# Bright Inventions

> A leading digital product agency in Poland.
> From mobile apps and complex backend systems to emerging technology solutions, we create success stories for startups, consultancy agencies, and mid-size organisations across industries including FinTech, Blockchain, HealthTech, Retail, Logistics and more.

## Services

- [MVP Development Agency](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/mvp-development/index.md): Since 2012 we have developed MVPs for clients from the UK, Germany, Israel and more. We build MVPs for startups, corpora
- [Agile Workshops for Teams](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/agile-workshops/index.md): Since 2012 we have developed over 50 software solutions with Agile methodology. We provide Agile training for businesses
- [Bluetooth Development](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/bluetooth-development/index.md): We are a digital products agency based in Poland. Our Android & iOS teams specialize in Bluetooth Low Energy and iBeacon
- [AI Solutions](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/ai-software-development/index.md): As a digital products agency, we build secure AI solutions. From generative AI & machine learning to prompt engineering,
- [Application modernization](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/app-modernization/index.md): We transform legacy systems into modern, scalable, and efficient applications.
- [Blockchain Solutions](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/blockchain/index.md): We are a digital products agency from Poland. We specialise in building blockchain solutions based on Ethereum and Subst
- [Cloud Computing Services](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/cloud-services/index.md): We are a digital products agency from Poland offering cloud services based on AWS. We assist clients with cloud migratio
- [Custom Software Development](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/custom-software-development/index.md): We are a digital products agency from Poland. Since 2012 we have developed custom applications for clients from the UK, 
- [Custom Asset Tracking](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/asset-tracking/index.md): Poland-based digital products agency creating tailored solutions for businesses that outgrow off-the-shelf software. Let
- [Best Digital Product Studio in Gdańsk](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/gdansk-digital-product-agency/index.md): Meet a leading digital product agency in Gdańsk (Poland). Bright Inventions is a digital product agency crafting custom 
- [Healthcare Technology Consulting](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/index.md): Since 2012, we’ve built cutting-edge HealthTech solutions for clients in the UK, Germany, Israel & beyond. Work with a d
- [IoT Solutions](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/iot-development/index.md): As a digital products agency, we offer IoT application development and IoT integration services in the UK and the USA. C
- [Mobile App Development](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/mobile-app-development/index.md): We are a digital products agency from Poland. We specialise in building native apps for iOS and Android. Looking for app
- [MVP Entwicklung](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/mvp-entwicklung-agentur/index.md): Seit 2012 entwickeln wir MVPs für Startups, Unternehmen und Agenturen in Deutschland, Großbritannien, Israel. Kontaktier
- [Customized food delivery integration for your POS](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/food-delivery-pos-integration/index.md): POS integration with Uber Eats, Wolt, Just Eat Takeaway (and more) tailored to your point of sale system.
- [Product workshops for business](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/product-workshops/index.md): Since 2012 we have built software for over 40 businesses. At product workshops we will establish a product development p
- [POS Software Development](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/pos-software-development/index.md): A digital products agency offering POS software development services since 2012. Building, scaling and modernizing custo
- [Product Design Services](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/product-design/index.md): We are a digital products agency specialising in product design. We prepare prototypes of app and web solutions and deli
- [Your App Deserves the Best](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/welcome-back/index.md): From HealthTech, IoT, POS, and Fintech – we turn ideas into robust digital solutions.
- [Custom Uber Eats and POS Integrations](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/uber-eats-pos-integration/index.md): Uber Eats and POS (Point-of-Sale) Integration for hospitality.
- [Building Software Aligned with Zebra Technologies](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/zebra-technologies-integrations/index.md): Track Everything with Custom Software Aligned to Zebra Technologies
- [Web Development Services](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/web-development/index.md): We are a digital products agency from Poland. We build web apps, web services and websites for clients from the USA, UK,

## Projects

- [Supporting People with Parkinson's Disease – MVP story ](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/index.md): From the idea to the patient engagement solution in 3 months. Discover the journey of an eHealth MVP crafted to engage i
- [AirHelp's Flight Compensation Checker – From Concept to MVP](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/airhelp/index.md): AirHelp iOS mobile application lets you check if your flight is eligible for compensation and guides you through the who
- [Emergency Services Accessible to People with Hearing Loss [Confidential Project]](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/emergency-contact-app/index.md): The American emergency dispatch system, established in the 1960s, originally relied on landlines and still doesn't suppo
- [Boosting User Acquisition with App Clip & Instant App for Relevo – a Food Take-Away and Delivery App](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/app-clips-instant-apps-solution/index.md): Overcoming user hesitancy towards installing new applications is a crucial challenge in today's competitive market. Disc
- [Breaking Free from High Fees: Restaurant Delivery Drivers App](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/delivery-drivers-app/index.md): While food delivery platforms offer convenience, they come with high commission fees for restaurant owners. What if ther
- [Managing Substrate Treasury Proposals – Web3Foundation App Development](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/bright-treasury/index.md): Bright Inventions’s original solution. A web app supporting Substrate Blockchain networks: Polkadot and Kusama in upload
- [Solving Problems with Printer Integrations in a Global POS System – Just Eat POS Case Study](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-devices-integration/index.md): From label printers to kitchen thermal printers, payment terminals, and tablets – restaurant staff has to operate more d
- [Breaking Status Quo in Restaurants with Kitchen Display System](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/kitchen-display-system/index.md): Can technology change the status quo? The Kitchen Display System developed for the Israeli startup Practi stands as a pr
- [Circles secures $16.5M in Series A and Emerges as Leading Group Support App](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/online-group-support/index.md): Circles is an online group therapy application connecting individuals seeking emotional support. As a mental health tech
- [Building IoT-Based Water Quality Monitoring System for Fish Transportation](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/water-quality-monitoring/index.md): Maintaining food product quality isn’t just about logistics — it’s about trust and the right technology behind it. This 
- [Crafting Stress-Free and Secure POS Bill Splitting for Restaurants](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-bill-splitting/index.md): Bill splitting is a convenient way to share the cost for diners. Yet for waitstaff, it can be a source of stress, partic
- [CryptoAtlas: User-Driven Development in the Cryptocurrency World](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/cryptocurrency-platfrom/index.md): CryptoAtlas is a social platform connecting people passionate about cryptocurrency. The first and only place where you c
- [Cutting Waste in Healthcare: Building a Custom Hospital Asset Tracking Solution](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/hospital-asset-tracking/index.md): Our client, a provider of inventory tracking solutions, saw an opportunity to bring more clarity to hospital operations.
- [Digitilized Invoicing: Hassle-Free Invoices for Restaurants ](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/invoice-generation-system/index.md): Hundreds of invoices easily generated without any disturbances and limits. This is the reality our client envisioned, ai
- [Codeforia: Empowering the Next Generation of Coders with Gamified Learning](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/e-learning-coding-platform/index.md): We all know how crucial programming skills are for this generation and the future. Yet, public school systems still lack
- [Optimizing Medicine Distribution for UK Care Homes](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/emar-healthcare-solution/index.md): Nurses are forced to juggle the care of multiple patients, each with unique health profiles, medication plans, and aller
- [Turning Smartphones into Terminals with Card Payment App](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/credit-card-reader/index.md): A fintech iOS and Android application that allows businesses to charge credit cards without a payment terminal.
- [Driving a 35% Increase in Benefit Card Payments Through Tailored POS Integration](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-integration-benefit-loyalty-cards/index.md): When a fast-growing restaurant chain asked our client, a POS vendor, to support benefit and loyalty cards like Multipass
- [Real-Time Location Experience with iBeacon Tech in Housing Market](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/easytapp/index.md): An app that allowed users to receive real estate and car sales’ offers based on their real-time location.
- [Elevating the Retail POS: Integrating Tap to Pay for Effortless Transactions](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/tap-to-pay-pos/index.md): It all began with a request from a major global retail client: integrate Tap to Pay (T2P) into their existing iOS and An
- [Eliminating Device Clutter with POS and Food Delivery Apps Integration](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-third-party-delivery/index.md): From Uber Eats, Wolt to Just Eat and beyond, managing online orders from multiple food delivery platforms is challenging
- [ePOS and RMS](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/epos-and-retail-management-system/index.md): Our service included creating an intelligent point-of-sale application which runs on iPads. The application is widely us
- [Faster Labeling Printout with Custom Zebra and Shopify Integrations](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/custom-labeling-printout/index.md): A manual, time-consuming labeling process hindered Boosa & Co, a pet catering company's, e-commerce operations and brand
- [Finebite’s Pivot Story: Loyalty App Hits 1M Users with New Reservation Feature](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/everytap/index.md): Finebite app helps to discover the best restaurants in the biggest Polish cities. Finebite originated from a very popula
- [Food Delivery iOS App Modernization: SwiftUI & Modern Concurrency Migrations](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/leading-food-delivery-app/index.md): Meet a popular food delivery app and employee benefit in one. Our experienced iOS team quickly enhanced the app’s potent
- [From MVP to a Solution Helping People in Asia and Africa](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/card-tracking-system/index.md): Introducing the Card Tracking System, a digital marvel that is not just code but a life-changing force across Asia and A
- [Navigating Digital Transformation at Construction Sites: Heinrich Schmid's Doc-Sharing App](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/document-management-apps-construction/index.md): The Heinrich Schmid Group is a distinguished provider of construction services, with a rich history spanning over 110 ye
- [Implementing Sygic GPS Navigation into Driver’s Application](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/navigation-driver-app-integration/index.md): Drivers are the lifeblood of any road logistics network. So, when digitalizing operations for a freight forwarding compa
- [Retail iOS and Android Apps with Bluetooth Integration – Just Eat POS](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/system-for-restaurants-mobile/index.md): Just Eat POS was a retail system available on iOS and Android used by restaurants in Israel and the UK. We scaled this p
- [Legacy Modernization of 30-Year-Old Restaurant POS](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-legacy/index.md): Is it possible to revamp nearly 30-year-old software? Discover how our engineering team redesigned and modernized a rest
- [Just Eat POS: From Startup to Global ePOS Provider](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/system-for-restaurants/index.md): Just Eat POS was a retail system used by restaurants in Israel and the UK. We worked on this project for almost a decade
- [Lösung für Parkinson-Patienten](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/losung-fur-parkinson-patienten/index.md): Ein persönliches digitales Tagebuch für Parkinson-Patienten. Mit der App können Benutzer Ihre Symptome aufzeichnen und d
- [MedKitDoc – The Future of Telemedicine & Remote Care in Germany](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/telehealth-solution/index.md): In a world where older and chronically ill people often find themselves isolated without easy access to healthcare, MedK
- [The Future of Physiotherapy: Engaging Patients with Mobile Application](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/mobile-therapy-application/index.md): Physiotherapy holds the transformative power to improve lives, especially during challenging times such as recovery afte
- [Software für Messeplanung](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/software-fur-messeplanung/index.md): Eine Messeplanungssoftware, die Art und Weise revolutioniert, wie Unternehmen alle für Branchenveranstaltungen erforderl
- [App für Physiotherapie](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/mobile-therapieanwendung/index.md): Eine mobile Anwendung für das Gesundheitswesen, die Patienten bei der Physiotherapie unterstützt. Es bietet Therapeuten 
- [Optimizing Cycling Training with App Integrated with Wahoo Fitness Devices](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/motivo/index.md): Turbo Training and Indoor Cycling Workouts. The app is your own personal cycling coach. It offers Interactive training p
- [Building Reliable Digital Survey Solution with Offline Mode](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/app-digitized-surveys/index.md): A web application that enables digitizing mobile reporting. It helps you to build, with no code, the digitized surveys f
- [PituPitu](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pitupitu/index.md): Pitu Pitu is a popular party app that allows users to find best parties in Polish main cities such as Tricity, Warsaw, C
- [ShopScout App: Perfect Mystery Shopper Experience](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pospulse-shopscout/index.md): A solution for FMCG companies and retail chains for verifying if products are properly displayed on shelves by asking co
- [The Story of the Successful Launch of FemTech MVP for Pregnant Women](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pregnancy-app/index.md): Can technology be emphatic? Dive into the story of an application crafted for expectant mothers, offering personalized n
- [Reducing Automotive Production Delays with a Custom Manufacturing Asset Tracking](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/asset-tracking-car-manufacturing/index.md): While scaling a custom asset tracking platform over the past 7 years for our client – a provider of tracking solutions w
- [From MVP to 200k Users. Meet Relevo – Sustainable Food Take-Away & Delivery App ](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/eco-friendly-app/index.md): Over 3 million single-use plastic containers have been saved thanks to German startup Relevo. Every reusable container t
- [Empowering MHealth System with NHS-Certified Bluetooth Devices](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/remote-patient-monitoring/index.md): The future of healthcare lies in remote medical care. In the system we helped our client build that future is already a 
- [App fur Schwangere Frauen](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/schwangerschafts-app/index.md): Eine mobile App für das Gesundheitswesen, die schwangere Frauen in jeder Phase ihrer Schwangerschaft und Geburt unterstü
- [SmartHelp: Instant Emergency Localization with a Single Click](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/smarthelp/index.md): An emergency service app that allows users to easily call for help and provide authorities with personal information, ex
- [Speeding-Up Restaurant Phone Ordering with POS & Caller ID Integration](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/restaurant-pos-caller-id/index.md): From the phone ring to order acceptance in under a minute! Managing restaurant phone orders has always been challenging,
- [Digitally Connecting the UK Care Homes](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/vCare/index.md): Behind the story of Camascope, there is a pharmacist who experienced firsthand the challenges care home professionals fa
- [Digitalizing Logistics: How We Transformed a Transport Management System](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/transportation-management-system/index.md): The Transport Management System analyses routes, cutting the time from 10-30 seconds to just 3-5 seconds per order, prov
- [Transforming Devices into Scalable Trackers for Equipment Tracking for Manufacturing](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/manufacturing-asset-tracking/index.md): Can a lost device actually signal where it is? Yes! That was the breakthrough moment for a major firm in the manufacturi
- [Improving User Experience for xpomaker – Trade Fairs Management Software](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/xpomaker/index.md): A trade fair planning software that revolutionizes the way companies prepare and organize all assets needed for industry

## Blog (Recent)

- [The Hidden Costs of "Alpha": The Struggle with Compose Screenshot Tests](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/compose-screenshot-test-library/index.md): Some time ago, we decided to integrate the new Compose Screenshot Testing library into our app. Even though the library 
- [A Decade in Dev: Mikołaj on Lessons Learned, Ownership, and Tech Recruitment Path](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/decade-in-software-development/index.md): Mikołaj is a senior fullstack developer with a career ten years in the making. In this interview, he opens up about less
- [5 Trends in HealthTech to Watch in 2026](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-trends-in-healthtech/index.md): Are we ready to book a doctor appointment via ChatGPT? Why should wellness become a priority for healthcare software com
- [Top FemTech Conferences and Meetups 2026](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/femtech-conferences-meetups/index.md): Are you looking for events focusing on technology for women's health? We’ve got you covered. Check out the exciting FemT
- [Top HealthTech Conferences in Europe to Attend in 2026](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthtech-conferences-europe/index.md): Looking for on-site healthcare conferences to attend in 2026? We’ve got you covered. Check exciting health conferences t
- [Top Healthcare Podcasts to Listen to in 2026: Insights from the eHealth leaders](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-healthcare-podcasts/index.md): Podcasts have become a key source of knowledge and inspiration for professionals in the healthtech space. From keeping u
- [How to Lose Respect and Fail as a Leader. 8 Things You Are Doing Wrong](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-lose-respect-and-fail-as-a-leader-8-things-you-are-doing-wrong/index.md): Leadership today is undergoing some transformation. The research in organisational psychology and management highlights 
- [What Digital Product Passport Means for Global 2000 Manufacturers](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/digital-product-passport-manufacturers/index.md): The European Union has shifted the burden of proof of sustainability from the marketing department to the IT department.
- [Avoiding UX Traps: A Frontend Developer with a Passion for Product Design](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/frontend-developer-with-passion-for-product-design/index.md): With nearly two decades of experience in software development, Krystian’s journey has taken him from early web builds to
- [Your First iOS CI Pipeline in Azure DevOps](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/index.md): In this article I will guide you through creation of your first CI pipeline using Azure DevOps Platform. Since I wrote m
- [Why JS Math Doesn’t Math?](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/why-js-math-does-not-math/index.md): In this article, we’ll explore why JavaScript’s floating-point calculations behave the way they do, and what’s really go
- [Using Transactional Analysis to Improve Feedback and Team Communication](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/using-transactional-analysis-to-improve-feedback-and-team-communication/index.md): Providing effective feedback needs both skills and knowledge. While it may seem like just a conversation, the way we giv
- [Got a ConnectivityException Crash? Read How to Solve It](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/android-connectivity-exception-too-many-requests/index.md): Have you seen the ConnectivityException$TooManyRequests exception in your Crashlytics dashboard? Perhaps you have notice
- [AI Agents Comparison from iOS Developer Perspective](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ai-agents-comparison-from-ios-dev-perspective/index.md): GitHub Copilot was one of the earliest LLM powered tools helping developers with their everyday chores. It was also quit
- [From Concrete Profession to Flexible Code. A Mobile Developer's Career Story](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mobile-developer-career-story/index.md): From delivering precast concrete elements for one of the longest tunnels in Poland to programming, Mateusz's career jour
- [Negativity Bias: Why Your Glass at Work Is Always Half-Empty](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/negativity-bias-why-your-glass-at-work-is-always-half-empty/index.md): You know that feeling when you have done a lot right, but all you can think about is the one thing that went wrong? Mayb
- [Join CocoaHeads Tricity in October](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cocoaheads-tricity-32/index.md): CocoaHeads Tricity is back! Sign up for a free event celebrating all things iOS! Listen to talks about AI-Powered iOS Co
- [Integrating Firebase into Tuist Project](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/index.md): Firebase is one of the most commonly used third-party library in iOS development. With functionalities ranging from Cras
- [Understanding the Bigger Picture in Programming. Patryk’s Career Journey](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bigger-picture-backend-developer-career-story/index.md): Patryk shares his biggest challenges in software development, why he needs to understand the big picture before writing 
- [Bright Inventions is now Framna Poland](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-inventions-is-now-framna-poland/index.md): Today Bright Inventions officially becomes Framna Poland, the leading international agency for digital products. Framna 
- [POS Software Development: 2025 Guide for Custom Point of Sale System](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/pos-software-development-guide/index.md): Dive into the technical world of the POS development process. Discover key features of Point of Sale, top challenges, tr
- [Certificate Pinning on iOS in Practice](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/certificate-pinning-in-ios-app/index.md): New feature for yesterday, too long backlog of bug tasks and this crazy new crash that started occurring randomly out of
- [Thriving in the Details. Behind Kasia’s QA mindset](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/kasia-qa-mindset-career-story/index.md): Kasia thrives on rules, diagrams, and compliance. She used to ensure that oil platforms were safe for workers. Eventuall
- [POS Delivery Integration. API vs FTP – What Works Best?](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/pos-delivery-integration-api-ftp/index.md): For many restaurant chains, third-party delivery platforms like Wolt, Just Eat, or 10bis are now essential revenue strea
- [Breaking the Code: Patryk's Quality Assurance Career Journey](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/patryk-quality-assurance-career-journey/index.md): Since college, Patryk knew that writing code wasn’t for him. But breaking it? That was a different story. In this interv
- [POS Integration: What You Should Know about POS System Integration](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/pos-integration/index.md): The era of point of sales that just handle payment operations is long over. Now POS system can serve as the central hub 
- [Watching People Talk - Drama Triangle at Work](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/drama-triangle-at-work/index.md): Words are powerful. The way we speak to each other shapes how we feel, how we work, and even how we see ourselves. In a 
- [One Codebase for iOS and Android with Kotlin Multiplatform](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/one-codebase-ios-android-kotlin-multiplatform/index.md): In this article, I'll guide you step-by-step through creating a shared library, with a focus on implementing it for iOS 
- [The Current Status of Test Fixtures Support in Android](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/current-test-fixtures-support-android/index.md): While test fixtures have been available in Gradle since 2019, their support in the Android Gradle Plugin is still evolvi
- [Deep Research AI Tools: ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok vs Perplexity](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ai-deep-research-comparison/index.md): The landscape of AI-powered research tools has evolved dramatically in 2025. What was once exclusive to premium tiers is
- [Top Mental Health Conferences 2025](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mental-health-conferences/index.md): If your calendar isn't full already, check out these mental health conferences that will still take place in 2025 across
- [React Context and why not every child throws a re-render party](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/react-context-rerenders/index.md): React Context is a powerful tool that makes it easy to share data across multiple components, helping to avoid a common 
- [The List of 42 Smart Healthcare Devices (Regularly Updated)](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/index.md): Smart earrings, tattoos, smart socks, robot pets, and more... Discover the types of smart health devices transforming pa
- [Top Healthcare Conferences to Attend in the USA in 2025](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthtech-conferences-usa/index.md): Are you planning to attend health conferences in the USA? Dive into the list of top healthcare conferences 2025 USA! 202
- [Microsoft Clarity for Web & Mobile Development: Benefits, Challenges, and Alternatives](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/microsoft-clarity-software-development/index.md): Users rarely have time to give you feedback – so it's up to you to uncover insights yourself. This article explores how 
- [Building Frontends, Embracing AI: A Look into Michał’s Career](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-frontends-embracing-ai/index.md): It took Michał only one day to choose his career path – but the spontaneity of that decision didn’t stop him from thrivi
- [Offboarding with Heart - Making the Last Chapter Counts](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/offboarding-with-heart-making-the-last-chapter-counts/index.md): Letting people go used to be one of the hardest parts of my job (and sometimes it still is). I would lose sleep over it,
- [Switching from Android Studio to IntelliJ IDEA for JetBrains Junie](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/switching-from-android-studio-to-idea-for-junie/index.md): IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate can be a viable alternative to Android Studio for Android development, offering additional featur
- [How to Migrate Android App to Flutter: Step-by-Step Guide](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrating-from-android-app-to-flutter/index.md): If you already have an existing app written in Android and want to gradually introduce Flutter (e.g., one screen at a ti
- [How to Integrate Payment Providers into a POS System: A Strategic Overview for Modern Restaurants](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/payment-provider-pos-integration/index.md): Point of Sale systems have evolved into multi-functional platforms that support diverse payment methods, helping restaur
- [JetBrains Junie & AI Assistant vs Cursor for Frontend Developers – Which AI Agent Comes Out on Top?](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/jetbrains-junie-ai-assistant-vs-cursor-frontend-developers/index.md): Background Today I reactivated my JetBrains (JB) subscription so I could take Junie and the AI Assistant for a test‑driv
- [Migrating from iOS App to Flutter – a Painless Getting Started Guide](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrating-from-ios-app-to-flutter/index.md): Migrating iOS app from native to Flutter doesn't have to mean rewriting your entire app from scratch. If you have a work
- [Efficient S3 File Upload Pipeline with Presigned URLs, Event Triggers, and Lambda Processing](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/efficient-S3-file-uploads-with-async-processing/index.md): Uploading files to S3 via pre-signed POST URLs allows clients to upload securely and efficiently without routing large p
- [Asset Tracking: A Guide to Smarter Asset Management](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/asset-tracking-guide/index.md): Businesses large and small must monitor the location, status, and condition of their physical assets in real time to imp
- [From Gradle Plugin to CLI - A More Flexible Way to Distribute Android Apps with Firebase App Distribution](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/from-gradle-plugin-to-cli-android/index.md): Firebase App Distribution is a fantastic tool for continuous delivery, providing an easy way to manage pre-release build
- [Cursor vs Junie for Android Developers. Which Is the Better AI Agent?](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cursor-vs-junie-for-android/index.md): Junie and Cursor — two prominent AI agents — have entered the realm of Android development. Let's explore their strength
- [Faster and Smarter - Improving File Uploads with S3 Multipart, Pre-Signed URLs and S3 Transfer Acceleration](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/improving-s3-large-files-uploads/index.md): Uploading large files to S3 can be slow and unreliable over weak networks. Using multipart upload with pre-signed URLs i
- [Climbing Challenges in Tech and Life: Paweł’s 10-Year Dev Journey](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/climbing-challenges-in-tech-life-pawel/index.md): With a decade of experience in the software industry, Paweł has seen it all – from working with complex legacy systems t
- [How to Gather Actionable Feedback Inside a POS System – Without Interrupting the Flow](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-gather-actionable-feedback-inside-a-pos-system/index.md): Understanding your users is key to building a Point of Sale (POS) system that not only works but actually supports staff
- [Supercharged Test Running with Custom Modes in Cursor IDE](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/supercharged-test-running-with-custom-modes-in-cursor-ide/index.md): The Problem with Running Tests in Cursor If you're using Cursor as your primary IDE, you've probably already experienced

## Team

- [Adam Kruczek](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/adam-k/index.md): React Native Developer
- [Adam Waniak](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/adam-w/index.md): Backend Developer
- [Agata Bielówka](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/agata/index.md): Project Manager
- [Agata Dankowska](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/agata-m/index.md): Recruiting Specialist
- [Agnieszka Olszewska](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/agnieszka/index.md): Senior Fullstack Developer
- [Aleksandra Zagórska](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/aleksandra-z/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Andrzej Zabost](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/azabost/index.md): Senior Android Developer
- [Arek Dobosz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/arek-d/index.md): Senior Fullstack Developer
- [Artur Suliński](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/arturs/index.md): Senior iOS Developer
- [Aleksandra Zawisza ](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/aleksandra-zaw/index.md): Product Designer
- [Bartek Krzyżański](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/bartek-k/index.md): Backend Developer
- [Bartosz Szafran](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/bartosz-sz/index.md): Senior Frontend Developer
- [Dawid Czarnecki](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/dawid-cz/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Dominik Dygowski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/dominik-d/index.md): Senior Fullstack Developer
- [Filip Jabłoński](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/filip/index.md): Senior iOS Developer
- [Izabela Pawlik](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/izabela/index.md): Digital Marketing Specialist
- [Jakub Mandra](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/jakub-m/index.md): Senior Fullstack Developer
- [Jarek Łankuć](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/jarek/index.md): DevOps Engineer
- [Joanna Cieszyńska](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/joanna-c/index.md): Product Designer
- [Jędrzej Kowaliński](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/jedrzej/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Jędrzej Sadowski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/jedrzej-s/index.md): Senior Frontend Developer
- [Karol Kandyba](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/karol-ka/index.md): Senior Android Developer
- [Kasia Łukasiewicz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/kasia/index.md): Senior Project Manager
- [Katarzyna Gałka](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/kasia-g/index.md): Project Manager
- [Katarzyna Bednarz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/katarzyna-b/index.md): QA Engineer
- [Krystian Kamiński](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/krystian/index.md): Senior Frontend Developer
- [Krzysztof Serocki](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/krzysiek-s/index.md): Android Developer
- [Maciej Królik](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/maciej-k/index.md): Android Developer
- [Maciej Sawicki](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/maciej-s/index.md): Senior Frontend Developer
- [Magda Sadowska](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/magda/index.md): Office & HR Assistant
- [Maja Puta](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/maja/index.md): QA Specialist
- [Marcin Kędziora](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/marcin-ke/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Marta Borawska](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/marta/index.md): QA Specialist
- [Marcin Świderek](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/marcin-sw/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Mateusz Gabrynowicz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/mateuszg/index.md): Senior Mobile Developer
- [Mateusz Klimczak](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/mateusz/index.md): Partner & Head of Delivery
- [Małgorzata Zielińska](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/malgorzata-z/index.md): Senior QA Engineer
- [Michał Bednarz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/michal-be/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Michał Osadowski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/michal-bu/index.md): Frontend Developer
- [Michał Demiańczuk](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/michal-d/index.md): QA Specialist
- [Michał Kukiełka](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/michal-ku/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Michał Waśniewski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/michal-was/index.md): Senior iOS Developer
- [Michał Wójcik](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/michal-wo/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Michał Łepek](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/michal-l/index.md): Backend Developer 
- [Michał Łukasiewicz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/michal/index.md): Co-founder & Senior iOS Developer
- [Mikołaj Grochowski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/mikolaj-g/index.md): Senior Fullstack Developer
- [Patryk Bąk](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/patryk-b/index.md): QA Engineer
- [Patryk Sienkiewicz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/patryk-s/index.md): Senior Backend Developer
- [Patryk Łempio](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/patryk-l/index.md): Backend Developer
- [Paulina Trendel](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/paulina-t/index.md): Recruiting Specialist
- [Paweł Olszewski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/pawel-o/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Paweł Polak](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/pawel-p/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Piotr Mionskowski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/piotr/index.md): Head of Technology & POS Expert
- [Piotr Rutka](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/piotr-r/index.md): Senior Android Developer
- [Radosław Landowski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/radek-l/index.md): Senior Backend Developer
- [Radek Pieczątkiewicz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/radek/index.md): Android Developer
- [Rafał Opacki](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/rafal-op/index.md): Senior Fullstack Developer
- [Rafał Hofman](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/rafal-h/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Sara Łęcka](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/sara-l/index.md): Recruitment Specialist
- [Rafał Went](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/rafal-w/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Sebastian Rodykow](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/sebastian-r/index.md): Senior iOS Developer
- [Szymon Gęsicki](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/szymon-g/index.md): Flutter Developer
- [Szymon Miloch](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/szymek/index.md): Android & Web Developer
- [Tomasz Krzywicki](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/tomasz-k/index.md): Senior Backend Developer
- [Sławomir Kopaczewski](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/slawek/index.md): Fullstack Developer
- [Tomasz Scharmach](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/tomasz-sch/index.md): Backend Developer
- [Tomasz Lizer](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/tomasz-l/index.md): Senior iOS Developer
- [Ula Stankiewicz](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/ula/index.md): Head of People & Communications
- [Wojciech Janeczek](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/wojciech-j/index.md): Frontend Developer
- [Wojciech Kałębasiak](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/wojciech-k/index.md): DevOps Engineer
- [Łukasz Niedźwiedź](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/lukasz-n/index.md): iOS Developer
- [Łukasz Reszetow](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/lukasz/index.md): Android Developer

## Optional

- [All Blog Posts](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/): Full archive of 598+ blog posts
- [Career](https://brightinventions.pl/career/): Current job openings
- [Start a Project](https://brightinventions.pl/start-project/): Contact form

---

# Services

## MVP Development Agency

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/mvp-development/index.md*

## is MVP right for your business?

MVP stands for minimum viable product. It is the first version of your product containing only key features. MVP development is a perfect solution for you if:

### you represent startup

Are you a startup with the idea for a software product? Building MVP is a low-cost solution to launch the first version of your product that may help you find first clients and investors. Additionally, **MVP development helps quickly validate your business idea** thanks to actual users feedback.

### you represent a corporation

MVPs aren’t reserved only for startups. They can be the right solution for greater organisations as well. Developing MVPs for corporations speed things up. It helps to effortlessly **build a product with crucial features that may be presented to the stakeholders**. 

### you represent a consultancy agency

Do you want to develop MVPs to distribute them to your clients? We are happy to assist you. We bring to the table years of experience in software development. Our custom software development approach based on Agile methodologies will result in developing high-quality MVPs.

### you have an idea for a solution and want to verify its potential

An idea is only the beginning of the software development process. Building an MVP app means a short time to market. Thanks to nimble development you can **develop your product before your competition**. We can also organise **product workshops** for your team to jointly evaluate the business potential of your idea. We will help you on every step of the development path.

## Agile Workshops for Teams

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/agile-workshops/index.md*

## who will benefit from an Agile workshop?

- Startups and businesses that have software developer teams and want to start following Agile manifesto.
- Fully co-located software teams as well as teams combining members alongside different offices. We help you deal with different cultures and support in a cultural Agile transformation.
- Organisations that want to cooperate with us on a software development project and are willing to understand how we plan and prioritize our work in order to bring your product to the market.

## meet our Agile master

Katarzyna Łukasiewicz is a determined and passionate Agile Coach with **over ten years of experience in teaching and mentoring** individuals as well as organisations based on Agile principles. She graduated from Gdańsk University of Technology with a PhD in “Method of selecting programming practices for the safety-critical software development projects”.

![kasia łukasiewicz agile coach](../../static/images/kasia_agile_coach_bright_inventions.png "")

She is actively involved in the Agile community through her participation, publications or speaking events. As a member of the academic community she teaches future software developers and PMs about best practices in software development projects.

**As a Process Manager at Bright Inventions she brings her expertise into software development team** and accelerates progress delivering value, while teaching new skills as necessary to tackle the technical challenges the team is facing. She makes the team work effectively with modern development practices, tools and approaches.

Katarzyna will guide you and your team through Agile development in order to establish the best practices for your team.

## what will you learn about Agile?

It depends on your needs, but our team will be more than happy to show you:

- How to introduce Agile Manifesto for your team.
- What are the best methods and practices to make your team Agile.
- What are the phases of Agile development including steps like: user stories or Agile discovery phase.
- How to combine technical knowledge with deep Agile experience to achieve high market focus, productivity, and quality.
- How Agile teams generate opportunities, reduce risk, and decrease costs.
- How Agile benefits cross-cultural teams and in remote teams.
- How to solve project management problems in your team.
- How to evaluate the existing Agile approach in the team.

## Bluetooth Development

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/bluetooth-development/index.md*

## what is Bluetooth and why you might need it?

Thanks to Bluetooth **different devices communicate and exchange information over a short distance**. One of the most common Bluetooth devices might be headphones. Although, nowadays the technology is used on a much bigger scale. Thanks to Bluetooth (especially its modern version called **Bluetooth Low Energy**) and tech like **iBeacon** we can build a high-quality network of devices while consuming less device operation power.

If you want to develop software products that communicate with hardware, Bluetooth will probably be a must.

## bluetooth development services

Bluetooth is an essential part of many software development projects. No matter the industry you represent, you need to rely on experienced Bluetooth experts. For over a decade we have been working on customized applications based on Bluetooth:

### android Bluetooth development

Our Android software team builds native applications for various purposes. Android apps might work as Bluetooth clients that perform scanning for other devices and gather data for them. On the other hand, applications built by our team could also work as Bluetooth servers. It means that they create public APIs, which can be found and connected to by other BLE devices wanting to fetch our data. We specialize in delivering Bluetooth android applications for ePOS, retail, and healthcare.

### iOS Bluetooth development

We build Bluetooth solutions for iOS applications. We specialize in iBeacon development. Our iOS development team has used iBeacon technology for example working on an [Everytap](/projects/everytap/) hospitality application or listing browser app – [EasyTapp](/projects/easytapp/).

### Bluetooth Low Energy

We use Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) technology in order to build native iOS and Android applications. Bluetooth LE enables reducing power consumption of the device while ensuring the same quality of communication and range.

## AI Solutions

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/ai-software-development/index.md*

Whether you require complex systems with an extensive vector database or a no-code solution, our AI engineers will build a secure and thoroughly tested AI solution. Every element, including embeddings and prompts, is meticulously scrutinized for optimal utilization. **From the beginning, you will understand the potential of your solution as well as its operational costs**.

## machine learning

We craft algorithms that are both powerful and resource-efficient. Our goal is to develop tailored machine learning **enabling your systems to learn from data, improve over time, and make intelligent decisions**. By leveraging advanced predictive models, we aim to enhance your operations and deliver insightful outcomes to help you make data-driven decisions.

## generative AI

Generative AI can elevate your solution to a new level, yet its implementations should proceed with strategic planning, validation of the right tools, and **ensuring adherence to data security practices and regulations, including GDPR and HIPAA**. Our AI software development team will navigate you through various aspects of Generative AI including chatbots, Natural Language Processing and conversational AI.

## building chatbots

Chatbots are one of the most well-known implementations of generative AI. Whether you want to build a chatbot to enhance your customer success or for internal use, **we will help you tailor the chatbot to your business needs**.

## prompt engineering

We offer tailored AI prompt engineering services designed to meet your business needs, enhanced with embedding technology. It allows us to **minimize costs effectively while utilizing economical models**, providing you with efficient and affordable solutions.

## LLM app development

We build **Large Language Models trained on vast amounts of textual data, enabling you to generate and process natural language text**. These systems can produce a wide variety of outputs, including text, images, music, and even video.

## natural language processing solutions

We delve into the realm of Natural Language Processing offering personalized NLP solutions tailored to your unique requirements, **providing your users with the most human-like experience possible**.

## conversational AI development

Our team customizes Conversational AI systems to align with your specific goals, ensuring **these systems are adept at understanding and responding to human language in a natural and intuitive manner**.

## Application modernization

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/app-modernization/index.md*

Is your system older than some of the engineers who work on it?

Although it is profitable, maintaining the application has become a constant struggle, as acquiring new users to your rusty UI. You know the time for a system upgrade has come, but how do you achieve it without compromising the existing system?

We hear you and are here to help. We will revamp your system without any disturbances for your users, maintaining full compatibility and preserving the core of your app that has brought you success all these years.

## legacy modernization services

### software audit

We provide deep insights into your technology stacks, identifying risks and pinpointing areas for significant improvement.

### redesign

We ensure your system is intuitive, accessible, and easy to navigate, enhancing user engagement and satisfaction.

### cloud migration

As an AWS Partner, we ensure a smooth and efficient migration to cloud environments, enhancing scalability, performance, and cost-efficiency.

### application re-engineering & refactoring

We enhance a legacy system in ways that were not possible when it was originally created by adding new features, integrating new technologies, and improving code clarity without affecting your app functionality.

### re-architecting

We transform your legacy system into modern, scalable, and efficient architecture to meet any business challenge with agility and robust performance.

### integrations

We connect your solution with external providers, third parties, and business partners. **We specialize in retail integrations including POS integrations with payment platforms** (Stripe, Square, Paypal, Adyen), **food delivery platforms**, or **devices** (printers, terminals, or cash registers).

### security improvements

Enhance the security of your systems with our in-depth experience. We ensure your infrastructure complies with GDPR, HIPAA and other legal requirements.

## Blockchain Solutions

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/blockchain/index.md*

## what is blockchain and why you might need it?

Simply saying **blockchain is a chain of blocks connected thanks to cryptography**. Blockchain is decentralized. Therefore practically no one can take control of it. Although blockchain is mostly known as a technology behind cryptocurrency, it goes way beyond that. 

Blockchain could be **a perfect fit for startups and larger companies** building software products for the **fintech, healthcare, or banking industries**. If you plan or already are building products with a focus on **decentralization, transparency, and security**, you should base your web or mobile application on the blockchain.

## blockchain solutions that we have developed

We specialize in integrating web and mobile apps with blockchain solutions. For over 4 years we have been developing products using **Ethereum** technology. Apart from that we are **Substrate** enthusiasts. We have built **BrightTreasury** module application to **support the Polkadot community** built around the Substrate. We use and support the Substrate framework because we believe that it is the future of the internet. 

### BrightTreasury

**BrightTreasury is our original product supporting the blockchain community**. It is a standalone web application that allows performing basic actions on the Treasury and Bounties modules of Polkadot and Kusama Substrate networks. The app is **a part of the Web3 Foundation (W3F) grants program**. The goal of our product is to make blockchain accessible to more users. The app is still being developed by our team with **full support from Polkadot and Kusama**.

## Cloud Computing Services

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/cloud-services/index.md*

## AWS cloud services

As a cloud development company we closely cooperate with Amazon Web Services using the top tools Amazon has to offer. We specialise in AWS Lambda which enables serverless developments where instead of traditional serval administration you pay only for functions you use.

## Custom Software Development

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/custom-software-development/index.md*

## is custom application development a good fit for you?

If your business needs an individual approach and flexible development process, a custom digital products agency like Bright Inventions will be a perfect fit for you. 

We help our customers throughout all software delivery phases: from ideation and requirements’ elicitation, through product design and Agile project management to software development, quality assurance, and maintenance.

Custom software development is where our development team truly shines!

## Custom Asset Tracking

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/asset-tracking/index.md*

We develop tailored asset tracking solutions when off-the-shelf tools just don’t fit your business needs.

With 10+ years of experience, we build IT asset tracking solutions using Bluetooth, RFID, Wi-Fi, barcodes, and more – tailored to your business. Whether you're looking to digitize internal operations or deliver a robust tracking solution to your clients, we're here to handle the technical challenges for you.

## Best Digital Product Studio in Gdańsk

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/gdansk-digital-product-agency/index.md*

Welcome to Gdańsk, the city that embraces its 1000-year history while emerging as one of the most vibrant technological hubs in Poland. 

We are **Bright Inventions – a company proudly located in the city, just 15 minutes from the airport**. Are you currently exploring Gdansk? Why don't we grab a coffee together? Meet with our software engineering team and learn how together we can create software that matters.

## Gdańsk from our team’s perspective


<GdanskPhotoSlider />


## our expertise

From concept to launch, we help organizations of all shapes and sizes build impactful digital products. Our
clients – ranging from startups and consultancies to renowned NGOs and global organizations – operate in
FinTech, Blockchain, HealthTech, Retail, Logistics, and more.

### [IoT development](/our-areas/iot-development/)

We specialize in [integrating smart bluetooth devices into sophisticated systems](/projects/remote-patient-monitoring/). We have cooperated with clients representing the industrial, healthcare, and [retail](/projects/system-for-restaurants/) sectors.

### [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/)

We assist our partners in developing products that have a meaningful impact on the lives of their end users. By building an [engagement app for chronically ill patients](/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/), a [digital guide for future moms](/projects/pregnancy-app/), or an [online therapy platform](/projects/online-group-support/), we take part in the global digital healthcare movement.

### [MVP development](/our-areas/mvp-development/)

We craft MVPs to quickly validate ideas for the software solutions. We’ve built numerous MVPs including a [humanitarian aid solution which turned into a global product](/projects/card-tracking-system/).

## Healthcare Technology Consulting

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/index.md*

## healthcare technology consulting

Scaling a **HealthTech solution** is not just a challenge—it’s a mission to bring life-saving healthcare innovations to the world. As a **healthcare technology consulting** partner, our team has successfully supported **healthcare software companies** and startups in Germany, the UK, the US, and Israel, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to build **custom healthcare software development solutions**.

## customized healthcare software development services

### generative AI in healthcare

Secure **LLM (Large Language Models)** enable the analysis of health data, effective remote care, and even support faster diagnostics of cancer, vascular diseases, and other life-threatening disorders. **As a leading healthcare IT company, we work with LLM models daily**, integrating AI into **custom healthcare software development** to enhance patient care.

### telemedicine (telehealth) app development

Effective communication between doctors, nurses, and patients is crucial in **digital health**. As a **telemedicine app development company**, we build **telemedicine software development solutions** that facilitate video consultations, messaging, and remote healthcare services. Our **telehealth app development** expertise ensures seamless connectivity between patients and healthcare providers.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='scale your eHealth app' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'We\'ve prepared a guide for HealthTech companies facing the biggest challenge of all: scaling.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='healthtech guide cover' />

### IoT in healthcare with wearables

By integrating **Bluetooth devices and IoT networks**, we enable continuous **remote patient monitoring solutions** for **healthcare application development**. **We have successfully implemented NHS-certified IoT networks for home care settings across the UK, ensuring HIPAA- and GDPR-compliant healthcare IT services**.

### remote patient monitoring solutions

**Our healthcare digital products agency** uses advanced **cloud computing** to develop **EHR software solutions** that enable secure, real-time access to patient records. As **healthcare technology company** we design systems  to comply with HIPAA and GDPR, ensuring secure and efficient management of health information and patient data. Additionally, we provide the capability to access data even when offline, enhancing accessibility and reliability

### EHR (Electronic health record) solutions

**By leveraging advanced cloud computing technologies, we've helped to develop seamless EHR solutions that facilitate the storage and real-time sharing of patient records**. Our systems are designed to comply with HIPAA and GDPR, ensuring secure and efficient management of health information. Additionally, we provide the capability to access data even when offline, enhancing accessibility and reliability.

### patient engagement apps

Empowering patients through **patient engagement apps** is at the heart of **healthcare IT services**. Our team has extensive experience in **healthcare mobile application development**, including[**solutions tailored for** chronic disease management](/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/)and neurological disorders like Parkinson’s.

### FemTech solutions

From **[pregnancy and postpartum support apps](/projects/pregnancy-app/)** to fertility tracking applications and IVF support, our **custom healthcare software development services** cater to the unique needs of women’s health. As a trusted **healthcare software development agency, we design personalized solutions for every stage of a woman’s health journey.**

### eMAR (electronic medication administration record)

Medication distribution is a critical yet error-prone healthcare process. As an experienced **healthcare digital products agency**, we specialize in **eMAR software solutions** that optimize medication tracking, improve safety, and streamline medical workflows.

### mental health technology

Respond effectively to critical mental healthcare challenges with our solution. Whether it's depression, anxiety, or other mental disorders, we are committed to helping you scale solutions with a primary focus on and respect for your users. **Proudly supporting the growth of the [online group therapy platform](/projects/online-group-support/) based in the US, we draw upon our experience to navigate the sensitive realm of digital mental health with care and expertise**.

Addressing **mental health software development** needs with care and expertise, as an experienced **healthcare technology company** we build solutions that support **online therapy, mood tracking, and AI-driven mental health assessments**. **Our healthcare software development services** include HIPAA-compliant mental health solutions, ensuring security and privacy for sensitive patient data.

## IoT Solutions

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/iot-development/index.md*

## comprehensive IoT services

Our **IoT solutions** scale software across industries like healthcare, fleet management, **industrial IoT**, retail, and fintech. Partnering with a **IoT solutions company** or **IoT agency** ensures **secure device integration** and real-time **IoT monitoring**. At Bright Inventions, we specialize in **IoT services**:

## Mobile App Development

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/mobile-app-development/index.md*

## mobile app development services

As a mobile app development company, we specialize in iOS and Android software development.

### iOS app development & maintenance

If you want to create a **native iOS app for Apple users**, then you’re in great hands. Throughout the years, we’ve worked on iOS projects of all levels of complexity – **from simple projects for startups and mid-sized companies to complex apps** for well-established, global brands.

Regardless of whether you’re looking to develop your app from scratch, or searching for a team to take over an existing app’s maintenance and further development – reach out. We might just be the perfect match!

### Android app development & maintenance

Our mobile app developers will help you build an impressive presence among Android device users. We’ve worked on building n**ative apps at all stages of development** – from ideation and app design to launching and maintaining your app on Google Play store.

You can count on our expert Android developers to help choose the very best technology stack for your project. Reach out to learn more!

## MVP Entwicklung

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/mvp-entwicklung-agentur/index.md*

## ist MVP das Richtige für Ihr Unternehmen?

MVP steht für Minimum Viable Product, was so viel wie "minimal funktionsfähiges Produkt" bedeutet. Es ist die erste Version Ihres Produkts, die nur die wichtigsten Funktionen enthält. Die MVP-Entwicklung ist eine perfekte Lösung für Sie, wenn:

### sie vertreten die Interessen der Startups

Sind Sie ein Startup mit der Idee für ein Softwareprodukt? Die MVP ist eine kostengünstige Lösung, um die erste Version Ihres Produkts auf den Markt zu bringen, die Ihnen helfen kann, erste Kunden und Investoren zu finden. Darüber hinaus hilft die MVP-Entwicklung dank des Feedbacks der tatsächlichen Benutzer, Ihre Geschäftsidee schnell zu beurteilen.

### sie vertreten ein Unternehmen

MVPs sind nicht nur Startups vorbehalten. Sie können auch für größere Organisationen die richtige Lösung sein. Die Entwicklung von MVP für Unternehmen beschleunigt die Arbeit. Es hilft, mühelos ein Produkt mit entscheidenden Merkmalen zu erstellen, das den Stakeholdern präsentiert werden kann.

### sie vertreten eine Beratungsagentur

Haben Sie vielleicht eine Interesse um MVP an Ihre Kunden bekannt zu machen? Wir helfen Ihnen gerne weiter. Wir bringen jahrelange Erfahrung in der Softwareentwicklung mit. Unser kundenspezifischer Softwareentwicklungsansatz, der auf agilen Methoden basiert, führt zur Entwicklung hochwertiger MVP.

### sie haben eine Idee für eine Lösung und möchten deren Potenzial prüfen

Sie haben eine Idee für eine Lösung und möchten deren Potenzial prüfen
Eine Idee ist nur der Anfang des Softwareentwicklungsprozesses. Das Erstellen einer MVP-App bedeutet eine kurze Markteinführungszeit. Dank flinker Entwicklung können Sie Ihr Produkt vor Ihrer Konkurrenz entwickeln. Wir können auch Produktworkshops für Ihr Team organisieren, um gemeinsam das Geschäftspotenzial Ihrer Idee zu beurteilen. Wir begleiten Sie auf jedem Schritt des Entwicklungsweges.

## Customized food delivery integration for your POS

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/food-delivery-pos-integration/index.md*

## food delivery platforms we integrate with

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/jet_logo.svg","alt":"Just Eat Takeaway.com"},{"src":"/images/lieferando_logo.svg","alt":"Lieferando"},{"src":"/images/wolt.svg","alt":"Wolt"},{"src":"/images/deliveroo_update.svg","alt":"deliveroo"}]' />

And more! Just let us know if you need an integration with other 3rd parties.

## advantages of a custom food delivery integration

Why you should go beyond an ordinary food delivery app integration.

## Product workshops for business

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/product-workshops/index.md*

## when product workshops will be a good fit for you?

Product workshops bring value at every phase of software development. They might help you to kick off your idea as well as evaluate your much more advanced product. Find product workshops that will perfectly match your case:

### you have an idea for a product, but not sure where to start

The **product discovery workshop** is a good fit for this case. Our team will gladly help you with discovering the product you need, detecting all the opportunities, threats, and future prospects. Together, we will discover the scope of your potential product and prepare the product development plan.

We suggest contributing 1-2 days to the product discovery workshop (also known as product development workshops). During the workshop, our team will facilitate the activities that will help to generate new possible ideas, understand your potential customers and your business needs. 

### you have an idea and know how your product should look like and work, but need to put it all together in a system

We’ve created a **product flow workshop** for this case. We will help you map the user journeys and set the flow of your product. Moreover, we will help you to look at the product from a different perspective to make sure you’ve covered all the cases. Our team will also suggest the best suitable technology for your project.

Depending on your individual case, we suggest 2-4 days workshop. Through the course of the workshop, we will create a flow of your product together, we will also help you decide what features should be considered for your Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Upon request, we can provide you with the mock-ups of your product.

### you already have a product, but want to know how it could be improved

A **product reset (evaluation) workshop** might be the best fit for your case. We will create the workshops to help you find all the bottlenecks of your product and together we will discover how to find solutions for these drawbacks. Our team will revise the project from the technological perspective as well and if needed, suggest the most efficient solutions. 

We recommend from 2-4 days for this workshop. Upon request, we can provide you with the mock-ups for a redesign of your product and a plan of how to implement the improvements if any needed.

Because we treat each case individually, please contact us for further discussion to set the best scope for your workshop case.

## POS Software Development

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/pos-software-development/index.md*

## what we offer as a leading POS development company

For over 12 years, we have been designing and building **custom POS systems** for hospitality, particularly restaurants, as well as retail businesses. As an experienced **POS digital products agency**, we specialize in **custom POS software development** to meet your unique business needs. What can we do for you?

## Product Design Services

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/product-design/index.md*

## product design services that we offer

It does not matter in which phase you are with your product, we will make sure you make the best out of it. Our product design process contains a couple of steps to ensure that your project will reflect your business goals. We are flexible, the final product design flow always depends on your needs.

### product workshops

Working on your product design starts from workshops where we establish the road for your product to meet expectations and business goals. Workshops are a great help for clients who came only with an idea and want to verify its potential. Also, they are a great option for mature organisations that aims to improve an existing product. 

### wireframe design

After workshops we create wireframes which are simple designs that will show you the basic flow of your application. So from the very beginning you know that we are on the same page. 

### mockup design

After discussing wireframes, we are ready to transform them into mockups. They are simple designs that will show you – for the very first time – the user interface. Mockups assure you that your idea is rightfully represented in the design.

### prototype design

Finally, our product development team creates prototypes. They are simple clickable mockups that are a great way to quickly test the idea at this still a very early stage. Prototyping helps to eliminate mistakes that could be very costly if there were included in the production version.

### user interface and user experience design

This is the moment to incorporate all the best UI and UX practices into your solution. Our main focus is to create the best experience for the users, and in order to do that we follow universal UX laws and make designs look simple but solid on all devices.

### designing the whole system

At Bright Inventions we go along with our clients through their whole product journey, from the ideation phase to the maintenance. We put every design aspect of the product together. The final design is a combination of our expertise in product design, usability testing and frontend development.

## Your App Deserves the Best

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/welcome-back/index.md*

## our expertise

We will support your business at every stage it requires, whether it’s developing an MVP, scaling operations, or modernizing legacy systems.

## Custom Uber Eats and POS Integrations

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/uber-eats-pos-integration/index.md*

## why a custom Uber Eats and POS integration is right for your business

You might try to connect your POS with Uber Eats just like everyone else does, or you might opt for a custom Uber Eats-POS integration to deliver features tailored to your users. Discover the advantages of a custom Uber Eats and POS integration:

## Building Software Aligned with Zebra Technologies

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/zebra-technologies-integrations/index.md*

## hire a team that builds software around your needs — fully integrated with Zebra devices

If off-the-shelf worked, you wouldn’t be here. With 13+ years of experience, we build what actually works.

**Get every feature you need to grow**\
Access what out-of-the-box solutions can't deliver.

**Track every asset in real time**\
Always know the location and status of your devices, tools, and inventory.

**Do more with Zebra devices you already own**\
Turn your devices into trackers — no extra hardware costs.

**Transform Zebra printers into powerful retail tools**\
From labeling to point-of-sale support — unlock the full potential of Zebra printers.

**Track what others can’t**\
Even through concrete walls, high-traffic zones, or when monitoring unique conditions like water quality.

**Speed up any production**\
Pinpoint delays by tracking how long parts sit at each station.

**Know exactly where your shipments are**\
No more guessing. Just accurate, real-time delivery insights.

## Web Development Services

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/web-development/index.md*

## web development services

As a web development company, we specialise in web app and website development.

### web app development

We’ve developed web applications for startups and larger businesses representing industries such as healthcare, retail or fintech. We specialise in building web applications that integrate with blockchain. We combine technical knowledge with the Agile approach developing simple web apps as well as complex platforms.

### website development

We also are open to developing tailor-made websites. From basic static pages to interactive multifunctional internet platforms such as news aggregators, marketplaces or e-commerce. We rely on Agile methodology and work with a rich technology stack – JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Java, Node.js, React, AWS, MySQL, PostgreSQL and many more.

# Projects

## Supporting People with Parkinson's Disease – MVP story 

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/node_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/case-study_typescript_stack-logo.svg","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logo.svg","alt":"AWS"}]' />

**technologies**: Swift, Kotlin, Node.js, Typescript, AWS

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem – lack of an easy way to daily manage the disease" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Only in the U.S. **each year, about [90,000](https://www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons/statistics) people are diagnosed with Parkinson's diseas**e. Living with a chronic illness like Parkinson’s imposes many lifestyle changes on the patient. For those battling the disease, it is crucial to **have a way to easily track their overall vitals, medicine intake, or note any symptoms** that need to be brought to doctors’ attention.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution: a mobile app that simplifies the day-to-day lives of patients" titleIcon="/images/two_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="solution" />

Our long-time partner from Germany (a digital agency and early-stage project incubator), reached out to us with a ready-to-implement idea their customers had for an app. **The goal was to develop a mobile app that simplifies the day-to-day lives of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease**.

Before reaching out to us, our client had already designed a high-fidelity wireframe of the user interface. Consequently, they needed a technological partner to take ownership of the software development process. And so, **Bright Inventions was entrusted with the implementation of the entire system** - the development of two apps (iOS and Android), as well as the entire backend.

The app functioned as a personal digital diary for individuals with Parkinson's disease, allowing users to log their symptoms and monitor their medication intake. **Its primary aim was to observe the body's reaction to therapies, aiding patients and healthcare professionals in managing the condition**. The app provided advanced analytics for physicians to better understand patient conditions.

![App for Parkinson's Patients](../../static/images/app_for_parkinson_patients3.png)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: inclusive design and securing medical data" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenges" />

From the beginning, we understood that **the key element of the solution must have been inclusive and empathic UX/UI design**. The app had to be **friendly in use for patients suffering from tremors** or other movement disorders. Also, as the elderly constitute the majority of patients suffering from Parkinson’s, **the challenge was to deliver a legible, highly intuitive interface that would minimize the chances of mistake**s. If an accidental input were to take place, though, the interface also needed to allow the option to undo the action.

![App for Parkinson's Patients](../../static/images/app_for_parkinson_patients1.png)

Although our team wasn't directly responsible for creating designs, based on our experience in developing user-oriented solutions, **we provided numerous recommendations to simplify features** of the graphical user interface to better suit the needs of people with Parkinson’s. The client responded positively to our recommendations, subsequently giving us the green light to proceed.

The greatest challenge, however, was to **fulfill the highest security and privacy standards to protect users**. Given its healthcare nature, the app stored sensitive medical data on patients’ health, including information on pain and tremors, as well as data on very specific side effects, such as sexual drive levels and gambling propensity.

One of the security tactics we implemented was **breaking down the encrypted database into two – each stored in a different AWS services’ physical location**. The first database stored basic user data, such as name or email address. The second database kept sensitive medical information, including medication intake or physical symptoms and side effects. Through this decision, **we minimized the chance that, in the event of a data breach, the attacking party would be able to access all the information**. Therefore, even in the case of a data breach, **the risk of matching symptoms to specific patients' names is low**.

![App for Parkinson's Patients](../../static/images/app_for_parkinson_patients2.png)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result: MVP in three months" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

After three months, **we successfully delivered the MVP of the solution**, followed by overseeing several iterations of the system to enhance its functionality. **This project is an example of an inclusive patient engagement app designed to support chronically ill patients, regardless of their age or technical proficiency**. It’s great to be a part of this MVP’s story!

<sub>*Presented mockups are not real implemented design. Mockups were created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

## AirHelp's Flight Compensation Checker – From Concept to MVP

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/airhelp/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about AirHelp iOS app" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="about AirHelp" />

In 2015 [AirHelp](https://www.airhelp.com/en-gb/) was a fast-growing startup with a mission to educate passengers about their rights. AirHelp came to us with a basic version of their iOS app and expected us to rewrite it. We developed an MVP version of the app taking care of the backend. We helped AirHelp to launch a new version of the app in the AppStore. In the meantime, the client had time to build an in-house development team that could pursue the project in the future.

![airhelp mobile app development](../../static/images/flight_compensation_app_mockup.png "It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.")

<sub>*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_goal.svg" titleIconAlt="goal" />

The main goal was to create a mobile-friendly tool for users that want to file a complaint about a delayed or canceled flight. The app had to be really simple and minimalistic so that users are able to quickly go with the flow even if they have to provide much detailed information about the flight.

![airhelp mobile app development](../../static/images/flight_compensation_app_mockup3.png "It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.")

<sub>*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="result" />

We developed an MVP version of an iOS app. After that AirHelp in-house development team could continue the project. Nowadays, AirHelps successfully completed the transformation from a startup to the top global air passengers’ rights advocate. We are happy that we could assist them at the beginning of their incredible journey.

## Emergency Services Accessible to People with Hearing Loss [Confidential Project]

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/emergency-contact-app/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/pwa_stack_logo.svg","alt":"PWA"},{"src":"/images/node_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logo_update.svg"}]' />

technologies: PWA, AWS Lambda, Node.js, React.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: non-inclusive emergency dispatch system" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Have you ever made a phone call to 911? That is one of the most stressful situations in life. **Put yourself in the shoes of deaf or hard-of-hearing people**. Imagine **their stress when they are in an emergency and cannot communicate it**. 

Approximately **[11 million Americans](https://nationaldeafcenter.org/faq/how-many-deaf-people-live-in-the-united-states/) are deaf or have hearing difficulties, yet 911 call centers only accept phone call**s. People with speaking disabilities are not the only group excluded from the emergency response system. Consider i**ndividuals who need to call the police while hiding from the intruder**. The inability to silently send a text to 911 could potentially endanger their lives.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxnCUiBzriI' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: non-verbal communication with dispatch centers" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution:" />

**We partnered with a US-based non-profit organization and together introduced a solution that aims to fight health inequity** and make emergency assistance more accessible. **A web application reaches 911 through a provider that handles the emergency request** no matter if the dispatch center supports API communication or not (then it makes a voice call on the user's behalf). This application f**eatures a user-friendly interface**, allowing individuals in emergencies to quickly report the issue.

It's worth noting that **the solution is a progressive web app (PWA), which means it is a web application that can be easily accessed on smartphones without installation** from any application stores. This was a key requirement from our client, who wanted to ensure the application would be quickly accessible in emergencies.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: simple and effective UI in stressful situations and immense responsibility" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

The key challenge was **designing a smooth user interface supporting people in reporting emergencies**. Given that users would be accessing the app during extremely stressful moments, this consideration was crucial. 

Although our team wasn’t in charge of product design, we offered our insights based on more than a decade of experience in software development. We are always deeply invested in product design because it is one of the critical success factors for most solutions. In the case of this application, it was undoubtedly the paramount factor.

In collaboration with our client and based on research provided by scientists from American universities, **we finetuned a design that minimized the process, eliminated potential errors, and guided users effectively to avoid additional stress**.

Another challenge originated from the core of the solution, which aims to help people and even save lives. This underscored the immense gravity of our responsibility as software providers. **Any issue in production could directly endanger someone's life**. 

Therefore, one of the key strategies we implemented was **performance monitoring and alerting systems**. These allowed us to **detect and respond to any disruptions before they could affect users**. The monitoring system enabled us to continuously track the application's performance, while the alerting system notified us of potential problems, allowing us to take swift action.

<div className="image">![emergency](/images/emergency_dispatch_app_photo.png "emergency")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: app release and reaching the national audience" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

**The pilot version was successfully released** in one of the American state capital cities. The app was widely **featured in the top media including NBC, Forbes, and ABC** reaching a national audience. Now the project is in a crucial phase of partnering with national dispatch systems. This application is a great example of how technology can break barriers for those in need and we are thrilled to be involved in it.

## Boosting User Acquisition with App Clip & Instant App for Relevo – a Food Take-Away and Delivery App

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/app-clips-instant-apps-solution/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"swift"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"kotlin"},{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Android"}]' />

**technologies:** Swift, SwiftUI, Kotlin, App Clip, Instant Apps

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem – a cultural barrier in Germany" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Relevo changes the takeout experience by facilitating the borrowing of reusable packages in restaurants across Germany. Although their mobile app is appreciated by over 200,000 people, users in Germany still exhibit some hesitancy towards unfamiliar app downloads. This cultural obstacle was likely to stop Relevo from spreading its impactful plastic-fight mission. After recognizing the problem, our team introduced a game-changing solution.

<div className="image">![Relevo official materials](../../static/images/relevo_materials.png "Relevo official materials")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution – implementing Instant App and App Clip to introduce new users to Relevo" titleIcon="/images/two_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="solution" />

Our mobile development team engineered and launched an often underestimated marvel: **the Instant App and App Clip. These cutting-edge technologies grant users access to a basic version of the Relevo app without the need for a full installation**.

Displayed as an intuitive pop-up on mobile devices, the **Instant App/App Clip adeptly highlights specific features, spotlighting the app's pivotal benefits**. The sample versions of Relevo’s solution are conveniently accessible either through Google Play or by scanning a QR code.

If you love it, you install it. As simple as that!

<div className="image">![Relevo Instant App on Google Play](../../static/images/relevo_instant_app_google_play.png "Relevo Instant App on Google Play")</div>

<center>Relevo Instant App on Google Play</center>

The essential aspect of the implementation involved setting up analytics to measure the users' acquisition through the channels provided by App Clip and Instant App. **We devised and implemented tracking protocols, enabling the Relevo team to meticulously monitor the results of this implementation**.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges – finding the balance between user engagement and meeting tech limitations" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenges" />

The critical challenge involved **strategizing which features should be incorporated into the sample versions of the iOS and Android apps**. The challenge lay in crafting a flow that not only entices new users to Relevo but also adheres to the strict size limitations stipulated by Google and Apple. Furthermore, **the flow needed to closely resemble the final version of the application to ensure a seamless transition**. This way, switching from App Clip/Instant App would be a smooth experience.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/case_study_client_quote_relevo_founder.png "quote")</div>

Once the strategic decisions were made, our team embarked on **finding optimal methods to implement these selected features within the sample versions**. This was accomplished through a modular approach, segmenting various parts of the application into distinct modules. This strategy not only enhanced clarity but also streamlined the customization process for App Clip and Instant App.

<div className="image">![Relevo official materials](../../static/images/relevo_official_material.png "Relevo official materials")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result – enhancing marketing efforts with a new acquisition channel" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="result" />

By implementing App Clip and Instant App, **we have streamlined the process of introducing new users to Relevo, instantly showcasing the app's key features on their screens** without necessitating a full download. Over time, users opt to install the app as they recognize its value. 

We are proud to affirm that both **App Clip and Instant App have evolved into significant channels for user acquisition**, reaching audiences that might otherwise be inaccessible.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="Relevo’s founder’s perspective" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="Relevo’s founder’s perspective" />

*Bright inventions serves both as a development partner and a sparing partner in challenging and choosing the right approach & setup.*

*The excitement the whole development team is putting into our work is vivid and the communication goes beyond only work related topics. To find a development partner matching the skillset and the cultural / communicational level of bright inventions is tough to imaging.*

**Matthias Potthast, Founder of Relevo**

## Breaking Free from High Fees: Restaurant Delivery Drivers App

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/delivery-drivers-app/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Android"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"}]' />

**technologies:** Kotlin, Swift

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the problem: high costs associated with third-party delivery services" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Practi, later known as Just Eat POS, has been digitalizing restaurant operations for years, helping restaurants and stores across Israel and the UK find savings through technology.

One major concern for restaurant owners is the **high cost associated with partnerships with third-party delivery providers**. By hiring their own drivers, restaurants can offer more affordable delivery options to their customers. However, **effective collaboration between couriers and waitstaff can only succeed with the right technology**, ensuring that in-house deliveries are just as competitive as those offered by specialized platforms.

Another restaurant owners’ concern is the **inability to manage all deliveries within a single app**. Typically, when they hire external delivery providers, waitstaff has to manage separate apps, such as Deligoo. **Restaurant owners seek an all-in-one solution**, allowing their staff to handle all deliveries directly through the POS application.

Practi addressed these issues by **enhancing their multifunctional POS system with a delivery management app** that connects restaurants directly with their drivers. Our team developed this solution, along with many others, during our **10-year partnership with Practi (later acquired by Just Eat Takeaway.com)**.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/L_Uki_5jh7A' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: a delivery management system for internal restaurant use" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution:" />

The delivery drivers app, available for iOS and Android, simplifies the collaboration between restaurant couriers and waitstaff. **Waitstaff can easily assign orders to drivers, and drivers** also have the option to assign themselves to orders. 

**The app then navigates couriers to the delivery destinations**, providing all necessary order details, including payment status (whether the order has been prepaid or requires payment upon delivery). Once the delivery is completed, **the driver updates the order status**, informing the waitstaff that the meal has been delivered and confirming the payment method chosen by the client.

<div className="image">![UI app for delivery drivers](/images/case_study_mockup_app_for_delivery_drivers.png "app for delivery drivers mockups")</div>

The app ensures that in-house drivers have all the essential information on their phones, eliminating time-consuming discussions with waitstaff. Since the app is integrated with Just Eat POS, **waitstaff can manage all online orders from a single device**, with real-time data transfer to drivers. This allows waitstaff to efficiently handle online orders while simultaneously managing other tasks on the same POS device. **Every online order is synchronized in real-time**, whether it originates from an external food delivery platform or is a phone order. Therefore drivers have instant access to new orders and can focus on quick order collection and delivery.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: simple and effective UI in stressful situations and immense responsibility" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

One of the technical challenges was **implementing geolocation in a way that didn't excessively drain the phone's battery**. To optimize battery usage, we developed a solution that **sends location data at specific intervals when the app is active**. When the app runs in the background, location **updates are only sent when there is a significant change in the driver’s location**. This approach helps preserve the battery life of couriers' devices.

<div className="image">![delivery drivers app mockups](/images/delivery_drivers_app_mockups.png "delivery drivers app mockups")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: restaurants less dependent on external food delivery providers" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

The app became **a valuable asset for new and existing Just Eat POS users**. After its launch, it was especially appreciated by restaurants seeking to offer their customers in-house delivery services, free from the additional fees typically associated with popular food delivery platforms.

## Managing Substrate Treasury Proposals – Web3Foundation App Development

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/bright-treasury/index.md*

![Bright Treasury](../../static/images/treasuryappwww.png)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features of BrightTreasury:" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="Main features of BrightTreasury:" />

<SliderText sliderElements='[{"title":"intuitive treasury submissions","description":"An intuitive, two-step flow for submitting proposals (Idea -> Proposal)."},{"description":"In-app module for more detailed proposal descriptions (like adding milestones) connected with the proposal related discussion and reporting progress on approved proposals.","title":"In-app module"},{"title":"proposals overview","description":"Clear overview of the submitted proposals matched with derived motions and their results"},{"description":"Historical overview of the past spending periods’ proposals that were submitted using the app.","title":"historical overview "},{"title":"bounties mechanism","description":"The first app with dedicated bounties implementation."},{"title":"in-app login","description":"Login with Web3 account or email."}]' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="stack" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/typescript_logo.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/node_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"Node"},{"src":"/images/nest.png"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack.png","alt":"PostgreSQL"}]' />

**technologies:** React, TypeScript, Node.js, NestJS, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, AWS

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about BrightTreasury" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="about BrightTreasury" />

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKe5HynDQnU' />

The [Treasury](https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-treasury) is a cryptocurrency pot of funds collected mostly through transaction fees, slashing and staking inefficiency. The fund is managed by Polkadot and Kusama Substrate networks. The Treasury funds can be spent on any proposal related to developing or promoting the [Substrate Blockchain](/blog/5-benefits-of-substrate-blockchain) technology. Bright Inventions has been developing a web application that will make the grunt application more user-friendly. The project was backed by Substrate community by receiving a grant from the [Web3 Foundation](https://web3.foundation/). The first stage of development was funded by Web3 Foundation. Now the app is 100% supported by Polkadot and Kusama Treasuries.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PSA to the DotSama community 💻🤩🎉<a href="https://twitter.com/BrightDevs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrightDevs</a> developed something awesome to ease the treasury proposal submission process on <a href="https://twitter.com/kusamanetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kusamanetwork</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Polkadot?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Polkadot</a>: <br /><br />BrightTreasury: <a href="https://t.co/NQy8r7vIbi">https://t.co/NQy8r7vIbi</a> <br/><br/>(1/6) <a href="https://t.co/HRi3ESluxW">pic.twitter.com/HRi3ESluxW</a></p>&mdash; R.I.Rtti (@nachortti) <a href="https://twitter.com/nachortti/status/1471109810322030596?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_goal.svg" titleIconAlt="goal" />

Our focus is to attract more professionals who could contribute to the community with their ideas and skills but at the same time may not be as fluent in blockchain customs and terminology. BrightTreasury application help them apply their proposals even if they aren’t blockchain experts. The funds are available for software agencies as well as companies that want to share knowledge about Substrate such as marketing agencies or video production studios. We believe that BrightTreasury app offers a chance to increase the number of fund proposals. Eventually, it will make the Substrate Blockchain a more accessible technology.

![Bright Treasury Substrate](../../static/images/treasuryapp_www.png)

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="process of developing BrightTreasury" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="process of developing BrightTreasury" />

Based on the discussions with the Substrate networks’ users and council members as well as the analysis of the comments under Polkadot and Kusama proposal submissions, we identified the areas that caused most issues in the Treasury funding process from the user’s perspective. The main needs that were brought up were:

* a more intuitive proposal submission flow, with the clearer indication of a proposal idea being subject to the community discussion, before submitting to blockchain and committing with bond funds 
* one place for following the submitted proposals, their status and the results of motions
* a unified discussion forum to leave comments about the submitted proposals as well as their draft versions (ideas)
* the implementation of the new bounties funding mechanism

Following these needs, we have proposed a solution that will benefit the Substrate chains communities.

The [custom software development](/our-areas/custom-software-development) process was broken into three milestones. The first two were completed in July 2021. The third one was completed in 2022. 

![Bright Treasury blockchain](../../static/images/treasury_www_3.png)

### Milestone 1 — Idea creating & Proposal submission & in-app logins

The main goal of this milestone is to implement the core flow of the app, which is the Proposal lifecycle. As a result, the user will be able to create an Idea, add all the necessary details, create Milestones for an Idea, make it public and decide to submit the Idea to the blockchain, turning it into a formal Proposal. The status of the Proposal will be then updated based on the data returning from the API. To perform these actions a user will need to be logged in, however, browsing through ideas and proposals will be available to everyone. 

### Milestone 2 — discussions panel & treasury overview & multiple networks

The goal of this milestone is to add more features to the ideas and proposals handling. The ideas as well as proposals will have the discussion functionality added and it will be possible to add them to multiple networks as well, as the representation of multiple blockchain networks feature will also be implemented at this stage. What is more, an overview of the treasury statistics will be presented for each network respectively. 

### Milestone 3 — Bounties & in-app history

The main goal of this milestone is the implementation of the bounties mechanism. Users will be able to add and browse through bounties, vote for their curators and check the current status. The curators will be able to accept (or reject) their nominations and manage the bounty’s status. Additionally, in this milestone we plan to add a basic integration with Polkassembly. It will be possible to see the description of a proposal/bounty published on Polkassembly. We will also include the history feature based on the data from Polkassembly, which would allow users to browse through the closed proposals and bounties in addition to in-app ideas.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

BrightTreasury is live! 

The first version of the app was released in December 2021. After the launch the Substrate community appreciated the project and decided to support its further development and maintenance.

## Solving Problems with Printer Integrations in a Global POS System – Just Eat POS Case Study

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-devices-integration/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/case-study_typescript_stack-logo.svg","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/realm_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Realm"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logo.svg","alt":"AWS"}]' />

**technology**: React, TypeScript, Kotlin, Spring Boot, Swift, Realm, AWS

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: connecting various devices with POS" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

What lies behind the bustling restaurant kitchen counter? You’ll find a medley of fresh ingredients and a blend of known and unknown flavors. The kitchen buzzes with a busy staff managing multiple orders simultaneously. However, there are also crucial elements you might not consider – **numerous retail devices as part of the point of sales system**.

From printers and terminals to kitchen display systems and tablets, these devices are integral to restaurant operations. Yet, their sheer **number and complexity can add to the chaos for an already overwhelmed restaurant staff.**

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: POS integration with multiple devices from different producers" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

Just Eat POS is a point-of-sale (POS) system that we have been scaling for almost a decade, **evolving from the startup Practi to a global solution within the JustEat Takeaway portfolio**. One of the system's key advantages is the uninterrupted integration of POS devices.

The system we built supports devices from various producers, allowing restaurants to **easily connect their POS printers from manufacturers such as Epson, Star, and tablets with built-in printers like Citaq or Sunmi**.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/just_eat_quote.png "quote")</div>

The POS system is also flexible in terms of the types of devices it supports. Restaurants and stores could **easily operate with equipment such as cash registers, electronic scales, barcode scanners, magnetic stripe readers, and kiosks**. These devices are mostly connected via Bluetooth and, in some cases, through WiFi, making Just Eat POS the central hub for all restaurant payment and order operations.

We added crucial automation features to alleviate some responsibilities from the already burdened waitstaff. One such feature is the **automated order printout for the kitchen. After completing an order, a printer prints the kitchen receipt with only the essential information for the kitchen** (excluding prices, for example), ensuring that the kitchen staff receives the order promptly and can proceed with meal preparation. This automation means the waitstaff no longer has to worry about whether the kitchen receives the necessary information.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: maintaining a reliable connection with multiple printers" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

As a **[POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/)** we were in charge of **unifying various devices with different Software Development Kits (SDKs) into one system**. Diving into different SDKs and hardware producers' requirements was a demanding process, but it enabled our team to greatly increase the number of devices Just Eat POS supports, giving restaurants a lot of freedom in terms of the devices they wanted to use.

One of the challenges of printer integration was **maintaining a reliable connection with multiple printers simultaneously**. Restaurant employees often needed to print receipts for clients while also printing meal orders for the kitchen. To tackle this, **our team developed an efficient simple system that assigned specific roles to each printer**, streamlining the process and ensuring smooth operations.

<div className="image">![kitchen order receipts](/images/printed_kitchen_receipts.png "kitchen order receipts")</div>

The system must remain reliable even if one of the printers turns off. In such cases, the mechanism designed by our team allows the system to reroute the receipt or kitchen order to another device. This assures waitstaff that, **regardless of any issues with printing devices, the system always finds an alternative way to print the document**. This is of utmost importance, especially when restaurant staff are taking orders from clients, as any printing malfunctions could negatively impact the customer experience and potentially result in poor reviews.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the result: stable connection with retail devices" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

As a result, Just Eat POS has become a system offering a stable connection to various retail devices. **It allows restaurants to choose the hardware they prefer while ensuring that, even if a printer malfunctions, the system will still manage the printing process**. This solution has been highly appreciated by restaurants and stores across Israel and the UK.

## Breaking Status Quo in Restaurants with Kitchen Display System

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/kitchen-display-system/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/firebase_logo_stack_new.svg","alt":"Firebase"},{"src":"/images/alamofire.svg","alt":"Alamofire"},{"src":"/images/realm_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Realm"}]' />

technologies: Swift, Firebase, Crashlytics, Alamofire, Realm, MVVM

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: ineffective kitchen receipt printing system" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

**This story starts in the hot, crowded restaurant kitchen full of busy staff trying to handle too many printed food orders**. This old-fashioned approach has been so deeply ingrained in the daily life of the staff that they haven’t thought of confronting the system, despite experiencing its limitations first-hand.

<div className="image">![kitchen printed receipts](/images/printed_kitchen_receipts.png "")</div>

The high volume of printed receipts posed a challenge for the already busy kitchen staff, making it **difficult to keep track of them**. As a result, receipts often became mixed up, disrupting their proper order, and were prone to being lost or damaged, which made them difficult to read. 

They also proved ineffective as a tool for exchanging information. For instance, **kitchen personnel had no means of informing waitstaff about the progress of meal preparation**. This system also failed to provide relevant data regarding meal preparation to delivery providers, which resulted in **unrealistic delivery estimates**.

<div className="image">![printed kitchen receipt - example](/images/kitchen_receipt_order.png "An example of a printed receipt for a kitchen staff")</div>

<center> <sub> An example of a printed receipt for a kitchen staff </sub> </center>

Our product team uncovered these limitations, deciding to change printed receipts into a screen placed in the center of every restaurant kitchen. It was high time to put receipts into the past. Instead, a bespoke Kitchen Display System (KDS) has emerged.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: digitalized kitchen receipts" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution:" />

**The Kitchen Display System seamlessly presents all orders on an enormous kitchen screen**. Additionally, **kitchen staff can update order progress** effortlessly keeping waitstaff in the loop. 

**KDS eliminates receipts loss, reduces paper use, and optimizes the collaborative efforts between the kitchen and waitstaff**. Finally, both teams can dedicate their undivided attention to their core responsibilities: food preparation and customer service. 

The new system also **improves tracking of order preparation time**, enhancing delivery estimates. This not only **optimizes driver pickups** but also **improves customer satisfaction**.

<div className="image">![kitchen display system mockup](/images/kds_mockup.png "")</div>

Boosting productivity? That's another perk of our revamped system. We included color-coded indicators to identify orders that take too long to process. **The color-coding system is fully customizable, empowering restaurant staff to determine specific time thresholds associated with each color**. For instance, the red color might indicate that a meal has not been prepared within 20 minutes after ordering.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: instant communication across multiple applications" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

The last thing that the kitchen staff should worry about is the quality of the internet connection. Therefore, **we implemented an offline mode, enabling crucial actions to be taken even offline**.

To **make the transition to KDS as smooth as possible** we had to ensure instant communication across multiple environments, involving the POS application, backend, KDS, and waitstaff application. By implementing a constant synchronization the system displayed new orders on the kitchen screen in a matter of seconds.

The Right UI was also a crucial factor in convincing restaurant staff to transition from their old system. **Our team collaborated closely with Practi's product designers to craft a simple, user-friendly UI that would appeal to even the most resistant end users**.

<div className="image">![restaurant](/images/kds_restaurant_photo.png "")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: successful launch across Israel and the UK" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

After the successful launch of the Kitchen Display System, employees of numerous restaurants across Israel and the United Kingdom finally said goodbye to unloved receipts. **KDS became a remedy to all pain points of the outdated kitchen thermal receipt system**. That’s another weight lifted off the shoulders of restaurant workers during our 10-year collaboration with Practi. Let’s continue this journey. Destination: change!

## Circles secures $16.5M in Series A and Emerges as Leading Group Support App

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/online-group-support/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/new_typescript_logo_stack.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/node_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack.png","alt":"PostgreSQL"},{"src":"/images/docker_stack_logo.png","alt":"Docker"}]' />

**technologies**: TypeScript, React, Node.js (Express.js), PostgreSQL/Redis, AWS, React Native

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: lack of access to mental health specialists in the USA" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

More than 1 in 5 U.S. adults, roughly [57.8 million people](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness) **— a number close to the population of Italy — live with a mental illness**. However, not everyone has the means to access mental health experts and receive the necessary assistance, especially when dealing with particularly unique issues.

One such issue is **narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)**. In the USA, [approximately 1 in 200 people have this disorder](https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/narcissistic-personality-disorder/npd-statistics/). Although it is less common than other mental disorders such as depression, it profoundly affects those in relationships with individuals suffering from NPD. Given that this mental health issue is still considered niche, finding expert help to manage the challenges of such difficult relationships can be problematic.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/euH6S4DpGQU' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: online therapy platform for expert-guided group healing" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

**[Circles](https://circlesup.com/), an Israeli startup, has launched a mental health tech application** designed for those dealing with grief, divorce, or simply seeking a safe space to express their emotions. 

After launching the pilot version, **Circles approached our team for expertise in scaling their product** in a competitive market. Initially involved in **web development**, we now offer support in other areas such as **mobile development** and **cloud computing**.

<div className="image">![mental health app mockups](../../static/images/mental_health_app_mockups.png "mental health app mockups")</div>

With Circles iOS or Android app, **users can easily join audio meetings led by mental health experts**. The audio drop-in and drop-out functionality, crafted by our team, not only offers easy access to mental support but also creates a sense of community. 

We also developed **numerous custom features to enhance the audio room experience, including user reactions, caller queuing, a call moderator panel, and an in-built chat**. Beyond group therapy sessions, Circles provides **continuous interaction with therapists** and a **personalized mental health plan** developed by its experts.

<div className="image">![Client's review](/images/case_study_circles_client_quote_update.png "Client's review")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: adapting to the rapid growth of the user base" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

**Circles is experiencing a phase of steady growth, continually attracting an increasing number of users**, particularly in the mobile sector. **As the app's user base expands, it brings forth scalability challenges** that every DevOps team must confront. Our primary focus is not just on adapting to these changes but on proactively preparing the infrastructure beforehand.

**Our current cloud computing priority is horizontal scaling** which is a technique used to increase the capacity and performance of a system by adding more instances of the same component. By horizontally scaling, **Circles will achieve higher availability, better load balancing, and the capability to handle larger user loads seamlessly, ensuring the best possible app experience for users**.

<div className="image">![group support app mockups](../../static/images/group_therapy_app_mockups.png "group support app mockups")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="Circles’ perspective" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="Circles’ perspective" />

**Kobi Avriel – Former VP R&D at Circles**

*We have found Bright Inventions to be a professional group of people that we feel we can trust, as an integral part of our company, not only to deliver in the right quality, but be proactive, contributing from their experience to help us shape the company’s R&D and product. Their ability to source experts has been exceptional.*   

*Bright Inventions is above our expectations, and we are very happy from both the great quality of people we are fortunate to work with, and the professionalism that seems to be in Bright Inventions DNA.*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results of the collaboration" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

Notable milestones mark the journey of Circles. **In their Series A funding round, the Israeli startup successfully raised $16.5 million**. Not only do they get a thumbs-up from investors, but their solution is also making waves in the mental health community.

**Circles was honored with the title of 'Best for Group Support' emerging as a winner in the Online Therapy & Wellness Awards, organized by [Verywell Mind](https://www.verywellmind.com/verywell-mind-s-2023-online-therapy-and-wellness-awards-7966994)**. We are delighted to assist Circles on their impressive way to digitalize mental health.

## Building IoT-Based Water Quality Monitoring System for Fish Transportation

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/water-quality-monitoring/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/bluetooth_stack_logo.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/zebra_technologies_stack_logo_bigger_new.svg","alt":"Zebra Technologies"}]' />

technologies: Swift, Android, Bluetooth Low Energy, Zebra Technologies

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: unreliable water monitoring for temperature-sensitive foods" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

In the food industry, precise temperature control during transportation is essential — fish transportation highlights the issue. As one of the most temperature-sensitive foods, **fish must stay between 0°C and 4°C (32°F to 39°F)**. Even small deviations can lead to contamination.

Yet maintaining this precision is difficult. One of the key problems we aimed to solve for a **global fisheries export company** is the ability to monitor the temperature inside each individual fish crate, ensuring freshness is maintained at every stage of the journey — not just the overall container.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: IoT water management with real-time water monitoring" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

To address these challenges, we set out to build a custom IoT network specifically designed for food transportation and water management — **a system that monitors critical water conditions in real time, 24/7**.

We developed an integration with trackers capable of monitoring water parameters — including internal container temperature — directly inside fish crates. These trackers, paired with our custom-built software, allow the staff to **detect issues like overheating** **due to a lid left open or poor sealing**, helping maintain the ideal temperature range for maximum freshness.

<div className="image">![fish transportation water monitoring](/images/water_monitoring_case_study.png "fish transportation water monitoring")</div>

Now, the staff can monitor water conditions live and access detailed graphs showing temperature at every step of the journey — from packaging to delivery. The platform **works across both Android and iOS devices**, giving teams the flexibility to use the tools they already have.

While this is a major operational benefit, supporting such a wide range of mobile environments introduces its own set of technical challenges — especially when it comes to **ensuring stable, efficient background tracking**.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: supporting a wide variety of mobile devices and ensuring continuous background operation" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

One major challenge was the **fragmentation of Android devices**. Each manufacturer — from Samsung through Xiaomi to Zebra Technologies — customizes the Android operating system. As a result, critical functionality like continuous background scanning for nearby trackers might work perfectly on one device, while not functioning at all on another.

To address this, we conducted extensive **device-level testing**, especially on models used by the fisheries export company’s team. Internally, we **test across multiple brands** to replicate edge cases and catch compatibility issues early.

<div className="image">![Fish export](/images/water_monitoring_case_study_fish_transport.png "Fish export")</div>

We also **designed a comprehensive onboarding process** during the app’s first launch to ensure all necessary permissions are granted such as access to Bluetooth and precise GPS location. This helps to ensure the app performs reliably across different environments and system versions.

On **iOS devices**, development was more streamlined due to the smaller number of models, but maintaining background operations still required careful tuning. Apple’s strict resource management policies meant our app needed additional optimization to function consistently in passive mode.

A key part of our approach is also **optimizing battery efficiency**. Since our solution relies on continuous Bluetooth scanning, we based it on **Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)** and optimized the data flow.

Instead of sending data immediately to the backend, we batch and sync messages every 40 seconds, which keeps energy usage low without compromising data accuracy.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: reducing product waste and financial loss through reliable water monitoring" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

Thanks to the implementation of our custom IoT solution for water management, a leading seafood export company has significantly **reduced the risk of compliance issues** and brand damage related to fish freshness.

With continuous, real-time monitoring, the team can respond more quickly to negative conditions — helping **reduce product waste and, in turn, financial losses**.

## Crafting Stress-Free and Secure POS Bill Splitting for Restaurants

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-bill-splitting/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/firebase_logo_stack_new.svg","alt":"Firebase"},{"src":"/images/realm_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Realm"}]' />

**technologies**: Kotlin, Swift, Firebase, Realm, MixPanel, Fastlane

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the problem: unsupporting bill splitting mechanism in POS systems" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

After enjoying a delicious three-course meal, clients are ready to settle the bill and free up the table. But then, the waitstaff hears those dreaded words: “Can we split the bill?” **While customers love the convenience of splitting bills, it might be a different story for the waitstaff**. Their frustration typically stems from a POS system that doesn’t truly support bill splitting, making the process stressful and prone to errors.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwM0SnHACMs' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: bill splitting mechanism navigating waitstaff through the process" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

For a decade of collaboration with POS provider Practi (later acquired by Just Eat Takeaway.com), **we developed numerous features and applications, including the bill splitting that supports restaurants across Israel and the United Kingdom**.

Our bill-splitting solution allows the POS system to handle all possible scenarios, **enabling the division of any component of the bill – from individual courses to delivery fees and tips**. Customers can also split the payment by paying with a credit card, cash, or coupons.

<div className="image">![The system divides the total costs into the specific payments.](/images/pos_bill_split.png "The system divides the total costs into the specific payments.")</div>

*The system divides the total costs into the specific payments.*

The system is designed to **fully support waitstaff by providing all necessary calculations through a user-friendly interface**, eliminating the need for manual calculations. Restaurant staff simply provides details about the number of splits, discounts, and chosen payment methods, and the system guides them through the entire process. **It not only calculates the correct amounts but also ensures that the appropriate taxes are applied after the split**.

<div className="image">![POS bill split mechanism for restaurants](/images/pos_bill_split4.png "POS bill split mechanism for restaurants")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: math dilemmas behind the code, secure payment analysis" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenges" />

Splitting the bill might seem like simple math to customers, but **complexities that require meticulous coding lie beneath the surface**. For instance, what if some customers want to pay only for specific meals while splitting the delivery fee, and one of them has a discount that applies only to their portion of the bill? What if one customer wishes to leave a tip that should be included in their part of the payment? What if the total payment cannot be evenly split (for example, try to divide $10 into three equal payments)? These scenarios quickly turn into mathematical challenges.

<div className="image">![tipping](/images/pos_bill_split3.png "tipping")</div>

Our team had to anticipate and account for a wide range of such possibilities, ensuring that every aspect – **from the division of costs down to the smallest decimal, to the accurate calculation of taxes, and the application of various discounts, whether they apply during specific hours or on particular bundles – was handled by the system**.

The ultimate solution to this challenge was to **conduct a meticulous analysis of as many possible cases as we could identify**. Therefore we needed to optimize our logging and monitoring systems to manage the enormous volume of data generated by these transactions, making it easier to debug and refine the feature in the future. 

Why was it necessary to scrutinize the payment process so deeply? Because what might seem like a simple restaurant payment can be fraught with potential issues. **From network problems and payment provider errors to complications with 3DS payment confirmations, there are many factors to consider**. Therefore, when building solutions that involve payment processing, it’s crucial to monitor data carefully to quickly identify and resolve issues, while maintaining a balance in the scope of data stored and analyzed.

This led to another significant challenge: ensuring that sensitive data, such as names, surnames, or card numbers, was not collected. **In adherence to PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) Compliance, we implemented DataDog with data obfuscation techniques, retaining only the essential data** required to trace backend communication with the client and monitor the entire payment processing path. Beyond data obfuscation, we implemented other security practices, such as **two-fold protection of cardholder data, encryption** of transmitted data, and the creation and maintenance of **access logs**.

<div className="image">![bill splitting UI](/images/pos_bill_split2.png "bill splitting UI")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the result: reliable and secure bill split for restaurants" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

**The bill split not only meets security requirements but also complies with tax regulations** in the UK and Israel, providing a stress-free and secure experience for both customers and waitstaff. It became an essential feature of the point-of-sale system offered by Practi (later known as Just Eat POS).

## CryptoAtlas: User-Driven Development in the Cryptocurrency World

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/cryptocurrency-platfrom/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features" titleIcon="/images/icons_features_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="main features" />

* Homepage feed aggregating news from other social media platforms, followed communities and influencers
* Building communities
* Integrations with Twitter, Medium & Youtube
* Direct messages
* AMA sessions with influencers

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="stack" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/new_typescript_logo_stack.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/nest.png","alt":"NestJS"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack.png","alt":"PostgreSQL"},{"src":"/images/docker_stack_logo.png","alt":"Docker"}]' />

* FrontEnd: React + TypeScript
* Backend: NestJS, TypeORM, PostgreSQL
* Deployment: Docker + Amazon Web Services (AWS)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about CryptoAtlas" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="about the project" />

Cryptocurrency world has never had an online platform dedicated exclusively to the community. Our client from Italy wanted to change that. We offered our services and helped to build [CryptoAtlas](https://www.cryptoatlas.io) that would not only aggregate cryptocurrency news from platforms like Twitter or Youtube but also deliver its own content provided by the top crypto opinion leaders.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_goal.svg" titleIconAlt="goal" />

The goal was to create a cryptocurrency platform that would fill the gap on the market. The founder’s priority is to listen to the community and offer a product that meets their expectations.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="CryptoAtlas development process" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

Since the very beginning the target group was known, deeply scrutinized and understood by our client. Everything at CryptoAtlas is a result of feedback gathered from crypto influencers and communities. Users of CryptoAtlas have been a crucial part of this project even before the launch.

The platform was launched in August 2020. It attracts top crypto influencers that now build their communities on CryptoAtlas.

![cryptocurrency social platform](../../static/images/cryptocurrency_platform.png)

<sub>*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

Bright Inventions’s development process is extremely flexible. We are open to users' ideas and constantly develop features that users expect. We try to turn users' feedback into new features in weeks, not months. It helps to build a loyal community that knows they are listened to.

Crypto community is a very demanding group of users. They know what they want. Many of them have a high level of technical knowledge. That’s why CryptoAtlas has to offer a top-quality product, with a friendly interface and modern design. 

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="Result" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="Result" />

Month by month CryptoAtlas is gaining a steady number of new users. The challenge is to scale the product according to the significant growth of users.

## Cutting Waste in Healthcare: Building a Custom Hospital Asset Tracking Solution

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/hospital-asset-tracking/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/bluetooth_stack_logo.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/zebra_technologies_stack_logo_bigger_new.svg","alt":"Zebra Technologies"}]' />

technologies: Swift, Android, Bluetooth Low Energy, Zebra Technologies

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: the lack of hospital asset tracking" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Hospitals are home to some of the most expensive and most critical assets in the world: life-saving medical equipment, an ultrasound machine can cost up to [30,000 USD](https://www.uscimaging.com/blog/ultrasound-machine-cost/), and even hospital beds, which can cost as much as [25,000 USD](https://hmedicalinc.com/2024/10/04/how-much-does-medical-equipment-cost/). These assets must always be available, well-maintained, and properly allocated.

<div className="image">![Healthcare asset tracking](/images/healthcare_asset_tracking.png "Healthcare asset tracking")</div>

Our client, a provider of advanced asset-tracking solutions, saw a unique opportunity to adapt their technology specifically for the medical industry. Their vision? A tailored **medical asset tracking** platform that could help hospitals reduce waste, optimize inventory management, and give doctors and nurses more time to focus on what matters most – patient care.

One of the key challenges they wanted to solve was time tracking during medical rounds. How long do doctors spend at each bed? Are there patterns that signal bottlenecks, or inefficiencies in ward routines? **Healthcare asset tracking** can offer answers to these questions.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: tracking any device hospital management needs" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

To meet the hospitals’ unique needs, we adjusted the tracking app that we’ve been scaling for years so now it turns nearly any piece of hospital equipment into a traceable asset. It’s thanks to small trackers attached to devices, even hospital beds and a special **healthcare asset tracking** app developed by our team. 

With **Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)** any mobile device running the app, whether it’s a nurse’s phone or an administrator’s tablet, can scan nearby assets to identify them, retrieve details, and even see their most recent location on a map.

Want to know where a particular ultrasound machine was last used? The app shows when and where it was moved. **Can’t find a defibrillator** that should be nearby? **You can ping its tracker directly from the app, prompting it to make a sound**, making it easier to locate in a high-pressure moment.

Beyond tracking movement, the platform can also collect and display sensor data. For example, BLE sensors placed around hospital rooms can **monitor temperature in real time**, allowing staff to view historical trends through an interactive dashboard. This is especially valuable in operating rooms, neonatal units, or laboratories, where even minor temperature fluctuations can affect patient safety or the reliability of medical procedures.

<div className="image">![medical asset tracking](/images/hospital_asset_tracking.png "Medical asset tracking")</div>

The **hospital asset tracking** app supports both iOS and Android devices, everything from iPhones, Samsung and Google Pixels to more rugged, industrial hardware like Zebra Technologies' phones. Hospitals can use the system in two ways: either by attaching trackers directly to assets, or by leveraging staff mobile phones as active participants in the network, acting both as scanners and trackers.

One of the most innovative uses? **Attaching trackers to hospital beds**. This enables real-time insight into daily medical rounds. By monitoring how long doctors spend at each bed, hospital managers can better understand patterns, optimize schedules, and predict when a physician will be free for consultations or urgent tasks.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: device fragmentation, battery consumption, adjusting to hospital environment" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

One of the main technical hurdles (particularly on Android devices) is the **sheer diversity of phone manufacturers**. Many manufacturers apply their own custom overlays over the standard Android operating system, which often affects the background processes.

This had a direct impact on one of our core features: **continuous scanning for nearby trackers**, even when the app runs in the background. On some devices, this functionality works flawlessly, on others, with some disturbances.

To tackle this, we took a hands-on, multi-pronged approach. We **tested our app on a wide range of devices**, each from a different brand. We paid special attention to models known for custom firmware, like Samsung (with its One UI overlay) and rugged enterprise-grade devices like Zebra. 

**To support this technically, we:**

* built countless unit tests to maintain logic consistency;  
* ran extensive manual testing, supported by a dedicated QA specialist;  
* conducted full regression testing before every release;  
* end-to-end (E2E) automated tests that verify app functionality without any developer or tester interference, eliminating the risk of human error during the testing process.

We also made **app onboarding** as thorough as possible. On first installation, users are guided through a detailed setup flow where they grant essential permissions: Bluetooth access, precise GPS location, notification permissions, and disabling battery optimization. We also request the SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM permission, which allows the app to perform regular health checks, ensuring that background processes are running correctly and the system continues to operate as expected.

<div className="image">![Hospital asset tracking](/images/hospital_asset_tracking_photo3.png "Hospital asset tracking")</div>

Another major concern was **battery consumption**. Since the app must constantly listen for Bluetooth signals, some level of battery impact is unavoidable. Our goal was to minimize that effect as much as possible. While listening has to happen in real-time, we optimized the parts of the app responsible for processing and syncing data. Instead of sending every detected event immediately to the backend, we bundle them and send updates every 40 seconds in efficient batches. This significantly reduced unnecessary energy use without compromising accuracy.

We also encountered environment-specific edge cases. Every hospital is different, not just in layout, but in construction. **Hospital buildings are often large, with thick concrete walls, long corridors, and complex floor plans**. Bluetooth signals can weaken or drop entirely depending on where a device is located. In some cases, we had to adjust parameters or behavior in the app to adapt to the specific challenges of a particular hospital's infrastructure.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: A broader tracking offering for our client – and greater control for their users" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

By transforming our client’s inventory system into a **medical asset tracking** solution, we helped them successfully enter the healthcare industry. Medical equipment typically accounts for around [10%](https://www.aha.org/costsofcaring) of a hospital’s total budget. But equipment is only part of the equation. 

Labor remains the single largest cost for hospitals – and one of the hardest to optimize without reliable data. The **hospital asset tracking** system gives administrators a clear view into how staff time is spent, especially during daily medical rounds. In a system where every second matters, this kind of visibility doesn’t just boost operations, it helps put more time back where it's needed the most – patient’s sake.

## Digitilized Invoicing: Hassle-Free Invoices for Restaurants 

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/invoice-generation-system/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/case-study_typescript_stack-logo.svg","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/springboot_update.svg","alt":"Spring Boot"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logo.svg","alt":"AWS"}]' />

**technologies**: TypeScript, React, Kotlin, Spring Boot, AWS

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: inefficient invoice management" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

In the heart of the bustling hospitality industry, invoice management is a persistent challenge. **Restaurant managers spend too much time on the tedious task of generating invoices**. Recognizing this inefficiency, **our client, a forward-thinking Israeli company specializing in digital solutions for hospitality, saw the need for change**. With a vision to digitalize invoice management in the industry, we joined forces to create a fintech solution. This innovation quickly became a key part of their digital portfolio.

<div className="image">![invoices](/images/invoice_system.png "invoices")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: automated invoice generation" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="solution" />

In **2016**, our journey began. Our team set out to create an **invoice generation system based on an API that guarantees a verified connection**. This system empowers restaurants to seamlessly send data for invoice creation, with invoices then accessible through a dedicated restaurant panel or sent directly via email.

**Within just 3 months, we launched the first version of the product**. Our partnership with the client has only grown stronger over the years as **we continuously maintain, enhance, and modernize the system**.

As our fintech solution evolved, **we incorporated several additional features, including digital signatures for invoices and key verification**. The key verification is particularly security-focused; **the system generates invoices only when the user's key matches their account**. This additional layer of security not only verifies the user's identity but also ensures the credibility of each invoice.

We have also developed a **client management panel** that provides **access to all invoices**, enables customization (such as adding logos to invoices), and **generates detailed fiscal and tax reports**. These reports summarize key metrics, including the number of invoices, payment method types, and the total net and gross amount paid by each client.

<div className="image">![invoice generation system for restaurants](/images/invoice_system_restaurant.png "invoice generation system for restaurants")</div>

Recently, **we implemented a critical update in line with an amendment to the VAT Law in Israel**. Beginning May 5, 2024, businesses receiving tax invoices exceeding 25,000 NIS can deduct input tax only if the invoice includes an allocation number. Anticipating this change, **we adapted our system to generate invoices with certified allocation numbers**, ensuring our **users remain compliant with the new regulations**.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: processing countless requests at once" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

In our mission to provide a superb invoicing experience, our team faced **the challenge of ensuring that users could generate an unlimited number of invoices without any disruptions**. Imagine a busy restaurant manager needing to process hundreds of invoices at once – this task needed to be efficient.

To make this possible, **we designed a request queue system**. This system works in the background, generating invoices without impacting the application's performance. Restaurant managers can **send vast amounts of data for invoice creation and continue using the software without any slowdowns or interruptions**.

<div className="image">![invoices](/images/invoice_system_photo.png "invoices")</div>

This solution was **crucial in preventing potential application crashes** that could occur from handling a high volume of simultaneous requests. By implementing the queue system, we effectively minimized this risk, ensuring a smooth and reliable experience for all users.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: a step forward in digital transformation in hospitality" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

**For over 8 years, our invoice generator has been a notable tool for efficient financial operations in the dining industry across Israel**. We had the opportunity to create this fintech solution from scratch, nurturing its growth and evolution through continuous software modernizations and updates.

## Codeforia: Empowering the Next Generation of Coders with Gamified Learning

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/e-learning-coding-platform/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/nestjs_stack_logo2.svg","alt":"NestJS"},{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"}]' />

technologies: Next.js, React

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: the lack of programming courses in public schools" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

In today's world, programming skills are as essential as learning a foreign language. Yet, **public education systems struggle to engage young people in programming courses**, leaving a significant skills gap unaddressed. For instance, over [40%](https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/59721dc6-a0aa-11ef-85f0-01aa75ed71a1) of eighth-grade students across 22 EU education systems have not attained basic digital skills. Similarly, in the USA, only [60%](https://www.eschoolnews.com/steam/2024/11/26/computer-science-education-more-investment-access-gaps/) of public high schools offer foundational computer science courses.

To address this challenge, our client – an [established programming school](https://www.jacektomasiewicz.pl/) – set out to develop an edtech platform dedicated to programming education. Leveraging their extensive experience in delivering effective programming courses, they decided to launch a customized web platform offering a diverse range of paid online programming courses.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: e-learning coding platform with automated code tests" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

The client’s goal was to rapidly develop an e-learning platform that would expand their educational offerings and **attract clients from the education sector, including schools and universities**.

The client enlisted our assistance for frontend development. While we were primarily responsible for implementing the client’s design mockups, our role went beyond execution. We proactively **provided guidance and shared best UX practices, ensuring a polished and user-friendly final product**.

<div className="image">![Codeforia](/images/codeforia_task.png "It is a mockup example created for the purpose of the case study. It is based on the design made by Codeforia Team.")</div>

*It is a mockup example created for the purpose of the case study. It is based on the design made by Codeforia Team.*

Now Codeforia offers 15 comprehensive Python lessons and over 200 programming tasks designed to engage learners in hands-on coding practice. The platform includes a **user-friendly code editor** with both light and dark mode options, adhering to common UI standards. It also features a **built-in debugger** and a crucial tool for tracking progress: **code submission history**, ensuring no modifications are ever lost.

What truly sets Codeforia apart is its automated code testing feature, allowing users to instantly check and validate their solutions through pre-designed test cases.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: engaging students to improve course completion rates" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

One of the key challenges was **building an app that would actively engage students in course participation** while encouraging them to complete new tasks. Based on our recommendation, the client implemented **various gamification features, including progress tracking, insights into mastered skills, and information on skills yet to be acquired**. These enhancements were designed to boost user engagement and increase online course completion rates.

<div className="image">![Mockups edtech](/images/codeforia_progress.png "It is a mockup example created for the purpose of the case study. It is based on the design made by Codeforia Team.")</div>

*It is a mockup example created for the purpose of the case study. It is based on the design made by Codeforia Team.*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: successful launch of the edtech platform" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

The beta version of the platform was launched in 2023. We have continued to support the development cycle during the critical months post-launch.

Today, **Codeforia empowers individuals, organizations, and schools in developing essential digital skills**. We are confident that Codeforia will inspire countless young people to discover their passion for programming!

## Optimizing Medicine Distribution for UK Care Homes

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/emar-healthcare-solution/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="stack" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/bluetooth_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Bluetooth"},{"src":"/images/adobexdstack_logo.svg","alt":"Adobe XD"}]' />

**technologies:** Kotlin, Swift, Bluetooth, Adobe XD

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: transforming system inefficiencies to ensure patient safety" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

**In the United Kingdom, approximately [17,100 care homes are dedicated to accommodating over 400,000 individuals](https://www.braemarfinance.co.uk/s/insights/blog/facts-figures-uk-care-home-sector-MCXEQ2ZU7QKVFOBOP272VSXJDDWQ#:~:text=The%20care%20home%20sector%20in,after%20more%20than%20400%2C000%20people.)**. The UK's care home sector plays a pivotal role in supporting those in need of professional care.

In the extensive array of duties borne by care home providers, the task of **medicine distribution is a crucial and demanding responsibility**. The lack of digitalization in this area has cast a long shadow, leading to a confronting reality where **communication between pharmacies and care homes is fragmented and historical data on patient medication distribution alarmingly inaccessible**.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution: a system that helps control medicine distribution" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="solution" />

Our client is a UK-based health tech company aiming to streamline medicine distribution for care home professionals. 

<div className="image">![eMAR](/images/home_care_health_tech.png "eMAR")</div>

Upon the debut of their initial **Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR) solution, the client reached out to our team to explore a collaborative effort to refine and advance the product to a more sophisticated stage**. As a result, a comprehensive eMAR solution has been developed together with a mobile application, accessible on both Apple and Android devices, which now **provides seamless access to patients' medical history and prescribed medications**.

This application facilitates **real-time updates on medication intake** accessible for healthcare providers, patients, and their families. The **offline mode empowers caregivers to make essential updates without concern for internet connectivity**.

Furthermore, our collaboration with the client includes implementing a system that mandates supervisor approval for significant treatment changes, fostering a collaborative approach. **The system also minimizes errors by promptly notifying care home staff of potential missed medications, thereby lightening their workload through our client-centric solutions**.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: making a data-heavy and multifunctional system an intuitive one" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

**Our challenge was to help the client create a system that truly enhances daily operations instead of adding to the workload of care providers**. In response, we designed an interface that prioritizes essential information, ensuring all critical patient data is accessible on a single screen. Based on detailed field studies and research, we identified that end-users desire quick access to patient information and don’t want to navigate through multiple screens to obtain it. **Therefore, we prioritized creating an interface that is intuitive, speedy, and seamless to meet their needs**.

Navigating through another challenge, our collaboration intensified as we honed in on enhancing a pivotal HealthTech feature – **offline mode**. Recognizing the significance of a reliable app in time-sensitive situations, we worked closely to design an interface that distinctly indicates when users are in offline mode, fostering seamless data synchronization at a later stage.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result: successful scaling and meds distribution digitalization" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

We helped our client during the crucial post-MVP phase to build a solution that addresses all the needs and requirements of the nurses and doctors working with the system. **eMAR now supports a wide range of care homes across the UK**. As the population ages, the demand for care services that allow older individuals to remain in their homes becomes increasingly important. Therefore, solutions like eMAR will play a significant role in digitizing healthcare.

During our collaboration, we also built the [Remote Patient Monitoring with wearables and a telemedicine application](/projects/remote-patient-monitoring/). Read more about it in another case study!

## Turning Smartphones into Terminals with Card Payment App

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/credit-card-reader/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="Main features of BrightTreasury:" />

* Integration with an external card reader
* Card scanning (magnetic stripe reader)
* Card scanning and automatic data recognition (based on the card’s photo)
* Card charging
* Sending the bill/invoice to the customer’s email address
* Transaction history

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="intro" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="intro" />

Despite the high demand for cashless transactions, not all companies worldwide have access to or can afford to use payment terminals. For instance, while the above payment methods are ubiquitous in Europe, they are far less common in countries such as Israel. In order to bridge this gap on the Israeli market, our client decided to develop a mobile app that would allow businesses to accept card payments without a physical terminal.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="goal" />

Our client, a company that operates on the Israeli market, reached out to us with the goal of developing an iOS app for their payment service. The objective was to allow users to accept credit card payments without a physical terminal. 

When we first started our cooperation, the clients already had an up-and-running backend for the service, as well as a design for the intended interface. All they needed was to bring the mobile app to the market.

The goal was to allow the end-user to attach a separate device to their phone via a mini-jack or lightening/USB-C, that would allow reading the data stored on the card’s magnetic stripe.  This required the right technical approach towards decoding the information stored on the card.

![cashless transactions app](../../static/images/card_reader_mobile.png)

<sub>*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="process" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="process" />

Initially, Bright Inventions was entrusted with the development of the iOS app only. However, as we proceeded with our cooperation, we have also been assigned with bringing the Android app to the market.

While the external device for credit card scanning was chosen by the client, it was our responsibility to solve the issues with the device’s SDK – namely, it refused to work on the newest operating systems. Another obstacle was that the application was developed at the exact time when the newest iPhones premiered without an audio jack, which meant we needed to develop a lightning jack module.

The third challenge our mobile app developers tackled was ensuring that the app operated properly in Hebrew, i.e., in a right-to-left (RTL) language. This was especially important when it came to critical transaction data, such as properly displaying the amount charged.

![cashless transactions app](../../static/images/card_reader_mockup3.png)

<sub>*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

The application was successfully delivered and launched in both Google Play and the iOS App Store. The app is present on the market and used by a whole range of customers.

## Driving a 35% Increase in Benefit Card Payments Through Tailored POS Integration

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-integration-benefit-loyalty-cards/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/springboot_update.svg","alt":"Spring Boot"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logoupdate2.svg","alt":"AWS"},{"src":"/images/dot_net_stack.svg","alt":".net"},{"src":"/images/flutter.svg","alt":"Flutter"},{"src":"/images/grafana.svg","alt":"Grafana"}]' />

technologies: Kotlin, Spring boot, AWS ECS, .net, Flutter, Grafana

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: gaps in payment method support for restaurant clients" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

A leading point-of-sale vendor needed to expand their payment offering as part of a broader [POS legacy system modernization](/projects/pos-legacy/). The goal was to support a wider range of secure payment options, including **benefit cards, employee meal cards and loyalty programs**, alongside traditional methods like cash and credit cards.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: new payment providers integrated into the POS" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

We centered this [POS integration](/blog/pos-integration/) around major benefit cards and loyalty cards in the Israeli market, where our client operates, including payment providers such as **Multipass, Verifone, Cibus, and Value Card**.

To meet the client's needs, we built a comprehensive integration that connected their iPad-based POS systems with various payment providers via a real-time API. This allowed restaurant staff to offer a seamless checkout experience – customers could now select their preferred payment method, including **benefit cards**, and the system would automatically apply relevant discounts or benefits.

Technically, the integration works by sending a charge request from the POS to the external payment provider’s API, debiting the customer’s account with the order amount. The system then uses the provider’s response to update the payment status within the POS.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: priorities, documentation gaps, and payment logic variations" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

One of the first challenges was strategic: with plans to integrate with five different payment providers, we had to prioritize carefully. We worked closely with the client to **identify the most critical payment providers** for their restaurant clients and started implementation there, ensuring maximum value early in the project.

A significant hurdle was the **limited or inconsistent technical documentation** from some of the third-party payment providers. While a few partners offered robust, well-documented APIs, others required a more hands-on approach. We engaged in extensive, thoughtful email correspondence with provider support teams to clarify edge cases.

We also faced the challenge of **unifying payment logic and mapping discounts and confirmations** across all third-parties. Each payment provider had a slightly different process flow, response format, and timing. To maintain a consistent user experience and back-end reporting logic, we had to **adapt our internal system to normalize these differences**. It ensured that every transaction, regardless of provider, was correctly processed, recorded, and confirmed.

To solve this, we developed for the POS system a **dedicated microservice** responsible for managing communication with external payment providers. This service acted as a proxy layer, handling request formatting, authentication, and response parsing. We also built a lightweight service that **mapped the local order data into a standardized payment request format** and routed it through the microservice. This architecture not only simplified the client-side logic but also made it easier to scale and onboard new providers over time.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: increased redemptions and strengthened market position" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

The impact of the integration was clear almost immediately. In just the first month after launch, **meal purchase through benefit cards rose by 35%**, indicating strong user adoption and improved convenience for customers.

By the end of the implementation, restaurants gained access to a broader set of payment options beyond the usual methods. This added flexibility not only improved the customer experience but also **strengthened our client’s position** in the highly competitive point-of-sale market.

## Real-Time Location Experience with iBeacon Tech in Housing Market

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/easytapp/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="Main features" />

* Browsing through residential and car listings (with photos)
* Defining search parameters for items and locations
* Adding real estate and automotive listings to users’ ‘Favourites’ lists

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="intro" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="about" />

EasyTapp was an iOS and Android app that allowed users to browse through real estate and automotive listings. The app triggered push notifications on users’ phones in real time, as they were passing by a residential property or car that were up for sale.

![easytapp mobile app development](../../static/images/easytap_quartet1_copy.png)

<sub>*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="goal" />

When Bright Inventions first started working on the project, the company already had an operational backend and ready-to-implement designs for the user interface. They now needed a reliable mobile development partner to bring their iOS and Android apps to life. 

Firstly, the goal was to allow users to browse through, filter, and save car and real estate listings to their ‘Favourites’ lists. Secondly, EasyTapp founders wanted to help sellers bring attention to their offers by leveraging user location data. Namely, they wanted the app to trigger push notifications on users’ screens, informing them that they were in the vicinity of a car or real estate that were up for sale on the EasyTapp platform.

![easytapp mobile app development](../../static/images/easytap_1_mockup1.png)

<sub>*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="process" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="process" />

The key challenge Bright Invention developers had to face was finding a technological solution that would allow the app to synchronize effortlessly in the background without draining the device’s battery (as it’s often the case if location data is enabled in the background). For this reason, our experts decided to bet on iBeacon technology. If a seller purchased an iBeacon device, they would have been able to trigger automatic notifications on potential buyers’ screens, as they passed by the car or property. Such an approach was  much more efficient and battery-friendly compared to the GPS-based alternative.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

The application was successfully finalized and launched in Google Play and the iOS App Store.

## Elevating the Retail POS: Integrating Tap to Pay for Effortless Transactions

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/tap-to-pay-pos/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Android"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"React"}]' />

technologies: Android, Kotlin, iOS, Swift

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: adding more contactless payment methods" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Imagine transforming a smartphone into a fully functional payment terminal – no extra hardware, just a tap. That’s the magic of Tap to Pay. It means transactions can happen **card-to-phone** or even **phone-to-phone**, making the checkout process quicker, and incredibly convenient. This was especially appealing for businesses on the go or those looking to trim hardware expenses, as these are core characteristics of our clients user base.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: implementing Tap to Pay with a user-friendly onboarding" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

To bring this vision to life, we designed a dynamic **payment flow that cleverly adapted to the user's Stripe integration status**. We introduced a series of intuitive onboarding and payment screens. If a user didn’t yet have an active Stripe integration, selecting Tap to Pay would guide them through connecting an account, completing necessary setup steps like registering a terminal location, and then proceeding to accept payments. For those already integrated with Stripe, it was a straight shot to accepting a Tap to Pay transaction, no interruptions.

<div className="image">![Tap to Pay](/images/payment_phone.png "Tap to Pay")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: navigating Apple T2P entitlements and global rollout" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

The path to implementation wasn't without its twists. One of the primary challenges with Tap to Pay on iPhone was **Apple's requirements**. Enabling this feature in a production environment demanded a special entitlement from Apple. This wasn't a simple click; it required the Apple Developer account holder to submit a formal request, and only after approval could development and testing truly begin.

Until that entitlement was granted, our testing was confined to local environments via Xcode. Distributing the feature to testers or staging environments was impossible. This forced us to meticulously sequence development tasks, prioritize what could be tested locally, and align our timeline with Apple’s review process.

Another significant hurdle was integrating Tap to Pay alongside the existing payment methods while also **addressing regional availability**. Tap to Pay is only supported in select countries, necessitating careful control over feature propagation based on the user’s location. Our solution was a **gradual rollout strategy** using remote configuration, allowing us to enable the feature selectively and monitor its stability in real-time.

Beyond the technicalities, we faced the challenge of **introducing this new feature to retailers**. Its success hinged on users being aware of its availability and feeling confident using it. This demanded early and close collaboration with the marketing team to craft clear messaging, intuitive onboarding flows, and effective in-app communication. From day one, our focus was on building a simple, intuitive user interface with clear screens, ensuring users could complete a payment confidently, even on their very first try.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: empowering stores with a competitive edge" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

The integration of Tap to Pay on both iOS and Android platforms proved to be a game-changer for our client's retail operations. It didn't just streamline the checkout process; it elevated overall customer satisfaction. This adoption aligns perfectly with global trends in contactless payments. For instance, [Visa](https://investor.visa.com/news/news-details/2025/Visa-Tap-to-Phone-Adoption-Soars-200-Year-over-Year-Growth-Worldwide/default.aspx) reported a **200% year-over-year growth in Tap to Phone adoption worldwide**, underscoring the rapid expansion. And now our client is a part of this huge global change in contactless payment.

## Eliminating Device Clutter with POS and Food Delivery Apps Integration

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-third-party-delivery/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/springboot_update.svg","alt":"Spring Boot"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logo_update.svg"},{"src":"/images/case-study_typescript_stack-logo.svg","alt":"TypeScript"}]' />

**technologies**: Kotlin, SpringBoot, AWS, TypeScript

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the problem: handling online orders from various third-party delivery providers" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Let’s step behind the restaurant counter and observe the waitstaff in action. In addition to serving in-house guests, they must **manage online orders from third-party food delivery platforms** like Wolt and Uber Eats. **Each platform provides its own device for managing orders**, adding to the growing number of devices that already overwhelm the busy staff (from a point-of-sale desktop to payment terminals, thermal printers, and more).

But **what if all third-party, in-house, and phone orders were automatically integrated into a single device**? That was the goal of the food delivery providers integration we developed for the Practi POS provider (later known as **[Just Eat POS](/projects/system-for-restaurants/)**) for restaurants in Israel and the UK.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUtXXxpsFg' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: all restaurant orders synchronized on one device" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution:" />

A key aspect of this integration is **menu synchronization**. Any changes to the menu – such as prices, unavailable items, or ingredients – are automatically updated across all food delivery platforms, eliminating the need for waitstaff to manually update each one. 

However, if a restaurant wants to for example set different prices for various platforms, they can easily make those adjustments using the simple POS interface:

<div className="image">![POS delivery integration UI](/images/pos_delivery_integration_ui.png "POS UI")</div>

The true gem of this integration is **the real-time synchronization of every order on the Just Eat POS system**. Whether it's an online, on-site, or phone order, all information is automatically displayed on the primary POS device. This means the waitstaff can finally retire the multiple devices provided by third-party platforms. Now, **everything is accessible through the Just Eat POS device – the only one the restaurant needs**.

This automation also eliminates the errors occurring when busy staff manually transfer online orders to the main POS device so they can be sent to the kitchen. Now, **orders are processed automatically, speeding up meal preparation and delivery**. What’s more, order statuses are available on the same device, **keeping the waitstaff informed** throughout the process – from order acceptance to delivery.

Integration with food delivery platforms aligned perfectly with other parts of the multifunctional Just Eat POS. For example, **if a restaurant prefers to manage deliveries in-house, they can also use the [delivery drivers application](/projects/delivery-drivers-app/) offered by Just Eat POS**. Thanks to order synchronization, every order is available in the app, making it easy to coordinate deliveries. The app provides drivers with all the necessary information for a successful delivery, including the customer’s address, navigation with a map, and payment status.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='contact us to discuss your POS'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: synchronization with unstable connection, achieving real-time updates" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

The **greatest technical challenges lie in menu and order synchronization**. To keep all data synced across multiple platforms, restaurants rely on a stable internet connection, which isn’t always guaranteed. In cases of lost connectivity, our team implemented solutions to ensure proper synchronization as soon as possible. **We developed automatic monitoring of the integration status, continuously checking connection stability**. If disruptions occur, the system will automatically restore the connection once available to synchronize all menu and order information.

Additionally, to achieve real-time order updates, **we had to design a mechanism that would automatically receive, verify, and process every order**. The POS system also updates order statuses and driver information, ensuring this data is available to the third-party provider. For example, with Just Eat POS, **users can track the order's delivery progress, even though the waitstaff manages the order exclusively through the [POS device](/blog/what-are-point-of-sale-devices/)**.

Another challenge related to synchronization was **automating the import of menus from third-party providers to sync with the POS**. This was difficult due to the complex meal sets, with multiple bundles, and add-ons, as well as the different data structures used by each food delivery app. Our team had to analyze these differences and **implement a mechanism to transform the various data structures into a unified format**, ensuring synchronization with the POS system while accommodating the complexities of meal sets, bundles, and add-ons.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: standing out through integrations with numerous food delivery providers" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

Food delivery integration has been one of the most impactful changes, instantly making the waitstaff's work easier. Thanks to this integration, **Just Eat POS has firmly established itself as a truly versatile solution, offering connections with a wide range of third-party providers**. Our team developed this integration from scratch, along with dozens of other applications and features built for Practi (Just Eat POS) throughout our decade-long partnership.

## ePOS and RMS

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/epos-and-retail-management-system/index.md*

## Main features:

- Printer and cash drawer integration
- Reporting services
- Analytics
- Data export and import
- Third party integration

## Skills:

- **iOS:** Objective-C, Swift, ReactiveCocoa
- **Android:** Kotlin, AndroidX
- **Backend:** Kotlin, Java, Node.js, Docker, AWS, MySQL, PostgreSQL
- **Frontend:** Angular, Babel, Elastic Beanstalk, Docker

## Faster Labeling Printout with Custom Zebra and Shopify Integrations

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/custom-labeling-printout/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/zebra_technologies_stack_logo_bigger_newpng.png","alt":"Zebra Technologies"},{"src":"/images/bluetooth_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Bluetooth"}]' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: the labeling conundrum for Boosa – a pet catering company" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Our client, an e-commerce business specializing in animal catering, faced a significant operational bottleneck. Each morning, their team **manually printed vast numbers of labels** one by one to attach to individual meal packages. Crucially, they also had to **manually click within Shopify** to confirm each label was printed. This manual process was time-consuming and highly prone to errors.

They approached us seeking to **automate label generation and printing**. Their primary goal was one-click printing of all necessary labels, directly integrated with their Shopify data. Also, they specifically aimed to achieve a truly customized label that could convey comprehensive product details and reinforce their brand. Given they operate with **Zebra Technologies** printers, it was crucial that these new, detailed labels were precisely rendered on their existing hardware.

The market offered no off-the-shelf solution that met their nuanced requirements. This drove them to seek a custom integration with Shopify and Zebra Technologies printers, a solution that could truly change their fulfillment process.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/DKe63ayo60g/' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: automated printing of unique labels" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

We developed a unique server-based application that seamlessly integrates with a local printer application. The printing process is now fully automated. The team can now **print every label with a single click, or even set up automated printing schedules at predetermined times**.  

The integration with Zebra Technologies label printer is also a bespoke solution, as no existing market offering could precisely handle the client's needs for printing on specific Zebra printer models, **accommodating their chosen paper type and sticker format,** nor allowing for the desired level of custom label design.

<div className="image">![Zebra Technologies](/images/zebra_technologies_label_printer.png "Zebra Technologies")</div>

Their previous Shopify setup offered severely limited label customization. Our solution unlocked the ability to include vital information directly on labels, such as **preparation instructions, meal nutritional values, and a fully expressed unique brand identity**. This ultimately created an informative, and visually appealing packaging experience for pet owners, enhancing brand perception.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: testing custom labels printing" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

A significant challenge revolved around rigorous label testing to ensure precise printing. This required continuous access to the client's specific Zebra printers throughout the development phase. Fortunately, **Bright Inventions, as a registered Zebra Technologies partner**, possesses both the necessary hardware access and extensive experience with printer integrations. This allowed us to conduct real-time print tests and iterative adjustments, ensuring every detail of the custom labels was perfectly rendered from the outset.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: better brand experience and accelerating business operations" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

Our solution delivered a unique brand experience for the client's customers, **allowing [Boosa & Co](https://boosa.co/)** **to truly stand out** in the competitive animal catering market. Internally, we accelerated the team's daily workflow, **freeing them from the manual burden of label printing** and enabling them to focus on core business operations.

## Finebite’s Pivot Story: Loyalty App Hits 1M Users with New Reservation Feature

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/everytap/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main Finebite tech elements:" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="Main features:" />

* Highly polished user interface
* Integration with restaurants management systems
* Integration with online payment platform with 3DS
* In-depth user behaviour analytics
* A/B testing

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about Finebite" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="about Finebitey" />

Let’s be honest – halfway through the working day, we all have the same recurring thoughts on our minds: “time for lunch!”.

However, if you haven’t come prepared with your own meal, you might also have to decide where to head out for lunch in the first place.

The same goes for spending an evening out in town – where should you head over to with your friends to grab a bite (and a fulfilling one, at that!)?

Everytap and Finebite, two restaurant loyalty and reservation apps for iOS and Android, were designed to make finding the answer to these questions just a few clicks away.

Since Everytap first launched in 2014, it has steadily transformed from a restaurant loyalty app into a much more sophisticated platform – thus paving the way for its younger counterpart, Finebite.

Bright Inventions has worked on the ideation and development of both platforms, as discussed below.

Apart from an online reservation feature, Finebite also currently offers a truly unbeatable perk – 50% off the entire menu in return for an online review or filling in a restaurant survey. This, in turn, lets restaurants acquire more guests during off-peak hours, receive more reviews, and collect feedback privately.

Now, if that doesn’t make you feel a sudden urge for dining out, we don’t know what does!

<AppStore googleApp='https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.everytap' srcGoogle='/images/google_play.png' altGoogleImage='Finebite Google Play' appStore='https://apps.apple.com/app/id894593031' srcAppStore='/images/app_store.png' altAppStoreImage='Finebite App Store' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="goal" />

Bright Inventions has been a partner of Everytap and Finebite from the company’s early days. Throughout the years, we helped ideate, develop, and rebuild the app from scratch and turn its first version, Everytap, into a whole new service – Finebite.

<div className="image">![Review from Finebite](../../static/images/case_study_finebite_client_quote.png "review from our client")</div>

Back in 2014, the founders have entrusted us with developing an app that would revolutionize the way restaurant visitors participate in loyalty programs, and encourage them to dine out more frequently. Initially known as Everytap, the service was to substitute physical discount cards with a more visually-appealing, interactive alternative that would let them collect points/stamps in the app.

With this idea in mind, the founders have asked for our assistance in verifying the concept against the market and building two native apps for iOS and Android. The app was to leverage users’ geolocalization to show personalized deals at nearby restaurants and allow them to collect loyalty points upon payment.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="process of Finebite development" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="process of developing Finebite" />

We worked with the Everytap team to establish how their potential customers’ needs and benefits – both those of restaurant-goers and restaurant owners – could be best addressed.

Once we made sure both target user groups could genuinely benefit from using the app, we moved on to defining its technical requirements. Apart from deciding on the technology used for the two mobile apps and backend, we also had to tackle the challenge of integrating a solution that would leverage users’ geolocation. This was necessary for the functioning of two key features of the app – loyalty points’ collection and redeeming special offers.

We knew that we needed to integrate the app not only with Google Maps and Facebook but also with a technology that would trigger location-based push notifications on screen.

We decided to turn to iBeacon – a Bluetooth-based technology. For this purpose, we integrated with an iBeacon service offered by [Estimote](https://estimote.com/). Once introduced into the app, it became possible to trigger notifications to users as they entered or passed restaurants. iBeacon technology also enabled users to collect and spend points at partner venues via the app.

For backend, our developers chose Ruby-on-Rails – specifically, they worked with MongoDB and Heroku. The product design team was also engaged in the process – we equipped the app with plenty of custom animations and UI effects, designed to help navigate the app.

<div className="image">![Finebite app designs](/images/in_text_finebite_mockups.png "Finebite app designs")</div>

<center><sub> Mockup examples designed by Finebite's Product Design Team. </sub></center>

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="launch" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="launch" />

The app first launched in the Apple Store and Google Play stores in 2014 and gained significant popularity across Poland. The Everytap team was, however, well aware that they could not rest on their laurels if they wanted to remain competitive to its users for years to come.

Since the app’s launch, the Everytap team kept close track of app store reviews and feature requests so that they could drive customer-inspired changes. They have also ongoingly worked on optimizing the business model so that it remained attractive to restaurants.

And so, step by step, the app transformed from a service offering promotional offers and loyalty points’ collection to one that let its users dine for half the price and book tables online. Restaurants have also been given the possibility to run multiple offers in the app (whereas, in its early day, Everytap offered just one a day).

Eventually, the Everytap team also decided to drop iBeacon technology. Namely, ever since the online reservation panel had been introduced, users passing near restaurants stopped being the target group.

While Everytap founders hit the jackpot with these changes, they weren’t entirely satisfied with where it took the overall UX, stability, and performance of the app.

And so, they have reached out to us with a radical decision – they have decided to bid farewell to Everytap and turn it into Finebite, a sophisticated, robust restaurant platform. For this to happen, the app needed to be either significantly rebuilt, or created from scratch.

Given Everytap’s technology debt, we agreed that the second option was the best direction to go.

And so, our teams have once again joined forces to bring Finebite to the market.

From a technological standpoint, the key difference between both apps was that we chose not to reuse the same technologies. And so, for Finebite we decided to drop Java in favor of Kotlin (Android) and substituted Objective-C with Swift (iOS).

From a user’s perspective, the app is now much more intuitive, features a cohesive design, and offers top-notch performance.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="client’s perspective" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="client’s perspective" />

*They kept us in the loop at all times and provided updates and progress reports on a weekly basis. They were also very accessible, and interactions between our designers and their developers were productive. They made us feel like we were one cohesive team, even going so far as to build a workstation at their office for our lead backend developer.*

**Adam Pachucki, Head of Product at Finebite**

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

During the past 5 years, the app has evolved from a loyalty program service to a sophisticated reservation and customer review platform. Finebite has been steadily growing and expanding to new markets.

Users admit that Finebite is a true bridge between the world of new technologies and the traditional dining experience. They also admit that the app encourages them to dine out more frequently and share their feedback with restaurants and the diners’ community. In the words of one of its users, Finebite “is a very cool option for regular diners as well as an encouragement to try something new. In general, one of the most sophisticated Android applications”.

## Food Delivery iOS App Modernization: SwiftUI & Modern Concurrency Migrations

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/leading-food-delivery-app/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/firebase_logo_stack_new.svg","alt":"Firebase"},{"src":"/images/applepay.svg","alt":"Apple Pay"},{"src":"/images/sentry.svg","alt":"Sentry"}]' />

**technologies**: Swift UI, Swift Concurrency, Firebase, Apple Pay

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: finding a cohesive iOS development team" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Our client, **a leading global online food delivery marketplace**, sought our expertise in iOS development to enhance their already popular food delivery app and benefit solution in Israel. **They required a highly skilled [mobile development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development/) team with strong cohesion and experience working together for years**.

Our iOS experts quickly took charge of the existing app and **swiftly familiarized themselves with the app's structure and underlying code**. That smooth transition allowed us to efficiently maintain the current solution while simultaneously planning and executing further modernizations and development.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: food delivery app serving two different groups" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

**For over 2 years, we have been developing this unique solution that serves both B2C and B2B markets**. This is not an ordinary food delivery app; it also functions as an employer benefit platform. With the app, companies can transfer funds to their employees, who can use this money to pay for lunch or grocery shopping. Thanks to the **integration with Apple Pay and local payment providers**, users can securely manage their funds with ease.

Also, the app combined with a special card unlocks unique bonuses and discounts. That's an additional key element that drives employers who want to share special offers with their employees.

The application is a **native iOS solution**, a domain in which our team excels. We handle the tech side of the project holistically, covering mobile development, quality assurance, performance monitoring, and key tech and business decision consulting. We work in close collaboration with client representatives, including project managers and product designers.

<div className="image">![food delivery app](/images/food_delivery_photo_case_study.png "")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: user-friendly code modernization with migration from UIKit to SwiftUI" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

One of the primary challenges is planning code modernization in line with ongoing development while ensuring high performance. **A significant migration we are currently undertaking is the switch from UIKit to SwiftUI**. SwiftUI allows the software team for faster view prototyping, helping our client save resources.

However, updating a highly popular application is a marathon, not a sprint. Transitioning to SwiftUI, especially for a widely used app, involves meticulous planning and execution. We are diligently progressing through this transition.

We are committed to implementing the top solutions Apple offers, including SwiftUI for more efficient UI development and Swift Concurrency for writing asynchronous code. Implementing the top iOS stack ensures that **with every new iOS release, the application will be swiftly adjustable and new updates quickly accessible to users on new Apple devices**.

A crucial part of code modernization is also **shifting from asynchronous code to Modern Concurrency, which improved the app’s stability by eliminating data races** (when two threads access the same data concurrently and at least one modifies it) and **increasing thread safety** (the protection of data from concurrent access issues).

Another challenge we faced was the **effective testing of screens with Hebrew UI known for RTL (right-to-left) language**. Although our team has over a decade of experience developing mobile and web solutions for the Israeli market, ensuring efficient testing is crucial. T**hanks to snapshot testing, we can generate snapshots of particular screens. A special engine helps testers analyze differences between the UI design and the testing environment**, predicting issues such as misaligned buttons. When testing a UI based on a language you are unfamiliar with, tools like these are invaluable. 

**Our client deeply appreciated our approach to quality assurance, engaging a software tester from our team to be part of the mobile team developing the Android version of this application.**

<div className="image">![](/images/food_delivery_case_study.png "")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the result: scaling leading food delivery solution" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

After just a couple of weeks of joining the project centered around a highly popular product, we were able to take care of the solution smoothly. **Not only do we maintain it, but we also keep developing it, adding new features**.

Among them is a **users' subaccount** where they can keep leftover funds for future spending, as well as an **active order banner** where users can check the order progress without refreshing the app. Thanks to the **quick search feature**, users can also look on the map for restaurants in the area and quickly view the menu and possible discounts.

While adding all these new features and conducting code modernization simultaneously, we ensured that users didn't experience any negative effects from the changes we introduced to the code. **The app continues to grow as a leading food delivery solution in Israel**.

## From MVP to a Solution Helping People in Asia and Africa

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/card-tracking-system/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/node_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logo.svg","alt":"AWS"}]' />

**technologies:** React.js + Redux, MaterialUI + styled-components, Node.js, NestJS, Kotlin, AWS – CloudFormation, TeamCity

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="harnessing the power of technology to aid" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="Harnessing the power of technology to aid" />

In the world affected by military conflicts, social inequalities and the rising number of refugees the aid provided by **NGOs and humanitarian organizations must undergo digitalization to effectively address global challenges**.

While media coverage often focuses on refugees making long journeys to Europe or the USA, the reality is that **the majority of refugees reside in Asian countries**. According to [resque.com](https://www.rescue.org/article/facts-about-refugees-key-facts-faqs-and-statistics) Jordan hosts the second-highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

In regions such as Africa and Asia, far removed from the global media spotlight and influencer attention, the battle for an improved quality of life is ongoing. **Humanitarian organizations strive to aid not only refugees but also those hailing from the poorest regions and those who have lost their means of livelihood** and shelter due to natural disasters.

Technology must become a handful tool for organizations aiming to help. **The Card Tracker System is one of the humanitarian projects harnessing the power of technology for aid**.

<div className="image">![Natural disaster](../../static/images/natural_disaster-girl.png "Natural disaster")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the story behind Card Tracking System" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_products.svg" titleIconAlt="The story behind Card Tracking System" />

Our client, **one of the leading global humanitarian agencies, approached us looking to create a system that would improve their payment instrument distribution process**. As part of the agency's ongoing effort to support people in need in some of our planet's poorest regions, **the agency distributes payment instruments (prepaid cards, SIM cards, vouchers, etc.) to local communities around the globe**. This, in turn, **allows beneficiaries to acquire essential items** like food, hygiene products, and other necessities for their families.

<div className="image">![QR code](../../static/images/qr_code.png "QR code")</div>

The client required a **system that would follow the payment instruments at every stage** – all the way from the point of order to distributing them to the beneficiaries and beyond. The system was required to show the cards' status to ensure they fulfilled their purpose: giving resources to families living below the poverty line. Any fraudulent activity was to be tracked by the system and dealt with accordingly by the staff on the ground.

The system didn't monitor the payment transactions the card was used in. Still, it tracks the handing over of cards between different departments and organizations within the humanitarian agency. Thanks to that, **the client can quickly check how many cards are ready to be distributed and how many have already been passed on to end users**.

The system was developed on two platforms. **The web application acts as the back office application, mainly displaying events logs and the issued cards' status**. Meanwhile, the **Android mobile application enables scanning of the cards**, sending data between the on-the-ground staff and the offices, and recording when they are distributed to the end users. In this project, **Bright Inventions handled every aspect of the project**, from product design work all the way to backend and frontend development to deployment and maintenance.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal: easy adjustment to local laws and regulations" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_goal.svg" titleIconAlt="Goal: easy adjustment to local laws and regulations" />

The project goal was to **create an automated, transparent, and uniform system allowing the delivery of payment instruments to people in need**. The system has to work globally; therefore, it has to be easily adjustable to local law and the specific situations of different communities in Africa and Asia. The system also requires to **support card distribution in poor internet coverage areas**, making an offline mode a must.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="how did Bright Inventions help to make this system unique and live? " titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="How did Bright Inventions help to make this system unique and live? " />

We had the privilege of **starting the whole development process from scratch**, starting with the product design side of the proceedings. The development process required us to **turn the manual card distribution process into a digital flow**.

The Card Tracking System was **developed as an MVP**. The goal was to build crucial features, release the product, and quickly verify if it meets the clients and their users' expectations. As the **feedback for the initial MVP was positive**, we started further work on delivering the full version of the app.

<div className="image">![Payment with phone](../../static/images/payment_phone.png "Payment with phone")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="responding to unique challenges refugees have to encounter" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="Responding to unique challenges refugees have to encounter" />

The social impact this solution would make meant the discovery and prototyping phase was crucial in establishing an understanding of the various aspects of the project. For example, during the process, we found that the **eligibility criteria for an individual to receive the cards varies from country to country** and is sometimes linked to the specific life circumstances of the beneficiaries.

We also had to **account for people without the proper ID required by the local authorities**. Some of the refugees in question left their homes so quickly that they did not have any documents at all. Each of these instances affected the flow of the app, creating more work for the product design team.

**Close cooperation with the agency employees was vital during the prototyping and discovery phase**. These people work on the ground and understand the local processes and circumstances the refugees face. The information they shared through a series of interviews was crucial in understanding the solution needed. These interviews allowed us to customize the final product to the needs of the staff working across the humanitarian agency.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result of collaboration: a system with dozen implementations" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="Result of collaboration" />

At Bright Inventions, **we are honored that we could develop a card tracking system that supports the daily jobs of humanitarian agency employees** helping them to organize aid during missions in areas affected by natural disasters, climate change, or wars. The local people can use the cards distributed to meet their most basic needs. **Our client's efforts not only result in helping people in the crises of poverty but also help to stimulate the local economies**.

<div className="image">![Shopping](../../static/images/shopping_girl_women.png "Shopping")</div>

**A pilot of the system was launched in 2020** in one of the Middle Eastern countries where the agency operates. The reception has been positive, and **the system was rolled out across other countries in the Middle East and Africa**. 

We are still working on the system, constantly developing new features, offering maintenance and assistance in launching the application in the new markets. The social impact certainly makes this a gratifying experience for our team, and we are thrilled to develop it with the client.

## Navigating Digital Transformation at Construction Sites: Heinrich Schmid's Doc-Sharing App

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/document-management-apps-construction/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/figma_update_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Figma"},{"src":"/images/github_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"Github"},{"src":"/images/jetpackcompose.svg","alt":"jetpack compose"}]' />

**technologies**: SwiftUI, Apollo GraphQL, CoreData, Sourcery, Bitrise, Jetpack Compose, Hilt, offline-first approach, Jira, Figma, GitHub Actions.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: site construction staff overloaded with paper documentation" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Imagine stepping into the **bureaucratic world of construction site personnel**, where every day is a navigation through a sea of paperwork. Employees need access to a collection of documents, from architectural plans, site photographs to daily reports, timesheets, and others. Additionally, they generate numerous documents on-site, adding to the already substantial pile of documentation.

**What if all this paperwork were just one click away on a smartphone or tablet?** Critical documents would no longer be misplaced or damaged at construction sites, and access to sensitive information would be limited to individuals with the appropriate credentials.

<div className="image">![A quote from the client](/images/baumappe_quote_update.png "Client's perspective")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution: digital document sharing with a mobile app" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

Our client, Heinrich Schmid, is a building construction group, eagerly embracing digital transformation. **One of their goals was to manage the whole construction documentation** via smartphone or tablet and eliminate paper documentation. We were pleased to help them with this transition.

**Our team takes care exclusively of mobile development**. The backend is developed by another software company. It requires close cooperation between various development teams to sync apps with the backend properly.

<div className="image">![Document Management Apps for Construction](../../static/images/app_mockups_dodocumenttion_management_apps.png "Mockup examples designed by Heinrich Schmid's Product Design Team.")</div>

Mockup examples designed by Heinrich Schmid's Product Design Team.  

**The initial phase involved launching the MVP – HS Baumappe iOS and Android applications** designed to facilitate the creation and sharing of documents among the construction crew, clients, and external contractors. Thanks to sophisticated access management, only employees with the appropriate credentials can access the various documents, significantly enhancing security and data protection.

The client trusted us to choose the most optimal solutions, therefore we use top tools such as **SwiftUI or Jetpack Compose highly recommended by Apple and Android**.

We also made a strategic decision regarding the app architecture. We decided to **build HS Baumappe as a multi-module application**. Instead of building an app as a huge monolith, we separated the code into single responsibility modules. As a result, it improved developers’ productivity, code clarity, and interoperability. It also **helps to save costs and scale the solution during the post-MVP phase**.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: addressing internet connection shortages at construction sites" titleIcon="/images/two_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge " />

Internet access is typically unreliable at construction sites. Therefore from the beginning, the priority was to build the **offline-first application**. Developing offline mode is always an interesting technological challenge. However, we have successfully delivered this feature for numerous clients. **Thanks to an offline mode users can create any document without an internet connection and the app will store the data on the user’s device**. All files will be synchronized when the internet connection is back.

<div className="image">![App for construction company mockup](../../static/images/hs_baumappe_case_study_mockup.png "Mockup examples designed by Heinrich Schmid's Product Design Team.")</div>

<center>Mockup example designed by Heinrich Schmid's Product Design Team.</center>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="client’s perspective" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="client’s perspective" />

*The collaboration with Bright Inventions started off very promising. Based on our business needs, **they gave great architectural advice, important technical information, and overall good guidance**, which allowed an ambitious start into the project.*

*After months of smooth development and satisfying output, we were challenged with some very critical technical barriers, which collided with our business vision of the app. Due to great proactive efforts on Bright Inventions side, the Heinrich Schmid IT team, and the good communication towards our third-party backend developer team, we overcame this hurdle and managed to get the app behavior as envisioned and desired.* 

*With the currently ongoing MVP release, the only point of criticism our users raised is the following: “We want more features!”. Therefore, the **MVP release is a great success** so far and we envision a lot more features to come in the app, together with our partner Bright Inventions.*

**Leon Seiz, Former Product Owner at Heinrich Schmid**

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the result of the partnership" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="result" />

Following the launch of the MVP, it received positive feedback from its end users. **We continue to work on the mobile application adding other crucial features** such as the digital signature of the documents.

## Implementing Sygic GPS Navigation into Driver’s Application

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/navigation-driver-app-integration/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Android"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/figma_update_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Figma"}]' />

technologies: Android, Kotlin, Figma.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: unprecise mileage estimation and tracking" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Our client, a [transportation services provider](/projects/transportation-management-system/), wanted to introduce a new process where **dispatchers create predefined routes that drivers must strictly follow**. This ensures precise mileage tracking, making it **easier to accurately settle payments with drivers** based on kilometers traveled. To achieve this, the system required seamless integration with a navigation solution that would ensure couriers adhere to the exact routes designed by freight forwarders.

While we had the freedom to choose the right navigation system, the client emphasized one critical requirement: **the predefined route must remain unchanged**, helping drivers stay on the exact route planned by the dispatcher.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: custom integration with navigation system Sygic" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution:" />

After careful research, the best option seemed to be **Sygic navigation** because it was the only solution we found at that moment providing the crucial functionality our client required. Sygic allowed routing based on a **fully predefined path**, with **no limits on the number of waypoints** and without displaying them on the map during navigation.

Most available popular navigation systems offered navigation based on specific coordinates, but they had limitations. Some displayed coordinates on the map during navigation, while others restricted the number of waypoints (typically around **150**), which would be problematic and inaccurate for long-haul routes – such as from Estonia to Portugal.

To enhance usability, **Sygic navigation should be embedded directly into our application** rather than redirecting users to an external app. While both approaches have pros and cons, we prioritized usability:

* **Drivers don’t have to install an additional app**, which would have been a major obstacle given their limited time.  
* **We maintain better control over the navigation experience**, whereas relying on an external app would leave us with no influence over its behavior or potential updates.

What’s more, based on the details of a given route, the app would display map download recommendations. Most drivers turn off mobile data when traveling through Switzerland due to high roaming costs, so if a route included Swiss territory, the app would notify the driver before the journey began – prompting them to download the necessary maps in advance and ensuring they were fully prepared for the trip.

<div className="image">![UI navigation](/images/ui_navigation_design_case_study.png "UI navigation")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: finding the right navigation solution, licensing design" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

The research phase was definitely a challenge, as the client had very specific requirements.\
As part of our research, **we held discussions with various navigation providers** to assess their capabilities.

Developing this **Proof of Concept (POC)** also proved to be complex. During the testing phase with Sygic, we submitted numerous requests for adjustments to their SDK to better align with our requirements.

Another key challenge we faced was **licensing design**. Sygic’s licensing model is based on either a per-device or per-unique-ID approach, so we had to carefully develop an optimal licensing strategy within our Transportation Management System (TMS) to keep costs under control.

We designed the **licensing system to be per vehicle**, as staff rotation is more frequent than changes to the fleet. When a driver is assigned a specific vehicle for a given time period, they receive a corresponding license. Once their assignment ends and they switch to another vehicle, they are issued a different license.

<div className="image">![navigation Sygic case study](/images/case_study_navigation_drivers_app.png "navigation Sygic case study")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: Proof of Concept ready to add value to client’s system" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

We have developed a **fully functional Proof of Concept**, which is currently undergoing testing by the client’s staff, particularly freight forwarders and drivers. The implemented navigation system includes all necessary features to ensure accurate route estimation and maintain proper payment settlement, helping to avoid inconsistencies caused by incorrect routing.

## Retail iOS and Android Apps with Bluetooth Integration – Just Eat POS

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/system-for-restaurants-mobile/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="Just Eat POS restaurant system" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="about" />

Just Eat POS system took care of the whole process of managing restaurant orders: from ordering the meal, providing kitchen staff with details to delivering the order to the client’s table or home. A huge part of the system was a couple of Android and iOS applications.

Also, read another [Just Eat POS case study](/projects/system-for-restaurants) about other products built for this enormous system.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="mobile apps integrated with restaurant and retail systems" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_products.svg" titleIconAlt="Apps" />

* ePOS iOS and Android **applications used by restaurant staff** to take orders and manage payments.
* iOS and Android **[courier delivery application](/projects/delivery-drivers-app/)** which assists drivers in delivering orders.

<div className="image">![Mobile apps restaurant and retail](../../static/images/mobile_retail_app.png "It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of a case study.")</div>

*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of a case study.*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="stack and skills:" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="features" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/firebase_logo_stack.png","alt":"Firebase"},{"src":"/images/realm_stack_logo.png","alt":"Realm"},{"src":"/images/fastlane_logo_stack.png","alt":"Fastlane"}]' />

**technologies:** Kotlin, Coroutines, Realm, ReactiveSwift, Firebase, Google Maps, Dagger 2, Fastlane

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="iOS development" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="iOS development" />

iOS products developed by our team were used in restaurants in Israel. Practi iOS solution was one of the top ePOS solutions used by restaurants in Israel. There were **three main retail products developed by bright iOS developers**.

### **Reggie iOS ePOS application**

**Reggie was “the mind” of the whole ePOS system at the restaurant**. It was a cash register itself. It was fully [integrated with JustEat and a couple of other online food delivery companies](/projects/pos-third-party-delivery/). You could manage orders from clients in the restaurant as well as took care of all phone and internet orders. Also, the app enabled you to manage drivers if the restaurant hired them.

### **Click & Collect – iOS white label application**

**The app was dedicated to restaurants which want to offer clients their own meal-ordering application**. “White label app” was the product that can be easily adjusted to clients brand visual identity and business needs. Therefore every restaurant can use this app but it looks differently for every business. The app allowed restaurant’s customers to order items from menu and get them delivered or collected on their own.

### **Delivery drivers app** 

Our team also developed an independent **product used by drivers who deliver the orders from a restaurant to customers**. The app not only showed the destination and navigates drivers but also kept them informed about the transaction details. Drivers knew whether the order was paid or it needed to be paid. The driver was well-aware about the payment method (by cash or card). Thanks to the app, drivers were provided with all necessary information and could focus on delivering the meals as soon as possible.

Read more about [delivery drivers app](/projects/delivery-drivers-app/).

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="Android development" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="Android development" />

Android development team delivered similar solutions to the iOS team. Android app was used by end-users in the UK.

### Reggie Android ePOS application

The app let you manage food orders made at restaurant, by phone or the website.

**Some of the features of the Android Just Eat POS application are:**

* **Catalog** – the main screen of the app used to quickly set up orders taken at place (in person). The cashier or other stuff member had access to all menu items and could choose the ones a client wanted to order. They could also choose the delivery option if needed and enter client’s data. Then a cashier could proceed to the transaction.
* **Customer Orders** – the dashboard displaying all orders made externally – via a phone or online food delivery providers like Takeaway, Just Eat, etc. So these were orders that weren't made in person. The app user could quickly check the status of every order and assign a driver to deliver it to the customer.
* **Reports** – the app displayed various data and statistics that showed your company revenue, number of orders and sold items, details about the inventory and more.
* **Printing receipt** – the app enabled to print payment receipts as well as receipts printed in the kitchen with details about the order.
* **Integration with CallerID** – when a client called, the application assigns the caller number with the order.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="customized applications for Bluetooth devices" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="delivering customized applications for Bluetooth devices" />

A great part of working with Just Eat POS was **building [iOS and Android applications integrated with Bluetooth retail and ePOS devices](/projects/pos-devices-integration/)** including:

* POS Desktops,
* Payment terminals,
* Magnetic stripe readers,
* Label and thermal printers, 
* Caller ID hardware, 
* Kitchen Display Systems,
* Electronic scales,
* Barcode scanners,
* Kiosks.

Our applications had been integrated mostly with **Sunmi Technology** – one of the top global hardware providers.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/just_eat_quote.png "quote")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="what is next for Just Eat Takeaway and Bright Inventions" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="result" />

Just Eat POS (prev. Practi) and Bright Inventions (experienced [POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/)) have established a long-term business relationship and our team proudly collaborates with **Just Eat Takeaway on various retail solutions**.

## Legacy Modernization of 30-Year-Old Restaurant POS

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-legacy/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/springboot_update.svg","alt":"SpringBoot"},{"src":"/images/flutter.svg","alt":"Flutter"},{"src":"/images/grafana.svg","alt":"Grafana"},{"src":"/images/figma_update_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Figma"}]' />

**technologies:** Kotlin, Spring Boot, Flutter, Grafana, Figma

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the POS system desperately needed an update" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Every legacy system eventually reaches a point where its founder must face the ultimate challenge: revamping the software. The clock is ticking! Every day, acquiring new users is becoming more challenging with an outdated UI and disturbing performance. Yet **how do you upgrade the system without losing loyal users who have made you profit all these years**?

**Our client, a company offering digital solutions for the hospitality industry, was facing these challenges**. For over two decades, its system has been utilized by restaurants nationwide. However, the application required modernization to remain competitive in the POS market. The client reached out to us for a **complete POS system revamp**. They also **expressed interest in developing mobile applications** to expand its digital portfolio.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5bMu2FnhOs' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solutions: POS with a modern UI, performance monitoring, and mobile applications" titleIcon="/images/two_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="solutions" />

Based on over a decade of experience in [POS software development](/our-areas/pos-software-development/), we began the work by **auditing the software for modernization**, allowing us to spot areas for significant improvement. 

One of the key aspects of the upgrade was a **new product design** to streamline the process for users, who are primarily waitstaff. The modern UI provides **quick access to core POS features** such as managing table orders with any possible modifiers (extra fries, no onions, etc.), sending orders to the kitchen, and managing payments, including splitting payments and tipping. It also ensures **integrations with retail devices including printers, cash registers, terminals**, and more.

**During the application re-engineering, we identified features that needed alteration or addition**. For example, **we introduced a role management feature that allows assigning roles with appropriate permissions**, such as restricting discount approvals to managers. This addition enhances the system's safety and transparency for restaurant staff. 

Our mobile team also **developed a hybrid mobile app accessible for iOS and Android**. That has been a meaningful upgrade because the system used to be based only on a desktop application.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: compatibility with the legacy system" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenges" />

Following the client's expectations, we needed to keep the old version of the POS operational while working on the modernization. It matches our revamp approach. **Our goal is not to create a revolution, so compatibility with the legacy system is key**.

Despite the old version being built with outdated technologies like Visual Basic 6 and operating with binary files, we ensured compatibility. **Our team built a Spring Boot and Kotlin library to read and translate these binary files into Kotlin objects**.

Day by day we retain compatibility while integrating new technologies. **We deliver code compatible with the old POS and aligned with modern standards. This way, when the old version is eventually retired, the new one will be self-sustainable and ready for further development and scalability**.

Another challenge is adjusting to the various hardware that restaurants possess. Therefore we have to **pay extra attention to performance and memory efficiency to make the software accessible on a spectrum of devices**, both new and old. To achieve that **we also introduced app performance monitoring with Grafana, which enables us to foresee performance issues before they could affect users**. Thanks to reports and alerts, we are aware of some features not working properly or if the system is overloaded, and we can quickly react to that.

<div className="image">![pos system restaurant](/images/pos_restaurant.png "pos system restaurant")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="results: releasing the new POS solution" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="result of the collaboration" />

The modern version of the solution has been **released reaching its first users in a testing phase**. Meanwhile, our team continues the software modernization by **planning cloud migrations, further integrations with payment and food delivery providers, and enhancements to the payment process**.

## Just Eat POS: From Startup to Global ePOS Provider

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/system-for-restaurants/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main products developed for Just Eat POS:" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_products.svg" titleIconAlt="applications" />

**Just Eat POS system took care of the whole process of managing restaurant orders: from ordering the meal, providing kitchen staff with details to delivering the order to the client’s table or home**. It also supported daily running of the restaurant by managing employees time, creating menus or providing tools to build their own restaurant website.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the system was built around these products:" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_products.svg" titleIconAlt="applications" />

* **[ePOS iOS and Android applications](/projects/system-for-restaurants-mobile)** used by restaurant staff to take orders and manage payments.
* **White label application for restaurants** to take orders via their own, dedicated website.
* **iOS and Android [delivery drivers applications](/projects/delivery-drivers-app/)** which assisted couriers in delivering orders.
* A **website that enabled to display restaurant’s menu** and offered [integrations with online food delivery providers](/projects/pos-third-party-delivery/) like JET or Wolt.
* **Backoffice solutions** including managing integrations and API connections.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features developed by Bright Inventions:" titleIcon="/images/icons_features_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="features" />

<SliderText sliderElements='[{"title":"Food ordering management","description":"Taking care of the whole process from ordering the meal to delivering the order."},{"title":"Transactions processing","description":"Including implementing offline mode, integration with payment service providers and receipt printing."},{"title":"Integrations with external systems and providers","description":"Integration with payment service providers as well as online food delivery services."},{"title":"Integration with online food delivery services","description":"Easy management of orders from different platforms in one device. "},{"title":"Team management and tracking","description":"Employees time tracking, managing team roles e.g. cashier, manager etc. Delivery tracking."},{"title":"Supply management","description":"Inventory management and supply ordering."},{"title":"Analytics","description":"Business analytics platform reporting sales and financial information."}]' />

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="Bright Inventions’ technology stack and skills:" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="stack" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/new_typescript_logo_stack.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/firebase_logo_stack.png","alt":"Firebase"},{"src":"/images/realm_stack_logo.png","alt":"Realm"},{"src":"/images/fastlane_logo_stack.png","alt":"Fastlane"}]' />

**technologies:** React, TypeScript, Kotlin, Swift, Realm, Firebase, Fastlane

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about Just Eat POS and Bright Inventions cooperation" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="about Just Eat POS" />

The client reached out to us in **2013**. At that time it was an early-stage Israeli startup “Practi” that offered web application solutions to users. Since 2013 **the company has transformed from a promising startup to an international ePOS applications provider**.

In 2019 Practi was **acquired by Just Eat Takeaway**. **Bright Inventions, as a [POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/), had a great opportunity to assist the client** during this incredible ride, including the whole business transformation.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="client’s expectations" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="Client’s expectations" />

The client expected us to actively take part in creating the whole system. We were not only “code suppliers”, **we were technical partners offering years of software development experience**. Our mobile and web knowledge, and the fact that we have been working on this system since 2013 enabled us to evaluate technical and business decisions. As a result, when needed, we gladly offered alternative solutions that would benefit the client and end-users.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges and goals" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_goal.svg" titleIconAlt="goal" />

Just Eat POS system (prev. Practi) was a product with over 10 years of history. It was built as a startup solution for a small group of clients with specific needs. The system became a part of the Just Eat Takeaway's family. 

Therefore **scalability was the key**. Our teams took care of rebuilding some applications to make them more accessible for a growing number of users.

The increasing number of users also meant that **Bright Inventions’s team had to actively monitor services, especially metrics such as CPU usage, number of database connections and average response time**. The goal was to predict and solve any potential issues before they could affect clients.

<div className="image">![POS case study](/images/pos_practi_jet_mockup.png "")</div>

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="process of building Just Eat POS retail system" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="process of developing BrightTreasury" />

All Bright Inventions’ developers worked closely with the business side. Bright Inventions’s was represented by 8 development squads (each squad had about 5 developers and 2 dedicated QA engineers) who took care of various areas of this massive hospitality system. Let us show you some of the development teams.

Read about iOS and Android development teams's products in a [Just Eat POS mobile applications case study](/projects/system-for-restaurants-mobile).

<div className="image">![quote](/images/just_eat_quote.png "quote")</div>

### Frontend team

One of Bright Inventions Frontend team **priorities was the development of the Just Eat POS Backoffice**. This was a web application that enabled managing business daily activities and gave access to financial reports. 

**Here are examples of many features of the Just Eat POS Backoffice:**

* Dashboard with all necessary information that shows the financial condition of your restaurant.
* Restaurant menu creator.
* Establishing prices of items on a menu.
* Managing the team and adjusting their roles e.g. cashier, branch manager and more.
* Access to sales reports and other crucial business data.
  Inventory management.
* Setting up basic restaurant configurations e.g. taxes, operating hours, delivery hours, delivery charge and more.

<div className="image">![POS sales reports case study](/images/pos_reports_sales.png "")</div>

**Frontend team took an active role at every phase of frontend app development** process working closely with a product manager and product designers.

The Backoffice system had been on the market for around 10 years. Therefore one of the priorities of the frontend team was to **migrate the app to modern technology while delivering new features** to users who used this platform everyday at work. 

Thanks to the trust of the client, **the team took part in the decision-making process regarding which libraries, tools and technologies to choose** to rewrite the platform. The migration didn't include only changing to newest technologies. The essential part of it was also implementation of new designs maintaining the best possible UX and UI experience.

<div className="image">![POS payment options case study](/images/pos_payment_option.png "")</div>

### Backend team

The team was responsible for maintaining and developing backend. All applications within Just Eat POS ecosystem were connected to the same backend. **The main job of backend team was delivering features, supporting any initiatives on the Just Eat POS applications.** 

It was **crucial especially in terms of white label apps where the clients incorporated changes and decided about the final look and functionalities of their app**. In this case, the backend team had to step forward and support clients with appropriate changes in backend.

Additionally, the **Backend team paid much attention to the performance**. Since all Just Eat POS apps were connected to the one shared backend, any hiccup that happens on the Backend propagated to every client, affecting UX. We relied on the observability of our services. **We tried to detect any abnormalities in the CPU usage, number of database connections or average response time to detect issues before they became visible to our customers**.

Data we stored provided our client with significant insight into the behaviour of our customers. Feeding this data into the data lake gave the data science team a way to study the customers, and helped make more meaningful, data-driven features.

<div className="image">![POS table management case study](/images/pos_table_management.png "")</div>

### Backend integrations team

This team **took care of integrations with food delivery platforms and menu platforms**. Thanks to their work restaurants using Just Eat POS solution could change the menu in only one place and it would be automatically updated on every possible platform the restaurant used to display its menu.

Another responsibility of this team was **integrations with online food order and delivery providers like Just Eat or Takeaway.** The goal of backend integrations team was to enable management of orders from different platforms in one device. So restaurant employees didn't have to use different apps and devices to take care of orders from other platforms.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="result" />

Just Eat POS (prev. Practi) and Bright Inventions have established a long-term business relationship. Practi was one of our first clients. **During almost a decade of our cooperation the client transformed from a startup to a global Point-Of-Sale system provider used by businesses in Israel and the UK**.

## Lösung für Parkinson-Patienten

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/losung-fur-parkinson-patienten/index.md*

![App for Parkinson's Patients](../../static/images/app_for_parkinson_patients2.png)

*Es ist kein wirklich implementiertes Design. Es handelt sich um ein Mockup-Beispiel, das zum Zweck der Fallstudie erstellt wurde.*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="von Bright Inventions entwickelte Hauptfunktionen:" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="features" />

* Verfolgung der körperlichen Reaktion auf Standard- und experimentelle Therapien
  Medikamentenerinnerung
* Zugänglichkeit – eine einfache Möglichkeit, medizinische Informationen für Patienten mit Bewegungsstörungen hinzuzufügen
* Erweiterte Statistiken und Berichte für Ärzte
* Gamifizierung der App

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="fähigkeiten" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="fähigkeiten" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/node_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/new_typescript_logo_stack.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack.png","alt":"PostgreSQL"},{"src":"/images/aws.png","alt":"AWS"}]' />

iOS: Swift, RxSwift, Alamofire

Android: Kotlin, RxKotlin, Dagger, Retrofit

Backend: Node.js, Typescript, PostgreSQL, AWS Services

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="über die App für Parkinson-Patienten" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="über die App für Parkinson-Patienten" />

Das Leben mit einer chronischen Krankheit wie Parkinson erfordert dem Patienten viele Veränderungen im Lebensstil auf. Für diejenigen, die gegen die Krankheit kämpfen, ist es von entscheidender Bedeutung, dass sie eine Möglichkeit haben, ihre allgemeinen Vitalwerte, die Einnahme von Medikamenten oder alle Symptome, auf die sie ihren Arzt aufmerksam machen müssen, leicht zu verfolgen.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="ziel" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="ziel" />

Unser langjähriger Kunde (eine Produktdesignagentur und Projektinkubator in der Frühphase) wandte sich mit einer umsetzungsfertigen Idee seiner Kunden für eine App an uns. Ziel des Projekts war die Entwicklung einer mobilen App, die den Alltag von Parkinson-Patienten vereinfachen wird.

Bevor sie sich an uns wandten, hatten unsere Kunden bereits ein High-Fidelity-Wireframe der Benutzeroberfläche entworfen. Jetzt brauchten sie einen Technologiepartner, der den Softwareentwicklungsprozess übernimmt.

Und so wurde Bright Inventions mit der Umsetzung des gesamten Systems betraut – der Entwicklung zweier Apps (iOS und Android) sowie des gesamten Backends.

![App for Parkinson's Patients](../../static/images/app_for_parkinson_patients3.png)

*Es ist kein wirklich implementiertes Design. Es handelt sich um ein Mockup-Beispiel, das zum Zweck der Fallstudie erstellt wurde.*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="ablauf der App-Entwicklung" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="ablauf der App-Entwicklung" />

Es gab mehrere Herausforderungen, die wir angehen mussten. Erstens musste die App für Patienten mit Tremor oder anderen Bewegungsstörungen geeignet sein. Da ältere Menschen die Mehrheit der an Parkinson erkrankten Patienten ausmachen, musste die Benutzeroberfläche gut lesbar und äußerst intuitiv sein um die Wahrscheinlichkeit von Fehlern zu minimieren. Sollte es jedoch zu einer versehentlichen Eingabe kommen, muss die Schnittstelle auch die Möglichkeit bieten, die Aktion rückgängig zu machen.

![App for Parkinson's Patients](../../static/images/app_for_parkinson_patients1.png)

*Es ist kein wirklich implementiertes Design. Es handelt sich um ein Mockup-Beispiel, das zum Zweck der Fallstudie erstellt wurde.*

Während der Softwareentwicklung sind unserem Team viele Funktionen in der GUI aufgefallen, die für eine solche Benutzergruppe zu komplex waren. Wir haben dann jeweils eine einfachere Lösung vorgeschlagen, die positiv aufgenommen wurde und der Auftraggeber hat das grüne Licht gegeben.

Die größte Herausforderung bestand jedoch darin, die höchsten Sicherheits- und Datenschutzstandards zum Schutz der Benutzer zu erfüllen. Aufgrund ihrer medizinischen Natur speicherte die App sehr empfindliche Daten über die Gesundheit der Patienten (neben Informationen zu Schmerzen oder Zittern ermöglichte sie den Benutzern auch, ihren sexuellen Antrieb oder ihre Spielneigung zu notieren).

Aus diesem Grund hat sich Bright Inventions entschieden, die Datenbank in zwei Teile aufzuteilen, die jeweils an einem anderen physischen Standort der AWS-Dienste gespeichert sind.

Die erste Datenbank hat die grundlegende Benutzerdaten wie Name oder E-Mail-Adresse gespeichert. Die zweite Datenbank hat empfindliche Informationen enthalten, einschließlich der Einnahme von Medikamenten oder körperlichen Symptomen und Empfindungen. Durch diese Entscheidung haben wir sichergestellt, dass die angreifende Seite nicht in der Lage wäre, auf alle Informationen zuzugreifen. Auf diese Weise gab es praktisch keine Chance, Symptome oder Medikamenteneinnahme bestimmten Patientennamen zuzuordnen.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="ergebnis der Zusammenarbeit" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="ergebnis der Zusammenarbeit" />

Insgesamt hat unsere Projektarbeit 5 Monate gedauert und bestand aus zwei Etappen. Die erste Phase endete mit dem Launch des MVP (Entwicklung dauerte 3 Monate). Die zweite Phase unserer Zusammenarbeit, die zu mehreren Iterationen des Systems geführt hat, erstreckte sich über einen Zeitraum von weiteren 2 Monaten.

Nach der Entscheidung der Partei, der die App gehörte (also des Kunden unseres Kunden), wurde das Projekt auf Eis gelegt. Im Moment sind die nächsten Schritte nicht bekannt und die App steht nicht öffentlich zum Download bereit.

![App for Parkinson's Patients](../../static/images/app_for_parkinson_patients4.png)

*Es ist kein wirklich implementiertes Design. Es handelt sich um ein Mockup-Beispiel, das zum Zweck der Fallstudie erstellt wurde.*

## MedKitDoc – The Future of Telemedicine & Remote Care in Germany

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/telehealth-solution/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="stack" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logo.svg","alt":"AWS-CDK"},{"src":"/images/opentelemetry_stack_logo.svg","alt":"OpenTelemetry"},{"src":"/images/mysql.svg","alt":"MySQL"}]' />

**technologies:** Kotlin, AWS-CDK, OpenTelemetry, MySQL

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: increase in the population of elderly living alone" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

The story of [MedKitDoc](https://medkitdoc.de/en/) started before it was even founded. Its two **co-founders were unable to assist their chronically ill grandmother living hundreds of miles away**. Benjamin Gutermann, one of the co-founders and a doctor, found his skills ineffective over the distance. If only he could have listened to his grandmother's heart and checked her lung sounds. **Ultimately, their grandmother had to be hospitalized, which they believed might have been avoided**.

In Germany, the demographic trend indicates a significant increase in the population of elderly individuals, particularly those living alone. **As of 2020, [nearly 6 million people aged 65 or over were living alone](https://www.destatis.de/EN/Press/2021/09/PE21_N057_12411.html), representing one in three people (34%) of that age group**.

Remote patient monitoring and telehealth are essential for ensuring well-being and providing the necessary assistance before it's too late.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution: telehealth application with integrated devices" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="solution" />

**MedKitDoc is paving the way in remote medical care in Germany** by integrating certified medical devices, applications, and trained specialists into a comprehensive healthcare solution. This innovative approach has gained popularity in care homes, facilitating virtual appointments between patients and doctors who may be located far away. 

<AppStore googleApp='https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.medkitdoc.app&hl=en&gl=US' srcGoogle='/images/google_play.png' altGoogleImage='MedKitDoc on Google Play' appStore='https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/medkitdoc/id1510720618' srcAppStore='/images/app_store.png' altAppStoreImage='MedKitDoc on AppStore' />

**Patients use smart healthcare devices to monitor their vital signs, which are then transmitted to the doctor via the app**. At the same time, **doctors conduct real-time communication with patients through video calls**, enabling the prompt initiation of appropriate treatment based on the medical data collected through the devices and the patient's consultation.

<div className="image">![MedKitDoc](/images/medkitdoc_mockups.png "MedKitDoc")</div>

After experiencing several years of successful growth, the founders of **MedKitDoc decided to seek assistance with backend development to ensure the ongoing expansion of their solution**. They reached out to us, and **we gladly kicked off this collaboration**.

**Our team is responsible for backend development and the infrastructure** – the core of the system. In close partnership with our client, one of our colleagues from Bright Inventions takes on the role of a tech lead. **Together, we oversee a development team comprising backend, mobile, and QA experts**. 

Through collaborative efforts with our client, MedKitDoc has undergone continuous improvement. **New features like medical documentation storage and integrations with medical providers have been developed to enhance user experience**. We also **enhance existing features**, including the scheduling of video appointments between doctors and patients, which has been a core function of MedKitDoc for years. 

<div className="image">![telehealth](/images/telehealth_solution.png "telehealth")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: ensuring optimal performance and compliance with HIPAA, GDPR and TÜV " titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

Faced with the challenge of ensuring optimal performance for MedKitDoc, **we implemented a robust strategic solution – performance monitoring based on the OpenTelemetry standard**, which provides our client with vital insights, including response time, peak usage periods, and resource utilization within the application. The primary aim is to proactively identify and address any potential performance issues, enabling swift interventions before they can impact the end-users' experience.

We have also helped to address the challenges of comprehensive business and marketing analytics by maintaining **monitoring for crucial metrics like feature usage**, including successful appointment count, the number of messages exchanged between patient and doctor, and the number of shared documents. **The data serves as a valuable resource for the client's analytics team ensuring app optimizations are always based on solid and reliable data**. 

<div className="image">![Client's review](/images/case_study_medkitdoc_client_quote.png "Client's review")</div>

Securing healthcare solutions that store sensitive medical data, such as MedKitDoc, presents an additional challenge in **ensuring compliance with HIPAA, GDPR and being eligible for German TÜV certification**. To meet these requirements, it's essential to **follow best security practices such as data encryption, and managing user access with tools like AWS Cognito, among many others**.

Part of addressing this challenge involves **software modernization**. While our core responsibility is to deliver new features, we also play a crucial role in **modernizing the current code and architecture**. This includes updating libraries to comply with security standards, and **ensuring that our solution remains secure and trustworthy for handling sensitive medical data**.

<div className="image">![MedKitDoc](/images/medkitdoc_mockups_app.png "MedKitDoc")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="MedKitDoc’ perspective" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="Client's perspective" />

**Dorian Koch, the founder and former CEO of MedKitDoc**

*Compared to everyone else, Bright Inventions doesn’t promise things they can’t deliver. They tell us what they can and can’t do. When I ask for an iOS or Android developer, they take their time to get a good one instead of assigning someone who has the bare minimum. The best thing about them is that I can count on their actions. They have skilled teammates who’ve gone through a vetting process.* 

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result: increased access to medical care in Germany" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

MedKitDoc is changing telemedicine in Germany. **By implementing new features and gathering data to understand users' needs, we proudly support their mission to increase access to medical care** among people who are often left to manage on their own. Let's hope that remote patient care will soon be a widespread reality for older and chronically ill individuals.

## The Future of Physiotherapy: Engaging Patients with Mobile Application

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/mobile-therapy-application/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/node_stack_logosvg.svg","alt":"node.js"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack_update.svg","alt":"PostgreSQL"},{"src":"/images/aws_stack_logo.svg","alt":"AWS"},{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"}]' />

**technologies:** Swift, Kotlin, Node.js, Typescript, AWS, React

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: short and infrequent psychotherapy visits" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Physiotherapy plays a crucial role in s**upporting successful recovery after discharge** from hospital care. It’s also an effective tool for **reducing the negative impacts of desk-bound work or sports injuries**.

<div className="image">![physiotherapy](../../static/images/physiotherapy.png "physiotherapy")</div>

One of the recoveries physiotherapy can deeply influence is post-stroke care. Globally, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death, with stroke being a significant contributor. **Physiotherapy can start as early as 24 hours following a stroke**. **Unfortunately, in many cases, patients do not receive physiotherapy as promptly or as frequently as they should**. The critical window for maximizing recovery post-stroke is narrow, and once it closes, the optimal recovery is almost impossible.

No matter the condition a patient has, **short and infrequent psychotherapy visits probably won't solve their issues**. The key is to continue the work at home. **What if technology could support patients and therapists to harness the potential of physiotherapy** by motivating patients to exercise at home and streamlining therapists' workflows to give them more time for personalized patient care?

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution: mobile app engaging physiotherapy patients" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="solution" />

**Our client, a digital agency and an early-stage project incubator based in Germany**, has turned to us with a ready-to-implement idea for a healthcare app. Before reaching out to us, **they had already spent over 300 hours validating their concept** by observing physiotherapy sessions. This resulted in a comprehensive plan for an app that would solve the biggest challenges patients and therapists face, including limited time therapists have for each patient, patients not exercising regularly, and performing some exercises incorrectly at home.

**Our client entrusted us with the implementation of the entire system comprised of iOS and Android applications and the backend**. We also crafted separate modules for patients and therapists.

![Mobile Therapy App](../../static/images/mobile_therapy_app2.jpg)

On the patient profile, one could download the therapy plan, as well as use the app daily for exercise and progress tracking. **The patient’s app also featured reminders and thanks to gamification, motivated the patient to continue on their path to recovery** by displaying therapy statistics.

**The therapist panel was more sophisticated**. Firstly, it needed to allow therapists to customize plans for each patient. **The specialist could quickly make photos or videos of patients performing the exercises** and upload them to an individual patient profile, so the patient could then correctly perform the exercises at home without worrying about remembering them correctly. Therapists could also plan out exercise sessions on a calendar and include information on the number of circuits per exercise as well as other important recommendations.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_goal.svg" titleIconAlt="challenges" />

One of the technical challenges was **enabling smooth video uploads of the exercise recordings**. 
Given that physiotherapists already had minimal time allocated per patient, we aimed to avoid having them spend it waiting for videos to upload. Furthermore, **we wanted to ensure they could continue using their devices without interruption while the videos were being uploaded**. Therefore, **we implemented asynchronous uploading, allowing therapists to freely continue using the phone** while the videos were uploaded in the background.

![Mobile Therapy App](../../static/images/mobile_therapy_app3.jpg)

Another challenge we faced collaboratively with our client was **finding the most user-friendly way to introduce the app to patients**. As visits tend to be very short, it was crucial that the therapist and patients would be able to link their accounts in the app quickly. Naturally, only some patients already had the app when they came in, and not everyone felt comfortable with using new technologies. Low levels of tech-savviness meant it was difficult for them to download the app during the session, register an account, and – most importantly – link their profiles with those of therapists. Also, it would mean that the precious time meant for the therapy would be taken away for dealing with the new app installation.

**We solved the problem by automating the linking of patient-therapist profiles through a previously generated codes**. Therefore, the therapist could print the codes, and simply give it to the patients at the end of the session. This enabled patients to link their accounts from the comfort of their homes after the physiotherapy session was over. By inserting the code in the app, they were able to download the prescribed exercise plan.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result of collaboration: delivering a robust MVP" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

We delivered the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) within a six-month timeframe. Subsequently, our client opted for an external audit of the project's technical aspects, which was successfully passed. The solution has expanded, changing the physiotherapy experience for individuals across Germany. We are thrilled to contribute to the digitalization of traditional psychotherapy.  

<sub>*Presented mockups are not real implemented design. Mockups were created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

## Software für Messeplanung

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/software-fur-messeplanung/index.md*

![A trade fair planning software](../../static/images/xpomaker_dashboard2.png "")

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='haupteigenschaften' titleIcon='/images/main_features_icon.png' titleIconAlt='haupteigenschaften' />

* Schaffung neuer Messeprojekte
* Einladen von Benutzern als Teammitglieder zu Projekten
* Task-Management-Panel
* Hinzufügen und Verwalten einer Liste von Artikeln, die für Messestände benötigt werden
* Verwaltung der Unterkünfte und Zeitpläne des Messepersonals
* Kalenderansicht der für die Messe geplanten Aufgaben und Veranstaltungen
* Planer für das Budget- und Ausgabenmanagement

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='fähigkeiten' titleIcon='/images/skills.svg' titleIconAlt='fähigkeiten' />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/react.png","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/new_typescript_logo_stack.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/nest.png","alt":"NestJS"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack.png","alt":"PostgreSQL"},{"src":"/images/docker_stack_logo.png","alt":"Docker"},{"src":"/images/teamcity_stack_logo.png","alt":"Teamcity"},{"src":"/images/aws.png","alt":"AWS"}]' />

* Deployment: Docker + Docker-Compose, AWS - CloudFormation, ECS, EC2, S3, LoadBalancer, RDS, TeamCity
* FrontEnd: ReactJS + TypeScript, Redux, Sass
* Backend: NestJS, TypeORM, PostgreSQL, Swagger, Stripe

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='darüber' titleIcon='/images/three_flags.svg' titleIconAlt='darüber' />

Für viele Branchen ist die Teilnahme an Messen das Herzstück des Geschäfts und ein Schlüsselelement für den Verkauf, die Leadgenerierung und den Aufbau von B2B-Partnerschaften. Die Verantwortung für die Ausstellung auf Branchenveranstaltungen kann sich jedoch angesichts der Anzahl der damit verbundenen Aufgaben überwältigend anfühlen. In den meisten Fällen muss Ihr Messeauftritt Monate im Voraus sorgfältig geplant werden und erfordert von Ihnen die gleichzeitige Koordination mehrerer Prozesse. Eine einzige Verzögerung eines Auftragnehmers oder ein kleines Versäumnis auf Ihrer Seite, und – wie bei einem Dominospiel – kann der gesamte Plan zusammenbrechen.

Wie behält man also den Überblick, ohne sich Gedanken über organisatorisches Chaos und Fristen machen zu müssen? Hier kommt xpomaker ins Spiel.

![A trade fair planning software](../../static/images/xpomaker_dashboard.png "")

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='ziel' titleIcon='/images/goal_title_section.png' titleIconAlt='ziel' />

Die Gründer von xpomaker haben nach einem erfahrenen Produktdesignteam gesucht, das die allgemeine Vision für die Software in ein benutzerfreundliches, optisch ansprechendes Produkt übersetzen würde. Als sich unsere Wege zum ersten Mal gekreuzt haben, hatten sie bereits mit einem Beratungsunternehmen zusammengearbeitet, das dabei geholfen hat, die erforderlichen UX-Funktionen und Benutzererwartungen zu ermitteln. Während unsere Zusammenarbeit zunächst mit einem Interface-Design-Projekt begonnen hat, wurden wir schnell gebeten, die gesamte App zu rebranden und neu zu gestalten – einschließlich der Betreuung von Frontend- und Backend-Anpassungen.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='verfahren' titleIcon='/images/gearwheel.svg' titleIconAlt='verfahren' />

Wir haben zunächst an der Bereitstellung von High-Fidelity-Wireframe der vorgeschlagenen Benutzeroberfläche gearbeitet. Um sicherzustellen, dass die Designs alle erforderlichen Funktionen enthalten, hat unser Team mit dem Produkteigentümer des Beratungsunternehmens zusammengearbeitet.

Für xpomaker war es entscheidend, dass sich die App-Architektur und das Design den Benutzern vertraut anfühlen. Das bedeutete, dass wir eine Benutzeroberfläche entwerfen sollten, die der Erfahrung der Verwendung von Tabellenkalkulationen zum Verfolgen des Messevorbereitungsfortschritts ähnelt. Daher war uns klar, dass ein Tabellenformat sowie der Import/Export von .xls-Dateien zwei Funktionen waren, die berücksichtigt und im Design widergespiegelt werden mussten.

Zweitens musste die App einen Zahlungsprozess integrieren, der es den Benutzern ermöglicht, Einnahmen zu verwalten und Gelder zu überweisen. Nachdem wir mehrere Zahlungslösungen auf dem Markt analysiert haben, haben wir uns für Stripe entschieden, das jederzeit Abonnementzahlungen und Rechnungsabwicklung bietet – beides für den Kunden von wesentlicher Bedeutung.

All diese Schritte haben es uns ermöglicht, eine Lösung bereitzustellen, die für ihre Benutzer sowohl funktional als auch intuitiv wird.

Nachdem unsere Arbeit am Interface-Design abgeschlossen war, engagierte uns xpomaker für ein Rebranding-Projekt, an dem sie gearbeitet hatten. Der Umfang unserer Arbeit umfasste die Durchführung aller notwendigen Softwareentwicklungsanpassungen am Frontend und Backend der App.

Nach der Rebranding-Phase unserer Zusammenarbeit, in der sich der Name und die visuelle Identität des Unternehmens geändert hatten, hat unser Team die gesamte App neu gestaltet und die Software entsprechend weiterentwickelt.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='ergebnis' titleIcon='/images/results_icon_title_small.png' titleIconAlt='ergebnis' />

xpomaker ist jetzt auf dem deutschen Markt präsent und bietet drei Abonnements an. Mit der Software können Benutzer beliebig viele Ausstellungsprojekte koordinieren.
Unser Team ist derzeit für die App-Wartung zuständig.

Die App-Gründer sammeln jetzt jedoch Benutzerfeedback, um sich auf eine weitere Runde benutzerinspirierter Design- und Softwarearbeiten vorzubereiten.

## App für Physiotherapie

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/mobile-therapieanwendung/index.md*

![Healthcare app development](../../static/images/therapy_app_mockup.png "")

*Es ist kein wirklich implementiertes Design. Es handelt sich um ein Mockup-Beispiel, das zum Zweck der Fallstudie erstellt wurde.*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='haupteigenschaften' titleIcon='/images/main_features_icon.png' titleIconAlt='haupteigenschaften' />

* Therapeutenmodul(Benutzerpanel)
* Patientenmodul(Benutzerpanel)
* Datenverfolgungssystem
* Benutzerdefinierte Animationen
* Hintergrundverbindung zwischen den Geräten des Patienten und des Therapeuten

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='fähigkeiten' titleIcon='/images/skills.svg' titleIconAlt='fähigkeiten' />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift.png","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/kotlin.png","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/node.png","alt":"node.js"},{"src":"/images/new_typescript_logo_stack.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack.png","alt":"PostgreSQL"},{"src":"/images/aws.png","alt":"AWS"},{"src":"/images/react.png","alt":"React"}]' />

**iOS:** Swift, RxSwift, Alamofire

**Android:** Kotlin, RxJava, Retrofit, Dagger

**Backend:** Node.js, Typescript, PostgreSQL, AWS Services

**Frontend:** React, Typescript

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='intro' titleIcon='/images/three_flags.svg' titleIconAlt='intro' />

Irgendwann in unserem Leben benötigen entweder wir selbst oder unsere Lieben eine Physiotherapie, um wieder auf die Beine zu kommen. Es gibt jedoch viele Faktoren, die Einfluss darauf haben, ob dies ein stressfreier und effektiver Prozess sein wird.

Vor diesem Hintergrund hat unser Kunde eine App entwickelt, die Therapeuten und Patienten auf dem Weg zu einer schnellen (und nachhaltigen!) Genesung unterstützt.

![Mobile Therapy App](../../static/images/mobile_therapy_app2.jpg "")

*Es ist kein wirklich implementiertes Design. Es handelt sich um ein Mockup-Beispiel, das zum Zweck der Fallstudie erstellt wurde*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='ziel' titleIcon='/images/goal_title_section.png' titleIconAlt='ziel' />

Unser Kunde, eine Produktdesignagentur und Inkubator für Projekte in der Frühphase, hat sich mit einer umsetzungsreifen Idee für eine App an uns gewandt. Bevor sie sich an Bright Inventions wandten, hatten sie bereits Monate damit verbracht, ihr Konzept festzustellen, indem sie Physiotherapiesitzungen beobachteten. Daraus entstand ein umfassender Plan für eine App, die die größten Herausforderungen von Patienten und Therapeuten lösen sollte.

**Diese beinhalten**

* Begrenzte Zeit, die Therapeuten für jeden Patienten haben
* Patienten neigen dazu, zu vergessen, wie sie ihre Übungen richtig ausführen
* Patienten, die sich nicht regelmäßig genug bewegen
* Übungen, die von Therapeuten empfohlen werden, wiederholen sich oft bei Patienten.

Unser Kunde hatte auch ein High-Fidelity-Wireframe der App und beauftragte uns mit der Implementierung des gesamten Systems, bestehend aus:

* iOS und Android apps,
* Backend,
* Content Management System (verwendet zum Beispiel zum Speichern von Schritt-für-Schritt-Video-Tutorials für Patienten),
* Ein Admin-Panel für Therapeuten.

![Mobile Therapy App](../../static/images/mobile_therapy_app3.jpg "")

*Es ist kein wirklich implementiertes Design. Es handelt sich um ein Mockup-Beispiel, das zum Zweck der Fallstudie erstellt wurde.*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='verfahren' titleIcon='/images/gearwheel.svg' titleIconAlt='verfahren' />

Eine der größten Herausforderungen für das System bestand darin, sicherzustellen, dass es der Art und Weise entspricht, wie Physiotherapie im wirklichen Leben aussieht. Da die Besuche in der Regel sehr kurz sind, war es entscheidend, dass Therapeut und Patient ihre Konten in der App schnell verknüpfen können. Natürlich hatten nicht alle Patienten die App bei ihrem Eintritt bereits und haben sich auch nicht wohl im Umgang mit neuen Technologien gefühlt. Aufgrund ihrer geringen Technikkenntnisse war es für sie schwierig, die App herunterzuladen, ein Konto zu registrieren und – was am wichtigsten ist – ihre Profile mit denen von Therapeuten zu verknüpfen.

Wir haben uns entschieden, das letztere Problem zu lösen, indem wir die Verknüpfung von Patienten-Therapeuten-Profilen durch einen zuvor generierten und gedruckten Code automatisieren. Auf diese Weise können Patienten ihre Konten nach Beendigung der Physiotherapiesitzung bequem von zu Hause aus verknüpfen. Durch Einfügen des Codes in die App können sie nun ihren vorgeschriebenen Trainingsplan herunterladen.

Wir mussten auch separate Module für Patienten und Therapeuten erstellen.

Auf dem Patientenprofil konnte man den Therapieplan herunterladen sowie die App täglich zur Übungs- und Fortschrittsverfolgung nutzen. Auch die Patienten-App erinnert und motiviert den Patienten durch die Anzeige von Therapiestatistiken, seinen Weg der Genesung fortzusetzen.

Das Therapeutenpanel war viel anspruchsvoller. Erstens musste es den Therapeuten ermöglicht werden, Pläne für jeden Patienten individuell anzupassen. Außerdem mussten sie die Trainingseinheiten in einem Kalender planen und Informationen über die Anzahl der Zirkel pro Übung eintragen. Außerdem brauchten sie eine Option zum Speichern von Fotos und Videos, die während der therapeutischen Sitzung des Patienten aufgenommen wurden. Alternativ sollten sie auch aus einer im CMS gespeicherten Bibliothek von Tutorial-Videos auswählen

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle='ergebnis' titleIcon='/images/results_icon_title_small.png' titleIconAlt='ergebnis' />

Unsere Arbeit mit dem Kunden dauerte, bis das MVP gebaut und verbessert wurde. Die gesamte Zusammenarbeit hat ein halbes Jahr gedauert. Sechs Monate später haben unsere Kunden die App zum Verkauf angeboten. Schnell hat sich ein Interessent entschieden, vor Abgabe eines Angebots ein Audit der Software zu beauftragen. Nach einer positiven Bewertung hat sich das Unternehmen entschieden, den Kauf abzuschließen und entwickelt die App nun mit einem internen Entwick

## Optimizing Cycling Training with App Integrated with Wahoo Fitness Devices

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/motivo/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="Main features" />

* Wahoo Fitness Integration
* Apple In app purchases
* Web purchases using Stripe
* Bespoke user interface
* Advanced animations

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="intro" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="intro" />

When you’re a cyclist winter months is when your next season performance is decided. Give up to the elements and you’re done. Or... build your own indoor training system with Motivo. The app offers Interactive training plans and workouts for indoor cycling. Motivo makes sure you're getting the best results from a turbo training or spinning with full Wahoo KICKR Erg mode support.

<div className="image">![Cycling](../../static/images/pro-cycling.jpg "Cycling")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="goal" />

Daniel Bachini and Alain Ritchie, two London based cycling professionals, approached Bright Inventions in the late Summer of 2014 with the idea for a mobile training platform that would help cyclists like themselves in staying fit during the off season months.

The goal was to launch a fully fledged system before the upcoming winter season after having tested the alpha and beta versions with the internal Motivo Cycling Team.

![Cycling Workouts Mobile App Development](../../static/images/motivo_mockup.png)

A major challenge during the development phase was to ensure seamless integration with a set of Wahoo Fitness devices ranging from the heart rate sensors, speed & power sensors to power trainers (such as Wahoo’s flagship KICKR model).

Bright Inventions was engaged in the ideation process and took full responsibility for the software part.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="process" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="process" />

A very ambitious timeline called for a highly optimised approach to the development. From the day zero a dedicated small team has been assigned to work on the Wahoo Fitness integration aspects. In parallel, two workshops with the customer representatives (held in Gdansk and London) led to the identification of the features supporting key business needs and the creation of prioritised requirements spec. It was clear from the beginning that some of the lower priority features wouldn’t make it to the first version of the product.

A semi-professional internal Motivo Cycling Team was established and tasked with testing the alpha and beta versions of the upcoming product. They took on the challenge of including the Motivo app in their daily training, often doing extra exercises just to validate the app. In retrospect, the product would have never happened if it hadn’t been for the feedback collected from the Motivo Cycling Team.

A highly iterative approach was taken with regards to user interface. Two most important screens (calendar and workout) were designed in a few different variations and the experiments conducted with the cyclist team helped decide on the one finally picked for the public release.

![Cycling Workouts Mobile App](../../static/images/motivo-1.png)

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="launch" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="launch" />

The AppStore launch in January 2015 was supported by an advertising campaign that included ads in the UK sport press. A number of free subscription packages were given away as a way of enticing prospective users.

Motivo successfully filled in the niche and many amatour and semi-professinonal cyclists switched to it as their primary training tool.

More people than expected started to heavily use the workout builder in the web back office system which led to the further development of that area.

Multiple additional engagement strategies were put in place as a result of analysis of the users interaction patterns with the product.

## Building Reliable Digital Survey Solution with Offline Mode

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/app-digitized-surveys/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="main features" />

* Planning investigations
* Conducting a specific investigation
* Self-investigations for the inspection targets (with video chat option)
* Managing investigation projects 
* Creating questionnaires 
* Managing inspection targets and reporters
* Following ongoing investigations and their subjects on a map
* Generating PDF reports from investigations
* Offline mode
* Colours and logo customisation on a company level
* Third party integrations (API’s etc)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="skills" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/node_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"Node"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack.png","alt":"PostgreSQL"},{"src":"/images/azure_stack_logo.png","alt":"Azure"},{"src":"/images/docker_stack_logo.png","alt":"Docker"}]' />

**technologies:** React, Node.js, PostgreSQL + Azure and Docker containers

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="about" />

This is a web solution that helps to digitize the company work. The app can be easily customised according to the user's business needs. It helps to create and share digital questionnaires, reports and surveys. It is a perfect tool for companies that provide inspections and audits. Also, this is the first dedicated app for the social care team.

![web app development](../../static/images/digitizing_mobile_reporting_app.png)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="goal" />

The goal of the software development process was to build a solution that would be flexible, easy to adjust and available offline mode for users. Our aim was to develop a UX friendly no-code workflow that helped to create digital questionnaires or surveys by users to end-users in a convenient and quick way. For example, a real-estate agency could create a questionnaire for a client to establish what property they would like to buy.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="process" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="process" />

We have already worked with this client on a mobile version of the app with similar functionality. This time the client wanted us to create a web app with an independent backend from scratch. The app needed to be simple to use and able to work offline as well.

One of the key aspects of the app is the need to operate offline without any interruption and to synchronize whenever a connection is restored. This requirement determined the following technological solutions:

* localStorage, Redux persist – they allow us to keep the needed data within the web browser,
* Service worker – used for queuing requests sent while being offline.

What is more, the web app needed to be responsive and work well both on desktop and mobile devices (phones and tablets) as most of the users are expected to work in the terrain. We used the media queries to adjust the styles depending on the screen resolution. 

![web app development](../../static/images/digitizing_mobile_reporting.png)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

Currently, the app is used by end-users to perform various types of questionnaire-based investigations. The end-users are highly satisfied with the ease of use. We take care of the maintenance and bug fixes, with some new features being introduced every now and then.

## PituPitu

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pitupitu/index.md*

## Main features:

- Custom made black-and-white map theme
- custom made horizontal scroller which you can swipe left-right to navigate between places and swipe up-down to reveal/hide more details
- Facebook integration
- auto-refresh
- integration with GPS location provider

## Skills:

- **iOS:** Objective-C
- **Android:** Java
- **Backend:** Ruby On Rails

## ShopScout App: Perfect Mystery Shopper Experience

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pospulse-shopscout/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features by Bright Inventions" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="main features" />

**POSPulse**

* Defining and publishing assignments for ShopScout app users
* Verifying the completion of assignments
* Issuing payments (rewards) for proper task completion

**ShopScout**

* Browsing through available tasks, divided into categories
* Completing assignments (i.e., taking photos, tagging the location, filling in surveys, etc.)
* Redeeming funds collected on the user account 

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about the project" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="about the project" />

Contracts between FMCG brands and chain stores often specify strict product presentation guidelines. For instance, they might indicate that the product needs to be placed in a specific aisle or next to a competing brand. It’s up to retail store owners to ensure that this requirement is filled at all times, and that the products are restocked in a timely manner. 

![app for FMCG](../../static/images/pos_2_mockup.png)

<sub>*It is not a real implemented design. It is a mockup example created for the purpose of case study.*</sub>

Traditionally, stores needed to engage staff in such quality monitoring checks.

POSPulse relieves them of this burden by engaging consumers who use the ShopScout app. Namely, companies can set specific tasks (such as, for instance, asking clients to take a photo of shampoo at a specific chain store). They can also be asked to fill in a user survey. To confirm that an assignment has been completed properly, the user needs to submit a product photo that includes localization data. For each finalized assignment, the user receives a financial reward.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="goal" />

When POSPulse founders first reached out to [Bright Inventions](/), they had already finalized their work on the app design and were ready to proceed to software development. We were entrusted with building the entire system – the iOS and Android apps, a dedicated backend, and a web app for the operators (CMS). 

Our software developers worked on the app’s [MVP development](/our-areas/mvp-development/). After a successful market launch, we have also helped optimize the app in a series of post-MVP iterations.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

The app MVP was a huge success. With the growing global demand for their services, the app founders decided to create an in-house software team who eventually took over the development. 

The ShopScout app is available on both Google Play and the iOS App Store. As of late-2020, it has over 800,000 active users across multiple markets.

## The Story of the Successful Launch of FemTech MVP for Pregnant Women

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pregnancy-app/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: a multitude of generic FemTech applications" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

The studies **in the USA show that [over 50% of pregnant women](https://www.jmir.org/2021/10/e25667) downloaded pregnancy-related apps**, averaging three downloads during their prenatal period. It’s no surprise that women look for some technological assistance to help them navigate this unique time. **Although there are lots of FemTech applications addressed to pregnant women, many of them lack one thing: empathy**. 

A digital agency, with whom we have established a successful collaboration on various software products, presented us with an intriguing problem. **They were seeking expertise in developing the MVP for a fitness and nutrition app tailored for expectant mothers, aiming to ensure a healthy nine-month journey**. Notably, two key members of our team, both fathers-to-be, brought a unique perspective to the project, closely aligned with the product's purpose. **This collaboration was fully based on addressing specific industry needs and collecting valuable insights from the target user group**. 

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution: FemTech app that adapts to mothers-to-be’ needs and lifestyle choices" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="solution" />

**We started with thorough research and workshops in Berlin to understand the expectations and the technical assets** that needed to be created. As Bright Inventions focused on the technical aspects of the project, including **the development of the backend system, iOS, and Android apps**, the agency collaboratively worked on creating engaging videos and recipes. These elements were designed to enhance the app's value for paying customers.

**The goal was to create a solution that felt personalized to female users at every step**. During the onboarding process, we exemplified the app's commitment to addressing women's unique needs. Through detailed questions about diet and fitness habits, we not only tailored content specifically for women but also fostered a connection with end-users. This approach conveyed to users that the app's creators genuinely aim to support them throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period.

<div className="image">![FemTech mockups](../../static/images/femtech_mockups.png "FemTech mockups")</div>

The significant effort in the MVP development was dedicated to building a solution that tailors content to female users. **By observing users' interactions with the provided recipes and workouts (i.e. what they marked as favorite, what they cooked, etc.) the system allows for a personalized and adaptive content delivery** based on a user’s individual experience.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: building emphatic female technology" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

This project has told us a lot about implementing tech that shows its users that they are listened to.

The development process was all about empathy. **Our client conducted interviews with the potential users (mothers-to-be), analyzed their needs, and set up a rudimentary web-based proof of concept** to verify their discoveries. Building a product like this requires an immense amount of understanding of the user's needs. 

**We needed to deeply scrutinize every feature and interface element to ensure its clarity and smooth navigation**. The pregnancy app needs to make things easy, obvious, and fun. It also needs to build trust.

Naturally, we couldn't make the final software and design decisions based on intuition, especially after the MVP launch. Therefore, **we adopted a data-driven development approach, relying exclusively on in-depth user behavior analytics and A/B testing**.

[Read how the data-driven development saved onboarding for this app from failure](/blog/data-driven-development-femtech-app-onboarding/).

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result: successful MVP launch" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

The application was launched for iOS and Android at the same time, receiving **positive reviews from the first users**. With the help of the agency’s marketing team, **a solid user base has been achieved** in a relatively short amount of time.

Over the years, **thousands of women have shown their love for the app**, and we're thrilled to be a part of the creation process of such a remarkable product.

## Reducing Automotive Production Delays with a Custom Manufacturing Asset Tracking

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/asset-tracking-car-manufacturing/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/bluetooth_stack_logo.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/zebra_technologies_stack_logo_bigger_new.svg","alt":"Zebra Technologies"}]' />

technologies: Swift, Android, Bluetooth Low Energy, Zebra Technologies

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: the bottlenecks at the production line you can’t see" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

A typical car contains **[around 30,000 individual parts](https://collectorsautosupply.com/blog/how-many-parts-are-in-a-car/)** and every one of them has to arrive and fit into the right place at the right time within a highly complex manufacturing environment. With a process this intricate, how do you even begin to spot what needs improving? This is exactly the challenge one of our clients – a provider of advanced asset tracking solutions set out to solve for a key player in the sector.

Their end customer (a leading car manufacturer) needed a custom asset tracking system that would allow them to **track car components along the assembly line**, monitor **how long it takes to build an entire vehicle**, and identify **where delays happen and why**. The goal? To pinpoint the weakest links in the production chain and make smarter, real-time decisions to improve efficiency without guesswork or unnecessary warehousing.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: turning movement into insight with manufacturing asset tracking" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

The system we develop operates in real-time, on the **assembly floor**, where each car-in-progress moves from one workstation to the next. At every station, a **gateway box is** installed. When a **tracker attached to a vehicle** comes into range, the system logs its location and displays the data live in the admin console.

To monitor the production line, each vehicle is equipped with a small tracker. Yet the tracking process doesn’t start with a sensor – it starts with a person. The first step involves a factory worker equipped with a **handheld scanner** and our **mobile app**. At the start of the line, the employee scans a **QR code** of the tracker attached to the car component, linking it to the asset via the app.

This pairing process has to be lightning fast. A new vehicle arrives every **10 seconds**, leaving only a brief window for scanning and syncing before the next car rolls in.

To meet these constraints, we had to:

* Optimize for **ultra-fast connection speeds** to pair trackers in real time  
* Build an interface that supports fast recognition and error handling  
* Eliminate anything that could slow down the user, including loading animations or complex screens  
* **Design a clean, minimalist notification system** to confirm success instantly, with no extra taps or distractions

This isn’t just a technical integration – it’s a deep collaboration with the people on the floor. We work to understand their pace, their constraints, and the rhythm of their daily work.  

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="adjusting asset tracking to automotive manufacturing settings" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />
Building a fast, responsive asset tracking system is one thing. Making it reliable across an unpredictable manufacturing floor is another.

To enable real time asset tracking we needed to maintain stable **background operation** across both Android and Apple devices used by the particular manufacturer company staff. Both platforms limit what apps can do in the background, especially with Bluetooth. To overcome this, we deeply optimized the app’s behavior and built an **onboarding and permission granting strategy**. From the first launch, users were guided to enable exactly what was needed which means no guesswork and no digging into settings menus.

We also had to make sure the system didn’t **drain device batteries**, especially since it needs to run all day in a high-paced production environment. We achieved this by **batching network messages**, minimizing Bluetooth processing, and fine-tuning how and when the app wakes up in the background.

The physical environment introduced its own set of challenges. Bluetooth Low Energy signal strength can be disrupted by all kinds of factors:

* **Thick concrete walls** (common in European factories) reduce signal range
* **Factory layouts** create unexpected dead zones or interference
* Even **human bodies**, mostly made of water, could block signals simply by the user holding the device a certain way

Testing this system wasn’t just a technical checklist, it was a full exploration of the factory's reality. Our QA team spent weeks reproducing obscure edge cases: dropped packets, gateway collisions, signal distortion due to metal machinery. By simulating even the most unlikely scenarios, we were able to harden the system for the unexpected and deliver a tracking solution that performs under real-world pressure.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results:  Real data that protects against delays" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

With manufacturing asset tracking in place, managers get access to live production data they can act on instantly.

The system makes it clear which stations consistently slow down the line, helping to find the reasons why. In some cases, the delays in manufacturing might be caused by staffing issues: not enough machine operators to keep up with demand. In others, frequent malfunctions might reveal the need for stronger preventive maintenance at specific workstations. 

<div className="image">![car manufacturing](/images/asset_tracking_production_automotive.png "car manufacturing")</div>

The data can also reveal different problems hidden in the factory layout itself. In certain areas, just moving parts from one station to the next situated on the other side of the factory might take too much time. That can lead to a larger discussion about floor design – and in several cases, a rearrangement of workstations led to improvements in production speed.

These are just a few examples of how manufacturing asset tracking can help change guesswork into proactive optimization. With clear, reliable data driven decision-making, the automotive companies could prevent delays, and reduce inefficiencies. Yet **the key to success lies in customization** – with asset tracking, every detail of a business’s operations can influence how well the software performs.

## From MVP to 200k Users. Meet Relevo – Sustainable Food Take-Away & Delivery App 

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/eco-friendly-app/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/node_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"node"},{"src":"/images/nest.png","alt":"nest"},{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"react"},{"src":"/images/MySQL.png","alt":"MySQL"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"swift"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"kotlin"},{"src":"/images/ci_cd.png","alt":"ci_cd"}]' />

**technologies:** Node.js, NestJS, React, MySQL, SwiftUI, Kotlin, AWS

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem – the technology doesn’t fully support Relevo’s mission" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

The year 2473 – by then, the plastic made today will probably have decomposed. Germany itself witnesses the consumption of approximately [3 million tons of plastic packaging yearly](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1265122/plastic-packaging-consumption-germany/). **Relevo, a Germany-based startup, introduced a pioneering solution: the provision of reusable containers for restaurants**, which could be borrowed by their customers free of charge. 

<div className="image">![Relevo app](../../static/images/relevo_official_material3.png "Relevo app")</div>

Relevo’s immense growth following the MVP launch was every startup founder's dream but it also presented some hurdles. As the app user base started to grow our client **needed an experienced tech partner to lead them through the further development providing a seamless Android and iOS mobile experience as well as transforming to new frameworks**.

The client sought a well-organized team ready to support them in scaling a best-in-class tableware reusable system that would be highly rated by the users. 

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: overcoming technical and cultural barriers " titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenges" />

Lunch hours can be the nemesis of every food-related app. **Our primary challenge was to guarantee the stability of the system during peak hours**. By implementing a robust cloud infrastructure, we not only enhanced the application's reliability but also paved the way for other innovations.

Therefore our current emphasis is on the continuous development of a more mature product with a strong commitment to code quality. We have introduced a range of automated tests and are dedicated to further improving our quality assurance processes. **The challenge is to consistently deliver the most reliable and optimal solution that can be effectively extended to thousands of restaurants and an even larger user base**.

Another notable obstacle we confronted was a technical limitation – **many restaurants throughout Germany operate without reliable internet access. In response, we devised a solution by implementing an offline mode, transforming Relevo apps into [offline-first applications](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/)**. This enhancement allows users to carry out essential actions within the app, such as borrowing food containers, even in offline conditions. Once their internet connection is restored, the app seamlessly synchronizes all data, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted user experience.

<div className="image">![Relevo packaging](../../static/images/relevo_official_material2.png "Relevo packaging")</div>

The final hurdle is especially captivating because it leans toward cultural barriers rather than technical ones. **Users in Germany are cautious about downloading unfamiliar apps, so our team implemented App Clip and Instant App solutions to break this social barrier**. By implementing these technologies, we have streamlined the process of introducing new users to Relevo’s platform, instantly showcasing the app's key features on their screens without necessitating a full download. Over time, users opt to install the app as they recognize its value. Both App Clip and Instant App have evolved into significant channels for user acquisition.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solutions: a new approach to cloud and web development" titleIcon="/images/two_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="solutions" />

At the heart of our work was a **massive tech revamp featuring Node.js, NestJS, and AWS** to supercharge performance, scalability, and efficiency. This allowed us to enhance the system on many levels. 

By leveraging the power of Node.js and NestJS, we aimed to create a robust and flexible backend architecture that could seamlessly support the application's evolving needs. Additionally, **the incorporation of AWS services offered us a reliable and scalable cloud infrastructure to host and manage applications and data**, further reinforcing our technical foundation.

In the front line, a **restaurant digital panel emerged with a management center for reusable tableware, orders, and tracking inventory** — everything in one sleek interface accessible to over **3,000 Relevo partners**.

<div className="image">![Client's quote](../../static/images/case_study_client_quote_relevo.png "Client's quote")</div>

Behind the scenes, we can’t forget about building the **admin panel for Relevos’ team to strengthen ties with their massive network of partners**. This invisible hand keeps the client's eco revolution thriving. It coordinates orders, troubleshoots, ensures smooth collaboration with every partner, and incorporates a robust analytics dashboard, providing valuable insights related to tableware borrowing. 

Finally, this green wave wouldn’t have taken place without **Android and iOS applications that enable over 200,000 Relevo users to borrow reusable tableware**. Users seamlessly scan QR codes on Relevo's packaging, enjoying their take-away food and drinks wherever they want.

<div className="image">![Relevo mockups](../../static/images/in_text_relevo_mobile_mockups-4-.png "Relevo mockups")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result of the collaboration: transforming MVP into a fully mature solution that catalyzes the change " titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="result of the collaboration: transforming MVP into a fully mature solution that catalyzes the change " />

After 3 years of collaboration, Relevo’s solution has transformed from an immature product to a fully-fledged one. **The mobile app is available in over 700 European cities and is loved by over 200,000 users**. Relevo no longer wrestles with peak hours, allowing them to concentrate on their green mission. We are thrilled to stand alongside Relevo in this extraordinary project. 

While our collaboration initially centered around backend development, we are appreciative that the client extended their trust to us, enabling us to oversee the complete system's development. More than [3 million plastic containers have been saved](https://app.relevo.de/) through our collaboration, and the count continues! 

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="Relevo’s founder’s perspective" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="Relevo’s founder’s perspective" />

*Bright inventions and the whole team is always with full heart at the project, understands our logic and intention behind and respects our requests and demands. The quality of delivered stories/features is in general very high / fast and the understanding of bright inventions is to work as a partner-team to get the best solution ready. We highly appreciate the cooperation and the great business progress Relevo did would not be possible without the dedicated work of bright inventions.*

**Matthias Potthast, Founder of Relevo**

## Empowering MHealth System with NHS-Certified Bluetooth Devices

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/remote-patient-monitoring/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Android"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/bluetooth_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Bluetooth"},{"src":"/images/adobexdstack_logo.svg","alt":"AdobeXD"}]' />

**technologies:** Dagger, Kotlin Coroutines, Jetpack Libraries, Adobe XD

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: addressing staff shortages and rising health challenges" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem: addressing staff shortages & rising health challenge" />

When COVID-19 swept across the world, it revealed the stark reality of global healthcare. **The traditional health systems, with staff shortages and the glaring lack of funding for public care, have not been able to face the rising challenges**. Among these challenges were the escalating cases of chronic diseases and mental health issues. The healthcare sector urgently needs a comprehensive and technologically advanced solution that addresses the shortcomings revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This could be done by the integration of telehealth services, remote patient monitoring, efficient data management, and improved communication channels between healthcare providers and patients.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution: empowering healthcare transformation with remote patient monitoring and telemedicine " titleIcon="/images/icon_title_goal.svg" titleIconAlt="solution: empowering healthcare transformation with remote patient monitoring and telemedicine " />

**We joined forces with our client based in the United Kingdom to find the cure for the healthcare sickness in the United Kingdom**. Our collaboration has already yielded a robust [Medicine Administration Record (eMAR) system](/projects/vCare/), available on both Android and iOS platforms. After that, we took another step towards healthcare digitalization.

Our team supported the client in **developing a pilot Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) system for Android**, the application accessible by a doctor at their office, showing them in real-time the vital signs of their patients who are currently at home. The app is now available in the United Kingdom.

<div className="image">![Pulse oximeter](../../static/images/pulse_oximeter.png "Pulse oximeter")</div>

The RPM system is centered around an Android application, complemented by a couple of **Bluetooth health-monitoring devices** integrated by the Bright Inventions team. The application empowers medical professionals to efficiently manage more patients without needing individual, time-consuming examinations. 

Another crucial step towards the digitalization of healthcare is **telemedicine**. We supported our client in this area as well. **Our team crafted an Android application supporting online consultations for users**. Patients have a scheduled consultation in the app; all they need to do is join the meeting, enabling the camera and microphone. 

<div className="image">![Telemedicine](../../static/images/telemedicine.png "Telemedicine")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: integrating Bluetooth devices into a single system" titleIcon="/images/two_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="the challenge" />

Our team faced the formidable **challenge of integrating various healthcare devices with distinct Software Development Kits (SDKs) into a cohesive system**. With our Android team's expertise, we successfully harmonized these disparate SDKs into a unified system. 

Furthermore, another compelling challenge involved **developing an algorithm capable of rapidly detecting whether a patient's vital signs signal an urgent requirement for assistance**. Our team devised a solution that facilitates data transmission to the doctor, **triggering an alarm in the event the patient’s medical condition escalates to a life-threatening state**.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result of the collaboration: unlocking digital health for 1000+ health and care organizations " titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="result of the collaboration: unlocking digital health for 1000+ health and care organizations " />

Our client has become an **approved NHS supplier of remote monitoring services and an ISO 27001 accredited company**. The company sets a direction for digital healthcare transformation in the UK. We are proud to have been a part of this advancement in health technology and are confident that this product will positively impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

## App fur Schwangere Frauen

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/schwangerschafts-app/index.md*

![Pregnancy App](../../static/images/preganncy_app_2_screens2.png "")

## Wichtigste technische Elemente

* Apple- und Android-In-App-Käufe
* Videoinhalte für Premium-Kunden verfügbar
* Tiefe Integration mit Systemkalender, Erinnerungen, Push-Benachrichtigungen
* Detaillierte Analysen des Benutzerverhaltens
* A/B-Tests

## Einleitung

Die mobile App unterstützt werdende Mütter, indem sie ihnen Möglichkeiten bietet, während ihrer neunmonatigen Reise fit zu bleiben und sich gesund zu ernähren. Die kuratierten Inhalte werden basierend auf den Nutzerinteressen personalisiert. Jede Woche bringt eine neue Reihe von Übungen, Rezepten und Tipps.

## Verfahren

Die Agentur hinter der Schwangerschafts-App hatte in der Vergangenheit bereits bei mehreren Produkten mit Bright Inventions zusammengearbeitet. Wie zuvor hatte der Kunde Interviews mit den potenziellen Benutzern (werdenden Müttern) geführt, ihre Bedürfnisse analysiert und einen rudimentären webbasierten Proof of Concept eingerichtet, um ihre Entdeckungen zu verifizieren

Sobald der Bedarf für das Produkt bestätigt war, engagierte sich Bright Inventions. Wir begannen mit einem Workshop in Berlin, um die Erwartungen und die erforderlichen technischen Ressourcen zu verstehen, die geschaffen werden mussten. Glücklicherweise waren zwei Personen, die von Bright Inventions an dem Produkt beteiligt waren, zu dieser Zeit werdende Väter, die ihre Partner intensiv unterstützt haben und die Notwendigkeit eines solchen Produkts gesehen haben.

Der Entwicklungsprozess war geprägt von Empathie. Der Aufbau eines solchen Produkts erfordert ein immenses Verständnis der Benutzeranforderungen. Kein Element der Benutzeroberfläche darf verwirrend, unklar oder schwer zu bedienen sein. Eine Anwendung für werdende Mütter muss die Dinge einfach, offensichtlich und unterhaltsam machen. Es muss auch Vertrauen aufbauen.

Da Bright Inventions auf der technischen Seite (Backend-System, iOS- und Android-Apps) arbeitete, hat die Agenturseite die Erstellung der Videos und Rezepte übernommen, die in der App für die zahlenden Kunden verfügbar gemacht werden sollten.

Ein großer Teil der Arbeit bestand darin, eine Lösung zu bauen, die die Inhalte an die Benutzer anpasst. Durch die Beobachtung der Interaktionen der Benutzer mit den bereitgestellten Rezepten und Workouts (d. h. was sie als Favoriten markiert haben, was sie gekocht haben usw.) passt das System das Material an, um das Erlebnis zu personalisieren.

Technische Herausforderungen bestanden in erster Linie darin, die Parität der Funktionen auf allen Plattformen und die tiefe Integration mit dem Systemkalender sicherzustellen. Ereignisse mussten automatisch zum Kalender hinzugefügt, auf allen Benutzergeräten synchronisiert und geplante Push-Benachrichtigungen zu den entsprechenden Zeiten ausgelöst werden.

![Pregnancy App](../../static/images/pregnancy_app1.png "")

## Start

Die Anwendung wurde aufgrund der positiven Bewertungen der ersten Benutzer gleichzeitig für iOS und Android gestartet. Mit Hilfe des Marketingteams der Agentur wurde in relativ kurzer Zeit eine solide Nutzerbasis erreicht.

Die App hat sich als separates Unternehmen ausgegliedert und mit dem Aufbau eines eigenen internen Entwicklungsteams begonnen. Bright Inventions hat all diese Bemühungen unterstützt, half bei der Auswahl der richtigen Ingenieure und beim gesamten Wissenstransfer.

## SmartHelp: Instant Emergency Localization with a Single Click

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/smarthelp/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about the project" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

SmartHelp is a holistic solution offering emergency services to anyone who’s found themselves in need of critical help. The app operates in Norway, and makes it nearly effortless for users to answer the three questions emergency centers ask before they send a rescue team – ‘where’, ‘what’, and ‘who’.

The first step (“where are you?”) is done by streamlining the user’s location to a map-centric emergency call center. Secondly, the user answers the “what is it?” question by clicking on the symbol that depicts the type of emergency (fire, police, or medical assistance). Next, he/she is connected to the rescue center via call or chat. The third question (“who are you?”) is automatically answered with pre-defined personal information such as name, address, and existing medical conditions. All this allows the emergency call handler to share the user’s details with the rescue team.

The app also covers situations, when the user is in no condition to communicate with the emergency center back and forth. This is done using a key device integrated with the app – **SmartButton**.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

![An emergency service app ](../../static/images/smarthelp_screens1and2.png)

The single-click emergency button allows the user to instantly streamline they location not only to rescuers, but also family, friends, or even their security company – anyone whose details were added to the app.

Importantly, once the SmartButton is pressed, all of the notified sides keep receiving live updates on the status of the rescue request (for ex., if the user exchanged any chat communication with the emergency team, it also gets shared with the other parties).

This feature can also be leveraged by institutional clients (for ex. Health & Safety professionals), who need to make sure their employees are always safe and taken care of in case of any work-related emergency.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/flag.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

The goal was to create a system that consists of three elements: two native mobile apps – for iPhone and Android, an Emergency Services web panel allowing to locate and communicate with users (both those with the app and without it), and the backend.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="development process" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

Bright Inventions has been a part of the project from the very beginning – from the ideation phase to the project’s full-stack implementation, deployment, and maintenance.

The iOS and Android native applications were designed to provide a smooth user experience that respects user habits in each operating system. The biggest UX-related challenge was to make sure that the app is extremely simple to use by those who have found themselves or another person in a state of critical emergency.

![An emergency service app ](../../static/images/amarthelp33_700.jpg)

For the iOS native application, our developers used Objective-C/Swift, ReactiveCocoa, and for Android – Kotlin, RxAndroid, Dagger, and Retrofit. Server-side applications were developed with the use of Node.js and Nest.js. PostgreSQL was chosen for database creation, integration, and management. On the front-end, the developers worked with React, supported by Socket.io and Leaflet.

It was critical that the SmartHelp platform represents a 'Privacy by Design' approach. And so, the software was built with a fully end-to-end encrypted channel for exchanging situational awareness information between parties. Its ingenious cryptographic architecture allowed SmartHelp to be certified for medical information processing under Norwegian data privacy laws, comprising of some of the most stringent requirements in the world.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="Result" />

SmartHelp has been in operational use since December 2014. To date, it is the only app that makes the user visible on the map to call center staff right at the moment of the call.

Apart from a freshly-revamped design, the newest version of the app now also offers more than the emergency communication features themselves. The app allows any organization to set up its own emergency response center with internal emergency numbers, own resources, and secure communication.

SmartHelp can also be used in day-to-day life to share a user’s location with friends, travelling companions, family, or colleagues. It can also be used to communicate with the wider public. By setting a geographical area and sending messages to those who are within its premises or nearby, users can warn them about an impending dangerous situation.

<div className="image">![Emergency app](../../static/images/smarthelp.png "Emergency app")</div>

## Speeding-Up Restaurant Phone Ordering with POS & Caller ID Integration

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/restaurant-pos-caller-id/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Android"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"}]' />

**technologies:** Kotlin, Swift

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the problem: time-consuming restaurant phone order processing " titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

Imagine managing hundreds of restaurant orders coming from different channels: 
online, in-house, and by phone. **Handling phone orders, in particular, can be especially time-consuming and error-prone**. Waitstaff must ensure that the details, from the order itself to the customer’s address and phone number, are accurately recorded. **This manual process consumes time and increases the risk of mistakes**, such as incorrect orders or deliveries to the wrong address.

When scaling the point-of-sale solution for Practi, a company later acquired by Just Eat Takeaway.com, we recognized the need to speed up the phone ordering process.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: custom POS system integration with Caller ID" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

Our [POS development](/blog/pos-software-development-guide/) team recommended integrating the Practi POS system with a Caller ID to transform the phone ordering. So, what’s special about this integration? The Caller ID is a device that automatically transfers information about the incoming phone number to the restaurant's POS system. Yet it goes beyond just displaying a phone number. By **combining the Caller ID data with the POS system, the waitstaff instantly identifies the caller**, checks if they are a regular customer, and accesses their previous order history and delivery address.

<div className="image">![Caller ID and POS](/images/pos_caller_id_case_study.png "")</div>

In cases where the caller is a regular customer, **the waitstaff can quickly suggest the customer’s usual order** and any loyalty points earned are automatically added to the customer’s account. What’s more, if a customer calls to ask about the status of their order, the waitstaff has all the information without needing the customer to provide any additional details.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: number validation, missing data, and unreliable networks" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

One of the issues we needed to face was the **lack of standardization for mobile country number prefixes**, such as +44. This meant that if a customer called from the same phone number but the system received it once with the prefix and once without, it would not recognize them as the same caller. This inconsistency could lead to duplicate entries and confusion in the order history. To address this, **we developed a custom validation solution that could recognize phone numbers as identical**, whether they included the country prefix or not. 

Another challenge we discovered during the testing phase was that occasionally **the information sent by Caller ID wasn’t captured**. The Caller ID device operates in broadcast mode, meaning **it transmits data across the network without directing it to a specific receiver, such as a POS application**. This created situations where the restaurant might not receive the caller’s information, compromising the reliability of the Caller ID integration. This issue influenced the way we designed the entire integration.

To address this challenge, **we explored a key feature of the Caller ID device: sending information multiple times across the network to ensure no phone number would be missed**. Building on the provided specifications, **our team developed the Caller ID and [POS integration](/blog/pos-integration/) from scratch**, as no solution was provided by the device manufacturer. 

A crucial part of our solution was **filtering out duplicate inputs**, which naturally occur when Caller ID sends information multiple times. Our integration was designed to **ensure that even when the local network experiences disruptions, the POS application can still reliably capture caller information**.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: improving restaurant efficiency with Caller ID integration" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

Integrating Caller ID for restaurants resulted in **shorter call times and a more personalized experience** – customers felt recognized from the very first "hello". This integration was successfully implemented in restaurants across the UK and Israel, helping businesses improve order management and build stronger relationships with their customers.

## Digitally Connecting the UK Care Homes

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/vCare/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="stack" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/bluetooth_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Bluetooth"},{"src":"/images/adobexdstack_logo.svg","alt":"Adobe XD"}]' />

**technologies:** Kotlin, Swift, Bluetooth, Adobe XD

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: patients put at risk due to inefficient medicine distribution" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

**In the United Kingdom, approximately [17,100 care homes are dedicated to accommodating over 400,000 individuals](https://www.braemarfinance.co.uk/s/insights/blog/facts-figures-uk-care-home-sector-MCXEQ2ZU7QKVFOBOP272VSXJDDWQ#:~:text=The%20care%20home%20sector%20in,after%20more%20than%20400%2C000%20people.)**. The UK's care home sector plays a pivotal role in supporting those in need of professional care.

In the extensive array of duties borne by care home providers, the task of **medicine distribution is a crucial and demanding responsibility**. The lack of digitalization in this area has cast a long shadow, leading to a confronting reality where **communication between pharmacies and care homes is fragmented and historical data on patient medication distribution alarmingly inaccessible**. 

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="solution: a system that helps control medicine distribution" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="solution" />

**Camascope, formerly VCare Systems, a UK-based health tech company**, was co-founded by **[Saurabh Shah](https://blog.camascope.com/resources/post/the-camascope-story), a pharmacist with 15+ years of experience** whose vision led to the creation of the Electronic **Medication Administration Record (eMAR)**, streamlining medicine distribution for care home professionals.

<div className="image">![home care HealthTech](../../static/images/home_care_health_tech.png "home care HealthTech")</div>

Upon the debut of their initial eMAR solution, **Camascope reached out to our team to explore a collaborative effort aimed at refining and advancing the product to a more sophisticated stage**. As a result, a comprehensive eMAR solution emerged. A mobile application, accessible on both Apple and Android devices, now **provides seamless access to patients' medical history and prescribed medications**.

This application facilitates **real-time updates on medication intake** accessible for healthcare providers, patients, and their families. The **offline mode empowers caregivers to make essential updates without concern for internet connectivity**.

Moreover, the **Camascope system mandates supervisor approval for significant treatment alterations. It also reduces errors by promptly notifying care home staff about potential missed medications**, alleviating the considerable responsibility of their workload.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenge: making a data-heavy and multifunctional system an intuitive one" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

Imagine being a nurse, juggling the care of multiple patients, each with unique health profiles, medication plans, and allergy considerations. Healthcare providers grapple with a flood of information. **The crucial challenge was to create a system that not only organizes this complexity but also reduces the risk of errors**.

**We crafted a design that prioritizes crucial information while keeping all important patient data accessible on a single screen**. Based on detailed field studies and research, we understood that end-users desire quick access to patient information and don’t want to navigate through multiple screens to obtain it. Thus, ensuring the **interface is easy, fast, and smooth was the answer they needed**.

Another challenge was **building a system that would genuinely streamline daily processes**, rather than becoming an additional burden on the shoulders of care providers. Our team built a variety of features specifically crafted to streamline the daily operations of caregivers. For instance, **by scanning the barcodes of medications, the system automatically notifies which medicine has been administered, eliminating the need for manual input**. 

An important feature we also incorporated was a user-friendly **body map, which enables physicians to quickly select a body part on the map, linking it to the administered medication or medical procedure**. This intuitive tool aids in both accuracy and efficiency in patient care.

Overcoming another hurdle, **we focused on refining a critical HealthTech feature – offline mode**. In situations where every second counts, having a reliable app without an internet connection is imperative. Our challenge was to **design an interface that unmistakably signals when users are in offline mode, ensuring seamless data synchronization at a later stage**. The emphasis here was on a clear and intuitive design.

*<center>Camascope mockup for the offline mode marked by the information bar.</center>*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result: successful scaling with over 1,000 health &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; care organization customers" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

**As an NHS Trusted Supplier and Crown Commercial Service Supplier Camascope has digitalised medicine distribution for over 1,000 health & care organizations**. The system is integrated with **leading pharmacy chains such as Boots, LloydsPharmacy, and Well**.

We are proud to have helped Camascope level up its solution during a crucial scaling phase. Currently, **the system supports over 25,000 active patients across the UK**, establishing itself as a leading mMedTech platform for British care homes.

During our collaboration with Camascope, we also built an [IOT system with MedTech wearables and a telemedicine application](/projects/remote-patient-monitoring/). Read more about it in another case study!

## Digitalizing Logistics: How We Transformed a Transport Management System

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/transportation-management-system/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features developed by Bright Inventions" titleIcon="/images/icons_features_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="main features developed by Bright Inventions" />

* **Importing freight listings** from popular transport marketplaces.
* **Filtering out listings** that don’t match the basic criteria (weight and size of the load, route details, etc.).
* **Preliminary matching** of the listings with the right vehicle and driver. Then it can be verified by the forwarder.
* **Managing the route** from arrival to the destination point. Adding extra points on the carriers’ map.
* Receiving **notifications from the drivers** about delays or other disturbances on the road.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="stack" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/new_typescript_logo_stack.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/nest.png","alt":"Nest"},{"src":"/images/aws.png","alt":"AWS"},{"src":"/images/kotlin_new_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Kotlin"},{"src":"/images/new_logo_figma_stack.png","alt":"Figma"}]' />

**Frontend**: TypeScript, React, Redux, React Query

**Backend**: Nest.js, TypeScript, AWS, PostgreSQL, Prisma

**Android development**: Kotlin, Coroutines, Flows, ViewModel, Firebase, Hilt, and other Google APIs

**Product design**: Figma, Adobe Illustrator

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about TMS project" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

The client started a collaboration with Bright Inventions to **build a customized tool for their internal transport management department**. It offers one of the fastest and safest forwarding and transport services to companies all over Europe. In 2022 they executed over 180,000 shipping orders.

Like many logistics companies our client struggled with endless paperwork, and tons of Excel sheets, which defined the inefficient core of their transport management system. They aimed for a change, hoping for a successful digitalization of their daily work. But, **finding an off-the-shelf solution that truly fit their unique needs was a challenge**. **That's when they partnered with Bright Inventions to craft a tailor-made Transport Management System.** 

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="first things first – time to validate the idea with MVP " titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="goal" />

Our client's main goal? To **see if their software management system idea could handle their daily operations and potentially grow into something bigger**. Our solution? **Start small and smart with an MVP** (Minimum Viable Product) – the quickest path to validating your game-changing ideas.

The solution was supposed to **transform forwarders’ work into a less repetitive, faster, and more automatic job**. The aim was to limit both: the time between finding and matching load with the right transport provider and the number of kilometers done by empty vehicles. Fast and effective utilization of vehicles' spare capacity is essential for the industry. 

Also, another long-term goal is to **support daily communication with road hauliers with a customized Android application** dedicated to drivers.

<AnchorLink href='#contactForm' text='let’s talk about your project'/>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the challenge of building a transport management system" titleIcon="/images/two_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

The main challenge was to **build a fast solution**. Time is the key to the shipping industry. The app has to aggregate the listings quickly and assign them to the right carriers. Every millisecond counts.

Our team designed an **algorithm that would automatically filter out transport listings to display only the ones that match the client's expectations**.

In terms of product design, the right **architectural information** is the key. **Forwarders work at a high pace and they expect any work tool to make their job even faster**. The client required us to include as much information as possible on one screen, so they could scan all the information fast.

<div className="image">![transport management system UI case study](../../static/images/tms_market_ui.png "undefined")</div>

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="TMS development process" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

**At Bright Inventions, we took charge of every stage in creating the MVP** – from defining requirements and product design, through web development, rigorous quality testing, and efficient cloud management, to a successful launch. Naturally, our work didn't stop there. We are here for ongoing maintenance, too. The MVP took off in October 2022, and the client's team loved what they saw.

<div className="image">![Testimonial](../../static/images/case_study_tms_client_quote_update.png "Testimonial")</div>

### Web development based on the latest technologies

From the beginning, **we were entrusted to choose the right stack** and had the pleasure of implementing the top tools available at the moment.

While we were venturing into the realm of MVP implementation, our commitment to forward-thinking was unwavering. **The technical stack we selected had to be future-proof, and capable of facilitating seamless long-term system integration**. This choice prioritized rapid implementation, uninterrupted performance, and the agility to effortlessly incorporate new features.

Our objective extended beyond ensuring a frictionless user experience. We also aimed to streamline the software development process, optimizing time and effort allocation for our team in the foreseeable future. To make it possible **we implemented the best solutions JavaScript and AWS have to offer with Lambda and SNS on top of them**.

<div className="image">![transport management app case study UI UX](../../static/images/tms_case_study_screen_map.png "undefined")</div>

### Product design: the key success factor to a smooth digital transformation

Before our team presented the MVP mockups we took the necessary steps that helped us design the product. Our process commenced with comprehensive **desk research**, seamlessly transitioning into rigorous **benchmarking**. Furthermore, we leveraged the valuable opportunity to engage in **field studies** and **user shadowing**, complemented by adaptive interviews.

The challenge confronting the product design team was the **development of a user-friendly, yet data-intensive system. Our primary objective was to ensure a seamless transition for users who have long relied on existing tools**. Users had to swiftly recognize the advantages offered by the new solution. 

<div className="image">![shipping mobile app mockups](../../static/images/in_text_tms_mobile_mockups.png "shipping mobile app mockups")</div>

We addressed this challenge by implementing best UX practices such as: **representing a mental model** of end users, designing a **navigation flow based on familiar user patterns**, and incorporating an **information hierarchy** to include as much data as possible on a screen without overwhelming users.

Read our blog post to find more recommendations for [UX design for the transport management software](/blog/ux-design-transport-management-software-case-study/).

### Mobile development for effective communication between freight forwarders and drivers

**Following the triumphant MVP launch of a web application, our client chose to partner with us for mobile app development**. We have been hard at work crafting a **native Android mobile app**, and the MVP has just hit the market. Exciting times ahead!

**The mobile app supports communication between forwarders and drivers**. For example, it allows sharing of carriers' localization with the forwarders and sending scans of documents. After the MVP launch, the app is now being tested by the first users.

<div className="image">![Mobile app for drivers](../../static/images/driver_app.png "Mobile app for drivers")</div>

It is essential to highlight the significance of product design in the context of a mobile application. **The mobile application is specifically designed for haulers, where the display of only essential information, such as loading specifics and route details, is paramount**. Distractions with extraneous information are minimized. The user interface prioritizes simplicity, enabling couriers to promptly update loading statuses, such as “delivered” or “delayed”. 

**The app makes it a breeze to upload transport order documents**. Our design is all about being clear and user-friendly, with big, eye-catching buttons that set it apart from the ordinary business apps you come across every day.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the outcome of collaboration" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="client’s perspective" />

MVP launch ensured the client that the system has the potential to change the daily work on their team. **The company is on the verge of a complete digital transformation**. At this moment **90% of daily transport management operations are done with the new system**.

**Our team managed to meet the crucial client’s requirement** – delivering a fast transport listings filtering system. As a result, **the system analyses routes for forwarders in up to 5 seconds per order, saving a total of 300 h per employee a year**. Before that, the filtering process had to be done manually.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="client’s perspective" titleIcon="/images/clients_perspective_icon.svg" titleIconAlt="client’s perspective" />

*Their flexible and professional approach to business was impressive. The difficulties encountered in the creation process were never a problem, only a challenge. All the set goals were met on time.*

**Grzegorz Gajewski, Development & Training Manager**

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="what lies ahead for our collaboration with a leading logistics company?" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_products.svg" titleIconAlt="result" />

We’re delighted that **the client decided to continue our cooperation after a successful MVP launch – both web and mobile versions**. Now we focus on scaling the product in the post-MVP phase. Our team implements new features such as the electronic circulation of documents.

We still work closely with end users, quickly responding to their feedback. Open communications, flexibility, and adaptability are the key factors of this successful digitalization.

## Transforming Devices into Scalable Trackers for Equipment Tracking for Manufacturing

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/manufacturing-asset-tracking/index.md*

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="technologies" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="technologies" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/swift_icon_stack.svg","alt":"Swift"},{"src":"/images/android_stack_logo.svg","alt":"Node.js"},{"src":"/images/bluetooth_stack_logo.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/zebra_technologies_stack_logo_bigger_new.svg","alt":"Zebra Technologies"}]' />

technologies: Swift, Android, Bluetooth Low Energy, Zebra Technologies

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="problem: financial loss from asset misplacement" titleIcon="/images/icon_title_about.svg" titleIconAlt="problem" />

When it comes to workplace fraud, most of it isn’t some elaborate heist – it’s just stuff quietly going missing. In fact, asset misappropriation accounts for [89%](https://bradyware.com/new-acfe-report-exposes-rising-fraud-costs-trends/) of all reported cases. For manufacturers, where machinery, tools, and mobile assets are constantly in motion, **the need for reliable asset tracking is more critical than ever**.

Traditionally, companies have relied on dedicated tracking hardware – physical devices attached to every asset to monitor its location and usage. While effective, **this method might be redundant** – especially in environments already equipped with a range of capable devices.

One of our clients in the manufacturing sector faced this exact dilemma. They had already invested heavily in mobile devices, including popular iOS and Android smartphones, as well as specialized **Zebra Technologies** hardware. The question was: **Could we transform these existing devices into a scalable asset tracking system?**

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the solution: real-time equipment tracking system built on already owned devices" titleIcon="/images/flag.png" titleIconAlt="the solution" />

To address this challenge, we developed a scalable, software-based asset tracking network inspired by the principles behind **Apple’s iBeacon technology**. Our custom solution **leverages devices the company already owns** by transforming them into active participants in a decentralized tracking system.

Using **Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)**, each mobile device can act either as a tracker or as a detector. By simply installing the application we built for the company, any iOS or Android device becomes capable of simulating a beacon signal. This means **the devices can both emit their presence and listen for signals from nearby assets** – essentially turning the entire mobile fleet into a dynamic, location-aware network.

Here’s how it works: if a device is lost, it can be marked as "missing" in the system. The next time another employee carrying a phone with our app passes nearby, their device picks up the BLE signal and sends a command to the lost asset. That command triggers **the lost device to vibrate and emit a loud sound, making it easy to locate** – even if it’s out of sight.

What’s more, the app logs when and where the missing item was last detected and by whom, creating a real-time trail of activity. This **transforms every employee’s pocket into a tool for tracking and recovery** – no extra hardware required.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="challenges: adjusting to various devices and environmental factors blocking the signal" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="challenge" />

One of the biggest challenges was the **fragmentation in the Android ecosystem**. Every manufacturer tends to modify the Android operating system, which affects background behavior and Bluetooth scanning. A feature like continuous BLE scanning – essential for our solution – works flawlessly on one device but may be completely blocked on another. We had to ensure stability across a wide array of devices, from Zebra scanners to Samsung or Apple smartphones, each with their own quirks.

<div className="image">![device tracking](/images/manufacturing_asset_tracking_photo.png "device tracking")</div>

**Maintaining consistent background operation was critical** – and no small feat. Both Android and iOS place strict limitations on what apps can do in the background, especially when it comes to Bluetooth activity. We made it work by deeply optimizing the app's behavior, which required a **strong understanding of both Apple’s and Android’s native system**s. Just as important was designing a thoughtful permission strategy: from the very first onboarding screen, users were guided to grant all the necessary permissions to ensure the app could function reliably in the background.

What’s more, the **equipment tracking** app has to remain active at all times without significant drain of the battery. We optimized power consumption by batching network messages and reducing how often we processed Bluetooth events, without sacrificing responsiveness.

**Environmental factors** added another layer: solid concrete walls (common in Europe) versus thin drywall (typical in the US) significantly altered signal strength. Even human bodies – being mostly water – can block BLE signals when a device is held in hand.

Therefore **testing this system was a monumental task**. Our QA team became deeply familiar with countless edge cases – from interrupted data packets to the physical realities of the factory itself, including its layout, construction materials, and how they impacted signal behavior. 

All that effort paid off: by reproducing even the most specific and obscure conditions, we were able to **reduce unexpected bugs in the production environment** and deliver a more reliable product.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="the results: safeguarding assets with real-time tracking" titleIcon="/images/icon_result_svg.svg" titleIconAlt="the results of the collaboration" />

Every company-owned device is now **tracked in real time, 24/7** – reducing the risk of asset misplacement or misuse. Globally, businesses lose an estimated [5%](https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/employee-theft-statistics/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) of their revenue annually to occupational fraud. By implementing a software-based tracking system that requires no additional hardware, a leading company in the manufacturing sector took a major step toward safeguarding their assets.

## Improving User Experience for xpomaker – Trade Fairs Management Software

*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/projects/xpomaker/index.md*

![A trade fair planning software](../../static/images/xpomaker_dashboard2.png)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="main features developed by Bright Inventions" titleIcon="/images/main_features_icon.png" titleIconAlt="features" />

* Creation of new fair projects
* Inviting users to projects as team members
* Task management panel
* Adding and managing list of items needed for fair stands
* Managing fair staff accomodation and timetables
* Calendar view of tasks and events planned for the fair
* Budget and expense management planner

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="skills" titleIcon="/images/skills.svg" titleIconAlt="skills" />

<Gallery images='[{"src":"/images/react_stack_logo_update.svg","alt":"React"},{"src":"/images/new_typescript_logo_stack.png","alt":"TypeScript"},{"src":"/images/nest.png","alt":"NestJS"},{"src":"/images/postgresql_logo_stack.png","alt":"PostgreSQL"},{"src":"/images/docker_stack_logo.png","alt":"Docker"},{"src":"/images/teamcity_stack_logo.png","alt":"Teamcity"}]' />

**technologies**: ReactJS + TypeScript, Redux, NestJS, PostgreSQL, Stripe, Docker, AWS, TeamCity

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="about" titleIcon="/images/three_flags.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

For many industries, participating in fairs lies at the heart of business, and is a key element of sales, lead generation, and building B2B partnerships. However, being responsible for exhibiting at industry events can feel overwhelming given the number of tasks involved. In most cases, your fair presence must be carefully planned months in advance, and requires you to simultaneously coordinate multiple processes. A single delay from a contractor or a minor omission on your side, and – like a game of dominoes – the whole plan can collapse.

So, how do you stay on top of all this without worrying about organizational chaos and deadlines? Here’s where xpomaker comes into play.

![A trade fair planning software](../../static/images/xpomaker_dashboard.png)

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="goal" titleIcon="/images/goal_title_section.png" titleIconAlt="goal" />

The Founders of xpomaker were looking for an experienced product design team who would translate the general vision for the software into a user-friendly, visually-appealing product. When our paths first crossed, they had already been cooperating with a consulting company that helped determine the necessary UX features and user expectations. While our cooperation initially started off with an interface design project, we were quickly asked to rebrand and redesign the entire app – including taking care of frontend and backend adjustments.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="development process" titleIcon="/images/gearwheel.svg" titleIconAlt="bright" />

We first worked on delivering high-fidelity wireframes of the proposed user interface. To make sure that the designs incorporated all necessary features, our team cooperated with the consulting company’s product owner.

For xpomaker, it was crucial that the app architecture and design felt familiar to users. This meant that we were to design an interface that would resemble the experience of using spreadsheets for tracking fair preparation progress. Hence, we knew that a table format, as well as .xls file import/export were two features that needed to be taken into account and reflected in the design.

Secondly, the app needed to incorporate a payment process that would allow users to manage revenue and wire funds. Having analyzed multiple payment solutions on the market, we have decided on Stripe, which featured subscription payments and invoice handling – both essential to the client.

All of these steps allowed us to deliver a solution that is both functional and intuitive to its users.

After our work on the interface design had finished, xpomaker engaged us in a rebranding project they had been working on. The scope of our work included applying all necessary software development adjustments on the frontend and backend of the app.

After the rebranding phase of our cooperation when the name and the visual identity of the company had changed, our team redesigned the entire app and refine the software accordingly.

<TitleWithIcon sectionTitle="result" titleIcon="/images/results_icon_title_small.png" titleIconAlt="result" />

xpomaker is now present on the German market and offers three subscription plans. The software lets users coordinate as many exhibition projects as needed.

Our team is currently responsible for the app maintenance. However, the app founders are now collecting user feedback in preparation for another round of user-inspired design and software work.

# Blog Posts

## The Hidden Costs of "Alpha": The Struggle with Compose Screenshot Tests

*Published: 2026-02-16 | Author: lukasz | Tags: Android, Mobile, Compose, Screenshot Testing*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/compose-screenshot-test-library/index.md*

**Some time ago, we decided to integrate the new[ Compose Screenshot Testing](https://developer.android.com/studio/preview/compose-screenshot-testing) library into our app. Even though the library was (and still is) in alpha, the promise of a seamless, first-party setup was incredibly appealing.**

**Oh, how wrong we were.**

## The Configuration Rabbit Hole

After reviewing the official documentation, we were confident we could integrate the library and start testing in no time. We followed the setup steps to the letter: adding properties, applying the plugin, and configuring the dependencies.

Then came the first Gradle Sync. It failed with an error that would haunt us for a long time:

```YAML
java.lang.NullPointerException: getValue(...) must not be null at 
  com.android.compose.screenshot.PreviewScreenshotGradlePlugin$Companion
  .getSCREENSHOT_TEST_PLUGIN_VERSION(PreviewScreenshotGradlePlugin.kt:95)
```

<center>
![This is fine meme](/images/compose-screenshot-test-library/this-is-fine.jpg "This is fine meme")
</center>

We found a few similar cases online and tried every suggested fix, but nothing stuck. It appeared that the plugin application order during Gradle Sync was clashing with our current project configuration.

At this point, we decided to kill two birds with one stone. We were still managing dependencies via **buildSrc**, so we decided to migrate to **Version Catalogs**. While we didn't expect the migration itself to fix the plugin error, we hoped the cleaner structure would help us isolate the cause. (The migration of 50+ modules is a story for another day, but thanks to some AI assistance—shoutout to Junie!—we finished faster than expected.)

With the migration complete, we reapplied the plugin and—to no one's surprise—hit the same error. However, thanks to the migration, we were finally in a position to easily begin the tedious process of slowly porting our project configuration into a clean 'empty' project where the library _did_ work. 


## The Culprit: A "Hidden" Classpath Collision

Eventually, we found the culprit: a plugin interdependency conflict caused by a naming collision. It turned out that both the Google screenshot library and the Kotlinter plugin were trying to package a file named `version.properties` at the root of their JARs.

When Gradle attempted to sync, Kotlinter "won" the collision and placed its own `version.properties` on the classpath. Since this file lacked the `buildVersion` property that the Google plugin expected, it triggered a `NullPointerException`, leading to the sync failure.

We reported [the issue](https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/482074642) on the Google Issue Tracker and discovered that while Google has [already addressed](https://android.googlesource.com/platform/tools/base/+/0f8f8da6641225cf0e934ca878f6b0fbbf350315%5E%21/preview/screenshot/screenshot-test-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/android/compose/screenshot/PreviewScreenshotGradlePlugin.kt) this in their source—renaming their file to the more specific `com-android-compose-screenshot.properties`—that fix hadn't been deployed to a public release yet. Fortunately, the Kotlinter team had already moved to a [unique naming convention](https://github.com/jeremymailen/kotlinter-gradle/pull/457/changes) a few versions back to prevent exactly this type of conflict. By simply updating our Kotlinter version, the Gradle Sync finally passed.


## The CI Wall

Our struggles are over! That’s what we thought… 

We added tests, generated reference images and verified everything locally.  
It worked perfectly—valid UI changes passed, and regressions triggered failures.

Then we moved to the CI pipeline. We introduced a new step for our tests but then the builds started failing. When we investigated the generated reports, we were met with a confusing sight:

<center>
![Images comparison](/images/compose-screenshot-test-library/images-comparison.png "Images comparison")
</center>

Even though there were no visible differences between the local and CI images, the validation failed. This is a classic screenshot testing hurdle: tiny environmental differences (like font rendering or GPU anti-aliasing) between local machines and CI runners.

<center>
![Images hex comparison](/images/compose-screenshot-test-library/images-hex-comparison.png "Images hex comparison")
</center>

To the naked eye, the images were clones, but a dive into the metadata and hex data told a different story. Despite a mere **1-byte difference** in total file size, a binary comparison revealed discrepancies at over **8000 distinct locations**. This highlights how deep the "environment gap" actually goes.

<center>
![Spiderman pointing meme](/images/compose-screenshot-test-library/spiderman-pointing.jpg "Spiderman pointing meme")
</center>

We attempted to resolve this by applying an `imageDifferenceThreshold`, but even that didn't stabilize the results.


## The Compromise

In the end, we settled on an imperfect solution. We implemented a separate CI workflow that, when triggered manually, generates new reference images and commits them directly to the feature branch.

Notably, such a server-side approach is the one [recommended in the official guide](https://developer.android.com/training/testing/ui-tests/screenshot#take-screenshots). However, in our view, it remains less than ideal because it prevents us from reliably running the full validation check on our local machines. Still, it gives us a consistent environment for our "source of truth." It’s a workaround we can live with—for now.


## The Verdict: Was it Worth It?

Looking back at this "Alpha" rollercoaster, you might think we regret the decision. On the contrary—despite the bumps in the road, the final outcome has brought plenty of value to our project. The initial struggle was a one-time cost that is now paying dividends in our daily development.

By pushing through the configuration hell, we’ve gained several key advantages:

- **Double Duty for Previews:** It has significantly boosted our motivation to create high-quality, comprehensive `@Preview` blocks. Since they now serve as the foundation for our screenshot tests, we’re essentially "killing two birds with one stone"—better documentation and automated testing in one go.

- **Multi-Device Confidence:** We now have much greater peace of mind regarding UI consistency across different form factors. It’s easy to overlook a layout shift on a tablet when you're primarily developing on a phone, but the screenshot suite catches these regressions instantly.

- **Faster, Fearless Refactoring:** We can now refactor core UI components or update our design system tokens with much less anxiety. If a change impacts 50 screens, we know exactly which ones—and by how many pixels—within minutes.

- **Visual Documentation for the Team:** The generated reference images serve as an "as-built" documentation that anyone—from QA to Designers—can review to see the current state of the UI without even running the app.

While the library is still in its early stages, the first-party integration feels like a solid long-term bet. If you can push through the initial setup friction, the boost in UI stability is well worth the effort.

## A Decade in Dev: Mikołaj on Lessons Learned, Ownership, and Tech Recruitment Path

*Published: 2026-01-09 | Author: mikolaj-g | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/decade-in-software-development/index.md*

**Mikołaj is a senior fullstack developer with a career ten years in the making. In this interview, he opens up about lessons in self-care, why he looks for "ownership" when interviewing candidates, and whether the "dashboard" era of software might be coming to an end.**

<div className="image">![Career story fullstack developer](/images/brightstorymikolajgrid.png "Career story fullstack developer")</div>

## Happy 10th anniversary in software development! Looking back, which sectors do you remember working in the most?

Most of my memories are related to the public sector because **I worked for a long time with universities and public offices**. I felt I had a great deal of influence there, especially on end users and their experience. 

I also have a lot of memories connected to **working in e-commerce**; I was part of that industry when COVID struck and everything changed so fast. We had to adapt products to new realities overnight, just like many others.

## If you could go back in time, what would you say to yourself at the start of your career?

I would say to **focus on taking care of myself**, not just my work ambitions. For years I took too much on my shoulders because of my willingness to learn, but at some point, it just wasn’t healthy.

Another thing I’d say is to be wiser about which projects to get involved in, as I also did a lot of freelance work after hours. Actually, let me take that back – I think some things were just meant to be. **Even if some of my decisions were bad, they taught me many lessons**, so let’s scratch that second piece of advice! 🙂

## You’ve been testing the OpenAI Apps SDK. What was your experience with it? Do you think we’ll be "chatting" with our apps soon?

I tested it on a side project specifically built for trying out new solutions – an app for event management. It made it much easier to import participant lists and use the chat to invite them with emails built right there in the conversation.

I specifically wanted to see if this truly has the potential to improve the user experience and provide real value, and I think it will work well for many apps. **If you’re already using ChatGPT, staying within the app to complete tasks is very convenient**.

<div className="image">![Quote on OpenAI Apps SDK](/images/mikolaj_quote_chatgpt.png "Quote on OpenAI Apps SDK")</div>

It also gives digital products a chance to be discovered by entirely new groups of users. While it might not be for every app, **I can definitely see a future where we spend more time interacting with ChatGPT rather than clicking through traditional dashboards**.

*Learn more on what [OpenAI’s new releases mean for digital products](https://framna.com/on-demand/the-next-platform-shift?ref=brightinventions).*

## It’s been a year since you joined Bright Inventions. How has the experience been so far?

It’s been great. I’ve found exactly what I was looking for when I joined: **closer cooperation with partners, the opportunity to grow as a fullstack developer, and plenty of knowledge-sharing**. Bright Inventions gives me all of that. I also really enjoy working in smaller teams; I’ve had the chance to do that here, and I can truly feel that we are all working toward the same goal.

## You recently started a new role as a tech recruiter. How are you finding the start of this new career path?

It’s been a surprising journey so far, in ways I never would have expected. It turns out that **time management is a crucial challenge and a skill I really need to build**. Not only do I have to manage the timing of candidates' responses, but also my own questions and the flow of the conversation in general. 

I have to touch on many different subjects regarding such a wide area of fullstack development; **I can’t just scratch the surface because I need to evaluate a candidate’s knowledge and approach**. However, these interviews can’t last forever, so finding that balance has been my biggest challenge so far.

## What do you expect from candidates?

I’m looking for candidates who take ownership of the solutions they build – people who look at a product as a whole, not just from a coding perspective. **It’s not just about how to build a feature, but how it will influence the user.** I really appreciate it when a developer cares about the user experience. 

<div className="image">![Quote on users](/images/mikolaj_quote_feature_user.png "Quote on users")</div>

## And what about you? What do you expect from yourself as a recruiter?

I expect to keep getting better at recruitment and developing my skills in that area, especially when it comes to **navigating the interview**. I also want to focus on **providing valuable feedback**. We provide initial feedback during the interview and then a more elaborate version afterward; I’m still working on perfecting that "on-the-spot" feedback during the conversation itself.

## What do you remember about your own job interview at Bright Inventions?

It was actually **that interview that convinced me I wanted to join the team**. I was quite stressed at first because the interview was supposed to take 2.5 hours, which felt rather long, so I didn’t know what to expect. But once it started, the atmosphere was so kind that the stress just evaporated. 

We had this **inspiring discussion about technologies and programming approaches**. I also really **enjoyed the soft skills part of the interview**; we talked quite broadly about meaningful things including priorities at work, work-life balance and personal development, which gave me a great **teaser of the company's mindset and the people working here**. I felt I would fit there like a glove.

But it wasn't all roses! **I remember being very tired afterward**, it was really a lot. That’s why I totally understand when people prefer to divide it into two separate interviews, which is also an option we offer.

## What are your travel plans for 2026?

I’m going to Madeira in February. Aside from that, I have lots of ideas, but I try not to plan too far ahead. I also try to take weekend trips nearby. **We just went to Kashubia with friends for a digital detox** – no phones, no TV, nothing all weekend. We spent time close to nature, even having a campfire in December.

<div className="image">![Private archive](/images/mikolaj_photo_private.png "Private archive")</div>

## How was the digital detox?

We were in a big group, so there was a lot to do together. We’re also a very creative bunch of people, so we could easily come up with our own games and entertainment. What was interesting was **how often during conversations we felt the need to look something up online – to verify a fact or check something**. In the end, it gave us the reflection that maybe we don’t need to look up everything; it might not be that important after all.

However, I think a weekend was enough, a full week would be too long! I actually missed a parcel from a courier during the trip, so let’s just say there were some consequences. But I must admit, **knowing that no one can call or disturb you really helps you relax fully**.

## Apart from traveling, what else do you do after hours?

I recently **started a music production course**. It’s something I knew absolutely nothing about, so it’s interesting to dive into the unknown. It’s very exciting, although the downside is that it means spending even more hours in front of the computer.

## What kind of music do you want to create?

Mostly electronic music, but I try to keep an open mind. I see interesting elements in other genres that I would love to implement in my own music. **I want to eventually figure out where the limits of my creativity lie**.

## 5 Trends in HealthTech to Watch in 2026

*Published: 2024-01-17 | Author: mateusz | Tags: HealthTech, AI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-trends-in-healthtech/index.md*

**Are we ready to book a doctor appointment via ChatGPT? Why should wellness become a priority for [healthcare software companies](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/)? What trends will be shaping digital products in healthcare in 2026?**

<div className="image">![Tech trends in healthcare 2026](/images/healthtech_trends_blog_post_update.png "Tech trends in healthcare 2026")</div>

## Managing health with ChatGPT

In 2025, [OpenAI launched a new Apps SDK](https://openai.com/index/developers-can-now-submit-apps-to-chatgpt/) that allows developers to embed fully interactive third-party applications directly into the ChatGPT experience.

At the beginning of 2026 **OpenAI introduced [ChatGPT Health](https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-health/) so healthcare and wellness apps can now also be a part of ChatGPT experience**. Now it allows to better understand medical data, fitness plans etc. but soon it might be much more - enabling for example to make a doctor appointment via Chat GPT.

Instead of patients having to leave ChatGPT to visit a clinic website or use a separate scheduling app, healthcare services can now be integrated right into the conversational flow. **Patients can soon ask ChatGPT to help find doctors nearby, explore available appointment slots, and complete bookings – all without switching context or opening a separate app**.

Naturally, scheduling a doctor’s appointment is only one example. It is up to digital product builders to critically assess whether their HealthTech applications truly deliver value to patients when embedded within OpenAI’s ecosystem. This validation should be a top priority for every healthcare technology builder in the coming weeks as conversational platforms increasingly shape how people access healthcare.

[Learn what OpenAI update means for digital products](https://framna.com/on-demand/the-next-platform-shift?ref=brightinventions), including HealthTech.

## Wellness is growing driven by Millennials and Gen Z

The wellness sector is growing, driven by younger generations who have made it a top priority. Notably, this segment of healthcare appears remarkably resilient; Millennials and Gen Z are unwilling to compromise on wellness even during financial disruptions. According to a [McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/future-of-wellness-trends) study:

<blockquote><h2>Wellness is more important to consumers than ever</h2><div>In the United States alone, we estimate that it represents more than \$500 billion in annual spend, growing at 4 to 5 percent each year. (Despite macroeconomic volatility through the first half of 2025, we believe the wellness category is resilient. Meanwhile, 84 percent of US consumers say wellness is a “top” or “important” priority (in the United Kingdom, that figure is 79 percent, while it soars to 94 percent in China).</div><footer>McKinsey</footer></blockquote>

<div className="image">![running wellness](/images/running-6252827_1280.jpg "Running")</div>

## We still need to wait for a global breakthrough in AI for diagnostics

Although in recent years, there was **widespread discussion about AI's potential in diagnostics**, actual implementations in this field remain limited, despite many companies actively working on it. We'll see if 2026 will bring a true breakthrough for companies working on diagnostics, with patients actively benefiting from AI-powered solutions.

Here are examples of companies and organizations working on implementing AI in disease diagnostics that are worth watching in 2025: [SkinVision](https://www.skinvision.com/pl/), [iCAD](https://www.icadmed.com/), [Eyenuk](https://www.eyenuk.com/en/), [AinnovaTech](https://www.ainnovatech.com/), [Cleerly](https://cleerlyhealth.com/), [AI Dermatologist](https://ai-derm.com/).

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='scale your solution with our free guide' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Read more about Generative AI, blockchain, cloud computing or monitoring. All top technologies that elevate healthcare in one guide.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='guide healthcare software cover' />

## Chronic diseases will continue to drive the future of healthcare technology

**Chronic diseases account for approximately 74% of all deaths globally** according to [WHO](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases). This includes **cardiovascular diseases**, which are the leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for about 17.9 million deaths annually, followed by **cancers** (9.3 million), **chronic respiratory diseases** (4.1 million), and **diabetes** (2.0 million). 

The significant issue that many health system providers must address is not only the rising number of patients with chronic diseases but also the fact that **these conditions are starting to affect people much earlier than in previous generations**.

A notable example is [ulcerative colitis (UC)](https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/pediatric-ulcerative-colitis), a type of inflammatory bowel disease, that is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents. While it traditionally affects individuals in their late 20s, recent trends indicate a rise in pediatric cases.

In many cases, **chronic diseases are also considered invisible diseases**, as they often present **no visible symptoms in those suffering from them**. However, this does not mean that the people around us don’t require regular healthcare. In another article, we delved into the subject of [developing technology for patients with invisible diseases](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/technology-for-invisible-diseases/).

## Hybrid apps as investor magnets in the healthcare industry

What lessons can healthcare startup founders take away from these challenging years? 

**If possible, start small, low-cost, and validate your idea quickly**. [Building an MVP](/our-areas/mvp-development/) is essential, but the choice of technology is just as critical. Hybrid technologies including React Native and Flutter, while not perfect, can be the best option for startups to validate their ideas and secure the funding necessary for scaling. 

However, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, and **not every startup founder should blindly follow this trend**. If you’re planning to build a complex solution that operates extensively in the background or relies heavily on Bluetooth communication, then native development is the only viable path.

Also, **some MVPs simply cannot be low-cost** due to the complexity of the technology or the requirements of the healthcare domain. Additionally, many startups have to rely on bootstrapping or securing initial funding before they can even begin thinking about market validation. Hybryd app cannot be a investor-magnet in cases like that.

Read our blog post to explore the [differences between native and hybrid app development](/blog/native-app-development-vs-cross-platform/).

## Feeling excited about any particular trend in healthcare software?

These are top healthcare technology trends that might shape the future of HealthTech. 2026, we are ready for you!

## Top FemTech Conferences and Meetups 2026

*Published: 2024-04-05 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/femtech-conferences-meetups/index.md*

**Are you looking for events focusing on technology for women's health? We’ve got you covered. Check out the exciting FemTech conferences and meetups that will take place in 2026.**

<div className="image">![FemTech conferences and meetups](../../static/images/meetup_femtech.png "FemTech conferences and meetups")</div>

## Innovation in Women's Health and FemTech

* **Date:** 27 February 2026  
* **City:** London, UK  
* **Keynote speakers: Ida Tin (Co-founder of Clue), Valentina Milanova (Founder of Daye), Lawrence Tallon (CEO of MHRA).**  
* **Details: This high-level event brings together clinicians and tech founders to discuss the "changing paradigm of AI" in women's health. Expect deep dives into AI-powered ultrasound, the breast milk microbiome, and narrowing the health investment gap.**  
* **Link: [rsm.ac.uk](https://www.rsm.ac.uk/events/obstetrics-and-gynaecology/2025-26/ogu03/)**

## 3rd Global Conference on Women Health (FemTech World)

* **Date: 9–10 July 2026**  
* **City: Frankfurt, Germany / Hybrid**  
* **Details: This hybrid event centers on "Innovation, Collaboration, and Education." It is a key date for policymakers and researchers to discuss global access to FemTech solutions and the latest in oncology and reproductive health.**  
* **Link: [femtechworld.co.uk](http://femtechworld.co.uk)**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get more resources about digital health' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download our free guide about scaling software solutions for healthcare. Almost 100 pages about leveraging technology in digital health!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='guide cover' />

## FemHealth Integrates 2025

**Date**: March 19, 2026

**City**: Manchester, the UK

**Details**: FemHealth Integrates is a unique event addressing the gender gap in healthcare – both in health outcomes and within the health industry workforce

**Link**: [lifescienceintegrates.com/event/](https://lifescienceintegrates.com/event/femhealth-integrates-2025/#venue)

## Top HealthTech Conferences in Europe to Attend in 2026

*Published: 2024-02-07 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthtech-conferences-europe/index.md*

**Looking for on-site healthcare conferences to attend in 2026? We’ve got you covered. Check exciting health conferences that will take place in upcoming months in Europe.**

<div className="image">![health conferences 2025](/images/healthcare_conference.png "health conferences 2025")</div>

## Radical Health Festival Helsinki & EHTEL Symposium

* **Date:** 19–21 January 2026  
* **City:** Helsinki, Finland  
* **Details:** Kick off the year in one of the world's most digitalized health ecosystems. This event brings together "bold thinkers" to discuss preventive care and the legislative future of health data in Europe.  
* **Link:** [radicalhealthfestival.messukeskus.com](https://radicalhealthfestival.messukeskus.com/)

## health.tech global summit

* **Date: 3–5 March 2026**  
* **City: Basel, Switzerland**  
* **Ticket pricing:** From CHF 999 (Startups/Academia) to CHF 1,800 (General/Investors) - (Early bird)  
* **Number of attendees:** 5,000+  
* **Keynote speakers:** Dr. Anthony Fauci (Former Director of NIAID), Tim Peake (Former ESA Astronaut), Hanna Boëthius (Founder, Hanna Diabetes Expert).  
* **Details:** Moving to the pharmaceutical hub of Basel for 2026, this summit is the premier meeting point for the "Pharma-meets-Tech" ecosystem, focusing on AI in drug discovery and personalized health.  
* **Link:** [health.tech](https://www.health.tech/)

## DMEA – Connecting Digital Health

* **Date:** 21–23 April 2026  
* **City:** Berlin, Germany  
* **Details:** Europe's largest event for health IT. If your focus is on hospital information systems (HIS), interoperability, or the "Smart Hospital," DMEA is an essential stop.  
* **Link:** [dmea.de](https://www.dmea.de/en/)

## The MedTech Forum 2026

* **Date:** 11–13 May 2026  
* **City:** Stockholm, Sweden  
* **Details:** Organized by MedTech Europe, this is the region’s largest conference for the medical technology industry, emphasizing regulatory updates, MDR compliance, and market access.  
* **Link:** [medtecheurope.org](https://www.medtecheurope.org/)

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='scale your HealthTech solution successfully' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Nearly 100 pages on leveraging technology in healthcare development, including reports, use cases, and technology tips, compiled into one PDF.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## **HIMSS26 European Health Conference & Exhibition**

* **Date:** 19–21 May 2026  
* **City:** Copenhagen, Denmark  
* **Speakers**: Elena Bonfiglioli (Microsoft), Leila Taghizadeh (Allianz), Mark Davies (IBM)  
* **Details:** The "gold standard" of digital health. The 2026 European edition moves to Copenhagen to explore clinical decision support, nursing delivery models, and AI trust.  
* **Link:** [himss.org/event-himss-europe](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.himss.org/event-himss-europe)

## **HLTH Europe 2026**

* **Date:** 15–18 June 2026  
* **City:** Amsterdam, Netherlands  
* **Number of attendees:** 5,000+  
* **Keynote speakers:** Alexandru-Florin Rogobete (Minister of Health Romania), Brenya Adjei (Managing Director, gematik), Björn Ekmehag (CEO, Skåne University Hospital)  
* **Details:** Known for its high-energy environment and festival-like atmosphere, HLTH Europe returns to Amsterdam to bridge the gap between global expertise and local European healthcare challenges. [Read our review of HLTH Europe 2024](/blog/hlth-amsterdam-2024-summary/).
* **Link:** [europe.hlth.com](https://europe.hlth.com/)

## **International Conference on AI in Healthcare (AIiH 2026)**

* **Date: 26–28 August 2026**  
* **City: London, UK**  
* **Keynote speakers:** Alex Frangi (University of Manchester), Mihaela van der Schaar (University of Cambridge), Michael Lones (Heriot-Watt University)  
* **Details:** A more academic-leaning conference for those looking to dive deep into medical data science and machine learning for diagnostics.  
* **Link: [aiih.cc](https://aiih.cc/)**

## **MEDICA**

* **Date: 16–19 November 2026**  
* **City: Düsseldorf, Germany**  
* **Details: The world's largest medical trade fair. Its "Connected Healthcare Forum" is the place to be for hardware and software manufacturers looking for global distribution.**  
* **Link:** [medica-tradefair.com](http://medica-tradefair.com)

## **Digital Health World Congress 2026**

* **Date:** 26–27 November 2026  
* **City:** London, UK  
* **Ticket pricing:** Early Bird from £495 (plus VAT) to £2,250 full price.  
* **Number of attendees:** 200  
* **Keynote speakers:** Paul Stevens (OMRON), Raj Modi (Oracle), Laura Rowlinson (NHS).  
* **Details:** A highly focused event looking at the future of IoT, genomics, and "Agentic AI" in the intelligent health system.  
* **Link:** [d](https://digitalhealthcareworldcongress.com/)[igitalhealthcareworldcongress.com](https://digitalhealthcareworldcongress.com/)

## Top Healthcare Podcasts to Listen to in 2026: Insights from the eHealth leaders

*Published: 2024-09-18 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-healthcare-podcasts/index.md*

**Podcasts have become a key source of knowledge and inspiration for professionals in the healthtech space. From keeping up with the latest trends to going deep into niche topics, healthtech podcasts offer valuable insights for anyone interested in the intersection of healthcare and technology. In conversations with healthtech leaders at the [HLTH Europe Conference in Amsterdam](https://europe.hlth.com/), several podcasts were mentioned as their go-to resources.**

## **Podcasts recommended by HealthTech Experts**

During the conference, various experts shared their top picks for healthtech podcasts:

<div className="image">![Guy Siman on podcast Huberman Lab](/images/baner_guy_quote_podcast.png "Guy Siman on podcast Huberman Lab")</div>

* [Hospitalogy](https://hospitalogy.com/) by Blake Madden and [Healthcare Huddle](https://www.healthcarehuddle.com/) by Jared Dashevsky were highly recommended by [Dr. Adam Brown](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambrownmdmba/), an emergency physician and healthtech leader. He values these podcasts for their **comprehensive coverage of financials, market movements, and healthcare trends**. As he mentioned, “Encouraging business leaders to think empathically and recognize the health connections in their policies is key.”
* [SomX Podcast by James Somauroo](https://www.jamessomauroo.com/) is a favorite of Claudia Pastides, Director of Medical Accuracy at [Flo Health.](https://flo.health/) She appreciates the podcast for its **insightful discussions on healthcare innovation**, where industry leaders go into the latest healthtech advancements and challenges.

<div className="image">![Claudia Pastides on Healthcare Podcasts](/images/baner_claudia_podcast.png "Claudia Pastides on Healthcare Podcasts")</div>

* [MedTech Talks and Device Talks](https://medtechmvp.com/media/medtech-talk-podcast) were mentioned by Guy Siman, co-founder of [Sensars](https://www.sensars.com/), as top resources for those interested in the medical device sector. Both podcasts provide **valuable perspectives on new technologies, regulatory hurdles, and market dynamics within the medtech field.**
* [A podcast led by Dr. Andrew Huberman](https://www.hubermanlab.com/) was also highlighted by Guy Siman for its focus in neuroscience, health, and wellness. It’s particularly **appreciated for its scientific approach** and practical health advice.

## Other must-listen HealthTech podcasts

In addition to the expert-recommended podcasts, there are several others widely recognized for their insightful content and engaging discussions:

* [Digital Health Today ](https://digitalhealthtoday.com/)features interviews with leaders and innovators in digital health, covering topics from **telehealth to AI and healthcare policy**. It’s a great resource for understanding the global digital health space.
* [StartUp Health NOW](https://healthpodcastnetwork.com/show/startup-health-now-podcast/) shares conversations with entrepreneurs and thought leaders driving change in digital health. This podcast is known for its **focus on mission-driven startups** and their journeys to transform healthcare.
* [Healthcare Rap](https://shiftforwardhealth.com/show/healthcare-rap/) offers a unique blend of healthcare marketing insights and digital innovation trends. It’s particularly engaging for those interested in **how digital health is transforming patient experiences** and healthcare delivery.
* [Faces of Digital Health](https://www.facesofdigitalhealth.com/) explores global perspectives on **digital health innovation and implementation**, providing insights into how different countries are adopting digital health and the challenges they face. Tjasa Zajc, the podcast creator, brings a unique blend of IT industry knowledge and journalistic expertise.

<div className="image">![Tjasa Zajc](/images/1690350804443.jpeg "Tjasa Zajc")</div>

*source: Tjasa Zajc LinkedIn profile*

* [The #HCBiz Show](https://thehcbiz.com/)! Its about the business side of healthcare, discussing innovation, policy changes, and the impact of digital health tools. It’s ideal for **breaking down complex topics in an understandable way.**
* [MedTech Talk Podcast](https://medtechmvp.com/media/medtech-talk-podcast) focuses on the **medtech industry**, covering topics like medical device startups, regulatory changes, and investment strategies.
* [Data Book](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/data-book/id1365789336), produced by Inside Digital Health, centers around data analytics, health IT, cybersecurity, and **the role of big data in healthcare**.
* [The Outcomes Rocket](https://outcomesrocket.health/) features interviews with healthcare leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs, d**iscussing ways to improve healthcare outcomes and delivery**.
* [Health Unchained](https://healthunchained.org/) focuses on **the intersection of blockchain and healthcare**, making it a must-listen for those interested in the future of decentralized healthcare systems.

  <EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore guidelines for HealthTech startup owners' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'From secure LLMs to app performance monitoring – dive into tech solutions that will help you scale your software for healthcare.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='healthtech guide' />

These podcasts cover a wide range of topics, from digital health innovations and healthcare policy to medtech advancements and data-driven healthcare. Whether you're a startup founder, healthcare provider, investor, or tech enthusiast, these podcasts provide valuable insights and perspectives to help go through the ever-evolving world of healthtech.

## How to Lose Respect and Fail as a Leader. 8 Things You Are Doing Wrong

*Published: 2025-12-12 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, teamwork, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-lose-respect-and-fail-as-a-leader-8-things-you-are-doing-wrong/index.md*

Leadership today is undergoing some transformation. The research in organisational psychology and management highlights a shift from traditional, top-down authority toward more dynamic, adaptive, and people-centric leadership models. According to [the studies by Harvard Business Review and McKinsey,](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/psychological-safety-and-the-critical-role-of-leadership-development) modern leaders must navigate in the rapidly changing environments, foster psychological safety, and balance business objectives with employee well-being.

Leaders are no longer just decision-makers, they are facilitators of collaboration, enablers of innovation, and architects of company culture. In the context of tech-driven industries, like in every other domains, **leadership requires not just technical expertise but also a deep understanding of human dynamics, team motivation, and continuous learning.**

Everyone has different expectations of leaders and managers, and we know that some expectations are not easily to be fulfilled. Yet there are also certain behaviors and traits that universally undermine effective leadership. **So rather than discussing how to become a great leader or manager (there are thousands of articles on that) let us focus on something less explored - the best ways to become bad one. 😉**

## ⛔️ **Believing you are superior to everyone else**

Believing you are superior to everyone else can be one of the biggest pitfalls in leadership. True leadership is not about positioning yourself above others, it is  about empowering those around you to thrive. **Effective leaders understand that their role is not to be the smartest or most skilled person in the room, but rather to create an environment where their team can perform at its best.**  

As Simon Sinek puts it ***“The greatest contribution of a leader is to make others leaders.”*** The research on servant leadership show that leaders who focus on the growth and well-being of their teams foster higher engagement, satisfaction, and performance. Similarly, [a Harvard Business Review study found that humble leaders who acknowledge their team’s strengths and contributions tend to build more innovative and high-performing organizations](https://hbr.org/2025/01/research-humble-leaders-inspire-others-to-step-up). 

Those who lead with humility, emotional intelligence, and a genuine desire to learn from others often drive the most sustainable success, which is not easy, and not for everyone. 

## ⛔️ **Knowing all the answers**

Leadership is not about having all the answers even though I myself once used to think it is. In fact, it is about creating an environment where the best ideas can surface. The management expert Peter Drucker once said that *“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”.* **I would say that the most important thing in communication is active listening to others.** Ignoring team members' ideas and dismissing others' input alienates a team and stifles innovation.

This highlights the need for leaders to go beyond their own opinions and truly engage with people in their teams. Leaders who listen effectively build trust and make better decisions. By embracing diverse perspectives, they not only avoid blind spots but also foster a culture where people feel valued and motivated to contribute. And let us face it -  there is almost always more than one answer to a question, and it does not have to be leader’s one.

## ⛔️ **Letting ego takes the credit**

[Humility in leadership fosters stronger connections and mutual respect](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/h-factor-in-leadership-do-we-really-need-it/). **Leadership isn not about personal glory, it is about elevating the entire team**. When leaders take all the credit, they may (and often they will) demotivate their team. Bad leaders do not create an environment where success is shared, they do not recognise individual and collective achievements. They are not ensuring that every team member feels valued.

**One day I realized that leadership is not about me - not about my title, my ego, or being in the spotlight. True leaders often work behind the scenes, creating space for others to shine.** Their impact is real, even if it goes unnoticed. Being a leader means letting go of personal recognition and focusing instead on enabling others to grow. It is about creating opportunities, removing obstacles, and quietly empowering those around you to succeed.

## ⛔️ **Spread negative vibe**

This attitude can be incredibly damaging to both a team and your work environment. **When you focus on spreading negative energy, whether it is through frustration, gossip, or constant complaints, it creates a toxic atmosphere that drags everyone down.** People start feeling demotivated, stressed, and less willing to engage, and that is when productivity and creativity suffer.

Energy is contagious. If you walk around the office (or hop on Google Meet) constantly pointing out what is wrong, you are not just venting, you are setting the tone. And trust me, it is not the tone of a winning team. It is the tone of eye rolls, silent meetings, and people updating their LinkedIn profiles at lunch. 😉 **Great leaders lift people up.** They do not ignore problems, but they help the team focus on solutions, keep conversations open, and support others in tackling challenges head-on.

## ⛔️ **Neglecting to give feedback**

One of the fastest ways to fail as a leader is to skip giving feedback. Without it people are like sailors without a compass who are floating around, hoping they are on the right track. 🚢 **Feedback is not just "nice to have”, it is oxygen for growth**. [According to Gallup, employees who receive regular feedback are 3.6 times more likely to be engaged at work.](https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/10/27/the-future-of-performance-getting-hooked-on-feedback/)

No feedback? No growth. No direction. No results. And let us be honest - no one wants to be the captain of a ship that is slowly sinking just because we were too polite (or too scared) to say, "Hey, maybe turn left a little."

## ⛔️ **Playing the blame game**

Sometimes I can see one pattern that always ends badly - when a leader cannot admit they made a mistake. It is not that they are bad people (I am quite sure about that), but most of them genuinely believed they were doing the right thing, yet when things went wrong  instead of saying “my bad” they pointed fingers.

Nothing makes a team lose motivation faster than seeing their leader dodge responsibility. **Accountability is a foundation for trust. If a leader cannot say “I messed up,” how can they expect their team to be open, honest, and brave enough to take smart risks?** Owning mistakes does not make you look weak. It makes you look like a human being, and someone people actually may want to follow.

## ⛔️ **Holding on too tight**

When you first step into a leadership role, it is tough to let go. It feels like handing over your baby to someone else and hoping they do not drop it. You may think: “No one can do it as well as I can.” or  “No one can do it as well and as fast as I can.”

But here is the kicker - they usually can and even if they cannot, it is usually not a problem.

At first it feels uncomfortable to share responsibilities, to delegate decisions, and to let others take the reins. It is the moment to have to admit that your way is not the only way. **But the secret is that the more you empower your team, the more they grow, and so do you.** **It is a win-win. The real challenge is not, however, letting go - it is realizing that doing so lets you do more of what you are really good at.** So, delegate smartly, trust your people, and watch everyone rise to the occasion.

## ⛔️ **Playing favorites**

**Favoritism is not just a bad manager’s habit - I would say it is a culture killer.**

It might begin subtly with assigning the most exciting tasks to the same person, overlooking small mistakes from one team member while holding others to a higher standard, or simply listening more attentively to those you personally connect with. You may not even notice you are doing it at first. But your team will.

When people feel the playing field is not level, morale drops and collaboration suffers. Even the "favorite" may sometimes suffers when placed under a spotlight they did not ask for which results in being isolated from the rest of the team.

Great leadership for me means fairness. **It means being aware of your own biases and making sure your behavior reflects your values, not your preferences. Everyone deserves to feel seen, heard, and given a fair chance to grow.**

## **What can you do if you recognise these traits in yourself?**

There are two ways:

### 1. Step away from leadership – it is not the path for everyone, and that is completely fine.

### 2. Start working on yourself - begin addressing the habits or behaviours holding you back. You can’t see them, ask people you work them - they for sure can. Growth takes time, consistency, and effort. There are no shortcuts.

Once I got a piece of advice that stuck with me: ***If you want to help others, start by helping yourself.*** 

In order to truly support, lead, or uplift others, you first need to be self-aware. **Clarity in yourself leads to clarity in relationships.** **When you understand your own patterns, triggers, and values, you lead with intention rather than impulse. It is a reminder that the path to serving others well begins with the courage to do the inner work first.**

## What Digital Product Passport Means for Global 2000 Manufacturers

*Published: 2025-12-11 | Author: izabela | Tags: business strategy*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/digital-product-passport-manufacturers/index.md*

**The European Union has shifted the burden of proof of sustainability from the marketing department to the IT department. Printing a green leaf on the packaging won’t be enough soon. You’ll need to prove it with data that every consumer will get access to. The regulation demands a Digital Product Passport (DPP) for nearly every physical good placed on the EU market.**

<div className="image">![Digital Product Passport - mockup example.](/images/gemini_generated_image_c361ryc361ryc361.png "Digital Product Passport - mockup example.")</div>

<center>AI-generated conceptual image.</center>

## What is a Digital Product Passport (DPP)?

A [Digital Product Passport (DPP)](https://data.europa.eu/en/news-events/news/eus-digital-product-passport-advancing-transparency-and-sustainability) is a digital record that acts as a "twin" to a physical product, securely accessible via a scan (QR code, NFC, or RFID).

It shows product's entire lifecycle, including:

* **Origin & Composition**: Where materials came from and what the product is made of (e.g., % of recycled content).  
* **Sustainability**: Carbon footprint and environmental impact.  
* **Circularity**: Instructions for repair, dismantling, and recycling.

## Digital product passport compliance deadlines

If your deadline is 2027, you might already be behind schedule.

| **Industry**             | **Hard Compliance Deadline** | **The "Data Reality"**                                                 |
| ------------------------ | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Batteries**            | Feb 18, 2027                 | Applies to all EV, LMT (e-bike), and industrial batteries >2kWh.       |
| **Textiles & Apparel**   | Mid-2027 / 2028              | Requires item-level traceability (likely RFID) for millions of SKUs.   |
| **Iron & Steel**         | 2027                         | Tracking "scrap input" vs. "virgin ore" ratios across blast furnaces.  |
| **Aluminum**             | ~2027                        | Treated as a priority intermediate product alongside steel.            |
| **Tyres**                | 2027                         | Moving from a sticker label to a full digital lifecycle record.        |
| **Furniture**            | 2028 / 2029                  | Complicated by multi-material composition (wood, foam, metal, fabric). |
| **Consumer Electronics** | 2029                         | Focus on "Right to Repair" metrics and critical raw material recovery. |

## What you actually have to build

You probably can’t just use a generic SaaS portal. Why? Because the data requirements for every industry vary and you need custom software that will answer to that. **Custom digital solutions don't just "generate a QR code”**, they dive deeper. Check some examples below.

### DPP for For Batteries

**The challenge**: Dynamic health monitoring.

**Required data**:

* **Static**: Manufacturing date, chemistry type (Li-ion, LFP), and hazardous substances.
* **Dynamic**: State of Health (SoH) data, expected cycle life, and "carbon footprint" calculated specifically for that manufacturing batch.

**The dev angle**: You need an API that can pull real-time BMS (Battery Management System) data and serialize it into the passport.

More information: [https://circulareconomy.europa.eu](https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/sites/default/files/2024-03/1qp5rxiZ-CEPS-InDepthAnalysis-2024-05_Implementing-the-EU-digital-battery-passport.pdf)

### DPP for Textiles

**The challenge**: Granularity.

**Required data**: Fiber composition (e.g., 60% Recycled Polyester, 40% Virgin Cotton), country of origin for each weaving/stitching stage, and presence of microplastics.

**The dev angle**: This is an RFID game. You cannot scan QR codes on 50,000 t-shirts manually. You need a solution that integrates with UHF RFID readers (like those from Zebra Technologies) to associate a unique digital ID with a physical garment in milliseconds.

## The "build vs. buy" reality check: Why enterprise needs custom architecture

### Reason 1: Adjusting to legacy code

SaaS platforms assume a "clean" world. They are built for modern environments, expecting your data to be neatly organized in cloud-native systems accessible via standard RESTful APIs.

**The reality**: Your enterprise data landscape is likely a stack built over decades. Are you juggling a 10-year-old warehouse system, a heavily customized on-premise ERP, and multiple siloed product lifecycle management (PLM) tools inherited from recent corporate acquisitions?

**The problem**: Generic SaaS tools hit a wall when facing this complexity. They cannot natively interpret proprietary database schemas, heavily modified logic (like custom stored procedures), or the "dirty data" discrepancies between your US and European divisions (e.g., metric vs. imperial inconsistencies). If the SaaS connector expects Field A, but your system uses Custom Field B, the integration fails.

**The custom solution**: A Bright Inventions we integrate your legacy or complex infrastructure with the modern web. We don't ask your systems to change, our goal is to maintain backward compatibility if needed. We extract, clean, and normalize the data before it ever hits the passport. This allows you to achieve EU compliance without triggering a multi-million dollar infrastructure overhaul.

### Reason 2: Less reliance on third-parties

When you sign up for a SaaS DPP vendor, you are effectively uploading your entire supply chain map – your Tier 2 suppliers, your exact chemical formulations, and your pricing structures – into a third-party's cloud.

**The risk**: You are renting your own data. If that vendor pivots, gets acquired by a competitor, or hikes their API pricing by 400%, you are held hostage. You cannot easily "export" a live, dynamic passport history to a new provider.

**The custom solution**: By building a custom solution you retain 100% data sovereignty. You own the graph database. You own the API keys. You decide exactly what is public (compliance data) and what is private (IP/Formulations), with no risk of a vendor peeking into your trade secrets.

### Reason 3: Turning Compliance into Customer Experience (CX)

A standard "compliance" passport is a boring static page that checks a box for the EU regulator. It is a cost center.

<div className="image">![Digital Product Passport - mockup example.](/images/gemini_generated_image_v3uox9v3uox9v3uo.png "Digital Product Passport - mockup example.")</div>

<center>AI-generated conceptual image.</center>

**The opportunity**: A custom passport is a post-purchase engagement channel.

**The custom solution**: Because we control the frontend experience (PWA or Native App), we can turn the "scan" into a revenue generator:

**One-click resale**: "Scan your jacket's tag to list it on our second-hand marketplace instantly."

**Predictive maintenance**: "Scan your e-bike battery to see its current health and book a service appointment."

**Authentication**: Luxury brands can use the passport to prove provenance, killing the counterfeit market.

**Loyalty**: "Scan your product to register the warranty and earn 500 points."

**The verdict:** **Don't build a digital passport just to avoid a fine. Build a digital passport to own your data and own your customer.**

## Relying on the right hardware

When it comes to supply chain visibility, Zebra Technologies is the undisputed global leader. From ruggedized mobile computers and barcode scanners to RFID readers and industrial printers, Zebra hardware powers the operations of the world’s largest manufacturers and logistics companies.

However, hardware is only half the equation. **As [Zebra Registered ISV Partner](https://www.zebra.com/pl/pl/partners/partner-application-locator/partner-details.html?id=0016S00003NQa9WQAT&viewType=nav) we possess deep experience in building custom applications specifically for Zebra devices.**

**Native optimization**: We build native solutions that fully leverage Zebra’s specialized scanning engines and rugged capabilities.

**Workflow integration**: We understand the specific UX constraints of a factory worker wearing gloves or a logistics driver in the rain. We design interfaces that are fast, high-contrast, and error-proof.

**Seamless connectivity**: We ensure that the data captured on the floor – whether via barcode or RFID –syncs instantly with your central middleware, ensuring your Digital Product Passport is updated in real-time.

By combining Zebra’s world-class durability with our custom software logic, we bridge the gap between the physical product and its digital twin.

## Does your company need Digital Product Passport solution?

Let's talk about your operational challenges. [Contact us](https://brightinventions.pl/start-project/) to book a meeting in 1 business day!

## Avoiding UX Traps: A Frontend Developer with a Passion for Product Design

*Published: 2025-12-05 | Author: krystian | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/frontend-developer-with-passion-for-product-design/index.md*

**With nearly two decades of experience in software development, Krystian’s journey has taken him from early web builds to becoming a frontend specialist. In this interview, Krystian shares how he builds strong partnerships with product designers to create better user experiences, and shares his candid reasons why team leadership wasn't a career path he found utmost rewarding.**

<div className="image">![Frontend developer's career story](/images/brightstorykrystiangrid.png "Frontend developer's career story")</div>

## Tell us more about the beginning of your career.

My interest in web development started when I was a teenager, building my first HTML sites. It led me to **study Computer Science and Econometrics**. I landed my first commercial job at a small software development agency. They were developing their own **CMS and building sites** on top of it. That was over **17 years ago**.

I stayed there for about two years before moving to an electronics distribution company. I started out with PHP there too, but eventually **pivoted to specializing in frontend** to support their e-commerce platform. We used Angular and had some legacy code, but for the new features, I was building in React. We also did a ton of SEO optimization.

After a few years, I took on my first management responsibilities, though leadership itself wasn’t my main driver. **My biggest satisfaction came from working with product designers** because I already felt confident knowing a lot of UX traps that product teams can get themselves into, so I wanted to help avoid that.

<div className="image">![Quote on satisfaction](/images/krystian_quote_satisfaction.png "Quote on satisfaction")</div>

## And how was this cooperation with product designers going?

At first it wasn't easy because, in many situations, **a developer has a chance to contribute to the design when it’s quite late** – the design is done, the backlog is full, and here comes the frontend developer having some suggestions. 

This was especially hard when many people in the team already felt quite attached to the design. That was something that took time to develop – this relationship with designers and **including me, a developer, earlier in the process** with some feedback at brainstorming or mockup stages. We slowly moved to that, so I felt I could also contribute and there was no bad blood with the designers.

## You mentioned that the team leader role wasn't the most rewarding path for you. Why?

Although I got pretty positive feedback from my team members, I’m truly not sure if I could be a good leader when challenges arise. I managed a really great team full of professionals eager to do the job well. But **what if I encountered a demotivated team?** I’m not sure if I would know how to handle that. I’m not comfortable giving corrective feedback. I am also not sure if I am assertive enough, or if I could handle conflict – I’d rather avoid it. So I guess I lack lots of traits that a leader should have.

## Leaders aren’t necessarily born with these traits. Maybe you could still improve in these areas?

Maybe, yes. Naturally, there were areas of leadership I cherished, such as getting the chance to cooperate with other departments, and bringing different worlds together to build a digital product. Also, as I said, I really liked working with the team I had. I just think **I wasn't tested in harder scenarios** where I would need to step out of my comfort zone.

## What perspective can a frontend developer bring to product design?

One example is that developers should remind the team that an **interface will be visible on very different devices, especially on mobile**. We should remember about protective zones for clickable elements. A frontend developer should always have in mind how each element will behave on mobile with small and bigger resolutions. From my experience, **people tend to treat design as something static**, but it changes according to devices, and that’s something a frontend developer should put stress on.

Also, adding an extra voice to the conversation (like a developer’s) might help to sometimes go beyond the rules for the user's benefit.

<div className="image">![Quote on design](/images/krystian_quote_design.png "Quote on design")</div>

## What do you mean by that?

I once read about [Formula 1 teams helping to optimize the space in surgery rooms](https://surgery.international/f1-racing-on-track-to-help-surgical-teams/). When the driver goes into the pit bay, everyone from the team is placed for maximum optimization so the driver can leave as fast as possible. This precision is something of value for hospitals as well.

I think that naturally, we should follow the rules, like we all know that a hamburger menu must be on mobile, and a shopping cart should have a cart icon and probably be on the right side of the page. But sometimes, **we still need to bend the rules, just like they started to challenge the status quo in that special hospital environment to make it more efficient**.

For example, if we see from data that users are scrolling to a feature which is far down, or maybe they need to visit a few pages to get to it, maybe it’s a sign to put it high up on the homepage to make it more accessible. Even if this feature might not make sense on the homepage at first sight. If it gives value to users and is popular, we might as well go for it. **The hierarchy of information is one thing, but convenience is another**.

Frontend developers can’t bring Formula 1 driver experience, but they can add a unique perspective to the table in product teams.

## How do you feel at Bright Inventions?

I’ve had the chance to build quite a range of products, and right now I’m working on a solution for the tourism industry. Although the web is still closest to me, I learned React Native here, and **this flexibility regarding tools, product and responsibilities suits me**. 

I am particularly happy that my recent project just reached a stage close to my heart, where we are working on the user experience for the web solution. I love contributing to that, working side by side with the product designer. We are at a stage where **we work with mutual trust, sharing our ideas and suggestions**, and I love that I get to build relationships like this at Bright Inventions.

<div className="image">![At the Bright Inventions’ Gdansk office.](/images/krystian_pies.png "At the Bright Inventions’ Gdansk office.")</div>

<center> At the Bright Inventions’ Gdansk office. </center>

## Did you enjoy our rainy sailing during the recent team retreat?

Yes, very much. **I was actually hoping for a stronger wind** so it would toss the sailboats around more. You know, a little more endorphins wouldn’t hurt anyone and would definitely help us bond even more.

<div className="image">![Rainy sailing team retreat.](/images/krystian_sailing.png "Rainy sailing team retreat.")</div>

<center> Rainy sailing team retreat. </center>

## But there was even a storm at some point? It wasn’t enough for you?

I guess my expectations were even higher. 😁

## Your First iOS CI Pipeline in Azure DevOps

*Published: 2025-11-13 | Author: tomasz-l | Tags: iOS, Tools, CI/CD*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/index.md*

**In this article I will guide you through creation of your first CI pipeline using Azure DevOps Platform.**

Since I wrote my first test and run it on CI pipeline in one of my past projects I got hooked on the concept of Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD). From that moment I tried to dip my fingers into sauce of automation whenever I could. Since then I have maintained and created many such CI/CD pipelines. Recently I got opportunity to prepare yet another one - this time in Azure DevOps and to my surprise it was really great experience. 

I will not go deeper into the details of scripting side to build and test your code. Instead you can checkout article series form my colleague Artur who does just that:
- [Build and Run iOS App Tests Locally with Fastlane](/blog/building-running-ios-app-test-locally-fastlane/)
- [Upload iOS App to TestFlight with GitHub Actions and Fastlane Match](/blog/ios-testflight-github-actions-fastlane-match/)
- [Build and Run iOS App Tests with GitHub Actions](/blog/ios-build-run-tests-github-actions/)

## TL;DR
Sorry, no sensible TL;DR today... You've come pretty far already though! If you are in a real rush however go and checkout [example CI pipeline](/blog/ai-agents-comparison-from-ios-dev-perspective/#summary).

## Yaml, yaml everywhere

<center>
![Yaml everywhere meme](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/yaml-everywhere-meme.webp "Yaml everywhere meme")
</center>

Similarly to other CI/CD infrastructure providers like GitHub actions, Bitrise, TeamCity... Azure DevOps uses Yaml to define pipelines which creates our CI/CD setup. For creating such pipelines You may find [YAML schema reference for Azure Pipelines](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/yaml-schema/?view=azure-pipelines) to be a very handy link. In contrast to GitHub Actions - You don't need to have pipeline present on default repository branch. You need to however define it in the Azure DevOps UI. If one wishes - pipeline can be also fully "clicked through" in UI using "classic editor" however it seems not to be recommended way. I also feel that most developers would still prefer better control over pipeline by creating and maintaining YAML files themselves (at least I do).

## Creating the pipeline
As stated above - all pipelines in Azure DevOps needs to be defined in UI. We will do just that and end up with yaml starter we will later on modify so it becomes actual CI pipeline.
Firstly go to Your Azure DevOps Project, then navigate to: **Pipelines -> Pipelines** and click on `New pipeline` button in the top right corner.

<center>
![Create new pipeline](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/new-pipeline-create.webp "Create new pipeline")
</center>

On the next screen you will ve prompted to choose where your source code resides. This tutorial covers however only case for code hosted in Azure Repos so lets select this option. It is still possible to connect our pipeline with external sources like GitHub or BitBucket or any arbitrary Git repository as well as Subversion. You may be missing some features and conveniences though...

<center>
![Connect source for codebase](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/new-pipeline-connect-source-host.webp "Connect source for codebase")
</center>

Now you have to select repository for which pipeline is being created. In my case this is repo for our iOS application.

<center>
![Select repository for pipeline](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/new-pipeline-select-repo.webp "Select repository for pipeline")
</center>

I hope in previous step you have selected repository with iOS source code. If you did just that then you will be presented with customized options including template based on [Xcode v5 task](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/tasks/reference/xcode-v5?view=azure-pipelines). Personally I do not like such deep vendor lock-in but you can select it to see how it looks. We will modify this file later on nevertheless 😃

<center>
![Pipeline templates](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/new-pipeline-template.webp "Pipeline templates")
</center>

Now important part! Before you save your pipeline please checkout its path and name. Not only is it vague with generic name `azure-pipelines.yml` but also resides in project root...

<center>
![This is fine meme](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/it-is-fine-meme.webp "This is fine meme")
</center>

We are good developers, we like order and verbosity! Lets rename that fella and put it somewhere nice and cozy. You may already be familiar with dot directories convention like `.github`, `.vscode` or  `.ssh`. Taking that as an example I have put all my pipelines and related "code" inside `.azure` folder which nicely separates vendor specific files in a single hidden directory. To achieve the same just click name of the pipeline and edit its name and path - folders will be created for us during save.

<center>
![Rename pipeline](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/new-pipeline-rename.webp "Rename pipeline")
![Renamed pipeline](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/new-pipeline-renamed.webp "Renamed pipeline")
</center>

Yes, now we finally save (you can either select Save and run or just save using option from dropdown). We are not done however!

<center>
![Save pipeline](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/new-pipeline-save.webp "Save pipeline")
</center>

At this stage I will recommend you to create separate branch where you can work on actual pipeline implementation in your editor of choice.

<center>
![Save pipeline options](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/new-pipeline-save-options.webp "Save pipeline options")
</center>

## Dial it in
Depending on your initial selection you will have pipeline which is probably not fully functional yet. We need to work on actual YAML to make it work. Lets break down building blocks of such pipeline.

### Pipeline triggers
In the example pipeline you can spot trigger keyword as the first element of the pipeline yaml definition.

```YAML
trigger:
- main
```

Such trigger will run our pipeline for push events happening on `main` branch. We can also specify triggering `paths` in the project, whether to `batch` runs and what `tags` should trigger a run. See [trigger definition](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/yaml-schema/trigger?view=azure-pipelines) for more details on that.

What is missing here however is pull request trigger. 

If you only want to trigger CI as part of pull request quality gate check and don't want it to run otherwise - you need to explicitly disable it. You can do that either with `none` option in each pipeline:

```YAML
trigger: none
```

Alternatively you can `Disable implied YAML CI trigger` in your project settings (Azure DevOps -> Project Settings -> Pipelines -> Settings) or at organization level.

<center>
![Implied YAML trigger option](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/implied-YAML-trigger.webp "Implied YAML trigger option")
</center>

### Runner environment
Second item in template pipeline is agent `pool` which states where our pipeline will be run. If we choose to use [Microsoft hosted](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/hosted?view=azure-devops&tabs=windows-images%2Cyaml#software) agents we can choose from `windows`, `ubuntu` and `macOS` virtual machines. Since we are creating CI for iOS project there is no much choice: we need mac OS in order to build project with xcode(build). You can either specify specific OS version like `macOS-15` or `macOS-14` or go with default choice using `macOS-latest`. Keep in mind however that `macOS-latest` won't actually be latest version of mac OS operating system available on the market. 

Since we want to use microsoft hosted agents we will use `vmImage` option specifying VM version to run our pipeline.

```YAML
pool:
  vmImage: "macOS-latest"
```

You can check [pool definition](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/yaml-schema/pool?view=azure-pipelines) to learn about more details.

### Can we do something finally?
Now is the main sauce of the pipeline: `steps`. Steps allow us to specify sequential operations that will be made on a single runner. Azure DevOps allows us to organize our pipelines into stages where each stage can contain multiple jobs and each job is build out of `steps`. Stages and jobs execute concurrently on separate runners whereas steps runs sequentially on a single runner. In this tutorial we won't be considering those higher levels of pipeline hierarchy and will focus solely on steps. You may read about those in future article 😉 

There are multiple types of steps that we can perform. From perspective of iOS CI creation most important are: `checkout`, `task` and `script`. Other interesting type that may be useful but not described in this tutorial is `template`. You can read more about other available step types in [steps definition](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/yaml-schema/steps?view=azure-pipelines).

So first things first - we need to fetch our source code - as you can imagine we do so with `checkout` step:

```YAML
steps:
- checkout: self
  fetchDepth: 1
  lfs: true
```
If not provided checkout will be performed implicitly with self parameter for all jobs besides `deployment` one. When we define pipeline with just steps we implicitly have single job and this job will implicitly run checkout for us if not defined.

When we have access to the source code we can finally do something fun, here is where `task` and `script` comes into play. 
At this stage you might be interested in [Cache@2](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/tasks/reference/cache-v2?view=azure-pipelines) task that automatically saves and restores cache based on provided keys and paths. I have one for bundler:

```YAML
parameters:
  - name: BUNDLER_PATH
    type: string
    default: vendor/bundle

steps:
  - task: Cache@2
    displayName: Cache Bundler gems
    inputs:
      key: 'bundler | "$(Agent.OS)" | "$(ImageVersion)" | Gemfile.lock'
      restoreKeys: |
        bundler | "$(Agent.OS)" | "$(ImageVersion)"
        bundler | "$(Agent.OS)"
      path: ${{ parameters.BUNDLER_PATH }}
```
In the snippet above I specify to cache files found in `vendor.bundle` folder which is same path I provide to bundler during install command. Later you can find key which consist of multiple elements: prefix (bundler) to distinguish it from other caches, OS version and runner image version explicitly specified as string and `Gemfile.lock`. Last part is the most important one. Specifying it like above is actually parsed as file path and that file is being hashed. If file changes then hash changes as well - that way we can tell if there is exact match for cached bundle or not. In case there is no exact match for cache found we use `restoreKeys` to find "nearest" cache best matching our current run. This is why we can provide multiple restoreKeys.

If you are like me and like to hold control, then `scripts` will take us from here. With scripts you can do basically anything that can be done in commandline (keeping in mind lack of interactivity - you cannot type password on CI runner).

We can for example add missing part to the Cache task above which is actually install bundle:

```YAML
[...]
steps:
  [...]
  - script: "bundle install --path ${{ parameters.BUNDLER_PATH }}"
    displayName: Install Bundler dependencies
```

If you use fastlane, you could run unit tests using `scan` command, it will be as simple as defining it as `steps.script` like one below:

```YAML
[...]
steps:
  [...]
  - script: fastlane scan
    displayName: Run unit tests with fastlane scan
```

### Trigger CI run for PRs
So we created pipeline from our building blocks - now how to run it on Pull Requests? And how to make it a mandatory check before merge is allowed? You guessed it - project settings 😅

Navigate to **Project Settings -> Repos -> Repositories -> your-repository -> Policies**, then select target branch for which you would like to apply branch policy (CI check for pull request). Typically it will be your default branch (eg `main` or `develop`). After selecting branch you will see branch specific settings - scroll to bottom and add new `Build Validation`. Here you can select pipeline together with additional on how it should be enforced.

<center>
![Build validation settings](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/build-validation.webp "Build validation settings")
</center>

## Example CI pipeline
Right now we have all we needed to create fully functional CI pipeline:
- Defined pipeline in Azure DevOps
- Created YAML definition for pipeline
- Learn basic keywords to create CI pipeline in YAML

Project I have worked on is using fastlane for automations (both CI and CD) which version is managed with bundler. Additionally it is using Cocoapods for dependency management (yeah, I know what year we have 🙈). Besides that I was still observing random slowdowns due to simulator bugs hence additional helper tools are being setup to combat that and speedup builds. Here is full pipeline:

```YAML
trigger: none

pool:
  vmImage: "macOS-15"

parameters:
  - name: XCODE_VERSION
    type: string
    default: 26.1
  - name: BUNDLER_PATH
    type: string
    default: vendor/bundle
  - name: KILL_APSD
    type: boolean
    default: true
    displayName: Kill apsd process

steps:
  - script: sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode_${{ parameters.XCODE_VERSION }}.app
    displayName: Sets Xcode version to ${{ parameters.XCODE_VERSION }}

  - task: Cache@2
    displayName: Cache Bundler gems
    inputs:
      key: 'bundler | "$(Agent.OS)" | "$(ImageVersion)" | Gemfile.lock'
      restoreKeys: |
        bundler | "$(Agent.OS)" | "$(ImageVersion)"
        bundler | "$(Agent.OS)"
      path: ${{ parameters.BUNDLER_PATH }}

  - script: "bundle install --path ${{ parameters.BUNDLER_PATH }}"
    displayName: Install Bundler dependencies

  - task: Cache@2
    displayName: Cache Pods
    inputs:
      key: 'pods | "$(Agent.OS)" | "$(ImageVersion)" | "${{ parameters.XCODE_VERSION }}" | Podfile.lock'
      restoreKeys: |
        pods | "$(Agent.OS)" | "$(ImageVersion)" | "${{ parameters.XCODE_VERSION }}"
        pods | "$(Agent.OS)" | "$(ImageVersion)"
        pods | "$(Agent.OS)"
      path: "$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Pods"

  - script: bundle exec pod install
    displayName: Install Cocoapods dependencies

  - script: |
        wget https://github.com/biscuitehh/yeetd/releases/download/1.0/yeetd-normal.pkg
        sudo installer -pkg yeetd-normal.pkg -target /
        defaults write dev.biscuit.yeetd killapsd ${{ parameters.KILL_APSD }}
        yeetd &
    displayName: Install and run Yeetd
    
  - script: bundle exec fastlane pr_check
    displayName: Build and run tests
```

And here is how I call such pipeline from within **Azure project -> Pipelines -> your-pipeline -> run**

<center>
![Run pipeline maually](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/run-pipeline-manualy.webp "Run pipeline maually")
![Run pipeline maually options](/images/first-ios-ci-in-azure-devops/run-pipeline-manualy-config.webp "Run pipeline maually options")
</center>

## One more thing
I lied... Snippet above is not my real pipeline file. Instead I went crazy with previously mentioned template and here is how it actually looks:

```YAML
trigger: none

pool:
  vmImage: "macOS-15"

variables:
  - template: variables/xcode-version.yml

steps:
  - template: templates/setup/project-steps.yml
  - template: templates/convenience/yeetd-step.yml
  - script: bundle exec fastlane pr_check
    displayName: Build and run tests
```

I will be sharing details on that as well as how to create CD pipeline in future article so stay tuned and experiment in the meantime.

## Final thoughts

In the early days of my career I was having visceral thoughts about different infrastructure providers. Back in the day GitLab CI was my favorite and none other could come close. With time, experience and evolution of tools it faded away. I still had inner thoughts that Azure Devops may be rubbish yet I knew it is the best choice to stick with common approach in a bigger organization for which I prepared this setup.

This does not necessarily mean that one should always use tools that particular organization use - it is always context dependent. In a small stable team it will be much more important for the team members to be familiar with tools they use. If developer experience is at proper level then satisfaction of work will be respectively higher as well.

So yes - I liked it - it works just like any other CI/CD infrastructure. And it is deeply and neatly integrated in whole infrastructure we use for that project and it was incredibly simple to set up. Also I liked templating a lot, but more on that later...

## Why JS Math Doesn’t Math?

*Published: 2025-11-13 | Author: rafal-op | Tags: frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/why-js-math-does-not-math/index.md*

**In this article, we’ll explore why JavaScript’s floating-point calculations behave the way they do, and what’s really going on under the hood.**

This post has two parts. The first (this one) gives a high-level overview of floating-point arithmetic in JavaScript. The second dives into the low-level mechanics and calculations, so you can see exactly what happens behind the scenes.

<div className="image">![JavaScript math](/images/blogpost_blog_js_math_image.png "JavaScript math")</div>

## Is JavaScript broken?

You’ve probably heard people say that JavaScript is a “broken” language and sometimes it really seems that way. One of the most famous examples is how JavaScript handles floating-point arithmetic. Adding simple numbers can produce strange, unexpected results. It’s funny, but the truth is, this isn’t actually JavaScript’s fault. The behavior comes from the number system it’s built on - a specification shared across many programming languages.

## JS’s math don’t maths

Let’s debunk a famous myth. Try adding 0.1 and 0.2 in JavaScript. You’d expect 0.3, right? Instead, you get `0.30000000000000004`. Even this simple calculation seems to confuse JS!
*„JS floating-point numbers system is broken”*

## Counting in Binary

At their core, computers only understand binary, a language of 0s and 1s. To perform calculations, we first need to represent our numbers in this form. If you’re not interested in the details of the conversion process (see the section below), here are the binary approximations for our example numbers:

`0.1 - 0.0001 1001 1001 1001…`

`0.2 - 0.0011 0011 0011 0011…`

### Bonus. How to convert decimal values into binary

If you’re not into the technical details, you can skip this part—but it’s actually quite simple and can be useful. To convert a fraction to binary, all you need to do is multiply it by 2. If the result is greater than or equal to 1, you write a binary 1 for that step; otherwise, it’s 0. Then, if you wrote 1, subtract 1 from the result and repeat:

1. `0.1 * 2 = 0.2  → binary 0`
2. `0.2 * 2 = 0.4  → binary 0`
3. `0.4 * 2 = 0.8  → binary 0`
4. `0.8 * 2 = 1.6  → binary 1`
5. `(1.6 - 1) * 2 = 0.6 * 2 = 1.2 → binary 1`
6. `(1.2 - 1) * 2 = 0.2 * 2 = 0.4 → binary 0`
7. `0.4 * 2 = 0.8 → binary 0`
8. `0.8 * 2 = 1.6 → binary 1`
9. `…`

As you can see, the process starts repeating the same numbers — and that’s totally normal. Later, I’ll explain how we handle numbers like this. By the way, you can also get the same result in JavaScript using:\
*(0.1).toString(2)*

### Infinitely repeating binary fractions

Floating-point numbers like 0.1 and 0.2 are **infinitely repeating binary fractions**. What does that mean? When you try to convert 0.1 into binary, the digits enter an endless loop, they repeat forever. This proves that some decimal numbers simply cannot be represented exactly in binary. We can only store an approximation. So, how does JavaScript handle these numbers anyway?

## IEEE math

JavaScript [uses](https://262.ecma-international.org/16.0/index.html?_gl=1*14nfdzv*_ga*MTM1MjExMjkxMC4xNzYwNjk4MDcy*_ga_TDCK4DWEPP*czE3NjA2OTgwNzEkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjA2OTgwOTgkajMzJGwwJGgw#sec-ecmascript-language-types-number-type) 64-bit double-precision floating-point numbers, following the IEEE 754 standard (first version defined in 1985). This standard isn’t unique to JavaScript, it’s also used in many other languages like Python, Kotlin, C#, and more. (Try the same calculation in one of those languages, you might be surprised by the results!) The IEEE 754 standard lets computers represent repeating decimal numbers, like 0.1 and 0.2, using finite binary approximations. But how does it actually do that?

### IEEE-754 binary format

The IEEE-754 standard defines how computers handle decimal number calculations. It requires numbers to be converted into a specific binary-like format. Without diving into all the details (which I’ll cover in an upcoming post), the key point is that IEEE-754 uses a finite representation. This means it won’t exactly match the “ideal” binary results we saw earlier for 0.1 and 0.2. 

For example, the IEEE-754 values for our numbers are:
`0.1 → 0 01111111011 1001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011010
(in decimal: 0.100000001490116119384765625)`

`0.2 → 0 01111111100 1001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011010
(in decimal: 0.20000000298023223876953125)`

Adding these two values gives:
`0.100000001490116119384765625 + 0.20000000298023223876953125`

And that’s why we get the “unexpected” result! If you’re curious about how these IEEE binaries are actually created, hang tight, I’ll go through the full process in the next post. For now, just trust these values.

## What's next

Now you know why JavaScript sometimes “can’t math” and how floating-point numbers are stored behind the scenes. In the next post, we’ll dig deeper into the actual calculations and see exactly how these tiny rounding quirks happen. Stay tuned!

Read more:

1. [To ‘b’ or Not to ‘b’: The Semantic Status of HTML ‘b’ Tag](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/)  
2. [Understanding the Hoisting Behavior of let and const](/blog/let-const-hoisting/)  
3. [JavaScript Types De-Objectified](/blog/javascript-types-deobjectified/)  
4. [Eye on ‘i’ — Understanding ‘i’ as a Semantic Element](/blog/understanding-i-as-semantic-element/)  
5. [Breaking Down the “alt” Attribute Myth in img Tag Best Practices](/blog/breaking-down-alt-attribute/)  
6. [The Truth About Keys and Re-Renders in React](/blog/keys-and-re-renders-in-react/)  
7. [React Context and why not every child throws a re-render party](/blog/react-context-rerenders/)

## Using Transactional Analysis to Improve Feedback and Team Communication

*Published: 2025-11-04 | Author: ula | Tags: communication, feedback, leadership*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/using-transactional-analysis-to-improve-feedback-and-team-communication/index.md*

Providing effective feedback needs both skills and knowledge. While it may seem like just a conversation, the way we give and receive feedback often reflects deeper psychological patterns in communication. **Transactional Analysis (TA) is about understanding the dynamics between individuals by recognizing the roles we unconsciously adopt during conversations.**

Developed by Dr. Eric Berne in the late 1950s, TA is a psychological theory and therapeutic approach centered on improving interpersonal communication and behavior. **Are we speaking from a place of authority? Engaging empathetically as equals? Or perhaps unconsciously slipping into defensive behavior? Recognizing these dynamics is crucial, especially in feedback scenarios.**

In the context of feedback, these dynamics can determine whether our message fosters growth, creates friction, or misses the mark entirely. Transactional Analysis offers insights and tools to help us approach feedback conversations with clarity, confidence, and empathy. According to TA, people develop life scripts or unconscious life plans, which influence their behaviors and interactions throughout life. Understanding and altering these scripts can lead to healthier relationships and personal growth.

## **transactional analysis - ego states**

**Transactional Analysis posits that individuals operate from three distinct ego states: Parent, Adult, and Child.** The Parent state is derived from external influences and authority figures (often your own parents), the Adult state processes information objectively and is focused on facts and the presence, and the Child state encompasses our internal feelings and experiences from childhood. Dr. Eric Berne identified them as following:

**1. Parent**

* **Critical Parent:** Behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that mimic those of our authority figures (parents, teachers) when we were young. This state can be controlling, judgmental, and critical.
* **Nurturing Parent:** This aspect is caring, supportive, and protective, offering comfort and nurturing similar to a loving parent.

**2. Adult**

* This state is rational, objective, and data-driven. The Adult ego state processes information logically and responds to the "here and now" rather than being influenced by past experiences or emotions. It is the state that deals with reality and problem-solving.

**3. Child**

* **Natural Child:** This part is spontaneous, creative, and intuitive. It reflects our natural desires, emotions, and creativity.
* **Adapted Child:** This reflects behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that have been adapted in response to the environment, such as compliance, rebellion, or submission, often shaped by early experiences and societal expectations.

## **imbalance and communication consequences**

Each ego state serves a purpose, and a healthy balance between them is crucial for effective communication and relationships. When one dominates disproportionately, it can lead to various negative consequences, and undermines a productive dialogue.

### 🚨 Dominance of the Parent State

When the Critical Parent dominates, communication can become either overly judgmental or condescending, discouraging others from sharing their views, or rigid, where ideas are dismissed without discussion, creating tension or resentment. On the other hand, if the nurturing parent dominate,  it may result in excessive caretaking, reducing accountability and autonomy in others. It may also encourage dependency, or undermine others' growth and problem-solving abilities.

### 🚨Dominance of the Child State

If the Adapted Child dominates, communication might become submissive, with constant deferral to others' opinions. It may lead to avoidance of responsibility and inability to assert needs. If the Free Child dominates, interactions may seem impulsive, overly emotional, or detached from consequences. There’s a risk of appearing unreliable or failing to address serious matters effectively.

### 🚨 Dominance of the Adult State

The Adult ego state is logical, rational, and fact-driven, focused on objective reality. However, even dominance here can have negative consequences such as overemphasis on logic leading to making communication feel cold or transactional, or ignoring emotions and intuition particularly in situations requiring sensitivity or creativity.

**Effective communication and feedback requires fluidity, using the Parent for care or guidance, the Adult for rational problem-solving, and the Child for creativity and connection.** A lack of balance diminishes these possibilities, emphasizing the need for self-awareness and intentional shifts between states depending on the context.

## **TA’s life positions in feedback**

In Transactional Analysis (TA), there is also a concept of life positions such as *"I’m OK, you’re OK”,* which profoundly affects how feedback is given, received, and processed. These positions represent our underlying attitudes towards ourselves and others in communication and relationships. Here's how they influence feedback dynamics:

### I’m OK 😊, You’re OK 😊

This position reflects mutual respect and self-worth, fostering constructive and growth-oriented feedback exchanges. Feedback is provided with empathy and clarity, focusing on behaviors rather than personal judgments. The giver assumes the receiver can learn, grow, and improve, encouraging engagement rather than defensiveness. The receiver sees feedback as an opportunity for growth rather than a personal attack. They acknowledge their value while appreciating the other's positive intentions, making it easier to process and act upon feedback.

### I’m OK 😊, You’re Not OK 😒

This position is critical and judgmental, often leading to feedback that feels harsh or condescending. The giver may come across as superior, focusing more on finding faults than offering solutions. This risks undermining the receiver’s confidence and fostering resentment or disengagement. If feedback aligns with this mindset, the receiver might resist it entirely, thinking, *“They just don’t understand me.”* Alternatively, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy and discouragement.

### I’m Not OK 😒 , You’re OK 😊

This position reflects self-doubt, often making feedback exchanges ineffective. The giver may downplay their feedback, lack confidence in their insights, or apologize unnecessarily. The message becomes diluted, leaving the receiver unclear about what to address or change. Feedback is seen as validation of self-doubt, reinforcing insecurity or passivity. The receiver might avoid acting on feedback, thinking they lack the ability to improve.

### I’m Not OK 😒, You’re Not OK 😒

This position is deeply pessimistic and often results in ineffective or negative communication. Feedback may seem hopeless or cynical, framed as, *“Nothing ever changes anyway.”* The giver may project their frustrations, leaving the receiver feeling attacked or unmotivated. The receiver might dismiss the feedback entirely, believing nothing they do will ever be good enough. This leads to disengagement and a lack of improvement.

**The *“I’m OK, you’re OK”* position enables productive, respectful, and empowering feedback exchanges. It creates an environment of trust and mutual understanding, where both parties feel valued and are open to growth. By maintaining this position, we frame feedback as a dialogue rather than a confrontation.** It helps bridge gaps, encouraging positive outcomes and long-term improvements for individuals and teams alike.

## **how to make the most of TA in feedback processing**

Transactional Analysis aims to help individuals gain insights into their behaviors and interactions, enabling them to improve communication, resolve conflicts, and enhance personal and professional relationships. You can effectively integrate it into your feedback process. Whether It is identifying emotional triggers, adjusting your communication style, or steering the conversation towards solutions, below I am including some tips that may help you handle feedback moments with confidence and clarity.

### 🧠 identify your own ego state

Start with self-awareness and before giving feedback, ensure you are communicating from an Adult state - calm, composed, and logical. This sets the tone for constructive dialogue. The fact-based communication helps you avoid emotional reactions or judgment.

### 🧠 avoid communication in Critical Parent and Adapted Child dynamics

These can lead to defensiveness and resistance from the recipient.

**Example:**

Instead of saying, *"You never finish your tasks on time."* (Critical Parent - Adapted Child), reframe to:

*"I noticed the last three projects were completed after the deadline. What can we do to improve planning?"* (Adult - Adult).

Avoid authoritative commands or condescension (Critical Parent). Use neutral, respectful language to maintain balance.

### 🧠 try to analyse the recipient’s ego state

Assess (keeping in mind you might still misread their state) if they are in Parent, Adult, or Child mode. If they show emotional defensiveness (Child), show support through Nurturing Parent communication, but transition back to an Adult-Adult dialogue to address the issue.

**Example:**

**Nurturing Parent:** *"I understand how frustrating it can be when deadlines feel overwhelming. Let’s figure out a way to prevent this."*

**Adult:** *"What actions can we take to better manage our time?"*

### 🧠 invite collaboration

Use questions like, *“How do you think we can improve this?”* or *“What resources might help?”.* This approach reflects the life position *“I’m OK, you’re OK”* by signaling mutual respect and equality in the conversation. **It fosters an Adult-Adult exchange, emphasizing that both parties are capable, responsible, and committed to finding constructive solutions together.** This life position builds trust and empowers the recipient to take ownership of the next steps.

### 🧠  provide support but encourage autonomy

If emotions surface, show understanding, but guide the conversation toward actionable solutions rather than dwelling on frustrations. For example, *“I understand this situation has been challenging, and it’s completely valid to feel that way.”* This reflects the *“I’m OK, you’re OK”* life position, reinforcing that their feelings are acknowledged without judgment. However, it’s essential to guide the conversation toward actionable solutions to maintain progress and focus. For instance, you might say, *“Let’s think about what steps we can take to move forward and address this effectively.”*

### **summary** 

By consciously applying Transactional Analysis (TA), feedback can become a healthy routine in the workplace. Feedback delivered through the lens of TA doesn’t just help address performance or behavior, it builds trust, enhances relationships, and fosters personal growth. TA creates an environment where feedback is not feared but welcomed as an opportunity to learn and evolve. **Eric Berne once said that *“the destiny of every human being is decided by what goes on inside his skull when confronted with what goes on outside his skull.”* Through TA, we can better understand these inner dialogues, enabling feedback to be not just a critique but an empowering catalyst for change.**

#### Transactional Analysis is a fascinating and complex framework, and this article only touches the surface. If something here sparked your curiosity, take it as a sign to dig deeper. It’s definitely worth it. ❤️

## Got a ConnectivityException Crash? Read How to Solve It

*Published: 2025-10-17 | Author: szymek | Tags: Android, WorkManager*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/android-connectivity-exception-too-many-requests/index.md*

**Have you seen the `ConnectivityException$TooManyRequests` exception in your Crashlytics dashboard? Perhaps you have noticed `WorkManager` as well? Don’t throw any stones yet! It might be something else that is causing it.**

<center>
  <div className="image">
![ConnectivityException in Android](/images/android-connectivity-exception-too-many-requests.jpg "ConnectivityException in Android")
  </div>
</center>

## Why is it crashing?

Android has implemented a protective measure against memory leaks that can occur when registering too many network callbacks using `ConnectivityManager.registerNetworkCallback` [method](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/ConnectivityManager#registerNetworkCallback(android.net.NetworkRequest,%20android.net.ConnectivityManager.NetworkCallback)). 

Android's `ConnectivityManager` imposes a limit on network callback registrations. Attempting to register more than 100 network callbacks will result in a `ConnectivityException$TooManyRequests` error, [as detailed in the official documentation](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/ConnectivityManager#registerBestMatchingNetworkCallback(android.net.NetworkRequest,%20android.net.ConnectivityManager.NetworkCallback,%20android.os.Handler)). For instance, continuously registering callbacks without proper deregistration will lead to an application crash. You can try that with the following code placed e.g. in your `MainActivity.onCreate` method.

```kotlin
repeat(100) {
   connectivityManager.registerNetworkCallback(...)
}
```

## WorkManager callback registration

When you create a `WorkRequest` with an online network constraint, it can register a network callback. However, registering 100 separate `WorkRequest` instances doesn't necessarily mean 100 network callbacks will be registered. The new _2.10.1_ version has reduced the likelihood of this occurring (see [changelog](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/work#2.10.1) and the [change itself](https://android-review.googlesource.com/c/platform/frameworks/support/+/3588735)).

##  Is WorkManager the one to blame?

While `WorkManager` `WorkRequest` instances can indeed register network callbacks and potentially contribute to `ConnectivityException$TooManyRequests` crashes, it's not always the sole or primary cause.

It's crucial to consider that other parts of your application, or even third-party libraries, might be registering network callbacks. If these other sources are poorly managed, perhaps repeatedly registering callbacks without proper deregistration and then simply catching any resulting exceptions (including `ConnectivityException$TooManyRequests`), they could silently accumulate `NetworkCallback`s up to the system's 100-limit. In such a scenario, when `WorkManager` attempts to schedule a new `WorkRequest` with an online network constraint, its subsequent registration of a network callback would then trigger the `ConnectivityException$TooManyRequests` exception, as WorkManager in some versions does not implement a try-catch mechanism around this specific callback registration ([see explanation why here](https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/231499040#comment23)).

This makes it appear as though `WorkManager` is the culprit, when in reality, the issue might lie with other components consuming the available callback slots.

## What can be an alternative cause of the ConnectivityException$TooManyRequests?

Since it's not a `WorkManager`, we need to identify what's registering the other 99 network callbacks. You can directly search your code for network callback registrations, which might reveal the root cause. However, even if you find it, an additional verification step is recommended: examine heap dumps. Interact with your app thoroughly - navigate every screen, use all features, and repeat this process with network (Wi-Fi, cellular data, etc.) both on and off. Afterward, create a heap dump using [Android Profiler](https://developer.android.com/studio/profile).

Once you create a heap dump, search for `NetworkCallback`, then try to find references to your code or external libraries you use.

<div className="image">![ConnectivityException Profiler](/images/android-connectivity-exception-too-many-requests-profiler.png "ConnectivityException Profiler")</div>

In our case, the external Chat library we use was registering those callbacks using Coil when trying to load a lot of chat messages containing offline images queued to be sent.

**What was it in your case?**

## AI Agents Comparison from iOS Developer Perspective

*Published: 2025-10-16 | Author: tomasz-l | Tags: iOS, AI, Tools*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ai-agents-comparison-from-ios-dev-perspective/index.md*

GitHub Copilot was one of the earliest LLM powered tools helping developers with their everyday chores. It was also quite early to support Xcode (first by third party and later by first party plugins). Due to that and few other factors (copilot being endorsed in one of my projects as well as having educational license for it) I ended up using it in my AI supercharged coding endeavour.
In iOS development I was mostly using Copilot in autocomplete mode and never really dove deep into agentic coding with it.

## TL;DR

GitHub copilot ended up being the worst across all agents. Claude Code may be easy default choice for Apple developer. You can go directly to [summary](/blog/ai-agents-comparison-from-ios-dev-perspective/#summary) to see what I have chosen for myself.

## Moar AI

<center>
![Moar AI meme](/images/ai-agents-comparison-from-ios-dev-perspective/Moar-AI-meme.webp "Moar AI meme")
</center>

Recently I got to work in few projects requiring technologies new for me and I started experimenting a bit more with Copilot in `agent` mode. Based on approach it was typically hit and miss. I have learned a bit about how to work with agents and notice improvement when using separate steps:

1. Prepare requirements documentation
1. Work on feature based on prepared documentation
1. Reset context when wonky things start occurring

Nevertheless it still didn't felt right. In all cases at some point it was really hard to force Copilot agent to do what I expected it to do. Kind of like it was rebelling against me 😅

### Even moar AI

<center>
![Can I has Moar AI meme](/images/ai-agents-comparison-from-ios-dev-perspective/Can-I-has-more-AI-meme.webp "Can I has Moar AI meme")
</center>

Having seen many success stories of agentic coding both in and out of Bright Inventions I wanted to go deeper and understand what I am doing wrong. I have started looking into different sources to learn and later enrolled into course ([10xDevs.pl](https://www.10xdevs.pl)). It inspired me to do the basic stuff actually: test what different tools give me and how those behave in the field. Idea was simple: test out as many different tools as possible, see if any works better than currently used Copilot and adopt it if that is the case.

## Benchmark

While I was considering testing different tools I have stumbled on quite simple bug in one of the projects I worked on. For very specific response in login flow (401) user ends up with endless spinner and blocked app UI. Quite simple thing, but finding root case required a bit of debugging and especially time (~10-15 minutes). I though this might be really good starting point for comparison and that is what I used for a benchmark.

For evaluation I decided to use IDE and CLI tools:

- GitHub Copilot (Agent mode in VS Code with Claude Sonnet 4.5) [Educational license]
- Xcode 26 Coding Assistant (GPT-5) [Pro subscription]
- Cursor (Agent in auto mode) [Free trial]
- Windsurf (Code mode with GPT-5 low reasoning) [Free trial]
- Gemini CLI (Gemini 2.5 Pro) [Free plan]
- Claude Code (Claude Sonnet 4.5) [Pro subscription]
- Codex (GPT-5 codex) [Pro subscription]

For GitHub Copilot I have chosen Claude Sonnet 4.5 as it felt the best for me in prior usage. Rest of the agents were using stock settings (model/mode mentioned above) as far as I am concerned.

Each of the agent was presented with exact same prompt:

```
This is iOS app using cocoapods for dependency management and xcworkspace. It is quite simple but I have a bug with it. When I try to login button shows loading animation and then nothing happens.
Analyse app and logging flow to help me identifying login issue.
```

Even though I already knew what was broken and how to fix it during conversations (if any was needed) I pretended to have no idea what is going on. Also I will be looking at few key metrics: Speed; Correctness; Regressions.
Expectations:

- Root cause - not calling completion callback in case of 401 - being found
- Handle potential issue in both request flows implemented in affected class
- Fix made in a generic way, not tied to specific issue I have stumbled upon
- No regressions introduced
- Potential side effects explained

### Copilot

In the first pass I was greeted with potential root cause which was obviously incorrect. There were two solutions proposed to fix the issue. Agent was hinting that completion callback was never called, however targeted wrong level of abstraction - not the one were actual issue occurred.
I have asked agent to implement its proposed solution adn as expected it was not correct. After actual testing (just to be sure) I have explained that issue still occurs. This time copilot agent proposed additional fixes and logging which were both incorrect (fixes did not fixed issue and logs did not highlighted root cause). After few additional rounds of back and forth with agent and hints that we might be looking at wrong place we ended up finding actual root cause.
In the end issue itself got fixed but in a way that was well below acceptable quality (fix applied at generic layer using very path of endpoint for which issue occurred). Besides that quite significant regression was introduced: previous 401 handling was completely removed.

- **Speed: 2/5**  
  Felt slower than most of other agents, not unbearably slow though. Total score additionally lowered however due too amount of back and forth needed.
- **Accuracy: 1/5**  
  Low quality solution, lots of hints and back and forth needed. Only one of the request paths was covered with changes.
- **Regression: 3/5**  
  App uses Alamofire and one of the changes was to remove `validate()` call from commonly used request path. Change seemed unrelated and it was not explained to why it was made.

### Xcode Coding Assistant

I have initially tried running test without paid subscription, but I have ended up with exhausted quota warning before prompt was fully processed. I have switched to my Pro subscription afterwards and it moved forward quite well.
Xcode Coding Assistant have identified actual root cause in first pass, proposing solution which seemed sensible to me. After asking it to implement its recommended solution it went off rails pretty quickly. Firstly it started with `wrong level of abstraction` issue where it referenced path of request which caused issue - this seems to be becoming a common thread between agents 😅 I have tried working with agent trying to suggest that there might be better solution which will stick to separation of concerns in different layers. Second iteration introduced lots of unnecessary code which was quite confusing. In the end I have directly asked for solution I expected and it tidied code quite nicely.

- **Speed: 3/5**  
  Coding agent seemed to be responding the slowest from the bunch per prompt.
- **Accuracy: 4/5**  
  Even though it required little bit of back and forth issue was fixed correctly and for both theoretical paths.
- **Regression: 4/5**  
  No meaningful regression introduced, not explained however potential side effects of adding completion callback where it was previously missing.

### Cursor

Cursor was the first agent I have actually tried and it blown me off completely. Not only was it super fast, but it found the root cause first try not issues. At that point I knew I was probably missing out. One thing to notice is that I have asked to `Analyse` the problem, yet cursor went ahead and implemented solution right away 🙉

- **Speed: 5/5**  
  Really can;t get better than that. Prompt was processed very fast and no back and forth required at all.
- **Accuracy: 5/5**  
  It knew exactly what I wanted ;)
- **Regression: 4/5**  
  I would expect little bit of explanation, that adding callback for 401 case in generic network layer may introduce unexpected behaviors which might need to be handled.

### Windsurf

Windsurf was second agent I have tried and again - result was quite shocking to me... Root cause was identified immediately. It has however manifested `low effort` approach found in some other cases trying to reference endpoint path for which issue occurred. When I suggested this might be a code smell I got presented with few alternative propositions one of which was the expected one. Unfortunately there was regression introduced upon actual implementation: previous 401 handling was completely removed. After additional back and forth and going circles we have reached expected solution.

- **Speed: 3.5/5**  
  Root cause found immediately, lost some points due to issues during actual implementation.
- **Accuracy: 4/5**  
  End result was proper solution but it required trained eye along the way 😉
- **Regression: 3/5**  
  Even though it was fixed - complete removal of 401 was quite significant regression.

### Gemini CLI

Similarly to Cursor Gemini CLI was really fast and spot on - with one caveat - it only handled one of the two paths exhibiting same potential issue.

- **Speed: 5/5**  
  Again - as fast as possible.
- **Accuracy: 4/5**  
  Missed to handle second path potentially exhibiting same issue, however actual fix was spot on.
- **Regression: 4/5**  
  Once more - missed explanation of possible side effects of implemented solution.

### Claude Code

Encounter with Claude Code was little bit strange, as I was testing subsequent agents I was leaving their solutions on separate branches - it may have caused glitch I have experienced. Ofc root cause was identified immediately, yet later on Claude mention it is actually fixed. When pushing on it a bit it has explained that in fact issue still occurs but there is fix for it in other branches. Seems it knew how to fix the issue in expected way, however I have asked it to copy the fix over. It has used solution previously done with Xcode Code assistant which in the end was spot on.

- **Speed: 4.5/5**  
  It was on pair with other `fast` agents, however `glitch` made the whole process a little bit longer.
- **Accuracy: 5/5**  
  Chosen best possible solutions from branches available - it may actually surfaced superpower of looking more holistically at repo?
- **Regression: 4/5**  
  As in other cases explanation of potential side effects was missing.

### Codex

Last but not least: Codex from OpenAI. It seemed to be up to the task similarly to other CLIs. Only difference is that it seemed little bit slower. Nevertheless it found and solved issue first try.

- **Speed: 4/5**  
  Some minus points for slower inference as compared to other agents.
- **Accuracy: 5/5**  
  Again - spot on solution!
- **Regression: 3/5**  
  Once more - missing side effects explanation.

### Summary

For me there are few main takeaways from this test:

- There are much better tools available as compared to GitHub Copilot
- Actual model used is not the most important part - see that Claude Sonnet 4.5 was used by both Copilot and Claude Code with drastically different outcomes...
- Most of the tools are offering quite similar quality - at least in this test

In addition to that we must consider which flow is more convenient for us. IDE integration (Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf, Xcode) is very convenient. I do however prefer CLI at this point. This is mainly because I dislike Copilot after this benchmark and don't feel like using VSCode clones. Xcode on the other hand - which seems to be perfect solution - still might be a work in progress feature. It was significantly slower and in some additional (out of scope) testing it have managed to crash itself (complete lack of responsiveness from Xcode)... Experience working in Xcode is already bad (who have not experienced crashes, beach balls etc) so I don't want to make it even worse 🥹

It is also worth mentioning that most of those tools require paid subscription. Both Cursor and Windsurf offers free trials though. You can also use Gemini CLI for free. At least not by paying with money - you will pay with your data however. And Google does not want you to know that - going into `/privacy` ends up with `Error loading Opt-in settings: User does not have a current tier`... You can check out this [GitHub issue](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/2407) for more details.

## Conclusions

Even though some parts of this post (especially ones connected to Copilot) may seem pessimistic I believe all agents brought real value for me as a developer in that particular example. Even with Copilot I would save some time - not by it doing the job, but hinting me in the right direction. This is pretty amazing how far we have come!

Copilot example left me with one additional thought (which can escape in those more successful scenarios):

> Human brain is still the most amazing machine that ever existed - let's not forget that!

Even though we are gifted with all those amazing (AI) tools - we should still remember to train our most important (from devs perspective) muscle - our brain. We are still in control and AI agent is there to help us do the things we might now want to do, not the other way around.

For now I will most probably explore Claude Code a bit more - I have also heard from multiple sources already that Claude Code works quite nicely for iOS development. It also got bonus points for having theme that suits my auto light/dark theme lifestyle. I do miss however option in any of the CLIs to have dynamic theme based on system theme. I also encourage You to test different tools for yourself.

## From Concrete Profession to Flexible Code. A Mobile Developer's Career Story

*Published: 2025-10-13 | Author: mateuszg | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mobile-developer-career-story/index.md*

**From delivering precast concrete elements for one of the longest tunnels in Poland to programming, Mateusz's career journey has been full of changes. He especially embraces shifts in technologies, viewing tools not as goals, but as a means to an end. Learn how flexibility has elevated his career and what has been his goal all along.**

<div className="image">![Mobile developer's career story](/images/brightstorymateuszggrid.png "Mobile developer's career story")</div>

## What was your journey towards software programming?

It was a long and bumpy one, I guess. I actually studied **civil engineering**, and at the time, my only real connection to programming was that my brother is a programmer.

When I graduated, I started working as a quality controller at a factory producing precast elements for a very interesting project – **one of the longest tunnels in Poland**. I also began to learn how to code in my spare time. During my studies, I saw that more and more of my peers were deciding to switch to software development, and I also had a friend who was trying to convince me to do the same.

Learning after hours wasn't easy while working in construction, because a shift could last up to 12 hours. After a day like that, it was tough to find time for family and studying. But, I managed to learn **web development fundamentals**.

## But you eventually became an Android developer?

Yes, but that was **totally by accident**. I decided to sign up for a bootcamp and simply chose the one that was scheduled to start the soonest. It just so happened that it was a course on Android development.

After finishing the bootcamp, I quickly found my first job in the field and was able to leave the construction industry for good.

<div className="image">![Mateusz's career story](/images/brightstorymateuszg.png "Mateusz's career story")</div>

## Was it a difficult goodbye to construction?

No, not at all. That industry really wore me out, but at the same time, it gave me the **motivation I needed to change** my career path. I didn't find the work very rewarding, especially after all the sleepless nights I spent studying in college.

Also, **it's not nearly as flexible as the tech industry**, and it's much harder to learn on your own. As a programmer, I can build an app in my spare time to test new solutions. I can't exactly go and build a house on my own just to learn something new.

## What has your experience been like working at Bright Inventions?

I really enjoy working here, especially because of the very flexible approach, which gives me **lots of opportunities to learn**. For example, I joined as an Android Developer, but soon after I started, I was put on a project where Flutter was needed. That was quite exciting for me because I'd never done cross-platform development before.

## I imagine some developers wouldn't be happy with such a sudden change of technology. What are your thoughts on that?

Probably, yes. **I don't consider myself a typical software developer**, given my different educational and professional background. I'm sure there are people who are much more knowledgeable when it comes to native Android development.

For me, **I just love solving problems**, it doesn't matter what the tool is. If I can learn a new one to get the job done, that’s even better. If I were told that I needed to learn backend development to solve a problem, I would gladly do it.

<div className="image">![Quote on solving problems](/images/mateusz_quote_tools.png "Quote on solving problems")</div>

## How does the business domain of our partners affect the code you write?

I don't think the business domain itself is the main factor. The most important thing is the **business value we need to deliver**. That value depends on many aspects – not just the domain, but also the partner's immediate business goals, their current challenges, and user feedback.

**Business value is our compass**. It points us toward the goal, and a developer's job is to find the most effective way to provide that value.

<div className="image">![Quote on business value](/images/mateusz_quote_business_value.png "Quote on business value")</div>

For example, let's say we need to add an important feature that users are expecting quickly, but we face technical limitations that prevent us from writing 'perfect' code (for instance, a backend system that constrains our mobile development). In that case, it’s all about finding a middle ground. We need to **find a way to deliver the value** now without complicating our work in the future.

Code doesn't need to be perfect or beautiful, as long as it won't slow us down later or significantly increase our technical debt. The key, however, is **keeping the partner in the loop**. They need to understand that we are choosing a pragmatic solution to deliver the feature as soon as possible, and that a refactor might be needed in the future to implement it according to all best practices.

If we take too much time to deliver a perfectly implemented feature, our competition could already be gaining users with their own **imperfect, but earlier-launched, feature**.

## What’s the key to successful communication with partners and colleagues?

I believe the key is **honest and direct communication**. I value receiving and giving clear feedback, though of course, it's important to find the right balance to ensure that directness is always constructive.

When collaborating with partners, I especially appreciate having close and transparent communication. It's crucial that the partner keeps our team in the loop with their business goals and domain challenges. **When we have that context, I can truly adjust my work** to meet their real needs. Otherwise, it can feel like we're just completing tickets without understanding how our work actually influences their business.

Ultimately, it’s much better to have direct contact with the partner to discuss what they want to achieve before a ticket is even created. It sometimes turns out that a proposed task isn't what the partner truly needs in the end. Great communication helps everyone **avoid unnecessary assignments**, which, as we know, saves a significant amount of time and resources.

## What do you enjoy doing after work?

My free time is dedicated to my children. We try to **be active together**, often going cycling or hiking when we can. After the kids are asleep, I sometimes find a bit of time to play video games.

<div className="image">![Visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia.](/images/mateusz_travelling.png "Visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia.")</div>

## So you often ride a bike?

Yes, definitely. Whenever I can, **I choose my bike over the car to commute**. The nature of our work requires a lot of sitting, and the last thing I want to do after hours is sit even more in a car stuck in traffic. That's where the bike really comes in handy.

<div className="image">![Mateusz during one of many bike rides.](/images/mateusz_bike.png "Mateusz during one of many bike rides.")</div>

## Negativity Bias: Why Your Glass at Work Is Always Half-Empty

*Published: 2025-10-07 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, communication, business psychology*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/negativity-bias-why-your-glass-at-work-is-always-half-empty/index.md*

You know that feeling when you have done a lot right, but all you can think about is the one thing that went wrong? Maybe a presentation went well, a teammate appreciated your help and yet your mind keeps replaying that tiny mistake from three days ago.

Our brains are wired to notice problems first. It helped our ancestors survive. But at work, it can quietly sap motivation, trust, and teamwork. The good news? Once we catch ourselves, we can start noticing wins, learning from mistakes, and slowly build a healthier, more balanced way to tackle each day.

## one negative comment ruining the whole day

We have all been there. Someone gives us five compliments and one criticism, and somehow, we only remember the criticism. It is not just you, it is how our brains work.

**The human brain is built to spot risks and threats. In prehistoric times this helped keep us safe. At work it means we notice what is broken more than what is working.**

[On a biological level, negative events trigger stronger and faster activity in the amygdala, the brain’s “alarm center.”](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8102621/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) They also release more cortisol, the stress hormone, which makes the memory stick longer and feel heavier. Positive experiences, on the other hand, need to be consciously repeated or savored for the brain to register them with the same intensity.

## always chasing what is wrong

Negativity bias often shows up as focusing on fears, anxieties, or small mistakes while overlooking the dozens of things that go right. You notice gaps instead of progress, your glass always feels half-empty.

Sometimes it is a colleague who always sees the worst-case scenario:

* “This change will never work.”
* “They are going to fire her.”
* “This will fail for sure.”
* “They’ll cheat us somehow.”
* "He will never accept my offer." 
* "I won't get this promotion." etc. 

Even when results are positive, their focus is on what could go wrong next. Negativity spreads like ripples in a pond. Other team members may start feeling drained, and creativity and collaboration shrink.

**Striving for improvement, being aware of potential risks and considering different scenarios is important, it helps you stay prepared and make better decisions. But when the focus is always on what could go wrong or what is missing, constant negativity can quietly shape the morale of everyone around you.**

## the complaining trap

We all do it - complain about the weather, traffic, work, or that one person who never replies to emails. Complaining feels good in the moment as it is a quick way to vent frustration and connect with others over shared annoyances. But it is also one of the most common expressions of negativity bias. 

**When we complain, we reinforce neural pathways that favour negative thinking, making it easier to notice problems and harder to appreciate positives.** The more we complain, the more our brains get used to spotting what is wrong instead of what is right. While venting can provide momentary relief, habitual complaining trains the brain to expect disappointment and perceive the world through a critical lens.

**Neuroscientist Dr. Rick Hanson explains that the brain is [“like Velcro for the negative and Teflon for the positive"](https://rickhanson.com/velcro-for-the-bad-teflon-for-the-good/), meaning negative experiences stick more easily and shape our mental wiring.**  [](https://rickhanson.com/velcro-for-the-bad-teflon-for-the-good/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Over time, this can amplify stress, strain relationships, and create a feedback loop where negativity becomes our default mode of interpretation. Recognizing when we are complaining and consciously [shifting toward problem-solving ](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-develop-solution-oriented-mindset-in-your-life-and-in-your-team/)or gratitude helps to weaken this bias and restore emotional balance.

## shifting the balance: small steps to break the bias

**Even tiny habits can help your brain notice the positive.** Jot a quick gratitude note, celebrate a small win, or give yourself a pat on the back. These simple actions send signals that your brain actually wires in. Neuroscience shows that doing this strengthens the areas that regulate emotions while calming the “alarm center” that tends to fixate on problems.

[The study shows that higher levels of gratitude are linked to greater resilience, better mental health, and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression.](https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/)

### So, how can you rewire your brain for positivity?

1. Write down things you are thankful for. [It activates brain regions associated with reward, enhancing feelings of contentment and emotional well-being.](https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
2. Recognize and celebrate small achievements to boost motivation and reinforce positive behavior.
3. Be kind to yourself during challenging times. It will reduce stress and promote emotional resilience.
4. Practise mindfulness to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce anxiety and improve emotional regulation.
5. Express gratitude to others regularly to strengthen relationships and enhance feelings of social support.

## start small, think big

By consistently practicing small habits (you have to choose/find these that work for you), you can shift your focus from what is wrong to what is right, fostering a more positive and resilient approach. **The mindset you bring to work does not just shape your own motivation - it quietly influences the energy, confidence, and collaboration of everyone around you.** At the end of the day, the choice is yours: let your brain replay only the setbacks and risks, or remind yourself of the effort, learning, and wins along the way.

## Join CocoaHeads Tricity in October

*Published: 2025-09-25 | Author: izabela | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cocoaheads-tricity-32/index.md*

**CocoaHeads Tricity is back! Sign up for a free event celebrating all things iOS! Listen to talks about AI-Powered iOS Coding and SwiftUI Coordinators. See you in Gdańsk on October 6.**

<div className="image">![CocoaHeads Tricity 32](/images/cocoaheads-32-6th-october-2025.png "CocoaHeads Tricity 32")</div>

## Expect talks from experience iOS developers

Connect with fellow iOS developers, share ideas, enjoy food, and listen to inspiring talks:

**From Melody to Symphony: Coordinators in the World of SwiftUI. Moving beyond declarative navigation toward structure at scale,** Kamil Buczel (Senior iOS developer at Tilt)

SwiftUI’s NavigationStack makes navigation clean and declarative - perfect for small, fresh apps. But real-world projects rarely live in a purely SwiftUI world: UIKit still plays a key role for complex layouts, transitions, and data-heavy screens. This talk shows how to move from declarative navigation to structured, testable flows using the MVVM+C pattern and Coordinators, bridging SwiftUI with UIKit when needed. You’ll learn how coordinators bring clarity, memory safety, and explicit contracts to navigation, helping your app scale with confidence.

**Vibe it and Ship it – Agentic Coding in Practice**, Łukasz Domaradzki (Senior iOS Developer at XTB)

From idea to App Store publication – all with the help of AI agents. During the presentation, Łukasz will talk about how he used Claude Code to write mobile code, detailing what worked great and what the biggest challenges were. Using the Frettier app as an example, he will share lessons learned that can be useful for any developer experimenting with AI.

## Get to know our speakers

**Kamil Buczel, Senior iOS developer at Tilt**

Building iOS apps in Swift since 2014, across industries ranging from art auctions and food ordering to airline systems and live fashion marketplaces. He has worked as both a solo developer shaping entire products and as part of large teams delivering complex, multi-module architectures. What drives him is finding the right path to solutions - asking questions, exploring perspectives, and ensuring quality serves real needs rather than existing for its own sake.

<div className="image">![Kamil Buczel, Senior iOS developer at Tilt](/images/cocoaheads-32-kamil-buczel.png "Kamil Buczel, Senior iOS developer at Tilt")</div>

**Łukasz Domaradzki, Senior iOS Developer at XTB**

He is an experienced iOS developer who has been creating mobile apps for many years. He has worked on solutions for the aviation industry and is currently developing a fintech application at XTB. He is also interested in the new possibilities that AI brings to the mobile space.

<div className="image">![Łukasz Domaradzki, Senior iOS Developer at XTB](/images/cocoaheads-32-łukasz-domaradzki.png "Łukasz Domaradzki, Senior iOS Developer at XTB")</div>

## Claim your spot

**When**: Monday, October 6, 2025, at 6:00 PM

**Where**: Incubator STARTER, Lęborska 3b, Gdańsk

**Register**: Claim your spot on [Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/cocoaheads-tricity/events/311048704/?eventOrigin=group_events_list)!

See you there for great insights and even better pizza!

## Integrating Firebase into Tuist Project

*Published: 2025-09-18 | Author: tomasz-l | Tags: iOS, Tuist, Firebase*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/index.md*

Firebase is one of the most commonly used third-party library in iOS development. With functionalities ranging from Crashlytics, to analytics, feature flags... there is too much stuff to list all of it 😅
Today we will be focusing on integrating Firebase Crashlytics into our iOS app, with one caveat: it uses Tuist.  
Lo and behold, we might run into some strange behaviors!

## TL;DR
For pure and suggested tuist integration code jump straight to [Tuist "native" integration](/blog/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/#tuist-native-integration).

## But wait, why Tuist?
If you ever worked in team, you might have faced conflicts in your Xcode projects. This is main idea from which Tuist originated. There is nothing original about that idea and many before did similar things. You may recal dedicated tools like xcode-gen but most probably you might be even using one right now: Cocoapods. Yeah if you think about that it generates project as well 🙉

Thing that made Tuist interesting to me in the first place was that it is using `Swift` making it very familiar to developers in Apple ecosystem.

Right now Tuist is a very powerful tool that not only allows you to omit frustration fighting with project settings and conflicts (and random changes), but also optimise and bring your development to the next level.
Enough for now, that is mostly all that we need for now to continue. Nevertheless I highly encourage you to have a deeper look into [Tuist](https://tuist.dev) - thing you will not regret doing. 

## Why Crashlytics?
Answer here is simple: Crashlytics is battle tested tool that allows you to control your app stability. It is free as well. And as we all know free is fair price to pay. You might stick to plain Xcode organiser insights or different tool, yet today is a day of Crashlytics.

## But there is more than one... 🧐
...way of integrating third parties using Tuist.

Indeed Tuist allows us to integrate third parties using its own system based on XcodeProj but there is second option too. One can integrate third party dependencies using plain Xcode SPM integration.

### Tuist project

Lets start with Tuist project structure. 
For detailed working code you can reference this demonstration repository: [tuist-firebase](https://github.com/TomaszLizer/tuist-firebase). At this stage we assume you have working Tuist project, but if not you can use reference above or create one with `tuist init` (and instal tuist with `brew install tuist` if you don't have it already).

In order to enter project edit mode you need to run `tuist edit` command in project root. This will create and open Xcode project with three main files:
- Tuist.swift - it holds details of Tuist project itself
- Project.swfit - this is definition of what previously was our .xcodeproj file - all in Swift!
- Tuist/Package.swift - Package definition used for managing dependencies

Today we will be touching `Project.swift` as well as `Package.swift`.

### Xcode SPM path

Lets start with straightforward way - one that will be very familiar if you worked with SPM in Xcode before. In the beginning lets just start adding our dependency.

