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On the difference between regular functions and Lambdas

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 11 min
Views 2.5K

The point of this article is to explore Lambda functions, their dirrerences from regular functions and how they are implemented, based on C++, Python and Java programming languages.

Throughout this article I will be using godbolt.org to compile code and see machine code or byte code.

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Total votes 2: ↑2 and ↓0 +2
Comments 2

RSS with types

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 5 min
Views 261

RSS 2.0 specification was published in 2009 and hasn't moved from that point. The popularity and website adoption of this standard are dropping. People stop using it as it can't compete with social networks owned by big companies, and publishers stop using it is not rewarding. Let's review, analyze, and suggest a possible alternative to RSS. We will go from a concept to a working prototype.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 0

How to Learn Python FREE in 8-Week: The 80/20 Learning Plan

Level of difficulty Easy
Reading time 6 min
Views 1.5K

I know it can be hard to learn a new programming language. In this article, I want to share my plan with you. It's a way to learn Python in eight weeks using videos, articles, and practice exercises. Exercises are very important because I think the best way to learn is by doing them.

I've created this learning plan for people who don't have much free time. You only need about 30-50 minutes a day and consistency. In my plan, I use the 80/20 principle, which will help you learn the most important things first and improve the rest through practice.

For those who read this article to the end, I have prepared a learning tracking sheet to help you track your progress.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 0

AI-powered semantic search using pgvector and embeddings

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 9 min
Views 689

In the age of information, the ability to accurately and quickly retrieve data relevant to a user's query is paramount. Traditional search methodologies, which rely on keyword matching, often fall short when it comes to understanding the context and nuances of user queries. Semantic search, which seeks to improve search accuracy by understanding the searcher's intent and the contextual meaning of terms, has emerged as a solution to these limitations. However, implementing semantic search can be complex, involving advanced algorithms and understanding of natural language processing (NLP).

Existing solutions such as Elasticsearch and Solr have been at the forefront of tackling these challenges, providing platforms that support more nuanced search capabilities. These tools use a combination of inverted indices and text analysis techniques to improve search outcomes. Yet, the advent of machine learning and vector search technologies opens up new avenues for enhancing semantic search, with solutions like OpenAI's Embeddings API and the pgvector extension for PostgreSQL leading the charge.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 0

UX testing: why it is important and how to conduct it

Level of difficulty Easy
Reading time 4 min
Views 376

UX testing is one of the most important parts of the UX design creation process for any software product. It helps to understand whether users are satisfied with the design and highlights its problematic areas that need to be fixed or improved. UX testing is an important part of the whole testing process - it helps to get beta-testers feedback to determine whether the product is comfortable for users and gives opportunity to improve problems and issues before moving on to the next stage of the development process. It also contributes to reducing the cost of development, as it is much cheaper to fix issues during the development process rather than after the release. Listed down below are 5 simple tips that can help perform UX testing in a proper and effective way.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 0

Optimizing Creativity with the Flashforge Creator 4-S 3D Printer

Reading time 6 min
Views 173

Welcome to the world where creativity meets cutting-edge technology – introducing the Flashforge Creator 4-S 3D Printer, a marvel of modern engineering designed to bring your ideas to life with precision and flair. This section will guide you through the initial encounter with the Creator 4-S, from the moment of unboxing to exploring its vast array of features and capabilities.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 0

Million Dollar IT Sale…..Lost

Reading time 2 min
Views 922

Lose Your Sale) How to lose an IT project sale. 

My name is Paul Karol and I work as a director in a Russian IT company that mostly sells their products into the American Market. What we will discuss today was so costly for that company that I want to share this knowledge so that it doesn't happen to other Russian IT companies. 

Case Study

Today I want to tell you about a sale that almost was. I was Consulting for this one company and they were involved in selling software to the United States. This one particular client was in contact with the sales manager for 2 months.

Now this sales manager was very good at their job and they had a lot of charisma on the phone and in the text messages. However they specifically did not know something that cost them a large contract. 

1. In Russia it's respectful not to talk about your personal life because you feel that you're wasting someone's time if you do not know them well. 

2. In the United States once you have been talking with somebody for a couple of months you would start to consider them sort of a friend. 

The Russian IT sales manager had not been in contact with this client for about a week and this was unusual. 

They were worried. 

Then the text message came that said this. 

"I'm sorry Marina that I have not been in contact with you for some time. I took my family and kids to the Lakeside and we enjoyed some time by the beach." 

The Russian IT sales manager did not know how to think about this and they asked this question. 

" So, do you want to buy our product?" 

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Total votes 3: ↑2 and ↓1 +1
Comments 2

Trade bot python setup (using Binance API), Vol 1

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 5 min
Views 4.7K

Trading robots are conquering the Wall Street! Learn how to create your first automated python trading bot.

We present a fully functioning trading bot pipeline on python using the Binance API. Starting with the general introduction, we provided a comprehensive overview of main API calls and their implementation on python. After this we show a fully functioning python code presenting a basic trading bot with core features using static channel breakout strategy.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 0

Your Name: Why it’s Important in American Sales and Marketing

Reading time 2 min
Views 802

This is one of the most important articles I’ve written. 

In this article, I’m going to dive deep into one of the largest differences between Russia and America pertaining to sales and marketing. 

1. You must use your name. 

2. You must have a personal approach. 

3. You must show that you are involved. 

4. You must show that you care about the needs and desires of the client. 

Recently, I was faced with an interesting problem. I was asked to call clients without making it personal. 

So let’s go back to when I was in America, living and working as a sales person. The company I work for, was very large, and had multiple branches around the Washington DC area. They had offices in three states. 

They put me through a sales training course. 

