Numerical differentiation with a complex step

The most obvious way to approximate the derivative of a function numerically is to use the definition of derivative and stick in a small value of the step size h. f′ (x) ≈ ( f(x + h) − f(x) ) / h. How small should h be? Since the exact value

Reshaping the future of API platforms

Marco Palladino, CTO and cofounder of cloud-native API gateway Kong, talks with Ryan about the complexities of multi-cloud Kubernetes architecture, how AI has the potential to improve infrastructure management, and how Kong’s large action model will reshape the future of API platforms.

MCMC and the coupon collector problem

Bob Carpenter wrote today about how Markov chains cannot thoroughly cover high-dimensional spaces, and that they do not need to. That’s kinda the point of Monte Carlo integration. If you want systematic coverage, you can/must sample systematically, and that’s impractical in high dimensions. Bob gives the example that if you

Chris Corner: Unusual Ideas with Great Results

SVG Short Circuiting SVG is normally a pretty efficient file format. If an image is vector in nature, leaving it as vector is normally a good plan as it will like scale well and look pretty darn crips. But of course, It Depends. Super complex vector graphics can get huge,

Up and down the abstraction ladder

Gian-Carlo Rota made a profound observation on the application of theory. One frequently notices, however, a wide gap between the bare statement of a principle and the skill required in recognizing that it applies to a particular problem. This isn’t quite what he said. I made two small edits to

The reverse mullett model of software engineering

Ben and Ryan are joined by software developer and listener Patrick Carlile for a conversation about how the job market for software engineers has changed since the dot-com days, navigating boom-and-bust hiring cycles, and the developers finding work at Walmart and In-N-Out. Plus: “Party in the front, business in the

Unity vs Unreal: Which Game Engine Should You Choose?

How to upskill employees with tech skills of the future

There’s a poignant moment in the Netflix series, 3 Body Problem, where an alien character marvels at how quickly technology has advanced on Earth: “Human beings have existed for over 100,000 years. For most of that time, you weren’t so different from apes. It took you 90,000 years to get

Cloud Native: How Ampere Is Improving Nightly Arm64 Builds

Learn how the CNCF make their nightly native arm64 builds more secure, more efficiently use resources, and be much faster.  Continue reading Cloud Native: How Ampere Is Improving Nightly Arm64 Builds on SitePoint.

Making documents with makefiles

I learned to use the command line utility make in the context of building C programs. The program make reads an input file to tell it how to make things. To make a C program, you compile the source files into object files, then link the object files together. You