1. Add Firebase as a remote package in `Project.swift`:
    ```swift
    // Project.swift
    Project(
        [...]
        packages: [
            .remote(url: "https://github.com/firebase/firebase-ios-sdk", requirement: .exact("12.3.0"))
        ]
    )
    ```

1. Add the required Firebase products to your app target dependencies, e.g.:
    ```swift
    // Project.swift
    Project(
        [...]
        targets: [
            .target(
                [...]
                dependencies: [
                    .package(product: "FirebaseCrashlytics")
                ]
            )
        ]
    )
    ```

It might be confusing that we are defining this dependency in `Project.swift` and not in `Package.swift` but remember - `Project.swift` is descriptor of our `.xcodeproj`.

So we included our dependency - now lets use it. Before we move forward you will also need to get your hands on `GoogleService-Info.plist` file. You can find it in your Firebase project settings.

3. Ensure dSYM files are being created by specifying correct debug information format:
    ```swift
    // Project.swift
    let baseSettings = SettingsDictionary()
        .debugInformationFormat(.dwarfWithDsym)
    let projectSettings = Settings.settings(base: baseSettings)
    let project = Project(
        name: "tuist-firebase",
        settings: projectSettings,
        [...]
    )
    ```
    This is crucial part without which we won't be able to read crash data in Crashlytics console.

1. Add post-build script uploads dSYM files to Crashlytics automatically:
    ```swift
    // Project.swift
    Project(
        [...]
        targets: [
            .target(
                [...]
                scripts: [
                    .post(
                        script: """
                        ${BUILD_DIR%/Build/*}/SourcePackages/checkouts/firebase-ios-sdk/Crashlytics/run
                        """,
                        name: "Upload Symbols to Crashlytics",
                        inputPaths: [
                            "${DWARF_DSYM_FOLDER_PATH}/${DWARF_DSYM_FILE_NAME}",
                            "${DWARF_DSYM_FOLDER_PATH}/${DWARF_DSYM_FILE_NAME}/Contents/Resources/DWARF/${PRODUCT_NAME}",
                            "${DWARF_DSYM_FOLDER_PATH}/${DWARF_DSYM_FILE_NAME}/Contents/Info.plist",
                            "$(TARGET_BUILD_DIR)/$(UNLOCALIZED_RESOURCES_FOLDER_PATH)/GoogleService-Info.plist",
                            "$(TARGET_BUILD_DIR)/$(EXECUTABLE_PATH)",
                        ]
                    )
                ]
            )
        ]
    )
    ```
    Note: script path will be different when using XcodeProj integration.

1. Place your `GoogleService-Info.plist` in `tuist-firebase/Resources` so it is bundled with the app.

1. Setup Firebase in your application.
    
    As a last step we need to con figure firebase itself inside the app
    ```swift
    // AppMain.swift
    import Firebase
    [...]
    FirebaseApp.configure()
    ```

Now lets run `tuist generate` and see what happens. You should be greeted with similar view: Xcode project like any other one you know and Firebase dependencies resolving with SPM. Don't get attached too much to that - we will be getting rid of plain SPM integration later on.

<center>
![tuist generate script execution](/images/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/tuist-generate.webp "tuist generate script execution")
</center>

<center>
![Project structure with SPM integration](/images/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/tuist-xcode-spm.webp "Project structure with SPM integration")
</center>

### Test your integration!
As we will uncover later on - this is extremely important part - we need to test that our integration works correctly. This can be as simple as adding fatalError somewhere in our app. I typically just add some button that does just that.

It is worth noting, that while app is connected to debugger, firebase will not collect crash data. You need to install your shiny app and disconnect debugger (just kill the run with stop button in xcode). Then in order for the crash to be visible in the Firebase console, we need to run the app again - it will process and send crash reports. If everything is fine you should see your first crash pretty quick (typically up to few minutes).

### Tuist "native" integration
So what is wrong with our SPM integrated firebase? Well, everything... If you worked with SPM you may recall constant and somehow random reloading of dependencies. It is guaranteed to happen just after your transatlantic plane took off. And when you have quite a few dependencies in SPM (see how much we got just by getting Firebase) then it can get wonky as well.

Tuist takes Cocoapods approach which gives us many benefits. Instead of relying on SPM it creates workspace with child projects. This allows for lots of clever things that Tuist does, including caching, dependency graph based testing, optimised builds. But again, just go and check out [Tuist.dev](https://tuist.dev) as there is too much of goodness there to even brief it meaningfully in this short article.

If you had peeked at attached repo, you might noticed that not much changed for this migration to happen, but lets wrap it up as if we just started.

1. Add Firebase as a remote package in `Package.swift`:
    ```swift
    // Package.swift
    Package(
        [...]
        dependencies: [
            .package(url: "https://github.com/firebase/firebase-ios-sdk", exact: "12.3.0")
        ]
    )
    ```

1. Add the required Firebase products to your app target dependencies in `Project.swift`:
    ```swift
    // Project.swift
    Project(
        [...]
        targets: [
            .target(
                [...]
                dependencies: [
                    .external(name: "FirebaseCrashlytics")
                ]
            )
        ]
    )
    ```

1. Ensure correct build settings, including dSYM creation and linking Objective-C code:
    ```swift
    // Project.swift
    let baseSettings = SettingsDictionary()
        .debugInformationFormat(.dwarfWithDsym)
        .otherLinkerFlags(["-ObjC"])
    let projectSettings = Settings.settings(base: baseSettings)
    let project = Project(
        name: "tuist-firebase",
        settings: projectSettings,
    [...]
    ```
    In addition to dSYM creation we added `-ObjC` linker flag - it is crucial here, but more on that later.


1. Add post-build script uploads dSYM files to Crashlytics automatically:
    ```swift
    // Project.swift
    Project(
        targets: [
            .target(
                [...]
                scripts: [
                    .post(
                        script: """
                        Tuist/.build/checkouts/firebase-ios-sdk/Crashlytics/run
                        """,
                        name: "Upload Symbols to Crashlytics",
                        inputPaths: [
                            "${DWARF_DSYM_FOLDER_PATH}/${DWARF_DSYM_FILE_NAME}",
                            "${DWARF_DSYM_FOLDER_PATH}/${DWARF_DSYM_FILE_NAME}/Contents/Resources/DWARF/${PRODUCT_NAME}",
                            "${DWARF_DSYM_FOLDER_PATH}/${DWARF_DSYM_FILE_NAME}/Contents/Info.plist",
                            "$(TARGET_BUILD_DIR)/$(UNLOCALIZED_RESOURCES_FOLDER_PATH)/GoogleService-Info.plist",
                            "$(TARGET_BUILD_DIR)/$(EXECUTABLE_PATH)",
                        ]
                    )
                ]
            )
        ]
    )
    ```
    The only thing that changed here is path to script - it is obviously different due to different way of integrating SDK.


1. Place your `GoogleService-Info.plist` in `tuist-firebase/Resources` so it is bundled with the app.

1. Setup Firebase in your application.
    ```swift
    // MainApp.swift
    import Firebase
    [...]
    FirebaseApp.configure()
    ```

After migration to "proper" way of handling dependencies with Tuist we need to make one more step before `tuist generate`. Similarly to good old Cocoapods we have `tuist install`. It will fetch our dependencies, convert to projects and integrate into our main project using `xcworkspace` with child projects.

<center>
![tuist install script execution](/images/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/tuist-install.webp "tuist install script execution")
</center>

<center>
![Project structure with XcodeProj integration](/images/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/tuist-xcodeproj.webp "Project structure with XcodeProj integration")
</center>

### What the fuss with ObjC
This is where funny things happens. In one of our projects we have stumbled once on a very strange issue upon migration to Tuist. Crash reports stopped working.

Debugging started - firstly lets add firebase debug flag. You can do that by adding `-FIRDebugEnabled` launch argument. To do that in Tuist we have to define scheme. We do so in `Project.swift` at the top level of Project definition:

```swift
// Project.swift
Project(
    [...]
    schemes: [
        .scheme(
            name: "Tuist-Firebase-Debug",
            buildAction: .buildAction(targets: [.target("tuist-firebase")]),
            runAction: .runAction(
                configuration: .debug,
                arguments: .arguments(
                    launchArguments: [.launchArgument(name: "-FIRDebugEnabled", isEnabled: true)]
                )
            ),
        ),
    ]
)
```

This gives us ability to see rich logging from Firebase, including Crashlytics.

Keen observer might quickly notice this log:
```lldb
12.3.0 - [FirebaseCrashlytics][I-CLS000000] Completed report submission with id: [...]
```
Hence crash report was generated and seemingly sent, but why cannot I see that in Firebase console?

So we dove deeper, stepping into execution of crash report submission.

Searching for `Completed report submission with id` moves us to `FIRCLSReportUploader.m:216`. After adding breakpoint I can see that indeed we stepped here and sent something somewhere. But where? Lets check function that calls callback we are in, which is `-[GDTCORTransport sendDataEvent:onComplete:]` in `GDTCORTransport.m:56`. It in turn points us to `-[GDTCORTransformer transformEvent:withTransformers:onComplete:]` in `GDTCORTransformer.m:55` and that is the place for our next breakpoint to understand what is happening.

> You can *Open quickly* (⌘+⇧+o) above file references in xcode. Just copy, paste into open quickly and go to check it yourself.

And then comes the realization - breakpoint is not resolving - this symbol is unknown to compiler - something is very wrong here.

<center>
![Xcode unresolved breakpoint](/images/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/xcode-unresolved-breakpoint.webp "Xcode unresolved breakpoint")
</center>

Turns out we had a bug in our project definition, linker flags in particular. Instead of `-ObjC` we have accidentally put `-Objc`.

<center>
![why Objc meme](/images/integrating-firebase-into-tuist-project/why-Objc-meme.webp "why Objc meme")
</center>

Quick fix, one liner, or in this case: **one character** and we are golden 🙈

## Conclusions
As we learned, one need to be extremely careful with the details when it comes to Xcode project settings. It is worth noting that in this particular case the issue was very subtle and almost unnoticeable. App was not crashing it just misbehaved (greatly). This comes from specific nature of Objective-C which is dynamic. Especially in how it treats missing objects. In our case bunch of Crahslytics related dependencies where not compiled into our app because linker did not saw their usage. **If you'd like to dive deeper into Objective-C and why the `-ObjC` linker flag matters so much, you can start with the [Building Objective-C static libraries with categories](https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/qa/qa1490/_index.html).** This particular requirement is also documented in Firebase: [Integrate without using Swift Package Manager - Frameworks](https://firebase.google.com/docs/ios/setup#frameworks).

One thing to note here is that applying this flag has global effect on your project. It may cause compiled binary to be larger in some circumstances. If you face such issue you may want to integrate via SPM or consider force loading only specific Objective-C library, but that is topic for another day.

## Understanding the Bigger Picture in Programming. Patryk’s Career Journey

*Published: 2025-09-09 | Author: patryk-s | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bigger-picture-backend-developer-career-story/index.md*

**Patryk shares his biggest challenges in software development, why he needs to understand the big picture before writing any line of code, and what helps him reset after work. Meet Patryk, a Senior Backend Developer at Bright Inventions.**

<div className="image">![Backend developer career story](/images/brightstorypatryks_grid.png "Backend developer career story")</div>

## Even as a child, you were interested in programming but you chose civil engineering in college. Why?

Honestly, I don’t really know – I guess **I was a bit naive**. I didn’t think it through; I just thought civil engineering sounded cool. But later I realized it wasn’t for me. I dropped out in my third year and switched to computer science, though I never actually graduated.

## What has been your biggest challenge so far in your career?

Interestingly, technical challenges don’t really stick out, I feel like every tech problem has a solution. For me, **communication is tougher** – even within the team, just dealing with frictions or misunderstandings can be way more challenging.

## What is a bad code in your opinion?

The code that is **not understandable** while reading and **impossible to change**.

## How can you fix that?

Well, there are many books covering that subject so there’s no single answer. Maybe **being open is a good start**. You should think about how the code might be used in the future, and remember that it will probably be modified. Be open to any possibility, and don’t focus only on completing the actual task. Our work goes beyond that, or at least it should, if we want to write clean code.

<div className="image">![Quote on clean code.](/images/patryk_quote_clean_code.png "Quote on clean code.")</div>

## But what if you need to quickly deliver results – for example, for a startup that needs a feature added fast?

You can balance that. For sure, clients can push us and it doesn’t always have to be about profit. **We have been working on an [app for a humanitarian agency](/projects/card-tracking-system/) for years, and sometimes we need to quickly add a feature because people are starving**. Therefore the organization needs a way to provide them with payment cards so they can buy groceries and other necessities for themselves and their families. We can’t just say, “Wait, we need to write clean code first, people can wait.”

But it all comes down to communication – we explain to the client that we need to do it fast, with some shortcuts, but after it’s launched we need a sprint to rewrite it, because otherwise it will be bug-prone. Clients are usually on board with that, **it’s our job to make them aware that we can cut corners, but then we need to make up for it**.

## How do you use AI in your daily work?

I use **ChatGPT, Cursor, Junie, and Assistant** on a daily basis. Junie is great for bigger features, while Assistant works well for smaller tasks or functions.

<div className="image">![Backend developer career story](/images/brightstorypatryks.png "Backend developer career story")</div>

## How does AI save your time?

A good example is a prototype I was building for a client with Cursor. The goal was to show them a different approach to their main feature. It took me around two days – but **without AI, I would have spent maybe even a week on that**.

## Do you enjoy working at Bright Inventions?

I’ve been here for over five years – I wouldn’t have stayed that long if I didn’t like it. **People here are kind and positive, and that’s the most important thing**. In the end, it all depends on people – clients are also people after all. So it really comes down to whether we share the same vibe and understanding.

## What are you working on in your current projects right now?

I’ve been doing some interesting things with blockchain. **Since Parity is no longer supported, our client asked us to find the right alternative**. So I had to research various blockchain clients and choose the one that would tick all the boxes required for this project. It was challenging but also very interesting.

## How do you react to changes from the client? I’m asking because some developers find it difficult.

It can be frustrating but not because of the change itself, more when you don’t know the reason behind it. I don’t like when developers aren’t familiar with the context. **I want to know the full picture – why some priorities are shifting**.

At Bright Inventions, **we work with clients who explain their business decisions, and we even give input from the tech side** to help them make some of those calls. That way, the changes aren’t that frustrating after all. The last thing I’d want is to just write code thoughtlessly.

<div className="image">![Quote on business decisions](/images/patryk_quote_business_decisions.png "Quote on business decisions")</div>

## After hours you make music. Do you have a dream to be a professional music producer?

Not really, I treat it more as a hobby. I like creating pieces from scratch, and sometimes I meet with friends and we make something together just for fun. Recently, I **also started learning guitar and piano**. I’m curious to see how that will turn out.

## What else are you doing after hours?

I ride **MTB (mountain biking)** and sometimes take part in competitions, but I treat it more as another workout session. I also go for **walks with my dog** Tesla, and I regularly go **mountain hiking**. For example, I went with a friend to Norway, we slept in a tent and hiked for about a week. Now my goal is to do it in the Alps – a 10-day hike with just a tent and a backpack. A perfect detox from technology, and a great way to really rest.

<div className="image">![At one of the MTB races.](/images/patryk_mtb.png "At one of the MTB races.")</div>

<center> At one of the MTB races. </center>

## Your dog Tesla is a regular office visitor. Does she enjoy the company?

Oh yes, **she’s always happy when she’s at the office**. She loves to accompany me wherever I go.

<div className="image">![Patryk and Tesla at the Bright Inventions' office.](/images/patryk_tesla_dog.png "Patryk and Tesla at the Bright Inventions' office.")</div>

<center>Patryk and Tesla at the Bright Inventions' office.</center>

## Bright Inventions is now Framna Poland

*Published: 2025-09-03 | Author: ula | Tags: news, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-inventions-is-now-framna-poland/index.md*

Today Bright Inventions officially becomes Framna Poland, the leading international agency for digital products. Framna is the shared brand uniting the agencies formerly known as Shape in Denmark, Bontouch in Sweden, and Move in the Netherlands. **With more than 600 talented people on board, Framna is on a journey to become a global go-to studio for digital products, helping the most ambitious brands bring their visions to life.** This rebrand is a natural next step that fits perfectly with our own ambitions and vision for the future.

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions & Framna ](/images/article-image-4.png "")</div>

## Aiming Higher

Bright Inventions started at the dawn of the mobile era, and just like the digital landscape we navigate, the company has grown fast and agile. Our ambition keeps evolving fueled by long-term partnerships with clients like Just Eat Takeaway.com, Relevo, the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

With a strong track record in IoT and AI solutions, as well as employee-facing enterprise mobile products, we have become the leading mobile studio in Poland — and now, as Framna Poland, we are ready for the next chapter expanding further into other international markets.

<div className="image">![Michał quote Framna ](/images/quotation-1-michal.png "")</div>

## Framna CEO on Framna Poland: A Perfect Fit

Joacim M. Jeppesen, CEO of Framna, on their new partner, “Framna Poland brings strong engineering capabilities and a
culture deeply committed to quality. Like all of us at Framna, they are ambitious on behalf of the businesses and
organizations they partner with, aiming to create market-leading digital products. Their track record includes both
consumer-facing products and bespoke enterprise solutions that unlock operational efficiency, greater flexibility,
better use of data, and more. **The team combines reliable, enterprise-grade engineering with innovative use of
technologies, IoT, and AI. These capabilities are vital to our pursuit of being the best possible partner to the brands
and businesses we work with, and our ambition to become the leading digital product agency globally.** We are excited to share the Framna name with our colleagues in Poland.”

<div className="image">![Joacim CEO Framna ](/images/quotation-1-joacim.png "")</div>

## About Framna

Framna, whose name comes from Old Norse, meaning "to advance" or "to bring forward" – is a growing digital product agency with over 600 talented people across nine studios in Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Poland. **We create digital products that over 10 million people worldwide depend on every day, collaborating with international heavyweights like IKEA, Post-it®, Red Bull, and Credit Suisse, as well as leading national brands such as Swedish Railways (SJ), PostNord, Novo Nordisk, Rabobank, and ENGIE.** Our work helps shape markets, transform industries, and fuel meaningful growth. Every day, millions of people around the world experience the digital products we bring to life.

## What’s Ahead

By collaborating across teams and markets under one shared brand, we will tap into a larger pool of talent and technological opportunities, ensuring that we create standout digital products that really make an impact. Our studios will work closely together, sharing expertise, insights, and knowledge to deliver the best results.

There will be no changes to the Polish studio's management or organization, and existing partner relationships will continue as usual. The Bright Inventions name is being retired in favor of Framna Poland, but the team, leadership, and the company behind it remain the same.

## POS Software Development: 2025 Guide for Custom Point of Sale System

*Published: 2024-10-16 | Author: piotr | Tags: POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/pos-software-development-guide/index.md*

**Dive into the technical world of the POS development process. Discover key features of Point of Sale, top challenges, trends, and real case studies. Explore the guide about custom POS development based on our over a decade of experience in building, scaling, and modernizing POS systems for hospitality and retail.**

<div className="image">![POS development](/images/pos_development_guide_blog_cover.png "POS development")</div>

## Point of sale system definition

A **Point-of-Sale (POS) system is a combination of hardware and software** that facilitates sales transactions and manages business operations in **retail, hospitality**, and other industries. It includes **devices like thermal printers, POS terminals, desktop and mobile POS systems**, enabling businesses to process payments, track inventory, and manage orders.

**POS system development can be tailored to meet specific needs** such as supporting old desktop hardware which may be still used by end users, especially in hospitality. Point-of-sale software's main functionality is ensuring **a smooth connection between hardware and software components**. Therefore a **POS developer** must understand both hardware and software components to build an effective system. 

## Key POS features to include in modern POS software development

POS systems are versatile solutions that **consist of dozens of features, additional applications, and POS hardware**, forming the technological backbone for managing client orders in restaurants, hotels, and retail settings.

### Examples of must-have features in POS development

* **Inventory Management**: Track stock levels, reduce waste, and reorder automatically.
* **Integrations**: Connect with POS hardware (printers, card readers) and third-party services.
* **Z-Report and X-Report**: Essential for daily financial summaries and cash register audits.
* **Check-in/Check-out**: Manage employee time tracking efficiently.
* **Payment Processing**: Accept various payment types.
* **Order Management**: Handle bundles, variants, and customizations.
* **Table Management**: Organize seating with a visual floor plan.
* **Digital Ordering**: Enable online orders.
* **Payment Split**: Allow customers to split payments.
* **Notes for Kitchen**: Special instructions for orders.
* **Reporting & Analytics**: Real-time data for business insights.

### Extra POS Solution Features for Standout POS Application Development

* **Dark Kitchen:** Support for off-site kitchens.
* **Splitting the Bill**: Divide the bill between guests.
* **Kitchen Display System**: Digital kitchen orders.
* **Kiosk Integration**: Self-service options.
* **Offline Mode**: Operate without internet and sync the POS system's data as soon as the internet connection is restored.
* **Cloud-Based POS**: Access from anywhere.
* **Delivery Management**: Manage deliveries efficiently.
* **Order Sync with Marketplaces**: Orders from delivery platforms are available on a single POS device.
* **Caller ID**: Recognize regular customers during phone ordering.

## POS software development: cloud POS or on-premise POS

Cloud POS and on-premise POS systems differ in their infrastructure and setup. **A cloud POS operates through the internet, offering flexibility, remote access, and automatic updates**. It's easier to scale but **requires a reliable internet connection which can be an issue in restaurant or hotel environments**. 

On the other hand, **traditional POS involves hosting software and hardware locally**, which gives businesses more control but requires regular maintenance and **higher costs**.

When you build a POS system, consider business needs: cloud POS excels in flexibility and usually lower costs, while on-premise POS offers better control and offline POS capabilities. Every **POS software developer** must weigh the benefits and challenges of both options, including internet dependency vs. full local control.

## Types of integrations with point of sale software

For **POS developers** and vendors, a key aspect of a **POS development** is its ability to reliably integrate POS with various devices and multiple third-party providers. Let’s dive into the types of POS integrations:

### POS solution and hardware integrations

Check out the [examples of retail devices that are part of a POS system](/blog/what-are-point-of-sale-devices/), ranging from POS desktops, terminals, and kiosks to printers. Printers, in particular, can often present the most technical challenges. 

Modern POS systems should integrate with printers wirelessly and reliably. This means that if one printer fails to print a receipt, the POS system should automatically switch to a backup printer. Be aware of common technical challenges when [integrating POS systems with retail devices, especially printers](/projects/pos-devices-integration/).

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/zmmCIaQulxI' />

### POS and payment provider integrations

From choosing the right providers to handling the payment process, and managing daily communication with payment partners, POS providers face many challenges.

If you are at the stage of choosing a payment provider, consider answering these [key questions which will help you build a well-thought-out payment solution](/blog/implementing-payments-key-questions-for-startup-founders-and-ctos/) offering a high number of payment methods.

The most popular payment global providers are **Stripe, Square, and Adyen**.

Read more about technical aspects of [integrating payment providers with POS](/blog/payment-provider-pos-integration/) in our another blog post.

### POS and food delivery applications integration

The most popular third-party food delivery providers include **Uber Eats, Wolt, Just Eat (or local representatives like Lieferando) or Deliveroo**.

<div className="image">![POS food delivery apps integration](/images/food_delivery_photo_case_study.png "POS food delivery apps integration")</div>

Restaurant owners are aware of the **pros and cons of food delivery integrations**. Technology can help minimize the drawbacks more than you might think:

#### Pros:

1. **A vital client acquisition channel.**
2. **Support for delivery if the restaurant lacks in-house drivers.**

#### Cons:

1. **High fees associated with client acquisition and delivery services.**

**Tech solution**: A custom point of sale that offers a **white-label solution enables restaurants to build their own digital ordering website**, reducing the high costs associated with third-party delivery platforms. 

Additionally, **having a POS with an integrated [delivery drivers app](/projects/delivery-drivers-app/)** allows restaurant owners to manage their food delivery in-house if they choose to, offering greater control and cost savings over outsourced delivery services.

2. **Too many devices for staff to manage.**

**Tech solution**: custom [POS and food delivery providers integration](/our-areas/food-delivery-pos-integration/) transferring orders from external providers into one POS device.

3. **Restaurant menu discrepancies across platforms.**

**Tech solution**: a proper [integration with food delivery apps](/projects/pos-third-party-delivery/) can sync changes from the main POS to all platforms, reducing errors and saving time.

Are you wondering whether API or FTP is the better choice for your [POS and delivery software integrations](/blog/pos-delivery-integration-api-ftp/)? Learn more!

### POS and Caller ID integration

Caller ID is a device that provides information about incoming phone numbers. With the right integration with the POS, **when a staff member answers the phone, they can instantly see on-screen details if a regular customer is calling**. This includes all the necessary information to efficiently process the order, such as the delivery address and phone number. This feature streamlines phone ordering and enhances the customer experience with a more personalized touch.

Check how our team took care of the [POS and Caller ID integration](/projects/restaurant-pos-caller-id/) and learn about challenges our engineers faced. 

<div className="image">![Caller ID and POS](/images/pos_caller_id_case_study.png "Caller ID and POS")</div>

Read more about [POS integration](/blog/pos-integration/) and its challenges in our another blog post.

## Emerging trends in POS application development: what to expect in 2025 and beyond

Explore **POS development** trends.

### The continuous rise of QR code ordering as a response to restaurant staff shortages

QR code ordering supports busy staff by allowing customers to place orders and pay directly, which reduces wait times. 

Although **QR codes shouldn’t replace staff initially** - clients should still be able to discuss the order with waitstaff, **using QR codes for payment can alleviate pressure on staff during peak hours**, improving overall efficiency and customer experience.

<div className="image">![QR code ordering](/images/qr_code_restaurant_ordering.png "QR code ordering")</div>

### Transiting from paper kitchen receipts to Kitchen Display Systems (KDS)

While many establishments still rely on old-fashioned paper methods, KDS offers a more efficient, modern solution. It streamlines order management, reducing mistakes and speeding up service. **Orders can be tracked and modified in real-time, improving communication between the kitchen and front-of-house staff.** This shift not only cuts down on paper waste but also enhances overall workflow and accuracy in busy kitchens, optimizing food delivery time.

Check out an actual [case study of Kitchen Display System](/projects/kitchen-display-system/) and how it changed restaurant operations in the UK and Israel.

### Hardware decluttering of restaurant, retail, and hotel counters

The fact that modern point-of-sale software is connected to many devices is both a benefit and a challenge in some cases. For example, **taking care of multiple devices provided by different food delivery parties brings more responsibility to already busy waitstaff**. 

[Building a custom point of sale](/our-areas/pos-software-development/) allows **all orders, whether from in-house dining, phone orders, delivery apps, or a white-label application, to be transferred into a single POS system**. This means waitstaff can view and manage all orders on one device, aligning with the growing trend in **POS application development** aimed at **eliminating the unnecessary POS devices** often provided by third-party systems such as Just Eat, Uber Eats or Deliveroo.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/-pUtXXxpsFg' />

### Using AI for analytics and inventory management

With AI, restaurants can **track customer preferences, predict demand, and optimize stock levels to reduce waste**. AI-powered analytics allow businesses to make data-driven decisions about menu offerings, pricing, loyalty programs, and staffing, improving overall efficiency and customer experience. In inventory management, **AI helps monitor stock in real-time, quickly informing about the need for ingredients reorder**.

## How to build a POS System that complies with local and international regulations

As a POS vendor, your POS functions have to be adjusted to local regulations and tax rules. Here are a couple of compliance issues your software engineering team has to be aware of.

### Compliance with GDPR in custom POS development

During **POS software development**, it's critical to ensure [GDPR](https://gdpr-info.eu/) compliance, particularly in how customer data is collected, stored, and processed. This includes securing consent for data collection, ensuring data encryption, and providing customers with the ability to request data deletion.

### Compliance with PCI DSS for payment processing

To protect sensitive payment information, your POS system must comply with the [PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)](https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/standards/pci-dss/). This **involves implementing data obfuscation techniques, two-fold protection of cardholder data, encryption of transmitted data, and the creation and maintenance of access logs**.

Check **how to get access to POS data to optimize your payment solutions at the same adhering to security regulations**. Our **POS application development** team **faced that challenge while building the [bill split feature](/projects/pos-bill-splitting/)**.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/gwM0SnHACMs' />

### Adherence to local tax law during POS development

Your POS system must integrate with local tax rules, including **calculating the correct sales tax and generating tax-compliant receipts**. This may involve adapting the software to meet region-specific tax regulations, such as VAT or GST, and keeping up with changes in local tax laws to ensure ongoing compliance.

One example of adapting to tax rule changes is when **our team implemented an amendment to the VAT law in Israel, which directly impacted invoice generation**. **We adjusted the [restaurant invoice generation software](/projects/invoice-generation-system/) to comply with these updates** by modifying the information included in the invoices. Check out the case study to learn more about it!

## The role of UX/UI in building intuitive custom POS software

From understanding the specific needs of POS system users to integrating UI/UX solutions that address their pain points, a **POS software developer** must follow this path during **POS development**.

<div className="image">![UX/UI for POS](/images/establish-button-hierarchy.png "UX/UI for POS")</div>

One critical feature requiring extra attention is payment processing. To ensure a smooth experience, it's essential to implement must-have UX/UI practices, such as:

* informative animations;
* iconography with labels;
* button hierarchy.

Read more about [designing payment in POS](/blog/payment-point-of-sale-design-ui-ux/) and check the designs for inspiration!

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtube.com/shorts/IGoHRRoGBCU?feature=share' />

### The Role of User Personas in POS Application Development

User personas serve as fictional yet data-driven representations of your target users, encapsulating their behaviors, needs, and challenges. By crafting detailed personas, **POS developers** can tailor **custom POS** solutions that resonate with actual user experiences, leading to more intuitive and effective systems.​

For instance, consider "Jennifer," a meticulously developed persona representing a frontline retail staff member. Her profile sheds light on daily operational **challenges, such as managing customer orders and dealing with nonintuitive bill splitting**. Insights from such personas guide **POS developers** in prioritizing features like streamlined checkout processes, real-time inventory updates, and user-friendly interfaces.​

Integrating user personas into the development lifecycle ensures that the POS application aligns with real-world user expectations, enhancing usability and satisfaction.​

To explore a comprehensive user persona example and understand how it can inform your **POS development** strategy, download the free PDF:

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Free UX Resource: The POS Persona You Need' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Gain access to Jennifer’s persona and enhance your POS design strategy.'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='user persona pdf' />

## Getting feedback from point-of-sale users

Anyone developing software solutions for hospitality or retail knows that end users are busy. Even though sales assistants or waitstaff use your tools daily, they rarely have time to provide valuable feedback.

That’s why it’s the POS developer’s job to find alternative ways to gather insights without disrupting users' workflow. Discover a few [tactics that can help you collect actionable feedback](/blog/how-to-gather-actionable-feedback-inside-a-pos-system/) on your solution.

## Do you want to build your own POS system?

As a [POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/) we have been creating cutting-edge POS solutions for over a decade. [Contact our POS developers](/our-areas/pos-software-development/#contactForm) team to discuss cost-effective POS.

## Certificate Pinning on iOS in Practice

*Published: 2025-08-14 | Author: tomasz-l | Tags: iOS, Security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/certificate-pinning-in-ios-app/index.md*

New feature for yesterday, too long backlog of bug tasks and this crazy new crash that started occurring randomly out of nowhere... No wonder that there is no time to focus on security aspects of our apps.
But lets break this vicious cycle now and dive into fundamental practice for securing your app: **Certificate pinning**.

## Someone is looking
Main reason for Certificate pinning implementation is so called Man in the middle attack. Not only does it allow malicious user to reverse engineer our APIs and test for vulnerabilities but also leaves possibility for intercepting data of our users. You can test this right away on your own app with use of SSL/TLS proxy like good old [Charles](https://www.charlesproxy.com) or [Proxyman](https://proxyman.com) (my current go to) or any other SSL/TLS proxy out there.

Here for example I could not only read but also substitute data retrieved by some popular classified advertisements portal ending up with funnily looking tabBar:

<center>
![Proxyman Map Local feature](/images/certificate-pinning-in-ios-app/proxyman-map-local.webp "Proxyman Map Local feature")
</center>
<center>
![TabBar affected by MITM attack](../../static/images/certificate-pinning-in-ios-app/affected-app.webp "TabBar affected by MITM attack")
</center>




## Pinning tiers
So what is this whole certificate, how to pin it and even where to pin it? Lets start with TLS itself... TLS or Transport Layer Security is a protocol that stands in between server and client which allows for those two entities to negotiate secure connection and verify identity of the server that client talks to. This is being made with help of Server trust which is based on certificate chain. This chain typically consist of three parts:
* Root CA - long lived trusted anchor which is typically preinstalled on your device
* Intermediate CA - Issued by trusted root CA and used to sign leaf certificates
* Leaf certificate - end certificate, one that was granted for your server

Now whenever we want to connect to our server over https we will first negotiate encrypted connection with use of certificate chain. Client app will verify that it comes from the trusted root (which is handled at the system level) and connect. This predicate can be broken if malicious actor is able to force system to trust its own root CA with which fake certificate can be made. Alternatively such actor might be able to access private keys lower in the trust chain, eg intermediate CA (first case is exactly how TLS proxies works) and pretend to be our trusted server.

We can prevent such issue from happening by verifying that certificate we receive in our chain is known and trusted to us. This is similar to how platforms comes preinstalled with trusted root certificates but we will be verifying our own server certificate instead. This verification process is what we call Certificate pinning and we can pin any of the certificate in the chain. We will stick however to leaf certificate as it gives as certainty to whom we speak to.

### Not only certificates
Besides pinning entire certificate we can also pin certificate fingerprint or public key of private/public key pair used to sign certificate. Pinning certificate fingerprint can be more compact yet less verbose, there is no much difference here as compared to pinning whole certificate. 

Pinning public key gives as little bit of flexibility depending on how our certificate is being created since it can be refreshed with the same private/public key pair, but more on that later...

## How to pin
Certificate pinning in principle is very simple:
* During connection with server we are presented with authentication challenge
* Challenge contains host name and certificate chain
* We can check if leaf certificate in challenge is matching one that we expect

There are plenty networking libraries that can handle certificate pinning out of the box like [Alamofire](https://github.com/Alamofire/Alamofire/) (see their [docs](https://github.com/Alamofire/Alamofire/blob/master/Documentation/AdvancedUsage.md#security)) and for standard use cases those do the job well.

Lets go deeper and implement simple pinning ourselves to get better understanding of what is going on.

### Retrieving certificate for your domain
Starting point is to get actual certificate we want to pin. You can either reach to team managing domain for the certificate or you can get certificate currently used in production with openssl command. You can use example below for that purpose. Just exchange `<pinned_domain>` with actual domain for which you want to retrieve certificate.

```sh
openssl s_client -connect <pinned_domain>:443 -showcerts </dev/null 2>/dev/null \
| awk '/-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----/{i++} i==1 {print}' > leaf.pem
```

You will need this certificate later on to actually pin to it. Save those as a resources in your project. I have chosen structured folder directory to easily store and retrieve certificates. Structure is like this: `Certificates/<host>/<certificate_type>.der` (eg `Cetificate/bright.dev/leaf.der`). In order to make it work (xcode bundling resources keeping folder structure) you also need to make `Certificates` and actual (blue) folder in the project and not xcode group.

Now you can access those pinned certificates in the runtime retrieving them from Bundle like below:

```swift
import Foundation
import Security

func certificates(matchingHost host: String) -> [SecCertificate] {
    guard let resourceURL = Bundle.main.resourceURL else { return [] }
    
    let certificatesURL = resourceURL
        .appendingPathComponent("Certificates", conformingTo: .directory)
        .appendingPathComponent(host, conformingTo: .directory)
    
    do {
        let certificateUrls = try FileManager.default.contentsOfDirectory(
            at: certificatesURL,
            includingPropertiesForKeys: [.isRegularFileKey]
        )
        let certificates = certificateUrls.compactMap { file -> Certificate? in
            let fileType = file.pathExtension
            guard fileType == "pem",
                  let data = try? Data(contentsOf: file),
                  let secCert = SecCertificateCreateWithData(nil, data as CFData)
            else { return nil }

            return secCert
        }
        return certificates
    } catch {
        return []
    }
}
```

Here we have encountered Security framework for the first time. It might seem cumbersome and not Swifty - see that we created `SecCertificate object using SecCertificateCreateWithData. This is pretty old and crusty API, so lets get used to it... 😅

### Validating certificate
We have now our certificate added to the project - lets *pin* it!

In order to pin certificate we need to tap into previously mentioned `Authentication Challenge`. Fortunately there is really simple way of doing so with use of `URLSessionDelegate`. There are few steps to tackle in order to pin certificate:
1. Conform to and assign `URLSessionDelegate` to session object
2. Implement [urlSession(_:didReceive:completionHandler:)](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/urlsessiondelegate/urlsession(_:didreceive:completionhandler:)) delegate method. See that you can use callback or async variant.
3. Check host for which authentication challenge is being made 
4. Get trusted certificates for the given host (this is where you retrieve certificate eg from bundled resources). 
5. Handle fallback when no trusted certificate found. Either go with default platform behavior or cancel challenge all together (depending on your use case).
6. Retrieve leaf certificate from server trust (`SecTrust`) object.
7. Check if leaf certificate from authentication challenge is known and trusted to us.


```swift
extension NetworkManager {
    func setupSession {
        // #1 Assign delegate to the session object
        URLSession.shared.delegate = self
    }
}

// #1.1 Ofc you need to implement delegate
extension NetworkManager: URLSessionDelegate {
    // #2 Implement authentication challenge delegate method
    func urlSession(
        _ session: URLSession,
        didReceive challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge
    ) async -> (URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) {
        // #3 Checking host for the challenge
        let host = challenge.protectionSpace.host
        
        // #4 Get trusted certificate for host
        let trustedCertificates = certificates(matchingHost: host)

        if trustedCertificates.isEmpty {
            // #5 Fallback when no trusted certificate found
            return (.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil)
        }
        
        // #6 Retrieve leaf certificate from trust object
        guard let trust = challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust,
              let chain = SecTrustCopyCertificateChain(trust) as? [SecCertificate],
              let leaf = chain.first,
              // #7 Validate that leaf is one of our trusted certificates
              trustedCertificates.contains(leaf)
        else { return (.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil) }
        
        return (.performDefaultHandling, nil)
    }
}
```

As simple as that, with just a few lines of code we have protected our app from malicious actors trying to intercept our communication. It can't be that simple, can it? 

## Where the devil sleeps
Issue that lies in this simple method is that certificates needs to be refreshed. For leaf certificates this happens relatively often - every year. This means that when we refresh our certificate which is pinned we also have to update app as well (remember - it was embedded as part of the app). This seems quite inconvenient both from perspective of release process as well as for our clients. Not only will they be interrupted by required update, but with raised deployment target we could leave behind older version of the app completely broken.

<center>
![Cat meme about certificate refresh](/images/certificate-pinning-in-ios-app/certificate-refresh-meme.webp "Cat meme about certificate refresh")
</center>

## What to do next? 
Maybe we could pin certificate lower in the chain? It gives as more time, but inevitably at some point it also needs to be refreshed and pinning it is potentially less secure. There is also possibility to utilize public key pinning - in case we control certificate creation and reuse same key pair for new certificate creation, then our refreshed certificate can be still pinned with same public key. This is however not always the truth (eg certificate creation and refresh is managed by platform we use). Moreover it is a good practice and recommendation to rotate public/private key pair regularly so if we stick to such good practices wew still need to update app with new pinned public key.
But maybe we could somehow update our app with latest certificates remotely? How about safety of such solution, is it even possible?
Fortunately there are some solutions for this problem and we could name a few:
* [Background updates](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/usernotifications/pushing-background-updates-to-your-app) - with use of APNS
* [CloudKit database](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/cloudkitjs/cloudkit/database) - and its public database

No solution is 100% secure and this is always a game of cat and mouse, but using one of the above methods allows us to leverage security of platform (iOS) in order to update our pinning without updating app itself. From perspective of security of our app if underlying system is compromised, then there is not much to be securing anyway, right?

With the example of CloudKit database, we can use its [publicCloudDatabase](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/cloudkitjs/cloudkit/container/1628710-publicclouddatabase) as a mean of distribution of updated certificates. Public database does not require our users to be signed into iCloud, so it is solution available to all of our users. Not only that, but we could even use cloudKit subscriptions to refresh state almost instantly. This is solution I have chosen for one of our clients. Not only this makes it much safer for their users as we check identity of server we talk to, but also much easier to maintain the product in the long term making it accessible even for users with older version of the app.

## Attribution
I would like to make a tribute to one of my favorite articles which was main inspiration for cloudKit usage in certificate pinning: [Secret Management on iOS](https://nshipster.com/secrets/) by [Mattt](https://nshipster.com/authors/mattt/).

## Thriving in the Details. Behind Kasia’s QA mindset

*Published: 2025-08-13 | Author: katarzyna-b | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/kasia-qa-mindset-career-story/index.md*

**Kasia thrives on rules, diagrams, and compliance. She used to ensure that oil platforms were safe for workers. Eventually, she discovered how similar that work was to software development, leading her to change her career path. The one thing she hasn’t changed is her sharp eye for the details hidden in complex workflows that might scare others away.**

<div className="image">![software tester's career story](/images/brightstorykasiab_grid.png "software tester's career story")</div>

## What was your profession before you joined IT?

I’m an ocean engineer specializing in the exploration of underwater oil deposits. After my engineering degree, I went on to do a master’s in **Subsea Technology,** which basically means designing and building offshore systems for the exploitation of underwater oil fields. That’s when I found a job at a shipyard working on the **Petrofac FPF1 modification** project for the floating refinery platform. I stayed there for nearly two years.

At that time I started to specialize in **commissioning** – that’s the phase right after construction is finished. You have to check if everything works, so we coordinated the work, making sure it was safe, for example, ensuring nobody would be scheduled to weld in an area where someone else would be running a pressure test. This was all happening in spaces that weren’t yet open for normal operations, so planning and coordination were critical. There was a lot of going through documentation and working with people who thought they knew best how things should be done. There was also quite a bit of pressure to push certain tasks through and get work permits approved.

It was actually truly interesting and gave me experience in so many areas, including mechanical and electrical. It was also **my first real interaction with the IT world**, because we were building a database in Microsoft Access. We built forms based on the tables and their dependencies, so that later the database admin could easily input information. We generated various reports using the queries we had created ourselves. In some cases, we basically had to be ready to step in as database administrators if needed.

When that project ended, I spent a short time in **Rotterdam** for another job. Once I got back, I spent quite a while looking for work, eventually moving into quality assurance.

## And how did that come about?

I was looking for a job for a while and honestly didn’t really know what I wanted to do next, so I decided to go to a job fair. A woman approached me there and asked if I wanted to take part in a **European Union program for future software testers**. It might sound like a golden opportunity, but it meant I had to fully commit – taking a one-month course, passing certification exams, and then starting a three-month internship.

During those intense months, I realized I enjoyed it, and it wasn’t that far from what I had been doing before. Many of my skills transferred easily to this new line of work – **it was still all about quality**. The difference was that instead of checking the safety coordination of work on oil platforms, I was checking the connections between systems and their security. 

<div className="image">![Quote on commissioning](/images/kasia_quote_commissioning.png "Quote on commissioning")</div>

<center> Kasia at the Bright Inventions sailing team retreat. </center>

The only thing I really had to learn from scratch was Agile. I mean – the whole idea was new to me, but commissioning actually has a lot of similarities to software development such as such as breaking down a massive project into smaller testable phases, **managing a "punch list" of issues that functions just like a bug backlog**, and relying on daily meetings between cross-functional teams to solve problems as they arise; and of course the entire process is a massive testing exercise. Checking a single instrument is like a unit test, verifying a subsystem is like an integration test, and the final performance trial is the ultimate user acceptance test (UAT).

The program, after I passed my exams, gave me an **internship at a local company** – and from there it was all up to me. When I started my internship, I quickly felt that manual testing alone wasn’t enough for me, so I looked for a framework, chose Cypress, and **wrote tests to cover the most important paths** in the application during my internship. I felt that was the key to my future in the company – I was determined to show my managers how quickly I could grow as a software tester. Eventually, the company appreciated my development, and they were happy with both my progress and my communication skills with clients and team members.

## Is it still possible for a career shift like yours in quality assurance?

It’s definitely harder compared to six years ago when I was doing it. Back then, **I joined an industry that needed new talent**; companies were willing to train people to see who showed promise, and they invested their resources in teaching. 

Now, you need to already have some knowledge and experience to prove you’re worth that investment. It’s especially tough if you’re just doing manual testing – **coding skills from the start are essential**. So yes, it’s harder, but it’s not impossible.

<div className="image">![Kasia at the Bright Inventions sailing team retreat.](/images/kasia_sailing_team_retreat.png "Kasia at the Bright Inventions sailing team retreat.")</div>

<center> Kasia at the Bright Inventions sailing team retreat. </center>

## How do you work with AI?

Mainly, I use AI for **improving automated tests** – for example, when I write a block of code, I put it into Gemini and ask if it can be simplified. I also sometimes use it to look for solutions, but I keep a **healthy amount of skepticism** – not all of its suggestions work in practice.

## Can AI replace you in the future?

I’m not afraid of that. For sure, **some roles will disappear and new ones will be created.** We’ll just need to keep learning and adapt to the new reality.

It’s the same with the QA role – at the beginning, it was just a tester, someone who checked everything manually. Then it grew into quality assurance, a person who knows the project best. You’re not just testing; you make sure the project is consistent, you notice gaps in UX, and **you act as a link between everyone** because you talk to the client, the designer, and the developers.

<div className="image">![Quote on software tester's role](/images/kasia_quote_tester_role.png "Quote on software tester's role")</div>

**AI won’t take our jobs because we will adapt to the new reality**. Someone will still have to check what AI writes. It can generate tests, but they don’t always work because AI doesn’t have the full knowledge, and it can’t connect the dots in a human way. Also, someone needs to train the AI for the designated purposes.

## Can you walk us through the project you're involved in at Bright Inventions?

I’m part of the team developing a [transport management system](/projects/transportation-management-system/). When I joined the project, it was mainly focused on matching transport offer listings with the right vehicle and driver, and preparing optimized routes. Now, there’s so much more – **we’re developing separate panels for freight forwarders, admins, and couriers**, with tools for document exchange and communication. It’s amazing to be part of a product that’s growing so quickly and on so many levels.

<div className="image">![At the Bright Inventions sailing team retreat.](/images/team_retreat_sailing.png "At the Bright Inventions sailing team retreat.")</div>

<center>At the Bright Inventions sailing team retreat.</center>

## I imagine this industry aligns quite well with your previous professional experience.

Yes, I caught on pretty quickly. **Logistics isn’t unfamiliar to me** – even during college, I had quite a bit of exposure to road transportation. Of course, it’s different from maritime shipping, but the basics are similar, especially when it comes to logical dependencies.

In general, **I enjoy rules, schemas, and diagrams** – they help me process and understand things faster. I often draw up mind maps to see what depends on what, and that helps me when writing documentation or connecting the dots in my head.

## I know you’re passionate about sewing. Which of your creations has made you especially proud?

**Sewing was always present in my home**. My grandma used to sew – not professionally, but she made clothes for family and friends. Later, my mom also picked it up; she used to sew for herself and us, and she also did knitting and crocheting, though that’s a complete mystery to me! My sister is very good at it, but I tried and it just never clicked.

Sewing, on the other hand, is a process I grew to appreciate, although it took me a few tries. You really need patience. **The actual sewing part is just the final stage – before that, there’s so much preparation**. You have to design the pattern, prep the fabric, iron multiple pieces... There are tons of steps involved.

The piece I’m most proud of is a cocktail dress I made for myself. It had a deep open back and a square neckline. It took a full week of sewing, but it was a project that stretched out over a year. You need time and the right mindset – **if you’re not feeling it, it’s better to step away and come back later**. Otherwise, you just end up ripping everything out and starting over, and that’s frustrating, although I’ve definitely done my fair share of unpicking and reworking.

<div className="image">![Kasia's dress](/images/kasia_dress.png "Kasia's dress")</div>

<center> One of Kasia’s favorite dresses she created. </center>

Even when the garment is finished, you often still need to adjust and fit it properly. I’m a big fan of oversized pieces because they’re a bit more forgiving. I also **try to sew gifts for people** when I can – it’s a nice way to share something personal.

## POS Delivery Integration. API vs FTP – What Works Best?

*Published: 2025-08-12 | Author: agata | Tags: POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/pos-delivery-integration-api-ftp/index.md*

For many restaurant chains, third-party delivery platforms like Wolt, Just Eat, or 10bis are now essential revenue streams. But these partnerships also bring a technical challenge: how should your POS system receive incoming orders?

From a development standpoint, delivery providers usually stick to one approach — either API integration or FTP integration. Each method comes with its own advantages, trade-offs, and ideal use cases. Knowing how both work helps restaurant owners and POS providers adapt to whichever method their delivery partners use and make the most of it in daily operations.

## **Why Integrate Delivery Platforms with a POS?**

When your POS is directly connected to delivery platforms, you get more than just convenience:

* ✅ Operational efficiency – No more manually entering orders from tablets into the POS.
* ✅ Reduced errors – Eliminate miscommunication between the front-of-house and kitchen.
* ✅ Faster order processing – Orders go straight to the kitchen or bar printer in seconds.
* ✅ Better reporting & data – Real-time synchronization with sales, billing, and analytics.

In short, seamless integration saves time, reduces headaches, and makes customers happier.

## **The Two Main Integration Approaches**

#### 1. API Integration

Orders are sent (pushed) or retrieved (pulled) from the delivery platform via RESTful APIs, typically in real time. Most modern delivery services now provide this option.

#### 2. FTP Integration

Orders are exported and imported as structured files (CSV, XML, JSON) via FTP/SFTP. This is common with legacy platforms or when no real-time API is available.

## **Deep Dive: API Integration**

### Pros

* Real-time – Orders arrive instantly in the POS.
* Better reliability – Easier to validate, retry, and monitor transactions.
* Scalable & secure – Modern authentication like OAuth or JWT.
* Future-proof – Easier to extend for new features like menu sync or promotions.

### Cons

* Higher initial investment – Requires close cooperation with the delivery platform’s tech team.
* Ongoing maintenance – Third-party APIs can change, requiring regular updates.
* Potential limits – Rate limits or complex authentication flows can slow things down.

  <div className="image">![API Delivery POS Integration](/images/frame-2608444.png "API Integration")</div>

Best For: Modern platforms, high-volume restaurants, and fast-paced kitchen environments.

## **Deep Dive: FTP Integration**

Pros

* Simple setup – Especially for older POS systems.
* Works without an API – Useful if the delivery partner’s tech is limited.
* Good for batch processing – Can group multiple orders in one file transfer.

Cons

* Not instant – Delays between when a customer orders and the POS receives it.
* Manual monitoring – More effort to troubleshoot or validate orders.
* Data format headaches – Differences in file structure and error handling can slow integration.

<div className="image">![FTP DELIVERY POS INTEGRATION](/images/frame-2608443.png "FTP Integration")</div>

Best For: Legacy systems, low-volume restaurants, and situations where real-time isn’t critical.

## **Choosing Between API and FTP**

When deciding, consider:

* Platform maturity – Does the delivery partner offer a robust API?
* Order volume – The higher the volume, the more API’s speed matters.
* Time sensitivity – How critical is real-time processing?
* Error handling – Do you need automated retries and validation?
* Resources & timeline – Do you have the dev capacity for an API build?
* Security & compliance – PCI, GDPR, and other regulations.

## **Our Experience**

Our team has integrated both API and FTP connections into a single POS interface. For the end user — waitstaff or kitchen staff — the technical method doesn’t matter. They just need a smooth, consistent experience.

We handle the complexity behind the scenes, so orders from Wolt via API and orders from an older FTP-based platform appear identical in the POS. This unified approach keeps workflows simple while allowing for gradual tech upgrades.

<div className="image">![API vs FTP delivery integration](/images/case_study_food_delivery_app_modernization.png "API vs FTP delivery integration")</div>

# **Conclusion**

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer:

* API is ideal for speed, scalability, and modern integrations.
* FTP still works for legacy setups and initial partnerships.

The right choice depends on your partners, operations, and technical resources. Often, the best solution is a hybrid approach — using API where possible, but still supporting FTP where needed.

**Want help integrating delivery into your POS? Let’s talk.** As a [POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/) we've been taking care of [POS software development](/blog/pos-software-development-guide/) since 2012.

## Breaking the Code: Patryk's Quality Assurance Career Journey

*Published: 2025-07-10 | Author: patryk-b | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/patryk-quality-assurance-career-journey/index.md*

**Since college, Patryk knew that writing code wasn’t for him. But breaking it? That was a different story. In this interview, he shares why he chose to become a QA Engineer, whether he’s worried about AI taking over his job, and why you probably shouldn’t offer him a tomato.**

<div className="image">![QA Engineer career story](/images/brightstorypatrykb_grid.png "QA Engineer career story")</div>

## How did you land in the software development industry?

It all started in technical school. I enrolled in a computer science class and earned a degree as an IT Technician. The reason I chose that path seemed simple at the time – **I liked playing computer games, so I figured computer science must be related to that**. That was a common assumption back then.

At school, our teachers were very enthusiastic and encouraging. They kept telling us that IT was the future, and **their passion got me excited to pursue computer science at the college level** as well.

Now, people usually ask me: “If you studied computer science, **why did you end up in quality assurance** instead of software development?” 😄

## Yes, one really wonders – why did you choose the QA path?

Even during college, I noticed that our **academic teachers didn’t really focus on why something works or doesn’t work**. They just told us to write pieces of code from a template, without even checking if it actually worked or not.

But I wanted to do the opposite – **I wanted to break things and understand why they broke**. 😄 I was always the one asking, “What’s behind the code we’re writing?” – and I don’t think the academics appreciated that very much.

<div className="image">![Quote](/images/patryk_quote_college.png "Quote")</div>

It’s definitely something subjective, but **programming felt a bit tedious** to me (sorry, my dear colleagues). I feel more connected to the product, the business side, and the end users as a QA. I also feel like I can have more influence there.

## How do you explain to your grandparents what it is you do at work?

Oh, it’s rather difficult – my grandma can’t even fully understand that I talk to people on camera for work, and that I do it from home.

My family knows I do something related to computers. I try to explain it by saying they have apps on their phones, and those apps are built by companies like the one I work for. My role is to **test the quality of those apps**.

These days, they ask less and less about my job – I think it just feels too abstract or hard to grasp for them. But I know **they’re proud of me** anyway, because I’m the first engineer in our family.

## You used to work on projects in the banking sector. How does that experience affect your work?

In banking, the app might have seemed simple on the surface, but there were many things happening behind the scenes that could go wrong. **Even the smallest calculation error can significantly affect the user experience**. Working on those kinds of projects made me much more detail-oriented. That also taught me how important it is to understand the end user and to simulate their actions as realistically as possible.

There’s this **constant, quiet pressure in the banking sector** because even a small bug can ruin an entire release. I think that’s a good kind of pressure though. It shapes your mindset as a QA.

## You also had a startup adventure in your career. How do you look back on that experience?

Working with startups has a lot of advantages, especially when you’re involved in a really interesting business idea that you genuinely feel has the potential to scale and grow.

However, in some cases, startup founders face challenges like not fully knowing their clients or end users yet, because they’re still in the discovery phase. **For me as a QA, understanding who the end user is (so I can simulate their journey through our solution) is absolutely crucial**.

<div className="image">![Quote on end users](/images/patryk_quote_end_user.png "Quote on end users")</div>

That meant I had to work very closely with the business side to understand users and client requirements as well as possible. And in a startup environment, those things can change quite often, so adaptability was key.

## How do you see yourself as a QA in the midst of the AI revolution?

I’m still a bit cautious when it comes to using AI in software testing. The human factor is still very important. Even if you use AI for automated testing, y**ou still need to verify whether the AI agents actually understand user needs and truly grasp the business domain**.

That said, AI is definitely helpful for things like **writing documentation and verifying errors**. When I encounter bugs during testing, AI can often help me find solutions faster. 

I’m not worried about AI replacing me, human review is still essential.

<div className="image">![Quote on AI](/images/patryk_quote_ai.png "Quote on AI")</div>

## You started working at Bright Inventions a year ago. How do you recall that time?

I truly **enjoy the fact that it’s not a huge company**, that’s exactly what I was looking for. In bigger organizations, I sometimes felt more like a resource than a team member. Here, I really feel like part of the team.

I’m still amazed by how many **people actually know each other**. You can see it even on Slack – how they tease each other and joke around, you can tell these are long-term relationships, not just colleagues who work together.

And I’ll never forget when I was considering Bright Inventions and visited the website – I saw that every team member had their own profile page with a photo and bio. That made a big impression on me. It showed that **people truly matter here**, they’re treated like humans, not just assets.

## What is special about the software project you're currently part of?

We’re delivering a [mobile and web application for a global humanitarian organization](/projects/card-tracking-system/) that fights hunger supporting people in some of the world’s poorest and most conflict-affected regions. Everyone on the team truly feels that **we’re doing something that drives real change and helps people** in their everyday lives.

The system we’re building supports the distribution of payment instruments (like cards, SIM cards, and vouchers) which allow people in crisis to purchase essential goods. We feel the impact of our work, especially when we receive updates and **photos showing how our app helps beneficiaries** access food and hygiene products for their families.

We’re continuously expanding the number of countries where this technology is used and that makes me genuinely proud. Of course, I wish we lived in a world where apps like this weren’t needed but we all know that’s not the case.

## I know you’re not a fan of tomatoes. What did they ever do to you? 😉

It’s the texture, it’s just disgusting! I call them **rotten apples**. When I see someone slicing a tomato, I literally have to turn away, that’s not a sight I want to witness.

I’ve always been like that. The funny thing is, I actually like ketchup, and I’m okay with tomato soup, as long as there’s no pulp in it.

## And what do you do after hours?

Well, I’ve recently become a dog dad to a Border Collie and it’s intense! **Having a puppy really keeps me on my toes**. We walk a lot, and honestly, it’s already building better stamina than me, so I’m trying to catch up. I’m also planning to get back to the gym – hopefully that helps!

<div className="image">![Dog](/images/patryk_dog.png "Dog")</div>

<center>Leon – Patryk's dog.</center>

Aside from that, I’m a bit of a **romantic musician type** – just me and my guitar. I really enjoy playing, though my puppy isn’t the biggest fan of my performances.

## Do you write songs?

Yes, I’ve written some music over the years, but I was never a singer, so I always had to find someone else to perform. **I played in a few bands during school**, but it never turned into anything more serious.

Still, the guitar has always been a big part of my life. It’s just something that’s stayed with me.

## POS Integration: What You Should Know about POS System Integration

*Published: 2025-06-11 | Author: piotr | Tags: POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/pos-integration/index.md*

**The era of point of sales that just handle payment operations is long over. Now POS system can serve as the central hub for operations and management in businesses that sell goods or services. However, this central role is largely made possible through** **POS integrations**. **Read about the types of integrations modern point-of-sale systems should offer.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Do you know your POS persona?' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Wait a minute. Take a step back and start from the basics. Learn the habits, skills, and goals of your Point of Sale persona with our research-driven guide.'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='POS user persona cover' />

## POS integration definition

What is pos integration? POS integration refers to the process of **connecting the POS system with other software platforms to enable seamless data exchange and synchronization across different systems**.

For example, many restaurant POS systems are integrated with food delivery platforms such as **Glovo, Uber Eats, or Just Eat** to automatically receive and process orders from these marketplaces.

Note: Point-of-sale and point of sale are written in both ways, both are commonly used, the latter is more common, but both seem to be correct.

<div className="image">![POS integration](/images/pos_integration_types.png "POS integration")</div>

## Point-of-Sale integration with payment providers

When integrating with third-party payment systems, several common challenges may arise:

### Challenge 1: Determining which payment providers to prioritize

One of the first hurdles is identifying which payment providers should be prioritized for integration. This decision should be based on thorough **market research and regional trends**. For example, in the Netherlands, **iDEAL** is a widely used payment method, while in Germany, **SEPA** transfers are very common. The key is to understand your target market and prioritize integrations with providers that are most relevant to your users’ preferences.

**Solution:** Conduct in-depth market research to understand the most popular and trusted payment methods in each region you operate in. This ensures your POS solution meets local customer expectations and increases adoption rates.

<div className="image">![payment POS](/images/card-payment-restaurant.png "payment POS")</div>

### Challenge 2: Access to quality documentation and support on how to integrate your POS

Not all payment providers offer clear, up-to-date technical documentation, which can significantly slow down the integration process. In such cases, your development team may need to engage in frequent communication with the provider’s technical support team to clarify implementation details.

**Solution:** When selecting payment providers to integrate with, do a preliminary review of their developer resources. Check if they provide accessible, well-maintained APIs, SDKs, and documentation. This can help you avoid delays and make more accurate time estimates during project planning.

### Challenge 3: Dealing with legacy POS systems

Integrating modern payment providers with legacy POS software can be particularly challenging. Older systems often rely on outdated APIs or lack support for modern integration standards, which complicates efforts to add new payment methods or meet current security requirements.

There are multiple approaches to integrating payment providers with POS systems. We cover them in more depth in our dedicated [article on POS integration with payment providers](/blog/payment-provider-pos-integration/). One common approach is **API-based integration**, which is often preferred because it supports a wide range of payment methods – credit cards, mobile wallets, benefit cards, and more – while also helping ensure compliance with security standards like PCI DSS.

**Solution:**
When working with legacy POS systems that use outdated APIs, while payment providers offer modern interfaces, the integration gap needs to be bridged carefully. A practical solution is to develop a **middleware layer** that acts as a translator between the legacy POS and the new payment provider APIs. This middleware can normalize data, handle authentication, and enforce security rules, making the integration more manageable without needing to completely rebuild the existing POS infrastructure.

Another option is to **gradually** [**modernize** **the POS system**](/projects/pos-legacy/) – starting with the payment module – so that it can support modern standards in phases.

### Challenge 4: Navigating mobile requirements from Apple or Google

One key example is implementing tap-to-pay, which enables sellers and restaurant management to turn their smartphones into payment terminals. **Enabling this feature on iPhones is a long-term process** that demands a special entitlement from Apple. It requires the Apple Developer account holder to submit a formal request, and only after approval can development and testing truly begin.

**Solution**: Include in your estimates the time to obtain all of Apple’s necessary entitlements and rules. Additionally, focus rigorously on testing scenarios because until that entitlement is granted, testing can be confined only to local environments via Xcode. This typically means that the time for final feature testing by QA testers or on a staging environment is usually very short.

Check out the actual case study of [implementing tap-to-pay for a global POS vendor](/projects/tap-to-pay-pos/), enabling its clients to offer this new payment method.

<div className="image">![Tap to pay](/images/payment_phone.png "Tap to pay")</div>

## POS integration with food delivery systems (online ordering POS integration)

For many restaurants, partnering with food delivery apps is essential for business growth. These platforms help attract more customers and streamline the delivery process. While basic integrations with platforms like Uber Eats or Glovo are often available out of the box, they come with a major downside: **each platform typically provides a separate device for managing its orders**.

This leads to operational clutter, as staff must monitor multiple devices in parallel with the main POS system. As a result, [custom POS integrations with food delivery platforms](/our-areas/food-delivery-pos-integration/) have become increasingly popular. These solutions unify orders from all third-party platforms and present them in a single interface within the main application of the integrated POS, improving efficiency and reducing complexity.

### Challenge 1: Managing multiple devices and ensuring real-time synchronization

With each delivery platform requiring its own dedicated device, restaurant staff often struggle with a fragmented workflow. This setup increases the risk of missed or delayed orders and reduces overall efficiency.

**Solution**: Custom integrations consolidate all third-party delivery orders into the POS system. This allows staff to manage everything from one interface, with real-time synchronization of orders and menus across platforms. It simplifies operations, reduces device clutter, and enhances order accuracy.

### Challenge 2: Importing and unifying menus from different third parties

Another challenge related to menu synchronization is automating the import of menus from third-party providers to sync with the POS. Every food delivery provider has its menus in different data structures. With complex meal customizations, including bundles, add-ons, and so on, there are many opportunities for synchronization mistakes.Solution: Build a custom mechanism that transforms these various data structures into a unified format, ensuring proper synchronization.

Read more on how we [integrated POS with food delivery apps](/projects/pos-third-party-delivery/).

## POS Integration with hardware

The number of hardware [POS devices](/blog/what-are-point-of-sale-devices/) used in restaurants and retail stores continues to grow. Modern POS systems must integrate with various devices such as contactless payment terminals, receipt and kitchen printers, barcode scanners, scales, and tablets. Ensuring reliable communication between the POS and each device is essential for smooth, uninterrupted operations.

### Challenge 1: Compatibility across diverse hardware

Restaurants often use a mix of hardware – like printers, tablets, and barcode scanners—from different manufacturers. Integrating these devices into one POS system is challenging due to varied SDKs, communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi), and inconsistent reliability.

**Solution**: A custom integration framework to support more types of devices (e.g., **Epson, Star, Sunmi**) with unified communication layer for handling various SDKs and protocols.

### Challenge 2: Maintaining a reliable connection with multiple printers simultaneously

Restaurant employees often needed to print receipts for clients while also printing meal orders for the kitchen. 

**Solution**: Role-based device assignment to route tasks (e.g., customer receipts vs. kitchen orders). One device is printing the receipt, another information for the kitchen, they can operate simultaneously.

### Challenge 3: Device malfunction when they are needed the most

Imagine the stress when the receipt printer suddenly stops working and the line of annoyed customers keeps growing. Or when the waitstaff tries to print kitchen tickets, but the printer fails – disrupting the entire food preparation flow.

**Solution**: Custom mechanism designed to allows the system to reroute the receipt or kitchen order to another device. This assures waitstaff that, regardless of any issues with printing devices, the system always finds an alternative way to print the document.

Explore how our team solved problems with [printer integrations for Just Eat POS](/projects/pos-devices-integration/).

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/zmmCIaQulxI?si=H_c0DxhQ4F4-7KlI' />

## POS eCommerce integration

As more businesses adopt omnichannel strategies, POS and eCommerce integration has become essential. This connection allows for synchronization of sales, inventory, customer data, and pricing between physical stores and online shops – creating a consistent experience across all sales channels.

### Challenge 1: Inventory mismatches

Without real-time syncing, stock levels can quickly become inconsistent between your online store and physical locations, leading to overselling or stockouts.

**Solution:** Implement real-time, two-way inventory synchronization between the POS and eCommerce systems. This ensures that inventory is updated immediately after every sale, return, or restock – online or offline.

### Challenge 2: Inconsistent product information

Manually updating product names, prices, or descriptions in both systems can cause discrepancies and confuse customers.

**Solution:** Use a centralized product catalog that feeds both the POS and eCommerce platform. Automate data syncing so that changes made in one system reflect everywhere.

### Challenge 3: Complex order and fulfillment flows

Online orders may require in-store pickup, shipping from different locations, or partial fulfillment—all of which can be difficult to manage without clear integration.

**Solution:** Design custom logic within your integration to handle multiple fulfillment workflows. This includes syncing order statuses, splitting shipments, and managing returns across systems.

### Challenge 4: API limitations or variability

Different eCommerce platforms (like Shopify, WooCommerce, or Magento) have unique API structures, which can make integration inconsistent or limited.

**Solution:** Introduce a middleware layer that acts as a translator between systems. This approach standardizes communication and allows easier scaling across multiple platforms.

## Integrated POS and accounting software

Integrating accounting and POS software helps businesses transfer data and automate financial reporting, track sales, manage taxes, and simplify bookkeeping. With POS accounting software, transactions from the POS are automatically pushed to the accounting system, reducing manual work and errors.

### Challenge: Data mismatch between the POS and accounting systems

One common issue is data mismatch — especially with taxes, refunds, or daily summaries.

**Solution**: To prevent this, ensure proper data mapping and use automated syncing (daily or real time). If off-the-self solution doesn't apply in you case, consider customization that supports your local tax formats and offer detailed reconciliation features.

## POS Integration with Caller ID

While not the most common feature, integrating a POS system with Caller ID can significantly improve operations in hospitality – especially in restaurants that handle phone orders. Caller ID devices display information about incoming calls, and with proper integration, the POS system can automatically match the phone number to a returning customer. This allows staff to instantly see the caller’s details, such as their delivery address, order history, and loyalty programs status — enabling faster service and a more personalized customer experience.

### Challenge: Phone number validation

One issue during integration is inconsistent phone number formatting, especially with country prefixes (e.g., +1). A system might treat numbers with and without the prefix as different customers.

**Solution**: A custom validation mechanism was built to normalize phone numbers and consistently assign them to the correct customer profile — ensuring accurate caller recognition every time.

Check how we [integrated Caller ID with restaurant POS](/projects/restaurant-pos-caller-id/).

<div className="image">![Restaurant Caller ID](/images/restaurant_phone.jpg "Restaurant Caller ID")</div>

## POS system integration - does it have to be customized?

There are many out-of-the-box solutions for POS system integration that work well — especially for popular use cases like [POS integration with Uber Eats](/our-areas/uber-eats-pos-integration/) or major payment providers. However, off-the-shelf integrations don’t always solve the unique operational challenges businesses face.

If you're a POS provider or a restaurant chain, you likely need to support diverse clients — each expecting that the point-of-sale system adapts to their specific workflows, platforms, and hardware. In these cases, custom integrations are often essential. That’s why partnering with a [POS integration company](/our-areas/food-delivery-pos-integration/) experienced in [point-of-sale system development](https://brightinventions.pl/our-areas/pos-software-development/) can be a strategic move.

## Watching People Talk - Drama Triangle at Work

*Published: 2025-07-07 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, communication, feedback*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/drama-triangle-at-work/index.md*

Words are powerful. The way we speak to each other shapes how we feel, how we work, and even how we see ourselves. In a team setting communication can build trust or quietly break it down. Sometimes without even knowing it, we fall into roles in conversations that create drama, confusion, or stress. One of the most useful tools to understand this pattern is the Drama Triangle.

## ⚠️ what is the drama triangle

The Drama Triangle was developed by Dr. Stephen Karpman in the 1960s. It is a model of dysfunctional social interaction. In this triangle, people take on one of three roles:

**Victim** - feels helpless, stuck, or unfairly treated

**Persecutor** - criticizes, blames, or controls

**Rescuer** - jumps in to "save" others, often without being asked


These roles can shift quickly during a conversation. One moment you feel like a helper, and the next you are being blamed, or you are blaming someone else. This triangle creates drama instead of solving problems.



## 🧐not manipulation, it’s a habit

**The Drama Triangle is not something we consciously choose to play. Most of the time we slip into these roles unintentionally, driven by stress, emotional patterns, or unmet needs.** It is usually a subconscious reaction, not deliberate manipulation.

We might jump in as the Rescuer because we want to be helpful, but we may unintentionally disempower others. Or we might take on the Victim role because we feel unheard or overwhelmed - not because we want pity. The Persecutor role can show up when we feel frustrated and try to take control, even if it means blaming others.

These roles can switch quickly within a single conversation. **Someone might start off as a Rescuer, then feel unappreciated and become the Victim, and later respond with blame, slipping into the Persecutor role.** It is a cycle that creates emotional noise instead of clarity and connection.

## 🧠 why it matters at work

In teams this unconscious pattern can show up during project discussions, code reviews, hiring conversations, or feedback sessions. **It leads to misunderstandings, defensiveness, and strained relationships, even when everyone has good intentions.**

By becoming aware of the Drama Triangle, we can start recognizing when we are sliding into one of the roles and pause before reacting. This gives us a chance to step out of the triangle and respond more constructively  with curiosity, ownership, and empathy.


<div className="image">![drama triangle](/images/drama-triangle-ula.png "")</div>

## 👀 what does drama triangle can look like at work?

The drama triangle can sneak into even the most well-meaning teams. It does not always sound dramatic or toxic. Often it is subtle. It hides behind frustrated questions, over-helping, or quietly taking on too much without speaking up. Below you can find a few common workplace scenarios where the drama triangle quietly takes the lead and how it affects collaboration without us even noticing.

**Example 1: Project manager & developer**

PM: *“This feature is still not done? We can’t afford more delays.”* (Persecutor)

Developer: *“I’m doing my best, but priorities keep changing.”* (Victim)

PM: *“Let me help you break it down so we can speed it up.”* (Rescuer)

👉 What’s missing? Clear ownership and honest conversation about scope, priorities, and planning. Each role reinforces tension rather than solving the real problem.

**Example 2: QA engineer & developer**

QA: *“There are still bugs in this release. Can you finally fix them?”* (Persecutor)

Dev: *“I didn’t even know about those! Why does this always fall on me?”* (Victim)

QA: *“Okay, I’ll log them again and try to verify myself.”* (Rescuer)

👉 The dynamic turns into blame and overwork, instead of teaming up on process improvements or clearer communication.

**Example 3: Hiring manager & Recruiter**

Recruiter: *“I’ve reached out to over 50 candidates, but very few responded positively.”* (Victim)

Manager: *“Maybe we are being too picky. Let me look through the profiles myself.”* (Rescuer)

Recruiter: *“I’m trying everything I can here.”* (Victim, again)

👉 Instead of a collaborative review of the sourcing strategy or refining the job ad, the triangle creates tension and subtle undermining.

**Example 4: Boss & CTO**

Boss: *“Why is our delivery speed slowing down?”* (Persecutor)

CTO: *“We are doing what we can with the team size we have.”* (Victim)

Boss: *“Maybe I should personally join the sprint planning next week.”* (Rescuer)

👉 Rather than addressing root causes like resource planning or technical debt, the conversation spirals into stress and overstepping.

**Example 5: Marketing specialist & Manager**

Manager: *“Why aren’t we seeing better engagement on this campaign?”* (Persecutor)

Specialist: *“We tried everything, but the algorithm keeps changing.”* (Victim)

Manager: *“Let me rewrite the ad copy myself.”* (Rescuer)

👉 This erodes trust, motivation, and learning opportunities. The triangle turns creative teamwork into subtle blame and micromanagement.

## 🚩the drama triangle in feedback processing

Feedback is another place where the triangle often shows up especially when emotions run high.

* Someone receiving feedback might feel attacked (Victim).
* The giver might come across as blaming (Persecutor).
* A third person might jump in to smooth things over (Rescuer), instead of helping both sides process and grow.


That is why building a healthy feedback culture requires more than just “giving feedback.” **It means being aware of these subtle emotional patterns, staying curious instead of reactive, and focusing on shared goals instead of playing roles.**

## 🆘 how to step out of the drama triangle - reframing roles

Just becoming aware of the drama triangle is already a powerful first step. **Once you notice the patterns, you can choose a different way to respond - one that leads to clarity instead of confusion, ownership instead of blame.** 



[Building on Karpman’s work David Emerald offers a powerful alternative in his book The Power of TED.](https://www.dramykellermft.com/blog/drama-to-empowerment) He reframes these three roles into more positive, empowering ones that help break the cycle of drama. Instead of the Victim we become the Creator - taking responsibility and focusing on solutions. The Persecutor becomes the Challenger, who provides honest, constructive feedback without blame. And the Rescuer evolves into the Coach, supporting others to find their own answers rather than taking over. By adopting these new roles we can **shift out of the drama roles and run into constructive collaboration:**

✅ **From Victim to Owner**

Instead of thinking *“This is happening to me”*, shift to *“What can I influence or ask for?”* Ask yourself:

* What do I need right now to move forward?
* Is there a request I can make instead of just expressing frustration?
* Am I taking responsibility for what is actually mine (and not more than that)?


💬 Instead of: *“There’s nothing I can do.”* **Try: “Here’s where I am stuck, and here is what would help.”**

✅ **From Persecutor to Challenger**

Instead of blaming, challenge others constructively and stay solution-oriented. Ask yourself:

* Am I criticizing, or am I helping someone grow?
* Am I assuming negative intent, or staying curious?
* Can I be direct and respectful?


💬 Instead of: *“Why haven’t you done this yet?”* **Try: “What’s blocking progress on this? How can we solve it?”**

✅ **From Rescuer to Coach or Partner**

Instead of fixing things for others, empower them to solve it themselves (with support if needed). Ask yourself:

* Am I helping, or taking over?
* Has this person asked for help, or am I jumping in by habit?
* Can I offer support without removing ownership?


💬 Instead of: *“I’ll take care of it for you.”* **Try: “How can I support you in figuring this out?”**

Teams can also create **shared practices** to make drama less likely. For example, we can normalize asking questions before assuming intent and create psychological safety where people can admit mistakes without blame. Also making “ownership” part of your culture and knowing who is responsible for what really help. And last but not least - honest daily communication - use check-ins to surface emotions early instead of letting them leak into conflict. 

## final thoughts



The Drama Triangle isn not about bad people or broken teams. It is about human habits we all fall into, especially under pressure. It is natural. But when we notice it, we can shift. Instead of blaming, we can ask. Instead of rescuing, we can support. Instead of feeling like a victim, we can take ownership. The key is not to avoid emotion, but to notice the pattern and step out of the drama with intention and kindness. 

**Language shapes our world. And every time we choose a healthier way to speak, we help build a better one.** ❤️

## One Codebase for iOS and Android with Kotlin Multiplatform

*Published: 2025-07-01 | Author: szymon-g | Tags: mobile, kotlin, iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/one-codebase-ios-android-kotlin-multiplatform/index.md*

**In this article, I'll guide you step-by-step through creating a shared library, with a focus on implementing it for iOS via an XCFramework.**

<div className="image">![Kotlin Multiplatform](/images/blog_post_kmp_phone.png "Kotlin Multiplatform")</div>

## Setting Up a Kotlin Multiplatform Library

In Android Studio, I created a new project using the **"Kotlin Multiplatform Library"** template.\
During the setup, there's an option for iOS framework distribution, where you can choose between:

* Regular Framework (built for one architecture)  
* XCFramework (supports all architectures)  
* CocoaPods (iOS dependency manager)

I selected XCFramework because it fit my needs best and offered an easy way to integrate the shared code into the iOS project.

## Adding a Shared Kotlin Class

Next, I added a simple Kotlin class to the shared module:

```kotlin
class KotlinMultiplatformClass {
    fun greeting(): String {
        return "Hello from Kotlin Multiplatform!"
    }

    fun sum(a: Int, b: Int): Int {
        return a + b
    }
}
```

This class is compiled into the shared library and will be available on both iOS and Android.

## Using the Shared Library on Android

On Android, using the shared code is straightforward. You just add the shared module as a dependency and use the class directly in Kotlin code. No extra setup is needed beyond the standard Gradle configuration.

## Using the XCFramework in iOS

To generate the .xcframework file, I used a Gradle task provided by the Kotlin Multiplatform plugin. This task can be executed from the Gradle tool window in Android Studio. Once the task completes, the .xcframework is available in the build output directory.

To use the shared Kotlin code in an iOS project, I added the generated .xcframework to my Xcode project by including it in the project settings. After that, I imported the Kotlin module in the relevant Swift files.

Swift using:

```swift
import YourFrameworkName
```

Once imported, I could create an instance of the shared Kotlin class and call its methods directly in Swift:

```swift
let kotlinMultiplatform = KotlinMultiplatformClass()
print(kotlinMultiplatform.greeting())
```

That’s it! The Kotlin logic is now fully accessible in Swift, and I can use the same logic on both platforms.

## Kotlin Multiplatform Tutorial – Conclusion

Kotlin Multiplatform makes it incredibly easy to share core logic between Android and iOS. By using an XCFramework, you can integrate your shared Kotlin code into any iOS project with minimal setup.\
If you're maintaining two codebases and want to unify shared business logic, Kotlin Multiplatform is absolutely worth exploring.

## The Current Status of Test Fixtures Support in Android

*Published: 2025-06-30 | Author: azabost | Tags: kotlin, android, gradle, testing*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/current-test-fixtures-support-android/index.md*

**While test fixtures have been available in Gradle since 2019, their support in the Android Gradle Plugin is still evolving. With AGP 8.5, Kotlin sources in test fixtures are now supported in Android modules, but this feature remains experimental and is hidden behind a feature flag. Although a powerful tool for sharing test utilities across modules, test fixtures support in Android is not yet widely known or documented.**

<div className="image">![Test Fixtures Support in Android](/images/test-board.jpg "Test Fixtures Support in Android")</div>

## The Evolution of Test Fixtures Support

[Test fixtures](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/java_testing.html#sec:java_test_fixtures) were first introduced in Gradle 5.6 back in 2019. This feature allows developers to create and share test utilities across modules, making it easier to maintain consistent testing approaches throughout a project.

However, Android developers had to wait a few years before this functionality became available in their ecosystem. Test fixtures support was not added to the Android build system until the release of [Android Gradle Plugin and Android Studio Chipmunk](https://developer.android.com/build/releases/past-releases/agp-7-2-0-release-notes#test-fixtures).

## Initial Limitations

The initial implementation of test fixtures in AGP had significant limitations. The support was better for Java than for Kotlin, creating a frustrating experience for many Android developers who had embraced Kotlin as their primary language.

Specifically, an Android module (such as a library or application) could consume test fixtures from a standard Kotlin module (one using the Kotlin Gradle Plugin instead of the Android Gradle Plugin) without issue. The limitation was that
an Android module itself could only define test fixtures written in Java, not Kotlin. This limitation was tracked in [Google's issue tracker](https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/219687418).

## Recent Improvements

AGP 8.5 introduces support for Kotlin sources in test fixtures within Android modules. This improvement is currently behind an experimental flag, which might explain why it hasn't received much attention yet. The feature was tracked in [this issue](https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/259523353).

## Configuration Differences

While test fixtures are supported in both standard Kotlin and Android modules, the configuration process differs between them. Getting started requires knowing about the experimental support and understanding the specific setup needed for each module type.

For a standard Kotlin module, enabling test fixtures is straightforward:

```
plugins {
    id("kotlin")
    id("java-test-fixtures") // <-- this
}
```

However, Android modules cannot use the `java-test-fixtures` plugin. Instead, they require a different configuration:

```
plugins {
    id("com.android.library")
    kotlin("android")
}

android {
    testFixtures.enable = true // <-- this
}
```

Enabling Kotlin support in test fixtures for Android modules currently requires the following feature toggle in your `gradle.properties` file:

```
android.experimental.enableTestFixturesKotlinSupport=true
```

What currently makes this situation particularly challenging is that the [official Gradle documentation](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/java_testing.html#sec:java_test_fixtures) omits the specific configuration required for Android modules. This can mislead developers into thinking that test fixtures should be enabled in the same manner across all module types.

Moreover, the experimental flag for Kotlin support is not documented in the official Android documentation. This lack of documentation makes it difficult for developers to discover and utilize this feature, even though it has been available since AGP 8.5. The missing documentation is likely due to the experimental status of the feature, as experimental features often remain undocumented until they become stable.

## Conclusion

While test fixtures support was added to Android significantly later than to Java or Kotlin, its arrival is a positive development. The recent addition of Kotlin support for test fixtures in Android modules is a welcome improvement that will make it easier for Android developers to create and share test utilities across their projects.

This enhancement allows for more consistent testing approaches and better code organization, ultimately leading to more maintainable Android applications.

## Deep Research AI Tools: ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok vs Perplexity

*Published: 2025-06-27 | Author: rafal h | Tags: ai, research, productivity, ChatGPT*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ai-deep-research-comparison/index.md*

**The landscape of AI-powered research tools has evolved dramatically in 2025. What was once exclusive to premium tiers is now becoming more accessible, with providers racing to offer comprehensive internet search capabilities paired with source citations and detailed report generation. After extensive testing across five major platforms - ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Gemini (Free), Grok (Free), and Perplexity Pro - I'm sharing my hands-on experience to help you choose the right tool for your research needs.**

<div className="image">![Deep research comparison](/images/ai_deep_search.png "Deep research - tools comparision")</div>

## What is Deep Research?

Deep Research represents a significant leap from simple chatbot interactions. These tools don't just answer questions - they actively search the internet, evaluate multiple sources, synthesize information, and generate comprehensive reports complete with citations. Think of it as **having a research assistant who can quickly scan through dozens (or even hundreds) of sources** and compile findings into a coherent narrative.

## The Contenders

### ChatGPT Deep Research (OpenAI)

* **Pricing**: Plus tier ($20/month) and FREE tier
* **Usage**: Free users get 5 lightweight queries/month, Plus users get 10 standard + 15 lightweight queries/month
* **Strengths**: Exceptional accuracy and depth, based on o3 and o4-mini reasoning model

### Claude Research (Anthropic)

* **Pricing**: Pro tier ($20/month)
* **Usage**: Subject to standard message limits
* **Strengths**: Thoughtful analysis, Google Workspace integration

### Gemini Deep Research (Google)

* **Pricing**: FREE with limited uses, expanded access with Gemini Advanced subscription
* **Usage**: Free users get "a few times a month", Advanced users get more
* **Strengths**: Google ecosystem integration, powered by a good scored Gemini 2.5 Pro.

### Grok DeepSearch (xAI)

* **Pricing**: Free tier available, SuperGrok subscription ($30/month) for expanded access
* **Usage**: Limited queries for free users, expanded for Premium+ and SuperGrok users
* **Strengths**: Real-time X (Twitter) data access

### Perplexity Deep Research

* **Pricing**: Free with limits, Pro subscription ($20/month) for unlimited
* **Usage**: Limited queries/day for free users, unlimited for Pro
* **Strengths**: Speed (under 3 minutes), established search capabilities

## Deep Research Testing Methodology

I evaluated each platform using the same complex research queries such as: 

1. Technical feasibility assessments for project planning
2. Deep dives into unfamiliar topics
3. Deep dives into technical possibilities

They were mostly related to web dev world, but I have also tried some deep search for personal advice (health or financial).

## Detailed Deep Research Comparison

Please have in mind that this is my personal ranking as of today. The results might be completely different for your use case or usage.

### 1. ChatGPT Deep Research

**What Sets It Apart:**
ChatGPT's Deep Research uses a specialized version of OpenAI's o3/o4-mini model and can autonomously search for and read information from diverse online sources. The tool excels at understanding nuanced queries and diving deep into technical subjects. As noted by community members on X (including mentions by A. Karpathy), the quality difference is noticeable.

**Best For:**

* Complex project feasibility studies
* Academic research
* Technical deep dives where accuracy is paramount
* Users already invested in the OpenAI ecosystem

**Drawbacks:**

* Limited monthly queries even on paid tiers
* Can take up to 30 minutes for complex queries

### 2. Gemini Deep Research (Free)

**What Sets It Apart:**
Gemini Deep Research autonomously searches and deeply browses the web to find relevant, up-to-date information. Despite being free, it performs impressively well. Gemini users can try Deep Research a few times a month at no cost, and Gemini Advanced users get expanded access.

**Best For:**

* Users who need frequent research without subscription costs
* Projects requiring data export to Google Workspace
* General research tasks
* Users already invested in the Gemini ecosystem

**Drawbacks:**

* Limited uses per month for free tier
* Cryptic privacy settings (AFAIK you have to turn off your Gemini history to avoid training the model)

### 3. Claude Research

**What Sets It Apart:**
Artifacts look and feel & general UI/UX of the solution. The results are also good.

**Best For:**

* Users already invested in the Anthropic ecosystem

**Drawbacks:**

* Sometimes limits are kicking in.

### 4. Grok DeepSearch (Free)

**What Sets It Apart:**
xAI also introduced DeepSearch, a feature that scans the internet and X to generate detailed summaries in response to queries. Grok's strength lies in its real-time information access through X (Twitter) integration.

**Best For:**

* Current events research
* Social media trend analysis
* Quick fact-checking with X platform data

**Drawbacks:**

* Less comprehensive for deep academic research
* Limited features in free tier
* Can be inconsistent with factual accuracy

### 5. Perplexity Pro Deep Research

**What Sets It Apart:**
Deep Research on Perplexity not only attains high scores on industry benchmarks, but it does so while completing most research tasks in under 3 minutes.

**Best For:**

* Quick searches and summaries
* Users already invested in the Perplexity ecosystem
* Time-sensitive research needs

**Drawbacks:**

* Less depth compared to ChatGPT's Deep Research
* May rely on easily available sources

## The Verdict: Best Deep Research AI

After some testing, here's my ranking:

1. **ChatGPT Deep Research** - Accuracy and depth, now accessible even on free tier
2. **Gemini (Free) = Claude Research** - Excellent alternatives with different strengths
3. **Grok DeepSearch (Free)** - Good for specific use cases, especially real-time data
4. **Perplexity Research** - Fastest but less comprehensive

In the end, if other features are turning you to given ecosystem (like Claude Code for Anthropic or Codex for OpenAI) just use deep search you are provided with when paying for subscription. 

## Looking Forward

The rapid democratization of deep research tools in 2025 is exciting. ChatGPT now offers Deep Research even to free users (though limited), Gemini provides free access with decent capabilities, and Perplexity maintains its speed advantage. The competition has intensified, with each platform carving out its niche.
Remember, **the "best" tool ultimately depends on your specific use case, budget, and workflow preference**s. With free tiers now widely available, I recommend testing each platform to understand which works best for your research needs.

In the end, what really matters is the usage of new technologies for fast and good research. 

- - -

*Have you tried these deep research tools? Share your experiences and let me know which one works best for your research needs.*

## Top Mental Health Conferences 2025

*Published: 2025-06-26 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mental-health-conferences/index.md*

**If your calendar isn't full already, check out these mental health conferences that will still take place in 2025 across the globe.**

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## 2nd International Conference on Mental Health and Human Resilience

**Date**: July 21-22, 2025

**City**: London, UK

**Ticket pricing**: from 599 USD to 1449 USD.

This global gathering is dedicated to advancing the understanding, support, and advocacy for mental health, with a theme of "Mindfulness in Action: Cultivating Holistic Wellness."

**Details**: [mentalhealth.novelticsconferences.com](https://mentalhealth.novelticsconferences.com/)

## Global Mental Health Research 2025 (MentalHeal2025)

**Date**: July 14-16, 2025

**City**: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

**Ticket pricing**: from 275 USD to 450 USD

MentalHeal2025 is a premier event exploring the latest innovations, research, and strategies in mental health, bringing together professionals, researchers, policymakers, and academics from around the world.

**Details**: [mental.health3000.org](https://mental.health3000.org/)

## Hong Kong International Mental Health Conference – “Navigating Life's Defining Moments”

**Date**: November 6-8, 2025

**City**: Hong Kong

**Ticket pricing**: from 50 USD to 3,800 USD

Mind HK's third conference will focus on the evidence, psychology, and culture of mental health across the lifespan, with a dedicated Mental Wellbeing Festival for the public.

**Details**: [hkmentalhealthconference.com](https://hkmentalhealthconference.com/)

## 7th Global Mental Health Summit

**Date**: November 10-12, 2025

**City**: Cape Town, South Africa

**Ticket pricing**: from 300 USD to 500 USD

This premier event, organized by the Movement for Global Mental Health and the Global Mental Health Peer Network, will bring together experts to discuss the current state and future of mental health, with the theme "Mental Health and Wellbeing - What has Changed? What needs to Change.

**Details**: [www.7thgmhsummit.org](https://www.7thgmhsummit.org/)

## 12th Global Summit on Mental Health and Resilience

**Date**: November 6-7, 2025

**City**: Tokyo, Japan

**Ticket pricing**: from 199 USD to 799 USD

This summit aims to connect mental health leaders, advocates, experts, and academics to discuss new advancements, challenges, and novel findings in mental health and resilience.

**Details**: [idias.org/etn/mhr-2025/](https://idias.org/etn/mhr-2025/)

## React Context and why not every child throws a re-render party

*Published: 2025-06-25 | Author: rafal-op | Tags: frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/react-context-rerenders/index.md*

**React Context is a powerful tool that makes it easy to share data across multiple components, helping to avoid a common issue known as *props drilling*. While Context is sometimes mistakenly treated as a state management solution - especially in comparisons with tools like Redux - its primary purpose isn't managing complex application state. In this article, however, I want to focus on debunking a different myth: the belief that all components inside a Context Provider automatically re-render when the context value changes.**

<div className="image">![](/images/react_context.png "")</div>

## Anatomy of Context

The **React Context API** revolves around two main components: the **Provider** and the **Consumer**. The Provider is a component that wraps part of your component tree and makes data (**value** property in the Provider) available to all its descendants. Any component within this tree can become a Consumer (but simply being inside the Provider doesn’t make a component a Consumer) allowing it to access the shared data exposed by the Provider, at which point it becomes a Consumer.
In short, the *Provider supplies the data*, and the *Consumers receive it -* no need to pass props manually through every level of the component tree.

### The Truth About Context and Re-renders

You may already know ([and here's more on that](/blog/keys-and-re-renders-in-react)) that when a context value changes, React will re-render all components that subscribe to that context.
But what about components that are simply nested inside the Provider and don’t use the context at all? Do they re-render too?
One common misconception - often discussed as a downside of using Context is that:

> All components inside a Provider re-render when the context value changes

This would indeed be inefficient if it were true. But the reality is more nuanced.

### Context and Its Children

Let’s look at a practical example ([available also here](https://reactplayground.vercel.app/#N4IgLgziBcBmCGAbCBTANCAbrK1QEsA7AExQA8A6AK1xHwFsAHAewCcwACAQUcY9lbN6HAOQUA9D0bUIZEQB1CDFuw4AlFPADGnAUNGtNOhUqZtOwDlsPwwKNc2acAvv0HCRNnQFpiQ8VqI+CiEYCaKWsyEEJyRofBEKKwcALwcfloArvQhYBQA5ihgAKKIKDmhAEIAngCSxAAUno5hAJQRUTEcgk6pVjZ2Dk4NcWAJhEnthD15hiRJDYoc6kZ51pp2peW5i4TLyxraeQDKYKz4OgCyzKRoS-uEmYiId3v7hzoU67YoWxVgDSkU2WU1aIAwUhkZBgdDMqg+YDQHEs3zsAGEonYyIiOJlUBjQuQcXiUKcfkiScVYLAUDoOK49MJ5CAvGBmQBuRQdaKcABy2QARkkCVjOGlUSgRUSGq1OYRuV1+fQhawpdiAAqCTD4UjJNINFEAC3wiGIc3prVSAD5kfc4l0ANqPZVJJGoMBKlUAXT6JLJdgaAAZZVy3pTqbSATLrba3st7ZwdX13bVCaxMEgGtGUjb3Z6Fnscxw9gBqDgARlaSIATIG6yH5XHukVMqw9tmbYFNKxU3Z05mdQ3ls4kQ6vQ37oYwK32-dlgAefOqzFEiia5ja3UcDOITIoFLAZ0q5xWuf7YBaY2mubOM-z8RLtV5debpKnt4N5xyhWcY6ZAUQNY+BCsQaJXsQfQdrG8adJwO57r6+IrtiDSPshYBDlYnTMGUFCIMw+SLCAf4AUBIFgSaEGGN4cy6igxDMhObxTjOHDzsQ+CYFaFGmtw0DIvBKDOPeHFcXKX6hgmHAAKrRP+gHnOR4GQZaRbAHa2G4fhhHMrJEDyWR9E8VRIR0QxIBMcsLFtmxonccplT8TEtgXCJnFWuJ34TGQKicKQCBPLomSEDo+BRNwvDRupzEtjZuz7GxaGEhqWo6m+Z4LiRCnAUZyniO+CULnpBmKbllEcPld4PoKwroS+aWsAVHCfuCIAxNUuFaBAtAUAKYB7NFyywJi3gQPgABeKD8dWhj0OJIDOM4QA)):

```
import React, { createContext, useContext, useState, useEffect } from "react";

const NumberContext = createContext();

const NumberContextProvider = ({ children }) => {
  const [number, setNumber] = useState(0);

  useEffect(() => {
    const id = setInterval(() => setNumber(n => n + 1), 2000);

    return () => clearInterval(id);
  }, []);

  return (
    <NumberContext.Provider value={number}>
      {children}
    </NumberContext.Provider>
  );
};

const SubscribedChild = () => {
  const value = useContext(NumberContext);
  console.log("SubscribedChild re-rendered");

  return <div>Child A: {value}</div>;
};

const UnsubscribedChild = () => {
  console.log("UnsubscribedChild rendered");

  return <div>Child B: static</div>;
};

export default function App() {
  return (
    <NumberContextProvider>
      <SubscribedChild />
      <UnsubscribedChild />
    </NumberContextProvider>
  );
}
```

According to the myth, you’d expect to see logs from both components every 2 seconds. But when you check the console, you’ll notice that **UnsubscribedChild** logs only once, while **SubscribedChild** logs on every update.

Why is that?
Only components that both are wrapped inside the Provider, and subscribe to the context using `useContext` or `<Context.Consumer>` will re-render when the context value changes.

The myth contains a grain of truth: sometimes, unintended re-renders can happen when a context contains multiple values, and even a change to one of them causes all subscribers to update - even if they only use part of the data.

That’s why it’s a good practice to:

1. Keep contexts focused and minimal
2. Avoid using a single context for large, frequently changing state
3. Create multiple small contexts instead of one "big store" shared by many components

However, we will focus on optimization techniques for Contexts another time.

- - -

##### Take a look at our earlier blog post debunking frontend myths:

1. [To ‘b’ or Not to ‘b’: The Semantic Status of HTML ‘b’ Tag](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/)
2. [Understanding the Hoisting Behavior of let and const](/blog/let-const-hoisting/)
3. [JavaScript Types De-Objectified](/blog/javascript-types-deobjectified/)
4. [Eye on ‘i’ — Understanding ‘i’ as a Semantic Element](/blog/understanding-i-as-semantic-element/)
5. [Breaking Down the “alt” Attribute Myth in img Tag Best Practices](/blog/breaking-down-alt-attribute/)
6. [The Truth About Keys and Re-Renders in React](/blog/keys-and-re-renders-in-react/)

## The List of 42 Smart Healthcare Devices (Regularly Updated)

*Published: 2021-08-03 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/index.md*

**Smart earrings, tattoos, smart socks, robot pets, and more... Discover the types of smart health devices transforming patient care with the Internet of Things (IoT). Also, meet [healthcare software development companies](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/) that are behind these devices. The list is continuously updated.**

<div className="image">![smart devices healthcare](../../static/images/smart_devices_healthcare.png "smart devices healthcare")</div>

**Contents**

[Healthcare wearables](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/#smart-health-devices--wearables)

[Remote patient monitoring & diagnostics devices](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/#remote-patient-monitoring--diagnostics-devices)

[Chronic disease management devices](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/#chronic-disease-management-devices)

[Healthcare assistance devices](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/#healthcare-assistance-devices)

[FemTech devices](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/#femtech-devices)

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get ready to face tech challenges while scaling' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download our free guide, where we\'ve compiled market reports, case studies, expert insights, tech trends, and more. Almost 100 pages for you!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## Smart health devices – wearables

<center>

<div className="image">![healthcare and fitness wearables](/images/wearables_dall-e.png "DALL-E generated image")</div>

DALL-E generated image

</center>

### Multi-functional smartwatch

They monitor stress levels, movement disorders, sleep tracking, blood pressure, heart disease.
Due to their widespread popularity, these bluetooth health devices have the potential to evolve from mere fitness trackers to healthcare tools accessible to the masses.

Companies: Brands like Fitbit and Garmin specialize in such devices.

### Smart ring

Smart rings have shown promise in areas such as sign language recognition and the early detection of COVID-19 and other viral infections. They are also utilized for early detection and prevention of burnout and other mental disorders. 

Companies: Oura, Motiv, Ringly, and Nuanic are examples of companies that have developed smart rings, providing insights into human well-being.

### Smart earrings

Researchers at the University of Washington are developing smart earrings capable of monitoring signs of stress, eating, exercise, and ovulation.

Companies: this technology is mostly developed at universities.

<div className="image">![Image generated by DALL-E.](/images/smart_earrings.png "Image generated by DALL-E.")</div>

### Smart bracelet

A smart bracelet can as many wearables track vital signs. High-performance athletic wearables provide detailed insights into recovery, strain, and sleep, designed primarily for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. 

Companies: Fitbit, Garmin, Whoop specializes in athletic and lifestyle wearables. 

### Smart tattoos

Smart tattoos offer a promising future in the realm of personalized medicine including continuous health monitoring in a non-invasive and virtually unnoticeable manner.

Companies: smart tattoos are still in the experimental stage, undergoing research.

### Smart headband

Smart headbands are designed to monitor brain activity, stress levels, and sleep patterns. They often utilize sensors to collect data that can aid meditation, improve sleep, and manage neurological conditions.

Companies: Muse and Emotiv produce headbands that are widely used in neurofeedback and mental health improvement applications.

### Smart belt

Wearable smart healthcare devices that monitor physical fitness, track posture, and even alert users to health issues like irregular breathing or heart rates. They can also provide haptic feedback for posture correction.

Companies: WELT is an example of a company that has developed smart belts with health tracking.

### Smart socks

Smart socks monitor foot temperature, helping to detect early signs of inflammation or injury. Smart socks can also help with the fall prevention.

Companies such as Siren and Palarum offer smart socks. 

### Smart shoe insoles

Smart shoe insoles are designed to fit inside footwear and provide real-time feedback on walking and running patterns. This technology is a proactive tool in diabetic foot ulcer prevention, helping to maintain foot health and mobility in patients with diabetes.

Companies: Digitsole, Orpyx, Nurvv are leading smart shoe insoles providers.

### Smart contact lenses

Connected contact lenses are innovative devices designed to monitor physiological conditions, like glucose levels or intraocular pressure, or to provide augmented reality displays.

Companies: Companies like Alcon and Mojo Vision are pioneering this technology, aiming to merge vision correction with digital data display or health monitoring functionalities.

### Smart glasses

These smart healthcare devices are particularly valuable for providing real-time patient data display, assisting with surgical procedures through augmented reality overlays, and improving accessibility for the visually impaired by enhancing residual vision or reading text aloud.

Companies: Vuzix and Google, Apple are key players in the development of smart glasses.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ts7Gxx2uc8' />

### Fall-detection devices

These smart health devices use sensors to detect falls among patients and the elderly, alerting caregivers and emergency services automatically.

Companies: Lifeline develops fall-detection devices and sensors.

### Smart bandages

They monitor wound conditions, such as moisture and temperature, and can deliver targeted drug treatments to improve healing processes.

Companies: This bluetooth health device is still mostly in the prototype phase; if you know companies that are developing smart bandages, let us know in the comments.

## Remote patient monitoring & diagnostics devices

<center>

<div className="image">![Remote patient monitoring & diagnostics devices](/images/family_devices_dall-e.png "Image generated by DALL-E.")</div>

Image generated by DALL-E.

</center>

### Pulse oximeter

It monitors the oxygen saturation of the patient’s blood and displays the percentage of blood loaded with oxygen.

Companies: Masimo, iHealth are examples of companies developing smart pulse oximeter

### Bluetooth thermometer

Modern thermometer devices not only read a patient's temperature remotely but also send the data to the app that evaluates them.

Companies: ihealth, Withings and Kinsa are examples of companies developing smart thermometers.

### Sphygmomanometer (electronic blood pressure monitor)

These devices often feature wireless connectivity, enabling easy tracking and management of blood pressure readings.

Companies: Omron, Withings and Qardio are examples of companies at the forefront of developing smart sphygmomanometers.

### Spirometer

Devcies designed to measure lung function and help diagnose, monitor, and treat respiratory conditions such as asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and cystic fibrosis. 

Companies: NuovoAir, AioCare are examples of companies known for developing innovative smart spirometers.

### Stethoscope

It enables real-time and remote medical examinations that don’t have to be conducted by doctors. Caregivers not only can record a patient’s beating heart but even “broadcast” it live to the doctor.

Check companies developing smart home stethoscopes: Stethome, Feelix@Home.

### Smart cardiac monitor

These are medical devices that continuously measure and record heart activity, providing essential data for detecting heart conditions such as arrhythmias, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular issues. Their “smart versions” can be utilised by patients in home settings.

Companies: SmartHeart is an example of a company manufacturing home cardiac monitors.

### Smart scale

Smart scales that not only measure weight but also track body composition, including muscle mass and body fat percentage.

Companies: Withings, Fitbit and Xiaomi are examples of companies selling  smart scales

### Sleep monitors

Devices that track sleep patterns and quality, providing insights into sleep cycles, disturbances, and overall sleep health.

Companies: Fitbit, Philips, and Withings are notable producers of sleep monitoring devices that integrate with other health tracking systems.

### Skin cancer detection device

A device that utilizes spectroscopy to evaluate skin lesions and detect potential skin cancers, recommending further analysis when necessary.

Company: DermaSensor is leading the way with this innovative approach to early skin cancer detection.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/0wQreIXmS8Y' />

## Chronic disease management devices

<center>

<div className="image">![chronic management devices](/images/chronic_diseases_devices_dall-e.png "Image generated by DALL-E.")</div>

Image generated by DALL-E.

</center>

### Artificial pancreas

Medtronic and Insulet are known for their development of artificial pancreas systems that automatically adjust insulin levels in diabetic patients.

Companies: Medtronic, Insulet are developing artificial pancreas

### Smart pillbox

Smart pillboxes help manage medication schedules and ensure adherence to prescriptions and provides alerts whenever something is due.

Companies: Tinylogics, and PillDrill are developing smart pillbox.

### Smart med dispenser

A smart medication dispenser intelligently manages and dispenses prescribed drugs, ensuring that patients take the correct dosage at the right times, thereby improving adherence and overall treatment efficacy.

Companies: Hero is one of the companies developing smart dispensers.

### Smart inhalers

Smart health devices that help manage respiratory conditions like asthma or COPD by tracking usage patterns and medication adherence, and sometimes providing feedback on inhalation technique.

Companies: Propeller Health and Teva Pharmaceuticals offer advanced connected inhaler systems that sync with mobile apps for real-time monitoring.

### Glucose monitoring systems

They provide continuous or flash monitoring of blood glucose levels, helping individuals with diabetes manage their condition more effectively.

Companies: Dexcom and Abbott Laboratories are leading manufacturers of CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) systems, offering devices that deliver real-time glucose readings and trend data.

### Wearable device to track epilepsy

This bluetooth health device is focused on monitoring and analyzing symptoms of epilepsy, aiding in the effective management of the condition.

Company: Neurava is at the forefront of developing these innovative wearable devices.

### Wearable for monitoring of chronic kidney disease

A wearable device for the arm that uses non-invasive methods to prevent and monitor chronic kidney diseases, offering a new approach to managing this widespread health issue.

Company: Metyos is pioneering this technology with its cutting-edge wearable device.

### Devices for chronic pain

Description: Smart health devices designed to deliver neuromodulation therapy, effectively managing chronic pain conditions and improving quality of life.

Company: Nalu Medical is known for its advanced pain management devices.

### Gloves reducing hand tremors

These gloves are engineered to stabilize hand movements for patients with Parkinson’s disease, helping to reduce tremors and improve daily functionality.

Company: Various is in the development stages for this type of assistive technology.

## Healthcare assistance devices

<center>

<div className="image">![Healthcare assistance devices](/images/home_smart_devices_dall-e.png "Image generated by DALL-E.")</div>

Image generated by DALL-E.

</center>

### AI voice assistant

AI-driven voice assistants to help manage health by providing medication reminders, scheduling doctor’s appointments, and offering health advice.

Companies: Nuance and Orbita offer AI voice assistants.

### Assistive robot

Robots can assist staff in hospitals by automating routine tasks like fetching and delivering supplies.

Company: Diligent Robotics is an example of the company developing robots supporting hospital staff.

### Robot pet

Companies like Joy for All create robotic pets designed to provide companionship for the elderly, which can help reduce stress and provide emotional support.

Company: Joy for All offers pets for emotional support.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/W2hs1ar_lvE' />

### Smart carpet

They are designed to enhance elderly care by detecting falls and unusual walking patterns, and alerting caregivers to potential issues.

Company: SensFloor by Future-Shape is a notable example of this technology. 

### Digital mirror

It provides health and beauty insights, integrates with other health devices, and supports teleconsultation.

Companies: CareOS ang Neurologic develop smart mirrors.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/J9o6_YlxlvA' />

## FemTech devices

<center>

<div className="image">![FemTech devices](/images/femtech_devices_dall-e.png "Image generated by DALL-E.")</div>

</center>

### Breast self-examination device

A device specifically designed to enable women to perform regular breast self-examinations at home, which is crucial for early detection of breast cancer.

Company: Glooma and Dotplot are aim to empower women to monitor their breast health effectively.

### Devices for urinary incontinence treatment

 These devices can include wearable sensors that detect moisture and send alerts to a smartphone app, allowing users to track incidents and patterns. Some advanced systems also offer pelvic floor training programs to strengthen muscles and reduce incidents of leaks.

Companies: Elvie and INNOVO are notable in the field of devices for urinary incontinence.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/C5l4d-Bpyrl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==' />

### Fertility tracker devices

These devices often track physiological markers such as basal body temperature, hormone levels, or menstrual cycle patterns to predict ovulation and optimize the chances of conception.

Companies: Ava, Kegg and Clearblue are leading manufacturers in this sector. 

### Breastfeeding monitor

Devices designed to assist nursing mothers by tracking breastfeeding sessions, monitoring the baby’s intake, and analyzing feeding patterns. This information helps mothers manage their feeding schedules and ensures adequate nutrition for the baby.

Company: Coro is one of the pioneers in breastfeeding monitoring.

### Smart breast pump

Modern breast pumps connected to a dedicated app enable monitoring of milk volume, tracking of pumping sessions, and offer guidance to optimize the pumping experience.

Companies: Elvie, Willow and Freemie offer smart breast pumps.

### Hot flush relief bracelet

A piece of smart jewelry that automatically tracks hot flashes for women experiencing menopause, offering relief by triggering cooling at the onset of a flush.

Companies: Grace is the manufacturer developing bracelets for women with menopause.

## Top Healthcare Conferences to Attend in the USA in 2025

*Published: 2024-02-08 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthtech-conferences-usa/index.md*

**Are you planning to attend health conferences in the USA? Dive into the list of top healthcare conferences 2025 USA!**

<div className="image">![Digital Health Conferences USA](../../static/images/us_healthtech_conferences.png "Digital Health Conferences USA")</div>

## 2025 AHA Leadership Summit

**Date**: July 20-22, 2025

**City**: Nashville, TN

**Ticket pricing**: up to $1,475

**Number of attendees**: Not specified, but unites senior healthcare executives, clinicians, and industry experts.

The AHA Leadership Summit unites senior healthcare executives, clinicians, and industry experts to explore innovative strategies for improving care quality, enhancing financial stability, tackling workforce challenges, and elevating the patient experience.

Details: [leadershipsummit.aha.org](https://leadershipsummit.aha.org/)

## HLTH

**Date**: October 19-22, 2025

**City**: Las Vegas, NV

**Ticket pricing**: up to $2,395

**Number of attendees**: 12,000+

HLTH is a leading event that brings together senior leaders to solve healthcare's most pressing challenges and realize the most promising opportunities to create health's future, showcasing the latest technological innovations for the entire health ecosystem.

Details: [hlth.com/](https://hlth.com/2025event)

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='scale your HealthTech solution successfully' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Nearly 100 pages on leveraging technology in healthcare development, including reports, use cases, and technology tips, compiled into one PDF.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## Healthcare conferences 2025 that already took place in the USA

### ViVE

**Date**: February 16-19, 2025

**City**: Nashville, TN

**Ticket pricing**: up to $2,395

**Number of attendees**: 9,000+

ViVE is the premier, curated event experience for digital health decision makers focusing on the business of healthcare.

Details: [www.viveevent.com](https://www.viveevent.com/)

### HIMSS

**Date**: March 3-6, 2025

**City**: Las Vegas, NV

**Ticket pricing**: up to $1645

**Number of attendees**: 35,000+

A 4-day event with an exhibition offering many opportunities to network with other digital health leaders.

**Details**: [himssconference.com](https://www.himssconference.com/en/homepage.html)

### Health 2.0

**Date**: March 4–6, 2025

**City**: Las Vegas, NV

**Ticket pricing**: up to $3000

**Number of attendees**: Information not provided

The Health 2.0 Conference deliberates on ways to boost the global healthcare ecosystem by bringing the brightest minds in healthcare and wellness under one roof.

**Details**: [www.health2conf.com/usa-2025](https://www.health2conf.com/usa-2025)

### Digital Health 2025

**Date**: May 12-13, 2025

**City**: Nashville, TN

**Ticket pricing**: up to $1,595

**Number of attendees**: 300+

Digital Health is an interactive and decision-maker-driven event helping to forge meaningful connections with key decision-makers.

Details: [events.reutersevents.com/healthcare/digital-health-usa](https://events.reutersevents.com/healthcare/digital-health-usa)

### Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit (DHIS) East

**Date**: May 19-20, 2025

**City**: Boston, MA

**Ticket pricing**: up to $1,599

**Number of attendees**: Information not provided 

A conference for investors, startups & emerging companies, tech companies, payers, providers, veteran advisors, and more.

Details: [events.reutersevents.com/](https://events.reutersevents.com/healthcare/digital-health-usa)

## Microsoft Clarity for Web & Mobile Development: Benefits, Challenges, and Alternatives

*Published: 2025-06-12 | Author: izabela | Tags: design, frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/microsoft-clarity-software-development/index.md*

**Users rarely have time to give you feedback – so it's up to you to uncover insights yourself. This article explores how Microsoft Clarity can help you better understand user behavior through tools like heatmaps and session recordings. It also compares Clarity with other popular analytics solutions such as Hotjar and PostHog. Let’s dive in!**

<div className="image">![Microsoft Clarity](/images/microsoft_clarity_blog_post.png "Microsoft Clarity")</div>

## Microsoft Clarity Pricing

This tool has emerged as a hot must-have in analytics, especially among marketing specialists, thanks to the fact that Microsoft Clarity is **free to use**. Naturally, when something is free, it often means that our data becomes the product – and Microsoft is transparent about this on their [website](https://clarity.microsoft.com/pricing):

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>Clarity is built by Microsoft, one of the largest technology companies in the world. Microsoft processes a massive amount of anonymous data around user behavior to gain insights and improve machine learning models that power many of our products and services. Clarity is one of the ways Microsoft gathers this important data—and why we've made it available for free.</div><footer>From the Microsoft Clarity webpage</footer></blockquote>

Before adding the Clarity script to your website, web app, or mobile application, it’s essential to **review Microsoft Clarity [privacy policy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/clarity/faq#privacy)**. This is critical if you represent sensitive sectors such as banking, government, or healthcare, where sharing user data with a third-party service may not be acceptable.

## Microsoft Clarity Features

That’s all for the disclaimers – let’s now discuss what Clarity actually offers. Clarity is widely used for website analytics, but it can also be used to **analyze web and mobile applications**. It supports Android, iOS,  React Native apps, and Microsoft has just announced that the Clarity Flutter SDK is now available to everyone as well, following the completion of beta testing.

### Session Recording

You can watch your users’ sessions to identify issues such as:

* **Dead clicks** – when users click on something that isn’t clickable. This usually indicates a design issue where an element *appears* interactive but isn’t.  
* **Rage clicks** – when a user clicks repeatedly on an element out of frustration. This typically means the element doesn’t work, is too slow to respond, or gives no feedback.  
* **Roadblocks** – anything that prevents users from reaching a goal you’ve defined – such as submitting a form.

### Heatmaps

Microsoft Clarity’s heatmaps are a type of report that allows you to generate visual insights based on filtered categories of users visiting specific pages. These heatmaps help you understand how users interact with your site or app. For example, you can analyze:

* **Most-clicked or tapped areas** – see which elements attract the most interaction.  
* **Attention hotspots** – discover where users focus their attention. Interestingly, this isn’t always the area above the fold.  
* **Scrolling behavior** – measure how far users scroll.

## How to use Microsoft Clarity in software Development

### Testing and debugging

Clarity helps you **reproduce bugs quickly** by letting you watch exactly what happened. It also provides useful technical details such as **device specifications, browser type, and screen resolution**.

Example of information about the user:

<center>

<div className="image">![Microsoft Clarity](/images/microsoft_clarity_session_info.png "Microsoft Clarity")</div>

</center>

### Getting user feedback without engaging them directly

Users in industries like healthcare, transportation, and retail are often too busy to provide valuable feedback. That’s where Clarity comes in – **you can gain insight into their behavior without interrupting their workflow**. For example, you might observe users visiting a new feature screen but not interacting with it – a signal that something may need adjustment.

Here’s an example of an insight generated by Clarity’s AI from one of our blog user sessions:

<center>

<div className="image">![Microsoft Clarity - session insights example](/images/microsoft_clarity_session_insights.png "Microsoft Clarity - session insights example")</div>

</center>

AI summaries are especially useful when you need to extract insights from hundreds of session recordings. Usually, collecting data is the easy part – but finding the time to analyze it is the real challenge.

### Legacy software modernization and redesign

Clarity is highly effective when [modernizing or redesigning legacy software](/our-areas/app-modernization/). It helps you **identify ways to make key features more user-friendly** and efficient – which is especially important for solutions used daily by frontline workers, such as [custom point-of-sale systems](/projects/system-for-restaurants/), [transport management software](/projects/transportation-management-system/), or [electronic health record platforms](/projects/emar-healthcare-solution/).

During the redesign process, Clarity allows you to **spot patterns in how users interact with existing features** – patterns worth preserving – as well as **roadblocks and frustration points** that should be eliminated in the modernized version.

For example, Clarity can help you identify **which sections of your page attract the most user attention**. During a redesign, this insight helps ensure you maintain focus on those high-impact areas – as long as they naturally align with your goals for that specific page. Here's an example of key takeaways for a website:

<div className="image">![Microsoft Clarity key takeaways](/images/key_takeaways_example_clarity.png "Microsoft Clarity key takeaways")</div>

## Does Microsoft Clarity slow down your website or apps

There’s no clear-cut answer to this question – any additional script has the potential to impact your website or web [app’s performance](/blog/healthcare-app-performance-monitoring/). The best way to know the actual effect is to **measure your performance metrics before and after implementing the Clarity script**.

A particularly important consideration is using **Clarity in mobile applications**. Based on our experience, **the impact can vary**. In some projects, we observed performance issues – especially on older mobile devices – while in others, there were no complaints or signs of degradation. That’s why it's essential to follow a test-and-measure approach.

**Implement and test performance as early as possible**. Testing in a staging environment is recommended, but it might not expose all edge cases. If performance issues arise – for instance, on older Android devices – you can re-configure the Clarity script. You have the option to **adjust the snippet so it fires only on specific devices or operating systems**. **You can also fire it temporarily** – for example, shortly after launching a crucial feature to observe user behavior.

## Microsoft Clarity alternatives

No tool is perfect, so our team at [Bright Inventions](/) enjoys testing various solutions to find the one that gives the most value for a certain business and domain. Check out these Microsoft Clarity alternatives.

### Microsoft Clarity vs Hotjar

Session recording and heatmaps are the core features of a quite popular tool – Hotjar (but free plan is limited). Explore main key differences and similarities between both tools.

| Feature              | Microsoft Clarity                                                                         | Hotjar                                                                             |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Pricing              | Free (but you pay with your data)                                                         | Free plan with limited features; paid plans start at ~$39/month                    |
| Session Recordings   | Yes – unlimited recordings                                                                | Yes – limited by plan                                                              |
| Heatmaps             | Yes – includes click, scroll, and attention heatmaps                                      | Yes – includes click, move, and scroll heatmaps                                    |
| User Filtering       | Yes – strong filtering and segmentation options                                           | Yes – advanced options available on higher-tier plans                              |
| Surveys/Feedback     | No                                                                                        | Yes – includes feedback widgets and surveys                                        |
| Privacy & Data Usage | Data is used by Microsoft for machine learning – requires disclosure to end users         | GDPR/CCPA compliant – more privacy-focused, especially on paid plans               |
| Mobile App Support   | Yes – supports web apps, native apps (Android/iOS), React Native; Flutter in beta testing | Limited – mostly for websites and web apps                                         |
| Performance Impact   | Lightweight script, but testing is recommended – particularly on mobile                   | Slightly heavier script; potential performance impact on large or complex websites |

### Microsoft Clarity vs Posthog

If you're concerned about your app's performance – or already know that Clarity affects its speed – consider using PostHog for its Wireframe Mode feature.

This is how [PostHog](https://posthog.com/docs/session-replay/mobile) describes their solution:

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>The view hierarchy is transformed to a JSON data structure and later rendered as an HTML wireframe. Since it is a wireframe, the UI won't have the original look and feel but it should be close enough to understand the user's behavior.</div><footer>From the PostHog webpage</footer></blockquote>

Below is an example of a screen captured in wireframe mode in Android:

<div className="image">![PostHog](/images/screenshot_2024-07-31_at_3.16.16_pm.png "PostHog")</div>

Source: [posthog.com/docs](https://posthog.com/docs/session-replay/mobile)

And here’s a detailed Microsoft Clarity vs PostHog comparison:

| Feature                    | Microsoft Clarity                                                              | PostHog                                                                                       |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pricing**                | Free                                                                           | Free tier (up to 1M events/month), with paid plans for higher volume and advanced features    |
| **Session Recordings**     | Yes – unlimited and automatic                                                  | Yes – with advanced options like Wireframe Mode for better performance on mobile              |
| **Heatmaps**               | Yes – click, scroll, and attention heatmaps                                    | Yes – clickmaps and scrollmaps                                                                |
| **User Interaction Data**  | Rage clicks, dead clicks, scroll depth, session filters                        | Clicks, hovers, session replays, funnels, retention, and custom events                        |
| **Wireframe Mode**         | Not available                                                                  | Yes – drastically reduces load during mobile session recording by using JSON-based wireframes |
| **Mobile App Support**     | Web and mobile web; limited native mobile support (React Native, Flutter beta) | Full support – Android, iOS, React Native, and Flutter (with performance-optimized recording) |
| **Privacy & Data Control** | Data sent to Microsoft and used for machine learning                           | Self-hosted or cloud – full control of your data (ideal for privacy-conscious orgs)           |
| **Integrations**           | Growing number of integrated solutions e.g. GA4, Zapier, HubSpot, Firebase.    | Wide plugin system, API access, and integrations with tools like GitHub, Segment, Zapier      |
| **Custom Reporting**       | Limited – prebuilt behavior-focused reports                                    | Extensive – customizable dashboards, SQL-like queries (HogQL), and advanced segmentation      |
| **Ease of Use**            | Easy setup, non-technical friendly interface                                   | More technical – developer-oriented, but highly customizable                                  |
| **Performance Impact**     | Lightweight script, but mobile performance varies                              | Wireframe Mode helps maintain app speed, especially on low-end or older mobile devices        |

### Microsoft Clarity vs. Google Analytics

In case you wonder, **Google Analytics (GA4) is not really an alternative to Clarity**. At this moment, both tools complement each other. **GA4 provides a more quantitative perspective** mostly appreciated by marketing specialists such as number of users, sessions, time on page, traffic sources, demographic data. **Clarity helps you understand the “why” behind metrics that GA4 reveals** with focus on actual user behavior valuable for UX-designer, QAs, developers.

Ideally, they should be used together in modern user behavior analytics – as long as your business is comfortable sharing data with both organizations: Microsoft and Google.

## Data isn’t just for marketing specialists

Maybe some still believe that data analysis is mainly for marketing specialists and data analysts – but it should also be a key part of the software development process. Whether you're a developer, QA engineer, designer, or project manager, product decisions work best when they’re grounded in data. That’s the approach we take at Bright Inventions.

If you’re not getting meaningful feedback from your end users, **we can help you find ways to gather insights without disrupting their experience**. It’s something we already do, for example, when [collecting feedback from POS system users](/blog/how-to-gather-actionable-feedback-inside-a-pos-system/).

[Contact us](/start-project/) to explore how we can support your solution!

## Building Frontends, Embracing AI: A Look into Michał’s Career

*Published: 2025-06-10 | Author: michal-bu | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-frontends-embracing-ai/index.md*

**It took Michał only one day to choose his career path – but the spontaneity of that decision didn’t stop him from thriving in his work. Discover how Michał embraces AI in his daily routine, why he appreciates a feedback-driven culture, and whether he feels intimidated by the fullstack developers around him.**

<div className="image">![Frontend developer career story](/images/brightstorymichalo_grid_new.png "Frontend developer career story")</div>

## When did you decide you wanted to be a programmer?

It was a bit of an accident. In high school, my plan was to work on a ship. I applied to the\
Maritime University of Szczecin, but I wasn’t accepted due to poor eyesight. The problem was that I found out only one day before I was leaving for a sailing trip. Since the university admission process was set to begin during that time, I had just **one day to make a quick decision about my future** and prepare my application documents before I left.

I figured **computer science would be a good direction** – though I don’t remember exactly why – and I called the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin to ask if I could already bring in my application documents, even though they were officially starting to accept them a few days later. They agreed, and in the end, I was accepted.

It turned out I was quite good at it and felt comfortable with it. During my studies, I landed an internship where they eventually offered me a job as a Java developer. That's when I had **my first contact with a commercial project**, but then I was moved to [web development](/our-areas/web-development/), and it's been that way ever since.

## What is it like to be a frontend developer surrounded by fullstack developers?

I approach it with the mindset that if backend work were ever required of me, I’d be ready to handle it. I’ve **worked as a fullstack developer in previous roles**, and even here at Bright Inventions, I had the opportunity to do fullstack work on another project. So if the need arises, I’d find my way.

## What do you like about the project you're working on?

I really **enjoy the level of freedom and independence** I have – which also comes with responsibility. I’m the only person on our team handling the frontend, so a lot depends on how I set things up, and **I’m accountable for the outcomes** – both good and bad. I’ve also noticed that **the client places a lot of trust in me** when it comes to decision-making, and that really means a lot.

<div className="image">![Quote on freedom](/images/michal_quote_freedom.png "Quote on freedom")</div>

## How does your cooperation with the product designer look on a daily basis?

I have a great working relationship with our designer – she gets guidelines from the product side, and then **we discuss the details together**, especially if something might be problematic or if there’s a way to improve the experience for users. 

I don't feel super confident choosing fonts or colors, but I do have a good sense of which interface elements work well in certain places. I’m not just handed a finished design and told to build it – she actually comes to me early on, and **we often talk things through before the design phase even begins**.

## Which AI tools do you use daily at work?

I use GPT every day – it’s helpful for programming tasks. For those, I usually rely on **GPT o4-mini-high**. If I need to review my messages or write something more user-friendly, I use **GPT-4o**. I’m also testing **JetBrains' AI assistant and “Junie”** – I play around with them from time to time – and of course **GitHub Copilot**, but that’s kind of standard nowadays.

I’ve been checking how well Junie handles different types of tasks. My first real use case was when I had to review a set of fields that were no longer in use. **I gave Junie a list of types along with the corresponding files, and it had to go through the project to identify what could be removed**. It actually did quite well. I had to tweak the prompt a few times, because it didn’t catch every resource on the first try, but eventually it went through everything and gave me a list of which fields were still in use and which weren’t. Something that would have taken me a few days, I managed to complete in just one day with its help.

<div className="image">![A glimpse from Michał’s honeymoon in Santorini.](/images/greece_michal.png "A glimpse from Michał’s honeymoon in Santorini.")</div>

<center>A glimpse from Michał’s honeymoon in Santorini.</center>

## What made you want to join Bright Inventions?

It happened at a time when my previous company was making cuts, and a few people were let go – including me. **Bright Inventions was recommended to me by Arek**, who I had worked with before – he had moved to Bright and encouraged me to reach out. After that, I spoke with Ula and Mateusz, and we really clicked during that interview.

At the time, I was looking for a new place to settle into – I’m not a fan of jumping from job to job. What really appealed to me was the **[feedback culture](/blog/8-mistakes-you-make-while-giving-constructive-feedback/)** at Bright Inventions. I get the sense that if I ever started falling short or there was room for improvement, **I’d get that feedback in a way that’s constructive and actionable**.

<div className="image">![Quote on communication skills.](/images/michal_quote_communication_skills.png "Quote on communication skills.")</div>

That feedback culture is useful in everyday life too. The communication skills you develop – like **expressing how you feel without shifting blame onto someone else** – are really valuable. It helps you say things like how you’ve been feeling lately in a constructive way. It’s important to talk about all kinds of things, even small ones, and to try to understand the other person’s intentions.

## What cultural differences do you face at work while working with the U.S. client?

We live in such a global village now that the **U.S. feels culturally quite close to us**. Both in business and in daily life, we consume the same media and share the same cultural bubble. I don’t notice major cultural differences in my day-to-day work.

<div className="image">![Sailing across Gdańsk Bay during a rainy team retreat.](/images/team_retreat_sailing_rain.png "Sailing across Gdańsk Bay during a rainy team retreat.")</div>

<center>Sailing across Gdańsk Bay during a rainy team retreat.</center>

## What do you enjoy doing after work?

After hours, I enjoy spending time with my cats and experimenting in the kitchen. I don’t necessarily stick to Polish recipes; I like trying out dishes from different cuisines. For example, I was in Portugal with my wife and we really liked a cod dish casserole we had there – one of the first things I did when I got back was try to recreate it, and it turned out almost exactly the same. 

<div className="image">![Michał’s cats.](/images/michal_cats.png "Michał’s cats.")</div>

<center>Michał’s cats.</center>

I also like playing computer games. Right now, I’m playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – in my opinion, it’s a masterpiece, especially the music. Other than that, I mostly play RPGs, World of Warcraft, and games like that.

## Offboarding with Heart - Making the Last Chapter Counts

*Published: 2025-06-09 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/offboarding-with-heart-making-the-last-chapter-counts/index.md*

Letting people go used to be one of the hardest parts of my job (and sometimes it still is). I would lose sleep over it, overthink conversations, and feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. In the beginning every offboarding used to feel personal, and I struggled to separate my emotions from the process. **But over time I realised that offboarding is not just about endings, it is about transitions, and it is about turning goodbyes into growth.** It is a human experience that requires empathy, honest conversations, and a commitment to ensuring respect for everyone involved.

**It is also good to understand that there comes a point when holding onto a professional relationship does more harm than good, both for the individual and the company**. Whether it is a mismatch in expectations, a shift in business needs, or simply a role that no longer fits, saying goodbye sometimes is crucial. While done right offboarding is not just about closing a chapter, it is about helping a company or someone who works there turn the page to the next opportunity.

## personal struggles

In the beginning of my HR journey offboarding felt like that one part of the job that I wasn’t sure how to navigate. The awkwardness, the uncertainty, and the whole “I don’t want to say it, but I need to say it” moment. I have never seen offboarding as just another task to check off in a list. For me it has always been much more than that. 

When I hire someone, I do deeply believe in them. I see potential, I imagine how they will grow within the team, and I invest in their success. So, when the moment comes to let someone go, it probably always may feel a bit personal. It is not that I don’t understand the reasoning behind the decision. It is that delivering this type of news has always been one of the hardest things I might have to learn. **It made me feel like I had failed them - failed the employee, the team, and the organisation.** As if I had created a problem rather than solved one, and that I had wasted both the candidate’s time and the company’s.

And honestly? It is also because I genuinely like the people that come. They are my team. I have never believed in bad intentions - only in circumstances, mismatches, or situations that didn’t unfold as we hoped.

## making a transition

Over time I have come to see offboarding differently. It is not just about ending a chapter. It is about setting the stage for the next one. **Sometimes, letting someone go is not about rejection, it is about redirection**. Keeping them in a role that is not the right fit doesn’t do them any favors. It just keeps them from opportunities that could be much better for them.

I know this might sound like sugarcoating. But it is not. I genuinely cheer for every person I have to say goodbye to. I know that for them this moment is often one of the toughest in their career. That is why I approach it with empathy, honesty, and as much support as I can offer. **It is still sometimes difficult for me, but I have also learned that no matter how much I want something to work out, sometimes it just won’t - and that is okay.**

It’s the same when someone leaves the company I work for. I always feel a bit sentimental. I cheer them on and fully understand they have their own reasons for the decision, but a part of me still feels sad that it didn’t work out. At the same time, I really admire their courage to make a change.

## leaving a positive legacy

**I have always believed that the true measure of collaboration is not about how we start working together - it is about how we part ways.** There was a reason we begin this journey together. It could not have been all wrong. No one forced us into it. Along the way, there were wins, lessons learned, and moments worth remembering even if in the end things do not turn out as planned.

Offboarding is not just a formal goodbye, it is a reflection of your company’s culture and how you treat people - even when they are leaving. A poorly handled offboarding process can leave a sour taste, not just for the person leaving but for your remaining team, too. **If your company prides itself on being a great place to work, then the way you handle departures should reflect that.** A well-executed offboarding process shows you care even when things are not going according to the plan. It is about making sure people leave on good terms. 

Not everyone is suited to lead an offboarding process. Too often, I hear about managers handling it mechanically, like choosing what to eat for breakfast. I get it - stress plays a big role in these situations. **But if you can’t approach offboarding with empathy and respect for the person affected, it is better to step aside and let someone who can.**

**When I go through an offboarding process, I see a person - a human being - not a job title.** So, if this chapter is coming to a close, the least I can do is make sure it ends with dignity, respect, and a genuine appreciation for the time we shared. Because at the end of the day, offboarding is not just about paperwork. 

## consequences of holding on too long

l admit there were times when I held on to a person or situation a bit too long. **I have tried to convince myself that somehow, magically or with huge effort of both sides, everything would work out.** Maybe after the next sprint, or maybe after the next release, things would click. Any honestly sometimes they did, but usually they didn’t.

If someone is not the right fit for the job, sticking with them for too long just causes friction both for them, the team, and the client. It is like trying to force a square peg into a round hole, no matter how much you try, it is just going to get worse. But it works both ways. If you start feeling that the company or the role isn’t right for you, the result is often the same - frustration, burnout, or simply a sense of not belonging. **Letting go, even if difficult, can be the healthiest choice for everyone involved.**

It is even harder when accoriding to you everything is going well, but sometimes it is the best choice for both sides. For the individual, it opens up the opportunity to take a role that actually fits and lets them thrive. And for the company, it frees up resources to bring in someone who will add more value. In the very long run it is a win-win.

## how to end collaboration with empathy

All managers and leaders have awkward moments where the “exit interview” feels more like a bad breakup than a professional conversation. **But the secret tool is empathy.** There are a few tips to make the process smoother and a little less cringe:

* **Be honest, but kind.** You do not need to sugarcoat things, but at the same time, do not turn the conversation into a list of all the things the person did good or wrong. **Be transparent about why the decision was made, but also acknowledge the contributions.** Every team member, no matter how long they were with you, brought something valuable. Recognize it. 
* **Offer support.** Offboarding does not mean cutting ties completely. Depending on the situation, offering career advice, sharing job opportunities, or simply connecting them with your network can make all the difference. **Don’t be afraid to help someone get to the next step, even if it is not within your company.**
* **Keep the door open.** Don’t make the departure feel like the end of the world. Who knows, maybe you will cross paths again down the line or they might come back to your team as a boomerang employee. In the tech world you never know when a past employee could be your next colleague. Keep the relationship cordial and professional.
* **Respect the decision.** When an employee decides to leave, it is important to handle the transition with gratitude. Their decision may come from a desire for growth, a career shift, or personal reasons. Regardless of why they are moving on, showing kindness in their departure leaves the door open for future connections and reinforces a positive workplace culture.

## growth through change

Looking back I have come to understand that **offboarding is not a failure, it might be a part of the journey.** It might be about growth not only for the person leaving, but for the team and the organization, too. 

**At the same time I believe some offboardings can be avoided. Clearer expectations, better onboarding, regular feedback, and honest conversations, especially early on, can help spot misalignments before they become too big to fix.** When we invest in mutual understanding and ongoing support, we give people (and ourselves) a real chance to grow in the right place.

Adam Grant once said that *You don't have to have it all figured out to move forward. You just have to be honest about where you are at.* This quote captures something essential about healthy team dynamics as **the key to progress is not perfection it is honesty**. In the workplace we often avoid tough conversations because we feel we need to have all the answers before we speak up. **But when we are honest early about mismatched expectations, unclear roles, or personal challenges, we can adjust, support each other, and prevent situations from escalating into disconnection or offboarding.**

Regular feedback loops, check-ins, and psychological safety allow everyone to be transparent about what is working and what is not. That’s how teams evolve together. We do not do it by pretending things are fine, but by having the courage to say that we need help moving forward.

## Switching from Android Studio to IntelliJ IDEA for JetBrains Junie

*Published: 2025-05-16 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, AI, agent*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/switching-from-android-studio-to-idea-for-junie/index.md*

**IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate can be a viable alternative to Android Studio for Android development, offering additional features like [JetBrains Junie](https://www.jetbrains.com/junie/) agent. While most Android development features used on daily basis function correctly, some niche plugins and features specific to Android Studio are not available. This post explores the differences, limitations, and benefits of making the switch.**

<div className="image">![Switch from Android Studio to IntelliJ IDEA](/images/android-studio-to-idea.jpg "Switch from Android Studio to IntelliJ IDEA")</div>

## Why Switch from Android Studio to IntelliJ IDEA?

As an Android developer, I've been using Android Studio for years. It's a specialized IDE built specifically for Android development, based on the IntelliJ platform. This isn't my first attempt at switching to IntelliJ IDEA - I've tried once or twice a few years ago but always ended up returning to Android Studio due to various issues including incompatibility problems, bugs, and outdated Android support that lagged behind Android Studio.

Recently, I decided to give it another try and switch to IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate primarily to use the [JetBrains Junie](https://www.jetbrains.com/junie/) AI agent, which is currently not available in Android Studio. The AI assistant capabilities were the main motivation behind this transition, as they have the potential to enhance productivity in daily development tasks.

It's important to note that I'm not planning to replace Android Studio entirely this time. My intention is to use both IDEs as needed and eventually return to Android Studio as my primary development environment once it starts supporting Junie. This way, I can ensure I always have access to the latest Android-related features and bug fixes while still benefiting from AI assistance in the meantime.

If you're interested in AI-assisted development for Android, Szymon recently made a detailed comparison between [Cursor](https://www.cursor.com/) and [Junie](https://www.jetbrains.com/junie/) agents for Android development in [his blog post ](/blog/cursor-vs-junie-for-android/).

## The Current State of Android Development in IntelliJ IDEA

Once the Android plugin is installed, the majority of features needed for daily Android development work fine in IntelliJ IDEA. The core Android development experience is largely intact, including:

* Building and running Android applications
* Debugging and profiling apps
* Managing emulators and devices
* App Inspection (Network, Database and Background Tasks Inspectors)
* Layout editor and preview
* Jetpack Compose support
* and many more

However, there are some notable differences and limitations that developers should be aware of before making the switch.

## Differences and Limitations

### 1. K2 mode

Starting with IntelliJ IDEA 2025.1, the [K2 mode is enabled by default](https://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/2025/04/k2-mode-in-intellij-idea-2025-1-current-state-and-faq/). In my case, it [caused certain issues](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-373172/Gradle-files-and-buildSrc-are-becoming-unusable-unresolved-references-no-code-completion-etc.) in some places (e.g. `buildSrc` or `kotlinx.serialization.Serializable` classes).

K2 mode can be disabled in IDEA settings: `Languages & Frameworks / Kotlin / Enable K2 mode`. However, if you do that, the IDE won't support some of the newer Kotlin features, such as:
- guard conditions in `when` with a subject
- non-local break and continue
- multi-dollar string interpolation
- context parameters

### 2. Android Plugin Version

One of the most significant differences is that IDEA's Android plugin may be outdated compared to the latest stable Android Studio. This can lead to missing features or compatibility issues with newer Android APIs or Gradle versions.

Examples of recent issues include:

* [a plugin compatibility problem](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-363218/Android-plugin-not-compatible-with-2024.3.-New-version-cannot-be-found-in-the-IDE)
* [a problem with creating a new Android project](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-369539/Exception-when-creating-a-new-Android-project)
* [a mysterious Gradle sync warning](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-370039/Method-AnalysisSchema.getDataClassTypesByFqName-isnt-supported-by-Gradle-v8.10.2)

You can see that IDEA needs to merge the upstream Android Studio updates regularly ([example here](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-367722)), which can lead to delays in their availability.

### 3. Missing Bundled Plugins

Android Studio comes with several bundled plugins that are not available on the JetBrains Marketplace, meaning they cannot be easily installed in IntelliJ IDEA. These include:

* Firebase Services
* Firebase Testing
* Test Recorder
* Android APK Support
* Android NDK Support
* Android SDK Upgrade Assistant
* Google Cloud Tools for Android Studio
* App Links Assistant

The absence of these plugins can limit functionality for some developers who rely on them.

### 4. Plugins That Can Be Installed in IDEA

Several Android Studio plugins can be installed manually in IntelliJ IDEA:

* Android (the core plugin that you must install to work with Android projects)
* Android Design Tools
* Jetpack Compose
* Smali Viewer

### 5. Plugin Functionality Overlap

It's worth noting that not all missing plugins might be critical, as there's a possibility that some functionality could be duplicated by other plugins available in IDEA, though I haven't thoroughly tested this. For example:

* IDEA includes a "Jetpack Multiplatform" plugin which might serve as an alternative to the "Jetpack Compose" plugin from Android Studio, though their functionalities may not be identical.
* IDEA can open APK files despite lacking the "Android APK Support" plugin, though I suspect the functionality may differ.

However, don't expect features like Firebase Assistant, App Links Assistant, or NDK support to appear automatically if their dedicated plugins are missing.

### 6. Known Issues with Workarounds

#### Library Source Navigation

Navigating to a 3rd party library source code doesn't work by default as if the sources were not available ([related issue](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-352729/Intellij-fails-to-automatically-download-sources-despite-having-the-Download-sources-option-enabled-in-the-settings))  

**Workaround:** Enable the "Download sources" checkbox in "Advanced Settings" in IDEA and trigger Gradle sync.

#### Creating New Files in Android View Mode

If Project view is in "Android" mode, you can't create a new file (the "New" menu option is grayed out).

**Workaround:** Switch the mode to "Project" to fix the problem.

## Conclusion

Switching from Android Studio to IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate for Android development is feasible, especially if you need IDEA-specific features. Most core Android development features work well, but you should be prepared for some limitations and potential workarounds.

Before making the switch, consider your specific workflow and the tools you rely on. Chances are, you won't miss anything from Android Studio.

For many developers, the benefits of using IntelliJ IDEA's additional features outweigh the limitations, especially since the core Android development experience remains largely intact.

## How to Migrate Android App to Flutter: Step-by-Step Guide

*Published: 2025-06-04 | Author: szymon-g | Tags: flutter, mobile development, android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrating-from-android-app-to-flutter/index.md*

If you already have an existing app written in Android and want to gradually introduce Flutter (e.g., one screen at a time), the good news is: **you don’t need to rewrite the entire project**. You can successfully **migrate your Android app to Flutter** step by step.

In a previous blog post, I showed how to [migrate from iOS app to Flutter](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrating-from-ios-app-to-flutter/). In this article, we’ll focus on the Android side of the journey and explore multiple ways to integrate Flutter into your existing native app.

Let’s see how we can **migrate an app from native Android to Flutter** with minimal friction and maximum flexibility.

## Project setup

The official Flutter documentation provides detailed steps for integrating Flutter into an Android project: [Flutter Add-to-App – Android Project Setup](https://docs.flutter.dev/add-to-app/android/project-setup)

In this post, we'll skip the basic configuration and go straight to the part developers care about most: **how to launch Flutter screens from your Android app**.

We'll look at several methods - from the simplest one to more advanced use cases involving cached engines and inter-platform communication.

## Default FlutterActivity

This is the simplest way to launch Flutter from Android - without specifying custom routes or entrypoints. Perfect for testing or initial migration.

```kotlin
context.startActivity(FlutterActivity.createDefaultIntent(context))
```

In Dart, your app entrypoint might look like:

```dart
void main() {
  runApp(const DefaultScreen());
}
```

## Cached FlutterEngine

Creating and caching a **FlutterEngine** gives you more control and allows reuse across multiple launches, improving performance.

```kotlin
val engine = FlutterEngine(context)
engine.dartExecutor.executeDartEntrypoint(DartExecutor.DartEntrypoint.createDefault())
FlutterEngineCache.getInstance().put("engine_id", engine)
```

Then launch Flutter using the cached engine:

```kotlin
val intent = FlutterActivity
  .withCachedEngine("engine_id")
  .build(context)
context.startActivity(intent)
```

## Custom entrypoint + initialRoute

This lets you define a custom Dart function instead of the default main(), and you can also control which screen Flutter starts with using initialRoute.

```dart
@pragma('vm:entry-point')
void routedMain() {
  runApp(MaterialApp(
    initialRoute: '/',
    routes: {
      '/': (_) => Text('Default'),
      '/about': (_) => Text('About screen'),
    },
  ));
}
```

```kotlin
val engine = FlutterEngine(context)
engine.navigationChannel.setInitialRoute("/about")
engine.dartExecutor.executeDartEntrypoint(
    DartExecutor.DartEntrypoint(
        context.assets,
        FlutterMain.findAppBundlePath(),
        "routedMain"
    )
)
FlutterEngineCache.getInstance().put("engine_id", engine)

val intent = FlutterActivity
  .withCachedEngine("engine_id")
  .build(context)
context.startActivity(intent)
```

## Communicating with Flutter via MethodChannel

For advanced integration, you can use a MethodChannel to dynamically send data from Android to Flutter - like which screen to show or what state to update.

```kotlin
val engine = FlutterEngine(context)
engine.dartExecutor.executeDartEntrypoint(...)
FlutterEngineCache.getInstance().put("engine_id", engine)

val channel = MethodChannel(engine.dartExecutor.binaryMessenger, "com.example.events")
channel.invokeMethod("events", screenName)

startActivity(FlutterActivity.withCachedEngine("engine_id").build(context))
```

```dart
@pragma('vm:entry-point')
void eventMain() {
  runApp(const EventScreen());
}
```

```dart
enum Event {
  loading, firstView, secondView;

  static Event? fromString(String value) {
    return Event.values.firstWhere(
        (e) => e.name == value,
        orElse: () => Event.loading,
    );
  }
}

class EventScreen extends StatefulWidget {
  const EventScreen({super.key});

  @override
  State<EventScreen> createState() => _EventScreenState();
}

class _EventScreenState extends State<EventScreen> {
  final _channel = MethodChannel('com.example.events');
  final ValueNotifier<Event> currentEvent = ValueNotifier(Event.loading);

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _channel.setMethodCallHandler((call) async {
      if (call.method == 'events') {
        final parsed = Event.fromString(call.arguments ?? "");
        if (parsed != null) {
          currentEvent.value = parsed;
        }
      }
    });
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      home: ValueListenableBuilder<Event>(
        valueListenable: currentEvent,
        builder: (context, value, _) {
          switch (value) {
            case Event.firstView: return FirstView();
            case Event.secondView: return SecondView();
            case Event.loading: return LoadingView();
          }
        },
      ),
    );
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    _channel.setMethodCallHandler(null);
    super.dispose();
  }
}
```

## Which method should I use?

Not sure which approach is right for your use case? Here's a practical guide:

* **You want to quickly test or prototype a Flutter screen. Use Default FlutterActivity**

  This method is very easy to set up and doesn’t require any extra configuration. However, it creates a new FlutterEngine every time the screen is launched, which results in noticeably slower startup. It’s best suited only for internal testing and proof-of-concept work.
* **You want to reuse the Flutter engine and display a specific screen. Use Cached FlutterEngine with initialRoute or custom entrypoint**

  This method gives you better performance by caching the FlutterEngine, so the app doesn’t need to initialize Flutter on each launch. Additionally, it allows you to set the initial route or entry function, which is useful for showing predefined screens. Ideal for integrating simple, self-contained Flutter screens such as about pages.
* **You need full control and want to pass data or interact with Flutter dynamically. Use MethodChannel communication**

  This is the most flexible and powerful approach. It allows two-way communication between Android and Flutter at runtime, enabling you to send data. Perfect for scenarios where Flutter needs to be deeply integrated into your app’s business logic or dynamic flows.

## Migrate Android app to Flutter – Summary

Migrating from native Android to Flutter doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. You can start small - with a single screen - and expand gradually as your team gains experience and confidence. This hybrid approach lets you test Flutter’s benefits in production without risking the stability of your entire app.

## How to Integrate Payment Providers into a POS System: A Strategic Overview for Modern Restaurants

*Published: 2025-05-30 | Author: agata | Tags: POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/payment-provider-pos-integration/index.md*

**Point of Sale** systems have evolved into multi-functional platforms that support diverse payment methods, helping restaurants offer seamless and cashless customer experiences. In recent years, benefit-linked discount cards like [10bis](https://www.10bis.co.il/next/en/), [Sodexo](https://us.sodexo.com/employee-portal), [Square](https://squareup.com/us/en), [Stripe](https://stripe.com/en-pl/payments), [Benefit Systems](https://www.benefitsystems.pl/en/), and [Edenred](https://www.edenredbenefits.com/) have also become popular—especially as part of company benefit programs.

So, how do you integrate such providers into a POS system efficiently and securely? **Let’s explore the key [POS integration](/blog/pos-integration/) options.**

## Why Integrate with Payment Providers?

• Meet customer expectations for fast, flexible, cashless payments

• Enable support for company benefit programs and loyalty schemes

• Improve operational speed and reduce manual errors

• Unlock analytics on payment behavior

<div className="image">![payment provider integration](/images/pos_software_development_mobile.png "")</div>

## Key Integration Variants

### 1. API-Based Integration

The POS communicates with the payment provider’s servers directly via REST APIs in real time.

* Ideal for iPad, Windows, and cloud-based systems
* Supports cards, mobile wallets, benefit cards
* Requires strong security compliance (e.g., PCI DSS)

### 2. Payment Terminal Integration

The POS connects to a physical terminal via USB, Bluetooth, or LAN.

* Common in fixed hardware setups
* Works with terminals from vendors like Verifone or banks

### 3. SDK-Based Integration

Payment functionality is embedded directly into the POS app via a software development kit.

* Great for mobile-first apps or custom user flows
* Requires tracking SDK updates and maintenance

### 4. Middleware / Aggregator Integration

A third-party provider handles communication with multiple payment platforms.

* Fast to implement
* Reduces the need for custom development
* Ideal for businesses scaling across regions

<div className="image">![why integrate with payment providers](/images/chatgpt-image-may-30-2025-03_28_51-pm.png "Why integrate with payment providers")</div>

## Real-Time Payment Flow Example

* Customer places an order
* At checkout, they choose a payment method: cash, credit card, or benefit-linked card
* If using a benefit card, the system checks its validity and applies relevant discount rules (e.g., 10% off lunch orders)
* Payment is processed
* The order is automatically sent to the kitchen or bar
* The transaction is recorded in the daily financial summary

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Get to know your POS end users' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download our free PDF guide and discover how understanding your end-users can drive smarter product decisions, better UX, and higher customer satisfaction.'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='POS user persona ' />

## Real Client Use Case

A fast-growing restaurant chain wanted to expand their payment options to include employee benefit cards like [10bis](https://www.10bis.co.il/next/en/) and [Value Card](https://home.valuecard.co.il/). We integrated their iPad and Windows-based POS system with a real-time API flow, enabling customers to apply benefit-linked discounts at checkout.

The result: Employee meal redemptions increased by 35% in the first month, and order processing became faster and more error-free for staff.

## Our Know-How:

As a [POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/), we’ve helped restaurants and retail brands design smart, integrated payment solutions. Whether you’re integrating a single provider or scaling across platforms and regions, we’ve got the experience to support you. [Let’s talk](/start-project/)!

## JetBrains Junie & AI Assistant vs Cursor for Frontend Developers – Which AI Agent Comes Out on Top?

*Published: 2025-05-26 | Author: rafal h | Tags: AI, cursor, Junie, Jetbrains, productivity*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/jetbrains-junie-ai-assistant-vs-cursor-frontend-developers/index.md*

<div className="image">![JetBrains Junie & AI Assistant vs Cursor for Frontend Developers](https://brightinventions.pl/static/fac12b008ce40322ae70e7bab825e0cc/4a130/c05852c0-38dc-40d2-bc8f-47ba0fa9bdc6-1-.webp "JetBrains Junie & AI Assistant vs Cursor for Frontend Developers")</div>

## Background

Today I reactivated my JetBrains (JB) subscription so I could take **Junie** and the **AI Assistant** for a test‑drive. Since **February** I have been working mostly in **Cursor**, especially on frontend code (React, React Query, MUI). I switched due to a rise of frontend AI tools and AI editors which are major web dev tools now. I wanted to check whether it is worth coming back to JB and see what has changed—features such as project‑wide **Local History**, stronger **3‑way merge** or good **refactor** capabilities have always been placing Jebtrains on top of other IDEs for me.

## The Task

The feature I had to implement to test those was simple but multifile: in an application that lists projects I needed to **add an option for creating a new project**, but with a **type selection shown in a modal**. I prepared the implementation **without MCP servers**.

## JetBrains Junie & AI Assistant

### Pros

* **Junie produced a solid first draft.** With the same specification and by adding the relevant files to the context it generated a clean, sensible solution—better than Cursor on the first attempt.  
* **Strong “core” IDE features.** JB still offers project‑level Local History, much better conflict merging, refactoring and the other things that make it a good IDE.  
* **Extra AI Assistant tricks.** Some functions, for example **AI‑powered rename**, are not available in Cursor.

### Cons

* **Noticeably slower autocomplete.** AI Assistant completion felt slower than in Cursor and at times failed to appear at all.  
* **Slower refinement loop.** The pace of applying feedback or refactoring was lower and the AI Assistant did not always hit the mark.  
* **Limited AI customisation.** There is no way to split rules/context into smaller files; Junie works with a single, general file.

## Cursor

### Pros

* **Agent mode with Sonnet 3.7 matched Junie.** For this feature implementation it performed very similarly.  
* **Greater flexibility.** Cursor lets you split files or AI rules into smaller pieces, define your own modes, and even perform web‑based editing; the AI Assistant currently offers only web based chat (edit is in Beta and it is offline).
* **Additional modes.** Things like documentation indexing are available.  
* **Editable plan mode.** You can tweak the execution plan while coding, giving you tighter control.  
* **Faster context management.** Adding files to the context is much quicker; in AI Assistant you have to use the “+” button every time.  

I am **not discussing history or checkpoints**—both tools handle those well enough IMHO.

## Summary: AI tools for frontend development

For now **Cursor** still comes out on top for me—mainly because of its **speed, customisation options and overall flexibility** when it comes to AI assistance. JetBrains has made real progress since February and **Junie can deliver pleasant surprises**, but it still needs a bit more polish before it can fully compete with Cursor. What is your opinion on that?

## Migrating from iOS App to Flutter – a Painless Getting Started Guide

*Published: 2025-05-23 | Author: szymon-g | Tags: mobile development, iOS, flutter*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrating-from-ios-app-to-flutter/index.md*

Migrating iOS app from native to Flutter doesn't have to mean rewriting your entire app from scratch. If you have a working iOS app and you want to enjoy the benefits of Flutter you can introduce it gradually — a great way to **migrate iOS app to Flutter** without a full rewrite.

In this post, I'll show you step-by-step how to add Flutter to an existing iOS project, and the different ways to run Flutter views - from the simplest to more optimized ones.

## Adding flutter to an existing iOS application

To integrate Flutter into an existing iOS app, I followed the official [Add to App](https://docs.flutter.dev/add-to-app/ios/project-setup)   guide provided by the Flutter team.
The documentation outlines multiple integration paths - it's important to choose the one that best fits your project setup. In my case, I used the "Link and Embed frameworks in Xcode" approach. 

## Quick start: FlutterViewController with initialRoute

The easiest way to launch a Flutter view in an existing iOS app is to create a new `FlutterViewController` and set the initialRoute.

Flutter:

```dart
@pragma('vm:entry-point')
void routedMain() {
  runApp(RoutedApp());
}

class RoutedApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const RoutedApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      initialRoute: '/',
      routes: {
        '/': (_) => const DefaultScreen(),
        '/about': (_) => const AboutScreen(),
      },
    );
  }
}
```

iOS:

```swift
struct RoutedFlutterScreen: UIViewControllerRepresentable {
    func makeUIViewController(context: Context) -> FlutterViewController {
        let flutterEngine = FlutterEngine()
        flutterEngine.run(withEntrypoint: "routedMain", initialRoute: "/about")
        return FlutterViewController(engine: flutterEngine, nibName: nil, bundle: nil)
    }
    func updateUIViewController(_ uiViewController: FlutterViewController, context: Context) {}
}
```

This approach has a defect - each time a new FlutterEngine is created and the run() method is called, which starts the Flutter application from scratch. 

Why is this a problem?

The flutterEngine.run(...) method performs a full initialization of the Flutter engine, including loading the entire Dart VM runtime and loading the entire application. 

Worse yet, this call blocks the main thread and can cause the application to temporarily “hang”, or what is known as a UI freeze. From the user's point of view, the screen may look “cropped” before the Flutter view appears.

## Optimization: FlutterEngine singleton

To avoid delays every time the Flutter view is launched, a better approach is to prepare the FlutterEngine instance once - typically at application startup. This is most often done in the AppDelegate, where the engine is initialized and started only once during the app’s lifecycle.

iOS:

```swift
func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                 didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    flutterEngine.run(withEntrypoint: "routedMain")
    return true
}
```

iOS:

```swift
let controller = FlutterViewController(engine: flutterEngine, nibName: nil, bundle: nil)
```

By doing this, Flutter doesn’t need to be reloaded every time a Flutter screen is opened - the engine is already running, so transitions to Flutter views happen instantly.

Of course, calling flutterEngine.run(...) still takes time (in my case, ~233 ms on average), but this cost can be absorbed naturally during app startup, when other resources are being loaded anyway. This makes the delay imperceptible to the user, while giving you the benefits of a pre-warmed engine.

But beware - this approach has its limitations. If you run FlutterEngine.run(...) once with a specific entrypoint and initialRoute value, you can't change them later directly from iOS.

## Communication via MethodChannel

If you want to switch Flutter views dynamically, you can use MethodChannel instead of initialRoute.

iOS:

```swift
struct MethodChannelScreen: UIViewControllerRepresentable {
    let screenName: String
    let flutterEngine: FlutterEngine

    func makeUIViewController(context: Context) -> FlutterViewController {
        let controller = FlutterViewController(engine: flutterEngine, nibName: nil, bundle: nil)

        let channel = FlutterMethodChannel(
            name: "com.example.events",
            binaryMessenger: controller.binaryMessenger
        )
        channel.invokeMethod("events", arguments: screenName)

        return controller
    }

    func updateUIViewController(_ uiViewController: FlutterViewController, context: Context) {}
}
```

Flutter:

```swift
@pragma('vm:entry-point')
void eventMain() {
  runApp(const EventScreen());
}

enum Event {
  loading, firstView, secondView;

  static Event? fromString(String value) {
    return Event.values.firstWhere(
      (e) => e.name == value,
      orElse: () => Event.loading,
    );
  }
}

class EventScreen extends StatefulWidget {
  const EventScreen({super.key});

  @override
  State<EventScreen> createState() => _EventScreenState();
}

class _EventScreenState extends State<EventScreen> {
  final _channel = MethodChannel('com.example.events');
  final ValueNotifier<Event> currentEvent = ValueNotifier(Event.loading);

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _channel.setMethodCallHandler((call) async {
      if (call.method == 'events') {
        final parsed = Event.fromString(call.arguments ?? "");
        if (parsed != null) {
          currentEvent.value = parsed;
        }
      }
    });
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      home: ValueListenableBuilder<Event>(
        valueListenable: currentEvent,
        builder: (context, value, _) {
          switch (value) {
            case Event.firstView: return FirstView();
            case Event.secondView: return SecondView();
            case Event.loading: return LoadingView();
          }
        },
      ),
    );
  }

  @override 
  void dispose() { 
    _channel.setMethodCallHandler(null); 
    super.dispose(); 
  }

}
```

To get around the limitation of not being able to change the initialRoute after FlutterEngine starts, we can take advantage of the communication between native code and Flutter using MethodChannel. This is a mechanism that allows us to exchange data and call methods between Dart and Swift (and vice versa).

In this approach:

* FlutterEngine is started once, at the start of the application  
* native code sends data to Flutter when the view is shown, e.g., telling it what screen should appear  
* Flutter responds to this data and dynamically switches the view

## Performance

Migrating an existing iOS app to Flutter introduces some performance overhead — particularly noticeable during app startup. I measured launch times in two different scenarios using Xcode's App Launch instrument:

* Launching the native iOS app **without** the Flutter framework
* Launching the iOS app **with** the Flutter framework embedded

All tests were conducted on an iPhone 12, in **release mode**, using the Instruments app. The app was **force-closed**, and the device was **rebooted before each run** to avoid any warm-start effects. Each result represents the **average of 10 separate runs**.

Here's a breakdown of the startup phases (in milliseconds):

| Scenario                         | Create the process | Frameworks initialize | Static Runtime Initialization |
|:--------------------------------:|:------------------:|:----------------------:|:-----------------------------:|
| Without Flutter framework        |     519.95 ms      |       81.23 ms         |           3.07 ms            |
| With Flutter framework embedded  |     512.27 ms      |      188.19 ms         |           6.88 ms            |

As shown above, the inclusion of the Flutter framework results in a 106.96 ms increase in the Frameworks initialize phase and a 3.81 ms increase in Static Runtime Initialization.

Additionally, I measured the average time for calling `flutterEngine.run()`, which was **~233 ms**. This call triggers the initialization of the Dart runtime and begins executing your Flutter entrypoint. Since this happens only once (if using a pre-warmed engine), the cost is incurred upfront but avoids delays during Flutter screen transitions.

## Migrate iOS app to Flutter – Summary

Migrating to Flutter in an existing iOS app doesn't have to be complicated. You can migrate gradually, starting with a single screen and choosing the approach that best fits your app's needs — that's the beauty of a gradual **migrate iOS app to Flutter** process.

## Efficient S3 File Upload Pipeline with Presigned URLs, Event Triggers, and Lambda Processing

*Published: 2025-05-20 | Author: kuba-s | Tags: S3,, AWS, Lambda, Architecture*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/efficient-S3-file-uploads-with-async-processing/index.md*

**Uploading files to S3 via pre-signed POST URLs allows clients to upload securely and efficiently without routing large payloads through your backend. You can enforce upload rules like file size and required metadata using S3 form conditions. A Lambda trigger processes the file after upload — extracting metadata and saving records to a database. This approach offloads heavy lifting to AWS, improves scalability, and keeps your architecture clean — but requires handling async workflow.**

## The Problem

Storing files in S3 is a common requirement for web and mobile applications — whether you're dealing with profile pictures, documents, videos, or logs. But designing the upload flow isn't just about sending bytes to a bucket. How files get uploaded and how you process them afterward can have a huge impact on system performance, cost, reliability, and security.

### Uploading files through your backend

The most straightforward approach is to let the client send the file to your backend server, and then have the server upload it to S3.

**Here’s why that’s not ideal:**

* **Double handling:** Your server receives the file, buffers it, and then forwards it to S3 — doubling the network I/O and increasing processing time.

* **Server load:** Large files can consume memory and bandwidth, especially when multiple users upload concurrently.

* **Latency:** The user waits for the file to upload to your server and then to S3, which slows down the perceived performance.

While simple to implement, this architecture doesn't scale well, especially when handling large files or high volumes of uploads.

### Letting the client upload directly to S3

To avoid server bottlenecks, a common alternative is to let the client upload directly to S3. In this model, the user sends the file straight to S3 from the frontend, and once the upload finishes, the client notifies your backend.

**This improves efficiency but introduces two major concerns:**

* **Security risk:** Uploading directly requires credentials with permission to s3:PutObject. Exposing AWS credentials in frontend code is a security risk — they can be extracted and misused.

* **Unreliable notifications:** The client is responsible for notifying the backend after the upload. But what if the user closes their browser before the notification is sent? Your system may never learn that a file was uploaded.

Clearly, both options have trade-offs. What we need is a secure, efficient way to upload files from the client — without overloading the backend — while also ensuring the backend is reliably notified and can process the uploaded content.

## Solution

To solve both the performance and reliability problems, we can rethink the flow by combining several AWS features — presigned URLs, S3 event notifications, and AWS Lambda.

**Here’s how it works:**

1. The backend generates a presigned URL and returns it to the client. Optionally, it can also store metadata about the expected upload in a database.

2. The client uploads the file directly to S3 using the presigned URL.

3. Once the upload completes, S3 triggers a Lambda function via an event notification.

4. The Lambda processes the uploaded file and stores any necessary metadata in the backend database — such as size, type, custom S3 metadata, or the result of scanning or parsing the file.

This gives you the best of both worlds:

* Fast and secure direct uploads from the client to S3

* No exposure of AWS credentials

* Guaranteed backend processing without relying on the client to notify anything

Let’s break down each part.

### Backend: Generating a presigned POST URL

Using the AWS SDK, we can generate a presigned POST with custom conditions and expiration. Here’s an example in TypeScript:
```typescript
// upload/presign.ts
import { S3Client } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3";
import { createPresignedPost } from "@aws-sdk/s3-presigned-post";
import { randomUUID } from "crypto";

const s3 = new S3Client({ region: "us-east-1" });
const BUCKET = process.env.BUCKET_NAME!;

export async function createPresignedUpload(userId: string, contentType: string) {
  const key = `uploads/${randomUUID()}`;

  const { url, fields } = await createPresignedPost(s3, {
    Bucket: BUCKET,
    Key: key,
    Conditions: [
      ["eq", "$Content-Type", contentType], // Enforces exact content type
      ["eq", "$x-amz-meta-user-id", userId], // Enforce user ID is sent in metadata
      ["starts-with", "$x-amz-meta-name", ""], // Enforce frontend to provide file name
      ["content-length-range", 0, 10 * 1024 * 1024], // Limit file size to 10MB
    ],
    Fields: {
      "Content-Type": contentType,
      "x-amz-meta-user-id": userId, 
    },
    Expires: 900, // 15 minutes
  });

  return { url, fields, key };
}
```
**Explanation:** This creates a short-lived URL used to upload the file. The `fields` are pre-filled form values that the client may submit with the upload — these can include known headers like Content-Type as well as custom metadata fields prefixed with x-amz-. The `conditions` block defines the rules that S3 will enforce when validating the upload request.

* The file must not exceed 10 MB.

* The Content-Type must exactly match the expected MIME type.

* The upload must include a custom metadata field x-amz-meta-name, with value provided by the frontend, used to store the original file name.

* A custom metadata field x-amz-meta-user-id must be included. This demonstrates how to pass metadata into the upload — in this example, the userId could come from your database or be extracted from a decoded JWT, allowing uploads to be tied to a specific user.

S3 enforces these conditions at the time of upload. Any missing or mismatched field will cause the upload to fail. Note that only known headers and metadata fields prefixed with `x-amz-meta-` are stored as custom metadata — other arbitrary fields are ignored.

### Frontend: Upload file and attach metadata

```typescript
async function uploadFile(file: File) {
  // 1. Request upload parameters from backend
  const res = await fetch("/api/upload/presign", {
    method: "POST",
    body: JSON.stringify({
      contentType: file.type,
    }),
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  });

  const { url, fields, key } = await res.json();

  // 2. Construct form data with all backend-provided fields
  const formData = new FormData();
  Object.entries(fields).forEach(([k, v]) => {
    formData.append(k, v as string);
  });
  
  // 3. Frontend adds its required metadata (enforced by backend policy)
  formData.append("x-amz-meta-name", file.name);

  // 4. Final field must be the actual file
  formData.append("file", file);

  // 5. Upload directly to S3
  const uploadRes = await fetch(url, {
    method: "POST",
    body: formData,
  });

  if (!uploadRes.ok) {
    throw new Error("Upload failed");
  }

  console.log("Upload succeeded:", key);
}
```

### 3. S3 Triggers Lambda

S3 can emit **event notifications** when certain actions occur on a bucket—like when a new object is created, deleted, or restored. These events can be used to trigger downstream processing automatically, such as invoking a Lambda function.

**Common use case:** Trigger a Lambda function every time a new file is uploaded to a specific folder in a bucket (e.g., for image processing, virus scanning, or moving data into a database).

**Setting up S3 as a Lambda trigger (via AWS Console):**

1. Go to the S3 bucket where files are uploaded.

2. Click “Properties”, then scroll down to “Event notifications”.

3. Click “Create event notification”.

4. Configure the event:

Name the event.

Event type: choose POST (for presigned URL uploads), or other types as needed.

Prefix/Suffix: optionally limit to a folder or file type, e.g.:

Prefix: uploads/

Destination: choose Lambda Function, then select an existing Lambda from the dropdown.

Confirm permissions:

S3 must be allowed to invoke your Lambda. If it’s not already, you’ll be prompted to grant permissions automatically.

Once set up, any new file matching the criteria will automatically trigger the selected Lambda with an event payload containing metadata about the file (e.g. bucket name, key, size, etc.).

### 4. Lambda: Process the uploaded file

Once S3 triggers the Lambda function (as set up earlier), the function can access event metadata and retrieve the uploaded object's details from S3, storing the metadata in the database.

```typescript
// lambda/process-upload.ts
import { S3Client, HeadObjectCommand } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3";
import { S3Event } from "aws-lambda";
import { randomUUID } from "crypto";
import { uploadRepo } from "./upload-repo";

const s3 = new S3Client({});

export const handler = async (event: any) => {
  const record = event.Records?.[0];
  if (!record) throw new Error("No S3 record found");

  const bucket = record.s3.bucket.name;
  const key = decodeURIComponent(record.s3.object.key.replace(/\+/g, " "));

  const head = await s3.send(new HeadObjectCommand({ Bucket: bucket, Key: key }));

  const contentType = head.ContentType;
  const size = head.ContentLength;
  const userId = head.Metadata?.["user-id"];
  const originalName = head.Metadata?.["name"];

  if (!userId || !originalName) {
    throw new Error("Missing required metadata");
  }

  await uploadRepo.save({
    id: randomUUID(),
    bucket,
    key,
    size,
    contentType,
    userId,
    originalName,
  });

  console.log("Upload metadata saved:", { bucket, key });
};
```
### 5. Tradeoffs

Like everything in software engineering, this approach is not a silver bullet. It solves many problems—offloading traffic to S3, reducing backend load, and enabling secure, scalable uploads—but comes with tradeoffs:

* **Asynchronous processing:** The upload is processed asynchronously. If the client needs to wait for the file to be fully processed (e.g. metadata stored in a DB), it must implement polling mechanism to be notified when the file is ready.

* **No early validation of file content:** Since the upload goes directly to S3, your backend only sees the file after it lands. You can enforce structure (e.g. content type, size, custom metadata) at upload time via presigned policy conditions, but you can't inspect or reject the file contents in advance.

* **Complexity:** The solution is more complex than a simple direct upload.

## Conclusion

Pre-signed POST uploads with S3 offer a clean and scalable way to accept files directly from clients — enforcing structure with upload policies and enriching the process with metadata. Combined with S3 event triggers and Lambda, it becomes easy to build automated pipelines that respond to new uploads in near real-time. Just remember: this pattern is asynchronous, so systems that expect immediate results must account for it. When used thoughtfully, it’s a lightweight and powerful foundation for modern file upload flows.

## Asset Tracking: A Guide to Smarter Asset Management

*Published: 2025-05-20 | Author: izabela | Tags: asset tracking, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/asset-tracking-guide/index.md*

**Businesses large and small must monitor the location, status, and condition of their physical assets in real time to improve asset utilization, reduce losses, enhance productivity, and maintain a competitive edge. This introductory guide will walk you through the essentials of asset tracking, including the benefits, core technologies, and how to choose the right asset tracking solution for your business.**

<div className="image">![asset tracking guide](/images/asset_tracking_guide_cover.png "asset tracking guide")</div>

## What is Asset Tracking?

**Asset tracking** refers to the method of monitoring the physical assets of an organization—such as vehicles, machinery, equipment, tools, and inventory—using various **tracking technologies**. These systems record asset data like location, status, and movement over time, providing businesses with improved **visibility** and control.

## How Does Asset Tracking Work?

Asset tracking works through the integration of hardware, software, and communication technologies. Here's a breakdown:

1. **Asset tag**: Assets are tagged with identifiers such as barcodes, QR codes, RFID, or GPS-enabled devices. Although, in some cases [tracking devices can be tags as well](/projects/manufacturing-asset-tracking/).
2. **Tracking device**: These tags communicate with a **tracking device** or reader to log data.
3. **Asset tracking software**: Data from tracking devices is collected and processed by **asset management software**.
4. **Cloud-based asset tracking**: Modern systems store this data in the cloud, offering remote access and real-time updates.

## The Benefits of Asset Tracking

Implementing a robust **asset tracking system** delivers numerous benefits:

* **Enhanced visibility**: Know where your assets are at any time.
* **Improved asset utilization**: Eliminate idle time and maximize use.
* **Reduced downtime**: Schedule maintenance based on real-time data.
* **Optimized operations**: Increase **productivity** by streamlining workflows.
* **Loss prevention**: Prevent theft and misplacement with real-time alerts. Note that asset misappropriation accounts for nearly [90%](https://bradyware.com/new-acfe-report-exposes-rising-fraud-costs-trends/) of reported workplace fraud cases.
* **Data-driven decisions**: Use historical and current data to guide strategy.

## Industries That Benefit from Asset Tracking Technologies

Location tracking and inventory offers valuable benefits across industries:

* **Logistics and Transportation**: Real-time GPS tracking enhances fleet visibility, improves delivery accuracy, and reduces fuel consumption.
* **Construction**: Tracks equipment across job sites to prevent loss, reduce idle time, and enhance asset utilization.
* **Healthcare**: Monitors medical devices and critical equipment to ensure availability, compliance, and proper sanitation.
* **Manufacturing**: Increases operational efficiency by tracking tools, automating maintenance, and minimizing downtime.
* **Retail**: Enhances inventory accuracy, supports demand forecasting, and optimizes supply chain workflows.
* **Government and Public Services**: Improves transparency and accountability by managing public assets and reducing operational inefficiencies.

## Core Technologies in Asset Tracking

Understanding the different **asset tracking technologies** can help you choose the right system:

### Barcode and QR Code

These are simple, cost-effective options that require manual scanning. Best for low-value, stationary assets.

### RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

RFID tags automatically transmit data to readers, making them ideal for warehouse and inventory tracking.

### GPS Asset Tracking

**GPS asset tracking** offers real-time location updates and is especially useful for **fleet and asset** management across large geographic areas.

### IoT Asset Tracking

**IoT asset tracking** uses smart sensors and internet connectivity to deliver advanced analytics, condition monitoring, and predictive maintenance alerts. It's an integral part of **iot asset management**.

### Cloud-Based Asset Tracking

A **cloud-based asset** tracking system enables teams to access asset information from anywhere, promoting better collaboration and decision-making.

## Choosing the Right Asset Tracking Software

Selecting the **most suited asset tracking** system depends on several factors:

* **Type of assets**: Are you tracking vehicles, equipment, or tools?
* **Mobility**: Are your assets stationary or on the move?
* **Budget**: What is the total cost of implementation?
* **Scalability**: Can the system grow with your business?
* **Integration**: Does it integrate with your existing **asset management** tools or mobile devices that could become your asset trackers? For example Zebra Technologies hone are a great example of a potential asset tracker.

## Fleet and Asset Tracking

For businesses with transportation needs, combining **fleet and asset** tracking is a game-changer. **GPS asset tracking solutions** help monitor vehicle locations, driver behavior, fuel consumption, and delivery times in **real-time**, all while tracking cargo.

## Asset Tracking Devices and Hardware

Different **asset tracking devices** are available based on asset type and use-case:

* **Passive tags**: Low-cost, used for barcode and RFID.
* **Active GPS devices**: Battery-powered and ideal for remote tracking.
* **IoT sensors**: Monitor temperature, vibration, and usage.
* **Fixed readers**: Installed at entry/exit points for automated logging.
* **Mobile devices** your company already owns that can become trackers with Bluetooth Low Energy.

Choosing the appropriate **asset tracking hardware** ensures accurate and reliable data collection.

## Cloud-Based Asset Management

A **cloud-based asset management** system not only provides better access but also reduces IT overhead. Features include:

* Automatic software updates
* Enhanced data security
* Remote management capabilities
* Scalability for growing businesses

## Enhancing Asset Utilization and Operational Efficiency

One of the most tangible **benefits of asset** tracking is improved **asset utilization**. By knowing where and how assets are used, companies can:

* Reassign underused equipment
* Schedule preventive maintenance
* Avoid unnecessary purchases
* Increase uptime and **operational efficiency**

## Real-Time Alerts and Monitoring

Modern **asset tracking systems** offer asset life alerts for:

* Unauthorized movement
* Maintenance due
* Environmental changes (e.g., temperature/humidity)
* Battery levels of tracking devices

This level of **asset monitoring** ensures fast response times and minimizes risk.

## Optimizing Asset Location and Deployment

Using **asset tracking software**, businesses can analyze historical location data to optimize the placement and **utilization** of assets. Strategic asset allocation reduces travel time, lowers fuel costs, and improves service delivery.

## Integration with Existing Business Tools

Today’s **asset management software** often integrates with:

* **ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems**: SAP ERP, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Odoo, Infor CloudSuite;
* **Inventory management tools:** TradeGecko (QuickBooks Commerce), Zoho Inventory, Cin7, Fishbowl Inventory, inFlow Inventory;
* **CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems)**: UpKeep, Fiix, eMaint, Hippo CMMS, Maintenance Connection;
* **Financial software:** QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, FreshBooks, Wave Accounting.

Integration boosts efficiency and provides a unified view of all business operations.

## Custom vs. Off-the-Shelf Asset Tracking Solutions

When considering asset tracking systems, businesses often face the choice between custom-built solutions and off-the-shelf software. Each approach has its advantages and limitations.

### Off-the-Shelf Solutions

**Pros:**

* Lower upfront cost
* Faster deployment
* Vendor support and regular updates

**Cons:**

* Limited customization
* May not integrate well with specific workflows
* Potential scalability issues

### Custom Asset Tracking Solutions

**Pros:**

* Fully tailored to business processes
* Scalable with company growth
* Easier integration with legacy systems and specific hardware

**Cons:**

* Higher initial investment
* Longer development time
* Internal responsibility for updates and maintenance

Choosing between these options depends on the complexity of your needs, existing infrastructure, and long-term goals.

## Case Studies: Real-World Applications

These real-world applications highlight how customized asset tracking systems can be tailored to meet industry-specific challenges effectively.

### 1. IoT-Based Water Quality Monitoring for Fish Transportation

A global seafood exporter required a system to monitor water conditions inside fish crates during transport. Our team developed a [custom IoT solution that used sensors to track water quality indicators](/projects/water-quality-monitoring/) such as temperature. The system sent real-time alerts when anomalies were detected, ensuring compliance with safety standards and reducing spoilage. This improved quality assurance and customer satisfaction.

<div className="image">![water monitoring](/images/water_monitoring_case_study.png "water monitoring")</div>

### 2. Manufacturing Asset Tracking Using Existing Devices

A manufacturing client needed a cost-effective way to track tools and equipment throughout their facilities. Our team repurposed the client's existing mobile devices by leveraging Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to create a lightweight and efficient [tracking solution for manufacturing](/projects/manufacturing-asset-tracking/). This minimized the need for additional hardware, improved asset visibility, reduced loss, and boosted operational efficiency.

<div className="image">![manufacturing asset tracking](/images/manufacturing_asset_tracking_photo.png "manufacturing asset tracking")</div>

## Best Practices for Implementing Asset Tracking

Follow these steps for successful deployment:

1. **Audit your assets**: Identify what needs to be tracked.
2. **Choose the right asset tracking solution or hire a asset tracking software development company** to build a tailored solution.
3. **Tag and categorize**: Use the appropriate **asset tracking tags**.
4. **Train your staff**: Ensure everyone knows how to use the system.
5. **Monitor and adjust**: Continuously refine your process for better results.

## Future of Asset Tracking

The future lies in intelligent, **IoT-enabled asset tracking** systems that offer advanced analytics, AI-powered predictions, and seamless integrations. As **tracking technology** evolves, expect:

* Smart maintenance scheduling
* Predictive analytics
* Automated inventory management
* Augmented reality for warehouse navigation

## Asset Monitoring: Conclusion

**Asset tracking** is a powerful tool that enables organizations to **track assets**, enhance **visibility**, and boost **productivity** through real-time data. Whether you're looking to manage a **fleet**, reduce downtime, or improve **asset utilization**, investing in the right **asset tracking software** and **asset tracking system** can transform your operations.

From **barcode** tags to **IoT asset tracking**, the choices are vast but choosing a **cloud-based asset management** solution that aligns with your needs is the best step forward. Start tracking your assets smarter today and unlock the true potential of your resources.

- - -

Looking to implement you very own **[asset tracking](/our-areas/asset-tracking/) custom solution**? Contact our experts to find the **best solution** for your business and see how it can **optimize** operations and drive better results.

## From Gradle Plugin to CLI - A More Flexible Way to Distribute Android Apps with Firebase App Distribution

*Published: 2025-05-15 | Author: filip-g | Tags: android, kotlin, gradle, firebase*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/from-gradle-plugin-to-cli-android/index.md*

**Firebase App Distribution is a fantastic tool for continuous delivery, providing an easy way to manage pre-release builds and sharing them with testers.\
For a long time in our project, the [Firebase App Distribution Gradle plugin](https://firebase.google.com/docs/app-distribution/android/distribute-gradle) was a convenient way to automate this process directly within our build scripts.\
However, as our project’s complexity grew, particularly with the introduction of new flavor dimensions, we encountered limitations that led us to explore a more flexible alternative: the Firebase CLI.**

## The Convenience (and Limitations) of the Gradle Plugin

Initially, the Firebase App Distribution Gradle plugin was more than enough for our project. All we had to do was to apply the plugin in the `build.gradle` file and configure the `firebaseAppDistribution` closure by specifying appId, service account file and testers group. Since we had 2 flavors at that time - `staging` and `live`, we could also configure each of them separately:

```groovy
// app-level build.gradle.kts file

plugins {
  id("com.google.firebase.appdistribution")
}

android {
  flavorDimensions += "environment"
  productFlavors {
    create(“staging”) {
      dimension = "environment"
      firebaseAppDistribution {
        appId = // staging App Id
        groups = // testers group
        releaseNotes = "Bug fixes and improvements"
      }
    create(“live”) {
      dimension = "environment"
      firebaseAppDistribution {
        appId = // live App Id
        groups = // testers group
        releaseNotes = "Bug fixes and improvements"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

This setup allowed us to upload both variants of the app to App Distribution from a CI workflow, by using a single Gradle command `appDistributionUploadStagingRelease` or `appDistributionUploadLiveRelease`.

### Growing project complexity

This worked perfectly well until our app received a second branding, which forced us to create a new flavor dimension - *brand*.\
Adding the second flavor dimension resulted in having 4 merged flavors instead of 2:  


* brand1Live
* brand1Staging
* brand2Live
* brand2Staging

Since all those 4 app versions had different App IDs in the Firebase console, we also needed 4 different App Distribution plugin setups.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing this blog post (May 2025), the plugin doesn’t allow that, as there exist only 3 versions for the `firebaseAppDistribution` configuration function:  

```kotlin
// com.google.firebase.appdistribution.gradle.ExtensionAwareKt

fun org.gradle.api.Project.firebaseAppDistribution()
fun org.gradle.nativeplatform.BuildType.firebaseAppDistribution()
fun com.android.build.api.dsl.ProductFlavor.firebaseAppDistribution()
```

They allow to configure the App Distribution:

* once for the entire project  
* for every individual build type  
* for every individual flavor

There’s no way to combine 2 flavors together, or one flavor with one build type.\
To achieve it, we would need a 4th version, defined for example for `com.android.build.api.variant.ApplicationVariant`, as this class contains the definitions for all flavors and build types.

## The Flexibility of the Firebase CLI

This is where the Firebase CLI became our preferred solution.  It provides a direct interface to interact with various Firebase services, including App Distribution, via command-line.  Since it’s decoupled from the Gradle build logic, it gives us full control over which build artifact gets distributed, perfectly solving our flavor dimension targeting problem.

### How to Use the Firebase CLI for App Distribution

The easiest way to install Firebase CLI is to use Node Package Manager. Most of the CI systems have it installed already. In case it’s not available straight away, please refer to the [official installation docs](https://docs.npmjs.com/downloading-and-installing-node-js-and-npm).

Once we have `npm` command available, we can install the CLI using a single terminal command:

```bash
npm install -g firebase-tools
```

Now we should have access to the `firebase` command which is an entry point to the Firebase CLI.\
Then, we just need to invoke the `appdistribution:distribute` command.

This command however, requires authentication. 

### CLI Authentication

CLI auth can be obtained in 2 ways: with Firebase Token, or Service Account File.\
The token approach is considered deprecated, hence we haven’t used it.\
It also requires a machine with an installed browser, as the token can be obtained only after performing a successful Google Auth.\
For more info please refer to [official docs](https://firebase.google.com/docs/cli#cli-ci-systems-firebase-token).

The option with Service Account File is much easier to implement in a CI environment.\
It just requires a single file available through a system environment variable. The file itself can be obtained from Google Cloud Console.\
For a step-by-step guide, please check the [official docs](https://firebase.google.com/docs/app-distribution/authenticate-service-account?platform=android).

The last step - creating a `GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS` environment variable is crucial. Without this, the upload will fail, as the `appdistribution:distribute` command uses this env during runtime.

### Uploading the app

After fulfilling the authentication requirements, we can finally upload the build by calling:

```powershell
firebase appdistribution:distribute "path/to/the/build/file" \ 
  --app FIREBASE_APP_ID \
  --groups "internal-testers,qa-team" \
  --release-notes "Bug fixes and improvements"
```

Parameters breakdown:\
`"path/to/the/build/file"` - a required argument pointing to the APK or AAB file\
`--app` - The App ID for your Android app in Firebase. You can find this in your Firebase project settings under "General".\
`--groups` - a comma-separated list of tester groups you want to distribute the build to. You can manage groups in the Firebase console.\
`--release-notes` - release notes for the testers. You can also use `--release-notes file` /`path/to/notes.txt` to provide notes from a file.\
If you are using token authentication, an additional `--token` parameter will be required.

For a complete list of available parameters, please refer to the [official docs](https://firebase.google.com/docs/app-distribution/android/distribute-cli?apptype=apk#step_2_distribute_your_app_to_testers).

Alternatively, instead of splitting the CLI usage into separate steps for installation and execution, we can make use of `npx` to run the `firebase`, command directly from a remote `npm` package:

```powershell
npx --yes firebase-tools \
  appdistribution:distribute "path/to/the/build/file" \ 
    --app FIREBASE_APP_ID \
    --groups "internal-testers,qa-team" \
    --release-notes "Bug fixes and improvements"
```

Using `--yes` parameter allows to bypass any prompts that would appear during the execution.

### Uploading the build from CI

In the case of our project, we are using GitHub Actions as a CI solution. It gives an option to define values for all the above parameters as inputs to a single workflow, so the decision on what app to upload can be done by simply passing appropriate arguments when dispatching the workflow.

Even though our final CI workflow is a bit more complex, you can check a simple implementation in the [following gist](https://gist.github.com/fgrzeskowiak/473a0ececdfdff55f96e19dcf1e2cdfc).

## Conclusion

While the Firebase App Distribution Gradle plugin is a convenient entry point, the Firebase CLI offers superior flexibility and control, especially when dealing with complex Android build configurations involving multiple flavor dimensions. 

By decoupling the build and upload steps and allowing you to explicitly specify the artifact to distribute, the CLI provides a solution that scales better with the complexity of your app variants.

If you've hit limitations with the Gradle plugin due to your build setup, or simply need more control over your distribution process, switching to Firebase CLI might be a cure for that.

## Cursor vs Junie for Android Developers. Which Is the Better AI Agent?

*Published: 2025-05-15 | Author: szymek | Tags: android, AI, agent*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cursor-vs-junie-for-android/index.md*

**[Junie](https://www.jetbrains.com/junie/) and [Cursor](https://www.cursor.com/) — two prominent AI agents — have entered the realm of Android development. Let's explore their strengths and weaknesses across different aspects of the development process.**

<div className="image">![Cursor vs. Junie for Android Development](/images/cursor-junie.jpg "Cursor vs. Junie for Android Development")</div>

## AI Agents for Android development

Plenty of AI tools are popping up that can really speed up Android development. Let's dive into what's currently available and check out some cool options we have right now.

Among the most powerful AI tools out there are what people call AI Agents. These guys can automatically change your existing files, add completely new ones, or even whip up entire code modules, all based on what you ask them to do. You just switch to the Agent or Code mode in your tool and tell it how it can help.

## Samples

Here are some examples of requests you could make that might be super helpful and boost your productivity:

* Write unit tests for my `ViewModel` class, making sure to match the code style used in your `OtherViewModelTest` class. Generating unit tests with it takes only a few minutes, which can save hours compared to manual creation, especially for complex scenarios.
* Migrate all the Jetpack Compose Material 2 Composables in your project over to Material 3.
* Change how file uploads are handled by WorkManager. Instead of one `WorkRequest` per upload, use a single `WorkRequest` for multiple files with an upload queue stored in a Room database. Also, make sure to expose detailed updates about the queue and the status of each upload using a Coroutines Flow.
* Create Jetpack Compose Composables that perfectly match the screen layout shown in the design image file `design.jpg`.
* Figure out why the app is crashing with a provided stacktrace: `<stacktrace>`. Once you know why, make that part of the code safer.
* Replace all the direct `colorResource(R.color.<color>)` calls in the code with the right `MaterialTheme` color defined in my Jetpack Compose theme.
* Describe the reported bug and indicate the suspected area in the code that may require modifications. It should prompt you with suggestions on how to fix this bug.

## Cursor

While it doesn't have official, deep Android support, Cursor is still pretty useful and can lend a hand in many situations. It's actually an IDE based on Visual Studio, called Cursor itself. You can install Android plugins to help with development, but honestly, it won't replace the top-tier Android IDEs from Jetbrains, like Android Studio and IntelliJ IDEA.

### How does it work?

You just go into Agent mode, give Cursor the relevant context files it needs, and tell it what you want to achieve. You can even attach a design image file for it to generate Composables or XML layouts from. Make sure to give it as many context files as possible, because the more context Cursor has, the more accurate the results will be.

**Pros:**

* Really fast - usually finishes after a few seconds.
* You can pick which AI model you want to use.
* Has a "Thinking mode" which is great for trickier or less clear problems, like debugging or figuring out why an exception happened.
* Awesome for generating small bits of boilerplate code (maybe up to a few files).

  * Writing unit tests based on a component to test

**Cons:**

* Android support isn't super convenient.

  * Cannot run app or unit tests.
  * Lacks network, memory, and UI analyzer tools.
* Needs very specific file context; without enough info, the results can be useless.

  * Automatically generated tests may fail to compile or employ coding patterns not typical of your project.
* Often spits out boilerplate code that doesn't even compile.
* Can get stuck in a loop if you e.g. ask it to make tests pass by repeatedly running and fixing them.

## Junie

It’s part of Jetbrains AI Pro. It's not available right in Android Studio yet. However, you can find it in IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate, which actually has decent Android development support. It comes with an Android plugin that gives you Jetpack Compose preview, Logcat, debugger, Network Inspector, Build Variants selector, Profiler, and a whole lot more that should cover most of your Android needs! You might miss some less common features bundled with Android Studio, like Firebase integration or the App Links Assistant, but for most things, it's got you covered.

### How does it work?

You just select Code mode. You can add context files using the '+' icon or by mentioning file/class names. Then, just tell it what you need! You can't directly attach an image to the prompt, but you can drop the image file into your repository temporarily and tell Junie to use it as a reference. This way, it can generate Jetpack Compose or XML layouts based on that image. If you don't give Junie context, it's pretty likely to search for relevant info on its own. For instance, if you ask it to write code to save a data class object to SharedPreferences, Junie will probably look for any serialization library you're already using and suggest using that to handle storing complex data types.

**Pros:**

* Pretty accurate, gives results that make more sense and feel more insightful than Cursor.

  * If serialization is needed, it looks for existing examples in the project.
  * If unit testing mocks are needed, it looks for existing mocking libraries
  * When code changes affect other classes, it tries to make everything play nicely together.
  * Does not leave your code not compiling
* Can totally write unit tests and even fix them on the spot if they're busted.

  * If a unit test doesn't compile or pass, it keeps trying to fix it until it does.
  * Haven't seen it get stuck in an infinite loop yet, which is cool.

**Cons:**

* Yeah, it's slower.

  * Processing more complex stuff just takes a good chunk of time.
  * Sometimes fixing all the unit tests in just one file means a separate AI request for each one, plus running the test, which can seriously chew up 10-20 minutes sometimes.
  * Creating a single unit test class for a typical Android ViewModel took around 3 to 5 minutes.
  * Migrating approximately 30 Composables from Jetpack Compose Material2 to Material3 within a specific package took around 20 minutes. However, it’s nothing compared to the estimated 8 hours.

## Summary

AI Agents significantly improve daily work by saving time typically spent on writing boilerplate code. 

For intricate issues, Junie is the preferred tool, while Cursor is suitable for simpler, faster assistance. Which AI agent do you prefer for your Android development tasks?

## Faster and Smarter - Improving File Uploads with S3 Multipart, Pre-Signed URLs and S3 Transfer Acceleration

*Published: 2025-05-13 | Author: kuba-s | Tags: S3, AWS, Architecture, Performance*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/improving-s3-large-files-uploads/index.md*

**Uploading large files to S3 can be slow and unreliable over weak networks. Using multipart upload with pre-signed URLs improves speed, reliability, and security by allowing parallel uploads directly from the client. A lifecycle policy can automatically clean up abandoned uploads to avoid storage costs. S3 Transfer Acceleration speeds up uploads and downloads globally by routing traffic through AWS edge locations. It’s easy to enable and only charges if it improves performance.**

## Uploading large files to S3

Amazon S3 is one of the most reliable and scalable object storage services available today. It’s widely used for storing everything from static website assets to massive data archives, video libraries, backups, and logs. However, uploading large files to S3 isn’t as simple as doing a `PUT` request and calling it a day. Several challenges come into play, especially when network conditions are less than ideal.

**Let's explore why:**

* **Unreliable Networks:** In real-world scenarios, users may upload files over shaky connections — think mobile devices, public Wi-Fi, or spotty home internet. A single dropped connection during a large upload can force the entire operation to start over if not handled correctly.

* **Single Connection Limitations:** A standard HTTP `PUT` upload streams the file over a single HTTP connection. Due to TCP throughput limitations, this often leads to underutilized bandwidth.

Clearly, uploading large files over the internet is more fragile and slower than it should be. Anyone who has ever tried to upload a file over 1 GB on a flaky connection knows just how painful the process can be. Fortunately, S3 provides a purpose-built solution to address these challenges: **S3 multipart upload**.

## Introducing multipart upload: S3 solution for large files

To make large file uploads more reliable and performant, AWS offers the **Multipart Upload** feature in S3. Instead of sending the entire file in a single request, the file is broken into smaller parts that can be uploaded independently — and in parallel.

AWS provides clear guidelines around when to use multipart upload:

* **Recommended:** For files larger than **100 MB**, AWS recommends using multipart upload to improve speed and resilience.

* **Required:** For files over **5 GB**, multipart upload is mandatory. You cannot upload files of this size using a regular `PUT` request.

This approach has multiple advantages:

* **Failed parts can be retried individually.**
* **Uploads can proceed in parallel, making better use of available bandwidth.**
* **You gain greater control over error handling and progress tracking.**

By leveraging multipart upload, developers can build upload flows that are faster, more resilient, and much better suited to real-world network conditions. 

## Secure uploads with pre-signed urls

When uploading directly to S3, you normally need to provide valid AWS credentials with permissions to `s3:PutObject`. Exposing those credentials in a frontend app is a big no-no — they can be misused if leaked.

That’s where **pre-signed URLs** come in. A pre-signed URL grants temporary permission to upload a file directly to S3, without exposing any sensitive credentials. They’re:

* **Time-limited** (you define expiration)
* **Scope-limited** (you define exactly what operation they allow)
* **Ideal for frontend uploads** (web, mobile, etc.)

You can combine pre-signed URLs with multipart uploads to securely and efficiently upload large files directly from the client.

## Implementing multipart upload with pre-signed URLs in TypeScript

Let’s walk through an example implementation of multipart upload using pre-signed URLs. This approach allows your frontend to upload large files directly to S3, securely and efficiently, without exposing credentials.

We’ll expose three backend endpoints:

* **Initialize Upload** – Starts a multipart upload and returns an UploadId.
* **Generate Pre-Signed URLs** – Creates pre-signed URLs for each part.
* **Finalize Upload** – Completes the upload after all parts have been uploaded.

1. **Backend: Initialize Upload**

```typescript
// POST /api/upload/init
export async function initMultipartUpload(
  key: string,
  contentType: string
) {
  const response = await s3.send(
    new CreateMultipartUploadCommand({
      Bucket: BUCKET,
      Key: key,
      ContentType: contentType,
    })
  );

  return {
    uploadId: response.UploadId!,
    key,
  };
}
```
**Explanation**: This starts the multipart process and returns an UploadId, which is required to upload and track individual parts.

2. **Backend: Generate Pre-Signed URLs**

```typescript
// POST /api/upload/presign
export async function generatePresignedUrls(
  key: string,
  uploadId: string,
  parts: number
) {
  const urls = await Promise.all(
    Array.from({ length: parts }, (_, index) => {
      const command = new UploadPartCommand({
        Bucket: BUCKET,
        Key: key,
        UploadId: uploadId,
        PartNumber: index + 1,
      });

      return getSignedUrl(s3, command, { expiresIn: 900 });
    })
  );

  return urls;
}
```
**Explanation**: You generate a pre-signed URL for each part using `UploadPartCommand`, which can be used by the frontend to upload file chunks directly to S3. Keep track of each `PartNumber` to correctly finalize the upload later.

3. **Backend: Complete the Upload**

```typescript
// POST /api/upload/complete
export async function completeMultipartUpload(
  key: string,
  uploadId: string,
  parts: { ETag: string; PartNumber: number }[]
) {
  await s3.send(
    new CompleteMultipartUploadCommand({
      Bucket: BUCKET,
      Key: key,
      UploadId: uploadId,
      MultipartUpload: { Parts: parts },
    })
  );
}
```
**Explanation**: S3 will combine all uploaded parts into a single object. If anything goes wrong before this step, the upload remains incomplete.

4. **Frontend: Putting it all together**

Here's a high-level example of how a browser or mobile app can use those endpoints to upload a file in parallel:

```typescript
async function uploadFile(file: File) {
    // 1. Initialize multipart upload
    const { uploadId, key } = await api.initMultipartUpload(file.name, file.type)

    // 2. Split file into parts with your custom logic
    const parts = splitIntoParts(file)

    // 3. Get pre-signed URLs
    const urls = await api.generatePresignedUrls(key, uploadId, parts.length)

    // 4. Upload chunks in parallel
    const uploads = await Promise.all(
        parts.map((part, idx) =>
            fetch(urls[idx], { method: 'PUT', body: part })
                .then((res) => res.json())
                .then((res) => ({
                    ETag: res.headers.get('ETag')!,
                    PartNumber: idx + 1,
                }))
        )
    )


    // 5. Finalize upload
    await api.completeMultipartUpload(key, uploadId, uploads)
}
```
**Explanation**: The file is split into chunks client-side, and each chunk is uploaded using the corresponding pre-signed URL. After all uploads complete, the list of ETag and PartNumber values is sent to the backend to finalize the multipart upload.

5. **Bonus: Automatically clean up incomplete uploads**

As a best practice, you can configure an S3 lifecycle policy to automatically delete incomplete multipart uploads after a set number of days. This keeps your bucket clean and avoids unexpected storage costs.

## Supercharging uploads with S3 Transfer Acceleration

When users upload large files from across the globe, network latency and distance from the S3 bucket region can significantly slow down the process. S3 Transfer Acceleration is designed to solve exactly this problem — by leveraging AWS’s global infrastructure to speed up data transfers to and from S3.

S3 Transfer Acceleration works by routing your uploads and downloads through the nearest **AWS Edge Location** using the Amazon CloudFront network. Once a file reaches an edge location, it travels over the **AWS global backbone**, a high-speed and low-latency network that connects AWS regions around the world.

Instead of sending data all the way to your S3 bucket’s region over the public internet, users send it to the closest AWS edge server. This drastically reduces latency and improves upload (and download) performance, especially for users far from the bucket’s region.

You can enable Transfer Acceleration in the bucket’s **Properties** tab in the S3 console. Once enabled, two special endpoints become available for use in your applications:

* `https://<bucket-name>.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com`
* `https://<bucket-name>.s3-accelerate.dualstack.amazonaws.com` (for IPv6 support)

Using either of these endpoints with your S3 client enables accelerated data transfers. If Transfer Acceleration doesn’t improve performance, AWS will compare the results and won’t charge you for using it.

## Conclusion

S3 multipart upload with pre-signed URLs is a powerful and flexible way to upload large files to S3. It provides a secure and efficient way to upload files directly from the client, while also allowing for better error handling and progress tracking. S3 Transfer Acceleration is a further improvement that can speed up uploads and downloads globally by routing traffic through AWS edge locations.

## Climbing Challenges in Tech and Life: Paweł’s 10-Year Dev Journey

*Published: 2025-05-09 | Author: pawel-o | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/climbing-challenges-in-tech-life-pawel/index.md*

**With a decade of experience in the software industry, Paweł has seen it all – from working with complex legacy systems to implementing modern authentication methods like passkeys. In this interview, he shares insights on technical challenges like payment integration, finding purpose in software projects, and how climbing (literally) changes his everyday life.**

<div className="image">![Career story: Paweł](/images/brightstorypawelogrid.png "Career story: Paweł")</div>

## You’ve been in the industry for 10 years now – what have been the biggest challenges along the way?

One of the biggest challenges has definitely been **working with legacy systems**, especially when the code wasn’t written by me or anyone from my current team. Unfortunately, in some cases, the code I had to work with wasn’t written with future maintenance in mind. 

Sometimes, you get the opportunity to rewrite it. But in many cases, you have to maintain it as it is. That’s when you focus on optimizing certain parts, adding tests, and simply **trying to leave the code in a better state than you found it**. 

Reading code is usually the most time-consuming part of a developer's work, and with legacy systems, it often feels like **solving a puzzle without all the pieces**.

<div className="image">![Quote on legacy systems](/images/pawel_quote_legacy.png "Quote on legacy systems")</div>

## Is it discouraging for you to work with legacy systems?

Not at all – I actually enjoy the challenge. What’s most rewarding is knowing I’m **adding real value to businesses**, not just working on projects that will never see the light of day. It might sound cliché, but I like working on something that can make a difference. 

I once worked for a company in the banking sector, but it didn’t give me the same sense of purpose I feel now, working with one of our clients whose mission is to reduce plastic waste. **The mission behind a software product really matters** to me.

## One of your current challenges is implementing payments for a retail application. Can you tell us more about that?

It’s a major part of the app modernization. The app already had payments implemented which gave me an **opportunity to work with third-party services like Braintree and Stripe**. Yet now we’re expanding the number of payment providers and methods. We already support a variety of payment methods, including **credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, and SEPA** – which is actually very popular in countries like Germany.

Our goal is to **offer more payment methods tailored to the needs of each market**. For example, in the Netherlands, iDEAL is widely used. The challenge lies in coordinating all these providers and adapting the payment flows to each market – especially considering specific factors, like SEPA only handling payments within Europe, which makes it unsuitable for certain regions.

<div className="image">![Teambuilding](/images/teambuilding_laser_tag_pawel.png "Teambuilding")</div>

<center> Paweł during a laser tag team retreat. </center>

## You recently worked on passkey login implementation, which is still a unique feature. How do you look back on the experience?

At the time, it wasn’t exactly brand new, but there were very few well-documented implementations available. We had to **test a wide range of scenarios** to make sure we covered all possible login flows. 

Security is a tricky area – **a mistake in the login process can lead to issues like mixed user sessions**, which could irreversibly compromise user data. Overall, the biggest challenge was truly understanding how passkeys work, ensuring the solution was secure, and implementing it in a way that’s both reliable and user-friendly.

## What keeps you motivated in your role at Bright Inventions?

The projects are interesting, and I really **appreciate the work culture and the openness to feedback**. It doesn’t feel like you’re just another anonymous employee – if you have a problem, there’s always someone you can talk to.

## Is it true that you built a climbing wall at your own house?

Yes! Since my whole family – including my two daughters – climbs, we needed a place to practice. The wall is built into a long, narrow room, so we were able to squeeze it in, and it gives us the chance to use it every day.

<div className="image">![Bouldering wall](/images/bouldering_wall.png "Bouldering wall")</div>

<center>Homemade bouldering wall.</center>

## Why do you travel to the same climbing spot in France every year?

Because it’s simply the best in Europe! I really enjoy France – the wine, the baguettes, the Camembert cheese. We go bouldering just outside Paris, near one of Napoleon’s former residences. 

The kids climb too, or at least give it a try – unless there are lots of friends around, then they just play. But usually, they’ll climb a bit and enjoy being in the forest with everyone. And actually, we don’t go just once a year – **we go twice**! 😄 Spring and autumn are the best times. Summer is too hot, and while you could climb in winter – and some people do – I’m not a fan of the cold. That said, we went this February and it was actually really great.

<div className="image">![Bouldering in France.](/images/bouldering_pawel.png "Bouldering in France.")</div>

<center>Bouldering in France.</center>

## How to Gather Actionable Feedback Inside a POS System – Without Interrupting the Flow

*Published: 2025-05-06 | Author: agata | Tags: POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-gather-actionable-feedback-inside-a-pos-system/index.md*

Understanding your users is key to building a Point of Sale (POS) system that not only works but actually supports staff during busy, high-pressure service hours. But when your users are waiters, bartenders, or restaurant managers — getting feedback isn’t as easy as sending out a survey.

## So how can you gather meaningful insights from inside the POS app, without slowing anyone down?

As a [POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/) that builds custom systems for a variety of vendors, here’s how we approach it.

## In-App Questionnaire – But Only When It Makes Sense

Let’s start with the obvious: asking the users directly.

Instead of constant pop-ups or annoying reminders, we allow users to trigger the questionnaire themselves — for example, through a subtle button in the side menu labeled “Give Feedback”.

<div className="image">![feedback reporting inside a POS system](/images/pos-feedback-mockup.png "feedback reporting inside a POS system")</div>

### This way:

* Feedback comes in when users are ready to share.
* The signal-to-noise ratio is much higher than with forced pop-ups.
* It helps validate the usability of core workflows — like opening tables, sending orders to the kitchen, and handling payments — in the exact environment they’re used every day.

In Point of Sale survey: 

* Ease of use
* Suggestions for improvement
* Bugs or pain points
* A simple CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) rating

\
**💡 Pro tip:** Keep it short. 3–5 questions max, ideally with a text field for open feedback.

<div className="image">![POS Feedback Survey](/images/screenshot-2025-05-09-at-15.51.40.png "In-App Feedback Survey")</div>

## Passive Feedback Through Analytics – Data Tells a Story

Not all feedback has to be given intentionally. With the right setup, analytics can tell you everything — from where people get stuck, to how long it takes to close a table.

### **Our Stack**

We use Firebase for in-app event tracking and connect it with Grafana for visualising and monitoring patterns.

### **What We Track**

**1. Core Actions:**

* Opening a table
* Adding an item
* Sending an order to the kitchen
* Payment (partial, split, full)
* Closing the table

**These actions give us:**

* A timeline of how long key processes take
* Detection of bottlenecks (e.g. if many payments fail or are delayed)
* Early warning signs of bugs or usability issues

<div className="image">![firebase analytics](/images/screenshot-2025-05-06-at-15.02.06.png "Firebase POS Analytics")</div>

**2. Funnels & Flows: Where Are Users Struggling?**

By inspecting user flows, we can answer questions like:

* Which screens have the longest visit time?

  * Is that because the process is complex?
  * Or is the UI confusing or too slow?
* Are users abandoning a process halfway?

  * Maybe they’re trying to apply a discount but can't find the button.
* What’s the most typical flow – and how does it differ from the ideal one?

  * What workarounds users are performing?

**This lets us:**

* Spot friction points in the UX
* Prioritise improvements
* A/B test new solutions based on real data

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Meet your POS persona – download the research' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Boost your UX with this POS Persona PDF.'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='' />

## Combining Both Worlds: Data + Human Insight

Data can show us what is happening, but users tell us why.

That’s why the best approach is to combine:

* Passive insights from analytics
* Active insights from user-triggered feedback

This hybrid approach helps us build better, faster, more intuitive custom POS software – rooted in how people really use it on the floor.

## **Final Thought** 

Your POS app isn't just software – it's part of someone’s workday. The smoother and smarter you make it, the better their day goes.

And to do that, you need feedback — but it doesn’t have to come from interviews or support tickets alone. The app itself can tell you everything you need to know. You just need to listen.

## Supercharged Test Running with Custom Modes in Cursor IDE

*Published: 2025-04-29 | Author: patryk-s | Tags: TypeScript, cursor, testing, unit-testing*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/supercharged-test-running-with-custom-modes-in-cursor-ide/index.md*

<div className="image">![Test with cursor](/images/cover-cursor-unit-tests.png "test-with-cursor-image")</div>

## The Problem with Running Tests in Cursor

If you're using Cursor as your primary IDE, you've probably already experienced how powerful it can be—especially when combined with AI-assisted workflows. But when it comes to running tests, things get a bit tricky. Cursor doesn’t support running tests out of the box, so you're forced to rely on plugins. Unfortunately, these plugins often fall short when working on real-world projects. 

Setting the correct working directory becomes cumbersome, you can’t easily enforce a specific Node.js version with `nvm`, and passing environment variables is either awkward or unsupported. And even if you manage to run the tests, the output is rarely formatted in a clean or readable way.

- - -

## Solving the Problem with Custom Modes

To overcome these limitations, we can leverage Cursor's **Custom Modes**—a feature that allows you to define tailored workflows with specific tools and instructions. By creating a custom mode dedicated to running tests, you can automate the process of locating test files, executing them, formatting the results in a readable manner, and even suggesting code changes based on the outcomes.

Fortunately, enabling Custom Modes is straightforward. This feature is available starting from Cursor version **0.48.x**, released on **March 23, 2025**. To activate it:

1. Open Cursor's settings by pressing `Cmd+Shift+J` (macOS) or `Ctrl+Shift+J` (Windows/Linux).
2. Navigate to `Settings → Features → Chat → Custom Modes`.
3. Toggle the option to enable Custom Modes.

For more detailed guidance, refer to the official documentation: [Custom Modes](https://docs.cursor.com/chat/custom-modes).

- - -

## Creating a Test Runner Mode

Once Custom Modes are enabled, you can create your own tailored assistant for running tests. In the Chat sidebar, click the “+” next to your current chat mode and select **"Create new custom mode"**. This allows you to define not only how the assistant behaves, but also what it focuses on.

I created a mode called **"Test Runner"** and disabled its permission to edit files—this way, it won’t make any accidental changes to your codebase. However, if you'd like it to suggest or apply fixes automatically, feel free to keep file editing enabled.

Here’s the prompt I used for the assistant’s behavior:

```
When I ask you to run a test, find the matching .spec. file in the backend directory. Run it with:
nvm use && cd backend && DEPLOY_ENV=test-local yarn test --runInBand "pathToFile" --testNamePattern="testName" --json
You may use either pathToFile, testNamePattern, or both — choose what’s best for the context.
Return only the test result in a clean, colorful, human-readable format
```

Paste this into the “Custom instructions” field during setup. For more details, refer to the official Cursor documentation: [Custom Modes](https://docs.cursor.com/chat/custom-modes).

👉 **Of course, make sure to adjust the prompt to reflect your specific way of running tests**, including any required environment variables, test runners, or command-line options.

- - -

## Using Your Test Runner in Practice

Once your **Test Runner** mode is ready, using it is as simple as talking to your AI. You can type natural commands like:

* `"Run tests for my uncommitted files"` – the assistant will detect which files you've changed and locate the relevant `.spec.` files to test.
* `"Run test for my LocationController"` – it will look for a file like `location.controller.spec.ts` and run it.
* `"Run all tests"` – and it will go through the full test suite in your `backend` directory.

The AI will choose the appropriate flags (`--testNamePattern` or file path), run the tests with the right Node version and environment, and return a clean, easy-to-read summary. Here's an example of what the output might look like:

<div className="image">![test-result-example](/images/screenshot-2025-04-29-at-15.36.42.png "test results")</div>

\- all formatted to be easily readable at a glance.\
And the best part? If any test fails, the assistant can automatically suggest (or even apply) fixes based on the error output.

- - -

## Give It a Try 🚀

With just a few minutes of setup, you can turn Cursor into a smart test runner that adapts to your project structure and gives you clean, actionable feedback right inside your IDE.

**Try building your own *Test Runner* today and make your testing workflow faster, smoother, and a whole lot smarter.**

- - -

## One Last Thing ☕

Remote work is great — flexible hours, deep focus, and fewer distractions.\
But let’s be honest: the best ideas often come not during Zoom calls, but over coffee in the office kitchen.  

Big thanks to Rafał for the hallway inspiration that sparked this approach. 💡

## Custom Jest Matcher for Asserting Spreadsheets

*Published: 2025-04-24 | Author: radek-l | Tags: QA*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/custom-jest-matcher-for-asserting-spreadsheets/index.md*

**When working with matrix-like data in tests — think CSVs, XLSX, reports, or table-based API responses — comparing nested arrays or tabular structures can be a pain. Figuring what bit of data was faulty can be tricky, especially in big files. Let's fix that by implementing a custom matcher which visually prints the differences in the terminal in an eye-friendly and intuitive way.**

## The Matcher code

Here’s a custom matcher for Jest: `toEqualTable`, with built-in inline diffing for terminal-friendly debugging

```typescript
import {AsciiTable3} from "ascii-table3";
const chalk = require('chalk');

export type HasTabularData = { data: any[][] }
export type TableMatcherData = HasTabularData | any[][]

function inlineDiffRenderer(result: any[][]) {
    const legend = `Valid / ${chalk.yellowBright.bgRedBright('Actual')} / ${chalk.yellowBright.bgGreenBright('Expected')}`;
    const table = new AsciiTable3()
        .setTitle(legend)
        .setAlignCenter(3)
        .setStyle('unicode-single')
        .addRowMatrix(result);

    console.log(table.toString());
}

export const jestTableMatchers = {
    toEqualTable(actual: TableMatcherData, expected: TableMatcherData) {
        const actualData = Array.isArray(actual) ? actual : actual.data;
        const expectedData = Array.isArray(expected) ? expected : expected.data;

        const rows = Math.max(actualData.length, expectedData.length);
        const cols = Math.max(
            ...actualData.map(r => r.length),
            ...expectedData.map(r => r.length)
        );

        let pass = true;
        const result: any[][] = [];
        const resultMessages: string[] = [];

        for (let i = 0; i < rows; i++) {
            const row: any[] = [i];
            for (let j = 0; j < cols; j++) {
                const a = actualData[i]?.[j] ?? null;
                const e = expectedData[i]?.[j] ?? null;

                if (a === e) {
                    row.push(a);
                } else {
                    pass = false;
                    row.push(`${chalk.yellowBright.bgRedBright(a)} / ${chalk.yellowBright.bgGreenBright(e)}`);
                    resultMessages.push(`[${i}][${j}] ${a} != ${e}`);
                }
            }
            result.push(row);
        }

        if (!pass) inlineDiffRenderer(result);

        return {
            pass,
            message: () => pass ? '' : resultMessages.join('\n'),
        };
    },
};

expect.extend(jestTableMatchers);
```

## Example test

```typescript
describe('(THESE TESTS ARE SUPPOSED TO FAIL SO YOU CAN SEE THE DIFF IN TERMINAL) toEqualTable', () => {
    test('plain arrays: fails if values in cells are not equal', () => {
        const expected = [
                ["First name", "Last name", "Age", "Type"],
                ["John", "Doe", 30, "Admin"],
                ["Adam", "Smith", 40, "Admin"],
                ["Rose", "Gatsby", 35, "User"]
            ]

        const actual = [
                ["First name", "Last name", "Age", "Type"],
                ["John", "Doe", , "Admin"],
                ["Radek", "Smith", 40, "Admin"],
                ["Rose", "Gatsby", 35, "User"]
            ]

        expect(actual).toEqualTable(expected);
    });
});
```

When the test fails, you'll see a colorful inline diff in your terminal. Mismatches are rendered in colours:

<div className="image">![Test output highlighting the incorrect and expected values](/images/screenshot-2025-04-24-at-13.22.56.png "Test output highlighting the incorrect and expected values")</div>

## Summary

We've implemented a custom Jest matcher `toEqualTable` for asserting tabular data like spreadsheets. It visually highlights mismatches using `ascii-table3` and `chalk` directly in the terminal, making failed tests easier to debug. The matcher supports both raw matrix inputs and structured objects. Ideal for testing CSV-like data or tables with precision and readability. You can consider writing your own renderers and show differences by creating an XLSX file with colorful formatting.

What helpers and utils do you implement to make it easier to work with your tests?

## Publishing to Maven Central with JReleaser from GitHub

*Published: 2025-04-24 | Author: piotr | Tags: java, gradle, maven, jreleaser*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/index.md*

**Publishing Java libraries to Maven Central is a crucial step for sharing your work with the wider Java community. While the process has traditionally been complex, JReleaser simplifies this workflow significantly, especially when integrated with GitHub Actions. This guide walks you through configuring JReleaser to publish your multi-module Gradle project to Maven Central directly from GitHub.**

## Contents:

[Introduction to JReleaser and Maven Central](/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/#introduction-to-jreleaser-and-maven-central)

[Setting up PublishingExtension and the staging-deploy directory](/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/#setting-up-publishingextension-and-the-staging-deploy-directory)

[Configuring JReleaserExtension in build.gradle.kts](/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/#configuring-jreleaserextension-in-buildgradlekts)

[Maven Central's special requirements](/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/#maven-centrals-special-requirements)

[Environment variables for jreleaserRelease task](/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/#environment-variables-for-jreleaserrelease-task)

[GPG signing with armored keys](/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/#gpg-signing-with-armored-keys)

[Common misconception: JReleaser vs Gradle signing plugin](/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/#common-misconception-jreleaser-vs-gradle-signing-plugin)

[References and resources](/blog/publishing-to-maven-central-with-jreleaser/#references-and-resources)

## Introduction to JReleaser and Maven Central

[JReleaser](https://jreleaser.org/) is a release automation tool that simplifies the process of releasing and publishing Java projects. It handles various tasks including creating GitHub releases, generating changelogs, and publishing artifacts to Maven Central. When combined with GitHub Actions, it creates a powerful, automated release pipeline.

Maven Central is the primary repository for Java libraries, making your artifacts easily accessible to developers worldwide through Maven, Gradle, or other build tools. Publishing to Maven Central requires meeting specific requirements and following a particular process, which JReleaser helps streamline.

## Setting up PublishingExtension and the staging-deploy directory

Before JReleaser can publish your artifacts to Maven Central, you need to publish them to a local staging directory. This is done using Gradle's PublishingExtension:

```kotlin
subprojects {
    // Apply necessary plugins
    apply(plugin = "maven-publish")

    // Configure Java for source and javadoc jars
    java {
        withJavadocJar()
        withSourcesJar()
    }

    // Configure publishing
    configure<PublishingExtension> {
        publications {
            register<MavenPublication>("maven") {
                from(components["java"])
                pom {
                    name.set(project.name)
                    description.set(project.description ?: project.name)
                    url.set("https://github.com/your-org/your-repo")
                    licenses {
                        license {
                            name.set("MIT")
                            url.set("https://github.com/your-org/your-repo/blob/main/LICENSE")
                        }
                    }
                    developers {
                        developer {
                            id.set("your-org")
                            name.set("Your Organization")
                            email.set("info@yourorganization.com")
                        }
                    }
                    scm {
                        connection.set("scm:git:git://github.com/your-org/your-repo.git")
                        developerConnection.set("scm:git:ssh://github.com:your-org/your-repo.git")
                        url.set("https://github.com/your-org/your-repo")
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        repositories {
            maven {
                url = layout.buildDirectory.dir("staging-deploy").get().asFile.toURI()
            }
        }
    }
}
```

The `staging-deploy` directory serves as a temporary storage location for your artifacts before JReleaser picks them up for publishing to Maven Central. This two-step process allows for validation and preparation of artifacts before the final publishing step.

## Configuring JReleaserExtension in build.gradle.kts

To use JReleaser with Gradle, you need to apply the JReleaser plugin and configure the JReleaserExtension. Here's a sample configuration from a multi-module project:

```kotlin
plugins {
    // Other plugins
    id("org.jreleaser") version "1.17.0"
}

// Project configuration

configure<org.jreleaser.gradle.plugin.JReleaserExtension> {
    gitRootSearch = true
    project {
        description = "Your project description"
        authors = listOf("Your Organization")
        license = "MIT"
        links {
            homepage = "https://github.com/your-org/your-repo"
            bugTracker = "https://github.com/your-org/your-repo/issues"
            contact = "https://yourorganization.com"
        }
        inceptionYear = "2025"
        vendor = "Your Organization"
        copyright = "Copyright (c) ${LocalDate.now().year} Your Organization"
    }

    release {
        github {
            commitAuthor {
                name = "Your Organization"
                email = "info@yourorganization.com"
            }
        }
    }

    signing {
        active = Active.ALWAYS
        armored = true
    }

    deploy {
        maven {
            mavenCentral {
                register("sonatype") {
                    active = Active.ALWAYS
                    url = "https://central.sonatype.com/api/v1/publisher"
                    subprojects.filter { it.name != "examples" }.forEach { project ->
                        stagingRepository(project.layout.buildDirectory.dir("staging-deploy").get().asFile.path)
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```

This configuration:
- Sets project metadata (description, authors, license, etc.)
- Configures GitHub release settings
- Enables GPG signing with armored keys
- Sets up Maven Central deployment for all subprojects except "examples"

The `gitRootSearch = true` setting is particularly important for multi-module projects as it tells JReleaser to search for the Git root directory, ensuring proper version detection.


## Maven Central's special requirements

Maven Central has specific requirements for artifacts:

1. **Complete POM information**: Your POM must include:
   - Project coordinates (groupId, artifactId, version)
   - Project name, description, and URL
   - License information
   - Developer information
   - SCM (Source Control Management) information

2. **Required artifacts**:
   - Main JAR file
   - Sources JAR
   - Javadoc JAR

3. **GPG signatures**: All artifacts must be signed with a GPG key that has been published to a public keyserver and registered with Sonatype.

4. **Sonatype account**: You need a Sonatype OSSRH (OSS Repository Hosting) account with permissions for your group ID.

5. **Coordinates validation**: Your group ID should be a domain you control or have permission to use.

The new Maven Central portal (central.sonatype.com) has streamlined the publishing process compared to the older Nexus Repository Manager, and JReleaser is fully compatible with this new approach.

## Environment variables for jreleaserRelease task

When running the `jreleaserRelease` task in a GitHub Actions workflow, you need to set several environment variables:

```yaml
env:
  JRELEASER_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  JRELEASER_GPG_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.MAVEN_CENTRAL_GPG_PASSPHRASE }}
  JRELEASER_GPG_SECRET_KEY: ${{ secrets.MAVEN_CENTRAL_GPG_PRIVATE_KEY }}
  JRELEASER_GPG_PUBLIC_KEY: ${{ secrets.MAVEN_CENTRAL_GPG_PUBLIC_KEY }}
  JRELEASER_MAVENCENTRAL_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.MAVEN_CENTRAL_USERNAME }}
  JRELEASER_MAVENCENTRAL_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MAVEN_CENTRAL_PASSWORD }}
```

These variables are:

- **JRELEASER_GITHUB_TOKEN**: Used to authenticate with GitHub for creating releases
- **JRELEASER_GPG_PASSPHRASE**: The passphrase for your GPG key
- **JRELEASER_GPG_SECRET_KEY**: Your GPG private key for signing artifacts
- **JRELEASER_GPG_PUBLIC_KEY**: Your GPG public key
- **JRELEASER_MAVENCENTRAL_USERNAME**: Your Maven Central (Sonatype) username
- **JRELEASER_MAVENCENTRAL_PASSWORD**: Your Maven Central (Sonatype) password

You need to add these secrets to your GitHub repository settings to make them available to your workflow.

## GPG signing with armored keys

JReleaser's signing configuration includes an important setting: `armored = true`. This setting affects the format of the GPG keys expected by JReleaser.

When `armored = true`, GPG keys must be in ASCII-armored format, which is a text-based representation of the binary key data. This format is more suitable for storing in GitHub secrets and environment variables.

To export your GPG keys in ASCII-armored format:

```bash
# Export public key
gpg --armor --export your-key-id > public-key.asc

# Export private key
gpg --armor --export-secret-key your-key-id > private-key.asc
```

The content of these files (including the BEGIN and END markers) should be stored in the corresponding GitHub secrets.

## Common misconception: JReleaser vs Gradle signing plugin

A common misconception in many blog posts and tutorials is that you need to configure the standard Gradle signing plugin separately when using JReleaser. This is incorrect.

JReleaser handles the signing of artifacts during the deploy step, so there's no need to apply and configure the `signing` plugin in your Gradle build. The signing configuration in the JReleaserExtension is all you need.

If you were to use both, you would end up with double-signed artifacts, which is unnecessary and can cause confusion.

The correct approach is:
1. Configure PublishingExtension to publish unsigned artifacts to the staging directory
2. Configure JReleaserExtension with signing enabled
3. Let JReleaser handle the signing and publishing to Maven Central

## References and resources

For more information on publishing to Maven Central and using JReleaser, check out these resources:

- [JReleaser Documentation](https://jreleaser.org/guide/latest/)
- [JReleaser Maven Central Example](https://jreleaser.org/guide/latest/examples/maven/maven-central.html)
- [Sonatype OSSRH Guide](https://central.sonatype.org/publish/publish-guide/)
- [GPG Setup for Maven Central](https://central.sonatype.org/publish/requirements/gpg/)
- [Maven Central Requirements](https://central.sonatype.org/publish/requirements/)
- [Working with PGP Signatures](https://central.sonatype.org/publish/requirements/gpg/)

**Note: A full working example of the configuration described in this blog post is available at [https://github.com/bright/spring-modulith-gcp](https://github.com/bright/spring-modulith-gcp).**

By following this guide, you should be able to set up an automated publishing pipeline that releases your Java libraries to Maven Central directly from GitHub using JReleaser, making your artifacts available to the wider Java community with minimal manual intervention.

## Leveraging Spring AI's VectorStore for Enhanced Semantic Search

*Published: 2025-04-22 | Author: piotr | Tags: spring, ai, vector, vectorstore*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/leveraging-spring-ai-vectorstore-for-semantic-search/index.md*

**In this follow-up article, we explore how Spring AI's VectorStore abstraction simplifies vector storage and retrieval,
eliminating the need for custom repository methods and direct vector manipulation. Learn how this powerful abstraction
enhances our Support Assistant application with improved document management and attachment handling.**

## Introduction to VectorStore

In our [previous article](/blog/gentle-intro-to-spring-ai-embedding-model-abstraction), we explored Spring AI's
Embedding Model abstraction for semantic search using pgvector. While that approach works well, it requires custom
repository methods and direct manipulation of vector embeddings in our application code.

Spring AI provides a higher-level abstraction called `VectorStore` that simplifies vector storage and retrieval,
offering several advantages over direct vector manipulation:

1. **Abstraction from database details** - No need to write custom SQL queries or understand vector database internals
2. **Unified API across different vector databases** - The same code works with PostgreSQL, Redis, Pinecone, and other
   vector databases
3. **Document-based approach** - Work with rich document objects instead of raw vectors
4. **Built-in metadata filtering** - Filter search results based on document metadata
5. **Simplified management** - Add, update, and delete vectors with simple API calls

Let's see how we've enhanced our Support Assistant application using VectorStore.

## From Direct Vectors to VectorStore

### Before: Direct Vector Manipulation

Previously, our application stored embeddings directly in the database entities. This approach required:

1. Adding a vector column to our database tables
2. Creating custom repository methods with native SQL queries to perform vector similarity searches
3. Manually generating and storing embeddings for each entity
4. Writing complex SQL queries with vector operators

This direct approach worked but had several drawbacks:

1. It tightly coupled our application to a specific vector database implementation
2. It required writing and maintaining custom SQL queries
3. It mixed vector operations with our business logic
4. It made it difficult to add new features or change the vector database

### After: Using VectorStore

With VectorStore, we no longer need to store embeddings in our entity or write custom repository methods.
Instead, we can use the default autoconfigured VectorStore backed by pgvector. We can also tune the configuration, if
needed,
by providing a VectorStore bean:

```kotlin
@Configuration
class VectorStoreConfig {
    @Bean
    fun pgVectorStore(jdbcTemplate: JdbcTemplate, embeddingModel: EmbeddingModel): PgVectorStore {
        return PgVectorStore.builder(jdbcTemplate, embeddingModel)
            .vectorTableName("support_vector_store")
            .distanceType(PgVectorStore.PgDistanceType.COSINE_DISTANCE)
            .indexType(PgVectorStore.PgIndexType.HNSW)
            .initializeSchema(true)
            .build()
    }
}
```

You can also let Spring Boot initialise the database schema on startup by setting the following property in your `application.yml` file:

```yaml
spring:
  ai:
    vectorstore:
      pgvector:
        initialize-schema: true
```

And our service now uses the VectorStore for similarity search:

```kotlin
fun suggestResponse(customerMessage: String, limit: Int = 5): String {
    // Search for similar documents in the vector store
    val searchRequest = SearchRequest.builder()
        .query(customerMessage)
        .topK(limit)
        .similarityThreshold(0.5)
        .build()

    val similarDocuments = vectorStore.similaritySearch(searchRequest)

    // ...
}
```

Let's take a closer look at the `similarityThreshold` method used in the `SearchRequest.Builder`:

The `similarityThreshold` method filters search results based on their similarity score:

- It accepts a value between 0.0 and 1.0
- Only documents with a similarity score equal to or greater than this threshold will be returned
- A threshold of 0.0 (the default) means any similarity is accepted (no filtering)
- A threshold of 1.0 means only exact matches are returned
- Higher values (like 0.7 or 0.8) return only highly relevant results
- Lower values (like 0.3 or 0.4) return more results, including less relevant ones

This is particularly useful when you want to ensure that only truly relevant documents are included in your search results, avoiding false positives.

## The Document Abstraction

At the heart of VectorStore is the `Document` class, which represents a piece of content with associated metadata. This
abstraction allows us to work with rich, structured data rather than just raw text and vectors.

When creating a ticket, we now convert it to a Document:

```kotlin
val ticketDocument = Document.builder()
    .id(UUID.randomUUID().toString())
    .text("${savedTicket.title} ${savedTicket.customerMessage} ${savedTicket.agentResponse}")
    .metadata(
        mapOf(
            "type" to "ticket",
            "ticketId" to savedTicket.id!!,
            "title" to savedTicket.title,
            "customerMessage" to savedTicket.customerMessage,
            "agentResponse" to savedTicket.agentResponse,
            "category" to savedTicket.category,
            "status" to savedTicket.status.name
        )
    )
    .build()

// Add the ticket document to the vector store
vectorStore.add(listOf(ticketDocument))
```

Note that only the text of a document is part of embedding.

## Enhanced Functionality: Ticket Attachments

One of the major benefits of using VectorStore is how easily we can extend our application with new features. We've
added support for ticket attachments, which are now included in semantic search.

### Converting Attachments to Documents

When a ticket has attachments, we convert each attachment to a Document:

```kotlin
fun attachmentToDocument(attachment: TicketAttachment): Document {
    val documentBuilder = Document.builder()
        .id(UUID.randomUUID().toString())
        .metadata(
            mapOf(
                "type" to "attachment",
                "ticketId" to (attachment.ticket.id!!),
                "fileName" to attachment.fileName,
                "contentType" to attachment.contentType
            )
        )
    return when {
        attachment.content != null -> {
            // Text attachment
            documentBuilder
                .text(attachment.content)
                .build()
        }

        attachment.contentType == "application/pdf" && attachment.binaryContent != null -> {
            // PDF attachment - in a real application, you would use a PDF parser here
            // For simplicity, we're just creating a document with text content
            documentBuilder
                .text("PDF attachment: ${attachment.fileName}")
                .build()
        }

        else -> {
            // Other binary attachment - in a real application, you might use different parsers
            // For simplicity, we're just creating a document with metadata
            documentBuilder
                .text("Binary attachment: ${attachment.fileName}")
                .build()
        }
    }
}
```

### Including Attachments in Search Results

When generating responses, we now include content from both tickets and their attachments:

```kotlin
val context = similarDocuments.joinToString("\n\n") { document ->
    val metadata = document.metadata
    if (metadata["type"] == "ticket") {
        """
        Customer: ${metadata["customerMessage"]}
        Agent: ${metadata["agentResponse"]}
        """
    } else {
        """
        Attachment: ${metadata["fileName"]}
        Content: ${document.text ?: "No content available"}
        """
    }
}
```

## Benefits of Using VectorStore

Let's summarize the key benefits we've gained by switching to VectorStore:

### 1. Simplified Code

Our code is now more focused on business logic rather than vector operations. We no longer need custom SQL queries or
direct vector manipulation.

### 2. Enhanced Maintainability

The VectorStore abstraction isolates our application from the details of the vector database. If we decide to switch
from PostgreSQL to another vector database like Pinecone or Redis, we only need to change the VectorStore configuration,
not our application code.

### 3. Improved Extensibility

Adding new features like ticket attachments is straightforward. We simply convert the new content to Documents and add
them to the VectorStore.

### 4. Better Metadata Management

The Document abstraction allows us to associate rich metadata with our content, which we can use for filtering and
organizing search results.

### 5. Optimized Performance

VectorStore implementations are optimized for vector operations, providing better performance than custom solutions.

## Conclusion

Spring AI's VectorStore abstraction provides a powerful, flexible way to implement semantic search in your applications.
By abstracting away the details of vector storage and retrieval, it allows you to focus on your application's business
logic while still leveraging the power of vector embeddings.

In our Support Assistant application, switching to VectorStore has simplified our code, improved maintainability, and
enabled new features like ticket attachments. If you're building applications with semantic search capabilities,
VectorStore is definitely worth considering.

The full source code for this enhanced version is available
on [GitHub](https://github.com/miensol/spring-ai-gentle-intro).

## A Gentle Introduction to Spring AI's Embedding Model Abstraction

*Published: 2025-04-20 | Author: piotr | Tags: spring, ai, vector*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/gentle-intro-to-spring-ai-embedding-model-abstraction/index.md*

**In this article, we'll present a simple example of using embedding models to perform semantic search via pgvector.
Learn how Spring AI's Embedding Model abstraction makes it easy to implement powerful semantic search capabilities in
your Spring Boot applications.**

## Introduction to Embedding Models

Embedding models transform text into numerical vector representations, capturing semantic meaning in a way that machines
can understand. These vectors enable powerful semantic search capabilities, allowing us to find content based on meaning
rather than just keyword matching.

Spring AI provides a clean abstraction for working with embedding models through its `EmbeddingModel` interface, making
it straightforward to integrate these capabilities into your Spring Boot applications.

## The Support Assistant Demo Project

To demonstrate the power of embedding models, we've created a simple support assistant application that uses AI to
provide support responses based on previous support tickets. The application:

1. Converts customer messages into vector embeddings
2. Finds semantically similar previous support tickets using vector search
3. Uses these similar tickets as context for generating a response

Let's explore the key components of this system.

## The Embedding Model API

At the heart of our application is Spring AI's [
`EmbeddingModel`](https://docs.spring.io/spring-ai/reference/api/embeddings.html) interface. Here's how we use it in our
service:

```kotlin
@Service
class ResponseSuggestionService(
    private val embeddingModel: EmbeddingModel,
    private val supportTicketRepository: SupportTicketRepository,
    // ...
) {
    fun suggestResponse(customerMessage: String, limit: Int = 5): String {
        // Generate embedding for the customer message
        val embedding = embeddingModel.embed(customerMessage)

        // Find similar tickets
        val similarTickets = supportTicketRepository.findSimilarTickets(embedding, limit)

        // ...
    }
}
```

The `embeddingModel.embed()` method converts text into a vector representation, which we can then use to find
semantically similar content.

## Vector Search with pgvector

Once we have our text converted to vectors, we need a way to efficiently search for similar vectors. This is where
PostgreSQL's pgvector extension comes in.

### The Repository Query

The heart of our semantic search is the `findSimilarTickets` method in our repository:

```kotlin
@Query(
    value = """
    SELECT * FROM support_tickets
    WHERE embedding <=> (:embedding)::vector < :threshold
    ORDER BY embedding <=> (:embedding)::vector
    LIMIT :limit
""",
    nativeQuery = true
)
fun findSimilarTickets(
    @Param("embedding") embedding: FloatArray,
    @Param("limit") limit: Int,
    @Param("threshold") threshold: Float = 0.5f, // 0 perfect matches, 1 different concept, 2 opposite
): List<SupportTicket>
```

Let's break down this query:

1. `embedding <=> (:embedding)::vector` - This calculates the cosine distance between the stored embedding and our query
   embedding
2. `WHERE ... < :threshold` - We filter results to only include those with a distance less than our threshold
3. `ORDER BY embedding <=> (:embedding)::vector` - We order results by distance, with closest matches first
4. `LIMIT :limit` - We limit the number of results returned

The `<=>` operator is pgvector's cosine distance operator, which measures the dissimilarity between vectors.

### Creating and Storing Embeddings

An important part of our system is how we create and store support tickets with their embeddings. Here's how it works:

```kotlin
// Generate embedding for the ticket content
val embedding = embeddingModel.embed(
    "$title $questionVariation $responseVariation"
)

val ticket = SupportTicket(
    ...,
    embedding = embedding
)

supportTicketRepository.save(ticket)
```

The embedding is generated by concatenating the ticket's title, customer message, and agent response, then passing this text to the embedding model. The resulting vector is stored in the `embedding` field of the `SupportTicket` entity.

In our model, the embedding field is defined with Hibernate annotations:

```kotlin
@JdbcTypeCode(SqlTypes.VECTOR)
@Column(name = "embedding")
@Array(length = 1024) // must match dimensions of the embedding model
val embedding: FloatArray? = null
```

The `@JdbcTypeCode(SqlTypes.VECTOR)` annotation tells Hibernate to use the PostgreSQL vector type, while `@Array(length = 1024)` specifies the vector dimension, which must match the output of our embedding model.

## Cosine Distance vs. Cosine Similarity

It's important to understand the difference between cosine distance and cosine similarity:

- **Cosine Similarity**: Ranges from -1 to 1
    - 1: Vectors are identical
    - 0: Vectors are orthogonal (unrelated)
    - -1: Vectors are opposite
- **Cosine Distance**: Defined as 1 - cosine similarity, ranges from 0 to 2
    - 0: Identical vectors
    - 1: Unrelated vectors
    - 2: Opposite vectors

The `<=>` operator in our SQL query is PostgreSQL's cosine distance operator, which measures the dissimilarity between vectors. 
The threshold value of 0.5 ensures that we only return tickets that are semantically similar to the query, filtering out 
unrelated or opposite concepts.

## Using Ollama for Embeddings

For our embedding model, we're using Ollama with two specific models:

- **mistral** - The default model for generating responses
- **mxbai-embed-large** - A specialized model for generating embeddings

Ollama provides a lightweight way to run these models locally, making it perfect for development and testing.

## Setting Up Vector Storage

To use vector embeddings with PostgreSQL and Hibernate, we need a few key components:

### SQL Migration

First, we need to set up our database with the pgvector extension:

```sql
CREATE
EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;

CREATE TABLE support_tickets
(
    -- other columns...
    embedding vector(1024)
);

CREATE INDEX ON support_tickets USING ivfflat (embedding vector_cosine_ops) WITH (lists = 100);
```

The key points here are:

- We create a vector column with 1024 dimensions
- We create an index using the IVF algorithm optimized for cosine distance operations

### Hibernate Configuration

On the Java side, we need the Hibernate Vector extension:

```kotlin
dependencies {
    implementation("org.hibernate.orm:hibernate-vector:6.6.11.Final")
    implementation("org.springframework.ai:spring-ai-pgvector-store-spring-boot-starter")
    // ...
}
```

This extension allows Hibernate to work with PostgreSQL's vector type, mapping between Java's `FloatArray` and
PostgreSQL's `vector`.

## Conclusion

Spring AI's Embedding Model abstraction provides a clean, simple way to work with vector embeddings in your Spring Boot
applications. Combined with PostgreSQL's pgvector extension, it enables powerful semantic search capabilities with
minimal code.

In our next blog post, we'll explore how to use Spring AI's `VectorStore` abstraction to simplify vector storage and
retrieval even further, eliminating the need for custom repository methods.

The full source code for this example is available
in [GitHub](https://github.com/miensol/spring-ai-gentle-intro/tree/70dc3dc394d32995aadc80f220932254a5658b01).

## Who is Jennifer? User Persona for Point of Sale

*Published: 2025-04-15 | Author: joanna-c | Tags: POS, design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/user-persona-for-point-of-sale/index.md*

**If you're involved in POS development, understanding the real needs of end users can be a challenge. Busy waitstaff rarely have time to articulate their experiences, pain points, or expectations. Fortunately, we’ve created a detailed user persona based on in-depth UX research and over 13 years of hands-on experience with POS systems in the hospitality industry. Download your copy now!**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Meet your POS persona – download the research' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Boost your UX with this POS Persona PDF.'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='POS persona cover' />

## Meet Jennifer: The Everyday POS Power User

Jennifer is an energetic waitress with a few years of experience working in a busy dining restaurant. While she doesn’t consider herself particularly tech-savvy, she’s incredibly familiar with her restaurant’s Point-of-Sale system — probably more than anyone else on her team.

She represents a core user group for anyone working on **[POS software development](/our-areas/pos-software-development/)** efforts: someone who needs a system that’s intuitive, fast, and dependable in high-pressure environments.

## Why a Persona Like Jennifer Matters for POS Builders

Whether you’re modernizing your current system or starting fresh with [POS design](/blog/payment-point-of-sale-design-ui-ux/) & development, Jennifer’s story offers actionable insights. By understanding her workflows, frustrations, and goals, your team can create better tools — and ultimately deliver a smoother, more efficient experience for frontline staff.

## What You’ll Find in the POS User Persona PDF

Our free downloadable resource gives you a closer look at how Jennifer interacts with a POS system during a typical shift. Here’s what’s inside:

* 💻 **Her level of technical knowledge** — and how that shapes her expectations
* 🎯 **Goals she wants to achieve** — like quick order entry and having all orders in one integrated system
* 😫 **Frustrations with current POS systems** — including confusing bill splitting and inability to change the order of ordered meals
* 🕒 **A typical day in her life** — offering valuable context for **POS design**
* 👩‍🍳 **Her appearance, attitude, and specific traits** — all rooted in real-world research

This persona is especially useful if you're working on UX for POS, designing new interfaces, or evaluating how to better support restaurant staff in **modern POS systems**.

## Payment in POS Design: UI/UX Best Practices and Inspirations

*Published: 2024-10-01 | Author: joanna-c | Tags: POS, design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/payment-point-of-sale-design-ui-ux/index.md*

**If you develop a [point of sale system for the hospitality](/projects/system-for-restaurants/) and retail industries, you're aware that your end users are busy. Whether they're waitstaff or shop assistants, they need to complete payment processes quickly. Every additional screen or unnecessary animation will slow them down, potentially leading to lost revenue for these businesses. Follow best POS UI design practices when designing payment features for hospitality and retail.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Think you know your POS user persona?' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download our UX research on the Point-of-Sale persona. Discover their habits, frustrations, and the goals they want to achieve with POS software.'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='user persona cover' />

## Include these practices for payment UI in POS design

Before we dive into, let’s remember that our **end users are waitstaff, shop assistants, and hotel receptionists**. They work under significant stress and time pressure, managing as many clients as possible to drive revenue for the business. **POS design and technology should accelerate their processes**, not only improving efficiency but also enhancing customer satisfaction.

## Use animations for information purposes only

Avoid purely decorative animations, as they can slow users down. Focus on including only informative animations that provide essential feedback, such as indicating when a payment is being processed.

<div className="image">![Animations in point of sale design](/images/use-animations-for-information-purposes-only.png "Animations in point of sale design")</div>

## Include easily understandable icons with labels

When presenting multiple options, such as payment methods, it's crucial to **include clear, intuitive icons** to minimize errors. To ensure accessibility, **pair these icons with labels**, making their meaning unmistakable.

<div className="image">![Point of sale design iconography](/images/include-easily-understandable-icons-with-labels.png "Point of sale design iconography")</div>

## Establish button hierarchy in POS design

**Emphasize the most frequently used buttons by making them larger and more prominent**, while less commonly used buttons should be smaller. This helps guide users toward the correct action efficiently.

On the order management screen below, you’ll find several clickable options. However, **the most important action, “Continue,” is designed to stand out** due to its distinctive color and size, ensuring smooth navigation through the ordering process.

<div className="image">![Button hierarchy POS design](/images/establish-button-hierarchy.png "Button hierarchy POS design")</div>

## Keep forms simple

Some payment methods, like card payments, require filling out forms. To make this process intuitive, design fields in a way that simplifies data entry. **Best practices for form design include stacking fields vertically, placing labels directly above each field**. This layout aligns with the natural top-to-bottom way users scan information, whereas placing labels to the side forces them to shift their focus, slowing them down.

<div className="image">![Keep forms simple - POS design](/images/keep-forms-simple.png "Keep forms simple - POS design")</div>

## Don’t make me think

You might be familiar with the book “[Don’t Make Me Think](/blog/5-web-development-rules-from-dont-make-me-think-book/)”, which highlights usability practices based on the principle that interfaces should be so intuitive that users can navigate them effortlessly. This is especially important in **POS design** – you should **offer users clear options without making them overthink their actions**.

For example, **when it comes to tipping, don’t force waitstaff to manually input an amount**. Instead, present them with popular tipping options while still allowing customization if needed.

<div className="image">![Don’t make me think](/images/don’t-make-them-think.png "Don’t make me think")</div>

Another great example of the Don’t Make Me Think principle is **the design of split payment** in POS systems. **The underlying mechanism should handle all the calculations** for the users, while the interface remains as simple as possible. **Waitstaff should only be required to input information like the number of splits and payment methods**.

As demonstrated, the end user simply provides the number of splits and payment methods, and the POS system guides them through the entire process seamlessly.

<div className="image">![Split payment design](/images/don’t-make-them-think-split-payment.png "Split payment design")</div>

- - -

The Point of Sale design was created by Aleksandra Zawisza, a Product Designer at Bright Inventions, a [POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/).

## Directories and Files Management in Tests

*Published: 2025-04-10 | Author: radek-l | Tags: automation testing, unit-testing, nodejs, typescript*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/directories-and-files-management-in-tests/index.md*

## TL;DR

1. Create class `StaticTestFilesDirectory` with content provided below
2. Create class `RuntimeTestFilesDirectory`
3. Add `/**/runtime-test-files` to `.gitignore`
4. Write tests using the classes following examples below

<div className="image">![test management](/images/directories_files_test.png "test management")</div>

## Intro

When working with file-based tests in Node.js, things can get messy fast—especially if there’s no consistency in how test files are handled. You might start off by manually setting up folders or sprinkling file operations throughout `beforeEach` and `afterAll` blocks. Eventually, though, this becomes hard to maintain, prone to errors, and cluttered.

Let’s fix that by introducing a standardized approach to managing test files and directories in your Node.js project using simple wrappers around the native `fs` and `path` modules.

## 🔍 Why It Matters

In test suites that work with files—whether reading static assets or generating runtime outputs—common problems tend to creep in:

* ❌ No consistent folder structure for test files
* ❌ Test outputs accidentally committed because they weren’t ignored
* ❌ Repetitive file-handling logic bloating test setup code
* ❌ Confusion between static inputs and generated outputs

Let’s solve these with two small utility classes.

## ✅ The Conventions

To bring order to the chaos, let’s define two directory types:

* **`static-test-files`**: for static assets checked into the repo
* **`runtime-test-files`**: for runtime-generated files (**should be git-ignored**)

These directories are managed using two classes:

* `StaticTestFilesDirectory`
* `RuntimeTestFilesDirectory`

## 🗂️ StaticTestFilesDirectory

This is a lightweight helper for accessing read-only files stored in your test repo. Use this for input files that are part of your versioned test fixtures.

```typescript
class StaticTestFilesDirectory {
    static defaultFolderName = 'static-test-files';
    readonly directory: string;

    constructor(basePath: string, folder: string = StaticTestFilesDirectory.defaultFolderName) {
        this.directory = path.resolve(basePath, folder);
    }

    path(filePath: string): string {
        return path.resolve(this.directory, filePath);
    }

    readFile(filePath: string, options: BufferEncoding | { encoding: BufferEncoding; flag?: string }): string {
        return fs.readFileSync(this.path(filePath), options);
    }
}
```

### Example Test

```typescript
describe('Static test file usage', () => {
    const staticTestDir = new StaticTestFilesDirectory(__dirname);

    it('returns the absolute path of a static file', () => {
        const absolutePath = staticTestDir.path('test-file.txt');
        
        expect(absolutePath).toBe(path.resolve(__dirname, 'static-test-files', 'test-file.txt'));
    });

    it('reads the contents of a static file', () => {
        const content = staticTestDir.readFile('test-file.txt', 'utf8');
        
        expect(content).toBe('Static test file.');
    });
});
```

## 🛠️ RuntimeTestFilesDirectory

For tests that create temporary files during execution—like generated reports, downloads, or mocks—this class manages a dedicated folder that can be reset and cleared automatically.

```typescript
export class RuntimeTestFilesDirectory {
    static defaultFolderName = 'runtime-test-files';
    readonly directory: string;

    constructor(basePath: string, folder: string = RuntimeTestFilesDirectory.defaultFolderName) {
        this.directory = path.resolve(basePath, folder);
    }

    reset(): void {
        this.clear();
        this.create();
    }

    readFile(filePath: string, options: BufferEncoding | { encoding: BufferEncoding; flag?: string }): string {
        return fs.readFileSync(this.path(filePath), options);
    }

    writeFile(file: string, data: string | NodeJS.ArrayBufferView, options?: fs.WriteFileOptions): void {
        fs.writeFileSync(this.path(file), data, options);
    }

    create(): void {
        fs.mkdirSync(this.directory, { recursive: true });
    }

    clear(): void {
        if (fs.existsSync(this.directory)) {
            fs.rmSync(this.directory, { recursive: true });
        }
    }

    path(filePath: string): string {
        return path.resolve(this.directory, filePath);
    }
}
```

### Example test

```typescript
describe('Runtime-generated test files', () => {
    const runtimeTestDir = new RuntimeTestFilesDirectory(__dirname);

    beforeAll(() => {
        runtimeTestDir.reset(); // Clear and recreate dir once per test run
    });

    it('writes and reads a file', () => {
        const content = 'Runtime test file content';
        runtimeTestDir.writeFile('file.txt', content);

        const saved = runtimeTestDir.readFile('file.txt', 'utf8');
        expect(saved).toEqual(content);
    });

    it('generates a file using external fs calls', () => {
        const filePath = runtimeTestDir.path('another-file.csv');
        fs.writeFileSync(filePath, 'Name,LastName,Age\nRadek,Landowski,22');

        const content = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
        expect(content).toEqual('Name,LastName,Age\nRadek,Landowski,22');
    });
});
```

## 🧼 Final Thoughts

Using wrappers like `StaticTestFilesDirectory` and `RuntimeTestFilesDirectory` may feel like overkill at first—but once your test suite grows and you start juggling dozens of file-based tests, you’ll appreciate the clarity and consistency.

Not only does this approach:

* Reduce boilerplate
* Improve file hygiene
* Prevent accidental git commits of test artifacts

…it also makes your tests easier to debug, understand, and maintain. Simple, clean, and effective.

- - -

🧪 How do you handle test file management in your projects? Let me know—always looking to learn new patterns!

## Navigating Kotlin Module Naming Conflicts

*Published: 2025-04-08 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, kotlin, gradle*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/kotlin-module-naming-conflicts/index.md*

**Structuring multi-module projects often leads to wanting identical sub-directory names (like `feature1/foo` and `feature2/foo`). Historically, this caused build failures ([1](https://discuss.kotlinlang.org/t/dealing-with-kotlin-module-conflict-when-building-apk-for-project-with-non-unique-project-names/11247), [2](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/45232350/disable-meta-inf-generation-in-gradle-android-library-kotlin-project/45235642)) due to `.kotlin_module` file collisions. A common workaround was prefixing module names (e.g., `feature1/feature1Foo`), but this hurts readability and can cause issues with Windows' maximum path length. This post explains that the Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) *currently* mitigates this collision by default, making prefixing less necessary *for now*. We discuss why we've decided to stop prefixing, embracing cleaner names, and detail our contingency plans if the problem ever returns.**

## Setting the Scene: The Initial Challenge

A few years ago, while structuring our multi-module Android project, we encountered a tricky issue related to Gradle module naming and directory structure. We wanted to organize related features under common parent directories, like this:

```
project-root/
  - catalog/
    - navigation/ # Gradle module name: :catalog:navigation
    - ... other modules related to "catalog" feature ...
  - payments/
    - navigation/ # Gradle module name: :payments:navigation
    - ... other modules related to "payments" feature ...
```

However, this seemingly logical structure hit a snag.

## The `.kotlin_module` File Collision Problem

The Kotlin Gradle plugin generates metadata files for each module, typically named `<module_name>_debug.kotlin_module` or `<module_name>_release.kotlin_module`. The problem was that the `<module_name>` part only used the *last section* of the module's path (`navigation` in both cases above), ignoring the parent path (`catalog` or `payments`).

This meant both modules generated files with the *exact same names* (e.g., `navigation_debug.kotlin_module`). When the Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) tried to package these files into the final APK, it resulted in a file collision error.

```
More than one file was found with OS independent path 'META-INF/navigation_release.kotlin_module'
```

At the time, these `.kotlin_module` files were understood to be potentially necessary for Kotlin reflection (via the `kotlin-reflect` API) to work correctly. Therefore, common workarounds for packaging conflicts, like using `pickFirst` packaging options or simply excluding these files entirely, seemed too risky. Even if *our* code didn't use reflection directly, we couldn't be certain that none of our third-party dependencies relied on it.

## Our Initial Workaround: Prefixing Module Names

To avoid the conflict while preserving the (potentially required) `.kotlin_module` files, we adopted a module naming convention that included the parent directory name as a prefix:

```
project-root/
  - catalog/
    - catalogNavigation/ # Gradle module: :catalog:catalogNavigation
  - payments/
    - paymentsNavigation/ # Gradle module: :payments:paymentsNavigation
```

This ensured unique module names (`catalogNavigation`, `paymentsNavigation`), leading to unique `.kotlin_module` file names (e.g., `catalogNavigation_debug.kotlin_module`, `paymentsNavigation_debug.kotlin_module`) and resolving the packaging conflict.

**However, this prefixing approach had notable downsides:**

1. **Reduced Readability:** Module names like `catalogNavigation` are longer and arguably less intuitive than a simple `navigation` within the context of its parent `catalog` directory. This repetition can make the project structure feel slightly more cumbersome.
2. **Windows Path Length Limit Issues:** In deeply nested projects, combining long parent directory paths with these prefixed module directory names could easily exceed the default `MAX_PATH` (260 characters) [limit on Windows](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/maximum-file-path-limitation). This often prevented developers using Windows from successfully cloning the repository or building the project without manually enabling long path support in the Windows Registry or via Group Policy – a potentially annoying hurdle for contributors.

## Fast Forward: New Information Emerges

Recently, through [discussions on relevant issue trackers](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/KT-9770/Allow-to-exclude-.kotlinclass-.kotlinmodule-other-.kotlin-files-from-packaging-to-android-APK) involving folks from Google and JetBrains, we learned something crucial: **the Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) now defaults to excluding `.kotlin_module` files during packaging.**

The rationale seems to be that Kotlin isn't currently utilizing these files, and their future necessity is uncertain. This effectively means the original naming collision problem *doesn't currently exist*.

However, there's a catch: if Kotlin *does* start relying on these files in the future, and AGP consequently stops excluding them, the original collision problem could reappear for everyone who isn't prefixing their modules.

## The Dilemma: To Prefix or Not To Prefix?

This new information, combined with the known drawbacks of prefixing (readability and Windows path limits), presented us with a choice:

1. **Continue Prefixing:** Stick with our `catalogNavigation`, `paymentsNavigation` convention. It's safe against potential future issues but suffers from reduced readability and potential Windows path length problems.
2. **Stop Prefixing:** Revert to the more intuitive `navigation` module name within both `catalog` and `payments` directories. This improves readability and avoids path length issues but relies on Google and JetBrains finding a permanent solution *before* the problem potentially resurfaces.

## Our Decision and Contingency Plans

Considering the current state of AGP and weighing the pros and cons, we decided to **stop prefixing** our module names and embrace the cleaner structure.

Our reasoning is that the collision problem doesn't exist *today*, and might *never* come back. We prefer the improved clarity and the elimination of Windows path length concerns offered by the simpler naming convention.

**However, we also have contingency plans.** If the `.kotlin_module` collision issue returns in the future, we have two main strategies to address it *without* renaming the actual directories:

### Plan A: Mapping Logical Module Names in `settings.gradle`

We can rename the *logical Gradle module names* using the `settings.gradle(.kts)` file:

```kotlin
// settings.gradle.kts

// Keep the clean directory structure: catalog/navigation
// But define a unique logical Gradle module path: :catalog:catalogNavigation
include(":catalog:catalogNavigation")
project(":catalog:catalogNavigation").projectDir = file("catalog/navigation")
```

**Pros:**

* Keeps file system structure clean (`catalog/navigation`) and avoids Windows path limits.

**Cons:**

* Requires updating dependency declarations in `build.gradle(.kts)` files (e.g., change `implementation(project(":catalog:navigation")`) to `implementation(project(":catalog:catalogNavigation"))`).
* Requires remembering the logical module path (`:catalog:catalogNavigation`) when running specific Gradle tasks (e.g., `./gradlew :catalog:catalogNavigation:assemble`)

### Plan B: Setting Kotlin's Module Name

Alternatively, we can keep the Gradle module names consistent with the directory structure (`:catalog:navigation`) and directly control the name used for the `.kotlin_module` file via [compiler option](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlin-gradle-plugin/kotlin-gradle-plugin-api/org.jetbrains.kotlin.gradle.dsl/-kotlin-jvm-compiler-options/#130663460%2FProperties%2F1690289358) or [compiler argument](https://kotlinlang.org/docs/compiler-reference.html#module-name-name-jvm) in each affected module's `build.gradle(.kts)`:

```kotlin
// In catalog/navigation/build.gradle.kts
android {
    kotlinOptions {
        moduleName = "com.example.catalog.navigation"
        // or
        freeCompilerArgs += listOf("-module-name", "com.example.catalog.navigation")
    }
}
```

**Pros:**

* Keeps file system structure clean (`catalog/navigation`) and avoids Windows path limits.
* Keeps Gradle module paths (`:catalog:navigation`) and dependency declarations (`implementation(project(":catalog:navigation"))`) intuitive and unchanged.
* Gradle task invocation remains straightforward (`./gradlew :catalog:navigation:assemble`).

**Cons:**

* Requires adding specific `kotlinOptions` configuration to each module that could potentially conflict. Less centralized than the `settings.gradle` approach.

We find the trade-offs of either plan acceptable. The potential future migration seems less disruptive than maintaining prefixed names indefinitely, especially since the need for this migration might never arise.

## Conclusion

While the `.kotlin_module` file collision was a genuine issue in the past, changes in AGP's default behavior have currently mitigated it for Android development. We've opted for cleaner, non-prefixed module names. We accept the small risk that we might need to implement one of our contingency strategies in the future if the underlying conditions change. For now, we benefit from a more readable, logical, and friendly project structure.

## No Risk, No Fun or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Risk Management

*Published: 2020-08-05 | Author: kasia | Tags: risk management, agile, project management, leadership*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/no-risk-no-fun-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-risk-management/index.md*

**I’ve been researching and writing about the [agile risk management](/blog/agile-risk-management/) for quite a few years now but mostly in relation to safety-critical software (for example [here](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3234152.3234174) , [here](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-37534-8_4) and [here](https://journals.agh.edu.pl/csci/article/view/51) ). This time I wanted to address other types of projects, how it can work in practice and why the risk is not necessarily a bad thing.** 

<div className="image">![agile risk management](/images/risk_management.png "agile risk management")</div>

I started to write this blog post back in March, I already had the title and some notes. And then something unexpected ([but apparently still predictable](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Af6b_wyiwI)) happened - a global pandemic. Suddenly, writing that if there’s no risk, then there’s no fun seemed inappropriate. Going out, ignoring the risks, was simply foolish and arrogant. We were all stuck in our homes, not sure about the actual threats, following the numbers, untangling expert advice from the conspiracy theories, trying to predict whether we’d make it to the summer at all. With live footage of human tragedies unfolding in different parts of the world, we looked out the window to see the trees in bloom and birds chirping, like nothing was happening. Was it really that dangerous? 

While it felt awkward to write candidly about the idea of risk a few months ago, I think now the timing couldn’t be better. Because now that we debate the risk at personal level, almost every day since March, maybe considering it also on a professional level would feel more natural. Because there’s always risk. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, sometimes, manageable, but it’s there. Pretending we don’t see it (or indeed, not seeing it at all) is a dangerous strategy. **But acknowledging the risk, making informed decisions and sometimes doing things anyway is where the fun begins.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Ready to manage risk in an agile way?' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'This blog post is just the beginning. If you’re ready to dive deeper into Agile Risk Management with practical frameworks, real-world examples, and actionable strategies, download our free eBook.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='risk management ebook' />

## Risk management

The idea of managing the potential threats to a project is in no way a new topic. There is the golden standard (the [ISO 31000 standard](https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:31000:ed-2:v1:en) - I have read it so you don’t have to) of [risk management](/blog/risk-management-in-healthcare/) that defines the following steps:

1. Establishing the context
2. Risk identification
3. Risk analysis
4. Risk evaluation
5. Risk treatment

And on top of that, constant monitoring and review.

As you can imagine, there’s a lot of processes, templates, guidelines and requirements connected with each step. Boring, yes, but that’s good. You wouldn’t want to fly a plane with an autopilot software delivered by someone who felt that risk evaluation should be fun. Or an incurable optimist just hoping for a happy path. Surely no one will ever use this weird flow that we rushed through QA because the client wanted it ready for a board meeting anyway, right?

## Context

While not all of us work with safety-critical software, it doesn’t mean there are no threats associated. **Not every system needs a systematic, high brow risk policy but all would benefit from thinking about potential threats early on and monitoring them along the way.** Your team develops an app integrated with a payment system? Or maybe your system helps to [plan drug administration to the care home residents](/projects/emar-healthcare-solution/)? Depending on the domain you can choose how much attention should be devoted to risk management. In general

* **Low risk apps**

Examples are loyalty programs, tourist guides, simple games or weather reports. The apps that in case of malfunction will cause discomfort and users might be annoyed, but that’s it. If you work on such apps, there’s a high chance that you haven’t really put too much thought into the potential threats. And to be honest, there’s not much more work that should be done here. Focus on security, make checklists, write tests. Good advice can be found [here](https://owaspsamm.org/assessment/). 

* **Medium risk apps**

These are the apps where you store some more delicate data, connected to health or privacy of the users or handling complex payments. The system that in case of malfunction can cause some serious financial problems or influence user’s wellbeing and health.

* **High risk apps** 

The systems that take people to the moon or at least to the stratosphere and the ones that will save your life if you need a complicated surgery. The safety-critical creme de la creme. If you work in such an industry, a blog post would never be enough to cover all the issues so I won’t even try. Nevertheless, [here](https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319702643) and [here](https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1127&context=scschcomcon) you can find some interesting ideas.

All that follows concerns these medium risk apps in an agile environment. Where it feels that filling in a risk matrix and xls spreadsheets will be awkward but still some degree of risk awareness is needed. You can use all of the suggested practices or just one, depending on the project’s needs.

## Risk identification

That’s the step where you basically think about all the things that can go wrong. The more visions of impending doom, the merrier (in a twisted, risk oriented way), so a brainstorming technique works great here. Gather as many people engaged in the project as you can - especially the ones who always undermine any idea you come up with. Now’s their time to shine and you can actually appreciate it.

When is the right time to organise such a meeting? If you’re using Scrum, such discussion could be held after at least the first version of Backlog is created, so that you have some idea about the functionality and the domain but not after the main architectural decisions have been made. When you have already thought about what you want the system to do, there comes the time to think about what you wouldn't want.

Listing all of the users and roles can be a great start - much like with the user stories. Reverse user stories if you like. You can also start with the functionalities of the system. Actually, one of my favourite techniques are Hazard (or [Abuser](https://medium.com/@jimvdwaal/abuser-stories-thinking-like-a-hacker-ed7999b507c8)) stories. They can follow a pattern like:

“As a result of < definite cause >,

< uncertain event > may occur,

which would lead to < effect on objective(s) >”

## For example:

“As a result of a lost internet connection, data about the drugs dosage might not be refreshed for a long time, which would lead to wrong drug dispensation.”

Or just follow the structure of the backlog items that you have in your project - more like anti-features.

You will notice shared patterns between the hazards described this way. Some causes will appear more often than others, as will the unwanted effects. These are the elements you’ll need to pay more attention to.

It’s a good idea to keep the list of hazards in the same tool that you use as your issue tracker. The goal is to store it somewhere people can actually see it. Since we use JIRA at Bright, I will refer to it as an example. It allows you to create multiple boards per project with different filters, so a Risk Board or something like this can be a good idea. You can use a customized issue type, like “Hazard” or “Risk factor” and filter it out only on your Risk Board.

## Risk analysis & evaluation

Once you have your hazards listed, you need to take a step back and breathe deeply. It may seem like a lot of bad things can happen, it’s quite overwhelming. But obviously not all of the identified threats are as likely to happen or have the same consequences. Risk is defined as the probability that harm occurs multiplied by the severity of that harm - so a potentially life threatening situation that’s highly unlikely to happen can have less impact on the project than something far less dangerous that affects your system a few times a day. There’s even a matrix for [that](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_matrix), but any scale would do. Think about these two dimensions and based on that prioritise the hazards, High - Medium - Low would be enough.

Another thing to consider is how these risks are introduced in the system. No one will actually implement Hazard Stories on purpose. What will be implemented though is the User Story connected with the Hazard Story. This is the crucial link, that should also be reflected in the issue tracker. For each hazard, there should be at least one feature which could unwillingly introduce it to the system. During implementation of this particular feature, we should be aware of the bad twin - the hazard task. If you’re using JIRA, it can be a good idea to even create some customized relations. The user stories can also have sub tasks dedicated just to overcome the hazard - connect them as well. They will be super useful at the QA stage.

## Risk treatment & monitoring

There’s little value to a list of hazards if you’ll never look at it again. Treat the risk items as a part of your backlog, just with different purposes than the regular tasks. Think about them when planning sprints, check the connected hazards before moving a development task to Done. Adding “Check connected hazards” as a step to the [Definition of Done](/blog/definition-of-done/) is a good way to remind everyone about it and turn it into a habit.

As I mentioned before, you can assign some development tasks to counteract the harm presented by the risk items. Sometimes you just need to add 2-Factor Authentication or handle an [offline mode](/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/) to stay confident. Sometimes though, you look at a hazard and can do only as much as to stretch your arms helplessly and say “Yes, this can happen indeed”.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Explore risk manageemnt with our free ebook' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'Dive deeper into Agile Risk Management with practical frameworks, good practice examples, and actionable strategies.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='risk management ebook' />

There is an approach to reducing the risk called **ALARP - As Low As Reasonably Practicable**. Sometimes it would be too costly to do anything about a particular threat, or there are few options left anyway. It’s like with leaving your house these days - you can hide in the bunker and order all your groceries online, washing every product with 70% alcohol, risking insanity (and getting drunk from the fumes) or go out, wear a mask, sanitise your hands and accept the residual risk.

The crucial part is to be honest with yourself and your team about the risks. Team members should feel comfortable to mention any concerns - only then you can manage the risk in a meaningful way and feel collectively responsible for the final result.

**Knowing the risks, then reducing the ones we can and ALARPing the rest is in a way a definition of responsibility.** It’s not about avoiding any risk at all cost. You will never be 100% safe but that’s life. Wear a helmet and ride the bike, fasten your seatbelt and drive the car, encrypt the connection and let the users enjoy your great system. In the end, you’ll have to suck it and see.

## Completing the Void: Finding What's Missing in a Software Engineering Career

*Published: 2025-04-04 | Author: sebastian-r | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-developer-career-story-sebastian/index.md*

**Sebastian is a software engineer with over a decade of experience. Read about his journey through various areas of software development until he fully embraced native iOS. Discover his tips for successful software modernization, his approach to working in international teams, and more!**

<div className="image">![senior iOS develop](/images/brightstorysebastianrgrid.png "senior iOS develop")</div>

## Was your career always related to iOS development?

No, my career started in frontend and then backend development, but I didn’t really enjoy that. Afterward, **I worked for 4–5 years on hybrid applications** and eventually decided to learn Android development, before **finally switching to iOS**.

## Why did you have all these changes in your career direction?

I was simply looking for ways to grow and develop myself. I spent quite a long time in the hybrid app development world, but **something always felt missing** – mainly in terms of functionality and performance. I often found myself needing to implement native components, which naturally led me toward native development.

Also, I didn’t like the fact that sometimes you had to wait for crucial updates in the framework or plugins just to make your cross-platform app work properly. That was frustrating and limiting.

## You’ve been a software developer from the beginning of your career, but you didn’t study Computer Science, did you?

That’s right – I chose **Automatics and Robotics** for my Bachelor’s studies to keep my horizons broad. I wanted to have the **flexibility to pursue different career paths**, especially those related to digitalization. 

In the end, programming spoke to me the most. I was **always drawn to coding**, even though the languages used in robotics were a bit outdated. I started exploring more modern programming languages in my free time, and that’s when I realized that software development was the direction I really wanted to follow.

<center>

<div className="image">![Christmas party vibes.](/images/christmas_party_sebastian.png "Christmas party vibes.")</div>

Christmas party vibes.

</center>

## What are the biggest challenges for iOS developers right now?

One is, naturally, the rapidly developing cross-platform solutions that are becoming more and more competitive, and it’s **getting harder to convince a client to invest in native development**.

Another challenge, common for all programmers, is **learning how AI may support us** in daily work – catching up with all these tools and recommending some of them to clients.

## What AI tools do you use on a daily basis apart from Microsoft Copilot?

I mostly work with **ChatGPT o3-mini-high** and experiment with **Apple Intelligence**.

## What are your responsibilities right now?

For one of our clients, we’re **implementing a full redesign of the mobile application**, which also involves a complete **modernization** – we’re basically building a new app from scratch, while still **providing full support for users of the current version**. We’re introducing newer solutions, including switching from UIKit to SwiftUI.

The client is very open to testing new solutions, which is great, but it’s also our responsibility to carefully evaluate whether adopting a trendy new technology is actually the right fit for our project.

## What is your advice for successful app modernization?

It’s better to plan [app modernization](/our-areas/app-modernization/) with a clear **understanding of the broader business context** of the solution we’re about to rewrite. If we don’t have that perspective, we need to ask questions on the client’s side to better understand what exactly we’re changing. It goes far beyond just the code – **any software modernization can impact the entire digital business**.

<div className="image">![quote on app modernization](/images/sebastian_quote_modernization.png "quote on app modernization")</div>

## You work with clients from across the globe. What is it like to work in multinational teams?

**I enjoy working in inclusive teams** because each country brings a different perspective. I get the chance to learn more about other people’s habits, cultures, and even work techniques. Also, I don’t mind working with people in different time zones – for example, syncing with US time doesn’t bother me at all, although I understand why it can be challenging for some people.

## What differences between the Polish perspective and other countries have you noticed?

I think one clear difference is our tendency in Poland to avoid speaking openly and proudly about what we've achieved at work. For many of us, once something is done, it feels obvious and not worth mentioning. But I’ve noticed, for example in American culture, that **they celebrate every step forward** – what we might see as a minor milestone can be seen as a significant success.

<div className="image">![quote on work culture](/images/sebastian_quote_work_culture.png "quote on work culture")</div>

I think here in Poland, we should also try to look for more reasons to **appreciate what we do** – to recognize our own value and better appreciate our contributions to the project’s success.

## You’ve been a part of Bright Inventions for nearly 3 years. Any thoughts on these past years?

I really enjoy working here. I appreciate the support I get from my colleagues and managers – they **encourage me to grow**. I also love the fact that I can truly influence the project I’m working on. It gives me the opportunity to look at it not only from a technical perspective but also from a **business point of view**. That’s a great aspect of my work, and it’s something that can’t be taken for granted as a programmer.

<div className="image">![teambuilding](/images/teambuilding_sailing.png "teambuilding")</div>

<center> 

At our team-building sailing retreat.

</center>

## Is it true that you worked as a lifeguard in the USA?

Oh yes! I always wanted to visit the USA, but of course, you need money for that. When I was a student, some friends recommended a **program for working and traveling**. Since my wife and I could swim quite well (she’s actually much better than me), we thought we could work there as water lifeguards.

We got in touch with a company in Poland that organized everything, we also completed the **American lifeguard course**, and eventually went to the US for 4 months during my fourth year of college. We worked for 3 months and then traveled across the States for a month. I have great memories from that time and still keep in touch with some of the people I met there.

<div className="image">![Visiting Zion National Park in the USA.](/images/us_trip.png "Visiting Zion National Park in the USA.")</div>

<center>

Visiting Zion National Park in the USA.

</center>

## I heard that you like walking in the woods in the evening. What are you looking for there? 😉

Some adventures for me and my dog, Admin. 😄

## The Truth About Keys and Re-Renders in React

*Published: 2025-03-31 | Author: rafal-op | Tags: frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/keys-and-re-renders-in-react/index.md*

**Let’s explore a concept in React that is often misunderstood: *keys*. When rendering collections in React, developers frequently use the map function to iterate over items and generate components. However, React requires an additional step: specifying a unique key for each item in the collection. This requirement, often emphasized in React’s documentation (and reinforced by console warnings), is crucial for efficient rendering and maintaining component state across re-renders. To understand why keys are important and often misunderstood, let’s start from the basics.**

<div className="image">![](/images/react_keys_re-renders.png "")</div>

## **How React reacts?**

Every React component undergoes a series of lifecycle steps. To simplify, these steps can be categorized as: **initial rendering** (mount), **re-rendering** (update), and component **removal** (unmount). For now, we’ll focus on the first two phases. React handles these operations in three distinct steps: the **trigger step**, the **render step**, and the **commit step**.

### **Trigger step**

The trigger step is the starting point for any re-render in React. It occurs whenever an update is necessary, such as when a **component’s state changes**, a **parent component re-renders**, or a **subscribed context value updates**. These actions signal React to check if any part of the component tree needs to be updated, prompting the process to move into the render step.

### **Render step**

The render step marks the next step in React’s component lifecycle. It occurs during the initial mount and whenever updates are triggered (in the trigger step). During this phase, React performs **reconciliation**, a process driven by a **diffing algorithm** that utilizes both the **Virtual DOM** and the **React Fiber** architecture. Based on the comparison of the previous and updated representations of the component tree, React determines the component’s output, which is essentially the UI. For child components, React recursively invokes their render functions (or component logic in functional components) and those of their descendants to ensure the entire component tree is re-evaluated.

### **Commit step**

Based on the diffing process, React updates only the necessary parts of the real DOM during the commit step. It’s important to note that just because a component’s render function is called, it doesn’t guarantee a DOM update for that component, as **rendering and DOM updates are separate processes**. Understanding this distinction is crucial for addressing a common myth, which I’ll explain in the next section.

## **Does keys prevent re-renders?**

A common myth surrounding keys is the belief that:

> Keys prevent re-renders of unchanged components

Keys play a crucial role in helping React efficiently match elements between renders. While their function extends beyond this, we’ll focus on their role in DOM updates for simplicity. However, it’s important to note that **keys alone do not prevent re-renders**. React’s default behavior is to re-render all items in a collection whenever the parent component updates, even if the individual items remain unchanged  -  unless specific optimization techniques are applied.

Let’s explore this with an example involving a **List** component and an **ListItem** component. When the List component’s state is updated (e.g. a new item is added), the **render** phase is **triggered**. During this phase, React determines what changes need to be applied to the real DOM. It does this by iterating through the List and its child components, invoking their render methods/component’s function execution.

What happens to the existing *n* elements in the collection after adding a new item? According to the myth, they shouldn’t be re-rendered — but is that really true? Not quite.

### **Keys role in DOM updates**

Keys help us identifies specific elements. The key point here is to follow the specific [rules for assigning keys](https://react.dev/learn/rendering-lists#rules-of-keys) in React to ensure they serve their purpose correctly and efficiently. Keys indeed plays non-directly role in performance optimization but not by avoiding re-renders. Let’s try it on a simple example ([also available on the playground](https://reactplayground.vercel.app/#N4IgLgziBcBmCGAbCBTANCAbrK1QEsA7AExQA8A6AK1xHwFsAHAewCcwACAQUcY9lbN6HAOQUA9D0bUIZEQB1CDFuw4AlFPADGnAUNGtNOhUqZtOwDlsPwwKNc2acAvv0HCRNnQFpiQ8VqI+CiEYCaKWsyEEJyRofBEKKwcALwcfloArvQhYBQA5ihgAKKIKDmhAEIAngCSxAAUno5hAJQRUTEcgk6pVjZ2Dk4NcWAJhEnthD15hiRJDYoc6kZ51pp2peW5i4TLyxraeQDKYKz4OgCyzKRoS-uEmYiId3v7hzoU67YoWxVgDSkU2WU1aIAwUhkZBgdDMqg+YDQHEsmVQpx+HFcemE8hAXjAuIA3IoOtFOFI+g1WqkAHzI+6GMCZVh7AA8ABl8F1xDTiYRnHzSV1OV00lTafS3nEugBtfB2egQJGoMC1BUQAC6fVRKHRdgaMvuy0s+GI0A4l1sAAsKKx4CQhOLnK99siOKbzZawDa7Q76E6XRwNa1BVLOpx4MRiGrypTqSk6cAjVZwxwJgB3GPCNIms0W622+1+f3UgXJlVZiANEbMuaq9XxukyigtrKsOuVpEZrPBvn7MtvBlFZl7Xau1nEfCYGnJ5asgBGmTAYCiHCiAGEgloANYpYCR6MK5w0rhR90K1niRfLqIzt7jp5312u4Dy8oQCj0eCMatv+iNjgOS5etY23FBqj3P8KFNVw-0go8OB5VpnFnQDxEfZNL0nad7hDRQByFTgRRA7MOAaE0FUxACkzDaJmDKChEGYfJFjoSi5lIVhcSRKDTTwwghyZFlAKCGlXwVaDiGcS9RL5AiJjIFROFIBAnnJXg+RAZxnCAA))

```javascript
import React, { useState } from "react";

const App = () => {
  return <List />;
};

const List = () => {
  const [items, setItems] = useState([
    { id: Math.random() },
    { id: Math.random() },
  ]);

  const addItem = () => {
    const newItem = { id: Math.random() };
    setItems((currentItems) => [...currentItems, newItem]);
   };
  
  return (
    <div>
      <button onClick={addItem}>Add item</button>
      <ul>
        {items.map((item) => <ListItem key={item.id} item={item} />)}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
};

const ListItem = ({ item }) => {
  console.log("item render", item.id);

  return <li>{item.id}</li>;
};

export default App;
```

Our setup consists of two components: **List**, which manages state changes, and **ListItem**, which represents a single element from the collection. During the initial render, the console output will look something like this:

```
item render 0.9271951880982141
item render 0.9720048278427091
```

That seems pretty straightforward, right? Now, let's add a new item by clicking the **Add Item** button. According to the common belief, we should see just one additional log in the console. To make it clearer, let's first clear the console. Ready? Let’s give it a try:

```
// 1st (initial) render
item render 0.9271951880982141
item render 0.9720048278427091

// 2nd render (re-render)
item render 0.9271951880982141
item render 0.9720048278427091
item render 0.738685209572542
```

That’s odd - we see **three** new logs (five in total if we count the initial two). But surprisingly, this is actually the expected behavior.

So, how does React handle all these changes? As mentioned earlier, every state change triggers a re-render of the component that owns the state, along with all of its child components - in this case, both the **List** and all its **Item** components. Notice that even using keys doesn't prevent this.

However, there’s a grain of truth in the idea: **keys help React efficiently manage updates to the real DOM**. **By identifying which items have changed, keys ensure only the new elements are added or updated in the DOM, leaving unchanged elements intact**. Let’s try it, this time focusing on DOM updates, not components re-renders. Open dev tools of your browser and find the structure which represents List component. The initial markup looks like this:

<center><div className="image">![Initial markup of list component](/images/zrzut-ekranu-2025-03-30-o-18.46.17.png "")</div></center>

Now, let’s add a new item. As you might notice, there's a slight blink that highlights the changes applied to the DOM — but only the newly added item gets highlighted. 

<center><div className="image">![Newly added list item](/images/zrzut-ekranu-2025-03-30-o-18.47.15.png "")</div></center>

I've prepared a [playground](https://reactplayground.vercel.app/#N4IgLgziBcBmCGAbCBTANCAbrK1QEsA7AExQA8A6AK1xHwFsAHAewCcwACAQUcY9lbN6HAOQUA9D0bUIZEQB1CDFuw4AlFPADGnAUNGtNOhUqZtOwDlsPwwKNc2acAvv0HCRNnQFpiQ8VqI+CiEYCaKWsyEEJyRofBEKKwcALwcfloArvQhYBQA5ihgAKKIKDmhAEIAngCSxAAUno5hAJQRUTEcgk6pVjZ2Dk4NcWAJhEnthD15hiRJDYoc6kZ51pp2peW5i4TLyxraeQDKYKz4OgCyzKRoS-uEmYiId3v7hzoU67YoWxVgDSkU2WU1aIAwUhkZBgdDMqg+YDQHEsmVQpx+SNRv1gsBQOkxqA0sA4rj0wnkIC8YApAG5FB1opwpH0Gq1UgA+ZH3QxgTKsPYAHgAMvguuJ2XTCM5JQyuiKumlWRyuW84l0ANr4Oz0CBI1BgWraiAAXT6WPRdga6vuy0s+GI0A4l1sAAsKKx4CQhErnK99siOPbHc6wG6PV76D6-Rxja0ZarOpwgjEiWbCShYA1Hs84-SE4yOPBiMRDeUWWyUpzgDarImOBMAO6l4RpO0Op2u92evyRtnSmv65sQBojPlzA1Giuc9UUWdZVjjodIxvN2OS5b9wj3LHFHF4gFKysq-1qzjMABGqFYmCSfUbTsyYzA+CiAHlL0kb6wR-RH7YX9EU7Hv6HC-k+AEQBQsBsMU2guj+f7PlEQHVm8IG1tEzBlBQiDMPkiwgAAIq+lwPuBUTpEU+4oA6FJImB-7IeuIHOLmaEkmxNb4MSDTJmARJfGOuRsqh6EXleX4UOJn4oLxor8RmgkLrkSKiehVguvgiDEPKYCOmcmToDWG5sf6zh5v6PJ8nsh5VsZHDSdeSQUMQopxBMOissxG7Mb6HDqmuFndEU1kcLs-oCq5mDsvZArno+YAUVEADCQRaAA1ikwBFiW2rOOyXDFoG2oCuI8VgIlhAxexywCk8wWwFlfFEvl9m2lq5SQfQ8CMCOHX0EB4XqbVunNhw6UoNUWX9RQ9quP1015Rw4ptRwrStOZNUcKVTzVRF4hRXta2SpusqcKN2osnal2scqalqlhKA4XhBH9cF8ysHRxXlLNxCcW8Vn8ttQTssAM1zaVIMnfG5AqJwpAIE8TK8DSIDOM4QA) with an additional **[MutationObserver](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/MutationObserver)** to help visualize this behavior more clearly. In the console, you'll see logs showing the re-rendering of all items (each item’s id is printed). However, when it comes to actual DOM mutations, only **one mutation** is detected — the insertion of the newly added item:

```
DOM Mutation detected: 
  Mutation Record {
    addedNodes: NodeList [li]
    attributeName: null
    attributeNamespace: null
    nextSibling: null
    oldValue: null
    previousSibling: li
    removedNodes: NodeList []
    target: ul
    type: "childList"
    [[Prototype]]: MutationRecord
  }

```

This distinction between React re-renders and real DOM changes is exactly what this example demonstrates.

Is it possible to modify this default behavior and make only the newly added items re-render? The short answer is yes — there are techniques to achieve that. However, let's save those for another time.

## **Summary**

React keys play a crucial role when working with dynamic lists by helping React accurately identify which items have changed, been added, or removed. This allows React to update the UI correctly during the **reconciliation** process. However, it's important to understand their true purpose: **keys do not prevent re-renders**. Instead, they help React maintain consistency and efficiently match elements between renders.

- - -

##### Take a look at our earlier blog post debunking frontend myths:

1. [To ‘b’ or Not to ‘b’: The Semantic Status of HTML ‘b’ Tag](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/)
2. [Understanding the Hoisting Behavior of let and const](/blog/let-const-hoisting/)
3. [JavaScript Types De-Objectified](/blog/javascript-types-deobjectified/)
4. [Eye on ‘i’ — Understanding ‘i’ as a Semantic Element](/blog/understanding-i-as-semantic-element/)
5. [Breaking Down the “alt” Attribute Myth in img Tag Best Practices](/blog/breaking-down-alt-attribute/)

## The Imago Trap in Recruitment - Why Chasing the Perfect Candidate or Company Can Backfire

*Published: 2025-03-30 | Author: ula | Tags: business, leadership, recruitment*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-imago-trap-in-recruitment-why-chasing-the-perfect-candidate-or-company-can-backfire/index.md*

In the world of talent acquisition, we often chase **an imago - the perfect vision of what could be.** Recruiters dream of the imago candidate, the one who fits perfectly into a role, bringing the right mix of skills, experience, and attitude. Candidates, on the other hand, search for their imago company - a place that aligns with their values, ambitions, and career goals.

Like two puzzle pieces waiting to connect, both sides craft an ideal image in their minds. But the real magic happens not when perfection is found, but when expectations evolve, and a great match is built through shared vision and growth. After all, **the best hires aren’t just found - they are made.** 

**The word "imago" comes from Latin, meaning "image" or "ideal." But beyond language, it carries a deeper, more psychological weight. In [imago relationship therapy, pioneered by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt](https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/therapy-types/imago-relationship-therapy), it represents the unconscious blueprint of a partner—a reflection of the caregivers who shaped us in childhood.**

According to this theory, we are drawn to romantic partners who echo both the strengths and wounds of our earliest relationships. It is as if, deep down, we seek to heal old patterns through new connections. Love, then is not just about finding someone, it is about recognizing the echoes of our past and learning how to shape a healthier future together.

# **imago as a part of the recruitment cycle**

In recruitment imago represents the idealized vision both employers and candidates create during the hiring process. The challenge lies in bridging the gap between the expectations and reality, turning ideal matches into real opportunities.

🔎 While crafting a job description, employers (often represented by recruiters) outline the qualifications and characteristics they are looking for in an ideal candidate. This description represents the "imago candidate" for the particular role.

🔎 During the screening process recruiters compare applicants' qualifications and experiences against the "imago candidate" profile to determine if they are a good match for the position.

🔎 During an interview hiring managers and recruiters may ask questions designed to assess how closely a candidate aligns with the "imago candidate" profile, including questions about skills, experience, and cultural fit. The final hiring decision is typically based on how closely a candidate matches the "imago candidate" and whether they are the best fit for the organization and the specific role.

**It is important to note that the "imago candidate" concept represents an ideal or desired standard and may not always be fully achievable. In the context of an employer looking to fill a job vacancy, having a rigid “imago" can pose several risks and challenges.**

# **drawbacks of rigidly chasing the ideal candidate’s image**

💣 It may hugely narrow talent pool, which can be particularly problematic in a competitive job market or for specialised roles where finding an exact match is challenging.

💣 It may cause overlooking candidates with transferable skills, diverse backgrounds, or unique perspectives that could bring fresh ideas and innovation to the organization.

💣 The extended time to hire can result in higher recruiting costs, including advertising expenses and the time and effort spent by recruitment/HR team on the search.

💣 What is more, if the ideal candidate profile is too unrealistic, there is a risk that the selected candidate may not fully meet those expectations. This can lead to dissatisfaction on both sides, as the candidate may struggle to meet unattainable standards and the employer may feel let down.

**In reality recruitment should be rarely about finding a perfect match. It is about balancing priorities.** Employers and recruiters may focus on the most critical qualifications and competencies while remaining open to candidates who bring unique strengths, fresh perspectives, and unexpected value to the role. **The best hires often come from this blend of must haves and game changers.**

# **imago in the candidate’s expectations** 

Having an ideal image while looking for new cooperation opportunities is not only reserved for employers. It is also a common thing among applicants and prospects who want to face fresh career challenges. 

**The image of the "perfect" employer can significantly limit the number of job opportunities available to a candidate.** The job search process can become longer and more frustrating if you are holding out for an employer that precisely matches your imago. In some cases, candidates may even remain in unfulfilling or unsatisfying roles for an extended period while waiting for their ideal employer to come along, potentially missing out on opportunities for career advancement. **To mitigate these risks candidates may strike a balance between their ideal employer criteria and practical considerations.** 

### **What can you do if you are a candidate?**

* Prioritise core values that are most important to you. These might include company culture, work life balance, growth opportunities, or specific job responsibilities. Not everything is equally important. Decide what is your priority. 
* Be open to exploring opportunities with a range of companies including these that may not perfectly match your imago. Sometimes unexpected experiences can lead to rewarding career paths.
* Conduct thorough research on potential employers to ensure they align with your core values and career goals. This can help you make informed decisions during the job search.
* When you receive a job offer, think strategically. Focus on the aspects that are crucial to you while keeping focus on the expectations of your future employer. **The collaboration will make sense only when two sides understand each other’s expectations.**
* Think of your work as a journey filled with ups, downs, and everything in between. Along the way you will come across different people, face unexpected challenges, and celebrate small (and big) wins. What truly matters is what you take from each experience and how you choose to see it. **You can focus on what went wrong or you can recognise the lessons, growth, and opportunities that came with it. In the end the glass is as full as you decide it to be.**
* Don't let fear of imperfection stop you from pursuing opportunities. Focus on presenting your strengths, learning from feedback, and seeking roles where you can contribute and grow. It is about aligning your skills and aspirations with a role, not being the “perfect” fit from the outset.

# **the costs of unrealistic imago** 

The cost of expectations mismatch can be huge for both job seekers and companies. If a candidate secures a job with their ideal employer but later discovers that the reality does not match their expectations, it can lead to bitter disappointment. When employers hire candidates who lack the necessary skills, they may waste time, money, and other resources on recruitment, training, and onboarding. This can not only strain the organization's budget, byt also reduce productivity. 

<div className="image">![costs recruitment](/images/04-skills-mismatch-3.png "")</div>

Source: https://vervoe.com/skills-mismatch/

Let us not forget that **employees who feel they are not adequately prepared for their roles are more likely to leave their jobs, which leads to high turnover rates that can disrupt the workplace, increase recruitment costs, and lower employee morale.** Even if bridging the skills gap is possible, employers may need to invest in additional training and development programs. While training can be beneficial, it can be costly and time-consuming.

To address the imago mismatch, it is essential for both employers and job seekers to communicate effectively and conduct thorough values and skills assessments during the recruitment process. 

# **what can you do as a recruiter to make the imago more realistic** 

**1. Transparent job descriptions** - provide a detailed description of job roles and responsibilities, be specific about the skills and experience required, and include information about the company culture and team dynamics.

**2. Showcase real employee stories** - share testimonials from current employees about their experiences e.g. a typical day at work, or show career path stories to highlight career progress within the company. Don’t sugarcoat it. Show your company as it really is, with all its ups and downs. Every workplace has its challenges, just like it has its wins. Authenticity builds trust, and people appreciate the real story, not a polished illusion.

**3. Authentic visual content** - use real photos and videos from your workplace rather than stock images, share behind the scenes content to give potential candidates a glimpse of the work environment.

**4. Take care of candidate’s experience** - keep transparent communication throughout the whole process. Keep candidates informed at every stage, set clear expectations, and most importantly, ask for their feedback. Understanding how they perceive the process helps you refine it and shows that you value their time and effort, even if they don’t end up joining your team. A well-managed hiring process is not about creating a perfect career page and filling roles, it is about building relationships. 

**5. Realistic expectations** - be honest about the challenges of the job as well as the rewards, provide a realistic view of work-life balance at your company. One of the biggest mistakes recruiters make is overselling the role, painting an idealised picture that does not match reality. If the job comes with tight deadlines or a steep learning curve, say so. If work-life balance varies by season or project, be clear about it. **Candidates appreciate honesty. It is better to have someone excited about the real job than someone disappointed by a broken promise.**

**6. Engage with current employees** - regularly ask employees for feedback and implement changes in the job descriptions or recruitment proces based on their input.

**7. Transparent compensation and benefits** - provide clear information about salary ranges and benefits, and highlight opportunities for career advancement and personal growth.

Applying these tips can help shape a more authentic and realistic hiring vision, the one that truly reflects the company’s culture, values, and the kind of talent that thrives within it.

# **summary - choose smarter**

Being idealistic isn’t a bad thing, but we must balance it with the realities of our goals and the business expectations we face every day. Voltaire's famous words, *"The perfect is the enemy of the good,"* remind us that chasing perfection can hinder progress. Instead of striving for the ideal candidate or the perfect company, **perhaps the key lies in collaboration and helping to shape and nurture those qualities together.** Prioritize what truly matters. 

Mistakes happen - on both sides. A candidate might stumble in an interview, or an employer might realize too late that the job description does not fully capture what the role needs. What truly matters is learning from these moments and refining the process.

For recruiters, it is about looking beyond a checklist and recognizing potential - the ability to adapt and grow within the company. For candidates, it is about seeing each experience as a stepping stone, understanding that the right fit is not always about perfection but about alignment and opportunity. **Momentum is key whether you are a recruiter refining the talent search or a candidate navigating your career path, the goal is progress, not flawlessness. In the end it is about finding the best match, not a perfect one.**

## Static Files vs. Dynamically Generated Files in Test Code

*Published: 2025-03-27 | Author: radek-l | Tags: automation testing*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/static-files-vs-dynamically-generated-files-in-test-code/index.md*

**In the previous article we've covered [basic guidelines of working with files in test automation](/blog/automated-tests-with-files-guidelines/). Today let's go deeper. At some point developers must decide whether to use static files stored in the repository or generate them dynamically during test execution. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. Let's explore both methods in detail.**

## Static Files Stored in Repository

Static files are pre-created and stored in the repository, ie:

* In `src/file-processing/test-fixtures`

  * `valid.csv, empty-file.csv, 100-rows.csv, missing-first-name-column.csv`

### Advantages of Static Files

1. **100% Compliant with Production Usage** – Users upload files through Web interface and you use the same files in your code - full match.
2. **Proper Domain Entity Representation** – Files are easily understandable by both technical and business stakeholders.
3. **Serves as Documentation** – Provides clear examples of supported file formats.
4. **Usable in Manual Testing and Demos** – Testers and demo users can easily use these files.
5. **Intuitive for Humans** – No need to interpret test code to understand file contents.
6. **Clearly Defines System Specification** – Quickly answers, "What kinds of files are supported in our system?"

### Disadvantages of Static Files

1. **Difficult to Maintain** – Modifying multiple files (e.g., adding a new column) is cumbersome.
2. **Editing Requires Dedicated Software** – XLSX files require Excel or a similar application.
3. **Poor Git Diff Readability** – Changes to binary files are not human-readable in version control.
4. **Not Compilation Aware** – Changes in system requirements (e.g., making a column required) do not trigger test updates.
5. **Risk of Outdated Test Files** – Without clear enforcement, files may not reflect schema changes.
6. **High Maintenance Overhead** – Complex schemas may require dozens of files for different test cases.

## Dynamically Generated Files During Test Execution

Instead of storing test files in the repository, they can be generated on demand. Example code:

```typescript
// valid.csv
type HeaderType = [string, string, string, string]

const header: HeaderType = ['First Name', 'Last Name', 'Age', 'Salary']; 
const rows = [ 
['John', 'Doe', '30', '50000'], 
['Jane', 'Smith', '25', '60000'], 
['Alice', 'Johnson', '35', '70000'], 
]; 

// createCSV function writes file to file system and returns its path
const validFile: HeaderType = createCSV('valid.csv', header, rows);

// missing-data.csv
const header = ['First Name', 'Last Name', 'Age', 'Salary']; 
const rows = [ 
['John', 'Doe', '30', ''], 
['', 'Smith'], 
['Alice', '', '35', '70000'],
[]
]; 

const missingDataFile = createCSV('missing-data.csv', header, rows);
```

**\*HeaderType** is also used in production code which ensures compilation time safety of the files*

### Advantages of Dynamically Generated Files

1. **Compilation Aware** – Changes in data models automatically reflect in test cases, making your test files impossbile to desynchronize with application
2. **Type-Safe and Reliable** – When using with strongly typed languages it enforces correct structure using types and classes in compilation time
3. **Easy to Modify and Extend** – Developers can quickly add or modify test cases.
4. **Facilitates Randomized and Large Data Sets** – Useful for performance and uniqueness constraints.
5. **Integrates with Technical Endpoints** – Can be exposed as a test data API for manual testers.

### Disadvantages of Dynamically Generated Files

1. **Less Directly Compliant with Production Usage** – May not precisely mirror real-world files. Writing CSV and XLSX files to disk can be done in many standards and encodings. Often times the file created in Google Sheets, Numbers and node-xlsx library will differ in their behaviour in some nuances
2. **Harder to Communicate with Non-Technical Stakeholders** – You cannot take this peace of code and show it to your Product Owner to describe what your system accepts. It's too abstract and technical.
3. **Less Immediately Readable** – A static CSV file is easier to understand at a glance than CSV generation code.

## Conclusion

Both static files and dynamically generated test files have their place in software testing. Static files provide clarity and domain compliance, while dynamic generation offers flexibility and maintainability. The best approach often depends on the complexity of the system, the frequency of changes, and the need for collaboration with business stakeholders.

A hybrid approach—where core test cases use static files and more complex or frequently changing scenarios leverage dynamic generation—can offer the best of both worlds. More on that in future posts.

## Agile Risk Management: Risk Management Framework In Software Development

*Published: 2025-03-24 | Author: kasia | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/agile-risk-management/index.md*

**Risk management in Agile development is often overlooked or misunderstood, but it’s a crucial part of delivering high-quality and safe software products. In industries like [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/), where software is deeply integrated into medical devices and patient care, risk management becomes even more critical.**

In this guide, I’ll walk you through an Agile approach to risk management, using Hazard Stories and a structured Risk Backlog, ensuring that risks are identified, tracked, and mitigated effectively.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Get to Know Agile Risk Management' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'This blog post is just the beginning. If you’re ready to dive deeper into Agile Risk Management, download our free ebook.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='risk management ebook' />

## Establishing the Context: Why Agile Risk Management Matters

Agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban focus on **iterative development**, which means new features are added continuously. However, this also means that **new risks emerge throughout development**.

A good example is an **eHealth application** where patients can access their drug dispensation schedules. If such an app fails, the consequences could be severe – from missed medication doses to incorrect drug administration.

By embedding risk management into Agile workflows, teams can proactively address these challenges **without slowing down innovation**.

## Risk Management Framework: The Agile Way

Risk management starts with **identifying potential hazards**. In Agile projects, this can be done in a **Risk Identification Meeting**, ideally **after the first version of the backlog** has been created. This ensures that teams have a clear idea of the product's functionality and domain **before major architectural decisions are made**.

### Hazard Stories: Capturing Risks Like User Stories

One of the most effective Agile risk management techniques is **Hazard Stories**. These are structured similarly to User Stories but focus on identifying risks.

#### Format of a Hazard Story:

As a result of *definite cause*, *uncertain event* may occur, which would lead to *effect on objectives*.

For example:

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>As a result of a server outage, prescription data may not sync, which would lead to patients missing critical medication reminders.</div><footer></footer></blockquote>

By writing hazard stories, teams can **clearly articulate risks**, making them easy to discuss, prioritize, and mitigate.

## Building a Risk Backlog: Structure and Ownership

Once risks are identified, they need to be **tracked and managed**. This is where a **Risk Backlog** comes into play. Think of it as a lightweight **Risk Register**, tailored for Agile teams.

### What Goes Into a Risk Backlog?

Example Risk Backlog Table for an eHealth App (Drug Dispensation Use Case)

A Risk Backlog typically includes sections as:

* Hazard Story
* Risk Probability
* Priority
* Strategy
* Owner
* Product Backlog Task
* State

<div className="image">![](/images/risk_backlog_orange.png "")</div>

### Example 1

Hazard Story:
As a result of failure to sync with backend, outdated medication plans may be shown, which would lead to patients taking incorrect dosages.

Risk Probability: High

Priority: High

Strategy: Add sync retry logic and display last update timestamp

Owner: DevOps & Backend Team

Product Backlog Task: #SYNC-42 — Sync Error Handling

State: In Progress

### Example 2

Hazard Story:
As a result of unclear UI design, patients may misinterpret medication schedules, which would lead to incorrect administration of drugs.

Risk Probability: Medium

Priority: Medium

Strategy: Redesign UI for clarity and run usability tests

Owner: UX Team

Product Backlog Task: #UX-21 — Schedule Redesign

State: In Review

### Best Practices for Managing the Risk Backlog:

* Store the backlog in the same tool as your issue tracker (e.g., JIRA) for visibility.
* Assign a Risk Owner to each identified risk.
* Regularly review and update the Risk Backlog as new hazards emerge.
* Keep discussions open and transparent—risk management should be a shared responsibility.

## Evaluating and Mitigating Risks with Risk Matrix and ALARP

Once risks are logged, they must be **analyzed and prioritized**. This is usually done using a **Risk Matrix**, which evaluates risks based on **likelihood and impact**.

Once risks are logged, they must be **analyzed and prioritized**. This is usually done using a **Risk Matrix and the ALARP principle**, which evaluates risks based on **likelihood and impact**.

### What is a Risk Matrix?

A **[Risk Matrix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_matrix#:~:text=A%20risk%20matrix%20is%20a,the%20category%20of%20consequence%20severity.)** is a visual tool used to **assess and prioritize risks** by mapping them based on their **probability (likelihood of occurrence)** and **impact (severity of consequences)**. It helps teams focus on the most critical risks that require immediate attention while deprioritizing lower-impact ones.

For example:

* **High Probability + High Impact** → Critical risk requiring urgent action.  
* **Medium Probability + Medium Impact** → Tolerable risk that should be mitigated.  
* **Low Probability + Low Impact** → Low-priority risk that can be monitored.

By using a Risk Matrix, teams can **quickly assess the severity of different risks** and make informed decisions on mitigation strategies.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Learn more about Agile risk management' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download my ebook where I delve into risk management in software development.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='risk management ebook' />

### The ALARP Meaning

A practical approach is to follow the **[ALARP](https://risktec.tuv.com/knowledge-bank/debunking-the-alarp-principle-four-myths-and-realities/) (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) principle**, which ensures that risks are reduced **without overburdening the team**.

* **Unacceptable risks** (High probability + High impact) should be eliminated or significantly reduced.  
* **Tolerable risks** (Medium probability + Medium impact) should be mitigated.  
* **Broadly Acceptable Risk** (Low probability + Low impact) should be monitored but not necessarily acted upon immediately.

By using ALARP, teams **avoid unnecessary over-engineering** while still addressing critical risks.

## File-Based Test Automation: Best Practices and Guidelines

*Published: 2025-03-20 | Author: radek-l | Tags: unit tests, automation testing, QA*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/automated-tests-with-files-guidelines/index.md*

**Test automation is a crucial aspect of modern software development, ensuring the reliability and stability of applications. For systems that rely heavily on file processing, adopting best practices for file-based test automation is essential. In this article, we will explore guidelines for effectively managing test automation with both static and dynamically generated file inputs.**

<div className="image">![File-Based Test Automation](/images/blog-automated-tests-with-files-guidelines.png "File-Based Test Automation")</div>

## Balancing Static and Dynamic File Inputs

One of the key considerations in file-based test automation is the balance between static and dynamically generated file inputs:

* **75% of your test automation file input should be dynamically generated**, while the remaining 25% should be static files. (There is an upcoming blogpost on compile time safe files)
* Static files offer **assurance and credibility** but can be difficult to maintain.
* Dynamically generated files improve **developer experience (DX)** and encourage developers to write tests more efficiently.

## Well-Typed File Factories and Models

Using well-defined file factories, models, and types is crucial:

* Ensure your test data **adheres to the file processing specifications** of your system.
* Leverage **static typing and compilation** to prevent issues before runtime.
* Utilize structured file factories that allow flexibility while maintaining strict compliance with the system’s requirements.

## Test Pyramid and Static File Usage

The **higher** a test is in the test pyramid, the **more** it should rely on static files:

* QA teams and business stakeholders prefer discussing **domain-specific entities**, such as files, rather than abstract dynamic file creators.
* For file-processing systems, **including static file examples in User Stories** enhances clarity and establishes clear expectations.

## Naming Conventions and Organization

To maintain clarity and accessibility:

* **Name static files descriptively** to reflect their contents and purpose.
* Ensure static files are **easily accessible** to all team members and included in **User Stories and task definitions**.
* If a User Story requires a file upload feature, the associated file should serve as a **natural acceptance criterion**.
* Consider a **naming convention** for multi-tenant systems or specific clients:

  * `[tenant]-[valid|invalid]-[name].csv` (ie., `poland-valid-full-data.csv`, `poland-invalid-missing-age-column.csv`).

## Test Reporting and File Comparison

Effective test reporting and validation methods should include:

* **Including both static and dynamically generated files** in test reports for better debugging and traceability.
* **Creating expected versions of output files** and comparing them in a way that aligns with human perception.
* Instead of iterating over rows and columns in code, use **dedicated expected files** for comparison, making manual verification easier when needed.

## Managing Static and Dynamic Files

To keep test automation organized:

* **Clearly distinguish static files from dynamically generated ones** with appropriate naming conventions.
* Store **dynamic files and test outputs in dedicated folders**, excluding them from version control (`.gitignore`).

## Conclusion

File-based test automation plays a pivotal role in ensuring system reliability, particularly in file-processing applications. By balancing static and dynamic file inputs, maintaining structured file models, following naming conventions, and integrating files into test reporting, teams can build robust and maintainable test suites. These best practices not only enhance automation quality but also foster collaboration between development, QA, and business teams.

## Watch BrightDevTips: Bite-Sized Technical Knowledge in 60 Seconds

*Published: 2025-03-11 | Author: sara-l | Tags: programming*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/watch-brightdevtips-bite-sized-technical-knowledge-in-60-seconds/index.md*

For developers who value efficiency, we present BrightDevTips – a series of concise, under-one-minute video tutorials that deliver practical technical knowledge without the fluff.\
\
We break down complex technical concepts into actionable insights you can apply immediately. No lengthy introductions, no unnecessary theory – just practical, code-focused solutions you can implement right away.

## Recent Highlights From Our Collection

Our growing library includes tutorials on:

API and Integration Solutions

* [Tutorial on generating API client code](https://youtu.be/LNK16t7eTsc?si=zX6WROOPv1pFdrbE)
* [Guide on using mocking for development](https://youtu.be/K9bUzNxv9TU?si=SU_75oh8LVrOy1Tn)
* [Tutorial on accelerating API development](https://youtu.be/SSCnijV3nxw?si=v8ZayLhF6CuSbEOU)
* [Authentication setup tutorial](https://youtu.be/iJbNsfb8xqE?si=zfb3PZ-yW9Zvgcp3)
* [Decoupling application from messaging systems](https://youtu.be/bIumJX11C44?si=JMm2j66OnheVh516)

Cloud and Infrastructure

* [Guide on integrating AWS credential management with development environments](https://youtu.be/QDPn3McA9QE?si=Tdyjy7jfGdDZYy6Q)
* [Comparison of infrastructure-as-code approaches for AWS VPC](https://youtu.be/x4UKIutovUk?si=p2rNTGVXRBUZvNp4)

Observability and Monitoring

* [Log forwarding setup](https://youtu.be/kbhS_G7lQRk?si=cZKW3TzzLTjTfFAq)
* [Distributed tracing implementation](https://youtu.be/hHssafgTm-A?si=6OGxBI09rmS3LvYj)
* [Metrics collection tutorial](https://youtu.be/D1gbwxkN7A0?si=fIyO2V32ApI8QXMm)
* [Log consolidation approach](https://youtu.be/sfYAJflotGw?si=nYTYB5BZsEOfojd2)
* [Optimization techniques for telemetry](https://youtu.be/vmvEyqBmJEo?si=6amxZuL_hshVvp03)

Development Technologies

* [Overview of new JSON capabilities in Hibernate](https://youtu.be/SdYEjkGZUvY?si=I5dY6FqYzcVuYgfT)
* [Extension methods tutorial](https://youtu.be/c7DDd0TK9Qk?si=9cqVPKvFHmPTvZ_i)
* [Using containerized testing for Spring applications](https://youtu.be/57SPdiHwVSo?si=g6xet2hwfIHqmQOq)

Mobile Development

* [New screen handling capabilities](https://youtu.be/T-FbUBqqpYU?si=80rtywdqe7onJPbS)
* [Full-screen UI implementation](https://youtu.be/1Rd1M4e27U8?si=-3zP9y9rxjnl-PSq)
* [Mobile testing framework overview (Maestro)](https://youtu.be/wjg8DwGCAiw?si=ZW45uvU62_3cKXtx)
* [Quick tip for stopping Android Studio from jumping between tabs during app runs](https://youtu.be/M-LMy-4UbgA?si=4fgE5AoXULU7U0P3)

Developer Tools and Productivity

* [Overview of built-in HTTP client functionality](https://youtu.be/dF5VuUfDdxM?si=VwnmzjiOEqwFk_44)
* [Efficient code restructuring techniques](https://youtu.be/xdtd8lQYcU8?si=dAHaoWgT4Uh7mdWJ)
* [Dependency management approach](https://youtu.be/sxaSOJDM2CI?si=ZJ34c27wIXt0VhE1)

## Join Our Community

Subscribe to our BrightDevTips series on YouTube and never miss our latest technical insights and discover a more efficient way to approach your development tasks.

[Check out our BrightDevTips tutorials.](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXQKLMVoAz1TGkvgMLu86iEekp5rSQAlZ&si=xet43uvvw_MCvTac)

## Breaking Down the "alt" Attribute Myth in <img> Tag Best Practices

*Published: 2025-03-05 | Author: rafal-op | Tags: frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/breaking-down-alt-attribute/index.md*

**As frontend engineers, embracing Accessibility (A11y) is our commitment to ensuring that our websites are welcoming to individuals with various disabilities. In this article, I will delve into a crucial aspect of A11y — the utilization of techniques that facilitate a seamless experience for visually impaired users.**

<div className="image">![](/images/blogpost_blog__alt_image.png "")</div>

## Introduction

One widely discussed practice is employing the **alt** attribute for all **`<img>`** tags, a simple yet impactful method to enhance the accessibility score of our pages. However, as we explore this approach, we’ll uncover nuances and consider scenarios where this practice may not only be unnecessary but potentially disruptive for users relying on screen readers.

## The alt attribute

The **alt** attribute serves a dual purpose. It acts as a fallback description in scenarios where an image fails to download or display correctly, and, crucially, contributes to **Accessibility** by providing screen readers with valuable descriptive content.

Commonly, discussions about the **alt** attribute carry an additional assertion: that it is a required attribute (and should always contain a description). While the **alt** attribute definitely helps with web **accessibility**, we'll explore situations where its insistence might be misunderstood, challenging existing beliefs and helping create a more balanced view of its role in building an inclusive online experience. Our myth can be defined as follows:

> The ‘alt’ attribute is required for the HTML `<img>` tag

<div className="image">![Usage of the alt attribute and it's effect when image is broken](/images/alt-img.png "")</div>

In the attached image, the effective utilization of the **alt** attribute is clearly evident, providing a descriptive and helpful description for an image that, for various reasons, may not be visually displayed. As we delve deeper into the subsequent section of this article, our focus will shift toward **Accessibility**. Here, we'll examine scenarios where the improper use of the alt attribute may pose challenges for users navigating the page, underscoring the significance of thoughtful and considerate implementation to enhance the overall user experience.

## When to Embrace and When to Pause?

While the **alt** attribute generally enhances our webpage by providing a description of images, it’s important to acknowledge that its use isn’t universal. There are instances where caution is advised. Specifically, when featuring images that complement the content, employing the **alt** attribute becomes crucial for delivering a meaningful description. This practice not only aligns with the right approach in web development but also ensures accessibility for users across various platforms, including web browsers and screen readers.

### Navigating Alt Attribute Omissions

Conversely, there are instances where refraining from using the **alt** attribute is advisable, mainly to avoid potential disruptions. 

#### Decorative images

One such scenario involves images that serve as mere embellishments rather than integral components of the page’s content. In essence, if an image is purely decorative and doesn’t contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the main content, omitting the **alt** attribute is a considered choice. Consider [MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/) as an example. In the background, there’s a decorative image (specifically an `<svg>`, but it could be an `<img>`). This image is non-essential for comprehending the presented content, rather, it serves as a visual addition. If any issues arise with displaying this image, there’s no imperative to provide a description such as “*decorative image*” or “*mandala*”. Importantly, users relying on screen readers will seamlessly bypass this non-essential image without any disruption to their exploration of the page, as the main content remains unaffected by its absence.

<div className="image">![MDN Homepage with mandala pattern in the background](/images/mdn.png "")</div>

#### Images associated with corresponding text

Similarly, another scenario where using the **alt** attribute is discouraged involves images already associated with corresponding text. Taking a closer look at [Mozilla's page](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/careers/listings/), specifically the **Products** menu with product/service options, each image (in this case, an `<img>` tag) is accompanied by the respective product/service name. In such cases, providing an **alt** attribute for a potentially malfunctioning image becomes redundant. The adjacent text carries enough information, ensuring that even if the image fails to load, the content’s understanding remains intact. If the product icon is displayed without accompanying text, it is essential to provide an alt attribute for accessibility.

<div className="image">![Mozilla careers menu](/images/mozilla-careers.png "")</div>

#### Images with text, associated with corresponding text

In more complex scenarios, such as when an image contains text (rather than being a simple icon), it may be possible to omit the alt attribute. This can be the case when the text is presented adjacent to the image in a way that screen readers can easily read, or when the text is purely decorative. See the example below for clarification:

<div className="image">![Image that shows example of image that doesn't require alt attribute](/images/firefox-question.png "")</div>

The text under the image matches the text on the image, making it easy to follow along without needing an extra alt attribute — no redundancy.

#### Summary

To sum up, you can skip the alt attribute in a few cases. First, for purely decorative images that add no meaningful content. Second, when images contain text that’s either decorative or already presented nearby. Third, you can also avoid it for redundant images, such as an icon next to a text that says the same thing.

### Alt Attribute Dilemma

How should we approach the absence of the **alt** attribute? Is it advisable to omit it entirely or include an empty string? Remarkably, these two scenarios yield disparate outcomes.

The recommended approach involves providing a meaningful **alt** attribute for instances where a fallback message is desired. In this case, screen readers will articulate the assigned value, and the browser will display the placeholder icon, contributing to an optimal accessibility experience.

When the **alt** attribute is absent, a fallback is automatically provided in the form of a placeholder icon, ensuring visibility for broken images and the screen reader reading the **src** attribute as a fallback. 

Conversely, employing an empty **alt** attribute (*alt=””,* which will be interpreted by Chrome dev tools as a just *‘alt’*) results in a `<img>` tag with 0x0 dimensions, the absence of the placeholder icon, and no acknowledgment by the screen reader, effectively concealing the image’s existence. 

<div className="image">![Code snippet that highlights distinctions in the usage of the alt attribute in various cases](/images/code-snippet-alt.png "")</div>

Presented below is a table that highlights and summarizes the distinctions between the three approaches

<div className="image">![Table that highlights distinctions in the usage of the alt attribute in various cases](/images/alt-summary.png "")</div>

In conclusion, when addressing scenarios where the **alt** attribute is deemed unnecessary and potentially disruptive, opting for an empty string as the value proves to be the most advantageous choice. This decision benefits both the web browser by eliminating the broken image icon and any additional text, and screen readers seamlessly bypass the image without registering its presence.

## Hands-On Exploration: Experience it Yourself!

Curious to witness the examples described earlier in action? Our focus will be creating a setup that allows us to experience these distinctions using a screen reader. To explore these differences, we’ll use the code snippet provided above

```
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>Alt attribute presentation</title>
  </head>
  <style>
  </style>
  <body>
    <img src="../path-to-image.jpg" alt="Cat photo" />
    <br />
    <img src="../path-to-image.jpg" />
    <br />
    <img src="../path-to-image.jpg" alt="" />
  </body>
</html>
```

To simulate a screen reader experience, we can utilize the “**Screen Reader**” Google Chrome extension (as well as built-in OS Voice Over), accessible [here](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/screen-reader/kgejglhpjiefppelpmljglcjbhoiplfn?hl=pl&utm_source=ext_sidebar).

<div className="image">![Screen Reader Google Chrome extension logo](/images/screen-reader-logo.png "")</div>

Now, simply open the HTML file in your browser and activate the extension. Once enabled, you’ll notice an orange border highlighting the currently focused element. In the backdrop, you’ll find the document’s title, “*Alt Attribute Presentation*”. The first focused element will be “*Cat Photo*”, where, due to a broken image path, the **alt** attribute will be read aloud. To navigate to the next element, use the shortcut `Ctrl + Cmd + Arrow Down` (on Mac), and you’ll hear the path for the image (“*path-to-image*”). Significantly, attempting to advance reveals that the scenario involving an empty string as the **alt** attribute value is not considered, a choice that proves beneficial in certain cases, as demonstrated earlier.

## Summary

While incorporating the **alt** attribute is generally considered a best practice and is highly recommended, it’s crucial to engage in thoughtful consideration. We need to ask ourselves if the additional description truly enhances the accessibility (**A11y**) of our page. In certain scenarios, this extra information might prove troublesome for both screen readers and web browsers. Occasionally, it becomes essential to challenge the norm and prioritize the best possible experience for our visitors. Furthermore, mastering the ability to discern between various approaches to define the **alt** attribute allows us to choose the most fitting one for our specific case.

- - -

##### [](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/javascript-types-deobjectified/#take-a-look-at-our-earlier-blog-post-debunking-frontend-myths)Take a look at our earlier blog post debunking frontend myths:

1. [To 'b' or Not to 'b': The Semantic Status of HTML 'b' Tag](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/)
2. [Understanding the Hoisting Behavior of let and const](/blog/let-const-hoisting/)
3. [JavaScript Types De-Objectified](/blog/javascript-types-deobjectified/)
4. [Eye on 'i' - Understanding 'i' as a Semantic Element](/blog/understanding-i-as-semantic-element/)

## Walking 850km to Escape Programming: Michał’s Story of Burnout & Renewal

*Published: 2025-03-05 | Author: michal-be | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/software-developer-career-story-burnout-renewal/index.md*

**Michał once tried to step away from software development, but he soon realized it was his true calling. Learn about his holistic approach to software, how he overcame job burnout, and what he looks for in candidates as a tech recruiter at Bright Inventions.**

<div className="image">![Fullstack developer career story](/images/brightstorymichalbgrid.png "Fullstack developer career story")</div>

## Without giving it any thought, what’s closer to your heart: backend or frontend?

It's hard to say, but if I had to choose, I’d go with the **backend**. But right now, I mostly work on frontend in my current project, so **my focus shifts from time to time**. I believe my responsibilities in backend will continue to grow.

Nevertheless, I see software development as a whole – a holistic solution. I believe you can make better decisions on the frontend when you understand the backend.

<div className="image">![Quote on fullstack development](/images/michal_quote_fullstack.png "Quote on fullstack development")</div>

## Can you provide an example of that?

For instance, let's say we're working on software that stores a large amount of data in a very specific way. By understanding the acceptable response time for users to access this data, we can determine **during the design phase whether a certain feature is feasible or not**.

If you're focused only on the frontend, adding advanced filters might seem like no issue. However, **if you understand the data layers behind those filters, you can suggest a better solution** for displaying filtered results in a way that minimizes frustration for users. These suggestions can be made as early as the design phase, helping us avoid major issues later in the development process.

## You recently became one of Bright Inventions' tech recruiters. What are your first impressions?

My first impression is that I need to optimize my time slots because **it’s difficult not to go over schedule**. Since we are now recruiting fullstack developers, there is a lot to cover with each candidate. 

I planned around seven sections to discuss, and on paper, it made sense – I thought I would manage within the established time. However, the reality was different. Even though I have specific questions, **it’s easy to dive into discussions that go beyond the main points**. I have to control myself and ensure that I don’t extend the interview unnecessarily.

## What do you take into account while assessing a candidate?

The first thing I assess is whether a candidate truly understands a given topic or is simply repeating memorized definitions. This is easy to verify by the way they describe it – **whether they explain it naturally or just recite predefined phrases**. I also like to discuss specific scenarios and ask when they would use certain abstractions to see if they can truly engage with the concept.

Another crucial aspect for me is **whether a candidate can admit when they don’t know something**. Often, this is followed by a strong deduction process, where they actually work their way to the right answer. This is in contrast to someone who claims to know but then just talks without providing meaningful insight.

<div className="image">![Quote on candidate interview](/images/maciek_quote_candidate.png "Quote on candidate interview")</div>

I also appreciate when candidates **refer to their own experience** and provide real-life examples from their work. If they have a different opinion on a subject, that’s even better – it shows that they are capable of questioning things, which often comes from deeper experience and a broader perspective on the topic.

## How do you find yourself at Bright Inventions?

I’m glad to be surrounded by a large number of specialists. Compared to my previous workplaces, where there was a wider variety of team members with different levels of experience and knowledge, **here the average level of experience is really high**. This gives me plenty of opportunities to learn from others and develop innovative ideas.

I also appreciate that **we are trusted with a lot of freedom, but it comes with responsibility**. I think that’s the ultimate combination.

<div className="image">![Laser tag team building.](/images/teambuilding_laser_tag.png "Michał at a laser tag team-building event.")</div>

<center>Michał at a laser tag team-building event.</center>

## I heard that you had a solo pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. How did this experience affect you?

I had taken part in **Camino the Santiago** pilgrimage before, but always in a larger group with my family and friends. This time, I decided to do it alone. Naturally, **I met many people along the way**, giving me multiple opportunities to interact with others, hear their stories, and understand their perspectives and values.

I think that’s the best part of this experience – the chance to **connect with people from all over the world** and see how they perceive life. It allows you to gain a much-needed **fresh perspective**.

## Why did you decide to take this solo walk?

I had just left my job at the time, so I finally had the opportunity to do it. When I left, **I was exhausted** – I needed space and time to breathe, to gain some distance. **I had been working too much** and giving a lot, but I realized that there are more important things in life and that I couldn’t continue like that.

In the end, this pilgrimage showed me that **I actually missed my work**. Even though my initial goal was to escape from it, the further I walked, the more I realized how much I missed it. I just needed to come back in a different way – **establishing boundaries for myself** to maintain a healthy balance between work and life.

<div className="image">![Santiago de Compostela](/images/santiago_de_compostela.png "Arriving in Santiago de Compostela after walking 850km.")</div>

<center>Arriving in Santiago de Compostela after walking 850km.</center>

## What do you like to do after work?

Sports. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved **racket sports** – tennis is my number one. I’m also passionate about **cooking**, which used to feel like a curse to me, but now I truly enjoy it. I **play the guitar**, and honestly, it’s something I can’t imagine my life without.

<div className="image">![Cooking](/images/cooking_michal_b.png "Cooking")</div>

## Risk Management in Healthcare: 2025 Guide

*Published: 2025-03-03 | Author: kasia | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/risk-management-in-healthcare/index.md*

**In 2025, risk management in healthcare is more critical than ever. With the increasing reliance on digital health solutions, AI-driven diagnostics, and remote patient monitoring, the risks associated with healthcare software and operations have never been higher.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Download a free ebook about risk assessment in healthcare' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'Implement Agile risk management practices with our ebook.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='ebook cover' />

But what is risk management in healthcare? And how can healthcare organizations implement effective risk strategies to mitigate risks while staying agile? This guide explores the risk management definition in healthcare, risk analysis, key principles, and real-world examples of how healthcare facilities can enhance patient care, ensure **safety and compliance**, regulatory compliance, and data security.

## What is risk management in healthcare?

At its core, risk management in healthcare refers to the process of identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks that could negatively impact patient care, healthcare providers, and organizations. **Enterprise risk management in healthcare** ensures that **risk management activities are conducted** systematically to prevent harm to patients, protect **recipients of healthcare**, and improve efficiency.

A well-structured enterprise **risk management model** includes **processes to identify risks**, analyze their impact, and implement **action plans** for mitigation. **Healthcare risk management** is essential for protecting **patients out of the hospital**, minimizing **hospital-acquired conditions**, and addressing **operational risks occur** in medical settings.

### Key elements of risk management healthcare organizations must consider:

* **Regulatory Compliance**: Adhering to ISO 31000, HIPAA, GDPR, and FDA requirements
* **Patient Safety**: Reducing medical errors, misdiagnoses, and adverse events
* **Cybersecurity**: Protecting electronic health records (EHRs) from data breaches. Implementing a **data backup system** and encryption protocols.
* **Operational Risks**: Addressing **lack of training**, staffing shortages, and **capital equipment costs and interest rates**.

## Why Risk Management is Important to Healthcare Facilities

In 2025, the **healthcare industry** faces evolving risks due to AI-powered diagnostics, telehealth, and IoT-connected devices. **Risk management is important** because it helps organizations prevent financial losses, ensure regulatory compliance, and support the **wellbeing of the workforce:**

* **Compliance is Getting Stricter**: Regulatory bodies are tightening rules around patient data security and AI decision-making in healthcare.
* **Cybersecurity Threats Are Rising**: Ransomware attacks on hospitals and healthcare software providers are increasing, putting patient data at risk. **Data backup system** implementations are also now essential due to increasing ransomware threats.
* **Patient Safety Remains a Top Priority**: Errors in digital health applications can directly impact clinical outcomes, making risk management in healthcare essential.

## Without a strong risk management plan, healthcare facilities could face:

* Legal penalties and fines for non-compliance.
* Data breaches leading to loss of sensitive patient information.
* Reputational damage that erodes patient trust.
* Financial losses due to operational inefficiencies and malpractice lawsuits.

Proactively implementing healthcare risk management strategies ensures facilities can prevent these risks and provide safer, more efficient care.

## Risk management strategies in healthcare

To understand how risk management healthcare strategies work in practice, let’s look at real-world examples:

1. ### Implementing a Risk Backlog for Patient Safety

**Challenge**: A hospital using an eHealth system noticed delays in updating drug distribution statuses prescription orders, leading to incorrect drug administration.

**Solution**: By creating a Risk Backlog, the [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/) team tracked the root cause, implemented real-time alerts for delayed prescriptions, and reduced medication errors.

2. ### Securing Healthcare Data Against Cyber Threats

**Challenge**: A telehealth platform experienced an attempted ransomware attack, risking patient records.

**Solution**: The company adopted ISO 31000:2018 guidelines, conducted regular penetration testing, and encrypted all patient data, preventing future attacks.

3. ### Agile Risk Management in AI-Driven Diagnostics

**Challenge**: An AI-based diagnostic tool had inconsistencies in detecting certain medical conditions.

**Solution**: Developers introduced Hazard Stories in the Agile backlog, ensuring each AI decision was verified for accuracy before deployment.

## Risk Management in Healthcare Examples: Understanding Risk Levels

Not all software carries the same level of risk. Some applications require extensive risk management, while others can function with minimal oversight.

### Low-Risk Apps (Risk assessment is usually less crucial)

Examples of low-risk apps include:

* Meditation apps.
* Hydration reminder apps.
* Habit tracking apps.

These apps do not handle sensitive patient data or impact critical healthcare decisions. A malfunction in these apps might cause annoyance or inconvenience, but it won’t lead to harmful consequences for recipients of healthcare.

For low-risk apps, basic security measures like data encryption, access control, and regular software updates are usually enough. However, developers should still follow best practices for secure coding and usability testing.

### Medium and High-Risk Apps (Managing risks is essential part of their development)

* Medium-risk apps involve patient health data and complex payments (e.g., telemedicine platforms, appointment scheduling software).
* High-risk apps include life-critical software, such as medical devices, AI-driven diagnostics, and surgical assistance tools.

For these applications, risk assessment must be integrated into Agile workflows, with continuous monitoring, regulatory compliance, and security testing.

**Risk management strategies** should align with the **organization’s risk culture**, ensuring **strategies can result** in improved compliance and efficiency.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Learn more about risk management in healthcare software' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'Implement Agile risk management practices with our ebook.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='ebook cover' />

## Final Thoughts: The Future of Risk Management in Healthcare

As healthcare continues to evolve in 2025 and beyond, integrated risk management will remain a critical factor in delivering safe, efficient, and compliant care. With AI-driven diagnostics, digital health platforms, and remote monitoring solutions becoming the norm, organizations must adapt risk management strategies to match the rapid pace of innovation.

As **healthcare is the practice** of improving patient outcomes, **integrated risk management** will be a cornerstone of the industry. The **practice of analyzing healthcare practices and processes** is critical to identifying and addressing **risks related** to digital transformation, cybersecurity, and regulatory shifts.

With rapid technological advancements, organizations must ensure **processes to identify risks** remain adaptive and robust. **Healthcare organization’s activities** should incorporate **risk management teams** to create structured **action plans**, allowing institutions to **prevent financial losses**, reduce **liability risks**, and **prevent losses and optimize profitability**.

By implementing **enterprise risk management models**, **risk management is important** to maintaining the **strategic value lies** in ensuring **organization’s risk appetite** aligns with long-term healthcare goals. Future healthcare systems will rely on proactive **ways to mitigate risks** while ensuring **similar compliance requirements** are met effectively.

## Risk Management in Healthcare [PDF]. Download Free Ebook

*Published: 2025-02-20 | Author: kasia | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthcare-risk-management-ebook/index.md*

**Ignoring risk doesn’t make it disappear—it only increases the chances of security breaches, compliance failures, and costly delays. That’s why I created "Risk Management in eHealth – The Agile Way", a free guide that helps healthcare software teams stay agile while maintaining safety and compliance.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get free ebook now' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'Must have ebook for healthcare software development leaders.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='ebook cover' />

## What You’ll Learn About Risk Management in Healthcare:

* How to integrate risk management into Agile development without slowing down.
* The essentials of ISO 31000:2018 and why it matters in healthcare software.
* How to use Hazard Stories and Risk Backlogs to identify and track risks.
* The difference between low, medium, and high-risk apps—and what each requires.
* Practical strategies to balance agility, compliance, and security in HealthTech.

## The author

**[Kasia Łukasiewicz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarzyna-lukasiewicz/), Ph.D.,**
Senior Project Manager at Bright Inventions

A business analyst, project manager, and Agile expert with over a decade of experiencein software consulting and mentoring. She holds a Ph.D. for developing AgileSafe, a method for integrating Agile practices into safety-critical software development. A lecturer at Gdańsk University of Technology and active contributor to the Agile community. 

## Guest authors

**[Aahuti Rai](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aahutirai/)**
Healthcare Innovation, NED & Advisor, Venture Partner & Connector

**[Adam Brown, MD MBA](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambrownmdmba/)**
Founder @ABIG Health

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get free ebook now' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'Must have ebook for healthcare software development leaders.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='ebook cover' />

## Breaking Barriers in Healthcare: Dr. Adam Brown on Interoperability and Business

*Published: 2025-02-19 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/adam-brown-on-healthcare-interoperability/index.md*

**[Dr. Adam Brown](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambrownmdmba/)**, an emergency physician and entrepreneur, shares insights on his journey from medicine to business, emphasizing the importance of [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/) and policy impact. In this interview, he discusses challenges in bridging the gap between clinical practice and business, the significance of [interoperability in e-health](/blog/interoperability-in-healthtech-experts-insights/), and the future of [AI in healthcare](/blog/the-impact-of-ai-on-healthcare-hype-vs-reality/). He also offers advice for startups entering the US market and highlights key trends in the industry.

## **Can you briefly introduce yourself and your current role?**

Sure. My name is Dr. Adam Brown. I'm a practicing physician, an emergency physician. And I wear a couple of different hats. I'm the founder of **[ABIG Health](https://www.abighealth.com/)**, which is a marketing and communications firm that works with healthcare companies in the US and abroad. I am also a chief medical officer of a company called Radiant Healthcare. In addition, I serve as a professor of practice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a visiting professor at ESCP, a business school in Paris and London.

<div className="image">![adam brown](/images/baner_final.png "adam brown at the HLTH conference")</div>

*source: Adam's LinkedIn page*

## **Okay, impressive. What are some of the most significant challenges you faced during your journey from physician to business founder?**

That's such a great question because it's hard for people to grasp that I would be a doctor and something else. They think that sometimes when I say I'm a physician, that's where their brain stops. And they only see me as seeing patients. **But what started happening is over time, I started getting more involved in the business aspect of healthcare because healthcare in the United States is 20% of our economy. And so you have to have people that understand healthcare and healthcare business.** And so I started proving that I understood business, operations, and strategy. The proof became the reality for people that, okay, Dr. Brown can be a physician but also a business person. It was a challenge. It took longer than expected. And still to this day, I have to continue to remind people that, yes, I'm a doctor, but I also have an MBA, and I'm a business school professor, not a medical school professor. So it's still a constant challenge.

## **OK, so how do you combine these two roles?**

The nice thing about emergency medicine is that you don't have patients that follow you every day. I can work a shift or two, leave and have weeks off, and then come back and work another shift or two. The specialty is conducive to being more part-time. **I recognized a few years ago that being part-time was really what would sustain me more than being full-time as a physician.** I used to work full-time, but it was tough, and I started getting burnt out. So, I started looking for other ways to fill my cup. The other thing is I recognized there were a lot of ways to take care of patients beyond the bedside, which is a noble thing to do. Addressing healthcare problems on a large scale takes pulling together stakeholders from business, government, and the community. If I were just confined to the bedside, I wouldn't be able to solve some of those problems.

## **That should be my next question. What's your mission?**

My mission is very simple. It's to impact the health of as many people as possible. While I'm in the emergency department, I may see 20 to 30 patients a day. But if I can help with a policy decision or work with a company impacting people's lives, then I'm now impacting lots of lives. For example, during the COVID pandemic, I was the National COVID Task Force Leader at my old company, doing television shows, radio interviews, and op-eds about how to protect people and keep them safe. **Being able to have that platform had the potential impact of millions. I wanted to take that experience and translate it into other forms of impact.**

## **It seems quite difficult. How do you stay motivated?**

Seeing success and the effort of your work. One of the things that drives me is seeing that the work I've done has had a positive impact. Whether it's hearing from someone who's read my op-eds or doctors who say, "That resonates with me," or talking with my former and current students who say, "Dr. Brown, that was an amazing class." **We have to remember that our jobs and roles as leaders likely have more impact on healthcare than physicians.** The environment we create, the system we build, the benefits we use at our place of employment, and the policies we advocate for have a real impact on people's day-in and day-out lives. Encouraging business leaders to think empathically and recognize the health connections in their policies is key. It's encouraging to see former students say, "I took your course, learned from it, and now we're implementing it at my job.”

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='want to know more about interoperability in healthtech?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Read more about Generative AI, blockchain, cloud computing or monitoring. All top technologies that elevate healthcare in one guide.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='undefined' />

## **Can you say something about the Research Triangle?**

Sure. In North Carolina, the Research Triangle is made up of three anchor universities: North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University. The area is surrounded by these strong universities with excellent talent, research capabilities, and funding, making it a hub of innovation in the United States and abroad, especially in biotech and pharmaceuticals. At UNC, we started the Center for the Business of Health, where I'm the co-lead. We bring together physicians, nurses, public health practitioners, pharmacy practitioners, and business students and professors to solve healthcare problems. **The ability to pull together different stakeholders from various industries with a common goal of improving health is a significant strength**. We're tackling issues like the price of innovation, the implications of price on the healthcare workforce, and the future of the healthcare workforce.

## **I saw that you often mention interoperability. Why is it crucial in the e-health sector?**

**Very simply, the ability for different systems to communicate has a profound impact on patients getting the right care.** One of the biggest challenges in the US is our disparate electronic healthcare systems (EHRs). Every hospital has a different system. Even though there are major EHR vendors with large market portions, communication between vendors can be challenging. This can lead to problems like patients getting the wrong medications or duplicative studies. Interoperability benefits patients by improving quality and reducing costs. However, some people have no operability at all—they lack access to digital platforms. There are huge disparities in healthcare in the US, often tied to education and financial ability, but there's also a digital component. Without broadband, phone, or computer access, integrating into healthcare systems is impossible.

<div className="image">![](/images/baner-adam.png "")</div>

## **What is your most important advice for a startup or scale-up owner entering the US market?**

First, understand the market. It sounds simple, but the buyers can be confusing. For example, some companies want to work with a healthcare system but need to be selling to a payer. Or they aim to work with physicians, not recognizing that about 80% of physician groups are employed by hospital systems or payers. Understanding the buyer and payer dynamics is crucial. The regulatory space is another challenge. Having FDA approval is not enough—you also need CMS and Medicaid approval to pay for your product or device. Without this, your product or service won't be implemented or used in the US.

<div className="image">![](/images/baner-adam-1-.png "")</div>

## **And what about your free time? Apart from skiing in Austria, I suppose.**

I work out every day. I'm a weightlifter and I also teach a spin class.

## **Spin class? So like SoulCycle?**

Spinning. Exactly. I teach one class a week.

## **Oh my God, a lot of different tasks!**

I'm very involved in politics as well. I work for political candidates as part of my impact efforts. I have a Great Dane, a big, massive 175-pound dog, who takes up a lot of my time. And I travel a lot too. The nice thing about digital platforms now, and what the pandemic has taught us, is that we can be more mobile in our meeting times. I've been able to have clients from all over the world and conduct meetings in different time zones. So that allows me to have time to cycle, teach spin classes, ski, and of course, continue being a doctor.

## **That's really impressive. Thank you for your time.**

Well, thank you, it was a pleasure.

## Snapshot testing styled-components with Vitest

*Published: 2025-02-14 | Author: bartosz | Tags: React, Vitest, styled-components, unit-testing*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/snapshot-testing-styled-components-with-vitest/index.md*

When testing styled-components in Vitest, you might find the following limitation - the snapshots include only hashed class names, hiding the actual styles.

When the styles change, the diff will show only a different hash value, without an indication of what actually changed. Moreover, these hashed class names are unstable and can change even when the component wasn't modified, simply because something else in the file has changed - for instance the position of the component in the file.

## Example of the issue

For instance, let's use this styled component:

```tsx
const Container = styled.div`
    background-color: red;
`
```

Vitest generates a snapshot that has no information about the style rules:

```jsx
exports[`Container > should match snapshot 1`] = `
<div>
  <div
    class="sc-KXCwU eyGbxi"
  />
</div>
`
```

When the styles change, you'll get the following error:

```jsx
- class="sc-KXCwU cThALf"
+ class="sc-KXCwU eyGbxi"
```

## How Jest solved this problem

The Jest community identified this issue and solved it with the `jest-styled-components` library. This library extends snapshots with the actual CSS rules. For example:

```jsx
exports[`Container > should match snapshot 1`] = `
.c0 {
  background-color: red;
}

<div>
  <div
    class="c0"
  />
</div>
`;
```

When something change, you'll see the details in the output. The tests are stable now and will not fail due to a different hash value.

```jsx
  - Expected  - 1
  + Received  + 1

    .c0 {
  -   background-color: red;
  +   background-color: blue;
    }
```

## Using Jest's serializer in Vitest

While I couldn't find a similar library for Vitest, I came with the idea of using the serializer from `jest-styled-components` in Vitest. This way, we may achieve the same result.

To use it, add `jest-styled-components` to the dev dependencies. Then, configure `expect` to use the serializer:

```typescript
import { expect } from "vitest"
import { styleSheetSerializer } from "jest-styled-components/serializer"

expect.addSnapshotSerializer(styleSheetSerializer)
```

## Where to add the configuration

There are two places where you can add this code:

1. In the test file, before the tests are run.
2. In the global setup for the tests. To do this, you need to create a `vitest.config.ts` file in the root of the project and configure it to run the setup file before tests:

```typescript
export default defineConfig({
  test: {
    setupFiles: './src/setupTests.ts',
  },
})
```

## Final snapshot output

Now, when you run the tests, the snapshot will contain the actual CSS rules:

```jsx
exports[`Container > should match snapshot 1`] = `
.c0 {
  background-color: red;
}

<div>
  <div
    class="c0"
  />
</div>
`;
```

This way, the tests are stable and will not fail due to a different hash value anymore.

## Building Solutions, Not Just Software: The Story of Maciek’s Career

*Published: 2025-02-13 | Author: maciej-s | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-solutions-not-software-career-story/index.md*

**Maciek is a software developer with over 20 years of experience, though his career beginnings couldn’t have been more unexpected. Discover how he landed his first job in IT, how he immerses himself in clients’ business domains, and how he challenges himself beyond work hours.**

<div className="image">![career story IT](/images/brightstorymaciejgrid.png "")</div>

## How do you recall your programming beginnings?

It was tough because I had to learn programming on the job. I graduated from Gdańsk University of Technology with a **degree in Electronics and Telecommunications**, so my studies weren’t directly related to software development.

It was a very stressful period for me, and I remember it as an **intense learning experience**. From the very beginning of my first job, I worked on systems that had to function reliably – I didn’t have a transition period where I could ease in with internal projects. There was no time for that. The team was small, and I had to quickly **catch up and contribute right away**.

## Why did you decide to become a software developer despite having a completely different educational background?

It was completely random. I wasn’t looking for a programming job – I was actually searching for something related to my studies. But one day, after leaving an office building where I had an interview, I ran into a friend who worked nearby. After finding out I was looking for work, **he encouraged me to apply at his company**. It turned out to be a programming job, and that’s how I got into software development **over 20 years ago**.

## You struck me as someone who enjoys diving into clients’ business domains. Why is that important to you?

Perhaps it’s because software development was never my original career path, and the technical side of it has never been my primary focus. **What truly fascinates me is understanding how different industries operate** – often even more than the technical implementation itself.

<div className="image">![Quote](/images/maciej_quote_tech_skills.png "")</div>

Why? Because I see it as our mission as programmers. **No matter how advanced my technical skills are, they’re useless unless they solve real problems**. Code needs to have a purpose. Crafting code isn’t the main priority; delivering value through my work is. It also has to be simple to read so that my team members can easily work with it as well.

**I’ve always been intrigued by the industries I’ve built software for** – how they function, how they use our tools, and whether our work truly makes their jobs easier. Do they actually need what we’re building? When you understand their domain, you can answer that difficult question.

## So, what are your methods for deeply understanding clients’ business domains?

When you show genuine interest in what people do, they naturally open up and share details with you. If your attitude is, “My job is just to write code, I’m not responsible for anything else,” then your knowledge sources will be very limited. But **if you listen and ask questions, people will naturally start sharing more and more insights**.

The key is to **seek contact and show curiosity – knowledge sharing will follow**. For me, it has always been natural to exchange knowledge, so I don’t follow a strict method. It all comes down to conversations; once you engage, the learning process happens organically.

If you’re passionate about something, you’ll find a way to learn more about it. Curiosity is the key – it all starts there.

<div className="image">![At the Bright Inventions team retreat.](/images/maciej_team_retreat.png "At the Bright Inventions team retreat.")</div>

<center> At the Bright Inventions team retreat. </center>

## I’ve heard from some colleagues that starting a software product from scratch has many benefits. What is your take on that?

I think I’m on the opposite side – I don’t find starting from scratch particularly appealing. At the beginning of a project, **there are so many possibilities and directions** to take that it can feel paralyzing. You’re unsure which technology to choose, and you need to go through a well-thought-out decision-making process. At the same time, you need a **high level of self-discipline to avoid getting lost in endless deliberations**.

<div className="image">![Quote](/images/maciek_quote_new_project.png "")</div>

There are so many “toys” on the market, and there’s always the temptation to try something new, but that can lead to poor outcomes. Naturally, when it comes to side projects, experimenting is fun and exciting. But when building a product for a client, **the real challenge is making crucial decisions without excessive delays**. Otherwise, there’s a risk of programmers getting caught up in endless debates about tech stacks while the client is still waiting for tangible results.

For me, it’s easier to join an existing project that already has a structure – where some architectural and stack decisions have been made. **They don’t have to be perfect**; what matters is that I can focus more on the business domain and less on the technical aspects.

## You are part of the team building a solution for the shipping industry. What are the challenges and specific aspects of building software for logistics?

What strikes me the most is finding the right **balance between strict rules and regulations and the flexibility** that this industry still requires within those constraints.

For example, a client might expect all transportation details to be entered before a driver starts the journey. However, in reality, there are cases where this isn’t possible, and our system must be flexible enough to accommodate missing information that will be provided later. This kind of flexibility isn’t easy to maintain within a rigid set of rules in the code. Yet, **the challenge is to design software that can handle both structured compliance requirements and the dynamic, ever-changing nature of logistics**.

<div className="image">![During one of the team running workouts.](/images/maciej_team.png "During one of the team running workouts.")</div>

<center> During one of the team running workouts.</center>

## As one of the top Bright runners, share with us your running goals for 2025.

This year, I am planning to participate in the **Backyard Ultra** for the first time. It’s a unique competition where all runners must complete a loop of nearly 7 km in under an hour – and then do it again, and again, **until only one person remains**. Essentially, it’s a race where you are mostly competing with yourself, and you never know how long it will last. The world record is over 100 loops! My personal goal is to complete at least 10 loops.

It’s a huge challenge because this type of race can go on for days, with very few supporters. Unlike traditional races where you feel the energy of the crowd, in Backyard Ultra, **you run day and night, often alone**. Mentally adjusting to these conditions is tough and very different from other races.

This race is also part of my preparation for **my ultimate goal in 2025 – running a 100 km mountain race**. Unlike Backyard Ultra, that will be a more traditional race with a defined start, finish line, and direct competition with others.

<div className="image">![After crossing the finish line Ultra Way in 2023. 💪](/images/maciej_finish_line.png "After crossing the finish line Ultra Way in 2023. 💪")</div>

<center> After crossing the finish line Ultra-way in 2023 💪 </center>

## Do you see any similarities between long-distance running and software development?

Oh yes! In both, so many things can happen – **you experience moments of euphoria when everything runs smoothly, and then there are tough crises**. But if you push through those difficult moments, you somehow find extra strength, just like your legs do in a long race.

I think it's **similar when working on a long-term project**. There are always dull periods, and that's when some people start looking for other projects. Not everyone wants to go through the boring or challenging phases. We often justify it by saying we need a change for self-development, and while that might be a rationalization, sometimes we’re simply **chasing the excitement of something new**.

I believe that if you push through these tough moments, something rewarding and exciting will eventually come – and with it, a deep sense of satisfaction.

## The Power of Intent: Why It Matters in Giving Feedback?

*Published: 2025-02-12 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, communication, feedback*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-power-of-intent-why-it-matters-in-giving-feedback/index.md*

Giving feedback is an essential part of any workplace, relationship, or learning process. However, **the intention behind the feedback can dramatically impact its effectiveness.** When feedback is given with a positive, caring intention, it becomes a tool for growth, connection, and improvement. Whether you are providing guidance to a colleague, a team member, or even a friend, **the purpose of feedback should always be to support and encourage, rather than criticize or punish.** While approaching feedback, our minds has to be focused on care, constructive growth, and building stronger relationships. By ensuring our intention is positive, we foster a culture of mutual respect.

## **why do we need a clear intention in feedback?** 

Effective communication, especially when giving feedback, is powered by the clarity of our intention. J**ust like a strong phone signal is essential for clear conversation, the intention behind our feedback says how well it resonates with others.** Many times, people assume they are communicating to connect and understand one another, but they might actually be doing so with different motives, such as:

* asserting their own views,
* educating or instructing,
* assigning blame,
* proving they are right.

While these motives aren't inherently wrong, they can hinder true connection, trust, and mutual understanding in feedback process. When feedback comes from such intentions, it often triggers defensiveness, resistance, or even aggression, instead of inspiring growth or motivating positive change.

**In any communication—especially in a feedback scenario—we bring our personal beliefs, experiences, and privileges. If these influences are used to impose one's own agenda without regard for the needs or perspective of the other person, it disrupts the balance of the relationship.** Rather than encouraging open dialogue or collaboration, this creates an environment where the other party may feel disempowered or disconnected. Clear and positive intention in feedback helps avoid these pitfalls, ensuring that the goal is not simply to be heard or validated, but to foster understanding and development. 

## **how to make your intention clear?**

**To make your intention clear in feedback, it is essential to express your positive intent openly and directly.** Often, people can misinterpret feedback because the tone, body language, or delivery doesn’t align with the intended message. **By openly acknowledging that your goal is to help, support, or improve the situation, you ensure that the person receiving the feedback understands that it is coming from a place of care and a desire for collaboration, not from judgment or criticism.**

**👉 Example:** *I want to share something that I think could help us work more efficiently together. My goal is to make our collaboration smoother and ensure we are both aligned in how we approach tasks.*

**👉 Example:** *I’m sharing this because I value working with you, and I’m here to support you. Please feel free to let me know if there’s anything you think I could do differently to make our teamwork even better.*

You can also (if applicable and true) start with some positive reinforcement to sets a constructive tone for the conversation. By recognizing what the person is doing well, you signal that the feedback is coming from a place of respect and appreciation, not criticism.

**👉 Example:** *I really appreciate the effort you’ve put into meeting the project deadline; it shows your true engagement. I’d like to chat about a small adjustment that might make the process even more efficient.*

The intention might be also expressed positively by engaging in an open dialogue. This fosters collaboration and ensures that you are interested in finding a mutual solution.

**👉 Example:** *I’ve been thinking about how we can improve communication during the project planning phase. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can work together to make sure everything gets aligned more effectively.*

To make your intention clear, be honest, transparent, and collaborative. **Being upfront about your desire to improve things not just for yourself but for everyone involved encourages the recipient to feel supported rather than criticized.**

## **intention in feedback based on NVC**

While talking about intention it is hard not to mention its role in NVC communication that plays a huge role in healthy feedback focused environments. The role of intention in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is crucial because it serves as the foundation for creating meaningful interactions. **Just like in feedback processing, in NVC  - communication is not just about the words we say, but also about the intention behind those words.** The primary aim is to foster connection and understanding rather than to persuade, judge, or demand.

**The intention behind communication in NVC is to understand and be understood in a way that respects both parties' needs, feelings, and values.** By focusing on the intention to connect and collaborate, NVC enables speakers to go beyond defensive exchanges and build trust. When you are clear about your intention to communicate with compassion, you are more likely to foster positive interactions.

**👉 Example:** Instead of saying, *You always interrupt me!* —which may communicate judgment or blame—an NVC approach guided by the intention of connection might sound like, *When I’m interrupted during our conversation, I feel frustrated and it makes it hard for me to fully express myself. I would like to hear more of your thoughts, and I wonder if we can take turns speaking to support each other.*

In the feedback process based on NVC, a primary intention is to truly understand someone’s feelings and needs while expressing your own. The intentions is to give feedback without judgment or rushing to solve the issue, listen to understand.

## **summary**

**Transparency in communicating your intention is not just about saying whatever comes to mind. The intention behind honesty is to communicate your feelings, needs, and desires openly, while being respectful of the other person’s perspective.** By being authentic, you reduce misunderstanding, ensuring that the feedback remains productive and clear. Feedback is a constructive and cooperative dialogue, the intention ensures that each party’s agency and autonomy are respected. The intention behind feedback should always be to increase mutual understanding and cooperation, not to win, argue, or compete.

