Alex Merced — Developer and technical writer sharing in-depth insights on data engineering, Apache Iceberg, data lakehouse architectures, Python tooling, and modern analytics platforms, with a strong focus on practical, hands-on learning.
425 articles from this blog
Apache Polaris is an open-source catalog service that unifies the Iceberg ecosystem by implementing the Iceberg REST API for vendor-neutral lakehouse metadata management.
Explains Apache Parquet's columnar architecture, dictionary encoding, and performance benefits for data analytics.
Explains the modular Apache Lakehouse architecture using open-source components like Parquet, Iceberg, Polaris, and Arrow for vendor-neutral data management.
Explains Apache Iceberg, a table format that replaces directory-based metadata with file-level tracking for scalable analytics on cloud storage.
Explains how Apache Arrow eliminates the serialization tax by providing a standardized in-memory columnar format for fast data movement.
Explains the Apache Software Foundation's history, governance model, and its role in supporting open-source data lakehouse technologies.
Explores how AI agents can safely perform analytics on Apache Lakehouse using semantic layers and autonomous reflections.
A guide to managing context in Google Antigravity, an agent-first IDE, focusing on Skills, Knowledge Items, and Artifacts for autonomous coding workflows.
A guide to managing context and instructions for using Claude CoWork, an autonomous AI agent for knowledge workers handling files and tasks.
A guide to managing context in Gemini CLI, a terminal-native AI development tool, using files, memory, and MCP servers.
A guide to managing context in OpenWork, a desktop-native AI agent framework for local, multi-step task automation and file system interaction.
A comprehensive guide to managing context for OpenAI Codex across browser, CLI, and app interfaces for effective software development.
A comprehensive guide to mastering context management in Cursor, the AI-native code editor, covering rules, indexing, and workflow strategies.
A guide to managing AI context in Zed, a high-performance code editor, covering its assistant panel, slash commands, and explicit context philosophy.
A guide to configuring and managing context for AI-powered coding assistants like GitHub Copilot and Continue within VS Code.
A comprehensive guide to context management in Windsurf, an AI-powered IDE, covering its Rules, Memories, and Cascade assistant for developers.
A guide to managing context and using Google's integrated AI tools, Gemini and NotebookLM, for effective knowledge work and research.
A guide to context management strategies for OpenCode, an open-source terminal AI coding agent with a dual-agent architecture.
A comprehensive guide to context management strategies for developers using the Claude Code terminal-native coding assistant.
A guide to using Claude Desktop's advanced context management features: MCP servers, Computer Use, and local file access for technical workflows.
