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GraphQL vs REST — Which Is Better? (Tue, 27 Jan 2026)
GraphQL and REST are two of the most popular API frameworks currently in use, with GraphQL seeing increasing adoption. GraphQL was developed by Facebook to address key challenges in REST APIs, particularly in reducing latency for mobile applications. The debate over which is better continues within the developer community, with strong arguments on both sides. The choice between GraphQL or REST depends on the type of application being built. GraphQL addresses latency issues caused by over-fetching and under-fetching, and provides built-in support for real-time updates. On the other hand, REST leverages HTTP constructs for caching, rate control, and telemetry, allowing these concerns to be handled at the platform layer rather than the application layer.
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Building an Internal Document Search Tool with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) (Tue, 27 Jan 2026)
Why RAG Matters Now Large language models (LLMs) have shown how far generative systems can go. They draft text, answer questions, and even support software development. Yet they have a clear weakness. Models trained on public data often hallucinate and almost always lack access to company-specific knowledge (Ji et al., 2023). Relying only on pre-trained knowledge is risky when answers must be exact, such as in finance, healthcare, or HR policies. Retrieval-Augmented Generation, or RAG, has emerged as a practical solution. Instead of expecting the model to know everything, RAG connects the model to external sources of truth (Lewis et al., 2020). A user query is matched with relevant documents, and the model generates a response grounded in those documents. This approach closes the gap between general intelligence and domain expertise. The open question for many developers is whether RAG is just a patch for hallucination, or if it is the foundation for enterprise-ready AI.
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Cost-Aware GenAI Architecture: Caching, Model Routing, and Token Budgets That Don’t Explode (Tue, 27 Jan 2026)
Shipping GenAI is easy. Shipping it without a surprise bill, latency spikes, and “why did it call the big model for that?” incidents is the hard part. This article is a practical architecture pattern for cost control as a first-class system requirement — built around three levers:
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Designing Mathematical Software for Humans (Tue, 27 Jan 2026)
When we build developer tools, we tend to optimize for performance and API consistency. When we build mathematical tools, we have to optimize for something rarer: clarity of reasoning. Writing software for mathematicians, researchers, and educators requires a different mindset. It’s not just about whether the code runs fast; it’s about whether the code thinks the way the user does. This realization struck me while designing a Python package for combinatorial graph theory called chipfiring. What began as a niche research tool soon became an exercise in human-centered software design. The lessons, however, apply far beyond graph theory. Whether you’re writing a symbolic algebra engine, a geometry toolkit, or a probability simulator, the same principles can help you craft mathematical software that people actually understand.
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DevOps Cafe Podcast

DevOps Cafe Ep 79 - Guests: Joseph Jacks and Ben Kehoe (Mon, 13 Aug 2018)
Triggered by Google Next 2018, John and Damon chat with Joseph Jacks (stealth startup) and Ben Kehoe (iRobot) about their public disagreements — and agreements — about Kubernetes and Serverless. 
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DevOps Cafe Ep 78 - Guest: J. Paul Reed (Mon, 23 Jul 2018)
John and Damon chat with J.Paul Reed (Release Engineering Approaches) about the field of Systems Safety and Human Factors that studies why accidents happen and how to minimize the occurrence and impact. Show notes at http://devopscafe.org
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DevOps Cafe Ep. 77 - Damon interviews John (Wed, 20 Jun 2018)
A new season of DevOps Cafe is here. The topic of this episode is "DevSecOps." Damon interviews John about what this term means, why it matters now, and the overall state of security.  Show notes at http://devopscafe.org
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