By being intentional, we ensure our words and actions align with our deeper goal of creating positive, open relationships. When we clarify our intentions—whether it’s for empathy, understanding, or shared growth—it helps cultivate a space for genuine, healthy dialogue, where mutual needs are considered, and all parties can engage constructively.

## Eye on 'i' - Understanding 'i' as a Semantic Element

*Published: 2025-02-12 | Author: rafal-op | Tags: frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/understanding-i-as-semantic-element/index.md*

**[In one of my earlier articles](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/), I discussed a common misconception about HTML, focusing on the true purpose of the `<b>` tag. In this article, I’ll dive into another myth in the frontend development world, one that’s closely related to that previous discussion.**

<div className="image">![Understanding i as a Semantic Element](/images/blogpost_blog__i_tag.png "")</div>

## The myth surrounding 'i' and semantics

Similar to the misconceptions about the `<b>` tag, there’s also a common misunderstanding surrounding the `<i>` tag, which goes like this:

> *The ‘i’ tag isn’t semantic, it just applies italic styling to text.*

As with many myths, there’s a kernel of truth here. By default, the `<i>` tag does apply italic styling to the text it wraps. Historically, that was indeed its primary purpose. According to [HTML4 Specs](https://www.w3.org/TR/html401/present/graphics.html#edef-I), role of the `<i>` tag is specified as:

> Renders as italic text style.

and it is group under “Font style elements” (same as 'b' from one of the previous myths).

The `<i>` tag is often compared to `<em>`, which is regarded as "`<i>` with semantic meaning”. This comparison, while popular, isn’t entirely accurate.

## The truth of 'i's semantic role

Nowadays, the `<i>` tag has gained additional semantic meaning beyond its default styling behavior. According to the [current HTML specification](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/text-level-semantics.html#the-i-element), the `<i>` element represents text in an alternate voice or mood, or set apart to indicate a different quality, such as taxonomic names, technical terms, idioms, or transliterations. Here’s how the specification defines the `<i>` element:

> The `<i>` element represents a span of text in an alternate voice or mood, or otherwise offset from the normal prose in a manner indicating a different quality of text, such as a taxonomic designation, a technical term, an idiomatic phrase from another language, transliteration, a thought, or a ship name in Western texts.

In contrast, the `<em>` tag—which is also displayed as italicized text by default - [conveys stress or emphasis on the content](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/text-level-semantics.html#the-em-element), for example:\
`<p>Do it <em>now</em></p>`\
This indicates that "now" should be read with added emphasis.

## Impact on accessibility

Unfortunately, despite carrying semantic meaning, the `<i>` element is still treated as plain text by many [popular accessibility tools](https://www.tpgi.com/screen-readers-support-for-text-level-html-semantics/). For instance, while Chrome DevTools identifies the `<em>` element and labels it as "emphasis," it categorizes the `<i>` element as "static text," placing it in the same category as a standard `<p>` element or a `<b>` element.


<center>
<div className="image">![Difference between i and em tag in chrome dev tools](/images/i-tag-a11y.png "")</div>
</center>
## Summary

The `<i>` tag, originally used for italic styling, now carries semantic meaning in modern HTML, indicating text in an alternate voice or mood, such as technical terms or idioms. While it differs from the `<em>` tag, which denotes emphasis, accessibility tools still often treat `<i>` as regular text, limiting its semantic impact. Understanding this distinction is crucial for better web development and accessibility practices.

- - -

##### [](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/javascript-types-deobjectified/#take-a-look-at-our-earlier-blog-post-debunking-frontend-myths)Take a look at our earlier blog post debunking frontend myths:

1. [To 'b' or Not to 'b': The Semantic Status of HTML 'b' Tag](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/)
2. [Understanding the Hoisting Behavior of let and const](/blog/let-const-hoisting/)
3. [JavaScript Types De-Objectified](/blog/javascript-types-deobjectified/)

## Surviving in the Era of Negative Thinking

*Published: 2025-01-31 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, business psychology*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/surviving-in-the-era-of-negative-thinking/index.md*

In recent years, we have found ourselves navigating the era of extremes—swinging between intensely negative and relentlessly positive outlooks. On one side, we are overwhelmed by a constant stream of distressing news, business failures, and real-life challenges. On the other, our lives are flooded with curated images of success, glowing selfies, and uplifting quotes (I must admit I’m personally a big fan of the last one 😉).

Some researchers warn of what’s been called the **"tyranny of positive thinking"**. This refers to the expectation—or even demand—for people to always exude positivity, often at the expense of acknowledging or processing negative emotions. The pressure to maintain a perpetual optimism can lead to stress, internal conflict, and a suppressed ability to confront genuine feelings. In the long run, this forced positivity can hinder emotional authenticity and hinder personal growth.

While there are certainly times when positive thinking can do more harm than good, I remain a firm believer in its power to improve our lives—when used thoughtfully and balanced with a healthy dose of emotional honesty.

## **is defensive pessimism a bad thing?** 

With a term like "pessimism" at its core, it’s easy to assume defensive pessimism is all about gloomy predictions. But take a closer look, and you’ll find **it’s more than just dwelling on what could go wrong—[it’s a strategic mindset that can be surprisingly useful](https://www.inc.com/wanda-thibodeaux/how-defensive-pessimism-can-help-you-do-better-at-work-in-life-according-to-science.html).**

Defensive pessimism describes individuals who channel their anxiety or negative feelings into proactive planning. **Instead of being overwhelmed by worry, they envision worst-case scenarios in vivid detail and prepare solutions to tackle them.** This means brainstorming alternatives, considering potential obstacles, and taking preventative steps to minimize risks. You may tap into this approach unconsciously —like when you're nervous about forgetting an important report, so you pack it the night before or set reminders to avoid any last-minute chaos.

In the context of teamwork, defensive pessimism can be also beneficial. **Team members who use this mindset might anticipate potential challenges in a project, identify weak spots in the plan, and proactively propose solutions.** This not only enhances individual preparedness but also boosts the team's ability to adapt to unforeseen issues. Far from being paralyzing, this kind of intentional planning turns anxiety into a motivator.

Researchers have found that defensive pessimists can use their caution and concerns as fuel for better performance. By preparing thoroughly and staying ahead of potential pitfalls, they turn what might feel like a liability into a valuable asset—both in work and in team dynamics, ensuring smoother collaboration and minimizing disruptions.

## **stay afloat of negative news**

There is no shortage of negative news in our daily consumption, and we all know that overeating has never been anything good. The same applies to the constant intake of negativity—whether through social media or workplace conversations. It’s crucial to set boundaries to understand how negative thinking might impact our personal and professional lives. **While it’s important to be ready to listen, act, and help when someone truly needs support, engaging with every complaint or negative post on Facebook, Instagram, or other platforms isn't productive or healthy.**

Prevent your mind from staying in alert mode all the time. In the workplace, negativity can easily spread among team members, affecting morale and productivity. If you use social media, treat negative posts as red flags, a kind of warning. If you catch yourself in endless scrolling through critical comments, complaints, or negativity in your workplace chats or online—recognize how it impacts your mood, energy levels, and overall mindset. These are often reflections of someone feeling angry, disappointed, or frustrated, and they might be seeking attention or validation.

Engaging in or absorbing this negativity can cloud your judgment, weaken teamwork, and lead to burnout. Instead of shifting your focus away from tasks or objectives that are meaningful, don’t allow the emotions of anonymous individuals or toxic work conversations to derail you. **As [David J. Polly’s “Law of the Garbage Truck”](https://academictips.org/blogs/the-law-of-the-garbage-truck/) suggests, we can protect our professional lives by choosing not to absorb the anger, resentment, or frustrations of others.** In any workplace, it’s essential to avoid hostile or harmful dialogues that can damage your mental and physical health, as well as affect team collaboration and overall harmony.

## **practice gratitude selectively**

**Start counting your blessings in life—but don’t force yourself to feel grateful for everything.**

In the workplace, [gratitude can boost morale, increase motivation, and create a positive atmosphere](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/01/03/gratitude-is-good-why-its-important-and-how-to-cultivate-it/?sh=49fe180e2a0f) within teams. However, **it’s important that this gratitude is genuine—when it feels obligatory or insincere, it may create more pressure than positivity, even leading to feelings of guilt.** If you find it difficult to express gratitude, don’t pressure yourself. Start small: reflect on what good happened to you on a specific workday. Maybe it was a meaningful conversation with a colleague or a small task you accomplished. These little victories can help shift your focus to the positive, allowing you to notice the good things in your daily routine.

<div className="image">![gratitude](/images/gratitude.png "gratitude")</div>

###### Source: https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/

In the professional setting, it's especially important to recognize why and how gratitude can enhance not just your emotional wellbeing, but your performance as well. The research from Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology and expert in positive psychology, [reveals that gratitude contributes to both mental and physical health](https://grateful.org/resource/eight-ways/). **Expressing thanks at work—whether toward a colleague, manager, or team—can strengthen relationships, reduce stress, and foster a culture of collaboration.** Gratitude becomes a powerful tool in creating not just a more pleasant environment, but one that’s more productive and supportive, enhancing both [personal and professional growth](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15358593.2017.1293836).

## **treat mistakes as a good lesson to learn** 

Let us not fall into victimhood every time something does not follow according to our plan. There are many simple things happening every day in our life which are worth our appreciation. **Mistakes are inevitable—they're simply part of life. However, how we react to them can shape our growth and resilience.** Falling into a mindset of victimhood each time things don’t go as planned only intensifies feelings of helplessness.\
\
A study by Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychologist renowned for [her work on growth mindset, reveals that individuals who view mistakes as learning opportunities are more likely to improve their skills and adapt successfully.](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/dweck-growth-mindsets) Those with a fixed mindset, on the other hand, often see failures as evidence of their shortcomings, which can lead to frustration and a lack of motivation to try again. On a practical level, everyday life is filled with small events that can shift our perspective. **Perhaps a missed deadline leads to reevaluating priorities and creating better time management strategies. Or maybe a disagreement with a colleague fosters a deeper understanding of communication dynamics in your team.**

The key is finding the silver lining—not in an overly positive, dismissive way, but in an empowering one. **Instead of dwelling on what went wrong, ask: What can I learn from this? What could I do differently next time?** Mistakes then transform from roadblocks into stepping stones, shaping us into better problem solvers and more self-aware individuals.

## **let go of negative pearls of wisdom** 

In the vast world of online discourse, I frequently come across so-called "pearls of wisdom" that are anything but “inspiring” statements like “Don’t trust people,” “Your teammates aren’t your friends,” or “Recruiters are clueless.” Really? Every time I see such negativity, I can’t help but wonder - why do people feel the need to spread this? It's like perpetuating the same tired stereotypes and generalizations over and over again.

The truth is, every situation is unique. Each organization, team, boss, or colleague brings something different to the table. **Just because someone else had a negative experience and chose to vent online doesn’t mean their reality applies to yours. You might, in fact, be one of the many people who work in a healthy, supportive environment where teammates genuinely have each other’s backs and bosses are competent and fair.** And let me tell you—it’s not as rare as some corners of the internet might suggest.

I firmly believe in being mindful of the kind of content we let into our lives. The negativity some people broadcast can act as an anchor, dragging us down. Instead, surround yourself with voices that inspire, motivate, and offer thoughtful perspectives. Seek out those who show compassion, optimism, and resilience—not those consumed by their inner critic or hurt egos.

**A healthy, thriving work environment is not a unicorn. 🦄 It exists.** Let go of the cynicism and aim to build your own experience based on possibility and hope, not on someone else’s grudges. Focus on perspectives that uplift, not ones that limit your outlook.

## **positive thinking is like a muscle**

Say hello to our great companions—[dopamine, serotonin, and yes, even our less beloved but significant friend, cortisol.](https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/living-forward/202304/how-your-thinking-affects-your-brain-chemistry) When negativity creeps in, it’s essential to have strategies at hand to shift your mindset. Whether through a favourite activity or intentionally fostering a positive thought, the goal is to steer away from spiralling into negativity.

**Here’s the thing - positive thinking doesn’t come easily. It is like a muscle that needs consistent exercise.** It requires effort, new patterns, and a conscious shift in how you approach your thoughts. Don’t let one challenging situation dominate your mind and allow negative emotions to take root.

At the same time, it’s important to recognize that having negative thoughts is entirely normal. [From an evolutionary perspective, our ancestors’ survival depended on staying alert to threats and potential dangers.](https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/fight-or-flight-why-our-caveman-brains-keep-getting-confused) **The issue isn’t that we have negative thoughts—it’s that we often mistake them for absolute truth**

Learning to deal with intense negative emotions is a skill worth cultivating. Dr. Daniel Siegel offers a helpful technique called [“name it to tame it”](https://heartmindonline.org/resources/strong-emotions-name-it-to-tame-it) which is as simple as it is effective. When negative thoughts arise, naming them—calling out the story your mind is telling—can create distance and reduce their hold on you. This awareness enables you to step back and observe without being consumed.

So, the next time negativity strikes, remember that developing positive thinking takes practice, and your brain is always ready for a workout. 

<div className="image">![](/images/sorryforthedelayedresponse.png "positive thinking ")</div>

###### **Source:** https://www.instagram.com/lizandmollie/

## **summary**

Don’t get me wrong—venting our frustrations from time to time can be a healthy release, helping to lower stress and bring our concerns into the light. Bottling up emotions is rarely beneficial. However, it seems that some people use negative thinking and negative talking not as a momentary release but as a tool for gaining attention or validating their unhappiness. It’s as if they’re trying to say, “If I’m unhappy, everyone else should be too.”

**The world is undeniably full of challenges, setbacks, and traumas, and my intention isn’t to dismiss these realities. Instead, it’s about learning how to coexist with life’s difficulties without being constantly overwhelmed by negativity. Practicing positive thinking, much like exercising our bodies, builds resilience over time. Think of it as training a muscle—the more you use it, the stronger and more capable your mind becomes.**

In an age where negativity saturates social media and beyond, it’s all too easy to get caught in the cycle of despair. But don’t let that define your perspective. Instead, focus on fostering positivity and building mental strength. After all, your peace of mind is far more valuable than indulging in an endless stream of complaints.

So, can we survive the era of negativity while keeping our minds clear and strong? I believe we absolutely can—with intention, practice, and perspective. What about you? Do you see things through a darker lens or find the silver lining in tough situations? Is your glass half-empty or half-full? Where do you land on the spectrum?

## Do Patients Know Best? Insights from Mohammad Al-Ubaydli

*Published: 2025-01-31 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/revolutionizing-health-with-technology-insights-from-mohammad-al-ubaydli/index.md*

This interview took place during the last **[HLTH Conference Europe](https://europe.hlth.com/)**, where industry leaders gathered to discuss the future of [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/). In this conversation, Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, the CEO of a leading medical record software company - Patients Know Best - shares insights on their solution, the ethical considerations of digital health, and the inspiration behind their work. We also delve into the technical and regulatory challenges faced in this rapidly evolving field, as well as the exciting trends that are shaping the future of medtech and health tech.

## **Can you briefly introduce yourself and your solution?**

My name is [Mohammad Al-Ubaydli](https://www.linkedin.com/in/idiopathic/). Our solution helps people understand their health better, particularly when they're sick. They can check their test results, know what to do if they get sicker, and learn how to avoid getting sicker. It reduces the number of visits to the doctor because people know what to do at home by themselves.

<div className="image">![patients know best](/images/screenshot-2025-01-31-at-14.52.35.png "Patients Know Best")</div>

*source: https://patientsknowbest.com/*

## **How does your company ensure the ethical side of the solution?**

The first thing we do is ensure that the data and records are owned by the person. They ultimately decide when to share them. For instance, when you visit the doctor, the doctor gets the data automatically for your convenience. But it's your record, your information, and technically your property. We explain to our customers, who are healthcare providers, that this really works for everyone, including those who don't speak the first language.

## What inspired you to enter the digital health field?

Medical school inspired me. I saw chaotic systems, and I wanted to help people. When I went to medical school, I was exposed to numerous problems, and I realized I could make a difference by creating software to manage health information better.

## But do you miss being a doctor?

I do. It's a real privilege. Initially, I didn't want to be a doctor; I wanted to write software. But when I got into medical school, I really enjoyed being with patients. I ended up working for a year in a small town with few doctors, which was very rewarding.

## What drives your passion for this work, for being CEO of the largest medical record software?

Seeing how much it helps patients and doctors drives my passion. Many doctors discover us because patients bring their test results, and the doctors are impressed with the organization and accessibility. Patients adore it, and I receive many messages about how it has positively impacted their lives.

<div className="image">![MOHAMMAD'S STORY](/images/screenshot-2025-01-31-at-14.56.15.png "MOHAMMAD'S STORY")</div>

source: https://patientsknowbest.com/about/

## What technical challenges have you faced during your journey?

Many, but one major challenge is processing large amounts of data quickly and efficiently. We constantly have to modernize our technology to meet high-quality standards at a low price, especially since we migrated all our data to FHIR, an international standard.

## How old is the solution?

The company started in 2008. Last year, we rewrote the whole system to meet modern standards.

## What regulatory challenges have you faced?

Regulation is an ongoing challenge. We operate in multiple countries, and each has its own requirements. For newer companies, it can be especially tough. We help others behind the scenes because their job today is harder than ours was two years ago.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='want to know more about integrations in healthtech?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Read more about Generative AI, blockchain, cloud computing or monitoring. All top technologies that elevate healthcare in one guide.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover guide' />

## What is your most important advice for new startups?

Be prepared for slow and low decisions. Investors may push for faster development, but the public sector is very price-sensitive and demands high quality at low costs.

## Where do you get inspiration for your work? Do you have any favorite podcasts or news sites?

I like NPR in the US, especially a segment where a Guy Raz interviews founders and successful people. Their stories often start with struggles but end with success, which is inspiring.

## What do you do in your free time?

Free time is for family and children. During COVID, I learned how to bike again, so I bike a lot.

## What trends do you see in the industry of medtech and health tech?

Sensors excite me the most. For example, there's a company called POCDOC that does health checks with a single drop of blood. Companies are also using phone cameras to measure cholesterol levels through your skin, which is revolutionary.

## Thank you.

## Revolutionizing Patient Rehabilitation: An AI-Powered Path to Recovery

*Published: 2025-01-16 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/revolutionizing-rehabilitation-an-ai-powered-path-to-recovery/index.md*

**How is an innovative AI-driven solution revolutionizing patient rehabilitation by making it more accessible, efficient, and personalized? In this interview, [Silvia Raga](https://www.linkedin.com/in/silviaraga/) the CEO of DyCare shares insights into their groundbreaking digital rehabilitation platform, its impact on healthcare, and the challenges of bringing AI-powered solutions to market.** 

### Could you briefly introduce yourself and describe your solution?

At **[DyCare](https://www.linkedin.com/company/dycare/)**, we are reshaping the patient recovery path in rehabilitation with an AI-guided solution. We have developed Rehab, a digital rehabilitation platform for hospitals, insurance companies, and rehabilitation centers that delivers effective and personalized home rehabilitation. With our technology, professionals can design and prescribe personalized exercises using advanced monitoring tools. We utilize computer vision technology and artificial intelligence algorithms to ensure patients perform exercises correctly, monitoring their range of motion, speed, and other parameters to guarantee safety and effectiveness.

<div className="image">![Silvia Raga Dycare](/images/baner_silviahlth.png "Silvia Raga Dycare")</div>

### Do you use Bluetooth devices?

No, we only require the activation of the camera on a smartphone, PC, or tablet, combined with artificial intelligence.

### Is it a mobile app or a web app?

It’s a web app.

### How will it change people's lives?

With our solution, patients can perform safe rehabilitation anytime, anywhere, whenever they want, always supported by a professional. Professionals can remotely track patient progress, adjust routines, and monitor recovery in real time. This leads to better therapeutic outcomes, reduced recovery time, and added convenience for patients.

### Is it more accessible to people? Is it cheaper than visiting a clinic?

Yes, it is more accessible and can be cheaper. The payer depends on the model. We work primarily with the public sector in Spain and, in some cases, with insurance companies.

### Is it also a solution for individuals? Can I download the app from the app store?

Currently, no. Each time it’s used, a professional physiotherapist must assess the patient and set up their exercise program.

### Are you just in the Spanish market currently?

We are present in Spain, Italy, and South America.

### Are you planning to expand into other markets in Europe or the US?

Yes, we are analyzing these markets. After expanding in South America, we plan to enter the US market.

### What are the top technical challenges your company has faced?

The primary challenge is ensuring clinical validation, as our technology is classified as a medical device. This is crucial to what we do.

### What value does AI provide for your users?

AI, combined with computer vision, enables real-time feedback for patients. We refer to this as real-time intelligent detection of movement. AI solutions allow us to track progress and provide professionals with alerts and indicators to better manage patient care.

<div className="image">![dycare](/images/screenshot-2025-01-10-at-12.29.02.png "dycare")</div>

*source: https://www.dycare.com/en*

### What inspired you to develop this solution?

It stemmed from a personal experience. Following an ankle injury, I attended 10 physiotherapy sessions but saw little improvement. When I asked the physiotherapist why, there was no objective data to measure my progress. This lack of data inspired me and my co-founder to create a solution to fill that gap.

### What trends do you see in health tech, apart from AI?

AI is a key trend, but adoption is the next critical step. Lowering barriers to introducing these solutions is essential for achieving cost savings, increased productivity, and efficiency.

### What advice would you give to startups or scale-ups entering the Spanish market?

The Spanish market can be complex, with a strong emphasis on pilot studies. My advice is to ensure these are paid pilot studies, even if the amount is small. This demonstrates commitment and value, helping you move toward a contract after proving the results.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='want to know more about AI in healthtech?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Read more about Generative AI, blockchain, cloud computing or monitoring. All top technologies that elevate healthcare in one guide.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

### Are you planning to enter the Polish market?

It’s not currently a priority, but it’s an interesting market. We’ve received positive feedback from Poland, where many people seek therapy. While there are similar solutions, they tend to focus on fitness rather than medical care.

### Thank you for your time.

## 3 Books That Can Help You Build Bright Company Culture 

*Published: 2022-03-06 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, business, company culture*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3-books-that-can-help-you-build-bright-company-culture/index.md*

I have come across many books in my life that helped me grow, both personally and professionally. I believe that books are a great source of knowledge and truth, and they have a unique ability to change people’s view completely. The more we read the more aware we become how much wisdom we are still lacking in our experience. At least that is how it works in my case. 

Below I want to share my thoughts on three remarkable books that left a lasting impression on me. Each one carries a powerful and uplifting message, making them an excellent read for anyone passionate about shaping a strong and thriving company culture. These books explore the foundational elements of successful teams and offer practical advice on creating environments where people genuinely thrive.

What’s especially compelling about these publications is how they challenge conventional approaches to teamwork, highlighting the importance of feedback, trust, responsibility, and appreciation. They present actionable insights and fresh perspectives that can shift the way we think about team dynamics and workplace collaboration.

Whether you’re a leader looking to inspire your team, an HR professional seeking innovative ideas, or simply someone who wants to foster a more supportive and effective workplace, these books have something to offer. Dive in, and you may just find new ways to enhance your approach to building successful teams.

## **[Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility,](https://pattymccord.com/book/) Patty McCord**

Patty McCords wrote a book about creating the unique and high-performing culture based on her engagement at Netflix. I really enjoyed this read. The content is approachable and practical. As stated in the book, very few companies try new forms of leadership and probably that is why we can find the Netfilx culture inspiring and fresh with a people-centered approach where trust and responsibility play the main roles.

The special place is devoted to feedback where employees share information openly, broadly and deliberately. You provide open, helpful, timely feedback to your colleagues no matter what role you have in the organisation. **Patty McCord shows that strong teams learn faster and work better if they can make giving and receiving feedback less stressful and a more normal part of work life.** Feedback is a continuous part of how people in the team communicate and work with one another. It is a large topic in the book.

![](../../static/images/powerful_quote.png "")

Considering recruitment needs we have to hire people who can help us solve future problems and these who can support new people. That should be always our goal. You should be always looking for talents. **Being always on the lookout give you also an opportunity to really choose the people you need. What is more, we should not be afraid of saying goodbye to people who do not seem to fit the organisation culture and do not bring any business value.** Some people may say it is brutally honest vision, but at the same time it is very pragmatic and credible. Wise hiring is something every company should focus on. 

Be open and honest, run discussions based on the facts, get right person to do right job, and treat people as the grown-ups - that is how I can sum up the book. Simple, but frequently forgotten rules. 

And if you want to find out more about the Netflix culture, take a look [here.](https://jobs.netflix.com/culture) 

## **[Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity,](https://www.radicalcandor.com/the-book/) Kim Scott** 

Some people say that the best summary of this book will be “care personally + challenge directly” as the cover image suggests. ***Radical Candor* is about treating everyone in the workplace as a human being first-and-foremost.** Kim Scott presents a number of personal examples and practices that shows the environment in which individuals and business can achieve great results together. It is the volume about giving and receiving honest feedback. 

You must deliver feedback - both the praise and the criticism, so that it leaves no room for ambiguity or misinterpretation. **You are not doing anybody a favour by not telling them when they do bad work.** If anything, it's better to be direct and give them the feedback than to protected their feelings just to stay friends. Radical candor is all about managing a full-feedback approach. Very important point is to avoid the fundamental attribution error - we should always focus on what someone did rather than who they are. The former is something the person can fix. 

![](../../static/images/radical_candor_quote.png "")

Another key aspect of successful team Kim Scott mentions is the diversity. Your team cannot consist only of super-stars. We need **a healthy mix of different people**, but we should never forget about the highest performers in the end as it is too easy sometimes to focus too much on these employees who have a mediocre impact on your team’s success and need our support. Always remember about those who bring the most value to your organisation. And if you can see they start to perform worse, do not ignore it. 

This books is full of personal stories and anecdotes with a piece of good advice every aspiring manager may want to get. It is the book about the art of managing people and teams. It covers many aspects of day-to-day managing. 

## **[The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups,](http://danielcoyle.com/the-culture-code/) Daniel Coyle**

*The Culture Code* deciphers the secrets of highly successful groups like SEALS, Team Six, IDEO, San Antonio Spurs, Pixar, etc. According to Daniel Coyle you have to work 3 different skills to achieve the highest team performance. **You can see how the most successful team perceive obstacles, vulnerability and empathy.** Each chapter explores one skill at a time: building security, sharing vulnerability and establishing purpose. 

Coyle emphasises that a strong culture sets up an environment where a team can deal with uncomfortable truth-telling and be candid with each other. When people make themselves vulnerable by sharing information about themselves, they build connections and makes it possible for everyone on the team to contribute. Loyalty and high quality working cultures only emerge when team members feel safe.

![](../../static/images/culture_code_quote_coyle.png "")

But the book is not only about the team’s performance, it is also about the leader’s roles. T**he book shows how important is to question how your actions in everyday life impact the team you work with.** The richness of real-life stories and examples of amazing groups makes *The Culture Code* practical and at the same time inspiring. Honest and authentic leadership is required that listens and serves rather than talks and orders.

One may say the book is full of old ideas and topics - and that is true. But at the same time these topics are urgent and relevant as ever.

## **Three books, one idea behind** 

Although the examples in the books often draw from renowned companies like Google, Apple, Twitter, PIXAR, and other well-known Silicon Valley startups, the concepts and practices they discuss are universally applicable to most workplaces. **From my own experience, I’ve reached the same conclusion as the authors: the foundation of a successful team lies in fostering honest, trusting, and supportive relationships. These books focus on practical strategies to help you build that kind of culture within your team, no matter your organization’s size or industry.**

## Top Podcasts for 2025 from iOS Developer's Perspective

*Published: 2022-05-05 | Author: tomasz-l | Tags: programming, iOS, growth*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-ios-podcasts-from-ios-developer-perspective/index.md*

**Are you an iOS developer, or maybe a technology maniac with a bias for apple? Do you listen to podcasts (if not, then start 😉)? Here are my top picks for iOS and general tech related podcasts to listen to in 2025.**

![top iOS development podcasts](../../static/images/top-podcasts-from-ios-developer-perspective-cover.png)

## Best iOS development podcasts in 2025

Let me start with iOS focused ones. Those are high quality podcasts that vary in focus and topics from quite technical to totally informal.

* [ATP - Accidental Tech Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/accidental-tech-podcast/id617416468)

My favorite podcast in this list. Marco Arment, Casey Liss and John Siracusa make you feel at home. I find this podcast entertaining and it fits almost all circumstances you can find yourself in, from focused listening, to playing in the background while driving your car. But you will need to get on quite a journey, because ATP is typically longer than two hours ;

 Topic range is very broad, typically somehow touches on or at least originates from apple related news, but you never know when John starts to have beeping issues in his house

If you really love this podcast like me, you could support ATP by becoming a [member](https://atp.fm/join).

*ATP* is released weekly, with additional members only content released ~monthly.

* [Under the Radar](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/under-the-radar/id1055685246) 

Podcast hosted by two indie developers: Marco Arment and David Smith. It is ~never~ usually not longer than 30 minutes and in this period a variety of topics connected to independent dev life are covered. You can hear about challenges during bigger refactors, supporting large numbers of customers, marketing your own products and many more. If you ever thought about going indie and starting your own project or are just curious then this is a must have!

*Under the radar* is released bi-weekly.

* [Stacktrace](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/stacktrace/id1359435443) 

 Hosted by John Sundell and Gui Rambo it is an informal podcast about life and technology from their perspective. It is rather a casual podcast but loose personal topics are intertwined with deeper insights into apple development.

*Stacktrace* is released irregularly since 2024.

* [App Stories](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/appstories/id1227872143)

Lightweight podcast about Apple plaftorm apps scene hosted by Federico Viticci and John Voorhees. If you want to be up to date with which apps are hot and worth checking then this the podcast for you. It is on my lost not only because of noteworthy updates, and app discoveries but mainly due to stories and people behind those apps.

*App Stories* is released weekly.

* [Swift by Sundell](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/swift-by-sundell/id1267161825)

For quite some time this was only my first pick for podcast for iOS developer. It is not only top notch in terms of quality, topics and guests, but was also the first iOS podcast I started listening to. Beware however, John and his guests go quite deep into technical topics, so it requires some focus.

 I find John’s podcast very informative and motivational. You can always learn from it, at least that you still need to learn a lot about [iOS development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development). Unfortunately John stopped releasing new episodes starting 2023, however I still think this is great mine of information.

*Swift by Sundell* was released weekly till the end of 2022.

## Top tech podcasts in 2025

Of course you cannot live just on iOS podcasts, we need to have a richer diet in order to be healthy ;) This part is more about technology and business in a broader spectrum.

* [The Vergecast](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/the-vergecast/id430333725)

You have probably heard about The Verge and this is their flagship podcast. It is hosted by its Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel joined by Verge team members. They discuss tech news from the previous week in a light and very informal way. This will be the source of all the fresh stuff that happened in the tech industry, from new device releases to big court cases.

*The Vergecast* is released twice a week with additional mini-series appearing irregularly.

* [Decoder with Nilay Patel](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/decoder-with-nilay-patel/id1011668648)

Another production from The Verge. Nilay Patel talks about big ideas related to technology. Maybe listening to interviews with fat cats of the tech industry may sound boring but don’t get fooled by that. Every interview Nilay conducts is incredibly interesting and thoughtful. Tune in to get to know decision making frameworks and stories of various people in the tech industry.

*Decoder* episodes can be expected at least once a week.

* [Hard Fork](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hard-fork/id1528594034)

New York Times production hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton. It is a show about the future that’s already here. They cover all of the hot technological topics in a fun and casual way. Topics in *Hard Fork* are quite similar and often intersecting with *The Vergecast* so you can choose your fighter or listen to both.

*Hard Fork is released weekly*

* [Land of the Giants](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/land-of-the-giants/id1465767420) 

This one is a little bit different than others. It is produced by Vox and contains multiple seasons of mini series about tech giants. If you want to know the stories behind Apple or Netflix, then this is a very nice and convenient way to dive in. I totally encourage anyone in the tech industry to listen to those.

There are currently 10 seasons covering tech giants like: Amazon, Netflix, Google, Apple, Facebook, Tesla or Disney.

*Land of the Giants* episodes are released weekly for each of the seasons.

* [Indie Hackers](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/indie-hackers/id1206165808) 

Courtland Allen interviews Indie Hackers that got out of their comfort zones to start businesses and pursue dreams of independence. Is going Indie future of our industry? If yes, then better prepare soon. In those interviews you will hear about businesses of various sizes and origins. For example that it is possible to start very profitable tech business that revolves around… delivering cookies 😄

Mid 2022 Indie Hackers changed their format and Courtland is now joined by new host: his twin brother Channing.

*Indie Hackers* was released weekly till mid of 2023.

Do you have other tech podcasts that you love? Please share with me too!

## The Impact of AI on Healthcare: Hype vs. Reality

*Published: 2025-01-10 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech, AI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-impact-of-ai-on-healthcare-hype-vs-reality/index.md*

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has generated significant buzz in [healthcare software services](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/), named as a game-changer for diagnostics, treatment, and patient management. Insights gathered at **[the HLTH Europe conference](https://europe.hlth.com/)** reveal a new perspective: while AI's potential is immense, its readiness and ethical implications remain a matter of debate.

## **AI's Potential in Healthcare**

AI’s ability to process large datasets offers promising advancements in diagnostics, personalized treatments, and patient engagement.**[ Dr. Adam Brown](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambrownmdmba/)** emphasized the potential of AI in "**workforce enablement, reducing workload, and addressing back-office complexities.**" Similarly, Dr. **[Claudia Pastides](https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiapastides/)** of **[Flo Health](https://flo.health/)** highlighted the role of AI in providing medically accurate, personalized insights to millions, particularly in underrepresented areas like women’s health.

AI-driven tools are reshaping patient experiences, from guiding nutritional prescriptions, as **[Michal Kahan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michal-kahan-a4735559/)** [described](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/nutrition-solution-anydish/#how-does-it-work), to facilitating remote rehabilitation through computer vision, as explained by **[Silvia Raga](https://www.linkedin.com/in/silviaraga/)** of **[DyCare.](https://www.dycare.com/en)**

<div className="image">![AI rehbilitation](/images/baner_silviahlth.png "Silvia Raga ")</div>

## **Challenges: Data Security and Ethical Concerns**

Despite its promise, AI adoption in healthcare is not without challenges. Concerns around data security and accessibility loom large. As [Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli](https://www.linkedin.com/in/idiopathic/) noted, "**data must ultimately belong to the individual**," stressing the need for secure, patient-centric models. **[Michel Valstar](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-valstar-692b345/)** echoed similar sentiments, explaining that ethical implementation is critical, particularly in sensitive areas like mental health, **"I think that generative AI, large language models are not good enough yet to independently provide this. But as a tool, as a co-pilot tool to steer, to help human therapists, I think its a fantastic tool."**

The disparity in AI accessibility also raises alarms. **[Dr. Brown](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambrownmdmba/)** pointed out that "**struggling hospitals may continue relying on human capital while wealthier ones move forward with innovative AI solutions,**" highlighting the risk of a fragmented healthcare system.

## **Real-World Applications and Success Stories**

Numerous successful applications of AI in healthcare were showcased at the conference:

* **Diagnostics and Prevention**: **[Smarter Diagnostics](https://www.smarterdiagnostics.com/)** uses AI to detect early symptoms of orthopedic issues, promoting preventive care.

  <div className="image">![smarter diagnostics](/images/screenshot-2025-01-10-at-12.27.03.png "")</div>

  *source: https://www.smarterdiagnostics.com/*
* **Rehabilitation**: **[DyCare’s](https://www.dycare.com/en)** AI-driven platform enables remote rehabilitation with real-time monitoring, providing both accessibility and efficiency.

  <div className="image">![DyCare](/images/screenshot-2025-01-10-at-12.29.02.png "")</div>

  *source: https://www.dycare.com/en*
* **Mental Health**: **[Blueskeye AI](https://www.blueskeye.com/)** focuses on creating medically relevant face and voice analysis technologies designed to improve the future for as many people as possible. Their technologies are capable of analyzing facial muscle actions and face patterns, linking them to medical conditions such as depression or anxiety.

  <div className="image">![blueskeyeAI](/images/screenshot-2025-01-10-at-12.25.55.png "")</div>

  *source: https://www.blueskeye.com/*
* **Nutrition**: **[Anydish](https://www.anydish.me/)** uses AI to analyze online recipes, index them by nutritional values, and enable health practitioners to create personalized nutritional plans. Patients access tailored recipes via the app.

  <div className="image">![anydish](/images/screenshot-2024-10-11-at-13.27.46.png "")</div>

  *source: https://www.anydish.me/*

These examples underscore the transformative potential of AI when combined with ethical practices and human oversight.

## **A Future Full of Promise—and Caution**

The healthcare industry is increasingly embracing AI, with trends pointing toward its integration in diagnostics and patient management. However, the sentiment at **HLTH Europe** was mixed, reflecting both optimism and caution. As **[Michel Valstar](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-valstar-692b345/)** summarized, "**Generative AI can be a fantastic tool for assisting human therapists, but it’s not ready to operate independently."**

The road ahead for AI in healthcare involves striking a balance—leveraging its strengths while addressing its limitations. With careful implementation, AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, making it more efficient, equitable, and personalized.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='want to know more about AI in healthtech?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Read more about Generative AI, blockchain, cloud computing or monitoring. All top technologies that elevate healthcare in one guide.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='healthtech guide' />

### Conclusion

AI is not a panacea, but when used responsibly, it can bridge critical gaps in healthcare delivery. As the **HLTH Europe conference** demonstrated, the focus must remain on collaboration between technology, professionals, and ethical frameworks to ensure AI’s impact is both meaningful and sustainable.

**AI in healthcare is no longer a question of "if" but "how"—how to implement it thoughtfully, ethically, and effectively.**

## From Hamlet to Software: Jarek’s Journey to DevOps Engineering

*Published: 2025-01-08 | Author: jarek | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/career-journey-to-devops-engineering/index.md*

**One day, Jarek decided to become an actor. Discover how his dream clashed with reality and how software development became his safety net. Learn about the one decision he regrets, what excites him about DevOps, and how learning to play the guitar reminds him of programming.**

<div className="image">![DevOps Engineer career story](/images/brightstoryjarekgrid.png "DevOps Engineer career story")</div>

## I heard that you studied acting. Is that true?

It’s partially true.  I attended acting classes for a year conducted by a professional actress, and then I **tried to get into an acting college in Poland.** I managed to pass the first stage at the school in Cracow, but that was as far as I got. You know, there were 1,600 applicants for just  20 spots – the competition was definitely high.

## Have you always had a plan to become an actor?

Actually, no. I was studying computer science at Wroclaw University of Technology, and during my third year, this thought popped into my head: **maybe I should try to become an actor**. I gave it a shot, but it didn’t work out for me. **I returned to computers, actually feeling happy and relieved**.

That said, I recommend studying acting. During my classes, there was a **strong focus on psychology, empathy, and understanding what people go through every day**. However, the profession itself is extremely demanding. Like every aspiring actor, **I tried performing Hamlet. After just a week of immersing myself in the role, I started to resent women**, which is far from my usual emotions toward them. The role consumed me too much.

I know we often think of actors as wealthy, successful people, but the reality is quite different. Most actors have low-paying, highly demanding jobs in theatres if they’re lucky.

## So you came back to college?

I didn’t finish my studies because I was pursuing acting. I regret that now, but at the time, I felt this pressure to completely focus on acting. **All I kept hearing was that at 22, I was already too old, too "molded" to start in this profession**. If I could go back to those times, I’d tell myself: **“Hey, idiot, finish college first and then pursue this dream”**.

## Nevertheless, you ended up in software development. How did that happen?

Since I was 18, I worked at a bank between my college semesters. That’s how **I landed a job as a company IT specialist, and it marked my first steps into the corporate world**. It gave me a lot of valuable experience – I learned how to collaborate with accountants, consultants, and other departments. **After I let go of my dream of acting, I was welcomed back there**.

Later, I worked at another corporation in a shift-based job focused on backups. It was tough and not very exciting because no one expected us to solve anything; **it was just a ticket-driven job**. Then I moved to another corporation to work as an application administrator. Most of the tasks there were manual, and we couldn’t automate them. To be honest, **I’m a rather lazy person, and I don’t like repetitive work unless it’s absolutely necessary**.

<div className="image">![quote on programming](/images/jarek_quote_programming.png "quote on programming")</div>

That’s when I thought, "This might be it." I had learned some basics in college, had some experience, and really loved automation, so I decided to give DevOps a try. **I don’t think I have the patience to write code all day, but I enjoy scripting** – that’s enough for me. Sometimes, it allows me to escape the abstraction and focus on a screen with white numbers, which has helped me build patience. **When I was younger, I definitely wasn’t ready to become a programmer, but now, as a DevOps Engineer, I’m learning more and more in this field**.

I got my first job as a DevOps engineer in a team that lacked sufficient know-how. It was hard to learn from others there. While you can learn a lot on your own, **no certificate or course can replace mentoring from an experienced colleague**. That was what I lacked in that role, but eventually, I found it here at Bright Inventions.

<div className="image">![quote on mentoring](/images/jarek_quote_mentoring.png "quote on mentoring")</div>

## With your corporate experience, how do you find yourself at Bright Inventions?

It’s great! **I really admire the pace at which things are managed here**. For example, I wanted to share information about a charity fund with the whole team, so I asked Ula if that was possible. She gave me approval in just two minutes. In the corporate world, I probably wouldn’t have received approval until after the fund’s deadline had passed.

In terms of the technical aspect of my work, **the number of great experts here is truly impressive**. For me, as a relatively inexperienced DevOps specialist, it feels like being promoted to the top league. **I’m surrounded by people I can always approach to discuss technical matters, get another opinion, and receive valuable suggestions**.

I also must say that the team retreats at Bright Inventions are the best I’ve ever experienced!

<div className="image">![team retreat](/images/jarek_team_retreat.png "Jarek celebrating with the winning team during a laser tag tournament at Bright Inventions’ retreat.")</div>

<center>Jarek celebrating with the winning team during a laser tag tournament at Bright Inventions’ retreat.</center>

## What were your biggest challenges as a DevOps Engineer?

One of the challenges is **the need to constantly switch between technologies**. For example, do you need to know SQL as a DevOps engineer? Not usually – until you suddenly have to know everything about it! In this profession, **you have to quickly catch up on new technologies to effectively communicate with the people who use them daily**.

<div className="image">![quote on new technologies](/images/jarek_quote_new_technologies.png "quote on new technologies")</div>

As long as you don’t rest on your laurels or focus solely on maintenance, you’ll encounter plenty of challenges. **Adjusting to different conditions and learning new skills keeps the role exciting** for me.

## I know you play guitar. How’s that going?

Guitar has always felt like a kind of fate for me. **Back in college, a friend played and gave me a guitar to try out**. I felt really good about it at the beginning and wanted to see how far I could take it.

<div className="image">![At Madame Tussauds.](/images/jarek_guitar.png "At Madame Tussauds with Jimi Hendrix.")</div>

<center> At Madame Tussauds with Jimi Hendrix. 😉 </center>

Recently, though, **I realized I’d been learning the wrong way for years. I wasn’t really playing – I was just reproducing songs**, without any understanding of what was happening underneath. Eventually, I hit a wall with songs that required more technical skills. I didn’t have any theoretical music knowledge, so now I’m trying to catch up, and I’m already starting to see results.

I’d say that the basics are crucial – perhaps even the most important part. **Only when you have a strong foundation can you truly understand more advanced concepts. It’s similar to software development**, really. It’s also like learning a Spanish poem by heart – you might be able to recite it fluently, but that doesn’t mean you actually speak Spanish.

## 10 Point-of-Sale Trends for 2025

*Published: 2025-01-07 | Author: szymon-g | Tags: business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/point-of-sale-trends/index.md*

**From empowering customers in the checkout process to providing managers with tools to manage multiple devices, and even reducing the number of devices cluttering kitchens, hotels, and stores. Learn top technological pos system trends shaping the future of point-of-sale systems in hospitality and retail.**

<div className="image">![POS trends 2025](/images/pos_development_trends_blog_cover.png "POS trends 2025")</div>

## Contents (POS software trends):

[The continuous rise of QR code ordering as a response to restaurant staff shortages](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#the-continuous-rise-of-qr-code-ordering-as-a-response-to-restaurant-staff-shortages)

[Bill splitting in clients' hands during payment](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#bill-splitting-in-clients-hands-during-payment)

[Changing waitstaff and kitchen communication with the POS Kitchen Display System](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#changing-waitstaff-and-kitchen-communication-with-the-pos-kitchen-display-system)

[POS Hardware decluttering of restaurant, retail, and hotel counters](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#pos-hardware-decluttering-of-restaurant-retail-and-hotel-counters)

[Managing devices integrated with POS using MDM (Mobile Device Management)](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#managing-devices-integrated-with-pos-using-mdm-mobile-device-management)

[Adding work management features to the POS system](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#adding-work-management-features-to-the-pos-system)

[AI-powered POS: Using AI for analytics and inventory](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#ai-powered-pos-using-ai-for-analytics-and-inventory)

[Personalized coupon marketing based on POS system data](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#personalized-coupon-marketing-based-on-pos-system-data)

[Scan & go with your device](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#scan--go-with-your-device)

[The continuous rise of cloud-based Point of Sale systems](/blog/point-of-sale-trends/#the-continuous-rise-of-cloud-based-point-of-sale-systems)

## The continuous rise of QR code ordering as a response to restaurant staff shortages

QR codes became popular in restaurants during the pandemic, initially serving primarily to present menus in a digital format. Years have come by and in 2024 many [restaurants still mostly use it to display the menu](https://www.uniqode.com/blog/qr-code-insights/restaurant-qr-code-usage-study). 

Looking ahead, 2025 might mark a significant shift as the **hospitality industry begins to** **explore the broader potential of QR codes**. One notable application is **self-ordering**. Customers can scan a QR code with their mobile device, leading them to a mobile-friendly website where they can place orders.

However, **QR codes shouldn’t completely replace staff interaction**. Customers still value a personalized touch and may expect to discuss their orders with waitstaff rather than being greeted solely by a QR code on the table.

A [survey by investment bank William Blair](https://digitalcxo.com/article/consumers-tired-of-ordering-food-with-qr-codes/) highlights mixed opinions on QR code ordering. Over half of respondents indicated they enjoy using QR codes for ordering and payment at dining establishments:

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>However, a significant portion of respondents (47%) expressed discomfort when it comes to using QR codes for tasks like accessing, ordering and making payments.</div><footer></footer></blockquote>

Older users, in particular, are less receptive to the technology. The survey found that 65% of individuals over the age of 60 reported discomfort with QR codes.

## Bill splitting in clients' hands during payment

It's been a POS trend growing up for years, widely seen also in 2024. Yet there is still a potential for bill split to grow. And we're not talking about separate mobile app enabling diners to share the bill, POS solution vendors should incorporate this option into their POS system.

Therefore, in addition to QR code ordering, **restaurants can offer customers the ability to split their bills independently**. For instance, customers can scan a dedicated QR code to access their bill and divide costs among themselves. The split information is then sent directly to the POS system, enabling waitstaff to finalize mobile payment without manual calculations.

This feature (and one of the key sales trends) simplifies bill splitting, significantly reducing the workload on already busy staff. Customers have full control over how they want to divide the bill, while the POS system handles the calculations, ensuring accurate amounts. **The waitstaff’s role is streamlined to simply collecting the split payments**.

## Changing waitstaff and kitchen communication with the POS Kitchen Display System

Imagine a POS software centered around a **screen in the kitchen that instantly displays a new order** as soon as it's processed by the waitstaff, accompanied by a clear sound signal to notify busy kitchen staff. With just a swipe, kitchen staff can adjust the order or update its status, for example, from "In Preparation" to "Ready to Serve." This is the technology that should be a part of any advanced POS.

Although this technology isn't new, many restaurants still rely on a traditional POS with printed kitchen receipts. **KDS doesn't have to fully replace these receipts**; in fact, they can still be invaluable in certain situations. For example, when the kitchen prepares multiple similar orders for different tables, printed kitchen receipts can still accompany the dishes, helping waitstaff quickly identify and deliver the correct meals.

Get inspired by the global POS system that implemented the [Kitchen Display System](/projects/kitchen-display-system/) as one of its features.

## POS Hardware decluttering of restaurant, retail, and hotel counters

The fact that modern point-of-sale software is connected to many devices is both a benefit and a challenge. For example, **taking care of multiple devices provided by different food delivery parties brings more responsibility to already busy waitstaff**.

Building a custom point of sale allows all orders, whether from in-house dining, phone orders, delivery apps, or a white-label application, to be transferred into a single POS system. This means **waitstaff can view and manage all orders on one device**, aligning with the growing trend in POS implementation aimed at eliminating the unnecessary POS devices often provided by third-party systems such as Just Eat, Uber Eats or Deliveroo.

Check the example of [POS and food delivery apps integration](/projects/pos-third-party-delivery/) which helped eliminate device declutter in restaurants.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Struggling to understand your POS users?' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Meet Jennifer—the frontline staff persona crafted from 13+ years of POS experience.'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='user persona cover' />

## Managing devices integrated with POS using MDM (Mobile Device Management)

Even if all food delivery orders are synced to a single device (especially in mobile POS systems), businesses still face the challenge of managing multiple hardware components, from tablets, terminals and printers to kiosks and even electronic scales in some cases.

2025 should be the year to simplify device management and therefore smooth business operations. One solution is for POS vendors to **develop custom MDM platforms**. These allow managers to ensure mobile [POS devices](/blog/what-are-point-of-sale-devices/) are running the latest software, maintain secure connections, and even block unauthorized websites. 

MDM protects devices from threats, streamlines updates and configurations, and ensures devices are used strictly for their intended purposes, making business operations more efficient and secure for small businesses and enterprises.

## Adding work management features to the POS system

While it might seem like a simple to-do list, this tool is designed to help manage the busy tasks of waitstaff more effectively. **Modern POS systems should empower managers to create and assign critical tasks to specific employees**. 

For example, scheduling routine duties like cleaning fridge number 2 every Monday, ordering new packaging every Friday, or simple daily checks such as ensuring the bathrooms are clean every hour. **These tasks should be visible on waitstaff mobile devices**, allowing them to quickly mark tasks as completed. This keeps managers informed about progress in real-time.

<div className="image">![restaurant mobile devices](/images/restaurant_phone.jpg "restaurant mobile devices")</div>

## AI-powered POS: Using AI for analytics and inventory

With artificial intelligence in [custom POS software development](/our-areas/pos-software-development/), restaurants can **track customer preferences, predict demand, and optimize stock levels to reduce waste**. AI-powered analytics allow businesses to make **data-driven decisions about menu offerings, pricing, and loyalty programs** improving overall efficiency and customer experience. In inventory management, AI-driven POS systems help **monitor stock in real-time**, quickly informing about the need for ingredients reorder.

## Personalized coupon marketing based on POS system data

By leveraging POS data linked to loyalty programs, **businesses can offer truly customized receipts**. These programs, which often connect a customer’s shopping history to their phone number or account, allow for personalized offers tailored to the customer’s preferences. For example, **using POS data analytics, you can present targeted discounts on items a customer is likely to purchase at the optimal time**.

The key lies in delivering the right message at the right time. Similarly, **loyalty apps can go beyond offering general discounts** to present personalized deals that resonate with individual shoppers, thereby enhancing engagement and driving repeat purchases.

## Scan & go with your device

Self-checkout kiosks have been one of the latest POS trends, growing for several years. According to [RBR Data Services](https://datos-insights.com/press-release/global-demand-for-self-ordering-kiosks-continues-to-soar/), **nearly 700,000 kiosks are expected to be installed worldwide by 2028**. McDonald's alone has already deployed more than 130,000 units.

The trend continues to evolve, with **self-checkout systems becoming increasingly independent**. The latest innovation might even remove the need for dedicated self-checkout kiosks in stores or restaurants. Instead, customers can now use their own mobile devices to scan items and complete payments directly.

Take [MishiPay](https://mishipay.com/) as an example – a company that might change the retail industry by developing **self-checkout solutions that are accessible directly on users' mobile devices**.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cRLhlt3GlKI' />

## The continuous rise of cloud-based Point of Sale systems

While on-premise systems continue to dominate the restaurant POS market, cloud-based systems are the fastest-growing segment, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of [9.2% through 2030](https://www.b2breviews.com/pos-statistics/). The global cloud POS market is expected to exceed $30 billion by 2031, reflecting nearly 25% growth since 2022.

For POS vendors yet to offer cloud functionality, **migrating to the cloud should be a top priority in 2025**.

Get inspired by a revamping story of a 30-year old [legacy restaurant POS](/projects/pos-legacy/).

## Which POS technology trends will change the restaurant industry, hospitality and retail?

2025 is expected to provide some clarity about the POS industry. Will cloud-based POS systems dominate the majority of the market? These systems offer unparalleled flexibility, allowing businesses to adapt quickly to changing market demands and customer expectations. 

Will mobile payment systems become even faster and more user-friendly, incorporating features like self-bill-splitting? **We can't wait to see all of these POS software trends in action**!

## Unlock Growth: Free Guide to Scaling a Healthcare Company [PDF Inside]

*Published: 2024-02-27 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/scaling-healthcare-software-solution-guide/index.md*

**The coming years, or even months, will be critical for healthcare startups & SMEs to carve out their path to successful scalability. Download our free guide, where we've compiled market reports, case studies, expert insights, tech trends, and more. Almost 100 pages for you!**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='download the free guide now' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'If you are a product owner, head of product, or CTO this might be a must-have guide for you. Explore the scalability challenges that your startup or SME might face.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='HealthTech guide cover' />

## What’s inside the guide for healthcare companies?

Check the table of contents of the “Scale Your HealthTech Solution Successfully” guide:

* HealthTech in post-recovery phase,
* examples of HealthTech sectors to watch,
* tech that drives scaling,
* the power of data in HealthTech,
* securing medical data when using LLM models,
* the power of pivot,
* coming back to your persona.

Claim your copy now!

## How to Build MVP for Smart Packaging Solution in 2025

*Published: 2023-05-09 | Author: mateusz | Tags: business perspective, development, startup*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/index.md*

**Do you plan to enter the smart packaging industry with your solution? With such a fast-developing industry time-to-market is the key. The best way is to build and launch MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and start gathering first users' feedback. What problems could smart packaging solve? What are MVP development stages? What tech should you implement in your MVP? Dive in!**

<div className="image">![smart packaging MVP](../../static/images/smart_packaging_blog_cover.png "undefined")</div>

- - -

## Table of contents

[Smart packaging definition and market size](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/#smart-packaging-definition-and-market-size)

[Why you should build MVP for Smart Packaging](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/#why-you-should-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging)

[Top benefits of building an MVP for a smart packaging startup](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/#top-benefits-of-building-an-mvp-for-a-smart-packaging-startup)

[Problems that smart packaging MVP can offer solutions for](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/#problems-that-smart-packaging-mvp-can-offer-solutions-for)

[Examples of smart packaging solutions on the market](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/#examples-of-smart-packaging-solutions-on-the-market)

[MVP development stages for a smart packaging solution](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/#mvp-development-stages-for-a-smart-packaging-solution)

[Examples of technologies to implement in a smart packaging product](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/#examples-of-technologies-to-implement-in-a-smart-packaging-product)

[What stack to use for smart packaging solution in 2025?](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/#what-stack-to-use-for-smart-packaging-solution-in-2025)

- - -

## Smart packaging definition and market size

**Smart packaging refers to packaging that is designed with advanced technologies** to provide additional features such as information, monitoring, and security. 

According to [Acumen Research and Consulting](https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/02/22/2612787/0/en/Active-Smart-and-Intelligent-Packaging-Market-Size-Growing-at-8-3-CAGR-Set-to-Reach-USD-29-4-Billion-By-2032.html#:~:text=The%20Global%20Active%2C%20Smart%20And%20Intelligent%20Packaging%20Market%20Size%20in,at%20a%20CAGR%20of%208.3%25), **The Global Smart Packaging Market Size in 2022 stood at USD 12.2 Billion and is set to reach USD 29.4 Billion by 2032**.

<div className="image">![The Global Smart Packaging Market Size](../../static/images/globe-image-global-active-smart-and-intelligent-packaging-ma.png "The Global Smart Packaging Market Size")</div>

**To provide a comparison, one market that has a similar size to the projected smart packaging market size is the global digital signage market**. According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global digital signage market size was estimated at USD 16.3 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 27.8 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 11.2% during the forecast period.

## Why you should build MVP for Smart Packaging

When building an innovation you can never be sure if it adopts in the market. That’s why it is better to build a low-cost and fast MVP to minimize the risk of an unsuccessful investment.

<div className="important-info"><div>An MVP, short for a Minimum Viable Product, is a software product that includes only the essential features necessary for launching and obtaining initial feedback from early adopters. It serves as a starting point for further development based on the insights gained from early users.</div></div>

## Top benefits of building an MVP for a smart packaging startup

These are the benefits you should consider:

### Validate your idea

MVP lets you **validate your assumptions about the target audience in a timely and low-cost manner**. If the MVP turns out not to be successful, you can quickly rethink your strategy and adjust it to meet users' expectations. When the MVP proves to be a success, then you know you are going in the right direction and can simply keep working.

### Reducing costs

MVP is an investment in the base of your product. **Choosing to build only crucial features helps to reduce costs**. A low budget can actually be an advantage for startups. How come? It helps you rationally choose the key features of your solution. It motivates software developers to seek effective, low-cost solutions to any technical challenge. In the end, it protects startups from losing all their resources on a product that won’t attract users.

### Short time to market

The smart packaging industry is rapidly evolving, and **building an MVP can help you stay ahead of the curve** by allowing you to quickly test new technologies and features. Building MVP is a matter of weeks, so you can really quickly show your product to the market.

### Iterative Development

By building an MVP, **you can continually test and improve your product**, allowing you to adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs. This iterative development process can help you create a more robust and successful product in the long run.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='70 pages about MVP development just for you' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Dive into MVP development. Get the free guide and ensure that MVP is a great option for your business.' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='MVP guide ebook cover' />

## Problems that smart packaging MVP can offer solutions for

Examples of problems smart packaging innovations can address:

### Supply chain inefficiency

Smart packaging has the potential to **revolutionize the supply chain by providing real-time information about products' location, condition, and integrity**. By building an MVP, you can quickly demonstrate the value of your product to potential partners and investors in the logistics industry, helping to drive adoption and create a more efficient supply chain.

### Food and packaging waste

Smart packaging can help **reduce waste by extending the shelf life of perishable goods and preventing product spoilage**. It also **helps to reduce plastic waste**. Single-use plastic containers, wrappings, etc. create unimaginable waste. By building an MVP, you can demonstrate the impact of your product on waste reduction, helping to position your startup as a leader in sustainability.

<div className="image">![Food and packaging waste](../../static/images/waste.png "Food and packaging waste")</div>

### Lack of traceability and security

Smart packaging can also **improve product traceability and security by providing a tamper-evident seal and tracking information throughout the supply chain**. By building an MVP, you can demonstrate the value of your product to potential partners and investors, helping to drive adoption and create a more secure supply chain.

## Examples of smart packaging solutions on the market

Learn more about successful products that offer smart packaging:

### Relevo

[Relevo](/projects/eco-friendly-app/) – a smart packaging solution that helps to limit food containers' plastic waste.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CrQkFALId1E/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D' />

### Securikeitt

[Securikeitt](https://www.securikett.com/en/our-solution/securitylabels-and-seals/) – security labels and seals securing products from tampering, counterfeiting and grey trade.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/up2ptPxyU80' />

### Eupry

[Eupry](https://eupry.com/temperature-mapping/temperature-mapping-kit/) – temperature mapping kit contains wireless data loggers and specialized mapping software.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka4oFjGQ3l4' />

## MVP development stages for a smart packaging solution

Here are the typical MVP development stages. The final flow may vary depending on the project.

### Idea for MVP

The idea doesn’t guarantee success. It’s only the first step. ;) It’s essential to verify whether the idea has business potential and a chance to stand in the market. It's also the perfect opportunity to set first goals that will help measure the app's success in the future. 

During this stage, you can try to consult your idea with a suitable MVP development company. Finally, it’s time to decide if you plan to get your own team to build the MVP or hire an MVP agency to take care of that.

<div className="image">![Idea for MVP](../../static/images/1_idea.png "Idea for MVP")</div>

### MVP Prototyping (1-4 weeks)

Validating the ideas' potential is followed by prototyping. The prototyping phase is when a product designer creates the first visual representation of the idea. The effect of close cooperation with a [product design team](/our-areas/product-design/) is prototypes. They are basic clickable mockups or wireframes without any backend. This stage helps to eliminate first mistakes and understand how the solution might work.

<div className="image">![MVP Prototyping](../../static/images/2_app_prototyping.png "MVP Prototyping")</div>

### Building and launching the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) **(4-20 weeks)**

According to the feedback received during the prototyping stage, the software development agency gathers the final requirements from the client and builds the minimal viable product. 

As you can see, you can launch an MVP in weeks and with marketing experts quickly start to gather users. Launched MVP is also a great conversation starter with investors. 😉

MVP is a cornerstone of your product. Based on it you keep developing it according to your users' feedback. 

<div className="image">![Building and launching the MVP](../../static/images/3_mvp.png "Building and launching the MVP")</div>

### Product Development & Maintenance based on MVP (Infinity – hopefully)

The final stage is app development and maintenance. At this stage, a software development company or internal dev team regularly deploys new features to production. Every change in the product will affect your users. Thus, the priority for developers is to maintain the app's stability. All development updates should be tested in a staging environment. It’s a constant challenge of developing the product to give more and more satisfaction to the users.

The crucial part of development, yet often neglected is analytics. You should monitor app performance, user behavior, and install and retention rates in the post-MVP phase to get to know your users as much it is possible.

<div className="image">![App development and maintenance](../../static/images/4_app_development_maintenance.png "App development and maintenance")</div>

## Examples of technologies to implement in a smart packaging product

MVP is all about launching a product with key features. So you shouldn’t implement too many time-consuming and expensive (to build) features at the beginning. However, we’d like to show you what innovations you might consider while building smart packaging solutions.

### QR Codes

These codes are printed on the packaging and can be scanned by smartphones to provide information about the product, such as ingredients, nutritional information, and product origin.

### Near Field Communication (NFC)

This technology uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to transmit data wirelessly between a tag embedded in the packaging and a reader. This allows for more extensive information about the product, including temperature and humidity data, to be transmitted.

### Time-Temperature Indicators (TTIs)

These are small devices that are attached to packaging to monitor the temperature of perishable goods during transport and storage. They can provide an indication of whether the product has been subjected to temperature abuse and can help to prevent food waste.

### Intelligent Packaging

This refers to packaging that is embedded with sensors and can communicate with other devices. For example, intelligent packaging could include a sensor that detects when a product has been opened and communicates with a smartphone app to provide recipes or serving suggestions.

### Active Packaging

This type of packaging contains substances that can extend the shelf life of the product. For example, oxygen scavengers can be added to packaging to prevent spoilage.

### Anti-counterfeiting Technologies

Smart packaging can include technologies such as holograms, QR codes, and RFID tags to help prevent counterfeit products from entering the supply chain.

### Augmented Reality

This technology uses the camera on a smartphone or tablet to overlay digital information onto the packaging, providing additional information or interactive experiences for consumers.

### Printed Electronics

This technology involves printing electronic components onto packaging materials, allowing for more advanced features such as temperature monitoring and product authentication.

## What stack to use for smart packaging solution in 2025?

Based on our experience in developing software since 2012 we listed the stack your software team should work with in 2025. 

### Web development:

**Frontend**: TypeScript, React
**Backend**: Node.js, PostgreSQL/Redis, NestJS, AWS

### Mobile development:

Whether you decide to build native or hybrid applications (one app for both Google Play and AppStore), we will show you what stack you should consider. Remember that **you don’t need to build MVP for both systems (Android, iOS**). You can start with one app and launch it as MVP and then work on another. A hybrid approach is only recommended when you want to build a very simple solution. 

**Android development**: Jetpack Compose, Kotlin, Apollo GraphQL, WorkManager, Room, Hilt.

**iOS development**: SwiftUI + UIKit, Swiftgen, Apollo GraphQL, CoreData, SwiftLint, SwiftFormat, Sourcery, Bitrise.

**Hybrid app development**: React Native, TypeScript, mobx-state-tree

**Project management & documentation**: Jira, Figma, Github, Notion, Miro, GitHub Actions

**Product design**: Figma, Adobe, Miro

## Build and Run iOS App Tests with GitHub Actions – 2025 Tutorial with Example

*Published: 2024-07-18 | Author: arturs | Tags: iOS, ci/cd, github actions, fastlane*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-build-run-tests-github-actions/index.md*

**In the first part of a tutorial we [configured fastlane and succeeded in running tests locally](/blog/building-running-ios-app-test-locally-fastlane/), right from our console, now it's time to make them fly, fly on GitHub!**

<div className="image">![GitHubActions + iOS](/images/background.jpg "GitHubActions + iOS")</div>

## Creating a workflow file

To make your project running on GitHub you need to create a yaml file that will be executed there. To do that, in your main project folder enter command

**`mkdir .github  && cd .github`**

This command creates GitHub directory and enters into it.

**`mkdir workflows && cd workflows`**

This one creates workflows directory, you can read more about it here:

**[docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/about-workflows](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/about-workflows)**

Inside, create a workflow file. You can name it “build-test-ios.yml”

## Setting Up and Understanding Your Pipeline

Now open the file that you just created and enter the code snippet that I added below. Don't be afraid if you don't fully get what's going on here - we will take it part by part down below

```ruby
name: iOS build

on:
 push:
   branches:
     - 'main'
     
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@v1
        with:
          xcode-version: '15.3.0'
      - name: Set up ruby env
        uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: 3.3
          bundler-cache: true
      - name: Build & test iOS binary
        run: bundle exec fastlane ios build_and_run_tests
```

Now let’s split it into small parts, so it will be easier to understand what our pipeline is doing.

```ruby
on:
 push:
   branches:
     - 'main'
 workflow_dispatch:
```

This part decides about triggers that will start our workflow. To simplify implementation we want to listen to changes when they are pushed to a main branch. Second option that we created is manual trigger. You can read more about events that trigger workflows [here](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/events-that-trigger-workflows#push).

```ruby
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: macos-latest
```

We defined one job named “build” which will be runned on the latest available macOS on GitHub. You can check the list of GitHub runners [here](https://github.com/actions/runner-images).

```ruby
steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@v1
        with:
          xcode-version: latest-stable
      - name: Set up ruby env
        uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: 3.3
          bundler-cache: true
```

Our tasks are defined by "steps"  Under each step we can link multiple actions with keyword “uses” ([reference](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions#jobsjob_idstepsuses)).

The actions we will need are as follows:

1. actions/checkout@v2 -  checks out our repository, so our workflow can use it  ([reference](https://github.com/actions/checkout)). 
2. "maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@v1" - selects the latest stable xcode to build our app on GitHub runner ([reference](https://github.com/maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode)).
3. ruby/setup-ruby@v1 - downloads a prebuilt ruby and adds it to the PATH  ([reference](https://github.com/ruby/setup-ruby)).

```ruby
  - name: Build & test iOS binary
        run: bundle exec fastlane ios build_and_run_tests
```

Runs on github runner lane that we defined in the first [article](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-running-ios-app-test-locally-fastlane/)

Now commit and push your changes. It has to be done on the main branch as on this one we created branch policies.

## Seeing results of your work

To see the result, go to your repository on GitHub and tap on the actions tab. Here you should see the pipeline that has started after you pushed your changes to the repository.

<div className="image">![GitHub Actions tab with result latest build](/images/github-workflow.png "GitHub Actions tab with result latest build")</div>

<sub><center>GitHub Actions tab with result latest build</center></sub>

Congratulations, you just fired your first pipeline using GitHub Actions!

This is the second part of the iOS CI/CD tutorial. In another articles you will learn:

* [how to build and run iOS app tests locally with **Fastlane**](/blog/building-running-ios-app-test-locally-fastlane/);
* how to upload your app to TestFlight with the usage of **GitHub Actions and Fastlane Match** (soon to be released).

Don’t miss those tutorials! [Sign up for our newsletter and receive the articles in your inbox](https://bright-dev-newsletter.getresponsepages.com/).

## Upload iOS App to TestFlight with GitHub Actions and Fastlane Match – 2025 Tutorial with Example

*Published: 2024-08-13 | Author: arturs | Tags: ios*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-testflight-github-actions-fastlane-match/index.md*

**In previous parts of a tutorial we were [building app and running tests locally with fastlane](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-running-ios-app-test-locally-fastlane/) and [building app and running tests with usage of GitHub Actions](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-build-run-tests-github-actions/). Now our goal is to upload an app to TestFlight with usage of GitHub Actions and Fastlane Match!**

<div className="image">![](/images/github4.png "")</div>

Before we move on, you need to have an

1. Empty, private repository on GitHub where you will store your certificates and provisioning profiles generated by Fastlane Match.  
2. Fastlane configured on your device, I described how to do it [here](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-running-ios-app-test-locally-fastlane/).
3. Apple developer account.

Our goal is to improve the process of testing and distributing the app to customers.

## **Understanding Fastlane Match**

Before diving into configuring Fastlane Match, let's first understand what it is and how it works.

It's a Fastlane tool that makes it easier for your team to manage and share iOS and macOS certificates and provisioning profiles. It keeps everything secure in a Git repository, where you can track changes. This way, everyone uses the same credentials, which helps prevent issues in the code signing.

## **Configuring Fastlane Match**

In console enter command

**`fastlane match init`**

After that you will need to select where you want to store your profiles and certificates. The most common option is git which we will use in this tutorial

<div className="image">![](/images/match-init.png "")</div>

Next step is to paste the url where we want to store your profiles.

<div className="image">![](/images/match-init-2.png "")</div>

You can check that in the folder a new file named “Matchfile” was created. When you open it, you can see that it stores configuration details for code signing. Let’s go line by line.

```ruby
git_url("git@github.com:LinkToYourRepo.git")
storage_mode("git")
type("development")
app_identifier(["your.app.identifier"])
```

1. Git url which we selected in previous step.
2. The storage mode you selected during the initial step of Fastlane Match setup.
3. Here, we specify the type of provisioning profile and certificate that Fastlane should manage, which can be: [appstore](https://developer.apple.com/help/account/manage-profiles/create-an-app-store-provisioning-profile/), [adhoc](https://developer.apple.com/help/account/manage-profiles/create-an-ad-hoc-provisioning-profile/) or [development](https://developer.apple.com/help/account/manage-profiles/create-a-development-provisioning-profile/). 
4. An app identifier is a unique string that identifies your app, typically formatted as a reverse-domain name (e.g., com.example.myapp).

Great, you have your matchfile configured! Our next goal is to run a fastlane match locally.

## **Running a Fastlane Match locally**

In terminal enter command:

`fastlane match`

First, you need to set a passphrase for the Git repository. This is an additional layer of security: each of the files will be encrypted using openssl. Make sure to remember the password, as you'll need it when you run a match on a different machine.

To set the passphrase to decrypt your profiles using an environment variable (and avoid the prompt) use MATCH_PASSWORD.

<div className="image">![](/images/match-password.png "")</div>

As a next step you will need to enter your Apple Developer account username which will be used to create certificates and profiles.

<div className="image">![](/images/match-username.png "")</div>

If your user is associated with more than one team, then you will need to specify on which team you want to create certificates.

You'll need to enter your password here. If you have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled, you can enter the 2FA code directly into the console.

You might need to enter your username a few more times if match won’t be able to find code signing identity. 

As a confirmation that everything went fine, you should see a message:

***All required keys, certificates and provisioning profiles are installed 🙌***

Great! With development profiles and certificates, you'll be able to install your app on your physical device. Now, let's do the same for App Store certificates and profiles, which are necessary for uploading your app to TestFlight. After generating profiles and certificates, an Xcode restart might be needed to make them visible inside it.

<div className="image">![](/images/profiles.jpg "")</div>

For that go back to Matchfile and change type to appstore. It should look like this:

`type("appstore")`

Save file, go back to terminal and once again enter

`fastlane match`

and do a setup once again. This time we created AppStore certificates and profiles.

After finishing this step you can go to xcode and check that in the Signing and Capabilities tab no error is prompted.

Congratulations! You've created all the metadata required for signing your application.

## **GitHub secrets**

GitHub Secrets are encrypted variables in a repository or organization, used to securely pass sensitive information to GitHub Actions workflows, ensuring data like API keys and tokens are not exposed in the codebase. Let’s add the necessary data for the build agent to upload your app to TestFlight.

To upload data as GitHub secrets follow steps from GIF below (Settings -> Secrets and variables -> Actions).

<div className="image">![](/images/2024-06-23-15.21.11.gif "")</div>

To make your CI/CD work you need to upload 5 things as GitHub Secrets. In brackets I entered names which I recommend to use, as this is what we will use in our workflow file. If you don’t know how to get these - don’t worry, below I described how you can get all of this data.

1. AppStoreConnect Issuer ID (ASC_ISSUER_ID)
2. AppStoreConnect key ID (ASC_KEY_ID)
3. AppStoreConnect key content (ASC_KEY_CONTEND
4. Match password (MATCH_PASSWORD)
5. Match git private key (MATCH_GIT_PRIVATE_KEY)

### **AppStoreConnect Issuer ID, Key ID & Key Content**

To create an App Store Connect API key, log in to your account in App Store Connect, select the "Users and Access" tab, then select "Integrations" and then "App Store Connect Api" from the menu on the left. You should be able to create a new key by pressing the large blue + button

You can find Issuer ID above blue + button. It is a unique identifier that represents your Apple Developer account and is used in conjunction with API keys to authenticate API requests.

<div className="image">![](/images/appstore-connect-api-key.png "")</div>

Provide its name and the access level you want to give it. The “developer” level will be sufficient.

<div className="image">![](/images/generate-api-key.png "")</div>

### **Match password & match git authentication**

1. Match password - it’s a passphrase you entered as a first step after entering the “fastlane match” command.
2. Match git authentication - private part of SSH key that build agent will use to authenticate on certificates repository. If you don’t have one already you need to create a new SSH key (you can read how to do it [here](https://docs.tritondatacenter.com/public-cloud/getting-started/ssh-keys/generating-an-ssh-key-manually/manually-generating-your-ssh-key-in-mac-os-x)).

## **Workflow file**

Now go to the yaml file that we created in a [previous article](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-build-run-tests-github-actions/). You can find it in the directory “/pathToYourProject/.github/workflows”. If you don’t have it, you can create it in terminal by opening main project folder and entering command

`mkdir .github  && cd .github && mkdir workflows && cd workflows`

Inside, create a workflow file. You can name it “build-upload-ios.yml”Your workflow file should look like in this [gist](https://gist.github.com/Sulinskii/1959fa06095a03a5b588a0208ef65861). Below I divided it into smaller parts and described each of them.

```ruby
name: iOS build & upload

on:
 push:
   branches:
     - 'main'
     
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@v1
        with:
            xcode-version: latest-stable
      - name: Set up ruby env
        uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: 3.3
          bundler-cache: true
```

This part was already described in a [previous article](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-build-run-tests-github-actions/). Only the name of action has changed to “iOS build & upload” as it better describes what our pipeline will be doing.

```ruby
name: Build & upload iOS binary
        run: bundle exec fastlane ios build_upload_testflight
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_KEY: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY }}
          MATCH_GIT_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.MATCH_GIT_PRIVATE_KEY }}
          MATCH_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MATCH_PASSWORD }}
```

This step uploads the iOS app binary (IPA file) and dSYM file (it is a debugging file that contains symbol information to help interpret crash reports by mapping memory addresses back to the original source code) as artifacts. It uses the built-in actions/upload-artifact@v2 action to achieve this. The name parameter specifies the artifact name as "app-store ipa & dsyms", and the path parameter defines the locations of the IPA and dSYM files within the workspace to be uploaded.

## **Configuring Fastfile**

Your fastfile should look like in this [gist](https://gist.github.com/Sulinskii/b103c61018e614cd75352165e637d049).\
The goal is to:

* Load App Store Connect API key information from environment variables.
* Load the API key.
* Set up the CI environment.
* Retrieve provisioning profiles and certificates using Fastlane Match.
* Build the app.
* Upload the app to TestFlight.

Let’s split it into smaller parts.

`platform :ios do`

This begins a block of configurations and actions that are specific to the iOS platform.

```ruby
before_all do ENV["FASTLANE_XCODEBUILD_SETTINGS_TIMEOUT"] = "120" end
```

Here, we set FASTLANE_XCODEBUILD_SETTINGS_TIMEOUT to 120 seconds.

This configuration extends the timeout period for Fastlane when it interacts with Xcode's build processes. By setting it to 120 seconds, we're allowing extra time for Fastlane to retrieve build settings, which can be useful for larger projects that require more time to process.

```ruby
desc "Load ASC API Key information to use in subsequent lanes"
  lane :load_asc_api_key do
   app_store_connect_api_key(
     key_id: ENV["ASC_KEY_ID"],
     issuer_id: ENV["ASC_ISSUER_ID"],
     key_content: ENV["ASC_KEY"],
     in_house: false 
   )
  end
```

This lane loads the App Store Connect API Key. It uses the built-in fastlane command “app_store_connect_api_key”. You can read more about it [here](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/app_store_connect_api_key/).

* “key_id”, “issuer_id”, and “key_content” are read from environment variables. These values are necessary for authenticating with the App Store Connect API.
* in_house: The App Store Connect API can't currently distinguish between App Store and Enterprise teams. To work around this, the "app_store_connect_api_key" action and Fastlane's API Key JSON format include an optional "in_house" key. This key may be required when using match or sigh.

Now we have all elements that are required to build a top level lane which executes all of the steps.

```ruby
desc "Build and upload to TestFlight"
    lane :build_upload_testflight do
      load_asc_api_key
      setup_ci
      match(type: 'appstore', verbose: true)
      build_app(scheme: "Your-scheme", verbose: true)
      upload_to_testflight
   end
```

In this lane, we bring together everything we've set up throughout the article. It invokes all the previously created lanes, builds the app, and uploads it to TestFlight.

* load_asc_api_key - Calls the load_asc_api_key lane that we described above. Makes sure the API key is loaded.
* setup_ci - Creates a temporary keychain specifically for use with match. Switches match to read only mode to not create new profiles/cert on CI. This temporary keychain is automatically removed at the end of the workflow.
* match - Uses fastlane match to fetch the app's provisioning profiles and certificates. verbose: true enables detailed logging.
* build_app - Builds the app using the specified scheme, with verbose logging enabled. Uses [gym](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/gym/) underneath 
* upload_to_testflight - Uploads the new binary to TestFlight for distribution to testers. 

**Congratulations! You have successfully uploaded your application to Testflight with usage of GitHub Actions! This was the third part of the iOS CI/CD tutorial. In another articles you will learn:**

* [how to build and run iOS app tests locally with Fastlane](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-running-ios-app-test-locally-fastlane/);
* [how to build an iOS app and run tests with the usage of GitHub Actions](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-build-run-tests-github-actions/);

## Build and Run iOS App Tests Locally with Fastlane - 2025 Tutorial with Example

*Published: 2024-07-11 | Author: arturs | Tags: iOS, Fastlane, ci/cd*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-running-ios-app-test-locally-fastlane/index.md*

**Quick and reliable iOS application delivery is crucial and properly configured CI/CD pipelines can significantly aid in this process. Learn how to start your journey by building your app and running tests locally with Fastlane in 2025. Enjoy the part 1 of the step-by-step iOS CI/CD tutorial. More to come soon!**

<div className="image">![fastlane + ios](/images/ios_fastlane_in_text_update.png "")</div>

Before we start, you need to have an iOS project with at least one unit test.

## What is CI/CD and what can you gain from it?

**Continuous Integration** (CI) is the practice of frequently integrating code changes into a shared repository, where automated builds and tests are run to detect issues at an early stage. **Continuous Delivery** (CD) extends this by automating the deployment of applications, ensuring that code can be reliably released at any time. What can you gain by this automation?

* **Faster Time to Market:** Automating the build, test, and deployment processes allows for quicker and more frequent releases.
* **Improved Code Quality:** Continuous integration ensures that code changes are automatically tested, leading to higher code quality and fewer bugs.
* **Consistent Deployment:** Automating deployments reduces the risk of human error, ensuring consistency across environments.
* **Tools integrations:** CI/CD allows you to integrate tools into your pipeline, such as SwiftLint, SonarQube, sending dSYMs to Firebase Crashlytics or Sentry for error monitoring. 

## How can you integrate CI/CD in iOS programming? 

The most versatile, popular, and common free open-source tool to do so is Fastlane. It is an open-source automation tool designed to simplify and streamline the deployment process of mobile applications. It allows you to automate building, testing, and releasing apps and also gives you the possibility to easily manage app metadata like certificates and provisioning profiles for iOS projects. 

**You can read more about it here: [fastlane.tools](https://fastlane.tools/)**

There are a few ways to install Fastlane on your device, however, the most recommended one is the one using [bundler](https://bundler.io/). It will also allow us to easily integrate other tools in future - if needed.\
**[docs.fastlane.tools/getting-started/ios/setup](https://docs.fastlane.tools/getting-started/ios/setup/)**

Great, you have just installed a tool that will allow you to build your first CI. Just to confirm everything works and is ready to go type:

`fastlane -v`

**If everything went OK, you should be able to see the details of the installed Fastlane.**

## **Fastlane setup**

In the root folder of a project type this command:

`fastlane init`

during installation select the option “Manual setup - manually setup your project to automate your tasks (Option 4)” - for the purposes of this guide, we want to do the configuration ourselves.

<div className="image">![fastlane setup options](/images/fastlane-setup-options.png "Options for Fastlane setup")</div>

<sub><center>Options for Fastlane setup</center></sub>

Now, you should see a new one named “fastlane” in the root folder. Inside there should be two files:

* **Fastfile -** fastlane uses it to store the automation configuration. Within that, you’ll see different lanes. Each is there to automate different tasks, like screenshots, code signing, or publishing new releases.
* **Appfile** - configuration file. Stores information about the Bundle ID of your app and your Apple Developer Portal username. For now, we don’t need to focus on it, if you want, you can read more about it [here](https://docs.fastlane.tools/advanced/Appfile/)

## **Building your first lane**

Our goal is to build an application and run tests locally on your machine.

Open fastfile and replace the existing lane with this code

```ruby
desc "Build app and run tests"
 lane :build_and_run_tests do
   scan(devices: ["iPhone 15"])
 end
```

We defined our custom lane named “build_and_run_tests” which underneath calls build-in lane “scan” ([docs.fastlane.tools/actions/scan](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/scan/)). The “desc” line provides a description for your lane, making it easier to understand its purpose. 

You can replace “iPhone 15” with any device you want to use for your tests. If you omit this option, Fastlane will select the first available simulator. Additionally, there are many other parameters you can modify and choose from: [docs.fastlane.tools/actions/scan/#parameters](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/scan/#parameters)

Congratulations! You just wrote your first lane - and with that, you've prepared everything to run your tests through a single command in the console! Now let's check if it works! Go to the root folder of your project and enter command: 

`fastlane build_and_run_tests` 

 As the outcome you should see how many tests succeeded and how many failed.

<div className="image">![fastlane output](/images/fastlane-output.png "Example output of launching “fastlane build_and_run_tests” command")</div>

<sub><center>Example output of launching “fastlane build_and_run_tests” command</center></sub>

This is the first part of the iOS CI/CD tutorial. In the next articles you will learn:

* [how to build an iOS app and run tests with the usage of GitHub Actions](/blog/ios-build-run-tests-github-actions/);
* how to upload your app to TestFlight with the usage of GitHub Actions and Fastlane Match (soon to be released).

**\
Don’t miss those tutorials! [Sign up for our newsletter and receive the articles in your inbox](https://bright-dev-newsletter.getresponsepages.com/).**

## Building MVP for FemTech in 2025: Timeline, Stack, Security and More

*Published: 2024-04-10 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-mvp-for-femtech/index.md*

**Before you start building the MVP for your FemTech solution, there are several key areas you should be familiar with. In this guide, we'll cover the technical challenges, the technology stack, and security practices essential for planning your MVP journey.**

<div className="image">![FemTech MVP](../../static/images/femtech_mvp.png "FemTech MVP")</div>

There are several key technological aspects of FemTech that could significantly influence the success of your product. We delve deeply into FemTech in another one of our blog posts, which you are encouraged to explore here: [Understanding FemTech: Keys to Succeed with Your Software Solution for Women](/blog/keys-to-succeed-in-femtech/). 

However, in this article, we focus exclusively on [the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)](/our-areas/mvp-development/), which is also a critical component of the software development process, especially in the context of FemTech.

## Benefits of MVP development in FemTech

### The fastest way to validate your idea is through MVP development

Even with thorough user research and product workshops, pre-launch stages are mostly based on assumptions. An MVP will provide definitive feedback on whether your idea merits further investment of money and resources.

### Less financial risk

Launching the first version of your solution cost-effectively—an MVP includes only essential features that offer unique value. This allows for a smaller investment and minimizes the potential financial risks associated with every [MVP development](/our-areas/mvp-development/).

### A first step towards scaling

A well-executed MVP should serve as a solid foundation for future enhancements.

## MVP development process and timeline

Every MVP development process is different, but we listed the typical MVP phases:

<div className="image">![MVP FemTech timeline](../../static/images/mvp_healthtech_timeline.png "MVP FemTech timeline")</div>

### Ideation

Perhaps it all begins with an idea, but the real work is just getting started. This is the time to assess the business potential of the idea, establish buyer personas, and identify market challengers. One of the most effective ways to do this is through [product workshops](/our-areas/product-workshops/), preferably conducted by a company that specializes in delivering MVPs for specific sectors.

Do you plan to better understand your buyer persona? Check out the free [ICP + B2B Buyer Persona Workshop](https://miro.com/miroverse/b2b-buyer-persona-workshop-template/) template made by our team.

### Prototyping (1-4 weeks)

This is the moment to visualize the idea, often in the form of basic clickable mockups. This stage helps every member of the development process – both business and technological sides – to ensure they are on the same page. It also enables the elimination of initial mistakes in the UI.

### Development and launch the MVP (4-20 weeks)

The moment when the software team, whether in-house or outsourced, can develop the solution according to the plan, preferably in 2-week sprints. The MVP should showcase the key features but shouldn't be too advanced, allowing the development process to realistically last up to 20 months.

### Scaling (Infinity – hopefully)

The post-MVP phase can be a critical moment for your FemTech startup. Finding the balance between delivering new features, as well as building credibility with a reliable and secure solution, is essential. Development and maintenance are crucial, and the rising number of users, which is indeed something to celebrate, might cause performance issues that every successful post-MVP product has to face at some point. Therefore, performance monitoring, adhering to security best practices, and a strong QA approach might be key to success. Along with a marketing campaign, of course.

## MVP stack to choose for your FemTech solution

<div className="image">![MVP stack](../../static/images/blog_post_tech_stack_mvp.png "MVP stack")</div>

**Web development**: JavaScript/TypeScript, React

**Mobile development**: Swift (iOS), Kotlin (Android)

**Hybrid mobile app development**: React Native, TypeScript, mobx-state-tree

**Cloud development**: Amazon Web Services (AWS) / Microsoft Azure / Google Cloud, JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.js/NestJS

## Examples of technologies and best practices to implement in FemTech

### IoT with healthcare smart wearables enabling telemedicine and remote patient monitoring

Femtech wearables offer numerous opportunities to support female patients on a daily basis. These devices range from those that assist with menstrual and fertility monitoring to cooling bracelets designed for women experiencing menopause, marking a new era for FemTech through wearables and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The Internet of Things enables the connection of all devices with dedicated applications, allowing data collected by these devices to be quickly processed and verified by doctors. This significantly reduces the time required for diagnosis.

[Read more about examples of IoT implementation](/blog/examples-of-the-internet-of-things-for-retail-healthcare-and-more-with-case-studies/).

### Data analytics & performance monitoring

Before launching your MVP, consider setting up even a basic app performance monitoring system to ensure your solution operates as intended and to proactively prevent any potential performance issues. This is particularly crucial in the post-MVP phase when your solution begins to attract more users, which will serve as the real test of your infrastructure.

Find out [how to set up app performance monitoring](/blog/healthcare-app-performance-monitoring/) with our tutorial.

### Security practices

Securing your patients' data should always be a priority, even during MVP development. You can then start a proper secure software development cycle, incorporating all recommended security strategies and tools. In another blog post, [we've listed security practices you need to implement to build a secure and trustworthy solution](/blog/cyber-security-in-healthcare/). 

## Key technology decisions to make at the MVP stage

### Native or hybrid mobile applications

Building one hybrid solution for both app stores or a separate dedicated apps for Google Play and App Store? That is the question every mobile MVP owner has to face.

We cover deeply the subject of [hybrid vs native mobile apps](/blog/mvp-tech-stack-what-startup-founder-should-know/#hybrid-or-native-mobile-app-that-is-the-question) in another article.

<div className="image">![hybrid vs native mobile development](../../static/images/infografika_hybrid_native.png "hybrid vs native mobile development")</div>

### Choosing a cloud provider

Cloud computing is crucial for medial data storage. In terms of cloud providers, you should choose the one your team is the most familiar with.

<blockquote><h2>Software engineer's perspective</h2><div>It is like driving on the left side of the street in England or Australia. It is just how they learned so they do it that way. At Bright Inventions we started with AWS so we stuck to it. I do not think that it would make a great technical difference if we used Azure or other cloud services instead of AWS. Looking from a business perspective it does not matter as well.</div><footer>Piotr Mionskowski, Head of Technology & Partner @bright inventions</footer></blockquote>

### Implementing multi-module apps for Android

Multi-module Android development represents a contemporary approach to structuring the architecture of Android applications. Unlike traditional, monolithic codebases, multi-module apps feature separated units of code within distinct modules. This structure enhances clarity, customization, and, consequently, the scalability of your Android solution. If you plan to develop an Android MVP, considering a multi-module solution is advisable.

My colleague, an experienced Android developer dives into multi-module apps in another blog post, feel free to check it out: [Multi-Module Android Application – Why You Should Choose It for Your Business.](/blog/multi-module-android-app-why-you-should-choose-it-for-your-business/)

## Example of a successful FemTech MVP launch

Read [the story of the app for pregnant women](/projects/pregnancy-app/) that was successfully released as MVP in Germany.

<div className="image">![pregnancy app](../../static/images/pregnancy_app_femtech.png "pregnancy app")</div>

## What comes after the MVP launch?

Launching an MVP in conjunction with a marketing campaign provides the ultimate validation of your idea. If the MVP attracts users, you can proceed with further iterations, gradually adding new features and proactively preparing for scaling. In some instances, the MVP may reveal that the application needs to pivot.

Pivots aren’t something new in software development. You can read an inspiring [example of pivots by a HealthTech company – Decorte Future Industries](/blog/the-intriguing-tale-of-decorte-future-industries/).

## JavaScript Types De-Objectified

*Published: 2024-12-18 | Author: rafal-op | Tags: frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/javascript-types-deobjectified/index.md*

**Some individuals mockingly claim that JavaScript lacks types. While it’s true that we don’t explicitly define types in our code, this doesn’t negate their existence. JavaScript operates as a dynamically typed language, where types are tied to values rather than variables, and are determined at runtime. Within our JavaScript applications, we work with various types of values. This dynamic nature of types often sparks one of the most popular myths in the frontend environment.**

<div className="image">![js types de-objectified](/images/blogpost_js_types.png "")</div>

## The Myth of Everything as an Object

While learning JavaScript, I’ve encountered at least once the phrase:

> In JavaScript, everything is an object.

I understand why people might say that, but unfortunately, it’s a misleading statement. In the following section of this article, I will provide a comprehensive explanation of this topic. We’ll delve into mechanisms like **Boxing** and explore why some individuals tend to perceive everything as an object.

## Understanding the Reality: A Closer Look at Primitive and Object Types

JavaScript comprises two distinct types: [primitive types and object types](https://tc39.es/ecma262/multipage/ecmascript-data-types-and-values.html#sec-ecmascript-language-types).

### Primitive Types

Among these, there exist seven primitive types: **string**, **number**, **boolean**, **null**, **undefined**, **symbol**, and **bigint**. It’s crucial to note that none of these are object types, contrary to the myth. However operator **typeof** for null value returns **object** because, in JavaScript's early design, [null was assigned the same internal tag as objects (p.13)](https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3386327). This behavior originates from the very first implementation of JavaScript (called **Mocha**) and has remained unchanged since then to maintain compatibility with older code.

#### Immutability

Primitive types possess unique characteristics such as **immutability**; once assigned, their values cannot be changed directly, although a new value can be assigned to the variable (using **var** or **let** keyword). 

```
let age = 30; 
age = 32; // we assign a new value to the variable "age", we do not change the previous one
```

We can further understand immutability by considering a string value, for instance, and attempting to alter one of its characters:

```
let name = "John"
name[2] = "e"

console.log(name) // John
```

#### No properties / methods

Moreover, it’s important to note that primitive type values **lack methods (functions) and properties**, which can be puzzling. Attempting to access properties like “length” in the snippet below might seem perplexing. We’ll delve deeper into this concept shortly. However, for now, trust me, this code is absolutely correct:

```
let name = "John"

console.log(name.length) // ???
```

### Object Type

The simplest way to define object types is as “**anything that is not a primitive type**”. Arrays and functions are also considered object types. 

#### Contains properties / methods

Objects are complex structures that contain **properties and methods**, defined as key-value pairs. We can access these properties using e.g. dot notation (object.property), as demonstrated below:

```
const person = {
  name: "Jack",
  sayHi(){
    console.log("Hi!")  
  }
};

// object.property
person.name // "Jack"

// object.method
person.sayHi() // "Hi!"
```

Previously, I mentioned that a **string** is a primitive type, yet I also attempted to use it as an object (by accessing the length property with *name.length*). Rest assured, everything will soon become clear.

#### Mutability

The next characteristic of object values is **mutability**, in contrast to primitive types, which are immutable. This means that we can modify the property values of our objects:

```
const person = {
  age: 30
}

person.age = 31

console.log(person.age) // 31
```

## Boxing

Now that we have a basic understanding of **objects** and **primitive types**, let’s revisit the **Boxing** mechanism I mentioned earlier. This mechanism explains why I attempted to access a property of a string, even though primitive types don’t have properties. The snippet is correct:

```
let name = "John"

console.log(name.length)
```

But how does this work? **Boxing** is an **implicit** **mechanism**, meaning it occurs automatically without direct intervention. It’s responsible for encapsulating our primitive value within the corresponding object for that specific type. This operation is temporary, so we cannot directly access the created object; we can only interact with our primitive value.

[When attempting to access properties or methods](https://262.ecma-international.org/10.0/index.html#sec-getv) of a primitive type like a string in JavaScript, the language automatically creates an object wrapper (such as a String object — using [toObject method](https://tc39.es/ecma262/multipage/abstract-operations.html#sec-toobject)) to facilitate this access. For instance, when working with strings, JavaScript generates a String object, which grants access to properties like “length” through its prototype (String.prototype.length). It’s important to note that nearly every object in JavaScript, including representations of primitive types like String, is built upon the Object prototype (Object.prototype). This insight partially supports the concept that “everything in JavaScript is an object”, or more accurately, inherits from the Object type.

```
let name = "John"

name.length; // Here new object will be created
```

## Summary

JavaScript’s types are a fundamental aspect of the language and entail complex mechanisms. While this can be confusing for individuals accustomed to statically-typed languages, it’s these intricacies that make JavaScript an incredibly dynamic language. Understanding the distinction between primitive and object types, as well as how they operate under the hood, is crucial for ensuring code predictability and functionality.

- - -

##### Take a look at our earlier blog post debunking frontend myths:

1. [To 'b' or Not to 'b': The Semantic Status of HTML 'b' Tag](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/)
2. [Understanding the Hoisting Behavior of let and const](/blog/let-const-hoisting/)

## Choosing MVP Tech Stack in 2025. What Startup Founder & CTO Should Know

*Published: 2023-09-19 | Author: mateusz | Tags: business, startup, MVP*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mvp-tech-stack-what-startup-founder-should-know/index.md*

**Selecting a tech stack for your MVP should be a well-thought-out process. Every software product is different, so there isn’t one MVP stack cheat sheet for all of them. Let’s go through the most common decision-making factors while choosing technologies and languages for your digital product. Ultimately, check out the list of a typical tech stack for MVP in 2025.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='More free MVP insights just for you' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Download our free ebook about MVP development. Get your copy now!' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='MVP ebook cover' />

- - -

## Table of contents

[Choose only standardized software & tools](/blog/mvp-tech-stack-what-startup-founder-should-know/#choose-only-standardized-software--tools)

[Choose a stack that your development team/MVP agency knows](/blog/mvp-tech-stack-what-startup-founder-should-know/#choose-a-stack-that-your-development-teammvp-agency-knows)

[Hybrid or native mobile app? That is the question…](/blog/mvp-tech-stack-what-startup-founder-should-know/#hybrid-or-native-mobile-app-that-is-the-question)

[Last but not least – mobile or Progressive Web App (PWA)?](/blog/mvp-tech-stack-what-startup-founder-should-know/#last-but-not-least--mobile-or-progressive-web-app-pwa)

[MVP development stack 2025](/blog/mvp-tech-stack-what-startup-founder-should-know/#mvp-development-stack-2025)

[Choose MVP stack wisely – book a free consultation](/blog/mvp-tech-stack-what-startup-founder-should-know/#choose-mvp-stack-wisely)

- - -

## Choose only standardized software & tools

Think twice before you agree to develop your MVP using a niche framework or unpopular programming languages and libraries. It may be a sign of a couple of potential issues in the future. 

One of the problems is moving the project to the in-house team or another software company. It will be **challenging to find developers and software agencies that are familiar with unpopular stack**. You would be forced to find experts with some very unpopular skills. That brings **extra costs to the table**.

What’s more, niche tools and solutions usually **don’t have a community built around them**, so there will be not enough materials and docs that would help developers to faster find solutions for tech issues. As a result, it might slow down the development process.

The easiest way to verify the popularity of languages and other tools is by reading the annual [Stack Overflow Developer Survey](https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2023). However, **it doesn’t mean that you should just choose the most popular tools/languages on the market**. Yet ensure that the stack you go with is well-known, with lots of resources and documentation that will support your developers.

## Choose a stack that your development team/MVP agency knows

You shouldn't force a tech unknown to your team because it will slow down the MVP process and probably compromise the quality of the software they produce.

You should **take developers' voices into account**. They will be working with the stack you eventually approve, so they should have a chance to at least express their opinion and show you why they recommend one tool over another.

## Don’t blindly follow trends. Choose the stack that suits your product

When you build an MVP from scratch, there is a **huge temptation to use new trendy solutions**. For example, Apple’s SwiftUI. It is a framework that simplifies work for iOS developers. Yet it cannot be used in every situation as [explains Tomek Lizer](/blog/falling-in-love-with-programming-again-tomek-ios-developer/#if-you-had-to-start-an-ios-project-from-scratch-with-no-technological-debt-what-tools-would-you-use), a Senior iOS Developer at Bright Inventions:

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>If it is a solution for a large group of users with a spectrum of Apple devices, then you can’t choose only Swift UI. No matter how trendy it is right now. Yet if the product targets a smaller group of tech-savvy users I would base it on Swift UI. Having in mind that it is still a young technology, you cannot cross off good old UIKit completely.</div><footer>Tomasz Lizer, Senior iOS Developer</footer></blockquote>

So remember to adjust trendy tools to your product and target group.

## Hybrid or native mobile app? That is the question…

<div className="image">![Mockups](../../static/images/food_tech_case_study_app.png "Mockups")</div>

In terms of mobile development, you must first decide whether to **build two separate native apps for iOS and Android or go for a cross-platform product**. The latter means one mobile app dedicated to both app stores. 

Hybrid apps are usually easier and faster to build and launch as MVPs. They might be the answer for startups with limited budgets. **It can be a reasonable option if you want to launch the MVP and validate your idea quickly**.

However, **building a hybrid app means you add another layer to your code**. Having also in mind that **your app will never perform as well as the native one** because you have to make compromises to meet "the expectations of both systems".

If you treat your MVP as a cornerstone of your solution, as we recommend, then in the long term, it might bring more problems than solutions to the table. However, as we said, **every MVP is different, so [native vs. hybrid app](/blog/native-app-development-vs-cross-platform/) is a discussion every startup founder or CTO has to conduct**. The outcome should come from a deep analysis of both sites.

It’s worth adding that you can always start with one app for one store. **You don’t have to launch apps for iOS and Android at the same time**. That is what Instagram or Clubhouse did. They launched their app first on AppStore.

## Last but not least – mobile or Progressive Web App (PWA)?

Maybe you don’t need to start with a mobile app. **There is a chance that at the beginning, you will only need a website that resembles a mobile application called Progressive Web App**. PWA can run on any device with a web browser. 

Although **some features will be limited compared to mobile apps** (e.g. Bluetooth, less accurate GSP, and no running in the background), PWA might be an option to consider. Especially for startup founders who want to build a simple solution accessible on many devices to quickly verify the idea’s potential.

## MVP development stack 2025

We took into account many factors influencing decision-making. Now it’s time to list the most typical MVP stack in 2025.

<div className="image">![MVP tech stack in 2025](../../static/images/blog_post_tech_stack_mvp.png "MVP tech stack in 2025")</div>

### Web Development Stack for your MVP

**JavaScript/TypeScript, React**

Nowadays, JavaScript is your first-to-go language. If your development team or agency uses **TypeScript**, that’s even better because it optimizes the coding process. However, JS and TS will be nothing without the framework.

There are several frameworks to consider: **React, Node.js, Angular** and more. **React has traditionally been a primary choice** for professional developers and remains a favorite. However, **Node.js has gained significant ground in 2024**. According to the [Stack Overflow 2024 Survey](https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024/technology#most-popular-technologies-webframe-prof), almost 42% of developers have recently worked with React, while nearly 41% have worked with Node.js, narrowing the gap considerably.

### Mobile development stack for MVP

* **Native app development: Swift (iOS), Kotlin (Android)**
* **Hybrid app development: React Native / Flutter**

If you go with native app development, then you should use languages recommended by Apple or Android. **Swift** is used for iOS app development and **Kotlin** for Android.

If you opt for hybrid development, then you should decide between **React Native or Flutter**. The smartest way might be to choose the one that is more familiar to your development team or MVP agency.

### Cloud development

**Amazon Web Services (AWS) / Microsoft Azure / Google Cloud**

These are the top 3 cloud providers in the cloud market right now. Choose the one that is best known by your development team or the MVP agency plan to hire. That’s probably going to be AWS because it is the most popular provider based on the StackOverflow Survey. [Nearly 50% of professional developers use AWS](https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024/technology#worked-with-vs-want-to-work-with-webframe-worked-want-prof).

**Node.js, NestJS**

**Node.js** is a backend technology that enables for example to build API that communicates with mobile or web. **Nest.js** is a framework for Node.js.

## Choose MVP stack wisely

Selecting a programming tech stack is one of the most important decisions at the beginning of your tech startup journey. So do it wisely, with strong collaboration with your development team, whether it is an in-house team or a hired [MVP development agency](/our-areas/mvp-development/).

## Top 5 UI & UX Design Trends in 2025

*Published: 2024-12-12 | Author: aleksandra-zaw | Tags: design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ui-ux-design-trends/index.md*

**Presenting the user experience trends shaping 2025 — from pushing the boundaries of minimalism to the real-life implementation of AI in the design process. With 2024 long forgotten, the future of UX design is here! UI and UX enthusiasts, are you ready for these exciting UX design trends?**

<div className="image">![UX trends 2025](/images/ux_trends_2025.png "UX trends 2025")</div>

## Typography is the new 2025 UI storyteller

In 2025, **minimalism will reach new extremes, with typography taking center stage**. Expect even more white space and creative typography: combining various fonts and basing the entire UI around the text. In some cases, typography might even overshadow illustrations, photos, and videos. 

**Typography is becoming self-sufficient content**. It's no longer just about providing information — now it's in charge of the entire storytelling process.

**Check out examples of brands that are not afraid to put typography in the center:**

[Festival Figuré.e #4](https://www.edition4.figure-e.com/)

<div className="image">![Festival Figuré](/images/festival_figure.png "UX trend: typography")</div>

[Motto branding agency](https://wearemotto.com/?ref=godly)

<div className="image">![Motto branding agency](/images/motto.png "Motto branding agency")</div>

## Big jump into design motion

Don’t expect a crazy UX rollercoaster on the UI front. Yes, there will be an even bigger push for motion and dynamic elements on websites and applications, but it means that **even more “conservative” brands will adopt motion** to show that their websites are breathing with full lungs (virtually, at least). 

**Microinteractions** **are at the center of this trend** — those little tweaks, jumps, and other design elements that help create a user-centered experience. What’s fascinating about it is **how perfectly it aligns with minimalism**. Just check it out for yourself!

**Get inspired to design in motion with these websites:**

[Mitchell Eaton, purposeful motion designer](https://mitchelleaton.com/)

<div className="image">![Mitchell Eaton](/images/mitchell_eaton.png "Mitchell Eaton")</div>

[Superpower healthcare platform](https://superpower.com/)

<div className="image">![Superpower](/images/superpower.png "Superpower")</div>

## Throwing away top UX conventions

Some websites will embrace this trend, primarily **those representing artistic brands that dare to venture into more extreme UI territories**. UX/UI designers working with these brands will officially toss aside the [“Don’t Make Me Think”](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-web-development-rules-from-dont-make-me-think-book/) rules, f**ocusing on one goal: surprising the user**. Forget template interfaces, UX best practices, and past design trends — **every means to an end is allowed**, even if that “end” results in a user interface that isn’t entirely clear. 

Keep in mind, though, that this UX trend isn’t for every UX designer. **Only edgy, artistic brands can afford to have fun with UI** and play a dangerous game with their users like that. The late months of 2025 will reveal whether these design decisions truly pay off.

[Simmonds Ltd, an art direction studio](https://www.simmondsltd.com/)

<div className="image">![Simmonds](/images/simmonds_update.png "Simmonds")</div>

[Church, film editors congregation](https://edit.church/)

<div className="image">![Church, film editors congregation](/images/church.png "Church, film editors congregation")</div>

## AI-Powered workflow management

Naturally, there’s no escaping AI. Product designers will increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to support their daily work. This means the natural growth of AI plugins, and AI features in design tools.

### Figma AI plugins

Plugins have always been a collaborative powerhouse in Figma, so we want to showcase some examples of plugins that are becoming essential in the daily workflow of product designers.

**Examples of Figma AI plugging worth trying:**

* **[Content Reel](https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/731627216655469013/content-reel)**

  Content Reel streamlines your design workflow by providing dynamic placeholder content. It allows you to quickly insert text, avatars, icons, and other elements directly into your designs. With customizable options and a simple interface, Content Reel helps designers maintain realistic mockups without spending time searching for filler content.
* [Batch Styler](https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/818203235789864127/batch-styler)

  It allows you to apply and manage styles in bulk across your design projects. Whether you're working with text, colors, or effects, Batch Styler simplifies the process by letting you update multiple elements simultaneously.

### AI-powered wireframes

At this moment, **AI is not yet capable of generating fully functional wireframes from scratch, but that could change in the coming months**. Additionally, copyright laws still need to catch up to clarify whether AI-generated wireframes can be used commercially without legal concerns.

Despite these limitations, **AI-generated wireframes offer several benefits**. They can help **overcome the fear of a blank page**, providing product designers with a starting template to build upon. These wireframes also serve as **valuable tools for early-stage product testing**, making the creation of initial designs more cost-effective and efficient.

**Check out an example of an AI-powered wireframe of a live sports score application:**

<div className="image">![AI-powered wireframe Figma](/images/ai_wireframe.png "AI-powered wireframe Figma")</div>

AI wireframes definitely have potential, but it’s still hard to say if we should be excited about that. Why? **AI-powered wireframes often tend to look too similar**. Do we really want all our websites and software products to share the same generic UI? We would still put our money on personalization.

### Figma's AI Features

Beyond plugins, Figma offers built-in AI-powered features that streamline workflows. These tools help you save time and effort in various ways. **You can generate images, search for similar components across all your Figma pages, translate content, and more**. As we move into 2025, Figma is likely to introduce even more of these small yet powerful enhancements, making design faster than ever.

<div className="image">![Figma AI features](/images/figma_features.png "Figma AI features")</div>

### AI for UX writing

How often do you find yourself ready to dive into design, only to be stuck waiting for the copy? Soon, that frustration might be a thing of the past.

AI is set to play a pivotal role in crafting copy for user interfaces. While still supervised by UX writers, it can generate text for multiple screens of applications or websites, ensuring consistency across the board. 

## Gamification: an even bigger UX trend in 2025

User engagement through **gamification is well-known, especially in industries like sports and fitness technology or educational platforms**. Duolingo is a prime example. But what about other industries? Should they incorporate gamification into their design processes? Absolutely — product designers will need to do it! Gamification is a powerful tool to **personalize user experiences** and shape them in ways that build long-lasting bonds with users.

**Examples of apps boldly embracing gamification:**

[Plant Nanny](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fourdesire.plantnanny2&hl=en)

A unique app that encourages users to stay hydrated by combining health tracking with gamification. Every glass of water you drink helps nurture and grow a virtual plant in the app. The plants thrive as you meet your hydration goals, offering a fun and visual incentive to maintain healthy habits.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgBcFk9wdZU' />

[Fortune City](https://sparkful.app/fortune-city)

A creative finance management app that uses gamification to make budgeting fun and engaging. As you track your expenses, the app builds a thriving virtual city based on your financial habits.

## Are you excited about 2025 predictions?

We are! 2025, don’t you dare bore us. 😎

## The Ultimate Guide to HealthTech in 2025

*Published: 2024-02-01 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech, design, AI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ultimate-guide-to-healthtech/index.md*

**HealthTech, eHealth, Medtech, FemTech… whatever you call it, the connection between healthcare and technology has never been stronger. If you want to delve into the promising world of HealthTech, this guide is for you!**

<div className="image">![HealthTech guide](../../static/images/healthtech-guide.png "HealthTech guide")</div>

## HealthTech and MedTech – recognizing the difference

MedTech and Health Tech aren’t synonyms. This guide will focus mostly on HealthTech, still, it’s essential to understand the difference between these terms.

### HealthTech definition

HealthTech (known as eHealth as well) is **the implementation of technology to improve healthcare delivery and [patient engagement](/blog/delivering-patient-engagement-platform/)**. It includes telemedicine, wearable health devices, and electronic health records, aiming to make healthcare more accessible and personalized.

### MedTech definition

MedTech relates more to **medical devices** and diagnostic equipment used in healthcare. This includes pacemakers, MRI machines, and surgical tools, focusing on enhancing the quality of medical treatments and diagnostics. **MedTech companies must comply with various standards, such as ISO 13485**, which specifies requirements for a quality management system specific to the medical device industry.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='ready for even more HealthTech insights?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download the free guide about scaling the software solution for healthcare.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='guide cover ehealth' />

## Areas of HealthTech with examples

Explore some of the areas of HealthTech that are shaping modern healthcare.

### AI medical imaging

A technology that uses artificial intelligence to enhance medical imaging processes, such as interpreting X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, leading to faster and more accurate diagnoses.

### AI Chatbots

AI-powered chatbots are interactive software applications that use artificial intelligence, particularly natural language processing, to understand and respond to human inquiries, providing information or assistance in various domains including customer service and healthcare.

### AI diagnostic

The use of artificial intelligence in medical diagnostics involves AI algorithms analyzing medical data (like images, lab results, and clinical history) to assist in diagnosing diseases and conditions more accurately and efficiently.

### FemTech

Technology focused on women's health, including reproductive health, menstrual cycle tracking, fertility solutions, and maternal healthcare.

We cover FemTech in various resources:

* Explore the diverse [world of FemTech with all its areas and innovators](/blog/femtech-key-areas-and-companies/).
* Read more about [developing a successful FemTech solution](/blog/keys-to-succeed-in-femtech/). 
* Learn [how to build a successful FemTech MVP](/blog/building-mvp-for-femtech/).
* Check an example of successful MVP launch of a [mobile app for pregnant women](/projects/pregnancy-app/).

<div className="image">![pregnant women](../../static/images/pregnant_women.png "pregnant women")</div>

### Telemedicine / Telehealth

Remote delivery of healthcare services, such as consultations and diagnoses, through telecommunications technology, often involving video conferencing:

* **Remote Patient Monitoring (Remote Medical Care)**

Technology that enables monitoring of patients outside of conventional clinical settings, such as in the home, using various devices to collect medical and health data.

A crucial part of telemedicine is video consultations with physicians. Delve into a subject of [choosing the right video conferencing tool for healthcare](/blog/telehealth-video-conferencing-software/).

### Mental Health Tech

Digital solutions aimed at improving mental health, such as:

* **WebTherapy**

Online therapy platforms offer mental health support through digital platforms, including video calls, messaging, and web-based treatment programs.

Get inspired by the story of [Circles - an online group support platform](/projects/online-group-support/).

* **Mental fitness apps & Mood tracking apps**

Mobile applications designed to enhance mental well-being, often including activities like meditation, cognitive exercises, and stress management techniques.

* **Digital Detox**

Tools and programs that encourage reducing screen time and digital connectivity to improve mental and physical health.

### mHealth (mobile health)

It refers to the practice of using mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) for health services and information, including health monitoring and patient education.

### Precision Medicine

An approach to patient care that considers individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle to tailor treatments and interventions.

### Biohacking

The practice of using technology and biology in tandem to optimize health, well-being, and physical and mental performance, often involves DIY biology and self-experimentation.

### Patient Engagement Apps

Digital applications that aim to involve patients more actively in their healthcare, including tools for health tracking, appointment scheduling, and accessing medical information. It’s especially crucial in chronic disease management.

Explore the [patient engagement app for Parkinson's patients](/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/).

Read more about developing patient engagement solutions: [How to Build Patient Engagement Technology that Will Truly Engage Patients.](/blog/delivering-patient-engagement-platform/)

### Techbio

An emerging field at the intersection of technology and biology, focusing on using technological advancements to understand and engineer biological systems, often related to health and medicine.

## Innovations that will drive healthcare

Technology has the power to change the daily lives of patients and medical staff in countless ways. We've listed the technologies that every HealthTech startup and enterprise should (at least) consider implementing.

If you want to know what’s especially hot in tech for healthcare, read [Top Trends in HealthTech to Watch in 2025](/blog/top-trends-in-healthtech/)!

### Generative AI & Large Language Models

Artificial intelligence enables us to learn from available content to produce new text, images, and other data. It gives lots of use cases for HealthTech:

* supporting specialists in tracing tumors in medical imaging;
* generating human-like text for clinical notes and healthcare documentation;
* creating medical transcriptions;
* virtual healthcare assistants (chatbots) streamline processes like appointment scheduling;
* preventing care by analyzing data from wearables and detecting issues like high blood pressure, concerning EGG patterns, arrhythmias, and more.

Read more about [Large Language Models (LLMs) for Healthcare](/blog/llms-healthcare-security/).

Also, explore ai buzzwords and [understand the difference: Generative AI, Conversational AI, LLMs & SLMs](/blog/ai-buzzwords-definitions/).

<div className="image">![AI buzzwords](../../static/images/ai_buzzwords_landscape.png "AI buzzwords")</div>

### Internet of Things & Bluetooth

The Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare refers to the network of medical devices and applications that communicate and exchange data due to an Internet and bluetooth connection. 

How IoT enhances healthcare:

* enables patients to manage their condition by enabling real-time health monitoring, 
* helps doctors remotely monitor patients' condition 24 hours a day;
* limits the costs of face-to-face examination;
* provides analytics for disease prevention;
* seamless data sharing among healthcare providers.

Read an actual story of British startup offering remote patient monitoring with the [IoT system combined with certified bluetooth devices](/projects/remote-patient-monitoring/).

### Medical devices and wearables

Devices that we have seen at doctors' offices – thanks to Bluetooth connections and dedicated applications – have turned into smart devices that have the power to save patients' lives daily. Pulse oximeters, Bluetooth thermometers, or stethoscopes are only examples of Bluetooth devices that are transforming healthcare. Now they can be used by patients at home to monitor their condition remotely.

Delve into [bluetooth devices that have the power to change healthcare](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/).

<div className="image">![smartwatch](../../static/images/healthcare_wearable_devices.png "smartwatch")</div>

## Compliance and certifications

Managing medical data requires adherence to various local regulations. Compliance with legal and security standards is a crucial aspect of [risk management in healthcare](/blog/risk-management-in-healthcare/). Read our latest blog post to learn more. Here are examples of local laws to follow if you launch a product in that area or store patient data in that region/country.

### GDPR (EU)

HealthTech companies operating within the European Union must adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which sets high standards for the handling and protection of personal data, especially health-related data.

### NIS2 (EU)

European Network and Information Security directive (NIS2) aims to achieve a higher level of cybersecurity for network and information systems in companies and organizations across EU. The deadline for EU Member States to transpose the NIS2 Directive into national law is 17 October 2024, and the laws must take effect from 18 October 2024.

### HIPAA (USA)

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a United States law. The law sets standards for the protection of health information, ensuring that personal health data is properly handled by various entities, including healthcare providers, insurance companies, and their business associates.

### PIPEDA (Canada)

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is a Canadian federal privacy law that governs how private sector organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information in the course of commercial business. It sets out principles for the protection of personal information, emphasizing consent, limited collection, accuracy, and accountability by organizations.

### GDPR (UK)

Similar to the EU GDPR, the UK GDPR regulates the processing of personal data. It mandates data protection principles like data minimization, accuracy, and security. It also requires obtaining explicit consent for processing personal data and implementing data protection measures, including data encryption and breach notification.

Read more about [security in healthcare](/blog/cyber-security-in-healthcare/), which is a crucial aspect of compliance with local laws.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Explore risk management in healthcare with our ebook' ebookName='Risk-Management-in-eHealth-The-Agile-Way.pdf' ebookDescription={'Learn how Agile might help your software development teams assess risk and manage it while building HealthTech.'} ebookImage='/images/ebook-risk-management-cover.png' ebookAlt='ebook cover' />

## UX Design in HealthTech

HealthTech and MedTech applications are usually comprehensive, massive systems dealing with tons of information. Patient's health history, prescribed medicine, vital sign metrics – all of this data is important for healthcare providers and must be well-designed in any system aiming to help them care for patients. That's why there are a few best practices for designing apps for healthcare:

* **Data Management**: The design must effectively manage and display large amounts of information in an accessible manner.
* **Information Prioritization**: Essential information should be prioritized and easily accessible, preferably on the main screen.
* **Iconography**: Use of intuitive icons that convey information quickly and effectively.
* **Color Coding**: Employ color coding to differentiate and highlight important data and functions.
* **Functional Aesthetics**: The design should focus on functionality over aesthetics, meeting the practical needs of healthcare professionals.

Fancy going deeper into product design for healthcare? Explore [UX design best practices in healthcare with a case study](/blog/ux-design-healthcare-medical-apps-case-study/).

<div className="image">![ux design for healthcare apps](../../static/images/design_for_ehealth_app_web_mockup.png "ux design for healthcare apps")</div>

## eHealth companies worth watching

If you want to look closely at some companies that are changing custom [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/), we listed some startups and larger organizations that are worth watching!

**TeleHealth companies to watch**: [Camascope](https://www.camascope.com/), [MedKitDoc](https://medkitdoc.de/en), [Maven](https://www.mavenclinic.com/).

**Medical Imaging AI companies**: [ContextVision](https://www.contextvision.com/), [Enlitic](https://enlitic.com/).

**Online Support and Web Therapy Platforms**: [Circles](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/online-group-support/), [BetterHealth](https://www.betterhelp.com/), [TeenConsulting](https://www.teencounseling.com/), [Ritual](https://www.heyritual.com/).

**AI-Powered Chatbots for Mental Health**: [Weabot Health](https://woebothealth.com/), [Limbic](https://limbic.ai/), [Ebb by Headspace.](https://www.headspace.com/ai-mental-health-companion)

**AI in disease diagnostics companies to watch**: [Decorte Future Industries](https://decorte.co.uk/), [iCAD](https://www.icadmed.com/), [Emory University](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08-ai-enables-earlier-diabetes-chest.html), [Eyenuk](https://www.eyenuk.com/en/), [AinnovaTech](https://www.ainnovatech.com/), [Cleerly](https://cleerlyhealth.com/), [AI Dermatologist](https://ai-derm.com/), [SkinVision.](https://www.skinvision.com/pl/)

**Mindfulness and Relaxation Apps**: [HeadSpace](https://www.headspace.com/), [Calm](https://www.calm.com/), [Buddhify](https://buddhify.com/), [Aura.](https://www.aurahealth.io/)

**Apps for Crisis Intervention**: [Suicide Safe](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.hhs.samhsa.app.spa&hl=en&gl=US), [Weabot Health.](https://woebothealth.com/)

**Digital Detox Apps**: [ForestApp](https://www.forestapp.cc/), [Flipd.](https://www.flipdapp.co/)

## Fancy more HealthTech content?

Get inspired by te best experts, resources and speakers in HealthTech industry:

[Top Newsletters about Digital Health](/blog/top-newsletters-digital-health-healthtech/)

[Top HealthTech Conferences to Attend in Europe in 2025](/blog/healthtech-conferences-europe/)

[Top HealthTech Conferences to Attend in the USA in 2025](/blog/healthtech-conferences-usa/)

[Top FemTech Conferences and Meetups in 2025](/blog/femtech-conferences-meetups/)

## Which hat should I wear today? How to make your team meetings more effective

*Published: 2020-07-20 | Author: ula | Tags: brainstorming, leadership, teamwork*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/which-hat-should-i-wear-today-how-to-make-your-meetings-and-brainstorming-sessions-more-effective/index.md*

There are[ lots of efficient brainstorming techniques for teams](https://www.wework.com/ideas/worklife/effective-brainstorming-techniques) such as visualisation-based method, step-ladder technique, mind mapping, rapid ideation and many others. All of them can create a large space from which to pull the best ideas and make your meetings successful, but today I would like to focus on one method that I have found really meaningful and effective - *The Six Thinking Hats* method by de Bono.

I heard about [Edward de Bono](https://www.edwddebono.com/) a few years ago, but it wasn’t sooner than last year that I decided to dive into his thinking method for the first time. de Bono showed me what the effective thinking process may look like and how to make it more creative than ever. **His method prevents our minds from jumping directly to conclusions. Instead it guides us, lets us consider multiple options, and provides a sense of hope and freedom.**

*The Six Thinking Hats* method gives a kind of instruction on how to request a certain type of thinking while seeking for a solution to our problem. The method can make a futile argument into a fruitful discussion. Typically, we tend to agree when someone shares our thoughts, and disagree when they don't, which often leads to conflicts, and the whole communication to stop. While using de Bono’s technique we have to take a particular stand in each stage of thinking process and get rid of emotional way of proving our case while still being able to express our emotions. **de Bono assumes that we are all capable to see different perspectives and he compares that to wearing different hats. We can put on one hat and take off another. We do not identify with hats themselves.** Each hat gives us just a different perspective on the problem we are discussing. All six hats have different colours and each colour presents a different perspective. Below I will try to give you a brief description of each of them.

## **WHITE HAT**

While “wearing” a white thinking hat we should **collect neutral information and analyse the gathered data to reach a fact-based solution.** de Bono even says that when wearing the white hat thinkers imitate a computer which gives facts and figures when it asked. We use only precise data, number or reports. We have to find gaps and look for ways to fill them with appropriate information. **We have to be neutral and objective - white colour here identifies neutrality.** During meetings or brainstorm sessions you may wear a white hat or just ask someone else to put it on or take it off. You may find the following questions useful: 

*What do we know about this issue?*

*What don’t we know about this issue?*

*What can we learn from this situation?*

*What information do we need to solve this problem?*

*Are there potential existing solutions that we can use to solve this problem?*

## **RED HAT**

The red hat is responsible for emotional thinking, feelings and a subjective perception. The red hat allows emotions to dominate. We should wear the red hat when we want our reactions flow freely and easily. **The red hat’s primary goal is to bring to the table ideas intuitively on the basis of personal feelings and hunches.** The red hat is very open-minded and seeks to identify and clarify other people’s feelings. It provides us with a convenient way to switch on or switch off our emotional mode in a way which is acceptable for the rest of the group. We do not have to justify our feelings or look for any logical assumptions. The questions that may help you think more effectively from a red hat’s perspective are: 

*What is my gut telling me about this solution?*

*What are my feelings telling me about the choice I am about to make?*

*Based on my feelings, is there a better way to go about this?*

*Intuitively, is this the right solution to this problem?*

## **BLACK HAT**

The black hat is used to expose flaws, potential weaknesses as well as dangers. The black hat according to de Bono is used by us the most often. **It is the hat of caution and carefulness.** It is essential to keep you from jumping headfirst into a possible disaster. **Sometimes the black hat is called a logical pessimist.** When putting on the black hat our goal is to be skeptical and focused on risks. It helps us decrease the chances of making a poor decision, but it shouldn’t prevent us from finding a good solution. It just allows us to use our critical ability to the fullest. Some black hat’s questions are: 

*Why something may not work?* 

*What are the risks?* 

*What are potential problems?*

*How will people react?* 

*Will it be acceptable?*

## **YELLOW HAT**

The yellow “thinking” hat is the opposite of the black hat. It helps to counterbalance the judgmental thinking of the pessimistic black hat and focuses on positive aspects of  solutions. **While wearing the yellow hat we should turn on our insatiable curiosity and optimism.** It is the moment when we are real entrepreneurs who can see benefits that other people can’t. We can use our logic and experience, but we don’t have to resign from our dreams and hope. **We think positively about possible solutions and it motivates us to be more and more constructive.** The yellow hat thinker is about with positive assessment and making things happen. Effectiveness is the goal of yellow hat thinking. 

*How can I best approach this problem?*

*How can I logically and realistically make this work?*

*What positive outcomes could result from this action?*

*What are the long-term benefits of this action?*

## **GREEN HAT**

The green hat is the energy hat. Under the green hat we put forward new ideas. It encourages us to be even more creative. Our goal is to find new fresh solutions. It doesn’t have to involve logical thinking, the vital part is just the process of continual new concepts. **Let yourself have insane nonstandard ideas.** Sky is the limit. **The green hat is definitely the most creative part off the whole de Bono process. It produces loads of ideas and possibilities.** Sometimes you may even not have enough time to consider them all. With the green hat we demand an effort, we demand time for generating new ideas. 

*Where does it take me?* 

*How can we make it work?*

*What are the alternatives?* 

*Can we do this in a different way?*

*Is there any other explanations?*

## **BLUE HAT**

The last but not least - the blue “thinking” hat. de Bono compares the blue hat to the orchestra conductor who makes sure that all the musicians do their best and everything what should be done is done at the right time. **The blue hat takes case of the purpose of a meeting.** If you are wearing the blue hat, you are an observer, a leader, a facilitator who keeps the discipline and checks if people stick to the relevant issues. **The blue hat thinker can comments on what other people observe and every now an then give an overview of what has been happening and what has been achieved.** While wearing the blue hat you control the thinking process and organise the thinking itself. You define the problem and determine the tasks which should be carried out through the discussion. 

*What is the main idea?* 

*What is the problem?* 

*What is your conclusion?*

*What do we need to solve the problem?* 

*What should be our next step?* 

*What will we do next?* 

*What have we found out so far?*

*The Six Thinking Hats* method helps explore the meeting's subject fully. It gives us a kind of roadmap that we can follow while searching for a solution. If there are different views and perspectives, we have the blue hat whose role is to lay out what is possible and not possible to make a final decision. The blue hat thinker defines a focus i.e the main task of your thinking session. **All people involved in the session go through the same process to make the final decision - they go through facts (white hat), feelings (red hat), pros (yellow hat), cons (black hat), new ideas (green hat).** We deal with each of these separately with no need for justification. de Bono’s method by the usage of hats simplifies the whole decision-making process and makes it more accessible and effective to everyone. The method is not only simple to understand, but also simple to use. 

If you find the method useful or just interesting, feel free to read on and check the links below with some practical examples: 

[https://www.storyboardthat.com/articles/b/six-thinking-hats-examples](https://www.storyboardthat.com/articles/b/six-thinking-hats-examples)

[https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.html](https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.html)

[https://study.com/academy/lesson/de-bonos-six-thinking-hats-summary-examples.html](https://study.com/academy/lesson/de-bonos-six-thinking-hats-summary-examples.html)

Here you can find other effective brainstorming techniques that you can easily apply in your team meetings: 

[https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/top-brainstorming-techniques--cms-27181](https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/top-brainstorming-techniques--cms-27181)

[https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/creative-exercises-better-than-brainstorming](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/creative-exercises-better-than-brainstorming)

To ensure everyone in the meeting understands its purpose, it's helpful to have a clear roadmap to guide the discussion. The roadmap you choose will depend on your goals, your team, and the desired outcome. Team meetings can be both enjoyable and productive—just remember to embrace the process of thinking and brainstorming. There’s nothing more powerful than seeing a group of people actively generating new ideas, eager to grow and enhance their critical thinking skills.

## A Product Designer Shaped by Architecture: Ola's Career Journey

*Published: 2024-12-09 | Author: aleksandra-zaw | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/architect-product-designer-career-story/index.md*

**Ola decided it was time for a career change and made the pivot from architecture to product design. Explore her career journey, her decision to live in Porto, and her holistic approach to application redesign.**

<div className="image">![Career story product designer](/images/brightstoryolagrid.png "Career story product designer")</div>

## How did you come to live in Porto?

I spent some time in Spain during college and really enjoyed their relaxed attitude towards life. After graduating, **I had the opportunity to do an internship abroad through the Erasmus program, so I decided to explore Portugal this time**.

I love Porto! Even though I’ve been living here for over three years, **I still discover new and interesting spots**. I never get bored – every day, I’m amazed by something new I find.

## What do you appreciate about living in Portugal, and what don’t you like?

As I mentioned, I love the views and the fact that Porto has a lot of greenery, even in the city center where I live. **I grew up in a small town where my house was surrounded by forests and greenery, so Porto seems familiar and comforting**. Even though Porto is a relatively big city, it still feels like a small town.

<div className="image">![Strolling around Porto.](/images/ola_porto.png "Strolling around Porto.")</div>

<center>Strolling around Porto.</center>

What I don’t like is the winter here. For people from Poland, it’s hard to understand how cold it can be. **Even though the temperature might seem mild – around 15 degrees Celsius – it’s the same temperature inside the buildings because there’s no central heating**. In Poland, we go from the cold outdoors to warm, heated apartments. Here, it feels very cold indoors, but thankfully the winter only lasts about three months.

## Is there a particular Polish dish you miss the most?

The first thing that comes to mind is **pierogies**, though I’m not sure why – there’s actually a Slavic store nearby where I can buy them. But there’s one dish I really miss, and it’s **Hungarian potato pancake with goulash**. It's something I always eat when I'm back home in Poland. Despite the name, it’s actually a very popular Polish dish.

Oh, and I also miss **chicken soup**! The chicken soup I’ve found in Porto doesn’t even come close to Polish chicken soup, which is really disappointing – especially when I want something comforting while I’m sick.

## You made a pivot from architecture to product design. Tell us more about it.

After graduating with my Master's degree, **I went to Porto for an architecture internship, which turned into a full-time job**. I spent two years there. **After some time I felt that I needed a change**. One of the reasons was that I wanted a job that would give me the opportunity for hybrid work, but as an architect, that wasn't possible – you spend lots of time in the office and at construction sites. 

Then **I thought that product design was connected to my current experience**, and it could give me a chance to work from home. I was so happy to have a clear purpose. I meet many people who talk about changing industries but don't have any clue what they would like to do.

## Is architecture similar to product design in some regard?

Some might think it's a stretch, but I believe that architecture and product design have a lot in common. **The systematic aspects of my profession and the fact that you always have to consider the people who will live in the buildings you design** – their comfort and needs – seem very similar to product design, where **users are also at the center**.

<div className="image">![Quote](/images/ola_quote_architecture.png "Quote")</div>

This connection was another reason for my career pivot. **I decided to leave my architecture job to dedicate my time to learning and taking courses**, and after a year, I secured a position in product design.

During that time, **I was earning money as a tourist guide in Porto**, and I'll tell you that I earned more from tips than from my architecture job. It's not the best-paying industry, unfortunately.

<div className="image">![Free walking tour](/images/ola_tourist_guide.png "Ola, while guiding a free walking tour.")</div>

<center>Ola, while guiding a free walking tour.</center>

**Being a guide helped me overcome a huge fear of mine: public speaking**. I was always terrified whenever I had to give a presentation. Exploring Porto with strangers and telling them about the city's architecture finally helped me overcome that fear.

## What is it like to work for a Polish company while living in Porto? How often do you visit the office in Gdańsk?

**I try to visit the office every three months when we have a team retreat**. As soon as the event dates are announced, I immediately book my plane tickets. I enjoy working remotely, but at the same time, I value in-person interaction with my coworkers. I’ve noticed that at Bright Inventions, people often meet up after work, and I’d love to join those gatherings more often.

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions’ office](/images/ola_team_office.png "At the Bright Inventions’ office in Gdansk.")</div>

<center>At the Bright Inventions’ office in Gdansk.</center>

## You’ve been working on an application redesign for one of our clients. Can you tell us a little about the process?

The plan wasn’t just to redesign the application but to **completely refresh the image of this particular startup**. The goal was to update the branding to align with current trends while **prioritizing a simpler and more intuitive experience for users**. The aesthetic aspect was secondary to usability.

I started by creating a comprehensive brand guide with a holistic approach. This included **everything from the color palette and fonts to the entire visual identity of the brand**. Once that was established, I could shift my focus to **updating the app screens**.

<div className="image">![Quote on gamification](/images/ola_quote_gamification.png "Quote on gamification")</div>

One of the most interesting challenges was **incorporating gamification into the app**. Gamification is usually associated with fitness or educational apps, but this app falls outside of those categories. It was exciting to build a gamification system for an industry that doesn’t have many benchmarks for this kind of feature.

The programmers will soon begin implementing the new design, and **I’m excited for users to experience not just the updated app but the refreshed brand as a whole**.

## What do you do after hours?

**My hobby is trying new hobbies**! I make it a point to try something new at least once a month. Right now, I’m into **aerial yoga**. I always thought yoga might be too calm for me, but aerial yoga takes things to a whole new level – literally and metaphorically. You have to work on pivots and turnovers, so there’s no time for boredom.

Apart from that, I **go to the gym** five times a week. I also love cooking, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I enjoy making everyday dinners. **I love experimenting and exploring in the kitchen**.

And of course, **I love traveling** – though I guess that’s a common passion! I’m about to go on a trip of a lifetime to Asia, where I’ll visit India, Thailand, and Indonesia. I’m really looking forward to it!

## Conquering eHealth Bottlenecks: Insights from Aahuti Rai at HLTH Europe

*Published: 2024-12-04 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ehealth-bottlenecks-interview-aahuti-rai/index.md*

**The HLTH Europe Conference in Amsterdam brought together some of the most innovative minds in digital health. Among them was [Aahuti Rai](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aahutirai/) - an inspiring figure working at the intersection of technology and healthcare transformation. Check out the interview exploring her journey, insights, and perspectives on the state and future of digital health.**

<div className="image">![Aahuti Rai](/images/screenshot-2024-12-06-at-11.14.26.png "Aahuti Rai at the HLTH conference")</div>

*[source: Aahuti Rai LI page](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aahutirai_photos-from-hlth-europe-24-activity-7209819934971858944-jRr6?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop)*

## **Could you briefly describe yourself and your role?**

I'm based in the UK but work across Europe. **I would describe my role as a connector in the digital health space.** Tangibly, I do advisory work, act as a venture partner with an impact fund, and hold several advisory roles in the ecosystem. I focus on supporting important collaborations and projects. For example, last year, I was part of a women’s health community in Basel, contributing to ideation and concept work. My daily work involves advising startups and scale-ups on commercialization, patient engagement, clinical acceptance, and adoption, alongside my investment activities.

## **What inspired you to enter the digital health field?**

My background spans over 20 years across 14 industry sectors, including healthcare and life sciences. Initially, my work was sector-agnostic, running my own innovation consulting firm that helped clients like eBay, Amazon, and Specsavers leverage technology for large-scale transformation.\
**Healthcare has always been a passion of mine.** As I reached midlife, I began reflecting on focusing all my energy on healthcare, the sector I care about most. With support from my family, I stepped away from my consultancy business and dedicated a year to pro bono work in healthcare to determine where I could deliver the most value. By the end of that year, I realized the startup space was driving true innovation. This was pre-COVID, and while I knew the challenges of working with large public and private sector organizations, I saw the opportunity to make a difference.

The decision wasn’t easy, but I’m glad I made it. There are significant bottlenecks and challenges in healthcare, but being part of solving those problems—building the road as we go—is deeply gratifying.

<div className="image">![aahuti_rai](/images/baner_aahuti-1-.png "")</div>

## **What are the biggest tech challenges in digital health today?**

The challenges aren’t so much in the technology itself; there’s been an incredible convergence of advancements. **The issue lies in healthcare’s readiness to adopt and implement these technologies.**

The startup sector is often at the cutting edge, but healthcare remains entrenched in traditional systems, with silos, paper-based processes, and outdated tools like fax machines. **Technology offers transformative solutions, but culture change takes time.**

COVID accelerated progress and funding, but the pace of technological innovation often outstrips the ability to shift mindsets, reconfigure care models, and engage stakeholders. For example, in systems like the NHS, managing resources and transforming care delivery is a massive challenge.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore guidelines for HealthTech startup owners' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'From secure LLMs to app performance monitoring – dive into tech solutions that will help you scale your software for healthcare.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='healthtech guide' />

## What trends in digital health excite you the most?

I’m less excited about specific technologies and more about their potential impact. **What excites me is how these tools can address overlooked areas of healthcare, tackle inequities, and improve understanding of previously neglected conditions or populations.**

For instance, at this conference, someone showcased a[ device for rape prevention, providing immediate evidence of assault](https://www.linkedin.com/company/myenough/). It’s groundbreaking work that no large company or government is prioritizing.

I’m also passionate about leveraging digital health and AI to close gaps in healthcare access and understanding. Startups excel at addressing these areas without immediate financial incentives, and that’s where the real innovation happens.

<div className="image">![hlth_conference](/images/frame-2608395-3-.png "")</div>

## What are your impressions of the HLTH Europe Conference?

The conference has been incredible. The quality of networking and the carefully curated topics and speakers are commendable. The organizers have clearly worked hard to bring the right people into this space.

While there were some teething issues, which is expected for a conference of this size, the content, energy, and connections have been invaluable. It’s been an intense and exhausting experience, but also rewarding. I’d love to return next year.

## Thank you for this insightful conversation. I hope you get some well-deserved rest.

Thank you! It’s been a pleasure speaking with you.

## Understanding the Hoisting Behavior of let and const

*Published: 2024-11-26 | Author: rafal-op | Tags: frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/let-const-hoisting/index.md*

**[Following our discussion on Frontend gotchas](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/) let’s delve into JavaScript's intricate behavior: hoisting. I’ll be shedding light on a prevalent myth surrounding this mechanism, particularly associated with the “let” and “const” keywords.**

<div className="image">![Understanding the Hoisting Behavior of let and const blogpost banner](/images/blogpost_let_const_hoisting.png "")</div>

## **The myth: let and const are not hoisted**

> **Hoisting** is a mechanism that relocates **variables declarations** (those declared using the “**var**” keyword) and **function declarations** to the top of their respective scope within the code. 

The traditional definition of **hoisting** often focuses on variables declared with the **var** keyword and **[functions declarations](https://tc39.es/ecma262/multipage/ecmascript-language-statements-and-declarations.html#prod-HoistableDeclaration)** (entire function, including its body, is hoisted), leaving out the behavior of variables/constants declared using **let** and **const** (alongside various other JavaScript features like **classes**, although we’ll concentrate on variables/constants for clarity). This omission can lead to a misconception about hoisting. While it’s true that the hoisting mechanism isn’t experienced in the same way with **let** and **const** it doesn’t imply that it doesn’t exist for them. There’s a *grain of truth* behind this myth, highlighting a nuanced aspect of hoisting for these declarations.

### Is hoisting even real?

It's important to emphasize that this **relocation** isn't a literal process. Instead, it acts as a mental model that helps us grasp how the **JavaScript engine** operates **before code execution**, particularly regarding variable and function declarations and their **memory allocation**.

## The truth behind hosting of let and const

Within JavaScript, in tandem with variable hoisting, an auxiliary mechanism comes into play when a variable is declared using **var**. This mechanism, according to [ECMAScript docs](https://tc39.es/ecma262/multipage/ecmascript-language-statements-and-declarations.html#sec-variable-statement), in adherence to hoisting principles, **initializes** the variable with an **undefined** value:

> A var statement declares variables that are scoped to the running execution context's VariableEnvironment. Var variables are created when their containing Environment Record is instantiated and are initialized to undefined when created

Consequently, this initialization permits the utilization of the variable without triggering any errors.

```
console.log(a) // here we can access "a" variable

var a = "abc";

// Console: undefined
```

### Declaration and initialization

Before we unravel the truth behind a common myth, let’s lay down definitions for two crucial operations: “**declaration**” and “**initialization**.”

The **declaration** process marks the creation of variables/constants using keywords like **var**, **let**, or **const**, establishing their presence within a given scope.

```
var a; // declaration of variable "a"
let b; // declaration of variable "b"
const c; // this is not allowed - const has to be initialized with the value
```

The **initialization** is the phase where a value is assigned to a declared variable or constant.

```
var a; // declaration of variable "a"
a = 1 // initialization of "a" with the value 1

let b; // declaration of variable "b"
b = 2; // initialization of "b" with the value 2

const c = 3; // declaration of constant "c" with initialization with the value 3
```

It’s important to note that while this section provides a foundational understanding of **declaration** and **initialization**, the intricate mechanisms behind these processes fall outside the scope of this article.

## Hoisting for let and const

In the preceding section, we highlighted that variables defined with the **var** keyword are **hoisted** and **initialized** with an **undefined** value. But what about their counterparts, **let** and **const**?

Variables and constants declared using **let** and **const** are indeed hoisted as well. This might seem surprising, so let’s clarify this with an example to address any potential confusion.

Consider the scenario where an attempt is made to access not defined variable:

```
console.log(a)

// Console: ERROR: ReferenceError: a is not defined
```

As you’ve noticed, the error encountered is a **ReferenceError** stating “**a is not defined**”. 

In the case of **var** declaration (*var a*), this error wouldn't persist (resulting in **undefined** output in the console). How would a similar scenario unfold with declarations using **let** and **const** keywords?

```
console.log(a)

let a = "abc"

// Console: ???

console.log(b)

const b = "abc"

// Console: ???
```

As mentioned earlier, both **let** and **const** declarations are **hoisted** in JavaScript. However, attempting to access variables declared with these keywords before their initialization results in a **ReferenceError** (the same type as in the example above). The error message, “**Cannot access 'a' before initialization”** (or **“Cannot access ‘b’ before initialization”** for **const**), distinguishes this scenario from trying to access an entirely non-existent (**not defined**) variable.

Given your understanding of the distinction between **declaration** and **initialization**, **hoisting** primarily involves shifting the **declaration** to the top of the **variable’s scope**. However, the error message often refers to “**initialization**”. To expand on the concept, it’s essential to note that both **var** and **let** variables are **implicitly initialized** with the **undefined** value, albeit unintentionally. Nevertheless, when attempting to access a **let** variable before its definition, this initialization mechanism doesn't occur, [ECMAScript docs](https://tc39.es/ecma262/multipage/ecmascript-language-statements-and-declarations.html#sec-let-and-const-declarations) describes it as:

> let and const declarations define variables that are scoped to the running execution context's LexicalEnvironment. The variables are created when their containing Environment Record is instantiated but may not be accessed in any way until the variable's LexicalBinding is evaluated

 As highlighted earlier in the article, only **var** variables are initialized with the undefined value after the **hoisting** phase.

### Temporal Dead Zone

The absence of the behavior involving **undefined** initialization during hoisting for **let** and **const** declarations leads to errors when attempting to hoist them. While hoisting moves the declarations of variables/constants to the top of their scope, accessing uninitialized variables/constants declared with **let** and **const** isn't possible.

This behavior introduces what we refer to as the “**Temporal Dead Zone**”. It encapsulates the code block from the beginning of the scope (where the block defines the scope for **let** and **const**) until the point where the variable/constant is initialized. Entering this **Temporal Dead Zone** triggers the error we encountered earlier: “**Cannot access 'a' before initialization**".

## Summary

The discussion on **hoisting** often revolves around **var** variables, often overlooking the nuanced behavior of **let** and **const**. Unlike **var** variables, which are **hoisted** and **initialized** with **undefined**, **let** and **const** variables/constants undergo **hoisting without initialization**. This leads to the **Temporal Dead Zone**, a crucial concept that underlies the myth that **let** and **const** are not hoisted.

Claiming that **let** and **const** are not hoisted is a simplification  -  it’s a mental shortcut. In reality, we cannot use these variables/constants before their **declarations** not because they are not hoisted, but because they **lack initialization**. This is evident in the **ReferenceError** message: “**Cannot access ‘a’ before initialization**”. The **Temporal Dead Zone** is the key to understanding this behavior.

- - -

##### Take a look at our earlier blog post debunking frontend myths:

1. [To 'b' or Not to 'b': The Semantic Status of HTML 'b' Tag](/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/)

## To 'b' or Not to 'b': The Semantic Status of HTML 'b' Tag

*Published: 2024-11-19 | Author: rafal-op | Tags: frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/semantic-status-of-html-b-tag/index.md*

**In this article, I delve into the subtle differences between the `<b>` and `<strong>` HTML tags. I highlight their shared ability to visually emphasize text while also underscoring their unique semantic implications. Despite their apparent visual resemblance, these tags diverge significantly in their semantic roles, which in turn affects accessibility, SEO, and best practices in web markup.**

<div className="image">![html tags](/images/blogpost_rafal_b_htlm.png "")</div>

## Understanding semantic tag

What is that “**semantic tag**” from the title? Semantic tags in **HTML** serve a specific purpose by encapsulating **meaningful information** about the content or structure of an element. They significantly boost **accessibility** (A11y) and search engine optimization (**SEO**), all while enhancing the readability of your code.

## The myth: 'b' Is Not About Meaning

The myth revolves around the distinction between the `<b>` tag, primarily used for styling text to be bold, and the `<strong>` tag, which conveys semantic meaning by indicating important content.

You’ve likely heard that:

> `<b>` isn’t considered a semantic tag

Alternatively, you might have heard:

> `<b>` is used for styling purposes to make text bold, while `<strong>` holds semantic significance, emphasizing important content

There’s a misconception that `<b>` lacks semantic significance, while `<strong>` holds a deeper meaning, creating confusion about their appropriate usage.

It’s fascinating that if you inquire with ChatGPT about the differences between `<b>` and `<strong>` tags, you’ll encounter the myth I’m referring to:

<div className="image">![ChatGPT description about differences between b and strong tags](/images/b-vs-strong.png "")</div>

Myths like this one often had some truth in the past. For instance, `<b>` was indeed linked with “bold” styling without conveying any specific meaning. Even the HTML4 specification categorized it under “**Font style elements**” \[1], explicitly stating its rendering as bold text style:

> B: Renders as bold text style.

This association with mere visual styling persisted until the HTML5 standard was introduced, bringing changes to these interpretations.

## The truth behind 'b' versus 'strong'

The evolution of HTML standards is fascinating. In the current HTML5 documentation, the `<b>` tag resides within the “**Text level semantics**” section \[2], marking a significant shift from its previous association in HTML4. Similar to its HTML4 counterpart, browsers still apply additional styles to the `<b>` element, rendering text bold as specified. However, in HTML5, `<b>` carries a semantic meaning, emphasizing its intended usage for specific purposes rather than simply applying font weight \[3]. Even on MDN’s specification for the `<b>` element, it’s referred to as “**The Bring Attention To**” element, \[4] highlighting its evolved role.

It’s intriguing: both `<b>` and `<strong>` can make the text bolder visually (but should not be used just to make text bold), yet they each carry distinct semantic meanings. At first impression, they may seem alike, but their semantics differ subtly, shaping their intended use in distinct ways.

`<b>` is not as impactful as `<strong>` according to HTML documentation, as it doesn’t inherently convey extra significance or importance. It’s suggested \[2] for instances like highlighting:

> \[…] key words in a document abstract, product names in a review, actionable words in interactive text-driven software, or an article lede.

A meaningful illustration of `<b>` usage would be:

`<p>The <b>primary</b> colors are red, blue, and yellow.</p>`

Here, no specific importance is attributed to the word “primary”  -  it is a **keyword**.

On the contrary, `<strong>` emphasizes the **significance**, **gravity**, or **urgency** of a specific part within the text, without altering the overall meaning of the content itself \[5]:

`<p><strong>Attention!</strong> All passengers must fasten their seatbelts during the flight.</p>`

## Impact on accessibility 

As noted earlier, semantic tags are generally intended to improve **accessibility** (A11y), but the practical difference between `<b>` and `<strong>` tags in this area is less significant than one might expect. While these tags have distinct semantic meanings - support for their unique purposes is not consistently implemented across all screen readers. As a result, in many cases, their behavior is identical \[6], functioning just like a standard text tag.

To observe this firsthand, you can enable VoiceOver on your computer or install a screen reader extension in your browser to test how these tags are interpreted. This discrepancy between specification and real-world implementation reveals a gap that still exists in how accessibility tools handle semantic tags.

## Summary

The rapid evolution of standards and specifications in various frontend technologies can be challenging to keep up with. It’s easy to miss subtle but impactful changes, especially when online resources offer conflicting information. I hope this article helped clarify the semantic differences between the `<b>` and `<strong>` tags, highlighting the unique roles each one plays.

### References

* **\[1] HTML4 'b' spec**\
  https://www.w3.org/TR/html401/present/graphics.html#edef-B
* **\[2] HTML5 'b' spec**\
  https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/text-level-semantics.html#the-b-element
* [](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/text-level-semantics.html#the-b-element)**\[3] Using 'b' and 'i' elements**\
  https://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-b-and-i-tags
* **\[4] 'b': The Bring Attention To element**\
  https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/b
* **\[5] HTML5 strong spec**\
  https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/text-level-semantics.html#the-strong-element
* **\[6] Screen Readers support for text level HTML semantics**\
  https://www.tpgi.com/screen-readers-support-for-text-level-html-semantics/

## Bright Inventions Named a Trusted Engineering Partner in Polkadot’s Ecosystem

*Published: 2024-11-18 | Author: izabela | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/polkadot-delivery-partners/index.md*

**The Decentralized Delivery Partners Program, funded by the Polkadot treasury, is an initiative designed to strengthen collaboration between builders and service providers within the Polkadot ecosystem.**

<center>

<TwitterEmbed url='https://x.com/0xBlockDeep/status/1850947694963069095' />

</center>

After a rigorous screening process, we are proud to announce that **Bright Inventions has been included in the [Substrate Delivery Partners directory](https://github.com/blockdeep/delivery-partners)**. This recognition places us among a select group of expert engineering partners capable of building with the Polkadot SDK or setting up the infrastructure to run a chain.

We’re honored that our expertise in Substrate [blockchain development](/our-areas/blockchain/) has been acknowledged, and we look forward to contributing to the growth of the Polkadot ecosystem.

The program's initiator is BlockDeep Labs. Learn more about the Delivery Partners Program on [Block Deep Labs' blog](https://blog.blockdeep.io/launching-the-delivery-partners-directory-394a0dfad607).

## Breaking Barriers in Healthtech: Strategies for Navigating in 2025

*Published: 2024-11-18 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthtech-strategies/index.md*

The Healthtech sector is driving a revolution in healthcare, reshaping how we deliver care, engage patients, and conduct medical research. From telemedicine to AI-powered diagnostics, these innovations hold the potential for better efficiency and patient outcomes. **Yet, as we look to 2025, significant barriers remain. This article explores key challenges and strategic insights gathered from industry experts at [HLTH Europe in Amsterdam](https://europe.hlth.com/),** offering a roadmap for navigating the complex landscape of Healthtech in the year ahead.

## **Regulatory Hurdles: Navigating Diverse Requirements Across Regions**

One of the most significant challenges for Healthtech companies is **the complex web of regulatory requirements that vary by country—and sometimes even within regions of the same country.** Regulatory bodies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and others have stringent guidelines for medical technologies. Navigating these regulations requires substantial legal expertise and resources.

<div className="image">![mohammad al ubaydli](/images/baner_mohammad.png "phin")</div>

### Implications:

* Time-Consuming Approval Processes: Lengthy approval times can delay the deployment of critical technologies.
* Resource Intensive: Compliance demands significant investment in regulatory affairs teams and legal consultations.
* Market Entry Barriers: Smaller start-ups may find it challenging to enter multiple markets due to regulatory complexities.

### Strategies for Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles:

* Early Engagement: Engage with regulatory bodies early in the development process.
* Global Harmonization Efforts: Advocate for international standards to simplify cross-border compliance.
* Localized Expertise:Employ local regulatory experts to navigate regional requirements effectively.

## **Data Security and Privacy: Balancing Accessibility with Protection**

In an era where data is a valuable asset, ensuring the security and privacy of patient information is paramount. Healthtech solutions often require the collection, storage, and transmission of sensitive health data, making them prime targets for cyberattacks.

### Challenges:

* Compliance with Laws: Adhering to regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
* Technological Vulnerabilities: Protecting against hacking, data breaches, and unauthorized access.
* Patient Trust: Maintaining confidence among users that their data is secure.

### Mitigation Strategies:

* Robust Encryption: Implement advanced encryption methods for data at rest and in transit.
* Regular Audits: Conduct security audits and vulnerability assessments.
* Access Controls: Utilize multi-factor authentication and strict access protocols.

**Check another blog post to read more about [securing health data](/blog/cyber-security-in-healthcare/).**

## **Adoption Barriers: Convincing Stakeholders to Embrace New Technologies**

Even the most innovative Healthtech solutions can falter if they fail to gain acceptance from healthcare providers and patients. Resistance can stem from a lack of understanding, fear of the unknown, or perceived threats to established workflows.

<div className="image">![aahuti rai](/images/baner_aahuti.png "healthcare stakeholders")</div>

### Factors Contributing to Adoption Barriers:

* Complexity of Technology: Steep learning curves can deter busy healthcare professionals.
* Cost Concerns: High initial investment without immediate ROI can be a deterrent.
* Skepticism: Doubts about the efficacy and reliability of new technologies.

### Approaches to Enhance Adoption:

* Education and Training: Offer comprehensive training programs for users.
* Demonstrate Value: Provide evidence of improved outcomes and efficiencies.
* User-Friendly Design: Develop intuitive interfaces to ease the transition.

## **Interoperability Issues: Bridging the Communication Gap Between Systems**

The lack of seamless communication between different health systems hinders the effective use of Healthtech solutions. Interoperability is crucial for ensuring that patient data flows efficiently across various platforms and care settings.

<div className="image">![fernando campos soares_interoperability](/images/baner_fernando-failure-2-.png "nuria_interoperability")</div>

### Problems Arising from Interoperability Gaps:

* Data Silos: Fragmented data can lead to incomplete patient records.
* Inefficiencies: Duplicate tests and procedures increase healthcare costs.
* Patient Safety Risks: Incomplete information can result in medical errors.

### **Solutions for Improved Interoperability:**

* Adopt Standards: Utilize common data standards like HL7 and FHIR.
* APIs and Integrations: Develop application programming interfaces that enable system compatibility.
* Collaborative Efforts: Participate in industry consortiums focused on interoperability.

## **Funding and Investment: Securing Financial Support**

Access to capital is a significant barrier, especially for start-ups aiming to disrupt the Healthtech space. Investors may be wary due to the high risks associated with regulatory hurdles and market adoption challenges.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='scale your healthtech solution' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Check out HealthTech experts\' advice on creating a successful project.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='undefined' />

### Investment Challenges:

* High Development Costs: R&D in Healthtech can be expensive and time-consuming.
* Uncertain ROI: The path to profitability may not be clear-cut.
* Market Competition: A saturated market can deter investment.

### Strategies to Attract Funding:

* Clear Value Proposition: Articulate how the technology addresses unmet needs.
* Pilot Programs: Demonstrate success through small-scale implementations.
* Strategic Partnerships: Collaborate with established healthcare entities to bolster credibility.

## Cultural Resistance: Overcoming Traditional Mindsets

Healthcare is a field deeply rooted in tradition and established practices. Introducing new technologies often requires a cultural shift among providers and patients alike.

### Aspects of Cultural Resistance:

* Trust in Human Judgment: Preference for human expertise over algorithms or AI.
* Fear of Job Loss: Concerns that automation may replace human roles.
* Patient Reluctance: Discomfort with virtual consultations or digital monitoring.

### Overcoming Cultural Barriers:

* Stakeholder Engagement: Involve healthcare professionals in the development process.
* Transparent Communication: Explain the benefits and limitations of technologies openly.
* Gradual Implementation: Introduce changes incrementally to allow time for adaptation.

## **Conclusion**

The Healthtech industry stands at the forefront of revolutionizing healthcare, offering solutions that could lead to more personalized, efficient, and accessible care. However, **to realize this potential, stakeholders must navigate a complex landscape of regulatory requirements, data security concerns, adoption hurdles, interoperability challenges, funding obstacles, and cultural resistance.**

Addressing these issues requires a **multifaceted approach** that includes early and ongoing collaboration with regulatory bodies, robust cybersecurity measures, strategic efforts to encourage adoption, technical solutions for interoperability, innovative funding models, and initiatives to shift cultural perceptions.

By proactively tackling these challenges, Healthtech companies can pave the way for a more connected and advanced healthcare system that benefits providers and patients alike.

## 7 sins of demotivation every manager & leader should be aware of 

*Published: 2020-05-07 | Author: ula | Tags: motivation, leadership, team management*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/7-sins-of-demotivation-every-manager-should-be-aware-of/index.md*

Being a team manager today is a complex challenge. Your team likely consists of people with unique personalities, diverse life experiences, varied needs, and different perspectives. **Managing them effectively means fostering collaboration while being alert to potential issues that could escalate if left unaddressed.**

Too often, we can see managers who view people as numbers, overlooking the value of real connections. Don’t be that manager—the one who has no time to listen, who disregards the importance of job satisfaction. **Instead, be the manager who understands what drives or hinders each individual on your team.** Recognize the warning signs of demotivation and its impact on team performance. Be the kind of manager who is fully aware of the "7 sins of demotivation" and works to create an environment where employees feel motivated and engaged.

## Sin 1: The lack of appreciation

Not everyone needs daily recognition from their manager. In fact, there are some employees—though perhaps a minority—who prefer minimal social interaction at work and are content as long as their paycheck arrives on time. **However, we often overvalue financial motivators at work as most people seek more than just a paycheck, they put in significant effort and have a genuine need to feel valued for their contributions.** When a manager overlooks their hard work, it can lead to frustration, resentment, and ultimately demotivation.

**In the book ["Drive"](https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805) Daniel Pink highlights that beyond financial rewards, people are motivated by three key factors: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.** When managers recognize and appreciate the contributions of their team, they tap into these deeper motivations, creating a more engaged and motivated workforce. Don’t be the manager who fails to acknowledge effort. Instead, foster an environment where employees feel seen, valued, and connected to a shared purpose, driving them to do their best work.

## Sin 2: The lack of sense

The tasks we take on at work should always have purpose and meaning. When assigning additional, time-consuming responsibilities to team members, ensure they won’t detract from more critical priorities. Overloading employees with too many tasks can lead to frustration, burnout, and ultimately, demotivation. As Daniel Pink explains one of people's motivators is purpose. This idea of purpose as a core motivator is also explored in "[The Purpose Economy](https://leadershipspace.com.au/podcasts/aaron-hurst-on-leveraging-purpose-for-success/0)" by Aaron Hurst, who discusses how the pursuit of purpose, rather than just profit, is driving the modern workforce. Hurst argues that **people are increasingly looking for work that aligns with their values and provides a sense of fulfillment.** In a similar vein, Simon Sinek's ["Start with Why"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ss78LfY3nE) emphasizes **the importance of understanding the "why" behind what we do, suggesting that when leaders and organizations clearly communicate their purpose, it inspires trust, loyalty, and dedication in their teams.**

Th purpose of our work is seen not just as a nice-to-have, but as a key ingredient in building an engaged, motivated, and productive workforce. A good leader helps their team stay focused on meaningful work that aligns with these intrinsic drivers - delegate tasks clearly, provide guidance, and support your colleagues and employees in managing their time effectively. This not only improves productivity but also fosters a sense of fulfillment and engagement.

## Sin 3: The lack of respect

Respect is the key element in every relation built on trust and mutual support. When respect is lacking and managers treat employees with disregard, it puts the entire team at risk and can lead to high turnover and poor morale. Genuine respect should be given equally to all team members, without favoritism. **If an employee's work needs improvement, [address it honestly and constructively](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/feedback-make-it-simple/)—but never at the expense of their dignity.**

[Susan Fowler emphasizes that sustainable motivation arises when people feel connected, respected, and valued.](https://hbr.org/2014/11/what-maslows-hierarchy-wont-tell-you-about-motivation) **Relationships are essential to fostering this intrinsic motivation.** By respecting your team members, you’re not only acknowledging their worth but also nurturing a culture where people feel supported, engaged, and motivated to grow. Treating employees with respect builds stronger, more resilient teams who can trust one another and their leader.

## Sin 4: The lack of challenges

Routine can be draining. While some people thrive on consistency and prefer a predictable workday, others find purpose in new challenges and opportunities for growth. **[Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis ](https://changingminds.org/explanations/needs/berne_hungers.htm)highlights the human need for stimulation, a need that, when unmet, can lead to boredom, frustration, and even disengagement.**

As a leader recognize the diverse needs of your team and harness their unique strengths. **Give those who crave new challenges the opportunities to innovate and develop their skills.** By effectively managing the talents and aspirations within your team, you foster a dynamic environment that keeps employees engaged and motivated—reducing the temptation for them to seek excitement and growth elsewhere. Be the manager who nurtures talent and provides the stimulation each individual needs to thrive.

## Sin 5: The lack of fair treatment

Avoid favoritism—it’s one of the quickest ways to demotivate experienced employees. **[As a manager or leader don’t let personal preferences or “mind games” cloud your judgment.](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/10-most-common-psychological-games-at-work/)** Favoritism often leaves competent, ambitious team members feeling overlooked and undervalued, undermining their motivation and trust.

Even if you naturally connect with certain employees more than others, all team members deserve fair and equal treatment. **Your employees don’t have to share your personal interests to earn your respect or support.** Avoid subtle biases and favoritism, and instead, create a workplace culture where each individual feels recognized and valued for their skills and contributions. Don’t let trivial differences or personal preferences erode team morale—lead with fairness and integrity, and watch your team’s motivation thrive.

## Sin 6: The lack of autonomy

The lack of autonomy is one of the strongest demotivators in the workplace. When employees feel they have little control over their tasks or decisions, it can lead to frustration, disengagement, and a sense that their contributions don’t truly matter. **While autonomy is critical for motivation, it should also be balanced with clear structure and direction to help employees thrive.**

In "Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work" Susan Fowler describes the importance of structure in fostering sustainable motivation. People need a framework that guides their efforts and provides clarity on goals and expectations. **Structure does not mean micromanagement, rather it is a supportive foundation that enables autonomy.** Good managers and leaders set clear goals and allows team members the freedom to determine how they achieve them, offering the best of both worlds. By providing structure that supports autonomy, you empower employees to take ownership of their work. 

## Sin 7. The lack of positive vibes

Good managers should care about the atmosphere at work. And what is even more important, good managers are motivated managers. People who can disperse negative vibes from their employees. The seventh sin of demotivation is a negative attitude, the negative attitude that may bring down the whole team. **If you have negative people in your team, take them aside and talk privately how they can improve their approach.** Everyone may have a bad day, but in the end it is the positive atmosphere people need.

Understand the importance of a positive atmosphere at work. An optimistic and energized attitude is contagious. Dispel negativity within your team and recognize that a negative outlook can often drain the morale of everyone around. A negative attitude is the seventh “sin of demotivation” one that can quickly bring down the energy and productivity of the entire group.

If you notice negative behavior in a team member, take a moment to connect with them privately, offering support and encouraging a shift in perspective. Everyone has challenging days, but fostering a positive work environment often relies on humor, laughter, and a healthy dose of lightheartedness. **[Research has shown that laughter at work not only reduces stress but also promotes teamwork and creativity.](https://hbr.org/2020/05/laughter-will-keep-your-team-connected-even-while-youre-apart)** 

In [Provocative Therapy](https://www.provocativetherapyexplained.com/) Frank Farrelly emphasizes using humor to encourage self-reflection, lighten moods, and challenge negativity in a playful, constructive way. **When managers and leaders bring laughter into the workplace, they create a space where employees feel uplifted and engaged, boosting resilience and making work a place where people truly enjoy spending their time.** 🧡

## What do we want

Everyone wants to feel that their work is meaningful and impactful. **It is crucial for team members to feel like they are an essential part of the company, connected to a purpose bigger than themselves.** Let us keep our teams informed about the company’s goals, mission, upcoming changes, new projects, and opportunities. Remember taht even if you play the role of managers or leader in the organisation, you are not the only leader here—each employee is the manager and leader of their own work and their own life. Every day, each company is driven forward by dozens of individuals whose dedication and efforts are key to its success.

Show them their value. Emphasize the importance of their contributions and make sure they know just how vital they are to the bigger picture. Always.

## Unleashing Creativity: The Career Journey of Łukasz, an iOS Developer

*Published: 2024-11-14 | Author: lukasz-n | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/lukasz-ios-developer-story/index.md*

**Breakdancing, starting a band – Łukasz explored many creative outlets in his search for self-expression. Eventually, he discovered that programming was the best way to unleash his creativity. Dive into Łukasz’s career story and learn his secret pizza dough recipe.**

<div className="image">![iOS developer story](/images/brightstorylukaszgrid.png "iOS developer story")</div>

## What was your path toward a career in software development?

From a young age, I've always had a strong desire to create. Initially, I was really into breakdancing. For about two years, **I attended breakdancing classes and especially enjoyed the acrobatic aspects** – it felt like I was creating something through movement. Unfortunately, the classes were canceled, and since I lived in a small village, there weren't any other options to continue pursuing it.

Still driven by my urge to create, I started a band in high school, though it didn’t last long, and to be honest, I wasn't the best musician. I taught myself to play the guitar, but it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. In my senior year, **I discovered that programming could fulfill my creative needs**. I had dabbled in C++ when I was younger, and in elementary school, I even built an unofficial website for my school class. At that time, however, my first choice was to study mechatronics. Yet due to a mistake in my application, I wasn’t able to pursue it, and I ended up studying Computer Science instead. As it turns out, this "backup option" became my eventual career.

## You and Swift – was it love at first sight?

Yes, absolutely. I first encountered Swift in college. **Having prior experience with C++ and Java, where the code often felt unclear and complicated, Swift was a breath of fresh air**. Its syntax was simple yet powerful, and it felt almost like writing a story. The ease and clarity of Swift really stood out to me, and I immediately enjoyed working with it.

## What used to be a challenge for you at work and isn’t anymore?

I would say sharing my ideas. **I used to hold myself back, assuming that my suggestions might be silly** or that others had more knowledge on the subject. **Now, sharing ideas has become a natural part of my work**, and it's something I truly value.

<div className="image">![quote on sharing ideas](/images/lukasz_quote_sharing_ideas.png "quote on sharing ideas")</div>

## How do you recall switching to SwiftUI?

The switch wasn’t too challenging for me because, in college, I **had classes on the QT framework, which introduced me to the declarative approach to building views**. At the time, I struggled with it, but I eventually got the hang of it. That experience paid off later when I started learning SwiftUI, as I was already familiar with the paradigm.

## Are you in the process of switching from UIKit to SwiftUI in the project you're part of?

Yes, I’m part of a team developing a [mobile app for a company in the construction industry](/projects/document-management-apps-construction/). The app was initially written using UIKit because, at the time, SwiftUI wasn’t production-ready. We waited about a year, and **after seeing significant progress in SwiftUI’s development, we began modernizing the app**. 

<div className="image">![quote on Swift UI](/images/lukasz_quote_swiftui.png "quote on Swift UI")</div>

We started by writing one feature in SwiftUI, and the entire team was excited by the results, especially how much faster it was to build views. **Adding new modules with the same complexity took half the time compared to using UIKit**. While this improvement isn’t solely due to SwiftUI, I’d say it contributed about 50% to the increased efficiency. **Now, it’s hard to imagine using UIKit for view-building**, so we develop all new views in SwiftUI and gradually rewrite the older ones.

## Do you enjoy your cooperation with the client?

Absolutely. I really appreciate our open communication and strong feedback culture. The client is very receptive to feedback and also provides their own, which **creates many opportunities for us to share different perspectives and grow as professionals**. For example, the product designer on the client’s side is very open to our input regarding design, allowing us to share our developer’s perspective. This kind of collaborative relationship with product designers isn’t always common in software development, so I especially value it.

## You’ve been working at Bright Inventions for almost 3 years. How do you assess this time?

It's been great! **Even during my job interview with Ula and Mateusz, I felt we had a great connection**. The conversation flowed so well that we could have talked even longer, despite it already lasting about two hours!

What I appreciate most about Bright Inventions is the **company’s strong sports culture**, which I quickly got into. Since joining, I’ve started running more regularly and going to the gym. Besides that, I’ve taken up climbing and finally started learning how to swim, something I’d wanted to do for years. I’m still not the best swimmer, but I’m making steady progress.

<div className="image">![climbing](/images/lukasz_climbing.png "climbing")</div>

Also, I really appreciate that at Bright Inventions, **I can simply focus on doing my work without having to deal with any office politics or mind games**. There’s none of that here, any communication is clear, honest, and drama-free.

## Okay, it's time to be serious. How often do you wash your car? 

Whenever I’m going on a longer trip, **I make sure to wash the car before I leave and then again right before I arrive** at my destination to clean off any dirt or dead insects. But to be honest, I don’t drive that often – I prefer walking around the city. **Poznań, where I live, is perfect for walking**. Aside from regular visits to the car wash, I also take my car to professionals about once a month for a thorough inside-and-out cleaning.

## I know you love cooking Italian. What’s your secret recipe for pizza dough?

I thrive on chaos in the kitchen! While most cooks carefully measure ingredients and follow exact proportions, I like to experiment with different ratios and rising times. So, **my secret ingredient is chaos**.

## So you can’t replicate your dough, even if it turns out perfect?

Yes, that’s the downside! But it also adds an extra fun factor because **I get to keep experimenting and surprising myself** with the results.

## Nuria: Advancing Healthcare Interoperability and Patient Engagement

*Published: 2024-10-18 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/nuria-advancing-healthcare-interoperability-and-patient-engagement/index.md*

\
In this interview, we explore the journey of [Nuria](https://nuria.com.br/) a health tech company based in Brazil, focused on transforming patient engagement and healthcare data integration. The founder -[ Fernando Soares Campos](https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-soares-b7a56755/) shares insights on **how their modular solutions are enhancing digital experiences for patients, streamlining data exchange across various healthcare sectors, and addressing the challenges of interoperability.** Additionally, the discussion covers the barriers to digital transformation in healthcare, strategies for educating stakeholders, and future trends in the health tech industry. The interview was done at the [HLTH Europe Conference in Amsterdam.](https://europe.hlth.com/)

## **Please describe yourself and your solution.**

I'm Fernando Soares the founder and CEO of Nuria. Nuria is a health tech company based in Brazil. We have two main focuses. The first one is patient engagement. **We offer a complete B2B solution for hospitals, clinics, and labs so they can deliver a better digital journey for their patients, engaging them and bringing them closer digitally to their care.** 

Our solution is modular, with five modules that hospitals, clinics, and labs can buy from us and offer to their patients to better their digital journey. The second focus is an integration and interoperability platform. This involves data exchange between hospitals, clinics, labs, and other healthcare solutions, health techs, payers, the pharma industry, and distributors. **Essentially, any player in healthcare that needs to automate a service or product, we connect them.**

## **How exactly is your solution helping people?**

For the [patient engagement solution](/blog/delivering-patient-engagement-platform/), we deliver a better experience for patients. They don't have to call to schedule an appointment; we have online scheduling integrated with hospitals, clinics, and labs. Patients can confirm appointments through their phone, WhatsApp, or email. We have a check-in solution similar to airlines, offering a better digital experience. This means less time waiting to see the doctor, 24/7 online scheduling and confirmation, better check-in experiences, and modules that remind patients about their care, like scheduling regular checkups. **Last year, we impacted more than 12 million patients across Brazil with over 1,000 connected hospitals, clinics, and labs.**

For the integration platform, we automate data exchange between more than 12 partners. The end users are usually doctors or patients. For example, the biggest online prescription health tech in Brazil connects through our system to EMRs in over 50 hospitals. When a doctor makes an online prescription, our platform integrates that prescription into the EMR, enhancing the data available to doctors. Another example is a digital solution for doctors in surgery rooms, recording how much medication is administered to each patient. **We integrate that data into the EMR, providing doctors with comprehensive patient information.**

## **As your company is heavily invested in interoperability, what barriers have you encountered during the journey?**

We've encountered many barriers. When discussing data, interoperability, data quality, unstructured data, and structured data, challenges abound. **In Brazil, our biggest challenge is the mindset of healthcare leaders. Patients often need to opt in to share their data for better outcomes, and regulatory bodies and healthcare providers can be resistant to data exchange.** Payers and providers often operate independently, leaving patients caught in the middle. Changing this mindset requires educating stakeholders about the benefits of data sharing.

<div className="image">![](/images/baner_fernando-challenge.png "")</div>

## **How did you manage to change the mindset of people in Brazil?**

We're still in the education phase. When talking to managing directors of hospital groups, they often acknowledge the challenges of data exchange but don't prioritize investing in it. **Changing this mindset involves educating rather than selling, with a lot of content and discussions.** Healthcare changes are slow and require continuous effort.

## **Is Brazil the only market you're in?**

Yes, currently we're only in Brazil. Brazil is a large market with about 50,000 healthcare units. We're connected to 1,000, so there's a lot of room for growth. Attending HLTH Europe allows us to benchmark and explore opportunities in Europe and Latin America.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore more insights for HealthTech startup owners' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'From secure LLMs to app performance monitoring – dive into tech solutions that will help you scale your software for healthcare.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='guide' />

## **How old is your solution?**

We started back in 2012 with our first product, B2B online scheduling integrated with EMRs. By 2018, we developed what we called the patient's digital journey. In 2019, we launched the integration and interoperability platform. Last year, we rebranded the company, launched more modules, and our patient digital journey evolved into a patient engagement solution. Our integration platform has become a more robust interoperability and data exchange solution.

## **Have you modernized your solution? Have you encountered any barriers or challenges?**

Yes, we constantly modernize our solution. From a product perspective, it's never 100% complete. We continuously evolve and invest in the product. **Data exchange requires high-tech development.** The more we integrate EMRs and partners, the more robust our solution becomes, handling over 130 million data points last year.

## **What inspired you to enter this field of e-health and medtech?**

I've been an entrepreneur my whole life. **In 2009, I had to reschedule an appointment with my dad's friend, a doctor. I struggled to find his contact information and thought it would be easier to use an app to cancel the appointment.** At that time, there was nothing like that in Brazil. Inspired by the need for better patient digital experiences, I left my job and started Nuria to improve online scheduling and rescheduling.

## **Where do you get inspiration now? Any favorite podcasts or news sites?**

I listen to [Morgan Housel's podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/2l01lGyIh9xodneIV37dD3), which isn't healthcare-specific but offers insights into psychology, money psychology, and challenges. My dad is also a significant source of inspiration. He's been a CEO of large companies and has a lot of wisdom to share. I also belong to entrepreneurial groups, including health tech founder groups, where we share experiences and advice.

## **Do you have any advice for young entrepreneurs or startup owners?**

**Founding a company isn't for everyone.** You need resilience, a strong purpose, and the willpower to persist through challenges. It's essential to fail fast, focus on solving problems rather than clinging to ideas, and bring good people on board. You can't do it alone.

<div className="image">![](/images/baner_fernando-failure-1-.png "")</div>

## **What trends do you see in health tech and medtech, apart from AI?**

Besides AI, **I believe healthcare needs to shift its priorities to focus more on patients.** While it's important to improve doctors' administrative work, we must prioritize the patient's overall experience and outcomes. The trend should be about integrating solutions that enhance the entire patient journey, not just isolated digital parts. We need to work together as an ecosystem to deliver better healthcare.

## **Thank you. That was insightful.**

Thank you.

## Tailored Nutrition Solutions: The Anydish Healthcare App

*Published: 2024-10-11 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/nutrition-solution-anydish/index.md*

At [the HLTH Conference in Amsterdam](https://europe.hlth.com/) this June, Agata Bielówka spoke with [Michal Kahan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michal-kahan-a4735559/), founder of [anydish](https://www.anydish.me/), about their innovative solution for health practitioners. Michal explained how the anydish app simplifies the use of disease-specific nutritional protocols, offering customizable, time-saving tools for healthcare professionals.

A recent update to the platform includes a protocol tailored for patients on weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, addressing side effects such as unintended loss of lean body mass and essential vitamins. Kahan also shared insights into their technology, the challenges they face, and the trends driving personalized nutrition in healthcare.

## Can you briefly describe yourself and your solution?

Our solution is for health providers. Health providers could be physicians, functional medicine practitioners, dieticians, or nutritional doctors or therapists. When they see a patient, review diagnostic test results, and consider complex medical situations, it becomes difficult to provide a truly personalized solution, especially when it comes to recipes and nutrition plans.

**Our solution helps both the health practitioner and the patient.**

## **How does it work?**

We have an AI that takes any online recipe from websites about healthy lifestyle, analyzes it, and indexes it by nutritional values and other criteria. Health practitioners use our web tool to build a nutritional prescription for their patients based on diagnostic test results or their own knowledge. Patients then download an app that provides them with personalized recipes matching their profile.

<div className="image">![anydish](/images/screenshot-2024-10-11-at-13.27.46.png "nutrition solution")</div>

source: [anydish.me](https://www.anydish.me/)

## **Are your users mostly individuals, but payers are practitioners?**

Yes, we sell to health providers who offer it to their patients. They have a dashboard to build a nutritional prescription for each patient, and the patient adds their own preferences through the app. Practitioners often bundle the anydish cost into their service and up-sell it.

## **Where did the idea come from?**

My business partner’s daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a late age, which was a big change for their family. She found that existing diabetes-friendly recipes were chaotic and often incorrect. That's how we realized there was a problem to solve. **Our entire company believes in food as medicine.**

## **What are the top tech challenges you faced?**

Supporting additional languages is a challenge. **We use AI and NLP technology, so we can't just use Google Translate**. We're working on adding language models (LLM) that will help support translation to other languages, among other improvements. We also are making our solution accessible and integrating it with diagnostic tests.

## **What markets are you in right now?**

We're in the UK, the US, and other English-speaking countries. We're planning to expand to German-speaking countries next.

## **How does your company ensure medical credibility and accuracy?**

We don't make our own recommendations. Practitioners sign off on the patient’s profile based on diagnostic tests or their own knowledge. We translate this into actionable, real food options using our technology.

<div className="image">![nutrition solution](/images/baner_final-quote-anydish.png "anydish")</div>

## **Do you have any inspirational podcasts or news sites you follow?**

We always look for websites about wellness. Our company nutritionist sorts them before we analyze them. We follow trends like GLP-1 usage for diabetes and weight loss and build solutions for those cases.

## **What do you do in your free time?**

I like sports. I swim, jog, do pilates, and yoga. I also do ceramics once a week.

## **What trends do you see in the health industry?**

GLP-1 usage and the increase in people with multiple diseases. A proper diet complements medication and makes it work better. The health industry is undergoing a transformative shift. Technology is playing a major role, with advancements in telehealth, AI for diagnostics, and wearable health trackers. 

We're also seeing a rise in personalized medicine, tailoring treatments to individual needs. Preventative care is gaining importance, including the crucial role of personalized nutrition in overall health. One specific trend I find interesting is the increasing use of **GLP-1 medications** for managing chronic diseases. However, managing multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity) is another growing concern. This is where personalized nutrition can be a valuable tool. By ensuring patients receive dietary plans that complement medication and address specific needs, we can potentially enhance overall health outcomes.

## **I appreciate your solution. Looking forward to seeing it in Poland. Thank you for your time.**

Thank you.

## Managing Decimals in POS Bill Splitting for Restaurants

*Published: 2024-10-07 | Author: izabela | Tags: POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/decimals-pos-bill-splitting-restaurants/index.md*

**You might think that bill splitting in restaurants is straightforward – you just need to divide the bill among all customers. So, what's the challenge? Well, it comes down to something we might overlook: decimals. Just try splitting 10 pounds among three people. That's when decimals really come into play.**

<div className="image">![decimals payment programming](/images/pos_payment_decimals_blog_cupdate.png "decimals payment programming")</div>

Let's explore a scenario depicted in a mockup of a [bill split system we implemented for Just Eat POS](/projects/pos-bill-splitting/).

## Decimals in restaurant bill split case study

Imagine three people deciding to share one pizza (presumably, they have light appetites). The total bill is £6.49. **Dividing £6.49 by three results in 2.16333333333...** Rounding it down to £2.16 might seem fair since each payment is equal, but then the total collected doesn't match the bill – there's a penny missing!

<div className="image">![Bill splitting UI](/images/split-payment_before.png "Bill splitting UI")</div>

No business wants to lose these pennies on a larger scale. On the other hand, rounding each payment up to £2.17 isn't a perfect solution either, as it results in an overpayment of 2 pence.

As you can see, **decimals are important, in some cases, they can be a matter of life or death**. Yet that’s another, rather [tragic story about 28 soldiers](https://www-users.cse.umn.edu/~arnold/disasters/patriot.html) who died because decimals were, let's say, “neglected”. 

**So, what can we do about these “annoying” decimals in POS systems?**

## Rounding-up mechanism in bill splitting

While developing a [bill-splitting feature for our UK-based point-of-sale (POS) system](/projects/pos-bill-splitting/), our team adheres to **specific rounding-up rules** when the total bill cannot be evenly divided. In cases like the one provided earlier (dividing £6.49 by three), **the last payment needs to include an extra penny**. This small adjustment ensures that the sum of the split payments matches the total amount of the bill.

<div className="image">![Bill splitting UI POS](/images/split-payment_pizza.png "Bill splitting UI POS")</div>

However, in some situations, **rounding may require adding more than one extra penny**. For example, consider splitting £9.35 into 3 separate payments. The result is £3.116666... In this scenario, two of the payments need to be rounded up to ensure the total matches the original amount:

<div className="image">![Bill splitting UI POS](/images/split-payment.png "Bill splitting UI POS")</div>

That's the business logic behind it but what about the code?

## How to represent decimals in payment software development

When handling decimals in code for monetary values using **floating-point types** like `float` and `double` is highly discouraged due to their inherent imprecision. Here's why, and what alternatives should be used instead.

### Problems with float and double

`Float` and `double` are designed to handle a wide range of values by approximating them, which can introduce rounding errors – a critical issue when dealing with money. Due to the way floating-point arithmetic works, numbers cannot always be stored exactly, leading to inaccuracies. For example, performing a calculation with float might result in values like 0.999999999 instead of 1. **This lack of precision makes float and double unsuitable for representing currency**.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Developing POS for real people starts with real stories' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Discover Jennifer’s daily challenges and goals to build POS systems that truly serve.'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='cover user persona' />

### Recommended approaches for currency decimal coding

* **Use integers**

A common alternative is to represent monetary values in cents (or the smallest unit of the currency) using an integer type, such as `int` or `long`. For example, **instead of representing $10.99 as 10.99 with a float, it can be stored as 1099 cents with an integer type**. This avoids floating-point inaccuracies while still enabling exact arithmetic.

* **Use arbitrary precision types**

Many programming languages offer data types that handle decimals with greater precision. In **Java**, for instance, `BigDecimal` is a highly recommended option for monetary calculations, as it provides control over rounding and allows exact calculations without floating-point errors. Similarly, **Python**'s `Decimal` type offers a way to handle monetary values precisely.

* **Control over rounding**

Using types like `BigDecimal` or `Decimal` also gives software developers control over rounding behaviors, which is crucial for restaurant operations where rounding must comply with legal and business standards.

## Does your bill split cover all these scenarios?

While building POS payment solutions for retail and hospitality you will deal with decimals. Ensure your solution covers a variety of mathematical scenarios related to features like bill splitting. 

Do you struggle with implementing payment features? **As [POS software development company](/our-areas/pos-software-development/), we’ve been handling POS scaling for over a decade.** **Contact us to discuss your solution!**

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/gwM0SnHACMs?si=1-utjZt6h4rE8O3S' />

## Striking a Balance: Adam’s Journey Through Hybrid and Native App Development

*Published: 2024-10-03 | Author: adam-k | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/journey-through-hybrid-and-native-app-development/index.md*

**As a React Native Developer Adam gladly embraces the best of both worlds: hybrid and native app development. Discover how his knowledge of Kotlin enhances his cross-platform projects and the future he envisions for React Native. Learn how working on a mental health app has given his work a deeper sense of purpose. Dive into Adam’s career story!**

<div className="image">![Adam's career story](/images/brightstoryadamgrid.png "Adam's career story")</div>

## Was your career focused on mobile development from the start?

I started my career as a web developer, but at my first job, I unexpectedly joined a team that was working on a hybrid mobile application. My first tasks were related to [mobile development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development/), and **I quickly realized that I could build mobile apps using the web technologies** I was already familiar with. This experience really empowered me and got me hooked on mobile development, even though it had never crossed my mind before that I could build mobile apps.

## You specialize in React Native but also continue learning native technologies. Why is that?

In my first job, I worked exclusively with React Native. However, after two years, I changed jobs and began working on a much more advanced mobile app. This app required native modules to handle hardware communication and geolocation. 

This necessity "forced" me to learn Kotlin, which opened up more opportunities to optimize our hybrid app. **Whenever we found that certain features couldn't be optimized with React Native alone, we turned to native technologies**, building those parts in Kotlin to achieve better results. I've also been learning Swift, though I haven't yet had the opportunity to work with it professionally. 

<div className="image">![quote](/images/adam_quote_cross_platform.png "quote")</div>

I've encountered numerous hybrid applications that reached their efficiency limits, and turning to native tech was the only way to optimize certain features. So, **knowing both hybrid and native stacks is crucial, even if you specialize in cross-platform development**.

## What future do you foresee for hybrid technologies?

I can mainly speak about React Native, as that's where most of my experience lies. **React Native has essentially conquered the market**, even though there's still no stable 1.0 version released. Despite this, it has become so popular and widely used in many mobile products that **it’s something developers need to embrace rather than avoid**. 

Meta does a good job developing it, typically releasing updates once a quarter. In recent years, there have been **significant updates to the framework's architecture**, making it easier to integrate hybrid with native modules.

<div className="image">![quote on React Native](/images/adam_quote_react_native.png "quote on React Native")</div>

Another **interesting development is Expo, which adds another layer of abstraction**, making it even easier to build an app. However, this also introduces more limitations. Still, for someone looking to release an app with a small budget, Expo allows a single developer to do so efficiently.

**I don't believe React Native will ever completely replace native development**, but it does provide small startups with a chance to quickly [release an MVP](/our-areas/mvp-development/) in a cost-effective way. That said, I think it's crucial to educate startup owners that while choosing a hybrid solution might be cheaper initially, it could become costly in the long term when you need to rewrite the app or at least parts of it. 

Unfortunately, not every software company is transparent about this with their clients. **It's important to be aware that hybrid mobile development might not be as cost-effective as it seems at first**. Once your MVP proves successful, you might need to "pay some debts" to scale effectively.

*Read more about [native app development vs cross-platform](/blog/native-app-development-vs-cross-platform/).*

## You work in a team developing a mental health application. How does this impact your daily work?

Working on a [mental health solution](/projects/online-group-support/) has changed the way I approach my work. I now see my role from a broader perspective, recognizing that the app I help build supports people dealing with serious mental health challenges like grief, depression, and anxiety. 

For example, **we developed a feature that allows users to notify the appropriate organizations if they notice someone expressing suicidal thoughts during a chat conversation**. While the feature itself might not be technically groundbreaking, the potential to save lives makes it incredibly meaningful. Although my daily tasks haven’t changed – I still solve problems with code – I feel an added sense of purpose in what I do every day.

## What convinced you to join Bright Inventions?

I was **positively surprised by the recruitment process**. It was the most professional one I’ve ever participated in, and at the same time, the most challenging. From the first conversations with the recruiter, I could already sense that the work culture was at a high level. 

During the technical interview, **I appreciated the emphasis on code quality**, which is also important to me. For someone like me who is passionate about programming writing high-quality code is crucial.

Additionally, **I was drawn to the idea of collaborating with a client from the Middle East**. I’m interested in Middle Eastern and African cultures and I actually learn Arabic in my free time, so this opportunity aligned perfectly with my personal interests.

I also appreciate that in our team, we have regular meetings where we discuss technical aspects, new trends and tools, and **make decisions about which features should be refactored and how**.

<div className="image">![Team retreat](/images/michal_team_retreat_christmas.png "During Christmas office party.")</div>

*<center>*During Christmas office party.*</center>*

## What do you do after hours?

**Apart from learning Arabic, I enjoy swimming**. I used to participate in swimming competitions at school, but now I swim just for fun. I also enjoy attending sauna ceremonies conducted by sauna masters.

In addition to that, **I love visiting lesser-known places in Poland**, such as less popular mountain trails, parks, and other hidden gems.

<div className="image">![A lake in Wielkopolska voivodeship. Adam’s private archive.](/images/wielkopolska_adam.png "A lake in Wielkopolska voivodeship. Adam’s private archive.")</div>

<center>A lake in Wielkopolska voivodeship. Adam’s private archive.</center>

## What underrated place in Poland can you recommend?

I can recommend a place from my local area: **the highest peak in Wielkopolska, "Kobyla Góra"**. Although it's only about 200 meters above sea level, it's a great example of places in Wielkopolska that are close to nature. Even though this voivodeship isn't famous for tourist attractions such as mountains, parks, and castles, Wielkopolska remains an underrated gem worth exploring.

## What Are Point of Sale Devices?

*Published: 2022-08-04 | Author: azabost | Tags: business, bluetooth, POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-are-point-of-sale-devices/index.md*

**Integrations with retail devices is crucial part of every point-of-sale system. Learn about the types of equipment used in POS for hospitality and retail.**

![ePOS equipment](../../static/images/blog_post_cover_epos.png)

## What is an ePOS system?

Point of Sale (POS) is the checkout for customers who purchase goods or services. It's the place to execute the payment. In this article, we focus on hardware solutions that are a part of modern POS for retail and restaurants. These are examples of retail hardware that we integrate with POS at Bright Inventions.

**Discover common problems that POS developers face while [integrating hardware with point of sale systems](/projects/pos-devices-integration/).**

## What devices are part of the electronic Point of Sale System?

### POS Desktops:

![ePOS desktop](../../static/images/pos_desktop.png)

* The core of ePOS systems - **double screen devices enabling managing orders in restaurants**. One screen is facing the customer to display the order. Another one is used by the cash employee to optimize the order and finalize the transaction.
* Displays are only a part of it. ePOS desktops have built-in printers, cameras (normal and face recognition cameras), speakers, and NFC&MSR card readers.
* **The core of ePOS are applications** developed entirely for retail purposes. Thanks to the app the employee creates an order, conducts the payment, and then the order is transferred to the kitchen with its own meal displaying system.
* ePOS devices can work on Android and iOS systems as well. If you go for iOS, you just have to work with iPads. Android is an open-source OS. So many producers build devices for ePOS with Android. Global POS manufacturers are for example Sunmi, Anypos, or POS-X.

### Kitchen Display System (KDS):

* It is **a digital way to display orders for kitchen staff**. KDS is just bigger screens placed in the kitchen. For Android, there is a variety of devices with different screen resolutions that could be used. When it comes to iOS, the biggest screen is the iPad 12,9".
* **Kitchen staff can manage every order or only a particular meal that is a part of the order**. For example, they can change the statuses of the meals from “Processing'' to “Ready” which enables waiters and waitresses to be on top of things. They might as well reverse the status from “Ready” to “Processing” if needed.
* KDS might also display notes regarding particular orders so the chef is well aware of any meal modifications by the clients.
* KDS can have two modes: checker mode for admins where you can see every order. And location mode where the system displays orders matching specific sections of the kitchen. For example, if one section takes care solely of desserts, then their KDS displays only desserts from the whole order. 
* KDS systems can as well display colors that emphasize how long it’s been since the order was listed. Usually, the color code states that new orders might be marked with blue and delayed orders with yellow or even orange.

Check how [kitchen display system development](/projects/kitchen-display-system/) changed daily operations in restaurants across UK and Israel.

### Payment terminal:

![payment terminal ePOS](../../static/images/payment_terminal.png)

* That’s probably the retail device that every consumer knows.
* **Terminals are integrated with ePOS devices to display the final price on the terminal** based on the order data from ePOS. Terminals can be connected locally, by Bluetooth, or via the internet (cloud).
* The demand for cashless transactions is growing. For example, The European POS terminal market shipment accounted for 10.25 million units in 2020. [It is expected to reach 22.10 million by 2026](https://www.reportlinker.com/p06129760/Europe-POS-Terminal-Market-Growth-Trends-COVID-19-Impact-Forecasts.html). Therefore the market for cashless transaction tech is growing as well.

Find out how we turned smartphones into terminals with [mobile payment app](/projects/credit-card-reader/).

### Electronic scale:

![electronic scale ePOS](../../static/images/electronic_scale.png)

* We know the drill here as well. Consumers choose the product that they’ve just weighted. The scale reports the weight of the product.
* **Modern scales have Bluetooth connections or are connected to the router with an ethernet cable**. In the latter case, they connect with the dedicated app with User Datagram Protocol (UDP). UDP is a widely used protocol for live video streaming or online games. 

### Barcode scanner:

![Barcode scanner ePOS](../../static/images/baarcode_scanner.png)

* Bluetooth wireless technology enables scanning barcodes on paper or screen.
* Modern scanners make it possible to scan even damaged prints, and faulty or dirty codes.

### Magnetic stripe reader:

* These devices read debit, credit, and loyalty cards. To be precise, they read information encoded in the magnetic stripe located on the plastic card.
* An interesting fact is that magnetic stripes are likely to be globally replaced by chips and contactless payment which are considered more secure. In 2021 [Mastercard announced that magnetics stripes won’t be required in most markets since 2024](https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2021/magnetic-stripe/).

### Kiosk:

* We can divide kiosks into retail and catering versions.
* **Retail kiosks are screen devices enabling contactless payment**. Clients can scan goods and pay thanks to a built-in terminal to eventually receive a printed receipt.
* A catering version of the device is often used in popular fast-food restaurants where every client can go to the restaurant and order a meal using the kiosk. Then the order is transferred to the kitchen.
* Kiosks are known for simple interfaces dedicated to massive use.

### Printers:

There are two types of printers often used in retail:

**1. Label printer**

The label printer is often built-in electronic scales. When you weigh the product, the printer prints the sticker with the barcode which can be scanned by a cashier.

**2. Thermal printer**

![thermal printer ePOS](../../static/images/printer.png)

The device that prints receipts. Thermal printers emit light to the paper that is photosensitive so it leaves the “marks” that we know as the list of our groceries and all the costs.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/Dhjok3uVW8c?si=p8hb1EZhUi4bfJVI' />

## How a Simple Pen Tablet Transformed My Work as a Software Engineer

*Published: 2024-09-26 | Author: azabost | Tags: software development, self-development, programming*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-pen-tablet-changed-software-engineers-work/index.md*

**A few months ago, I bought a basic pen tablet on a whim. It was really cheap — less than $100 — and I wasn’t entirely sure how it would fit into my day-to-day work as a software engineer, but it has since become a handy tool in my workflow. In this post, I’ll share how using a graphic tablet has changed the way I explain concepts, review work, and even rediscover a long-forgotten joy in drawing.**

## Natural and Intuitive

Explaining complex software concepts often involves diagrams or sketches, whether it’s a system architecture or a specific flow of data. With a tablet, I can draw these ideas as if I’m standing at a whiteboard, but without being limited by physical space or needing access to a physical whiteboard.

The pen makes drawing feel more intuitive than using a mouse or touchpad, allowing me to express ideas quickly and naturally.

<center>
<div className="image">![A photo of keyboard, mouse and a pen tablet](/images/mouse-keyboard-pen-tablet-1366.jpg "")</div>
_My current desk setup_
</center>

## Annotating With Ease

When reviewing code or documentation, I often find myself needing to add a few visual notes, like highlighting key parts or showing how different components relate. With a tablet, I can take screenshots and easily mark them up with arrows, lines, or words without switching between different tools.

The freedom to use the tablet like paper means I don’t have to toggle between different editing modes—it’s all there, waiting for me to draw what I need. It saves time and makes feedback more visual, which is often more effective than text alone.

## The Freedom of Pen and Paper, Digitally

The act of drawing with a pen tablet almost feels like using real pen and paper, which brings a level of comfort and simplicity to digital work. It’s almost like sketching in a notebook but on a screen (and you can _undo_ if you make a mistake 😅). After some practice, the need to look at the screen instead of the tablet becomes second nature.

What I love most is that this approach avoids the clunky back-and-forth that comes with traditional drawing tools, like needing to switch between pointer, line, and text modes. With the tablet, all the tools feel seamlessly integrated into the act of drawing itself.

## Rediscovering the Joy of Drawing

Perhaps the most unexpected benefit of using the tablet is the simple pleasure of drawing. Even though I’m no artist, the physical act of creating something by hand—whether it’s a messy diagram or a simple sketch—has been incredibly freeing and joyful. It’s a reminder that creativity isn’t always about the outcome, but the process.

## Conclusion

A pen tablet may seem like an unusual tool for a software engineer, but it has proven to be an essential part of my workflow. Whether I’m explaining a technical concept, reviewing a colleague’s work, or simply doodling for fun, the tablet has transformed how I communicate and work.

## Setting Up Logback Programmatically in Android

*Published: 2024-09-24 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, kotlin, logging*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/setting-up-logback-programmatically-in-android/index.md*

**In my previous blog post, [Choosing the Right Logging Library for Android](/blog/choosing-the-right-logging-library-for-android-app/), I discussed how I decided to use SLF4J alongside Logback for logging in Android apps. This post will take that foundation a step further by demonstrating how to configure Logback programmatically, ensuring that logs produced through the SLF4J API are properly sent to both Logcat and Firebase Crashlytics.**

## Why Not XML?

While it's common to configure Logback using XML files in backend applications, in an Android app, programmatic configuration offers a more streamlined approach. Unlike in a backend environment, where XML configuration can enable features like hot-reloading or modular configuration files for different environments (e.g., dev, test, and production), these benefits are less relevant in the context of Android apps due to their lifecycle and constraints of the mobile environment. Therefore, configuring Logback directly in code allows for greater flexibility (e.g. more dynamic configuration with feature toggles or user consent), fewer dependencies (hence smaller APK size), and simpler integration with Android-specific components like Logcat and Firebase Crashlytics.

## The goal

To keep this post short and digestible, I will show you a very basic setup that would let you see the logs in Logcat and in Crashlytics (provided that your app is already integrated with Firebase).

<center><div className="image">![A diagram showing that all the code in the app using SLF4J API is forwarded to Logback, which in turn sends the logs to Logcat appender and Crashlytics appender](/images/logback-logcat-crashlytics.png "")</div></center>

If you're new to SLF4J and wonder how Logback is hidden behind SLF4J APIs, I recommend reading the [SLF4J manual](https://www.slf4j.org/manual.html) first.

## First steps

To configure Logback programmatically, you need to access the `LoggerContext` by casting SLF4J's `ILoggerFactory`. Since Logback may be initialized with some defaults, you should `stop()` it before changing the configuration:

```kotlin
fun configureLogback() {
    val loggerContext = LoggerFactory.getILoggerFactory() as LoggerContext
    loggerContext.stop()
}
```

## Appenders

To make Logback send logs to the actual destinations (like Logcat, Firebase, local files, you name it), you need Logback components called "appenders". There are a few appenders ready for reuse built into Logback, for example, a `FileAppender` can be used to write logs to local files. However, it should come as no surprise that Logback doesn't include the code necessary to send the logs to Android Logcat or to Firebase Crashlytics, because Logback is not an Android library and has no knowledge about Android APIs. (I assume you don't intend to use the Logback fork [logback-android](https://github.com/tony19/logback-android/) which I don't recommend for reasons mentioned in the [previous blog post](/blog/choosing-the-right-logging-library-for-android-app/).)

*You can read more about appenders in [Logback documentation](https://logback.qos.ch/manual/appenders.html).*

Let's see how easily we can integrate Logcat and Crashlytics logging into Logback.

### Logcat

To create a custom appender, you should create a class that extends either `AppenderBase` or `UnsynchronizedAppenderBase` and override the `abstract protected void append(E eventObject)` method.

Here's a working example of such an appender:

```kotlin
class LogcatAppender(
    private val messageLayout: Layout<ILoggingEvent>,
    private val tagLayout: Layout<ILoggingEvent>,
) : UnsynchronizedAppenderBase<ILoggingEvent>() {

    public override fun append(eventObject: ILoggingEvent) {
        val logcatLevel = eventObject.level.toLogcatLevel() ?: return

        val tag = tagLayout.doLayout(eventObject)
        val message = messageLayout.doLayout(eventObject)

        // Note: you may want to put Log.println behind an interface to make this class testable
        Log.println(logcatLevel, tag, message)
    }
}

fun Level.toLogcatLevel() =
    when (levelInt) {
        Level.ALL_INT, Level.TRACE_INT -> Log.VERBOSE
        Level.DEBUG_INT -> Log.DEBUG
        Level.INFO_INT -> Log.INFO
        Level.WARN_INT -> Log.WARN
        Level.ERROR_INT -> Log.ERROR
        Level.OFF_INT -> null
        else -> null
    }
```

In the example above I also used another Logback component called `Layout` which I haven't explained yet. It's a measure to separate the message formatting from the appender's logic. I'm going to use Logback's `PatternLayout` to configure the formatting because it's very convenient and reduces the amount of code we need to write.

Now, let me show you how to integrate Logback with this new `LogcatAppender`.

First, let's add a function that creates `LogcatAppender` and the `PatternLayout`s:

```kotlin
fun createLogcatAppender(loggerContext: LoggerContext): Appender<ILoggingEvent> {
    val tagLayout = PatternLayout().apply {
        context = loggerContext
        // %nopex prevents stacktraces from being printed in tags
        pattern = "%logger{0}%nopex"
        start()
    }

    val messageLayout = PatternLayout().apply {
        context = loggerContext
        pattern = "[%thread] %msg%n%exception"
        start()
    }
    return LogcatAppender(tagLayout = tagLayout, messageLayout = messageLayout).apply {
        context = loggerContext
        start()
    }
}
```

The `tagLayout` above is used to format the tag passed to Logcat, which by convention consists of a class name. While `%logger` would print a fully qualified class name, `%logger{0}` will only print the simple name.

`messageLayout` will print the thread name in square brackets followed by the message and the associated exception's stacktrace (if any) after a line separator.

*Examine [Logback documentation](https://logback.qos.ch/manual/layouts.html#ClassicPatternLayout) for more patterns. You can also write your own patterns, but I won't cover it in this post.*

I added `%nopex` to the `tagLayout` because `PatternLayout` has a nasty feature that implicitly adds the stacktrace of the associated exception to its formatting result (examine `%exception` [documentation](https://logback.qos.ch/manual/layouts.html#ex) for more details). Obviously, we don't want a stacktrace in Logcat's tag. Alternatively, you could subclass `PatternLayout` to disable this behavior and then remove `%nopex` from the pattern:

```kotlin
class NoImplicitExceptionsPatternLayout : PatternLayout() {
    init {
        setPostCompileProcessor(null)
    }
}
```

Now, go back to the initial code where you obtained a `LoggerContext`. Use it to get the "root" logger and attach the new appender to it like this:

```kotlin
val logcatAppender = createLogcatAppender(loggerContext)
val rootLogger = loggerContext.getLogger(Logger.ROOT_LOGGER_NAME)
rootLogger.addAppender(logcatAppender)
```

Since Logback [loggers are hierarchical](https://logback.qos.ch/manual/architecture.html), the appenders added to the root logger will be automatically inherited by all loggers e.g. `LoggerFactory.getLogger(Whatever::class.java)`. In short, it means that all logs will be forwarded to `LogcatAppender`.

### Crashlytics

Similarly, you can create a `CrashlyticsAppender`:

```kotlin
class CrashlyticsAppender(
    private val layout: Layout<ILoggingEvent>,
    private val logAllExceptions: Boolean,
) : AppenderBase<ILoggingEvent>() {

    override fun append(eventObject: ILoggingEvent) {
        // Note: you may want to put Firebase.crashlytics.log behind an interface to make this class testable
        Firebase.crashlytics.log(layout.doLayout(eventObject))
        recordExceptionIfRequested(eventObject)
    }

    private fun recordExceptionIfRequested(eventObject: ILoggingEvent) {
        val throwable = (eventObject.throwableProxy as? ThrowableProxy)?.throwable

        if (logAllExceptions && throwable != null) {
            Firebase.crashlytics.recordException(throwable)
        }
    }
}
```

The example above has an additional feature of reporting ["non-fatal" exceptions](https://firebase.google.com/docs/crashlytics/customize-crash-reports?platform=android#log-excepts) to Crashlytics whenever there is a throwable associated with a log event. You can delete the `logAllExceptions` flag and  `recordExceptionIfRequested` if you don't need it.

Now, you can create the appender with the desired message pattern:

```kotlin
fun createCrashlyticsAppender(loggerContext: LoggerContext): Appender<ILoggingEvent> {
    val layout = PatternLayout().apply {
        context = loggerContext
        pattern = "[%level] [%logger{0}] [%thread] %msg%n%exception"
        start()
    }
    return CrashlyticsAppender(layout = layout, logAllExceptions = true).apply {
        context = loggerContext
        start()
    }
}
```

And finally add it to the root logger:

```kotlin
val crashlyticsAppender = createCrashlyticsAppender(loggerContext)
rootLogger.addAppender(crashlyticsAppender)
```

## Results

Now, to test this setup, you only need to call `configureLogback()` somewhere (for example, in your `Application.onCreate()`) and add a few SLF4J usages such as:

```kotlin
val logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(MainActivity::class.java)

// Somewhere else:
logger.info("Clicked")

// Somewhere else:
logger.error(
    "Clicked",
    IllegalArgumentException("Test exception", IllegalStateException("Test cause"))
)
```

You should see the logs in Logcat and, once the logs get sent to Firebase (e.g. due to a crash), in Crashlytics.

Here are a few screenshots from my demo app where I tested this setup:

<center><div className="image">![A screenshot of Logcat showing the expected logs](/images/logback-logcat-screenshot.png "")</div></center>

<center><div className="image">![A screenshot of Crashlytics dashboard showing a non-fatal exception](/images/logback-crashlytics-dashboard-screenshot.png "")</div></center>

<center><div className="image">![A screenshot of Crashlytics showing the expected logs attached to a crash](/images/logback-crashlytics-logs-screenshot.png "")</div></center>

You can find the complete code [here](https://github.com/azabost/android-logback-example/tree/basic-logcat-crashlytics).

_I may add more examples to that repo in the future, so make sure to check out the `basic-logcat-crashlytics` branch that will contain the code related to this post only)._

## Addendum

The appenders' code above is incompatible with Logback's XML configuration feature. For example, I'm pretty sure the appenders should have no-argument constructors and public properties as shown in [this article](https://www.baeldung.com/custom-logback-appender). Since I don't intend to configure Logback via XML in Android apps, I decided not to dwell on that topic in this blog post to keep the code simpler.

---

*Copyright notice:*

*The Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the [Creative Commons](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) 3.0 Attribution License.*

## Choosing the Right Logging Library for Android App

*Published: 2024-09-16 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, kotlin, logging*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/choosing-the-right-logging-library-for-android-app/index.md*

**While choosing a logging library for an Android app, I explored multiple options, seeking a flexible solution that is highly configurable, supports multiple logging destinations, and can be dynamically configured at runtime. In this post, I'll share the factors that influenced my decision, some problems I encountered, and the solution I ended up with.**

## The requirements

When selecting a logging solution for an Android app, several factors need to be considered to ensure it meets the specific requirements of both the platform and the project. Here are the key aspects I considered for the project I was working on (I'm fully aware your needs may be different):

1. **Android Compatibility**: The library must work on Android, which has certain Java-related limitations. Not all Java APIs are available (e.g. [System.Logger](https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/17/docs/api/java.base/java/lang/System.Logger.html)), not everything works on low Android versions (such as Lollipop), and some standard logging libraries depend on features unsupported by Android.

2. **Testability**: The logging solution should not interfere with unit testing by requiring additional setup or mocks. Ideally, it should get out of the way, allowing tests to run without having to mock or provide stubs for the logging framework. However, it wouldn't hurt if I could enable some simplified logs in tests to facilitate troubleshooting when needed.

3. **Modularity**: The library should work well across a large codebase split into multiple modules, including non-Android modules (plain Kotlin modules). Also, I wouldn't like the whole codebase to become tightly coupled with the particular logging implementation.

4. **Multiple Logging Destinations**: It should support multiple logging destinations, such as Logcat, remote services (like Logstash, DataDog, or Crashlytics), and local files. I don't want to clutter my code with direct usages of all the APIs (e.g. `Firebase.crashlytics.log("message")`). A single log statement should do the job.

5. **Configuration Flexibility**: The library should offer a high degree of configuration flexibility to meet various needs. For example, I needed to:

    * configure different logging level thresholds for each destination;
    * configure different formats of log records for each destination;
    * handle some logs in a special manner
        * e.g. report a "non-fatal" error to Crashlytics whenever there's an exception associated with a log record.

6. **Runtime Configurability**: The framework should be configurable at runtime, allowing features such as logging destinations or logging level thresholds to be changed based on user choices, feature flags, or other dynamic conditions.

7. **Proven and Stable**: Last but not least, it would be ideal to use a well-established, battle-tested solution that does not compromise the app's stability or maintainability. Logging is crucial because if anything else in the app malfunctions, the logs are what I rely on to investigate the issue. If the logging system itself is unreliable, debugging other problems becomes significantly more difficult.

Given these complex requirements, developing a custom logging solution seemed to be a huge maintenance burden so I decided to explore existing libraries.

## Why Not Use Timber?

While Timber is a popular logging solution for Android, it doesn't meet my specific needs. For example, it has a direct dependency on the Android framework, making it unsuitable for use in non-Android modules. Even if there was a multiplatform variant of Timber, it wouldn't meet other criteria related to configuration flexibility.

_Actually, the same can be said about the vast majority of logging libraries I reviewed._

## Why Not Something New?

I realize there are a lot of logging libraries out there. Some of them are multiplatform, which by definition means that I should be able to make them work in both Android and plain Kotlin modules. However, the solutions I found were either not as well-established as I wished for or not flexible enough. I hope to see Kotlin Multiplatform logging libraries receive more attention in the future.

## Considering JUL (java.util.logging)

At some point, I seriously considered using `java.util.logging` (JUL), but after reading the documentation and several discussions (such as [this one](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11359187/why-not-use-java-util-logging)) that made strong arguments in favor of SLF4J over JUL, I decided to focus on SLF4J.

## Exploring SLF4J and Its Backends

I turned to SLF4J (Simple Logging Facade for Java), which I was already quite familiar with (thanks to our own, simple implementation: [slf4android](https://github.com/bright/slf4android)), but I needed to determine the most suitable backend (AKA "binding") for my needs. After some research, I found that the most flexible options were [Logback](https://logback.qos.ch/index.html) and [Log4j2](https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.12.x/). While comparing their capabilities, I even learned about some awesome features I would get for free (such as Mapped Diagnostic Context) if only I could make them work in my project.

By the way, using SLF4J brings more benefits, such as the ability to process logs created by other libraries, potentially giving even more context for troubleshooting production issues. I think this diagram explains it well:

<center><div className="image">![A diagram showing that both your code and libraries that you use in your app can use a single API (that is slf4j-api) which then delegates the logging to a particular backend (such as Logback or Log4j2)](/images/slf4j-diagram.png "")</div></center>

_There are certainly more benefits to using SLF4J, but I'm not going to cover all of them in this post._

<center><div className="image">![All your logs are belong to us](/images/all-your-logs.png "")</div></center>

## Log4j2: A Dead End for Android

Log4j2 initially seemed promising, especially when I learned about its [Kotlin-friendly API](https://logging.apache.org/log4j/kotlin/index.html), but I quickly ran into compatibility issues with Android. When I added the dependency, the build failed with the following error:

```
MethodHandle.invoke and MethodHandle.invokeExact are only supported starting with Android O (--min-api 26): Lorg/apache/logging/log4j/util/ServiceLoaderUtil;callServiceLoader(Ljava/lang/invoke/MethodHandles$Lookup;Ljava/lang/Class;Ljava/lang/ClassLoader;Z)Ljava/lang/Iterable;
```

I discovered that Log4j2 requires Java 8 so I hoped that enabling [core library desugaring](https://developer.android.com/studio/write/java8-support) would solve the problem, but it turned out that these specific APIs are not supported below Android O.

Since I couldn't increase the minimum Android API level to 26, I moved on to Logback.

## Logback: Initial Challenges

At first, I encountered a similar issue with Logback: the latest versions require Java 11 and APIs unavailable on Android. This resulted in a runtime crash with the error:

```
java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: No virtual method getModule()Ljava/lang/Module; in class Ljava/lang/Class; or its super classes (declaration of 'java.lang.Class' appears in /apex/com.android.art/javalib/core-oj.jar)
```

I also found an [Android-specific fork of Logback](https://github.com/tony19/logback-android) that resolves some of these compatibility issues and provides features tailored for Android. However, this fork introduced several problems, such as:

* **Lack of Clarity on Compatibility**: There is ambiguity regarding its compatibility with the classic Logback library; the versioning scheme was changed at some point without explanation.
* **No Binary Compatibility**: The fork is not binary-compatible with the classic Logback library, which can make running unit tests for logging configuration on the JVM (that is, without [Robolectric](https://robolectric.org/)) either impossible or cumbersome ([issue reference](https://github.com/tony19/logback-android/issues/365)).
* **Unoptimized ProGuard Rules**: I realized the current version contains [unoptimized ProGuard rules](https://github.com/tony19/logback-android/blob/d6ed2017fb87e30e8b32d794523ac29c24123c87/logback-android/consumer-rules.pro) that unnecessarily keep much more code than I needed (it almost completely disables code shrinking for the whole library).
* **Limited Maintenance**: The author (a sole maintainer) seems to have limited time to address the existing problems, as noted in a [discussion thread](https://github.com/tony19/logback-android/discussions/329).

## The Solution: Logback 1.3.x

Eventually, I discovered from the [Logback documentation](https://logback.qos.ch/dependencies.html) that the older `1.3.x` branch of Logback is compatible with Java 8 and appears to be maintained. After switching to this version, I made a few necessary adjustments, such as adding ProGuard rules:

```proguard
# We don't use servlets in Android so R8 will erase that piece of
# Logback from the release APK. We can safely ignore the warning
# about a missing class.
-dontwarn javax.servlet.ServletContainerInitializer

# When Logback parses the log patterns such as "%msg" it looks
# for the appropriate converters mapped to the keywords (such as "msg")
# and instantiates them via reflection. Therefore, all the classes
# which implement Converter interface must be kept in the release APK.
-keep class * extends ch.qos.logback.core.pattern.Converter
```

and modifying packaging options:

```kotlin
packaging.resources.excludes.add("META-INF/INDEX.LIST")
```

I also kept the desugaring enabled.

With these changes, I successfully integrated SLF4J and Logback into my Android project, and it allowed me to cover all the requirements with ease.

_For the record, [here's the link](https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/ch.qos.logback/logback-classic/1.3.14) to the specific Logback dependency I used._

## A Man Dancing with Code. Meet Piotr

*Published: 2021-11-03 | Author: piotr | Tags: bright story, leadership*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/piotr-team-leader-technology-evangelist/index.md*

**Piotr is a bright team leader. Some would say that he is our tech dad, always ready to assist you. He asks and asks questions to test your approach and as a result brings the best possible solution out of you! The clients' dream is to clone him but probably he is the only one who could figure that out. Meet Piotr, a programmer with over 15 years of experience who always remembers that behind every line of code there's a human.**

![Piotr Mionskowski – Team Leader at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/blogpost_brightstory_piotr_b3.png)

## From a junior to tech evangelist. How did it all begin?

First ever language that I learned was Logo Komeniusz which was a typical programming language that was taught in Polish middle schools. Then at highschool I learned some Turbo Pascal. I probably would not be a developer if it had not been for my highschool IT teacher - Ryszard Szubartowski. He had unusual teaching methods. During our first or maybe second classes in high school he told us to resolve tasks that were meant for competitors of national IT championships. Many F grades were given then so obviously some parents were not happy with that. 

But for many of us, me included, these tasks were so inspiring that we just wanted to learn more about solving challenges using mathematics. Because that basically was IT for me then. **I loved proofs and logical deduction. I always loved to solve puzzles and the idea to build something virtual really spoke to me**. Then I figured out that this was something that I could do for a living. Therefore after graduating high school I went to Computer Studies at Gdańsk University of Technology.

## I noticed that your first Github commit was the game application Phutball – philosopher's football. Can you tell us more about it?

[The Phutball project](https://github.com/miensol/Phutball) was a part of my master’s thesis. My thesis was in fact about mathematical chances to predict when various games end. Phutball is an example of the game that is hard to predict if your next move is going to be the winning one. It is easier to logically prove that in terms of games like chess, Go or checkers.

## When did you decide to find your first job as a programmer?

Somewhere between my third and fourth year of studies I started to look for my first job in software development industry. Back then it was not easy to find one. I was at my first job for a short period of time and then I joined a corporation in Gdańsk. I met many experienced developers there who were following hot trends regarding project management, involving Agile which was not so popular in Poland back then. 

When I was starting not many people heard about test-driven development. Now it is common. First, I programmed in C# then I learned JavaScript, Ruby and Objective-C. It fastly became clear to me that **when you learn one paradygmat in programming then it is easy to use this knowledge to learn other languages in that paradygmat**. 

**I tried not only to focus on learning programming but also to understand how our components take place in the system architecture**. Now we call it microservices then it was called service-oriented architecture (SOA). 

After a few years I felt that I needed a change. It was hard to have influence on things working in a corporation. And I could see how much can be achieved in small teams so I wanted to join a smaller company. And that is how I came to [Bright Inventions](/).

![Piotr Mionskowski – Technology Evangelist at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/blogpost_www_brightstory_piotr_b2.png)

## You have around 35k total reputation on Stackoverflow. Only about 7k users are on your level. How did that happen?

Really? It is actually hard to believe that I am in such a small group. I guess that after moving from C# to JS stack I was shocked how Java is vast compared to C#. Of course, there were libraries that helped to manage that. Yet **when I met Kotlin it seemed that this is a perfect combination of both systems**. Its compatibility with libraries and source code of Java was so high that as a result my productivity increased. It was much easier to write code in Kotlin than Java. 

Now this gap between both languages has been minimised. But then I thought that Kotlin was such a great option and yet still not many people knew it. So I dedicated my time to help people who wanted to know Kotlin. I tried to answer as many questions as I could about Kotlin on Stackoverflow.

I think when it comes to [Stackoverflow](https://stackoverflow.com/users/155213/miensol) reputation you cannot cheat the system. You have to be systematic about it. Answer every possible question you know the answer to. And be patient enough to wait for your reputation to grow. 

## What are your predictions on trends for software development for 2022?

The main trend that I see is that **programmers are becoming more and more responsible for managing backend infrastructure or even setting up cloud services on their own**. Cloud providers modify their products to make them more accessible for developers. DevOps are not as necessary as they used to be. They are still needed naturally, but we used to ask them to do the configuration for us and now we can do it by ourselves. 

Another strong trend is **moving to higher and higher levels of abstraction in terms of developing backend systems in the runtime environment**. What I mean by that is using more and more [serverless technologies](/blog/why-you-should-go-serverless-with-your-apps/). Tools and frameworks we use make us use more functional programming. We can see that especially in frameworks like React or Compositional AI.

## Why do we work with AWS at Bright Inventions? When should we choose AWS or Azure?

There is not a great story behind it. We use AWS because we know it. **🙂** It is like driving on the left side of the street in England or Australia. It is just how they learned so they do it that way. At Bright Inventions we started with AWS so we stuck to it. I do not think that it would make a great technical difference if we used Azure or other cloud services instead of AWS. Looking from a business perspective it does not matter as well. 

## What best practices do you follow when writing a code?

**We should write code keeping in mind people who are going to read it. First, we have to focus on the recipients of our code, not on efficiency or pace of writing it.** It comes from the fact that code is more often read than written. If you optimise it too early, you usually complicate it, which makes it more difficult to understand it.

It is definitely something very difficult for developers. **It often might be hard to present in the code what we wanted to achieve**. For your programs it might be irrelevant – application does what you told it to do so it seems fine. You did your job. 

So, we often do not think if we could write it differently so our code would be better understood by humans. Thus if the next person comes and reads our code, they will understand what we wanted to do. Often we do not have time for that because the program works the way we wanted it to work so why should we bother? But in a longer perspective – we should care! You can see a value years from now. When someone new has to take a look at it after years to understand the reasons why this code was made, then we have an issue. Especially when we plan to develop our solution for years, then we have to write code for future readers.

![Piotr Mionskowski – Technology Evangelist at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/blogpost_www_brightstory_piotr_q2.png)

## Can everybody be a software developer?

I think **everyone who wants to be a developer can become one**. I remember that when I started to learn I felt really frustrated. Now you have access to lots of materials, guides, tutorials and more. When I was starting there was not even Stack Overflow so imagine how long ago that was. 😉  I think now it is easier because there is access to this knowledge. It is up to you if you are motivated enough to go through this. If you want, you have every possibility to learn. 

Of course, you have to dedicate lots of your time to achieve your goals but I guess that is typical for many industries. You do not become a lawyer in 2 days. That is a process for programmers as well. You have to learn and train systematically. After some time it can give you lots of satisfaction when you finally feel the power to solve some problems in the virtual world.

## What projects you have worked on bring the best memories?

**I always enjoyed projects that I truly believed in and felt that they solve real problems.** For example, when we were developing at Bright Inventions an [app supporting taking medicine](/projects/emar-healthcare-solution/) it was really interesting to understand older people's interaction with the phone. It gave me a unique perspective on our app users.

![Piotr Mionskowski – Team Leader at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/blogpost_www_brightstory_piotr_q1.png)

When we were working on a system gathering data about discounts at stores we could also learn more about human shopping behavior. That was also very interesting. 

**Another interesting case is building an [EPOS system for restaurants](/projects/system-for-restaurants/)**. This is a software used for 8 hours a day by employees of restaurants. They completely rely on our work. It is not a lifestyle app that gives us pleasure but is necessary to do our work. In the case of ePOS systems, our priorities are stability and ensuring business processes even despite the obstacles like Internet connection disruptions. If Facebook does not work, we can go for a walk. **If the ePOS application does not work, we have a line of frustrated end users that cannot pay for their orders**. So, the level of stress is much higher. 

Also, we cannot do changes in the interface just like that. As I mentioned, our clients use it for 8 hours a day and have strong habits associated with the app like that. The user's memory is massive here. If you move one button, you can totally disturb their daily work. Every change on the product must be reasonable because it will affect your users. **Feeling the responsibility for users is a crucial part of our job as software developers**.

## What do you do after work?

Recently I got into joinery. I took my first steps by building woodshed but I plan to build more. Like many people at Bright Inventions I love jogging. After work I also learn to stay up to date. I like to watch good movies as well. One that I recently enjoyed was “Fury” with Brad Pitt. It was not another movie about WW2. It brought a new perspective to the table.

## Don't let your mind steal your time

*Published: 2018-11-18 | Author: ula | Tags: productivity, tips, procrastination*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dont-let-your-mind-steal-your-time/index.md*

Josh Billings, or if you prefer - Henry Wheeler Shaw, said once that "the greatest thief this world has ever produced is procrastination, and he is still at large". I am rather a well-organised person and I try not to delay anything. To be honest, there are rarely moments that I put off things that I have to do. I just do not like the feeling when there are some open task floating around in my mind. But I also know that many of us do not posses this inner drive, or just lose it at some point of our life. [ Procrastination can often make us miserable. It steals our time, money, and first of all satisfaction. ](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination)

## how does procrastination work?

Procrastination stems from various thoughts and habits, mainly because we anticipate not enjoying a task or fear we won’t do it well. This avoidance is often fueled by confusion, distraction, or fatigue. **Psychologists link procrastination to factors like low self-confidence, anxiety, lack of structure, and difficulty motivating oneself to tackle unpleasant tasks. Research also connects procrastination with rumination, where people become stuck in negative thought patterns.**

<div className="image">![procrastination](/images/1_9ce_8kqd8i60zfjwqqpnaa.gif "")</div>

###### source: https://medium.com/@rathinamala23/the-psychology-of-procrastination-insights-and-solutions-806aa2e1250a

Procrastination, while self-defeating, can serve a psychological purpose. For perfectionists, it shields them from fear of failure, judgment, and self-criticism. By focusing on less important tasks, like organizing or cleaning, procrastinators avoid the discomfort of unfinished work, though this often may lead to problems later. **Productive procrastination refers to engaging in other useful activities while intentionally delaying the main task at hand.**

Why do we believe we'll follow through on tasks later? This is due to **affective forecasting,** where people often misjudge how they’ll feel in the future. **For instance, procrastinators might feel bad about not exercising today but convince themselves they’ll do it tomorrow, thereby avoiding immediate negative feelings while perpetuating the cycle.**

Another key factor in chronic procrastination is present bias, which involves favoring immediate rewards over long-term benefits. Procrastinators often dive into the pleasurable activities in the short term, even at the expense of delaying important tasks. **This tendency to seek immediate gratification can perpetuate a cycle of procrastination, where the immediate rewards of putting off tasks overshadow the long-term advantages of completing them on time.**

[Procrastination is a complex behavior studied by psychologists and researchers. ](https://www.arc.unsw.edu.au/blitz/read/The-Science-Behind-Procrastination)Understanding the neurological processes behind procrastination can also help us grasp why we procrastinate and how to overcome it, ultimately enhancing our productivity and well-being.

<div className="image">![procrastination dopamine](/images/procras_resum_en-768x446-1-e1649087572500.jpg "")</div>

###### source: https://neuroquotient.com/en/procrastination-neuroscience-to-understand-and-overcome-it

Dopamine, a brain neurotransmitter linked to the reward system, influences procrastination by driving motivation and reinforcement. Completing tasks triggers dopamine release, offering a sense of reward and satisfaction. Procrastinators often miss out on these immediate rewards by delaying tasks, leading to a cycle of seeking instant gratification from other activities that provide quicker dopamine boosts.

**Always try to understand why you do not want to accomplish a particular task. Understanding real reasons behind your behaviour will make it much easier to approach the whole problem.** Sometimes we can create many stories in our mind that are far from the truth. Maybe a project we are working on is not so bad and complex as we think. Maybe we have enough time to do everything, but we are poor at organising our time. We are great storytellers. Think why you really don’t want to do something. 

## what can we do not to let this powerful thief steal the greatness of our life?

I usually have a schedule that I follow, sometimes I take advantage of a simple to-do-list (paper or online one), or **if I find myself running around putting out fires all day, I use [Eisenhower Matrix](https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/eisenhower-matrix).** But apart from that I apply also a few rules that help me stay focused and engaged.

⭐️  I try to do firstly tasks that may be not so enjoyable, but they still have to be done. In that way things that I really want to do are done later and become a kind of reward for doing hard stuff first.

⭐️ **Let us eliminate all possible distractions because if you want to be distracted, you will be distracted.** Scrolling social media, ad hoc responding to emails, checking all possible push notifications - when a difficult or tedious task comes, everything seems to be more important than that. Do not let procrastination pit-stops disturb your work. Switch them off and only after finishing a predetermined tasks check them out. 

⭐️ Make sure you sleep well. Really! Fatigue and a lack of energy are the best friends of procrastination. How you can work on a demanding task as you have problems with getting up from a bed.

⭐️ Change your environment. Sometimes your desk is not the best place to focus on a difficult task. Different workplace may have a different effect on your productivity. Try what is good for you. I sometimes prefer working while sitting on a floor and I do not see anything weird about that. 

⭐️ A little anxiety and adrenaline is ok. It is good when your deadlines are a bit strict. It helps us stay motivated and engaged instead of putting things off. Think what may happen if you do not complete your task on time. For me the feeling that I have not tried enough is the worst one.

⭐️ Be among people who inspire you. Spend time with people who trigger and motivate you. You will notice that even if you are a real bellyacher, you will stop complain at one point and burdensome tasks will become much easier.

⭐️ Tell people about your goals and clarify what your goals are indeed. Be sure they will ask about a current status of your work.

⭐️ Reward yourself. Yes, that is right. Plan a reward for yourself. Looking forward to a reward for completing a task can be genuinely motivating. Sure, I mean some small rewards like 15 minutes of reading your favourite blog or listening to a podcast you like. But remember that rewards are rewards - you should earn them.

⭐️ Last but not least, it is just good to always have a to-do-list with deadlines when a particular task has to be finished. It helps to prioritise what we should accomplish in the beginning. Always try to place the most demanding things first in your list. I know that it does not sound great, but believe me it really pays off.

Which rule helps the most? In my view - each and every, but crucial is your self-awareness. Procrastination is all about being conscious of our actions. Apprehending why we do not want to do something may change everything. **It is not true that now it is not the best time for doing a task. We are making it "not the best time" because of hundreds of reasons. There will be never the best time to accomplish something.** 

Everything depends on our attitude. We can do whatever we want. We can also waste our time grumbling, hypothesising, idealising, strategising, but in the end it boils down to taking action. And if we do not take any action, nothing will happen. If you want to get something done, get grip on yourself, find the way and do it.

<div className="image">![funny procrastination](/images/447471994_989220133210240_2438864244480586667_n.jpg "")</div>

## Preserving Unobfuscated Class Names in SLF4J Logs

*Published: 2024-09-11 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, kotlin, logging, proguard*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/preserving-unobfuscated-class-names-in-slf4j-logs/index.md*

**In this post, I'll share a problem I encountered while introducing the [SLF4J](https://www.slf4j.org/) and [Logback](https://logback.qos.ch/) into an existing Android project integrated with Logstash for remote logging. This setup was effective for monitoring and debugging, but the use of [code obfuscation](https://developer.android.com/build/shrink-code) tools like R8/ProGuard caused log messages to be hard to trace back to their source due to obfuscated class names. Here's how I solved this challenge and the trade-offs we considered.**

## Problem Overview

The project was integrated with [Logstash](https://www.elastic.co/logstash) using a custom solution that sent log messages for analysis in [Kibana](https://www.elastic.co/kibana).

When we introduced SLF4J as a logging facade, a specific issue arose: the Logstash integration had no mechanism to de-obfuscate the class names used in SLF4J loggers which appeared obfuscated in the log messages visible in Kibana, making it challenging to understand where the logs originated from. This made the logs less useful for debugging and monitoring production issues.

## Logging scenarios

Since the project was entirely in Kotlin, we identified three main logging scenarios:

1. Logger as a property of a class. This approach is used in singletons or other classes with relatively few instances. Here’s an example:

    ```kotlin
    class MyClass {
        private val logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(MyClass::class.java)
    }
    ```

2. Logger as a property of a companion object. This method is most useful for classes that have many instances, such as `data class`, but can be used in other places too:

    ```kotlin
    data class SomeData(val id: String) {
        companion object {
            private val logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(SomeData::class.java)
        }
    }
    ```

3. Logger as a top-level property for top-level functions:

    ```kotlin
    private val logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger("com.example.SomeUtilities")
    
    fun doSomething() {
        logger.debug("Doing something")
    }
    ```

## Alternative solutions considered
To address the obfuscation issue, we considered two main approaches:

### Preserving original class names using R8/ProGuard rules
   
The primary solution was to use custom ProGuard rules to prevent the obfuscation of class names specifically for the classes containing SLF4J logger instances.

    * Pros: This preserves the original class names in log messages, making them easier to trace back while allowing the rest of the code to remain obfuscated.

    * Cons: It does expose some class names, but only where logging is essential, which was deemed an acceptable trade-off in our context.

### Hardcoding logger names

Alternatively, instead of passing a class to `LoggerFactory`, we could always hardcode the logger names.

    * Pros: This method would preserve the class name in the logs without exposing the actual class names directly in the obfuscated code. The hardcoded strings still expose the names, but it is somewhat harder for an attacker to figure out compared to directly keeping the original class names unobfuscated.

    * Cons: It would be cumbersome to maintain in a large codebase, introducing risks of typos and inconsistencies.

After discussing both approaches with the team, we decided on a general rule: to use custom ProGuard rules to preserve the original names only for classes with SLF4J loggers. However, we decided to deviate from this rule in the specific scenario of top-level functions, where we chose to hardcode the names if needed.

## Custom ProGuard rules
Here’s how I implemented the chosen solution:

```proguard
# Don't obfuscate the names of classes containing a Logger.
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
    org.slf4j.Logger *;
}

# Don't obfuscate the names of enclosing classes when their companion objects contain a Logger.
-if class **$* {
    org.slf4j.Logger *;
}
-keepclasseswithmembernames class <1>
```

After applying these rules, I rebuilt the project and verified that the log messages in Kibana displayed the correct, unobfuscated class names.

Additionally, I ran `dexdump` on the DEX files from the unzipped APK to confirm that everything else in the classes affected by the ProGuard rules remained properly obfuscated. I also compared the `mapping.txt` files generated before and after this addition to ensure there were no unwanted side effects from the new rules.

## Outcome and Benefits

By applying these custom ProGuard rules, we achieved the following:

* Readable Logs: Preserved original class names in log messages for better traceability during production issue investigations.

* Controlled Exposure: Exposed only the necessary class names, minimizing the risk of reverse engineering.

* Maintainability: This solution required fewer changes and was easier to maintain than hardcoding logger names.

## Conclusion

When integrating SLF4J into an Android project with a remote logging setup (like Logstash), it's essential to balance readability, security, and maintainability. We found that preserving class names using ProGuard rules was the best solution for our needs, while hardcoding logger names for top-level functions was a suitable exception to our general approach. However, other teams might choose differently, depending on their project's specific requirements and constraints.

## Women’s Health Tech: Addressing Long-Ignored Needs

*Published: 2024-09-06 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/women’s-health-tech-addressing-long-ignored-needs/index.md*

**Do women need to be treated differently? This question is gaining attention. Despite years of striving for equal treatment, there's now a push to tailor approaches to women's specific needs. This isn't about preferential treatment, but empowering women to take charge of their own health.**

**Studies show that women often downplay their symptoms and delay seeking medical care due to [cultural and psychological factors.](https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.94.12.2050) They prioritize their family's health over their own and face competing responsibilities like childcare and work. Many [normalize symptoms](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-06885-005) related to menstruation, menopause, or mental health as a normal part of life rather than potential health issues. Additionally, [stigma, embarrassment, and the belief that they should manage these issues independently](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dar/stigma-and-discrimination-research-toolkit) further discourage them from seeking care.**

<div className="image">![claudia pastides flo](/images/baner_final-quote-claudia-wh.png "")</div>

Furthermore, [research shows significant differences in how male and female bodies respond to exercise, medical treatments, and supplements.](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366890228_Advancing_feminist_innovation_in_sport_studies_A_transdisciplinary_dialogue_on_gender_health_and_wellbeing) Historically taboo topics like menopause, menstruation, and the postpartum period are crucial aspects of women's lives, yet they have been overlooked for too long.

Thankfully, many initiatives are now **focusing on women's health.** This year’s [HLTH Europe Conference in Amsterdam](https://europe.hlth.com/) gave a special place for womens health related topics, localising the stage dedicated to female health related topics in the center of the conference area and naming it “Heart” stage. There were presented innovations like Discovering Hands, which empowers blind women while aiding in breast cancer detection, and Flo Health, which helps women understand their bodies better, are making significant impacts. The organizers of the conference didn’t miss tough topics like rape and sexual harrasement prevention.

<div className="image">![hlth europe conference](/images/frame-2608395-1-.png "")</div>

Many organizations today focus on women's health, including:

* **[World Health Organization (WHO)](https://www.who.int/health-topics/women-s-health)**: Promotes global women's health, addressing reproductive health and gender-based violence.
* **[Planned Parenthood](https://www.plannedparenthood.org)**: Provides reproductive health care and education in the U.S. and worldwide.
* **[National Women's Health Network](<https://nwhn.org › about-us>)** (NWHN): Advocates for women's health policy and provides reliable health information.
* [**Society for Women's Health Research** ](https://swhr.org)(SWHR): Improves women's health through research, advocacy, and education.
* **FemTech Focus**: Advances global women's health through technology and startups.

## Things to consider while developing a FemTech product

### **1. Importance of accurate medical information**

Accurate medical information is crucial in women's health, particularly when developing software products aimed at this demographic. Given the unique health challenges and conditions specific to women, such as menopause, reproductive health, and pregnancy, it's vital that the information provided through these platforms is precise, well-researched, and validated. This ensures that women can make informed decisions about their health and receive appropriate care and support. **Inaccuracies or generalizations can lead to misdiagnosis, inadequate treatment, and increased anxiety among users,** emphasizing the need for stringent accuracy in health-related software.

<div className="image">![claudia pastides on medical accuracy at flo](/images/baner_final-quote-claudia-wh-1-.png "")</div>

### 2. **Addressing taboo topics like menopause and reproductive health**

For years, discussions around these important life stages were avoided, yet they significantly impact women's health. Today, health tech is breaking these barriers by offering tools and platforms like [Flo](https://flo.health), [Clue](https://helloclue.com/), [Maven Clinic](https://www.mavenclinic.com), [Peppy Health](https://peppy.health), [Kindbody](https://kindbody.com) that empower women to manage their health proactively. These innovations provide accurate, personalized information and support, helping women make informed decisions about menopause, menstruation, and reproductive health without the constraints of past stigmas.

This shift not only promotes better health outcomes but also **fosters a more inclusive dialogue about women's health needs.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore more guidelines for HealthTech startup owners' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'From secure LLMs to app performance monitoring – dive into tech solutions that will help you scale your software for healthcare.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='guide' />

### 3. Patient engagement

[Patient engagement](/blog/delivering-patient-engagement-platform/) is key in [**FemTech** applications](/blog/keys-to-succeed-in-femtech/), where **consistent interaction is naturally supported by the cyclical nature of women's health issues** like menstruation and menopause. To meet the specific needs of women, especially during significant life stages such as pregnancy and postpartum, FemTech apps must offer highly personalized experiences. 

Detailed **onboarding processes** can enhance this personalization, making users feel their unique health journeys are genuinely understood and catered to ([check out a story of a possible failure in an onboarding process in FemTech app](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/data-driven-development-femtech-app-onboarding/)). Moreover, **building trust** is essential, as women input sensitive and intimate data into these apps.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljeqnUbnrCg' />

**[FemTech wearables](https://news.abplive.com/technology/gadgets/femtech-how-innovation-in-wearables-is-shaping-future-of-female-health-wellness-garmin-1715208)** also play a critical role, offering daily support through devices that monitor menstrual cycles, fertility, and other health parameters. These devices not only foster daily interaction but also empower women to manage their health proactively, ensuring they receive the most accurate and relevant health information.

<div className="image">![aahuti rai on womens health](/images/baner_final-quote-aahhuti-3-.png "")</div>

**As we continue to advance in the field of women's health tech, it's clear that the focus on developing solutions tailored to the unique needs of women is not just a necessity but a priority. By addressing long-ignored needs and breaking down taboos around topics like menopause and reproductive health, we pave the way for more inclusive and effective healthcare.** 

**The efforts of various organizations and innovations in this space promise a future where women's health issues are no longer sidelined but are addressed with the attention and care they deserve.**

## Building Trust Through Code. Meet Dominik

*Published: 2024-09-05 | Author: dominik-d | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/building-trust-through-code-dominik/index.md*

**He left a successful career in civil engineering to join the world of software development, hoping that every new day would bring interesting problems to solve. He wasn’t disappointed! Discover what civil engineering and IT have in common, how software developers build trust with their code, and which book he recommends – though with a cautionary note. It’s time for the career story of Dominik, Senior Fullstack Developer at Bright Inventions.**

<div className="image">![Dominik story grid](/images/brightstorydominikdgrid.png "")</div>

## When did you write your first "Hello world"?

It was in high school, **in the early 2000s**. Our computer science teacher tried to teach us some programming. The classes inspired me to explore the subject at home, so I asked my dad if he had any resources because he was keen on computers. 

He gave me a rather thick book about Visual Basic, and I managed to create two applications that actually worked. In the meantime, I dabbled in creating simple websites, mostly blog templates, because back then, having a blog was a sign of being a respectable person on the internet. :) However, at some point, **I got bored of it and put programming on hold for another twelve years**. At some point, I even thought about applying to computer science studies, but my grades weren't sufficient, so I studied civil engineering instead and pursued a career in this field.

## How long did you work in civil engineering before joining the IT world?

**I worked at a planning and design firm for 10 years**. However, after 9 years, I felt I had enough and needed a change. Since programming had always interested me, I decided to try to learn it on my own after hours. It was a risk, but fortunately, it paid off. At that time, **many people questioned why I would want to change my stable career, especially after turning 30**. I’m glad it turned out well for me.

## Do you miss civil engineering?

Not at all.

## Okay, but did this previous career help you in software development?

Yes, in some sense the principles are the same – **both civil engineering and software development are about problem-solving**. The difference is that as your expertise grows in construction, you accumulate solutions for problems you face, and are ready to tackle most of them. **In software development, even with years of experience, you can still encounter issues that will keep you on your toes for days**.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/dominik_quote_experience.png "")</div>

Also, having close contact with clients in civil engineering has been beneficial in software development, especially in terms of **negotiating skills** and **the ability to explain technical issues** to people without a technical background.

## So what are your tips for explaining to people without technical knowledge which software solution will be better?

It depends on the issue, but usually, I try to present the problem from a business perspective. In some cases, **clients desire overly complicated features, which might lead to more errors needing later fixes**, thus increasing the software development workload that could have been allocated to other features. 

Therefore, **I always propose an alternative – a simpler solution, achieving the same goals, that will consume fewer resources and be less prone to bugs**. Highlighting the aspects of time and money helps non-technical stakeholders make informed decisions.

<div className="image">![During the Ehab Tribe Summit with the Bright Inventions team in Sweden.](/images/team_dominik_sweden.png "")</div>

*<center>During the Ehab Tribe Summit with the Bright Inventions team in Sweden.</center>*

## You are a part of the team developing a mental health solution. How does this influence your daily programming work?

At first glance, code is just code to programmers, and it might not seem to matter what industry the app represents. However, with healthcare, it’s not that simple. **We focus much more on subjects such as privacy and anonymity**. 

When app users, who may be dealing with mental health issues like depression or anxiety, download the app, they need to trust it. They won't do this if the app is full of bugs, UI issues, and other problems. So, **everything we do either builds trust or risks destroying it**. This definitely distinguishes mental health solutions from other types of apps, like entertainment ones. 

<div className="image">![quote](/images/dominik_quote_trust.png "")</div>

Feeling this responsibility, I really appreciate being part of the product development process, where **we work closely with the client to come up with solutions** that not only help scale the product but also maintain our users' trust.

## You joined Bright Inventions as a frontend developer, but you also have experience with the backend. Do you consider yourself a fullstack developer?

When I decided to make a career switch, I initially chose frontend development because I had some experience in building websites. I understood HTML and CSS, which I thought would help me at the beginning. I also enjoyed the fact that with frontend development, you can quickly see the effects of your work. 

However, after concentrating solely on frontend for three years, it started to feel tedious, and I wanted to understand the development process more holistically. **It's the best situation when I get to build a feature from start to finish as a fullstack developer**. So, I would definitely consider myself a fullstack developer now – I wouldn't want to choose just one. Fullstack development is much more stimulating and offers more learning opportunities.

## You joined Bright Inventions almost 3 years ago. Do you enjoy working here?

I'm happy working here. So far, **I've met only fantastic coworkers**. It’s also clear that Ula and other managers genuinely care about the employees’ overall well-being, ensuring that we have opportunities to continue developing.

<div className="image">![During office Christmas party.](/images/team_dominik_christmas.png "")</div>

*<center>During office Christmas party.</center>*

## I know you are a bookworm. What book would you recommend to programmers that isn't about programming?

I highly recommend “**Thinking, Fast and Slow**” by Daniel Kahneman, though I must warn you – it might leave you second-guessing yourself! It’s a fascinating read that can quickly give you a sense of imposter syndrome. Once you delve into it, you realize how "weak" our brains can be, making it challenging to hold firm opinions because you become aware of how easily you might be misleading yourself.

## Exploring ESC/POS: Integrating Point of Sale Printers

*Published: 2024-08-28 | Author: szymon-g | Tags: POS, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/esc-pos-integrating-point-of-sale-printers/index.md*

**During [POS software development](/blog/pos-software-development-guide/) for our client, we encountered several unexpected challenges with POS printers that weren't fully addressed by the manufacturer's documentation. From understanding the basics of ESC/POS commands to implementing advanced features like adding a 'buzzer' function on printers that seemingly don't support it, this tutorial shows how to overcome various hurdles while integrating thermal printers with a POS system.**

<div className="image">![pos printer integrations](/images/pos_printer_integrations_blog_cover.png "")</div>

## What is ESC/POS and what does it involve?

ESC/POS (Epson Standard Code for Point of Sale) is a popularly used communication protocol designed by Epson. The main purpose is to improve the printing process of receipts. The protocol is based on sequences of commands that control the printer without the need for drivers or other configurations. This makes ESC/POS an efficient and flexible solution

## Why use ESC/POS at all?

When developing a POS app, the decision to use esc/pos was immediate, we didn't even give it a second thought. Some pros of using esc/pos:

* **Compatibility**\
  The ESC/POS protocol is supported by the majority of commercially available fiscal printers. Therefore, regardless of the manufacturer, most printers will be compatible with our system. 
* **Ease of integration**\
  In legacy software, typically printers are connected to Windows via a cable and additional driver installation and management is required. In our new cloud-based approach, the mobile app can connect wirelessly directly to the printer by sending esc pos commands. This greatly simplifies the process of setting up and using printers.
* **Technology-independent**\
  ESC/POS is based on sending data to a specific port and IP regardless of the technology. This ensures that whether you are using Kotlin, Swift, Flutter or another technology each supports sending network data so it supports sending ESC/POS commands.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmmCIaQulxI&t=2s' />

## ESC/POS documentation

### **What can we expect?**

ESC/POS defines a standard for printing but documentation may vary depending on who manufactures the printing hardware. Even when you decide which manufacturer you will use there still may be some differences between the models.

### **Documentations - Epson**

<div className="image">![Documentations - Epson](/images/blog_epson_docs.png "")</div>

As you may assume the best [documentation](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/index.html) is provided by the protocol creators - Epson. All commands are neatly provided in specific categories. You even have step-by-step receipt printout [examples](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/receipt.html) which should cover most of the basic use cases. And last but not least - you have a [list](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/applicables.html) of printers that support a specific method. So if you have to deal with Epson devices - lucky you : )

<div className="image">![applicable printers](/images/blog_applicable_printers.png "")</div>

### **Documentations - others**

Other manufacturers provide (or do not) documentation that isn’t as good as Epson’s. The printers that were used on our project didn’t have any documentation regarding ESC/POS commands. They were mainly used as printers connected via USB so the manufacturer driver took care of all the communication and configuration. In our case, we were communicating with sockets via the local network and we were using mobile devices as a source of printing so we were solely depending on the ESC/POS standard. One documentation worth mentioning is [this](https://escpos.readthedocs.io/en/latest/home.html) one. It’s nicely formatted and includes all the basic commands that are used in most cases.

## ESC/POS commands

### **Test printout**

This is a test printout that we have implemented in our app in order to check if defined fonts, margins, aligning work properly on a specific printer - it’s a must because of different device specifications and differences in ESC/POS interpretations that I’ve mentioned before. 

<div className="image">![ESC-POS commands](/images/blog_receipt.png "")</div>

Ok, so how does the printout look like in ESC/POS commands?\
Let’s go through a couple of the first lines of bytes that are being sent to the printer:

* \[27, 64] - command initializing the printer [ESC @](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/esc_atsign.html)
* \[27, 83] - setting standard print mode [ESC S](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/esc_cs.html)
* \[27, 82, 7] - setting character set  [ESC R](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/esc_cr.html) 
* \[27, 116, 49] - setting code table [ESC t](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/esc_lt.html) 
* \[27, 36, 0, 0] - set absolute print positions [ESC $](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/esc_dollarssign.html)
* \[29, 76, 0, 0] - set left margin [GS L](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/gs_cl.html)
* \[29, 87, 248, 1] - set printing area width  [GS W](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/gs_cw.html)
* \[27, 36, 0, 0, 27, 97, 49, 28, 46, 27, 116, 49, 70, 111, 110, 116, 83, 105, 122, 101, 46, 115, 109, 97, 108, 108, 10] - finally a printing line that’s visible as a first line of the test print!

  * 27, 36, 0, 0 - again setting absolute position to 0 (we duplicate some of the commands just to be sure that each text line is configured correctly
  * 27, 97, 49 - center justification [ESC a](https://download4.epson.biz/sec_pubs/pos/reference_en/escpos/esc_la.html)
  * 27, 116, 49 - again setting code table
  * 70, 111, 110, 116, 83, 105, 122, 101, 46, 115, 109, 97, 108, 108, 10 - which converted to ASCII is “FontSize.small”

### **Fonts**

Every ESC/POS printer has a predefined set of [fonts](https://escpos.readthedocs.io/en/latest/font_cmds.html#select-character-font-1b-4d-rel-phx). This may be different based on the printer specification. 

In order to perfectly align your printouts you need to check your printer possibilities when it comes to print area width, DPI (dots per inch) and font configuration. In our project, we calculate how many characters we can fit in a row based on the chosen font, line spacing (which also can be configured) and margin (some printers have predefined physical margins that can’t be changed!).

<div className="image">![printable arena](/images/blog_print_area_width.png "")</div>

Source: [Pyramid docs](https://escpos.readthedocs.io/en/latest/layout.html?highlight=width#print-area-width-1d-57-rel)

## What if we need functionality that is not in the documentation?

During one recent implementation, we encountered such a problem. Our client, a restaurant POS provider,  asked for the 'buzzer' functionality that was available in the old software. This is a sound signal usually at the end of a printout to inform the kitchen about a new order. The problem was that there was no mention of this functionality in the documentation for our printer model, even though other models had it. An internet search was also unsuccessful. However, we knew that the old system, running on Windows, was able to do this, which prompted us to investigate.

We decided to analyze what exactly Windows sends to the printer when the sound signal is activated. We configured the printer and connected it to the Windows PC using an Ethernet cable. We installed the drivers and configured the printer to sound at the beginning and end of each printout.

<div className="image">![End Document Operation](/images/blog_end_document_operation.png "")</div>

We used Wireshark to monitor our network traffic, setting filters to only see traffic going from our computer to the printer. To simplify things we printed blank documents.

After several tests with different volume and sound length settings, we noticed that each printout generated five network events. Of these, only one contained the data (payload) we were interested in.

<div className="image">![Network events](/images/blog_network_events.png "")</div>

This is what the data looked like in the right network package:

`00000000000000000000000000000000000000001b633b011b401d45871d50b4b41d994245929a5601281b08051b08001d994245929a5601501b08051b08001d5642001b633b00`

We converted this data into an array of numeric values (ints):

`[0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 27, 99, 59, 1, 27, 64, 29, 69, 135, 29, 80, 180, 180, 29, 153, 66, 69, 146, 154, 86, 1, 10, 27, 8, 5, 27, 8, 0, 29, 153, 66, 69, 146, 154, 86, 1, 10, 27, 8, 10, 27, 8, 0, 29, 86, 66, 0, 27, 99, 59, 0]`

Then we removed unnecessary zeros and split the data into individual ESC/POS commands:

* `27, 99, 59, 1`
* `27, 64, 29, 69, 135`
* `29, 80, 180, 180`
* `29, 153, 66, 69, 146, 154, 86, 1, 10`
* `27, 8, 5`
* `27, 8, 0`
* `29, 153, 66, 69, 146, 154, 86, 1, 10`
* `27, 8, 10`
* `27, 8, 0`
* `29, 86, 66, 0`
* `27, 99, 59, 0`

After analyzing this data, we discovered that a command is responsible for setting the volume:

`29, 153, 66, 69, 146, 154, 86, 1, <volume>`

The command responsible for extracting the sound consists of two commands, one sets the value and the other resets it to zero:

`27, 8, <value>`

As you can see, even without direct documentation, it is possible to arrive at a solution to a problem using network analysis and a bit of reverse engineering. As a result, we were able to implement the 'buzzer' function to meet the customer's requirements.

## Revolutionizing Pain Relief with AI in Healthcare: An Interview with Guy Siman of Sensars

*Published: 2024-08-26 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/revolutionizing-pain-relief-with-ai-an-interview-with-guy-siman-of-sensars/index.md*

**Imagine a world where physical pain can be switched off in one medical procedure, without any side effects. Sounds like something from a science fiction movie? It’s not; it’s actually beginning to happen, thanks to [Sensars](https://www.sensars.com/), a startup based in Switzerland that is taking neurostimulation to another level. They're revolutionizing the field by directly interacting with peripheral nerves. [Guy Siman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-siman-66bb1b1/), a founder of Sensars, shares his journey and insights behind this innovative solution in an interview with Agata Bielówka, conducted at the HLTH Europe conference in Amsterdam in June 2024.**

## Can you briefly introduce yourself and your solution?

Yes, so my name is Guy Siman. I'm a co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at a medical device company called Sensars, based in Switzerland. We set out to treat chronic neuropathic pain, particularly in the foot, which affects over 2 million people each year worldwide that are intractable to medication and other solutions. We're doing this through neurostimulation, but not just any ordinary neurostimulation. We're transforming the way neurostimulation works. Instead of placing a lead next to a nerve, we safely inject microelectrodes inside a peripheral nerve.

<div className="image">![Guy Siman](/images/baner_guy_quote_update.png "")</div>

## What inspired you to develop Sensars and focus on treating chronic pain?

Chronic pain, especially distal pain like foot pain, affects a huge number of people worldwide and often goes untreated. One major cause is diabetic foot, which is personal to me because of my family's history with diabetes. This was a major incentive. It's a huge unmet need globally. While it's not my first company, it brings a lot of satisfaction to help people who have such needs.

## What makes your solution different from other similar solutions?

The major difference is our approach to the nerve. Instead of stimulating from beside the nerve, we go inside the nerve with multiple microwires. This allows us to access the inside of almost any peripheral nerve. For treating pain, we target the sciatic nerve for the lower limb, but we can also target the vagus nerve for treating epilepsy, inflammation disorders, or obesity. This intimate access to the nerve allows us to selectively choose the fibers we want to stimulate, which is what differentiates us.

<div className="image">![Sensars Pain Treatment](/images/sensars-graphic-1-.png "Sensars Pain Treatment")</div>

source: https://www.sensars.com/

## Is it just hardware or a combination of hardware and software?

It's a combination. The hardware is the major innovation, but we also have software elements. We developed specific biomimetic algorithms that, combined with our access inside the nerve, generate stimulation parameters that emulate natural sensations.

## Is your technology on the market already?

No, it's not on the market yet. We've done a proof of concept with extraordinary results—100% response rate, decreasing pain in all patients by over 50% and restoring their sensation. We're now transitioning this early prototype into a commercial-like prototype for the next steps of clinical trials. After these trials and regulatory approval, we will hit the market.

## Are you facing any regulatory issues or challenges?

Challenges, yes, but no major issues. We are a class 3 or PMA route device. As long as we follow the guidelines and standards, we should be okay.

## What about technological challenges?

We have de-risked many technological challenges using our earlier prototype. Developing small electrodes that go inside the nerve, stay there, and provide stable stimulation is a significant technological challenge that we need to continue proving.

## What trends do you see in health tech, apart from AI?

Making healthcare more accessible, especially through remote care, is a major trend. This was boosted during COVID-19 and is maintaining momentum. We, too, are going to facilitate remote access and monitoring to the patients’ progress of treatment.

<div className="image">![Chronic Pain Treatment](/images/baner_guy_quote_proof_of_concept.png "Guy Siman Sensars")</div>

## Is there any medtech or e-health solution you follow and appreciate?

There are many, particularly in the field of neurostimulation. Interesting developments are happening around the brain and DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation), as well as mapping signals from the brain to improve wellness.

## Do you have a favorite podcast or news site you regularly follow?

Yes, I regularly follow a podcast led by [Dr. Andrew Huberman](https://www.hubermanlab.com/) as well as [MedTech Talks & Device Talks](https://medtechmvp.com/media/medtech-talk-podcast),  centered around medical devices.

## What do you do in your free time?

I wish I had more free time! I spend as much time as possible with my family and kids to compensate for lost time when I am away. That's what I do the most.

## What are your future goals, personally and for your solution?

For our solution, I want to follow through on this development and bring it to people because it's transformative. We're raising our seed round now, and we have good clinical data to support it. Personally, my goal is to get a pilot's license by the age of 50.

## That's impressive! Fingers crossed. Thank you for your time and enjoy the rest of the conference.

Thank you. You too.

\
\
[Sensars](https://www.sensars.com/) aims to offer a groundbreaking solution for millions suffering from chronic neuropathic pain. The potential impact on the medical field and patient care is immense. We are keeping our fingers crossed as Sensars progresses through clinical trials and moves toward market introduction.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore more industry insights for HealthTech startup owners' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'From secure LLMs and app performance monitoring to business pivots – dive into solutions that will help you scale your software for healthcare.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='undefined' />

## Advice for Healthcare Startup Owners from Industry Experts

*Published: 2024-08-20 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech, startups, business, business perspective*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/advice-for-healthcare-startup-owners-from-industry-experts/index.md*

**In the complex area of health tech, understanding the market and navigating regulatory challenges are crucial.** 

**During the [HLTH Europe](https://europe.hlth.com/) conference in June 2024, experienced startup owners and industry experts gathered to discuss the most important health-tech issues and share their insights and experiences, offering perspectives on the future of healthcare, which could be a gold mine for startups entering this field.**

<div className="image">![](/images/baner_final-quote-fernando-3-.png "")</div>

## Understanding the Market

**Navigating the healthcare industry requires understanding its complexities. Knowing the key players and specific regulatory environments, whether in the diverse U.S. market or Spain's unique pilot study approach, is crucial. This knowledge helps craft effective strategies and successfully launch innovations**

* “First, understand the market. It sounds simple, but the buyers can be confusing. For example, some companies want to work with a healthcare system but need to be selling to a payer. Or they aim to work with physicians, not recognizing that about 80% of physician groups are employed by hospital systems or payers. **Understanding the buyer and payer dynamics is crucial**. The regulatory space is another challenge. Having FDA approval is not enough—you also need CMS and Medicaid approval to pay for your product or device. Without this, your product or service won't be implemented or used in the US.” - **Dr. Adam Brown,** Founder @ ABIG HEALTH
* "The U.S. healthcare system's complexity is pivotal to understand, as **different states have different regulations and market dynamics.**" — **Aahuti Rai**, Strategic Advisor and Venture Partner @ Four Points Consulting
*  “The Spanish market is quite complicated. Everyone will ask you to start with a pilot study, which is important. My advice is to perform a paid pilot study, even if it's a small amount of money. This shows commitment and value. **Assess the results, demonstrate the technology's value, and then move to a contract**.” - **Silvia Raga,** CEO & Founder @ DyCare

<div className="image">![Silvia Raga DyCare](/images/quote_silvia.png "")</div>

* "I think that **now you have a unique opportunity in France to actually deploy your solution thanks to the reimbursement model that has been decided over the past two years**, especially in the remote monitoring field and now in the DTX field. And I think that France is investing in digital health solutions and is also trying to help healthcare professionals digitalize their practice by compensating the time they spend using those digital solutions. I think that digital solutions are going to become a must-have once healthcare professionals actually embrace those solutions. This is why I think that France is really in a unique position in Europe." - **Edouard Gasser,** Co-Founder & CEO @ Tilak Healthcare

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore more guidelines for HealthTech startup owners' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'From secure LLMs to app performance monitoring – dive into tech solutions that will help you scale your software for healthcare.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='guide' />

## Navigating Regulatory Challenges

**Healthcare is one of the most regulated industries. There are many legal regulations that health tech companies must follow, including obtaining approvals from relevant institutions and acquiring necessary certifications before entering the market.**

* "Familiarize yourself with **FDA and CMS approvals** to ensure your product can be implemented and reimbursed in the U.S. market." — **Dr. Adam Brown**
* "Be aware of regulatory differences across states and tailor your approach accordingly." — **Aahuti Rai**
*  "The main challenge is ensuring **the clinical validation of our technology** since it's a medical device. This is the real challenge of what we do." - **Silvia Raga**

## Building Credibility and Trust

**Trust is one of the most important things in healthcare. Your users need to know that the solution they are using is safe and based on legitimate knowledge.**

* "Ensure **medical credibility** by involving practitioners and experts in your development process." — **Dr. Claudia Pastides,** Director of Medical Accuracy @ FLO Health 
* "For digital health solutions, **establish trust** by ensuring data security and compliance with privacy regulations." — **Dr. Claudia Pastides**

<div className="image">![Quote](/images/baner_final-quote-fernando-4-.png "")</div>

## Adapting to Cultural and Mindset Shift

**In the healthcare industry, adapting to cultural and mindset shifts is essential for integrating new technologies. Thoroughly considering the challenges of overcoming cultural resistance and strategies for engaging stakeholders is crucial when developing a new product.**

* "Be prepared to **address cultural resistance** within healthcare systems, which often lag behind technological advancements." — **Aahuti Rai**
* "In Brazil, our biggest challenge is the mindset of healthcare leaders. Patients often need to opt in to share their data for better outcomes, and regulatory bodies and **healthcare providers can be resistant to data exchange.** Payers and providers often operate independently, leaving patients caught in the middle. Changing this mindset requires educating stakeholders about the benefits of data sharing." - **Fernando Campos,** Founder & CEO @ Nuria
* "Engage stakeholders effectively to foster acceptance and buy-in for new technologies." — **Aahuti Rai**

## Leveraging Interoperability

**Interoperability, or the ability for health IT systems to talk to each other without needing a translator, is now recognized as a crucial ingredient for the smooth operation of future healthcare systems.**

* "Focus on creating solutions that enhance interoperability between different healthcare systems and EHRs." — **Dr. Adam Brown**
* "The ability for different systems to communicate has a profound impact on patients getting the right care." - **Dr. Adam Brown**
* "Highlight the benefits of your solution in reducing redundancies and improving patient care through seamless data sharing." — **Dr. Adam Brown**

<div className="image">![Mohammad Al-Ubaydli](/images/quote_mohamad.png "")</div>

## Strategic Adaptations and Mindsets for Success

**In the fast-paced startup world, strategic adaptation and the right mindset are crucial for success. Being able to make slow, deliberate decisions, demonstrating resilience, and maintaining consistency are essential qualities for business owners.**

* "Be prepared for **slow decisions** and price-sensitive public sectors. Investors may push for speed, but high quality at low costs is crucial." — **Mohammad Al Ubaydli,** Founder & CEO @ PHIN
* "Move fast and **focus on solving one problem at a time**. If possible, sell your solution outside of medical device categorization to start generating revenue and gather real-world evidence quickly." — **Michel Valstar,** Co-Founder & CSO @ BLUESKEYE AI
* "Founding a company requires resilience, purpose, and willpower to persist through challenges. **Embrace failure as a step towards success**, solve problems rather than clinging to ideas, and build a strong team." **— Fernando Campos**

These expert-driven insights outline the best practices for developing a health tech product, offering a simpler path through this complex industry. Although challenging, this path rewards those who skillfully manage innovation, regulatory compliance, and market dynamics.

## Dr. Frank Hoffmann: Empowering Blind Women in Breast Cancer Detection | Healthcare

*Published: 2024-08-16 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dr_frank_hoffmann/index.md*

**[Discovering Hands](https://www.discovering-hands.de/)** offers dual benefits: **it not only aids in early breast cancer detection but also empowers blind women, an often underestimated workforce in tumor detection.** Through this initiative, blind women gain meaningful employment, and breast cancer patients receive earlier diagnoses, making a significant impact. **[Dr. Frank Hoffmann](https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-hoffmann-discovering-hands/)**, an experienced gynecologist and founder of this solution, shared the inspiration behind this unique program, the challenges of integrating it into healthcare systems, and the promising future of this life-saving initiative.\
\
*The interview was conducted by Agata Bielówka with Dr Frank Hoffmann, during the HLTH Europe conference in Amsterdam.*

<div className="image">![quote](/images/baner_final-quote-frank-4-.png "")</div>

## **Can you briefly introduce yourself and your solution?**

My name is Frank Hoffmann. I was trained as a gynecologist and obstetrician. I've been working in my own medical office in Duisburg, in the western part of Germany, for 30 years. **I was not very content with the quality of breast cancer early detection** I could offer to my patients because I could only spend one or two, maybe three minutes on it. So I was thinking about how I could improve the situation, and I found that blind and visually impaired women are a completely underestimated but perfect workforce to do the physical examination of the female breast to improve breast cancer early detection.

## **Thank you.**

I developed a program to train visually impaired women. Nowadays, we run a social enterprise called Discovering Hands. Discovering Hands trains these women, who are the perfect tactile examiners. We also have scientific research on the results of their examinations. They find tumor sizes between six and eight millimeters. We, as doctors, find tumors between one and two centimeters. That makes a big difference because it's not the tumor inside the breast that is the killer; it's always the metastasizing cells sent out from there into the body. If you find it at the earliest possible stage, you will have a cure. In other cases, maybe not.

## **Yes, I have to say that I'm very impressed. I read some articles about your work. My father is also a gynecologist, and my grandmother died from breast cancer, so I am very impressed with your work. You already answered my next question: what inspired you to discover this solution? Do you have any friends that are blind, or how did you discover this?**

I had some experience with the sensory awareness programs that were very common in the 80s. **I was always impressed by how much your own sensory qualities change when you close your eyes for a certain time**. On the other hand, I know that neural plasticity allows the brain to use information from different senses. Blind people can read Braille if they are trained, and we are not able to do that. This more differentiated sense of touch of visually impaired people is the key to improving the quality of the breast examinations they are able to deliver.

<div className="image">![discovering hands](/images/_u1a6316_630x354px.jpg "")</div>

source: https://www.discovering-hands.de/

## **So it's a program to train blind women? Only women?**

Yes, to be politically correct, blind people. But we haven't had any male candidates. I'm pretty sure that this is something women can offer to women. Even if most patients believe it would make a big difference if the MTE was male, I think the conversation would go another way. So, I'm a fan of something that can be offered from women to women.

## **And how does it work? Is it a full-time job for the people, or is it only a part-time job? Or is it like a hobby or something they do voluntarily?**

No, they are trained and then they get employment by Discovering Hands. Not my company, I head the non-profit mother company, but we have an affiliate. This company, Discovering Hands GmbH, keeps all the contracts with the health insurances. We have 41 health insurances in Germany that cover the cost for the TBE, the tactile breast examination, done by MTEs, medical tactile examiners. They also hold the contracts with the MTEs, and they get support from the government, specifically the Landschaftsverband Rheinland, which partly pays their salary.

## **Okay, so the payer is partly the government and partly an insurance company?**

No, partly the government and partly the Discovering Hands organization. They lend these MTEs to medical offices. Most doctors are not willing to employ MTEs full-time. They might only have one room available, and in that room, three times a week, a midwife might already be working, so they only offer two days of work. That was not very comfortable for the MTEs, and we have overcome this with the current organization.

## **Is part of the solution online, or is it just offline?**

The examination is only offline, but in our training program, we have integrated a virtual classroom, which was very helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic. We could offer the training partly inside the academy and partly online.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore tech challenges HealthTech leaders are facing' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'From secure LLMs to app performance monitoring – dive into tech solutions that will help you scale your software for healthcare.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='guide cover' />

## **What challenges have you faced during your journey with Discovering Hands?**

First of all, finding supporters among health insurances. They were not willing to pay for something they didn't know. Even if the women are completely convinced that this is a better type of diagnosis for them. It was always the women who were our strongest supporters. They convinced their insurances, and the insurances recognized that so many women are very content with this tactile exam. It takes 40 to 60 minutes in a very calming and smooth atmosphere. The MTEs do it very precisely using the orientation stripes we have developed. They can ask all the questions they sometimes don't feel comfortable asking doctors. MTEs are more on the same level as the patients.

## **What trends do you see in health tech at the moment, apart from AI?**

I think **it is necessary to find solutions based on technology because we don't have enough doctors and nurses.** On the other hand, **we need personal contact between a patient and a professional**. In this context, the completely underestimated workforce of blind people could be of great help, even if it's only covering part of breast cancer detection. If we only had mammary screening programs and nothing else, many women wouldn't undergo these programs because they associate them with dangerous radiation and painful scans. **In Germany, only about 54 to 57 percent of the women invited go to the screening**.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/baner_final-quote-frank-5-.png "")</div>

## **Do you plan to expand your solution to other countries in Europe?**

We are working on that because we have everything in place to train more women and set up a model that can work in other countries. We have had pilot projects in Switzerland, Austria, South America, Colombia, and Mexico. Now we are running **a big pilot project in India, which is promising because there are 60 million blind people in India and no real breast cancer detection program**. But at the moment, we don't have a dedicated team to advance this. We need investment and a partner, perhaps a healthcare provider or a hospital chain, to employ MTEs. Or it could be an investor.

## **What about NGOs like WHO or large companies or foundations that support such solutions?**

We are in close contact with companies and foundations in Germany. However, we need people who can do this the proper way. Our team in Germany is not currently equipped to do that professionally. So, we would first like to build a new team under the umbrella of the Discovering Hands International organization. This could be very impactful for many players in the market.

## **A lot of work.**

Yes, and it's not easy. I hope to find some interested people here, but so far, I haven't made any contact.\
**How many people do you have in your team?**

We have 15 people running these two companies, the non-profit organization and the Discovering Hands GmbH. We have 43 MTEs working with us; 33 are directly employed by the company, and the others work in medical offices independently. It's still a small number, but we had COVID-19, inflation, and many people unwilling to invest in additional medical care programs. We have overcome these problems, but we had difficulties.

## **Maybe you should consider a digital solution like a mobile app to make the organization more willing to help you.**

We are working on something like this. We want to bring the self-examination program we have developed to an app, which will **help people understand that self-examination is meaningful** and train them on how to do it properly.

## **That's great. Your work is really impressive. Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy the conference and good luck with your project.**

Thank you. I appreciate it.

## 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Restaurant POS Legacy Revamping

*Published: 2024-08-12 | Author: joanna-c | Tags: business perspective, POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/restaurant-pos-legacy-revamping-mistakes/index.md*

**Your POS (Point of Sale) system has earned you loyal restaurant clients over the years. However, supporting new devices, third-party payments or refreshing outdated UI has become increasingly challenging. You know the time for POS legacy modernization is coming, but how can you achieve a smooth transition for your users? Based on our experience in Point of Sale revamping, we will share the mistakes you should avoid during restaurant POS legacy modernization.**

<div className="image">![quote](/images/quote_joanna_pos_revamping.png "")</div>

## Not prioritizing waitstaff feedback

**Joanna Cieszyńska, Product Designer @ bright inventions:**

When developing a POS system for waitstaff, it is crucial to consider their perspective. You shouldn't base your modernization solely on your internal vision of how the product should look. Instead, **rely on actual product design research techniques such as field studies, user shadowing, and adaptive interviews**.

Waitstaff are a very specific group of tech users; they have their habits, workarounds, and might know your POS even better than you do, using it in ways you wouldn't imagine. **A notable example we discovered during adaptive interviews involved users who didn’t use table maps but instead added notes to distinguish clients**, such as “lady with a yellow umbrella.” As you can see, that's a very specific way to use POS software. Ensure that your modernization is based on such feedback, so the transition to the new POS will be smoother for your users.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/quote_ariane_pos_revamping.png "")</div>

## Failing to balance perfection with progress

**Ariane Hinz, Project Manager @ bright inventions:**

In some cases, we tend to strive for perfection in our software, continually fine-tuning features and processes. However, at some point, **product owners should shift their focus from perfecting what users already love to further scaling the product**. 

Don't take this the wrong way – optimizing is always a key part of software development. But it's also important to **move forward and grow the product**. Focusing too much on already well-implemented parts of the system can slow down your scaling efforts.

As an example, let’s consider a highly appreciated feature by waitstaff: split payment. If initial feedback after the launch confirms that the feature is easy to use, fast, and helps avoid mistakes even when restaurant clients use different payment methods, then we can gladly build on it and implement already proven best practices while developing other features.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/quote_szymon_pos_features_flexibility.png "")</div>

## Lack of adaptable features

**Szymon Gęsicki, Flutter Developer @ bright inventions:**

Some POS providers aim to address specific restaurant problems by offering unique, tailored features. While this individual approach is praiseworthy, **it is crucial to build features that are flexible and adaptable for other restaurants as well**. The ideal scenario is to create features that can be enabled or disabled according to every restaurant's needs.

**A great example is tailored prints for kitchen, accounting, or management**. Restaurants may have different needs regarding the type of receipts and fiscal documents they want to generate. It’s wise to keep this flexible so the **restaurant staff can adjust exactly what prints they need, rather than assuming everyone requires the same type of documents by default**.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/quote_szymon_pos_revamping.png "")</div>

## Forgetting to support older hardware

**Szymon Gęsicki, Flutter Developer @ bright inventions:**

I bet every software development team loves to create POS applications only for modern desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Unfortunately, in many cases, restaurants still operate on older hardware, making it more challenging to integrate new POS systems and ensure high performance for users. 

From the moment you start planning POS modernization, **you should conduct research with your clients to determine what devices they use**. You can also **check your users' device parameters in analytics tools like Google Analytics 4** (assuming you have set up the analytics properly, which unfortunately is often neglected in legacy systems). Ensure that your system supports these devices or, if possible, provide them with modern hardware compatible with your software.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/quote_joanna_pos_design.png "")</div>

## Neglecting usability in POS redesign

**Joanna Cieszyńska, Product Designer @ bright inventions:**

POS systems are designed to help waitstaff manage orders within seconds, not to showcase intricate interaction designs or long animations. While it's important not to swing to the other extreme – animations that provide essential feedback, such as indicating that a payment is being processed, are still necessary – it’s crucial to **skip purely decorative animations**. Every extra second they add will slow the user down and complicate their already stressful work.

Modernization is the perfect moment to **redesign the POS based on user feedback**. This involves addressing specific needs, such as the ability to quickly change the order flow (restaurant clients sometimes start with the main dish and then mention the appetizers and desserts). A UI that helps to easily modify the order of meals is crucial for waitstaff. Another important aspect is **eliminating pain points**, such as unclear color coding of meal categories or the lack of distinction between beverages in cans and bottles.

As you can see, waitstaff needs can be very specific – these are just a couple of examples our team had to address during POS legacy modernization. **The goal is to create software that is truly usable, rather than just producing beautiful mockups appreciated on Behance or Dribbble**. Such designs are unlikely to stand a chance in the chaotic environment of a real restaurant.

## Are you considering your POS upgrade?

Check out our approach towards POS modernization. Read the story of [30 years old restaurant POS system](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/pos-legacy/) that our team revamped.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/q5bMu2FnhOs' />

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Eager to know more about POS user persona?' ebookName='User-Persona-For-Point-Of-Sale.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download the results of our UX research for free. This PDF is just a few clicks away!'} ebookImage='/images/cover_user_persona.png' ebookAlt='user persona pdf' />

## 9 Signs Your Restaurant POS Legacy Needs Modernization

*Published: 2024-08-05 | Author: mateuszg | Tags: business strategy, POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/signs-pos-legacy-needs-modernization/index.md*

**From risky cloud migration to the constant struggle of supporting various devices, 3rd party payments, and multiple food delivery platforms… Does your POS (Point of Sale) development team fight with any of these challenges? Perhaps it’s time for your restaurant POS legacy to be revamped. Answer these questions to find out!**

<div className="image">![legacy POS revamping](/images/pos_revamping_signs_blog_update.png "legacy POS revamping")</div>

## Do you face difficulties in integrating food delivery platforms with your POS?

**Multiple tablets for multiple food delivery platforms…** That’s the nightmare of many restaurant staff. [POS integration](/blog/pos-integration/) with all external providers and unifying them into a system accessible on one device is possible! Yet is your POS capable of offering that?

## Is your POS based solely on desktop devices?

Modern POS is often a **combined system of desktop and mobile handheld devices** e.g. tablet &  smartphone terminals, or portable card readers. Can a variety of devices be integrated into your POS?

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/q5bMu2FnhOs' />

## Is your POS on-premise although you wish for cloud migration?

Do you still manage servers on your own, at the same time considering a move to cloud-based services to reduce costs? **The age of your system can significantly complicate migration efforts**. Revamping your POS system could be a strategic move towards a more budget-friendly migration. By updating your technology, you can avoid compatibility issues with cloud platforms and legacy technologies, and minimize any downtime that could affect your customers.

## Do you face the challenge of the rising number of payment terminals?

The number of devices, especially payment terminals is growing and your legacy has limitations related to the number of terminals it can support. **Do you constantly look for workarounds to deal with this challenge, feeling pressure from your clients**?

## Do you support various payment options, including loyalty cards?

You might be operating in a market with a strong culture of loyalty programs, yet find that **your legacy POS system struggles to accommodate the evolving loyalty solutions** offered by various business partners.

## Do you struggle with acquiring new clients and keeping current ones?

Have you received **feedback from prospects and actual clients that your legacy system is outdated**, lacking the user experience and features compared to the competition?

## Is it hard to find software developers who can handle the technologies your POS system uses?

Is your POS **based on technologies that are not popular anymore or haven’t been upgraded for years** (such as Visual Basic)? Is **onboarding new developers lengthy and difficult** due to a lot of “tribal knowledge” residing within individual employees or simply missing?

## How often do you have to put the fires in production?

**How frequently do you address critical issues in production**, such as payment processing failures, orders not reaching the kitchen, or features like bill sorting and modifications not working, forcing you to prioritize these urgent fixes? Also, **are your developers hesitant to make changes in production** due to insufficient automated testing and a lack of comprehensive system knowledge?

## Last but not least… Is your POS legacy system as old as some of the developers working on it? 😉

Are you continuing to develop a system that's been decades in the making? **Is it finally time to build the new version** and ensure (with backward compatibility) a smooth transition for your clients?

- - -

How many times did you nod? If you feel that POS modernization is your fate but understandably are apprehensive about the process, **check out our approach to software revamping**. **Read [the story of 30-year-old legacy POS system](/projects/pos-legacy/) that our team revamped**.

[![POS legacy modernization case study](/images/preview_case_study_pos_revamp.png)](/projects/pos-legacy/)

## Claudia Pastides on Leading Innovation at FLO Health, a New FemTech Unicorn

*Published: 2024-07-31 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/interview-claudia-pastides-flo-health/index.md*

**In an insightful conversation that took place at the [HLTH Europe](https://europe.hlth.com/) conference in Amsterdam, Dr Claudia Pastides, Director of Medical Accuracy at [FLO Health](https://flo.health/), discusses the innovative journey of FLO Health which led to the recent impressive $200M Series C funding led by General Atlantic. This significant financial milestone propels FLO into the ranks of femtech unicorns, reinforcing its commitment to advancing women's health globally.**

## Can you briefly introduce yourself and your solution?

Yeah, so I'm Claudia Pastides. I'm the Director of Medical Accuracy at Flo Health. **Flo Health is the most popular women's health app globally**. We support women during their entire reproductive lives, from first period to menopause. The app provides curated cycle and ovulation tracking, personalized health insights, expert tips, and a fully closed community for women to share their questions and concerns. One thing that really sets us apart from other players in the space is our commitment to privacy and security.

## What inspired you to enter this market and develop this solution?

Yes, so I am a doctor by background. I worked as a family doctor for many years and was always very interested in women's health. I was fascinated by the idea of producing high-quality educational content that could be shared with millions, potentially even billions, of women around the world on topics like reproductive health and hormones. Flo approached me to work for them, and I joined as the Medical Director. **My role is to ensure that everything we create in the app is accurate, safe, and medically credible**.

<div className="image">![claudia pastides flo](/images/baner_final-quote-claudia-1-.png "")</div>

## Are you still a doctor?

I'm not seeing patients anymore. I stopped actually a few years ago.

## Do you miss that?

You know, sometimes yes and sometimes no. While I loved the one-on-one connection and making a difference for individuals, **I realized that at Flo, I can create features or content that impact many more people**. So, I feel very fulfilled in this role.

## What do you think has been the key to maintaining such high user engagement and retention?

I think it's a combination of things. The app is well-designed, user-friendly, visually appealing, and engaging, which keeps people coming back. **Since periods are a monthly occurrence for many women, there's natural user engagement**. We also put a lot of effort into medical accuracy and credibility, ensuring that users trust the information provided. **We balance being safe, credible, and medical with being fun, engaging, and attractive**. This middle ground sets us apart.

## Can you say a bit more about this medical credibility? As I understand it, that's your role to ensure that.

Yes, absolutely. **Everything we do involves a doctor from the very beginning**. When we develop a new feature or integrate artificial intelligence, a doctor is always involved to bring medical credibility and accuracy to every conversation. We are involved from the start, sign everything off at the end, and contribute throughout the process. **I manage a team of doctors and scientists, and we work with over 120 medical experts worldwide**. We ensure everything we do is as accurate, safe, and credible as possible because we are dealing with health, specifically women's health.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore even more HealthTech insights' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Almost 100 pages about scaling HealthTech solution. Don’t miss the chance to get your copy.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## What about law regulations? Have you faced any challenges due to regulations in different countries?

**Flo has a legal and compliance team that handles regulatory matters across different countries**. They proactively manage any potential challenges related to health regulations to ensure our operations remain fully compliant. We haven't faced any challenges to date thanks to our team's due diligence.

## Privacy features are increasingly important these days. Flo's Anonymous Mode is particularly crucial for users. Could you explain what this feature is about?

Yeah, **Anonymous Mode allows users to use the app without any identifiable information being linked to their account, such as their NAME or email address**. It was already in development when the US Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, but in the wake of that ruling, some users expressed concerns about how their health data might be used by third parties, such as official requests for apps like Flo to share pregnancy data with law enforcement. We believe our users should feel in control and secure when using our app, so we launched Anonymous Mode right away.

**If Flo were to ever receive an official request to identify an Anonymous Mode user by name or email, it wouldn't be possible to satisfy that request**. Our users have been very appreciative of this offering and it's since won multiple awards including TIME Best Invention, Fast Company

## Do you have any favorite podcasts or news sites where you get inspiration for your work?

We create our own resources at Flo. We have a marketing and a science digest, where we compile the latest research and advancements in women's health and technology. **Personally, I like James Somauroo’s SomX podcast; it's very insightful**.

## What do you do in your free time, if you have any?

I have three children, so there's not much free time, but I make time for activities I love. I enjoy playing tennis, doing Pilates, running, and sewing. **I started sewing during COVID** and now make dresses and other items.

<div className="image">![claudia pastides flo](/images/baner_final-quote-claudia.png "")</div>

## What trends do you see in health tech, apart from AI?

Apart from AI, which is still in its early stages, **I think there's a growing focus on women's health**. Women's health has been under-researched and neglected for a long time, but there's increasing recognition that it's a global issue. I see more tech solutions being developed for women's health, especially around taboo topics like menopause.

## That's great. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you!\
\
The interview was conducted by Agata Bielówka with Dr Claudia Pastides, the Director of Medical Accuracy at FLO Health, during the HLTH Europe conference in Amsterdam.

## Tech Trends in Healthcare: Industry Experts' Perspectives

*Published: 2024-07-23 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/tech-trends-in-healthcare-experts-perspectives/index.md*

**The recent [HLTH Europe](https://europe.hlth.com/) conference served as a platform for leading voices in healthcare technology to share insights and debate the future of the industry. Here's a deeper look at the transformative trends highlighted by these experts, which are shaping the next generation of healthcare.**

## 1. Digital transformation as a catalyst

The digital transformation of healthcare continues to accelerate, driven by the need for more integrated systems. **Aahuti Rai,** Strategic Advisor and Venture Partner at Four Points Consulting, [emphasized that the challenge lies not in the capabilities of technology but in our readiness to adopt](/blog/ehealth-bottlenecks-interview-aahuti-rai/) and integrate these advancements effectively into daily healthcare practices.

## 2. The imperative of interoperability

[Interoperability](/blog/interoperability-in-healthtech-experts-insights/) remains a critical focus, with **Dr Adam Brown** from ABIG HEALTH [pointing out its role in enhancing patient care](/blog/challenges-opportunities-digital-health-experts/#4-interoperability) through error reduction and efficient data exchange. Seamless connectivity between different health systems is essential for the next steps in healthcare evolution.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='almost 100 pages about scaling HealthTech' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download the free pdf full of insights, case studies and tech solutions for healthtech and medtech leaders.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover guide' />

## 3. Advancements in women’s health tech

Attention to women's health tech is growing, filling gaps in historically under-served areas. **Dr** **Claudia Pastides** from FLO [noted the increasing number of digital solutions aimed at improving women's health](/blog/interview-claudia-pastides-flo-health/), a trend that promises better understanding and support for women’s health issues.

<div className="image">![women's health ](/images/baner_claudia_femtech.png "")</div>

## 4. The rise of remote care

Remote care technologies are reshaping where and how care is delivered. **Łukasz Krasnopolski,** Founder and CEO at Higo Sense, explained how new devices are enabling comprehensive health assessments from the home, expanding access to healthcare services, especially in remote and underserved areas.

## 5. Innovations in pain management and diagnostic AI

**Guy Siman,** Co-Founder and COO at Sensars, [discussed their approach to chronic pain management through neurostimulation](/blog/revolutionizing-pain-relief-with-ai-an-interview-with-guy-siman-of-sensars/), tailored for individual needs. Concurrently, AI's role in diagnostics is expanding, with **Bartosz Borucki,** CEO at Smarter Diagnostics, highlighting its use in detecting early signs of orthopedic conditions, signaling a shift towards proactive healthcare.

## 6. Prioritizing patient-centric experiences

The digital journey of patients is becoming a core focus, enhancing how they engage with healthcare systems. **Fernando Campos Soares** from Nuria, [shared how his platform is making health data management more accessible and patient-friendly](/blog/nuria-advancing-healthcare-interoperability-and-patient-engagement/), emphasizing patient autonomy over their health records.

<div className="image">![enhancing the entire patient journey](/images/baner_fernando_trends_interoperability.png "")</div>

## 7. Ethical data management

**Mohammad Al-Ubaydli,** Founder and CEO at PHIN, stressed the ethical management of health data, ensuring patients retain ownership and control over their personal health information. This practice not only supports patient autonomy but also builds trust by making health data management transparent and consent-based.

<div className="image">![private healthcare information network](/images/baner_mohammad_medical_data_records.png "")</div>

## 8. Predictive analytics and personalized medicine

The use of big data and predictive analytics is forging paths towards personalized medicine, where treatments are precisely tailored to individual genetic and lifestyle factors. This approach is set to transform healthcare from reactive to anticipatory, focusing on prevention rather than just treatment.

## Conclusion

The **HLTH conference** highlighted a dynamic shift towards more sophisticated, patient-centric, and ethically managed healthcare systems. As industry experts keep innovating, the healthcare sector is on the brink of a major change, ready to provide unmatched personalized care and greater control to patients.

## 51 Reasons Why We Love Working at Bright Inventions

*Published: 2021-12-13 | Author: izabela | Tags: inspiration, teamwork, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/43-reasons-why-we-love-working-at-bright-inventions-2021-edition/index.md*

**We have decided to stop for a moment and think about our bright culture. We asked people to answer a simple yet meaningful question – Why do you work at Bright Inventions? Our bright team submitted their answers and let me be clear – the participation was voluntary. No one was forced and never will be to write some puff pieces.**

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions team](/images/collage_reasons_to_work.png "Bright Inventions team")</div>

[In 2019 we also asked the team why they work at Bright.](/blog/31-reasons-why-we-love-working-at-Bright-Inventions/) Back then our team consisted of around 20 members. Now we have over 80 people on board! Thus it is time for new perspectives.

## Why do you work at Bright Inventions?

1. You are quickly recognized and valued for a job well done.
2. Because of the trust and flexibility we're given.
3. Transparency and the absence of workplace politics.
4. The culture of knowledge sharing.
5. Building products that are used and appreciated by users.
6. The mature process of software development. The team is highly skilled and experienced. We focus 100% on quality.
7. We are partners to our clients and bring something more to the table than lines of code.
8. People treat each other with respect and you can feel that they do work that really gives them satisfaction.
9. People around me are super excited about what they do.
10. I experience constant self-development: professional and personal as well.
11. People inspire me to grow.
12. A clear path to self-development.
13. No-corporation atmosphere.
14. Hybrid work.
15. Working on international projects with clients from countries like Israel, the UK, the USA or Germany.
16. Multiple celebrations and great team retreats.
17. The project I work on is meaningful and gives possibilities to develop myself.
18. Stability and security – during the pandemic the team grew twice.
19. Nothing is forced here. You don’t feel the pressure to spend time with the team, but you actually just want to know the people because they are kind and helpful. 
20. Taking care of the employees.
21. Great atmosphere in the office, everyone is friendly and you feel like a part of the family.
22. You can get a ton of help not only regarding your work. You can get advice about taxes, buying an apartment, a bike or how to do Crossfit. People are just open to help and to share knowledge. 
23. Human approach – your teammates understand that you can sometimes feel under the weather, have a sleepless night with your child or simply have a bad day. And they will offer you nothing but support.
24. Coffee talks – regular talks to just discuss things worth sharing.
25. I like having an influence on what technology I use.
26. English classes.
27. Autonomy, no micromanagement.
28. Direct contact with clients.
29. I have challenges that I want to take up.
30. Competitive salary.
31. Friendly atmosphere – we meet after work because we want to.
32. Training together – yoga, swimming, jogging and MTB together not only to spend time with each other but to stay healthy and in shape.
33. We have after-work retreats that are actually employee initiatives like hackathons, running races, Board Game Fridays or a chess tournament.
34. Abilities to work on more than one project or change a project. A great option to prevent burnout which is a common issue in the software development sector. 
35. Down to earth people, even senior developers or partners.
36. Work-life balance. The management knows that people need to relax after work and that working isn’t anyone’s whole life.
37. Flexibility.
38. Transparent communication within the team.
39. Even though I've been working here for 1 month, it feels like I've been working here forever (in a good way).
40. Big impact on the projects.
41. Kudos culture. I just feel appreciation and like to appreciate others.
42. Office library with books about software development, UX and marketing.
43. Bright lunches.
44. Flat structure.
45. Sharing is caring and here it is not just a phrase, that is a way of work.
46. The management crew is very competent and flexible in terms of employer-employee relations.
47. Internal workshops about AWS, UX, Kotlin and more.
48. Mentoring opportunities.
49. Positive attitude.
50. Openness.
51. Kind people around me. Just like that.

Kudos for the whole Bright Team for sharing these insights.

## Why You Should Hire a Software Agency Based in Gdansk (Poland)

*Published: 2023-08-03 | Author: izabela | Tags: business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/index.md*

**Looking for a software development agency based in Poland? Consider choosing a software company from Gdańsk. Why? Unlock Gdańsk's tech potential and find out why it might be a perfect place for you to create digital solutions.**

<center>

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions team in Gdansk](../../static/images/gdansk_team.png "Bright Inventions team in Gdansk")</div>

</center>

**Contents**

[Great geo-localization and flight connections](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#great-geo-localization-and-flight-connections)

[The opportunity to see face-to-face](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#the-opportunity-to-see-face-to-face)

[Collaboration-friendly time zone](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#collaboration-friendly-time-zone)

[One of the top Polish technology universities is in Gdansk](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#one-of-the-top-polish-technology-universities-is-in-gdansk)

[Gdansk is full of programming talents](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#gdansk-is-full-of-programming-talents)

[](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#gdansk-is-full-of-programming-talents)[Gdansk hosts infoShare – the biggest tech and startup event in CEE](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#gdansk-hosts-infoshare--the-biggest-tech-and-startup-event-in-cee)

[Studies show that people who live in Gdansk are one of the happiest in Poland ☺️](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#studies-show-that-people-who-live-in-gdansk-are-one-of-the-happiest-in-poland-%EF%B8%8F)

[Combine your business trip with pleasure](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#combine-your-business-trip-with-pleasure)

[See you in Gdansk? 😉](/blog/hiring-software-development-agency-based-in-gdansk/#see-you-in-gdansk-)

## Great geo-localization and flight connections

You can fly to over 20 countries from Gdańsk Airport ([data](https://www.airport.gdansk.pl/lotnisko/aktualnosci/80-polaczen-do-24-krajow-n2234.html) from March 2023). Thanks to the Gdańsk's great localization in the center of Europe, flying to some cities like Copenhagen, Oslo, and Munich takes even less than two hours.

What’s more Gdańsk Airport has [the most direct flights to Scandinavia](https://www.airport.gdansk.pl/lotnisko/aktualnosci/od-kwietnia-nowe-polaczenia-z-gdanska-do-skandynawii--n1706.html) (among Polish airports) including connections to **Tromso, Trondheim, Alesund, Turku, Stockholm, Oslo, Goteburg Vaxjo, Malmo, Billund**, and more. It’s worth mentioning that the Helsinki-Gdansk flights will be back in 2024 according to the [airport website](https://www.airport.gdansk.pl/lotnisko/aktualnosci/wroca-loty-z-gdanska-do-helsinek--n2251.html).

The Gdańsk Airport is located about 20 minutes from the center of the city by car (getting to the Bright Inventions office from the airport is even quicker). 

<div className="image">![Gdansk airport flight connections](../../static/images/blog_post_airport_gdansk.png "Gdansk airport flight connections")</div>

<center>Source: [Gdansk Airport website](https://www.airport.gdansk.pl/flight-information/where-we-fly-p3.html) </center>

Additionally, you can reach the city comfortably by train from Berlin. 

## The opportunity to see face-to-face

Working day by day in a distributed team has proven effective, yet from time to time, you might need to meet the people you work with daily in an offline setting. That’s why Gdańsk is a great place to have a software development team located, as you can reach the city in only a few hours from across Europe. Or the team can come to you. This is especially useful for [product workshops](/our-areas/product-workshops/) that kick off most software development projects. These are the workshops that can benefit from face-to-face interactions. Software agency members can visit you to conduct these workshops.

For example, we visited our client, a renowned humanitarian agency in Rome, to conduct product workshops for the team.

## Collaboration-friendly time zone

Poland is in **Central European Time (CET)** which makes it possible to organize **daily online meetings** with client representatives from **European countries**, as well as **Israel** or even the **USA**.

Examples of time differences:

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇩🇪 Germany: no time difference

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇳🇴 Norway: no time difference

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇬🇧 the UK: 1-hour time difference

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇮🇱 Israel: 1-hour time difference

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇺🇸 New York: 6-hours time difference

At Bright Inventions we successfully collaborate with clients from the listed countries.

## One of the top Polish technology universities is in Gdansk

Based on the 2023 Perspektywy Report *[Universities of Technology 2023](https://2023.ranking.perspektywy.org/ranking/university-ranking/ranking-by-university-type/universities-of-technology)* **Gdansk University of Technology was ranked third among universities of technologies in Poland** (following universities in Warsaw and Krakow).

Lots of Bright Inventions team members graduated from Gdansk University of Technology including our co-founders Daniel Makurat and Michał Łukasiewicz. Our project manager Kasia Łukasiewicz is also a lecturer at the Gdansk University of Technology’s Informatics department.

<div className="image">![Gdansk University of Technology](../../static/images/blog_post_gdansk_tech_university.png "Gdansk University of Technology")</div>

<center> Source: [Gdansk University of Technology's website](https://pg.edu.pl/dzial-promocji/marka-pg/galeria-zdjec)</center>

It’s worth mentioning that graduates of the Gdansk University of Technology created [text-to-speech Ivona](https://pg.edu.pl/aktualnosci/2021-04/chcemy-dac-polakom-milion-dodatkowych-lat-zycia-w-zdrowiu-rozmowa-z-lukaszem). Their solution eventually helped to build the famous Alexa.

## Gdansk is full of programming talents

Over 500 people graduated in [2022](https://cdn.files.pg.edu.pl/main/Dzia%C5%82%20Kszta%C5%82cenia/Statystyki/Liczba%20absolwent%C3%B3w%20stan%20na%20dzie%C5%84%2031.12.2022.pdf) from the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications, and Informatics of Gdansk University of Technology. Naturally, that is not the only college in Gdansk offering informatics studies.

The official [news portal of Gdańsk](https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/Armia-18-tysiecy-programistow-Czy-Gdansk-jest-zaglebiem-branzy-IT-w-Polsce-Invest-in-Pomerania-Marcin-Grzegory-BSS-biurowce,a,224885) says that **in Gdansk works around 18 000 programmers**. That’s why Gdansk is a place where true tech giants choose to operate including Amazon, Intel, and IBM.

## Gdansk hosts infoShare – the biggest tech and startup event in CEE

[infoShare](https://infoshare.pl/conference/) brings over 6 thousand attendees, 150 speakers, and over 500 startups. The first edition of the event was organized in 2007. infoShare brings to Gdansk speakers representing companies like IBM, Linux, Oracle, Intel and more.

<div className="image">![infoShare 2023](../../static/images/blog_post_infoshare.png "Pictures from infoShare 2023")</div>

<center> Pictures from infoShare 2023 </center>

## Studies show that people who live in Gdansk are one of the happiest in Poland ☺️

Gdańsk citizens are one of the happiest in Poland according to studies conducted between 2021-2022 by [Otodom and ThinkCo](https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/gdynia-happiest-place-in-poland-says-new-report-revealing-countrys-most-and-least-satisfied-cities-32304). Only a nearby city Gdynia had the highest level of citizen’s happiness.

<div className="image">![The level of happiness by Otodom and ThinkCo](../../static/images/blog_post_gdansk_happiness.png "The level of happiness")</div>

<center> The level of happiness by Otodom and ThinkCo </center>

One of the reasons might be the fact that **Gdansk offers opportunities to grow professionally as well as to pursue other passions**. Gdańsk, situated next to Baltic See, gives a chance for water activities like kite surfing, sup, sailing, and more. With hundreds of kilometers of bike routes and lots of green spaces, the city lets you truly rest after work. As a result, it helps to establish a work-life balance among employees [crucial for maintaining happiness](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299741273_The_Relationship_Between_Work-Life_Balance_and_Happiness_From_the_Perspectives_of_Generation_X_and_Y).

## Combine your business trip with pleasure

Gdansk is a great city to experience beach sunsets, sailing, historical sightseeing, and much more. Check out the [places to visit in the city recommended by our team](/blog/things-to-see-in-gdansk/)!

<div className="image">![Gdansk - things to see](/images/gdansk_sailing.png "Gdansk - things to see")</div>

## See you in Gdańsk? 😉

We hope that you have unlocked the potential Gdańsk has. If you are looking for a software agency based in Gdansk, reach out to our team.

## Top Newsletters about Digital Health

*Published: 2024-02-16 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-newsletters-digital-health-healthtech/index.md*

**Discover viable sources of news about HealthTech and MedTech. These newsletters are worth finding a place in your inbox.**

<div className="image">![newsletters technology in healthcare](../../static/images/digital_health_newsletters.png "newsletters technology in healthcare")</div>

## Hospitalogy

A newsletter focusing on the financial aspects and future trends in large healthcare systems and payers.

Powered by: Blake Madden, Founder & Creator of Hospitalogy

Subscribe: [](https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-future-of-digital-health-6501324601757442048/)[](https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/)[hospitalogy.com](https://hospitalogy.com/)

## Healthcare Huddle

A newsletter created by a physician for health professionals explaining complex healthcare topics.

Powered by: Jared Dashevsky, MD, Founder of Healthcare Huddle newsletter

Subscribe: [healthcarehuddle.com](https://www.healthcarehuddle.com/)

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get more resources about digital health' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download our free guide about scaling software solutions for healthcare. Almost 100 pages about leveraging technology in digital health!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='guide cover' />

## Fierce Healthcare

A comprehensive news source covering various aspects of the healthcare industry from healthcare legislation, EMR systems, HIPAA, interoperability to risk management, and more.

Powered by: Fierce Healthcarenews portal

Subscribe: [](https://www.healthcarehuddle.com/)[fiercehealthcare.com](https://fiercehealthcare.questexinfo.com/loading.do?omedasite=HC_full&_gl=1*4xpr71*_gcl_au*MzAxMDI0ODU0LjE3MjEwNDY2NjQ.*_ga*NjYxNDk2NDQ1LjE3MjEwNDY2NjQ.*_ga_RMX1PXZZZZ*MTcyMTA0NjY2NC4xLjEuMTcyMTA0Njc5OS41OS4wLjA)

## Axios Vitals

A newsletter offering updates and insights into the latest healthcare news.

Powered by: Axios news portal

Subscribe: [axios.com/newsletters](https://www.axios.com/newsletters)

## Stat News

An extensive news source providing in-depth reporting on health, medicine, biotech, pharma, and science.

Powered by: Stat News healthcare news portal

Subscribe: [statnews.com/signup/](https://www.statnews.com/signup/)

## The Future of Digital Health

An insightful newsletter touching on how new technologies can transform digital health.

Powered by: Bertalan Meskó, MD, PhD, Director of The Medical Futurist Institute

Subscribe: [linkedin.com/newsletters/the-future-of-digital-health](https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-future-of-digital-health-6501324601757442048/)

## MedTech Pulse

Full of interesting stats, insights, and projections, MedTech Pulse brings innovations in medicine in a very accessible manner.

Powered by: CeramTec

Subscribe: [medtechpulse.com](https://www.medtechpulse.com/)

## FemTech Insider

The newsletter covers industry news in FemTech, from impressive startup funding raises to tech breakthroughs in female technology.

Powered by: FemTech Insider

Subscribe: [femtechinsider.com/newsletter](https://femtechinsider.com/newsletter/)

## The Secret Sauce

Another newsletter that presents all the technology in healthcare nuances, yet with a focus on enhancing patient care and empathy in healthcare.

Powered by: Kris Mulcahy, Director of Business Development and Innovation at Brightisle

Subscribe: [linkedin.com/pulse/ai-healthcare-personalizing-patient-care-digital-age-kris-mulcahy](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-healthcare-personalizing-patient-care-digital-age-kris-mulcahy-iyr5e/?trackingId=%2FI5K%2FtuVTiaImPWXOV%2BvPQ%3D%3D)

## Out-Of-Pocket

A simple and funny newsletter explaining the healthcare industry. Sometimes that’s all you need in your mailbox.

Powered by: Nikhil Krishnan

Subscribe: [outofpocket.health](https://www.outofpocket.health/)

## Rock Weekly

Great insights into recent innovations, funds and market statistics.

Powered by: Rock Health

Subscribe: [rockhealth.com](https://rockhealth.com/rock-weekly/?mc_cid=004ea2384f&mc_eid=fbb3bdc963)

## Healthtech Pigeon

News bites from the digital health world, sprinkled with industry events and job opportunities.

Powered by: SomX

Subscribe: [healthtechpigeon.com](https://www.healthtechpigeon.com/)

- - -

What newsletters do you recommend? Let us know in the comments below!

## Top Challenges and Opportunities in Digital Health – Experts Insights Shared at the HLTH Conference

*Published: 2024-07-10 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/challenges-opportunities-digital-health-experts/index.md*

**At the recent HLTH Conference in Amsterdam, industry leaders and experts gathered to discuss the most pressing challenges and exciting opportunities in digital health innovation. From technological readiness and regulatory hurdles to the transformative potential of AI and preventive healthcare, the conversations highlighted the fast-evolving landscape of digital health and medtech. Check out the insights shared at the conference to understand the current state and the future of healthcare innovation.**

## **Top Challenges**

<div className="image">![quote](/images/baner_final-quote-fernando-1-.png "quote")</div>

### 1. Technological advancements vs. readiness of healthcare systems

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>The challenge is not the technology but the readiness to embrace and implement it, especially in healthcare, where things are still quite archaic. There are places that still use fax machines and lots of paper-pushing. There are silos and fragmentation in processes and administration.</div><footer>Aahuti Rai, Strategic Advisor, Venture Partner @ Four Points Consulting</footer></blockquote>

### 2. Importance of cultural change and mindset shifts

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>When discussing data, interoperability, data quality, unstructured data, and structured data, challenges abound. In Brazil, our biggest challenge is the mindset of healthcare leaders. Patients often need to opt in to share their data for better outcomes, and regulatory bodies and healthcare providers can be resistant to data exchange.</div><footer>Fernando Campos Soares, Founder & CEO @ Nuria</footer></blockquote>

### 3. Regulatory and market understanding

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>The regulatory space is another challenge. Having FDA approval is not enough—you also need CMS and Medicaid approval to pay for your product or device. Without this, your product or service won't be implemented or used in the US.</div><footer>Dr Adam Brown, Founder @ ABIG Health</footer></blockquote>

### 4. Interoperability

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>One of the biggest challenges in the US is our disparate electronic healthcare systems (EHRs). Every hospital has a different system. Even though there are major EHR vendors with large market portions, communication between vendors can be challenging.</div><footer>Dr Adam Brown, Founder @ ABIG Health</footer></blockquote>

### 5. Ensuring Data Privacy and Security

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>Anonymous Mode in Flo allows users to use the app without any identifiable information being linked to their account, such as their NAME or email address. It was already in development when the US Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, but in the wake of that ruling, some users expressed concerns about how their health data might be used by third parties, such as official requests for apps like Flo to share pregnancy data with law enforcement. We believe our users should feel in control and secure when using our app, so we launched Anonymous Mode right away.</div><footer> Dr Claudia Pastides, Medical Director @ Flo</footer></blockquote>

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='almost 100 pages about scaling HealthTech' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download the free pdf full of insights, case studies and tech solutions for healthtech and medtech leaders.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover guide' />

## Top Opportunities

<div className="image">![](/images/baner_final-quote-frank-3-.png "")</div>

### 1. AI and biomarkers as a digital health tool

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>Another theme I'm passionate about is understanding conditions and populations we've never been able to before, addressing huge inequities in healthcare, and developing so much more understanding through digital health and AI. It’s about focusing on things that get overlooked because there's no immediate financial incentive, and that's where the startup sector shines.</div><footer>Aahuti Rai, Strategic Advisor, Venture Partner @ Four Points Consulting</footer></blockquote>

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>We think that generative AI, large language models are not good enough yet to independently provide this (mental health treatment). But as a tool, as a co-pilot tool to steer, to help human therapists, I think it's a fantastic tool.</div><footer>Michel Valstar, CSO & Co-Founder @ Blueskeye AI</footer></blockquote>

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>I believe we will continue the trend of more generalization in AI. We will see more integration of different data sources and more comprehensive models that can draw general conclusions from diverse information. This will be particularly important in healthcare, where integrating historical patient data, environmental data, and other sources will be crucial for effective diagnostics and treatment.</div><footer>Bartosz Borucki, CEO @ Smarter Diagnostics</footer></blockquote>

### 2. Patient engagement and experience

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>Our solution is modular, with five modules that hospitals, clinics, and labs can buy from us and offer to their patients to better their digital journey. The second focus is an integration and interoperability platform. This involves data exchange between hospitals, clinics, labs, and other healthcare solutions, health techs, payers, the pharma industry, and distributors. Essentially, any player in healthcare that needs to automate a service or product, we connect them.</div><footer>Fernando Campos Soares, Founder & CEO @ Nuria</footer></blockquote>

### 3. Focusing on preventive healthcare

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>My favorite trend is preventive healthcare. We are working on this at Smarter Diagnostics because we believe it is the future of healthcare. The term 'healthcare' is misleading because it often deals with diseases rather than health. We need to change this paradigm to truly focus on health.</div><footer>Bartosz Borucki, CEO @ Smarter Diagnostics</footer></blockquote>

### 4. Innovative collaboration and ecosystem development

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>The ability to pull together different stakeholders from various industries with a common goal of improving health is a significant strength. We're tackling issues like the price of innovation, the implications of price on the healthcare workforce, and the future of the healthcare workforce.</div><footer>Dr Adam Brown, Founder @ ABIG Health</footer></blockquote>

### 5. Empowering the disabled

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>I developed a program to train visually impaired women. Nowadays, we run a social enterprise called Discovering Hands. Discovering Hands trains these women, who are the perfect tactile examiners. We also have scientific research on the results of their examinations. They find tumor sizes between six and eight millimeters. We, as doctors, find tumors between one and two centimeters. That makes a big difference because it's not the tumor inside the breast that is the killer; it's always the metastasizing cells sent out from there into the body. If you find it at the earliest possible stage, you will have a cure. In other cases, maybe not.</div><footer>Dr Frank Hoffmann, CEO & Founder @ Discovering Hands</footer></blockquote>

\
As we steer towards the future of digital health, the insights from these experts light the path forward. \
\
By addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities, we can transform healthcare into a more efficient, inclusive, and innovative field. The question remains: are we ready to embrace the change and drive the future of healthtech? The journey ahead requires not only technological advancements but also a collective effort to reshape our approach to healthcare, ensuring better outcomes for all.

## From Chance to Passion: A Software Tester’s Story

*Published: 2024-07-09 | Author: michal-d | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/software-tester-story-michal/index.md*

**It’s not a typical tale about a career switch to a quality assurance specialist. Michał didn't plan to be a software tester; he was surprised by it yet couldn’t have embraced it better. Read his career story, learn what he’s eager to know about candidates during interviews as a recruiter, and discover how important hardware testing is in his job.**

<div className="image">![software tester's career story](/images/brightstorymichaldgrid.png "software tester's career story")</div>

## How did your software tester career kick off?

It was a total coincidence and a decision that wasn’t made by me. To give you a bigger picture, **I studied Management Engineering**, and as I approached graduation, I planned to become a business analyst or scrum master. I eventually landed a business analyst internship at a corporation in Gdańsk. Super excited about that, **I arrived on the first day only to be informed that there was a change of plans. It would be a software testing internship after all**.

## How did you react to that?

I was a bit surprised. Maybe back then, I wasn’t assertive enough, so I didn’t oppose the change. However, **I quickly started getting interesting tasks and soon found myself enjoying this new role**.

## What surprised you in a software tester role?

At first, the fact that it even exists! I mean, I was aware of the role in software development, but I never really thought about its purpose in the whole process. **I was certainly surprised by the amount of repetitive work related to it**. While some might find it boring, I somehow enjoy it. Of course, QA is not the only role that involves repetitive tasks; other professions, including programmers, also have to deal with that challenge.

## Is manual testing a profession that’s about to become extinct?

Absolutely not. **Both manual and automated testing have different responsibilities and complement each other**. Automated tests are mostly about regression tests and repetitive tasks, while manual testing focuses on new functionalities and exploratory testing.

## Okay, but what about AI? Will it replace testers?

Based on my experience, I don’t see that happening. I think that **there will actually be a greater need for testers to verify AI results**.

<div className="image">![AI vs software testers quote](/images/michald_quote_ai.png "AI vs software testers quote")</div>

## How did you land at Bright Inventions?

It's all thanks to Łukasz, whom I have known for years. He works at Bright Inventions and had been convincing me for years to apply. **For a long time, I thought I couldn't possibly meet the requirements to join the company**. Obviously, **I now regret that hesitation because I really enjoy working here**.

<div className="image">![During a team retreat.](/images/michal_team_retreat.png "During a team retreat.")</div>

<center> During a team retreat. </center>

## At Bright Inventions, you test software and its integrations with hardware. Tell us more about it.

Yes, **all my desk drawers are full of different devices, cables, trackers, and more**. While working at Bright Inventions, I had the opportunity to be part of various projects, including testing a POS application with multiple devices such as printers, terminals, and POS monitors. 

Currently, **I am part of a team developing an IoT solution based on a network of bluetooth trackers which is mostly used for device tracking**. The number of usages is almost limitless and it can serve in healthcare, supply chains, or cold delivery chains for example. 

**Working with Bluetooth is very specific and differs significantly from testing web or typical mobile apps**. It's a truly developmental experience because you must anticipate many factors, such as the impact of wireless headphones connected to a phone on the entire application's operation. It also allows me to conduct some tests outdoors, providing a welcome break from sitting in front of the computer all the time.

<div className="image">![testing with bluetooth quote](/images/michald_quote_bluetooth.png "testing with bluetooth quote")</div>

## As a tech recruiter, what do you expect from candidates?

**I seek people who truly understand what they say they do**. Sometimes, when you learn from a tutorial, you might grasp a framework like Cypress for test automation but not fully understand what automation is all about.

I also look for **people who know how to work with software developers** because it can be quite challenging. That’s why soft skills are essential. I usually ask candidates about their experience with cooperation with developers **checking their proactivity, assertiveness, and empathy**.

## What is your after-hours hobby?

Since I was a child, **I've always enjoyed assembling Lego**.

<div className="image">![Family Lego assembling.](/images/lego_michald.png "Family Lego assembling.")</div>

<center> Family Lego assembling. </center>

Now that I have a three-year-old, I can go to the store and pretend that the Lego is only for him.  I mostly buy Lego City sets – my son is excited about all the vehicles, and I get to assemble the bricks. It's a win-win!

## How Data-Driven Development Saved a Successful FemTech App Onboarding From a Failure

*Published: 2024-01-24 | Author: mateusz | Tags: business, HealthTech, design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/data-driven-development-femtech-app-onboarding/index.md*

**An 80% onboarding conversion rate for a mobile app is generally a successful metric. However, particularly in the world of software development, everything can be optimized. Or maybe not? Follow the story of how the pursuit of optimization, based solely on assumptions, nearly destroyed the successful onboarding of a FemTech app, and discover how we prevented this using the power of data!**

<div className="image">![FemTech app onboarding](../../static/images/pregnancy_app_femtech.png "FemTech app onboarding")</div>

## The hypothesis: simplifying onboarding to increase the app sign-up rate

While scaling the mobile application offering nutrition and fitness recommendations for pregnant women, we focused on key elements that would help attract more soon-to-be moms. One of the aspects was the quality of the app's onboarding process. 

The pregnancy app in question had, at that time, an **onboarding process containing 8 steps, divergently helping the app to customize the experience for its expecting women**. So, there weren't only the typical login screens, but the females also answered a bunch of questions such as:

* name,
* fitness and exercise preferences,
* food preferences,
* allergies.

Although **the onboarding conversion rate was 80%, our client – a Germany-based FemTech startup – questioned whether the detailed onboarding process might deter users from signing up**. We jointly decided to validate this hypothesis.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='dive into HealthTech' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Facing scalability challenges in your HealthTech business? Read our free guide full of insights and tech solutions.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='guide cover' />

## The validation: confronting assumptions with data

For testing purposes, **we shortened the onboarding process from 8 to 3 steps**, focusing on login, name, and accepting terms, while omitting questions about fitness, food preferences, and other specifics related to pregnancy. What was the outcome? **The app onboarding conversion rate plummeted from 80% to 50%**.

How were we able to verify that? Naturally, **thanks to data-driven development which is a process of creating software based on data-driven decisions**. This approach couldn't take place without **analytics tools measuring user actions**. We install these at the early stage of every app we develop. In most scenarios (the pregnancy app included), we install a few different analytics tools to have the opportunity to compare data from various sources and ensure its accuracy.
		
After noticing the initial drop in the onboarding rate, our first step was to verify that there wasn't any crucial bug preventing women from completing the onboarding process. Once we eliminated that possibility, we waited to collect meaningful data. **After analyzing the numbers, we decided with the client to revert to the previous onboarding method. Subsequently, the app onboarding rate returned to 80%**.

Imagine making these crucial changes without data-driven development relying only on our feelings or assumptions. **The numbers provided by analytical tools were quite straightforward and quickly helped us verify the hypothesis** and come back to the onboarding that attracted more moms-to-be.

**Watch the video to get more onboarding insights from [Mateusz Klimczak](https://www.linkedin.com/in/klimczak-mateusz/), Partner & Head of Delivery @ bright inventions:**

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljeqnUbnrCg' />

## Key Points to Remember While Designing App Onboarding for Pregnancy Apps

### Confront general best practices 👊

The shorter the onboarding, the better. You might have read that a few times. In the case of applications targeting specific users (like pregnant women), **a longer onboarding process might yield a higher completion rate**. This approach makes women feel cared for and understood by the app creators.

### Show that you know your audience with a personalized approach 👐

More detailed onboarding gives the impression that **the app experience will be truly personalized**. This is particularly crucial in developing FemTech solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of women navigating pregnancy and the postpartum stage.

### Use onboarding to start to build the bond with users 🤝

Thoughtfully designed onboarding is **a crucial first step in forging a long-term bond with women** in the very unique moment of their lives. This is one of the first user interactions, and building a bond and trust from this moment is essential.

### Testing ideas is crucial, but final validation should always be data-driven 🫵

Assumptions should never be a driving force of any change in software development. **Always base your decision on data**.

If you are not sure what metric to measure and what analytics tools you should install, check our [mobile app metrics cheat sheet](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/).

## Are you ready to discuss your app's onboarding?

Looking for ways to optimize your app onboarding with data-driven development? Contact us to [set up a free consultation in 48 hours](/start-project/).

<center>

[![let's talk](/images/contact_mateusz_0.75.png)](/start-project/) 

</center>

## HLTH Amsterdam 2024 - Was it Worth Attending the eHealth Event?

*Published: 2024-07-02 | Author: agata | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/hlth-amsterdam-2024-summary/index.md*

**[HLTH](https://europe.hlth.com/?utm_source=brightinventions.pl&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=2024_blog_summary), the largest health information and technology event in the USA, has now expanded to Europe, choosing Amsterdam for its strong transport links, English proficiency, and attractive amenities. Let's examine whether this European version lived up to its reputation.**

<div className="image">![HLTH Europe 2024](/images/hlth-blogpost-cover.png "HLTH Europe 2024")</div>

## Organisational aspects

The event **was planned to be the biggest health innovation event in Europe**. While I don't have the exact figures, in my opinion, it was undoubtedly one of the best events focused on this topic.

The venue was well-designed, featuring seven stages for keynotes and discussions, a medium-sized space for exhibitors, and a nice seating for work, networking, or relaxation. There was also a dedicated space for meetings.

**A useful feature was the event's app**, which assisted with networking, program navigation, site orientation, and participant connections. Impressively, the app functioned well, which is IMHO a novelty in the world of conference apps.

The additional events, such as boat trips, walking tours, yoga sessions, beach parties, and concerts, were exceptional. The selection of speakers and topics was top-notch.\
\
Well, the additional attractions were great, but was the substantive level up to par?

<div className="image">![hlth](/images/frame-2608395.png "")</div>

## Business value, covered topics & networking

The organizers chose often-neglected topics like taboos, significant e-health/medtech challenges, and important innovations, creating a program that was engaging, educational, and thought-provoking.

**Positioning the women's health stage at the center** and naming it "the Heart Stage" was a strategic move, emphasizing the importance of this topic.

The organizers deserve applause for **highlighting solutions related to pressing issues**, such as the "Enough" stand developed by Katie White, who is on a mission to deter rape.

Discussions at the Heart Stage focused on women's health needs, highlighting how women often neglect their own health and are hesitant to discuss it. This makes it crucial to address women's health as a priority. 

Panels also covered menopause, menstrual, and maternal care, which are considered important for future innovations. The Heart Stage hosted LGBTQ-related discussions as well.

The conference didn't shy away from topics like **the use of psychedelic drugs in mental health treatments**. 

Interoperability was another significant theme, discussed both in presentations and informally. As **[MD MBA Adam Brown](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambrownmdmba/)** noted, achieving interoperability is essential for realizing the goals of value-based care by improving quality, reducing costs, and enhancing access.

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>Having a system that's able to communicate even across vendors has a benefit to a patient. It's hard to get to a place in health care that we are truly exercising the goals or realizing the goals of value-based care where we're improving quality and reducing costs and improving access without interoperability of our digital systems. And so that's one of the big challenges.</div><footer>Adam Brown, MD MBA, Founder @ ABIG Health</footer></blockquote>

AI was a hot topic but didn't dominate the exhibitor space or presentation stages, which is often the case at this and last year's conferences.

**[Aahuti Rai's](https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetaahutirai/)** remark is a good summary of the event’s approach to AI:

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>I'm not really so buzzed about specific technologies. It's more about how you put them to use and make them relevant for people. For me, it's never been about the actual technology, it's about what the technology enables.</div><footer>Aahuti Rai, Strategic Advisor & Venture Partner @ Four Points Consulting Ltd</footer></blockquote>

The pre-conference day, "Day 0," included **workshops focused on specific European digital health markets**, providing valuable insights into the legal and regulatory challenges and differences across countries. This day was especially beneficial for startups and scale-ups planning to expand their products.

The event also delved into the role of internet influencers and social media in patient education, questioning the balance between promoting healthy lifestyles and proposing unrealistic beauty standards.

## The area to improve

And now a few words of criticism. As much as **networking is definitely the strongest aspect of the event**, the organizers should improve the organization of meetings so that in the next edition, participants can make the most of it, reducing the time and stress of finding their interlocutors.

<div className="image">![hlth_networking](/images/frame-2608396.png "")</div>

In summary, HLTH Europe was an invaluable networking hub filled with discussions addressing digital health needs and challenges. It's an essential venue for anyone looking to inspire and address challenges in their health tech solutions. **And it was definitely worth attending**.

## Recruiting Like a Pro: 5 Marketing Tips for Smarter Hiring

*Published: 2024-06-30 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, recruitment, HR*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-things-recruiters-can-learn-from-marketers/index.md*

You have probably heard about recruitment marketing – the process of attracting top talent by promoting your organization’s brand using various marketing methods and tools. In fact, marketing elements are present throughout the entire recruitment cycle, often adding significant value to the candidate experience.

My background in marketing allowed me to uncover the synergies between marketing strategies and effective talent acquisition practices many years ago. Marketing skills can be incredibly beneficial in both your role as a recruiter and your organization's recruitment processes. Being an effective recruiter involves many of the same skills that talented marketers possess.

## 1. Lifelong learning

Being a lifelong learner is something that I have always believed in. The pace of change in the market is high, especially in IT sector. Great marketers have a desire to deepen their knowledge about marketing trends and industries they work in. They change together with the market to offer their clients the best quality experience. 



As a recruiter you should be up-to-date with recruitment and marketing trends. Probably you will use social media on daily basis either to contact your candidates or just to increase your brand/organisation/client awareness among your target group. Choose learning tools which work best for you: read business books or blogs, subscribe to newsletters, listen to podcasts, watch webinars, take part in workshops, do courses, join a study group. There are many ways to grow.



<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqRoGpSGFwk' />

What I find especially exciting in marketing field is learning by experiments. I am not saying you should all the time reinvent the wheel, but to some extend it is advisable. **Perform some tests to gain new insights or data. You can alter the copy or graphics in your recruitment posts, try out new job boards or look for new channels to reach your target group. Learn, experiment and achieve better and better results.**

## 2. Analytical thinking

And it all brings us here. Experimenting and learning without analysing the effects would be pointless.

In marketing I have always worked with data. I am comfortable with metrics and I usually know how to interpret them. Imho in recruitment area it should be the same. As a recruiter your goal is to meet the organisation’s goals. Y**ou have to look beyond isolated application and identify which metrics may help you reach the expected results in a given time.** Knowing how to use some analytical tools is just step one though. In fact, this tool tool can be sometimes your Excel or Google sheets table. Do not forget that there is much more than the tools. There are multiple factors that may affect how effective your recruitment process is. It is crucial to know how each and every variable influences your performance and ho to use these dat to make the best hiring decisions. 

<div className="image">![recruitment metrics](/images/recruiting-metrics-updated.webp "")</div>

###### Source: https://www.aihr.com/blog/recruiting-metrics

Sometimes this variable can be the type of role you are recruiting for, vacancy you have to fill, and the number of specialists available on the market that may differ depending on the position. Another time your variable may be the seasonality that can affect your planning. There are some months which are considered to be the best ones for hiring new employees. Check on your own which period of the year works best for you and your organisation. You should also keep in mind industry fluctuations and economic situation. Analysing all these data can help you optimise your recruitment actions and understand the market trends. 
**Look for patterns and road blocks that may help you run the recruitment process in the long term. Do not only analyse the data considering your own processes but also pay attention to the industry itself and your competitors. You should be able to see whether they affect the position of you offer in the market.** 

## 3. Creativity and innovation

A good marketer knows that creativity and innovation can come from almost anywhere and anyone - from friends, partners, clients, colleagues at work, surroundings, nature, even random incidents. All these can give us a fresh view on a product or service we want to deliver. 

While working in recruitment you will have to be active at least on one or a few social media platforms, especially these where your target group can be found. Social media sites let you upload photos and videos that may attract your followers’ attention. However, only text can become boring for the audience. And a good idea might be involving some visual aspects. These might be pictures infographics or videos that make your written content stand out. You don't need a graphic designer for that - you can create visual content using free tools or modifying available templates. 

**Think outside the box - think why the role you are recruiting for is unique, how the job offer can help to develop your candidate’s skills etc. Think about your target group and show them things they are interested in in the formula that can grab their attention.** Invest in media to attract, inform, and delight your target groups when they are most open to your content. Invest in continuous exploration of new ideas to stay fresh with candidates. 

## 4. Strategic thinking

Strategic thinking is one of major strengths of talented marketers and it begins with seeing questions before seeing solutions. Marketers who think strategically focus on how they can help their customers solve some problems. The final outcome is of course connected with getting a sale, but strategical thinkers focus more on getting to know their customers first and creating some long-term relationship with them. When the sale is done the customers have to feel that it is what they really expect or need. 

<div className="image">![strategic thinking recruitment](/images/screenshot-2024-06-30-at-19.30.37.png "")</div>

###### Source: https://betterprogramming.pub/how-to-develop-your-strategic-thinking-skills-and-stay-ahead-d52612b4254d

The same applies to recruiters. You should not perceive a recruitment process as a pure transaction. **You should put both candidate’s and employer’s needs at the forefront of your decision. Rather than just selling the job offer your focus should be on what can be done to solve both sides’ problems.** Look at your target group and the challengers they are facing. You need the ability to see things from a broader perspective. **Do not see recruiting as filling the vacancy, but more as an evolving process that has to bring the real value to the business and applicants.** 

## 5. Knowing your “product” well

Good markers have usually a great knowledge about products they sell. They understand the details, features, facts and benefits of using a product their company is selling. They also know how their product meets customers’ needs in comparison to the competitor’s products. How do they utilise three product knowledge? By presenting the product to potential customers, answering their questions and  providing guidance and support to these who have some issues. The broad knowledge of the products lets them negotiate and closed deals based on the organisational as well as customers’ expectations.

If you are a recruiter, dig deep in the domain you work in. Finance, retail, logistics, health, tech - understand the industry and the role candidate are applying for. **The knowledge about the role is your product knowledge. It's important to understand the duties, risks, values, and benefits of the role. Knowing what the daily job entails will help you communicate effectively and empathize with those involved.** Focus on your applicants expectations and how the role they applied for may help them grow and develop in the sort or long-term. Your applicants are somehow your customers. 

And what the best way to understand the product? Try it out on your own or talk with people who use it. Probably in the recruiting world it would be hard to try out every job but you can always talk with professionals who do it and will help you discover strengths and weakness or advantages and disadvantages you should be aware of. **Get feedback as often as you can. Learn from experts and keep up to date with industry trends.**

## The passion of explorer, researcher, creator …

Look for inspiration everywhere. As a recruiter you do not have to follow only pure HR trends or best practices. Truth is that you can find some interesting approaches in completely different industries. **Considerable ingenuity, creativity and curiosity are the qualities highly desired in this role. Grow horizontally and expand what you know by reading books, learning concepts, etc. about the professions and sectors around you.** Take as much as you can from the marketing field as well, but try not to limit yourself to the area you work in on daily basis.

## Using OpenAI Assistant v2 API to Build Your Own Knowledge Base Chatbot in 5 min

*Published: 2024-06-24 | Author: rafal h | Tags: AI, OpenAI, GPT, Assistant, RAG*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-build-gpt-assistant-v2/index.md*

<div className="image">![GPT assistant](../../static/images/GPT_assistant_v2.png "")</div>

**Some time ago, I created a [blog post](/blog/how-to-build-gpt-assistant/) on how to build your own chatbot using OpenAI's Assistant API in its v1 Beta. Since then, OpenAI has introduced v2 Beta [updates](https://platform.openai.com/docs/assistants/whats-new), and [GPT-4o](https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o/) has been released. Let's delve into these developments to see how they can enhance our capabilities.**

## Assistant v2 API Updates
OpenAI has introduced some cool new features in the v2 API that we can leverage for our bots:
- **Improved file retrieval & parsing** - We can now import more knowledge files, parallelize them, and use them more efficiently than before. The notion of `vector stores` has been introduced, which allows for more efficient file searches.
- **More granularity in user control** - We can adjust the temperature for bot outputs (to control creativity), change the Top P setting, which affects bot diversity, and set the maximum number of tokens to control spending.
- **New models** - In addition to using fine-tuned models in the v2 API, we also have the option to use OpenAI's flagship model, GPT-4o. [GPT-4o is twice as fast and twice as cheap compared to GPT-4 Turbo](https://community.openai.com/t/announcing-gpt-4o-in-the-api/744700), although it is still [10x more expensive](https://openai.com/api/pricing/) than `GPT-3.5-turbo-0125` but is worth considering if you need more power for your use case.

## How to Create an Assistant?

If you followed my [blog post](/blog/how-to-build-gpt-assistant/) and created a v1 bot via Playground, you should be able to easily migrate to v2 using the new API version.

If you are starting from scratch, you need to create an OpenAI account and load it with resources. Then, head over to the [assistant tab](https://platform.openai.com/assistants) and click on the `Create` button.

First, enter the name of your assistant. Follow the provided instructions and select a model depending on your use case and the balance between "intelligence" and the number of queries your bot will handle (knowledge size, potential user count, etc.). In the retrieval part of the menu, add files that will be your external knowledge fed into the chatbot. For this tutorial, we will go with default file storage settings.

<div className="image">![File storage settings](../../static/images/how-to-build-gpt-assistant-v2/files.png "")</div>

## GPT Assistant Use Case

For this example, I will be using our Bright Inventions webpage data as knowledge for our chatbot. I created the `Bright assistant`, a helpful bot for employees to gather more information about the company without needing to scan the entire webpage. The use cases are unlimited - for instance, you could create a chatbot for potential customers to streamline the process of verifying the company’s experience and portfolio, or a customer support chatbot to feed in company FAQ knowledge.

The site is hosted on [GitHub](https://github.com/bright/new-www), and the relevant knowledge is located within markdown [files](https://github.com/bright/new-www/tree/gatsby/content/our-areas).

By manipulating files, I created `our-areas.txt`, a collection of all markdown posts from the [our-areas folder](https://github.com/bright/new-www/tree/gatsby/content/our-areas), and `our_projects.txt`, a text file containing all merged markdown files from the [projects folder](https://github.com/bright/new-www/tree/gatsby/content/projects). I uploaded them to my assistant and added them as knowledge.

<div className="image">![Knowledge store](../../static/images/how-to-build-gpt-assistant-v2/knowledge.png "")</div>

I added instructions for how the bot should behave, what knowledge was fed to it, and how the files are structured inside. I selected the `gpt-3.5-turbo-0125` model for a good balance between accuracy and costs and set the temperature to the minimum to ensure the bot is not too creative.

<div className="image">![Own assistant](../../static/images/how-to-build-gpt-assistant-v2/bright_assistant.png "")</div>

When I created my assistant, I started to test it via the playground by asking for knowledge available from the data:

<div className="image">![Own assistant response](../../static/images/how-to-build-gpt-assistant-v2/chatbot.png "")</div>

Hope you enjoy the tutorial! If you created a bot with the v1 version, make sure to upgrade to v2 and check out its improved performance. You will likely save some money on queries and make the reasoning more efficient.

## How to Reduce Telemetry Data Produced by Your App

*Published: 2024-06-24 | Author: maciej-n | Tags: opentelemetry, monitoring, observability, infrastructure*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-reduce-telemetry-data-produced-by-your-app/index.md*

In previous articles, we discussed how to connect your application to Grafana using OpenTelemetry:

https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-improve-your-app-observability-easily-with-grafana-and-opentelemetry

https://grafana.com/blog/2023/10/30/how-to-integrate-a-spring-boot-app-with-grafana-using-opentelemetry-standards

While observability and monitoring are crucial throughout the lifecycle of a production application, budget constraints at the beginning of a project often prevent us from affording additional costs for monitoring tool subscriptions. In such cases, focusing on storing only essential data is vital. Fortunately, Grafana Cloud offers a free plan for small teams. However, when sending all telemetry data gathered by OpenTelemetry auto-instrumentation, we can quickly reach the free tier limit, especially with metrics.

## So what can we do about it?

In this article, we will discuss several methods to reduce the amount of telemetry data produced by your application.

### Identify unnecessary metrics

The first step is to review all metrics produced by your application and determine if you are using them (or plan to use them in the future).

Grafana provides a tool called Cardinality Management to review metrics production. It can be found at `{myaccount}.grafana.net` -> Home -> Dashboards -> GrafanaCloud -> Cardinality Management - 1 - Overview.

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXd36NuLm3953N-AllvX4X5gWHIud2gzBjNGR5q7ubUQjZA-OILL6rlT3SmQyp32c1QuuJA2v7VoXXw14ptOLS6XNHwKYGfDJGXBx3m-4JkCUOf-7ya_CB2haF1dKN4pogMJWF5073sgLch334TY9l2OmDmc?key=SAsVSNF7tYs-3QAXxC5B1w)

For example, in Java auto-instrumentation for Spring Boot applications, we have two very similar metrics:

* `http.server.requests`
* `http.server.request.duration`

The first metric is provided by Spring Boot, and the second one by OpenTelemetry. There is no reason to keep both since they essentially provide the same information. I decided to keep the one provided by OpenTelemetry and drop the other using the [filter processor](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/tree/main/processor/filterprocessor) in my opentelemetry-collector-contrib:

```yaml
 metrics:
   exclude:
     match_type: strict
     metric_names:
       - http.server.requests
```

### Identify unnecessary labels

If you need to retain the rest of your metrics but their series count is too high, Grafana suggests removing some labels to reduce cardinality. The second part of the Cardinality Management dashboard lists the “Top labels by value count”.

In my case, the biggest issue was with the http.server.duration (later changed to http.server.request.duration) metric. To keep only essential labels, you can aggregate labels using the [metricstransform processor](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/tree/main/processor/metricstransformprocessor):

```yaml
metricstransform/aggregate_http_server_request_duration_labels:
 transforms:
   - include: http.server.request.duration
     action: update
     operations:
       - action: aggregate_labels
         label_set: [ deploy.environment, service.name, http.method, http.status_code, http.route, instance, user_agent.original ]
         aggregation_type: sum
```

### Histogram view customization

Even after aggregating the labels, the http.server.request.duration metric continued to produce an excessive number of active series, primarily due to the buckets used for grouping request duration times.

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXduuuETQjGCV2fccwvkvwZrXFoAs8hwJTBWpyU6iUYbWbljAfO2zWwQQA9_uIdb1o2pu7dIkJvrjxC0Qe6dsodj7be-kNBtBNQPT3myasJ-hvcVhtpiFx8yXsB3SnIxfA7ys9zmmtfufrgJbCmynpWlnd8a?key=SAsVSNF7tYs-3QAXxC5B1w)

We used a custom view for HTTP metrics histograms to set our custom bucket boundaries.

We added the file metrics_view_config.yaml:

```yaml
- selector:
    instrument_type: HISTOGRAM
    instrument_name: http.*
  view:
    aggregation: explicit_bucket_histogram
    aggregation_args:
      bucket_boundaries: [0.05, 0.25, 1.0]
```

And set the environment variable:

OTEL_EXPERIMENTAL_METRICS_VIEW_CONFIG=opentelemetry/metrics_view_config.yaml

For JavaScript/TypeScript instrumentation, the custom boundaries may be set in NodeSDK:

```typescript
const sdk = new opentelemetry.NodeSDK({
   traceExporter: traceExporter,
   metricReader: metricReader,
   views: [
       new View({
           aggregation: new ExplicitBucketHistogramAggregation([50, 250, 1000]),
           instrumentType: 'HISTOGRAM',
           instrumentName: 'http.*'
       })],
   sampler: sampler,
   resource: resource,
})
```

### Reduce the number of traces

Even before your application’s traffic becomes significant, it may produce many traces. To reduce the number of traces sent to storage, you can apply the [tail_sampling processor](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/tree/main/processor/tailsamplingprocessor):

```yaml
tail_sampling:
 decision_wait: 10s
 num_traces: 100
 policies:
   [
     {
       name: errors-policy,
       type: status_code,
       status_code: { status_codes: [ ERROR ] },
     },
     {
       name: minimal_latency_policy,
       type: latency,
       latency: { threshold_ms: 200 }
     },
     {
       name: randomized-policy,
       type: probabilistic,
       probabilistic: { sampling_percentage: 5 },
     }
   ]
```

Policy Analysis:

* errors-policy: Retains traces where the status code indicates an error, ensuring error traces are always sampled for further analysis.
* minimal_latency_policy: Retains traces where the latency is below 200 milliseconds, capturing minimal latency traces for performance optimization.
* randomized-policy: Retains a random sample of 5% of all traces, providing a general overview of the system's performance and behavior.

The tail_sampling processor evaluates traces based on these three policies, capturing all error traces, traces with minimal latency, and a random 5% of all traces. It waits 10 seconds to gather complete trace data and processes up to 100 traces at a time.

Full Example of collector-config.yml:

```yaml
extensions:
 basicauth/grafana_cloud_tempo:
   client_auth:
     username: "${TEMPO_USER}"
     password: "${TEMPO_PASSWORD}"
 basicauth/grafana_cloud_prometheus:
   client_auth:
     username: "${PROM_USER}"
     password: "${PROM_PASSWORD}"
 basicauth/grafana_cloud_loki:
   client_auth:
     username: "${LOKI_USER}"
     password: "${LOKI_PASSWORD}"
 health_check:
   endpoint: 0.0.0.0:${HEALTHCHECK_PORT}
receivers:
 otlp:
   protocols:
     http:
       endpoint: 0.0.0.0:${HTTP_PORT}

processors:
 batch:
 tail_sampling:
   decision_wait: 10s
   num_traces: 100
   policies:
     [
       {
         name: errors-policy,
         type: status_code,
         status_code: { status_codes: [ ERROR ] },
       },
       {
         name: minimal_latency_policy,
         type: latency,
         latency: { threshold_ms: 200 }
       },
       {
         name: randomized-policy,
         type: probabilistic,
         probabilistic: { sampling_percentage: 5 },
       }
     ]

 resource/loki-labels:
   attributes:
     - action: insert
       key: loki.resource.labels
       value: service.name, deploy.environment

 filter/drop_springboot_metrics:
   metrics:
     exclude:
       match_type: strict
       metric_names:
         - http.server.requests

 transform/add_resource_attributes_as_metric_attributes:
   error_mode: ignore
   metric_statements:
     - context: datapoint
       statements:
         - set(attributes["deploy.environment"], resource.attributes["deploy.environment"])
         - set(attributes["service.name"], resource.attributes["service.name"])
         - set(attributes["instance"], resource.attributes["instance"])
 metricstransform/aggregate_http_server_request_duration_labels:
   transforms:
     - include: http.server.request.duration
       action: update
       operations:
         - action: aggregate_labels
           label_set: [ deploy.environment, service.name, http.method, http.status_code, http.route, instance, user_agent.original ]
           aggregation_type: sum
     - include: http.server.duration # old metric name from java-agent-1.27.0
       action: update
       operations:
         - action: aggregate_labels
           label_set: [ deploy.environment, service.name, http.method, http.status_code, http.route, instance, user_agent.original ]
           aggregation_type: sum

exporters:
 otlp/grafana_cloud_traces:
   endpoint: "${TEMPO_ENDPOINT}"
   auth:
     authenticator: basicauth/grafana_cloud_tempo

 prometheusremotewrite/grafana_cloud_metrics:
   endpoint: "${PROM_ENDPOINT}"
   add_metric_suffixes: false
   auth:
     authenticator: basicauth/grafana_cloud_prometheus

 loki/grafana_cloud_logs:
   endpoint: "${LOKI_ENDPOINT}"
   default_labels_enabled:
     job: true
     exporter: true
   auth:
     authenticator: basicauth/grafana_cloud_loki

 logging:
   verbosity: detailed

 prometheus:
   endpoint: "0.0.0.0:8889"
   add_metric_suffixes: false

service:
 telemetry:
   logs:
     level: info
 extensions:
   [health_check, basicauth/grafana_cloud_tempo, basicauth/grafana_cloud_prometheus, basicauth/grafana_cloud_loki]
 pipelines:
   traces:
     receivers: [otlp]
     processors: [batch, tail_sampling]
     exporters: [otlp/grafana_cloud_traces]
   metrics:
     receivers: [ otlp ]
     processors: [
       batch,
       filter/drop_springboot_metrics,
       transform/add_resource_attributes_as_metric_attributes,
       metricstransform/aggregate_http_server_request_duration_labels
     ]
     exporters: [
       prometheusremotewrite/grafana_cloud_metrics,
       prometheus
     ]
   logs:
     receivers: [ otlp ]
     processors: [ batch, resource/loki-labels ]
     exporters: [ loki/grafana_cloud_logs, logging ]
```

By following these steps, you can effectively reduce the telemetry data produced by your application, staying within the limits of Grafana Cloud's free plan while maintaining essential observability.

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfa-36n8nMvYawaI31ExVkK5Ekcew8HvIP4F0MwcFkBuoKB-YiOPyaedkCCGLuv7AqEhHbpl3NVOgypMqdz4KVUBJqo6I8GW9J5F7CUKZFCFcNXioZNB_RZoVHg9sl8rA-8ALA-rd8oXb8Sd2cP67pyyy8z?key=SAsVSNF7tYs-3QAXxC5B1w)

## Summary

This article outlines various methods to reduce the amount of telemetry data produced by your application, focusing on essential metrics, eliminating unnecessary labels, customizing histogram views, and reducing the number of traces. By implementing these strategies, you can optimize your telemetry data and make efficient use of Grafana Cloud's resources without incurring additional costs.

These practices are confirmed by multiple reliable sources from Grafana’s own documentation and related expert articles.

## 30th Anniversary of Nielsen’s Heuristics - Real Life Examples in Transport Management System

*Published: 2024-06-13 | Author: joanna-c | Tags: design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/nielsen-heuristics-examples/index.md*

30 years ago, one of the pioneers of UX, Jakob Nielsen introduced 10 usability heuristics, which now have become the general rules of thumb when it comes to designing digital products with better user experience. What are the now iconic heuristics? How do we apply these principles when designing products? Let me show you.

<div className="image">![30th Anniversary of Nielsen’s Heuristics](/images/nielsen_cover.png "30th Anniversary of Nielsen’s Heuristics")</div>

## 1. Visibility of the system status

> The design should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within a reasonable amount of time.

To achieve that we need to make sure the system communicates every action the user takes. We shouldn’t leave them without any feedback. Let’s take a look at the TMS app: 

<center>

<div className="image">![A toast with text "Offer no longer available"](/images/screenshot-2024-06-13-at-11.48.28.png "")</div>

</center>

We’re explaining to users who clicked on an offer, which has expired, why they cannot go further in the system with it, by showing a toast for a few seconds with appropriate information.

## 2. Match between the system and the real world

> The design should speak the users' language. Use words, phrases, and concepts familiar to the user, rather than internal jargon. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.

Icons that inform about the status of the car, such as loading, unloading and en route. They’re clear, have one meaning and correspond to the users’ mental model. 

<div className="image">![car icons](/images/screenshot-2024-06-13-at-11.50.36.png "")</div>

## 3. User Control and Freedom

> Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process.

Clear navigation and an accessible back button are always available. This allows users to exit whenever they want to and freely navigate through the whole application.

<div className="image">![screen from the TMS app](/images/going_back.png "")</div>

## 4. Consistency and Standards

> Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform and industry conventions.

No matter what the button's purpose, the pattern of the state, whether they’re disabled or focused, should always stay the same. That way, whenever the user interacts with it, they know what’s going on and it enhances the learnability aspect of the system. 

<center>

<div className="image">![buttons in the design system](/images/screenshot-2024-06-12-at-15.21.06.png "")</div>

</center>

## 5. Error Prevention

> Good error messages are important, but the best designs carefully prevent problems from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions, or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.

Before performing a significant action that could have an effect on other instances, always confirm with the user. There’s always a possibility that the user clicked on it by mistake. What then? 

<center>

<div className="image">![](/images/pop-up.png "")</div>

</center>

## 6. Recognition Rather than Recall

> Minimize the user's memory load by making elements, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the interface to another. Information required to use the design (e.g. field labels or menu items) should be visible or easily retrievable when needed.

In the case of TMS application, when it comes to field labels - they are visible all the time. Let’s imagine a scenario in which you, as the user, are filling out a form. You swiftly move from one field to another, you click on another field and all of a sudden someone needs your help, they’re shouting your name, asking you questions and once they’re done, you have to take a minute to remember what field you were on, since you had already clicked on the field, the placeholder is gone. But thanks to the floating label, you don’t need to think about it, you already know what you’re supposed to type in. 

<div className="image">![](/images/screenshot-2024-06-12-at-14.33.39.png "")</div>

<div className="image">![](/images/screenshot-2024-06-12-at-14.33.21.png "")</div>

## 7. Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

> Shortcuts — hidden from novice users — may speed up the interaction for the expert user so that the design can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.

Those users who are more experienced might want to narrow down the offers to specific ones. In this case, filters and sorting will help reduce the amount of offers and show the ones that are wanted. 

<div className="image">![](/images/screenshot-2024-06-13-at-12.06.26.png "")</div>

## 8. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

> Interfaces should not contain information that is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in an interface competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.

Hierarchy of information is crucial here. It helps to avoid visual clutter and reduce cognitive load.

<div className="image">![add carrier](/images/add-external-carrier-2.png "")</div>

## 9. Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors

> Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no error codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.

The user knows that they need to insert the correct date in the appropriate format. The message is clear, the date format is given, so that there’s no doubt about what should be corrected. 

<center>

<div className="image">![date UI](/images/screenshot-2024-06-13-at-12.08.39.png "")</div>

</center>

## 10. Help and Documentation

> It’s best if the system doesn’t need any additional explanation. However, it may be necessary to provide documentation to help users understand how to complete their tasks.

In such cases, a hover interaction on the information icon explaining what the shortcuts might mean for the new users is always available by the “suggested car” label. 

<center>

<div className="image">![label](/images/tms_smaller_mockup.png "")</div>

</center>

\
As you can see, 30 years have passed since Nielsen introduced the guidelines of creating a user-friendly interface, however they’re still very much true. It’s likely that they will apply for the future UI. The question is whether (or how much) will they adjust to new technologies? 

You can find out more about heuristics here: [nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/)

## Let’s Meet at HLTH Europe and Spread the Word About Your Company

*Published: 2024-04-08 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/hlth-europe-conference/index.md*

**From June 17-20 in Amsterdam, HLTH Europe will bring together key decision-makers across providers, payers, government, pharma, startups, investors, and health tech. This is the last chance to join the event. Do you want to spread the word about your solution? As an HLTH Europe media partner, we’d love to share your startup story. Let’s meet in Amsterdam!**

<div className="image">![HLTH Europe](../../static/images/hlth_europe_blog_post.png "HLTH Europe")</div>

## Meet with our team and share your story

Agata and Mateusz will represent Bright Inventions at HLTH Europe. As a media partner, we plan to meet as many HealthTech companies as possible and share their stories. **Connect with Agata and Mateusz to grab a coffee during the event and discuss your healthcare solution**.

[Connect on LinkedIn with Agata](https://www.linkedin.com/in/agata-piwko-269077b5/)

[Connect on LinkedIn with Mateusz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/klimczak-mateusz/)

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions at HLTH Europe](/images/hlth_amsterdam_blog_cover.png "Bright Inventions at HLTH Europe")</div>

## Register with a discount

Haven’t you registered for the conference yet? Join 3,500+ health leaders from over 50 countries. Also, take a part in sessions with over 280 industry leaders taking the HLTH stage.

**We’ve got a discount code for you! Save €150 on your ticket with this code: HE24_BI150. [Register now](https://europe.hlth.com/?utm_source=brightinventions.pl&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=blog_post)!**

<div className="image">![HLTH Europe](../../static/images/bright-inventions-co-marketing-partner-email-header-1920-x-1080-px-2-.jpg "HLTH Europe")</div>

## HLTH Europe 2024 speakers

Over 250 speakers will take to the HLTH Europe stage. They represent companies and organizations like the WHO, Mayo Clinic, Google Health, Roche, Bayer, Uber, AWS, NHS England, and more!

Check the full list of [2024 Speakers - HLTH Europe](https://europe.hlth.com/speakers?utm_source=brightinventions.pl&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=blog_post).

**See you in Amsterdam!**

## Blooming Teams, the Sustainable Agile Way

*Published: 2024-06-11 | Author: kasia | Tags: Agile, agile mindset, project management, leadership*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/blooming-teams-the-sustainable-agile-way/index.md*

I like to think that the role of a Scrum Master is similar to that of a gardener. Your responsibility is to **ensure that what you care for has the best environment to grow, in a shape and direction that is both beneficial and sustainable**. It’s a wholesome vision and one that always reminds me of what’s most important in an Agile project.

There are more parallels between nature and project management than you might think. The laws of nature surround us in our everyday lives, and the work environment is no different.

## Forest Succession

A comparison of process change to forest succession is an idea introduced to me by [Esther Derby](https://estherderby.com/) during the [ScanAgile 2024 conference](https://www.scan-agile.org/previous/scanagile-2024/program-2024/) in Helsinki, and it resonated deeply. Simply put, **a forest does not appear overnight**. First, the soil needs preparation, followed by the appearance of small shrubs, and so on. The trees will not grow immediately; all these steps are necessary. It’s a process. One cannot simply plant a forest on any soil and expect a lush explosion of greenery the next day.

<div className="image">![](/images/pexels-lauripoldre-20630040.jpg "")</div>

This incremental perspective aligns well with the Agile approach. **You work incrementally, adapting and tweaking things as you go, maturing over time**. This applies to building a company culture or forming a team within a project. As an Agile leader, you observe and build processes step by step, in a sequence that delivers better results over time.

## Weeds

The unwanted guests in the garden often spread most easily. That’s the unfairness of life, I guess. Unfortunately, **bad habits do not require the same amount of care to thrive as good ones**. This also applies to project practices. Weeds could be weak tests, pointless meetings, or code reviews that are just mindless “OKs”—all behaviors that undermine team agreements and trust. Fortunately, in Scrum, we have a gardener—the Scrum Master—whose main role is to care for the well-being of the team and its processes. They should spot the weeds and address them before they overgrow the patch.

## Shade and Sun

Some plants thrive in the sun, while others grow best in the shade. **The same environment will not work equally well for everyone**. 

<div className="image">![](/images/pexels-greggalasimage-2092828.jpg "")</div>

One of the gardener’s tasks is to understand what each plant needs and ensure they provide the right resources at the right place and time. The same applies to the project team—each person is unique, which means there is no miraculous recipe for great team cooperation. Constant observation and care are key.

