open-source
33 articles
Demo mode as a pattern for software
Ship every software product with built-in demo mode. The pattern serves authors, users, sales teams, and compliance — and synthesis engineering makes it cheap e
Synthesis Console: open-source tooling for synthesis engineering
An open-source local tool that renders project management markdown and YAML as browsable, searchable pages. Three dependencies, no client-side framework, and a
Managing AI agent skills at scale: a three-repo architecture
A three-repo architecture for managing public, private, and team AI agent skills with provenance tracking, drift detection, and synthesis merge — the first stan
Synthesis Skills: install methodology directly into your AI workflow
22 open-source Agent Skills encoding synthesis coding and synthesis engineering methodology. One command installs code review, content quality, project manageme
Code Review That Scales: An Open-Source Runbook for Agentic Engineering
Most code review checklists are either too shallow or too heavy. This open-source runbook tiers review depth by project complexity — and is designed for agentic
When Two Frameworks Point the Same Direction
LangChain published Agent Engineering on December 9. I'd been developing Synthesis Engineering since early November. We arrived at remarkably similar conclusion
Seventeen years ago, I built a tool for the open Web. This weekend, I modernized it using Synthesis Coding with Claude Code AI
In 2008, I released a WordPress plugin called Blogroll Links. The plugin displayed lists of links on WordPress pages using a shortcode. But the idea behind...
AI Content Quality: An Open-Source Framework for Writing That Doesn't Read Like AI
An open-source framework for creators and reviewers — systematic patterns that separate professional AI-assisted writing from AI slop, plus prompts you can use
What Open Source Taught Me About Building Innovation
Open source is the most reliable engine of compounding innovation in software. The four properties that separate compounding projects from inert ones, and what
Collective Intelligence: Making AI Work for Everyone
Three principles for inclusive AI from Cooper Union's Collective Intelligence panel: resource consciousness, participation beyond access, and knowledge sovereig
Facilitating Team Communication by AI Prompting Humans! Introducing Daily Team Sync
Introducing Daily Team Sync, an open-source AI tool that generates personalized standup prompts for Slack to facilitate team communication without replacing hum
MatheMagic Card Trick
MatheMagic Card Trick is a JavaScript project that generates math-based magic trick cards, co-authored by Rajiv and his son Fitz.
Social Graphs API: WordPress Plugin: Blogroll Links
An open source WordPress plugin for displaying blogroll links with XFN social graph markup, supporting Google's Social Graph API.
Software Products: Own vs. Rent & Create vs. Get (Incorrectly Called Build vs. Buy)
A strategic framework for technology executives to evaluate software ownership, reframing build vs. buy as own vs. rent and create vs. get.
I now use WordPress publishing software for this site (Product Review)
A review of WordPress as a content management system for blogs and news sites, covering architecture, scalability, plugins, and alternatives.
List of Open Source or Free Software for Home and Business Use
A curated list of open-source desktop software for home and business: OpenOffice, Firefox, GIMP, Thunderbird, Eclipse, and Linux distributions.
Java Progammer? Use BeanShell
BeanShell is a Java-compatible scripting language for interactive Java development, bundled with BEA Weblogic, Forte for Java, and NetBeans.
Cofax Goes Open Source
Knight Ridder releases Cofax as open-source software on SourceForge, making newspaper web publishing technology freely available.
Building Cofax: A Content Management System for Newspapers
How a team at Philadelphia Newspapers built Cofax, a CMS that reduced web publishing time from 8 hours to 45 minutes.
Converting Numbers to Words in Perl
A Perl module that converts numbers to English words, handling digits through quadrillions, with plans for Indian English support.
Sending Mail from Java Programs
A Java class for sending email via SMTP, usable from Java programs and ASP pages on IIS for web application notifications.
Including Remote URLs in Web Pages
A Java program that includes content from remote URLs into web pages, enabling ad serving and dynamic content assembly from multiple servers.
Multiple Default Documents on IIS
An ASP script that enables multiple default document names on Microsoft IIS, solving a common problem when migrating sites from Unix to Windows.
Making Unix Web Servers Case-Insensitive
Two Perl scripts that make Unix web servers case-insensitive by building a URL database and redirecting mismatched requests automatically.
Sharing Code with the Perl Community
On registering as a CPAN author, sharing Perl code freely, and why building software in the open makes everyone better.
A Date and Time Package for Perl
An object-oriented Perl 5 package for date and time formatting with support for today, yesterday, tomorrow, and arbitrary date offsets.
A Tour Guide Applet for Web Sites
A Java applet that guides visitors through a web site by reading a configurable list of links from a text file.
A toHex Function for Java
A Java function to convert integers to hexadecimal strings, written when java.lang.Integer lacked toHexString().
Netscape Acknowledged My Directory Listing Script
Netscape published my Perl CGI for custom directory listings as Tech Note 20021, solving a gap in their server software.
Building an Ad System for a Newspaper Web Site
Two Perl scripts for serving and tracking online advertising at Philadelphia Newspapers, built before commercial ad servers existed.
Reading GIF Dimensions in Perl
A Perl function to read GIF image dimensions and generate correct HTML img tags automatically.
Splitting Files for Floppy Disks
A Perl script to split large files into floppy-disk-sized pieces for transport across unreliable connections.