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Karachi Wala Developer

Karachi Wala Developer

By Mashhood Rastgar

10 minute weekly ramblings of a software engineer based in Karachi sharing about tech and startups. Recently started a series on Engineering Leaders in Pakistan.
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Mono Repo vs Multi Repo

Karachi Wala DeveloperFeb 27, 2021

00:00
11:58
LLMs: My thoughts on Gemini Pro 1.5 and OpenAI Sora.

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

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.

Feb 17, 202405:22
LLMs: Welcome Google's Gemini Ultra!

LLMs: Welcome Google's Gemini Ultra!

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.

Feb 10, 202405:01
LLMs: How to train LLMs on your data using RAG.

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

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.

Feb 07, 202406:10
LLMs: An Introduction to Prompt Engineering

LLMs: An Introduction to Prompt Engineering

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.

Jan 14, 202409:49
LLMs: This Jen, is the internet.

LLMs: This Jen, is the internet.

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.

Jan 09, 202406:37
Welcome to the world of GenAI.

Welcome to the world of GenAI.

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.

Jan 07, 202409:07
EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Lamak Qaizar @ Bazaar Tech

EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Lamak Qaizar @ Bazaar Tech

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.

Dec 12, 202228:53
EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Asadullah Bin Yousuf @ Airlift

EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Asadullah Bin Yousuf @ Airlift

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.

Nov 05, 202231:04
EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Hunain Kapadia @ SmartBenefits

EngineeringLeadershipPakistan - Hunain Kapadia @ SmartBenefits

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.

Oct 14, 202216:01
Writing Good User Stories in Product teams

Writing Good User Stories in Product teams

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

Sep 24, 202214:21
Why I havn't applied to Google as a SE (yet).

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

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.

Aug 14, 202208:11
Should you join a startup today?

Should you join a startup today?

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.

Jul 23, 202209:05
How good is your company's Engineering Culture?

How good is your company's Engineering Culture?

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?

Jun 25, 202230:26
Why Should Every Developer Learn Javascript?

Why Should Every Developer Learn Javascript?

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!

May 31, 202215:31
Understanding DORA metrics for Software Delivery Performance

Understanding DORA metrics for Software Delivery Performance

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.

May 07, 202212:20
Whats makes a good software engineer?

Whats makes a good software engineer?

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.

Apr 30, 202220:58
Before joining a startup

Before joining a startup

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

Apr 09, 202210:55
Understanding a Startups Technical Due Diligence...

Understanding a Startups Technical Due Diligence...

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.

Nov 19, 202112:05
Are you a T-Shaped Developer?

Are you a T-Shaped Developer?

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?

Aug 18, 202110:20
Thinking about Engineering Analytics

Thinking about Engineering Analytics

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.

Aug 10, 202118:23
Understanding how ESOPs or Share Options work

Understanding how ESOPs or Share Options work

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.

Jun 12, 202127:48
Demystifying PCI DSS - Do I need it?

Demystifying PCI DSS - Do I need it?

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.

Apr 17, 202115:17
How do I write faster code?

How do I write faster code?

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.

Mar 06, 202110:41
Mono Repo vs Multi Repo

Mono Repo vs Multi Repo

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.

Feb 27, 202111:58
Do I need monitoring and observability for my web app?

Do I need monitoring and observability for my web app?

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.

Feb 06, 202109:48
I bought a new mic for my podcast!

I bought a new mic for my podcast!

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.

Jan 30, 202107:47
Why do we need Typescript?

Why do we need Typescript?

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.

Jan 23, 202110:54
AWS EKS, ECS and EB - Containers Galore!

AWS EKS, ECS and EB - Containers Galore!

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.

Nov 16, 202009:11
You Dont Need A CTO

You Dont Need A CTO

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.

Nov 06, 202007:32
How to write better technical documention.

How to write better technical documention.

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

Oct 30, 202011:04
Using Asynchronous Python with Celery

Using Asynchronous Python with Celery

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.

Oct 04, 202008:60
10 tips in 10 minutes for a faster website

10 tips in 10 minutes for a faster website

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!

Sep 22, 202009:37
Looking for a Payment Gateway in Pakistan?

Looking for a Payment Gateway in Pakistan?

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.

Sep 10, 202010:31
Microservices vs Monoliths: which one is better?

Microservices vs Monoliths: which one is better?

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.

