Mattie Behrens on Atomic Spin

Need to Install Tools on Windows? Use Scoop

Scoop feels like Homebrew for Windows. It can also fetch and install packages from the Internet to get you up and running with open-source tools.

UX/Design Techniques

Toggling Switches when the Server Says “No”

When the system was in a particular state, the user was allowed to toggle a switch. Our challenge: how to communicate that yes, we got your click, but we can't actually toggle the

TypeScript

Understanding and Embracing TypeScript’s “readonly”

Want to use JavaScript in a functional way? With TypeScript's readonly, you can rely on static analysis to enforce and flag mutation in your codebase.

Developer Tools

Can the macOS Disk Utility really erase an SSD?

I investigate whether a macOS Disk Utility erase leaves easy-to-read breadcrumbs behind, or whether it cleans up after itself.

TypeScript

Representing Function Properties in TypeScript

TypeScript's type system is very powerful—it can represent a lot of JavaScript constructs as a result. Here's how to type a function with an extra property.

Developer Tools

Virtual Network Customization in VMware Fusion

How to customize VMware Fusion's virtual networks and create a virtualization setup to support just about any development task.

Development Practices

Security Hygiene for Software Professionals

Taking responsibility for your security hygiene is essential and not very difficult. Here are 7 things you should start doing as soon as possible.

Development Practices

The Security Spectrum of curl | sh

curl | sh, though somewhat risky, isn't intrinsically insecure as a pattern. If you know what can go wrong, you'll be better-equipped to wisely use it.

DevOps & System Admin.

Easy Secure Web Serving with OpenBSD’s acme-client and Let’s Encrypt

Using OpenBSD, acme-client, and Let's Encrypt, it's almost entirely painless to set up a secure web server. This post walks you through getting set up.

Development Practices

[Video] Command Injection: How the Shell Makes You Vulnerable

Command Injection can present a serious vulnerability, allowing attackers to run commands in the shell. This video covers how to defend against it.

Web Apps

Date Math Across Time Zones with Moment.js

How to use Moment.js to deal with time and time zones in JavaScript, including an overview of several essential time zone concepts.

Development Practices

Why You Shouldn’t “npm install -g”

Why you should never "npm install -g" a Node.js package when a project-local install will do.

Mattie Behrens

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