Whats Makes A Good Software Engineer? Karachi Wala Developer podcast

9:04

In this episode - I take on the task of explaining what vibe coding is, and if we should keep studing software engineering. I introduce some vibe coding tools, including the latest one Firebase Studio from Google

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Does OpenAI O1 change everything? 10:28

32 weeks之前10:28

10:28

Last week OpenAI released a new model called O1 - which has advanced capabilities to reason and does a lot better in maths and coding. How does it do this and what does this change? This and more in this episode.

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LLMs: Understanding Google Gemma 10:00

43 weeks之前10:00

10:00

In the world of many open source LLM models, Google Gemma stands out with some unique capabilities. Firstly its made by Google after all - so its implementation is fully optimized and memory efficient. This and more on what is Gemma about and how its better.

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AI in Your Pocket - LLMs on Smartphones 7:39

47 weeks之前7:39

7:39

This episode dives into the exciting world of on-device AI, specifically Large Language Models (LLMs) running directly on your smartphone! We'll explore why cramming this powerful tech into your pocket is a game changer, and discuss how LLMs can transform your daily interactions with your phone.

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Whats next for LLMs? Reviewing updates from Google and OpenAI 8:19

49 weeks之前8:19

8:19

In this episode we cover the latest updates from Google IO and OpenAI Spring update. The all new ChatGPT-o and Gemini 1.5 Flash. We talk about where are LLMs headed next.

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LLMs: Will Lama3 destroy the competition? 7:39

1 year之前7:39

7:39

Lama3 is a popular open source model by Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp. They have release the next iteration of the famous Lama2 model, this is a popular open source LLM which is heavily used by developers world wide. Is the new iteration strong enough to take on the best closed source models? We explore in this episode.…

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LLMs: Finetuning - do you need it? 8:45

1 year之前8:45

8:45

As we move to use LLMs more and more for different use cases, we will run into at times issues or limitations with the model. There are many different ways to train the model to do a specific task better, and fine tuning is one of them. What is about, when do we need to use it and how do we do it - all in this episode.…

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I am now a Google Developer Expert in Machine Learn (GDE ML) for GenAI 6:25

1 year之前6:25

6:25

This episode covers my journey as a GDE over the last few years, what got me into it, and what is the big outcome. Also joined another category for GDE in Machine Learning.

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LLMs: Are AI Software Engineers ready to take over? 8:09

1 year之前8:09

8:09

In this episode I share my thoughts on the latest additional to AI development called Deven, and where the industry is moving towards. Will software engineering be taken over by AI in the next few years?

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LLMs: My thoughts on Gemini Pro 1.5 and OpenAI Sora. 5:21

1 year之前5:21

5:21

So this week we had 2 back to back announcements which completely shook up the LLM worlds. Gemini Pro 1.5 with its 10 million token context length makes it super powerful to run on large codebases and a lots of documents. The other big news was the launch of OpenAI Sora - their new text to video generation which can now generate super realistic videos for up to a minute. How will these impact our tool, I share some thoughts here.…

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LLMs: Welcome Google's Gemini Ultra! 5:01

1 year之前5:01

5:01

The all new heavy weight model has just dropped this week. Should you be rushing to try it out? Why is the ultra model better? This and more in his quick episode talking about Gemini Ultra.

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LLMs: How to train LLMs on your data using RAG. 6:10

1 year之前6:10

6:10

In this episode - we discover the Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) process which allows us to train our LLMs using our data. In this short episode we cover what is this about and how can we use it.

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LLMs: An Introduction to Prompt Engineering 9:49

1 year之前9:49

9:49

If you are using ChatGPT or Bard - you are "prompting" the AI to get some answers. Not all prompts are made equal. The response of the LLM depends heavily on the quality of the prompt and the context given to it. Thus its worth while spending some time understanding prompt engineering and how to do it properly.…

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LLMs: This Jen, is the internet. 6:36

1 year之前6:36

6:36

Referencing the classic episode from IT Crowd - we take our first dive into the world of LLMs by talking about neural nets and how they form the basis of the LLMs we know today. We touch on the famous paper - All you need is attention, and then talk about what LLMs under the hood are really about.

