DZone Community Awards 2023

Dear DZone Community, 

This year has seen a lot of changes for the DZone team, and we’re excited to end the year on a high note with a ton of potential heading into 2024 and beyond. 

PHP Laravel Cache Setup for Apitoolkit to Avoid SDK Reinit

Laravel caching can significantly boost performance for Apitoolkit projects by eliminating repetitive and costly SDK reinitialization. Without caching, the SDK connects from scratch on every request - an inefficient process that hampers speed. Implementing caching allows you to store and reuse SDK connections, circumventing reinitialization entirely.

Apitoolkit relies on establishing an SDK connection to interface with backend services. Creating this connection is an intensive process that validates credentials, authorizes access, configures settings, and more. Once initialized, the SDK can fulfill frontend requests rapidly. However, Apitoolkit re-establishes the connection redundantly, redoing time-consuming validation and configuration tasks on every request.

Query a Database With Arrow Flight

Arrow Flight is a “new general-purpose client-server framework to simplify high-performance transport of large datasets over network interfaces.” Flight uses gRPC and IPC protocols as its foundation. The structure of Flight primarily focuses on the transmission of Arrow record batches. The protocols for transmitting methods and data use Protobuf outlines, providing compatibility with clients equipped to handle gRPC and Arrow individually, even if they do not support Flight directly. Moreover, additional enhancements fine-tune Flight to reduce performance penalties typically associated with Protobuf use, particularly those related to unnecessary memory duplication. 

You can also use Apache Arrow Flight SQL to query a database. Apache Arrow Flight SQL is “a new client-server protocol developed by the Apache Arrow community for interacting with SQL databases that makes use of the Arrow in-memory columnar format and the Flight RPC framework.” Essentially, the Flight SQL clients wrap the underlying Flight client. However, it also provides methods for defining streams of Arrow record batches and how to read them. FlightSQL is useful for writing database-agnostic code for different databases that support it. This more general approach is what this article covers. For example, if you are creating a UI or other user experience that might query different kinds of databases. 

From Elasticsearch to Apache Doris: Upgrading an Observability Platform

Observability platforms are akin to the immune system. Just like immune cells are everywhere in human bodies, an observability platform patrols every corner of your devices, components, and architectures, identifying any potential threats and proactively mitigating them. However, I might have gone too far with that metaphor, because till these days, we have never invented a system as sophisticated as the human body, but we can always make advancements.

The key to upgrading an observability platform is to increase data processing speed and reduce costs. This is based on two reasons:

How To Make Legacy Code More Testable

Much has already been said about the importance of automated tests: they provide a great safety net when modifying system components, alerting to issues much earlier in the development lifecycle. As a result, bugs are prevented from ever reaching production environments.

When we're working with legacy code that has very low automated test coverage (or no test coverage at all), building automated tests can be difficult and frustrating. The initial effort of setting up automated tests is frequently more than the team can afford at the time, and we end up deferring it indefinitely.

How To Handle API Rate Limitations With a Queue

Rate limitation is also a challenge for the apps that encounter it, as it requires to “slow down” or pause. Here’s a typical scenario:

  • Initial Request: When the app initiates communication with the API, it requests specific data or functionality.
  • API Response: The API processes the request and responds with the requested information or performs the desired action.
  • Rate-Limitation: If the app has reached the limit, it will usually need to wait until the next designated time frame (like a minute to an hour) before making additional requests. If it is a “soft” rate limitation and timeframes are known and linear, it’s easier to handle. Often, the waiting time climbs and increases in every block, requiring a whole different and custom handling per each API.
  • Handling Rate Limit Exceedances: If the app exceeds the rate limit, it might receive an error response from the API (such as a “429 Too Many Requests” status code). The app needs to handle this gracefully, possibly by queuing requests, implementing backoff strategies (waiting for progressively more extended periods before retrying), or informing the user about the rate limit being reached.

To effectively operate within rate limitations, apps often incorporate strategies like:

With the Right Support, Developers Can Lead Your Organization to Superior PCI-DSS 4.0 Compliance

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) version 4.0 will change almost everything about security for any business or organization that accepts electronic payments, which is a vast majority of them. And make no mistake, this update will be transformative for most businesses, requiring them to upgrade many of their security processes and potentially roll out new protections regarding encryption, authentication, access control, key management, and other areas that they may have been slow to embrace before now.

