Performance
Understanding Memory Metrics: RSS, VSZ, USS, PSS, and Working Sets
Why does
free show 1GB available but your app OOM’d? Why is RSS 4GB when your heap is 2GB? A complete taxonomy of memory metrics from system level (total, available, cached) to process level (RSS, PSS, USS, WSS) to allocator internals.Go Structs Are Not C++ Classes: Why Similar Modeling Roles Produce Different Hardware Execution Patterns
Structs with methods look like classes, but the hardware tells a different story. Go makes contiguous values + static calls the path of least resistance. In inheritance-heavy C++ designs, you often end up with pointers + virtual dispatch + scattered memory. This isn’t syntax - it’s what the CPU executes.
How Multicore CPUs Changed Object-Oriented Programming
OOP’s implicit reference semantics were manageable in single-threaded code. But when CPUs went multicore in 2005, hidden shared state went from ‘confusing’ to ‘catastrophic.’ This is why Go and Rust refined OOP: keeping methods and encapsulation while replacing inheritance with composition and implicit references with value semantics.
Go's Value Philosophy: Part 1 - Why Everything Is a Value, Not an Object
In Python, everything is an object. In Java, everything is a class. In Go, everything is a value. These are fundamental design philosophies that shape how you write concurrent code, manage memory, and reason about performance.
Go's Value Philosophy: Part 2 - Escape Analysis and Performance
The Go compiler decides whether your values live on the stack or heap through escape analysis. Understanding this mechanism explains Go’s performance characteristics and helps you write faster code without sacrificing clarity.
The Python Paradox: How Python Dominates Big Data Despite the GIL
Discover why Python dominates big data despite the GIL: Python coordinates, C/Rust/JVM executes. Learn how NumPy, pandas, Polars, and PySpark bypass the GIL for true parallelism.
The Price of Everything Being an Object in Python
All Python developers know that everything in Python is an object. But at what cost? A deep dive into Python’s heap-only memory model and the 28-byte overhead of storing a simple integer.
You Don't Know JSON: Part 3 - Binary JSON in Databases
Database-managed binary JSON formats solve storage and query performance problems. JSONB enables fast PostgreSQL queries with indexing, while BSON adds extended types for MongoDB. Learn when databases beat text JSON.
You Don't Know JSON: Part 4 - Binary JSON for APIs and Data Transfer
Beyond database storage, binary JSON formats optimize API data transfer. MessagePack provides universal serialization with 30-40% size reduction. CBOR adds IETF standardization for IoT and security. Learn when binary beats JSON for network efficiency.