htrace.sh is a handy command-line tool for HTTP/HTTPS troubleshooting and profiling. It also integrates with a number of other security tools, like nmap, SSL Labs, subfinder, etc.
htrace.sh – HTTP/HTTPS troubleshooting and profiling tool
Category: Web work
These days, most of my work is very related to the online world. Building web sites, reviewing web applications, integrating with web services, coordinating people who are far away from each other, etc. Whenever I find a new tool or service or an innovative, interesting idea about working online, I share it in this category.
The JavaScript Developer’s Reading List
“The JavaScript Developer’s Reading List” is yet another hand-picked collection of books and resources for web developers in general and JavaScript programmers in particular. The selection is mostly focused around React and GraphQL, but there are plenty of more generic resources about JavaScript, software development, and Computer Science.
Building serverless apps with components from the AWS Serverless Application Repository
Last year, after attending the AWSome Day in Athens, I had a strong feeling that I’ll hear more and more about serverless applications and Lambda functions in the coming months. Turns out I wasn’t wrong.
As infrastructure moves from large dedicated servers through virtual machines to containers, so does the software, from large applications through libraries and components, all the way to individual functions and microservices.
“Building serverless apps with components from the AWS Serverless Application Repository” is just one recent blog post, illustrating how to utilize small components to build a serverless application. While the whole article is well worth a read, I found the link to AWS Serverless Application Repository particularly useful.
Scrolling through all the applications, I have to admit that they aren’t too many yet – a total of 435 at the time of this writing, and most haven’t been deployed widely (the most deployed one having only 28.9K deploys). But as with many other app stores and directories, this is a good start with many examples and some handy microservices already.
The most challenging thing for me, when it comes to microservices, is changing the way I think about applications. While I always try to build the smallest and simplest version first and then iterate it over and over, thinking of a collection of smaller functions and services doesn’t happen easy. I guess, like with everything, this approach needs time and practice to settle in.
F5 acquires NGINX
NGINX, the company behind one of the most popular web servers, has been acquired by F5. Of course, I’m glad for the NGINX team and founders, for who this is quite an accomplishment. But at the same time, much like many of the recent acquisitions, this one worries me. NGINX and F5 were competing in certain areas. That competition is now gone.
As always, they say that they will keep NGINX brand, team, technology, and even invest more in the Open Source side of things. But I’m not holding my breath. We’ve seen way too many screw ups on that front in the last few years.
Having the Open Source offering is good though. If it continues to grow and develop – even better. But if not, at least there is an option of forking, rebranding, and building on top.
Headless CMS: REST vs JSON:API vs GraphQL
“Headless CMS: REST vs JSON:API vs GraphQL” is an interesting comparison of the REST, JSON:API, and GraphQL:
In this blog post, we will compare REST, JSON:API and GraphQL. First, we’ll look at an architectural, CMS-agnostic comparison, followed by evaluating some Drupal-specific implementation details.