To say that the use of containers has revolutionized how applications are designed and deployed would be an understatement. Gone are the days of applications being run on physical servers, as due to the issues with resource management, the alternative of using virtual machines to run multiple applications on a single CPU provides vastly more flexibility to developers. One downside of virtualization, however, is that these virtual machines are considered rather “heavy.” Each VM is a fully-functional machine, running a full OS in addition to whatever virtualized hardware is added on. In environments where each server’s CPU may have multiple virtual machines running, the same issue occurs; high resource usage.

To solve this problem, the use of containerized software has become common. Containers share the same OS instance as the host machine, as opposed to a VM, which has an entirely separate OS. This leads to a multitude of benefits, such as reducing image storage size. While a VM uses images multiple gigabytes large, container images are much smaller; often measured in megabytes. Additionally, containers are entirely independent, meaning they are much more easily portable, which leads to faster and easier deployment.

One major drawback to containers is the upkeep. Containers must have a specific amount of resources added to them, such as memory usage, while also, like anything else, can fail and need repair.

Enter Kubernetes; an open source platform designed to automatically conduct these maintenance tasks. Kubernetes uses clusters as the basis for their infrastructure, each containing nodes which run and manage the application. Control plane nodes manage scheduling, the API server, and other services. Worker nodes are where applications are actually run, with larger applications using more worker nodes than smaller ones.

If such a platform is so valuable, why are so many positions left unfilled? Because jobs working with Kubernetes are hard.

On the one hand, developing and maintaining applications with Kubernetes requires experienced engineers, and time. The nature of the environment simply demands developers have the knowledge and experience to implement it.

On the other hand, because Kubernetes is such a new technology, the field is rapidly evolving, requiring developers to evolve along with it. Each change requires testing and optimization, as well as programmers needing to continue to broaden their expertise.

Why is this problematic? In addition to creating a work environment prone to causing burnout among employees, engineers working in this field can outgrow their positions quickly. As they gain more experience and widen their skillset, many move on to positions that offer higher pay. According to Forbes, Kubernetes engineers spend an average of just 18 months in their positions before moving on.

This creates a cycle; engineers are hired to work on Kubernetes platforms, hold their positions for a short while, and either due to the intense workload, higher paying positions, or a mix of both, move on. This leaves an opening in their previous position, which must be filled by a new hire. Rinse and repeat.

Works Cited:

Budhani, Haseeb. “Council Post: Addressing the Kubernetes Skills Gap.” Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/05/10/addressing-the-kubernetes-skills-gap/?sh=2a1430223f42. Accessed 20 Nov. 2023.

“Overview.” Kubernetes, kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/. Accessed 19 Nov. 2023.

Poulton, Nigel. “What Is Kubernetes, and Why Should I Learn It?” Www.pluralsight.com, 2 Jan. 2023, http://www.pluralsight.com/blog/cloud/what-is-kubernetes#:~:text=Kubernetes%20is%20notorious%20for%20having. Accessed 20 Nov. 2023.

From the blog Butler Software Construction, Design, and Architecture by Griffin Butler and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

The world of Computer Programming is one that is comprised of people from every corner of the globe, from countless different social and economic backgrounds, which has led to one of the most diverse fields of study in the world. Some come from well-established foundations; utilizing the resources at their disposal to create new and innovative products. Many more come from more humble beginnings, forging their own path and transforming the world around them. Yet, across this wide spectrum of developers, researchers, and teachers, they all share one thing in common:

At some point in time, at the beginning of their studies, they had relatively no idea what they were doing.

Sure, this sounds harsh. But it’s true for quite literally every field of study imaginable. No one is born with the ability to write machine learning algorithms, develop web applications, or any other kind of work in the field. At one point or another, this knowledge was learned, practiced, and perfected.

In the world of computer programming, the amount of seemingly trivial yet incredibly difficult problems one may encounter can be quite high. They can often be hyper-specific issues where directly posing the question at hand to your peers may be the most effective way of coming to a solution. And in the modern age of the internet, an incredible medium of getting answers proves time-and-time again to be a rock-solid support for developers: StackOverflow.

StackOverflow is a forum made for programmers to post issues and questions related to their work, and to receive answers from other programmers on how to resolve these issues. It can be astonishing how regardless of how niche or specific you think your issue may be, there’s an extremely good chance that someone else had the same problem, posted it, and received multiple different solutions. StackOverflow has the benefit of being powered by the vast workforce of the internet, where millions of people can chime in and offer their assistance. However, therein lies the problem:

The internet can be full of jerks.

Of course, I don’t mean to discredit the vast majority of users who are often incredibly helpful and welcoming to newcomers. The usefulness of StackOverflow and similar sites cannot be overstated. The core issue, in my opinion, is the vocal minority who either through arrogance or simply a lack of tact, can scare away those new to the programming field with a sarcastic attitude and an aura of superiority.

This isn’t just anecdotal either. Nate Swanner from Dice.com writes about how in 2019, after StackOverflow made efforts to convince users to “be nice” to each other, the annual developer survey reported that 73 percent of users saw no change in how welcoming the site was to new users. He acknowledges that while the vast majority of users are able to find answers to their questions, there exists a problem in how the forum treats its fellow developers.

