Brad Huskins @bhus

theatlantic.com/technology/202… Terry Tao, on AI's promise for math

ICPC season starting up again. Huge fan of these things

Gotta betray my country for a sec Waterloo > MIT

Not gonna lie, this was an epic set-up growing up.

Even though I’m a much better Python than JavaScript developer, with AI assistance, I’ve been writing a lot of JavaScript code recently. AI-assisted coding, including vibe coding, is making specific programming languages less important, even though learning one is still helpful to make sure you understand the key concepts. This is helping many developers write code in languages we’re not familiar with, which lets us get code working in many more contexts! My background is in machine learning engineering and back-end development, but AI-assisted coding is making it easy for me to build front-end systems (the part of a website or app that users interact with) using JavaScript (JS) or TypeScript (TS), languages that I am weak in. Generative AI is making syntax less important, so we can all simultaneously be Python, JS, TS, C++, Java, and even Cobol developers. Perhaps one day, instead of being “Python developers" or “C++ developers,” many more of us will just be “developers”! But understanding the concepts behind different languages is still important. That’s why learning at least one language like Python still offers a great foundation for prompting LLMs to generate code in Python and other languages. If you move from one programming language to another that carries out similar tasks but with different syntax — say, from JS to TS, or C++ to Java, or Rust to Go — once you’ve learned the first set of concepts, you’ll know a lot of the concepts needed to prompt an LLM to code in the second language. (Although TensorFlow and PyTorch are not programming languages, learning the concepts of deep learning behind TensorFlow will also make it much easier to get an LLM to write PyTorch code for you, and vice versa!) In addition, you’ll be able to understand much of the generated code (perhaps with a little LLM assistance). Different programming languages reflect different views of how to organize computation, and understanding the concepts is still important. For example, someone who does not understand arrays, dictionaries, caches, and memory will be less effective at getting an LLM to write code in most languages. Similarly, a Python developer who moves toward doing more front-end programming with JS would benefit from learning the concepts behind front-end systems. For example, if you want an LLM to build a front end using the React framework, it will benefit you to understand how React breaks front ends into reusable UI components, and how it updates the DOM data structure that determines what web pages look like. This lets you prompt the LLM much more precisely, and helps you understand how to fix issues if something goes wrong. Similarly, if you want an LLM to help you write code in CUDA or ROCm, it helps to understand how GPUs organize compute and memory. Just as people who are fluent in multiple human languages can communicate more easily with other people, LLMs are making it easier for developers to build systems in multiple contexts. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to try having an LLM write some code in a language you’d like to learn but perhaps haven’t yet gotten around to, and see if it helps you get some new applications to work. [Original text: deeplearning.ai/the-batch/issu… ]

Congrats to Waterloo’s four teams that competed at the 2024 ICPC East Central North America contest. With a third-place win, Waterloo Gold — represented by Maxwell He, Kevin Guo and Kevin Yang — is heading to the 2025 North America Championship! cs.uwaterloo.ca/news/waterloo-…

What matters most to our merchants and their customers is: choice. We make that a reality with every partnership we execute. Soon, Amazon will release an app in @Shopify’s app ecosystem that will give merchants who use Amazon’s fulfillment network the choice to add Buy with Prime on Shopify’s Checkout - and it’s all processed by Shopify Payments 🚀

@guygavrielkay There are a number of your works that have come to mind since the invasion began. Quite poignant.

@slava_pestov Language grammars. Flow charts. All this Twitter feed is missing is a FSM!

@jimmurphy @jrodgers I don’t know why since I don’t know anyone who has bought recently, but I just assumed it was crypto kids with cash to burn.

@slava_pestov …On your way to working at Nortel?

@guygavrielkay This sparks great joy

Particle seen switching between matter and antimatter at CERN /newatlas.com space.abx-consulting.com/?p=289

Save the date July 29 for #dotnetConf: Focus on F#! Hear from F# language designer, @dsymetweets and experts using #FSharp and .NET with #MachineLearning and #DataScience. Tune in, ask questions live, and learn about what F# can do. msft.it/6019n9cgV

Just finished Sand and Steel by @militaryhistori One of the finer military historicals I’ve read in the last 5 years.

We’re proud to be named one of the world’s top universities for several subjects in the 2021 QS @worlduniranking. Computer Science remains our top-rated program globally. In Canada, #UWaterloo ranks in the top 5 universities for 15 subjects. Learn more: bit.ly/3bdDgZ9

@igrigorik @Shopify Congrats! That’s amazing!

I’m going to bet most of the Canadian Tech Ecosystem doesn’t know this story… What is the most successful venture fund in Canadian history? @Georgian_io Fund 1 ? @OMERSVentures ? ….. /thread

@mrjakeparker Nice Work! I have been at roughly the same pace for roughly the same period of time (started fall 2016, run 2/3 times a week, for 5km). Haven’t been tracking with an app though. Maybe in New Year I will start.

Go back to 2005 and tell me that in 2020 Apple will be fighting 37 Signals over who’s more greedy, and Microsoft will be a darling of the open source community.