Blog · page 9
Notes on engineering, design, and everything in between.
Structured logging is not println replaced by tracing::info
Log lines built by concatenation can only be read by humans. Fields make them queryable. Fields, spans, levels and knowing when not to format are the four real decisions.
Islands are not Web Components: two different kinds of on-demand loading
Islands decide at build time where JavaScript is needed and when it hydrates. Web Components give the browser a self-contained element at runtime. Confusing them picks the wrong tool.
Cache headers for a static site: hashed files forever, HTML never
A cache policy depends on whether the filename changes with the content, not on file size. Long-caching HTML hands users an old entry point that points at deleted chunks.
When WebAssembly earns its place: less often than the pitch suggests
WASM pays off with heavy computation, bulk data and few boundary crossings. Rewriting an O(n) JavaScript loop as WASM usually buys slower loading and a harder stack to debug.
Anchors hidden behind a sticky header: one scroll-padding-top for the whole site
A sticky header covers every anchor target. scroll-margin per heading always misses one; scroll-padding-top on the scroll container does not, fed by the real header height.
Use the native dialog element: you get more than you think
A hand-rolled modal needs a focus trap, ESC handling, scroll locking and focus restore. Native dialog with showModal has all of it plus ::backdrop, and one style rule as the price.