The biggest “take away” from the course….. 

You’re not selling the product/ 

you’re selling yourself. 

It's important to use your charisma and your genuine caring for the customer to win them over. Once they understand that you're actually trying to help them, then they will seriously consider the item you are telling them about. 

I also want to say, very clearly, that it's not a prideful approach. It should be a professional approach. You're responsible to tell the customer/ the client all the benefits of the item and how this item will help their business.

Everything above pertains to sales in America. So if you are approaching America as a sales manager this is how you should craft your approach. 

Now I've spoken to my colleague,

Kristina Pashnina and we have agreed upon some stark differences to the Russian sales climate. Here she will begin to tell you how the Russians see sales. 

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 4

Game economy design of Premium games through the example of a 4X strategy on PC

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 9 min
Views 1K

How to design an economy for your game? The answer to this question might require a series of lectures or articles. The fundamental difference in the approach is based, first of all, on monetization model: F2P or B2P. The second thing that defines the approach to developing an economy system is game genre. This article reviews the case of designing the game economy for a B2P (premium) game, which doesn’t involve earning on microtransactions.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 0

Building an IT website, aimed at America and the West

Reading time 3 min
Views 857

My last article stirred up some definite comments and even questions about different things in business. I’m going to keep giving you as much information as I can so that you can continue to do business as IT professionals outside of Russia with other countries. 

How do you design a website that will be viewed in the west and appreciated by the people there?

What are the most important elements

for, America and other western markets?

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 8

React Custom Hook: useStorage

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 3 min
Views 2K

One of the key advantages of this custom hook is its simplicity. You can use it to store any type of data, such as strings, numbers, or even complex objects, with just a few lines of code. Additionally, useStorage handles the serialization and deserialization of data for you, so you don't have to worry about converting values to and from JSON.

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Total votes 3: ↑2 and ↓1 +1
Comments 0

Release of Chipmunk v.3

Level of difficulty Easy
Reading time 3 min
Views 635

We released the new version of Chipmunk, software for viewing/analyzing log files. V.3 is wholly reworked with an accent to performance and rethought considering usability. Below short list of the most important changes and a general description.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 2

React Custom Hook: useStateWithValidation

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 2 min
Views 1.4K

One of the key advantages of this custom hook is its flexibility. You can pass any validation function that suits your specific requirements. Whether it's checking the length of a string, ensuring a numeric value falls within a certain range, or performing more complex validations, useStateWithValidation has got you covered.

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Total votes 3: ↑2 and ↓1 +1
Comments 0

The anatomy of a pre-sale meeting to the USA

Reading time 5 min
Views 647

My name is Paul Karol and I work connecting Russian IT with their customers in the United States. Please find on Hbar my previous article for a complete explanation of my credentials.

Today we're going to look at a presale meeting that was not successful and we will explain exactly how the Russian company lost this business. Please take a look at this photograph.

Going into this presale meeting the client (large American chain store) had worked with the software for a little more than a month and we're pretty happy with the result. From all indications they were going to buy the software this day. The sales manager had a good relationship with the American managers of the company. There was lots of buying sign that was known to the Russian company prior to this presale meeting. Suffice to say that they believe that they would have an easy sale today.

There was some very specific things that the Russians did that cost them this business.

We will be using this as a case study and we will discuss exactly everything that they did as a mistake and how to not do these same mistakes for your company.

First we must do some brain work. A thought experiment, if you will. What do you believe are the concerns of an American company doing business with Russian IT developers today. The current situation between the countries does make it more difficult but the same exact concerns are still there from before maybe slightly more amplified and there may be one more concern that wasn't there prior to the difficulties in Ukraine.

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Total votes 1: ↑1 and ↓0 +1
Comments 2

React Custom Hook: useRenderCount

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 2 min
Views 1.3K

One of the major advantages of using useRenderCount is its simplicity. By abstracting the logic into a reusable hook, you can easily integrate it into any component without cluttering your codebase. Additionally, it provides a clear and concise way to monitor render behavior, which can be crucial for performance optimization and debugging.

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Total votes 3: ↑2 and ↓1 +1
Comments 0

React Custom Hook: usePrevious

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 2 min
Views 4K

This custom hook can be a game-changer in various scenarios. For instance, you can utilize usePrevious to compare and visualize changes in data, track state transitions, or implement undo/redo functionality. Additionally, it can be valuable in form handling, animations, and any situation where having access to the previous value is crucial for your application's logic.

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Total votes 3: ↑2 and ↓1 +1
Comments 0

React Custom Hook: useOnScreen

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 2 min
Views 2.8K

One of the key advantages of useOnScreen is its simplicity. With just a few lines of code, you can detect if an element is visible and respond accordingly. This can be immensely useful in scenarios where you want to trigger animations, lazy load images, or load additional content as the user scrolls.

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Total votes 3: ↑2 and ↓1 +1
Comments 2

React Custom Hook: useMediaQuery

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 2 min
Views 2.4K

One of the key advantages of this custom hook is its simplicity and reusability. With just a few lines of code, you can effortlessly implement responsive behavior throughout your application. Whether you need to conditionally render components, apply specific styles, or trigger different functionality based on screen size, useMediaQuery has got you covered.

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Total votes 3: ↑2 and ↓1 +1
Comments 0

React Custom Hook: useLongPress

Level of difficulty Medium
Reading time 2 min
Views 1.3K

One of the key advantages of useLongPress is its simplicity. By utilizing this hook, developers can easily define a long-press action on any element in their React application. With just a few lines of code, the hook takes care of handling the intricacies of tracking the long-press duration and triggering the associated callback function.

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Total votes 3: ↑2 and ↓1 +1
Comments 0