Kodsnack 658 - Failure of ergonomics, with Taylor Troesh

Fredrik talks to Taylor Troesh about packaging things, generating code, and database evolution.

Why is it so hard to package and build things? Is it a failure of ergonomics? Is there hope for a change?

We also discuss generating code using LLMs, and Taylor presents the workflow of using them to generate projects from scratch, starting over if more fundamental changes are needed.

After that, we dig into databases and SQL, and Taylor has many thoughts and opinions about how they can be used and might evolve.

Finally, we discuss other interesting projects, keeping track of ideas, what the OPTC is, and why should you cut down a palm tree?

Recorded during Øredev 2024.

The episode is sponsored by Ellipsis - let us edit your podcast and make it sound just as good as Kodsnack! With more than ten years and 1200 episodes of experience, Ellipsis gets your podcast edited, chapterized, and described with all related links in a prompt and professional manner.

Thank you Cloudnet for sponsoring our VPS!

Comments, questions or tips? We a re @kodsnack, @tobiashieta, @oferlundand @bjoreman on Twitter, have a page on Facebook and can be emailed at info@kodsnack.se if you want to write longer. We read everything we receive.

If you enjoy Kodsnack we would love a review in iTunes! You can also support the podcast by buying us a coffee (or two!) through Ko-fi.

Links

• Taylor
• Taylor’s keyboard-rich desk setup
• Taylor’s Øredev 2024 talk: How to flatpack programs
• The IKEA hacking community (or one of them)
• James Mickens
• Redux
• The flux architecture
• Jquery
• Toki pona
• APL
• Zig
• SNOBOL
• Actor model
• Jq
• Lisp
• Scrapscript - Taylor’s own language
• HTMX
• CRUD
• Elm
• Support us on Ko-fi
• Cursor
• Neovim
• Avante - a Cursor alternative for Neovim
• Sam Altman
• Sam Colt
• Sam Morse
• Postgresql
• Connecting directly to the database - Svante Richter’s talk
• Supabase
• SQL
• Some of Taylor’s writings about SQL
• PRQL - Pipelined relational query language
• FQL
• Regex
• Foundationdb
• Ellipsis - sponsor of the week: we edit Kodsnack, and we can edit your podcast too!
• Offensive horticulture
• A history of microwave ovens
• Scrapsheets
• Game of life
• Trailer buses
  • Follow-up links, thanks to unvisual:
  • Bruck - “a type of bus or coach built to combine goods and passenger transport”
  • Skvader - a Swedish bruck
• The timeless way of software - Taylor talks about Christopher Alexander, just like we did in episode 657!

Titles

• Nothing besides IKEA
• I did not besmirch the reputation
• How strange we package things
• I don’t think I have any advice
• Failure of ergonomics
• I do have hope
• Drinking from the well
• Brainless CRUD-stuff
• (I have) No qualms with Elm
• During the binges
• Fifteen math professors
• Tilting against palmtrees
• OPTC