## Biodiversity

Even if a forest seems to consist only of tall trees and chirping birds, every little aspect is crucial. The tiny bugs are just as necessary as the huge bears. Teams made up only of outspoken leaders, even though they might look good on paper, rarely work together effectively. **In the project ecosystem, balance is needed just as it is in nature.** 

<div className="image">![](/images/pexels-pixabay-248342.jpg "")</div>

Additionally, when people work only with like-minded team members, they lose valuable opportunities for learning from each other. Not sure about the real forest, with bears and bugs learning from each other, but that might be interesting to observe.

## Make Space for Things to Grow

In a crowded patch, it’s hard for all plants to grow harmoniously. The fastest-growing plants can take over and crowd out the others. Similarly, in today’s packed projects, you cannot expect additional processes to fit in easily by themselves. **If you want a given practice or technique to happen, plan a slot for it**. If you’d like to introduce some QA testing, it should be clearly incorporated into the process, with dedicated timing in the task flow, and taken into account when estimating. It’s not enough to say, “Let’s do it.” Throwing expectations at teams without accommodating for the change will not improve the chances of success. If you want a plant to grow vertically, place a pole. **If you want a change to take place in a given direction, ensure there is actual space in that direction**.

## The Soil

**Company culture and its values build the soil**—the environment in which we can all grow or slowly wilt. Do you want a thriving environment? As Esther Derby pointed out in her ScanAgile presentation, do not focus only on hiring the best people. Work on the soil—the company environment—as well. 

<div className="image">![](/images/pexels-binyaminmellish-169523.jpg "")</div>

I think that this point of view represents the way we work at Bright Inventions. **The values, communication, culture and feedback allow people to grow together and stick together.** Recruitment of great talents  is not enough, we do not meet as final versions of ourselves. It takes dedication and care to build a thriving environment and I greatly appreciate what we create every day at Bright.

That said, just as with plants and soils, not every soil will benefit every plant. Some, however, are more fertile than others, and that’s always a good start.

## Sustainability

**Agile means a sustainable approach.** One that focuses on delivering quickly, yes, but with a long-term goal in mind. We’re not there yet with the product, but we want to get your feedback to improve in the next steps. All this embracing change and building increments—it’s worth it only if there will be next steps, ones in which we incorporate the feedback and grow. 
<div className="image">![](/images/pexels-anete-lusina-6331046.jpg "")</div>
Agile also means focusing on people, as they are the ones who need the product and the ones who work on the product. Finding a harmonious way to develop solutions and operate an organization needs to be sustainable, so why not draw inspiration from the queen of sustainability—Mother Nature?

## Is Your App Healthy? Unlock Performance Monitoring for HealthTech

*Published: 2024-03-13 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthcare-app-performance-monitoring/index.md*

**Every software product eventually reaches a point where closely monitoring its condition becomes essential. The sooner you start monitoring your product, the better the outcomes for your business will be. Let us guide you through implementing application performance monitoring for your eHealth solution, including a technical tutorial and performance metrics cheat sheet.**

<div className="image">![application performance monitoring](../../static/images/healthcare_app_performance_monitoring.png "application performance monitoring")</div>

## What is app performance monitoring and what does it bring to the HealthTech table

**Performance monitoring involves regularly checking the "vital signs" of your application** to keep an eye on its performance, which is especially crucial as the number of users increases. **Every company with a growing product faces the challenge of scaling its infrastructure in line with the increasing number of users**. Performance monitoring is a great tool to handle this challenge proactively.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/obxhjNnNCH0' />

### Example of performing monitoring use case in eHealth

Imagine an app designed to remind your users about taking medication or joining a video consultation with a doctor. However, the notification meant to prompt these actions isn't sent. **How can you actually realize that the notifications don't work?** It's difficult to notice when something doesn't happen. Yet, **with app performance monitoring, you can track every feature, including sending notifications**. This way, you'll quickly know when any part of the app doesn't function as intended.

## The best moment to set up performance monitoring

Ideally, you should establish basic performance monitoring before launching your product to measure key metrics and verify that your solution functions correctly. Unfortunately, p**erformance monitoring often becomes a tool companies turn to only after experiencing performance issues**, especially those related to an increasing number of users. 

By this point, **it might be too late to restore trust among your end-users who might have been frustrated by the app’s performance issues**. Starting early with performance monitoring can help you prevent such situations by identifying and addressing potential issues before they impact the user experience.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Facing scalability issues? Download our free guide!' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Almost 100 pages about scaling HealthTech solution. Don’t miss the chance to get your copy.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## Powerful advantages of application performance monitoring

### Faster reaction times

You no longer have to wait for your clients to inform you of a problem with your system. **You can even detect symptoms of potential issues before they occur**. If you notice that certain parts of the app are starting to slow down, you can proactively investigate the cause before it begins to impact your users.

### Better scalability planning

Performance monitoring provides the data needed to make data-driven decisions about when and how to scale. For example, **it allows you to precisely identify peak usage periods that require additional resources to maintain optimal performance**.

### Fast track to machine learning

Performance metrics are numerical values that enable quick automation with machine learning. **AI can learn from the provided data and detect issues that are invisible to the human eye**. Some tools, like [Grafana Cloud even offer ML](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana-cloud/alerting-and-irm/machine-learning/) monitoring out of the box.

## Setting up app performance monitoring – tutorial & tools

It is a common misconception that implementing performance monitoring is time-consuming and therefore costly. **In reality, an experienced software development team might implement standard performance monitoring even within a day**.

If you lack performance monitoring experts on your team, you can either hire a software development agency to establish monitoring or acquire the knowledge internally. Common standards are extensively discussed within the community, making it easy to set up basic monitoring with a handful of tutorials.

**Our performance monitoring team has prepared a guide for setting up performance monitoring using the OpenTelemetry standard** – an open-source solution for implementing monitoring across your applications. OpenTelemetry provides a unified set of APIs, libraries, agents, and instrumentation that allow you to collect, process, and export telemetry data (metrics, logs, and traces) for analysis.

**Follow our tutorials:**

* [performance monitoring setup with TypeScript](/blog/how-to-improve-your-app-observability-easily-with-grafana-and-opentelemetry/),
* [performance monitoring setup with Java](https://grafana.com/blog/2023/10/30/how-to-integrate-a-spring-boot-app-with-grafana-using-opentelemetry-standards/).

## Key app performance monitoring metrics to measure \[a cheat sheet]

In data analysis, the question always arises: **what should you actually measure, and which metrics are crucial to your business?** Certainly, not all data is necessary; **having too many metrics can cause chaos** rather than help you reach valuable conclusions.

We've listed the most common app performance metrics so that you can choose the ones best suited to your solution.

### Endpoints response time

It measures the time it takes for an application or system to respond to a user's request 
for a specific feature or function.

### Response from external services

It tracks the time it takes for an application to receive a response after requesting an external service or API e.g. external medical providers.

### Throughput

The number of transactions a system can handle over a specific period. This is crucial for applications with high user volumes, such as patient portals.

### Error rates

The frequency of errors occurring in the system. This includes data corruption, transaction failures, or any anomalies affecting data quality and accuracy.

### Access Control Violations

Monitoring unauthorized access attempts or policy violations.

### Resource Utilization

Monitoring of CPU, memory, storage, and network usage to prevent bottlenecks and ensure optimal performance.

**Or just save this infographic:**

<center>

<div className="image">![app performance monitoring metrics](../../static/images/app_performance_monitoring_metrics_update_blog.png "Design template by Emmanuel Iwegbue")</div>

</center>

Design template by [Emmanuel Iwegbue](https://www.figma.com/community/file/1331537825284408926).  

## Do you want to discuss performance monitoring for your solution?

Just [book a free consultation](/start-project/). Our experts will guide you through any scalability challenges.

<center>

[![let's talk](/images/contact_mateusz_0.75.png)](/start-project/) 

</center>

## Tasting Coffee, Coding AI. Meet Rafał – A Fullstack Developer

*Published: 2024-05-28 | Author: izabela | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/coffee-ai-rafal-fullstack/index.md*

**Check out Rafał’s journey to becoming an [AI development](/our-areas/ai-software-development/) specialist and discover which niche still hasn’t been addressed by AI. Also, learn how to explore coffee taste with just one sip.**

<div className="image">![fullstack developer's story](/images/brightstoryrafalwgrid.png "fullstack developer's story")</div>

## Your passion for new technology started when you built your computer at 13. Tell us more about that experience.

I dreamt about having a better computer than the one I had at home. I wanted to build a computer from scratch, and **I managed to assemble most of the parts with some help from my parents**. I had to read tech documentation, and that’s how it all started. Years later, I still read the documentation. 🙂

When I had this computer, I got deep into the gaming community. **I started creating simple webpages based on CMS platforms like WordPress**. Then I began **building game servers**. Those were times when game creators were more open to the community; you could add lots of mods and run your own servers. You could even earn some money from it.

Then, in technical school, I followed my passion for informatics and explored web development and basic frontend skills. I went to college to study Applied Computer Science, and that’s when programming truly began for me. **Studies forced me to learn some older languages like C++**, yet I quickly started to appreciate that. **Knowing these “clunky” languages made it easier to switch to other technologies and enjoy their simplicity**. Obviously, my studies didn’t give me all the knowledge I needed, especially regarding working in a team with Git and CI/CD tools.

## How did your and Bright Inventions’ paths cross?

It was 2 years ago when I was working at a software development agency, but my project ended and I was devastated because I enjoyed working with that team. **Eventually, Agata (a recruiter) reached out to me on LinkedIn**. It wasn’t anything new, but her message stood out because **she was very transparent about the company, projects, and clients I could work for**. That’s not always the case when you talk to recruiters. Also, at Bright Inventions, I had the chance to work with a tech stack I was keen on, including Node.js and NestJS.

**I actually wanted to join Bright Inventions after the initial screening with Agata. I was already super excited about this job opportunity.**

<div className="image">![team retreat](/images/rafal_team_retreat.png "A team retreat in the center of Gdansk.")</div>

<center> A team retreat in the center of Gdansk. </center>

## You are one of our AI development specialists. What was your research process and how did you gain knowledge about AI?

The entire AI research group at Bright Inventions focused on **exploring large language models (LLMs) and frameworks, along with concrete solutions such as building vector databases and using them with embeddings, to tailor AI to specific use cases**. This exploration led us to discover LangChain. **LangChain has extensive documentation**, which has been incredibly helpful.

We also read numerous blog posts, watched various videos, and listened to podcasts, although we found that this content quickly needed to be updated. **Therefore, documentation has proven to be the best source of information**. While other content was useful, it primarily served a supporting role in our research process.

## What is the skillset for a software developer who wants to specialize in AI implementation?

**Knowing Python is key**, as it leads the way in languages used for AI development. **Understanding prompt engineering is also important**. You need to read extensively about how models accept prompts, how they analyze them, and how to construct effective prompts. 

Additionally, it's crucial to **understand what various models can truly offer**. Understanding how models work and knowing the various models available on the market is essential for choosing the right one for our use case, especially when we have a strict budget. Fortunately, there are **tools like PromptFoo that can help us assess the costs our solution will generate**.

## What is more effective and affordable for a company that wants to implement generative AI: model training or enhancing prompt engineering?

I recommend prompt engineering. Model training requires more expertise, which increases the budget and resources needed. Additionally, often you have to pay extra for a model that allows for training. Usually, **creating a new prompt with a wider context to generate better results is less expensive compared to model training**.

It's not only about prompt engineering though. Building vector databases can also be more affordable than training models.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/rafal_quote_prompt_new.png "quote")</div>

## What trends do you see in the implementation of generative AI?

I’ve noticed a need that still hasn’t been fully addressed by generative AI. **We still lack models that recognize specific items from pictures or understand voice prompts**. Using written prompts is quite common, yet what about other options?

I think the [medtech industry will benefit from image recognition models](/blog/top-trends-in-healthtech/#advanced-implementations-of-generative-ai-in-healthcare), for example, for medical imaging. AI can support lung cancer diagnostics based on thousands of X-ray images. This is just one of many possible utilizations.

<div className="image">![quote](/images/rafal_quote_ai.png "quote")</div>

## What are the differences between LLMs and SLMs? Are SLMs a serious alternative to LLMs?

Small Language Models (SLMs) are supposed to be trained on less amount of data, therefore, they require fewer computational resources compared to LLMs. *[Read more about [LLMs, SLMs, and all those AI buzzwords](/blog/ai-buzzwords-definitions/).]* Yet, that’s a theory.

We have tested SLMs on laptops for personal use, and their responses to simple questions were usually correct. However, when the questions became more complex, these models made mistakes. **Given the high cost of launching SLMs, it’s not an investment that generates the desired returns, especially compared to models offered by OpenAI API**. With OpenAI, we don’t need to set up our infrastructure; we only pay for the actual requests we make.

In terms of SLMs, there have been situations where some models were not accessible through providers like AWS and Azure, **meaning you have to set up and manage the infrastructure and bear all associated costs**.

Therefore, I would consider whether SLMs are the right models, as they might not deliver the expected results.

<div className="image">![travelling](/images/rafal_travelling.png "travelling")</div>

## I know you are a coffee aficionado. What coffee do you drink and what acidity do you prefer?

It's actually fascinating because it's hard to drink the same coffee twice since even filters can change the taste of the coffee.

I enjoy very acidic coffee, but only when it’s brewed with a drip method. I don’t like to drink a straight espresso; for me, espresso serves as a base for milk coffees like cappuccino or flat white. When it comes to black coffee, it has to be brewed with a drip method.

## What coffee brand do you recommend?

I support a local business and buy coffee from a roastery in Łódź called Coffeehood. They offer specialty coffee, which means it has been rated as high quality during a coffee cupping.

## Are you attending coffee cuppings? Tell us more about those.

Yes! These are coffee tastings where a coffee shop presents eight different types of coffee from various roasteries around the world. **The goal is to assess the coffee from many different perspectives**. First, you judge the **sensory aspects: the smell and aromas you can detect**. Then, you **take a first sip to evaluate its taste, structure, and how oily or bitter it is**. The first sip is crucial but it can be challenging as your taste buds aren’t as clear as they were at the beginning of the event. But exploring new coffee tastes is worth it!

## Things to See in Gdansk (Local Software Developers’ Perspective)

*Published: 2024-05-14 | Author: izabela | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/things-to-see-in-gdansk/index.md*

**As a [software development studio based in Gdańsk](/our-areas/gdansk-software-company/), our team not only creates software here but also spends free time exploring the city. Many of us are Gdańsk enthusiasts, so we’d like to share some of our favorite spots from a local perspective. These are some of the best places in Gdańsk to sightsee, relax, run, sail, and much more.**

## Brzeźno Beach

Brzeźno Beach is perfect for relaxation and recreation. Here, you can enjoy barbecues, play volleyball, or engage in beach yoga. It's also home to a pier, ideal for a leisurely stroll or watching the sunset.

<div className="image">![Gdansk Brzezno beach](/images/gdansk_brzezno_beach.png "Gdansk Brzezno beach")</div>

## Old Town from Motlawa’s point of view

The heart of Gdańsk is its Old Town, a breathtaking area with architecturally stunning buildings nestled along the Motława River. It’s an excellent place for kayaking or dragon boat racing. 😉

<div className="image">![Gdansk Motlawa, Old Town](/images/gdansk_motlawa.png "Gdansk Motlawa, Old Town")</div>

## Oliwa forest

It’s where our team often engages in mountain biking (MTB) or team retreats. The forest is perfect for exploring nature and engaging in team-building activities, providing a refreshing break from the city’s bustle.

<div className="image">![Gdansk, Oliwa forest](/images/gdansk_forest_oliwa.png "Gdansk, Oliwa forest")</div>

## Explore Gdańsk’s coast from the boat

Embark on a maritime journey along the stunning coast of Gdańsk. Get close to some of Gdańsk’s most iconic and historically significant sites including Westerplatte, shipyard cranes, and more.

<div className="image">![Gdansk, sailing](/images/gdansk_sailing.png "Gdansk, sailing")</div>

## Post-shipyard cultural center

Historically significant shipyard areas of the city have been revitalized, transforming into vibrant hubs of art, cuisine, and leisure. Visit streets like Narzędziowa, Popiełuszki, and Elektryków to see these dynamic changes yourself.

<div className="image">![Gdansk, shipyard](/images/gdansk_shipyard-post.png "Gdansk, shipyard")</div>

## Let's meet for a coffee in Gdańsk

**Finally, if you want to meet the best software development studio from Gdańsk, [contact us to meet for a coffee](/our-areas/gdansk-software-company/). Hope to see you in Gdańsk soon!**

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions team](/images/gdansk_meetup_cofee.png "Bright Inventions team")</div>

## Unblocking the Main Thread: Refactoring from Sync to Async in JavaScript

*Published: 2024-05-13 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: JavaScript, web development, performance*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/refactoring-from-sync-to-async-in-javascript/index.md*

**Synchronous work in JavaScript often presents itself as a single, uninterrupted task that must be completed before the next operation can proceed. However, one key characteristic of synchronous work is its potential divisibility: it can typically be broken down into numerous smaller tasks, each requiring less time to execute individually. We'll leverage this characteristic to our advantage, splitting the workload into manageable chunks.** 

By doing so, we can unblock the main thread and return to the next task later on, allowing it to progress incrementally until it's completed in its entirety. This approach not only prevents the main thread from becoming overwhelmed but also ensures that critical operations can proceed without unnecessary delay.

<div className="image">![refactoring](/images/refactoring.png "refactoring")</div>

## The impact on the performance of synchronous processing

Let's break down a typical scenario where we have a large array and want to process each element.

```tsx
// Define a function to process a single element synchronously
function processElementSynchronously(element: number): void {
    // Perform computation for the element
    // Example: Some heavy computation here
    console.log(`Processing element ${element}`);
}

// Define a function to process the array synchronously
function processArraySynchronously(array: number[]): void {
    for (let i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
        processElementSynchronously(array[i]);
    }
}

// Example usage: Process an array of numbers synchronously
const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
processArraySynchronously(numbers);
```

In the synchronous version of our example, we iterate over each element of the array and process it synchronously using the **`processElementSynchronously`** function. While this approach may seem straightforward, it can have detrimental effects on the performance and responsiveness of our application. **Processing the array synchronously means that each element is processed one after the other, blocking the main thread until all elements have been processed**. What does this mean for users? They can't do anything with your app. To them, **it looks like the app is stuck**. That's not good, right?

You may consider marking our **`processElementSynchronously`** function with the **`async`** keyword, assuming it will operate asynchronously. While this is true, the catch is that **we're merely deferring execution, which still occurs on the main thread, thereby causing blocking**.

You might also think about employing a Web Worker and shifting our workload there. However, **not all tasks are suitable for execution within a worker**. Workers lack access to the DOM, preventing any manipulation. If your task involves interacting with the DOM, it must be executed on the main thread. Consider React, for example. It doesn't utilize Web Workers yet manages to prevent thread blocking. How does it achieve this?

## Breaking down tasks and introducing asynchronicity

The key here is to **break down the work into smaller tasks and defer their execution**. This way we ensure that **the main thread remains unblocked**, providing a smoother user experience.

We'll achieve this by splitting the array into individual elements and processing each element separately using **`setTimeout`**.

```tsx
// Define a function to process a single element
function processElement(element: number): void {
    // Perform computation for the element
    // Example: Some heavy computation here
    console.log(`Processing element ${element}`);
}

// Define a function to process the array asynchronously
function processArrayAsync(array: number[], index: number): void {
    // Check if there are elements left in the array
    if (index < array.length) {
        // Process the current element
        processElement(array[index]);

        // Schedule the processing of the next element after a delay using setTimeout
        window.setTimeout(() => {
            processArrayAsync(array, index + 1);
        }, 0);
    }
}

// Example usage: Process an array of numbers asynchronously
const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
processArrayAsync(numbers, 0);
```

In this simplified code sample, we define a function **`processArrayAsync`** that takes an array and an index as parameters. Inside this function, we process each element of the array one by one using **`setTimeout`**. This allows each element to be processed asynchronously, giving the main thread time to handle other tasks and maintain responsiveness

It's important to note that even when we provide a timeout of 0 milliseconds, [the browser may delay the execution slightly](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/timers-and-user-prompts.html). To mitigate this effect and ensure that the main thread still remains unblocked, **we can introduce a deadline of 40 milliseconds**. This allows more work to be completed swiftly without noticeably impacting the user experience.

```tsx
// Define a function to process a single element
function processElement(element: number): void {
    // Perform computation for the element
    // Example: Some heavy computation here
    console.log(`Processing element ${element}`);
}

// Define a function to process the array asynchronously with a deadline
function processArrayAsyncWithDeadline(array: number[], index: number): void {
    const deadline = 40; // Set a deadline of 40 milliseconds

    const startTime = window.performance.now(); // Get the start time

    // Process the elements of the array within the deadline
    while (index < array.length && window.performance.now() - startTime < deadline) {
        processElement(array[index]);
        index++;
    }

    // Check if there are remaining elements to process
    if (index < array.length) {
        // Schedule the processing of the remaining elements after a delay using setTimeout
        window.setTimeout(() => {
            processArrayAsyncWithDeadline(array, index);
        }, 0);
    }
}

// Example usage: Process an array of numbers asynchronously with a deadline
const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
processArrayAsyncWithDeadline(numbers, 0);
```

In this code sample, we define a function **`processArrayAsyncWithDeadline`** that takes an array and an index as parameters. Inside this function, we use a while loop to process elements of the array within a deadline of 40 milliseconds. We continuously check the elapsed time using `window.performance.now()` **to ensure that we don't exceed the deadline. If the deadline is not met, we schedule the processing of the remaining elements using** `setTimeout` to allow the main thread to handle other tasks and maintain responsiveness.

While this approach ensures that our tasks don't exceed a specific time limit, it's crucial to understand that the **browser's workload can vary**. There may be other tasks competing for resources in the queue, making it challenging to guarantee that the browser will always have 40 milliseconds available to execute our work.

## What about setImmediate?

In the past, developers often favored **`setImmediate`** over **`setTimeout(func, 0)`** for scheduling immediate tasks. The **`setImmediate`** function provided a more efficient means of executing code immediately after the current task completed, without the artificial delay of zero milliseconds seen with **`setTimeout`**.

However, with recent updates to browser environments, **`setImmediate`** is no longer supported. This leaves developers seeking alternatives to replicate its behavior. One such solution involves leveraging the **`MessageChannel`** API as a substitute, providing a way to emulate the immediate task execution previously offered by **`setImmediate`**.

```tsx
// Shim for setImmediate using MessageChannel
function setImmediate(callback: () => void): void {
    const channel = new MessageChannel();
    channel.port1.onmessage = callback;
    channel.port2.postMessage(undefined);
}

setImmediate(() => {
    console.log("This task is executed immediately in the next tick.");
});
```

This workaround not only g**uarantees immediate execution but also circumvents the 4ms minimum delay imposed by browsers on** **`setTimeout`**. It's even employed internally by [React for scheduling work.](https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/2c022b847ed2171c59d37db9f71b394e0082ae3f/packages/scheduler/src/forks/Scheduler.js#L532)

## No need to hurry? Wait for idle time

For less critical tasks, we can utilize a new API called **`requestIdleCallback`**. This API allows us to schedule work to be executed during idle periods when the browser's main thread is not busy with other high-priority tasks. By leveraging **`requestIdleCallback`**, **we can ensure that our less important tasks are executed efficiently without impacting the overall performance of the application**. Let's explore how we can implement this alternative approach.

```tsx
// Define a function to process a single element
function processElement(element: number): void {
    // Perform computation for the element
    // Example: Some heavy computation here
    console.log(`Processing element ${element}`);
}

// Define a function to process the array asynchronously with requestIdleCallback
function processArrayAsyncWithRequestIdleCallback(array: number[], index: number): void {
    // Schedule the processing of the array elements using requestIdleCallback
    window.requestIdleCallback((deadline) => {
        // Process the elements of the array until the deadline is reached
        while (index < array.length && deadline.timeRemaining() > 0) {
            processElement(array[index]);
            index++;
        }

        // Check if there are remaining elements to process
        if (index < array.length) {
            // Schedule the processing of the remaining elements in the next idle period
            processArrayAsyncWithRequestIdleCallback(array, index);
        }
    });
}

// Example usage: Process an array of numbers asynchronously with requestIdleCallback
const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
processArrayAsyncWithRequestIdleCallback(numbers, 0);
```

In this code sample, we define a function **`processArrayAsyncWithRequestIdleCallback`** that takes an array and an index as parameters. Inside this function, we schedule the processing of the array elements using **`requestIdleCallback`**.

**`requestIdleCallback`** is a browser API that allows us to perform work during idle periods when the browser's main thread is not busy with other tasks. When we pass a callback function to **`requestIdleCallback`**, the browser invokes it during an idle period, providing a **`deadline`** object as an argument. This **`deadline`** object contains information about how much time is left until the next frame is committed.

Within the callback function, we use a **`while`** loop to process array elements until the deadline is reached or there are no more elements left to process. We check the remaining time using the **`deadline.timeRemaining()`** method, which returns the amount of time (in milliseconds) left until the deadline. This allows us to use the available time in the most efficient way, ensuring that our tasks are executed without blocking the main thread for extended periods. If there are remaining elements to process, we schedule the processing of the next batch of elements in the next idle period.

**We need to consider the scenario where the browser might be overwhelmed with tasks**, leading to our **`requestIdleCallback`** not being executed. In such cases, **we can provide a timeout value** to ensure that our callback gets executed even if the browser is too busy to handle it immediately. 

```tsx
// Define a function to process a single element
function processElement(element: number): void {
    // Perform computation for the element
    // Example: Some heavy computation here
    console.log(`Processing element ${element}`);
}

// Define a function to process the array asynchronously with requestIdleCallback
function processArrayAsyncWithRequestIdleCallback(array: number[], index: number): void {
    // Schedule the processing of the array elements using requestIdleCallback
    window.requestIdleCallback((deadline) => {
        const now = window.performance.now();

        // Process the elements of the array until the deadline is reached
        while (index < array.length && (deadline.timeRemaining() > 0 || (deadline.didTimeout && window.performance.now() - start < 40))) {
            processElement(array[index]);
            index++;
        }

        // Check if there are remaining elements to process
        if (index < array.length) {
            // Schedule the processing of the remaining elements in the next idle period
            processArrayAsyncWithRequestIdleCallback(array, index);
        }
    });
}

// Example usage: Process an array of numbers asynchronously with requestIdleCallback
const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
processArrayAsyncWithRequestIdleCallback(numbers, 0);
```

During the execution of **`requestIdleCallback`**, if the timeout specified in the options object is reached before the callback is executed, **`deadline.didTimeout`** will be set to **`true`**, indicating that the callback has indeed timed out.

By incorporating this check into our while loop condition, we ensure that the loop terminates if either the deadline is met or the callback times out. If the callback times out, **`deadline.timeRemaining()`** will return 0, but **`deadline.didTimeout`** will be **`true`**, allowing us to gracefully handle the timeout scenario. We also incorporate additional limit, similar to the one used before, to still split work into smaller parts.

## Conclusion

In this blog post, we've witnessed how traditional synchronous tasks can monopolize the main thread, resulting in sluggish performance and unresponsive interfaces.

However, we've discovered an escape hatch, allowing us to **convert synchronous workflows into asynchronous ones, enabling the browser to manage additional tasks such as user interaction events**. Initially, we employed **`setTimeout`** with a 40ms deadline. Later, we transitioned to using **`setImmediate`** through the **`MessageChannel`** shim, which enabled us to bypass the 4ms clamp. While this approach is effective for urgent tasks, it may not be the optimal choice for non-urgent work that can be deferred until the browser is free.

Fortunately, a novel solution presents itself in the form of the **`requestIdleCallback`** API. This tool enables us to **schedule tasks during periods of browser inactivity and precisely measure available processing time and determine when to return control back to the browser**. Moreover, in instances of browser overload, the timeout parameter offers a means to enforce execution after a specified delay.

By adopting these strategies, we can enhance the user experience of our web applications, optimizing performance and responsiveness.

Happy coding!

## Adding PrivacyInfo to Your iOS App

*Published: 2024-05-08 | Author: fjablonski | Tags: ios, mobiledev, mobile, mobile development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/adding-privacyinfo-to-your-ios-app/index.md*

**Read a tutorial on how to add a Privacy Manifest to your codebase, which has been required by Apple since the beginning of May 2024.**

<div className="image">![](/images/privacy_info_ios.png "")</div>

Starting from May 1, Apple demands the addition of a Privacy Manifest to your codebase. This file provides an explanation why your app is using 'SDKs that require a privacy manifest and signature'.

Find more info [here](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/privacy_manifest_files).

## **Do I have to take action?**

If you received an email from AppStoreConnect containing the phrase:

> ITMS-91053: Missing API declaration

Then you are among the lucky ones who have to add it. Thankfully, this email will also include every *NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes* that you need to incorporate, like the mysterious-sounding *NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp*

## **Let’s dive in**

To add PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy (which is a regular .plist file), first click on your project in the Project Navigator.

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/PuixoEkbPgWrXfCseMQ5FAYLu-qjJ-8VNKocFyCK4dTA8Krc6TgOUQC_m8vGCIxMvLrx9wUw5JtGSJ5tJ-IhYHhMO9lL8fY6W4aI0oplYmvpfRTDm3roamLa7LTQg2gFcvHjw64XIAJ4To3SNCheChQ)

And then on File -> New -> File… 

Search for Privacy

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/WKMaDUuJuS4ITfudLZ42WLiDcJY4YdA0oDN8Tkpj7hm3Nw-kLBVOPXSNYk9Gu4V05zELrvf5CK7Qn7oiQIB5SeoQQ8a0elIHt59Ft7MPrXnNYay5nVWHHaSZzpY4Pw4HyoAcklgqyLTKGSiJBaA7sSU)

Then add it to your main target. Keep in mind that the path matters! Apple is really strict about where you place this file. You can find more information [here](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/placing_content_in_a_bundle).

If you're using Tuist or XcodeGen, don't forget to add this new file to your configuration as well :).

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/BAD9_podCYU8FwWanvcN0hAyN_F-AXXGIzi-g9uIITLw0zqvNvVVjebMzuIqV0PV-wHfUtUAYkkErpQhT5WTG1xgHltE43HJxakTukAiN2h-3AZVFhZyiW98sXkrEqqgXuUcbyhRpCB3hSVF7ToRTn0)

Or if you are using Tuist version 4.10+ you can use the dedicated struct example [here](https://github.com/tuist/tuist/blob/main/fixtures/ios_app_with_privacy_manifest/Project.swift). 

## **Explain yourself**

In my case, I had to add an explanation about the usage of creationDate for files, so I'll use it as an example. A list of APIs which require an explanation along with their respective justification codes can be found [here](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/privacy_manifest_files/describing_use_of_required_reason_api).

For now, you don't need to add an explanation for using a specific API. You just have to type the code. In my case, it was DDA9.1.

Then, my file looked as follows.

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/uCrFxa88yywu4ffvQSfyRRljopNtcqWCWLn4v3j6nAs-OTIMMoJRXzv1YN6O6Rr2lshUDwOZ8MP4ySfeH1WgYcDohiRaex1I0494yW4mUGMH3O1cuLTQP2oirPJPdwkerjosf8pNLlTWDclDWvY_DIk)

And a bit more self-exploratory xml version

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/4FQFE9B2rfIKN4GHYB1i5kq8RWOcwPY5FnS3HKvad9zPszt3jAOQKR4aFHoyFNld-WbTWWp2HAOv9VsJvWVw27XCrNAkIQ_7t7hLACB9CeBAU1yIg9wencGuiV--v7oUqQWQVIFFpSXOTfAOTFuUGJ4)

And that's all, folks! Read through each explanation carefully (even though it's written in a difficult legal language), and choose the one that best describes your usage.

If you have more questions, feel free to contact me :).

If you want to get automated reports regarding your app compliance, you should try **[compliance management software](https://myappmonitor.com/features/app-store-compliance)**.

## Let’s Meet for a Coffee at Infoshare

*Published: 2024-05-08 | Author: izabela | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/lets-meet-at-infoshare/index.md*

**Are you attending the Infoshare conference in Gdańsk? Join our team for a coffee there! Plus, discover what we're most excited about this year's event.**

<div className="image">![infoshare](/images/infoshare2023.png "infoshare")</div>

As a [Gdańsk-based software development studio](/our-areas/gdansk-software-company/), we've always valued the fact that Infoshare – the biggest tech and startup event in Central and Eastern Europe – takes place in Gdańsk. The 2024 edition of the event will be held on May 22-23 at AmberExpo. Once again, our team is looking forward to attending. Curious about what's on our bucket list for the event?

## Networking

We can't wait to meet other innovators coming to Gdańsk for Infoshare, particularly representatives from tech startups and MSEs. We're eager to learn about your solutions or ideas for applications.

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions team](/images/mateusz_michal_ula_team.png "Bright Inventions team")</div>

[Daniel Makurat](https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-makurat-b7b5a026/) (Co-founder) and [Mateusz Klimczak](https://www.linkedin.com/in/klimczak-mateusz/) (Partner & Head of Delivery) from our team will be at infoShare and are open to discussing your solutions and sharing our software development insights with founders, CTOs, POs, and other tech leaders. If you’d like to discuss your ideas over coffee (tea is also fine 😉), feel free to contact Daniel or Mateusz on LinkedIn.

👉 [Find Daniel on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-makurat-b7b5a026/)

👉 [Find Mateusz on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/klimczak-mateusz/)

## Speeches

Four dev-oriented stages as well as a datamass and leaders stages will be places where for sure you’ll find our team. Here are the examples of speeches we are particularly curious about:

* **Breaking Barriers: The Art of (Free) Gamified Security Training** | Joseph Katsioloudes, GitHub
* **Data as the Lifeblood of an Organization: Be Careful What You Wish For** | Jim Allen, Stealth Startup
* **Why Tech Leaders Should Think Like Poker Players** | Adam Bartkiewicz, Digital Ocean Ventures
* **AI in Psychiatry: How to Make an LLM Justify Its Decisions Like a Specialist?** | Zofia Smoleń, mindmatch.pl
* **Lessons learned while bootstrapping to $15MLN ARR**  | Kazik Piętka, Surfer

Are you coming to Infoshare? Hope to see you there!

## Clutch Recognizes bright inventions as one of the Game-Changing IoT Companies in Poland

*Published: 2024-05-02 | Author: izabela | Tags: bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/game-changing-iot-company/index.md*

**There are thousands of opportunities online, you just have to know where to look! One of the best things that the digital world has to offer is software solutions. These new technologies have been helping companies and businesses build new products and services that find amazing success in their respective industries! If you want to learn more about the processes of software development, then let bright inventions help you today.**

<div className="image">![Clutch and Bright Inventions](/images/clutch_in_article.jpg "Clutch and Bright Inventions")</div>

Founded in 2012, Bright Inventions is a Gdansk, Poland-based software consultancy firm. Numerous clients from the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Israel, and other countries have expressed their gratitude for our proficiency in mobile, web, blockchain, and IOT technologies.

We take pleasure in assisting our clients through every stage of the software delivery process, from ideation to requirements elicitation, visual design, project management, software development, quality assurance, and maintenance. We currently have over 70 software development specialists on staff.

Projects we work on frequently develop into large, extremely profitable endeavors in the end, both technically and commercially. As a matter of fact, **bright inventions has been recently named one of the most-reviewed game-changing [Internet of Things Companies in Poland](http://clutch.co/pl/developers/internet-of-things?utm_source=directory&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=surgical) by none other than Clutch**! 

Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews platform based in Washington, DC. They evaluate technology service and solutions companies based on the quality of work, thought leadership, and client reviews. A rapidly expanding startup, Clutch has become the go-to resource in the agency space. 

With that being said, we would like to highlight some of the best reviews from you guys on our Clutch profile to help you celebrate this recognition! Here are some of the best ones:

<blockquote><h2>They were committed to building the ideal product for our customers</h2><div>We’re very satisfied with the product that Bright Inventions delivered. Both versions of the app were developed according to our needs. We’re planning further cooperation with their team to add new features and services.   They were committed to building the ideal product for our customers. Also, their attention to detail and scrutiny when dealing with technical challenges is noteworthy. We were pleased with their proactive approach and their genuine desire to see the success of the platform. They were constantly looking for ways to improve, and ensured that we had proper tracking tools and no potential scalability issues.</div><footer>Adam Pachucki, Head of Product at Finebite</footer></blockquote>

<blockquote><h2>Working with Bright Inventions is always a pleasure</h2><div>For us as an agency, the project was a good showcase for future clients in the health industry. Working with Bright Inventions is always a pleasure. The people involved are friendly and to the point. They’re also pragmatic, constructive, and punctual. Their team is fast, friendly, effective, proactive, and able to deliver on time.</div><footer>Kira Nezu, Project Manager at AppAdvisors GmbH</footer></blockquote>

Let’s talk about your project idea! [Drop us a line today](/start-project/).

\---

The article was written by Clutch editorial team.

## A Backend Developer or an Artist? Meet Tomasz

*Published: 2024-04-29 | Author: tomasz-sch | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/backend-developer-artist-tomasz/index.md*

**He has been captivated by programming for a long time, but that didn't stop him from navigating a career in system networking. Learn about Tomasz's career journey, the challenges he faces as a tech lead, and the paths for self-growth as a backend developer that he charts.**

<div className="image">![Tomasz's career story](/images/brightstorytomaszsgridupdate.png "Tomasz's career story")</div>

## How did your adventure with programming begin?

It began in gimnazjum (Polish middle school) during Computer Science classes. Though I feel the classes could have been conducted better, they planted the seed for my technical studies. Later, **in high school, I ensured that this was the path I wanted to follow**. 

I enjoyed writing little programs in Turbo Pascal; **I loved the feeling of bringing something to life with my code**, even if it was just a simple calculator. I felt like an artist. I still do actually. Then, I pursued Automatic Control and Robotics studies at the Gdansk University of Technology, where I first encountered Java.

## And you became a software developer?

Not quite. 😉 Although I completed a year-long internship as a Java developer, **I eventually shifted toward system networking**. This was related to my Master's studies at the Department of Computer Communications, so I decided to pursue this direction. **I started working at a large corporation, managing extensive networks and servers** that, for example, facilitated real-time trading. I worked there for almost four years and learned a great deal about network administration, but I also gained valuable insights into soft skills. 

<div className="image">![Quote](/images/tomaszs_skills_quote.png "Quote")</div>

**While technical skills are fundamental to the job, I learned how crucial soft skills are as well**. Improving my communication with colleagues, managers, and importantly, clients became a significant part of my learning. I still use that knowledge daily.

## However, at some point, you made the transition to software engineering.

After about two years, the job started to feel too repetitive for me. **I began looking for ways to optimize the work by writing scripts and applications that made the processes more efficient**. In doing so, I gradually found myself returning to programming, reigniting the passion I had for it previously. I started working on some side projects after work and also helped my younger friends who were still students. 

In programming, there is always something new; every day brings a new challenge, and that drove me. So, eventually, **I decided to leave my stable job and senior position, accepting a role as a junior software developer with a salary cut in half**. Starting from scratch was a challenge, but I'm deeply grateful for the wealth of network administration experience I gained over the years. **I believe it's a great asset to understand computing and to possess strong soft skills**. Finally, a year later, I landed a job at Bright Inventions as a backend developer.

## Could you share your recollections of the recruitment process at Bright Inventions?

The recruitment process was friendly, open, and smooth. **I enjoyed a talk with Ula as well as a longer technical discussion with Piotr**. In the meantime, I had to complete a technical task. Even though there were some specific requirements and preferred technologies, I still felt **I had the freedom to solve the issue in the way I thought was best**. Eventually, I joined Bright Inventions, and my adventure with the company has now continued for over three years.

<div className="image">![Valentine’s Day at the office.](/images/tomasz_valentine-s_day.png "Valentine’s Day at the office.")</div>

<center> Valentine’s Day at the office. </center>

## After more than 3 years, how do you feel about working at Bright Inventions?

I appreciate that at Bright Inventions, you are quickly recognized and valued for a job well done. I've always been extremely professional about my work and my duties, and **it's rewarding to see that recognized and appreciated swiftly**. I value the trust and flexibility we're given; keeping in mind that I can still reach out to a colleague or any manager and receive the help I need. Also, **after years in a corporate environment, I cherish the fact that I don't have dozens of managers above me**.

## You recently became a tech lead. What has this role taught you so far?

Since becoming a tech lead a couple of months ago, I've already learned a great deal, particularly about **working closely with the client and understanding the business side of the project**. I feel a strong responsibility for the technical direction of the solution, **suggesting implementations, features, and general product-wise directions**.

Another significant aspect is **managing the distributed software development team**. I've come to believe that **in order to deliver better software, the team must form a strong bond**. They need to feel connected to communicate freely, share experiences and issues, and exchange knowledge. This is something I strive to foster within the team, showing them that they can rely on each other. **Even if they are responsible for different parts of the solution, they should stay in touch with other team members to gain unique insights and perspectives**.

<div className="image">![Quote](/images/tomaszs_team_quote.png "Quote")</div>

Also, as a tech lead, **I'm still learning how to communicate with other groups involved in the telemedicine solution we develop, such as doctors**. They approach us with various issues and technical questions, and my role is to explain everything clearly and understandably. This is important in all walks of life. For instance, I would prefer to visit a doctor who can explain my medical condition to me in an understandable way, rather than leaving me anxious and clueless.

## As mentioned, you are a part of a team crafting a telemedicine solution. What are the key challenges in this domain?

Our project focuses not only on profit but primarily on helping people which is immensely rewarding. **We are creating a solution dedicated to individuals who lack access to healthcare**, including physical doctor's appointments. Even in European countries like Germany, there are regions far from big cities where access to doctors is not readily available. 

Telemedicine, with remote patient monitoring, enables the collection of patient vitals through devices. These records can then be transferred to a **doctor who, based on the data and video consultations with a patient, can initiate data-based treatment** – even if a physician is hundreds of kilometers away from the patient.

**One of the key challenges in this domain is securing medical data**. Any data breach, especially for a startup, could potentially be catastrophic.

## So how do you handle medical data security?

We adhere to HIPAA, GDPR, and TÜV requirements, which encompass **hundreds of pages of specifications**. The foundational practice is, of course, **data encryption, access keys, secure environments, and secret leak detection**. Apart from that, **access management** is strictly controlled, and staff members outside the EU are not permitted to access sensitive data. Another important aspect is **log auditing** to monitor user activity.

A crucial part of the project is **maintaining backward compatibility** **for mobile apps**, which presents its own set of challenges. We can't simply rewrite a part of the app because we need to support older versions of the application to keep it as accessible and inclusive as possible.

Another security aspect is proactive documentation. **Disaster recovery (DR) for application or data access if required in case the application is down**. Incidents like these can occur, so I strongly believe in being prepared for any scenario. This way, when something happens, we don't panic; we simply follow the established procedures and minimize downtime.

## How can a backend developer chart a path for self-growth to stay ahead in the field?

The path to self-growth as a backend developer depends largely on what aspect of programming you're most passionate about. One option is **transitioning into fullstack development**. I considered this myself, but I don't have a strong design intuition, and I feel it wouldn't be as satisfying for me. However, the frontend does have the significant advantage of allowing you to quickly see the results of your work.

Another option is **leaning towards infrastructure**. As more companies move to the cloud, I believe that backend developers should have at least basic knowledge of network administration, or perhaps even more in-depth. I know that we can rely on DevOps Engineers, but a backend developer with strong ops knowledge is a valuable asset. Such developers can not only write code but also understand how the application operates from a networking perspective after it's deployed. Additionally, issues in the app are often across both code and infrastructure, and having a holistic perspective helps solve them.

Finally, you can follow my path, which involves **managing the team**. However, this requires strong soft skills and empathy. You must understand that everyone is different; anyone can have a bad day or even a bad week at work, and you still need to support them, sometimes even acting as a buffer for the entire team. Also, when a screw-up occurs, you as a tech lead are always responsible. Another challenge is task delegation – it's difficult to learn to finally trust that someone else will take care of it.

## What do you enjoy doing after work?

Sports, sports, sports. 💪 **I spend a lot of time at the gym, training for Runmageddons, practicing tennis, and kickboxing, and I also love to indulge in winter swimming in the Baltic Sea**. After spending 8-10 hours a day at a desk, I feel the urge to hit the gym, lifting weights while listening to my favorite music or podcasts. **It's a great retreat for my brain and, obviously, beneficial for my body**. Unfortunately, the winter swimming season is over right now in Poland, but that doesn't stop me from starting my day with a cold shower. 🙂

<div className="image">![winter swimming](/images/winter_swimming.png "winter swimming")</div>

<center> Tomek and Magda, from the Bright Inventions team, winter swimming in the Baltic Sea. </center>

## Spring Tests with TestContainers

*Published: 2024-03-05 | Author: maciej-n | Tags: backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/spring-tests-with-testcontainers/index.md*

**In the world of software development, making sure our apps are up to scratch before they go live is crucial. But here's the catch: testing them in a way that mirrors what happens in the production may not be so straightforward. That's where TestContainers come into the picture. It’s a handy library that lets us bring in real databases, web browsers, and more, all within Docker containers managed through code, to make our tests as close to a real-life environment as possible.**

<div className="image">![Spring test](../../static/images/frame-45.png "Spring test")</div>

## From simulation to a real environment

Back in the day, we'd often rely on simulated services or in-memory databases for testing, which was okay but could be better. They just couldn't fully mimic the complexities of real-life scenarios. This mismatch could lead to apps breaking down in the real world even though they passed all tests with flying colors. We couldn't test persistence to ensure, that our data meets all DB constraints. TestContainers help us dodge this bullet by letting us test with the actual tools and services our app will interact with, but in a safe, controlled environment.

## Enhanced testing

In this article, we’re diving into how to integrate TestContainers into Spring integration tests, a powerful framework widely used in Java/Kotlin applications for enterprise-level development. Spring’s inherent complexity, combined with the need for consistent and reliable testing, makes the integration of TestContainers particularly beneficial.

We are also going to use the `java-test-fixtures` plugin to create reusable Spring annotation, which will be used to set up Postgres test container for our domain module’s tests.

## What is TestContainers?

TestContainers is an open-source set of libraries that supports JUnit tests, providing lightweight, throwaway instances of common databases, Selenium web browsers, or anything else that can run in a Docker container. It simplifies the process of creating unit and integration tests by providing a programmable environment that is both controlled and isolated. This is particularly useful for testing database interactions, message queues, web applications, and other services that are typically complex to set up and manage for testing purposes.

You can read more about TestContainers in [the official documentation](https://testcontainers.com).

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/shorts/57SPdiHwVSo' />

## What is TestFixtures?

testFixtures in the context of software development is a concept related to testing, particularly automated testing. Test fixtures are a set of preconditions or inputs that are used to consistently test a piece of software.

The testFixtures Gradle plugin is a feature in Gradle, a popular build automation tool, designed to facilitate the sharing of code and resources between the main source set and the test source set in a project. This plugin is particularly useful in Java and other JVM-based projects.

## Example

As the example, we reused the code prepared by us for the article [How to integrate a Spring Boot app with Grafana using OpenTelemetry standards](https://grafana.com/blog/2023/10/30/how-to-integrate-a-spring-boot-app-with-grafana-using-opentelemetry-standards).

## Project structure

We have modified the project structure as presented below:

```
spring-observability-bootstrap
├── appointment
│   ├── main
│   └── test
├── database
│   ├── main
│   ├── test
│   └── testFixtures
└── src
├── main
└── test
```

We extracted :database module, so the database configuration is separated from the business logic. From now on, if we want to use the database in a new module, we can just add a dependency to the :database module:

```kotlin
implementation(project(":database"))
```

All dependencies required to configure the Postgres database were moved to the `:database` module.

We also created a new `:appointment` module, containing business logic responsible for the appointments management feature. This is the module, which we are going to add our integration tests into.

## Problem

Most Spring + TestContainers tutorials show you how to integrate TestContainers with JUnit, but in most cases, you also have a framework, that runs your tests, like Spring in our case. In case of Spring, these tutorials instruct you to create an abstract test class and extend all your Database test classes with this abstract class to run test containers, which is not the best practice as the “Composition over inheritance” rule says.

What most of these tutorials are showing you is the way to:

1. Start Spring context
2. Start TestContainer
3. Inject TestContainer configuration into Spring context.

This may be problematic for a couple of reasons:

* Spring may require running services before starting the Spring Context

  * Some Spring Beans, like liquibase or flyway, need Datasource before being instantiated, so we would like to have the database running before the Spring context starts.
* Reusable containers

  * Starting a new docker container takes time. If you create a container field in your test classes and annotate it with @Container, as integration with JUnit suggests, then you are starting a new container for each test class
* Non-compliance with the “Composition over inheritance”

  * Some tutorials suggest sharing container object between classes by the use of base abstract class. But what if we want to start 2 different test containers for one test class? For example Postgres as Database and Redis as cache? Do we need to create another abstract class extending from `PostgresTestContainerTest` called `PostgresAndRedisTestContainerTest`? And if we need only Redis, we create a third one only for Redis? It’s not a good approach.
* Reusable Spring Context

  * Even if you optimize your tests to share containers by base classes, this does not mean, that these tests will share Spring Context. Starting a new Spring Context is also time-consuming for bigger projects. It may be also a good approach to configure your tests(or at least groups of tests) to share Spring Context.

## Solution

Luclky, we came up with the solution, that may solve all of these problems!

What we can do instead is pre-configure Spring Context to set up TestContainers during the Spring Context initialization phase. We are going to use the `@ContextConfiguration` annotation. It requires passing initializer extending `ApplicationContextInitializer`. Our `PostgresTestContainersInitializer` looks like this:

```kotlin
class PostgresTestContainersInitializer :
    ApplicationContextInitializer<ConfigurableApplicationContext> {
    override fun initialize(applicationContext: ConfigurableApplicationContext) {
        val postgresSqlContainer = PostgreSQLContainer<Nothing>("postgres:15.4")

        postgresSqlContainer.start()

        // should shut down container on context close
        applicationContext.beanFactory.registerSingleton("postgresSqlContainer", postgresSqlContainer)

        TestPropertyValues.of(
            mapOf(
                "spring.datasource.url" to postgresSqlContainer.jdbcUrl,
                "spring.datasource.username" to postgresSqlContainer.username,
                "spring.datasource.password" to postgresSqlContainer.password,
            )
        ).applyTo(applicationContext)
    }
}
```

The overridden `initialize()` method does 3 things:

* Create PostgresSQL Container:

  * A `PostgresSQLContainer` object named `postgresSqlContainer` is created using the image `postgres:15.4`. This step initializes a `PostgresSQL` container using the specified Docker image.
* The `start()` method is called on the postgresSqlContainer object to start the container.
* Register Container in `ApplicationContext`:

  * The `PostgresSQL` container is registered as a singleton bean in the Spring application context. This allows the container to be managed and accessed within the Spring application.
* Should shut down container on context close
* Set Database Properties:

  * `TestPropertyValues` is used to set various properties related to the database. These properties include the database URL (`jdbcUrl`), `username`, and `password`. These values are retrieved from the postgresSqlContainer object.
* The `applyTo()` method applies these properties to the applicationContext. This ensures that the Spring application can connect to the PostgreSQL database running in the Docker container using these properties.

Then we can annotate our Spring Test classes with annotation:
`@ContextConfiguration(initializers = [PostgresTestContainersInitializer::class])`

If we want to keep it pretty, we can create our custom annotation over `@ContextConfiguration`:

```kotlin
@ContextConfiguration(initializers = [PostgresTestContainersInitializer::class])
annotation class PostgresTestContainer
```

And use it like this:

```kotlin
@SpringBootTest
@PostgresTestContainer
internal class AppointmentServiceTest {
...
}
```

That’s it!

Now you only need this one `PostgresTestContainer` annotation, to run Postgres TestContainer for your Spring Test.

You can access the full code in our [example repository](https://gitlab.com/bright.dev/spring-observability-bootstrap).

## Introduction to IoT in Healthcare: Insights, Use Cases, Challenges and Benefits

*Published: 2024-04-18 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/guide-to-iot-in-healthcare/index.md*

**The Internet of Things will be one of the key technologies supporting the digital transformation of healthcare. Dive into IoT for healthcare, explore IoMT devices, and meet companies already taking crucial steps in implementing IoT in the daily care of patients.**

<div className="image">![IoT devices healthcare](/images/iot_introduction_dall_e.png "IoT devices healthcare")</div>

## Contents

[Internet of Things in healthcare: the definition and example](/blog/guide-to-iot-in-healthcare/#internet-of-things-in-healthcare-the-definition-and-example)

[IoT in the healthcare market overview](/blog/guide-to-iot-in-healthcare/#iot-in-the-healthcare-market-overview)

[Top challenges in developing IoT solutions in healthcare](/blog/guide-to-iot-in-healthcare/#top-challenges-in-developing-iot-solutions-in-healthcare)

[Use cases & examples of IoT in healthcare](/blog/guide-to-iot-in-healthcare/#use-cases--examples-of-iot-in-healthcare)

[IoT devices - examples](/blog/guide-to-iot-in-healthcare/#iot-devices---examples)

[Are you planning to develop IoT for healthcare?](/blog/guide-to-iot-in-healthcare/#are-you-planning-to-develop-iot-for-healthcare)

## Internet of Things in healthcare: the definition and example

The Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare refers to the network of medical devices and applications that communicate and exchange data due to an Internet and bluetooth connection.

<div className="image">![IoT in healthcare devices](/images/iot_in_healthcare.png "IoT in healthcare devices")</div>

For example, smart healthcare devices such as thermometers, spirometers and pulse oximeters might create a healthcare IoT network that measures patients' vital signs and processes them in a special app. Now, the app could send data to a designated doctor who can immediately verify the state of a patient.

## IoT in the healthcare market overview

According to [IoT in Healthcare Market](https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/iot-healthcare-market-160082804.html), the global IoT in Healthcare market size is projected to grow from USD 127.7 billion in 2023 to USD 289.2 billion by 2028.

<div className="image">![IoT in the healthcare market overview](/images/iot_healthcare_market_stats.png "IoT in the healthcare market overview")</div>

## Top challenges in developing IoT solutions in healthcare

### Data security and privacy

Before you craft your IoT network, you need to implement security protocols and ensure secure data storage & sharing. Using a cloud provider for data storage can speed up your process of adhering to HIPAA or GDPR.

### Integration of devices’ SDKs

Some software teams face the challenge of integrating various healthcare devices with distinct Software Development Kits (SDKs) into a cohesive system. As a system owner, you need to be aware that designing a unified system might take more time than you initially assumed.

### Poor internet coverage

Medical systems should not be solely dependent on an internet connection, particularly when developing IoT solutions for remote patient monitoring. Interruptions in the storage and sharing of data can have serious implications for patient health. 

A viable solution is an offline mode, allowing data to be stored locally and synchronized automatically once the connection is reestablished. Read our [guide to offline-first applications](/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/).

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='are you facing tech challenges while scaling HealthTech?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download our free guide about scaling software solutions for healthcare. Almost 100 pages about leveraging technology in digital health!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## Use cases & examples of IoT in healthcare

### Telemedicine & Remote Patient Monitoring

IoT enables continuous patient monitoring through wearable devices and other health sensors. This can significantly improve patient care by providing real-time data on vital signs like heart rate, blood pressure, and glucose levels. Remote monitoring is particularly valuable for managing chronic conditions and for elderly care, reducing the need for frequent hospital visits.

**Companies that do already do it: Oracle Health, Meditech**

### Electronic Health Records

IoT enhances EHR systems by providing richer, real-time data that improves the quality of care, operational efficiency, and patient outcomes in healthcare settings. EHR systems can use data collected from IoT devices to perform predictive analytics, identifying potential health issues before they become serious.

**Companies already implementing it: MedKitDoc, Camascope,** 

### Wearable Health Monitors

Devices like fitness bands and other wearable health trackers allow continuous monitoring of patients' vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels. These devices can alert patients and doctors to potential health issues before they require acute care.

**Companies already implementing it: Fitbit, Garmin**

### Smart Hospitals

IoT devices are used in hospitals to enhance patient care and optimize operations. For example, smart beds can detect when they're occupied and when a patient is attempting to get up. IoT can also track the location of medical equipment, like wheelchairs or defibrillators, improving asset utilization and reducing costs.

**Companies already implementing it:  GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers**

### Personalized Medicine

IoT can analyze data from various sources to tailor medical treatment to individual patients. This can involve adjusting medication based on how a patient's body reacts, which can be monitored through smart devices.

**Companies already implementing it:  IBM Watson Health, 23andMe**

### Ingestible Sensors

These tiny electronic devices are swallowed by patients and can collect data from within the body to diagnose and monitor digestive tract issues, medication adherence, and more.

**Companies already implementing it:  Proteus Digital Health, CapsoVision**

### Fall Detection

For elderly patients, sensors can detect changes in posture or abrupt movements that indicate a fall, automatically alerting healthcare providers and family members.

**Companies already implementing it:  Apple, Philips Lifeline**

### Connected Inhalers

For patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), connected inhalers can track usage, monitor the patient's condition, and determine if the patient is using their inhaler correctly.

**Companies already implementing it: Propeller Health, Teva Pharmaceuticals**

### Smart Home Care

Smart home technologies can help patients with disabilities or the elderly live independently. This includes voice-activated devices, motion sensors, and other monitoring technologies that help ensure safety and provide alerts to caregivers when needed.

**Companies already implementing it:  Google Nest, Alexa**

### Supply Chain Management

In healthcare facilities, IoT can be used for tracking inventory levels of medical supplies and automatically reordering when stock is low. This helps in ensuring that essential items are always available and can also help in tracking the usage rates of various supplies for better management.

**Companies already implementing it:  SAP, Oracle**

### Telehealth and Virtual Visits

Although not exclusively an IoT application, telehealth often integrates IoT devices for better patient outcomes during virtual visits. Data collected through patient monitors can be transmitted during a telehealth session, giving healthcare providers a better understanding of the patient’s current health status.

**Companies already implementing it: Teladoc Health, Amwell**

## IoT devices - examples

IoT network in healthcare is also called The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). It refers to a connected infrastructure of medical devices, software applications, and health systems and services. Let’s assess IoMT potential in geriatric healthcare.

<div className="image">![IoT geriatric healthcare](/images/iot_geriatric_healthcare.png "IoT geriatric healthcare")</div>

Source: [nature.com](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02391-8/figures/2)

Devices and sensors such as cardiac monitors, fall-detection sensors, smart socks, digital mirrors, smart shoes, and assistive robots enable 24-hour care and remote patient monitoring. A physician or caregiver can monitor all the health data in real-time and respond with tailored treatment.

Discover more [health smart devices that are transforming healthcare](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/).

## Are you planning to develop IoT for healthcare?

As an [IoT development company](/our-areas/iot-development/), we have helped our clients leverage Internet of Things technology. If you want to discuss your solution, [book a free consultation with our IoT experts](/start-project/).

- - -

Blog cover: DALL·E

## Why Do Users Uninstall Healthcare Apps? Insights and Solutions

*Published: 2024-04-17 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/app-uninstall-healthcare/index.md*

**Are healthcare mobile app users more likely to uninstall your app compared to others? How can you keep your users engaged and committed to your solution? Protect your healthcare app from the risks of user abandonment by implementing 6 [mobile app development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development/) practices.**

<div className="image">![healthare app uninstallation](/images/mhealth_app_uninstallation.png "healthare app uninstallation")</div>

App downloads are definitely one of the key success metrics to track when [developing a mobile health  application](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/) (mHealth). However, app downloads don’t provide the full picture. They should be complemented with the uninstallation rate.

A [survey](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8872344/) from 2022 shows that around half of the users of a healthcare mobile app will uninstall it within the next 30 days.

<div className="image">![app uninstall data](/images/mhealth_uninstall_data.png "app uninstall data")</div>

Although these numbers might alarm app owners, it's useful to consider some benchmarks. [The uninstall rate for Android apps generally falls between 40-50%](https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/reports/app-uninstall-benchmarks/). In this context, **healthcare apps don’t seem to deviate from the trend**. This is simply the nature of the app lifecycle. As noted in an article, more than half of all apps installed are uninstalled within 30 days of download.

<center>

<div className="image">![AppsFlyer](/images/app_uninstall_trend_android.png "AppsFlyer")</div>

</center>

Source: [AppsFlyer](https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/reports/app-uninstall-benchmarks/)

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='download the free guide on scaling HealthTech' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Get your pdf with reports, insights, case studies and tech recommendation. Nearly 100 pages just for you!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

**So, is there anything we can do to reduce the user abandonment rate? Let’s explore the top solutions to prevent users from uninstalling your app.**

## 1. User-Focused Marketing Campaign

It all starts way before the app installation. You plan a marketing budget for user acquisition, but do you truly understand your target group? If you target the campaign to the wrong users, they will install the app, realize it’s not for them, and uninstall it – yet you will still have to foot the bill for acquiring them. Verify your marketing campaign with your marketing team to ensure you're reaching the right target group.

**If you feel like you still need to refine your user persona, check out our [free workshop template](https://miro.com/miroverse/b2b-buyer-persona-workshop-template/)**. It will assist you and your marketing and sales teams in this process.

## 2. Personalized onboarding

In mobile health apps, **the onboarding process should emphasize personalized treatment for your users and show that you care about them**. This is particularly important if your mHealth app is designed to assist users with chronic conditions that affect their everyday lives or significant life events such as pregnancy, postpartum, or menopause.

**Explore [the case study of a FemTech app](/blog/data-driven-development-femtech-app-onboarding/) where simplifying and depersonalizing the onboarding process actually decreased the completion rate**.

First interactions with the app are also crucial, as users admitted in the survey that they install several apps, compare them, and then keep only the best one:

<center>

<div className="image">![mHealth App Abandonment](/images/mhealth_app_abandonment.jpg "mHealth App Abandonment")</div>

</center>

## 3. Decisions based on data, not assumptions

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljeqnUbnrCg' />

This point ties directly into the previous one. **Before launching your app, you should install analytics tools** – ideally more than one for data comparison – to observe how users interact with the app, including during onboarding and with crucial features. Only then will you truly understand how your solution performs and be able to respond accordingly. This approach is known as data-driven development, and we strongly encourage you to introduce it to your software development team.

**These are examples of metrics you should measure:** 

<div className="image">![success metrics mobile app](/images/metrics-cheat-sheet_logo.png "success metrics mobile app")</div>

Also, read more about these [mobile app success metrics and analytical tools](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/) that will help you measure them.

## 4. Inclusive AI for healthcare

Another key reason for mHealth app uninstallation is that the app is 'not easy to use'. To address this, an inclusive UI can naturally attract users to your solution by immediately demonstrating the value of the mHealth app.

Understanding the user persona is again a key! **Before any mockups are developed, it’s wise to organize [product workshops](/our-areas/product-workshops/) with your team to understand the end-users, benchmark your solutions against others, and establish core design principles**.

### A case study: An App for Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease

Designing an app for individuals suffering from Parkinson’s can be particularly challenging, as **it must cater to users experiencing tremors and other movement disorders**. Additionally, some users may be less tech-savvy. From the outset, it is crucial to design a UI that minimizes the potential for errors and, if an incorrect input does occur, easily allows the user to correct it.

**If you want to read more about developing a [mobile solution for People with Parkinson's Disease](/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/), read the case study!**

Also, if you are looking for more UX and UI best practices for healthcare, check this article on [UX Design for Healthcare and Medical Apps Case Study](/blog/ux-design-healthcare-medical-apps-case-study/).

## 5. Minimizing users' frustrations with app performance monitoring

Patients don't want to be your guinea pigs. It’s your responsibility to ensure the app performs properly. **You should proactively monitor any performance issues, which is only possible with app performance monitoring tools**. If you don't have performance monitoring implemented, c**heck out our technical tutorial on how to set up [app performance monitoring for healthcare](/blog/healthcare-app-performance-monitoring/)**.

Performance monitoring in healthcare offers numerous opportunities to identify potential issues in your solution before they frustrate your users:

<div className="image">![health app performance monitoring metrics](/images/app_performance_monitoring_metrics_update_blog.png "health app performance monitoring metrics")</div>

## 6. Patient engagement and gamification for better motivation

One of the main reasons mobile health users uninstall the app is due to boredom or loss of motivation. This is mostly applicable to lifestyle and fitness apps.

<div className="image">![motivation](/images/mhealth_uninstall_blog_motivation.png "motivation")</div>

<blockquote><h2>Gamification in mHealth apps</h2><div>In gamification context, some identified themes were linked to various motivational affordances (game elements) in mHealth apps. The motivational affordances identified in this study include leader boards, challenges, levels, connection (relatedness), achievement, feedback, prompting, and tracking. An important factor was that most respondents who use non-gamified mHealth apps stated that motivation significantly affects their adherence. Hence, introducing game-like features can increase the prospect of adoption and continued use of fitness apps.</div><footer>User Engagement and Abandonment of mHealth: A Cross-Sectional Survey</footer></blockquote>

This data suggests that if your app's goal is to engage users, **you should consider integrating gamification features, possibly even in the MVP phase**. These features are likely to be key components of your solution and a critical factor in its success.

If you want to delve deeper into [patient engagement and gamification](/blog/delivering-patient-engagement-platform/), read our blog post on the subject.

## Why Emotions Are Crucial in Feedback Processing? 

*Published: 2024-04-11 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, feedback, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/why-emotions-are-crucial-in-feedback-processing/index.md*

In a scientific context, emotions are [a complex behavioural phenomena that involves multiple levels of neural and chemical integration.](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1951-07758-022) In simpler terms, we can say that emotions are an instinctive way of alerting us to significant events. They arise involuntarily and unexpectedly. We don't choose to experience them, they simply happen to us spontaneously.

[Emotions, both basic and complex, may have an emotional tone that can be either positive (e.g. joy, contentment, sadness) or negative (e.g. disgust, frustration, happiness). ](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5397534/)**Research indicates that emotions can yield both positive and negative outcomes simultaneously, sometimes leading to conflicting consequences.** While certain emotions are typically viewed as positive and desirable, such as happiness, studies have unveiled potential downsides to these emotions. Both "positive" and "negative" emotions have yet their place in our lives and can serve different functions. Negative feelings may seem challenging, but they serve as a signal that something isn't right and help us understand our needs.

**In any feedback process emotions play a significant role regardless of whether you are a feedback giver or a receiver. They can engage individuals in your messages more effectively. They capture attention and foster a deeper understanding of the message, leading to better results.** Let us now dive into emotional landscape bit deeper and discover the true potential that lies behind it. 

## how many emotions do we have?

Different theories offer varying perspectives on how to categorize emotions and how many emotions we can recognise. Some propose the existence of eight fundamental emotions, while others argue for a more extensive range. 

According to [the discrete emotion theory](https://psychology.fandom.com/wiki/Discrete_emotion_theory), the Differential Emotions Scale recognises 12 separate emotions. However, [the recent research from the University of California, Berkeley, reveals a more extensive spectrum of emotions, pinpointing 27 distinct categories](https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_many_different_human_emotions_are_there). This comprehensive analysis involved the study of thousands of individuals, scrutinizing their reactions to a variety of stimuli, such as videos, music, and diverse situations, to identify genuinely unique emotional categories.

What is interesting, **Paul Ekman, an American psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, [discovered that emotions such as joy, anger, disgust, sadness, fear, and surprise (and later added contempt) are universally recognised across different cultures](https://www.paulekman.com/universal-emotions/).** In his research he used short stories and images of emotional faces to understand the universality of emotional expression, developed later into the Facial Action Coding System. 

On the other hand, **Robert Plutchik, a psychologist specializing in emotions, developed [the wheel of emotions](https://www.6seconds.org/2022/03/13/plutchik-wheel-emotions/?gad_source=1), which comprises eight basic emotions: joy, sadness, trust, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and anticipation.** According to Plutchik, these basic emotions can combine to create complex emotions, such as love (a combination of trust and joy) or embarrassment (a combination of fear and surprise). The model illustrates how emotions function, defining their placement on the wheel, which indicates their intensity and opposites. Half of these emotions are considered positive, and the other half are considered negative. They are perceived as opposites of each other.






<div className="image">![wheel of emotions](../../static/images/plutchik-wheel.svg.png "Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plutchik-wheel.svg")</div>

###### Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plutchik-wheel_es.svg

For instance, joy is opposite to sadness, surprise is contrary to impatience, trust opposes disgust, and anger is opposite to fear. Plutchik elaborated on each emotion in detail and divided them into primary, secondary, and tertiary subgroups. His model describes a fascinating relationship between emotions, their intensity, and polarization. In Plutchik's model, the intensity of emotions is high when they are located at the center of the wheel and decreases as the distance from the center increases. Furthermore, Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions demonstrates that basic emotions can combine to form more complex emotions.

**In fact, our capacity for diverse emotional encounters is dependent on the size of our emotional vocabulary.** Reflect on your personal encounters – it's often exasperating when you struggle to articulate your emotions effectively. You might opt for the readily available term: “I’m angry at you." Yet if you pause for a moment and scan your mental library of emotions, you might uncover a richer assortment of words to convey your sentiments: hurt, undermined, insulted, neglected, or provoked.

## why do we need emotions in feedback process

Emotions play a crucial role in feedback processing for several reasons:



### 🚀 Motivation

Emotions like enthusiasm or satisfaction can motivate individuals to continue their current behaviours or make improvements. Conversely, emotions like disappointment or frustration can prompt them to address areas of concern.



### 🧠 Memory and Learning

Emotions can enhance memory and learning. Feedback received with some emotional reinforcement is more likely to be remembered, making it easier to implement changes or take action based on the feedback.



### 🤝 Engagement

Emotionally charged feedback can engage individuals more effectively. It captures their attention and fosters a deeper understanding of the message. 

### 🏞 Perspective

Emotions can help you see feedback in a broader context. Positive emotions can encourage you to recognise strengths, while negative emotions can prompt you to see areas that require improvement.



### 🗣Communication

Emotions can influence how feedback is delivered and received. Effective feedback should consider the emotional state of the recipient to ensure it is well-received and acted upon.

## how can I use emotions in feedback process

When used effectively, emotions can largely enhance the feedback communication process. **But instead of making other people guess your emotions, it is much easier to tell about them.** If you are the feedback giver, you should particularly be aware of the emotions you are going to inform about. **[Don’t be emotional](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/8-mistakes-you-make-while-giving-constructive-feedback/), but talk about emotions you have been experiencing.**

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOkyKyVFnSs&t=2s' />

Take a look at three examples of feedback message according to **FECE (Facts, Emotions, Consequences, Expectations) Feedback Model by Jurgen Appelo** that involve information about emotions: 


### 1. Situation: Your colleague helped you resolve a critical bug just before a project deadline.🥳


   **Facts:** "You provided a quick solution for the bug just before the project deadline."
   **Emotions**: "I felt relieved and grateful for your quick response."
   **Consequences:** "This greatly contributed to the successful project completion and saved us time and stress."
   **Expectations:** "I look forward to doing some next project with you. Teamwork makes the dreamwork. Great job!"

### 2. Situation: Your colleague's frequent tardiness is causing delays in the project.😰


   **Facts:** "I've noticed that you've been late for several meetings and project milestones."
   **Emotions:** "I'm concerned and annoyed at the same time because it has become a recurring issue."
   **Consequences:** "This delay affects our project's timeline and team productivity in a negative way.”
   **Expectations**: “It would be great if we can talk about that and resolve this issue to improve yours and at the same time our team's performance."



### 3. Situation: Your colleague failed to communicate about a roadblock which led to misunderstandings.😓

**Facts:** “I want to understand why yesterday you didn’t communicate at daily meeting that you were having some roadblock in your task.” 
**Emotions:** “I  am a bit disappointed and confused by this situation."
**Consequences:** “As this leads both to misunderstanding with our client and delay of the delivering the whole feature.” 
**Expectations:** "I want us to establish a better process for sharing roadblocks and challenges to prevent such issues in the future. Do you have any ideas how we can work on this or how can I help you with that?"

Using the above feedback messages incorporate facts, consequences and expectations, but there is also space for expressing emotions so that the whole meaning is much clearer to the recipient. **Emotions add a human touch to your feedback.** Recognising and addressing emotions acknowledges that we are not just interacting with robotic entities but with fellow humans who have feelings. **Emotions also help explain the impact of the behaviour or situation on the giver of feedback. Sharing emotions can lead to a better understanding of the feedback's significance and why it matters. They make feedback more genuine and authentic.**

## summary 


In the realm of feedback, emotions are the bridge that connects us on our journey toward growth and understanding. They infuse our words with empathy, our intentions with sincerity, and our actions with purpose. As we navigate the intricate landscape of human interactions, let us not forget about the power emotions wield in the feedback process. 

**Next time you find yourself offering or receiving feedback, consider the emotional undercurrents at play. Acknowledge them, embrace them, and allow them to be your compass in building stronger, more empathetic relationships.** In doing so, we can create a world where feedback isn't just about pointing out flaws or celebrating successes but about the true connections we forge and the collective progress we achieve. The path to better feedback is a journey worth embarking upon, hand in hand, with our emotions as our guides.

## Understanding the Difference: Generative AI, Conversational AI, LLMs & SLMs

*Published: 2024-04-11 | Author: izabela | Tags: AI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ai-buzzwords-definitions/index.md*

**A single title packed with many concepts and abbreviations – don't worry, we'll explain everything and help you navigate through the complex world of AI. Our concise guide includes examples of real implementations to illustrate these technologies in action.**

Google Trends reveals that Generative AI is the most discussed buzzword: 

<div className="image">![Google Trends](../../static/images/ai_buzzwords_google_trends.png "Google Trends")</div>

It makes sense since Generative AI represents the broadest category. It encompasses all AI systems designed to generate new content that could plausibly have been created by a human.

<center>

<div className="image">![AI definitions](../../static/images/ai_buzzwords_landscape.png "AI definitions")</div>

</center>

## Understanding Generative AI

Generative AI is designed to create new content or data that resembles authentic, human-generated material. These systems can produce a wide variety of outputs, including text, images, music, and even video, based on the patterns and structures they have learned from their training data.

### Example of Generative AI – Own Knowledge Base Chatbot

Do you have tons of content regarding your product or solution? You can transform them into a chatbot assisting your customers and alleviating some burden from the support team.

Or maybe you want to use the chatbot internally to support your marketing and sales in content generation based on the content you already have on your website. That’s the case of the chatbot our team has developed internally.

Our internal chatbots process information on our webpage, including hundreds of blog posts, providing the fastest access to content generated by dozens of people over a decade. The preview below shows the real use case of our chatbot (with PlugBear):

<div className="image">![Own Knowledge Base Chatbot](../../static/images/chatbot_bright_inventions.png "Own Knowledge Base Chatbot")</div>

It’s easier than you might think to set up a basic chatbot based on your knowledge. My colleague, Rafał Hofman, has prepared a tutorial on [how to create your own knowledge-based chatbot in just 5 minutes](/blog/how-to-build-gpt-assistant/). This guide provides all the essential information you need to set up your chatbot, thereby integrating Generative AI (with OpenAI) into your operations.

## Large Language Models and Small Language Models

Language Models are specific types of Generative AI that focus on processing and generating text.

### Large Language Models (LLMs) 

LLMs understand, generate, and process natural language text. These models are trained on vast amounts of textual data, enabling them to comprehend context, generate coherent and relevant text, and perform various language-based tasks such as translation, summarization, and question-answering.

Read more about the technical aspects of building LLM applications: 
[Build LLM application with RAG](/blog/build-llm-application-with-rag-langchain/)

### Small Language Models (SLMs)

SMLs serve the same purpose as Large Language Models (LLMs), yet they are trained on a smaller amount of data. Therefore, they require significantly fewer computational resources compared to LLMs. Despite their smaller size, SLMs aim to maintain a high level of performance on various natural language processing tasks, including text generation, classification, and translation. Choosing SLMs can make your application more accessible on a broader spectrum of devices, or even enable offline functionality.

### Example of language models in use – Duolingo 

<blockquote><h2>Explain My Answer</h2><div>Explain My Answer offers learners the chance to learn more about their response in a lesson (whether their answer was correct or incorrect!) By tapping a button after certain exercise types, learners can enter a chat with Duo to get a simple explanation on why their answer was right or wrong, and ask for examples or further clarification.</div><footer>Duolingo Blog</footer></blockquote>

<center>

<div className="image">![Duolingo](../../static/images/duolingo_explain_my_answer.png "Duolingo")</div>

</center>

Source: [Duolingo blog](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-max/)

## Conversational AI – definition

Finally, Conversational AI is an application of AI technologies, often leveraging LLMs, SLMs, or a combination of different AI models, to simulate human-like conversations. By using natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and sometimes speech recognition technologies it results in understanding, processing, and responding to human language in a way that is both meaningful and contextually relevant.

Conversational AI enables computers to simulate human-like conversations. This encompasses a range of applications, including chatbots, voice assistants, and interactive voice response (IVR) systems. 

### Example of Conversational AI – Weabot (mental health chatbot)

<blockquote><h2>Woebot</h2><div>Woebot is the evidence-based, AI-powered digital companion at the heart of our platform that delivers personalized, in-the-moment support through chat-based conversations and techniques. Woebot is the world’s first relational agent to create a bond with people that is comparable to that achieved by human therapists.* Woebot digitizes concepts based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is informed by the way clinicians move through a session.</div><footer>woebothealth.com</footer></blockquote>

<center>

<div className="image">![Woebot](../../static/images/woebot_mockup_ai.png "Woebot")</div>

</center>

## AI buzzwords – a cheat sheet

<div className="image">![AI buzzwords cheat sheet](../../static/images/ai_buzzwords_cheat_sheet.png "AI buzzwords cheat sheet")</div>

## How to Choose the Right Video Conferencing Tool for Healthcare

*Published: 2024-04-09 | Author: blazej-d | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/telehealth-video-conferencing-software/index.md*

**In December 2024, Twilio will decommission its video API, posing a significant challenge for HealthTech companies, particularly those specializing in telemedicine, as they now need to find an alternative video conferencing provider. To assist in this transition, we've prepared a guide on selecting the right provider for your telehealth solutions.**

<div className="image">![telehealth video conferencing tools](../../static/images/telemedicine_video_conferencing_tool.png "telehealth video conferencing tools")</div>

## What will you find in this article?

* [Possible options you have when deciding on conferencing providers.](/blog/telehealth-video-conferencing-software/#what-options-do-you-have-when-deciding-on-a-telehealth-video-provider)
* [A software developer's perspective on what’s important when choosing a provider.](/blog/telehealth-video-conferencing-software/#engineers-perspective-on-video-telehealth-videoconferencing-solutions)
* [What to look for when choosing a solution dedicated for healthcare.](/blog/telehealth-video-conferencing-software/#what-options-do-you-have-when-deciding-on-a-telehealth-video-provider)
* [What video conferencing providers are available and the most popular in 2024.](/blog/telehealth-video-conferencing-software/#video-conferencing-tools-available-to-healthcare-providers-in-2024)

This year started with some of our clients asking us to help explore the possibilities of shifting from one of the major video providers [Twilio that will decommission its video API by the end of 2024](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/changelog/programmable-video-eol-notice). This has put a lot of stress on some organizations, forcing them to act fast and look for a substitute. 

The mentioned provider highlights ZOOM as a potential replacement, but given the backlash of the 2020 data breach, and constant phishing attacks performed in ZOOM’s direction it’s hard to be 100% confident about its stability and safety. In all fairness, ZOOM has done a lot of work to improve their safety and no major breach has happened since 2020, but being one of the leaders always puts you in the “hacker spotlight”. 

**In this article, we will provide key information you need to make an educated decision when choosing a video conferencing tool**.

## What options do you have when deciding on a telehealth video provider?

An honest answer to a question about the best video provider solution for your venture is as you might already know is: it depends. There are both business and technical factors that need to be taken into consideration and the decision must be a calculated one. 

We can only provide you with the spectrum of options that are at your disposal. So here they are.

### 1. Build your own native solution

Integrating native video conferencing into your telehealth application can seem highly effective. This method offers a lot of flexibility and room for customization, it ensures full control over the user experience. 

But “with great power comes great responsibility”.

Building a video conferencing tool is a startup in itself. This approach is best for companies with big budgets, definitely not an option for startups on VC funding. Yes, it offers a lot of flexibility and opens the door for new monetization methods but it also leaves YOU to adjust and  comply with all regulations and place all the risk that comes with it in your hands.

So not only is it a huge expense but also extra time-consuming when applying to get all the certificates.

### 2. Look for open-source software

Open-source solutions are usually a “smart choice”. It leaves you some room for customization but takes the load of building the solution's core feature. 

Usually, I recommend it to startups as a first choice when they are already after the MVP stage. It requires some budget to build but in time the benefits start to show with time. However, they are not GDPR or HIPAA compliant by default. 

Take “Jitsy”, one of the more popular open-source video providers which we have integrated in the past. Even if it does not store conversation contents by default, it does process personal data to operate and store browsing data and conversation metadata in logs. Although it implements client-server encryption it does not implement end-to-end encryption between clients, so it has to be properly configured, to be GDPR compliant.

In other words, you can implement the solution in a compliant way, but it does not mitigate the “legal’ risk to a third party.

### 3. Leverage existing compliant software providers

This is probably the most popular road that founders take when incorporating a video conferencing solution into their telehealth venture. It’s the most risk-averse option. But just like with the discontinuation of the API that we mentioned at the begining, choosing an external provider might prove irritating in the future.

They offer all the basic features like calendar integrations, screen sharing, chat, or document sharing. Also, they have a seemingly low entry barrier because the only challenge is to integrate via a ready-made API. For all those founders lacking the engineering resources this is a good way to start.

Of course with those solutions, there is not much room for flexibility and you become dependent on external factors. At the same time alongside the ease of integration comes a lack of risk in regards to GDPR or HIPAA compliance but also the bills will get higher when more users join your platform.

In time, when your venture scales and reaches more users the monthly cost of supporting this solution will start to grow. It’s up to you to decide when or if there is a need to change. Balance out the development cost with monthly support and if those two meet within a few years, it's probably a good idea to look for alternatives. But when starting, this is the way to go.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='face scaling challenges before they affect your users' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Get a free copy of our guide on scaling HealthTech. Download a pdf packed with market insights, tech recommendations and case studies.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## Engineers' perspective on video telehealth videoconferencing solutions

If an engineer could choose a video conferencing tool to integrate what would they look for?

I’ve been talking with our team trying to get their point of view. Here are a few elements that we decided to highlight.

### 1. Technology alignment

Before you make a business decision, double-check with the engineers if the tech stack aligns. For example, If most of your users connect via mobile, and the tech stack that is used on your platform is React Native, verify if the tools you have chosen will be easy to integrate with this technology. On top of that, verify which devices the chosen solution supports.

### 2. Documentation

Before choosing a solution, highlight all the options you have on the table to your engineers and allow them to verify how specific the documentation is. The better this is prepared the less problems you will have when integrating it. A poorly prepared API documentation can have huge effects on the time consumed during the integration process.

### 3. Support levels

Remember when choosing a third-party option you are placing yourself at their mercy during downtime. Be sure that they are offering good quality support because many times your engineers will have their hands tied when trying to solve problems.

## Telemedicine video conferencing tools checklist

To summarize, allow me to present a checklist of elements to look out for when choosing a provider.

1. Remember that HIPAA does not equal GDPR and tools compliant with one do not necessarily comply with the other.
2. Look at the pricing plans, but also search for the small print. Solutions might only seem cheap at the start but once you: 

   * Need 24-hour support
   * Want unlimited data
   * Want unlimited call time
   * Want to add multiple callers
     The bill will start to grow.
3. Does the solution offer support for both web and mobile technologies?
4. Check if they have a developers' forum. This can act as an extra safety valve for your engineers, if the support will be slow to respond and a problem that occurs is critical, a developers forum might save the day. (nice to have)
5. Verify the opinions on industry directories. 
6. Verify the video quality. Practitioners need to be able to spot any changes in general presence or skin tone. Full HD should be enough.
7. Tech documentation. Before you decide, ask your engineers for their opinion on each solution and if the available specifications are understandable and up to date.

<div class="important-info"><h2>good to know: Web Real-time communication (WebRTC)</h2><div>With WebRTC, you can add real-time communication capabilities to your application that works on top of an open standard. It supports video, voice, and generic data to be sent between peers, allowing developers to build powerful voice- and video-communication solutions. The technology is available on all modern browsers as well as on native clients for all major platforms</div></div>

<div class="important-info"><h2>good to know: SDK vs API</h2><div>APIs are used to communicate between different applications, whilst an SDK is a tool kit to build applications and features. In most cases, an SDK application will contain an API — or even multiple APIs depending on the purpose of the software.</div></div>

8. Feature suggestions.

* chat and messaging;
* screen sharing;
* security and encryption protocols;
* recording;
* scheduling;
* file sharing;
* virtual waiting room.

## Video conferencing tools available to healthcare providers in 2024

*Please note that we are not affiliated with any of the mentioned providers. This comparison is made to help you out by mentioning the providers' “Google” and “G2” search results places as the most popular. The information provided in the below table is gathered from the official websites of these solutions.*

### doxy.me

GDPR: Yes

HIPAA: Yes

Pricing starts from 35 USD (free plan available)
[doxy.me/en/pricing/](https://doxy.me/en/pricing/)

**Worth mentioning:**

* HD video and audio for an optimal experience. 
* Works directly in popular browsers without any downloads, plugins, or installations. 
* Identified by Clemson University research as the easiest telemedicine platform. 
* Personalization options with text, pictures, and videos for an engaging patient waiting experience. 
* Automatic tracking of each session's date, time, and duration for effortless record-keeping. 
* Accessible from almost anywhere using a mobile browser for flexible patient consultations.

### Zoom for healthcare

GDPR: Yes (only paid plans)

HIPAA: Yes (only paid plans)

Pricing starts from 149.90 USD /year/user

https://zoom.us/pricing/healthcare/

**Worth mentioning:**

* Meetings up to 30 hours per meeting
* 100 Attendees per meeting
* Whiteboard Basic
* Team Chat
* Mail & Calendar Client & Service
* Cloud Storage 5GB

### Stream

GDPR: Yes

HIPAA: Yes (only in enterprise plan)

Pricing: Pay as you Go available

[getstream.io/pricing/](https://getstream.io/pricing/#features)

**Worth mentioning:**

* Flexible video quality for an optimal experience. 
* Healthcare chat experience with SOC2, ISO 27001, GDPR.
* Enterprise grade uptime & performance + 99.999% uptime SLA available.
* Official Dolby.io partner for best in class video/audio calls.
* All the modern messaging essentials your users expect. Threads, replies, reactions, typing indicators and read state.
* Easy Integration
* Build chat using a combination of low-level API access and complete client-side SDKs to meet your needs.

### GoTo

GDPR: Yes

HIPAA: Yes 

Pricing: starting from 12 USD /user/month

[goto.com/pricing/](https://www.goto.com/pricing/meeting)

**Worth mentioning:**

* Meeting locks and password protections create waiting rooms for patients just like an in-person practice.
* Video-based telehealth offers patients a convenient, safe option on any device, without sacrificing privacy.
* HIPAA-ready features and settings are pre-configured to provide the most comprehensive security.
* GoTo Resolve is an all-in-one IT management suite purpose-built for today's IT support challenges.
* 99,999% uptime
* Good variety of supported integrations.

### Google Meet

GDPR: Yes (under BAA)

HIPAA: Yes (under BAA)

But… 
“Customers are responsible for … ensuring that they use Google services in compliance with HIPAA.”

Pricing: Google workspace pricing plans

[workspace.google.com/pricing](https://workspace.google.com/pricing.html)

**Worth mentioning:**

* Google Meet offers high-definition video and clear audio quality, 
* Users can share their screens with others.
* Google Meet allows you to record meetings
* Real-time captioning is available 
* Integration with Google Workspace - Calendar, Gmail, and Google Drive, simplifying scheduling and document sharing.
* End-to-End Encryption
* Live Polls and Q&A

### Microsoft Teams

GDPR: Yes 

HIPAA: Yes 

Pricing: MS 365 pricing plans

[microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/healthcare-solutions](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/healthcare-solutions)

**Worth mentioning:**

* Tumor boards Use a virtual environment to admit and diagnose patients, start treatment, and review test results.
* Team coordination and collaboration across shared devices while adhering to compliance needs.​
* Knowledge and content sharing by hosting grand rounds to eliminate technology barriers.
* Virtual classes for prospective patients that cover a variety of topics.​
* Team huddles​ Address industry challenges related to patient care, safety, technology, equipment, process, and supplies.

### Whereby

GDPR: Yes

HIPAA: Yes 

Pricing: Pay as you Go available

[whereby.com/information/embedded/pricing](https://whereby.com/information/embedded/pricing)

**Worth mentioning:**

* Thanks to SDK with React hooks, you can fully customize the UI 
  virtual classroom experiences for students and teachers
* Embedded and Meetings plans
* Support, tutorial and full documentation available
* No app or software download required

### Webex by CISCO

GDPR: Yes 

HIPAA: Yes 

Pricing: 14.50 USD/ month/user

[pricing.webex.com/us/en/hybrid-work/meetings/](https://pricing.webex.com/us/en/hybrid-work/meetings/)

[](https://pricing.webex.com/us/en/hybrid-work/meetings/)**Worth mentioning:**

* Strong AI focus and a dynamic ecosystem with incoming new features.
* Enables clinicians to send x-rays, treatment information, and screen recordings.
* Interactive patient experiences with new channels such as RCS and Apple Messages for Business. 
* Personalize patient experiences with custom buttons, carousels, list pickers, and video.

I hope you found something valuable in this article and the information shared can help you choose the video conferencing tool that is the right one for you and your organization. Also please keep in mind that we are neither favoring any mentioned tools nor trying to dissuade you from any other providers available on the market but not mentioned here. Thanks for reading!

## 3 Tech Challenges to Face When You Build a Mental Health App

*Published: 2022-09-09 | Author: dawid-cz | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3-tech-challenges-to-face-when-you-build-mental-health-app/index.md*

**Building a mental health app differs from other software products. Are you planning to hire a software agency to develop your app for emotional support? Make sure that you know the technical challenges you and your team will likely face.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='open to dive into HealthTech?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download our free guide on scaling healthcare software! Nearly 100 pages packed with market insights, tech strategies, and case studies.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

Numbers aren’t optimistic. [WHO](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression) estimated that **280 million people around the world suffer from depression**. Putting that in perspective – it’s around 80% of the population of the USA. Moreover, at least **[25% of people](https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/glob114104_future-of-behavioral-health/GLOB114104_Future-of-behavioral-health.pdf) will experience behavioral illness**. 

*More of that was covered in our blog post about [the future of healthcare software](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthcare-software-development-not-a-future/).*

Probably no public health system will be able to respond to those needs. Therefore **the number of mental health applications will be increasing**. 

As software developers specializing in building apps for depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders we have distinguished **3 challenges that every emotional support app team will likely face**.

<div className="image">![Software developers Bright Inventions](../../static/images/blog_dawid_dominik_slawek.png "Software developers Bright Inventions")</div>

## Data security and privacy

**Dominik, Frontend Developer at Bright Inventions:**

Privacy of personal information has always been a serious topic in [software development](/our-areas/custom-software-development). Yet it is especially important in the case of data connected to personal health. Every **data leak is a potential complete loss of trust in a company**. 

<div className="image">![Dominik's quote on data leak](../../static/images/dominik_quote_mental_app.png "Dominik's quote")</div>

Moreover, it can be extra catastrophic when taking into account the fact that in many countries **health information privacy is protected by law**. 

There are also challenges regarding **anonymity**. Not every user wants to share everything about themselves with other users. We might need their first and last name for payment purposes but they rather not be mentioned by real names inside the app. 

Another thing to keep in mind is if we accept **payments with credit cards**. What will the credit card statement show? Some users might not be willing to share information that they’re using a mental health help with people who have access to their credit card statement – a spouse or parents.

*Read our guide on [security practices for healthcare apps](/blog/cyber-security-in-healthcare/) that you can implement  to ensure your app trustworthy and credibility.*

## Never losing users' trust

**Dawid, Fullstack Developer at Bright Inventions:**

In terms of mental apps, there are many ways to lose users' trust. Examples have just been presented by Dominik in the previous paragraphs.

Losing users’ trust is the worst scenario in most businesses. However, in terms of mental health apps – there can be no way back from that. Your **users' trust is the guarantee of this business's success**.

Let’s take as an example the hypothetical app that offers online group therapy sessions for people who deal with similar issues such as depression, eating disorders, or addiction. Not only do users share with you your personal data but also by joining the app inform you about their private struggles. Crucial personal data are at stake here. 

### What can we do to maintain their trust:

* **Logging and tracking events**

This may seem a bit odd in terms of maintaining the user’s trust, but **by knowing how a user is using our application and being able to track what she or he was doing, we can improve user experience**, and have an easier way to reproduce some faulty paths.

*App performance monitoring is a perfect solution to proactively react to any performance issues before they start to frustrate your users. You can set up a basic monitoring with our guide: [Unlock Performance Monitoring for HealthTech](/blog/healthcare-app-performance-monitoring/).*

* **Being transparent about the data we collect and our privacy policy**

We should **be open about the data we collect about the users**. You can be even obliged to do so for example in the European Union countries. There’s really no need to hide the fact that we are gonna use their e-mail for some marketing purposes. But please, give the user a way to sign off it, nothing may annoy them as constant spam on their e-mail inbox.

* **Ensuring easy access to support**

**Providing various methods so the user can reach support easier if he/she is in need**. Support contact information hidden between thousand of subpages is one of the worst things I can think of. By showing users a clear indication of where they should click, either by some chat widget or highlighted link, we show that we care about them and that they matter. Thus we build a bond between the brand and the customers.

<div className="image">![Dawid's quote on support contact info](../../static/images/dawid_quote_mental_app.png "Dawid's quote")</div>

## Designing inclusive UI

**Sławek, Fullstack Developer at Bright Inventions:**

A clear, uncomplicated graphical user interface is one of the key factors of mental health applications. It is not so difficult to imagine that **even tech-savvy users might have issues with the app especially being overwhelmed with their personal issues**. It is also important to remember that users won’t expect advanced animations, complex features, or modern designs. They will focus on receiving the help they need.

<div className="image">![Slawek's quote on mental health app users](../../static/images/slawek_quote_mental_app.png "Slawek's quote")</div>

Overcomplicated design can even be an obstacle for less technical users to receive the professional help they look for.

**[Accessibility](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Accessibility/What_is_accessibility) is something that has just started to get awareness** throughout the software development community. Now it is a must-have to take under consideration various groups of users. Our users can be visually impaired or have other disabilities that make their experience with the app totally different than we could ever expect. The mental health app, especially, should be adjusted to the needs of the larger possible number of people.

## Meet Bright Recruitment Team 

*Published: 2022-07-28 | Author: ula | Tags: bright insights, recruitment*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/meet-bright-recruitment-team/index.md*

Recruiting success is not necessarily a measure of the volume of candidates obtained. Successful recruiting teams are able to quickly identify the candidates that are most likely to make a positive impact on an organization. It requires much more than looking beyond a candidate’s credentials. 

Today we would like to present to you our bright recruiters - Agata, Paulina, Sara and Ula who on daily basis take care of our recruiting process and talk with dozens of candidates to check if our company is a unique and desirable place for them. We asked them a few questions so that you can get to know them a bit better. 

![](../../static/images/brightdev.png)

## How do you recall your own recruitment process at Bright Inventions?

**Agata:** I remember my recruitment process really good - not only because of that I was hired. :) From the very beginning Ula presented the steps of the entire recruitment process in detail, thanks to which I knew what happened next. That was really helpful. When it comes to the interview, it was very pleasant because it was a real conversation and not Q&A. (It surprised me.)

**Paulina:** I recall it as engaging, but with very positive impressions after all. From the very beginning, I felt that I was actively listened to, and my honest, transparent and sometimes unconventional answers were met with respect and full understanding. It was this kind of process I would want to offer to candidates as a recruiter myself. It gave me additional confidence that the role I was applying for was aligned with my own life values.

**Ula:** It was very smooth, concise and positive. I had an interview with Michał and Daniel, the founders of Bright Inventions. I think we got on well from a few first minutes. They were super friendly, engaged and enthusiastic. I had done some research of the brand before we met, so I had a list of things I would like to implement if I would be hired. \
\
**Sara:** That process was very surprising for me - I remember the girls (my recruitment process was conducted by Ula and Agata) really wanted to get to know me. Questions were constructed in a way that allowed me to share my attitude and way of thinking. I had no experience in recruitment or IT, and I did not know the answers to so many questions (that's how I remember it :p). I recall that during the interview, I had the thought that there was no way for me to get this job, but at the same time, I had a really good time with Ula and Agata. I felt respected. :)

<div className="image">![Sara Bright Recruiter](../../static/images/sara_rekru_team.jpg "Sara Bright Recruiter")</div>

## Why did you decide to join Bright Team?

**Agata:** I applied for the position of junior recruitment specialist. I felt good energy and professional approach during the interview so my first thought was that Bright is the right place for me to take the first steps in my career. Moreover, people on Bright social media also looked positive and this visible sport spirit  - I realised immediately that it is a great place for me.\
\
**Paulina:** From the very beginning of my career, I felt that the role of a recruiter is not just a stereotypical testing of a candidate's skills with an inherent element of stress. I know from my own experience how uncomfortable and, most importantly, how unprofessional and disrespectful it is. When I got to know the values of Bright Team, I felt that in such environment I could be simply myself and fulfill my beliefs. The recruitment meeting with Ula - my former recruiter and current leader - was just a real confirmation of my assumptions. 

**Ula:** The brand was not recognisable that time. I needed space where I could use my skills and people who would trust my intuition. I had a lot of ideas, I met interesting people during the interview and realised I had a chance to create something valuable almost from scratch. I am always saying that Bright Inventions was almost like a blank page and I really wanted to colour that page.\
\
**Sara:** To be honest - it was by accident. My plan for 2023 was to prepare for a recruiter role and maybe (if I was lucky) land a recruiter job by the end of the year. My target was an IT company. However, I didn't have time to start preparing. :D I stumbled upon a job offer for a Junior Recruitment Specialist and thought, 'Why not? I'll give it a try.' So I did, and in early January 2023, I got the job. When I got this job, I realized how much I fit in here. 

<div className="image">![Agata Bright Recruiter](../../static/images/agata_rekru_team.jpg "Agata Bright Recruiter")</div>

## Why did you choose a recruiter's path career?

**Agata:** I like the fact that thanks to my work I can meet many interesting and ambitious people. I always wanted to be in a place where I would have a real impact on the development of myself, the company, and be able to contribute to the professional development of others. I think that thank to being a recruiter I will get it.  :)\
\
**Paulina:** The role of a recruiter is related to my psychology background. The academic experience directed my skills and mindset as analytical and human-centered, which was only a formal confirmation of my prior self cognition. I have always found myself in the role of an active listener and it has given me pure joy and satisfaction. As additional confirmation of this hypothesis, I noticed in my callers a sense of listening, often a relief. I recognized this fact as my strength and decided to use it in my professional career. :) 

**Ula:** I think this role somehow chose me. I was perusing the career of marketing specialist, translator and tutor when after a few years recruitment appeared in my life. After entering this field I realised I had some skills that I hadn't perceived as anything unique before. At first I decided to focus on employer branding and recruitment marketing and then discovered my real interest into recruitment area. Now I am 3 in 1 . :)  \
\
**Sara:** Short story - I had a feeling that this was my career path. I wanted a job where I could use my personal skills, psychological knowledge, and be close to people. That's it. :)

![Paulina Recruiting Team ](../../static/images/paulina_rekru_team.jpg)

## What do you like most about your job?

**Agata:** I like the moment when new people, after a few weeks of work, say that they are satisfied and happy where they are. It motivates me a lot to work harder, and new employee’s contentment is such like a reward for me. :)

**Paulina:** While many single aspects come to my mind, the biggest gratitude I feel when I know or observe from a candidate's behavior that he/she simply feels comfortable in my presence, that feels listened to and treated with due respect. I feel best when I know that my candidate made a bond with me, got an added value from the hiring process, and felt that he or she and his/her story was unique and one of a kind for me. 

**Ula:** The fact that I can meet dozens of interesting people and help them find a good place for their development. And the fact that I am learning all the time. Every person is a new experience. The structure of the recruitment process is well-defined, but people are not defined at all. You can ask the same questions, but every time you get different answers. Every person that I meet teaches me something new. \
\
**Sara:** I think there isn't just one thing I like the most. Basically, I enjoy the diversity of my responsibilities. For sure screenings and interviews are one of my favourite parts. I enjoy talking with people, and fortunately, in my role, I have many opportunities to do so. On the other hand, I also like the sourcing process - listening to loud, rhythmic music and searching for passive candidates can be very relaxing for me. Additionally, I enjoy writing - in my role, I write feedback, LinkedIn posts, and blog posts. The balance between all of these aspects makes my job really pleasant and satisfying.

![Ula Recruiting Team ](../../static/images/ula_rekru_team-1-.jpg)

## Is there any (memorable, non-standard) recruitment experience you remember till today?

**Agata:** I can give an example of the conversation before the whole recruitment process. One of my candidates could not call me because he was on holiday, so I told him that we could go back to the conversation after his trip and wished him a good rest. I also added that he would send some photos from the holidays (that was a joke). The funny thing was that I got a few pictures a week of this trip ex. sunset or sea. That was so nice, and I was really surprised.\
\
**Paulina:** There would be a bit of that, but the first story that comes to my mind is a pandemic interview with a developer who was wearing sunglasses, a short-sleeved shirt with holiday flowers and an exotic-oceanic backdrop at Google Meet the entire time. :) 

**Ula:** A lot of them. I usually remember quite well all the processes I have run. For sure there have been things that surprised me such as candidates disappearing suddenly during an online meeting. :D But I think the most memorable for me are situations when people share their feelings with me and I can get to know them as real human beings not only as professionals. \
\
**Sara:** There are moments like that - these are my favorite screenings when I feel people’s vibe and I sense that the person could be my mate. But I also have one funny moment - I remember that once I wished 'Niech Wam ziemia lekką będzie' to a super cool candidate who had just gotten married. It means ‘Rest theirs souls’, but it sounded so nice to me, and I had no idea of its true meaning.

<div className="image">![inspiration recruitment quote ](../../static/images/agata_rekru_team_quote.png "inspiration recruitment quote ")</div>

## What is your advice for potential applicants?

**Agata:** Firstly - be yourself. Secondly - take the recruitment process seriously. Book enough time and sit in a quiet place where you can talk freely. Thirdly - be honest. We are very transparent with you - be like that with us. 

**Paulina:** Get to know the real you:) Tell me straight to the point what is in your soul, what you need, what you want to change in your life - I'm here to listen to you. All these elements are extremely important to me, because thanks to them you allow me to verify whether the role we are talking about is able to meet your expectations. Recruitment is a two-way transaction, so don't be afraid to ask me anything - I'm here to make sure that you can learn as much as possible about all aspects of working in our team, so that I as a recruiter can be sure that you are confident and ready to take on a new challenge. Also, if you feel like joking with me and having a little fun, I'll be more than happy to! After all, we are talking about something super cool, which is working together every day, so let's get to know each other as regular people too!;)

**Ula:** Ask as many questions as you can from the very beginning. You should be sure that the offer you are going to accept is the one that will make you happy. Do not look at the job offers only through the prism of salary ranges. Money is important, but there are some other key aspects worth keeping in mind - your future team, project, level of independence and responsibility, even tech stack. Ask about them. \
\
Choose wisely and be honest with us and with yourself. \
\
**Sara:** Trust us, we're on the same team. ;) We want you to feel as comfortable as possible when sharing your knowledge and experience with us. We understand that the recruitment process can be stressful and may affect the outcome of sharing your knowledge and experience. However, please remember that our goal is to understand your knowledge and experience as thoroughly as possible. Even if this particular position doesn't work out, we remain open to future cooperation.

![inspiration recruitment quote ](../../static/images/paulina_rekru_team_quote.png)

## How do you learn? How do you stay up-to-date with IT industry?

**Agata:** Mostly, I am looking for information about IT Recruitment. I participate in webinars, read blogs, and listen to podcasts. I also watch tutorial videos for developers to get closer to these topics and learn more about technologies and programming languages.

**Paulina:** In addition to the strictly HR knowledge contained in webinars, blogs, authority profiles on LinkedIn, industry books, or conferences, I try to expand my knowledge in the area of daily developers' work. So I read Uncle Bob, talk to developers, participate in initiatives for developers both inside and outside of my team, ask my teammates (and my husband;)) silly technical questions - summing up, try to be close and immerse myself in the specifics of this profession, learn about the daily challenges in the programming world as much as I can.\
\
**Ula:** By reading business and psychological books, listening to HR podcasts and talking with people. :) If it comes to functional programming knowledge I have a great team here who is always supportive and able to explain even the most complex programming issues. It is enough to ask and you are provided with all the information you need. 

**Sara:** For me, the best way to learn is by talking, asking questions, and repeating things. I also enjoy listening to (and being part of) technical conversations - fortunately, I have technical people around me, which is very helpful for understanding what programming is about. I've even tried writing some code to see things from a developer's perspective.

![](../../static/images/ula-_rekru_team_quote.png)

## Do you have any motto that you really like?

**Agata:** *Letting go also becomes a habit.* It always motivates me to undertake even difficult things and not postpone anything until later.

**Paulina:** *One man by nature is just as good as any other* (J.J. Rousseau) and *I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.* ​​(Art Williams)

**Ula:**  It is not a good question for me as I have at least a few, e.g. *Hope for the best, there is no point in hoping for the worst.* (Stanisław Lem), *Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.* (Helen Keller), *It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed. (Napoleon Hill). 
And I also really like Socrate's* The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less. *Now you know why I call myself #ulacoelho. 🙈😉*

**Sara:** *'Let people be people'* - that motto came to me. It is very universal. Our behavior is connected with our motives and always has a reason (or reasons). And my role (as a human) is not to judge, but to try to understand. It helps me remember that all of us have our own perspectives, feelings, and needs. And I respect that. It is extremely important to be open to differences, especially if we do not understand them. Openness is the key. :)

<div className="image">![inspiration recruitment quote ](../../static/images/sara_rekru_team_quote.jpg "inspiration recruitment quote ")</div>

That is the end for today. Stay tuned! 

If you would like to ask Agata, Paulina, Sara or Ula any questions, leave a comment below.

## 13 Companies Driving FemTech

*Published: 2024-04-02 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/femtech-key-areas-and-companies/index.md*

**FemTech spans a wide range of vital areas, from reproductive health, aging to mental well-being. In this article, we explore 13 companies harnessing technology to improve women’s lives across diverse healthcare and wellness domains.**

## Areas of FemTech

<div className="image">![FemTech key areas](../../static/images/femtech_key_areas.png "FemTech key areas")</div>

### Reproductive health

This area includes technologies related to menstruation, contraception, fertility solutions, pregnancy, and nursing care. Apps that track menstrual cycles and fertility windows fall into this category, as do technologies assisting with in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments.

[Clue](https://helloclue.com/about-clue) offers a health app for tracking menstrual and fertility cycles, providing women with accurate predictions and insights into their reproductive health​​.

[Flo Health](https://flo.health/) has developed a widely-used app for period and ovulation tracking, leveraging AI to offer personalized insights and support for female health​​.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/C1-I6sMofMo/' />

### Pregnancy and postpartum care

Technologies and services designed to support women before, during, and after childbirth. This can include prenatal and postnatal care apps, wearable devices monitoring maternal and fetal health, and platforms offering support and resources for new mothers.

[Keleya](https://keleya.de/en/pregnancy-app/) offers a large selection of pregnancy workouts, yoga & expert knowledge tailored to the needs of pregnant women.

[LEIA Health](https://www.leia.health/en) helps to track women's well-being after giving birth including postpartum depression and pelvic floor tests, recovery plans, sleep, feeding and exercising recommendations.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/C4ivih8MCQm/?img_index=1' />

### General healthcare

This encompasses a broader range of health issues, including prevention, treatment, and wellness. It includes platforms for women-specific health conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), breast cancer and endometriosis, as well as apps and wearables focused on general fitness, nutrition, and mental health tailored to women's needs.

[Gennev](https://www.gennev.com/) provides a telehealth menopause clinic, offering consultations with doctors and dietitians alongside education and menopause treatment​​.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/C3O0XUHtVMV/' />

[DeepLook Medical](https://www.deeplookmedical.com/) empowers radiologists with a cutting-edge software tool to improve the visualization and efficiency of medical imaging, even in dense breast tissue.

### Sexual health

Solutions and platforms dedicated to sexual education, sexual health, and wellness, including STD prevention and treatment, sexual dysfunction solutions, and products enhancing sexual well-being.

[Tabu](https://www.heytabu.com/) focuses on sexual wellness, starting with products aimed at women in peri- to post-menopause, addressing the connection between sex and overall well-being​​.

### Menopause

Products and services focused on health issues related to aging in women, including menopause management. This can involve hormone replacement therapy (HRT) management apps, products for managing symptoms of menopause, and platforms offering advice and community support.

[XbyX](https://www.xbyx.com/) offers a digital platform with plant-based products and educational content to help women navigate menopause with ease​​.

[Astinno](https://www.gracecooling.com/) is developing Grace, an automated smart cooling bracelet designed to help women experiencing hot flushes during menopause​​.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/WIlMU6jLezo' />

### Aging

Menopause is often associated with the aging of females, yet reaching a certain age is related to many conditions that should also be addressed by tech companies. Osteoporosis, dementia, weight gain, and urinary incontinence are only a few of the conditions.

[Oviva Therapeutics](https://www.ovivatx.com/) focuses on developing innovative therapeutics aimed at improving ovarian function to extend the healthspan of women

[INNOVO](https://www.myinnovo.com/) offers a non-invasive, FDA-cleared solution for treating stress urinary incontinence in women.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/C4_Qsr0ORoE/' />

### Breastfeeding and nursing

Technology solutions designed to support breastfeeding mothers, including lactation apps, smart breast pumps, and devices for monitoring milk supply and feeding schedules.

[LactApp](https://lactapp.com/) provides personalized support for breastfeeding and motherhood, integrating professional healthcare services via an app​​.

### Mental health

Platforms and apps focused on mental health issues, offering services such as counseling, therapy, and support groups tailored specifically for women and the unique challenges they may face.

[AtEase](https://mentalhealthatease.com/) is an inclusive mental health platform by Lilac Insights that caters to women (cis-women & transwomen) and non-binary individuals (gender identities that are outside the binary of man & woman) with different stories.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/C4QHL_XrUGA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==' />

Ready to explore FemTech further? Read our blog post on how [technology can help you build a unique experience for your female users](/blog/keys-to-succeed-in-femtech/)?

## Understanding FemTech: Keys to Succeed with Your Software Solution for Women

*Published: 2024-03-27 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/keys-to-succeed-in-femtech/index.md*

**FemTech means technology for women. It is as simple as that, yet it embraces so many layers, and responsibilities. As a [healthcare software development company](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/), we may not have all the answers to your business challenges, but we're here to guide you on how to smartly leverage technology. Let us show you how tech can help you enhance your solution and – more importantly – relations with your female users.**

<div className="image">![Women](../../static/images/femtech_blog_cover.png "Women")</div>

## Empathy and data-driven development \[use case: app onboarding  for pregnant women]

What’s best for FemTech users? Short, easy-to-complete onboarding, or perhaps a long but very personalized one? The answer might surprise you. Short onboarding is often a key to success, especially in lifestyle applications, but this might not be the case in applications related to health.

From the first interactions with your FemTech app, it's crucial to demonstrate the willingness to understand women perspective without making assumptions. **Well-designed onboarding will convey this approach to your female users right from their very first interactions**.

No matter what onboarding strategy you will choose **you should always analyze its performance by measuring the completion rate** as a part of data-driven development.

Read more about [how data-driven development saved the onboarding of FemTech app for moms-to-be](/blog/data-driven-development-femtech-app-onboarding/).

## Building trust with security \[guide to security audit included]

Patients don't want to share their health data with health tech companies. It's hard to blame them. Day by day, we hear about cyber attacks targeted at healthcare companies. At the same time, **security practices aren't some mystery knowledge**. You can **quickly conduct even an internal security audit with the tools that we list in our [security guide for healthcare](/blog/cyber-security-in-healthcare/)**.

<div className="image">![security for healthtech](../../static/images/security_healthcare.jpg "security for healthtech")</div>

## Ensuring credibility with app performance monitoring \[tutorial and metrics included]

User frustrations related to your application may be painful for you in the future. Yet, there is quite an easy way to prevent it. **Implement app monitoring from the very beginning (or as soon as possible) to monitor any app performance issues before your female users even experience them**. There are many crucial metrics you should measure:

<center>

<div className="image">![app performance monitoring](../../static/images/app_performance_monitoring_metrics_update_blog.png "app performance monitoring")</div>

</center>

A basic app performance monitoring can be set up even within a day. For more information on this go to our another blog post deeply covering [eHealth app performance monitoring](/blog/healthcare-app-performance-monitoring/).

## Inclusive product design \[UX/UI best practices included]

UX/UI design must tame any complexities and immediately **show the value of your solution**, otherwise patients and physicians won’t be keen to use it. Your design should offer a personal approach and enhance smooth navigation for women of different age groups and levels of tech-savviness.

[Check how we approached a product design for a complex healthcare solution](/blog/ux-design-healthcare-medical-apps-case-study/).

<div className="image">![UX design best practices](../../static/images/femtech_ux_design.png "UX design best practices")</div>

## Offline-first application \[examples]

Depending on your FemTech solution, **implementing an offline mode might be necessary to enable users to take crucial actions within the app, even without internet access**. This feature is particularly important for apps designed to track vital signs, menstrual cycles, or breastfeeding experiences, ensuring accessibility even with unreliable internet connectivity. Additionally, for remote patient monitoring, offline mode allows for the tracking of vital signs with medical devices, with data synchronization with doctors as soon as internet access is restored.

Offline mode can significantly enhance your solution, but it's important to first assess whether your product truly benefits from this feature. [Read more about offline-first applications](/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/).

## Incorporate medical devices and wearables \[example]

This includes the development of medical devices and diagnostics specifically designed for female anatomy or conditions. Examples include advanced mammography devices, pelvic floor exercisers, and devices for non-invasive gynecological treatments. [Glooma](https://glooma.pt/en) introduces SenseGlove, a breast self-examination device, enhances traditional breast exams by linking to a mobile app for reminders and recommendations​​.

<div className="image">![Glooma website](../../static/images/glooma.png "Glooma website")</div>

Source: [glooma.pt](https://glooma.pt/en)

In many cases, telemedicine cannot exist without medical devices creating IoT systems that enable the tracking of patients’ vitals and allow physicians to monitor them in real-time. **One of the greatest tech challenges is integrating various devices with often different SDKs into one unified system**. To build truly unified system the best way is contact [IoT development company](/our-areas/iot-development/) that has experience in building IoT, especially for healthcare.

## Last but not least – change your mindset from client-centric to patient-centric

In FemTech, it's crucial not to see your 'users' merely as clients. Instead, foster a mindset among your team and within yourself to treat 'users' as patients with specific issues and needs. Recognize them as females, mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, girlfriends, and more – but never just users or clients.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='ready to face even more tech challenges?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Download the free guide about scaling HealthTech. Get access to market reports, case studies, expert insights, tech trends, and more!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## The Bright Disputes Showcase

*Published: 2024-03-26 | Author: krystian | Tags: blockchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-bright-disputes-showcase/index.md*

**In the ever-evolving world of blockchain technology, decentralized applications (dApps) are making significant strides, particularly in legal agreements and dispute resolution. Among these innovations, Bright Disputes stands out as a transformative solution for conflict resolution on Substrate-based blockchains, leveraging the capabilities of smart contracts.**

<div className="image">![bright dispute](../../static/images/bright_dispute_cover_blog.png "bright dispute")</div>

## Understanding Decentralized Applications (dApps)

Decentralized applications, or dApps, are an integral part of the blockchain ecosystem, offering enhanced security, transparency, and user autonomy. Unlike traditional applications, dApps run on a peer-to-peer network of computers, making them immune to single points of failure and offering a new level of user trust and interaction.

## The Role of Bright Disputes in Blockchain Conflict Resolution

Bright Dispute Showcase serves as a demonstration tool, designed to help users understand the intricacies of Bright Disputes. Utilizing a Command Line Interface (CLI), the application showcases the step-by-step process of a dispute resolution, from initiation to conclusion, using predefined user accounts. It illustrates the dispute resolution process:

* Initiating a dispute involves specifying the defendant's public key and case details, followed by creating the dispute.
* Users can observe the CLI commands used at each stage, enhancing their understanding of the application's functionality.
* The process involves multiple stages, including defendant confirmation, jury selection, and voting phases.
* Juror anonymity is maintained during voting, and private keys play a critical role in the process.
* The resolution of the dispute occurs when a majority decision is reached, followed by the distribution of token deposits among the successful party's jurors and the judge.

## Navigating the Bright Disputes Showcase Interface

This section delves into the various aspects of the application's interface, highlighting its user-friendly features and the seamless integration of key functionalities. The application interface consists of several views, the first of which is a list of disputes. On this page, users can view all created disputes, their statuses, the public keys of the authors, and the defendants. Users have the option to view details of each dispute or delete them. 

It's worth noting the dropdown in the top right corner, which allows for the selection of predefined users. Below the application logo, there's a counter of registered jurors, alongside buttons for registering and deregistering users from the jury pool. There is also a button for creating new disputes, leading to the creation form.

<div className="image">![bright dispute mockup](../../static/images/bright_dispute_mockup1.png "bright dispute mockup")</div>

The dispute creation form in the "Bright Dispute Showcase" is a straightforward interface featuring just three fields and a submit button. Users can conveniently select the defendant's public key from a list of predefined users.

<div className="image">![bright dispute mockup](../../static/images/bright_dispute_mockup2.png "bright dispute mockup")</div>

To view the details of a dispute, one must click the "show" button, which leads to the details page. Here, users can learn about the case descriptions of both parties - the owner and the defendant. In the center of the screen, there's information about the current state of the dispute and the next steps. At relevant stages of the trial, lists of jurors, blocked jurors, the judge, the voting round number, the status, and the verdict are available. 

The page features seven action buttons that become active depending on the user account context and the trial stage. All user accounts are clickable, facilitating switching between them. Icons next to user accounts, such as a thumbs-up (role acceptance) or a voting urn (cast vote), indicate completed actions. Hovering over an icon displays the status description. To return to the main page, simply click on the application logo.

<div className="image">![bright dispute mockup](../../static/images/bright_dispute_mockup3.png "bright dispute mockup")</div>

This comprehensive overview of the interface underlines the application's commitment to user-centric design and functionality. With its intuitive navigation, clear visual cues, the interface not only simplifies the process of dispute resolution but also enhances user engagement and understanding. 

## Conclusions

Bright Disputes marks a significant leap forward in blockchain-based dispute resolution. In this context, Bright Disputes Showcase serves an educational and demonstrative purpose, encouraging users to explore it. This feature is a valuable tool for understanding the detailed process of dispute resolution in the Bright Disputes program and for learning how to use its Command Line Interface (CLI).

## Securing Health Data: Best Practices for Building Trustworthy Healthcare Apps

*Published: 2024-03-25 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cyber-security-in-healthcare/index.md*

**With this tutorial, you'll receive step-by-step instructions on how to conduct an internal security audit of your healthcare software, along with a list of dozens of tools to assist you in the process. Most of these tools offer free trials, allowing you to quickly test them and then decide if they're the right asset for your team.**

<div className="image">![security in healthcare](../../static/images/healthcare_security_cover.png "security in healthcare")</div>

Only [14% of patients](https://rockhealth.com/insights/the-new-era-of-consumer-engagement-insights-from-rock-healths-ninth-annual-consumer-adoption-survey/?mc_cid=1d086c1225&mc_eid=fbb3bdc963) want to share their health data with HealthTech companies, and their willingness fades year by year (in 2020 22% of patients opted for sharing their healthcare data). 

<div className="image">![Rock Health](../../static/images/4-willing-to-share-all-entities.png "Rock Health")</div>

<center> Source: \[Rock Health](https://rockhealth.com/insights/the-new-era-of-consumer-engagement-insights-from-rock-healths-ninth-annual-consumer-adoption-survey/?mc_cid=1d086c1225&mc_eid=fbb3bdc963) </center>

Can you blame patients? Just visit the TechCrunch healthcare section to see countless stories about data leaks, hacks, and more. Why should patients trust healthcare tech companies with their data? Unfortunately, even if you aim to implement top security practices, you are facing the same mistrust issues as part of the industry. So, how can you build trust among your users? Secure product is the right answer. Let’s discuss security measures you should incorporate in your HealthTech company. 

<div className="image">![techcrunch](../../static/images/techcrunch_healthcare.png "techcrunch")</div>

<center> Source: \[techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/tag/healthcare/) </center>

## Audit your software and start Secure Software Development Life Cycle

You should implement dozens of security tactics that will audit your software internally and kick off your Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SSDLC).

<div className="image">![securing health data infographics](../../static/images/security_healthcare.jpg "securing health data infographics")</div>

### Adhering to OWASP best practices

The security bible for many is the set of security checklists OWASP provides. Begin by making sure your software team adheres to OWASP security resources. Methodically progress through every top OWASP checklist and verify with your software team that you have implemented these recommendations.

👉 [The list of OWASP resources](/blog/top-owasp-resources-to-follow/)

## Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Static Application Security Testing (SAST), using dedicated SAST tools, will scan your app's code and alert you to any vulnerabilities, such as SQL injections, outdated algorithms, or strings that could be potential passwords.

👉 [The list of SAST tools to consider](/blog/examples-of-sast-tools-for-app-security/).

## Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

DAST tools often provide the ability to proxy requests, record them, tamper with them, replay them, inject parameters, build a site map by crawling, and more.

👉 [The list of DAST tools to consider](/blog/examples-of-dast-tools-for-app-security/).

## Track dependencies

Dependency tracking tools assist in identifying outdated or vulnerable dependencies in our code e.g. libraries, frameworks, plugins, or other software modules that a project relies on to function. Track dependencies tools support effective code modernization by automatically highlighting places that should be updated.

👉 [The list of dependency-tracking tools to consider](/blog/examples-of-dependency-tracking-tools-for-app-security/).

## Detect secret leaks

Detecting secret leaks involves identifying instances where sensitive information, such as passwords, API keys, secret tokens, or private keys, have been unintentionally exposed in places they shouldn't be like public repositories, open documentation, or log files. There are tools and practices designed to prevent and detect these leaks.

👉 [The list of secret leaks detecting tools to consider](/blog/secret-leak-detection-tools-to-consider-for-your-app-security/).

## Infrastructure reconnaissance

Infrastructure reconnaissance tools allow businesses to scan their infrastructure for vulnerabilities, including outdated software versions, open ports, and misconfigured security headers.

👉 [The list of infrastructure reconnaissance tools to consider](/blog/infrastructure-reconnaissance-tools-for-your-app-security).

## Adhere to local data protection laws

Use GDPR & HIPPA-compliant software for medical data processing. By signing up for a cloud provider you might get access to HIPPA-compliant architecture to process medical data. It’s the fastest way to achieve HIPPA or GDPR compliance.

<blockquote><h2>As one can read on AWS website</h2><div>AWS enables covered entities and their business associates subject to the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to use the secure AWS environment to process, maintain, and store protected health information.</div><footer>Source: https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/hipaa-compliance/</footer></blockquote>

What’s more, the cloud enables data backup and disaster recovery, ensuring that HealthTech organizations can quickly recover from data loss events and maintain continuity of care without the need for extensive on-site data storage facilities.

## Utilize managed identity services

Cloud providers offer various tools to help you manage users' sensitive data securely. One such tool is AWS Cognito, designed to securely add user sign-up, sign-in, and access control to web and mobile applications. AWS Cognito encrypts user data, supports multi-factor authentication to add a level of security, and helps detect unusual sign-in activities. [Read more on AWS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cognito/latest/developerguide/managing-users.html).

Naturally, you can create own customized solutions to manage user data; however, there is a higher risk of incorrect implementation, and you need to remember to update the software on your own. Don’t reinvent the wheel seems like a smarter approach in this case.

Bright Inventions' team primarily works with AWS tools; therefore, we are showcasing examples from Amazon's suite of services. Although providers like Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure also offer tools designed to comply with major security standards and certifications.

## Maintain separation of concerts

Don’t store sensitive data in one place. You make the work for attackers simpler. Each encrypted database should be stored in a different physical location provided by cloud providers. One database can store patients' private data (name, age, social security number, etc.), while another should store medical information. Therefore, the risk of leaking data from both databases is much lower. What’s more, keep your staging and production sites in separate networks with different authorization levels limiting the number of users gaining the access.

<blockquote><h2>How we introduced this tactic while building a mobile app for people with Parkinson’s</h2><div>Given its healthcare nature, the app stored sensitive medical data on patients’ health, including information on pain and tremors, as well as data on very specific side effects, such as sexual drive levels and gambling propensity. One of the security tactics we implemented was breaking down the encrypted database into two – each stored in a different AWS services’ physical location. The first database stored basic user data, such as name or email address. The second database kept sensitive medical information, including medication intake or physical symptoms and side effects. Through this decision, we minimized the chance that, in the event of a data breach, the attacking party would be able to access all the information. Therefore, even in the case of a data breach, the risk of matching symptoms to specific patients' names is low.</div><footer>Mateusz Klimczak, Partner & Head of Delivery at bright inventions</footer></blockquote>

## Utilize LLM's securely

LLMs are at the forefront of the AI revolution in healthcare. Discover what steps you need to take to ensure your LLM solution is secure and compliant with HIPAA or GDPR, in case you use OpenAI solutions.

Good news! The OpenAI API is eligible for GDPR and HIPAA compliance under a few stipulations. 

Delve into [LLMs for healthcare](/blog/llms-healthcare-security/) in another blog post.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='ready to face other HealthTech challenges?' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'We\'ve got much more resources for you! Download our free guide for HealthTech leaders.'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## What You Can’t See Still Hurts: Crafting Tech for Patients with Invisible Diseases

*Published: 2024-03-21 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/technology-for-invisible-diseases/index.md*

**Invisible diseases represent a vast group of patient disorders. Developing software for people suffering from them requires an extra empathetic approach to deliver a truly user-centric experience. Are you prepared to create a credible and trustworthy solution? Read our article to find out!**

<div className="image">![Tech for Patients with Invisible Diseases](../../static/images/invisible_diseases_blog.png "Tech for Patients with Invisible Diseases")</div>

**People with invisible diseases often navigate their lives, both private and professional, while managing their conditions**. These conditions are typically chronic, remaining with them for longer periods, even though their symptoms may not be visible to others.

Invisible diseases include **mental health issues**, **neurodiverse conditions** like ADHD and autism, **chronic pain and fatigue conditions** such as fibromyalgia, as well as **autoimmune disorders** like multiple sclerosis (MS) and lupus.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='dive into the future of HealthTech with our comprehensive guide' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Unlock exclusive insights and expert advice now! Claim your free copy!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## Patient-centric approach in healthcare software solutions

Developing [HealthTech](/blog/ultimate-guide-to-healthtech/) solutions for patients with invisible diseases may require **additional effort to achieve a patient-centric/user-centric approach**. 

### Throughout the process of understanding your users, it's essential to consider several factors:

1. **Your users may be very secretive about their disease.** 

Understanding the privacy concerns and stigma associated with invisible diseases is crucial in building trust and ensuring user comfort.

<blockquote><h2>Breaking down the encrypted database</h2><div>One of the security tactics we implemented was breaking down the encrypted database into two – each stored in a different AWS services’ physical location. The first database stored basic user data, such as name or email address. The second database kept sensitive medical information, including medication intake or physical symptoms and side effects. Through this decision, we minimized the chance that, in the event of a data breach, the attacking party would be able to access all the information. Therefore, even in the case of a data breach, the risk of matching symptoms to specific patients' names is low.</div><footer>Mateusz Klimczak, Partner & Head of Delivery at Bright Inventions</footer></blockquote>

Read more about building [an app for people with Parkinson’s](/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/).

2. **People with invisible diseases may be distrustful, including towards technology.** 

Initially, they might approach your app with a degree of skepticism, making the onboarding process more critical than ever. Crafting an engaging, reassuring, and personalized onboarding experience is key to overcoming initial mistrust. 

Delve into building [empathic app onboarding](/blog/data-driven-development-femtech-app-onboarding/) with our other blog post.

3. **Despite users' skepticism, they might still turn to technology to help manage their disease.** 

This indicates a need for solutions that are not only secure but also intuitive and genuinely useful in navigating the complexities of their condition.

One of the examples of software that needs to engage users with simple and empathic design is yet again a [solution for patients suffering from Parkinson’s](/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/):

<blockquote><h2>Inclusive and empathic UX/UI design</h2><div>From the beginning, we understood that the key element of the solution must have been inclusive and empathic UX/UI design. The app had to be friendly in use for patients suffering from tremors or other movement disorders. Also, as the elderly constitute the majority of patients suffering from Parkinson’s, the challenge was to deliver a legible, highly intuitive interface that would minimize the chances of mistakes. If an accidental input were to take place, though, the interface also needed to allow the option to undo the action.</div><footer>Mateusz Klimczak, Partner & Head of Delivery at Bright Inventions</footer></blockquote>

4. **Some taboos might be a reality for people with particular health disorders.** 

Approaching sensitive topics with empathy and care can help in creating a solution that feels inclusive and supportive. Also, don’t be afraid to include a fun factor even in the most unconventional circumstances.

ZOE app serves as a prime example of a healthcare solution that approaches taboos with humor for a meaningful cause. The creators of the ZOE app were not afraid to address bowel movements - a topic essential to every human being's health, yet rather avoided in conversation.

<div className="image">![ZOE](../../static/images/zoe.png "ZOE")</div>

ZOE with their outside-of-the-box messaging was able to convince 142,768 people in the United Kingdom to take part in the survey. Explore insightful results of the “[The Big Poo Review](https://zoe.com/learn/fascinating-insights-from-the-big-poo-review)”.

5. **Your users shouldn’t be your guinea pigs because they will quickly lose trust in your solution.** 

Implement tech trends with extra caution. A great example of this is introducing currently hot AI-based solutions. 

<blockquote><h2>Approaching AI in mental health methodically</h2><div>Generative AI is something I am currently responsible for while working on a mental health care application. While developing a solution supporting people's mental well-being, we need to approach this methodically. The last thing we want is to launch an AI solution that ends up discouraging people who are seeking mental health support, for example, by being ununderstandable by a bot.  That's why we are currently focusing on creating various proofs of concept to determine which areas of the application can truly be enhanced with AI. Before we even begin testing them with users, we need to identify clear signs of the value that AI can deliver. The AI-based solutions must be primarily trustworthy for our mental health app users.</div><footer>Sławek Kopaczewski, Fullstack Developer at Bright Inventions</footer></blockquote>

## Examples of features to incorporate in applications for people with invisible diseases

When developing applications for individuals with invisible diseases, it's essential to focus on features that address their unique needs while fostering engagement and support:

### Gamification and engaging features

Introduce elements that motivate users to manage their disease daily. These could include reward systems, progress tracking, and interactive educational content. Explore our other blog post on [patient engagement solutions](/blog/delivering-patient-engagement-platform/).

<div className="image">![eHealth app mockup](../../static/images/ehealth_app_mockup.png "eHealth app mockup")</div>

### Support group and community finder

Help users connect with support groups or communities facing similar challenges. This feature can offer emotional support and practical advice, making users feel less isolated.

### Accessible information on clinical data and programs

People with invisible diseases (especially chronically ill) often hold hope for new scientific discoveries that could improve or save their lives. However, access to clinical research data is usually restricted, and the material is often written in specialized language. Summarizing current medical progress in straightforward language can be a crucial feature, providing hope and information in an accessible format.

## Deliver empathetic solution

Remember, what you can't see might still hurt. So, while delivering solutions for patients with invisible diseases, don't treat them merely as users, but as people who might have been waiting for years for aid that would support them at difficult times. You owe them an empathetic solution because your 'users' truly deserve it.

## Decades in Programming Guided by Intuition. Meet Tomasz

*Published: 2024-03-19 | Author: tomasz-k | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/decades-in-programming-tomasz/index.md*

**Dive into the career story of Tomasz, whose journey to programming began in the 80s. Find out what was the first programming language that Tomasz learned. Discover his Tech Lead approach and explore how his programming expertise crossed paths with… welding.**

<div className="image">![Tomasz's career story](../../static/images/brightstorytomaszkcollage.png "Tomasz's career story")</div>

## Could you describe your journey into programming?

It began a long time ago, **back in the 1980s**. At that time, **I only had access to 8-bit computers**. I highly enjoyed playing computer games then, but what intrigued me even more was understanding the mechanics behind them. This curiosity led me to **start programming, initially in BASIC**. However, I didn’t think at the time that it would become my future profession. I had many other interests, including radio. I was part of a radio club where we got to work with computers, which was a significant deal during the twilight of communism in Poland. The experience of working with hardware and electronics was truly captivating.

In the 1990s, I worked as a graphic designer, creating posters and other printed materials. As the company I worked at began to expand its portfolio to include web development, I **seized the opportunity to learn Perl and PHP (version 2.0 at the time) as well as Linux**. That marked the start of my career in software development.

## What happened after that?

After that I worked for a small software development company in Poznań, then, I entered a corporate phase, working for global enterprises. I **had an opportunity to spend a month in Silicon Valley, in a building that is now the headquarters of Facebook**. It was on the same campus where **I met legends like James Gosling**, the creator of Java. Back then, it was easy to bump into him in the cafeteria.

Later I even got a chance to live in the U.S for 18 months as an Oracle employee. I worked at its American headquarters. Back then **I spent lots of time at Hacker Dojo – one of the most famous coworking spaces where numerous Silicon Valley unicorns were born**.

Eventually, I left the corporate world but I still cooperated closely with enterprises as a business partner by **starting my company and employing a few people to digitize clients' processes**. One noteworthy project we undertook was the digitalization of welding processes. **We developed an IoT system that modernized welding operations for a chemical engineering company**.

## Welding and programming? How come?

It might seem like an unlikely combination at first. Indeed, when we embarked on this project, my knowledge of welding was as basic as most people's. Welding, particularly for critical structures like ships, and fuel tanks demands extensive documentation due to the legal responsibilities shouldered by the individuals involved. **A mistake in the welding process can potentially compromise the integrity of a ship or a tank, posing a direct threat to lives**. 

**We developed software integrated with various devices and sensors to measure critical factors** such as temperature, ambient conditions, and weld intensity to **ensure the highest quality of welding**. This approach was significantly more efficient than the previously used ultrasonography for weld inspection. Thanks to the comprehensive data our system collected, **the welding team could definitively demonstrate compliance with all requirements**.

<div className="image">![ Wearing a welding helmet.](../../static/images/tomasz_welding.png " Wearing a welding helmet.")</div>

*<center> Wearing a welding helmet. </center>* 

Our role encompassed **integrating hardware** delivered by another company into our system, **developing the firmware, selecting appropriate sensors, and delivering software** that unified these components into a cohesive IoT solution.

## How did you learn the welding domain?

It might surprise you that there are numerous types of welding, and **our solution was specifically tailored for Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding**. I remember **diving into a thick book on the subject** to grasp the complexities involved. Apart from that, **I visited the client’s R&D center and had access to their experts at any moment**. 

Additionally, **I attended various conferences for the welding community**, where I met many individuals who were deeply passionate about welding. These enthusiasts could discuss the images of welds for hours. While every industry has its 'fanatics', encountering such dedicated people was genuinely intriguing.

## From the corporation world to a smaller company like Bright Inventions. How do you find yourself here?

I appreciate the absence of a corporate vibe here. With around 80 people on board, the company is the perfect size for me – not too small, not too big. **Everyone possesses high-quality skills and expertise**. I love how **every team member feels responsible for their project and even for the whole company**. The atmosphere is something I truly enjoy. Although **I work mostly remotely from Poznań, whenever I attend team retreats in Gdańsk, I feel well taken care of by teammates** who always make me feel welcome.

<div className="image">![During a team retreat.](../../static/images/malgosia_team_retreat_forest.png "During a team retreat.")</div>

*<center> During a team retreat. </center>* 

## Having spent decades in the IT industry, what experiences do you consider the most valuable?

Every time I ventured into a new technology, it felt like encountering something magnificent; I definitely have relished the experience of discovering new tech. However, **the greatest experience by far was meeting diverse people and learning how to collaborate with them**. 

<div className="image">![Quote](../../static/images/tomaszk_quote_people.png "Quote")</div>

Although I consider myself an introvert who masks it well, there was a point in my career when I became a team manager. Consequently, one of my responsibilities involved dealing with aspects of psychology in the workplace.

Initially, **I made the mistake of trying to solve people's problems with my own prescriptions**. I attempted to offer advice based on my experiences, which was rather naive. At that time, I didn't understand much about human relations. **I thought that since I didn't have a particular problem, I could provide a magical recipe to solve others' issues**, believing my insights would make the world a better place. This approach was fundamentally flawed. I couldn't possibly understand other people's struggles thoroughly, and I definitely didn't have a monopoly solution to complex human issues.

## As a tech lead at Bright Inventions, what is the most important aspect of this role?

I think that the ability to view the product from a distance and see the whole picture is invaluable. **I strive to consider both the domain and business perspectives, with a key focus on ensuring that the architecture evolves alongside the product**. This approach makes the software easier to maintain. Thus, the primary rule is to **avoid creating technological debt, paving the way for a smoother future product growth**.

## How to find the balance between tech ambitions and business requirements?

I believe **I have an intuition that guides me in determining when to persuade a client to follow our recommended path, and when to step back**, recognizing that the client may lack the resources or willingness to proceed. 

It's crucial to choose our ‘battles’ wisely. **Given that our clients trust us, when we emphasize the necessity of certain implementations, they are likely to listen**. However, it's equally important to ensure that the development schedule is followed. This means that we must deliver value even if it occasionally requires postponing some code modernizations. **Clients are primarily focused on the product's growth rather than perfect code**. Therefore, addressing technical debt cannot always be our top priority.

<div className="image">![Quote](../../static/images/tomaszk_quote_perfect_code.png "Quote")</div>

## How do you handle the diversity of opinion in the team in terms of choosing solution A or B?

When it comes to choosing between solutions, we engage in debate. If I hold a particular view, I'll take a side. **I believe that to advocate for a solution, one must be able to convincingly explain its merits**; it's insufficient to prefer an option just because it's personally favored. The whole team must weigh the pros and cons together, presenting our arguments to reach a final decision. If we're uncertain about the best choice, we opt for the 'lesser evil'. **I find beauty in this process of argumentation, as every team member is encouraged to share their perspective**.

## What do you do after hours?

First and foremost, I am a father to two daughters, and I dedicate most of my free time to them. Aside from family time, **I try to find moments for running, and I've recently delved into music production**. Specifically, **I'm exploring DAWless music creation**, which involves making electronic music without a computer, using synthesizers instead. In January, I made my stage debut, improvising live at a club in Poznań. While I'm quite new to this, it's incredibly thrilling.

<div className="image">![Right before the running race.](../../static/images/tomasz_running.png "Right before the running race.")</div>

*<center> Right before the running race. </center>*

## How to Build Patient Engagement Technology that Will Truly Engage Patients

*Published: 2024-03-11 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/delivering-patient-engagement-platform/index.md*

**The digital patient engagement market is growing rapidly, and its potential is even greater. However, this does not mean that any generic solution will succeed. Based on our experience in [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/), we have prepared a guide on how to build a successful patient engagement solution.**

<div className="image">![Patient engagement solution](../../static/images/phone_patient.png "Patient engagement solution")</div>

## First, be empathic

Don't scroll down, because you feel it's obvious. Is it, though? Do you treat your current or future app users merely as clients? This mindset might be suitable for retail, fintech, or other sectors, but not in digital health. HealthTech businesses must be strongly founded on a mission; otherwise, they probably won't survive. Your users aren't just users. They are real people with real-life struggles, often forced to manage chronic diseases all their lives. **If you don’t try to understand your users’ experience, you won’t build a product that will be appealing to them**.

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## Start from workshops to scrutinize your idea and target groups

You might have an idea for an eHealth solution, but that's not even the first step to succeeding in healthcare software development. You should attend **product discovery workshops that will help you understand your potential customers**.

Learn more about [product discovery workshops](/our-areas/product-workshops/).

## Validate your idea and business approach with an MVP

**A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the most efficient way to validate your idea**. In a cost-effective and timely manner, you can launch the first version of your product with key features to receive vital feedback from end-users.

Before the launch, you should set up analytics metrics to measure your goals. Check out our MVP success metrics cheat sheet:

<div className="image">![MVP success metrics](../../static/images/mvp_success_metrics-cheat_sheet.png "MVP success metrics")</div>

If you want to delve into MVP development, we’ve got lots of other resources for you!

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='build MVP that will help you grow' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription={'Start your MVP journey with our free ebook.'} ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## Create simple design

UX design is a crucial factor in ensuring a successful user experience for your solution. Depending on your end users, **you might need to design for older people less familiar with technology, who might be skeptical about your solution**. The design must immediately demonstrate value, enable smooth navigation, and manage the handling of vast amounts of information, which is often the case for eHealth apps.

If you want to delve into product design, read more about [designing healthcare solutions](/blog/ux-design-healthcare-medical-apps-case-study/).

## Evaluate your app onboarding

Most software solution faces a crucial challenge: designing the onboarding process to increase the number of registered and (already) engaged users. Our experience, especially in healthcare software development, suggests creating a longer onboarding process to demonstrate your commitment to users and tailor the app to their personal experiences.

Examine the story of the [FemTech pregnant women engagement app](/blog/data-driven-development-femtech-app-onboarding/) whose shortened onboarding process led to a decrease in the number of completions.

## Implement gamification features

Healthcare is not a joke, yet in many cases, you can turn health management into fun. Here are several examples of gamification features used in patient engagement platforms:

* **Points System**: Patients earn points for completing health-related tasks, such as taking medication on time, logging daily activities, or completing a series of exercises. These points can track progress or be used to unlock rewards.
* **Badges and Achievements**: Similar to points, badges are awarded for milestones or achievements, such as reaching a step goal, completing all daily tasks, or maintaining a streak of medication adherence. These badges serve as visual symbols of accomplishment.
* **Progress Tracking and Visualization**: By visualizing progress through charts, graphs, or virtual journeys, users can see how far they've come and what goals they're approaching. This visual progress can be incredibly motivating.
* **Challenges and Quests**: Setting up specific challenges or quests for users to complete can make the process of achieving health goals more engaging. Challenges could range from walking a certain number of steps in a day to completing a week's worth of healthy eating.
* **Personalized Goals and Adaptation**: Some apps adapt to the user's behavior and performance, setting increasingly challenging but achievable goals based on their progress. This personalized approach keeps users engaged without overwhelming them.
* **Reward Systems**: Incentives like discounts, gift cards, or tangible rewards for reaching health milestones or maintaining consistent use of the app. These rewards can significantly enhance user engagement and commitment to health goals.

## Use technologies that will support your growth

The stack and technologies you choose, even at the MVP phase, might influence your product development for years to come. Here are examples of things to consider by CTO, Product Owner, or startup founder:

* **Choosing between building mobile native applications or hybrid**: Delve into this choice in our other blog post regarding [native apps vs cross-platform](/blog/native-app-development-vs-cross-platform/).
* **Implementing performance monitoring**: This type of monitoring becomes especially crucial during the scaling phase, where you want to monitor capacity, any feature blockages, etc. Only then can you foresee issues before they affect your users!
* **Leveraging cloud computing for scalability**: Cloud computing offers cost-effective scaling of your product. Using providers like AWS also aids in adhering to HIPAA or GDPR, which is crucial for many healthcare solutions.

## Build credibility with the right software

Trust is crucial in eHealth solutions, especially when we consider engagement software that can assist chronically ill patients throughout their lives. Therefore, when choosing an app that might be a crucial tool every day, they need to feel the product is credible. By implementing performance monitoring, as mentioned earlier, you can avoid large performance issues, thereby sparing users any frustrations. Yet, there are other technical steps to take to build credibility:

* **Adhering to laws**: while storing medical data, you must follow top security standards to comply with HIPAA, GDPR, or other regional laws. Security standards aren't supposed to be followed just to comply with the law, but foremost to take care of users' data. Any data breach could be disastrous for your credibility, so always prioritize security.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore top security practices and tool' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription={'A free ebook for CEOs, CTOs, and software developers. A must-have for your team\'s reading list!'} ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='ebook cover' />

* **Code modernization**: don't let technological debt slow your growth. Especially during the scalability phase, dedicate some sprints to code modernization, updating libraries, and other activities that will improve your code and enhance security.
* **Quality assurance**: There comes a time when a balanced number of manual and automated tests must support product development. This approach will reduce the number of issues in your product, leading to fewer instances of user dissatisfaction.

## Verify the best engagement channels

Study shows that in-app messaging boasts a remarkable [75% open rate](https://reckless.agency/websites/email-vs-push-notifications-vs-in-app-messaging-which-has-the-highest-engagement-2/), significantly surpassing other communication methods and nearly tripling the effectiveness of push notifications. **While in-app messaging is highly effective at engaging active users within the app, enhancing their experience and encouraging specific actions, it's crucial not to overlook the importance of push notifications and traditional emails**. Push notifications and emails are especially valuable for re-engaging users, drawing them back into the app, and maintaining their engagement over time.

Initially, **explore all potential engagement channels**, then use data-driven analysis to identify the most effective ones. Following this, you can optimize the frequency of notifications, emails, etc., based on insights from this data. All these activities should be supported by rigorous **A/B testing** – for example, sending variations of notification text or different email subject lines to distinct groups to analyze open rates.

## Example of patient engagement solution

Read the story about crafting a personal [digital diary for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease](/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/). The app lets users record their symptoms and track the intake of prescribed drugs.

<div className="image">![app for patients with parkinson](../../static/images/app_for_parkinson_patients2.png "app for patients with parkinson")</div>

## Why is digital engagement important

The technological revolution in healthcare is built on several fundamental pillars, with both medical professionals and patients playing crucial roles. For it to be effective, both groups must actively participate. This is especially vital in the realm of chronic disease management where medics won't achieve anything without patients' engagement. Through technology, **patients are empowered to take control of their health. However, they must be willing to embrace the power that technology gives them**. Let’s build the technology that will be a patient engagement tool, not a burden!

## Temperament Insights for Effective Recruiting: What Recruiters Need to Know?

*Published: 2024-03-08 | Author: sara-l | Tags: recruitment, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/temperament-insights-for-effective-recruiting-what-recruiters-need-to-know/index.md*

If you have ever asked yourself some of the following questions, I would like to share with you the possible answer for them. 

* Why do some people like to work from the office and others from home? 
* Why will some employees care about fuckup or corrective (often called the negative) feedback and others won’t? 
* Why are only some able to immediately deal with a crisis situation? 
* Why are only some of us able to endure hardships and discomforts and are able to function well under high levels of stress? 
* Why do some employees like changing work environments, and others prefer stability and predictability? 
* How do individual preferences for receiving recognition and rewards impact job satisfaction and performance in the workplace?

One of possible answers for these questions is - it all depends on individual differences in the area of temperament.

<div className="image">![people; diversity; team](../../static/images/temperament-blogpost-cover-photo.png "")</div>

## **Temperament in the workplace dynamics**

There are a few theories about temperament. Each of them touches similar features of human behavior. I would like to focus on one of the simplest in my opinion - The Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT) made by Jan Strelau.

According to [RTT](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/019188699500159X), temperament is involved in regulating the relationship between humans and their outside world. That means that **temperament affects how someone understands and interprets things, how they react to various situations, plan their life, what decisions they make and how a person functions at work**. I believe that all of these areas in which temperament is involved are extremely interesting, but in this blogpost I would like to focus on the connection between temperament and work. 

## **What dimensions of temperament are distinguished in Strelau’s theory?** 

The responses to the initial questions in the article point to various dimensions of temperament. According to RTT, we distinguish:

* Sensory sensitivity - an ability to react to sensory stimuli of low stimulative value. 
* Emotional reactivity - a tendency to react intensively to emotion-generating stimuli, expressed in high emotional sensitivity and in low emotional endurance. The emotional reactivity affects emotional resilience; behavior in difficult moments; effectiveness of actions taken during high stress; frequency of feeling emotional tension.
* Endurance - an ability to react adequately in situations demanding long-lasting or high stimulative activity and under intensive external stimulation.
* Activity - a tendency to undertake behavior of high stimulative value or to supply by means of behavior strong stimulation from the surroundings.
* Briskness - a tendency to react quickly, to keep up a high tempo of performing activities, and to shift easily in response to changes in the surroundings from one behavior (reaction) to another. It influences the pace of response to stimuli; the pace at which activities are performed; the level of vigor.
* Perseverance - a tendency to continue and to repeat behavior after cessation of stimuli (situations) evoking this behavior. It influences the approach to the events that affect us (low level causes a tendency to quickly forget decisions and experiences made and high level causes a tendency to analyze events and decisions already made in detail, as well as frequent return of thoughts to the past); focus on the loss (high level), or quick acceptance of the loss (low level); repetition of the same stress behavior. 

We can interpret each of these components as a spectrum. They are related to each other and exert mutual influence. Each of them has an influence on our behavior.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/theoffice-season-1-the-office-tv-3aRk8MOsve8DJVMk99' />

## **Why are they so important?** 

Because every role in a company is different. And we, as recruiters, should be able to find the match. **We should have a strong understanding and respect for people's capabilities**. We, as recruiters, often know the environment of the company, the specific tasks of the role, the difficulties that a new person will have to face, and also often we know other people from the team. A candidate has only a job offer, maybe a little more information from the recruiter, social media/website and their visions of the vacancy and company. So we, as recruiters, should be very attentive during the process, because from our conclusions comes the result of the process, which means - who we choose. We are more familiar with the company and the role than the candidate, so **we must be able to assess as accurately as possible whether the candidate will feel comfortable in that particular position**. For instance, can they handle the stress that is inherent in the role? Or will they become bored with the repetitiveness of tasks in that specific environment? It is our responsibility to investigate these aspects.

The recruiter's responsibility in this context is twofold. On one hand, they are accountable for finding the best fit for a particular position, and on the other hand, they are responsible for ensuring that the organization and the position are suitable for the candidate. To prevent later disappointments on either side, beyond assessing the candidate's qualifications and approach, it's essential to consider that their temperament traits can influence both their job satisfaction and performance in a given role. **A stellar employee in one environment may struggle in a different setting**. Of course, we can also phrase it differently - **an excellent work environment for one employee may be a suboptimal one for another person.**

## **Is it possible to change our temperament?**

Well, according to Strelau - yes. Temperament traits are relatively stable, but they can change. But, it is a long-term process because genes play a huge role here, as well as the years in which our environment has influenced our temperament.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/heyarnold-hey-arnold-nicksplat-xUNd9OwuCl3QZVfr6E' />

### **Summary**

During the recruitment process, the recruiter is responsible for the company's time and financial investment in the procedure, as well as the candidate's time and engagement. Therefore, let's not underestimate the significance of temperament in the recruitment process, as the awareness of temperament differences can only help us.

## The Power and Purpose of Team Building Initiatives

*Published: 2024-03-07 | Author: agata-m | Tags: teamwork, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-power-and-purpose-of-team-building-initiatives/index.md*

Team building is a form of integration that provides team members with the opportunity to collaboratively perform various tasks. However, what matters in these activities is mutual cooperation, the possibility of discussion, overcoming challenges, and, above all, having fun together. Thanks to this, the team has a chance to get to know each other better, engage in conversations beyond the office environment, and build relationships.

Teamwork is one of five core values at Bright Inventions. We constantly make sure that thanks to the team building events our team integrates, gets to know each other better and, as a result, works better together and copes with the minor and major problems that may arise in everyday work. It also helps us to be closer in remote work times.

## **Team building at Bright Inventions**

The main glue that binds our team together are the integrations. Twice a year we organise core team building initiatives at Bright integrations (June and December), which always consist of two parts. The first part of team-building adventure is about facing different challenges together, and doing some group tasks. We are always randomly assigned to a group and can thus get to know people with whom we do not have the opportunity to work on a daily basis. It is a great opportunity to exchange ideas, experiences and support each other in carrying out tasks. And what are these tasks? Well, it varies: 

* we sailed yachts and worked together to operate the yacht,

<div className="image">![Bright Yachts](../../static/images/rectangle-8-copy-8.png "")</div>

* we kayaked (in double kayaks, so we had to help each other ;)) or worked together on a dragon boat race,

<div className="image">![Bright Dragon Boat](../../static/images/rectangle-8-copy-7.png "")</div>

*  te took part in outdoor games - we were navigating some places on the map and solved,

<div className="image">![Bright Forest](../../static/images/rectangle-8-copy-6.png "")</div>

* we were on go-kart races,

<div className="image">![Bright Go-karts](../../static/images/rectangle-8-copy-5.png "")</div>

* and many more including some artistic workshops.

<div className="image">![Bright Art](../../static/images/rectangle-8-copy-4.png "")</div>

As you can see our values as teamwork and positive attitude are really close to us at integrations. :)\
\
After our team-building activities, we usually gather at a local restaurant to eat something delicious and have fun.  But it's not just about food. It's a time to relax, share laughter, and strengthen the bonds we've built throughout the day.

<div className="image">![Bright Team](../../static/images/rectangle-8-copy-3.png "")</div>

## The unique brilliance of Bright Christmas

One of the most anticipated meetings is always Bright Christmas. How does it differ from the rest? Of course, first we have the team-building part (this year we painted pictures together), then dinner and afterwards and afterwards we have an opportunity to reflect on the entire year. We even have a special team knowledge quiz and the awards for the most engaging blog post and the most popular post on our blog, determined by the number of views.

<div className="image">![Bright Christmas ](../../static/images/rectangle-8-copy-2.png "")</div>

<div className="image">![Tomek, Iza and Ula - Bright Christmas](../../static/images/rectangle-8-copy.png "")</div>

In addition, people who have been with us for the magical two years also receive a gift, which is heavily personalised. :) With this, we want to emphasise our gratitude towards our teammates who try to create the Bright Team with us on a daily basis.

<div className="image">![Patryk - Bright Christmas](../../static/images/rectangle-8.png "")</div>

## Project team building events

What else besides the integrations of the whole team? Project outings, of course. :) Such an initiative also works and is popular with us. It's good to get out and chat with people from the F2F team especially in the age of remote working. Relationships are revived and strengthened and more than once we hear that it is more pleasant to work together afterwards.

To sum up, fostering such integrative initiatives not only strengthens company culture and enhances team collaboration but also plays a pivotal role in boosting employee engagement. By facilitating open communication channels and fostering teamwork, these activities contribute significantly to the overall rising productivity and engagement. As a result, investing in such team-building events can yield substantial benefits for both the employees and the organisation as a whole, ultimately leading to a more motivated and cooperative team.

## Debugging production CDK Node.js app with AWS Fargate

*Published: 2024-03-06 | Author: rafal h | Tags: ECS, AWS, Node.js, Debugging, Fargate*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/fargate-ecs-debug/index.md*

<div className="image">![ECS Node.js Fargate Debug created by Dalle3](../../static/images/fargate-debug.png "")</div>

**Recently my colleague wrote a blog post on how to create a [cheap Node.js Fargate service](/blog/aws-cdk-cheap-ecs-fargate/). Imagine that after some time of happy running, you investigate that something is not clearing memory or the task suddenly exits with an error. You analyze the log and metrics, but the issue seems to be deeper, and you have to get your hands dirty. For such cases, a great option to [debug](https://nodejs.org/en/learn/getting-started/debugging) the Node.js service is with inspector. In this tutorial I will show you how to utilize it with CDK deployed Node.js app on AWS Fargate using AWS ECS Exec and AWS SSM port forwarding.**

## Node.js debugging

Node.js inspector [debugging](https://nodejs.org/en/learn/getting-started/debugging) with `--inspect` flag might show you potential problems with the event loop or where is the memory leak you are looking for. It personally helped me many times. If you are interested about the details and how to look for problems, you can see a great video of it in action with one of the [core contributors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkys6Wk-jYk&ab_channel=AdventuresinNodeland-MatteoCollina) of Node.js.

## Remote Node.js debugging

Ok, so you are armored with cool knowledge about Node.js debugging now. You say, “Great! Let’s run inspector and check it out.” Not so fast—your service is running in a remote environment. It means that you somehow have to expose a remote debugger to your local inspector environment. Sometimes, it is not necessary as you might be able to spot the problem when running the process locally. But what if the problem only appears when some particular thing happens on a remote? Traditionally, you could just expose the inspected port via [SSH local forwarding](https://nodejs.org/en/learn/getting-started/debugging#enabling-remote-debugging-scenarios). But what if you are running Fargate and you are not able to SSH to underlying machine? Let’s find out!

## Checking if your task is eligible for ECS exec
Ok, so your task is running. What shall you do next? You will use a combination of [AWS ECS Exec](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/ecs-exec.html) and [AWS SSM port forwarding](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/mt/use-port-forwarding-in-aws-systems-manager-session-manager-to-connect-to-remote-hosts/) to forward the debugger port to the local machine. AWS has an official [GitHub repo](https://github.com/aws-containers/amazon-ecs-exec-checker) with a script by which you can check if your task allows for AWS exec. Using the infrastructure described [before](/blog/aws-cdk-cheap-ecs-fargate/), you should configure AWS CLI and execute
```bash
./check-ecs-exec.sh cluster-id task-id
```
in our case
```bash
./check-ecs-exec.sh BrightCheapEcsFargateStack-ClusterEB0386A7-PQVGdDDGFxS4 70d6a6e5606b4cf5ad413821326bd765
```
As per the output, task is missing some of the required things for exec execution: 
```bash
  Exec Enabled for Task  | NO
```
```bash
Task Role Permissions    
     ssmmessages:CreateControlChannel: implicitDeny
     ssmmessages:CreateDataChannel: implicitDeny
     ssmmessages:OpenControlChannel: implicitDeny
     ssmmessages:OpenDataChannel: implicitDeny
``` 

[The Readme](https://github.com/aws-containers/amazon-ecs-exec-checker) of the project provides directions on how to fix the potential issues you might have. It might be connected either to your IAM user, ECS task role permissions, or configuration. For the [repo](https://github.com/bright/bright-cheap-ecs-fargate-https) you are using, the only two things that you needed to add are:
```typescript
enableExecuteCommand: true
``` 
to `FargateService` in CDK definition and
changing container command to expose debugger 
```typescript
command: ['npx', '--node-options=--inspect', 'http-server']
```
Upon CDK deployment you will see that required `ssmmessages` permissions are added automatically.
When you will rerun the [script](https://github.com/aws-containers/amazon-ecs-exec-checker) I will see that all controls are green or yellow. That means that we can connect to our task using AWS exec! 


##  Connecting to Fargate ECS task 
To do it, you need to know `cluster-name`, `task-id` and `runtime-id` of the task first. 
You can get those by running 
``` bash
aws ecs describe-tasks \
    --cluster cluster-id \                                                                                  
    --task task-id 
```
in our case
``` bash
aws ecs describe-tasks \
    --cluster BrightCheapEcsFargateStack-ClusterEB0386A7-PQVGdDDGFxS4 \                                                                                  
    --task 70d6a6e5606b4cf5ad413821326bd765   
```
Runtime ID in above case is `70d6a6e5606b4cf5ad413821326bd765-2750272591` so we can run the following:
```bash
aws ssm start-session \
    --target ecs:BrightCheapEcsFargateStack-ClusterEB0386A7-PQVGdDDGFxS4_70d6a6e5606b4cf5ad413821326bd765_70d6a6e5606b4cf5ad413821326bd765-2750272591 \
    --document-name AWS-StartPortForwardingSession \
    --parameters '{"portNumber":["9229"], "localPortNumber":["9229"]}'
``` 
Where target is a string that consists of `ecs:<cluster-name>_<task-id>_<container-runtime_id>`. Port `9229` is the default port for Node.js inspector.
If all is ok, as a response you will get
```bash
Starting session with SessionId: rafal.hofman@brightinventions.pl-06148b47c2f094b19
Port 9229 opened for sessionId rafal.hofman@brightinventions.pl-06148b47c2f094b19.
Waiting for connections...

Connection accepted for the session [rafal.hofman@brightinventions.pl-06148b47c2f094b19]
``` 

##  Running local inspector with remote ECS target
After the successful connection you can go to inspector in Chrome browser (chrome://inspect). You can see there the remote target connection you just enabled, forwarded to your local port of 9229
<div className="image">![Remote target port forwarding](../../static/images/fargate-debug-2.png "")</div>

Upon connection, you can see logs from the Node.js process and can go ahead with debugging.

<div className="image">![Logs of service](../../static/images/fargate-debug-3.png "")</div>
<div className="image">![Heap dump of the process](../../static/images/fargate-debug-4.png "")</div>

As you can see, the process is pretty straightforward. You do not have to expose your `--inspect` process port publicly, but can safely use AWS SSM port forwarding. 
What is important, the task can have a private IP, and you can still access it! 
If needed, you can also use AWS exec to bin/bash to the container. Remember to remove enableExecuteCommand when you are done. Happy coding & debugging!

## 7 Ways to Improve Website Messaging for Healthcare Tech Companies

*Published: 2024-03-04 | Author: blazej-d | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-improve-your-website-messaging/index.md*

**In this article you'll find the best advice on boosting your HealthTech Startups marketing stats.**

And you implement it instantly without a budget. 

<div className="image">![website](../../static/images/website_messaging.png "website")</div>

In the last 3 months I was exploring the [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/) landscape. Searching for ones worth mentioning and trying to gather statistics and market research for improving our messaging and hoping to find clients of course.

My first point of contact was always the website, as it normally is these days. One element that stood out is that out of more than 300 pages I analyzed only 15-20% offered messaging that made me understand what the company actually does. Most of the times it took me a minimum of 5 minutes to fill in the excel column titled “solution summary”. 

Of course I eventually was able to make conclusions about the solution but I had to, your clients or investors won’t. Like it or not we have the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to internet surfing and if you make clients search for the information most of them will just exit the website. The best you can do with your website is be precise and answer 2 most basic questions:

* **What is the solution you are offering**
* **What outcome it provides**

Healthcare technology is a peculiar segment of business. Here more than anywhere else the focus should be on your users/patients, therefore empathy is truly a skill. So lead with empathy at every step of your journey.

Here is what you can do to improve your website messaging and help users understand how you can help them.

## **\#1 Understand your segment and audience**

Define who you are messaging to and what pains and gains you want to address. Work on your buyer personas and ideal customer profile.

## **\#2 Stand out by being concise and easy to understand - Michael Seibel, Y-combinator**

There really is no value in using fancy and flamboyant wording in your messaging. If you are a startup, clear messaging is much more valuable than fancy copywriting. Fancy copywriting often leads to messaging debt.

## **\#3 Keep a simple website structure**

Choose a messaging strategy: brand + product + use case.

Lead with a HERO section, then define the problem, next show the solution and present the added value.

## **\#4 Understand your segment and position in it**

Leading with the outcome is often treated as an industry standard adapted from B2C. But that is not always the case, especially in B2B and brands just trying to break through. 

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>Selling with benefits not the features is a good strategy when everybody knows what the product is.</div><footer>Anthony Pierry</footer></blockquote>

THIS IS THE PRODUCT     vs     THIS IS THE OUTCOME

This is the outcome                     This is the product

## **\#5 Never let the competition choose the battle site** – **Gen G. Patton**

There are 4 areas you can fight in:

1. Price (example in tip #7)
2. Quality/better product
3. Distribution channels
4. Identifying a underserved segment

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get ready to face scalibility challenges' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'A special guide for HIT companies. Get your free copy and gain access to tech trends, reports, expert insights, and more!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## **\#6 Be humble**

Position yourself for the next 6 months, not years. When you are a startup pitching your vision is a bad strategy.

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/jUCqq0MwxDzJnyNnNalNRI5IBuaRvJOw8U5eHBDE4RAlwup2BITfxnugmPD3Mn2P1L3KtJiJEz3AiVGyze9t8TqkbkEboUYvgGrc219hmz83RNg0rSa9sp57YCFJlNqt3UtERPlQcwfWsJjkOUekgAc)

## **\#7 Your messaging affects your positioning** – **Artem Chetverikov** 

Gong vs Fireflies 

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/ZFLswODngIk4JNXDwheTJVygjFiICNFGSbtTJ7X9IHaV0QHaHsjhGxHPs4Sdr-3U8_eu1pIb3YyoJn3bLWSM8wIwkBA6WHCpHIoPD4SqVDwTkIaQ_bh0JKNsqMlkemcGwi53wypyBYlu3UJ7L39BGc0)![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/7EyUpoHpCYwEWQjOGP5RjdGRATb3t2fMIPjb0Gjs9w63Vtr8O9HrwxBXxMeMtJMCTaO3-Sm6UvSQt5cq2LA_FFabW10bSMhUk4uEi_PqnV778SaUCOPQrD669RZP9MVlffq4Va3iHepp3xn_s_46xH0)

Gong = video recording + transcription + calendar integration + repository + AI prompts = $1,400 per seat.

Fireflies = video recording + transcription + calendar integration + repository + AI prompts = $228 per seat

Position for the audience with the biggest budget and the most effective use case. A Hospital or enterprise buyer, focused on statistics and operating in high volume budgets will be in the position to spend $1,500 per user, whereas a small clinic trying to improve efficiency will not.

Remember we are always happy to help you out, even via free consultation. The only think you have to do is [say "hello" first](/start-project/).

## HIPAA Compliant LLM for Healthcare: Is It Secure?

*Published: 2024-02-29 | Author: rafal h | Tags: HealthTech, AI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/llms-healthcare-security/index.md*

**LLMs are at the forefront of the AI revolution in healthcare. However, there are ongoing concerns about the security of medical data used to generate content with LLMs. Discover what steps you need to take to ensure your HIPAA compliant LLM solution is secure and compliant with GDPR, especially if you use OpenAI solutions.**

<div className="image">![LLMs healthcare](../../static/images/llms_healthcare.png "LLMs healthcare")</div>

## What are LLMs?

Large Language Models (LLMs) are a type of artificial intelligence model designed to understand, generate, and interact with human language at a large scale.

LLMs are trained on vast amounts of text data, enabling them to learn language patterns, grammar, facts about the world, and even writing styles. This training allows them to perform a wide range of language-based tasks including text generation, translation, summarization, question answering, and conversation.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='read more about using AI in healthcare' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Are you developing healthcare software solutions? Prepare yourself for numerous tech challenges and turn obstacles into stepping stones for growth. '} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover guide' />

## **How can LLMs be used in healthcare (a use case)**

[Viz.ai](https://www.viz.ai/) uses LLM to support medics in faster diagnostics. Their AI-powered care coordination solution leverages advanced, FDA-cleared algorithms to analyze medical imaging data, including CT scans, EKGs, echocardiograms and more, providing real-time insights and automated assessments to accelerate diagnosis and treatment.

<div className="image">![viz.ai](../../static/images/viz_ai.png "viz.ai")</div>

Source: Viz.ai webpage

## Securing medical data when using LLMs (**HIPAA** compliant LLM)

Is using one of the most popular LLM providers – OpenAI – secure? You should always consult with a legal professional since every situation is unique. However, generally speaking, OpenAI API is eligible for GDPR and offers **HIPAA compliant LLM**.

What does this actually mean? You can use OpenAI to build LLMs that learn from medical data. However, you need to be aware of the following aspects:

### How to prevent training from your data

If you decide to use Chat GPT offering, you have to use business products offered by OpenAI such as ChatGPT Team or ChatGPT Enterprise because only these plans ensure no training from your data. So obviously a free version of ChatGPT is not an option. To be HIPPA eligible you need to use API to ask for zero data retention.

### 30 days data retention

OpenAI may retain API inputs and outputs for up to 30 days. After 30 days, API inputs and outputs are removed from their systems, unless the OpenAI is legally required to retain them.

### Zero data retentions (ZDR) are eligible for some endpoints

You can chat with support to enable ZDR in eligible endpoints. [The list of endpoints is accessible on the OpenAI page](https://platform.openai.com/docs/models/how-we-use-your-data). 

### ZDR doesn't refer to images

It’s important to know that only text data are GDPR and HIPAA-compliant. Avoid importing scans, or images because OpenAI can store them.

### Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

[OpenAI enables the signing of Business Associate Agreements (BAA)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8660679-how-can-i-get-a-business-associate-agreement-baa-with-openai) in support of customers’ compliance with HIPAA. Keep in mind that only endpoints that are eligible for zero retention are covered by the BAA.

If you want to delve into the OpenAI privacy policy, read the article that will navigate you through the [OpenAI ChatGPT Team & Enterprise privacy terms](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/openai-chatgpt-team-enterprise-privacy-policies-explained/).

## 5 Things that Distinguish Healthcare Software Development

*Published: 2021-08-09 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-things-that-distinguish-health-app-development-from-others/index.md*

**What makes [healthcare software development ](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/)special? Find out 5 unique factors of HealthTech.**

## What are healthcare applications?

Health apps are a part of digital healthcare transformation that affects the future of global healthcare. **Health apps support patients and medical staff in managing their daily duties and tasks.** They often help patients manage their chronic disease and support nurses and doctors in their daily work. They are important tools which can really facilitate people’s life and health habits, but we have to keep in mind that compared to medical apps they don’t **have an ability to directly influence the patient’s medical state**.

![healthcare app](../../static/images/healthcare_in_post5.png)

## Healthcare and medical apps – understanding the difference

Although this article focuses on healthcare apps, we should establish the main differences between healthcare and medical apps. Healthcare and medical software both support the well-being of the patient and the efficiency of medical workers. However, **medical apps have a bigger influence on patients’ state or life** in some cases. A great example may be medical apps that manage the heart pacemakers. Any problem with the software may directly affect the user’s / patient’s life. That is why, **medical apps have to be certified and approved by the national authorities**.

## 5 factors that make healthcare app development unique

Although – compared to medical software development – the pressure is lower, healthcare startups still have to take these factors into consideration:

### 1. App security

‘Hold on! Security is important in every case’, some would say. And that’s true. However, the consequences of the data breach of a health app that stores medical information are often bigger. In terms of health apps, **security bugs can result in leaking fragile information regarding the state of patients, their health history or taken medicine**. The stake is simply higher than when it comes to, for example, developing apps that help you find the right restaurant.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='dive into security in HealthTech' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Explore security challenges in HealthTech and ways to effectively face them. Scale your product successfully with our free guide!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

### 2. Offline mode

If you think that offline mode is so not 2023, then you may be surprised. Health apps need to be treated a little bit differently. For example, when you plan to build an app for hospital doctors which shows the medical history of their patients, you need to make sure that they have access to the data at every time in every possible place around the whole hospital. **Doctors cannot risk the patients’ safety using an app that wouldn’t operate without the internet**. The data has to be synchronised as soon as users have an internet connection. 

**Apps with offline mode are often referred as [offline-first applications](/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/) – click to read another blog pst about them.**

### 3. Greater risk behind every update

Every change in production is a challenge and comes with a risk of how it affects users. In terms of healthcare app development, it is again more complex. **Any software update cannot negatively affect the app functionality because we are talking about the software that provides a medical history of patience**. Doctors need to have access to this data all the time.

### 4. More pressure on code review

Again, code reviewing is important for every app development. However, when it comes to health solutions the stake is often higher. That is why **the members of any [healthcare software development team](/blog/how-to-develop-a-healthcare-app-startup-owner-perspective) are usually experienced developers** who know how to test their code and understand the importance of code reviewing. Also, the development team **should include QA engineers**.

### 5. It’s not about beauty here

Health apps should be simple for users. Although simplicity is definitely a trend in product design during health app development it should be taken even into the next level. **When you create an app that is supposed to check a patient's blood pressure, your product should be simple**. In contrast to entertaining or lifestyle apps you don’t need many fancy designs that attract users. An app for blood pressure checking has to eliminate every distraction even if it means that it is not very attractive for the human eye.

**Read our another blog post if want to explore the topic of [UX design for healthcare and medical apps](/blog/ux-design-healthcare-medical-apps-case-study/).**

## How to Build Own Knowledge Base GPT Assistant in 5 Minutes

*Published: 2024-02-22 | Author: rafal h | Tags: AI, OpenAI, GPT, Assistant, RAG*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-build-gpt-assistant/index.md*

<div className="image">![GPT assistant](../../static/images/GPT_assistant.png "")</div>

**UPDATE 🔈 Recently OpenAI has introduced v2 Beta updates. Go to a brand new tutorial to [learn how to use OpenAI Assistant v2 API to build your own knowledge base chatbot in 5 min](/blog/how-to-build-gpt-assistant-v2/).**

**Imagine you want to create a bot with an internal company wiki or bot that will help your customers navigate via your page. Traditionally, you could do it with the [RAG approach](/blog/build-llm-application-with-rag-langchain/). Since last 4 months, you have the option to create a custom GPT if you are a GPT Plus subscriber. The problem with this approach is that the bot is only accessible to other Plus subscribers. Additionally, you are bound to Chat GPT data privacy which I was writing in [this](/blog/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/) post. I will show you how to use API and create your own GPT Assistant. Firstly, you will not be limited to Plus GPT subscribers. Secondly, you will most likely have better out-of-the-box data control via API than the ChatGPT interface.**

## What is a GPT assistant?

[GPT assistant API](https://platform.openai.com/docs/assistants/overview) was introduced at [OpenAI Dev Day](https://devday.openai.com/). Instead of just using chat completions OpenAI allows you to enable code interpreter (which is executing Python snippets) and uploading of external knowledge which is used by it.

## Is GPT assistant for me?

As you will see, GPT assistants allow low-barrier entry to chat with own knowledge. Normally, due to the context window limit, you would need to create embeddings and use vector database and RAG in general.

Your use case might not require zero data retention which is super specific (I was writing about it in the [post](/blog/openai-api-privacy-policies-explained/)), so GPT assistant might be good enough for you, especially to test some PoC and save time.

Note: Assitant API is still in [BETA](https://community.openai.com/t/assistants-api-token-usage-and-pricing-breakdown-clarification/508410/10), meaning that it might cost some money and be less performant than classic RAG approach. I suggest using API with `GPT-3.5-turbo-0125` model which is the newest and cheapest from OpenAI offerings. What we get in exchange is a very quick time to market value. So bear this in mind for your use case!

So, is Assistant API for you? As always, it depends and you are the one to decide.

## How to create an assistant?

You have to create an OpenAI account and load it up with resources. When you do head over to the [assistant tab](https://platform.openai.com/assistants). Click on the `Create` button. Following side menu will open:

<div className="image">![Own assistant menu](../../static/images/how-to-build-gpt-assistant/own_knowledge_chatbot.png "")</div>

First, enter the name of your assistant. Then you proceed with instructions from the assistant. Next, you select the model. Select it depending on your use case and the ratio of how “intelligent” the bot should be to the number of queries it will do (knowledge size, potential users count etc). I suggest going with `GPT-3.5-turbo-0125` at the beginning.
In the retrieval part of the menu add files that will be your external knowledge fed into the chatbot. 

For the limits of the file, on the OpenAI page, we can read that:

<blockquote><h2></h2><div>You can attach a maximum of 20 files per Assistant, and they can be at most 512 MB each. The size of all the files uploaded by your organization should not exceed 100 GB. You can request an increase in this storage limit using our help center. In addition to the 512 MB file size limit, each file can only contain 2,000,000 tokens. Assistant or Message creation will fail if any attached files exceed the token limit.</div><footer>[OpenAI docs](https://platform.openai.com/docs/assistants/how-it-works/creating-assistants)</footer></blockquote>

[On supported files page](https://platform.openai.com/docs/assistants/tools/supported-files) you can find what file extensions are supported. For the pricing of the assistant you can read more [on pricing page](https://openai.com/pricing).
If you are interested what is happening under the hood, you can read up [community discussion](https://community.openai.com/t/where-does-gpt-assistant-store-the-embeddings/506167) how and where embedings are stored.

## GPT assistant use case

As a use case, I will be using our Bright Inventions web page data as knowledge for our chatbot. For the sake of example, I will create `Bright assistant` - helpful bot for employees to gather more information about the company so they will not need to scan the whole webpage. Use cases may be unlimited though - you can, for example, create chatbot for potential customers to streamline their process of verifying the company’s experience and portfolio. You can also create customer support chatbot for your page and feed in company faq knowledge.

The site is hosted on [GitHub](https://github.com/bright/new-www) and knowledge that is interesting for me is located within markdown [files](https://github.com/bright/new-www/tree/gatsby/content/our-areas).

By using file manipulations, I created one file that consists of `our-areas.txt` and `our_projects.txt`. `our-areas.txt` is collection of all markdown posts from [our-areas folder](https://github.com/bright/new-www/tree/gatsby/content/our-areas). `our_projects.txt` is txt file containing all merged markdown files from [projects folder](https://github.com/bright/new-www/tree/gatsby/content/projects). I loaded them up to my assistant. I added instructions for the bot how it should behave, what knowledge was fed to him, and how the files are structured inside. Next up, I selected `gpt-3.5-turbo-0125` model to have good balance between accuracy and costs.

<div className="image">![Own assistant menu](../../static/images/how-to-build-gpt-assistant/bright_assistant.png "")</div>

When I created my assistant I started to test it via the playground by asking knowledge available from data: 

<div className="image">![Own assistant menu](../../static/images/how-to-build-gpt-assistant/chatbot.png "")</div>

As you can see, if your knowledge database is big, building chatbots for your company to access them is a good idea. It might limit the time needed for the newcomers or potential customers to get some information.
What is important to note is that one should place only public, non-critical information in the bot. There are ways you can force unprotected assistants to return files/information it has access to. When you will create assistant you can easily connect it to your Slack (via for example no-code [Zapier](https://zapier.com/)) or create external chat bot project (like [Open-Custom-GPT](https://github.com/SamurAIGPT/Open-Custom-GPT)). 
OpenAI is making easiear and easier every day to disrupt the market with AI. Publishing Assistant API is a good example of that. Hope you will find it useful for your use case!

## From Dreaming of Firefighting to Extinguishing Software Fires. Meet Sławek

*Published: 2024-02-20 | Author: slawek | Tags: bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dreaming-of-firefighting-extinguishing-software-fires/index.md*

**For all his adolescence, Sławek wanted to be a firefighter. One unfortunate exam day changed his life and steered him towards software development. Now, Sławek is an experienced fullstack developer who embraces numerous changes faced daily at work.**

<div className="image">![Fullstack developer carer story](../../static/images/brightstoryslawek_grid.png "Fullstack developer carer story")</div>

Source: private archive and [Lotto Triathlon Energy Gniewino 2023 by Gdyński Fotograf](https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=100094453642738&set=a.126192140539240)

## Why did you want to become a programmer?

It might come as a surprise to you, but it was never a dream of mine. Throughout my life, **I aspired to be a firefighter**. 

Every choice I made regarding my education, and even how I spent my free time (such as joining a youth firefighter team), was aimed at gaining admission to the State Fire Service College. After completing the Polish Matura exam (the final high school exam), I took the entrance exams for the firefighting college. A deep understanding of mathematics, physics, and chemistry is required, along with physical fitness. Unfortunately, **I didn’t get in because my physical fitness level wasn't up to par on the day of the exam**.

Receiving these unexpected results left me with just a few days to decide on my next steps. If I wanted to pursue higher education elsewhere, I needed to apply quickly. **Since I had always enjoyed physics and math, I decided to study Computer Science**.

## Are you still considering a career as a firefighter?

I thought about it a lot during my first years as a programmer. Now, **this thought crosses my mind from time to time**, but I don't believe it will ever happen.

## Tell us about your recruitment journey to Bright Inventions. I heard it was quite a bumpy road. 😉

I remember visiting the Bright Inventions website and instantly feeling a strong desire to be part of the team. I had a tough technical interview with Piotr, followed by another with Ula focusing on my soft skills and English proficiency. **The feedback, after the interview, was that my technical and soft skills were satisfactory, but I needed to work on my English**. 

**Accepting this challenge, I immediately signed up for English classes** and attended them three times a week. To my surprise, **Ula didn't forget about me; she reached out after 6 months** to ask if I wanted to redo the interview. This time, my interaction was solely with Ula, concentrating on my English skills. **Finally, I managed to join Bright Inventions**.

## Are you excited about the AI revolution?

For sure, Generative AI is something I am currently responsible for in the project I'm working on. We develop a mental health care application, so we need to approach this methodically. **The last thing we want is to launch an AI solution that ends up discouraging people who are seeking mental health support**, for example, by being ununderstandable by a bot.

<div className="image">![Quote about AI](../../static/images/slawek_quote_ai.png "Quote about AI")</div>

That's why we are currently focusing on creating various proofs of concept to determine which areas of the application can truly be enhanced with AI. Before we even begin testing them with users, **we need to identify clear signs of the value that AI can deliver**. The AI-based solutions must be primarily trustworthy for our mental health app users.

## How important is communication with business at your work?

While working with a startup communication with the business side is crucial. Before I joined Bright Inventions, I had a completely different mindset. Here, I learned that **not every problem should be solved with code. The best code is the one that was never written because you don't have to maintain it**.

I think every developer is an advisor as well. Business representatives often seek support from developers; they want to know if they should invest in a particular feature. They don't just expect you to code; **they need your guidance on how to allocate funds in product development, so it won't be wasted**.

<div className="image">![Quote about code](../../static/images/slawek_quote_code.png "Quote about code")</div>

When you work with startups, you also need to understand that things change fast. **You shouldn't build a strong attachment to your code**. The feature you are working on might be canceled before you even launch it in production.

## You seem cool about it. Have you always embraced the change?

Not at all. It was a long road for me, working with a startup was a crucial step. At Bright Inventions, **we focus more on finding solutions to solve our client’s problems rather than on the code or technology we use**. Obviously, you need experience to build that mindset and to be able to advise your clients.

## What is your main advice on how to understand clients’ expectations?

My main advice is to **ask clients as many questions as needed**. It often turns out that through the course of questioning, the client gains a better understanding of what they truly need. Together, we can then decide if an idea is worth developing at this very early stage, potentially saving a significant amount of budget.

## Having been on the same project at Bright Inventions for over three years, what keeps your interest alive and how do you stay motivated?

Working with startups brings a lot of challenges; **I never do the same thing every day**. Now, I get to work with AI, which offers the opportunity to delve into new areas of software development. In a startup, every day can present a different 'fire to put out.' And I don’t mean a massive bug on production. **It often involves a spontaneous idea that we need to implement right now**. So, there's no space to be bored here.

## You’ve been a part of Bright Inventions for over 3 years. What do you like about the company?

I appreciate that, despite working remotely, the atmosphere at the company is very friendly and welcoming. The managers are highly accessible, allowing me to ask questions at any time, and any problems are resolved promptly. **I also value transparency and the absence of workplace politics**. We focus solely on our tasks and project challenges, with no toxic mind games.

What’s great about Bright Inventions is **the emphasis on knowledge sharing**. Even when we are very busy, we always find time to meet and discuss technological novelties and share new learnings.

## What do you do after hours?

I've always led an active lifestyle. **Upon joining Bright Inventions, I participated in company workouts led by the pro triathlete Bartosz Banach**. He, along with Michał, inspired me to take up triathlon, and I quickly became fascinated with it.

So, usually, I start my day with a workout, then work, and after work, I take a nap and have another workout. That's about 10 to 12 workouts a week.

<div className="image">![Duathlon](../../static/images/duatlon.png "Duathlon")</div>

Source: [Duathlon Szczecinek / Szczecinecka 5-tka](https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=191659660288084&set=pcb.191661143621269)

## Biking, swimming, or running – which one is closest to your heart?

It used to be biking, but now I’d say biking and swimming are at the same level. 🙂 

Multiple injuries have recently stopped me from reaching my goals. **Hopefully, this year I will spread my wings**.

## The Intriguing Tale of Decorte Future Industries | HealthTech story

*Published: 2024-02-14 | Author: blazej-d | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-intriguing-tale-of-decorte-future-industries/index.md*

**From the sewing rooms of fashion to the corridors of healthcare. A story of data-driven pivots.**

<div className="image">![pivot](../../static/images/pivot_healthcare_blog.png "pivot")</div>

As a project analyst, I've borne witness to numerous pivots firsthand. In my early days in software, I often grappled with self-doubt when confronted with the necessity to pivot alongside startup visionaries. Questions plagued my mind: "Am I faltering in my analyses? Am I doing a good job?" However, as my experience grew, with each pivot encountered, I gleaned a profound insight: the ability to discern the need for a pivot is not a mark of failure, but rather a testament to adaptability and foresight.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='explore pivots in healthcare with our free guide' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Why pivots might be crucial part of scaling? Read our HealthTech guide!'} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

Consider the story of YouTube, a digital behemoth. The brainchild of Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim started as a dating website, and just like many startups, things didn't go very well for them. The small user base that the service had initially became even smaller, and they started uploading videos that didn't match the actual context of the website. This is when Karim and other founders realized that the online service wasn't utilized to its maximum potential; 

“YouTube could be something more rather than just a dating website.”

The idea behind the pivot from a dating site to a generic video provider has a rather amusing origin as well. Back in 2004, the video streaming options available to the users weren't any good. Karim couldn't find the infamous video of Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction from the Super Bowl anywhere online or any footage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. That is the origin story of YouTube, as we know it today.

I could go on listing countless similar stories like that: Android, Flickr, Shopify, Slack... But none of them would even come close to the dynamics behind the story of Deorte Future Industries led by an exciting Young entrepreneur - Dr Roeland P.-J. E. Decorte

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/fY2FgX3kk2OTi9NZE3hb2jHDuFsAv8MUZ_v2UPLkLw6mQePzQCzMMVgk4et3EsLCFl-GiucfbrsMnj8_I1INbs_t9ohIG9AJA-yFFl1f_X7zBmxhMPp29LtrZHVwhLub2NCKbjr4Kil7dWy3xTtIxpg)

## EVERY GOOD STORY NEEDS A HERO

The story of Dr Decorte is an uncanny mix of data and intuition. His persona is one of those founders who from the very beginning seem to be tailor-made for the challenge. An ambassador who makes you feel welcome in his presence with a talent for public speaking and visible charisma. Features that make him a perfect Evangelist for any idea and a perfect salesman. These features play a crucial role in what’s to come. 

Our rendezvous with Dr. Decorte traces back to a BBC documentary from 2019. A Cambridge student at the time, he endeavored to tackle the scourge of textile waste through groundbreaking technological innovations facilitating adaptive clothing. In a scene immortalized within the documentary, Dr. Decorte pitches his vision to the discerning members of Cambridge Business Angels, with Peter Cowley's sage query echoing resoundingly

“Is there something investible there? 

Certainly, the people are, but is there a business in this investment?”

Fast forward to 2024, and Decorte Future Industries has created an AI-powered engine extracting heath data from microphones called Sonus.

What happened in those 4 years?

## A BORING STORY IS NOT WORTH THE IN

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbyLOsy6cKs' />

In the initial stages, operating as a lone entrepreneur, Dr. Decorte managed to capture the attention and eventually secured the endorsement of the UK Ministry of Defence and the UK government. Despite the initial alignment with Defense interests, Decorte strategically shifted its focus exclusively toward health tech. With remarkable swiftness, the company started assembling a world-class team.

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/Kto4J4ngyJo91dVdaPbvD8PcIiJkl2-1OMzq338xM_gin2adYYaFKaRX88G0u1TNKJ8bds6THKYF0k-_Kd2YqrBdYRPuhGtlLHQRNwQH6Kb7oAlzeV5iYPhF5Sh2WR9WQ2HOfZT2PN_9J7r54N-BAoA)

The pandemic played a crucial role in the story. The year 2020 marked a breakthrough moment as the UK government invested in Decorte Future Industries. Showing that the potential can reach far beyond the first assumptions and facilitating two successive testing phases through its innovation grants arm. Simultaneously, Decorte earned a coveted spot among the 10 selected companies for Techstars' London accelerator program. Substantial investments followed from Techstars, along with contributions from many notable figures.

Over two years following the completion of his doctoral studies, the visionary founder embarked on an intensive journey. During this period, he not only conceptualized but also meticulously engineered the company's pioneering technology. Groundbreaking innovation that comprised AI controls and a biometric sensor architecture seamlessly integrated into an exoskeleton, paving the way for novel, cost-effective, and efficient methods of acquiring biometric data from the human body.

Another significant milestone was achieved in December 2021 when the company recorded an impressive 99.6% accuracy rate in extracting heart data using its AI from audio, compared to the gold standard method of simultaneous ECG data collection.

In 2022, Decorte successfully concluded its $1.6 million pre-seed funding round, securing support from venture funds based in London and Silicon Valley. The subsequent years, 2022 and 2023, witnessed strategic collaborations with Apollo Hospitals, the AM Foundation, and various clinics in the US and EU. These partnerships facilitated comprehensive clinical studies, resulting in the acquisition of a world-class dataset and the expansion of Decorte's technological capabilities.

2023, Decorte Future Industries uses groundbreaking artificial intelligence to extract health data from sound. Its Sonus Engine analyses a diverse range of health metrics in real time through sound captured directly from any standard microphone. This allows early identification of inconsistencies in the body’s systems that can prevent — or assist clinicians in pre-diagnosing — conditions such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, depression, and anxiety.

## THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

As artificial intelligence continues to transform all industries, Decorte stands out amid the hype through the simplicity of its proposition — using AI to extract and interpret health data from sound. It provides the only way to connect your body to the digital world, opening up vast possibilities for innovation, disease prevention, and a greater understanding of human health via an “Internet-of-Bodies” concept.

> “...what direction do we set for the next 100 years of tech? The reality is that the direction that we set at this early stage, especially for AI will have long-term implications. It’s easy to forget just how fast can things move after a major technological shift like the one we’re currently experiencing…so it’s difficult to underestimate just how transformative AI can be. 
>
> It’s naive to assume we’ll get it right the first time. We need to find the courage to consistently reconfigure and constantly question ourselves and the direction in which we’re building”
>
> R.D. on the AI revolution - “ Adapt or die: Data-driven pivots as key to product-market fit | COGX 2023 “

![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/anWPukBfCg71-gT5W2fMub-oYvud0FhAohhyCtvw-uCip9rn97B4E7Kz_mEROfc-9IgAd5BYEAzyFPMEfJBMKNlDxphVkhzefZYIvqMwzTpho1wv1KjgC2En92Mhj79ZCb2GIgruhubM3gcmZ0Ah4Bc)

The founder himself became a well-established figure on the UK’s AI scene becoming one of its strongest promotors. Delivering Keynote speeches at countless events being awarded a Young Business Of The Year 2023 award and often quoted as an expert in the UK Press including the Financial Times. And that’s just the beginning I’m sure.

The momentum continues into 2024, with investments from the biggest names on the market. Decorte stands in strategic partnerships with tech giants Microsoft and Google, with an ambitious goal to see its technology integrated into 3 billion smartphones by 2027. 

The compelling narrative of Dr. Roeland P.-J. E. Decorte and Decorte Future Industries unfolds as a captivating saga of innovation, strategic pivots, and influential partnerships propelling the company towards a future of unparalleled success.

Let this story act as motivation to push forward and think outside the box. Each tech founder needs to have his mind open to the changes in his economic environment and try to connect the dots that seem far-fetched or counterintuitive at first. Pivoting is not a sign of failure, but rather a sign of resilience. 

**Lastly, let this comment from Dr. Decorte serve as a roadsign for all those founders facing a need to pivot:**

*I think the need to pivot is indeed most often identified through analyzing the data, and, as with any strategic decision, (informed) intuition does play a very significant part in figuring out the direction in which to then pivot.*

*Beyond making sure that founders remain open to and aware of, all the ways in which the data fed back by R&D and consumers can be interpreted, I believe founders should also remain open to and cognisant of all the ways in which their core technology can be deployed. Especially the ways that are radically different from how they, or others in their field, are currently deploying that technology. Because there’s always the possibility that a better way of deploying your technology is out there, and becoming religious about the form rather than the function of your startup is setting it up for failure.*   

*Put in other words, while trying to solve a problem or pursuing a mission, execution is everything, which is exactly why you shouldn’t get stuck in one way of executing and then put on blinders, but rather should constantly re-evaluate and assess whether your way of execution is still the most effective one.*

## Azure OpenAI Service Privacy Policies Explained

*Published: 2024-02-09 | Author: rafal h | Tags: AI, Azure, LLM, OpenAI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/azure-openai-service-privacy-policies-explained/index.md*

<div className="image">![OpenAI privacy](../../static/images/open_ai_privacy_4.png "")</div>

In my last blog post I have been exploring [OpenAI API service](/blog/openai-api-privacy-policies-explained/). As have
said, OpenAI API guarantees the best data control and privacy within all their offerings. When considering Open API for
integration, Azure OpenAI is often mentioned. Some say that we have better privacy controls with Azure OpenAI when
building Enterprise solutions. Is that true? Let’s dive into Azure Open AI Privacy Policy.

## Azure Service Trust Portal

Similar to the [OpenAI Trust Portal](https://trust.openai.com/), we have an information page of Microsoft about [privacy and compliance with different regulations](https://servicetrust.microsoft.com/). If you plan to research privacy and data protection within Azure, I think it is a good place to start.

## OpenAI Azure Service

Even though OpenAI is a separate company, Azure still offers OpenAI Azure service. What is important to note is that although the services are controlled by Microsoft, they do not interact with each other:

<blockquote>
    <div>The Azure OpenAI Service is fully controlled by Microsoft; Microsoft hosts the OpenAI models in Microsoft’s Azure environment and the Service does NOT interact with any services operated by OpenAI (e.g. ChatGPT, or the OpenAI API).</div>
    <footer>[Microsoft OpenAI service privacy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/cognitive-services/openai/data-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

OpenAI and Azure have established a [partnership](https://openai.com/blog/openai-and-microsoft-extend-partnership), so probably that is the reason why Azure OpenAI Service offering exists. Azure ensures that our data aren’t accessible to Open AI or 3rd parties

<blockquote>
    <div>
Your prompts (inputs) and completions (outputs), your embeddings, and your training data:
are NOT available to other customers.
are NOT available to OpenAI.
are NOT used to improve OpenAI models.
are NOT used to improve any Microsoft or 3rd party products or services.
are NOT used for automatically improving Azure OpenAI models for your use in your resource (The models are stateless, unless you explicitly fine-tune models with your training data).
Your fine-tuned Azure OpenAI models are available exclusively for your use.
</div>
    <footer>[Microsoft OpenAI service privacy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/cognitive-services/openai/data-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

**Shortly, it means that our data is not used to train models.**

Similar to OpenAI, we have 30 days data retention policy:

<blockquote>
    <div>To detect and mitigate abuse, Azure OpenAI stores all prompts and generated content securely for up to thirty (30) days. (No prompts or completions are stored if the customer is approved for and elects to configure abuse monitoring off, as described below.)</div>
    <footer>[Microsoft OpenAI service privacy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/cognitive-services/openai/data-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

Also, when it comes to who can access this data we receive info that only authorized Microsoft employees have access:

<blockquote>
    <div>The human reviewers are authorized Microsoft employees who access the data via point wise queries using request IDs, Secure Access Workstations (SAWs), and Just-In-Time (JIT) request approval granted by team managers. For Azure OpenAI Service deployed in the European Economic Area, the authorized Microsoft employees are located in the European Economic Area.</div>
    <footer>[Microsoft OpenAI service privacy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/cognitive-services/openai/data-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

In Azure, similar to OpenAI, you also are eligible for zero data retention:

<blockquote>
    <div>To address these concerns, Microsoft allows customers who meet additional Limited Access eligibility criteria and attest to specific use cases to apply to modify the Azure OpenAI content management features by completing this form.</div>
    <footer>[Microsoft OpenAI service privacy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/cognitive-services/openai/data-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

What is different compared to OpenAI Api service is that with Azure you can control underlying network resources and
privacy:

<blockquote>
    <div>Being on Azure, it comes along with many additional functionalities like Network Isolation, Azure AD based Authentication/Authorization, Billing, etc.</div>
    <footer>[Microsoft Q&A](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1396203/is-there-a-difference-between-openai-chatgpt-enter)</footer>
</blockquote>

The data you send is not shared with OpenAI, you stay within the borders of one vendor, so if you are already using
Azure services these are valid points to consider to stay with them

<blockquote>
    <div>… are NOT available to OpenAI.</div>
    <footer>[Microsoft OpenAI service privacy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/cognitive-services/openai/data-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

Under this link we can see [compliance of Azure Services as of December 2023.](https://servicetrust.microsoft.com/DocumentPage/7adf2d9e-d7b5-4e71-bad8-713e6a183cf3)

<div className="image">![Azure OpenAI service compliance](../../static/images/azure-openai-service-privacy-policies-explained/azure-openai-service-compliance.png "")</div>

As you can see, there is more compliance offerings mentioned compared tor OpenAI - we can see ISO or PCI compliance
which also might be important for your use case. Also, Azure OpenAI has FedRAMP High and DoD IL2 compliance which make
it eligible for use with US government apps.

<div className="image">![Azure OpenAI service Fedramp](../../static/images/azure-openai-service-privacy-policies-explained/azure-openai-service-fedramp.png "")</div>

For GDPR compliance, when doing the research, it was not fully clear if the solution was compliant or not.

Generally, Microsoft employees say that regarding GDPR compliance:

<blockquote>
    <div>Microsoft takes data privacy and security very seriously, and has implemented measures to ensure that personally identifiable information (PII) is not shared with OpenAI during the usage of Azure OpenAI Service.  And I completely understand your concern regarding GDPR and privacy compliance. Microsoft takes data privacy seriously, and Azure services, including OpenAI, are designed to adhere to GDPR regulations. </div>
    <footer>[Microsoft Q&A](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1339718/is-the-azure-open-api-in-compliance-with-gdpr-regu)</footer>
</blockquote>

In another thread though, we can read that Azure OpenAI cannot be used with any personal data (GDPR):

<blockquote>
    <div>I got confirmation from Microsoft Support that Azure OpenAI is a Preview and therefore the exclusion clause in the Microsoft Products and Services Data Protection Addendum applies. This means that Azure OpenAI cannot be used with any personal data (GDPR) as the necessary compliance requirements for DPAs are not fulfilled. </div>
    <footer>[Microsoft Q&A](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1361952/does-azure-openai-fall-under-the-dpa)</footer>
</blockquote>

In the FAQs page of one of the 3rd party services using Azure OpenAI, we can read about GDPR as well:

<blockquote>
    <div>
Is the usage of AI by 360L GDPR-compliant?
Yes. We are using Microsoft Azure Open AI technology, Microsoft Azure is already one of our sub-processors and it's GDPR compliant. The use of its Open AI services does not alter the contract and Data Protection Agreement (DPA) provisions we have in place.
 </div>
    <footer>[360 learning Q&A](https://support.360learning.com/hc/en-us/articles/17562881836564-AI-data-usage-protection-and-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

So somehow it might suggest that it is possible to get GDPR compliant with Azure OpenAI service. I could not find any
specific, clear information about GDPR compliance on Azure resources though.
What is interesting, the Microsoft Copilot offering (which is also another Azure service using AI & LLM under the hood)
states that it is GDPR compliant:

<blockquote>
    <div>
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is compliant with our existing privacy, security, and compliance commitments to Microsoft 365 commercial customers, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and European Union (EU) Data Boundary.
Your control over your data is reinforced by Microsoft's commitment to comply with broadly applicable privacy laws, such as the GDPR, and privacy standards, such as ISO/IEC 27018, the world’s first international code of practice for cloud privacy.
 </div>
    <footer>[Microsoft 365 copilot](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-365-copilot-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

Last but not least, in contrary to OpenAI on Azure you can select which region LLM is hosted in. It is important for
some countries' compliance. A list of all regions that are eligible
is [here](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/openai/concepts/models#model-summary-table-and-region-availability).

This was the last blog post of my series. We have gone through most of the OpenAI offerings and analyzed Azure OpenAI
service offerings. That
includes [ChatGPT Free, Plus](/blog/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/), [Team, Enterprise](/blog/openai-chatgpt-team-enterprise-privacy-policies-explained/), [Open AI API](/blog/openai-api-privacy-policies-explained/)
and Azure OpenAI service offerings. What is important is to always adjust the technology used for your use case.
Hopefully, my blog posts helped you a little in understanding how data is handled with the most popular LLM offering in
the market. This is important as more and more apps, employers, companies, etc. will use AI to disrupt the world.

**Read more blog posts about OpenAI Privacy Policy:**

[OpenAI ChatGPT Free & Plus Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/)

[OpenAI ChatGPT Team & Enterprise Privacy Terms Explained](/blog/openai-chatgpt-team-enterprise-privacy-policies-explained/)

[OpenAI API Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/openai-api-privacy-policies-explained/)

## Tuckman Model - Teambuilding Stages You Should Know 

*Published: 2024-02-07 | Author: ula | Tags: team building, leadership*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/tuckman-model-teambuilding-stages/index.md*

What is your definition of a team? Have your ever thought what are the components and traits of a good harmonious well-performing team? 

According to Oxford dictionary a team is:

1. a group of people who play a particular game or sport against another group of people,
2. a group of people who work together at a particular job, 
3. two or more animals that are used together to pull a cart, etc.

The second definition is fair enough if we think about teams in general, but for sure is not enough when we think about good teams. **In *Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't,* Simon Sinek emphasizes that creating a strong team culture involves trust, purpose, values, empathy, and collaboration.** By focusing on these elements we can build high-performing teams that are capable of achieving great things. Yet the way to get there is not always the easy one. Why? 

## **the main challenges in creating teams**

Building and maintaining a successful team can be rewarding, but it also comes with its share of challenges. **Among the most common problems the organisation may encounter we can find:** 

* Unclear communication that leads to misunderstandings and a lack of cohesion among team members.
* Ineffective leadership, whether it's a lack of direction, micromanagement, or an inability to inspire and motivate, can negatively impact team morale and performance.
* Differences in personalities, work styles, and opinions leading to conflicts that hinder collaboration and decision-making.
* Lack of trust.
* Lack of diversity in terms of skills, backgrounds, or perspectives which results in generation of creative solutions and inclusive environments.
* Resistance of team members to changes i.e. new processes, technologies, or ways of working. 
* Insufficient development that hinders the ability to perform effectively and contribute to the team's success. 
* Failing to recognise and reward team members' efforts and achievements leading to decreased motivation and job satisfaction.
* For virtual or remote teams, challenges may include communication barriers, feelings of isolation, and difficulty in coordinating tasks.

## **Tuckman’s model** 

Some of the above mentioned challenges appear in a particular stage of the team creation that are well-described in “Tuckman’s Model”  - the model presents **the stages of group development proposed by psychologist [Bruce Tuckman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Tuckman) in 1965.**  

Tuckman’s model describes the natural progression of a group or team as they work together towards achieving their goals. The stages are characterized by different dynamics and challenges that teams experience. **The original model consisted of four stages, but later, a fifth stage was added: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.** Learn about the five phases by watching how the Fellowship of the Ring gets together. 😉

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysWWGf8VsOg&t=1s' />

It is important to note that teams may not always progress through these stages in a linear manner. I have witnessed that nonlinearity at least a few times during my career. But what is more interesting, **teams might move back and forth between stages, particularly if new members join the team or if the team faces significant changes or challenges.** Additionally, not all teams will experience every stage, especially if they are short-term or project-based.

## **Stages of team development by Tuckman**

### 1. FORMING **🤩**

In this initial stage, team members come together, get to know each other, and begin to understand the goals and tasks ahead. **There is often a sense of excitement and anticipation, but also uncertainty about roles and responsibilities. Team members may be polite and avoid conflict as they establish a sense of belonging.**

### 2. STORMING ⚡️⚡️⚡️

As team members start working closely together, differences in opinions, personalities, and work styles may lead to conflicts and power struggles. **It is common for tensions to arise during this stage as individuals vie for influence and position within the team.** Effective communication and conflict resolution skills are essential to move past this stage.

### 3. NORMING 🪴

During this stage, team members begin to resolve conflicts, establish norms, and develop a sense of cohesion. **Trust and collaboration grow, leading to better communication and a shared understanding of goals and roles.** Team members might begin to support each other and cooperate to achieve common objectives. 

<div className="image">![tuckman model](../../static/images/tuckman-management30.jpeg "")</div>

###### Source: https://management30.com/blog/tuckman-model

### 4. PERFORMING 🎉

At this stage, the team has developed a strong sense of unity and synergy. **Team members are comfortable with their roles and responsibilities and work together effectively to achieve the team's goals.** Creativity, problem-solving, and high levels of productivity characterise this stage.

### 5. ADJOURNING (or MOURNING)⚰️

In this final stage, the team's project or goal has been accomplished, and the team is disbanded or transitions to a new phase. **Team members may experience a mix of emotions, including satisfaction with their achievements and sadness about the team coming to an end.** Reflection and acknowledgment of the team's accomplishments are important during this stage.

## **Leader’s support during team development stages** 

As you can see each stage comes with its own challenges and dynamics.[ Leaders play a crucial role in supporting teams through each of these stages.](https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/get-your-team-performing-beautifully-with-this-powerful-group-development-model/) First of all, if you are a leader/manager you have to **create a safe and welcoming atmosphere for team members to introduce themselves, get to know each other, and understand the team's purpose** - especially if you your team is under a forming stage. Try also to **clearly define the roles and responsibilities** to ensure everyone is on the same page and understands what is expected from them.

During storming stage your leader's or manager’s role may resemble much more of **a conflict solver position**. **You will have to address conflicts that arise within the team, encourage open communication and guide discussions toward resolution.** Remember that if conflicts escalate, you will have to intervene as a mediator to ensure issues are handled constructively and the team relationships are not negatively impacted. **You will also become a facilitator that helps the team establish ground rules and norms for communication, decision-making, and conflict resolution.** Acknowledge the progress the team has made in resolving conflicts and working together effectively. Don’t forget about highlighting the strengths and contributions of each team member.

<div className="image">![solving conflicts ](../../static/images/screenshot-2024-02-07-at-14.56.01.png "")</div>

###### Source: https://oazaacademy.com/best-strategies-for-conflict-resolution-that-actually-work

**During performing stage your leader’s and managers’s role may turn into mentoring**. Usually, your main goal would be providing autonomy to your team to make decisions and take ownership of their tasks. You should also support their growth opportunities and encourage the team to reflect on its processes and outcomes, and facilitate discussions on how to improve further. Sometimes leaders and managers have to learn how to delegate more responsibilities on this stage among team member to highlight their strengths and potentials. 

If your team reaches the adjourning (or mourning) phase, **remember to recognise the achievements of each and every member as the project or task comes to an end.** If it is possible, you can even organise a celebration or reflection session to acknowledge the team's successes as well as discuss future opportunities for collaboration. **Last but not least, always provide feedback that can help team members in their future endeavours.**

## **summary - make Tuckman's model one of your friends**

**Throughout all the Tuckman’s team development stages, effective communication, active listening, empathy, and adaptability are key traits to exhibit**. As I said before it is worth keeping in mind that **these stages are not always linear or separate, and you might cycle through them multiple times**. 

If you are a leader or manager, your goal should be to guide and support the team's development through all the stages, so that it will positively impact the team's performance and cohesion. If you are not a a leader or manager, your goal should be supporting your colleagues and yourself on each of these stages. **Being aware of the different stages the team goes through may help you understand each team members better and reduce frustration and anxiety that may arise.** You also might be able to work through differences and find resolutions, leading to stronger relationships and better problem-solving.

We have to remember that **we as people, and teams in general, are not static and we usually change as new challenges arise**. You can use Tuckman model as a tool for ongoing assessment and improvement for yourself and people around you. For me it provides a really good roadmap for team development and fostering collaboration. Don't treat it as an oracle, but rather a point for reflection and guideline for further optimisation.

## OpenAI API Privacy Policies Explained

*Published: 2024-02-02 | Author: rafal h | Tags: AI, OpenAI API, LLM, HIPPA, ZDR, GDPR*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/openai-api-privacy-policies-explained/index.md*

<div className="image">![OpenAI privacy](../../static/images/open_ai_privacy_3.png "")</div>

**In my last blog post we have been [tackling privacy when using ChatGPT Team and Enterprise plan](/blog/openai-chatgpt-team-enterprise-privacy-policies-explained/). Today, we will discuss privacy for a product that will be used with a majority of OpenAI integrations. It will be OpenAI API. Compared to already described products it has the best privacy controls which I will dive into.**

## OpenAI Trust Portal

I have already mentioned it my other blog posts, but it’s worth to remind it. [This](https://trust.openai.com/) is your go-to place for privacy and security when it comes to OpenAI. Upon this page, we can see that OpenAI is CCPA, GDPR, SOC2 and SOC3 compliant. You can download or request security papers from OpenAI. You can see the status of their infrastructure, all privacy policies, PII usage, data processing agreement or terms of service. It’s highly recommended to start your privacy journey here!

## OpenAI Enterprise Privacy

Throughout your privacy journey, you should also visit [Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy). It gives you more insight into how your data is used if you choose OpenAI API.

## OpenAI API

To interact with OpenAI API you have to create an account (different than for ChatGPT, those are two different services) and attach payment. After it, you can start to interact with Playground or create API keys and integrate it with your app.
The first thing to mention is that OpenAI API doesn’t train from business data:

<blockquote>
    <div>We do not train on your business data (data from ChatGPT Team, ChatGPT Enterprise, or our API Platform)</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

The playground is simply a wrapper for API and it will not be used for training:

<blockquote>
    <div>API and Playground requests will not be used to train our models.</div>
    <footer>[Community portal](https://community.openai.com/t/what-terms-of-service-privacy-policy-apply-to-playground/136036/10)</footer>
</blockquote>

So what about data storage?

<blockquote>
    <div>OpenAI may securely retain API inputs and outputs for up to 30 days to provide the services and to identify abuse. After 30 days, API inputs and outputs are removed from our systems, unless we are legally required to retain them. You can also request zero data retention (ZDR) for eligible endpoints if you have a qualifying use-case. For details on data handling, visit our Platform Docs page.</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

Same as other OpenAI services we do have 30 days mentioned. What is new here, is ZDR - zero data retention. We are eligible for it when using API routes:
`/v1/chat/completions` (except image inputs), `/v1/embeddings` and `/v1/completions`. For `/v1/audio/transcriptions`, `/v1/audio/translations`, `/v1/moderations` ZDR is enabled by default. You can chat with support to enable ZDR in eligible endpoints.

What does it mean for us, software developers? When we are building our apps via eg. Langchain and using OpenAI embeddings (check the [blog post](/blog/build-llm-application-with-rag-langchain/) of my colleague Paweł Polak on how to do it), we can steer out from data retention by OpenAI if using certain endpoints. This is important if we want to make our solution HIPPA-compliant. You can read more about it in the next paragraphs.

<div className="image">![ZDR endpoints policy](../../static/images/openai-api-privacy-policies-explained/endpoints_openai.png "")</div>

*ZDR endpoints example. For full list please refer to [OpenAI docs](https://platform.openai.com/docs/models/how-we-use-your-data)*

Who can store the data if it is retained?

<blockquote>
    <div>Our access to API business data stored on our systems is limited to (1) authorized employees that require access for engineering support, investigating potential platform abuse, and legal compliance and (2) specialized third-party contractors who are bound by confidentiality and security obligations, solely to review for abuse and misuse.</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

What is worth mentioning, if you upload files via `/v1/files` or using `/v1/assistants`, the default retention of data is:

<blockquote>
    <div>Until deleted by customer</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI docs](https://platform.openai.com/docs/models/how-we-use-your-data)</footer>
</blockquote>

Regarding compliance, for GDPR OpenAI can execute:

<blockquote>
    <div> Data Processing Addendum (DPA) with customers for their use of ChatGPT Team, ChatGPT Enterprise, and the API in support of their compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws </div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

In case of SOC2:

<blockquote>
    <div> Our API Platform has been audited and certified for SOC 2 Type 2 compliance </div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

Apart from those, by having ZDR possibility we are eligible for HIPAA compliance:

<blockquote>
    <div> We are able to sign Business Associate Agreements (BAA) in support of customers’ compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Please reach out to our sales team if you require a BAA.  </div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

There might be exceptions here for your use case though:

<blockquote>
    <div> only endpoints that are eligible for zero retention are covered by the BAA. You can see a list of those endpoints.  </div>
    <footer>[OpenAI Help portal](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8660679-how-can-i-get-a-business-associate-agreement-baa-with-openai)</footer>
</blockquote>

With OpenAI API, you have also the possibility to finetune the model. What about data privacy in that case?

<blockquote>
    <div> Yes, you can adapt certain models to specific tasks by fine-tuning them with your own prompt-completion pairs. Your fine-tuned models are for your use alone and never served to or shared with other customers or used to train other models. Data submitted to fine-tune a model is retained until the customer deletes the files.  </div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>
What it means is that upon fine-tuning the model, your fine-tuned model is only for your use case and data remains there unless you delete it.

Last but not least, what is also important to mention is that 

<blockquote>
    <div> OpenAI encrypts all data at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+), and uses strict access controls to limit who can access data. </div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

As we can see, OpenAI API guarantees the best data control and privacy within all its offerings.

**Read more blog posts about OpenAI Privacy Policy:**

[OpenAI ChatGPT Free & Plus Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/)

[OpenAI ChatGPT Team & Enterprise Privacy Terms Explained](/blog/openai-chatgpt-team-enterprise-privacy-policies-explained/)

[Azure OpenAI Service Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/azure-openai-service-privacy-policies-explained/)

## Build LLM application with RAG (LangChain v0.1.0)

*Published: 2024-01-30 | Author: pawel-p | Tags: AI, RAG, langchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/build-llm-application-with-rag-langchain/index.md*

**Let’s build a simple LLM application in Python using the LangChain library as well as RAG and embedding techniques. Follow our step-by-step tutorial published after the new release of LangChain 0.1.0 in January 2024.**

<div className="image">![Cover photo](../../static/images/python_langchain.png "")</div>

In previous blog posts, we have described [how the embeddings](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/understanding-embeddings-a-short-guide-with-an-example/) work and [what the RAG technique is](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/retrieval-augmented-generation-in-machine-learning/). If you need to catch up with some basics, read the articles. Are you ready? Now it’s time to turn theory into practice!

## **How to build an LLM application from scratch**

**We will build a simple LLM application in Python using the LangChain library. LangChain is a popular library that makes building such applications very easy.**

**Our RAG application will expand an LLM's knowledge using private data.** In this case, it will be a **PDF file containing some text.** 

It's also possible to achieve a similar goal by using OpenAI agents and expanding their knowledge base with specific files by uploading them to OpenAI's servers for a designated agent. However, this method entails storing our confidential data with OpenAI's servers, which may not always align with our privacy preferences. My colleague – Rafał Hofman – wrote [a great article about data privacy in OpenAI services.](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/)

As the file for expanding knowledge, we will use an article about 'ReAct', titled '[ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.03629)'. This article discusses a research project that integrates decision-making and reasoning skills in large language models.

### 1. Prerequisites

At the very beginning, we must install all required modules, that our application will use. Let’s write this command in the terminal in the project directory

```shell
pip install langchain-community==0.0.11 pypdf==3.17.4 langchain==0.1.0 python-dotenv==1.0.0 langchain-openai==0.0.2.post1 faiss-cpu==1.7.4 tiktoken==0.5.2 langchainhub==0.1.14
```

Let's create a ‘data’ directory and place the PDF file in it.  We must also create a main.py file in the project directory, where we will store the whole code of our application.

In the main.py file, we will create main() function which will store the logic. The file will look like this:

```python
def main():
  print("Hello World!")

if __name__ == "__main__": 
  main()
```

Great! Let's move on to the implementation of logic now. 

### 2. Load the PDF file into the application

We will use a document loader provided by LangChain called PyPDFLoader. 

```python
from langchain_community.document_loaders import PyPDFLoader

pdf_path = "./data/2210.03629.pdf"

def main():
  loader = PyPDFLoader(file_path=pdf_path)
  documents = loader.load()
  print(documents) 

if __name__ == "__main__": 
  main()
```

First, we should **create an instance of the PyPDFLoader object** where we pass the path to our file. The next step is to simply **call the load function on this object** and save the loaded file in the documents variable. It will be an array consisting of Document objects, where each of these objects is a representation of one page of our file.

The print() function should output an array similar to this:

```
[Document(page_content='[...]', metadata={'source': pdf_path, page: 1}), Document(page_content='[...]', metadata={'source': pdf_path, page: 2}), ...]
```

### 3. Splitting document into smaller chunks

We don’t want to send a whole document as a context with our query to the LLM. Why? It was more detailedly described in the [article about the RAG](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/retrieval-augmented-generation-in-machine-learning/). **To split the document, we will use a class provided by LangChain called CharacterTextSplitter**, which we can import from the langchain library:

```python
from langchain.text_splitter import CharacterTextSplitter
```

Then we can create an instance of it and **call the split_documents() function**, passing our loaded documents as a parameter.

```python
def main():
  loader = PyPDFLoader(file_path=pdf_path) 
  documents = loader.load() 
  text_splitter = CharacterTextSplitter( chunk_size=1000, chunk_overlap=50, separator="\n" ) 
  docs = text_splitter.split_documents(documents)
```

Let's briefly describe what's going on here.

First, we are creating a CharacterTextSplitter object, which takes several parameters:

* **chunk_size** - defines the maximum size of a single chunk measured in tokens.
* **chunk_overlap** - defines the size of overlap between chunks. This helps to preserve the meaning of the split text by ensuring that chunks are not split in a way that would distort their meaning.
* **separator** - defines the separator that will be used to delineate our chunks.

In the docs variable, we will get an array of Document objects - the same as from the load() function of the PyPDFLoader class. But this time, this array will contain more elements because we have split them.

### 4. Prepare environment variables and API Key to store it there

​​The next step will be **converting these chunks into numeric vectors and storing them in a vector database.** This process is called [embeddings](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/understanding-embeddings-a-short-guide-with-an-example/), and there is also a blog post about it, so we won't go into detail about it now.

For the embeddings process, **we need an external embeddings model.** We will use OpenAI embeddings for this purpose. To do that, we have to generate an OpenAI API key. \
But before that, we have to create a .env file where we will store this key.

Now, we need to create an account on the [platform.openai.com/docs/overview](https://platform.openai.com/docs/overview) page.  Afterward, we should generate an API key on the [platform.openai.com/api-keys](https://platform.openai.com/api-keys) page by creating a new secret key.

Copy the secret key and paste it into the .env file like this:

```
OPENAI_API_KEY=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
```

This key will be deleted before the publication of this post, so you will be not able to use it.

Okay, let’s load environment variables into our project by importing the load_dotenv function:

```python
from dotenv import load_dotenv
```

And call it at the very beginning of the main function:

```python
def main(): 
	load_dotenv()
	loader = PyPDFLoader(file_path=pdf_path) 
	documents = loader.load() 
	text_splitter = CharacterTextSplitter( chunk_size=1000, chunk_overlap=50, separator="\n" ) 
	docs = text_splitter.split_documents(documents)
```

### 5. Implementing the embedding process

At first, we have to import OpenAIEmbeddings class:

```python
from langchain_openai import OpenAIEmbeddings
```

Then we should create an instance of this class. Let’s assign it to the 'embeddings' variable like this:

```python
embeddings = OpenAIEmbeddings()
```

### 6. Setting up local vector database - FAISS

Awesome! We have loaded and prepared our file, and we have also created an object instance for the embeddings model. **We are now ready to transform our chunks into numeric vectors and save them in a vector database.** We will keep all our data locally using the FAISS vector database. Facebook AI Similarity Search (Faiss) is a tool designed by Facebook AI for effective similarity search and clustering of dense vectors. 

First, we need to import the FAISS instance:

```python
from langchain_community.vectorstores.faiss import FAISS
```

And implement the process of converting and saving embeddings:

```python
def main(): 
	load_dotenv() 
	loader = PyPDFLoader(file_path=pdf_path) 
	documents = loader.load() 
	text_splitter = CharacterTextSplitter( chunk_size=1000, chunk_overlap=50, separator="\n" ) 
	docs = text_splitter.split_documents(documents) 
	embeddings = OpenAIEmbeddings() 
	vectorstore = FAISS.from_documents(docs, embeddings)    
	vectorstore.save_local("vector_db")
```

We have added two lines to our code. The first line takes our split chunks (docs) and the embeddings model to convert the chunks from text to numeric vectors. After that, we are saving the converted data locally in the 'vector_db' directory.

### 7. Creating a prompt

For preparing a prompt we will use a 'langchain' hub. We will pull a prompt called 'langchain-ai/retrieval-qa-chat' from there. This prompt is specially designed for our case, allowing us to ask the model about things from the provided context. Under the hood, the prompt looks like this:

```
Answer any use questions based solely on the context below:
<context> 
{context}
</context>
```

You can check it here - https://smith.langchain.com/ in the hub section, but you will have to create an account for that.

Let’s import a hub from the 'langchain' library:

```python
from langchain import hub
```

Then, simply use the 'pull()' function to retrieve this prompt from the hub and store it in a variable:

```python
retrieval_qa_chat_prompt = hub.pull("langchain-ai/retrieval-qa-chat")
```

### 8. Setting up a large language model

Great. The next thing **we'll need is a large language model** - in our case, it will be one of the OpenAI models. Again, we need an OpenAI key but we have already set up it along with the embeddings, so we don't need to do it again.

Let's go ahead and import the model:

```python
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI, OpenAIEmbeddings
```

And assign it to a variable in our main function:

```python
llm = ChatOpenAI()
```

### 9. Retrieve context data from the database

Okay, we have finished preparing the vector database, embeddings, and LLM (large language model). Now, **we need to connect everything using chains.** We will need two types of chains provided by 'langchain' for that.  

The first one is the 'create_stuff_documents_chain,' which we need to import from the 'langchain' library:

```python
from langchain.chains.combine_documents import create_stuff_documents_chain
```

Next, pass our large language model (LLM) and prompt to it.

```python
combine_docs_chain = create_stuff_documents_chain(llm, retrieval_qa_chat_prompt)
```

This function returns an LCEL Runnable object, which requires a context parameter. Running it will look like this:

```python
combine_docs_chain.invoke({"context": docs, "input": "What is REACT in machine learning meaning?"})
```

### 10. Retrieve only the relevant data as a context

Generally, it will work, but in this situation, we will pass all chunks - the entire document - as the context. In our case, where the file has 33 pages, **this context is too large,** and we will probably encounter an error like this:

```python
openai.BadRequestError: Error code: 400 - {'error': {'message': "This model's maximum context length is 4097 tokens. However, your messages resulted in 33846 tokens. Please reduce the length of the messages.", 'type': 'invalid_request_error', 'param': 'messages', 'code': 'context_length_exceeded'}}
```

**To fix that, we need to pass only the information related to our query as the context.** We will achieve this by combining this chain with another one, which will retrieve only the chunks important to us from the database and automatically add them as context to the prompt.  

Let's import that chain from the 'langchain' library:

```python
from langchain.chains import create_retrieval_chain 
```

First, we need to prepare our database as a retriever, which will enable semantic search for the chunks that are relevant to our query.

```python
retriever = FAISS.load_local("vector_db", embeddings).as_retriever()
```

So, we load our directory where we store the chunks converted to vectors and pass it to an embeddings function. In the end, we return it as a retriever.  

Now, we can combine our chains:

```python
retrieval_chain = create_retrieval_chain(retriever, combine_docs_chain)
```

Under the hood, it will retrieve relevant chunks from the database and add them to our prompt as context. All we have to do now is **invoke this chain with our query as an input parameter:**

```python
response = retrieval_chain.invoke({"input": "What is REACT in machine learning meaning?"})
```

As a response, we will receive an object with three variables:

* **input** - our query;
* **context** - an array of documents (chunks) that we have passed as context to the prompt;
* **answer** - the answer to our query generated by the large language model (LLM).

Let’s print out the "answer" property:

```python
print(response["answer"])
```

Our printed answer looks as follows:

> In the context provided, ReAct refers to an approach or methodology used in machine learning. It stands for "Reasoning + Acting" and aims to integrate decision-making and reasoning capabilities into a large language model. ReAct allows the model to interact with external sources, such as knowledge bases or environments, to gather additional information and improve its task-solving abilities. It has been applied to various language and decision-making tasks, demonstrating effectiveness over state-of-the-art baselines and improved interpretability and trustworthiness.

Looks pretty nice :) 

### 10. You’ve made it! Our LLM app is ready

We have extended the knowledge base of the LLM model with data from a .pdf file. The model is now able to answer our questions based on the context that we have provided in the prompt.

Final code:

```python
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from langchain import hub
from langchain.chains import create_retrieval_chain
from langchain.chains.combine_documents import create_stuff_documents_chain
from langchain_community.document_loaders import PyPDFLoader
from langchain.text_splitter import CharacterTextSplitter
from langchain_openai import OpenAIEmbeddings, ChatOpenAI
from langchain_community.vectorstores.faiss import FAISS

pdf_path = "./data/2210.03629.pdf"


def main():
    load_dotenv()

    loader = PyPDFLoader(file_path=pdf_path)
    documents = loader.load()

    text_splitter = CharacterTextSplitter(
        chunk_size=1000, chunk_overlap=50, separator="\n"
    )
    docs = text_splitter.split_documents(documents)

    embeddings = OpenAIEmbeddings()

    vectorstore = FAISS.from_documents(docs, embeddings)
    vectorstore.save_local("vector_db")

    retrieval_qa_chat_prompt = hub.pull("langchain-ai/retrieval-qa-chat")

    llm = ChatOpenAI()

    combine_docs_chain = create_stuff_documents_chain(llm, retrieval_qa_chat_prompt)

    retriever = FAISS.load_local("vector_db", embeddings).as_retriever()
    retrieval_chain = create_retrieval_chain(retriever, combine_docs_chain)

    response = retrieval_chain.invoke(
        {"input": "What is REACT in machine learning meaning?"}
    )

    print(response["answer"])


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
```

## Diving into Alternative Marketplaces Coming with iOS 17.4

*Published: 2024-01-29 | Author: michal-was | Tags: apple, iOS, ios, app store*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/diving-into-alternative-marketplaces-coming-with-ios-17-4/index.md*

**Apple is forced by the EU to introduce the ability to install apps by alternative marketplaces other than AppStore. What does it mean for iOS developers and app owners? In this article, I will cover the main tech and business requirements to set up your marketplace.** 

<div className="image">![iOS alternative marketplace app](../../static/images/ios_alternative_marketplace_blog_cover.png "")</div>

Source: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appdistribution/creating-an-alternative-app-marketplace

The directive, called the **Digital Markets Act (DMA)**, which **will be effective in March 2024**, implies on Apple some major changes, the most important ones are:

* make it possible to install apps by the alternative marketplace;
* allow external payment providers;
* allow users to use alternative browser engines.

**This article covers the first of the implications, which is alternative marketplaces.**

<div className="image">![Sideloading for iOS](../../static/images/altstore.png "")</div>

Source: https://twitter.com/altstoreio/status/1750598337533747445

## What is an alternative marketplace?

Currently, iOS allows users to install apps from AppStore, Testflight or by Enterprise and MDM programs. **Alternative marketplace will be a completely new method of installing apps in iOS, but Apple doesn’t just open iOS for installing any app from any source known i.e. as sideloading.**

**To install an app from an alternative marketplace, users will have to first install an alternative marketplace app developed by an entitled marketplace developer**. After installing the marketplace app, they will be able to browse and install apps from it like they currently do through the AppStore app.

To become a marketplace developer, **multiple requirements need to be met**. A developer needs to accept new business terms, request the “Alternative App Marketplace Entitlement (EU)” and meet multiple criteria required by Apple. One of these requirements is providing “a stand-by letter of credit from an A-rated (or equivalent by S&P, Fitch, or Moody’s) financial Institution of €1,000,000 to establish adequate financial means in order to guarantee support for your developers and users”.

See: https://developer.apple.com/support/alternative-app-marketplace-in-the-eu/ & https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/#ios-app-eu 

Considering that you will meet all the requirements and Apple will agree to grant you such entitlement, the rest of the work is building a marketplace app and providing apps for it.

<div className="image">![Installing alternative marketplace app](../../static/images/apple_doc_mockups_ios.png "")</div>

Source: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appdistribution/creating-an-alternative-app-marketplace#Distribute-the-marketplace-app-on-the-web

## Submitting apps for alternative marketplaces

To distribute an app through an alternative marketplace, **app developers will still need to submit them through AppStore connect**. It will be required to pass a new review called “Notarization for iOS apps” that will check “platform integrity and protecting users”.

Notarization for iOS apps will focus on Functionality, Safety, Security, Privacy and Accuracy. Apple doesn’t mention that apps must comply with the “Human Interface Guideline”. Apps distributed on the AppStore will still need to meet Apple’s high standards and pass the normal review.

See: https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/#notarization-for-ios-apps

After passing notarization, **developers will need to obtain a security token from the marketplace owner to make their app available in a specific marketplace**.

It will be possible to make one binary available in the AppStore and multiple alternative marketplaces. App developers will be able to branch their code based on the installation (AppStore / TestFlight / Enterprise / Alternative Marketplace). 

It’s important to note that **iPad-only apps can’t be distributed through an alternative marketplace**, they need to support the iPhone too.

## Building an alternative marketplace

To set up a marketplace you will need to provide:

* marketplace webpage for letting people download the marketplace app;
* webserver for storing app data received from AppStore Connect and facilitating a secure app installation by communicating with iOS;
* dedicated iOS marketplace app.

<div className="image">![Apple doc](../../static/images/apple_doc.png "")</div>

source: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appdistribution/creating-an-alternative-app-marketplace

**Marketplace iOS apps will be a new type of app that will be distributed by external webpage**. A special URL scheme will be used to perform an iOS app installation and that’s the only way of distributing and installing it.

Although the app will be distributed over an external webpage, **it will be required to do a setup with AppStore connect to obtain an “alternative distribution package”**. The process repeats with any update to the marketplace app, but can be automated with webhooks.

## MarketplaceKit

iOS 17.4 introduces a new framework called [MarketplaceKit](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/marketplacekit/) that will allow creation a marketplace app. It provides tools for requesting an installation of apps distributed over your marketplace, performing updates, restoring and retrieving licenses.

At a glance, the new API consists of:

* `AppLibrary` - the essential class to manage the installation and discovery of marketplace-hosted apps. See: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/marketplacekit/applibrary 
* `App License Delivery SDK` - for vending licenses from your webserver and handle DRM
* ​​`MarketplaceExtension` - “An extension that facilitates authentication, installation, and launching a marketplace with deep links.” See: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/marketplacekit/marketplaceextension 
* `Marketplacekit/ActionButton` - a special button for performing the actual installation to ensure that the process of installation was initiated by the marketplace app.

Apps using `MarketplaceKit` will need a special entitlement com.apple.developer.marketplace.app-installation without adding it, **iOS ignores calls to some parts of new API.**

The new API looks pretty straightforward, the developer will need to build an UI and call specific methods to list available apps, and request installs or updates. The rest will be handled by the iOS operating system along with webserver provided by the marketplace owner. 

More details about SDK can be found in the `MarketplaceKit` documentation https://developer.apple.com/documentation/marketplacekit

<div className="image">![Alternative Markeplace App installing an app](../../static/images/apple_doc_mockup_app_install.png "")</div>

Source: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appdistribution/creating-an-alternative-app-marketplace

`MarketplaceKit` is also useful for app developers that want to distribute their apps over multiple marketplaces. It also allows app developers to branch their apps based on the marketplace it was installed by.

> Use MarketplaceKit app distributor’s static current property to determine the installation source. 

See: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appdistribution/distributing-your-app-on-an-alternative-marketplace#Branch-your-code-base-depending-on-the-installation

## What does alternative marketplace mean for iOS developers

Theoretically, benefits are lower or zero commission from alternative marketplace owners and a simplified review process. We don’t know how strict Apple will be regarding the review and the commission will depend on the marketplace developer. The downside will be an obviously lower user base covering only users in the EU that will install alternative marketplace app.

It's also worth mentioning that developers who choose to agree to the new business terms will have to pay a Core Technology - "€0.50 for each first annual install over one million in the past 12 months" see more here https://developer.apple.com/support/core-technology-fee/

Although the technical side doesn’t look complicated, **the business requirements for creating an alternative marketplace are high**. Becoming an entitled marketplace developer requires meeting some strict requirements. **Due to the requirement of providing a stand-by letter for €1,000,000, this process will be reserved only for big players that can afford this.**

Some companies have already announced that they will create their own marketplace apps. 
Despite some heavy criticism from Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, he mentioned that they will push to launch their Epic Games Store.

<center>

<TwitterEmbed url='https://twitter.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1750589570880516402' />

</center>

AltStore also announced that they’ve already started working on their marketplace:

<center>

<TwitterEmbed url='https://twitter.com/altstoreio/status/1750598337533747445' />

</center>

I hope that some companies will be able to meet all the requirements and we will see alternative marketplaces soon. It’s a great new opportunity for apps breaking AppStore rules or the ones not willing to pay regular commissions to Apple.

## Join Tomasz Stachlewski and Grzegorz Kalwig at AWS Tricity Meetup

*Published: 2024-01-29 | Author: izabela | Tags: update, AWS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/join-aws-tricity-meetup-february/index.md*

**Sign up for the free AWS Meetup powered by Bright Inventions and get in-depth insights into cybersecurity and serverless with our top-notch speakers. Let's meet in Gdańsk at Starter Incubator on February 15. The first speech starts at 6 PM, so don’t miss it!**

## AWS Tricity Meeting agenda

17.45-18.00 Registration & Intro 👋

**18.00-18.45 Presentation by Grzegorz Kalwig 💪, DevOps Engineer, Unity Group**

**Topic: Controlling the Customer Footprint in the Service of Security**

In today's world, cybersecurity is constantly evolving to meet increasing challenges and new threats. During the presentation, we will trace the history of an attack targeted at an e-commerce system. Grzegorz will share his experiences in resolving this situation.

18:45 - 18:55 Q&A Session 🗣️

18:55 - 19:00 Refreshment Break ☕️

**19:00-20:00 Presentation by Tomasz Stachlewski 😎, Head of Technology for EMEA CEE, AWS**

**Topic: Serverless Data Analysis - What's Buzzing in the Grass**

In this session, we will explore various methods of serverless data analysis in the cloud. We will discuss distributed analytics within the Big Data ecosystem and the EMR Serverless service, orchestration with AWS Step Functions, and conclude with serverless analysis using the Athena service. If time permits, we will leverage the capabilities of GenerativeAI to help us discover collected data. All this without slides!

20:00 - 20:10 Q&A Session 🗣️

20:10 Pizza & Networking 🍕👫

## Meet the speakers

### Grzegorz Kalwig, DevOps Engineer, Unity Group

<div className="image">![Grzegorz Kalwig AWS Tricity Meeting](../../static/images/grzegorz_kalwig_aws.png "Grzegorz Kalwig AWS Tricity Meeting")</div>

DevOps Engineer with 13 years of experience in the IT industry. He has extensive experience in the field of telecommunications networks and DevOps. Currently specializes in public cloud AWS and Kubernetes, implementing projects for the e-commerce industry. Certified AWS DevOps Professional and Security Specialty.

Throughout his career, he has implemented solutions for public services such as the Ministry of National Defense, police, ambulance, and fire brigade, which included creating infrastructure and software. As CTO, he also worked on creating a secure data center for the Navy's training base.

A board game collector and a fan of fantasy and RPGs (real-life, not computer games), often taking the role of the Game Master. He can also be found at conventions as part of the Game Masters initiative.

### Tomasz Stachlewski, Head of Technology for EMEA CEE, AWS

<div className="image">![Tomasz Stachlewski AWS Tricity Meeting](../../static/images/tomasz_stachlewski_aws.png "Tomasz Stachlewski AWS Tricity Meeting")</div>

Tomasz Stachlewski is a Head of Technology for EMEA CEE region at Amazon Web Services, where he helps companies of all sizes (from startups to enterprises) in their Cloud journey. He provides guidelines for creating cloud solutions that deliver the most value to his customers, and help take their IT to the next level. He is a big believer in innovative technology such as serverless architecture, which allows organizations to accelerate their digital transformation. Before joining Amazon, he worked at LOT Polish Airlines, where he architected their first cloud projects, IBM and at Accenture.

## OpenAI ChatGPT Team & Enterprise Privacy Terms Explained

*Published: 2024-01-25 | Author: rafal h | Tags: AI, ChatGPT, OpenAI, LLM, privacy, security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/openai-chatgpt-team-enterprise-privacy-policies-explained/index.md*

**Recently OpenAI introduced new business plans: ChatGPT Team and Enterprise. Which plan gives you more control over data retention? Which one might comply with the security regulations in your company? Let’s delve into the OpenAI privacy terms to find answers!**

<div className="image">![OpenAI privacy](../../static/images/open_ai_privacy_2.png "")</div>

In my last [blog post](/blog/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/) we have been tackling privacy terms when using basic, individual ChatGPT Free & Plus subscriptions. The control of the privacy there is quite limited but taking several precautions, as mentioned in the blog post, might be enough for you. **If you need a bigger control over your data retention, I will present ChatGPT solutions for business: ChatGPT Team and Enterprise.**

## OpenAI Trust Portal

I have already mentioned it in the last post but it’s worth reminding. **[OpenAI Trust portal](https://trust.openai.com/) is your go-to place for privacy and security when it comes to OpenAI.** Upon this page, we can see that OpenAI is CCPA, GDPR, SOC2, and SOC3 compliant (OpenAI, not ChatGPT - note the difference). Here you can download or request security papers from OpenAI. You can see the status of their infrastructure, all privacy policies, PII usage, data processing agreement, or terms of service. Highly recommended to start your privacy journey here!

## OpenAI Enterprise Privacy

Another interesting place to visit is **[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)**. It gives you more **insight into how your data is used if you choose an enterprise/business way of interacting with ChatGPT**.

## ChatGPT Team Privacy and Data Security

It’s a recently introduced ChatGPT solution for small businesses. It is slightly **more pricey than ChatGPT Plus** and it requires at least two licenses. **It adds extra features like higher message caps and the possibility to create and share custom GPTs with the rest of the workspace.**

From a privacy point of view, the most important thing is that **OpenAI doesn’t train on our data with this plan:**

<blockquote>
    <div>We do not train on your business data (data from ChatGPT Team, ChatGPT Enterprise, or our API Platform)</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
    <div>We do not use your ChatGPT Team, ChatGPT Enterprise, or API data, inputs, and outputs for training our models.</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

That means that Team data is excluded from training by default. As opposed to individual subscriptions for ChatGPT we have an opt-in model here.

Also, when using the Team plan, **we have Admin console and Admin roles**. As we can read in the policy:

<blockquote>
    <div>Workspace admins have control over workspaces and access</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

**Data is stored for 30 days after deleting from the system**. End users from our team are in control of how long conversations are retained:

<blockquote>
    <div>Each of your end users controls whether their conversations are retained. Any deleted or unsaved conversations are removed from our systems within 30 days, unless we are legally required to retain them. Note that retention enables features like conversation history, and shorter retention periods may compromise product experience.</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

**Now, when our data is stored, who can see it?** Here’s an OpenAI explanation:

<blockquote>
    <div>Within your organization, only end users can view their conversations. Workspace admins have control over workspaces and access. Our access to conversations stored on our systems is limited to (1) authorized employees that require access for engineering support, investigating potential platform abuse, and legal compliance and (2) specialized third-party contractors who are bound by confidentiality and security obligations, solely to review for abuse and misuse</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

When it comes to **compliance with the product**, we can see it's still **a working process**:

<blockquote>
    <div>SOC 2 compliance coming soon</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>
 For GDPR
<blockquote>
    <div>we are able to execute a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) with customers for their use of ChatGPT Team, ChatGPT Enterprise, and the API in support of their compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws. Please complete our DPA form to execute a DPA with OpenAI.</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

## ChatGPT Enterprise Privacy and Data Security

ChatGPT Enterprise is designed with larger organizations in mind for utilizing ChatGPT.

You have to ask support to get individual quota about the pricing and you are obliged to buy multiple licenses. Apart from extra functionalities like **unlimited GPT-4 queries**, there are also some additional privacy features to discuss. Apart from what is available in the Team plan, the **workspace admins have control of data retention**: 

<blockquote>
    <div>You control how long your data is retained (ChatGPT Enterprise)</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
    <div>Your workspace admins control how long your data is retained. Any deleted conversations are removed from our systems within 30 days, unless we are legally required to retain them. Note that retention enables features like conversation history, and shorter retention periods may compromise product experience</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>
Having the admin’s control over data retention is a huge difference compared to the Team plan where
<blockquote>
    <div>Each of your end users controls whether their conversations are retained.</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

For compliance, same as the Team plan we are **eligible for GDPR compliance but it is already SOC 2 compliant:**

<blockquote>
    <div>ChatGPT Enterprise has been audited and certified for SOC 2 Type 1 compliance (Type 2 coming soon).</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

Also, we have a **SAML SSO authentication option:**

<blockquote>
    <div>Enterprise-level authentication through SAML SSO (ChatGPT Enterprise and API)</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

For both enterprise plans, there is information that 

<blockquote>
    <div>Data encryption at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+)</div>
    <footer>[Enterprise Privacy portal](https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy)</footer>
</blockquote>

Hopefully, this post has given you some insights into privacy in ChatGPT Team and Enterprise and its opt-in model. We’ve analyzed services designed for business. **In another blog post, I dived into the last enterprise solution proposed by OpenAI**. This is OpenAI API which grants the best possibilities when it comes to data control & privacy. I **compared it with Azure OpenAI** service which is a common alternative when using API. 

**Read more blog posts about OpenAI Privacy Policy:**

[OpenAI ChatGPT Free & Plus Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/)

[OpenAI API Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/openai-api-privacy-policies-explained/)

[Azure OpenAI Service Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/azure-openai-service-privacy-policies-explained/)

## Bright Inventions Recognized in Forbes Diamonds 2024

*Published: 2024-01-25 | Author: ula | Tags: bright insights, company update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-inventions-recognized-in-forbes-diamonds-2024/index.md*

We are happy and proud to announce that our company has been recognised in the[ **Forbes Diamonds 2024**](https://www.forbes.pl/diamenty/wizytowki/2024/bright-inventions/k961016) ranking. **Big shoutout to the positive, responsible, and flexible people who create our Bright Team - you make this organisation what it is. 🧡** We would not have come this far without each and every one of you!

This recognition solidifies our position among **Poland's fastest-growing companies**. We value the ongoing, steady growth and progress we have achieved across all aspects of our business. **Our strategic approach not only supports sustainable expansion but also fuels ongoing initiatives to build [a unique company culture based on the values we all share](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/#core-values).** None of this would be possible without the resolute determination and commitment of our entire team. 

<div className="image">![bright team 2024](../../static/images/collage-bright-team-2024.jpg "")</div>

## About Forbes Diamonds

The Forbes Diamond stands as a prestigious accolade for the most dynamically evolving private companies in Poland. Collaboratively curated by the Forbes editorial team and Dun & Bradstreet Poland, the list of "Diamonds" comprises companies that have experienced the most rapid increase in value over the last three years. To earn the Forbes Diamond, companies must demonstrate a positive financial outcome, with a cooperation risk factor higher than 4, as evaluated by the Dun & Bradstreet Poland rating.

## Our bright DNA

Since the founding of the company in 2012 we have already implemented dozens of innovative projects, ranging from monitoring athletes' activities, smart home solutions, payment systems, logistics support tools, to emergency notification systems assisting in handling emergency hotline calls in critical situations. **However, Bright Inventions, apart from innovative and reliable solutions, is above all about creative individuals and long-term relationships.**

For many years, a clear and dynamic work culture has been shaping here, breaking the mould of traditional tech companies. **Bright Inventions is, above all, a team – not a random group of engineers but a community of true enthusiasts collaborating for many years.** **The values like responsibility, flexibility, a positive approach, and a strong customer focus accompany team members in every aspect of the company's operations, from recruitment activities and project management to client communication.**

## Our strategic focus

We have extensive experience in [modernizing and rescuing systems](/our-areas/app-modernization/) that are not compatible with user needs or market demands. **It happens that we take on endangered projects facing imminent issues of instability and performance.** Information systems created by our team straightforwardly deliver advanced functionalities to users. Providing high-quality services and cultivating long-term relationships with clients pays off in trust and long-term collaboration. 

We believe that every challenge is an opportunity to innovate and learn. Join us on this exciting journey towards a future where technology not only meets but exceeds expectations. Together we can create software that really matters in the today's world. 

For detailed information about the awards, visit **[Forbes Diamonds 2024](https://www.forbes.pl/diamenty-forbesa-2024).**

## OpenAI ChatGPT Free & Plus Privacy Policies Explained

*Published: 2024-01-23 | Author: rafal h | Tags: AI, ChatGPT, OpenAI, LLM, privacy, security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/index.md*

**Have you ever wondered how to stop OpenAI from learning from your data while keeping the history of your chats? We’ve got the solution for that! As our apps are gaining superpowers by integrating and using OpenAI features we should stop for a moment and think about the privacy of various solutions. Hopefully, this blog post will help you make smart decisions and allay doubts. If you just want to understand the basic privacy rules of OpenAI solutions, this article is also for you.**

<div className="image">![OpenAI privacy](../../static/images/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/open_ai_privacy.png "")</div>

It is the start of 2024. You might remember that we had a [blog post](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/software-development-trends/) about development trends for 2023 - one of them was about GPT. Frankly speaking, this was quite a good prediction - GPT’s and OpenAI are taking the world. There are more and more use cases for LLM’s in the apps we create every day - summary of the text, similarity check or sentiment analysis. We have started to use them for chatbots, virtual copilots or assistants to ease our everyday lives. LLM field of development is moving at a very fast pace, giving out new exciting features every day.

Every day, new LLM solutions are deployed, both closed source like Bard from Google (with PaLM and Gemini), Claude from Anthropic and open source like LLama from Meta or Mistral. Still, LLMs are often associated with OpenAI company. That might be due to the fact that their solution was first in the market, they tend to have developed unbeatable GPT-4 (which competition claims (or not?) to overrun) and easy, straightforward access to API. They are also backed up by Mircosoft gigant, both in founding and infrastructure.

Generally speaking, OpenAI is a default “goto” address for anybody who would like to use LLM or integrate it into his app. Having that in mind, **I will describe most of the relevant OpenAI solutions from the least private to the most private ones**. Please note though that in the end if your use case is a complicated one you should consult a lawyer and OpenAI yourself :).

## OpenAI Trust Portal

**[This](https://trust.openai.com/) is your go-to place for privacy and security when it comes to OpenAI**. Upon this page, we can see that OpenAI is CCPA, GDPR, SOC2 and SOC3 compliant (OpenAI not ChatGPT - please note the difference). You can download or request security papers from OpenAI. You can see the status of their infrastructure, all privacy policies, PII usage, data processing agreement or terms of service. It’s highly recommended to start your privacy journey here!

## ChatGPT Free Privacy and Data Security

With the free version of ChatGPT via web panel, you can use GPT-3.5 chats. Also, recently it should allow you to use Whisper API via iOS and Android WebApps. **By default, it keeps a history of your chats**. ChatGPT web has an opt-out model of data processing which you submit. On their page we can read

<blockquote>
    <div>When you use our non-API consumer services ChatGPT or Labs, we may use the data you provide us to improve our models.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI trust portal](https://trust.openai.com/?itemName=data_privacy&source=click)</footer>
</blockquote>

that simply means that data you submit can be used to train the model. If you wonder how the data you provide is stored/processed later they say,

<blockquote>
    <div>We remove any personally identifiable information from data we intend to use to improve model performance. We also only use a small sampling of data per customer for our efforts to improve model performance.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI trust portal](https://trust.openai.com/?itemName=data_privacy&source=click)</footer>
</blockquote>

You can opt out of this behavior in the settings of your ChatGPT profile:

<div className="image">![ChatGpt history training](../../static/images/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/ChatGPT_history_training.png "")</div>

*Opt-out from model training*

What is important to mention is that:

<blockquote><div>This setting does not sync across browsers or devices. You will have to disable chat & history on each device/browser.</div><footer>[OpenAI help portal](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7730893-data-controls-faq)</footer></blockquote>

The downside of this approach is that **you will not have access to the history of your chats. Another option to opt out but keeping the history saved is**:

<blockquote>
    <div>In the meantime, you can opt out from our use of your data to improve our services by filling out this form. Once you submit the form, new conversations will not be used to train our models.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI help portal](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7730893-data-controls-faq)</footer>
</blockquote>

On [this](https://privacy.openai.com/) page you can make a privacy request for your account. What is worth mentioning, is that when you submit a request and it is accepted, nothing changes from a UI/UX perspective in your account - you have still the possibility to toggle chat history & training but it is not doing anything as you have already opted-out from data processing.

<div className="image">![OpenAI message when you opt out from training](../../static/images/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/OpenAI_support_message.png "")</div>
*Successfully opted-out message from support*

<div className="image">![ChatGpt history training](../../static/images/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/OpenAI_settings.png "")</div>
*Account settings*

As you can see, even though I opted out of training the data it is still visible in the UI (but actually data is not used for training).  A conversation with the support team has confirmed it:

<div className="image">![Support conversation about training](../../static/images/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/OpenAI_support_response.png "")</div>
*Support conversation*

Also important fact is that upon submitting the request you:

<blockquote>
    <div>understand that this request applies moving forward and does not apply to data that was previously disassociated from my account</div>
</blockquote>
so this request is in force only for future data. In the end, when you opt-out of model training with your data and:
<blockquote>
    <div>When chat history is disabled, we will retain new conversations for 30 days and review them only when needed to monitor for abuse, before permanently deleting.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI help portal](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7730893-data-controls-faq)</footer>
</blockquote>

This is the maximum we can do here as the zero data policy (which we will talk about later) does not apply here.

<blockquote>
    <div>Note that this data policy does not apply to OpenAI's non-API consumer services like ChatGPT or DALL·E Labs.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI moderation](https://platform.openai.com/docs/models/moderation)</footer>
</blockquote>

Most probably, during these 30 days it is viewed either by:

<blockquote>
    <div>A limited number of authorized OpenAI personnel, as well as trusted service providers that are subject to confidentiality and security obligations, may access user content only as needed for these reasons: (1) investigating abuse or a security incident; (2) to provide support to you if you reach out to us with questions about your account; (3) to handle legal matters; or (4) to improve model performance (unless you have opted out). Access to content is subject to technical access controls and limited only to authorized personnel on a need-to-know basis.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI help portal](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7039943-data-usage-for-consumer-services-faq)</footer>
</blockquote>

An additional question is - how long my data is stored when I opt-out from data training and I do not disable history? Here’s the info that OpenAI provides on a matter:

<blockquote>
    <div>Deleted chats are hard deleted from our systems within 30 days, unless they have been de-identified and disassociated from your account. If you have not opted out, we may use these de-identified chats for training to improve model performance.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI help portal](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8809935-how-chat-retention-works-in-chatgpt)</footer>
</blockquote>

You have option to toggle delete all chats from preferences of your account. Also, you delete all of data by simply deleting the account. In dialog when deleting account we can see:

<blockquote>
    <div>Your data will be deleted within 30 days, except we may retain a limited set of data for longer where required or permitted by law.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI help portal](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6378407-how-to-delete-your-account)</footer>
</blockquote>

<div className="image">!\[ChatGpt history training](../../static/images/openai-chatgpt-free-plus-privacy-policies-explained/OpenAI_delete_account.png "")</div>
\*Delete account prompt\*

## ChatGPT Plus Privacy and Data Security

Compared to ChatGPT Free, with ChatGPT Plus you can use GPT-4, create DALEE3 images, search with Bing or recently create & use your own GPTs.
Apart from all the information provided for ChatGPT Free which applies here, what is important to mention is your own ChatGPT retention. As mentioned, **you have a possibility to create your GPT with data knowledge of files with your selection**. As noted in OpenAI community portal, when you create your own GPT, by default:

<blockquote>
    <div>Use conversation data in your GPT to improve our models.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI community](https://community.openai.com/t/data-privacy-for-latest-features-gpts-and-assistants/493023/4)</footer>
</blockquote>

is selected. It is unclear if the option of opt-out mentioned in the GPT Free section overrides this selection or not, so if you do not wish to share the data, simply deselect the option. Also, for the files uploaded via UI input prompt or knowledge for custom GPT we can see that:

<blockquote>
    <div>Files processed via ADA / Document Analysis, and when chatting with a custom GPT (not uploaded as knowledge in GPT config): Retained for 3 hours. Images processed via Vision and Files uploaded as knowledge to custom GPT: Retained indefinitely.</div>
    <footer>[OpenAI help portal](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8555545-file-uploads-faq)</footer>
</blockquote>

Hopefully this post has given you some insights on privacy in ChatGPT Free and Plus and its opt-out model. If you want to dive into enterprise solutions proposed by OpenAI, read our another blog post about recently introduced ChatGPT Teams and ChatGPT Enterprise plans. Both of those solutions give us better privacy controls than when using individual subscriptions.

**Read more blog posts about OpenAI Privacy Policy:**

[OpenAI ChatGPT Team & Enterprise Privacy Terms Explained](/blog/openai-chatgpt-team-enterprise-privacy-policies-explained/)

[OpenAI API Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/openai-api-privacy-policies-explained/)

[Azure OpenAI Service Privacy Policies Explained](/blog/azure-openai-service-privacy-policies-explained/)

## Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) in Machine Learning Explained

*Published: 2024-01-22 | Author: pawel-p | Tags: AI, Embeddings, machine learning, Retrieval Augmented Generation, RAG*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/retrieval-augmented-generation-in-machine-learning/index.md*

**Imagine that your company has access to a powerful AI tool that can process vast amounts of data and extract significant conclusions, identify key information, and effectively summarize it. Such capabilities could significantly enhance the efficiency of your employees' work, allowing them to focus on the most valuable aspects of their job, rather than on time-consuming data processing. In this context, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) opens new perspectives. RAG allows for the integration of AI models with specific, internal data of your company, enabling not only processing but also intelligent interpretation and utilization of this knowledge. In this article, we will explore how to accomplish this.**

<div className="image">![Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) in Machine Learning](../../static/images/rag_blog_cover.png "")</div>

## Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) definition

**RAG** is a technique that allows expanding the knowledge of the pre-trained language model with real-time information retrieval from a large database of documents.  

The basic prompt schema for querying a machine learning model looks like this:

<div className="image">![Simple query prompt scheme with LLM answer](../../static/images/rag1.png "")</div>

In this situation, we ask the machine learning model about the capital of Poland. This is general knowledge, and our model has no problems with the answer.

## Going deeper with Retrieval Augmented Generation in machine learning

Fancy to go deeper with this simple example? Let's say we would like to have a machine learning model that can answer questions about the plot of our original, never-published 300-page book titled 'My Story,' the only source of which is a .pdf file on our private laptop. Therefore, there is no chance that the model came into contact with this book during training, nor is there any chance it could find any information about it elsewhere.

If we asked the learning model about this story, the model could not answer it. This is how it would look:

<div className="image">![Query prompt scheme without required context ](../../static/images/rag2.png "")</div>

In such a situation, **Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) comes to the rescue.** We can simply expand the knowledge of the machine learning model by adding contextual information to the prompt.

In theory, it would look as follows:

<div className="image">![Simplified query prompt + RAG scheme](../../static/images/rag3.png "")</div>

In theory, it would work. The model receives our query along with the entire book, so it now knows the story and can answer our query. However, **there is a practical problem with this solution.**

The number of tokens that we can use with one prompt is limited. For example, **for ChatGPT-4, this limit is 8192 tokens; even for GPT-4 Turbo, the limit is 128,000 tokens.**

Let's assume that one page of our book has an average of 500 words. 300 pages times 500 words equals 150,000 words in the entire book. We should remember that the number of used tokens consists of the prompt query, prompt context, and the machine learning model's answer.

<div className="image">![Token consumption formula](../../static/images/rag4.png "")</div>

This amounts to 150,000 tokens for the context alone. By adding the prompt query and the machine learning model's answer, the total will be even higher. Even if sending such a prompt were possible, it would simply be a waste of resources and money. We don’t need the entire context of the book to answer our queries.

**It seems obvious that we need to divide our book into chunks,** and for the context of the prompt, attach only those chunks that are relevant to our question. Dividing the text into chunks is a simple task, **but how do we determine which parts are necessary to get the answer to our query?**

Here, the technique of representing text as numerical vectors, known as embeddings, comes to the rescue. There is another blog post where you can learn more details about [how embeddings work](/blog/understanding-embeddings-a-short-guide-with-an-example/).

For now, it's enough to understand that **embedding is a technique that converts text into numerical vectors, which retain the meaning of the converted sentence.** Depending on the sentence's meaning, these vectors are positioned at specific locations in the vector space. So, now we know that before running our prompt, we have to first prepare the data (the book in our case) by dividing it into chunks, converting them into numeric vectors with the embedding technique, and saving them in a vector database.

This process looks like this:

<div className="image">![Conversion scheme from pdf to vector database](../../static/images/rag5.png "")</div>

Great! We have prepared our data so that we can easily find exactly the parts of the book that are useful for our query.

With this knowledge and the data prepared, let's start the process of obtaining answers from the machine learning model once again. The image below describes all the steps undertaken during this process.

<div className="image">![The whole RAG process scheme](../../static/images/rag6.png "")</div>

## Finding the Balance in Software Testing and Life. Meet Małgosia

*Published: 2024-01-19 | Author: malgorzata-z | Tags: bright story, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/finding-balance-in-software-testing-and-life-malgosia/index.md*

**Nearly 9 years ago, Małgosia decided to transition into QA engineering, long before it became a trend. Once she discovered her passion for automated testing, there was no turning back. Now, she thrives on tackling daily challenges, from balancing the right test coverage to building robust relationships with developers. Dive into Małgosia's career story to explore her journey!**

<div className="image">![QA Engineer career story](../../static/images/brightstorymalgosiacollage.png "QA Engineer career story")</div>

I think I was among the first people who tried switching to software development before it became popular. At that time (about 9 years ago), I didn't know any success stories of such a transition; in fact, I had only heard about failures. But I still wanted to give it a try. So, I committed fully to this new path — **I quit my job and dedicated my time to learning every day**. 

Initially, my goal was to become a software developer. After two months of intensive learning, I began job hunting. I even received a software developer job offer. However, during this period, **I started writing my first automated tests, and it completely captivated me**. **I found immense enjoyment in it**. As a result, I turned down the software developer job and instead sought out a QA position. **Fortunately, I found a place where I could engage in writing automated tests right from the start**.

## I assume that back then there weren’t many software testers in the teams?

Oh yes, **I was the only tester in the team**. There was another tester in the company where I worked but I didn't know many other QA Engineers back then. Obviously, **the situation is quite different now**.

## What aspects of the QA job give you the most satisfaction?

What drives me in my QA role is the unique set of challenges each project presents, **pushing me to constantly rethink testing and automation strategies**. Every project offers the **opportunity to find the perfect balance between manual and automated testing** and to select the right types of tests that are easy to maintain, credible, and reliable. 

Throughout my career, I've encountered the mindset that 'we don’t have time to write automated tests,' but in reality, automation actually saves time. When we're not required to test everything manually, the quality of the product usually improves. Reaching this point in a project is incredibly satisfying. 🙂

## What is your recipe for successful cooperation with programmers?

**It’s a continuous learning process because throughout your career, you work with various people, each with different personalities**. Everyone has their own priorities in projects, and sometimes it can be challenging to persuade someone to see things from your perspective and to focus on your priorities. 

What I’ve learned recently is that people can interpret your words differently. For instance, if I say something in a meeting, 2 out of 3 people might understand it in a way that's completely different from what I intended. Therefore, **it’s crucial to work on balancing your words and ensuring clear communication**.

*Read Małgosia’s and Michał’s blog posts on [successful dev-QA relations](/blog/communication-challenges-faced-by-developers-and-testers/).*

<div className="image">![Małgosia's quote on communication](../../static/images/malgosia_quote_communication.png "Małgosia's quote on communication")</div>

## How do you react when a developer says 'It’s not a bug, it’s a feature'?

I haven't heard that phrase much lately. It seemed more common among developers who were just starting in the industry. However, if I encounter that statement, **the first thing I do is to verify if it actually is a feature**. This is quite straightforward - you can always compare the current product with earlier versions. **If I still believe it's a bug, I'll present my arguments and then listen to the developer's perspective. We then discuss and work towards a solution together**. 

In situations like this, **[empathy](/blog/three-dimensions-of-empathy/) is crucial — understanding the developer's viewpoint, listening to their arguments, and trying to grasp why they might see things differently**. If I'm convinced that something could compromise the quality of the product, I'll stand firm in my position. Yet if it turns out that my assessment was incorrect, I'll certainly let it go.

## What types of automated tests do you value the most?

**I value API tests the most due to their stability, accuracy, speed, cost-effectiveness, and broad applicability**. They **provide a sense of security**, which I believe is crucial for every QA Engineer. Of course, UI tests are essential too, but they serve a different purpose and can be somewhat 'flaky'. They often fail in the pipeline, not necessarily due to bugs. This inconsistency makes them less reliable in terms of providing a sense of security, so it's harder to trust them as compared to API tests.

<div className="image">![Małgosia's quote on AP tests](../../static/images/malgosia_quote_api_tests.png "Małgosia's quote on AP tests")</div>

## There is an ongoing recruitment process for QA Engineer at Bright Inventions. What advice could you give to candidates?

In my opinion, **the ideal candidate should be adaptable to changes and various project dynamics**, because at Bright Inventions, we are flexible and strive to adjust to the specific needs of our clients and projects. **This person also needs to have a strong desire to develop as a tester, be eager to learn, and be prepared to work with different people and personalities**. So, I guess they should also be **open to speaking their mind and sharing their ideas and knowledge**.

<div className="image">![During a team retreat in the center of Gdańsk.](../../static/images/malgosia_team_retreat.png "During a team retreat in the center of Gdańsk.")</div>

*<center>During a team retreat in the center of Gdańsk.</center>*

## And how do you recall your recruitment process at Bright Inventions?

I wasn't actually planning to change my job. **When Agata approached me on LinkedIn, I responded as I usually did — politely declining with a thank you**. However, her response to my decline piqued my interest. **I won't give away her secret methods, but she somehow managed to convince me to attend an interview**, and eventually, I ended up joining the team here.

<div className="image">![Another team retreat. :)](../../static/images/malgosia_team_retreat_forest.png "Another team retreat. :)")</div>

*<center>Another team retreat. :)</center>*

## How do you spend your spare time?

I spend it actively, for sure. **I'm really into running. I've always enjoyed it but never had someone to share this passion with until I joined the running workouts at Bright Inventions**. Thanks to our trainer, [Bartosz Banach](https://bartoszbanach.pl/), and his coaching, I was able to finish a marathon. 

<div className="image">![Małgosia and Filip from Bright Inventions at a running event.](../../static/images/running.png "Małgosia and Filip from Bright Inventions at a running event.")</div>

*<center>Małgosia and Filip from Bright Inventions at a running event.</center>*

**I'm also quite a health lifestyle enthusiast**. I love reading about nutrition, diets, self-care, and more. I aim to spend my free time actively and meaningfully, so I don't use Netflix, and I generally avoid watching TV series or movies.

## Not at all?

Well, maybe sometimes. 😄 I just need to control myself because once I start a series, I tend to binge-watch it right away. So, I prefer not to start watching anything at all...

## Understanding Embeddings: A Short Guide with an Example

*Published: 2024-01-16 | Author: pawel-p | Tags: AI, Embeddings*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/understanding-embeddings-a-short-guide-with-an-example/index.md*

**Embeddings are an invisible, yet important part of many technologies we encounter. From internet search engines, through recommendation systems and advertisement personalization, to advanced analyses of images, videos, and technologies for speech and sound recognition – embeddings play a key role everywhere. In this article, we will explain how embeddings work and how they facilitate, and enrich our daily experiences with technology.**

<div className="image">![Embedding explained](../../static/images/embeddings_blog_cover.png "Embedding explained")</div>

As I mentioned above, vector embeddings are a popular technique to represent information in a format (typically as a vector of numerical values) that can be easily processed by algorithms, especially deep learning models. This ‘information’ can be text, pictures, video, and audio.\
\
For example, the conversion of the word 'dog' into a numerical vector representation could look like this:

<div className="image">![embeddings convert process](../../static/images/embeddings_model.png "embeddings convert process")</div>

## What is the embedding dimension?

**A crucial factor in determining the quality and effectiveness of the embedding is the embedding dimension. Generally, the term 'dimensionality of word embedding' refers to the total count of dimensions used to define a word's vector representation.** This number is usually established during the development of the word embedding and indicates how many distinct features are included in the vector representation of the word.

For text embeddings, these vectors are constructed in a way that captures the semantic meaning of the text. This ensures that words or sentences conveying similar meanings are close to each other in the embedded space, often referred to as a vector space.

## What does that mean? Here’s a simple example

Let's say we have a space with only two dimensions - \[x, y], where x represents sex and y represents activity.

<div className="image">![embeddings dimensional space](../../static/images/embeddings_dimension_example.png "embeddings dimensional space")</div>

\
Now, for example, by asking the question 'Who is walking?' the embeddings will search for vectors that include the 'Walk' sentence in the y dimension.

<div className="image">![embeddings dimensional space with similarity comprasion](../../static/images/embeddings_dimension_vector_example.png "embeddings dimensional space with similarity comprasion")</div>

We can observe that the sentence "Walk" is associated with a woman, a man, a boy, and a girl. This means that all of them are walking. And thus, we get our answer: A woman, a man, a boy, and a girl are walking.  

Remember, this is a very simplified example with only two dimensions of meaning. In reality, the more such dimensions there are, the better our embedding is at guessing the meanings of saved sentences as words or phrases.

## Ready for more embedding tutorials?

Delve deeper into various applications of embedding in AI:

[Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) in Machine Learning Explained](/blog/retrieval-augmented-generation-in-machine-learning/)

More to come!

## Introducing LangChain Agents: 2024 Tutorial with Example

*Published: 2024-01-11 | Author: rafal-w | Tags: langchain, python, AI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/introducing-langchain-agents-tutorial-with-example/index.md*

**Discover the ultimate guide to LangChain agents. This tutorial, published following the release of LangChain 0.1.0 in January 2024, is your key to creating your first agent with Python. Stay ahead with this up-to-the-minute resource and start your LLM development journey now.**

<div className="image">![Langchain agents](../../static/images/langchain_agents_blog.png "")</div>

## What is LangChain agent?

**The idea behind the agent in LangChain is to utilize a language model along with a sequence of actions to take**. The agent is using a reasoning engine to determine which actions to take to get a result.

Agents are crucial for handling tasks ranging from simple automated responses to complex, context-aware interactions.

For example, you may have an agent integrated with Google Search, Wikipedia and OpenAI LLM. With given agent tools, they can search for results in Google, then use retrieved context in Wikipedia tool to find detailed information and expand the context.

Bear in mind that **you have to put clearly defined instructions to make sure that the agent will invoke tools in a proper order**.

The illustration presents the example of agent and his components:

<div className="image">![Agent with all components](../../static/images/llm_agents.png "Agent with all components")</div>

## Boosting your agent

You may be wondering, ‘Why I cannot use simple LLM to get my questions answered?’ There might be situations, where used LLM model has old data or you have to provide some internal data (and use [embedding](/blog/understanding-embeddings-a-short-guide-with-an-example/) to find similarity). 

**Explore these examples of features that can boost your agent:**

**1. Web search tool**

You can easily add different types of web search as an available action to your agent. It might be Google Search, Tavily Search, DuckDuckGo and many others.

**2. Embedding search in vector database**

You can create a tool from retriever and describe it as you need, so the agent will use this tool to get some kind of data doing e.g. similarity check and embedding model.

**3. Doing some actions**

Your agent can be multipurpose one. For example, it might be searching for some kind of information on the internet, doing the reasoning step, and after all invoking action to create a Jira issue.

**4. API integration tool**

There are many API integration done for the LangChain framework, all you need to do is take the API key, install the package and attach the tool to the agent.

**5. Custom tool**

You can write your own tool, refer to the documentation to see how to do it. It might be integration with your internal API, your document system, and many others!

## LangChain Agent vs. Chain

Besides having agents, LangChain also supports the idea of a Chain.

**Chain is a subsequence of actions to take, always in a hardcoded manner.** This is the crucial difference between an agent and a chain. While in the agent, the reasoning model may choose other actions (from given tools) to fetch specific data, the chain will always take the same path that we have chosen.

**Advantages of agents compared to chains:**

1. Based on the description of tools, the agent decides which tool should be used to get relevant information.
2. Agent takes actions and takes the context of the given result to e.g. search for other information in other resources (like for example Google Search and Wikipedia).
3. The agent checks the results and repeats the process to get the desired data.

## The main goal of using agents

When you’re building your own AI LangChain solution, you need to be aware if using an agent is the way you want to go. 

If your use case is always based on the same flow and strategy, for example:

1. First step: web search.
2. Second step: internal vector database text embedding.
3. Reasoning.

Then you might consider using chains instead of agents. Agent cost is unpredictable because some questions might be answered directly after e.g. call to one tool, while others might use a comprehensive set of tools to do proper reasoning. If your use case is based on determining things from different sources (called tools), then an agent seems to be a great solution. On the other hand, one agent type uses a single tool to divide a complex query into simpler ones, so that might also be another criterion for deciding whether to use chain or agent.

<div className="image">![LangChain agent loop](../../static/images/llm_agents_loop.png "")</div>

## LangChain Agent types

LangChain categorizes agents based on several dimensions:

\- model type;

\- support for chat history;

\- multi-input tools;

\- parallel function calling;

\- required model parameters.

It is important to choose the option that fits to your use case:

**1. OpenAI functions** 

There are certain models fine-tuned where input is a bit different than usual. There are special functions that can be called and the role of this agent is to determine when it should be invoked. This agent is designed to work with this kind of OpenAI model. It supports chat history.

**2. OpenAI tools** 

This agent is designed to work with OpenAI tools, so its role is to interact and determine whether to use e.g. image generation tool or another built-in one. The main difference between OpenAI function is the fact that the function is trying to find the best fitting algorithm/part of an algorithm to do better reasoning, while OpenAI tool is about built-in tools like image generation, and executing code. It supports chat history.

**3. XML Agent** 

There are models, where reasoning/writing XML is on a very advanced level (a good example is Anthropic Claude's model). If you're operating on XML files, that might be the right one to be considered. It supports chat history.

**4. JSON Chat Agent**

Several LLMs available in the market are particularly handy when it comes to reading JSON. JSON is also a very common standard of some e.g. entity representation. If you're building some kind of integration that operates on JSON files and the model is supporting it, you can try to use this agent. It supports chat history.

**5. Structured chat** 

Intended for multi-input tools. It supports chat history.

**6. ReAct agent**

Made for simple models (LLM - not conversational). It supports chat history.

**7. Self-ask with search**

This kind of agent supports only one tool as an input. The main goal is to divide your query into smaller ones, use tools to get the answer, and then combine it into a full answer to your question. This kind of agent doesn’t support chat history.

## Tools

Tools are the main components of agents that perform individual tasks. It may be web search, vector database search, or any other action. You can choose from many complete tools done by the community or write your own.

LangChain also features a highly useful capability to create tools from retrievers: 

```python
tool = create_retriever_tool(
   retriever,
   name="companies_database",
   description="Useful when you need to find information about company."
)
```

Where retriever might be created from Chroma in-memory database:

```python
retriever = Chroma.from_documents(documents_list, embedding_function).as_retriever()
```

It is very important to create a good description of retriever tool like in this example because agent step decision mechanism is based on that. If your description is missing or incomplete, it might result in skipping the action taken by the agent.

It’s worth mentioning that the tool name should be also unique.

## Toolkits

Toolkits are the combination of tools with predefined actions that can be used in our agent. Usually, they're assembled to the specific domain. There are different examples:

\- **CSV** agent toolkit to operate on \`CSV\` files (read, write),

\- **Github** agent toolkit that has implemented different operations on Github, e.g. creating new issues, creating new pull requests, and so on.

Compared to the tools, toolkits have an implementation of several actions.

## Creating your first LangChain agent

Prerequisites: 

* Tavily API token
* OpenAI API token
* Python v3.11
* Pip packages: langchain (at least v0.1.0), openai, wikipedia, 
  langchain-community, tavily-python, langchainhub, 
  langchain-openai, python-dotenv

First, install pip packages:

```shell
! pip install langchain==0.1.0 wikipedia==1.4.0 langchain-community=0.0.10 tavily-python==0.3.0 langchainhub==0.1.14 langchain-openai==0.0.2 openai==1.7.0 python-dotenv==1.0.0
```

At this point you have to choose:

* LLM that you wanted to use (e.g. ChatOpenAI);
* agent type (more on that is covered in agent types section);
* tools.

Now you can combine everything:

```python
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from langchain import hub
from langchain.agents import AgentExecutor, create_openai_functions_agent, load_tools
from langchain.tools.tavily_search import TavilySearchResults
from langchain.utilities.tavily_search import TavilySearchAPIWrapper
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI

load_dotenv()

def get_function_tools():
  search = TavilySearchAPIWrapper()
  tavily_tool = TavilySearchResults(api_wrapper=search)

  tools = [
      tavily_tool
  ]

  tools.extend(load_tools(['wikipedia']))

  return tools


def init_action():
  llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4", temperature=0.1)
  prompt = hub.pull("hwchase17/openai-functions-agent")
  tools = get_function_tools()
  agent = create_openai_functions_agent(llm, tools, prompt)
  agent_executor = AgentExecutor(agent=agent, tools=tools, verbose=True)
  agent_executor.invoke({"input": "Who is the owner of Tesla company? Let me know details about owner."})


init_action()
```

Dotenv file should have following envs:

```dotenv
TAVILY_API_KEY=
OPENAI_API_KEY=
```

Example answer using above agent configuration:

> Elon Musk is the owner of Tesla, Inc. He is a businessman and investor who is also the founder, chairman, CEO, and chief technology officer of SpaceX. He is also an angel investor, CEO, product architect, and former chairman of Tesla, Inc. He is also the owner, chairman, and CTO of X Corp., founder of the Boring Company and xAI, co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI, and president of the Musk Foundation. 
>
> Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. He immigrated to Canada at age 18, acquiring citizenship through his Canadian-born mother. He later attended Queen's University at Kingston in Canada and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received bachelor's degrees in economics and physics. He moved to California in 1995 to attend Stanford University but dropped out after two days to co-found the online city guide software company Zip2 with his brother Kimbal.
>
> Musk became an early investor in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.) in 2004. He became its chairman and product architect, assuming the position of CEO in 2008. In 2006, Musk helped create SolarCity, a solar-energy company that was acquired by Tesla in 2016 and became Tesla Energy.
>
> Musk is known for his polarizing views and has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements. In 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued him for falsely tweeting that he had secured funding for a private takeover of Tesla. To settle the case, Musk stepped down as the chairman of Tesla and paid a $20 million fine.
>
> As of December 2023, he is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$232 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $254 billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX.

## Agent Executor

From LangChain **v0.1.0** version, the recommended way of creating new agents is to use AgentExecutor. You can easily define your executor by passing agents and tools.

The old way of using **initialize_agent** is marked as deprecated from **v0.1.0** version.

```python
agent_executor = AgentExecutor(agent=agent, tools=tools, verbose=True)
```

## Defining prompt

LangChain **v0.1.0** version provided a new approach of initializing agents. Instead of using **initialize_agent**, we have to use a clearly defined method for every type. There is an additional parameter called `prompt`. We can use the default prompt (you can refer to the [documentation](https://python.langchain.com/docs/modules/agents/agent_types/openai_functions_agent#create-agent) to see a prompt for every agent).

Example of default prompt for OpenAI functions agent:

```python
prompt = hub.pull("hwchase17/openai-functions-agent")
```

If you’re not planning to override the default prompt - provide a default one accordingly.

## Ready to build your custom agent in LangChain?

I believe you are! In case you have any questions, just let me know in the comments.

Hungry for more LangChain tutorials? [Build LLM application in Python using LangChain and RAG](/blog/build-llm-application-with-rag-langchain/).

## Dispute Resolution Solution in Blockchain with Bright Disputes

*Published: 2024-01-10 | Author: kasia | Tags: rust, blockchain, Substrate*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dispute-resolution-solution-in-blockchain-with-bright-disputes/index.md*

**In the innovative world of blockchain technology, smart contracts are revolutionizing how we think about legal agreements and dispute resolution. Bright Disputes is a  decentralized application (dApp) designed to address and resolve conflicts on Substrate-based blockchains. Let's delve into how this solution, encapsulated in smart contract code written in the programming language Ink!, promises to bring fairness and privacy to the forefront of digital disagreements.**

### **Understanding the Participants**

In the realm of Bright Disputes, there are several key roles:

* Owner: This is the individual who initiates a dispute.
* Contractor: The party involved in the dispute, typically against whom the dispute is raised.
* Judge: The entity responsible for tallying votes.
* Jury: Those who vote in the dispute, supporting one side or the other.

The process begins when an Owner raises a dispute, naming a Contractor to participate. Both parties are required to provide their perspectives on the conflict and pay the necessary fees to proceed. This initiates the dispute resolution process in earnest.

<div className="image">![BrightDisputesGeneral](../../static/images/brightdisputes2.png "BrightDisputesGeneral")</div>

### Appointing the Arbiters

A Judge and Jury are then randomly selected by the smart contract from a pool of candidates. They are tasked with assessing the case impartially. To confirm their roles, both Judge and Jury must place an escrow—a security deposit of sorts, ensuring they take their duties seriously.

### The Voting Phase

After confirmation, the Jury votes in secrecy. Their votes are encrypted, ensuring that only the Judge can decrypt and count them. This phase is critical and relies on [zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge)](/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-1/) to maintain the privacy of the voting process.

### Reaching a Verdict

The Judge counts the votes and determines if there is a decisive majority (at least 70%). If not, the voting round is repeated with an increased by 2 Jury size. Throughout this process, the votes remain confidential, upholding the integrity of the system.

### Ensuring Fairness and Honesty

To maintain honesty, zk-SNARKs are employed once more to prove the accuracy of the Judge's vote counting. This technology is pivotal, particularly when votes are too close to call, and rounds need to be repeated.

### Rewarding Justice

Once a verdict is reached, the Judge and those Juries who were in the majority receive a portion of the dispute pool as compensation for their service. Conversely, Juries who found themselves in the minority are penalized by forfeiting their escrows. This not only rewards consensus but also discourages frivolous or dishonest voting.

### Integration with Job Advertising Platforms

Bright Disputes is not just a theoretical construct but has practical applications. It can be seamlessly integrated with job advertising platforms like SubFunds, allowing for disputes to be raised and resolved within the ecosystem where contractors and clients interact. This was illustrated in the use case involving Bob (the job advertiser), Alice (the contractor), and Charlie (the judge).

<div className="image">![Integration with Job Advertising Platforms](../../static/images/brightdisputes1.png "Integration with Job Advertising Platforms")</div>

### The Technical Prowess of Bright Disputes

From a development standpoint, the most intriguing aspect of Bright Disputes is the implementation of zk-SNARKs within the Substrate framework. The privacy this technology affords is paramount in ensuring that Jury votes remain encrypted and that the Judge's integrity is beyond reproach.

### User Interaction with Bright Disputes

For those involved, interacting with Bright Disputes is made user-friendly through a command-line interface (CLI) and the Polkadot.js dApp. This ensures that all parties, regardless of their technical expertise, can participate in the dispute resolution process.

### Conclusion

Bright Disputes stands as a testament to blockchain's potential in addressing complex challenges like dispute resolution. By leveraging the transparency and immutability of blockchain with the privacy of zk-SNARKs, Bright Disputes offers a secure, fair, and confidential platform for resolving disputes in the digital age.

## Breaking Free: 10 Workplace Mind Games You Should Quit Now

*Published: 2024-01-05 | Author: ula | Tags: communication, psychology, leadership*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/10-most-common-psychological-games-at-work/index.md*

People put masks every day. They play games in private life and at work. They portray roles that span the spectrum from positive and constructive to negative and detrimental. At the workplace, it is a stage where we take on various roles—be such as all-knowing leader, the unyielding boss, the amiable manager, the considerate colleague, and many more. **We wear masks to appear more professional, gain appreciation, prevent offense, remain diplomatic, or shield ourselves.** 

Mind games often involve deception and manipulation, leading to a breakdown of trust among team members. Trust is crucial for effective collaboration, and when it is compromised, it undermines the foundation of teamwork. Leaders or team members playing mind games may show favoritism, creating divisions within the team. People are less likely to collaborate effectively when they perceive hidden agendas or ulterior motives. This hinders the free flow of ideas and the willingness to work together toward common goals.

Addressing mind games requires proactive measures such as promoting open communication, fostering a culture of trust, and providing conflict resolution mechanisms. **But first of all it requites recognition and self-awareness. As the complexity arises when we lose sight of our true selves beneath the masks, when manipulation takes precedence over authenticity, and when we want to win at all costs.** 

## **why do we play?**

**We play games to win. Usually people play mind games to win emotions.** Depending on the game they play they can win both positive and negative reactions. 

### Among the most common “winnings” there can found:

* improving own self-esteem at the expense of others, 
* the humiliation of people you work with, 
* causing unjustified guilt, 
* justifying anger and unacceptable behaviours, 
* maintaining self-image by ignoring someone’s feelings, 
* getting praise you don’t deserve,  
* feeding on popularity and other people’s attention. 

The misfortune of the winning is that it often involves arousing negative feelings in others.

## **how did it start?**

Probably the first person who wrote about playing psychological games by people was [Eric Berne ](https://www.itaaworld.org/eric-berne-founder) who is also the creator of transactional analysis. **Berne said that the reason why people play games is obtaining some kind of pay-off.** This pay-off might be both positive and negative external stimuli or reaction such as gesture, talk, emoticon etc. It can be  obtained either in face to face contact or online in a digital world. We just want to be important. We just want to be noticed. 

In fact, people have been always playing games - to win battles, to compete, to get promoted, but also to cooperate or build thrust. But the problem appears when we do not get what we want, when we don't get positive reactions we would feed on negative ones. 

**One of the first game everyone has played in life is drama triangle.** [The drama triangle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_XSeUYa0-8&t=104s) is a psychological model proposed by Stephen B. Karpman. **In the drama triangle we have three personas: victim, persecutor and rescuer - we can take the roles interchangeably depending on the circumstances.** You put a particular mask depending on the context you find yourself in. You are not always a victim or rescuer or persecutor. Your role changes.  

<div className="image">![drama triangle ](../../static/images/drama-triangle.webp "")</div>

###### Source: [https://www.susannejegge.com/en/2019/05/29/drama-triangle-part-2](https://www.susannejegge.com/en/2019/05/29/drama-triangle-part-2/)

Despite its potential risks and limitations - as the model implies a passive stance for individuals within the roles seen as acting out predetermined patterns - the drama triangle can be also used to gain insights about dysfunctional behaviours both in private and professional situations. If you want to use it, please be cautious to avoid any fixed judgements. 

## **most common psychological games at work 🔎**

Very often psychological games in the workplace refer to interactions that involve hidden agendas, manipulation, power dynamics, and other subtle psychological tactics. The most common ones which I have observed and which can occur in many organisations are presented below. 

### 1. The blame game

It involves shifting blame or responsibility on others to avoid taking accountability for one's actions. **Blaming others help people protect their self-esteem. It allows them to maintain a positive self-image by casting themselves as the victim or the innocent party in a situation.**

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZWf2_2L2v8&t=1s' />

In fact we have a natural tendency to blame other people or circumstances when things go wrong. This inclinations is driven by **[the fundamental attribution bias](https://www.betterup.com/blog/fundamental-attribution-error)**. We tend to believe that what people do is a reflection of who they are, rather than considering there might be other factors affecting their behaviour. 

**Some individuals may resort to blaming others because they lack effective communication skills.** They may not know how to express their feelings or concerns in a constructive manner and instead resort to blame as a way of communicating their frustrations.

### 2. Scapegoating

Similar as in the blame game scapegoating is **a psychological defense mechanism of denial through projecting responsibility and blame on others.** It happens mostly when someone blames a specific individual or group at work for larger issues or failures within the organization to divert attention from the real causes.

### 3. Office gossiping

Spreading rumours or negative information about colleagues or clients is also **a type of psychological game, usually played to create tension and manipulate social dynamics.** Those who possess insider information or spread rumours may feel a sense of influence over others. Sometimes the person who spreads rumours plays also the role of victim from the drama triangle. 

**In competitive workplaces, employees may engage in gossip to undermine or discredit their colleagues.** This can be driven by feelings of insecurity or a desire to gain a competitive advantage. 

We have to note that while gossiping may serve some entertainment and informational functions for people, in most cases it has negative consequences and leads to misunderstandings, conflicts, and a toxic work environment. 

### 4.Passive-aggressive behaviour

**When you indirectly express hostility or disagreement through subtle actions, sarcasm, or backhanded compliments you also play the game.** In this way you avoid honest and open communication of what you really want to achieve. 

Passive-aggressive behaviours in the workplace can manifest in various ways. Among the most common ones we can find: 

😵‍💫 consistently delaying tasks or assignments without a valid reason, leading to missed deadlines and negatively affecting team productivity, 

😵‍💫 offering compliments that are actually disguised criticism or sarcasm,

😵‍💫 sabotaging projects by withholding information, resources, or assistance, 

😵‍💫 withholding information or updates with colleagues or team members, even when it's necessary for their work,

😵‍💫 undermining decisions made by other team members or management by expressing doubt, skepticism, or pessimism, which can erode trust and morale, 

😵‍💫 complaining frequently about work-related issues without taking constructive action to address or resolve them,

😵‍💫 reacting defensively or dismissively to constructive feedback, making it challenging for others to provide input or suggestions,

😵‍💫 excluding certain colleagues or team members from meetings, discussions, or social activities as a form of passive-aggressive punishment.

### 5. Credit stealing

Every now and then you can watch **people taking credit for someone else's work or ideas to enhance their own reputation**. I believe that many of them are doing that subconsciously. The sad truth behind it is that the credit stealing game is diminishing contribution of others a lot and in consequence makes them feel demotivated and annoyed. 

**Why do people hog credits? As in any game - to win.** 

Some have a strong desire for recognition and praise, and they take credit for others' work to boost their status and reputation within the organization. Some fear the consequences of making mistakes and they take credit for work they didn't do to avoid being associated with any potential failures or shortcomings. In some cases, individuals simply have a lack of ethical principles and are willing to engage in deceptive behaviors to achieve their goals or maintain their image. **In any form credit stealing is detrimental to the workplace relations, trust and morale. It can damage the best collaboration.**

<div className="image">![credit stealing](../../static/images/creadit-stealing-quote.png "")</div>

💡 **If you are not sure if you are a credit hogger, you can do a simple exercise proposed by Marshal Goldsmith in the article [Do You Work With a Credit Hog?](https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/do-you-work-with-a-credit-hog/242380)** **published in *Entrepreneur* a few years ago.** Still very relevant. 

### 6. Playing favourites

The game is played mainly by leaders, managers or bosses, but it also functions among co-workers. It can take form of assigning lighter workloads, interesting projects, or opportunities for skill development to favored individuals. Or it may be connected with promoting or giving career advancement opportunities primarily based on personal relationships rather than merit or qualifications. **In teams it may result in forming exclusive cliques or social circles where favored colleagues are included, and others feel left out or isolated.**

<div className="image">![playing favourites](../../static/images/favouritism.png "")</div>

**Favourism can also happen unintentionally as a cognitive bias powered by shared interests, personalities or backgrounds (more you can read [here](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cognitive-bias-how-it-affects-our-hiring-decisions/)).** 

Showing preferential treatment to certain team members while excluding or marginalising others always leads to divisions and resentment. 

💡 If you experience favouritism in your team, remember you can always ask for constructive feedback from your manager on your performance. This shows your commitment to improvement and may help counteract any negative perceptions.

### 7. Micromanaging

For some it might be surprising to find micromanagement here, but it is also a type of psychological game. **When you excessively monitor and control other people’s work, frequently you want to show your dominance or create a sense of dependency.** With a strong need for control micromanagers feel that things may go wrong without their direct oversight.

**Their fear may result from a desire for perfection, lack of trust based on past experiences, mistakes or just insecurity of the own expertise.** In general, people who love micro managing believe that their involvement is essential for achieving positive results. 

On the other hand, we should not forget that micromanagers may be also under significant pressure to meet deadlines or achieve results. This pressure can make them more controlling as they try to ensure that everything goes according to plan. **Some of them may also lack the skills or knowledge to effectively delegate tasks or they are just new in the managerial world and they may micromanage until they gain more experience and self-assurance.**

**One thing known for sure is that uncontrollable micromanagement can stifle employee autonomy, hinder creativity, and damage morale.** Employees often prefer a more hands-off approach from their managers. First of all, it allows them to take ownership of their work and feel reponsible for what they do. 

**Instead of micromanagement develop microencouragement in your team.** ❤️

### 8. Martyrdom

Kim Scott wrote [a very interesting article about navigating a work martyr culture](http://6%20Tips%20for%20Navigating%20a%20Work%20Martyr%20Culture), which main features are **working long hours, taking on excessive responsibilities, and portraying oneself as indispensable to gain recognition or manipulate sympathy. Work martyrs want to feel important and want to feel noticed. It is, however, essential to be aware of the fact that** leaving the martyr’s zone is not always easy for a person who is experiencing that.\*\* 

If in your case being a work matryr is connected with taking on your plate more than you can eat, you can try out the hints below: 

✅ Learn to say ‘no’ to certain projects or activities, especially ones that are low stakes and take you off focusing on your priorities. You have to start asking yourself what kind of impact each of the has on you. 

✅ Stop taking on other people’s feelings and setting boundaries. You can see and identify someone’s feelings without having to fix them or make them better.

✅ Share responsibility with others especially if you want them to grow.

✅ Stop micromanaging. 

✅ [Take time off.](https://thecontextofthings.com/2016/08/20/work-martyr/) It pays off. 😉 

<div className="image">![time off](../../static/images/holiday-time.png "")</div>

###### Source: https://thecontextofthings.com/2016/08/20/work-martyr/

### 9. Fear mongering

Mostly present in the media, but we can also experience that at work. **[Fear mongering is a form of manipulation by exaggerating potential negative outcomes, rumours or consequences to influence decisions or actions of others.](https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/03/07/ten-unmistakable-signs-of-a-fear-based-workplace)**

If you feel that fear mongering is present in your team, you can always try to take some step to mitigate it. **First of all, try to stay informed and be aware of the information being circulated and critically assess its accuracy and relevance.** Ensure you have reliable sources of information within the organization - not gossips. Regardless of your role (you don’t have to be a leader or manager to do that) - encourage open and transparent communication within your team so that people around you will feel comfortable sharing concerns and ideas without fear of retribution. 

What is also really valuable is challenging unsubstantiated claims. **If you next time encounter fear-mongering or baseless rumors, calmly and respectfully challenge them with facts and evidence. And if you see that fear-mongering originates from a lack of communication or unclear directives from leadership, seek clarification from higher-ups.** There is always something you can do to take the lead in implementing changes or improvements in the workplace. 

### 10. Psychological projection

[It is a defence mechanism where individuals attribute their own undesirable traits, thoughts, or feelings to someone else.](https://personalitygrowth.com/what-is-psychological-projection/) That is why, it is said that people around us are a perfect mirror of our inner relationship with ourselves. 

[The psychological projection can manifest in various ways in the workplace. ](https://helpfulprofessor.com/psychological-projection-examples/)You can find there almost any games presented above such as blaming others (in psychological projection someone who is unwilling to accept responsibility for their mistakes may project their own errors onto coworkers), gossiping (it can be a form of projection, as individuals may project their own insecurities or frustrations onto others leading to rumours), micromanagement (leaders who struggles with trust issues may project their need for control onto their team resulting in micromanagement).  

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=5udJgxOBrtk&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY&feature=emb_logo' />

**[The other popular examples are:](https://brightside.me/articles/why-a-person-may-project-their-insecurities-onto-others-and-how-to-prevent-them-from-hurting-you-802645/)** 

* judging co-workers (an employee who struggles with feelings of inadequacy might project their insecurities onto colleagues unfairly judging or criticizing their work), 
* assuming that your team members have ulterior motives, even when there's no evidence to support such claims (for example, assuming a colleague is trying to sabotage your career), 
* attributing your own emotions (misinterpreting colleagues' reactions and assuming they feel the same way), 
* projecting your own insecurities onto colleagues, doubting their competence because your feel insecure about your abilities,
* and many others. 

## **what can you do to stop playing games at work?**

Our life is full of nonobjective facts, in fact it is full of beliefs which are not true. We use these beliefs to interpret the reality around us. **You have to be aware that when one thought appears in your mind and you believe it to be true - it becomes a belief. This belief will affect your behaviour. When you accept one belief as true, you will be doing everything to make it true.**

It's important to recognize that playing any type of psychological game is generally connected with our beliefs, it is unproductive and can harm relationships, personal growth, and problem-solving. **Healthy communication, self-reflection, and accountability are better ways to address issues and conflicts than putting masks.** 

Stopping psychological games at work requires a combination of individual and organisational efforts. Some strategies you can take up are: 

👍 Increasing self-awareness by recognising your own behaviors and the impact they may have on others.

👍 Reflecting on your motivations and intentions in workplace interactions.

👍 Encouraging open and honest communication.

👍 Addressing issues directly and with empathy rather than resorting to passive-aggressive behaviours.

👍 Resolving conflicts in a constructive and transparent manner.

👍 Acknowledging and appreciating positive behaviors based on collaboration and support.

👍 Establishing regular feedback mechanisms. 

👍 Stop gosspining, blaming and credit stealing. 

👍 Raising awareness about the impact of psychological games.😉

**If you are aware that a game is happening, you can always refuse to play.** Stay mindful of what you do and focus on the goal of your work or organisational goals. 

**I personally cannot prevent other people from playing games, or attempting to hook me into their games. But I can refuse to play. When a  player’s hook fails to catch me, the game is effectively broken.** Some game players simply go away in search of another player to hook. Others become upset when the game doesn’t turn out as they hoped. 

💡 Now think for a moment about your own life. Which games are you playing at work? Are they really worth your time and energy? 

We should strive to know ourselves and learn to accept and manage our thoughts and feelings. It is not as anyone else would have us interpret them, **the key is to break the patterns.**

## Using AWS Cognito with NestJS

*Published: 2020-01-04 | Author: patryk | Tags: aws, cognito, backend, nestjs, nodejs*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/using-cognito-with-nest-js/index.md*

**AWS Cognito simplified the authentication, authorization and user management for you. In this post I will try to present how we can use this authentication service with your mobile app, website, and manage users.**

[Download repository with Nestjs AWS Cognito example](https://github.com/bright/nestjs-aws-cognito) 

## Initial work

To get started with AWS Cognito we need to create a user pool. The user pool is a container that AWS Cognito uses to manage and hold users identify.\
\
 In my case I don’t have any user pools, so I’m going to create one.

<div className="image">![create a user pool](../../static/images/image1.png "undefined")</div>

Here you are given two options to select from, let's select *Review defaults*. Make sure to provide a pool name as well.

Next, we need to create an app client. The app client is the client that our NestJS server will be communicating with. Make sure to tick Enable sign-in API for server-based authentication for our NodeJS server access Cognito user pool for authentication. App clients can be created after the generation of user pools as well. So, if you forget to add an app client when the creation of the user pool - do not worry, you can create a new one again.

<div className="image">![AWS](../../static/images/image3.png "undefined")</div>

We leave  `Generate client secret` unchecked as it is required for library we will use. Per `amazon-cognito-identity-js` documentation:

<div className="important-info"><div>When creating the App, the generate client secret box must be unchecked because the JavaScript SDK doesn't support apps that have a client secret.</div></div>

After successfully creating Pool and Client, copy `Pool Id` and `App Client Id` as we will need it for configuration.

<div className="image">![AWS](../../static/images/image2.png "undefined")</div>

*Pool Id*

<div className="image">![undefined](../../static/images/image4.png "undefined")</div>

*App Client Id*

## Creating TypeScript NestJS Server

Ok, once we have completed the first part of the post which was creating a User Pool in Amazon Cognito, we can switch to creating the NestJS server which will use the Amazon Cognito user pool to authenticate users.

The easiest way to set up the environment is to run commands to initialize the Nest app and allow us to install the required packages.

I describe using npm to install packages, including the Nest CLI. Install the CLI globally using the `npm install -g` command (see the note above for details about global installs).

So, we are adding the Nest CLI package globally:

```text
npm install -g @nestjs/cli
```

To create, build and run a new basic Nest project in the development mode, go to the folder that should be the parent of your new project, and run the following commands:

```text
nest new simple-app
cd simple-app
npm run start:dev
```

In your browser open `http://localhost:3000` to see a new application running. The app will automatically recompile and reload when you change any of the source files.

## Implement authentication

We are going to implement three functions in our NodeJS server application that authenticate the user:

* Sign in
* Sign up
* Token Validation (bonus, as an Authentication middleware)
  For each function we will need separate API endpoints in our server as well. Let’s create an `auth.controller` to handle incoming requests.

For that purpose we are going to use *NestCLI* to generate the `auth.module`, `auth.controller` and `auth.service`.

```text
nest generate module auth
nest generate controller auth
nest generate service auth
```

The Nest CLI automatically will generate the auth folder with files and add it to the existing app module.

The next step is to add a package to help us reach the Cognito SDK which will be going to be used for requests to Cognito API

`npm install amazon-cognito-identity-js --save`

Let's start by implementing `auth.service.ts`

```typescript
import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
import {
  AuthenticationDetails,
  CognitoUser,
  CognitoUserAttribute,
  CognitoUserPool,
} from 'amazon-cognito-identity-js';
import { ConfigService } from '@nestjs/config';
import { RegisterRequestDto } from './dto/register.request.dto';
import { AuthenticateRequestDto } from './dto/authenticate.request.dto';

@Injectable()
export class AuthService {
  private userPool: CognitoUserPool;

  constructor(private configService: ConfigService) {
    this.userPool = new CognitoUserPool({
      UserPoolId: this.configService.get<string>('AWS_COGNITO_USER_POOL_ID'),
      ClientId: this.configService.get<string>('AWS_COGNITO_CLIENT_ID'),
    });
  }

  async register(authRegisterRequest: RegisterRequestDto) {
    const { name, email, password } = authRegisterRequest;
    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
      return this.userPool.signUp(
        name,
        password,
        [new CognitoUserAttribute({ Name: 'email', Value: email })],
        null,
        (err, result) => {
          if (!result) {
            reject(err);
          } else {
            resolve(result.user);
          }
        },
      );
    });
  }

  async authenticate(user: AuthenticateRequestDto) {
    const { name, password } = user;
    const authenticationDetails = new AuthenticationDetails({
      Username: name,
      Password: password,
    });
    const userData = {
      Username: name,
      Pool: this.userPool,
    };
    const newUser = new CognitoUser(userData);
    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
      return newUser.authenticateUser(authenticationDetails, {
        onSuccess: (result) => {
          resolve(result);
        },
        onFailure: (err) => {
          reject(err);
        },
      });
    });
  }
}
```

Let's now import the following functions in our `auth.controller` which will receive the request and handle it.

```typescript
import { BadRequestException, Body, Controller, Post } from '@nestjs/common';
import { AuthService } from './auth.service';
import { AuthenticateRequestDto } from './dto/authenticate.request.dto';
import { RegisterRequestDto } from './dto/register.request.dto';

@Controller('auth')
export class AuthController {
  constructor(private readonly authService: AuthService) {}

  @Post('register')
  async register(@Body() registerRequest: RegisterRequestDto) {
    try {
      return await this.authService.register(registerRequest);
    } catch (e) {
      throw new BadRequestException(e.message);
    }
  }
  @Post('authenticate')
  async authenticate(@Body() authenticateRequest: AuthenticateRequestDto) {
    try {
      return await this.authService.authenticate(authenticateRequest);
    } catch (e) {
      throw new BadRequestException(e.message);
    }
  }
}
```

I have added two endpoints:

* register - API endpoint to register user
* authenticate - API endpoint to authenticate user 

###### Please note that in Cognito we add requirements according to which password should have at least 8 characters, in my example, I have added some validation at the dto level.

Our Dto's interface declaration looks like:

`register.request.dto.ts`

```typescript
import { IsEmail, IsString, Matches, MinLength } from 'class-validator';

export class RegisterRequestDto {
  @IsString()
  name: string;

  @IsEmail()
  email: string;

  @IsString()
  @MinLength(8)
  @Matches(/[a-z]/)
  @Matches(/[A-Z]/)
  @Matches(/[0-9]/)
  password: string;
}
```

`authenticate.request.dto.ts`

```typescript
import { IsString } from 'class-validator';

export class AuthenticateRequestDto {
  @IsString()
  name: string;

  @IsString()
  password: string;
}
```

## Bonus: Token Validation

For token validation we are going to use extra features from *NestJS*. For this purpose we are using *Guards*. 

We are going to start from install required packages:

```text
npm i --save @nestjs/jwt @nestjs/passport passport passport-jwt jwks-rsa
```

The following code extends the `PassportStrategy` package and grabs the Bearer token from the headers and pass it to the function validate. We use `jwks-rsa` to confirm a token with JWKS signing from AWS.

```typescript
import { ExtractJwt, Strategy } from 'passport-jwt';
import { PassportStrategy } from '@nestjs/passport';
import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ConfigService } from '@nestjs/config';
import { passportJwtSecret } from 'jwks-rsa';

@Injectable()
export class JwtStrategy extends PassportStrategy(Strategy) {
  constructor(private readonly configService: ConfigService) {
    super({
      secretOrKeyProvider: passportJwtSecret({
        cache: true,
        rateLimit: true,
        jwksRequestsPerMinute: 3,
        jwksUri: `https://cognito-idp.${configService.get(
          'AWS_REGION',
        )}.amazonaws.com/${configService.get(
          'AWS_COGNITO_USER_POOL_ID',
        )}/.well-known/jwks.json`,
      }),

      jwtFromRequest: ExtractJwt.fromAuthHeaderAsBearerToken(),
      audience: configService.get('AWS_COGNITO_CLIENT_ID'),
      issuer: `https://cognito-idp.${configService.get(
        'AWS_REGION',
      )}.amazonaws.com/${configService.get('AWS_COGNITO_USER_POOL_ID')}`,
      algorithms: ['RS256'],
    });
  }

  public async validate(payload: any) {
    return !!payload.email;
  }
}
```

In case you want to check the decoded jwt you can check [this](https://jwt.io/) out. More about verifying JWT in Cognito User Pool you can find [here.](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cognito/latest/developerguide/amazon-cognito-user-pools-using-tokens-verifying-a-jwt.html)

When you want to use the *Authentication Guard*. Guards have a single responsibility. They determine whether a given request will be handled by the route handler or not, depending on certain conditions (like permissions, roles, ACLs, etc.) present at run-time. This is often referred to as authorization. Authorization (and its cousin, authentication, with which it usually collaborates) has typically been handled by middleware in traditional Express applications. Middleware is a fine choice for authentication, since things like token validation and attaching properties to the request object are not strongly connected with a particular route context (and its metadata).

We need to use [AuthGuard](https://docs.nestjs.com/guards) and use Decorator *@UseGuards(AuthGuard)*. More about decorators you can find [here](https://docs.nestjs.com/custom-decorators). [](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cognito/latest/developerguide/amazon-cognito-user-pools-using-tokens-verifying-a-jwt.html)For that we created simple “alias” for our JWT Auth Guard:

`jwt.guard.ts`

```typescript
import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
import { AuthGuard } from '@nestjs/passport';

@Injectable()
export default class JwtAuthenticationGuard extends AuthGuard('jwt') {}
```

## It’s showtime!

The above code is a minimalistic version for NestJS authentication using Cognito User Pools. Now it's time for doing some tests.

### 1. Register

I used *Postman* to send the request. In *@Body* I included email, password, name. A created successful response will contain:

![AWS](../../static/images/using-cognito-with-nest-js/register.png "")

Then we can check also in our app in Cognito that the User has been created:

![AWS](../../static/images/using-cognito-with-nest-js/registered_cognito.png "")

### 2. Authenticate

Again, in @Body I sent the required password and the user field. If I prepare the correct data, I will receive the user payload:

![AWS](../../static/images/using-cognito-with-nest-js/login.png "")

### 3. Validation

For the test purposes I have added the *Guard* for the demo route. If I don't include the *Authorization* header with a token, the server will throw `UnauthorizedException` and in the client I will receive:

```json
{
    "statusCode": 401,
    "error": "Unauthorized"
}
```

When we add in a proper format the token `bearer {token}` (notice that `ExtractJwt.fromAuthHeaderAsBearerToken()`  expects **bearer** not **Bearer**) the Guard which will determine that the token is valid or not, and will allow the route to handle the request.

## Summary

I think that more and more developers will use the IaaS (infrastructure as a service) and move logic outside the backend. What is great, in AWS you can also move all the logic with verifying the JWT to *LAMBDA* which can be triggered before sign-up and authentication (we can customize these workflows in the user pool settings).

Cognito is a great service from AWS. I use it always when I have an opportunity to do it.

[Full repository with code you can find on our Github.](https://github.com/bright/nestjs-aws-cognito/)

<div className='block-button'><h2>We are looking for backend developers (TS, Node.js)</h2><div>Join our team and work on projects such as the Ethereum blockchain platform, accounting software, or web therapy applications.</div><a href="/jobs/senior-backend-developer-typescript"><button>Apply and join our team</button></a></div>

- - -

The article was written by Patryk Huzarski in 2020 and later updated by Wojciech Kałębasiak.

## 2023 Wrapped: 8 Business (and Life) Lessons

*Published: 2023-12-28 | Author: agata | Tags: inspiration, business, self-development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2023-8-business-and-life-lessons/index.md*

My teammate, Błażej, recently [shared on his LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blazej-dziuk_lets-hope-that-joining-a-bright-team-of-activity-7146093107284017152-SuJJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop) some wisdom about millennials dreaming of pubs and restaurants, while Gen Z sets their sights on IT startups. 😉 As a former restaurant owner turned IT representative, let me share some life and business lessons that the recent year (and a few before it, let's be real) has taught me.

## **Lesson 1: Cut the Clutter**

Identify the tasks that truly matter; it's like Marie Kondo-ing your schedule. Overcommitting leads to stress and burnout. **Prioritize, declutter, and achieve better results**—this applies not only to your tasks but also to your relationships with people. Simple math: more energy on fewer things equals better results.

## **Lesson 2: Set a Goal**

<div className="image">![seneca quote](../../static/images/blog-seneca.png "")</div>

**"If a man does not know to which port he is sailing, no wind is favourable."** - Seneca. This is one of my favourite quotes. Clear goals are like a GPS for your business but also a personal life.

## **Lesson 3: Do Not Rush**

Haste makes waste, (my favourable “pośpiech poniża” in Polish) both in life and business. **Rushed products and unplanned restaurant menus lead to dissatisfaction.** Bugs in your app just to meet a deadline? That's a no-go zone.

## **Lesson 4: Make a Plan**

Creating a plan nurtures a specific mindset, preparing you to tackle potential challenges and **refining your self-efficacy—a psychological asset**. Albert Bandura's self-efficacy theory centers on the belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations or tasks. Be ready to have a plan B because life surprises. \
If self-doubt tends to sneak in, dive deeper into [Bandura's theory](https://educational-innovation.sydney.edu.au/news/pdfs/Bandura%201977.pdf) or jump into [its key insights](https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/click-here-for-happiness/202209/5-ways-to-boost-self-efficacy). 

<div className="image">![Bandura self-efficiacy theory](../../static/images/banduras-self-efficacy-theory.jpg "")</div>

## **Lesson 5: Drop an Anchor**

Feeling off? Reflect. **The anchoring bias** is a cognitive bias where individuals heavily rely on the first piece of information they encounter when making decisions or judgments. This initial information acts as an 'anchor' and influences subsequent thoughts and evaluations, even if the anchor is unrelated or arbitrary. If you are feeling anxious and dissatisfied about your current situation, **reflect on what could have gone wrong but didn't.** Reflect on what went right, develop a positive mindset, and sail smoothly.

## **Lesson 6: Give Your Ideas a Reality Check**

Back in 1950, it took almost 50 years for medical know-how to double up. Fast forward to 1980, and it squeezed down to 7 years. By 2010, we're talking a mere 3 and a half years. **Loads of examples show that sticking to old rules can cost big money** (RIP BlackBerry). And this isn't just a business thing—it spills over into our personal lives too.

## **Lesson 7: Step out of Your Comfort Zone**

<div className="image">![out of comfort zone](../../static/images/leonardo.jpeg "")</div>

I've said it before in my [previous blogpost](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/stepping-out-of-your-comfort-zone/?utm_source=blog&utm_campaign=newblog) and I'll say it again: **get uncomfortable sometimes.** That's where the magic happens.

## **Lesson 8: Don't Deny Yourself Because of a Failure**

Mistakes happen. Learn, transform, and keep going. **Life is about growth, not perfection.**

So, whether you're dreaming of coding the next big thing, developing an international company or running the coziest pub in town, these lessons might be a part of your recipe for success. 🚀

<div className="image">![winston churchill quote](../../static/images/winstonchurchill1.jpg "")</div>

\
\
*Sources:*\
*https://dailystoic.com/stoic-quotes/*

*Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know (2021) [Adam Grant](https://www.amazon.com/Adam-Grant/e/B00ATUAAWE/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1)* 

*https://educational-innovation.sydney.edu.au/news/pdfs/Bandura%201977.pdf*

*https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/click-here-for-happiness/202209/5-ways-to-boost-self-efficacy*

*https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/self-efficacy.html*

*https://hbr.org/2022/08/dont-let-anchoring-bias-weigh-down-your-judgment*

## How Can You Develop Your Skills While Working at Bright Inventions?

*Published: 2023-12-28 | Author: agata-m | Tags: recruitment, selfdevelopment, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-can-you-develop-your-skills-while-working-at-bright-inventions/index.md*

At Bright Inventions, it is very important for us to continuously develop and keep up with hot tech trends. As some of you may have noticed, we have quite a few knowledge-sharing initiatives that we share outside Bright, such as webinars and workshops. Additionally, we also have a lot of initiatives contributing to our development internally. 

If you are curious about what these are and how you can develop after joining our bright team, I invite you to keep reading.

## Learning budget

This is a form of benefit that every employee can take advantage of. It is a pool of money (currently 2k PLN) that each team member can spend during the year on selected courses, conferences or workshops. There is also an opportunity to co-finance a selected learning initiative if the cost exceeds the limit. 

## Bright library 

Each of us can order a book we would like to read - the book related to our further development. These books are 100% funded by the organisation and go into our company library. Everyone can borrow a book, read it at home, and return it afterwards. 

## Bright development time 

Once a month, we can spend 8 hours to implementing ideas that benefit both: us and the company. It's a great opportunity to develop our skills by improving company products, creating libraries, optimizing business and project processes, or conducting workshops for teams. This allows us to expand our knowledge, gain valuable experience, and contribute to increasing the company's efficiency.

## Pair programming

This is the opportunity to work together with another developer on code or to solve problems that bother/block us.

## Mentoring programme 

Each of us can take part in a mentoring programme. We have both technology-related mentoring paths to choose from and these related to project management or communication. You choose the area which you would like to go through and a mentor supports you. 

Mentor and mentee meet usually once a month for an hour-long meeting during which they tackle the topic. **How do we explore the new topic?** It could be in any form ex. It can be pair programming, creating presentations, role playing or reviewing. It is entirely up to us. **How long does such a programme last?** This also depends on us and our needs. We agree on this individually with the mentor.

## Coffee talks

A teammate has been to some cool conference, or maybe has learned something totally new or game-changing in a project? Great! They can let people in the team know about it, organise a short 20-minute meeting and share what they have learned. 

## Blogging time 

As you may have noticed we have quite an active blog. :) We really enjoy sharing our ideas and thoughts and what is more, each of us can set aside two hours a week to write a blog post. The topic of the blogpost has to be related to what we do on daily basisi ot more broadly to our industry.

## Internal devs meetings 

Web and mobile developers unite! Every fortnight our developers get together for an internal devs meeting where they discuss news in their technology field for an hour. 

## English lessons

We have the opportunity to participate in free English classes with a professional teacher to improve our language skills. 

## Feedback 1:1s

Apart from the above we have also regular feedback 1:1 meetings with our managers or team leaders, which are a great occasion to exchange ideas and learn. Depending on the needs the frequency of meetings may change. The main goal is to talk through current issue and plan further steps of development. 

As you can see, there are quite a lot of learning initiatives and self-development opportunities in our organisation. Knowledge sharing is just a part of our Bright DNA. We have many opportunities to be able to grow and it depends on our which one we choose. 

If you too would like to join our team and be able to share knowledge inside or outside the organisation, take a look at our [job offers](https://brightinventions.pl/career/) and apply! :)

## First steps with AWS Bedrock

*Published: 2023-12-17 | Author: piotr | Tags: aws, aws-cdk, AI, Bedrock*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/aws-cdk-bedrock-basics/index.md*

AI is taking over the world. At Bright Inventions, we've already helped several clients with generative AI.  
In this blog post, we'll see how to use aws-cdk to create a simple API that responds to prompts.

## Request Bedrock model access

If you haven't used Bedrock before, the first step is to request model access.

You can do so
in [AWS Console > Bedrock Model > access page](https://eu-central-1.console.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/home?region=eu-central-1#/modelaccess):
![bedrock-request-model-access.png](../../static/images/bedrock-request-model-access.png "Request model access")

For Claude and Claude Instant models describe your use case briefly.

## Define your AWS Lambda function with aws-cdk

Declaring an AWS Lambda function with aws-cdk is straightforward. Our function needs to invoke Bedrock models, hence
appropriate IAM permissions are necessary. For simplicity, we'll use AWS Lambda Function URLs with authentication type
NONE.
You should use that only for evaluation purposes.

```typescript
export class BrightBedrockSimpleStack extends cdk.Stack {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props?: cdk.StackProps) {
    super(scope, id, props);

    const lambdaPrompt = new NodejsFunction(this, 'lambda', {
      architecture: Architecture.ARM_64,
      timeout: Duration.seconds(30),
      entry: path.join(process.cwd(), 'lib', 'bedrock-client', 'simple-api.lambda.ts'),
    })

    lambdaPrompt.addToRolePolicy(new PolicyStatement({
      actions: ['bedrock:InvokeModel'],
      resources: ['*']
    }))

    const functionUrl = lambdaPrompt.addFunctionUrl({
      authType: FunctionUrlAuthType.NONE
    });

    new CfnOutput(this, 'function-url', {
      value: functionUrl.url
    });
  }
}
```

## Invoking Bedrock amazon.titan-text-express-v1

Bedrock provides multiple models. The models differ not only in terms of their capabilities but also in their API. For
starters, let's use Titan Text Express.

```typescript
export const handler: APIGatewayProxyHandlerV2 = async (event, context) => {
  const body = event.body!

  const response = await bedrock.send(new InvokeModelCommand({
    body: JSON.stringify({
      inputText: body,
    }),
    contentType: 'application/json',
    modelId: "amazon.titan-text-express-v1"
  }));

  const modelResponseJson = response.body.transformToString();

  return {
    statusCode: response.$metadata.httpStatusCode ?? 500,
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': response.contentType
    },
    body: modelResponseJson
  }
}
```

After we deploy the code, we can invoke our function and ask basic questions, e.g.

```shell
curl -s -X POST --location "https://${YOUR_LAMBDA_ID}.lambda-url.eu-central-1.on.aws" \
    -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
    -d 'Which country has the highest GDP?' | jq
{
  "inputTextTokenCount": 7,
  "results": [
    {
      "tokenCount": 34,
      "outputText": "\nThe country that has the highest GDP is the United States. Its total GDP is $23.07 trillion in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).",
      "completionReason": "FINISH"
    }
  ]
}

```

## Titan Text Express configuration

We can control and tweak some the aspects of how the model responds to our prompts. For example, for Titan Text Express
we can
configure:

- temperature: Float value to control randomness in the response (0 to 1, default 0). Lower values decrease randomness.
- topP: Float value to control the diversity of options (0 to 1, default 1). Lower values ignore less probable options.
- maxTokenCount: Integer specifying the maximum number of tokens in the generated response (0 to 8,000, default 512).
- stopSequences: Array of strings indicating where the model should stop generating text. Use the pipe character (|) to
  separate different sequences (up to 20 characters).

Let's modify our lambda to allow controlling the parameters.

```typescript
const response = await bedrock.send(new InvokeModelCommand({
  body: JSON.stringify({
    inputText: body,
    textGenerationConfig: {
      temperature: parseFloat(event.queryStringParameters?.temperature ?? '') || undefined,
      topP: parseFloat(event.queryStringParameters?.topP ?? '') || undefined,
      maxTokenCount: parseInt(event.queryStringParameters?.maxTokenCount ?? '') || undefined,
    }
  }),
  contentType: 'application/json',
  modelId: "amazon.titan-text-express-v1"
}));
```

After deploying, we can control the model parameters through query string parameters:

```shell
curl -X POST --location "https://${YOUR_LAMBDA_ID}.lambda-url.eu-central-1.on.aws?temperature=0.9" \
    -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
    -d 'What is the country that has the most freedom of speech in the world?'
    
{
  "inputTextTokenCount": 15,
  "results": [
    {
      "tokenCount": 28,
      "outputText": "\n\"The United States has the most freedom of speech in the world, according to the 2022 Freedom House Index.\" ",
      "completionReason": "FINISH"
    }
  ]
}    
```

The results will be more elaborate if we change `topP`.

```shell
curl -X POST --location "https://${YOUR_LAMBDA_ID}.lambda-url.eu-central-1.on.aws?temperature=0.9&topP=0.1" \
    -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
    -d 'What is the country that has the most freedom of speech in the world?'
    
{
  "inputTextTokenCount": 15,
  "results": [
    {
      "tokenCount": 51,
      "outputText": "\n\"The United States is considered the country that has the most freedom of speech in the world. This freedom is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and religion.\" ",
      "completionReason": "FINISH"
    }
  ]
}    
```

## Summary

As you see, it is straightforward to get started with AWS Bedrock. The full example of this blog post is available in
[GitHub repo](https://github.com/bright/bright-aws-cdk-bedrock).

## Cheapest ECS Fargate service with HTTPS

*Published: 2023-12-15 | Author: piotr | Tags: aws, aws-cdk*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/aws-cdk-cheap-ecs-fargate/index.md*

There's plenty of ways to run a docker image in AWS. Custom EC2 images, ElasticBeanstalk, ECS Classic and Fargate and
finally EKS.
We have a lot of articles and guidelines for production best practices. However, not all workloads require the same
levels of resiliency, security or robustness. Sometimes, all we want is an easy and economical way to run a webserver.
In this article, you'll find how to run a web service in ECS Fargate cheaply using aws-cdk:

## Network

For most custom workloads in AWS, we need VPC. Creating one with aws-cdk takes few lines of code. However, to
reduce costs, we need to make sure that we have no Nat Gateways:

```typescript
const vpc = new Vpc(this, 'Vpc', {
  natGateways: 0 // $30 a month
})
```

Each NAT Gateway instance costs around $30 a month. When we run multiple services in a single VPC, the cost will be
minuscule in comparison. However, when we run a single service, that's a major portion of the total. 

## Fargate service

Without NAT Gateways for our workloads to be able to talk to the internet, they have to be in a public subnet
and have a public IP address.

To save additional money, we'll use FARGATE_SPOT capacity provider. This offers a variable rate, up to 70% discount vs
on demand instances.

```typescript
const task = new FargateTaskDefinition(this, 'task')

const service = new FargateService(this, 'Service', {
  cluster: new Cluster(this, 'Cluster', { vpc }),
  assignPublicIp: true,
  vpcSubnets: {
    subnetType: SubnetType.PUBLIC
  },
  taskDefinition: task,
  capacityProviderStrategies: [{
    capacityProvider: 'FARGATE_SPOT', // 70% discount
    weight: 1
  }]
});
```

## Example workload

A web service usually accepts HTTP traffic on a specified port. Let's use http-server for demonstration purposes:

```typescript
const backend = task.addContainer('backend', {
  image: ContainerImage.fromRegistry("node:20-alpine"),
  command: ['npx', 'http-server'],
  workingDirectory: '/srv',
  portMappings: [{
    containerPort: 8080
  }]
})
```

Note that our container name in the task is `backend`. We also expose port `8080` to other containers running in the
task.

## HTTPS is a must these days

We should never expose any web service without HTTPS. In a typical setup, we would either use an AWS Load Balancer or
AWS API Gateway. The cost of ALB is roughly $16 a month. API gateway would be cheaper. However, it would add complexity
to our solution.

Let's use [Caddy](https://caddyserver.com/) which can act as reverse-proxy with automatic HTTPS coverage.

```typescript
 const hostedZone = HostedZone.fromLookup(this, 'tutorial.bright.dev', {
  domainName: 'tutorial.bright.dev'
});

const baseUrl = new URL(`https://cheap-ecs-fargate.${hostedZone.zoneName}`);

task.addContainer('caddy', {
  image: ContainerImage.fromRegistry('caddy:2-alpine'),
  command: [
    'caddy', 'reverse-proxy', '--from', baseUrl.hostname, '--to', '127.0.0.1:8080'
  ],
  portMappings: [{
    containerPort: 80
  }, {
    containerPort: 443
  }],
}).addContainerDependencies({
  container: backend,
  condition: ContainerDependencyCondition.START
})
```

As you can see, we configure caddy container to reverse-proxy traffic to our web service.
The caddy container will also listen on both HTTP and HTTPS ports.

## Expose services publicly

Finally, for our service to be reachable from the internet, we need to configure DNS to point to our task instance
public ip.

However, given that we use a spot instance, which can and will often be replaced by AWS, we should automatically
update our DNS entry whenever the task is restarted. Thankfully, there's a
construct `@raykrueger/cdk-fargate-public-dns` available that will do it for us:

```typescript
service.connections.allowFromAnyIpv4(Port.tcp(80), 'Http')
service.connections.allowFromAnyIpv4(Port.tcp(443), 'Https')

new PublicIPSupport(this, 'PublicIPSupport', {
  cluster,
  service,
  dnsConfig: {
    domainName: baseUrl.hostname,
    hostzedZone: hostedZone.hostedZoneId
  }
})
```

## Summary

The above setup is not suited for the majority of production use. However, for non-production isolated use, it can
significantly reduce your monthly bill:

![ecs-cheap](../../static/images/ecs-cost.png "Comparison for regular vs cheap setup")

The full example can be found
in [GitHub repository](https://github.com/bright/bright-cheap-ecs-fargate-https).

## Google Sign In with Cognito and Nest.js

*Published: 2023-12-13 | Author: piotr | Tags: aws, aws-cdk*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/aws-cdk-cognito-google-sign-in-nest-js/index.md*

If you want to implement Google sign-in, also called Google federation, and combine it with using AWS Cognito this blog
post if for you.
We'll use aws-cdk combined with Nest.js to achieve that.

## Setup

At Bright, we often keep infrastructure code next to application code.
Thus let's start with creating:

* Nest.js backend project

```shell
nest new backend
```

* aws-cdk infrastructure project

```shell
mkdir infrastrucutre
(cd infrastrucutre && npx cdk@2 init --language=typescript)
```

## Cognito UserPool

Cognito `UserPool` represents our users' directory. You can think of it as the repository of of user accounts.

```typescript
export class CognitoGoogleAuthNestJs extends Stack {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props?: StackProps) {
    super(scope, id, props);

    const userPool = new UserPool(this, 'users', {
      selfSignUpEnabled: true,
      signInAliases: { email: true }
    });

    const userPoolDomain = userPool.addDomain('backend', {
      cognitoDomain: {
        domainPrefix: "tutorial-bright"
      }
    });

    new CfnOutput(this, 'user-pool-domain-uri', {
      value: userPoolDomain.baseUrl()
    })
  }
}
```

## Setup Google API credentials

We need to enable Cognito to talk with Google APIs.
In our Google Cloud Platform project, let's enable OAuth consent screen:

![gcp-oauth-api-consent-screen.png](../../static/images/gcp-oauth-api-consent-screen.png)

Next configure application name and a domain of the oauth handling endpoints. AWS Cognito provides us with
those [endpoints](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cognito/latest/developerguide/federation-endpoints.html):

![gcp-authorized-domain.png](../../static/images/gcp-authorized-domain.png)

Remember that until your application is published, you can only use it with test users.
You'll be able to add test users while configuring OAuth consent screen.

Finally, create an oauth client id using the web application type:
![gcp-oauth-client.png](../../static/images/gcp-oauth-client.png)

Finally, you need to configure Authorized redirect URIs to point to
AWS Cognito IDP response [endpoint](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cognito/latest/developerguide/federation-endpoints.html)
that will be in the form of: `https://${domainPrefix}.auth.${region}.amazoncognito.com/oauth2/idpresponse`

![gcp-oauth-redirect-uris.png](../../static/images/gcp-oauth-redirect-uris.png)

Download the oauth client credentials JSON file. We should not store the client credentials in our source code.
Let's use AWS Secret Manager for that:

```shell
 aws secretsmanager create-secret \
  --name cognito-google-oauth-credentials \
  --secret-string "$(jq '.web' < ~/Downloads/client_secret.apps.googleusercontent.com.json)"
```

The `jq '.web' ...` extract the nested `web` attribute content. This is required as you can't reference nested values in
AWS Secret Manager.

## Configure OAuth clients

We need to instruct Cognito to be able to communicate with Google as the Identity Provider:

```typescript
const clientCredentials = Secret.fromSecretNameV2(this, 'google-client-credentials', 'cognito-google-oauth-credentials')

userPool.registerIdentityProvider(new UserPoolIdentityProviderGoogle(this, "Google", {
  userPool,
  clientId: clientCredentials.secretValueFromJson("client_id").unsafeUnwrap(),
  clientSecret: clientCredentials.secretValueFromJson("client_secret").unsafeUnwrap(),

  // Email scope is required, otherwise we'll not get it
  scopes: ["email"],
  attributeMapping: {
    email: ProviderAttribute.GOOGLE_EMAIL,
  },
}));
```

Finally, we need to tell Cognito where to take the end user for after authentication. The callback url will be the url
of our Nest.js backend.

```typescript
const hostedZone = HostedZone.fromLookup(this, 'tutorial.bright.dev', {
  domainName: 'tutorial.bright.dev'
});

const baseNestJsUrl = new URL(`https://nestj-google-cognito.${hostedZone.zoneName}`);

const callbackUrl = new URL("/auth/callback", baseNestJsUrl)

const userPoolClient = userPool.addClient('nest.js', {
  generateSecret: true,
  supportedIdentityProviders: [UserPoolClientIdentityProvider.GOOGLE],
  oAuth: {
    callbackUrls: [callbackUrl],
  },
});
// workaround for https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/issues/15692
userPoolClient.node.addDependency(identityProviderGoogle)
```

## Handle Cognito sign-in callback in Nest.js

After Cognito federates with Google OpenId Connect Provider, it passes the control to our application.
In essence, it is the [Authorization code grant with PKCE](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7636).
Our application will receive a `code` that it has to exchange for Access Token, Id Token and Refresh Token using Cognito
APIs.

If your backend should automatically redirect unauthenticated API clients to OAuth authorize endpoint, then
use [passport-oauth2](https://www.passportjs.org/packages/passport-oauth2/).
To make our example more transparent, we invoke the token endpoint manually:

```typescript
@Controller()
export class AuthController {
  constructor(private readonly configService: ConfigService<OAuthClientEnvConfiguration>) {
  }

  @Get("/auth/callback")
  async signIn(@Query('code') authorizationCode: string) {
    const clientId = this.configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_CLIENT_ID')
    const clientSecret = this.configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET')
    const authorizationEncoded = Buffer.from(`${clientId}:${clientSecret}`).toString("base64");

    const authParams = new URLSearchParams(Object.entries({
      client_id: clientId,
      code: authorizationCode,
      grant_type: "authorization_code",
      redirect_uri: this.configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_CALLBACK_URL'),
    }));

    const tokenUrl = `${this.configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_AUTHORIZATION_SERVER_URL')}/oauth2/token?` + authParams;

    const tokenData = await (await fetch(tokenUrl, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Basic ${authorizationEncoded}`,
        "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
      },
    })).json();
    // tokenData has id_token, access_token and refresh_token
  }
}
```

At the end of the sign-in flow our application we have `IdToken`, `AccessToken` and `RefreshToken`.
What we do at this stage depends on our needs. For example, we can:

* start a cookie-based session
* return `AccessToken` to frontend
* init user account configuration that do not fit into AWS Cognito

## Combine Cognito with Passport Nest.js

Passport is often used in Node.js backends to deal with authentication.
The [passport-oauth2](https://www.passportjs.org/packages/passport-oauth2/) extension provides an easy way to integrate
with standard OAuth flows. Here's how to use it in Nest.js:

```typescript
@Controller()
export class AuthController {
  constructor(private readonly configService: ConfigService<OAuthClientEnvConfiguration>) {
  }

  @UseGuards(AuthGuard('oauth'))
  @Get("/auth/callback")
  async signInPassport(@Req() req: Express.AuthenticatedRequest) {
    // req.user has id_token, access_token and refresh_token 
  }

}

// register in AppModule
@Injectable()
export class NestPassportOAuthStrategy extends PassportStrategy(OAuth2Strategy) {
  constructor(configService: ConfigService<OAuthClientEnvConfiguration>) {
    super({
      clientID: configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_CLIENT_ID'),
      clientSecret: configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET'),
      authorizationURL: `${configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_AUTHORIZATION_SERVER_URL')}/oauth2/authorize`,
      tokenURL: `${configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_AUTHORIZATION_SERVER_URL')}/oauth2/token`,
      callbackURL: configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_CALLBACK_URL')
    } as OAuth2Strategy.StrategyOptions, (accessToken, refreshToken, results, profile, verified) => {
      console.log('verified', { accessToken, refreshToken, results, profile, verified })
    });
  }
}
```

## Provide users with login URL

With AWS Cognito we can use hosted pages. However, we often need to have a full control over the UI of our
application.\
In such a case, we can craft a special URL that will trigger the sign in flow. Here's how to create the URL that will
trigger login with Google flow:

```typescript
const baseAuthUrl = this.configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_AUTHORIZATION_SERVER_URL')
const clientId = this.configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_CLIENT_ID')
const loginViaGoogleUrl = `${baseAuthUrl}/oauth2/authorize?${new URLSearchParams(Object.entries({
  client_id: clientId,
  identity_provider: 'Google',
  response_type: 'code',
  redirect_uri: this.configService.getOrThrow('OAUTH_CALLBACK_URL')
}))}`
```

The URL will look as follows:

```text
https://{cognitoDomainPrefix}.auth.{awsRegion}.amazoncognito.com/oauth2/authorize?client_id={cognitoClientId}&identity_provider=Google&response_type=code&redirect_uri={yourApplicationCallbackUrl}
```

Please bear in mind that the `client_id` parameter is one retrieved from `userPoolClient` and not from Google project
API credentials.

## ECS Task Definition

I'll spare you the details on how to run the Nest.js application in ECS. That's a topic for a separate blog post.\
However, there are a couple of important configuration options that you need to provide for the above snippets to work:

```typescript
 const backend = task.addContainer('backend', {
  image: ContainerImage.fromDockerImageAsset(new DockerImageAsset(this, 'backend-image', {
    directory: path.join(process.cwd(), '..', 'backend')
  })),
  environment: {
    PORT: '3000',
    OAUTH_CLIENT_ID: userPoolClient.userPoolClientId,
    OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET: userPoolClient.userPoolClientSecret.unsafeUnwrap(),
    OAUTH_AUTHORIZATION_SERVER_URL: userPoolDomain.baseUrl(),
    OAUTH_CALLBACK_URL: callbackUrl.toString(),
  },
  portMappings: [{ containerPort: 3000 }],
  logging: LogDriver.awsLogs({
    streamPrefix: "backend",
    logGroup: logGroup
  })
});
```

## Summary

The full code of the above setup is available in [GitHub](https://github.com/bright/bright-cognito-google-nest/).
In our example, AWS Cognito performs OpenID Connect exchange with Google. Our Nest.js application code only receives
information from Cognito. We can easily integrate new identity providers e.g. Facebook and our backend application code
would still work. 

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## Data Deduplication in Python with RecordLinkage

*Published: 2023-11-29 | Author: patryk sz | Tags: python, deduplication, recordlinkage, pandas, machine learning*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/data-deduplication-in-python-with-recordlinkage/index.md*

**Supervised Duplicate Detection with RecordLinkage and Pandas: A Febrl Dataset Tutorial**

## Introduction

Duplicate detection is a critical process in data preprocessing, especially when dealing with large datasets. Duplicate records can skew analyses and impact the accuracy of machine learning models. In this tutorial, we explore data deduplication using Python's RecordLinkage package, paired with Pandas for data manipulation. This approach is particularly valuable in contexts like customer database management, where duplicate entries can result in inefficient marketing and customer service strategies.

## Setting Up the Environment with Miniconda

Ensure your environment is correctly set up using Miniconda:

1. **Install Miniconda**: Download and install Miniconda from [here](https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/miniconda.html).
2. **Create and Activate a New Conda Environment**:

   ```bash
   conda create --name deduplication python=3.8
   conda activate deduplication
   ```
3. **Install Required Packages**:

   ```bash
   conda install -c conda-forge recordlinkage pandas
   ```

- - -

## Step 1: Loading the Febrl Dataset

Utilize the RecordLinkage package to load the Febrl dataset, a synthetic dataset typical of what you might find in a customer database. This dataset contains duplicates and is structured with comprehensive personal details:

```python
import pandas as pd
import recordlinkage

df_a, df_b = recordlinkage.datasets.load_febrl4()
```

### Exploring the Dataset

Examine the dataset to understand its structure, which includes names, addresses, and other personal information:

```python
print(df_a.head())
```

**Example Output:**

```markdown
| rec_id       | given_name | surname  | street_number | address_1        | address_2       | suburb         | postcode | state | date_of_birth | soc_sec_id |
|--------------|------------|----------|---------------|------------------|-----------------|----------------|----------|-------|---------------|------------|
| rec-1070-org | michaela   | neumann  | 8             | stanley street   | miami           | winston hills  | 4223     | nsw   | 19151111      | 5304218    |
| rec-1016-org | courtney   | painter  | 12            | pinkerton circuit| bega flats      | richlands      | 4560     | vic   | 19161214      | 4066625    |
| rec-4405-org | charles    | green    | 38            | salkauskas crescent | kela          | dapto          | 4566     | nsw   | 19480930      | 4365168    |
| rec-1288-org | vanessa    | parr     | 905           | macquoid place   | broadbridge manor | south grafton | 2135     | sa    | 19951119      | 9239102    |
| rec-3585-org | mikayla    | malloney | 37            | randwick road    | avalind         | hoppers crossing| 4552     | vic   | 19860208      | 7207688    |
```

This Markdown table showcases the first few entries from the Febrl dataset `df_a`. It includes various fields like `given_name`, `surname`, `address_1`, and `date_of_birth`, providing a detailed view of the data structure used in the deduplication process.

## Step 2: Data Preprocessing

Data preprocessing is a critical step in ensuring the quality of your deduplication efforts. The objective here is to clean and standardize your data, making it suitable for comparison. This involves addressing missing values, normalizing data formats, and potentially converting data types for consistency.

In the code snippet, we replace all missing values with empty strings in both datasets (`df_a` and `df_b`). This uniform approach to missing data ensures that comparisons are not skewed by null values.

```python
df_a.fillna('', inplace=True)
df_b.fillna('', inplace=True)
```

## Step 3: Indexing

Indexing is the process of creating candidate links between records, which might refer to the same entity. This step is crucial as it sets the stage for how records will be compared.

While `indexer.full()` creates a comprehensive index by comparing every record in one dataset (`df_a`) with every record in another (`df_b`), this method can be computationally expensive, especially for large datasets. An efficient alternative is to use a blocking method, such as `indexer.block("given_name")`. This approach significantly reduces the number of comparisons, thus speeding up the process.

### Understanding Block Indexing:

Block indexing works by grouping records based on a specific attribute and only comparing records within the same group. In our example, we use:

```python
indexer = recordlinkage.Index()
indexer.block("given_name")
candidate_links = indexer.index(df_a, df_b)
```

Here’s how it works:

* **Blocking by Given Name**: By invoking `indexer.block("given_name")`, the RecordLinkage indexer will group records from both `df_a` and `df_b` based on the `given_name` attribute. Essentially, it creates blocks of records where the given names are the same.
* **Reduced Comparisons**: Comparisons are only made between records within these blocks. For instance, a record with the given name 'John' in `df_a` will only be compared to records with the given name 'John' in `df_b`.
* **Efficiency**: This focused approach significantly reduces the total number of comparisons needed. It's particularly effective in datasets where a high proportion of records can be excluded from comparison based on a single attribute.

**When to Use Block Indexing**:

* **Large Datasets**: Ideal for large datasets where full indexing might be impractical due to computational constraints.
* **High-Quality Key Attribute**: Most effective when there’s a reliable key attribute (like 'given_name') that can accurately group potential matches.

**Trade-Offs**:

* **Risk of Missing Matches**: If the key attribute used for blocking has inconsistencies (like typos in names), potential matches might be missed.
* **Choosing the Right Attribute**: The effectiveness of blocking depends on choosing an attribute that can effectively discriminate between matches and non-matches.

In summary, using `indexer.block("given_name")` offers an efficient way to perform indexing in duplicate detection tasks, especially when dealing with large datasets or seeking to optimize computational resources. It's a strategic choice in scenarios where the selected blocking attribute is reliable and consistent across the dataset.

## Step 4: Comparing Records

Comparing records is the heart of the deduplication process. This step involves applying various algorithms to measure similarities between record pairs.

These comparisons yield a set of features indicating the level of similarity between each pair of records.

```python
compare_cl = recordlinkage.Compare()
compare_cl.exact('given_name', 'given_name', label='given_name')
compare_cl.string('surname', 'surname', method='jarowinkler', threshold=0.85, label='surname')
compare_cl.exact("date_of_birth", "date_of_birth", label="date_of_birth")
compare_cl.exact("suburb", "suburb", label="suburb")
compare_cl.exact("state", "state", label="state")
compare_cl.string("address_1", "address_1", threshold=0.85, label="address_1")

features = compare_cl.compute(candidate_links, df_a, df_b)
```

**Example Output:**

```markdown
| rec_id_1     | rec_id_2     | given_name | surname |
|--------------|--------------|------------|---------|
| rec-1070-org | rec-282-org  | 1          | 0       |
| rec-1070-org | rec-1685-org | 1          | 0       |
| rec-1070-org | rec-1056-org | 1          | 0       |
| rec-1070-org | rec-1216-org | 1          | 0       |
| rec-1070-org | rec-1508-org | 1          | 0       |
```

## Step 5: Classifying Matches

The classification step involves analyzing the comparison features to distinguish between matches and non-matches. A common approach is to set a threshold for the sum of comparison scores. Pairs scoring above this threshold are considered matches.

```python
matches = features[features.sum(axis=1) > 3]
print(matches)
```

**Example Output:**

```markdown
| rec_id_1     | rec_id_2     | given_name | surname |
|--------------|--------------|------------|---------|
| rec-1070-org | rec-5114-org | 1          | 1       |
| rec-1070-org | rec-3403-org | 1          | 1       |
| rec-1016-org | rec-1936-org | 1          | 1       |
```

## Complete code

```python
import pandas as pd
import recordlinkage
from recordlinkage.datasets import load_febrl4
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier
from sklearn.metrics import classification_report

# Load the Febrl dataset
df_a, df_b = load_febrl4()

# Data Preprocessing
df_a.fillna('', inplace=True)
df_b.fillna('', inplace=True)

# Indexing - Create candidate links between records
indexer = recordlinkage.Index()
indexer.block("given_name")
candidate_links = indexer.index(df_a, df_b)

# Comparing Records
compare_cl = recordlinkage.Compare()
compare_cl.exact('given_name', 'given_name', label='given_name')
compare_cl.string('surname', 'surname', method='jarowinkler', threshold=0.85, label='surname')
compare_cl.exact("date_of_birth", "date_of_birth", label="date_of_birth")
compare_cl.exact("suburb", "suburb", label="suburb")
compare_cl.exact("state", "state", label="state")
compare_cl.string("address_1", "address_1", threshold=0.85, label="address_1")

# Classifying Matches
features = compare_cl.compute(candidate_links, df_a, df_b)

# Analyzing the Results with Pandas
matches = features[features.sum(axis=1) > 3]

# Display the first few entries of the dataset and matched records
print("First few entries of df_a:")
print(df_a.head())
print("\nMatched Records:")
print(matches.head())
print("\nNumber of matched records:")
print(len(matches))
```

## Summary

Supervised duplicate detection using the RecordLinkage package in Python is a powerful method for identifying duplicate records in datasets. This approach is particularly valuable in scenarios where maintaining a single, accurate record for each entity is crucial, such as in customer databases, medical records, and other similar applications. By following the steps of preprocessing, indexing, comparing, classifying, and analyzing, we can effectively identify and handle duplicate entries, leading to cleaner, more reliable datasets for further analysis or model training.

## The Best Authentication Methods for Your App (Decision Tree)

*Published: 2023-11-28 | Author: piotr | Tags: business, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/authentication-methods-for-app-decision-tree/index.md*

**Download our free ebook with an authentication method decision tree. We've taken into account user experience, regulatory requirements, privacy concerns, and security when selecting an authentication method for an application.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Download the free ebook with a decision tree' ebookName='Optimise-Sign-In-Experience.pdf' ebookDescription='Answer 6 question to determine the best authentication method for your application.' ebookImage='/images/cover-sign-in-ebook.png' ebookAlt='Sign-In ebook cover' />

## The decision tree included in our free ebook divides decision factors into 6 questions:

Here are examples of the questions:

* Are there specific regulatory or compliance requirements?
* What is the sensitivity of the application or data?
* Does the application support multiple platforms and devices?

Dive into the first question with this sample:

<div className="image">![authentication method decision tree](../../static/images/blog_post_decision_tree_new.png "authentication method decision tree")</div>

According to your answers, we prepared the proper recommendations. Download the free ebook to have the whole picture and streamline your sign-in process.

## Use WorkManager Mindfully and Don’t Make These Mistakes

*Published: 2023-11-24 | Author: szymek | Tags: Android, Kotlin, Hilt, WorkManager*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/make-workmanager-safe/index.md*

**WorkManager is a powerful tool, but with great power comes great responsibility. Is it always completely safe to use? In this article, we will discuss a few potentially dangerous situations related to WorkManager. We will focus on the inconsistency of Workers, which can be edited or removed over time.**

<div className="image">![mind the gap](../../static/images/mind_the_gap.png "mind the gap")</div>

## **Custom WorkerFactory and @AssistedInject**

Let's face it, nowadays injecting dependencies into a [Worker](https://developer.android.com/reference/androidx/work/Worker) class is common and nearly inevitable. Our background work often requires sending a request using e.g. Retrofit service, saving something in the database using *Dao* or simply separating logic from Worker. It would be great if we could inject these dependencies directly into the Worker. Without dependency injection, Workers would not be so powerful. WorkManager creates Workers on its own by default. It expects the Worker to have a constructor with two parameters (Context and [WorkerParameters](https://developer.android.com/reference/androidx/work/WorkerParameters)). So how do we provide our dependencies there?

### How to inject dependencies using Dagger 2

One of the most common practices is to create a custom [WorkerFactory](https://developer.android.com/reference/androidx/work/WorkerFactory) and [@AssistedInject.](https://dagger.dev/dev-guide/assisted-injection.html) Once we prepare our Assisted factories, we can create workers on our own using WorkerFactory. Here is a sample:

```kotlin
class CustomWorkerFactory @Inject constructor(
    private val workerFactories: Map<Class<out ListenableWorker>, @JvmSuppressWildcards MyWorkerAssistedFactory>
) : WorkerFactory() {

    override fun createWorker(
        appContext: Context,
        workerClassName: String,
        workerParameters: WorkerParameters
    ): ListenableWorker? {
        return workerFactories.entries
            .find {
                Class.forName(workerClassName).isAssignableFrom(it.key)
            }
            ?.value
            ?.create(appContext, workerParameters)
    }
}
```

It assumes that we are able to inject our custom-assisted factories, which will help us create Workers using only Context and WorkerParameters. For providing such factories, [please see Assisted Injection documentation](https://dagger.dev/dev-guide/assisted-injection.html). 

This code works fine, however there is one issue with it. If you rename, move or delete the Worker’s class and you had a work request scheduled for the class before modification, then the `Class.forName(workerClassName)` is going to throw `ClassNotFoundException`. It’s because WorkManager stores class names in its local database and it doesn’t track class modifications. Once WorkManager saves a particular class name, it’s going to stay in the database until the associated request is completed.

Here is a sample scenario showing how this situation can happen:

1. Create `SyncDataWorker` class and install the app
2. Turn off Wi-Fi and cellular data
3. Schedule a work request with the constraint of having a network available
4. Modify `SyncDataWorker` class to `SyncWorker` and install the app
5. Turn on Wifi or cellular data and wait for the Worker to start work
6. If work is not scheduled, please use the following ADB command to debug WorkManager and see if the WorkRequest is enqueued:

`adb shell am broadcast -a "androidx.work.diagnostics.REQUEST_DIAGNOSTICS" -p "your.package.name"`

7. The app should crash soon with the `ClassNotFoundException`

In order to fix this issue we can simply wrap the `Class.forName(workerClassName)` invocation with a try-catch statement:

```kotlin
class SafeWorkerFactory @Inject constructor(
    private val workerFactories: Map<Class<out ListenableWorker>, @JvmSuppressWildcards MyWorkerAssistedFactory>
) : WorkerFactory() {

    override fun createWorker(
        appContext: Context,
        workerClassName: String,
        workerParameters: WorkerParameters
    ): ListenableWorker? = try {
        workerFactories.entries
            .find {
                Class.forName(workerClassName).isAssignableFrom(it.key)
            }
            ?.value
            ?.create(appContext, workerParameters)
    } catch (e: ClassNotFoundException) {
        println("Class not found thrown!!!")
        e.printStackTrace()
        null
    }
}
```

Now if there was some deprecated class name in the WorkManager’s storage, we won’t encounter a crash due to ClassNotFoundException being thrown. Of course, the request won’t execute, but we’ll talk about it further in this blog.

### How to inject dependencies using Hilt

Hilt made it all easier for you. In order to use it for the WorkManager configurations you need to add the following dependency to your project:

```kotlin
implementation("androidx.hilt:hilt-work:<newest_version>")
```

It provides an already existing safe `HiltWorkerFactory` ready to be used. This factory also uses `Class.forName` to get the Worker class by its name, but it’s wrapped with a try-catch statement already. This factory is ready to be injected out of the box once you add Hilt dependency - you don’t need to provide it on your own.

It works together with `@HiltWorker` annotation which you should add over your `Worker` class.\
It looks more or less like this:

```kotlin
@HiltAndroidApp
class SafeWorkManagerApp : Application(), Configuration.Provider {

    @Inject
    lateinit var hiltWorkerFactory: HiltWorkerFactory

    override fun getWorkManagerConfiguration(): Configuration {
        return Configuration.Builder()
            .setWorkerFactory(hiltWorkerFactory)
            .build()
    }
}

@HiltWorker
class SyncDataWorker(
    context: Context,
    workerParameters: WorkerParameters,
    @Assisted
    someOtherDependencyProvidedByHilt: SomeOtherDependencyProvidedByHilt 
): Worker(context, workerParameters) {
    override fun doWork(): Result {
        // define work and return Result
    }
}
```

Having this code, you’re ready to go. You can use WorkManager and enqueue work requests with assisted injection.

## **Any other dangers?**

Well, we are covered in terms of catching `ClassNotFoundException`, but is it completely safe? Well... It depends!

Imagine an `OfflinePaymentWorker` that is supposed to synchronise offline payments with your backend. Now, you requested a work request for this Worker and it hasn’t completed yet. Then if you e.g. change the name of the Worker from `OfflinePaymentWorker` to `SyncOfflinePaymentsWorker` and install the app, you won’t sync outstanding work requests, because our safe factories would return `null` instead of an actual Worker. You could lose critical data about the payments.

That’s why you have to be always mindful about the Worker changes you introduce. Just keep in mind that WorkManager can store some incomplete work requests in it’s storage and modifying your Worker class might make them impossible to execute.

### **What to do to prevent losing your data?**

Well, there are many approaches you can take. The most obvious one is to keep the old Worker and adjust only the logic - don’t delete it, move it or change the name. The downside of it, is that once you introduce a critical data sync Worker, it probably going to stay with you forever because theoretically, you are never sure if every task in the field has been executed or not.

There are other approaches as well, here is the last one that I am going to present. Instead of relying on WorkManager to store your data in a work request, you could store the critical data in your own storage like SharedPreferences or SQLite database. In other words instead of doing this:

```kotlin
fun enqueueWork() {
    val request = OneTimeWorkRequestBuilder<SyncDataWorker>()
        .setInputData(
            workDataOf(
                "data1" to "value1",
                "data2" to "value2",
            )
        ).build()
    
    WorkManager.getInstance(this)
        .beginUniqueWork(..., request)
        .enqueue()
}

    
class SyncDataWorker(
    appContext: Context,
    workerParams: WorkerParameters
) : Worker(appContext, workerParams) {
    
    override fun doWork(): Result {
        val data1 = inputData.getString("data1") ?: return Result.failure()
        val data2 = inputData.getString("data2") ?: return Result.failure()


        // some logic to synchronise data
        return Result.success()
    }
}
```

you could store the `data1` and `data2` values in SQLite Database as a single row representing a work that has to be executed and then create a Worker that would synchronise all of the remaining data from the database:

```kotlin
fun enqueueWork() {
    val syncDataRequest = OneTimeWorkRequestBuilder<SyncDataWorker>()
        .build()

    WorkManager.getInstance(this)
        .beginUniqueWork(..., syncDataRequest)
        .enqueue()
}

@HiltWorker
class SyncDataWorker(
    appContext: Context,
    workerParams: WorkerParameters,
    @Assisted
    syncDataDao: SyncDataDao
) : Worker(appContext, workerParams) {

    override fun doWork(): Result {
        val allDataToSynchronise = syncDataDao.getAll()

        allDataToSynchronize.forEach {
            // some logic to synchronise data
        }

        return Result.success()
    }
}
```

This way you won’t lose critical data if you modify or remove your Worker class. You would still have it in your database and you would be able to synchronise it in one way or another.

## **Summary**

We have to be mindful of our Workers and make sure that modifying or removing them is not going to cause some issues for our business.

What else do you do to keep WorkManager work safe? Share in the comments!

## An Ode to Product Mindset and Developers Who Know How to Ride a Bike

*Published: 2020-10-06 | Author: kasia | Tags: product mindset, product thinking, agile, agile mindset*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/an-ode-to-product-mindset-and-developers-who-know-how-to-ride-a-bike/index.md*

Companies mostly work “in projects” these days. It’s basically a shortcut for a team of people focused on a shared goal for some specific time. We are used to terms like “project success” or “project management”. No wonder people care about their projects and everything that comes with it - success or failure, deadlines and tasks. This is what the days consist of - *projects*. Ideally, from time to time, we take a deep breath and go through the whole system, thinking how our current task fits in the context. Thinking about *the product*. Sometimes though, we might lose ourselves in the day to day work, focusing on delivering a project and forgetting why exactly we have this whole thing going on. And it would be just such a shame - **developers are much more than just highly skilled workers, they are creators**. We just sometimes forget about it.

<div className="image">![Cycling](../../static/images/blogpost_bike.png "Cycling")</div>

## The Jira trap

I already [expressed my (complicated) love for Jira before](/blog/how-we-use-jira-at-bright). Using issue tracking tools can make your everyday life easier and more manageable. I would never advocate not using one. But… Jira is exactly this - a task focused tool. It enables breaking the big requirements down into epics, then user stories, then tasks or even subtasks. In essence, this is a trusted method of decomposing a bigger problem into smaller ones. More atomic issues are easier to control and deliver. Seems like a reasonable thing to do. As long as you keep in mind that the small issue is a part of a bigger whole and this wholeness is what you are all after. That’s when Jira’s ability to decompose comes as a double edged sword. **As much as it supports a top-down planning, it’s not just as easy to build the bigger picture bottom-up again**. How often do you actually read an epic? Or even use one? Maybe no one was reading it anyway and you all decided to skip them? Because the road from a task concerning a change in an endpoint - to the epic about making reservations in a system sometimes seems so long, that many people might not feel like walking it more than once. But agile revision of the backlog does not only concern the development tasks - even more importantly, it requires reflection on epics and user stories as well.

