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Latest Episodes:

SkyWalking with Sheng Wu Feb 24, 2021

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) and Sheng Wu (@wusheng1108) discuss Apache SkyWalking, an open-source APM tool focusing on cloud-native and distributed systems. SkyWalking was originally developed in 2012 as a training tool for developers new to distributed systems architecture, but it became Sheng’s pet project for several years until he brought it to the Apache Incubator program. Listen to today’s episode for the inside scoop of how this “hidden gem” fits into the Apache network of open-source software projects.

In this episode we discuss:

Why open-source APMs are not very common
SkyWalking’s focus on attracting more contributors rather than users
How a conflict of interest at Huawei led to a “bake-off” between Apache and CNCF
The impact of Elastic changing their license on the open-source community
The name “Skywalking,” its sources of inspiration, and an easter egg

Links:

Other episodes:

Envoy Proxy with Matt Klein

Snowpack with Fred K. Schott Feb 10, 2021

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) and Fred K. Schott (@FredKSchott) dive into the world of Snowpack, an open-source, frontend build tool for web developers. Snowpack is special because it uses Javascript’s ES module system to instantly write file changes to the browser. Fred created Snowpack and the Skypack CDN to fulfill his vision of the future of the web, which he first recognized while trying to advance the Javascript ecosystem with an earlier project called Pika. On today’s episode, find out how Fred rejected the pain of modern web development, and came up with a better solution.

In this episode we discuss:

Reconfiguring old ideas for today’s web development landscape
How Snowpack and Skypack lighten the load when it comes to Node modules and storage space
Questioning what it means to build a modern application that works for developers and users alike
Skypack and the future of shared dependencies across different sites
Why Snowpack is using an open governance framework

Links:

People mentioned:

Rich Harris (@Rich_Harris)
Nate Moore (@n_moore)

NumPy & SciPy with Travis Oliphant Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) and Travis Oliphant (@teoliphant) take a far-reaching tour through the history of the Python data community. Travis has had a hand in the creation of many open-source projects, most notably the influential libraries, NumPy and SciPy, which helped cement Python as the standard for scientific computing. Join us for the story of a fledgling community from a time “before open-source was cool,” and their lessons for today’s open-source landscape.

In this episode we discuss:

How biomedical engineering, MRIs, and an unhappy tenure committee led to NumPy and SciPy
Overcoming early challenges of distribution with Python
What Travis would have done differently when he wrote NumPy
Successfully solving the “two-option split” by adding a third option
Community-driven open-source interacting with company-backed open-source

Links:

People mentioned:

Guido van Rossum (@gvanrossum)
Robert Kern (Github: @rkern)
Pearu Peterson (Github: @pearu)
Wes McKinney (@wesmckinn)
Charles Harris (Github: @charris)
Francesc Alted (@francescalted)
Fernando Perez (@fperez_org)
Brian Granger (@ellisonbg)

Other episodes:

TensorFlow with Rajat Monga

Scylla with Dor Laor Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) and Dor Laor (@DorLaor) go under the hood of Scylla, the open-source NoSQL database designed for low latency and high throughput in big data applications. Dor and his team have reimplemented Apache Cassandra in C++ from scratch, with additional compatibility for DynamoDB. In today’s episode, Dor shares details on the exciting work coming out of ScyllaDB, including Seastar, their open-source C++ framework. Also, check out Scylla Summit 2021 to learn what’s next for Scylla.

In this episode we discuss:

Enabling Scylla to “gain control” by implementing Apache Cassandra in C++
How Dor and his co-founder were ahead of the curve with their vision for virtualization
Scylla’s unique shard-per-core architecture
Working with distributed teams, even before the COVID-19 pandemic
The growing significance of separating the interface from the engine in open-source
Learn about Project Circe, which is being featured at Scylla Summit 2021 right now

Links:

People mentioned:

Avi Kivity (@AviKivity)

Gitpod with Sven Efftinge, Christian Weichel and Gero Posmyk-Leinemann Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) chats with Sven Efftinge (@svenefftinge), Christian Weichel (@csweichel) and Gero Posmyk-Leinemann (Github: @geropl) about their work on Gitpod, an open-source Kubernetes application that allows engineers to spin up a server-side dev-environment from a Git repository, all within their browser. The three team members are part of TypeFox, a consulting firm that specialized in developer tools for different companies before branching out into open-source projects. Upon Gero’s hiring at TypeFox, he was tasked with creating a minimum viable product for the idea that would eventually become Gitpod. Tune in to hear how shifting from consulting to working on their own open-source projects was a breath of fresh air for the developers at TypeFox.