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Welcome to the world of GenAI. 9:07

1 year之前9:07

9:07

After a year long break - Im back with an update on Gemini and Gen AI taking over. In this episode I talk about the over all impact of Gemini and LLMs and how can we use them better in our daily lives.

Karachi Wala Developer

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EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Lamak Qaizar @ Bazaar Tech 28:53

2 years之前28:53

28:53

I had a great chat with Lamak, who works at one of the startups in Karachi called Bazaar Tech. We discussed several interesting topics including team structures, full stack development, performance reviews and more! Thanks Lamak for taking time out for this episode of EngineeringLeadershipPakistan.

Karachi Wala Developer

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EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Asadullah Bin Yousuf @ Airlift 31:03

2 years之前31:03

31:03

I had a great chat with Asadullah about his time in Airlift where he was an engineering manager leading a specific team. We talked about several management related topics, from the values at Airlift, life there as an engineering leader, performance management, hiring, engineering productivity and more! You can also watch this on the KarachiWalaDeveloper Youtube channel.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Hunain Kapadia @ SmartBenefits 16:01

3 years之前16:01

16:01

This is the first episode of the all new series where I will be interviewing Engineering Leaders in Pakistan. We will be talking about leadership topics like CTO roles, hiring, performance reviews, feedback and more. In this episode we have Hunain Kapadia from Smart Benefits sharing about this experience building the some awesome tools in the insurance space.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Writing Good User Stories in Product teams 14:20

3 years之前14:20

14:20

Software Engineers require instructions in order to build apps and tools. And most of us don't know what these instructions should look like. One of the ways these instructions can be shared is in the form of user stories, and it's not just about writing a bunch of text, but comprehensive check list of how this should be structured so the right information can be given to the builder. Ofcourse its a two way effort Product and Engineering need to work closely to build up such requirements so they make sense from a functionality perspective, and a technical perspective. This session is based on the article linked below: https://martinfowler.com/articles/product-backlog-building-canvas.html…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Why I havn't applied to Google as a SE (yet). 8:11

3 years之前8:11

8:11

Google, or any of the FAANG companies for that matter, are an awesome place to work. When I started by bachelors - I was thinking of graduating and then getting a job there, or build a pathway to a job there. However by the time I graduated, my mind set had changed. In this episode I explore my thoughts and reasoning on what changed my mind and why I havnt applied since.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Should you join a startup today? 9:04

3 years之前9:04

9:04

With startups going bust left right and center, high inflation and a global recession - are startups still the right choice to be at? In this episode I talk about the difference between the companies treating engineering teams as a profit center vs a cost center, to show why startup engineering teams as usually a better choice even if there is a slightly higher risk being there.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
How good is your company's Engineering Culture? 30:25

3 years之前30:25

30:25

In this episode I break down a good engineering culture using two different culture tests from the web. We take a deep dive into the technical side of the culture first, followed by the work and management culture. How does your company score - what is the one thing you would change in your company to make it a better experience?…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
Why Should Every Developer Learn Javascript? 15:31

3 years之前15:31

15:31

Javascript is one of my favourite languages out there. Im not sure if it just the familiarity with the language (have been using it since age 10) or the fast pace of change in the language space or the fact its being used on space craft - I think its a useful skill to have for anyone working in the software industry. Check out my rant on what makes JS so awesome according to me!…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Understanding DORA metrics for Software Delivery Performance 12:20

3 years之前12:20

12:20

As programmers we work hard all day to ensure we build the best products in the best technical way possible, and if that work isn't shipped to customers right away, we are unable to generate any value of it for the company / product. DevOps plays a critical role in our organisations today, and ensure we have an efficient production line shipping features to our customers is a part of it. In this episode we review how we can better understand and measure performance of our software delivery and what does it take to compete with the best out there.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
Whats makes a good software engineer? 20:58

