Programming Digest - PD#600 Weird Lexical Syntax

Issue #600 – that’s a big milestone and over 11.5 years of publishing this newsletter. Thank you for being part of it. 🎉

Weird Lexical Syntax
21 minutes by Justine Tunney

Justine shares their experience of learning 42 programming languages to build a syntax highlighter for llamafile, highlighting surprising syntax features across different languages. They discuss implementing the highlighter using C++ and GNU gperf for optimal performance, and explore unique syntax elements in languages like C (trigraphs), Haskell (nested comments), JavaScript (regex syntax), Shell (heredocs), and Ruby (complex lexical rules).

Streamline DevSecOps with Workflow Automation
sponsored by Datadog

Automation enables DevSecOps teams to manage complex IT environments, quickly address disruptions, and ensure reliable digital experiences. Discover how workflow automation can simplify IT management and boost reliability—read the product brief.

Why your projects take forever
15 minutes by Jared Turner

The article discusses the concept of worker efficiency versus work-unit efficiency in software development, using the analogy of regular doctors (who are always busy but make patients wait) versus the president's doctor (who optimizes for the president's time).

Why doesn't Cloudflare use containers in their Workers platform infrastructure?
7 minutes by Shivang Sarawagi

Cloudflare's V8 isolate architecture leverages the V8 engine (a high-performance JavaScript and Web Assembly engine originally developed by Google for Chrome) to run isolates, which are a lightweight sandboxed environment running individual workloads.

Strategy against distractions as a software engineer working in an open-floor office
7 minutes by Fran Soto

With distractions becoming more prevalent, engineers need effective strategies to minimize interruptions and enhance their focus. This article offers actionable insights to fight them.

On the Energy Efficiency of Programming Languages
40 minutes by Nicolas van Kempen et al.

This research paper challenges previous studies that linked programming language choices to energy consumption. Through improved methodology and a comprehensive causal model, the authors demonstrate that when controlling for various factors like implementation details, core usage, and memory activity, the choice of programming language itself does not significantly impact energy consumption beyond its effect on execution time.

newsletters

Would you like to become a sponsor and advertise in one of the issues? Check out our media kit and get in touch.