Go (programming language) Updated +Created
Likely a good replacement for Python. If the ecosystem gets there, Ciro Santilli would gladly use it more.
Gordon Linoff Updated +Created
Infinitely many SQL answers.
As mentioned at Ciro Santilli's Stack Overflow contributions, he just answers every semi-duplicate immediatly as it is asked, and is therefore able to overcome the Stack Overflow maximum 200 daily reputation limit by far. E.g. in 2018, Gordon reached 135k (archive), thus almost double the 73k yearly limit due to the 200 daily limit, all of that with accepts.
This is in contrast to Ciro Santilli's contribution style which is to only answer questions as he needs the subject, or generally important questions that aroused his interest.
2014 Blog post describing his activity: blog.data-miners.com/2014/08/an-achievement-on-stack-overflow.html, key quote:
For a few months, I sporadically answered questions. Then, in the first week of May, my Mom's younger brother passed away. That meant lots of time hanging around family, planning the funeral, and the like. Answering questions on Stack Overflow turned out to be a good way to get away from things. So, I became more intent.
so that suggests his contributions also take a meditative value.
www.data-miners.com/linoff.htm mentions he's an SQL consultant that consulted for several big companies.
LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/gordonlinoff/ says he now works at the New York Times.
2021 Reddit thread about him: www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/puok1h/a_single_person_answered_76k_questions_about_sql/ mentions that by then he had:
answered 76k questions about SQL on StackOverflow. Averaging 22.8 answers per day, every day, for the past 8.6 years.
gothinkster/realworld Updated +Created
Basically puts together every backend with Front-end web framework to create the exact same website.
The reference live demo can be found at: demo.realworld.io/#/ It is based on Angular.js as it links to: github.com/gothinkster/angularjs-realworld-example-app TODO backend?
There are however also live demos of other frontends, e.g.:
Note that all those frontends communicate with the same backend.
As of 2021 Devs are seemed a bit too focused on monetizing the project through their "how to use this project" premium tutorial, and documentation could be better: just getting the hello world of the most popular backend with the most popular frontend is not easy... come on.
github.com/gothinkster/realworld/issues/578 asks for community support, as devs have moved on since unfortunately.
Remember:
  • by default, the frontends hardcode the upstream public data API: https://conduit.productionready.io/api so you have to hack their code to match the port of the backend. And each backend can have a different port.
  • when you switch between backends, you must first manually clear client-side storage cookies/local new run will fail due to authentication issues!
Important missing things from the minimum base app:
First you should the most popular backend/frontend combination running, which is the most likely to be working. We managed to run on Ubuntu 20.10, React + Node.js Express.js as described at github.com/gothinkster/node-express-realworld-example-app/pull/116:
Then just:
npm install
npm start
on both server and client, and then visit the client URL: localhost:4100/
One cool thing is that the main repo has unified backend API tests:
git clone https://github.com/gothinkster/realworld
cd realworld
git checkout e7adc6b06b459e578d7d4a6738c1c050598ba431
cd api
APIURL=http://localhost:3000/api USERNAME="u$(date +%s)" ./run-api-tests.sh
so the per-repository tests are basically useless, and that single test can test everything for any backend! There is no frontend testing however: github.com/gothinkster/realworld/issues/269 so newb.
Great doubt Updated +Created
The type of feeling of confusion and distrut for your sense that some Koans attempt to instill.
Some notable references:
Greek alphabet Updated +Created
Unfortunately, physicists and mathematicians keep using Greek letters in their formulas, so we just have to learn them.
A helpful way to remember is to learn a bit of their history/pronunciation: Section "Historical correspondence between Latin and Greek".
To learn the greek letters if you have a base latin alphabet, you must learn the sound of each letter, and which Latin letters they correspond to.
Symbols that look like Greek letters but are not Greek letters:
Is Ciro Santilli crazy (he is, but for this point specifically), or do many/most Greek letters represent the mouth position used in the pronunciation of the letter?
Grinding for software interviews Updated +Created
If your kids are about to starve, fine, do it.
But otherwise, Ciro Santilli will not, ever, spend his time drilling programmer competition problems to join a company, life is too short for that.
Life is too short for that. Companies must either notice that you can make amazing open source software projects or contributions, and hire you for that, or they must fuck off.