Due to the complexity of the new requirements, organizations have been given until March 2025 to become fully compliant. But that deadline will arrive sooner than most people realize. In fact, many forward-thinking companies are taking steps right now to enable their developers to navigate the pending compliance landscape. 

Automate Your SSO With Ansible and Keycloak

The article Deploy Keycloak single sign-on with Ansible discussed how to automate the deployment of Keycloak. In this follow-up article, we’ll use that as a baseline and explore how to automate the configuration of the Keycloak single sign-on (SSO) server, including setting up users, specifying LDAP connection details, and so on.

Here again, to facilitate our automation, we will leverage an Ansible collection named middleware_automation.keycloak, specifically designed for this endeavor. 

Mysidia Adoptables PHP Help

Trying to call imagemagick using this code. The errors are with the appcontroller, myadoptscontroller, and index. I have been talking to someone who also uses the Mysidia Adoptables code and they provided me their code to edit, I edited their code but it is throwing these errors and Im not well versed in coding enough to fix them. I have tried myself and using ai tools but the issues still remain. I have been trying to get the site running for weeks now so any help would be greatly appreciated. The full paragraph of errors is too confusing for me to fix, but I tried to fix the two above it. Im wondering if ther $adopt variable is due to me removing the $species in the original code but Im not sure. I tried looking up the attempt to read property aid on null but couldnt find anything useful on how to fix it in regards to my problem.

The error:

Warning: Undefined variable $adopt in /home/pixellat/public_html/model/domainmodel/ownedadoptable.php on line 132

Warning: Attempt to read property "aid" on null in /home/pixellat/public_html/model/domainmodel/ownedadoptable.php on line 132

Fatal error: Uncaught TypeError: ResourceCoreAppController::setField(): Argument #2 ($value) must be of type ?ResourceNativeObjective, string given, called in /home/pixellat/public_html/controller/main/myadoptscontroller.php on line 47 and defined in /home/pixellat/public_html/resource/core/appcontroller.php:183 Stack trace: #0 /home/pixellat/public_html/controller/main/myadoptscontroller.php(47): ResourceCoreAppController->setField('image', '/adoptimage/vie...') #1 [internal function]: ControllerMainMyadoptsController->manage('1') #2 /home/pixellat/public_html/resource/core/frontcontroller.php(196): ReflectionMethod->invokeArgs(Object(ControllerMainMyadoptsController), Array) #3 /home/pixellat/public_html/controller/main/indexcontroller.php(13): ResourceCoreFrontController->triggerAction() #4 /home/pixellat/public_html/resource/core/frontcontroller.php(142): ControllerMainIndexController->triggerAction() #5 /home/pixellat/public_html/index.php(75): ResourceCoreFrontController->handleRequest() #6 /home/pixellat/public_html/index.php(84): IndexController->run() #7 /home/pixellat/public_html/index.php(88): IndexController::main() #8 {main} thrown in /home/pixellat/public_html/resource/core/appcontroller.php on line 183

Appcontroller:

<?php

namespace Resource\Core;
use ReflectionException, ReflectionMethod;
use Resource\Collection\HashMap;
use Resource\Exception\AlreadyLoggedinException;
use Resource\Exception\GuestNoaccessException;
use Resource\Exception\InvalidActionException;
use Resource\Native\MysString;
use Resource\Native\Objective;

/**
 * The Abstract AppController Class, extends from abstract controller class.
 * It is parent to all application controller type classes, they are vast in numbers.
 * @category Controller
 * @package Controller
 * @author Hall of Famer
 * @copyright Mysidia Adoptables Script
 * @link http://www.mysidiaadoptables.com
 * @since 1.3.2
 * @todo Not much at this point.
 * @abstract
 *
 */

abstract class AppController extends Controller{

     /**
     * The access property, specifies the access control of this controller.
     * @access protected
     * @var String
     */
    protected $access;

    /**
     * The fields property, stores a map of key-value pairs to be passed to View.
     * @access protected
     * @var HashMap
     */
    protected $fields;

    /**
     * The frontController property, holds a reference to the front-controller that delegates to this app-controller.
     * @access protected
     * @var frontController
     */
    protected $frontController;         

    /**
     * The subController property, holds a reference to the sub-controller available for this app-controller.
     * @access protected
     * @var SubController
     */
    protected $subController;     