## Creating software

The focus on small steps is totally fine at the beginning of your career. It’s the same as learning how to ride a bike. You focus on small elements first, which pedal to push now or how to turn with the handlebar. Then you concentrate on the fact of riding itself and not falling down (too often). But after a while, you are able to choose a road and destination, focus on where you are getting to and maybe also enjoy the views. That’s what happens when you lift your head from the code and try to see what’s around you, what is the reason behind writing this specific piece of code. If you do that, you might actually have a say about where you are going to and which road to choose. Agile approach expects you to do it more often, one time analysis at the beginning of the project will not be enough. Check the road you’re on frequently and adjust it if necessary. **Without a perspective and context, it’s hard to have a sense of direction**. If you try making agile-like changes with a waterfall mindset you can end up in a state of child-like confusion. It’s a trap both for developers and managing figures - a whirlwind of acceptance criteria, statuses and looming deadlines can suck in everyone equally.

<div className="image">![Cycling](../../static/images/bike_photo_blog.png "Cycling")</div>

## What a user wants, what a user needs

By definition, understanding a user’s needs is a domain of someone in the project who identifies the requirements and manages the product backlog. It’s great to have someone dedicated just for getting these right. But it’s not enough. It’s one of the reasons behind the [agile manifesto](https://agilemanifesto.org/) - the necessity to understand the user’s needs by the whole team. The simple fact is that it is not possible to make a good product without understanding what it’s for. But funnily enough, **it is possible to write good code without such understanding**. A beautiful, clean code. Just… with no real purpose. As much as the code quality is very important, it will be just a buried piece of gold if no one wants to use it. No matter how tasty the wedding cake if you decide to deliver it at the funeral.

It’s important to aim at being a good developer and to improve the quality of your code. But choosing the right solutions based on the product’s and user’s needs is where being great begins.

## Delivering products, not projects

When a client approaches us, she or him rarely asks us to deliver *a project*. What a client is interested in is *the product* and its value. The artifacts of a project - a task board, burndown charts, meeting notes are there to support us on the road to the actual product. If a Sprint review meeting ends up being **a presentation of the issue progress on the board accompanied by some charts, it only shows a project progress. What is really of value is the system itself** - what features are done in this particular version? How do they work? No matter how many tasks have been moved to Done, in the end the increment should bring the expected value and the client should be able to verify it somehow. A system that’s just a pile of unconnected screens and functionalities, even prettiest and cleanest ones, presents very little or no value at all.

## Bring the spark back

Let me bring up one more thing to the table. **The actual pleasure and excitement that comes from creating something**. Not just a button or an endpoint, but a whole solution, as a team. You don’t need to carve in wood or stone to be considered a creator - you create systems. I think it’s easy to forget between one git push and another that **writing software is really an art of creation**. There was nothing, emptiness of dev/null and then, line by line, something appears and works, is used by actual people who potentially find it helpful or fun. Moving tasks to Done, ticking them one by one is as satisfying as any To Do list but seeing the bigger picture and how the button you added actually works for people - that can be really fulfilling. **You just need to lift your eyes from the handlebar**, as soon as you’re ready. Look mum, no hands!

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions' team](../../static/images/2_galeria_bright_inventions.jpg "Bright Inventions' team")</div>

## Before you set off for the adventure

As much as with biking the progress from unsteady pedalling to smooth journeys happens pretty fast and is easily noticeable, it can be more tricky when it comes to software development. It may take years and be more gradual. **So how do you know whether you’re really lifting your head from the code?** You may ask yourself a few simple questions

1. Do I know the actual use case for the piece of code I’m working on right now? What’s the main business value to the client here?
2. Do I know what my team mates are currently working on?
3. How do I react when a pivot in a newly introduced feature is needed? Can I embrace the change coming after client's feedback? 
4. What would I do if I felt that the acceptance criteria in my task are lacking or not aligned with other parts of the system? Would I notice this? Would I propose a solution to deliver the feature or follow acceptance criteria to be done with my task?

Every project is different and of course the business perspective is not always accessible to the developers (or in fact project managers as well). However, **your mindset is your own personal power and asset**. Building a product focused attitude is a great value that will stay with you longer than your current project. 

## Where to go next

If you're still unsure about the whole product mindset thing or you'd like to dig deeper into the subject, I prepared a small and subjective list of some interesting and fun sources:

* A straightforward summary of the topic in [this Your Daily Scrum podcast episode](https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/yds-difference-between-project-and-product-mindset) 
* A comprehensive overview of the organisations transformation from project mindset to the more product focused one in "Project to Product" by Mik Kersten (or start with one of his public speeches, like this [one](https://youtu.be/hrjvbTlirnk?si=bK8dVy26E3-G5eWH) 
* Fascinating insight into users’ perspective and motivations in "User Friendly" by Cliff Kuang & Robert Fabricant or in "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman 
* An interesting concept of product engineers - developers with a great product thinking in [a video](https://youtu.be/OCP_HEhvIqM?si=rUZ3MQ-zRmhUNZ_E) by Sherif Mansour
* For exploring mechanisms behind successful product management - "Product Leadership" by Richard Banfield, Martin Eriksson & Nate Walkingshaw
* Bonus source - [Kent Beck’s newsletter](https://tidyfirst.substack.com/) with lots of code related ideas, but his main goal now is to “Help Geeks Feel Safe In The World” so plenty of soft skills and product related content as well.

It's all just Agile in the end :)

- - -

Listen to BrightDevTalks podcast on Spotify. Kasia and Ula from Bright Inventions take cycling to the next level. Podcast is recorded in Polish.

<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/3uPeTSM5EUPLVSNAjaMD5B?utm_source=generator&theme=0" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>

## Embracing Tech and Business Side of Software Development. Meet Piotr

*Published: 2023-11-14 | Author: piotr_r | Tags: bright insights, bright story, growth*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/tech-business-side-software-development-piotr/index.md*

**Piotr is an experienced entrepreneur and Android Developer who always brings much more than lines of code. His broad perspective helps to truly create the software that matters. Explore how his passion for music led him to Android development. Also, find out how sports activities transformed his life and work.**

<div className="image">![Android developer career story](../../static/images/brightstorypiotrcollage.png "Android developer career story")</div>

## Before you joined Bright Inventions you were an entrepreneur. Tell us more about your business.

The company I co-founded was providing **digital signage solutions**. In practice, we owned a nationwide screen network, used as an information and advertisement tool. Our top product was a digital signage network in the health sector. My business partner was responsible for advertising, while **I was handling the technology side of the business**.

## Did your business eventually direct you toward Android development?

Answering that question isn't straightforward. To begin, I should mention that **I am a sound engineer by profession**. I graduated from Gdansk University of Technology. Despite taking on some work at a Musical Theatre in Gdynia and in a recording studio, I found that it wasn't a promising career path for me. I decided to pivot. I've always loved computers - as a teenager, I was building websites with HTML and PHP, so programming wasn't unfamiliar to me.

**My interest was sparked by Android development when I realized how easily it synced with my other passion – playing drums**. Smartphones have accelerometers and track motions like shaking, tilting, and swinging. I read on the internet about a guy who used that to build an app that simulates drums. Being a drummer myself, this intrigued me, so **I decided to develop an app that turned my phone into a drumstick**. It was incredibly satisfying and fun.

Later, I took several courses on Android development. Eventually, my company received an order to build an Android app for a bank, providing me with the opportunity to work on a commercial project.

<div className="image">![Bright dev after hours](../../static/images/piotr_bright_passion-2-.png "Bright dev after hours")</div>

<center>Bright dev after hours</center>

## How did you land in Bright Inventions?

I sold my business and chose to freelance for a while and work on my own apps. In the end, freelancing wasn't the perfect solution for me, as I love to work in a team, so I began searching for a full-time job. 

I recall coming across a job offer from Bright Inventions on a job board, but I didn't apply at that time. Soon after that, **I heard wonderful things about Bright Inventions (and Ula in particular)** from a friend, so I decided to submit my application. This happened over four years ago. 🙂 Now I cannot imagine another career path for me.

## How would you sum up these 4 years at Bright Inventions?

I can say that it has been a period of rapid and profound learning. I don't just mean technical knowledge, but I've also deeply dived into the business aspects of software development. 

**It's remarkable how quickly I gained a substantial amount of trust**. During my second month here, I already experienced a sense of freedom combined with responsibility. I have always been a person who ensures meeting all deadlines and who self-imposes a goal-oriented working model. It's wonderful that the team at Bright Inventions quickly recognized that and almost immediately placed their trust in me.

<div className="image">![Piotr's quote](../../static/images/piotr_quote_responsibility_bright.png "Piotr's quote")</div>

## What are the biggest challenges you faced during these last 4 years?

One of them occurred shortly after I joined Bright Inventions. I became a part of a highly rewarding project that aimed to **build a solution for humanitarian aid**. It felt amazing to build software that impacts and improves people’s lives. However, it wasn't easy. I had to learn a lot of new things quickly. **It was the first time I worked on integrating peripheral devices and implemented biometric authentication methods**.

Another challenge was quite satisfying too. **My colleagues and I had the opportunity to build the entire architecture from scratch for a new Android app** we were supposed to create for our client. We were trusted to choose the right technologies. We aimed to implement everything new that Android had to offer, including Jetpack Compose and multi-module architecture.

**We spent several months establishing the right architecture, but it was worth it**. Sometimes, when you opt for the newest technologies, you may face challenges due to their immaturity. In this case, we tackled the challenge smartly, making decisions that now contribute to the project's smooth functionality. Adding new features to this app is a pleasure, not only from my experience but also from the experiences of other developers who were part of this project.

## Having owned a business, does it help you with daily interactions with our clients?

Absolutely! Having been an entrepreneur for over 10 years has provided me with a great deal of empathy for our clients. I have a deeper understanding of certain business processes, and **I particularly enjoy projects with challenges because they not only pique my interest but also drive me**. The longer the journey, the more satisfying it is to reach the destination, don’t you think? I always try to embrace the process and understand both sides.

<div className="image">![Piotr's quote](../../static/images/piotr_quote_client.png "Piotr's quote")</div>

## I'm aware that sports have become a crucial part of your life. Tell us what you train and why.

It all began when the pandemic struck in 2020. **Bright Inventions' founders, Daniel and Michał, offered us a new work benefit – free workouts led by a professional triathlete, [Bartosz Banach](https://bartoszbanach.pl/)**. It was a life-changing moment for me, especially during the pandemic when we were forced to stay home, and being active definitely helped me get through it. We could choose from running, mountain biking (MTB), and swimming workouts. I started to attend MTB and running workouts. 

Biking has certainly become an integral part of my life. Before 2020, I cycled like most people – occasionally. Now, I ride 200 to 400 kilometers a month. In addition to cycling, I run, do yoga, take long walks, and go to the gym.

**Let me share my Garmin stats for October 2023:**

* 351 kilometers of cycling,
* 108 kilometers of active strolling,
* 96 kilometers of running,
* 3 hours of yoga.

<div className="image">![Yoga at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/yoga_bright_inventions.png "Yoga at Bright Inventions")</div>

<center>Friday yoga at Bright Inventions’ office</center>

## What have sports brought to your life?

Discipline, without a doubt. Regardless of the weather, I have to stick to my training routine. It has certainly changed me.

**Sports also help clear the mind**. This is something I've heard from many people at Bright Inventions. When I'm struggling with a task, what do I do? I shut off my computer and go for a walk or a workout. When I return, I often have new ideas for solving my challenges.

## Why is Spain your regular vacation spot?

<div className="image">![Spain](../../static/images/piotr_passion_spain.png "Exploring Spain on the bike")</div>

<center>Exploring Spain on the bike</center>

**I’ve always been in awe of Spanish culture, language, and cuisine**. The fact that the Spanish language is relatively easy to learn fascinated me. I started learning it in college, and having a roommate from Spain for a while helped me a lot.

Spain is a **perfect destination for MTB enthusiasts**. The country offers breathtaking views, and its mountainous terrain ensures you'll face some challenges along the way. Mountain biking entails hard work, and I love it. Combining it with stunning scenery, delicious food, and the company of friends, it’s the ideal holiday for me.

## The Role of Performance Budgets in Modern Frontend Development

*Published: 2023-11-10 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: frontend, layered architecture, performance*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/role-of-performance-budgets-in-modern-frontend-development/index.md*

**Performance is a vital component of a good user experience, and we have learned it affects business metrics. In other words, an application that doesn't perform well will cost you greatly. How can one ensure that performance will remain at acceptable levels? To achieve a goal, you must first define it. That's when performance budgets come into play.**

<div className="image">![Performance budget](../../static/images/blog_performance_budget.png "Performance budget")</div>

## Budgets to rescue

**A performance budget is a limit that all developers agree not to exceed in any circumstances**. Basically, you can treat it like a monthly financial budget. If you want to make something stand out, then you will probably have to let something else go. It's fluid - depending on the business requirements for this month, you can decide to adjust it. For example, you can reduce the number of images in exchange for additional JavaScript being shipped. **Budgeting is not only about the size of images, scripts, and other resources. This principle may also be applied to metrics like FCP (First Contentful Paint), TTI (Time To Interactive), or scores reported by tools like Lighthouse**.

Having budgets defined for your application may spark a discussion about performance and get everyone on your team on the same page. They make designers limit high-resolution images and fonts until they are absolutely necessary. On the other hand, **software engineers may easily evaluate the performance of different libraries and frameworks and compare them based on their influence on budgets**.

## Choosing metrics

### Quantity-based metrics

Rules based on this type of metrics are the easiest to establish and enforce. They are **based on raw values like the weight of JavaScript files, the number of HTTP requests, fonts, or images**. However, they may not reflect the user experience correctly.

### Milestone timings

In order to keep the user experience at an acceptable level, it may be better to **focus on time-based metrics like Time to Interactive or First Contentful Paint**. You can also define your metrics depending on what is the most important action from the perspective of your users. It's also possible to combine multiple milestones together to even better describe the path of a user in the application.

### Rule-based metrics

**These metrics use performance scores calculated by tools like Lighthouse**, which you can use as guidelines. What's even better, such tools provide hints on how to make your application perform better.

## Defining a budget

There is no way to provide a universal set of rules that will make sense for every application. However, **there are some good defaults to start with**:

* under 5 seconds Time to Interactive,
* under 170 KB of critical-path resources.

**The best thing you can do is to analyze your competition and see how they perform**. Then in the worst-case scenario, you will match them and provide a similar experience to your users. On the other hand, you may enforce lower limits and outperform them - it's up to you and your team.

It's worth mentioning **budgets should be unambiguous**. There is no use in a rule saying: "our home page must load and get interactive in less than 5 seconds on a slow device." What's a slow device? Three-year high-end device or maybe a $100 smartphone released 5 years ago? I recommend doing a short research and using an exact model instead.

There may be **a different set of budgets enforced for different kinds of pages** in your application. It's usually crucial for your home page to load as quickly as possible, but users may wait a little more for other screens.

It's not the easiest task to define a reasonable budget. Check out [performancebudget.io](https://performancebudget.io/), which will serve as a visual aid with presets for different network speeds.

## Making sure your team stays within budgets

There are many tools to choose from when it comes to enforcing budgeting in your application. It all depends on the time you want to spend on research and configuration.

The most basic one is **[bundlesize](https://github.com/siddharthkp/bundlesize), which will check if your bundle stays within reasonable boundaries**. This way, engineers in your team won't be able to merge any pull requests that contain additional imports of expensive libraries.

If you want to make sure that your builds stay green in the Lighthouse audits, then **you should familiarize yourself with [lighthouse-ci](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/lighthouse-ci)**. It makes it possible to **run audits in your CI pipeline and define rules that should never be broken**. To name one, you can say that your application is meant to score over 90 points in every audit, and then your CI will fail when any score drops below the threshold. What's even better is that it's possible to limit asset size or make assertions on your custom metrics. It's a versatile tool, a must-have for every web developer.

It's worth mentioning that [Webpack](https://webpack.js.org/) is also capable of enforcing asset size limits. In its default configuration, this bundler will display a warning in the console if some scripts or images are too large. However, you can reconfigure it to throw an error instead. Consult [its documentation](https://webpack.js.org/configuration/performance/) to learn how to enable this feature.

## Discussing budgets with decision-makers

We all have been here. You are working hard to ensure your application loads and can be used quickly, but then there comes this one meeting, and you see you will have to completely redesign the home page and put tons of images and other visual elements on it. You are aware that it will have a huge impact on the load time, and so you try to minimize losses, but they don't want to listen to you.

It's a fact that there is a constant struggle going on between stakeholders and engineers. We often tend to disagree or even don't understand each other. **It's likely common that non-engineering members of your team are not aware of the performance consequences of their decisions. That's not their job. It's up to us to explain and present it to them in the clearest way possible.**

With budgets in place, you can say that bringing this additional carousel of images will make us miss the 5-second deadline for page load. That's something easily understandable for everyone. Moreover, having those limits in place allows you to move the discussion back in time to the design stage. This will save you a lot of time, which you will be able to spend on something else.

<div className="image">![Discussion](../../static/images/discussion_photo_blog.png "Discussion")</div>

## We have to go over the budget!

Congratulations - you have enforced a strict budget in your application, and it has already prevented several changes that would degrade performance by accident. However, as products tend to grow over time, you have been adding more and more features to yours, and now **you cannot do it anymore because your budget is exhausted**. What should you do?

**You have to compromise. You can either:**

* get back to previously added features and optimize them,
* decide to remove some feature to make place for a new one (or postpone interactivity with it),
* completely abandon your idea and don't ship another feature.

As with a financial budget, when you go over the limit, then you have to reduce spending on leisure and move funds to bills instead. The same principle applies here. That's why **it's so important to have both engineers, designers, and stakeholders on the same page**. We all have to cooperate to answer the question and provide the best possible experience.

In conclusion, **performance budgets are an invaluable tool** for ensuring that your application consistently delivers a top-notch user experience. By setting clear limits and guidelines for metrics, such as Time to Interactive and resource sizes, you can keep your team aligned and focused on optimizing performance from the design stage itself. These budgets also facilitate productive discussions with stakeholders, helping them understand the trade-offs between features and performance. However, it's essential to **remain flexible and be ready to compromise** when you inevitably reach the limits of your budget. **Remember that it's a collaborative effort involving engineers, designers, and decision-makers** to provide the best possible user experience and maintain a healthy performance balance in your application.

## UX Design for Custom Transport Management Software [Case Study]

*Published: 2023-11-07 | Author: joanna-c | Tags: design, UX, UI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ux-design-transport-management-software-case-study/index.md*

**How to design transportation management software? What are the challenges and best practices to follow? Let us answer all the questions with a case study!**

<div className="image">![UX Transport Management System](../../static/images/tms_ux_cover.png "UX Transport Management System")</div>

The client has reached out to us to build [customized software for freight forwarders](https://brightinventions.pl/projects/transportation-management-system/) to speed up and eventually automate the process of finding suitable transport orders and matching them with the right drivers.

**As a result of our work, it takes 3-5 seconds to analyze the route per order, saving a total of 300 h per employee a year**. However, **that’s just the one challenge of that job. Another was a product design** which aim was to support users and help them navigate smoothly through the app.

Drawing from our experience in [product design](/our-areas/product-design/) for this project, we want to share our insights on creating products tailored to the shipping industry.

<div className="image">![Transport Management System](../../static/images/tms_social_preview.png "Transport Management System")</div>

## Challenges for transportation management system design

### Information Architecture

* **Designing a data-heavy** solution in the most possible accessible and readable way.
* Designing **how to display as much data as possible** on one screen without overwhelming users.

### Deep understanding of the domain

* Building work management software requires **a true understanding of a particular industry**.
* Also, it might turn out that **your design instincts go opposite to end users' needs**.

## UX persona of the transport management solutions

In this case, **end users are freight forwarders who expect fast, precise and simple solutions that will speed up their work**. They don’t want beautiful design, images, and animations which might result in slowing the app’s performance. They can’t deal with any distractions as well. They expect the tools that will assist them in matching transport jobs with the right cars and couriers.

<div className="image">![UX persona transport system management](../../static/images/tms_persona.png "UX persona transport system management")</div>

**What he says**

"I wonder if a driver has enough time to unload, so I could add another load for him?"

**What he thinks**

“It’s not affordable to take this offer.”

“Weak offer, but I have to make mileage."

**What he does:**

* takes orders from clients and plans the entire route for the driver, 
* ensures that all shipments are delivered on time and in good condition,
* maintains strong relationships with drivers and customers, 
* streamlines dispatching processes to improve efficiency and reduce errors,
* stays up-to-date with industry trends and technologies.

**What he feels:**

* stress,
* time pressure.

## Understanding the business domain – freight forwarding and road transportation

While designing prototypes for the transport management solution our design team used numerous product design techniques:

### Desk research

The process of gathering information and data by reviewing existing literature, documents, reports, and other available resources regarding the shipping industry.

### Benchmarking

It is a process of comparing an organization's products against those of its competitors or industry leaders. It involves identifying best practices, evaluating performance metrics, and using the insights gained to improve and set goals for the organization.

### Field studying

It is a research method that involves directly observing and collecting data in real-world settings or natural environments. From the very beginning of the development process, we had access to end-user representatives who were willing to give us a unique insight into their work life.

### User shadowing

It is an observational research technique used to understand how people interact with products, services, or systems in their natural environment. Bright Inventions’ team visited the client’s office to watch freight forwarders at their work, specifically to see how they interact with various software tools on a daily basis.

### Adaptive interviews

It is a research technique that involves conducting interviews. It allows for a deeper understanding of the interviewee's experiences, opinions, and perspectives.

Our team conducted many interviews during the MVP development process. However, after the MVP launch interviews still remained a powerful tool. After every crucial feature release and design update, we conduct interviews with users and improve the product according to their feedback. 

## Best UX design practices for transportation management software

Creating a visual representation of this app required **a data-heavy design approach**. It is the process of creating interfaces or systems that effectively handle and display large amounts of complex data. It involves organizing, visualizing, and optimizing the interaction with data to facilitate understanding and decision-making.

<div className="image">![UX design practices for transport management system](../../static/images/ux_practices_cover_tms.png "UX design practices for transport management system")</div>

**Check out the data-heavy design practices we implemented for our client:**

### Clear information architecture

The goal of the system is to match the transport job with the matching car and driver to find the most efficient way to transport goods internationally.

So end users' requirement was to show listing next to matching cars – as many as possible on one screen. 

You **can see that transport orders are displayed on the left and vehicles on the right. Although there are many of them on screen, they stand out thanks to the white background.**

<div className="image">![Clear information architecture](../../static/images/tms_information_architecture.png "Clear information architecture")</div>

### Designing cluster information

Another product design challenge was to design clustered information. For example, one transport order could be associated with 10 vehicles which have to be accessible all in one place. **Our solution was to create scrolling bubbles**. Obviously, every scrolling has to have an indicator that shows that data should be scrolled. It might seem obvious, but these are the small details that might be sometimes missed while developing advanced systems.

<div className="image">![Designing cluster information](../../static/images/tms_ux_scrolling.png "Designing cluster information")</div>

### Taking into account users' mental model

**A mental model is a person's understanding of how something works or should be used**. It shapes user expectations and interactions with a product. Designers aim to align their designs with users' mental models to create intuitive and user-friendly experiences. B**y incorporating these mental models into the design process, designers reduce cognitive load and enhance usability**, bridging the gap between intentions and user needs.

Our team incorporated users' mental model into this design:

<div className="image">![User' mental model](../../static/images/tms_ux_mental_model.png "User' mental model")</div>

This is the routing design. The green square means loading and the orange circle means unloading which is based on the users' mental model. However these color associations and shapes don’t have to be universal to anyone, this is a specific mental model of users representing the shipping industry.

### Navigation design based on patterns familiar to users

The app’s navigation should be accessible and similar to other well-known tools users use at work. **Custom software should “ring a bell” and be a natural extension of everyday work, not something completely new users have to comprehend**. No one will sacrifice work time to learn new tools and new navigation, especially freight forwarders who simply don’t have time to spare.

### Button hierarchy

**The right UX shows you exactly what action is expected from you with one simple look**. Although this screen shows lots of data the buttons are standing out thanks to the dedicated color and the right size. Also, the Call to Action (CTA) is short but clear and informative – users know what to expect when they click the button.

<div className="image">![UX buttons](../../static/images/tms_ux_buttons.png "UX buttons")</div>

The button’s design should emphasize the hierarchy of the actions users should take. **Product designers should help users and point them in the right direction**. Yet still giving them an alternative option (secondary button). Below you’ll find an example of the button hierarchy:

<div className="image">![UX button hierarchy](../../static/images/tms_ux_buttons_hierarchy.png "UX button hierarchy")</div>

### Flags UX

Our client operates in over 40 countries, so most of their routes are international. Introducing flags next to shipping addresses is a simple but powerful touch. **With one look users can quickly scan the route info before going into details (actual address)**. It speeds up the scanning action which is very crucial for end users.

Also, postal codes are important information for the end users, so they are easily accessible next to the flags. Flags are also a useful way to design language setting dropdowns.

<div className="image">![UX Flags](../../static/images/tms_ux_flags.png "UX Flags")</div>

### Color coding

The mockup below shows **the universal power of colors**. In this case, colors are used to show shipping statuses. Even without knowing the app’s domain, we can assume that red color means something negative (for example car malfunction), yellow might mean delay, and blue is neutral.

These aren’t the actual statutes used in the app but we just show you the examples of associations that we quickly have while looking at these colors. 🙂

<div className="image">![Color coding](../../static/images/tms_color_coding.png "Color coding")</div>

You may also notice, that a vehicle in a blue color has a different shape. This icon means that the car is on the go.

<div className="image">![Vehicle icons](../../static/images/tms_vehicle_icons.png "Vehicle icons")</div>

### Iconography

Every product design requires iconography. **Although icons have to be unique, they still cannot be out of the box**. No one wants to reinvent the wheel, so icons should be comprehensible. They must evoke the right associations, even if they are designed specifically for this app.

Here are examples of icons showing users’ actions available on the app:

<div className="image">![Icons](../../static/images/tms_ux_icons.png "Icons")</div>

Icons are recognizable. By looking at them it’s easy to guess their meaning. Naturally, icons should also be explained in the app because product designers shouldn’t assume that users understand all their intentions. Nevertheless, these icons are approachable, easy to comprehend and remember what they mean. That’s the goal. 🙂

### Bolding

Bolding is a simple but powerful way to prioritize information. As an example take a look at the popup below. 

<div className="image">![Popup](../../static/images/case_study_picture_tms_screen.png "Popup")</div>

**Bolding emphasizes the crucial information in the copy, helping to scan the text**. According to [Nielsen Norman Group research](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/) conducted in 1997! 79% od people only scann information on the website, 16% read word-by-word. It is probable that the data today shows an even greater preference for scanning.

Bolding definitely helps users quickly see the crucial information on this popup - the fact that the order they want to delete will be gone permanently. 

Also, take a look at the Calls to Action (CTAs). They clearly state the actions thanks to informative copy, *Yes, delete it*, and *No, keep it*. **We should avoid using CTAs such as Yes, or No which give no context**. Again, users quickly scan the apps. Make sure they understand the consequences of their actions. 

### Designing a map in the application

Map design can be challenging because maps typically come with predetermined color schemes. If the colors are meant to signify specific information, such as distinguishing between the actual route and the car's navigation from point A to point B, additional effort is necessary. **A viable solution would involve not solely relying on colors but also incorporating various shapes**, such as dashed lines, and utilizing borders to enhance the map's clarity and visual communication.

Last but not least, **color contrast has to align with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines** ([WCAG](https://wcag.com/)) guidelines for accessibility.

<div className="image">![Map](../../static/images/tms_case_study_screen_map.png "Map")</div>

## Are you planning to design and develop your solution for the logistics industry?

We are happy to discuss your product with you. We assist clients at every stage of the development process: from design to development and maintenance. Contact us and we’ll get back to you within 48 hours. [Book a free consultation now](/start-project/)!

## Listen to BrightDevTalks Podcast

*Published: 2022-05-24 | Author: izabela | Tags: update, development, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/brightdevtalks-podcast/index.md*

**Our team at Bright Inventions loves to share their knowledge. What’s a better way to discuss hot software development topics than by starting a podcast? BrightDevTalks is a platform to address the business, tech, and communication challenges that all members of the software development world have to face. Our hosts, first Patryk Szlagowski and now Ula Stankiewicz, invite a variety of guests. Hop on this train and listen to BrightDevTalks. The podcast is done in Polish.**

## Follow on Spotify

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## Listen on Apple Podcasts

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## Subscribe on YouTube

<center>

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## NestJS Parametrizable Dynamic Modules

*Published: 2023-11-02 | Author: radek-l | Tags: nestjs, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/nestjs-parametrizable-dynamic-modules/index.md*

NestJS allows to easily encapsulate code not only with Static modules, but also Dynamic Modules. Dynamic modules allow us to modify the module's configuration, dependencies or behaviour at bootstrap time. This gives a massive advantage in terms of code deduplication and reusability. Let's give it a go and implement Notifications by means of Dynamic Modules

<div className="image">![Modularization](../../static/images/blog_modularization.png "Modularization")</div>

## Objective

* The library for sending UserNotifications to different countries with fast horizontal expansion to next countries

### Goals:

* Library exposes an interface to easily send a Notification to a User
* Library allows to differentiate how to deliver notification: email or sms
* Library allows to define custom ways of of delivery
* Each Notifcation send attempt is logged and saved in persistence

### Initial analysis:

* The common parts to any kind of delivery is to: Send a notification, log all attempts and persist them. The specific part is how we technically deliver the notification: SMS or Email.
* We can create a common piece of code to do the common stuff and put SMS and Email sending itself in a dedicated modules.

### Minimalistic, incorrect and faulty implementation:

```typescript
import {DynamicModule, Inject, Injectable, Module} from '@nestjs/common';
import {Type} from "@nestjs/common/interfaces/type.interface";

@Module({
    providers: [ NaiveuserNotificationService ],
    exports: [ NaiveuserNotificationService ]
})
export class NaiveUserNotificationModule {}

export class NaiveUserNotificationService {
    async notify(user: string, message: string, delivery: "SMS" | "EMAIL"): Promise<void> {
        switch (delivery) {
            case "SMS":
                this.sendSms(user, message)
                break;
            case "EMAIL":
                this.sendEmail(user, message)
                break;
            default: 
                throw new Error("Unknown delivery type")
        }
    }

    private sendSms(user: string, message: string) {
        console.log(`User ${user} notified with message: ${message} by SMS`)
    }

    private sendEmail(user: string, message: string) {
        console.log(`User ${user} notified with message: ${message} by EMAIL`)
    }
}

@Module({
    imports: [
        NaiveUserNotificationModule
    ]
})
export class ConsumerModule {}
```

#### **What’s wrong with this example:**

The goal `Library allows to define custom ways of of delivery` is not fulfilled in multiple aspects

* The switch-case breaks OCP 

  * Adding a new delivery method requires modifying `NaiveUserNotificationService`
* The switch-case breaks SRP

  * By Robert C. Martin words: “A class should have only one reason to change”. This class has multiple reasons to change, because it carries implementation related to totally separate concepts: Email and SMS sending. If at some point, we want to modify the Email Sending logic, so we can put the \`message\` test within some prerendered template then the class will bloat even more

#### How to make it better?

Let’s abstract the act of sending the notification from the act of delivering it by exposing a `NotificationExecutor` interface. Also, we’ll put Email and Sms sending logic into dedicated `NotificationExecutors` and place them into respective, independent NestJS Modules. We’ll also transform a static module: `NaiveUserNotificationModule` to a Dynamic one, to allow to inject `NotificationExecutor` at bootstrap time.

*SmsNotificationModule*

```typescript
@Injectable()
export class SmsNotificationExecutor implements NotificationExecutor {
    async notify(user: string, message: string): Promise<void> {
        console.log(`User ${user} notified with message: ${message} by SMS`)
    }
}

@Module({
    providers: [{provide: "NotificationExecutor", useClass: SmsNotificationExecutor}],
    exports: ["NotificationExecutor"]
})
export class SmsNotificationModule {}
```

*EmailNotificationModule*

```typescript
@Injectable()
export class EmailNotificationExecutor implements NotificationExecutor {
    async notify(user: string, message: string): Promise<void> {
        console.log(`User ${user} notified with message: ${message} by EMAIL`)
    }
}

@Module({
    providers: [{provide: "NotificationExecutor", useClass: EmailNotificationExecutor}],
    exports: ["NotificationExecutor"]
})
export class EmailNotificationModule {}
```

*NaiveUserNotificationModule*

```typescript
import {DynamicModule, Inject, Injectable, Module} from '@nestjs/common';
import {Type} from "@nestjs/common/interfaces/type.interface";

export interface NotificationExecutor {
    notify(user: string, message: string): Promise<void>
}

export class NaiveUserNotificationService {
    constructor(@Inject("NotificationExecutor") private readonly notificationExecutor: NotificationExecutor) {
    }

    async notify(user: string, message: string): Promise<void> {
        this.logAttempt(user, message)
        this.persistAttempt(user, message)

        await this.notificationExecutor.notify(user, message)
    }

    private logAttempt(user: string, message: string) {
        console.log(`User ${user} notified with message: ${message}`)
    }

    private persistAttempt(user: string, message: string) {
        console.log(`User ${user} notification ${message} persisted`)
    }
}

@Module({
    providers: [ NaiveUserNotificationService ],
    exports: [ NaiveUserNotificationService ]
})
export class NaiveUserNotificationModule {
    static register(notificationExecutor: Type<any>): DynamicModule {
        return {
            module: NaiveUserNotificationModule,
            imports: [notificationExecutor],
            providers: [NaiveUserNotificationService],
            exports: [NaiveUserNotificationService]
        }
    }
}
```

*Consumer modules*

```typescript
@Module({
    imports: [
        NaiveUserNotificationModule.register(
            EmailNotificationModule
        )
    ]
})
export class ConsumerModuleWhichDecidesToUseEmailNotificationModule {}

@Module({
    imports: [
        NaiveUserNotificationModule.register(
            SmsNotificationModule
        )
    ]
})
export class ConsumerModuleWhichDecidesToUseSMSNotificationModule {}
```

#### What have we done?

* Created a common interface: `NotificationExecutor`
* Create two implementations: `EmailNotificationExecutor`, `SmsNotificationExecutor` which have been delegated to their respective modules as Provides. Also, the Executors are exported by an aliased value: `“NotificationExecutor”.` This token is expected in `NaiveUserNotificationService`.

Next steps would be:

* Put all classes into dedicated modules
* Create a `UserNotificationContractModule` which keeps:

  * `NotificationExecutor` interface
  * `“NotificationExecutor”` token constant
  * Executors would import `UserNotificationContractModule` to implement the interface and properly export their dependencies
  * `NaiveUserNotificationModule` would import `UserNotificationContractModule` to make use of the interface and the token constant
  * `NaiveUserNotificationModule` would also import concrete Executors’ modules
* Create an `EmailToUserNotificationBridgeModule` and `SMSToUserNotificationBridgeModule` to decouple the pure Email and SMS senders from the specifics of `NaiveUserNotificationModule`. The ‘specific’ part is the fact that `SmsNotificationExecutor` module has to export the service by a token which is specific to another module. Reusable components should have no knowledge about their consumers. The Bridge between can allow to mitigate that, keeping Email and SMS Modules unaware of consumers. The Brigde would now carry that awareness but that’s it’s fundamental purpose.

## Summary

By the approach I just showed you we achieved a clean dependency structure, no circular dependencies, no SOLID rules broken, full extensibility and configurability. Dynamic Modules are a great tool but there is much more in NestJS arsenal related to Dependency Inversion Principle: obtaining modules by ModuleRef class, lazy loaded modules are there to be used so check them out!

## Optimise Sign-In Experience. Free Ebook for Product Owners and CTOs [Get PDF]

*Published: 2023-10-30 | Author: piotr | Tags: business strategy, product development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/optimise-sign-in-experience-free-ebook-product-owners-ctos-pdf/index.md*

**With so many sign-in authentication methods, it might be difficult to choose the right one for your solution. Making a bad decision can decrease your users' experience and eventually harm your business. Download the ebook and discover all sign-in options. Finally, follow the decision tree to choose the ultimate authentication method for your application. Get this free ebook now!**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Download the free ebook now' ebookName='Optimise-Sign-In-Experience.pdf' ebookDescription='If you are a product owner, head of product or CTOs this might be a must-have read for you. Explore top authentication methods and choose the best ones for your solution with this ebook.' ebookImage='/images/cover-sign-in-ebook.png' ebookAlt='ebook sign-in cover' />

## What’s inside the sign-in experience ebook?

Discover the table of contents:

1. Applications require signing users in.
2. Enter password.
3. SMS code.
4. Email code.
5. Open Authorization (OAuth).
6. OpenID Connect.
7. Sign in with Apple.
8. Biometric authentication.
9. Multi-Factor Authentication.
10. Which authentication method should I choose?

## Download the ebook and get answers to the following questions

* Which sign-in option is the best for your application?
* What security aspects require consideration?
* How is GDPR related to sign-in?
* Should I build it myself or use off-the-shelf software?
* What authentication method should I choose (decision tree)?

## Ebook author

Piotr Mionskowski is a Head of Technology and Partner at Bright Inventions with over 12 years of professional experience in software development. He is an expert in backend APIs, distributed systems, backend frameworks, and databases. He possesses an exceptional ability to learn almost every new technology that appears.

<div className="image">![Piotr Mionskowski](../../static/images/piotr_ebook_author.png "Piotr Mionskowski")</div>

## Value Based Recruitment in VUCA World 

*Published: 2023-10-28 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, business, recruitment*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/value-based-recruitment-in-vuca-world/index.md*

Living in a [VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility,_uncertainty,_complexity_and_ambiguity) world requires both individuals and organizations to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing and unpredictable environment. Being able to adjust quickly to changing circumstances is crucial to respond swiftly to emerging opportunities and threats.

The VUCA world demands constant acquisition of new knowledge and skills to remain relevant and competitive. However, there are still traits that remain constant. These are core values that we follow in private and professional life. **Core values are not just words that you put on your office walls, they are the backbone of any organisation culture.** They create the sense of identity and purpose that make people work together towards coming golas. They drive employees to promote ethical behaviours and build strong relationships. 

**At Bright Inventions we foster [the culture of responsibility, flexibility, teamwork, positive attitude and client orientation.](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/#core-values) Our core values serve as guiding principles, kind of unifying force that helps us make sure employees are aligned with the company's mission and vision.** They foster a sense of belonging and a common understanding of the organization's goals. That is why, we have also decided to use them as one of the main tools in our recruitment process. 

## **Competence based recruitment - start here**

If you do not feel sure about building the value based recruitment process from scratch, competence based recruitment (CBR) might a good starting point for you. It is a hiring approach in which recruiter’s or hiring manager's goal is to assess candidates' specific skills, knowledge, abilities, and behaviours relevant to the particular job. **Instead of solely relying on qualifications and experience, CBR aims to match candidates' competencies with the specific requirements of the position.** 

<div className="image">![hire for attitude](../../static/images/hire-for-attitude.jpg "undefined")</div>

**Before you begin the process, you have to determine what are the specific competencies required for the role you are recruiting for.** This involves understanding the tasks, responsibilities, and challenges associated with the position. Before publishing a job description conduct a comprehensive job analysis to understand and highlight the essential competencies a candidate must possess. Come up with some determined competences criteria to [the screening phase](https://resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/phone-screen-interview) and ask all candidates the same questions. **You have to know what really matters for the role.** 

During the interview apart from behavioural questions a good choice might be requesting some work samples to evaluate candidates' technical abilities and demonstrate how they apply their competencies in practical tasks.

While planning your process take advantage of **[a structured scoring system](https://recruitee.com/articles/structured-interview)** to objectively evaluate candidates based on their demonstrated competencies. This will help you compare candidates fairly and consistently. For Polish speakers I also recommend the book "Rekrutacja oparta na kompetencjach" by Agnieszka Ciećwierz, who in a very comprehensive and at the same time simple way explains how to create such a hiring process that will help you choose the person for a particular job to be the one who best meets the employer's expectations, and consequently, will most effectively carry out the assigned tasks.

## **Value based recruitment guidelines** 

Now, when you know more or less how competence based recruitment works, replace the word “competence" with the word “value” and you may achieve even better results. **Thanks to the value-based recruitment process organization can increase their chances of selecting the best-fit candidates who follow their necessary values to excel in the role and contribute to the success of the organization.**

To start your value bases recruitment adventure you have to identify which beliefs and standards are essential to your company and which core values you want to include in the process. As a (hiring) manager or recruiter you have to make sure you understand them properly. Think how [these beliefs translate into daily behaviours and dat-to-day tasks at work](https://hbr.org/2002/07/make-your-values-mean-something). If there are not defined any core values in your organisation, take one step back and check how to discover them. 

<div className="image">![steps to create core values ](../../static/images/steps-to-create-core-values.png "undefined")</div>

###### Source: https://blog.deliveringhappiness.com/10-steps-to-creating-core-values-that-your-company-lives-by-infographic

Then develop a clear and well-defined values framework that will outline the key values  necessary for success in the role and in your team in general. The same as if you were choosing the primary competences, just here you choose the primary values. These values should align with the organization's culture. **Each value should have a rating scale [to minimize the potential risk for bias in the hiring process](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cognitive-bias-how-it-affects-our-hiring-decisions/). It will help you understand what you are looking for in a candidate beyond  their commercial experience and beyond how well you get along with someone.** 

To make the whole process work well I really encourage you to implement [behavioural-based interview questions](https://www.themuse.com/advice/behavioral-interview-questions-answers-examples) to assess candidates' behaviours in specific situations. Ask candidates to provide examples of how they have demonstrated the required value in previous roles or experiences. You can also take advantage of roleplaying exercise that will help you observe how candidates behave in prospective real-life circumstances and which values may motivate their behaviours.

**A good strategy (if applicable or possible) might be also involving in the process a few interviewers including managers and team members, to obtain diverse perspectives on candidates' suitability for the role.** 

<div className="image">![diversity ](../../static/images/diveristy-.jpeg "undefined")</div>

**[Ensure the value-based recruitment process is fair, transparent, and free from bias.](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cognitive-bias-how-it-affects-our-hiring-decisions/) Values should be present at every stage of the recruitment and hiring process. This ensures you’re connecting with the right people every step of the way**

Remember that focusing on core values does not mean you should not encourage diversity and inclusion. The process just prioritizes particular beliefs and aspirations, but there is still space for diversity which encourages creative and innovative thinking. 

## **VUCA & Value-based recruitment** 

Having a strong company DNA can help individuals and organizations not only survive but thrive in the face of uncertainty and complexity. **When faced with complex decisions in recruitment process, core values provide a framework to make choices that are consistent with the company's beliefs and long-term objectives.** They let us build an effective team regardless of the environment or circumstances our organisation is facing. 

The VUCA world encourages recruiters and managers to think creatively to address emerging challenges. These quick adjustments to changing circumstances lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness in the hiring process and make us choose the best talents for the role. Some uncertainty creates gaps in the market, but value based recruitment emphasises the importance of culture fit when hiring new employees**. When a new hire’s value system aligns with the reality of the organisation, they can feel happier in their new role and do their best work.** 

<div className="image">![happiness at work ](../../static/images/screenshot-2023-07-25-at-10.43.47.png "undefined")</div>

###### Source: Association for Talent Development

**Creating a successful values-based recruitment plan depends on how well you know your organization, as well as the values that drive company-wide decisions and behaviors**. By knowing well what your organisation values, you can then identify those values in recruiting candidates. **The bad hiring decisions are made every day value-based recruitment is one of the tools that may help avoid them.** 

## **Food for thought**

Do you know core values of the organisation you work for?

Do you know what do the core values in your work environment mean? 

Do you feel that your core values are visible in different areas of work?



If you feel that you share the same values as we do, drop us a line via our [Career page](https://brightinventions.pl/career/) and let us talk about our future bright collaboration! 🧡

## Uncomfortable Truths in Business Development

*Published: 2023-10-27 | Author: agata | Tags: business perspective, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/uncomfortable-truths-in-business-development/index.md*

**My previous blogpost explored [leaving the comfort zone](/blog/stepping-out-of-your-comfort-zone/). Inspired by my team colleague Ula and her recent [blogposts](/blog/4-interpersonal-skills-that-can-save-your-software-team-time-and-money/), as a former business owner I will share some thoughts on comfort zones in business.** 

<div className="image">![truths in business](../../static/images/comfort_zone_blogpost-4-.png "truths in business")</div>

## **The Regret of Silence**

Reflecting on missed opportunities in business and product development often unveils pivotal lessons. 

**🧐 What was one thing that you regret not doing that could have helped you where you at today in your business project?**

For me it was not telling the uncomfortable truth and not identifying my clients needs. \
Remember, that you made your project not for yourself, but for your clients and the only way to make it billable, is to meet your client needs. You have to ask for feedback and hear (probably) some unpleasant words.

In the fast-paced world, effective communication is key. Hesitating to hear or voice concerns or share uncomfortable truths can slow down progress and innovation. 

It's a crucial aspect that could have steered my - and probably yours - journey differently.

<div className="image">![client feedback](../../static/images/7e0c1ff5-a2b1-42e1-babd-d119cb313565.webp "feedback")</div>

## **Unblocking Stagnation in Business Development**

In business development, encountering team roadblocks is common, often causing delays in product delivery and subsequently leading to increased costs. Who wants that? Nobody. So, where's the remedy?

**🚨 Instead of removing a team member in the face of challenges, consider that the issue may not lie with the individual.** 

Removing someone doesn't always resolve underlying problems; sometimes, discomfort stems from comfort zone, meaning unspoken truths and unmet needs within the team.

## **Leaving the Comfort Zone. Again**

Stepping out of the comfort zone means more than structural changes. Sharing challenges openly can catalyze a shift. 

Instead of changing individuals, address uncomfortable truths to bring sustainable improvements through situational adjustments. \
\
**👉 State your problem and interests.** \
**👉 Acknowledge others' problems and interests**. \
**👉 Ask, listen and understand.**

\
This fosters a deeper team understanding and paves the way for collaborative problem-solving.

<div className="image">![lincoln's quote](../../static/images/teamwork-quotes-abraham-lincoln.png "lincoln's quote")</div>

## **Conclusion: The Power of Uncomfortable Truths**

In the realm of business development, acknowledging uncomfortable truths is not a weakness but a strength. 

It's the gateway to innovation, growth, and resilient team dynamics. 

Reflecting on my own journey, I've come to realize that the ability to speak uncomfortable truths and identify unmet needs is not just a personal development tool but a crucial element in the success of any business project.

Remember, that embracing discomfort might be the key to unlocking your team's full potential.

<div className="image">![undefined](../../static/images/73v1na.jpg "undefined")</div>\
\
source: \
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c6-56.html

## Use These 7 Metrics to Measure Your Mobile MVP Success [Cheat Sheet Included]

*Published: 2023-10-19 | Author: izabela | Tags: business, mobile development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/index.md*

**You have an idea, design, and maybe even a software development team to build your mobile application. Still haven't you forgotten about something? What about establishing key targets that you want to achieve? Only then can you verify if your product is successful. Check out how to do that!**

<div className="image">![MVP success metrics](../../static/images/blogpost_mvp_success.png "MVP success metrics")</div>

- - -

## Table of contents

[Metric #1: App Download Rate](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/#metric-1-app-download-rate)

[Metric #2: User Retention Rate](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/#metric-2-user-retention-rate)

[Metric #3: Churn Rate](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/#metric-3-churn-rate)

[Metric #4: User Engagement](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/#metric-4-user-engagement)

[Metric #5: Actions and Conversion Rate](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/#metric-5-actions-and-conversion-rate)

[Metric #6: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/#metric-6-customer-acquisition-cost-cac)

[Metric #7: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/#metric-7-customer-lifetime-value-clv)

[MVP success metrics – cheat sheet](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/#mvp-success-metrics--cheat-sheet)

- - -

Let’s assume that you chose an Agile way and decided to build [MVP (Minimum Viable Product)](/our-areas/mvp-development/), so you can quickly release your solution and verify it with users. While working on the MVP, **at the very beginning, you should establish your goals and ways to measure them**. Naturally, they can change as the product evolves and you gain a better understanding of the market.

## Examples of MVP success metrics

Here are some MVP success criteria for validation of your MVP, along with recommended tools to help measure them:

### Metric #1: App Download Rate

This metric is crucial for mobile MVPs and indicates how appealing your app is to users and whether your marketing efforts are effective.

To calculate the download rate, use the following formula:

<div className="important-info"><div>App Download Rate (%) = (The number of users who download the app / The number of users who click promotional content) x 100</div></div>

Remember that downloading isn’t everything, though. [50% of Android apps are uninstalled within 30 days after the download](https://www.businessofapps.com/news/half-of-android-apps-are-uninstalled-within-30-days-after-download/). If your download rates are satisfactory but the number of active users is extremely low you might be dealing with a **high uninstall rate**. 

That’s why the app download rate cannot be measured without the retention rate (keep on reading to discover that).

Tools to track app download rate: 

You can track app downloads using tools provided by well-known mobile app stores: **Google Play Console** for Android apps, and **App Store Connect** for iOS apps.

### Metric #2: User Retention Rate

It measures what **percentage of users continue to use your app after a given period** such as 30 days after app installation. User retention rate might be a crucial measurement to see if your product has loyal and engaged customers.

To calculate the user retention rate, you can use the following formula:

<div className="important-info"><div>User Retention Rate (%) = \[(The number of users at the end of a specific period - The number of new users acquired during that period) / The number of users at the start of the period] x 100 </div></div>

**Tools to track user retention rate:** 

**Mixpanel, Firebase + Google Analytics** and **Amplitude** will be of help in measuring user retention rate.

### Metric #3: Churn Rate

This metric **measures the percentage of users who uninstall or stop using your product** over a given period. It helps identify potential issues with your app that might be causing users to churn. 

To calculate the churn rate, you can use the following formula:

<div className="important-info"><div>Churn Rate (%) = \[(Customers at the Start of the Period - Customers at the End of the Period) / Customers at the Start of the Period] x 100 </div></div>

There are many possible reasons why your users might delete your app or simply stop using it. The most common are:

* **Wrongly targeted or misleading ad campaigns** – users download the app only to realize that it’s not useful to them or it doesn’t offer what was promised.
* **UX issues** – your app is too difficult to navigate or not enough visually appealing.
* **Tech issues** – your app has performance issues, it frequently crashes, etc.
* **Too many notifications** – we all know that notifications are a powerful feature for mobile apps but be careful. With that power comes responsibility.
* **Too many ads** – what can we add here? Make your app worthy for users, then reasonably monetize. 😉

**Tools to measure churn rate**

Tools like **Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Kissmetrics** offer features to monitor and analyze churn rates.

### Metric #4: User Engagement

This metric **measures how engaged are users who interact with your mobile MVP**. You can track actions such as making a purchase, time spent on the app, and viewing certain screens.

Here's one of the ways to calculate user engagement:

<div className="important-info"><div>User Engagement Rate (%) = (Number of Engaged Users / Total Users) x 100 </div></div>

The definition of "engaged users" can vary depending on your business. You should choose the activities that will define your active user and track them with the preferred tool.

**Tools to measure user engagement**

Tools like **Firebase, Mixpanel, and Amplitude** offer features to measure user engagement and provide insights.

### Metric #5: Actions and Conversion Rate

This metric **measures the percentage of users who complete a desired action**, such as signing up, making a purchase, finishing onboarding, or filling out a form. Some of these actions directly impact the revenue generated by your MVP. So this is a metric that every app owner wants to measure.

The formula for calculating the conversion/action rate is as follows:

<div className="important-info"><div>Conversion Rate (%) = (Number of Conversions / Total Number of Visitors or Users) x 100 </div></div>

<div className="important-info"><div>Action Rate (%) = (Number of Actions / Total Number of Visitors or Users) x 100 </div></div>

**Tools to measure conversion rate**

Tools like **Firebase, Google Analytics, Kissmetrics, or Optimizely** can help you track and optimize your conversion rates.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Delve deeper into MVP development with this ebook' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Download the free ebook and find out how to quickly validate your idea with MVP.' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='MVP ebook cover' />

### Metric #6: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

This metric **measures the cost of acquiring a single customer**. It is calculated by dividing the total cost of sales and marketing efforts by the number of new customers acquired during the same period. You can compare the budget spent for different acquisition channels and eventually make a decision on which activities are the best option for your solution.

Based on your company's marketing budget you should establish a maximum cost per customer acquisition that you can spend to get clients. It’s a key metric to establish at the beginning, so your financial books are well-balanced. 

It’s wise to benchmark your CAC. Every industry has to consider different costs. You might consult your marketing budget with marketing freelancers or agencies that specialize in targeting campaigns in your industry. You can also discuss your estimated bids on digital marketing specialist groups on Facebook or LinkedIn, however, remember to verify the answers.

To calculate CAC, you can use the following formula:

<div className="important-info"><div>Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) = Total Sales and Marketing Expenses / Number of New Customers Acquired </div></div>

**Tools to measure Customer Acquisition Cost**

Tools like **HubSpot, Salesforce, Adjust, Google Analytics (connected with Firebase), and Google Keyword Planner** can assist in estimating, tracking, and analyzing customer acquisition costs.

### Metric #7: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

This metric **measures the total revenue generated by a customer over their entire relationship with your company**. Calculating CLV involves multiplying the average value of the purchase by the number of purchases made by the customer in a year and then multiplying that by the average length of time, a customer remains active. 

Here's a basic formula for calculating CLV:

<div className="important-info"><div>CLV = (Average Purchase Value x Average Purchase Frequency x Average Customer Lifespan) </div></div>

**Tools to measure Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)**

Tools like **HubSpot, Salesforce, or Kissmetrics** can help you track and analyze customer lifetime value.

## MVP success metrics – cheat sheet

Here’s the summary of all mentioned metrics with short definitions. Enjoy!

<div className="image">![MVP success metrics cheat sheet](../../static/images/mvp_success_metrics-cheat_sheet.png "MVP success metrics cheat sheet")</div>

## Choose the right metrics and analytics tools for your MVP

Remember, these are just a few examples of metrics. There are others and maybe even more suitable for your specific MVP and industry. 

Final things to remember about MVP analysis:

* It's important to choose the most relevant metrics for your business goals and use tools that provide accurate and actionable insights. 
* Don’t surround yourself with too much data, though. Choose only key metrics that you want to follow. 
* Choose metrics at the beginning of your MVP development. Don’t start to think of analytics after the launch. By then you should have a clear plan of what to measure.

Are you planning to develop your mobile application? Feel free to contact my colleagues from [Bright Inventions ](/our-areas/mobile-app-development/)to discuss your mobile solution.

## Strong Women in IT 2023 - Find Your Own Role Model 

*Published: 2023-10-12 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, leadership, role models*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/strong-women-in-it-2023-find-your-own-role-model/index.md*

Gender diversity in each industry (not only tech) is important for several compelling reasons. **We all know that diverse teams bring a variety of perspectives and experiences to problem-solving which leads to more creative solutions and innovations, as different viewpoints are considered.** We also know that fostering an inclusive and diverse work environment can improve employee morale and job satisfaction. This, in turn, can lead to higher retention rates and increased productivity. As the tech industry operates on a global scale, understanding diverse cultural backgrounds and market dynamics is even more crucial. **Diverse teams are better equipped to navigate international markets and cultural nuances.**

Still while looking at IT industry we can see many women facing barriers to entry and advance in tech careers due to biases, stereotypes, and lack of access to mentorship opportunities. It is also commonly known that they have been underrepresented in senior IT management roles including positions like CTOs, CIOs, and CEOs of tech companies **[despite some visible rise of female leadership in recent years](https://oatuu.org/the-rising-trend-of-women-ctos-shaking-up-the-industry/).** According to a recent study, women hold just 10% of CTO positions at Fortune 500 companies and according to a report by The World Bank, **[women make up less than a third of the world’s workforce in technology-related fields.](https://www.womentech.net/women-technology-statistics)**

<div className="image">![women in tech ](../../static/images/women-in-tech-force-.png "undefined")</div>

Source: https://financesonline.com/women-in-technology-statistics

## **organisations that support women in tech** 

Despite the aforementioned challenges, there is a growing number of female founders and entrepreneurs in the tech space, particularly in areas like health tech, ed tech, and e-commerce. **Also many organisations and advocacy groups work to promote diversity and inclusion in the IT industry. Many initiatives include mentorship programs, scholarships, and increasing female representation at tech conferences and events.** Each with its own unique goals and objectives. [Among some well-known international ones we can find:](https://www.cio.com/article/215709/16-organizations-for-women-in-tech.html) 

💃 **[Girls Who Code](https://girlswhocode.com/)** - to close the gender gap in technology by inspiring and educating girls in computer science and coding, providing them with the skills and confidence to pursue tech careers.

💃 **[Women in Technology](https://women-in-tech.org/)** - to empower and support women in the tech industry through mentoring, networking events, and educational programs, with a focus on leadership and career development.

💃 **[AnitaB.org](https://anitab.org/)**  - to increase the representation of women in technology and improve the workplace for all women by connecting, inspiring, and guiding women in tech.

💃 **[Black Girls CODE](https://wearebgc.org/)** - to introduce programming and technology to girls of color, with a focus on underrepresented communities, and to provide them with the skills and opportunities to pursue tech careers.

💃 **[TechWomen](https://www.techwomen.org/)** - to empower, connect, and support women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) from Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East by providing professional mentorship opportunities in the United States.

💃 **[National Center for Women & Information Technology ](https://ncwit.org/)-** to increase the diversity of the technology workforce by encouraging and supporting the participation of women, as well as underrepresented groups, in IT and computing fields.

## **tech space for women in Poland** 

While there has been progress in recent years, there is still work to be done to achieve greater gender diversity in the Polish tech sector. The current state of women in tech in Poland reflects a broader global trend of underrepresentation and unique challenges faced by women in the tech industry. 

<div className="image">![women in IT Poland ](../../static/images/women-tech-poland.png "undefined")</div>

Source: [https://nofluffjobs.com/insights/raport-kobiety-w-it-2023](https://nofluffjobs.com/insights/raport-kobiety-w-it-2023/)

**There is still the shortage of visible tech female role models which may be also discouraging for some young women from pursuing tech careers.** It is important to highlight and celebrate successful women to inspire the next generation. I am really glad that there are positive developments in Poland such as v[arious organizations and communities dedicated to supporting and empowering women in tech.](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/polish-organizations-that-support-women-in-tech/)

There are also special educational institutions and organizations that offer programs to encourage girls and young women to pursue STEM education and tech careers. And also some tech companies are actively working on fostering more inclusive and diverse workplaces, including gender diversity.

## **Strong Women in IT**

[Strong Women in IT](https://strongwomeninit.com/) was initiated in 2018 as a concept and then it became a respected brand, engaging directly with around 350 women at the C-level from the tech industry. I**ts mission is to show ambitious, entrepreneurial, and strong women and make true female leaders more visible in IT area so that they can serve as role models and inspire other female specialists to pursue careers in technology.** I believe that this kind of initiatives can be really encouraging for girls and young women who are pondering about pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics career as well as to women who just would like to collaborate with tech companies in different non-tech roles to create a more inclusive ecosystem.

**This year Strong Women in IT (SWIT) is breaking records with 251 remarkable stories from inspiring women across Europe, America, Asia, and Africa.** Each finalist brings unique inspiration, shares challenges, and offers different perspectives. They are all ready to serve as role models for others.

**One standout discovery is that over 50% of SWIT finalists now prefer mentoring as their learning method of choice.** This shift underscores the collective desire to support fellow women, build communities, and share experiences for growth.

<div className="image">![gaining knowledge - Strong Women in IT Report 2023](../../static/images/gaining-tech-knowledge-.png "undefined")</div>

In these turbulent times, SWIT finalists openly discuss their fears and the daily uncertainties they face. Yet, they remain resilient and inspired by new technologies. A notable change is in how we work: only 3% prefer the traditional office model. The majority see the future of work as a blend of full remote or hybrid arrangements. 

**If you want to see more detailed statistics and insights, you can download the full report [HERE](https://strongwomeninit.com/en/download/).  There are dozens of stories of influential women in the global tech industry. Among them is also mine - in which I am telling a bit about my story and road to IT industry.** 

<div className="image">![Ula Strong Women Quote](../../static/images/ula-strong-women.png "undefined")</div>

## **find your role model** 

Having a role model when entering IT industry, or any field, is valuable for many reasons. **First of all, [role models can inspire and motivate you as a newcomer.](https://www.womenintech.co.uk/the-importance-of-role-models-for-women-in-tech) They demonstrate what is possible and provide a source of inspiration for those who might be unsure about their own potential.**

Role models can also challenge stereotypes and biases. In male-dominated fields like IT, having female role models, for example, can challenge the stereotype that tech is exclusively for men - I even don’t know why this kind of stereotypes still exist, but they do. So, role models can offer guidance and advice based on their own experiences. This can be invaluable while navigating a new industry. 

**And I think just seeing someone who looks like you or has a similar background succeed in the industry you want to enter can boost your confidence and self-belief.** 😊 What is more, role models can provide you with a realistic view of what to expect including challenges and setbacks, and how to overcome them. They can be also a source of emotional support and encouragement, especially during difficult times in one's career. So, find your own - the role model or role models - who will help you understand your strengths, inspire to act and support in further development. 

And at the same time remember that you are [your own role model](https://www.educative.io/blog/being-your-own-role-model-woman-tech) and you are setting your own standards for success.

## Why a Small Budget for App Development Can Be an Advantage for Startups

*Published: 2023-10-09 | Author: mateusz | Tags: business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/small-budget-for-app-development-advantage-for-startups/index.md*

**A smaller budget at the beginning of your startup story may help you build the project with bigger chances of succeeding. How come? Check out why a limited budget can enhance creativity, simplicity, and data-driven development.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Learn even more about MVP development' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Get our ebook for free. This pdf is based on our over decade of experience in building of MVPs for startups around the world.' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='undefined' />

## A low budget helps to make rational decisions while building MVP

### 1. Choose only crucial features, not every feature you’d love to have.

Sometimes, CTOs and startup founders forget that building MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is not about delivering a perfect solution that has it all. At the beginning of the development process, you should choose only key features to include in your MVP. It helps you to limit your spending on software development.

Remember that there is no guarantee that your MVP will be a success. The advantage of an MVP is its **short time to market – you can quickly and affordably verify your MVP** with users and start making data-driven decisions. **MVP is to learn from data and adopt**.

**A small budget won't let you succumb to the temptation to overbuild your MVP**. Sometimes, the features you build will not be appreciated by users. Therefore you might need to change your strategy or even give up on your idea with – hopefully – big lessons for the future.

### 2. You don’t necessarily need two apps for both stores.

Are you experiencing a smaller budget for mobile development? How about building an app only for one operating system? Just like Instagram did. They launched their app first on the App Store. Sometimes it’s **worth focusing on one platform** in the initial phase.

Or consider **going for hybrid app development**. With tools like Flutter or React Native, you can build one app for both ecosystems. Although these [cross-platform apps carry some limitations](/blog/native-app-development-vs-cross-platform/), they can be a viable solution for a startup with a small budget.

## Limited funds protect from losing money on a product that won’t attract clients

As we stated earlier, not every MVP will be successful. Actually, [most startups fail](https://www.embroker.com/blog/startup-statistics/). So a **smaller budget enables you to save costs and minimize financial risk**. Even if you verify your idea before the development process starts, the proper validation comes after the MVP launch. Then you will know if your solution is attractive to users and can get you clients.

If not, you can always try to pivot, just as other giants did. Check out [Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube pivot stories](/blog/app-development-pivots-that-prove-the-mvp-works/).

## A tight budget helps to be creative and keep it simple and UX-friendly at the same time

A smaller budget pushes you to look for simple but still high-quality solutions. It's great when you have a team or MVP partner who is flexible in looking for creative ways when they are more beneficial.

I asked our colleagues how they find more creative and often low-cost ways to meet client’s goals. Here’s an example:

<blockquote><h2>Implementing a low-cost and more user-friendly solution</h2><div>The client wanted to implement quite complex functionality, which was designed as a set of 5 separate screens. After analyzing the client's requirements, we proposed a more straightforward solution that included all the necessary features on a single screen. Following a consultation with the designer, the client chose our proposal, which turned out to be easier to implement and more user-friendly.</div><footer>Michał Waśniewski, Senior iOS Developer at Bright Inventions</footer></blockquote>

## A small budget helps to create an app that users need and want

A smaller budget makes you go deeper into analytics, and that's great! Analytics is often neglected. After the MVP launch, **startup founders often focus too much on app reviews rather than actually going deeper into users' activity**. 

Thanks to analytics tools like Firebase and Mixpanel, you can **check what features your users really use, what screens engage them, and what features you can simply give up on**. Read more about [mobile MVP success metrics](/blog/metrics-to-measure-mobile-mvp-success-cheat-sheet/) to know what to measure if you build a mobile solution.

Not many startups can afford to keep developing the product of their dream, rather than the product their users desire… We recommend you follow the user-oriented path. 🙂

## Szymon Chmal Will Speak about React Hydration at the dev.js Summit

*Published: 2023-10-03 | Author: izabela | Tags: update, frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/szymon-chmal-will-speak-about-react-hydration-at-the-dev-js-summit/index.md*

**Are you planning to attend the dev.js Summit (online) Autumn Edition? Don’t miss a talk by Szymon Chmal, Senior Frontend Developer at Bright Inventions. Join the online event comfortably from your office or home on 12 October 2023. Tickets are free!**

<div className="image">![Szymon Chmal dev.js speaker](../../static/images/szymon_devjs.png "Szymon Chmal dev.js speaker")</div>

## Szymon’s talk – The New Face of Hydration

If you are creating applications in React, you have probably encountered the concept of hydration. The bright side of this process is that our application, initially rendered on the server side, becomes interactive. Not long ago, hydration had to be performed in an "all or nothing" mode and often became noticeable to the end user. Fortunately, the situation has changed with the latest version of React. Hydration can now be divided into phases and even prioritized. What exactly does this mean? You will find out during this presentation.

**Szymon will uncover the new face of hydration on October 12 at 2.30 p.m. online. [Claim your spot now](https://devjssummit.pl/)!**

## Learn more about bright speaker

Szymon is a senior frontend developer with a holistic view of software. In love with React, but open to new technologies regarding both frontend and backend areas. Technology is for him just a tool used to provide business value to software products he is working on.

Do you want to know more about Szymon? [Read this interview](/blog/frontend-developer-with-an-appetite-for-backend-meet-szymon/).

## See you online

[Get a free ticket now](https://devjssummit.pl/)! Also, find out what other speech you can find in the dev.js Summit agenda.

## Implementing Payments: Key Questions for Startup Founders and CTOs

*Published: 2023-09-27 | Author: fjablonski | Tags: business, POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/implementing-payments-key-questions-for-startup-founders-and-ctos/index.md*

**Payment is one of the most important features of digital products. In case any problems arise, both you and your users could potentially experience financial losses. So based on our over 10 years of experience in building digital products, we gathered some recommendations for payment implementation for startup founders, CTOs, and tech leaders.**

<div className="image">![Payments](../../static/images/payments.png "Payments")</div>

Payment can enable you to monetize your solution. Or it can be an important feature for your users. For example, if you offer a retail [POS solution](/projects/pos-legacy/), payment is the heart of it. If there are any issues with it, your clients will lose money. **The success of payments doesn't solely depend on your development team's code but rather on the business decisions you make** before any programming lines are written.

**Things to consider before you add a payment feature to the software development team’s backlog:**

## 1. Do you need the payment for international markets or locally?

If you need to implement payments for a specific country, it might be wise to seek a local provider that is well-versed in the market's nuances and regulations. However, if you need to facilitate international payments, your payment provider probably should be one of the top players, such as Stripe, PayPal, and Zettle by PayPal.

## 2. Do you need a small provider or a top player on the market?

There is no ideal option for everyone, so you need to analyze the pros and cons from your business perspective. The final decision often relies on the size of your organization. Startups and SMEs will likely have different needs compared to large enterprises.

### Advantages of large payment providers:

* Stable and mature payment solution.
* Technical support.
* Lots of helpful resources and docs for software engineers.

### Disadvantages of large payment providers:

* Possible slow response time from support (if you're small, you’re not a key client).
* Less attractive price models (the smallest volume, the bigger price).

### Advantages of smaller payment providers:

* Chance for lower prices.
* A possible better response time from support (they often try to offer better customer support to stand out from bigger providers).
* Flexibility and startup culture (it might be a plus for small companies).

### Disadvantages of smaller payment providers:

* Less stability: their product is often in the early stages of development and updates might affect your payments.
* Less amount of resources and docs for software engineers.

## 3. Who is responsible for any technical issues with payments? You or your payment provider?

You need to determine who will be responsible for any payment malfunctions – you or your payment provider. For example, if you offer a mentioned POS system, your client will contact you about unavailable payment features even if you aren't directly responsible for them. You need to ensure that your payment provider will take responsibility for issues with payments.

<div className="image">![Card payment](../../static/images/card_reader_case_study_app.png "Card payment")</div>

## 4. Will your provider offer you an account manager?

It's smart to choose a provider that will offer an account manager. This is a person who will not only be a first responder to your problems or needs. **The account manager should also inform you about any payment anomalies and give you a heads-up when security certificates are about to expire**. It's good to have that support from your payment provider's side.

## 5. What is the payment culture of your target group?

Choosing the payment method is a decision that should depend on your users' habits. These might vary [depending on the country](https://pay-lobby.com/en/country). For example, in the USA and the UK, online payment with debit/credit cards and e-wallets are the most popular. On the contrary, there are countries where bank transfers are one of the most common payment methods (e.g. Netherlands, Poland).

[Over 40% of eCommerce users](https://www.ppro.com/news/retailers-risk-losing-customers/) in the USA stop a purchase if their favorite payment method isn’t available. So **don’t try to change your users' habits, embrace them**.

## 6. What information should be included in the payment statement?

In some cases, users are extremely protective of their anonymity. For example, if you build a web therapy platform, your users may not be willing to share the information that they struggle with some mental issues. So they don't want the payment to visibly state that they use a web therapy platform. Especially when another family member has access to, for example, the credit card statement. That's why you need to decide what's the proper name for the payment statement for your solution.

## Join Us for a Torun Web Development Meetup

*Published: 2023-09-25 | Author: izabela | Tags: update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/join-us-for-a-torun-web-development-meetup/index.md*

**We are calling web developers from Toruń and nearby! Whether you're a seasoned web developer or just starting your journey, let’s meet at Toruń Technological Incubator. We have an event coming on October 18! Toruń, here we come!**

<div className="image">![Torun Web Development Meetup](../../static/images/blog_torun_meetup.png "Torun Web Development Meetup")</div>

## What to Expect at Torun Web Development Meetup #1 \[Agenda]

### 📌 Registration and Networking | October 19, 6.00 PM – 6.15 PM

We'll start with some casual networking, giving you the opportunity to meet other web enthusiasts and share your experiences.

### 🚀 Web Components – The Illusion of Encapsulation | Wojciech Trawiński | 6.15 PM – 6.50 PM

Encapsulation, independence, and reusability are the buzzwords that technology Web Components are described, much like a Hollywood story. But is it really justified?

During my presentation, you will get to know the darker side of Web Components and learn how the context of your element's use affects its functionality.

### ☕️ Short Regenerative Break | 6.50 PM – 7.00 PM

Grab that coffee and get ready for what’s next.

### 🚀 Frontend in Production | Olaf Sulich | 7.00 PM – 7.35 PM

Frontend beyond the realm of Udemy courses. Discover how to create modern and secure user interfaces for millions of users.

### 🌐 Q&A and Discussion | 7.35 PM – 8.00 PM

After the presentations, we will have time for questions and discussions.

### 🍕 Snacks and Networking | 8.00 PM – 8.30 PM

Following the official part of the meeting, we invite you for snacks and further networking. It's a great opportunity to continue conversations and establish new connections.

## Meet our speakers

<div className="image">![Wojciech Trawiński](../../static/images/torun_speaker_wojciech.png "Wojciech Trawiński")</div>

**[Wojciech Trawiński](http://www.linkedin.com/in/wojciech-trawi%C5%84ski)**

A Senior Software Engineer who specializes in creating web applications. He is an enthusiast of the Angular framework and reactive programming, always seeking challenges both in and outside of work. He is also the author of the blog "[JavaScript Everyday](https://medium.com/javascript-everyday)". In his free time, he enjoys watching Formula 1 and... building Lego. He is addicted to coffee, chocolate, and cycling.

<div className="image">![Olaf Sulich](../../static/images/torun_speaker_olaf.png "Olaf Sulich")</div>

**[Olaf Sulich](https://www.linkedin.com/in/olaf-sulich/)**

A Senior Frontend Developer who isn't afraid of any challenges. The creator of the [Frontlive.pl](https://frontlive.pl/) blog and a community for ambitious programmers on Discord. Currently, he is working on developing one of the largest and most dynamic marketplaces in Poland – Allegro Lokalnie.

## Let’s meet in Toruń

Are you ready to join us? [Get your free ticket now](https://www.meetup.com/toru%C5%84-web-development/events/295971160/)!

## Event Details

Date: October 19, 2023

Time: 6:00-8.30 PM

Location: Business Link Toruń Toruński Inkubator Technologiczny

Hosted by: Bright Inventions

Event Link: [meetup.com](https://www.meetup.com/toru%C5%84-web-development/events/295971160/)

## Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone: Is It Worth It? 

*Published: 2023-09-21 | Author: agata | Tags: inspiration, motivation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/stepping-out-of-your-comfort-zone/index.md*

**Do you enjoy leaving your comfort zone? If your answer is a reluctant "probably not," you're not alone. The comfort zone is that cozy space where everything feels familiar and easy – like an MTB rider in the woods or a Netflix enthusiast on their favorite couch.** 😎

<div className="image"><img src="/images/brain2.jpeg" alt="brain mode" title=""  /> </div>

## 🧐 What is Leaving Your Comfort Zone?

Leaving your comfort zone means venturing into new territory, doing things you might not naturally gravitate toward. It's like swapping a Netflix binge for an engaging book (or a blog-post 😉) about self development. But why should you willingly go into discomfort? The answer lies in personal progress and growth.

When you step out of your comfort zone, your brain forges fresh neural pathways. Over time, these experiences become habits, leading to new skills and an expanded comfort zone. It's not just about trying new things; it's about connecting with people you might never have encountered and embracing previously unthinkable possibilities.

<div className="image">![magic happens](../../static/images/frame-43.png "undefined")</div>

## 👧 My Personal Journey

I used to feel apprehensive about new people and unfamiliar situations, but life repeatedly pushed me out of my comfort zone. One significant moment occurred when COVID-19 struck, necessitating a reevaluation and adaptation of my two tourism-related businesses. I found myself transitioning to a different role, working for someone else (hello, Bright Inventions team 👋), in the tech industry (I'm 'not exactly' a technical person 😇). This shift was entirely outside my comfort zone. However, this experience transformed my perspective, teaching me that change is an opportunity for growth and learning.

## 🌚 Identifying your Needs

I believe it's common for people to sometimes be uncertain about their needs, direction in life, and what's truly good for them.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is like widening its boundaries. We go beyond our comfort zone and use it as a litmus test to determine if something aligns with our needs. This process makes it easier to identify and, consequently, fulfill those needs.

## 🧠 The Role of Dopamine

When we embark on unfamiliar journeys or learn new skills, our brains release dopamine, responsible for that exhilarating feeling when you achieve something new. It's your shortcut to feeling good!

<div className="image">![dopamine functions](../../static/images/function-of-dopamine.jpg "undefined")</div>

## 🗣️ Speaking the Uncomfortable Truth

Leaving your comfort zone also involves speaking uncomfortable truths, which can lead to a change in the situation among the same people, rather than changing the people themselves. Otherwise, you'll continue to encounter the same challenging situations with different individuals.

## 👟 Take Small Steps 

Leaving your comfort zone is best done in small steps and increments. Sometimes, taking a small step beyond the zone is better than leaping far beyond it.

<div className="image">![get out of your comfort zone fish](../../static/images/screenshot-2023-09-20-at-14.32.01.png "undefined")</div>

Life has a way of pushing us out of our comfort zones precisely when we need it most. It challenges us to adapt, learn, and grow, making us better versions of ourselves.

So, don't shy away from discomfort. Embrace it. Life's greatest adventures and profound discoveries often (or may I say - always) lie just beyond your comfort zone. 

 And I (and dopamine 💥) guarantee that you will feel great about yourself with every step!

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/MenInKiltsSTARZ-starz-106-men-in-kilts-jMr74AT81aG5SHPVQz' />

source: \
[https://mind.help/topic/dopamine/](<https://mind.help/topic/dopamine/
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/03/leaving-your-comfort-zone-inspires-motivation-growth>)\
[https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/03/](https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/03/leaving-your-comfort-zone-inspires-motivation-growth)\
cover image source: \
[https://www.memesmonkey.com/](https://www.memesmonkey.com/topic/comfort+zone)

## iOS Developer Who Loves to Build Apps Users Rely On. Meet Artur

*Published: 2023-09-15 | Author: arturs | Tags: bright story, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-developer-who-loves-to-build-apps-users-rely-on-artur/index.md*

**He became an iOS developer by chance, but couldn’t love it more. Find out how Artur’s career has evolved over 5 years from a junior to a senior iOS developer. Check out the apps he has worked on. Discover his favorite travel destinations too. Let’s dive in!**

<div className="image">![iOS developer career story](../../static/images/brightstoryarturphotos.png "iOS developer career story")</div>

## You joined Bright Inventions 5 years ago while you were still at college. How did you start your job here?

I saw a job listing for a blockchain developer position and applied. However, before I had my interview, the position got filled. Yet, **Michał decided to still interview me and eventually offered me the position of iOS developer**.

I didn't have any experience with iOS back then. I had maybe 2 classes about it in college. However, I always liked Apple products, so I thought I could go for it. That’s how I became an iOS developer. **Maybe it was a coincidence rather than a conscious decision, but I really enjoy [iOS development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development/)**.

## How would you compare your challenges at the beginning of your career to now?

Back then, the team was much smaller. There were only 2 other iOS developers at Bright Inventions. Although they were very supportive, I needed to quickly learn a lot on my own. It required a lot of self-organization to find the answers online. **Then, my challenges were related to the learning process, using the programming languages, and how to structure my code**.

Now, I work in a bigger team, and the daily challenges are different. Currently, **we focus on enhancing our communication and creating processes that will help us cooperate effectively**. I work in a team that consists of 6 people. Some would say it’s still a small group, but we really need to communicate well to move the development process forward

So, my first challenge was to effectively manage work on my own. Nowadays, it is all about working effectively as a team.

## And how do you enjoy working with your current team?

I am a part of an experienced and very competent team. It consists of only senior iOS developers who are highly engaged in what they do. We work on a food delivery app available on the Israeli market. I enjoy the fact that our client trusts us; therefore, we can choose the tech stack we use. 

Our team also includes skilled software testers. Although we, as developers, do some tests on our own during the code review, it’s great to share the responsibility. I still feel responsible for my code, but it’s great to feel the reassurance that there are people who will test it as well.

<div className="image">![Artur during a team retreat.](../../static/images/brightstory_team_szymek.png "Artur during a team retreat.")</div>

<center>Artur during a team retreat.</center>

## What projects, that you worked on, are particularly memorable to you?

[Finebite](/projects/everytap/) for sure. **That’s a very popular app in Poland, and it was great to be a part of its development process from the beginning to the launch**. When people find out I am a mobile developer, they often ask me if I've worked on any apps they know. I always mention Finebite, and people recognize it. That’s cool. :)

[Just Eat POS](/projects/system-for-restaurants-mobile/) (prev. Practi) was one of the projects close to my heart as well. It was **a retail platform, very popular, especially in the Israeli market**. We delivered solutions for restaurant owners and their employees. Our users and their businesses relied on our work daily. So, it was a huge responsibility. Yet, it's an advantage of building real solutions, rather than creating applications that will never see the light of day.

<div className="image">![Artur's quote on projects](../../static/images/artur_quote_real_products.png "Artur's quote on projects")</div>

## What’s your recipe for spending over 5 years at one company? It’s rather unique nowadays. 😀

The key ingredient is changing the projects you work on. I've worked for various clients, with different people. Sometimes it almost felt like changing a company. **It’s great to change teams to share knowledge with others. There was never a case when I would land on a team without somebody I could learn something from**. 

<div className="image">![Artur's quote on learning](../../static/images/artur_quote_learning.png "Artur's quote on learning")</div>

Although **I have been in one company for over 5 years, Bright Inventions gave me an opportunity to work on many different solutions and touch on various technologies**. What's also important **I have built products that are really used and appreciated by users**.

I even traveled to London to see with my own eyes how the end users used the application I had built. It’s such a great feeling to see that your work gives value to someone.

## How do you catch up with news and trends in the iOS world?

As probably every iOS developer, I always check all the news announced during The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Besides that, **I have OKRs dedicated to my personal growth, monitored by my mentor – Kamil**. We both choose topics that I can improve on or decide on what new solutions and tools I should test. 

Thanks to the fact that our client lets us choose the tech stack we work on, we can quickly implement new technologies in our project. **So we get to work with SwiftUI, async/await to utilize those for the benefit of our client staying up-to-date with Apple products**.

## I know you love to travel. Some of your favorite travel destinations are Scandinavia and Iceland. Why?

I visit these places regularly to hike in nature. I had a chance to experience polar day and to see the Northern lights too. I don’t know which one is better. I recommend everyone to see both.

<div className="image">![Hiking in Northern Norway (nearby Tromso).](../../static/images/artur_passion_travel.png "Hiking in Northern Norway (nearby Tromso).")</div>

<center>Hiking in Northern Norway (nearby Tromso).</center>

I would actually love to try living on a polar day. I'd like to experience living in a place where you can organize your life cycle whenever you want, and you are not dependent on the time of day or night.

It’s not that easy to experience the northern lights, though. You have to be lucky. The sky has to be clear. It’s worth noting that the temperature was really low. When I was there, it was -27 degrees Celsius.

## I know you are going to the Manchester United vs. Liverpool game in April 2024. What is the score going to be? 😉

I’d say it is going to be 3-1 for Manchester United. At least I hope so. 😀 We’re about to find out. 😉

<div className="image">![Artur during Manchester United stadium tour](../../static/images/artur_football.png "Artur during Manchester United stadium tour")</div>

<center>Artur during Manchester United stadium tour.</center>

## Don't Miss Szymon's Talk on Web Optimization Techniques at 4Developers

*Published: 2023-09-13 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: update, frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dont-miss-szymons-talk-on-web-optimization-techniques-at-4developers/index.md*

**Szymon Chmal, Senior Frontend Developer at Bright Inventions, is featured as one of the speakers at the 4Developers conference. The event takes place on the 26th of September in Gdansk. Szymon will speak about the web optimization guide for 2023.**

<div className="image">![Szymon](../../static/images/blog_szymon_spekaer.png "Szymon")</div>

Szymon is a senior frontend developer with a holistic view of software. In love with React, but open to new technologies regarding both frontend and backend areas. Technology is for him just a tool used to provide business value to software products he is working on.

Do you want to know more about Szymon? [Read this interview](/blog/frontend-developer-with-an-appetite-for-backend-meet-szymon/).

## An image worth a thousand words... and seconds of loading

<div className="image">![4developers Szymon Chmal](../../static/images/szymon_4developers.png "4developers Szymon Chmal")</div>

If you still believe that choosing a graphic format comes down to selecting one of three classic options: JPEG, GIF, and PNG, then this lecture will change your life forever. You will learn how crucial the loading time of a webpage and its resources is for the user.

Szymon will show you how to optimize it by using modern graphic formats, as well as some tricks that will allow you to delay the loading of less important images, among other things. On top of that, he will present services that do all the tedious work for us. **The talk will be held in Polish.**

**When: Sep 26th, 4.00 - 4.45 PM, Gdańsk (Focus Hotel Premium)**

## See you at 4Developers

[Get a ticket now](https://4developers.org.pl/gdansk-2023/#)! Use the code “DAWKA_WIEDZY” for a 20% discount. Meet with Szymon in Gdańsk! 

<div className="image">![4developers tickets](../../static/images/grafika_bilet.png "4developers tickets")</div>

## 4 Interpersonal Skills That Can Save Your Software Team Time & Money 

*Published: 2023-09-06 | Author: ula | Tags: communication, inspiration, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/4-interpersonal-skills-that-can-save-your-software-team-time-and-money/index.md*

Harold M. Messmer, Executive Chairman at Robert Half International Inc., said once that **your career success in the
workplace of today - independent of technical expertise - depends on the quality of your people skills**. Interpersonal
skills (also known as soft skills or people skills) are essential for effective communication, collaboration, and
building meaningful relationships with others. These skills are crucial in both personal and professional contexts and
play a significant role in shaping the quality of our interactions with individuals and groups. 

However, while looking
at some industries including IT I still can see that interpersonal skills are often undermined and presented as less
important than technical knowledge. I am on the other side of this and believe that software development teams really
need interpersonal skills in many workalike situations and they sometimes need them even more than pure technical
knowledge.<div className="image">![adam grant interpersonal skills ](../../static/images/adam-grant-soft-skills.png "undefined")</div>

## **1. Communication is the key**

Strong interpersonal skills enable individuals to communicate clearly and efficiently. Software engineers who have
well-developed interpersonal skills can convey their thoughts, ideas, and emotions effectively, leading to better
understanding and reducing the chances of misunderstandings with other team members or clients.

**The report [State of Business Communication: The Backbone of Business Is
Broken ](https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/bad-connection-study-finds-poor-communication-costs-businesses-1-2-trillion-annually)shows that up to a $1.2 trillion annual loss among businesses is due to ineffective communication.** 

Leaders estimate teams lose the equivalent of nearly an entire workday (7.47 hours) each week to poor communication—or approximately $12,506 per
employee every year. These numbers are pretty scary and I suppose many companies do note even realise how much poor
communication costs them year by year. Apart from increased costs poor communication impacts profoundly productivity,
morale, and growth, and sometimes leads to reputational erosion.

## **2. Conflict resolution ability**

Inevitably, conflicts arise in various settings and interpersonal skills help in resolving them constructively and
finding solutions that satisfy all parties involved. Some disagreements can as well arise during the development
process. Conflict resolution is an integral part of the [software development process](/blog/what-are-the-stages-of-app-development/), primarily because software
development projects often involve teams with diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and roles. Conflicts can arise due to
differences in opinions, goals, priorities, and approaches to
problem-solving.

Addressing conflicts effectively is essential for fostering collaboration and ensuring project success. Regular design
reviews and brainstorming sessions can provide a platform to identify and resolve potential conflicts early in the
process. Conflicts may arise also during code reviews and quality assurance when team members have differing opinions
about coding standards and best practices. Or during the deployment phase if there are concerns about stability,
performance, or security. **Actively listening to all perspectives to understand the root cause of the conflict as well
as ensuring that all team members understand project goals, roles, and expectations can really minimize
misunderstandings.**

## **3. Empathy in client-dev relationship**

We all know that interpersonal skills are closely tied to emotional intelligence, which involves understanding and
managing one's emotions and those of others. High levels of empathy in turn contributes to better decision-making,
self-awareness, and social awareness while working in a team.

In customer-facing roles, empathy is essential for delivering exceptional client service. Software developers who can
empathize with the clients are more likely to meet business requirements and enhance satisfaction. **You should
understand when you and the specific task fit in in the client’s organization and how it contributes to the client’s
vision. High emotional intelligence contributes to better decision-making and better awareness of what our clients need
and why they need it.** As a software developer you solve real problems and you work with real people - don’t forget
about that.<div className="image">![empathy](../../static/images/empathy-it-vs-healthcare.png "undefined")</div>

Source: https://info.businessolver.com/empathy-industry-spectrum

**Remember that empathy allows developers not only to put themselves in the shoes of clients, but also the end-users,
and it allows to understand their preferences.** This understanding helps in creating software that truly addresses user
requirements and delivers a better user experience.

## **4. Feedback in leader’s roles** 

Effective [team leaders must possess excellent interpersonal skills](https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2023/07/30/inflation-insurance-for-retirees-what-does-it-cost/?)
to inspire and motivate their team members. **Interpersonal skills enable leaders to act as coaches, providing guidance
and constructive feedback to help team members grow and develop their skills.** As a leader you have to ensure that your
team understands their obligations by using clear written and verbal communication.

Important information can get misconstrued when team leader’s communication skills are inadequate. In consequence it may
lead relationships to deteriorate and create barriers to progress. **When leaders are skilful in communicating
feedback - that benefits the whole organization.** What is more, they have to discuss the project and its progress not
only with their team members, but also with upper management and other stakeholders to meet the business goals and
requirements. They use the feedback to implement changes in their work and motivate people they work with.

When delivered constructively and thoughtfully, feedback has the potential to drive high performance and enhance the
overall success of the team.

<div className="image">![benefits feedback](../../static/images/benefits-of-employee-feedback.jpeg "undefined")</div>

Source: https://www.zippia.com/advice/employee-feedback-statistics

## **What matters are people** 

Overall strong interpersonal skills are crucial for successful teamwork and collaboration. Software developers (and
people in general) who can communicate openly, listen actively, and understand others' perspectives are more likely to
work harmoniously in groups and achieve common goals. Good interpersonal skills help in building positive and healthy
relationships with friends, family, colleagues, and even strangers.

**While looking for talents at bright inventions we pay a lot of attention to “soft skills” possessed by candidates.**
Assessing them during the recruitment process is crucial because these skills play a significant role in a final success
in a job. **Interpersonal skills such as empathy, active listening or feedback processing help our team members
understand client’s needs or concerns and adjust to their challenges.** What is more, team members who share our
company's values tend to perform better and contribute positively to the workplace culture. These skills complement our
team’s technical knowledge and are often what differentiates us from many companies in IT industry.

## How to Develop Solution-Oriented Mindset in Your Life and in Your Team?

*Published: 2023-08-25 | Author: ula | Tags: communication, leadership, inspiration, team building*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-develop-solution-oriented-mindset-in-your-life-and-in-your-team/index.md*

Throughout human history, survival was the primary concern, and addressing problems and challenges was crucial for our existence. This instinct is deeply ingrained in our psyche, even in modern times it leads us to focus on potential threats and issues much more than on potential opportunities and solutions. Apart from our natural inclinations we are surround by the media that tend to prioritize reporting on problems, conflicts, disasters, and negative events as they grab attention and increase viewership. This constant exposure to negative news can reinforce our problem-oriented way of thinking and can even create the perception of the problem-centric world. **However, human progress is driven by identifying and solving problems not thinking about them. We should work towards solutions and improvements, promoting a more balanced view of the world.** Acknowledging the positive aspects and celebrating achievements can help shift our perception away from a solely problem-focused lenses. 

## **Negativity bias** 

Our cognitive biases, such as [the negativity bias, make us more attentive to negative information](https://www.verywellmind.com/negative-bias-4589618). **We tend to remember and emphasise negative experiences over positive ones, reinforcing the idea that problems are more prevalent.** Even though we may no longer need to be on constant alert as our ancestors had to be in order to survive, the negativity bias still has a main role in our brain operations. It has a huge effect on how we think, feel and act. 

<div className="image">![negativity bias](../../static/images/negativity-bias.jpeg "undefined")</div>

###### Source: https://www.instagram.com/theawkwardyeti

Understanding the negativity bias can help you be more aware of your thought patterns and emotional responses. While it may be challenging to completely eliminate this bias, you may use some strategies to minimalise it. **Among the techniques you can find some simples ones such as practising gratitude, limiting expose to negative news (and negative people 😉), evaluating the validity of native thoughts or expressing appreciation.** 

## **What does it mean to be solution-oriented** 

People who are solution-oriented have a mindset that focuses on finding practical and effective solutions to problems and challenges. **It involves a proactive and positive attitude, and taking action to overcome obstacles rather than dwelling on the problems themselves**. Being solution-oriented often leads to more productive and constructive outcomes in various aspects of life - not only at work. 

**Among the main traits of solution-oriented approach we can see:**

* positive mindset even in the face of setbacks,
* concentration on identifying creative approaches to tackle the issue at hand, 
* proactiveness and initiative to seek ways to implement solutions,
* thinking outside the box,
* seeking support from others and recognizing diverse perspectives,
* quick adjusting of an approach if the initial solution does not yield the desired results,
* seeing failure as a learning opportunity and motivation to keep trying. 

## **How to become more solutions-oriented**

Becoming solution-oriented requires developing a particular mindset and adopting specific practices.

1. First of all, you should acknowledge that negativity bias exists and you have to become aware of its impact on your thoughts and actions. **Without building self-awareness it is rather impossible to change anything.** If you are not sure whether you have a tendency to focus excessively on problems, ask your family and friends - they can sometimes say about your behaviours much more than you yourself.
2. If gaining self-awareness is not an issue and you understand the effect of negativity bias on your life, you should start the whole practical process. Whenever you encounter a problem, shift your focus from dwelling on the issue to exploring potential solutions. **Avoid getting stuck in a loop of complaining or ruminating about the problem. Remember also to clearly articulate the problem you are facing.** A well-defined problem is halfway to being solved. Then **try to generate as many potential solutions as you can**, regardless of how unconventional they may seem initially. In the end assess the potential solutions based on their effectiveness, practicality, and alignment with your goals.
3. Seek input and support from others. Collaboration with friends, family or your team members can provide fresh perspectives and insights. **Stay open to exploring ideas that may challenge your initial assumptions. Sometimes the best solutions come from unexpected sources.**
4. Invest time in enhancing your problem-solving abilities. Read books, take courses, or engage in activities that promote critical thinking and creative problem-solving. Becoming solution-oriented is an approach that requires practice and consistency. Be patient with yourself as you develop and reinforce this new way of thinking.
5. **Cultivate [a habit of expressing gratitude](https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier#:~:text=In%20positive%20psychology%20research,%20gratitude,adversity,%20and%20build%20strong%20relationships.) for what you have and the progress you make.** Gratitude can foster a positive attitude. As a grateful individual you can often cope better with stress and adversity and counteract the negative impact of stressors, leading to improved emotional resilience. 

## A **solution-oriented team** 

The focus on solutions can empower any organisation and make better use of our time and resources. The key to success here is being clear and transparent what kind of behaviours you want to have in your team and which ones you really disapprove of. 

🙌 If solution-oriented thinking is a skill that you want to be learned and possessed by each member of your team, you had better **set the right example how to act and provide a person with appropriate feedback in real time.** It is important to catch inappropriate behaviour just when it happens and help explain the situation to the team members who are struggling. **If a problem seems to be overwhelming to your team members, break it down into smaller, more manageable components.** This can make it easier to identify potential solutions for each part.

 🚀 Another thing you can do is to **encourage creative thinking during your team’s meetings**. Understand that not every solution may work as intended, but the brainstorming process and looking for different options is also a valuable part of problem-solving skill. **If a solution doesn't succeed, view it just as a learning opportunity and use the experience to refine your approach.**

 🎉 **Don not forget about acknowledging and celebrating successes, no matter how small they may seem.** Focus on improving relationships through expressing appreciation and thankfulness among team members. It fosters feelings of connectedness and trust, leading to more fulfilling and supportive relationships. **Positive reinforcement can reinforce a solution-oriented mindset in your team as well.** When people are not afraid of expressing their views openly and know they can rely on each other, solving problems seems to be a natural and smooth part of their daily life and work. 

## **Solution-focused communication** 

There is one special [solution-oriented therapy](https://solutionfocused.net/what-is-solution-focused-therapy/) that is worth mentioning here. [Steve de Shazer](https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/steve-de-shazer.html) together with [Insoo Kim Ber](https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/insoo-kim-berg.html), two developed a type of brief therapeutic approach that focuses on identifying and building solutions to a person’s problems rather than dwelling on the problems themselves. It is based on the belief that people have the resources and strengths to overcome challenges, and the therapist's role is to help them tap into those resources and find effective solutions.

<div className="image">![solution focused communication](../../static/images/solution-oriented-language-.png "undefined")</div>

The same we can do with our everyday communication. **We can put a strong emphasis on identifying and amplifying solutions rather than analyzing problems in depth. To do that we can talk with the details about a preferred future where our problems have been resolved.** 

As during the therapy we can use a series of questions designed to think about the problematic situation in new more constructive ways. **These questions often begin with "how" or "what" and encourage us to explore our strengths, exceptions to the problem, and potential solutions. For example, we can ask ourselves - what worked for us in similar situations in the past? Or what could work for our friend/colleague in a similar situation?** Identify and explore previous “exceptions,” e.g. times when you have successfully coped with or addressed previous difficulties and challenges.

**Steve de Shazer made a valid point saying that very often the solution is not directly related to the problem and the language we use to describe the solution is different than that needed to describe a problem.** 

## **Summary - solutions as small miracles** 

While describing SFT I did not mention one important question that is used in the therapy. One of the key techniques is **"Miracle Question."** Clients with a problem is asked to imagine that a miracle has occurred overnight, and their problem is solved. They are then prompted to describe what their life would be like, how they would feel, and what they would be doing differently. This exercise can help them clarify their goals and identify steps toward achieving them. I believe that it is a very simple and opening technique we can use in our organisations to make a switch from problem-orientation to solution-orientation. **Make sure to keep the focus on what is wanted, not what is not wanted.** 

By highlighting strengths, exceptions, and potential solutions we can be empowered to make positive changes and achieve desired outcomes. **Henry Ford said that “most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them” - I believe the emphasis should be always placed on identifying and building solutions to problems, rather than getting stuck in a cycle of dwelling on the problems themselves.** There are three guiding principles you can use every time you start creating problems:

<div className="image">![guiding principles in solution oriented approach ](../../static/images/pinciples-solution-oriented-.png "undefined")</div>

###### Source: [https://slideplayer.com/slide/14741507](https://slideplayer.com/slide/14741507/)

## 3 Books for First Time Managers 

*Published: 2023-08-13 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, management, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3-books-for-first-time-managers/index.md*

If you have just begun your manager’s career, probably there are many questions in your mind - what to start with, where to find the best solutions, what is the most important element in the process, how to take care of people in your team etc. One may say that there is no better way than practice, but it does not have to be the only way. Some answers can be found in the books. 

If you are a first time manager and **you are not sure what your responsibilities are, how to organise your work, what is the priority, how to communicate with people in your team or to what extend your should control or supervise your team’s work, it might be worth taking a look at the books below.** I believe you can find there inspirations, guidelines, motivations and true reflections of yourself. **These books can support you, cheer you up and give advice when you do not know which direction to go.** 

## **\#1 *The New One Minute Manager*, Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson** 

Micromanagement is never the answer. If you need high quality work and cooperation in your team, you can take advantage of **three simple techniques: one minute goal, one minute praising and one minute reprimand.** 

**💪 *One-minute goal*** - people should always see the target and know what they want to complete. **They should understand which goal has the biggest impact. As a manager your task will be helping people in the team to see and clarify their goal.** The goal definition and deadline should take maximum one paragraph so that you will be able to read and analyse it in one minute. When goals are concisely defined you can just take a quick look at them and focus on the most important things to do. The effects criteria and expectations are clear for both sides and you can manage your time wisely and effectively.

**🙌 *One-minut praising*** - people in the team should be able to look for solutions to their problem by asking themselves appropriate questions. **The manager’s role is to observe what they do right, appreciate the efforts and encourage to learn further.** It will help team members feel more confident and appreciate the efforts of each other.

**🙏 *One-minute reprimand*** - your role as a manager is also to give feedback about what exactly was done wrong and it should happen just after it takes palce. **What should follows is personal reassurance that the failure or negative behaviour does not affect the overall account of the person. The feedback should not affect your team member’s self-esteem.**

To cut the long story short watch the video below: 

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3NLetsLYu4&t=1s' />

## **\#2 *The First Time Manager*, Loren B. Belker, Jim McCormic, Gary S. Topchik**

Giving a lot of orders and introducing as many changes as you can should not be the priority of a new manager or a leader. The priority is **building confidence and trust** with you your team members. Getting people’s trust takes time. **It is important to individualise your management style depending on the person - everyone needs different amount of control and encouragement.** You will have to push some people, but at the same time you will have people who do not need almost any encouragement because they have very strong internal motivation.

Another significant skill you will have to learn is **delegation**. However, delegation is not about giving people tasks to do when you do not have time for them. **It is more about giving people such tasks that will help them grow. Delegation is also about teaching your team members how to do them and why. Accept the fact that someone else will do tasks in a different way than yours. Accept also the fact that these tasks will not be done perfectly** **\- but it does not mean that are not done well enough.** Keep in mind that you will not be able to delegate every task as some of them are either too confidential or require very specific skillset. 

Let us know focus on meetings. Probably, you will notice during your first leader’s weeks that the number of meetings will be rising. That is why, you have to learn how to mange them wisely.  **The golden rule is to make only these appointments which are really crucial. If you can discuss something via email or Slack or any other online tool, use it.** You do not have to organise a meeting every time you need to talk something over. **Time is money. [As Adam Grant once said  - organise a meeting only when you want to learn something, decide on something, do something or create a bond.](https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/adam-grant-wharton-meetings.html)** Otherwise you will just waste your time. 

<div className="image">![undefined](../../static/images/adam_grant_meetings.png "undefined")</div>

The authors also talk about firing people which is the element of manager’s job that freaks many people out. **In fact, firing should not be traumatic experience. Sometimes it is equal to giving someone a new chance to grow. In the long run this person will find a better job in a new organisation.** To make firing right you have to keep in mind the whole feedback process that should follow. If you can see that one of your team member’s efficiency is going down, react straight away, organise an 1:1 and talk it over. Create the action points, and then monitor the situation by doing regular follow-ups. **If someone does not make any better, you have to be transparent about the reasons of saying goodbye.** Your job as manger's is to keep your team’s workflow as effective as it can be. 

**To manage people efficiently you have to understand the motivations of people.** For some this will be financial bonus, for others prestige or non-standard projects. You have to ask your people about what motivates them and their development plan and then think how you can match it with your organisation’s goals. **Avoid doing all the talking. Let us your people share their thoughts with you.** 

And last but not least, **in this whole managerial chaos do not forget about yourself.** **Remember that how you feel about yourself affects the way you mange people.** Positive self-talk supports you to be better in your role. It may help you handle the most difficult situations. So, be understanding for yourself. 

**We are not born with managerial skills, but we can learn them.** 

## **\#3 *New Management Psychology*, Tomasz Gordon** 

You are a manager and you are not sure how to communicate with people in your team? You see that your team’s motivation is fading slowly? You would like to understand how to challenge status quo in your team?

One of the tips you will find in this book is **using promoting messages** especially during an onboarding phase. It will help new team members grow roots in the organisation and increase their effectiveness. It is important to notice a value of a team member from the very first weeks. Think about strengths of each team member and use promoting messages every time you have an opportunity to appreciate someone. **What are the examples of promoting messages?  *You are a really important part of our team. I believe you can do this task. I could see during a recruitment process that you would be a great fit here.***  There are many statements you can apply,  **but remember it has to be genuine.** 

Another crucial facet of managing the team is finding and drawing power from the working flow. **The flow is space at work between boredom and stress with challenges for self-development.** How can you as a manager motivate people to take advantage of their flow? You can encourage proactiveness and initiative. You can break your routine by engaging your team into news type of tasks. You can also dose visible portions of knowledge every now and then. Try to plan and present clear steps of career development to your team members. You have to be brave enough to make different decision to help people discover their flow. 

Gordon is also underlying **the importance of tractional analysis in the relations between  mangers and their co-workers.**  

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfIuXG8AN9Y' />

It is important to recognise which ego state is dominant in us, how to use each state consciously and what possible risks they may carry.

* **If you have a parent ego state dominant, you might become a very despotic mentor who look down on your team members, which in consequence may limit their engagement, independence and development.** Your team members might be afraid of asking questions or share their ideas and true feelings with you. 
* **If dominant is adult ego state**, you will be a reasonable observer and you should be able to manage emotions easily without unnecessary judgement. **The key values for a manager with adult ego will be freedom and responsibility of their team.** 
* **And if the child ego state is primary, you may be concerned too much with your own feelings and you may react in uncontrolled way in many situations.**  As a manger to understand better people you work with at first you have to understand the reasons behind your own behaviours and reactions. 

In the book you will also find a handful of useful tips for mentoring, motivation and coaching others. So, if these are the areas you want to develop, it might be a must-read for you. 

## **There always got to be that first time** 

You might be an experienced specialist who has been working independently and successfully for many years, but when you are promoted to a manager’s role, your world (and your work) will change. The ambiguities, concerns and uncertainties will probably lead you to ask yourself many questions as it was in my case. **But remember that this whole managerial vagueness is completely normal. No one was born a manager. We have to learn particular skills to be good at this job and to learn these skills we often need time and we also need people more experienced than us who have already gone this way.** Learning is an infinite process especially for managers because people are changing and what works today does not have to work tomorrow. You have to be nimble to your team and their needs.

## Recruitment Screening – What Is It for?

*Published: 2023-08-07 | Author: agata-m | Tags: recruitment, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/recruitment-screening-what-is-it-for/index.md*

**In this blog post, you will learn what screening is, why it is used in recruitment, and what questions you can expect from the recruiter.**

<div className="important-info"><div>Screening in recruitment is typically a short, fifteen to thirty-minute phone or video conversation after the recruiter has reviewed the candidate's CV.</div></div>

The purpose of screening is to verify candidates for a specific job position and present initial preferences, and requirements of the employer. Through screening, the recruiter has a chance to identify the most suitable candidates for the next stage of recruitment, while the candidate gets an opportunity to learn more details about the role they are applying for and about the company.

<div className="image">![candidate screening](../../static/images/blogpost_screening.png "candidate screening")</div>

## **HOW DOES SCREENING LOOK LIKE? WHAT CAN RECRUITERS ASK?**

Let's go back to the very beginning, what happens before the screening takes place? So:

* The recruiter selects the most suitable individuals from all the applications, profiles, and interested candidates (which is why it's crucial to keep your CV/LinkedIn profile up to date).
* Some recruiters proceed directly to screening and contact candidates by phone. However, **at Bright Inventions, we prefer to initiate contact via email to agree on a suitable time for the candidate to talk freely.**
* Appointment scheduled? Great! Let's make the call. Screening (at least at Bright Inventions 🙂 ) usually lasts 20-30 minutes.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/power-starz-season6-episode608-SqNE1fCLfFNlEZXice' />

## **AND NOW, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART – WHAT DO RECRUITERS ASK?**

* While it may seem trivial at first glance, for us, it's essential. We ask **why you want to change your job**, what specifically interests you in the offer, and what motivates you in the current positions.
* We naturally inquire about **your experience and knowledge of the technologies/tools** required for the specific position.
* The team – it's important for us to know **if you prefer smaller or larger teams** and your preferences in this area.
* We also ask questions about must-haves, meaning **what is important to you in a new workplace**, what you want to find, and what you want to avoid - simple yet crucial questions. If there are any aspects that the candidate wants to avoid in their future work environment, it's worth clarifying these issues.
* Foreign languages – especially English. **We ask about your proficiency in English**, your ability to communicate fluently, and your willingness to work in English. There are also questions to assess your communication skills in this language.
* We would like to k**now your financial expectations, availability**, and preferences regarding the **work model** (remote or hybrid).
* Naturally, screening is not just about questions. We also take the opportunity to talk about the role, who and why we are looking for, what a candidate can expect from us, the clients, and the projects they will most likely be involved in. **It's crucial for the candidate to have as many details about the role as possible before deciding to participate in the recruitment process.**

## **CAN CANDIDATES PREPARE FOR SCREENING? IF SO, HOW?**

It's worth preparing an appropriate place for the conversation before the screening. Avoid talking to the recruiter while on the bus, cooking dinner, or doing shopping. **Find a quiet place where you can speak freely, without distractions and background noise.**

Familiarize yourself with the company you are applying to, the job posting, and consider relevant questions to ask. If needed, write down all your questions on a piece of paper to ask the recruiter.

## **WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD YOU ASK THE RECRUITER DURING THE CONVERSATION?**

There's no one-size-fits-all answer here. What you want to ask depends on your preferences. However, remember to address the most important aspects during the conversation. The most common questions candidates ask are about working hours, financial compensation, potential tasks, team size, core values ([check what we appreciate at Bright Inventions](/about-us/#core-values)), questions related to the company's culture, profile and potential project itself, and more. 

**Naturally, there might be other extra aspects you want to mention. Don't be afraid to ask. Getting answers to your pressing questions will help you assess whether the role you're discussing with the recruiter is really what you're looking for.**

## **WHAT HAPPENS AFTER SCREENING?**

After the screening, the recruiter conducts further evaluations. They assess how the conversations went, what the candidates' expectations are, and their English language skills. Based on this information, they select individuals who are invited to the next stage of recruitment and provide them with feedback. 

**Selected candidates are invited to the next stage of recruitment, which, at Bright Inventions, is a technical and non-technical interview. We always strive to justify our decision and [provide our candidates with feedback](/blog/the-importance-of-feedback-in-bright-recruitment-process/) regardless of the final result.** 

If you want to learn more about our recruitment process, [read the guide for candidates](/blog/how-to-start-working-at-bright-inventions-a-quick-guide-for-candidates/).

## 7 Qualities of a Software Developer We Look for in Candidates

*Published: 2023-08-02 | Author: sara-l | Tags: bright insights, recruitment*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/qualities-of-software-developer-we-look-for-in-candidates/index.md*

One of my first tasks at the beginning of onboarding process at Bright Inventions was to read a book. What kind of book and why should I read it? 

This book is written by Robert C. Martin called Uncle Bob, who is quite a popular developer and author for at least a few books for developers. Ula, my manager, believes that we can find in the book some reflections of a developer's mindset that we are looking for in Bright Inventions. As in every book there are some extremes, but the image of presented professional might be a guidance to understand what kind of behaviours and actions we want or don't want to have in our team. And is there a better way to get to know the “persona” of a software developer than reading a book about the professional developer you are looking for?

<div className="image">![Sara - a recruiter at Bright Inventions](/images/blogpost_qualities_sara.png "Sara - a recruiter at Bright Inventions")</div>

My first reflection after reading "The Clean Coder" is that the author describes not only software developers, but people who are able to live in society and work effectively with other people. So I almost fully agree (well maybe with a small exception) with Uncle Bob and I believe that **everyone who wants to be a good employee and teammate should adapt to some rules, which can make us better in cooperation and effectiveness**. 

I believe that “The Clean Coder'' book is all about responsibility. Let me explain how responsibility affects our everyday work and what we actually should be responsible for.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/abcnetwork-a-million-little-things-abc-thingsabc-amillionlittlethings-UQiINvZALmkpqoFkZG' />

## 1. Be open and reflective

It seems to me that some people think that the work of a software developer focuses only on writing code. Of course that is an extremely important part of their job, but there is another important part. **The key to success is to effectively cooperate with teammates and clients**. So there is a lot of space to take responsibility for our own behaviour.

So we should ask ourselves some questions:

* Are we open to cooperation and therefore other people opinions? 
* Are we able to share our own opinion with other people?
* Are we able to say sorry, when we make a mistake? 

So are you? I hope so! Without communication abilities and openness it’s hard to establish smooth and effective collaboration. 

## 2. Take your career into your hands

Another thing we should feel responsible for is our own career. Developing our skills, choosing the path which we would like to follow, being persistent in the pursuit of a goal – these are our responsibilities, which we should take seriously. Uncle Bob believes that it is the employee's responsibility, not the employer's, to initiate attending conferences, courses, buying industry books, and arranging time for learning. It's great that it's currently so popular among employers to invest in employee development. Let's take advantage! And let's remember that it's up to us how we use these perks and benefits. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/fascinating-cant-stop-watching-in-your-hands-XkkiJBAJBWfw5OWCSV' />

## 3. Be responsible for your own work 

For example developers should be responsible for their own code and bugs. Naturally everyone can make mistakes, it's more than likely to happen. So what can we do? Prepare! But how? 

There are a few ways to prevent mistakes.

Firstly, **be honest with your teammates** and project manager/product owner/scrum master and speak directly about how long it will take you to do a particular thing. Don't dim that you're going to try to do something faster when you know it will take more time because PM/PO/SM puts pressure on you. That is their job to finalize the project and your job is to be assertive. For the sake of the project, do your best to estimate sincerely and avoid committing to deadlines that you are not sure of. 

Secondly, do your best to **anticipate potential errors in your code**. Create correctable, simple code. And no matter what, test your code. 

## 4. Develop your skills and share your knowledge with others

Allow the knowledge to circulate. Be open to feedback, to code review. Once (during the interview with an extremely nice developer) I heard a very wise sentence, "My code is not me". I believe that everyone should sometimes tell it to themselves (not only devs). 

**Other people's advice, suggestions and feedback are not about you, they are about how they interpret your work/behavior/code**. So do not take them personally. The best thing you can do is to use them and be smarter and generally better! And the second part is to share your knowledge, advice and feedback with other people to let them be smarter. And then all of us will be smarter. Easy. 😎

## 5. Take care about your creativity resources

As a software developer you have to be creative. However, you don’t need to be born with creativity. You can develop your creativity and care about it. How? Uncle Bob proposes to read creative books/articles which are not work-related. He believes that they recharge our creativity batteries. So we can sum it up with the following sentence: **other people's creativity stimulates our own creativity**. When your creativeness battery is full, then you can resolve more difficult problems in different, new ways. And be smarter. 😎 

## 6. Take care about yourself!  

Take care about work-life balance, about your sleep, about proper, healthy, wholesome food – these are the factors affecting the well-being of your mind and body. Well-functioning mind and body have a huge influence on your daily work.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/youtube-with-me-coping-find-a-way-Yat5wnwisEV2iXbt4x' />

## 7. Get to know yourself

It is extremely important to know when we are the most productive. When does our focus decrease? What conditions have to be fulfilled to have as many big brain moments as possible? Do we like to work with music or without? There are a lot of questions we can ask ourselves to know ourselves better. Another important thing is to **listen to ourselves and adapt our work time to our preferences** to be as productive as possible.

## Where do I disagree with Uncle Bob?

At the beginning of the blog post I wrote that I almost agree with Uncle Bob, but there is an exception. This exception is about work-develop-life balance. I believe that spending 8 hours, 5 days per week at work is a lot of time. Naturally developing our skills is extremely important – I agree with the author on that. 

Yet Uncle Bob believes that a professional developer should spend 3 hours per day on self development in the programming area (including weekends) and have fun with it. It may indeed be a way to be a professional, but is it the only way? I do not think so. That means that you should choose to spend less time with your family, friends, pets or to resign to develop in other areas. In my opinion that sounds dangerous. We have to be careful of how we spend our free time and always remember what is the most important to us – and that's what we should be guided by.

If you're curious about other perspectives, I encourage you to read [my teammates' thoughts on the book The Clean Coder](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-clean-coder-seven-qualities-of-a-professional-programmer/). And I'm curious about your perspective! Do you agree with Uncle Bob? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

## Digital Transformation Guide for Logistics

*Published: 2023-08-01 | Author: izabela | Tags: business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/digital-transformation-guide-for-logistics/index.md*

**Do you feel that it's time to digitize your company’s operations? Should you have a dedicated app developed or maybe it’s better to use existing solutions on the market? Check how to make that decision. Find out how long it takes to build a customized solution for logistics and why it’s smart to start from MVP (Minimal Viable Product).**

<div className="image">![logistics](../../static/images/logistics_photo_blog.png "logistics")</div>

- - -

## Table of contents

[Digital transformation for the logistics industry](/blog/digital-transformation-guide-for-logistics/#digital-transformation-for-the-logistics-industry)

[When you should build your own customized solution for logistics](/blog/digital-transformation-guide-for-logistics/#when-you-should-build-your-own-customized-solution-for-logistics)

[Example of digital transformation in logistics (case study)](/blog/digital-transformation-guide-for-logistics/#example-of-digital-transformation-in-logistics-case-study)

[Examples of challenges in the logistics industry that tech can solve](/blog/digital-transformation-guide-for-logistics/#examples-of-challenges-in-the-logistics-industry-that-tech-can-solve)

[The road from the idea to the launch (including MVP)](/blog/digital-transformation-guide-for-logistics/#the-road-from-the-idea-to-the-launch-including-mvp)

[Logistics MVP stack for 2023](/blog/digital-transformation-guide-for-logistics/#logistics-industry-mvp-stack-for-2023)

[How much does it cost to hire a software agency to build MVP for logistics?](/blog/digital-transformation-guide-for-logistics/#how-much-does-it-cost-to-hire-a-software-agency-to-build-mvp-for-logistics)

- - -

## Digital transformation for the logistics industry

Digital transformation refers to the implementation of technology to improve various aspects of an organization's operations, business processes, products, services, and customer experiences. Moving into digital with your company documents, processes and data can help to speed up daily operations, secure fragile information and analyze the data to make more business-oriented decisions.

### There are two typical ways to digitalize your company operations:

* You can look for available on the market digital software tools (off-the-shelf software).
* Or hire a software agency to build a customized solution just for you.

## When you should build your own customized solution for logistics

For some companies, off-the-shelf software will be perfectly fine. In some cases, it won’t be enough though. So, when should you consider building something unique for your company?

* When you are a large organization that requires a multifunctional platform to meet the diverse needs of various departments and stakeholders.
* When you have tested other solutions and identified missing features that are crucial for your operations.
* When you have the financial resources, and development capabilities (internal or outsourced) to build something completely suited for your company’s needs.

## Example of digital transformation in logistics (case study)

<div className="image">![Transportation Management System](../../static/images/tms_social_preview.png "Transportation Management System")</div>

Read the case study of a [customized solution for forwarding company in the light road transport sector](/projects/transportation-management-system/) (up to 3.5 tons of the permissible total weight).

## Examples of challenges in the logistics industry that tech can solve

### A weak internet connection

Internet connection is often not sufficient for daily operations in the logistics industry. Especially for drivers. It shouldn’t stop others to collaborate with drivers, e.g. freight forwarders. That's why an app built for the logistics industry often should have an offline mode. 

For example, an app used for drivers-freight forwarders communication should enable to share of vehicle localization even offline. Apps that are built around offline functionality are called [offline-first apps](/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/). 

### Paperwork and docs sharing

Permits, reports, photos, sheets – there is lots of paperwork associated with logistics operations. Technology enables a full digitalization of all documentation. 

Not only can you store documents in the cloud, but you can also share them with your colleagues, supervisors, and clients. Thanks to the offline mode, mentioned earlier, you can even store data offline. Then they will be synchronized when the internet connection is restored.

### Route Optimization

Everyone in the road transportation industry desires to lower the number of empty vehicles on the road. In 2021 [1 in 5 road freight journeys in the EU were performed by empty vehicles](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Road_freight_transport_by_journey_characteristics#Empty_runnings). 

Algorithms based on AI can optimize the route to find loads for empty vehicles more effectively. For example, dedicated software matches an empty vehicle with the load nearby enabling the driver to quickly pick up the load on the road and minimize the length of the journey with an empty vehicle.

### Lack of cargo security

[Foods products are one of the cargo groups with the highest share in tonne-kilometers](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Road_freight_transport_by_type_of_goods) transported by road in the EU in 2021. Technologies like GPS, IoT sensors, blockchain, or tamper-evident seals give an opportunity to secure food products (and others), reduce the risk of theft or tampering, and ensure the safe delivery of goods to their intended destinations. 

If you want to go deeper into [smart packaging](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/), which also takes care of cargo security, read our other blog post.

### A large scope of the possible end users

Logistics companies hire employees with different backgrounds, expectations, and technological expertise. Customized development gives a better option to design a solution that answers all employees’ needs. In this case, end users are represented by various groups with different expertise such as drivers, warehouse workers, freight forwarders, supply chain analysts, dispatchers, packaging specialists, and many more.

## The road from the idea to the launch (including MVP)

The typical app development flow estimates that MVP will be launched within a few months. It’s crucial because we should validate the MVP as soon as possible to minimize the costs. However every product is different, so the software development stages should depend on the particular solution.

### App Development Stages (including MVP phase):

<div className="image">![Software development stages](../../static/images/timeline_app_development_stages.png "undefined")</div>

#### The idea for a product

Verify the idea's business potential and define the target group. Choose key features to include in MVP.

#### MVP Prototyping (1-4 weeks)

Create visual representations and mockups of the solution.

#### Building and launching the MVP (4-20 weeks)

Develop the Minimum Viable Product and start gathering users.

#### Product Development, QA & Maintenance based on MVP

Continuously deploy new features, prioritize stability, and analyze user behavior for improvements.

If you want to dive deeper into [software development stages](/blog/what-are-the-stages-of-app-development/), read our other blog post.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Want to grasp the ins and outs of MVP?' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Read the free ebook about MVP development. Check out how you can start to digitize your company’s operations fast and with a lower budget.' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='ebook mvp cover' />

## Logistics MVP stack for 2023

Every project is different and may require another stack approach. At Bright Inventions we always adapt technologies to the budget and time requirements our clients have. 

The stack listed below is a typical group of tools and programming languages we recommend (but as mentioned, recommendations may change!).

**Frontend**: TypeScript, React.

**Backend**: Node.js, PostgreSQL, NestJS, AWS.

**Android development**: Kotlin.

**iOS development**: Swift.

**Project management & documentation**: Jira, Github.

**Product design**: Figma, Miro.

**Analytics**: MixPanel, Google Analytics 4.

## How much does it cost to hire a software agency to build MVP for logistics?

There is no simple answer to this question. There are many aspects [MVP development agency](/our-areas/mvp-development/) has to consider before giving you a quote. The best way is to book a consultation and discuss your idea for a product, then you will receive the estimation.

## A Product Designer Who Sees Through the Code. Meet Joanna

*Published: 2023-07-31 | Author: joanna-c | Tags: bright story, bright insights, career*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/product-designer-who-sees-through-code-joanna/index.md*

**Joanna successfully redesigned her career from IT Administrator to Junior Product Designer. After landing her dream job, she has been determined to create software products that combine clients’ expectations and high-quality design standards. Check out Joanna’s inspirations, sources of knowledge, and ways to cooperate with software developers.**

<div className="image">![Joanna's product design career story](../../static/images/brightstoryjoannacollage.png "Joanna's product design career story")</div>

## You started your career in IT & Security Administration. What made you go into Product Design?

While I was at college studying Informatics and Econometrics I realized that programming wasn’t my thing. At the same time, I enjoyed classes about UX. **I wrote my bachelor's thesis about UX. It was a quite practical thesis because I redesigned the University of Gdańsk department website**.

Then I went to post-graduation studies in UX Design/Product Design. At that time I worked as an Information Security Administration Specialist dreaming of a career in product design. **Eventually, I got my first product designer job at Bright Inventions**.

*Joanna described her incredible career journey from IT Administrator to Junior Product Designer in another blog post. [Read her career transformation story](/blog/how-to-get-first-product-designer-job/)!*

## How do you recall the job interview at Bright Inventions?

Great! Although I was shocked, when I was informed, before the interview, that it would take 2 hours. I thought, "What could we discuss for such a long time?". In the end, it went well because **it was just a friendly, open conversation. It wasn't a typical round of questions**.

## What is your advice to people aspiring to become junior product designers?

Don't give up. **You will probably receive lots of rejections**. It will be frustrating, but you have to get through that phase. **You have to keep pushing, keep developing your portfolio, and redesign the apps you think could work better**. Naturally, you have to stay updated with trends by attending design conferences, workshops, webinars, and so on.

<div className="image">![Advice for aspiring junior developers](../../static/images/joanna_quote_juniors.png "Advice for aspiring junior developers")</div>

## So what are your sources of product design knowledge?

I follow top designers on LinkedIn and Instagram e.g. [Zander Whitehurst](https://www.instagram.com/zanderwhitehurst/), [Katy](https://www.instagram.com/katy.ba), [Aga Naplocha](https://www.instagram.com/theawwwesomes), as well as the profile of [Nielsen Norman Group](https://www.instagram.com/nngux). 

You know how it goes – as soon as you follow some profiles, your feed is quickly full of news, trends, and inspirations in that regard. I also sign up for various UX courses and try to regularly obtain certificates. 

**Books can't be overrated as well. I can recommend books such as:**

* *The Design of Everyday Things* by Donald Arthur Norman
* *[Don't Make Me Think](/blog/5-web-development-rules-from-dont-make-me-think-book/)* by Steve Krug
* *User Experience Team of One* by Leah Buley
* *100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People* by Susan Weinschenk
* *Grid Systems in Graphic Design* by Josef Müller-Brockmann
* *GIVING A DAMN ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY by* Sheri BYRNE-Haber
* *Build Better Products: A Modern Approach to Building Successful User-Centered Products* by Laura Klein
* Polish: *Badania jako podstawa projektowania user experience* by Iga Mościchowska, Barbara Rogoś-Turek

## Figma or Adobe XD… Which one is your favorite and why?

It's **Figma**, for sure! In my view, Adobe has slightly stopped developing as a product. **Figma has surpassed its competitors because they truly focus on implementing user feedback**. Also, Figma has a great community that enriches this product.

I think as well that **Figma makes it easier to collaborate with developers**. However, in my opinion, Figma is more oriented toward UI design and product design. Adobe Apps are in fact better for graphic designers, who make animations and more artistic stuff. So everyone can find something for themselves.

## Do you see the negative impacts of Adobe taking over Figma?

In terms of product development, I haven't seen any major issues. Obviously, **I can see the commercialization and rising prices of Figma**. However, every business wants to earn money. I guess that sooner or later Figma had to transform into a more expensive tool.

## What is your favorite font?

**I have a strong sentiment toward [Roc Grotesk](https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/roc-grotesk)** because I used it to design products with my friends, and it became our brand's cool font. I also appreciate [Inter](https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Inter) which is Figma’s default font. On my top list, I would include [Space Grotesk](https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Space+Grotesk) (although it is a little technical) and [Acumin Pro](https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/acumin).

## What has been the most challenging for you in your product design career?

The fact that I mostly design products for users who are in a hurry. Therefore, **I have to find a way to display as much information on a screen as possible** in the best way. Information layout is definitely a challenge in this regard.

I would say that **being assertive is also a personal challenge for me sometimes**. I am still learning how to find the balance between meeting clients' and developers' expectations and adhering to design standards. I don't want to simply say “no” to the client's ideas or developers' needs. Yet at the same time, I feel that it is my duty to ensure we deliver a high-quality designed product.

## What does your work on prototypes for clients look like? Can you guide us through your typical prototype design process?

Everything starts with research. This includes **user research, business domain research, benchmarking**, and so on. With the help of a project manager, we also establish all of the client's requirements.

After the research, I do **sketches**. Based on them I create [low-fidelity or high-fidelity wireframes](/blog/what-are-the-stages-of-app-development/#app-prototyping--product-design), depending on the time constraints we have. Let's face it, working at a software development agency means time is often working against us. 🙂 Finally, **mockups originate from wireframes**.

<div className="image">![Quote on mockups](../../static/images/joanna_quote_mockups.png "Quote on mockups")</div>

**The moment when I have the mockups ready is pivotal in designer-client communication**. Before this, we might have thought that we were on the same page through discussions, but the mockups finally reveal my intentions as a designer and whether they match the client's expectations. 

**When everyone is on the same page, I design prototypes with all the screens for every flow**. I have to design and describe them well enough so that developers can understand the design of the entire system and start to implement it.

## What are the biggest differences between your perception of this career and the daily reality of it?

Before starting the job, I had the impression that I would create the design, and then developers would implement it. However, while working in an Agile methodology, I discovered that **sometimes during the same sprint, I need to do the design while developers simultaneously build features**. 

This presents another challenge because in order to achieve a successful implementation I have to communicate effectively with developers. There is no time for misunderstandings.

<div className="image">![Joanna during a team retreat in Stockholm.](../../static/images/joanna_bright_team.png "Joanna during a team retreat in Stockholm.")</div>

<center>Joanna during a team retreat in Stockholm.</center>

## Do you enjoy your daily cooperation with developers and project managers?

It's been going pretty great because we **quickly give each other feedback, and communicate fast, and openly**. I also appreciate the fact that even though we have different teams working for various clients at Bright Inventions, there is communication between the teams. 

Many times, when I faced some challenges, it turned out that another team had experienced similar struggles. They have helped me resolve those issues based on their experience. I really enjoy **the culture of knowledge sharing at Bright Inventions**.

I also feel grateful because **from the first day at Bright Inventions I was treated with respect even though it was my first product designer job**. I was surprised that from the beginning **people asked me about my opinion and expected my expertise**. I was also happy that I could instantly implement all the new techniques and best practices that I learned at college.

## So what are the key factors of successful cooperation between designers and developers/PMs?

The primary aspect is **context**. When communicating with a team member (and vice-versa), it's important not to simply state a request like "I need you to do it quickly because I say so". You need to **provide the reasons behind your request and explain why you need their help**. 

Additionally, **open communication** plays a significant role in effective collaboration. Simply **say what you mean, don’t make others assume your intentions** because that will lead to miscommunications.

Another crucial factor in communication is [empathy](/blog/three-dimensions-of-empathy/). It is essential to **always try to understand the other person's perspective and take it into consideration**.

## Have developers and PMs taught you something about product design?

They showed me that the **key is to look at the design through the lens of the system we want to build**. As a designer, I may start with an artistic and chaotic sketch. Yet thanks to developers and PMs I understand that it needs to pivot quickly into something organized. 

<div className="image">![Quote on look at the design through the lens of the system](../../static/images/joanna_quote_design_system.png "Quote on look at the design through the lens of the system")</div>

Nowadays, **the gap between code and design is getting smaller, but it is still there**. As a product designer, I create a design that needs to be well-interpreted by developers, so order is crucial.

**I have to also look through the code**. The fact that I studied Informatics and Econometrics helps me a lot. **I grasp that fonts and colors need to be presented as tokens**. **These, however, are part of the components that need to be reusable**.

I also understand that sometimes a seemingly simple idea, like moving a button, may not be as easy as one might think and can even affect the backend.

## Is there a dream app you would love to design?

I’d love to have a chance to design something that would let me express myself artistically. 

In terms of industries, I would love to design something related to fashion. I don’t mean ecommerce though. I am thinking about a **website for a fashion house**. I wouldn’t say no to designing **websites or apps for music festivals like Open'er Festival**. That would give me a chance to create animations and implement some design tricks that wouldn’t be suitable for many other industries.

## What do you do after hours?

**I’ve just finished a couple of product design courses and now I need to relax for some time**. I do yoga, stretching, and travel a lot. Recently **I visited Barcelona and New York**. I like to create graphic designs. A graphics tablet helps me with digital illustrations. 

<div className="image">![Joanna in New York](../../static/images/joanna_ny.png "Joanna in New York")</div>

<center>Joanna in New York.</center>

You can check out my doodles on my Instagram @csznsk.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CnIiCuOIQxM/' />

Apart from that, I enjoy attending exhibition openings, or just exhibitions in general. I like music and going to concerts or music festivals. Just recently, I went to Beyonce concert and Harry Styles' concert. Both were unforgettable experiences.

I'm a big fan of analog photography, so I have a camera everywhere I go with me.

## Mistakes Startups Make When Developing Their Mobile Product

*Published: 2019-04-23 | Author: mateusz | Tags: startups, business strategy*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mistakes-startups-make-when-developing-their-mobile-product/index.md*

**If you’ve ever worked at an early-stage startup, then I’m sure you know the feeling. Your mobile app, a concept you’ve been working intensely on for many months, is finally entering the development phase. Things are starting to feel very real business-wise, aren’t they?**

<div className="image">![mobile development mistakes](../../static/images/mistakes_startups_make_when_developing_their_mobile_product_small.jpg "mobile development mistakes")</div>

On the one hand, you’re pumped from all the excitement. On the other, you might also be feeling intimidated by the extent of the project. Especially, if you’re new to the mobile app development game.

To help you make this a productive and informed process, we’ve listed some of the most common startup mistakes in mobile app development. These are:

## **Mistake #1: Not verifying market potential**

Setting up a mobile app for success requires a lot of effort up front, in the [ideation stage](/blog/what-are-the-stages-of-app-development/#app-idea). Before you make your decision, verify your app’s potential on the market thoroughly. There are many ways to do this: focus groups, market research surveys, or consulting a professional agency, to name a few. If you don’t determine that your app addresses a genuine need on the market, you run the risk of failing.

## **Mistake #2: Not establishing (or respecting) MVP**

For some startup founders, understanding which features are absolutely critical for the first version of the app, and which fall into the “nice-to-have” category, can be pretty difficult.

Here’s where working with an experienced [MVP development agency](/our-areas/mvp-development) will do wonders. Speak to your team about organizing a so-called scoping session before they start working on the app. The expected result should be agreeing on an MVP – a list of critical features necessary to launch a first working version of the app.

But what about all those unexpected circumstances that might push you to consider updating your MVP halfway through? Before you insist on any changes, keep in mind that they can potentially disrupt the entire development process. This may translate to delays and – sometimes – also wasted financial resources.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Discover the power of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in our free ebook' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Don’t miss out and download it now!' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='mvp ebook cover' />

## **Mistake #3: Developing your app on too many platforms**

Sometimes it’s worth focusing on one platform at the initial phase of your startup. There is a whole plethora of successful mobile apps that started only on iOS or Android (Instagram is one of them). This is likely because market research showed that potential users were using one platform more than the other. Speak to your CTO or the software house you’ll be working with – they’ll surely advise you on a solution that is most effective and fitting.

## **Mistake #4: Micromanaging (or neglecting) your developers**

As a startup founder, you might feel tempted to stay in touch with your team 24/7, which oftentimes can be counterproductive and draw your developers’ attention away from tasks. Conversely, you might be so confident that your team is handling everything well that you won’t see the need to show up to meetings. Speak to your team about the frequency of contact that will be most beneficial for the development process.

## **Mistake #5: Not paying attention to app analytics**

Once the app goes live, a lot of early-stage startups make the mistake of focusing their entire attention on App Store reviews, all the while underestimating the role of app analytics. In fact, monitoring app performance, user behavior, and install and retention rates (among many other factors) should all be treated as detrimental to product development in the post-MVP phase. There’s a whole array of [analytics tools](http://www.businessofapps.com/guide/app-analytics/) on the market – ask your team to determine which will be the best solution for your needs.

## **Summary**

To summarize, learn from the experiences of others. With the above startup mistakes in mind, you’ll avoid many time-consuming obstacles. This, in turn, will let you focus all your efforts on working towards a successful app store launch. Good luck!

## Main Factors that Determine the MVP Cost

*Published: 2023-07-27 | Author: michal | Tags: startup, mvp*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/main-factors-that-determine-the-mvp-cost/index.md*

**How much does building MVP cost? There is no easy answer to that question. It’s like buying a car. You can buy an operating car for less than 10 000 dollars. Yet you can also buy a Ferrari for over 1 million dollars. It depends on how advanced the product you have in mind. Check out the main factors that affect the cost of developing MVP.**

<div className="image">![MVP cost](../../static/images/blog_mvp_cost_cover.png "MVP cost")</div>

## How advanced your app should be

Well-advanced apps like Uber or Google Maps may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, **startups usually don’t have to begin with that budget**. The smart way to start app development is to create a prototype and then the MVP. MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product. It’s the very first version of your solution containing crucial features only. Then you can release MVP to a small group of users and see how they respond to it. According to the valuable feedback, you can develop your app eliminating crucial mistakes at the very beginning. 

<div className="important-info"><div>MVP helps you invest less money to check if your idea has market potential. You start something small and develop it according to your users' needs.</div></div>

It’s a bit like buying a cheaper car just to see if driving to work is fine by you. Let's assume that you just passed your driving test and want to check if driving to work will be better for you than riding a bus. If you’re not sure what you want, the smart way is to buy a cheap car. Eventually, if you rather commute using buses there is a chance to sell your car without a feeling of a bad investment. However, if driving a car turns out to be a perfect solution for you – you can start to save money for a better vehicle.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Limited budget? Get our free ebook and start building smarter' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Discover how an MVP can help you validate your app idea without breaking the bank.' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='MVP ebook cover' />

## The cost of app infrastructure

When startups try to estimate the project, they sometimes overleap the fact that the budget should include not only the app itself but also the whole infrastructure behind it. **Software needs to coexist with outside systems that generate extra costs**. The most important is the server infrastructure needed to exchange data. It is impossible to predict the cost of server infrastructure without going into detail. **The price depends on what server provider you would choose and how big the infrastructure needs to be**. It’s like the budget for gasoline. Every car has a different fuel burn efficiency.

## The cost of app maintenance

Guess what? It’s like owning a car. 🙂 Buying a vehicle is probably the biggest but only the first payment of the new owner. Every car needs regular services and sometimes repairs. It relates to the software development world. **Launching MVP doesn't mean the work is over. Even if you wait with adding new features, you still have to take care of the app's maintenance**. 

Both Google and Apple regularly upgrade their systems. On top of it, new mobile devices are launched every year. Every app needs to be adjusted to these changes. That brings extra costs such as developing and testing the new versions of the app.

What is more, Google and Apple provide changes on their app stores that often affect every app owner. As an example, Google demanded from app owners information about the age range of their app users. It might not be time-consuming to meet these types of requests. Still it is crucial to keep an eye on them otherwise your app may be even banned from the store.

## Developing an app for iOS and Android doubles the price

It sometimes **comes as a surprise to startups that developing an app for Google Play and App Store comes with 2 separate development processes which double the budget**. When you plan to eventually develop an advanced product, it isn't advisable to do [cross-platform software for both stores](/blog/native-app-development-vs-cross-platform/). Apple and Google have their different requirements, processes, and tools. Thus, you need two teams with different coding skills to create products for both top app stores. However, **building two products for iOS and Android isn’t a must**!

That is why our team at Bright Inventions loves to build MVPs to analyze the app market potential and check if it is necessary to create both versions for iOS and Android. Developing only one of them is not such a rare case. For example Instagram was first launched on AppStore only.

## Sharing WebSocket Connections between Browser Tabs and Windows

*Published: 2023-05-31 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: JavaScript, web development, TypeScript*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/sharing-websocket-connections-between-browser-tabs-and-windows/index.md*

**WebSocket connections are like special communication channels that allow web browsers and servers to talk to each other in real-time. However, when you have multiple tabs or windows open in your browser, each one establishes its own WebSocket connection. This can be wasteful and affect the performance of your web application.**

But don't worry! In this blog post, **we'll explore a solution that lets you optimize WebSocket usage when your users open your application in different tabs or windows**. By sharing WebSocket connections between those tabs and windows, we can make your web application work more efficiently and smoothly. So, let's dive in and discover some helpful strategies for achieving seamless WebSocket connection sharing between browser tabs and windows.

<div className="image">![WebSocket Connections](../../static/images/websocket_blog_cover-1-.png "WebSocket Connections")</div>

## Introducing Shared Workers

In order to achieve WebSocket connection sharing between browser tabs and windows, we can leverage the power of web workers. **Web workers are essentially separate threads, totally independent of other scripts with no access to the DOM**. They can execute tasks in the background, what makes them particularly useful for performing complex computations and preventing the web page from freezing or becoming unresponsive.

**A shared worker is a special type of web worker that can be shared between multiple browser tabs or window**s. Unlike regular web workers, which are dedicated to a single web page, shared workers exist independently of any specific web page or user interface. They allow multiple browser contexts, such as tabs or windows, to communicate and share resources. By utilizing shared workers, we can create a persistent entity that manages WebSocket connections and facilitates their sharing across different browser contexts. Also, we don’t have to worry about closing the connection. Shared workers will stop to exist if there are no tabs or windows referencing them anymore, so the connection will be automatically closed.

## Implementing WebSocket connection sharing with Shared Workers

To implement WebSocket connection sharing between browser tabs and windows, we'll follow these steps:

### Create a shared worker

Start by creating a shared worker using the Shared Worker API. This worker will act as the central entity responsible for managing the WebSocket connection. Add a message handler to receive data from the worker and do whatever you please with it. 

```typescript
// No bundler
const worker = new SharedWorker("./worker.js");

// Webpack 5
const worker = new SharedWorker(new URL("./worker.ts", import.meta.url));

worker.port.addEventListener('message', (event: MessageEvent): void => {
  // Do whatever you like with data
});
worker.port.start();
```

### Establish the WebSocket connection

Inside the shared worker, create a WebSocket object and establish a connection with the server. This connection will be shared among all browser tabs and windows. Add a connection handler and store ports in an array. It's also crucial to forward each received message to all MessagePort objects.

```typescript
const ports: MessagePort[] = [];
const ws = new WebSocket('wss://some-url.com');

addEventListener('connect', (event: MessageEvent): void => {
  const port = event.ports[0];
  this.ports.push(port);
});

ws.addEventListener('message', (event: MessageEvent): void => {
  ports.forEach((port) => {
    port.postMessage(event.data);
  });
});
```

That's it. You will now be able to share the connection and receive messages simultaneously in all tabs and windows.

## Challenges and solutions: memory management

While shared workers provide an efficient solution, **there is one challenge to address: memory management**. Since there is no built-in mechanism to determine if a Message Port is still active or not, references may accumulate over time, potentially leading to memory leaks. To mitigate this issue, we can leverage WeakRefs. **By using WeakRefs, we can check if a Message Port has been garbage collected**, ensuring efficient resource utilization.

```typescript
export class BrowserPort {
  private readonly weakRef: WeakRef<MessagePort>;

  constructor(port: MessagePort) {
    this.weakRef = new WeakRef(port);
    port.start();
  }

  isAlive(): boolean {
    return !!this.weakRef.deref();
  }

  postMessage(message: unknown): void {
    this.weakRef.deref()?.postMessage(message);
  }

  addEventListener(event: string, handler: (event: Event) => void): void {
    this.weakRef.deref()?.addEventListener(event, handler);
  }

  removeEventListener(event: string, handler: (event: Event) => void): void {
    this.weakRef.deref()?.removeEventListener(event, handler);
  }

  close(): void {
    this.weakRef.deref()?.close();
  }
}

let ports: BrowserPort[] = [];

addEventListener('connect', (event: MessageEvent): void => {
  const port = event.ports[0];
  ports.push(new BrowserPort(port));
});

// At some point we would like to send a message

if (port.isAlive()) {
  // It's alive! We can send a message.
  port.sendMessage('msg');
} else {
  // It's dead! We have to remove it from the array.
  ports = ports.filter(innerPort => innerPort !== port); 
}
```

**Another solution is to send a special control message in the body of the `onbeforeunload` event handler**. Keep in mind this method isn't reliable and browser may choose to ignore the message and not pass it to the worker at all.

```typescript
// Browser
window.addEventListener('onbeforeunload', (): void => {
  worker.port.sendMessage('UNLOAD');
});

// Worker
let ports: MessagePort[] = [];

addEventListener('connect', (event: MessageEvent): void => {
  const port = event.ports[0];
  ports.push(port);

  port.addEventListener('message', (event: MessageEvent): void => {
    if (event.data === 'UNLOAD') {
      ports = ports.filter(innerPort => innerPort !== port); 
    }
  });
});
```

## Unexpected alternative solution for memory problems

It turns out that there is another way to detect when an object gets garbage collected. There is the FinalizationRegistry available, which is capable of observing the process and keeping a record of any reclaimed object. You can use it in a similar way to the IntersectionObserver.

```typescript
const registry = new FinalizationRegistry((heldValue) => {
  console.log(`Object ${heldValue} reclaimed!`);
});

const target = new WeakRef([]);
registry.register(target.deref(), "some_identifier");

Array.from({ length: 50000 }, () => () => {});

// You will see: "Object some_identifier reclaimed!" in your console
```

Remember not to hold references to MessagePort instances. In other words, make sure to use WeakRefs to store them.

This alternative seems to be a better solution for use-cases where you expect a huge number of ports to be opened at the same time. Instead of iterating over them repeatedly, you will be able to simply exclude them when needed.

## Conclusion

In this blog post, we've explored the concept of sharing WebSocket connections between browser tabs and windows. By leveraging shared workers, we can optimize resource usage and enhance the performance of web applications in multi-tab or multi-window scenarios.

Shared workers provide a powerful mechanism for establishing a central entity that manages WebSocket connections and facilitates communication between different browser contexts. **By creating a shared worker and utilizing the MessagePort API, we can pass messages seamlessly between browser tabs and windows, enabling them to share a single WebSocket connection**.

While there are challenges to consider, such as memory management, utilizing appropriate techniques like WeakRefs can help mitigate potential issues. It's important to implement suitable strategies to ensure efficient resource utilization and prevent memory leaks.

**By implementing WebSocket connection sharing, you can enhance the efficiency, responsiveness, and overall user experience of your web application**. Users can seamlessly interact with your application across multiple tabs or windows, while avoiding unnecessary resource duplication.

Happy coding!

## Focusing Tests in Quick. A Tip for iOS Developers

*Published: 2023-07-26 | Author: kamil-b | Tags: ios, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/focusing-tests-in-quick-a-tip-for-ios-developers/index.md*

**When writing unit tests in Quick, you can easily change it to `fit` to have a focused test – then only this one will execute. It is great for debugging. Check it out!**

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CkiXZj8DMtv/' />

In Quick you can focus on specific test with use of `fit`. Just change `it` to `fit` and only this test will run. It’s especially useful when we want to ensure that another test does not activate our breakpoint.

Similarly to fit you can focus groups of tests with use of `fcontext` and `fdescribe`. Then only tests within such group will run.

## Focusing test use case example

Let's say we are currently working only on the context where a user doesn't have available funds then instead of context we can write `fcontext` which means – focused context and only test cases from this context will be performed. 

```swift
 describe("Credit Card") {
            context("User has available funds to transfer") {
                beforeEach {
                    ...
                }
                it("Should show enabled button") { @MainActor in
                    ...
                }
                
                it("Should show transaction options") { @MainActor in
                    ...
                }
            }
            
            fcontext("User doesn't have available funds to transfer") {
                beforeEach {
                    ...
                }
                
                it("should show disabled button") { @MainActor in
                    ...
                }
                
                it("should show transactions history") { @MainActor in
                    ...
                }
            }
        }
```

Now only tests under the context of the user without any funds will be performed. You need to admit it's rather quick. I'll let myself out… 

**Have you enjoyed this bright dev tip? Let us know in the comments!**

## Pros and Cons of Software Development Pricing Models

*Published: 2021-06-10 | Author: izabela | Tags: pricing model, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/pros-and-cons-of-software-development-pricing-models/index.md*

**Fixed price or Time and Material? What is the best pricing model for software development services? Or maybe there is a third option to consider? Let’s dive into the pros and cons of popular pricing models for software development.**

The most common ways to settle up with software development agencies are: **fixed pricing and Time and Material (T&M) pricing models**.

![pricing models software development](../../static/images/price_models_in_post.png "")

## What is a fixed price model?

A fixed price model is a situation when you (as a client) agree with a software development agency **a price set for a job to be done** in a specific period of time. For example, you pay a fixed price for [Minimum Viable Product (MVP)](/our-areas/mvp-development).

## What is a Time and Material (T&M) model price?

You **pay only for the real time spent on the project and the resources** (materials) needed to complete the job.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Read a free guide about MVP development' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Want to save time and money while developing your product? Our free ebook reveals how an MVP can be your secret weapon. Download it now!' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='MVP ebook cover' />

## Fixed price pros:

* It gives you (a client) a sense of security.
* You know how much the development process will cost.
* You don’t have to worry about any surprises on the road therefore budget changes (in theory).
* It is convenient at the beginning of the cooperation when you want to test the software development company and still are building trust toward a software vendor.

## Fixed price cons:

* It is not a flexible option. It is somehow in opposition to agile methods.
* Changing plans during the development process is a very common practice and the fixed price model doesn’t work well in these cases.
* If you need to change the tasks or need to create features that weren’t estimated earlier as soon as possible then it may cause some pauses in the development process because you and the software development agency have to go back to the valuation stage.
* You receive only the final price of all tasks. They don’t know the separate costs of every task. As a result you are unaware of a very important aspect of software development – which features cost you the most. If some of the features are particularly expensive – you could skip them if they are not crucial for the app to succeed.

## Time and Material pros:

* It is a model price compatible with the agile methodology.
* It is flexible – you can quickly change the development process while the work is on, adding new tasks usually doesn't interfere with other tasks.
* You understand much better what time, effort and money is behind every feature. You know the price of every feature and based on that knowledge you can optimize the development process according to your budget and business plan.
* It also works perfectly during the maintenance phase when the software development team should be available if something happens with the product. That service can be easily estimated thanks to the T&M pricing model. 

## Time and Material cons:

* You never know the final price of the development process. You get the price after some features are done (depending on the number of hours and resources used on the tasks).
* You have to trust the software development agency that the time they spend on the project is accurate and reasonable. 
* Sometimes you have to involve an expert that will verify the number of working hours established by the software development studio.

**Due to the fact that none of these price models are perfect, at Bright Inventions we often offer a hybrid pricing model that combines the advantages of both fixed price and T&M models.**

## Hybrid pricing model for software development:

* Software development studio presents the fixed price but for a smaller piece of the software development cake. 🙂
* The fixed price contains the job planned to do within the sprint (usually sprint lasts 2 weeks).
* Before each sprint there is a planning meeting with the client and software development company. Both sides establish what needs to be done during the upcoming sprint.
* According to that software development company creates a budget proposal. When the client accepts it, they know what is going to be delivered within the next 2 weeks and how much it will cost.
* When the plan has to be changed because, for example, other features have to be developed asap, we have flexibility to quickly adjust to the expected changes. It is all thanks to the agile iterations – we plan only next weeks of the development process so it is much easier to change the plan.
* During the maintenance phase the client can pay for some amount of hours when a software development team is available if something has to be fixed or changed. Even if nothing happens during those hours the client is secured in case some problems occur. It is less expensive than waiting for availability of a software development company after you deal with issues in production that affect your users.

What is the best pricing model for you? Let us know in the comments!

## 5 Things You Should Know about Working with Polish Developers

*Published: 2019-07-29 | Author: ula | Tags: software development, Poland, outsourcing, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/five-things-you-should-know-about-working-with-Polish-developers/index.md*

**Let us be honest: outsourcing your software development to a different company or – even more so – country, is always a huge step. So, it is natural that you want to look into every possible option. Now, given that you have come across this post,  we are assuming you are at least a little intrigued with what it is like to work with Polish developers. Are they really as good as they say? How easy is it to communicate with them in English? What about their work ethics? Wonder no more!**

We have created a list of five things you may have always wanted to know about Polish developers, but were too afraid to ask. Let us take a look. 

## 1. Poland is a leader among countries in CEE

Poland has been recognized as one of the leading countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for software development. The Future of IT report 2023 gives a regional overview of the IT sector in the region, available talent, costs as well as room for potential growth. Polish developers have gained prominence in the tech industry due to several factors. 

<div className="image">![poland leader emerging europe](../../static/images/poland-leader-emerging-europe.png "undefined")</div>

###### Source: https://emerging-europe.com/future-of-it

You also might have heard of a site called [HackerRank.](https://www.hackerrank.com/) It’s where hundreds of thousands of developers from all around the world test their skills by completing various coding challenges. The results of HackerRank’s [Programming Olympics](https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-country-would-win-in-the-programming-olympics/) say it all: Polish developers took third place (an average score from across all types of tech challenges in areas such as algorithms, Java, data structures, and many others).

![Polish software developers](../../static/images/Best_developers_HackerRank.png "")

Poles were only two points short from the top two countries on the list, China and Russia. So, who knows what the next round of the Olympics might bring?

## 2. Polish people speak English very well

I am sure you have read some dreadful stories about how outsourcing to a foreign country can be a real nightmare, as you might end up working with a team that barely speaks any English. This won’t be your worry if you choose to work with [a software agency from Poland](/). English is by far the most widely spoken foreign language in the country (a huge factor being that you can only graduate from high school if you pass a foreign language exam).

Take a look at Poland’s [English Proficiency Index](https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/regions/europe/poland/) with the position in Europe 11 of 35, 13 out of 111 countries in the world today, and with the high proficiency as compared to Russia and China (so, the other two countries on the HackerRank podium):

<div className="image">![english proficiency index ](../../static/images/english-proficiency-index.png "undefined")</div>

###### **Source:** https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/regions/europe/poland

Bear in mind that these statistics show Poland as a whole – not just the IT crowd. Looks encouraging, doesn’t it?

## 3. Polish developers are known for strong work ethics

There’s no better way to put this than in the words of the [European Committee](https://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=2789&countryId=PL&acro=lmi&lang=en&regionId=PL0&nuts2Code=%20&nuts3Code=&regionName=National%20Level): “Poland's greatest asset is its people. What stands out is their ambition, motivation to learn, high work ethics, loyalty and rare entrepreneurial spirit”. This is clearly reflected in the way Polish developers work, prioritize, as well as in their understanding of the word “done”.

You’ll also notice that Polish developers don’t give up on challenging tasks all that easily. As a matter of fact, HackerRank listed Poland as the 2nd most resilient group of developers in the world – a rank it shares with Hungary. Additionally, Poland is the 6th largest economy in the European Union, with strong international business presence.

There are thousands of global companies with significant business operation units located in Poland. These include, for instance, JP Morgan Chase, Google, Uber, Goldman Sachs, EY and McKinsey & Company, among many, many others. This also means that many programmers at Polish software houses have previously worked and gained experience at these and other multinational organisations.

## 4. Poland is GDPR compliant – meaning, your data is safe and sound

Safety is another crucial point you can cross off from your potential worries’ list. Being part of the EU, Polish software companies are GDPR-compliant and the data you disclose to them is protected on all fronts (to demonstrate, here’s an example of our own [privacy policy](/privacy-policy/) at Bright Inventions).

When you work with Polish software houses, your data is kept secure both by advanced tech, as well as a legal team who works themselves to the bone to keep your data and software protected, 24/7. And now last, but not least…

## 5. The time difference is acceptable, with only 6 hours separating Poland and the U.S. East Coast

Poland is ideally located if you want a team who’s available regardless whether you’re based in the Western or Eastern hemisphere. There’s a 6-hour difference between Poland and New York, meaning that both sides can comfortably communicate during office hours.

So, for instance, if you want to schedule your sprint planning call during your morning coffee at 9 a.m., EST, your developers will just have finished lunch, with 3 p.m. on the clock.

**Hopefully, we have answered at least some of the questions you may have about working with Polish developers. If there is anything else you would like to know, reach us out. We would love to tell you more!**

## How to Inject Navigation Argument Directly into View Model with Jetpack Compose and Hilt

*Published: 2023-07-18 | Author: radek | Tags: Android, JetpackCompose, Hilt, navigation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/inject-navigation-argument-directly-into-view-model-jetpack-compose-hilt/index.md*

**When using the Jetpack Compose navigation you may sooner or later come across the problem of passing arguments between the screens. The solution is fairly well described in the official [Android documentation](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/navigation). Let's follow the documentation and go over a few issues that you might encounter on the way.**

## The problem

Following the official documentation we’re ending up with a `NavHost` setup, defined routes and the following view model setup:

```kotlin
class UserViewModel(
    savedStateHandle: SavedStateHandle,
    private val userInfoRepository: UserInfoRepository
) : ViewModel() {

    private val userId: String = checkNotNull(savedStateHandle["userId"])
    private val userInfo: UserInfo = userInfoRepository.getUserInfo(userId)

    // ...
}
```

With this approach we don’t add a lot of code to the view model in order to retrieve the desired navigation argument. Yet there might be two issues to consider:

* With more arguments we keep putting more code to the view model class,
* If we want to write tests for our view model we need to mock the `SavedStateHandle` and any repository we’re using, like `UserInfoRepository` in the example above.

## Hilt to the rescue

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/baywatch-hasselhoff-the-hoff-yI73Iv1vLqJCo' />

Using Hilt we can add an in-the-middle module that could resolve `SavedStateHandle` and pass the actual navigation argument directly to the view model.

```kotlin
@Module
@InstallIn(ViewModelComponent::class)
object UserScreenNavigationArgModule {

    @Provides
    @ViewModelScoped
    fun provideUserInfo(
        savedStateHandle: SavedStateHandle,
        userInfoRepository: UserInfoRepository,
    ): UserInfo {
        val userId: String = checkNotNull(savedStateHandle["userId"])
        return userInfoRepository.getUserInfo(userId)
    }
}
```

```kotlin
@HiltViewModel
class UserViewModel(
    private val userInfo: UserInfo
) : ViewModel() {
    // ...
}
```

Just two remarks:

* Install the module in the `ViewModelComponent` class
* Narrow the scope using the `@ViewModelScoped` annotation

## Links

If you need to test this solution on a working example I’ve prepared one.

Sample app: https://github.com/radek-bright/demo-navigation-arguments

## Side Note: Motivation

P.S. for a background reference. In the not-so-distant past, when using Dagger2 and Fragments, we could have skipped injecting `Bundle` objects into view models and take advantage of a custom per-fragment navigation argument module that we could include with `@ContributesAndroidInjector`. I’m not going to go through the process, but just for the reference the core looked like this:

```kotlin
@Module
interface InjectorModule {
    @ContributesAndroidInjector(modules = [ArgsModule::class])
    fun contributeMyFragment(): MyFragment
}

@Module
class ArgsModule {
    @Provides
    fun provideMyArgument(fragment: MyFragment): MyArgument =
        fragment.arguments?.getSerializable("MY_ARGUMENT_KEY") as MyArgument
}

class MyFragmentViewModel @Inject constructor(
    private val myArgument: MyArgument,
)
```

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/TheDemocrats-dnc-democrats-dncigf-DXC8bM9ZM4Wn3PDvK7' />

## Successful Designer-Developer Collaboration in MVP Work Environment

*Published: 2020-03-03 | Author: alisa | Tags: MVP, design, cooperation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/successful-designer-developer-collaboration-in-mvp-work-environment/index.md*

**Undertaking a brand new idea and turning it into a successful product is always thrilling but also risky. In order to create a successful and meaningful project it is essential first to build [Minimum Viable Product (MVP)](/our-areas/mvp-development) to see if we are on the right track and if our strategy is going in the right direction. That is why, building MVP gives us an advantage, as it helps define all possible pitfalls, eliminates gaps in a wholesome product in future, or even helps to understand if our approach should be changed completely already on the early stage of the project.** 

![](../../static/images/alisa_desdevcollaboration-copy.png "")

Hence, the work environment of MVP should be highly lean and flexible, the collaboration of the team inside such environment should also resemble all traits of resilience, an ability to adapt to a constant change at a rapid pace. Thus, a favourable outcome of MVP largely depends on the team, the way they communicate, adapt and collaborate with each other. Especially, when it comes to designer-developer joining forces, it is essential that they create **a work tandem** and do their best to achieve top results. How do we make sure that the designer-developer team work is lucrative? 

## **Here are 3 easy tips to a successful collaboration in MVP environment:**

### Listen

#### Listen with the intent to understand, not with the intent to reply

Stephen R. Covey in his book, [The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/6277-the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people) has stated that most of us do not really listen in order to understand, as when our interlocutor explains their idea we do not listen till the end of their sentence, at the very moment we are preparing our reply and we are thinking of what we want to tell our interlocutor. This way we are focusing on what we want to say, not hearing the other party.

<blockquote><div>Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.</div><footer>Stephen R. Covey</footer></blockquote>

**Whether you are a designer or a developer, make sure you always listen to the other party and what they have to communicate**. While building MVP some adjustments and modifications are inevitable. Developers will most likely ask for a few changes in the designs to make a project easier and faster to implement. 

Certainly, in the real MVP environment designs might be altered, oftentimes projects will not be even done pixel perfect. A few components can look a little different, as for the faster development ready-made solutions might be taken into consideration as long as they do not disrupt the usability. 

On the contrary, in some cases it might not be possible to simplify and cut down on a number of things while these changes might hurt user experience or the design system of the product. So, listen in order to hear these arguments from both sides because MVP may not be pixel-perfect, but it should be pleasant and easy to use. 

### Ask

#### There are no stupid questions in a positive environment

Positive atmosphere enhances productivity. Usually building MVP requires a high paced working process which might ricochet at team with stress and feeling pressure especially before meeting the deadlines. What can be worse than confusion and misconception while trying to work fast? Any misunderstanding increases tension in working relations and slows down the process. 

Therefore, it is significant to **ensure that the designer and developer teams are working in a friendly environment, are positive and respectful towards each other and are comfortable with asking questions**, which discards misunderstandings and results in delivering product faster and with less stress.

Asking questions might not be that easy for everyone. Some people hesitate to acknowledge that they do not understand something in order not to be perceived as someone who slows down the working process with their questions. Nevertheless, asking the right question at the right moment might expose the problem from a different perspective and show that the initial concept was not right and the change is needed. 

That is why it is important to maintain positive working relations in which there are no stupid questions, as raising queries can eliminate misunderstandings, lead to discussions and delivery of better MVP.  So, don’t be afraid of asking questions and do not hesitate to answer the same questions again and again till the mutual understanding is reached.

### Adjust

#### MVP is about adopting to a change

Building MVP means to be constantly ready for a change. Successful MVPs use a **User-Centered Design** approach which follows user needs on all stages of the project. That includes some frequent user testing sessions that help understand if the features we design and build are really needed and if user appreciates them. After such user testing, most often, the product requires some adjustments. 

At times these changes do not only result in making buttons more eminent, but even in giving up one feature in favour of another, or so much as rethinking the whole concept. So, **designer-developer tandem should be ready as for small modifications, as well as for bigger conceptual alterations of the product**. 

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Dive into MVP development with our guide' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Based on over a decade of experience in MVP development we offer you an ultimate guide to MVP. Grab it for free!' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='MVP ebook cover' />

## In conclusion

Undoubtedly, as designer-developer being a part of MVP process is an amazing experience as you get to see the birth of a product and provide the ideas which can change it. You also can learn volumes from the user feedback, make small adjustments, or rethink the whole concept of an output. 

However, **the success of MVP also depends on the designer-developer ability to cooperate with each other**. Remember not only to listen to the other party but also hear what that party has to say. Don’t be afraid of asking questions, and don’t be reluctant to answer the same questions again and again. 

And particularly, do not get attached to already created solutions, be prepared to frequent changes, modifications and alterations. Trying to follow these tips may bring you and your team to a positive, friendly MVP working environment.

Contact us if you are looking for [MVP development agency](/our-areas/mvp-development). [](/our-areas/mvp-development)We are ready to help!

## What Are the Stages of App Development?

*Published: 2021-05-19 | Author: izabela | Tags: development, business, design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-are-the-stages-of-app-development/index.md*

**From an idea to a successful launch… There are 4 main stages of building an app. Learn more about all of software development steps.**

<div className="image">![Software development stages and timeline](../../static/images/timeline_app_development_stages.png "Timeline template by Yuhki Yamashita (licence CC BY 4.0).")</div>

<sub> [Timeline template by Yuhki Yamashita](https://www.figma.com/community/file/767777586184800315) (licence CC BY 4.0). </sub>

## Web or mobile app development steps and timelines

Check out all the steps on the road to a successful app launch and maintenance.

## App Idea

![idea for na app](../../static/images/1_idea.png "")

* Even the most unique idea doesn’t guarantee success. This is only the beginning.
* **This phase helps quickly verify if the idea has some business potential.** For example, creating another weather app may not be a profitable option.
* Also, during this stage, you can start looking for a suitable software development company.
* Software development companies often conduct [product workshops](/our-areas/product-workshops/) with the client to discuss the idea and its potential.
* This stage **helps to answer another big question – how much would my app cost**? If the idea is too expensive to develop, you can modify it or even just give up on it.
* This is a great moment to **establish first goals** that will help you to measure in the future if your app is a success. However, these goals might change. While you are getting to know the industry, you might better understand what you need to succeed.
* Ideation is a significant time for product designers. During workshops with the client, designers can better understand the whole solution. This brings us to the Prototyping phase.

## App Prototyping & Product design

(1-4 weeks)

![App prototyping](../../static/images/2_app_prototyping.png "")

* The stage when a product **designer creates the first visual representation of the idea**.
* Prototyping phase contains 3 stages: **wireframes, mockups, prototypes**. 
* **Wireframes are very simple designs** (even drawn on a piece of paper) that show the basic application flow. They are just a structure – a backbone of the product that may not be contextually full.
* There are two types of wireframes:

  * **Low fidelity wireframes** – help understand the structure of the product/service and make sure the client and the team are on the same page.
  * **High fidelity wireframes** – help understand the structure and feel of the product/service. They can be presented to stakeholders and first user testers.  
* Then come mockups that derive from high fidelity wireframes. **Mockups ensure the client that all requirements are met**. Also, provide developers with all the info about UI elements.
* After the mockups stage, it’s **finally time for prototypes**. They are basic clickable mockups or wireframes without any backend. The product designer creates mockups especially to show testers how the solutions might work. This is the moment when the idea starts to be something present, something that we can click on and engage with.
* This stage **helps to eliminate other mistakes** that we weren’t aware of till this point. During this phase we can even come to the conclusion that our app is too difficult for users or users would use it differently than was expected.

## Building the MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

(4-20 weeks)

![Building the MVP](../../static/images/3_mvp.png "")

* According to the first feedback received during the prototyping stage, the software development agency creates the first version of the mobile app. **[MVP](/our-areas/mvp-development) is the minimal version of the product/service including only crucial features.**
* Developing crucial features helps to reduce time to market and prevent app owners from spending too much money on a product that hasn’t been verified by the market yet. 
* MVP development works closely with the agile methodology.
* Business trends and technologies transform every day so **developing MVPs helps quickly enter the market** and easily adapt to any possible business or technical changes. 
* MVP is also an opportunity to meet first technical challenges that could have been missed during prototyping phase such as: accessing geo location in the background or handling [bluetooth](/our-areas/bluetooth-development) communication with other devices.
* Even though MVP is a basic version of the product, it should be treated as **a solid base for what’s next**. Well done MVP will benefit in the near future during another development stage. MVP gives a chance to create a well-thought software solution, based on <del>our perception of users’ needs</del> **actual users’ needs and market trends**.

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## App Development, QA & Maintenance

(Infinity – usually)

![App Development & Maintenance](../../static/images/4_app_development_-_maintenance.png "")

* Congrats, you’ve made it! 🙂
* At this stage, a software development company regularly deploys some new features to production.
* QA team makes sure that your software is secure, up-and-running and offers the best possible performance.
* **Every change in the product will affect your users.** Thus at this stage the priority for developers is to maintain the app stability. All development updates should be tested in a staging environment.
* The crucial part is to analyze users’ behavior to see how they respond to new features.
* Also, at this stage mobile app developers have to regularly update the apps to cope with the Android and iOS changes.
* It’s a constant challenge of developing our product to give more and more satisfaction to the users. :)

Now you know more about the most important app development stages. **Remember that the final flow always depends on the project**. Not every step is required. Nothing is set in stone in the app development world.

## Selecting the Right Partner to Build Your MVP

*Published: 2017-10-23 | Author: michal | Tags: mvp, startup, outsourcing*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/selecting-the-right-partner-for-your-mvp/index.md*

**One of the things that we do best at Bright Inventions is helping startups build their first MVP. It's pretty common that founders select us as their technology partner and rely on us to turn their vision into reality. We enjoy this kind of challenges and over the years have started to understand quite well why** – **simply said** – **startups like to work with us. However, this note is purely intended as a set of generic things to look for in a technology partner.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Read the ultimate MVP guide' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Download the free MVP guide and get ready to build a successful products starting from MVP. Get your copy now!' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='ebook MVP cover' />

## 1. Closely located

It really helps when seeing your MVP development company in person doesn't take half day of travelling. **Software development is one of those activities in which a lack of communication between parties can result in heavy costs further down the road**. Most of the time Slack, Google Meet, JIRA, etc. work perfectly but there should be times that you can just all sit together in one room and make sure you're well aligned. Misunderstood or missed requirements are easy and cheap to fix in the early phases of the project but very expensive later on. **Start project with a [product workshops](/our-areas/product-workshops/) and keep meeting on a regular schedule to validate work in progress and realign your expectations**. 

## 2. Shared values

Since you're going to be working together very closely **it's vital that you both share the same values and that their working culture is close to yours**. Do you hate when somebody is late for a meeting? Are you obsessed about keeping discussion to the point? What is your definition of "done"? 

**Vet your potential partner before any agreement is signed**. Make sure you can keep up with them on a personal level. You don't have to be best friends but there needs to be solid grounds for mutual appreciation, trust and understanding.

## 3. Extension of your team

You run a startup and therefore things change rapidly. Each day brings new ideas, things to check out, more requests from the clients. **You should be able to share it all with the developers working on your product without having to go through any soft of legal layer. If adding even the smallest change to the feature set requires signing an annex with them - it's not worth it**. If there are things that you would have no problem asking your in-house developer but for some reason are prevented from asking the same from developer working for your partner company then it's not worth it neither.

You should be able to work with them as if they were part of your team. Effectively they should feel that they are a part of your team. There's a catch: you also need to treat them as a part of your team.

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions team](../../static/images/bright_team.JPG "undefined")</div>

## 4. Work out a good payment model

In order to make the above possible it's good to **work out a simple to understand payment model**. You might like the benefits of a fixed-price approach but in reality that would quickly limit the scope of changes that you can reasonably request from them. A sensible approach might be to work in sprints and have them charge you a fixed amount after each sprint. It lets you refocus after each short iteration and nobody will make any fuss over requirements changing from sprint to sprint. Your vision will evolve and your partner should adapt. 

Read more on [software development pricing models](/blog/pros-and-cons-of-software-development-pricing-models).

## 5. Argues with you

It's all too easy to find a partner who would just blindly follow your requests. I**t's much harder to find one that would put your ideas to the test and challenge you**. One that would truly care about your ultimate goal and would openly discuss their insight until your (or their) point is validated. 

Let's say that you want to add full [offline support to the app you're building](/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/) (which is usually a tall order but doesn't seem so). They can either sheepily follow or convince you that there are more pressing issues in the backlog that would benefit your users more. 

Sometimes you come to them not with a problem but with a ready solution. It's better if they are not afraid to point you out misassumptions in your proposed solution and are openly against executing something that doesn't make sense. If you've chosen the right partner they will surely have more technical experience than you have and they will also have some business experience from the past projects.

## 6. Stable team

Before you start relying on a development partner you absolutely need to **make sure that it's a company that maintains a stable team of high-quality programmers**. You don't want them to restaff your project team every few weeks. You need to have a sense of stability and be sure that the people who work on your project won't get reassigned willy-nilly to another gig. Also, if there's any way you can get more familiar with the individual developers who will work on your project (their personal blogs, conference talks, etc.), it's a great plus.

## 7. Estimates

People who will work on your project will have to come up with different sorts of the estimates. It starts with a high-level estimate before the kickoff, i.e. how many sprints might we need to accomplish a given feature set. Then there are estimations made during sprint planning and estimates made on the go when you check with developer how much time they need to complete a given task. It's very hard to check but you'll be much better of if you can trust the estimates coming from them. 

**If you realize after the first couple of sprints that their estimates are way off, you have to openly discuss it and expect them to be more realistic**. You make business decisions based on the estimates you get from them. Obviously, you always have to plan for some buffer but you can't accept things taking twice the time they estimated. **An estimate is not a promise and it's not a commitment but it should mean something**.

## 8. Progress

You need to be able to track progress easily and on a regular basis. It starts with the source code repository. **Be sure that the code gets pushed to your GitHub or BitBucket account**. Make sure there's a continuous integration system that builds all of the components after each code change and that automatically deploys it or pushes for testing. **Make sure that the continuous integration system stays deployed to machines that you control** so that you can still use it if you stop working together.

<br/>

Choosing the right [MVP development agency ](/our-areas/mvp-development)is a leap of faith. You need to feel good about your decision and have full trust in them. **It might be hard to find a partner that meets all the criteria listed in this note but at least make sure that they won't have problems challenging you if they disagree**. They might be right.

## How to Protect Software Development Projects from Bus Factor Problem

*Published: 2021-07-15 | Author: izabela | Tags: startup, business strategy*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/software-development-projects-bus-factor/index.md*

**Do you know what a bus factor is? Should it be a nightmare for startups that build in-house teams or hire a software development agency? Check out the best practices to protect the development projects from the bus factor risk.**

![bus factor](../../static/images/blogpost_izabela_bus_in_post-01.png "")

## What is a bus factor?

**The bus factor is a risk management term originating from the phrase "in case they get hit by a bus".** The bus factor is a measurement of risk related to the minimal number of people within the team and the quality of knowledge sharing that are required for the projects to pursue in case somebody "gets hit by a bus". 

**The lower the number of key team members that share some unique knowledge, the lower the bus factor is. If there is only 1 member of the team that has crucial isolated knowledge and distinctive skills then bus factor = 1.** That is a situation which every organisation should avoid.

Every project manager and startup that hires a software agency should answer this question: If somebody “gets hit by a bus”, will the team be able to go on with the project?

## How to protect your success from a low bus factor? 

At Bright Inventions we have developed lots of best practices that help to protect the project and client from the bus factor = 1. Let us take a look at some of them! 

## Documentation

Don’t speak about it, write it. A well-written documentation is an important source of knowledge about the project, especially for new team members. Remember to include architecture decision records that show the reason behind every significant decision. It definitely helps to pursue the software development process even if somebody “gets hit by a bus”.

## Automation

When it is beneficial, **use some tools that automate the processes and support developers**. It raises the effectiveness and reduces the bus factor risk at the same time. Continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) allows for automated building, testing, and deployment, including some customized settings for each environment.\
\
In the beginning, automation may seem to be time-consuming but in the end it is truly a time-saver with lots of other benefits. In case of somebody being “hit by a bus”, you are not dependent on other people to conduct e.g. the deployment. You rely on scripts to do the job. You reduce the risk of human errors, too. Automation not only increases the effectiveness of your team but also supports you during crises.

## Secret management

Imagine a situation when a person “hit by a bus” is the only one that has passwords to the software product and infrastructure. There is an easy way to minimize that risk. **Thanks to secret management tools you can safely store and share passwords**, keys and API within the team and make sure that all that information isn’t accessible only by one member of the team. 

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Check out other security best practices you should implement' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Find out what you should expect from your security team to ensure your product and company is secure. Download the free guide!' ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='ebook security cover' />

## Don't rely on individuals 

When you have less and more experienced developers within the team, they should handle issues together. Only then less experienced developers can learn from others. **Handling difficult tasks only by seniors could significantly increase the risk of the bus factor.**

In addition, pair programming is worth considering. Working in pairs is a part of agile methodology (yep, we are agile fans). It helps to constantly review each other's ideas, solutions and code. It ensures faster development of the team, delivering better solutions, and (by the way) it is a great way to increase the bus factor.

## Teambuilding

Nowadays, the number of senior developers is still insufficient, so the recruiting processes never end. Recruiters have to regularly bring new talents to the team. It is related to the bus problem as well. **The stable number of seniors within the teams helps to protect business from the low bus factor.**

What is more, it may be easier to reduce the bus factor risk when you (as a client) **rely on a software development company instead of so called “body leasing” companies**. When you hire a team that works together for years (instead of developers that have never worked together before), then it is easier to maintain the high quality of work, ethics and teamwork.   

## Get access everywhere 

If you decide to hire a [software development agency](/), then **you should get all the access to the code, infrastructure and tools** needed to develop your product. It helps to protect you from vendor lock-in and reduces the bus factor risk as well. 

## Don’t neglect the low bus factor risk

When you hire a software team you have to always have in mind the bus factor issue. Fortunately, when your team knows how to share knowledge and communicate effectively, the bus factor shouldn’t be so much of a concern. Just stay calm and… follow the practices that we’ve presented. 😉

## Embracing Polymorphism for Flexible Components

*Published: 2023-07-12 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: TypeScript, React, Polymorphism, design patterns*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/embracing-polymorphism-for-flexible-components/index.md*

**Do you want to take your React skills to the next level and create more versatile components? Polymorphism is here to save you! It will help you build reusable components, no matter if you're a React rookie or a seasoned pro. Prepare yourself for an expedition through the essentials, advanced techniques, and real-life use cases commonly found in various codebases. Let us embark on this voyage together and unlock the true potential of polymorphism in React!**

<div className="image">![Polymorphic Components](../../static/images/polymorphic_components_blog.png "Polymorphic Components")</div>

## What Are Polymorphic Components?

**They are versatile React components that can adapt their appearance and behavior based on the context in which they are used**. Unlike traditional components, which are rigidly defined by their structure and styling, polymorphic components allow you to customize their rendering based on the specific requirements of each instance.

<div className="important-info"><h2>Why should you care about polymorphic components?</h2><div>Well, picture this: you're building a web app with various user interface elements, such as buttons, links, or even cards. Instead of creating separate components for each variant of these elements, polymorphic components empower you to build a single, flexible component that can effortlessly transform its appearance and functionality as needed.</div></div>

## The Magic Behind Polymorphic Components

At the core of polymorphic components lies the concept of prop-driven rendering. Instead of relying solely on predefined tags, polymorphic components harness the flexibility of props to dynamically determine their rendering logic. By passing a special prop, often called `as` or `component`, you can specify the underlying HTML tag or a custom React component that the polymorphic component should render as.

This dynamic rendering capability opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Need a button that renders as an anchor tag or even a custom button component? No problem! With polymorphic components, it's as simple as passing the desired tag or component as a prop. This flexibility enables you to reuse a single polymorphic component in various contexts while still maintaining consistency in functionality and styling.

## Unleashing the Potential of Polymorphic Components

Now that we have a solid understanding of how polymorphic components work, let's explore some real-world use cases where these dynamic powerhouses truly shine.

### Button Variants

Imagine you're working on an e-commerce website, and you need to create different types of buttons for various actions like "Add to Cart," "Buy Now," or "Read More." **Instead of creating separate button components for each variant, you can leverage the flexibility of polymorphic components**. With a single polymorphic button component, you can easily customize its appearance and behavior by passing different values to the `as` prop. This way, you can have anchor tags, button tags, or even custom button components rendered on the fly, all while maintaining consistent functionality and styling.

### Navigation Menus

**Polymorphic components can be a game-changer when it comes to building navigation menus**. Let's say you have a horizontal menu that needs to render as an unordered list (`<ul>`) with list items (`<li>`). However, in certain cases, you may need the menu to be a vertical sidebar rendered as a `<nav>` element. By utilizing the power of polymorphic components, you can effortlessly switch between these different rendering styles based on the context. Simply pass the desired tag or component as the `as` prop, and voila! Your navigation menu adapts to any layout requirements you throw at it.

### Typography component

With polymorphic capabilities, the Typography component can adapt its rendering to various text elements, such as `<h1>`, `<p>`, `<span>`, and more. This flexibility allows developers to maintain consistent typography styles while seamlessly adjusting the underlying HTML tag based on the desired semantic structure and design requirements.

These are just a few examples to get your creative gears turning. The beauty of polymorphic components lies in their versatility and adaptability. You're no longer constrained by rigid component structures or forced to create numerous variations of similar components. **With polymorphic components, you can build a robust library of reusable UI elements that effortlessly transform to meet the unique requirements of your applications**.

In the next section, we'll dive into the implementation details and walk through a practical example to solidify your understanding.

## Implementing Polymorphic Components

One practical **example of harnessing the power of polymorphic components is the implementation of a Typography component**. By leveraging polymorphism, this component allows you to create reusable and customizable text elements while maintaining type safety through TypeScript.

```typescript
import React, { ComponentPropsWithoutRef, ElementType } from "react";

export type TypographyProps<T extends ElementType = "span"> = {
  as?: T;
} & ComponentPropsWithoutRef<T>;

export const Typography = <T extends ElementType = "span">({
  as,
  ...rest
}: TypographyProps<T>) => {
  const Element = as || "span";

  return <Element {...rest} />;
};
```

In this example, the Typography component is defined as a generic component that accepts a type parameter `T`, representing the desired HTML tag or component type. The TypographyProps type is defined to extend `ComponentPropsWithoutRef<T>`, which ensures that the component props are correctly inferred and type-checked based on the selected variant.

To use the Typography component, simply specify the desired variant type when rendering:

```typescript
import Typography from './Typography';

const MyComponent = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <Typography as="h1">Heading 1</Typography>
      <Typography as="p">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.</Typography>
      <Typography as="span">This is a span element.</Typography>
    </div>
  );
};
```

With this approach, you can have type-checking and IntelliSense for the attributes specific to each variant. For example, when using `<Typography as="h1">`, you will have type-checking and IntelliSense for the props that are applicable to a heading element.

It's worth mentioning that the addition of TypeScript type checking does not introduce any runtime performance penalties. However, it's important to note that it will increase the compilation time, especially in larger codebases. This is because TypeScript needs to analyze and validate the types throughout your codebase, which can take longer when dealing with intricate type definitions.

### Exploring Slot Component by Radix UI

In our exploration of polymorphic components, we've discovered a game-changing solution: **the Slot component from Radix UI**. **This powerful component enables us to conditionally merge its props onto its immediate child component, providing a seamless way to share styling, functionality, and type checking across different use cases**. Let's dive into how the Slot component empowers us to create dynamic and versatile components in practice.

Consider the example of a Button component using the Slot component:

```typescript
import { ComponentPropsWithoutRef } from 'react';
import { Slot } from '@radix-ui/react-slot';

type ButtonProps = ComponentPropsWithoutRef<'button'> & {
  variantColor: 'primary' | 'secondary' | 'danger';
  asChild?: boolean;
};

export const Button = (props: ButtonProps): JSX.Element => {
  const { variantColor, asChild, ...other } = props;

  const Component = asChild ? Slot : 'button';
  const variantClass = ''; // Conditional className for each variant

  return (
    <Component
      className={variantClass}
      {...other}
    />
  );
};
```

In this example, the Button component accepts the props of a button element, as well as a `variantColor` prop and an optional `asChild` prop. By conditionally assigning the Component variable to either the Slot component or the string 'button', we achieve dynamic rendering based on the `asChild` prop value.

When the `asChild` prop is set to true, the Slot component is used, enabling us to render the Button component as a child of an anchor tag, like this:

```typescript
<Button asChild>
  <a href="example.com">Click Me</a>
</Button>
```

This approach ensures that the Button component retains type checking and IntelliSense for the anchor tag's attributes, providing a seamless development experience while maintaining shared styling and other functionality.

On the other hand, when the `asChild` prop is not provided or set to false, the Button component renders as a regular button element.

```typescript
<Button variantColor="primary" onClick={submitHandler}>Submit</Button>
```

**By leveraging the Slot component, we achieve code reusability, reduced duplication of properties, and the ability to seamlessly switch between different rendering scenarios while maintaining a unified codebase**. 

However, this approach has a noticeable drawback. If your polymorphic component accepts props of a button, then it will pass all of them to the Slot beneath it. It means you can end up with an anchor with `type` or `disabled` attributes, which are not supported. You may consider filtering them out first to now allow that.

## Embrace the Power of Polymorphic Components in Your React Journey

In our fascinating journey exploring polymorphic components in React, we've witnessed the transformative power of flexibility and reusability. By seamlessly switching between different HTML tags or custom component types, we've unlocked a world of dynamic and customizable UI elements. Whether leveraging libraries like Radix UI's Slot component or integrating TypeScript, we've successfully merged the realms of dynamic composition and type safety.

Polymorphic components have proven to be invaluable in streamlining typography management, **ensuring consistency, and eliminating code duplication**. With their ability to effortlessly adapt to different scenarios, they **provide a maintainable and scalable codebase** that developers can enjoy working with. The fusion of flexibility and type safety, facilitated by TypeScript integration, empowers us to build robust and error-free applications.

By embracing the art of polymorphism in React, we open the doors to endless possibilities. Experimenting with different variants, pushing the boundaries of component design, and crafting exceptional user interfaces that effortlessly respond to evolving user needs become our new norm. With polymorphic components as our trusty tools, we embark on a coding adventure filled with innovation and creativity.

Happy coding!

## How to React to Corrective Feedback? Use These Simple Rules

*Published: 2023-07-11 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, communication, feedback*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-react-to-corrective-feedback-use-these-simple-rules/index.md*

You are receiving negative feedback or just someone is disagreeing with you, and your first reaction is self-defence mechanism? Remember that it is a very short way to burst into anger or carry some emotional burden. Feedback is a gift and you should learn how to proceed it effectively without unnecessary stress or negative feelings. Be grateful that someone has enough courage to share it with you. Thanks to that you can work on important changes that need to be made to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

## **Don’t take it personally**

Our ego doesn’t want to be criticised. It wants to be acknowledged and praised. When someone gives us negative/corrective feedback, we feel offended. We just always want to be right and to prove someone they are wrong.

When we see the bigger picture, it helps us put feedback in its proper perspective. Then and only then should we decide how to respond. **Remember you are not the idea or behaviour the other person is referring to. This feedback is not about you.** Don’t overanalyse and see some meaning where there isn’t any. Look at the the other person’s intention and try to see positive motives of the person who is giving you feedback. **Don’t waste your energy on taking things personally.** 



If you decide to watch the movie below, please do that with deep understanding. This TEDTalk is not about becoming ignorant to other people’s negative feedback and taking the approach “I shouldn’t care”. It is about comprehending why this negative/corrective feedback touches us so much and what we can do with it.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnJwH_PZXnM' />

## **When emotions walk in through the door, logic flies out** 


You have to learn how to manage your emotions to avoid saying things that may do harm to yourself or people around you. **Don’t act impulsively just because someone said something you don’t like. Don’t rush to react.** 

The so called S.T.A.R method can help you react in a calm and peaceful way to the negative feedback you receive and can show you a different perspective to the problem you focus on. It is a very simple method you can use in any situations of potential conflict or disagreement. 

**STOP** - after receiving the feedback take a moment to reflect on the actions described by the feedback giver 

**THINK** - think about next steps you can choose and solutions you can take 

**ACT** - decide on the best option you can take to improve a situation/your behaviour 

**REVIEW** - check the consequences of the chosen option. Has it changed anything?

## **Don’t become an offended recluse**

[The research](https://hbr.org/2016/09/research-we-drop-people-who-give-us-critical-feedback) by Francesca Gino, Paul Green, and Brad Staats shows that we tend to avoid people after they give us negative feedback. And while it can certainly feel easier to see ourselves as a martyr - **avoiding people who tell us (usually) the truth is a big mistake. In fact, we should see it as opportunity to reset one’s relationships. With the proper approach, our biggest “critics” can become our greatest supporters.** Remember that it is really simple to say you like someone’s idea, take a high five and live happily ever after. Much harder it is to find the courage to tell someone you see some things to improve in their behaviour. Appreciate the fact that you have among your colleagues or friends people who would tell you bluntly when you fuc* something up. 😉

**The critical feedback can be an excellent moment to make new friends. Really.** 

## **Take it on the chin**

Believe me or not, **the best response to some critical feedback is to admit our flaws — first to ourselves, and then to others.** We should understand and set the expectations for how we are likely to behave. Focus on changing the things you can change. Remember that people around you can very often see much more about your behaviour than you see yourself (if you haven’t heard about[ the Johari Window matrix](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-johari-window-as-a-tool-in-feedback-processing/), it is high time to take a look). 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/heyarnold-hey-arnold-nick-splat-xUNda7NlTLmCGj6bU4' />

Give yourself time, space and empathy to work on the area that is unknown to you. Accept the fact that you are not always right. Or even accept the fact that you are barely ever right. **The corrective feedback is not about aiming at perfection,** it is about asking questions and looking for the answers.As Alexander Pope wrote in his poem *An Essay on Criticism* "To err is human, to forgive is divine.” We err all the time. We learn best from the mistakes we make. **We learn most while confronted with the views completely different to ours.** 

Remember that negative feedback might be much more valuable to your self-development than the positive one. 

## **And what are your techniques**

And how about you? How do you react when you get corrective feedback from someone? Is it easy for you to accept you might be wrong? Do you take things personally? Do you feel offended? Do you overreact? Do you see only negative intentions behind? 

If you have never asked yourself these questions, I really encourage you to do so. **Check if you have enough courage inside yourself to admit you might be wrong.**

And coming back to our original questions - how to react to corrective feedback? With a smile, gratitude, empathy and openness. 🧡

## Accept Suspend and Non-Suspend as Parameter in Kotlin

*Published: 2023-07-11 | Author: lukasz | Tags: Kotlin, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/accept-suspend-and-non-suspend-as-parameter-in-kotlin/index.md*

**Kotlin as always comes with a smart and simple solution. 😀 Check out this tip!**

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca4pOETg38k/' />

Instead of creating two analogous functions just to be able to provide both suspend and regular functions as parameters, like so:

```kotlin
fun doSomethingBeforeAndAfter(
 nonSuspendAction: () -> Unit
) {
  somethingBeforeAction()
  nonSuspendAction()
  somethingAfterAction()
}

suspend fun doSomethingBeforeAndAfterForSuspendableActions(
 suspendAction: suspend () -> Unit
) {
  somethingBeforeAction()
  suspendAction()
  somethingAfterAction()
}
```

If you can define your function as ‘inline’, it will also make it accept both suspend and non-suspend functions as parameters:

```kotlin
inline fun doSomethingBeforeAndAfter(
 action: () -> Unit
) {
  somethingBeforeAction()
  action()
  somethingAfterAction()
}
```

Check out our [repo](https://github.com/bright/dev-tips/blob/main/kotlin/AcceptSuspendAndNonSuspendAsParameter.kt)! Hope you enjoyed this Kotlin tip. 🙂

## App Development Pivots That Prove the MVP Works

*Published: 2021-05-11 | Author: izabela | Tags: MVP, app pivot, app development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/app-development-pivots-that-prove-the-mvp-works/index.md*

**You have an idea for an app and are determined to develop it? Congratulations! But what if your idea had to be modified and your solution would need to pivot? Check out why many popular apps and web solutions had to change to make a success.** <br/>

<div className="image">![App pivot MVP](../../static/images/mvp_pivot_blog.png "MVP pivot")</div>

When you take first steps on the road of app development, you have to make a very important choice. You can develop every feature that you have imagined for your web or mobile app or you can just develop the necessary features to know the user's feedback and decide what’s next. 

At Bright Inventions [we often recommend the second option called MVP](/blog/4-things-we-love-about-building-mvps) (Minimum Viable Product). 

## What is MVP?

MVPs are low-cost products that you can show to early adopters and receive first feedback. Thanks to that investors don’t risk too much and can quickly check if the MVP has business potential. Why is that important? Because sometimes MVP shows that your product should pivot. Although app pivoting feels scary, it isn’t such a unique thing. It was done by the greatest ones.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Dive into MVP development now' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Discover how an MVP can help you validate your app idea without breaking the bank. Ease your pivot using MVP.' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='MVP guide cover' />

## What are the top reasons to pivot?

### Too strong competition

The perfect example is **Twitter**’s origin story. Before the Twitter team started to develop a popular microblogging they had been working on Odeo. That was a place where people could listen to podcasts and share music. At that time Odeo struggled to compete with iTunes. So the team pivoted and started to develop a new solution. They also decided about rebranding and that’s how Twitter was born.

### Different users needs

The best feedback always comes from users. Every idea may be verified by users that could use your solution in totally different ways. Sometimes it is very difficult to follow users' feedback because it can lead to changing the whole idea for the product. However, the story of YouTube shows that listening to your users is the key to success.

At the beginning of its existence **YouTube** was nothing like the platform we know today. It was a video dating-ish website. Surprisingly (or not) people didn’t want to upload videos on dating websites but they were more than happy to upload other videos related to their passions, holidays, family or friends. In YouTube's case users practically did the whole pivoting for the owners.

### Long for simplicity

Developing all the features that you have imagined for your app may not only be costly but also confusing for your users. That is something that **Instagram** learned at the very beginning when it was known as Burbn. It was supposed to be a photo&note sharing solution and loyalty app. The number of features made the prototype too complex so the owners decided to focus on photo-sharing. This is the 1.01 MVP approach – focusing on the key feature first. **Creating Instagram as MVP was a cornerstone of its success.**

### Adapting to market trends

**Netflix** is the best example of the perfect response to the market changes. Netflix started as an online rental platform for DVD movies that were mailed to American households. Eventually, Netflix transformed into a digital content service. As you know, they don’t just gather content, they create their own movies and TV series. They pivoted their product following or even starting marketing trends.

- - -

Idea for a software solution is only the beginning. It needs to be verified and sometimes modified to succeed. That is why building MVPs takes a major role in creating the final and successful product. 

Contact the experienced [MVP development agency](/our-areas/mvp-development) to discuss your solution.

## 4 Things We Love About Building MVPs

*Published: 2019-09-02 | Author: mateusz | Tags: MVP, startup, business strategy*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/4-things-we-love-about-building-mvps/index.md*

**Nothing is more rewarding from a software development agency’s perspective than seeing our clients’ apps and businesses blossom on the market. After all, in today’s bustling startup scene, turning an idea into a working product people love and use is no easy feat! In fact, getting to this point in startup growth can be an arduous road full of challenges and potential mistakes lurking just around the corner. It certainly doesn’t have to, though!**

At Bright Inventions, we love building [MVPs for startups](/our-areas/mvp-development) for a reason – it’s the most time-effective way to validate an idea on the market before our clients decide to go “all-in”. Below, we’ve opened up a little on the reasons why we enjoy building MVPs as much as we do.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Dive into MVP development' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription='Based on over 12 years of experience in MVP development we offer you an ultimate guide to MVP. Grab it for free!' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.png' ebookAlt='MVP ebook cover' />

## **1.  We love helping our customers turn good ideas into great software**

As a software development agency, we’re thrilled with the opportunity to interact with some of the brightest, most innovative teams from around the globe. Our roads cross at various stages of startup maturity. Some businesses already have a ready-to-implement plan, while others are looking for both strategic and technological guidance and have no more than a rough concept that needs to be verified. 

As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day – the same goes for turning good ideas into disruptive solutions. In this case, a well-defined MVP serves as the foundation for great software. **When we first sit down with our clients (either live or via video conference), our goal is to agree on a quick-to-market, cost-effective list of features for their first working version of the product**. This way, if the MVP of the app is developed and launched, but turns out not to be successful, our clients can quickly rethink their strategy without having to click „undo” all the way. Respectively, if the MVP proves to be a great success, then they know they are going in the right direction.

Amazon, Facebook, Uber, Twitter – though it may be hard to believe given their current sizes, have [all kicked off with a “barebone product”](https://generalassemb.ly/blog/businesses-that-started-as-a-minimum-viable-product/) before taking the world and becoming what they are today. Now, those are some MVP success stories, aren’t they?

## **2. We help entrepreneurs see if their ideas stand a chance on the competitive market**

I think it’s safe to say that we’re equally excited as our clients to see what the initial response to a released MVP is. You see, **the great thing about MVPs is that they let our clients validate their assumptions about the target audience in a timely manner**. Namely, while they might suspect that the software is an answer to a genuine need, they won’t know for sure until they’ve actually put out a working product and observed user’s behaviour. 

MVPs put an emphasis on testing and observing market reaction to a new concept, and minimize assumptive work which is subjective and risky in nature. Putting out an MVP will tell you more than enough to understand how you can create an amazing product that will, in the long run, stand the chance against established competition. 

Sounds good, doesn’t it? 

But how do we derive sufficient information about the users who started using our MVP? How do we know how they use it, or why and when they decide to abandon it? Here’s where an experienced software development company like ourselves can come in and set up an analytics tool that tracks the right data and user behaviour. It takes a lot of prior experience to observe and know where to look (despite years of expertise, we always learn something new ourselves!), but once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll gain access to invaluable data.

Observing how users interact with an MVP allows our clients to focus on what caught their users’ attention the most, and either delete or upgrade underperforming processes or features. It also sets the groundwork for planning an effective marketing strategy built around the actual value that proved to be most useful to users. 

## **3. MVPs set the groundwork for fruitful cooperation**

You’ve guessed it – building an MVP let’s both clients and ourselves test out way more than the product itself. **During the time spent on drafting and developing the MVP, both sides get to see what it’s like working together**. By the time we finish the first phase of the project, we can all picture what can be expected if we decide to work in the long run.

Do we have the same understanding of the app’s goal? Have we worked out an atmosphere of openness and creativity where we enthusiastically discuss each other’s ideas? Or maybe there’s something we could do better as far as the workflow goes?

Bottom line – through feedback collected during the MVP phase, we become even better business partners in the future. 

Last, but not least...

## **4. On a personal and professional level, we grow through interacting with our clients**

While clients hire us for help in developing their products, it doesn’t mean we can’t learn a thing or two ourselves throughout the experience. 

You see – through working with various companies, we get to meet both like-minded people and those who totally revolutionize the way we think about things. After all, startup founders are some of the most inspiring crowd.  

**Working with our customers teaches us humility, shows how we can all challenge the status quo to create better products**, and is a source of constant inspiration. We can’t picture a better environment for both self and professional growth. 

## Summary

As you can see, building a first working version of an app is one of the most valuable, rewarding experiences for an [MVP development agency](/our-areas/mvp-development). Seeing how we help our customers succeed strengthens our sense of purpose and provides motivation for more to come.

## From MVP to a Final Product. Free Ebook for Startups [Get PDF]

*Published: 2023-07-04 | Author: michal | Tags: startups, MVP, business strategy*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/from-mvp-to-a-final-product-free-ebook-for-startups-get-pdf/index.md*

**Download the free ebook about Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development. This is the ultimate guide for startup founders, CTOs and product owners who are considering launching the product. Why should your start with MVP? What mistakes should you avoid? What factors determine the cost of MVP? Get your copy now!**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get free MVP guide now' ebookName='From-MVP-to-a-Final-Product.pdf' ebookDescription=' Calling all founders, CTOs and product owners! Dive into the world of MVP development with our comprehensive ebook. Don’t wait, grab your copy here!' ebookImage='/images/mvp_ebook_cover.svg' ebookAlt='MVP free ebook for startups' />

## What’s inside the MVP ebook?

Check out the table of contents:

1. Why you should start from MVP.
2. How to choose the right MVP partner?
3. Software development pricing models.
4. Factors that determine the MVP cost. 
5. Native vs hybrid app – find your perfect fit.
6. Software development stages (with a time range).
7. Ease your pivot using MVP.
8. How to avoid common startup mistakes while developing products.
9. Estimate your MVP.

## Who should read our guide?

Do you have an idea for an app but you don’t know what to do next? You are not sure if it's going to be successful. Do you have a limited budget to verify your solution? **The answer to all your problems might be MVP**. Download our free guide to find out why!

## Authors

<div className="image">![ebook MVP authors](../../static/images/ebook_mvp_authors_blog.png "ebook MVP authors")</div>

At Bright Inventions **we have been developing MVPs for over a decade**. This ebook is based on our team's experience in launching MVPs for startups based in Israel, Norway, Germany, the USA, and more. Feel free to get your copy!

## How to Have Multiple Branches Checked Out at the Same Time?

*Published: 2023-06-27 | Author: piotr | Tags: development, git*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-have-multiple-branches-checked-out-at-the-same-time/index.md*

**Find out how to use Git worktree to have multiple branches checked out at a time.**

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CgmUvBuI4TB/' />

## What is a Git worktree?

A `git` `worktree` is a linked copy of your Git repository, allowing you to have multiple branches checked out at a time. A `worktree` has a separate path from your main working copy, but it can be in a different state and on a different branch.

`Git worktree `is an alternative to `git stash`. Both of these mechanisms help you to manage multiple streams of work at once. The basic approach is to git-stash your changes and check out the other branch.

## Why you should use worktree to simultaneously check your branches?

The specifics of `worktree` approach is that it operates within a single `worktree`. Stashing the changes, and checking out the branch can cause performance mayhem within your IDE, which needs to reindex the files and that can take time in bigger projects.

It is a great way to switch to a different branch for a brief moment but is unsuitable in more complex situations.

As opposed to `git stash`, `git` `worktree` parallelizes your work by creating dedicated work trees and placing them in separate folders. 

Each tree/folder is separately managed by a dedicated IDE window.

I hope you enjoyed this bright dev tip!

## Join AWS Tricity Meetup in Gdańsk. Choose What Our Speaker Will Say

*Published: 2023-06-23 | Author: izabela | Tags: update, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/join-aws-tricity-meetup-in-gdansk-july/index.md*

**Time to meet again to discuss all AWS has to offer (and much more). Mark your calendars for July 10th at 5.00 PM, as we invite you to join us at the Gdańsk Entrepreneurship Incubator STARTER.**

Join our speakers: **Paweł** **Piwosz** and **Maciej Nawrocki** to dive into AWS CDK, Terraform, and… we will see! 😀 During the event, **you’ll get to choose the presentation topic Paweł will uncover**. **Presentations will be held in Polish**.

## AWS Tricity Meetup agenda

**5.00-5.10** **PM** Registration & Introduction 👋

**5.15-5.45** **PM** Presentation by **Maciej Nawrocki** 🤓, Senior Backend Developer at Bright Inventions

**Topic: Battle of the Titans: AWS CDK vs. Terraform - Who Will Prevail?**

**5.45** **PM** Refreshment Break ☕️

**6.00-7.00 PM** Presentation by **Paweł Piwosz** 😎, Developer Advocate at Spacelift

**Option 1: Modern and Controlled Delivery of Infrastructure as Code to Target Environments Using Terraform, Spacelift, and AWS.**

**Option 2: Forget Ansible and Packer! Automate Your Virtual Machines with AWS Image Builder.**

**7.00 PM** Pizza & Networking

**7.30 - 8.00 PM** Interactive Panel Discussion

## Meet our speakers

### [Paweł Piwosz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawelpiwosz/), Developer Advocate at Spacelift

DevOps, leader, mentor, trainer. His main focus in DevOps is CALMS as a framework. He tries to build a better understanding of DevOps as a company’s “driving force”.

### [Maciej Nawrocki](https://www.linkedin.com/in/maciej-nawrocki/), Senior Backend Developer, Bright Inventions

A backend developer with over 6 years of experience. Right now his focus is on DevOps and Monitoring. A big fan of Observability and tools like OpenTelemetry. However, deep down he will always be a backend developer first and foremost.

- - -

**Date**: July 10, 2023, 5 PM

**Where**: Gdańsk Entrepreneurship Incubator STARTER

**Claim your spot**: https://www.meetup.com/aws-tricity/events/294224874

**AWS Tricity Meetup is powered by Bright Inventions.**

## He Conquered Ocean, Sky and JVM World. Meet Bartek, a Thrill-Seeking Backend Developer

*Published: 2023-06-20 | Author: bartek k | Tags: bright story, bright insights, growth*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/he-conquered-ocean-sky-jvm-world-meet-bartek-backend-developer/index.md*

**Sailing the Atlantic, skydiving, steering a plane… He has done it all. Apart from that he’s a Kotlin enthusiast open for some coding in Scala as well. Meet Bartek, the most adventurous bright team member!**

<div className="image">![Bartek - a backend developer](../../static/images/brightstorybartekcollage_passions.png "Bartek - a backend developer")</div>

## You are a backend developer. Yet I know that you wanted to be a mobile dev. What happened? 😀

While I was studying Computer Science **I had this vision that I would start my career as a mobile developer**. I thought it would be so great to build something that could be downloaded by millions. Obviously, that was just a vision, far away from reality. 😉

I was pursuing that dream and got an internship to build a mobile app. When I joined the company it turned out the mobile app was basically done. Yet they needed help with the backend. So **I started to work with Spring Boot and quite enjoyed that**. 

Now **I am glad I pursued the backend path instead of mobile**. Maintaining backward compatibility in mobile isn’t appealing to me. The backend is more simple in that way. So I’ve never regretted how things turned out. I sometimes build mobile apps, but only for personal use.

## How did you land in Bright Inventions?

I’ve known the company since college. **I met Piotr from Bright Inventions at a job fair** at the Gdańsk University of Technology. Back then I was writing my master's thesis on serverless so I **decided to visit every company’s stand to ask if they worked with serverless**. **Bright Inventions was the only one that did**. Then I had a great conversation about it with Piotr and I could immediately see how knowledgeable and experienced he was.

Our paths crossed again a few years later. Back then, I was working at a company where I learned Java and Kotlin. **Kotlin was life-changing to me**. I loved it. Unfortunately, I started to get projects in Python. I felt I needed to find a place where I could continue my work with Kotlin. So, I finally joined Bright Inventions. I was eager to work with Piotr on the huge international ePOS project with Kotlin and AWS.

<div className="image">![Team retreats](../../static/images/bartek_team_cooking.png "Team retreats")</div>

What's **unique about Bright Inventions is the mature process of software development**. The team is highly skilled and experienced. **We focus 100% on quality**.

## Tell us more about the project you are currently working on at Bright Inventions.

This is an **international security system**. The backend is in **Scala**. I haven't worked with Scala much before. However, it's part of the JVM world, so it’s not something totally strange to me. It’s not like visiting a new world which would be switching to Go or C. For example, I still can choose the libraries I used while working with Java. 

The project is a great opportunity to get to know another major language from the JVM world. After working with all of them, I still prefer Kotlin. **Kotlin is the most friendly and efficient to learn and use daily**.

<div className="image">![Quote on Kotlin](../../static/images/bartek_quote_kotlin.png "Quote on Kotlin")</div>

## What were your biggest professional challenges so far?

I guess **getting to Bright Inventions**. **The interview with Piotr was definitely a challenge**. The atmosphere was really nice and positive. Yet whatever I said, Piotr responded, "What more can you say about it?" 🙂 **I thought I did poorly, but at the end of the interview, Piotr said I did well**. I was quite surprised.

**For me, mistakes are challenges because you operate under stress**. At Bright Inventions, I haven’t experienced that because we have well-organized processes. It was never necessary to wake up in the middle of the night to fix something urgent. 

However, while working at a previous company, which operates in the medical care industry, there were many stressful situations, especially during COVID-19. We had to develop a COVID-19 testing system very quickly, taking care of all important and private patient data. Your mistakes could wrongly assign a patient’s name to a sample, so we had to be extremely careful. That was a stressful time.

## On your first day of work, you brought tens of donuts to the office. This is legendary now. 😉 Is it your first day at work strategy?

I thought that's what people do when they join the company. In my previous work, everyone was bringing some sweets for their first day at work. Yet when I came to Bright Inventions with donuts, people were surprised. I guess not everyone does it. :D 

That didn't discourage me from surprising you again. **I mostly work remotely, but when I visit the office, I sometimes bring some treats with me**.

## I know your passion is sailing. What were your recent sea adventures?

Last year **I sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean**. We sailed for 23 days and 17 hours. :D 

However now I’m focusing more on my other passions, so sailing has gone into the background for now. Although it still has a place in my heart and I would always enjoy going through the seas.

<div className="image">![Bartek's passion - sailing](../../static/images/bartek_passion_sailing.png "Bartek's passion - sailing")</div>

## So what do you do apart from sailing?

I started a skydiving course last year. However, I couldn't finish it because it requires many factors to be met which wasn’t so obvious for me when I started. The weather has to be perfect, especially for skydiving students, so they can have safe landings. 

The other thing is that skydiving zones are mostly open on weekends, so you have to match your free weekend with the availability of instructors… Even with that, it’s not always a recipe for success because the actual weather can differ from the forecast. 😀 **Skydiving is fun, but it requires huge amounts of patience**.

<div className="image">![Bartek's passion - skydiving](../../static/images/bartek_passion_skydiving.png "Bartek's passion - skydiving")</div>

## But that didn’t put you off?

Not at all. Now I like the air even more and **I decided not only to jump out of planes but also to steer them**. 😀 Now I am at the beginning of my journey to **get a Private Pilot License** (PPL). I even moved closer to the airport where I train. I have to finish the theoretical and practical part of my training and then pass the Civil Aviation Authority exams.

## From sailing to flying an airplane. How did that happen?

There are people who inspired me to do this. As with many other things – people are a great inspiration. When it comes to flying, I met some pilots who are great people and I felt like this is something worth trying. 🙂

## The Johari Window As a Tool in Feedback Processing 

*Published: 2023-06-19 | Author: ula | Tags: communication, feedback, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-johari-window-as-a-tool-in-feedback-processing/index.md*

The [Johari Window](https://kevan.org/johari) is a communication model developed in 1950s by two American psychologists, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham. The name ‘Johari’ came from joining their first two names. The model has different  practical applications in today’s world. It can be used to better understand own self, improve communication, enhance interpersonal relations with others or discover oneself’s strengths. **It is also indicated as feedback/disclosure model of self-awareness.**

**The Johari Window is 4-box matrix. The first quadrant is the open area (also known as the arena), then we have the blind spot, the third one is the hidden area (also known as the facade) and the fourth one is the unknown**. **Each quadrant offers us a different approach to self-development and contains information about our self-awareness and how others see us.** The information can be transferred from one area to another through mutual trust. Let us now take a deeper look at each of them. 

<div className="image">![johari window ula ](../../static/images/johari-window-by-ula.png "undefined")</div>

## **\#1 OPEN AREA** 

The open area contains things that you know about yourself and that others in your environment know about you. This includes all the information which is public - your behaviours, knowledge, skills, attitudes or employment history. This is the area of communication. **The goal should be to make the open area as big as possible which is connected with asking for and receiving honest and real-time feedback.** The more you know about yourself and people know about you, the more productive your cooperation might be.

## **\#2 BLIND SPOT** 

This quadrant includes information about yourself known by others, but not by you. These may involve for instance habits that you are not aware of or behaviours you do automatically without much notice. **This is an area where opinions received from others may help you grow.** By asking for feedback from others you may get to know more about yourself. Learn where you blind spots are. 

## **\#3 HIDDEN AREA**

This area is about your feelings or personal things you keep to yourself. It is your hidden or secret self that you do not want to share with others. This information does not have to relate with work. These may be your hidden qualities or stories you want to keep from others. **Reducing hidden area and disclosing some personal information may be helpful for other to understand you. But to do that at first we have to build trust.** 

## **\#4 UNKNOWN**

In this quadrant you will find the information no one (including yourself) knows about your personality. They might be repressed feelings, undiscovered abilities or talents, some subconscious behaviours or reactions. The unknown area is quite big in case of people with a low self-esteem or inexperienced ones with little self-knowledge. **However, the unknown area is a space for real discoveries where your personal growth may arise from. You just have jump at the different opportunities given to you by others and learn that making mistakes is an unavoidable part of growth.** Many people discover they unknown areas just by trying out new things. 

## **Better version of yourself thanks to Johari Window**

We are all good or very good at something and other people know about it. But there are also areas in which we need much improvement to grow. Johari Window is a great tool to support individual development and build feedback culture in your team. Soliciting feedback from others can help us grow further and discover the abilities or skills we have never dreamt about. **Getting feedback is a gift and we should be grateful for every feedback we obtain even though we might be not always happy about what we hear. The goal is to listen to the feedback and stay open to what we hear.** Ponder on the feedback you get and ask questions to understand better how you can improve. Try to identify your blind spots thanks to feedback your receive. **It takes time, determination, effort and regularity to move from blind spots to open area.** But always close the loop and take actions on the feedback you get. 

Remember that people we should ask feedback for are not only people around us, who works with us or live with us, these people are also ourselves. **We should ask ourselves for self-feedback and focus on our own weaknesses and areas we hide from others.** Sometimes it is really freeing to share them with others. People around you can help you overcome your imperfections, change them or just accept them. 

<div className="image">![johari window harry potter ](../../static/images/harry-potter-johari-window.jpeg "undefined")</div>

###### Source: https://www.barbaravevers.com/2018/11/character-development-using-johari.html

I really encourage you now to complete Johari Window on your own. **What would you put in the open area or the hidden are? What kind of qualities your friends or colleague would put in the blind spot if I ask them about what your cooperation look like? And how about the unknown? Have you ever had a new experience that has taught you about something you have never been aware of?** 

Johari Window is a toll which may help you get to know yourself better, improve your self-awareness in relationships and increase your self-awareness in a professional life. As an inspiration take a look at the Johari Window of Harry Potter by Barbara V. Evers **because each of us has some magic inside we do not know about yet.** ❤️

## Exploring DDD Principles with Jakub Pilimon. Join our Meetup in Gdańsk

*Published: 2023-06-13 | Author: izabela | Tags: update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exploring-ddd-principles-with-jakub-pilimon-join-our-meetup-in-gdansk/index.md*

**Mark your calendars for a Domain-Driven Design session with Jakub Pilimon. We hope to see you in Gdańsk on June 15 at 6 PM.**

## Join the DDD-GDA meet-up and dive into the DDD world

During the meeting, we will dive into the world of [Domain-Driven Design (DDD)](/blog/domain-driven-design-explained-by-a-senior-backend-developer/), exploring its foundations and practical applications. Jakub will guide us through a range of topics, including an introduction to DDD, abstract thinking, fighting cognitive bias and stereotypes, overcoming the fear of having many small classes, explaining cohesion to less experienced developers, and more.

## Meet our speaker – the one and only Jakub Pilimon

[Jakub Pilimon](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-pilimon-449b7984/) is an experienced programmer, architect, and trainer. Currently serving as the Principal Technologist at VMware, he also works as a trainer and consultant at Bottega IT Minds. With a focus on engineering, Jakub is a passionate advocate of Domain-Driven Design and an evolutionary approach to software architecture. Outside of work, he enjoys reading popular science literature, engaging in kitesurfing, and going on motorcycle rides.

<div className="image">![Domain-Driven Design meetup Jakub Pilimon](../../static/images/ddd_blog_post.png "Domain-Driven Design meetup Jakub Pilimon")</div>

## See you at the DDD meetup!

Don't miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge and network with fellow enthusiasts in the Tricity DDD community. Join us for an enlightening afternoon filled with valuable insights and thought-provoking discussions. We look forward to seeing you there!

**Date**: June 15 2023, 6 PM


**Where**: Gdańsk, Sztuka Wyboru


**Join waitlist**: https://www.meetup.com/ddd-gda/events/294013722/

**DDD-GDA meetup is powered by Bright Inventions.**

## How To Start Working at Bright Inventions -  A Quick Guide for Candidates 

*Published: 2023-06-09 | Author: ula | Tags: bright insights, recruitment*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-start-working-at-bright-inventions-a-quick-guide-for-candidates/index.md*

Our recruitment process is not a secret and we are always trying to be as transparent as we can. **The hiring process at Bright Inventions consists of three steps: phone screening, an interview and a programming assignment.** The successful completion depends on the correctness of each stage. Below we are describing each step with more details. We hope these insights will be useful and helpful to you if you are currently considering applying for a role in our organisation.

## **PHONE SCREENING** 

The phone screening is conducted after evaluating skills and data contained in the candidate’s application documents. The purpose of screening is to clarify the details about the job position as well as the hiring process itself. **Our goal is to ensure the candidate understands fully the role he/she is applying for.** 

The screening stage should provide both sides with all the basic information crucial to move on to the next stage. **We ask you about:** 

* your plan for next career steps,  
* issues connected with your professional experience (e.g. projects, clients cooperation, tech stack, motivation for changing current position), 
* your availability (possible cooperation starting date),
* salary expectations and preferred work model.

We also ask a few questions in English as we use this language in daily communication with our clients.

## **ONLINE INTERVIEW** 

The interview lasts 2,5 hour and it usually takes the full length of the allocated time. It is divided into three sections with open, in-depth or problem solving questions:

1. introduction,
2. technical part,
3. culture fit section.  

<div className="image">![interview sections ](../../static/images/interview-sections.png "undefined")</div>

**1️⃣ Introduction is just a short 10-15 minutes section to get you current professional status and check if anything changes since our last phone conversation. W**e will ask you a few question about the present project, methodologies you use and recent tasks. \
\
**2️⃣ Next will be technical part which is not to get the perfect answers (remember that!)**. The goal of technical interview is to explore various approaches and discuss workable solutions. It is ok to make mistakes and have different ideas to share. Your answers to our questions give us some idea of your coding skills, problem-solving attitude or even teamwork abilities. After the technical part you will get some first-impression feedback on the spot. 

**3️⃣ The culture fit section’s purpose is to make sure your values blend well with our current team members.** We ask you about work preferences, values you follow at work or what motivates you.

We encourage you to ask any questions or doubts you may have. 🧡 We are trying to organise an interview in a discussion friendly mode. It is also an opportunity for you to meet some team members you may work alongside in the future.

## **REMOTE CODING ASSIGNMENT** 

A selected group of candidates who deal really well during the interview phase are provided with a remote programming assignment. **The goal is to further verify their technical skills and check their depth as we know that the interview itself is just a short episode of someone’s experience.**

We send the task via email and **you determine the deadline till which you complete it.** If you need some guidance you can always ask just as if we were working together on some task in the project. You usually have freedom to choose techniques, but we recommend using the solutions presented in the job opening for a particular role. 

**There is always a timeframe limit which cannot exceed 8 hours. If you haven’t finished the task by that time, you submit it as-is and let us know what is missing.** You can publish your solution on your private GitHub/BitBucket/GitLab repository and share access with us.

While examining the completed assignment we consider if you complete the task accurately, efficiently and in timely manner. 

## **FEEDBACK TIME** 

This is the moment when we ask for your patience. It is time for us to review once again all the candidates’ profiles and reach a final decision. It takes usually 10 working days because we want to make sure that both you and our current team will feel comfortable together. Sometimes we may inquire about some extra insights. In case of any delays we send up a follow-up note.

**As a final element of the recruitment process we will provide you with feedback regarding the entire process - it includes our impression after the interview and coding assignment.** Apart from the general assessment we will also include some advice what you can work on and which skills you should improve. In the end we may also like to have a quick feedback call with you. 

## **TAKE A LOOK WHAT CANDIDATES SAY ABOUT OUR HIRING PROCESS** 

**We believe that the hiring process is an investment for both sides - ours and candidates’.** We never leave you without some feedback why we can or can’t provide you with a job opportunity. The goal is to provide you with great recruitment experience and a good ROI. 😎

<div className="image">![feedback candidates recruitment ](../../static/images/feedback-hiring-process-all.jpeg "undefined")</div>

**If you want to give us a try and check whether we can offer you some space for development right now, check our [career page](https://brightinventions.pl/career/).** Maybe you will find your dream job there. 

## **BEFORE YOU SEND YOUR APPLICATION**

Before you decide to apply and send your resume, make sure you meet our bright universal criteria described below. **Bright Inventions might be a great place for you to push your career to the next level, but make sure we are the place you are looking for.** 

* You take responsibility for the products you work on. 
* You have a strong business focus and you are not afraid of contact with clients. 
* You actively take care of your self-development and learning process. 
* You value teamwork and regular feedback culture. 
* You are fluent in both Polish and English (min.B2). 

**We recommend sending the application in English. If you don’t have a CV, you can share with us your LinkedIn profile.**

In case you have any questions or doubts, you can drop us a line at [jobs@brightinventions.pl](mailto:jobs@brightinventions.pl) or contact directly[ Ula](https://www.linkedin.com/in/urszula-stankiewicz-rusek/), [Agata](https://www.linkedin.com/in/agatamietlinska/) or[ Sara](https://www.linkedin.com/in/saralecka81680085/) via LinkedIn. 

Hope to see you soon on our bright board!

## Use a Stored Column for Indexing Values Stored in JSON [MySQL Tip]

*Published: 2023-06-07 | Author: maciej-n | Tags: web development, json, mysql*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/use-a-stored-column-for-indexing-values-stored-in-json-mysql-tip/index.md*

**Managing and querying JSON data in MySQL databases has become common in modern web applications. To improve performance when querying JSON values, you can create a stored column that extracts specific values and indexes them.**

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CaCVmAWg7Uc/' />

## Table Definition

Consider a scenario where you have a table named "orders" that stores various details about customer orders, including a JSON column called "data" that holds additional information related to each order. To improve performance when querying by a specific order number, you can create a stored column that extracts the order number from the JSON data and indexes it.

**Let's take a look at the table definition:**

```sql
CREATE TABLE `orders`
(
    `id`           INT UNSIGNED                                            NOT NULL,
    `data`         JSON                                                    NOT NULL,
    `order_number` VARCHAR(20) GENERATED ALWAYS AS (`data` ->> '$.number') NOT NULL,
    PRIMARY KEY (`id`),
    INDEX `orders_order_number_idx` (`order_number`)
);
```

In this example, the table `orders` has columns for `id`, `data`, and `order_number`. The `order_number` column is defined as a stored column using the `GENERATED ALWAYS AS` syntax, with the expression `(data ->> '$.number')` to extract the value of the `number` key from the `JSON data`.

By creating an index on the `order_number` column using `INDEX`, MySQL optimizes the query performance when searching and filtering based on order numbers.

With the table and index set up, you can execute queries like:

```sql
SELECT * FROM `orders` WHERE `order_number` = '123456';
```

## Conclusion

Using a stored column for indexing JSON values can significantly improve query performance, especially with large datasets. Remember to carefully design and maintain indexes based on your application's needs to balance performance and write operations.

In conclusion, leveraging a stored column for indexing JSON values in MySQL can enhance query performance and provide the flexibility of working with JSON data within your database schema.

Hope you have enjoyed this short bright dev tip! [Check our repository](https://github.com/bright/dev-tips/commit/d3b69042b0671b3e2e025f159967d5b5bb195c0e).

## 8 Must-Have Infrastructure Reconnaissance Tools for Your App Security

*Published: 2023-05-19 | Author: rafal h | Tags: development, QA, security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/infrastructure-reconnaissance-tools-for-your-app-security/index.md*

**Infrastructure reconnaissance tools are essential for any organization that wants to ensure the security of its digital assets. These tools allow businesses to scan their infrastructure for vulnerabilities, including outdated software versions, open ports, and misconfigured security headers.**

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Check out the infrastructure reconnaissance tools that we use and recommend to keep software secure.

## [crt.sh](https://crt.sh)

* subdomain reconnaissance tool that provides a list of possible subdomains registered for a particular domain,
* shows domain IPs, making it a valuable tool for conducting reconnaissance.

## [VirusTotal](https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload)

* a search engine that can scan any IP address and check open ports, software versions, server location, and other important details,
* highly recommended to scan your site using VirusTotal to ensure that you do not have any unnecessary open ports or outdated software versions that have CVE.

## [Censys](https://censys.io/)

* provides a detailed analysis of IP addresses,
* lists all domains and provides valuable insights into your network infrastructure.

## [Phonebook.cz](https://phonebook.cz/)

* scans for email addresses associated with a particular domain,
* helps businesses remove unnecessary emails from their website to reduce the risk of phishing attacks against employees.

## [SSL Labs](https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/)

* analyzes SSL certificates and provides valuable insights into the security of your server certificate,
* checks if your server certificate is trusted, what TLS protocols are supported, and any potential security issues.

## [Security Headers](https://securityheaders.com/)

* checks if web apps have the correct security headers configured,
* scans your page to learn more about each header and understand how to configure them correctly.

## [Report URI](https://report-uri.com/)

* analyzes the CSP header, which specifies the security policy that the client should follow when loading scripts, styles, images, etc.,
* generates a policy based on existing data.

## [Mozilla Observatory](https://observatory.mozilla.org/)

* aggregates several websites and provides an option to check headers, do TLS scans and see third-party analysis,
* provides businesses with a comprehensive infrastructure reconnaissance solution.

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## Organizing a Large Number of Scripts in Package.json

*Published: 2023-05-17 | Author: radek-l | Tags: development, JavaScript*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/organizing-a-large-number-of-scripts-in-package-json/index.md*

**When it comes to managing a large number of scripts in your project's package.json file, it can quickly become challenging to navigate. However, there are simple steps you can take to make your scripts more organized and easier to read. In this short tutorial, we'll explore how adding separators can improve the readability of your package.json.**

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CjAVVlkIXbu/' />

Using separators in your scripts object helps create clear sections and group related scripts together. Let’s do it in a few simple steps:

## “Scripts” object with no separators:

```javascript
"scripts": {
    "help": "scripts-help -w 40",
    "tsc": "tsc",
    "tscwatch": "tsc --watch",
    "serve": "serve ./site/"
  },
```

Prints the available commands with `npm run` as:

Scripts available in dev-tips@1.0.0 via `npm run-script`:

```javascript
  help
    scripts-help -w 40
  tsc
    tsc
  tscwatch
    tsc --watch
  serve
    serve ./site/
```

## But when separators are used like so:

```javascript
"scripts": {
    "help": "scripts-help -w 40",
    "\n========== Building ==========": "",
    "tsc": "tsc",
    "tscwatch": "tsc --watch",
    "\n========== Serving ==========": "",
    "serve": "serve ./site/"
  },
```

## The available commands are printed in a much more readable form:

Scripts available in dev-tips@1.0.0 via `npm run-script`:

```javascript
  help
    scripts-help -w 40
  
========== Building ==========
    
  tsc
    tsc
  tscwatch
    tsc --watch
  
========== Serving ==========
    
  serve
    serve ./site/

```

Check out [Github repository](https://github.com/bright/dev-tips/blob/main/javascript/grouped-commands-in-package.json).

More bright dev tips are coming soon!

## Secret Leak Detection Tools to Consider for Your App Security

*Published: 2023-05-12 | Author: rafal h | Tags: development, QA, security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/secret-leak-detection-tools-to-consider-for-your-app-security/index.md*

**Secret leaks can pose a significant security threat to organizations. To mitigate this risk, there are several secret leak detection tools available that organizations can consider using. In this article, we will discuss three such tools – Gitleaks, TruffleHog and GitHub Secret Scanning – and how they can help detect secret leaks.**

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## [Gitleaks](https://gitleaks.io/)

* more sophisticated than GitLab Secret Leaks Scanner,
* gives the user more options to customize output/view the leak,
* possibility to verify with an e.g. AWS provider that those are indeed correct secrets leaked from their site,
* can scan .git and .env leaked files.

## [TruffleHog](https://trufflesecurity.com/trufflehog/)

* a tool that can detect secrets leaked in various ways,
* has a TruffleHog Chrome Extension that shows secret leaks on websites,
* can scan .git and .env leaked files,
* Ability to verify AWS secrets.

## [GitHub Secret Scanning](https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/secret-scanning/about-secret-scanning)

* alerts run automatically to notify users about secret leaks,
* recently available for all repositories,
* ensure the feature is enabled if using GitHub.

In conclusion, secret leak detection tools are essential for your product or organization to ensure its data security. By using these tools, you can detect and prevent secret leaks and protect sensitive information. You can choose any of the tools mentioned above depending on their specific requirements and security needs.

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## Cognitive Bias & How It Affects Our (Not Only Hiring) Decisions 

*Published: 2023-05-04 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, recruitment, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cognitive-bias-how-it-affects-our-hiring-decisions/index.md*

Cognitive bias very often creeps into our daily communication and hiring process subconsciously and unexpectedly. It may occur when we “trust our gut” or just “follow our intuition” ignoring significant insights and not using critical thinking. What might be scary is that unconscious bias is really hard to identify and it does much harm to our daily life. **If it comes to the recruitment area, the consequence might be hiring someone who is not as engaged as we expected, choosing a candidate with not appropriate skillset for the role or not giving a chance to a real talent.** 

In all areas of our work cognitive bias leads to many misunderstandings, conflicts or professional failures. It makes us overlook some crucial information in favour of the beliefs we hold. As it was said this is an unconscious process and in most cases we are not aware we exhibit a particular kind of thinking tendency. However, noticing certain examples of bias can help you identify factors that may have an impact on your decisions. **Understanding what type of bias you are dealing with can be important to both your professional and personal development. Below you can find the most common 13 types of cognitive bias occurring not only in hiring process, but also in daily communication.** 

## 1. **Confirmation bias**

The tendency to search for and focus on the information that will confirm our prior belief, opinion or expectation. **Due to the conformation bias we tend to listen only to the information that confirm our viewpoint which makes us think everyone who disagrees with us must be wrong, misinformed or irrational.** The more we are affected by confirmation bias, the less likely we want to listen to people with opposing views.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/bias-biased-confirmation-eEjf3t9MeTXZM0d91u' />

## 2. **Fundamental attribution bias** 

The tendency to explain a person's behaviour by referring to their personality rather than any situational factors like social and environmental forces. **We often assume that someone’s actions depend on what "kind" of person they are. What is interesting, if it comes to our own action we often view them as affected by the environment.** For example if you fail to meet a deadline in a project, you may assume that it was because of the client’s changing requirements, not enough support from the team etc. But if it was your colleague who did not finish the task on time, the assumptions might be completely different i.e due to their incompetence, poor time management or laziness. 

## **3. Halo & Horn Effect**

A type of bias that is formed when we take one trait of a person and make it either “the halo” or “the horn” and then it becomes the root of our all further judgments. **If we notice one good thing about an individual, we often assume them to be “good” also regarding other things. And when we notice one bad thing about a person, we assume her/him to be bad when it comes to other things.** The example might the first impression of a candidate who takes part in an interview. If we are not aware of the halo/horn effect, the first impression may overshadow the candidate’s positive or negative attributes. For instance a recruiter may see a photo on the resume presenting a sad grimace which may cause inaccurate negative assumptions about the candidate’s negative attitude to life.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpjeMaOirvg&t=1s' />

The intriguing aspect is that there exists also bias like **a reverse halo effect** which happens when a positive perception of a person causes some negative consequences. The example might be when we see an attractive well-built man and based on his appearance we assume that the only thing ha cares about in his life is going to the gym, building muscles and his good-looking. We may also assume that he is of poor intellect. 

## 4. **Salience bias**

It is human’s tendency to focus on the most easily recognisable features and casting aside those that lack prominence. If an element or some informations seems to stand out, it is salient. **Salient means most noticeable, prominent or important.** The salient elements make it easy for people to process the information (cognitive ease).In a recruitment process elements like education, some personal traits or just hobbies may make our experience salient. In consequence, recruiters are likely to omit some really crucial informations of the candidates and end up making decisions that may not be the best. 

## 5. **Anchoring bias**

An inclination to rely too heavily on the first piece of information we are given about some topic. **The anchor is a very strong starting point that may affect your final decision. In hiring process the anchoring bias may occur for instance during resumes screening.** The recruiter while reviewing candidate’s CVs may notice a postgraduate diploma from a recognisable university and even if it is not a job requirement it may become an anchoring point for reviewing the rest of candidates. **In everyday life we experience anchoring bias very often while shopping and making buying decisions.** 

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KIJdtA0BnA&t=1s' />

## 6. **Affinity bias**

As human being we gravitate toward people like us — toward people who have something in common with us, who share the same worldview and can empathise with our experience. This tendency is known as an affinity bias. **It is our propensity to connect with people who share similar interests, backgrounds or beliefs.** If you meet someone in real life and this person likes mountain hiking as much as you do, it is likely you have a positive feeling about him/her. Nevertheless, the affinity bias is against difference and in consequence it may really narrow our possibilities and options. **In the hiring process it may manifest itself by treating particular candidates more favourably because they are like us or we just see the part of us in them.** 

## 7. **Perception bias**

An inclination to make a decision based on stereotypes and assumptions about a certain group. Stereotyping is probably the most common one. Recruiters are very often exposed on a perception bias and they even do not realise when it affects their hiring decisions. Someone’s ethnic background, gender, education, social status, disability etc. may lead the recruiter to attribute certain characteristics to a candidate or make some assumptions about them. **Due to that some candidates (and people in general) may be perceived as more or less capable and suitable for some positions. They either might be favoured too much or disadvantaged because of our unfair assumptions.** 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/abcnetwork-schooled-stereotypes-worked-hard-cOhSDGrbIb2gfj3pXA' />

## 8. **Conservative & recency bias**

**Concervative bias is the tendency to favour prior evidence or information over the newest one.** To avoid conservative bias in a hiring process you should consider the candidates in batches for comparison purposes. In contrast **the recency bias occurs when we pay more attention to the newest (recent) information and events rather than the prior experience.** Why does it happen? Firstly, it is much easier to recall recent information and it is seen by our brain as more significant. As a result our decisions suffer from short-sightedness and blind spots.

## 9. **Ostrich effect bias**

A tendency to ignore dangerous, negative or potentially unpleasant information i.e. burying one’s head in the sand. **The ostrich effect may takes form of purposeful interpreting information in a negative way, inattention, forgetting or physical avoidance of something that may include unpleasant news.** It happens not only before making up one’s mind but also after making a decision. It is a possible indication that we only want to consider the positive aspects of something or someone. Ostrich bias is visible in many behaviours. Probably the most common one is connected with health conditions when a person in fear for receiving some bad information considering their health avoids visiting a doctor or doing regular check-ups.    

Very often the ostrich effect bias occurs also in a conflict situations in the team when people are afraid of facing the conversations. **One of examples in a recruitment area is when recruiters know about some social problems of a candidate in a previous workplace but ignore them because of his/her perfect skillset.**

## 10. **Overconfidence bias**

The majority of [people assume that they are better than average drivers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0X3xxV8upI), more accurate witnesses or that they are just more ethical than average people. How is it connected with a hiring process or any organisational process whatsoever? **The overconfidence bias can lead recruiters and managers to make decisions without ethical reflection.** In their minds their decisions may be completely right. The recruiter can be so confident about their hiring decision that he/she even may not focus on a full assessment of a candidate’s talent or skills and ignore their own deficiencies in knowledge. The overconfidence might be a result of confirmation bias. 

## 11. **Contrast bias**

In psychology contras bias is described as **an intensified difference between two stimuli when they are brought together or follows each other.** As a result of contrast bias our judgments may differ significantly depending on the comparison standard. In a job interview the contrast bias takes places when recruiters are [evaluating the candidates in comparison to one another](https://vervoe.com/contrast-effect-in-hiring/). In this way the candidate is not individually assessed based on their qualifications but rather based on the prior candidates. 

## 12. **Framing bias**

A cognitive bias in which we make a decision about information based on how it is presented rather than the information itself. **We can make a different decision about the same thing depending on whether it is put in either a positive frame or a negative frame.** 

The same regards people we meet in our life, and candidates in the hiring process. Equally skilled candidates can be more or less attractive to a recruiter depending on what features are highlighted e.g. in the candidate’s experience history it is seen that he/she was changing their job every few months. And now - if the candidate uses some positive words and context to describe the reason for this change, the recruiter will be more likely to react positively compared to the candidates who would start complaining about their previous managers, co-workers and workplace (even though it might be true). **To understand better how it works I advise you to read some details about [the psychological theory of choice](https://www.simplypsychology.org/prospect-theory.html) developed by by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1979.**

## 13. **Availability bias** (known also as availability heuristics)

A tendency to make a decision or make future predictions based on the recent and the most available context or experience. In this way **the pieces of information that come to our mind quickly are considered incorrectly as the most significant.** The more frequent events are more easily recalled by us than less frequent events which may lead to inaccurate judgements - very often to either the overestimation or underestimation of someone/something. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/cbs-young-sheldon-youngsheldon-i-dont-remember-Ie7eBXgYrYL4Vm9uzm' />

It may be also an hiring issue while choosing the best talents for recruiters who experience a high cognitive load. **We may be interviewing a candidate from the company X and readily recall the fact that the last person from the same company was missing many values that our organisation shares. As a result, we may also get concerned that the current candidate will be the same**. There might be also the opposite case when recruiters may be favouring of some candidates who are reviewed in the last round of interviews as their responses are easier to remember.  

## **Is there any remedy?**

The above mentioned cognitive biases are just some of the examples of mental shortcuts used by all of us (including me) in judgment-making scenarios. How can we avoid them? 

**The very first step is to recognise them. The goal should be identifying our own patterns of thinking and at the same time our role in causing them.** There are also some approaches you can use to minimalise the bias impact on your decisions.

* Ask for hints or opinions of others in your team, especially the ones who frequently have a different perspective than yours. 
* Try to look for ideas that will disapprove your own point of view. Think about all the ways you might be wrong about instead of focusing on the things you are sure about. 
* Look at the alternative point of view and try to understand the belief of the other side. It might be a good beginning to recognise your own confirmation bias. 
* Use different types of data and collect more information. Focus on facts. Recognise whether your thoughts about someone are based on information or assumptions..
* Sometimes it might be also good to delay your decision, step back and try to evaluate the situation one more time. 
* Give enough consideration to all of the available information and all of the possible options. Make sure your decision is not influenced by the anchoring point. 
* Consider all relevant data when making judgments under uncertainty, not just that which comes readily to mind.

## **And now the special package for recruiters 💙**

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/Sendcloud-catch-recruitment-sendcloud-y6wjIPKGVZMnfbdMeE' />

* Make sure you focus on the real job requirements not on candidate’s personal attributes. Give a great importance to candidate’s experience and skillset. 
* Involve in your recruitment process a task/work sample that will show how the candidate may think or perform in a real life professional situation. Test candidates’ skills to avoid perception bias. 
* Create a structured interview by asking all the candidate the same questions in the same order. 
* Introduce scoring criteria.
* Take into account all the information available about a candidate rather than focus on what has recently happened. 
* To check if you do not miss any important points consult other professionals who take a broad approach to create some conclusions.
* Think what kind of information you are trying to avoid or is hard to be accepted by you. Make sure if you do not ignore some pieces of information. Try to include negative information in your critical thinking process. 
* Fix comparison standards based upon accessibility and applicability of information. 
* To avoid framing bias compare your perspective on a candidate with other recruiters. A different perspective allows for the possibility to arrive at the conclusion without being swayed by how the information was originally presented. 

**And how about you? Do you have any strategies for dealing with bias in your professional or private life? And if you are a recruiter, how do you avoid cognitive bias in the hiring processes in your organisation? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!**

## How to Reuse Tests in Kotlin with Interface Default Methods

*Published: 2023-05-04 | Author: maciej-n | Tags: Kotlin, QA*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-reuse-tests-in-kotlin-with-interface-default-methods/index.md*

**Writing test code can be tedious and time-consuming, especially when we need to test multiple implementations of the same interface. Fortunately, Kotlin provides a powerful feature called "interface default methods" that can help us to reuse our test code for multiple implementations.**

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CanUPIjAH3z/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=' />

## Let’s imagine, that we have an implementation we want to test

```kotlin
interface StringCalculator {

    fun lengthOf(string: String): Int

    fun upperCaseOf(string: String): String
}

class SlowStringCalculator : StringCalculator {

    override fun lengthOf(string: String): Int {
        sleep(100)
        return string.length
    }

    override fun upperCaseOf(string: String): String {
        sleep(100)
        return string.toUpperCase()
    }
}
```

## We added test interfaces with default methods to test our implementation

```kotlin
interface FirstExamplesUsingString : HasTestCalculator {

    @Test
    fun `string length is correct`() {
        assertEquals(stringCalculator.lengthOf("ab"), 2)
    }
}

interface SecondExamplesUsingString : HasTestCalculator {

    @Test
    fun `string uppercase is correct`() {
        assertEquals(stringCalculator.upperCaseOf("abc"), "ABC")
    }
}
```

## Now we can compose a class from our interfaces and their default methods

```kotlin
class SlowStringCalculatorTests : SecondExamplesUsingString, FirstExamplesUsingString {
    override val stringCalculator = SlowStringCalculator()
}
```

✅  string uppercase is correct()


✅  string length is correct()

## But after some time we added a new(faster) implementation of our StringCalculator

```kotlin
class FastStringCalculator : StringCalculator {

    override fun lengthOf(string: String): Int {
        return string.length
    }

    override fun upperCaseOf(string: String): String {
        return string.toUpperCase()
    }
}
```

## And now we can reuse our test to apply them to our new implementation (and add more)

```kotlin
class FastStringCalculatorTests : SecondExamplesUsingString, FirstExamplesUsingString {
    override val stringCalculator = FastStringCalculator()

    @Test
    fun `another test for fast calculator`() {
        val startTime = currentTimeMillis()
        stringCalculator.upperCaseOf("abc")
        val endTime = currentTimeMillis()
        assertTrue(endTime - startTime < 100)
    }
}
```

✅  another test for fast calculator()


✅  string uppercase is correct()


✅  string length is correct()

**Check out the [repository](https://github.com/bright/dev-tips/blob/main/kotlin/ReuseTestsWithInterfaceDefaultMethods.kt). Have you enjoyed this bright dev tip? More to come!**

## Examples of Dependency Tracking Tools for App Security

*Published: 2023-04-28 | Author: rafal h | Tags: development, QA, security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/examples-of-dependency-tracking-tools-for-app-security/index.md*

**As software developers, one of our top priorities is to ensure that our projects are secure and free of vulnerabilities. One way to achieve this is to use dependency tracking tools that help us identify outdated or vulnerable dependencies in our code. In this article, we'll introduce you to some of the most popular dependency-tracking tools you can use in your projects.**

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## Dependency tracking tools to consider

These are 3 tools that you should at least try if you are serious about the software security of your product.

### [Dependabot](https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/dependabot)

* A popular tool built into GitHub.
* Alerts you when your repository uses a vulnerable dependency or malware.
* Available for all repository types.
* Can run pull requests based on test results.
* Notifies you when packages are outdated.
* Allows you to decide whether to merge the pull requests or not.
* Must-have for GitHub repositories.
* Possible to use with other providers but requires more work to integrate.

### [OWASP Dependency-Check](https://owasp.org/www-project-dependency-check/)

* Open-source and free software.
* More platform agnostic than Dependabot.
* Easily incorporated into your CI/CD pipeline.
* Generates an HTML report about dependencies.
* Checks and downloads the entire NVD vulnerabilities database.
* Requires correct configuration to avoid time-consuming work.
* It can be run on a local development machine.

### [Retire.js](https://retirejs.github.io/retire.js/)

* Dependency check tool for client-side JavaScript code.
* Provides a Chrome extension to analyze the code of visited websites.
* Checks for outdated dependencies on example sites.
* Provides you with a list of outdated dependencies.
* Useful for ensuring that client-side code is free of vulnerabilities.

## It’s up to you to choose the dependency tool

Dependency-tracking tools are essential for any software project. Whether you're using GitHub, client-side JavaScript, or a package manager, there's a tool that can help you keep your dependencies up-to-date and secure. Just choose something for your product! 🙂

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## How to Improve Your App Observability (Easily) with Grafana and OpenTelemetry

*Published: 2023-04-26 | Author: maciej-n | Tags: grafana, opentelemetry, observability, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-improve-your-app-observability-easily-with-grafana-and-opentelemetry/index.md*

**Have you heard about the [Pareto Principle ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle)(aka the 80/20 rule)? Briefly, it states that 80% of all outcomes are derived from 20% of causes. In other words, a small amount of work can cause a great effect. I want to show you how to greatly improve observability with just a small amount of effort using Grafana and OpenTelemetry.**

## What is observability and why is it important?

Application observability is the practice of monitoring and understanding the behavior and performance of applications in production environments. 

Why is observability important?

* It helps developers gain better visibility into their application's behavior.
* It enables us to identify issues before they impact users.
* It assists in quickly diagnosing and resolving problems when they occur.
* It improves application reliability.
* It enables faster problem resolution.
* It allows us to provide a better customer experience.

## How can we achieve better observability \[tutorial]?

You may think that introducing additional tools to your application would be challenging. Due to the fact that your application is too big, or because it already works in production and you don’t want to introduce too many changes. Another reason to hesitate might be that it would simply be too difficult. But that is not the case!

## What app observability tools are we going to use?

In this tutorial, I will show you how to set up basic monitoring for your application using the [OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io/) and [Grafana's LGTM](https://grafana.com/go/observabilitycon/2022/lgtm-scale-observability-with-mimir-loki-and-tempo/) set of tools. "OpenTelemetry is a collection of tools, APIs, and SDKs that you can use to instrument, generate, collect, and export telemetry data (metrics, logs, and traces) to help you analyze your software’s performance and behavior."

OpenTelemetry provides a standard and vendor-neutral way to instrument, collect, and export telemetry data (metrics, logs, and traces) from applications and infrastructure. It allows developers to easily add observability to their applications without being locked into any specific vendor or technology stack. It is available for most popular languages and frameworks, so it will most likely be available for you too.

## Initial Application

Let's take an [example application:](https://gitlab.com/maciej.nawrocki.bright/observability-example/-/tree/initial-app)

```typescript
import express from "express";

const app = express();

app.get('/hello', (req, res) => {
   res.send('Hello World!');
   console.log("Hello World log!")
});

app.listen(8080, () => {
   console.log('Example app listening on port 8080! Access it: http://localhost:8080/hello');
});
```

…which logs “Hello World log!” after accessing its endpoint.

## Add Logging

First, we need to use a logger that supports multiple transports to apply additional logging configuration. I’m going to use winston, but feel free to use any other logger library.

```shell
npm install --save winston
```

We need to add logger configuration:

```typescript
import * as winston from "winston";

export const logger = winston.createLogger({
   transports: [
       new winston.transports.Console()
   ],
})
```

include it in `app.ts` (in your production application you will probably use dependency injection to use logger in modules) and replace `console.log()` with `logger.info()`:

```typescript
import express from "express";
import {logger} from "./logger";

const app = express();

app.get('/hello', (req, res) => {
   res.send('Hello World!');
   logger.info("Hello World log!")
});

app.listen(8080, () => {
   logger.info('Example app listening on port 8080! Access it: http://localhost:8080/hello');
});
```

And now after accessing our endpoint we receive log in json format:

```json
{"level":"info","message":"Hello World log!"}
```

That’s better! It’s usually [better to use json format for logging](https://www.loggly.com/use-cases/json-logging-best-practices/) since it’s easier for someone unfamiliar with web server logs to understand what the message contains, as each field is labeled.

## Add Tracing

I believe it’s safe to assume that if your application is already released to production, you’re not using console.log() for logging and you already had this first step implemented. Now we can take care of tracing. Following [OpenTelemetry manual](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/instrumentation/js/getting-started/nodejs/) let’s add required OpenTelemetry dependencies:

```shell
npm install --save @opentelemetry/sdk-node \
 @opentelemetry/auto-instrumentations-node
```

Now, we can add example tracing configuration from OpenTelemetry docs. Let’s create tracing.js in main directory:

```typescript
import {NodeSDK} from '@opentelemetry/sdk-node';
import {ConsoleSpanExporter} from '@opentelemetry/sdk-trace-node';
import {getNodeAutoInstrumentations} from '@opentelemetry/auto-instrumentations-node';

const sdk = new NodeSDK({
   traceExporter: new ConsoleSpanExporter(),
   instrumentations: \[getNodeAutoInstrumentations()]
});

sdk.start()
   .then(() => {
       console.log('Tracing initialized');
   })
   .catch((error) => console.log('Error initializing tracing', error));
```

We can add new script to our package.json, to run our application with tracing:

```json
"scripts": {
 "start": "tsc && node dist/app.js",
 "start_with_tracing": "tsc && node --require ./dist/tracing.js dist/app.js"
},
```

Just like that, we enriched our logs with tracing:

```json
{"level":"info","message":"Hello World log!","span_id":"449dfd613318f0dc","trace_flags":"01","trace_id":"f929031d4ad745017a83ed92819ac563"}
```

and traces started to appear in our console! 

## Add Grafana-Agent

Traces logged in the console are not really readable. Let’s send our telemetry data to a monitoring system which provides telemetry data visualisation. There are plenty of monitoring systems available, like [DataDog](https://www.datadoghq.com/), [New Relic](https://newrelic.com/), [Sentry](https://sentry.io/), etc. 

I will use Grafana Cloud. We need to start with creating a free Grafana Cloud account: https://grafana.com/. After your account is created, on the left sidebar select Connections and Hosted Logs:

<div className="image">![Hosted Logs](../../static/images/hosted_logs.png "Hosted Logs")</div>

Go to the Configuration Details tab, provide Choose your use case to be “Send logs from a standalone host”, provide “API Key name” and select “Create API Key''.

Instead of running promtail, we will use grafana-agent, which supports other types of telemetry (metrics, traces) and instead of starting it from a command, we will use `docker-compose`. You can also consider using [Otel Collector](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/collector/), which is not tangled with Grafana. We also don’t want to commit our credentials to the source code repository, so we will store them in the `.env` file.

To run grafana agent using docker compose, create `docker-compose.yml` file:

```yaml
version: "2.1"

services:
 grafana_agent:
   container_name: grafana_agent
   image: grafana/agent:v0.30.1
   ports:
     - "3500:3500"
   volumes:
     - "${PWD}/grafana-agent/agent.yaml:/etc/agent/agent.yaml"
   command: [
     "-config.file=/etc/agent/agent.yaml",
     "-config.expand-env",
   ]
   env_file:
     .env
```

Create grafana configuration file in `{your-project}/grafana-agent/agent.yml`:

```yaml
server:
 log_level: info

logs:
 configs:
   - name: default
     positions:
       filename: /tmp/positions.yaml
     clients:
       - url: ${LOKI_URL}
         basic_auth:
           username: ${LOKI_USERNAME}
           password: ${LOKI_PASSWORD}
     scrape_configs:
       - job_name: http_logs
         loki_push_api:
           server:
             http_listen_port: ${LOGS_HTTP_PORT}
```

And `.env` file from template:

```properties
LOKI_USERNAME={your-username}
LOKI_PASSWORD={your-password}
LOKI_URL={your-loki-url}

LOGS_HTTP_HOST=localhost
LOGS_HTTP_PORT=3500
```

Now we can run `docker compose up` to start grafana-agent.

## Configure Loki Transport

Let’s update our app configuration, to provide telemetry data to grafana-agent, instead of standard output (console).
First, install winston loki transport(https://www.npmjs.com/package/winston-loki):

```shell
npm install --save winston-loki
```

and add loki transport to winston configuration in logger.ts:

```typescript
import * as winston from "winston";
import LokiTransport from "winston-loki";

let winstonTransports = []

winstonTransports.push(new winston.transports.Console())

let httpTransport = new LokiTransport({
   host: `http://${process.env.LOGS_HTTP_HOST}:${process.env.LOGS_HTTP_PORT}`,
   json: true
})
winstonTransports.push(httpTransport)

export const logger = winston.createLogger({
   transports: winstonTransports
})
```

as you can see, we started to use environment variables from defined in `.env` file, so we need to import them using [Dotenv library](https://www.npmjs.com/package/dotenv):

```shell
npm install -- save dotenv
```

And import dotenv configuration in `app.ts`:

```typescript
import 'dotenv/config'
…
```

Now, when we restart our app, logs should be transported to `grafana-agent`(which we run locally) and sent to the Grafana Cloud instance. Let's see them:

<div className="image">![Grafana Cloud instance](../../static/images/grafana_cloud.png "Grafana Cloud instance")</div>

Looks great!

## Configure Trace Exporter

Now we can apply a similar configuration for tracing. First, install [opentelemetry trace exporter](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@opentelemetry/exporter-trace-otlp-grpc):

```typescript
import {NodeSDK} from '@opentelemetry/sdk-node';
import {getNodeAutoInstrumentations} from '@opentelemetry/auto-instrumentations-node';
import {OTLPTraceExporter} from "@opentelemetry/exporter-trace-otlp-grpc";

let traceExporter = new OTLPTraceExporter()

const sdk = new NodeSDK({
   traceExporter: traceExporter,
   instrumentations: [getNodeAutoInstrumentations()],
   serviceName: "my-example-service",
});

sdk.start()
   .then(() => {
       console.log('Tracing initialized');
   })
   .catch((error) => console.log('Error initializing tracing', error));
```

By [default](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/concepts/sdk-configuration/otlp-exporter-configuration/), OTLPTraceExporter sends grpc traces to `http://localhost:4317`, so let’s configure our grafana-agent, to listen on that port, by adding traces configuration to agent.yaml file:

```yaml
traces:
 configs:
   - name: default
     receivers:
       otlp:
         protocols:
           grpc:
     remote_write:
       - endpoint: ${TEMPO_ENDPOINT}
         basic_auth:
           username: ${TEMPO_USERNAME}
           password: ${TEMPO_PASSWORD}
```

and missing envs in .env:

```properties
TEMPO_ENDPOINT={your-endpoint}
TEMPO_USERNAME={your-username}
TEMPO_PASSWORD={your-password}
```

We also need to export this default port in docker-compose.yml:

```yaml
ports:
 - "3500:3500"
 - "4317:4317"
```

Now when we restart grafana-agent and example application, our application started to send traces: 

<div className="image">![Grafana-Agent](../../static/images/grafana_traces.png "Grafana-Agent")</div>

## Summary

That's it! Now you know how to configure remote logging and tracing for your TypeScript application. Let us know if you like this tutorial and you want to know more, like how to start working with metrics.

You can find all steps in [example repository](https://gitlab.com/maciej.nawrocki.bright/observability-example/-/merge_requests).

Good luck!

## Examples of DAST Tools for App Security

*Published: 2023-04-25 | Author: rafal h | Tags: development, QA, security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/examples-of-dast-tools-for-app-security/index.md*

**DAST tools are essential for testing the security of applications from the outside, simulating an attacker's perspective and identifying vulnerabilities that could be exploited. Check DAST tools that we use and recommend!**

## What are DAST Tools?

**DAST stands for Dynamic Application Security Testing**. DAST tools often provide the ability to proxy requests, record them, tamper with them, replay them, inject parameters, build a site map by crawling, and more.

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## DAST tools to consider for software security

Here are two DAST tools that are worth consideration.

**[OWASP Zap](https://owasp.org/www-project-zap/)**

* OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is a popular DAST tool available as freeware.
* With ZAP, you can run the proxy with a browser of your choice, and a site map is created as you navigate the page.
* ZAP's automatic scanner for requests is ongoing, alerting you to security issues as they arise, such as missing security headers or exposed data.
* You can navigate the page manually or use ZAP Spider to build a site map, and ZAP keeps a history of requests, allowing you to retry them with changed payloads.

**[Burp Suite](https://portswigger.net/burp)**

* Burp Suite is another DAST tool worth considering, with more extensions and better community support than ZAP.
* The Community Edition of Burp Suite offers some features for free, such as Repeater.
* To get started with Burp Suite, open a web browser from the Burp Community Edition app, and requests should be visible in the HTTP history.
* Like ZAP, Burp Suite allows you to build a site map by navigating the page manually or using the Burp Spider tool and keeps a history of requests.
* In the Community Edition of Burp Suite, you also have the option to inject various payloads (Intruder), check token randomness (Sequencer), decode the data (Decoder), or compare it (Comparer).

DAST tools play a crucial role in application security testing. Play a little bit with OWASP ZAP and Burp Suite and choose one that suits your needs best.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Discover more software security tools in a free ebook' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Expand your security toolkit by downloading our free ebook today.'    ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='ebook security cover' />

## Everything You Need to Know about Food Technology Industry [FoodTech]

*Published: 2023-04-24 | Author: izabela | Tags: business strategy, food industry*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-food-technology-industry-foodtech/index.md*

**Food and tech – these two are nowadays closer than you might think. Check out what FoodTech means. Get to know critical areas of food innovations and examples of real FoodTech solutions.**

<div className="image">![FoodTech](../../static/images/food_tech_industry.png "undefined")</div>

## What is the FoodTech industry?

Food tech refers to **using technology to improve various aspects of the food industry**, including food production, processing, distribution, and consumption. It encompasses a wide range of applications, from precision agriculture to food safety, and **aims to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and safety of the food system**.

## The global FoodTech market size

According to [Growth Market Reports](https://growthmarketreports.com/report/foodtech-market-global-industry-analysis#:~:text=Report%20Description,forecast%20period%2C%202022%E2%80%932030.), the global food tech market size was valued at USD 233.6 Billion in 2021. In [2019](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1238860/food-tech-market-size-worldwide/) the value was USD 220 Billion. It’s expected to surpass USD 385.7 Billion by 2030. 

### The main reasons for this significant growth of the FoodTech market:

* The rapid growth of online food delivery services.
* The rise of e-commerce food services.
* Greater awareness regarding food quality sources and their health benefits. Consumers pay more and more attention to the product they buy which gives a chance to food tech to deliver healthier product alternatives.
* The increasing popularity of veganism and plant-based products. A global survey conducted in 2021 by [Rakuten](https://insight.rakuten.com/infographic-plant-based-food-alternatives-future-or-present/) found consumers are more and more open to trying vegan alternatives. Especially to milk. Over 80% of consumers tried plant-based milk in 2021.

<div className="image">![Rakuten Insight](../../static/images/rakuteninsight.png "Rakuten Insight")</div>

Source: [Rakuten Insight](https://insight.rakuten.com/infographic-plant-based-food-alternatives-future-or-present/)

## How is a technology used in the food industry?

Let us show you key areas of food tech innovation with some examples:

### Smart Packaging

Developing packaging that can monitor the freshness and safety of food products, and reduce food waste. Also, developing reusable packaging to limit plastic waste for delivery and takeouts.

An actual example of smart packaging solution:

<div className="image">![Relevo as a FoodTech example](../../static/images/relevo_fb_preview.png "Relevo as a FoodTech example")</div>

Check [Relevo](/projects/eco-friendly-app/), a smart, deposit-free reusable system that we have helped to develop. This smart FoodTech solution enables restaurant clients to loan reusable packages with food to go. A package is returned by a customer during the next visit to a restaurant.

**Read more about building [MVP for the smart packaging](/blog/how-to-build-mvp-for-smart-packaging-solution/) industry.**

### Food Delivery

Using delivery platforms and logistics technology to improve the efficiency of food delivery and reduce carbon emissions.

Check the food tech case study: an app built by our team for JustEat. 

<div className="image">![Just Eat POS as a FoodTech example](../../static/images/restaurant_system_preview.png "Just Eat POS as a FoodTech example")</div>

[Just Eat POS](/projects/system-for-restaurants/) system took care of the whole process of managing restaurant orders: from ordering the meal, providing kitchen staff with details to delivering the order to the client’s table or home.

### Precision Agriculture

Using data analytics, machine learning, and sensors to optimize crop yields, reduce waste, and improve sustainability.

### Food Safety

Using blockchain technology and other tools to track the origin of food products and ensure their safety throughout the supply chain.

### Alternative Proteins

Developing plant-based and cell-based proteins as an alternative to traditional animal-based protein sources.

### Food Processing

Using advanced processing technologies to improve the nutritional content, taste, and texture of food products.

## What is a FoodTech company?

**FoodTech companies specialize in delivering innovations in the food area**. These companies can range from startups to established organizations. They often use cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, machine learning, robotics, and blockchain to improve efficiency, sustainability, and food quality. 

The most popular representations of food tech might be global food delivery providers like JustEat, Uber Eats, etc. These are examples of food-related apps that are the most likely to be found on our smartphones.

## How to start your own FoodTech solution?

You might think that having an idea for FoodTech is all you need. In fact, that’s just the beginning. There’s no doubt that you should try to **find an idea for a business that would solve the true need of your consumers**. 

Then it’s time to **validate your idea** to ensure that it has a chance to stand on the market. An effective way to validate your idea is by organizing dedicated **[product workshops](/our-areas/product-workshops/)** with software developers and designers who have launched some similar products in FoodTech. They have market insights and data regarding users.

If you validate your idea positively, **you can start to work on [MVP](/our-areas/mvp-development/)**. You don’t need a big budget to work on that. The idea behind MVP is to launch the product with key features to quickly attract the first users and then develop the product based on their needs. Having MVP can also help to attract investors.

## Examples of SAST Tools for App Security

*Published: 2023-04-19 | Author: rafal h | Tags: development, QA, security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/examples-of-sast-tools-for-app-security/index.md*

**Looking for the best SAST tools for your software product? We’ve listed 3 SAST tools worth consideration. Check them out!**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Read more about software security tools in a free ebook' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Looking for a comprehensive knowledge base about app security? Download the free ebook and get to know top tools, standards and security practices.'  ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='security free ebook' />

## What are SAST Tools?

These are the tools used for **Static Application Security Testing (SAST)**. SAST tools scan your app’s code and notify you about any vulnerabilities such as SQL injections, outdated algorithms, or strings with possible passwords.

## SAST tools to consider

Here are 3 examples of SAST tools that are worth consideration. They offer free trials so you can check them easily and verify their potential on your own.

[Snyk](https://snyk.io/)

* Paid SAST tool, but also has a free version for ~100 scans a month.
* Snyk is a powerful tool that can be used as a plugin for your favorite IDE for local development.
* Scans code security, gives the severity of issues and suggests fixes.
* Also scans dependencies and gives an advisor score for the package.
* The easy onboarding process, with the ability to scan your CI/CD and add new team members to your project.

[Semgrep](https://semgrep.dev)

* Another paid SAST tool that is available as SaaS for free for teams of up to 20 persons.
* Onboarding is easy and has the option to use the scanner with CI/CD pipeline and use the Web dashboard.
* Semgrep can also be used as an Open Source tool without limits and has a built-in GitLab Security Scanner.

[SonarQube](https://www.sonarsource.com/products/sonarqube/)

* It is available as a free and paid version, with Sonarlint being the free IDE extension for analyzing projects.
* The rules set is quite limited without a local SonarQube server or SonarQube cloud.
* To enjoy free linting with extended rules set, download the SonarQube Community Edition and run a server locally.
* Configuring the server can be more cumbersome than Snyk, but there is no limit to the number of scans.
* Can be configured for your team and used for managing issues together.

For security purposes, it is suggested to use Snyk for local development, Semgrep for CI/CD if your team is small, and SonarQube for CI/CD scans as a self-hosted Community Edition if your team is bigger.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Read more about software security tools in a free ebook' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Looking for a comprehensive knowledge base about app security? Download the free ebook and get to know top tools, standards and security practices.'    ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='security free ebook' />

## Falling in Love with Programming Again. Meet Tomek – iOS Developer

*Published: 2023-04-17 | Author: tomasz-l | Tags: bright story, career, growth*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/falling-in-love-with-programming-again-tomek-ios-developer/index.md*

**Tomek is a Senior iOS Developer with over 5 years of experience. His initial career, as a nuclear power engineer, guided him toward programming. Learn more about his approach to [mobile development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development/), and the iOS trends he observes. Also, find out how Tomek overcame job burnout that almost took away his passion for programming.**

<div className="image">![Tomek, iOS Developer](../../static/images/brightstorytomeklcollageteam.png "Tomek, iOS Developer")</div>

## You studied Nuclear Power Engineering and Nuclear Physics. How did you end up becoming an iOS developer?

Tech gadgets have intrigued me since I was a child, especially phones & smartphones. For most of my teenage years, I was buying broken phones, fixing them, and re-selling them. **I’ve always loved hardware**. However **boring Informatics classes in high school killed any possible passion for software**. I didn’t even know there was a software developer career line. I had this stereotypical vision of a Computer Science student who ended up being this lonely guy living in their mother’s basement. 

So I decided to study **Nuclear Power Engineering** at Warsaw University of Technology and **Nuclear Physics** at Warsaw University because I really enjoyed physics and math. **These studies actually led me into programming anyway**.

## How come?

At my first full-time job, **I had a chance to build a power plant simulator**. I felt so limited because **I didn’t have access to the source code**. It was a constant struggle to work with logic blocks when you didn’t have access to the underlying algorithm. I tried to manage on my own, looking for reasons for problems. In the end, finding solutions felt super satisfying. I even **wrote my first commercial application to improve power plant simulations**. I was going deeper and deeper into programming.

What’s more, my two friends were programming in iOS. So I started to learn with them. We even **developed an app for Warsaw University**. At that time the entry threshold to iOS development was high because you had to buy expensive Apple devices. So more people chose Android development because they already had a computer with Windows or Linux to work on. That’s why **we felt it might be easier to establish ourselves in iOS development because the competition would be lower**. 

Finally, I decided to focus completely on programming. I moved to Northern Poland to work as an iOS developer in a local company.

## What do you like the most about iOS development?

**People**. Maybe I am just lucky, but **I’ve always come across iOS developers who were true enthusiasts**. I don’t say that it is possible only after choosing iOS development. ;) I must admit, though, that I’ve met so many iOS devs that really seem to love their job as much as I do. It’s **great to have the possibility to share the same passion with others**.

<div className="image">![Tomek's quote on iOS developers](../../static/images/tomek_quote_ios_devs2.png "Tomek's quote on iOS developers")</div>

I also enjoy the fact that when you write a mobile app, **you can quickly see the results of your work**. Quick gratification is really powerful in this case. I can instantly see the UI that was born from my code.

Last but not least, I love gadgets. 😉 **I enjoy writing apps for all devices Apple has to offer**. Yes, I’ve been captivated by Apple’s world. That’s a side effect of my work that I quite appreciate. 

## How did you land in Bright Inventions?

Right before joining Bright Inventions **I actually experienced a massive job burnout**. I was during a very challenging career moment, under lots of pressure, dealing with hours of overtime. **I was concerned that I had lost my passion for this job**. I even thought about a career change. Eventually, I left my current job to figure out my next move. 

I decided to stick to programming. I started to go through job offers and found Bright Inventions’ offer. It reminded me that my friend Kamil worked there. So I asked him basically if the job description was true. **Not only did he confirm everything, but also painted an even more positive image of working at Bright Inventions**.

Then I reached out to Ula and after going through the recruitment process I joined the company. So it was a bumpy road to Bright Inventions. Yet with a happy ending. **I am glad to be here. This is the place where I got back my passion for software development**.

## So it turned out that your way to overcome burnout was actually finding a new job?

A new job with great people. **The people you work with are key**. You know well, how nice and friendly people are here. So it helped me get back on track.

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions' team](../../static/images/brightteamtomekl.png "Bright Inventions' team")</div>

## If you had to start an iOS project from scratch, with no technological debt, what tools would you use?

There isn’t one simple answer to that question. **It depends on the product I would build. If it is a solution for a large group of users with a spectrum of Apple devices, then you can’t choose only Swift UI**. No matter how trendy it is right now. 

Yet **if the product targets a smaller group of tech-savvy users I would base it on Swift UI**. Having in mind that it is still a young technology, **you cannot cross off good old UIKit completely**.

<div className="image">![Tomek's quote on iOS libraries](../../static/images/tomek_quote_libs2.png "Tomek's quote on iOS libraries")</div>

What I would try to do, no matter the type of product, is to **avoid external libraries to eliminate dependencies**. It’s better to have control of our code, as much as reasonably possible. I would first explore iOS system libraries and try to utilize them for our needs.

It’s also important to **choose frameworks wisely**. For example, don’t choose RxSwift or Combine when your development team is not familiar with reactive programming.

## What trends do you observe in iOS development?

Great new technologies are here to discover such as **Swift UI and generally high-level frameworks**. They largely **simplify our work** and let us do advanced operations at a lower cost. On the one hand, it makes it easier to get into iOS development but at the same time, I feel that there is more stuff to comprehend. **When I was starting my iOS adventure there weren’t so many things to learn**.

Another trend is **multiplatform apps**. You can write code once and it will work (with a few alterations) on iPhones as well as iPads and Macs. You can even write an application for iPad on iPad.

<div className="image">![Tomek's photo](../../static/images/brightpassion_tomek2.png "Tomek's photo")</div>

## Tell us more about projects you work on.

One of the projects is a **food delivery application operating in Israel**. This is not a typical food delivery app, it’s also a **popular employee benefit**. Companies use it to subsidize employees' lunches. It’s also a well-suited product for Israeli users due to this country's highly developed lunch culture.

Another project is a **customizable workflow management** **solution** that helps to work efficiently in international teams. It’s well-adjustable for various business groups: lawyers, hairdressers, banks, and many more. **The product we help to build consists of many tools such as a calendar, reservations management, payments, chats, video calls**, and other platforms useful for daily business operations.

## I know you love to travel. Where have you been so far in 2023?

<div className="image">![Tomek's passion](../../static/images/brightpassion_tomek.png "Tomek's passion")</div>

My wife planned a **surprise birthday trip** for me. We went to **Wrocław**. Another gift for me was joining the barista workshop there. The art of making coffee is one of my passions.

Also, we’ve just come back from **Vietnam**. We spent three weeks there. It was a **totally new experience for me**. It’s a very wild and friendly country at the same time. 

We will see what other adventures this year brings…

## Top OWASP Resources to Follow

*Published: 2023-04-12 | Author: rafal h | Tags: development, QA, security*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-owasp-resources-to-follow/index.md*

**In the ocean of cybersecurity threats, dependencies and vulnerabilities there is, luckily, a lighthouse called OWASP. Check out which OWASP resources you should know to follow the best security standards.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Dive much deeper into software security' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Looking for a comprehensive knowledge base about app security? Download the free ebook and get to know top tools, standards and security practices.'  ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='security free ebook' />

## What is OWASP?

[OWASP](https://owasp.org/) (Open Web Application Security Project) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the security of software through education, research, and community collaboration.

The organization shares knowledge through countless open-source projects, documentation, and educational events. If you're looking to improve the security of your software, OWASP is an excellent place to start.

## Top OWASP resources to know by developers, security newbies and tech startups

OWASP guidelines and standards in one place:

### [OWASP Top 10](https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/)

This is a great place to start. This document outlines the ten most popular vulnerabilities to be discovered in web apps. By following the guidelines outlined in the OWASP Top 10, you can ensure that your app is secure from the most common attacks.

### [OWASP ASVS](https://owasp.org/www-project-application-security-verification-standard/)

OWASP ASVS stands for Application Security Verification Standards. This is a standard checklist developed by OWASP that touches on different aspects of web app software development. Check the list and find out if your app meets dozens of security standards.

### [OWASP MASVS](https://mas.owasp.org/MASVS/)

OWASP MASVS stands for Mobile Application Security Verification Standard. This is a standard checklist made exclusively for mobile application security. If you work with mobile apps, the OWASP MASVS is a document you should read.

### [OWASP Cheat Sheet](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/)

If you've read through the OWASP ASVS and OWASP MASVS and still need some guidance, the OWASP Cheat Sheet is a helpful resource. This document summarizes the top security standards and processes in a nutshell. It's developed by security experts, and everyone can contribute to it. All pull requests are verified by project leaders.

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='Discover more software security resources in our free ebook' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Looking for a comprehensive knowledge base about software security? Download the free ebook and get to know top tools, standards and security practices.'    ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='security free ebook' />

## Exposed in Your Project - JSON support

*Published: 2023-04-04 | Author: patryk sz | Tags: Exposed, kotlin, jvm, orm, database, json, jackson, docker*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exposed-in-your-project-json-support/index.md*

## Overview

In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to implement JSON support in our JetBrains/Exposed app - we will create new
ColumnType and how to modify the database query.

As an extra point, I will show you, how to establish connection pooling and why it's important.

[In the previous post](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exposed-in-your-project-part-2-dao/) we modified our initial
code to follow DAO approach. Now, based on this, we will create a little thinner application, add additional information
to our `Person` entity and use `json` PostgreSQL' datatype.

## Setting up a test application

***NOTE*: Because we did all the preparation in the previous blog post, we will skip this part - if you need to set up
the environment, please, go to Step 1**

## Setting up a database

For the sake of this tutorial, we are going to use PostgreSQL database. Let's create a docker container:

```yaml
# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.3'
services:
  db:
    image: postgres
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: foo
    ports:
      - "55432:5432"
```

We are just using the official `postgres` image, with a defined password and exposed port.

### connection pooling

```kotlin
// Database.kt
import com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariConfig
import com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
import io.ktor.server.config.*
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Database

object Database {

    fun register(config: ApplicationConfig) {
        Database.connect(
            hikari(
                config.property("db.url").getString(),
                config.property("db.user").getString(),
                config.property("db.password").getString(),
                config.property("db.maximumPoolSize").getString().toInt()
            )
        )
    }

    private fun hikari(dbUrl: String, dbUser: String, dbPassword: String, maximumPoolSize: Int): HikariDataSource {
        val config = HikariConfig()
        config.driverClassName = "org.postgresql.Driver"
        config.jdbcUrl = dbUrl
        config.username = dbUser
        config.password = dbPassword
        config.maximumPoolSize = maximumPoolSize
        config.validate()
        return HikariDataSource(config)
    }
}
```

Plus, the configuration file:

```
# src/main/resources/application.conf
db {
    url = "jdbc:postgresql://localhost:55432/postgres"
    user = postgres
    password = foo
    maximumPoolSize = 10
}
...
```

Now, why connection pooling is important?

> Using connection pools helps to both alleviate connection management overhead and decrease development tasks for data
> access. Each time an application attempts to access a backend store (such as a database), it requires resources to
> create, maintain, and release a connection to that data store.
>
> With PostgreSQL, each new connection can take up to
> 1.3MB in memory. In a production environment where we expect to receive thousands or millions of concurrent
> connections
> to the backend service, this can quickly exceed your memory resources (or if you have a scalable cloud, it can get
> very
> expensive very quickly).

## Add JsonColumnType

First, let's create and register a new column type - `JsonColumnType`:

```kotlin
// JsonColumnType.kt
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Column
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.ColumnType
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Table
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.statements.api.PreparedStatementApi
import org.postgresql.util.PGobject

fun <T : Any> Table.json(name: String, serialize: (Any) -> String, deserialize: (String) -> Any): Column<T> =
    registerColumn(name, JsonColumnType(serialize, deserialize))

class JsonColumnType(
    private val serialize: (Any) -> String,
    private val deserialize: (String) -> Any
) : ColumnType() {
    override fun sqlType() = "JSON"

    override fun setParameter(stmt: PreparedStatementApi, index: Int, value: Any?) {
        super.setParameter(
            stmt,
            index,
            value.let {
                PGobject().apply {
                    this.type = sqlType()
                    this.value = value as String?
                }
            }
        )
    }

    override fun valueFromDB(value: Any): Any {
        if (value !is PGobject) {
            return value
        }
        return deserialize(checkNotNull(value.value))
    }

    override fun notNullValueToDB(value: Any): String = serialize(value)
}
```

The result of this implementation is that we have an available `.json()` method on `Table` level - which means that we can
use our new columnType:

```kotlin
// PersonTable.kt

import kotlinx.serialization.Serializable
import kotlinx.serialization.decodeFromString
import kotlinx.serialization.encodeToString
import kotlinx.serialization.json.Json
import org.jetbrains.exposed.dao.id.IntIdTable
import pl.brightinventions.exposed.json

object PersonTable : IntIdTable("person") {
    ...
    val details = json<PersonDetails>(
        "details",
        { Json.encodeToString(it as PersonDetails) },
        { Json.decodeFromString(it) as PersonDetails }
    )
}

@Serializable
data class PersonDetails(
    val nickname: String
)
```

Because of our choice of `kotlinx` serialization, we need to declare the context for serialization explicitly (casting for
methods `Json.encodeToString` and `Json.decodeFromString`) - the easiest way was to declare it on the column registering
step.

## Add JsonValue

Once we registered our new column, we can store serialized and read the object value. But what if we want to use our
column in `WHERE` or `ORDER BY` clause?\
We need to register `JsonValue` and a new method:

```kotlin
// JsonValue.kt
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.*
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Function
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.vendors.PostgreSQLDialect
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.vendors.currentDialect
import kotlin.reflect.KClass

inline fun <reified T : Any> Column<*>.jsonValue(vararg jsonPath: String): Function<T> =
    this.jsonValue(T::class, *jsonPath)

fun <T : Any> Column<*>.jsonValue(clazz: KClass<T>, vararg jsonPath: String): Function<T> {
    if (this.columnType !is JsonColumnType) {
        throw IllegalArgumentException("Cannot perform jsonValue call on the column which is not related to JsonbColumnType")
    }

    val columnType = when (clazz) {
        Boolean::class -> BooleanColumnType()
        Int::class -> IntegerColumnType()
        Float::class -> FloatColumnType()
        Long::class -> LongColumnType()
        String::class -> TextColumnType()
        else -> TextColumnType()
    }

    return when (currentDialect) {
        is PostgreSQLDialect -> PostgreSQLJsonValue(this, columnType, jsonPath.toList())
        else -> throw NotImplementedError()
    }
}

class PostgreSQLJsonValue<T>(
    private val expr: Expression<*>,
    override val columnType: ColumnType,
    private val jsonPath: List<String>
) : Function<T>(columnType) {
    override fun toQueryBuilder(queryBuilder: QueryBuilder) = queryBuilder {
        append("(")
        append(expr)
        append("${jsonPath.joinToString { it }})::${columnType.sqlType()}")
    }
}
```

We created `PostgreSQLJsonValue` which is a representation of `(column->>jsonPath)::type` PostgreSQL' syntax. Plus, we can
use `jsonValue` method in order to utilize JSON functionality inside the query, which will look like this:

```kotlin
fun findByNickname(nickname: String): FoundPersonWithAddressDto? = transaction {
    PersonEntity
        .find { PersonTable.details.jsonValue<String>("->>'nickname'") eq nickname }
        .firstOrNull()
        ?.load(PersonEntity::addresses)?.toFoundPersonWithAddressDto()
}
```

## Testing

`GET http://localhost:8080/person` \
This one should respond with a list of three persons: `John`, `George`, and `Megan`. It will respond with short
information about saved records, but the rows will be ordered by `person.details->>'nickname'`.

If we want to receive data about a particular person BY nickname, you can call:
`GET http://localhost:8080/person/nickname/johny`,\
which will respond with full Person DTO.

## Conclusion

In this article, we've learned:

* how to add `json` column type to our JetBrains/Exposed application,
* how to add `jsonValue` method which allows us to search/sort by the JSON specific property in the query.

As extra points we did:

* exercise to create Docker container for our PostgreSQL database,
* configured connection pooling, which is important to our production environment.

**Did you like the article? Maybe you have some other way for DAO implementation? Leave a comment below and stay in
touch!**

You can find the complete code [over GitHub.](https://github.com/bright/kotlin-exposed-json-example)

## Why You Should Go Serverless with Your Apps

*Published: 2023-04-04 | Author: michal k | Tags: business perspective, serverless, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/why-you-should-go-serverless-with-your-apps/index.md*

**Let’s explore the benefits of serverless computing and why it may be the best option for your business. Whether you represent a startup or a larger company, you’ll find benefits from serverless computing. Let’s dive in!**

<div className="image">![Serverless - business perspective](../../static/images/serverless_blog.png "undefined")</div>

## What is serverless computing?

Serverless computing is a cloud-based computing model that eliminates the need to manage its own server infrastructure. As a result, DevOps Engineers and developers from your company don’t have to maintain physical servers. Instead, the cloud provider manages the server infrastructure and ensures the application is available and scalable to meet demand.

We listed the benefits of serverless separately for startups and larger companies. Some advantages apply to all-size businesses. However, we still should have in mind different perspectives of startups and corporations.

## Benefits of serverless computing for startups

Here are some of the benefits of [serverless computing](/our-areas/cloud-services/) for startups:

### Reduced Costs

Startups typically have limited budgets, and serverless computing can help them reduce costs associated with infrastructure management. With serverless computing, **startups can pay for only the resources they use**, rather than having to invest in and manage their own servers and data centers. This can help startups **save money on hardware, maintenance, and personnel costs**.

### Better cost predictability

Since businesses only pay for the computing resources they use, they can more **easily predict and control their costs**. This can help them avoid unexpected expenses and optimize their resource usage.

### Scalability

Startups need to be able to quickly and easily scale their applications as they grow. With serverless computing, startups can **easily scale their applications up or down in response to changes in demand** without having to worry about managing infrastructure.

### Improving app security

Serverless computing providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer a **range of security features, such as automatic software updates, encryption, and network isolation**. By offloading security responsibilities to the serverless computing provider, businesses can focus on other critical aspects of their operations while still following security best practices for their applications and data.

### Reduced Complexity

Serverless computing abstracts away the infrastructure layer, reducing the complexity of application development and deployment. This can help startups save time and resources and **focus on their core business**.

### Increased flexibility

Serverless computing allows businesses to **use a wide range of programming languages and frameworks**, making it easier to build and deploy applications using the tools and technologies that work best for their specific needs.

### Faster Time-to-Market

With serverless computing, startups can **focus on building their applications** instead of managing infrastructure. This can help them get their product or service to market faster, **giving them a competitive advantage**.

### Increased agility

Serverless computing allows startups to quickly **experiment with new ideas and applications** without worrying about the cost and complexity of setting up infrastructure. This can lead to greater innovation and agility.

## Benefits of serverless computing for larger businesses and corporations

Serverless computing offers several benefits for larger companies. Let’s go through them.

<div className="image">![benefits of serverless computing](../../static/images/cloud-remote-devops.png "benefits of serverless computing")</div>

### Reduced infrastructure costs

With serverless computing, companies **only pay for the exact amount of computing resources they need**, rather than having to pay for and maintain their own servers. This can lead to significant cost savings, especially for larger companies with high computing needs.

### Improved security

Serverless computing platforms typically provide built-in security features such as encryption, access controls, and monitoring. This can help businesses **better protect their applications and data**. No matter if you represent a large or smaller company, your application has to be secure.

### Improved scalability

Serverless computing allows companies to **easily scale up or down as needed without worrying about capacity** planning or infrastructure management. This is especially useful for larger companies with unpredictable or rapidly changing workloads.

### Higher productivity

Serverless computing can increase the productivity of corporate development teams by reducing the time and resources required to manage infrastructure. This can enable developers to **focus on developing new features and therefore adding extra value to the product** rather than focusing on managing the infrastructure.

### Improved reliability and performance

Serverless computing providers typically offer high availability and fault tolerance, which can lead to improved reliability and uptime for applications. It also offers fast startup times and automatic scaling, which can lead to **improved application performance and reduced latency**.

### Seamless integration with other services

Many serverless computing providers offer integrations with other cloud services, such as databases, storage, and messaging. This can make it easier for businesses to **build and deploy complex, multi-tier applications**.

## 25 Tools & Extra Tactics For App Security [Free Ebook]

*Published: 2023-04-03 | Author: rafal h | Tags: update, security, development, QA*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/app-security-free-ebook/index.md*

**Download the pdf about web and mobile app security. This ebook is a security deep dive for software developers as well as app owners, startups, and larger companies. Discover tools, resources, and guides that, step by step, will verify if your app is secure.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get free ebook' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Must have ebook for devs and app owners written by Rafał Hofman, a software developer and security expert. All tools listed in the e-book are open-source or offer free plans.'  ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='ebook security cover' />

## What’s inside the ebook?

Check out the table of contents:

1. Why should I bother?
2. How should I start?
3. Introduction to OWASP.
4. Automated security testing.
5. Infrastructure reconnaissance.
6. Infrastructure security.
7. Security monitoring.
8. The end.
9. Author.
10. Security software tools directory.

## Security software tools directory

We listed every mentioned tool so you can easily go through them and start testing recommended solutions for your product.

## Learn more about the author

<div className="image">![Rafał Hofman](../../static/images/rafal_story.png "Rafał Hofman")</div>

The ebook “25 Tools & Extra Tactics For App Security” was written by Rafał Hofman, Fullstack Developer at Bright Inventions. Rafał is a software developer with over 5 years of experience. He focuses on web security and specializes in Ethereum blockchain development.

Ready to digest a solid portion of security knowledge? Get the free ebook!

## iOS Developer with over 8 Years of Experience. Meet Filip

*Published: 2022-01-12 | Author: fjablonski | Tags: growth, career, bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-developer-with-over-8-years-of-experience-meet-filip/index.md*

**His smile is one of the biggest in the office. As well as his mobile development experience. Meet Filip – a Senior iOS Developer whose career started from a painful fail which made him a better programmer. Check out his story.**

![Filip – Senior iOS Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstoryfilip2.png "")

## When did you realise that you wanted to be a developer?

Actually, it all started when I was in my first year of Nanotechnology studies at the Gdańsk University of Technology. Everyone around me was saying how great that field was, that this was the future and I would be a part of something great. Yet during my first year I wanted to find my first job or internship related to this field and it turned out that the only option was an academic career. No one had openings related to nanotechnology.

Since I wasn’t interested in a teaching career there were absolutely no opportunities for me to get my first job. And who knows if that may have changed before my graduation. On top of that I wanted to have my first job or internship as soon as possible. I didn’t want to treat my studies as a five-year party. I wanted to accomplish more during that time, use this time to already start my career. So I decided to look for another option. **I changed my major to Applied Computer Studies and I have not regretted it ever since.**

## Now you are an iOS developer. Was iOS always your dev path?

Yes. From the start, I wanted to be an iOS developer. And I didn’t even own any Apple devices then. Keep in mind that I was a poor student. 😉  It was a result of my little job market analysis. After searching tons of offers I realised that iOS developers are in huge demand, the salary range for iOS jobs was pretty impressive too, and the companies around me were really developing interesting apps. So that made me decide to go for [iOS development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development).

![Filip – iOS Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstoryfilip.png "")

## What was your first software development job?

In my second year of college, I got my first IT job thanks to the recommendation of my 
lecturer Michał Miądowicz. I was hired by a huge software development company. I was so excited that I got to sit in this glass top office building in Gdańsk. **I thought that I was the king of the world who made it to the top. But that was so not true.** I worked there for only 3 months. After that, they decided not to extend the job contract with me. I was not good enough. And as you imagine it was extremely painful. But that was a life lesson for me. One of the greatest lessons I had.

**I realised that there was so much for me to learn. I was not as great as I had thought and I should have focused more on learning.** It turned out pretty well actually. If I had stayed there, I think I would not have grown as a programmer. I would have rested on my laurels, when in fact that was only the beginning of my career and constant self-development process. 

So I lost that job and then finally started to study hard. The problem was that, as I mentioned, I did not have a Mac and still had to work on it. I could not afford to buy it so I had to borrow it when I had some recruitment projects to do. 

## Now you have over 8 years of experience and have been working at Bright Inventions since 2019. What new things have you learnt at Bright?

Obviously, I have learnt a lot of technical stuff here at Bright Inventions. But I do not think that is the key. I much appreciate the whole soft skills side of the development process that I have uncovered here. I much improved in terms of time management, communication, problem-solving, and more. I did not think I would learn all of that in a software development agency. You learn some technical stuff almost everywhere but soft skills are really unique knowledge to possess. **It turns out that having only tech skills does not define you as a good programmer.** And I know that it can be a controversial statement for some developers. 

![Filip – iOS Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstory3.png "")

## What do you like the most about the project you are involved in?

I work in a team that develops ePOS solutions for an international company from the FMCG industry. **The greatest thing about it is that you get to work on the project that is really used by users across Europe.** And at Bright we have a close relationship with the client and even with end-users. We talk with them, get to know their problems, needs and expectations. 

As many developers would probably agree – you often work on software that you are not even sure if it is used and if it really offers something meaningful to users. You just deliver some code and are far away from the business side of it. Maybe sometimes while working on milestone number 3 you will finally get some feedback about the first milestone which will change absolutely nothing about your work. That is the case for many software development companies and I am glad that at Bright we do not work like that. **We are partners to our clients and bring something more to the table than lines of code.** We get to work on the solution, business expectations and we can choose technologies and frameworks. Here you really influence your project.

## At Bright Inventions we develop native mobile apps, but you worked closely with React Native before. What is your opinion about native vs hybrid apps development?

Both approaches have their pros. And cons of course. 😉 I would not strike hybrid out completely. **We work on native apps because we deliver customized solutions which involve implementing the best possible user experience practices.** Also, we develop lots of solutions based on Bluetooth and here native is a better option. Or frankly – the only one.

However, there are situations when it might be right to choose a hybrid model. For example when you want to develop something really fast and you focus mostly on the functionality, not on design and UX. And if you base your solution more on business logic than external systems, it might be a fine option as well. It could work for apps that are meant to be used only by employees of your company and will never be seen by your clients. Their purpose is to make processes more efficient but they do not need to follow all design product best practices.

## What trends do you see for software developers and iOS devs in particular for 2022?

In general, we all see that VR and AR have started to be treated more seriously. Google or Facebook want to move us to the virtual world. Who knows, maybe a fake world will be more exciting to us? A couple of years ago AR or VR was treated as some geek curiosity and now it is entering the mainstream. And I am not only about the already famous Facebook Metaverse. Check out how many new VR games have been released recently. The gaming industry is actually the first that really made VR/AR more approachable.

![2022 trends for iOS development](../../static/images/brightstory4.png "")

When it comes to iOS, I think **2022 will be the year when we finally see what Apple has been working on in terms of cloud computing solutions**. And we all know that they are far behind competitors like AWS, Azure or Google Cloud. So I am excited to learn what they will offer us. **Cannot wait to have a glance at their new Xcode cloud product that will be released in 2022.** We will find out if it brings something new to the table that AWS or Azure do not offer. Unless Apple presents some x-factor to cloud computing, it will be difficult to chase the competition.

## You are going to conduct iOS workshops for devs outside our Bright Team. What will they be about?

I will conduct workshops about new iOS feature - Live Activity. The workshops are designed for experienced juniors and fresh regulars. They will be held in Polish. Feel free to join. 

## Finally, what do you do after hours? 😎

I enjoy playing board games with my wife. Also, I love to build Lego constructions with my son. Nothing complicated, we just build for fun. 😉 So I guess spending time with my family is a priority.

## Zk-SNARKs with Substrate (Part 3). Pallet Implementation

*Published: 2023-03-30 | Author: michal-gr | Tags: Substrate, rust, ZK-Snarks*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/zk-snarks-with-substrate-part-3-pallet-implementation/index.md*

**This is the last part of a series of articles about zk-SNARKs. If you haven't read the previous ones ([Part 1](/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-1), [Part 2](/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-2-using-groth16-and-running-circom-proof)), I encourage you to do so now.**

In our first article, we defined Bob's problem. He creates a contest, where the first person who solves the equation:

<center>

$$ x^2+3=12 $$

</center>

Alice was one of his friends who knew the solution. She was only afraid that revealing it loudly, could encourage others to first claim the vacancy. That's why she decided to use zk-SNARKs.

Until this moment, everything that we did assumed Bob and Alice are in the same place. Alice decided to create proof because she didn't want to reveal the solution to anyone. Bob verified it in front of her, so Alice was certain that she was the first who solved the puzzle. But what if they weren't in the same place? What guarantee will Alice have, that her solution was verified first? This problem can be easily solved if we could move it to the blockchain! Information about the winner will be known to everyone, and the verification process will be more transparent.

We are going to use a framework called [Substrate](https://substrate.io/), to create a custom blockchain. It is written in Rust language and was created by the [Parity](https://www.parity.io/). You can find more information about the Substrate in our other [post](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-benefits-of-substrate-blockchain). 

In Substrate, the business logic of the blockchain is hidden in the runtime. We can easily change it, by using components called pallets. Substrate allows us not only to modify already defined pallets but also to create a new custom one. In this article, we will create a pallet for zk-SNARKs. Thanks to this, we will be able to run a blockchain for the proof verification process. The pallet will allow us to store Circom and SnarkJS artifacts, it will also use a Groth16 for the proof verification. Finally, we will use our zk-SNARK pallet to help Alice join the Bright Coders union.

## Starting point

We have already learned that zk-SNARKs can be used to prove knowledge of a solution for a problem, without revealing it. We just need to provide proof that can be later verified by someone else. Creation of such proof is done in a couple of stages, where we first convert our problem to R1CS (*Rank-1 Constraint System*) form, and then transform it to the QAP (*Quadratic Arithmetic Program*). For this process, we used Circom and SnarkJS. We used a Groth16 as a proving system for assurance of the encryption. Finally, we were able to implement a Rust library, which used artifacts from Circom and SnarkJS, to validate proof.

In the previous post, we show how we can use Circom and SnarkJS in the verification process. Let's remind us what artifacts in the context of those tools we get:

* **[input.json](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/blog/data/input.json)** - this file contains public input, in our case, it is a `12` value from our equation.
* **[verification_key.json](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/blog/data/verification_key.json)** - file generated from SnarkJS, it contains a verification key, which "signs" our circuits (transformed equation).
* **[proof.json](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/blog/data/proof.json)** - file created by Alice using SnarkJS, which proves her knowledge of solving the equation. 

As you probably remember, at this stage Bob could use a SnarkJS to verify, if the proof is valid, by running this command:

```
snarkjs groth16 verify verification_key.json input.json proof.json
```

He is using a *Groth16* as a proving system. The output is:

```
[INFO]  snarkJS: OK!
```

which means that proof passed the validation. Now we will try to do the same in the Substrate pallet, using our Groth16 code from the previous article.

## Substrate Pallet

First, let's define what we expect from pallet to do. We definitely would like to have on-chain storage of the artifacts generated from Circom and SnarkJS, because they are going to be used in the verification process. We will need to provide functionality for other participants to send and verify their proofs. Finally, we would like to be informed when someone will send us valid proof.

Based on what we said, we can define an interface for our pallet which is in Substrate called an extirices. We are going to define two methods:

* **setup_verification** - this methods allows Bob to send a public inputs (*input.json*) and the verification key (*verification_key.json*).
* **verify** - thanks to this method, Alice (and others) will be able to send their proofs (*proof.json*) and verify them. When the verification succeeds, it will emit an event that is going to be stored on the blockchain.

## Implementation

The implementation we started from the [Substrate Node Template](https://github.com/substrate-developer-hub/substrate-node-template), which is a single-node blockchain that we could run locally in our development environment. We added there a zk-SNARK pallet which uses Groth16 in the verification process. The final result can be found on our [GitHub](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate). We will now try to present the core components of this code.

Implementation of the zk-SNARK pallet can be found in the [pallets/zk-snarks/src/lib.rs](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/pallets/zk-snarks/src/lib.rs) file. All pallets in Substrate follow the same skeleton pattern based on the macros:

```
pub use pallet::*;
#[frame_support::pallet]
pub mod pallet {
  use frame_support::pallet_prelude::*;
  use frame_system::pallet_prelude::*;
  #[pallet::pallet]
  #[pallet::generate_store(pub(super) trait Store)]
  pub struct Pallet<T>(_);
  #[pallet::config]      // 1. config
  #[pallet::event]       // 2. event
  #[pallet::error]       // 3. error
  #[pallet::storage]     // 4. storage
  #[pallet::call]        // 5. call
}
```

Now we are going to take a closer look at the following sections.

### \#\[pallet::config]

All pallets in Substrate define a trait called `Config`, which needs to be defined under this macro. We can declare here some specific pallet requirements. In our case, for the zk-SNARK we are going to define some constant values:

```
#[pallet::constant]
type MaxPublicInputsLength: Get<u32>;
#[pallet::constant]
type MaxProofLength: Get<u32>;
#[pallet::constant]
type MaxVerificationKeyLength: Get<u32>;
```

As you probably guess, we are going to use those constants for checking the maximum length of our input files.

### \#\[pallet::event]

This section defines all events that can be emitted from our pallet. We have defined several events here that left information on the blockchain about the progress of the verification. 

```
#[pallet::event]
#[pallet::generate_deposit(pub(super) fn deposit_event)]
pub enum Event<T: Config> {
    VerificationSetupCompleted,
    VerificationProofSet,
    VerificationSuccess { who: T::AccountId },
    VerificationFailed,
}
```

What is worth mentioning, Rust language allows the definition of different types of enums fields. We take advantage of this feature when we have declared a `VerificationSuccess` event. The event will store an `AccountId`, which represents an account that belongs to the person who submits valid proof.

### \#\[pallet::error]

Here we define all errors, which our pallet returns when something goes wrong.

```
#[pallet::error]
pub enum Error<T> {
    PublicInputsMismatch,
    TooLongPublicInputs,
    TooLongVerificationKey,
    TooLongProof,
    ProofIsEmpty,
    VerificationKeyIsNotSet,
    MalformedVerificationKey,
    MalformedProof,
    MalformedPublicInputs,
    NotSupportedCurve,
    NotSupportedProtocol,
    ProofVerificationError,
    ProofCreationError,
    VerificationKeyCreationError,
}
```

### \#\[pallet::storage]

The storage section defines all information that can be stored on the blockchain. In the context of zk-SNARKs, we would like to store artifacts generated by Bob (public inputs, verification key) and Alice (proof).

```
#[pallet::storage]
pub type PublicInputStorage<T: Config> = StorageValue<_, PublicInputsDef<T>, ValueQuery>;
#[pallet::storage]
pub type ProofStorage<T: Config> = StorageValue<_, ProofDef<T>, ValueQuery>;
#[pallet::storage]
pub type VerificationKeyStorage<T: Config> = StorageValue<_, VerificationKeyDef<T>, ValueQuery>;
```

### \#\[pallet::call]

Final section declarations extrinsics, which is the interface for pallets. As we mentioned earlier, we defined two methods. Thanks to them, we will be able to interact with the zk-SNARK pallet.

The first method is for the verification setup, which is going to be used by Bob to set up the contest. We are going to store public input and the verification key. We will emit a *VerificationSetupCompleted* event. If anything goes wrong, we will return an appropriate error.

```
pub fn setup_verification(
        origin: OriginFor<T>,
        pub_input: Vec<u8>,
        vec_vk: Vec<u8>,
    ) -> DispatchResult {
    let inputs = store_public_inputs::<T>(pub_input)?;
    let vk = store_verification_key::<T>(vec_vk)?;
    
    ensure!(vk.public_inputs_len == inputs.len() as u8, Error::<T>::PublicInputsMismatch);
    Self::deposit_event(Event::<T>::VerificationSetupCompleted);
    Ok(())
}
```

The second one is for Alice (and others), to send and validate their proofs. First, we will get already stored values for the public inputs and the verification key. Then we will store a proof and verify it with our Groth16 library. Depending on the verification result we will send an appropriate event.

```
pub fn verify(origin: OriginFor<T>, vec_proof: Vec<u8>) -> DispatchResult {
    let sender = ensure_signed(origin)?;
    let vk = get_verification_key::<T>()?;
    let inputs = get_public_inputs::<T>()?;
    let proof = store_proof::<T>(vec_proof)?;
    Self::deposit_event(Event::<T>::VerificationProofSet);
    match verify(vk, proof, prepare_public_inputs(inputs)) {
        Ok(true) => {
            Self::deposit_event(Event::<T>::VerificationSuccess { who: sender });
            Ok(())
        },
        Ok(false) => {
            Self::deposit_event(Event::<T>::VerificationFailed);
            Ok(())
        },
        Err(_) => Err(Error::<T>::ProofVerificationError.into()),
    }
}
```

## Running

We are ready to build and run our Substrate node. We are going to run it in the development mode, where the chain doesn't require any peer connections to finalize blocks. Our pallet will be run inside its runtime. 

```
cargo run -- --dev
```

If everything goes fine, we should get the output:

```
2023-01-04 13:46:22 Substrate Node    
2023-01-04 13:46:22 ✌️  version 4.0.0-dev-91c730faef3    
2023-01-04 13:46:22 ❤️  by Substrate DevHub <https://github.com/substrate-developer-hub>, 2017-2023    
2023-01-04 13:46:22 📋 Chain specification: Development    
2023-01-04 13:46:22 🏷  Node name: tan-fold-8157    
2023-01-04 13:46:22 👤 Role: AUTHORITY    
2023-01-04 13:46:22 💾 Database: RocksDb at /var/folders/fj/55qm1f3s5pqcsts0z533kjbw0000gn/T/substrateXzNqQ6/chains/dev/db/full    
2023-01-04 13:46:22 ⛓  Native runtime: node-template-100 (node-template-1.tx1.au1)    
2023-01-04 13:46:32 🔨 Initializing Genesis block/state (state: 0x3d2e…2cf2, header-hash: 0x727c…b779)    
2023-01-04 13:46:32 👴 Loading GRANDPA authority set from genesis on what appears to be first startup.    
2023-01-04 13:46:41 Using default protocol ID "sup" because none is configured in the chain specs    
2023-01-04 13:46:41 🏷  Local node identity is: 12D3KooWDvUYJJvyfMx2D6bdPwF1DwTQ5xoPo1QNAhwCxdsFWSMW    
2023-01-04 13:46:41 💻 Operating system: macos    
2023-01-04 13:46:41 💻 CPU architecture: x86_64    
2023-01-04 13:46:41 📦 Highest known block at #0    
2023-01-04 13:46:42 〽️ Prometheus exporter started at 127.0.0.1:9615    
2023-01-04 13:46:42 Running JSON-RPC HTTP server: addr=127.0.0.1:9933, allowed origins=None    
2023-01-04 13:46:42 Running JSON-RPC WS server: addr=127.0.0.1:9944, allowed origins=None    
2023-01-04 13:46:42 Accepting new connection 1/100
2023-01-04 13:46:47 💤 Idle (0 peers), best: #0 (0x727c…b779), finalized #0 (0x727c…b779), ⬇ 0 ⬆ 0    
2023-01-04 13:46:48 🙌 Starting consensus session on top of parent 0x727cdb18c7e5b4007d76277358d70c63ecdef8770bd65d5b44c77a1d7afcb779    
2023-01-04 13:46:48 🎁 Prepared block for proposing at 1 (3 ms) [hash: 0x2e7a5acb2f1a0bda1cb5157d669da453faa9bd5235eb11d675fa9ace1659e388; parent_hash: 0x727c…b779; extrinsics (1): [0x9bc3…dbfd]]    
2023-01-04 13:46:48 🔖 Pre-sealed block for proposal at 1. Hash now 0x28c492e129b7c7a82b6c5d26891b40ba7462f97aa02a1f9131a819ca865da2eb, previously 0x2e7a5acb2f1a0bda1cb5157d669da453faa9bd5235eb11d675fa9ace1659e388.    
2023-01-04 13:46:48 ✨ Imported #1 (0x28c4…a2eb) 
```

Now we are ready to test our pallet. We can do it, by using [polkadotjs](https://polkadot.js.org/apps/?rpc=ws%3A%2F%2F127.0.0.1%3A9944#/extrinsics) app. If you haven't done this before, you will need first to change the configuration to point to your local node. 

This app will allow us to interact with our zk-SNARK pallet, but first you will need to navigate to `Extrinsics` panel (*Developer -> Extrinsics*).

\\
In the field \`submit the following extrinsic\\`, please select \`zkSnarks\\`. This is the pallet, that we created during this tutorial. Now you should be able to see our two extrinsic. We are going to select \`setupVerification(pubInput, vecVk)\\` and upload public inputs and the verification key. Normally this would be done by Bob, so we will switch to the his account. We are going to upload a file, so we need to select \`file upload\\` for \`pubInput\\` and \`vecVk\\` as on. Now you can upload them appropriately. For \`pubInput\\` select a file \`input.json\\` and for the \`vecVk\\` chose \`verification_key.json\\`.

<div className="image">![Verification](../../static/images/vk.png "Verification")</div>

To upload them on the blockchain, by clicking on the `Submit Transaction` button. We are finally able to help Alice with the proof verification. In the same panel, we need to choose our second extrinsic, which is `verify`. We will have to do the same, as we did with the previous files, but this time we will upload proof. Please remember to switch to the Alice account.

<div className="image">![Proof](../../static/images/proof.png "Proof")</div>

When we press on `Submit Transaction`, our proof is going to be uploaded and the verification procedure will be run.

<div className="image">![Verification Success](../../static/images/verification_success.png "Verification Success")</div>

Now we can verify if we received a `VerificationSuccess` event. To do it, we need to switch to the `Explorer` panel.

<div className="image">![Explorer panel](../../static/images/event.png "Explorer panel")</div>

As you see, verification succeed, and the event was emitted from the Alice account.

## Summary

Thanks to blockchain technology and zk-SNARKs, Alice proved that she knew the solution to the Bob puzzle without revealing it. Everything was stored on the blockchain, so the result of the contest was fully transparent for everyone.

- - -

This tutorial is supported by the [Web3 Foundation Grants Program](https://web3.foundation/grants/).

## AWS Tricity Powered by Bright Inventions. Meeting #1

*Published: 2023-03-29 | Author: izabela | Tags: company update, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/aws-tricity-powered-by-bright-inventions/index.md*

**Smart migration to AWS, introduction to Serverless Framework, Disaster recovery & OpenTelemetry. These are the topic of the AWS Tricity meetup which will take place onsite in Gdańsk Entrepreneurship Incubator STARTER on April 13 at 5 PM. The event is free. Sign up and join!**

## AWS Tricity agenda:

April 13, 2023, Gdańsk Entrepreneurship Incubator STARTER

**5.00 pm** Welcome & registration

**5.10 pm** Meetup Intro - Piotr Mionskowski

**5.15 pm** Paweł Piwosz, Lead Systems Engineer, Epam Systems **"Start your journey with AWS - the good, the bad and the ugly"** \[presentation in Polish]

**5.50 pm** Somanath Dange, DevOps Consultant, AWS **"Introduction to Serverless Framework"** \[presentation in English]

**6.20 pm** Coffee & snacks break

**6.30 pm** Maciej Makarewicz, DevOps, LCloud **"Nie takie katastrofy w IT straszne, czyli słów kilka o AWS Disaster Recovery"** \[presentation in Polish] (English: Disasters aren’t as scary as they seem. A few words about AWS Disaster Recovery)

**7.05 pm** Piotr Mionskowski, Tech Lead, Bright Inventions **"OpenTelemetry"** \[held in Polish]

**7.30 pm** Discussion Panel \[held in Polish]

**8.10 pm** Hot pizza, cold beer & networking

## Meet our speakers

4 speakers will share AWS insights with attendees:

### [Piotr Mionskowski](https://www.linkedin.com/in/piotr-mionskowski-b2858516/), Partner and Team Leader @ Bright Inventions

<div className="image">![Piotr Mionskowski AWS Tricity](../../static/images/aws_tricity_speaker_piotr.png "Piotr Mionskowski AWS Tricity")</div>

Piotr is a senior fullstack developer and tech lead with over 12 years of professional experience in backend APIs, distributed systems, backend frameworks, and databases. He possesses an exceptional ability to learn almost every new technology that appears. Always up-to-date. Always focused.

Piotr has mastered the art of writing SOLID code and finding the answers to the most unexpected problems. Keeping a client's product operational and running is always of huge importance. He sometimes called himself “A Man Dancing with the Code” because for him programming does not come down to writing code. It is something more – it is an art in which programmers are sculptors who always should ask the question “Why”. A great fan of TDD and pair programming.

More o his presentation:

**OpenTelemetry**

OpenTelemetry enables new opportunities for monitoring production systems. With a set of standardized APIs, we can decouple our systems from monitoring products and have a common language to speak cross-platforms. I’m going to talk & demonstrate where Opentelemetry shines and where we should look for a different tool.

### [Paweł Piwosz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawelpiwosz), DevOps Institute Ambassador, AWS Community Builder & CD.Foundation Ambassador

<div className="image">![Paweł Piwosz AWS Tricity](../../static/images/aws_tricity_speaker_pawel.png "Paweł Piwosz AWS Tricity")</div>

DevOps, leader, mentor, trainer. His main focus in DevOps is CALMS as a framework. He tries to build a better understanding of DevOps as a company’s “driving force”.

More on his presentation:

**Start your journey with AWS - the good, the bad and the ugly**

The story is about whether migration to AWS (or any cloud in general) is a solution to all problems. What are the things we need to have under control, so we won’t be surprised by an extremely high invoice from AWS? Or what’s worst - by a “request” from a hacker for some bitcoins.

### [Somanath Dange](https://www.linkedin.com/in/somanath-dange/), DevOps Consultant @ Amazon Web Services

<div className="image">![Somanath Dange AWS Tricity](../../static/images/aws_tricity_speaker_somanath.png "Somanath Dange AWS Tricity")</div>

He has a total of 11.5 years of experience working in the IT industry as a DevOps Engineer. He has good experience working with AWS Cloud, solving complex problems. He has worked on many DevOps tools like terraform, GitLab, GitHub, Docker, Jenkins. His interest is in Cloud and he loves working on Cloud.

More on his presentation:

**Introduction to Serverless Framework:**

* What is serverless framework?
* How to leverage serverless framework to deploy resources to AWS Cloud?
* Code walkthrough.
* Short Demo.
* Q&A.

### [Maciej Makarewicz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/maciej-makarewicz-5889abb5/), DevOps Engineer @ LCloud, owner @ Makaron-IT

<div className="image">![Maciej Makarewicz AWS Tricity](../../static/images/aws_tricity_speaker_maciej.png "Maciej Makarewicz AWS Tricity")</div>

Maciej provides computer service and consulting in cloud services and DevOps methodologies. In the IT industry for more than 10 years, a natural ability to expand his knowledge of computer science and electronics led him to complete an engineering degree in Bydgoszcz in Electronics and Telecommunications, followed by a master's degree in Computer Science at Gdansk University of Technology. 

Professionally, he is involved in spreading DevOps knowledge and designing solutions in the AWS cloud and GCP. He strives to expand his knowledge of cloud services and share his knowledge with others. Privately passionate about sports, especially basketball, calisthenics, and swimming. In addition to sports, he is interested in shooting and growing plants.

More on his presentation:

**Nie takie katastrofy w IT straszne, czyli słów kilka o AWS Disaster Recovery** 
(English: Disasters aren’t as scary as they seem. A few words about AWS Disaster Recovery)

* The general context of disaster recovery.
* Exploring disaster recovery options at AWS.
* Disaster recovery testing.
* Explaining AWS Disaster Recovery + case study.
* Live presentation showing practical operations with DR.

## Join Tricity AWS community

If you are from Tricity (Poland), join or [AWS Tricity Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/679812723195646). Get AWS insights, info about meetups and free [AWS workshops](https://www.facebook.com/events/1303096523786948/?ref=newsfeed) that we regularly organize.

AWS meetup is powered by Bright Inventions, a software development agency based in Gdańsk. Bright Inventions gathers DevOps enthusiasts to share knowledge about AWS. The company is on its way to becoming AWS Partner (fingers crossed). 🙂

## Szymon Chmal Will Speak about Reflection in TypeScript at 4Developers Conference

*Published: 2023-03-28 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: update, frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/szymon-chmal-reflection-in-typescript-4developers/index.md*

**Szymon Chmal, Senior Frontend Developer at Bright Inventions, is among the speakers at the 2023 edition of 4Developers. The event takes place on the 18th of April in Warsaw. Szymon will speak about the Reflection mechanism in Typescript.**

<div className="image">![Szymon Chmal at 4developers](../../static/images/blogpost_szymon_4developers.png "Szymon Chmal at 4developers")</div>

Szymon Chmal is a senior frontend developer. He’s in love with React, but open to new technologies regarding both frontend and backend areas. Technology is for him just a tool used to provide business value to software products he is working on. 

Before conquering the 4developers stage Szymon will have two presentations at another IT event [Warsaw IT Days](/blog/szymon-chmal-from-bright-inventions-among-warsaw-it-days-speakers). Busy days are ahead of him. 🙂

Do you want to know more about Szymon? [Read an interview](/blog/frontend-developer-with-an-appetite-for-backend-meet-szymon).

## Deep dive into Reflection and TypeScript at 4Developers

Szymon will guide 4developers attendees into Reflection Mechanism in TypeScript. He will explain what Reflection gives and what are its limitations. After focusing on some theory, Szymon and the attendees will together write a simple IoC container.

**When: Apr 18th, 4.00 - 4.45 PM, Warsaw (onside)**

## Meet with Szymon at 4Developers

[Tickets for 4developers](https://eventory.cc/event/4developers-2023/tickets) are still available. If you plan to attend, don't forget to say hi to Szymon. 👋

## Multi-Module Android Application – Why You Should Choose It for Your Business

*Published: 2023-03-27 | Author: szymek | Tags: business perspective, Android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/multi-module-android-app-why-you-should-choose-it-for-your-business/index.md*

**Multi-module app architecture is not something that your users will see. However, app owners will quickly discover the benefits. If you are about to decide on the architecture of your Android solution, consider choosing a multi-module. Here are the top business advantages of multi-module Android apps.**

<div className="image">![Multi-Module Android Application](../../static/images/multi_module_blog.png "Multi-Module Android Application")</div>

## Multi-module vs. single-module applications

Let’s start with the basics. What multi-module-apps are and how they are different from single-module solutions?

<div className="important-info"><h2>What is a multi-module approach?</h2><div>It is a modern way to design Android applications’ architecture. Instead of a single-module app, the codebase in multi-module apps isn’t one large monolith. It’s the opposite, it contains separated modules with code.</div></div>

If you plan to build an Android mobile app, you should consider that option with your development team. Why? **Based on our experience in building multi-module apps we listed the advantages of this solution.**

## Advantages of multi-module applications

There are a couple of advantages of multi-module apps:

### Effective development process

Building and testing time might decrease because developers can work only with one module of code. It might also result in **speeding up the whole development process** and ultimately **saving costs**.

### Clarity

Small chunks of code are **easier to understand and eventually work with**. Divided into a reasonable abstraction could be very useful during onboarding. New members of the development team can faster understand the code and start to work with it.

### Interoperability & scalability

Multi-module apps are a **great base for future interoperabilities and integrations** with, for example, IoT, printers, payment terminals, or external software integrations. **You are more flexible to add other features**. Even if you don’t plan that at this point, you leave yourself an option to take care of that, perhaps after the [MVP](/our-areas/mvp-development/) launch.

### Better customization

If you plan to sell a **solution that could be adjusted to different types of customers** (customized UI, different basic features), then it is easier to offer that with multi-module architecture. For instance, you offer a customer support tool and you want to adjust it to the needs of companies representing different industries. A multi-module architecture will help you be more flexible in that regard.

## When you should consider multi-module architecture:

Choosing multi-modules isn’t a perfect solution for everyone. All comes down to the development stage you are in:

* When you are about to start the development process, then you can freely decide to build your architecture in that way. 
* If you already have developed and launched a product, it might be difficult to change the architecture at this point. It will be beneficial for your business in the long term, however not every business can afford to spend funds for refactoring.

## Example of a multi-module app

Check out the actual case study – a [multi-module application for retail](/projects/system-for-restaurants-mobile) that we developed for Just Eat.

<div className="image">![Multi-module app for retail](../../static/images/restaurant_apps_mobile_preview.png "Multi-module app for retail")</div>

## ChatGPT vs. Bard – Which AI Chatbot is Better?

*Published: 2023-02-10 | Author: izabela | Tags: development, business, AI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/chatgpt-vs-bard-comparison/index.md*

**ChatGPT-4 or Bard AI? What is better? After Google released a beta version of Bard we finally have more data to compare. The article is regularly updated. Feel free to bookmark/pocket it for later.**

<div className="image">![undefined](../../static/images/chat_ai_comparision.png "undefined")</div>

## AI chat got into mainstream

It’s not something new to include AI in software development. However, products like ChatGPT moved AI to the mainstream and showed globally its potential. If you think about implementing AI chats in your software products, first **check out the main differences between the two best-known AI chats** at the moment.

## Finally, Bard AI is here (if you are in the US or UK)

March 2023 is full of more exciting updates about ChatGPT and Bard AI:

* ChatGPT-4 is released for Plus subscribers. It costs $20 a month.
* Bard AI beta version is released for users from US and UK.

As a result, we’ve got bigger possibilities to compare both solutions.

## Bard vs ChatGPT language models

Bard is powered by [LaMDA](https://blog.google/technology/ai/lamda/). However, ChatGPT is based on [GPT](https://platform.openai.com/docs/models/gpt-3). What does it mean for us – users? Putting aside technology differences, from users' perspective Bard should provide more up-to-date information.

LaMDA 👉 Provides **real-time responses** and has access to up-to-date information and data.

GPT-4 👉 Don’t provide real-time data. **Its knowledge doesn’t go beyond September 2021**.

## Integration with search engines

**Chat-GPT** is available while using the **Edge** browser and **Bing** search engine. So everything stays in the Microsoft family. 

**Bard** beta is exclusively available with the **Google** search engine. However, various browsers support it, including **Chrome, Safari, Firefox** or **Opera**. 

Will implementing ChatGPT with Bing be a first step to becoming a real competition against Google? Many have tried, but no one succeeded (yet?).

<img src="/images/global-overview.png" alt="Digital 2023 Global Overview Report" title=""  /> 

Source: [Digital 2023 Global Overview Report](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-global-overview-report)

Data from the recent “Digital 2023 Global Overview Report'' shows a clear dominance. However, **AI might make the competition exciting for the first time in 20 years**.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMpj33Y95ZU' />

Adding an AI chat solution to Google seems essential to stay ahead of competitors. However, there might be **reasons why Google didn’t rush into that**, even though they definitely worked hard on their own AI chat solution.

According to the promotional material provided by Google, we can assume that Bard will take over a SERP (search engine results page) position zero (a top position of the organic search results).

<center>

<TwitterEmbed url='https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1622674382069059591' />

</center>

It might make it even harder to organically build your website traffic. And what about advertisers? Where will be their place in this new equation?

<div className="important-info"><h2>The challenge behind Bard</h2><div>Figuring a way that will satisfy advertisers, publishers and generally content creators might be more challenging than building the Bard itself.</div></div>

## Which one is better for programmers?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to test Bard AI yet. But there is more and more information from users, who has access to it, that Bard is reluctant to generate code. As we know ChatGPT has no problem with that. Obviously, the code quality is another issue. It still should be assessed by a developer.

However, at the moment is hard to see Bard as a handful tool for software developers.

## ChatGPT and Bard prices

ChatGPT-4 is available in the Plus subscribers plan which costs $20 a month. When it comes to Bard - not many people have access to it at the moment. However, assuming that it is going to be a part of our Google search experience, then it might be free(?).

## Last but not least – ChatGPT and Bard both make mistakes 😉

Let’s start with ChatGPT which is widely used across the globe. Let us show you one example of ChatGPT's problematic response:

<div className="image">![ChatGPT answer](../../static/images/chatgpt_lincoln.png "undefined")</div>

Source: [https://theconversation.com/](https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-is-great-youre-just-using-it-wrong-198848)

Take a look at number 4. Garry Wills didn't write the ”Emancipation Proclamation”. Abraham Lincoln did.

When it comes to Bard not many people had the opportunity to test its “truthfulness”. Yet Google offered help. Thanks to the official promo material we could see that the [bot made mistake](https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3209563/googles-chatgpt-rival-bard-gives-wrong-answer-ad-sending-shares-diving). Whether Google wants it or not we can be sure that any data from AI chats should be verified by a human. 

## Using AI in software development

We will **continue to observe the development of ChatGPT as well as the beginnings of Bard**. We will let you know how you could implement it for your business. **If you want to know more about using AI in your software products, just [contact us](/start-project/) and book a free consultation**.

## Zk-SNARKs in Substrate (Part 2). Using Groth16 and Running Circom Proof

*Published: 2023-03-22 | Author: michal-gr | Tags: Substrate, rust, ZK-Snarks*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-2-using-groth16-and-running-circom-proof/index.md*

**As you might remember from the first blog post of our “Zk-snarks with Substrate” series we learned about zk-SNARKs. Also, we explained how we can use tools like Circom and SnarkJS in creating zk-SNARKs. If you haven't checked that article, you should do that.**

*[Check the first part of the “Zk-snarks with Substrate” tutorial](/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-1).*

Now it’s high time for Alice to prove that she knows the result of Bob’s equation:

<center>

$$ x^2+3=12 $$

</center>

and is worthy of joining his Bright Coders union. ;) Alice will use the Groth16 proof system to achieve that.

## Introduction to Groth16

Groth16 is a cryptography proof system proposed by Daniel Jens Groth in the paper “[On the Size of Pairing-based Non-interactive Arguments](https://eprint.iacr.org/2016/260.pdf)” published in 2016. It’s a zero-knowledge proof protocol, and one of the most popular zkSNARK proving schemes.

Here are the three core properties of Groth16 (according to Groth’s paper):

* **Completeness**: Given a statement and a witness, the prover can convince the verifier.
* **Soundness**: A malicious prover cannot convince the verifier of a false statement.
* **Zero-knowledge**: The proof does not reveal anything but the truth of the statement,in particular, it does not reveal the prover’s witness.

## Groth16 Overview

Our previous article ended, when we defined a Quadratic Arithmetic Program (QAP):

<center>

$$ A(x)  *B(x) - C(x) = H(x)*  Z(x) $$

</center>

We made there a statement that the prover will try to convince the verifier that the above equation holds. Now we will take a closer look at how this statement applies to Groth16. Like other QAP-based algorithms, the prover will need somehow to prove that he knows a witness ($w$). As you remember from the previous article, a witness is a vector that contains all public and private inputs. In other words, the witness holds the complete solution for the Rank-1 Constraint System (R1CS), and in consequence, is a solution for our problem. We need to remember that $A(x)$, $B(x)$ and $C(x)$ are actually:

<center>

$A(x) = \sum*{i=1}^{m} w_i*  A_i(x)$
$B(x) = \sum*{i=1}^{m} w*i  *B_i(x)$
$C(x) = \sum*{i=1}^{m} w_i * C_i(x)$

</center>

where:
$w$ - witness
$A_i,B_i,C_i$ - are the polynomials

In the previous article, we made another statement that Groth16 is a cryptographic proving system, which is used to encrypt information about the witness. In other words, the verifier will never know the solution to their problem. Groth16 achieves this by two paring friendly curves $G1$, $G2$ (with the paring domain $Gt$)[^2](https://hongchao.me/zksnark/).

As we mentioned earlier, Groth16 requires a trusted setup. This process creates a *Common Reference String* (CRS), which are encrypted secrets that are required by the prover and the verifier. To be more precise, during this process we are generating the following elements: $\alpha$, $\beta$, $\gamma$, $\delta$, $\tau$, which are our toxic waste[^3](https://www.zeroknowledgeblog.com/index.php/groth16).

Groth16 also defines a polynomial:

<center>

$$L_i(x)=\beta  *A_i(x) + \alpha*  B_i(x) + C_i(x)$$

</center>
which is going to be used in further computations.

The result of the trusted setup are generated keys for the prover and the verifier. They are going to be used in the process of creating proof and its verification.

Now let's move to the proof of its own. The prover is going to create it, based on the witness knowledge and the prover key. He is going to construct three values: $A_p$, $B_p$ and $C_p$, which are:

<center>

$A_p = \alpha + A(\tau) + r  *\delta$, where $A(\tau) = \sum w_i*  A_i(\tau)$ for $i$ in $0..m$

</center>
    
<center>

$B_p = \beta + B(\tau) + s  *\delta$, where $B(\tau) = \sum w_i*  B_i(\tau)$ for $i$ in $0..m$

</center>

<center>
    
$C_p = Laux(\tau) / \delta + H(\tau) \* Z(\tau) / \delta + s \* A_p + r \* B_p - r \* s \* \delta$, 
    where $Laux(\tau)=\sum w_i \* L_i(\tau)$ for $i$ in $l+1..m$
    
</center>

$r$ and $s$ are randomly generated field elements. This is our proof and the  $Laux(\tau)$ is a calculation only for the private inputs.

Now we move to the verifier. The goal for him is to check if the QAP holds when we evaluate it with the random $\tau$ value generated during the trusted setup:

<center>
    
$$ A(\tau) \\\* B(\tau) - C(\tau) = H(\tau) \\\* Z(\tau) $$

</center>

Unfortunately, the verifier doesn't have all pieces to make such a computation. Instead, he received proof from the prover, which contains only values for $A_p$, $B_p$, and $C_p$. We can transform the above QAP formula into this form:

<center>
    
$$ A_p \* B_p=\alpha \* \beta + (\sum w_i \* L_i(\tau)/\gamma) \* \gamma + C_p * \delta$$

</center>

where $i$ is for $0..l$ (all public inputs).

How did this happen? If you replace the values of the above equation with the proof equations you will end up with this[^2](https://hongchao.me/zksnark/):

<center>
    
$$ A(\tau) \* B(\tau) + REM= C(\tau) + H(\tau) \* Z(\tau) + REM$$

</center>

where: 
$REM = \alpha  *\beta + \alpha*  B(\tau) + \beta  *A(\tau) + \alpha*  s  *\delta + s*  \delta  *A(\tau) + r*  \delta  *B(\tau) + r*  \beta  *\delta + r*  s  *\delta*  \delta$
As you can see, after $REM$ reduction, we will get the same QAP equation evaluated in $\tau$, which was our goal.

## Creating a proof – step by step

We are ready now to create a proof. In our previous article, we started the process of creating it using Circom and SnarkJS. We wrote a circuit template and compiled it into the R1CS (Rank-1 Constraint System) form. We created a witness for R1CS, based on Alice's knowledge of solving Bob's equation. Now it is time to finish this process and finally create a proof.

Let's remind us what artifacts we had already created:

* **[input.json](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/blog/data/input.json)** - this file contains public input, in our case, it is a `12` value from our equation.
* **[task.r1cs](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/blog/data/task.r1cs)** - constrains in R1CS format.
* **[task.wasm](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/blog/data/task.wasm)** - circuit compiled to WebAssembly.
* **[witness.wtns](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/blog/data/witness.wtns)** - witness file

You can use them, or generate your own, by following the [tutorial](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/circom/README.md) steps (`Compile the circuit`  and `Computing the witness`). 

We will start now by creating a trusted setup for the Groth16. This will create a shared set of values and the process can be split into two parts. First, generic for all proofs, and the second one specific to the circuit.

### Power of Tau

The first command starts the power of the tau ceremony. We are declaring here which curve are we going to use, in our case it is **bls12381**. Then we are setting the maximum number of constraints that can be accepted in the ceremony. We set it to *12*, but this is the exponent value of 2, so the number of constraints is $2^{12}=4096$. Finally, we are setting the output file *pot12_0000.ptau*. 

```
snarkjs powersoftau new bls12381 12 pot12_0000.ptau -v
```

The second command is a contribution to the ceremony. It will create a new *pot12_0001.ptau* file, which is a transcription of the old one. We are adding text to provide an extra source of entropy.

```
snarkjs powersoftau contribute pot12_0000.ptau pot12_0001.ptau --name="ZkSnarks phase #1" -v
```

### Phase 2

The second phase is specific for the circuit. Under the hood of this command, it will calculate the encrypted evaluation of the Lagrange polynomials at tau for $tau$, $alpha*tau$ and $beta*tau$[^1](https://github.com/iden3/snarkjs). 

```
snarkjs powersoftau prepare phase2 pot12_0001.ptau pot12_final.ptau -v
```

Next, we will start setting up Groth16. As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, Groth16 requires a trusted step. By running this command, we are generating a zero-knowledge key (*zkey*). It contains proving and the verification key as well as phase 2 contributions.

```
snarkjs groth16 setup task.r1cs pot12_final.ptau task_0000.zkey
```

Now similar to *power of tau* step, we are going to contribute to the phase 2 ceremony. Once again we are adding text to provide an extra source of entropy.

```
snarkjs zkey contribute task_0000.zkey task_0001.zkey --name="ZkSnarks phase #2" -v
```

### Generate a proof

Finally, we are able to create a proof for Alice. This command will generate a *proof.json* and the *input.json* files. The first one, contains the actual proof, while the second is the values of the public inputs and outputs.

```
snarkjs groth16 prove task_0001.zkey task_js/witness.wtns proof.json input.json
```

## Verifying a proof

Alice is ready to show her proof to Bob and win the contest. Before doing this, Bob will need to extract a verification key from the zero-knowlege keys. He is going to use it to verify if the proof is valid. In other words, he will check if proof provided by Alice corresponds to the right circuit and in consequence to Bobs math puzzle.

A command bellow will export the verification key from the zero-knowlege keys:

```
snarkjs zkey export verificationkey task_0001.zkey verification_key.json -v
```

Finally, Bob can verify Alice's proof with the Groth16:

```
snarkjs groth16 verify verification_key.json input.json proof.json
```

and the result is:

```
[INFO]  snarkJS: OK!
```

which means that proof passes the verification.

## Running Circom proof in Rust

In the last chapter of this article, we are going to present our Rust implementation of the Groth16 (verification part). There are Rust libraries like [Bellman](https://crates.io/crates/bellman), which can be used to implement circuits or even run a full Groth16 process, but they are not compilable to WebAssembly (*WASM*). 

Our next article will focus on running a zk-SNARK verification process on the blockchain, and we are going to use a Substrate for this. The main condition for building a blockchain with the Substrate is the capability of compiling code to the WASM, which is added to the runtime of the Substrate node. This was the reason why we decided to implement our version of Groth16 verification process, which compiles to WASM.

You can find our code on [Github](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate).

We need to start with the definition of our goals. We would like to run a Groth16 verification process of the artifacts generated by the Circom and SnarkJS. In other words, we would like to do the same as Bob did when he verified Alice's proof. Our code is going to be a part of the Substrate pallet, which is built into the runtime of the Substrate node.

When we defined our goals, we can focus now on the verification part. At the beginning of this article, we presented what it consists of Groth16 proof and how the verifier can verify it. The core formula for us is:

<center>
    
$$ A_p \* B_p = \alpha \* \beta + (\sum w_i \* L_i(\tau) / \gamma) \* \gamma + C_p * \delta $$

</center>

where, 
$A_p,B_p,C_p$ - values defined in the proof
$ \alpha, \beta, \gamma, \tau, \delta $ - values created during the trusted setup
$L_i(\tau)$ - value of the polynomial defined in the Gorth16 evaluated for $\tau$
$w_i$ - is our witness
$i$ - is for $0..l$ (all public inputs).

Basically what we will need to verify, is to check if the left-hand side (LHS) is equal to the right-hand side (RHS) of this equation using data from the proof, inputs, and the verification key. Now let's see how this applies to our code.

### Verifying proof

Implementation is done in the Substrate node, where we are adding a new pallet called *zk-snarks*. Code for this pallet can be found in [lib.rs](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/pallets/zk-snarks/src/lib.rs) file. We are going to discuss the pallet itself in the next article, now we will take a closer look at the verification function from the [verify.rs](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/pallets/zk-snarks/src/verify.rs) file.

We can find there a function:

```
pub fn verify(vk: VerificationKey, proof: Proof, inputs: PublicInputs) -> VerificationResult{
...
}
```

which accepts a verification key, proof, and public inputs. It returns a verification result, which is defined as:

```
pub type VerificationResult = Result<bool, VerificationError>;
```

Our result is a boolean type, true if the verification succeeds and false if it fails. If anything goes wrong, we can return an error. The function implements our formula:

<center>
    
$$ A_p \\\* B_p = \alpha \\\* \beta + (\sum w_i \\\* L_i(\tau) / \gamma) \\\* \gamma + C_p * \delta $$

</center>

First, let's start from the RHS of our equation, and calculate a $\sum w_i*L_i(\tau)$, only for the $i$ in $0..l$, so we are only summing the public inputs. Please note that sum for the private inputs is hidden in our $C_p$. To calculate the final sum we need to multiply each `ic` element by $w_i$ (The first public input is always 1 so we can skip the first value).

```
let mut acc = vk.ic[0].to_curve();
for (i, b) in public_inputs.iter().zip(vk.ic.iter().skip(1)) {
    AddAssign::<&<Bls12 as Engine>::G1>::add_assign(&mut acc, &(*b * i));
}
```

Once we have all ingredients for pairing, we can compute it in two steps: multi miller loop and final exponentiation:

```
let final_result = Bls12::multi_miller_loop(&[
    (&vk.alpha, &vk.beta.into()),
    (&acc.to_affine(), &vk.gamma.into()),
    (&proof.c, &vk.delta.into()),
])
.final_exponentiation();
```

The result of `multi_miller_loop` function call allows us to perform the final exponentiation on it. So in the end we get `Gt` element which can be compared with the result of LHS calculated before.

The result of computation for our RHS `Gt` element which can be compared with the result of LHS.

Now, we move to the LHS, and we are calculating a paring for $A_p*B_p$

```
let a_b_pairing = Bls12::pairing(&proof.a, &proof.b);
```

At the end we do a final check to ensure the correctness of the proof:

`Ok(a_b_pairing == final_result)`

### Running the verification

Finally, we can test if our Rust code works correctly with the Circom and SnarkJS artifacts. By typing the command:

```
cargo run --release -- zk-snarks-verify circom/build/verification_key.json circom/build/proof.json circom/build/input.json
```

we should get the output:

```
Proof OK
```

which means that verification succeeded.

## Ready for more?

Thanks to Circom proof based on Groth16 Alice was able to prove to Bob that she knows how to solve the equation. For now, we assumed that both of them are in the same place. But what if they weren’t? Alice can present her case in blockchain! You’ll learn how to show the solution with Substrate in the [third and final part of our Zk-Snarks blog post series](/blog/zk-snarks-with-substrate-part-3-pallet-implementation)!

- - -

This tutorial is supported by the [Web3 Foundation Grants Program](https://web3.foundation/grants/).

## Szymon Chmal, from Bright Inventions, Among Warsaw IT Days Speakers

*Published: 2023-03-13 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: update, frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/szymon-chmal-from-bright-inventions-among-warsaw-it-days-speakers/index.md*

**The 14th edition of the Polish conference Warsaw IT Days (Polish: Warszawskie Dni Informatyki) takes place in Warsaw on 31st March (online) and 1st April (onsite). Conference’s agenda promises hundreds of presentations for students and professionals. Szymon Chmal, Senior Frontend Developer at Bright Inventions will give two presentations (online and onsite).**

<div className="image">![Szymon Chmal, Senior Frontend Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/szymon_frontend_dev.png "Szymon Chmal, Senior Frontend Developer at Bright Inventions")</div>

Szymon Chmal is a senior frontend developer with a holistic view of software and a mind full of brilliant ideas. He’s in love with React, but open to new technologies regarding both frontend and backend areas. Technology is for him just a tool used to provide business value to software products he is working on.

Do you want to know more about Szymon? [Read an interview](/blog/frontend-developer-with-an-appetite-for-backend-meet-szymon).

## Watch Szymon’s webinars for Warsaw IT Days

Szymon’s presentations at Warsaw IT Days are dedicated to mid and experienced frontend developers. They will be held in Polish.

### Reflection and TypeScript – looking in the mirror (Polish: Refleksja i TypeScript, czyli spojrzenie w lustro)

<div className="image">![Reflection and TypeScript](../../static/images/reflection_wdi_szymon.png "Reflection and TypeScript")</div>

Join WEBDEV Stage (onsite) to learn more about the reflection mechanism - what should we know about it? What are its strengths and limitations? Which libraries will help us to sharpen the reflection?

**When: 1st April, 09.50-10.20 room 101**

### Tree-shaking – anything you need to know (Polish: Tree-shaking – z czym to się je)

<div className="image">![Tree-shaking](../../static/images/tree-shaking_wdi_szymon.png "Tree-shaking")</div>

What is tree-shaking? How does it work? And what to do when it doesn’t work? Szymon will guide you through tree-shaking step by step. 🙂 This speech will be available as VOD for Warsaw IT Days’ attendees. 

**When: it's VOD. Whenever you want. 😉**

## Let’s meet (virtually) at Warsaw IT Days

[Register for Warsaw IT Days](https://warszawskiedniinformatyki.pl) and listen to Szymon’s speeches.

You’ll also have a chance to listen to Szymon (onsite) at the [4developers](https://4developers.org.pl) conference in April. He will speak there as well. More on that soon!

## Exposed in Your Project - Part 2 - DAO

*Published: 2023-03-20 | Author: patryk sz | Tags: Exposed, kotlin, ORM, DBAL, database, dao, querydsl*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exposed-in-your-project-part-2-dao/index.md*

## Overview

In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to modify our [previous code](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exposed-in-your-project-part-1) and use JetBrains/Exposed in DAO manner.

[In the previous post](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exposed-in-your-project-part-1) we created a simple ktor's app, added Exposed dependencies, and started with simple Person&Address relation CRUD. Now, based on the created implementation, we are going to refactor the code in order to fit DAO approach.

## Setting up a test application

***NOTE*: Because we did all the preparation in the previous blog post, we will skip this part - if you need to set up the environment, please, go to Step 1**

## Persistence layer refactoring

First, a summary, then the details. We did:

* group `PersonTable`&`AddressTable`, since `AddressTable` shouldn't be used without Person context
* added `Entity` for both,
* refactored the relations,
* removed `PersonRepository` interface and renamed `PersonRepositoryImpl` to `PersonRepository` in order to simplify the example,
* refactored `PersonRepository` in order to use Entities instead of Tables.

### tables

`PersonTable.kt`

```kotlin
import org.jetbrains.exposed.dao.id.IntIdTable

object PersonTable : IntIdTable("person") {
    val name = text("name")
    val surname = text("surname")
    val age = integer("age")
}

object AddressTable : IntIdTable("address") {
    val personId = reference("person_id", PersonTable.id)
    val street = text("street")
    val house = text("house")
    val apartment = text("apartment")
    val city = text("city")
    val postalCode = text("postal_code")
}
```

There is nothing much - we just moved `AddressTable` from a separate file to the one, common, with `PersonTable`.

### Entities

`PersonEntity.kt`

```kotlin
import org.jetbrains.exposed.dao.IntEntity
import org.jetbrains.exposed.dao.IntEntityClass
import org.jetbrains.exposed.dao.id.EntityID

class PersonEntity(id: EntityID<Int>): IntEntity(id) {
    companion object : IntEntityClass<PersonEntity>(PersonTable)

    var name by PersonTable.name
    var surname by PersonTable.surname
    var age by PersonTable.age
    val addresses by AddressEntity referrersOn AddressTable.personId
}

class AddressEntity(id: EntityID<Int>): IntEntity(id) {
    companion object : IntEntityClass<AddressEntity>(AddressTable)

    var street by AddressTable.street
    var house by AddressTable.house
    var apartment by AddressTable.apartment
    var city by AddressTable.city
    var postalCode by AddressTable.postalCode
    var personId by AddressTable.personId
}
```

`Entity` is a new term since we want to follow the Exposed DAO approach. It states for a representation of a row in the table.\
additionally, as you can see, we added `PersonEntity.addresses` relation.

`val addresses by AddressEntity referrersOn AddressTable.personId`

..which is defined by "old" `person_id` column in `address` table.

### PersonRepository refactoring

PersonRepository.kt

```kotlin
import org.jetbrains.exposed.dao.id.EntityID
import org.jetbrains.exposed.dao.with
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SizedCollection
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.transactions.transaction
import pl.brightinventions.dto.*

class PersonRepository {
    [...]
}
```

#### findAll

```kotlin
fun findAll(): List<FoundPersonWithAddressDto> = transaction {
        PersonEntity
            .all()
            .with(PersonEntity::addresses)
            .map {
                FoundPersonWithAddressDto(
                    it.id.value,
                    it.name,
                    it.surname,
                    it.age,
                    it.addresses.map {
                        FoundPersonAddressDto(
                            it.street, it.house, it.apartment, it.city, it.postalCode
                        )
                    }
                )
            }
    }
```

Based on `PersonEntity`, we have access to `find`, `all`, `findById` methods, and more. In this case, we are going to get `all()` of the records and map it, BUT!\

Since `0.13.1` version (so for a quite long time), we can define eager loading in order to prevent **n+1** problem. By adding `with(PersonEntity::addresses)`, our query execution scenario looks like:

```sql
10:51:51.958 [eventLoopGroupProxy-4-1] DEBUG Exposed - SELECT PERSON.ID, PERSON."NAME", PERSON.SURNAME, PERSON.AGE FROM PERSON
10:51:52.247 [eventLoopGroupProxy-4-1] DEBUG Exposed - SELECT ADDRESS.ID, ADDRESS.PERSON_ID, ADDRESS.STREET, ADDRESS.HOUSE, ADDRESS.APARTMENT, ADDRESS.CITY, ADDRESS.POSTAL_CODE FROM ADDRESS WHERE ADDRESS.PERSON_ID IN (1, 2, 3)
```

#### find

Because I wanted to show eager loading for `findAll()`, `find` method looks similar to the previous one:

```kotlin
fun find(id: PersonId): FoundPersonWithAddressDto? = transaction {
        PersonEntity
            .findById(id)
            ?.load(PersonEntity::addresses)
            ?.let {
                FoundPersonWithAddressDto(
                    it.id.value,
                    it.name,
                    it.surname,
                    it.age,
                    it.addresses.map {
                        FoundPersonAddressDto(
                            it.street, it.house, it.apartment, it.city, it.postalCode
                        )
                    }
                )
            }
    }
```

The only difference is that `with` is now `load` (for a single record).

#### Create, Update, Delete

```kotlin
fun create(person: CreatePersonDto): PersonId = transaction {
    PersonEntity.new {
        name = person.name
        surname = person.surname
        age = person.age
    }.id.value
}

fun delete(id: PersonId): Unit = transaction {
    PersonEntity.findById(id)?.delete()
}

fun update(id: PersonId, person: UpdatePersonDto): Unit = transaction {
    PersonEntity.findById(id)?.let {
        it.name = person.name
        it.surname = person.surname
        it.age = person.age
    }
}
```

The thing that is worth mentioning is that update/delete needs to be done on the found entity - that's why we need to `findById` the record we want to remove/update.

#### addAddress

```kotlin
fun addAddress(personId: PersonId, address: CreateAddressDto) {
        transaction {
            PersonEntity.findById(personId)?.let {
                SizedCollection(
                    it.addresses + address.let {
                        AddressEntity.new {
                            city = address.city
                            house = address.house
                            street = address.street
                            postalCode = address.postalCode
                            apartment = address.apartment
                            this.personId = EntityID(personId, PersonTable)
                        }
                    }
                )
            }
        }
    }
```

This one is a little tricky - in order to add a new address, we need to assign value to the `personId` explicitly.

## Testing

`GET http://localhost:8080/person` \
This one should respond with a list of three persons: `John`, `George`, and `Megan`. Because we want to test our query execution scenario (so we added `address` information to the list as well), it will contain full-person data.

If we want to receive data about a particular person, we need to call\
`GET http://localhost:8080/person/1`,\
which will respond with full Person DTO.

## Conclusion

In this article, we've learned how to refactor DSL to DAO approach in JetBrains/Exposed dependent project. In the next episode, I'm going to tackle some more advanced topics. Stay tuned!

**Did you like the article? Maybe you have some other way for DAO implementation? Leave a comment below and stay in touch!** 

You can find the complete code [over GitHub.](https://github.com/bright/kotlin-exposed-dao-example)

**In the next part of this tutorial you'll learn [how to implement JSON support in our JetBrains/Exposed app](/blog/exposed-in-your-project-json-support/).** Read it!

## Three Dimensions of Empathy 

*Published: 2023-03-19 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, communication, team management*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/three-dimensions-of-empathy/index.md*

As we all live in the world limited by our perceptions and we all have different variations of the same reality it is not always simple to comprehend why people feel or think in a certain way. But there is something like empathy which helps us build social connections and feel values we care for. Empathy is essential in both our private and professional life to understand the needs, emotions and opinions of others. Thanks to empathy we can put ourselves in someone’s situation and improve our capacity to communicate our ideas in a way that makes sense to others. **Empathy is not the same as sympathy where we are moved by someone’s feelings but we stil keep an emotional distance - watch an animation by Dr. Brene Brown’s to understand this difference better.** 



<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZBTYViDPlQ' />

Being empathic means thinking beyond yourself. It means being able to recognise the other party's emotions and share it. **It requires time, effort and awareness to understand what, how and why people feel a particular way.** 

## THREE TYPES OF EMPATHY

Psychologists [Daniel Goleman and Paul Ekman identified three types of empathy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdDVvLEKoc8): 

### 1. Cognitive empathy

It lets us understand rationally and logically how the mind of another person functions and what their perspective or feelings are. **It helps us understand what the other person might be thinking about and in result what their mood is, but there is no emotional connection between you and the person you empathise with.** 

📍Imagine your colleague came to work really depressed and said “My dog died last night.” Your cognitive empathy response might be: “I am sorry. I know you are sad, but your dog was old and ill. In the end we will all bite the dust.” Probably it is not the response your teammate would expect. 


### 2. Emotional/affective empathy

It is about sharing emotional experience. The other person’s emotions affect the way we feel ourselves. **It is not about understanding how someone feels as in the cognitive empathy, but also about creating an emotional bonding with the person.** Emotional empathy was divided by Hodges and Myers, social psychology researchers, into three components i.e. emotional contagion (feeling  the same emotion as another person), feeling distress due to the others person’s pain and feeling compassion.

📍 Imagine again the same situation as above - your teammate is sharing with you the sad news about their dog - your emotional empathy response might be: “I am sorry to hear that. I know you are missing Freddie so much. He was like a part of your family for all these years. I am here for you.” 


### 3. Compassionate empathy

It is a kind of balance between cognitive and emotional empathy. **It is not only about understanding another person’s emotion and showing concern, but also taking some steps to help someone solve their problem.**  

📍And once again let us imagine the situation with the dog. If you use compassionate empathy response, you may say: “ I am sorry to hear that. I know you are missing Freddie so much. He was like a part of your family for all these years. I also lost a dog a few years ago. It was really hard to go through, but what helped me was volunteering in the animals shelter. Maybe you want to go with me there next week?” 

It is not always easy to find an appropriate solution to someone’s problem, but we can try to help however we can. It is ok to share your experience and relate to something that helped you in the past. 


<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/clips/DuncanvilleFOX-fox-foxtv-duncanville-Mqpmtpn8OYBZodvF9g' />

## EMPATHY & WORKPLACE 



You now know that there are three types of empathy, but how to use them in the workplace? **At first we have to realise that empathy is crucial in any type of organisation regardless of its size, age or industry. Empathy is also not dedicated only to the companies which deal with setbacks in progress, underperformance, or team issues.** Being empathic should be just something natural in your team. The problem is that we are sometimes focused so much on achieving our own goals and ambitions that we forget about people around us. But there are many simple ways of demonstrating empathy in your team that you can put in practise even right now. 


### **Be observant**

Observe others around you, watch and wonder, do not categorise, do not label, just care about them. **Listen carefully and pay attention when your colleagues share some facts from their personal or professional life with you.** It allows you to comprehend their points of view properly and recognise the issues they are facing. Showing concern helps others to open up and make them feel much more comfortable.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/betplus-bet-plus-real-husbands-of-hollywood-BhZacnk7mGZQFhtGTZ' />

### **Be compassionate**

 Let people in your team know that their feelings and wellbeing is important to you. **Even if you have never experienced what they are going through, it is sometimes enough to say that you understand that it must be hard, difficult or exhausting.** And if you have experienced a similar situation, try to talk openly about your own feelings, experiences, joys or fears. **You can discover that you may have something (or much) in common with the person you are working with.** 


### **Don’t judge**

Use active listening and ask questions. Slow down to consider the other’s person needs and the intentions or motivation behind them. **You do not have to agree, just listen.** Very often we do not have enough information and facts to know why someone is feeling angry, tired, upset, but we can always try to understand. **Do not judge people’s feelings, believes or experiences. Empathy is not about judging and making opinions.** 

## CAN I LEARN EMPATHY?

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/salih-whatever-loading-salih-Hys63WZ4UHlAc' />

And now the most important question - can I learn empathy? **Yes, empathy is a teachable skill. It does not happen naturally for a lot of people. But the more we practice it the more intuitive it becomes.** If you are not an empathic person by genetic, it is possible to acquire it yourself.  You can start with some basic modelling exercise like below: 

1. Imagine one of your college at work (or you can choose at first your friend or someone from your family). 
2. What was his/her mood recently?
3. What is going on in their life so they feel happy/sad/angry/worried?
4. How do I contribute to their situation? Am I making him/her feel better or worse? 
5. What can I do or say to improve they situation? 


Practise this exercise even every day. If you are not sure about your answers, confront that with the person you are thinking about. No one may have grudge if you show your concern and interest about their life. **The more you practice the better you would be. We all have potential to change. Our empathy can be always developed.** 

Apart from modelling exercises, you may also follow some best practises as following: 


🧡 Practise curiosity about people around you, new cultures, places, tastes etc.

🧡 Try out new activities and see how vulnerable you can be in the beginning. 

🧡 Ask for feedback people you work and live with. 

🧡 Apologise if you hurt someone’s feelings. 

🧡 Learn [how to name and recognise emotions](https://advice.theshineapp.com/articles/struggling-to-name-how-you-feel-try-using-this-wheel/). 


<YouTubeEmbed url='https://youtu.be/ZxfJicfyCdg' />

🧡 Experiment with different hypothetical situations and put yourself in someone’s shoes. 

🧡 Use empathic language.

*I can see how important it is for you. 
I knows that it might be frustrating. 
I am aware that it might have been confusing for you. 
I am really sorry it happened. 
I would like to help you if I can. 
Let us think together what we can do in this situation. 
I am on your side. It is not surprise it made you upset.* 

Empathy is an interpersonal skill that is viewed as a part of emotional intelligence and it is a skill that can bring a real value into your organisation’s life and might become some glue which keeps your relationship together. **We should use an empathic approach not only while working inside the team but also with the clients. The empathic communication let us understand their business choices or some decisions that stand behind products we work on. Empathy helps to build trust and create a bond.** The mindset shift that we can make thanks to empathic approach can really do wonders. **So, next time before you make an opinion about someone, try to understand what led them here, what they think and feel and why they feel like that.**

## ZK-Snarks in Substrate Tutorial Supported by the W3F Grants Program

*Published: 2023-01-24 | Author: kasia | Tags: Substrate, rust, W3F, grant, tutorial, ZK-Snarks*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-tutorial-supported-by-the-w3f-grants-program/index.md*

**We are very happy to finally share the news that our grant proposal for a ZK-Snarks for Substrate implementation, accompanied with a series of blog posts and a video tutorial, was accepted as a part of the [Web3 Foundation (W3F) grants program](https://web3.foundation/grants/). We are grateful to be able to work once again with the support of Web3 Foundation (to check our first W3F financed project, read our [blog post](/blog/bright-treasury-a-treasury-module-application-funded-by-a-w3f-foundation-grant) or visit BrightTreasury).**

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions and Web3 Foundations](../../static/images/blogpost_substrategrant.png "undefined")</div>

By preparing a tutorial with basic implementation of the ZK-Snarks for Substrate ecosystem, **we hope to popularize this concept and make it more accessible to Substrate developers**. There have been similar initiatives available in other blockchain technologies, however currently there is no easily accessible up-to-date demonstrational implementation of ZK-Snarks in Substrate. 

As our implementation will be delivered along with **a series of blog posts and a Youtube tutorial video**, we aim to reach a wider audience and provide an accessible introduction to ZK-Snarks.

**Watch the released video:**

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=groGv-JVvgg&t=12s' />

**Read blog posts:** 

[Zk-SNARKs in Substrate (Part 1)](/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-1)

[Zk-SNARKs in Substrate (Part 2). Using Groth16 and Running Circom Proof](/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-2-using-groth16-and-running-circom-proof)

[Zk-SNARKs with Substrate (Part 3). Pallet Implementation](/blog/zk-snarks-with-substrate-part-3-pallet-implementation)

## Milestones

The scope of the proposal was delivered in 2 milestones, the first one is available in our [repository](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/):

### Milestone 1

Creating a pallet which stores necessary data for a ZK-Snarks. 

**Key deliverables:**

1.  A Dockerfile that can be used to test all the functionality delivered with this milestone. 
2. The pallet that allows storing a verification key and the proof on the blockchain and the on-chain verification.
3. Blog post: ZK-Snarks concept

   * What are the ZK-Snarks
   * Describing the “Bob” problem and how they can solve it
   * Describing the process of creating proof 
   * Creating a “circom” example

### Milestone 2

Implementing the on-chain proof verification mechanism followed by a series of educational materials. 

**Key deliverables:**

1. Groth16 proof verification method which will be used by the pallet 
2. A demo where we will use a 3rd party tool to verify a solution & where Alice could be rewarded for finding a solution. 
3. Circuits in circom, which will describe our exemplary problem.
4. Blog post: Tutorial Groth16 (Part 1) - describing the groth16 and running "circom proof" from previous post with the Rust Unit test / CMD.
5. Blog post: Tutorial Pallet (Part 2) - creating a pallet with the unit tests & running an example from the previous tutorial with polkadot.js. 
6. Youtube video tutorial explaining the concepts described in the blog posts. 

Soon we will share more blog posts from our tutorial series, so stay tuned!

## Polish Organizations that Support Women in Tech

*Published: 2022-04-07 | Author: izabela | Tags: inspiration, development, self-development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/polish-organizations-that-support-women-in-tech/index.md*

**Everything you should know about Polish initiatives for women in tech. Check out available mentoring programs, courses, communities, and join the movement!**

![Intitiatives for Polish female software developers](../../static/images/blog_post_polish_tech_initiatives_women.png "")

## Statistics about females programmers in software development in Poland

Various data put Poland in a very good light. Poland was ranked by HackerRank on the list of countries with the largest proportion of female developers:

<center>

![Polish female developers](../../static/images/female_developers_hackerrank.png "")

</center>

Source: [HackerRank](https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-countries-have-the-most-skilled-female-developers/)

With the higher number of Polish female developers comes high quality. HackerRank also presents women’s average scores on algorithms challenges. Polish female developers took third place!

<center>

![HackerRank best female developers](../../static/images/hackerrank_best_female_developers.png "")

</center>

Source: [Medium.com](https://medium.com/code-like-a-girl/which-countries-have-the-most-skilled-female-developers-b532fc53c7c8)

## Still, there is so much to be done for women in tech

![Kasia - Senior Project Manager at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/kasia_quote_women.png "")

We discussed the situation of women in tech in [an interview with our bright Senior Project Manager Kasia](/blog/meet-kasia-a-project-manager-and-an-academic-teacher) who is an academic teacher at the Department of Software Engineering at the Gdańsk University of Technology. Check out [Kasia’s thoughts on the situation of Polish female STEM students](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/meet-kasia-a-project-manager-and-an-academic-teacher/#what-does-the-female-students-situation-at-it-look-like-can-you-see-that-there-are-more-women-studying-than-there-used-to-be). 

