alternative, promising a simpler path. This article breaks down the motivations behind each tool and the crucial factors to consider before deciding which bridge to C is right for your next project.
Why a Single Monitor Boosts Focus and Productivity
In software development, we champion simplicity and minimalism in our code, yet our physical workspaces often tell a different story. Like many, I was convinced that more screen real estate was synonymous with higher productivity. My journey from a single laptop to a sprawling three-monitor setup, complete with a vertical screen, was driven by that very belief. But I discovered that more space often just means more room for distraction. This is my reflection on choosing focus over frenzy and why I ultimately returned to the clarity of a single screen.