drenei

dang/mods: The title here has a small typo: it misspells algorithm.

Bad for performance as primary keys.

But, still provide strong value as a unique identifier which is what makes them popular.

I’ve used integers as primary keys, with UUIDs as alternate keys for external-to-the-data-store queries.

I actually think if you squint testing is part of observability, except it gives you signal during the development phase. And observability as a concept is fundamental to a reliable system.

Do you have a quote for this? This is the first I’m hearing of it and a simple search online doesn’t pull anything up.

This. I used to be a strong proponent of owning music, until rd.io. I loved rd.io, and used it as a sandbox -- If I really enjoyed an album / song / artist, then I would get the files. But, after a few years with rd.io I started to get a bit more cavalier about ensuring that I had a copy of the music.

Fast-forward to the end of last year: rd.io shutdown. I've tried a few other services since, each with its own share of problems (I'm currently on Google Music). Now, anything I like, I download. With hard drive space, and backups, it seems significantly simpler to assume that any song can disappear tomorrow.*

* While a service disappearing is a relatively rare event, content churn has always made missing songs a somewhat frequent event. However, for me, rd.io's shutdown emphasized the general incompatibility between the expectations I have for music, (anything I have listened to in the past, I can listen to in the present) and the realities of what a subscription service can deliver. And so, previous annoyances turned into a line in the sand.

Not sure if you're on the OS X / iTunes ecosystem...

You can have a playlist that is made up of other playlists by creating a smart playlist and adding a rule that includes songs from source playlists of your choice. This will atomically include any changes you make to the source playlists.

I manage my music with genres — and to a large part, stay away from smart playlists — however they can be a powerful feature.

I hear it differently: Focus on mastering the material, not on a grade you want to get.

As you said, with mastery the rest should follow. Though, in my experience, testing itself needs to be mastered. For some of us that comes quite naturally, but for others it takes a bit of time.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see aestra's comment before I posted.

I haven't tried Crate. I use Cloudapp. I prefer the idea of an app that sits on my menubar — for myself. But for a 1 time solution for someone else, Crate seems like a better solution. It also offers more storage and less limits for a free account.