Even if Poland looks quite well in the HackerRank above, there is much to be done for women in software development in Poland.

Fortunately, **the Polish tech world knows that and organizes mentoring programs, courses, competitions, and more initiatives** whose goal is to encourage women to pursue careers in engineering, especially in software development. 

## Polish initiatives that bring girls and women closer to tech

We gathered some of the Polish initiatives for women in tech and female programmers to-be.

### Mentoring options for female software developers

![Mentoring for female software developers Poland](../../static/images/blog_mentoring_women_tech.png "")

[Dare IT](https://www.dareit.io)

Polish mentoring program that helps to find women's first job in software development. It is a 3-months program. So far over 100 mentees got a chance to participate. The program is not free of charge however, there is an option to apply for a scholarship.

[IT for SHE](http://www.itforshe.pl/en/)

Mentoring program organized by Polish NGO – Perspektywy Education Foundation. Over 60 mentors offer their support to mentees across Poland. It is free of charge.

[Tech Leaders](https://techleaders.eu)

It is a 4-month, free mentoring program for women whose desire is to pursue a career in IT and new technologies. In 2022 the 7th edition of the mentoring program started. Tech Leaders mentors represent areas like IT development, Agile, Design, or HR. We are proud that our Senior Project Manager Kasia is among the group of mentors. She shares with her mentee her knowledge about Agile, Project Management, and team building.

### IT educational program for women

![IT educational programs for women](../../static/images/blog_education_women_tech.png "")

[iTech Woman!](https://itechwoman.pl)

Another free program that offers over 140 hours of workshops and courses regarding web development, online security, or 3D modeling. The program is dedicated to women aged from 18 to 40 who are unemployed or in difficult life situations. Thanks to iTech Woman! they can get knowledge about tech and take the first step toward their first job in tech.

## Women Tech Communities

![Women Tech Communities](../../static/images/blog_tech_communities_women_blog.png "")

[Cyber Women Community](https://cyberwomen.eu)

The community for juniors and more experienced female software developers who are passionate about cybersecurity. Cyber Women Community organizes workshops and other meetups offering a platform to exchange knowledge. The community also organizes the “Rising Star in Cybersecurity” contest which promotes women in the industry.

[Geek Girls Carrot](https://gocarrots.org)

Global female tech community that came to life in Poland over 10 years ago. Since then Geek Girls Carrots have been organizing meetups, workshops, and mentoring for women in tech. They became a global movement, hosting meetings around the world.

<div className="important-info"><h2>Geek Girls Carrots Update</h2><div>Geek Girls Carrots announced in February 2023 that they suspend their activities. Yet, we won't delete them from this list because we hope and truly believe that this organization will be back.</div></div>



### Initiatives for teenagers and girls

![Tech initiative for teenagers and girls](../../static/images/blog_teenagers_girls_tech_blog.png "")

[Girls as Engineers! Campaign](http://www.dziewczynynapolitechniki.pl/english)

That is a national Polish campaign started over 10 years ago. It might be the most recognized tech initiative for women in Poland. It is organized by the Perspektywy Education Foundation and the Conference of Rectors of Polish Technical Universities (KRPUT).

As you can see on their [Girls as Engineers! Campaign website](http://www.dziewczynynapolitechniki.pl/english) the main goal of the campaign is:

> \[...] to introduce technical and engineering studies to female high school students and to promote this educational path as interesting, attractive and very beneficial in the long run. Over 150 000 girls have participated in the project.

[STEAM Academy](https://girlscodefun.pl/projekty-edukacyjne/steam-academy/)

Is a free educational program including mentoring sessions. It is organized by the Polish NGO Girls code fun. STEAM Academy is dedicated to female students from Warsaw high schools. Participants attend 60 hours of classes regarding STEM areas and soft skills. After that, they have 1:1 sessions with mentors enabling them to dive into the most interesting aspects of the new technology world. During the whole program, high school female students have a chance to learn about frontend and backend development, UX design, and soft skills. Kasia and I got a great opportunity to be mentors to participants. 

[Space for Girls Magazine](https://kosmosdladziewczynek.pl) (Polish — “Magazyn Kosmos dla Dziewczynek”)

We all are aware that presenting tech opportunities to girls when they are already teenagers might be too late. That is why we included a special initiative addressed to young Polish girls.

“Space for Girl” is a Polish magazine dedicated to young girls. Its goal is to support girls in pursuing their passions for science and new technologies and showing them that no stereotypes have power over them. The magazine is published by the “Space for girls” Foundation. It is an NGO initiative created by women for women-to-be. 

<center>

![Kosmos dla dziewczynek Polish magazine](../../static/images/no.28–okladka-komiks-650x659.jpg.webp "")

</center>

Source: [Space for Girls Magazine](https://kosmosdladziewczynek.pl)

As you can see Polish NGOs are really fighting the stereotype that the tech world is a men's world. Thank you for that! 👏

Have we missed some initiatives worth spreading? Let us know in the comment to get the chance to add them.

## Into the Drools Engine. Your Own Scoring System

*Published: 2023-03-15 | Author: tomasz-k | Tags: backend, drools*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/into-the-drools-engine-your-own-scoring-system/index.md*

**In this little tutorial, I am going to show you how to turn Drools rule engine into a practical form of a deployable expert system. I will show you how to make your very own scoring service – like in the banks... well, almost. 😉 Of course, it will not be ready for production but it should give you enough fuel for your imagination to let you sketch your own solution.**

<div className="image">![Drools Engine](../../static/images/blogpost_drools.png "Drools Engine")</div>

Expert systems have been around for decades. Probably already in the times when 50MB hard drivers were of the size of washing machines. The best way of debugging was by using punch cards while smoking tons of cigarettes, of course in the office where it was possible and still cool. Perhaps. **😉**

**Expert systems (ES) are designed to mimic human expertise in a specific domain**. They use a set of rules mapping concrete knowledge base, often represented in an "if-then" format, to make decisions and provide recommendations in an authoritative way just as they were programmed.

ES were ruling the world of decision-making software and many of us have thought that now it's just a matter of algorithm optimization, scaling on the way to create A.I. capable of beating "Turing's Test". There was however another approach developed in a parallel universe which in a short amount of time took the hearts of the IT world by storm. And here it is Machine Learning everything.

In contrast, ML is a more general approach to AI that uses algorithms to learn from data and make predictions. While expert systems and ML have their own strengths and weaknesses, they can be used together to create powerful AI systems. They can make complex decisions with a high degree of accuracy. **Drools, with its ability to handle large sets of rules and manage complex decision-making processes, is a valuable tool for developers looking to build expert systems that integrate with ML** or decision-making engine on its own.

In this blog post, **I will set up a standalone Drools-based microservice and present a very basic scoring system for the transaction**. Why not own a little KYC service. 🙂

## Why all that fuss

You might be asking yourself why we need all that since we have If-Then in most programming languages and there is nothing to be proud of.

Imagine a simple program checking loan eligibility written in Java:

```java
public class LoanEligibilityChecker {

    public boolean checkEligibility(Applicant applicant) {
        boolean isEligible = false;

        if (applicant.getIncome() > 50000 && applicant.getCreditScore() > 600) {
            isEligible = true;
        }

        if (applicant.getIncome() > 75000 && applicant.getCreditScore() > 550) {
            isEligible = true;
        }

        if (applicant.getIncome() > 100000 && applicant.getCreditScore() > 500) {
            isEligible = true;
        }

        // check if the applicant has a cosigner
        if (applicant.getCosigner() != null) {
            Cosigner cosigner = applicant.getCosigner();
            if (cosigner.getIncome() > 75000 && cosigner.getCreditScore() > 650) {
                isEligible = true;
            }
        }

        return isEligible;
    }

}
```

There is not much going on in the code but it already becomes not so readable. Now imagine how this class will look if we decide to add, say, 50 more conditions. Also, some of them will change the preconditions and will require recursively firing all rules over and over.

In contrast `Dools` rules are never dependent on each other. They are truly atomic and declarative. They will be automagically reevaluated and they are isolated from infrastructure enough to be self-explanatory to the business. As a matter of fact, many production systems delegate fact modeling and writing the rules to non-programmers letting the knowledge base releases be asynchronous to infrastructure code.

```java
rule "Eligibility for loan"
    when
        $a : Applicant(income > 50000, creditScore > 600)
    then
        $a.setEligible(true);
end

rule "Eligibility for loan - high income"
    when
        $a : Applicant(income > 75000, creditScore > 550)
    then
        $a.setEligible(true);
end

rule "Eligibility for loan - very high income"
    when
        $a : Applicant(income > 100000, creditScore > 500)
    then
        $a.setEligible(true);
end

rule "Eligibility for loan - with cosigner"
    when
        $a : Applicant(cosigner != null, $c : cosigner, income > 0, creditScore > 0)
        $c : Cosigner(income > 75000, creditScore > 650)
    then
        $a.setEligible(true);
end
```

So, without further ado...

## Facts modeling

Drools gives you absolute freedom how your facts are injected in the system. In my past experience, I found 2 ways of modeling cases particularly popular:

* Master model as a large tree structure representing a physical object. Where interaction is performed by facts modifying the state of Master. It's good for large Billing Of Material tree-like structures and user selections (smaller facts acting as actions) making quantity changes on the Master BOM tree leaves. This might be familiar for those working with large enterprises building and sending customizable complex machinery.
* Small loose facts models are thrown into working memory much like into the bucket. Fact objects might have a moderate amount of properties. Fact objects might represent goods or parcels but also contextual objects like policies.

Facts in Drools are technically POJOs and may work perfectly with DDD making it as close in naming and relation to business objects as you can get.

## The Rules

Rules in Drools are conditions written in a declarative language called DRL (Drools Rule Language) and they resemble the classic flow control statement you may find in most programming languages IF... THEN.

For the sake of coolness it's WHEN... THEN. Where expression behind the WHEN is called Left Hand Side (LHS) and defines the conditions that must be met for the rule to be activated. These conditions are based on the objects (Facts) being in the working memory at the time of reasoning.

In contrast, expressions behind the THEN are known as Right Hand Side (RHS) and defines actions to be performed when conditions in LHS are met. What kind of actions? Modification of existing facts (changing its properties). Logically adding and retracting facts from working memory. Each of these actions may cause the rule engine to reestablish the execution agenda - which means recalculating everything. All conditions must be met at all times. You may ask if it's possible to get into an infinite loop - of course. Luckily there are couple of ways of preventing this.

## Modeling

Modeling decision is the process of creating a representation of the business process using domain objects and constraints.

* Data modeling: This involves creating an abstract representation of business objects and its relationships within a system.
* Rule modeling: This involves creating models that represent the business rules and decision logic that govern a business system.

## Sounds gloomy?

Simply facts will be our Java POJOs representing the subject of our reasoning. Rules will be the conditions.

## The setup

Our "typical" modern expert system will consist of the following elements.

* Fact Model
* Rules
* Optional External system
* REST interface

## Let's get started

First things first. Let's create a project, grab some dependencies and have a coffee. Not really, it's gotta be quick.

```java
plugins {
    `java-library`
    `application`
}

application {
    mainClassName = "com.example.ruleserver.Ruleserver"
}

repositories {
    mavenLocal()
    maven {
        url = uri("https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/")
    }
}

dependencies {
    api("org.drools:drools-ruleunits-engine:8.32.0.Final")
    api("org.drools:drools-model-compiler:8.32.0.Final")
    api("org.drools:drools-wiring-dynamic:8.32.0.Final")
    api("com.sparkjava:spark-core:2.9.4")
    api("com.jsoniter:jsoniter:0.9.20")

}

group = "com.example"
version = "1.0-SNAPSHOT"
description = "ruleserver"
java.sourceCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
```

You've already noticed that apart from Drools-related dependencies there are a couple of other jars coming along. These are not required and depend on your personal taste in how you would like to build a solution for the rule server. You are free to use any application server or RPC of your choice. Same with a marshaling library.

I will be using Spark http server library and Jsoniter - JSON parser.

```java
package com.example.ruleserver;

import static spark.Spark.*;
import spark.Request;
import spark.Response;

public class Ruleserver {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        port(8888);
        get("/", (req, res) -> "Stateless Drools Server");
    }
}
```

Not much here. But feel free to fire `gradle run` and check using HTTP Client of your choice. You will find out what we will be doing here. Yes, it's `stateless`. Its main benefit is releasing memory right after reasoning is done.

Drools provides an option to work as a stateful engine. It's useful when a fact model is very complex and can not be established easily within a limited amount of interactions or the construction of base models takes a lot of time.

### Fact Model

```java
package com.example.model;
import java.util.Map;

public class Account {

    String name;
    double age;
    double income;
    Education education;

    int score;

    public Account(Map<String, Object> attributes) {
        super();
        this.age = (double) attributes.get("age");
        this.name = (String) attributes.get("name");
        this.education = attributes.get("education") != null
                ? Education.valueOf((String) attributes.get("education"))
                : Education.MIDDLE;
        this.income = (double) attributes.getOrDefault("income", 0.0);
        this.score = 0;
    }

// getters & setters here

    public void addScore(int add) {
        this.score += add;
    }
}
```

This is our main fact for this example. We will be throwing Accounts into the system and we will be getting back scoring. As I mention Facts are POJOs. Here with constructor allows easy instantiation from JSON objects an additional method to aggregate the score. You may guess that Education is an enum here. Nothing fancy here.

In recent versions of Drools new way of aggregating facts and rules have been introduced: Rule Units.

I really like its simplicity, abstraction of Data Stores - collections of facts of the same type. Let's use it.

```java
package com.example.model;

import org.drools.ruleunits.api.DataSource;
import org.drools.ruleunits.api.DataStore;
import org.drools.ruleunits.api.RuleUnitData;

public class AppUnit implements RuleUnitData {

    private final DataStore<Account> accounts;

    private DataStore<Sanction> sanctions;

    public AppUnit() {
        this(DataSource.createStore());
    }

    public AppUnit(DataStore<Account> accounts) {
        this.accounts = accounts;
    }

    public DataStore<Account> getAccounts() {
        return accounts;
    }

    public DataStore<Sanction> getSanctions() {
        return sanctions;
    }

    public void setSanctions(DataStore<Sanction> sanctions) {
        this.sanctions = sanctions;
    }
}
```

In this construct, I am instantiating an empty datastore of accounts while leaving an empty socket for sanctions. This is my metaphor for external service being used here. In my previous projects, I often injected facts with a reference to an external system (db). In this case, I envision writing a plugin for my system by implementing the DataStore interface.

```java
package com.example.model;

import org.drools.ruleunits.api.DataHandle;
import org.drools.ruleunits.api.DataProcessor;
import org.drools.ruleunits.api.DataSource;
import org.drools.ruleunits.api.DataStore;

public class SanctionProvider implements DataStore<Sanction> {

    DataStore<Sanction> sanctions;

    private static SanctionProvider instance = new SanctionProvider();

    private SanctionProvider() {
        sanctions = DataSource.createStore();
        this.init();
    }

    private void init() {
        this.sanctions.add(new Sanction(SanctionType.CRIME, "John Snow"));
        this.sanctions.add(new Sanction(SanctionType.CRIME, "Loki"));
        this.sanctions.add(new Sanction(SanctionType.DIPLOMATIC, "Mysterio"));
    }

    public static SanctionProvider getInstance() {
        return instance;
    }

    @Override
    public void subscribe(DataProcessor<Sanction> subscriber) {
        this.sanctions.subscribe(subscriber);
    }

    @Override
    public DataHandle add(Sanction object) {
        return this.sanctions.add(object);
    }

    @Override
    public void update(DataHandle handle, Sanction object) {
        this.sanctions.update(handle, object);
    }

    @Override
    public void remove(DataHandle handle) {
        this.sanctions.remove(handle);
    }

    @Override
    public void remove(Sanction object) {
        this.sanctions.remove(object);
    }

}
```

### My Rules

Here is an example rule which will match the Account object using the name by sanction. More or less it says: “get me all the sanctions of type PEP and find me the name of the account matching those on the list”. If found, decrease the score by 500. Simple and beautiful.

There is also information that we will be using a unit as we declared previously.

```java
package com.example.model;

unit AppUnit;
import com.example.model.Education;


rule "Sub -500 when on Sanction list as PEP"
when
	$s: /sanctions[ sanctionType ==  SanctionType.PEP  ]
	$a: /accounts[ name == $s.name ]
then
	$a.addScore(-500);
end

rule "Higher education will give +100 to score"
when
	$a: /accounts[ education == Education.HIGH ]
then
	$a.addScore(100);
end


rule "Income +1000 will add +100"
when
	$a: /accounts[ income > 1000 ]
then
	$a.addScore(100);
end


rule "Sub -1000 when on Sanction list as CRIME, MILITARY, DIPLOMATIC"
when
	$s: /sanctions[ sanctionType in  ( SanctionType.CRIME, SanctionType.MILITARY, SanctionType.DIPLOMATIC ) ]
	$a: /accounts[ name == $s.name ]
then
	$a.addScore(-1000);
end
```

You can have as many rules as you can possibly imagine. I was working with systems where it was hundreds or sometimes thousands. The RETE algorithm is constructed in a way where compiled rules are constructing a network of references ahead of execution. The actual decision process is rather quick.

As the number of rules and the size of the data being processed increases, the scalability of Drools can be more like O(logn).

## Wrapping up

Now back to the rule server. What I tried to achieve here is to:

* Receive change object. In this case, it's a list of Accounts to be evaluated.
* Instantiate facts and insert them into the unit. Some facts are already on the server side. The Sanctions Provider is used to represent this as an entry from an external system. Accounts are instantiated using Change DTO.
* Execute the named query and send back the results.

```java
public class Ruleserver {

    final static SanctionProvider sp = SanctionProvider.getInstance();

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        port(8888);
        get("/", (req, res) -> "Stateless Drools Server");
        post("/execute", (req, res) -> execute(req, res), new JsonTransformer());
    }

    public static Object execute(Request req, Response res) {
        try {
            Change change = parseBody(req.body());
            AppUnit unit = getAppUnit();
            unit.setSanctions(Ruleserver.sp);

            RuleUnitInstance<AppUnit> instance = getInstance(unit);

            for (int i = 0; i < change.facts.size(); i++) {
                loadFacts(unit, change.facts.get(i));
            }

            Map<String, Object> queryResults = new HashMap<String, Object>();
            if (change.queries != null) {
                for (int i = 0; i < change.queries.size(); i++) {
                    Query q = change.queries.get(i);
                    queryResults.put(q.name, instance.executeQuery(q.name).toList(q.variable));
                }
                return queryResults;
            } else {
                return "OK";
            }

        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.out.println(e);
            System.out.println(e.getMessage());

            e.printStackTrace(System.out);
            res.status(403);
            return e;
        }

    }

    static Change parseBody(String body) {
        return deserialize(body, Change.class);
    }

    static AppUnit getAppUnit() {
        return new AppUnit();
    }

    static RuleUnitInstance<AppUnit> getInstance(AppUnit unit) {
        return RuleUnitProvider.get().createRuleUnitInstance(unit);
    }

    static void loadFacts(AppUnit unit, Fact factObj) {

        switch (factObj.typeName) {
            case "Account":
                unit.getAccounts().add(new Account(factObj.attributes));
                break;
        }
    }
}
```

## Running it

To run it you can normally kick it from gradle:

```java
gradle run
```

Once started use your favorite HTTP client to do some tests `POST localhost:8888/execute` with body:

```java
{
	"version": 1,
	{
		"typeName": "Account",
		"attributes": {
			"name": "John Snow",
			"age": 44,
			"income":1001,
			"education":"HIGH"
		}
	},
	{
		"typeName": "Account",
		"attributes": {
			"name": "Mysterio",
			"age": 79,
			"income":1001,
			"education":"HIGH"
		}
	}

	],
	"queries":[
	  { "name": "FindAccount", "variable":"$m"}
	 ]

}
```

If you wanna deploy it quickly as a service, here is simple `Dockerfile`.

```java
FROM gradle:7.2.0-jdk17
WORKDIR "/app"
COPY . .
CMD ["gradle", "run"]
EXPOSE 8888
```

To run it:

```java
docker build -t ruleserver .
docker run -p 8888:8888 ruleserver
```

## Final word

When I get 1000+ “likes” I will write second part :D with more complex modeling exercises and hints about debugging. Wait, since we don’t have “likes” here I will kindly accept a few comments instead. 😝

## References

As you might already notice this blog is fairly lightweight and might be just scratching the surface gently. There are tons of articles around rule engines, expert systems and bom models. Best is to start searching in usual places.

[https://docs.drools.org/8.35.0.Final/](https://docs.drools.org/8.35.0.Final/drools-docs/docs-website/drools/introduction/index.html)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_materials/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_materials)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rete_algorithm/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rete_algorithm)

You can find source code of the example here:

[https://github.com/bright/drools-ruleserver-example/](https://github.com/bright/drools-ruleserver-example)

## Zk-SNARKs in Substrate (Part 1)

*Published: 2023-03-14 | Author: michal-gr | Tags: substrate, blockchain, rust, ZK-Snarks*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-1/index.md*

**In this article I would like to introduce you to the zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge) concept. First we are going to briefly describe what are the zero-knowledge proofs, what are the stages of creating them, which tools can be useful for generating the zk-SNARKs. Also, we will touch a little math behind them. I encourage you to visit our GitHub, where you can find a [repository](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate) for this article. Let’s start with the definition of the zero-knowledge proof and then we will move to the zk-SNARKs.**

<div className="image">![Zk-SNARKs in Substrate (Part 1)](../../static/images/zk-snarks_tutorial_part1.png "Zk-SNARKs in Substrate (Part 1)")</div>

Zero-knowledge proof is a method where one party (the prover) tries to “*convince*” the other party (the verifier) that a given statement is true, without revealing the solution [^6](https://fisher.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Thesis_Terrence-Jo.pdf). There are two types of proving systems[^2](https://blog.decentriq.com/zk-snarks-primer-part-one/):

* **interactive** - where the prover and verifier exchange multiple messages with each other, until the verifier is convinced enough that the prover knows the given statement is true.
* **non-interactive** - where the prover creates a proof and the verifier is able to run it and check if the given statement is true. Compared to the interactive version, there is only one message (proof) that is sent to the verifier and it can be run asynchronously.

**In this article we will focus on the non-interactive approach which is called zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge).**

## zk-SNARKs

From the high-level point of view, the concept defines:

* $y$ - public inputs that are known to everyone.
* $x$ - private inputs that are only known for the prover. He claims that these are the right inputs for solving the problem.
* **Problem** - a function $f(x,y)$, which takes private and public inputs. Result of this function is boolean: $true$ or $false$.
* **Prover** - he knows the solution for the problem (private inputs), based on that he can create a proof.
* **Verifier** - he can accept a proof and verify it.

<div className="image">![zk-snark concept!](../../static/images/zk-snark_concept.png "zk-snark concept!")</div>

As shown on the image, the prover will create a proof, based on the public and private inputs. Verifier will receive it and run the verification knowing only the public inputs. Based on that we can conclude that proof will need somehow to wrap our problem and the private inputs. Then it will need to transform them to the other form which could be verified only with the public inputs. Now when we know the concept, we can dive deeper and look at this process in detail.

First let’s think about the problems which zk-SNARKs can solve. There are two types of problems P(*deterministic polynomial*) and NP (*nondeterministic polynomial*)[^5](https://www.zeroknowledgeblog.com/index.php/the-pinocchio-protocol/computation). The first ones are the problems that can be run in polynomial time and those are not applicable for the zk-SNARKs[^4](https://xord.com/research/explaining-quadratic-arithmetic-programs/). The second ones are the problems, which can only be verified in polynomial time. In other words, finding the right solution for an NP problem is very hard, but verifying an already existing one is quite easy. This is exactly what zk-SNARKs is about. 

First, our problem will need to be written as a code and then transformed into the proper form, which is a Quadratic Arithmetic Program (QAP)[^1](https://medium.com/@VitalikButerin/quadratic-arithmetic-programs-from-zero-to-hero-f6d558cea649). Transformation allows us to convert code into a mathematical representation of it. In the next parts of this article, we take a closer look at this process.

If we want to go further, we will need to have a suitable example, which helps us in better understanding the concept of zk-SNARKs. **Let’s assume that Bob is a founder of the Bright Coders union**. In front of his mates, he announces that there are few places left in the union and **those who solve this equation first:**

<center>

$$ x^2+3=12 $$

</center>

**will be able to join it**! Alice is one of his friends who knows the result, which is $x=3$. Instead of saying it loudly and risking others to claim the vacancy, she is willing to use a zk-SNARKs to prove to Bob that she knows the result without revealing it!

If we take a closer look at the equation and set it together with what we already knew about the zk-Snarks, we will notice two things:

* Equation is well know to everyone, so result “*12*” can be our “*public input*”
* “*x*” is what we are looking for, so this can be our “*private input*”. This matches the requirement for only a prover (Alice) to know its value.

Now together with Alice we will try to explain the process of converting the equation above into the zk-SNARK. The process takes a couple of stages:

* Computation statement
* Flattening
* R1CS (*Rank-1 Constraint System*)
* QAP (*Quadratic Arithmetic Program*)

We are going to describe them in the next part of this article. Alice is going to use two external tools [Cricom](https://docs.circom.io/getting-started/installation/) and [SnarkJS](https://github.com/iden3/snarkjs). Circom is a compiler written in Rust for creating circuits. SnarkJS is a npm package, which implements generation and validation of the zk-SNAKRs for the artifacts produced by Circom. For the installation process, please check our [documentation](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/circom/README.md) in the repository.

## Computation statement

Alice will start with writing our equation as a Rust function

```
fn solution(x: i32) -> i32 {
   let y = x*x + 3;
   return y;
}
```

by using it, she can easily verify if value "*3*" is the right answer for our equation. At this stage, it is good to point out that Alice could build a binary and send it to Bob asking him to verify the result. Unfortunately we have two problems here:

* Alice will need to reveal the value of the “*x*” variable to Bob, which she doesn’t want to.
* Bob will not be sure if Alice's program is the correct one. For example her program could just return “*12*”, without doing any computations.

Solving those problems can be done by converting this program to QAP and adding some cryptography. This is what we are going to do next steps.

## Flattening

We need to convert our computation statement to a few smaller ones which have one of two forms[^1](https://medium.com/@VitalikButerin/quadratic-arithmetic-programs-from-zero-to-hero-f6d558cea649):

* Assignment to the variable or constants ($x=y$, where “*y*” be a variable or a constant)
* Assignment to the combination of operators ($x=y (op) z$ , where “*op” is one of the $(+,-,*,/)$ and “*y*” and “*z*” can be variables or constants).

You can think about those statements as gates of an arithmetic circuit. The result of the flattening for our statement will be:

```
fn solution(x: i32) -> i32 {
   let tmp1 = x*x;
   let y = tmp1 + 3;
   return y;
}
```

## Rank-1 Constraint System

Next step is to convert our circuits to a R1CS (*rank-1 constraint system*), which is a list of three vectors $a,b,c$ and a solution to R1CS which is a vector $s$, such that[^2](https://blog.decentriq.com/zk-snarks-primer-part-one/):

<center>

$$a*{i}\cdot s*  b*{i}\cdot s - c_{i}\cdot s = 0$$

</center>

where:

* “ $\cdot$ ” is a dot product
* $i$ in $\[1,N]$ and $N$ is a number of circuits

We can interpret this in this way, if our vectors could represent the constraints (equation which describes circuits), then vector $s$ will be our witness, that satisfies the equation above. 

We will start with the definition of $s$, which is a vector of all values associated with the variables that have been used in the circuits. Based on this our vector $s$ will represent a variable in such a way $1,y,x,tmp1$. First element is always $1$ and will represent constant values. Then are the public inputs $y$, private inputs $x$ and other intermediate variables $tmp1$. If we replace variables with the values, we will get our vector, which we call a witness:

<center>

$$ s=\[1,12,3,9] $$

</center>

Now when we defined the witness we can conclude the vectors for the $a,b,c$, which will actually map to our circuits. Please have in mind that our vector $s$ maps to $\[1,y,x,tmp1]$, based on that vectors $a,b,c$ for the:

first circuit $(tmp1=x*x)$:

<center>

$$a*{1}=\[0,0,1,0]$$
$$b*{1}=\[0,0,1,0]$$
$$c_{1}=\[0,0,0,1]$$

</center>

second circuit $(y=tmp1+3)$:

<center>

$$a*{2}=\[0,0,0,0]$$
$$b*{2}=\[0,0,0,0]$$
$$c_{2}=\[3,1,0,1]$$

</center>

If we put everything together for the first circuit, we can check the correctness of the R1CS equation:

<center>

| $a_{1}$ | $b_{1}$ | $c_{1}$ | $s$ |
| ------- | ------- | ------- | --- |
| 0       | 0       | 0       | 1   |
| 0       | 0       | 0       | 12  |
| 1       | 1       | 0       | 3   |
| 0       | 0       | 1       | 9   |

</center>

<center>

$$a*{i}\cdot s*  b*{i}\cdot s - c_{i}\cdot s = 3*3 -9 = 0$$

</center>

As you can see the computations are fine, so R1CS for circuit one is ok. Alice will now use a *Cricom* for generating a R1CS. First she need to creates a *Cricom* template file (*[task.cricom](https://github.com/bright/zk-snarks-with-substrate/blob/main/circom/task.circom)*) which defines a constraints for our code:

```
pragma circom 2.0.0;
template Task() {
   signal input x;
   signal output y;
   signal tmp_1;
 
   tmp_1 <== x * x;
   y <== tmp_1 + 3;
}
component main = Task();
```

Than she can generate R1CS by running the command:

```
mkdir build
circom task.circom --r1cs --wasm --sym -o build --O0 -p bls12381
```

This will generate a file (*build/task.r1cs*), which describes an R1CS in the *Cricom*. Another artifact is a *build/task.wasm*, which is a circuit compiled to the WebAssembly. After that Alice will need to create a witness (vector $s$) file, but this time she will use a *SnarkJS* tool for doing this. First she needs to create a json file which will describe all private inputs in our circuits. In our case this is a very simple task, because our only input value is $x$ which is “*3*”. Input file (*input.json*) will look like this:

```
{"x": "3"}
```

Then she can generate a witness file (*build/witness.wtns*):

```
cd build/task_js
node generate_witness.js task.wasm ../../input.json witness.wtns
```

Alice can also verify the result, by exporting witness to json (*build/witness.json*):

`snarkjs wtns export json witness.wtns witness.json`

```
[
 "1",
 "12",
 "3",
 "9"
]
```

As you can see, the result is exactly the same as it were for our witness from the computations.

## Quadratic Arithmetic Program

The last step is to convert a R1CS to QAP, which will allow us to transform R1CS vectors to the polynomials. The logic behind the equation will still be the same, but instead of using vectors with a dot product we will use polynomials[^3](https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/01/26/snarks.html). We can start with the declaration of the polynomials $A*{i}(x)$, $B*{i}(x)$ and $C*{i}(x)$ for $i$ in $\[1,N]$, where the $N$ is a number of variables for our constraints (in our case it will be 4). Than we can create a set of points for $A*{i}(n)=a*{n}(i)$ and similar for $B*{i}(n)$ and $C_{i}(n)$. 

Based on those points, we can create polynomials by using a [Lagrange interpolation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrange_polynomial). As a result we will get a set of polynomials which can be then written in the equation:

<center>

$$ A(X)*B(X)-C(X)=H(X)*Z(X) $$

</center>

where:

$Z(X)=(x-x*{1})*(x-x*{2})...(x-x_{n})$, where $n$ is number of constraints

$H(X)$ - is some polynomial which we define further

Why can we write this equality here? As you remember we are now in the scope of the polynomials, so we can define a polynomial $P(X)$, which will be:

<center>

$$ P(X)=A(X)*B(X)-C(X)=0 $$

</center>

From the [polynomial long division](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynomial_long_division), we can deduce that above equation will only hold, if $P(X)$ will be divided by the $Z(X)=(x-x*{1})*(x-x*{2})...(x-x_{n})$ without a reminder. Our formula can be written like this[^7](https://www.zeroknowledgeblog.com/index.php/the-pinocchio-protocol/qap):

<center>

$$\frac{P(X)}{Z(X)}=\frac{A(X)*B(X)-C(X)}{(x-1)*(x-1)}=H(X) $$

</center>

Ok, so we get the definition of $H(X)$, but what do we actually gain by conversion from R1CS to QAP? It appears that previously in R1CS to verify the equation we need to verify dot product calculation for each constraint separately, now using polynomials we can verify all constraints at once. I will just remind you, the prover will try to convince the verifier that the equation $A(X)*B(X)-C(X)=H(X)*Z(X)$ holds.

Alice knows the witness and she’s able to compute $H(X)$. By expressing computations with the R1CS, Bob will be certain that Alice is running the right computations and she is not cheating. If only Alice could somehow hide the information about the witness from Bob. The best way to do it will be using some cryptography.

## Summary

At this point we are going to stop. What we already learned is what the zk-SNARKs are and how we can use tools like *Circom* and *SnarkJS* in creating them. In the next post, we will take a closer look at the *Groth16*, which is a cryptography proof system that will allow us to finish the Alice task. We will use artifacts (*witness.wtns, input.json*) created in this tutorial, to generate a proof and verify it using *SnarkJS*.

[Read Part 2 of Zk-Snarks in the Substrate Tutorial](/blog/zk-snarks-in-substrate-part-2-using-groth16-and-running-circom-proof).

- - -

This tutorial is supported by the [Web3 Foundation Grants Program](https://web3.foundation/grants/).

## Exposed in Your Project - Part 1

*Published: 2023-03-13 | Author: patryk sz | Tags: Exposed, kotlin, ORM, DBAL, database, framework*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exposed-in-your-project-part-1/index.md*

## Overview

In this tutorial, we are going to learn what is and how to use JetBrains/Exposed framework, the DSL approach especially.

[In the previous post](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exposed-rsql-search-implementation) we did the custom implementation in advance and we extended Exposed framework. Now, we need to make a step back and have a quick look on the Exposed itself.

## Setting up a test application

***NOTE*: For the sake of the test, we use [Ktor](https://ktor.io/) - the easiest way to do so is to use [initializer.](https://start.ktor.io/)**

Once we go through the form, the application frame is ready to work with. Now, we need to add serialization functionality (because we want to return a JSON object as the response).

`build.gradle.ts`

```
plugins {
    ...
    kotlin("plugin.serialization") version "1.8.10"
}

depenendencies {
    ...
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-server-content-negotiation:2.2.4")
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-serialization-kotlinx-json:2.2.4")
}
```

We *may* need H2 database:

`build.gradle.ts`

```
dependencies {
    implementation("com.h2database:h2:$h2Version")
}
```

## Adding the Exposed

Now, we can add our persistence layer - Exposed ORM:

`build.gradle.ts`

```
dependencies {
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-core:0.40.1")
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-jdbc:0.40.1")
}
```

In order to create a database connection and perform the initial db insert, I created Ktor's plugin:

`Data.kt`

```kotlin
package pl.brightinventions.plugins

import pl.brightinventions.dto.CreatePersonDto
import pl.brightinventions.exposed.Database
import pl.brightinventions.persistance.PersonDaoImpl
import pl.brightinventions.persistance.table.PersonTable
import io.ktor.server.application.*
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SchemaUtils
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.transactions.transaction
import pl.brightinventions.dto.CreateAddressDto
import pl.brightinventions.persistance.table.AddressTable

fun Application.configureData() {
    Database.register()
    // @TODO("More logic incoming")
}
```

and register it on the application startup:

`Application.kt`

```kotlin
import pl.pl.brightinventionsugins.configureData
import pl.pl.brightinventionsugins.configureRouting
import io.ktor.serialization.kotlinx.json.*
import io.ktor.server.application.*
import io.ktor.server.engine.*
import io.ktor.server.netty.*
import io.ktor.server.plugins.contentnegotiation.*

fun main() {
    embeddedServer(Netty, port = 8080, host = "0.0.0.0") {
        install(ContentNegotiation) {
            json()
        }
        configureData()
    }
        .start(wait = true)
}
```

## Persistence layer logic

Once we added Exposed into our environment, it's time to introduce the table's model and some DTOs.

In Exposed, the table's representation is an object:

`PersonTable.kt`

```kotlin
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Table

object PersonTable : Table("person") {
    val id = integer("id").autoIncrement().uniqueIndex()
    val name = text("name")
    val surname = text("surname")
    val age = integer("age")
}
```

Your object table needs to extend from the Exposed `Table`. The content of it is a group of defined columns.
Additionally, I want to show you the relations, so we need one more table:

`AddressTable.kt`

```kotlin
package pl.brightinventions.persistance.table

import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Table

object AddressTable : Table("address") {
    val id = integer("id").autoIncrement().uniqueIndex()
    val personId = reference("person_id", PersonTable.id)
    val street = text("street")
    val house = text("house")
    val apartment = text("apartment")
    val city = text("city")
    val postalCode = text("postal_code")
}
```

besides "normal" columns, we defined a reference here: `personId`, which relates to our newly created `PersonTable`

Let's create our Repository with the methods as follows:

`PersonRepositoryImpl.kt` (I skip the Repository interface part - you can check it on the Github repo page)

### get a list of records

```kotlin
override fun findAll(): List<FoundPersonDto> = transaction {
    PersonTable.selectAll().map {
        FoundPersonDto(
            it[PersonTable.id],
            it[PersonTable.name],
            it[PersonTable.surname],
            it[PersonTable.age]
        )
    }
}
```

### get a single record

this is the most questionable one because it can be solved in many ways. For the sake of this article, I want to propose the simplest, two-queries solution: 

```kotlin
override fun find(id: PersonId): FoundPersonWithAddressDto? = transaction {
        val addresses = AddressTable
            .select { AddressTable.personId eq id }
            .map {
                FoundPersonAddressDto(
                    it[AddressTable.street],
                    it[AddressTable.house],
                    it[AddressTable.apartment],
                    it[AddressTable.city],
                    it[AddressTable.postalCode]
                )
            }

        PersonTable.select { PersonTable.id eq id }.firstOrNull()?.let {
            FoundPersonWithAddressDto(
                it[PersonTable.id],
                it[PersonTable.name],
                it[PersonTable.surname],
                it[PersonTable.age],
                addresses
            )
        }
    }
```

as you can see, in the first query we did select all the addresses that belong to a particular person by `personId` relation field. In the next query/mapping, we just assigned fetched list to the new `FoundPersonWithAddressDto` instance.

### create the record

It's a simple operation, but after the execution, we want to return `id` of created records. Because `PersonTable` extends `Table`, we cannot use `insertAndGetId` (which is a part of DAO API which will be explained in the next episode of the series), so we need to do a little trick:

```kotlin
override fun create(person: CreatePersonDto): PersonId = transaction {
    PersonTable.insert {
        it[name] = person.name
        it[surname] = person.surname
        it[age] = person.age
    }.resultedValues!!.map { it[PersonTable.id] }.first()
}
```

### update the record

Pretty straight-forward - update with `where` clause

```kotlin
override fun update(id: PersonId, person: UpdatePersonDto) {
        PersonTable.update({ PersonTable.id eq id }) {
            it[age] = person.age
            it[name] = person.name
            it[surname] = person.surname
        }
    }
```

### delete the record

Another simple and self-explanatory - delete with the `where` clause

```kotlin
override fun delete(id: PersonId): Unit = transaction {
        PersonTable.deleteWhere {
            PersonTable.id eq id
        }
    }
```

### add child relations records

because we use `DSL` (instead of `DAO`), we need to take care of inserting child rows by hand:

```kotlin
override fun addAddress(personId: PersonId, address: CreateAddressDto) {
        AddressTable.insert {
            it[AddressTable.personId] = personId
            it[street] = address.street
            it[city] = address.city
            it[house] = address.house
            it[postalCode] = address.postalCode
            it[apartment] = address.apartment
        }
    }
```

## Initial insert

Once we have *Table* and *Repository* ready, we can go with implementing further our `Data` class:

`Data.kt`

```kotlin
fun Application.configureData() {
    Database.register()
    val repository = PersonRepositoryImpl()
    transaction {
        SchemaUtils.create(PersonTable)
        SchemaUtils.create(AddressTable)
        val john = repository.create(CreatePersonDto("John", "Doe", 33))
        repository.addAddress(john, CreateAddressDto(
            "ul. Jana Matejki", "12", "1", "Gdansk", "80-232"
        ))
        repository.addAddress(john, CreateAddressDto(
            "ul. Jana Matejki", "13", "1", "Gdansk", "80-232"
        ))
        repository.create(CreatePersonDto("George", "Smith", 34))
        repository.create(CreatePersonDto("Megan", "Miller", 22))
    }
}
```

*What we did here?* In `transaction` block.

> Every database access using Exposed is started by obtaining a connection and creating a transaction.

We created the tables in the database (`SchemaUtils.create` call) and filled up the DB with initial records. For the first created `Person` record, we put two addresses with reference to `John.`

## REST endpoints

Right, we have the database filled up, we can use our DAO to create a REST endpoint:

`Routing.kt`

```kotlin
package pl.brightinventions.plugins

import io.ktor.http.*
import io.ktor.server.application.*
import io.ktor.server.request.*
import io.ktor.server.response.*
import io.ktor.server.routing.*
import pl.brightinventions.persistance.PersonRepositoryImpl

fun Application.configureRouting() {
    val repository = PersonRepositoryImpl()

    routing {
        route("/person") {
            get {
                call.respond(repository.findAll())
            }
            get("/{id}") {
                val found = repository.find(call.parameters["id"]?.toInt()!!)
                found?.let { call.respond(it) } ?: call.respond(HttpStatusCode.NotFound)
            }
            post {
                call.respond(repository.create(call.receive()))
            }
            delete("/{id}") {
                call.respond(repository.delete(call.parameters["id"]?.toInt()!!))
            }
            put("/{id}") {
                call.respond(repository.update(call.parameters["id"]?.toInt()!!, call.receive()))
            }
        }
    }
}
```

*What we did here?* We (once again) created Ktor's plugin for registering the routing here. On the `/person` prefix, we register REST endpoints with a call to the `PersonRepository`.

but we need to register it in the application:

Application.kt

```kotlin
...
fun main() {
    embeddedServer(Netty, port = 8080, host = "0.0.0.0") {
        install(ContentNegotiation) {
            json()
        }
        configureRouting()
        configureData()
    }
        .start(wait = true)
}
```

### Run it, baby!

`GET http://localhost:8080/person` \
should respond with a list of three persons: `John`, `George`, and `Megan`. Those will be represented by the *header* only (meaning, there will be no information about addresses yet).

So if we want to receive rich data about a particular person, we need  to call\
`GET http://localhost:8080/person/1`,\
which will respond with fat Person DTO.

## Conclusion

In this article, we've learned how to add JetBrains/Exposed to our project, and how to implement basic CRUD actions. In the next episode, I will show you, how to migrate from DSL to DAO approach - we will work with Entities, relations, and more! Stay tuned.

You can find the complete code [over GitHub.](https://github.com/bright/kotlin-exposed-example)

Read the next part of the series: [Exposed in Your Project - Part 2 - DAO](/blog/exposed-in-your-project-part-2-dao).

## Offline-First App Guide for Startups and App Owners (Case Studies Included)

*Published: 2023-03-09 | Author: szymek | Tags: business perspective, HealthTech, POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/index.md*

**Are you planning to release an app that has to work without an internet connection? You’ve come to the right place. Read about offline-first applications. Go through business advantages, different industries' perspectives, and design best practices. Also, look into the actual case studies!**

<div className="image">![Offline-first application – business perspective](../../static/images/offline-mode-app-cover-blog.png "Offline-first application – business perspective")</div>

## What is the offline-first application?

**Offline-first mobile applications are built to fulfill their purposes with a weak or no internet connection**. In order to do so they need to include a feature that is called offline mode. Offline mode can be built for **iOS and Android applications**.

Offline mode is a way to get access to the app's services without an internet connection. For example, let’s think of the document-sharing app. The app enables you to create a document offline and save it on your phone. As soon as you get the internet connection back the app will synchronize the data and share the document online with people in your organization.

## Business advantages of the offline-first application

There are a couple of business advantages of apps with offline mode:

### Your app is more reliable

Users have access to most features even offline. They’re **not limited by a weak internet connection** and can keep up with their work.

### Your users won’t lose any data

Data provided offline will be stored on the device and then synchronized when the internet connection is sufficient. However, **it's important to keep the users in the loop with the informative UI** (more on that later). So users are aware that data needs to be synchronized. It's essential because users can, unaware of the consequences, lose their offline data by deleting the cache, formatting the phone, or simply uninstalling the app.

### The offline-first approach is a necessity in some industries

While building a mobile solution for industries like **medical care, retail and transportation you have to offer an offline mode** in order to distinguish your product. 

## Offline-first examples for various industries

We have developed offline-first apps for many industries. Get access to actual case studies below.

### Offline-first app for healthcare and medical care

Tech used by doctors, nurses and other caregivers has to be a reliable tool that supports their actions and helps them eliminate mistakes. Remember, the patient's health is at risk here. 

Let’s imagine an app for care homes staff that enables them to submit information about patients' vital signs measures, taken medicine, etc. **Caregivers should be able to provide that with a phone or tablet on the go in patients' rooms no matter the internet connection**. Then the data should be synchronized as soon as the internet connection is sufficient. So other care providers and family members are well aware of the patient’s actual state. That's why offline mode is a crucial feature for healthcare.

**Check out the actual case study of [healthcare eMAR software solution](/projects/emar-healthcare-solution/) with an offline mode that we helped to build**.

<div className="image">![vCare app with offline mode](/images/fb_preview_case_study_emar_update_some.png "vCare app with offline mode")</div>

### Offline-first app for retail and restaurants

Retail apps with payment features definitely should have an offline mode. **The quality of the internet shouldn’t affect the transaction**. So if you plan to build an app for retail and restaurant including a payment feature, an offline-first approach is a mandatory way to go.

**Check out actual case studies of retail apps with an offline mode that we built and scaled – [Just Eat POS](/projects/system-for-restaurants) and [Just Eat POS Mobile App](/projects/system-for-restaurants-mobile).**

<div className="image">![Retail apps with an offline mode](../../static/images/restaurant_apps_mobile_preview.png "Retail apps with an offline mode")</div>

### Offline-first app for digitalized workflow

Imagine an app that enables you to fill out forms or questionnaires wherever you are. It might be useful for social workers who visit various places and create reports. They can fill out documents offline knowing that they will be synchronized later and be accessible on different devices for other coworkers as well.

**Check out actual case studies of a [digitalized workflow app](/projects/app-digitized-surveys) with an offline mode that we built.**

<div className="image">![Digitalized workflow app](../../static/images/questionnaire_fb_preview.png "Digitalized workflow app")</div>

### Offline-first app for construction

Construction sites are places where access to the internet might be limited. That’s why building software for that industry, should include offline mode too. Especially when end users of the app are going to be construction site staff.

As an example let’s think of an app that enables storing pictures from the construction site and sharing them with clients, contractors, and coworkers. **A user can take pictures, store them offline, and then the app will synchronize files**. It means sharing the pictures with other app users when the internet connection is restored.

**Check out an actual case study – an offline-first [application for construction company](/projects/document-management-apps-construction/) that we build for our client from Germany.**

<div className="image">![app for construction company](/images/fb_preview-case-study_constructions.png "app for construction company")</div>

### Offline-first app for road transportation

Applications enabling communication between forwarders and drivers should give access to crucial features even offline. **Drivers cannot focus on accessing a strong internet connection, so apps have to meet their needs**. Transportation apps with offline mode still can, for example, share a vehicle localization offline.

**Check out an actual case study – the [Transport Management System](/projects/transportation-management-system) with an offline-first application that we are building for a freight company.**

<div className="image">![Transport Management System with offline mode](../../static/images/tms_social_preview.png "Transport Management System")</div>

## Design best practices for offline-first apps

While building offline-first apps your **design has to be well-informative so the user is aware that they operate in offline mode**. Also, the user has to be assured that data will be synchronized as soon as the internet connection is back.

This is an example of the mockup of the app in offline mode:

<div className="image">![Offline mode design](../../static/images/offline_mode_design.png "Offline mode design")</div>

We’ve explained [offline UX design](/blog/ux-design-healthcare-medical-apps-case-study#ux-design-for-offline-mode) in our other blog post. Feel free to check it out.

The offline mode might be a challenge, but this feature is crucial for many industries.

## Frontend Developer with Over 8 Years of Experience. Meet Jędrzej

*Published: 2023-03-06 | Author: jedrzej-s | Tags: bright story, career, growth*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/frontend-developer-with-over-8-years-of-experience-meet-jedrzej/index.md*

**Jędrzej is a senior frontend developer who started his career before the frameworks era. Can you imagine that? 😉 What advice does he have for people who want to become frontend devs? Why did he decide to be a sauna master? Read the interview.**

<div className="image">![Jędrzej - a story about frontend development career](../../static/images/brightstoryjedrzejcollage.png "Jędrzej - a story about frontend development career")</div>

## You are a frontend developer. Is the backend totally strange to you?

No. **I used to work as a fullstack developer and I worked with servers as well**. I have no problem going to “the other side” as long as I am familiar with the backend stack used in a project I work on.

## How long do you work as a software developer? How do you recall the beginnings of your career?

I have over **8 years of commercial experience**. My first job started as an internship. I was a part of the internal team which had an ambitious goal to build a to-do list application. **I wrote the backend in PHP with Symfony** which is a hardcore framework with a high entry threshold. 

Eventually, I was offered a full-time job. **I started to learn Angular** which was something new back then. After that, **I turned to React and have been working with this framework for the past 5 years**.

## What is your advice to people who want to become junior frontend developers?

It’s hard to say because as you know I started to work in this industry years ago. I guess my career began when there weren’t so many frameworks available. So I naturally focused on getting to know the language. That’s what I would recommend to future frontend developers. **Focus on understanding the language, not only frameworks**. Language is the basic tool you are going to work with, so don’t neglect it. Also, you should **understand the basics of algorithms and software design patterns**.

<div className="image">![Jędrzej's quote on understanding the language](../../static/images/jedrzej_quote_language.png "Jędrzej's quote on understanding the language")</div>

When you possess that knowledge, you can **start to get familiar with popular frameworks like React or Vue**. That's also a great moment to **learn libraries, like styled components or Tailwind for styling and the role of tooling like Webpack** in a project. You don’t need to know how to configure Webpack, but you should be aware what’s the purpose of it.

## You have worked at Bright Inventions for over a year. How do you recall joining the company?

I had a couple of interviews scheduled with different companies including Bright Inventions. **Why did I choose Bright? Actually, because of the very intriguing tech interview** I had with Piotr and Bartek. It was a long, 2-hour interview. However, after finishing it I felt that these were the people I wanted to work with. I was happy that the feeling was mutual when I was offered a job.

## We organize a webinar for frontend developers that you will conduct. Share some info about the webinar.

<div className="image">![Webinar about React State](../../static/images/jedrzej_webinar_cover.png "Webinar about React State")</div>

I will talk about **managing React State**. The webinar will be held **in Polish**. **It’s free. Anyone can join**. [You can sign up here](https://webinar-react-zarzadzanie-stanem.getresponsepages.com/). We will look at React through the tools that this framework gives us. **Webinar is suited for junior frontend developers who know the basics of React**. However, I think that some **mid-developers will find it useful as well** because I will talk about the still new feature which is Concurrent Mode. If you want to know what problems **Concurrent Mode** can cause in your code, join my webinar.

## You work remotely. How do you organize your work and create online relations with other colleagues?

**I organize my day to work continually for 8 hours and don’t distract myself with other errands**. Thanks to that at 4 pm my work is done and I can focus on my free time and family. It's helpful to keep a work-life balance. If I did some chores during the day, which is tempting when you work from home, I would have to spend my evenings working. I try to avoid that.

<div className="image">![Jędrzej after hours](../../static/images/jedrzej_passions.png "Jędrzej after hours")</div>

Building relations while working remotely is possible. Naturally, I have daily contact with people from my team. Apart from that, **you just have to be active on Slack, do small talks, and share thoughts with others**. I also attend our **biweekly meetings gathering all front-end developers from Bright Inventions**. We discuss hot tech topics and address tech challenges in our projects. Actually, at this meeting, I conducted a webinar about React State and now I will present it to developers outside my organization. 

What’s more? **I try to regularly attend team retreats that take place in Gdańsk**. So I get to see people face to face.

## You are a sauna master. How did that happen? 😄

It all started 5-6 years ago when therms with saunas were opened in my neighborhood. I started to attend sauna sessions regularly. It’s a cozy place, so I quickly got to know sauna masters there. I was impressed by their work. When there was a chance to join a training for sauna masters I simply signed up. **I was intrigued by this idea and also wanted to possess a new skill**. So I became a Sauna Master certificated by the Polish Sauna Association.

Although I must say that I don’t attend the sauna sessions as much as I used to. I hope it will change.

## Have you conducted sauna ceremonies?

Yes, but only for my family and close friends. It’s not my extra job. However, it’s a skill that ChatGPT won’t be able to take over from me. 😉

## Exposed RSQL Search Implementation

*Published: 2023-03-04 | Author: patryk sz | Tags: Kotlin, Exposed, Ktor, Search, RSQL, FIQL*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/exposed-rsql-search-implementation/index.md*

## Overview

In this tutorial, we are going to implement `search` functionality into the Exposed using jirutka's RSQL parser.

RSQL is a query language for parametrized filtering of entries in RESTful APIs.\
JetBrains Exposed is a lightweight SQL library on top of the JDBC driver for Kotlin language.

## Setting up a test application

***NOTE*: You can skip this part and go directly to [RSQL search functionality implementation](#rsql-search-functionality-implementation) part if you have any web framework/exposed setup ready.**

For the sake of the test, we use [Ktor](https://ktor.io/) - the easiest way to do so is to use [initializer.](https://start.ktor.io/)

Once we go through the form, the application frame is ready to work with. Now, we need to add serialization functionality (because we want to return a JSON object as the response).

`build.gradle.ts`

```
plugins {
    ...
    kotlin("plugin.serialization") version "1.8.10"
}

depenendencies {
    ...
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-server-content-negotiation:2.2.4")
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-serialization-kotlinx-json:2.2.4")
}
```

We *may* need H2 database:

`build.gradle.ts`

```
dependencies {
    implementation("com.h2database:h2:$h2Version")
}
```

plus, we need jirutka/rsql-parser

`build.gradle.ts`

```
dependencies {
    implementation("cz.jirutka.rsql:rsql-parser:2.1.0")
}
```

## Adding the Exposed

Now, we can add our persistence layer - Exposed ORM:

`build.gradle.ts`

```
dependencies {
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-core:0.40.1")
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-dao:0.40.1")
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-jdbc:0.40.1")
}
```

In order to create a database connection and perform the initial db insert, I created Ktor's plugin:

`Data.kt`

```kotlin
import pl.brightinventions.dto.CreatePersonDto
import pl.brightinventions.exposed.Database
import pl.brightinventions.persistance.PersonDaoImpl
import pl.brightinventions.persistance.table.PersonTable
import io.ktor.server.application.*
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SchemaUtils
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.transactions.transaction

fun Application.configureData() {
    Database.register()
    TODO("more logic incoming")
}
```

and register it on the application startup:

`Application.kt`

```kotlin
import pl.pl.brightinventionsugins.configureData
import pl.pl.brightinventionsugins.configureRouting
import io.ktor.serialization.kotlinx.json.*
import io.ktor.server.application.*
import io.ktor.server.engine.*
import io.ktor.server.netty.*
import io.ktor.server.plugins.contentnegotiation.*

fun main() {
    embeddedServer(Netty, port = 8080, host = "0.0.0.0") {
        install(ContentNegotiation) {
            json()
        }
        configureData()
    }
        .start(wait = true)
}
```

## Persistence layer logic

Once we added Exposed into our environment, it's time to introduce the table's model and some DTOs.

In Exposed, the table's representation is an object:

`PersonTable.kt`

```kotlin
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Table

object PersonTable : Table("person") {
    val id = uuid("id").autoGenerate()
    val name = text("name")
    val surname = text("surname")
    val age = integer("age")
}
```

Your object table needs to extend from the Exposed `Table`. The content of it is a group of defined columns.

Let's create our DAOs:

`PersonDaoImpl.kt` (I skip the DAO interface part - you can check it on the Github repo page)

```kotlin
import pl.brightinventions.dto.CreatePersonDto
import pl.brightinventions.dto.FoundPersonDto
import pl.brightinventions.exposed.SearchPropertySpecification
import pl.brightinventions.exposed.SearchSpecification
import pl.brightinventions.exposed.search
import pl.brightinventions.persistance.table.PersonTable
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.ResultRow
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.insert
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.selectAll
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.transactions.transaction

class PersonDaoImpl : PersonDao {

    override fun findAll(): List<FoundPersonDto> = transaction {
        PersonTable.selectAll().map(::mapToFoundPerson)
    }

    override fun findByQuery(query: String): List<FoundPersonDto> = transaction {
        TODO("will be implemented soon")
    }

    private fun mapToFoundPerson(it: ResultRow) = FoundPersonDto(
        it[PersonTable.id],
        it[PersonTable.name],
        it[PersonTable.surname],
        it[PersonTable.age]
    )

    override fun create(person: CreatePersonDto) {
        transaction {
            PersonTable.insert {
                it[name] = person.name
                it[surname] = person.surname
                it[age] = person.age
            }
        }
    }
}
```

As you can see, we defined three public methods:

* `findAll` - will return all the records from the db
* `findByQuery(String)` - will return a filtered set of the records
* `create` - our util function we will use for initial inserts

## Initial insert

Once we have *Table* and *Dao* ready, we can go with implementing further our `Data` class:

`Data.kt`

```kotlin
fun Application.configureData() {
    Database.register()
    transaction {
        SchemaUtils.create(PersonTable)
        PersonDaoImpl().create(CreatePersonDto("John", "Doe", 33))
        PersonDaoImpl().create(CreatePersonDto("George", "Smith", 34))
        PersonDaoImpl().create(CreatePersonDto("Megan", "Miller", 22))
    }
}
```

*What did we do here?* In `transaction` block.

> Every database access using Exposed is started by obtaining a connection and creating a transaction.

We created the table in the database (`SchemaUtils.create` call) and filled up the DB with initial records.

## REST endpoints

Right, we have the database filled up, we can use our DAO to create a REST endpoint:

`Routing.kt`

```kotlin
import pl.brightinventions.persistance.PersonDaoImpl
import io.ktor.server.application.*
import io.ktor.server.response.*
import io.ktor.server.routing.*

fun Application.configureRouting() {
    val dao = PersonDaoImpl()

    routing {
        get("/") {
            call.respond(dao.findAll())
        }
    }
}
```

*What we did here?* We (once again) created Ktor's plugin for registering the routing here. On the `/` endpoint we are going to respond with ALL of the objects in the `Person` table.

However we need to register it in the application:

Application.kt

```kotlin
...
fun main() {
    embeddedServer(Netty, port = 8080, host = "0.0.0.0") {
        install(ContentNegotiation) {
            json()
        }
        configureRouting()
        configureData()
    }
        .start(wait = true)
}
```

Run it, baby! `GET http://localhost:8080/` should respond with a list of three persons: `John`, `George`, and `Megan`.\
Alright, but when we will implement the searching functionality? Now.

## RSQL search functionality implementation

Finally! For now, we have the ktor+exposed stack set up, everything works fine and we can add and list the objects from the database. It's time to create the `search` method for the `Query` class:

```kotlin
import cz.jirutka.rsql.parser.RSQLParser
import cz.jirutka.rsql.parser.ast.Node
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Query
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.andWhere
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.transactions.transaction

fun Query.search(query: String, specification: SearchSpecification): Query =
    transaction {
        val rootNode: Node = RSQLParser().parse(query)
        val queryExpression = rootNode.accept(ExposedRSQLVisitor(specification))
        andWhere { queryExpression }
    }
```

*What we did here?* We declared the extension function `Query.search` which parse `query: String` into the tokens and calls our `ExposedRSQLVisitor` to interpret the query
it returns the `Query` object itself, so we will be able to perform as it would be standard Exposed functionality.

What is the `ExposedRSQLVisitor`? It's our custom implementation - jirutka/rsql-parser is the "only" parser for a perform the logic in order to change "age=in=(33,22)" into the node tree. It is how it looks like this:

`ExposedRSQLVisitor.kt`

```kotlin
import cz.jirutka.rsql.parser.ast.*
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Column
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.Op
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SqlExpressionBuilder.eq
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SqlExpressionBuilder.greater
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SqlExpressionBuilder.greaterEq
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SqlExpressionBuilder.inList
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SqlExpressionBuilder.less
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SqlExpressionBuilder.lessEq
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SqlExpressionBuilder.neq
import org.jetbrains.exposed.sql.SqlExpressionBuilder.notInList
import java.time.Instant
import java.time.format.DateTimeParseException

class ExposedRSQLVisitor(
    private val searchSpecification: SearchSpecification
) : NoArgRSQLVisitorAdapter<Op<Boolean>>() {

    override fun visit(node: AndNode): Op<Boolean> {
        TODO("Not yet implemented")
    }

    override fun visit(node: OrNode): Op<Boolean> {
        TODO("Not yet implemented")
    }

    @Suppress("UNCHECKED_CAST")
    override fun visit(node: ComparisonNode): Op<Boolean> {
        val arguments =
            node.arguments.map {
                it.toLongOrNull()
                    ?: it.toBooleanStrictOrNull()
                    ?: it.toDateOrNull()
                    ?: it.toDoubleOrNull()
                    ?: it
            }
        val argument = arguments.first()

        val property = searchSpecification.properties.first { it.name == node.selector }
        val column = property.column as Column<Any>
        return when (val operator = node.operator) {
            RSQLOperators.EQUAL -> column eq argument
            RSQLOperators.NOT_EQUAL -> column neq argument
            RSQLOperators.GREATER_THAN -> column greater argument as Comparable<Any>
            RSQLOperators.GREATER_THAN_OR_EQUAL -> column greaterEq argument as Comparable<Any>
            RSQLOperators.LESS_THAN -> column less argument as Comparable<Any>
            RSQLOperators.LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL -> column lessEq argument as Comparable<Any>
            RSQLOperators.IN -> column inList arguments
            RSQLOperators.NOT_IN -> column notInList arguments

            else -> throw Exception("Filter operator '$operator' not supported")
        }
    }
}

private fun String.toDateOrNull(): Instant? = try {
    Instant.parse(this)
} catch (e: DateTimeParseException) {
    null
}
```

*What we did here?* In essence, we implemented `NoArgRSQLVisitorAdapter` which is going to visit the node in order to determine what logic operation (exposed) should we perform to the given column/argument.

So, if we will have a query string like `age=in=(33,22)`, our Visitor will produce:

```
column<PersonTable.age> inList listOf(33,22) 
```

So our SQL query will be:

```SQL
SELECT PERSON.ID, PERSON."NAME", PERSON.SURNAME, PERSON.AGE FROM PERSON WHERE PERSON.AGE IN (33, 22)
```

It's time to use the `search` method in our DAO and call it in the controller:

`PersonDaoImpl.kt`

```kotlin
...
override fun findByQuery(query: String): List<FoundPersonDto> = transaction {
    PersonTable
        .selectAll()
        .search(query, SearchSpecification(listOf(
            SearchPropertySpecification("name", PersonTable.name),
            SearchPropertySpecification("age", PersonTable.age)
        ))).map(::mapToFoundPerson)
}
```

Please note the `SearchSpecifictation` structure - it's a way to tell the Visitor what kind of fields can be used in filtering and how they should be mapped to `PersonTable` columns.

`SearchSpecification.kt`

```kotlin
data class SearchSpecification(
    val properties: List<SearchPropertySpecification>
)

data class SearchPropertySpecification(
    val name: String,
    val column: Column<*>
)
```

And a controllers' call:

`Routing.kt`

```kotlin
...
get("/filtered/") {
    call.respond(dao.findByQuery(call.request.queryParameters["query"] ?: ""))
}
```

`GET http://localhost:8080/filtered/?query=age=in=(33,22)` will return us two records - for `John Doe` and `Megan Miller.`

## Conclusion

In this article, we've learned how to add generic `search` functionality to our Exposed stack. Ktor added just a flavor of something other than Spring Boot - I did it on purpose - maybe you will find it interesting enough to dig deeper about this framework.

You can find the complete code [over GitHub.](https://github.com/bright/exposed-search-example)

## Examples of the Internet of Things for Retail, Healthcare and More (with Case Studies)

*Published: 2023-02-27 | Author: izabela | Tags: business, IoT, HealthTech, POS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/examples-of-the-internet-of-things-for-retail-healthcare-and-more-with-case-studies/index.md*

**Are you curious about the use cases for IoT technology? Check out examples of IoT for industries such as retail, restaurants, healthcare, sports, and emergency services. Actual case studies included!**

<div className="image">![IoT devices](../../static/images/blog_post_cover_epos.png "IoT devices")</div>

## IoT for retail and restaurants

The Internet of Things is greatly utilized in the retail and restaurant industry. A perfect example is the **point of sales system which enables a customer to check out at a store or cafe**.

Let’s think about typical devices you could find while checking out in a restaurant. They, in fact, create an **IoT retail network**. There is a Point of Sale desktop (this huge screen that might divide you and a cashier in the restaurant). It's a core of the retail IoT network. **POS desktop** **with a dedicated app** enables one to sum up all clients' orders and send the information about the final costs to the **receipt printer** as well as to the **payment terminal**. 

<div className="image">![IoT POS for retail, restaurants](../../static/images/iot_retail_epos.png "IoT POS for retail, restaurants")</div>

All of these devices have to be **connected with Bluetooth or WiFi** to enable checkout in every restaurant and practically at every retail business. It wouldn’t happen without IoT.

The fact that you pay with your card and then receive a printed receipt means that you are a “beneficiary” of a retail Internet of Things technology.

**Check out an actual case study – [Just Eat POS applications](/projects/system-for-restaurants) that we built and scaled.**

<div className="image">![IoT for healthcare](../../static/images/iot_in_healthcare.png "IoT for healthcare")</div>

This IoT network consists of a **thermometer** that measures the body’s temperature and thanks to a Bluetooth connection sends it to the app. The **spirometer** checks the respiration rate and sends data to the app too. Also, we have a **pulse oximeter** that sends data about heart rate. 

The app and modern eHealth devices create a **healthcare IoT network that measures patients' vital signs and processes them in the app**. Now, the **app could send data to a designated doctor who can immediately verify the state of a patient**. IoT is definitely the future of healthcare. Or even the present because that technology already exists!

**Check out an actual case study – a [remote patient monitoring app with healthcare devices.](/projects/remote-patient-monitoring/)**

<div className="image">![IoT in sports](../../static/images/sports_iot.png "IoT in sports")</div>

**Check out an actual case study – [Motivo application for cyclists](/projects/motivo) that we developed.**

## IoT for emergency services

Imagine an app that can send your localization, in emergency situations, to rescue services and close ones. Actually, you don’t need to imagine that. This is possible thanks to IoT.

You don’t have to make a call, pushing one button on your phone would start it all. An **IoT app connects you with chosen devices and emergency services to send SOS messages**.

<div className="image">![IoT for emergency services](../../static/images/iot_emergency_services.png "IoT for emergency services")</div>

**Check out an actual case study – [SmartHelp emergency application](/projects/smarthelp) that we developed.**

## Looking for an IoT development company?

The Internet of Things is around us and it influences many industries. If you want to build IoT applications, contact [IoT development company](/our-areas/iot-development) like us and book a free consultation.

## 5 Feedback Models You Should Know 

*Published: 2023-02-26 | Author: ula | Tags: feedback, communication, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-feedback-models-you-should-know/index.md*

The main goal of feedback is helping people to grow, to develop their skills and make them feel better in the long term. Sad to say when it comes to giving feedback, we often do not know how to do it. We tend to use feedback thoughtlessly and in result it irritates or demoralises people instead of pushing them forward. **If you are not sure how to introduce feedback into your team’s routine or you just do not feel sure about giving and getting feedback, you may take advantage of the models and examples below.** These are feedback methods that work well in many organisations and they help to take immediate action without causing too much of an ‘ouch’ factor. Let us take a look.

## **1. Feedback in (peer) mentoring** 

Feedback can become your team’s reality if you just implement a few simple steps and start treating it as a part of your daily mentoring process. There are two ways of doing that. **You can either take a very transparent approach where the recipient knows exactly from whom the feedback is coming from or if you are not sure how to process - you can start with some indirect team’s feedback session during which participants are writing their feedback on paper anonymously.** There should be usually two/three questions each team member is answering to or statements they have to finish e.g.

1. I want to appreciate your … 
2. I am having trouble when you … 
3. It would help me a lot if you can…. 

**You can also use a simple method *[START, STOP, CONTINUE](https://www.superbeings.ai/blog/how-to-use-start-stop-continue-feedback).*** In the end each team member is reading aloud the answers they got.


![:pushpin:](https://a.slack-edge.com/production-standard-emoji-assets/14.0/apple-medium/1f4cc@2x.png)**What to remember?** If you are a manager/mentor, try to identify behaviours that have a positive impact on your team’s cooperation and those which hamper the work. Describe to your team the observations you have and help your feedbackee to introduce new patterns of behaviours. If you are a team member, don’t cross personal or social boundaries. Remember that the aim here is to learn and improve teamwork and communication among you and your colleagues. 

If you want to know more about this model, take a look at [the theory of team coaching](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253963423_A_Theory_of_Team_Coaching) by Hackman and Wageman. 

## **2. Jurgen Appelo’s model** 

That is the model in which you can find both substantive and behavioural elements which connect past activities with recommendations for the future. **The example below includes some elements of FECE feedback model i.e. F - facts, E- emotions, C-consequences, E- expectations (in Polish this model is called FUKO). Through a whole conversation the feedback giver navigates the feedbackee in a right direction.** 

**Give the context of your assessment →** *Yesterday in the evening I was checking your tasks status in JIRA. I don’t want you to wait for my remarks till you finish as the way you described the tasks is not the same we agreed on recently.* Then we should move on to the facts. Remember not focus on your own emotional interpretations.

**Point out precise elements that are under or above your expectations →** *In JIRA I cannot see your tasks with a needed level of detail which we discussed on our last meeting. I can see the tasks which are described very roughly.* 

**Add some emotions and say how you feel about the fedbackee’s behaviour** → *When I saw them I just thought about Marek, our new colleague. What he would think about tasks described so superficially. He is new and everything is unknown to him. He should learn good patterns from the day one. I a a bit disappointed as we have been talking about that a dew times.* 

**Say what kind of impact the behaviour has →** *It is crucial for me that the work in our team goes smoothly and effectively. You should describe the tasks in such a way that it is clear to each and every person. It is really essential to me.* 

**Add some recommendations →** *Please add in your last tasks all necessary details about the scenario, step and expected result. And please add the reference as this task comes form the one your were working in last week.*

![:pushpin:](https://a.slack-edge.com/production-standard-emoji-assets/14.0/apple-medium/1f4cc@2x.png)**What to remember?** Remember it is not about criticising, but about meeting the organisation’s and team’s standards. Recognise and avoid [the most common common mistakes during your feedback meetings](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/8-mistakes-you-make-while-giving-constructive-feedback). 

<div className="important-info"><h2>Corrective feedback does not equal criticising </h2><div>The purpose is to improve performance and results. This can be through praise of good work, or constructive feedback when there is an issue that needs to be resolved.</div></div>

## **3. SBI-DB-II Model**  

**SBI-DB is an acronym of a papular feedback formula Situation-Behaviour-Impact-Desired-Behaviour Improved-Impact.** And how does it work? 

**At first capture the situation →** *Yesterday at daily you were behaving differently than usual. Can we talk about it?* 

**Then describe a behaviour →** *You were not listening to Marta while she was telling us about her problem with the task. You were interrupting her all the time.*

**Describe the impact →** *This caused she felt ignored and misunderstood. The way you talked to her was really harsh. For me it was also uncomfortable.*

**The last element is saying what you expect →** *It would be great if you pay more attention to the way you communicate things to other team members. You may disagree with someone, but you should still talk about their ideas with full respect. It is important that everyone feels support in a team.*

**Say what the improved impact may look like →** T*hanks to that you will also improve teamwork and engagement. People will talk about problems they come across more openly.* 

![:pushpin:](https://a.slack-edge.com/production-standard-emoji-assets/14.0/apple-medium/1f4cc@2x.png)**What to remember?** This formula is commonly used in many organisations. The key is to determine what is the desired behaviour and what makes it unique. It is also important to make sure the person we give feedback understands the behaviour in the same way.  

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/TheDemocrats-democrats-dnc-dncgif-4fCxl9t8Dlj99OE3Ce' />

## **4. Feedforward**

The model feedforward is **focused on best in the future and indicates how we can avoid problems in the future.** Therefore, we can also use it as a preventive measure.

**The practical example may look like**: *Please, check every report at least twice. You may do it  next week in the morning when you are fresh and rested. Practice that and you will see it will help you avoid spelling mistakes. Or maybe you can think about some other solutions?*

The goal of this model is question - **how I can be better in a particular relation?** As Marshall Goldsmith says that **feedforward model helps to focus more on a solution**. Keep in mind four rules: 

* leave the past behind,
* tell the truth,
* show support and avoid cynicism,
* focus on what you can improve and avoid judging. 

![:pushpin:](https://a.slack-edge.com/production-standard-emoji-assets/14.0/apple-medium/1f4cc@2x.png)**What to remember?** To make the best use of this model you can regularly give yourself feedforward feedback. Just follow a few simple steps: 

ask yourself how you can be better in a relations with someone **→** listen carefully what the other person have to say **→** think about what you heard **→**  thank for the feedback you received **→** come back with the response **→** ask for support people around you **→** change yourself **→** practice and reinforce the change.  

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/closershow-america-race-3ohs7UUn0xTJ7KYZK8' />

## **5. Green feedback** 

Green feedback takes something form Finish schooling and long-life learning philosophy. I**t is focused on building quality standards in someone’s behaviours which makes their work more effective in the long term. It is a fully conscious process.** It is also solution oriented and reinforces good behaviour patterns. It should be always the trigger for further learning. 

The structure of green feedback looks as follows: 

**Strength** → *Your strength in our last project was asking very thorough questions to the client.*

**Learning recommendation** → *Next time please focus also on more detailed analysis of the solution that you can propose after the discussion. Use the information you get from the client to show him during the demo you know the product very well and you make the best decision you can.*

The first element should be an example of positive behaviour or work content based on facts. We emphasise what someone is doing well and what brings value to the team, organisation or clients. **We do not talk about preferences - this feedback is not about whether we like something or not. We may not like some strategies or approaches, but the point is whether they work well in our industry well.** You may not like Chopin’s classical music, but it does mean he is not a great composer.

**The second element depends on either we deal with less or more experienced person.** In case of less experienced person we can propose some instruction, manual with action points or best practices which can be implemented by someone at their work. In case of more experienced people we can use some inspirational or mentoring questions which are the first two for further auto reflection or analysis that lets for discovering some hidden potential. 

![:pushpin:](https://a.slack-edge.com/production-standard-emoji-assets/14.0/apple-medium/1f4cc@2x.png)**What to remember?** Green feedback is a great model to show what you love about someone’s performance or behaviours (even if it is a small part of their work) and at the same time it gives space to say why the behaviour pattern should be kept and how to expand it in the future. 

## **Five models but one goal** 

When we look at the models above we can see some implementation differences, but in fact what they have in common is the goal of optimisation and enhancing someone’s work quality, work standards, efficiency or engagement. Feedback should be a natural and integral element of our daily work. **The key factor in giving it should be ensuring that the recipient has no doubts about their behaviour assessment (whether it is positive or negative) and also knows what ought to be done to change it or improve it.** By sharing feedback with your colleagues or employees you show that you take care of their development. You also share your own experience with them. Thanks to that they can avoid mistakes that you learned the hard way. **If you can see that someone in your team is not performing to their potential and beyond, and you know how to help, juts say it.** There is no other way than hearing “thank you” in the end.

## A Persistent Fullstack at Work and Life. Meet Ola

*Published: 2023-02-21 | Author: aleksandra-z | Tags: bright story, career, growth*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/a-persistent-fullstack-at-work-and-life-meet-ola/index.md*

**Ola has been a programmer for over 4 years, starting her career with Java. She sets goals and always reaches them. She has practiced swimming and played the transverse flute most of her life. Do you want to know how she does it? Read the interview.**

<div className="image">![A story of a fullstack developer](../../static/images/brightstoryolazcollage.png "A story of a fullstack developer")</div>

## You’re a Civil Engineer by profession. Why did you change your career to software development?

Because I’ve found out that **[software development](/) fits my character and personality even more**.

In my school times, I had a great math teacher, who awoke my passion for mathematical riddles and solving complex tasks. What’s important – getting joy and satisfaction out of it.

In programming, **I can see that something I’ve implemented works fine as code and does its job in real life**. That’s truly rewarding. The software industry is evolving so quickly that you must work hard to keep up. By choosing it I knew I would constantly develop too.

What I really like about it, is that **by working as a software developer you get to know many other industries too** – from the restaurant business to the space industry. In IT there is no place for boredom.

## Have you ever regretted spending years on getting a Civil Engineering degree?

Never. I believe that the path I made to become a software developer was the way it was supposed to be. Moreover, **studying civil engineering had hardened me** – especially all those sleepless nights spent on my laptop working on projects. 🙂

## You are a fullstack. Did you start from the backend or frontend?

I started my career as a **backend developer**. I first worked with **Java**. Then I got a chance at work to develop as a frontend dev as well. So I learned **TypeScript and Angular**. I realized that **I prefer to look at software holistically**. I like to know what happens on both sides.

<div className="image">![Ola's quote](../../static/images/ola_quote_fullstack.png "Ola's quote")</div>

## How did you get at Bright Inventions?

I actually **have heard a lot of great things about Bright Inventions** from Maja. She works here and has been my friend since middle school. She even sent me a Bright Inventions job offer in 2020 saying “Isn’t that you?”. 😏 In fact, I read the requirements and I really felt like it was written for me.

However, at that time I didn’t feel like changing a job, so I passed the offer to Maciej, a friend of mine. He applied and joined the team before me. Since then he started to tell me how awesome it was here and that I should join. I got the courage to make a change. **Joining Bright Inventions became my dream that came true in 2021**. 

## Wow. I had no idea. Let the record show that the marketing department didn’t force you to tell this story. 😄 And how do you recall your job interview?

Great. I had a job interview with Michał (mostly), Piotr, and Ula. It’s hard to really call it an interview. **It was like a conversation with other programmers**. I felt that **everyone wanted to get to know me**. This looked totally different compared to my previous interviews. I didn’t feel during the whole meeting (which lasted over 2 hours) that I was being evaluated in any way. Obviously, I had to be, but no one made me feel that I was.

Even if I didn’t know the answer to a question or hadn’t worked with some tools or frameworks, I felt that they didn’t take that against me. I would recommend anyone to attend the interview at Bright Inventions. 😊

## You live and work almost 600 km from our office in Gdańsk. Do you feel that distance?

Not at all. When I log in to work every morning, I join our Slack community. We’ve got various Slack channels and a lot is going on there. I can feel the friendly atmosphere even through the internet. **I don’t need to be at the office to feel like at the office**.

<div className="image">![Ola's passions](../../static/images/ola_passion.png "Ola's passions")</div>

Naturally, it's nice to visit our office from time to time. Sometimes I miss kitchen conversations, spending offline time with colleagues, etc. However, **I don’t feel any distance between me and the office on a daily basis**.

## Tell us more about a project you work on.

I am a part of a team working on the **German [Relevo](/projects/eco-friendly-app) app**. Thanks to the app users can order a pizza or buy a meal and coffee for takeout in **reusable packages**. **The goal is to limit plastic waste**. The idea behind the project is really cool. We develop **iOS and Android apps** for end users. We also have **two frontend web apps**. One is for the client to manage all the restaurants that cooperate with them. Another is for the actual restaurants.

The backend is developed in Node.js, we use the NestJS framework. The frontend is done in React. The team consists of 6 people including mobile developers and fullstack devs. Our PM, Mateusz, watches over the whole development process.

## What are the challenges of this project?

One of the technical challenges is **developing an offline mode**. This is something we are working on currently. 

For me, **a challenge is backward compatibility too**. I’ve never worked with mobile apps before, so maintaining backward compatibility is something new. It changed the way I worked. Now I have to ensure that my release won’t affect previous versions of the apps. You need to have everything under control. 

## You play the transverse flute. Why did you choose this instrument?

One day at a school assembly, probably at the beginning of the school year, my teacher played the transverse flute. **Once I heard it I was enchanted by this sound**. I remember it clearly, even though I was 7 then. The idea was planted in my mind that I could play too. I started to practice a couple of years later, in 5th grade. 

Music is still an important part of my life. I used to play a lot of sonatas and etudes. **Nowadays, I play mostly movie scores and top songs** in a duo with my husband who is a guitarist. Guitar and transverse flute aren’t a typical match, but it works out well for us. 😊

<div className="image">![Ola's passions](../../static/images/ola_passion2.png "Ola's passions")</div>

## You are a swimmer, having competed for years. Does being an athlete influence your work?

Definitely. When you train for swimming, you have two workouts a day. The first one before school, the second after. So I had to wake up at 5 am. Besides, I had other extra activities like flute lessons. Thanks to all of that **I learned discipline**. Having so much going on during the day didn’t affect my school performance. It might sound like bragging, but I was always getting top grades. I believe **having less time helped me actually to manage it better**. 

Also, you have to be engaged and persistent to go on like that. **I stay focused on my goals and relentlessly try to reach them**. That’s really helpful at my work. **When I have a tech problem, I will work on it till I figure it out.** It‘s tough to discourage me. 

<div className="image">![Ola's quote](../../static/images/ola_quote_problem.png "Ola's quote")</div>

## Do you have some work goals for 2023? Is there anything you want to learn?

I just want to be a better programmer. I'm currently at a point where I feel a little overwhelmed by a variety of things I would like to learn immediately. Yet I need to stay organized. So for 2023, the plan is to **expand my programming skills** using React and become **more confident in DevOps staff**.

## An athlete and a musician… Are you a fullstack in life too? ;) Are you untalented in something?

Nothing comes to my mind right now. 😀 When I decide to learn something, I do it. I think **talent is not the main factor, our character is**. With hard work, you can achieve anything you want.

## Advanced Search and Filtering with JPA Specifications in Kotlin

*Published: 2023-02-15 | Author: tomasz-sch | Tags: Kotlin, jpa, spring*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/advanced-search-and-filtering-with-jpa-specifications-in-kotlin/index.md*

Creating an advanced api search can become a challenge. If we want to filter based on a lot of properties, using the standard JPA Repository approach can turn out to be hard to maintain and not too flexible. In this blog post I will demonstrate how we can make use of JPA Specifications for that purpose.

## Test Scenario

Let’s consider an example where we want to be able to search for customers based on their properties.

The entity looks like this:

```kotlin
@Entity
 class Customer(
    @Id
    val uuid: String,
    val firstName: String,
    val lastName: String,
    val email: String,
    val age: Int,
    val status: CustomerStatus
 )
```

## Using JPA Repository

One of the approaches would be to implement a repository extending the JPARepository interface with custom search methods. 

```kotlin
@Repository
interface CustomerRepository: JpaRepository<Customer, String> {
    fun findByFirstName(firstName: String): List<Customer>
    fun findByLastName(firstName: String, lastName: String, pageable: Pageable): List<Customer>
    fun findByEmail(emailAddress: String): Customer?
}
```

JPA can even handle paging and sorting for us out of the box and we don’t need to write any queries as they are derived from method names.

Looks pretty straightforward and convenient, right? 

## JPA Specifications

What if we want to be able to have a more advanced search based on more properties or a combination of properties, like: first name and last name, email and status, etc.? We will need to create more and more repository methods as we can only specify a fixed number of criteria for them and we won’t be able to reuse existing ones. 

As the application grows this will quickly lead us to an increased number of repository methods and a lot of ifology in the service layer which is a horrible idea.

And here is where JPA Specifications come in handy. It allows us to define reusable predicates which we can utilize to create dynamic queries on demand. 

In order to start we first need to add a kotlin-kapt plugin and kotlin-jpa-specification-dsl library into our application:

## Initial setup

```kotlin
plugins {
    kotlin("kapt") version "1.5.20"
}

dependencies {
kapt("org.hibernate:hibernate-jpamodelgen:5.4.12.Final")
}
```

Kapt is a Kotlin annotation processor tool which is required by jpamodelgen library. The library generates Java source files for each entity class with metadata required for specifications. 

Our metadata class for customer entity looks like this after auto generation: 

```kotlin
@Generated(value = "org.hibernate.jpamodelgen.JPAMetaModelEntityProcessor")
@StaticMetamodel(Customer.class)
public abstract class Customer_ {

	public static volatile SingularAttribute<Customer, String> firstName;
	public static volatile SingularAttribute<Customer, String> lastName;
	public static volatile SingularAttribute<Customer, String> uuid;
	public static volatile SingularAttribute<Customer, String> email;
	public static volatile SingularAttribute<Customer, Integer> age;

	public static final String FIRST_NAME = "firstName";
	public static final String LAST_NAME = "lastName";
	public static final String UUID = "uuid";
	public static final String EMAIL = "email";
	public static final String AGE = "age";

}
```

## JPA Specification Executor

To use specifications abstraction we need to adjust our a repository to implement JpaSpecificationExecutor interface, so our updated repository looks like this:

```kotlin
@Repository interface CustomerRepository : JpaSpecificationExecutor<Customer>, JpaRepository<Customer, String>
```

The JpaSpecificationExecutor interface provides us with a couple of default methods that know how to handle Specifications (findOne, count, exists, etc).

Last part is to define reusable Specification filters. 

Let’s hold them in a custom class:

## Custom Specifications

```kotlin
class CustomerSpecification {

    companion object {
        fun uuidEquals(uuid: String): Specification<Customer> {
            return Specification { root, _, criteriaBuilder ->
                criteriaBuilder.equal(root.get(Customer_.uuid), uuid)
            }
        }

        fun customerFirstNameEquals(firstName: String?): Specification<Customer> {
            return Specification { root, _, criteriaBuilder ->
                firstName?.let {
                    criteriaBuilder.equal(root.get(Customer_.firstName), it)
                }
            }
        }

        fun customerLastNameEquals(lastName: String?): Specification<Customer> {
            return Specification { root, _, criteriaBuilder ->
                lastName?.let {
                    criteriaBuilder.equal(root.get(Customer_.lastName), it)
                }
            }
        }

        fun customerEmailEquals(email: String?): Specification<Customer> {
            return Specification { root, _, criteriaBuilder ->
                email?.let {
                    criteriaBuilder.equal(root.get(Customer_.lastName), it)
                }
            }
        }

        fun customerStatusEquals(status: CustomerStatus?): Specification<Customer> {
            return Specification { root, _, criteriaBuilder ->
                status?.let {
                    criteriaBuilder.equal(root.get(Customer_.status), it)
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```

For this blog post I have defined only a couple of basic specifications for each entity field but there is nothing stopping us from having more complex ones including sub entities, etc.

Also all of the method parameters are nullable. If the value is null, the method will simply return an empty specification which will be ignored during search. That way we do not really need any additional validation for those values.

## Specifications usage on repository

Now when we have defined granular specifications for each of the columns, we can finally dive into how to use them in practice. For that reason we created a simple CustomerQuery data class that holds all available filters.

```kotlin
private fun getCustomers(queryObject: CustomerQuery, pageable: Pageable): Page<Customer> {
        val customers = customerRepository.findAll(
            customerFirstNameEquals(queryObject.firstName)
                .and(customerLastNameEquals(queryObject.lastName))
                .and(customerEmailEquals(queryObject.email))
                .and(customerStatusEquals(queryObject.status)),
            pageable
        )

        return customers
    }
```

And this is it! We can now combine each of the granular specifications in whatever combination we want without the need of adding a new method for every use case like we would do with the standard JPA Repository approach.

## 8 Mistakes You Make While Giving Constructive Feedback

*Published: 2023-02-05 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, communication, feedback*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/8-mistakes-you-make-while-giving-constructive-feedback/index.md*

Wouldn’t you like to know that you can change something before it becomes a serious problem? **Feedback is a gift.** Given with a good intention of taking care of someone it will lead to a further development and a strong collaboration. Unluckily, it happens that feedback is given incorrectly and it does more harm than good and in consequence leads to decreased productivity or engagement. 

Below you can find **eight most common mistakes made while giving constructive feedback.** Double check if you haven't made one of these. 

## **1. I’M OK, YOU’RE NOT OK** 

There is a psychoanalytic theory on human behaviour called [Transactional Analysis](https://www.simplypsychology.org/transactional-analysis-eric-berne.html) in which Eric Berne points out four typical positions people tend to take in different situations in life. One of them is “I am ok, you are not ok” which we often exhibit for example while giving corrective feedback. But you should not act like that. **While giving corrective feedback our aim should not be to prove that someone is wrong, but to show that something can be done differently with a better result for the receiver. Our position should be here “I am ok, your are ok”.** This helps to maintain neutrality and objectivity. **Always give feedback to learn and support not to win.** Feedback should be about actions not individuals.

## **2. FEEDBACK SANDWICH** 

It is a human natural tendency to sugar-coat. Why? Because everyone wants to be nice and everyone wants to be likeable. But when you give corrective/negative feedback you must get to the point. **Putting your negative message between positive ones is one of the most common mistakes people do. It increases the danger that the message you really want to communicate can get lost.** Do not make people read between the lines. Be precise and transparent. Avoid mixed messages. End on a supportive, but clear note what behaviour should be changed and how to do it. When you have an important message to convey it is  more effective to focus on doing this clearly instead of wrapping it into positive bullsh**. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/friends-sandwich-joey-3ohc0VvRxWciBmE6wE' /> 

## **3. FEEDBACK IS NOT ACTIONABLE**

When we use the term feedback, it is much about feed-forward. **Help a person understand what the specific behavior should look like in the future.** Unactionable feedback is the most frustrating and confusing thing you can do. Unactionable feedback only tells there is a problem, but there are not specific actions that should follow. It makes really hard for the person to change the situation and meet new expectations. **When you give feedback, clarify why and how the person shall tackle the problem. Give a clear direction what is expected and what kind of the impact you are anticipating.** The receiver shall be aware what they have to do to fix the problem and rectify the situation. Feedback should be a learning experience. 

## **4. INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE**

Avoid exaggerations like “always”, “never” etc. **Be specific and mention a specific time someone did something really well or a time where they fell short.** Using sarcastic comments or inside jokes is also not a good idea. Another problem is using very vague language. Not only it confuses the receiver but also stresses them out. **If there is no clear idea what is wrong or how to change or improve, there is no chance at creating a success.** In the end we witness the situation that the receiver of feedback does not get it, and the giver feels unheard or devalued. As the giver you should focus on describing a specific behaviour.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/justin-g-why-1iTpx5PpzRugcrZK' />

## **5. NO TIME FOR QUESTIONS**

An effective feedback requires a two-way conversation. It should keep the balance between asking and telling. **As a feedback giver you have to remember that after introducing the issue you want to address, you also should ask for your receiver’s point of view.** Questions allow for a better understanding of the situation. They help to uncover extra insights before you decide on next steps. People to whom you may give feedback have to get a chance to respond. There should be time to clarify, comprehend and process. Without that your perspective is very limited. In feedback process, both sides - the give'sr and the receiver's, should be active participants. After you give feedback, you may even ask the person to paraphrase what they heard, to ensure they understand it. 

## **6. YOU DON’T STICK WITH THE FACTS**

Don’t engage third parties and make the situation even more confusing. What others tell you should not be brought into the feedback. The main message to process is what you feel or see. Feedback must come from you. It is not a good idea to let other influence your opinions. **Focus on your working opinion and your experience with working with a particular person. Provide feedback based on the actions that took place and the task(s) that has or has not been done as expected.** Point to specific behaviorus - instead of saying “you lack confidence” go with “you didn’t contribute in our last meetings. You were silent all the time. The client was disappointed. What is wrong?”. **Ensure your feedback includes facts not personal biases and preferences.**

## **7. YOU ARE EMOTIONAL** 

Even though it is advisable to provide feedback immediately after something happens, under some circumstances it is just better to wait. When someone in our team makes a mistake with a really negative consequence, we quite easily get upset and it is a quick way to act emotionally. **The best we can do in such a situation is to take a breath, assess coldly a situation, prepare a plan and then deliver feedback. Never share feedback when you are furious, sad or under some negative emotions.** Cool down and then provide feedback. Otherwise you may regret what you said. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/mrw-start-pence-IYIlvuWc21U4g' />

## **8. YOU DON’T FOLLOW UP** 

If you want your feedback to resonate and result in a change of someone’s behaviour, you must plan some opportunities for follow-up meetings. Imagine you want to give up smoking, chocolate, anything… How much time does it take? Is it enough to tell yourself once to stop doing it and immediately your behaviour will change? **Feedback needs follow-ups to check on the success or failure of a process or some modifications that should have been introduced to make something better.** Feedback follow-ups are not a one-time meeting and it is possible you would have to do them continuously for some period of time. Without them you are not capable of comparing the actual performance of what is expected and with the past. **The repetition will reinforce your message.**

## **BRUSHING TIME** 🦷🦷🦷

For feedback to have an impact both sides have to be open to change, adaptable to what is given, and resilient. Don’t be afraid of giving feedback. And don’t avoid giving it. With some preparation you can really do it well. You can keep in mind a real life situation that you have some spinach on your teeth after eating dinner. Would you like people at work pretend everything is ok and do not say a word? Imagine that you are just before an important meeting with a client or in a moment you are going to show a significant presentation to your team. **Even though it is sometimes awkward, probably you would like someone tell you about it so that you can clean it.** I would not like to spend the whole day in the office talking with people with something on my teeth. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/teeth-mrtu9EXFfFq1i' />

## What plants can teach you about leadership?

*Published: 2023-01-18 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, communication, team management*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-plants-can-teach-you-about-leadership/index.md*

This story will be short. A few years ago when I bought a flat I also bought several plants. The gardener’s way I have gone so far taught me a lot not only about plants themselves, but also about people. My gardener's way was not always easy and maybe that is the point. So, what plants can tech us about leadership? A lot.

## **1. Diversity** 🌴🌳🌻

There are million different kinds of plants in the world. Every plant is unique. And even if you have dozens plants that belong to the same species, it is impossible to find two identical ones (or it is almost impossible). **The world of plants is rich and diversified. The same we can say about the world of people.** There are million different types of personalities around us. Being a leader means you work with different people every day. If you want out of curiosity to read about five main personality traits, take a look [here](https://www.verywellmind.com/the-big-five-personality-dimensions-2795422). 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/animation-plants-pots-xT9DPhySvCRg3nuTqU' />

Creating diverse team within an organization can improve the overall productivity, culture and morale of the company. **The diversity in your team can help to discover unique solutions, new perspective and make even more effective business decisions.** And what you have to learn as a manger is the way of taking care of people you work with, the same way as the gardener takes care of their plants. 

## **2. Caring** 👩🏻‍🌾

All plants at our homes or in our gardens need some care and protection to grow. We water them, fertilise, repot. A good gardener never forgets about taking care of their plants. Without this support plant will probably start fading and finally die. **Best leaders and managers never forget about taking care of their people. Weak leaders drain people. A leader who does not care about others cannot coach, develop or provide opportunities. If  you want people to grow, care about them.** They do their work every day, but without support, appreciation and fair compensation they will sooner or later leave you.

## **3. Get to know your plants** 🔆💦🌡

As we already know every plant has to be taken care of to grow. **But the point is to pay attention to individual needs of each and every.** A plant requiring “full sun” needs all the sunlight it can get, at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sun exposure per day. But there are plants which need only 3-4 hours of direct sunlight per day. There are also some that do not sun exposure almost at all. Other factors that make plants life easier are for instance proper temperature, moisture, air and nutrients. **The same works with people - people in a team need different things to grow.**

**Some people need a bit of motivation and “push” to leave their comfort zone and then they thrive. For some it is enough when you check up their progress every now and then and water their leaves with doze of appreciation.** Others will need your support all the time as they are demanding, but they can blossom one day taking your breath away. As leaders we have to learn what works best for people we work with. 

## **4. Maturity** 🌱

People just like plants can be in a different phase of maturity depending on their career level. 

The information about plant’s maturity tells you how long it takes from the moment a seed is sown to the moment when the plant is ready to set flowers. It is a tool provided to help the gardener determine when the plant will successfully grow and produce fruits. **[Hersey and Blanchard in situational leadership](https://www.toolshero.com/leadership/situational-leadership-hersey-blanchard/) suggest that managers should adapt their leadership style to an individual, their tasks and level of maturity** 

In their method the maturity level is divided into three categories: high, moderate and low. High maturity includes highly capable and confident individuals who are experienced and work well on their own whereas moderate maturity is generally divided into two groups: the first are employees who are capable but lack enough confidence to take on the responsibility to do so, and the second group has the confidence but is not willing to do the task at hand. Low maturity employees are not skilled enough to do the task but are very enthusiastic. **To take proper care of people in the organisation leaders and managers should adapt an appropriate leadership style. It helps to quickly evaluate a situation and make decisions that fit your team member’s needs.** Just like with plants. 

## **5. Cacti and succulents in your team** 🌵

Cacti and succulents are now a very common houseplant and they both have the same trait - they can survive in arid environments. The native habitat for most cacti and succulents is a desert. They are quite easy care, low maintenance and undemanding plants. Their leaves allow the plant to withstand most harsh conditions in the world. But it does not mean we can stop taking care of them. Most cacti and succulents require a lot of light, sometimes well-drained compost or diluted fertiliser. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/flower-timelapse-cacti-ZNpC6BdLJLhDi' />

**In your team you have also cacti-employees.** These are usually hard working people you can trust and rely on. They get the task and no matter what they will accomplish what is needed. **They do not complain. And even in times of adversity they will do what has to be done. But as a leader you cannot forget that they also need your support, they also need 1:1 meetings, they also need appreciation and someone who will understand their concerns.** 

## **6. Re-potting** 🪴

To keep your plant alive you have to repot it sometimes. Repotting makes many gardeners anxious. T**hey are afraid that by moving a plant they may kill it. But repotting a plant is sometimes the only way to make it grow nice and tall.** There are mainly two seasons good for doing that - late winter or spring. What is interesting, young and fast-growing plants should be repotted every six months to a year, and older plants need to be repotted every few years. I am not sure if you already know what I am aiming at, but yes - we sometimes have to repot people in our team to make them thrive. 

Being confined to one project for too long can become very root-bound for them. **But before repotting them, make sure you have good soil in your new pot, enough room for all the new roots to grow and inspect if you are not pulling them too much. Then give them time to adjust and watch them grow.** 

## **7. Get rid of weeds** ✂️

Every gardener has to learn how to weed like a pro to keep their plants healthy. Removing unwanted plants from our garden is something many people just hate. But with an appropriate approach we can make weeding a less painful experience. **Maintaining a healthy, properly-functioning garden is no different than maintaining a healthy proper-functioning team and work environment.** Eliminate [toxic factors and behaviours](https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-four-horsemen-recognizing-criticism-contempt-defensiveness-and-stonewalling/) in you team as quickly as you can.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o30Ps-_8is&t=1s' />

Get into the habit of regular routine care and maintenance of your garden and it will bring a lot of benefits for you and your team. As a manager or leader you have plenty occasions to get some feedback. Talk with people and improve the workflow you have. Manage team meetings wisely. Reduce unnecessary ones. Work on limiting blockers or communications obstacles. **But be careful as “weeding” might be the one thing that can turn every gardener into a world-class complainer. And it should not be about complaining at all.** 

## **Without your plants you are not a gardener** 🌷

If nobody follows you, you are not a leader. **And people will follow you when you care about them. They will listen and speak out when you encourage clear and regular communication. They will take responsibility when you define clear roles and give them autonomy.** And they will also make mistakes and manager’s and leader’s job is to support them, motivate and provide opportunities to learn. **If you want your employees to embrace a certain behaviour, you have to model it.** And last but not least - show appreciation. [Speaking nicely to plants help them grow faster. ](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jan/11/they-respond-to-vibrations-does-talking-to-plants-actually-help-them-grow)

## Thriving on Responsibility. Meet Kasia – a Bright Project Manager

*Published: 2022-12-22 | Author: kasia g | Tags: bright story, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/thriving-on-responsibility-kasia-bright-project-manager/index.md*

**Just days before the important MVP launch Kasia found some time to share her thoughts on her professional role and challenges. Check out how strongly Kasia goes by Scrum. Also, read her recipe for successful communication with developers and clients. Here comes the story of Kasia, the Project Manager at Bright Inventions.**

<div className="image">![Kasia - a project manager at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstorykasia_collage.png "undefined")</div>

## Like many developers, you studied Computer Science. What made you go on a project management path?

During my studies, I realized that **I mostly enjoyed classes regarding project management and business perspective** in software development. Especially classes regarding Requirement Engineering. 

Also, I’ve always liked to manage. I wouldn’t call myself a natural leader, but I used to jump into that role when no one else wanted to. **PM work was intriguing because I always enjoyed having control and responsibility** for something. That’s why managing a development process felt so appealing to me.

## Have you ever thought of switching to the dev side?

I have been thinking about that from time to time. I still think about switching sides.

## You started your IT career here at Bright Inventions. How did that happen?

Yes, **Kasia Łukasewicz who was my academic teacher at the Gdańsk University of Technology, asked if I would be interested in joining the company**. It was right before graduating the college. I guess I would have become a programmer if she hadn’t offered me that opportunity.

I’ve always thought that you had to be a developer for a few years before you went on the PM path. Obviously, having tech experience is helpful, but starting like me from a PM job is possible. 

Naturally, when I think about that times I sometimes cannot believe how lost I was at the beginning. 😉Nevertheless, I guess everyone has a difficult start and has to learn so much. Kasia’s support was crucial to me. **I started by joining the project she was managing to observe and learn**. I’m glad that I didn’t get my own project from day one because academic knowledge is not such a big support in real life. 

Yet later **when I started managing the project on my own I felt that I also got so much freedom and trust**. Naturally, with trust and freedom came responsibility. However, I still could always go to Kasia for advice. It was up to me, though. No one controlled me, everyone at Bright Inventions trusted me and was for me if needed.

## Every organization has its own version of the PM role. How would you portray PM’s role at Bright Inventions?

The Project Manager at Bright Inventions doesn’t play a typical scrum master role. I don’t only observe the process and offer suggestions. I definitely **work closely with product owners and take part in requirement specifications**. It takes a huge part of my day – to discuss what we and our client want to achieve.

<div className="image">![skiing](../../static/images/brightteam_skiing.png "undefined")</div>

As a PM your job is to **make the project move on**. You have to ensure that the client is content and that the development team is happy and feels that what they do matters. Obviously, I've never worked anywhere else, so it’s hard to compare that to other workplaces. Yet I like the fact that **I am truly responsible for the project** and no one higher up the ladder interferes in my work. 

## What are the projects you manage on daily basis?

One of the projects is the **payment instruments distribution system** developed for one of the top global humanitarian agencies. Thanks to this solution the agency team can distribute debit cards (or other payment instruments like sim cards or vouchers) to communities in need.

Our client’s efforts not only result in helping people in crises but also in supporting the growth of local economies. The cards give beneficiaries the freedom to choose what help they actually need.

<div className="image">![quote on tech for humanitarian purposes](../../static/images/kasia_quote_humanitarian.png "undefined")</div>

The solution is used in a couple of Asian and African countries. The team I work on for that project contains 4 fullstack developers, 2 mobile devs, and 3 software testers. Working on this project is definitely rewarding. **Not every day you get a chance to build tech for humanitarian purposes**. The aspects of helping people and social justice are significant to me. I really feel that we work on something that has greater meaning.

## That's one project. Is there another project you manage?

Another project is a mobile application built for our German client representing the **building and construction industry**. The **app will help clients’ employees and contractors create and store documentation needed at construction sites**. We build native **apps for iOS and Android**. The development team at Bright consists of 4 [mobile developers](/our-areas/mobile-app-development).

There are two greatest challenges coming with this project. The first is very technical. End users cannot depend on the internet connection at construction sites. Therefore **most features have to be available offline**. That adds a lot of complexity during defining the requirements phase.

The second is that backend for our app is built by another external company. They are very open to any discussions and suggestions, but it requires additional effort on the coordination side.

We are at a very exciting stage of the project development, **just days before the MVP launch**. 

## Do you go strongly by Scrum as a project manager?

I don’t think this is the most important thing to work according to the methodology. It’s not our ultimate goal. Obviously, all methodologies are a great inspiration and offer a bunch of ready-to-take techniques. However, **the question that I should ask myself is not if I am doing everything as it is written in the Scrum guide (or any other methodology)**. The question I ask myself is: will this solution help my team achieve our goals?

Having that in mind – yes, I have managed projects in which we used almost ideal Scrum. However, I also handled a project where Scrum didn’t work for us so well and we decided to use a combination of Scrum and Kanban.

## What are the key factors of maintaining good relations with a client?

When it comes to **client-software agency collaboration** the grand rule should be a **helping attitude and a proactive approach**. The client who comes to us usually has great knowledge about the business processes but may have limited knowledge about the technology. **Our job is to understand what is their business goal, propose potential solutions and help pick the one which is the best for them**. We shouldn’t expect from the client to give us all the answers, we should seek those answers together.

<div className="image">![quote on communication with clients](../../static/images/kasia_quote_client.png "undefined")</div>

Another very important factor is **open and clear communication**. Especially, when it comes to communicating any mistakes made along the way. Whenever they happen, we should analyze them, explain them to the business and decide what actions may be taken to omit them in the future. This way **we show that we care about the project as much as our client does** and we gain trust which is the key to a successful collaboration.

## And what about establishing great relations with developers?

I feel that **the key is being part of the team** and not the one who is above everybody else. We are one team, we have just different responsibilities.

To make that happen we need to truly trust each other. **As a project manager, I trust devs that they will bring their best ideas to the table**. Also, they trust me that I will do my best to support them in managing our daily work. Definitely what helps us build that trust is the **continuous and mutual feedback** between PM and devs.

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions' team retreat](../../static/images/brightteam_girls.png "undefined")</div>

## Could you answer a very popular question seen on social media? What does a project manager do all day? 😀

Talks. 😉

Obviously, a project manager’s role might depend on the project. If the process goes smoothly, the PM is practically unneeded. However, that is not usually the case. ;) Therefore, **I help with refining the requirements, defining the process, communicating between the development team and the client.** Basically, I make sure that we move forward and that both sides are happy with what we are achieving together.

## What do you do after hours?

Recently I started to sew. I love dancing, I used to dance a bit of boogie woogi. Now I go to the lyrical jazz classes. I guess my biggest passion is skiing. Unfortunately, it’s not something I can do regularly while living in Gdańsk. 😉

## Add the RDS Database to a Spring Boot App with AWS CDK

*Published: 2022-12-20 | Author: adam-w | Tags: AWS, RDS, spring boot, AWS-CDK, devops*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/add-the-rds-database-to-a-spring-boot-app-with-aws-cdk/index.md*

**Are you tired of manually setting up and maintaining your own databases? Fear not, because the AWS CDK is here to save the day!**

<div className="image">![\*\*AWS CDK\*\*](../../static/images/blogcover_aws_cdk_rds.png "undefined")</div>

In this article, **you'll learn how to use the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) to set up an Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) database using the Postgres Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)**. You'll also **discover how to pass database variables**, such as the username, password, name, URL, and port, to an AWS Fargate container. Finally, you'll learn **how to configure a Spring Boot application** to access the database. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily set up and integrate a Postgres RDS database with a Spring Boot application deployed on Fargate using the CDK.

## Goals

* Using AWS CDK declare the RDS database with Postgres RDMS.
* Pass database variables (username, password, name, URL, port) to the Fargate container.
* Configure database access on the application side.

*If you don't have a defined Fargate service, here is a tutorial on how to deploy a Spring Boot app with Fargate using CDK: [Create CI/CD pipeline in GitLab with AWS CDK, Docker, Spring Boot and Gradle](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/create-ci-cd-pipeline-in-gitlab-with-aws-cdk-docker-spring-boot-and%C2%A0gradle).*

## Create database stack

In the lib folder in your's CDK project directory create the `database-stack.ts` file.

![directory-structure](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*lTAoKjnSIs6hzEG1CDDUIQ.png)

To create a database we will use DatabaseInstance construct, and for database credentials, we will use a secret from the secrets manager (`Credentials.fromGeneratedSecret`). The secret will be generated and stored in the secrets manager.

```typescript
import {Duration, RemovalPolicy, Stack} from 'aws-cdk-lib';
import {Construct} from 'constructs';
import {InstanceClass, InstanceSize, InstanceType, IVpc} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ec2";
import {Credentials, DatabaseInstance, DatabaseInstanceEngine, PostgresEngineVersion} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-rds";
import {deployEnv, isProductionDeployEnv, KnownDeployEnv, projectEnvSpecificName} from "./env-utils";

export class DatabaseStack extends Stack {
    static readonly databasePort = 5432;
    static readonly databaseName = `backend_postgres_db`;

    readonly databaseInstance: DatabaseInstance;

    constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, vpc: IVpc) {
        super(scope, id);

        const databaseUsername = 'backend_postgres_db_user';
        const dbCredentialsSecretName = `backend_db_postgres_credentials_${deployEnv()}`;

        const databaseCredentials = Credentials.fromGeneratedSecret(databaseUsername, {
            secretName: dbCredentialsSecretName
        });

        this.databaseInstance = new DatabaseInstance(this, projectEnvSpecificName('postgres-db'), {
            databaseName: DatabaseStack.databaseName,
            engine: DatabaseInstanceEngine.postgres({version: PostgresEngineVersion.VER_14_2}),
            instanceType: InstanceType.of(InstanceClass.T3, InstanceSize.MICRO),
            instanceIdentifier: projectEnvSpecificName('postgres-db'),
            credentials: databaseCredentials,
            port: DatabaseStack.databasePort,
            maxAllocatedStorage: 200,
            vpc,
            deletionProtection: deployEnv() === KnownDeployEnv.prod,
            removalPolicy: removalPolicyAppropriateForEnv(),
            backupRetention: databaseBackupRetentionDaysForEnv(),
            copyTagsToSnapshot: true,
            iamAuthentication: true
        });
    }
}

export function removalPolicyAppropriateForEnv() {
  return isProductionDeployEnv() ? RemovalPolicy.RETAIN : RemovalPolicy.DESTROY;
}

export function databaseBackupRetentionDaysForEnv() {
  return isProductionDeployEnv() ? Duration.days(14) : Duration.days(1)
}
```

Helper methods and variables (`deployEnv, isProductionDeployEnv, KnownDeployEnv, projectEnvSpecificName`) are defined in the `env-utils.ts` file:

```typescript
const DEPLOY_ENV: DeployEnv = process.env.DEPLOY_ENV || 'test';

export enum KnownDeployEnv {
    prod = 'prod',
    stage = 'stage',
    test = 'test'
}

export function deployEnv(): DeployEnv {
    return DEPLOY_ENV;
}

export type DeployEnv = KnownDeployEnv | string

export const PROJECT_NAME = "backend";

export function projectEnvSpecificName(name: string = ""): string {
    const prefix = PROJECT_NAME.replace('_', '-') + "-" + DEPLOY_ENV;
    if (name.startsWith(prefix)) {
        return name
    } else {
        return `${prefix}-${name}`
    }
}

export function isProductionDeployEnv() {
    return deployEnv() == KnownDeployEnv.prod
}
```

## Pass database variables to the Fargate container

In the Fargate service definition (*ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService* construct) we can configure ***secrets*** and ***environment*** properties. Variables defined in those will be passed to the container (in that way app will have access to those variables).

```typescript
import {Duration, RemovalPolicy, Stack, StackProps} from 'aws-cdk-lib';
import {Construct} from 'constructs';
import {AwsLogDriver, Cluster, ContainerImage, Secret} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ecs";
import {ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ecs-patterns";
import {LogGroup} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-logs";
import {IVpc} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ec2";
import * as ecr from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ecr";
import {projectEnvSpecificName} from "./env-utils";
import {DatabaseInstance} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-rds";
import {DatabaseStack} from "./database-stack";

export class InfrastructureStack extends Stack {

    private readonly TAG_COMMIT: string = process.env.TAG_COMMIT || 'latest'
    private readonly ECR_REPOSITORY_NAME: string = "ci-cd-demo-app"

    constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, vpc: IVpc, dbInstance: DatabaseInstance, props?: StackProps) {
        super(scope, id, props);

        const cluster = new Cluster(this, projectEnvSpecificName('Cluster'), {
            vpc: vpc
        });

        const service: ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService = new ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService(this, projectEnvSpecificName("application-lb-fargate-service"), {
            serviceName: projectEnvSpecificName("fargate-service"),
            cluster: cluster,
            cpu: 512,
            desiredCount: 2,
            listenerPort: 8080,
            memoryLimitMiB: 1024,
            publicLoadBalancer: true,
            taskImageOptions: {
                containerName: projectEnvSpecificName("ecs-container"),
                image: ContainerImage.fromEcrRepository(ecrRepositoryForService(this, this.ECR_REPOSITORY_NAME), this.TAG_COMMIT),
                containerPort: 8080,
                secrets: {
                    DB_POSTGRES_PASSWORD: Secret.fromSecretsManager(dbInstance.secret!, "password"),
                    DB_POSTGRES_USERNAME: Secret.fromSecretsManager(dbInstance.secret!, "username"),
                },
                environment: {
                    DB_POSTGRES_HOST: dbInstance.dbInstanceEndpointAddress,
                    DB_POSTGRES_PORT: dbInstance.dbInstanceEndpointPort,
                    DB_POSTGRES_NAME: DatabaseStack.databaseName,
                },
                logDriver: new AwsLogDriver({
                    logGroup: new LogGroup(this, projectEnvSpecificName("log-group"), {
                        logGroupName: projectEnvSpecificName("app-service"),
                        removalPolicy: RemovalPolicy.DESTROY
                    }),
                    streamPrefix: projectEnvSpecificName(),
                })
            }
        })

        service.service.connections.allowTo(dbInstance.connections, Port.tcp(DatabaseStack.databasePort), "Postgres db connection")

        service.targetGroup.configureHealthCheck({
            path: "/actuator/health",
            port: "8080",
            healthyHttpCodes: "200"
        })

        const scalableTaskCount = service.service.autoScaleTaskCount({
            minCapacity: 2,
            maxCapacity: 4
        });

        scalableTaskCount.scaleOnCpuUtilization(projectEnvSpecificName("service-auto-scaling"), {
            targetUtilizationPercent: 50,
            scaleInCooldown: Duration.seconds(60),
            scaleOutCooldown: Duration.seconds(60),
        })
    }
}

export function ecrRepositoryForService(scope: Construct, serviceName: string) {
    return ecr.Repository.fromRepositoryName(scope, `${serviceName} repository`, serviceName)
}
```

Besides ***secrets*** and ***environment*** properties definition, the connection between the service and database was opened:

```type
service.service.connections.allowTo(dbInstance.connections, Port.tcp(DatabaseStack.databasePort), "Postgres db connection")
```

Without this line, the service would not have access to the database.

Now after the creation of DatabseStack we can pass *databaceInstance* into *InfrastractureStack* definition.

```typescript
#!/usr/bin/env node
import 'source-map-support/register';
import * as cdk from 'aws-cdk-lib';
import {InfrastructureStack} from '../lib/infrastructure-stack';
import {projectEnvSpecificName} from "../lib/env-utils";
import {NetworkStack} from "../lib/network-stack";
import {DatabaseStack} from "../lib/database-stack";

async function main() {
    const app = new cdk.App();
    const network = new NetworkStack(app, projectEnvSpecificName("network"));
    const database = new DatabaseStack(app, projectEnvSpecificName("database"), network.vpc)
    new InfrastructureStack(app, projectEnvSpecificName("app-service"), network.vpc, database.databaseInstance)
}

main().catch(er => {
    console.log(er)
    process.exit(1)
})
```

## Configure database access on the application side

Add dependencies for database access and database driver:

```
implementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-data-jpa")
implementation("org.postgresql:postgresql")
```

In src/resources/application.yml configure datasource:

```
spring:
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:postgresql://${DB_POSTGRES_HOST}:${DB_POSTGRES_PORT}/${DB_POSTGRES_NAME}
    username: ${DB_POSTGRES_USERNAME}
    password: ${DB_POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
```

Variables names have the same value as the keys in ***secrets*** and ***environment*** in task image options in the Fargate service definition. Because we add those variables into a container the application has access to them and can connect to the database.

With just a little configuration, your application will have access to and be able to use the database without any issues.

## Summary

By following the instructions in this article, **you'll be able to easily set up and integrate an RDS database with a Spring Boot app on AWS**.

***All of the code (with working CI/CD for 2 environments) you can find here:***
https://gitlab.com/adam.waniak11/ci-cd-demo-app

## The Role of Transpilers in Web Development

*Published: 2022-12-20 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: frontend, web development, JavaScript*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-role-of-transpilers-in-web-development/index.md*

<div className="image"><img src="/images/role-of-transpilers.jpeg" alt="A laptop computer sitting on top of a desk with a code editor opened."  /></div>
<br />

In the old days, there were many more web browsers competing in the market and each was supporting a different subset of JavaScript features. What's even worse, some of them weren't really focused on implementing the missing ones, therefore we were greatly limited by them. Internet Explorer is an inglorious example coming from this group. It was obsolete but really popular at the same time. The worst nightmare of a web developer wanting to use modern JavaScript.
Normally, we would have to be aware of exactly what isn't present in a browser we would like to support and simply not use it. It sounds easy, but in reality, it's not. That's when transpilers come into play. **They are able to understand the code we write and transform it**. Moreover, they also enable some non-obvious features, we use every day. Intrigued? Keep reading then!

## Why do we need transpilers like Babel?

Imagine you have to write a code, that's supported by all the browsers on the market with at least 0.5% popularity. What's even worse, your code should make use of modern APIs when possible to provide the best performance possible. In such a case you would have to dig deep into many pages of technical documentation in order to establish a baseline of what you can use and what should you not.

Thankfully, we don't have to do this anymore. Transpilers serve us well by **enabling the usage of state-of-the-art language constructs** and making us forget about not-so-fast updated browsers. They are able to rephrase certain expressions, but also polyfill missing functionalities using core-js or other libraries. For example, such simple class like this:

```javascript
class Rectangle {
  constructor(height, width) {
    this.height = height;
    this.width = width;
  }

  get area() {
    return this.calcArea();
  }

  
  calcArea() {
    return this.height * this.width;
  }
}
```

may be transformed into many more lines of code if we want to support all browsers released in the last few years. Just take a look at the following code block - it's a totally different code!

```javascript
"use strict";

require("core-js/modules/es.symbol.to-primitive.js");
require("core-js/modules/es.date.to-primitive.js");
require("core-js/modules/es.symbol.js");
require("core-js/modules/es.symbol.description.js");
require("core-js/modules/es.object.to-string.js");
require("core-js/modules/es.error.cause.js");
function _defineProperties(target, props) {
  for (var i = 0; i < props.length; i++) {
    var descriptor = props[i];
    descriptor.enumerable = descriptor.enumerable || false;
    descriptor.configurable = true;
    if ("value" in descriptor) descriptor.writable = true;
    Object.defineProperty(target, _toPropertyKey(descriptor.key), descriptor);
  }
}
function _createClass(Constructor, protoProps, staticProps) {
  if (protoProps) _defineProperties(Constructor.prototype, protoProps);
  if (staticProps) _defineProperties(Constructor, staticProps);
  Object.defineProperty(Constructor, "prototype", { writable: false });
  return Constructor;
}
function _toPropertyKey(arg) {
  var key = _toPrimitive(arg, "string");
  return typeof key === "symbol" ? key : String(key);
}
function _toPrimitive(input, hint) {
  if (typeof input !== "object" || input === null) return input;
  var prim = input[Symbol.toPrimitive];
  if (prim !== undefined) {
    var res = prim.call(input, hint || "default");
    if (typeof res !== "object") return res;
    throw new TypeError("@@toPrimitive must return a primitive value.");
  }
  return (hint === "string" ? String : Number)(input);
}
function _classCallCheck(instance, Constructor) {
  if (!(instance instanceof Constructor)) {
    throw new TypeError("Cannot call a class as a function");
  }
}
var Rectangle = /*#__PURE__*/ _createClass(function Rectangle(height, width) {
  _classCallCheck(this, Rectangle);
  this.height = height;
  this.width = width;
});
```

Moreover, thanks to their transformation features, **we are able to use JSX in our React projects**. You read it right, this particular syntax is not natively supported. It's a syntactic sugar making it easier for us to define complex component trees. 

```javascript
// JSX

<div>
  <Button>Text!</Button>
</div>

// JS
React.createElement('div', {
  children: React.createElement(Button, {
    children: 'Text!',
  }),
});
```

So, in order to make it understandable by a JavaScript engine, transpilers convert JSX into a nested tree of React.createElement (or equivalent) calls. They also enable some advanced features of CSS-in-JS libraries like server-side rendering or cherry-pick only required functions from lodash. Pretty neat, right? Let's dig in and learn more about the transformation process.

## Code analysis 101

Source code is just a sequence of characters, which don't really mean anything to the interpreter running it. Well, it's the same for humans. We have to **understand the context in order to tell what some magical word means**. The same applies to the machine, but this analysis happens in a more organized way. There are three steps involved in the process, which we will cover shortly.

```javascript
// Our source code
n * n
```

It all starts with lexical analysis. This process **converts a stream of characters into a stream of tokens** - elements defined in language syntax like identifiers or numbers.

```javascript
// Tokens
[
  { type: "IDENTIFIER", value: "n", start: 0, end: 1 },
  { type: "OPERATOR", value: "*", start: 2, end: 3 },
  { type: "IDENTIFIER", value: "n", start: 4, end: 5 },
]
```

Next, a syntactic analysis will take a stream of tokens and **build an abstract syntax tree (AST)**. In this form, tokens are organized into various nodes representing more contextual elements of language. For example, the tokens listed in the code snippet above are interpreted as an expression statement. This representation is way easier to work with and perform necessary transformations.

```javascript
// AST
{
  type: "ExpressionStatement",
  start: 0,
  end: 5,
  expression: {
    type: "BinaryExpression",
    start: 0,
    end: 5,
    left: {
      type: "Identifier",
      start: 0,
      end: 1,
      name: "n",
    },
    operator: "*",
    right: {
      type: "Identifier",
      start: 4,
      end: 5,
      name: "n",
    },
  },
}
```

Now it's time for transformation. Babel walks the tree using **depth-first search**, visiting all the nodes recursively. When we go down, we say we enter each node and exit it after we hit the bottom and go up the tree. While visiting, the transpiler may decide to make changes to the node itself or its offspring. This way Babel is able to **modify the shape of our source code**. After all necessary modifications have been made, AST is transformed back into a basic sequence of characters.
Creating your own Babel plugin
Let's use all the information we learnt in practice. Our task is to replace all 'n' identifiers with 'x' and do it only if the identifier occurs in the body of the function named 'square'.

```javascript
function square(n) {
  return n * n;
}
```

Sounds trivial, right? As I said before, transpilers make use of a visitor pattern. We need to visit FunctionDeclaration and Identifier nodes. In the first case, we will rename the identifier declared as a parameter. The second will replace the identifiers in the body.

```javascript
let paramName;

const Visitor = {
  FunctionDeclaration(path) {
    const param = path.node.params[0];
    paramName = param.name;
    param.name = "x";
  },
  Identifier(path) {
    if (path.node.name === paramName) {
      path.node.name = "x";
    }
  },
};
```

This code looks and works great at the first glance. However, it will also rename an identifier outside the function body. Let's fix it.

```javascript
const UpdateParamNameVisitor = {
  Identifier(path) {
    if (path.node.name === this.paramName) {
      path.node.name = "x";
    }
  }
};

const Visitor = {
  FunctionDeclaration(path) {
    const param = path.node.params[0];
    const paramName = param.name;
    param.name = "x";
    path.traverse(UpdateParamNameVisitor, { paramName });
  }
};
```

This time there are two visitors defined. The UpdateParamNameVisitor is used by the Visitor to traverse the function body subtree. This way we will only update the identifiers wrapped by the brackets of the function.

## Next generation compilers

The so-called 'next generation compilers' have been gaining more and more momentum recently. The revolution started with the Go language powering [ESBuild](https://esbuild.github.io/) and now it's mainly focused on Rust and tools like [SWC](https://swc.rs/). What's the point?  - one may ask. Well, back in the past, JavaScript was used to build small or medium-sized web pages. However, this changed years ago and **there are huge applications composed of hundreds of views and thousands of files** available on the market.

<div className="image">![A chart showing a major improvement in compilation time thanks to ESBuild and SWC when compared to TypeScript and Babel.](../../static/images/role-of-transpilers-benchmark.png "Chart")</div>

Source: [DataStation - Benchmarking esbuild, swc, tsc, and babel for React/JSX projects](https://datastation.multiprocess.io/blog/2021-11-13-benchmarking-esbuild-swc-typescript-babel.html)

On such a scale, developer experience provided by JavaScript-based tooling starts to rapidly degrade when each change in the source code is reflected after several seconds. The same principle applies to the build process. This case is even worse because **we have to pay for each second the third-party service spends preparing our application**. That's why more and more companies start to invest in such technologies.

- - -

That's it. You know now why transpilers like Babel are needed and what exactly are they responsible for. Hopefully, this knowledge will help you debug issues related to code transformation, which usually are the worst nightmare. See you next time!

## A11Y – It’s Not Just Colours and Contrast

*Published: 2022-12-13 | Author: joanna-c | Tags: design, UX*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/a11y-its-not-just-colours-and-contrast/index.md*

What does accessibility mean in 2023? Is accessibility just another trend? Is a11y just another buzzword? A11y stands for accessibility (there are 11 letters between the first one and the last one, hence a11y). It is essential for developers and designers, who want to create high quality digital products. This means providing an equal chance of getting the same user experience, no matter who the user is and what their capabilities are. How to achieve this? Let me share with you some do’s and don’ts.

<div className="image">![accessibility product design](../../static/images/blogpost-cover-a11y_accessibility.png "undefined")</div>

## Why even bother?

### Part of society

First and foremost, people with disabilities are a part of our society and everyone deserves equal access to information. Creating inaccessible products means excluding [16% of the population](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health#:~:text=An%20estimated%201.3%20billion%20people%20%E2%80%93%20or%2016%25%20of%20the%20global,diseases%20and%20people%20living%20longer.). **Every decision we make can lower the barriers to interact with products**. It can also help with the sense of belonging to digital society. Designing with a11y in mind enables and draws on the full range of human diversity, thanks to which we can all help each other. 

### We are designing for future us

We are not only designing for people with disabilities, but also for our future us. How come? You never know where life takes you. And I’m not saying you’ll get in an accident and end up with some sort of disability (but hey, it might happen). But you need to keep in mind **that there are scenarios in which we are temporarily, or even situationally, impaired**. Take a look below:

<div className="image">![the persona spectrum by microsoft](../../static/images/blog_a11y.png "Toolkit Inclusive 101")</div>

Source: [Toolkit Inclusive 101](https://www.microsoft.com/design/inclusive/)

**The same solutions that work for deaf people might be useful for people who are working in a loud environment such as a pub**. Or let’s say you went to an eye doctor and were given some eye drops that impair your vision for 2 or 3 hours and now you want to get a bus home. You need to buy a ticket first, you are looking for an app on your phone, but you’ll notice that you can’t see properly because of those drops. The setting for people with vision impairment will come in handy.

### Business wise

There is also a business value to it and don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to monetize anyone here, but sometimes you need to convince the business side and this argument will most likely speak to them. Inclusive design opens up a wider range of recipients (the 16% I mentioned earlier).  Also, **studies show that people with disabilities are the most loyal customers**. On the other hand, it’s hard not to be loyal to the one and only product that answers your needs. 

### Law

And if that does not convince anyone, there is also a legal aspect of it. You see, in the past few years **accessibility changed from a requirement to an obligation**. Almost all over the world. USA has [The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)](https://adata.org/learn-about-ada), Canada - [ACA](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/accessible-canada.html), Australia - [DDA](https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/employers/disability-discrimination), Europe - directive on [the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016L2102) and there are more to come. But it all can be summed up by saying that everyone deserves an equal chance getting information and actively **blocking someone’s access to civil rights is unethical**.

## What can I do?

### Colour and contrast

* Many dyslexic users are **sensitive to the bright, high contrast colours**. They can make words swirl and blur together.
* But **don’t make the contrast too low**. Still have in mind people with visual impairments.
* Some users may experience sensitivity to sensory information such as colours which can cause anxiety or pain. Use a colour **contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1** for text and test it with your users to get the right balance. You can check contrast [here](https://color.adobe.com/create/color-contrast-analyzer) or use a [Figma plugin](https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/732603254453395948/Stark)

### Write in plain language 

Writing in clear, plain language will mean your content is understood by more people.

* Users on the spectrum might **take idioms literally**. 
* People who use Sign Language might consider it their first language, spoken language being their second language. Sentence structure differs a lot between those two languages. **Use visual content** (headings, bullet points, images, videos) **to support text**.
* **Fewer words are better** for someone who has trouble reading. Use bullet points to help guide a dyslexic user through your content. 
* Clear, simple information is important. If your service needs to warn users about the consequence of their actions, make sure you **give them enough information to make the correct decision**, so they can continue confidently.
* Not knowing what will happen after clicking a button or link can cause users stress and anxiety. **Descriptive buttons and links will help users know what to expect** and give them a sense of control.

### Pay attention to layout

* **Don’t create a wall of text.** Lots of unbroken text can be hard to focus on making it frustrating to read. Breaking text down into simple sentences and using bullets for important points will make your content easier to understand.
* Complex and cluttered layouts can be overwhelming for users to process. **Make your layout predictable and consistent**. Put common components such as navigation and search on the top of a page in a highly visible area.
* Users who have English as their second language may find it tiring or difficult to read lots of text. A logical layout can help users judge **what content they need to read in order to complete their task**.
* A **consistent layout** will help someone with dyslexia navigate a screen. It will help draw their eyes to relevant content and build familiarity and confidence as they go.
* Users of screen magnifiers can miss content like side columns if they are not expected. Particularly if they use the tab key to move between links and form elements. **Place features in a logical order where users would expect them to be**.

### Educate yourself 

Remember, **you’re not the user**. It’s best to test your solutions with actual users who struggle, but even they won’t be able to answer all questions nor needs. So, here are some links you might find useful, while diving into the accessibility aspect of designing the user experience:

* https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility - the classic WAG standards developed by the one and only W3
* https://www.a11yproject.com/ - they have come up with a checklist based on WCAG standards
* https://www.microsoft.com/design/inclusive/ - get familiar with the inclusive toolkit manual or check out the activities that might be useful during workshops
* https://www.nngroup.com/topic/accessibility/ - my source of knowledge when it comes to anything in ui/ux design
* https://www.accessibility.uxdesign.cc/ - a very down to earth ebook on accessibility, which you can download for free
* https://ukhomeoffice.github.io/accessibility-posters/ **\- Make sure to check out lovely posters with do’s and don’t in regards to ux/ui design, which inspired me to write this blog post. I mentioned some of them here, but they point out many more aspects!**

## Spring Boot and the Holy GraalVM

*Published: 2022-12-09 | Author: damian | Tags: spring boot, spring, graalVM, jvm*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/spring-boot-and-the-holy-graalvm/index.md*

**With the release of Spring Boot 3.0, we get official support for GraalVM native builds. Does it mean that we can finally free 
ourselves from the overhead of JVM? How do native builds improve the performance of the app? Where is a tradeoff and is it worth making? 
In this post, we will try to get some answers to those questions. With some Monty Python references along the way.**

<center><img src="/images/spring-boot-holy-graal-sacred-task.png"  width="700" title="Look well, Developer, for this is your sacred task to seek this Grail." /><center>Look well, Developer, for this is your sacred task to seek this Grail.<br></br> © Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)</center></center>

Spring Native [project](https://github.com/spring-projects-experimental/spring-native) is now officially part of the Spring Boot 3.0 release. 
With it, on our side, we can compile Spring Boot projects directly to executables native to the OS, completely omitting Java's VM. 
Therefore now we can easily run the binary on a system without JRE installed. This is pretty wild! But you might ask why would we 
ever want to do that. Well... there are a couple of reasons.

JVM was a way to streamline building software that would run on any device, despite OS being installed.

> Write once and run anywhere

It's all great, but maybe you don't  need this. Maybe you are building a web app and it only needs to run on a Linux OS 
somewhere in the cloud. In this case JVM is just an unnecessary overhead, that will slow us down.

With [GraalVM](https://www.graalvm.org/) AOT (ahead-of-time) compilation we can achieve just that. And since it comes freely with Spring Boot 3.0
it has never been a better time to start running your app on directly on the bare metal... or on the cloud's virtualized compute service.

<div className="important-info">All the tests were made on MacBook Pro with Intel I7-9750H and 16GB of RAM. Benchmark app was running on GraalVM CE 22.3.0. 
Numbers are an average from 10 consecutive runs.</div>

## Clean start

Let's start by looking at the blank app, straight from the [Spring Initializer](https://start.spring.io/) with no additional dependencies, to get the reference point.
I will be testing compile time, the final file size will be native or JAR, start-up time and memory allocated by the process.

### Compilation time

Compiling an app to the native image takes much longer than building a JAR. In my tests, the average native image took **1m 37s** to compile, and building
JAR took only **4s** - this is almost **25x longer**. That's a lot, but we should expect that, AOT is performing some optimisation
at the compilation step. In the default HotSpot, JVM's JIT approach those things are postponed until the runtime. AOT compiler is also 
doing things that JIT will never attempt to do, for instance, AOT will check which resources are never used and can throw away classes
from the final build. With JIT we always take everything from the classpath into the final JAR. 

### File size

File size of the app will be also significantly larger with the native build. In my tests, the blank app took **45.3MB** of disk space while the JAR weighed
only **14.4MB**. The size difference is caused by the fact that the native build is a standalone executable. It does not require any other dependencies like
JRE to be started. Meaning we have to pack everything that we might need from JRE inside the binary. JAR will utilize JRE, therefore it can contain only the
source code of our app.

<center><img src="/images/spring-boot-holy-graal-bridge-of-death.png" width="700" title="WHAT... is your quest? Improvements!"  /><center>WHAT... is your quest? Improvements!<br></br> © Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)</center></center>

Ok. So native image takes longer to compile and weighs more. So far not so great, but let's move to the good parts!

### Startup time

Spring Boot apps are infamous for their long startup time. Classpath scanning is one of the things that causes the problem. Since AOT pushes that process to the 
compile time we are seeing a massive improvement in that regard. During my tests JAR needed **0.774s** to boot, while native binary needed only **0.017s**. 
It's **45 times** improvement.

### Memory usage

Memory usage also seems to be improved. Blank JAR had to allocate **125MB** of memory while the native build only need **27MB**. That's another place where we can 
see the benefits of withdrawing JVM.

Summary of all the numbers in a table:

|              | JIT    | AOT    |
| ------------ | ------ | ------ |
| Compile time | 4s     | 1m 37s |
| File size    | 14.4MB | 45.3MB |
| Startup time | 0.774s | 0.017s |
| Memory usage | 125MB  | 27MB   |

## 1000 Beans

So far we tested the blank app, but what will happen if we would fill up our project with some code. To test this I've made 1000 empty Beans.

<center><img src="/images/spring-boot-holy-graal-camelot.png" width="700" title="1000 Beans! It's only a meaningless model... Shhh"  /> 
<center><s>Camelot!</s> 1000 Beans! It is only a meaningless model... Shhh<br></br> © Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)</center>
</center>

The idea of this test is to see how Beans discovery time would improve the startup time of the AOT build.

|              | JIT    | AOT    |
| ------------ | ------ | ------ |
| Compile time | 11s    | 1m 32s |
| File size    | 15.9MB | 47MB   |
| Startup time | 1.943s | 0.043s |
| Memory usage | 314MB  | 42MB   |

Comparing those numbers we can tell that both versions take a hit on the startup time. In both cases, the app needs **2.5x** more time to boot. But since the base value of
the native binary is much smaller, then the overhead doesn't look that bad. Additionally, we can tell that the native build is much less memory hungry with an 
increase of lines of code. RAM allocated by native binary is **1.5x** times greater over the base value, while JAR needed to allocate **2.5x** as much memory. 

## Sample app

Let's test something closer to the real-life scenario. I will reuse the benchmark app from the 
[previous blog post](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cost-of-layered-architecture). 

It's a sample app that is just repackaging DTOs and
pushing them from left to right. (Something that happens way often in the code that we would like to admit). One of the conclusions from that post was how helpful 
JIT is, optimising our code on the fly. Can we count on the same help with the native build? Well... no.

|           | JIT   | AOT   |
| --------- | ----- | ----- |
| No warmup | 606ms | 681ms |
| Warmup    | 373ms | 642ms |

<center><img src="/images/spring-boot-holy-graal-flesh-wound.png" width="600" title="No JIT optimisation? It's just a flesh wound."  /><center>No JIT optimisation? It's just a flesh wound.<br></br> © Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)</center></center>

As you can tell by the numbers if we allow JIT to warm up, the same task will be executed in just 60% of the original time. We don't have the same improvement 
on the native build, execution time remains similar no matter how much time we spend warming up the code.

If you are thinking about utilising native builds on prod, please benchmark your code carefully.
You might be surprised that your app is running slower if you heavily relied on JIT optimisation which is not possible with AOT.

## Conclusion

To sum it up with AOT build we are trading longer compile time and larger file size for much faster boot time and lower memory usage. I can think of one place where this 
tradeoff makes perfect sense - it's the cloud! If you are running your code on the cloud then give it a try. Please keep in mind that to use GraalVM natively with 
Spring Boot you need to upgrade to version 3.0 or higher. That could be a challenge in itself, especially since Spring Boot 3.0 is using 
Java 17 as a baseline. Before the upgrade check the full [laundry list](https://spring.io/blog/2022/05/24/preparing-for-spring-boot-3-0).

## Software Development Trends for the Year 2023

*Published: 2021-12-02 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: programming, design, AI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/software-development-trends/index.md*

**We are heading into the year 2023. So it is time to update this article with hot trends and predictions. Let’s look at 2023 software development trends from 3 different perspectives: frontend & backend developers’ and product designer’s.**

<div className="image">![Software Development Trends 2023](../../static/images/blogpost_trends_in.png "undefined")</div>

## Rustification of web development

Szymon, Senior Frontend Developer:

The truth is **the times of simple websites are long over**. Now, it’s a reign of complex web applications. Thousands of source code files have to be processed in order to produce an experience users love so much. The problem is, **tools like Babel or Webpack seem to have reached their limits** and can no longer offer a good developer experience. But fear not! 

There is a new generation of build tools storming the market and gaining more and more popularity. **It all started last year with the Next.js 12 release and their transition from Babel to SWC**. This year, they announced a Rust-based bundler, which promises to be hundreds of times faster than its JavaScript counterpart. I must admit, we all loved to hear that! Furthermore, **Rust can be compiled into WebAssembly and run natively**. This brings a huge performance boost if we don’t have a choice and have to make complex calculations in a browser.

<div className="image">![frontend development 2023 trend](../../static/images/szymon_2023_trends.png "undefined")</div>

In my opinion, **there are good chances Rust will become a cornerstone of modern [web development](/our-areas/web-development) next year**. The frenzy is just beginning. Other tools like TypeScript compiler will take part in it and more companies will invest in such innovations. This momentum cannot be reduced now as it’s far too late. I think it’s the most exciting shift in the industry since the popularization of frameworks and libraries such as React, Vue and Angular.

It all sounds so good, but **should I start learning Rust**? To be honest, I have already started.

## GPT-3 is a game changer

Rafał, Senior Fullstack Developer:

You probably heard, for some time, that AI will take over the world and programmers will be out of jobs. Well, the future is one step ahead. 😉 **What is GPT-3? It is a language processing model** which is mainly used for transforming the text which is learned upon. Venture is led by OpenAI nonprofit organization. **GPT-3 is different from its predecessors in terms of numbers it can take in as trainable parameters**. The learning data contains mostly from web crawling. GPT-3 is publicly accessible via many forms. One of the loudest releases was [Dalle](https://openai.com/dall-e-2/) which allows generating of an image from a simple text prompt. 

Recently [Chat-GPT](https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/) was presented, allowing us to conduct a chat with AI in a conversational way. An interesting thing about this solution is that **you can ask Chat-GPT to generate a code then follow up with another code styling**, add some other auth mechanism or do some refactoring. And boy, he can do it. [Here ](https://github.com/elyase/awesome-gpt3)you will find curated repo with possible examples GPT-3 can do now. You give a machine a text prompt and it can generate for you HTML markup, SQL code or Regexp. How cool is that? 

<div className="image">![GPT-3 2023 trend](../../static/images/rafal_2023_trends.png "undefined")</div>

What does it mean for us developers? For now, I think that GPT-3 will be a game-changer addition to web development. It will allow developers to move and create faster. I think it will not make the web developer occupation obsolete but **will make us even more full stack developers – more oriented on the business goal rather than technical means**. So jump aboard GPT-3 train and make sure to use its benefits wisely!

## Here comes neobrutalism

Joanna, Junior Product Designer:

As for the [product design](/our-areas/product-design), here are my predictions of upcoming trends for 2023:

### Strictly UI wise

* **Typographical designs** are here to stay. Readable quirk fonts and experimenting with different typefaces is something we have already seen in 2022 and surely we can look out for this in 2023.
* **Neobrutalism** is the new minimalism with a twist. Definitely not for everyone, but if you want to stand out - go for it.
* **Glassmorphism** - I feel like Apple leads in this style. A semi-transparent background has become some sort of a standard.

<div className="image">![product design trends 2023](../../static/images/joanna_2023_trends.png "undefined")</div>

### Overall Product Design wise

**Sustainability, accessibility** and **inclusiveness**. But I really hope those are not trends, but are here to stay for good (stay tuned for the upcoming blog post on accessibility).

### Interaction Design wise

I feel like the motion design is going to get more and more popular. Microinteractions are a great way to add something extra to the user experience. [Material Design 3](https://m3.material.io/styles/motion/overview) has even come up with some guidelines regarding transitions and microinteractions. Immersive scroll (or scrollytelling if you like) is taking users to another level of exploring websites.

- - -

Do you want to read more predictions? Check out our [trends for healthcare development](/blog/technology-trends-in-healthcare).

## Sekurak MSHP CTF Summary - Part 2

*Published: 2022-12-05 | Author: rafal h | Tags: security, backend, ctf, fullstack, sql*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/sekurak-mshp-ctf-summary-part-2/index.md*

Some time ago (15.10-16.10) I took part in the Sekurak Mega Hacking Party CTF contest. I have already created the [first post](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/sekurak-mshp-ctf-summary-part-1) about challenges that I had managed to solve. This post will describe another challenges which I was pretty close to solve. 😉

## **postgres**

The task was as follows: 
You have access to Postgres console. You have to read the flag. 
`nc 192.46.238.37 1337`

Upon accessing the console  with nc command view was as follows, disappearing within a few seconds:

<div className="image"><img src="/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-17.03.52.png" alt="Postgres console" title="Postgres console"/> </div>

Due to disappearing I decided to use script interaction with a server which will allow for entering more commands:

```
const p =  $`nc 192.46.238.37 1337`
p.stdin.write('SELECT * FROM cities;');
p.stdin.end()
```

So upon being able to execute the comments, I simply did `Select * from flag` but of course, it did not work.

<div className="image">![Postgres console 3](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-17.06.04.png "Postgres console 3")</div>

So decided that the flag must be somewhere near the metadata of the table. Tried the DB version, current database and current user... Nothing interesting there... Also as a user `ctf`, I was not able to get info about `information_schema` which would contain more info. Suspected that...

So tried with below to somehow deserialize table information:

```
const p =  $`nc 192.46.238.37 1337`
p.stdin.write('SELECT json_object_keys(to_json(json_populate_record(NULL::public.flag, \'{}\'::JSON)))\n;')
p.stdin.end()
```

Response:

<div className="image">![Console 6](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-17.11.44.png "Console 6")</div>

Getting closer. Got the column name. Selecting it allows selecting a value from the flag table which was `Close`. 

<div className="image">![Console 7](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-17.11.59.png "Console 7")</div>

You might remember that the second value was `but not there yet` but it is not shown in the schema above. Tried several more approaches and here I have stopped.

Turns out my thinking was correct but using the wrong query to do so. After deserializing the table to XML: 

```
const p =  $`nc 192.46.238.37 1337`
p.stdin.write('SELECT query_to_xml(\'select * from flag\',true,true,\'\'));
p.stdin.end()
```

Which gave back the CTF flag: 

<div className="image">![Console 9](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-17.13.48.png "Console 9")</div>

So close 😭

## **crypto-basic**

"Decrypt" following text to find text originally written in Polish to find a flag: 

```
6IGU6IGv6ICg6IG66IGh6IGk6IGh6IGu6IGp6IGl6ICg6IGq6IGl6IGz6IG06ICg6IGw6IGy6IG66IG56IGr6IWC6IGh6IGk6IGl6IGt6ICg6IGw6IGy6IGv6IGz6IG06IGl6IGn6IGv6ICg6IGD6IGU6IGG6IGf6IGi6IGh6ICx6ICx6IGh6IC36IGj6ICy6IC06ICy6IGi6IC46IGl6IGm6IC26IC06IC46IGl6IGh6IGm6ICz6IGl6IGm6ICy6IGm6IGi6ICx6ICw6ICw6ICz6ICx6ICz6ICg6IGz6IG66IG56IGm6IGy6IG16ICg6IGw6IGv6IGk6IGz6IG06IGh6IG36IGp6IGl6IGu6IGp6IGv6IG36IGl6IGn6IGv6ICu6ICg6IGN6IGv6IW86IGu6IGh6ICg6IGi6IG56ICg6IG06IGl6IW86ICg6IGw6IGv6IG36IGp6IGl6IGk6IG66IGp6IGl6ISH6ICs6ICg6IW86IGl6ICg6IGq6IGl6IGz6IG06ICg6IGj6IG66IG56IGt6IWb6ICg6IG36ICg6IGz6IG06IG56IGs6IG16ICg6IGS6IGP6IGU6ICx6ICz6ICu
```

As "decrypt" word was there and the format was known to me it looked like it is not real encryption but base-64 encode.

After decoding to UTF-8: 
`联聯耠聺聡聤聡聮聩聥耠聪聥聳聴耠聰聲聺聹聫腂聡聤聥聭耠聰聲聯聳聴聥聧聯耠聃联聆聟聢聡耱耱聡耷聣耲耴耲聢耸聥聦耶耴耸聥聡聦耳聥聦耲聦聢耱耰耰耳耱耳耠聳聺聹聦聲聵耠聰聯聤聳聴聡職聩聥聮聩聯職聥聧聯耮耠聍聯腼聮聡耠聢聹耠聴聥腼耠聰聯職聩聥聤聺聩聥脇耬耠腼聥耠聪聥聳聴耠聣聺聹聭腛耠職耠聳聴聹聬聵耠聒聏联耱耳耮`

Hmmm tried to google translate it from Korean, the Chinese - something about Confucius was there. Ok, dead end.

Tried to change the encoding to binary representation, hex one etc... Tried to change to image... Have not seen the pattern that was there so I abandoned that tasks. 

Turns out that one had to convert to UTF-16 and observe that all chars are moved by 8 bits. After changing 8 char at the start to 0 char in each nibble, message with CTF flag started to emerge.

<div className="image">![After1](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-12-05-at-15.32.12.png "After1")</div>

<div className="image">![After 2](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-12-05-at-15.32.17.png "After 2")</div>

Which in English means "This message is example of an easy substitution cipher. You can say it is something like ROT13".  Flag is inside.

Clever! 

So all in all Sekurak CTF was really interesting and well prepared. This was my first start so hope to find more flags in the future 🕵️

## Feedback - Make It Simple

*Published: 2022-12-04 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, feedback, communication, project management*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/feedback-make-it-simple/index.md*

According to **[Gallup research](https://www.gallup.com/workplace/357764/fast-feedback-fuels-performance.aspx) people who get regular meaningful feedback at work are four times more likely than other employees to be engaged and enthusiastic about their workplace and 3.6 times more motivated to do outstanding work**. Feedback seems to be a simple way to a professional success and a better team's performance, but in fact the whole process is not always as simple as we wish. Why? 

When we are giving corrective feedback, almost always it causes a threat response in a recipient’s mind. It is [a consequence of a neurological process](https://www.unleashed.company/post/how-to-give-brain-friendly-feedback) that takes place in the recipient’s brain where amygdala (the part of brain responsible for processing fearful and threatening stimuli), feels hijacked and limits our ability to response rationally. Our brain frequently interprets corrective feedback as negative and threatening. When we hear it, we disregulate and start looking for some excuses. The very first reaction of being evaluated is switch on of our self-defense mechanism. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/108-tallboyz-social-math-TFIgEtwP7G6kj8UPQE' />

The process may not seem to be super brain friendly at the first glance, but with an appropriate approach we can make it an effective tool for development and effective collaboration. One may ask if there is some toolbox of a good feedback giver and receiver and I would say yes - there is. We may follow and apply a few simple rules that can help us deliver a message in a hearable and understandable way with reducing ambiguities. **But above all we have to stay open and honest with the person about what is going on and why.**

## \#1 Avoid being too direct or being not enough direct

A very common problem with giving corrective feedback is **the fact that we are either too direct in that or we just beat around the bush and the person does not realise there is any feedback at all. Or what is worse the recipients does not feel the critical value of it.** 

Being direct means that we can tell the person the truth in such a way that they understand that their behaviour needs to be changed. We are specific about what we expect from the feedbackee. We also offer some tips on how they can achieve the desired outcome in the nearest future. Show the impact of your feedback - name how the data impact your (the giver) behaviour. It provides the logic. **Remember that being direct does not mean intentionally insulting or hurting the recipient’s feelings.** 

The receiver should also have an opportunity to say if he agrees or disagrees with what have been said to him/her. There should be space for some questions.

## \#2 Stay empathic

Daniel Goleman, social scientist and researcher, defines empathy as *a skill at sensing other people’s emotions, understanding their perspective, and taking an active interest in their concerns.* [Empathy is an elementary component of social awareness](https://ohio4h.org/sites/ohio4h/files/imce/Emotional%20Intelligence%20Background.pdf) and it is crucial  and powerful element of effective feedback process. 

That is why, while being direct we cannot forget about staying empathic. Both giving and receiving feedback require an extra dose of sensitivity. Feedback is always an emotional process and we do not want it to be followed by feelings of embarrassment or anger. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/bobs-burgers-bob-bobs-burgers-belcher-4T77yfuugELMtel2uS' />

**Especially as feedback givers we have to be careful while giving insights about someone’s behaviour as they may not be consistent with the way our recipient sees herself or himself.** That is the moment when empathy comes to the rescue. It helps us understand what other party is experiencing right now. The more empathy we may have for other’s person experience and feelings the easier it will be to understand their perspective of the problem. 

## \#3 Don’t use blurred words

Because **blurred words mean different things for different people**. It is really risky to tell someone “be more *productive*”, “you are *unreliable*” or “be more *positive*.” These are words everyone may interpret in a different way. Adjectives are generally rather tricky. Use specific words. 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/becausescience-nerdist-kyle-hill-because-science-fikcSiz20fgfT9M7XX' />

It is much more advisable to **use some precise examples of behaviours**. So, instead of saying “don’t be so grumpy” you may say “you complain about every step we make in a project. It diminishes the morale of the whole team and sometimes makes everyone around feel demotivated. I really appreciate your opinions but please try to see also advantages of each step we plan.” **The more specific you can be, the easier it is for the other person to take that feedback and turn it into action.**

## \#4 Give context

Before you actually share feedback, tell your employee, co-worker, boss, whoever that you are going to do it. **There is nothing worse than a situation when the person you want to talk to has no idea what you want to talk about.** 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/netflix-daOrHfoE9sxowLnuRJ' />

Do not send mysterious messages such as “do you have 5 minutes to talk?”. To talk about what? **Do not make the person wonder about the subject and goal of your meeting.** Ask with some short, but precise question/notice like “would you find 5 minutes to talk about how the last conversation with the client went?”. The receiver knows that the feedback is about to be given. **Subconsciously we are much better prepared to receive the feedback well when we know it is coming.** Give the context in advance what the conversation will be about. Avoid potential confusion.

## \#5 Don’t personalise 

The feedback is not about how we define ourselves and it is not about our personality. **It is a tool that we can use to learn and change some of our behaviours, but it does not define our value as human beings.** 

Always try to focus on a particular behaviour, its impact and your feelings. Instead of saying “you are XYZ” try to start the statement with what you are feeling because of the situation that has happened. Give feedback from your perspective. This way you avoid labeling the person.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/thehappysensitive-nah-identity-labels-CEcB02dadAY8E7tbs0' />

Both givers and recipients of feedback have to understand that **behind feedback there should be always a good intention**, the intention of caring about someone. Well-given feedback will build someone up not bring them down. 

## \#6 Make it frequent and up-to-date

To make the most of feedback sessions we have to make them regular. Thanks to that people know where they stand and there is not much surprise when something needs to be improved. **Simple feedback should be given on daily or weekly basis, depending on the situation.** Then people have time to change their performance and check if they are going in the direction as expected.

To do that, make sure you are giving feedback and asking for feedback in a timely manner. **Avoid giving feedback on something that happened some time ago since the incident is no longer timely and relevant. But it is also advisable to wait a few hours or till the next day to share your insights as the immediate feedback is usually much more negative than we may intend.** 

## Eat, sleep, feedback, repeat

Giving feedback and receiving it is a skill. And like all skills, it needs practice. Confucius said that *it does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop* and it is very true when we think about feedback. As long as we exchange feedback in our team we will move forward and we will create a meaningful change in the organisation. It is a resilient and consistent upward effort, but it brings fruits of long lasting trust, collaboration and engagement.

## Tips for Digital Marketers on How to Cooperate with Software Developers

*Published: 2022-11-29 | Author: izabela | Tags: business strategy, collaboration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/tips-for-digital-marketers-on-how-to-cooperate-with-software-developers/index.md*

**Marketers have ideas, targets, analytics tools, and a hunger for leads. Yet, we sometimes need developers to help us achieve our goals. The most common cooperation between a developer and a marketer happens while building a brand website and landing pages. Based on my daily professional relations with developers I listed tips for effective collaboration between marketing specialists and software engineers.**

<div className="image">![marketing specialist vs software developer](../../static/images/in_post_marketing_vs_developer.png "undefined")</div>

## Start by choosing the right tool for daily communication

**Emails won’t work**. I hope it’s not a shock to you. **You need a task management tool**. It’s great that both sides choose the tool that works for them. You can go for **Trello, Asana or Jira**. It’s reasonable to choose a tool that both sides have already known. Frankly, far away from emails and you’ll have a good start.

Also, setting up a common **chat channel would be useful**. Whatever is most preferably within your organization: **Slack, Teams or Discuss**. Chat channels will be useful for emergency situations.

## Don’t be afraid of questions

Probably, **you will hear lots of questions from developers**. They can be tricky. Truly listen and then answer. I sometimes made the mistake of not really listening. **I was asked what I wanted to achieve. However, I was describing the feature I expected to be built**. That wasn’t the question. I didn’t understand that difference at first. 😉 Still struggle with that sometimes.

<div className="important-info"><h2>Show the bigger picture</h2><div>**It’s a good sign when developers ask questions**! They usually do it to understand your goal. Then they can recommend the most suitable tech solution to achieve it. Remember that the **feature is just the means to an end**. It’s not the goal itself. **Help developers understand the bigger picture** and you should quickly see better results of the cooperation.</div></div>

## Feel free to ask questions

**If you hear some tech jargon, don’t get intimidated**. Every industry has its language, and marketing specialists have it as well. Simply ask to explain unknown terms more plainly. 

Also, if you hear that something cannot be done, don’t take “no” for an answer. **Ask why**. Maybe you can work it out another way.

## Learn how to describe a task

I am not an expert like the project managers from my team.

Nevertheless, I will write my **approach to describe the tasks:**

* **Start with the goal** you want to achieve.
* Then **list all the elements** that you expect to be built to achieve that goal.
* Include links to the product designer’s **mockups** if necessary.
* Be **specific and concise**. 
* **Provide a benchmark** to visualize your requirements if possible.

## Learn how to report the bug

Again, I am not a software tester. Here is my approach as a marketing specialist. 

<div className="important-info"><h2>Empathy is the key</h2><div>Reporting bugs, just like writing a task, is all about empathy. Imagine what information a developer would need to seamlessly find the same bug you have stumbled on.</div></div>

Don’t start with “something doesn’t work”. Unless you really have no idea what is going on. That might happen. 😉

**Describe shortly the issue, and provide a screenshot or screen recording**. I personally use **Screencast** for recordings. However, there are lots of other tools and widgets out there. Remember about your privacy. Don’t record all your screen with every widget and browser tab. 

Also, **include info about the device you used when the bug occurred, screen resolution, and the operating system**. All this information will simply decrease the number of following questions and make the debugging faster.

What's more, **you can use session recording tools like Hotjar or Mouseflow to efficiently report bugs**. These tools are quite popular among marketers so you might already know them. I found quite a few issues watching users’ recordings by Hotjar. 

Not only can you send a Hotjar recording, showing the issue, to your development team, but also **Hotjar will provide them with all info** mentioned earlier. Such as **screen resolution, device, or operating system**. Therefore you’ve got all of it covered by sharing one link with the recording. Using Hotjar as a reporting bug tool might be really helpful. 😉

<div className="image">![Hotjar](../../static/images/hotjar_screen.png "undefined")</div>

*Example of Hotjar Session Info included with every recording*

## Discover your tester instincts

Yep. **If you ask to develop something, you should try your best to ensure that it is what you want**. It’s the same when you, for example, have posters designed. You would check out if the designer did the job as you expected.

Find **my tips on testing for marketers**:

* Test the whole flow of the website or other things you implement (step-by-step). 
* Use a couple of the most popular browsers and devices your users use (based on GA).
* Don’t forget to check everything on the mobile as well.
* List all the bugs/issues and describe them as mentioned before.

And also… chill out. 😉 You are not a professional software tester. No one expects you to be like that guy:

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/SignatureEntertainmentUK-signatureentertainment-mel-gibson-hot-seat-BgKEiHf1xNV0h6IcSX' />

You just need to ensure that the feature is implemented correctly, especially when it deeply affects your daily job. So **when it comes to implementing a new flow for your eCommerce, SEO features, or marketing tags, I can’t imagine you don’t try to test it before the deployment** (if possible). Even if the development team does it as well, your marketing perspective brings more to the table than some might think.

## Use testing tools and extensions

Generally, you should try to get friendly with browser Inspect mode. It’s hard to avoid that adventure. 😉 However, there are tools that are useful for non-developers and can sometimes be treated as an Inspect alternative.

**Here are some examples of tools useful for web testing:**

* [Lighthouse](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lighthouse/blipmdconlkpinefehnmjammfjpmpbjk?hl=pl) – an extension that covers all essential web performance metrics assessment by Google.
* [WhatFont](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/whatfont/jabopobgcpjmedljpbcaablpmlmfcogm) – a helpful extension to check out if the fonts and their colors match your brand guidelines.
* [WhatRuns](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/whatruns/cmkdbmfndkfgebldhnkbfhlneefdaaip) – an extension to find out what frameworks, tags, and other tech are used on various pages. I won’t say it works perfectly but it can help you discover some benchmarks.
* [Ahrefs SEO Toolbar](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ahrefs-seo-toolbar/hgmoccdbjhknikckedaaebbpdeebhiei) – Ahrefs extension for checking out if metadata and headlines are properly implemented – SEO website structure in one place. 
* [Google Tag Assistant](https://tagassistant.google.com/) – Google tool to help you test analytics and advertising tags.

## Always assume good intentions

**We all have a common goal here**. We want to create a product that will benefit the users. Both sides might have different backgrounds, perspectives, and various ways of communicating. It may be challenging to be on the same page sometimes. 

Despite all of that **you should help developers understand your perspectives and listen to their side**. Eventually, insights from them might help you make better solutions for your users supporting your marketing goals at the same time. 😉

## Do You Need Test Cases? 

*Published: 2022-11-28 | Author: malgorzata-z | Tags: QA*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/do-you-need-test-cases/index.md*

There is a trend to write test cases. If you are a tester, write test cases. The more the better… But is it really always a good idea?

<div className="image">![Test cases - do you need them?](../../static/images/blogpost_test_case_preview.png "undefined")</div>

I'm not a test case enthusiast. I worked on many projects during my career and noticed that the value provided by test cases differs between projects. Sometimes it’s valuable and important, but sometimes it doesn’t make sense and is even a waste of time. I would like to show you why test cases are not always necessary.

## When test cases are important

**Have you ever wondered** why you need test cases? Is it because everybody is writing them? Maybe you are a tester and this is your duty?

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/nickjonas-nick-jonas-872o15eAXFBw66UfNl' />

First of all, test cases can be good documentation. Especially when you are a new QA in the project and you have to learn the product. At this point, test cases are really helpful. You can see the common paths and expected results.

On the other hand, writing documentation is not a QA responsibility. Documentation should be written by a professional person, e.g. technical writer. I know that not every project has documentation specialists, another option is to write some documents by the whole team. Documentation is also needed for new software developers, not only testers.

Test cases can be considered as testers' tasks to see the **work progress on the board**. This is more useful for automated tests. You can create test cases for each automated test and add it to sprint as the task to work on. It helps to manage tests when more than one tester is writing them. Test cases for automated tests are also useful to see which part of the application is covered by automated tests.

## When test cases aren’t important

From my point of view, a lot of test cases are written just to be written. This is a kind of habit. Everywhere you can find information that TCs are important. There are special courses for testers focused on writing test cases. Don’t get me wrong – this is a very useful and important skill, you need to **know how** to write them, but you **don’t need to write** them in each project.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/clips/showtime-season-1-episode-2-i-love-that-for-you-0KpHXHBK8MtJ1mK0r2' />

\
Let’s assume that you are writing test cases for each story. After that, **do you really use all these test cases**? Are they still relevant and up-to-date? The project is still being improved, the design is changed, and new features are coming. It’s not possible to have all the test cases up-to-date. Based on my experience, a team could write even up to hundreds of test cases and nobody has time to keep them up-to-date.

## Regression

You can say that test cases are used for **regression testing**. It is helpful, but mostly for beginners. When you always test your application with the same paths then you lose your creativity and don’t invent new paths. It’s an easy way to miss the bug. In my opinion, it’s better to explore the new feature and write high-level test cases using only keywords. You save a lot of time which can be used for exploratory testing and finding bugs.

## When test cases are a waste of time

Sometimes writing test cases is a waste of time. Tester spends a lot of time preparing good test cases and the cost is higher than the results. Paradoxically, focusing on the test cases can be a reason for the inferior quality. **QA spends their time preparing documentation instead of looking for bugs**. This time can be used for example for test automation.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/Vida-Starz-season-2-starz-210-J2PVPWryd2jx3XG53p' />

## So… don’t write test cases at all?

Writing test cases makes sense when you can reuse them and benefit from them. Some projects are complicated and definitely need test cases. In that case, you can have a small base of TCs, which are easy to maintain. In my opinion, it’s definitely a good idea to have test cases for automated tests as they are always in use.

## Managing Spring Boot Properties After Version 2.4

*Published: 2022-11-14 | Author: damian | Tags: spring, spring boot, java, jvm, kotlin*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/managing-spring-boot-properties-after-version-2-4/index.md*

**Managing Spring Boot properties in multi-module application could be quite intimidating.
In this post, we take a look how Spring Boot will resolve properties conflicts and how to make our build more consistent. Changes
introduced in version 2.4 are going to help us. Let's review how to take advantage of new features and incorporate them into
the project.**

To better understand what version 2.4 brings we need to take a step back and remind ourselves how things used to work before 2.4 release.

## How Spring Boot deals with property overrides?

Let's take this basic example. We could try to define the same value twice in a single file. Like this:

```yaml
main:
  value: option-A
  value: option-B
```

But this will fail, and the application will crash at the boot. You can't override properties in the same file. But it's more than
fine to just create another property file (with a different format):

```yaml
# application.yaml

main:
  value: option-A
```

```properties
# application.properties

main.value=option-B
```

In this case, the system will pick up `option-B` since values from `.properties` files have higher priority over values from 
`.yaml` files. The full hierarchy of values looks like this: (starting from lowest to highest priorities)

1. Default value defined in code

```kotlin
@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "main")
class MyConfigurationProperties {
    var value: String = "CODE_DEFAULT"
}
```

2. Property defined at default `.yaml` file
3. Property defined at default `.properties` file
4. Property defined at profile-specific `.yaml` file
5. Property defined at profile-specific `.properties` file
6. Environment variable
7. JVM option

## Properties in multi-module system

With that out of the way let's step up a notch and see how we could manage properties in a multi-module application.
To work on something real, let's assume our app contains 3 modules: main one, `moduleA` and `moduleB`.
The tree structure of that project would look like this:

```
├── src
│   ├── main
│   │   ├── resources
│   │   │   ├── application.yaml
├── moduleA
│   ├── src
│   │   ├── main
│   │   │   ├── resources
│   │   │   │   ├── application.yaml
├── moduleB
│   ├── src
│   │   ├── main
│   │   │   ├── resources
│   │   │   │   ├── application.yaml
```

Now if we define the same property in all three files which version is going to be picked up? Well... we could predict that is going to be the one 
from the main module and that would be correct. What if we remove the main `application.yaml` file? Then Spring Boot will pick up the value from one of the two
remaining files. Which one? It's non-deterministic. Let's avoid situations like this altogether. Any ambiguity is 
a potential risk hazard. And this is one is especially harmful since we might find out about our mistake when the app goes into production.

<div className="important-info">Contrary to what some people might assume, Spring Boot will not merge all tree config files from all the modules into a single file.
Only one version of the file will be used and the rest would be thrown away.</div>

One easy way out would be to define all properties in a single `application.yaml`. Not even creating dedicated yaml files per module. But we have those modules 
for a reason, most likely our intention was to keep all the logic encapsulated. So why we should spread module-specific properties outside?
It makes no sense. 

Before Spring Boot 2.4, we could have handled this problem by using `spring.profiles.include`. However, after 2.4 release this feature is no longer present.
Reasons for the deprecation are described in detail in the [blog post](https://spring.io/blog/2020/08/14/config-file-processing-in-spring-boot-2-4).
The short version is - this feature yield non-deterministic results. With that option out of the way, what's the alternative?

> When one door closes, another opens.

## What could be done after Spring Boot 2.4

Spring Boot 2.4 introduced `spring.config.import` which is much more predictable. The idea of that property is simple: we just point to the other sources that 
we would like to use in the final config file. Let's see how we could use this new feature in the multi-module application.

```yaml
# src/main/resources/application.yaml

spring:
  config:
    import:
      - moduleA.yaml
      - moduleB.yaml
```

In the main `application.yaml` file we are loading additional configs files specific to the modules present in the app. Let's create those files. With those changes our source
tree should look like this:

```
├── src
│   ├── main
│   │   ├── resources
│   │   │   ├── application.yaml
├── moduleA
│   ├── src
│   │   ├── main
│   │   │   ├── resources
│   │   │   │   ├── moduleA.yaml
├── moduleB
│   ├── src
│   │   ├── main
│   │   │   ├── resources
│   │   │   │   ├── moduleB.yaml
```

In the module dedicated files: `moduleA.yaml` and `moduleB.yaml` we can now place configuration specific to the module and that module alone.

```yaml
# moduleA/src/main/resources/moduleA.yaml

module-a:
  value: some value
```

Even if we are using `moduleA.yaml` file only for the module-specific/ custom properties it's still possible to override global properties inside that file. For instance, if we 
set app port `server.port=3000` inside `moduleA.yaml` that value might override the property from the main `application.yaml`. That could be confusing and breaks the original 
intention of profile-specific configuration. To make things neat and tidy let's prefix all properties with a custom namespace unique only to that module. For
instance, all properties inside `moduleA` have to start with `module-a`.

*To sum it up:*
Keep all the generic configurations inside the main `application.yaml` and only module-specific properties inside the module-specific files, only under module unique namespace.

### How does it work with custom profiles?

They still work as expected! Meaning, if we create `moduleA-prod.yaml` file alongside `moduleA.yaml` values from that file are going to be used to override properties from 
the base file. Neat! No additional changes are required to make it work!

### How does it work with integration tests?

If the test configuration is simple enough it's fine to just place it inside module-specific `application-test.yaml`, for instance:

```yaml
# moduleA/src/test/resources/application-test.yaml

module-a:
  value: some test value
module-b:
  value: test value for the other module
```

If the configuration is more extensive and it doesn't feel right to have it copy-pasted all over every test configuration file, plus the
configuration doesn't have to change from module to module, we can apply the same trick as before. By importing shared `moduleB` configuration file inside `application-test.yaml`:

```yaml
# moduleA/src/test/resources/application-test.yaml

spring:
  config:
    import:
      - moduleB.yaml

module-a:
  value: some test value
```

```yaml
# moduleB/src/main/resources/moduleB-test.yaml

module-b:
  value: shared testing property
```

Please notice that `moduleB-test.yaml` is inside `main` not `test` directory!

## H-factor in leadership. Do we really need it?

*Published: 2022-11-11 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, management, leadership*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/h-factor-in-leadership-do-we-really-need-it/index.md*

For some individuals leadership is a state of mind - as if they were saying “once a leader always a leader.” It is a tricky path to insolence and audacity. Being a true leader means learning whole your life, staying humble and above all serving people around you. Leaders who consider themselves to be better than others, who think they know it all and who cannot accept feedback have a long way ahead to understand what true leadership is. **We live in the world where ego gets sometimes too much attention and where arrogance makes headlines. To be an aspiring leader we need something else - we need humility, empathy and authenticity.** But are you strong enough to be this kind of leader? The leader who stays humble, inspires people and understands that the genius is hidden in their team.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/garyvee-motivation-balance-3o6Zt14FoFHzswxPmE' />

I am warning there will be many gifs here. 🙃

## **Humility - what is that?** 

In Cambridge dictionary humility is defined as *the quality of not being proud because you are aware of your bad qualities*. At work it means that we recognise both our strengths and weaknesses or limitations. **Humility makes us recognise that the qualities that make us great do not make us better than anyone else.** Humble leaders above all possess a desire to learn, focus on collaboration and the growth of their team. They care about people. 

From where I am standing humble leadership should be implemented in every management style. I often hear managers complimenting individuals for their domain knowledge or specific technical skills while disregarding traits like empathy or emotional intelligence which are in fact harder to learn than any others. To create healthy work environment and help employees grow leaders have to learn humility first. 

## **I am listening to my team**

It does not matter if you are a founder of the company, you have the title of CEO, COO, CTO or any other C-level position. It does not matter if you are a manager, an architect oraz a tech leader. The point is that you are still a human being with less or more experience. Leaders who practice humble leadership listen to their team. They do not pretend they know everything. Active listening helps them build strong relationship with colleagues the consequence of which is open communication, trust and eventually success.

**Remember that every conversation is an opportunity to learn something new. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote *\- in my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.*** Listen to your team, give them space to talk and then reflect and respond appropriately.

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/Friends-friends-season-6-tv-YSxABIzfohDMAelq41' />

## **Ask for feedback** 

If you understand your own blind spots, you usually find it easier to give and receive feedback. And feedback is nothing else than a great productivity booster. Since we know we can do something better or in a different way, we can optimise our work. **Humble leaders are not afraid of talking about they own flaws and they are not afraid of admitting they made a mistake. Give your team members, partners, co-workers some space for sharing feedback.** It helps both them and you grow in the long term. First of all, it is a learning experience - every time you get feedback, you gain a new insight and a new perspective. Humble leaders react to feedback with empathy and great openness. They understand the good intention which proceeds. 

## **Don’t be bossy (in PL wyjmij kij z d\*\**** 😉)

You might be a leader and you might be an expert, but there are still loads of things you do not know. And as long as you do not realise it, may the force be with your team, the force and patience. Because they will need it. 

Remember that there are and will be always people who have greater knowledge than you. Humble leaders know how significant a growth mindset is. **You don have to know all the answers and please DON’T pretend you have all the answers.** Remember that you can be both humble and ambitious at the same time. There is nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is when you have a know-it-all quality and you look down on your team. What is wrong is when you make sarcastic jokes about people you work with. **And finally what is wrong is when you are a leader and this label means so much to you that your behaviours and choices are controlled by it.** 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/matchisports-tranquilo-paquito-navarro-NihXC2MB0bJ9lVMU0O' />

## **Success is best when it is shared** 

You are your team’s advocate. **Your are not here to criticise people you work with. You are here to inspire, motivate and mentor.** As a leader your goal should be creating a positive and healthy work environment. Leaders who value humility use their knowledge and experience to support others in their career. Help your team members understand a new topic, a new technology, help them solve a problem in a project. Share your expertise with people inside and outside the organisation. **Remember that your goal is your team’s goal. The collaboration is the key.** 

True leaders are people who take care of their team in the first place. They provide their team members with all the tools and resources they need to grow. They empower the people they work with, and do you? 

## **Appreciate effort of people you work with** 

The best leaders acknowledge their contributors. Being a leader is always about recognising and respecting the efforts and ideas of others. **Never take credit for someone’s else work.** When you talk with someone and this person inspires you with some idea, do not forget to say thank you. And please - do not take this idea as your own. It does not matter whether a good idea comes from either a senior-level employee or an intern, humble leaders always appreciate the input from everyone. 

Do not allow your ego to overpower your positions and knowledge. Do not allow your ego to take over just because you are in a leader’s position. **Praise people you work with. Appreciate their effort and make them feel valued for their work. You can do it on 1:1 meetings or in a group forum. Adjust the method to a particular person.** 

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/nba-VDLo8aQnDozI0aKyex' />

## **H Factor** 

We all posses something which is called by psychologists [H factor.](https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Books/T/The-H-Factor-of-Personality2) Some people have very high level of it, some have rather low. **H factor stands for Honesty-Humility, one of six basic dimensions of human’s personality. This factor is especially important if we talk about leadership as it affects the way we perceive ourselves and people around us.** It tells a lot about our vision of the world. 

You might be a leader in your team or organisation, but the title does not let you and should not let you be arrogant. Honest and humble leadership build confidence. Whenever two or more people have to work together, basic honesty is a fundamental requirement whereas humility foster learning experience and engagement. 

## **Self-reflection time** 

**I really love the term [“humbition”](http://marktruelson.com/the-rise-of-humbition/) which describes people who are focused on their work not themselves. They seek for success, but they are humble when it arrives.** 

Be H-leader, the leader you would like to have on your own. And remember to look at the mirror as self-reflection is something we all need. It is critical for our development. Think about your current level of skills, your strengths and weaknesses, patterns of behaviour. Are you a leader or a manger you would admire on your own?

<GiphyEmbed url='https://giphy.com/gifs/laff-tv-laff-lafftv-tv-8vt8BQ69pp9TZVECwV' />

You can be at the same time intelligent, humble and sexy. Why not! 😉

## Shake the tree and make your app smaller

*Published: 2022-11-03 | Author: szymon-ch | Tags: development, JavaScript, web development, frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/shake-the-tree-and-make-your-app-smaller/index.md*

<div className="image"><img src="/images/treeshaking-featured-1-1-.jpg" alt="Man walking in a forest, yellow leaves falling."  /></div>
<br />

In an ideal world, there would be no delays and everything would load blazingly fast no matter where you are. Unfortunately, it’s a totally different story in reality. We’ve made significant progress in recent years in expanding the coverage of 4G/LTE mobile networks and replacing old copper with shiny fiber, but still, there are places in the world, where every kilobyte is at a premium. 

We would love to see our application load blazingly fast even in such severe conditions, but in some cases, it‘s not that easy to provide both an exceptional and cheap experience. That’s why it’s important to know how to limit the amount of code our application includes. One of the tools helping us with this task is tree shaking, but what exactly is it?

## What’s tree shaking and how does it work?

Tree shaking is a fancy name used in the JavaScript world for dead-code elimination. This process removes everything that’s not used by your code. You can imagine it as well… shaking a tree and watching the brown leaves falling. This means all the React components you don’t import from a component library will be marked as useless and removed from the final bundle.

The important fact is, to drop anything, we’ve to be completely sure it’s unused. The tools we use like Webpack or Rollup can determine it using static code analysis. As the name suggests, this works best if your code is predictable and doesn’t require execution to determine the required dependencies.

## Module formatting system matters

There are several options to choose from, but the most popular two are CommonJS and ESModules formats. Why is it relevant, you ask? Well, tree shaking doesn’t work for one of those, but let’s not spoil the surprise.

The first is widely used in the NodeJS ecosystem. It was created to serve this purpose and it does so pretty well. Keep in mind that usually there is no need to limit the size of a backend service. Now, if you work on the client-side application, it’s a different story. We’ve to remove anything unnecessary to maintain loading times at the lowest level possible. The problem with CommonJS is, most of the bundling tools won’t even try to process it and perform tree shaking. It’s because of its dynamic nature as, for example, it’s completely legit to compute a key and then use it to export something. Webpack cannot obtain this key without running the code, so it simply includes the whole module in the bundle. 

```typescript
const fancyCapitalize = (str: string): string => {
  return str.slice(0, 1).toUpperCase() + str.slice(1).toLowerCase();
}

// CommonJS
module.exports[
  [102, 97, 110, 99, 121].map(String.fromCharCode).join('')
] = fancyCapitalize;

// ESModules
export { fancyCapitalize as fancy };
```

On the other hand, modules created using ESModules are easily tree-shakeable, because all the imports and exports must not use any dynamic keys by design. Abstract syntax tree analysis is enough to build a module dependency graph, mark what’s needed and what’s not and simply skip bundling of useless code.

## What if I have to use some CommonJS library?

Let’s imagine there is a use-case, a single library on the market only handles that and unfortunately, it’s shared as a CommonJS module. Does it mean there is no help? Depending on the module, there may be. If this library exposes multiple independent entry points, you can directly import one of them and therefore skip the others. Tree shaking won’t still work, but you will minimize the amount of unneeded code by hand. 

```typescript
// Imports everything
import { sortBy, capitalize } from 'lodash';

// Imports sortBy only
import sortBy from 'lodash/sortBy';
```

This is the case when you try to use Lodash and notice, that all the utilities are included in your bundle by default. However, when you switch to direct imports, you will notice your bundle shrinking.

## Nasty side-effects

There is another reason why tree shaking may not take place for a module. You are free to add properties to global objects or invoke imported functions, which may result in a mutation of data in the origin module.

```typescript
// Side-effect!
if (!Math.trunc) {
  Math.trunc = function(number) {
    return number < 0 ? Math.ceil(number) : Math.floor(number);
  };
}

// Another side-effect!
window.somethin = { version: '1.0' };

// Yet another side-effect!
import { registerPlugin } from 'some-expensive-library';

const myPlugin = ...;
registerPlugin('myPlugin', myPlugin);
```

This is basically what a side-effect is. It’s an action causing an effect observable from outside the module. Unfortunately, side-effects are hard to determine automatically and thus Webpack assumes all the modules contain them by default. It’s our responsibility to prove it wrong. We can do it by adding the “sideEffects” property to our “package.json” file. Usually, there are no side-effects at all and setting it to “false” will be just fine. If you are aware of the files causing effects, you should put an array here with paths to all of them or use a glob pattern.

## Bundle autopsy

It’s hard to determine what exactly is included in the bundle. Certainly, it’s doable by code analysis, but there must be another way and there is. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Webpack Bundle Analyzer.

<center><div className="image"><img src="/images/webpack-bundle-analyzer.gif" alt="Animated image presenting the features of Webpack Bundle Analyzer."  /></div></center><br />

This tool can read and parse the statistics generated while bundling by Webpack and present gathered data as an interactive graph, where every module is presented as a coloured rectangle. This way you can navigate through your app and look for libraries occupying way too much space. What’s even more interesting is not only external libraries are included, but also your code. This way you can tell if some modules should be lazy-loaded.

## Determining the cost of an import

Sometimes we have to choose one from the set of libraries providing the same functionality. Instead of installing them one by one and running the analyzer mentioned before, we can determine the cost of an import.

<center>
<div className="image"><img src="/images/blog_post_bundlephobia.png" alt="Bundlephobia's logo - figure holding head with hands." /> </div>
</center>

There is a tool called Bundlephobia, which presents various information about the library and can tell if it’s tree-shakeable and side-effect free. It also suggests alternatives, if there are any available. It’s going to save you a lot of time and make the selection process way easier. A must-have in a web developer toolset.

## Is this enough to keep my application fit?

All the information you’ve acquired while reading this article will limit the impact of external libraries on the weight of your application. However, no matter how optimized libraries you choose, the time will come to do something more to ensure it will load quickly. In such a case you should probably apply the lazy-loading pattern. This will split your bundle into several parts and load those only when necessary. I hope all knowledge you’ve acquired will help you make your apps better! Stay tuned for other entries about web app optimization, which will probably come soon.

## How to Get That First Product Designer Job

*Published: 2022-10-20 | Author: joanna-c | Tags: design, UX, growth*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-get-first-product-designer-job/index.md*

**2 years ago I was an IT administrator. That is when I decided to work on my career change. Eventually, I became a product designer. Here is my guide on how to become a product designer and get the first job with no experience. What is a product designer roadmap? How to work on your first design portfolio? Let me answer all these questions and dispel common doubts.**

<div className="image">![Product Designer Roadmap](../../static/images/blogpost_product_design.png "undefined")</div>

## **My road to a Product Designer in numbers** 

* 17 UX/UI-related books read
* 10 months of intense studies (October 2021 - July 2022)
* 9 Instagram accounts I follow 
* 5 podcasts I listen to
* 4 people collaborating on 1 project
* 3 projects on Behance
* 2 UX/UI newsletters I subscribe to 
* 2 years of sending out CVs
* 1 Bachelor’s Thesis
* 1 job interview

## (Not really) long story short

I guess **my Product Design journey started with studying IT & Econometrics**. Although, at first I thought I would become a developer. And I was actually into it. I even got an internship in the IT department of this huge corporation. **But it wasn’t a fit**. I worked as an IT administrator, and while studying I thought it was a great opportunity, the closer to the graduation I got, the more I thought I couldn’t do that for the rest of my life. 

**Then I came across the term “user experience design” and decided to dig deeper into it**. And let me tell you, once I decided to lean into it, I never looked back. I wrote a thesis on UX Design, then attended postgraduate studies on UX Design/Product Design at SWPS University, where I learnt from people who actually work in the field. **Eventually, I was hired as a Junior Product Designer @ [Bright Inventions](/)**. 

## UX vs UI vs Product Design - what is all of that?

Ah yes, the plethora of titles: UI Designer, UI/UX Designer, Product Designer, UI/UX Unicorn, Information Architect, UX Writer, Interaction Designer, UX Researcher, UX Developer, Motion Designer, Visual Designer, UX Strategist etc. The thing is you don’t need to worry about it now. Once you get to know the field and the whole design process, you’ll learn about the product specialisation and the misuse of said titles in the job descriptions. **For now, just learn to differentiate UI from UX and you'll be fine**.

## OK, so where should I start?

First of all, start by reading about this. Get to know the subject. **Learn about the basics - such as Nielsen’s 10 heuristics, UX Laws, learn users’ behaviour** (how people perceive things, how they read online - or rather how they don’t actually do that). **Get to know the tool**s. **Learn about the UXD** methods and processes. A book written by Steve Krug “Don’t make me think” is a great starter (some insights from this book you may find in another blog post written by Iza).

Along with this book, you’ll find recommendations of **Don Norman’s “The Design of Everyday Things”. One of my favourite books ever**. While the first one is more about the users as we know them - web users, the second one is about user experience in general. I remember when I first came across the term “Norman’s door” and was absolutely fascinated by the whole concept and how user experience can be applied to everyday situations. 

## Product Design is such a broad topic - I don’t know where I can get my hands on

By now, you should have a good idea of what User Experience Design is all about, but you might find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of the information. It’s a good idea to **have it structured by a credible course**. There are many of them on the market, but you should look for the one that has a project based structure. **Something that will enrich your portfolio** and give you some experience you don’t currently have. Take it from me. 

<div className="image">![workflow](../../static/images/workflow_study.png "undefined")</div>

*One of the workflows I designed while learning.*

**Here are some courses I can recommend:**

​​[https://www.digitaldesigner.pl/](https://www.digitaldesigner.pl/)

[https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-ux-design](https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-ux-design)

[https://www.interaction-design.org/courses](https://www.interaction-design.org/courses)

## I don’t have the tech experience / I can’t draw

THAT’S FINE. Honestly, **you don’t have to have a diploma in Computer Science or be a graduate of Fine Arts to be a good UX Designer/Product Designer**. There aren’t many traditional paths to become a Product Designer. Psychology, sociology, marketing, anything to do with people or research, all of those fields will come in handy during the UXD process. I’m sure whoever reads that, no matter the background, there is something in your experience that you would easily be able to put in practice in this field. Just stop and think about it. 

You see, the essence of user experience design is that it is user centred, or human centred if you like. So any experience of yours, involving human interaction or problem solving, is good enough. **[Product Design](/our-areas/product-design) is not all about pretty interfaces or complex interactions. It is the process that counts**. Maria Rosala and Rachel Krause summed it up perfectly in their [report on UX Careers for Nielsen Norman Group](https://www.nngroup.com/reports/user-experience-careers/):

<blockquote><h2>Make a list</h2><div>If you’re considering a transition into the UX field, instead of simply thinking about UX skills and knowledge you have, make a list of what knowledge and skills you have acquired in your previous role(s) that can be applied to working in UX.</div><footer>Maria Rosala, Rachel Krause</footer></blockquote>

## Build your product design portfolio

“You just said I don’t have to draw, and now you’re telling me to build a portfolio. Based on what?” Show the process of resolving problems. **That website or app you use everyday, which is driving you nuts, but you didn’t find a better alternative or you’re forced to use it - redesign it**, explain the problem, why isn’t it working? What could be done better? Or maybe you have seen someone else struggling with a product? **Did your mum have a problem paying for something online? Solve her problem!** 

Another thing about being a UX Designer is that **you can’t be afraid of asking questions**. You need to ask them to understand the problem better and empathise with your users. Do research regarding a subject that is close to your heart. What are the insights you learnt from that research? What is the biggest pain of your examinees (users)? How can it be improved? You get the idea.

## Best resources to learn about product design

I’m going to leave you with some links, which will help you dig deeper into the subject:

* [https://www.nngroup.com/](https://www.nngroup.com/) - A great source of information made by two godfathers of UX -  Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman. If you feel overwhelmed with the amount of the articles and videos, I recommend the series about UX slogans for starters (https://www.nngroup.com/videos/you-are-not-user-slogan/)
* [https://lawsofux.com/en/](https://lawsofux.com/en/) - another great source of how people perceive things and all the good practices worth taking into account while designing interfaces
* [https://www.uxpin.com/studio/](https://www.uxpin.com/studio/), [https://xd.adobe.com/ideas/process/](https://xd.adobe.com/ideas/process/), [https://www.interaction-design.org/literature](https://www.interaction-design.org/literature), [https://uxdesign.cc/](https://uxdesign.cc/)  - many, many articles, videos which will give you a good start in understanding what’s what and some tips&tricks
* [https://www.a11yproject.com/](https://www.a11yproject.com/) & [https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/) - all about the accessibility aspect of UXD

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, **it’s going to be hard getting that first job**. Now more than ever. And you’ll get frustrated with the amount of rejection emails saying you lack experience. Been there, done that. But those things I wrote about - they definitely helped me with gaining confidence in the field and standing out amongst others. Keep in mind that everyone has their own story and you should focus on you, don’t compare yourself and just keep on learning. Good luck!

## Introducing Test Automation into your Project

*Published: 2022-10-19 | Author: radek-l | Tags: automation testing, QA*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/introducing-test-automation-into-your-project/index.md*

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/xHvYnSv4BZiOVO28x-5PHsEsxvrJLgQz5p36-4e_WmEjFHQRcMrRo3SWIBjTn-3oX3n39li2CBRG1h89tab1M-OI-2YeUnK9k6cBsykV0rmvRjKyfB69KISplsgi0Obf28G84TKm9b6qdwNo7XKZoBeONhcN9akmPIJI2UHDbz4gsgKqFRpZ6JUukg)

Implementing automated tests which concentrate on testing the entire working instance of the application is a challenging task. From picking the layers to verify (API, UI, or both?), through the kind of tests to implement (granular tests or compex user flows?) down to managing test data and picking the proper library for the job. Based on my experience I have prepared a set of guidelines about test automation enrollment. What aspects should you take into consideration?

## Understand the nature of your project

* Is it API-heavy?
* Is it UI-heavy?
* Does it have a mobile app?
* How much logic is put in the mobile app?
* Are there multiple mobile devices interacting with each other?
* Are there external dependencies to mock?
* Figure out the code architecture of the project itself. Verify if you can apply some principles to the code architecture of your automated tests. 
* Find documentation and validate it during test automation development planning.

## Understand the future of your project

* If there is some refactoring work scheduled for the next weeks, it is better to invest in API or UI tests which tend to be more black-box’ish. Investing time in unit tests for classes that are certain to be modified in the future is a wasted effort. 
* Is there work planned by business that would take advantage of a particular kind of test? Consider that to boost your development quality. 

## Figure out the spots that deserve testing the most

* Figure out the most crucial paths and elements: Core-Domain ([DDD Concept](/blog/domain-driven-design-explained-by-a-senior-backend-developer/)).
* Chat with your Project Manager, Manual QA Engineers and devs to figure out crucial elements from business, qa and dev perspective.
* Analyze the bugs reported in the last months.
* Figure out if anyone in the team has some experience with test automation.

## Consider which kind of test automation would bring the biggest benefit considering the cost and development time

That’s defined by an equation that consists of a few elements:

* What’s the current shape of your test pyramid?
* How much energy do we want to spend on automation?
* What’s the test automation knowledge in the team?
* What’s the area we have to cover?
* How much mocking/stubbing we should/need/must do?
* Do we have a reasonable working environment to execute the test against?

## Make sure your test automation is understood by business

* The more transparent the tests, test results, test data the more keen the business is to place effort in extending the test automation.
* Highlight the failures found by test automation on every occasion.

## Respect test data from day one

* Rely on static test data input as much as possible, because it's easier to prepare, debug and redo the test manually
* Static data + data removal is simpler to implement than dynamic data generation (That depends on the system characteristics though).

## Consider the technicalities

* Implement tests so you can run them in parallel.
* Make tests independent, easy to run, self-sustained.
* Data cleanups, database resets are welcome.

## Don’t bring the Unit test approach into Automated tests mentality

* Automated tests need a framework, setup and proper development. Structured and well layered set of classes and modules is a must.

## Make devs keen to run and extend the tests

* You want to make the tests enjoyable to run and extend by devs. Placing them in the same repository as the app’s code is the first step to achieve that.
* Take care of easy setup and run: tests should be set up with 3, 4 commands and run with a single one.
* Introduce automated tests implementation as a part of a given user story. Consider the flow with your QA.

## Give yourself some time and energy for refactorings, iterations and enhancements.

* Automated tests are a complex piece of code - just as the application itself. Embrace the challenge and accept the fact that it’s hard to make a reliable and scalable automation framework.

## Summary

There are many more aspects to be taken into account but these above seem to be essential in my opinion. Introducing Test Automation into your project is a hard task but if you feel like you have the skills go for it! I’d advise however to keep in touch with an experienced developer to consult the decisions about the structure of the framework. The concrete recipe for a successful test automation is hard to cover within a single blog post, but I think it is beneficial to at least ask yourself the questions and inspire yourself with the suggestions written above.

\---

Special thanks to Małgorzata and Michał for their contribution.

## Gradual Update of the AWS Java SDK in the SpringBoot Project

*Published: 2022-10-18 | Author: maciej-n | Tags: AWS, spring, spring-boot*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/gradual-update-of-the-aws-java-sdk-in-the-springboot-project/index.md*

Recently, in our project, we decided to update the AWS Java SDK from [1.x](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/v1/developer-guide/welcome.html) to [2.x](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/latest/developer-guide/home.html), so we are able to use [client-side metrics](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/latest/developer-guide/metrics.html), available only in the newer version of the SDK.

<div className="image">![AWS SDK Java](../../static/images/aws-sdk-java.png "undefined")</div>

Our whole system is AWS based, so we didn’t want to perform this update at once. We decided to do it granularly instead.

Fortunately, AWS SDK allows us to [use both versions side by side](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/latest/developer-guide/migration-side-by-side.html).

## Preparation for AWS Java SDK update

In our project, we implemented an abstraction layer over AWS services, like:

* **QueueSender** over SqsClient with AwsQueueSender implementation
* **QueuePublisher** over SnsClient with AwsQueuePublisher implementation
* **ExternalStorage** over S3Client with AwsFileUploader implementation

The approach of introducing an abstraction layer over external services and frameworks comes in really handy, especially in cases like ours — changing the implementation of these abstractions.

The first thing we did was to add a new implementation for these services using SDK v2, so we added AwsQueueSenderV2, AwsQueuePublisherV2 and AwsFileUploaderV2.

## Challenges

Some libraries that we used to implement our services don’t support SDK V2(or don’t support both versions side by side), so we needed to fork these libraries and adjust them for our needs. These are public repositories, so if you are planning to migrate your project, you could use:

* [amazon-sns-java-extended-client-lib](https://github.com/bright/amazon-sns-java-extended-client-lib/tree/sdkv2)
* [amazon-sqs-java-extended-client-lib](https://github.com/bright/amazon-sqs-java-extended-client-lib/tree/sdk-v2-support)
* [amazon-sqs-java-messaging-lib](https://github.com/bright/amazon-sqs-java-messaging-lib/tree/sdk-v2-support)

Then we could copy all the tests that were testing the original implementation, so we could test my new implementation.

Running tests over a new implementation allowed me to find a bug in my implementation — I messed up the order of parameters 🙈.

## Migration from 1.x to 2.x of the AWS Java SDK

We decided to take advantage of Spring capabilities to gradually replace old AWS services implementations with the new ones, and for that we used the [@Priority](https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-framework/issues/15179) annotation.

We annotated 1.x Beans implementations with @Priority(1) and 2.x implementations with @Priority(2). Then we deployed our application to a test environment and monitored if there were no unexpected changes. After verifying it, we deployed the application to the production environment and continued monitoring to confirm that everything is still fine.

In the next step, we chose a couple of non-business critical functionalities and replaced old services with the new ones, using the [@Named](https://docs.oracle.com/javaee/7/api/javax/inject/Named.html) annotation. After repeating the deployment and monitoring steps, we were sure our new implementations were working as expected, so we could release the application with all AWS Beans updated. We did this by changing the priority of 1.x Beans from @Priority(1) to @Priority(3).

## Cleanup

Everything went well, so we could remove temporary annotations, 1.x implementations, and V2 suffixes from 2.x implementations.

## Summary

Although we took a couple of extra steps, we were able to introduce an advanced update to our production-ready application without downtime or risk of introducing breaking changes. This way is much safer and allows us to avoid making mistakes that can affect our customers.

## Sekurak MSHP CTF Summary - Part 1

*Published: 2022-10-17 | Author: rafal h | Tags: security, ctf, hackathon, vulnerability, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/sekurak-mshp-ctf-summary-part-1/index.md*

Recently (15.10-16.10) I took part in the Sekurak Mega Hacking Party CTF contest. For those who did not hear of it, CTF is kind of a security hackathon with pre-prepared tasks in which you have to find a flag within known vulnerabilities. This was the first time I have taken part in such a contest. It was quite interesting! Below you will find the first post in series describing the tasks which I solved or tried to solve ;).

## **deobf**

So the first task was as follows: 

```js
// deobfuscate the code, or call appropriate function after executing it, to get the flag
var _0x553b6f=_0x4c5c;(function(_0x1e3834,_0x3f47f5){var _0x5dc057=_0x4c5c,_0x3162e1=_0x1e3834();while(!![]){try{var _0x4d3ec8=parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xc5,'q)cg'))/0x1+parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xc9,'rLxo'))/0x2*(parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xc8,'Khqd'))/0x3)+-parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xb8,'ucN2'))/0x4*(parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xb7,'g0t9'))/0x5)+-parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xb6,'rW2u'))/0x6+parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xbe,'X0LD'))/0x7+parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xba,'KPPr'))/0x8*(-parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xbf,'9ewY'))/0x9)+parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xbb,'H%x$'))/0xa*(parseInt(_0x5dc057(0xcc,'rNIa'))/0xb);if(_0x4d3ec8===_0x3f47f5)break;else _0x3162e1['push'](_0x3162e1['shift']());}catch(_0x1ec551){_0x3162e1['push'](_0x3162e1['shift']());}}}(_0x4ade,0xade96),[][_0x553b6f(0xbc,'Kmu$')][_0x553b6f(0xc0,'De1O')]=()=>window[_0x553b6f(0xca,'xKir')](_0x553b6f(0xc2,'rW2u')));function _0x4c5c(_0x17c2b0,_0x231ba2){var _0x4adec6=_0x4ade();return _0x4c5c=function(_0x4c5c7a,_0x22dce2){_0x4c5c7a=_0x4c5c7a-0xb6;var _0x3f97df=_0x4adec6[_0x4c5c7a];if(_0x4c5c['KZZRud']===undefined){var _0x39ebb7=function(_0x507494){var _0x54c208='abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789+/=';var _0x2eca4b='',_0x180c44='';for(var _0x31cf09=0x0,_0x153548,_0x11dd12,_0x3e2f84=0x0;_0x11dd12=_0x507494['charAt'](_0x3e2f84++);~_0x11dd12&&(_0x153548=_0x31cf09%0x4?_0x153548*0x40+_0x11dd12:_0x11dd12,_0x31cf09++%0x4)?_0x2eca4b+=String['fromCharCode'](0xff&_0x153548>>(-0x2*_0x31cf09&0x6)):0x0){_0x11dd12=_0x54c208['indexOf'](_0x11dd12);}for(var _0x4d8e2b=0x0,_0x4afade=_0x2eca4b['length'];_0x4d8e2b<_0x4afade;_0x4d8e2b++){_0x180c44+='%'+('00'+_0x2eca4b['charCodeAt'](_0x4d8e2b)['toString'](0x10))['slice'](-0x2);}return decodeURIComponent(_0x180c44);};var _0x40e39c=function(_0x14c145,_0x38c081){var _0x181656=[],_0x3d9ee9=0x0,_0x3afb58,_0x3dd4ab='';_0x14c145=_0x39ebb7(_0x14c145);var _0x31f48b;for(_0x31f48b=0x0;_0x31f48b<0x100;_0x31f48b++){_0x181656[_0x31f48b]=_0x31f48b;}for(_0x31f48b=0x0;_0x31f48b<0x100;_0x31f48b++){_0x3d9ee9=(_0x3d9ee9+_0x181656[_0x31f48b]+_0x38c081['charCodeAt'](_0x31f48b%_0x38c081['length']))%0x100,_0x3afb58=_0x181656[_0x31f48b],_0x181656[_0x31f48b]=_0x181656[_0x3d9ee9],_0x181656[_0x3d9ee9]=_0x3afb58;}_0x31f48b=0x0,_0x3d9ee9=0x0;for(var _0x3b0565=0x0;_0x3b0565<_0x14c145['length'];_0x3b0565++){_0x31f48b=(_0x31f48b+0x1)%0x100,_0x3d9ee9=(_0x3d9ee9+_0x181656[_0x31f48b])%0x100,_0x3afb58=_0x181656[_0x31f48b],_0x181656[_0x31f48b]=_0x181656[_0x3d9ee9],_0x181656[_0x3d9ee9]=_0x3afb58,_0x3dd4ab+=String['fromCharCode'](_0x14c145['charCodeAt'](_0x3b0565)^_0x181656[(_0x181656[_0x31f48b]+_0x181656[_0x3d9ee9])%0x100]);}return _0x3dd4ab;};_0x4c5c['cCKsUi']=_0x40e39c,_0x17c2b0=arguments,_0x4c5c['KZZRud']=!![];}var _0x277549=_0x4adec6[0x0],_0x534e81=_0x4c5c7a+_0x277549,_0x4a09ac=_0x17c2b0[_0x534e81];return!_0x4a09ac?(_0x4c5c['nXMkoz']===undefined&&(_0x4c5c['nXMkoz']=!![]),_0x3f97df=_0x4c5c['cCKsUi'](_0x3f97df,_0x22dce2),_0x17c2b0[_0x534e81]=_0x3f97df):_0x3f97df=_0x4a09ac,_0x3f97df;},_0x4c5c(_0x17c2b0,_0x231ba2);}function _0x4ade(){var _0x2f84c2=['W6FcR8kFaCoHWOv8','x14FoxX0WQ3cVG','WQ4IWQRdIc8UW6CthW','cSoCW4i7t14EWPeKWQKBW6dcMW','vmoVja7cUSo+vb7dGhfRWRK','W6qpbriGWPCga8k9WRBcJrmz','dwvRW4xcHW','DSokWO3dNrekW4/cRa','WRDDWPSZc8oOW6ldV8kJrN1beComsXbiimosW53cHmoEe8kMea','W5/dImo/WPxcUCoxjmo9ehD6Bmou','W6FcU8obWPNdNCkiW7RcKCokE0xcRG','W5ldGSkbAZy/WQvyqrOGW4S','WOJcPaHrW7m/WPRcJIxdUr3dSa','gqrMsCkWWR3cNKyN','W6hdMxxcQ14qW5Pl','jxxcLCk+grNcGsmTW4PlDa','tq/cNWJcTq','cmk+W5hcL8o2WPxcOKtdSLZcSbi','WRDrW4VcImkwbmo2ySolq0ym','W4a7W65uuCkMWRNdGCkguwz6hW','fmo+q8kSW7dcLxdcKea','DmogW5NcUWGEW6/cTZi1','i8kxzmormmkyWRD1'];_0x4ade=function(){return _0x2f84c2;};return _0x4ade();}
```

Instead of deobfuscation which might be too cumbersome, I had formatted the code and looked into it.

After investigation, it looked like this function here could be executed (and this was also indicated in a hint to the task).

<div className="image">![deobf formatted](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-14.28.51.png "deobf code formatted")</div>

I followed to Chrome dev tools and executed code in the console calling a function. Results? 

<div className="image"><img src="/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-14.40.10.png" alt="ctf flag" title="ctf flag"/> </div>

I have the flag!

## **traversal**

So in next task, we got page like this:

<div className="image">![traversal page](../../static/images/screencapture-172-105-146-185-1337-2022-10-17-14_52_21.png "traversal page")</div>

As you can see, this is web app written in .NET. After clicking on one of the files, I got following view: 

<div className="image">![cv file](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-14.52.39.png "cv file")</div>

So it looks like files were referenced by the filename query param.

After looking in the code, it looks like `..` path would throw Bad Request error. I guess this was protection of reusing know payloads for path traversal vulnerability by other contestants :D. Simple change from CV file to flag file given the expected result:

<div className="image">![traversal-flag](../../static/images/screenshot-2022-10-17-at-14.52.56.png "traversal-flag")</div>

Bingo! 

For the next post in series I will present other tasks which I have tried to solve - still, even if not successful, I have learned something valuable :)

## From Theatrical to Programming Stage. Meet Cezary – Android Developer with Gymnastics Background

*Published: 2022-10-17 | Author: cezary | Tags: bright story, update, android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/from-theatrical-to-programming-stage-cezary-android-developer/index.md*

**For most of his life, Cezary was passionate about gymnastics. He even became an acrobatic instructor for kids. Then he got a professional acrobatic role in a musical play! Eventually, he decided to self-learn programming and said goodbye to the gymnastics world. Why? Check out the amazing story of Cezary. Also, meet his lovely dog Tola.**

<div className="image">![Android Developer](../../static/images/brightstorycezarycollage.png "undefined")</div>

## Is it true that you had been an acrobatic instructor before you became a programmer?

Yes. Doing sports has always been a crucial part of my life. During middle school (Polish Gimnazjum), I joined the rowing team. Also, I was practicing gymnastics. The latter was more attractive to me. I was doing both for years but at the end of high school, I decided to fully commit to gymnastics.

After graduating from high school I went to Civil Engineering studies but I didn’t really enjoy them so I resigned and went to the Gdansk University Of Physical Education and Sport. **I was focused on practicing gymnastics**. Naturally, I couldn’t be a pro because I started that adventure when I was 12, and you should start practicing gymnastics when turning 6. 

Eventually, **I became an acrobatic instructor for kids**. I also auditioned for the acrobatic dancer role at the Music Theater in Gdynia. I got a role with some of my friends. So **I was an acrobatic dancer in the Notre Dame De Paris show**. That was pretty cool.

<div className="image">![Notre Dame de Paris](../../static/images/photo_theatre.png "Photo by Piotr Manasterski")</div>

*Photo by Piotr Manasterski. Source: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Piotr.Manasterski.fotograf/photos/a.376316558378/10153908473538379/?type=3)*

However, I felt that my body had enough of the intensive training routine. I couldn’t do it forever. I felt I needed to move on and then I decided to become a programmer.

## You are a self-taught developer. Tell us more about your process.

I came up with the idea to learn software development after I graduated from college and had that job at the theater. My best friend and my brother planned to be software developers so I thought I could try that, too. Ironically some years ago, one of the reasons why I chose to study Civil Engineering was not to sit by my desk 8 hours a day. Look how it all turned out. 😉 

When I decided to learn programming, my girlfriend was the only person who knew about it. I was learning from morning hours to afternoon and then I was going to the theatrical rehearsals.

<div className="image">![Learning how to code](../../static/images/notes_programming.png "undefined")</div>

<center>Some notes made by Cezary while learning.</center>

I started my learning process by doing **a free CS50 course made by Harvard**. I started literally from **Scratch, then touched some C, Python, and Java**. I liked Java the most. Then I found the **Google Developer Scholarship on Udacity**. The first 3 months of the course were free. Then you had to do the test and the top 1000 people around the world were invited to continue the program for free. Gladly I was one of those people. 🙂 During that extended course I learned Java exclusively for building mobile with Android. That is how I became an Android Developer.

Eventually, a couple of years ago I decided to study Computer Science at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Gdańsk. So I guess I will get the proper education after all. 😉 Although, I believe that if you are passionate about the IT world, you have all the possibilities to learn it on your own.

<div className="image">![Learning to be a programmer](../../static/images/cezary_quote_learning.png "undefined")</div>

## How do you recall joining Bright Inventions?

A few years after being in the industry I was looking for a new place of work. **I reached out to Ula because my friend spoke highly of Bright Inventions**. He never worked here but he had an interview with a Bright tech recruiter once and had a great experience. I wrote to Ula and she told me that there is an open vacancy for Android Dev so I started the recruitment process and luckily got in. I started to work here in January 2021.

## You are on the team that develops solutions for our client from the USA. Can you tell us something more about the project?

Bright Inventions has been cooperating with this client for over 3 years. **A client is a group of tech-savvy experienced startup founders**. We have an opportunity to support them in **developing the IoT system for tracking and management of Bluetooth trackers**.

We are responsible mostly for iOS and Android development. However, apps are just the use cases of the solution we work on. The whole solution behind our apps is the crucial exciting part of our daily work.

To be more precise **we build SDK whose goal is to provide various Android devices with features similar to iBeacons technology**. Our SDK creates a net of devices that can recognize trackers coded on small printed circuit boards. 

Our **client recently started to integrate their solution** with businesses representing logistics, transport, and healthcare (although the product could be utilized in many other industries). So the effects of the hard work done for the past years have become more tangible.

## What is special about this project?

It’s not a typical [Android development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development). Usually, the Android dev’s job comes down to showing UI for some data from the backend. Here your list of responsibilities is much broader. **You need to figure out how to make something from scratch because you work on some features that aren’t really developed yet**. You navigate around typical Android solutions and need to think outside the box even if Android offers common solutions that normally you would use. 

Due to the fact that **we work on a unique SDK**, we can’t go the easy way. For example, we don’t use typical protocols here. We use **MQTT** to communicate with the backend rather than a common HTTP. We also use protocols like **CBOR** & **COAP**. To be noted, we base our solution on Bluetooth Low Energy but it is a standard right now.

Also, we work on **data encryption** and use the **FlatBuffers** library to send data to the backend while limiting network usage.

## Is hardware important at your job?

Yes, **we work with pretty cool devices**. For example, we work with **Zebra WS50** watches that look like Power Ranger devices. :D It is quite interesting that **some of the devices we work with are built on clean Android (Android Open Source Project)**. So while building the software you cannot use simple solutions like Fuse Location providers. You need to extract things through GPS on the phone. You have to look for many unordinary solutions and it makes this work more interesting.

## We are seeking an Android developer to join you on this project. What kind of person would you see in a project?

A clone of mine would be fine. 😉

On a serious note, this project is a perfect fit for **someone who is not satisfied with simple solutions and loves to find their own ways**. There is a lot of conceptual work. If you want to look for solutions rather than have them handed on a silver platter, then you will find our project exciting.

<div className="image">![Quote on Android project](../../static/images/cezary_quote_project_client.png "undefined")</div>

We have 7 experienced developers and a Quality Assurance specialist on our team. We would love to welcome another positive and engaged team member. 

## Do you enjoy working at Bright Inventions? Only an honest answer, please. 😀

Truly, I do. Otherwise, I wouldn’t agree to this interview. 😀 Mostly due to the project I work at. **It’s innovative and there is no boredom here**. Also, my cooperation with Matusz Klimczak who is my project manager is really positive. What I also like about Bright is the **flat structure, work-life balance, great team retreats, competitive salary**, and the simple fact that normal people work here. Normal in a good way. 😉

After work, I still have the strength to follow my passions which is not always the case. Programmers' work can quite limit your after-work resources. Fortunately, I can focus on my passions such as joinery and wood carving.

## Oh, what did you carve in wood?

As an example let me show you and play a musical instrument I have built. This is the doshpuluur - a musical instrument from Asia.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-8KhE3YdRU' />

## When you come to the office, you bring a lovely companion with you. Can you tell us more about her? 😉

I guess you mean my dog Tola. 🙂 She’s a rescue. My fiancée and I adopted her from Aurea Foundation whose mission is to help Golden Retrievers. Actually, I’ve always wanted to have a German Shepard and my fiancée had a desire for a Golden Retriever. So we reached a compromise and went for a Golden Retriever. 😉

<div className="image">![The office dog](../../static/images/tola_dog.png "Tola at the Bright Inventions’ office in Gdańsk")</div>

<center>Tola at the Bright Inventions’ office in Gdańsk</center>

Tola had a hernia and needed surgery and probably that is why someone abandoned her. Fortunately, Tola is healthy now. She joins me when I come to the office to attend our yoga classes every Friday. She makes quite an entrance. 🙂

## Agile does not mean chaos!

*Published: 2022-10-12 | Author: michal k | Tags: Agile, software development, soft skills*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/agile-does-not-mean chaos/index.md*

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*nodfoEWdCEbbDI4B10kUDA.jpeg)

Every time I walk through our bright office, I see huge posters with sentences from the Agile Manifesto. I cannot disagree that people and their interactions are much more important than processes, or working software should be treated higher than comprehensive documentation. Looking at the signatures under those sentences and knowing how much these guys did for the developers' world I have to say “You’re damn right!”.

People like Martin Fowler or Kent Beck spent decades serving our community, sharing knowledge, and spreading good practices across the whole globe. They’ve provided us with many different tools, patterns, and approaches to different problems in the IT industry. But if we remind ourselves of any book, blog post, or presentation from these amazing specialists, will we find phrases like “Don’t plan”, “Just Code” and “Don’t dig a hole in Your business stomachs”? The answer is **NO.**

Why then do we treat the Agile process as the complete opposite of the Waterfall? Why we gave up on proper planning and designing, not even talking about pulling requirements from customers? Either Scrum or Kanban or any Agile frameworks, are not stopping us from thinking a few steps ahead. On the contrary, they are telling us to plan but do it carefully, being flexible, and expecting that our plan will change over time.

Every time I start to work on a new project or in a new team, one of the things I see is people not knowing why they are working on certain things. Of course, there is a guy above them or a client ( depending on the size of the company ) who told them to do so, but sorry, that’s **NOT** the answer. We, as experts shouldn’t start coding anything without understanding the entire picture. Of course, nobody needs to know everything, but by treating the team as a single unit, that unit should know the reasoning behind its tasks. Otherwise, our work will probably land in the trash or will be refactored/redesigned many times before will become usable. I see a few reasons for this thing to happen.

- - -

## We do not ask

Sad but true, many people are still afraid to ask questions. Once I am getting a one-liner description of my task, I can expect that something is missing. Especially if this task title stated about brand new functionality, not a typo-like bug. At this point, the task is begging us to be filled in a description. Besides the scope and plan of the work, designs, or diagrams of the flow, we should add more contextual background. It should tell the reader, why a certain task is important. If the client ( of our work who expects us to do something ) is not able to bring the answer to the question, we must be perseverant and dig deeper. We must ask the same questions with different words or use examples that justify our worries. We must revisit some topics, reiterate, and meet again. We cannot quietly allow our incomplete understanding to govern our development. Is it uncomfortable? Can it create friction or slow us down for a few days? Yes, but if we want to be professional software engineers — it’s necessary.

## We ask the wrong people

Working with big, corporate companies look different than developing software for startups. In the case of the latter, we might have direct access to the main visionary of the software who should be able to answer most of our questions, or the people who will be using the stuff we are building. If we cannot get the information from our direct product person or manager we should reach out to the visionary or customer. Also, the “I don’t know” is important here, as probably nobody knows the answer. In that situation, if this is not the knowledge we can gain by ourselves, this particular part of work needs to be treated very carefully and in an elastic way or ( even better ) postpone until stakeholders will find the answers. 

Big companies might be a bit more complex with their structure. Getting the answer from the CEO of 1000+ employees company is not something we will expect. Fortunately, the CEO might not be necessarily responsible for defining the scope of the project. Also, the layers of “management” might introduce additional noise to the communication and change the meaning of answers. We should always try to be as close as possible to “key” people who are the exact source of the requirements. 

As an ideal situation, we might take an example of a company building software for their staff to digitalize existing manual processes. We shouldn’t be blocked by anyone to sit down with those “upcoming users of our system” and talk about how they work and how they wish to work. The requirements most like sit in those people’s heads we just need to get them out.

## We ask the wrong questions

All right, imagine we’re not afraid to ask questions, and we know who to ask but the answers are not telling us what exactly is the scope of our work and why we should do it. It’s most likely that someone doesn’t understand the questions we ask. If we are about creating distributed system and thinking about the boundaries of each service, the question asked to the business will be “Do A and B need to be immediately consistent”. The answer will most likely be “yes” and we will end up with a monolith or (even worse) distributed monolith. Things like “consistency” or “reliability” might be understood differently by non-tech people. That’s why we need to be careful and rephrasing tech definitions into business language.

## We ask but do not write down the answer

In my personal feeling, that’s the worse thing. It’s because I don’t have any other explanation than people being selfish ( thinking that only they will need that answer ) or lazy ( “I will not waste, my precious coding time to write anything other than code itself “ ). Normally, people forget things, especially when those things are not being used on daily basis. That’s why documentation is so important, but not more important than people and their interactions of course.

## Too many assumptions

Let’s break it down into two. Firstly, we are often assuming that someone else will know. If we need that knowledge, we will ask him/her. What if everyone on the team is assuming the same? I don’t need to know the details of my task because I assume that my Project Manager or my Team Leader knows it and I can ask him anytime. The second is even worse: assuming there are no details in the task I got, I can do it the way I want. Nobody asks for testing the feature so I will not test it on my own and pass it to QA. Quality Engineer will take a look at the task without a description so he/she will assume that he/she can test it the way he/she feels it’s right. Such **assumption-driven development** leads to software needing to be immediately refactored, without or with minor value to the end customer.

## Lack of awareness

We don’t know that there is another way of working. We were using the same approach over and over again. We get used to it so much that it became comfortable for us. We don’t need to involve a lot, just do the work. All fine, except that most likely we could be much more effective and our work could serve peoples’ needs better. 

## We don’t think it matters

Finally, we don’t see a relationship between the way we will implement something and people’s efficiency in using the software we build. Let’s go back then to your latest online shopping sessions. Did some of the shop’s responsiveness piss You off? Did you close the tab and went to some other? Did you ever change any app to its alternative or were searching for it? If the answer to any of those questions is YES, then You see that our work matters from the User’s perspective.

## Summary

Agile or its implementations do not mean that we should perform assumption-driven development without asking questions and proper planning. Don’t be afraid to ask questions until you understand why you're doing things. By doing that you are not making things harder for the client — you are making them better. You are doing things the only way that is acceptable — by searching for the truth. Try to reach real customers or the main visionary of the project you’re working on. Reduce the number of “proxies” between you and “real” business people to eliminate information noise. Plan the next steps with your team, and be a partner to your customer, not just the contractor. Question your thoughts, and document decisions and reasoning behind them.

**Work the agile way, not the chaotic one.**

## Solving Problems with Code for over 12 Years. Meet Agnieszka – Senior Fullstack Developer

*Published: 2022-10-05 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: bright story, career, growth*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/solving-problems-agnieszka-senior-fullstack-developer/index.md*

**Agnieszka needs to build products that really make a difference. She is not afraid to work closely with end-users. She loves to see how the product she builds influences somebody's life. She has been a part of Bright Inventions’ team since 2015 working on mobile apps, integrations with Substrate blockchain, and more. Check out Agnieszka’s story.**

<div className="image">![Agnieszka'a bright story](../../static/images/brightstoryagnieszkacollage.png "undefined")</div>

## You are a fullstack developer. What is closer to you: frontend or backend?

I used to differentiate that but I don’t do that anymore. Now **I look at a system as a whole**. Problems that need to be solved are much closer to my heart. You will find them on the backend and frontend side as well. It’s the same with the technology you use. It shouldn’t be your number one focus. **Solving the problem is more important than the tool you will use to do it**.

**If you are a good developer, it doesn’t matter what language or technology you use**. If you learned well one language, you will incorporate that knowledge into another language. The idea behind coding is the key. Also, the goal you must achieve. And the language you will use to code the solution is a minor thing compared to those.

<div className="image">![Agnieszka's quote on solving problems](../../static/images/agnieszka_quote_solving.png "undefined")</div>

## What have been your favorite projects so far?

I have always felt fulfilled when I could work closely with the client and end users. **I enjoy the feeling that I built something which makes somebody’s work or life easier**. Especially when I can see with my own eyes how it influences end users. That is very rewarding for me. 

## Why did you join Bright Inventions?

I actually knew Daniel and Michał (co-founders) from studies at the Gdańsk University of Technology. We were in the same college group, also with Piotr and Kasia. Eventually, all of us found our way to Bright Inventions. 😊

Yet before I joined Bright, I had had another work since college. I spent there a couple of years. I enjoyed that work but at some point, the pressure was really high. I was working closely with end-users. Even though I generally love that, after some years I felt I needed a change of scene. Maybe things could have been different if I had had a project manager in the team who would have supported us in the communication with end users.

In the meantime, Michał and Daniel started their company so I was thinking to join their firm. Back then they mostly specialized in mobile applications and I never worked with mobile. So I hesitated for some time but ultimately decided to join their firm. 

I knew their approach from our college times. **We shared the same values and strongly believed that good programmers are the ones who write good code and solve problems with it, no matter which technology they use**. So I knew that Daniel and Michał wouldn’t have problems with me taking the time to learn mobile from the scratch. 

I had a chance to learn a lot of new technologies here and I am grateful that Michał and Daniel always trusted me with new projects. Even if I had to learn some new stack for a new project they just let me do my thing. I guess I never let them down because I still work here. 😀

## You are one of the Bright Inventions team members with the longest seniority. How was it to watch the company’s growth over those years?

When I joined Bright Inventions in 2015 only 8 people worked here. Now we have over 70 team members.

During that time I had two maternity leaves. When I left for the first time there were 8 people and only a couple more when I came back. But when I left to have my second baby the team was doubled, from 20 to 40 people. Obviously, in terms of organization, some things changed for good, especially after Ula joined the company. However, **the essential things became the same. The things that really matter**.

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions Team Retreat](../../static/images/brightteamretreat.png "undefined")</div>

**People still treat each other with respect and you can feel that they do work that really gives them satisfaction**. Also, if I struggle with some technical or communication challenge, **I always have somebody I can talk to** about it and I know we will solve it. **The company has to grow, but the fundaments remain the same**.

## So you changed your work only once? That is quite unusual for our generation, not to mention our industry.

Yes, I tend to become close to my workplace. I need to work at a place where I can really stick around. **I need to feel that the work I do matters. Then I stay motivated**. In order to feel that you also need to have a connection with your employer. When I have that bond I don’t want to move to another work and start that all over again.

<div className="image">![Agnieszka's quote on being motivated](../../static/images/agnieszka_quote_motivation.png "undefined")</div>

## Was it challenging to come back after maternity leaves?

For me, it wasn’t that difficult. Even after my second baby when I had to come back in the middle of the pandemic. Still, **everything in the company was organized in a way that I didn’t feel like a stranger**. I also didn't feel like I missed much in terms of technology. You know, I am a programmer for over a decade so what were those months away on maternity leave for me? It was like nothing. 

I must say that coming back to my other passion (bouldering) was much more challenging. My body struggled much more to adjust after having babies. My brain was fine with it and ready to get back to work. 😀

## What is the key to successful teamwork in software development?

**Everyone has to understand that we have a common goal here**. Our goal is to solve the existing problems for a client. If only some team member assumes that someone within a team has bad intentions or someone starts to complain about a project then it won’t work. If every team member realizes that all of us try our best at work, then a team has a chance to meet its common objectives.

## You are one of our Substrate enthusiasts. Is blockchain something close to your heart?

[Substrate](/blog/5-benefits-of-substrate-blockchain/) is quite exciting because it has the potential to make [blockchain](/our-areas/blockchain) more accessible. However in general I have mixed feelings about blockchain. It’s a young tech that gives many possibilities but unfortunately is often trivialized by identifying it with cryptocurrencies. 

<div className="image">![Agnieszka's quote on blockchain](../../static/images/agnieszka_quote_crypto.png "undefined")</div>

For example, Web3 ideas are worth spreading. Yet in order to make them a reality, Web3 needs to become global. And it is really difficult when the public eye focuses on a completely different side of blockchain. **It’s just a shame that crypto is this global implementation of blockchain. Blockchain can do much more than crypto**.

## You worked on a team that built BrightTreasury – our original app for Polkadot and Kusama blockchains. How do you recall that?

When I returned from my second maternity leave Michał and Daniel already had the idea to explore a community built around Substrate Blockchain. So I started to play with Substrate and got to know this world, especially the Web3 Foundation activity. Then we decided to apply for a [Web3 Foundation grant](https://web3.foundation/grants/) to develop a project for Web3. 

We talked with the Substrate community, represented by [Parity](https://www.parity.io/), and they told us about their need to build a more intuitive [Treasury module](https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-treasury) for their nets: Polkadot and Kusama. Practically everyone can apply for funds to build projects for Web3 but non-tech-savvy people resign because they struggle with blockchain terminologies and tools. So we applied for a grant to create a solution that would help them. **We launched [BrightTreasury](https://treasury.bright.dev/?networkId=polkadot) in 2021. Now we still develop it with the support from Polkadot and Kusama**. 

*Find more info on [how to enter the Web3 world](/blog/entering-the-web-3-world-with-the-brighttreasury-app/) with the BrightTreasury app.*

## You already gave us a sneak peek that bouldering is your passion, isn’t it? 😉

<div className="image">![Agnieszka's passions](../../static/images/bouldering_passion.png "undefined")</div>

Yes, **I actually have been climbing longer than working as a programmer**. That has been a passion of mine and my husband, Paweł. I work out 3 times a week. Every family vacation includes bouldering. Our older daughter (age 6) has just started her first climbing. 🙂 My dream is to try Deep Water Solo in Majorca and experience climbing in the USA.

## Domain-Driven Design Explained by a Senior Backend Developer

*Published: 2022-10-04 | Author: michal k | Tags: business, development, domain-driven design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/domain-driven-design-explained-by-a-senior-backend-developer/index.md*

**Are you looking for an introduction to Domain-Driven Design (DDD)? [Michał](/blog/beyond-code-meet-michal-senior-backend-developer/), a Senior Backend Dev with over 8 years of experience, gives you answers to the most popular Google searches about DDD. If you are a Domain-Driven Design newbie – keep on reading. 😉**

<div className="image">![Domain-Driven Design Explained](../../static/images/ddd_blog_cover.png "undefined")</div>

## What is Domain-Driven Design? With example.

Domain-Driven Design is a methodology of building software, created by Eric Evans and published as a book in 2003. In a nutshell, it’s about **focusing on the business problem we are trying to solve, rather than technology**. In detail, it **consists of two levels: strategic and tactical**. 

First, the **strategic** one is a higher level and about **understanding the domain in which our software will be built**. It brings the idea of finding domain experts – people who know certain aspects of business best. Next, it states about building the common ubiquitous language that both business and technology people will be using to express the processes. By working with domain experts we will be able to find boundaries between certain subdomains and distill the core domain – the main, most valuable part of the business. Finally having all that knowledge we will be able to build a domain model of the system which we will be implementing.

This is where **tactical DDD** kicks in. It brings a group of patterns and relations between them, based on which **we can implement business logic and technical parts in separation**.

It allows us to detach things like communication details (if this is REST, GRPC, or anything else), persistence (SQL or NoSQL database), or form of authentication from the domain itself. 

<div className="image">![Strategic and tactical levels of DDD](../../static/images/two_levels_ddd.png "undefined")</div>

<div className="important-info"><h2>Let’s take applying taxes as an example</h2><div>Imagine our software is responsible for selling food. Depending on ingredients we might have higher or lower tax. If we will separate tax operations like calculating gross price, from technical details like how exactly we are retrieving tax value and from which database, we might be able to speak the same language in the code as with the domain experts. Our test cases for tax calculation might be readable by non-technical people while the storage can be easily changed e.g. due to performance reasons.</div></div>

## What is Domain-Driven Design in microservices?

These terms are often used together, but let’s make it clear that one can live without the other.

In terms of microservices (or any other architecture), DDD, especially its strategic part, **helps us find the most effective boundaries between business processes which we can then apply to encapsulate certain logic within services**. Ideally, those services should be totally independent from others and be able to bring business value to a customer without others’ work. Such services can be then implemented **using** **patterns from the tactical part of DDD**.

## When to use the Domain-Driven Design?

It’s a really hard question to answer as it depends on many aspects. Let’s first separate two levels of DDD. First, more high level, is **strategic Domain-Driven Design**. It is more about talking with domain experts, finding ubiquitous language, and building a common understanding of the processes among both business and tech people. It does not necessarily need to go down to the code itself. 

An example would be if, during conversations with domain experts, engineers find out there is not much of business logic and the application will be a simple CRUD (create, read, update, delete). However, if such conversations will result in complex processes, we could (or even should) continue with **tactical DDD** which boils down to building system from blocks and patterns described by Evans in his book.

## How to implement Domain-Driven Design?

As mentioned above **Domain-Driven Design starts way before we sit down and write code**. It’s happening in the form of strategic DDD. Sometimes during the phase of accumulating the knowledge, we will realize that business problem is really trivial and doesn’t need complex patterns from tactical DDD. 

It might also happen that the main challenge of the organization sits outside of the processes we were asked to implement. If none of the mentioned cases are valid we can implement our business logic using DDD building blocks like [Entities](/blog/domain-driven-design-in-kotlin-entities-lifecycle-management/), Value Objects, Services and so on (all of the elements can be found directly in Eric Evans book or on the diagram presented there).

<div className="image">![Model-Driven Design](../../static/images/ddd_graph.png "undefined")</div>

## What are Domain-Driven Design principles?

Firstly, we should be **focused on the business logic** and **base software design on domain design**. Besides, the business constantly evolves so should its model and system within that business. **Engineers should work in sync with domain experts** using the same language in order to keep a system up to date with the business process. Finally, the common language, called ubiquitous should be also used in code to describe the domain.

## What to expect from a software agency with a DDD approach (as employee and client)?

**Let me start from a client as from their perspective nothing should really change**. I mean, we as specialists should find a way to communicate with minimal overhead related to working with the new technique. It should be as smooth as possible. The only thing I can advise potential clients of such a DDD company is to “be open and trust them”. 

Experts of certain domains can expect the engineers following DDD to ask a lot of questions which can make people tired. Business people only need to realize that such an approach of knowledge crunching is an important precondition before any code will be written. **The purpose is to avoid the huge cost of refactoring and reimplementing** and correcting our assumptions while we’re still working on a piece of paper.

<div className="image">![DDD software agency](../../static/images/dev_team.png "undefined")</div>

**When it comes to employees, it’s a bit different**. Firstly it highly depends on how many projects within that agency are led with DDD in mind. It might happen that only a few of them use goodies of Domain-Driven Design, while others are completely unrelated to that approach. 

It’s **really worth it for such a candidate to dig deeper during a job interview and understand what it means for a certain company to use DDD** and whether that suits his/her needs. For someone using code patterns related to tactical Domain-Driven Design will be enough, while for others using ubiquitous language and having domain experts as partners will be way more important.

## What are examples of Domain-Driven Design tools?

It is hard to name something like a DDD tool, to be honest. One could name techniques used to understand the business flow and customer needs such as **Event Storming** or **User Story Mapping**, which can live also without DDD. On the other hand, we have a bunch of **UI tools** that help us facilitate sessions of gaining an understanding of the business. These might also be called DDD tools. 

When it comes to a physical meeting with domain experts and facilitating on-site workshops, a whiteboard, sticky notes and markers can be treated as DDD tools. Finally, once we start implementing our software based on the previous visualization and requirements, our **IDEs** and **Code Editors** will become DDD tools.

<div className="image">![Event storming DDD](../../static/images/event_storming_ddd.png "undefined")</div>

## What DDD books do you recommend?

I will go first with the most obvious choice which is **“Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software” by Eric Evans**. He is the author of DDD and the book contains his huge experience standardized and written down. I wouldn’t recommend it for very beginners though. The language used by Evans is quite sophisticated and those 500+ pages might be overwhelming for newbies. 

I would start with some blog posts and presentations as an introduction to DDD to get the basics, then move to some implementation examples in Your favorite technology and finally go to the Bible.

## Create CI/CD pipeline in GitLab with AWS CDK, Docker, Spring Boot and Gradle

*Published: 2022-09-30 | Author: adam-w | Tags: devops, AWS, spring boot, continuous integration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/create-ci-cd-pipeline-in-gitlab-with-aws-cdk-docker-spring-boot-and gradle/index.md*

CI/CD process is the backbone of every good performing team. It facilitates the development, testing, and deploying of an app.

<div className="image">![pipeline](../../static/images/mario_blog.png "undefined")</div>

Let’s define behaviour of our CI/CD pipeline:

* the app is built and tested with every commit pushed to the repo
* the app is deployed to the stage environment for commits pushed to the master branch (after the successful build and test phase)
* every pipeline on the master branch has an option to deploy the app to the production environment

Deploy will consist with:

* creating docker image 
* pushing docker image to ECR (Amazon Elastic Container Registry)
* creating AWS infrastructure using AWS CDK

## Build and test Spring Boot app with Gradle

### Setting up Spring Boot app

For this guide, I generated Spring Boot app from [Spring Boot initializr](https://start.spring.io/).

Besides, two dependencies were added:

```groovy
implementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web")
implementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator")
```

Running an app and requesting

```shell
curl -XGET http://localhost:8080/actuator/health
```

  should return 

```json
{"status":"UP"}
```

### GitLab CI configuration

Initializing GitLab CI/CD is very easy. Just create a `.gitlab-ci.yml` file in the root directory of a project.

```yaml
# name of the Docker image, the Docker executor uses to run CI/CD jobs
image: openjdk:17-alpine

# Stages, which define when to run the jobs. For example, stages that run tests after stages that compile the code.
stages:
  - Build
  - Test
    
# build job in Build stage
build:
  stage: Build
  script:
    - ./gradlew bootJar
# The paths keyword determines which files to add to the job artifacts. All paths to files and directories are relative to the repository where the job was created.
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - build/libs/*.jar
    expire_in: 1 week
    
# test job in Test stage
test:
  stage: Test
  needs:
    - build
  script:
    - ./gradlew check
```

In the configuration, two stages were defined:

* Build with job build — compile our code and save resulted jar file in job artifacts
* Test with job test — run all tests in the project

That simple configuration allows us to introduce a continuous integration process in our development.

To speed up our builds we can use Gradle cache. [Here](https://blog.jdriven.com/2021/11/reuse-gradle-build-cache-on-gitlab/) is a nice article on how to do it with GitLab.

### Creating docker image and pushing to ECR

Before creating and pushing docker images to ECR we must first create an ECR repository (in a region that we will be using).

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*COp66eLs_JAtg7aciwYEeA.png)

Second, we must provide proper ci/cd variables in GitLab from AWS: 

```text
AWS_ACCOUNT_ID, AWS_REGION, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
```

<div className="important-info"><div>I created a user with admin privileges and I use its credentials in GitLab — it is only for the purpose of this guide and it’s not recommended technic for “real projects”.</div></div>

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*mClQYzaxrZD9KpBa3q7ZfA.png)
*CI/CD Settings Variables* 

After those steps, we can define a Dockerfile and a job in our pipeline that will create and push docker image.

```dockerfile
FROM openjdk:17-alpine
ARG JAR_FILE=build/libs/\*.jar
COPY ${JAR_FILE} app.jar
ENTRYPOINT ["java","-jar","/app.jar"]
```

In Dockerfile, a path to a jar file must point to a jar file generated by `build` job.

```yaml
image: openjdk:17-alpine

stages:
  - Build
  - Test
  - Deploy Stage

build:
  stage: Build
  script:
    - ./gradlew bootJar
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - build/libs/*.jar
    expire_in: 1 week

test:
  stage: Test
  needs:
    - build
  script:
    - ./gradlew check

docker_image:
  image: docker:stable
  stage: Deploy Stage
  needs:
    - build
    - test
  variables:
    IMAGE_NAME: ci-cd-demo-app
    TAG_LATEST: $AWS_ACCOUNT_ID.dkr.ecr.$AWS_REGION.amazonaws.com/$IMAGE_NAME:latest
    TAG_COMMIT: $AWS_ACCOUNT_ID.dkr.ecr.$AWS_REGION.amazonaws.com/$IMAGE_NAME:$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA
    DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR: ""
  services:
    - docker:dind
  before_script:
    - apk add --no-cache aws-cli
  script:
    - aws ecr get-login-password --region $AWS_REGION |
      docker login --username AWS --password-stdin $AWS_ACCOUNT_ID.dkr.ecr.$AWS_REGION.amazonaws.com
    - docker pull $TAG_LATEST || true
    - docker build --cache-from $TAG_LATEST -t $TAG_COMMIT -t $TAG_LATEST .
    - docker push $TAG_COMMIT
    - docker push $TAG_LATEST
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "master"'
      when: on_success
    - when: manual
```

Stage `Deploy Stage` was added and accordingly `docker_image` job. Because of `needs` keyword job can run only after `build` and `test` and will have access to artifacts produced by `build` and `test`. Created image is tagged with commit sha value and “latest”. `rules` define that the job runs automatically on the master branch but can also be triggered manually. 

After running the job `docker_image` an image with our app should be visible in ECR repository.

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*SvhjgvSXNc-r-K1Jjz7Pvg.png)

### Creating AWS infrastructure using AWS CDK

Install the AWS CDK `npm install -g aws-cdk`, then in the project root run the following commands:

```shell
mkdir infrastructure
cd infrastructure
cdk init app --language typescript
```

Those commands will initialize cdk project in the infrastructure directory.

Our main class is `bin/infrastructrue.ts`. Here we will be creating stacks. Stacks will be defined in `lib` directory.

Let’s create our infrastructure stack:

```typescript
import {Duration, RemovalPolicy, Stack, StackProps} from 'aws-cdk-lib';
import {Construct} from 'constructs';
import {AwsLogDriver, Cluster, ContainerImage} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ecs";
import {ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ecs-patterns";
import {LogGroup} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-logs";
import {Vpc} from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ec2";
import * as ecr from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-ecr";

export class InfrastructureStack extends Stack {

  private readonly TAG_COMMIT: string = process.env.TAG_COMMIT || 'latest'
  private readonly ECR_REPOSITORY_NAME: string = "ci-cd-demo-app"

  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props?: StackProps) {
    super(scope, id, props);

    const vpc = new Vpc(this, projectEnvSpecificName("VPC"), {
      natGateways: 1
    })

    const cluster = new Cluster(this, projectEnvSpecificName('Cluster'), {
      vpc: vpc
    });

    const service: ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService = new ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService(this, projectEnvSpecificName("application-lb-fargate-service"), {
      serviceName: projectEnvSpecificName("fargate-service"),
      cluster: cluster,
      cpu: 512,
      desiredCount: 2,
      listenerPort: 8080,
      memoryLimitMiB: 1024,
      publicLoadBalancer: true,
      taskImageOptions:  {
        containerName: projectEnvSpecificName("ecs-container"),
        image: ContainerImage.fromEcrRepository(ecrRepositoryForService(this,this.ECR_REPOSITORY_NAME), this.TAG_COMMIT),
        containerPort: 8080,
        logDriver: new AwsLogDriver({
          logGroup: new LogGroup(this, projectEnvSpecificName("log-group"), {
            logGroupName: projectEnvSpecificName("app-service"),
            removalPolicy: RemovalPolicy.DESTROY
          }),
          streamPrefix: projectEnvSpecificName(),
        })
      }
    })

    service.targetGroup.configureHealthCheck({
      path: "/actuator/health",
      port: "8080",
      healthyHttpCodes: "200"
    })

    const scalableTaskCount = service.service.autoScaleTaskCount({
      minCapacity: 2,
      maxCapacity: 4
    });

    scalableTaskCount.scaleOnCpuUtilization(projectEnvSpecificName("service-auto-scaling"), {
      targetUtilizationPercent: 50,
      scaleInCooldown: Duration.seconds(60),
      scaleOutCooldown: Duration.seconds(60),
    })
  }
}

export function ecrRepositoryForService(scope: Construct, serviceName: string) {
  return ecr.Repository.fromRepositoryName(scope, `${serviceName} repository`, serviceName)
}

const DEPLOY_ENV: DeployEnv = process.env.DEPLOY_ENV || 'test';

export enum KnownDeployEnv {
  prod = 'prod',
  stage = 'stage',
  test = 'test'
}

export type DeployEnv = KnownDeployEnv | string

export const PROJECT_NAME = "backend";

export function projectEnvSpecificName(name: string = ""): string {
  const prefix = PROJECT_NAME.replace('_', '-') + "-" + DEPLOY_ENV;
  if (name.startsWith(prefix)) {
    return name
  } else {
    return `${prefix}-${name}`
  }
}
```

A lot of stuff is going on here. Let’s explain a little. 😉

First, we are creating `VPC` and ECS `cluster`. Then we are using `ApplicationLoadBalancedFargateService`. This construct will set up fargate service running on ecs cluster frontend by public application load balancer. The important thing here is passing our app image from ECR with a tag equal to commit sha value (image with commit sha tag was pushed in the previous step).

```ts
image: ContainerImage.fromEcrRepository(ecrRepositoryForService(this,this.ECR_REPOSITORY_NAME), this.TAG_COMMIT)
```

Also we are identifying every resource with `projectEnvSpecificName`. It will help us distinguish AWS resources for different environments and projects.

In `/bin/infarstructrue.ts` we define creation of `infrastructrue-stack` and starting point of cdk:

```ts
#!/usr/bin/env node
import 'source-map-support/register';
import * as cdk from 'aws-cdk-lib';
import {InfrastructureStack, projectEnvSpecificName} from '../lib/infrastructure-stack';

async function main() {
    const app = new cdk.App();

    new InfrastructureStack(app, projectEnvSpecificName("app-service"))
}

main().catch(er => {
    console.log(er)
    process.exit(1)
})
```

Our infrastructure is set up! Now we need to automize our deployment in GitLab CI/CD.

```yaml
# install necessary dependencies and run our CDK, are used both by deploy_stage and deploy_prod
.deploy:
  image: node:18-alpine
  variables:
# setting TAG_COMMIT variable for CDK
    TAG_COMMIT: $CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA
  before_script:
    - cd infrastructure
    - node -v
  script:
    - npm i
    - AWS_REGION=${AWS_REGION:-eu-west-1} DEPLOY_ENV=${DEPLOY_ENV:-test} npm run  cdk -- deploy --all --require-approval ${APPROVAL_LEVEL:-never}

deploy_stage:
  stage: Deploy Stage
  extends:
    - .deploy
  variables:
# setting DEPLOY_ENV variable for CDK
    DEPLOY_ENV: stage
  environment:
    name: stage
# job can be run only after success of jobs: test, docker
  needs:
    - test
    - docker_image
# commits on the master branch are automatically deployed to the stage
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "master"'
      when: on_success
    - when: manual

deploy_prod:
  stage: Deploy Prod
# job can be run only on master branch
  only:
    - master
  extends:
    - .deploy
  variables:
# setting DEPLOY_ENV variable for CDK
    DEPLOY_ENV: prod
# job can be run only after success of jobs: test, docker, deploy_stage
  needs:
    - test
    - docker_image
    - deploy_stage
  environment:
    name: prod
# manual deployment
  when: manual

# prevent running additional pipelines in merge requests
workflow:
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"'
      when: never
    - when: always
```

We have defined `.deploy` configuration, `deploy_stage` and `deploy_prod` jobs.

After the success of `deploy_stage` job, we should be able to hit on the `actuator/health` endpoint. The URL to the service will be displayed in job log and also will be available in CloudFormation in the stack outputs.

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*HzcOBUOneMlaf33ddneD4g.png)
*deploy_stage job log*

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*DrjxlDNsFXaGhHFUxaF-hg.png)
*CloudFormation backend-stage-app-service outputs*

```shell
curl -XGET http://backe-backe-xrbo7418s6uv-1422097338.eu-central-1.elb.amazonaws.com:8080/actuator/health

{"status":"UP"}
```

<div className="important-info"><div>Remember to destroy unused stacks and remove unused images in ECR to reduce costs in AWS!</div></div>

### Congratulations!

You have created a pipeline for your Spring Boot app with basic AWS infrastructure for two environments!

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*WgykIb7PTWu0Tqn2b4IZ6w.png)

All of the code is available here: [https://gitlab.com/adam.waniak11/ci-cd-demo-app](https://gitlab.com/adam.waniak11/ci-cd-demo-app/-/tree/master)

Looking for more? Check another tutorial on [how to add RDS Database using AWS CDK](/blog/add-the-rds-database-to-a-spring-boot-app-with-aws-cdk).

## Domain Driven Design in Kotlin - Entities lifecycle management

*Published: 2022-09-16 | Author: michal k | Tags: DDD, Kotlin*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/domain-driven-design-in-kotlin-entities-lifecycle-management/index.md*

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/0*mnMkNG1ISY6aN1Mw)

**As devs, we often focus on the project’s tech aspects, such as frameworks, libraries, and their versions. Unfortunately, this moves us away from, most likely, the main thing we should focus on — solving customer problems.**

Unless we are experts in some specific technical concepts and were summoned to solve issues related to tooling, our main concern is bringing the business value. To do so, we should try to focus on the domain that our software is or will be, the customer’s needs, and avoid mixing those with internals unrelated to the client’s problem. By internals, I mean things like persistence of our data, transportation, notification, etc.

That is where the **[Domain Driven Design](/blog/domain-driven-design-explained-by-a-senior-backend-developer/) kicks in by separating technical aspects of our software from business logic** that should be represented in code as simple and clean as possible. The tactical part of DDD comes with building blocks based on which we can build domain in the code and loosely couple it with other more technical parts of code. This separation brings values such as better observability and testability. It can also help us better react to business changes and perform technical upgrades such as moving from one library to another.

- - -

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/0*SOqdfSQuzASa68xN)

- - -

Take a look at the graph from well known DDD bible by Eric Evans. In the middle, we can see Entities and Value objects which both should contain data and business logic that manipulates that data. We need to remember that code-wise, **tactical domain-driven design stands in opposition to well-known anemic models** in which data and behavior are separated. 

## Entities

The first place we should take a look at whenever we think about storing data is the entity. **The main characteristic of this building block is its identity**. Entities should represent things in our domain for which we want to be able to clearly distinguish one from the other by defining some attribute (or attributes) and treating it as an identifier. For some of them, it will be a natural key, meaningful to the domain, like an insurance number in American medical systems. In other cases, the identifier can be autogenerated by the system itself e.g. order number in e-commerce. One way or the other, such a key should give us the possibility to tell that two entities with all other attributes of the same value should be treated as two different things. 

The other characteristic of the entity is the fact that it usually has its **lifecycle**. Dealing with multiple states might be tricky, especially when it comes to validating which changes are allowed and which are not. Let’s look at the following code:

```kotlin
class Order(
    status: OrderStatus
) {
    var status = status
        private set

    val id: UUID = UUID.randomUUID()

    enum class OrderStatus {
        received, accepted, rejected
    }

    // order cannot be rejected if was accepted
    fun reject() {
        if (status == OrderStatus.accepted) {
            throw IllegalStateException("Cannot reject already accepted order!!!")
        }
        status = OrderStatus.rejected
    }

    // only received order can be accepted
    fun accept() {
        if (status != OrderStatus.received) {
            throw IllegalStateException("Cannot accept order not in received status")
        }
        status = OrderStatus.accepted
    }
}
```

The logic inside `reject()` and `accept()` functions do not look bad, however, if we would add a few more statuses it can become quite cumbersome. Also, throwing exceptions after someone tried to use the API incorrectly is a post-factum action. Take a look at `OrderTest` .

```kotlin
internal class OrderTest {

    @Test
    fun `can accept received order`() {
        // given
        val receivedOrder = Order(Order.OrderStatus.received)

        // when
        receivedOrder.accept()

        // then
        assertEquals(receivedOrder.status, Order.OrderStatus.accepted)
    }

    @Test
    fun `can reject received order`() {
        // given
        val receivedOrder = Order(Order.OrderStatus.received)

        // when
        receivedOrder.reject()

        // then
        assertEquals(receivedOrder.status, Order.OrderStatus.rejected)
    }

    @Test
    fun `accepted order cannot be rejected`() {
        // given
        val acceptedOrder = Order(Order.OrderStatus.accepted)

        // when + then
        assertThrows<IllegalStateException> {
            acceptedOrder.reject()
        }
    }

    @ParameterizedTest
    @EnumSource(
        value = Order.OrderStatus::class,
                names = [ "received" ],
        mode = EnumSource.Mode.EXCLUDE
    )
    fun `orders other than received cannot be accepted`(status: Order.OrderStatus) {
        // given
        val receivedOrder = Order(Order.OrderStatus.received)

        // when
        receivedOrder.accept()

        // then
        assertEquals(receivedOrder.status, Order.OrderStatus.accepted)
    }

}
```

Not so many test cases, right? What if we would add 5 more statuses? We will end up adding more and more tests checking that other statuses should not be transitioned to the “accepted” state as well as not rejected (if that’s the business logic)

Let’s look at another approach. Instead of using a single `Order` , we could use **Kotlin sealed classes** to build subtypes of `Order` a type that cannot be changed to an improper type.

```kotlin
sealed class Order(val id: UUID = UUID.randomUUID()) {

}

class ReceivedOrder : Order() {

    fun accept() = AcceptedOrder(this.id)
    fun reject() = RejectedOrder(this.id)

}

class RejectedOrder(id: UUID) : Order(id)

class AcceptedOrder(id: UUID) : Order(id)
```

As you can see, `ReceivedOrder` is the only one that can be accepted or rejected. Also, the types which we will receive after performing these actions are explicitly set — there is no way to get rejected orders after acceptance and vice versa. That simplified a lot, didn’t it? Let’s check the tests.

```kotlin
internal class OrderTest {

    @Test
    fun `can accept received order`() {
        // given
        val receivedOrder = ReceivedOrder()

        // when
        val result = receivedOrder.accept()

        // then
        assertEquals(result::class.java, AcceptedOrder::class.java)
    }

    @Test
    fun `can reject received order`() {
        // given
        val receivedOrder = ReceivedOrder()

        // when
        val result = receivedOrder.reject()

        // then
        assertEquals(result::class.java, RejectedOrder::class.java)
    }

    //    We got covered on compilation time
//    @Test
    fun `orders other than received cannot be accepted`() {
    }

    //    We got covered on compilation time
//    @Test
    fun `accepted order cannot be rejected`() {
    }

}
```

Wait, what happened? We need only two tests to verify if accepting and rejecting can be performed on received orders. What about the others? They are not needed, since there is no option to perform other operations. Our API became simpler and less error-prone. If someone would like to accept `RejectedOrder` he won’t simply find such a method. This way of representing the lifecycle of the Entity helps maintain the correct state and makes our domain code more readable, even for less technical people.

- - -

Kotlin language can be really helpful to express business logic in separation from technical aspects of our applications which is one of the core aspects of Domain Driven Design. Sealed classes sound like a perfect choice for Entities that have multiple states and different behavior depending on that state. Please bear in mind, however, that not every domain or subdomain will need such a mechanism. **There are still places and contexts in which introducing building blocks from tactical DDD will be overkill and won’t solve any real problem.**

<center><div className="image">![domain driven design meme](../../static/images/meme_ddd.jpeg "Meme")</div></center>

## How does the web work - simplified

*Published: 2022-09-09 | Author: wojciech | Tags: web, frontend, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-does-the-web-work-simplified/index.md*

Very often, when recruiting for a frontend/backend/fullstack developer, especially for junior positions, the question is asked - how is it actually that in the browser somebody enters a specific address and a website related to it appears? This question is good because it allows the recruiter to test knowledge from many fields at once by asking deeper into the topic, while the candidate answers. So let's try to provide a model answer to this type of question and attempt to predict a few additional questions from the recruiter during the answer to the original question.

<div className="image">![web - simplified](../../static/images/internet_blog.png "undefined")</div>

Before we start answering, let's make some assumptions, which are essential to get the answer started:

1. The computer is equipped with a browser, which is a program designed to view and download resources made available by web servers.
2. The computer is connected via a router/modem to an Internet service provider (ISP).

## Our answer can be written as a sequence of steps that are performed in order:

1. You enter the URL in the web browser,
2. The entered URL address is translated into an IP address,
3. The web browser sends an HTTP request to the provided IP address
4. The server sends an HTTP response to the browser
5. The browser starts rendering the resulting HTML based on the received HTTP response.

## Now let's move on to the details of the individual steps:

1. This step is self-explanatory. We just type the URL into the address bar of the browser - nothing easier!
2. The address we entered in the previous step is easy for a human to remember, but machines do not use such names. They use IP addresses (short for Internet Protocol Address), and an identification number is given to computers or other devices that connect to the network, which allows them to communicate properly. In the decimal system, it is written with 4 numbers from the range 0-255 separated by periods (eg 77.55.142.42). Changing a human-readable address to a numeric form occurs through the DNS (Domain Name System). DNS works like a phone book that assigns IP addresses to specific domain names. It is a huge database of records that are used by users all over the world. It is worth mentioning that first the browser's DNS cache is checked, then our operating system's DNS cache, and finally the DNS provided by the ISP.
3. To be able to send an HTTP request from the browser to the server, it is necessary to establish a connection between them. This is done using the TCP protocol. The connection is initiated by the browser, followed by a three-way handshake, after which the browser and the client are ready to transmit and receive the transmitted data. This is where the question may arise - what is the difference between the TCP protocol and UDP protocol. From the perspective of a [web application](/our-areas/web-development) developer, a simple comparison is enough. UDP is faster, simpler, and more efficient than TCP, but it does not guarantee the delivery of all data packets. TCP will resend it if any data packet is not delivered. The data is transferred using the HTTP protocols - this means that they have a specific structure. The HTTP protocol consists of exactly the following parts:

   \- the first one specifies the HTTP method we use, the resource on the server side, and the protocol version,

   \- the second part contains the headers we use,

   \- the third is empty :)

   \- the fourth is the body of the message (if any).

   <img src="/images/http-req-res.png" alt="http schema" class="image" />\
   \
   There are 9 HTTP methods we can use. I will not describe them all here because they are well described on the [MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Methods) website. Often, a trick question may be how the PATCH method differs from the PUT method. A correctly implemented PUT method is one that can be performed N times and its result will always be the same - such methods are called [idempotent](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Idempotent). The PATCH method does not guarantee this. 

   Body is the optional part because requests fetching resources, like GET, HEAD, DELETE, or OPTIONS, usually don't need one. Some requests send data to the server in order to update it: as often the case with POST, PUT, and PATCH requests.

   Bodies can be broadly divided into two categories:

   \- single-resource bodies, consisting of one single file

   \- multiple-resource bodies, consisting of a multipart body, each containing a different bit of information.
4. The server replies to us with a message consisting of 4 parts containing:

   \- protocol version, HTTP code, and HTTP message

   \- headers

   \- a blank line again

   \- body of the message (if any)

   At this point, it is worth briefly talking about the possible HTTP codes. They belong to five basic groups:

   Informational responses (100–199)\
   Successful responses (200–299)\
   Redirection messages (300–399)\
   Client error responses (400–499)\
   Server error responses (500–599)

   When creating a REST API, we most often use 200, 201, 204, 400, 401, 403, 404, 409, 500 - it is worth knowing what these statuses are characterized by and when to use them, this question will surely be asked. In order to learn more about the statuses, I refer you [here](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status#successful_responses).
5. The browser receives the bytes of data, but it can’t really do anything with it; the raw bytes of data must be converted to a form it understands. First, the raw bytes of data are converted into characters. This conversion is done based on the character encoding of the HTML file. These characters are further parsed into something called tokens. When you save a file with the .html extension, you signal to the browser engine to interpret the file as an HTML document. The way the browser interprets this file is by first parsing it. In the parsing process, and particularly during tokenization, every start and end HTML tag in the file is accounted for. The parser understands each string in angle brackets (e.g `<html>`) and understands the set of rules that apply to each of them. For example, a token that represents an anchor tag will have different properties from one that represents a paragraph token.  After the tokenization is done, the tokens are then converted into nodes. You may think of nodes as separate entities within the document object tree. Upon creating these nodes, the nodes are then linked in a tree data structure known as the DOM. The DOM establishes the parent-child relationships, adjacent sibling relationships, etc. The relationship between every node is established in this DOM object.

   <img src="/images/dom-schema.png" alt="dom schema" class="image" />\
   \
   The exact same thing happens with styles related to the document from bytes threw characters, tokens, and nodes they end up forming a CSSOM.

   The DOM and CSSOM tree structures are two independent structures. The DOM contains all the information about the page’s HTML element’s relationships, while the CSSOM contains information on how the elements are styled. The browser combines the DOM and CSSOM trees into a render tree. The render tree contains information on all visible DOM content on the page and all the required CSSOM information for the different nodes. Note that if an element has been hidden by CSS (e.g., by using `display: none`), the node will not be represented in the render tree.\
   \
   <img src="/images/render-tree.png" alt="render tree" class="image" />\
   \
   With the render tree constructed, the next step is to perform the layout. Right now, we have the content and style information of all visible content on the screen, but we haven’t actually rendered anything to the screen. The browser has to calculate the exact size and position of each object on the page. With the information on the content (DOM), style (CSSOM), and the exact layout of the elements computed, the browser now “paints” the individual node on the screen. Finally, the elements are now rendered to the screen!

## It’s Not a Bug, It’s a Feature – Communication Challenges Faced by Developers and Testers

*Published: 2022-09-05 | Author: malgorzata-z | Tags: QA, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/communication-challenges-faced-by-developers-and-testers/index.md*

**There are many misunderstandings between testers and developers in their daily work. We’ve gathered our experiences to show you some common triggering situations that can be easily solved. It takes a bit of work from both sides but the friendly atmosphere at work is worth it.**

<div className="image">![Developer Tester Communication](../../static/images/blog_post_cover_dev_tester.png "undefined")</div>

## How to report a bug?

It is obvious that how we report a bug has an impact on the developer’s reaction. 

I’ve noticed that sometimes junior developers feel like a bug is their mistake. This is a challenge to report an issue in such a way that the dev can feel that a bug belongs to all of us. How to do this?

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/i9PtaNVkiHB4T3wnBL" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/HBOMax-hbomax-national-lampoons-moviesonhbomax-i9PtaNVkiHB4T3wnBL">via GIPHY</a></p>

I think this is a difficult question. All of us are different, but there are some rules QA should follow. Firstly I think we should consider if we need to contact the software developer or just create a new bug in our issue tracker. Let’s focus on the first one as the second is easy. 

Sometimes it’s better to write or talk with a developer about an issue. **The receipt is easy: remember that a bug is ours, not mine or yours**. With this mindset, the relationship will be much simpler. 

Before you decide to ping a developer you should be sure that your bug is a bug. After that, provide details and conduct the conversation as if you were talking about a common goal. 

## But it's not a bug…

It happens that you hear “it's not a bug”. You can protect yourself from this kind of response in several ways. For example by reproducing the bug path several times or by reading the documentation carefully. But no matter what you do, sometimes it just happens, and there are two possible paths to what will happen next.

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/K8zzqui9viWT6" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/mrw-someone-hqg-K8zzqui9viWT6">via GIPHY</a></p>

In fact, it's a bug. If you are sure of your right, you will have to prove it somehow to a developer. Prepare a set of evidence like relevant parts of the documentation, feature requirements, and ticket description or if you don't have any of them, prepare a good explanation of why the raised issue is painful for end users. Yet don't try to “kill” anyone with your evidence, it's really not the point. Try to have a constructive conversation and work together on achieving a similar point of view.

During my career, I've been several times in a situation, where despite my huge effort and certainty, the issue I raised has been marked as non-bug. I’ve presented the requirements from the feature ticket, I’ve pointed out an inconsistency in the software, I’ve explained why the given behavior of the app might be confusing to users, and all of this went for nothing. It was just moved to “Won’t do”, end of the story. The only comment on that is if you ever face a similar situation, **you should keep in your head that you did your best and you can’t fix everything**.

And what if it's really not a bug? It may happen that you will miss some details that distort your point of view, or you just won’t foresee some use cases because you are fresh in a project. Try to learn a lesson from it for the future.

## Which bug is a real bug?

It’s really common for testers to raise absolutely everything they consider as an issue. In general, it's not bad behavior, but if you do so, you have to be prepared that some of those raised issues will be instantly closed or will get lost in the depths of the backlog. Don’t take it personally. It might be that current priorities or business goals are not allowing us to spend time on some minor issues. The knowledge of what is worth raising and what is not comes to us in parallel with our experience in a given project, and sooner or later we will know which decision is the correct one.

## Who is guilty?

In the past, I was working with a team who always was wondering who is guilty after a bug occurred in production. We had some meetings to talk about it and the official goal of these meetups was to consider how to avoid such situations. Very good idea, but in practice, the guilty one was always sought. I felt like only one person could be responsible for a bug. In this case, the dev always felt guilty. I didn’t feel comfortable with it. 

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/3ohhwk7QW2EA3Illks" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/shocked-surprise-mystery-3ohhwk7QW2EA3Illks">via GIPHY</a></p>

From my point of view, **the whole team is responsible for a bug**. We are a squad, we work together and we share responsibility. In my opinion, it is very important to know about it and work in that way. Otherwise, a team will never be a well-coordinated one. Try to imagine how to report a bug to the person who treats it like an offense.

## Refresh the page

Not only QA should follow some behavior rules. I’m sure that every tester at the beginning of their career path heard “refresh the page” after finding a bug. I don’t know why devs are telling this, but it’s definitely annoying and spoiling the relationship. For sure, software testers refreshed this page quite a few times. 🙂

Sometimes even if the tester checks every path and is sure that THIS IS A BUG and tells about it in a very polite way, the developer still can’t take it. The same is with QAs, sometimes devs have the right that a bug is not a bug, but the tester doesn’t want to accept it. From my point of view, there should be a team lead role to maybe organize some workshops which will allow you to look at your relationship from a different perspective. 

## Mind your attitude

It’s crucial to know what and why you are doing it. **A common misconception across junior testers is having a conviction that the more passive-aggressive you are, the better**. Or that being a QA is about pointing out someone's errors and bragging about it. I’ve met a guy who was working in an IT company, but in a non-technical position. He was thinking about switching to a technical position and he chose a QA role as his development path. During our conversation, I heard a magical sentence from him: “Finally, I will be paid for pointing out someone's errors”. And he was not joking 🙂. 

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "82%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/kbz6iLCGXDLgI" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/king-of-the-world-im-titanic-kbz6iLCGXDLgI">via GIPHY</a></p>

## Keep calm and carry on

It’s not a piece of cake to build a strong relationship between developers and testers, but with a little bit of flexibility from both sides, it is possible to achieve something really well-working.

## I needed my Catharsis - why developers are not happy with their career?

*Published: 2022-08-31 | Author: patryk sz | Tags: developer, development, self-development, podcast*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/i-needed-my-catharsis-why-developers-are-not-happy-with-their-career/index.md*

Did you ever hit the wall and wondered, what and why you are doing as a developer? We, as experts, want to work on interesting, problem-solving projects. Some of us would want to work for Google, Facebook, Apple, or NASA, but it’s impossible to have all of us in top brands in the world, or in the Fortune 500. In some cases, even working as a developer for Facebook, would you feel complete by solving issues in an internal system that helps exchange documentation across the teams?

<img src="/images/adobestock_367253290.jpeg" alt="undefined" class="image" />

On the one hand, there are our ambitions, what we want to do, and what is our main goal of career. On the other hand, there is a problem being solved by the project we are working currently on. If we will step back and take a look at the project from the perspective, we could notice dozens, hundreds, or thousands of users of the system, whom we are making work easier and more effective.
But let’s go to the examples - I was working with numerous projects - systems for an insurance market, e-commerce, green energy, and recently - the restaurant ecosystem. You know what? All of them are super valuable for the end users. So, why do many of us think that our projects are “not enough”?

Also, I talked about it in #brightdevtalks podcast. It's recorded in Polish.

<iframe style={{borderRadius: "12px"}} src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/0DJlZ6D12pNqkkUuqOfHlh?utm_source=generator&theme=0" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>

## Lack of agency feeling

For the record, I’m not a Project Manager, so it’s only my personal feeling

> In social science, the agency is the capacity of individuals to have the power and resources to fulfill their potential

It’s about social life, but it can be also applied to the IT projects

> An agency handles several tasks required to deliver on their client's projects. Whether it’s onboarding new customers or creating deliverables and rendering services, it takes a system to make it all work.

So those two terms are similar and explain something I want to express - you, as a developer, need to understand that you are not working on another button or another notification. We all are working on a whole project, which has requirements, goals, and actors. Once you realize it, it will be easier for you to understand “why this manager wants to have another input field”.

In other words, you need to perceive the project more holistic. Get out of your own frontend/backend box, the module you are working on, and try to understand the essence of the system you are creating.
It’s common for massive systems full of integrations, busses, and other stuff - you are working in a small team, which is responsible for notifications sending, but you have also tasks about SMS channel - it’s easy to forget about the main goal behind the fence and focus just on the JIRA tickets.

## Working on “insignificant” things

Let’s say that you have a career goal - working for NASA. Sounds interesting? Of course, it does - everyone I was talking to, wants to work for a big shot (another one wants to be a big fish). It’s easy to lose your faith in the current project while you are still focusing on the desire for working somewhere else.
Did I have such a moment? Come one, ONE? Five, at least. But hey, you are a valuable person. Your employer wants to have you in his company, he pays you good money and invests in you. Maybe it’s not NASA, but maybe it’s not a time, for you to do NASA things? If you are reading it, I’m pretty sure that you could be starting your career or you are not far from it. “Everyone needs to start somewhere” - it’s a really nasty thing to say, but let’s take a look at the chart:

<img src="/images/companies-working-length.jpg" alt="Average engineers tenure at major tech companies" class="image" />

Source: [HackerLife Data](https://hackerlife.co/blog/san-francisco-large-corporation-employee-tenure)

Around 50% of software engineers only stay at a company for two years before switching to somewhere new. The national average for job tenure is 4.2 years so software engineers stay in one place for half as long. Typically the larger the company the longer a developer stays in one role. 

I bet, that the current company is good to you - as I mentioned, the employer is doing a great job (usually) to keep their employees happy (yes, Bright is doing a hella job about that - you can check our Instagram account), but let’s face it - the employee will want to switch after some time. If the average for Twitter or Apple oscillates around two years then how many of the companies you will work in, in the next 10 years? You will work for NASA or Tesla one day, take it easy.

I’m going to repeat myself - even if in comparison - working on the systems that help send equipment to ISS could beat the restaurant ecosystem, but let’s admit it - how often do you order takeaway food? That’s right - we are creating solutions for ourselves. Keep that in mind!

## All I do is write another loop

This is a real quote from my beginnings. I was pretty sure that all I do is just write another loop, another if/else statement. If we will go down to the foundation, then we can say - yes, we are writing if/else statements. But what is software development? Even after we tear down the business value from the project - we need to connect the facts, endpoints, modules, and subprojects into one, working solution. That’s why a lot of companies have developers but architects also. Maybe you are not an architect, but still - use your energy, knowledge, and experience and create something that matters.

<img src="/images/information-knowledge.jpg" alt="The difference between information knowledge and experience"  class="image" />

Source: [Medium](https://medium.com/@lantermarion13/the-curse-of-intuition-c29f469ae99a)

## Dunning-Kruger effect

<img src="/images/dunning-kruger-effect.jpg" alt="Dunning-Kruger effect" class="image" />

Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect)

> The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias\[2] whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a certain type of task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge. Some researchers also include in their definition the opposite effect for high performers: their tendency to underestimate their skills.

The same effect can be shown slightly different: 

<img src="/images/simplified-dunning-kruger-effect.jpg" alt="Simplified Dunning-Kruger effect" class="image" />

Source: [Wikipedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_Effect_01.svg)

A lot of experts tend to underestimate their abilities and knowledge. I’m pretty sure that you have seen this chart somewhere over the Internet, but maybe you are in the valley currently?

## Conclusion

It’s natural to have mixed feelings about the company, project, or team. I was (and doing it still) have doubts about my own qualifications, I was wondering if the project I was working on, was the right one for me. Once I realized I’m permitted to have all these feelings and I have a space to take a step back and take a look at the project and team from the distance, I feel like everything is new to me, but also more exciting. Maybe you need to have your own Catharsis?

Let me know, what you think - maybe we have similar thoughts?

## Becoming an iOS Developer Again. Meet Michał – a Programmer with over 10 Years of Experience

*Published: 2022-08-30 | Author: michal-was | Tags: bright story, iOS, Swift*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/michal-ios-developer-10-years-of-experience/index.md*

**Michał worked with Swift since the 1.0 version. For a period of time, he was even a team manager. Some would say that's a usual career path. Yet for him, it was just a turn in a different direction. Eventually, he missed programming too much and came back to his developer roots. 😉 Dive into Michał’s story!**

<img src="/images/brightstorymichalcollage.png" alt="Michal's bright story" class="image" />

## What did your road to iOS development look like? I heard you started from PHP.

Yes, the first language I used at work was PHP. Yet before that, **I actually didn’t want to be a software developer**. I was more interested in hardware than software. I dug electronics so I was thinking about working with Embedded systems. That is why I studied Electronics and Telecommunications at the Gdańsk University of Technology.

However, the job market didn’t fit into my plan. There were more offers for software developers than for electronics engineers. So during my studies, I started learning PHP and got my first freelancing job related to it.

Years later, while I was working at a company on a PHP project, they decided to start building iOS apps. I made a move to that new iOS team. **I figured that building apps for phones would be in some way a comeback to hardware. That is how my iOS adventure began**.

## What was the iPhone you built your first apps for?

It was an **iPhone 3GS** with an iOS 5.0 system. It was around 10 years ago.

<img src="/images/iphone3gs.png" alt="iPhone 3GS" class="image" />

## What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?

A couple of years ago I worked at the company developing a very popular mobile news application for the Swedish market. Then the decision was made to **rewrite the app from hybrid to native**. 

The app was a successful commercial project with a significant number of users. The stakes were high. At that time releasing changes at that scale was much riskier than nowadays. Back then you had to publish the app on AppStore to 100% of users without phased release. **Once we released it, there was no turning back**. So the pressure was high. 

Moreover, we wrote the new native version of the app with Swift. **At that time Swift reached only the 1.0 version** so I was really reluctant. However, we went for it. In the end, that was a very good decision. Yet, for sure, developing it with such a young technology was a painful process. For example, the compilation process was very slow, or sometimes it was impossible to debug something.

<img src="/images/michal_quote_swift.png" alt="undefined" class="image" />

**Swift was an early-stage tech and we totally based our success on it. However, it turned out to be a triumph**. We received positive feedback from our users. And we have to remember that people are usually against UI changes, especially right after the release. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for us.

## You were a developer who hold a role of a manager for some time. How was it on both sides?

I was offered to take the position of **Engineer Manager**. It was a completely different role compared to a mobile developer. **I am glad that I got to try to work closely with people**. Thanks to that I also attended many valuable courses on leadership, psychology, and communication. 

However, when the opportunity to become an iOS dev again came up I just couldn't say no. **I knew a manager career wasn’t for me. I was too far away from the code**. What's more, there’s just less pressure when you are a team member and you cooperate together compared to being a manager who is responsible for all these people’s well-being. In the end, you cannot make everyone happy. 

**Coming back to programming was too tempting. Code doesn’t have feelings**. 😉 When you manage people you constantly have to take care of their feelings. Sometimes it’s too much to handle.

## Not everyone would resign from the manager role. Wasn't it a step back in your career?

There is this **misconception that becoming a manager is a promotion**. For me, it was a career switch. Obviously, it **depends on the organization**. Every company defines these roles differently. If you, as a dev, become a tech lead who still works closely with technology, then it might be a promotion. 

<img src="/images/michal_quote_manager.png" alt="undefined" class="image" />

However, in my case, I mostly took care of hiring people and I was deciding about people's promotions and raises. And it is a different line of work, far from a tech. Naturally, there are organizations where there is a manager who holds responsibilities related to managing people and tech. However, in many cases, it is hard to perform all these duties by one person. **It’s easier to focus either on people or on the quality of code**.

## You are a speaker at the iOSDevUK Conference in September. What will you talk about?

**I will talk about becoming an iOS developer, again**. Some of it we have just covered in previous questions. Let’s treat them as a preview. I will talk about all the misconceptions related to manager positions. **I will compare the manager role to the developer role**. **Also, I want to show how great it was to go back to [iOS development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development)**. After my break, I could see how many great new things Apple started to offer developers. It feels great to work again with Apple tools.

<img src="/images/michal_iosdevuk.png" alt="undefined" class="image" />

*Michał will be a speaker at [iOSDevUK Conference](https://www.iosdevuk.com/speakers) which takes place in Aberystwyth, Wales from 5th to 8th September 2022.*

## Why did you decide to join Bright Inventions?

I suppose I could quickly feel **the nice atmosphere this company creates** even at the early stage while talking to Bright recruiters. Also, I liked the fact that Bright Inventions has an office in Gdańsk where I live. Although I mostly work from home, it’s nice to have this place where you can go and **take a break from your daily routine**.

## Is there something unique about working at Bright that you have observed?

I definitely noticed that Bright Inventions gathers **people with a unique mindset**. **People here are very engaged in their job and projects**. Every time I talk to someone I can see that they are deeply invested in what they do.

<img src="/images/michal_quote_bright.png" alt="undefined" class="image" />

## Your passion is rallying. How did that start?

Since I remember I was into **automotive and mechanics**. I guess my grandfather inspired me to follow this road. I made my first car repairs with him. Then I met people who attended rallying competitions and I quickly started to compete as well. I usually took part in local championships and even got Vice Champion of the Pomeranian Rally Championship.

<img src="/images/michal_rally_passion.png" alt="undefined" class="image" />

*[Watch Michał in action](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU-jv80y3SM&t=40s). 🏁*

## Do you like to race at work as well? 😉

I guess it is nice to finish my tasks faster than I estimated. However, **software development is more about collaboration than race**. Working together is the best way to build a successful product in this business.

## UX Design for Healthcare and Medical Apps Case Study

*Published: 2022-08-10 | Author: izabela | Tags: design, business, HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ux-design-healthcare-medical-apps-case-study/index.md*

**Heavy data, simplicity, clarity. Can we include all of these in healthcare app designs? Are you planning to hire a [healthcare software development company](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/) to design and build your healthcare or medical solution? Check out the UX design challenges that you might face developing eHealth applications. Eventually, find out how to design medical data in a UX-friendly way.**

<div className="image">![UX design for healthcare app](../../static/images/cover.png "UX design for healthcare app")</div>

## Designing data for eHealth applications

In some cases, healthcare apps have to provide users with lots of information. As an example let’s work on a hypothetical app for hospital staff whose purpose is to help manage patients' medicine distribution. 

**In the case of healthcare apps, there is usually a lot of information that has to be designed in a way that is visible and accessible within a few taps or clicks.**

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='transform your HealthTech startup or SME with our expert guide' ebookName='Scale-Your-Healthtech-Solution-Successfully.pdf' ebookDescription={'Facing scalability challenges in your HealthTech business? Our guide offers nearly 100 pages of insights and solutions. '} ebookImage='/images/healthtech_guide_cover_homepage_update_logo.png' ebookAlt='cover' />

## Challenges for healthcare UX design

Designing the eHealth app for hospital staff requires dealing with these challenges:

* How to prioritize information?
* How to display data in the most accessible way, preferably on the main screen so users don’t have to look for it on different screens?
* How to display all necessary information about patients on a tablet and even on a smartphone?

For the purpose of this blog post, we created a hypothetical mockup for an app for doctors and nurses working at the hospital. This is the possible answer to all of these challenges:

![eHealth app mockup](../../static/images/design_for_ehealth_app_web_mockup.png)

*<center>The mockup is a fictional design made exclusively for blog post purposes.</center>*

“Wow, that's a lot of information on one screen…” That is something that you could think of looking at the design. You instantly notice that this is not a nice lifestyle app that is supposed to attract you with a fancy design and a small amount of text.

Remember we are talking about an app for hospital employees and we need to meet their requirements. According to our research made while working on various eHealth products, **the number 1 priority for eHealth app users is fast access to all necessary information** thus they should be visible on one screen. In this case, doctors and nurses have access to patients’ names, rooms, and medicine distribution statuses on one screen. 

![eHealth app mobile mockup](../../static/images/mobile_mockup_ehealth.png)

*<center>The mockup is a fictional design made exclusively for blog post purposes.</center>*

Designing everything on one screen? That’s a challenge. A product designer’s instinct tells us to remove as much data as we can to present a more clear message. Yet, doctors and nurses know best what information needs to be quickly accessible to them and our job as healthcare app developers and app owners is to design it in the best possible way. 

What else do you need to remember while facing these healthcare UX challenges? Check out UX best practices that help to deliver healthcare apps useful for their users.

## Iconography in product design

The **key in UX design is iconography which practically creates its own language to display information**. So, you design icons that represent statuses, states, notifications, etc. Icons should be comprehensive even if we design them specifically for the app. They still should evoke the right associations. This best practice was deeply covered in [Jakob Nielsen’s Usability Heuristic #2](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/match-system-real-world/).

Naturally, the explanation of every icon in the product is still recommended. Because we are talking about an eHealth app that supports medicine distribution so users have to be well prepared to use it.

![icons ux design for heathcare app](../../static/images/icons_mockup_healthcare.png)

*<center>The design is a fictional design made exclusively for blog post purposes.</center>*

The icons that you can see are well-known and characterized by an immediate clear meaning. Even without knowing the app, **we instantly understand the sentiment of the message that the icon is supposed to give us**. 

For sure, a very important part of these messages is coloring. 🙂

## Color coding in product design

In UX design color, like iconography, has a special role. 

<div className="important-info"><div>Color coding is simply a way to display information using different colors and shades. Color coding is ubiquitous and takes a huge part in our daily communication.</div></div>

As it is common in the digital world it originated from the past. 😉 It has been used in industries like electricity or hydraulics. 

If you ever renovated your apartment, you probably know that the plumbers' rule says that pipes with hot water are marked with a red color and pipes with cold water with a blue one. 

In the case of electricity, in almost every electrical drawing you will find a ground marked in yellow and green colors. These are examples of color-code good practices from other industries. 

To be fair, color coding could be found much easier, simply by walking in the street… 😉

![traffic lights](../../static/images/blog_post_coloring.png)

## UX design for offline mode

Apps accessible offline are called [offline-first apps](/blog/ux-design-healthcare-medical-apps-case-study/). **Offline mode is often an essential feature in healthcare apps** and usually a huge challenge itself. When it comes to life-death situations you cannot rely on the internet connection. Following our case study example, the hospital staff has to have access to the app 24h a day even if there is an issue with the Wi-Fi connection. That’s not all though. The offline mode has to be followed by the right design. 

### UX design for the offline mode has to emphasize:

* That the app is working at the moment in the offline mode. 

Seems obvious but when you have to tap that somebody has taken meds, better to be ensured that your data needs to be synchronized.

* What kind of data was provided in offline mode.
* If data were synchronized after restoring the internet connection.

Clear communication about statuses is [the first of Jakob Nielsen’s ten heuristics](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/visibility-system-status/). 

**This is the mockup example including the top bar showing that the app is in offline mode:**

![Design for offline mode](../../static/images/offline_mode_design.png)

*<center>The mockup is a fictional design made exclusively for blog post purposes.</center>*

## Can a beautiful design be ugly?

UX design in [healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/) is all about managing the data. So users are able to... manage data as well. Sometimes these apps cannot be full of beautiful designs because this is simply not what users expect. Yet still, eHealth apps do their job and support medical staff actions. And these are the product design’s true colors. Good design exists only if it works. Isn’t that pure beauty indeed?

- - -

Special thanks to [Alisa](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisa-kashytska-a38417b1/) for her inspiration and contribution.

## Tech Challenges to Face When You Build a Startup Product

*Published: 2022-08-09 | Author: dawid-cz | Tags: business, startup, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/tech-challenges-to-face-when-you-build-a-startup-product/index.md*

**Are you a startup owner looking for a software agency? Check out what challenges you and your tech team will likely face during the development. Get a unique insight into the developer’s mind. 😉 And if you are a programmer thinking about working on a startup app, you will also find this article useful.**

*Dawid, Dominik, and Sławek are software developers working on startup projects. They decided to share challenges they have faced while working for startup clients at Bright Inventions.*

![Startup development team](../../static/images/startup_developers.png "")

## Changes, changes, and changes

**Sławek, Fullstack Developer at Bright Inventions:**

“The Only Constant in Life Is Change.” – this quote by Heraclitus perfectly sums up working for a startup. Basically **every day we should expect some kind of change**. Starting from a slight shift in the requirements of the task we are working on to crossing out the feature which seemed a must-have a few days ago. On top of that, we experience pivots that might result in a total focus change to a completely different part of the app.

While working on a startup project **you have to blaze a trail**. There are no grand rules to follow. Especially when you build innovation. You have to find your way to discover suitable solutions. It requires lots of dedication, time, and money to test different approaches. Naturally, some roads will turn out to be dead ends. 

## Proactivity and constant look for the best solutions

**Sławek:**

While building a startup product you cannot hide behind your code. You are a part of the equation which determines the project’s success. **As a developer, you have to be proactive**. Proactivity in software development is based on analytical thinking and assertiveness. Why these two exactly? Analytical thinking helps you predict problems and look for better solutions. And sometimes they are opposite to what business wants. Here comes assertiveness. 

![Sławek's quote](../../static/images/slawek_quote.png "")

You are not supposed to do only what the business expects. You should offer your insight and **show them solutions that might be more beneficial for the business**. You need to know how to communicate your proposal to show its value. **Saying “no” is easy, explaining “why not” is the real challenge**. If you are proactive like that, then the startup work will suit you.

## Finding a balance between high-quality code and the rate of releasing new features

**Dominik, Frontend Developer at Bright Inventions:**

Working on new features at a startup often means two things: 

1. You have to **work fast**. So new functionalities can be released as soon as possible, increasing the “value” users will get from an app. 
2. Some of those features might be just a **temporary solution** or might not catch on. 

That’s the risk of doing new, innovative things. As a developer, **you have to find a balance between trying to write the best quality code you can and delivering the feature on time**. If the code quality is poor and the feature “stays on” - then you either have to refactor everything or, even worse, build new stuff on top of it. On the other hand, **you don’t want to overthink and overdo tasks that have a high probability of being removed from an app after a month or so**.

![Dominik's quote](../../static/images/dominik_quote.png "")

When working for a startup there’s always pressure from product owners to do things quickly - “We will fix it to be done the right way next sprint”, they will say. **It’s the developer's job to decide when it’s ok to let go and when to insist on quality over meeting deadlines**.

## Touching on many different technologies

**Sławek:**

Working on new features for startups is usually related to a very tight deadline. Therefore **developers tend to go for ready solutions** because there is no time to write their own or simply because they don’t want to reinvent the wheel.

We shouldn’t make a habit of that though. In the end, it forces the team to maintain lots of unnecessary or inadequate dependencies. Day by day they expand on our system and are becoming more and more difficult to get rid of. **All of these external solutions increase the potential number of bugs**. Also, they make it more difficult to conduct an efficient onboarding for new developers who need time to understand all dependencies.

On the other hand, it gives developers the opportunity to learn and discover new libraries, frameworks, tools, and more. I suppose that the only way to **find the right balance is a clear guidebook** with rules on adding new dependencies and choosing the right stack for the project.

## Maintaining users’ trust

**Dawid, Fullstack Developer at Bright Inventions:**

Gaining and maintaining users' trust… This one isn't really a piece of cake. As we all know, trust is one of the most valuable assets we can gain from another human being. That's why we have to make sure that everything is top-notch. There is barely room for mistakes here.

![Dawid's quote](../../static/images/dawid_quote.png "")

**Constantly improving, acting on feedback, learning from mistakes** (let's be real here, everyone commits some), adjusting to the evolving market, and user's needs… These are just a few of the many major tasks that we have to deal with on a daily basis. Yet how can we actually gain that user’s trust?

Well, **let's start off with the right tools**. **We need to constantly monitor our app to provide little to no downtime at all**. Also, it would be **great if our product could run on any device**. So we can reach a wider audience, and thus build a stronger position in the market. 

Taking care of creating bonds with the users, and making them feel safe, and secure will also work to our advantage. Then naturally **a couple of positive reviews will show up** which will help to continue building the product's credibility.

Here are some of the major tech challenges we have faced while working on startup products.

## Cost of Layered Architecture

*Published: 2022-08-02 | Author: damian | Tags: kotlin, jvm, benchmark, layered architecture, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cost-of-layered-architecture/index.md*

**Layered architecture is probably one of the most popular choices in the Object Oriented Systems, and for a good reason.
When done right it provides great separation of concerns making each layer replaceable without a need to transform everything around it. 
But layers require a lot of additional models, in this post, we take a look at how additional models and constant mappings impact performance of our app.**

## Glance at the Benchmark app

Most common use cases of layer architecture define 4 layers: UI, Application, Domain and Persistance. To keep better separation, each layer
is supposed to have its own data model, that will be used only inside this layer. This means that we are creating a lot of versions of very similar classes
just to satisfy the needs of the layer.

This post is all about benchmarking an example JVM app. We take a look at speed and memory usage with and without using layers.
You can find the source code [here](https://gitlab.com/garstecki/layers), feel free to run it and see what is outcome on your machine.

Our benchmark tool it's a Kotlin app with just a single dependency on `com.neovisionaries:nv-i18n` (We are going to use it for the
`CountryCode`). The premiss is pretty simple. We will be creating `User` with some basic properties. User will be stored inside an in-memory repository. 
After that, we will try to retrieve the data and return it to the caller.

```kotlin
internal data class User(
    val id: UUID,
    val name: String,
    val lastName: String,
    val birth: Date,
    val email: String,
    val address: Address
)

internal data class Address(
    val street: String,
    val postCode: String,
    val city: String,
    val country: CountryCode
)
```

The same flow will be executed in two different ways:

1. with using all the layers: UI, Application, Domain and Persistance - [handleThroughoutAllLayers()](https://gitlab.com/garstecki/layers/blob/35bd07466f00792d7cbea314b28e1837389b0049/src/main/kotlin/ui/UserController.kt#L11-15)
2. with skipping most of the layers - [handleSkippingLayers()](https://gitlab.com/garstecki/layers/blob/35bd07466f00792d7cbea314b28e1837389b0049/src/main/kotlin/ui/UserController.kt#L19-23)

While using all layers we need to map our model 6 times: `UserRequest → UserDto → User → UserDao → User → UserDto → UserResponse`

Skipping layers simplifies flow a lot: `UserRequest → UserDao → UserResponse`. We are mapping objects only 2 times, that 4 fewer mappings to different models.

With that out of the way, we can take a look at the actual benchmark numbers.

<div style={{color: "#946c00", backgroundColor: "#fffaeb", borderRadius: "0.375em", position: "relative", padding: "1.25rem 2.5rem 1.25rem 1.5rem"}}>All the tests were made on MacBook Pro with Intel I7-9750H and 16GB of RAM. Benchmark app was running on OpenJDK 18.0.2. Numbers are an average from 10 consecutive runs.</div>

## Let's take a look at the numbers!


*No. of elements* - means number of objects that will be dragged on through the whole flow. In the web app, this is comparable to the number of requests. 

From the graph, we see that time is growing with the number of requests in a linear way. On average execution with all layers is **40-50% slower**.


Looking at memory usage the differences are even clearer. While using layers app consumes about **80-90% more memory**.

To no one surprise, additional layers provide overhead for the app and consume more memory. But this is not the end of the story.
We are missing one important factor, JIT! JVM can improve our performance in the runtime.
We just need to give it a little bit of time to figure out possible optimisations. Let's see how the performance will change if we do give
JVM some time to warm-up. 

For the warm-up tests, I will execute the same query N times before start measuring the execution time. 

```kotlin
for (i in 0..30) { // warm-up
    userRequests.forEach { controller.handleThroughoutAllLayers(it) }
}

val start = System.currentTimeMillis()

userRequests.forEach { controller.handleThroughoutAllLayers(it) }

val end = System.currentTimeMillis()

println("All layers execution of $batch - ${end - start}ms")
```


By increasing the number of warm-up runs we are decreasing the difference between both approaches. It means that JIT slowly finds a way to
reduce time spend on mapping objects and after ~20 runs both methods seem to even out to a similar outcome.


A quick look at memory usage. But looks like JIT does not help here, and the discrepancy between both methods stays on the same level.

## Conclusion

Performance discrepancies are normalised and after a couple of runs are getting close to 0. The bigger memory footprint remains the main difference 
factor. It's possible that tinkering with GC settings or using different GC could yield better results.

You may ask yourself how big of a problem it is? There are two downsides (performance-wise) to layered architecture:

### Slower "boot time"

Since JIT need a couple of runs to catch up the speed. This might be a problem when your app is on the cloud and 
you are constantly shuffling instances. Then you might not be getting the full benefit from JIT. But if that happens to you, there is probably a much bigger problem
with your app.

### Higher memory footprint

This might be an issue if your RAM is limited. You are running on the server down in the basement. But again this is a sign of some other problems
with your infrastructure. RAM is pretty cheap nowadays and grounding our architecture decisions on the RAM cost on might not be the right trade to make.

## A Quick Introduction to the Event-Driven Architecture

*Published: 2022-08-01 | Author: adam-w | Tags: design, Architecture, development, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/a-quick-introduction-to-the-event-driven-architecture/index.md*

Publishing events can be a really good replacement for direct calls and in many cases, they are a better solution. With the use of events, we can invert the direction of dependency and  express better our intention.\
I think examples explain things more clearly, so without further ado let us jump into it.

- - -

The Customer component stores and processes the customers' data (including customers’ addresses).\
The billing component (responsible for sending people bills) must have an up-to-date customer’s address all the time.

## Direct call

With direct calls our system can be designed like this:

<center>

![direct call](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*2HYzwsw97YIVTH6i-43gHQ.png)

</center>

When an address is changed on the customer's side a request is sent to the billing with a change command. In this case, the customer has a dependency on the billing. It is a very easy approach that every developer should understand.

## Event notification 

By using the event notification pattern we inform all entities which listen for the change.

<center>

![event-notification](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*5oQn9dpZtd2rfQr0CCIarw.png)

</center>

It’s no longer a Customer's responsibility to **explicitly** inform the billing about the change. The direction of dependency is inverted and the Customer doesn't know nor care about the listeners. The design allows us to add more services that need to know about the address change without adding changes to the Customer.

In this pattern, an event carries only a reference to the changed object. After receiving an event, Billing has to request the required data. It is also worth mentioning that our **system notifies about the fact that change happened**. It is **not** commanding other services to change their state.

## The Event-Carried state pattern

The variation of the event notification pattern is the event-carried state pattern.\
In comparison to the event notification pattern, events in the event-carried state pattern contain changed data.

<center>

![event-carried state pattern](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*xHcllOYbVBwr18BNOnuKQg.png)

</center>

The main benefit here is no need for requesting data after receiving an event.\
The question here is: what state should an event carry? 

We can distinguish two types:

* **Delta Events**
* **Fat Events**

  **Delta events** are small focused events and contain only properties that have changed. They should express the clear intent of the event. `AddressChanged` event is a good example of that.\
  **Fat events** as the name suggests include more information. In our case, it could be an event `CustomerChanged`. Such an event would be sent on customer properties change (so also on address change). This approach can reduce the number of sent events, but it’s harder to maintain and change since many listeners depend on a single event. The threat is also an additional state for specific listeners which in the way break the single responsibility principle. \
  **Delta events are easier to maintain and change but they add more complexity on the producer side.**

## What should I pick?

Let’s complicate our example with additional services.\
Besides updating the address in billing we also want to update the address in reporting service and send an email to a user through the email service.

<center>

![summary](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*TjPTzSUkOrJjiHolyrQE0g.png)

</center>

Billing and reporting are notified about an address change through the `events`(either event notification or Event-Carried state). But why do we send a direct call to the email service instead of listening to the event? Assuming that we have one email service in our architecture we rather don’t want our service to depend on the all services that want to send an email.

## Summary

The thing to consider before choosing our strategy is what direction of dependency we prefer and this is a case-by-case decision to make. \
The events ensure very loose coupling between services, but with this strength comes its great weakness. It is easier to lose control of processes in your system. You don’t know who is listening to the events until run-time. It’s harder to understand, debug and modify compared to the standard approach.

So as always there are trade-offs of every approach but having these patterns in our toolbox will help us design better systems.

## Swift Package Manager, build configurations and non compiling iOS projects

*Published: 2022-07-29 | Author: tomasz-l | Tags: iOS, Swift Package Manager, Xcode*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/swift-package-manager-build-configurations-and-non-compiling-ios-projects/index.md*

Swift Package Manager in Xcode is the newest way of managing third party dependencies of Swift projects. It is very neatly integrated and allows for clean and easy dependency management. At least sometimes.

## TL;DR

In this article I am going through struggle of adding SPM to legacy project containing frameworks not compatible with Apple Silicon iOS simulators (arm64). If you are in rush for a solution head straight to [**SPM build configurations** paragraph](/blog/swift-package-manager-build-configurations-and-non-compiling-ios-projects/#spm-build-configurations).

![Adding SPM to Legact Project](../../static/images/blogpost_spm_tomasz.png "")

When working on greenfield projects SPM in most cases is really a breeze to use. In reality however quite frequently we find ourselves working on some kind of legacy projects with all of their quirks.

**\[Disclaimer]:** Described problems and their solutions were tested on Xcode 13.2.1 and 13.4.1. Behavior may change in future Xcode releases. [Here](https://github.com/TLizer/SPM-build-configurations) you can find a repository with an example project.

## The problem

The other day I was trying to add Swift Package Manager to one of the projects I work on as my Team tends to move to SPM from other dependency managers.

Surprisingly I was greeted with a big fat red error preventing the project from compiling: 

```text
Could not find module <package name> for target 'x86_64-apple-ios-simulator';
found: arm64, arm64-apple-ios-simulator
```

![Could not find module \<package name> for target 'x86_64-apple-ios-simulator'; found: arm64, arm64-apple-ios-simulator](../../static/images/could-not-find-module-for-target-error.png "Could not find module for target error")

Whatever library I wanted to add to the project it always ended in the same way: error telling you that module for current architecture is lacking. At that point I left behind the idea of slow migration to SPM. When I stumbled on this issue once again I finally thought that something needs to be done about that.

## Root of all evil

After lots of trials and errors I finally arrived at a solution. But before opening a bottle of champaign let's try to think why that was even happening.

Issue itself originates not from other dependency managers, but rather build settings of the project. You may be familiar with workaround for running projects with legacy frameworks (e.g.  “Fat” .framework not built for arm64 iOS simulator) on Apple silicon machines. 

There are two main options to deal with that:

![Drake xcode meme](../../static/images/drake-xcode-meme.jpg "Drake xcode meme")

* Run Xcode using Rosetta - seems like a good idea and actually works, but it comes with a price. Time of clean build for our project increased from 112 to 165 seconds. That is almost 50% longer and I would suspect other performance penalties during day to day work.
* Exclude arm64 architecture for iOS simulator sdk for your development build configuration. This is quite a straightforward and clever solution to the problem. Excluding arm64 architecture for the simulator forces xcode to build our app for x86_64 architecture on an iOS simulator that is compatible with our legacy framework ([stackoverflow post](https://stackoverflow.com/a/63955114)).

Even though we are explicitly excluding arm64 architecture for iOS simulator we are getting error shown above. What is more it explicitly says that SPM built our dependency just for arm64 architecture. We can conclude that SPM is ignoring our project build settings.

Unfortunately there is no (at least straightforward) way to configure the build configuration of SPM dependencies. But it works in other project with exactly the same limitations. So in my case it seemed obvious that there must be a way of affecting build configuration of SPM dependencies.

## SPM build configurations

If we inspect the documentation we can see that there is `debug` and `release` [BuildConfiguration](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/packagedescription/buildconfiguration) defined. We can also have a look at [source code](https://github.com/apple/swift-package-manager/blob/5d9202f829c6c66bbae20f4750b85fe5011ad280/Sources/PackageDescription/BuildSettings.swift) but there is not much useful information there. So what does debug and release configuration mean and in what circumstances those are applied? 

I believe I have quite valuable and maybe even shocking observations:

Debug build configuration is being applied to Swift Package Manager dependencies if our current build configuration contains “debug” or “development” in its name (case-insensitive).
So if you try to build an app in default Release configuration, rename Debug to something else or create a new configuration (eg. Stage) and it will just work™. This means there is some kind of parsing logic for project build configuration **name** that then translates to different build configurations of SPM dependencies.

I want to highlight that once more: as silly as it sounds **renaming your project build configuration** is the key to success. It cannot contain `Debug` nor `Development` in its name in order to build **SPM dependencies** in `Release` mode.

## Reverse problem

We just arrived at the conclusion that we need release configuration of SPM dependencies for our project in the scenario described above. But in the past I have stumbled on a similar issue, however from the other side. Since we are writing Unit Tests we also wrote such for internal packages that we used for code separation. It turned out that we faced issues while trying to run our unit tests together with other test targets in the main project scheme:

```text
Module <package name> was not compiled for testing
```

![Module \<package name> was not compiled for testing](../../static/images/module-was-not-compiled-for-testing-error.png "Module not compiled for testing error")

As you may already suspect the solution here is totally opposite to what we just did before. In order to make such error go away we must compile our **Swift Package** with **debug configuration** and that means we need to add “debug” to our development configuration name. If at the same time you are dealing with a previous issue then this is not possible. We solved it by creating a separate scheme just for running unit tests of local packages.

## Conclusions

Swift Package Manager is a great way of managing third party dependencies in iOS projects. With new releases of Xcode it is getting more useful and powerful. Unfortunately SPM is still a young addition to Xcode and lacks some functionalities. Also its ephemeral way of implementation brings issues like those I have faced. In this particular case we could benefit from explicit documentation telling about **build configuration name parsing logic** applied to our **Swift Packages**. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation I hope this article will help you in sorting it out :)

## You didn’t call me, Charlie?

*Published: 2022-07-27 | Author: patryk sz | Tags: recruitment, developer, development, linkedin*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/you-didnt-call-me-charlie/index.md*

All of us have something that makes us feel “safe”. I’m not talking about important stuff such as a home, family, good health, and wealth. I’m talking about something that creates your comfort zone. For me — these are TV shows. I love watching them, I hate getting to know new ones. I have a few favorite ones, which I can watch again and again, and again.

![Two and a Half Men](../../static/images/charlie-harper-czyli-charlie-sheen.jpeg "Charlie from \"Two and a Half Men\"")

One of them is “Two and a Half Men” — did you watch it?

So, for sake of this post, we need to introduce the actors, and the main actor here is IT guy — Charlie, and every recruiter guy/lady is one of the multiple partners Charlie knew

> You didn’t call me Charlie

Yeah, why you didn’t call them, Charlie? The answer is: because there are a lot of “options” (yeah folks, I’m going to play with the metaphors around) and there is always something Charlie wouldn’t accept.

*Before you read the rest, take a look at my Spotify podcast show (in Polish), where I’m talking things about IT alone and with the guests:*

<iframe style={{borderRadius: "12px"}} src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/1xrG8BF4Niv5uIzHvIn79q?utm_source=generator&theme=0" width="100%" height="232" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>

So, why won’t Charlie (developer, tester, designer, you name it) answer your emails/messages/calls? Here you have a few sins you commit:

## Templates, algorithms

Did I mention I love TV shows? Another one I’m a big fan of is Big Bang Theory — but I’m not sure which character I want to be the most ¯\_(ツ)\_/¯

Anyway, do you remember the episode when Sheldon was trying to create an algorithm that will help him to make new friends?

<center>

![Sheldon isolated the algorithm for making friends](../../static/images/c7ecddcd-e526-4d45-ad3d-bbc8d8ee7061_text.gif "Sheldon isolated the algorithm for making friends / Big Bang Theory")

</center>

Yeah, most of the messages I’m getting all over the LinkedIn/email, look like they would be generated by one system/website. It’s nothing wrong with work optimization, but, come on.. You can filter the first names at least :). What I’m talking about? If my first name is John, but I’m getting the emails like “hello $John” (because I’m sneaky and I changed my name on LinkedIn), I know for sure, that you’ve sent the bulk mail.

## Show me the money

Let’s face it, we are working for money. Of course, there is equally important stuff as a friendly environment, interesting projects, workflow, technologies, etc, but in the end, we are earning money because, eventually, we spend the money.
But about the job offers — if the salary is equally important as the rest of the perks and benefits, what is the purpose of hiding the information about it? In most cases, developer will ask you about the salary range. It just keeps the communication longer and more complicated. I realize that you want to acquire contact with the developers, but it’s not the most efficient and elegant way.

## Who’s your daddy?

Whaaaat, on the edge, bro. But it’s a quote! For real, just check the Zombie’s song. I love this one! Cruising in the sun, window tilted and “Time of the season”.

<iframe style={{borderRadius: "12px"}} src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5AJrhrwz4oSZX2PwwV4qrN?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="80" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>

Alright, for real, who you are working for, who is your client, who will be my employer? Why you don’t want to give me this info beforehand? I’m a very active developer, I’m talking to people, I’m taking part in the recruitment processes — well, to be in touch with the required tech stack, at least!

So, not only in the case of the local environment — town, city, county, but we can say — in global scope too! — there is a possibility that I was talking to company A before you messaged me. It would be highly inappropriate to be connected to the HR department I was talking to a month earlier.

## Know your network

This one is serious — pay attention to getting to know your network. A lot of developers work for multiple companies, multiple companies work for a variety of clients — agencies, factories, but the corporation also! The software house \<\> corporation is a very specific relation. Corporations are big and have a lot of departments usually, and they have their own IT departments very often!

The problem begins with the agreements between the companies. If you are a recruiter for Corporation and you want to involve developer from Software House (or agency, or any other kind of the company), just make sure, that there is no relation between your client (Corporation) and the company “your” developer is working in. In most cases, the guy will tell you that, most probably, you should not write to him. But there is another chance — he will notify his manager, the manager will speak to the director and at the very end, you will have an unpleasant email, at least.

## Hello Mr white, it's at&t calling

Do you know what’s wrong with the calls? They are unexpected. 

<center>

![Walter white phonecall](../../static/images/walter-white.gif "Walter white phonecall / Breaking Bad")

</center>

Nothing is more pathetic than a guy ducking under the desk just to ask for your phone later, politely. If someone is working on HO, there is no problem — he/she will answer your call, and maybe you will talk a little about the new, interesting position. The problem is whenever you call during the rush hours, your developer is working from the office this day but he IS INTERESTED in your offer. He doesn’t want to lose you, so he is trying his best to keep you for a while on the phone while running outside or hedging with his words just to not let others know that he is talking about the change

If you have the phone number, you have the email for sure. Many recruiters send the calendar and ask to schedule a call with it. Let’s do this the other way around too! Schedule a call with your developer BEFORE you will call.

## Memes, memes everywhere

I will answer this one with a meme:

<center>

![How do you do, fellow kids?](../../static/images/how-do-you-do-fellow-kids-steve-buscemi.gif "How do you do, fellow kids? / 30 rock")

</center>

Just. Don’t. Do. It
We are talking about the important change, work, and stuff. Spare your memes for your messenger friends (or blogposts ;) )


And here we go, now you know why your developer won’t answer you. If you feel like “oh man, you are overreacting”, you are doing the things I described. Will you stop? I don’t know. Did I tell you that it’s annoying? Yes


Live long and prosper

## Understanding Covariants, Contravariants, and Invariants on JVM Generics Example. Part 1 - Java

*Published: 2022-07-14 | Author: michal k | Tags: development, jvm, java, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/understanding-covariants-contravariants-invariants-on-jvm-generics-example-java-part-1/index.md*

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*TdFqWJeP3LYOc-n6j6IGTQ.jpeg)

Thinking about generic types in programming languages, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, we as devs love to simplify business problems to code instructions and try to find similarities to avoid duplication. On the other hand, we would like to keep the code simple and understandable by everyone in the team, especially thinking about newcomers to quickly onboard them and get them up to speed to bring value to the customer.

Generics are one of those things that can be really powerful and allow to build of reusable code which can be used broadly across the whole project or even exported to a dedicated repo and become a library. Imagine a situation when there is no option to use well-known generic collections like `List<T>` or `Map<K,V>` and for each type we want to store in such a container, we need to build it on our own from scratch.

However, working on entirely generic code can drive someone crazy. It also might require a lot of focus and it’s definitely not the code one could read just like a novel.

<blockquote><h2>Working on entirely generic code</h2><div>With great power comes great responsibility.</div><footer>Someone, somewhere</footer></blockquote>

When working with types we might hear words like “covariant”, “contravariant” or “invariant”. At the very beginning, it sounds really mathematical and looks like taken directly from the university. That’s why we will leave aside the formal definition and go straight to examples.

- - -

## Covariance

Let’s consider two classes written in Java

```kotlin
class Animal {
}

class Dog extends Animal {
}
```

And the list of Animals with instances of both dog and animal added

```kotlin
List<Animal> animals = new ArrayList<>();
animals.add(new Dog());
animals.add(new Animal());
```

We’re able to add both Animal type and Dog subtype to our list of Animals. However, we’re not able to declare a list of animals and assign a list of dogs to it.

```kotlin
List<Dog> dogs = new ArrayList<>();
List<Animal> animals = dogs; // compilation error
```

Also, we are not able to pass a list of dogs to a function that takes `List<Animal>` as an argument.

```kotlin
public void processAnimals(List<Animal> animals) {
}
List<Dog> dogs = new ArrayList<>();
processAnimals(dogs); // compilation error
```

By definition, we can call a certain generic type `K<T>` **covariant** if two conditions are satisfied:

1.  `A` is a subtype of `B`
2.  `K<A>` is a subtype of `K<B>`

Looking back at our dogs and animals we can say that 1) is true but 2) is false. This might mean that `List` in Java is not **covariant**.

- - -

Fortunately, there is a way to achieve covariant with Java lists. We can use a `? extends T` wildcard which means that it will accept any subtype of `T`.

```kotlin
List<Dog> dogs = new ArrayList<>();
List<? extends Animal> animals = dogs;
```

The same goes for generic functions with a type that extends the subtype.

```kotlin
public void processAnimals(List<? extends Animal> animals) {

}

List<Dog> dogs = new ArrayList<>();
processAnimals(dogs);
```

Both snippets are completely correct from a compilation perspective. 

## Contravariance

What if we would like to pass supertype of `T` to some collection or method? Let’s go back to our Animals and Dogs example.

```kotlin
List<Animal> animals = new ArrayList<>();
List<Dog> dogs = animals; // compilation error
```

The following code won’t compile, as we cannot pass `animals` a list of less specific types `dogs` which are more specific. The same goes for method arguments:

```kotlin
public void processDogs(List<Dog> dogs) {

}
List<Animal> animals = new ArrayList<>();
processDogs(animals); // compilation error
```

This is exactly what we would call **contravariance** which according to definition needs to satisfy two conditions (for generic type `K<T>`):

1. `A` is a subtype of `B` (the same as in covariance)
2. `K<B>` is a subtype of `K<A>` (opposite to covariance)

- - -

Similarly to **covariance,** Java is giving us its hand by providing a wildcard to achieve **contravariance:** `? super T`. It is called *[Lower Bounded Wildcard](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/generics/lowerBounded.html)*. This way we can achieve the generic type that would accept the supertype of `T`.

```kotlin
List<Animal> animals = new ArrayList<>();
List<? super Dog> dogs = animals;
```

The same goes for method:

```kotlin
public void processDogs(List<? super Dog> dogs) {

}
List<Animal> animals = new ArrayList<>();
processDogs(animals);
```

## Invariance

The third situation which might happen is the case in which for our generic type `K<T>` there is no subtyping relation either way. Again, by definition, there are two conditions that need to be satisfied:

1. `A` is a subtype of `B` (the same as in covariance and contravariance)
2. `K<A>` is **not** a subtype of `K<B>` and `K<B>` is **not** a subtype of `K<A>`

That’s exactly what happens when we won’t do any of the wildcards listed. Going back to the example from the very beginning:

```kotlin
List<Dog> dogs = new ArrayList<>();
List<Animal> animals = dogs; // compilation error
```

We will get a compilation error which means that the first part of condition 2) will be satisfied. Let’s try the other one:

```kotlin
List<Animal> animals = new ArrayList<>(); 
List<Dog> dogs = animals; // compilation error
```

Voila, also a compilation error! This means that the following generic type is **invariant**.

## Summary

Covariance, Contravariance, and Invariance might sound scary at first glance, however, they can be easily explained by looking at generics in Java. It is worth mentioning that the presented behavior is related to *type erasure* in Java Generics which in short means that our types only live in compilation time and are wiped out in runtime. This design decision has many other (sometimes unwanted) consequences which deserve a dedicated article.

In the next part, we will look at how Java’s younger, modern brother Kotlin is dealing with those three aspects on the JVM Platform.

<center>

![Generics meme](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/0*qh9qngkFtlsL1N4W.jpg)

</center>

## Child Bounties on Polkadot & Kusama Explained

*Published: 2022-07-13 | Author: lukasz-k | Tags: BrightTreasury, blockchain, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/child-bounties-on-polkadot-kusama-documentation/index.md*

**Child bounties are a new funding mechanism treasury module on Polkadot and Kusama blockchain networks. Thanks to it you can divide a bounty into smaller chunks – child bounties. We’ve just released child bounties on BrightTreasury app and would like to share with you child bounty docs for Kusama and Polkadot.**

## Child bounties on Polkadot & Kusama – how they work and use case example

Every bounty is assigned to a curator chosen by a council. When a curator assesses that a bounty is too complex to be managed by one person, they can divide a bounty into smaller chunks called child bounties.

**Let us look at an example of a child bounty use case**. Let’s say that the community approves the bounty to create a video ad promoting treasury modules on Polkadot. This is now “the parent bounty”. However, the assigned curator might divide the parent bounty into child bounties and assign a different curator to every particular job that needs to be done to deliver the final video ad. Therefore the parent bounty could be divided into smaller tasks such as: writing a script, filming, editing, and then creating subtitles or voiceover. All these tasks could require a different expert-curator to oversee them.

## Child Bounty Properties

Here are all property names for child bounties for Kusama and Polkadot:

**index**: index of the child bounty

**parentBountyId**: index of the parent bounty

**blockchainDescription**: description of the child bounty storage in blockchain

**value**: total value of the child bounty paid when the bounty is completed

**curatorDeposit**: The amount of $KSM or $DOT deposited by a child bounty curator

**curatorFee**: A payment for the child bounty curator

**unlockAt**: Number of block, when the child bounty can be claimed it has block number, otherwise is undefined

**status**: Status of the child bounty. There can be the following statuses: 

* added: child bounty is made. Waiting to be assigned by a curator,
* curatorProposed: Parent bounty curator proposed a child bounty curator. Child bounty curator can accept or reject this role,
* active: Child bounty curator accepts role. Waiting for an award,
* pendingPayout: Child bounty is awarded. Waiting when it can be claimed.

**owner**: Owner of the child bounty (Curator of the parent bounty)

**curator**: Curator of the child bounty

**beneficiary**: Beneficiary of the child bounty (The person who will be rewarded for completing the task included in the child bounty)

## Actions on child bounties

Here are actions you can take with child bounties:

`Add_child_bounty`: create child bounty from parent bounty (parent bounty curator)

`Propose_curator`: Assign an account as a child bounty curator (can be done: parent bounty curator)

`Accept_curator`: accept the account as a curator (child bounty curator), setting a curator deposit

`Award_child_bounty`: close and award child bounty curator, when work is done

`Claim_child_bounty`: claim specific child bounty amount from the payout address

`Unassign_curator`: unassign a previously approved curator from child bounty

`Close_child_bounty`: cancel the child bounty, the amount for them and close  thechild bounty

## Child Bounty life cycle stages

![Polkadot & Kusama child bounty life cycle](../../static/images/blog_post_childbounties_life_cycle.png)

Let’s dive into all child bounty life cycle stages:

### **1. Adding a child bounty**

The first action in the child bounty life cycle is creating/adding a child bounty.

 Adding a child bounty:

* Can be done by: a parent bounty curator.
* Parent bounty must be in an “Active” state.
* To succeed parent bounty must have enough funds to pay the total value of the child bounty, if not, this action fails.
* After succeeding, the status of the child bounty is updated to “Added”.

### **2. Proposing a curator**

When you add a child bounty and your child bounty status is moved to „Added”, you can propose curator to this child bounty. You can propose your account or choose another one.

How to propose a curator for the child bounty:

* Can be done by: a parent bounty curator.
* Parent bounty must be in an “Active” state.
* Child bounty must be in the “Added” state.
* After succeeding, the status of the child bounty changes to “Curator Proposed”.

### 3. Accepting the curator role

How to nominate and accept the curator role for the child bounty:

* Can be done by: the curator of the child bounty.
* A deposit is reserved from the curator. Will be refunded after payout or cancellation.
* The child bounty curator’s fee is deducted from the parent bounty curator’s fee.
* Parent bounty must be in an “Active” state.
* Child bounty must be in Curator Proposed state.
* After succeeding, the acceptance of the child bounty curator role status changes to “Active”.

Now the curator is responsible for completing the work related to this child bounty.

### 4. Unassigning child bounty curator

When the child bounty curator does not meet expectations regarding this role, the community can unassign this curator. It is possible when the status of child bounty is „Curator proposed” or „Active”.

How to unassign a child bounty curator:

* Can be done by: a parent bounty curator, child bounty curator, or any signed web3 user.
* When the parent bounty curator wants to do this action, the state of the parent bounty must be “Active”.
* In other cases, there is no need to check the parent bounty state.
* When this action is called by a Web3 user or parent bounty curator, the child bounty curator deposit is slashed.
* When this action is called by the child bounty curator, the deposit can be slashed but by default deposit of the child bounty curator is unreserved.
* After succeeding, the child bounty status changes to “Added”.

### 5. Awarding for child bounty

When the job is done the parent bounty curator or child bounty curator can transfer the award for the child bounty.

Awarding for child bounty:

* Can be done by: a parent bounty curator, or a child bounty curator.
* Parent bounty must be in an “Active” state.
* Child bounty must be in an “Active” state.
* After succeeding, the status of the child bounty changes to “Pending Payout”.
* After a delay beneficiary will be able to claim the funds.

### 6. Claiming the payout

When child bounty is in the awarded phase and after payout delay, any web3 account can claim payout. Then all funds will be paid to the appropriate people.

Claiming the payout:

* Can be done by: any web3 account.
* No need to check the parent bounty state.
* Child bounty must be in the “Pending Payout” state.
* After payout delay, the payout can be claimed from awarded child bounty.
* Bounty value is paid to a beneficiary.
* Curator’s fee is transferred to a curator.
* The curator deposit is unreserved.
* After succeeding, the child bounty instance is removed from the state.

### 7. Or canceling child bounty

Parent bounty curator can cancel child bounty when a child bounty is not properly done or in case of changes in the requirements of the child bounty.

Cancellation of child bounty:

* Can be done by: a parent bounty curator.
* Child bounty must be in the “Curator Proposed” or “Active” state.
* After succeeding, child bounty account funds are transferred to the parent bounty account.
* If it is possible child bounty curator deposit may be unreserved.
* Curator deposit is unreserved when child bounty status is “Active”.
* The call fails and throws a “Pending Payout” error when the child bounty status is “PendingPayout”.
* After successful cancellation child bounty instance is removed from the state.

## He wants to know it all. Meet Szymek – a Tech Lead, Android and Web Developer

*Published: 2022-06-30 | Author: szymek | Tags: bright story, android, kotlin, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/szymek-tech-lead-android-web-developer/index.md*

**Android, iOS, web – Szymek tried it all and still wants to learn more. One day he was a team member and on another a leader of that team. Was it a difficult transition? Why Android development is so satisfying to him? What is the best way to convince a Java dev to switch to Kotlin? Find answers to all these questions. This is the story of Szymek – a Tech Lead of the Android Team at Bright Inventions.**

![Szymek - Android Tech Lead Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstoryszymon_collage.png)

## You are an Android & Web Developer. How did that happen?

When I started my career I didn’t know which technology to choose. I just wanted to join the software development industry so I accepted the first job offer I got. As it happened, that was a fullstack position. Thus I had the opportunity to learn technologies such as **Java, Spring, Angular, and Kotlin**.

I call myself a software agency person. I only worked in agencies where you often switch from one project to another or work for a couple of clients at once. This gave me many opportunities to learn various languages, libraries, etc. 

I guess **I always wanted to explore as many aspects of programming as I possibly could**. Knowing a lot of technologies gives me comprehensive knowledge about end-to-end implementation capabilities. I can choose between solutions more easily as I know a lot of options available for other platforms like web, backend, etc.

Apart from Java and Kotlin, I also programmed in Swift for a couple of months to have that experience. I also tried PHP but this was a one-sided friendship which I didn't reciprocate.

## So I guess you studied Informatics?

Actually, I didn’t. 🙂 I studied Control Engineering at the Gdańsk University of Technology. I went to college exclusively to figure out what I wanted to do in life. As it turned out it wasn't Control Engineering after all. 😉

## What was one of the first commercial projects you worked on?

There is one project I particularly remember because it involved AI which was definitely something unique for me – a junior developer at that time. It was an **application for therapists which offered patients’ face mimics and emotion recognition during online sessions**. 

It was a great challenge to work on an AI project as a junior. Although there were libraries that helped us to develop it and the real challenge was something different. Our software had to be developed in a way it wouldn’t disturb the internet connection between a therapist and a patient. Let’s not forget that every end-user has different devices, various quality internet connections, etc. So we had to create software that would enable everyone to use our app. That was more challenging than building the face emotions recognition itself.

## Eventually, you joined Bright Inventions. How did your and Bright paths cross?

Łukasz, who works at Bright, is my friend from college. He recommended me this place. After graduation, he went straight to Bright and I had a job somewhere else. Łukasz was talking all the time about how great it was at Bright so I eventually applied in 2018.

![Bright Inventions team](../../static/images/brightstory_team.png)

**When I first came to the office for an interview I instantly felt this warm, cozy atmosphere**. I knew it was something I desired. I got that job and started my work here by programming with React. Then I joined the Android team, but in the meantime, I tried Swift and Node.js. At this moment **Android gives me the best satisfaction**.

## Why do you feel that way about Android development?

Because the effects of my work are tangible. **I can grab my Android device and quickly check the results of the lines of code I have just written**. And it is pretty useful on daily basis, not only at work. There were often situations when I couldn’t find a suitable app so I just wrote something for myself. For example, in college, I built my own flashcard app to improve my learning method. 

Not only Android is satisfying like that. **I feel the same about the front end** (mobile and web as well). Simply because you can check out the UI changes you have made. You can simply click through them. The backend doesn’t work like that, it is not that easy to experience the results of your actions. 

## Now you are a tech lead of the Android team. What did your road from dev to lead look like?

Since the beginning of my career, I had a chance to learn many different technologies. Remember, I started as a fullstack, and learned Android, Swift, and even PHP on the way. I still didn’t feel like that was it for me. **Even though Android gives me the most satisfaction I constantly look for other options**.

So I couldn't say ‘no’ when the opportunity to become a tech lead came up. Before that, we had worked as a team without a tech lead but then the structure changed and we needed a tech leader. I figured I wanted to grow and find new things to learn so **becoming a tech lead could give me a new perspective on programming from the management side**.

![Bright Inventions team retreats](../../static/images/brightstory_team_szymek.png)

## One day you were a team member, another a tech lead. Was it challenging to establish yourself in the new role?

It wasn’t as problematic as you might think. My whole transition from a developer to a tech leader was a rather smooth one. It wasn't a drastic change made over a night. **During the first 2-3 months my responsibilities were just starting to clarify**. Meanwhile, the whole dynamics in the team were developing. In my view, **everyone was adjusting slowly and with no pressure**. That was the perfect way to do it. 

## What are your daily duties and responsibilities as a tech lead?

I start my workday by responding to every Slack message, Jira comment, and email. 😉 As soon as I get through all of that I can focus on managing current challenges in the project and taking care of the team productivity. 

I spend some time coding and overlooking new features being released. Yet apart from delivering new features, **my priority is to prevent bad decisions** that could reduce the quality of the product. I am **accountable for keeping a high quality of the app**. I am also **responsible for reducing technical debt and keeping the stack up-to-date**.  

An important part of my job is to **establish the right duties for every developer within the team**. So they feel responsible for specific areas. **As a tech lead, I really need to know my team members well enough to get which areas of [mobile development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development) are their things, and which tasks will be of value to them and to the whole project**. I mean all of us in the team have to develop our Android skills holistically. Yet in the end, everyone has some areas that are simply closer to their heart. Some enjoy UI test automation, another would rather focus on databases. So my job as a tech lead is to work out with every developer the best possible tasks for them. And if some task could be a challenge we might go for pair programming so two people could together work out some issues. 

![Szymek's quote on being a tech lead](../../static/images/szymek_story_quote_tech_lead.png)

## How does your team respond to that?

I work in **a very mature team where everyone understands their responsibilities and is simply passionate about their job**. I have to always stay up-to-date with the technologies but I also know that other team members also track every news, update, new library, etc. [Android development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development) is just a passion of ours. 

We also have regular meetings at Bright for all Android devs where we do not talk about our projects but simply gather online to discuss new trends, and share experiences from recent tests of new libraries, features, etc. **Every team member can propose improvements that would reduce technical debt and improve our project**. 

## Is there anything more you have to take care of?

Moreover, as a tech lead, **I have to create an environment for devs that guarantees time and space to do their job.** 🙂 Usually, a programmer needs to focus on one task at a time to finish it effectively. They shouldn’t be distracted by messages, instant requests, and other random stuff. 

I make sure that their workflow isn’t disturbed a lot. Business representatives know that in order to make the work smooth for everyone they should contact me and then I can work out any issue with developers in a way I don’t interfere with their other duties. Micromanagement is not our style. We are responsible human beings. Therefore **we trust each other and don’t interfere with anyone’s way of work**. 

![Szymek's story](../../static/images/brightstoryszymek.jpg)

## How many people are on your Android team?

At the moment I have **10 people on my team**. We create an international group of people. Most of the developers are from Poland, but we also have devs from Israel and The Republic of South Africa.

## You are a Kotlin enthusiast. What is the quickest way to convince Java developers to switch to Kotlin?

The easiest way to convince a Java dev to use Kotlin is to o**ffer to buy them a beer on the condition that they spend an hour to code in Kotlin**. They will quickly realize what pain was it to code in Java over these years. And will come back to me with gratitude and probably a beer bought for me. 🙂

On a more serious note, a great way is to show examples of differences between Java and Kotlin. Let me show you **the code needed to create a “Pigeon” class in both languages**:

**Java**

```java
public class Pigeon {
    String name;
    String color;

    public Pigeon(String name, String color) {
        this.name = name;
        this.color = color;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public String getColor() {
        return color;
    }

    public void setColor(String color) {
        this.color = color;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals(Object o) {
        if (this == o) return true;
        if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
        Pigeon pigeon = (Pigeon) o;
        return Objects.equals(name, pigeon.name) && Objects.equals(color, pigeon.color);
    }

    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
        return Objects.hash(name, color);
    }
    
    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "Pigeon{" +
                "name='" + name + '\'' +
                ", color='" + color + '\'' +
                '}';
    }
}
```

**Kotlin**

```kotlin
data class Pigeon(
    val name: String, 
    val color: String
)
```

Can you see a difference? 😉

## Your team works on the JET POS project. What product do you build?

We develop an **Android [custom Point of Sale](/our-areas/pos-software-development/) system for the well-known Just Eat Takeaway.com brand**. Our software is used by restaurant staff who interact with customers. We help cashiers, bartenders, waiters, and chefs every day with managing every aspect of the restaurant order: from taking it and securing the payment, through preparation to the delivery. Thanks to our software everything is automated so the cashier doesn’t have to worry about any aspect of the transaction, the system guides them through the whole process. 

Our system is based on an **Android application that is connected to devices such as tablets, payment terminals, and receipt printers. Our app has been used across Europe** by restaurants in Great Britain, and the Netherlands. Working on JET POS is really rewarding and fulfilling.

## Why? What is the best about working on this project?

The crucial fact is that you have an **influence on the technology you use**. If you want to code using new tech which will benefit the product, we will enable you to do it. If we want to change some stack we use, we just do it. You can improve yourself using well-known technology and learn something new at the same time during your work hours. 

Another pron of this project is that **we get to do UI tests**. We use various frameworks and libraries which enable us to do tests. It is a perfect project for QA Engineers as well as Android devs who are into UI tests. 

**Direct communication with the client** is also an important part of this work. And in my opinion – really a huge advantage. You have a chance to know new cultures because the client’s team is spread all around the world. You connect with people from various countries. Naturally, it speeds up soft skills development and improves English communication abilities.

Last but not least, **you develop something that is used by real users**. We have users across Europe. **Our product is stable and crafted in a high-quality way**. Our client has ambitious plans and we are happy to deliver tools to help them reach their business goals.

## We are recruiting other Android devs to the Bright team. Who is a perfect candidate?

From my perspective as a tech lead, it is very important for mid and senior developers to have holistic experience in Android development. I don’t expect people to know everything. Naturally, every developer is more into different aspects of programming. Even seniors don’t know every possible library and don’t have knowledge of how to resolve every issue. Especially in the case of Android development where the technology grows fast and we have to keep up with so many different devices being introduced on the market. So no one knows everything. 

However, **Android dev should try to know as much it is possible from every side of mobile development**. It’s not only writing UI. Working with backend solutions or processing data is crucial as well. **You don’t have to know everything**. **Yet you should master the basics and possess the knowledge and experience that enables you to look for solutions** more easily and helps you see multiple options. No matter if it is related to frontend, backend, and others.

## What are your tips for Android devs who want to join Bright? How to prepare for the interview?

It is crucial to **be up to date**. Kotlin and other Android tools are developing really quickly. You need to absorb updates, news, etc. So I guess it cannot be only a job for you, it should be something that really excites you. If you see a new update or a new library, check it out, and have some fun with it. Show that this is more than work. I guess it should be a passion.

During an interview, I can sometimes see that some programmers write code but don’t understand what this code really does. They can write what is expected because they are able to find it in some tutorials. I believe you should do more than copy and paste. You should dive into, and explore it to understand how it works. **Our job is to understand code, not only write it**. 

![Szymek's quote](../../static/images/szymek_story_quote.png)

I have met developers with even a decade of experience on paper and all this time they were using the same libraries, and they were writing the same scripts all over again. Despite being in the industry for so many years, they didn’t know how their code worked. They just wrote it. And they didn’t have this hunger to evolve and grow along with the technologies. **Spending time on learning is gonna save you more time in the future**.

## So years of practice don’t really matter after all?

Yes, as it turns out, years of experience aren’t crucial. **More important is the commitment to self-development and product tech growth**. And that is what we want to know about candidates when we talk to them during interviews. **We want to know if they go way beyond the code they write**. We want to make sure that they understand what it means.

I want to reassure you that **our interviews aren’t exams**. It is a conversation. As a Junior, I had a chance to experience these types of interviews where someone told me to write a pseudocode for a doubly linked list in front of everyone. That was a stressful experience. It might be considered basic knowledge, but frankly, this wasn't mandatory for work. It shows something about you indeed, but in my opinion, it does not reflect your developer capabilities. I'd rather hear how you'd encounter daily challenges than see how many complex algorithms you already know. **You don't need to know everything as long as you're eager to learn and digest new things at a reasonable time**. 😉

![Szymek's quote](../../static/images/szymek_story_quote_android_development3.png)

**I treat interviews like a conversation**. I ask about candidates’ experience and ways of handling some issues. Also, I want to know how they would approach some subjects according to the knowledge and tools they know and use. You don’t need to have the answers to everything but it’s nice if you can show us what would you do to get those answers.

## I know that apart from work, sports are a huge part of your life. What are your favorite activities?

I love to play badminton, basketball, and tennis. I also enjoy running and going to the gym. I used to train minigolf a lot. I was even Polish champion twice. However, now I deal with an injury and all I can do is count the days before I go back to these workouts. 

![Szymek's passions](../../static/images/brightstory_hobby.png)

Apart from sports I really love traveling, especially by hitchhiking. I hope that in post-pandemic times we will get opportunities for traveling this way again. I traveled over 15k kilometers across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Italy. Hope to experience this again.

## How Do Treasury Tips Work on Kusama and Polkadot

*Published: 2022-06-29 | Author: izabela | Tags: BrightTreasury, blockchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-do-treasury-tips-work-on-kusama-and-polkadot/index.md*

**Have you found someone in the Web3 community whose actions are worth rewarding? You can suggest a tip that will go to this person. Check how to do it in a simple way. No coding background is needed.**

![Treasury Tip Mechanism](../../static/images/blog_post_cover-tips.png)

## What are Treasury tips?

The tip is a reward paid in crypto to somebody who deserves to be rewarded for their activity, a well-done job, or other contributions related to Kusama or Polkadot. 

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/5sc1rWlOZ7Qtcim5V5" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/LineOfDuty-5sc1rWlOZ7Qtcim5V5">via GIPHY</a></p>

Tips are the Treasury mechanism, along with proposals and bounties. Tips are a reward paid in $DOT or $KSM. You can propose a tip or directly tip somebody. The second option, at the moment, is reserved for Council members only.

## Where can you create a tip suggestion?

The easiest way to suggest a tip is on the BrightTreasury page. This is the place where you can create tips without any blockchain technical background. The app was exclusively built to make the Treasury mechanism easy. The app is 100% funded by Kusama and Polkadot nets. The Tip module on BrightTreasury is integrated with Polkassembly. Therefore every tip made via BrightTreasury will be immediately displayed on Polkassembly. 

## How do treasury tips work?

* Tips can be suggested by anyone who has a Web3 address.
* Tips have to be suggested for a particular job which has been done. You cannot suggest a reward for something which is only planned or in progress.
* When you suggest a tip beneficiary, you have to put in a deposit. The bond depends on the reason message length which is stored in the chain. There is also a [fixed bond constant](https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-treasury#tipping) defined on-chain (currently 1). The deposit will not be restored if your tip suggestion will be withdrawn.
* Tips are supported and verified by the tipping group. Right now there are only council members there but there is a plan to include other community members.
* The value of the tip is established based on the median of all tips issued in the particular tipping period.
* When you suggest a tip beneficiary, you will receive a 20% percent of the tipping amount if the tip is approved. 
* When the council tips somebody, the fee is not included in that process.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50o-DYGY6kc' />

## How to create a tip on BrightTreasury

Ready to become a tipper? Here is a step-by-step guide on how to tip somebody via BrightTreasury:

1. Sign up to BrightTreasury.

You can sign up using your email or Web3 account. You can go with your email, but eventually, you will need to provide a Web3 account to publish a tip. [If you don’t have a Web3 account, check out how to create it](/blog/entering-the-web-3-world-with-the-brighttreasury-app).

2. Choose the right network (Polkadot or Kusama).

![BrightTreasury mockup](../../static/images/change_net.png)

3. Click on the Tips section on the menu, then click the “Create tip” button.
4. Fill out the form. Let's go through it right now:

![Create tip BrightTreasury](../../static/images/create_tip_form_blank.png)

* There are two options: “I want to propose” and “I want to tip”. The latter is enabled for a tipper’s account holders. At this moment only Council members have that account. So if you are not a part of the Council, click on “I want to propose”.

![Tipping two options](../../static/images/tip_options.png)

* Now you can provide the title of your Tip suggestion. For example: “Reward for a series of YouTube videos about developing in Substrate”.
* Then you enter the beneficiary Web3 address.
* Now you can provide a reason – it should be concise because it is going to be stored in the chain.
* The deposit will be calculated automatically based on the number of bytes of the provided reason.

![Create a treasury tip](../../static/images/create_tip-1.png)

5. When the form is ready, click “create” and the app will take care of the transaction. Naturally, you have to have some funds in your Web3 account to cover the bond. 
6. When the transaction is done, your tip will immediately show on the Tips section on BrightTreasury. Congrats!

\---

If you want to know more about tipping, read the [Polkadot guide](https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-treasury#tipping). 
Check out other pages to learn about Treasury [bounty](/blog/how-to-create-bounties-and-contribute-to-polkadot-kusama) and [proposal](https://treasury.bright.dev/learn-more?utm_source=brightinventions_blog&utm_medium=link_article&utm_campaign=tip&utm_id=content_marketing) mechanisms.

## From a Maritime Officer to a Blockchain Programmer. Meet Rafał – a Fullstack Developer

*Published: 2022-06-08 | Author: rafal h | Tags: bright story, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/from-maritime-officer-to-blockchain-programmer-meet-rafal-fullstack-developer/index.md*

**Rafał was a maritime officer who decided to settle on a software development land. He learned how to code aboard the ship, having very limited access to the internet. Can you imagine doing that without Stack Overflow? He can! 😉 Check out his road from a navigator to a full-stack developer who specializes in Ethereum blockchain.**

![Rafał - Fullstack Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstoryrafal.png)

## You were an experienced maritime navigator before you became a software developer. How do you remember those times?

Yes, **I had been a ship navigator for 4 years**. Actually, I wanted to be an airplane pilot but my vision defect disqualified me from pursuing that career. So I started to think about a maritime navigator career. I met their vision requirements. Both jobs are quite similar. Of course, the main difference between piloting an aircraft to a ship is the speed and the fact that you operate in three-dimensional space as a pilot. Everything happens 10 times faster in the plane. However, in terms of navigation, understanding weather conditions, and route planning I could see similarities. Plus, I always enjoyed sailing and had a sailing license so I figured this could be a great career for me. 

So I moved from Częstochowa to Nothern Poland to study at Gdynia Maritime University. When I graduated and became a navigator everything was so new and exciting at first. After a couple of years, I felt that even though I became an officer I did not see any exciting challenges ahead. Everything became so monotonous and homogeneous. There was nothing new for me to learn there. 

![Maritime Shipping](../../static/images/brightstory_maritime.png)

Also, I felt that I missed so much being at the sea. During these long contracts, you don't have time for your family, you don't have time to actually live your life. People often think that this line of work gives you lots of opportunities to sightseeing. Yet in reality, I barely step on the land. On most of my contracts, I never left the ship. 

Another aspect is that the world was moving so fast in terms of the new technologies and I felt I was left behind. When I was a student not many people had smartphones with internet access. Then **I started to work on the ships when the whole smartphone revolution started and I felt like I was missing so much**. That was painful because I was very keen on new technologies, loved to operate machines on deck, and felt good at that.  

## That is when you started to work on your move to software development?

Yes. As I said I was always into new technologies. Math, Physics, and Informatics were subjects that I really liked in high school. I learned some C++ then as well. I also passed the Polish Matura exam in Informatics. So I thought that programming could be another chapter for me. 

Many of my high school friends actually were programmers so I contacted one of them and asked him to help me with my career change. He recommended me some books that I brought on board with me for (what turned out to be) my last maritime job ever. Believe it or not but we did not have an access to the internet onboard. We had one computer with an internet connection that could be used by everyone so you could spend on it max 30 minutes a day. So **I read lots of books and wrote some code in my free time and sent it to my colleague via email** for a review. That was how I learned to code. I focused on Java back then.

After that last 3 months-job, I came home and never pursued a maritime career again. In total it took me 5-6 months of learning to get my first software development job. I was going to the interviews. One of them was at Bright inventions but I didn’t get a job here then. 😉 I was hired somewhere else. The project I worked on was quite interesting from a business perspective because I worked on a solution for a smart card company. However, in terms of technologies and software processes, there were not many opportunities to grow as a developer. 

Fortunately, 2 months after my interview at Bright, they called me and asked me if I wanted to join them. I said yes.

## You must have sunk deep into the recruiters' memory. Why do you think they called you?

**I think they could see how determined I was** to start my software development career. It was a total change for me, a pivot that I truly accepted with all its advantages and disadvantages. I had a successful career that I decided to cross out. Nevertheless, I was ready for everything to get my first software development job.

I must say that the technical interview at Bright was challenging. Yet, I wasn’t discouraged. I felt that I wanted to work with these people because they were experts who could teach me a lot.

**That was over 5 years ago and my Bright adventure continues**. For me, the crucial thing about working at Bright Inventions is that this is a company with a human touch. Everyone is open and friendly to each other. And your boss is not some evil guy you don’t like as it often is a case in other workplaces.

## What did 4 years in the maritime industry give you? Are there any knowledge and skills you incorporated into your next profession?

Firstly, **I learned responsibility for my actions**. When you are on a shift and are responsible for the whole crew, you quickly understand the gravity of the word responsibility. I was the first officer and most people who have that position are around 25-30 years old. So at a young age, you quickly learn that your actions influence the life and safety of others.

Secondly, **I learned analytical thinking and making decisions under stressful conditions**. Thanks to my maritime career I also knew English very well because it was the lead language used at that job. 

![Rafał's navigation career before software development](../../static/images/brightstory_rafal_navigator_fullstack3.png)

Also, this profession gave me an incredible chance to meet and cooperate with people from different countries. **I learned how communication depends on people's customs, backgrounds, and nationalities**. Existing in such a global and diverse community was really special.

I believe that it was one of the reasons why Bright eventually wanted me on board. We work mostly with international clients so having this experience in international communication must have been an advantage of mine.

## What is the solution you work on?

I work on a project for one of the top humanitarian organizations. We have been working with them for over 5 years. I must say that it is a really rewarding project. We have been developing **a blockchain solution that helps a humanitarian organization provide refugees with life-saving resources**. 

For me, **the most important aspect of programming is to deliver value**. While working on this project I know I achieved my goal. **A “side effect” of my daily work is helping people**. It is incredible to feel that you really have the power to help somebody, to change something. **I create code that is truly used, it is not something that will never see the daylight**. 

![Rafał's quote on delivering value as software developer](../../static/images/brightstory_rafal_quote.png)

Also, due to the fact that I have been on this project for over 5 years, I can look at it from this great perspective. Not only have I seen how this project evolved, I actually have been a part of this development. 

Another great aspect of my work is **direct communication with the client**. I even went on a business trip to Bangladesh to see with my own eyes how my solution assists a humanitarian agency’s employees and volunteers during their humanitarian missions. 

## What stack do you use at work?

I am a fullstack developer. Yet nowadays I am mostly focused on the backend. I work with modern frontend and backend Typescript solutions (React, Node.js). While working on [blockchain solutions](/our-areas/blockchain) I use Solidity and Ethereum. In terms of cloud services, I use AWS.

## You are one of Bright Inventions’ blockchain experts. How is it to be a blockchain developer?

I specialize in Ethereum. When I came to Bright in 2017 blockchain was still in an early phase. Only bitcoin was known back then. There weren't many materials on how to work with blockchain. Right now you can see a total change. Especially when I look at Substrate and see the guides and materials that actually enable you to create your Substrate chain within an hour. It is much easier now to join the blockchain development community.

**I’m glad that I get to work with Ethereum. It is definitely one of the most mature blockchains**. The volume of transactions in Ethereum is bigger compared to Bitcoin and even Visa. That’s huge!

![Ethereum transaction volume](../../static/images/ethereum_transaction_volume.png)

*Source: [https://stark.mirror.xyz/](https://stark.mirror.xyz/q3OnsK7mvfGtTQ72nfoxLyEV5lfYOqUfJIoKBx7BG1I)*

Ethereum has a great community built around it and lots of use cases. I am happy that I can build a private chain for our client with Ethereum. The project I work on proves that **blockchain is much more than cryptocurrency**. I do not invest in crypto. I believe that blockchain gives more than that. And we should focus on utilizing it in other ways. 

![Rafał's wuote on blockchain](../../static/images/brightstory_rafal_quote_2.png)

## What is the most important thing you learned at Bright?

Definitely **problem-solving**. I learned how to turn clients’ requirements and challenges into a solution that will be of help.

## You prefer to work remotely. What do you like the most about working from home?

**Even before the pandemic, I was into remote working**. It is easier for me to focus when I am at home than in the office. I don’t have children so I guess it is easier to find that focus at home. My wife works at the hospital. So when the pandemic started she practically lived there. We adopted a cat so I could have a coworker who would remind me to do some breaks for cuddling. 😉 Sometimes I visit the office to socialize because it is nice to see in reality some friendly faces. 😉

## What do you do after work?

I mostly play board games with my wife and friends. I enjoy orienteering, kayaking, and simply strolling. I live in Gdańsk which has lots of beautiful places to discover. Also, close to the city, there are Kaszuby or Żuławy – areas where you can spend your free time close to nature. 

Also, I am this guy who still bakes his own bread since the beginning of the pandemic. 🙂

**Rafał was a guest on brightdevtalks podcast and told us even more about his story. The talk was held in Polish.** 

**[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5HNCIicEFctAX2LIMiLkdP?si=34754be66b1c4fbf)**

<iframe style={{borderRadius: "12px"}} src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/5HNCIicEFctAX2LIMiLkdP?utm_source=generator&theme=0" width="100%" height="232" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>

**[Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/jaki-kolor-ma-woda-wed%C5%82ug-google/id1625829267?i=1000565743841&l=pl)**

<iframe allow="autoplay \*; encrypted-media \*; fullscreen *; clipboard-write" frameborder="0" height="175" style={{width: "100%", maxWidth: "660px", overflow: "hidden", background: "transparent"}} sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/jaki-kolor-ma-woda-wed%C5%82ug-google/id1625829267?i=1000565743841&l=pl"></iframe>

## How Can Non-Technical People Contribute to Kusama and Polkadot Networks? Part 2

*Published: 2022-06-07 | Author: izabela | Tags: web3js, blockchain, BrightTreasury*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-contribute-to-kusama-and-polkadot-part-2/index.md*

**Following [part 1 of our guide on how to support Web3](/blog/how-to-contribute-to-kusama-and-polkadot-part-1) if you are not a software developer, we are coming to you with other ideas. Check them out, find ones that suit you well, and be a part of the Web3 revolution.** 😉

## Make videos for the Kusama and Polkadot communities

According to Google Trends, YouTube users as well as Google searchers also started to be more interested in all Web3 things. 😉 If you are a YouTuber or aspire to be one – you might consider creating content about Web3.

![YouTube Trends](../../static/images/google_trends_youtube.png)

Also, if your video can be of value to the community, you can submit an idea for it on BrightTreasury. If the community appreciates your creative plans, you can turn them into a proposal and get funds to cover your expenses.

## Follow the best sources on Web3

Element, Discord, and Twitter are the best sources for updates from the Polkadot and Kusama networks.

Servers to join on **Discord**:

* [Kusama](https://discord.com/invite/9AWjTf8wSk)
* [Polkadot](https://discord.com/invite/wGUDt2p)

Channels to join on **Element**:

* [Polkadot Daily Digest](https://matrix.to/#/#dailydigest:web3.foundation)
* [Polkadot Direction](https://matrix.to/#/#polkadot-direction:matrix.parity.io)
* [Kusama Direction](https://matrix.to/#/#kusama:matrix.parity.io)

**Twitter** accounts to follow:

* [Polkadot](https://twitter.com/Polkadot)
* [Kusama](https://twitter.com/kusamanetwork)
* [Web3 Foundation](https://twitter.com/Web3foundation)
* [BillLaboon](https://twitter.com/BillLaboon) – Head of Education and Grants at Web3 Foundation

If you are into **newsletters**, here are the ones you could start to follow:

* [Web3 Foundation newsletter](https://web3.foundation/news/)
* [The dotleap newsletter](https://newsletter.dotleap.com) – covers news about Polkadot, Substrate, Kusama, and Web3 Foundation. Everything is in one place.

## Appreciate others with Treasury tips

Have you noticed someone’s great contribution and you believe they should be recognized and rewarded? **You can suggest someone from the community who deserves to receive a tip paid in $KSM or $DOT**. After that, the council decides on the amount of the tip. The easiest way to suggest a tip beneficiary is via BrightTreasury's Tips Module.

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "92%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/MtIF4jJEolvf3OEOsh" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/thedrewbarrymoreshow-MtIF4jJEolvf3OEOsh">via GIPHY</a></p>

## Provide feedback for Kusama and Polkadot applications

When someone contributes to Polkadot and Kusama nets, they often need one thing – feedback. As a potential user, your thoughts on the planned and existing solutions are precious. We encourage you to **leave feedback for community creators whether they have built a plugin or published some educational content**. 

You can even discuss their ideas on BrightTreasury before they turn them into a proposal. Let them know if their idea can be of use or maybe it shouldn't be developed because something similar already exists. Don't be a silent member. Contribute by using your voice!

**We hope that you have got inspired to contribute to the community. See you on the Web3 path!**

## How to Start Writing Automation Tests

*Published: 2022-06-06 | Author: malgorzata-z | Tags: QA*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-start-writing-automation-tests/index.md*

**You are a manual tester and you would like to start writing automation tests but you don’t know how to start. You even learn some programming language but what next? How to start writing automation tests? How to choose the right language and framework? Which test should be your first automated one? Here is my guide on how to switch from manual to automation tester.**

![How to Start Writing Automation Tests](../../static/images/gosia_automation_tests_blog.png "")

## How I started writing UI automation tests

Actually, I wasn’t a manual tester before starting automation tests. I was testing some applications but not in the Software Tester position, so I didn’t know much about test cases, etc. I just bought a book about JavaScript and started learning JavaScript, HTML and CSS from free tutorials like Codecademy or Coursera. I also chose an existing webpage and wrote it from scratch (without JS, just CSS) to practice HTML and CSS. I watched some free videos on YouTube. **I took part in many challenges on platforms like Codewars** to get points and finally, **I wrote some games** like memory or ping-pong to build my GitHub profile. **When I got stuck I just asked my friend, who is a developer, for a hint on how to move on**. 

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/gLiyt8QwcHA5ZvLwaF" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/roosterteeth-rooster-teeth-no-idea-funhaus-gLiyt8QwcHA5ZvLwaF">via GIPHY</a></p>

At some point I didn’t know if I had sufficient knowledge and what to do next. It was exactly this time when I started writing tests using WebdriverIO. **The language or tool to learn doesn’t matter much. The most important thing is just to start writing code**. Shortly after that (3 months later) I got a job in which I was writing automation tests from scratch. It was the best practice for me. I understood quickly what flaky tests are, how many tests I should write, etc. With this experience, it was easier to write tests in other frameworks like Cucumber, Cypress, Playwright, etc.

This was my road to writing tests. I didn’t know how to start, I just knew that I could and I would do it. **Now based on my experience I would like to show you how easy it is to start writing automation tests**, especially when you are a Software Tester. 

## When can you start automation testing?

It is worth **starting with automation testing when your product is stable and has repeatable paths which are easy to reproduce**. This is essential because we want to have stable tests which are failing only when a bug occurs. If your product is often changed then it will be difficult and time-consuming to maintain your automation tests.

## Consider which test cases you want to automate

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/3o7TKTDn976rzVgky4" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/colbertlateshow-stephen-colbert-3o7TKTDn976rzVgky4">via GIPHY</a></p>

I assume that you have good knowledge about the product which you test manually. Certainly, you wrote some test cases and you know which of them you test more than others. Also, **you are aware which test cases are repeatable and are prone to bugs. These are test cases that could be automated**. So at the beginning, you can start writing a test plan for automation tests including them.

## Choose the programming language for test automation

You need to choose in which language you want to write automation tests. I think this decision should be made by the whole team. **Automation tests are part of the application, so maybe it’s worth having it in the same language**. After making a decision you can start learning. There are a lot of free tutorials on the Internet. It is worth being familiar also with HTML and CSS for looking for and writing selectors. 

When I was learning a programming language to start writing automated tests I had a pretty common problem. I did all these free tutorials, I had all the basic knowledge but still didn’t know how to start. I was wondering how much I need to know about programming language to start? I started doing some tasks for points and creating some games for my portfolio, but I still had this one question in my mind: **is that knowledge enough to start**? For me, it was the most difficult time during my learning. **I didn’t know what to do next, I got just stuck and couldn’t move on. It turned out that I didn’t need to have comprehensive knowledge to write my first test, basic skills were really sufficient**. The answer was easy, it was simply the right time! I was ready to stop learning programming language and begin creating tests.

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/dUJxUPSkmZBqE" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/idea-epiphany-dUJxUPSkmZBqE">via GIPHY</a></p>

## Choose the framework for test automation

The next step after learning a programming language is **choosing the framework in which you will be creating UI automation tests**. You should think about what you need. Does your product have 3rd party authentication? Do you need to open a new tab in the browser and do some operations there? 

Why am I asking such questions? **I’ll give you an example.** Some time ago after work, I wanted to learn Cypress. It’s a very widely used and popular framework, so I wanted to know it and I also wanted to write some automation tests for someone's app. It occurs that it’s not easy to write a test for authentication when your product uses 3rd party authentication (login to your app using Google, Microsoft, etc). There were some workarounds but it was time-consuming and having other problems it was easier to choose another framework. 

The second problem is that Cypress doesn’t support switching tabs at all. I needed to switch to another tab and do some actions, but I couldn’t. Cypress is a great option for most of you who are starting, on the Internet, you can find many tutorials, videos, etc. But what I want to say is that not every simple framework offers simple solutions. Sometimes it’s better to choose for a first glance a more difficult framework because in practice it’s easier. In this situation, **I left Cypress and wrote automation tests in Puppeteer**, because it fits my needs. 

To sum up, firstly you have to think if your test cases from the test plan, which you created at the beginning, are easy to implement in the framework which you want to use. How do you know which framework is the best if you don’t have any experience? From my point of view, the best way is to **read the documentation and try some of them**. In the worst case, you will gain extra experience.

## Create your first automation test

When you finish your basic training and choose a framework then you can finally start writing your first test. Each framework has documentation on how to install it and how to write the first test. If it’s not enough for you, **I recommend finding some repository with automation tests in your chosen framework and just cloning it to see how they set up it and written tests**. You can also look for some videos on YouTube. If you want to use JavaScript, I think Playwright is worth considering. They have a great documentation with a [Getting Started section](https://playwright.dev/docs/intro).

![Playwright](../../static/images/playwright.png "")

## Is it worth going on a paid course for Software Tester?

I’ve never bought such training. Why? To my mind, it’s a waste of money. I’m convinced that **you can learn a lot from such training, but I’m more than sure that you can learn the same or even more by yourself**. 

You can find a lot of free trainings, documentations, and blogs. People are sharing their knowledge all the time. But **the most important is that you have to start writing by yourself to know real problems**, to know the language, and framework. You have to just practice. **Another benefit of learning by searching for solutions is that you have to know how to find the answer to your question, and where to look**. This is a very important skill because during writing automation tests you will run into many issues. 

## Do I need ISTQB certification?

It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you that **not at all**. I have it, but I did it after a few years of experience only because I had an opportunity to do it. It can be useful if you are a manual Software Tester, but it’s not needed to have this certification to start writing automation tests.

## And finally… Is test automation hard to comprehend?

It’s really easy to start writing automation tests. You just have to be persistent and not give up when the first problem occurs. **If you struggle, just ask people with more experience. I learned a lot from developers**. Take your test plan, choose language, choose a framework and write your first test. Practice is the best teacher. 

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "100%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/Wsju5zAb5kcOfxJV9i" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/keyboard-admin-prtg-Wsju5zAb5kcOfxJV9i">via GIPHY</a></p>

## Meet Ula – a Bright Culture Creator

*Published: 2022-05-30 | Author: ula | Tags: bright story, recruitment, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/meet-ula-bright-culture-creator/index.md*

**Ula is the first non-developer who joined the Bright team over 5 years ago. Now, she is more than a crucial employee. She is our Bright mom (seriously). 😉 She takes care of the recruitment area, employees' well-being and our brand development. No matter what, you can always talk to Ula. And she will find time for you, despite the fact that she is one of the busiest people in the company. 😉 Meet Ula – HR and Marketing Manager at Bright Inventions.**

![Ula – HR and Marketing Manager at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstoryula.png "")

## You studied English Philology to eventually got into Marketing and HR. What did this journey look like?

It was a really cool journey. I liked my studies a lot. In fact, I liked all of them. I started with translation studies at English Philology here in Gdańsk. I loved English and I had a few really great English teachers in the past who instilled love for this language in me. But when I was choosing my studies I was also thinking about psychology and marketing. The fun fact is that my maths teacher in the secondary school was encouraging me to take up some engineering studies then. And I liked maths a lot. Generally it was not an easy choice. 🙂

Anyway, during studies and after them I was translating texts from many different industries and **I loved this diversity, but at the same time I was into marketing a lot**. 

After my first MA I started an internship at a PR agency and at the same time I also decided to begin my second MA studies – marketing ones. I really like the feeling that I know the ins and outs of the field I work in. I remember I did many great practical projects during my studies. There were interesting subjects like creating brand strategies, company’s missions, preparing business plans, merchandising models etc. Dozens of creative things. I just love the process of creation. After I graduated I started my job at Twitter. At that time I also discovered that what I really needed was one brand and people around it.

## How do you recall working closely with such a big organization as Twitter?

I recall that as a great experience and a good lesson. I think it was a very important part of my professional development. I learned that there are different ways of managing people, micro-management ones and those based on freedom and responsibility that let you grow.

**I was working with dozens of brands from different industries** like Wirtualna Polska, Wedel, ING, Lays, **but also companies like DocPlanner or Booksy which were small startups back then**.  It was a great experience to discover different marketing strategies and work with different business needs. **And for sure the adventure was also visiting California and meeting the team working there including Adam Bein or Jack Dorsey**.

![USA trip](../../static/images/brightstoryula_usa_collage.png "")

And disadvantages? I think that the feeling that you sometimes may put your whole heart into work, but you do not have an influence on the final decision of your clients or the organisation itself. 

## Eventually, you joined Bright Inventions where you manage our HR and Marketing activities. What gives you the most satisfaction at your job?

Yes, I started my employer branding and recruitment adventure at Bright Inventions in 2016 (Read this [blog post to know more about Ula’s beginnings at Bright](/blog/bright-inventions-turns-10-in-march-what-do-we-value/)). The surprising fact may be that **employer branding was not so easily recognisable at that time**. But I knew that for me it was a great opportunity to connect my love for people, psychology and marketing. 

![Ula's quote on employer branding](../../static/images/ula_quote1.png "")

Bright Inventions was a beautiful blank page where I could put my all ideas into actions and use my creativity.There was almost nothing considering HR and marketing procedures when I joined. But there were great people. When I joined there **were eight people on board. And I really appreciate the trust and independence I was given**.

What gives me satisfaction is the feeling that I create something of great value. I **believe in what we create here**. I enjoy developing marketing and HR strategies, improving communication, and building the whole recruitment process. Actually, **I am all about optimisation**. The market is changing, people's needs and expectations are changing. We should adjust all the time. It is a dynamic and constant development.

And I really enjoy the recruitment area. I feel that thanks to my support new people can develop in the organisation or just can find the organisation they have been looking for. **I have a chance to build something more than a workplace, for me it is a community in which you can see the growth of people, their experience and expertise. I love my team here at Bright Inventions. I feel responsible for them**. 

![Ula's quote on Bright Inventions](../../static/images/ula_quote2.png "")

## And how do you adjust to these ongoing changes in the market?

I love learning and I think I am not afraid of experimenting and checking new ideas. **I like the agile way of thinking**. You are working on a solution, implementing it and then checking if it works. If the requirements and expectations change, you are introducing alterations and the whole process continues all the way round. 

I get inspiration from experts who have built really great companies, really great brands and above all great, strong teams. Often you do not have to reinvent the wheel, but what you can do is to link all the dots in your life in an interesting, sometimes unexpected way, and it works. It depends on us how we link these dots. But we can create some incredible stuff if we do not limit ourselves and do not follow common popular paths. 

## What is the most challenging thing about IT recruitment?

Finding a good cultural fit. I think that is the real challenge. There are a lot of talented software developers in the market, but **technical skills are not everything**. To make the relationship work for both sides, **we have to have a similar mindset and see a common goal**. Then both the new hire and the current team are happy. 

![Team Retreats](../../static/images/brightstory_team.png "")

Of course, functional programming knowledge, commercial experience and someone’s expertise are must-haves in particular roles, but at the same time we pay a huge attention to core values and non-technical skills each candidate posseses. We sometimes must reject applicants who have strong technical skills, but there is no cultural fit. We are pretty sure that these people would not cooperate well in our community and they would just not be happy. And **the point should always be to create a long lasting satisfactory relationship for both parties engaged in the process, the employer and the employee**. 

## So, what is the recipe for successful onboarding when you have this new hire already on board?

Communication is the key and is also the key in the onboarding process. When there is a new person in our team, we take care of him/her. And by taking care I mean proper planning, engaging buddies, organising follow-ups and check-ins or giving feedback. **New hires should not stress about what to do next after joining the team and they also should not stress about how they are doing**. A new employee should be provided with all the information, feedback and support they need. The less anxiety and worry in the beginning the better employee's experience we will have in the long-term. **Poor onboarding causes a lot of negative consequences, it does not only lower engagement and productivity, but also leads to high employee’s turnover**. The real and the worst cost of unplanned and defective onboarding is the loss of an employee in the end. 

Read more about [Bright Inventions’s onboarding](/blog/how-to-make-your-onboarding-bright/).

## I get the feeling that you don’t like when people call you a non-technical person. Is that true?

I have nothing against the word “non-technical”. What I don’t like are stereotypes. **The fact that I am not a developer does not mean that I am not interested in [software development](/our-areas/custom-software-development) topics**. And it does not mean that I don’t understand them. 

![Ula – HR and Marketing Manager at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstoryula2.png "")

It all comes to HR stereotypes obviously. I constantly see they still exist. Sometimes during interviews candidates are a bit stunned that I follow the technical part or I ask some technical questions myself. I think it should be no surprise to anyone. I am not a developer, I am saying that openly, **but could I be a good IT recruiter if I didn’t know the aspects of technologies used by developers or I didn’t understand how the whole software development process looked like**? I don’t want to be judgemental, but **I think you just should not recruit specialists from IT if you don’t know their sector and mindset well**. And it is the same about any field you are recruiting in. 

## Does it mean that you could become a programmer someday?

My maths teacher would be proud for sure. 😉 As you know at school I always enjoyed mathematics. **And I always felt like I came from two worlds: scientific and linguistic**. That could be quite a nice combo, don’t you think? Programming and learning TypeScript or any other technology looks to me like learning a new language. Maybe it is my future career. 😀

## What does your typical day at work look like? Is there something like a typical day at work?

Meetings and interviews mostly set the rhythm of my day. But I also have some permanent elements like weekly Monday meetings with my team, 1:1s with the girls from the HR & Marketing squad, quarter retrospectives or planning sessions. I plan  a lot and I try to manage my time wisely, but there are also days when I have to switch context very quickly. Some issues are hard to predict. You need to be flexible. What is crucial to me is also finding time for deep work when I can focus on my individual tasks. So, to some extent my days are typical, but typical in a non-typical way. 🙂

## After hours you teach English teenagers and adults in the local language school. Why? What does it give you?

Satisfaction. It gives me satisfaction that I can share my knowledge with other people and it brings some extra value to their development. I have been working hard to be where I am now and it is a great feeling that I can use my skills in such a way. **I like watching my students making progress**. I think that language classes also give people great space for interesting interactions and discussions. Sometimes they may even be a kind of therapy. Conversations and speaking exercises create favourable conditions for people to talk about their problems or dilemmas. **Being an English teacher is not only about teaching a language, but also about supporting your students in their development and being their friend**.

## You commute by bike every day. How do you motivate yourself to jump on the bike when it is freezing outside? We live in Poland, weather can be tricky here. 😉

**There is no bad weather to ride a bike, only bad clothing or a bad attitude**. 😀 I started riding my bike like every day probably 8 years ago. I remember my first winterride. **I fell down on the ice at least twice**. I could give it up, but instead I decided to improve my riding techniques. It is fun to ride on snow. You have to try it. 🙂

And I love the feeling after the ride. For me it is my healthy routine. It is good for my mood and my body. 

![Ula's cycling passion](../../static/images/ula_cycling_bigger.png "")

## And apart from biking. How do you spend the rest of your spare time?

One may think it would sound sad, even really sad, but I like my job and it happens quite often that after hours I still do things connected with my development. I read psychology, marketing or management books, listen to podcasts or watch some webinars. But I also love nature. I **rest best in the forest, in the mountains or at my parent’s who live in the countryside** in Suwalszczyzna. I love taking pictures. Still as amateur, but it gives me a lot of fun. 

I have also started learning Spanish recently just for myself as I needed something fresh and new. And there are also English classes that I run, so I think I have quite many things to focus on when I am not at Bright. 🙂

## How Can Non-Technical People Contribute to Kusama and Polkadot Networks? Part 1

*Published: 2022-05-25 | Author: izabela | Tags: BrightTreasury, blockchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-contribute-to-kusama-and-polkadot-part-1/index.md*

**Are you excited about the Web3 idea? Check out how you can be a part of it. Contribute to Kusama and Polkadot networks to build the internet of the future. You don’t have to be a blockchain developer. Here are the alternative ways to be a part of Web3.**

![How to be a part of Web3](../../static/images/contribute_to_web3.png)

## Organize an event about Substrate blockchain

Do you own an event agency or work at one of them? You can organize events promoting Substrate blockchain technology. What is more, you can get funds from the Treasury that will cover your event management expenses. How to create a treasury proposal? 

You can use BrightTreasury – a page built exclusively to make a Treasury proposal fast and easy. The development of BrightTrasury is 100% funded by Kusama and Polkadot Treasury. Only at BrightTreasury, you can simply publish your idea for an event before you turn it into a Treasury proposal which will be voted on by the council.

It is a recommended way to start by publishing your idea for an event. In this way, you can show your plans to the community and receive feedback. When comments from the community are positive you can quickly turn your idea into a proposal via BrightTreasury. 

Why is it better to start with the idea? Because when you officially apply for funds by creating a proposal you have to put a deposit in $DOT or $KSM. If your proposal is approved you will get it back. If not, you will lose it. So simply go with the idea first to get reassurance that it has funding potential.

## Translate educational materials or create new ones in your language

Are you a translator? Or a native speaker of less common languages? You can create a treasury proposal to translate official materials about Polkadot or Kusama into your native language. You can create original content in your native language too. 

You can start by creating an idea at BrightTreasury and see if the community appreciates your idea for contribution. If that is the case, you can turn it into a proposal and apply for Treasury funds.

## Don’t stay silent. Suggest improvements and give rewards for a job well done

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/dXjNNfDMiNhluC1aqQ" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/lastmanstandingfox-foxtv-last-man-standing-817-dXjNNfDMiNhluC1aqQ">via GIPHY</a></p>

Thanks to Treasury Bounty Mechanism you can suggest to the council the task that should be done by someone qualified to do it. Then it will be funded by Treasury. What kind of task it could be? Everything which will contribute to the Polkadot and Kusama networks. Remember, this is not about a task that suits only you. 

For example, you can create a bounty to build a plugin for some application that Kusama or Polkadot networks use, suggest a feature that would be helpful, or create a bounty for a video promoting Web3. However, when you create a bounty you need to present your case with arguments about why the bounty will contribute to the community. Then the council will decide if this bounty should be supported and even chooses a curator who is an expert in the field to take care that the bounty is done. Read more about the Treasury Bounty Mechanism.

## Write articles about Web3 to share the idea behind it

Are you a writer? Write and publish articles, blog posts – whatever you can to share Web3 ideas. Undoubtedly these are hot topics and are expected by readers. Simply take a look at the Google Trends chart to see the rise of google searches regarding Web3 in the last 12 months: 

![Google Trends Web3](../../static/images/google_trends.png)

If you don’t own your blog, you can publish articles on various online publishing platforms such as Medium.com, Hackernoon, and ThinkMobiles. Don’t forget that you can post your piece of content simply on Linkedin, Twitter, or Reddit. 

**Hungry for more? No worries, check out the second part of this article with other [ways to contribute to Web3](/blog/how-to-contribute-to-kusama-and-polkadot-part-2) even if you are not a software developer.**

## How to Create Bounties and Contribute to Polkadot & Kusama

*Published: 2022-05-16 | Author: izabela | Tags: BrightTreasury, blockchain, substrate*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-create-bounties-and-contribute-to-polkadot-kusama/index.md*

**Since the bounties were introduced by the Substrate-based community, there was a need to build an intuitive app that would make it easier to manage bounties from creating a reward to completing the bounty. That is one of the reasons why the BrightTreasury app was built. The first stage of development was funded by Web3 Foundation and now the app is 100% supported by Polkadot and Kusama Treasuries. Check out how to easily propose a bounty and contribute to the Kusama and Polkadot networks.**

<div className="important-info"><h2>How do Bounties for Polkadot and Kusama Work</h2><div>A bounty is a reward for completing some kind of task. It might be building a feature or fixing a bug. However, it does not have to be related to programming. It can be a video promoting the Treasury or a translation of a technical guide about Polkadot.js integrations.</div></div>

Simply put – you have an idea for a task that would contribute to the community but you don't have the knowledge or resources to do it so you propose the bounty for this job.

## Bounty in Kusama and Polkadot – unique factors

Bounties in Substrate chains, Kusama and Polkadot, work differently than bounties you could see on different blockchain communities or generally in software development. 

* A bounty is a reward for a job that will contribute to the community.
* When you propose a bounty, the council decides if it is valuable to the community. If yes, then the bounty is approved.
* If you create the bounty, you have to pay the deposit (to avoid spam). If the bounty is approved, you will get it back.
* The council not only approves the bounty but also assigns a curator.
* The curator should be an expert in the field related to a bounty task. He or she takes care of the whole bounty development process and assesses if it is completed.

Check out more info on [Treasury Bounties Mechanism](https://polkadot.network/blog/kusama-and-polkadot-now-reward-curators-helping-to-scale-councils-functions-join-the-force-moving-the-community-forward/) if you want to dive in. 

## How to create a bounty on the BrightTreasury app?

BrightTreasury gives you access to everything related to Kusama and Polkadot bounties. It is a recommended tool for community members who might not be fluent with blockchain terminology and protocols and need an easy way to contribute.

On BrightTreasury you will find everything related to all Kusama and Polkadot bounties. Here you can create a bounty, take part in the discussion about it or approve it as a curator.

BrightTreasury gives you an option to include descriptive info about your bounty proposal to show the council how it will contribute to the community. And you won’t pay for any of that! BrightTeasury provides you with an extra place to describe your idea with zero costs involved. Normally you would pay for every sign stored in the chain so in practice, the bounties tend to be very concise. 😉 On BrightTreasury, you are free to explain your bounty.

![Creating a bounty on BrightTreasury](../../static/images/create_bounty_brighttreasury.png)

Thanks to the integration with Polkassembly your bounty will be shared with the whole community. So all you need to do is to add it on BrightTreasury and our bot will share it with the council and the community.

## Creating the bounty on the BrightTreasury app – step by step

* Go to https://treasury.bright.dev.
* Choose a network: Kusama or Polkadot.
* Sign up. You can choose a classical Web2 sign-up (email and password) option or you can use your [Web3 Account](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/entering-the-web-3-world-with-the-brighttreasury-app).

<center>

![BrightTreasury sign up](../../static/images/brighttreasury_signup2.png)

</center>

* Select bounties on the menu and click “Create bounty”.
* Fill in all important information about the bounty. You can follow Bounty Proposal Template.

![Create bounty on BrightTreasury](../../static/images/create_bounty.png)

Let’s focus on one field that might be unknown to you – Value. It is a budget that should be spent with Treasury on the bounty. You can establish the amount in dollars and then convert it to DOT or KSM with these useful converters: [Kusama convertor](https://kusama.subscan.io/tools/price_converter) and [Polkadot convertor](https://polkadot.subscan.io/tools/price_converter).

* After you feel all in, click submit.

Then you will see very important info. As a bounty creator, you have to put in a deposit. It is to avoid SPAM. If your bounty is approved, you will get the money deposit back. If it is rejected, you will lose the deposit.

<center>

![treasury deposit info](../../static/images/treasury_deposit.png)

</center>

You have to confirm your account. Obviously, your account has to have some funds to cover the payment.

* Submitting transaction

After you approve the transaction, you will see step by step how your transaction is being processed. 

![submitting transaction bounty](../../static/images/submitting_transaction.png)

* When the deposit is secured, it is done. Great job! Now you can find your bounty on the BrightTreasury dashboard and comment on it in the discuss section. You can add a suggestion on who could be a curator or add any additional info that could convince the council about your proposal. Also, you can edit some information about the bounty e.g. title or description. However, you cannot edit the deposit.

You don’t have to log in to see ongoing bounties so everyone has easy access to it. On BrightTreasury, you will find all the bounties created by Kusama or Polkadot community, no matter if they were created on the app or in other possible ways. As you can see all bounties are categorized based on their actual status:

![bounties on BrightTreasury](../../static/images/all_bounties_blog.png)

Now you know how to create your bounty. All you need is an idea for a job that will be of value to the community and a willingness to put in some deposit. BrightTreasury will take care of the rest.

More info about the bounty mechanism 👉  [Wiki Polkadot on creating a bounty](https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-treasury#creating-a-bounty-proposal)

BrightTreasury had been developed by [Bright Inventions](/). The app is 100% supported by Polkadot and Kusama Treasuries.

## Canva vs. Figma – Which Graphic Design Software is Better for a Marketing Specialist

*Published: 2022-05-12 | Author: izabela | Tags: design, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/canva-vs-figma-which-graphic-design-software-is-better-for-marketing-specialist/index.md*

**Every marketer, particularly a social media specialist, should have basic graphic design skills. Canva and Figma are some of the most useful graphic tools for marketers. Which one of them is better? Let’s compare Figma and Canva from a marketing specialist’s point of view.**

## Prons and cons of Canva

### Great tool for beginners

Lots of templates, photos, icons, and other content make it really simple to create various graphics from social media posts, and posters to infographics. Especially if you haven’t discovered your design instincts yet, **using Canva templates should ensure that you follow design trends**. 

![Canva prons and cons](../../static/images/canva_templates.png "Source: Canva.com")

<center> <sub> Source: Canva.com </sub> </center>

### Canva is useful for social media ninjas

Social media templates (with recommended post sizes) are a great help for every social media specialist. Obviously don't take them for granted. These sizes change too often so it is better to double-check them at different sources and even publish your design on a testing account. 😉  Social media admins know the pain when the size should be fine but after publishing the graphic, it doesn’t look as we expected. 😉

### Easy to design basic printouts

Canva can also be helpful if you create some printouts. For example, it is quite easy to design an invitation based on Canva templates and then you can export it as a high-quality pdf file which will be working perfectly with the printer house. Also, you can choose an option with bleeds if your printing house expects it. Probably you won't design a billboard with Canva but a very easy flyer or invitation may be possible. And that’s fine, no one should expect marketers to design billboards. 😉

### You can use Canva for free

Canva offers free templates, photos, icons, and more. However, it is fair to say, that if you want to have top-quality content, you should spend some money on the right templates. The best of them aren't free.

### Open for team collaboration

You can team up with other Canva users from your team and work on the design in a common online folder. Super useful option and essential in these digital times. 

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/wMDizdl57v3zZs2vbQ" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/broken-healing-trauma-wMDizdl57v3zZs2vbQ">via GIPHY</a></p>

Let’s take a moment here to price people who worked on graphic designs before everything was stored in the cloud. Oh, you probably don’t know the pain of endless email exchanges with a designer including receiving the 163849 versions of a graphic design after sending 163848 comments. Now, you can work online on the project simultaneously – simply collaborate, not write stupid emails. ;) So sorry for this dinosaur digression. I just used to spend countless hours emailing graphic designers (marketing trauma).

### Company branding one click away

![Canva prons cons](../../static/images/canva_brand_kit.png "Source: Canva")

<center> <sub> Source: Canva.com </sub> </center>

I enjoy the **Brand kit** feature on Canva. It is not a free option, yet pretty useful during day-to-day work. You can provide all basic brand identity info to get easy access to the company logos, fonts, color codes, etc. No more looking for a high-quality file with a logo. No more double-checking a brand hex code color. Everything is in one place, available for the whole team so no one will use the wrong color or logo by mistake.

## Prons and cons of Figma

### Figma is better for more advanced marketers

Figma has been built mostly for product designers, UX & UI designers, etc. So if you are at the beginning of your design path, **Figma might be scary**. It won’t provide you with templates, default icons, photos, and graphics. So if you don’t feel like working on a design from scratch, Figma is not a tool for you.

### More features with a free plan

This might be totally subjective but for me, you don’t feel limited using a free version of Figma on a small scale. Naturally, there are limitations like the number of pages you can create. Yet, you can easily start with the free Figma version and you will discover the power of the tool and quickly reconsider some upgrade version. 😉

By the way, the pricing plans of Figma and Canva are pretty similar, so there is not so much to compare in this matter.

### Holy layers!

Oh, how I love layers! Thanks to them you can go to another level in your designs. It is almost like using Photoshop, but – let’s be honest – easier. 😀  Layers give you more options to play with your graphic, slogans, and backgrounds.

### Great collaboration options

Like Canva, Figma is easy to co-create projects together within the team. What’s more to say? It is a must-have feature these days.

### Lots of plugins. Lots!

![Figma prons and cons](../../static/images/figma_plugins.png "Source: Figma")

<center> <sub> Source: Figma.com </sub> </center>

The day I discovered Figma pluggings, should become my private/official holiday. I appreciate the whole community that creates lots of useful, and often free, plugins that simply make my daily work even simpler. 

It’s like you need to do something, and you have this voice in your head saying “There must be an app for this!”. I have it with Figma – whenever I need to do something that goes beyond the Figma basic interface I think – “There must be a plugin for that.” And guess what. In most cases there is!

Let’s note that some of my favorite plugins are:

* [Split shape](https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/746565487016656360/Split-Shape), 
* [Autoflow](https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/733902567457592893/Autoflow), 
* [Flags](https://www.figma.com/community/file/1048528064393814860),
* [Vector maps](https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/777954172157933782/Vector-Maps). 

To other plugin junkies out there – please recommend other useful plugins in the comments. I will dive deep into them. So deep.

## Finally, Canva and Figma – what is better for a marketing specialist?

![Canva versus Figma](../../static/images/canva_vs_figma.png "")

Okay, so I don’t have the ultimate solution here. 😀  The way I see that and recommend it for every digital marketing newbie is to **start with Canva where you will easily make some basic graphics**. Then if you want to go to another level, **you will find switching to Figma really convenient, simple, and rewarding**.

However, if graphic design is only a small portion of your daily duties and you want to create simple, basic designs, then stick with Canva and you won’t regret it.

## 7 Qualities of Professional Programmer

*Published: 2022-05-09 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, recruitment, self-development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-clean-coder-seven-qualities-of-a-professional-programmer/index.md*

The first book I read after joining Bright Inventions team was ***The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers* by Robert C. Martin.** It was the book that showed me what kind of developers we would like to hire and why -  engineers who care deeply about the practice of creating software and about their own self-development. True professionals. 

The Uncle Bob's volume is packed with practical pieces of advice from estimating and coding to refactoring and testing. But it is more about attitude to [creating software](/our-areas/custom-software-development) than techniques themselves. Robert C. Martin shows how we can approach our work with clarity, honesty and responsibility in the face of difficult decisions, tight deadlines, conflicts or demanding communication with clients. The author raises a lot of really good points that we sometimes do not put much thought into - **when to say no even to the most persistent manager or when to say yes by committing to a task, how to stand behind your commitment and write the best code possible by not sacrificing any of the best principles, or when and how to ask for help and help others instead of avoiding responsibility.** 

I believe this book covers many important topics every professional (not only software developer) should think of and keep in mind while pursuing their career. **When Paulina nad Agata joined our recruitment team I invited them to read the book and I was curious what they would think about it and which insights they would find valuable.**  I know that probably it was not the book they were expecting to read during first months 😉, but I truly believe it was worth it. 🧡

Paulina and Agata, both paid attention to sever significant qualities mentioned by Uncle Bob - the synergized descriptions of which you can find below. **And let these be the encouragement for you to look the book through.** 

## \#1  Know your own limits and limitations

*Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.* 

Every professional programmer understands that they should always strive for a perfect code. They also know that such a code is simply unattainable because there is always a risk of errors regardless of the experience. Therefore, when they happen - they knows how to apologise for them and make an effort to make them less and less in the future. **Professional programmer will not point out the mistakes of others as they know they can make a mistake at any time.** 

When they needs help - they know how to humbly accept it and feel grateful for it regardless of whether it is offered by a junior or a senior. The professional knows the limits of his assets and creativity - he/she knows when it's time to take a break from mental work to have a positive effect on his future professional productivity. 

![](../../static/images/uncle_bob_post_paulina.png "")

## \#2 Empathy is the key

Professionals try to step into the shoes of their co-workers and clients on different levels - cognitive and emotional. They do it because they put the importance of working hand in hand above the selfish pride and individual achievement. 

Professionals exchange information, support each other and helps the team aim at the same goal. A good example is the relationship between an engineer and QA specialist - **it is unprofessional to send code to QA when you are aware of existing bugs.** **When it happens, you violate the elementary principle of "Do No Harm”.** Professional developers do not treat QA team as bug detectors.

## \#3 Importance of a language of commitment

You can rely on professional programmers - when they say they are going to do something, they actually mean it. There is no space for wishful thinking. **Professionals communicate effectively via the language of commitment: Say. Mean. Do.** They avoid impersonal statements: need/should, hope/wish etc. They avoid promising to try if they cannot keep it. The promise of try gives a message that something will be done, that you have some new plan of action. However, if you fail in your attempt - it will send a message of disappointment - it will be a failure. The insincere promise to "try" is a lie.

Don't be afraid of saying “no”. You know that something is not possible to achieve, you know that you will not be able to finish something within the timeframe? Don’t hide it. Say it. "No, we can't make it. We need more time." instead of "Yes, we'll do what you need." 

## \#4 The discipline and quality

**Practice and habits allow us to create patterns of the most effective work.** Don’t give up important steps as you are chasing the deadline. Be disciplined. If you have previously committed yourself to maintaining certain standards - don't abandon them. 

Professionals also know the importance of meetings, and if they know that they are not necessary, they can resign from them. **The programmers should choose carefully what  kind of appointments they will spend their time at and politely decline these which will not benefit the project**. It is important that you always know the purpose and agenda of the meeting - this will make it much easier to facilitate your attendance. Your time is money, remember. 

![](../../static/images/uncle_bob_post_agata.png "")

## \#5 Treat your profession as a craft

Professionals know very well how much effort it takes to constantly improve. **They know that programming is like a muscle and if untrained it can fade away.** Just as a musician constantly exercises his fingers by playing an instrument, the programmer should undertake various activities to maintain and develop their coding skills.  

"Your career is your responsibility". Your career and your development is solely in your hands. Continuous learning and practice is the key to success; read, go to conferences, practise pair programming. Try to keep up with the latest technological developments and news. Uncle Bob gives a great example of a doctor and lawyer: **"Would you visit a doctor who did not keep current with medical journals? Would you hire a tax lawyer who did not keep current with the tax laws and precedents?”**  It is the same with developers - to be a professional, you need to constantly train, practise, learn something new, consolidate your knowledge, detect more mistakes, and even develop crazy, creative ideas.

## \#6 Be aware of potential risks

The backlog changes, inadequate estimates, undelivered features just before demo. These are just some of the difficult situations developers may encounter in their daily work. How to find your inner peace in this escalating pressure? Avoid pressure in the first place. This is possible by getting aware of potential risks that may affect the quality of your work and possible solutions how to change it. 

**Work is usually unintended slowed down by rushing and panicking. Slow down. Think through the problem.** Plan a solution and consistently move toward it at a reasonable pace.

**Keep your teammates and leader updated about problems.** Ask for help and feedback.

Rely on your own proven coping strategies - people under stress have a narrowed perception of reality and stream of attention. Be kind to yourself. If TDD is a method that helps you - write even more unit tests than usual. If you write small functions - write even smaller ones. If you need a break - go out and take a deep breath.

**Code in pairs** - it's an effective way to stay informed by your teammate about the aspects that you missed because of your low level of focus.


## \#7  Know  your domain

A true craftsman knows the secrets of their craft - the same can be said about a programmer. **As a software developer in a particular industry, it is good to explore the field, do research to know about all potential user pain points, dependency mechanisms, and "behind the scenes" nuances.** Gathering as much knowledge as possible will give you a deeper understanding of your project specification.

![](../../static/images/uncle_bob_post_ula.png "")

*The Clean Coder* is the book about how a professional programmer conducts him or herself. For sure one may disagree with some ideas Uncle Bob expresses, but still there are some unique thoughts worth our attention if we want to rise to a higher level of professionalism in our job. Have a good read!

- - -

Check out also another Bright recruiter's article: [7 Qualities of a Software Developer We Look for in Candidates](/blog/qualities-of-software-developer-we-look-for-in-candidates/)

## Everything You Need to Know about Bluetooth Development Company Based in Poland

*Published: 2022-05-06 | Author: izabela | Tags: business, bluetooth, ios, android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bluetooth-development-company-poland/index.md*

**What can you expect from Polish Bluetooth developers? Why should you consider hiring a Bluetooth Development Company from Poland? Get all the answers.**

![bluetooth development Poland](../../static/images/bluetooth_development_poland_blog.png "")

## Polish programmers are top of the top

It is a fact that Polish devs have proficient programming skills. HackerRank proved that a couple of years ago conducting a global tech challenge. Polish programmers came third.

<center>

![polish bluetooth developers](../../static/images/Best_developers_HackerRank.png "")

</center>

## Polish Bluetooth developers are fluent in English

Polish devs know English and are eager to communicate with international clients around the globe. [EF English Proficiency Index](https://kafkadesk.org/2019/07/15/poland-leads-central-europe-in-english-skills/) presented Poland as the number 1 country in Center Europe in terms of English proficiency.

## Polish Bluetooth developers work on international projects

With great foreign language skills comes the ability to work on international projects. Polish Bluetooth developers often build apps for foreign startups and larger organizations. 

Poland’s location in the center of Europe makes it simple to cooperate with clients from across Europe as well as from other continents. It is worth mentioning that, for example, there is only a 1-hour difference between Poland and Israel. The difference between Poland and New York is 6 hours, which also makes it possible to conduct meetings with devs from Poland and clients from the USA.

## Polish devs use a modern Bluetooth mobile development stack

Polish Bluetooth developers build mobile applications using top technologies. Check out the stack used to build android Bluetooth applications or iOS Bluetooth apps.

### Bluetooth development for Android stack:

* **Kotlin, Coroutines** – the open-source language used for Android native development,
* **Bluetooth Low Energy** – a special technology for Bluetooth development, which uses less device’s resources (e.g.  battery life or memory usage) at the same time while guaranteeing the same quality of transmission,
* **Nearby Connections API** – a networking API that allows exchanging data between nearby devices.

### iOS Bluetooth development stack:

* **Core Bluetooth** – a framework that provides the classes needed to develop Bluetooth applications,
* **iBeacon** – a protocol developed by Apple based on Bluetooth,
* **Bluetooth Classic** – a classic Bluetooth still used in various cases such as connecting headphones with another device,
* **Bluetooth Low Energy** – a modern Bluetooth version, already covered in the article.

## Developers from Poland specialize in building applications for Bluetooth devices

![bluetooth development company Poland](../../static/images/blogpost_www_healthcare2.5.png "")

[Bluetooth development](/our-areas/bluetooth-development) is often used to build solutions for industries such as fitness, healthcare, retail, or fintech. 

Bluetooth companies from Poland, like Bright Inventions, know a great deal about building apps connected to devices with Bluetooth.

What are the examples of the devices Polish Bluetooth developers build apps for?

### Examples of healthcare Bluetooth devices:

* Pulse oximeter,
* Thermometer,
* Spirometer.

If you want to know more, read another blog post on [Bluetooth devices for healthcare](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/).

### Examples of retail Bluetooth devices:

* Payment terminal,
* Electronic scale,
* Barcode scanner.

## Migrate EC2-Classic RDS to a VPC - Step 2 - DNS

*Published: 2022-05-01 | Author: piotr | Tags: database, EC2-Classic, AWS-CDK, AWS, DNS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrate-ec2-classic-rds-to-a-vpc-step-2-dns/index.md*

In [the plan blog post](/blog/migrate-ec2-classic-rds-to-a-vpc-planning/) I sketched a plan to migrate an
EC2-Classic RDS database to a VPC. Now we can perform the 2nd step of the plan.
This is a simple step. Albeit, we have to understand what are the consequences.
In your case, this approach might need adjustments!

![](./dns-generic.png "DNS generic")

## The RDS endpoint DNS

When you create an RDS database instance or RDS database cluster AWS provides you with endpoint 
addresses. The addresses can be used to connect to the database. 
You cannot change the endpoint address of the RDS database. 
It is something generated by AWS that you have no influence over.

As planned we want to update the DNS entry when migrating to VPC based RDS instance.
For this to work, we need a custom DNS entry. One that we can control.

## Private hosted zone

Often, when deploying services inside a VPC it makes sense to use a private DNS hosted zone.
Such an approach allows us to define e.g. `internal` DNS space which we can freely use.
With AWS-CDK defining such hosted zone is simple:

```typescript
class NetworkStack extends Stack {
  readonly privateHostedZone: IPrivateHostedZone
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props?: StackProps) {
    super(scope, id, props);
    
    const vpc = new Vpc(this, 'vpc', {
      ...
    })

    this.privateHostedZone = new PrivateHostedZone(this, 'internal', {
      vpc: vpc,
      zoneName: 'internal',
      comment: 'private DNS space for registering services'
    });
  }
}
```

## Custom DNS record for database endpoint

Now that we have a private hosted zone we can define a custom DNS record for the database.
The record should be used to connect to the database from our service(s). 
This way once we change the record the application will establish connections to a new database running
inside VPC.