In this episode we discuss:

How Gitpod solves the problem of switching between multiple dev environments, and improves deep code review
The trap that many open-source founders fall into
Why TypeFox wanted to switch from a consulting firm to a product shop
Details on how Gitpod handles licensing
Learn how you can instantly try out a Gitpod environment for any existing Github repository

Links:

People mentioned:

Anton Kosyakov (@akosyakov)
Sid Sijbrandij (@sytses)

oso with Graham Neray Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) interviews Graham Neray (@grahamneray) about oso, the open-source policy engine for authorization. oso was originally born from a desire to make infrastructure and security easier for developers, which is why Graham and his company describe themselves as being in the “friction-removal business.” Listen to today’s episode to learn how the team at oso are working to put security in the hands of developers.

In this episode we discuss:

Developers building RBAC (role-based access control) systems over and over again
Why open-source is the best way to handle authorization logic
The history behind oso’s core policy language, Polar
How someone beat Graham to the punch submitting oso to a Python newsletter
Comparing oso and OPA (Open Policy Agent)

Links:

People mentioned:

Sam Scott (@samososos)
Alex Plotnick (Github: @plotnick)
Stephen Olsen (@olsenator4)

Other episodes:

TensorFlow with Rajat Monga Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) is joined by Rajat Monga (@rajatmonga), a co-creator of TensorFlow. Originally developed by the Google Brain team, TensorFlow is now one of the most popular open-source libraries for machine learning. The team at TensorFlow seek to “democratize” the world of AI as we know it, and by all accounts, they are succeeding. Listen to today’s episode to get inside one of the largest and most exciting open-source projects of the decade.

In this episode we discuss:

How TensorFlow compares to other open-source projects at Google
Taking bets on launch day numbers
Balancing the demands of different kinds of TensorFlow users
Lessons from Keras and PyTorch

Links:

People mentioned:

Jeff Dean (@JeffDean)
Andrew Ng (@AndrewYNg)
François Chollet (@fchollet)

Materialize with Frank McSherry Nov 18, 2020

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) and Frank McSherry (@frankmcsherry) dive into Materialize, a source-available streaming database that lets engineers build real-time applications. Frank is a data processing expert whose work at Microsoft Research on the Timely and Differential Dataflow models culminated in the Materialize project. Tune in to today’s episode to learn how the team at Materialize are making the technology from cutting-edge data research accessible to a wider swath of users.

In this episode we discuss:

Sharing early ideas with an “academic open source” approach
How Materialize made a commitment to correctness
Frank’s developmental philosophy of iterative thinking
Novel applications for the Materialize community
Changing the way we approach problems with real-time data processing

Links:

People mentioned:

Arjun Narayan (@narayanarjun)
Derek Murray (@mrry)

Cilium with Thomas Graf Nov 04, 2020

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) speaks with Thomas Graf (@tgraf__) about Cilium, the open-source networking, observability, and security software for cloud-native applications based on eBPF. Thomas is the co-founder and CTO of Isovalent, which maintains both eBPF and Cilium. Listen to today’s episode for a discussion of how Thomas’ work has leveled up the Linux kernel and the possibilities of network infrastructure in a cloud-native world.

In this episode we discuss:

The impact of simultaneous development on Cilium and eBPF
Google’s incorporation of Cilium
Shortening the gap between writing kernel code and its deployment
What JavaScript and eBPF have in common
Cilium’s sister project, Hubble

Links:

People mentioned:

Brendan Gregg (@brendangregg)

Other episodes:

Istio on Contributor

Prefect with Jeremiah Lowin Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

Eric Anderson (@ericmander) and Jeremiah Lowin (@jlowin) discuss Prefect, a workflow management system and data orchestration tool under development as an open-source project. Jeremiah initially created Prefect to solve a technical challenge specific to his own work, but soon realized that it was appealing to a very wide range of different clients. Listen to today’s episode to learn why Jeremiah believes most attempts to build a unified framework for solving data orchestration fail.

In this episode we discuss: