ORDER BY RAND() – Faster Alternative
MySQL’s ORDER BY RAND() function can be so useful for returning random items from a table, in fact, we have used it a million times… Read More »ORDER BY RAND() – Faster Alternative
Top-down vs Bottom-up Database Design
There are essentially two different approaches one can take when designing databases; these, from a high-level analytic point of view, narrow down to what is… Read More »Top-down vs Bottom-up Database Design
How to keep your web server or blog up when you get a traffic spike
So you’re about to be featured on some very high ranking website. You’re worried that when all the visitors come rushing towards you, your web… Read More »How to keep your web server or blog up when you get a traffic spike
How to get the UTC Timestamp in Python
All dates in your server applications should be stored in the UTC timezone. This is because you always want to store time without the offset… Read More »How to get the UTC Timestamp in Python
How to setup the AWS CLI for multiple profiles
The AWS CLI provides the ability to use the wide range of Amazon Web Services tools and services straight from the command-line. However, sometimes it’s… Read More »How to setup the AWS CLI for multiple profiles
How to get the size of an AWS S3 bucket
If you need to get the size of an AWS S3 folder, or even an entire bucket, you can do so with the following command:… Read More »How to get the size of an AWS S3 bucket
Comparing Java and Javascript
Perhaps the first thing that most people ask when they hear the names of these two programming languages are. “Why do they have the same… Read More »Comparing Java and Javascript
An Introduction to Data Structures
When bringing up the topic of “Data Structures”, it is first important to understand what they are. TechTarget states that “a data structure is a… Read More »An Introduction to Data Structures
Relational Database Proprietary Extensions
Standard Query Language – or SQL for short – is a language designed for relational databases that allows end users such as developers and database… Read More »Relational Database Proprietary Extensions
Locks used in Database Management Systems
Database Management Systems (DBMS?) are designed to store any amount of data that can then be retrieved or manipulated at a later date. In order… Read More »Locks used in Database Management Systems
Tail and Grep: display all output but highlight search matches
I tail logs quite a lot. An example would be to tail the Apache2 access logs. This is simple to do: This will show a… Read More »Tail and Grep: display all output but highlight search matches
Convert URL String into a Javascript Object
Sometimes you find yourself with a String, something like https://ao.gl/convert-url-string-into-a-javascript-object and you want to repeatably access elements of it correctly. Let’s say that you want… Read More »Convert URL String into a Javascript Object
How to make an HTTP Request in AWS Lambda using Python
The requests module for Python is very useful in helping simplify HTTP/s requests from Python, but how would you use it in an AWS Lambda… Read More »How to make an HTTP Request in AWS Lambda using Python
How to fix a Javascript Uncaught ReferenceError
Sometimes you may get an error that looks something like this: Uncaught ReferenceError: <some_variable_or_function> is not defined At first this can be quite the pain,… Read More »How to fix a Javascript Uncaught ReferenceError
Resolving InsufficientPrivilege Errors in Redshift
If you are getting the mysterious error: [ERROR] InsufficientPrivilege: permission denied for schema errors Then you can easily resolve this by running the following SQL:… Read More »Resolving InsufficientPrivilege Errors in Redshift
How to increase column size in Redshift database tables
It is only possible to alter VARCHAR columns, and only under the following circumstances: You can not alter a column with compression encodings BYTEDICT, RUNLENGTH,… Read More »How to increase column size in Redshift database tables
The provided execution role does not have permissions to call CreateNetworkInterface on EC2
If you are trying to get an AWS Lambda added attached to a VPC, but get the error message: The provided execution role does not… Read More »The provided execution role does not have permissions to call CreateNetworkInterface on EC2
Entity and Referential Integrity in Relational Databases
Data integrity is the overall completeness, accuracy and consistency of data (Techopedia, n.d.). In order to achieve data integrity, it is important to analyse Entity… Read More »Entity and Referential Integrity in Relational Databases
Data Warehouses vs Data Marts
Although the terms “data warehouse” and “data mart” sound similar, they are quite different. It is important to first understand how they differ in order… Read More »Data Warehouses vs Data Marts
Amazon’s custom Whois date entry
Whois is an online service that let’s you know registration information about a website or IP address. For the most part, Whois aggregations are not… Read More »Amazon’s custom Whois date entry
Graph Databases and their Properties
The concept of a graph in mathematics is simply a collection of elements which are typically called Nodes and are joined together by Edges. Each… Read More »Graph Databases and their Properties
How to add SSH keys to GitHub
When working with GitHub, you will need to identify yourself. The default way is using your username and password. However, you can also create an… Read More »How to add SSH keys to GitHub
Get the Maximum Length of a Concatenated String with Unique Characters in Python
The problem Given an array of strings arr. String s is a concatenation of a sub-sequence of arr which have unique characters. Return the maximum possible length of s. Example test-cases Example 1: Input:… Read More »Get the Maximum Length of a Concatenated String with Unique Characters in Python
Apache Kafka’s Role in Big Data Streaming Analytics
The world of Big Data started out as a way of storing and querying obscene amounts of information by comparison to what yesteryears were able… Read More »Apache Kafka’s Role in Big Data Streaming Analytics
Mitigating Risks with Software Development Outsourcing
In the Oxford Dictionary, the term “outsourcing” is simply defined as obtaining goods or services by contract from an outside supplier (OxfordDictionaries.com, n.d.). When it… Read More »Mitigating Risks with Software Development Outsourcing