I'm writing a book on Crystal programming language in fun, dialogues way -
https://chauhankiran.github.io/crystalie/
Ask HN: What are you working on?
551–560 of 560 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#552Im a bit late to the party, but outside of work I spend most of my professional time on a curated newsletter for infosec news: https://securitynewsletter.co/ . Two years running, just crossed 5700 subscribers. MRR between $600 and $1000. Most successful thing I ever started and still love doing it. Kinda scary to have an “audience” of that size :)
Cool! How do you monetize?
Thanks! Through sponsorships, there's two slots per issue.
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#553In my free time I've been working on a 2D MMORPG engine in C#. I'm working on the networking code right now, working toward being able to connect and move around the game world. I'm enjoying the network code, but I'm really looking forward to getting back to shader code and implementing dynamic lighting at some point down the road. Wanting to build an MMORPG was the main thing that got me interested in software devel…
Nice! I am somewhat surprised how there are no modern 2D MMORPGs. It seems like it should be inherently easier to develop those, but there is nothing. I think it's a pity because simpler engine / graphics should allows for more resources to be spent on other areas regarding the gameplay. Maybe those games just aren't popular enough to justify the development in comparison to bland but flashy 3D games..
2D MMOs have morphed into casual mobile/web games. Full hardcore MMOs are a smaller market now with a few juggernauts, and they're all 3D.
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#554In my free time I've been working on a 2D MMORPG engine in C#. I'm working on the networking code right now, working toward being able to connect and move around the game world. I'm enjoying the network code, but I'm really looking forward to getting back to shader code and implementing dynamic lighting at some point down the road. Wanting to build an MMORPG was the main thing that got me interested in software devel…
I like C# as well. What kind of front end are you using? Web or native?
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#555working on my crippling depression / ADHD, unemployed (i don't want to work anymore in anything) 6 months , 0 productivity. learned a lot of category theory, functional programming and c++ tho.
I have been there too. When you are injured or ill, your duty is to survive. You can flourish and achieve when you are healthy again so don't go on holding yourself to what you can expect in other contexts.
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#556A declarative, minimalist testing library for javascript. There's one method, 'run', that takes a simple data structure that is the test suite. No need for special setup, teardown etc methods when you have objects and closures already. It can automatically run on the browser after webpack is done rebuilding, so it's good for running tests on phones. I'm refactoring it now so it works on the console for server side st…
I'm interested in using this.
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#557A few weeks ago I started Spatial Awareness, a curated newsletter for the maps and spatial community. The idea was to scratch a personal itch – to do something with all the interesting links and maps I collect – though it's gone down amazingly well with the community. It's less than a month old – with 3 issues so far – and it's already surpassed 1,000 subscribers. Check it out if you're interested in maps! https://ww…
This begs the question about audience ... how did you get to 1,000 subscribers in a month? Were you part of an existing community you launched to? Marketing it in some way?
Sounds like a cool passion project! Thanks.
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#558In my free time I've been working on a 2D MMORPG engine in C#. I'm working on the networking code right now, working toward being able to connect and move around the game world. I'm enjoying the network code, but I'm really looking forward to getting back to shader code and implementing dynamic lighting at some point down the road. Wanting to build an MMORPG was the main thing that got me interested in software devel…
I like C# as well. What kind of front end are you using? Web or native?
It's a native frontend, using SDL2 for windowing/audio/input/etc and Direct3D 11 (via SharpDX) for rendering. Backend targets .NET Core and is meant to run in a container on Linux.
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#559Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fascinating. Have you written at all about this elsewhere? Is it open source? Would love to learn more!
I have not written about it publicly at any length. Much narrower versions targeting specific data models have been used in production and I've licensed bits and pieces to big tech companies. The data structures and algorithms are non-obvious, and the join mechanics that enable arbitrary relationship type traversals on the representation hurts the brain (it really isn't visualizable). It is just an elegant instantiat…
Andrew, everything you reveal publicly has been tantalizing! (See https://www.jandrewrogers.com/ for those who haven't stumbled upon his posts yet)
"There is virtually no literature on practical representations of topological spaces, never mind parallel algorithms using those representations. A thorough exposition of both the theory and practice is on the order of a few hundred pages of dense technical literature that no one has had time to write, despite multiple implementations. Watch this space." - October 2015, J. Andrew Rogers.
I emailed you back in 2016 to inquire about your work and wondered what had become of SpaceCurve. (Thank you for replying!) You mentioned recent work then on a "modality architecture." Is that related to the work you mentioned in your post above?
Obviously, you're a busy man with a desire and the potential to change the world with your creations. But perhaps also a drive to withhold your creations from public display until only after you have them distilled to their purest elegance?
If it is your intention to eventually share, I encourage you to do the world a great favor and just share what you've got so far (with a "no guarantees; no support" reminder in your README), even if some corners are unpolished, inscrutable, or built on shifting ideas. With an appropriate license, you'll at least get the benefit of easily taking bits of your implementations with you between projects, even without supporting anyone else who consumes it.
Do you have any peers who are familiar enough and excited about your work to start writing up some posts laying out the conceptual ground-work? Have there been any relevant research papers or books published that would be foundational to understanding? Maybe start with links to those? I'd devour them!
On the other hand, perhaps you are motivated not to share, while your skills are highly marketable due to near exclusivity? If so, I certainly don't begrudge you that! And like you said, you have no obligations. :)
Re: Ask HN: What are you working on?
#560Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have not written about it publicly at any length. Much narrower versions targeting specific data models have been used in production and I've licensed bits and pieces to big tech companies. The data structures and algorithms are non-obvious, and the join mechanics that enable arbitrary relationship type traversals on the representation hurts the brain (it really isn't visualizable). It is just an elegant instantiat…
Andrew, everything you reveal publicly has been tantalizing! (See https://www.jandrewrogers.com/ for those who haven't stumbled upon his posts yet) "There is virtually no literature on practical representations of topological spaces, never mind parallel algorithms using those representations. A thorough exposition of both the theory and practice is on the order of a few hundred pages of dense technical literature tha…
"In essence, you can only make money if you are doing hardcore R&D. This strongly incentivizes the creation of new capabilities but also disincentivizes publication of CS research.
"You see this in markets like databases, where open source has captured almost the entire market for undifferentiated capabilities, and there is a lucrative high-end market with unique product capabilities that don't exist in open source or CS literature. The trend toward treating CS research as trade secrets, originally started because algorithm patents were impractical to enforce, turned out to be effective at maintaining profitability in high-end software products if open source can't replicate capability."
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20196610
Ah drat, apparently my fears are confirmed. If you should someday have enough money and not enough fame, I'll be eagerly looking forward to hearing the lessons you're willing to share.