    /**
     * Constructor of AppController Class, which initializes basic controller properties.
     * @param String  $access
     * @access public
     * @return void
     */
    public function __construct($access = ""){
        $mysidia = Registry::get("mysidia");
        $this->access = $access;
        $this->frontController = $mysidia->input->get("frontcontroller");
        $this->action = $mysidia->input->action();
        $this->name = $mysidia->input->get("appcontroller");
        $this->fields = new HashMap;

        if(!$this->hasAction($this->action)){
            throw new InvalidActionException("global_action");
        }
        if(!empty($this->access)) $this->handleAccess();       
    }

    /**
     * The getAccess method, getter method for property $access.
     * @access public
     * @return String
     */   
    public function getAccess(){
        return $this->access;
    }   

    /**
     * The getFields method, getter method for property $fields.
     * @access public
     * @return HashMap
     */   
    public function getFields(){
        return $this->fields;
    }

    /**
     * The getFrontController method, getter method for property $frontController.
     * @access public
     * @return FrontController
     */   
    public function getFrontController(){
        return $this->frontController;
    }   

    /**
     * The getSubController method, getter method for property $subController.
     * @access public
     * @return SubController
     */   
    public function getSubController(){
        return $this->subController;
    }   

    /**
     * The getView method, getter method for property $view.
     * @access public
     * @return View
     */   
    public function getView(){
        if(!$this->view){
            if($this->subController instanceof SubController) $this->view = $this->subController->getView();
            else $this->loadView($this->name);
        }   
        return $this->view;
    }

    /**
     * The loadView method, it loads the corresponding view for the controller.
     * @param String  $name
     * @access public
     * @return View
     */   
    public function loadView(MysString $name){
        $viewClass = "View\\{$this->frontController}\\{$name->capitalize()}View";
        $this->view = new $viewClass($this);
    }

    /**
     * The handleAccess method, carries out basic access control
     * At this point it only distinguishes member-only and guest-only pages, but in future it will handle more.
     * This method is protected since AppController::handleAccess() can be invoked by child classes at any time.
     * @access protected
     * @return void
     */   
    protected function handleAccess(){
        $mysidia = Registry::get("mysidia");
        if($this->access == "member" && !$mysidia->user->isLoggedIn()){
            throw new GuestNoaccessException($mysidia->lang->global_guest);
        }
        if($this->access == "guest" && $mysidia->user->isLoggedIn()){
            throw new AlreadyLoggedinException($mysidia->lang->global_login);
        }
    }

    /**
     * The hasAction method, checks if an action exists in this controller.
     * @access private
     * @return Boolean
     */   
    private function hasAction(){
        try{
            $method = new ReflectionMethod($this, $this->action);
            return $method->isPublic();
        }
        catch(ReflectionException $rle){
            return FALSE;
        }
    }   

    /**
     * The index method, construct a default index page.
     * The actual view construction is delegated to view class, this method exists for the sole purpose for reflection method to work.
     * @access public
     * @return void
     */       
    public function index(){}

    /**
     * The setField method, inserts a specific key-value pair into the field map.
     * @param String  $key
     * @param Objective  $value
     * @access public
     * @return void
     */   
    public function setField($key, Objective $value = NULL){
        $this->fields->put(new MysString($key), $value);
    }

    /**
     * The setFields method, setter method for property $fields.
     * @param HashMap  $fields
     * @access public
     * @return void
     */   
    public function setFields(HashMap $fields){
        $this->fields = $fields;
    }

    /**
     * The setFlags method, setter method for property flags.
     * @param String  $param
     * @param String  $param2
     * @access protected
     * @return void
     */       
    public function setFlags($param, $param2 = NULL){
        $this->frontController->setFlags($param, $param2);
    }

    /**
     * The setFrontController method, setter method for property $frontController.
     * @param FrontController  $frontController
     * @access public
     * @return FrontController
     */   
    public function setFrontController(FrontController $frontController){
        $this->frontController = $frontController;
    }   

    /**
     * The setSubController method, setter method for property $subController.
     * @param SubController  $subController
     * @access public
     * @return void
     */   
    public function setSubController(SubController $subController){
        $this->subController = $subController;
    }       
}

Myadoptscontroller:

