ZFS Snapshots: The case of the vanishing disk usage
3 Jun 2022I have a home server that runs on TrueNAS (which is FreeBSD) using ZFS for its storage filesystem. I recently ran into the common issue of not knowing where my disk usage was going, discovered that disk usage accounting for snapshots is more complex than for regular filesystems, and thought I’d write it up. Hopefully others find it helpful and/or enlightening.
Generating integers uniformly distributed over an range
21 Nov 2021You may have seen that there was recently a submission to the Swift language’s standard library with an interesting title: “An optimal algorithm for bounded random integers” by Stephen Canon. I found the idea intriguing and this post is a summary of my little expedition into the world of bounded pseudorandom integer generation.
Hidden friends with compile-time benefits
28 Aug 2021Recently I’ve been thinking about how I could reduce the compilation time of my C++ code (aren’t we all). I also recently saw some people discussing the so-called “hidden friend” idiom in C++ and its various benefits. One of the claimed benefits of hidden friends is that they simplify the compiler’s job, speeding up compilation. I thought I’d investigate.
FreeBSD Service Configuration: A primer & example
19 Jun 2021Memory Alignment in 2021
16 May 2021I recently saw a small argument on the internet (shocking, I know) about whether it is important to care about memory alignment on modern computing hardware. One party claimed that alignment is not something you need to worry about in 2021 and that code which works to ensure it is correct is just getting in the way. The other party was arguing that such code is an important part of ensuring your program’s correctness.
From G to Fast: A short story about email
12 Jul 2020Implementing DNS: RFCs can be sneaky
28 Mar 2020Randomly valuing property: A Machi Koro investigation
26 Dec 2019In addition to the various computer-ey things that I do, I also like to play boardgames with my friends sometimes. One such game that I like to play is Machi Koro. Machi Koro will be the topic of today’s post so if you’ve never played it, you may want to watch a lets-play of it or something before continuing.