Drew DeVault’s blog features sharp commentary on open source, software engineering, programming languages, ethics in tech, and the social impact of technology.
372 articles from this blog
A technical guide on configuring a local Postfix mail server for development and testing email-related software.
Explains the role of shells in Wayland compositors using wlroots, detailing how surfaces become functional UI elements like windows and menus.
Argues that Git is already decentralized via email, and new forges should embrace email-based collaboration instead of building separate ActivityPub systems.
Explains the flexible but complex input handling system in the wlroots library for Wayland compositors and input abstraction.
A software engineering article arguing that simplicity is the most critical quality for achieving correctness and performance in software development.
Explores the benefits of using email-based git workflows with tools like git send-email, contrasting them with web platforms like GitHub.
A developer shares their simplified Let's Encrypt setup using acme-client and nginx, avoiding the complexity of certbot.
A developer compares GitHub to his alternative platform, sr.ht, discussing design philosophy, features like CI, and a different business model.
A maintainer shares principles for managing volunteer-driven Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects, focusing on volunteer well-being and empowering contributors.
Introducing koio, a lightweight tool for embedding files into C programs, enabling static bundling of assets like markup and images.
Explains the decision to replace the wlc library with wlroots for building Wayland compositors, detailing technical limitations and the new design.
Introducing scdoc, a lightweight, dependency-free man page generator written in C, designed for readability and maintainability.
A guide to redirecting stderr of a running process using gdb, with a practical example and explanation.
Analyzes Google's use of the 'embrace, extend, extinguish' strategy against open standards in products like Gmail, AMP, and chat apps.
A developer reports on a collaborative sprint between the Sway and KDE teams to improve Wayland desktop interoperability and protocols.
Argues for decentralized, open-source social platforms as the solution to privacy exploitation by centralized tech giants like Facebook and Google.
An article encouraging programmers to dive into and contribute to open source projects, even when they seem intimidating or unfamiliar.
A comparison of creating bots for Slack versus IRC, highlighting the complexity of proprietary APIs versus the simplicity of open standards.
Third part of a series on building a Wayland compositor with wlroots, focusing on setting up the compositor to render client windows.
A developer shares their journey to earning sustainable income from recurring donations for their open source projects, enabling full-time FOSS work.