<?php

namespace Controller\Main;
use Model\DomainModel\AdoptNotfoundException;
use Model\DomainModel\OwnedAdoptable;
use Model\DomainModel\PoundAdoptable;
use Model\DomainModel\Vote;
use Model\Settings\PoundSettings;
use Model\ViewModel\OwnedAdoptableViewModel;
use Resource\Collection\ArrayList;
use Resource\Core\AppController;
use Resource\Core\Model;
use Resource\Core\Pagination;
use Resource\Core\Registry;
use Resource\Exception\NoPermissionException;
use Resource\Native\MysString;

class MyadoptsController extends AppController{

    private $adopt;

    public function __construct(){
        parent::__construct("member");
        $mysidia = Registry::get("mysidia");
        if($mysidia->systems->adopts != "enabled") throw new NoPermissionException("The admin has turned off adoption feature for this site, please contact him/her for detailed information.");
    }

    public function index(){
        $mysidia = Registry::get("mysidia");
        $total = $mysidia->user->countOwnedAdopts();
        if($total == 0) throw new AdoptNotfoundException($mysidia->lang->empty);
        $pagination = new Pagination($total, $mysidia->settings->pagination,
                                     "myadopts", $mysidia->input->get("page"));
        $stmt = $mysidia->db->join("adoptables", "adoptables.id = owned_adoptables.adopt")
                           ->select("owned_adoptables", [], "owner ='{$mysidia->user->getID()}' ORDER BY totalclicks LIMIT {$pagination->getLimit()},{$pagination->getRowsperPage()}");
        $ownedAdopts = new ArrayList;
        while($dto = $stmt->fetchObject()){
            $ownedAdopts->add(new OwnedAdoptableViewModel(new OwnedAdoptable($dto->aid, $dto)));
        }
        $this->setField("pagination", $pagination);
        $this->setField("ownedAdopts", $ownedAdopts);
    }

    public function manage($aid){
        $this->initOwnedAdopt($aid);
        $this->setField("ownedAdopt", $this->adopt);   
        $this->setField("image", $this->adopt->getImage(Model::GUI));       
    }

    public function stats($aid){
        $mysidia = Registry::get("mysidia");
        $this->initOwnedAdopt($aid);
        $stmt = $mysidia->db->select("vote_voters", [], "adoptableid='{$this->adopt->getAdoptID()}' ORDER BY date DESC LIMIT 10");
        $votes = new ArrayList;
        while($dto = $stmt->fetchObject()){
            $votes->add(new Vote(NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, $dto));
        }
        $this->setField("ownedAdopt", new OwnedAdoptableViewModel($this->adopt));   
        $this->setField("votes", $votes);
    }

    public function bbcode($aid){
        $this->initOwnedAdopt($aid);
        $this->setField("adopt", $this->adopt);   
    }

    public function rename($aid){
        $mysidia = Registry::get("mysidia");
        $this->initOwnedAdopt($aid);
        if($mysidia->input->post("submit")){
            if(!$mysidia->input->post("adoptname")){
                $this->setFlags("rename_error", "rename_empty");
                return;   
            }

            $poundsettings = new PoundSettings($mysidia->db);
            $isPounded = $mysidia->db->select("pounds", ["aid"], "aid='{$this->adopt->getAdoptID()}'")->fetchColumn();
            if($isPounded && $poundsettings->rename == "yes"){
                $poundAdopt = new PoundAdoptable($aid);
                if($poundAdopt->getFirstOwner() != $mysidia->user->getID()){
                    $this->setFlags("rename_error", "rename_owner");
                    return;   
                }               
            }           
            $this->adopt->setName($mysidia->input->post("adoptname"), Model::UPDATE);
        }
        $this->setField("adopt", $this->adopt);       
        $this->setField("image", $this->adopt->getImage(Model::GUI));           
    }

    public function trade($aid, $confirm = NULL){
        $this->initOwnedAdopt($aid);
        if($confirm){
            $tradeStatus = ($this->adopt->getTradeStatus() == "fortrade") ? "notfortrade" : "fortrade";
            $this->adopt->setTradeStatus($tradeStatus, Model::UPDATE);
        }
        $this->setField("adopt", $this->adopt);
        $this->setField("image", $this->adopt->getImage(Model::GUI));   
        $this->setField("confirm", $confirm ? new MysString($confirm) : NULL);               
    }