Aug 22, 202012:20
An Introduction to Continuous Integration

An Introduction to Continuous Integration

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.

Aug 12, 202012:57
Serverless with CloudFlare Workers?

Serverless with CloudFlare Workers?

Serverless architecture has become very popular over the last few years. In this episode we cover an introduction to this topic and talk about how Cloudflare Workers have implemented the serverless architecture. I share different ideas and thoughts on the ideology behind Cloudflare Workers and when they are most useful.

Aug 05, 202009:46
Wordpress Meets its Match: Next.JS

Wordpress Meets its Match: Next.JS

I recently rebuilt my personal website (imars.info) using NextJS and in this episode I share my experience in building it and my thoughts on the framework and how it compares to Wordpress which is something I have been using for a long time.  _This is not sponsored content_

Jul 27, 202009:11
What is AMP HTML?

What is AMP HTML?

AMP enables the creation of websites and ads that are consistently fast, beautiful and high-performing across devices and distribution platforms. It is an opensource toolkit which can be used for static pages as well as dynamic ones. But why do we need AMP? And how does it make our web faster? This and more in this short introduction of AMP HTML.

Jul 13, 202011:05
Understanding Core Web Vitals: The Metrics

Understanding Core Web Vitals: The Metrics

In this final episode of the Core Web Vital series, we bring together all that we have learnt and talk about the thing that matters the most - the 3 metrics set by Google which show how good or bad our website is currently performing. Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay and Cumulative Layout Shift - what are they, how are they calculated and how can we improve them? Just a few of the things I will share in this episode.

Jul 08, 202013:29
Understanding Core Web Vitals: Rendering a Page

Understanding Core Web Vitals: Rendering a Page

How does a browser render an HTML page? In this episode we dive into the world of DOM, CSSOM and Critical Render Paths. We understand what makes our website loading slow and how can we remove it so it can be made faster.

Jun 24, 202009:07
Understanding Core Web Vitals: Why is our web so slow?

Understanding Core Web Vitals: Why is our web so slow?

Core Web Vitals is the new standard set by Google to measure performance of our websites. In this multi-part series we will be covering on different aspects of web performance, starting with the basics. What makes a slow website and what are some of the things we need to keep in mind when reviewing our own website. In the upcoming episodes we will discuss what makes the website slow (technically) and how Core Vitals help us make it better.

Jun 16, 202007:55
Which mobile app is right for me? PWAs, Hybrids or Native.

Which mobile app is right for me? PWAs, Hybrids or Native.

In this episode I cover another very popular question I get - what kind of mobile app should I be building? With the rise of PWAs, Hybrids, Compile to Native, Flutter and native apps one does get lost in trying to figure out the best course of action. I try to explain the high level pros and cons for each and what really matter when making the decision for your mobile app.

Jun 03, 202014:11
How do implement a Design System?

How do implement a Design System?

In the previous episode we talked about what is the whole point of design systems, and if we need them or not. In this episode we cover a more technical perspective and discuss how do we go about building a design system from a flow perspective. We will also discuss some tools which can help us build this as well.

May 30, 202012:55
Design Sishtems

Design Sishtems

Here is another over hyped term. Every company seems to be making one now a days? But what is a design system really? How does it help you create better frontends? Is it really more than just a component library? Will be answering this and more in this episode.

May 27, 202010:33
Python vs Javascript

Python vs Javascript

Another popular question I get asked is which language is best to start off with when learning programming. Here is a quick overview of the two languages, their similarity and differences and a quick discussion on what are something of the things to think about when choosing one of them.

May 27, 202011:53
Angular vs React

Angular vs React

The most controversial topic in the frontend web space - which framework is better and which one should we spent time learning? The answer is not that straight forward! - I review both of them and share my perspective on what makes each the best.

May 27, 202011:37
How can I become a GDE?

How can I become a GDE?

One of the most frequently asked questions to me is on how does one become a GDE, and the next most popular is what is a GDE :) - so I have spent a few minutes explaining them both here!

May 25, 202010:29
Welcome

Welcome

Welcome to Karachi Wala Developer Podcast! In this series, I will share a little about my experience about different technologies and things related to startups. My name is Mashhood and currently I am the CTO at Sastaticket, and Google Developer Expert for Web and Angular. I have been working since I was a kid, and now with the 10+ year professional experience under my belt, I will be using this micro-podcast medium to share my thoughts on different technical things.

May 25, 202004:20