```typescript
new CnameRecord(this, 'database cname record', {
  domainName: 'current-classical-database-endpoint',
  zone: this.privateHostedZone,
  recordName: 'database'
})
```

With the above configuration deployed all that is left to do is to update our service configuration.
The database hostname that we set should now look like `database.internal`. Please note that we are 
still connected to the non-VPC, classical RDS instance.

## Important considerations

The approach that we have selected is simple. However, it is not without downsides.
The main issue is that the DNS update will not immediately cause all services to connect to the new database.
In many cases this is fine. 
Moreover, we need to make sure that our database clients do not cache DNS entries for too long.

If you need the connections to be moved to a new database instance in a more controllable fashion it is still possible.
A deployment with an update of the database configuration of services might be enough. 
If such a deployment is not an option we can introduce a network proxy e.g. using a network load balancer, ProxySQL or HAProxy.

## Frontend Developer with Fullstack Mindset. Meet Bartek – a Bright Tech Lead

*Published: 2022-04-29 | Author: bartosz | Tags: frontend, inspiration, bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/frontend-developer-with-fullstack-mindset-meet-bartek-a-bright-tech-lead/index.md*

**Java, SQL, TypeScript, server administration – he has done it all. This is the story of Bartek, a Tech Lead of the frontend team at Bright Inventions. What does it mean to be a tech leader? What are his daily challenges? What did he discover trekking in the Himalayas? Let’s talk to Bartek.**

![Bartek - a Senior Frontend Developr at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstorybartek.png "")

## What were your software development beginnings?

I studied Electronics and Communication at the Gdańsk University of Technology for my Bachelor’s degree. Then I studied Informatics for my Master's. My first IT experience was deeply connected with the fact that I lived in student dorms in Gdańsk. **I joined the [Students' Campus Computer Network](https://pg.edu.pl/en/sccn) (SKOS) that managed the whole internet infrastructure in the residence hall of the Gdańsk University of Technology**.

SKOS took care of every aspect of providing dorms residents with the internet including managing servers, building websites, firewalls, and more. It was a huge initiative. The University was the official administrator of the network but in fact, it was the students' job to take care of it on a daily basis. **At a peak moment, we had over 3000 users while the SKOS team consisted of around 20 people**. So that was a lot of work and a huge responsibility. Losing internet connections in a dorm – who would like that to happen? 😉

After that, I got my first internship at a software development company. **I was working on a system for public administration which enabled exporting PDF printouts**. I was mostly writing in SQL there. 

Then, I joined the Gdańsk University of Technology as a regular employee. **I worked on a platform that was a virtual dean's office**. Thanks to this system students could for example apply for scholarships online. Everything I did there was built in Java. 

![Bartek bright story](../../static/images/senior_frontend_developer_story.png "")

## Network administration, SQL, and Java… One could be surprised that you are a Senior Frontend Developer at Bright.

I get that confusion. 🙂 However, after a couple of years, I left my job at the university and joined a software development company where I worked as a full-stack. During that time I had a chance to work on different projects and develop various skills. 

Firstly, I worked as a fullstack on a solution built for a client from the shipping industry. **I wrote the backend in Java and the frontend in JavaScript**. It was my first encounter with the frontend. 

Then, I worked on frontend for another client representing the maritime transport industry. After that, I worked for a Norwegian client mostly developing the backend. I guess I was flexible and always eager to check out every aspect of [software development](/our-areas/custom-software-development). 

Then I left my job to travel for a couple of months and when I got back I knew **I wanted to specialize only in one side of software development**. Bright Inventions was seeking a frontend developer so I applied. **My girlfriend used to work at Bright and recommended this place to me**. Thanks to her I knew that the atmosphere within the team was more than positive. Another crucial factor for me was that this is a small company. I didn’t want to work in a large organization. And that is why I became a frontend developer at Bright Inventions.

![Sport team at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/bright_inventions_sport.png "")

## And now you are a Tech Lead at Bright. How did that happen?

What can I say? I submitted my application and it was reviewed positively. 😉  **When the opportunity to become a Tech Lead occurred I felt that I could do it**. I had over 5 years of software development experience. I was a frontend developer with the longest practice at Bright and I knew the project. The last part could have been crucial here. **It was a key moment for our client – [Just Eat POS](https://www.justeatpos.co.uk) – which was in the middle of a transition from a startup to a global ePOS services provider**. 

It is funny because when I came to Bright there was only one frontend team which included me and another programmer that worked on this solution. Right now the client has 3 separate frontend teams. So my knowledge about the project and its processes was essential.

## What does your work as a Tech Lead look like?

Being a tech lead involves looking at a project from a greater perspective. I have to be able to coordinate the life of this project. Just Eat POS system is a complex project, so I cannot be in charge of every decision. Thus **I trust developers to make some decisions but at the same time, I am of assistance to them**, if they need me to discuss any problem. 

Also, I spend some time on code reviewing and analyzing how to solve some issues. **I also take part in various team discussions about choosing libraries and tools**. As a tech lead, I code less but at the same time, I cannot become rusty about it. **I need to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies, tools, and updates**. And that requires time.

Apart from that, **I am in touch with the product manager to offer recommendations** when there are some business issues to resolve. Then, we together try to find the best solution with the technology we use. 

This is how my work looks as a Tech Leader, in nutshell. 🙂

## What is the most challenging about a tech lead role?

There are two main challenges I experience on a daily basis. 

First of all, it is **time management**. You have to work hard on organizing your time so you have it for your team. When you are a tech lead, it is not about you anymore. You work closely with your team, a product manager, and other client representatives who expect you to contribute. So I need to manage my time in a way that I can offer my support whenever it is needed. Apart from that, I still need to find time to work on the technical aspects and write some code. 😉  It is not easy to manage it all.

![Bartek's quote on being a Tech Lead](../../static/images/bartek_quote1.png "")

Another challenge is **setting priorities**. Number one is my team. I have to make sure that the team knows their tasks and their priorities. Only then I can move to my other tasks. 

## What does your team do on the Just Eat POS project?

Our job is to **look after frontend of the back-office web application** used by Just Eat POS clients - mostly restaurant managers. What is great about this project, is that **we build our own components and we get to choose the stack and tools we use to deliver features**. We influence everything we build here. **Our client actually expects us to take part in the whole development process**. So we give input, for example, into the design process and suggest some changes if they could improve the user experience. 

Working on Just Eat POS back-office is challenging because the system is about 8 years old. On the other hand, **it gives us a chance to rethink and rewrite it from scratch**. And that is what we do on a daily basis. At the same time, we develop new features and take care of the maintenance of the system.

Moreover, the end-users don’t have to be well versed in technology and computers so our goal is to make the system as easier to use as possible. 

**What I also like about this project is that it is easy to relate to it**. It is a system for restaurants. Even if someone never worked for a restaurant it is not difficult to understand end-users' needs. In the past, I developed, for example, a stack exchange platform and I must say that it wasn't as relatable compared to working on a project for the retail industry.

Just Eat POS is a big retail system with a couple of different teams working on it. That influences our job as well. When we as a frontend team want to, for example, change a single button, it is not as easy as you might think. This change could have an influence on 3 other teams. You have to be deep into this project to be aware of that. We need to sync with every involved team to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to a change of – some would say – a minor button. 

![Bartek's quote on working on retail system](../../static/images/bartek_quote2.png "")

**Just Eat POS is a product on which our end-users rely daily**. They use it for hours at work. That is a great responsibility for us. Every little change will affect someone's daily work. **It is amazing to work on a project that truly influences somebody’s life and helps them do their job better and faster**.

## So how do you make frontend changes on the app that is so crucial for your end-users?

There are a few grand rules about implementing crucial changes in the interface of applications. 

First of all, **you cannot implement any changes for all users at once**. Naturally, I mean applications with a significant number of users. You need to first display changes to a small group and only when there are no bugs, implement it globally. 

The fundamental part of any crucial frontend change is **communication with end-users**. They need to be aware of upcoming changes. They shouldn’t be surprised or confused that their daily used app is now completely different. So **the frontend development team needs to work closely with the support department**.

![Bartek's quote on implementing frontend changes](../../static/images/bartek_quote3.png "")

The bottom line is to **make changes intuitively so they won’t be a problem for your users**. You succeed when your users don't give it too much thought. So make changes that will make their life easier. 🙂

## What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a front-end developer?

I should start by saying that you cannot pursue this career without knowing the basics of **JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and React**. So it is a must. However, **don’t focus only on learning**. Focus on practice as well. **Do your project**. Come up with an app that you would develop using tech you have just learned. **Learn and turn it into practice**. That is the ultimate way.

## You are one of the tech recruiters at Bright Inventions. What is your advice for candidates who are going to attend the interview?

Obviously, I cannot spill the beans about the questions. ;) However, I should emphasize that as a candidate you really shouldn’t be nervous. I know that it is easy to say. Let me tell you one thing. **We don’t treat interviews as exams**. This is not school. We check candidates' experience and practical knowledge. 

**We always present a concrete case study or some scenario and based on that a candidate offers their thoughts on what they would do next to pursue the software development project**. Therefore you should simply focus on your experience. Show how you handled similar situations in the past. That is what we want to know about you. 

Last but not least, never lie. If you have never used some library or don't know some best practice we ask about, just admit it. If you lie, it will quickly backfire. 

## You are a travel enthusiast. You even spent a couple of weeks in Nepal, hiking to the famous 5k Everest base. How do you recall that travel?

![Hiking to the 5k Everest camp](../../static/images/hiking_everest.png "")

It all started with an idea to buy a one-way ticket somewhere far with no return date in mind. That was the dream of my girlfriend and mine. We decided to travel to Asia. Since we love hiking, **we traveled to Nepal**. We wanted to experience how altitude sickness affects our bodies and **see the beauty and harshness of the highest mountain in the world**. 

What was also **incredible and unexpected about that trip, was the isolation we got to experience**. During these 2-3 weeks of trekking in the Himalayas, we had no access to the internet and very limited contact with the western world. Frankly, it made us appreciate what we had at home more. 

Eventually, **we got to the famous Everest Base Camp** at an elevation of over 5k meters. We had a great view of Everest. We were there during late fall. Obviously, weather conditions weren’t easy. However, being in the Himalayas during fall guarantees you a cloudless sky so you can see Everest. It was worth it. Even though during our adventure we had to sleep at various camp bases with no heating, whilst there was minus 20 Celsius degrees temperature outside. Still worth it. 😉

![Everest base camp](../../static/images/hiking_everest2.png "")

After trekking in the Himalayas, we traveled to **Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and then went back to Thailand**. We just wanted to experience daily life in different cultures. We came back home, to Poland, after 3 months at the beginning of February 2020. I guess that was perfect timing, just before COVID-19 changed all of our lives.

## What are your passions apart from traveling?

I love various sports activities, especially running, biking, hiking, and sailing. I used to sail a lot over the Baltic sea. I hope to be back on board soon. ⛵️

## Join our Bright Newsletter and Never Miss a Thing

*Published: 2022-04-27 | Author: izabela | Tags: update, development, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/join-bright-newsletter-software-development/index.md*

Oh yes! It is high time to start a bright newsletter. Once a month we will share our blog posts and info about our free workshops and webinars.

No worries. SPAM shall not pass. 

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "49%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/8abAbOrQ9rvLG" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/the-lord-of-rings-chemistry-organic-8abAbOrQ9rvLG">via GIPHY</a></p>

So have you signed up? Great! We will arrive in your mailbox soon. 😄

## 6 Things You Should Know about Backend Developers from Poland

*Published: 2022-04-14 | Author: izabela | Tags: backend, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/6-things-you-should-know-about-backend-developers-from-poland/index.md*

**What does it mean to work with a backend development company based in Poland? What you should know about Polish backend programmers? Get insight into the world of backend development in Poland.**

![backend development company Poland](../../static/images/backend_development_poland-cover.png "")

## The Polish software development industry is Europe’s one of the top

The Polish software development industry, with almost €9bn in revenue, is [ranked 7th among all European Union countries](https://www.ibisworld.com/poland/industry-statistics/software-development/3595/). It has been in this position since 2017. Despite pandemic turbulences, the Polish software development industry remained strong in the top 10 of the European Union.

## Polish backend developers use modern stack and tools

Polish software developers are well known for their impressive programming knowledge and skills which were established thanks to a [HackerRank study](https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-country-would-win-in-the-programming-olympics/). 

<center>

![backend development Poland](../../static/images/hackerrank_polish_developers.png "")

</center>

### A typical backend developer from Bright Inventions uses technologies such as:

* **Kotlin** – modern programming language, Java’s forerunner,
* **SQL** – a database query language,
* **Node.js** – a JavaScript open-source environment,
* **AWS** – Amazon’s cloud computing platform which offers lots of useful services such as AWS Aurora, AWS ECS, and many more,
* **Spring Boot** – Java-based framework,
* **Redis** – open-source, in-memory, key-value database,
* **Docker** – containerization platform enabling faster delivery of applications.

## Polish devs are experienced in working on international projects

Top backend development companies based in Poland, like Bright Inventions, create solutions mostly for international clients. Polish programmers are eager to work with foreign clients and they are perfectly skilled to do so.

**Polish young people, especially developers, speak fluently in English**, as was proven by [EF English Proficiency Index](https://www.ef.com/assetscdn/WIBIwq6RdJvcD9bc8RMd/cefcom-epi-site/reports/2021/ef-epi-2021-english.pdf). Poland was ranked as a country with high proficiency in English. What is more, many software development agencies organize internal English classes for employees so they can keep developing their foreign language skills.

Also, it is worth mentioning that the Polish school system requires students to study two foreign languages so some developers have great knowledge of other tongues such as German, Spanish, or French.

## Polish backend developers are not afraid to work with cloud infrastructure

![Polish backend developers](../../static/images/cloud-remote-devops.png "")

**Backend Developers and DevOps Engineers work closely according to DevOps methodology**. Backend developers at Bright Inventions are skilled to contribute to infrastructure which makes the development process more efficient. 

Thanks to tools provided by Amazon Web Services the cooperation between devs and DevOps Engineers is smooth and easy. That’s why it is essential for backend developers to learn how to use [cloud computing solutions](/our-areas/cloud-services), especially AWS or Azure. Learning these platforms should be an important part of the self-development of a backend developer.

More info about the [modern DevOps approaches](/blog/road-to-devops-how-tools-like-aws-cdk-help-with-devops-transition/) you will find in the article written by Michał, an experienced DevOps Engineer.

## Polish backend development teams are accessible to clients around the globe

Poland is part of the Central European Time Zone which means that **there is no time difference between Poland and most European countries**. Moreover, [Polish backend development companies](/) are capable to work with clients from different continents. 

For example, the time difference between New York and Warsaw is 6 hours which makes it possible to set up daily meetings with clients and Polish devs. 

## Polish backend devs are experienced and full of passion

![Polish backend developers](../../static/images/blogpost_brightstory_piotr_b3.png "")

Polish programmers are motivated to self-develop and follow best practices at work. As an example, you can dive into the [story of Piotr – a backend developer](/blog/piotr-team-leader-technology-evangelist) who has over 12 years of experience in software development.

## Entering the Web3 World with the BrightTreasury App

*Published: 2022-04-13 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: substrate, Polkadot, Kusama, blockchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/entering-the-web-3-world-with-the-brighttreasury-app/index.md*

**BrightTreasury app helps you get cryptocurrency to develop your ideas and contribute to communities built around Web3 ideas. To receive the funds you don’t have to be a blockchain expert. Yet, at some point in this journey, you should set up your Web3 identity. Find out more about a Web3 account.**

![Polkadot BrightTreasury](../../static/images/blog_web3_account.png)

## What is the BrighTreasury application?

BrightTreasury is a web application that makes it easier to contribute to the community and receive funds for ideas developing Web3. You don't have to be a developer to use this app. The goal is to attract professionals who may not be [substrate blockchain developers](/our-areas/blockchain) but still could contribute in a significant way. These could be, for example, graphic designers, marketing specialists, or filmmakers who could get funds to promote Kusama and Polkadot communities' contributions to Web3.

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKe5HynDQnU' />

The basic flow to get funds via BrightTreasury consists of these steps:

![BrightTreasury's flow](../../static/images/bright_treasury_idea_flow.png)

**Submit an Idea**

Anyone can submit an idea on the BrightTreasury app in a couple of minutes.

**Discuss your idea**

This step is crucial. Wait for the feedback from the community to find out if your idea has a chance to be approved.

**Turn the idea into a proposal**

If you feel that your idea has a chance to receive funds, you can turn it into a proposal. Then, the community can vote on your solution. 

**Get the finals decision about the treasury grant**

If your proposal is approved, you will receive the cryptocurrency (Polkadot $DOT or Kusama $KSM) to make it happen.

## Login options on BrightTreasury

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJHXq6XspD4' />

While developing the app we had to have in mind that it is not only for [substrate blockchain enthusiasts](/blog/5-benefits-of-substrate-blockchain/). We felt that flexibility was the key. Thus, to help you enter this world we enabled two sign-up options:

1. Traditional sign-up and log in by entering a username, email address, and password – a friendly option for non-blockchain experts.

![Login option BrightTreasury](../../static/images/sign-up_email.png)

2. Sign-up and log in through your Web3 address – an option well known by every Web3 enthusiast.

![Web3 sign up BrightTreasury](../../static/images/sign-up_web3.png)

As the first option is quite obvious, let's dive into the latter.

## What is a Web3 address?

First of all, let us quickly tell you **what actually Web3 is**. This is the concept of **the internet of the future which will be decentralized and controlled by a community**, and not by any tech giant.

**Web3 address is a pillar of the whole Web3 idea**. Don’t think of it as a user account because it does not exist anywhere physically. **Web3 address is your identity** hidden in a character string. It is your public address in the blockchain community. Thanks to cryptography you own the key that enables you to confirm this address. Only you. Why does it matter? 

Because **Web3 goal is to take control over your identity**. When you verify your address with the key, you sent a request to a blockchain that is owned by a community, and not by any kind of tech giants.

It comes in opposition to popular Web 2.0 practices like logging in via Facebook or Gmail to various services. That is quite an easy way to log in so it is popular. Yet, how many problems might occur because of that? What if Facebook stops supporting this particular logging option or simply stops operating in your country? Then you have a problem. 

One could say that these are not realistic threads, but do you want to risk your own identity and pass control over it to others? When you have your own Web3 address, then you own it and no one can deny you access to it. 

If you keep reading this article you will find out that logging in with a Web3 account is as simple as logging in via Facebook or Twitter and more.

## Web3 address on BrightTreasury

It is a natural choice for us to support this login option since BrightTreasury is an app whose goal is to participate in Web3.

However, the app is supposed to attract people less familiar with the substrate blockchain community so we do not want to force anyone to set up a Web3 account at the very beginning of their interaction with our app. 

So if you want to submit an idea at BrightTreasury, you can set up a traditional account to do so. When you feel ready, then you turn your idea into a proposal. To do it, you need to switch to a Web3 account which is easily possible on our app. 

At this point, you need to have a Web3 account because it enables you to store crypto. While submitting a proposal you have to put a crypto deposit which will be restored if the proposal will be approved.

![BrightTreasury Web3 Account](../../static/images/bright_treasury_idea_flow_web3account.png)

## How to Set up a Web3 Account

In order to get funds via BrightTreasury, you have to have your blockchain identity accessible for Polkadot and/or Kusama network. Let me show you how to create a Web3 account with Polkadot extension which is mandatory in this case.

### Steps to take to set own Web3 Access Login (Account)

* Download the [polkadot.js extension](https://polkadot.js.org/extension/) for browsers which enables you to create the account and generate the key.
* Start to create an account to generate your private key that will verify that you are the owner of that account.

<center>

![polkadot.js extension](../../static/images/web3add_account.png)

</center>

* You will receive a characters string which in fact is a unique name of your identity.

<center>

![Web3 account setup](../../static/images/web3account.png "The account details have been displayed only for educational purposes. This account is not used to store cryptocurrency.")

<sub> *The account details have been displayed only for educational purposes. This account is not used to store cryptocurrency.* </sub>

</center>

* Also, there will be a mnemonic seed generated which is mandatory to restore your access to the account so you should copy it and store it somewhere safe.
* Now you can enter a name for your account and a password. This password is in fact the password you would use on daily basis to sign up with your account.

<center>

![Web3 account setup](../../static/images/web3account_create.png "The account details have been displayed only for educational purposes. This account is not used to store cryptocurrency.")

</center>

* Make sure that you are enabled to use it on Polkadot or Kusama network to be able to work on the BrightTreasury app, but you can also enable it to work on any network.

<center>

![blockchain networks](../../static/images/blockchain_networks.png)

</center>

And that is it! Keep this extension in your browser and you can freely explore the Web3 world. 
You will quickly see that using Web3 is as much convenient and fast as logging in via Facebook. This is only one click that separates you from logging somewhere. Just like with logging via Facebook. Yet, you stay independent. You do not need Facebook to authorize your logging. Blockchain decentralized community does it for you.

## Switching between login options on BrightTreasury

Whether you choose to sign up with a Web3 account or in the traditional way, you can always change your logging option. From the very beginning, we wanted users to feel free to choose the most convenient way. So you can easily change your login to Web3 or even do a switch in the opposite direction. How to do it? 

Let's assume that you first log in with a Web3 account. In that case, you just need to add your email credentials which basically means entering your username, login, and password. As a result, you will have two options to log in: with a Web3 account or with email.

![BrightTreasury account credentials](../../static/images/account_credentials.png)

This is an example of the account provided with the Web3 account info as well as email details.

![Account Details on BrightTreasury](../../static/images/account_info2.png)

I hope you are ready to visit the Web3 world. 🙂

## Single swap on Uniswap v3 with 3 common mistakes

*Published: 2022-04-11 | Author: lukasz | Tags: uniswap, solidity, blockchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/single-swap-on-uniswap-v3-with-3-common-mistakes/index.md*

Since you've probably come across this post looking for a working example of a simple swap
on a Uniswap and you are not interested in anything besides the code, I'll provide it right away.
However, if you would like to know more about how I've overcome some common mistakes or you are struggling
with some issues on your own, I encourage you to read this post till the end.

You can also find and test deployed contract on Kovan network at [this](https://kovan.etherscan.io/address/0x3dD26Ec1e69529672D6e149BdA53B0f32Da69857) address 

```solidity
//SPDX-License-Identifier: Unlicense
pragma solidity >=0.7.5;
pragma abicoder v2;

import "@uniswap/v3-periphery/contracts/interfaces/ISwapRouter.sol";
import "@uniswap/lib/contracts/libraries/TransferHelper.sol";
import "@uniswap/swap-router-contracts/contracts/interfaces/IV3SwapRouter.sol";

contract Swap {

    address private constant SWAP_ROUTER =
        0xE592427A0AEce92De3Edee1F18E0157C05861564;
    address private constant SWAP_ROUTER_02 =
        0x68b3465833fb72A70ecDF485E0e4C7bD8665Fc45;

    address private constant WETH = 0xd0A1E359811322d97991E03f863a0C30C2cF029C; //kovan
    // address private constant WETH = 0xc778417E063141139Fce010982780140Aa0cD5Ab; // rinkeby
    address public constant DAI = 0x4F96Fe3b7A6Cf9725f59d353F723c1bDb64CA6Aa; //kovan
    //address public constant DAI = 0xc7AD46e0b8a400Bb3C915120d284AafbA8fc4735; // rinkeby

    ISwapRouter public immutable swapRouter = ISwapRouter(SWAP_ROUTER);
    IV3SwapRouter public immutable swapRouter02 = IV3SwapRouter(SWAP_ROUTER_02);

    function safeTransferWithApprove(uint256 amountIn, address routerAddress)
        internal
    {
        TransferHelper.safeTransferFrom(
            DAI,
            msg.sender,
            address(this),
            amountIn
        );

        TransferHelper.safeApprove(DAI, routerAddress, amountIn);
    }

    function swapExactInputSingle(uint256 amountIn)
        external
        returns (uint256 amountOut)
    {
        safeTransferWithApprove(amountIn, address(swapRouter));

        ISwapRouter.ExactInputSingleParams memory params = ISwapRouter
            .ExactInputSingleParams({
                tokenIn: DAI,
                tokenOut: WETH,
                fee: 3000,
                recipient: msg.sender,
                deadline: block.timestamp,
                amountIn: amountIn,
                amountOutMinimum: 0,
                sqrtPriceLimitX96: 0
            });

        amountOut = swapRouter.exactInputSingle(params);
    }

    function swapExactInputSingle02(uint256 amountIn)
        external
        returns (uint256 amountOut)
    {
        safeTransferWithApprove(amountIn, address(swapRouter02));

        IV3SwapRouter.ExactInputSingleParams memory params = IV3SwapRouter
            .ExactInputSingleParams({
                tokenIn: DAI,
                tokenOut: WETH,
                fee: 3000,
                recipient: msg.sender,
                amountIn: amountIn,
                amountOutMinimum: 0,
                sqrtPriceLimitX96: 0
            });

        amountOut = swapRouter02.exactInputSingle(params);
    }
}
```

## How it all started

Today is the day. You've thought about that for a long time.
You have been reading about Blockchain, Ethereum and Solidity for the past few days. It's time
to start coding! Let's start with something that has a lot of documentation, and is already widely
used – swapping tokens. Uniswap seems to be the largest exchange so let's read through their [docs](https://docs.uniswap.org/sdk/introduction).
Oh! They even have an [example of a simple swap](https://docs.uniswap.org/protocol/guides/swaps/single-swaps)! 
Let's copy it and check if it works.

A few minutes later, the contract is deployed. You go to the Etherscan and try to write a transaction
using your swap function and... it does not work. Even Metamask warns you before you sign the transaction
that it will probably fail. Wait, what? Why? How? I've copied it from official docs. Why is it failing?

You start searching for help, but surprisingly there are not many answers. Some people ask
similar questions to yours, but they don't have any response.

## 3 common mistakes

Don't worry! I was in the exact same situation not so long time ago. If you check my code
you will see that it is almost identical to the one from Uniswap docs. They prepared them
very well. They just omitted a few small things or did not stress enough a few additional steps that 
are required. You can also notice that I have two almost identical functions.
If you are interested why keep on reading.

### Wrong tokens addresses

I think the most common mistake is using wrong address for the tokens. Keep in mind
that every token you want to swap is also a deployed contract. **On different networks,
contracts can be deployed at different addresses.** Uniswap in their example has some
hardcoded ones for DAI and WETH, but they do not mention on which network this example should work.

If you try to search for the address of WETH on different networks you will easily find it. For other 
tokens it might not be so simple, since there are many different DAI tokens on each network. 

How did I overcome it? I've figured out, that since I want to test Uniswap swap functionality, I'll just
swap the tokens I'm interested in using their interface and then check the transaction details. 

![Tokens](../../static/images/successful_uniswap_swap_transaction.png "")

You can check such a transaction [here](https://kovan.etherscan.io/tx/0x83ccabe0ed0e06975f83630890257b67522ef4ee7c18650f15a1be69c4e82a2e).
Inside, we can see WETH and DAI tokens, that Uniswap used. After clicking them, you will find
a contract which is a token that we want to swap. So just use the address in your code and et voilà!

To help you a bit, I've provided DAI and WETH token addresses for Kovan and Rinkeby networks in the code.
**Funny thing is that this method made me make a 3rd mistake mentioned in this post.**

### Approving contract to withdraw the tokens

Have you actually read the documentation on Uniswap or did you just copy the code and hope for the best?
Did you? Look me in the eyes and tell me you really did read it. Don't worry. I did not too. 
When I was checking it, I remembered some part about approving the usage of the tokens, but then
in the code there is a `TransferHelper.safeApprove()` so I thought it was that!
Well... unfortunately it is not. If we went back to the documentation and read it carefully
they clearly state, that there was one more approval needed.

> The caller must approve the contract to withdraw the tokens from the calling address's account to execute a swap. Remember that because our contract is a contract itself and not an extension of the caller (us); we must also approve the Uniswap protocol router contract to use the tokens that our contract will be in possession of after they have been withdrawn from the calling address (us).

So the approval that we have in the code, is the second part. We approve Uniswap router to use the tokens
from our contract. But before that, **we must also approve OUR contract to withdraw tokens from our wallet.**
If you don't do that and you will try to sign a transaction Metamask will warn you that it will probably fail:

![Metamask](../../static/images/metamask_fail_transaction_warning.png "")

And after trying anyway, transaction will be reverted with an error: `TransferHelper::transferFrom: transferFrom failed`.

To approve withdrawing token, find contract of the token that you are going to be swapping on Etherscan (in our case DAI)
and use their `approve` function providing your contracts address and amount of coins that you are willing to approve.

![Transaction fail](../../static/images/approving_usage_of_our_tokens.png "")

After the transaction gets approved, you should be able to use your contracts swap function successfully.
You can't? Well... then maybe you also made a 3rd mistake!

### Using the wrong SwapRouter

Uniswap in their documentation doesn't show the initialization of the `swapRouter`. We can do that by
using swap routers contract address. But similar to the first mistake... where should we take this
address from? Again in the [docs](https://docs.uniswap.org/protocol/reference/deployments), Uniswap provides addresses of all of their contracts.
What is more, they clearly state, that those addresses are the same for all networks. That's great but... we can
see two SwapRouters contracts in the table. Which one should we use?

My thinking was: let's see which router Uniswap interface uses, and use the same. In the transaction
for swapping tokens on Uniswap from the first mistake we can see routers address which this transaction used. 
It turned out to be `SwapRouter02`. On the Etherscan I've verified
that this router also has `exactInputSingle` a function which accepts `ExactInputSingleParams`.

Unfortunately, it was not correct. After deploying the contract which used this router I had a
similar issue with Metamask warning again, and the transaction failing. This time, an error didn't say anything helpful.

In the end, it turned out that indeed both routers have needed function, and they both use similar struct
for Params but it's not the same.

* `SwapRouter` inherits from `ISwapRouter`
* `SwapRouter02` inherits from `V3SwapRouter`

If we also check closely the `ExactInputSingleParams` struct that both contracts use, we can see that version in `V3SwapRouter`
does not have `delay` parameter. **So despite looking very similar, those
are two completely different things.**

In my code, I've left working functions for both routers, so you can test it on your own.

## He Always Asks Why. Meet Andrzej – a Senior Android Developer

*Published: 2022-03-28 | Author: azabost | Tags: Android, inspiration, development, bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/he-always-asks-why-meet-andrzej-a-senior-android-developer/index.md*

**Andrzej is one of the most experienced mobile devs at Bright Inventions. He is a master of digression. So conducting this interview was a challenge. 😉  However, he goes straight to the point when it comes to advising clients on the best solutions to reach their business and tech goals. He always offers honest and valuable feedback. Because his job isn't just about writing code. It is much more than that. Find out what that is.**

![Andrzej, Senior Android Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstoryandrzej_collage.png "")

## Where did your passion for software development come from?

I think that it is all because I am inquisitive. Or maybe “overly curious” – some would say. **😉**   I just love to explore things and understand them. My adventure with computers probably started when I was a kid. First, I learned a few commands on my father’s Atari 65XE when I was about 6 years old or so. 

Later on, still in elementary school, my friend who was 5 years older than me taught me the basics of HTML. Also, he told me how to view the HTML files using Internet Explorer (on Windows 98). I suppose it had taken place even before I used the internet for the first time in my life.

A couple of years later, in middle school, I was exploring all Polish web directories for various software, apps, games etc. I was downloading lots of them to check them out. At some point, **I found an app for creating algorithm flowcharts and executing programs created that way** (if you are curious, [here](http://erisoftware.pl/dla-szkoly/schematy-blokowe-magiczne-bloczki) it is). That was a game-changer for me. 

After that, **I started to learn the basics of C++** so I could finally write my first command-line application. It all brought me to the high school class with advanced Math, Physics and Informatics. On top of that, in high school I met a very supportive Computer Science teacher, Andrzej Gac.

![The story of becoming a Senior Android Developer](../../static/images/brightstoryandrzej.png "")

## Let me guess. 🙂 Then you studied Computer Science?

Yes. I studied Computer Science at the Gdańsk University of Technology as many people at Bright Inventions. Nevertheless, **I didn’t start my career as a software developer as you might assume**. During my studies, I couldn't make up my mind whether I wanted to be a programmer or a system administrator.

Eventually, I got an internship at a corporation which turned into a full-time job. **I was someone who now would probably be called a DevOps but that term wasn’t so popular back then**. Therefore, my position was called Software Configuration Management Engineer (SCME). A little bit long, isn’t it?

I must say that being “SCME” taught me a lot. It gave me knowledge about continuous integration practices, the software development lifecycle, working efficiently with Jira, a couple of version control systems (including Git), remote terminals (SSH), Linux systems and more. Due to the fact that I worked for a global corporation, I learned a lot about developing software on a big scale. 

I wrote some code at that job. That was mostly some short scripts though. I didn't write applications or firmware. However, **after a couple of years, I wanted to pursue a software development career**. I enjoyed writing code and felt that I was quite good at it. 

## Why Android Development?

After almost 3 years in the corporate world, I decided to hand in my notice. When I did it I had no clue what to do next. I didn’t have any other job offer on the table. **My plan was to take a break for 4-8 weeks to figure out what was next**.

![Andrzej, Senior Android Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstory_andrzej_quote.png "")

My wife was my rock back then. Actually, she pushed me to quit that job. She believed that I had the potential to do something more. Also during that time, she convinced me to go back to college. I already had an Engineering degree but thanks to her I was back at the Gdańsk University of Technology to graduate from Master’s studies in Computer Science. 

![Bright Story of Andrzej](../../static/images/andrzej_private_photo.png "")

When I decided to quit, I started to research the job market in the area. As a result, I felt strongly about pursuing [mobile development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development). **I liked the fact that building a mobile app allows you not only to implement UI but also to build the whole logic**. So it was like a whole package for me. Also, in mobile development you quickly see the results of your work which gives you lots of satisfaction. 

I chose Android over iOS because it is easier to start learning Android. I didn’t have a Macbook or iPhone so how could I possibly go down this road? Android seemed interesting so I started to learn it. During one month I built my first Android app and launched it on Google Play. It is still there actually. 

## Soon after that, you joined Bright Inventions. How did that happen?

I launched my Android app so it was high time to seek a job. I found a [Bright Inventions](/) job offer during my research and it drew my attention. I got this feeling that Bright was a company with friendly people who worked closely and supported each other to reach common goals. This company just felt human. After working at the corporation I wanted to be a part of a small and close team. 

I was invited for the interview. I was terrified when I came. I had only a month of Android experience. What if that wasn’t good enough? My wife supported me quite nearby, waiting in the coffee shop close by during the whole interview. 

I felt that my interview went fine. For sure, there were questions I couldn't answer but overall I felt that it was okay. After talking to Michał, Daniel and Piotr I **felt that I really wanted to be a part of this company. I would manage to do this job. I wanted someone to give me the chance and I felt that I wouldn’t let them down**.

Daniel and Michal told me they needed a week to give me feedback. Despite that, I was so anxious that I called Michał a few days after the interview to ask if they made up their minds. I told Michał that I was eager to work with them and couldn’t wait to hear their decisions. **Years later I was told that that phone call actually gave me this job**.

## What have you learned at Bright Inventions?

Since I came to Bright over 5 years ago **I have got to know a lot about building software like the coding principles, practices and architecture**. However, there was a special aspect of software development I realized at Bright. **I understood how non-technical skills are crucial**. 

When you work directly with clients, like us at Bright, it changes a lot about your job as a software developer. What matters is your attitude, the way you speak and communicate. **You are a little bit of a business analyst who has to understand what a client wants**. 

**You have to not only listen but also be ready to offer an alternative solution when you know it will be of benefit to your client**. Sometimes a client doesn’t know that the features they expect can be time-consuming to deliver. When there are faster options to achieve similar goals, you have to know how to communicate that.

![Andrzej, Senior Android Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstory_andrzej_quote2.png "")

**You should be the expert the client can rely on to get to the place where they need to be**. It’s like seeing that your client is blindfolded and is getting to the edge of the cliff. As an expert, you should be ready to lend a client a helping hand and quickly find a safe route for them. 

Communication with the client is based on understanding the situation you and your client are in. It requires empathy. You have to stay human in the client-software agency relationship. **Don’t turn into a robot that goes from one task to another and doesn’t even think of what it’s doing**.

![Andrzej, Senior Android Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstory_andrzej_quote3.png "")

Another important skill is **asking all the time “Why”**. Don’t treat your tasks superficially. You have to learn to go deeper into the topic to understand the primary reason for the change you are about to implement. 

## How can you improve the soft side of software development?

**You can learn from your mistakes, daily practice, watching others, and reading books**. I had the pleasure to work closely with Mateusz during my first months at Bright. Mateusz is a very special person to me, I will always cherish the cooperation we have had. Mateusz is a master of communication with clients and interpreting their needs. Simply watching him in action was really inspiring. 

![Andrzej, Bright Story](../../static/images/brightstory_andrzej_mateusz.png "")

I can also recommend a couple of good reads which I have found really useful. For example **“The Clean Coder” by Robert C. Martin** and **“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie**.

## Can you be a software developer without owning the soft side of the job?

Yes, you can. But if you want to be a software developer who has a good reputation among clients and whose work is appreciated, then you have to be open to this other side.

Let’s not forget about the daily work in the team. Obviously, soft skills are very useful while working with your team members, whether you conduct a peer code review, discuss the UI designs or teach your less experienced colleagues.

## If you weren’t a programmer, you would be…

A YouTuber. 😉  I would talk about video games. Take it with a grain of salt though. I probably couldn't make a living as a YouTuber and was forced to look for another job.

## What trends do you observe in Android development?

![Andrzej, Senior Android Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/senior_android_developer_andrzej.png "")

**I am not sure if this is a trend or hype but I should mention Jetpack Compose**. It is a new way of implementing UI in Android. Before that, you had to create UI as XML files and sometimes mix them with Kotlin code in a pretty clunky, non-modern way. Jetpack Compose enables us to write it directly in Kotlin. 

Is that better and more convenient for a mobile developer? It depends on who you ask. For now, I have mixed feelings about it but I must admit I haven’t spent enough time to get used to it. That is a new massive thing to learn, with its own pros and cons. Some parts might become easier, but others could become harder to write, debug or understand. It’s still in the development phase and changes rapidly. 

As a result, some Jetpack Compose features and our code using this new toolkit might not be working perfectly yet or could not be supported very well. I am not sure if it will be beneficial in the end. It probably depends on many factors, including what project you are working on and whether your team is ready to deal with the possible obstacles.

**Jetpack Compose requires the total mind shift of the way you code for Android**. If I had a project that needed to be developed quickly, right now, I wouldn’t use Jetpack Compose just yet. I don’t know it too well therefore I could make some silly mistakes and delay the project.

On the other hand, I know a few people who are already very familiar with Jetpack Compose and they can’t imagine going back. **Seeing how much effort Google puts into Jetpack Compose development, I can’t help myself but believe that eventually, it might become the new standard**. Nevertheless, there is still a very long way to get all the developers on board. I’m pretty sure I will give it a try quite soon.

Apart from Jetpack Compose, **I should mention Kotlin Coroutines**. They are nothing new because they were launched a couple of years ago. However, they are still trendy. More and more people start using them in new projects. Some aspects of Coroutines and their APIs are still getting stabilized. 

![Andrzej, Senior Android Developer at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstory_andrzej_quote4.png "")

After a couple of years, **we can see that the Coroutines were a change that just made sense**. Coroutines make coding easier and definitely shorten your code. In this case, the pros definitely have outweighed possible cons and the amount of time required to learn Coroutines. It wasn’t a hype that people wanted to try to eventually give up on it. It just works and **if someone hasn't started to use Coroutines yet, then that person should catch up quickly because I think they are a good investment**. 

## If you could give yourself some advice at the beginning of your career, what would that be?

Have more faith in yourself.

## What do you do after hours?

I play lots of video games on my computer. I love games that tell a story such as Age of Empires, Morrowind or Genshin Impact. Apart from that, my interests are really a spectrum. From language influence on our culture, astronomy, biology to geography. Remember – I am quite a curious person. I will metaphorically stick my nose wherever it needs to be if I feel the urge to understand why something works the way it does in our world.

\---

Andrzej regularly shares his Kotlin insights as a speaker at software development conferences and meetups. Recently he was one of the speakers at [4developers](https://4developers.org.pl) and [Warsaw IT Days](https://warszawskiedniinformatyki.pl/index-en.html).

## How I became a Software Tester in 1 Year

*Published: 2022-03-23 | Author: marta | Tags: QA, inspiration, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-i-became-a-software-tester-in-1-year/index.md*

**How to get a software tester job with no experience? What qualifications do you need to be a Software Tester? Here is my story of becoming a QA Specialist in a year. Step by step.**

![how to become a software tester](../../static/images/how_to_become_qa_martas_story2.png "")

## My road to software tester job in numbers:

* 12 months (from August 2019 to August 2020)
* 1-2 hours of learning a day
* 1 postgraduate studies
* 10+ online courses
* 1 ISTQB exam
* 3 months of seeking my first job
* 50+ sent CVs
* 1 interview

## Before software testing career

Prior to becoming Software Tester (or QA Specialist as we call the job at [Bright Inventions](/)), I **was a Product Engineer**. I actually first studied Construction Chemicals but I switched to Material Engineering. After graduating from college I was working as a Product Engineer at a huge Polish EMS provider. I had no associations with the software world but **I was working on a daily basis with tools like Jira and Confluence which obviously was very helpful when I decided to move to IT**.

## Why did I actually want to become a software tester?

That was summer 2019. At some point, the company I worked in wanted to improve the existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP system) so I started to work with software developers on that. My job was to make sure that the system would meet our requirements. Being a part of this process became quite fascinating to me. **I was doing something like approval tests**. One time I talked about it to my friend who is a software developer and she told me that I was doing in some way a tester job. I was eager to explore that area of expertise.

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/64kjIUk5YbckM" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/mic-kristen-stewart-celebs-actress-64kjIUk5YbckM">via GIPHY</a></p>

**I started to learn software testing. It took me around 9 hours a week to study.** I still had a full-time job during that time. I was also in the middle of moving to another apartment and had lots of dance workouts during a week. So a lot was going out then. I just want to show you that **you can make it without giving up on your other duties and interests**. 🙂

## Steps I have taken to become a Software Tester / QA Specialist

![steps to become a software tester](../../static/images/steps_to_become_software_tester.png "")

### 1. Starting from Python course

My very first step was doing a Python course at [edx.org](https://www.edx.org) which is a learning platform that I truly recommend. I started by learning Python to simply check if the software development would really interest me.

### 2. Reading blogs about software testing

At that point, I started to be a regular reader of [a Polish blog by Piotr Wicherski](https://pwicherski.gitbook.io/testowanie-oprogramowania/autor). For me, that is a massive pack of information about quality assurance.

I also joined a couple of newsletters about QA and follow news from other blogs such as:

[softwaretestingmaterial.com](https://www.softwaretestingmaterial.com/software-testing/)

[](https://www.guru99.com/software-testing.html)[guru99.com](https://www.guru99.com/software-testing.html)

[](https://www.guru99.com/software-testing.html)[Wyszkolewas.com](https://www.wyszkolewas.com.pl)

### 3. Wait, it is too much. How to get it all together?

I got quickly overwhelmed by the number of information I needed to comprehend. **I didn’t know how to start, what I should learn, and in what order**. Then my friend, who is a software tester, recommended me to go to postgraduate studies to get a structured plan of my learning.

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/3o7btPCcdNniyf0ArS" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/cbc-comedy-what-3o7btPCcdNniyf0ArS">via GIPHY</a></p>

### 4. Signing up for the postgraduate studies and preparing for the ISTQB exam

I started my one-year postgraduate studies in Software Testing at the WSB University in Gdańsk. The first semester was all about getting ready for the ISTQB exam. **ISTQB syllabus was my “bedtime story”**. I read it every day. It wasn't only about reading, there was lots of googling involved in the process. 😉  I had to check out lots of terms from the book. It was the hard work with the syllabus to really understand what it is all about. 

The studies at WSB University were useful because my lecturers were software testers who do that job on a daily basis. So I could really understand the daily challenges that go with the work in IT.

### 5. Joining Facebook groups

Obviously, right after applying to college, I joined a couple of Polish Facebook groups that touched on learning software testing. Quickly my Facebook feed became full of tips and tester stories. These are Facebook groups I definitely recommend:

[Tester oprogramowania - wsparcie na starcie](https://www.facebook.com/groups/testeroprogramowania)

[ISTQB - egzaminy, pytania, testy](https://www.facebook.com/groups/194288250951242)

[Testowanie oprogramowania](https://www.facebook.com/groups/TestowanieOprogramowania)

### 6. Getting friendly with the console

Back then I was also focusing on learning Linux and basic commands and ways of using the console. 

### 7. Exploring platforms for testers-to-be

I spent lots of my time at [checkio.org](https://checkio.org). That is another website I really recommend. Checkio is a learning platform that teaches you programming. Yet, it involves gamification. You solve issues and then unlock other challenges. That was really fun and lots of learning at the same time. Another great platform is [exercism.org](https://exercism.org) which also gives many opportunities to learn various programming languages.

I also dove into [mrbuggy.pl](http://mrbuggy.pl) - the Polish app testing platform that was recommended to me by my college professors. It gave me the opportunity to look for bugs in 7 different applications. A very useful tool to learn.

### 8. Writing test cases

Back then I was also learning how to write test cases. My main problem was to write them shorter and more compactly. That was something I had to work hard on.

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/f5dv1g0Af3KNJneSC3" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/MSUMoorhead-dragons-msum-minnesota-state-university-moorhead-f5dv1g0Af3KNJneSC3">via GIPHY</a></p>

### 9. Doing Codecademy courses

When I was starting my studies I also did a few courses on Codecademy about [SQL](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-sql), [Python](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-python-3), and [CSS + HTML](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-css).

Back then I also read a book that was definitely too advanced for me. Don’t make my mistake. 😉  It was the Polish book “Testowanie Oprogramowania w praktyce” (Software Testing in Practice) by Adam Roman and Karolina Zmitrowicz. In my view, that book is great when you have your first job as QA, but before that, it is too difficult. So, make sure that you read material appropriate for your level of proficiency.

### 10. Crowdfunding platforms

Due to the fact that **ISTQB exams were canceled in March 2020** because of the pandemic my friend told me about crowdfunding platforms for testing such as [utest.com](https://www.utest.com). That is something I highly recommend to people who want to become software testers. That was such a worthwhile experience for me. 

Before you start to work on utest, you have to finish their academy. So it is a great option to know handy tools and build your first software testing habits. For example, you get basic knowledge on how to use Charles proxy or how to report bugs in the right way.

When you finish utest academy, the real adventure begins. You can look for bugs like (almost) in a real commercial job. However, the greatest value is that you can see how more experienced testers seek bugs there and how they handle the whole quality assurance process. That was the best part of exploring the test crowdfunding platforms – **to see the best practices from more experienced QAs**.

### 11. Udemy, Pluralsight, and other online courses

Apart from learning at EDX and Codeacademy, I did a couple of courses at Udemy and Coursera. I did [Selenium, Python](https://www.udemy.com/course/kurs-selenium-python/), and [MySQL](https://www.udemy.com/course/the-ultimate-mysql-bootcamp-go-from-sql-beginner-to-expert/) courses there. Also, I did various courses on YouTube and participated in lots of webinars organized by QA bloggers.

It is worth mentioning that during the pandemic [pluralsight.com](https://www.pluralsight.com) offered free access to the platform. I can recommend courses about [HTML5](https://www.pluralsight.com/paths/html5), [JavaScript](https://www.pluralsight.com/paths/javascript) or [CSS](https://www.pluralsight.com/paths/css). 

### 12. Passing ISTQB

After a couple of months of delay because of the pandemic, **I was finally able to do my ISTQB exam**. I took the test and passed it. I felt ready to start sending CVs. 🙂

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "67%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/3og0IQsupJLxzqSbmM" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/cbc-funny-comedy-3og0IQsupJLxzqSbmM">via GIPHY</a></p>

### 13. Graduating from college and the first project on GitHub

**My thesis touched on test automation using Selenium and PyTest and the usage of test parametrization**. It really got me hooked. I spent lots of hours on it really enjoying it. I learned a lot e.g. the Page Object Pattern. This is the first project I showed on my Github profile.

A common practice to treat GitHub as a portfolio was never that big of a deal for me. So I actually started to update my Github quite late.

### 14. Looking for the first job

After passing the ISTQB exam I started to seek my first Software Tester job. Let me tell you right away – **it wasn’t easy**. I was sending my resume to companies across the whole of Poland. I got zero response, so after a couple of months, I became quite unmotivated. 

Eventually, **I set up a Linkedin account** (more on that later). **After 3 days I got contacted by a recruiter**, had an interview and in fact got my first commercial job in software development. So it took me 3 months to find my first job. I should add that I didn’t accept that first tester job offer. I chose a job less related to testing because it had better benefits.

### 15. Landing at Bright Inventions and keep learning

Eventually, **almost 2 years later I got to Bright Inventions and became Quality Assurance Specialist** here. My goal is to get better and better at automatization. I learn programming languages for conducting automated testing. Now I focus on C#. **I have weekly meetings with my mentor** – a tech leader who I met in a course of my career. 

At Bright, I work in a team that is developing iOS applications for our Israeli client from the ePOS & retail industry. That is a huge international project and a great challenge for me.

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "75%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/111ebonMs90YLu" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/thumbs-up-111ebonMs90YLu">via GIPHY</a></p>

## Last but not least. Top pieces of advice I got during my career change

### 1. Set up a LinkedIn account.

My brother (a software developer) was pushing me for months to set up a LinkedIn account. I am not a huge fan of social media and exposing myself there. I was very reluctant. Eventually, I did it. That was very good advice. Three days after signing up on LinkedIn the recruiter contacted me. **As a result, I got my first IT job**. 

### 2. Focus on you and your story.

I was learning during the pandemic. That wasn’t the best time for people who wanted to get into IT. I read online lots of stories of people who were frustrated because they couldn’t get their first IT job for 6 months or longer. These kinds of stories were really a mood killer for me. So my friend (a software developer who also came from a different industry) kept telling me to stop reading that and **focus on my learning**. She set me straight many times making sure that I wouldn’t give up.

<div style={{width: "100%", height: "0", paddingBottom: "56%", position: "relative"}}><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/ACJuukdjBl65FwUFzT" width="100%" height="100%" style={{position: "absolute"}} frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/nbclawandorder-episode-8-svu-season-23-ACJuukdjBl65FwUFzT">via GIPHY</a></p>

This is my story of becoming a software tester. What more can I say? **Good luck and push it forward**. You can do it!

PS

Extra links from me. The last ones. I promise. 😀

I guess it is worth getting familiar with:

[Introduction to the DOM](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document_Object_Model/Introduction)

[Resources for Developers, by Developers](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/)

[Chrome DevTools](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/devtools/)

Finally a guide for manual testers who are willing to start with automated tests: [How to Start Writing Automation Tests](/blog/how-to-start-writing-automation-tests)

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get free ebook about app security' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Delivering a secure app is key part of quality assurance. Do you agree? Download a free ebook about app software security.'    ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='ebook security cover' />

## What to Expect From Swift Development Company from Poland

*Published: 2022-03-22 | Author: izabela | Tags: business, iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-to-expect-from-swift-development-company-from-poland/index.md*

**Everything you should know about working with Swift development agency from Poland.**

![iOS development Poland](../../static/images/ios_development.png "")

## What does the Swift development company do?

Swift development team specializes in building and maintaining mobile applications for iOS. Swift developers take care of every aspect of the iOS app development process: from the ideation phase, building MVP, launch to maintenance. 

Swift is the official Apple language used for [iOS app development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development). Bright Inventions, as one of the top iOS development companies from Poland, specializes in delivering native mobile applications built with Swift.

## What are typical tools and technologies used by the iOS development team?

Apart from using Swift language iOS developers use lots of other technologies including libraries, frameworks and more.

We have listed a typical stack used by iOS developers from Bright Inventions:

* **Swift** – mentioned many times, but it still should be on this list. 🙂
* **Realm** – open-sourced, mobile database
* **SnapKit** – the domain-specific language used to make easier Auto Layout
* **Combine/ReactiveSwift** – a Swift framework for Reactive Programming
* **GitHub Actions** – a tool for automation of software workflows
* **Swift UI** – a platform helping to build apps with a better user experience
* **MixPanel** – tool for users experience analytics
* **Alamofire** – HTTP networking library
* **Fastlane** – an open-sourced platform for automationFirebase – a tool enabling data analysis, crash and error monitoring
* **Firebase** – a tool enabling data analysis, crash and error monitoring
* **Apollo** – GraphQL networking library
* **SwiftFormat / SwiftLint / SwiftGen** – tools for improving quality of code

## Reasons why you should work with an iOS development team from Poland:

### 1. Polish software developers are a global top of the top.

It has been a well-known fact for years. In 2016 [](https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-country-would-win-in-the-programming-olympics/)[HackerRank](https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-country-would-win-in-the-programming-olympics/) presented a very popular insight “Which Country Would Win in the Programming Olympics?”. The report was widely referenced on multiple sites. Polish software developers took third place!

<center>

![HackerRank Polish iOS developers](../../static/images/hackerrank_polish_developers.png "")

</center>

### 2. Polish software developers communicate fluently in English.

Polish developers speak fluently in English on a daily basis. In the [EF English Proficiency Index Poland](https://www.ef.com/assetscdn/WIBIwq6RdJvcD9bc8RMd/cefcom-epi-site/reports/2021/ef-epi-2021-english.pdf) was ranked in the top of countries with high proficiency in English.

### 3. Poland has one of the biggest numbers of female software developers.

Poland has challenged gender inequalities in software development. [HackerRank](https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-countries-have-the-most-skilled-female-developers/) listed Poland at the top of countries with the largest proportion of female developers. Obviously, there is still a lot to be done for women in tech but compared to many other countries you can see the difference. 

<center>

![female software developers Poland](../../static/images/female_developers_hackerrank.png "")

</center>

### 4. Workable time difference between Polish Swift developers and the rest of the world.

Poland is in Central European Time (CET) which makes it possible to organize daily online meetings with companies from Germany, Norway, as well as Israel or the USA.

Examples of time differences:

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇳🇱 Netherlands: no time difference

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇸🇪 Sweden: no time difference

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇬🇧 the UK: 1-hour time difference

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇮🇱 Israel: 1-hour time difference

🇵🇱 Poland – 🇺🇸 New York: 6-hours time difference

## Stand With Ukraine - How You Can Help 

*Published: 2022-03-17 | Author: ula | Tags: inspiration, support, update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/stand-with-ukraine-how-you-can-help/index.md*

We want to show our support to the Ukrainian people - their spirit and the bravery they are showing - amidst this horrifying attack. According to United Nations refugee agency has reported [over 1.7 million people](https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine/location?secret=unhcrrestricted) from Ukraine have become refugees. As with any crisis, women, children, poor communities will be those most affected. When watching the war scenes it is easy to feel feeble and weak, but we believe that together we can help Ukraine in any way we can. 

## **\#PomagamUkrainie** 

One of the best ways to help is by donating money through trusted charities and aid organisations as well as donating goods in your local collection points. 

Currently, humanitarian assistance on the territory of Poland is provided under the Polish government coordination mechanism: [www.pomagamukrainie.gov.pl](https://www.pomagamukrainie.gov.pl/). 

![Pomagam Ukrainie](../../static/images/pomagamy_ukrainie.png)

One of the main priorities for the provision of assistance is its effectiveness in reaching the largest possible group of people in need and meeting their specific needs as efficiently as possible, taking into account the dynamics of the conflict itself and the situation of the people affected.

## **Financial support (main Polish fund-raisers)**

[Polish Humanitarian Action](https://www.pah.org.pl/en/)

[Polish Center for International Aid (PCPM)](https://pcpm.org.pl/) 

[siepomaga.pl Ukraine](https://www.siepomaga.pl/ukraina) 

[\#SolidarnizUkraina](https://pomagam.pl/solidarnizukraina) (funds raised by Pomagam.pl) 

## **Material support**

You can check [what to bring and what not to bring to the collection point](https://www.pomagamukrainie.gov.pl/#section5).  

![Pomagam Ukrainie list of products and resources](../../static/images/material_support.png)

## **[\#TechForUkraine ](https://www.techtotherescue.org/tech/tech-for-ukraine)**

NGOs are at the heart of civil society in Ukraine. While the age of digitization has dawned, charities are still far behind private businesses and state institutions. Weak security systems, outdated software and a lack of user-friendly UI and UX make it difficult for them to operate. 

![humanitarian aid Ukraine](../../static/images/techforukraine.png)

**We have joined the initiative and so can you. How you can help?**

1. Take the pledge - decide whether you want to provide Custom software development, take part in a 2-week Sprint for impact (27.03-08.04) or pledge your time to providemeaningful consulting for non-profits.
2. Select the projects of your interest - declare in what kind of projects would you like to participate in - define your problem and tech preference. We will get back to you with a list of potential projects that you could support.
3. Get matched and start building a project - participate in a Matching Call where you will get to meet the non-profit team and check if there is a spark for a joint project. If yes then all there is left is to participate in a scoping session and you are good to go!

## **Gdańsk - our local city support** 

On [Pomeranian Voivodeship Office website](https://www.gdansk.uw.gov.pl/pomagamy-ukrainie) you can find all the information about our local Tricity support.  

![Gdańsk Ukraine help](../../static/images/gransk_support.png)

On Facebook page "[Gdańsk Pomaga Ukrainie](https://www.facebook.com/donate/486031106489144)” there is a special donation you can take part in.

## **International Charities** 

Below you can also find the list of several main international charities supporting people within Ukraine and providing medical and humanitarian aid. Among others these are: 

1. **The Ukrainian Red Cross** does loads of humanitarian work, from aiding refugees to training doctors. [Donate here](https://redcross.org.ua/en/donate/).
2. **The International Medical Corps** is on the front lines and prepared to help citizens with emergency health care services, as well as mental health and psychosocial support. [Donate here](https://give.internationalmedicalcorps.org/page/99837/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=DP~UA22~DPHHU2202). 
3. **Nova Ukraine** is a nonprofit that delivers aid packages to Ukraine with everything from baby food and hygiene products, to clothes and household supplies. [Donate here](https://novaukraine.org/).
4. **UNICEF** is repairing schools damaged by the bombings and providing an emergency response to children affected by the conflict. [Donate here](https://www.unicefusa.org/helpukraine).
5. **The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)** is deploying emergency operations in Ukraine and surrounding countries to provide food assistance to those fleeing the conflict. Donate [here](https://donatenow.wfp.org/wfp/~my-donation?ns_ira_cr_arg=IyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMydB7beRrJGGaX%2BATUGWBktLztYtncu9%2Btooq6A%2FKG44pn3XAe7eK%2FhvZ32NqjRa3lk2tYrKG9jwdHP9yN2Ow5&ms=UkraineConflict_REF_MEDIA&_cv=1).
6. **SOS Children’s Villages** has worked in Ukraine since 2003 and is coordinating an emergency response to support families who are living in the conflict areas and those who have been internally displaced. Find out more and donate [here](https://sos-usa.org/). 
7. **The World Health Organization Foundation** is raising funds for [WHO’s Health Emergency Appeal](https://www.ukraine.who.foundation/) for Ukraine. You can donate [here](https://www.ukraine.who.foundation/). 
8. **Direct Relief**  is working directly with Ukraine’s Ministry of Health and other on-the-ground partners to provide urgently needed medical aid, including emergency response packs intended for first responders, oxygen concentrators, critical care medicines, and much more. [Donate here](https://www.directrelief.org/place/ukraine/). 

![Stand with Ukraine](../../static/images/standwithukraine2.png)

## **Fight misinformation** 

We should do everything we can to support the citizens of Ukraine in this terrible situation. We believe that we should listen to the voice of the Ukrainians themselves and help them in their time of need. Apart from financial and material support we should also fight disinformation, so please check facts and use reliable sources of information before you share them with others.

## And they lived bright ever after… The story of Bright Inventions

*Published: 2022-03-15 | Author: izabela | Tags: software development company, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-history-of-bright-inventions/index.md*

**Bright Inventions turns 10 in March 2022! That has been quite a ride. Let us show you milestones of the past decade that made us who we are: bright, client-oriented and always with a positive attitude.**

![Bright Inventions 10th anniversary](../../static/images/blog_post_cover_10thanniversary.png "")

## From college buddies to business owners

![2012 milestone](../../static/images/2012.png "")

Our founders Daniel Makurat and Michał Łukasiewicz met in 2005 at the Gdańsk University of Technology where they were studying Computer Science. They quickly became friends and after graduating they got a job in a big international corporation. Yet, after a while they felt a bit unmotivated and weary. Looking for space for taking initiatives, they decided to start their own business. Not in the garage but still… ☺️

![Bright Inventions history Daniel and Michał](../../static/images/bright_story_daniel_michal.png "")

Their goal was to create a place where people would enjoy their work and can grow. At the same time it should be the place where you can solve interesting programming and business problems and first of all, have an impact on the business decisions you are a part of. 

**That is how Bright Inventions came to life on March 15, 2012.**

## First-ever client

![2012](../../static/images/2012.png "")

One of the first projects we worked on at Bright was [Motivo cycling workouts application](/projects/motivo). It was launched in the UK. As you can see, that was quite some time ago. The app was a personal cycling coach, offering training plans and indoor cycling workouts.

![Motivo app mockups](../../static/images/motivo_mockup.jpg "")

## Start of the longest cooperation

![2013](../../static/images/2013.png "")

**Since 2013 we have been working with our client – Practi from Israel.** We assist the client in building ePOS solutions for restaurants across Europe. We have been with them since their startup phase, taking part in their growth as an international retail solutions provider.

> *Thanks to that cooperation we have learnt a lot about scalability and supporting the system and the client’s team. We have earned experience in developing products that people rely on because they use them every day at work. We could see how end-users use our solution. Observing their actions was a real lesson indeed. It turned out that they sometimes used our product in different ways than we could ever imagine. That is an experience every software developer should have – really see how end-users interact with your product.* – says Piotr Mionskowski, Partner & Tech Leader. 

## Building healthcare apps for chronic disease patients or moms-to-be

![2013](../../static/images/2013.png "")

[Etventure](https://www.etventure.com) (now EY etventure) and Bright Inventions started to cooperate in 2013. Thanks to that cooperation we could build **dozens of mobile healthcare applications for iOS and Android**. One of them was a [mobile app for pregnant women](/projects/pregnancy-app/) helping them to experience safe and healthy pregnancy and birth. We also developed the [application for Parkinson’s patients](/projects/solution-for-parkinsons-patients/) which helped manage everyday chronic disease symptoms, the [app for mobile physiotherapy](/projects/mobile-therapy-application) and more. 

![pregnancy app mockup](../../static/images/brightstory_pregnancy_app.png "")

## 5-men team

![2014](../../static/images/2014.png "")

After 2 years the first employees came on board. Our founders were joined by Piotr, Mateusz and Adam. Still, after many years, Piotr and Mateusz are playing the main roles in day-to-day company life.

![Bright Inventions history Piotr and Mateusz](../../static/images/bright_story_piotr_mateusz.png "")

## The first non-technical person on board

![2016](../../static/images/2016.png "")

After 5 years of building Bright, Daniel and Michał hired Ula – the first member of a team that wasn’t a developer. Ula’s role was to support recruitment and marketing processes. And that was a game-changer. 

![Bright Inventions history Ula](../../static/images/bright_story_ula.png "")

> *Ula joining our team was the number 1 milestone in our history. Ula was thrown into deep water and she made it. She not only took care of HR staff, recruitment or marketing. For me the crucial part was her taking care of the well-being of employees. She has been focused on building a work environment where people simply would like to work and self-grow.* – says Mateusz Klimczak, Partner, Technical Leader & Project Manager who could observe Ula’s actions since her day one at Bright.

## Diving into blockchain

![2016](../../static/images/2016.png "")

In 2016 we entered the blockchain world by developing **the first solutions based on blockchain Ethereum**. Since then we started to cooperate with startups, large companies and NGOs that were working with blockchain. This led us to our first original solution built for Polkadot. Yet, that is a story for later. 😉

## Top App Development Agency according to Clutch

![2018](../../static/images/2018.png "")

In 2018 for the first time, **we were recognised by Clutch as one of the Top App Development and B2B agencies in Poland**. Since then we were regularly included in Clutch ranks among the top software development companies in Poland.

## Over 50 bright people

![2020](../../static/images/2020.png "")

In 2020 we got over 50 employees on board! From a 2-people company, we became, over the years, a much bigger and more comprehensive team.

![Bright Inventions team](../../static/images/brightstory_team10years.png "")

> *I think 2020 was pretty pivotal for us. We put a lot of effort to hire great positive people who wanted to create Bright Inventions together with us. I remember that I had a lot of captivating interviews day by day. It was a hectic, but bright time, for sure.*
>
> *It is really important to have a strong sense of the ownership of the organization, team, and your work regardless of the company size. I think we have achieved that. Each and every person in our team has contributed to our Bright success.* – says Ula, HR & Marketing Manager.

## Watching our client’s massive success

![2021](../../static/images/2021.png "")

Our cooperation with the Israeli ePOS startup, which started in 2013, moved to another level. The startup was acquired by Just Eat – the top online food order and delivery service company. Our client has got all the resources needed to develop their innovations for restaurants across Europe. We are proud to assist them on their journey practically from the very beginning.

## Launching our first product

![2021](../../static/images/2021.png "")

In 2021 we launched a beta version of **our first original product – [BrightTreasury](https://treasury.bright.dev) app for Kusama and Polkadot**. The app is a result of over 6 years of experience in blockchain development. The app was funded by the Web3 Foundation.

![BrightTreasury](../../static/images/treasury_www_3.png "")

## BrightTreasury valued by Polkadot community

![2022](../../static/images/2022.png "")

After the official launch of BrighTreasury at the beginning of 2022, **the Polkadot community responded with positive feedback**. The community decided to support the maintenance and further development of the app. So we have the pleasure to **keep working on our original solution for Polkadot and Kusama networks**.

Bright Inventions turns 10 in March 2022! :) What’s next for us? We can’t wait to find out!

## 10 Years Back… Top Programming News of 2012

*Published: 2022-03-11 | Author: izabela | Tags: development, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-programming-news-of-2012/index.md*

**Since it has been a decade already, let’s revisit the year 2012. Do you recall top tech and programming news of 2012? Don’t worry – I will remind you.**

## Raspberry Pi sold out after the launch

That was a hit! Raspberry Pi was created to promote teaching young people computer science. And it still does. In 2019, more than [forty million boards](https://twitter.com/EbenUpton/status/1205646606504275968) have been sold.

![Raspberry Pi](../../static/images/raspberrypi_2012.png "")

## Apple introduced iPhone5

Another iPhone, another story behind it. That iPhone was promoted with the slogan: “The biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone.” Now after a decade – do you agree with that statement?

![iPhone 5](../../static/images/iphone5_2012.png "")

## The world met Windows 8

This was the year when Microsoft launched its Windows 8 operating system with a controversial tiles menu. 😉The tiles weren’t the hit and the update Windows 8.1 enabled users to replace them with a well-known Windows menu.

![Windows 8](../../static/images/windows8_2012.png "")

## Objective-C is still at the top of programming languages

2 years before announcing its successor – Swift, Objective-C did quite well being at the [top of the popular languages of the year](https://www.i-programmer.info/news/98-languages/5298-the-top-languages-of-2012.html). I guess its fate was already sealed though. ;)

![objective-c](../../static/images/objectivec_2012.png "")

## TypeScript was released

TypeScript is the programming language that builds on Java. It was created by Microsoft to challenge all the complexities in JavaScript. Now after 10 years we can definitely say that TypeScript made its expectations.

![TypeScript](../../static/images/blog_post_in_2012.png "")

## Bright Inventions came to life 😀

Yup, that is a very special year for us. Our software development agency came to life in 2012. Check out our [bright story](/blog/the-history-of-bright-inventions/).

![Bright Inventions recruitment](../../static/images/join_bright_inventions.png "")

## What to Expect from Kotlin Development Company from Poland

*Published: 2022-03-09 | Author: izabela | Tags: business, Kotlin*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-to-expect-from-kotlin-development-company-from-poland/index.md*

**Everything you should know about working with Kotlin development software house from Poland.**

![Kotlin development company from Poland](../../static/images/android_development_company.png)

## What does the Kotlin development company do?

[Kotlin development agency](/our-areas/mobile-app-development) specializes in building and maintaining mobile applications for Android. Kotlin developers take care of every aspect of the Android app development process: from the ideation phase to the launch and maintenance. 

The main programming languages used to build Android apps are Java and Kotlin. At Bright Inventions, we use Kotlin because it is a more modern language. It offers more effective ways to deliver high-quality code specifically for Android applications.

## What does cooperation with Kotlin Developers from Poland look like?

Polish Kotlin Developers are well-known for their great expertise, responsibility and delivering high-quality solutions. Polish Android development companies, like Bright Inventions, are well-experienced in cooperation with international clients offering solutions to startups and larger organizations all around the globe.

## Top reasons why you should work with an Android development team from Poland:

### 1. Polish software developers are a global top of the top.

It is a well-known fact for years. In 2016 [Hackerrank](https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-country-would-win-in-the-programming-olympics/) presented a very popular insight “Which Country Would Win in the Programming Olympics?”. The report was widely referenced on multiple sites. Polish software developers took third place!

<center>

![Polish software developers HackerRank](../../static/images/hackerrank_polish_developers.png)

</center>

### 2. Polish software developers communicate fluently in English

Polish developers speak fluently in English on daily basis. In the [EF English Proficiency Index](https://www.ef.com/assetscdn/WIBIwq6RdJvcD9bc8RMd/cefcom-epi-site/reports/2021/ef-epi-2021-english.pdf) Poland was ranked in the top of countries with high proficiency in English.

### 3. Poland has one of the biggest numbers of female software developers

It is still not enough. Yet, [compared to the rest of the world](https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-countries-have-the-most-skilled-female-developers/) that is an impressive number. Moreover, half of the Polish scientists are women.

### 4. Workable time difference between Polish Kotlin developers and the rest of the world

Poland is in Central European Time (CET) which makes it possible to organise daily online meetings with companies from Germany, Norway, as well as Israel or the USA.

**Examples of time differences:**

🇵🇱  Poland – 🇩🇪 Germany: no time difference

🇵🇱  Poland – 🇳🇴 Norway: no time difference

🇵🇱  Poland – 🇬🇧  the UK: 1-hour time difference

🇵🇱  Poland – 🇮🇱 Israel: 1-hour time difference

🇵🇱  Poland – 🇺🇸 New York: 6-hours time difference

For example, staying in New York you can organise a daily meeting at 9.00 AM local time. At the same time, in Poland it will be 3.00 PM – a perfect time after lunch. Kotlin developers in Poland usually finish their work between 4-6 PM.

## Join Our Software Workshops for Polish Dev Community

*Published: 2022-02-28 | Author: izabela | Tags: development, iOS, Agile, inspiration, AWS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/join-our-software-workshops-for-polish-dev-community/index.md*

**2022 is the year we turn 10 as Bright Inventions. 🎉  We decided to celebrate it by sharing insights with the community. At the same time our goal is to keep improving our knowledge sharing skills. We organize workshops for the software development community from Poland. Join Agile or iOS workshops or sign up for a webinar for future tech leaders. All workshops are conducted in Polish.**

## Everyday Agile Workshops

![Agile Workshops by Bright Inventions](../../static/images/agile_workshops.png "")

Everybody seems to be doing Agile these days. But how to be agile on a daily basis while doing software products and working in a team? What does a true Agile Manifesto mean in practice?

**During the Agile Workshops [Kasia – Bright Senior Project Manager](/blog/meet-kasia-a-project-manager-and-an-academic-teacher/), will guide you through a sprint workflow.** All participants will talk about the most common project management problems and together will analyze how to avoid them.

First online Agile workshops start on February 28. Other editions are coming in March. There is still a chance to join. Join [Facebook event](https://www.facebook.com/events/306691164768288/) for more info. 

We have planned 4 live meetings deeply covering topics like:

1. What is Agile?
2. Time for practice - let’s do sprint!
3. Common challenges and how to handle them.
4. Discussion, reflection and questions.

## Road to Tech Leader Workshops

![Road to Tech Lead Workshops](../../static/images/road_to_tech_leader.png "")

What is the best way to transition from Software Developer to Tech Leader? Mateusz will help you navigate that career path according to his experience. 🙂  Check out another blog post to know his [road from iOS Developer to Tech Lead](/blog/responsibility-and-change-are-his-fuel-meet-mateusz/).

The workshops are planned for April. As always, follow our social media to stay in the loop.

## iOS + Realm Workshops for iOS Developers

![iOS Development Workshops](../../static/images/ios_workshops.png "")

How to store data in iOS apps on local Realm base? Check out Filip’s workshops. Filip is [iOS Senior Developer with over 8 years of experience](/blog/ios-developer-with-over-8-years-of-experience-meet-filip/). If you are also a LEGO fan, then you really must join. No more spoilers. 😉 More details soon on our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/bright.inventions).

## AWS Workshops for Serverless Enthusiasts

![AWS Workshops](../../static/images/aws_workshops.png "")

Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that **we’ve just finished the second edition of Bright Inventions AWS Workshops**. During 6 webinars, [Piotr Mionskowski from Bright Inventions](/blog/piotr-team-leader-technology-evangelist/) solved with participants plenty of AWS mysteries. They talked about cloud computing covering topics such as:

* databases, 
* serverless, 
* monitoring with CloudWatch, 
* how to use AWS Certificate Manager and more.

Have you missed the chance to join the workshops? Do not worry, more AWS lessons are coming. Join [AWS Tricity Facebook Group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/679812723195646) to be first informed about our AWS workshops.

## Responsibility and Change are His Fuel. Meet Mateusz

*Published: 2022-02-21 | Author: mateusz | Tags: bright story, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/responsibility-and-change-are-his-fuel-meet-mateusz/index.md*

**Mateusz is one of the first-ever bright team members. He started his bright career as an iOS Developer transforming over the years into Tech Leader. Mateusz loves working with startups that deal with scalability. The status quo is not for him. So what do work for him? Read the interview to find out!**

![Mateusz Tech Leader at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/brightstorymateuszk2.png)

## From which technologies did you start your programming adventure?

I started to code in high school. My first language was C99, so you can see it was over a decade ago. 😉  **I was learning in a quite old fashioned way. I got a book and tried to do every exercise from it on my computer.** 

Then I started to learn C# during my Computer Science studies at the Gdańsk University of Technology. Back then I started my first internship in a corporation which turned into a part-time job. That was my first serious job. I worked there for 18 months. 

In the meantime I was diving into [iOS development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development), learning Objective-C. 

## Why did you start to learn iOS development?

It all started because I decided to participate in the AppCamp competition. Contestants had to create their own iOS app from scratch. I had to pitch an idea for a healthcare app in front of the jury. Then they chose the apps with the greatest business potential. My idea was included so I had a chance to build my first app and launch it on the App Store. That was quite a big deal for me.

**That was the first time when I really had a taste of mixing software development with business.** I had to come up with ideas, goals and the code obviously. The only help I had was from a graphic designer. 

As a finalist I got a Macbook, on which I developed and launched my healthcare app, which obviously sped up my iOS development learning process. And helped me to change my job and get where I am – to Bright Inventions. 🙂

## So how was it to join a small company from an international corporation?

During my master studies my lecturer Tomasz Dziubich from the Gdańsk University of Technology recommended me to Bright Inventions. And that is how I came to Bright. I was so silly back then. I came to Bright office and I was thinking that I was coming there to have a tour of the office. Obviously, when I came there I had a technical interview. Imagine my surprise. 😉  I felt so not ready for it.

Nevertheless, I was offered a job. So **I came to Bright Inventions and left the corporate world behind**. All of my friends and family warned me not to do it. Everyone was telling me that I should stay where I was – with a full-time contract offer at a steady company, with an established brand. Corporations have lots of advantages and stability is on top of them. I needed something different though and decided to take that risk.

![Bright Story Mateusz quote](../../static/images/brightstory_mateusz_quote1.png)

It turned out that I got lucky. **I came to Bright as one of the first employees. Our team consisted of 5 people back then. I was learning there like crazy. I was bombarded with knowledge.** The company was small so Michał had time and opportunities to teach me a lot. I learned 10 times faster than at the previous job. What was awesome was the lack of processes and procedures. Nothing stopped me from doing my job. I liked that. I don’t claim that the corporate world is bad. It works for tons of people. It has lots of advantages. It just wasn’t for me.

## You are an iOS Developer who turned into Technical Leader & Project Manager. What made you move your career in that direction?

It came quite naturally. There wasn’t any meeting that established my new role. **It was a natural outcome and effect of the company's growth.** I always liked to take responsibility and initiative. **So when we started recruiting new people, there was a natural need for a leader to be established. Someone who knew the processes, company best practices and was not afraid to lead the way.**

![Bright Inventions Team](../../static/images/brightstory_team.png)

I should mention that after graduating from Computer Science Studies I decided to do a Master’s Degree in Management at the Gdańsk University of Technology. These studies gave me some theoretical knowledge that I could confront with my practical work as a PM at Bright Inventions.

Firstly, I became a technical leader at Bright mostly maintaining relations with clients. Then my role evolved. **Now I focus on choosing the right technologies and solutions for clients matching their business objectives.** As a result, I code less than I used to.

Looking back I appreciate the fact that despite being an iOS developer I had opportunities at Bright to work on backend (Spring, Node.js) and Android applications as well. Even though that weren’t my specialities it now helps me to manage projects. I am aware of the challenges programmers have even if they use a different stack than I. It is important for me to be up-to-date with other technologies than iOS development as much as it is possible.

## What projects do you manage now?

Currently, I take care of 3 projects at Bright Inventions. One of them is **[Relevo](/projects/eco-friendly-app/) – an iOS and Android application from a German startup**. Thanks to Relevo app users can get their food from restaurants in a resuable eco-friendly tableware. We take care of the infrastructure, the backend application, web-apps for restaurants, and mobile applications for restaurant clients.

Another project is **[](https://accessos.io)a PWA application for placing emergency calls for people with speaking or hearing disabilities** that will be launched soon in the USA.

I also work with a USA startup **[](https://lunaxio.com)where we build a complete communication platform based on the network of Bluetooth devices**. That is a fascinating yet complex project. I believe that it can revolutionize the way we use [Bluetooth technology](/our-areas/bluetooth-development).

## Do you prefer to work with startups or bigger organizations?

I like to work with startups but from time to time I enjoy having a break to work with corporations. I love changes and stepping out of my comfort zone. Really. I know that many people claim that, but that is really my gem. **I like to regularly change my tools, browsers, libraries etc. I feel the need to deal with something new, so I won't get stuck in the status quo.**

![Bright Story Mateusz quote](../../static/images/brightstory_mateusz_quote2.png)

I have a soft spot for startups for other reasons than you might think. Many developers love working on startup projects because they thrive on greenfield. You can choose your stack. You don’t have technological debt. You don’t worry about backward compatibility. Nothing is holding you back. 

It is not my reason though. 😉

## So why do you prefer working with startups? What is your reason?

**I love working with startups especially after they [successfully launch MVP](/our-areas/mvp-development). Because then the real challenge approaches.** Your solution has users now and you hold responsibility for them. Often, startups struggle to deal with their users' growth. Due to the fact that **the rise of users is followed by a strong possibility of system overload**. 

![Bright Story Mateusz quote](../../static/images/brightstory_mateusz_quote3.png)

So here we come to **the real test of architecture and infrastructure scalability that every startup has to pass**. What is essential at this stage is well-configured monitoring that controls system overload and informs us about emerging threads. 

Imagine that your app has been getting fastly new users and also has been affected by peak hours. Let’s say that this is an app for ordering food. So naturally, the peak will be during lunchtime and the late hours on weekends. **If you made wrong architectural decisions, and didn’t properly configure the monitoring tool, your app could fail because of your success. Our job is to prevent that and help clients build the product which will be growing with its users.**

At the same time, we need to remember that this is an early stage of business. So software developers still need to find the most efficient ways to minimalise infrastructure costs and workload on them. High fixed costs for infrastructure could significantly slow business development.

![Bright Story Mateusz quote](../../static/images/brightstory_mateusz_quote4.png)

**I believe that we as software developers cannot guarantee that the product will be a success but we can easily make it a failure.** So it's all about understanding the responsibility and making choices that will enable a business to grow. I love that about software development. **I love that pressure, responsibility and high stake. I can find all of that while working with startups.**

## What activities do you enjoy after hours?

I spend most of my free time with my family. Also, I listen to lots of podcasts and enjoy reading fantasy books. If I have some time (which is difficult with 2 kids in the house), I play some console games. I am quite passionate about the startup scene, but I also like to observe big tech and innovators in action. I won’t say ‘no’ to board games like many people at Bright Inventions.

![Bright Story Mateusz](../../static/images/brightstory_remote_work.png)

## Ok, so tell me what podcast do you recommend for tech leaders and startup enthusiasts?

Definitely, my favourite one is Polish podcast “[Design Your Life](https://zaprojektujswojezycie.pl/type/podcast/)” on the careers of extraordinary people, building businesses, and the startup scene. From non-polish podcasts, I can recommend “[Acquired](https://www.acquired.fm)” which presents stories about leading companies and tech giants.

## Bright Inventions turns 10 in March! What do we value? How did we get there?

*Published: 2022-02-09 | Author: ula | Tags: bright insights, company update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-inventions-turns-10-in-march-what-do-we-value/index.md*

**10 years, 53 projects and 70 people on board… Let’s talk to Ula who has been shaping our bright team for over five years. Find out what team we have tried to build and what values have been driving us for the last decade.**

![Ula Stankiewicz Bright Inventions](../../static/images/ula_blogpost_brightbirthday.png "")

## You came to Bright Inventions 5 years ago when the team consisted of 8 people. Now we have over 70 team members. How did you increase these numbers with pretty small resources?

That was simply hard work. I guess it is still hard work. 🙂 I was the very first “non-technical” person in the team. Apart from conducting recruitment activities, I had to build the whole brand awareness almost from scratch. Naturally, we had a website, which looked completely different than now, and a few social media accounts non-managed on a daily basis. But I think that was exactly the biggest asset I was given - this "blank page" undestroyed by anything. 

I was able quite quickly to build a marketing and HR strategy thanks to the fact that I worked closely with the co-founders of Bright* and **I was engaged in every process in the company**. I quickly realised what kind of company Michał and Daniel wanted to build and what kind of people we needed on board. **The goal was to create a place where people can develop and enjoy what they do**. All that in a positive and responsible environment.

Knowing all that and getting to know all those great people who were already at Bright I deeply identified myself with the brand, wanted to truly be a part of this team, and make it grow. **I just believe in Bright Inventions. I think we all do, and we genuinely share that in both internal and external communication. I think people can see the authenticity and candor**. And it brings them to us. We have in our Bright team people who really enjoy solving problems, learning and supporting each other. There are people who can work together and have fun together. 

For the first 3 years of my work at Bright our recruitment needs were not so emerging. We grew to 30 people during that time. But in the fourth year we doubled that team. Therefore, managing all the processes inside the company became a bit more challenging. **The success lies in the consistency, on-going market analysis, quick adaptation to changes and verifying if the things you do make sense for your team.** 

## How does a recruitment process look at Bright?

This process has been modified and optimized over the years. In the beginning, when our recruitment needs were much smaller, we acted quite dynamically and there were situations when we offered candidates a job during an interview or just after it. So that was fast, truly Agile – some would say. 😉 

Recently we have been working hard to involve more team members in the recruitment process so our experienced devs are a part of the team that conducts technical talks. And it is crucial that everyone follows the same rating rules, scales and search for the same values. The process has become a bit more structured. 

![Recruiting process at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/bright_inventions_recruiting_process_tech.png "")

How does it look? To cut the long story short, every candidate after the screening session has an initial call with one of our recruiters. **We want to find out if we can really bring value to someone’s development**. I believe it should work like that. **It is just like in a relationship**. Based on resumes we can see more or less what candidates have to offer. The point is that they should also know what they may expect after joining our team and how we can help them in their further career. Feedback starts here. 

If the screening session goes well and both sides are happy, we invite a candidate to the first round of the process i.e. **online interview** with me, Agata or Paulina and one of our colleagues from a development team. The second round is about doing **a technical task** (in case of developers) and only selected candidates move to that round. We do not want to waste people’s time if after the interview it is clear that expectations from both sides are different. 

The technical task is a complementary part, but we use it only if together with a candidate we are sure about taking this next step. One important thing – that is the candidate who sets up a deadline, so you have great freedom to schedule that appropriately. 

After each part **we are giving feedback**. After screening, live at the end of the interview, and after the recruitment task once again. 

We were always very open and honest during the process and that is crucial for me to maintain. It should always be a dialogue not a form of an exam. We focus on sharing knowledge in the most friendly way possible. **I want candidates to have an added value after meeting with us. It ought to be win-win**.

## What is the most important part of a successful recruitment process?

Transparency and feedback. We should have nothing to hide. Both sides should express their expectations and needs. Also, (and I know it sounds like a cliche) treating others how you would like to be treated. Sorry if I have disappointed you with this answer but simple things like that are very often more effective than complicated and long strategies. 😉

## What are Bright Inventions core values then? Who are we looking for?

It is an easy question, at least I suppose it is. **We are looking for people who would like to create Bright Inventions with us**. People who appreciate feedback, self-development and at the same time value teamwork. We are a place for people who are not afraid of sharing their ideas and take ownership of what they do. The goal is to create not only software solutions that work, but also a bright community that works. 

We have five core values and we use these values in each possible situation. Starting from recruitment, marketing and communication strategies and ending in our daily work in projects.  

![Bright Inventions 10th birthday](../../static/images/10_years_bright_team.png "")

We also use so-called value based recruitment, the approach that lets you check if your potential employee’s values match with your organization's values and mindset. In fact, the success itself is often sustained by values we are committed to. 

But coming back to the point. As I have said we have [five company values](/about-us/values/) that we are keen to promote through everything we do. The core values should be visible in every area of the organization. In our case these are **responsibility, flexibility, teamwork, positive attitude and client orientation**. I can elaborate on each and every one, but I am not sure if we have enough time for that. But they are well described on our company website. 🙂

## How do you take care of team building in times of hybrid and remote work?

![hybrid working model at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/christmas_meeting.png "")

When the pandemic started, we rather quickly came from offline to online. Actually, the easiest part was to move recruitment processes online. Maintaining team spirit has been more challenging. People suddenly couldn’t meet face to face. **The crucial part was to maintain the human factor**. Despite online work, we have been organizing lots of opportunities to stay in touch with each other.  Firstly, we started with a morning call to start the day together. The call was at 7.45 AM so obviously not everyone wanted or was able to participate. 😉 Then we started to use the **[Donut](https://www.donut.com) app** that enabled us to have short lunch breaks and calls with people from our team. 

Now, after two years of pandemic [our work could be described as a hybrid one](/blog/hybrid-work-how-to-do-it-right/). It is a healthy mix of individualistic needs. Some people come to the office every day, some twice a week and some maybe once a month or even less. Each option is fine as long as it gives people the opportunity to do their work best. We have to be aware that remote is not for everyone. In some cases it just doesn’t work. 

But despite the hybrid work model we didn’t give up **face to face meetings**. We organize **lunch roulettes** (random people go to lunch paid by the company) and **board game Fridays**. We have **MTB, run and swimming training** together after hours and we participate in regular **team retreats**. We are trying to create many opportunities for people not to lose the team's spirit value. 

## You often say that continuous feedback is a crucial part of our bright culture. How does continuous feedback look in practice?

In practice it means a lot of conversations, compassion and problem solving. But it also means a lot of satisfaction. It is challenging to build a real continuous feedback culture, we are still building ours. When the team was smaller it was natural that we were talking about everything, for example in a kitchen. When the team got bigger, the real fun started. 😎

**I can see that people generally in life struggle to give useful feedback or to give any feedback at all**. I am happy that I work with these who are open and at Bright feedback culture works pretty well. But the common problem is that very often we have been not taught how to give and get feedback, especially regarding negative one, which is the best thing we can experience (if it is communicated properly, of course). People are frequently afraid of showing their true feelings and opinions. They are afraid of the reaction that may follow. To stay friends they can keep tough feedback to themselves and in consequence valuable insights are never given. It happens. Maybe not here, but still it does. 

![feedback](../../static/images/feedback_culture.jpeg "")

**Introducing continuous feedback culture is showing your team that they will not be punished for sharing their views when you disagree with them**. You have to create space for open discussions. At the same time it is **educating people that we should not feel hurt or offended when someone asks us to change our behaviour**. Natural reaction is defense and protecting our ego while hearing criticism, but feedback is not about criticizing, it is about continuous improvement and taking care of each other. 

In fact, I think that all depends on how feedback is given and received. There should always be a good intention behind it. That is really the first step for anyone who wants to create a continuous feedback culture - to understand what true feedback is about and why it is given. Then we can start introducing feedback sessions for our teams, 1:1 meetings with managers or tech leads, follow-up meetings and many other initiatives. But the team should understand why we do. And we have to do it regularly to see the effects as continuous feedback culture is not about doing annual performance reviews and KPIs, it is an iterative process. Maybe even an experimental one. But worth every minute of your time. 

## And last but not least. How would you describe our team in one sentence?

It is a community of positive, responsible, ambitious and supporting people. 🙂

###### \*Apart from Michał Łukasiewicz and Daniel Makurat (the co-founders) I would like to say BIG THANK YOU to Mateusz Klimczak, Piotr Mionskowski and Adam Bar (who is no longer with us now), but who were really supporting me during my first months in the company. 🧡

## You're a senior developer – now what?

*Published: 2022-02-01 | Author: kasia | Tags: self-development, senior, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/youre-a-senior-now-what/index.md*

There is often a slight pause after you reach your goal. Especially if it’s something you worked on for a long time. You feel the joy of the accomplishment but after a moment it’s accompanied by a puzzled reflection. You did what you wanted to do, you reached the goal - now what? Where do you go from here? 

![You're a senior developer - now what](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/oLNbh_0EOMOb02Q-RsCkK8xQ9Y3KQWFmFaivxHtfDgiOJGDv4QGsaziEDodVTVq9KYIXieoZmHqavJ8ZOPBf7Rqcu4VZabz-9i_AVQURjGTesHUH_CCmnaWxdT72w6d_-SrRGUgG)

*source: The Graduate (1967)*

It might sound like a first world problem but the struggle is real. Becoming a senior in a [software development](/our-areas/custom-software-development/) organisation is usually a goal to achieve. **There is advice all over the internet on how to move from junior to senior, however there’s much less support for those who already reached that goal**. What do you do, when you are finally a senior? One of the questions that people seem to ask me very frequently is about self-development when you reach that level. You probably should still learn, but how? Where? When?

At Bright Inventions we define a senior developer as someone who is obviously highly knowledgeable,  independent and responsible but also good at soft skills and active in knowledge sharing. Someone who supports others with the expertise they have. I think in many organisations a senior is someone who’s expected to support other people’s development while taking care of their own goals at the same time. 

## How to know what to learn? 

This is always tricky. Our whole education system is based on the idea of others telling us what to learn next. It often stretches to our adult work life - our company, our mentors, team leaders show the direction and set the goals. What to do when this ends, usually at the senior level? Or when you become a mentor or a team leader yourself?  

* **look for mentors**. Mentors can still have mentors. Yup, it’s asking others for directions, but with more awareness. They can be public figures, celebrity developers or your colleagues that you look up to in a particular domain. Whoever makes sense and you find them wise. It’s good to take inspiration and check other’s experiences
* **do not be afraid**. Go down the research rabbit hole, sign up for the workshop, discuss with others even if you'll be proved wrong (then admit it). Honestly, just do it. I know, you’ve seen this advice everywhere, from shoe advertisements to an inspirational meme sent by your mother (accompanied by an image of a mountain or a vast sea, like this:

![You're a senior developer - now what](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/kd_mHwXsYcVw5Pox9sSwtwCo0rpuFaUFvdh3xaRE5W-rxYt3KQLkxsDFqvZgaULDfQY2k80RBBqKeXRyLGxaOYP3W6fWWq7YcbMblYrOr4UNK-gSGPR-fRVf8PRKBAgOSyJTYbjv)

*source: https://quotefancy.com/* 

If you choose an e-course that ends up being a waste of time - oh well, you will know better next time. **You are a master in the making, so mistakes will be made and let’s just call them experiences to learn from, ok?** 

## Where to look for knowledge?

Books are great. Period. They are especially great when you want to focus on more abstract and complex issues, which you are probably after at the senior level. At early stages you might have been mostly drawn to the internet resources, because they are more up to date and contain how-to’s, which are important when you learn technologies. However, some ideas need more pages and focus than the internet form would comfortably accommodate. 

Also, check conferences in your domain, both online and offline. They are great places for sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas. If you don’t use such meetings just for self-promotion but to really connect with others and learn from each other, the wisdom you can get is priceless. 

Blogs are not entirely dead and those who stayed in the blogging arena do it to share the experiences that cannot fit into a twitter thread. Search for people from the industry that have the wisdom and experience. They might also have a newsletter (newsletters are back, yay) or a podcast (because who doesn’t these days). [Some are even writing books](https://tidyfirst.substack.com/about) as they go along. It’s good to start with who you want to follow and then check their platform of choice, rather than the other way around. 

## How to remember about self-development with the everyday responsibilities?

If you were proactive about broadening your knowledge before becoming a senior, you probably know the drill already. If, however, you relied on others to motivate you, it may be difficult at first to prioritise learning, especially when your responsibilities changed. **A good way to keep at self-development is to plan time specifically for it**. How many times you thought you would read that interesting post later, maybe in the evening, but ended up watching another trending Netflix show? Putting off something that requires concentration and will power to the unspecified evening after work is a recipe for failure. At [Bright Inventions](/) we have something called “Bright Day” - a day off from your everyday project tasks that you can take each month to learn and broaden your horizons. Check if that’s an option in your company or do your own special mornings for self development.

## What a senior did next

These days there’s a tendency to become a senior at a much younger age than it used to be, when this term was coined. Some people get their “senior” titles in their twenties - hardly a senior age (I’d be on my deathbed already, muttering my last words following this logic. Drink to me!). It would be beyond tragic to reach your peak at work so early in your career, right? So it’s no wonder that people begin to ask themselves, where do you go from here, with 30 working years ahead? **In my opinion, it’s best to detach yourself from the corporate definitions**. In some organisations you have levels of seniority, in others you get “chief” in front of your  title. Regardless of the corporate ladder, reaching the senior level means that you are expected to take responsibility for your development and the directions in which you evolve. **In IT it’s usually a moment to ask yourself if you’d like to go in the leadership direction or not, if you’d like to move to management or more technical expertise etc.** These directions will require different focus and actions, so make sure to check with yourself which path seems more suitable for you specifically. Again, regardless of the corporate vision of employees’ development. 

All in all, my general advice would be not to treat a senior title as a goal in itself. After all, it’s just a title. Think about who you want to become in your career and start doing what you need to become that person. If you get a senior position along the way, then great, what a nice acknowledgement of your work. But afterwards, just check with yourself if you’re still on the path you want, adjust the course and keep going. Let me find an appropriate inspirational image with a mountain or a sea for you. 

![You're a senior developer - now what](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/uNSAPjI7EmhjCJtkrhP8Wv5096X8Z_SN2UHyz4KpoKM5hGTqMKvV9alplNAEeqxkOrqnSV_lv7vaqJb5KQ9eouYEhqE3cpidXNOQSYpjISx8Eq5iPs8f8TF6sppdY3C0xhWMJoSo)

*source: https://quotefancy.com/* 

You’re welcome. 

Now go and be a senior that you needed when you were a junior. And I mean it, not in a quote-against-the-sea-image kind of way. If there is one thing that should come with a senior title, it’s being a support. **Now that you are fully capable of standing on your own feet it’s time to lift others.** That’s a difference you find in a true seniorship. 

And while you will be sharing your expertise with others, you might find that this will allow you to evolve as well.

## Migrate EC2-Classic RDS to a VPC - Step 1 - Replication

*Published: 2022-01-30 | Author: piotr | Tags: database, EC2-Classic, AWS-CDK, AWS, RDS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrating-ec2-classic-rds-to-vpc-step-1/index.md*

In [the last blog post](/blog/migrate-ec2-classic-rds-to-a-vpc-planning) I sketched a plan to migrate an
EC2-Classic RDS database to a VPC. It is time to dive into the details of setting up replication. There
are great blog posts with an in-depth
explanation [of the SQL and PostgreSQL related aspects](https://www.percona.com/blog/postgresql-logical-replication-using-an-rds-snapshot/)
. We are going to focus on the automation of the replication setup using AWS-CDK.

![replicated lollipops](../../static/images/replica.jpeg "")

## The source EC2-Classic RDS database parameters

In the case of our client, the EC2-Classic RDS PostgreSQL database was deployed with CloudFormation.
With AWS-CDK it is possible to import an existing CloudFormation template and thus gradually switch
to a more modern approach. Once imported it is easy enough to update the parameters
through [`ParameterGroup`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cdk/api/v2//docs/aws-cdk-lib.aws_rds.ParameterGroup.html#initializer):

```typescript
const included: CfnInclude = loadCloudFormationTemplate();

const cfnDatabase: CfnDBInstance = included.getResource("Database") as CfnDBInstance;

const parameterGroup = new ParameterGroup(this, 'Replication Source Parameters', {
  engine: DatabaseInstanceEngine.postgres({
    version: PostgresEngineVersion.VER_11
  }),
  parameters: {
    max_replication_slots: '10',
    max_wal_senders: '10',
    max_worker_processes: '10',
    track_commit_timestamp: '1',
    wal_level: 'logical',
  }
});

cfnDatabase.dbParameterGroupName = parameterGroup.bindToInstance({}).parameterGroupName
```

If the database has a custom parameter group we need to modify its properties instead of creating a
new one. Changing the above database parameters sometimes requires a reboot. It is thus important to
schedule it ahead of time in the low traffic hours.

## Create a replication user with AWS-CDK

It is best to create a dedicated replication user at a database level. Running SQL through
CloudFormation can be cumbersome. Thankfully we have developed
the [cloudformation-sql-run](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cloudformation-sql-run) AWS-CDK construct
to make this easier.

```typescript
const replicationUserPassword = new secretmanager.Secret(this, 'Replication User Password', {
  generateSecretString: {
    excludeCharacters: DEFAULT_PASSWORD_EXCLUDE_CHARS
  }
})

const sourceDatabaseConnection = SqlRunConnection.fromDriverTypeHostPort({
  password: SqlSecret.fromSecretsManager(sourceDatabasePassword),
  username: cfnDatabase.masterUsername!,
  driverType: 'postgresql',
  database: cfnDatabase.dbName!,
  host: cfnDatabase.attrEndpointAddress!,
  port: cfnDatabase.attrEndpointPort! as any as number
});

const createReplicationUser = new SqlRun(this, 'Create Replication User', {
  vpc: vpc,
  connection: sourceDatabaseConnection,
  up: {
    run: [{
      sql: `CREATE USER pgrepuser WITH password '${replicationUserPassword.secretValue}'`
    }, {
      sql: `GRANT rds_replication TO pgrepuser`,
    }, {
      sql: `GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO pgrepuser`,
    }],
  },
  down: {
    run: [{
      sql: `DROP USER IF EXISTS pgrepuser`
    }]
  }
});
```

## Setup replication slots at source RDS database

We create a dedicated SQL user for replication purposes. Now it is time to prepare for the
replication itself. Thankfully this is easy and all we need is 2 additional SQL commands

```typescript
const createPublication = new SqlRun(this, 'Create Publication', {
  vpc: vpc,
  connection: sourceDatabaseConnection,
  up: {
    run: [{
      sql: `CREATE PUBLICATION pglogical_rep01 FOR ALL TABLES`
    }, {
      sql: `SELECT pg_create_logical_replication_slot('pglogical_rep01', 'pgoutput')`
    },],
  },
  down: {
    run: [{
      sql: `DROP PUBLICATION IF EXISTS pglogical_rep01`
    }]
  }
});
```

## Create snapshot at the original database

To speed up replication we'll use take a snapshot and restore approach. First, we use a snapshot is
to create a new VPC based RDS database. Then we set up a logical replication using the above
preparation. Unfortunately at the moment taking a snapshot of a database with AWS-CDK requires a
custom construct. I will create another blog post describing the details of such construct. However,
for the time being, it is enough for you to know that creating and using it is relatively easy:

```typescript
const cfnDatabase: CfnDBInstance = included.getResource("Database") as CfnDBInstance;

const sourceDataseSnapshot = new DatabaseSnapshot(this, 'Source Database Snapshot', {
  dbInstanceIdentifier: cfnDatabase.dbInstanceIdentifier
})
```

The snapshot name is going to be available at `sourceDataseSnapshot.dbInstanceSnapshotIdentifier`

## Create a new database from snapshot

It is time to finally create a new RDS database in the target VPC. We create the database from the
snapshot created above. The database will use the same database parameter group. It will not receive
any production traffic yet. Notice that we create a database cluster instead of a database instance.
It doesn't matter though. The procedure is the same for the database instance.

```typescript
const vpc: IVpc = props.vpc
const targetDatabaseCluster = new DatabaseClusterFromSnapshot(this, 'Database', {
  instanceProps: {
    vpc: vpc,
  },
  engine: DatabaseClusterEngine.auroraPostgres({
    version: AuroraPostgresEngineVersion.VER_11_4
  }),
  snapshotIdentifier: databaseSnapshot.dbInstanceSnapshotIdentifier,
  parameterGroup: parameterGroup
})
```

## Finding out where to start replication from

Once the database cluster restored from a snapshot is ready we have to start replication. First we
create a subscription. Notice that we're using references to source RDS database.

```typescript
const createSubscription = new SqlRun(this, 'Create Subscription', {
  vpc: vpc,
  connection: SqlRunConnection.fromDatabaseCluster(targetDatabaseCluster),
  up: {
    run: [{
      sql: `CREATE SUBSCRIPTION pglogical_sub01 
CONNECTION 'host=${cfnDatabase.attrEndpointAddress!} port=5432 dbname=${cfnDatabase.dbName!} 
user=pgrepuser password=${replicationUserPassword.secretValue}' PUBLICATION pglogical_rep01
WITH (
  copy_data = false,
  create_slot = false,
  enabled = false,
  connect = true,
  slot_name = 'pglogical_rep01'
)`
    }, {
      sql: `SELECT 'pg_'||oid::text AS "external_id"
FROM pg_subscription 
WHERE subname = 'pglogical_sub01'`
    }],
  },
  down: {
    run: [{
      sql: `DROP SUBSCRIPTION IF EXISTS pglogical_sub01`
    }]
  }
});
```

Now that we have a subscription ready to synchronize data. However, we need to advance the
replication into the correct position. To do that we need to find the latest log file
positions. The RDS service provides API for that. For now, we'll assume we have
a `LatestLogPosition` AWS-CDK construct that reads the position for us. In the next blog post, I'll
describe how to create such a construct.

```typescript
const externalId = createSubscription.getStatementResult(0, 'external_id')

const latestLogFile = new LatestLogPosition(this, 'Replication Position', {
  cluster: targetDatabaseCluster
})


const advanceAndEnableSubscription = new SqlRun(this, 'Enable Subscription', {
  vpc: vpc,
  connection: SqlRunConnection.fromDatabaseCluster(targetDatabaseCluster),
  up: {
    run: [{
      sql: `SELECT pg_replication_origin_advance(:externalId, :logFilePosition)`,
      parameters: {
        externalId: externalId,
        logFilePosition: latestLogFile.logFilePosition
      }
    }, {
      sql: `ALTER SUBSCRIPTION pglogical_sub01 ENABLE`
    }]
  },
  down: {
    run: [{
      sql: 'ALTER SUBSCRIPTION pglogical_sub01 DISABLE'
    }]
  }
})
```

In the last SQL statement, we have enabled the subscription. Now the VPC based RDS database is
synchronized with EC2-Classic instance!
For the above to work we need to make sure the source database allows establishing connections from
VPC-based database on a network level.

## Summary

Automating the above process is cumbersome. However, it gives us a solid way to test the approach in
a pre-production environment. This way we can find any loopholes in our approach. We can also
better estimate how long the procedure is going to take on production. We have also not caused any downtime or degradation of performance to the source database. This is very important since it is still used by our clients!

## Migrate EC2-Classic RDS to a VPC - Planning

*Published: 2022-01-21 | Author: piotr | Tags: AWS, AWS-CDK, database*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrate-ec2-classic-rds-to-a-vpc-planning/index.md*

By end of August [AWS will shut down EC2-Classic networking](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/ec2-classic-is-retiring-heres-how-to-prepare/).
All resources using EC2-Classic networking will stop working. Yes, this includes RDS databases.

One of our clients was running a PostgreSQL RDS instance in EC2-Classic.
We've notified the client about the necessary migration right after AWS published the news.
Since the database was used for mission-critical features it was vital to plan the migration carefully.

![](./database-files.jpeg)

## The plan

There are several risks at play when migrating data. They can be divided into 2 major categories:

a) data loss

b) service outage

Preparing a thorough migration plan helps to reduce those risks.
Losing data was not an option.
We could also afford only limited degradation of service.
With a database size of several hundreds of GB, any operation isn't instant.
It will take a couple of hours just to copy the data.
The client agreed that it would be ok if the service showed stale data for a couple of minutes.

With the constraint defined we've come up with the following plan.

## Step 1: [Replicate database](/blog/migrating-ec2-classic-rds-to-vpc-step-1/)

As I mentioned it will take several hours to just copy the data. This rules out a simple take snapshot & restore approach.
Fortunately, databases have solved this problem a long time ago with replication.
The first step is thus to create a fresh new RDS database inside VPC.
We can use a snapshot of the source database to speed up initial replication.
Please note that at this point the fresh database isn't used by any production service yet!
Once the data wills start flowing from the EC2-Classic RDS instance to VPC based one we can safely prepare for the next step.

## Step 2: [Setup a custom database host DNS record](/blog/migrate-ec2-classic-rds-to-a-vpc-step-2-dns)

We need to have a way to instruct all clients connecting to the database to switch to a new database.
One way to achieve that is to use DNS. During the migration, we'll update the DNS record.
This method isn't ideal. Existing connections will not be automatically served.
However, in the case of our clients, it was perfectly ok to request rolling reboots of database client service.

## Step 3: Migration!

Once we have a fresh, up-to-date database instance ready inside VPC we can finally switch to the new database.
Simply swapping the DNS record would put us at risk of violating data integrity.
To mitigate that we'll put the source database into read-only mode right before swapping the DNS record.
Such a change ensure that once the DNS switch takes place, any writes happen only at the VPC based database!

## Conclusion

Migrating production services is challenging and risky.
However, with the right plan, the risk can be mitigated to an acceptable level.
In my opinion, automating most if not the whole process reduces the risk further.
This is why we've implemented the migration from EC2-Classic to VPC using AWS-CDK.

*In the following posts, I'll share more details on the automation that we've implemented.*

## What a Senior Developer Can Learn from a Project Manager?

*Published: 2022-01-18 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: bright story, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-senior-developer-can-learn-from-project-manager/index.md*

![Agnieszka – Senior Fullstack Developer](../../static/images/blog_agnieszka.png "")

## Code is just a means to an end

Usually, your everyday goal is to write some piece of code. That's what programmers do, isn’t it? And if you are one of these perfectionist guys, you want your code to be more than excellent. So it is so tempting to focus exclusively on that. 

This is a moment where a **good project manager reminds you to look globally at your project**. Your job is to create something worthy for users. When a project manager is focused on delivering value, then they infect you with that focus.

Code is just a part of it. Obviously, it has to work for clients and users. But we do not deliver code, we deliver solutions. Good PM actually constantly remembers you about that. Because it is so easy to fall again (and again) into this “writing perfect code trap”. 

## You are not born with soft skills, you learn how to use them

![learning soft skills](../../static/images/people-learn.jpg "")

I consider myself an introvert. Expressing myself is a challenge for me. I used to think that it was the way it was and there was not so much I could do about that. And then we had a communication workshop with our senior project manager – Kasia. This workshop was a game-changer. 

**Kasia made me realise that soft skills weren't skills that we were born with (or not).** We can learn them as much as we learn how to read or drive a car. And that changed my perspective and approach to communication. 

I never was a fan of networking or small talk but I just learnt how to do it, how to be better at that. And some could say – “What is to learn here?” Probably that is something natural to them. Maybe for me it isn’t but it doesn't mean I couldn’t do it. I just had to practice it a little bit harder. And **good PM shows you the way to express yourself and to communicate**. Then you see the sense of calls, meetings and standups. 😉

## A project manager is not here to tell you what to do

![team meeting](../../static/images/people-talk.jpg "")

Before I started to work on my first project with PM, I thought that this person would only take care of my tasks. She would write and manage tasks in Jira and I wouldn’t have to do it. So I was glad to have that person on board. 

When I started to cooperate with Kasia I was extremely happy but for other reasons. Kasia didn’t do any job for me. And she didn’t tell me what to do either. She exceeded my expectations. I understood who a good PM is and how this relationship amazingly works for me. 

PM is not a person who stands over me and shows me my mistakes, asks when things will be done or praise me when I do something right. **PM should push you in a delicate way.** They ask questions, help to find you the solution. Metaphorically speaking – PMs give you a chair but they do not give you a keyboard. 🙃

When I observe how our PM uses management tools and conducts internal & external meetings, I try to act the same. Why? Because I see all the value coming from that. I understand what she does and I feel what it gives me.

It is so hard to explain how it feels to have a good relationship with PMs… You just have to work with that unique person to really understand that. Kudos to Kasia who really changed my assumptions about working with PM and was an inspiration to this article. Sorry if this piece still didn’t show you all the PM powers. I guess you have to live it to feel it. 😉

## BrightTreasury Milestone 3 update

*Published: 2022-01-17 | Author: kasia | Tags: blockchain, Substrate, Polkadot, Kusama, BrightTreasury*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/brighttreasury-milestone-3-update/index.md*

We are proud and excited to announce that the [Web3 Foundation](https://web3.foundation/grants/) grant we received to build BrightTreasury has been successfully completed and the whole set of the planned features is now available live on production. 

## What is BrightTreasury?

If you haven’t followed our journey with BrightTreasury, just a quick summary for you:

BrightTreasury is a standalone web application (along with a PWA representation) that allows performing basic actions on the Treasury and Bounties modules of [Polkadot](https://polkadot.network/) and [Kusama](https://kusama.network/) Substrate networks. We hope it will encourage more people to get involved in these blockchain communities.

I also recommend you reading our previous blog posts [here](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-treasury-a-treasury-module-application-funded-by-a-w3f-foundation-grant/) and [here](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-treasury-is-now-live/) where we documented the progress and reaching subsequent milestones. 

## What’s new with Milestone 3?

The most important feature that becomes available with this Milestone 3 delivery is the implementation of the Bounties module. 

Users are now able to add and browse through bounties, check their current status and voting results as well as their curators. The curators will be able to accept (or reject) their nominations and manage the bounty’s status.

![BrightTreasury app](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/E3FNwAGwGHLr2JSTl_vvd6YCVQ_xl0absM5bjnH8ZfTfd4tYhbv4AGSSipO0YmN92HV1wHOJvvpqfv11j8Hu1s9IATzMGPFIpIJYxIzXWzVfA3rowOxP1UoDR3mOn1o2Vh6wID6L)

Bounties funding is another Treasury based mechanism, however it works a bit differently to Proposals. In addition to the proposer (the one who came up with the idea and created the bounty) and the beneficiary (the one who will be responsible for the actual development and will benefit from the funding) Bounties present a new role of a curator. The main job of the curator is to oversee the execution of a bounty and to check its progress. 

This means that bounties are especially useful if you have an idea that might contribute to the community, however you are not a specialist in the field and you’re not sure who might handle such a task. Here’s where the curator comes to help. Because a curator will need to spend some time managing the bounty, they will also be rewarded within the planned funding. 

You can read more about Bounties for example on [Polkadot webpage](https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-treasury#bounties-spending).

What is more, in this milestone we added a basic integration with [Polkassembly](https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/). In addition to the BrightTreasury context information, users can see the description of a proposal/bounty that was published on Polkassembly as well. 

We also included the history feature based on the data from Polkassembly, which allows users to browse through closed proposals and bounties, in addition to in-app ideas. 

## What’s next?

We plan to apply for Treasury funding to add another set of features for BrightTreasury. The main goals that we have for the upcoming deliveries include:

* further integration with Polkassembly (displaying on Polkassembly the contextual information that were added using BrightTreasury)
* implementation of Tips mechanism
* displaying users blockchain identity context info
* discussion module enhancements (reactions, tagging users etc.)
* markdown interpretation

and many more smaller improvements and changes.

We hope you will like the new propositions. And remember, we are always waiting for your feedback and suggestions in our [github repository issues](https://github.com/bright/bright-tresury/issues).

## Reasons to Join Bright Inventions

*Published: 2022-01-13 | Author: ula | Tags: software, Blockchain, mobile, inspiration, management, update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/reasons-to-join-bright/index.md*

Bright Inventions is a great place to push your career to the next level. We offer a friendly work environment, challenging projects, meaningful development and flexibility, which is not so easy to find under one roof in other companies. But above all, we offer a team that consists of great people for whom work is something more than a place you come to every morning and leave after 8 hours **as work for us is a special community.** 

Our company is built on the flat structure. Each and every person has **a real impact on the choices we make regarding not only the stack we use in the projects, but also the organisation development.** 

We are a team of professionals who are not afraid of new challenges and who are also not afraid of making mistakes. You know how it works - *the only people who never fail are those who never try.* So, if you would like to be surrounded by smart and likeable people who will help you develop and broaden your skills and career, Bright Inventions is a place for you.

<img src="/images/img_20220318_190348.jpg" alt="bright devs in Gdańsk " class="hide-on-mobile" />

## And why you will love working with us?

### 1. Because of technologies we use

Since we are always up-to-date we do not use some stack only because it has been used for many years. We like technical challenges. We like experimenting and checking possibilities of the newest tech stack. We work with **Swift** for iOSplatforms, and with **Kotlin** for Android platforms. In some contexts we also used to apply React Native framework in the past. 

If it comes about backend, we usually prefer **TypeScript with Node.js and NestJS**, but we also work with Java, Kotlin and Spring in some of our backend projects. For building web front-end applications our choice is **React** together with **JavaScript or TypeScript.** \
\
We also work with **Ethereum and Hyperledger as a Blockchain-based** app platform. And which IDE do we use? The one we feel is the best for us. Most of us choose IDE by JetBrains, but we have also experience with AppCode or Xcode if it comes about iOS development, or VS Code while programming in JavaScript/TypeScript. 

### 2. Because of the atmosphere

You will find here the work atmosphere that definitely stimulates personal growth. And I mean here not only qualified people around, but our general attitude to work. **We believe that everyone is different and may need different stimuli to improve their skills**. If you learn better by pair programming, you have an opportunity to do that. If you feel that you need to take part in some workshops, to speed up your career, you can. If you want to go on a conference and tell about your experience, we will support you. Everything depends on your needs. 

### 3. Because of flexibility

Either you are a morning bird or a night owl, you will find a good time to work with us. You can start work from 6.00 to 10.00 a.m. **The time you work should comply to your efficiency curve.** If you prefer to work at home, we also do not see any problem with that, but remember that after all we want you to be an integral part of a team, not a remote stranger. Oh, and we are flexible also if it comes about the type of agreement you prefer. We really do not mind whether your choice is B2B, a permanent agreement or temporary one. You can choose the best one for you.

<div className="important-info"><h2>We value responsibility and freedom </h2><div>The time you work should comply to your efficiency curve. If you prefer to work at home, we also do not see any problem with that, but remember that after all we want you to be an integral part of a team, not a remote stranger.</div></div>

### 4. Because of knowledge sharing

We think that real professionals learn all their life and they share their knowledge with others. And how we can do it? By[ building strong communities](https://www.facebook.com/groups/awstricity), taking part in various conferences, by running workshops, by blogging, by [CocoaHeads](https://www.facebook.com/CocoaHeadsTricity), by internal coffee talks and much more.

```kotlin
data class Person(
  val name: String,
  val surname: String
) {
  fun shareKnowledge(): Boolean {
      println("Hey everyone, I am sharing knowledge!")
      return true
  }
}

val developer = Person(name = "Awesome", surname = "Developer")

if(developer.shareKnowledge()) {
   println("You have a strong community")
}
```

### 5. Because of good equipment and tools that we use

We will provide you with MacBook and other devices such as screens, mice or keyboards. You just have to tell us what you need. If it comes to our toolset, on daily basis we use JIRA, Asana or Confluence for project tracking, Slack, Skype and Google Hangouts for remote communication, and TeamCity, AWS CloudWatch, Upsource and GitHub/Gitlab for developers.

### 6. Because of equality

You will find at Bright Inventions a flat structure with no management overhead. We do not have any strong hierarchy in our team. But we do have **a clear career path** so that you know what is expected to get a promotion. Our **salary ranges are fully transparent** and all the compensations are reviewed regularly every 3 months. 

<blockquote><h2>Why did you join Bright Inventions? </h2><div> I appreciated the fact that Bright Inventions is not an outsourcing company. Here you work as a team for the client. Also, it suits me that Bright is a small company, so you don’t have to worry about bureaucracy or following corporate standards, etc.</div><footer>Damian Petla, Senior Android Developer </footer></blockquote>

We discuss problems with each other, we look for solutions together, we propose ideas openly. There is no division for the better and the worse. We believe that regardless of your experience or knowledge everyone makes a change. **At Bright Inventions no one is afraid of asking questions because we support each other and help each other.** 

### **7.** Because of BRIGHT PEOPLE

And I suppose there is no need to tell more about that. Meet us and you will find out what I mean. Or check [our Instagram profile](https://www.instagram.com/bright_inventions). 🤩

If you would like to give us a try, or just in case you have more questions or some doubts, drop us a line at [jobs@brightinventions.pl](mailto:jobs@brightinventions.pl) or just contact me directly at [ula@brightinventions.pl](mailto:ula@brightinventions.pl) .

Hope to see you soon on our Bright Board! 

![Bright Inventions](../../static/images/join_bright_team.png "")

## 5 Timeless Web Development Rules from “Don’t Make Me Think” Book

*Published: 2022-01-10 | Author: izabela | Tags: inspiration, design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-web-development-rules-from-dont-make-me-think-book/index.md*

**Over 20 years have passed since the first edition of Steve Krug’s book “Don’t Make Me Think” and we can all agree that this is a classic book on web development and UX design. During these two decades the web pages have changed but lots of principles from this book have remained as actual and powerful as they used to be in 2000. I chose the top 5 things that still make me think about the “Don’t Make Me Think” book.** 

![Book "Don't Make Me Think"](../../static/images/blog_post_krug.png "")

## 1. People don't read – they scan your website

As Krug wisely wrote, we should not create elaborations about our company because people will not read them. **Display a short and clear message about your brand.** Include a title and tagline that visibly shows what your page is about. **Omit needless words, especially adjectives.** Do not write that your product is amazing, write what benefits it brings to the table.

I especially appreciate Krug’s tip to omit needless words:

> \[...] I find I have no trouble getting rid of half of the words on most Web pages without losing anything of value. But removing half of what’s left is just my way of trying to encourage people to be ruthless about it.

Give people beef. Otherwise, they will just ignore your words.

## 2. Every second matters

Web users are impatient and have problems [focusing for longer than 8 seconds](https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/). Therefore your page has to load fast and its interface cannot make them think about what to do on the website and what this page is actually about. **Every second matters. Krug knew that in 2000 and our users expect that from us.** Google practically demands that. The search giant takes page load statistics as one of the key performance metrics that influence your page rank.

## 3. Conventions are better than reinventing the wheel

Conventions are friendly to users. As they go through dozens or even hundreds of sites daily, they expect them to be similar with a well-known interface. Krug brought a great example in the book – if you develop a shopping cart page for eCommerce, use the cart icon to visualize it. Do not think about any other icon. **Do not confuse people.** Users expect to find a shopping cart to check their purchases so give it to them. 

Of course, you are allowed to look for other solutions for your website, **not every convention is unbreakable**. But when you offer a new solution, make sure that it is simpler than the previous one.

## 4. Show me what I'm looking for

Kruk wrote that in 2000 and it is still the crucial rule of [web development](/our-areas/web-development). That is **the core of Google’s success – we ask and get what we want**. Google has been developing the algorithm to give its users what they expect. This seems obvious, but do you really generate traffic to websites that meet users expectations?

## 5. Don’t assume – do tests

“My uncle doesn’t like…“ stop right there. The anecdotal evidence is a basic human way to understand life. But that is no evidence at all. In the web development world we have to totally resist the temptation to go this way. The thoughts like “I never fill in contact forms, let’s skip them.” or “This creation is ugly, who would click on that?” gives no value. **We need to test, not assume.**

## “Don’t Make Me Think” Book Summary

Krug’s book shows how to conquer the chaos that were websites at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. **The book is still amazingly up to date because Steve Krug actually built the whole ground for web development and usability testing.** We are where we are thanks to the books like “Don’t Make Me Think”. I still recommend it even if the included screens from various web pages are old, and so cringe. 😉 But Krug's statements are not old at all. Reading this book is like a journey to the past with many timeless stops on the way. Every web developer, product designer, copywriter and marketing specialist should read it.

## 5 Top Programming Books For Junior and Mid-level Developers

*Published: 2021-12-31 | Author: piotr | Tags: book, inspiration, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-top-programming-books-for-junior-and-mid-level-developers/index.md*

I encourage everyone to read books. There are so many titles worth
reading [that entire lists have been created](https://github.com/EbookFoundation/free-programming-books). Depending on the stage of your career you'll need books covering various topics. Here is a list I
recommend every junior and mid-level software engineer should read.

## [Head First Design Patterns by Eric Freeman, Elisabeth Robson](https://www.amazon.pl/Head-First-Design-Patterns-Object-Oriented/dp/149207800X)

![head first design patterns cover](../../static/images/head-first.jpeg "")

Design patterns surround us everywhere. They are prevalent in every framework and most libraries we
use. The "Head First Design Patterns" presents the most common design patterns in a succinct and easy to
remember fashion. Before you'll finish the book, you'll already better understand the design choices
behind libraries and frameworks that you use!
The form of writing that the book uses is especially enjoyable. You'll not be bored by
this one.

## [Clean Architecture by Robert C. Martin](https://www.amazon.com/Clean-Architecture-Craftsmans-Software-Structure/dp/0134494164)

![clean architecture cover](../../static/images/clean.jpg "")

Every book by "Uncle Bob" is worth reading. I've picked the "Clean Architecture" for the list as it
provides a base and set of pillars with which you can create software services that are easier to
reason about. The book describes many important rules. At its core, a high-level approach to
application architecture is
summarized [in the author's blog post](https://blog.cleancoder.com/uncle-bob/2012/08/13/the-clean-architecture.html)
. Make no mistake though, you'll gain much more from reading the book end-to-end!

## [Continuous Delivery: Reliable Software Releases through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation by Jez Humbe and David Farley ](https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Delivery-Deployment-Automation-Addison-Wesley/dp/0321601912)

![continuous delivery cover](../../static/images/cicd.jpeg "")

The book was a hit when it was first published over 10 years ago. If you want to know more about
Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment this book is a must-read. It unfolds and explains
multiple techniques and approaches to improve the delivery of software. You'll learn not only what to do
to improve how you develop software. You'll also learn why some techniques work while others don't.
Such knowledge helps immensely with managing the backlog of non-functional features.

## [Rework](https://www.amazon.com/Rework-Jason-Fried/dp/0307463745)

![rework cover](../../static/images/rework.jpeg "")

The guidance provided by Jason Fried and David Hansson will help you understand a lot on how
a company can and should work. In my opinion the advice helps in surprising ways. Not only in the context of work! 
Since pandemic started many of us switched to working from home. 
The book shares some tips on how a company and more importantly people can work remotely efficiently.

## [Release It!: Design and Deploy Production-Ready Software](https://www.amazon.com/Release-Design-Deploy-Production-Ready-Software/dp/1680502395)

![release it cover](../../static/images/releaseit.jpg "")

Have you ever heard a dreadful story about a software system bringing a major enterprise to its knees?
Have you ever wondered what it takes for software to be mature and reliable? If so you'll love
this piece. With a mixture of technical insights and best practices coloured with production stories,
this book reads like a novel. It explains in-depth multiple techniques that improve the resilience of
software systems. Circuit breaker, bulkhead and redundancy will be your bread and butter after you
get yourself familiar with what Michael T. Nygard describes.

What are the books that you think are worth reading? Please post comments with your recommendations!

## Bright AWS Workshops for Dev Community

*Published: 2021-12-22 | Author: izabela | Tags: development, backend, inspiration, workshops*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-aws-workshops-for-dev-community/index.md*

**Serverless is more than a trend. At Bright Inventions we believe that every backend developer should participate in cloud infrastructure so we constantly learn about the tools like AWS. Recently we decided to share our expertise with developers outside our team.**

![AWS Workshops Bright Inventions](../../static/images/aws_workshops_by_piotr_blog.png "")

Sharing is caring! Our team members are speakers at various meetups and conferences. What is more, we organise [CocoaHeads Tricity](https://www.facebook.com/CocoaHeadsTricity) meetings for the local iOS community. This year we have decided to organise AWS workshops as well to help devs outside our company deal with popular AWS [cloud computing services](/our-areas/cloud-services/). These workshops took place online in November and December 2021.

## AWS ninja is in town

The one and only [Piotr](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/piotr-team-leader-technology-evangelist/) conducted the AWS workshops. Piotr is our bright tech lead, AWS expert and mentor. He is eager to share his [serverless](/blog/why-you-should-go-serverless-with-your-apps/) experience based on delivering cloud computing services to our clients. Piotr strongly believes that administering a cloud will soon be a part of every backend developer’s job. That is why we chose AWS as a topic of our workshops.

![Piotr Mionskowski Bright Inventions](../../static/images/blogpost_www_brightstory_piotr_q2.png "")

## AWS workshops agenda

We designed these workshops for 10 developers to give Piotr a chance to truly address participants' needs and questions. Our workshops consisted of 4 thematic modules which helped to better understand AWS step by step. During workshops every participant built their own cloud service to practice with Piotr all presented features. Attending workshops was free of charge. 

![AWS Workshops Bright Inventions](../../static/images/aws_workshops_screen1.png "")

<center> <sub> Screen from AWS live workshops </sub> </center> 

### Here are the topics of each AWS module:

1. Introduction to infrastructure as code process in AWS using aws-cdk. Authorisations in AWS.
2. Basic rules about networks and databases. How to safely make changes and protect ourselves from mistakes. Popular mistakes while using aws-cdk.
3. Implementing my own network service. Presenting a few accessible options. Working on an example from ECS Fargate.
4. Sharing our service publicly with load balancer. Handling HTTPs with AWS.

After the last meeting we asked participants to fill out an anonymous satisfaction survey. 
**100% of them said that they would recommend the workshops to their colleagues! Kudos for Piotr! 👏**

Every workshop was recorded. Join our [AWS Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/amazonwebservicestricity) if you want to watch them all. 

**Another edition of AWS workshops will be organised in 2022.** All the details will be posted on the Facebook group, so you may still get a chance to participate.

![AWS Workshops Bright Inventions](../../static/images/aws_workshops_screen2.png "")

<center>  <sub> Screen from AWS live workshops </sub> </center> 

## More open workshops to come

Other workshops are coming in 2022! We plan workshops covering other areas of software development such as:

* Road to Tech Lead
* Risk Management
* Offline mode iOS development
* UX designs for Juniors
* Empathy and communication in project management

Follow our social media to stay in touch: 

[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/bright.inventions)

[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/bright_inventions/)

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/bright-inventions)

2022 will be all about sharing. 🌟  Stay tuned!

## From Hostel Owner to IT Social Media Enthusiast. Meet Agata

*Published: 2021-12-20 | Author: agata | Tags: inspiration, career, bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/from-hostel-owner-to-it-social-media-enthusiast-meet-agata/index.md*

**For Agata, sport is a way to relax. Jogging, snowboarding, kitesurfing, pole dancing – there is an endless list of activities she enjoys. Her entrepreneurial path brought her to Bright Inventions. As a social media specialist, she shows the true spirit of our bright team. Armed with a notepad and pen she always catches every new technical phrase that she hears in our office and fiercely investigates its meanings. All of that to show you what we do at Bright Inventions. Read about Agata’s incredible path that brought her to our team.**

![Agata's career story](../../static/images/agata_bright_story.png "")

## I see you at almost every workout we have at Bright Inventions. How important is sport in your life?

Sport plays a huge role in my life. I am engaged in some type of sports activity every day. Unless I exercise it affects my wellbeing and I cannot relax. It could be a kind of addiction of mine. Since I believe that no addiction is healthy (even sports) I sometimes force myself to simply sit on the couch and "do nothing". However, things weren’t always like this. I used to be "chubby" and avoided sports activities. 🙂

I graduated from The University School of Physical Education in Krakow. However, I didn’t study a typical sports major but instead Tourist Traffic Management. Still, I had to train and got to know every type of sports activity that the school offered. During that time I did a snowboard instructor course. Apart from sports classes, I had classes touching on subjects such as economics, law, management, biology and physiology. 

After that I studied clinical psychology at SWPS college in Warsaw. My parents are both doctors, however I was too scared of blood to follow their path. So I figured that studying clinical psychology will be a way to study medicine without any blood involved. 😉  I really enjoyed that study as well. 

## What do you train?

I wouldn’t consider my sports activities as training. In my view, when you train you have a particular goal and you work hard to achieve it. I don’t have any specific goals when I exercise. **I treat sports as my personal entertainment, a way to relax and a really huge part of my life.** For instance, I jog regularly but I do it just for fun, not results. 

Apart from jogging, I enjoy kiteboarding in summer and snowboarding during winter. I love pole dancing. I could go to the workouts every day however this activity is very physically demanding. I have to keep in mind that I am not a high-performance athlete. 

I have joined mountain biking training with Bartosz Banach (a pro triathlete who conducts exercises sessions for the Bright Inventions team). However, this is definitely an activity that has forced me to leave my comfort zone. Riding off-road and especially mountain biking was scary for me at first. I think that it was a matter of feeling confident on the bike. I love snowboarding, and I don't have problems riding from high and challenging slopes. Fortunately, I am starting to feel confident on my bike, and the real fun has begun.

![kitesurfing](../../static/images/kitesurfing_agata.jpeg "")

## In your twenties you opened 2 hostels in Gdansk then a restaurant. How do you recall your entrepreneurial journey?

Somewhere around my third year of studies, I talked to a fellow student. He told me that the best way to start a profitable business is to run hostels. It was just before the UEFA European Football Championship that was held in 2012 in Poland. The reality wasn’t as idyllic as my friend thought. 

**I opened my first hostel in Gdansk and learned a lot.** This was a long road with lots of obstacles on the way. When I was coming to banks for business loans I wasn’t reliable to them and was treated as a young woman without any experience or a husband (crazy!). After running my first hostel for 2 years I opened another one. 

## Soon after that, you entered the restaurant industry. How did this happen?

Some friends convinced me to open a restaurant in 2017. We tried many different food concepts there. Finally, we found the right one. **We got funds, did some rebranding and were ready to conquer Gdansk with our brand new pastrami place. And then COVID-19 hit.** That’s a shame but in the end I think it turned out to be a good outcome for me.

Lockdown forced me to move my restaurant business online. **I started an online shop with DIY pastrami sets that I was supposed to sell in my restaurant.** It worked out nicely and gave me access to customers within the whole country. I was still trying to manage the restaurant despite constant lockdowns but eventually I gave up on it and focused on my online business. Now I really appreciate free weekends. 😉

## You moved from a restaurant to the social media marketing industry. What was the reason?

As I mentioned before COVID-19 I had been working on rebranding for my restaurant and then I first started to be involved in marketing activities. I enjoyed it. The lockdown came and I knew that I had to go online with my business. 

![Agata – social media specialist at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/agata_quote3.png "")

I loved that online marketing has such power. **I could achieve much more online and build the awareness about my products on a much bigger scale compared to local business.** Before that I thought that you don’t need marketing, you just need a good product and the word about it will spread itself. Now I see that social media speeds up the spread! 

I started to explore the social media management world. I didn't have too much of a budget and still gained satisfying results. I started with influencer marketing and was positively amazed that it worked. I think everyone loves to do something that gives results. I was fierce. I pushed myself to get better and better results. **I loved to analyze how my content worked and see people's reactions**. Satisfying results just gave me the power to engage more and more in marketing. 

Soon after that, **I saw a job offer for social media specialists published by Bright Inventions. I figured that I can use my knowledge and experience somewhere else**, too. And that is how I am finding myself at a software development company. 🙂

## How is it to run social media profiles for software development companies like Bright Inventions? How do you acquire knowledge about the IT world?

When I joined Bright Inventions I had no background in software development. I was attending meetings and I didn't understand every second word I heard. So **I noted every mysterious word, went to lunch with developers and asked them about every single thing I didn’t understand**. I believe that I can learn by talking to people and using Google. That’s a perfect combination for me. 😁 

![Agata – social media specialist at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/agata_quote.png "")

## How important is social media for Bright Inventions’s communication?

Social platforms take a crucial part in our communication strategy. In my view, social media can be a great tool for every industry, especially IT. We can have discussions about whether or not programmers use Facebook, Instagram or maybe LinkedIn but there is no doubt that **our social lives are moving to the Internet**. Maybe that is a sad trend but it is happening. **It is up to us how we are going to be present there.** 

On social media we show projects that we develop, devices that we use on a daily basis and lots of passion and free-time activities that our team enjoys. We also share insights about the software development process. **If somebody wants to join our team, one can easily follow our social media and I guarantee that the message is clear what it means to be a part of our team.** I think it also helps to simply check if we might be a good match for someone. 

![Agata – social media specialist at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/agata_quote2.png "")

## What is ahead of you?

That is a very difficult question. I don’t know. I don’t see myself anymore in the restaurant industry. But maybe I will change my mind. I am not in the place to plan anything. I follow the rule “let it be” and trust the universe.

## The Importance of Feedback in Bright Recruitment Process

*Published: 2021-12-20 | Author: paulina-t | Tags: recruitment, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-importance-of-feedback-in-bright-recruitment-process/index.md*

Many words about team communication have already been said in this world. But we must remind ourselves that effective communication must have an element that connects the sender's message with the receiver's interpretation. The best solution here is (apart from active listening) FEEDBACK. 

![feedback in recruitment process](../../static/images/feedback_blog_post2.png "")

We can use it in iterations - then it becomes CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK and thanks to it we are constantly updated with the messages we hear. So simple, but when it is missing - teamwork begins to be a horror. Post that statement on your wall. :) **Communication without feedback is not communication - it is a one-way messaging**. **And what is worse - it is a denial of effectiveness, which affects the quality of cooperation in a team.** Sad, but true. It will also cause misinterpretations, the formation of false beliefs, some misunderstanding of the sender's intentions, and often unpleasant emotions. 

Luckily, in our team we have a culture of continuous feedback - all its aspects and usage have already been described in detail in [Ula's article](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/no-time-for-bullshit-feedback-culture/). Each of us perceives continuous feedback as a great value that we want to spread even further, outside our team, outside our day-to-day Bright life and also during the recruitment process. Our goal is to demonstrate this value transparently from the very first contact with our beloved candidates. Sharing is caring, right? 

## **So, what does it look like during the recruitment process? What can you expect from bright recruiters once you apply?** 

**\
First things first** - we do our best to give you feedback at literally every step of the process, and even sooner - when we are only chatting on Linkedin. After all, every candidate is a valuable individual who we want to treat with respect and to whom we owe every piece of information about the recruitment steps they are currently taking part in. Honestly, we believe that it is much more valuable to bond from day one, to learn about the expectations and aspirations than to solicit interest in an offer. You may or may not like the offer, but from the recruiter’s side - in every conversation there is much more than the offer itself. There are many positive twists and interesting facts we may get e.g. the best recipe for a cheesecake or a spontaneous referral from a candidate’s brother-in-law. And all this is possible thanks to the transparent communication and understanding the candidate's true intentions. This would not be possible without continuous feedback. \
\
**Ask me anything** - I’m here to help you! Where else than in a conversation with a recruiter will you have a better opportunity to talk through your concerns, dilemmas, questions? We believe that the more you will learn about us, the more certain you will be about your new potential team at the end of the recruitment process. It’s simple. Feel free to ask about anything during a LinkedIn conversation, screening or later on during an interview. You should be certain about your decision. So ask and express directly how you feel about things, it is your time. We will always give you feedback about what is acceptable for us and what is not. Wouldn’t you agree it is much better when both a recruiter and a candidate are on the same page? I’m sure you would! 

**Your time is precious** - indeed, as is mine. I respect that you have your life, your own commitments as I have them, too. 🙂 What we can do for ourselves is giving each other feedback continuously and on every occasion. It enables us - me as a recruiter and you as a candidate - to swap information more effectively, to gather those which are significant, and to confront your wishes and expectations with the company potential and opportunities. To cut the long story short - it gives us (yes, we’re a team now 💪) a chance to run your recruitment process with high effectiveness in a shorter time.

![join Bright Inventions](../../static/images/join_bright_team.png "")

## Enough of talking, let’s get down to business - to be more specific, there are some significant moments during our recruitment process when you are getting the feedback from us:

1. **Screening stage.** Here we talk either on Linkedin and/or via phone. You ask me questions and I respond by giving you feedback and additional information.
2. **Recruitment meeting so-called interview.** 🙂 Here we have two parts: technical run by one of our developers and non-technical run by our bright recruitment team where we refer to our [core values](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/values/). Now is the best time for you not only to listen about our opportunities, but also to watch carefully from a bird’s view how we act as a team in live. You can see our emotions, manners of behaviour and feel the team atmosphere during the interview. We want you to be sure our core values are alive.
3. **Straight after the technical part of the meeting** we provide you with transparent feedback about your skills presented during the conversation with a tech recruiter. You are informed at which career level you are now according to our Bright career path. After the non-technical part, you receive feedback about your English skills and the overall performance. 
4. **Technical task is the last step of our recruitment process**. You get feedback after your task is reviewed by the tech recruiter. We are always trying to be very stick-to-the-point and as specific as developers can be. The feedback usually involves some recommendations that may help you grow and develop your skills in the future. At this very moment we encourage you once again to share your feedback with us - especially when you feel that what we have said is not enough - your tech recruiter is happy to elaborate more if needed.

   ![Bright Inventions recruitment process](../../static/images/recruitment-process.png "")

You won’t be surprised if I say our very last recruitment step is feedback. 😀 **After the whole process you are required to evaluate our recruitment journey - regardless of the final decision. And even if the feedback is not as satisfying as we all may wish for… remember that it helps us all grow and improve both as recruits, developers and humans.** 

See you soon while talking about your career!

## Better than 2020 (and 2021)

*Published: 2021-12-17 | Author: michal | Tags: inspiration, business, update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/better-than-2020-and-2021/index.md*

We are going to settle quite comfortably into 2022, so let’s take a moment to look back at two last years from some distance. We are truly blessed to have moved through these two years the way we did. Although immensely challenging on many levels this time has made us stronger, better and more aware of who we are and what we are capable of doing.

## Pandemic

It wouldn’t be fair to say that Covid 19 pandemic hasn't affected us at all but it also wouldn’t be fair to say that we have suffered from it the way many other businesses have. The immediate effect was obviously a shift from the traditional office work to remote work. Since we had always supported some component of remote work it wasn’t a dramatic overnight change. However, remote mode challenged our culture of working closely together and helping one another. There’s a big difference between seeing a co-worker in person and seeing her/him on screen. Also, the logistics of working from home are quite different from person to person. For some, saving 1.5h commute time was a gift. For others, handling kids also staying at home, meant additional distraction. There’s plenty of lessons that we learnt from that period that we are incorporating into our processes now.

At the beginning of 2020 we were finishing a few projects related to building construction and trade fair industries. Those two areas really did get hit by the pandemic and it was quite expected by us that the projects would have to be put on hold until the situation gets back to normal. On the other hand, our projects related to food delivery, e-commerce and increasing workers mobility started to require way more attention which effectively led to us almost doubling in size. 

**Across our customer base there was a brief moment of hesitation between March and April of 2020. After that it just became more obvious than ever that the role of software had never been more important. Consequently our role as software developers had never been more responsible.** 

## Remote work

As much as the transition to remote work was rather easy it started to become more and more clear that a team that was so used to working together in a single office will not magically turn into a well performing remote team. Remote work takes special sets of skills and experience and is generally more difficult.

We have updated and altered our recruiting, onboarding and project management processes to make everything a bit easier. At the same time we learnt that the quality of our work can be still maintained even while working remotely. Everything is based on mutual understanding, responsibility and appropriate teamwork. 

## Extending the team

As we mentioned before, Bright has been really blessed with not experiencing any direct dramatic effects of the pandemic. On the contrary, we opened a number of new positions and were quite successful with filling them with bright-minded specialists. Obviously, onboarding of new team members was far from ordinary and primarily the most challenging for them. Entering a new company where you don’t get to see all the faces on a daily basis and have limited ways to mingle with others must be tough. We learned as we moved on to listen to each person who joined us and took the lessons to improve onboarding of others. One of the things that worked best was to make ways to meet in person as much as possible. 

Before the pandemic breakout in the early 2020 there were about 30 bright people in our team, now we are almost 70 and we are still growing. Despite the challenges and some uncertainties we have made our way in the "new" Covid-19 world while focusing on building and developing strong team culture. 

![](../../static/images/number_of_bright_employees.png "")

There are team members who come to the office every day. There are some who drop by twice a week or just come over from time to time to meet in person and spend some time together with their project mates. As long as the high quality of communication and work-life balance are sustained we are ok with that. What we approve of at Bright is individualisation and keeping personal approach to each and every member of the team. Of course, the rules and opportunities to take are the same for all, but everyone can choose how they work. 

We believe that to achieve real success you have to develop your skills and adjust all the time.  **Our team can work closely with each other regardless of wherever they are, in the office or at home. Now we know it. The details of location are less significant than people’s responsibility and attitude to teamwork in general.** 

## Bright sport

One of the things that helped us personally stay in mental fitness during the last months was working out. It turned out that many people in our Bright Team enjoy sport and we started to do it together. Out of this an idea was born - sport is an excellent way to balance the stress of handling work, kids and life in general during pandemic times and a good way to socialize. It led to introducing regular sport classes for our team members. 

![](../../static/images/bright-sport.jpg "")

We organise weekly running, biking and swimming classes as well as Friday in-house yoga time. Our coach, Bartosz Banach, is a pro-triathlete so we can not only have fun together but also improve our technique and beat individual records. With his support everything becomes possible. 

## Bright Treasury 

2021 was also a Blockchain year for us. We have been working very hard on our first product - Bright Treasury which is now finally live. Bright Treasury is a web application that helps you to apply for Polkadot and Kusama Treasury funds in an easy and intuitive way. It's been funded by [Web3 Foundation (W3F) grants program](https://web3.foundation/grants/).

We believe that by introducing a dedicated app with a user-friendly interface, we will be able to attract more creative blockchain enthusiasts to apply for Treasury funds for their projects. Now you can use Milestone 1 and Milestone 2 features at: [treasury.bright.dev](https://treasury.bright.dev/) . This means that all the operations concerning Ideas and Proposals are ready to use. 

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/tnuEC0JcY2qPaDUDQNAGXNLmqKcKZ1YXZ5PDU126CExqgzF1kleRUjMzv32y1B06gUWfwJxnKnmS1tlgmlk_ObWrZi2VW3BMI8DeCxRU4EEdrwH45Qwxo_BXaVNBg8LqjtO41LrJ)

We are currently finishing Milestone 3 which is focused on Bounties mechanism. Users will be able to add and browse through bounties, voting results, their curators and check the current status. The curators will be able to accept (or reject) their nominations and manage the bounty’s status.

We can’t wait to show you the ready product soon, so stay tuned. 

## Building strong community 

The effects of the pandemic, quarantines and social isolation were and are still felt acutely. The same as you, we have also been missing our team, networks and community, which are critical to our overall well being. We stay in touch with our closest ones, but our more distant professional ties started to disappear and decline. 

Before the pandemic we used to take part in the job fairs, we were organising workshops for students, participating in the conferences and then everything somehow stopped. We needed to shift to an online-first experience. It was not easy. 

Almost all of our internal meetings were moved to online reality. Inside the organisation we opened a virtual kitchen and began to do morning coffee meetings together. We started doing tech meetings online and Bright Q&A sessions, but at one moment we realised that “the community part” was still missing. **We want to change it and make 2022 a strong community building year for us. We want to share our knowledge with people outside the team and reactivate connectedness from before Covid 19.  So, expect invitations for monthly online workshops and live webinars [on our Facebook profile](https://www.facebook.com/bright.inventions) regularly.** AWS workshops were just the beginning. :) 

## Be Bright 

We want to wish you everything bright in your lives. Brightness may have different shades for different people, so create your own bright story that will last longer than 2022. Be brave, optimistic and open to changes. With this attitude we can really make a difference. And we promise that if you happen to join our Bright Team, we will also support you in your bright growth.

## 6 things you should know when designing for Blockchain

*Published: 2021-12-16 | Author: alisa | Tags: design, blockchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/6-things-you-should-know-when-designing-for-blockchain/index.md*

**No doubt blockchain is conquering the tech world. It is known as a present-day technology, which is on everyone's lips. Now blockchain is used in many areas not only in the tech or financial domains. If blockchain is such an advanced technology, what should we bring our attention to while designing for blockchain?**

Here are 6 things you should know before designing for Blockchain:

## 1. What is actually a blockchain?

<center>

![what is blockchain giphy](../../static/images/what_is_blockchain.gif "")

<sub>Source: [](https://treasury.bright.dev)[giphy.com](https://media.giphy.com/media/8LCJTIatQun21WXGFZ/giphy.gif)</sub>

</center>

First things first, before designing for blockchain let’s dive deeper and find out what it is and why it is so unique? 

Blockchain is still associated with the emergence of bitcoin, as a technology for the platform, which tracks every bitcoin transaction. And that is correct, however, today blockchain is something **significantly more**. The author Stephen P. Williams in his book “Blockchain: the next everything” explains that Blockchain has become a bookkeeping technology for any kind of information you would like to record in any kind of area. Blockchain records chunks of information and verifies it at each transaction, and this simple scheme makes blockchain a straightforward and at the same time trustworthy mechanism. In addition, information stored in the chain cannot be altered and this manifests blockchain as an extremely secure technology.

## 2. Translate tech jargon into a simple language

Tech people often use tech-related jargon and the blockchain environment is not an exception. Be prepared to come across new specialized terminology or just some technical slang. Be sure to translate it for your users especially when your blockchain product will be used by less tech-savvy users. You don’t want to scare them off. 

## 3. Should I design blockchain in a different way?

As a product designer, I would definitely say there’s no difference whether you design for any complicated tech field system or a super simple app. Blockchain users are still the same users though they might be a little more tech-savvy. That is why, you should always follow the best practices to ensure smooth and seamless flow and transparent user experience. Follow the rules and best UX practices.

Nevertheless, there are a few aspects you should put extra attention to:

### Transparency (clarity)

The user journey should be super clear. Transparency plays a key role, each step must be explicit and coherent. What does it mean? It means that as a designer you should add loaders showing progress, breadcrumbs, step navigations, etc. Make sure your user knows what is going on, especially when the transaction is going through, or if any status change occurs. Below you can find the example taken from our BrightTreasury app. 

![BrightTreasury app](../../static/images/bright_treasury_app_mockup3.png "")

<center> <sub>Source: BrightTreasury application</sub> </center>

### Onboarding

Introduce the onboarding to your product, however, make sure it is relevant to the main features, omit secondary elements, show the uniqueness of the features, so the user does not get overwhelmed with many details. Remember, do not put more than 5 onboarding screens at once.

![BrightTreasury app](../../static/images/bright_treasury_app_mockup1.png "")

<center> <sub>Source: BrightTreasury application designs</sub> </center>

### Simple but solid design

Provide precise information and eliminate all unnecessary actions. Clear communication is substantial. Give apparent explanations like hints and tooltips when necessary. Make sure your product is very simple to use, thus this simplicity is not a thief of the important elements, solidness, and credibility. 

![BrightTreasury app](../../static/images/bright_treasury_app_mockup2.png "")

<center> <sub>Source: BrightTreasury application</sub> </center>

## 4. Make blockchain products more approachable

Blockchain projects can get a bit geeky. Remember about people outside the blockchain community. Look further in the future and make the product understandable and accessible for people who are outside the tech world, but in the future can become new users of the blockchain.

## 5. Ask the expert

A developer who can explain the most bizarre peculiarities of the project - is a real treasure! [Cooperation with dev is crucial](/blog/successful-designer-developer-collaboration-in-mvp-work-environment/), because as a designer you will have many questions about different blockchain elements or how the transactions work. And what does this number with # mean? Find your expert and do not hesitate to ask questions.

## 6. Alice is the new John Doe and other practical blockchain fun facts 😉

* The default personas in blockchain are Alice and Bob, there are more of them for the next letters in alphabetical order - Charlie, Dave, Eve, and Freddie. Maybe this is the least important fact, but I think it is a great one to know even in the design process. 
* Blockchain avatars are a mixture of colorful dots. These dots on the avatar are unique dots that represent the account address. It is a popular concept in all blockchain networks. The dotted avatars are generated based on the blockchain address (a long series of characters).

  ![polkadot dot icon avatar](../../static/images/polkadot_avatar.png "")
* Time in Blockchain is counted in blocks, not seconds… that is why when you see a weird number or a number starting with #, you can assume that this is an indicator of the time period. So, if it is # in the beginning, this is the block’s number in which something will happen, that is, a point in time. Plus, you can also come across a situation where the number of blocks is given as a period of time. For example: "the billing period will end in 123 blocks" or "the billing period will end in block # 123". As for the conversion, the block lasts 6s in the Polkadot network. So for 123 blocks, it is for 123 * 6s or 12 minutes and 18 seconds  (I had to ask our blockchain expert Agnieszka to help me with this one 😉). 

  Fun, right? Yep, but don’t forget to translate it to universally used time for those outside the blockchain community.
* There is not only one bitcoin out there. Each community may have its own currency if they wish so. For instance: Polkadot - DOT, Kusama - KSM, and so on. Check out [cryptoatlas.io](/projects/cryptocurrency-platfrom/), one of our projects. 🙂

## Let’s sum up

[Blockchain](/our-areas/blockchain) is a great modern technology field which is very convenient to build systems and apps due to its simplicity and security.  In order to design blockchain projects we should definitely understand what it is about and how it works. We should also remember that a blockchain app is like any other app, we just have to follow universal UX rules. However, we should be aware of the fact that blockchain is now conquering the world, and more and more not tech-savvy users may want to use it, so we should design in mind of such users, and make our product approachable for everyone.

## BrightTreasury is now LIVE

*Published: 2021-12-14 | Author: kasia | Tags: blockchain, Substrate, Polkadot, Kusama, W3F, BrightTreasury*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-treasury-is-now-live/index.md*

**We are excited to announce that BrightTreasury is now live!**

Bright Treasury is a web application that helps you to apply for Polkadot and Kusama Treasury funds in an easy and intuitive way. We want to attract more professionals who could contribute to the community with their ideas and skills but at the same time may not be as fluent in blockchain customs and terminology. It's been funded by [Web3 Foundation (W3F) grants program](https://web3.foundation/grants/).

**Now you can use Milestone 1 and Milestone 2 features at: treasury.bright.dev 🎉** This means that all the operations concerning Ideas and Proposals are ready to use! 

## What is BrightTreasury

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKe5HynDQnU' />

We already wrote a blogpost about the app when our Milestone 1 was accepted so please [take a look](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-treasury-a-treasury-module-application-funded-by-a-w3f-foundation-grant/) if you'd like to know more.

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/YHLnXFWM1CPpI4lSYNXXjsPyHGNMfTcVQrHqShN2I4faQN46a419CcrYMOsntwV_UXq5g6Pv1po8Ofo9H8GGxd1C5Rb427B0oC_jeQpwVCky5uzUwkHGuPXT8okQuFk9BWogMkNx)

Bright Treasury is a standalone web application along with a PWA representation that allows performing basic actions on the Treasury module of [Polkadot](https://polkadot.network/) and [Kusama](https://kusama.network/) Substrate networks. It allows a more intuitive and lightweight flow of submitting proposals as well as an overview of the Treasury related actions. Until now, the Treasury module has been only available as a part of the general network management tool. We believe that by introducing a dedicated app with a user-friendly interface, we will be able to attract more creative blockchain enthusiasts to apply for Treasury funds for their projects. 

## How to use BrightTreasury

Would you like to know more about how and when you might want to use Bright Treasury? 

### 1. If you have an idea...

The first step is to have an idea for an activity that might contribute to the Polkadot or Kusama networks community. Maybe one that would benefit both? If you have something in mind, then go on, show others what you came up with. Go to treasury.bright.dev and create an account. You can sign up using your email address or your Web3 blockchain account (with [polkadot extension](https://polkadot.js.org/extension/)) if you already have one. If you don’t, no worries, you can always add it later to your email based account in the settings page. 

Second step is to present your idea to the network’s community. Just click the “+Introduce Idea” button and try to give as many details about your idea as possible. It might be good to divide your planned activities into milestones, so it’s clear what is the schedule that you foresee. Need more time to work on the description? Save your idea as a draft and publish it whenever you feel ready. 

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Vx7206T3VvWdunzdp2qaX_str1cXAV0IzFqR7g76X4mikCCzAobHKUhtOZ7ZPqhtcRMeDHYSLh1dO4mZ6CSBjWeJQXP5uDu2F6AMakDqyt51yKcGaSCparypz0RTDsZsRvhPHdxI)

Once it’s published, it will be visible to the network’s community and discussion can begin. You will be notified whenever a new comment appears, so you can answer any questions that the community members might have about your idea. 

Third step is when things get serious. You got the feedback, applied some changes and you are ready to turn your idea into a formal Treasury proposal. Maybe you want to start small, with just one milestone and then go with the next one? You can do that as well using the application. Just choose your idea or idea’s milestone and click “Turn into proposal”. To perform this operation you will need a blockchain account to sign the transaction and place the required deposit. 

Then it’s time for step four. It’s the one where you keep your fingers crossed and check on your proposal’s status. You might need to answer some more questions in the Discussions tab, so make sure you check your in-app notifications or that you switched on the email notifications as well. You will also be informed whenever a new motion concerning your proposal is opened. Everyone will be able to follow the results of the motions in the details of your proposal. 

Step five is when you celebrate (or learn that you’ll have to work on your proposal a bit more). When the motions reach a conclusion, your proposal is either accepted or rejected. 

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/iUckpLAJOhfn1cSi6PmIR1TmCLT_fiOFcIbbUV-gEKzpOPnCawhrquXTs8JWkwIkg6GdDyTRgG8_lfEL1KwMregKejxcegfiFgjepWklJSW03yDjlj3cq2K3IfHo4H6Poo6sI1fV)

### 2. If you want to browse and discuss other people’s ideas

You’d like to take a look first, to see what others are up to? You can browse the active ideas for each network as well as current proposals without the need to log in. 

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Jo9WF5zPe82v1HjEOeE5o6lD8k4okn1Srcrpp66kWbvYrAFTjKbPC9heG92k-lUC3z1-a4XujjtGGShdjcoSJZqA_aqcQK6sTfPnNdUf3wbvP0x4HBWs1fBlFHyktZn-iRNyy6fE)

However, if you’d like to engage in a discussion or work on your own idea, you’ll need to create an account. It’s a very quick process, especially if you already have a Web3 blockchain account, which you can use to sign up. When you are logged in, you get access to discussions and possibility to present your ideas for proposals.

## What to expect from the next release?

We are currently finishing Milestone 3 which is focused on Bounties mechanism. Users will be able to add and browse through bounties, voting results, their curators and check the current status. The curators will be able to accept (or reject) their nominations and manage the bounty’s status. It will be possible to see the description of a bounty published on Polkassembly as well. We will also include the history feature based on the data from Polkassembly, which would allow users to browse through closed proposals and bounties, in addition to in-app ideas. 

We can’t wait to show you the ready product soon. We hope you will enjoy using BrightTreasury and that it will become an important part of Polkadot and Kusama communities. 

We would greatly appreciate your feedback. Let us know what you think! And if you encounter any issues, please do not hesitate to inform us via [github](https://github.com/bright/bright-tresury/issues).

## Day 1825. Five Bright Years at One Place

*Published: 2021-12-05 | Author: ula | Tags: bright insights, bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/day-1825-1/index.md*

For some people it might be surprising, especially considering current trends to change employers every two or three years, but I am just having my fifth anniversary at Bright Inventions. Five years ago I chose to start my professional journey here and I do not regret my decision since then. 

## **One girl and two guys** 

I know how it sounds but that is how it all started. I saw the job offer on one of local job boards and thought it might be a perfect match. It just clicked. **On the interview there were two of them, Michał and Daniel, the co-founders of Bright Inventions - two young, positive, motivated and experienced developers who had set up a company to create a place where people can do what they like and get satisfaction from that.** 

I made their mission mine. I knew it was a chance to build up something priceless almost from scratch. I also knew there were strong foundations to do that. 

Michał and Daniel were studying together at Gdańsk University of Technology, then there were working in one of the international IT provider where they realised that job in corporate world was not something they had been searching for. [On 15th March 2012 Bright Inventions was created.](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/story/) I liked the story behind that. It is the story of true friendship I guess.

![](../../static/images/michał_and_daniel_bright_inventions.jpg "")

Coming back to the interview it was the most original one I have ever had and it was the quickest recruitment decision I have ever got. Remember that in the first place I am a marketer so I went there with a plan what we shall work on, improve and change. I was surprised yet at the same time double excited that people who have just met me noted potential in me and my ideas. 

It was pure agile. Now I know it. 

## **Blank page**

Since I started working at Bright Inventions I have been responsible for both HR and marketing areas, starting from employer branding field, brand management and recruitment. I got a blank page and started writing a bright story on it, adding new scenarios, interesting characters and even plot twists sometimes. I started creating an authentic story in which I have also played one of the main roles. It was a challenge I had been searching for. 

I was gifted by Michał and Daniel with trust, independence and power. I felt they believed in me, in my vision, my plan and at the same time my intuition. I wish everyone could have such a  support in their organisations. 

In fact, all the people in the company were helpful, caring and sympathetic. **I was the first non-technical professional who joined the team so without their being so cooperative and kind it would have been quite harsh for me I guess.** But it wasn’t. It was demanding and at the same time encouraging. I was learning a lot about IT sector, programming, project management and developers in general. I was watching my colleagues, asking questions and becoming more and more certain that I was in a good place. When I joined there were 8 of us. We were not a big company, but for sure bright one.

## **Bright novel, Chapter 5** 

And here I am today together with 70 people on board and five years full of bright memories. I feel truly responsible for all the people that have joined us till today. I am really happy that I have had an opportunity to meet so many unique personalities and for sure I will still meet many more of them. 

What I am grateful for?

**For having really great bosses** who are specialists at what they do, have huge business and programming knowledge and at the same time are empathetic, inspirational and thoughtful. And since there are two of them is just a double luck. 

**For having a great team.** I know that I was recruiting them so what else I can say ;), but they are really great. I have friendly, clever and talented colleagues. They know what teamwork and responsibility mean. They can teach you something, make you laugh and they also share food with you, so could there be any better team in the world? 

**For having an opportunity to create a bright story and show that you do not have to be a big corporation to do big and great things.** I do not feel that we fall behind IT companies that hire hundreds of people. Just the opposite, as I see it we are quite unique. In our case powerful and empowering culture leads to success, not the company size and number of processes.

**For having a chance to create great software products.** I am not a developer, but you can create software even if you are not one. I can pride ourselves on numerous remarkable applications that help people all over the world. We create systems for international humanitarian organisations, for global food delivery services, for therapists, pregnant women, people after trauma and many more. Each and every makes an impact on people’s life. 

**For having now also my own small recruitment and marketing team.** I work with great positive and skilful girls who are determined to add new colours to our bright story and work on the next chapter together with me. 

And for many other things that I would leave to myself. :) 

![](../../static/images/thank_you_ula.png "")

## **Time to say goodbye** 

Not this kind of goodbye. 

My role at Bright Inventions has evolved significantly since day 1 to day 1825. My challenges are changing all the time, but I am quite proud that hard work and engagement have brought some fruits. 

Not always everything is perfect. I do not expect that to be. Sometimes there are difficult moments, tough decisions to make and different views to be reconciled. It is my daily life, but in the end it only makes room for improvement and it is always a good lesson. It is fine when I have to agree to disagree about something. These situations probably teach me the most.

A lot of learning is still ahead of me. I anticipate that to be an opportunity. The IT sector is changing dynamically and so people’s expectations concerning the place where they want to work. **My goal is to create such a work environment where people can thrive both as specialists and humans, where people can honestly talk with each other about both failures and successes, where people support each other the same way I was supported in the beginning of my bright journey.**

## Technology Trends in Healthcare for the Year 2022 (and far beyond)

*Published: 2021-11-26 | Author: wojciech | Tags: development, inspiration, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/technology-trends-in-healthcare/index.md*

**Artificial Intelligence will tell you that you are depressed. Your watch will notify you that you might have an arrhythmia. Technology offers help for overloaded doctors. But will they accept it? These are software healthcare trends for 2022 and – to be honest – actually for the whole decade.**

We’ve asked software developers from Bright Inventions about **2022 trends in the healthcare industry**. Check out what to expect not only in 2022 but also in upcoming years.

![healthcare trends 2022](../../static/images/healthcare_trends_2022_2.png "")

## Artificial Intelligence will cover diagnostics

**Wojciech (Fullstack Developer):**

Right now everyone can experience the changes in healthcare that were accelerated by the pandemic. We have telemedicine which enables us to contact the doctor via phone, chat or video stream. So, the change has started, but that is really the beginning.

**Piotr (Android Developer):**

Yes, **the real valuable eHealth offer for patients will come up within the next 5 years**. And 2022 may be crucial here. This is the year when we will globally understand that changes caused by the pandemics are not temporary and that we need to go further with the **healthcare digital transformation**. 

I think that in the next couple of years **Artificial Intelligence will become a huge part of the diagnostic process.** The recent studies have shown that [AI can tell when somebody has depression](https://www.forbes.com/sites/ganeskesari/2021/05/24/ai-can-now-detect-depression-from-just-your-voice/) before the person even realises about their issue. Also, AI can support preventing diseases regarding the blood circulation which are one of the leading causes of death globally. 

Let’s make it clear. AI might sound scary but it is nothing new. AI is well utilised in automotive, banking or marketing sectors. Yet in such a crucial healthcare sector, we are globally falling behind.

## Technology will make public healthcare cheaper (if governments want so)

**Piotr:**

Right now we have many [wearable healthcare devices](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/) e.g. watches or continuous monitoring devices that monitor our vital signs. I do not say that all of them work perfectly but there are brands that definitely lead the way here.

![healthcare smartwatch](../../static/images/healthcare_wearable_devices.png "")

**So we have healthcare devices. And we have software.** Now, these systems will have to be certified. **The ball is in the government’s court** which has to approve new systems and educate doctors, who can still be afraid of this healthcare digital transformation. They need to prepare the standards to be followed by producers in the country or maybe for the whole political region like the European Union. We all know that prevention is better and cheaper than cure so public healthcare systems should include more and more IT systems for diagnostics. 

Thinking far more in the future I see the possibilities for people to have some dedicated cameras installed in the house in order to constantly monitor their vital signs. Unfortunately, this sounds like something accessible to wealthy people only. I am afraid that these types of diagnostics devices won’t be available broadly. And that is another role of the governments around the world to make it more accessible.

## Taking care of yourself will be a game

**Wojciech:**

We all know how essential it is to keep up with regular doctor checkups. However, [it doesn’t mean that we visit our doctor regularly](https://www.verywellhealth.com/reasons-people-dont-go-to-the-doctor-4779661). eHealth can offer a pretty attractive alternative to people who avoid doctors or simply do not have access to them. **The solution might be gamification.** Nowadays we can see the enormous popularity of watches counting our steps. Taking famous 10k steps a day has become a global challenge engaging people around the world. We love to have devices that analyze our sleep, burnt calories or pulse. 

We should take a step further. **Imagine software that monitors your condition 24 hours a day and notifies you that you might have arrhythmia and you should go to a doctor.** Or it can even directly send data to your doctor who can remotely evaluate if you should have a check-up.

The notification from your watch saying that you might suffer from a certain disease can be more persuasive than a typical medical pamphlet found at doctor’s offices that says: you should go to annual check-ups. People are becoming more and more numb to communication like that. Yet they might be more engaged in the game when they are a part of a community and get some kind of reward. For example: when you go for mammography, you get a badge which you can share online to promote your healthy approach. **I truly believe that a well-organised gamification system can promote healthy habits and make doctors’ work lighter.**

In the end, thanks to technology you can monitor your vitals constantly which any doctor has a possibility to do.

Presented trends are not just some fantasy stories of people that are tech enthusiasts (but yes, we are). It is essential to **move medicine into 21 century**. We are in the middle of challenging times. [There is a rise of people suffering from mental diseases, circular diseases, infertility and more.](/blog/healthcare-software-development-not-a-future/) At the same time, there are not enough doctors to help them. Public healthcare can only face these challenges by implementing technology. It is now or never!

## Top Job Factors for Software Developers

*Published: 2021-11-23 | Author: wojciech | Tags: development, inspiration, teamwork*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-job-factors-for-software-developers/index.md*

**Are you a programmer? What has attracted you to join the particular place of work? Read some insights from software developers on their decision-making process whilst looking for a new job.**

![Top Job Factors Software Developer](../../static/images/job_factors.png "")

There is a tone of the research on what crucial requirements for IT candidates are when they are looking for a job. Here are some insights from the [Stack Overflow Survey](https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020#job-priorities). Yet numbers aren’t everything. Let’s talk with people behind these statistics. Meet unique perspectives of three Polish software developers from Bright Inventions.

## Self-development, challenges and freedom

![Job Factors Fullstack Developer](../../static/images/wojciech_job_factors.png "")

Wojciech – Fullstack Developer

When I was looking for a job I was always mostly focused on finding a place where I would grow as a developer and have interesting challenges ahead of me. Another top factor for programmers is obviously the salary. When these requirements are made, I make sure that conditions of work and the attitude towards employees are right for me. Here are a couple of things that I always take into consideration:

* I want to feel independent and of course responsible for my job. I would not like to work at a place where micromanagement takes place.
* Another important factor is the level of my influence on the project. Would I have the possibility to bring some new ideas? Would I be a part of the decision-making process? For me, the answers to these questions must be yes.
* The devices used for my daily work are another important factor. Obviously, everyone wants to work on the best possible equipment.
* Office location has always been essential to me as well. I do not want to waste my time commuting. Now of course another factor is whether or not I am free to work remotely. I still like to work from the office but I also love having an opportunity to work at home if I want to.

## Looking for passionate people

![Job Factors Frontend Developer](../../static/images/paulina_job_factors.png "")

Paulina – Frontend Developer

I believe that the desire to look for a new job comes from the need for a change. I needed to change my place of work. I used to work in a corporation. I started that job at the beginning of the pandemic so I felt like I did not know my colleagues. I wanted to find a more cosy place and felt like I have an influence on my team and the technologies I use. When I was checking various companies, including Bright Inventions, I asked Filip from Bright about the company because he was a friend of mine. But I guess you do not have to know anyone from the company. You can just google some employees or look for people on LinkedIn to ask about the company they work at. This is the easiest and pretty efficient way to see if this company works for you.

I think that when it came to choosing Bright Inventions the breakthrough was not only great feedback from Filip but especially my interview. That is when I met Ula who is a super positive human being that always makes you feel better. Apart from the HR interview, I had an incredible technical talk with Piotr. Usually, these technical talks are very schematic but in this case I had the whole story presented by Piotr that followed me step by step to the final task. Normally these talks are about asking a candidate some questions, they feel like examinations. Here I felt like Piotr was just talking with me and actually taught me lots of new things during that one talk. I could just feel the passion coming from him and what he does. Could there be a better advertisement than that? I think it is a pleasure to work with people who love their job.

## The opportunity to learn

![Job Factors Web Developer](../../static/images/krzysiek_job_factors.png "")

Krzysiek – Web Developer

For me the crucial part while choosing the job are people that I will be working with. During an interview for a job at Bright  I realised two things. Firstly, it was that I definitely would have some learning to do. 😉  Secondly, I knew that I would find people that I could learn from. Apart from that, I liked Bright Inventions' culture of work. Especially, the flat structure of the company, lots of team retreats and after work activities and a team that does not act like some griper robots. 😃

\
What are your top reasons to choose a particular job? Let us know in the comments. 

Check out [career opportunities at Bright Inventions](/career).

## Why I Would Like to Be a Recruiting Specialist 

*Published: 2021-11-19 | Author: agata-m | Tags: HR, inspiration, recruitment*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/why-i-would-like-to-be-a-recruiting-specialist/index.md*

I have in myself a constant desire to develop. I want to learn new things - I think this is the right time. :) In my opinion, working as a recruiter gives motivation and an opportunity to act, to discover new fields, and to be deep into them. **A recruiter has to get to know the industry and the position first to be able to match the right person with it later on.** Sometimes we do not even realise that a given environment can be so interesting and have so many unknowns.

IT is exactly this industry for me. We can find IT solutions in many different projects that deal with health, transport, entertainment, science, and much more. IT has absorbed all fields and that is probably the most intriguing thing. 

## Recruiter to be

One of the most important and immersing things about being a recruiter I think is that we often meet new people, know their aspirations, abilities, ambitions, and... **we can help them take a step forward in their career path**. This is wonderful! Of course, we have to accept the fact that not always everything will be colorful. The company will not always find a perfect candidate, especially when generally it is very difficult to find them on the market. Well, no one said it would be easy.

Another aspect of why I want to be a recruiter is **the feeling of impact on the company.** By reaching out to candidates, I am representing both sides: the company and myself, so I contribute to how the company develops, and I think that if the company is developing, I feel I am developing with it, which is a big advantage.

Can everyone be a recruiter? I do not know, but probably not - because not everyone can be everyone. :)

## What do I think a recruiter should be like? 

Brave - everyday talks with candidates, exchange of messages and phone calls - we have to be prepared for that. And for sure responsible- we have really important decisions of many people in our hands.\
\
**I do not want to recruit for quantity, I would like to recruit for quality.** My dream is to be a recruiter who is looking for someone to join Bright Team, who will really feel comfortable here and that the cooperation will go well. 

![join bright inventions team](../../static/images/join_bright_team.png "")

## And in the end I have a few little tips, which I find really important and valuable now when I am starting my recruiting career.

1. It is good to have in mind how we want to work and what we want to achieve. 
2. And what is more important, you should always set yourself the values that you want to follow and then follow them. 

To sum up, I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, many ups and downs but this effort will allow me to take small steps forward and as a result bring a lot of new friends :)

## Road to DevOps – How Tools Like AWS CDK Help with DevOps Transition

*Published: 2021-11-17 | Author: michal-lem | Tags: devops, development, backend, aws, cdk, typescript, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/road-to-devops-how-tools-like-aws-cdk-help-with-devops-transition/index.md*

It's obvious that DevOps is a buzzword these days. If you are somehow connected with software development, the DevOps culture could possibly jump right on your face from your fridge. You haven't heard it? I don't believe you, but if that's the case - no worries, you will. Sooner or later.

![DevOps at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/road_to_devops_michal.png "")

## The Definition of DevOps

I could possibly write a book trying to describe everything that one should know about DevOps, how cool it is, and why everyone should shout out DevOps slogans with the same frequency as some Agile mantras. Yeah, most probably it wouldn't be a bestseller, so I won't. Instead, I would present a short, yet meaningful [definition from AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/devops/what-is-devops/): 

> DevOps is the combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster pace than organizations using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes.

How does it sound? Simple yet descriptive, right? Sure, but what does it really mean for a software development team that would like to boost up velocity, and go one step ahead on the delivery quality path? I have my own perspective on DevOps, which grew while working with different teams, in different environments, on a wide spectrum of projects. 

> DevOps culture is about getting out of comfort zone, cross-team collaboration and putting impact on a feedback loop, all that with the help of modern DevOps toolset

And that’s what this story is really about.

## Road to DevOps – the story of a DevOps engineer and a common antipattern

### Background

![DeLorean DMC-12](../../static/images/delorean.jpg "")

Now, let's pay a visit to Dr Emmett Lathrop Brown, and make use of that fancy DeLorean DMC-12 to jump into the past for a second. Someone is waving at us! That's a younger version of me. Meet Michał, **the SysOps.** He is working in a big corporation with bare metal servers and some virtualisation in place. Oh, and he has keys to data center! And a winter wool hat for hours spent there with all the fans and air conditioning on.

Back then my main problem was to automate repetitive work on the copious numbers of virtual machines and bare metals hosting business applications on some enterprise Linux distributions or other Unix family systems like IBM AIX. It was relatively easy, sometimes challenging, but mainly easy with some edge cases to be covered with custom scripts and dirty hacks that should never go live to production. I had some useful background for that job: 

* The very basic concepts of programming, data structures and algorithms were injected into my fertile brain back then. It was done in the lower secondary school by my IT teacher, she was able to see that small IT sparkle in me and a few colleagues.
* That knowledge was constantly growing, both in school and at home. Besides hanging out with friends (yes, I'm from the generation that used to play outside), I was creating websites about Worms and Quake 2/3 with HTML, PHP and some Javascript. Later it evolved into Python and Django.
* I used to have a self-built server in my drawer, made of an old laptop motherboard. Gentoo Linux was sitting there, if someone is not familiar with it... It's a distribution that forces you to configure everything from scratch by yourself, hence my main hobby was to compile Linux kernel with a hilarious frequency. It was useful though, drawer served as a heater during winter.

So automation, scripting, Perl, Bash, Sed, Awk, Python, Linux, Unix. Let's add Ansible/Chef to the stack, some monitoring (Nagios, Sensu), VCS and finally Docker with Docker Swarm. Not to forget about load balancing with Nginx and HAProxy. That was me as a SysOps back then.

### DevOps Engineer

Ok, we are jumping into DeLorean once again. Oh, Hi Marty! When did you join us?! Never mind. We travelled in time a few years forward. Here he is, Michał with his shiny Apple Macbook working from home. Yes, from home. Why, you ask? That's because now he works **in the cloud**. Now Michał is a **DevOps Engineer**, serving as a catalyst to software development. How cool is that, huh? 

![Remote Cloud Devops](../../static/images/cloud-remote-devops.png "")

**So, what changed?**

* Now everything is done with VCS. CI/CD is in place and I'm responsible for the pipelines and how optimal they are.
* I'm working with software being developed by frontend and backend devs. New programming languages and frameworks to support and know their gotchas.
* Managed services rather than self-hosted ones. Despite being more expensive it's easier to have something supported externally without the need of maintaining an internal team for some software component support.
* **Cloud is new normal**. Mostly AWS, some GCP, some Azure and some edge cases like Hetzner Cloud or Digital Ocean. Well, I had to learn quite a lot regarding the cloud. A few new certifications, loads of whitepapers and even more tries and errors.
* **Docker is the new normal**. And Kubernetes with all its sparkles and problems as a remedy for software at scale.
* Developers need dynamic environments, on demand. It's best to have per pull request env for QA to check new features. The challenging topic for DevOps team.
* Tickets, lots of tickets, from PMs and developers. And due dates, with impatient stakeholders.
* And the [Terraform](https://www.terraform.io). How could I forget that?! Now, as we live in clouds these days, it's wise to have Infrastructure as Code (IaC) in place. No more clickology, a new level of automation and ability to reuse common snippets. And yes, the code for infrastructure also lives in Git, with CI/CD. 

**So again, what changed?**

Can you see what I'm trying to say here? Let's move back to the DevOps definition. Clearly, there are some new shiny DevOps tools in game, and for sure they serve software development and help to deliver apps with a higher velocity at a better scale. But it doesn't really sound like we are aligned with the whole DevOps story. What definitely is different is that now I work as a DevOps Engineer climbing the DevOps career path and raising seniority level.

How could I describe my daily work in a few words? I was working for developers (not with them), building infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines with a modern DevOps toolset, reacting to tickets with the use of knowledge that was sealed in the DevOps team. It was neither of my interest to wear developers shoes nor developers will to understand what my team does and how does the infrastructure hosting software they write works. Not to mention any form of contribution both ways.

**And this is the most common scenario of how a DevOps role looks like in many teams/companies and the most common scenario of how do people start working as a DevOps Engineer.**

Also, confronting this with the DevOps definition it's **the most common DevOps antipattern** among the IT world.

### DevOps Engineer revisited. A short novel about getting out of my comfort zone.

Last journey. DMC-12, can you please move us to the more or less present time? Thank you, but where is Marty? Most probably he's got some business in the future. 

Where are we now? **We are in Bright Inventions**. Hurray, I've managed to pass the recruitment process with Ula examining my attitude and team fit and somehow got through difficult yet right on the nose questions asked by Piotr. I'm pretty happy that I could finally be able to mostly focus on one product and get rid of context switching I used to deal with previously.

Actually, I'm satisfied with the fact that I'll vendor lock myself a bit with AWS, mainly because this is my field of expertise and I have the most experience with AWS services. After short onboarding, I should be ready to work. This environment is familiar to me, and also the toolset, right? Indeed, mostly. One simple thing, that is so much different in the bigger picture - [AWS CDK](https://aws.amazon.com/cdk/). So what is the CDK? According to AWS, it's is an open-source software development framework to define your [cloud application](/our-areas/cloud-services/) resources using familiar programming languages. Pretty neat right? At first sight, it seems like a substitute to Terraform.

![AWS CDK](../../static/images/cdk-logo6-1260x476.png "")

Now a very important piece of information that seems to be a clue to the whole story.

**I'm the first DevOps Engineer at Bright Inventions**

Why is this important, you may ask. Well, as I mentioned the team was already using everything I was familiar with. The software is living in the cloud, and the development lifecycle needs a good velocity. So how actually the team did manage to go that far without a DevOps engineer? Well, besides having some really bright minds on board, truly open minds, they did something that was the most comfortable and well known to them. They made use of TypeScript to spawn the whole infrastructure with the help of AWS CDK. Having documentation in place for all the CDK constructs, and being able to work with a programming language they are familiar with it was possible for them to do what they needed in the AWS cloud.

I mentioned getting out of my comfort zone. Firstly it was for sure not easy for the developers to work with AWS. It's a wide, complicated ecosystem with different gotchas in many places. It requires rather a wide domain knowledge to do things both right and secure. Not to forget about being cost-effective. But CDK helped with that a bit being kind of a proxy to AWS services with TypeScript constructs in place. Documentation covering all the parameters and methods is a well-known ground for developers using them. 

Secondly, me and CDK. That was something that bothered me for some time. It's just a tool doing the same thing differently, they say. However, there was something unusual for me in the path Bright Inventions took here. It took a few weeks for me to get to know CDK, its interactions with underlying CloudFormation, and to learn something new - TypeScript. It was refreshing, but definitely out of my cosy status quo I grew using Terraform. While I was familiar with some programming languages, not being a part of software development per se, resulted in the necessity to learn good practices and how to do things just right.

**All in all, fun things happened here at Bright Inventions:**

* My mindset changed a bit. **I started to think more like a developer than SysOps I actually am.** It gave me a wider perspective on the software I'm working with, with a deeper understanding of application code, and how to work with developers efficiently.
* **I've learned a lot about code quality, good practices regarding programming languages and code review.** Of course, I knew about that, in theory. Practising these guidelines was not an everyday basis, especially having in mind that previously my level of dev \<-\> ops collaboration was from minimal to none. I even feel comfortable with contributions to the applications' codebase.
* I've noticed something that seems to be the most crucial part of DevOps culture -  **developer empowerment**. Developers feel free to contribute to infrastructure. They have an understanding of how infrastructure works, and how to use AWS services properly.

**Of course, it doesn't mean that DevOps engineers can be switched for developers.** Making the most of AWS requires some domain knowledge about service dependencies, networking, security and how do they scale up and scale out. It means that it's much easier to understand the infrastructure and its current state with tools like CDK and its documentation.

Most importantly, something I saw in Bright Inventions with a naked eye is that instead of raising a ticket to DevOps e.g. adding S3 bucket, SQS, or Lambda function, waiting a week for closing it, developers do these contributions to the infrastructure themselves with pull requests and review requests from DevOps Engineer or anyone familiar with a particular subject. 

## Summary – the DevOps definition revisited

![It's all about collaboration](../../static/images/collaboration-devops.png "")

Remember my definition of DevOps? That's the story of how I came to that. DevOps mindset is all about **collaboration and feedback loop**. Thanks to tools like AWS CDK one can both introduce so important dev empowerment and move the quality of work done by SysOps/DevOps/Infrastructure engineers to a whole new level. As an effect, we **destroy the silos**, which slows down the development process so much. 

**Obviously, it's a good moment to pinpoint some disadvantages of CDK.** It's a tool written by AWS for AWS, hence we get another vendor lock-in here. It's great for its own ecosystem, however not ideal. There are some major drawbacks of using CloudFormation which I'm aware of. But it's not my intention to praise this particular tool but to draw attention to the philosophy CDK follows.

Luckily, there are various tools on the market that try to solve problems mentioned above with a different level of maturity, like [Pulumi](https://www.pulumi.com) or [cdktf](https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform-cdk), that allows you to use familiar programming languages and CDK constructs to define cloud infrastructure and provision it through [HashiCorp Terraform](https://www.terraform.io). That one is a brilliant solution that connects the advantages of CDK and the great power of Terraform and its huge base of providers, along with a friendly community.

**I sincerely encourage all software development teams and DevOps teams, that live in antipatterns I used to live in, to look into this attitude and try to implement it even experimentally.** Adapting to the new working culture takes some time and effort on every side of the equation, but the effect can be surprisingly satisfying for everyone.

## How to Make Your Onboarding Bright

*Published: 2021-11-15 | Author: ula | Tags: onboarding, leadership, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-make-your-onboarding-bright/index.md*

There are many onboarding strategies. **Ours is transparency, [regular feedback](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/no-time-for-bullshit-feedback-culture/) and support.** 

First days at new work are hard, even if the new hire is competent, friendly and super positive, these are still the first days. To me, we are all a bit nervous and fumble each time we start a new chapter of our professional career. But effective onboarding can make many things much easier and it might be the cornerstone of a new employee’s experience. 

![](../../static/images/effective_onboarding.png "")

###### Source: https://www.bamboohr.com/blog/effective-onboarding-infographic

At Bright Inventions an onboarding journey lasts almost three months and it begins before the first day. **The good onboarding process, as the word “process” suggests, takes time.** It is not a one-time meeting. It involves the engagement of a team, great time management skills and a bit of supervision. Nothing happens automagically. 

## **BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS** 

I always inform my Bright Team in advance about new colleagues - their names, roles and start date. It is important that no one feels surprised to see a new co-worker in the office or at some online company meeting. It is also crucial to map out everything and plan all the key appointments with people new hires will interact with on a regular basis.

You may also assign a buddy i.e. a member of your team to mentor the newcomer on the ins and outs of the project, people and organisation. We do that. This introductory mentoring should include everything from certain company-wide procedures down to how to perform daily tasks. **I am quite certain that if we did not plan each step beforehand, the whole process would be chaotic and stressful for both sides.**

Last but not least, our memory is like a sieve so it might be advisable to send a friendly reminder to your team a few days ahead of the newcomer’s arrival.

## **HELLO MY DEAR FRIEND** 

If the first day is in person, you may take your new colleagues on a short office tour. And then:

 ✔️ Discuss the first days schedule. Tell your new hires about what the days are going to be like, so that they know what to expect. **Open up the floor for questions**. **Don’t leave new-comers twiddling their thumbs because they are not sure what they will be doing.**

✔️ Make sure you give the new hire all the documents like NDAs, GDPR and other privacy forms they need to sign. Ensure you do this while explaining the purpose behind each one.

✔️ Remember about giving an access to your company Wiki/culture book/other materials that involve the key information everyone in the team should be introduced with. Not mentioning the tools they will need in their job. 

✔️ First day is also a good time for some ice-breakers. At Bright Inventions we use Slack for daily communication and it is quite useful for this occasion. But it can be done via any platform you use. 

✔️ I really recommend organising some lunch for new teammates on their first day. It is a great chance for them to get to know and meet other people in your team. Apart from that at Bright Inventions we also arrange an additional meeting in person with our co-founders so that new-comers can really make a bond and see that there is no need to be afraid of talking to them about literally anything. **Michał and Daniel are talking about the idea behind starting the company, [the values we believe in](https://brightinventions.pl/about-us/values/), and the direction we want to go in.** 

✔️ Plan it ahead. I cannot imagine onboarding without scheduling everything ahead. Always inform all the people engaged in the onboarding process about what you might expect them to do. Invite them to all the necessary meetings. 

✔️ **Tell about company culture, work ethics and core values.** It is crucial that new employees understand the expectations held within the company. It is not only about what we want them to do, but how and why it is important to the organization’s success.  

✔️ Establish lines of open communication. **Encourage new-comers to ask questions and make them involved.** I believe we should foster engagement from the moment new employees walk in our office door for the first time. 

![](../../static/images/onboarding_tips.png "")

###### Source: https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/infographic/infographic-tips-ending-burden-onboarding

## **WHAT IS NEXT** 

The first week on a new job is a bit like orientation on a school campus. It is important not to overwhelm a new employees during this stage. But for sure we should walk them through important procedures and standards which help them feel comfortable getting started on the real work.

**Follow up and check ins - do not forget about them.** After giving the new hires time to get used to the office, workspace and their trainer, it is good to follow up with them to make sure they are feeling comfortable and picking things up at an appropriate pace. As far as I can tell, the end of the first week is a good time to discuss how the next weeks or so should progress, what you expect and where they should be once they reach that time. 

Make also some time for feedback. As you probably already know at Bright Inventions we value and practise transparent feedback culture. **If you are a manager, make sure to get updates from those who work closely with the new-hires and make an effort to point your new-comers in the right direction if they seem to be faltering or struggling with certain tasks.** Also do ask for feedback as they should be able to express freely their feelings and impressions since day one.

![](../../static/images/feedback_future.png "")

**Next weeks and next months is also a perfect time for reviewing.** Do not leave it for the end of a trial period or a performance test. Review past assignments and check if the new hire is on schedule with the tasks. It can be quite informal, but still it is the best time to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Review past and future assignments. After 90 days, the new hire should be at a healthy proficiency in their role. 

## **AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER** 

We should try to create for new joiners a space to learn and explore the company, its culture, and its people. At the same time we have to keep in mind that every person has different standards, develop at a different pace and may need different scope of support. **Onboarding doesn’t need to be a one size fits all process. We may have specific trainings and use different methods each time a new co-worker appears. It just has to be effective.** And if it is like that, it will also have an incredibly positive impact not only on the new joiners but also on the whole team. 

What I especially love while running onboarding process is **encouraging independence and openness in people.** With trainings, introductions and communication all covered, it is always the best time to start letting your new employee show engagement and practice what you hired them for. And I believe we are hired at Bright Inventions to create a great team, a healthy workplace and software solutions that can change the world.

## 5 Benefits of Substrate Blockchain

*Published: 2021-11-08 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: blockchain, substrate, development, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-benefits-of-substrate-blockchain/index.md*

**Substrate is an SDK that enables you to build your blockchain from previously built components. Do you want to be a blockchain developer? Thanks to Substrate, joining the blockchain development community has never been easier. Find out why!**

![benefits of substrate blockchain](../../static/images/blog_substrate_blockchain.png "")

## Substrate is the fastest way to build blockchain

You can easily have a blockchain node developed within an hour! If you find that hard to believe, check out a 1-hour [tutorial that enables you to launch Substrate Node on your computer](https://substrate.dev/docs/en/tutorials/create-your-first-substrate-chain/).

What is more, Substrate as a blockchain framework does all the hard job for you. You do not have to worry about the core components: data layer, networking, transaction queue and consensus. In the beginning you can just use the default ones and start playing with your new blockchain! As you get more involved you can exchange components, but still do not have to worry about implementing them – just use a pallet that suits your needs.

## Substrate is a young framework but more mature than you think

Obviously Substrate, which was released in 2018, is younger compared to Ethereum or Bitcoin. However, since then it has been successfully used to develop products. Here you will find [over 150 projects which are built on Substrate](https://substrate.io/ecosystem/projects/). You can easily find examples of DeFi, Smart Contracts, IoT or Gaming projects.

## It is more flexible than other blockchains networks

Building Substrate gives you the freedom to use custom blocks as you want or develop your own ones. **You do not have to build smart contracts**, but you can if you want. 🙂  Instead of building smart contracts, you can create your own functions ensuring the safety of your network. Of course, in that case it is your full responsibility to deliver proper functions. Yet, you can modify them whenever you want with the onchain upgrade mechanism. As you probably know – in Ethereum once you create smart contracts, there is no easy way back. You can’t change them, you have to deploy a new smart contract, which practically means to start from the beginning.

## Substrate offers a great solution to integrate your apps with blockchain

**At Bright Inventions we specialise in integrating blockchain data with web systems.** For the [BrightTreasury](/projects/bright-treasury/) project we integrate web applications with Substrate. Our experience shows that integration with this framework is much easier thanks to the JS API that has been developed simultaneously with the whole framework. The other really interesting project is a light blockchain client, which you can easily include right into your web app and interact with the network directly. This is a big step forward to fully decentralized user-friendly applications.

## If you want to become a blockchain developer choosing Substrate is the fastest way

Substrate is written in Rust and that itself is really great news for many developers. **Rust is quite similar to JavaScript in how you write the code but its logic might be compared to C++.** Therefore even if you only know JS, you will easily move to Rust. It is worth mentioning that Rust might be similar to C++ but only in a good way. Rust is quick as it does not have any runtime or garbage collector. However, due to its type system and ownership model it prevents memory errors right in the compile time. It also includes all the goodies that modern languages have: an advanced compiler with robust error descriptions, a package manager and build tools. Simply saying Rust is younger, faster and modern so there is no surprise that this is one of the top wanted languages according to the [2021 Stack Overflow Developer Survey](https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021#most-loved-dreaded-and-wanted-language-want).

Besides, if you want to be a blockchain developer knowing Rust is one thing, the other one is understanding the idea behind blockchain. That is the homework you need to do well before you dive into coding. 😉

Do you want to know more about developing blockchain? Check out our tutorial about [developing cryptocurrency with Substrate](/blog/erc20-substrate-nest-example/).

Or maybe you want to build your own [Substrate blockchain solution?](/our-areas/blockchain)

## How to mount a lamp like a pragmatist?

*Published: 2021-10-28 | Author: radek-l | Tags: communication, business perspective, proactivity*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-mount-a-lamp-like-a-pragmatist/index.md*

![mounting lamp](../../static/images/blog_post_lamp_development.png "")

## The Bad Example

Imagine a character called Jack who hires an electrician to have a ceiling lamp mounted.

* “Hello Mr Electrician, could you mount the lamp for me please?”. - Jack asks.

With a bright smile Electrician starts his job. At the end of his work, Jack pushes the switch and… the lamp doesn't give any light. 

Full of surprise on his face Jack kindly asks:

* “Why isn’t it working?”

And the response was:

* “You didn’t ask me to make the lamp work, you asked me to get it mounted.”

There is lots of absurdity in the story but one can find in it an analogy to a modern software engineer’s work reality. **We, developers, want some clear acceptance criteria, mock ups and well refined tasks**. On Friday afternoon we are proud that all the requirements are clearly met by our implementation, but from users’ perspective the functionality sometimes resembles the well mounted lamp that gives no light. 

In that story Jack is the project manager and Mr Electrician is the orthodox, acceptance-criteria-oriented-developer. 

Such a situation is a project manager’s nightmare. The role of a project manager is to receive, digest and broadcast signals between people of different worlds. From developers, through upper management up to customers. They physically cannot point out every single thing to be done and hold the dev by hand to make sure everything in his implementation makes sense. **They want to trust the developers, have faith in their common sense and rely on their technical, but also user-oriented expertise**.

## The Good Example

Since we have covered the nightmare scenario, let’s now imagine a more pragmatic and professional approach to mounting the lamp.

Driven by frustration and disappointment Jack found another electrician to make his lamp work. His name is Mr Pragmatic Electrician. Right after receiving the job Mr Pragmatic Electrician mysteriously started looking around the room. He came back to Jack and said:

* "I’ve reviewed the lamp, it has no lightbulb in it. Moreover the wiring is not covered safely. I also verified the allowed amperage in your room and it’s not sufficient for the lamp. I’d propose to completely replace the main wiring, but that will require hammering the walls. Alternatively you could remove some electrical devices from the room. And if we are going to rewire the room, I’d also propose to move the lamp a bit more to the center, as it would provide a much better light distribution across the room"

Jack was absolutely stunned by the professionalism and complexity of the advice he received. He felt really comfortable and felt he could trust Mr Pragmatic and told him:

* "I can see you know what you’re talking about, I need to go out, but please do all you find suitable to make it work. I’ll be back in the evening."

The result of Mr Pragmatic’s work was a beautifully lit and safely wired room.

## The Analysis

Why was Mr Pragmatic's approach so much more valuable to Jack?

* He reviewed the current state of the lamp
* Investigated the surroundings 
* Verified the related pathways
* Took a broader look all around the lamp, presented a non-technical, user-oriented guidance to properly mount the lamp in the most efficient way
* Clearly described his findings, dangers and risks
* Decomposed the problem on many layers: safety, effort, effectiveness of the potential solution.
* Defined the obstacles, blockers and presented an alternative approach
* Proposed clear and professional solutions to the problems

And most of all… **He took responsibility for the idea of LIGHTING THE ROOM instead of MOUNTING THE LAMP.**

Following Mr’s Pragmatic attitude you will gain lots of trust from your Project Manager and you will make his life much easier.

>  “The skill I value the most in developers is the ability to take a look at the product as a whole, beyond the Jira tasks” - Kasia, Project Manager at Bright Inventions

## The Summary

**The professional developer takes responsibility for fulfilling a high level, abstract need, he supports the manager to achieve his needs**. A pragmatic approach is to take a holistic view on the idea, the concept, the issue that you are working on. Change perspective, think like a specialist, but then like a plain, ignorant user. Do not blindly follow the acceptance criteria of your task. Fulfil them, but make sure they sit well within the system. Verify all the flows around your new feature - do they still make sense? Should they be aligned? Think about the future of this feature - is it likely to be extended? Does the codebase allow that? Should you propose a refactoring for that module? Be courageous, accept the fact that the business thinking is intrinsically entangled into developers' work routine. **Do not only do the coding, but take responsibility for the functionalities.**

At the end, please ask yourself these questions:

**As a software engineer** have you happened to stick so hard to acceptance criteria that you missed some meaningful details in your implementation?

**As a project manager**, have you come across non-supportive, acceptance-criteria-oriented devs? How did you approach the lack of reason in their attitude?



Photo by [Pierre Châtel-Innocenti](https://unsplash.com/@chatelp?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText).

## Bringing Science and Business together. Meet Kasia, a Project Manager and an Academic Teacher

*Published: 2021-10-20 | Author: kasia | Tags: bright insights, bright story*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/meet-kasia-a-project-manager-and-an-academic-teacher/index.md*

**Emerging from the academic world she successfully mixes theoretical knowledge with business reality. During her over 10 years of academic career she has taught thousands of programmers that soft skills are not an option but simply a must. Let us talk with Kasia – Senior Project Manager at Bright Inventions.**

![Kasia - Senior Project Manager](../../static/images/blogpost_brightstory_kasia_collage.png "")

## What did you study?

I studied Computer Science at Gdańsk University of Technology and went right after that to PhD studies. I actually didn’t know what I wanted to do after graduating high school. I was passionate about many different fields. I was in a multidisciplinary class at my high school in Olsztyn and wrote extended Matura exams from subjects like English, Polish and Physics. So I had a few career paths in my mind. 

During high school I made a few websites so I had a very romantic yet naive vision of what being a programmer would look like. So I applied to Computer Science at Gdańsk University of Technology. I did it just to see if I could get in. In the meantime, I got into English Philology studies. I was about to go there but then I got the news that I got into Computer Science as well. Eventually, I chose that faculty. **I figured that studying at the University of Technology would force me to leave my comfort zone and it just seemed to be exciting.**

## How do you recall your studies?

In the first year my group had a wide spectrum of knowledge. There were people who saw Linux for the first time and people who were experts at it. However, now after many years of teaching at the university, I can tell that **it doesn’t matter what knowledge you brought in the beginning. It matters with what level of knowledge you finish the first year. Surprisingly, the better insight you have at the start the easier it is to end up lost**. You just don’t feel that pressure to learn because you have this confidence that others have to catch up. But then you might miss the moment when they are ahead of you. Everyone has the same chance. It doesn’t matter if you had some basics or did not. When I started my studies I only knew HTML and basic PHP. It was very hard for me to catch up, the first months were tough but I made it. It is just a matter of what you are going to do now with your knowledge. 

It is worth mentioning that **studying IT is strongly connected to the perception that you are entering the men’s world**. It is still very blocking for women. Before I started to study there I never thought that I didn't belong somewhere. Yet in my first year I started to hear these questions from other male students: What are you doing here? Why are you here? It was really confusing that my presence is surprising to somebody. I will never forget that feeling.

![Kasia Łukasiewicz - Senior Project Manager at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/kasia_meeting.jpeg "")

## Why did you turn your interests into product management and Agile?

When I was starting my student’s adventure I felt like I was about to become a mini hacker and learn how to code. I didn’t even know that there were fields like project management and that you study that. As soon as it came up in the class I was intrigued by it. After the third year, we had to choose our majors and I decided to take the one which had the most project management classes. I think that **I liked this multidisciplinary area that combines two worlds together: code and human relations**. Also, I love to have contact with people and cooperate with them so I felt that this is for me. It was really intuitive and it struck me that I could do it for a living.

## You pursue an academic career and teach future programmers. Why did you decide to do it and what has it been giving you so far?

During my college time, I found my first job in software development. I was a junior web developer and I worked with Ruby, Ruby on Rails and JavaScript. Although coding was fine and interesting it was clear to me that the project management aspect is far more fascinating to me. 

So I wanted to find my first job as a junior project manager. In the final year of my college, around 2010, I was at an interview for that position in a huge corporation and I heard from the interviewer something that was supposed to be advice from “the older colleague”. I was told that my resume is perfectly fine but still they wouldn’t hire me because no IT team will listen to a little girl like me. The interviewer just told me directly that he wouldn’t hire me because of my gender. After that I came to the conclusion (maybe wrongly) that there must be more people in this industry like that man and there is really no place for me on the business side of software development. So I decided to go to PhD studies to explore the academic side of project management.

Some would say that the academic world is even more “male-oriented” but that wasn’t the case at the Department of Software Engineering at Gdańsk University of Technology. **What is more important in the academic world – by every research stands facts, not gender.** Therefore it felt like a perfect place for me. No one would say I didn’t belong here. 

I worked on my PhD dissertation about method of selection programming practices for safety-critical software development projects. The goal of my research was to develop an approach aimed at facilitating the introduction of a more agile approach to the software development process while maintaining compliance with the required safety standards and regulations. As a result I presented the AgileSafe method which supports a hybrid approach to software development based on the tailored practices and to support continuous monitoring of conformance to the mandatory regulatory requirements.

![Kasia Łukasiewicz - Senior Project Manager at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/blogpost_www_brightstory_kasia_q3.png "")

## Eventually, you joined the business side of software development becoming a member of Bright Inventions team. What made you change your mind?

**I highly value my academic work. It is nice to have the freedom to explore different areas of science at the university.** I have the freedom to grow there in the direction that suits me. When you work at a software company you don’t always have the resources to deeply study every area you desire. At the university, you have more possibilities to do it and then your studies can contribute to business and give them more tools to effectively develop projects.

However, **the higher I climbed in the University hierarchy I felt the bigger need to confront my work with business**. It was high time to join a software development company and follow both paths: academic and business ones.

At the same time, Bright Inventions was growing and the team combined dozens of programmers. They needed a Project Manager and were determined to find one. I decided to come on board. My PhD had just been submitted, plus one of my children went to the nursery and the other to preschool so I realised that the timing wouldn’t be better than that. It was over 3 years ago and since then I regret nothing. **I combine my job as an academic teacher with my work at Bright Inventions. I truly love that combo.**

## How do your students approach your classes about project management? Probably most of them came to the university to touch on technical knowledge, not soft skills.

At the beginning of my job as a lecturer, I could see that students weren’t so open to learning about Agile development. Mostly only students who had a goal to become project managers were truly focused during classes. However, now I can see the change in student’s attitudes. **There has been a rise in awareness of Agile and project management in general.** What is more, working at Bright Inventions gave me crucial insights and let me understand programmers’ perspectives. I can prepare them to face the specific challenges that they are likely to meet on their professional path.

## What does the female students’ situation at IT look like? Can you see that there are more women studying than there used to be?

I admit that there are more women at Computer Science than compared to my student’s times. Yet there are not enough of them. I still conduct lab work with groups containing only men. **I have worked at Gdańsk University of Technology for 11 years and am still waiting for a meaningful change to happen.** The problem is that there are much fewer college applications submitted by women. So it is not (as some would think) that women don’t get to the studies, many don’t even try to pursue this path. So again **the issue is about making girls aware from an early age that they can become engineers if they want to**. Girls just should feel free to do it as men do. In my view, they still don’t have that feeling.

## On what projects do you work at Bright Inventions?

Right now I work with 3 teams. I manage eHealth web and mobile app [vCare](/projects/vCare), [Digitized Questionnaires](/projects/app-digitized-surveys/) web app and [Bright Treasury](/projects/bright-treasury/) – Bright Inventions original solution for Substrate Blockchain networks. 

Each project represents a different industry which I really love. It helps me to extend my knowledge and leave my comfort zone. Every project is close to my heart but I guess working on vCare project is special because it is a healthcare solution and that is very close to my academic focus. Managing the vCare project enables me to combine my academic research with business objectives.

## What communication issues are the most common in software development projects?

The greatest issue is the lack of communication between vendor and client. That is the source of most of the problems. Of course, if there are some internal problems in communication within the software team then it results in negative outcomes such as missing deadlines and increasing the budget. That is problematic but still, this is not a true problem compared to miscommunication with the client. It might result in delivering a product that is different from what the client anticipated. **There is no greater failure than developing something that is completely useless. It means that months of work just went for nothing.**

The steak is even higher when we develop safety-oriented products. Let us say that the product we developed does not meet the radiation norm then we might cause a real danger. That is why the Agile approach is becoming more and more popular. Because they make cooperation with the client more efficient. These methods engage the client in the process, help to save time and obviously money. So it definitely attracts business.

![Kasia Łukasiewicz - quote about project management](../../static/images/blogpost_www_brightstory_kasia_q1.png "")

## How can a company introduce Agile to the team?

**The most natural implementations of Agile have their origins from the team itself, not the management.** Nowadays it is probably often pushed by the management because Agile and Scrum are catchy and every company wants to be associated with them. Yet good transformations come from grass-roots. 

In big corporations, Agile is usually first implemented within a small team. After the trial, they analyze results and implement the new approach in other teams. Ideally, the whole company should be engaged in the process from the beginning but that is a rare situation. 

Now, most of the companies declare that they follow the Agile methods but the problem is that it does not function properly for them. Everyone wants to boast that they are an Agile oriented company. The problem is a lack of clue what to do when it does not work. Many people cannot change their mindset, they do not see the value behind Agile. They hate that client’s requirements are changing, that it interferes with their work. Not everyone can be open to change from tomorrow. It requires time. **The whole software development community should build the awareness of why it is okay to change requirements and that clients will always be making changes and we need to accept that.**

![Agile implementation](../../static/images/blogpost_www_brightstory_kasia_q2.png "")

## I want to ask you a question that I regularly find scrolling through social media feeds. What do scrum masters do from 9 to 5?

**Scrum masters are guardians.** We can say metaphorically that they garden our projects. They walk around and check if tomatoes grow properly or maybe they need extra poles for support. They make sure that there are no weeds stopping them and that our tomatoes have sufficient access to the sun. They help them grow but do not do the whole “growing process” for them. They make sure that tomatoes have the best possible condition to grow. 

Yet still, what specific tasks do they have during the day?\
\
Obviously, it depends on the company. Usually scrum masters should be up to date with Jira or other task boards used in the team. They have to investigate tasks which are stuck for too long in the backlog or do not have all requirements to be done. Scrum masters often contact clients to explain questionable things. They make sure that there are no time conflicts disturbing the sprint flow. For example, they should notice when too many team members plan to go on vacations at the same time. Apart from that, scrum masters motivate the team and make sure that they remember about estimations and finishing their tasks. However, when the team is working efficiently and the flow is flawless scrum masters do not interfere. They just observe and help to maintain the status quo. To sum up, scrum masters mostly speak and talk during the day. 😉

**At Bright Inventions, we have a different approach to the Scrum Master role. First of all, we do not use this name. To be fair with Agile definitions we use the term Project Managers, who in our projects are mostly Scrum Masters but with a bit bigger responsibilities.** They are also responsible for the project budget and business aspects of the project. What is more, at Bright Inventions PMs support clients in the product owner process. So we help clients, if they need our assistance, to follow the Agile flow.

## What are some examples of wrong implementations of Agile?

**The studies* show that there are still scrum teams without a scrum master.** That is the most shocking thing for me. Another problem is that **teams do not have stand-ups** because they believe that communicating via Slack is enough. What is more, we often can see a misusing of terms. For example, the fact that the team works on Jira which gives them some kind of backlog does not mean that they follow an Agile approach. 

As I mentioned before we are very cautious at Bright Inventions. We follow Agile but we do not give scrum master titles. On the other hand, some companies give this title to people who are not really doing scrum master’s jobs. Agile tells us that **we should not focus on the job titles but on our role in the process**. Unfortunately, sometimes titles go before the actual job. 

Also, sometimes people just focus on listing all agile buzzwords like they were crossing them off the list without further reflection. We have reviews – checked. We have a backlog – checked. Great, so we are nailing Agile. Yet in reality, we do not focus on **the core of Agile – developing solutions that give value to our client.** 

## Hybrid work – how did it change your daily cooperation & communication with the team and general social dynamics?

Hybrid work has definitely influenced a daily work. In my view, spontaneous communication in the office like casual talk in the kitchen is very important. When we work at home we sometimes hesitate to write a message to somebody about a worrying issue. When this person sits in the same room then we can just bring out the subject passing next to them. And it often turns out that this issue is very important and should be resolved asap. Now **project managers have a bigger challenge to maintain that casual, spontaneous level of communication and engagement in the project**.

## And how to achieve that without scheduling a couple of calls for a day?

I think that **the crucial project manager's job is to diversify the communication**. We have to use written communication as well. Yet we should not only write to each other when something does not work but also about other issues just like we were in the kitchen office and casually discussing the project. I think that writing on Slack or other communicators is important as well as calls with the team. Some people do not feel comfortable on the call and they rather write replies. It might be easier to get answers from them this way. **So project managers have to juggle with different communication platforms to give every member of the team a way to express themselves.** PMs have to also create messages that include a call to action, encouraging people to reply. It helps to engage them in the process. Sitting at home might build a feeling that we are somewhere far away so we can only focus on our tasks in Jira and don’t look at the project from the whole team's perspective. 

Let us not forget about meetings in person. They are highly recommended. At Bright Inventions people are free to choose if they want to work from home or the office. Still, we do not want them to feel that all they do is interact with avatars, so we organise quarterly integration meetings to give an opportunity to meet the rest of the team in person.

## How do you spend your free time?

I have two school age children. So my number one priority is spending time with them. Besides, I ride a bike as often as I can. Before the pandemics, I was attending yoga and pilates classes. Pandemics took that away from me. I did not want to exercise at home and actually felt like I needed to leave the house and get some fresh air. I thought of cycling as an opportunity to spend active time outside the home. I sat on the bike, started to ride, the air struck me and suddenly everything changed. I felt the freedom which I really needed after weeks of staying at home. Then I started to train mountain terrain cycling. I loved to ride, and riding MTBs gave me a chance to do it in lots of beautiful places. Even when pilates and yoga places were reopened and I started to train both again I did not give up MTB. I love it, it gives me oxygen, so much space and beautiful views. 

<div className="block-button"><h2>Join Kasia! 😎</h2><div>Join one of Kasia’s teams and work on mobile and web solutions we develop for our clients from Germany, UK or Israel.</div><a href="/career"><button>Check our career opportunities</button></a></div>

\*Learn more about scrum master’s role in Agile teams:

[https://medium.com/serious-scrum](https://medium.com/serious-scrum/lets-do-scrum-but-without-a-scrum-master-why-does-it-happen-41f31b3c1596)

[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346934975_Spearheading_Agile_The_Role_of_the_Scrum_Master_in_Agile_Projects)

[https://scrumorg-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com](https://scrumorg-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/drupal/2019-02/2019%20Scrum%20Master%20Trends%20%282019-02-06%29.pdf)

## The 3 Important Things I Learned During My 2 Years at Bright Inventions

*Published: 2021-10-12 | Author: piotr_r | Tags: bright insights, bright story, self-development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-3-important-things-i-learned-during-my-2-years-at-bright-inventions/index.md*

Huh, it’s been 2 years at Bright Inventions now. It was quite long but passed quite fast (that’s what she said). 

There’s been a lot of coding, a lot of fun. This team rocks, that’s for sure.

It's a good time to summarize things - I’d like to tell you about 3 important things I have learned during the last 2 years at Bright Inventions.

Besides coding and great food I love drums. And it’s been like playing drums. :) Let me explain.



![Sprinkle Best Practices - SaltBae or Salt Bae | Make a Meme](https://media.makeameme.org/created/sprinkle-best-practices.jpg)

## **Good practices**

Rhythm is crucial for drums. As important as good patterns and practices for coding.

There are many software design patterns, all very important, which we as developers should get familiar with. In general, they are reusable solutions to a common problem. The better we know them the more efficient (and effective) our code will be. 

The same is with drums - there are multiple patterns which if mastered and played correctly, will repay you with a nice vibe and impression. You always have your own style, but there are moments when you feel in your guts the good old shuffle you have been practicing for months will nail it. And it sure will - just like good software design will make your project well readable, maintainable, easy to understand and test.

During these two years I have spent time on a few projects, designed in a really cool and elegant way, using nice and bright (SEO guy will love it) patterns, which moved my coding knowledge and style to a next level. I taught myself to stick to these rules and it has always been worth it.





![AmericanMusical on Twitter: \&quot;Meme Credit: BandMemes666 ------------ #Meme # Memes #MusicMeme #MusicianMeme #DankMeme #FunnyMeme #DrumMeme #Drums # Drummer #Drumming #Tempo #Cats #AmericanMusical #AmericanMusicalSupply  @marshallamps @Peavey… https://t.co ...](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ESItlZbW4AQfyLZ.jpg)

## Joy of impact

Rhythm section - drums with a bass or contrabass - is the core of the band. Of course, you can play a solo guitar or a piano gig, but that is not the case. The rhythm section provides rhythm (no kiddin’ Sherlock), tempo, balance, swing (and a few more) for the rest of the band. It is something like a “skeleton” for your sound. I used to play guitars, I enjoyed it, but it was always an “addition” to the sound we had, so I switched to drums to carry the sound my way and feel the importance of it.

Software projects vary a lot. There are developers doing TODO apps every week and on the other hand there are SpaceX Spacecraft engineers. Whatever we do, in my opinion, the most satisfaction we get from projects which have a concrete impact on users' business or even life experience. 

I have learned one simple super-important thing during these two years - my work will be full of joy if it has a true meaning to someone.

At Bright Inventions I have had the pleasure to create software for healthcare business and humanitarian organisations, which not only gave a gravity to my work but also improved my skills a lot.

We shall not forget - the importance of piggybacking responsibility. The more your work matters, the more responsible you are, especially for failures. It is not that hard to crash a song or a piece of software.

It is ok to make mistakes, better not that huge (that’s what she… you know what ;)), but there are people counting on us, so we need to put ourselves together and put out the fire. Clients do not need apologies, they need actions and solutions.





![No I in team: funny](https://i.redd.it/xdvlvnnp9gd11.jpg)

## People (team) matter most  

This should be the first one, but the whole drum-coding metaphor wouldn't  be so catchy then :).

You can play on your drum set all night long, either playing your own tracks or covering any shuffle you like, but it is nothing compared to even a short jam with people who enjoy the music and feel the beat as you do. There is always something you can learn from your band - you can play it a little different, you can play it a little better. 

Once you master drum basics the next step you want to make is to play with a band. It speeds up your self-improvement a lot.

Working as a software developer is not different. I learned a looooooot from Bright Inventions as a team and each one of you guys - how to code better, how to be flexible, how to enjoy life at the office. I am super sure I would not have learned stuff I know now if it was not for the team. I can feel our band is playing some good music there, which is reflected in our Clients’ satisfaction. :)

It's a really valuable experience to be surrounded with people who have bright (I’m wondering if the SEO team will pay me or something?) minds and ideas.\
“Playing together" is the essence of any project we are on.

Thank you all for that opportunity! :)

Ba dum, tss

## Hybrid Work – How to Do It Right?

*Published: 2021-10-11 | Author: izabela | Tags: inspiration, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/hybrid-work-how-to-do-it-right/index.md*

**Since the beginning of the pandemic we have established a unique hybrid work model at Bright Inventions. What does it mean? Basically, we are free to choose if we work from home, from the office or combine both. After over a year of hybrid work we want to share with you some tips on how to make it work and maintain consistency in delivering valuable software solutions to our clients.**

![hybrid work model](../../static/images/hybrid_work_model.png "")

## Hot desks are always ready

We organised a couple of hot desks for team members that do not visit the office regularly. Desks have a plate that indicates it is in fact a bright hot desk. 🙂  So everyone knows immediately where to sit. Of course, when someone goes to an office at least a couple of days in the week they have their own desks which are not occupied by others. 

Our hot desks are organised in a way that you are able to quickly sit down, turn on the laptop and start your day. Simply because all desks have a power strip, monitor and HDMI cable so one can quickly connect a laptop and do not worry about anything. If somebody forgets a laptop charger, one can easily use another stored in the office exclusively for that situation.

## Designated space for calls

Calls, whether we like them or not – are a part of our work life. That is why, we have a few rooms dedicated to online and offline meetings. We can easily book a room with Google calendar. The meeting space is equipped with Jabra speakerphones, laptop chargers and in some cases – a TV screen for presentations.

![online meeting](../../static/images/internal_workshops.jpeg "")

## Let’s dine together

Friday is a huge day for bright people. Not only because of the upcoming weekend and our Friday yoga classes or board game meetups. On Friday Ula (our HR & Marketing Manager) presents lunch roulette results. Every Friday there is a draw and lucky ones go to lunch next week accompanied by other 2 team members. Lunches are on the house and thanks to the great location of our office in Gdańsk we have plenty of nearby food options to choose from. “Bright Lunches” are an awesome way to get to know each other especially when good luck brings together people who do not work in the same team.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CUpCyvigmIr' />

## Sharing the same passions after work

Working together is one thing but when you have a chance to share the same passions with your colleagues – that brings your work experience to the next level. At Bright Inventions, we cooperate with a professional triathlete – [Bartosz Banach](https://www.facebook.com/bartoszbanachpl) who conducts workouts for our team. People are free to choose if they want to join running, swimming or MTB workouts that Bartosz organises for us. Our workouts are a great opportunity to stay healthy & active plus obviously to meet each other. What is more, Bartosz helps to reach our private training goals. Recently a few members of our team ran in the marathons! But do not worry, we also have some after-work activities that do not require physical work. 😉  For example, bright board game lovers meet regularly at the office to roll some dice.

## Integration meetings

We do not want people to feel that all they do is to interact with avatars. Once a quarter we organise team retreats parties that enable us to meet offline and face to face. So, if you feel that you want to finally see your coworkers, our team building events are perfect for that.

<InstagramEmbed url='https://www.instagram.com/p/CUFvOhfAg-M' />

## Agile state of mind

Dailies, backlogs, Jira or reviews are not just some buzzwords but actually tools that make it possible to cooperate and build the best possible software solutions for our clients from around the world. Even though team members do not see each other face to face, everyone can stay on top of things if agile methods are implemented properly. This methodology has proved to be efficient even at these very hectic and globally difficult times. If someone in the software development community has not relied on Agile yet, now it is probably high time to do so.

## The key is freedom

At Bright, we are free to choose whether we want to work from the office or home. As well as if we want to attend sports workouts or team building events. That is the power of hybrid work – flexibility and independence. But at the same time teamwork and responsibility. 

What are your experiences with the hybrid work model? Let us know in the comment section!

## 5 Apps that Build Your Green Habits

*Published: 2021-09-23 | Author: izabela | Tags: business, development, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-apps-that-build-your-green-habits/index.md*

**The climate change outcomes make many of us wonder what we can do to lead a more sustainable life. As always
technology provides us with various possibilities. Check out 5 apps that in different ways can help to make eco-friendly
decisions.**

![eco-friendly apps](../../static/images/blogpost_eko_apps.png "")

## 1. Too Good To Go

We all have done it – throw away food that is still edible. It is also a dreadful yet daily reality for the
representatives of the retail and restaurant industries. For example, the restaurants in the United States alone
generate even [33 billion pounds of food waste](https://foodprint.org/issues/the-problem-of-food-waste/) each
year. [The app “Too Good To Go”](https://toogoodtogo.com/en-us) helps to save the food with a close date of expiration
from shops and restaurants. Users can “rescue meals” by purchasing them at a great price with the app. Thanks to apps
like “Too Good To Go”, food that was supposed to be trash gets a new home and a happy stomach. 😉

## 2. Relevo

Do you know
that [plastic needs even 500 years to decompose](https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/the-lifecycle-of-plastics#gs.b888tb)?
How often have you picked up lunch in a plastic bag that is gonna stay with the next 17 generations? And that is only
the tip of the plastic iceberg. German startup Relevo prepared an answer to the problem that plastic containers are evil
companions of our food to go. Thanks to [Relevo](https://relevo.de), users in the biggest German cities can go to
restaurants and pick up their orders in eco-friendly, reusable containers that you just have to return in the next 2
weeks. **We are proudly helping Relevo to grow by developing its web and mobile
applications.** [Go deeper into the Relevo story.](/projects/eco-friendly-app/)

<InstagramEmbed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CSpCokcIxnH/" />

## 3. HappyCow

[HappyCow](https://www.happycow.net) helps to find vegan places near you. Our food choices have an impact on our planet.
By reducing or cutting off meat completely from our diets we help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and
freshwater contamination. HappyCow is a great app for everyone who likes to find a good vegan place.

## 4. Litterati

Having fun while picking up litter? That’s the goal for [Litterati](https://litterati.org). The app inspires individuals
to clean their surroundings and therefore motivates a community to make bigger changes. Users pick up the litter around
them, take pictures and tag it to show the community the power of seemingly little actions. Then the app creates maps of
the litter cleaned by people around the world to engage more people to act!

<YouTubeEmbed url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es4w3WUcrN0' />

## 5. Geev

[Geev](https://www.geev.com/en) enables you to pass on unneeded food, furniture, home appliances and more. Instead of
sending them to the trash, users can donate them to others. Of course, there are many other apps offering similar
services, so take Geev only as an example. It just shows that giving your things another purpose isn’t something either
challenging or time-consuming because there are many apps that make it simpler.

What eco-friendly apps do you recommend? Let us know in the comments!

## 8 Tips from Junior Software Developers to Future Devs

*Published: 2021-09-16 | Author: jedrzej | Tags: development, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/8-tips-from-junior-software-developers-to-future-devs/index.md*

**We have asked junior developers at Bright Inventions what advice they would give to someone who is looking for the first job in the software development world. Check out their tips for future developers!**

![tips from junior software developers](../../static/images/8_tips_from_junior_developers.png "")

## Show that you want to learn

Paweł – Junior Fullstack Developer: 

> If you have some knowledge gaps that is not a deal breaker. You can always catch up with technical things. The crucial part is to show your willingness to learn and your passion. You don’t need to have an answer to every technical question. But if you are aware that you still have so much to learn and that truly excites you, then you are sending the right message to the recruiters.

## Don’t lie

Łukasz – Junior Fullstack Developer: 

> If you don’t know some languages or libraries, tell it straight on. Be authentic. The truth will quickly come out. When someone catches you in a lie that’s usually over. 

## Coding is passion

Jędrzej – Junior Fullstack Developer: 

> Don’t go into the software development industry only for money. It should be your passion. Recruiters can tell if you just want to do this job but don’t really desire to start this career.

## Erase “I don’t know” from your dictionary

Łukasz: 

> If you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t give up by saying “I don’t know”. Try to show how you would like to resolve this issue, how you would try to find the answer to this question. Don’t give up. Often it is not about the right answer but about showing your process of solving some technical challenges.

## Your first job interview will probably be a mess

Łukasz: 

> Usually the first job interview feels like a collision with a wall. And that is normal. Take lessons from that experience, remember what recruiters asked you, what they expected from you. Every next interview will be better.

## Don’t start from a remote job

Jędrzej: 

> Try to look for a job in an office rather than remote one. At least choose a hybrid option if possible. Naturally, pandemic makes it more difficult, however, it is easier to start a good relationship with your team when your colleagues aren’t just avatars that you see on Slack or Google Meet. Initial months in a first software development job are challenging and working remotely can make it even more difficult. Office working gives you more opportunities to acquire knowledge from mid or senior software developers.

## It will be overwhelming in the beginning and that’s OK

Łukasz: 

> When you start your first junior software development job, you will surely be overloaded with tons of information about the project, technologies, new colleagues and software development company. Try not to be stressed about that. That is normal. Day by day you will feel better.

## Chill out

Paweł: 

> It will be fine. Stress isn’t your friend. Really.

That’s it for now from our junior developers. Good luck with finding your first software development job! 

And learn more about [career opportunities at Bright Inventions](/career).

## How to alter large MySQL tables on production?

*Published: 2021-09-13 | Author: patryk sz | Tags: mysql, percona, alter, schema, database, production*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-alter-large-mysql-tables-on-production/index.md*

## Introduction

In this tutorial, we are going to learn, how to update the structure of the large tables on the production environment, without causing delays, locks, and downtime

## Large table

What is the large table? Is my table large enough to follow the steps from the tutorial?

#### Evaluate the term

*Large* is subjective: sometimes, a wide table with 1m rows will be the biggest in the system. Sometimes 30mlns will be "average"

One way to determine is to answer, what is the impact of updating a specific table during working hours?

* can you afford to put the sign "maintenance work in progress"?
* can you run the `ALTER` query which will end after 10 minutes and not care about causing the locks?
* will nobody notice that the application is down for 5 minutes?

If you answered "yes" for the questions, you may have the large tables but there is no need to worry about the way you are going to modify them 

### Migration

#### Check if a regular migration will work

Modern databases (including MySQL) support online DDLs e.g. adding columns (nullable) without locking tables.
This is by far the easiest and best approach if it works.

"if it works" - because in some cases - i.e. you have *FTS index* created - you will be not able to do so

#### Use Percona Toolkit to update the table

In the case mentioned above, if you have an FTS index created over the table, there is a need to perform the migration some other way. The other way, in this case, is [Percona Toolkit](https://www.percona.com/software/database-tools/percona-toolkit):

> Percona Toolkit is a collection of advanced open source command-line tools, developed and used by the Percona technical staff, that are engineered to perform a variety of MySQL®, MariaDB®, MongoDB®, and PostgreSQL server and system tasks that are too difficult or complex to perform manually

In our scenario, [pt-online-schema-change](https://www.percona.com/doc/percona-toolkit/3.0/pt-online-schema-change.html) allows you to alter a table’s structure without blocking reads or writes. In the following paragraphs, I described how it works.

**Do not use this tool before reading its documentation and checking your backups carefully**

#### Planning the migration

In order to perform the change, we need to ensure that migration will be as lightest as possible.

Determine what kind of application's activities are related to the table you want to edit - examine the logs that are leading to some operations on the table to find the best timeframe to alter the schema.

In our case, it was about the night hours. We checked the traffic for the application in the last two weeks' perspective.

![night hours time frame](../../static/images/screenshot-2021-09-13-at-14.14.27.png "night hours time frame")

#### Executing the migration

It is important to update the table without interruption. You need to remember that the process can take hours.
It’s a good practice to start the migration from some remote shell.
By doing this, even if your network connection fails, you will be able to connect to the shell and attach to the screen again, without stopping the execution.
Moreover, it's worth to consider using Unix' [screen](https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-use-linux-screen/) program:

```shell
$ screen -S percona-processing
```

Once you created the screen, you are able to reattach to it later (ie. after network connection crash):

```shell
$ screen -ls
There is a screen on:
	41303.percona-processing	(Attached)
1 Socket in /var/folders/7g/45p5bfln4k3384t7wcvyrhqh0000gn/T/.screen.
$ screen -R 41303
```

Here is an example of the altering command:

```shell
$ pt-online-schema-change \
    --alter "ADD COLUMN created_at datetime DEFAULT null" \
    --alter-foreign-keys-method drop_swap \
    --set-vars lock_wait_timeout=5 D={database_name},t={destination_table_name},P={port},h={host_name},u={user_name},p={password} \
    --no-check-foreign-keys \
    --no-check-replication-filters \
    --max-load="Threads_running=100" \
    --critical-load="Threads_running=100" \
    --dry-run
```

`--dry-run` will prevent from executing the actual migration on the database

How does it work? Percona tool is creating a NEW, temporary table (with the modification applied) and copy the data from the original table to the new one.
The triggers created on the old table are copying the incoming data during the process.
After the whole data is copied, the tool is swapping the tables and removing the old one

## Summary

In this post, you learned how to alter your table during the productional application's lifecycle.

In our case, the update of the entire table took 12hours of processing, ends successfully without causing any downtime.

## Performance testing in Postman

*Published: 2021-09-13 | Author: maciej | Tags: postman, performance, testing, stress*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/performance-testing-in-Postman/index.md*

**Performance testing is a great way to find out how stable, fast and reliable our application or site is. Evaluating responsiveness, defining possible bottlenecks and checking how the software handles the expected (and more importantly, the unexpected) errors are integral parts of quality assurance. When I discuss performance testing, the usual suggestions I hear are Jmeter, LoadNinja, Gatling etc. And while I consider all of the aforementioned very good shouts, there is sometimes a need to run performance tests immediately, without researching solutions, coding and training testers to use cumbersome tools. On numerous occasions, I have found Postman to be the remedy to such a problem.**

## Types of tests

While there are multiple approaches in performance testing, we can divide all of them into a couple of models. Each model has its own goal and has to be adjusted so that the end product is always valuable and informative.

### Load testing

Let’s imagine we have a certain limit - for example of customers being able to load our landing page. We want to check how the system handles reaching that limit. We call that load testing and it allows us to **monitor the response time and, effectively, the time that customers will have to wait to use our software**. A modified version of load testing is endurance or volume testing that basically means reaching the predefined limit and then observing how long our app can withstand the provided conditions.

### Stress testing

Another type of performance testing is stress testing - when **we gradually increase the load until it reaches the level we know the app will not handle**. Seemingly harsh, it provides measurements about when the software fails, how it handles the inevitable errors, how it communicates being beyond the bandwidth capacity and last but not least, how it recovers.

### Spike testing

Spike testing is a subtype of stress testing that **focuses on the performance of the app under huge load volumes in a short period**. Those ‘spikes’ should be created either between periods of usual production load (imitating the production environment) or no load at all.

All types of testing help in defining problems and effectively, improving the quality of the end product. The essential task is to adjust the type of testing used to the questions we want to answer.

 ![testing models](../../static/images/testingModelsPostman.png "")

## Constant rush

In all the projects I’ve been and am involved in, more often than not, time is key. Whether it is a deadline, fixing an urgent bug, a downtime or something else, the QA department has to be in charge of keeping watch over the quality of the software and react quickly. The time constraints sometimes force us to prioritize tasks accordingly and choose tools enabling us to tackle them quickly. Postman is an easy, lightweight, and user-friendly platform generally associated with testing and developing the API. Also, given you already have your collections created and updated daily, you can run basic performance tests in a couple of minutes.

### 1. Setup

Create a collection and add the API calls you want to test. We’ll use Bright Invention’s main page in our simple example. Set the HTTP method to GET, type in the URL, click ‘Send’ and voilà la! The response shows the HTML structure of the tested page and Postman allows to visualise it.

![postman setup](../../static/images/postman1.png "")

### 2. Randomness

In some cases, we also have to add random data to our URL, body of the request etc. In order to avoid spamming with the very same call, randomize it, using the dynamic variables provided by Postman (e. g. `{{$randomAlphaNumeric}}`). Another good option is to load data from a JSON or CSV file creating a data variable in every iteration based on the next array/line. We don’t need this step in our example, though.

### 3. Acceptance criteria

To actually test, create an assertion that checks the response after every call. To do that, go to the Tests tab in the request edit view. We will add 3 basic tests:
200 status test,
response time being under 400 ms,
the response containing a certain string.

![postman tests](../../static/images/postman2.png "")

In the first test, the status code should always be equal to 200 as our page should (obviously) be available at any given time. The second test checks if the response is received in under 400 ms (which is strict, I admit) and the third one checks if the HTML received in the response contains "Software Development Company | Bright Inventions" text.
After sending the request, apart from the response, we can also check the test results. In my example, the first and third tests passed with flying colours but the second one failed due to the time exceeding the predefined threshold.

### 4. Open the test runner

How to turn the basic checkup of one response into a performance test? Simply pick the “Run collection” option. You can choose the number of iterations, delay between the iterations and also import the data file if needed. Postman allows picking only the requests that have to be run while omitting the rest.

![postman test runner](../../static/images/postman3.png "")

### 5. Run, Forrest!

And now - we wait…
The iterations count was set to 100 so it shouldn’t take long. After under a minute we have our results:

![postman test results](../../static/images/postman4.png "")

### 6. Analyzing results

We can see that out of 300 tests, some failed. All of the failed ones were the response time tests and we can see how the response took longer and longer to be received over time - and it only took us 100 iterations!
The graph created based on the exported result shows that over time, exceeding the limit of 400 ms happens more often and that there are occasional spikes when the response is received after 500-600 ms.

![response times](../../static/images/responseTimePostman.png "")

## What’s next?

Obviously, Postman has limitations but it’s impressive that you can go from nothing to an easy performance test in minutes. To customize the tests you can add more requests, randomize them, create new tests and pre-request scripts. Experiment with the iterations number and the delay between them to recreate conditions similar to the real environment. 

I recommend always considering the easy, convenient solution before trying the cumbersome, time-consuming options. It may turn out to be exactly what you need!

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## Bright Junior Developers Are Answering Most Searched Questions

*Published: 2021-09-08 | Author: pawel-p | Tags: bright insights, recruitment, career*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-junior-developers-are-answering-most-searched-questions/index.md*

**Do you want to find a job as a junior software developer? Check out how to start a career in the software development industry. Get some insights from junior devs who are a part of our Bright Inventions team.**

## Bright junior developers who are going to answer the questions are:

Meet Paweł, Jędrzej and Łukasz – Junior Fullstack Developers from Bright Inventions. They develop their tech skills using TypeScript, React and Node.js.

![junior software developers](../../static/images/bright_inventions_junior_developers.png "")

## Let’s now answer some popular questions about junior software development career

It’s time to show how our junior developers respond to highly searched (googled) questions. They were researched with a popular keyword research tool: answerthepublic.com.

## How to become a junior developer?

Łukasz: 

> I studied Mechatronics. One of the classes focused on C++ and it gave me the basics and a push to learn even more. I decided to learn Javascript on my own after classes. At that time, during my college years, I already knew that software development is what I wanted to do. Yet my studies weren’t a waste of time. It helped me with reading and understanding technical documentation in English. It definitely increased my learning pace.

Jędrzej: 

> I first studied Electrotechnics. In the first year I had classes about the C language. I quickly realised that programming is more interesting to me and frankly I am better at it compared to electronics classes. So after one year of studying Electrotechnics I changed my major to Computer Studies. 

Paweł:

> I studied Computer Science like Jędrzej. It wasn’t easy because due to the pandemic  I had to finish my studies online. Despite that my studies became a great motivation for me to learn and develop my projects. I think that is the key. You will not benefit from every class in the future, but your college time should be used to build your own software development portfolio.

![how to become junior developer](../../static/images/junior_software_developers.png "")

## What junior developers should know?

Paweł: 

> You should know that there is still lots of learning ahead of you. You need to be ready and know how to look for solutions online as well as be open to ask questions in the team.  In terms of technologies I think it is wise to start with building small applications with Javascript. Don’t feel tempted to use frameworks from the beginning. Firstly, try to learn some languages, then go for frameworks. 

Łukasz: 

> Junior software developers should know when and how to gain information. Lots depends on the documentation. If your project has a detail-oriented documentation, then you know where to look. Otherwise, you have to be ready to ask your teammates dozens of questions and don’t be afraid of doing it. 

Jędrzej: 

> I agree that asking the right questions is the key. Apart from that, junior software developers have to know English to be able to read technical documents and simply communicate with colleagues and clients. Regarding the stack you should choose – it is difficult to recommend some specific programming languages. It depends on the job market you are interested in. Every company can specialise in a different stack. In my view, you should do some research about job offers from the area that matters to you and check what technologies are mostly expected there. Then it is easier to know what skills will be useful in the future.

## What to expect as a junior developer?

Jędrzej: 

> Expect that you are going to need help. I expected support from my team in getting knowledge and I’ve got what I needed. Expect that this is something that you will need to do, too!

Łukasz: 

> I agree with what Jędrzej has said. Be humble. It is natural that you may expect some support from other colleagues. I think this is a healthy thing to expect at the beginning.

Paweł: 

> When it comes to your first job, don’t expect too much. Just focus on getting this first experience and learn as much as you can from more experienced developers.

## How to get a job as a junior developer?

Paweł: 

> Naturally, studying Computer Science is helpful but it doesn’t guarantee a job in IT. The most important factor during a recruitment process is to have your own software development projects. So, if you study, use this time as an opportunity to develop projects. When you do it as a part of your classes or as a graduating project then probably it is easier to motivate. Use studies as an opportunity to build projects. If you don’t know what to build, don’t overthink it. Try to do a clone of a very popular app like Facebook. By saying “do a clone” I don’t mean simply duplicating a Facebook app. Treat Facebook as an example with a list of features and based on that develop your own product. 

Jędrzej: 

> It’s great to have your own projects as well as projects which were made with others. It shows that you know how to cooperate with people and you’ve had a chance to develop soft skills as well.

Łukasz: 

> The very popular tip is to think about the problem which could be addressed by tech and create a solution that solves it. However, this approach is not essential to succeed during the recruitment process. You are not judged by your business ideas. As a software developer you are supposed to turn ideas into working products. It is a shame to waste time thinking about ideas instead of focusing on technological aspects of the product.

## What does a junior developer do?

Paweł: 

> First days at the software development company are all about knowing the project, reading and understanding the documentation and checking end-points. In the first days your job is to truly understand how the product you will be working on works. 🙂

Łukasz: 

> I love the fact that even though I am a junior developer I feel like a full-fledged member of a team. Despite being a less experienced developer in the team I am assigned to some important and demanding tasks, too. I don’t do minor and repetitive coding as many would probably think. I get complex tasks and the team is fully aware that this is a challenge for me and I may ask questions on the way. Yet I learn a lot during that process. Also, it is great that my voice matters as well. I have to make some project-related decisions while programming. Thanks to all of that I feel that I contribute to the project.

Jędrzej: 

> As Łukasz said, it is important to feel like a full member of a team. That helps to build self-confidence even though in the beginning your work pace will be slow. Yet you will see the improvement day by day. It’s important to feel the support of your team. If you don’t know something, there are people nearby who will help you. 

## Can I become a developer without a degree?

Jędrzej: 

> Yes, you can. A degree isn’t everything. However, it depends on the company recruitment policy. There may be companies that will reject your resume during the CV screening phase because of the lack of a diploma. However, it may not matter if you get to the interview part. Diplomas don't speak there, you do.

Paweł: 

> It’s nice to have a college education but I think that it isn’t necessary.

Łukasz: 

> If you don’t have a degree, you may have a little more difficult task. You have to be prepared to work harder on proving that you have the expected knowledge. In general Computer Studies are useful. However, you shouldn’t do them only for a degree. You should try to get as much as you can during your studies. 

## What is expected from a junior developer?

That’s actually a question that our Project Managers have already answered and you can check it out [here](/blog/you-are-junior-developer-now-what-next/). 

Do you have any questions about starting a career as a junior software developer? Let us know in the comments! Check out our [open positions](/career) as well.

## No Time for Bullsh** - A few Words about Feedback Culture

*Published: 2021-09-02 | Author: ula | Tags: recruitment, HR, teamwork, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/no-time-for-bullshit-feedback-culture/index.md*

What I value in life are **honesty and transparency.**** I really encourage people I work with to voice their opinions, ideas or disappointments and to ask a lot of questions. When someone does not ask, I assume everything is clear. Guessing and overinterpreting are not my things. And I think that rumours, gossiping or internal tittle-tattles are not the way strong, responsible and supporting teams are built. If a company really wants to grow, employees should be open to tell the truth and hear the truth about themselves. It doesn’t matter if we talk with our boss, manager or colleague, being honest is an important step towards integrity. 

But creating an atmosphere and culture in the workplace that foster such behaviours is demanding and it may involve many arduous, difficult and sometimes even unpleasant conversations. **We all know that talking about one’s flaws or areas which need improvement is hard, but it also empowers the team to step up and fix the appearing problems. And to my view it is a key feature of mature and responsible teams.**

**Honesty builds trust and confidence.** Voicing the truth enables us to identify the issue and then work on it as a team. I would say that the more transparent and caring the work environment is, the happier we are there both as employees and leaders. 

## Continuous Feedback 

Collaborative workplace culture thrives on teamwork where every team member can bring their point of view to the table. It is crucial to give each person in a team freedom and space to be honest even though we might sometimes strongly disagree with what they have to say. **We should not judge the opinions, instead we should listen carefully, authentically and attentively.** We should foster open, non-judgemental dialogues among team members and we should give space and time which are needed for that. 

At Bright Inventions we are fostering the culture of continuous feedback from the very beginning. It is visible in our marketing communication, recruitment processes, during onboarding and later on while working together on the projects.

I am really trying to be as open and crystal-clear as possible from the first moment I meet someone who may want to join our team. You will always hear from me both pros and cons regarding potential cooperation, particular projects adn everyday work. At follow-up or check-in meetings you can also hear like mantra that we need to know if everything is ok and if not, we should talk about it. During first three months of cooperation we organise at least seven meetings to share regular feedback. Project managers have also short weekly feedback sessions with each and every member of their teams. **We take care of what you think and how you feel. It is important to us to know what kind of plans people have, what their aspirations are and what kind of ideas they come up with.** 

## Communicate the Positive and the Negative

At the end of the day there will be always things that need some improvement. But there are also a lot of things that are done really well and this positive voice should be always heard from employees and leadership. Whether it is through an e-mail, newsletter, or quarterly staff meeting, everyone should say what they think is working and what is not. **It is important to focus on the positive, as well as acknowledge the negative.** Good communication is the most important way to foster honest environment.

It is a continuous process. We do not want to wait till the end of the year to talk about how we are doing, what we are feeling and what our plans are. We do that on daily basis and I believe that is the way to bond the team itself since we we can express ourselves anytime we need. Every moment is good to voice an opinion, share what causes your frustration or just praise someone for what they did.  

## Acts Speak Louder Than Words 

**It is not enough to talk with people. We really have to DO something about how they feel and what they say.** I always analyse any suggestion I get from someone in my team. If an idea cannot be implemented, an explanation should follow the manager’s decision. If we have the team who cares and who actually wants something to change for better, our duty is to take all the steps to implement their ideas. Every employee’s opinion matters. 

**The diversity of opinions is said to increase the quality of our decisions.*** A group of different people with own backgrounds and visions can cover much more of possible paths and solutions than you can do alone. It is good when leaders and managers have to promote open communication and encourage team members to voice their opinions and talk honestly about what they think. And then they should act on the feedback they get. If you are a manager and you have a meeting with someone from your team, always plan a follow-up and come back to the discussion if some steps have to be implemented. 

If you are giving feedback regarding some area of improvement, let us try to give also some suggestions or tips. Maybe it would be good to create a plan of actions. Only when you devote time to acting on the feedback, you will begin to create some positive changes in your organizational culture.

## Teamwork and Responsibility  

Griping just to gripe probably has not taken anyone anywhere. **We should voice an opinion, but at the same time we should be prepared to offer some solution to the problems we see.** I understand that sometimes everyone needs to complain a bit and give vent to their emotions, but it should be never about blaming others or putting the burden of solving the problem on someone else. If you are a manager you should help your team feel comfortable receiving feedback from each other. It is never about personal critiques. 

Feedback is a way to strengthen the ideas, it is **a sign that we take care of each other and we want to improve as the team.** We should listen, analyse and respond to the input. Even if my opinion is something you may not like, you should not take it as a disapproval or condemnation. 

When I can see that someone is making mistakes I am telling this person about that - it only means that I am caring about them, about the team and about the company. It means that I feel responsible not only for myself but also for people I work with and the job we do together. I know that it might be scary at first, especially if you have to share some negative feedback. But in order to foster our own team, we have to share feedback honestly, openly and regularly. If we are missing a deadline, it needs to be discussed immediately. If someone in our team messed up, we have to talk, analyse what went wrong and put it right. If someone did a great job, let us show our appreciation and gratitude immediately. **Don’t wait for any special occasion. Giving feedback is a process, not an unusual event.**  

## It is not about you or me

Remember that feedback is not about us, it is about our behaviour and actions. **Either praise or criticism should be about work, not personality.** Do not personalise feedback you give. Consider situational factors that could affect the action you describe and do not use personality attributes to explain that. When you disagree with someone, keep it about the issue. Effective criticism needs to be delivered with respect and care. 

But if feedback is always about another person’s behaviour what does it mean that we should avoid personalisation? How can it be not personalised? First of all **we should avoid giving labels, classifying and categorising people.** If someone in your team is not effective and does not get their job done, let us not call them lazy oraz careless. In such a way we would focus not on the real cause of the situation but on the symptoms. Talk about the true reasons why they behave like that. Stick to the facts, describe the impact their behaviour have on the others in a team, on a client and on the whole organisation. Listen to their perspective. The fact that people fail is usually connected with many different factors. By giving feedback we should try to understand another person. 

We should perceive feedback as a method of self-development, both as an individual and as a team. It is not about being insensitive or arrogant, it is about taking care of each other. 

## No one likes bullsh** 

Let us face it - no one likes bullsh**. If you slipped up, would you like that people in your team pretend they didn't see anything? If you performed not very well, would you like your manager didn't say a word? If you asked your colleagus for honest feedback, would you expect them to say only positive things just because they like you? 

**Feedback makes us grow. Sometimes it is positive, sometimes it is not. Don’t give people bulsh**** just because you are afraid of telling the truth. If you work in a mature environment, everyone will appreciate knowing that they can do something better. Otherwise we would all get stuck in our pinky imaginary world of ego-satisfaction, fakery and adulation. 



** In fact there are also a few other things I value in life. 😉

*** Kudos for [Jurgen Appelo and Management 3.0 style](https://jurgenappelo.com/management-30/).

## SQL Performance - pagination scalability

*Published: 2021-08-26 | Author: rafal h | Tags: sql, performance, pagination, development, tips&tricks*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/sql-performance-pagination-scalability/index.md*

Recently I have been reading [SQL Performance Explained by Markus Winand](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17225810-sql-performance-explained) and I wanted to share with you what I have learned regarding SQL pagination scalability. 

Probably if you would be given the task to implement pagination, you would do it with `LIMIT` and `OFFSET` in a query. This would be completely fine, but it is good to know the limitations of it. 

The more you browse back in history (increase `LIMIT` and `OFFSET`) the more **response time increases.** This is due to the fact that DB has to count all rows until it reaches the requested page. 

An answer for that would be to include a `WHERE` statement in a query with `FETCH FIRST X ROWS ONLY`, which does not select previous results. Each "page" is limited with a different `WHERE` statement.  It also has its own limitations (harder to implement pagination, harder to browser backward, fetch arbitrary pages) but at a cost of simplicity, you get a performance increase. 

![Markus Winand SQL Performance Explained pagination scalability](../../static/images/screenshot-2021-08-26-at-10.04.46.png "Pagination Scalability from SQL Performance Explained by Markus Winand")

Which option we should choose? As always in computer science - it depends :)

Let me know how do you use pagination and if you ever had any performance issues related to that.

P.S Remember that pagination needs deterministic order and do include `ORDER BY` in your queries when needed ;)

## Native app development vs cross-platform

*Published: 2021-08-20 | Author: izabela | Tags: development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/native-app-development-vs-cross-platform/index.md*

**What is the difference between a hybrid app and native one? Is native app development dying? Ultimately, which mobile approach is better? Let’s look closely at the mobile battle between native and hybrid apps. And find out on which corner we are.** 😎

![native vs hybrid app](../../static/images/native_hybrid_apps.png "")

## What is the difference between hybrid and native app development?

**Native app development refers to building an app exclusively for one mobile system.** So, you develop an app only for iOS or Android. You use native technologies dedicated to that process such as **Java or Kotlin for Android** and **Swift or Objective-C for iOS**.

**Cross-platform mobile app development takes place when you build one common system for Android and iOS.** In order to do that you use frameworks that transform your code into a solution for Android and iOS as well. One of the most popular frameworks are: **Flutter (by Google) and React Native (by Facebook)**.

## Is native app development dying?

As many say time and money run the world, so the hybrid app development process gets lots of attention. Hybrid apps are usually cheaper to build. You don’t have to hire both teams: Android developers and iOS developers. Naturally, building a cross-platform app seems to be faster than native. Furthermore, it is especially beneficial for teams specialising in web development that want to start with mobile. Web developers know JavaScript and CSS well so they can just continue using these languages and create a web app that works for mobile.

**Nevertheless, is building hybrid apps really a low-budget and effective process?** Is it the truth that native app development is over? 

It’s time to come clean. 😅 **At Bright Inventions, we specialise in developing mobile apps with native technologies. We use Swift and Kotlin languages.** Nevertheless, our team has tried building hybrid apps (using React Native) in a couple of projects, and after gaining that experience **we decided to stick with the native app development**. In our opinion building hybrid apps may seem to be easier and cheaper at first sight but when you look at the bigger picture, it might cause some problems that you may have not anticipated at the beginning.

Of course, this is our perspective and we know that every development team can have a different approach. Let us explain why we prefer native development over hybrid one.

## Why native mobile app development is better than building cross-platform apps?

* **Hybrid app development means working on a framework that brings another layer to your code**, and to be honest – to the whole software development process. It is another place where there could be some issues and bugs. That is also another level exposed to cyber-attacks.
* **When you build hybrid apps, you are dependent on framework providers.** If there are some issues with React Native or Flutter, you may have to wait till they are resolved.

> iPhone notch case study
>
> After Apple launched iPhone with a notch (2017), it took React Native a couple of months to support the irregular shape of a smartphone screen. Developers building apps for iOS had to use 3rd party libraries or handle it on their own when iOS naturally backed this feature from the beginning for native developers.

* Even **if you build a cross-platform app, it doesn’t mean that you are free from native solutions**. Technologies like Bluetooth or OCR (Optical Character Recognition) have to be developed natively. Only then you can bridge them with your code on the hybrid framework. So, your native skills still have to be built anyway.
* The **community built around native development is bigger**. Of course, the main reason is the fact that native technologies are older than Flutter or React Native frameworks. Therefore, developers have had more time to learn, share knowledge and build libraries.
* Another issue related to **React Native and Flutter is the fact that they are still relatively young frameworks** which might cause some turbulence for developers. Using young platforms increases the risk of updates that violate backward compatibility. As a result developer teams have to sacrifice days or even weeks of work on updating the software according to the recent changes. In terms of iOS or Android systems, the major API changes take place once a year. Furthermore, the changes are announced beforehand so native developers have enough time to adjust their apps. In theory, everyone should have enough time to get ready before the official launch of a new operating system. In practice, native solutions provide developers with the latest API at the moment the new system is announced, while it takes up to a couple of months for hybrid technologies to catch up.
* Also, **when you go for native, it is simpler to achieve a user-friendly experience**. Hybrid apps are usually less UX friendly, less easy-going for users and less stable. Why? iOS and Android – they both have their characteristics and differences. Taking them both into consideration during cross-platform app development you have to compromise some of these specific features to sort of cover both platforms. Alternatively, by going native your software is fully supported by Android or iOS. You have access to API, your code answers to every little aspect related to the software. Apps are easily optimised for different resolution screens or other specifics related to the new smartphones. 

> A study: Native vs. cross-platfrom
>
> [A study conducted in 2020 by a couple of Universities across Europe](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10664-020-09827-6) investigated the performance of cross-platform frameworks compared to native apps. The results have shown that:
>
> “ (...) Based on statistical analysis and a weighted evaluation of the results, we investigate how well our developed artifacts perform compared to a developed native baseline artifact. Our results indicate that the use of cross-platform frameworks for the development of mobile apps may lead to decreased performance compared to the native development approach. Nevertheless, the results also indicate that certain cross-platform frameworks can perform equally well or even better than native on certain metrics but no framework scores best across all features in this study. These findings reinforce the importance of well-defined technical requirements and specifications, without which deciding on a cross-platform framework or overall development approach can potentially lead to underperforming apps.”

## Are you ready to compromise?

When you build hybrid apps, you have to make compromises to meet “the expectations of both systems”. If you build an app for internal use and the user experience is not one of your priorities, the cross-platform compromise may fit you. However, if you build a commercial app that has to stand out from the competition, hybrid development may not be enough.

In the end, choosing hybrid app development means that you are choosing to go with another provider, another dependency. You have to wait for your provider to react to updates in Android or iOS API. In the meantime, native teams have a chance to be ahead of you already upgrading their code. 

What’s your opinion about native versus hybrid [app development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development)? Which side are you on? Let us know in the comments!

## Recruiter-Dev Romance. Or Maybe a Nightmare? 

*Published: 2021-08-10 | Author: ula | Tags: leadership, people management, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/recruiter-dev-romance-or-maybe-a-nightmare/index.md*

The definition of [a recruiter](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/persuade) in Cambridge Dictionary is *a person who persuades people to work for a company or become new members of an organization, especially the army*. My definition of a recruiter **is a friend-to-be who helps people find their dream job, prepare them for their future career, assist with  recruitment tasks, manage the best salary negotiation, advise on employment issues and stay up to date with the industry knowledge**. Am I a recruiter? Damn, sure I am. I have quite a multidisciplinary role, but my mission is to create a place where people can develop, learn and come to every day because they want to not because they are made to, where we are a team and we feel mutual responsibility for each other. 

The industry I work in is exciting, but also demanding and I would even say harsh sometimes. I talk with many interesting people every day. I show them that they can choose a new place, a new team and a new project with a strong belief that it will give them satisfactions and joy. I do not push to make any decision. I just show an alternative to their current professional life. I believe in people. And I believe that our nature is good, but not every recruiting case is a dream story with a lovely happy ending.

<div style={{textAlign: "center"}} markdown="1">
<img src="/images/happy ending gif.gif" alt="happy ending" />
</div>

## #1 First love

I am sure that if you are an IT recruiter you must have met at least once in your life a talented, clever and hilarious dev* (so called a perfect match) who unluckily for you turned down the offer and left. But you stayed in touch with him/her with hope that one day they may wake up, change their mind and tell you that it is a perfect moment to accept your offer. In fact, I personally like staying in touch with such people as I treat them just like friends. I know what they are up to, what flat they are buying, where they go on holiday. These are the candidates that I get on very well even though they have not become a part of my team.

And some of them may never become one. It might be just like [waiting for a Godot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot). [](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot) This perfect candidate we had a crush on might be like our first unfulfilled love. We may even never forget about him/her, but remember that being someone’s first love may be great, but to be their last is beyond perfect, so move on. 😉

## #2 Running away from a date

This has really happened to me. I was on a triple date (I mean an interview - you know - a candidate, my colleague and I). I just managed to introduce ourselves, ask a few questions and that was it, the candidate disappeared. It was an online interview, so I had no idea what happened. A stroke? An unpaid electricity bill? A delivery man came? I called. I usually do that when I am worried about someone. No answer. 

I have really no idea what we did wrong. Or maybe it was stress. Yet I am not sure if stress might be any explanation here. Imagine being on a date or just at a usual meeting and you’re leaving after a few minutes without saying a word. Just vanishing into thin air. Or going to a toilet and never coming back. 

<div style={{textAlign: "center"}} markdown="1">
<img src="/images/toilet.gif" alt="toilet" />
</div>

I know that interviews might be hard, stressful and even exhausting, but we should respect each other’s time and even if you are experiencing some emotional tension or strain, just tell your recruiter about it. You do not know each other and it is natural you may feel little anxious, but let us not spoil a date before it event starts.

My brief advice here is - please think twice before you agree to take part in the interview and if you are a recruiter - please think twice before you invite someone for an interview. Let us not waste each other’s time and [give it to someone special](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI). 🙈🙉

## #3 Sorry, I have met someone else

I really like the analogy between a recruitment process and dating. But the potential problem appears if you date more than one person. The problem is experienced on both ends. On the end of a potential hire who is flooded with dating offers on LinkedIn and a recruiter who is desperately looking for new people lost in all contact details and personal information. The turning point is when you as a candidate gives the impression that you love the offer while telling the same story to ten different hiring managers. Or when you as a recruiter give the impression to a candidate that he/she is the only one and at the same time you are telling that to ten other people who have applied for a job.

**Please, be honest and be transparent**. I think there is nothing wrong about telling the recruiter that we participate in other processes and there is nothing wrong about telling a candidate that he or she is not the only good interviewee in the process. At least we are all on the same page and we may avoid a big unexpected disappointment.

## #4 [Love is gone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjFmUFNSZpE)

So, your dream candidate is here. Let us call him John. He has just started a new perfect job in your company. You feel you are the best recruiter in the universe, you feel you can move the recruiting mountains, you won again. The new hire is over the moon, a new place seems to be amazing, great people, an exciting project, but… a week after week John feels worse, less motivated, a bit sad. **And I think that is the situation I find personally the biggest nightmare. Or at least I used to.** 

Both you and candidates put a lot of energy in starting and developing every relation. You believe it may last forever. You believe that you have found a perfect chance for someone to take up their career to the next level, and now everything is almost gone. What did you do wrong? Where did you make a mistake? You were trying really hard, you were honest, you were transparent. But you failed. 

What I have learned in my life so far is that not every love relationship will stand the test of time either private or professional one. With some people we will create a real team whereas others may leave after a few weeks or months because they find out that it is not a place they are searching for or we may just discover they are not people we are looking for. The delusion of a perfect match disappears. The love is just gone. 

I used to experience quite hard every failure of this kind, but I have also learnt that each and every goodbye is a good moment for switching on an auto-reflection mode and thinkinh if we really did our best. Maybe we fell in love with an inappropriate person? Maybe it was just a cognitive bias? Or maybe we made a decision under pressure? 

Were we really open and sincere about the company’s expectations and requirements? Did we present a team, a project and potential tasks and challenges just like they are? The auto-reflection should be applied in every phase of the recruitment process, after every meeting, after every conversation. And if we as recruiters feel that we were over-the-top, we should always make this right. The sooner the better. 

## #5 Dating a pretty blonde

When I was starting my recruitment career in IT industry despite the fact that I had already  graduated from double major and it was not my first job I felt as a little dummy. 

I am not ashamed of the fact that I was googling almost everything, reading tech blogs, or asking my colleagues-developers to explain what deployment was or how Node.js framework worked. I was taking notes, checking software tools and reading Uncle Bob’s literature. I was learning and I am still doing that. And to be honest I think being a professional is about learning our all life.

I think there are many recruiters who really know the difference between Java and JavaScript. 🙃 For me it does not matter if I am interviewing a developer, a marketing specialist, a sales manager, a builder or a doctor. I just do not underestimate. So, please do the same. Do not follow popular stereotypes of HR people. Believe me or not, good recruiters are well-prepared to every process regardless of the industry or the seniority level of a role they are searching for.

## #6 Oh well, being a single is not so bad

<div style={{textAlign: "center"}} markdown="1">
<img src="/images/being single.gif" alt="single" />
</div>

No matter how strange it may sound I think not everyone is made for a relationship and sometimes it is better just to be a single. It is also true about being a recruiter. Not every person is designed to be one. 

As I have said in the beginning I believe in people and I always focus on their expectations, plans and goals. I do not treat candidates like a sales target to get some extra commission. I apprehend my role. I know that my team is growing and we need new talents on board, but I do not create an illusion just to encourage someone to sign an agreement. 

If you are missing empathy, you are lacking emotional intelligence and you just treat people like some random numbers in your table, think whether a recruitment area is really for you. I know that IT recruitment is dynamic and demanding, but we should keep in mind that we interview people and we should take care of their feelings, aspirations and future career. If your candidate’s satisfaction and happiness are not  your priority, are you sure you are in a good place?

## A bit sentimental and a bit long

When I started writing this blog post I was not sure what it would be about. And for sure I did not expect it to be so long (sorry for that 🥲). But I can see every now and then people, both candidates and recruiters, who are not happy about the recruitment processes they lead or take part in. And well, my job is also not perfect as you probably may have already known. Not every person I talk to turns out to be an ideal new hire. But I want to encourage you to think about what the real reasons for this whole recruiting unhappiness and dissatisfaction are. 

Are recruiters really dumb? Or are developers such douche bags as some recruiters say? I think that we should always treat other people as we would like to be treated ourselves. That is my philosophy and probably it works because I still like and believe in people and I still have a mission to do. 



###### **\*I have more than 50 in my team. Love y’all My Brighties! ❤️❤️❤️**

## Communication Breakdown - 5 great ways to be misunderstood

*Published: 2021-08-04 | Author: kasia | Tags: communication, soft skills, empathy, meetings*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/communication-breakdown-5-great-ways-to-be-misunderstood/index.md*

We’ve all been there - you said something wrong, now you long for yesterday. There was an awkward silence and it felt like a scene from [The Office](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386676/).

The good news is that nobody’s writing our lines to make us look silly - we write them ourselves. And yes, this is the good news. **Communicating well is not a personality trait, it’s a skill and as such it can be trained and improved.** It takes time and attention as with other skills but thankfully you get better at it. In the meantime though, mistakes will be made. Let’s cringe together, reminiscing about some of the not so obvious but universal ones.

## **1. Lack of communication**

In my experience, this is the most common problem and I could stop at it really. There are countless reasons for not communicating something: “*I thought it was obvious*”, “*I was afraid to ask*”, “*I didn’t have time*”, “*I didn’t realise it was important*”. This is why communication is not easy - we prefer to stay mute because it feels easier at the time. **However, even when it seems daunting, it’s so much easier to handle things straight away than to wait for them to escalate.**

There’s usually this feeling **“Maybe they won’t notice, maybe it’s not that important”** - if you get it, it’s a wonderful indication that **indeed, they WILL and yes, it IS**. For starters, YOU did notice that it might be an issue. Think about the most common situations when you struggle to communicate, it will be easier to speak up the next time when you spot them. If it’s usually about the estimations (when you already know you won’t make it in time but say nothing), then next time try to push yourself to talk before the actual deadline apocalypse. I still struggle with this sometimes but realising it’s a problem is already a step forward.  

Another reason might be that you just didn’t pay enough attention to know what and when to say. It happens and it’s ok, unless you spend the whole meeting scrolling through cat memes.
<div style={{textAlign: "center"}} markdown="1">
<img src="/images/grumpy2.gif" alt="grumpy" />
</div>
<div style={{textAlign: "left"}}>

Again, **admitting to drifting off for a while and asking to repeat the last sentence** (just not the whole meeting because cat memes) is better than staying mute, praying to not be asked about anything. 

And to reassure you - **over communication is never a big mistake that escalates**. People can be mildly annoyed or amused, but never furious. As opposed to not letting them know at all. 

## **2. “Debugging the endpoint that is parsing the string requests which is also known as...” parklife!**

It’s good to know your crowd. You wouldn’t go into details of AWS cloud formation templates on your first date (that’s a known faux-pas, leave it for the second date). Getting all technical at a high level feature discussion would not bring the positive attention it otherwise might, for example during the Sprint planning or devs meeting. **Think about what’s interesting and useful to know for the person you talk to**. Even though it might seem that fireworks of technical terms will show your knowledge, people feel safer if they actually understand what’s going on and can trust you.

## 3. **“This feature makes no sense”**
</div>
<div style={{textAlign: "center"}} markdown="1">
<img src="/images/stupid_pointless.gif" alt="stupid pointless" />
</div>
<div style={{textAlign: "left"}}>

Also known as lecturing the client. If you know the domain well, thoughtful advice is usually welcomed as that’s why you’re here for probably. However, never tell the users what they “really” need, contradicting their requirements, even when you have the best intentions. Help them think about their expectations but do not dictate your ideas upfront. **It’s good to ask a lot of questions if something doesn’t feel right, making sure you understand it correctly before criticising**. Sometimes asking the right questions will be enough to make your point. If you’re still unsure, announcing the fact that your point of view might differ from the client’s but leaving the details until you figure out how to present them might be a good idea.

## **4. “No worries if not!”**

This is an issue of a bit different character. While being kind is crucial, too much humble courtesy can change the message you wish to convey. **Something important can be perceived as much less serious, because you painted it as such**. In general, think twice before using phrases like “no worries if not”, “it’s not a problem at all” - is it not, really? If it’s a small issue or you can tackle something in a breeze, go ahead. If something is crucial or you will spend a night over fixing something, be honest about it. Do not put yourself in the lost position from the start. Finding a balance between politeness and assertiveness is the key.
</div>
<div style={{textAlign: "center"}}>
<img src="/images/1_lobanova_no_worries.jpeg" width="500" alt="no worries" />
</div>
<div style={{textAlign: "left"}}>

*source:* Natalya Lobanova,* [New Yorker magazine](https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/no-worries-if-not)*

## **5. “no”**

It’s when you communicate but in a way a grumpy old man would. For “*Do you know when I can expect this feature to be finished?*” he’d answer “*no*”, for “*Will I be able to test this on Friday?*” he’d answer “*don’t know*”. It’s good to answer clearly and honestly, however adding some more information is how you show appreciation and understanding to the person you are talking to. Otherwise you may come across as someone who doesn’t care, even if you actually do. **Always think about what you would like to know in such situations**. When your car breaks down and a mechanic is working on it, you would appreciate knowing how serious the fix will be and what is currently going on with your precious car. 

Which brings us to...

## A bonus track about empathy

When [Kent Beck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Beck) tweeted back in 2015 that [“the \*craft\* programming begins with empathy, not formatting or languages or tools or algorithms or data structures”](https://twitter.com/kentbeck/status/566255102067871744) it struck a note. Some people agreed with passion, while others felt there’s something gimmicky about it, because what about hard work and discipline, and a bunch of other crucial elements. However, since then **the idea of empathy as an important skill for the programmers** has been explored and it is much less controversial now.

For some people empathy comes naturally. Equipped with other supporting personality traits, they intuitively feel other people’s emotions without thinking about it too much. For others it can be more challenging. **It doesn’t help that most of us haven't been taught empathy at school the way we were taught math, so we didn’t think of it as something one should learn**. However this is exactly the case - regardless of the intuitive, let’s call it in-born empathy, empathy as such is actually a skill that we can and should practice. If not for anything else, then at least for the sake of the systems that we create. 

We all have good times and bad times, I know I’ve had my share struggling with all of the issues from this post now and then. It’s impossible to be your open and positive self 24/7 but trying your best is the goal. 

**Both empathy and communication can and should be practised. They’re not elusive parts of one’s character - they are skills.** Skills that become increasingly important in the way developers and other IT professionals work. Practice them any way you can. No worries if not! But please do ;)
</div>

## How to Develop a Healthcare App [Startup Founder Perspective]

*Published: 2021-07-30 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-develop-a-healthcare-app-startup-owner-perspective/index.md*

**Are you planning to develop healthcare software? Or maybe you have an idea for a healthcare app and don’t know what to do next? This is a guide for startup founders and generally entrepreneurs that want to be a part of the health tech movement.**

![healthcare app development](../../static/images/healthcare_in_post2.png)

Healthcare tech has to be customized from the very beginning. That’s why **[custom healthcare software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/)** is the key to the successful launch of a product.

## What is custom healthcare software development?

It’s all truly about **flexibility and adapting to users' needs**. No matter how cliche that sounds. If you build an app for Parkinson’s patients, you simply cannot sit on the sofa and think about how it is to be a Parkinson’s patient. You have to talk to patients, meet with them, and get some constant feedback from them and their doctors. That is custom software development of a healthcare app in a nutshell. 

Custom healthcare software development is also about **researching the new technologies and hardware**, and finding a way to utilize them for the patient's sake. Hardware is a huge part of healthcare app development. There are more and more [Bluetooth devices that may assist patients and doctors](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/).

## What is a perfect healthcare software development team?  

The healthcare software developers within the team should be mid and senior developers that have experience and understand the importance of their role in building the product that may help save lives. 

### Healthcare software developers should:

* Have **experience** in software development. Mid and senior developers are must-haves.
* **Be open** to test not only their code but also the whole approach.
* Think forward and always try to **predict a possible outcome** and risk of the technical path that they are willing to choose.
* Be a part of **the team of experts that know each other well**, have worked on various projects together, and enjoy working with each other.
* Pay huge attention to **code review, testing and QA**. Healthcare software projects should include more time spending on QAs compared to regular software development processes.
* **Be flexible** and ready to know more about hardware and new devices that enter the IT world every single day.

## Stages of software development

A typical software development process includes 4 main stages:

1. ### Ideation

Every software solution has to originate from the idea. Yet, the idea is just the beginning and it doesn’t guarantee a success.

2. ### Prototyping

This phase helps to verify the potential of an idea and visualize it. You establish your target groups and study their needs and expectations. Following the research results you build a prototype that helps to eliminate first mistakes and get feedback from first users.

3. ### Building the MVP for healthcare

[MVP (Minimum Viable Product)](/our-areas/mvp-development) is the first minimal version of the product that includes only the most important features. MVP reduces time to market and enables receiving quick feedback from users. Eventually, MVP helps to effectively evolve the project.

4. ### Software Development & Maintenance

When you launch a health app, your adventure has really just begun. Now it’s time for constant development, adding new features, receiving feedback, and reacting to any bugs. 

Check out our other blog post, if you want to [know more about software development stages](/blog/what-are-the-stages-of-app-development/).

## Software development phases in health tech

A typical flow for healthcare software development looks pretty similar to the one presented above. However, when you work on a healthcare solution **the prototyping phase is even more crucial** and time-consuming. 

It is the phase **you have to turn users’ expectations into a prototype** even if users don’t know how to name their needs. 😉  For healthcare, it is essential because you have to understand the condition of patients that you create a product for. Also, you need to establish a different approach for doctors, medical staff, or other healthcare representatives that may be a part of this project. It is rare that a healthcare solution has only one target group. Often you develop software for patients and doctors and every part of the product may be different for them. Features, UI and UX design should reflect the research of your target groups. Usually, the product will look completely different for doctors and patients.

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## How much does it cost to build a healthcare application?

When it comes to custom healthcare app development every part of the process has to be adjusted to the users and their needs. Therefore, the price of building an app cannot be established blindly. Customized development cannot be priced without receiving crucial information about the development process, such as scale, target groups, expected skills and type of devices that are a part of the solution.

Are you looking for a **[healthcare software development company](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/)**? You’ve come to the right place!

## Why Healthcare Software Development Isn't the Future Anymore

*Published: 2021-07-27 | Author: izabela | Tags: HealthTech*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/healthcare-software-development-not-a-future/index.md*

**Digital transformation in healthcare is not just welcomed. It is needed. Global health challenges have to be globally addressed by tech. For patients and medical staff’s sake. Are you a startup founder? Are you ready to join the eHealth movement?**

![telemedicine](../../static/images/healthcare_in_post.png)

## COVID-19 influence on healthcare tech

The pandemic has shown how medical care systems in most countries around the globe struggle with overload, understaffing and underfunding. Healthcare tech is the only solution to prevent that in the future. And we need a health digital transformation fast because other challenges are coming. **HealthTech can’t be the future because it has to be the present.**

## Software and wearable devices in healthcare are the key

[Telehealth remote patient monitoring](/blog/bluetooth-devices-that-change-healthcare/) is not a convenience, it is a demand. And it’s not referring only to online doctor consultations that we’ve experienced during a recent pandemic. We are talking about software that enables a remote management of patients’ conditions by a doctor. The software and modern devices make it possible to monitor one’s condition and react when medical assistance is needed. Also, patients get tools to manage their conditions. For example, they check their blood pressure at home, upload results via an app and the doctor gets the information in real-time. 

## It’s now or never for healthcare tech

Nowadays, we experience challenges that need to be addressed by tech:

* At least [1 in 4 people will experience behavioral illness](https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/glob114104_future-of-behavioral-health/GLOB114104_Future-of-behavioral-health.pdf) at some point in their lives.
* [WHO](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders) estimated that 264 million people around the world suffer from depression.
* At the same time globally [less than 1% of government health expenditures goes to mental health services](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/future-of-behavioral-health.html/#endnote-3).
* According to [Eurostat](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Population_structure_and_ageing) in 2020, more than 20% of the EU population was aged at least 65.
* [Six in ten adults in the USA have a chronic disease](https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm).
* Estimates suggest that between [48 million couples and 186 million individuals live with infertility](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infertility) globally.

These statistics show the top directions that healthcare has to follow.

## Are you ready to respond with a healthcare solution?

Do you have an idea for a healthcare app? Now is the time for custom software development. This is the way to make your idea a worthwhile tool that could assist medical staff and patients around the world. Customization and flexibility are crucial in this unique process. Learn more about [healthcare custom software development](/our-areas/healthcare-software-development/).

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## SQL Performance - composite indexes

*Published: 2021-07-23 | Author: rafal h | Tags: tips&tricks, sql, performance, index, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/sql-performance-composite-indexes/index.md*

Recently I have been reading [SQL Performance Explained by Markus Winand](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17225810-sql-performance-explained) and I wanted to share with you what I have learned about the composite index. 

You are probably familiar with the concept of the index in the Database. In very simple terms, you can imagine that it is similar to telephone directory (B-tree structure in DB) - instead of traversing through the whole book (DB), you are using directory (DB index) to find it faster. For more about indexes, you can read [here](https://use-the-index-luke.com/sql/anatomy).

Imagine you have table employees with columns *id, department, name.*

As you have some SELECT queries accessing those fields, you have created index for *department* and index for *name:* 

`CREATE INDEX department_index ON employees(department);`

`CREATE INDEX name_index ON employees(name);`

It works well for queries like: 

`SELECT * FROM "employees" WHERE "department" = 'IT';`

or 

`SELECT * FROM "employees" WHERE "name" = 'Rafal';`

Now, imagine you have a query that selects **both** department and surname: 

`SELECT * FROM "employees" WHERE "department" = 'IT' AND "name" = 'Rafal';`

You already have an index on those fields, right? So what is the problem? 

DB engine will use only one of the indexes you have created. Going back to the example with telephone directory - you have created two separate directories - those are two separate structures and you either look in one or another. When two fields are selected,  one of the fields will be selected to choose index structure and then found in this index to select the results.  The second field will be traversed based on the selected results. You can imagine with *department* index example: *department* (IT) index will be selected and then the *name* (Rafal) entry will be searched for in the leaf nodes of index. So if the name column will consit of "Agata, Tomek, Rafal, Zenek, (...)" it will traverse through several entries to find a correct entry (Rafal). 

A Solution for that would be to use a composite index. You can create it like: 
`CREATE INDEX composite_index_name on employees(department, name)`

It will then create an index on two columns. With telephone directory example - you will have a directory that consists of both of those informations and directs to the right place. So query: 

`SELECT * FROM "employees" WHERE "department" = 'IT' AND "name" = 'Rafal';`

will hit exactly one entry in the index with one leaf node.

Might be useful if you are using heavy queries used at hot spots in the system and performance there is crucial. 

DISCLAIMER: Be aware indexes also do use storage and every INSERT/UPDATE needs to update the index structure as well :)

## Bright Inventions among the Top 40 Blockchain Development Companies

*Published: 2021-07-20 | Author: izabela | Tags: blockchain, business, update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-inventions-among-top-40-blockchain-development-companies/index.md*

**We are delighted to announce that Bright Inventions has been ranked as one of the Top 40 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.designrush.com/agency/blockchain-development-companies">Blockchain Development Companies</a> by DesignRush.**

![top blockchain companies](../../static/images/blogpost_bestblockchaincompanies.png "")

DesignRush is a marketplace that connects clients with professional agencies specialising in software development, marketing and design. Design Rush regularly publishes rankings presenting top global service providers.

**We are extremely happy that [Bright Inventions blockchain services](/our-areas/blockchain) have been recognised by Design Rush representatives.** Blockchain development is a very crucial technology for our team.

Bright Inventions team specialises in delivering blockchain projects. **We have been entrusted with a major Ethereum blockchain for a social impact project** – a global food assistance program. 

Furthermore, we cooperate with Polkadot and Kusama networks built around Substrate. **We have been developing our own project funded by a W3F Foundation grant. [Bright Treasury](/blog/bright-treasury-a-treasury-module-application-funded-by-a-w3f-foundation-grant/) is a standalone web application (along with a PWA representation) that will allow performing basic actions on the Treasury and Bounties modules** of Polkadot and Kusama Substrate networks, and hopefully encourage more people to get involved in these blockchain communities.

We are happy that our efforts in terms of sharing knowledge about blockchain and making this technology more accessible have been noticed.

## You are a junior developer now. What's next?

*Published: 2021-07-16 | Author: ivan | Tags: software development, team work, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/you-are-junior-developer-now-what-next/index.md*

You have worked hard and get your first job in an IT company as a junior developer? First of all congratulation from the bottom of my heart 💓, you deserve it!

But now you are probably wondering, what's next? How do the first days look for junior developers?

First day be like. Greetings with a team, onboarding meeting with a team leader (manager, HR), unpacking your laptop, installing all programs that you need, logging in to your company email, etc. But will you have an opportunity to code some new bright features? Probably not today. But very soon. 

Second day. One of your team member sends you an email with the link to a repository. Cool! Clone the repository, install dependencies, run the application... or wait, you have to update to config file. Ok. Ask about it your teammate, she or he said "Let's take a look at this after standup". Standup. After standup you get this config file. Finally you could run the application. What's next? Coding? Not yet. Your team leader may say "Please, go through the code base, and if you have any questions, please ask".

Third day. You have read some code but the code base is huge. You ask some questions, but you want to write a code, right? Ok, you get the ticket in Jira created specially for you. I believe this is some bug. You fixed it. Send a pull request. Forget about the test. Update. And ...the pull request accepted. 💪🥳 Congratulations! Your first commit in the code base.

Next days look pretty much the same but you are getting more context about the application and getting more complex tickets.

But now you have to work on your soft skills as well to handle the situations like:

* You have a ticket and deadline very next day but it depends on another team member's work, and she or he has not finished yet.
* You estimate the ticket for 3 days but on the second day you can see a problem and it turned out that it may take one week.
* In your pull request the reviewer adds a comment and you do not agree with it.
* You sent a pull request one week ago and it is still not accepted. 

I think you get the idea what situations I am talking about. As you can see, your first days will be not only about coding. It will be also about working on your soft skills. 

I have asked product managers in my team two questions "What do you expect from a junior developer?" and "How she or he could help you with a project?":

**[Katarzyna Łukasiewicz:](https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarzyna-%C5%82ukasiewicz-b473901aa/)**

> **"What do you expect from a junior developer?"**
>
> The qualities I appreciate the most in a junior developer is willingness to learn and openness. I think that as long as you are focused on understanding the new environment and you're genuinely curious about your new project and colleagues, it will be fine. :) And if you're starting as a junior, remember that the PM is aware of the fact that you are not a senior yet, so don't be afraid of asking for help. It's even better when you do - it means you can communicate and judge the situation in a mature way.
>
> **"What value can she or he add to the project?"**
>
> There's no reason why a junior dev wouldn't bring some important value, just as any other team member. What is more, sometimes asking the right questions, even without knowing the answers yet, can in the end lead to a solution. I think that by being open, non judgemental, and by feeling responsible for the product, a junior dev can quickly build her or his position in a team. I'd say - broaden your technological knowledge, learn from your more experienced colleagues and remember that your attitude and soft skills are just as important.

**[Katarzyna Gałka:](https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarzyna-ga%C5%82ka-339706192/)**

> **"What do you expect from a junior developer?"**
>
> Open mind, positive attitude and a LOT of questions. There is nothing worse than not telling “I need your help” and spending hours on the topic without any result. I always encourage developers to ask questions. Maybe they will not get the straight forward answer on how the issue should be solved but just the direction what they should search for. Basically - trust the team - we want to help you.
>
> **"What value can she or he add to the project?"**
>
> Each time new person joins the team the dynamic of the team changes. Team waits for your fresh angle on our project, your questions can give us some topics to think about. This is also a great opportunity for the team to identify some lacks in the documentation. There will be obviously also some small tasks that you are able to do which will bring the whole team closer to achieve the goal.

[**Mateusz Klimczak**:](https://www.linkedin.com/in/klimczak-mateusz/)

> **"What do you expect from a junior developer?"**
>
> From a junior developer I expect above all a desire for continuous development, a proactive approach to problem solving, and a bit of humility to the challenges that arise in projects. Technical skills will grow with time, but an open mind and the right attitude will pay off throughout the whole developer’s career.
>
> **"What value can she or he add to the project?"**
>
> Junior developers can relieve more experienced colleagues in time-consuming tasks that do not require very advanced knowledge. Thanks to this, they get acquainted with the project without any fear of getting stuck at the very beginning and can improve their programming skills based on valuable comments in the code review. Also, a fresh look at the documentation is invaluable. Junior developers will quickly notice gaps and unclear topics in the documentation, which they can fill in on their own as one of the first tasks in the project.

As you can see in the beginning of your software developer's career coding skills might be sometimes not as significant as **willingness to learn** and having **an open mind**. Your positive attitude and responsibility might be the biggest visible values appreciated by the whole team from the day 1. Your technical skills and knowledge are important, I am not saying they are not. But remember that it is not the only area we have to work on during our career. Good luck!

## XSS - are you sure you are protected?

*Published: 2021-07-02 | Author: rafal h | Tags: tips&tricks, xss, security, js*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/xss-are-you-sure-you-are-protected/index.md*

As a developer, you probably have heard what [XSS](https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/xss/) is and how to defend against it by escaping user input. You also probably might have heard that modern frontend frameworks like React or Angular are XSS safe (due to escaping). Still, though there are some XSS caveats worth remembering: 

Imagine you have a form where the user adds an address to his page/Facebook/Instagram etc. You might have HTML code like:


`<a href="https://brightinventions.pl/">User page</a>
`

When taking input from the user which later will be displayed in a href tag (or any other "new link" click tag-like frame) it is important to validate the protocol of the URL. User can simply add their page with javascript protocol and execute XSS.


`<a href="javascript:alert('XSS!');">User page</a>`


To conclude: to defend against XSS, besides escaping user input do validate the protocol of URL. Let me know if you have any other interesting thoughts when it comes to XSS!

## Bright Treasury - a Treasury module application funded by a W3F Foundation grant

*Published: 2021-06-29 | Author: kasia | Tags: blockchain, Substrate, Polkadot, Kusama, W3F, grant*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-treasury-a-treasury-module-application-funded-by-a-w3f-foundation-grant/index.md*

We are thrilled to be able to finally share with you the news that our proposal for a Treasury based web app was accepted as a part of the [Web3 Foundation (W3F) grants program](https://web3.foundation/grants/). We are happy and grateful to be able to get the support for our work from such a dynamic and knowledgeable community. Our first milestone has been completed and approved so in this blogpost, we’d like to share details about what you might expect from the finished product as well as some technical solutions that we’re especially excited about. 

Please welcome **Bright Treasury** - a standalone web application (along with a PWA representation) that **will allow performing basic actions on the Treasury and Bounties modules of [Polkadot](https://polkadot.network/) and [Kusama](https://kusama.network/) [Substrate](https://substrate.dev/) networks**, and hopefully encourage more people to get involved in these blockchain communities.

## **Why Bright Treasury?**

At Bright Inventions, we’ve been following blockchain development since its early days. The last few years brought us opportunities to work successfully on projects with blockchain solutions, and Substrate with its community got us especially excited. At the same time, we know how intimidating the whole “blockchain thing” can be if you are a novice in the domain. We wanted to attract more professionals who could contribute to the community with their ideas and skills but at the same time may not be as fluent in blockchain customs and terminology. Based on the discussions with the communities around Substrate, Polkadot and Kusama, council members as well as the analysis of the comments under Polkadot and Kusama proposal submissions, we identified areas of the Treasury funding process that we wanted to address – from the user’s perspective.

![BrightTreasury](../../static/images/artboard-–-5.png "")

The W3F grants program seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring together our passion for getting to know blockchain better and delivering something of value to the community at the same time. Web3 Foundation funds research and development teams building the technology stack of the decentralized web. It was established in Zug, Switzerland by Ethereum co-founder and former CTO Gavin Wood. Polkadot is the Foundation's flagship project.

The main goals that we wanted to achieve with this project are:

* an intuitive proposal submission flow, with a clear indication of a proposal idea being subject to community discussion, before submitting the actual proposal to blockchain and committing with bond funds 
* one place for following the submitted proposals, their status and the results of motions
* a unified discussion forum to leave comments about submitted proposals as well as their draft versions (ideas)
* implementation of the bounties funding mechanism

## **What’s in the Milestone 1 release**

The main goal of our first milestone was to implement the core flow of the app, starting with the Proposal lifecycle for the Polkadot mainnet. As a result the user should be able to create an Idea, add all the necessary details, create Milestones for the Idea, make it public and decide to submit the Idea to the blockchain, turning it into a formal Proposal. The status of the Proposal is then updated based on the data returned from the API. To perform these actions a user will need to be logged in (with an app account or the Web3 account with a use of a browser extension), however browsing through Ideas and Proposals will be available to everyone.

![BrightTreasury](../../static/images/screenshot-2021-05-24-at-10.21.30.png "")

Although our main fields are web and mobile solutions, we are keen on blockchain technologies. As a natural consequence we specialize in integrating web and mobile apps with blockchain solutions. As we believe in the Polkadot goals we decided to contribute to the ecosystem. A project focusing on making blockchain accessible to more users felt like it was designed for us. We value the ease of development provided by the Polkadot JS API – constantly evolving and providing a useful bridge between blockchain and JS. We are also excited by the idea of personally owned identity, so we support Web3 login using the browser extension. At the same time we believe in evolution – not revolution, so the users can still use the in-app login.

## **What’s coming next**

With the next release we plan to expand the main flow. The Ideas and the Proposals features will have the discussion functionality added and it will also be possible to add them to multiple networks at once as the "representation of multiple blockchain networks" feature will also be implemented at this stage. What is more, an overview of the treasury statistics will be presented for each network respectively, with the UI adapting to the network’s colour scheme. 

Next in line will be the introduction of the bounties mechanism. Users will be able to add and browse through bounties, vote for the curators and check the current status. The nominated curators will be able to accept (or reject) the invitation to curate a bounty and manage the bounty’s details. Additionally, in this milestone we plan to add a basic integration with [Polkassembly](https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/). It will be possible to see the description of a proposal/bounty published on Polkassembly. We will also include the history feature based on the data from Polkassembly, which would allow users to browse through closed proposals and bounties, in addition to in-app ideas.

We can’t wait to share the finished product with you and to get your feedback. Fingers crossed you will like it as much as we do. We hope that this is just the beginning of our adventure with Bright Treasury and we already have a lot of ideas for the next features, so stay tuned!

Learn more about Web3 Foundation by visiting their [website](https://web3.foundation/), and stay up to date with the latest developments by following them on [Medium](https://medium.com/web3foundation) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/web3foundation).

## How to keep your mind bright? Yoga time in your team 

*Published: 2021-06-23 | Author: ula | Tags: wellbeing, work-life balance, productivity, HR*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-keep-your-mind-bright-yoga-time-in-your-team/index.md*

At Bright Inventions we really understand the importance of employee health and wellness. We believe that a healthy workplace directly translates to improved mental and physical health, increased energy and better productivity. Some time ago we also incorporated yoga in our bright routine. Every Friday we have classes with great instructors from [Fizjolab](https://fizjolab.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlMaGBhD3ARIsAPvWd6gWjfYO9cr0ueeNAAZtjKuvyFSsUEWUhVxHwhb1pua8xTNHLOLDcKEaAtc4EALw_wcB) who teach us how to keep our mind and body still and focused. Yoga helps us to reduce physical pain, decrease stress level and also to limit some potential irritability.  And how about you? Do you like yoga? Have you practised some poses yet? If not, let me take you on some short trip about how it may help you live your professional and private life fuller. 

## \#1 Pain Alleviation


One of the most common complaints connected with desk jobs is back pain. [According to Occupation Medicine, British journal, stress together with the back pain are two main factors leading to sickness absence at work.](https://academic.oup.com/occmed/article/62/8/606/1441276) The research done on governmental offices workers has shown that yoga can be effective for reducing both and improving psychological well-being. The yoga group reported significantly less back pain and lower stress, as well as greater self-assurance and serenity. Another journal, [
 Annals of Internal Medicine](https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/P17-9039), indicates that people who attended weekly yoga sessions experienced improvements in pain, which was nearly identical to those who attended physical therapy.  Yoga can decrease pain perception, which means that people after yoga practise feel the pain less strong than before. Yoga dissociates negative emotions from pain and improves our mood. [](https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000014649)

## \#2  Improved Stress Resilience

Chronic stress can take a toll not only on your physical and mental health but your relationships as well, both in private life and at work. Fortunately, yoga is great for building stress resilience. The challenge and unpredictability in yoga can teach your brain how to flexibly adapt to changes, the changes that are nowadays a common part of our daily  life. And how does it happen? Trying a new pose requires our brain to get out of the comfort zone and to solve a kind of “problem”. This activity creates some new connections in the brain that make it more adaptable to change in general. Ta da! We have novelty here and repetition (we practise the same pose), which makes those new connections stronger.  The better your brain is at adapting to change, the easier it becomes to deal with stress. Each time we are on the mat it is good to examine how we respond to frustration and uncertainty. It may be a reflection of the reactions to some similar unpredictable and stressful situations at our work. [Check a few yoga poses to calm down anxiety and reduce stress. ](https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-by-benefit/anxiety/)

![](../../static/images/yoga-desk-poses-.jpeg "")

## \#3  Increased Energy

Have you ever come to work, collapsed at your desk and complained how exhausted your were? Your back was killing you and you were afraid that you were going to die. Sounds scary, but the point is that [there seems to be a growing trend of adults who are tired all the time, and struggle with fatigue and exhaustion at work](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763418305220).  We experience somehow “the exhaustion epidemic”. The weekly yoga lesson is the time we can have a chance to reconnect with ourselves and to fully relax. Our body’s natural energy source is oxygen. During yoga practise you learn how to breathe correctly, how to find your breath in every day situations and take better care of yourself. Yoga is an excellent natural energy booster.  Active poses that stimulate the blood flow through the body can help fight fatigue and boost our vitality. Instead of reaching for a cup of coffee, [let us try some yoga moves.](https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/beginner-yoga)

## \#4 Better Focus, Memory and Concentration

Strict deadlines, heavy workload and endless meetings may prevent us from concentrating on tasks and making clever decisions. Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises are an effective ways to free our mind of clutter that is destroying productivity. Researchers have shown that yoga can greatly affect neural patterns in the brain, which can improve our ability to concentrate. The benefits of yoga for concentration can potentially apply to just about any task that comes our way. It appears [that people who practise yoga are able to focus better, learn more effectively and  process information quickly and more accurately.](https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/mobility-fitness/yoga-for-concentration-cognition-and-memory/) Yoga benefits the blood circulatory system. The stretching during yoga poses (e.g. headstand and shoulder stand) helps to rejuvenate and oxygenate the blood. The improved blood circulation means the brain receives more oxygen, thus increasing alertness, awareness and memory.

## Let’s practise some Uttana shishosana

By understanding the mind-body connection and treating your physical and emotional health well we can increase productivity and improve significantly the quality of our life. You don’t have to be a big company like [Nike, Google or Facebook ](https://journey.live/6-companies-using-meditation-for-a-productive-and-happier-workplace) to start yoga classes in your team. If your budget is low to cooperate with a professional instructor, you can begin with some in-house online lunchtime stretching/yoga classes. There are many videos and  [apps](https://www.statista.com/chart/22059/most-popular-yoga-and-meditation-apps/) on the market that can help you start. You can also try [some basic desk yoga poses](https://www.workandmoney.com/s/11-yoga-poses-you-can-do-at-your-desk-817027439e104424) if you are not sure if it is something you may like. And remember - yoga is not about being good at something, it is about being good to yourself. ❤️

![](../../static/images/yoga-apps-statistics-.jpeg "")

## App Security Practices a Startup Founder or CTO Should Expect from Developers

*Published: 2021-06-22 | Author: rafal h | Tags: security, mobile, app*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-app-security-practices-to-expect-from-developers/index.md*

**Are you going to hire a software development agency? Make sure that it will take care of your app security. Learn about best practices for software security. Be aware of what to expect from your developers’ team.**

![app security](../../static/images/security-apps.jpg "")

## OWASP rules must be a security bible

[OWASP Top Web Application Security Risks](https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/) **is a must-follow guide for every web developer** (and mobile as well). When you hire a [software development company](https://brightinventions.pl), make sure that they are not only familiar with OWASP but also follow it.

## Ensure that developers use security automation

Of course, **every [app development](/our-areas/web-development/) process should include a code review**. Nevertheless, it is **wise to use automation security as well**. Ensure that the developer team who works on your software, uses tools to double-check the security of your product. One of the most popular security tools is **SonarQube**. Also, it is recommended to use **Dependabot** built into GitHub.

Also, your development team should know how to **manage secrets**. They should follow common security practises. First of all, using tools like **GPG Suite** to safely share secrets. Second of all, using solutions like **Bitwarden** to make sure that secrets are stored and are accessible by each team member. Other important practices are: encrypting the disks, using proper password retention policy and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Last but not least, VPN is a must!

## Don’t hesitate to use tools given by cloud providers

When it comes to software security (especially infrastructure security) the best practice is clear: **don’t reinvent the wheel**. Just use tools given by cloud providers.

Let’s take AWS as an example. It provides a few tools worth mentioning. One of them is **Web Application Firewall (WAF)** which helps to secure our apps from web exploits and bots. Another one is **Key Management Service (KMS)** that helps to manage your keys used to encrypt data. Also, it is reasonable to use **AWS Secrets Manager** which enables you to manage secret values safely, API keys, and other secret data. Developers who use AWS stack should deeply know these tools. 

Of course, using those tools may be costly. Yet it is better to pay for security tools than deal with financial and branding repercussions that often follow the security breach. 

## Conduct regular infrastructure reconnaissance scans

When your software is developed and you’ve met all the requirements mentioned earlier, it’s time to consider **infrastructure reconnaissance scans**. Your developer team should do scans regularly to double-check if your system has vulnerabilities related to issues such as: **various code injections, broken authentication or some sensitive data exposure**. In order to do that you can use tools like **Burp Suite** which allows for the request manipulation. Another important tool is **Shodan** that browses for open port, software and used dependencies vulnerability. Also, a significant part is to do reconnaissance infrastructure via certificate search engines like **crt.sh**.

## Follow the local law

Following security rules **helps to meet legal requirements**. A great example is European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to the UE law data breach can result in up to 20 million euros fine! Another important legal issue are software licenses. Remember to use the software which license isn’t too restrictive.

## The key to successful app development security

As you can see, **app development security isn’t a secret knowledge** possessed by elites. In the end, the most important fact is just to **follow the security guides** (btw this is an important [guide](https://owasp.org/www-pdf-archive/OWASP_Application_Security_Verification_Standard_4.0-en.pdf)) and **execute the best possible security work** from the developer team. 

<EbookDynamic sectionTitle='get free ebook about app security' ebookName='25-Tools-And-Extra-Tactics-For-App-Security-Ebook.pdf' ebookDescription='Get even more info about top security tools and practices'    ebookImage='/images/cover_ebook_security.png' ebookAlt='ebook security cover' />

## How to find and implement a team improvement technique of your dreams. Or not.

*Published: 2021-06-09 | Author: kasia | Tags: agile, project management, time management, team, team work, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-find-and-implement-a-team-improvement-technique-of-your-dreams-or-not/index.md*

I guess it’s the imperative of our times - to constantly evolve and improve or you’re somehow left behind. We have more possibilities for self-development than any of the previous generations and it seems wasteful not to use them. Especially in the workplace, where personal ambitions are accompanied by economic perspectives. The constant growth is encouraged not only on a personal level but also the organizational one. Nevertheless, there are limitations in the road to perfection and that’s mainly human IMperfection and, annoyingly, time. No wonder most advice for project management revolves around these two aspects and how to overcome them or make the most (the absolute most) of the resources we have. This, or we’re left in the battlefield for the crows’ feast. Cheers. 

![team improvement technique](../../static/images/5mugs_kasia_blog-01.png "")

## “If you don’t name it, it doesn’t exist”

Ok, so you feel like your team’s time is slipping through the fingers. Eight hours pass and it’s hard to say what they were spent on. Or maybe it’s difficult to reach any constructive conclusion meeting after meeting and it’s becoming increasingly frustrating. Surely, there must be a better way. They can’t work like this at Google. So you google (ha) your problems to see how others cope and you are in the methods and techniques heaven. And they all seem to have names like “5 mugs technique” or “Grains of sand method”. Yes, I made them up, but they might as well be real - “Everyone takes one mug each day and the person who gets a yellow mug is the Negotiator for a day and the person with the blue one…”. That kind of technique. So you read through them, check every fancy sounding title, see what are the rules, what kind of gadgets you need, and what kind of projects they apply to. It is hard to decide really, so you go to the opinion pieces. The reviews are mixed, they always are. The main rules for me are:

* Avoid anything too complicated - no one has the time or patience to learn about 20 roles or 100 steps, even if it sounds promising. 
* A red flag goes to the techniques that require fancy gadgets, as they usually become the center of attention instead of the actual goal of the technique.
* Last but not least, think about the personality of your team members. If you look at the description and your gut tells you “there’s no way they’re going to engage” but your mind goes “ha, that’s why they should try!”, just listen to your gut. A little step out of the comfort zone is great but anything closer to a leap is a deal breaker in a work environment. A respect for other people’s boundaries will take you further than any trust building technique. You can always start with something simple and then switch to a more demanding idea when the time is right.

## “Honey, we need to talk”

Let’s say you decide that the “5 mugs technique” is the best fit. It addresses the problems you seem to have and sounds like fun. Who doesn’t like mugs?

If this technique is to be applied for the whole team, you need to communicate it somehow. Do you just go to your colleagues and say “Hey, I would like to use this cool technique called 5 mugs now to motivate you guys a bit because you don’t work effectively enough”? If in doubt, always think about a more casual situation. Imagine your girlfriend or boyfriend comes up to you and says “Honey, I found this new cool technique to motivate you because you’re lazy”. I can’t say for everyone, but this kind of statement is a bit disengaging to begin with. Nobody likes to be a subject of even the coolest technique that simultaneously suggests there is something wrong with him. If you work as a team, everyone is responsible for the way you work and just blaming others is unfair. That’s also what the retrospectives are for, when everyone can express their feelings democratically. Hopefully, this is what you’ve done already. 

So now if you really want to apply the “5 mugs technique” it might be better to just say honestly “Hey folks, I feel we agree that we might need to shake things up a bit, let’s try something new - see, I have these 5 mugs here…”. Even though the authors of such techniques need to pick a catchy name, you don’t have to use it. You don’t have to go all informative about who made it, when etc. as it can even make people drift off and lose interest. Just go on, show your teammates what’s so interesting and cool about it.

## “But I don’t have a yellow mug”

It might be that your new super cool technique calls for a penguin mascot or a yellow mug that you don’t really have. And while the mug colour seems to be easy to replace, sometimes it’s not that obvious. Would it still work if we don’t use the Negotiator role because we don’t seem to need one? Can we use this technique even if we don’t have a cork board and will have to do it with some online tool? 

If you like the method then just go on and try. There’s usually no Board Of Techniques that will come up and start yelling at you for doing things differently (unless there’s this guy in your team who thinks he’s the Board Of Techniques member. Sorry.). 

Adapt, see how things go and then adapt some more. The goal here is to help you and your team - not to get a badge of approval from the (again, non-existent) Board Of Techniques.

## … there is no mug

Sometimes it turns out that it was this technique you all needed. That switching these mugs really opened you up to different perspectives. That measuring your task in the grains of sand helped you to estimate better. And maybe you had to tweak a thing or two but in the end it really helped. 

And sometimes it just doesn’t work. Because it felt weird and unhygienic to switch the mugs. Or the grains of sand were really Fibonacci numbers in disguise… or the problem is much deeper than any project management technique can reach. 

And then, what is left is the ultimate, unnamed technique - listen and talk. Because no technique can help if the real problems are left unsaid. If you don’t check what is causing the issues, it will always be very difficult to choose the right tools. 

That being said, I love a good agile technique - like the retrospective games that can help to change the perspective and get some new conclusions ([4Ls](https://retrospectivewiki.org/index.php?title=Four_L%27s_Retrospective), [Starfish](https://www.funretrospectives.com/starfish/), [Ship](https://medium.com/@lgoncalves1979/sailboat-exercise-sailboat-retrospective-4893ca6b5fd3) to name a few), the ones for estimating ([t-shirts or dogs sizes](https://medium.com/serious-scrum/how-i-use-t-shirt-sizing-as-a-product-owner-to-estimate-delivery-4b24634d22a6))  or brainstorming (the [7 hats method](/blog/which-hat-should-i-wear-today-how-to-make-your-meetings-and-brainstorming-sessions-more-effective/), where you don’t really need a hat). They are fun and helpful. Use these techniques more as a support for the overall approach rather than a magic potion that will fix any problem.

Choose whatever feels right for your team. However ridiculous it sounds. For some teams it would be great fun if they actually had to dress up for the scrum meetings and for some these poor 5 mugs would be too much. Embrace the imperfection, accept the time limits and see how you can all do the best you can. 

And as I’m reaching the conclusion - it seems that most blog posts I write end in the same way. Smart and efficient is not enough. Be empathetic and kind. ‘Till the day you die. Thank you.

## How to protect your business from vendor lock-in?

*Published: 2021-05-31 | Author: izabela | Tags: vendor, lock-in, software, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-protect-your-business-from-vendor-lock-in/index.md*

**Have you ever felt trapped in a “relationship” with the original vendor? Let’s talk about vendor lock-in in the software development community and the ways to avoid it.**

![vendor lock-in software developement](../../static/images/cyber-security-3400657_1920.jpg "")

## How to define vendor lock-in?

Vendor lock-in is a situation when a customer is dependent on a vendor. This term works for various industries. In the software development world, it is often related to the fact that **a** **client is practically tied to the software development provider and infrastructure** provided by a software vendor. There are cases when clients don’t even have access to the code or cloud services.

## Best practices to avoid vendor lock-in while hiring a software development company

At [Bright Inventions](https://brightinventions.pl), we are against vendor lock-in practices. We make sure that clients have access to the whole product, infrastructure and documentation. That is why we want to share knowledge on **how to protect you and your business from vendor lock-in situations**.

## Intellectual property agreement

Sign up **a contract with a software agency that includes transferring all intellectual properties to you** – the client! It may seem obvious. However, in the tech world, IP still may be neglected during the contract negotiations.

## Developing a product with standardized software & tools

Think twice before you hire a software development agency that wants to develop your product using a niche framework or unpopular programing languages and libraries. It may be **a sign of potential issues** **in the future** in case of moving the project to the in-house team or another software company. You would be forced to find experts with some very unpopular skills. That brings extra costs to the table. 

## Access to the whole infrastructure

When a software development studio plans to use its own infrastructure to deploy and host your software solution, you should reconsider that. It is wiser to have all the infrastructure tied to your accounts. If you don’t have your infrastructure yet, the software agency could set up the accounts for you. Practically speaking, **you should manage your own cloud account, App Store & Google Play accounts, and have administrative access to any deployment environment**. Thus in the future, you won’t have to worry about changing accounts. They will always stay with you.

Also, it applies to every other external tool that is necessary to build your app. For example traffic analytics, emails or text sending tools or any other systems that are necessary to develop your product. You should have access to all of them! And you should **keep a limited number of people that have access** to them as well. They should be accessible only to the crucial team members within your organisation and outside it (e.g. software development company).

## With the great code comes the great documentation 

There aren’t many developers passionate about writing documentation. Yet, probably everyone understands its importance. Well-written documentation helps to improve the development process. Also, it makes the onboarding process much more efficient for new developers in the team. It also helps to change a software vendor or move your project to an in-house team. 

Perfect software documentation shouldn’t only include info about the code, framework and other general rules but also should contain **architecture decision records** (known also as decision template). This is a story behind every crucial development decision. Sharing a full context will definitely help a new team to understand the software development process.

## It just feels good to be independent

You may never feel the need to change your software development company. Still, it is crucial to establish some ground rules at the beginning of cooperation to protect your independence as a client and product owner. At Bright Inventions, we believe that **it is beneficial for both sides. It protects the client but also brings extra motivation to the development team.** When your software vendor is aware of the fact that there is always an option to move your product somewhere else, they feel a bigger responsibility to work the best they can. In the end, the worst thing that could happen during the software development process is stagnancy. 

**Are you looking for a software development company?**

[Estimate project](/start-project)

## Migrating away from Bintray/JCenter when there is no alternative repository

*Published: 2021-05-26 | Author: azabost | Tags: gradle, maven, android, kotlin, java, bintray, jcenter, migration, jar, dependency, cache, repository*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/migrating-away-from-bintray-jcenter-when-there-is-no-alternative-repository/index.md*

## TL;DR version

If you can't find a library (Maven dependency) you need for your project
after Bintray/JCenter (or another similar service) shutdown, but you still
have it in your local Gradle cache, you can easily set up your own local
Maven repository with that library as a replacement and keep the files
for as long as you need (see
[Finding the cached dependencies in Gradle cache](#finding-the-cached-dependencies-in-gradle-cache)
and
[Setting up a local Maven repository](#setting-up-a-local-maven-repository)
paragraphs for the details).

## Just a little context

A few months ago JFrog
[announced it is sunsetting](https://jfrog.com/blog/into-the-sunset-bintray-jcenter-gocenter-and-chartcenter/)
some of its services, including Bintray and JCenter, where a lot of
dependencies are hosted. According to
[MvnRepository](https://mvnrepository.com/), there are
[841,529 indexed jars](https://mvnrepository.com/repos/jcenter) on
JCenter and its popularity has been increasing very rapidly over the
recent years 🚀

## A surprising turn of events

Bintray and JCenter shutdown was planned on May 1st, 2021, although on
April 27th, JFrog updated their original announcement, stating that they
"will keep JCenter as a read-only repository indefinitely". It sounds
very comforting yet, in spite of that, I couldn't access a few
dependencies anymore. I think some of them were hosted on JCenter, at
least according to MvnRepository, so it surprised me quite a bit, but
maybe I had some additional issues, possibly a misconfiguration like a
[wrong order of the repositories declarations in Gradle](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33528294/is-gradle-possible-to-use-maven-repository-with-higher-priority-than-jcenter#:~:text=Gradle%20will%20look%20for%20a,that%20contains%20the%20requested%20module.&text=aside%20the%20fact%2C%20that%20at,that%20order%20of%20repositories%20matter.)
(can't remember now 😅).

Anyway, since some of my dependencies were hosted on Bintray as well, I
decided it would be better to simply migrate away from both Bintray and
JCenter. So I tried, and I failed quite miserably at first, which lead
me to an uncommon solution to this problem.

## Theory vs practice

When you read some blog posts and articles about the planned
Bintray/JCenter shutdown and migration paths, they all claim you can
simply switch over to a different Maven repository (preferably, Maven
Central). What they usually don't mention is that you can consider
yourself really lucky if you succeed.

In many cases, you will find it impossible to switch over for some
reason, e.g. either there is no other Maven repository hosting the
libraries you need, or it will turn out the library authors planned a
migration only for the newer or upcoming releases of their libraries.
Sometimes updating the dependency version doesn't cause much trouble,
especially if it's your direct dependency you are familiar with and if
it's backward compatible. It becomes much harder when these dependencies
are transitive or when their newer versions turn out to require a lot of
additional work on the client's side.

When I reviewed all the unresolvable dependencies, it became clear to me
it's not going to be like a walk in the park but quite the opposite.

## How to find all the missing dependencies at once

Even though I was still able to build my project locally thanks to
Gradle cache, the automated continuous integration builds on TeamCity
were failing (and it's also how I found out about the problem in the
first place) with errors like:

```text
> Could not resolve com.datadoghq:dd-sdk-android:1.5.1.
  Required by:
      project :app > project :datadog
   > Could not resolve com.datadoghq:dd-sdk-android:1.5.1.
      > Could not get resource 'https://dl.bintray.com/datadog/datadog-maven/com/datadoghq/dd-sdk-android/1.5.1/dd-sdk-android-1.5.1.pom'.
         > Could not GET 'https://dl.bintray.com/datadog/datadog-maven/com/datadoghq/dd-sdk-android/1.5.1/dd-sdk-android-1.5.1.pom'. Received status code 403 from server: Forbidden
```

Running the following command allowed me to find all the unresolvable
dependencies quickly:

```bash
./gradlew :app:dependencies | grep FAILED | grep -v "project :"
```

Explanation:

* `:app:dependencies` simply lists all the projects dependencies since
  `app` is the main application module,
* `grep FAILED` filters the output so that only the unresolvable
  dependencies are printed,
* `grep -v "project :"` filters out the unnecessary module dependencies
  in a
  [multi-project build](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/multi_project_builds.html)
  which could also be reported as `FAILED`.

*You will probably see some duplicated entries in the console output, so
you may want to try getting rid of them with some additional commands
etc., but it was good enough for me.*

The output may look like this (first 10 lines):

```text
     |    +--- com.linkedin.dexmaker:dexmaker:2.21.0 FAILED
|    +--- com.google.android:flexbox:1.0.0 FAILED
     +--- com.android.volley:volley:1.1.1 FAILED
|    |    +--- com.linkedin.dexmaker:dexmaker:2.21.0 FAILED
|    +--- com.google.android:flexbox:1.0.0 FAILED
|    +--- com.android.volley:volley:1.1.1 FAILED
     |    +--- com.linkedin.dexmaker:dexmaker:2.21.0 FAILED
|    |    +--- com.linkedin.dexmaker:dexmaker:2.21.0 FAILED
|    +--- com.amitshekhar.android:debug-db:1.0.6 FAILED
|    |    |    +--- com.google.android:flexbox:1.0.0 FAILED
```

## How to find your dependencies in other Maven repositories

Now, knowing which dependencies you miss, you can use a service like
[MvnRepository](https://mvnrepository.com/) to see if there are other
Maven repositories hosting them. For example, in case of this
dependency:

```text
|    +--- com.linkedin.dexmaker:dexmaker:2.21.0 FAILED
```

you will see
[on this page](https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0)
that:

* this particular version, i.e. `2.21.0`, is hosted only on JCenter;
* a newer version, `2.28.1`, is hosted on Maven Central.

![dexmaker-2.21.0](../../static/images/migrating-away-from-bintray-jcenter-when-there-is-no-alternative-repository/dexmaker-2.21.0.png "Dexmaker 2.21.0 is hosted only on JCenter")

![dexmaker-2.28.1](../../static/images/migrating-away-from-bintray-jcenter-when-there-is-no-alternative-repository/dexmaker-2.28.1.png "Dexmaker 2.28.1 is hosted on Maven Central")

In this case, you can't use any other Maven repository to get the
current dependency version, but you can try to update it.

*By the way, Dexmaker maintainers stated they won't migrate the older
version
[here](https://github.com/linkedin/dexmaker/issues/172).*

## How to enforce a transitive dependency version

Since, in most cases, Dexmaker is not going to be your direct
dependency, but a transitive one (in my case it is used by a popular
Kotlin mocking library,
[MockK](https://github.com/mockk/mockk/)), you won't be able to simply
change the version somewhere in your Gradle config file.

To update a transitive dependency version, you can use the
[constrains](https://docs.gradle.org/6.8.3/userguide/dependency_constraints.html)
like:

```groovy
dependencies {
    constraints {
        implementation("com.linkedin.dexmaker:dexmaker:2.28.1") {
            because("The default version used by MockK 1.9.3 is hosted on JCenter only")
        }
    }
}
```

or you can use a
[resolution strategy](https://docs.gradle.org/6.8.3/userguide/resolution_rules.html),
e.g.:

```groovy
allprojects {
    configurations.all {
        resolutionStrategy {
            force("com.linkedin.dexmaker:dexmaker:2.28.1")
        }
    }
}
```

## Dependencies I couldn't find elsewhere

Unfortunately, the story doesn't end here. Updating the dependencies may
lead to further issues. Some of them may be mutually incompatible while
others will require updating some parts of the code in your project
which can take a lot of effort. Moreover, it may turn out the library
author doesn't maintain it anymore or simply didn't have enough time to
upload it to a different Maven repository like Maven Central (which, by
the way,
[is said to be very strict in terms of validation](https://github.com/linkedin/dexmaker/issues/172)).

In all these cases you may need to keep the current dependency version
somehow. I will explain how to do it in the next paragraphs so keep
reading 🙂.

I decided to keep the following dependencies which I couldn't find
anywhere else:

* `com.datadoghq:dd-sdk-android:1.5.1` (direct)
* `com.savvi.datepicker:rangepicker:1.3.0` (direct)
* `com.google.android:flexbox:1.0.0` (transitive)
* `com.android.volley:volley:1.1.1` (transitive)
* `com.linkedin.dexmaker:dexmaker:2.21.0` (transitive)
* `com.sunmi:printerlibrary:1.0.13` (direct)

## Finding the cached dependencies in Gradle cache

Thankfully, Gradle caches the dependencies locally, so I was able to
find all of them easily. By default, you should check your user's home
directory: `~/.gradle`.
[Here you can find a full explanation of the directories' layout](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/directory_layout.html).

You can run a command like this to find the cached dependency files:

```bash
find ~/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker
```

and it will print an output like:

```text
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/bdfd84d002e265ab7cf7f54a71a17717f831a57d
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/bdfd84d002e265ab7cf7f54a71a17717f831a57d/dexmaker-2.21.0-javadoc.jar
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/423b7b6e4d772e274ba03646284b0cea83faca56
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/423b7b6e4d772e274ba03646284b0cea83faca56/dexmaker-2.21.0.pom
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/680f2dbbb51f2892a4fdbbd9269d628e0b3270b3
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/680f2dbbb51f2892a4fdbbd9269d628e0b3270b3/dexmaker-2.21.0.jar
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/2e6b7df791ab40f340dfd2cb41acd62bb057af82
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/2e6b7df791ab40f340dfd2cb41acd62bb057af82/dexmaker-2.21.0-sources.jar
```

Now you need just a few additional steps to preserve these precious
files in your VCS for as long as you need and share them with your
teammates.

## Setting up a local Maven repository

You can use any directory you want as a Maven repository using a Gradle
snippet like this one:

```groovy
repositories {
    maven {
        url = uri("${rootProject.projectDir}/libs")
    }
}
```

*(You may want to put it inside `allProjects { ... }` block.)*

As a result, the `libs` directory in the root project's directory will
be searched for the dependencies just like all the other Maven
repositories. Of course, you can name that directory as you wish.

The chosen directory must be prepared according to the Maven repository
layout. To be honest, I'm not sure which documentation on this topic is
the official one, but I found
[this one](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/MAVENOLD/Repository+Layout+-+Final)
and I examined the local `~/.m2/repository` directory to figure it out.

For Dexmaker I created the following directory:

```text
libs/com/linkedin/dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0
```

As you can see, I mapped my Gradle cache structure into Maven repository
layout like this:

| Gradle cache                         | Maven repository      |
| ------------------------------------ | --------------------- |
| ~/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1 | libs                  |
| com.linkedin.dexmaker                | com/linkedin/dexmaker |
| dexmaker                             | dexmaker              |
| 2.21.0                               | 2.21.0                |

Then I copied all the files from Gradle cache to `libs` using the
following command:

```bash
find ~/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0 -type f -exec cp -v {} libs/com/linkedin/dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0 \;
```

which printed this output:

```text
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/bdfd84d002e265ab7cf7f54a71a17717f831a57d/dexmaker-2.21.0-javadoc.jar -> libs/com/linkedin/dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/dexmaker-2.21.0-javadoc.jar
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/423b7b6e4d772e274ba03646284b0cea83faca56/dexmaker-2.21.0.pom -> libs/com/linkedin/dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/dexmaker-2.21.0.pom
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/680f2dbbb51f2892a4fdbbd9269d628e0b3270b3/dexmaker-2.21.0.jar -> libs/com/linkedin/dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/dexmaker-2.21.0.jar
/Users/azabost/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/com.linkedin.dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/2e6b7df791ab40f340dfd2cb41acd62bb057af82/dexmaker-2.21.0-sources.jar -> libs/com/linkedin/dexmaker/dexmaker/2.21.0/dexmaker-2.21.0-sources.jar
```

and that's how Dexmaker 2.21.0 became a part of the Git repository.
After repeating this process for all the other missing dependencies, I
was able to build the project successfully again 🎉

*Featured image by
[Luroka](https://pixabay.com/users/luroka-9240270/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3522487)
from
[Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3522487)*

## CloudWatch Insights - how to find context of multiple requests?

*Published: 2021-05-05 | Author: rafal h | Tags: tips&tricks, aws, cloudwatch, logs*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cloudwatch-insights-how-to-find-context-for-the-requests/index.md*

Recently I was searching through our application logs. The task was to extract extra context for a group of requests (ex. errors in the external provider system with the original request). For our app, we are using [CloudWatch](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/) to store the logs. I have used [CloudWatch Insights](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/logs/AnalyzingLogData.html) as out of the box tool to analyze them. 

Our logs have a format like below, with each console output in a separate line: 

```text
2021-02-06T13:38:31.730Z info [some request id 1; some user id 1] Some external provider error message
2021-02-06T14:21:00.000Z info [some request id 2; some user id 2] Some external provider error message
```

We can use Cloudwatch Insights to extract all the information related to that requests: 

```text
filter @message like "Some context to error message log"
| parse @message "* * [* *] *" as timestamp,type,requestId, user, textMessage
| filter requestId in ["some request id 1;", "some request id 2"]
| sort @ingestionTime desc
```

If the field you are searching for is a JSON array, you can search it like: 

```text
filter @message like "Some context to error message log {
    "someInfo": [
        some1,
        some2
    ]
}"
| parse @message "* * [* *] *" as timestamp,type,requestId, user, textMessage
| parse textMessage '"someInfo":[*]' as someInfo
| filter requestId in ["some request id 1;", "some request id 2"]
| sort @ingestionTime desc
```

You can then export the data that you need or build some stats around it. 

Let me know in the comments if you found CloudWatch Insights useful too and how you are using them.

## 4 things that surprised me when I joined a software development company

*Published: 2021-05-04 | Author: izabela | Tags: teamwork, software development company, software consulting studio*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/4-things-that-surprised-me-when-i-joined-a-software-development-company/index.md*

**I am not a developer. However, it’s not like I came to a software development company from a completely different world. Before joining Bright Inventions I was working at an online marketplace company that had an in-house web and mobile development team. The IT world wasn't such a new thing to me. So I thought… Find out 4 things that surprised me about working at a software development agency.**

![working at software consulting studio ](../../static/images/izabela_4thingsthatsurprisedme.png "")

## 1. Slack is the new email

I love Slack. I was introduced to it a few years ago and I fell in love with it instantly. Although, I think that the Slack team should work harder on GIF finder feature… Nevertheless, I simply love Slack. However, here at [Bright Inventions](https://brightinventions.pl) they loooove Slack! We have over 80 channels regarding everything: our passions, work, self-development and of course… food ordering! My favourite channels are: #todayilearned, #bright-kudos and #random – because there is no Slack without some random stories ;) What struck me the most is that I barely use email anymore. My Gmail is practically empty! I remember like 5 years ago email was the most important tool to communicate in and outside the team. Recently, I’ve realised how that has changed. And you know what? I love it! 

## 2. Ask me anything

Q&As are something that I enjoyed mostly when I watched my favourite YouTubers answering fans questions. I have never thought that it could be implemented into the work environment. At Bright we have regular Q&As with our co-founders and managers. They answer questions that were previously sent anonymously by members of the team. I think it is a really smart way to address possible issues or simply questions within the team. Also, as it turns out it is a great way to learn more about the origin of the company. Actually one of the most popular employee’s questions is: ‘How it all started?’.

## 3. Developers read books

Let’s be clear. I know that developers read books! But I didn't know that they read books about technologies. I used to think that the books about Python or C# can never be up-to-date. However, at Bright Inventions we have a little library with books not only touching on technology but also team management, agile or design. For sure, everyone will find something interesting in our collection.

## 4. Friday yoga

I’ve never been a yoga fan. But you know what? Group yoga conducted by a nice instructor on Friday afternoon (only a few hours before the weekend) works perfectly. It is a great start to the weekend. Of course, this is not mandatory. If you want, you can join. If you don't, you just do your things. 

These are 4 things that have surprised me at a software development company. No doubt that there are more surprises to come in the future… So I am happy to stick around!

## Mocha.js - how to enable multiple test runners on CI/CD? 

*Published: 2021-04-15 | Author: rafal h | Tags: mocha.js, ci/cd, tests, javascript, runner, junit, mocha, ci, cd*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mocha-js-how-to-enable-multiple-test-runners-on-ci-cd/index.md*

One of our projects is running automated tests on CI/CD AzurePipelines. 

For the test runner, AzurePipeline [supports several](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/tasks/test/publish-test-results?view=azure-devops&tabs=trx%2Cyaml) test results templates but not the default Mocha spec one. 

This is why tests are running on the mocha Junit reporter producing the JUnit XML result. 

As there was a difference between running tests locally and on CI/CD environment, I wanted to debug the logs of the job. That what not possible as the Mocha JUnit reporter was not collecting console outputs/errors. 

Mocha.js does not support multiple runners right now. The solution for that was to introduce own runner, which combines both Mocha JUnit reporter and default spec Mocha reporter: 

```javascript
'use strict';

const Mocha = require('mocha');
const JUnit = require('mocha-junit-reporter');
const Spec = Mocha.reporters.Spec;
const Base = Mocha.reporters.Base;

// This is combination of spec (mocha normal) + junit reporter so both is displayed on azure
class AzurePipelinesReporter extends Base {
    constructor(runner, options) {
        super(runner, options);
        this._junitReporter = new JUnit(runner, options);
        this._specReporter = new Spec(runner, options);
    }
}
module.exports = AzurePipelinesReporter;
```

Then, the custom reporter can be used by specyfing the file name and flags to both reporters if needed: 

`mocha --reporter azurePipelinesReporter.js --reporter-options mochaFile=some_path_to_results`

Let me know if you had a similar problem, stay tuned for the next tips & tricks!

## Why Am I Here? A Few Thoughts about Effective Meetings

*Published: 2021-02-19 | Author: kasia g | Tags: project management, communication, meetings, teamwork*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/why-am-i-here-few-thoughts-about-effective-meetings/index.md*

**The meeting starts. After 5 minutes of participating you start to wonder what it is about. It feels like a total waste of your valuable time. You lose your focus and listen with only half an ear. Probably in the meantime you start to do some of your other tasks for today. Then, if someone asks you, you don’t even know what the question was about.**

Sounds familiar? Depending on the organisation, its size and culture, you have probably already experienced that several times. Good news is: you can do something about it! I have gathered some tips for the organisers which should help with omitting those situations and result in more effective meetings. If you are usually a participant (rather than the organiser) - feel welcome to read it too! It’s good to know what you should expect. And don’t be afraid to share those 🙂

<div className="image">![meeting](../../static/images/blog_meeting.png "meeting")</div>

## Is this a topic for a meeting?

This is the question you should always ask yourself when organising a meeting. Meetings are expensive - you use the time of each participant. Maybe sending a message would be enough? Or maybe you need to first gather some information before even deciding if the meeting is necessary? Spend a minute on that question - you can save a lot of time. Not only yours but also your colleagues’.

## Goal

Imagine your friends invited you for a walk. But they forgot to mention that they actually want to climb and thought that you knew it, too. Well, you didn’t. You don’t have any equipment so you can stand there near the rocks and observe how they are doing. Great fun. Maybe by chance you have a good book with yourself so at least you can start to read it?

It’s the same with the meetings, everyone should know in advance what the purpose is. In this way they can be prepared - gather in advance all the needed information and decide whether they will have a valuable input into that meeting. Moreover, the goal will help to keep in mind the meritum of the discussion.

## Expected outcomes

You have the goal of the meeting, it’s time to decide what the concrete expected output is. In other words: what will make you achieve the goal. It may be the decisions, plans or maybe you want to have the schema document by the end of the meeting. Communicate that in advance - participants will have a clearer vision of the meeting.

## People

Make sure that you are inviting the right people. Have only those who are engaged in the topic and whose input will be really valuable. Don’t invite everyone “just in case”. Otherwise we end up in the meetings with 20 people where 15 of them are not focused on what someone is saying.

## Agenda and timebox

Timebox of the meeting is necessary - participants should be able to plan their time. However, things can go tricky if during the meeting we discover something else and want to discuss that immediately. It’s very tempting to jump into another topic, which can be indeed very important. In the end you don’t finish your meeting within the given timebox nor reach the primary goal. 

Therefore, apart from the outcomes, prepare also the agenda. It doesn’t need to be very detailed but it will help you with sticking to the plan and avoid off-topic discussions.

## Notes and action points

You may have invited the right people, defined the goal, expected outcomes, agenda and timebox but if you haven’t noted anything, everyone will forget what you’ve just discussed. If you don’t feel comfortable with leading the meeting and taking notes at the same time - ask someone else to do that. Basically convert the expected output into the real one. And make sure that it is afterwards shared with all the participants.

That’s all! Don’t be afraid to organise the meetings - they are really necessary to solve some issues. Hope that sticking to those rules will result in the “Why am I here?” question being posed less and less often.

## Branding & Flavoring

*Published: 2021-01-08 | Author: wojciech | Tags: typescript, types, candies, veggies*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/branding-flavoring/index.md*

## Introduction

TypeScript language mainly uses structural typing. In structural typing, an element is considered to be compatible 
with another if, for each feature within the second element's type, a corresponding and identical feature exists in the 
first element's type. Sometimes this behavior may allow us to write erroneous code. 

## Example

Let's imagine a function which calculates candy price based on their weight and price per unit:

```typescript
// Create a type for our candy
type Candy = {
  pricePerUnit: number
  weight: number
}

// Create a function from our example
const calculateCandyPrice = (candy: Candy) => candy.pricePerUnit * candy.weight

// Create a type with similar structure to type Candy
type Veggie = {
  pricePerUnit: number
  weight: number
}

// Declare variables based on our types
declare const candyDrops: Candy
declare const broccolis: Veggie

// Is this function safely typed? 
calculateCandyPrice(candyDrops)                          // OK 
calculateCandyPrice({ pricePerUnit: 1000, weight: 20 })  // OK 
calculateCandyPrice(broccolis)                           // OK 
```

TypeScript compiler does not throw an error, even though we as programmes see that this behavior may not be desired. 
This problem can be solved by nominal typing. Nominal typing means that two variables are type-compatible if and only if 
their declarations name the same type. TypeScript unfortunately does not have such a syntax feature. There are some 
methods which we can use to omit that problem. 

## Branding

Branding concept is a technique in which we add a unique field which will make our type differ from another types. 
What is important we do not need to assign any value there because it only exists for TypeScript compiler. 