    public function freeze($aid, $confirm = NULL){
        $this->initOwnedAdopt($aid);
        if($confirm){
            $frozen = ($this->adopt->isFrozen() == "yes") ? "no" : "yes";
            $this->adopt->setFrozen($frozen, Model::UPDATE);               
        }     
        $this->setField("adopt", $this->adopt);
        $this->setField("image", $this->adopt->getImage(Model::GUI));   
        $this->setField("confirm", $confirm ? new MysString($confirm) : NULL);
    }

    private function initOwnedAdopt($aid){
        $mysidia = Registry::get("mysidia");
        $this->adopt = new OwnedAdoptable($aid);   
        if(!$this->adopt->isOwner($mysidia->user)) throw new NoPermissionException("permission");               
    }
}

TBMQ: Open-Source MQTT Broker

TBMQ is an open-source MQTT broker that is designed with great care to implement the following attributes:

  • Scalability: it is a horizontally scalable platform constructed using cutting-edge open-source technologies;
  • Fault tolerance: no single point of failure; each broker (node) within the cluster is identical in terms of functionality;
  • Robustness and efficiency: can manage millions of clients and process millions of messages per second; 
  • Durability: provides high message durability, ensuring that data is never lost.

TBMQ NodeMotivation

At ThingsBoard, we've gained a lot of experience in building scalable IoT applications, which has helped us identify two main scenarios for MQTT-based solutions. In the first scenario, numerous devices generate a large volume of messages that are consumed by specific applications, resulting in a fan-in pattern. Normally, a few applications are set up to handle these lots of incoming data. They must be persistent clients with a Quality of Service (QoS) level set to 1 or 2, capable of retaining all the data even when they're temporarily offline due to restarts or upgrades. This ensures applications don't miss any single message. On the other hand, the second scenario involves numerous devices subscribing to specific updates or notifications that must be delivered. This leads to a few incoming requests that cause a high volume of outgoing data. This case is known as a fan-out pattern. Acknowledging these scenarios, we intentionally designed TBMQ to be exceptionally well-suited for both.

More Harm Than Good? On DORA Metrics, SPACE and DevEx

The DORA Four Key Metrics have quickly become the “industry standard” for software engineering metrics, and their successor metrics frameworks, SPACE and DevEx, are being trialed in engineering teams already.

However, new research has found two fatal flaws in how these models map to reality. It is essential for those looking to adopt these frameworks to be aware of these potential pitfalls before they materialize.

Using VB.NET To Check for Proxy and VPN With IP2Location.io Geolocation API

Virtual Private Network (VPN) servers are proxy servers that people use daily when browsing the Internet. They use it because it shields them from being tracked by websites. As most of us are aware, websites track their visitors for advertising and marketing purposes. That’s how they can serve ads across multiple websites. By using a VPN when browsing, that no longer happens.

That’s the same reason that people use residential proxy servers. As residential proxy servers are actually home computers that are used by real individuals, websites have a much harder time differentiating between a real user and a proxy user.

Chris’ Corner: Very Simple Web Components

Let’s do a Web Components issue this week. We gotta do it. As Scott Vandehey says: HTML Web Components Are Having a Moment. Scott links to a pretty healthy stew of other people’s writing where they have their own ah-ha moments where they can picture the usefulness of native Web Components in their own work.

I can feel it, as this has been creeping up on me as well. Here’s a line of thinking that might get you there:

  • You have a bit of HTML
  • You want to apply some functionality to it
  • So wrap it in a Web Component

Honestly I think you can compare it to jQuery style thinking. “Find something; do something” — except you’ve already found it, you just need to do it.

Now, before I seem to be reductionist, Web Components can get a lot more complicated. You can opt-in to the Shadow DOM approach, which unlocks slots and more complex templating, as well as true encapsulation and such. But you don’t have to do that, you can level up to that as needed. The very basic use-case (and wow isn’t the web good at this?!) is useful, powerful, needs limited boilerplate, and no libraries or build steps.

This example is, uhh, pretty simple, but it’s an example of how my mind has flipped a bit. I wanted to make a box you could resize, that’s exactly 9:16 aspect ratio, and it would tell you the pixel dimensions. I need a little bit of HTML, a little bit of CSS, and a little bit of JavaScript. I don’t need to do that as a Web Component, but doing so is barely any more work, and helps more tightly couple the HTML and JavaScript in a way that really helps communicate intention.