Companies must either notice that you can make amazing projects or contributions, and hire you for that, or they must fuck off.
Guitar Updated +Created
The guitar is a highly imperfect instrument if compared to something like a piano, which is much more mathematically elegant.
However, Ciro Santilli just loves this imperfection for some reason, especially in the case of the electric guitar.
Bending, sliding and strumming just feel to good to not have.
And Ciro sucks are doing things in parallel, so the more single threaded approach of the guitar fits his brain/abilities better.
For those reasons, the electric guitar is Ciro's favorite musical instrument.
Gülen movement Updated +Created
Ciro Santilli once was at student a hackthon, where he proposed working on OurBigBook.com to others.
The only person who showed interest was a follower of the sect.
It seems that they put a lot of emphasis in education.
Also, their self-name is Hizmet, which translates as "service".
That day, Mr. Fethullah Gülen gained some Cirocoins.
Gurdwara Updated +Created
Theses places give out free food all the time.
The first time Ciro Santilli went to one was when an Indian friend of his took him to the one in the North of Paris when they were living there in the first half of the 2010's, the Gurdwara Singh Sabha France.
Instead of just talking, those people really go out, and put food on the plate for anyone who needs it (or even for those that don't really need it! Although who would be so souless to eat for free and not donate a few bucks if they can afford to???). There's a beauty to that.
Writing this also remembered Ciro of non-religious groups that would give out free food to the poor at
Gwern Branwen Updated +Created
Ciro Santilli envies this guy a bit. He dumps his brain more or less full time on his highly customized static website partly due to early Bitcoin investments gwern.net/me says:
I am a freelance American writer & researcher. (To make ends meet, I have a Patreon, benefit from Bitcoin appreciation thanks to some old coins, and live frugally.)
Also unsurprisingly he likes Haskell:
I mostly contribute to projects in Haskell, my favorite language
Ciro Santilli considers Gwern Ciro Santilli's e-soulmates due to his interest in "dark web things" like Bitcoin and Silk Road, his immense writing output in encyclopedic book-sized articles on a static website, and his desire to live frugally and just research and write all day. Ah, if only Ciro had some old coins!!!
This is likely a pseudonym, his real name not being publicly unknown, e.g. at news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5659278:
Why do you choose relative anonymity?
For the reasons I've said in the past. To which I can add personal safety: my Silk Road page is a bit questionable legally, and we all know that there are ways to exploit knowledge of one's True Name and address (even if, as far as I know, I have no enemies willing to resort to, say, 'swatting' me) - one group of stalkers called up a college they thought I worked at to see if they could get me fired or otherwise ruin my day.
gwern.net Updated +Created
One thing that annoys Ciro Santilli about that website are the footnote overload. Ciro likes linear things.
Hacker News Updated +Created
The most popular programming news sharing forum of the 2010's by far. If your content gets shared there, and it stays on top for a day, the traffic peak will be incredible. Reddit posts are sure to follow.
Basically a programming-only Reddit-lite.
Ciro Santilli had a few of his content shared there as mentioned at the best articles by Ciro Articles.
Handscroll Updated +Created
High-frequency trading as a form of Nirvana Updated +Created
Ciro Santilli once talked to a man who had been working on high-frequency trading for the last six years.
He was quite nice.
Ciro asked him in what way did he feel his job contributed to the benefit of society.
He replied that it didn't contribute at all. It was completely useless. More than that, it so completely useless, that it was even pure. A bit like advanced mathematics, but not even providing beauty for anybody outside of the company, since everything is a closely guarded trade secret, unlike mathematics which is normally published for the vanity recognition.
A great mind can work in the most useless branches of finance, without the desire to improve the world, nor make it worse. Not to compete, nor be afraid, nor anxious. A sand mandala.
Only being. Being, in the exact fraction of a moment where bid meets ask.
High level quantum synthesis Updated +Created
This is a term "invented" by Ciro Santilli to refer to quantum compilers that are able to convert non-specifically-quantum (functional, since there is no state in quantum software) programs into quantum circuit.
The term is made by adding "quantum" to the more "classical" concept of "high-level synthesis", which refers to software that converts an imperative program into register transfer level hardware, typicially for FPGA applications.