In the pursuit of operational velocity we often lose sight of the fundamentals. Hard-coding credentials, flakey specs, iffy untested Docker images… Admit it, you’ve been there at some point (or you’re very, very lucky). We’ll also take a look at how WebAssembly is used at scale by eBay.
Tests that sometimes fail
By Sam Saffron
If you’re running a Ruby on Rails operation you may very well be using gems that have Sam’s fingerprints on them. He’s also one of the masterminds behind the Discourse forum software. Here are his thoughts on “flakey” tests that flicker.
https://samsaffron.com/archive/2019/05/15/tests-that-sometimes-fail
A Fixture-Based Approach to Interface Testing in Rails
By Andrew Kozin
Using fixtures to test your models is one thing. But can you do it efficiently for complete user interfaces? Andrew of Evil Martians has an in-depth write-up of some clever techniques.
https://dev.to/evilmartians/a-fixture-based-approach-to-interface-testing-in-rails-2cd4
Broken by default: why you should avoid most Dockerfile examples
By Itamar Turner-Trauring
You’re dockerizing an app, in a hurry, and need just a little starting point to get going – it’s a story that we’ll all happen upon sooner or later. Sadly, a lot of the examples you can find by Googling are simply broken. Here’s how to avoid some common pitfalls.
https://pythonspeed.com/articles/dockerizing-python-is-hard/
Why AWS access and secret keys should not be in the codebase
By Tamás Sallai
While the more seasoned developers might just scream “OF COURSE!” at this headline, it’s always good to refresh some best practices and fundamentals. And it’ll be beneficial for your more junior colleagues (so send them this report!)
https://advancedweb.hu/2019/05/28/aws_config_credentials/
WebAssembly at eBay: A Real-World Use Case
By Pranav Jha and Senthil Padmanabhan
WebAssembly is still relatively new as far as battle-tested usages go, so it’s always interesting to read through a case study. It’s also a pretty surprising usage to say the least! Take a deep dive with Pranav and Senthil, it’s truly riveting.
https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/blogs/tech/webassembly-at-ebay-a-real-world-use-case/
Bonus! Something for the weekend perhaps? Here are three small yet surprising things you can do in JavaScript.
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