The New Stack Podcast

Priyanka Sharma, Executive Director of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, teams up with Joseph Sandoval, Principal Product Manager at Adobe, to discuss the exciting intersection of platform engineering and AI. They highlight how AI will transform platform operations, aiming for better efficiency and user-centered designs. The conversation covers the upcoming KubeCon event, the role of open-source initiatives like CNOE, and essential reference architectures for guiding developers. Explore the growing maturity of platform engineering amidst changing technological landscapes.

Rohit Choudhary, co-founder and CEO of Acceldata, is a visionary in enterprise data observability. He discusses the exponential growth of data driven by generative AI and the complexities of multicloud environments. Choudhary emphasizes the importance of traceability in data management, especially with unstructured data on the rise. He also highlights the challenge of alert fatigue and advocates for improved alert systems in critical sectors like finance and healthcare, showcasing how these issues can shape future data strategies.

Joel Marcey, Director of Technology at the Rust Foundation, shares insights on Rust's remarkable rise as a programming language, praised for its speed and safety. He discusses its ambitious expansion into sectors like game development and embedded systems while underlining its growing role in web applications through WebAssembly. Marcey also explores Rust’s competitive edge over Go in performance-critical tasks, highlights recent updates like Rust 1.81, and reveals government interest in enhancing security initiatives within the Rust ecosystem.

Ashley Williams, founder and CEO of axo, discusses the unsettling reliance on unpaid open-source maintainers for crucial software security. She argues that companies often overlook these maintainers while depending on third-party vendors, exacerbating vulnerabilities. Thomas Depierre weighs in on the reluctance of maintainers to be labeled as software suppliers. The conversation delves into the pressures on maintainers and the need for sustainable funding models in the open-source realm, emphasizing the importance of integrating maintainer perspectives into supply chain strategies.

Xun Wang, the CTO of Bloomreach, shares transformative insights from his time at Nvidia, guided by its founder, Jensen Huang. He emphasizes the need for a structured approach to engineering that mirrors product architecture. Wang discusses the integration of generative AI and its role in enhancing e-commerce through advanced search functionalities. He highlights the importance of continuous learning and adapting to new AI skills while maintaining traditional coding expertise. Curious and detail-oriented, Wang advocates for resilience in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Code reviews can be highly beneficial but tricky to execute well due to the human factors involved, says Adrienne Braganza Tacke, author of *Looks Good to Me: Actionable Advice for Constructive Code Review.* In a recent conversation with *The New Stack*, Tacke identified three challenges teams must address for successful code reviews: ambiguity, subjectivity, and ego.Ambiguity arises when the goals or expectations for the code are unclear, leading to miscommunication and rework. Tacke emphasizes the need for clarity and explicit communication throughout the review process. Subjectivity, the second challenge, can derail reviews when personal preferences overshadow objective evaluation. Reviewers should justify their suggestions based on technical merit rather than opinion. Finally, ego can get in the way, with developers feeling attached to their code. Both reviewers and submitters must check their egos to foster a constructive dialogue.Tacke encourages programmers to first review their own work, as self-checks can enhance the quality of the code before it reaches the reviewer. Ultimately, code reviews can improve code quality, mentor developers, and strengthen team knowledge. Learn more from The New Stack about code reviews:The Anatomy of Slow Code Reviews One Company Rethinks Diff to Cut Code Review TimesHow Good Is Your Code Review Process?Join our community of newsletter subscribers to stay on top of the news and at the top of your game. 

In the New Stack Makers episode, Adi Polak, Director, Advocacy and Developer Experience Engineering at Confluent discusses the operational and analytical estates in data infrastructure. The operational estate focuses on fast, low-latency event-driven applications, while the analytical estate handles long-running data crunching tasks. Challenges arise due to the "schema evolution" from upstream operational changes impacting downstream analytics, creating complexity for developers. Apache Iceberg and Flink help mitigate these issues. Iceberg, a table format developed by Netflix, optimizes querying by managing file relationships within a data lake, reducing processing time and errors. It has been widely adopted by major companies like Airbnb and LinkedIn. Apache Flink, a versatile data processing framework, is driving two key trends: shifting some batch processing tasks into stream processing and transitioning microservices into Flink streaming applications. This approach enhances system reliability, lowers latency, and meets customer demands for real-time data, like instant flight status updates. Together, Iceberg and Flink streamline data infrastructure, addressing developer pain points and improving efficiency. Learn more from The New Stack about Apache Iceberg and Flink:Unfreeze Apache Iceberg to Thaw Your Data LakehouseApache Flink: 2023 Retrospective and Glimpse into the Future 4 Reasons Why Developers Should Use Apache Flink Join our community of newsletter subscribers to stay on top of the news and at the top of your game. 

Bob Wise, CEO of Heroku, shares insights on the transformative effect of generative AI on software development. He likens GenAI tools to adding 'infinite interns'—quickening code writing but not simplifying testing or deployment. Wise discusses Heroku's strategic shift towards automated systems and the importance of Postgres for GenAI workloads. He also highlights Heroku's migration to Kubernetes, emphasizing operational ease, much like the early successes of Kubernetes, positioning Heroku to better serve evolving developer needs.

Robin Ginn, the executive director of the OpenJS Foundation, highlights the recent surge of interest in open source after a serious security incident involving Jia Tan, a contributor who planted a backdoor vulnerability. They discuss the challenges of managing contributions in volunteer-led JavaScript communities and the crucial need for trust amid security concerns. Ginn urges corporations to financially support open source initiatives, emphasizing that without proper funding and resources, key projects may struggle to sustain themselves.

Paige Bailey, who began coding at age 9 and now leads the GenAI developer experience at Google, shares insights on the future of software development. She discusses how generative AI is democratizing coding, allowing developers to focus on creativity instead of routine tasks. Bailey also emphasizes that critical thinking and problem-solving have become more vital than traditional coding skills. She sees AI not as a replacement for developers, but as a tool to enhance their work, underlining the importance of effective application in tech.