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MERGE CONFLICT DIGEST
September 15, 2025
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Frontend Development 🎨

Node.js Buffers: What They Are and How They Handle Binary Data (35 minutes read)
#NodeJS #Buffers

Node.js handles binary data using Buffers, which are created from raw ArrayBuffer objects and utilize a two-heap memory model to prevent performance issues with large binary data. The Buffer class provides compatibility with web standards and a specialized API for server-side development, offering methods like `toString()` and `write()`.

Misconfigured useEffect dependency array DDOSing its own service, causing huge outage (6 minutes read)
#React

On September 12, 2025, Cloudflare faced a dashboard and API outage due to issues with its React useEffect hook, causing repeated calls to the Tenant Service API and overwhelming it. This led to instability and incorrect 5xx status codes for unauthorized API requests. The team investigated and implemented fixes improving observability and deploying rollbacks.

ESLint Configuration for Airbnb Project with React and TypeScript Setup
#ESLint #TypeScript

Airbnb's custom JavaScript project setup utilizes a modified version of its existing ESLint configuration, offering a pre-configured set of rules and settings to kick-start projects quickly. This configuration is built on Airbnb's established best practices, providing developers with flexibility to make adjustments tailored to their specific needs while leveraging the company's expertise.

Backend & APIs 🔧

Building a Simple Stack-Based Virtual Machine in Go (8 minutes read)
#Go

A simplified virtual machine (VM) has been created in Go that operates on compiled bytecode, using a stack machine architecture for efficient processing. It employs a 64-bit word size and byte-addressable memory model to execute opcodes corresponding to specific operations, utilizing a program counter and vm's memory field to manage data access efficiently.

A non-concurrent use for Go channels: solving interface impedance mismatch (4 minutes read)
#Go #Channels #btree

A developer working on Doltgres' index support encountered an impedance mismatch issue between Go's btree package and SQL engine interfaces due to differing iteration periodicity. To resolve this, they used Go channels, creating a struct with accessor fields for accessing B-tree data and sending elements to the channel, proving an efficient solution.

how fast is go? simulating millions of particles on a smart tv (17 minutes read)
#Go #Particles

A tech journalist shares their experience building a real-time particle simulation using Go, aiming for impressive performance. Despite limitations in numerical computations due to lack of SIMD support, the author achieved impressive results, simulating 2.5 million particles at 60 frames per second and sending data to over 300 clients with minimal latency.

NSFW content detection, AI architecture: How we solved it in my startup (11 minutes read)
#MachineLearning #ComputerVision

SocialHubs UG's startup struggled to detect NSFW content using Google Vision AI, citing high costs of €7,000 per month. The author trained custom models to detect such content, implementing a hybrid approach that checks on-device and then server-side for higher accuracy while significantly reducing costs to around €100 per month.

Security & Privacy 🔒

crates.io phishing campaign
#Rust #cratesio

A phishing campaign targeting crates.io users, specifically those using rustfoundation.dev, has been reported. The Rust Foundation denies involvement and warns against clicking on links or marking emails as phishing. The crates.io team is taking action to remove the malicious domain name and monitor for suspicious activity to protect their platform.

AI in Society & Economy 🌍

So You Want to Host Your Own LLM? Don’t. (2 minutes read)
#LLM

Self-hosting Large Language Models (LLMs) has become a trend among enthusiasts, but it's often an overkill that wastes resources on expensive hardware. Developers are misled into buying complex rigs, only to face artificially throttled hardware from GPU manufacturers prioritizing data centers. Using a standard computer, like a MacBook, is sufficient for running 16-32B parameter models.

Vibe coding has turned senior devs into 'AI babysitters,' but they say it's worth it (7 minutes read)
#VibeCoding

A recent report by Fastly reveals that developers spend up to 95% of their time fixing AI-generated code, with senior devs shouldering most of this responsibility. Experts warn about security risks and errors associated with AI code, but acknowledge the benefits of vibe coding platforms, highlighting the need for human review before building on AI-generated code.

I have tried AI-assisted reviews, let's look at the numbers. (6 minutes read)
#CodeRabbit

A tech journalist has spent a month using CodeRabbit, an AI-assisted code review tool, to help with code reviews and found it easy to set up and impressive in catching issues. The tool's findings were categorized into five categories, with 72% being relevant, bringing actual value to code quality, despite some limitations such as rate limits on reviews per hour.

The productivity paradox of AI coding assistants (12 minutes read)
#CodingAssistants

The "productivity paradox" of AI coding assistants reveals a sense of false progress among developers who use these tools, feeling they're working faster but producing lower-quality code due to instant feedback loops and dopamine-driven excitement. This creates new challenges and limitations, including security risks and compliance issues in production environments.

Software Development & Engineering 💻

A Comprehensive Guide on Builder Design Pattern with all Flavors & Examples (11 minutes read)
#Builder

The Builder design pattern separates object construction from its representation, providing a clear and readable code for creation and enforcing immutability and thread-safety. It solves telescoping constructors and error-prone setter methods by offering a fluent and customizable way to construct complex objects with numerous optional parameters in various libraries and frameworks.

On Staying Sane as a Developer (4 minutes read)
#BrainDump #DefinitionOfDone

A developer shares personal habits that help them stay sane amidst chaotic engineering work, including a simple morning routine of prioritizing tasks and clearing mental clutter through brain dumps. They also protect focus time by blocking dedicated hours in their calendar and use an "Definition of Done" to ensure complete pull requests.

The Model Context Protocol (MCP): A Beginner’s Guide to Plug-and-Play Agents (14 minutes read)
#MCP #JSONRPC

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) simplifies connecting AI systems to external services by providing a modular and flexible way for clients to communicate with servers. MCP defines roles for Host, Client, and Server, using a JSON-RPC-based message format for structured requests and responses, enabling reusable building blocks in various ecosystems.

Products & Industry Moves 🚀

Spotify Lossless is an inconvenient improvement
#LosslessAudio

Spotify's lossless audio may enhance your listening experience with high-fidelity equipment, offering significantly improved sound quality and increased dynamic range. Unlike standard 320Kbps streams, which are often limited by playback methods, lossless audio provides a more immersive experience, making it ideal for those who listen through home stereo systems or turntables.

Published by Merge Conflict Digest