In the ongoing development of devlog-ist/landing, a project focused on creating engaging landing pages, a recent refactoring effort centered on enhancing the clarity and maintainability of our data structures. Specifically, we focused on the PostResource table.

The Problem

The original PostResource table included a column labeled 'Post Reports'. This name was ambiguous and didn't clearly

This post delves into a recent refactoring effort within the devlog-ist/landing project, focusing on enhancing the structure and clarity of the PostResource table. The primary goal was to replace the 'Post Reports' column with 'Scheduled For', aiming for a more intuitive and maintainable data model.

The Initial Design

Initially, the PostResource table included a column named 'Post Reports'.

Working on the devlog-ist/landing project, we're refining the authentication flow. The goal is to streamline user registration and login, particularly for non-developers who might be contributing recommendations. We've adjusted the available OAuth providers to match user roles.

Previously, both GitHub and LinkedIn were presented as default options on the login and registration pages.

OAuth provides a streamlined approach to user authentication, but it's crucial to implement security measures that protect user data and prevent unauthorized access. A common scenario involves social login, where users authenticate via third-party providers like GitHub or LinkedIn.

The Problem: Unregistered Users and Automatic Registration

A potential vulnerability arises when users not yet

Introduction

This article discusses a common issue in applications using GitHub OAuth for authentication: inadvertently overwriting a user's existing token with one that has fewer permissions. We'll explore how to ensure the application preserves the user's original, broader-scoped token when requesting narrower scopes during subsequent logins.

The Problem

Many applications use GitHub

Introduction

Maintaining data consistency across distributed systems and applications often requires careful management of caches. Stale data in caches can lead to unexpected behavior and inconsistencies. We recently implemented several enhancements to our application's caching strategy, focusing on proactive invalidation to ensure data accuracy and prevent outdated information from impacting

Introduction

Application performance is often a critical factor in user experience and overall system efficiency. This post delves into several strategies for enhancing performance, focusing on database query optimization, efficient data handling, and code-level improvements.

Database Query Optimization

Inefficient database queries can be a major bottleneck. One common issue is the N+1

Introduction

This post explores several strategies for optimizing data access within an application, focusing on caching and query reduction techniques. Efficient data handling is crucial for maintaining performance, especially as application scale.

Caching Strategies

Caching is a fundamental technique for reducing database load and improving response times.

Introduction

This post details an enhancement to our application's data aggregation process. We addressed an issue where total counts were inaccurate by switching from a local database to an external API for data retrieval, ensuring more reliable results.

The Problem: Data Discrepancies

Previously, our application relied on a local database table, populated with data from an events API,

Introduction

During recent testing of the social login functionality in our application, we encountered intermittent failures. These "flaky" tests were traced back to how database transactions were being handled, particularly in PostgreSQL.

The Challenge

The core issue was that within a test, a failed database query (e.g., due to a validation error during profile synchronization) would