“When you’ve got to wade through a river of ego and spite before being told to ‘Google it,‘ we start to wonder how long people will tolerate a Stack Overflow where a “cultural shift” hasn’t yet taken hold.

While one of my least-favorite things to do is to harp on a problem without offering any kind of solution, I really don’t believe there is one singular fix to this kind of issue. After all, this isn’t a phenomenon exclusive to StackOverflow, or even the Computer Science field for that matter. Sometimes, when we hear a question from someone that to us sounds trivial, our knee-jerk reaction is to think “Dude, really? THAT’S your issue?”

This is the mentality that I believe should be addressed and challenged more often in order to create a more welcoming community. The field of computer programming is growing fast. And there are definitely indications that we’re moving in the right direction. That same developer survey found that users on StackOverflow who were people of color felt more welcome than in previous years, which is a great step forward. However, fields of study are driven by the people who study them. And the more welcoming and supportive these groups are, the more a field will grow.

A quick side note: I hope this post didn’t end up being too philosophical; I had originally planned to write about a completely different topic, however after hearing about some experiences from a friend of mine who has just started his freshman year in a CS program, I felt that this was a topic worth discussing.

Citations:

Nate Swanner. “It’s Not Just You: Stack Overflow Is Still Full of Jerks.” Dice Insights, Dice, 18 Apr. 2019, http://www.dice.com/career-advice/stack-overflow-many-jerks.

From the blog Butler Software Construction, Design, and Architecture by Griffin Butler and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

If we were to try to categorize all software applications into two groups (a bit of an ambitious task, but bear with me), we could separate them into apps that are platform-specific and natively-installed, such as apps downloaded from an app store onto a smartphone; as well as web-based apps, which run through a web browser. In the past, the majority of all applications can fall neatly into either category, each with it’s own advantages and disadvantages.

Historically, the most capable applications are those directly installed onto the user’s device. They can make use of the full use of system hardware, can launch regardless of internet connection, are more robust and reliable, directly read and write data stored on the device, and are their own platform. Native apps like Spotify, Waze, as well as more platform specific apps like iMessage, have the feeling of directly being part of their respective devices.

This is in contrast to web-based applications, which trade the capability and reliability of native apps for a design that is meant to be accessible to anyone, at any time, from any platform. Additionally, web applications have the advantage of only needing one codebase, as the only platform they must have compatibility with is just a web browser. While a developer of a native app may be able to create a more powerful and capable product, they must design and implement compatibility with each type of platform they want to run on. For example, the navigation app Waze must have compatible versions for iOS, Android OS, as well as other available operating systems.

This is now beginning to change, as Progressive Web Apps (PWA) have exploded into the field and promise to bridge the gap between platform-specific apps and web-based apps. Built using modern APIs, PWAs are able to fully realize their capabilities to the level of native apps, while still maintaining the reach and accessibility of web apps.

Authors Sam Richard and Pete LePage hit on the “best-of-both-worlds” abilities provided by PWAs in their article, What are Progressive Web Apps? “Progressive Web Apps are web applications that have been designed to be capable, reliable, and installable. These three pillars transform them into an experience that feels like a platform-specific application.”

While many different aspects of a developed application can be assessed and critiqued, the most important attribute of any app is the end-user experience. In other words, Is my app easy to use? Does it have all the features the user would need? Is it easily accessible? Reliable?

Progressive Web Apps cover all of these bases, and more. With the ease-of-access as a website and the capabilities of a native app, these new apps have the potential to reimagine how we think of web-based applications. While still a growing field, I believe the inherent ease-of-use provided by this platform will lead it to becoming a new standard for many different fields of application development.

From the blog Butler Software Construction, Design, and Architecture by Griffin Butler and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Hello internet!

I’m Griffin Butler, and this will be my blog covering my learning experience during my CS-343 class. Here I will be discussing content related to software design, and I hope to further my understanding of how to create robust, efficient code in my projects and work.

From the blog Butler Software Construction, Design, and Architecture by Griffin Butler and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Hello internet!

I’m Griffin Butler, a Computer Science student at Worcester State University. This blog will be a way for me to document and share my learning experience in my Software Process Management class, where I will discuss topics related to the curriculum, as well as explore additional material. I plan on learning more about the general procedure of how software is developed, the day-to-day processes and responsibilities of writing code in a team, and the best ways to effectively collaborate with others to create the best final product possible.

From the blog Griffin Butler Computer Science Blog by Griffin Butler and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Hello internet!

I’m Griffin Butler, a Computer Science student at Worcester State University. This blog will be a way for me to document and share my learning experience in my Software Process Management class, where I will discuss topics related to the curriculum, as well as explore additional material. I plan on learning more about the general procedure of how software is developed, the day-to-day processes and responsibilities of writing code in a team, and the best ways to effectively collaborate with others to create the best final product possible.

From the blog Griffin Butler Computer Science Blog by Griffin Butler and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.