3 years之前20:58

20:58

While mentoring some students with technical interviews, I documented what I find to be most important qualities of a software developer or engineer. While a quick google search online will find mixed reviews, most people feel that technical skills are most important. However I feel a bit differently about this, and in this episode share the things all software engineers should focus on and how they can improve them selves if lacking.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Before joining a startup 10:55

3 years之前10:55

10:55

The recent failure of the startup Fast got me thinking of things one needs to be aware of while considering to join a startup and things to observe while working in one. This episode covers some basics to what you can do before and after joining which should help you prepare better for the risks involved while working in a startup. This episode was inspired by the following post: https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/the-scoop-fast?s=r…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
Understanding a Startups Technical Due Diligence... 12:04

3 years之前12:04

12:04

Technical Due Diligence (DD) for startups is not something we think about until the time really comes in. When we get the list of questions or get asked those dreaded questions that we always knew would come to haunt us. In this episode I share about what is the process and what to expect from this, so that one can be better prepared when this happens.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
Are you a T-Shaped Developer? 10:20

4 years之前10:20

10:20

T-Shaped developers are those interested in learning across a breadth of technologies ranging from frontend to backend to devops. In this episode we try to understand why would we want to diversify vs specialise and is there a better option between the two?

Karachi Wala Developer

1
Thinking about Engineering Analytics 18:23

4 years之前18:23

18:23

Do you feel your team is very sluggish and not moving fast enough? Do you feel there are constant blockers which are stopping the features to get shipped? In this episode I dive into the world of engineering performance and what are some thing of the useful things you can measure, and which ones are not meant to be measured at all.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
Understanding how ESOPs or Share Options work 27:47

4 years之前27:47

27:47

You might have been reading about one of the dozen multi-million dollar investments made into startup recently. And you might be wondering how do I get a piece of that action. Most companies now offer their shares to employees through whats called an ESOP. This allows you to accrue value over time and if the company wins big - so do you! This and more in this episode.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Demystifying PCI DSS - Do I need it? 15:16

4 years之前15:16

15:16

PCI DSS is a security standard certification which a company requires if they have card payment integrations on their websites. However its one of those topics which sounds scary, not talked about enough and is very specific to each company. So understanding even if it is a requirement for your company becomes a pain. In this episode I share my experience going through the certification with Sastaticket and what I learnt during that.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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How do I write faster code? 10:41

4 years之前10:41

10:41

In order to write faster code you need to understand (or profile) your current code and visually or numerically breakdown the pieces which need improvement. How do you do this? We use code profilers! In this episode we dive into the world of tweaking code performance and getting the most out of the hardware its running on.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
Mono Repo vs Multi Repo 11:58

4 years之前11:58

11:58

Mono repos is not a new concept - but one often visited by growing organisations to help reduce the overhead of managing thoses dozens of repos in the company. Is it better? Well that depends on the company and how they work. In this episode I go through the differences and reasons why one would consider a mono repo over a multi repo.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Do I need monitoring and observability for my web app? 9:48

4 years之前9:48

9:48

Now a days even a simple CRUD based app can have a lot of moving parts - esp if deployed with something like Kubernetes. Our complex applications are growing even faster, interacting with many different libraries and handling greater and more variable loads. How do we get insight into whats really happening on the code level any more? Long gone are the days when a simple CPU usage alert would be enough to monitor most applications - today we need to monitor on different level and metrics to get a better picture of whats going on. This and more in this episode.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
I bought a new mic for my podcast! 7:47

4 years之前7:47

7:47

Many thanks to the GDE program for creating this initiative! In this episode I cover my learnings from buying my first "professional" mic - what are some of the things you need to know and how is my experience going so far with the mic I have bought.