I don’t have any grand plans, but I could now easily make this re-usable across, well, anywhere, by making the JavaScript importable and documenting the intended HTML to use. I should probably bundle the CSS too, but that’s a story for another day.


Let’s keep this whole “Web Components can be pretty darn simple” train rolling a little bit. In fact, I think it was Jim Nielsen who kicked the first domino on Web Components lately getting people thinking about them differently in Using Web Components on My Icon Galleries Websites.

Imagine a grid of icons. Jim wanted on-page controls, in the form of a <input type="range"> to control their size. By using a web component, he can insert that input only when the JavaScript executes, which is ideal. Then all the event listening on that range slider is also all bundled into that web component. All the while, the HTML guts of the web component, which is what will render if JavaScript doesn’t, is still a perfectly serviceable grid of icons.

This is a nice approach (over stringing together a bunch of functions in JS file) because it feels more encapsulated. All related logic and DOM manipulations are “under one roof”. Plus it works as a progressive enhancement: if the JS fails to load (or the user has it disabled) they can still navigate through different pages with lists of icons (and the <icon-list> component just works like a <div>). And if JS works, the <icon-list> component acts like a <div> with interactive super powers layered in.


Dave Rupert’s Web Component version of FitVids is even more straightforward. You probably have videos on your sites that are <iframe>s of stuff like YouTube and Vimeo. Just wrap ’em in <fit-vids> and call it a day.

<!-- import custom element -->
<script type="module" src="fit-vids.js"></script>

<!-- wrap embeds in fit-vids custom element -->
<fit-vids>
  <iframe src="https://youtube.com?v=123"></iframe>
</fit-vids>

If the JavaScript doesn’t load, all good, video is still there.

More, if somehow, say via a fetch request or the like, more videos get injected onto the page, there is no need to re-call any JavaScript to make these work. The way connectedCallback works they’ll just do their thing automatically when they arrive in the DOM.


I’ll say I’m a fan of the “Light DOM Only” approach to Web Components. But there are some relatively big things you give up when you don’t use the Shadow DOM. Namely: slots. Slots is a pretty sweet mechanism for taking the “guts” HTML of a Web Component and slotting it properly into a likely-more-complicated bit of template HTML. This means that your fallback HTML can be simpler and possibly more appropriate.

Cory LaViska explains it well, here’s some usage:

<my-button>
  Click me
  <img slot="icon" src="..." alt="...">
</my-button>

Which gets smushed with:

<template>
  #shadow-root
    <button type="button">
      <span class="icon">
        <slot name="icon"></slot>
      </span>

      <span class="label">
        <slot></slot>
      </span>
    </button>
</template>

You can imagine how the <img> there makes it into the <slot> with a matching name. And then rest of the content goes into the default slot.

Cory’s article is actually about extending this concept and building out HTML with as many slots as you need, as powered by attributes. It’s clever go read it.


Speaking of parameters, that’s an approach that some web components take. Rather than any guts HTML at all, you say what you want of the component via attributes on the element. That’s a rather JavaScript-framework-y way of doing things. An example of this is <lite-youtube> which you use entirely with attributes:

<lite-youtube 
  videoid="ogfYd705cRs" 
  playlabel="Play: Keynote (Google I/O '18)"></lite-youtube>

That doesn’t prescribe light or shadow DOM, but it does mean that no-JavaScript means nothing rendered at all.

Unless you’ve figured out some kind of server-side rendering, which is another whole bag of peanuts.


So we’ve covered lots of options already so far:

  1. All HTML needed provided in guts / Some HTML provided (likely fallback or designed for slots) / No HTML provided
  2. Light DOM / Shadow DOM
  3. Elegant Fallback / Some Fallback / No Fallback
  4. Attribute-Heavy / Attribute-Light / No Attributes

And there are more

  1. Use Framework / No Framework
  2. Lazy Load / Eager Load
  3. Client-Side Render / Server-Side Render (via Build Step)
  4. Styles via external stylesheet / Styles baked into JavaScript / No Styles

The list could go on.

Zach Leatherman attempted to simplify the taxonomy down to HTML Web Components and JavaScript Web Components. I think that’s smart to try to smash down the complexity here, but also think that’s maybe too far. Someone could probably make a decision tree that paints a middle ground taxonomy.

