January 2020 Summaries

In an instructional guide, the process of building an Airbnb listing review app using MongoDB and Retool is detailed, aiming to enable users to approve or reject listings efficiently. The guide begins by setting up a MongoDB cluster with sample Airbnb data and connecting it to Retool, emphasizing the use of a connection string for data management. The app development involves creating a listings table with search and filter functionalities, utilizing MongoDB queries to manage data display. It also includes creating a detailed panel to review listings and their associated reviews, allowing for easy approval status management through a color-coded system. The guide concludes with adding logic and buttons for approving, rejecting, or marking listings as pending, ensuring that changes are reflected in real-time. Throughout, the guide highlights the use of Retool's graphical interface to simplify database interactions, offering a user-friendly solution that can be implemented swiftly, even by those with minimal coding experience.

Handling dates in SQL can be challenging due to the variety of SQL dialects and their differing syntax, as well as the complexity of date manipulation functions. The document explores how to effectively work with dates across five popular SQL dialects, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, BigQuery, Redshift, and Presto, focusing on essential functions such as formatting, time differences, intervals, time zones, and obtaining current times. It highlights the importance of understanding function prototypes like FROM_UNIXTIME(), DATE_FORMAT(), DATE_TRUNC(), DATE_PART(), and DATE_DIFF(), providing examples of how these functions are implemented in different SQL dialects. Additionally, the text addresses the complexities of dealing with time zones and date rounding and suggests best practices, including keeping dates in UTC for consistency. The article emphasizes the utility of SQL's date handling functions while acknowledging that scripting languages like JavaScript can sometimes offer easier solutions for date parsing and manipulation.

A survey titled "State of Internal Tools Survey" seeks to gather insights into the use and management of internal tooling within companies, highlighting the importance of such tools for various departments like customer support, operations, marketing, and engineering. Despite their critical role, internal tools often require significant time and resources to build and maintain, raising questions about how leading companies approach them, the appropriate investment of engineering time, and the decision to build versus buy. The survey, which targets developers at companies with at least 10 employees, aims to enhance understanding by collecting data through profiles, interviews, and a series of surveys, with the first consisting of 20 questions. Participants are incentivized with a chance to win one of four $250 Amazon gift cards, and the survey results will be shared with participants.