Newsletter # 31 - Understanding SwiftNIO by building a text modifying server Aug 26 2020

Hello, and welcome to issue #31!

I'm still amazed by how the Internet has become such a fundamental part of society. I wonder what the world will look like 100 years from now. And all of this runs on protocols created decades ago. It's truly fascinating.

As you can tell, many of the posts I write are related to networks, and this week is no exception. I believe that we all have some responsibility to try to make the world a better place, and we, as technology enthusiasts, can make it better by building the infrastructure for future communication. So maybe I can give back by teaching what I've learned about networks. Hopefully, all of us can be part of building a better future.

Ok, let's talk about the article of the week. If you are subscribed to the RSS feed you might have already read it, if not, here is the link to this week's article:

Understanding SwiftNIO by building a text modifying server

It was a long time coming. This article belongs to a series of networking articles. The articles series goes from lower-level to higher-level. Beginning with BSD Sockets, moving into the new NetworkFramework, and this latest using SwiftNIO. The intention of the series is for you to be able to understand most of the aspects related to building network applications for Apple ecosystems. I hope it is useful. So here are the links to the articles in the series:

Using BSD Sockets in Swift
Building a server-client application using Apple's Network Framework
Understanding the RunLoop model by creating a basic shell . You can read this one if you need a RunLoop refresher before going into SwiftNIO.
Understanding SwiftNIO by building a text modifying server

Let me know what you think. And if you want to support my work, there are a few things you could do. You could share my writings with someone that might find it useful, or maybe buy a guide or two.

Recommendations and interesting topics

Staying on-topic for networks, I have an interesting podcast recommendation:

On the Metal: Kenneth Finnegan

This podcast is an interview with Keneth Finnegan. He describes how our Internet is built by many unconventional means. It's a fun listen, the stories are quite entertaining, and also you get to explore parts of the structure of the Internet. The podcast, On The Metal, has lots of fun episodes, so I would recommend you to listen to all of them.

Now I have a more "serious" recommendation. It's another podcast:

Rabbit hole by Kevin Roose

It explores what the Internet might be doing to us as a society. A very interesting listen, I highly recommend it. I think it is important also to be aware that there are some aspects of the Internet that need attention. Listen to it, and let me know what you think.

Ok, that's it for this week. I hope you have a fun rest of your week.

Derik

Tip of the week

I've been playing with the idea of creating screencasts for certain topics, and part of good screencasts is to have a clean layout. That includes not having a cluttered Desktop. I tend to have mine quite clean, but sometimes I have some directories and files laying around.

If you need to hide all your Desktop files to record a screencast, or you are sharing your screen in a videoconference and don't want to leak additional information, I have something for you.

To hide:

1
$ chflags hidden ~/Desktop/*

To show:

1
$ chflags nohidden ~/Desktop/*

** If you want to check what else I'm currently doing, be sure to follow me on twitter @rderik or subscribe to the newsletter. If you want to send me a direct message, you can send it to derik@rderik.com.