Turbocharging Development: The Force of Automation Testing

What's the significance here to automating testing? To comprehend the definition, we must comprehend that automation testing is a process. Automation is the most common way of fostering innovation that can be utilized to make items and administrations. This methodology presently considers the observation of the creation that was recently done by people. 

Transportation, production, data innovation, office executives, and numerous different areas can all profit from mechanization as a technique. The primary objectives of automation processes are to shorten production times, improve production accuracy, and reduce the need for human labor.

Understanding the Significance of IT Asset

In the digital era, where technology forms the backbone of organizations, managing IT assets efficiently is crucial. Enter IT Asset Management (ITAM) softwarea robust solution designed to track, organize, and optimize an organization's IT assets throughout their lifecycle. From hardware to software, this software is the linchpin that ensures optimal resource utilization, compliance, and cost-effectiveness.

The Core Functionality of ITAM Software
At its essence, IT Asset Management software serves as a centralized repository, providing a comprehensive overview of an organization's IT assets. It encompasses a spectrum of resources, including hardware components like computers, servers, and mobile devices, as well as software licenses, applications, and digital resources.

Benefits of IT Asset Management Software

  1. Inventory Control and Visibility: One of the primary functions is maintaining a . This provides visibility into what assets are present, their location, and how they're utilized, aiding informed decisions on resource allocation.

  2. Lifecycle Management: IT assets have a lifecycle from procurement to disposal. ITAM software tracks this journeypurchase, deployment, updates, and decommissioningensuring optimal utilization and reducing the risk of obsolete resources.

  3. Cost Optimization: By providing insights into usage patterns, license compliance, and maintenance needs, ITAM software identifies areas for cost reduction and enables efficient resource allocation.

  4. License Compliance and Risk Mitigation: Managing software licenses is complex. ITAM software ensures compliance with vendor agreements, mitigating the risk of penalties while providing a clear picture of software usage.

  5. Security Enhancement: Maintaining an accurate inventory helps promptly identify and address security vulnerabilities, ensuring systems are up-to-date with the latest security patches.

Key Features of ITAM Software
User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive interfaces enable easy navigation and quick access to asset information.

Automation: Automated tracking and updates streamline inventory management, reducing manual efforts.

Integration: Seamless integration with other systems like Service Desk and Configuration Management ensures a holistic approach to IT management.

Scalability: The software adapts to changing business needs, accommodating the growth and evolution of IT infrastructures.

Future Trends in ITAM Software
As technology advances, ITAM software evolves. Emerging trends include AI and ML integration for predictive analytics, automation of routine tasks, and deeper insights into asset performance and utilization.

Conclusion
IT Asset Management Software has become indispensable in the digital landscape. Its role in optimizing IT resources, ensuring compliance, and enhancing security underscores its significance. As businesses navigate technology-driven landscapes, robust ITAM software stands as a linchpin, ensuring that IT assets are strategically leveraged for organizational success and efficiency.

Yes, ChatGPT Got Dumb & Lazy, but 4.5 Could Be a Gamechanger

OpenAI admits that ChatGPT has become less efficient. Can version 4.5 defeat the current slump and lead us to the edge of AGI?

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Last week, the AI community was stirred by a leak suggesting the soon-to-be release of ChatGPT 4.5. Sam Altman later revealed the leak to be fake. However, it's common knowledge that OpenAI is preparing for their next significant update. As complaints about ChatGPT 4's declining performance accumulate, the organization seems under pressure to undertake the next move. This article explores why ChatGPT got worse, and why we should still be excited for the release of the LLM's next version which might further narrow the gap between AI and AGI.

How and Why ChatGPTs Performance Has Declined

Discussions about a drop in ChatGPT's efficiency have been around for almost as long as the LLM itself, but at this point it is safe to say that ChatGPT indeed got lazier and somewhat 'dumber'. On December 8, OpenAI acknowledged the decrease in performance. Users have noted undesirable behaviors such as failing to recall previously known citations, lying to get out of a task, giving contradictory answers, a dip in creativity, hesitance in executing simple tasks, and touching on anything slightly controversial or related to intellectual property rights. This has gone so far, that some users are coming up with 'Karen brute-force prompts' to get ChatGPT to do its work.