Karachi Wala Developer

1
Why do we need Typescript? 10:54

4 years之前10:54

10:54

Typescript is becoming one of the popular languages to use - but do we really need it? How helpful are the typings we write? What makes it stand out from Javascript? This and more in this episode covering the use of Typescript, benefits of typings, and some things to look out for.

Karachi Wala Developer

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AWS EKS, ECS and EB - Containers Galore! 9:10

4 years之前9:10

9:10

As Docker and Containerisation have taken over the world - we have many different options to deploy our apps to. Within the AWS ecosystem, we have a few options from EKS, ECS and ElasticBeanstalk. While the latter might sound like an outdated option in front of EKS and ECS, it is surprisingly useful - this and more in this weeks podcast.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
You Dont Need A CTO 7:32

4 years之前7:32

7:32

Gone are the days when we need tech teams to setup a simple website. Now a days we simply sign up like we do for Gmail and have everything setup in no time! And it costs just a few dollars per month. No Code tech is awesome and its here to make those mundane development roles redundant. With loads of new tools out there from making simple websites to building complex data entry apps or dashboards - the ecosystem is moving fast to empower the non-technical folks out there so build tech is more accessible and it becomes easier to innovate.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
How to write better technical documention. 11:04

5 years之前11:04

11:04

Writing documentation is not something we think about every day - but it is something we are interacting with on a daily basis. In a world of ever changing requirements and technology, if we are not documenting our technical journey properly - we are simply rebuilding the same wheel again and again. Documentation is at the core of any product, how its build, why it's built that way. And in this podcast we cover how we write this documentation in the best way possible. This is a summary of the technical writing course linked below. Technical Writing Docs: https://developers.google.com/tech-writing/one Register for workshop here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc26RofABVtJkF1gRE7Pm7u2RBd6NBRbdqtYVUxYD_DVKwVUg/viewform…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Using Asynchronous Python with Celery 8:59

5 years之前8:59

8:59

Writing async code is important when building any application. You dont want your threads to be blocked on http calls and db look ups - esp if the language you are using is single threaded! I was surprised to find that most code written in Python is synchronous though that is now rapidly changing. Writing asynchronous code right now means using libraries like Celery which do all the work in a separate process. What is it, how do we use it and how does it work - this and more in this episode.…

Karachi Wala Developer

1
10 tips in 10 minutes for a faster website 9:36

5 years之前9:36

9:36

In this session, I collect all the tips and tricks I have been using over the last decade and bring them together for a short 10 min checklist for making your website super fast. You can bookmark this episode and run through the points every time your website needs a boost!

Karachi Wala Developer

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Looking for a Payment Gateway in Pakistan? 10:31

5 years之前10:31

10:31

If you are building a services company or an e-commerce store in Pakistan - eventually you will realize you need to accept online payments. Normally this requires a Payment Gateway - a simple service you can sign up to and integrate in a matter of minutes into your platform. But its not that easy in Pakistan as yet. What are the options? What works and what doesnt work? All this and more in this weeks podcast.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Microservices vs Monoliths: which one is better? 12:19

5 years之前12:19

12:19

Micro-services is the popular architecture pattern which has taken the world over by storm. The promise of small manageable applications with fast iterations and seamless efficient scaling has attracted many developers on taking on this as a default pattern for all their apps. But we should not be too quick dismiss the handy old monolith. In this episode we take a dive into micro-services to see if they are really that amazing underneath.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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An Introduction to Continuous Integration 12:57

5 years之前12:57

12:57

Continuous Integration (CI) is slowly becoming one of the main pillars for software development. As our software becomes more complex we add more and more tooling around it to automate, so we can focus on whats important - writing code. CI is what runs most of that tooling and keeps it out of the way.. until we need break something and it needs our attention. It gives us the confidence to deploy, again and again so that we move faster in this rapidly changing world.…

Karachi Wala Developer

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Serverless with CloudFlare Workers? 9:45

5 years之前9:45