Stack Overflow Blog

code-for-a-living May 29, 2021

Level Up: Linear Regression in Python – Part 2

In the second lesson of the series, we’ll learn how to fit and interpret a simple linear regression with a categorical predictor. We’ll use a simulated dataset to predict the amount of time someone will spend on a website based on the browser they are using. We’ll also predict the rental prices of NYC apartments…

Sophie Sommer

code-for-a-living May 27, 2021

How to prevent scope creep when managing a project from home

When unexpected changes are requested during the development process, your final product may be a lot more complicated than what your spec originally called for. This phenomenon is called “scope creep.” Add a fully remote team with thin work-life boundaries on top of that, and you've got problems.

Owen Jones

community May 25, 2021

The 2021 Developer Survey is now open!

The 2021 Developer Survey is ready for your input.

Ryan Donovan

code-for-a-living May 24, 2021

How developers can be their own operations department

Many companies run parallel development and operations organizations. But what if you just ran one team that did both?

Daniel Orner

code-for-a-living May 22, 2021

Level Up: Linear Regression in Python – Part 1

Linear regression is a machine learning technique for modeling continuous outcomes. It is used for both prediction and data analysis in a variety of different fields. It is also the basis for a number of other machine learning models, including logistic regression and poisson regression. For anyone who is interested in learning more about data…

Sophie Sommer

code-for-a-living May 19, 2021

Using Kubernetes to rethink your system architecture and ease technical debt

This is a story about trying to rethink complex systems: the challenges you face when you try to rebuild them, the burdens you face as they grow, and how inaction itself can cause it’s own problems. When you’re weighing the risk and reward of replacing architecture, it can take several attempts to find a solution that works for you.

Chris Casey, Product Manager at Pusher and James Lees, Senior Software Engineer at Pusher

code-for-a-living May 17, 2021

Incremental Static Regeneration: Building static sites a little at a time

There are a lot of opinions out there about how to improve and scale sites “beyond the Jamstack” by adding in features that use a Node server in addition to the pre-built pages. One of those features is called Incremental Static Regeneration. Some people call it “hybrid web development” (or “hybrid serverless + static”) but let’s talk a bit more about what that means.

Cassidy Williams Principal Developer Experience Engineer at Netlify, Co-curator of The Overflow

code-for-a-living May 13, 2021

Building the software that helps build SpaceX

We’ve talked about the software that flies SpaceX rockets, the team that tests the code to ensure it’s airtight, and the code that helps Starlink satellites communicate with customers and one another. For our last piece, we’re diving into the work of a team that helps the vehicles get built.

Charles R. Martin and Ben Popper

code-for-a-living May 11, 2021

Testing software so it’s reliable enough for space

We’ve talked about the engineers who write the code that operates SpaceX spaceships. Now let’s talk about the people who build and maintain the tools and processes that enable the developers and ultimately, help accomplish the mission of flying astronauts to space. Stack Overflow talked with Erin Ishimoticha, an engineer in the Software Delivery Engineering…

Charles R. Martin and Ben Popper

code-for-a-living May 11, 2021

Network protocols in orbit: Building a space-based ISP

There are requirements that make software engineers sweat. Massive distribution to thousands of nodes. High reliability and availability. Multiple distinct platforms. Rapid network growth. This is the world SpaceX’s Starlink program, which has set a goal to provide high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable.

Charles R. Martin and Ben Popper

code-for-a-living May 10, 2021

Don’t push that button: Exploring the software that flies SpaceX rockets and Starships

Spaceflight, from the beginning, has depended on computers – both on the ground and in the spacecraft. SpaceX has carried it to a new level. We recently spoke with Steven Gerding, Dragon’s software development lead, about the special challenges software development has for SpaceX's many missions.

Charles R. Martin and Ben Popper