The reasons for this decline include strain during peak usage times, leading to simplistic responses, slow performance, or crashes. Moreover, increasing restrictions have been placed on the model, aiming to protect rights and to prevent assistance with anything that could be potentially harmful to anyone. Then, there's also the 'winter break hypothesis,' suggesting GPT-4 has adopted a human-like tendency to relax during the holidays

Whatever the exact reasons for ChatGPT's lazy responses and plain refusals are, with a shift in user preference towards competitors or setting up personal LLMs, it appears OpenAI is under pressure to improve their service. Hence, the public release of the next upgrade might just be around the corner. Now, lets take a look at what to expect from ChatGPT 4.5.

ChatGPT 4.5: What to Expect?

It is likely that GPT-4.5 will be revealed soon. Initially, OpenAI had aimed for a release around October 2023, with version 5 planned for December. Last week's fake leak sparked speculation about the features of GPT-4.5, including audio and video creation, multi-modal capabilities, and 3D editing. While these enhancements would be impressive, some features are almost certain to be included in the next version:

  • Expanded context windows for processing larger prompts and retaining more information in conversations.
  • Improved reasoning capabilities, with training focused on increasingly complex problem-solving.
  • Inclusion of more and more recent data the current cut-off date is April 2023, and the new version will include more up-to-date information (without 'doing research on Bing').
  • Bug fixes for improved stability and speed, especially during high-traffic periods (for those who are tired of watching a slow loading bar only to receive the answer 'Something went wrong').
  • Increased speed potentially, once 4.5 is released, ChatGPT 4 could be as fast as version 3.5 is now.

Although the extent of improvements in the next update is unclear, these features are almost certainly expected. In addition, one might hope for fewer restrictions in ChatGPT 4.5, but that is not realistic, and further 'content moderation'/censorship is likely.

Nevertheless, 4.5 will represent a significant step forward, particularly regarding reasoning and memory. In my view, the line between AI and AGI is already thin, and it is time for us to consider how much further OpenAI and its competitors need to go before we openly classify an LLM as AGI.

When is it Reasonable to Speak of AGI?

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has been defined as "the representation of generalized human cognitive abilities in software." While other definitions exist, most people agree that we can speak of AGI once an AI meets human capabilities across most tasks. In contrast, one would speak of Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) once an AI greatly outperforms humans in all tasks. In short, AGI is human-like, while ASI is God-like.

Considering that ChatGPT and other LLMs can pass a number of exams that are considered quite difficult for humans, solve really hard math problems, interpret pictures and recognize complex patterns, and participate in conversations in a human-like manner, one can make a convincing argument that, in fact, AGI is already here. Admittedly, in how far LLMs meets human conversation skills is still open to debate, but no one can deny that extreme progress has been made just within the year. In my opinion, once ChatGPT has a better memory (i.e. larger context window) and gets even better at generating suitable responses (i.e. advanced reasoning), it is only fair to refer to it as AGI, and more and more people will start calling it that. And the next upgrade might just do the trick.

2024 Could Be the Year of AGI

Yes, ChatGPT can be lazy these days, but that is no reason not to be excited for what's next from OpenAI. Chances are that the already blurry borders of AGI will completely vanish in 2024 and possibly the release of the next version of ChatGPT is just what it takes to get there.

Also, let's not forget that a 2022 survey, based on the opinions of 738 AI experts, calculates a 50% chance of reaching ASI before 2059. Considering the rapid progress made in the last year, the realization of AGI might indeed be closer than we expect. Hence my guess for Time Magazine's person of the year 2024: ChatGPT or another LLM.

Navigating the Transition: From Individual Contributor to Engineering Manager

Are you an Individual Contributor (IC) aspiring to step into a leadership role? The journey might seem daunting, but in this article, we'll explore the qualities and qualifications essential for a successful career as an engineering leader and how to actively cultivate them. Drawing from personal experiences and insights, my goal is to provide clarity on the expectations and responsibilities of an Engineering Manager (EM). Hope it will help you!

Qualities and Qualifications

Engineering management demands a unique skill set, combining technical prowess with interpersonal abilities learned through hands-on experience. EMs orchestrate, supervise, and streamline engineering projects, teams, and operations, requiring an intricate understanding of the software engineering lifecycle and business dynamics.