```typescript
type Candy = {
  __brand: "Candy"
  pricePerUnit: number
  weight: number
}

type Veggie = {
  __brand: "Veggie"
  pricePerUnit: number
  weight: number
}

const calculateCandyPrice = (candy: Candy) => candy.pricePerUnit * candy.weight

declare const candyDrops: Candy
declare const broccolis: Veggie

calculateCandyPrice(candyDrops)                          // OK 
calculateCandyPrice({ pricePerUnit: 1000, weight: 20 })  // Error
calculateCandyPrice(broccolis)                           // Error
```

We can also create generic type for our branding: 

```typescript
type Brand<T, BrandT> = T & { __brand: BrandT }

// Similar type as before
type Candy = Brand<{ pricePerUnit: number, weight: number }, "Candy">
```

Changing primitive value to branded value requires manual casting:

```typescript
type CandyID = Brand<string, "CandyID">

const candyId = "some-long-id" as CandyID // Brand<string, "CandyID">
```

To make our code cleaner we can use these helpers to change our type to be nominal or reversed: 

```typescript
const toCandyID = (id: string) => id as CandyID
const fromCandyID = (id: CandyID) => id as string

const candyIdTo = toCandyID('some-long-id-1') // Brand<string, "CandyID">
const candyIdFrom = fromCandyID(candyIdTo)    // string
```

Bear in mind that branding has got two cons:

1. Compiler allow us to read `__brand` property

```typescript
const brandProperty = candyDrops.__brand // OK 
```

2. A raw object passed to the function as an argument stopped working

```typescript
calculateCandyPrice({ pricePerUnit: 1000, weight: 20 })  // Error
```

## Flavoring

Flavoring concept is a technique in which we add a unique **optional** field which will make our type differ from another 
types. This difference between *branding* and *flavoring* allow us to pass a raw object as an argument to the function. 
Unfortunately we still can access `__flavor` property.

```typescript
type Candy = {
  __flavor?: "Candy"
  pricePerUnit: number
  weight: number
}

type Veggie = {
  __flavor?: "Veggie"
  pricePerUnit: number
  weight: number
}

const calculateCandyPrice = (candy: Candy) => candy.pricePerUnit * candy.weight

declare const candyDrops: Candy
declare const broccolis: Veggie

calculateCandyPrice(candyDrops)                          // OK 
calculateCandyPrice({ pricePerUnit: 1000, weight: 20 })  // OK
calculateCandyPrice(broccolis)                           // Error
```

We can also create generic type for our flavoring:

```typescript
type Flavor<T, FlavorT> = T & { __flavor?: FlavorT }

// Similar type as before
type Veggie = Flavor<{ pricePerUnit: number, weight: number }, "Veggie">
```

We do not need to cast primitive values manually using this technique.

## Conclusion

To sum up those two techniques - it is commonly used that if we use *branding* and *flavoring* we use *branding* for 
primitive types while *flavoring* for objects. We can use 
[conditional type](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/2/conditional-types.html) for that:

```typescript
type Nominal<T, NameT> = T extends object ? Flavor<T, NameT> : Brand<T, NameT>
```

Alternatively we can use other more sophisticated techniques to achieve nominal typing or libraries such as:
[newtype-ts](https://github.com/gcanti/newtype-ts) or [io-ts](https://github.com/gcanti/io-ts).

## Object typing

*Published: 2021-01-06 | Author: wojciech | Tags: typescript, types, API, frontend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/request-typing/index.md*

## Introduction

As developers we often perform POST and PATCH requests to API from our frontend apps. When we use TypeScript, this code should be typed safely. There are multiple ways to do so. Let's analyze one of them!

## Prerequisite

Let's imagine a player entity from a game:

```typescript
// Create a type for our object
type PlayerType = {
  hp: number
  name: string
  position: [number, number]
}

// We can also use interface:
interface PlayerInterface {
  hp: number
  name: string
  position: [number, number]
}
```

Let's create two functions (without safe type control as for now) to create and update our player:

```typescript
const postPlayer = (data: any) => {
  // API call with POST method, here as data whole Player object should be sent. 
}

const patchPlayer = (data: any) => {
  // API call with PATCH method, here as data Player object can be sent as a whole or partialy. 
}
```

## Safe typing

Leaving type `any` can lead application to behave erroneous moreover we do not benefit from TypeScript static type
checking. **Avoid** leaving `any` in code - there is probably a better solution!

Statically typed functions arguments could look like this:

```typescript
// Here we use PlayerType (or PlayerInterface) type as API require whole object 
const postPlayer = (data: PlayerType | PlayerInterface) => { }

// Example of "keyof" operator
type PlayerTypeKeys = keyof PlayerType // "hp" | "name" | "position"

// Copy of PlayerType type with "?" beeing added - this will change object properties to be optional
type PlayerTypeOptional = {
  [K in keyof PlayerType]?: PlayerType[K]
}

// Here we use PlayerOptional (or partial of PlayerInterface) type as API does not require whole object
const patchPlayer = (data: PlayerTypeOptional | Partial<PlayerInterface>) => { }
```

Let's test our type for safety:

```typescript
// Here we create objects which later will be send to API thre proper functions
const player1: PlayerType = { hp: 10, name: "Albert", position: [10, 1] }
const player2: PlayerInterface = { hp: 20, name: "Antony", position: [2, 20] }
const player3: PlayerTypeOptional = { name: "Alex" }
const player4: Partial<PlayerInterface> = { hp: 2 }

// Results
postPlayer(player1)     // OK
postPlayer(player2)     // OK
postPlayer(player3)     // Error
postPlayer(player4)     // Error
patchPlayer(player1)    // OK 
patchPlayer(player2)    // OK 
patchPlayer(player3)    // OK 
patchPlayer(player4)    // OK
```

## Additional info

Similarly to adding optional ("?") modificator on `PlayerType` we can add by "+" (this sign can be omitted) or 
remove by "-" (this sign is required) readonly modificator:

```typescript
type PlayerTypeReadonlyOne = {
  readonly [K in keyof PlayerType]: PlayerType[K]
}

type PlayerTypeReadonlyTwo = {
  +readonly [K in keyof PlayerTypeOptional]-?: PlayerTypeOptional[K]
}

type PlayerTypeOptionalTwo = {
  -readonly [K in keyof PlayerTypeReadonlyOne]+?: PlayerTypeReadonlyOne[K]
}

// types PlayerTypeReadonlyOne and PlayerTypeReadonlyTwo are equivalent
const player5: PlayerTypeReadonlyOne = { hp: 1, name: "One", position: [1, 1] }
const player6: PlayerTypeReadonlyTwo = { hp: 2, name: "Two", position: [2, 2] }

// types PlayerTypeOptional and PlayerTypeOptionalTwo are equivalent
const player7: PlayerTypeOptionalTwo = { position: [2, 2] }
```

As an alternative while using interface `SomeInterface` instead of type we can use a combination of 
`Readonly<SomeInterface>`, `Required<SomeInterface>`.

## Conclusion

Proper API typing increase benefits from TypeScript static type checking and makes our development safer. Knowledge on 
how to work with types or interfaces can help us find a way to do so in a DRY way!

## Covariance & Contravariance

*Published: 2020-12-28 | Author: wojciech | Tags: typescript, types, sets, math, vehicles*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/covariance-contravariance/index.md*

## Introduction

Covariance and contravariance - two buzzwords from a programming language's world, what do they mean? Let's find out in three steps!

## Step 1 - Sets

This topic is not so straightforward so let's start with an intuitive example from life with a little of mathematical knowledge. Think about a vehicle and a motorbike. Vehicle is a superset for a motorbike and motorbike is a subset for a vehicle.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/images/covariance-contravariance/graph-1.png" alt="First-graph"/>
</p>

You can see clearly that motorbike set being a subset of vehicle set means that this set is smaller than vehicle superset, but it also is more specific - You can say that motorbike is a vehicle but not every vehicle is a motorbike + You cannot specify vehicle type inside a vehicle set, but you can do that in a motorbike set. Here is a little of TypeScript code to make it clearer:

```typescript
interface Vehicle {
    brand: string;
    start: () => void;
}
interface Motorbike extends Vehicle {
    // Motorbike has all the properties from Vehicle and some more
    numberOfWheels: number;
}

const vehicle: Vehicle = { ... }
const motorbike: Motorbike = { ... }

// validate assignment to different types
const expectVehicle: Vehicle = motorbike      // OK
const expectMotorbike: Motorbike = vehicle  // Error
```

## Step 2 - HOT concept

Before we jump into covariance and contravariance let's introduce one more concept - **HOT** which stays for higher order type. HOT is an abstract that takes type as an argument and returns another type. **Generics types are HOT.**

```typescript
const simpleVehicle: Vehicle = { ... }
const simpleMotorbike: Motorbike = { ... }

// example of HOT
interface ExampleHOT<T> {
    additionalProperty: string
    element: T;
    fn: (elem: T) => string
}

const complexVehicle: ExampleHOT<Vehicle> = { ... }
const complexMotorbike: ExampleHOT<Motorbike> = { ... }
```

We use HOT as a kind of function that creates complex types based on simple types provided as a parameter (also known as component). Covariant and contravariant are characteristics describing specific HOTs:

* Covariance - is a characteristic of HOT, which says that relation between subtypes of given type is similar to the relation between subtypes of component.
* Contravariance - is a characteristic of HOT, which says that relation between subtypes of given type is inverted to the relation between subtypes of component.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/images/covariance-contravariance/graph-2.png" alt="Second-graph"/>
</p>

In TypeScript:

* Type which function takes as parameter is contravariant
* Type which function returns is covariant

## Step 3 - Complex Example

To better understand those terms let me create more complex graph and TypeScript code as a description

<p align="center">
  <img src="/images/covariance-contravariance/graph-3.png" alt="Third-graph"/>
</p>

```typescript
type Vehicle = {
    brand: string
}

type Car = {
    brand: string
    fuelSource: string
}

type SUV = {
    brand: string
    fuelSource: string
    weight: number
}

type Covariant<T> = () => T
let covariantVehicle: Covariant<Vehicle> = { ... }
let covariantCar: Covariant<Car> = { ... }
let covariantSUV: Covariant<SUV> = { ... }
covariantCar = covariantVehicle  // Error 
covariantCar = covariantSUV      // OK

type Contravariant<T> = (x: T) => void
let contravariantVehicle: Contravariant<Vehicle> = { ... }
let contravariantCar: Contravariant<Car> = { ... }
let contravariantSUV: Contravariant<SUV> = { ... }
contravariantCar = contravariantVehicle  // OK 
contravariantCar = contravariantSUV      // Error
```

## Conclusion

The goal of this text is to introduce and explain mechanics that rule in the world of static typing. This knowledge could be very helpful in organizing functions, data structures, and their interfaces that make static typing possible. This subject lies at the root of languages with types, so it is essential to understand them completely.

## Bitrise Loves Detox

*Published: 2020-11-21 | Author: fjablonski | Tags: bitrise, detox, react native, CI*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bitrise-loves-detox/index.md*

You finally did it! New functionality is ready to be deployed. This new feature will revolutionize the market, will give tons of new users and other few millions on your account. Fantastic feeling, isn't it? Once the app is in store, you start to rub your hands. But what if your app ranting suddenly goes down, people are frustrated because you have broken one of the other core functionalities by accident. Sweaty and stressed, you start to debug. Thankfully it is easy to fix. A few more clicks and the updated version lands in a store. Sigh... that was too close if there was something that could prevent such situations in the future.

Please welcome Bitrise and Detox! Bitrise is a CI/CD  service with a Mobile-First approach, while Detox is a tool that allows you to create an E2E test with the Gray Box approach to React Native. I will show how nice and easy you can launch tests written with Detox on Bitrise.

Sample React Native project with configured Detox tests you can download from here https://gitlab.com/Filipsky/bitrise_loves_detox.
I added there one specific setting, which is vital while launching Detox tests on Bitrise. It will build the app in a Release configuration. We will test precisely the same app that will land in users hands, and CI will not have to launch React Native launch packagers, which might cause some problems with tests.

With a set-up project, all you have to do is go to https://www.bitrise.io and create your new account!

Bitrise is free of charge with some limitations you want to get rid of it. Check out the pricing page for some paid plans.

Ok, it is time for some action! After you created your account and log in, you should see a beautiful button Add New App. Please press it and choose "Add New App on Web UI."

![Add New App](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/add-new-app.png "")

You probably would like to keep your super project private, but you can make it public as well.

![Select Private](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/select-private.png "")

Now let's select the repository where you store your project. For me, it is GitLab.

![Select Repository](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/repo-select.png "")

If you are using some private libraries, you can create ssh keys to access. My project is pretty simple, so that I will skip this step.

![Skip adding ssh keys](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/ssh-keys.png "")

Type name of your main branch.

![Choose main branch](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/choose-branch.png "")

Sigh... that is a lot of things to configure. So maybe Bitrise could automate some of the processes. Thankfully it can. Let's take a short break and let Bitrise do its job. This process might take a while.

![coffe break](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/coffe-break.png "")

You can proceed or edit these settings if you do not like the final results

![Project configuration](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/configuration.png "")

If you have an icon for your remarkable app, you can add it here. There is also an option for a webhook so you can integrate Bitrise with some of your external systems. I do not have such a requirement, so that I will skip it.

![App icon, webhook](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/webhook-app-icon.png "")

Congrats! You just added your first project on Bitrise!

![New app](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/your_new_app.png "")

It is time for some real action. We need to launch our tests! Thankfully Bitrise did almost all the dirty work for us, so all we need to is to run these four lines of commands:
```shell
pod install --project-directory=ios/
npm install -g detox-cli
detox build --configuration ios
detox test --configuration ios --workers 2
```

The first one will download all pods for our ios project. The second one will install "detox cli," which is not present on the stack we are using.  The third one builds our application to make it testable with Detox. The last one will launch our tests, to get results faster, I choose two workers.

Select your application on the top right side of the screen and then select the "Workflow" tab

![Workflow select](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/workflow-select.png "")

Press on the "+" sign below the last Yarn step. 

![Edit workflow](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/edit_workflow.png "")

Then search and choose Script.

![Search for Script](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/search_script.png "")

Now you can configure script content with our four lines :).

![Configure Script](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/script_edit.png "")

Press Save on the top-right corner. 
Your new workflow is ready! It is time to check this beast in action.
Select Start/Schedule Build

![Start schedule](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/start_schedule.png "")

And then Start Build.

![Start schedule](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/run_build.png "")

Congrats! You just become an owner of a project with its CI!

![End Result](../../static/images/bitrise_loves_detox/end_result.png "")

Now you're not afraid to face new features, and the word "quality" gets a new meaning.

I highly encourage you to keep digging. Bitrise has plenty of preconfigured steps, which can make your life way more comfortable. You can make a step forward and add configuration which will launch unit tests or give a possibility to deploy your app with just one button click. Who knows what awaits you just behind the corner!

## Forward compatible enums in Kotlin

*Published: 2020-11-17 | Author: azabost | Tags: enum, kotlin, serialization, forward compatibility*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/forward-compatible-enums-in-kotlin/index.md*

**A few years ago Adam outlined
[8 steps to keep your API sane](/blog/8-steps-to-keep-your-api-sane)
in his blog post which I really recommend if you haven't seen it yet.
The second step there, "be liberal in what the app accepts", is quite a
specific one because it is applicable not only to the backend side of
the API but also, if not the most, the clients of that API.**

I cannot stress enough the importance of that rule in the [offline-first apps](/blog/offline-first-app-guide-for-startups-app-owners-case-studies/). Let's take a look at some example.

## Example: 9GAG post tags

This is a screenshot where you can see a part of the tags list from the
9GAG Android app.

![9GAG post tags list](../../static/images/forward-compatible-enums-in-kotlin/9gag-categories.jpg "")

At least some of these tags look like they could have the appropriate
translations, e.g. the "Music" tag. I'm not saying 9GAG actually
translates them, but it would be understandable if they did. In case of
Android, we could use the
[string resource XML files for translations](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/localization)
like this:

*src/main/res/values/strings.xml*

```xml
<resources>
    <string name="tag_music">Music</string>
    <string name="tag_art">Art</string>
</resources>
```

*src/main/res/values-pl/strings.xml*

```xml
<resources>
    <string name="tag_music">Muzyka</string>
    <string name="tag_art">Sztuka</string>
</resources>
```

Although there are many ways to implement the same thing, it seems quite
reasonable to create an enum class for all the tags so that we can
easily store the string resource identifiers with the translations
there.

```kotlin
enum class PostTag(@StringRes val nameRes: Int) {
    MUSIC(R.string.tag_music),
    ART(R.string.tag_art)
}
```

Each 9GAG post could be described with these tag enums like this:

```json
{
  "content": "Lorem ipsum...",
  "tags": ["MUSIC", "ART"]
}
```

The client app could parse these enums and show the appropriate
translated tag names.

```kotlin
val postTagsNames = post.tags.map {
    context.getString(it.nameRes)
}
```

## Forward incompatible enums

Let's assume we use
[kotlinx.serialization](https://github.com/Kotlin/kotlinx.serialization)
library in the Android app to parse the JSON response bodies from the
API. The default and simplest approach to enum serialization will
probably look like this:

* add `@Serializable` annotation to the `PostTag` enum class
* the library will use the
  [`name` property](https://kotlinlang.org/api/latest/jvm/stdlib/kotlin/-enum/name.html)
  to serialize and deserialize enums

Let's now imagine the backend developers extended the API by adding more
post tags, e.g. a "Books" tag (encoded to string as `"BOOKS"`), while
the Android app haven't been updated yet. With the simple approach
above, the app will most probably fail to deserialize the new and
unknown enum value `"BOOKS"` if a post contains one. In such case, we
will get the following exception:

```text
kotlinx.serialization.SerializationException: com.example.9gag.posts.PostTag does not contain element with name 'BOOKS'
```

### Fallback enum value

While searching for a solution to this problem, we may find other people
implementing custom serializers with a dedicated "fallback enum value"
like in
[this article](https://medium.com/livefront/kotlinx-serialization-json-deserializer-with-a-fallback-79dd6e9d471f).
That approach requires us to add yet another enum value upfront and
configure the serialization library to use `FALLBACK` value whenever it
deserializes an unexpected string in JSON.

```kotlin
enum class PostTag(@StringRes val nameRes: Int) {
    MUSIC(R.string.tag_music),
    ART(R.string.tag_art),
    FALLBACK(R.string.tag_fallback)
}
```

As a result, the app will treat all the unknown enum values as the
fallback value. I think it's better than nothing as it allows the app to
handle the unknown values somehow, e.g. by ignoring them, but it's not
perfect either.

First of all, if we want to just ignore the unknown values, it doesn't
make sense to create a dedicated string resource (like
`R.string.tag_fallback`), but we have to do that because `nameRes`
property is non-nullable. On the other hand, if we make it nullable to
get rid of the unwanted resource, we will have to check the nullability
every time we process the post tags which is unnecessarily burdensome.

There's another one, even more important downside of the fallback enum
value approach. If our app caches the data from the API but we overwrite
the unknown values with said fallback value, we inevitably lose the
original values the app received. If we later update the client app by
adding the support for the `BOOKS` value, we will be forced to fetch the
data from the API again in order to restore the `BOOKS` tag value in the
post.

Of course, there are much more negative consequences possibly caused by
losing the original enum values, especially if we consider other types
of apps and features, but let's focus on solving the problem first.

## Forward compatibility of enums with [codified](https://github.com/bright/codified)

We came up with a better solution over a year ago, and it has been
working really well since then. In short, instead of using a fallback
enum values, we wrapped all the enums we send and receive from the APIs
in a dedicated, generic sealed class allowing us to handle the unknown
enum values very easily.

With
[codified library](https://github.com/bright/codified) we get the
ability to:

* serialize and deserialize both known and unknown enum values
* force the developers to handle both cases in
  [exhaustive `when` expressions](https://kotlinlang.org/spec/expressions.html#exhaustive-when-expressions)
* preserve the unknown enum string codes (instead of overwriting them)
* use custom string codes (i.e. different than enum names) for each enum
  value

In case of our exemplary `PostTag` enum class, all we need to do thanks
to the
[codified library](https://github.com/bright/codified) is:

* implement `Codified<String>` interface in enum class

  ```kotlin
  enum class PostTag(
      override val code: String, // allows using a custom string instead of enum's name
      @StringRes val nameRes: Int
  ) : Codified<String> {
      MUSIC("MUSIC", R.string.tag_music),
      ART("ART", R.string.tag_art)
  }
  ```
* declare the serializer object

  ```kotlin
  object PostTagCodifiedSerializer : KSerializer<CodifiedEnum<PostTag, String>> by codifiedEnumSerializer()
  ```
* use the serializer wherever we want

  ```kotlin
  @Serializable
  data class Post(
      val content: String,
      @Serializable(with = PostTagCodifiedSerializer::class)
      val tags: List<CodifiedEnum<PostTag, String>>
  )
  ```

When we deserialize the `Post` object from JSON and access the `tags`
property, we can:

* map all the known values to their translated names:

  ```kotlin
  val knownPostTagsNames = post.tags
      .mapNotNull { it.knownOrNull() }
      .map { context.getString(it.nameRes) }
  ```
* check if the particular enum value is known or not and handle all the
  possible cases

  ```kotlin
  val tag: CodifiedEnum<PostTag, String> // = ... get one from post.tags
  when (tag) {
      is CodifiedEnum.Known -> when (tag.value) {
          MUSIC -> TODO()
          ART -> TODO()
      }
      is CodifiedEnum.Unknown -> TODO()
  }
  ```
* get the original string value: `tag.code()`

We can easily create the enum wrapper for any known `PostTag`:
`PostTag.MUSIC.codifiedEnum()`.

We can also create a wrapper for an unknown value and preserve the
provided string code: `"BOOKS".codifiedEnum<PostTag>()`

## Conclusion

If you want to keep your API sane and create offline first applications,
you should consider the forward compatibility of your enums. Check out
[codified](https://github.com/bright/codified) and give it a try - it
will make your life much easier.

*Note: codified version `1.1` uses `kotlinx.serialization` version
`0.20.0`. Support for version `1.0.0` and later is coming soon.*

*Image by [Gerd
Altmann](https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/) from [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/)*

## Four thieves of your productivity

*Published: 2020-11-03 | Author: ula | Tags: motivation, work, time management, productivity*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/four-thieves-of-your-productivity/index.md*

Sometimes good intentions are not enough, especially while we are talking about productivity. In 1978 J.M. Darley and C.D. Batson constructed the experiment in which they tested the possible facts behind the modern version of the parable of Good Samaritan concerning altruistic behaviours. The experiment showed that the major reason why people didn’t stop to offer some help to a victim was the haste of their lives. There were different groups of people involved in the experiment, but the most peculiar one were students who were going to deliver a speech about helping others. They were in such a hurry that they didn’t even notice people in distress on their way to the conference spot. More about the experiment “From Jerusalem to Jericho. A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behaviour” you can read [here.](https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/Darley-JersualemJericho.pdf)

It hasn’t changed much since then. We are still in a rush from one place to another. We often lose main focus in life even if we really have no intention to do it. Multitasking has caught on in the modern world. Every day people are deconstructing themselves to do many things at once. But more tasks frequently lead to more mistakes. And don’t get me wrong here as I am the last person to say that we shouldn’t make any mistakes or that we should’t focus on more than one task a day. I am just saying that heavy multitasking is frequently a logical consequence of the lack of focus and may just lead to a failure.

What is surprising (or maybe not at all) is the fact that some people can still be productive at work whereas others don’t. I probably would be a hypocrite if I said that I am always productive, but I am trying to be and I think it makes a huge difference. Yet there is ONE THING, literally one, which makes it easier for me and it is thinking about my priority, about the one thing which makes me one step closer to the success. And I choose my ONE THING wisely. It is not always the same thing though. But today I will not tell you about it. I am going to tell you about the opposite, the thieves of productivity, things that can make our everyday life harder and less effective. It is just good to be aware of them. Gary Keller [in his book](https://www.the1thing.com/) mentions four of them: 

1. The inability to say no
2. Bad health habits
3. The fear of chaos
4. The lack of support from people around you

Let's take a closer look at each and every piece. 

## **THE INABILITY TO SAY NO**

It’s not easy either to say no at work or in private life . But the point is to realise that this “no” is a vital part of achieving the hight level of productivity and success. When we are saying no to something, at the same time we are saying yes to something else. And the clue is to realise which thing out of these two is just more important.

If we want to concentrate on one thing, we have to say no to another one. To achieve great results we have to choose our priority and stick to it. Saying no is nothing bad. We just have to learn how to do it. It is crucial to choose between more and less important things at work. And it is crucial to say no to these less important tasks unless they are connected with our priority. But remember the priority is always one. If you feel you are going to bury under a pile of work, you can always think about the [Eisenhower’s Matrix](https://www.eisenhower.me/eisenhower-matrix/) which may help you decide which of your tasks are less and more urgent and less and more important.

And remember that being assertive is nothing bad. Just do it smart.

## **BAD HEALTH HABITS**

If we could not manage our energy resources well, we would not also manage our productivity well. Losing energy may lead either to losing motivation or burning out too early. And it happens very often. We work till late hours, sleep little, eat unhealthy, skip physical exercises. 

Imagine a car with a rattling engine, with no headlights or poor tires. Would it go as effectively as one which is well-maintained? Our body is like this car. If you want to get somewhere and literally don’t break down, you have to be in a good physical and mental state. So take care about yourself. Eat healthy, exercise regularly, sleep well. Organize your daily life in such a way that you will have time both for work and regeneration or relaxation. Don’t forget about “me time”. Spending time on work or with others is important, but spending time with yourself is equally important. Make plans with yourself and search for pleasure.

## **THE FEAR OF CHAOS**

Chaos – the word itself sounds ominous, much less everything it leads to. The disorder and unpredictability created by chaos may feel uneasy at first, but it’s simply a byproduct of focusing intently on ONE THING. It’s something that naturally happens because instead of struggling to juggle everything, you decide to attend only to what really matters. You can compare the tasks you are going to delegate or schedule to the rubber balls that having been dropped just bounce around, but fially they will fall down. 

The only way to achieve great things through focus is by letting the smaller stuff slide. We should not be afraid of the chaos our action may create. You may even find letting the chaos happen quite liberating when you do not run back and forth trying to keep everything in order. 

## **ENVIRONMENT DOESN’T SUPPORT YOUR GOALS**

What is around you, heavily influences your actions, decisions and the ability to focus. When the physical environment is full of distractions and does not support your goals, working toward them is an uphill battle.

The people you interact are the biggest influencers in your environment. You should never automatically assume that people around you would be onboard with your ONE THING. The point is to be among people who will support your goals and who will lift you up. Don’t let your performance and productivity suffer because you spend time with a wrong person. Surround yourself with positive, goal-oriented people that genuinely want you to succeed.

**To sum up**, I would follow the words of John Carmack saying that “focus is a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do.” We should learn how to prioritise work effectively and identify how urgent and how important our different tasks are. When we set out top priorities, we can cut the remaining tasks and focus on them another day. We have to measure the value of tasks and how they will help us get our ONE THING done. It may not be easy at first, but there are so many smart techniques that help million of people all over the world to improve their productivity that you just have to give them a try. For more tips take a look [here](https://blog.rescuetime.com/how-to-prioritize/) and [here](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/318730).

Good luck with your ONE THING!

## Develop your own cryptocurrency with Substrate Part 2

*Published: 2020-09-14 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: substrate, parity, cryptocurrency, rust*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/develop-your-own-cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2/index.md*

This is the second part of a series where we are implementing an ERC20 token with a Substrate node and accessing it from a NestJS application. The first part is available [here](/blog/erc20-substrate-nest-example/). In this part, we will have a glimpse of the implementation of the ERC20 token using Substrate Runtime. We will also access it from a NestJS app.

You can access the [working project on GitHub](https://github.com/bright/substrate-erc20-nestjs/tree/part2)

## Before we start

Before we start, build the node, purge the chain, and run it in development mode.

```shell
cargo build --release
./target/release/node-template purge-chain --dev
./target/release/node-template --dev
```

We will be using the smart contract from the previous part. You will probably need to *forget* the old smart contract instance and the wasm file in the Polkadot JS Apps (it is no longer available on-chain thus still visible in the UI). Go to *Developer* -> *Contracts* page. In the *Contracts* tab use the bin button next to the contract instance to forget the contract.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image8.png "")

In the *Code* tab use the bin button next to the code hash to forget the code.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image9.png "")

Now you can upload the code again and deploy the smart contract. Don't forget to update the smart contract address in the NestJS app if needed.

## ERC20 token in Runtime

We will go through the code of the substrate runtime pallet available in [this posts repo](https://github.com/bright/substrate-erc20-nestjs/tree/part2/substrate-node-template/pallets/erc20). We will explore the storage items, dispatchable functions, events, and errors. In parts, the code is based on the Substrate Runtime cookbook [basic token implementation](https://substrate.dev/recipes/basic-token.html). If you want to get a deeper understanding of developing your own runtime modules I recommend starting off with the [Build a PoE Decentralized Application](https://substrate.dev/docs/en/tutorials/build-a-dapp/). [Substrate Collectables Workshop](https://www.shawntabrizi.com/substrate-collectables-workshop/#/) is also a great tutorial. Even though it bases on an older version of the Substrate Node Template, it gives a good understanding of Rust and Substrate modules principals.

The code we are going to focus on is placed in an `erc20` pallet in the `lib.rs` [file](https://github.com/bright/substrate-erc20-nestjs/blob/part2/substrate-node-template/pallets/erc20/src/lib.rs). The pallet is called `erc20` and this is how we can access it from Polkadot JS API.

### Storage items

Storage items are our boxes for data. The storage items are placed inside the `decl_storage` macro (if you see an exclamation mark in Rust, you are most likely using a [macro](https://doc.rust-lang.org/1.7.0/book/macros.html)).

```rust
decl_storage! {
    trait Store for Module<T: Trait> as Erc20Module {
      pub BalanceOf get(fn balance_of): map hasher(blake2_128_concat) T::AccountId => u64;
		  pub TotalSupply get(fn total_supply): u64 = 0;
		  Init get(fn is_init): bool;
		  pub Allowance get(fn allowance): map hasher(blake2_128_concat) (T::AccountId, T::AccountId) => u64;
    }
}
```

Let's break down the `BalanceOf` item declaration.

* `pub` - the public/private modifiers only define whether or not **other modules can access the items**. You can read any storage item from the chain regardless of the scope defined here.
* `BalanceOf` - the name of the item. It is also the name of a getter function, that will be exposed to the world (i.e. through the Polkadot JS API).
* `get(fn balance_of)` - this is a getter function you, as a **developer**, can use inside this module. You can now access the value in two ways: the default one `<BalanceOf<T>>::get(accountId)` and with the getter function `Self::balance_of(accountId)`.
* `map hasher(blake2_128_concat) T::AccountId => u64` - a storage item can be a simple value or some more complex structure like for example a map. We can also assign some initial value as in the `TotalSupply` item definition: `u64 = 0`.

With the declared storage items we will be able to query the module for the total supply of the token (`TotalSupply`), a balance of any account (`BalanceOf`), and allowance of a pair of accounts (`Allowance`). The `Init` item will tell us if the token is already initialized. 

You can already play with your pallet with [Polkadot JS Apps](https://polkadot.js.org/apps). Go to the *Developer* -> *Chain State* page, *Storage* tab. Select `erc20` pallet in the left dropdown. In the right dropdown, you can now see the getter functions. As we have not initialized the token yet, you will get `false` as a result of `init()` and zeros for the other functions.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image7.png "")

### Functions

All the dispatchable functions are placed inside the `decl_module` macro. Let's take a look at the shortcut of it.

```rust
decl_module! {
  pub struct Module<T: Trait> for enum Call where origin: T::Origin {
    pub fn init(origin, total_supply: u64) {}
    pub fn transfer(origin, to: T::AccountId, value: u64) {}
    pub fn approve(origin, spender: T::AccountId, value: u64) {}
    pub fn transfer_from(origin, owner: T::AccountId, to: T::AccountId, value: u64) {}
  }
}
```

As you can see, we have all the functions known from the smart contract implementation: `transfer` for transferring owned tokens, `approve` to allow someone to transfer our tokens, and `transfer_from` to transfer tokens on behalf.

There is also an additional `init` function, which we will cover in a moment.

### Events

When we submit a transaction, it gets included in a block, which is then approved to be a part of the chain. Once it is approved in the chain, the status is finalized. A finalized transaction does not however mean that the business function was successful. To reflect the actual state of the business logic we can use events and errors. Events are declared in the `decl_event` macro. You can use the documentation comments to describe the event. We have three events for each of the features: initialization of the token, transferring tokens and approving.

```rust
decl_event! {
  pub enum Event<T> where AccountId = <T as system::Trait>::AccountId {
    /// Token was initialized by user
    Initialized(AccountId),
    /// Tokens successfully transferred between users
    Transfer(AccountId, AccountId, u64), // (from, to, value)
    /// Allowance successfully created
    Approval(AccountId, AccountId, u64), // (from, to, value)
  }
}
```

### Errors

As we said earlier, a transaction should be finalized thus failed. As, by design, we are not allowed to panic in a runtime function, we use errors to reflect the failure in a gentle manner. Errors are defined in the `decl_error` macro. Again, you can use the documentation comments to describe the events.

```rust
decl_error! {
  pub enum Error for Module<T: Trait> {
    /// Attempted to initialize the token after it had already been initialized.
    AlreadyInitialized,
    /// Attempted to transfer more funds than were available
    InsufficientFunds,
    /// Attempted to transfer more funds than approved
    InsufficientApprovedFunds,
  }
}
```

## Token initialization

Let's take a look at the `init` function.

```rust
pub fn init(origin, total_supply: u64) {
  let sender = ensure_signed(origin)?;
  ensure!(!Self::is_init(), <Error<T>>::AlreadyInitialized);

  TotalSupply::put(total_supply);
  <BalanceOf<T>>::insert(&sender, total_supply);

  Init::put(true);

  Self::deposit_event(RawEvent::Initialized(sender));
}
```

The purpose of this function is to create a token with some initial supply and give all the units to the user who has signed the transaction. This is to be done once only. The first thing to do is to obtain the sender. There is the `origin` parameter, which is always the first parameter of a dispatchable function of a pallet. Amongst other data related to the transaction, it contains the sender.

In the second line of the function, we check if the token was already initialized and emit an error if so. 

If the token was not initialized yet, we put the total supply value in the corresponding storage value. Next, we set the balance of the sender to the total supply value. The last step is to set the `Init` storage value to true so that we know the token has already been initialized.

In the very last line of the `init` function, we emit an `Initialized` event with the sender account.

Let's now initialize our token. We will use [Polkadot JS Apps](https://polkadot.js.org/apps) to call the function. Go to *Developer* -> *Extrinsics* page. Choose an account to create a token with. Choose the `erc20` and `init(tital_supply)` extrinsic to submit. Fill in the `total_supply` value.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image1.png "")

Sign and submit the transaction. You can see some events showing up in the upper right corner. One of them is the `Initialized` event.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image2.png "")

We can also view the details of the event in the *Network* -> *Explorer* page.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image3.png "")

In the *recent events* block you can see the `erc20.Initialized` event. Just below the name, you can see the description from the comments. When you expand it, you can see the sender account. On the right side of the event, you can see the block number and the extrinsic number, here it is `4-1`. You can click on it and explore the block.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image4.png "")

We can now try to initialize the token once again. As we were expecting, an `AlreadyInitialized` error showed up.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image5.png "")

We can also view the details of the error in the *Network* -> *Explorer* page. It will not however show up in the recent events table, so you need to check the last few blocks manually to find the one with the error.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image6.png "")

You can again see the `type` of the error as the `AlreadyInitialized` we have declared in the code. The `details` field is a description from the comment.

You can now check the values of `init` and `totalSupply` again in the *Chain state* page.

## Polkadot JS API

Let's now switch to our backend app and try to call some runtime functions. We will start off from where we have finished the last part. We have a service for calling smart contract's functions and two controllers: for balances and approvals. We will create another service and switch between the two services in the controllers.

First of all, we will create an interface for an ERC20 service which declares all the functions we need. We will also add a sender to each function, which creates a blockchain transaction (`transfer`, `approve`, and `transferFrom`). This will let us choose an account to send and sign a transaction with.

```typescript
// src/erc20.interface.ts

export interface Erc20 {
  totalSupply();
  balanceOf(who: string);
  transfer(sender: string, to: string, value: number);
  allowance(owner: string, spender: string);
  approve(sender: string, spender: string, value: number);
  transferFrom(sender: string, from: string, to: string, value: number);
}
```

Create a `PolkadotApiService` which will provide a connection to the Polkadot API. Move the logic from `onModuleInit` function from `ContractService` to the `onModuleInit` function of the new service. We will also add a keyring pair for each of the predefined accounts to be able to sign the transactions with it.

```typescript
// src/polkadot-api.service.ts

import { Injectable, Logger, OnModuleInit } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ApiPromise, Keyring, WsProvider } from '@polkadot/api';
import { Abi, PromiseContract } from '@polkadot/api-contract';
import { KeyringPair } from '@polkadot/keyring/types';
import metadata from "./metadata.json";

const SUBSTRATE_URL = 'ws://127.0.0.1:9944'
export const ERC20 = '5DhP1rd5AEZCeZY77Zttbt293rX6tX4QnqEajEMd5i1QKsnB'

// accounts list to easily intercact with the API
export const ACCOUNTS = {
  ALICE: {
    address: '5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY',
    pair: undefined,
  },
  BOB:  {
    address: '5FHneW46xGXgs5mUiveU4sbTyGBzmstUspZC92UhjJM694ty',
    pair: undefined,
  },
  CHARLIE:  {
    address: '5FLSigC9HGRKVhB9FiEo4Y3koPsNmBmLJbpXg2mp1hXcS59Y',
    pair: undefined,
  },
  DAVE:  {
    address: '5DAAnrj7VHTznn2AWBemMuyBwZWs6FNFjdyVXUeYum3PTXFy',
    pair: undefined,
  },
  EVE:  {
    address: '5HGjWAeFDfFCWPsjFQdVV2Msvz2XtMktvgocEZcCj68kUMaw',
    pair: undefined,
  },
}

@Injectable()
export class PolkadotApiService implements OnModuleInit {
  api: ApiPromise;
  abi: Abi;
  apiContract: PromiseContract;

  async onModuleInit() {
    Logger.log('Connecting to substrate chain...');
    const wsProvider = new WsProvider(SUBSTRATE_URL);
    this.api = await ApiPromise.create({
      provider: wsProvider,
      types: {
        "Address": "AccountId",
        "LookupSource": "AccountId"
      }
    });

    const abiJSONobj = (<any>metadata);
    this.abi = new Abi(this.api.registry, abiJSONobj);
    this.apiContract = new PromiseContract(this.api, this.abi, ERC20);

    await this.api.isReady;

    const keyring = new Keyring({ type: 'sr25519' });
    ACCOUNTS.ALICE.pair =  keyring.addFromUri('//Alice', { name: 'Alice default' });
    ACCOUNTS.BOB.pair =  keyring.addFromUri('//Bob', { name: 'Bob default' });
    ACCOUNTS.CHARLIE.pair =  keyring.addFromUri('//Charlie', { name: 'Charlie default' });
    ACCOUNTS.DAVE.pair =  keyring.addFromUri('//Dave', { name: 'Dave default' });
    ACCOUNTS.EVE.pair =  keyring.addFromUri('//Eve', { name: 'Eve default' });
  }
}
```

Register the new service in the app module.

```typescript
// src/app.module.ts

@Module({
  imports: [],
  controllers: [AppController, BalancesController, AllowancesController],
  providers: [AppService, PolkadotApiService, ContractService],
})
export class AppModule { }
```

Change the `ContractService` to implement the `Erc20` interface. Remove the `OnModuleInit` interface and the corresponding function. Inject the `PolkadotApiService` and use its `api`, `apiContract`, `abi` variables instead of the local ones. Change the transaction sender from fixed `alice` to the one chosen by a user. In the contract calls, which do not create a transaction (like `totalSupply`) we still need to pass some account, just as we need to pass the gas limit. The account will not however be charged, so let's stick to Alice in those cases.

```typescript
// src/contract.service.ts

import { Injectable, Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
import { SubmittableResult } from '@polkadot/api';
import { ContractCallOutcome } from '@polkadot/api-contract/types';
import { Erc20 } from './erc20.interface';
import { ACCOUNTS, ERC20, PolkadotApiService } from './polkadot-api.service';

@Injectable()
export class ContractService implements Erc20 {
  constructor(private readonly polkadotApiService: PolkadotApiService) { }

  async totalSupply() {
    const result: ContractCallOutcome = await this.polkadotApiService.apiContract.call('rpc', 'totalSupply', 0, 1000000000000)
      .send(ACCOUNTS.ALICE.address) as ContractCallOutcome
    return result.output.toString()
  }

  async balanceOf(who: string) {
    const result: ContractCallOutcome = await this.polkadotApiService.apiContract.call('rpc', 'balanceOf', 0, 1000000000000, ACCOUNTS[who].address)
      .send(ACCOUNTS.ALICE.address) as ContractCallOutcome
    return result.output.toString()
  }

  async transfer(sender: string, to: string, value: number) {
    await this.polkadotApiService.api.tx.contracts.call(ERC20, 0, 1000000000000, this.polkadotApiService.abi.messages.transfer(ACCOUNTS[to].address, value))
      .signAndSend(ACCOUNTS[sender].pair, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
  }

  async allowance(owner: string, spender: string) {
    const result: ContractCallOutcome = await this.polkadotApiService.apiContract.call('rpc', 'allowance', 0, 1000000000000, ACCOUNTS[owner].address, ACCOUNTS[spender].address)
      .send(ACCOUNTS.ALICE.address) as ContractCallOutcome
    return result.output.toString()
  }

  async approve(sender: string, spender: string, value: number) {
    await this.polkadotApiService.api.tx.contracts.call(ERC20, 0, 1000000000000, this.polkadotApiService.abi.messages.approve(ACCOUNTS[spender].address, value))
      .signAndSend(ACCOUNTS[sender].pair, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
  }

  async transferFrom(sender: string, from: string, to: string, value: number) {
    await this.polkadotApiService.api.tx.contracts.call(ERC20, 0, 1000000000000, this.polkadotApiService.abi.messages.transferFrom(ACCOUNTS[from].address, ACCOUNTS[to].address, value))
      .signAndSend(ACCOUNTS[sender].pair, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
  }
}
```

We can now add a new service to use the Substrate Runtime. Create `RuntimeService` which implements `Erc20`, inject `PolkadotApiService` and add empty functions to conform to the interface. Don't forget to register the service in the app module.

```typescript
// src/runtime.service.ts

@Injectable()
export class RuntimeService implements Erc20 {
  constructor(private readonly polkadotApiService: PolkadotApiService) { }

  async totalSupply() {}
  async balanceOf(who: string) {}
  async transfer(sender: string, to: string, value: number) {}
  async allowance(owner: string, spender: string) {}
  async approve(sender: string, spender: string, value: number) {}
  async transferFrom(sender: string, from: string, to: string, value: number) {}
```

```typescript
// src/app.module.ts

@Module({
  imports: [],
  controllers: [AppController, BalancesController, AllowancesController],
  providers: [AppService, PolkadotApiService, ContractService, RuntimeService],
})
```

To use the new service in the controllers, we will make some changes in them. To easily interact with the API and dynamically choose between the runtime and smart contract services add a `:service` param in the controller's path. Add a `tokenService` variable which we will assign the selected service to. Change the constructor to inject both services and the request and assign the `tokenService` with a proper service instance.

```typescript
// src/balances.controller.ts

@Controller(':service/balances')
export class BalancesController {
  tokenService: Erc20;
  constructor(@Inject(REQUEST) private readonly request: Request, private readonly runtimeService: RuntimeService, private readonly contractService: ContractService) {
    this.tokenService = request.params.service === 'runtime' ? runtimeService : contractService;
  }
...
}
```

### Query balances

Let's now implement the functions in our Runtime service. To implement the `totalSupply()` function, we will use the `ApiPromise` object from `polkadotApiService`. The api is structured as `api.<type>.<module>.<section>`.

* `type` - this is the type of a call we want to make. There are a few types:

  * `const` - for accessing runtime constants.
  * `rpc` - this is the backbone for the transmission of data to and from the node. The following API endpoints just wrap RPC calls, providing information in the encoded format as expected by the node.
  * `query` - for reading the current chain state.
  * `tx` - for sending and submitting transactions.
* `module` - this is the name of the module we want to access, i.e. `erc20` module we have just created.
* `section` - a function we want to call (always in `camelCase` although in Rust we declared the functions in `snke_case`).

To get the total supply of our token we will use `api.query.erc20.totalSupply()` function, await for the result, and return it.

```typescript
async totalSupply() {
  const result = await this.polkadotApiService.api.query.erc20.totalSupply()
  return result
}
```

Retrieving the balance of an account is quite similar, we only need to pass the account as a parameter. We will use the `ACCOUNTS` array imported from the `polkadot-api.service.ts`, so that we can use the names instead of hashes when interacting with our api.

```typescript
async balanceOf(who: string) {
  const result = await this.polkadotApiService.api.query.erc20.balanceOf(ACCOUNTS[who].address)
  return result
}
```

Run the backend app with `yarn start:dev` command and check the results in the browser. You should be able to successfully call `http://localhost:3000/runtime/balances` as well as `http://localhost:3000/contract/balances` and receive the corresponding values. You can also try to get Alice's or Bob's balances.

### Transfer tokens

It is time to make a transaction and transfer some tokens. We will use `api.tx.erc20.transfer()` function. We need to pass three parameters: the transaction sender, the receiver, and the value. Once the transaction is created we need to sign and send it. To sign the transaction we will use the KeyringPair we have created earlier in the PolkadotApiService. We can also submit to the results to view them.

```typescript
async transfer(sender: string, to: string, value: number) {
  await this.polkadotApiService.api.tx.erc20.transfer(ACCOUNTS[to].address, value)
    .signAndSend(ACCOUNTS[sender].pair, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
}
```

Let's send a PUT request at `http://localhost:3000/runtime/balances` to transfer some tokens from Alice to Bob and review the logs. 

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image10.png "")

We will see three results: an empty one upon transaction creation, one with `InBlock` status when the transaction was included in a block, and one with `Finalized` status when the transaction was finalized and cannot be forked off the chain. The transaction gets finalized even if business logic fails (i.e. you try to transfer more funds than you poses). When you look at the second logged message, you can find an `event` object which includes events and errors emitted by the runtime functions.

```json
"event": {
  "index": "0x0401",
  "data": [
    "5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY",
    "5FHneW46xGXgs5mUiveU4sbTyGBzmstUspZC92UhjJM694ty",
    1000
  ]
}
```

This is exactly the event we have emitted from the runtime transfer function. You can see the account addresses to transfer from `5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY` and to `5FHneW46xGXgs5mUiveU4sbTyGBzmstUspZC92UhjJM694ty` and the value of `1000`.

Let's now try to make a transfer for a larger amount than we possess. To make sure how much we can spend, check it here `http://localhost:3000/runtime/balances/ALICE`. We can again look at the `event` object:

```json
"event": {
  "index": "0x0001",
  "data": [
    {
      "Module": {
        "index": 8,
        "error": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "weight": 10000,
      "class": "Normal",
      "paysFee": "Yes"
    }
  ]
},
```

In the `data` array we have information about the error. The `Module` object has two elements: 

* `index` - the index of a module defined in the `Runtime` enum. You can find it in runtime's `lib.rs` file in `construct_runtime` macro:

```rust
// substrate-node-template/runtime/src/lib.rs

construct_runtime!(
	pub enum Runtime where
		Block = Block,
		NodeBlock = opaque::Block,
		UncheckedExtrinsic = UncheckedExtrinsic
	{
		System: system::{Module, Call, Config, Storage, Event<T>},
		RandomnessCollectiveFlip: randomness_collective_flip::{Module, Call, Storage},
		Timestamp: timestamp::{Module, Call, Storage, Inherent},
		Aura: aura::{Module, Config<T>, Inherent(Timestamp)},
		Grandpa: grandpa::{Module, Call, Storage, Config, Event},
		Balances: balances::{Module, Call, Storage, Config<T>, Event<T>},
		TransactionPayment: transaction_payment::{Module, Storage},
		Sudo: sudo::{Module, Call, Config<T>, Storage, Event<T>},
		// Used for the module erc20 in `./erc20.rs`
		Erc20: erc20::{Module, Call, Storage, Event<T>},
		Contracts: contracts::{Module, Call, Config, Storage, Event<T>},
	}
);
```

* `error` - the index of the emitted error. The error enum is defined in the `decl_error` macro in our pallet's `lib.rs` file

```rust
// substrate-node-template/pallets/erc20/src/lib.rs

decl_error! {
    pub enum Error for Module<T: Trait> {
        /// Attempted to initialize the token after it had already been initialized.
        AlreadyInitialized,
        /// Attempted to transfer more funds than were available
        InsufficientFunds,
		    /// Attempted to transfer more funds than approved
        InsufficientApprovedFunds,
    }
}
```

We can obtain the detailed names from a metadata object. It includes all the descriptive information about runtime modules, their storage, events, dispatchables and errors. To get the metadata of the runtime we query the runtime state object. 

```typescript
const metadata = await this.polkadotApiService.api.rpc.state.getMetadata() as Metadata;
```

The metadata contains information for each version of the runtime, but we want to get just the latest one, thus we use `.asLatest`.

```typescript
result.events.forEach(({ event }) => {
      event.data.forEach(async el => {
        const module = el.toJSON()["Module"];
        if (module !== undefined && module.index !== undefined && module.error !== undefined) {
          Logger.log(metadata.asLatest.modules[module.index].name); // Erc20
          Logger.log(metadata.asLatest.modules[module.index].errors[module.error].name); // InsufficientFunds   
          Logger.log(metadata.asLatest.modules[module.index].errors[module.error].documentation); // Attempted to transfer more funds than were available
        }
      })
    })
```

### Approval

We now need to implement the approval feature. We need to add three functions to our runtime service - for retrieving allowances, for adding an approval and for transferring on behalf. It is quite straightforward, as we just need to dispatch the corresponding functions from our runtime and sign and send them with a selected account.

```typescript
async allowance(owner: string, spender: string) {
    const result = await this.polkadotApiService.api.query.erc20.allowance([ACCOUNTS[owner].address, ACCOUNTS[spender].address])
    return result
  }

  async approve(sender: string, spender: string, value: number) {
    await this.polkadotApiService.api.tx.erc20.approve(ACCOUNTS[spender].address, value)
      .signAndSend(ACCOUNTS[sender].pair, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
  }

  async transferFrom(sender: string, from: string, to: string, value: number) {
    await this.polkadotApiService.api.tx.erc20.transferFrom(ACCOUNTS[from].address, ACCOUNTS[to].address, value)
      .signAndSend(ACCOUNTS[sender].pair, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
  }
```

We also need to change the `AllowancesController` to use the `RuntimeService`.

```typescript
// src/allowances.controller.ts

@Controller(':token/allowances')
export class AllowancesController {
  tokenService: Erc20;
  constructor(@Inject(REQUEST) private readonly request: Request, private readonly runtimeService: RuntimeService, private readonly contractService: ContractService) {
    this.tokenService = request.params.token === 'runtime' ? runtimeService : contractService;
  }
...
```

We can now let Alice approve Charlie to make some transfers on behalf of her.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image11.png "")

If everything goes as it should, Charlie can now send some tokens from Alice to Bob.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image12.png "")

Unfortunately, such a transfer produces `Internal server error`. It should say something like `1010: Invalid Transaction: Inability to pay some fees (e.g. account balance too low)`. It could look like we have some bug and try to transfer tokens from Charlie's account, which is empty for now. However, the reason is a little different. By default, for transaction fees Substrate uses the token from `Balances` pallet. In Polkadot JS Apps you *Accounts* -> *Accounts* page you can see each account's balance represented in the `Balances` pallet's tokens. When you start a pure chain in development mode Alice and Bob are the only accounts minted with some tokens.

First of all, we need to fix our code to respond gently when an error occurs. The simplest way would be to add a `try-catch` block in the `BalancesController` function for transferring and throw an `HttpException` in the `catch` block.

```typescript
// src/balances.controller.ts

@Put()
  @HttpCode(202)
  async transfer(@Body() transferDto: TransferDto) {
    try {
      if (transferDto.from !== undefined) {
        await this.tokenService.transferFrom(transferDto.sender, transferDto.from, transferDto.to, transferDto.value);
      }
      else {
        await this.tokenService.transfer(transferDto.sender, transferDto.to, transferDto.value);
      }
    }
    catch (err) {
      throw new HttpException(err.message, HttpStatus.BAD_REQUEST)
    }
  }
```

Let's try to send the request again and confirm that we get the `400` response instead of `500`.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image13.png "")

Now we can transfer some basic Substrate tokens from Alice do Charlie, to let him pay a transaction fee. Go to Polkadot JS Apps and choose *Accounts* -> *Accounts* page. Click `send` button in Alice's row and transfer 10 units from Alice do Charlie.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2-image14.png "")

Charlie can finally send 100 tokens from Alice to Bob. We can check that the approval was reduced by 100 and now it is 100. Charlie can try to transfer another 150 tokens from Alice to Bob. We should receive an event with the `InsufficientApprovedFunds` error.

## Summary

In this blog post, we have looked through the implementation of the ERC20 token in a Substrate Runtime module. We have also created a NestJS app that reads data exposed by the module, calls the dispatchable functions and shows the emitted events and errors.

## Develop your own cryptocurrency with Substrate PART 1

*Published: 2020-09-01 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: substrate, parity, nest, nestjs, cryptocurrency*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/erc20-substrate-nest-example/index.md*

In this blog post I will guide you through the process of implementing an ERC20 token with use of a smart contract on a Substrate node and accessing it from a NestJS application. If you would like to get a basic concept of what blockchain, Substrate or smart contracts are you may check our [previous blog post](/blog/why-would-you-use-substrate/). NestJS is a framework for building Node.js applications, to get the basics you can visit it's [documentation website](https://docs.nestjs.com/).

You can access the [working project on GitHub](https://github.com/bright/substrate-erc20-nestjs/tree/part1).

## Substrate node

First of all we need a local substrate node. To have it on your computer it is best to complete the [Create your first substrate chain tutorial from substrate.dev](https://substrate.dev/docs/en/tutorials/create-your-first-substrate-chain/).

To be able to deploy a smart contract to the node, we need to add the Contracts Pallet. To do it, please check out this [tutorial](https://docs.substrate.io/tutorials/v3/ink-workshop/pt1/#install-the-substrate-contracts-node). If you would like to skip this part, clone [this tutorial's repo](https://github.com/bright/substrate-erc20-nestjs/tree/part1) instead of the Substrate Node Template repo.

## Run the Substrate node

If you decided to omit adding a Contracts Pallet on your own, you need to build the node. `cargo` is a package manager for Rust, which you should already have on your computer after completing *Create your first substrate chain* tutorial.

```shell
cargo build --release
```

Purge the chain and run it in development mode with the following commands:

```shell
./target/release/node-template purge-chain --dev
```

```shell
./target/release/node-template --dev
```

To make sure your chain is up and running you can use the [Polkadot JS Apps](https://polkadot.js.org/apps). To run the app you need a Chromium based browser (other browsers will not allow you to connect to the local node). You can expand the list of available chains by clicking on the Substrate logo in the upper left corner. Expand *DEVELOPMENT* list and choose the *Local Node*.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/screenshot-2020-09-01-at-20.29.16.png "")

To see if the Contracts Pallet was successfully added, check that you have the *Contracts -> Developer* page available.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/screenshot-2020-09-01-at-20.32.02.png "")

## ERC20 token Smart Contract

ERC20 is the Ethereum token standard used for Ethereum Smart Contracts. It defines an interface for a simple cryptocurrency. Users can transfer tokens they own or allow other users to transfer some amount of tokens on their behalf.

To build your own ERC20 token contract you can complete another tutorial available [here](https://substrate.dev/substrate-contracts-workshop/#/). The first part will guide you through the basics of smart contract creation. The second part is strictly focused on the ERC20 token implementation.

If you decide to skip this part, you can get the code from the [repository for this tutorial](https://github.com/bright/substrate-erc20-nestjs/tree/part1).

## Build the contract

Once you have the code of ERC20 ready you need to build and deploy it to the Substrate chain. If you have completed the tutorial from the previous point, you probably are already familiar with the process. If you haven't but still wish to build the contract on your own, you will need to install the ink! command line utility. You can also skip it and use the `.wasm` binary and metadata files uploaded to [this post's repository](https://github.com/bright/substrate-erc20-nestjs/tree/part1/smart-contract/target) and go straight to deploying the contract to the chain.

Install the ink! command line utility.

```shell
cargo install cargo-contract --vers 0.6.2 --force
```

Build the contract with the following command, which will create a `.wasm` file.

```shell
cargo +nightly contract build
```

Generate metadata json file, which describes the smart contract.

```shell
cargo +nightly contract generate-metadata
```

## Deploy contract to the chain

To deploy the contract, check the [*Deploying your contract* chapter from the tutorial](https://substrate.dev/substrate-contracts-workshop/#/0/deploying-your-contract). When creating an instance of the contract, we need to pass the initial supply value, i.e. `1 000 000`. 

## Connecting from NestJS app

Now we are ready to communicate with our smart contract. There are several ways to do this. One obvious way would be to use the [Polkadot JS Apps](https://polkadot.js.org/apps). This is a great way to play with your contract and explore it. Another way would be to clone the Parity’s [Substrate Front End Template](https://github.com/substrate-developer-hub/substrate-front-end-template) from GitHub, run it, and adapt to your needs. We will however connect from NestJS. It would enable us to wrap the calls to the blockchain with some user-friendly stuff as well as store any additional descriptive information, which we shouldn’t put on-chain.

Check our previous blog post describing in detail how to [connect to a Substrate node](/blog/connect-to-substrate-nestjs/) and query it for some basic data. Here is a shortcut.

First of all, we need to create a new NestJS project. If you do not have the Nest CLI installed you can check the docs [here](https://docs.nestjs.com/cli/overview) or just install it with a following command:

```shell
npm install -g @nestjs/cli
```

Now you can create a new project.

```shell
nest new substrate-nests
```

Change directory and run the app.

```shell
cd substrate-nests
```

```shell
yarn start:dev
```

Add Polkadot api library to interact with the Substrate node:

```shell
yarn add @polkadot/api
```

For the lib to work correctly, add the following to your `tsconfig.json`.

```javascript
"esModuleInterop": true
```

Add Polkadot `api-contract` library to interact with the Contracts Pallet.

```shell
yarn add @polkadot/api-contract
```

It is also possible that you will need another version of Node.js. You can use [Node Version Manager](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm) to manage different versions.

## Connect to the node

We will add a `ContractService` to interact with the smart contract. This service will implement the `OnModuleInit` interface.

```javascript
@Injectable()
export class ContractService implements OnModuleInit {
    async onModuleInit() {
    }
}
```

In the `onModuleInit()` function we will create the connections to the api. First of all we need to create a WebSocket Provider with the url of our node. As we are using a local node it simply is `localhost`.

```javascript
const SUBSTRATE_URL = 'ws://127.0.0.1:9944';
```

```javascript
const wsProvider = new WsProvider(SUBSTRATE_URL);
```

Next, we will create the `ApiPromise` object using the web socket provider. We need to declare a class scoped variable:

```javascript
private api: ApiPromise;
```

We can instantiate it in the `onModuleInit` function:

```javascript
this.api = await ApiPromise.create({
        provider: wsProvider,
        types: {
        "Address": "AccountId",
        "LookupSource": "AccountId"
      }

    });
```

We will now create a `PromiseContract` object from the `api-contract` library. This object is tightly connected with the contract we have created so we need some more information about it. We need the contract address. To get it, visit [Polkadot JS Apps](https://polkadot.js.org/apps). Select *Developer -> Contracts* from the main menu, then select the *Contracts* tab. Clicking on the image next to the contract name (here it is ERC20.WASM (INSTANCE)) will copy the contract’s address to clipboard.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/screenshot-2020-09-01-at-20.35.53.png "")

We can put it in a constant:

```javascript
const ERC20 = '5DhP1rd5AEZCeZY77Zttbt293rX6tX4QnqEajEMd5i1QKsnB'
```

Now we need to create an `Abi` object which includes the smart contract’s definitions. Copy the `metadata.json` file generated in the previous step (deploying the smart contract) into the `src` directory and import it:

```javascript
import metadata from "./metadata.json";
```

Add a property to your `tsconfig.json` file to enable importing JSON files.

```javascript
"resolveJsonModule": true,
```

Declare class variables:

```javascript
private abi: Abi;
private apiContract: PromiseContract;
```

Instantiate the objects:

```javascript
const abiJSONobj = (<any>metadata);
this.abi = new Abi(this.api.registry, abiJSONobj);
this.apiContract = new PromiseContract(this.api, this.abi, ERC20);
```

We can also wait until we are connected to the node.

```javascript
await this.api.isReady;
```

What we have done so far should look somehow like the following:

```javascript
// src/contract.service.ts
import { Injectable, Logger, OnModuleInit } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ApiPromise, WsProvider } from '@polkadot/api';
import { Abi, PromiseContract } from '@polkadot/api-contract';
import metadata from "./metadata.json";
 
const SUBSTRATE_URL = 'ws://127.0.0.1:9944'
const ERC20 = '5DhP1rd5AEZCeZY77Zttbt293rX6tX4QnqEajEMd5i1QKsnB'
 
@Injectable()
export class ContractService implements OnModuleInit {
  private api: ApiPromise;
  private abi: Abi;
  private apiContract: PromiseContract;
 
  async onModuleInit() {
    Logger.log('Connecting to substrate chain...');
    const wsProvider = new WsProvider(SUBSTRATE_URL);
    this.api = await ApiPromise.create({
      provider: wsProvider,
      types: {
        "Address": "AccountId",
        "LookupSource": "AccountId"
      }
 
    });
 
    const abiJSONobj = (<any>metadata);
    this.abi = new Abi(this.api.registry, abiJSONobj);
    this.apiContract = new PromiseContract(this.api, this.abi, ERC20);
 
    await this.api.isReady;
  }
}
```

## Total supply

We can now query the node for the total supply of our token. We are going to use the `call()` function from the `PromiseContract` class. 

Let’s take a look at the definition of the function:

```javascript
call(as: 'rpc', message: string, value: BN | number, gasLimit: BN | number, ...params: any[]): ContractCall<ApiType, 'rpc'>;
call(as: 'tx', message: string, value: BN | number, gasLimit: BN | number, ...params: any[]): ContractCall<ApiType, 'tx'>;
```

* `as` - `tx` string value is used for a transaction call. For a read-only request, we can use `rpc`. 
* `message` - name of the smart contract’s function we want to call.
* `value` - you can transfer some basic units alongside sending a transaction, but we will not use it, so the value will always be 0.
* `gasLimit` - the maximum value of gas this call can charge your account. Every transaction call of a smart contract is in general charged with a gas fee for the computational resources used. With an RPC call, we still need to provide a valid gas limit value, but as nothing is actually stored on-chain, you will not be charged. Previously, you were to define a conversion rate between the gas price and the Substrate currency for the Contracts Pallet (which is also the case for Ethereum smart contracts). Now it is fixed: `1 gas = 1 weight = 1 ps`. `weight` is a unit used in Substrate Runtime development to set the fee for calling the functions and `ps` is one picosecond of execution on the reference system.
* `params` - parameters to pass to the smart contract’s function we want to call.

The `call()` function creates a `ContractCall`, which exposes a `send()` function:

```javascript
send(account: IKeyringPair | string | AccountId | Address): ContractCallResultSubscription<ApiType, CallType>;
```

We need to specify the account, which is going to call a function. For the readonly calls it is enough to pass the account’s address. To make things simple, we will use Alice predefined account:

```javascript
const ALICE = '5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY'
```

In the code snippet below we call the `totalSupply` function (which does not have any parameters so we can omit the `params`) and send it as Alice.

```javascript
async totalSupply() {
    const result: ContractCallOutcome = await this.apiContract.call('rpc', 'totalSupply', 0, 1000000000000)
      .send(ALICE) as ContractCallOutcome
    return result.output.toString()
  }
```

An important note on the gas limit value. When you were initializing the contract with Polkadot JS Apps, maximum gas limit of 1 000 000 was enough. Here we pass six more zeros. This is because under the hood Polkadot JS Apps multiplies the value of gas limit by 10^6.

Now we can create a controller to expose the function. In the `src` directory create a file `balances.controller.ts`. Set the controller route, inject `ContractService` and create a function `totalSupply` decorated with `@Get` which calls the `contractService.totalSupply()` function.

```javascript
// src/balances.controller.ts
import { Controller, Get } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ContractService } from './contract.service';
 
@Controller('balances')
export class BalancesController {
  constructor(private readonly contractService: ContractService) {}
 
  @Get()
  async totalSupply(): Promise<string> {
    console.log('totalSupply')
    const data = await this.contractService.totalSupply();
    return `${data}`;
  }
}
```

Add the service and the controller to the app module.

```javascript
// src/app.module.ts
import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { AppController } from './app.controller';
import { AppService } from './app.service';
import { BalancesController } from './balances.controller';
import { ContractService } from './contract.service';
 
@Module({
  imports: [],
  controllers: [AppController, BalancesController],
  providers: [AppService, ContractService],
})
export class AppModule {}
```

You can now check the result in a browser.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/erc20-substrate-nest-example/image4.png "")

When I have deployed my smart contract through the Polkadot JS Apps, I set the init supply to 1 000 000. Each currency value is a decimal stored as an integer with a fixed and known number of decimal places (in Substrate Node Template it is 15 by default). Polkadot JS Apps wraps that for you in the input field, so that I have indeed initialized the contract with one million units. However, when querying the smart contract through the Polkadot JS Apps or using the api we always get the additional 15 decimal zeros.

## Balance of an account

Another snippet shows how to call the `balanceOf` function. The only difference is that we need to pass the parameter to specify whose balance we are asking of.

```javascript
async balanceOf(who: string) {
    const result: ContractCallOutcome = await this.apiContract.call('rpc', 'balanceOf', 0, 1000000000000, [who])
      .send(ALICE) as ContractCallOutcome
    return result.output.toString()
  }
```

And a corresponding function in the controller:

```javascript
@Get(':id')
  async balanceOf(@Param() params): Promise<string> {
    console.log('balanceof ' + params.id)
    const data = await this.contractService.balanceOf(accounts[params.id]);
    return `${data}`;
  }
```

To easily interact with the api from a browser, we can create a list of the predefined account’s addresses:

```javascript
const accounts = {
  ALICE: '5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY',
  BOB: '5FHneW46xGXgs5mUiveU4sbTyGBzmstUspZC92UhjJM694ty',
  CHARLIE: '5FLSigC9HGRKVhB9FiEo4Y3koPsNmBmLJbpXg2mp1hXcS59Y',
  DAVE: '5DAAnrj7VHTznn2AWBemMuyBwZWs6FNFjdyVXUeYum3PTXFy',
  EVE: '5HGjWAeFDfFCWPsjFQdVV2Msvz2XtMktvgocEZcCj68kUMaw',
}
```

## Transfer

As we already know how to read data from our smart contract, it is time to make a transaction.
To sign a transaction alongside sending it, we need to pass a `KeyringPair` instead of the account's address. As we are in development mode, we will use the predefined Alice account again, so creating a `KeyringPair` is fairly simple:

```javascript
const keyring = new Keyring({ type: 'sr25519' });
this.alice = keyring.addFromUri('//Alice', { name: 'Alice default' });
```

To get a deeper understanding of the keyring concept please visit [Polkadot JS API reference](https://polkadot.js.org/api/start/keyring.html). 

There are two ways to call the `transfer` function. One would be to use the `apiContract.call()` function with the first parameter set to `tx`. 

```javascript
async transfer(to: string, value: number) {
    const extrinsicHash: SubmittableResult = await this.apiContract.call('tx', 'transfer', 0, 1000000000000, to, value)
      .send(this.alice) as SubmittableResult
 
    return extrinsicHash.toString();
  }
```

As a result of this function, we get the extrinsic hash. It is not the block hash, because the transaction was yet only submitted to the transaction query. The extrinsic hash alone is not unique over the chain, so we would prefer to know the block hash. `apiContract.call()` function does not expose a parameter to pass a callback function to observe the events. Therefore we will use a function from the basic Polkadot api this time.

```javascript
call: AugmentedSubmittable<(dest: LookupSource | Address | AccountId | AccountIndex | string | Uint8Array, value: Compact<BalanceOf> | AnyNumber | Uint8Array, gasLimit: Compact<Gas> | AnyNumber | Uint8Array, data: Bytes | string | Uint8Array) => SubmittableExtrinsic<ApiType>>;
```

* `dest` - this is the address we want to communicate with. As we want to make a call to the smart contract, we will set it to the smart contract's address. 
* `value` - same as in `ApiContract.call()`
* `gasLimit` - same as in `ApiContract.call()`
* `data` - any data we want to put in the transaction, here it is the function call.

```javascript
await this.api.tx.contracts.call(ERC20, 0, 1000000000000, this.abi.messages.transfer(to, value))
.signAndSend(this.alice, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
```

We submit to the result and log it. We will see three events logged: 

* an event upon transaction creation
* an event with status `InBlock` and a block hash when the transaction is included in a block
* an event with status `Finalized` when the transaction is finalized.

A finalized transaction does not mean a successful transaction. It only means that the processing of a transaction has finished. We can check in [Polkadot JS Apps](https://polkadot.js.org/apps) if the transaction is successful. Go to *Network* -> *Explorer* page and paste the transaction hash in the upper left corner input `block hash or number to query`.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/screenshot-2020-09-01-at-20.56.18.png "")

You can explore the block details.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/screenshot-2020-09-01-at-20.57.29.png "")

On the right side, you can see the events emitted by the smart contract. The last one says `ExtrinsicSuccess`, so we know the transaction was successful. You can try to submit a transaction with `gasLimit = 0`. Once the transaction is finalized, view its details. You can see the `ExtrinsicFailed` event.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/screenshot-2020-09-01-at-20.58.38.png "")

The `contract.service.ts` file should look like this now:

```javascript
// src/contract.service.ts
import { Injectable, Logger, OnModuleInit } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ApiPromise, Keyring, SubmittableResult, WsProvider } from '@polkadot/api';
import { Abi, PromiseContract } from '@polkadot/api-contract';
import { ContractCallOutcome } from '@polkadot/api-contract/types';
import { KeyringPair } from '@polkadot/keyring/types';
import metadata from "./metadata.json";
 
const SUBSTRATE_URL = 'ws://127.0.0.1:9944'
const ERC20 = '5DhP1rd5AEZCeZY77Zttbt293rX6tX4QnqEajEMd5i1QKsnB'
const ALICE = '5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY'
 
@Injectable()
export class ContractService implements OnModuleInit {
  private api: ApiPromise;
  private abi: Abi;
  private alice: KeyringPair;
  private apiContract: PromiseContract;
 
  async onModuleInit() {
    Logger.log('Connecting to substrate chain...');
    const wsProvider = new WsProvider(SUBSTRATE_URL);
    this.api = await ApiPromise.create({
      provider: wsProvider,
      types: {
        "Address": "AccountId",
        "LookupSource": "AccountId"
      }
    });
 
    const abiJSONobj = (<any>metadata);
    this.abi = new Abi(this.api.registry, abiJSONobj);
    this.apiContract = new PromiseContract(this.api, this.abi, ERC20);
 
    await this.api.isReady;
 
    const keyring = new Keyring({ type: 'sr25519' });
    this.alice = keyring.addFromUri('//Alice', { name: 'Alice default' });
  }
 
  async transfer(to: string, value: number) {
    await this.api.tx.contracts.call(ERC20, 0, 1000000000000, this.abi.messages.transfer(to, value))
      .signAndSend(this.alice, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
  }
 
 
  async balanceOf(who: string) {
    const result: ContractCallOutcome = await this.apiContract.call('rpc', 'balanceOf', 0, 1000000000000, who)
      .send(ALICE) as ContractCallOutcome
    return result.output.toString()
  }
 
  async totalSupply() {
    this.api.rpc.contracts.call
    const result: ContractCallOutcome = await this.apiContract.call('rpc', 'totalSupply', 0, 1000000000000)
      .send(ALICE) as ContractCallOutcome
    return result.output.toString()
  }
 
}
```

We can now add a transfer function to the controller and an interface for the request body.

```javascript
interface TransferDto {
  to: string
  value: number
}
```

```javascript
@Put()
@HttpCode(202)
async transfer(@Body() transferDto: TransferDto){
  await this.contractService.transfer(accounts[transferDto.to], transferDto.value);
}
```

The response code is `202` as the transaction was only accepted to proceed.

The `balances.controller.ts` file should look like this now:

```javascript
// src/balances.controller.ts
import { Body, Controller, Get, HttpCode, Param, Put } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ContractService } from './contract.service';
 
// accounts list to easily interact with the API
const accounts = {
  ALICE: '5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY',
  BOB: '5FHneW46xGXgs5mUiveU4sbTyGBzmstUspZC92UhjJM694ty',
  CHARLIE: '5FLSigC9HGRKVhB9FiEo4Y3koPsNmBmLJbpXg2mp1hXcS59Y',
  DAVE: '5DAAnrj7VHTznn2AWBemMuyBwZWs6FNFjdyVXUeYum3PTXFy',
  EVE: '5HGjWAeFDfFCWPsjFQdVV2Msvz2XtMktvgocEZcCj68kUMaw',
}
 
interface TransferDto {
  to: string
  value: number
}
 
@Controller('balances')
export class BalancesController {
  constructor(private readonly contractService: ContractService) { }
 
  @Get()
  async totalSupply(): Promise<string> {
    const data = await this.contractService.totalSupply();
    return `${data}`;
  }
 
  @Get(':id')
  async balanceOf(@Param() params): Promise<string> {
    const data = await this.contractService.balanceOf(accounts[params.id]);
    return `${data}`;
  }
 
  @Put()
  @HttpCode(202)
  async transfer(@Body() transferDto: TransferDto) {
    await this.contractService.transfer(accounts[transferDto.to], transferDto.value);
  }
}
```

Let's now do some transfers. We can use [Postman](https://www.postman.com/) for this.

We will transfer some units to Bob. As we sign all transactions as Alice, she will be the sender. We need to create a `PUT` request at `http://localhost:3000/balances` url and pass two body parameters: `to: BOB` and `value: 1000000000000000000` (again, we have the 15 decimal zeros here, so we actually transfer 1 000 units).

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/erc20-substrate-nest-example/image8.png "")

Now let's check again the balances (I omit the decimal zeros here so that the numbers are more readable):

* total balance (http://localhost:3000/balances)\[http://localhost:3000/balances] - should not change and still be 1 000 000
* Alice's balance (http://localhost:3000/balances/ALICE)\[http://localhost:3000/balances/ALICE] - should be reduced by 1 000 to 999000
* Bob's balance (http://localhost:3000/balances/BOB)\[http://localhost:3000/balances/BOB] - should be 1 000.

## Approval

We can now add the functions needed for the approval feature. There are two transactions to be handled: approving another account to make transfers for us up to a fixed amount and transferring on behalf. We can also query the chain for the allowances. Let's add three functions to the `ContractService` class.

```javascript
async allowance(owner: string, spender: string) {
  const result: ContractCallOutcome = await this.apiContract.call('rpc', 'allowance', 0, 1000000000000, owner, spender)
    .send(ALICE) as ContractCallOutcome
  return result.output.toString()
}

async approve(spender: string, value: number) {
  await this.api.tx.contracts.call(ERC20, 0, 1000000000000, this.abi.messages.approve(spender, value))
    .signAndSend(this.alice, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
}

async transferFrom(from: string, to: string, value: number) {
  await this.api.tx.contracts.call(ERC20, 0, 1000000000000, this.abi.messages.transferFrom(from, to, value))
    .signAndSend(this.alice, (result: SubmittableResult) => { Logger.log(result) })
}
```

To expose the allowance feature we can create another controller.

```javascript
// src/allowances.controller.ts
import { Body, Controller, Get, HttpCode, Post, Query } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ContractService } from './contract.service';

// accounts list to easily interact with the API
const accounts = {
  ALICE: '5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY',
  BOB: '5FHneW46xGXgs5mUiveU4sbTyGBzmstUspZC92UhjJM694ty',
  CHARLIE: '5FLSigC9HGRKVhB9FiEo4Y3koPsNmBmLJbpXg2mp1hXcS59Y',
  DAVE: '5DAAnrj7VHTznn2AWBemMuyBwZWs6FNFjdyVXUeYum3PTXFy',
  EVE: '5HGjWAeFDfFCWPsjFQdVV2Msvz2XtMktvgocEZcCj68kUMaw',
}

interface AllowanceDto {
  spender: string,
  value: number,
}

@Controller('allowances')
export class AllowancesController {
  constructor(private readonly contractService: ContractService) { }

  @Get()
  async allowance(@Query('owner') owner, @Query('spender') spender): Promise<string> {
    const data = await this.contractService.allowance(accounts[owner], accounts[spender]);
    return `${data}`;
  }

  @Post()
  @HttpCode(202)
  async approve(@Body() allowanceDto: AllowanceDto) {
    console.log(allowanceDto);
    await this.contractService.approve(accounts[allowanceDto.spender], allowanceDto.value);
  }
}
```

To handle transferring from another account, we can change the `transfer()` function of the `BalancesController` and the `TransferDto` interface.

```javascript
interface TransferDto {
  from?: string
  to: string
  value: number
}
```

```javascript
  @Put()
  @HttpCode(202)
  async transfer(@Body() transferDto: TransferDto) {
    if (transferDto.from !== undefined) {
      await this.contractService.transferFrom(accounts[transferDto.from], accounts[transferDto.to], transferDto.value);
    }
    else {
      await this.contractService.transfer(accounts[transferDto.to], transferDto.value);
    }
  }
```

We would like to allow Alice to send 200 units on behalf of Bob. Such a transaction should be signed by Bob, but our app does not enable choosing a signer. Let's then switch to [Polkadot JS Apps](https://polkadot.js.org/apps). Go to *Developer* -> *Contracts* page, choose *Contracts* tab and click the *execute* button on the contract. Change the account, so that we will call the contract functions from Bob's account. Choose `approve` as a message to send. Choose Alice as a spender and set the value to 200 (no decimal zeros here!). Click the *Call* button, sign and submit the transaction (make sure that Bob is the signer).

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/erc20-substrate-nest-example/image10.png "")

We can check the allowance in the browser [http://localhost:3000/allowances?owner=BOB&spender=ALICE](http://localhost:3000/allowances?owner=BOB&spender=ALICE) to be 200.

Now let's go back to Postman and let Alice make a transfer from Bob's to Charlie's wallet. Remember to add the decimal zeros and to transfer less than the approved value. I decided to transfer 110.

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/erc20-substrate-nest-example/image9.png "")

We can now confirm that:

* [http://localhost:3000/balances/CHARLIE](http://localhost:3000/balances/CHARLIE) - Charlie's balance is 110
* [http://localhost:3000/balances/ALICE](http://localhost:3000/balances/ALICE) - Alice's balance is still 999000
* [http://localhost:3000/balances/BOB](http://localhost:3000/balances/BOB) - Bob's balance is reduced by 110 and now it's 890
* [http://localhost:3000/allowances?owner=BOB&spender=ALICE](http://localhost:3000/allowances?owner=BOB&spender=ALICE) - the approval is also reduced by 110 and now it's 90.

We can also use our api to allow Bob to transfer 100 units on behalf of Alice. We can create a POST request in Postman at `http://localhost:3000/allowances` url and pass two body parameters: `sender: BOB` and `value: 100000000000000000` (again, we have the 15 decimal zeros).

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/erc20-substrate-nest-example/image11.png "")

We can check the allowance in the browser [http://localhost:3000/allowances?owner=ALICE&spender=BOB](http://localhost:3000/allowances?owner=ALICE&spender=BOB) to be 100. 

We can now let Bob make a transfer of 30 units from Alice's to Dave's wallet using the Polkadot JS Apps:

![cryptocurrency in substrate](../../static/images/erc20-substrate-nest-example/image12.png "")

We can now confirm that:

* [http://localhost:3000/balances/DAVE](http://localhost:3000/balances/DAVE) - Dave's balance is 30
* [http://localhost:3000/balances/ALICE](http://localhost:3000/balances/ALICE) - Alice's balance is reduced by 30 and it's 998970
* [http://localhost:3000/balances/BOB](http://localhost:3000/balances/BOB) - Bob's balance is is still 890
* [http://localhost:3000/allowances?owner=ALICE&spender=BOB](http://localhost:3000/allowances?owner=ALICE&spender=BOB) - the approval is also reduced by 30 and now it's 70.

## Summary

We have run a local Substrate node with the Contracts Pallet added. We have implemented an ERC20 token smart contract and deployed it to the Substrate node. Finally, we have created a simple NestJS app to interact with the smart contract and tested it.

## What's next?

In the next part of this tutorial we will:

* [look through an ERC20 token implementation in Substrate Runtime and interact with it from NestJS.](/blog/develop-your-own-cryptocurrency-with-substrate-2/)

## What do test automation and karaoke have in common?

*Published: 2020-08-17 | Author: maciej | Tags: automation testing, QA, karaoke*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-do-test-automation-and-karaoke-have-in-common-1/index.md*

A well-known strategy for explaining the unexplainable and adding context and meaning to something complex and obscured is using a metaphor. Engineers usually find automation testing hard to describe in detail, especially to a less-technical person. It is a process rather than an action or idea and there are so many different properties of it and variables in it that it can be tough to wrap one’s head around it. That is why I came up with a quirky comparison that hopefully will make things clearer - with the karaoke, something common in many cultures and most importantly, fun.

## Realizing the need

Settling down into a routine of work and sleep can easily spoil even the most fulfilling job or a dream life. We seek ways of spicing things up by constantly trying new sports, exotic food or popular TV series but then there’s the ultimate approach. Realizing that you need karaoke may not be easy. It might even be painful to accept that something frightening and challenging at the same time can turn out not only to be fun but also beneficial.

The last sentence can also be applied to a process of introducing automation testing into a project. It is challenging and won’t be done overnight but in most of the long-term projects there comes a moment when you have to do it. Automation testing reduces the time and cost of QA-related activities, improves the general understanding of the end user’s need, provides statistics describing the quality of the product and enables supporting old versions of it. When to start automating? The easiest answer is: before the cost of manual testing exceeds the cost of automation testing.

![automation testing](../../static/images/automationkaraoke/graph.png "")

A simplified graph above shows that the cost of manual testing grows along with the complexity and size of the product because testers have increasingly more test cases to cover over time. Automation testing means a big initial cost but then steadily adding new tests is generally cheaper. The graph obviously does not apply to every project and its individual needs. Also, it should not lead to the conclusion that manual testing can be somehow replaced by automation testing. These two processes should coexist within the project and complement each other. Which brings me to my next point...

## Building a team

I do not mean to say that going to a karaoke bar alone is impossible. Some people have the guts and the talent to pull off a masterful performance on their own. Others though, prefer to assemble a team of friends to both support each other and enjoy the night together - a pack of people with different voices, temperaments, stage experience. Some are ready to nail those high notes, some prefer to support the stars as backup singers.

![karaoke](../../static/images/automationkaraoke/forja2-mx-r2kxuoOFtHY-unsplash.jpg "")

Making the most of teammates’ strengths is the key to having great results, also in testing. Automation testers usually need to have at least some amount of experience and programming skills. But it doesn’t mean that they should lack the creativity and dexterity usually ascribed to the manual testers. It is also important to take experience into consideration. Usually, there has to be a mentor, someone who can guide the inexperienced colleagues, someone who has already heard a standing ovation after nailing the Bohemian Rhapsody.

Another important factor is the understanding of quality assurance and communication. Good testers are usually double-agents: they are not only improving the processes and gathering documentation to make the team’s work easier but also understanding the requirements and discussing the end user’s needs with the client. Having such people in your team is invaluable as they will not only do their job but also have an extremely positive impact on yours. It takes a singer to sing but an artist to please both the band members and the audience.

## Making sure you understand the process

It may be trivial but planning and understanding automation testing is sometimes more crucial than executing it. Like ordering a particular song or booking a table next to the scene, testing always has rules. Understanding who is the person you should ask if that old forgotten Nirvana’s song is available or where to get drinks is an equivalent of understanding what the key functionalities that need to be covered by tests are, what kind of scenarios can be problematic, which level of automation pyramid we are talking about.

Also, setting the right time frames is essential to track the performance of the team and seeing possible issues ahead of time. Start with selecting tools that suit the project’s needs and teammates’ skills. Define the scope of automation and try to divide into sprints or prioritize it on the Kanban board depending on what approach you prefer. Design the framework, develop tests, execute them, measure the results.

Last but not least, define some clear exit criteria to be able to tell when the product’s quality is satisfying. These steps seem to be obvious but failing to understand the automation process means ending up maintaining non-conclusive tests, fixing software instead of adding new functionalities and therefore increasing the costs instead of minimizing them. Or being stuck on stage with your legs shaking because you don’t recognize the melody of a song that you’re about to sing.

## Decisions, decisions…

Picking the right song at the right moment is the only way to avoid being the only person having fun. A slow love ballad after a great, energetic performance might be a mood-killer.

Choosing the right automation tools or framework is exactly the same. Selenium might be popular but it is not necessarily a good fit for every project. Another issue to take into consideration is using the pre-gathered team properly. Choose who is responsible for defining scripting standards, good practices and documentation and who feels better just sticking to the requirements and writing the quality code. We don’t want our automation to be a screech but rather a song. Select a tool that will make gathering measure metrics and presenting them to the client easier. Finally, we get to choose what the key features that we want to cover with automation testing right away are and which have a lower priority and can wait. Making these decisions may be a turning point in how the project is managed and how satisfied the client is.

## Time to shine

I’d love every fellow tester to enjoy this moment. We get to work, treating the project as a blank page and release our creativity, continuing to cover our app with a comfy blanket of well-written tests.

It doesn’t mean it would be easy, though. Sometimes forging a test case absolutely valid from a manual tester’s point of view into the code can be hard to achieve. The lack of understanding from the developers can make this challenge very difficult. Being able to identify regression bugs or technical boundaries of the programming language may seem to be impossible to overcome. Requirements can be vague and the lack of time will surely be a problem once or twice. But as entering the stage and actually singing, automation testing is tough and the only way to find out if it works out is to actually perform it.

I’d also like testers to think about this process of developing and executing tests as a learning experience. There’s so much to improve - not only the actual code but also the communication, the good practices we habituate, the communication, the bond we, as a team, have with the customer.

![karaoke](../../static/images/automationkaraoke/bruno-emmanuelle-Gi6-m_t_W-E-unsplash.jpg "")

## Once the dust settles…

Imagine it’s 2 am, you’re desperate for a taxi and there’s this ringing noise in your ears. But somehow it feels good. The only thing left is to get back home and then text your friends in the morning (well, maybe around noon) to ask them to rate your yesterday’s performance.

In most projects there comes a time when developing new automation tests is not needed anymore. While the exit criteria may vary, the decision to stop testing is usually made based on the cost or the test coverage.

In the first case we simply run out of resources when either the time or the budget are exhausted. It is a potentially dangerous situation because hitting the brake before the finish line would mean compromising on the quality of the end product. What is the point of testing if it doesn’t lead to confidence about the software?

The second case, on the other hand, is usually a well-thought decision. We defined a threshold of test coverage that would satisfy our needs a long time ago, while planning the testing scope in the first place. We’ve achieved a complete functional coverage of the main features and have confidence that there are no critical issues left. A good practice is running all the tests once more, publishing and reviewing the results and discussing if anything else can be done. This approach will allow the team to be aware of the existing issues, risks, and based on them to make the right decision - whether to stop testing or not.

This decision is also never definitive. If there’s a plan to add a new module or there are some critical bugs that have not been spotted, the process will be restarted. Even if you don’t feel like going tonight, there will be plenty of karaoke organized nearby soon.

## Conclusion

Test automation is an integral part of testing software in general. It has to be well-planned and swiftly executed. The initial process of introducing the automation to the project and assembling a team of testers has a crucial impact on the quality of the product and how much time it will take to finish it. Understanding different stages and properties of the process and the importance of well-timed decision making are the key to minimize the cost of software development. Documentation and test results should be analyzed frequently in order to be able to track the progress we have made and end the development of automation testing when the exit criteria are met.

Last but not least, please do consider karaoke when planning your next team retreat.

## Bright Inventions recognised by Clutch as amongst the Top App Developers in Poland in 2020

*Published: 2020-07-21 | Author: ula | Tags: Clutch, app development, web development, Blockchain, B2B*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-inventions-recognised-by-clutch-as-amongst-the-top-app-developers-in-poland-in-2020/index.md*

We just got some exciting news here at Bright inventions! Our team just received a message from Clutch analyst Jeff Dixon informing us that our hard work has led us to be one of the top developers in all of Poland for 2020 by Clutch! We’re a software development company with a strong focus on app development and I[oT development services](/our-areas/iot-development/).[](https://www.techtimes.com/brandspin/242588/20190504/why-mobile-apps-are-important-for-your-business.htm)

<blockquote><h2>It means a lot to us</h2><div>To be among Clutch's B2B leaders means a lot to us. This proves that our work is valued both by our clients and tech experts.</div><footer>Michał Łukasiewicz, Co-founder of Bright inventions</footer></blockquote>

![Top Developers Poland Clutch ](../../static/images/jesyxqya.png)

Clutch is the world’s preeminent ratings and reviews platform for providers of B2B services. To be recognized by [research by Clutch](https://clutch.co/app-developers/poland) is one of the best things a company like us can hear, because Clutch rankings are determined by client reviews! Clutch conducts reviews from independently verified clients from around the world, so that you can feel comfortable in your next purchase of B2B services. We would even dare to say that Clutch is the gold standard for B2B ratings and reviews. 

That is why we’re honored to show off our stellar 4.9-star rating average on Clutch and its sister site The Manifest, [a business ranking platform](https://themanifest.com/app-development/companies/eastern-europe#bright-inventions)! We’ve received glowing reviews from clients from around the world, including a perfect 5.0-star review from Adam Pachucki, the head of product at [Finebite](/projects/everytap/)!

In his review, he praised the full-cycle development services we built for his restaurant solutions platform. We built both an iOS and Android version of the app, and have provided ongoing maintenance and updates.

"We were pleased with their proactive approach and their genuine desire to see the success of the platform. They were constantly looking for ways to improve, and ensured that we had proper tracking tools and no potential scalability issues.” – Adam Pachucki

We’re incredibly grateful to Clutch and all our satisfied clients! And we want to say thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far.

## Why would you use Substrate?

*Published: 2020-07-05 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: substrate, parity, blockchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/why-would-you-use-substrate/index.md*

Substrate is a framework to build blockchains. People behind Substrate had built many blockchains before and noticed that they had to do the same hard work over and over again. Thus they tried to create a framework which would make deploying a blockchain as easy as can be. At the same time they wanted it to be as generic as possible, so that a developer can customize it to their needs.

![substrate blockchain](../../static/images/why-would-you-use-substrate/1.png "")

Before we dive into Substrate, let’s take a look at what the blockchain itself is.

## Data

Blockchain is a datastore and this is its reason to be there: **to store data**. So first of all let’s look at blockchain from the data’s point of view. Let’s think of a bank account. In blockchain you would not store the balance itself. You would rather store transactions describing money transfer instead of the balance changing over time to reflect spending or getting the money. Here is an example. When you buy your new Louboutin, in blockchain you submit a transaction saying that you have just spent 600€, instead of updating the balance from 3000€ to 2400€. And when you realize that Makita drill is far more necessary in your household and decide to return the shoes, you submit the refund transaction saying that you get your 600€ back.

It is commonly said that from CRUD (Create Read Update Delete) operations offered by regular databases, you only have the Create and Read operations available in blockchain. This is true in terms of records in the store - you can only create the transactions or read them. **You never ever change them**. But in terms of the data itself, you can update it by submitting a **transaction describing the change**. You can also submit a transaction, which describes deleting some object, i.e. making it not valid anymore.

## Store

Now let’s take a look at blockchain in more technical details to see **how** it stores the data. This may also give us a hint on why we cannot change the transactions by design. **Blockchain is a chain of blocks**. Blocks are connected together to form a directed chain. For each block there is its preceding block which we can call a direct parent and a following block which we can call a direct child. 

A block consists of three main elements: 

* the data (a set of transactions we have just talked about), 
* the parent block’s identifier,
* the block’s identifier which is a sort of a hash of the two previous. 

If you make a little change in the block’s data, its identifier will change. Then also its child’s identifier will change, and the next child’s and so on until the last block. This is why it is fairly easy to say if two blockchains are exactly the same just by checking the last block.

## Structure

Blockchain is **decentralized**. There are many nodes connected on a peer-to-peer network. There is **no central authority**. Each node is running a “blockchain program” and keeps its copy of the chain. When a set of transactions is collected, a node can try to produce a new block and connect it to its chain. Then all the nodes have to accept the new block, therefore creating the canonical chain. There are multiple ways to prove that a produced block is not malicious. This is what is called a consensus function. The most common one is a Proof of Work. In short, a node has to solve a complicated mathematical problem which takes much computational power. These problems are not real, no one is actually using the solutions. The only goal of solving it is to spend resources (computational power, energy and so). It is designed so that any profit from a malicious block would not balance what you have to spend on proofing it.

There are also other algorithms to find the consensus like Proof of Stake or Proof of Authority. As we have said, in PoW your guarantee is the work you have done, in PoS you guarantee is the money itself and in PoA it is your reputation. The last one is often used in private chains.

## Substrate

Now that you know why you could use blockchain among other datastores, we can take a look on why you may choose Substrate over other blockchain implementations.

![substrate blockchain core and runtime](../../static/images/why-would-you-use-substrate/2.png "")

We can say that Substrate is built of two parts: the core and the runtime.

## Core

The core of the Substrate is composed of four layers:

* database
* networking
* transaction queue
* consensus.

In most cases you would probably just use the default implementation that comes with the Substrate node template and would not touch much of the core functionality. But if you decided to change any of this - you can. Actually it is possible to even deploy a new consensus algorithm on a running blockchain.

## Runtime

Runtime is the part the Substrate developers would mostly be interested in. The runtime is a **set of rules which describe how the ledger can change**, also known as the state transition function. Substrate runtime is modular. There are already some basic modules available now like Balances for currency management or Contracts for smart contracts. You can just plug them in. You can also write your own modules to gain the specific functionality you need.

Let’s keep an eye on the mentioned Contracts module. It lets you use smart contracts in Substrate. We can think of the smart contract as a kind of a digital agreement written in a programming language instead of the lawyer one. Blokchain nodes act as the witnesses. The agreements are executed autmatiacally after meeting certain circumstances and their effects are saved in blockchain storage. Smart contracts add additional logic on top of the core blockchain functions and can be written and deployed by any user, also a malicious or inexperienced one, therefore there are some safety mechanisms included. Using smart contracts places you in a kind of a sandbox. You cannot modify the core blockchain's storage or directly change the storage of other contracts. Smart contracts are revertable by design, to ensure that any changes are saved only after the whole transaction was executed without errors. If you write your own runtime module you need to be very careful and strictly follow the rule “check first, write last”. At first you need to make sure that any prerequisites are met and making a change will not cause any errors. Only then can you do the changes. You are also charged for the smart contracts. There is a gas fee for the computational resources and a storage rent for the blockchain’s storage used, which act as economic incentives against any abuse.

## UI

Another thing that comes with Substrate is the UI template. It is a pre-built React app using Polkadot JS API. It lets you connect to your Substrate node and visualise the data in your blockchain, easily make transactions and see their effects. 

## Upgradeable

Using Substrate you are able to upgrade a running node. It doesn’t sound that thrilling when you think of development. But once you go production, it turns out to be an interesting feature. In a typical blockchain, if you want to change your business rules or fix any bug, you need to inform every node and prompt them to update and restart. In Substrate you can compile the runtime to WebAssembly binary format and put it as a part of the blockchain’s storage. All the nodes check if the blockchains Wasm binary is any different then the native one they run and if so run the Wasm binary instead. All that happens automatically and live. 

## Summary

When I ran my first Substrate node with the default configuration, I was quite surprised how easy it was. On the other hand, I could only see some output in the terminal window. The thing that really can make a newbie excited is the front-end template. You can clone and run it and actually **see and play with your blockchain**. There are some accounts predefined, founded with some amount of units. You can easily make a money transfer between the accounts with a few clicks and see the outcome right away. The Substrate node template together with the front end template makes the ease of Substrate development so impressive at first glance.

On the other hand, in the real world use case you would need to get your hands dirty and write your own smart contract or a runtime module. In addition to the front end app you would also need some backend with a regular database to store and manage all the details which blockchain is not interested in. Polkadot JS API can also be really helpful with it.

To sum up, Substrate on one hand gives you all the functionality you need to run a blockchain out of the box and on the other hand it lets you configure, change or completely rewrite any single element of the architecture.

## Brief introduction to transfer learning

*Published: 2020-05-18 | Author: radeks | Tags: deep learning, image classification, transfer learning*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/brief-introduction-to-transfer-learning/index.md*

In this item, I want to share with you the core idea behind transfer learning. We will solve a simple classification problem where we will try to correctly classify surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing images but you can easily solve different problems relying on described steps

![transfer learning](../../static/images/brief-introduction-to-transfer-learning/1.jpg "")

Transfer learning is a very important and broad research problem. In general, it relies on transferring domain knowledge from one solved task to another unsolved one (but somehow related to the solved task). Consider following educational example - let's say you know how to ride a bike and you'd like to learn how to ride a scooter then it should be easier as there are some common principles like knowing that probably you should hold handlebar. Another example - if you know how to code then probably you are capable of fixing your auntie's computer, right? 

Here we will focus on the usage of transfer learning in computer vision problems. We will take advantage of one of the models with clever architectures (ResNet, MobileNet, Inception, etc.) that were trained on ImageNet dataset. ImageNet consists of enormous amount of images and each labeled with one of 1000 classes of various kind (e.g. `black widow` , `cassette player`  or `containership` but I can't see anything related to `surfing`). Those models are doing extremely well in dealing with recognizing classes on the provided image. Using pre-trained models would be especially beneficial when you have a very limited dataset. It may be even impossible to get a well-performing network from scratch. We can say that such models consist of 2 parts - feature extractor and classifier. We want to utilize feature extractor and replace classifier as we will classify 3 different classes instead of 1000. We want to keep feature extractor, especially first layers due to way convolutional layers work - they learn hierarchical representation and that means first layer will learn to find very general features like vertical or horizontal lines, next layers may learn something more complex like circles and so on. The last layers will be most elaborate and that's fine as long as our problem is similar to problem solved with a pre-trained model, if not then still we can benefit from such model by for example unfreezing some fraction of the layers.

## Prepare dataset

![transfer learning](../../static/images/brief-introduction-to-transfer-learning/2.jpg "")

We need to create a dataset that will be used for solving our problem. If you don't have a dataset then you can just google for some of the widely available crawlers fetching images from google images or rely on services for that like Microsoft's `Bing Image Search API` ([great tutorial on creating dataset](https://www.pyimagesearch.com/2018/04/09/how-to-quickly-build-a-deep-learning-image-dataset/)). I'll go with Bing Image Search API.

I've fetched 90 images of windsurfing, 82 of kitesurfing, and 98 of surfing. They are separated and the number of images of each class isn't equal but overall that's good enough.

 I've stored them accordingly in `dataset/windsurfing`, `dataset/kitesurfing`, `dataset/surfing`. 

Plot some images:

```python
import glob, random, os
from keras.preprocessing import image

base_path = "dataset"
img_list = glob.glob(os.path.join(base_path, '*/*.jpg'))

for i, img_path in enumerate(random.sample(img_list, 6)):
    img = image.load_img(img_path, target_size=(IMG_SIZE, IMG_SIZE))
    img = image.img_to_array(img, dtype=np.uint8)

    plt.subplot(2, 3, i+1)
    plt.imshow(img.squeeze())
```

![sport](../../static/images/brief-introduction-to-transfer-learning/3.png "")

Split data into training (80%) and testing (20%) set. With ImageDataGenerator we can normalise images by setting value for each pixel between `0` and `1` - original value with range `0` to `255` would make it much harder for a network to converge. 

```python
from tensorflow.keras.preprocessing.image import ImageDataGenerator

data_gen = ImageDataGenerator(
    rescale=1./255,
    validation_split=0.2
)

train_generator = data_gen.flow_from_directory(
    base_path,
    target_size=(IMG_SIZE, IMG_SIZE),
    class_mode='categorical',
    subset='training',
    seed=37
)

validation_generator = data_gen.flow_from_directory(
    base_path,
    target_size=(IMG_SIZE, IMG_SIZE),
    class_mode='categorical',
    subset='validation',
    seed=37
)
```

## Download model with pre-trained weights

Then we download the model with pre-trained weights. Let's pick MobileNetV2. `include_top` should be set to `False` because we don't want its classifier which is the last layer with 1000 classes compatible with ImageNet - we need to create our own classifier. Besides, let's freeze weights of a downloaded model so that we will train just our own classifier layers and downloaded weights will remain the same. 

```python
base_model = tf.keras.applications.MobileNetV2(
    input_shape=IMG_SHAPE,
    include_top=False,
    weights='imagenet'
)

base_model.trainable = False
```

Create custom layers so that last one fits our outputs which is 3 neurons (respectively for surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing)

```python
model = tf.keras.Sequential([
    base_model,
    keras.layers.GlobalAveragePooling2D(),
    keras.layers.Dense(64, activation='relu'),
    keras.layers.Dense(3, activation='sigmoid')
])

model.compile(lr=0.005, loss='binary_crossentropy', optimizer='adam', metrics=['acc'])
model.summary()
```

## Train and validate

```python
batch_size = 16
epochs = 10
steps_per_epoch = train_generator.n // batch_size
validation_steps = validation_generator.n // batch_size

history = model.fit_generator(
    train_generator, 
    steps_per_epoch = steps_per_epoch,
    epochs=epochs,                             
    validation_data=validation_generator, 
    validation_steps=validation_steps
)
```

Train the network for a few epochs and check how validation loss and accuracy behave in order to prevent overfitting. Dataset is pretty small and after 10 epochs model reaches ~90% of validation accuracy. 

One of the further improvements you can do is to unfreeze some of the layers and train a model for a few more epochs.

Then save your model to file so you can use it later. 

```python
tf.keras.models.save_model(model, "blog_model.h5")
```

I highly encourage you to take advantage of created model and use it in your android application ([check out my tutorial on that](/blog/image-classification-tensorflowlite-android/)). To transform such model to be mobile friendly convert it to TensorFlow Lite and you are ready to go. However [most of architectures can't be used directly on mobile devices](/blog/are-we-ready-for-deep-learning-on-mobile-devices/) due to lack of support for some operators as well as memory constraints but if you go with some that are simple enough or were intended for embedded devices like MobileNet then it shouldn't be a problem.

```python
converter = tf.lite.TFLiteConverter.from_keras_model_file("blog_model.h5")
tflite_model = converter.convert()
open("blog_model.tflite", "wb").write(tflite_model)
```

## Creativity in quarantine?

*Published: 2020-04-14 | Author: alisa | Tags: design, graphic, inspiration, isolation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/creativity-in-quarantine/index.md*

Today during the pandemic times, the times of social distancing, proper 30 sec washing hands, times of sanitisers, masks, gloves and quarantine we all seem to feel isolated and lose our creative vibes. I don’t want to divide people here on creatives and non-creatives. I believe that every profession requires creativity and every person is creative in their own unique way. Creativity is an inspiration drawn from the outer world, from people we meet, from conversations we conduct and things we see and experience.

It looks now that no one was prepared for the pandemic and no one was ready to stay and work at home for such a long time. It seems that there are a few more weeks of working remotely ahead of us. So, how can we stay creative in the homely and cozy environment which might not actually put us in the working mode? Below I am sharing with you some tips that help me boost my creativity while facing new tasks nowadays. I work as a product designer, but I think they will help you, too. 

## Find your working space

Finding a quiet space which will put you in a working mood is essential. It does not matter if it is a well-equipped computer desk, a kitchen table, or a sofa in your living room. In such a place you should be comfortable and there should not be any destruction. It is a good idea to make it resemble your working space at the office. You can put a cup of coffee at your desk, a notebook, pens or pencils etc. If  you have no opportunity to surround yourself with physical things which remind you of your office space, you may turn on the music which gets you in a productive mode, whichever that works for you. Remember that everything is very individual.

## Planning and deadlines

Maybe it is odd to put the word creativity together with the planning and deadlines. However, I believe that creativity is not only about the free-spirited and unrestrained working process, it is also about getting things done. And  you need to get them done on time. Creativity generates ideas that increase work productivity and work efficiency. Planning tasks and setting deadlines has a positive effect on the working process, makes it more organised, especially if you are working alone. Even if you have your deadlines and tasks set by the project manager in Jira, it is good to have your own internal deadlines in order not to stress about having to do all the tasks at the end of a sprint.

## Take breaks

It is important to take short breaks, not only to get away from a computer and go on a trip from your “Foteland” to “Las Kuchnias” to get some coffee, but also to do a small physical exercise.

![vacation destinations](../../static/images/laskuchnias_factepo40.png "")

Even a short physical activity like stretching, or doing some squats will make your blood circulate better and bring more oxygen into your brain. So, move on and work out! Your brain will work better, your spine will say thank you, and your eyes will relax after looking at the screen for a long time. 

## Talk to your project peers

Communication is the key. It is great that we live in a time when the Internet, different messengers and social apps  can easily bring our communication online. The time of isolation  is a good idea to organise calls and chats with your colleagues, especially with those who you work on the same project with. Even a small chat conversation can become a trigger to new ideas and creativity boost. Sometimes even a small idea from your colleague can evolve into something bigger and get you back on a creative track. 

## Get inspired

From where to draw inspiration when you are locked at home all the time? As I have mentioned above, you can get inspired by the work of your peers but also get your inspiration from surfing the Internet, browsing some websites or looking through some apps. Reading articles by professionals from your industry can also be very inspiring. In addition, now is a good moment for self-development, experimenting, doing some online courses which you have never had time for, or reading a book. 

## In conclusion

In order to stay creative at work just find a quite comfortable space, which gets you in a working mode, plan and meet the deadlines, do not forget about the breaks and stay physically active. Talk to your colleagues and discuss different ideas if you are stuck with something, be in a constant search of inspiration. Being on quarantine does not mean your creativity should be locked up, on the contrary - use this time to boost your creative capacity as much as you can. 

PS Stay at home.

## Connecting to Substrate blockchain from NestJS

*Published: 2020-04-07 | Author: ivan | Tags: blockchain, nestjs, javascript, substrate*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/connect-to-substrate-nestjs/index.md*

## Create a sample NestJS project

First of all, we should create a NestJS project.
Please use the [nest-cli](https://github.com/nestjs/nest-cli) to generate the project template:

```shell
nest new substrate-nests
cd substrate-nests
```

This commands generate for us a sample project with one module and generate code for one GET API endpoint:

```shell
src
├── app.controller.spec.ts
├── app.controller.ts
├── app.module.ts
├── app.service.ts
└── main.ts
```

After you successfully create the sample project you could run the dev server:

```shell
yarn start:dev
```

This command runs dev server and now you can see text *Hello World!* if you open [http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/).

## Connecting to substrate

### Preparation

To connect to the substrate node we will be using the library [polkadot-js](https://github.com/polkadot-js).
Please, add this library to dependency:

```shell
yarn add @polkadot/api
```

To work with this library please set flag `esModuleInterop` to `true` in `tsconfig.json` file and restart the dev server.

Now you can add necessary imports to `app.service.ts` file:

```typescript
import { ApiPromise, WsProvider, Keyring } from '@polkadot/api';
```

The next thing we should set is the URL where our node exists.
Please add these lines after the import section in `app.service.ts` file:

```typescript
const SUBSTRATE_URL = 'wss://dev-node.substrate.dev:9944'; // dev node of substrate blockchain
// const SUBSTRATE_URL = 'ws://127.0.0.1:9944'; // if you have substrate install locally you can use this address
```

We are going to connect to the substrate node in `onModuleInit` lifecycle function. It allows us to connect to the node after module initialized.

```typescript
@Injectable()
export class AppService implements OnModuleInit { // class should implement OnModuleInit interface
  private api: ApiPromise;

  // please, add this function to your class
  async onModuleInit() {
    Logger.log('Connecting to substrate chain...');
    const wsProvider = new WsProvider(SUBSTRATE_URL);
    this.api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider: wsProvider });
  }
```

After the restart you could see our message in logs:

```shell
[Nest] 6701   - 04/07/2020, 1:21:02 PM   [NestFactory] Starting Nest application...
[Nest] 6701   - 04/07/2020, 1:21:02 PM   [InstanceLoader] AppModule dependencies initialized +13ms
[Nest] 6701   - 04/07/2020, 1:21:02 PM   [RoutesResolver] AppController {/}: +5ms
[Nest] 6701   - 04/07/2020, 1:21:02 PM   [RouterExplorer] Mapped {/, GET} route +2ms
[Nest] 6701   - 04/07/2020, 1:21:02 PM   Connecting to substrate chain... +1ms
```

### Getting data

For the test purposes, we will get the chain name, node name, version, the number of the latest block and the current timestamp.
For this let's create the new function in `AppService` class:

```typescript
async getSimpleData() {
  await this.api.isReady;
}
```

The first line in the function `getSimpleData` waits until our connection to substrate node will be ready.

Now we can add code to get the data:

```typescript
async getSimpleData() {
  await this.api.isReady;

  const chain = await this.api.rpc.system.chain();
  const nodeName = this.api.rpc.system.name();
  const nodeVersion = this.api.rpc.system.version();
  const header = this.api.rpc.chain.getHeader();
  const now = await this.api.query.timestamp.now();

  return {
    chain,
    nodeName,
    nodeVersion,
    headerNumber: header.number,
    now
  };
}
```

After we create this function we could change our endpoint's code to respond with this data.
Please update the function `getHello` in `AppController` with this code:

```typescript
@Get()
async getHello(): Promise<string> {
  const data = await this.appService.getSimpleData();

  return `
    Chain: ${data.chain}<br/>
    Node name: ${data.nodeName}<br/>
    Node version: ${data.nodeVersion}<br/>
    Number of latest block: ${data.headerNumber}<br/>
    Now: ${new Date(Number(data.now.toString())).toISOString()}<br />
  `;
}
```

Here we just create a simple response with the collected data.
After the server has successfully restarted you can open [http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/) and see the result:

![Result](../../static/images/connect-to-substrate-nestjs/result.png "")

The next thing that we can do is getting the balance of some account.

Please add to the function `getSimpleData` the following lines:

```typescript
  const ADDR = '5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY';
  const now = await this.api.query.timestamp.now();

  // to get balance will be used the different method depends of substrate version
  const balance = await this.api.query.balances.freeBalance(ADDR);
  // or this
  // const { data } = await this.api.query.system.account(ADDR);
  // const balance = data.free;
  
  return {
    chain,
    nodeName,
    nodeVersion,
    headerNumber: header.number,
    now,
    balance,
  };
}
```

The address `5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY` is a predefined test account for testing purpose.
If you are creating a substrate chain from the [tutorial](https://substrate.dev/docs/en/tutorials/creating-your-first-substrate-chain/) then you will have this account.

Depends on what version of substate node you are trying to connect the function `account()` can be not defined.
In this case please use function `freeBalance()`. 
The function `freeBalance` is depreciated, for now, please read more about it in [polkadot FAQ](https://polkadot.js.org/api/start/FAQ.html#my-chain-does-not-support-system-account-queries).

Also, we need to update `AppController`. Please add the line `Balance: ${data.balance}` to the returned template literal:
The `Balance` is a [Pallet](https://substrate.dev/docs/en/development/module/#what-is-a-pallet) defines a cryptocurrency for blockchain.

```typescript
@Get()
async getHello(): Promise<string> {
  const data = await this.appService.getSimpleData();

  return `
    Chain: ${data.chain}<br/>
    Node name: ${data.nodeName}<br/>
    Node version: ${data.nodeVersion}<br/>
    Number of latest block: ${data.headerNumber}<br/>
    Now: ${new Date(Number(data.now.toString())).toISOString()}<br />
    Balance: ${data.balance}
  `;
}
```

Now you could check the changes on [http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/):

![Result with balance](../../static/images/connect-to-substrate-nestjs/result2.png "")

All code you can find in this repository: [https://github.com/janczer/substrate-nestjs](https://github.com/janczer/substrate-nestjs)

What next?

You could take a look of polkadot API: [polkadot-js/api](https://polkadot.js.org/docs/api/)

If you haven't run the node locally, you can try this tutorial: [Creating Your First Substrate Chain](https://substrate.dev/docs/en/tutorials/creating-your-first-substrate-chain/)

After that you can try to write your first contract: [ink! Smart Contracts Tutorial](https://substrate.dev/substrate-contracts-workshop/#/)

## Watch out for large strings crashing your Android app

*Published: 2020-02-21 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, large, string, aapt, apk, crash*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/string-too-large-in-android-resources/index.md*

I've recently come across a weird and totally unexpected issue while developing an Android app. I bet a lot of people may have enough luck to never notice it but if it finally happens to you and crashes your app, it's quite hard to pinpoint the cause of the issue quickly if you don't know what you are actually looking for.

## STRING_TOO_LARGE... what?

It seems quite probable that you are not going to know about this problem in your project until you see or experience it yourself so let's start with its symptoms.

First and foremost, you may see a crash with a stacktrace looking more or less like this:

```java
    android.content.res.Resources$NotFoundException: Drawable com.azabost.stringtoolarge:drawable/ic_my_icon with resource ID #0x7f060057
    Caused by: android.content.res.Resources$NotFoundException: File res/drawable-anydpi-v24/ic_my_icon.xml from drawable resource ID #0x7f060057
        at android.content.res.ResourcesImpl.loadDrawableForCookie(ResourcesImpl.java:847)
        (...)
     Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: R is not a valid verb. Failure occurred at position 2 of path: STRING_TOO_LARGE
        at android.util.PathParser.nCreatePathDataFromString(Native Method)
        at android.util.PathParser.access$200(PathParser.java:24)
        at android.util.PathParser$PathData.<init>(PathParser.java:76)
```

A little less noticable issue is when you try to display a text in the UI and the result of doing so looks like this:

![String too large in TextView](../../static/images/string-too-large/string_too_large_text.png "")

As you can see, in both cases there is that strange `STRING_TOO_LARGE` either displayed directly in the UI or mentioned in the stacktrace.

Would you guess how that happened?

## Reproduction

The STRING_TOO_LARGE issue is pretty easy to reproduce and may happen to you quite unexpectedly. The easiest way is to add a string resource to your app that is longer than 0x7FFF = 32767 characters and then displaying it e.g. in a TextView. That's it! Simple, right?

*I recommend generating such a long string using some kind of [lorem ipsum generator](https://www.lipsum.com/) rather than writing it yourself 8-)*

But if you want to crash your app in a way I have mentioned above, it will be a little more complex. You still have to add a string that large but this time try to put it into the [vector drawable](/blog/creating-simple-vector-drawables-in-android-studio/) `android:pathData` attribute.

*Having vector drawables with very long paths is not recommended and Android Studio or lint should warn you about it, but there is no warning when you exceed the above mentioned limit in a string resource.*     

## How does it happen?

The issue is caused by the AAPT/AAPT2 (Android Asset Packaging Tool) which processes your app's resources and replaces them with the `STRING_TOO_LARGE` value when it finds a large string.

If you take a look into the APK file affected by this issue, you will find something like this:

![Changed string resource](../../static/images/string-too-large/string_res.png "")

Or, in case of the vector drawable, something like this:

![Changed drawable resource](../../static/images/string-too-large/drawable_res.png "")

which is not a valid vector path, obviously :-D

If you are interested in the details, here you can find the AAPT2 source code fragment which converts the large strings: [StringPool.cpp](https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base.git/+/master/tools/aapt2/StringPool.cpp#344)

## Detect the issue before you release it

The simplest way to find out if your app is affected is to read the build log carefully looking for the following message:

```bash
error: string too large to encode using UTF-8 written instead as 'STRING_TOO_LARGE'.
```

Surprisingly, the build process does not fail when it happens.

If you use a build system like Jenkins, TeamCity or QuickBuild, you should be able to configure the build to fail when such a log message is detected. In case of TeamCity, it's about adding a failure condition like below.

![Failure condition](../../static/images/string-too-large/failure_condition.png "")

## P2P in Hyperledger Fabric

*Published: 2020-02-14 | Author: tomek | Tags: blockchain, grpc, hyperledger, blog*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/p2p-in-hyperledger-fabric/index.md*

Due to the modular and plug-and-play architecture hyperledger fabric implements a peer-to-peer protocol based on **gRPC and proto buffers** which allows for bi-directional stream-based messaging. We will examine the individual elements of the protocol and the examples of messages sent in the Hyperlegder network.

## gRPC basics ##

**gRPC** is an alternative to **REST** and other RPC frameworks, based on HTTPS 2.0 which is faster and has improved security features over HTTPS 1.1.

Like many RPC systems, **gRPC** is based on the idea of defining a service and specifying the methods that can be called remotely. In **gRPC** a client application can directly call methods on a server application on a different machine as if it was a local object, making it easier for you to create distributed applications and services.

```bash
service HelloService {
  rpc SayHello (HelloRequest) returns (HelloResponse);
}

message HelloRequest {
  string greeting = 1;
}

message HelloResponse {
  string reply = 1;
}
```

On the server side, the server implements interface and runs a **gRPC** server to handle the client calls. On the client side, the client has a stub (referred to as just a client in some languages) that provides the same methods as the server.

![Grpc graph](../../static/images/p2p-in-hyperledger-fabric/grcp-graph.png "")

Due to the fact that **gRCP** uses **proto buffers**, the server may be written in a different language than the client (for now it supports 10 programming languages).

## Proto buffers

**Protocol buffers** are Google's language-neutral, platform-neutral, extensible mechanisms for serialising structured data.

To better understand how proto buffers work, let's compare it with **JSON**:

```bash
{"name":"Peter","lastName":"Jason"}
```

This **JSON** object contains 35 characters, 25 of these including `{ : " " , }` are informative and the actual message you send contains only 10 characters.

Let's now implement the same message using proto buffers:

```bash
syntax = "proto3";

message Identity {
    string name = 1; 
    string lastName = 2;
}
```

This is our simple proto file in which we have defined Identity message. Now let's generate js protobuf classes:

```bash
protoc --js_out=import_style=commonjs,binary:. identity.proto
```

This will provide simple accessors for each field (like `name()` and `setName()`) as well as methods to serialize/parse the whole structure to/from raw bytes.

```bash
// Serialization

var msg = new pb.Identity()

msg.setName("Peter")
msg.setLastname("Jason")

const bytes = msg.serializeBinary()
console.log(bytes)
```

After the serialisation, our 14 bytes long message in `UInt8Array` format might become the content of our **gRPC** request.

```bash
10 5 80 101 116 101 114 18 5 74 97 115 111 110
```

## Usage in Hyperledger

Now, that we have some basic knowledge of **gRPC and proto buffers**, we can examine how Hyperledger distributes the changes made in our chaincode asset.

Let's consider createCar function from `fabcar` chaincode:

```bash
async createCar(ctx, carNumber, make, model, color, owner) {
    console.info('============= START : Create Car ===========');

    const car = {
        color,
        docType: 'car',
        make,
        model,
        owner,
    }

    await ctx.stub.putState(carNumber,       Buffer.from(JSON.stringify(car)));
    console.info('============= END : Create Car ===========');
}
```

In the end we call `ctx.stub.putState` function. Let's take a closer look into how this function inserts a new car asset into the world state.

We are passing two arguments, record `key` and `Buffer`, which contain our car asset.

Inside the function Hyperledger uses `putState` proto buffer message with key, value and collection field.

```bash
// PutState is the payload of a ChaincodeMessage. It contains a key and value
// which needs to be written to the transactions write set. If the collection is
// specified, the key and value would be written to the transactions private
// write set.
message PutState {
   string key = 1;
   bytes value = 2;
   string collection = 3;
}
```

Next it generates js protobuf class, and sets our key and value as payload parameters, which is the part of `putState` message. We can see that we also have to specify `transactionId` and channel that we are targeting.

```bash
async handlePutState(collection, key, value, channel_id, txId) {
    const payload = new _serviceProto.PutState();
    payload.setKey(key);
    payload.setValue(value);
    payload.setCollection(collection);

    const msg = {
        type: _serviceProto.ChaincodeMessage.Type.PUT_STATE,
        payload: payload.toBuffer(),
        txid: txId,
        channel_id: channel_id
    };

    return await this._askPeerAndListen(msg, 'PutState');
}  
```

This message is sent via **gRPC** request to the defined peers in our connection profile, and now we can start listening to the proposal responses!

## Agile in a long-distance relationship

*Published: 2020-02-13 | Author: kasia | Tags: Agile, project management, JIRA, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/agile-in-a-long-distance-relationship/index.md*

Agile stands for building relationships- within the team, with the client. It even advocates working in one room, cooperating closely. But what if our beloved team member decides to move to Sri Lanka? Or the client found the perfect team for the project, just it happens to be situated three time-zones away? Should we give up? Should we just do something that doesn’t care about closeness, like [the waterfall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfall_model) then (please don’t)?

With most relationships, the distance doesn’t help. They say [that absence makes the heart grow fonder](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602131/data-mining-reveals-first-evidence-that-absence-really-does-make-the-heart-grow-fonder), but I guess that absence in a business setting is rarely helpful. But here’s the fact: [most agile teams are distributed nowadays](https://www.stateofagile.com/#ufh-i-521251909-13th-annual-state-of-agile-report/473508) . 90% of the projects I was a part of were the distributed kind. So here I am, your agile relationship advisor, sharing our experiences with building agile long-distance relationships that thrived despite the physical distance. And then hopefully you’d be able to live happily ever and after. Or at least until the end of the maintenance period.

## Communication

As communication forms the basis of the agile approach (and relationships), the fact that working in a distributed setting introduces multiple barriers in this area is very unfortunate. Here are the main problems we’ve encountered along the way and how we addressed them:

### 1. Language

Unless you’re lucky enough, the possibility is that in a distributed team/client setting, you won’t be using your mother language. Or it will be the other team members/client who will need to switch. That might come at a price of not being able to clearly formulate your thoughts and being misunderstood. The ideal solution to that would be to improve the language skills. But in the meantime the first step would be to acknowledge the problem and be empathetic. Rephrasing the most important parts of the conversation (i.e. “Just to make sure, what you are saying is….” or “So you just proposed that we should…”) is always helpful. Building a common glossary so you ensure that you talk about the same things makes it a lot easier as well.

### 2. Culture

By cultural differences I mean both the more noticeable as well as the subtle ones. Even among European countries you can encounter different ways of communicating. For example, in general Poles tend to talk in a more straightforward way, using less polite phrases like “would you be so kind and do this” than e.g. Germans do. Which might seem unfriendly but usually is not the case. Stay open and don’t assume ill will. Learn a few of the kind phrases that feel comfortable and natural to you and use them. If you’ve never had an interaction with someone from a given culture before, do the homework - they will appreciate it.

### 3. Time-zones

Time is non-negotiable, I’m afraid, and you can only work around it. While arranging meetings during the shared waking hours seems like a no-brainer, it’s good to remember to always specify what it means “ready by the end of the day” or “you’ll be able to test this tomorrow”.

## Sharing is caring

In general, it’s good to make notes and share documents but in distributed teams it’s especially helpful. Having a shared Google Drive or Confluence that would gather all of the important documents is always a good idea. Write down [the Definition of Done](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/definition-of-done/), create the aforementioned Glossary, add the notes from the meetings or the pictures from the team building events (if you fancy), whatever you want. Just share it.

## Meetings

### 1. Standups, plannings

If your team or a client is in a remote location, most of your meetings will also need to take place remotely. In general, it’s best if everyone is connecting in the same way. If there’s a single person behind the keyboard on one side, it can be an excluding experience if on the other side there’s a shared camera and a room full of people. If you expect everyone to be engaged on the same democratic level, make sure that everyone joins on the same terms.

And do meet in person as much as it’s reasonably practicable, at least at the beginning of the project. We’re human beings after all and as we’re talking about building a relationship, never underestimate a physical presence.

### 2. Retrospectives

It’s easy to ignore the difficulties and misunderstandings when you’re in different locations. You won’t need to talk to each other after hanging up from the call. You won’t casually meet in the kitchen to learn that the other person, who wasn’t responding to your questions during the meeting, does not get much sleep lately because they got a puppy that’s having problems adjusting. Maybe a puppy like this (it’s Valentine’s day, you’re welcome):

![puppy](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/d8PPlIRp5je1A89qUJWdstiO0yv8LN_BZHFrrBKi9ozdqwHGyC-QyosIZmvKR8fg-d6h5slXvvZHjOROCbePtogl0ep7q3x2jKfg7ACnXnROQFHuO6WXW0xyHwlgzq4txS-vLTEq)

Which is why I believe that Retrospectives are even more important in distributed teams. It’s best to use online tools for this purpose, either just a Google Spreadsheet or a dedicated tool like [Miro](https://miro.com/).

## Infrastructure

A good CI setting is valuable not only when working in a distributed project.

Same goes for an issue tracker - I made a whole post about [how we use Jira at Bright](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-we-use-jira-at-bright/) but any issue tracker will do. As long as you’ll keep it up to date and as comprehensive as possible. If you cannot ask a Product Owner anything any time you like, the Acceptance Criteria are a very helpful source of truth. And an instant messaging tool - e-mails can be fussy. The fact that you can directly ask someone, almost as you would with a person sitting next to you is valuable.

In the end, it all comes down to a simple rule: communicate frequently, with honesty and empathy. Yes, in business relationships (as well). And while I won’t try to convince you to send Valentine’s day cards to all of the people you work with, the everyday acts mean more. Be kind to your team. No matter if you’re desks or miles apart.

## How we use Jira at Bright?

*Published: 2020-01-20 | Author: kasia | Tags: JIRA, project management, Scrum, Kanban*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-we-use-jira-at-bright/index.md*

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a well organised company which runs multiple projects, must be in want of an issue tracking solution. At Bright Inventions we value effective solutions so a choice of the issue tracking tool was an important one. We had a vision of the process we’d like to follow, we just needed a tool that would allow us to reflect it in an easy to use form which , that would not hinder the developers’ work but would support it. That’s how we decided to use [Jira](https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira). 

The tool itself is obviously not enough - the way you use it is far more important. [Jira sometimes has a reputation of being overly complicated](https://deviniti.com/atlassian/why-people-say-they-hate-using-jira). And indeed, at first it might seem like taming a 7 headed dragon. With magical recovery properties. But once you realise what is it that your dragon needs, it can become your favourite pet. Still wild at heart and keeping you on your toes, but super useful at the same time. As 7 headed dragons are. The time spent on adjusting the settings to your needs, from user management to issue layout, usually pays off and in effect you can obtain a product tailored exactly to your needs. 

So here we are with a few things that we’ve learned along the way and that work for us. Maybe it will help you with your Jira dragon as well.

## 1. Approach

Most of our projects are based either on Scrum or Kanban approach, depending on the project characteristics. Scrum is usually chosen for the better defined projects, with a clear schedule. It allows to better control the progress and estimate the effort. When we work in a less regular way or in a maintenance/bug fixing phase, we usually opt for Kanban, which gives us more flexibility.  The choice of a real project development approach forms a basis for the Jira project set-up. 

## 2. Workflows

A workflow is where you define the statuses that different types of issues can be in as well as the transitions between them. While Jira is equipped with multiple ready to use workflow schemes, for different project development approaches, the experience we gained along the way, helped us to build a few of our own schemes. Each project board can have one workflow assigned to it. These are the dance steps for your issues to perform on the dance-Board.  The first thing to consider are the states a particular issue can be in during the project. The basic workflow for our project Boards includes the following set of states :

![Jira boards](../../static/images/jira_boards_1.png "")

* To Do (or Selected for Development in Kanban projects). -> an issue should be handled in the nearest future, be it a Sprint or just a priority-based schedule. Issues do not have to be assigned to anyone specific at this stage. In Progress -> a developer has started to work on the issue
* On Hold -> for an external reason, the work on a specific issue had to be put on hold. It can be because of a lacking API or a need to wait for some information from the Client. 
* Ready for QA -> the issue is done from the developer’s perspective. It’s been tested by him or her and now it’s ready for internal QA and code review, depending on the feature. A person who will be responsible for the QA should be assigned (like a dedicated Quality Assurance person or another team member). 
* In QA -> internal review has begun, a person assigned to for the task is currently testing a given feature. If some kind of problems are discovered at this stage, an issue is coming back to the person responsible for development and depending on the situation gets ‘In Progress’ or ‘On Hold’ status.
* Client Review -> an issue was accepted by the internal QA and is now considered Done by the team. We usually ask the Client to do some acceptance testing, before the end of the Sprint, or, in the case of Kanban, before a feature can be deployed to production, to make sure it meets his or her expectations.
* Done -> when Client accepts the feature, it is considered Done. If any problem occurs with a given feature afterwards, it is considered a Bug and should be issued separately. 

  In addition to these states, there are usually Backlog or Open tasks, that have been issued as requirements, but should be dealt with at later stages and are not displayed on the Board. A more general state like Closed is also useful, as you might want to close an issue rather than marking it as Done for different reasons, like them being invalid or duplicates.

## 3. Issues structure

To organise the project’s features we usually use the standard Epics > User Stories > Tasks > Subtasks + Bugs structure. While Epics and User Stories focus mostly on the functional aspects, (from the user’s perspective), Tasks and Subtasks concern the development effort needed to implement a given feature.  Jira treats User Stories and Tasks as the same level kind of issue types and both can have sub-tasks. Nevertheless, there’s no hierarchy relation between the two types. In some bigger projects we lacked an additional level of hierarchy thus we created a custom relation Requires/Is required by that can be formed between a User Story and a Task (a User Story requires a specific Task to be implemented).

## 4. Issue layout

Each issue type has a slightly different layout. And yes, as you might expect, this is also configurable. The kind of information you’d need for a user story might be different to the one you’d add to a task. From a project manager’s perspective (mine, that is) user stories are a bit more interesting, so I’ll use them as an example. We aim to keep as much relevant, organised info on each feature in Jira as possible. A Jira user story is not just “As a user I want to reset my password”. It’s also a place to add design links, acceptance criteria, estimation ([story points](https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/blog/what-are-story-points) work well at this level of abstraction).  We always try to divide each bigger feature (Epic) into as atomic user stories as possible. This way you’ll be able to analyse the expected behaviour in more detail. And if your acceptance criteria looks more like a novel than a short story, it can mean that you’ll need to separate a user story into smaller ones. Think of it as an anecdote you tell at a party. If it has so many twists of plot that your audience would lose its interest and go look for more drinks, you might want to consider simplifying it. And leave the rest for another story.  

![Jira](../../static/images/jira_boards_2.png "")

We also like to use labels for filtering and grouping our issues. In mobile apps it’s usually platform based - Android/iOS, in web apps it can be backend / frontend kind of setting.  Another Jira feature that we like to use, especially for our Kanban projects, is versioning. By defining Releases and then assigning issues to them it’s clear which feature will be included in which delivery.

## 5. Scaling

Projects developed at Bright Inventions vary in size, which is why our approach to Jira organization also needs to vary. The size of the team and the project scope usually influence the number of Boards and issue types we use in a project. If a project includes extensive design efforts, it’s worth considering adding a separate set of design specific issue types, with their own structure and workflow (ex. Design Story/ Component that can be in Concept state, Ready for Development etc.). Another addition might be a dedicated epic board with a defined epic specific workflow as well (ex. an Epic can be in Plan, Design, Build states etc.). If security or safety issues are critical from the project’s perspective, adding another board with security/safety dedicated type of issues and organising them in a Backlog form is also a good solution. On the other hand, in smaller projects , we might stick to the basic set or even less than that. When a Client does not feel like using our Jira board, we might skip Client Review column altogether. Which brings us to...  

## 6. Cooperating with clients

Close cooperation with the client lies at the basis of the approach we use at Bright. As we manage the features and progress in Jira, it’s only natural that our clients should also have the access to Jira backlogs. If the project is run on our Jira instance, we invite the clients to the project they are involved in. Making sure you’ve got the right permissions setup is crucial, both on the app and project level. We also like to attach a customised message to a client Jira invitation e-mail, informing the client about the aspects of our process that he or she will be involved in. We found that it’s helpful to specify which statuses are the ones that need their action as well as informing about the types of issues they will work with. If the client will also be engaged in issuing bugs, it’s good to include short template for bug description. Would you expect the client to specify steps to reproduce, or app version, or maybe environment where the bug appeared? Preparing such a template will make the bug raising a smoother process and decrease the time needed for analysing the problem. Nobody needs ‘cannot reproduce’ or ‘it does work for me’ kind of conversation ;) 

## 7. Everyday life

If you’ve got everything set, your workflow tailored to your needs, backlog filled with features and tasks, it’s time to put the plan into practice. This is when the ideas get verified, this is what the whole process was prepared for. One of the most important lessons we’ve learned was to record everything in Jira and prioritise traceability. If there are any doubts about a specific issue, some changes to be made, it’s a good practice to keep the conversation in the comments section of a given issue. This way, we can always go back and check why certain decisions were made. Not to mention keeping your Jira issues state up to date.It saves a lot of back-and-forth about the current state of the issues with the client as well as the time spent on stand-ups.

Hope this general overview of our approach to Jira was helpful. It’s always a journey and a living process. And a lovely living dragon. With 7 heads. Keep your eyes open.

## Bright Inventions Awarded Top 2019 Development Company in Poland

*Published: 2019-11-28 | Author: ula | Tags: Clutch, mobile, web, software, digital, startups*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-inventions-awarded-top-2019-development-company-in-poland/index.md*

Bright Inventions is excited to announce that we’ve been listed as a leading developer among Poland’s top B2B companies by Clutch! 

It is an honour to receive this award because we were selected largely based on how our clients rate our services! Clutch is the leading platform of B2B ratings and reviews. Based in Washington DC, Clutch’s team of analysts conduct in-depth client interviews in order to collect detailed information on vendors. Using the verified information, they’re able to provide a list of top performing agencies. 

We’re thankful for our clients who have supplied valuable information for our Clutch profile. We’ve enjoyed working closely with our partners and look forward to continuing our business relationships. We try to work on-site as much as possible and are dedicated to transparency in order to grow our partnerships and strengthen our collaborations. More than anything, we love helping our customers and seeing our projects grow into big, successful ventures. 

![Top Development Company in Poland](../../static/images/health_app_clutch-review.png "")

Over the years, our customer-first policy has worked. With an average rating of 4.9 stars out of 5 on Clutch, we’ve proven that we’re a reliable and trustworthy partner. 

To see how we’ve become one of the best in the business, you just need to check out our portfolio on [Visual Objects](https://visualobjects.com/pl/app-development/top-mobile-app-development-companies). A company directory resource, users are able to view examples of our work while comparing the quality of the results to other leaders in the field. By reviewing the top mobile app developers on Visual Objects , you can be confident that by choosing us, you’re choosing the best. 

![Top Development Company in Poland](../../static/images/bright_inventions_shirt_intro_clutch.png "")

Due to the quality of work we deliver, we’ve also been included on Clutch’s sister site, [The Manifest](https://themanifest.com/pl/web-development/companies#brightinventions). A catalog of business news and how-to articles, we were featured on the Eastern Europe company blog resource page for our development of a native mobile app. 

Learn more about we can do specifically for your business by contacting us through our website.

## Let's create software that matters, Fintech Connect 2019 

*Published: 2019-11-26 | Author: ula | Tags: blockchain, fintech connect, mobile, web, IoT*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/lets-create-software-that-matters-fintech-connect-2019/index.md*

On 3-4 Dec we will be attending FinTech Connect, the UK's leading fintech conference and exhibition that gathers the companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, investors, and tech fans from all over the world. We will share best practices, showcase new solutions and shape financial services of the future. 

**If you are heading over to London, make sure you visit us at ExCeL London, the booth F30, and chat with our team.** 

**If you would like to book a meeting with our technical team who will attend the event, please send us an email to** [**mateusz@bright.dev** ](mailto:mateusz@bright.dev)

## **Who we are**

Bright Inventions is a consultancy and software development studio based in Gdańsk, Poland. Throughout the years, we’ve made a name for ourselves in a whole array of services, including [idea consulting](/our-areas/product-workshops), [product design](/our-areas/product-design), [custom software development](/our-areas/custom-software-development), [IoT](/our-areas/iot-development) and [Blockchain](/our-areas/blockchain).

The company was established in 2012, when the Founders, Michał Łukasiewicz and Daniel Makurat, decided to create a place where innovative individuals and companies could turn to develop their ideas – all without tedious bureaucracy and formalities, the place where the team will be able to focus on creating software solutions that matter. 

## **Our projects**

Throughout the years, we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work on projects of the worldwide impact – both directly with the client and in the white-label model. 

Most prominently, we’ve been entrusted by a global humanitarian organization with the development of a Blockchain-based transaction system which aims at obliterating world hunger. 

We’ve also helped bring an innovative emergency & rescue app into the market, as well as developed revolutionary, Android-based point-of-sales software for a world-leading food delivery ordering company.

## Our values

At Bright Inventions, we’re truly invested in each project – just as if they were our own. This means that in our work with clients we’re not driven by financial gains, nor do we take on all projects.

When a potential customer turns to us with an idea, we put our hearts and souls into testing it against the competition and market needs. If we believe a project should not be developed due to its low chances of success, we offer our guidance and verify if there’s room for a promising pivot.

This all comes down to the fact that “Bright Inventions” is more than just our brand name. It’s also a term that truly reflects who we are and what we do.

**If you are looking for a long-term partner who will help you build reliable and scalable software systems, talk to our team and find out more about how we work. Remember that your project is our project - we always share with you ideas for the best possible outcomes.**

## What most startup owners fail to get about mobile development 

*Published: 2019-09-17 | Author: michal | Tags: mobile development, startups, app developers, iOS, Android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-most-startup-owners-fail-to-get-about-mobile-development/index.md*

“What’s it like being a startup owner?”

Anyone who’s ever run a tech company would answer in a heartbeat that it’s equally exciting and challenging. Truth be told, most successful startup founders who’ve pioneered the tech world and are now on everyone’s lips have learned what they know the hard way. This comes with a silver lining for all of us though – by learning from their shortcomings, you won’t repeat their mistakes!

With the above in mind, we’ve put together a list of things startup founders often fail to understand about [mobile app development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development). If you take the points below to heart, you’ll be much closer not only to reaching your project milestones but also becoming a tech leader your employees will look up to for years to come. Let’s take a look.

## 1. Being the captain of the ship

There’s no other way to achieve product milestones than by effective teamwork. Now, while no ship would make it to dock if not for the crew, neither would it without a captain who treads the path. Putting the naval analogy aside, a good startup owner isn’t ‘just’ someone who had a great app idea and managed to excite and gather people around it.
He/she also has to be someone who oversees the big picture, is eager to take in new ideas, but also executes the higher-level visions. 

Which is closely related to...

## 2. Finding the balance between trust and supervision

We’re going to be completely honest here – if you give your team the authority to make all decisions completely on their own, then you’re steeping on thin ice.

It’s one thing to take Steve Jobs’ advice about hiring people who are smarter than you; it’s a whole other trusting that they will complete tasks and safe-keep the vision of your product without your involvement and support. If there’s one thing we’ve seen over the years, is that – if left to themselves – some developers have the tendency of either over-engineering, refining software too early in the roadmap, or, conversely, simplifying the product and taking the easiest path.

So how do we make sure this doesn’t happen?

What we recommend is hiring either a [highly-experienced software house](/) or an in-house CTO and product owner who will report to you and oversee product development.

To sum up – stay in the loop, be inquisitive, and entrust quality assurance to your product and tech leaders who know the rules of the game deeply.

## 3. Making sure you’re not hopelessly stuck on the original idea – welcoming (and spotting) good change

Making sure you don’t derail from project goals should not be mistaken with stubbornly denying the need to re-think and optimize the initial plan. That’s how some of the world’s leading apps came to life!

Ever heard of the video-based dating service called [YouTube](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/308975)? Nope? How about YouTube, the world’s leading video platform and the second biggest organic traffic channel in the world? How about the video game The Glitch, which was where the idea for Slack came from?

Point being, good startup owners are analytical and take in feedback. Moreover, they notice the tell-tale signs that scream “adjust it to the market!” and aren’t afraid of taking the leap and pivoting from one service to another. It doesn’t mean your app idea will need a 180–degree change. It’s just important that you stay aware that a tweak here and there or building upon a feature could do a world of a difference.
In the end, such an iterative approach to product development is what helps startups turn into stable businesses that stay on top of the game.

Last, but least...

## 4. Understanding both business AND app performance metrics

Business and technical decisions are forever intertwined when it comes to mobile app development (something worth memorizing by heart).

The best startup founders understand this and know that each tech decision may have a huge business impact, and vice versa. Respectively, once they launch their [MVP](/our-areas/mvp-development), they also make sure to pay attention not only to key business metrics but also app performance. Unfortunately, some startup founders will have a tendency to eagerly scrutinise app reviews, all the while unaware of the insights that can be found via app analytics.

Huge mistake!

App analytics’ tools will tell you miles about your app’s usability, popularity, and (as a result) monetizability. That’s potentially way more that the ratings and comments left on your AppStore profile. Some of the insights you can expect include learning how many users return to your app after their first use, how much time they spend per each session, and where and when they tend to drop out. Remember – once your app is up and running, you need to keep tracing all data to ensure your software remains profitable.

## Summary

We hope that, by reading this post, you’ve just learned a thing or two on successful startup development! Incorporate these tips into your day-to-day work and remember – never stop learning. That’s what separates great founders from the good.

Want to learn more? We’d be more than thrilled to share our expertise and discuss how we can support your mobile app development – don’t hesitate to reach out!

## Is outsourced software development the best choice for me?

*Published: 2019-07-15 | Author: daniel | Tags: software development, Poland, outsourcing, software house*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/is-outsourced-software-development-the-best-choice-for-me/index.md*

If you’re reading this article, then it’s likely that you’re just about to make one of the most detrimental decisions in the history of your company – choosing the right team to work on your software project.

Perhaps, not a single line of code has yet been written; alternatively, you’re looking to expand your software development workforce.

So, whom will you be best off with – freelancers, an in-house team, or maybe a software house?

Here’s a breakdown that might just solve your dilemma between in-house vs. outsourced software development!

## Freelancers

This might be a good solution if you’re looking to develop a simple project that won’t need ongoing, complex maintenance.

You might hit the jackpot by working with freelancers who come highly recommended by someone you know or a reputable online community. From a pragmatic point of view, working with such a person might also be cost-effective.

You’ll also quickly notice that top-rated freelancers are some of the most insightful, enthusiastic developers in the game. No wonder – doing project-based work for diverse clients requires them to be inventive and stay informed if they want to stand out on the market.

Now, when can hiring freelance developers backfire?

For one, it’s not the best idea if you want to work with multiple freelancers on the same, complex project.

It’s possible that a group of strangers, all of whom have different experiences, workflows, and, possibly, varying levels of expertise, won’t find a common language.

In the worst case scenario, things might get out of hand and their working together will be counterproductive, to say the least. In such circumstances, some developers might even decide to drop out (unless you’d taken precautions and they’ve signed a contract that legally binds them to stay on the project).

I don’t think I have to mention what such a turn of events could result in if you were working on a critical deadline...

At times, it can also be risky to outsource to freelancers who can’t guarantee that they’ll be available to maintain the running software – especially in its first weeks or months.

Having the original dev team sort out bugs and fixes in the code they’ve authored is simply the easiest and most time effective solution.

Finally, it’s your responsibility to make sure that freelancers pay sufficient attention to preparing an up-to-date, comprehensive source code documentation. Otherwise, anyone new to the project might have difficulty finding their way around.

**Here are some other critical points you need to be aware of before you decide on outsourcing to a freelancer:**

 - make sure that any user data you share is protected. It’s never been more important than in the days of global data breaches and strict GDPR rules.
 -  take the necessary steps to secure ownership of the code – you might need to sign a special agreement that transfers the copyrights to your company.
    
On the other side of the spectrum...

## In-house developers

Many companies – particularly those that develop and maintain complex platforms – value the convenience of working with in-house developers.

In all honesty, we’ve got to give it to them – being able to put a face to the name or running a live standup over a cup of morning coffee in the office certainly has its perks. There are also formal arguments in favor of in-house development – your company automatically gains ownership of any code and software created by developers on the job. This is of the essence when you part ways with any of your employees.

Nevertheless, there are several things you must consider before you start clearing up office space for your fresh dev hires.

Firstly, your worst enemy will likely be... the shortage of qualified specialists.

A highly-skilled developer is pure gold, and companies are in a constant battle over them.

Secondly, apart from market scarcity, hiring an entire team of highly-skilled developers also means you need to be ready for a long-term commitment.

No developer wants to work for a company that will terminate his or her contract as soon as they’ve just settled in.

This being, you must take into account the costs surrounding monthly salary, training, equipment, tools, insurance, benefits...you see where I’m heading with this, right? You need to offer your employees everything that will make them want to stay with your company and keep turning down all incoming job offers.

To summarize – if money and permanent employment contracts aren’t an issue, in-house devs might be your thing. Otherwise, if you’ve got a complex project, but prefer not to take on all the in-house commitment, [an experienced software house](/what-we-offer/) should be your go-to solution.

Speaking of…

## Software house

For many companies, it’s the best of two worlds. The perfect balance between flexibility and stability.

Software houses provide you with high-end services, all the while taking away the effort and hassle surrounding putting together a team. You’ll be working with an expert group of developers, whom you won’t need to find and hire yourself!

Remember the cautionary tale at the beginning of this post about freelancers working together on a project? This couldn’t be more different!

With software houses, the team assigned to your project has already worked together many times. Their relations closely resemble those of in-house developers. This includes handling code review quickly and efficiently, and ease of communication among peers, among many other benefits.

For example, if there’s a dispute between two developers as to how a feature should be developed, you won’t need to arbitrate. The team will either discuss the pros and cons internally, or call a meeting if you’d like to be included in the technical decision-making process.

Another unbeatable perk?

Software houses will give you a helping hand if your project development strategy isn’t set in stone yet.

This includes: getting help with [determining MVP](/blog/mistakes-startups-make-when-developing-their-mobile-product/), making the best technology decisions, determining technical requirements, sprint planning, and so much more.

With a contract in place, everything is also regulated by the law. This means that – even if you outsource to a company in a foreign country – you may rest assured that any data that you make available to your external team is protected.

Still, keep in mind that working with software houses won’t be a walk in the park straight away for everyone, though.

For example, if you’ve only worked with in-house teams in the past, you might need time to adjust to the remote side of things. Depending on your contract and timezone of both parties, developers might also not be available for meetings as frequently as your in-house team was.

Respectively, if you’re looking to upgrade from freelancers to a software house, then you’ll need to get adjusted to a more formalized process. A software house, just like you, will have its expectations of your work together – for example, appearing on weekly sprint planning calls, which might not have been the standard with your freelance developers.

So, if you’re shifting from a different team to a software house for the first time, here’s my advice – give it some time, and fight the urge to micromanage. You’re in expert hands, after all!

We could go on and on about the ins and outs of working with a software house like ours, and we’d be delighted to tell you all about it.

If you’d like to hear more, [reach out to us](/start-project/) – we’d love to discuss how we can help your business!

## Know Your Team

*Published: 2019-06-09 | Author: ula | Tags: team, engagement, work, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/know-your-team/index.md*

The core of business is to build and maintain a great environment so everyone can do their best.  Without a comfortable environment where employees feel they can do their job, you will find that the turnover may claim its victims. But, have you ever wondered if there is a key to create a perfect workplace? I dare to say it may reach far deeper than corporate benefits and cool offices, and focus more on relationships. The relationships are frequently why some workers love their job and hate to leave, and why job applicants have a desire to work at your place.

When I was joining Bright Inventions there were 9 people in the team and everything was easy to set up. Scheduling a meeting, being up-to-date with projects, discussing everyday issues… It was enough to talk with each other and to be honest everyone knew everything and everyone knew what should be done. While the team has started growing, the situation got complicated a bit as there were much more things to discuss, but days were still 24 hours long. That time we decided to use a perfect tool that should help us maintain team’s happiness and satisfaction, and at the same time improve communication - [Know Your Team](https://knowyourteam.com/) (then Know Your Company) - an employee engagement and feedback software with a mission to help people become happier at work. The founder, Claire Lew, speaks internationally on how to create more open and honest workplace and how to become a better manager, but also a better team member and colleague in general. I really recommend you checking her [Medium](https://medium.com/@clairejlew) or [company's](https://knowyourteam.com/blog/) blog as a source of sheer inspiration how collaboration and effective communication should look.

## **Let us break the ice**

We all know that working together on a project is not everything. In order to build a long lasting and genuine relationship we need to get to know each other a bit better. In Know Your Team (KYT) each new person who joins our team gets a few introductory questions, so called IceBreakers. It is a great way to start a new relation between a new employee and the rest of employees in the organisation. It is great way to show that apart from X years of experience you have also hobbies, family or favourite kind of pizza.

## **Let us talk**

Know Your Team is a tool where we can ask questions, give recognition and feedback, express our complaints or say what can be done to make our company a better place. We talk there about our company culture, work organisation, time management and we also share there updates on our work progress. Everything is done on weekly basis without redundant breaks. Speaking bluntly, it is the tool which helps you stay up-to-date with your team’s life and build (in consequence also improve) our relationships.

### 1. Heartbeat Checkins

Sharing work/progress updates with the team is something we can do every Monday by answering  a simple question "What are you working on?". It does not only save time and energy, but also gives each and every team member an opportunity to be on the same page of current issues and projects.  And it also gives an opportunity to talk about some interesting key points later during a coffee break or lunch.

### 2. Culture questions

Each Wednesday we get one question to uncover how the team feels about the work and culture. At times we add our own questions and we can also take advantage of a huge base of questions suggested by managers from other companies.  In this way we are able to work on our company culture all the time and learn something new every week. If there is a problem, we can handle it immediately. Culture questions encourage the team to raise all the issues smoothly and embrace transparency. 

### 3. Social questions

On Fridays we have social non-work-related questions such as “what is your favourite ice-cream flavour" or “what is your best childhood memory” or just how happy your are at the moment. Having a strong relationships at work drives employee engagement, but it does not happen automatically. Building strong coworker relationships takes time and effort. It is not only about work itself. Real team is not only a bunch of individuals working together, it is a group of people who like each other, have similar values and feel that they are an integral part of your organisation. 

![KnowYourTeam_Questions](../../static/images/QA.png "")

Answering KYT questions is not only a regular and ongoing review of how team members are performing to their objectives, but also how they feel about everyday issues inside and outside work.  Using the software is entirely uncomplicated as you get questions via email and then you are  redirected to the KYT board. It is just a matter of few seconds.

## **Let us build effective communication**

Know Your Team when used properly can really reduce the amount of wasted time in the company.  It provides a high-level overview of current issues and work progress. I believe that regularity of the questions and their insightfulness help to build trust and loyalty. The questions are frequently the sparks for further discussion. I also use KYT to plan and prepare for our 1:1 meetings, which are a great way of strengthening an individual relationship with each team member and talk about issues raised in regular questions. It is an occasion for face-to-face communication that we do not always have time for on daily basis. And above all, it is time to express concerns, and also appreciation and recognition. Time you may be spending on ad hoc conversations or writing emails can be condensed here utterly.

Of course, all this does not mean that now everything is perfect . There are still some communication problems, but we are consistently trying to work on them. Yet always the first step to solve a problem is to find out about it, and KYT gives space to do that. It has become the base for our communication needs. It helps us in knowledge dissemination and bringing everybody closer together, by which it is at the same time a tool of achieving organisational and personal goals.

## Coming Back to Bright Roots

*Published: 2019-05-16 | Author: ula | Tags: rebranding, logo, communication*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/coming-back-to-bright-roots/index.md*

Probably you have noticed that we gave our brand a face lift. We are excited to finally unveil our new look, and we want to tell you all about it.

Our new visual identity has to satisfy all of the existing expectations of what our original values are while moving the brand forward at the same time. Throughout the rebranding process we have been continually focused on our key values: **responsibility, flexibility, teamwork, positive attitude and client orientation.**

We have come a long way since our brand was founded in 2012. We have learned a lot and felt that our previous logo and colours did not represent who we are anymore. Originally, we focused on mobile centralised solutions, but since then, we have expanded our services to help clients create innovative omnichannel digital experiences.

We figured out that a new logo would fit best since we want to create and grow the company based on the original foundations and goals we had in mind when Bright Inventions was started. **We wanted to show who we are and how we began.** We brainstormed, argued, persuaded each other, negotiated, discussed, debated, and we really did have loads of awesome ideas. And after several months we reached a consensus, all in favour of keeping our core values and coming back to the roots. That is how our new-old logo came into existence.

![enter image description here](../../static/images/logo_history.png "")

Looking at our current logo you can notice an orange square which also used to be a part of our first logo in history. Orange is linked with energy and optimism that you can always feel when you meet our team. The square symbolises our strong foundations, integrity and being practical. It is only through teamwork that we achieve brightness. We are committed to helping our customers by working together with equal parts of humility and ambition. 

Changing our visual identity was a true breath of fresh air. One would say that we have made a bold decision to put together the shades of orange, green and purple. But it is like putting together all fundamental values we represent. We balance ambition with flexibility because what matters is the final result. We work together to bring our passions and expertise to make Bright Inventions the best place it can be. And above all we love what we do and the people around us. In fact, we believe that happy people are more motivated, efficient and creative, so we bring a positive attitude to everything we do. It’s good for you, for the team, and for our customers.

![](../../static/images/rebranding_colors.png "")

The rebranding includes a redesign of the company’s logo, graphics, website, communications and correspondence. Bright Inventions' new brand assets include a simplified black-and-white logo and symbol with a hint of innovation reflected in an orange square, along with other visual communications that utilise simple iconic graphics to convey complex solutions in an understandable way. One part of the text in logo is bold. We did that to create the hierarchy of importance between "bright" and "inventions". We wanted to emphasise the process of creation in our work. We create software solutions to our clients problems, solutions that are strong and clever. At the same time we create success stories for many startups, consultancy agencies as well as mid-size organisations. 

![enter image description here](../../static/images/rebranding_WE_DELIVER.png "")

## Image classification with TensorFlow Lite on Android

*Published: 2019-05-05 | Author: radeks | Tags: android, tensorflow lite, deep learning, image classification*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/image-classification-tensorflowlite-android/index.md*

As I've already listed in my recent [blog post](/blog/are-we-ready-for-deep-learning-on-mobile-devices/) there are lots of advantages of making inference directly on a mobile device instead of using cloud solutions. Because of mobile devices' computation limitations, we can't migrate all of the available models to work on mobile. Unfortunately, plenty of them won't work on mobile devices but that's fine because we often don't need these heavy models on mobile devices. In this blog post, we will create a simple Android application that will take advantage of [MobileNetV2](https://arxiv.org/abs/1801.04381) that was pre-trained on ImageNet.

![surfing](../../static/images/image-classification-tensorflowlite-android/surf1.jpg "")

## Let's make our hands dirty...

In our Android app project we need to add TFLite dependency to `build.gradle` file. 

```groovy
implementation 'org.tensorflow:tensorflow-lite:1.13.1'
```

and the undermentioned snippet to prevent compressing the model.

```groovy
aaptOptions {  
    noCompress "tflite"  
    noCompress "lite"  
}
```

The next step is to get a model for the image classification problem. One way is to create your own or take pre-trained one from [here](https://www.tensorflow.org/lite/guide/hosted_models) and put it to the `assets` folder. We will be using customized pre-trained MobileNetV2 that I've created for the sake of this demo. Our model will be able to or at least it should distinguish 🌊 *kitesurfing, windsurfing*, and *surfing* 🏄‍♂️.  You can download this model as well as labels from my [git repository](https://github.com/ares97/tflitedemo-mobilenetv2-imagenet-classification/tree/master/app/src/main/assets).

![surfing](../../static/images/image-classification-tensorflowlite-android/kite.jpg "")

### Dive into the code

In order to make use of the prepared model we need to somehow import it into code. Let's use `tf.lite.Interpreter`   interface for the model. 

You can set up an interpreter in many ways, one recommended on TF website is to make use of `MappedByteBuffer`.

```kotlin
@Throws(IOException::class)  
private fun getModelByteBuffer(assetManager: AssetManager, modelPath: String): MappedByteBuffer {  
    val fileDescriptor = assetManager.openFd(modelPath)  
    val inputStream = FileInputStream(fileDescriptor.fileDescriptor)  
    val fileChannel = inputStream.channel  
    val startOffset = fileDescriptor.startOffset  
    val declaredLength = fileDescriptor.declaredLength  
    return fileChannel.map(FileChannel.MapMode.READ_ONLY, startOffset, declaredLength) 
}
```

and then...

```kotlin
model = Interpreter(loadModelFile(activity))
```

Unfortunately using `MappedByteBuffer` as an argument is already deprecated and will be deleted in future releases but you can solve this problem by delivering ByteBuffer instead and it is as simple as invoking `.asReadOnlyBuffer()` on `loadModelFile` method.

Next step is to read the file with labels. You can easily grab them with:

```kotlin
@Throws(IOException::class)  
private fun getLabels(assetManager: AssetManager, labelPath: String): List<String> {  
    val labels = ArrayList<String>()  
    val reader = BufferedReader(InputStreamReader(assetManager.open(labelPath)))  
    while (true) {
        val label = reader.readLine() ?: break
        labels.add(label)
    }  
    reader.close()  
    return labels  
}
```

The last thing is to create a method that will take an image as an argument and return a list of labels with assigned probabilities to them.

```kotlin
fun recognize(bitmap: Bitmap): List<Recognition>{
```

Because our model expects the exact input shape (224x224 pixels) we need to rescale a delivered bitmap to fit into these constraints. 

```kotlin
	val scaledBitmap =  Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(bitmap, MODEL_INPUT_SIZE, MODEL_INPUT_SIZE, false)
```

Next, we need to create byteBuffer of appropriate size that will be passed as an argument to the model.

```kotlin
	val byteBuffer = ByteBuffer  
	    .allocateDirect(  
	                BATCH_SIZE *  		 // amount of images per single processing
	                MODEL_INPUT_SIZE *   // img height
	                MODEL_INPUT_SIZE *   // img width
	                BYTES_PER_CHANNEL *  // size of float = 4
	                PIXEL_SIZE           // r+g+b = 1+1+1
	  )  
	    .apply { order(ByteOrder.nativeOrder()) } // force device's native order (BIG_ENDIAN or LITTLE_ENDIAN)
```

And load `byteByffer` with the image data as *floating point numbers*. In order to decode color (ignoring alpha) in each pixel on a bitmap, we need to mask the least significant 8 bits and its multiple.

```kotlin
	val pixelValues = IntArray(MODEL_INPUT_SIZE * MODEL_INPUT_SIZE)  
	bitmap.getPixels(pixelValues, 0, bitmap.width, 0, 0, bitmap.width, bitmap.height)  
  
	var pixel = 0  
	for (i in 0 until MODEL_INPUT_SIZE) {  
	    for (j in 0 until MODEL_INPUT_SIZE) {  
	        val pixelValue = pixelValues[pixel++]  
	        byteBuffer.putFloat((pixelValue shr 16 and 0xFF) / 255f)  
	        byteBuffer.putFloat((pixelValue shr 8 and 0xFF) / 255f)  
	        byteBuffer.putFloat((pixelValue and 0xFF) / 255f)  
	    }  
	}
```

Finally, we can pass *byteBuffer* to the model. The interpreter expects for the second argument container for results and it is *array* of *float arrays* (*array* for each image and each one will contain *float array* of probabilities).

```kotlin
	val results = Array(BATCH_SIZE) { FloatArray(labels.size) }
	model.run(byteBuffer, results)
	return parseResults(results)
}
```

The last step is to bond probability with a proper class.

```kotlin
private fun parseResults(result: Array<FloatArray>): List<Recognition> {  
  
    val recognitions = mutableListOf<Recognition>()  
  
    labels.forEachIndexed { index, label ->  
        val probability = result[0][index]  
        recognitions.add(Recognition(label, probability))  
    }  
  
  return recognitions.sortedByDescending { it.probability }  
}
```

where *Recognition* is our humble result data class.

```kotlin
data class Recognition(  
    val name: String,  
    val probability: Float  
) {  
    override fun toString() =  
        "$name : ${probability*100}%"  
}
```

###### Don't forget that there are many things you should consider to make it work well i.e. handling a camera orientation or using post-training quantization if you need higher speed with a bit lower accuracy and lighter.

## It’s showtime!

The above code is a minimalistic version for getting TFLite solving for us *image classification* problem. With the provided model you can successfully classify all photos that are in this blog post. 📸 
You can find the demo [here](https://github.com/ares97/tflitedemo-mobilenetv2-imagenet-classification).

![surfing](../../static/images/image-classification-tensorflowlite-android/windsurf.jpg "")

## Traits of a great side project

*Published: 2019-04-28 | Author: olo | Tags: programming, after-hours, motivation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/traits-of-a-great-side-project/index.md*

Have you ever wondered why there are people who always have a constant drive to "make things"? While you may seem tired and bored of a long day at work, they just can't stand waiting to leave the office in a great mood just to do tons of other stuff.

How are they doing it? Why do they decide to spend their own, precious, free time just in order to work more? 
I am known to be one of these freaks, and I think there is only one reason we do it… **It’s because we choose projects, that we _actually_ care about.**
If you think those open-source contributions or side projects aren’t for you, let me change your mind. 
**It’s just because you’ve chosen the wrong thing to work on not because the whole idea isn’t for you.**
I want to inspire you to take another side project by describing “the dream one”. Maybe it will push you to do that first and most important step.

## It solves a “real” problem
It sounds trivial, doesn't it? In fact, I find it the most important thing on the list here. The most important fact of doing something (not only a project) is the sense of doing something useful. It may be very small, it may be even unnoticeable to others, but the important thing is that it is helpful to you. Observing that you've made your life easier is always a great motivation.
**Remember, even the smallest, but real things make a great difference**.

## You _finally_ can be selfish
It's not work, you don’t need to care about others. You can just ignore testing, documentation, and accessibility. Not everything needs to be pretty, generic and reusable. Some hardcoded constants? Not a problem. It works only on your machine - does somebody even care? Tons of bugs? It’s more important that your three “happy paths” work - that’s what makes it usable for you.
It may seem that I like to produce low-quality software, huh? I just believe that side-projects need to start working as soon as possible. **If the idea turns you working just fine, you’ll polish them _later_.**

## You’re the boss right now
It’s your project, and only you paddle your own canoe. You don’t need to care about what others think. No one can tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. Maybe you’ve always wanted to try some “bleeding’s edge technology”? Maybe you just want to do something silly? **Even if everything blows up, nothing bad will happen.** This is what makes side projects a great time to experiment.

## You can take your time
This is a dealbreaker for me - I just hate deadlines. The fact that I have to deliver something on a particular term just takes away the entire fun of programming for me. That’s why I love doing something only for my personal usage. I don’t need to care about clients, deadlines, terms, and meetings. **I can sit down, turn the music on, open my IDE and _just code_**. Maybe not everyone has this kind of “switch”, but I find it chilling.
 
## There are no losers
My latest side project has turned out not to be useful for others at all. There are other more convenient solutions out there which make convincing people to use my tool very hard. Does it make the time I’ve spent on it wasted? **For me - absolutely not**. I had a great time learning new things which I wouldn’t even touch on a normal daily basis. 

As a word of conclusion, _“It’s more about the journey, than the destination itself”_.

## Convinced?
Maybe you’ve come up with some great ideas? Maybe you want to brag about something you did back then in the past? Please, let us know down in the comments below.

## Bright Future Ahead for Bright Inventions

*Published: 2019-04-09 | Author: ula | Tags: Clutch, IoT, mobile, web, software*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-future-ahead-of-Bright-Inventions/index.md*

As software consultants with specialties in [mobile apps](/our-areas/mobile-app-development) and the [Internet of Things](/our-areas/iot-development), Bright Inventions has mastered the entire delivery process, making our clients’ dreams an easy, successful reality. While technology around us keeps [transforming](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2019/04/08/disrupt-or-be-disrupted-seven-steps-to-digital-transformation/#94254765f20b) and testing the limits of what we can achieve, our team remains committed to transparency, engagement, and success on behalf our clients, our products, and our service.

The hard work and track record of quality performance that Bright Inventions has achieved have turned heads everywhere, making us one of the top [IoT companies](https://clutch.co/developers/internet-of-things) in the field. In a recent industry-wide ranking published by Clutch, the B2B research and reviews agency, we outranked many of our competitors thanks to our exceptional market presence, client feedback scores, and industry experience.

Receiving validation for the strength of our knowledge and experience reflects highly on our commitment to our customers, so we greatly appreciate this support of our team.

As one customer added, “**Bright Inventions’ practical approach** to projects, paired with their team’s **friendliness**, **proactiveness**, and **punctuality**, **leads to high-quality results** that boost any company’s credibility and success.”

“**Creative problem-solving and a commitment to their clients make Bright Inventions a great partner**,” emphasized a second happy client. “Besides being extremely proficient in their field, **they care about our business and want us to succeed**. They also like to be challenged and are open to experimentation. Even if they’ve never used a certain technology, **they’ll give it a try and do their best**.”

![enter image description here](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jP6Tltiat8PytaoZJ2c_0MGQcqickjy2iJ9bWtxE7g-EKLy5xYVwCNFIoPROoaOzQiu5bPWgmAxU "We Deliver on Clutch")

The Manifest and Visual Objects, the sister companies of Clutch, echoed such praise for our work, which means a great deal to our team as we continue striving for progress.

Business news website The Manifest named Bright Inventions one of the best [app developers in Poland](https://themanifest.com/pl/app-development/companies#brightinventions), while portfolio curator Visual Objects now showcases examples of our previous design savvy and successes in a collection of the top [mobile app development companies](https://visualobjects.com/app-development/top-mobile-app-development-companies).

Earning more and more acclaim for the design, development, and delivery processes that Bright Invention successfully completes with our clients definitely paves the way for our success to continue, so we’re excited to see what we do next. If you’re interested in hearing more about our rise through the development world or being brought to the top as a result of our partnership, please [drop us a line](/start-project). We look forward to connecting and to figuring out how we can all shine bright together!

## Are we ready for deep learning on mobile devices?

*Published: 2019-03-24 | Author: radeks | Tags: android, ios, tensorflow, deep learning, machine learning*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/are-we-ready-for-deep-learning-on-mobile-devices/index.md*

Due to the rapid growth of deep learning possibilities, lots of smart people do their best to create more and more sophisticated algorithms that beat human’s performance in many areas. Luckily, a great chunk of their [work](https://arxiv.org/list/cs.LG/recent "repository with lots of papers") is throw open and waits for you to harness it in some fancy way. 

![mobile](../../static/images/are-we-ready-for-deep-learning-on-mobile-devices/top_img.jpg "")

One way to take advantage of it is to make an inference of a pre-trained model in an environment that has plentiful data sources like mobile phones and their sensors. You can wonder why even bother with the inference on mobile app if you can easily make use of the internet connection and send data back and forth but we have to keep in mind that it is not very power efficient solution. What's more convincing is that because we make an inference on mobile then we can work offline and that also leads to low latency. Last but not least is privacy, sometimes we just don't want to send any data outside.

Unfortunately, on mobile devices there are also a few flawings.  Most important ones are relatively little computer power and tight memory constraints that prevents from the effective usage (or usage at all) of heavy models. 

## TensorFlow Lite for rescue!

With [TensorFlow Lite](https://www.tensorflow.org/lite) you can easily use your model on wide variety of devices like Android, iOS or Raspberry Pi. Hold on until you get to know how TensorFlow speeds up some  time consuming tasks. It uses [FlatBuffer](https://google.github.io/flatbuffers/) - a cross-platform library which allows to access serialized data without prior parsing and with preserving data structures that effect at unbelievable speed that is close to a raw struct access.  

Another thing is an extra kernel optimization for NEON on ARM. Besides it may leverage speed by a direct GPU integration or [Android Neural Network API](https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/neuralnetworks). 

Next crucial component is a [post-training quantization](https://www.tensorflow.org/lite/performance/post_training_quantization) that enables to reduce a model size in tandem with 3x lower latency with a minimal impoverishment of accuracy. 

What’s more, at  [TensorFlow Dev Summit 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKosV_-4pdQ) we could get to know about some rapidly broadening use cases of TensorFlow Lite and also about making an inference even faster. 

TensorFlow Lite has been already enhancing a lot of apps that you've probably taken advantage of with features like a portrait mode on android camera, *Hey Google* in Google Assistant or just Google Photos.

Let’s now sum up the whole process of using TensorFlow model on mobile device. 

* Create a model or get existing one
* Convert the model into .tflite format
* Save the converted model on your device
* Load the model and make an inference

As you can see you can make it work by following four main steps. Yet there are lots of opportunities behind machine learning and deep learning in particular, so why not to take advantage of it. There is a whole bunch of things to cover but I’m sure that’s worth your time. With such great tools like TensorFlow/Keras and TensorFlow Lite you can deploy your current model to mobile devices much easier than it was possible before. Stay tuned for next posts about creating Android app with TensorFlow Lite.

Click to learn more what other tools are used by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.designrush.com/trends/best-software-development-tools">app development companies</a>.

## Android - Koin DI

*Published: 2019-03-20 | Author: szymek | Tags: android, koin, DI, dagger, mobiledev, mobile*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/android-koin/index.md*

In Android injecting parameters, managing component's lifecycle and creating various scopes is difficult and crucial, but fortunately, we've got [DI (Dependency Injection)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_injection) technique for the rescue.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/images/android-koin/android_photo.jpg" />
</p>

Right now the most known Android DI tool is Dagger 2 maintained by Google. We have been using it in many projects. It's great, but lately the other player has showed up. Let's talk about Koin!

Nowadays writing Android Application in Kotlin is getting more and more popular, hence new libraries are showing up! Koin is a 'pragmatic lightweight dependency injection' [dsl (Domain-Specific language)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain-specific_language) Kotlin framework. It's not based on reflection and code generation either. The way it works is different than Dagger and it could be described as a [service locator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_locator_pattern). It’s regarded as an anti-pattern, but in my opinion it depends on the job it needs to do. With this tool you can easily create modules, inject dependencies and manage Android components lifecycles or scopes. It could be useful when method count, build speed and a size of your APK matters due to not generating code. 

## Core features:

* Creating modules, submodules consisting of singleton and factory providers
* Creating session scopes managed wherever you want in your code
* Creating global named properties
* Binding to component's lifecycle
* Android Architecture Component support

## Let's see few lines of code

Class providing us with current weather

```kotlin
  class WeatherProvider {
    fun getCurrentWeather(): String {
      return "It's sunny! As always in this beautiful city of Gdańsk!”
    }
  }
```

Weather module creation with single instance of `WeatherProvider`:

```kotlin
  val weatherModule = {
    single { WeatherProvider() }
  }
```

Initialize Koin:

```kotlin
  startKoin(listOf(weatherModule))
```

Now we can use our `WeatherProvider` wherever we want by injecting it in this way:

```kotlin
  val weatherProvider: WeatherProvider by inject()
```

And that's it! The `WeatherProvider` singleton is ready to use.

You can also bind `WeatherProvider` per Activity which will depend on its lifecycle or create a special scope for your needs opened and closed whenever you want.

For more information visit official [Quickstart](https://insert-koin.io/docs/quickstart/kotlin) section.

## Summary

Koin has a great Kotlin feeling, dsl syntax, no annotations, no boilerplate and is pretty easy to implement. The other important thing are - errors. Koin provides us with clean and reasonable error logs. If you make a mistake in your implementation it's really effortless to localize and fix a problem. You can even bind your own logger to it while initializing.
Nevertheless there are few concerns. Would it be causing headaches for large teams due to resolving what is injected where? Will a performance extremely decrease with the increasing quantity of dependencies? I guess we need to find out!

## Flutter - why you may love it or hate it

*Published: 2019-03-17 | Author: lukasz | Tags: flutter, dart, android, cross-platform*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/flutter-why-you-may-love-it-or-hate-it/index.md*

Flutter is a new Google's framework for creating cross-platform applications. So far, I haven't tried to create any cross-platform projects so I wanted to give it a try. This won't be a next
basic tutorial for creating apps with Flutter. I'll just present my first impression of things that have made me love and hate
Flutter after a few hours of having fun with it.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/images/flutter-why-you-may-love-it-or-hate-it/flutter-logo.png" />
</p>

## **Dart**

Before I started implementing my first application, I had thought it would be wise to prepare myself for new language syntax. 
Flutter is just a framework. Language which it uses is called Dart. Dart is an object-oriented, class defined, garbage-collected language created by Google. It is pretty similar to Kotlin, C# or Swift. Everything you need to know about it
you can find on Flutter's [Get started](https://www.dartlang.org/guides/language) page.

## Flutter

One thing that is worth knowing is that Flutter’s application are not compiled like React Native or NativeScript code. It's not only UI elements, which are compiled, but the whole thing is. Flutter doesn't use a special bridge to communicate between
our code and native code, it uses a C/C++ library for compilation, so it's much closer to a machine language and it gives 
us a much better performance.

### **First application**

I've decided to continue my journey with Flutter's "Get started" documentation. The first application I've created was
developed step by step from [this](https://flutter.io/docs/get-started/codelab) tutorial.
You can see the complete code of an application below:

```dart
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:english_words/english_words.dart';

void main() => runApp(MyApp());

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Startup Name Generator',
      home: RandomWords(),
    );
  }
}

class RandomWords extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  RandomWordsState createState() => new RandomWordsState();
}

class RandomWordsState extends State<RandomWords> {
  final _suggestions = <WordPair>[];
  final _biggerFont = const TextStyle(fontSize: 18.0);

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(
        title: Text('Startup Name Generator'),
      ),
      body: _buildSuggestions(),
    );
  }

  Widget _buildSuggestions() {
    return ListView.builder(
        padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16.0),
        itemBuilder: (context, i) {
          if (i.isOdd) return Divider();
          final index = i ~/ 2;
          if (index >= _suggestions.length) {
            _suggestions.addAll(generateWordPairs().take(10));
          }
          return _buildRow(_suggestions[index]);
        });
  }

  Widget _buildRow(WordPair pair) {
    return ListTile(
      title: Text(
        pair.asPascalCase,
        style: _biggerFont,
      ),
    );
  }
```

A first few things you can notice is that:

* It's only one file - we don't create UI's in a separate file like I'm used to in Android development,
* It's short - about 50 lines for application which creates a never-ending list? It's pretty awesome!
* Everything is **Widget** - the whole Flutter application is created using Widgets. Every UI element (and even the main screen block) is a Widget. Creating Flutter app is just creating a tree of Widgets.

Let's just quickly explain what is going on step by step:

* we start an application in the `main()` function calling `runApp()`,
* in `MyApp` class, we return `MaterialApp` with a title and the rest of the layout - `RandomWords` class (which of course is a Widget),
* in `RandomWordsState` we create `State` which is a logic for `RandomWords` class of what we would like to show inside,
* overriden `build` method creates the Widget - Scaffold, which in its `body` calls the function `buildSuggestions()`, 
  that will return us a `ListView` Widget,
* `buildSuggestions()` for odd indexes creates a Divider (simple horizontal line) and for the even once, inflates a `ListTile` 
  Widget using `buildRow()` function,
* finally the `buildRow()` creates a simple Text widget using a string generated by the `english_words` library which is 
  being held in a `suggestions` array.

Combining layout and logic code in a single place seemed strange to me at first, but I got used to it after some time.

### **Hot Reload**

Flutter supports a great development feature. Hot Reload allows you to rerun your application after some simple changes in 
no time. That is great! I won't have to wait a minute every time I make a simple change, shall I? Well.. not necessarily, because 
it doesn't work every time. Let's say that we want to change Text's color in our application. 
We adjust `_biggerFont` implementation to :

```dart
final _biggerFont = const TextStyle(fontSize: 18.0, color: Colors.green); 
```

then save (saving the file applies Hot Reload as well) and... nothing happens. Texts inside the list
doesn't change their color. We have to rerun the application completely to see the changes. 
Now, if we try to change the text color to blue after pressing save, Hot Reload does work but as you see, in most cases it is better
to just rerun application completely to be sure something does or doesn't work. Nevertheless, rerunning Flutter application 
seems to be a lot faster than rerunning traditional Android code.

### **Material Design**

As you could have already noticed, everything in the Flutter app depends on Material Design. Even the main application container
is called `MaterialApp`. Personally, I think that is great, because I love all the UI designs there, but for iOS user it might
be strange. Every Flutter app looks exactly the same on every platform. You can obviously change some layouts, depending
on the device it's running but it doesn't automatically adjust the style of the components to match a specific platform.

## **Things I love in Flutter**

* a lot of predefined Widgets - if you want to add Floating Button, Drawer Navigator or even some action buttons to the toolbar,
  it will take you only a few lines of the code to implement. All the basic features (like Toolbars - back button or 
  Drawer's - open) are already implemented, 
* easy implementation of animations,
* still developed - Google is adding new features all the time, new third-party libraries are being created and you can
  find a lot of help on StackOverflow already,
* better performance than all the JavaScript's methods,
* Hot Reload - it actually helps :D.

## **Things I hate in Flutter**

* .yaml files - I've spent some time trying to fix a simple bug, which was caused by one additional white-space. 
  When you add image, you need to specify it in `pubspec.yaml` file and I've made a typo there. Fortunately, [online validators](http://www.yamllint.com/) came to the rescue,
* ending each Widget's argument's with comma - after adding the last argument of a Widget, you should end it with `,`. 
  Otherwise the code will be badly / ugly formatted. This sometimes leads to the code which in the end looks like this:

```dart
        ],
      ),
    ),
  ),
);
```

* ending lines with a semicolon - after getting used to Kotlin, it's really annoying that I have to add the semicolons again (but that's more of a Dart thing I guess).

## **Should I use it?**

Everything depends on a scope of a project. If you want to develop multi platform application by yourself it's easier to use
a cross-platform method, rather than writing native code for each one. Choosing between Flutter and React Native / NativeScript depends on you. Thanks to the constant development, it seems to me that it can outrun his competitors, but it hasn't done it yet.
You also need to bare in mind that cross-platform methods always lack some features. It is highly probable that for the
very specific task, you would have to add some native code. Fortunately, it's also not so hard to do with Flutter.

## I am hooked on React

*Published: 2019-03-12 | Author: patryk | Tags: React, JavaScript, Hooks*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/I-am-hooked-on-react-/index.md*

React has introduced a new feature which allows you to use state and other React feature without writing class, upcoming [Hooks](https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-overview.html), a new proposal in React 16.8.0, which are going to blow your socks off and enable our stateless function component does more than even before!

![React](../../static/images/I-am-hooked-on-react/intro.jpg "")

## Initial work

The easiest way to setup environment for learning React with Hooks is run:

```shell
npx create-react-app my-app
cd my-app
npm start
```

Now, we have initialized React application.
Please, make sure that to use the React-Hooks you have installed proper version (the version which I will use is `16.8.0`) for today it’s the newest version of React.

If you want to know, which version you are using, please use the command: 

`npm info react`

In case you want to update your react and react-dom please use the command: 

`npm i react@next react-dom@next`

## React Hooks

In this post we are going to focus on 3 basic Hooks in React:

```js
useState
useEffect
useContext
```

React has introduced even more, but the following features are more complicated and should be described separately:

```js
useReducer
useCallback
useMemo
useRef
useImperativeMethods
useLayoutEffect
```

### useState

Now, you can add state to a functional component. We don't need to write a separate class for that.
Let's create a simple counter state-less component and add first Hook.

```jsx
export const Counter = () => {
   return (
       <div>
           <p>Counter value: </p>
           <button onClick={}>Increase</button>
           <button onClick={}>Decrease</button>
       </div>
   )
}
```

It's the simple Counter. Our counter will increase and decrease the value if user presses Button `onClick` event.

The way it works, you can pass the initial state as a first argument, in my case it will be count equal 0. 

```jsx
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
```

The `useState` Hook returns an array. The first entry of the array is the the current value of the state, at this point it will be 0. The second entry of the array is a function to update the state.

Now, we can pass the current value of the state and function for update the state:

```jsx
export const Counter = () => {
   const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
   return (
       <div>
           <p>Counter value: {count}</p>
           <button onClick={() => {setCount(count + 1)}}>Increase counter</button>
           <button onClick={() => {setCount(count -1)}}>Decrease counter</button>
       </div>
   )
}
```

### useEffect

Hook as ability to avoid the side effects from the function component. It is almost the same like well-known `componentDidMount` and `componentDidUpdate`.

So, simply we wll import and add it to our Counter, and pass an anonymous function as a first argument:

```jsx
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
const [checked, changeCheckbox] = useState(true)
useEffect(() => {
   console.log('hello from useEffect')
})
```

For now, the text `hello from useEffect` will render every time when we change the current value of checkbox (so every time when function flushes changes to the DOM including the first render). 

The real power of `useEffect` is that we can pass a second optional argument, which is an array. Then we can specify that we want to invoke this effect only in the situation when we change the count value.

```jsx
useEffect(() => {
   console.log('hello from useEffect')
}, [count])
```

Now, the `useEffect` **will be called only in case that the state of the count will change**. Cool, right?

### useContext

Imagine, the problem is that the name and surname of user from an index file is passed down as a prop to the components. 

We are going to create two additional function components: `Header` and `LoginInfo`. The components will only render the value passed as a `prop` from the `Dashboard`.

`Dashboard` which actually does not use it, just passed it down to `Header` which uses the value from the user state and passes it as well to `LoginInfo` which also renders the name of the user.
This approach is ok, but we have to pass a user through a bunch of components (in our case `Dashboard` which doesn't care about it). 

One way to make it looks better is to use `createContext`, to create a new context and returns the current context value, as given by the nearest context provider for the given context. 
So let's create and export the `Context` object:

```jsx
import React from 'react'
const Context = React.createContext()
export default Context
```

In our index app, we are importing the Context and wrap the whole main page component with `<Context.Provider>` and pass the user value from state as a prop. Now, we have an access to all of the 
Context consumers to the value from state and we don’t need to pass it through the components as a prop.

```jsx
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import './App.css';
import { Dashboard } from "./Dashboard";
import Context from './Context'

class App extends Component {
   state = {
       user: 'John Doe'
   }
   render() {
       const {user} = this.state
       return (
           <Context.Provider value={user}>
               <Dashboard />
           </Context.Provider>
       );
   }
}
export default App;
```

Right now, we use `useContext` Hook and wrap our Context, where the value is a value passed from the Provider (our index). Let's assign in to user variable.

```jsx
import React, { useContext } from 'react'
import LoginInfo from './LoginInfo'
import Context from './Context'

const Header = () => {
    const user = useContext(Context)
    return (
        <div>
            <h1>Welcome {user}</h1>
            <LoginInfo />
        </div>

    )
}

export default Header
```

The situation will be the same for the `LoginInfo`. We declare a value `user` by using `useContext` Hook and the value is a value passed from the Provider (our index).

```jsx
import React, { useContext } from 'react'
import Context from './Context'

const LoginInfo = () => {
    const user = useContext(Context)
    return (
        <h6>Logged as {user}</h6>
    )
}

export default LoginInfo
```

In `LoginInfo` and `Header` now we have prop user as a value, so we can remove the unnecessary prop from the `Dashboard` which doesn't use it at all. 

## React Hooks restrictions

Although it looks nicely, it's really good to know about Hooks:

* Hooks can be only called from React function component,
* Hooks should be only called on the top level. Don't call them inside loops, conditions or nested functions. By following this rule, you ensure that Hooks are called in the same order each time as component renders. That's what allows React to correctly preserve the state of Hooks between multiple `useState` and `useEffect` calls. (For more if you are curious, good explain is [here](https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-rules.html#explanation)).

## Class base component will be no more support?

I think that Hooks and class base components will be still useful. The documentation says that **"There are no plans to remove classes from React"** and they definitely do not recommend rewriting everything into Hooks. It's individual and you should decide whether use Hooks or Classes.

Hooks are great feature in React. Personally, I'm using it after stable version release.

## A sky full of Agile

*Published: 2019-03-04 | Author: kasia | Tags: agile, programming practices, project management*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/a-sky-full-of-agile/index.md*

Everybody seems to be doing Agile these days. Start-ups do it, big organisations do it, all the cool companies do it. That’s even how autonomous cars are being developed - the agile way. Even though it’s been agreed that [‘there’s no silver bullet’](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Silver_Bullet) in software development, well, apparently there must be and it’s Agile. Right?
	
Don’t get me wrong. I love Agile. And that’s exactly why I hope it will never turn into Coldplay of software development. Sometimes it seems that Agile is becoming this crowd-pleasing, catchy thing, that slowly loses its meaning. What does it mean to be agile these days?

![Team](../../static/images/a-sky-full-of-agile/agile_team.jpeg "")

I am not [Kent Beck](https://www.kentbeck.com/) to be a judge on this one, but I guess it’s safe to say that you do not become agile just by doing the Stand-ups or talking about [velocity](https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/velocity/) and story points. You do not become an agile company by making everyone do their Scrum certificates or changing their positions’ names from Project Manager to Scrum Master etc. I hear ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ in my head when I write this.

It’s tricky to even focus on the term ‘Agile’ itself when there are so many Agile-related terms these days - you have [squads](https://medium.com/productmanagement101/spotify-squad-framework-part-i-8f74bcfcd761), you have [definition of ready](https://www.scruminc.com/definition-of-ready/), [MMF](https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/mmf/), [release trains](https://www.scaledagileframework.com/agile-release-train/)… The thing is, it can be quite overwhelming. And it can impact the ability to communicate. We can make laugh of the big corporations having their own slang for everything but the same thing can happen when you overdose the ‘good’ terminology as well. Agile is about simplicity after all. And doing Scrum or Kanban is not what the software development is about. 

## “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools”

And honestly, it concerns Agile processes and tools as well. They can support the team to achieve their goals but they are not the goals in themselves. If Burndown charts and Fibonacci sequence-based story points become one of the things the team feels it needs to deliver rather than use as a support, it can mean that something’s not quite right. 

## “Working software over comprehensive documentation”

Even the agile one.

[Kjell Ljostad](https://twitter.com/kljostad) during his presentation at [Beauty in Code 2019](http://www.beautyincode.se/) said that doing the actual methods, like Scrum or Kanban, is something that you grow to. I think you can develop that to: you need to grow into needing them. The place you should start at is the [Agile Manifesto](https://agilemanifesto.org/). Then just be reasonable and thoughtful - what is it that your team, your stakeholders, need?  If it is the whole Poker Planning and Burndown charts shebang, then great. If it is just the shift to working closer with the client and delivering software in small increments (whatever you want to call them) at first, with the Agile Manifesto pinned to your board, then that may be great for your team right now. I guess the main thing is to adapt and evolve as your team does. 

## “Responding to change over following a plan”

In every aspect. Not just specification and requirements. 

And then, there’s a client. Who cares about the value he or she is going to get from the system. The real value. The impact the system will have on their users and the return of the investment. Let’s get to know his or her needs, no matter if he or she knows how to work the Agile way. If he or she can prioritise the User Stories upfront. Because that’s what the Agile is for. 

## “Customer collaboration over contract negotiation”

And that’s just it, really. I believe in Agile, even the one before the actual term ‘Agile’ has been coined. In its early 60’s forms of just ‘delivering in iterations’. Because it asks you to be a reasonable, organised and empathetic human being. And then choose the right tools. I think that’s how we do Agile at Bright. We can call it Bright Agile. And, come to think of it, maybe we can make people do certificates on it… ;) 

P.S. If you love Coldplay, then sorry for this. I really liked “Parachutes” though.

## The Secret Recipe of Being a Happy Employee

*Published: 2019-02-14 | Author: ula | Tags: productivity, job, inspiration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-secret-recipe-of-being-a-happy-employee/index.md*

**It happens quite often that we go with the flow and let our day be controlled by such things like notifications, emails, distractions from colleagues or countless meetings. But we often do not realise to what extent they all may affect our work and life, in general.** 

<div className="image">![happy employees](../../static/images/blogpost_happy_people_bright.png "Happy employees")</div>

**Our job satisfaction depends not only on whether we like what we do or not. It depends greatly on our daily habits outside the workplace environment**. It is not only determined by our knowledge, skills or competences, but also by our time and energy management, proper planning, prioritising and by our physical and mental capabilities. In fact, our job happiness depends substantially on the habit of mind we cultivate and everyday habits we are building all the time.

But we are not left alone in our battle for job satisfaction. **If you want to enjoy what you do and stay focused at work, it is enough sometimes to apply a few simple rules**. Because we all are capable of doing great things, aren't we? 

## 💤 Sleep at least 7 hours

Maybe it would be a cliché, but sleep is really important. Try to sleep at least 7 hours a day not to feel irritated, impatient or depressed at work. Sleeping longer might be also a boost for your creativity. When you are sleep-deprived, you might have more trouble refocusing on the task at hand after a disruption, compared with someone who is well rested. Getting enough sleep is also the key for memorising what we have learnt during the day.

## 💧 Drink water

Dehydration - even if small - may lead to really harmful effects. A body water loss of 1-2% may result in decrease of your physical and mental capability. A body water loss of 5% may limit your work efficiency by 30%. So, if you feel sleepy or defocused, drink a glass of water as coffee might be helpful only in the short term. 

## 🚴 Exercise regularly

Researchers would say - at least three times a week, but even a daily stroll makes a difference. Physical activity improves concentration and sharpen your memory. You can also learn faster and lower stress levels. People who exercise regularly can cope with difficult and challenging situations more easily.  If you want to know how it works, take a look [here](http://www.brainblogger.com/2017/10/24/the-most-important-thing-we-can-do-for-our-brain-exercise/). 

## 🏝 Remember about [downtime](/blog/downtime/)

Having short regular breaks at work is really significant to be efficient and focused. When we are tired, we have difficulty in making crucial decisions or reaching proper conclusions. Fatigue makes us look for the simplest solutions not optimal ones. If possible, try to plan your breaks in advance. 

## 🙌 Realise that your work is of great value and significance

Even the smallest tasks we accomplish every day do have an impact. It is really important to find your sense of purpose and meaning at work. It is not always easy, but such experience often involves a greater satisfaction with one's life on a deeper level. It is up to us how we define and realise our purpose at work. We have to know what motivates us, analyse our personal goals, find the ways to make our company life better and more effective in general. Mentor, help and share knowledge with others. 

## 📝 Plan your priorities and tasks every day

Sounds pointless? In the beginning it may sound like that, but with passing of time you will see that this daily routine will help you plan your day more effectively and successfully. You will get to know what time is best for you to do the most urgent tasks, what time might be good for meetings and calls, what time is good to have a break. [Make the most of your time](/blog/make-the-most-of-it/). 

## 💜 Take care of positive vibes around you

Smiling gives your brain a real boost and increases its activity. [Do you know that when you are happy, you can be also 12% more productive?](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048751/happy-employees-are-12-more-productive-at-work) Some researches even show that the increase of productivity may reach 30%. And you can be also three times more creative. Positive thinking on regular basis is directly connected with being successful. It broadens our scope of attention and in consequence enhances our problem solving skills. Happy people have more energy and have also more things done. So, make an effort to smile as often as you can. 

## 👁 Train your focus

We all struggle to maintain focus in our workplace. But we can also train our brain to induce a focused state in ourselves. Focusing is a skill and it needs practice to develop. Nobody is totally the same. To help yourself focus when you need to, it is important to pinpoint your own distractions triggers and get rid of them for blocks of time. [Think about both internal and external distractions, and try to eliminate them](https://www.ciphr.com/advice/workplace-distractions/). It is all about self-control. 

## 🦄 Avoid multitasking

[Constant switching from one task to another may decrease your efficiency by 40%](https://www.wrike.com/blog/high-cost-of-multitasking-for-productivity/), and at the same time it also increases time you need to accomplish them. Even if you might be feeling like you are accomplishing a lot, you are actually not allowing your brain to organise your thoughts. Multitasking is beneficial while walking, deleting emails or putting away documents, yet apart from that it may cause more harm than good. Once you get to know how to avoid it and become better at working on one task at a time, you will probably be surprised how much your productivity levels increase.

## ✅ Be consistent

Sure, sleeping six hours one day is better than sleeping five hours. Doing three tasks at once is better than doing six tasks at once. Complaining twice a week is better than complaining every day. Planning one day of your week is better than not planning at all. But the point is to make it daily.  

<div className="image">![Bright Inventions team](../../static/images/team_jacek.png "Bright Inventions team")</div>

**We often create our own limits of being happy**, the limits we are often not aware of. That is why, cultivating positive mindset and practising fresh behaviours is so important to change our destructive routine. Train on maintaining focus, time management, adaptability, etc. It will help you stay productive in any disruptive and changing work environment. Acknowledge the real challenges and face them. 

And last but not least, **ask for support if you need it**. Remember that there is a direct connection between staying focused and productive and being an engaged employee. And when we are engaged, we feel also more motivated, confident and happy.

## N ways to debug React Native app

*Published: 2019-01-09 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: react-native, debug, android, ios, react native*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/n-ways-to-debug-rn/index.md*

React Native is an abstraction over the native code, which allows us to have one code base for multiple platforms. Sounds great, right? Not everybody though is so enthusiastic about this approach. One of the reasons might be troublesome running and debugging the JavaScript code. In this blog post you may find a short tutorial on how to debug your app on Android and iOS, on a physical device or a simulator/emulator, the JavaScript code and the native one.

![React Native](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/image1.jpeg "")

## **Run the iOS app**

It is quite convenient to create build configurations in your IDE. I personally use IntelliJ IDEA, but WebStorm is pretty similar.

Go to `Add Configuration` (or `Edit configuration`, if you happen to have any configuration created already).

![React Native](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/1-add-config.png "")

![React Native](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/2-edit-config.png "")

Add a new `React Native` configuration. 

![React Native](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/3-config-rn.png "")

Call it `Run iOS` or whatever is meaningful to you. As a `Target Platform` choose `iOS`. We can use either a physical device or a simulator to run the app on. 

* To install the app on a physical device set `Arguments` property to`--device="MyDevice"`. The name of your device you can find and edit in `Settings` -> `General` -> `About` -> `Name`. 
* To install and run the app on a simulator set `Arguments` property to  `--simulator="iPhone X"` (or any other device with iOS you want to test on). The simulator is shipped with Xcode and you need a Mac to run it. To manage simulated devices, open Xcode, go to `Window` -> `Devices and Simulators`. 
* If you leave the `Arguments` property empty, it will attempt to install the app on any connected device.

You can also include your `.env` file in the `Environment` property as follows: `ENVFILE=.env.staging`.

![React Native](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/4-ios-config.png "")

## **Run the Android app**

Creating the run configuration for Android is pretty similar. Add another `React Native` configuration, give it a name and choose `Android` as a `Target Platform`. To run the app on a device or a simulator, you need to have `adb` installed. It is shipped with Android Studio, which is convenient to have installed anyway. To view and manage Android emulated devices, you may use Android Studio. From menu select `Tools -> AVD Manager`. You can also use the command line for this, check the details [here](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-commandline). To run the app on a physical device, you need to enable the developer mode on it. Once you run the app, it will be installed on all devices connected (to view the devices list, you can run `adb devices`).

![React Native](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/5-android-config.png "")

## **Hot Reloading**

Now that we can run the React Native app, there is a handy option, you may want to enable: `Hot Reloading`. To enable it, open the in-app developer menu with `CMD + D` (iPhone simulator), or `CMD + M` (Android emulator), or shake gesture (physical device). 

![React Native](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/6-in-app.png "")

Hot reloading will reflect any changes you make in the JavaScript code right away in the running app. This means you won’t need to reload your app. There is also another option available: `Live reload`. It will reload your app anytime you change the code, which means you will lose the current app state.

## **Inspector**

Once we are in the developer menu, there is another useful option - inspector. This is not the fully featured inspector a web developer may know from web browsers, but it may help from time to time. To enable it, choose `Toggle Inspector`.

## **Debug JavaScript code**

Now we are almost ready to debug the JavaScript code. Put some breakpoints and run debug. Once the app launches on your device, enter the in-app developer menu and choose `Debug JS Remotely`. A web browser should open and display the debugger page. If it does not, [open in manually](http://localhost:8081/debugger-ui/). Now you can debug your JS code either in the browser’s developer tool window or via the IDE. You can debug your app both on physical and virtual devices, on Android and iOS.

## **Debug native code**

While developing a React Native app, most often you are focused on the JavaScript code, but you cannot forget that the native code is still there under the hood. Sooner or later, you will probably need to dive deep into it. Here is the way how to debug the native code inside a React Native app.

1. Run your React Native app (on a device or an emulator/simulator).
2. Open the native subproject of your React Native app (probably placed in `android` or `ios` directory) in Android Studio or Xcode.
3. Attach to the process:
        *In Android Studio open `Attach debugger to Android process`, check `Show all processes` and choose the device that your app is running on.
   ![](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/7-attatch-android-1.png "")
   ![](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/8-attatch-android-2.png "")*
        In Xcode open `Debug` -> `Attach to Process` and choose your app process (it will likely be named as your app).
   ![](../../static/images/n-ways-to-debug-rn/9-attatch-ios.png "")
4. Now you can debug the native code - the app code itself (which is probably not that necessary) as well as included libraries. The latter is extremely useful when you need to develop your own react-native-to-native bridge library.

## **Tips and tricks**

Although it looks promising, not everything works like a charm. In fact, as of my experience, more often it does not work. Here are some tips, what to do when things don’t go like clockwork.

Hot reloading does not always reload a screen properly, sometimes you just need to reload the app manually to get the changes visible (especially when you change the styles only). Keep it in mind, when your changes don’t seem to work :) 

While debugging JavaScript code, you may also encounter some problems. Just to name a few most often for me: 

* sometimes the IDE decides to stop debugging :) Usually, it’s still possible to debug in the browser
* a breakpoint added while debugging does not take effect, even after reloading the app
* any changes made in the code while debugging do not take effect,
* the app crashes right after starting.

You can resolve most of these problems by taking one or more of the following steps: reopening simulator/emulator, reopening the browser, restarting the Metro Bundler process and the platform-specific process (or killing the node process), cleaning (remove `node_modules` directory and run `yarn/npm install`, remove `ios/buid` directory) and rebuilding the app.

To sum up, the JavaScript debugging process is not as seamless and stable as you may be used to if you come from native technologies, but you still can and should benefit from the mentioned possibilities and techniques.

## 31 reasons why we love working at Bright Inventions

*Published: 2019-01-08 | Author: ula | Tags: teamwork, bright insights*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/31-reasons-why-we-love-working-at-Bright-Inventions/index.md*

Back at my desk I am looking at a challenging, but at the same time rewarding and amazing 2018.  A new office, the team tripled in size, being among [Top App Developers in Poland on Clutch](/blog/Bright-Inventions-Remains-A-Top-Developer-In-Poland/) and among [Top 20 App Development Companies in Poland according to AppFutura](https://www.appfutura.com/blog/top-20-mobile-app-development-companies-in-poland-november-2018/), [international networking](/blog/bright-networking-time/), more industry leading partnership agreements and our entry into new Blockchain and AI world. What a year.

Hard work and a lot dedication. As Bright Inventions, I think more than anything we have managed to create a brand that people can be proud to stand behind and support. The values of trust, authenticity, optimism and loyalty shine through our team. We are not afraid of asking for clarification, of listening to our clients, of looking for innovative and optimal solutions to the problems. We prefer acting instead of waiting for your turn to speak. Surely, we are still quite far from where we want to end up but 2018 has clearly showed we are on the right path.

I believe that a true path to success is to support people in thriving at work, living great lives, and stepping into better versions of themselves. If you have great team and support them in learning and growth, you just have a better chance of succeeding. 

In December we had a special initiative to think for a moment about our company culture, our development and roles in the company and in fact, about the reasons why we like working here at Bright. 

For me, personally, the initiative was a time to reflect on last 2 years and realise what I value at Bright the most. And what I value the most are amazing inspiring people I work with, people who I meet every day in the morning and with whom I spend most of my time. What I value the most is trust and independence that I have been given from the beginning, and which I appreciate a lot. What I value are new development opportunities I have been offered and I am still being offered till this day. And probably I could add dozens of other reasons, but you can always check on your own. 

I am always saying that the future of work is all about people, the people feeling connected to the culture of their company and the vision of their organisation.  Job is much more than a pay cheque. It is a place you go to improve your skill set, contribute to the greater good, and collaborate with other awesome people. And that is the case of our bright success. We are surrounded by Bright People every day.

![31 reasons why we love working at Bright Inventions](../../static/images/31_reasons_why_we_like_working_at_Bright_Inventions.png "")

Bright New Year Everyone! Let's make 2019 the best year ever!

## How do we use Git at Bright Inventions?

*Published: 2019-01-03 | Author: adam | Tags: git, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-do-we-use-git/index.md*

Even though at Bright Inventions we use a number of technologies and work on multiple software stacks, we have a few practices that are common and widely accepted across all projects and stacks. One of these things is how we use source control, namely Git. Some parts of our workflow is highly subjective and some might even be regarded as controversial or suboptimal. Let me guide you through our process and explain some of our rationales.

## Branching model

There are several branching models or flows out there for Git. Some people can't imagine the project without a [full-fledged GitFlow](https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/comparing-workflows/gitflow-workflow) in place. Some are hardcore `master`-only believers. We're somewhere in between. Our flow is mostly based on [Feature Branches](https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/comparing-workflows/feature-branch-workflow) – we have the main line in `master` and we mostly work in the short-living branches dedicated to a single feature. When the feature is ready (ideally, already [after the review](/blog/what-are-code-reviews-for/)), we squash its commits as much as it makes sense and then rebase the squashed commit (or commits) it onto master. Then it gets merged into master. 

Let's dissect this flow into some smaller chunks.

### Initial work

We get a new ticket/issue assigned (ideally because we've chosen it from the planned list). Assuming we're up to date with remote `master`, we start with creating a feature branch for our issue:

```shell
git checkout -b PROJ-123
```

The convention we often use is to name the feature branches according to the JIRA ticket that describes our feature, but let's not be religious here, as long as the name communicates obviously what the branch is about. It's important since we're going to push this feature branch to the remote repository, too, and especially important if we're going to collaborate with others.

Then, let the work begin. Every time we reach a stable point in our implementation (but not necessarily end-to-end complete), we commit our changes to our feature branch. [Commit early, commit often](http://blog.beanstalkapp.com/post/147799908084/commit-early-commit-often), they say, and we agree. It might mean we have a few commits every hour, and this is totally fine, as long as we name the commits well enough for us to understand the history and be able to revert in case we need it. No strict rules here as this branch is still our private lawn, outside of `master`. 

```shell
git add .
git commit -m "WIP invoices listing; filtering UI done"
```

But private doesn't mean local-only, though. For the sake of data safety and backup, as well as for the merits Continuous Integration gives us (see later), we push these private changes to the remote counterpart of our feature branch in the remote repository. We should never leave work uncommitted and not pushed to the remote repo at the end of the day, let only to ensure our work is not lost if we need to take an unexpected week of sick-leave or in case something bad happens to our equipment overnight.

```shell
git push
# or, for the first push of the new feature branch
git push --set-upstream origin PROJ-123
```

### Getting things ready

When our work is feature-complete (or is in the state that makes it feasible for peer review), for the courtesy of the reviewers, we should clean the Git history a bit by [squashing](https://medium.com/@slamflipstrom/a-beginners-guide-to-squashing-commits-with-git-rebase-8185cf6e62ec) the checkpoint revisions and fix-ups. We do that by using [interactive rebase](http://gitready.com/advanced/2009/02/10/squashing-commits-with-rebase.html). It's also a good moment to actually synchronize our code with the mainline by targeting our rebase to the current tip of `master` that might have already moved away while we were working on the feature branch:

```shell
git fetch # make sure we know the state of the origin
git rebase -i origin/master
```

Rebasing is a complex process. It's easier to reason about it if we have the branches tree imagined or drawn in front of us – I'd highly recommend it for beginners. With rebase, we "cut out" the branch we were working on from the point it was attached to and replant it to another place specified (tip of `master` in our case). The changes are applied commit-by-commit. In a sense we instruct Git to redo our work from the feature branch again on top of another starting point. So if we changed a variable name in our feature branch that originated from commit `A` when it was the tip of `master`, Git tries to apply exactly this change on the current tip of `master`, whatever it is. It applies standard conflict resolution techniques, so that it might fail. We need to resolve the conflicts the same way we'd do it for classic merge. Contrary to merge, though, rebase creates new commits, pretending the work happened later in time and on later baseline than it actually happened. This is the most controversial part, I guess – let me discuss it [later](#buts).
 
After the rebase we have our work reduced to single or a few meaningful commits and applied on top of the most recent changes available. We need to share our rebased changes with the world. This time the simple `git push` fails because with rebase we rewrote the branch history and we're out-of-sync with what has already been pushed (we've dropped the WIP-style commits that were previously pushed and we have a few new and shiny instead). So we do one more thing that some may see as controversial – we force-push our feature branch, so that those dropped commits are also forgotten by the remote repository:

```shell
git please
```

Wait, what? There's no such Git command. What we use here is a [custom alias for `git push --force-with-lease`](https://medium.freecodecamp.org/git-please-a182f28efeb5). It's not that aggressive as plain `--force`, because it can only overwrite the commits we have already known in our local copy – we'll be rejected in case there are some more commits on the remote that we're not aware of. Plain `--force` would overwrite them without even informing us, so in case we collaborate on the feature branch with someone else, we're on the good path to destroy their work. Actually, I believe `--force` should not be available at all. There's no legit case I can see for forcing push, `--force-with-lease` should be the only forceful method allowed. And when we alias it to `please` (note it's an abbreviation for push+lease), we're also more kind and less... pushy 😆.

### Review time

When our changes are there on the remote repository, we can now proceed to peer review. At Bright, we're all-in JetBrains aficionados, so obviously we use [Upsource](https://www.jetbrains.com/upsource/) for this purpose. Our approach to reviews was [already described here](/blog/what-are-code-reviews-for/), so let's skip it here. What is important, though, is that code review will probably result in more commits in the now-rebased feature branch and this is fine, including more WIP-style commits. Let's continue working on the branch for as long as it's needed to successfully complete the review. Ideally, we should be rebasing often onto `master` to ensure our feature branch is still in sync with the mainline, but it has a major disadvantage in our flow – Upsource tends to lose comments on the code when the commits it was attached to gets rebased. Keeping this in mind, we're looking for the right balance of convenience vs. incompatibility risk.

After the review is completed, all the review-related commits can be squashed again, if needed, and the branch should be rebased onto the newest `master`, again. It's the time to merge it into `master` and push:

```shell
git checkout master
git merge --ff-only PROJ-123
git push 
```

The `--ff-only` flag is not technically needed, but it's a sanity check we actually did the rebase correctly and the whole merge will actually be a [fast-forward operation](https://ariya.io/2013/09/fast-forward-git-merge) on `master` instead of a classic merge of two commit lines. We may even [configure it as a default merge behavior](https://medium.com/@mvuksano/git-tips-use-only-fast-forward-merges-with-rebase-c80c9d260a83).

There are alternative techniques of rebasing out there. If we want to squash all the commits of our feature branch into a single one, we may run `git merge --squash feature-branch` instead of rebase+merge pair. The effect is conceptually the same, so use whatever is handy for you.

The job is done now, but there's one more thing we should do before heading for a lunch – we should clean our repository up and delete our remote feature branch that is no longer needed. Unless we do it, our Git tree will become harder and harder to read over time, our tooling will need to work hard to draw it correctly, our CI will need to track useless stuff and our brains will need to filter them out. Let's get rid of it:

```shell
git push origin --delete PROJ-123
```

Now it's officially the lunch time 😉.

## But's

### But they say [rebase is bad](https://medium.com/@fredrikmorken/why-you-should-stop-using-git-rebase-5552bee4fed1)!

Rebase is controversial mostly because it rewrites the history and makes our change appear with the different chronology then when it actually happened for the developer. This is a fact we're going to accept, mostly because we find it not that important to reason about the state of the codebase in the moment the change was introduced by the developer on their local machine. What is important, though, is when it was introduced into the mainline (`master` in our case) and deployed. And it's much easier to reason about this when our history tends to be linear instead of going through the number of interleaving commit lines with "merge of merge" commits that tend to happen in the repositories where merge is the preferred behavior.

![Merges gone wild...](../../static/images/git/wild-merges.png "")

In our scenarios, the change isn't actually introduced to the codebase until it lands on `master`. And this is the moment we mostly care about. Rebase is equally precise about it as merge is, so let's keep things simple.

There's a culprit here, though. Rebase applies every single commit separately on the new base, so it means we can have multiple conflicts to resolve. Even more, if we need to rebase several times over time (i.e. because `master` went further ahead while our change was in review), we need to repeat this conflict resolution process multiple times. This is a pain that is partially addressed by [rerere technique](https://hackernoon.com/fix-conflicts-only-once-with-git-rerere-7d116b2cec67). But the best mitigation is to take care while defining scope and size of the tasks. Well-split task is small enough to ensure implementation doesn't last long: less than a day might be a good target threshold, but obviously – [it depends](http://blog.consulting101book.com/it-depends/). Well-split task (in a well-architected codebase) is also independent enough from other planned changes so that the number of conflicts is low enough to handle it. It's not easy in some cases, but it's worth it – the effects of well-planned tasks are profound and reach almost all aspects of software development process.

### But how to collaborate on a feature branch?

The fact that we're force-pushing our feature branch means the history is changing. So if someone relies on it, we may break their workflow. The question how to share the work in case it needs to be handled by more than one person is valid one, although given we already established the importance of small and well-separated tasks, it's not that common as it might seem. In most cases the need to collaborate on a feature before it's ready to push to `master` probably means it's not split granularly enough. Note that "ready to push to `master`" doesn't necessarily imply "ready to ship to customers". There is a multitude of techniques to decouple these two, [Feature Toggling](https://martinfowler.com/articles/feature-toggles.html) being the one we're most experienced with at Bright.

But if we really need to share the same feature branch with others, we can fall back to merging and "classic" Git collaboration techniques within the feature branch and get rid of it just before rebasing onto master. Git is a powerful beast. And eventually, merge is still a perfectly valid technique, if we're convinced we need to use it even on `master`, no kittens will die. An occasional non-linear piece of the history in Git wouldn't probably make it immediately unreadable.  

## Releasing model

We're believers of [Deploy early, deploy often](https://about.gitlab.com/2016/07/21/release-early-release-often/) principle as much as it's feasible to us and our clients. That's why we always invest in automation and Continuous Delivery procedures – we should never need to run any build by hand or from the developer's machine. This typically means we are able to deploy every single commit that lands on `master` into a staging environment of our applications. We ask our clients to use these staging environments as much as possible so that we can detect outstanding bugs before they reach production. In most cases we use staging builds for our internal needs, too – i.e. the mobile apps we currently have under development connect to staging backend environments, we run demos there etc. 

These facts require us to maintain a healthy state of `master` branch as much as possible because if `master` is broken, it may actually affect the work of many people. We consider it to be a good thing. To help with this order, we have Continuous Integration servers running [TeamCity](https://www.jetbrains.com/teamcity/) set up for every branch, so tests at our feature branches are continuously run, also before the changes land on `master`. This includes integration tests that operate on the real database engine or actual HTTP calls to the backend. Docker makes these things far easier than it was before – but this would be a topic for a separate article.

We always release every single commit for backend and web projects, where it isn't harmful to anyone (assuming we have no serious downtime while deploying). For mobile apps, in most cases we refrain from doing so for the pragmatic reasons – the build & release cycles are longer because of 3rd-parties involved (Google Play for Android and TestFlight for iOS) and also because of annoyance the clients have when they get the notifications about all the updates. And for the active project it's not unusual to have a dozen of commits every day. So for iOS and Android projects, we tend to have a scheduled trigger set in TeamCity that releases the changes every night and in case we need to have it faster – we can always push the button on the build server.

## Production maintenance

When the changes are battle-tested with staging build or on staging environment and the customer accepts it, we promote it to production – again, using automated procedures based on TeamCity, the same ones that were used to deploy to staging, just with a single flag flipped in most cases. We need to trigger the action manually – by hitting "Run" button whenever we agree it's the right time.

The code that was released to production environment needs to be tagged so that we can go forward with the development but still have enough knowledge to get back to the point that was released to prepare any hot-fixes, in case something is burning. We do that tagging differently depending on the lifetime model of the application. 

For backend or web-based solutions, we don't need to care about the previous versions – all we care is what's currently released. We use `production` branch (that is the only long-living branch besides `master`) that we force-reset to the released point of `master` after the deployment is done:

```shell
git push --force-with-lease origin master:production
```

For mobile apps, where the update cycle is not that obvious and in some cases we need to track many of the released versions simultaneously, we use Git tags that immutably point to the commit that was built and released to the stores. We use the version number as the tag name:

```shell
git tag release1.3
git push --tags
```

Both solutions give us a straightforward way to reset our development environment to the point in Git timeline that is relevant to work on bug fixes that need to be released "as ASAP as possible".

## Git tooling

Even though all the commands in this article refer to the plain old command-line interface, there's nothing wrong in using the visual tools to make our life easier if we're not a CLI fans. There is one extremely important condition, though. We need to understand what exactly our tool does in terms of Git commands, otherwise we're not Git users but only prisoners of our tool of choice that we blindly trust. But tools are only as smart as the users of these tools are – one wouldn't paint a world-level painting only thanks to buying a nice brush.

My personal preference is a mix of raw Git and WebStorm/IntelliJ built-in support. I commit from IDE because it's easy but I rebase from CLI because I need to feel the control. But it's subjective and everyone needs to find their own tooling zen. 

If you decide to use CLI to some extent, here is a set of useful aliases we often use for convenience. You can paste it into your `.gitconfig` file that is most probably located in your "home" directory.

```toml
    [alias]
    st = status
    ci = commit
    ciam = commit -am
    br = branch
    co = checkout
    lg = log -p
    lol = log --color --graph --decorate --pretty=format:'%C(red)%h %Cgreen%cr %Cblue(%an)%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s' --abbrev-commit --all
    lola = log --color --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr) %C(bold blue)<%an>%Creset' --abbrev-commit --all
    unstage = reset HEAD
    reseth = reset --hard
    please = push --force-with-lease
    halp = reflog --date=iso # halp is more than help
```

Have a great push!

## Bright Networking Time

*Published: 2018-12-18 | Author: agnieszka_h | Tags: networking, business, startups, cooperation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-networking-time/index.md*

Networking is an extremely important part in business as it allows us to build relationships with people we know or have met for the first time. It allows us to understand the market opportunities, improve our communication skills, make great friends and build business opportunities and investment in the long term. During my first months at Bright Inventions, I have spent a lot of time attending educational and inspiring conferences and trade shows in London. Which are worth visiting? Let us take a look.

## **Google Agency Day Europe**

In October we attended Google Agency Day Europe. We had an opportunity to be in Google’s amazing office, meet up with other agencies from the UK, Germany, Poland and Switzerland, learning what challenges they have and how they overcome them, and getting some insights on new technologies.

The event started off with networking in groups based on roles (CXO, Developer, Account Manager and UX) having the opportunity to learn from each other. It then continued with presentations that had been prepared by the experienced professionals;

* Sam Dutton, Developer Advocate at Google presented to us The Opportunity of the Web
* Swav Kulinski, Lead Android Developer at The App Business gave insights into Flutter a Year on
* Karim Beguir, CEO at Instadeep, Lee Baker, Commercial Lead at Seldon, Kasia Borowska, Managing Director at Brainpool and Chaired by Carl-Gustaff Haroch, CTO at Novoda took part in AI Agencies Panel
* Mustafa Kurtulda, Design Relations at Google, gave a presentation on Using sprints with your clients to help them ‘get’ UX
* Wojtek Kalicinski, Developer Advocate at Google, presented the best Modern Android Development Practices

## **TechDay**

This time we had the chance to attend TechDay in London. It was a trade show where over 7000 entrepreneurs, founders and investors met in one place. We spoke with startups who had amazing products out in the market. Seeing all the products, my main question was ‘’why did you come up with this solution/product?’’ Thanks to their ideas, our lives are now and will continue to be much easier in the future.

One product which I found outstanding, as well as the story behind it, was DFree, a toilet timing predicting device from Japan. I was told that the idea had come from an ‘’incident’’ that happened to their CEO who didn’t make it to the bathroom and definitely never wanted that to happen again :), so he came up with a solution, DFree.

## **Noah Conference**

Two extremely intense networking days at Noah Conference which is an event where leaders connect. There were over 1,800 Digital Executives, 700 Startups, 400 Investment Funds and 200 Speakers from companies such as DocMorris, Dr.Martens, Porsche, Babylon Health and many more.

Rushing from one meeting point to the next, we still managed to have some time to listen to Europe's exciting startups that presented their business at the Noah startup stage. To name a few startups which we had the pleasure to listen to were, Beelivery which provides nationwide grocery deliveries within 60 minutes, Farmy - an online marketplace with organic food directly from farmers or Skoove which is a music technology startup.

On the main stage there were presentations from the keynote speakers from Travel & Mobility industry, B2B & SAAS, HR Tech, Vertical Ecommerce, Digital health & Wellness and Fintech as well as Noah Berlin 2018 Startups winners. Giving us the insights on how they have grown their company and products, what challengers they had and how they overcame them.

## **CEE to UK Soft Landing Tour London**

CEE to UK Soft Landing Tour London was an event which was held at TechHub. A day filled with workshops, learning how European companies can and what they need to do in order to open an office in the UK. The event was organised by Startup Campus London and the Department for International Trade. We received the insights into business banking, detailed information on taxes, incentives and investment schemes for companies in the UK. We also learned about the legal aspects of doing business in the UK with a focus on FCA license application.

It was a very educational and fun day and had the pleasure to meet great startups such as Placeme, Neuro Device, Nestmedic, GoodID and many more.

## **FinTech Connect**

To wrap up 2018, the final event which we attended was FinTech Connect, UK’s largest Fintech conference and trade show, more than 5000 attendees and 175 exhibitors. The two days event was a place where you could connect with early stage startups, stakeholders from financial institutions and the investor community, learning more about the key trends that are affecting the market.

The event was filled with meetings with founders from great companies within FinTech space, discussing current and future [Blockchain](/our-areas/blockchain) and AI projects that have taken over the digital world. FinTech Connect gets bigger year by year and that means that we will definitely be there again in 2019.

**Networking gives you the chance to connect with new highly influential people easily, people who wouldn’t connect with you just through a cold email or a LinkedIn invitation**. It’s a chance where you can build long term business relationships and to strengthen the relationship with old connections which could formulate into business growth. Not only can you build new connections but also the ability to gain new knowledge and receive advice that you were not able to get a hold off.

Some people feel stressed, nervous about networking and speaking to new people, don’t be, just be yourself and have fun.

## Definition of Done

*Published: 2018-09-11 | Author: mateusz | Tags: programming practices, project management*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/definition-of-done/index.md*

I have often heard that something is "almost ready". This term is vague and brings more confusion than information. According to the [Ninety-Ninety rule](/blog/dont-be-mockup-developer/#ninety-ninety-rule), 90% of the code is implemented during 90% of the project time and the remaining 10% of the code ("almost ready features") can take even the same amount of time which would lead to massive project delays.

Incomplete work has a tendency to mount up, and without visibility of how much effort truly remains, the deficit can quickly get out of hand. For this reason, determining the Definition of Done is crucial for every project. Otherwise, you can only hum the Sad Project Manager song:

> What is done?
>
> Devs don't hurt me
>
> Don't hurt me
>
> No more

## There is no single definition

The Definition of Done (DoD) is a list of features and activities that add verifiable/demonstrable value to the product. It can be also defined as a list of steps that has to be completed in order to finish a feature. Verifying the Definition of Done will ensure that you are delivering features that are truly done, not only in terms of functionality but in terms of quality as well.

Preparing a single DoD that suits every situation is impossible. Each team should collaborate and come up with the definition that suits its unique environment. First, you should define the artifacts that need to be delivered to the end customer (applications, documentation, release notes, etc.). Then, considering the current context and capability, you should decide which activities can be completed in each Sprint. Some criteria may not be mandatory (like considering analytics or internationalization) depending on the context. For a Scrum purist, such optional criteria should not be included in the Definition of Done. In my opinion, they help the team to remember about the requirements that have to be met in certain situations.

![Dictionary image](../../static/images/definition-of-done/dictionary.jpg "")

The Definition of Done does not only apply to the features/stories. According to the [Scrum Alliance](https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2008/september/what-is-definition-of-done-%28dod%29), teams may have a different DoD at various levels:

> * Definition of Done for a feature (story or product backlog item)
> * Definition of Done for a sprint (collection of features developed within a sprint)
> * Definition of Done for a release (potentially shippable state)

## Feature stages

In the projects I run, features/stories are broken down into stages with criteria for each step. To satisfy the Definition of Done all stages have to be completed and all the criteria met. It is key to deliver a high-quality product that follows the industry standards. Describing the feature stages ensures that everyone in the team knows exactly what is expected of everything the team delivers. It also allows me to verify at what stage the feature really is, and if it stays for too long at some phase, it is a signal that something might be wrong.

The example feature stages I use:

1. Open

* Waiting for assignment

1. In progress

* Assigned, work in progress (WIP)

1. On hold*

* Optional, in case the work cannot be continued
* Action required (AR)

1. Implemented/Ready for review

* Code written in accordance with the standards
* No linter errors, no compiler warnings (unless reasoned)
* Unit tests passed
* Changes documented*
* i18n considered*
* Analytics considered*
* Security & Data Protection considered*
* Code pushed to the remote repository
* Automatically built on the CI server
* Application deployed from the CI server to the staging environment
* Ready for peer review (feature testing + code review)

1. Deployed/Ready for QA

* Passed peer review
* Ready for acceptance testing

1. **Done**

* Passed acceptance tests
* Can be immediately deployed to the production environment

Bear in mind that feature stages may depend on many factors like peer review process, application environments, deployment process, acceptance testing and the way you cooperate with the client. They are never fixed and should be determined for each project individually.

## Win-Win

![Happy image](../../static/images/definition-of-done/happy.jpg "")

Clear workflow and unequivocal Definition of Done are necessary for the smooth work of the team. When the project manager is well informed about the progress and possible delays, he can communicate it well to stakeholders. In case of any obstacles, he can respond quickly and facilitate the development process. On the other hand, developers do not have the stressful feeling of prolonged work over the feature because it is divided into clear phases. The Definition of done ensures that you are delivering features that are truly done at the appropriate level of quality.

## Using WebAssembly with React

*Published: 2018-09-10 | Author: ivan | Tags: React, JavaScript, WASM, WebAssembly*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/using-wasm-with-react/index.md*

WebAssembly (WASM) is a binary format for the executable code in the browsers.
In this article, we will create a simple web application using React library, write and compile to WASM a part of our JavaScript code and after that link it to the application.

We need a minimal application with a React library. I don't describe how to create it from scratch, you can read about it in the article [The minimal React + Webpack 4 + Babel Setup](https://www.robinwieruch.de/minimal-react-webpack-babel-setup/). The application in this [repository](https://github.com/rwieruch/minimal-react-webpack-babel-setup) is enough for our needs.

## Preparing

To start using the minimal React application we can clone the repository:

```bash
$ git clone git@github.com:rwieruch/minimal-react-webpack-babel-setup.git wasm_react 
```

Now we can install all dependencies and start the server:

```bash
$ cd wasm_react
$ yarn install
$ yarn start
```

After that you can go to [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080) and check if it works.

## Create canvas component

The next thing we should do is to create a new React component with canvas and add the function to drawing.

For our new component we can create the new file:

```bash
$ touch src/canvas.js
```

And put in it this code:

```javascript
// src/canvas.js
import React, {Component} from "react";

class Canvas extends Component {

  componentDidMount() {
    let canvas = this.refs.canvas.getContext('2d');
    canvas.fillRect(0, 0, 100, 100);
  }

  render() {
    return (
        <canvas ref="canvas" width={this.props.width} height={this.props.height}/>
    )
  }
}

export default Canvas;
```

This component creates canvas using parameters from `props` and after that you should see a black rectangle in canvas.

For rendering the new component we can add it to `src/.js`:

```javascript
// src/.js
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';

import Canvas from './canvas';

const title = 'My Minimal React Webpack Babel Setup';

ReactDOM.render(
  <Canvas height={500} width={500} />,
  document.getElementById('app')
);

module.hot.accept();
```

Now you can go to a browser and check if you can see a _black rectangle_:

![Black rectangle on canvas](../../static/images/use-wasm-with-reactjs/wasm.png "")

## Drawing fractals

The next thing what we will draw is incredibly beautiful [Mandelbrot sets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set). First, we will implement it using JavaScript and after that we will reimplement it in WebAssembly. More theoretical background about that you can find in this [article](https://progur.com/2017/02/create-mandelbrot-fractal-javascript.html). I have just got the main function from this article.

Now we can add the `mandelIter` function to our Canvas component:

```javascript
// scr/canvas.js
class Canvas extends Component {

//.....

mandelIter(x, y, maxIter) {
  let r = x;
  let i = y;
  for (let a = 0; a < maxIter; a++) {
    let tmpr = r * r - i * i + x;
    let tmpi = 2 * r * i + y;

    r = tmpr;
    i = tmpi;

    if (r * i > 5) {
      return a/maxIter * 100;
    }
  }

  return 0;
}

//.....
```

After that, we can add to `componentDidMount` two loops to iterate over the all pixels in the canvas.

The updated function:

```javascript
// src/canvas.js
componentDidMount() {
  let canvas = this.refs.canvas.getContext('2d');
  let mag = 200;
  let panX = 2;
  let panY = 1.25;
  let maxIter = 100;
  
  for (let x = 10; x < this.props.height; x++)  {
    for (let y = 10; y < this.props.width; y++)  {
      let m = this.mandelIter(x/mag - panX, y/mag - panY, maxIter);
      canvas.fillStyle = (m === 0) ? '#000' : 'hsl(0, 100%, ' + m + '%)'; 
      canvas.fillRect(x, y, 1,1);
    }
  }
}
```

After this change you can see the Mandelbrot set on the page:

![Mandelbrot set fractal draws on the canvas](../../static/images/use-wasm-with-reactjs/wasm2.png "")

It looks great, doesn't it?

## Implementing in WebAssembly

Now we can implement a function `mandelIter` in WebAssembly. We can do it by using C++, Rust or Go. But here we will use C++ and an online compiler [WebAssembly Explorer](https://mbebenita.github.io/WasmExplorer/):

The function `mandelIter` implemented in C++:

```c
float mandelIter(float x, float y, int maxIter) {
  float r = x;
  float i = y;
  for (int a = 0; a < maxIter; a++) {
    float tmpr = r * r - i * i + x;
    float tmpi = 2 * r * i + y;

    r = tmpr;
    i = tmpi;

    if (r * i > 5) {
      return a/(float) maxIter * 100;
    }
  }

  return 0;
}
```


Our function after the compilation has some strange name: `_Z10mandelIterffi`. We will use this name in our JavaScript code.

![WebAssembly Explorer in browser](../../static/images/use-wasm-with-reactjs/wasm3.png "")

After compiling, we can download and put the file in `src` folder. I have named it `fractal.wasm`.

For using wasm in React you just need to add import to `Canvas`-component:

```javascript
// src/canvas.js
import React, {Component} from "react";

const wasm = import("./fractal.wasm");

class Canvas extends Component {
``` 

The next step is updating the `componentDidMount` function:

```javascript
// src/canvas.js

componentDidMount() {
  wasm.then(wasm => {
    const mandelIterWASM = wasm._Z10mandelIterffi;
    let canvas = this.refs.canvas.getContext('2d');
    let mag = 200;
    let panX = 2;
    let panY = 1.25;
    let maxIter = 100;
    
    for (let x = 10; x < this.props.height; x++)  {
      for (let y = 10; y < this.props.width; y++)  {
        // let m = this.mandelIter(x/mag - panX, y/mag - panY, maxIter);
        let m = mandelIterWASM(x/mag - panX, y/mag - panY, maxIter);
        canvas.fillStyle = (m === 0) ? '#000' : 'hsl(0, 100%, ' + m + '%)'; 
        canvas.fillRect(x, y, 1,1);
      }
    }
  });
}

```

Now for drawing on canvas we are using the function implemented in WebAssembly.

You can manipulate variables `mag`, `panX` and `panY` to create another form of fractals:

<img src="/images/use-wasm-with-reactjs/fractal_example.png" alt="Fractal example" width="49%"/>
<img src="/images/use-wasm-with-reactjs/fractal_example1.png" alt="Fractal example" width="49%"/>

All code you can find in my [repository](https://github.com/janczer/minimal-react-webpack-babel-setup).

## Don't be a mockup developer

*Published: 2018-09-06 | Author: mateusz | Tags: android, ios, programming practices*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dont-be-mockup-developer/index.md*

Many times as a mobile developer I have to work on apps without the API ready that was crucial for the feature I was implementing. Either the backend was developed by another team that was not entirely in sync with us or our backend team had no chance to implement those endpoints earlier. For this reason, I was not able to satisfy the [Definition of Done](/blog/definition-of-done) but it does not mean that I have implemented the UI only.

![Workspace image](../../static/images/dont-be-mockup-developer/workspace.jpg "")

## Ninety-ninety rule

One might think that without the API our work on certain features can only be limited to building the UI. The main problem with such an approach is that we live in a false belief that we have done everything we could and we mislead the whole team that the feature is "almost ready". When the API is done and we start an integration in the app we suddenly realise that there is still plenty of work to do and we need much more time to finish the feature.

[Ninety-ninety rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety-ninety_rule) says:
>The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time.

There is a lot of truth in this humorous aphorism. If we create a false belief that the application is "almost ready", we obscure the project progress.

## What can I do?

Follow these steps before assuming there is nothing else you can do:
- Make any call
  - Even if you cannot use the real endpoint, there are plenty of services that let you mock the API ([mocky](https://www.mocky.io), [mockable](https://www.mockable.io), [fakejson](https://fakejson.com) and others)
  - Making a call instead of showing an alert or using some predefined data will draw your attention to completely new problems
- Handle errors
  - Beyond general errors, sometimes we expect some specific errors, especially while making synchronous calls (email is taken, password is incorrect, etc.)
- Check the Internet connection before making the synchronous call
- Show a loader during the synchronous call
- Show a placeholder if there is no data fetched
- Check if the asynchronous call stops when user leaves the screen
  - Make sure there are no memory leaks
- Make sure that you do not modify the UI from the background thread

Additionally, you can:
- Test if the signals have been called (if you use e.g. Rx)
- Test the view state (if the loader was hidden after a successful API call, etc.)

The more you think about the feature, the more ideas will come to your mind.

## Support the backend

The work we can do does not have to be limited to the code only. Since we know what we expect to get from the endpoint, and what data we have to provide, we can prepare an example request and response structures on our own. We can also prepare a list of suggested error codes that we can already handle in the app. Prototyping the API will help us understand the problem better and the backend developer for sure will appreciate our effort.

![Shaking hands image](../../static/images/dont-be-mockup-developer/support.jpg "")

## Do your best

Being a good programmer is not just about writing code. We solve real-life problems which make us responsible for the work we do. Implementing a feature which is a simple click dummy is only postponing the effort that has to be made anyway and misleads the stakeholders about the project progress.

And remember, if we create the UI only, we are not better than mockup tools, but these are faster and cheaper.

## How Their Adventure with Programming Began

*Published: 2018-08-07 | Author: ula | Tags: career, IT, team, programming, motivation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-my-adventure-with-programming-began/index.md*

I have asked 3 devs, Adam, Agnieszka and Radek, who work with me at Bright Inventions about the beginning of their programming career, first challenges and what they like most about their job. Discover their stories and take a look inside our Bright Team.

## Adam, Full Stack Developer, [\[WhatWebCanDoToday\]](https://whatwebcando.today/)

**How did your adventure with programming begin?**

It was long time ago when I had a dial-up Internet connection and I had to pay for every minute of being online. I was opening multiple different websites in my browser windows and then offline I was reading everything I had downloaded. But there were moments when I read all the stuff and just out of pure boredom I was checking how all those things worked. That is how my adventure with HTML began. Later on I also created my own website in PHP.

But to be honest, after the secondary school I thought that IT was not for me. I wanted to study geography because sitting all day in front of the computer did not sound especially exciting to me. Yet I applied for studying Computer Science, I got in and here I am. My first professional programming job was creating pages in PHP and it was during the third year of my studies.

**What is the most difficult and challenging when you start your first programming job?**

It seems to me that when we start we do not have any experience in working in a team and with a code shared with other people.  And probably it is the most difficult and challenging part. The projects you get at work are completely different than the university ones in which you frequently work alone messing with your own code. So at first we have to learn how to read someone's else code and how not to harm it. Even if the code seems to be bad, you do not know all the background and reasons why something was done in such a way.

**What do you like most about programming?**

Solving problems - that is what I value most. If I can solve a real problem and someone can benefit from that, I feel satisfied. And you might be surprised - but I like "cleaning". By cleaning I mean leaving code less complicated than it has been before. Facilitating the code, refactoring, creating new rules - all these let you get rid of some redundant stuff. When I can make things less complicated and less complex, I can say that I am happy.

 **Do you believe that professionalism in programming means learning all your life?**

It depends. Generally, if we want to develop and be up-to-date with all tech news, the process of learning is something fundamental. It is also something what I try to do, and at the same time it is something that keeps me motivated and pleased with my job. But I can imagine also a person specialising in some niche legacy technology and makes that his/her market value and competitive edge since no one else wants to do it. And I know such stories.

**What do you value most about working at Bright Inventions?**

I think that Bright is a place where we deal with a wide spectrum of tasks and at the same time everyone feels an integral part of a team  - you know that without you the project may not be successful. We have a holistic view on projects in general. Our task is to make things good not only from our own narrow perspective, but also from the client's one. We respect each other's job and we know that cooperation is the key. Apart from that I really like the lack of formal structure and non-corporate style of working. And one more thing - we can express our opinion about everything. There are no taboo topics. And I find it cool.

## Agnieszka, Full Stack Developer

**How did your adventure with programming begin?**

I started programming at the university. Before studies I was not coding much, but I had always known that I would study IT. My parents are IT specialists and I was always good at Maths, Physics or Science, so it was quite an easy decision to make. Of course, while studying IT  I could learn some theoretical stuff, but there was not so much practice.  I am not sure what it looks like now. But one thing is sure - you have to go to work and just begin coding to get some practical and useful skills.

**What is most difficult and challenging when you start your first programming job?**

I suppose the beginning looks quite the same as in every kind of FIRST job regardless of the fact if it is connected with programming or not. You are not sure what you are going to do, you do not know people you will be working with, you do not the company culture. At first it may always cause some worries.

**What do you like most about programming?**

I like the fact that when you are into programming, you do not have to invest loads of money to be up-to-date and to test many things. When you are a bioengineer or a physician, you need to have special equipment and budget to buy substances, materials etc. to experiment. In programming it does not look like that. You just need to have a computer (and probably Internet connection :) ) and it is enough. Recently I was sewing a pillow for my daughter and I realised that I put pins in a wrong place. I pulled them out to make it better, but then I noticed that I did not have to do it as it may have worked anyway, so I stuck them once again.  In programming it is different - you are doing something, testing it, but if you want to change something you do not have to start everything form scratch, you can just click "Revert" and move on, try something new. You do not have to waste a lot of time to try out many different ways of solving a problem. It is just great.

**Do you believe that professionalism in programming means learning all your life?**

 Yes. of course, not only the fact you are learning all the time proves that you are professional, but it is an integral part of professionalism. By learning you get to know many technologies, which makes choosing appropriate tech stack to your project much easier. Learning is crucial, but we should also reasonably use and refer to all the things we have learnt.

**What do you value most about working at Bright Inventions?**

Personally, I like most our calm and peaceful environment. There is nothing like some strange  pressure. Even when there is a situation when we make a mistake and something goes wrong, we keep calm. There is no noxious atmosphere. No one is shouting at you or nagging you. We all know that there are tasks to do and we always try to do them as well as we can.

## Radek, Mobile Developer

**How did your adventure with programming begin?**

Probably it was in a secondary school. I was in a class with advanced Maths, Physics and IT. Most people there chose this profile because of Maths and Physics, but in my case IT was the reason. We had an IT teacher who taught us C++. It was some sorting stuff similar to Maths then and I must confess that it was quite simple, but also interesting. I remember that we solved many riddles. But ... wait a second, in fact I touched some programming earlier when I was in a junior high school, but it did not seem to be particularly exciting at that moment. Maybe because our IT teacher was talking about Pascal and other archaic things. In this way I had to wait a few years to fall in love with programming at my secondary school. Then it was much more practical - I was learning at school and after that I was repeating different tasks at home. Then I started IT studies at Gdańsk University of Technology. But to be honest I did not start my first professional programming job during studies. My real adventure began a few years later..... but that is a different story.

**What is most difficult and challenging when you start your first programming job?**

From my own experience I can say that the most difficult and challenging part is to get familiar with all the tools which make your job easier in the long run, but in the beginning you have to face them all at once. When you start your programming adventure, you learn a programming language whereas when you start your first programming job - you learn a lot of different things at the same time, not only a language. Programming itself might be not such a big challenge as understanding everything around e.g. Git, new IDE, tools for creating layouts such as Sketch or Figma, Proxy tools etc. It might be overwhelming a little bit at first.

**What do you like most about programming?**

Who said I like programming? And now completely serious - I am not sure - it is not an easy question. There are different things that I like. But I think that the satisfaction from creating something new is the thing I like most. The first type of satisfaction is connected with creating small things, adding some tiny improvements to applications, creating new functionalities. You have to choose some elements in such a way that they will work. And the latter is satisfaction that you feel when you finish a project,  satisfaction that someone uses the app you created, satisfaction that it really works. So there is everyday satisfaction and final satisfaction, but the most important is the fact that you create something that has never existed before. Programming is crafting, indeed. And that is extremely satisfying.

**Do you believe that professionalism in programming means learning all your life?**

 I am sure that the answer is YES, but I am just wondering if I can find some arguments against. Hmm... I cannot, so the short answer is once again YES. We are learning all our life. Programming sector is so dynamic that to be up-to-date and deliver better and better solutions, you have to learn all the time. But the process of learning is also an integral part of every project - by doing something or even improving your old code, you learn new things. It is completely different than, for example doctor's job.  Doctors do not learn what to do while cutting their patients on the table - I mean  - they knew that before. And in programming you do learn while cutting your code into pieces and adding some new components.

**What do you value most about working at Bright Inventions?**

 There are several positive aspects of working at Bright Inventions, but I think the one of the greatest value is a kind of reasonable responsibility that everyone holds. Our job is something more than creating a code. We are responsible for the whole process of creating a product - we contact clients, we plan our job, we make decisions. We keep in touch with our clients  all the time. We ask them what they need and what they do not like. There is a full transparency between them and us. We are not kept in a house of glass. We are aware of the things each of us is responsible for. And this awareness is great. It motivates you to be better and better. And we all know that better job means a better quality.


**THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR TIME.** It was pleasure to talk with you. 

To be continued. 

PS. If you want to see more of our BRIGHT TEAM, visit [our Instagram profile](https://www.instagram.com/bright_inventions/) and be with us on daily basis. :)

## Bright Inventions Remains a Top Developer in Poland

*Published: 2018-07-30 | Author: ula | Tags: Clutch, mobile, web, digital, apps*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/Bright-Inventions-Remains-A-Top-Developer-In-Poland/index.md*

As a digital business development agency, Bright Inventions specializes in the development of mobile applications. By providing our clients with smart web and backend solutions, along with mobile app construction services, we hope to equip our clients with the resources they need to come out on top in their respective industries. 

It is by virtue of our diligent work ethic that we were featured on Clutch’s recent press release for the [Top Polish App Developers](https://clutch.co/app-developers/poland)! Clutch’s coverage of app developers in Poland includes over 200 firms, so we are proud to be highlighted as one of the best.

 
![](../../static/images/Clutch_3.png "")

Because of our impressive work and success, we have also been recognized as top [app developers](https://themanifest.com/pl/app-development/companies#brightinventions) and [web developers](https://themanifest.com/pl/web-development/companies#brightinventions) in Poland by Clutch’s sister website, The Manifest - a research platform meant to aid buyers in the awareness, discovery, and decision-making process of selecting an agency to hire for a project. Our profile on The Manifest gives a brief description of our services as well as our notable projects and clients.

![](../../static/images/Developers_Poland_2018.png "")

Clutch is a ratings and reviews company based in Washington, DC that covers technology development, marketing, design and related digital services so that users or business buyers can find the most suitable partners to assist on their projects.

To strengthen a firm’s attractiveness on Clutch, it must demonstrate a capacity to produce high quality results along with assembling a growing archive of positive reviews. Our rigorous standard for excellence has led our esteemed clients to give us a 4.8-star rating out of 5, leaving such reviews as:

_"We’ve had a great collaboration in terms of both production and communication."_ - Artjom Pusch, Former CEO, Therap.io.

_“Besides being extremely proficient in their field, they care about our business and want us to succeed.”_ - Founder, Retail Management System.

We truly look forward to initiating more client relationships and assisting them in reaching their professional goals. For more great reviews about us, take a look at our [Bright Inventions](https://clutch.co/profile/bright-inventions) profile on Clutch!

## Would Blockchain lie to you?

*Published: 2018-07-11 | Author: ula | Tags: Blockchain, Ethereum, Truffle, Node.js, MainNet, workshops*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/would-blockchain-lie-to-you/index.md*

Some people are sitting on a beach in summer, and some are learning Blockchain. Can you do both at the same time? The answer is YES. :)

Last week together with Rafał and Tomek from Baltic Data Science we took part in Technology Summer Course [“Would AI lie to you?”](https://www.best.eu.org/event/details.jsp?activity=e6s71su) organised by BEST Group Gdansk and Gdansk University of Technology.  We were running workshops about Blockchain for young clever minds from all over Europe who came to Gdańsk to start off their adventure with AI and cryptography. During the workshops not only did they have a great opportunity to learn valuable skills from experienced developers, but also they got a chance to see what work at Bright Inventions and Baltic Data Science looks like on a daily basis.

Our vision at Bright has always been to share and transfer knowledge to other aspiring minds who are eager to take their skills to the next level and this course was a great way to do it. We introduced the course participants to the world of Blockchain explaining what it is in fact. One may ask why we were talking about Blockchain not other fancy AI stuff? We want to be very responsive to the industry’s changing standards and as Blockchain has arose, we wanted it to be one of our number one topics. 

Being not sure which resources our candidates may like to use for learning purposes we assumed to prepare some kind of an introduction to Blockchain technology in general. After a brief abstract way of explaining what Blockchain really is, we deep dived into some more technical details of Ethereum implementation, explaining what a block, a transaction and mining is. Afterwards, having answered to interesting questions, we walked students through the whole process of interaction with test and MainNet node, starting from creating their own accounts, executing the transaction and deploying smart contracts.

Later on we focused on some coding hands-on experience - working with Node.js integration with Ethereum node. As we like to know how the things work, we started the interaction and contract deployment using solely Web3 and Solc packages, and Bash terminal. Afterwards, we demonstrated how to use Truffle framework in the same context as we like to automate things a lot. In short, we focused on everything we think is necessary for the beginning of a Blockchain developer career.

We are glad that we could inspire others and at the same point got inspired by them in turn. It’s an essential part of our company culture.

![blockchain](../../static/images/Blockchain_workshops.jpg "")

## Self code review

*Published: 2018-06-27 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: code review*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/self-code-review/index.md*

Once I was a child my parents were convincing me that it was worth double checking both my homework as well as tests before handing them in, to catch errors and fix them. It soon became a habit for me. The habit that once evaluated into a self code review process :)

![checklist](../../static/images/self-code-review/image.jpg "")

I will share with you the steps I take before commiting code. Probably most of them are obvious to you, but maybe you will find something interesting and worth including into your routine?

## **1. Compilation errors**

This might seem to be quite obvious. If the code doesn’t compile, how can you even check if it works? I have added this step to my in-mind checklist lately as in our TypeScript projects the `compile` script is a little more “strict” than the one for running an app in the hot reloading mode (e.g. compilation errors on unused imports). So even though the app recompiles seamlessly, it will not compile on the CI server. 

## **2. Warnings**

I actually quite like a strict approach when warnings prevent compilation. But this is not always the case, so it’s worth  having in mind to look through the warnings and apply fixes where needed.

## **3. Unit and integration tests**

Just run all tests and see if they are green. This is also the time for some framework-specific checks, e.g. `mocha` requires to append `only()` to test methods to run a specific subset of the tests. Of course you need to remove it before commiting :) Do you know any other frameworks’ features which are likely to produce this kind of leftovers?

## **4. The code review itself**

I usually list all the files that have changed and then read them carefully one by one, paying special attention to the following elements (the similarity to an ordinary code review process is not accidental :) ).

* All the little things that make the code cleaner like all the shorthands or smart methods that modern languages have (to name a few: Kotlin’s `isNullOrEmpty` or Scala's `getOrElse`). IDEs give lots of such hints, we just need to make use of them.
* Spelling - typos make the code messy :)
* Rethink the names of classes, variables and so on. Are they meaningful enough? Or maybe too verbose?
* Any too complicated constructions like long computations or nested conditions? If I have just written it and still do not get the sense at first glance, maybe there is a way to make it cleaner?

IDEs make this kind of reading easier. In the code editing window you have the changed lines marked so you know which ones to focus on at most. I know some of us use the diff window for this purpose. I usually prefer the more gentle way of highlighting the differences, but that’s quite personal - try both and decide which is the best for you. Or just combine them.

## **5. The big picture**

Then I read the code again, taking the big picture this time. The aim is to check if the code is clear and understandable, if it just reads smoothly.

## **6. CI server check** 

Once I have committed and pushed, the last step is to check if the code compiles and the tests are green on the CI server.

Do I apply this routine each and every time? Does this routine prevent me from checking some fishy code in? Of course not, we all know scenarios of delivering a feature as soon as possible or just a little change which surely does not require all these steps. Commits like `Fix typos` or `Remove “only” from tests` still happen :) But after all, we are only humans and we all make mistakes. And the teammate code review is just irreplaceable :)

## Android ViewModel injections revisited

*Published: 2018-06-18 | Author: azabost | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/android-viewmodel-injections-revisited/index.md*

In one of [my previous posts](/blog/injectable-android-viewmodels/) I have described how to implement a ViewModel factory that was able to provide ViewModels with their dependencies injected, e.g. an API client, and it was good enough for me at that time. Later on, thanks to [Piotr](https://miensol.pl/), we've found out even better and simpler approach with an additional possibility of injecting Activity- or Fragment-dependant data into ViewModels.

![Vaccine](../../static/images/android-viewmodel-injections-revisited/vaccine.jpg "")

## Simpler factory

Previously, we've created a singleton factory that was supplied with a map of `ViewModel`-based classes and their respective `Provider`s. It required us to create a custom `ViewModelKey` annotation and use Dagger to generate the map using `IntoMap` bindings. It didn't require a lot of boilerplate code compared to some other solutions I saw at that time, but it wasn't perfect either.

On the contrary, the new solution is based on a generic ViewModel factory class of which instances are created for each Activity or Fragment instance.

```kotlin
import android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModel
import android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModelProvider
import dagger.Lazy
import javax.inject.Inject

class ViewModelFactory<VM : ViewModel> @Inject constructor(
    private val viewModel: Lazy<VM>
) : ViewModelProvider.Factory {

    @Suppress("UNCHECKED_CAST")
    override fun <T : ViewModel> create(modelClass: Class<T>): T {
        return viewModel.get() as T
    }
}
```

For example (see the [full code here](https://github.com/azabost/simple-mvvm-example)):

```kotlin
class MainViewModel @Inject constructor(
    private val apiClient: ApiClient
) : ViewModel() {
    // ...
}

class MainActivity : BaseActivity() {

    @Inject
    lateinit var vmFactory: ViewModelFactory<MainViewModel>

    lateinit var vm: MainViewModel

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)

        vm = ViewModelProviders.of(this, vmFactory)[MainViewModel::class.java]

        // ...
    }
}
```

As you can see, there is much less code and personally I think it's also easier to understand. To make it even more concise, we can add an extension function in the `BaseActivity` class like this:

```kotlin
abstract class BaseActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    // ...

    inline fun <reified T : ViewModel> ViewModelFactory<T>.get(): T =
        ViewModelProviders.of(this@BaseActivity, this)[T::class.java]
}
```

Then, we can get a ViewModel with just: `vm = vmFactory.get()`

Analogically, we can add a similar function for Fragments.

## More possibilities

One of the issues we've had was that the singleton factory holding a map of ViewModel providers was widely scoped, therefore it wouldn't let us inject anything coming from a more narrow scope, e.g. Activity's extras or Fragment's arguments.

Creating a new factory each time makes it possible. In order to achieve this, we need an additional module that knows how to obtain the dependencies. For example:

```kotlin
import com.azabost.simplemvvm.net.response.RepoResponse
import dagger.Module
import dagger.Provides

@Module
class RepoActivityIntentModule {
    @Provides
    fun providesRepoResponse(activity: RepoActivity): RepoResponse {
        return activity.intent.getSerializableExtra(RepoActivity.REPO_RESPONSE_EXTRA) as RepoResponse
    }
}
```

This module must then be added to the respective `RepoActivity` subcomponent generated by the `ContributesAndroidInjector` annotation:

```kotlin
import com.azabost.simplemvvm.ui.main.MainActivity
import com.azabost.simplemvvm.ui.repo.RepoActivity
import com.azabost.simplemvvm.ui.repo.RepoActivityIntentModule
import dagger.Module
import dagger.android.ContributesAndroidInjector

@Module
abstract class AndroidInjectorsModule {
    @ContributesAndroidInjector
    abstract fun contributeMainActivity(): MainActivity

    @ContributesAndroidInjector(modules = [RepoActivityIntentModule::class])
    abstract fun contributeRepoActivity(): RepoActivity
}
```

Finally, when we get our `RepoViewModel` in the `RepoActivity`, it has the data coming from the intent already injected:

```kotlin
class RepoViewModel @Inject constructor(
    val repoResponse: RepoResponse
) : ViewModel()

class RepoActivity : BaseActivity() {

    @Inject
    lateinit var vmFactory: ViewModelFactory<RepoViewModel>

    lateinit var vm: RepoViewModel

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_repo)

        vm = ViewModelProviders.of(this, vmFactory)[RepoViewModel::class.java]

        repoData.text = vm.repoResponse.id.toString()
    }

    companion object {
        const val REPO_RESPONSE_EXTRA = "REPO_RESPONSE_EXTRA"
    }
}
```

## Rules of Bright Development

*Published: 2018-06-10 | Author: ula | Tags: code-review, TDD, SOLID, mobile, web, software*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/rules-of-bright-development/index.md*

Every year we work at [Bright Inventions](/) on many mobile and web development projects. It is a challenge to build a good quality software in an agile way and at the same time solve all potential problems and keep your workflow under control, but we do that. In fact, we manage to do that thanks to applying some important rules. Check below what makes our work bright and effective.

## **1.  Code review**

We have a team consisting of great talented developers who create good code, but it is always better when two pairs of eyes look at it than one. We always try to make all our Pull Requests to be reviewed by other members of the team. In fact, we believe that the whole team works for the success of the project and at the same time is responsible for making it better and better.

## **2. Pair programming**

We like working together and we take advantage of that not only while doing code review, but also in pair programming. And pair programming is like an instant code review. Two programmers from our team are working on the same task and on the same machine swapping their roles. It is a great opportunity to come up with new fresh  ideas and find some solutions much faster than while working alone. We also do not get stuck with a problem for a long time and we catch errors faster. The fact that two experienced developers are engaged in the task at the same time makes our work really efficient and reduces the probability of making mistakes. It may also speed up some urgent tasks on the sprint.

What is more, pair programming is extremely practical and useful for our new employees. While onboarding new staff a more experienced developer can pair with a trainee to effectively and fluently share knowledge connected either with a project or generally programming skills.

## **3. Continuous integration**

We are great advocates of Continuous integration (CI). Our code is integrated into a shared repository several times a day. By a regular integration, we can detect errors quickly and make sure that every push is in a good state. If the commit fails to move to the next step, we can immediately find a problem and fix it. Thanks to the frequent integration we can spend more time on building features instead of debugging. 

## **4. TDD**

We believe that Test Driven Development is a good way of providing high-quality software. Applying TDD methodology makes creating maintainable readable code and reducing bugs much easier. At first, we always try to write unit tests to check particular segments and then the code itself. It prevents us from creating unnecessary code and helps to specify precise features that should be implemented in the project. And even if TDD takes at first much time and effort from us, over the time this process results in great benefits for our clients. 

## **5. SOLID**

SOLID consists of five principles in one: single responsibility, open-closed, Liskov substitution, interface segregation and dependency inversion. These principles help us to write clean elegant code which is easy to modify, maintain and test, which in fact has a great impact on the final success of a project and then extending it. Writing clean code in the beginning means that we do not have to invest so much time to add new features and modify it later.

## **6. Project management tools**

As project management tools we use mainly either JIRA or Trello depending on our clients’ preferences. It lets us run our projects smoothly and effectively with Agile methodology in mind. I would say we are super agile in managing our workflow. We have all the tasks open and visible so that our clients could see what we are working on and can give us up-to-date comments.

## **7. Time tracking**

To track the time and current workflow we use Mite. It is important for us to know how much time we spend on a given task or a project, especially considering the fact we use mainly the time and material model and our clients are charged only for developers’ service. Apart from that we have our own private file in which we can see what kind of projects are assigned to particular people and how long they take part in them. It facilitates our planning process a lot. 

## **8. Communication**

Fluent and transparent communication is something that we value and take care of in every phase of a project. It is extremely important that our clients know how the development process is evolving. To successfully manage the workflow and keep our clients informed we send them daily or weekly updates to let them know what we accomplish each iteration and what is planned to do next.
A long-distance between us and our clients is not a problem. We communicate via phone, Slack, Skype or email and it is a standard part of our job. We also have dedicated Slack channels integrated with Jira, Trello, Github, Hangouts or others.

Creating a set of rules that everybody in our team is following has a great impact on our daily workflow, but first of all it significantly improves our development process. Applying each and every rule we are able to avoid many errors and misunderstandings. We spend our time effectively and make the most of it. **At Bright Inventions we believe that it is worth taking the time to write quality code and build the things right. And that is the kind of service we always want to provide to our clients.**

## How to convert an express app to AWS Lambda?

*Published: 2018-05-29 | Author: piotr | Tags: aws, cloudformation, lambda, cloudform*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-convert-an-express-app-to-aws-lambda/index.md*

In this post we will see how to convert an existing [express](https://expressjs.com/)  application to AWS Lambda. This can help reduce AWS bill even by an order of magnitude. We will also use [cloudform](https://github.com/bright/cloudform) to describe the [CloudFormation](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/) stack.

![express.js](../../static/images/express-js.webp "")

## An express app

For our example to be complete we need an express application. Let's use a single `gatsby-node.js` file to define it:

```javascript
const express = require('express');

function apiRoutes(){
    const routes = new express.Router();

    routes.get('/v1/version', (req, res) => res.send({version: '1'}));

    routes.post('/v1/echo', (req, res) => res.send({...req.body}));

    return routes;
}


const app = express()
    .use(express.json())
    .use(apiRoutes());

app.listen(3000, () => console.log(`Listening on 3000`));
```

The above application has only 2 endpoints: 
- `GET /v1/version` returns API version
- `POST /v1/echo` sends back the request body

We start the application as any other node app with `node gatsby-node.js`.

## Convert the express app to AWS Lambda

[The AWS Lambda Node.js](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/nodejs-prog-model-handler.html) runtime model differs from a simple `node fileName.js` invocation. For the AWS Lambda to invoke our application code we need to structure it appropriately. Thankfully the [aws-serverless-express](https://github.com/awslabs/aws-serverless-express) module adapts express to AWS Lambda Node.js runtime model.

Let's adapt our `gatsby-node.js` file to support `aws-serverless-express`:

```javascript
const isInLambda = !!process.env.LAMBDA_TASK_ROOT;
if (isInLambda) {
    const serverlessExpress = require('aws-serverless-express');
    const server = serverlessExpress.createServer(app);
    exports.main = (event, context) => serverlessExpress.proxy(server, event, context)
} else {
    app.listen(3000, () => console.log(`Listening on 3000`));
}
```

The `main` function is called by the AWS Lambda Node.js runtime. Note that we've used [`LAMBDA_TASK_ROOT`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/current-supported-versions.html#lambda-environment-variables) environment variable to detect if the app is running inside AWS Lambda. It is better to split the express application setup and `listen` call into separate files and use 2 different _main_ files e.g. `development.js` calling `listen(port)` and `lambda.js` using `aws-serverless-express`. However, this would complicate our example unnecessarily.

## Deploy the express app to AWS Lambda

I already showed [how we can deploy lambda with cloudform](/blog/deploy-lambda-with-cloudformation/). We will use the previous example as a base:

```typescript
import cloudform, { Lambda, IAM, Fn, ApiGateway, Refs,  } from 'cloudform';
import { FunctionProperties } from 'cloudform/types/lambda/function';
import { readFileSync } from 'fs';

const
    LambdaExecutionRole = 'LambdaExecutionRole',
    ExpressMain = 'ExpressMain',
    RestApi = 'RestApi',
    RestApiMainResource = 'RestApiMainResource',
    PackageKey = 'PackageKey',
    RestApiDeployment = 'RestApiDeployment';

export default cloudform({
    Parameters: {
        PackageKey: {
            Type: 'String',
            Default: 'express-lambda.zip'
        }
    },
    Resources: {
        [ExpressMain]: new Lambda.Function({
            Code: { S3Bucket: 'bright-tmp', S3Key: Fn.Ref(PackageKey) },
            Handler: "index.main",
            Role: Fn.GetAtt(LambdaExecutionRole, "Arn"),
            Runtime: "nodejs6.10"
        }),
        [LambdaExecutionRole]: new IAM.Role({
            AssumeRolePolicyDocument: {
                Statement: [{
                    Effect: "Allow",
                    Principal: { Service: ["lambda.amazonaws.com"] },
                    Action: ["sts:AssumeRole"]
                }]
            },
            ManagedPolicyArns: ["arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/service-role/AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole"]
        }),
        PermissionToInvokeLambda: new Lambda.Permission({
            Action: 'lambda:InvokeFunction',
            FunctionName: Fn.GetAtt(ExpressMain, 'Arn'),
            Principal: 'apigateway.amazonaws.com',
            SourceArn: Fn.Join('', [
                'arn:aws:execute-api:', Refs.Region, ':', Refs.AccountId, ':', Fn.Ref(RestApi), '/*']
            )
        })
        ... // Rest Api Gateway see below
    }
})
```

For the AWS Lambda function source we use a zip file hosted in a S3 Bucket named `packages` at key specified in the template parameter `PackageKey`. The package zip file must contain all application source code including `node_modules`. We also define `PermissionToInvokeLambda` so that API Gateway can invoke the lambda function.

## Add API Gateway to call AWS Lambda

To be able to invoke the AWS Lambda function using HTTP protocol we will use [API Gateway](https://aws.amazon.com/api-gateway/). There are multiple ways of setting up the API gateway but we will use an appoach that is simplest in my opinion.

```typescript
[RestApi]: new ApiGateway.RestApi({ Name: "Express API" }),
[RestApiMainResource]: new ApiGateway.Resource({
    RestApiId: Fn.Ref(RestApi),
    ParentId: Fn.GetAtt(RestApi, 'RootResourceId'),
    PathPart: "{proxy+}",
}),
RestApiMethod: new ApiGateway.Method({
    HttpMethod: 'ANY',
    ResourceId: Fn.Ref(RestApiMainResource),
    RestApiId: Fn.Ref(RestApi),
    AuthorizationType: 'NONE',
    Integration: {
        Type: "AWS_PROXY",
        IntegrationHttpMethod: "POST",
        Uri: Fn.Sub("arn:aws:apigateway:${AWS::Region}:lambda:path/2015-03-31/functions/${ExpressMain.Arn}/invocations", {})
    }
}),
[RestApiDeployment]: new ApiGateway.Deployment({
    RestApiId: Fn.Ref(RestApi),
    StageName: 'test'
})
```

We first define a [`RestApi`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-apigateway-restapi.html) which is a collection of resources with various configuration options describing the API. Next is the [`RestApiMainResource`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-apigateway-resource.html) which depicts a single REST resource. However, in our case we use wildcard `PathPart` to match **all** paths. This way we can have a single resource encompassing all API endpoints. For the `RestApiMainResource` we also need to define a single [`RestApiMethod`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-apigateway-method.html). Note that the `HttpMethod` is set to `ANY` which matches all verbs. The `Integration` specifies that we would like to proxy requests to the `ExpressMain` AWS Lambda function. Last but not least we define a [`RestApiDeployment`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-apigateway-deployment.html) so that we have an URL to call the API.

It is handy to define `Outputs` in our template so that we can easily access the API url:

```typescript
Outputs: {
    RestApiUrl: {
        Value: Fn.Join('', [Fn.Ref(RestApi), '.execute-api.', Refs.Region, '.amazonaws.com/test'])
    }
}
```

## Test API Gateway calling AWS Lambda

With our cloudform template deployed with a single command:

```bash
aws cloudformation update-stack \
  --stack-name lambda-example \
  --capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM \
  --template-body file://<(./node_modules/.bin/cloudform aws-template.ts)
```

We can also fetch the API url:

```bash
API_URL=$(aws cloudformation describe-stacks \
  --stack-name lambda-example \
  --query 'Stacks[0].Outputs[?OutputKey==`RestApiUrl`].OutputValue' \
  --output text)
```

Finally, with the help of [`httpie`](https://httpie.org/) we can test our API:

```bash
> http https://${API_URL}/v1/version

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: keep-alive
Content-Length: 15
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Date: Mon, 28 May 2018 19:58:13 GMT
Via: 1.1 XXXXXXXXXXXXX.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)
X-Amz-Cf-Id: XXXXXXXXXXXXX==
X-Amzn-Trace-Id: Root=1-5b0c5f54-806e190d437c7d31a4a0d4ba
X-Cache: Miss from cloudfront
etag: W/"f-sHigu4BMVa0IJ0LR3NDJ5y8l4sc"
x-amz-apigw-id: HnPVQH4yjoEF8-w=
x-amzn-Remapped-connection: close
x-amzn-Remapped-content-length: 15
x-amzn-Remapped-date: Mon, 28 May 2018 19:58:13 GMT
x-amzn-RequestId: 73eff8a6-62b1-11e8-907c-79117668835e
x-powered-by: Express

{
    "version": "1"
}
```

And a `POST` to the echo endpoint:

```bash
http https://${API_URL}/v1/echo message="Hello 👋 My name is Piotr"

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: keep-alive
Content-Length: 41
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Date: Mon, 28 May 2018 20:00:31 GMT
Via: 1.1 XXXXXXXXXXXXX.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)
X-Amz-Cf-Id: XXXXXXXXXXXXX==
X-Amzn-Trace-Id: Root=1-5b0c5fdf-802178cceb5160684ef2cc34
X-Cache: Miss from cloudfront
etag: W/"29-SKqhJThIfjmVId6IIeTilD7Mkk0"
x-amz-apigw-id: HnPq5HeJjoEFuRQ=
x-amzn-Remapped-connection: close
x-amzn-Remapped-content-length: 41
x-amzn-Remapped-date: Mon, 28 May 2018 20:00:31 GMT
x-amzn-RequestId: c67b41c0-62b1-11e8-a23f-c7cbebde15f2
x-powered-by: Express

{
    "message": "Hello 👋 My name is Piotr"
}

```


## Reduced infrastructure cost

With the above setup we no longer have to pay for an always running EC2 instance. Our monthly bill depends on the number of requests that are executed against the exposed API. More than that, we get much better scalability characteristics, especially when we have nonlinear request rates.

## TypeScript tips from Kotlin developer - readonly

*Published: 2018-05-01 | Author: piotr | Tags: TypeScript, Kotlin, readonly, immutability*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/typescript-tips-from-kotlin-developer-readonly/index.md*

Last time I wrote about using [`const` in TypeScript](/blog/typescript-tips-from-kotlin-developer-const/). This time I will focus on another TypeScript keyword that aids immutability: `readonly`. 

## `readonly` properties

In Kotlin a `val` keyword can be used to declare a read only property:

```kotlin
class Timer(val start: DateTime){
    val elapsed: Duration get() = DateTime.now() - start
}

val now = Timer(DateTime.now())
println("Elapsed: ${now.elapsed}") 
now.start = DateTime.now() // Error: Val cannot be reassigned
now.elapsed = DateTime.now() // Error: Val cannot be reassigned
```

In the above example we have 2 properties:

* `start` is a read only property which value does not change
* `elapsed` is a read only property that returns different values

In [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) the equivalent behavior is achieved with a help of the [`readonly` keyword and getter only properties](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/interfaces.html#readonly-properties):

```typescript
class Timer {
    constructor(readonly start: Date) { }

    get elapsed(): number {
        return new Date().getTime() - this.start.getTime();
    } 
}

const now = new Timer(new Date())
console.log(`elapsed: ${now.elapsed}`)
now.start = new Date() // Error: Cannot assign 'start' because it is a constant or a read-only 
now.elapsed = new Date() // Error: Cannot assign 'elapsed' because it is a constant or a read-only 
```

The above examples highlights an important difference between `const` and `readonly`: a `readonly` property value can change.

Note that the error message we get when trying to assign `start` and `elapsed` is the same even though the properties are declared using different language constructs. This makes sense though. From the caller perspective both properties are read only.

## Treat mutable as immutable with `Readonly<T>`

One advantage TypeScript has over Kotlin is the ability to easily declare an immutable version of an interface.
Let us assume that we have an existing interface that is naturally mutable e.g. any regular JavaScript object. 

```typescript
const ala = { firstName: "Ala", lastName: "MaKota", points: 0 }
// let's use ala as a template and grab its type
type Person = typeof ala

function newPersonWithBonusPoints(person: Person, amount: number): Person {
    person.points = person.points + amount;
    return person;
}

const newAla = addPoints(ala, 3)
```

The function `newPersonWithBonusPoints` as the name suggests should return a new person with new `points` value. However, there it is still possible for us to make a mistake when implementing `newPersonWithBonusPoints` and mutate the supplied instance instead of creating a new one. How can we ensure `newPersonWithBonusPoints` function does not mutate the argument? With the help of `Readonly<T>` this is easy:

```typescript
const ala = { firstName: "Ala", lastName: "MaKota", points: 0 }
// let's use ala as a template and grab its type but make it read only
type Person = Readonly<typeof ala>

function newPersonWithBonusPoints(person: Person, amount: number): Person {
    person.points = person.points + amount; //Error: Cannot assign to 'points' because it is a constant or a read-only property
    return person;
}
```

Notice how with a single `Readonly<T>` we can turn any type into its read only equivalent. It is worth mentioning that the `Readonly<T>` is shallow i.e. nested objects are still mutable unless explicitly stated otherwise. Thankfully version [TypeScript 2.8](https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/pull/21316) introduced an ability to define a `DeepReadonly<T>` that makes it possible to mark a type as immutable e.g.:

```typescript
interface Address {
    city: string
    street: string
}

interface Person {
    address: Address | null
    firstName: string
    nickNames: string[]
}

const ala: DeepReadonly<Person> = {
    address: { city: "Gdańsk", street: "Słonimskiego" },
    firstName: "Ala",
    nickNames: ["lol"]
} as Person


ala.address.city = 'Name' // Error: cannot assign city because it is constant or readonly
ala.nickNames.push('Kot') // Error: property push does not exist on type DeepReadonlyArray<string>
```

In the example above the compiler does not allow modifying nested `address` object. Interestingly it also forbids mutating the `nickNames` array.

### Runtime safety with `Object.freeze`

The `Readonly` and `DeepReadonly` will make it impossible to mutate an object in sane fashion in TypeScript code. However, at runtime it is still possible to inadvertently mutate an object where not desired or use a library that mutates a passed in parameter:

```typescript
interface Config {
    readonly port: string
}
// a problematic function that mutates an argument
function start(config) { 
    const c = Object.assign(config, {
        port: config.port ? parseInt(config.port) : 80
    })
}

const config: Config = {
    port: '80'
}

start(config)

if (config.port === '80') { 
    console.log('Handle default http port'); // This will not be printed!
}
```

To avoid such issues I often use [`Object.freeze`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object/freeze) which will make the above example throw an error on the line with `Object.assign`: `TypeError: Cannot assign to read only property 'port' of object '#<Object>'`. As you can see, the error is now reported right where the problem is introduced.

## Host your react-redux website with AWS S3

*Published: 2018-04-19 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: react, redux, aws, amazon, s3*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/host-website-with-aws-s3/index.md*

Hosting a static website with AWS S3 is a nice and fast way to show your react-redux app to the world. In this blog post I will guide you through this simple process.

![AWS](../../static/images/host-website-with-aws-s3/www.png "")

If you do not have an AWS account yet, you may visit [Amazon Web Services](https://portal.aws.amazon.com/billing/signup#/start). And if you are not familiar with S3 you may take a look here: [S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/). 

When you log into the AWS Management Console, choose S3 from Services list. 

## **1. Create a bucket**

First of all, we need to create a bucket which will hold our app’s files. Click the blue button `Create bucket`.

![AWS](../../static/images/host-website-with-aws-s3/create_bucket.png "")

We need to provide the bucket name and a region. The website url will be constructed of these two values:

`bucket-name.s3-website.bucket-region.amazonaws.com`

The bucket name must be unique, so it’s a good idea to use e.g. your company domain.

![AWS](../../static/images/host-website-with-aws-s3/bucket_name.png "")

## **2. Set the bucket’s permissions**

Once we have the bucket created, we need to make it public, so that anyone can access it. Choose the bucket from the list, then select the `Permissions` tab and click `Bucket Policy`. Paste the JSON below into the edit field. Remember to adjust the `Resource` property value to include the ARN of your bucket (you can find the ARN above the edit field). However, do not change the `Version` value. This is a constant expression, which specifies the version of IAM policy language your policy statement uses - not your policy statement's revision date. Hit `Save` and now anyone can access the data in the bucket.

```json
{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "AddPerm",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": "*",
            "Action": "s3:GetObject",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::s3-hosted-website.brightinvetnions.pl/*"
        }
    ]
}
```

![AWS](../../static/images/host-website-with-aws-s3/permissions.png "")

## **3. Enable static website hosting**

Select the `Properties` tab and the `Static website hosting` box.

![AWS](../../static/images/host-website-with-aws-s3/properties.png "")

Select `Use this bucket to host a website` checkbox. Provide the name of the file which is a starting point of your app, usually it is `index.html`. The app is ready and you can access it with the link from the top of the box.

![AWS](../../static/images/host-website-with-aws-s3/.png "")

There is one more thing, which is specific for apps using browser's history API (for example a react-router app). If you try to access some resource directly, you will get an error like below: 

![AWS](../../static/images/host-website-with-aws-s3/404.png "")

This is because the app is not static enough :) Say you want to access `http://s3-hosted-website.brightinventions.pl.s3-website.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/users`. AWS will not find the resource `users` directly (as a static resource in the bucket does not exist) and therefore will show an error. This is why it’s a good idea to set the `index.html` as the `Error document` as well. Now, instead of presenting the error page, AWS will redirect to the `index.html` and the app can route you successfully to the desired page. This will, however, redirect all errors into the app, so we should make sure to handle them inside the app.

![AWS](../../static/images/host-website-with-aws-s3/error.png "")

And this is it! You have just hosted you first website with AWS S3 :)

## Using TypeScript with Redux

*Published: 2018-04-19 | Author: adam | Tags: React, TypeScript, web*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/using-typescript-with-redux/index.md*

Recently we've checked [what benefits TypeScript adds in our React project](/blog/5-ways-to-benefit-from-typescript-in-react/). Let's now follow the typical path the front-end project takes nowadays and add [Redux](/blog/from-react-to-react-redux-in-a-few-steps/) into the mix. Unfortunately, by default Redux is not really type safe as it is in most cases presented as [switches over actions with arbitrary payloads](https://redux.js.org/introduction/core-concepts). But TypeScript is a powerful beast and with a bit of care we can make our Redux code not only type safe, but also much cleaner and more readable.

![Redux + TypeScript](../../static/images/react-ts/redux-ts.png "")

## Basic typing

Let's dissect the classical To Do list example from the "[Core Concepts](https://redux.js.org/introduction/core-concepts)" introductory Redux guide's page step-by-step. The global app's state originally looks as follows:

```javascript
{
  todos: [{
    text: 'Eat food',
    completed: true
  }, {
    text: 'Exercise',
    completed: false
  }],
  visibilityFilter: 'SHOW_COMPLETED'
}
```

It is pretty straightforward to create a type definition for this state:

```typescript
interface Todo {
    text: string
    completed: boolean
}

type VisibilityFilter = 'SHOW_COMPLETED' | 'SHOW_ALL'

interface AppState {
    todos?: Todo[]
    visibilityFilter?: VisibilityFilter
}
```

Note that `AppState`'s properties are optional as the state might initially be empty and we need to handle it in our code and thus reflect it in our type definition.

So far so good. Now Actions – they initially look like this:
                    
```javascript
{ type: 'ADD_TODO', text: 'Go to swimming pool' }
{ type: 'TOGGLE_TODO', index: 1 }
{ type: 'SET_VISIBILITY_FILTER', filter: 'SHOW_ALL' }
```

Let's for now use the typing provided by [`redux` library itself](https://github.com/reactjs/redux/blob/master/.d.ts), specifically `AnyAction` that only enforces the `type` property to be set:

```typescript
const actions: AnyAction[] = [
    { type: 'ADD_TODO', text: 'Go to swimming pool' },
    { type: 'TOGGLE_TODO', index: 1 },
    { type: 'SET_VISIBILITY_FILTER', filter: 'SHOW_ALL' }
]
```

Better than nothing, we can't have an Action without a type at least and we can put arbitrary data into it.

Now let me jump to Reducers. Reducers in the original example are implemented this way:

```javascript
function visibilityFilter(state = 'SHOW_ALL', action) {
  if (action.type === 'SET_VISIBILITY_FILTER') {
    return action.filter
  } else {
    return state
  }
}
​
function todos(state = [], action) {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'ADD_TODO':
      return state.concat([{ text: action.text, completed: false }])
    case 'TOGGLE_TODO':
      return state.map(
        (todo, index) =>
          action.index === index
            ? { text: todo.text, completed: !todo.completed }
            : todo
      )
    default:
      return state
  }
}

// top-level reducer
function todoApp(state = {}, action) {
  return {
    todos: todos(state.todos, action),
    visibilityFilter: visibilityFilter(state.visibilityFilter, action)
  }
}
```

Let's use our State and Action type definitions as a first step:

```typescript
function visibilityFilter(state: VisibilityFilter = 'SHOW_ALL', action: AnyAction): VisibilityFilter {
  if (action.type === 'SET_VISIBILITY_FILTER') {
    return action.filter
  } else {
    return state
  }
}
​
function todos(state: Todo[] = [], action: AnyAction): Todo[] {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'ADD_TODO':
      return state.concat([{ text: action.text, completed: false }])
    case 'TOGGLE_TODO':
      return state.map(
        (todo, index) =>
          action.index === index
            ? { text: todo.text, completed: !todo.completed }
            : todo
      )
    default:
      return state
  }
}

// top-level reducer
function todoApp(state: AppState = {}, action: AnyAction): AppState {
  return {
    todos: todos(state.todos, action),
    visibilityFilter: visibilityFilter(state.visibilityFilter, action)
  }
}
```

Note that all reducers, regardless of on which level they exist, share the same generic signature:

```typescript
type Reducer<S> = (state: S, action: AnyAction) => S;
```

This is exactly the type that the built-in Redux typings provide, so we can use it in our code directly if we have an urge to generalize it more for some reason.

## Can we do more?

All we have done so far was to add the basic type definitions that could prevent us from a set of typos. But looking at the reducers, we're far from an actual type safety as `AnyAction`-typed actions – as this `any` in the name suggests – does not give the TypeScript compiler any clue what payload the particular action type actually carries. We might still make a typo while accessing action's payload properties, assume its wrong type or use the properties of action of another type by mistake and TypeScript has no tool to warn us in this case:

```typescript
function visibilityFilter(state: VisibilityFilter = 'SHOW_ALL', action: AnyAction): VisibilityFilter {
    if (action.type === 'SET_VISIBILITY_FILTER') {
        return action.fliter // note the typo here. TypeScript is unable to detect the problem here
    } else {
        return state
    }
}
```

But all hope is not lost yet. TypeScript has a powerful feature of [Discriminated Unions](https://basarat.gitbooks.io/typescript/docs/types/discriminated-unions.html) and even though this name sounds like some kind of organization of a social minority, it might help us a lot here.

Let's create detailed type definitions for each kind of action we support:

```typescript
interface AddTodoAction extends Action {
    type: 'ADD_TODO'
    text: string
}

interface ToggleTodoAction extends Action {
    type: 'TOGGLE_TODO'
    index: number
}

interface SetVisibilityFilterAction extends Action {
    type: 'SET_VISIBILITY_FILTER'
    filter: VisibilityFilter
}
```

Note that we extend Redux-provided `Action` now which only specifies a `type` property. `AnyAction` type we used before permits any property to exist in its implementations, so it defeats our desired type safety. Another interesting bit here is that we specify the `type` property with a literal, making it a good candidate for the discriminator of our discriminated union. Here is the union itself:

```typescript
type TodoAppAction = AddTodoAction | ToggleTodoAction | SetVisibilityFilterAction
```

Now let's replace `AnyAction` in our reducers with `TodoAppAction` and let's see what happens now:

```typescript
function visibilityFilter(state: VisibilityFilter = 'SHOW_ALL', action: TodoAppAction): VisibilityFilter {
    if (action.type === 'SET_VISIBILITY_FILTER') {
        return action.filter
    } else {
        return state
    }
}
​
function todos(state: Todo[] = [], action: TodoAppAction): Todo[] {
    switch (action.type) {
        case 'ADD_TODO':
            return state.concat([{text: action.text, completed: false}])
        case 'TOGGLE_TODO':
            return state.map(
                (todo, index) =>
                    action.index === index
                        ? {text: todo.text, completed: !todo.completed}
                        : todo
            )
        default:
            return state
    }
}

function todoApp(state: AppState = {}, action: TodoAppAction): AppState {
    return {
        todos: todos(state.todos, action),
        visibilityFilter: visibilityFilter(state.visibilityFilter, action)
    }
}
```

If you use a TypeScript-aware IDE (like [WebStorm](https://www.jetbrains.com/webstorm/), for example), you might notice that the action properties are now properly colored and the code completion works exactly as we might have dreamt. Let's now try our typo example again:

![TypeScript properly checks Action payload types](../../static/images/react-ts/reducer-typo.png "")

A victory for humanity, isn't it?

## Connected Components

One more place we might feel betrayed by Redux is where it actually [binds into React components](https://redux.js.org/basics/usage-with-react). Let's use a bit simplified example from the Redux guide again:

```jsx
import { connect } from 'react-redux'
import { setVisibilityFilter } from '../actions'

// the component itself

const Link = ({active, children, onClick}) => {
  if (active) {
    return <span>{children}</span>
  }
​
  return <a href="" onClick={onClick}>
    {children}
  </a>
}
​
// redux binding

const mapStateToProps = (state, ownProps) => {
  return {
    active: ownProps.filter === state.visibilityFilter
  }
}
​
const mapDispatchToProps = (dispatch, ownProps) => {
  return {
    onClick: () => {
      dispatch(setVisibilityFilter(ownProps.filter))
    }
  }
}
​
const FilterLink = connect(mapStateToProps, mapDispatchToProps)(Link)
```

Let's define the types for the `Link` component's props in the straightforward way:

```typescript
interface LinkProps {
    active: boolean
    onClick: () => void
}

const Link: React.StatelessComponent<LinkProps> = props => {
  if (props.active) {
    return <span>{props.children}</span>
  }
​
  return <a href="" onClick={props.onClick}>
      {props.children}
  </a>
}
```

This works fine, but this way we can't go further into `mapStateToProps` or `mapDispatchToProps` as these methods compose our final props object from independent parts and we either leave it untyped or describe it with some kind of workarounds like `Partial<LinkProps>` to at least give us the basic checks:

![Workaround on mapStateToProps might help a bit](../../static/images/react-ts/mapprops-partial-typo.png "")

Note we don't have a proper type for `ownProps` here, too, and "for convenience" we used `any`. Also, this approach let us return `onClick` property here which we clearly expect to be returned only from `mapDispatchToProps` in this case. Let's be explicit about it and split our props into three separate types: one for own props (passed from the parent component), one for state-based props and one for dispatch-based props:

```typescript
interface LinkOwnProps {
    filter: VisibilityFilter
}

interface LinkStateProps {
    active: boolean
}

interface LinkDispatchProps {
    onClick: () => void
}

type LinkProps = LinkOwnProps & LinkStateProps & LinkDispatchProps
```

And now our Redux bindings are fully type safe:

```typescript
const mapStateToProps = (state: AppState, ownProps: LinkOwnProps): LinkStateProps => {
    return {
        active: ownProps.filter === state.visibilityFilter
    }
}

const mapDispatchToProps = (dispatch: Dispatch<AppState>, ownProps: LinkOwnProps): LinkDispatchProps => {
    return {
        onClick: () => {
            dispatch(setVisibilityFilter(ownProps.filter))
        }
    }
}
```

For me the type safety given by proper TypeScript definitions made Redux great again. How about you?

## Bright Inventions Recognised as a Top App Development Company

*Published: 2018-04-17 | Author: ula | Tags: Clutch, mobile, web, Blockchain*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/Bright-Inventions-Recognised-as-a-Top-App-Development-Company/index.md*

[Clutch](https://clutch.co/profile/bright-inventions) is a ratings and reviews research-based firm in Washington, D.C., which conducts phone interviews with our past clients to evaluate our level of performance. Our clients have rated us with 4.8 out of 5 stars! This high level of quality is important to our clients and even more important to us here at Bright Inventions.

![Top App Developers](../../static/images/clutch_1.png "")

We focus on intuitive [software development](https://themanifest.com/app-development/how-small-businesses-build-mobile-apps) and strive to give our clients a wide variety of effective and quality software solutions. Apart from mobile development we also focus on Blockchain expertise, aiming to innovate and come up with creative solutions for our clients utilising the newest technologies. This commitment has shined through to our clients, and here are a few of them detailing our work in their Clutch reviews:

*“They’re responsive, responsible, and enjoy their work. Most other companies provide standard and boring solutions, but Bright Inventions is innovative and engages with their work in new ways.”*

*“I liked that Bright Inventions was quite attentive to details. That's not always the case with developers. They actually care a lot about the design. You had to be almost perfect, and that was fine with us.”*

“*We trust them and their work so much that they have the liberty to make a lot of different decisions that aren’t typically allotted to contractors. They’re essentially responsible for certain pieces of our business; that’s how much we rely on them.”*

![Bright Inventions on Clutch](../../static/images/clutch_2.png "")

Along with our impressive rating on Clutch for our overall quality, we also received a perfect score for our cost. We aim to be completely transparent and deliver our client the most cost effective option possible, and it would seem that we deliver! One of our clients described their experience by stating, *“They tried to be responsible, so whenever we came up with new ideas, they made it clear that it could extend the project and make it more expensive. Otherwise, they could have agreed to everything we wanted them to do, and it could have taken ages to complete. I like dealing with them.”* We hope to treat each and every one of clients with this same level of commitment and transparency!

## 5 (or more) ways to benefit from TypeScript in React projects

*Published: 2018-04-11 | Author: adam | Tags: React, TypeScript, web*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/5-ways-to-benefit-from-typescript-in-react/index.md*

In the [recent post](/blog/modern-way-getting-started-react-typescript/) we discussed how we can start a new React project with TypeScript to benefit from all the goodies of type checks and eliminate the whole class of errors and typos from our codebase. Now let’s see how we can apply TypeScript-based type definitions into our React project to get most of it.

To get started, as with every library we want to have the TypeScript support for, we need to grab the type definitions first. As usual, the way to do it is using the [DefinitelyTyped](https://github.com/DefinitelyTyped/DefinitelyTyped) project and run:

```bash
npm install --save-dev @types/react @types/react-dom
```

## The basics – Components

The components in React are in most cases ES6 classes that extend React-provided `Component` class. TypeScript is adding two generic arguments to this base class definition – the first one defines what our props are and the second is for the local component’s state.

```typescript
interface HelloProps {
    greeting: string
}

interface HelloState {
    wasDisplayed: boolean
}

class HelloWorldComponent extends React.Component<HelloProps, HelloState> {}
```

By adding these two definitions we’re not only adding a code completion capability to our component. Here I denoted I expect a `greeting` property and marked it as non-optional (no `?` sign before a colon and no union type that allows `undefined` to sneak through). The compiler now successfully prevents us from using this component without the proper `greeting` property passed in.

![Props completeness is enforced](../../static/images/react-ts/props-undefined.png "")

### Props & state (im)mutability

But there’s more. In React, both props and state are intended to be immutable. Props are for getting the data into the component only and state is to be modified via the specialized `setState` method. Thanks to both props and state defined as being of type `Readonly<>`, we are protected from accidentally mutating it:

![Props immutability is enforced](../../static/images/react-ts/props-immutable.png "")

As well as we’re not allowed to monkey-patch it, that is to add new properties there:

![Props are frozen](../../static/images/react-ts/props-frozen.png "")

Having said that, we must be aware that `Readonly<>` is not deep (recursive) – it only protects us from mutating the root level of the object, nothing protects its children objects:

```typescript
interface State {
    inner: {stuff: string}
}

// this is still possible
this.state.inner.stuff = "inner’s properties are still mutable"
``` 

Until React's typings implement the proper support for deep Readonly ([which is possible starting from TypeScript 2.8](https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/pull/21316)), the best we can (and should) do is to ensure on our own that all the properties of both props and state of our components are also marked as `Readonly<>` (as well as its inner properties, ad infinitum):

```typescript
interface State {
    inner: Readonly<{stuff: string}>
}

// now we’re safe again
this.state.inner.stuff = "this does not compile anymore"
```

### `setState` correctness

Another class of errors we’re automatically protected from is when we call `setState` with an invalid object. The first parameter of this function is defined with a rather cryptic type declaration:

```typescript
state: ((prevState: Readonly<S>, props: P) => (Pick<S, K> | S | null)) | (Pick<S, K> | S | null),
```

But when reading piece by piece it tells us we either need to pass a function that returns `Pick<S, K> | S | null` or return it directly. And that `Pick<S, K> | S | null` thing is – reading backwards – either `null`, full state object itself (`S`) or an object with a subset of the state’s keys ([`Pick<S, K>`](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/advanced-types.html#mapped-types)). To cut the long story short, we are unable to pass the new state value object that doesn’t match our state definition. Here is the error that the TypeScript compiler gives us instead:

![State correctness is enforced](../../static/images/react-ts/state-correctness.png "")

## Stateless components

Seasoned React developers are probably familiar with the simplest form of components available – [stateless functional components](https://hackernoon.com/react-stateless-functional-components-nine-wins-you-might-have-overlooked-997b0d933dbc). These are defined as pure functions that receive the props and return an JSX element. As simple as that, from the typing perspective it is usually  sufficient to treat it like any other function – specifying types of its parameters and optionally the return type:

```typescript
interface InputProps {
    value: any
    onChanged: () => void
}

function Input(props: InputProps) {
    return <input type="text" onChange={props.onChanged} value={props.value}/>
}
```

We can have a problem here, though, if we want to specify `propTypes` or `defaultProps` for our stateless component. TypeScript will complain as plain functions do not have that kind of properties defined:

![PropTypes cannot be added to plain function](../../static/images/react-ts/propTypes.png "")

We can solve it by declaring our component in a slightly different manner:

```typescript
const Input: React.StatelessComponent<InputProps> = function (props) {
    return <input type="text" onChange={props.onChanged} value={props.value}/>
}

Input.propTypes = {
    value: PropTypes.any.isRequired
}
```

But let’s stop and think for a moment what we’re trying to achieve here. Doesn’t TypeScript give us a similar level of type safety with much more convenience already? I find [using PropTypes not needed anymore](https://dbushell.com/2017/04/19/typescript-instead-of-react-proptypes/) at all.
 
## Events

Our next stop in the React world that might make use of stronger typing is around Events system. We take care of events every time we want our component to react to user actions. Let’s see our simplistic `Input` component once again:

```typescript
interface InputProps {
    value: any
    onChanged: () => void
}

function Input(props: InputProps) {
    return <input type="text" onChange={props.onChanged} value={props.value}/>
}
```

The `onChange` property, as every event handler, takes an event object as the only parameter. Let’s express it in our `InputProps` interface definition. `Event` is a name defined by the HTML spec itself, so let’s first try using it here:

```typescript
onChanged: (event: Event) => void
``` 

Unfortunately, this seems to be not the event we should care about:

![React does not use native HTML events](../../static/images/react-ts/event-native.png "")

This rather verbose error gives us the expected type of an event, above anything else – see its last line. The event object passed by React is actually typed as `ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>` and this type seems not to extend the HTML built-in `Event` type. This is intentional because React doesn’t use the HTML events directly – it uses [Synthetic Events](https://reactjs.org/docs/events.html) wrappers instead.

When we change our `Event` type definition to the synthetic event type determined by both event type and element type, we are fine:

```typescript
onChanged: (event: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => void
```

This gives us the best possible confidence level for what we can expect to get as an argument. It horribly reduces the flexibility, though. We can no longer have the same change handler for events fired on multiple types of HTML Elements (for example, `<input>` and `<select>`:

![Events on different HTML elements are not compatible](../../static/images/react-ts/event-incompatible.png "")

We got an error indicating near the end that `HTMLSelectElement` is not assignable to `HTMLInputElement`. Well, it is not, indeed, and our handler was defined to accept the former only and we’re unable to reuse that handler directly. A similar problem occurs if we want to attach the same handler to the events of multiple types (i.e. change, click, mouse interaction etc.) – `ChangeEvent<T>` and `MouseEvent<T>` are not compatible.

Fortunately, TypeScript provides a decent set of type system features that might help us here. First, we can use the common ancestor event type instead of the specific `ChangeEvent` – `SyntheticEvent` is a good fit. The generic parameter that describes the type of element we handle our event on is more troublesome. We might try with a `HTMLElement` base type and in some cases it will suffice. But my usual case for the generic event handling is to handle multiple form elements and access its value attributes. Apparently there is no common type for all form elements that defines the `value` attribute. We have at least two ways to work around it. First, the mercy of [union types](http://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/advanced-types.html#union-types) where we can specify an alternative of types we want to handle and its common attributes will be freely available: 

```typescript
onGenericEvent: (event: React.SyntheticEvent<HTMLSelectElement | HTMLInputElement>) => void
```

This is nice and explicit, although it doesn’t scale well if we want to handle more than few elements at once. The second solution uses the [structural type compatibility](https://basarat.gitbooks.io/typescript/docs/types/type-compatibility.html#structural) – yet another extremely neat TypeScript’s type system functionality that allows us to define and compare types by its structure only. If our case is to read a value of `value` attribute of the handled element’s only, we might state it explicitly in our handler type definition:

```typescript
onGenericEvent: (event: React.SyntheticEvent<{value: string}>) => void
``` 

The TypeScript’s type system allows us to choose which level of specificity vs. flexibility is appropriate in our case.

### Ugly case of generic `setState`

It’s not all flowers and roses, unfortunately. My typical scenario for form handling in React is to directly set the component’s state properties from the form elements values on their change events:

```html
<input type="text" name="firstName" 
       onChange={event => this.setState({firstName: event.currentTarget.value})} />
```

We might try to keep it generic by eliminating the duplication of the input’s name and assuming the name matches the key we want to set within the state and use [enhanced object literals](http://www.benmvp.com/learning-es6-enhanced-object-literals/) from ES6 specification (the thing with dynamic property names specified in square brackets):

```html
<input type="text" name="firstName" 
       onChange={event => this.setState({[event.currentTarget.name]: event.currentTarget.value})} />
```

As we have previously seen, TypeScript ensures the keys of the object we pass to `setState` match the actual properties of our component’s state. But here, TypeScript compiler (as of 2.6.1 at least) is not that smart to figure out what the actual value of event’s target `name` attribute would be, even though it can only be equal to `firstName` in this case. For TypeScript it is a general string and this is too wide to be considered valid for our `setState` call, unfortunately:

![TypeScript is unable to specify down setState parameter types](../../static/images/react-ts/event-generic.png "")

We may work around it with type cast to inform TypeScript compiler what is the range of values we might potentially expect from `event.currentTarget.name` (assuming `State` describes the state of our component). The `keyof State` construct informs the compiler that the strings there may only be those that are defined by `State` interface structure:

```text
<input type="text" name="firstName" 
       onChange={e => this.setState({[e.currentTarget.name as keyof State]: e.currentTarget.value})}/>
```

Or, alternatively, if we want to avoid type casts, we may satisfy the `setState` call by ensuring the full state is always passed (including the expected modifications). It is actually taking advantage of a bit separate React’s feature than the partial state update, but should behave the same way:

```html
<input type="text" name="firstName" 
       onChange={e => this.setState({...this.state, [e.currentTarget.name]: e.currentTarget.value})}/>
```
 
Note I’m using not-yet-standard [object spread operator](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-object-rest-spread) here. It creates a copy of `this.state` and replaces (or adds) a single property to this copy – in this case it will set `firstName` property to the value of input’s `value` attribute, reflecting what the user has typed into the box.

## What’s more?

As you might have already noticed, all the HTML elements have its attributes mapped into `HTML*Element` types we can benefit from whenever we’re operating on the elements. Similarly, a good subset of the CSS properties are mapped into the `CSSProperties` interface that defines all the predefined values the particular CSS property might use. This might be useful to use if we use any form of the [inline styles](https://reactjs.org/docs/dom-elements.html#style) in our components. It would provide a proper code completion and in some cases ensure the validation of our CSS definitions:

![TypeScript helps with CSS validity](../../static/images/react-ts/css-properties.png "")

I hope you already feel that TypeScript can offer a lot of benefits to your React codebase, even though we’ve just touched the iceberg tip. In the [next post](/blog/using-typescript-with-redux/) we'll add Redux into the mix and see how TypeScript can help us there, too.

## TypeScript tips from Kotlin developer - const

*Published: 2018-04-10 | Author: piotr | Tags: TypeScript, Kotlin, const, immutability*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/typescript-tips-from-kotlin-developer-const/index.md*

Nowadays I mostly code in [Kotlin programming language](https://kotlinlang.org/). I got interested in it when I started working on a Java 7 codebase and quickly got fed up with the language. At [Bright Inventions](https://brightinventions.pl) we often use TypeScript for both back-end, front-end and mobile development so I thought I would share some thoughts and tips for TypeScript learned while using Kotlin. In particular this post is about constant variables.

## Use `const` whenever possible

[Using immutable variables](https://hackernoon.com/5-benefits-of-immutable-objects-worth-considering-for-your-next-project-f98e7e85b6ac) aids reasoning about the flow and state of a program. It helps compiler to provide more intelligent hints especially while dealing with nullable types.

In Kotlin a `val` keyword denotes a variable which value does not change after initialization e.g.:

```kotlin
val x: Int
val y = 3
x = 2
x = 20 // Error: Val cannot be reassigned
y = 30 // Error: Val cannot be reassigned
```

In [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) such a situation is handled with `const`:

```typescript
const x: number // Error: 'const' declarations must be initialized
const y: number = 3

y = 30 // Error: Cannot assign to 'y' because it is constant or read-only property
```

## Compilers love `const`

The first way in which the compiler gets smarter when we use `const` are null checks. When you enable [`strictNullChecks`](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/compiler-options.html), which you should, both Kotlin and TypeScript compiler understand if something can or cannot be null.

```typescript
const firstName: string | null = getFirstName()
let lastName: string | null = getLastName()

if (firstName !== null && lastName !== null) {
    setTimeout(() => {
        console.log(firstName.length)
        console.log(lastName.length) // Error: Object is possibly 'null'
    })
}
```

In the first 2 lines we declare `firstName` and `lastName` as holding `string` or `null`. The variables are initialized with the helper functions `getFirstName` and `getLastName`. After we check that `firstName` and `lastName` are **definitely not null** we fire some async function. We can safely use `firstName.length`. However, when we use `lastName.length` the compiler complains with `Object is possibly 'null'` error. This is because it is possible that in between the null check and the `console.log` statement _something_ could change the `lastName` value. We might know that this is not true just by looking at the code. The compiler however, cannot be 100% sure in all cases. Thankfully we have `const` and we can share our knowledge with the compiler.

## Compilers catch bugs with `const`

Because `const` and `val` can only be assigned once, compilers can prevent another class of bugs. Take a look at the code example blow. There is a bug 🐛 that could easily be avoided had we used `const` instead of `let`.

```typescript
let firstName: string = person.firstName
let lastName: string = person.lastName

const parsed = parseFormData((data: {name: string }) => {
    let first: string | null, last: string | null
    let parts = data.name.split(' ')
    lastName = parts[0]
    firstName = parts[1]
    return { firstName: first, lastName: last }
})

if (parsed.firstName !== firstName || parsed.lastName !== lastName) { 
    // submit changes
}
```

You may have spotted the bug. Chances are though, especially if you are like me, that after long hours when the coffee level in your blood drops substantially below the required level, it will take long minutes to figure out the cause. There is a very easy remedy though. With `firstName` and `lastName` declared as constant variables the compiler catches bugs for us:

```typescript
lastName = parts[0] // Error: Cannot assign 'lastName' because it is a constant or a read-only property
firstName = parts[1] // Error: Cannot assign 'firstName' because it is a constant or a read-only property
```

## Top 3 reasons why you should start with Android

*Published: 2018-03-29 | Author: azabost | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/top-3-reasons-why-you-should-start-with-android/index.md*

People who start their professional coding adventure, whether they are still studying, just graduated or changing profession, may often hesitate what programming platform they should start with. So let me mention a few reasons why I think it's a great idea to start with Android.

![Decision](../../static/images/top-3-reasons-why-you-should-start-with-android/doors-1767563_1920_80.jpg "")

## Platform availability

Contrary to many other platforms (including iOS), you don't need any particular device or even operating system to start. If you don't have a smartphone running Android OS, you can use an emulator* which should be good enough for most applications. Android Studio IDE works on both Windows, macOS and Linux systems. Google provides JavaDoc-like documentation and tutorials for Android APIs so usually it's relatively easy to find what you need. And even if you can't, there's a huge Android devs community.

## Java and Kotlin

You can start developing Android apps with Java, which is one of the most popular languages of all time. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a chance to use it before. It's stable and it's well known. But if you would like to get something fresh, shiny, unbelievably useful, flexible and full of features, here it is: [Kotlin](https://developer.android.com/kotlin/.html). It will take your code to a whole new level, still being fully interoperable with Java APIs. Google already provides code snippets in the Android guides written in Kotlin.

## Projects with benefits

Everyone knows a few people who work on huge projects that involve hundreds of developers, millions lines of code and legacy APIs. When you join them, you usually spend a few months figuring out how it works and everyone is looking at your hands so that you won't break anything. It's quite hard to actually learn to code if you spend most of your time trying to reproduce a little bug in a large codebase or reading someone else's code (reading and writing is just not the same and you know it). You won't see this in Android development. Most of the apps are relatively small and simple so it makes the entry level really low. You can, for example, imagine every app component and its behavior easily. Of course it doesn't mean you should avoid harder tasks throughout your life - it just faciliates your learning experience. Moreover, smaller or shorter projects also mean you will probably start new ones more often, having the possibility to learn a wide range of things and use the latest and greatest solutions. Isn't it appealing for every programmer? :-)

*\* If you have an AMD CPU, you will likely [need a Linux system for emulator acceleration](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-acceleration.html).*

## Make IT Bright - Join our Developer's Team

*Published: 2018-03-22 | Author: ula | Tags: Blockchain, mobile, job, team, update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/make-IT-bright-join-our-developers-team/index.md*

Bright Inventions is evolving and growing, and we seek energetic positive people who would like to join our developer’s team. Have you ever thought about working in a place where you can develop your skills, have a real impact on the projects you realise and stack you use, and what is more, be among people who might not only be your colleagues, but also friends in a private life? Find out more about how we work and who we are, and apply.  We would love to get in touch with you.

![enter image description here](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bDVzoIFtDCKW2LoRVSaaoI7DrF-QLYXmwqCwFpUwCpV0o4QvSYShFOz91HlKY04iC7FvKEhMshsL)

## **Mobile applications, Blockchain and...**

Bright Inventions was established in 2012 in Gdańsk. **We started with creating mobile and web applications, but we also specialise in system integrations as well as IoT, and have experience with Blockchain-based app platforms (Ethereum and Hyperledger).** We support a wide variety of clients from such sectors as FinTech, Health, Automotive, Commerce/Shopping and others and our services have been found superior in Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, UK and Israel. Since 2012 we have learnt the value of interesting technically challenging projects and become quite picky in terms of the ones we select (you can read more about our projects [HERE.](https://clutch.co/profile/bright-inventions)). Now we want the evolution of Bright pick up the pace. We already have about 20 passionate professionals working for clients all over the world, yet we would like to capture new opportunities and that is why we need a great ambitious person just like you. 

## **Personal Growth and Passion** 

Our passion for work is visible in every phase of the project. While dealing with a variety of clients from startups to consulting and interactive agencies we have learnt that an individual and transparent attitude about a multitude of options we have, allows us to maximise the value of our clients' products.  We pay special attention to selecting the appropriate technology stack that will not only support client’s solution, but also make our team develop their skills.  We will never let you get bored. **We focus on self-development as we feel that is the key to build a satisfied and engaged team.** If you are a person who would like to achieve flow in programming and feel comfortable with switching between technologies, Bright Inventions is the place for you. Along the way you can learn a lot of and focus on many problems at hand. 

## **Best People and Best Practices** 

Are we another big software company? Definitely, not. We create a team of talented developers who value and apply the best programming practices, the team in which everyone is an important and integral part of the company, not an anonymous entity. We work with computers, but we hire people not machines. On a daily basis we try to follow such techniques and processes as **Pair Programming, Code review, TDD or Continuous integration.** We deeply believe that our client’s ideas deserve a great code and great people. If you have a passion to deliver and you would like to enhance your skills, you will definitely find a place among us. It doesn’t matter whether you are a junior looking for the first experience or a senior with a wide expertise, what matters is your  attitude, open mind and eagerness to learn. If you have it, and you enjoy startup organisational culture with flat structure and no management overhead, it may mean you will be a great fit for us.

So, are you ready to apply and join our Bright Team? If so, let us look what we will expect from you. These are universal requirements for all developer’s openings at Bright Inventions.

## **We indeed enjoy cooperation with people who:**

* have passion for programming and love new technologies
* focus on self-improvement and learning
* have analytical thinking skills and always try to understand the source of a problem before they decide on a solution
* are fluent in English
* have a very good knowledge and understanding of at least **ONE** of the following programming languages: Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, Kotlin, Swift or Objective-C (depending on a job position and your experience)
* have exceptional communicative skills and are not afraid of expressing their views 
* are familiar with TDD and BDD practices as well as Agile methodology

… if you meet all the above criteria, we will be happy to hear from you and get to know you better!

In case you have more questions or some doubts - you can contact me directly at [ula@brightinventions.pl](mailto:ula@brightinventions.pl) or +48 690 934 140 :)

## Don't fool yourself with lateinit modifier

*Published: 2018-03-22 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, kotlin*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dont-fool-yourself-with-lateinit-modifier/index.md*

Kotlin language provides a nice and clean way to handle nullable variables in code so that it is less error prone. Unless you do it all wrong, of course.

## lateinit modifier

Normally, all non-nullable properties in Kotlin classes must be properly initialized. You can do it in several ways:

* in primary constructor,
* in initializer block(s),
* in the class body,
* with a getter*,
* with a delegate*.

*\* Well, it's not an initialization per se, but it makes compiler aware that's not `null`*

But if your property is lifecycle-driven (e.g. a reference to a button which gets inflated during Android Activity lifecycle) or it is initialized through injection, you cannot supply a non-null initializer and you must declare its type as nullable. This in turn will require you to use null checks every time you reference the property, which may be a bit inconvenient, especially if you are absolutely sure the property will get initialized at some point, before you access it for the first time.

Kotlin has a simple solution for such a scenario, allowing you to mark the property with the `lateinit` modifier. Thanks to this you can have a non-nullable type so that you don't have to check if it's `null` while referencing it. Of course, if you access the property before initialization, you'll get an `UninitializedPropertyAccessException`.

## Lateinits vs nullables

The described possibility, despite being a great feature, may also be tempting to overuse in places where the initialization is not so certain (e.g. conditional or just *too late*), making the code less null-aware, less predictable and more like Java, thus - naturally - you might be doubtful if certain usages are right or not. So here's my rule of thumb that I use when making decision if particular variable should be `lateinit` or just nullable. It's very subjective and it tends to change with time so feel free to share your own experiences in comments.

### Lateinit #1: beginning of a lifecycle

You can intialize properties when your classes' lifecycle-beginning methods get invoked, e.g. `Activity.onCreate()`. It's a common case if you use a dependency injection framework like [Dagger](https://google.github.io/dagger/).

```kotlin
abstract class BaseActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        AndroidInjection.inject(this)
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    }
}

class LoginActivity : BaseActivity() {

    @Inject
    lateinit var viewModelFactory: ViewModelProvider.Factory

    lateinit var viewModel: LoginViewModel

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

        viewModel = ViewModelProviders.of(this, viewModelFactory).get(LoginViewModel::class.java)

        setContentView(R.layout.login_activity)
    }
}
```

It's also very useful if you want to `getSystemService()`:

```kotlin
class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    lateinit var alarmManager: AlarmManager

    // This wouldn't work:
    // val alarmService = getSystemService(AlarmManager::class.java)

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        alarmManager = getSystemService(AlarmManager::class.java)
}
```

Otherwise you would get an `IllegalStateException` saying that system services are not available to Activities before `onCreate()`.

You can also avoid the `this` reference escape during object construction [for thread-safety](https://wiki.sei.cmu.edu/confluence/display/java/TSM01-J.+Do+not+let+the+this+reference+escape+during+object+construction):

```kotlin
class MyActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    lateinit var alien: Alien
    // instead of:
    // val alien = Alien(this)

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        alien = Alien(this)
    }
}
```

### Lateinit #2: fail-fast approach

You may prefer to write a code that is designed to fail as soon as possible and stop normal operation rather than attempt to continue a flawed process. An extreme case could be crashing the app so that you can detect failures early. It can be especially useful in situations where the code is straightforward and predictable.

For example, let's imagine an Activity that uses `MediaPlayer` to play music. It might look like this:

```kotlin
class PlayerActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    lateinit var mediaPlayer: MediaPlayer
    lateinit var mediaUri: Uri

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_player)
        mediaUri = intent.getParcelableExtra("mediaUri")
    }

    override fun onStart() {
        super.onStart()
        mediaPlayer = MediaPlayer()
        mediaPlayer.setDataSource(this, mediaUri)
        mediaPlayer.prepare()
        mediaPlayer.start()
    }

    override fun onStop() {
        super.onStop()
        mediaPlayer.stop()
        mediaPlayer.release()
    }
}
```

It's quite easy to spot a risky assignment in `onCreate` as retrieving `mediaUri` from the passed intent may end up with an exception if the intent did not contain it.

`java.lang.IllegalStateException: intent.getParcelableExtra("mediaUri") must not be null`

On the other hand, the code is clear and simple and it's not too hard to test it. But if you feel your specific case needs a bit of explanation then I encourage you to document such design decision.

![Risk inside](../../static/images/dont-fool-yourself-with-lateinit-modifier/risk_inside.jpg "")

### Nullable #1: crash-free approach

There might be cases when you would like to avoid crashing the app at all cost, even if something is not going to work properly. It doesn't mean that using `lateinit` like in the previous "fail-fast" example must end up with a crash as you can catch the exceptions, but I think it's quite common to choose between these two extremes: either let the app crash and don't mind catching the exceptions or avoid crashing using nullable variables.

Let's modify the previous example by replacing `lateinit`s with nullable types:

```kotlin
class PlayerActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    var mediaPlayer: MediaPlayer? = null
    var mediaUri: Uri? = null

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_player)
        mediaUri = intent.getParcelableExtra("mediaUri")
    }

    override fun onStart() {
        super.onStart()

        mediaUri?.let {
            val player = MediaPlayer()
            player.setDataSource(this, it)
            player.prepare()
            player.start()
            mediaPlayer = player
        }
    }

    override fun onStop() {
        super.onStop()
        mediaPlayer?.stop()
        mediaPlayer?.release()
    }
}
```

So this time, if we don't get any `mediaUri`, we just don't play the music. The app won't crash, but the user will be surprised by the silence (he might even wonder if his phone is broken). Is it better than crashing? That's your choice. But the good thing about this approach is that you have an opportunity to actually test the variable using a regular `if` statement and do something else if it wasn't initialized with a non-null value.

*Note: since Kotlin 1.2 you can use `.isInitialized` on a reference to a `lateinit` property, but it may render your code even more unreadable and it has some limitations (see [the docs](https://kotlinlang.org/docs/reference/properties.html)):*

> This check is only available for the properties that are lexically accessible, i.e. declared in the same type or in one of the outer types, or at top level in the same file.

### Nullable #2: very late initialization

I've seen a piece of code that was "remembering" a clicked list item data in a `lateinit` variable, starting another Activity with `startActivityForResult()` and finally, when it has finished and `onActivityResult()` was called, the "remembered" value was read and used (and I was quite surprised it hasn't been lost in the meantime).

```kotlin
class SomeActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    lateinit var selectedItemData: ItemData

    // a ton of code ...

    private fun doSomethingWithItem(data: ItemData) {
        // another ton of code ...

        if (...) { // long and complex conditions
            if (...) {
                data?.anotherData?.let { // may not happen and won't let you know
                    selectedItemData = data
                    startActivityForResult(...)
                }
            }
        }
    }

    override fun onActivityResult(requestCode: Int, resultCode: Int, data: Intent?) {
        doSomethingElse(selectedItemData)
    }
}
```

Generally speaking, I avoid such constructions and I call them "too late initialization". In such cases I prefer to use a nullable type instead to make it clear the variable is `null` most of the time.

## How not to fool yourself?

Make the property nullable if it makes better sense and improves null safety. `lateinit` might be good if used properly but it has its cons as well. Don't make it a replacement for `NullPointerException`.

## #girlswhocode

*Published: 2018-03-12 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: redshift*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/girls-who-code/index.md*

Last week I attended a climbing competition dedicated for girls only to celebrate the international women’s day. It was held quite far away from my home town and on my way back I was wondering why I was so excited to attend a climbing competition for women and at the very same time I am so sceptical about any girls-only programming events.

![publish](../../static/images/girls-who-code/image1.jpg "")

**Anyone will agree that men and women are built differently when it comes to both physique and physiology**. In general, climbing men benefit from being stronger, taller and more dynamic while climbing women are more flexible, have smaller fingers and weight less. In non-official climbing competitions, especially in qualifiers, it is common to have the same routes both for men and women. This is why I really wanted to take part in the girls-only comp: no too long moves, no too physical moves, in general no too men-style routes. No excuses! :)

Now, how does it conform to programming girls-only events? The obvious reason of having them would be that women’s brains are different than men’s in terms of programming skills. And I don’t think it’s true. **Both women and men use the same programming languages, the same tools and environments, the same machines**. The approach of a teacher on a course or the type of a presentation on a conference should not be gender-specific.

One may say it’s easier and more comfortable to start programming in a group of females. But eventually the day will come and you will have to face the real programming world, where there are boys. Quite a lot of them actually :) And you will probably meet a rude one, who will depreciate your skills just because you are a girl. But this is not because he is a man. This is because he simply is rude.

So it doesn’t matter if you are a girl or a boy, if you are black or white, if you are a Pole or a Russian. **If you want to become a programmer, just find other enthusiasts and start doing it**. In sport if you train with better people, you progress faster. This is also true in any other domains. Find the best programmers to learn from them. Statistics say it will probably be a man. If you are a girl, just start coding and change the statistics :)

## How to deploy Lambda function with CloudFormation?

*Published: 2018-03-11 | Author: piotr | Tags: aws, cloudformation, lambda, cloudform*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/deploy-lambda-with-cloudformation/index.md*

Serverless deployments are popular these days. With a minimal cost you can have your own code wait and respond to various events. AWS Lambda, Azure Functions are just 2 examples of serverless offering from the biggest cloud providers. For a long time I had thought about them only in the context of ad-hoc setups not suitable for a long term development. This was until I found out that you can, with a little effort, version and deploy the serverless API just as a traditional back-end. In this post I am going to show how to deploy AWS Lambda functions with the help of the tool [Adam](https://adambar.pl/) created at [Bright Inventions](/) called [cloudform](https://github.com/bright/cloudform).

![Lambda function](../../static/images/lambda/lambda.png "")

## Step 1: Define a template

Let's install the [cloudform](https://github.com/bright/cloudform) `npm i --save-dev cloudform` and define a minimal template:

```typescript
import cloudform, { Lambda, IAM, Fn } from 'cloudform';

const LambdaExecutionRole = 'LambdaExecutionRole';

cloudform({
    Resources: {
        HelloWorld: new Lambda.Function({
            Code: {
                ZipFile: "exports.wrtiteToConsole = function (event, context, callback){ console.log('Hello'); callback(null); }"
            },
            Handler: "index.wrtiteToConsole",
            Role: Fn.GetAtt(LambdaExecutionRole, "Arn"),
            Runtime: "nodejs6.10"
        }),
        [LambdaExecutionRole]: new IAM.Role({
            AssumeRolePolicyDocument: {
                Statement: [{
                    Effect: "Allow",
                    Principal: { Service: ["lambda.amazonaws.com"] },
                    Action: ["sts:AssumeRole"]
                }]
            },
            Path: "/",
            ManagedPolicyArns: ["arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/service-role/AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole"]
        })
    }
});
```

There are only 2 resources defined in the template.  `HelloWorld` is the AWS Lambda function definition. We have set the `Runtime` property to use `nodejs6.10` hence the `Code.ZipFile` contains a JavaScript code. Despite the name [`ZipFile`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-properties-lambda-function-code.html#cfn-lambda-function-code-zipfile) should contain application source code in plain text. Obviously the [`ZipFile`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-properties-lambda-function-code.html) may only be used for the most simple functions. The `S3Bucket` and `S3Key` properties can be used to deploy a more involved function implementation. The `Handler` defines which function from `Code` the Lambda runtime should invoke. In case of `ZipFile` the first part is always `index`. 

The `Role` is a required setting for every AWS Lambda function. It defines what entitlements the code invoked by the Lambda runtime has. In the above template we define a policy which can be assumed by `lambda.amazonaws.com` and references a pre-defined AWS managed policy [`AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/intro-permission-model.html). The `AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole` makes it possible for the Lambda function logs to be pushed to Cloud Watch.

## Step 2: Create the AWS Lambda function

Deploying our Lambda function using CloudFormation requires a single command:

```bash
aws cloudformation create-stack \
    --capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM \
    --stack-name lambda-example \
    --template-body file://<(node_modules/.bin/cloudform aws-template.ts)
```

The `--capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM` is required whenever the CloudFormation has to define Roles, Policies or related resources. The `--template-body file://<(node_modules/.bin/cloudform aws-template.ts)` instructs CloudFormation to use a template defined in a file. The `<(...)` is [bash and zsh way to pass an output of a command](https://superuser.com/questions/1059781/what-exactly-is-in-bash-and-in-zsh) to other program as if the output was a file. After waiting a bit for the invocation to complete we will see the following in the AWS Console:

![AWS Lambda Screen](../../static/images/lambda/aws-console.png "")

It is possible to use the AWS Console editor to test and change the function. However, if we are to treat the [serverless approach](/blog/why-you-should-go-serverless-with-your-apps/) seriously we should not forget about the standard practices like versioning of our source code.

## Step 3: Update and version AWS Lambda function

Since we have defined the AWS Lambda function using a cloudform template we can version it as any other code. The whole serverless infrastructure we use and configure is treated as a source code allowing for an easy replication of deployment environments, audit trail and change management. Let's see how we can use cloudform to add another function that will be called by the first one.

```typescript
import cloudform, { Lambda, IAM, Fn } from 'cloudform';
import { FunctionProperties } from 'cloudform/types/lambda/function';
import { readFileSync } from 'fs';

const
    LambdaExecutionRole = 'LambdaExecutionRole',
    Alice = 'Alice',
    Bob = 'Bob';

function lambdaFunction(
    functionCode: string,
    options?: Partial<FunctionProperties>) {
    return new Lambda.Function({
        Code: { ZipFile: functionCode },
        Handler: "index.main",
        Role: Fn.GetAtt(LambdaExecutionRole, "Arn"),
        Runtime: "nodejs6.10",
        ...options
    });
}

export default cloudform({
    Resources: {
        [Alice]: lambdaFunction(readFileSync('Alice.js', 'utf-8'), {
            Environment: {
                Variables: {
                    BobFunction: Fn.GetAtt(Bob, "Arn")
                }
            }
        }),
        [Bob]: lambdaFunction(readFileSync('Bob.js', 'utf-8')),
        ... // LambdaExecutionRole see below
    }
})
```

As you can see above, we've extracted a function `lambdaFunction` to simplify Lambda function declaration. Both `Alice` and `Bob` function's bodies are defined in separate files. Interestingly  `Alice` function, during the invocation, will have access to `BobFunction` environment variable pointing to `Bob` function [ARN](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/aws-arns-and-namespaces.html).

Our `LambdaExecutionRole` lacks a permission to invoke another Lambda function. Let's fix that:

```typescript
    [LambdaExecutionRole]: new IAM.Role({
        AssumeRolePolicyDocument: {
            Statement: [{
                Effect: "Allow",
                Principal: { Service: ["lambda.amazonaws.com"] },
                Action: ["sts:AssumeRole"]
            }]
        },
        Path: "/",
        ManagedPolicyArns: ["arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/service-role/AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole"],
        Policies: [{
            PolicyName: "AllowCallingOtherLambda",
            PolicyDocument: {
                Version: "2012-10-17",
                Statement: [{
                    Sid: "InvokeLambdaPermission",
                    Effect: "Allow",
                    Action: ["lambda:InvokeFunction"],
                    Resource: "*"
                }]
            }
        }]
    })
```

The `Alice` and `Bob` sources export `main` functions invoked by AWS Lambda runtime:

```typescript
// Alice.ts
import aws from 'aws-sdk';

export function main(event: any, context: any, callback: Function) {
    new aws.Lambda().invoke({
        FunctionName: process.env.BobFunction!,
        Payload: JSON.stringify({message: "Hi!. I'm Alice."})
    }, (error: Error, data: any) => {
        const response = JSON.parse(data.Payload);
        console.log('FromBob', error || response)
        callback(error);
    });
}

// Bob.ts
export function main(event: any, context: any, callback: any) {
    console.log('FromAlice', event)
    callback(null, {message: "Hi! I'm Bob. Nice to meet you!"});
}
```

Since we now use TypeScript for `Alice` and `Bob` source we need to install the compiler `npm i --save-dev typescript @types/node aws-sdk`. Unfortunately currently in [cloudform](https://github.com/bright/cloudform) it is not possible to use custom `tsconfig.json` for the compilation. Fortunately we can invoke the compiler manually and use its outputs as any other Node.js source code. With a `tsconfig.json`:

```json
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "commonjs",
    "target": "es6",
    "strict": true, 
    "strictPropertyInitialization": false,
    "esModuleInterop": true
  },
  "exclude": ["node_modules"],
  "compileOnSave": true
}
```

we can use the following commands to compile and deploy Lambda functions:

```bash
./node_modules/.bin/tsc

aws cloudformation update-stack \
    --capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM \
    --stack-name lambda-example \
    --template-body file://<(node -e "console.log((require('./aws-template').default))")
```

After the stack update completes we now should have 2 Lambda functions available. When we invoke the `Alice` function, we'll see that the 2 AWS Lambda functions communicate:

```text
START RequestId: 6a87c764-251e-11e8-b921-f9ca7649c7d7 Version: $LATEST
2018-03-11T11:22:00.615Z	6a87c764-251e-11e8-b921-f9ca7649c7d7	Alice says: Hi!. I'm Alice.
2018-03-11T11:22:01.676Z	6a87c764-251e-11e8-b921-f9ca7649c7d7	Bob says: Hi! I'm Bob. Nice to meet you!
END RequestId: 6a87c764-251e-11e8-b921-f9ca7649c7d7
REPORT RequestId: 6a87c764-251e-11e8-b921-f9ca7649c7d7	Duration: 1110.68 ms	Billed Duration: 1200 ms 	Memory Size: 128 MB	Max Memory Used: 34 MB	
```

[Serverless infrastructure](/our-areas/cloud-services/) offers endless possibilities. With [cloudform](https://github.com/bright/cloudform) we can take AWS Lambda development, change management and deployment to the next level.

## The modern way of getting started with React and TypeScript

*Published: 2018-03-07 | Author: adam | Tags: React, TypeScript, web*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/modern-way-getting-started-react-typescript/index.md*

One of the prerequisites for a healthy and sustainable tech stack that reduces the risk of our project quickly getting obsolete is a tooling and automation around the mundane chores. Few months back the JavaScript world suffered from the tools fatigue when the brand new solutions to the build and configuration automation problem popped up daily, each with its own learning curve.

But out of this failed attempts the new generation solution was born at Facebook for React. [`create-react-app`](https://github.com/facebook/create-react-app) (often shortened to CRA) is an all-in-one integrated development tool, preconfigured with webpack for bundling and packaging, Babel for ES6 support, powerful dev server with all the modern conveniences, a test runner with coverage tool, etc. There is even a Service Worker ready to [kickstart your PWA journey](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-reasons-why-you-should-consider-progressive-web-apps-eriksen/). 

All is wrapped together in a single updatable NPM dependency. It abstracts away everything but the actual application code from the developers that don't need to dig deeper – no build process is visible, no dev tools configuration is required, no tests wiring is necessary, no boilerplate needs to be generated before we can actually start writing our app code. CRA is THE way for the most small-to-medium React projects to avoid the whole build configuration hassle.

```shell
npx create-react-app my-app
cd my-app
npm start
```

This is all we need to get started and see the "Hello World" page served from the local development server, auto-refreshing whenever a source code change happens.

![Hello World from create-react-app](../../static/images/react-ts/cra.png "")

This is cool and already saved us a week of headaches. But there is no TypeScript support available by default in create-react-app. TypeScript is really great and after working together for some time now I feel that JavaScript without TypeScript is like a cake without chocolate - you might eat it, but where's that pleasure?

Fortunately, I'm not the only one who thinks this way and Open Source does not like void. There is a fork of create-react-app that replaces Babel with TypeScript, surprisingly named [`create-react-app-typescript`](https://github.com/wmonk/create-react-app-typescript). Let's rewind and start from scratch, with TypeScript this time:

```shell
npx create-react-app my-app --scripts-version=react-scripts-ts
cd my-app
npm start
```

Note something important – we are not invoking `create-react-app-typescript` fork's own binary. CRA is designed in such a way that it is open for customizations without the hassle of being bound to a fork that might stop being maintained. We're actually still using `create-react-app` directly, we just replaced the piece of its inner machinery (`react-scripts`) with the one that is TypeScript aware (`react-scripts-ts`). It means that whenever there's an update available within `create-react-app` for our development, bundling or testing environment, we are – as the first class citizens – still able to just `npm update` and get all the goodies.

And here is what we get – almost the same thing as before, but with TSX (TypeScript-flavoured JSX) instead! 

![Hello World from create-react-app-typescript](../../static/images/react-ts/cra-ts.png "")

But what if we outgrow the offerings of `create-react-app` and we need to dig down into the webpack bundler or jest test runner's shenanigans? It is possible, but unfortunately, in this case we need to say goodbye to the nice and clean abstraction that shielded us from dealing with ~30 direct dependencies and ~12 configuration files. When we run `npm run eject` command, our project gets rewritten to include all of this directly and we can no longer `npm update` our development environment as a single dependency. We should definitely know what we are doing before we decide to do so. And in most cases, until we start having non-standard requirements for the build process, we should not need to do it.

In the [next post](/blog/5-ways-to-benefit-from-typescript-in-react/) we'll see how we can benefit from having TypeScript support in our React app.

## GroupWork, but not GroupThink

*Published: 2018-03-06 | Author: ula | Tags: groupwork, teamwork, creativity, success*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/GroupWork-but-not-GroupThink/index.md*

Have you ever heard about Groupthink?  It occurs when a group of people make faulty decisions due to mutual pressure. According to Irving Janis who coined this term for the first time in 1972, the group pressure leads to a deterioration of mental efficiency, moral judgement as well as reality verification. Groups affected by the groupthink phenomenon frequently ignore alternatives while looking for a solution. People who are vulnerable to groupthink mostly have a similar background, work in organisations with a lack of established decision making process and do not meet any outside opinions.

**Groupthink appears frequently when group members are under pressure to make a quality decision.** People feel less motivated to look for alternatives or express their opinions openly against the perceived group’s consensus. Frequently overwhelming pressure to find unanimity leads to irrationalism and carelessness, which in consequence may result in unsuccessful outcomes.

Groupthink is a huge risk for the success of every company. It might not only lead to the situations in which everyone thinks that the right decision has been made just because the whole group seems to support it, but what is worse, it may also lead to the situation in which unanimity is very often just a delusion. Frequently, some decisions are made just because real opinions are not given. 
 
**So, what can we do to avoid the effect of groupthink in our team?**

1\. Fist of all, we should not allow stress to make decisions instead of us. We very often react to stress in a similar way. If we feel that one option is more risky than the other, we tend to choose the former one just for the sake of avoiding some mental and emotional strain even though we may miss good opportunities in this way. **Setting up a clear decision-making process may help to improve our performance and refrain from unnecessary tension.**

2\. We have a tendency to focus on what we know. We are often afraid of the non-explored and instead of asking questions we rush to answer. We ought to focus on critical information and ask ourselves what kind of problem we are actually trying to solve. **Asking appropriate transparent questions not only helps to find an optimal solution, but it is also necessary for personal and organisational growth.** Authentic conversations and gaining diverse opinions is everyone’s responsibility regardless of position. To avoid groupthink every member of the organisation should be allowed to air their doubts and fears while engaging in a constructive dialogue with people inside and outside the company. The question-asking phase should be never ignored.

3\. Just because we have been doing some things in a certain way for ages, does not mean we should do them in this way now or in the future. **It is good to follow some best practices, but we have to remember not to follow them blindly despite the fact that seemingly everyone may agree they are good.** Blind commitment is something that should be avoided by being open to changes and expectations of the market. What counts nowadays is a fresh perspective and open-mindedness.

4\. Have you heard about a devil’s advocate? To avoid groupthink perils we should have at least one devil’s advocate in a meeting. **It is not about questioning everyone and everything, but rather about a critical evaluation and challenging the view’s of members by asking appropriate questions.** What is the role of a leader then? Leaders should listen. They should not state preferences or expectations in the beginning. They should make sure that there is enough time for analysing and discussing alternative scenarios.

**A diversity of opinions, much more than of cultures, is something we need and something we should be proud of in our organisation.** Having people who have always the same perspective and who are agreeing constantly might be an alarming signal that there is wrong. Creating a company structure in which we have some space for feedback and expressing personal opinions is for me a must-have to create a successful workplace. We should never discourage debates and innovative thinking among the team. We should moderate them, but never shut them down. When there is a consensus, it does not mean there is also a success.

## How to call a load balanced ECS service?

*Published: 2018-03-05 | Author: piotr | Tags: aws, ecs, cloudformation, elb, cloudform*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-call-a-load-balanced-ecs-service/index.md*

A service running [ECS](https://aws.amazon.com/ecs/) can call plethora of AWS APIs. It can read messages from queues, publish messages to [SNS](https://aws.amazon.com/sns/) topics, query a database. These are all valid ways to communicate with the service. However, often the most appropriate way is to call the service by an HTTP API. In this post I'll describe how to configure an ECS service running inside VPC so that other services can call its API.

![containers](../../static/images/ecs-service/containers.jpeg "")

## Deploy an ECS service to multiple hosts

Whenever we care about availability of a service running inside AWS, we need to have it running in at least 2 availability zones. For that reason when defining the ECS Cluster Auto Scaling Group we need to specify at least 2 VPC Subnets running in different availability zones.

```json
"ECSMainCluster": {
    "Type": "AWS::ECS::Cluster",
    "Properties": { "ClusterName": "Main Cluster" }
},
"ECSAutoScalingGroup": {
    "Type": "AWS::AutoScaling::AutoScalingGroup",
    "Properties": {
        "VPCZoneIdentifier": [
            { "Ref": "PrivateASubnet" },
            { "Ref": "PrivateBSubnet" }
        ],
        "LaunchConfigurationName": { "Ref": "ContainerHostInstances" },
        "MinSize": "2",
        "MaxSize": "6",
        "DesiredCapacity": "2"                
    }
},
"ServiceA": {
    "Type": "AWS::ECS::Service",
    "Properties": {
        "Cluster": { "Ref": "ECSMainCluster" },
        "DesiredCount": 2,
        "LoadBalancers": [{
            "ContainerName": "serviceA",
            "ContainerPort": 8080,
            "TargetGroupArn": { "Ref": "ServiceAAlbTargetGroup" }
        }],
        "DeploymentConfiguration": { "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50 },
        "Role": { "Ref": "ECSServiceRole" },
        "TaskDefinition": { "Ref": "ServiceATask" }
    }
}
```

Notice how we are using 2 private subnets as `VPCZoneIdentifier`. The `MinSize` is also set to 2 which will cause both availability zones to have at least 1 instance running. For brevity subnets and VPC definitions are not included. You can find more details about how to configure the EC2 instances inside ECS cluster \[in my previous post](https://miensol.pl/how-to-deploy-a-service-to-amazon-elastic-container-service-with-cloud-formation/).

The `ServiceA` deployed in `ECSMainCluster` is also specifying that at it has [`DesiredCount`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/ecs_services.html) of 2 which instructs ECS to have at least 2 instances of the service running. The [`LoadBalancers`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-ecs-service.html#cfn-ecs-service-loadbalancers) and [`Role`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-ecs-service.html#cfn-ecs-service-role) attributes are required for the load balanced setup. The `ECSServiceRole` must allow the ECS agent to make calls to the load balancer API. The `LoadBalancers` reference [an ALB target group](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/application/load-balancer-target-groups.html) to which the running ECS task should be added.

## A private load balancer

In order for us to be able to call an API exposed by ECS service running on multiple instances we will use [an internal Application Load Balancer](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/service-load-balancing.html). By internal, I mean that the load balancer will not be accessible outside of the VPC.

```json
"PrivateApiLoadBalancer": {
    "Type": "AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer",
    "Properties": {
        "Subnets": [
            { "Ref": "PrivateASubnet" },
            { "Ref": "PrivateBSubnet" }
        ],
        "Name": "PrivateApiLoadBalancer",
        "Scheme": "internal",
        "SecurityGroups": [{
            "Ref": "HttpHttpsProxySecurityGroup"
        }]
    }
},
"HttpHttpsProxySecurityGroup": {
    "Type": "AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup",
    "Properties": {
        "GroupDescription": "Enable http and https access",
        "VpcId": { "Ref": "VPC" },
        "SecurityGroupIngress": [{
            "IpProtocol": "tcp", "FromPort": "80", "ToPort": "80",
            "CidrIp": { "Ref": "VPCCidr" }
        }, {
            "IpProtocol": "tcp", "FromPort": "443", "ToPort": "443",
            "CidrIp": { "Ref": "VPCCidr" }
        }],
        "SecurityGroupEgress": [{
            "IpProtocol": "-1",
            "CidrIp": { "Ref": "VPCCidr" }
        }]
    }
}
```

There are only 2 important aspects to the `PrivateApiLoadBalancer`. First, it is attached to the same subnets as our ECS task definition. Secondly, it has a security group configured which allows for incoming HTTP/HTTPS traffic and outgoing traffic to any IP in the VPC CIDR address. The egress rule is required for the load balancer to be able to check the health of its targets.

For the load balancer to perform some actions we need to configure listeners that define its behavior in response to incoming traffic.

```json
"PrivateApiLoadBalancerHttpListener": {
    "Type": "AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::Listener",
    "Properties": {
        "Port": 80,
        "Protocol": "HTTP",
        "LoadBalancerArn": { "Ref": "PrivateApiLoadBalancer" },
        "DefaultActions": [{
            "Type": "forward",
            "TargetGroupArn": {
                "Ref": "PrivateApiLoadBalancerInvalidHostGroup"
            }
        }]
    }
},
"PrivateApiLoadBalancerInvalidHostGroup": {
    "Type": "AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::TargetGroup",
    "Properties": {
        "Protocol": "HTTP",
        "Port": 80,
        "VpcId": { "Ref": "VPC" },
        "Name": "invalid-target-group"
    }
}
```

The `PrivateApiLoadBalancerHttpListener` specifies that the HTTP request to `PrivateApiLoadBalancer` on port 80 should be routed to `PrivateApiLoadBalancerInvalidHostGroup`. The `AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::Listener` requires us to set the `DefaultActions`. The above setup allows us to fail in a consistent manner. Unless there are `AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::ListenerRule` which match an incoming the HTTP request it will be routed to an empty `AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::TargetGroup` which in turn will result in 502 Bad Gateway. This allows us to effectively decouple the `DefaultActions` of the load balancer listener from a specific ECS service instance.

## Attach ECS service to an Application Load Balancer

It is time to route a request from the Application Load Balancer to the ECS service instances. The [`AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::ListenerRule`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-elasticloadbalancingv2-listenerrule.html) allows us to configure such behavior:

```json
"ServiceAAlbHttpListenerRule": {
    "Type": "AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::ListenerRule",
    "Properties": {
        "Actions": [{
            "Type": "forward",
            "TargetGroupArn": { "Ref": "ServiceAAlbTargetGroup" }
        }],
        "Priority": 1,
        "Conditions": [{
            "Field": "host-header",
            "Values": [ "service-a.in.example.com"]
        }],
        "ListenerArn": {
            "Ref": "PrivateApiLoadBalancerHttpListener"
        }
    }
},
"ServiceAAlbTargetGroup": {
    "Type": "AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::TargetGroup",
    "Properties": {
        "Protocol": "HTTP",
        "Port": 8080,
        "HealthCheckPath": "/application-status/health",
        "HealthyThresholdCount": 2,
        "UnhealthyThresholdCount": 10,
        "HealthCheckIntervalSeconds": 5,
        "HealthCheckTimeoutSeconds": 4,
        "VpcId": { "Ref": "VPC" },
        "Name": "service-a-target-group"
    }
}
```

The `ServiceAAlbHttpListenerRule` states that any request with a `Host` equal to `service-a.in.example.com` should be routed to an instance from the `ServiceAAlbTargetGroup`. The `ServiceAAlbTargetGroup` group is referenced from the `ServiceA` definition and contains all running and healthy instances of our task. This means that in order to call the HTTP API exposed by `ServiceA` we will simply use the `service-a.in.example.com` domain name.

## A private DNS record

The last part is to define a [Private Hosted Zone](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/Route53/latest/DeveloperGuide/hosted-zone-private-creating.html) and [a DNS Record Set](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-properties-route53-recordset.html) so that a DNS look up, happening inside the VPC, for `service-a.in.example.com` results in an IP address of the `PrivateApiLoadBalancer`.

```json
"PrivateHostedZone": {
    "Type": "AWS::Route53::HostedZone",
    "Properties": {
        "VPCs": [{
            "VPCId": { "Ref": "VPC" },
            "VPCRegion": { "Ref": "AWS::Region" }
        }],
        "Name": "in.example.com"
    }
},
 "ServiceALoadBalancerDNSRecord": {
    "Type": "AWS::Route53::RecordSet",
    "Properties": {
        "Name": "service-a.in.example.com",
        "HostedZoneId": { "Ref": "PrivateHostedZone" },
        "ResourceRecords": [{
            "Fn::GetAtt": ["PrivateApiLoadBalancer", "DNSName"]
        }],
        "TTL": 60,
        "Type": "CNAME"
    }
}
```

The `PrivateHostedZone` merely defines the name of the domain which we will use for addressing ECS services running inside our VPC. It is recommended to use a domain name that you control so that a mistake in the DNS configuration will not cause your services to call an address that you do not own. The `ServiceALoadBalancerDNSRecord` defines a CNAME that uses `PrivateApiLoadBalancer` AWS assigned DNS name. This way the lookup for `service-a.in.example.com` will effectively resolve to multiple IPs in different availability zones.

With the above configuration in place we can call an HTTP API exposed privately by a load balanced service running inside VPC on ECS cluster using the most natural way i.e. a DNS name.

## Adding features to your chart on Android

*Published: 2018-03-04 | Author: radek | Tags: android, chart, live data, dynamic data*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/charts-on-android-2/index.md*

In the [previous post](/blog/charts-on-android-1/) I did show you how to make a basic setup of Android linear chart using [MPAndroidChart](https://github.com/PhilJay/MPAndroidChart) library. Now I'll show you some features I found useful.

![tuning](../../static/images/radek/tuning.jpg "")


## Custom handling of chart tap event

The library provides default highlight values behavior on tap or drag. You may want to handle it by yourself, so get familiar with `OnChartValueSelectedListener`. It contains 2 methods:
- `onNothingSelected`
- `onValueSelected`

`onValueSelected` provides `Entry` object which gives you an access to the data, that is `FoodSearch` in our case. Let's  use it to something simple, like displaying some info in the toast, to see how it works:

```kotlin
lineChart.isHighlightPerTapEnabled = true

lineChart.setOnChartValueSelectedListener(object : OnChartValueSelectedListener {

    override fun onNothingSelected() {}

    override fun onValueSelected(e: Entry, h: Highlight) {
        val yearWeek = (e.data as FoodSearch).week_id
        Toast.makeText(baseContext, "date: $yearWeek", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
    }
})
```

![highlight chart](../../static/images/radek/chart_highlight.png "")

If you want to display some view over selected Entry you may take advantage of the `Highlight` object in the `onValueSelected` method and get Entry's coordinates on the screen by accsessing `xPx` and `yPx`properties and set them to the view.

## Live Data

> MPAndroidChart does not officially support realtime data, ***however** (...)*

As long as we keep reference to the specific `DataSet` object, we are able to add and remove entries dynamically. It might be a result of syncing data from the internet or partial progress some asynchronous task - doesn't matter. Let's add a random entry on the button click.

```kotlin
val rand = Random()
bananaDataSet.addEntry(Entry(bananaDataSet.entryCount.toFloat(), rand.nextFloat() * 100))
yogurtDataSet.addEntry(Entry(yogurtDataSet.entryCount.toFloat(), rand.nextFloat() * 100))
```

When modifying data set, BOTH `LineData` object and the chart need to be notified about it. To do so, invoke proper method on them, then simply invalidate the chart like you would with any other view element.

```kotlin
lineChart.data.notifyDataChanged()
lineChart.notifyDataSetChanged()
lineChart.invalidate()
```

I recommend you to check out other ways of updating chart data described in the [docs](https://github.com/PhilJay/MPAndroidChart/wiki/Dynamic-&-Realtime-Data).

## Viewport

Let's say you want to put readability aside, remove labels and axes with all that white spaces and make a pure chart view fill the screen. Labels/ axis configuration is obvious, just disable them:

```kotlin
lineChart.axisLeft.isEnabled = false
lineChart.axisRight.isEnabled = false
lineChart.xAxis.isEnabled = false
lineChart.description.isEnabled = false
lineChart.legend.isEnabled = false
```

Unfortunately, it does not make the job done. As you can see below there are still space between the chart and the parent view left.

![default viewport](../../static/images/radek/chart_viewport_1.png "")

How to disable the chart padding? The library provides us a simple way to modify chart's `Viewport`. In this case call method `setViewPortOffsets(0f,0f,0f,0f)` on the chart object. It sets chart's offset (padding) to 0. Just remember all viewport modifications have to be called **after** data is set up.

##### BUT...!
It's a solution you need to be cautious about. What does the documentation say about using this approach?
> USE THIS ONLY WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

Why? During a short adventure with chart's viewport I came across one problematic issue. Offset seemed to be recalculated independently and every other view besides the chart itself didn't know about the change. This may cause some render problems, for example like this:

![viewport issue](../../static/images/radek/chart_viewport_2.png "") 

Displayed value is the mentioned "other view" that does not know about the offset change, so edge values are cut. Keep this in mind modifying viewport! For more viewport modifications check out the project's [wiki page](https://github.com/PhilJay/MPAndroidChart/wiki/Modifying-the-Viewport).

## Drawable Values

If you need to mark any value in some special way you may define `Entry`'s `icon` property. It's an instance of a `Drawable` class, so it's very easy to layout the icon in a resource file and then apply  it to the Entry. In our example let's mark with a red dot each value that differs from the previous one more than *15* to see every bigger steeper slope on the chart.

Define any drawable resource, for example 20x20 red oval:
```xml
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:shape="oval">
    <size android:width="20dp" android:height="20dp" />
    <solid android:color="#ff0000" />
</shape>
```

Now add some code to `getEntriesFromCSV` method. Before adding a new `Entry` to an array, add the Drawable as the icon's property if the point fulfills the condition:

```kotlin

data?.mapIndexed { index, foodSearch ->
    val entry = Entry(index.toFloat(), foodSearch.value.toFloat(), foodSearch)
    val steeperSlope = 15

    if (index != 0 && (foodSearch.value > data?.get(index - 1)!!.value + steeperSlope ||
                    foodSearch.value < data?.get(index - 1)!!.value - steeperSlope)) {

        val icon = resources.getDrawable(R.drawable.ic_balloon, null)
        entry.icon = icon
    }

    entries.add(entry)
}

```

In order to see the icons, set the *drawIcons* flag to `true` on each `DataSet` object:

```kotlin
bananaDataSet.setDrawIcons(true)
yogurtDataSet.setDrawIcons(true)
```

Thank's to that icons are displayed over specified entries:

![icons over values](../../static/images/radek/chart_icons_1.png "")

## Different iOS build configurations than Debug and Release in React Native

*Published: 2018-02-27 | Author: mateusz | Tags: react native, ios, build configurations*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/react-native-custom-ios-build-configurations/index.md*

Default iOS build configurations, **Debug** and **Release**, might be enough for the beginning, but sooner or later you will probably need to extend the number of build configurations in your app. While this is pretty straightforward in [native development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development), unfortunately, it is not in React Native.

## Build configurations

To manage build configuration go to Xcode the project settings (\[PROJECT]→Info):

![image](../../static/images/react-native-custom-ios-build-configurations/project-target.png "")

You can easily add a new build configuration by **duplicating an existing one**. Duplicate Debug configuration for development and Release configuration for Test Flight and App Store build. You can also rename any configuration by double-clicking on it quickly.

![image](../../static/images/react-native-custom-ios-build-configurations/build-configurations.png "")

### Debug vs Release

Debug configuration builds the complete symbolic debug information without any code optimizations to facilitate debugging applications. In Release configuration code execution is optimized and symbolic information is not included in build which results in a smaller size of the final executable. Release builds will execute faster although due to compiler optimizations you can expect differences in memory layout or initialization which might result in so-called "Release-only" bugs.

### Run build configuration

The steps presented above steps are enough to set up new build configurations in a native development. To run the app in build configuration open **scheme** and change Run build configuration:

![image](../../static/images/react-native-custom-ios-build-configurations/select-build-configuration.png "")

## Problems in React Native

To start the iOS app with build configuration specified in React Native you can simply run:

`react-native run-ios --configuration Stage`

Unfortunately, this will fail for any Release-based configuration with an error saying that it cannot find `RCTBundleURLProvider` in AppDelegate:

> AppDelegate.m:2:9: 'React/RCTBundleURLProvider.h' file not found

We need to add missing **Header Search Paths** and **Library Search Paths** in the target build settings (\[TARGET]→Build Settings) for new Release build configurations.

![image](../../static/images/react-native-custom-ios-build-configurations/build-settings-search-paths.png "")

Add an entry to **Headers Search Paths** for each new Release build configuration:

`$(BUILD_DIR)/Release-$(PLATFORM_NAME)/include`

![image](../../static/images/react-native-custom-ios-build-configurations/header-search-paths.png "")

Add an entry to **Library Search Paths** for each new Release build configuration:

`$(BUILD_DIR)/Release$(EFFECTIVE_PLATFORM_NAME)`

![image](../../static/images/react-native-custom-ios-build-configurations/library-search-paths.png "")

**Next, do the same for all Test targets**, otherwise the command will still fail.

Eventually, you can start the app with specified build configuration:

`react-native run-ios --configuration Stage`

and it should run without any problems.

One might wonder why this is needed when we only change build configuration name and it was already working for Release. **React Native supports Debug and Release build configurations out of the box**, while any other configuration needs to be set up manually.

## Every cloud has a silver lining

Defining iOS build configurations different than Debug and Release in React Native can be really frustrating without any previous experience. However, with a little guidance, it can be a quick and painless process.

If you are interested in how to set up different Google configurations for each build configuration I recommend you [reading this tutorial](/blog/ios-google-configuration-per-environment). Although it is written for native development, you can **set up Run Scripts exactly the same in React Native**.

## 3 top habits to improve the cooperation with clients

*Published: 2018-02-26 | Author: eliasz | Tags: habits, cooperation, planning*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3-top-habits-to-improve-the-cooperation-with-clients/index.md*

There is always a room for improvement regarding the service that we deliver to our clients.
In this post I describe 3 habits that I consider really helpful in order to work effectively with clients.  

![clients](../../static/images/3-habits-to-improve-cooperation-wth-clients/clients.jpeg "")

## 1. Estimating

Estimates... As long as this might be a nightmare for many developers, this is still a crucial part that we need to take care of. The fear usually comes from the fact that while we are trying to do our best to etsmiate a task, the estimations often end up being not as accurate as we predict them to be and we might still be expected to deliver the work till the certain date. We need to be aware of the two sides of the coin. On the one hand, a developer wants to deliver a high quality work while taking care of unexpected tasks that come up during the development, but on the other hand, our clients need to plan their next business steps and they need these estimates. You cannot simply say "It will be ready when I'm done" as it does not bring that much value to the client. Achieving 100% accuracy in estimating complex tasks is <del>not that easy</del> an impossible activity, but how can we make this better?

### Estimate frequently

Our early estimates may be much different from the reality, however, we should expect our estimates to improve as we continue working on the project. If we want our estimates to be more accurate, we need to practice this activity. It would be a good approach to estimate your tasks even if you're not asked to. This way you can check yourself how long it takes you to implement certain things. It's really hard to estimate things right, but that should not stop us from working on improving them.

### Break complex tasks into smaller assignments

Breaking tasks into smaller assignments will not only make it easier to estimate, but it also might show you the details that are not visible at the first glance. This will allow you to warn your clients about possible problems much earlier.

### Update your estimates

![correct](../../static/images/3-habits-to-improve-cooperation-wth-clients/correct.jpg "")

We <b>must</b> be prepared that the reality will diverge from our original estimates - in the end, this is why they are called <b>estimates</b>, not commitments.
With this approach it will be much more natural to inform your clients about possible delays. Keep in mind that if you have an estimate for 2 weeks of work and after 5 days you notice that you will not make it - do not wait until the last moment to inform about that. The time that you notice the issue should be the time that you update your clients so that they can adjust their plans accordingly. You should not treat the act of updating estimations as a sign of failure - in the end these are... well... estimations!

### Update your plans

If you're close to the deadline and see that there's a risk of not having the feature ready, consider finding a subset of this feature that will allow you to solve the most critical parts of the problem. Usually having a partly implemented feature is better than having nothing at all.

## 2. Looking for alternative solutions

Our role as developers should not be limited just to the implementation of a task. Instead I'd encourage you to dig deeper into the actual problem. It's worth asking yourself a few questions before you start working on the new feature:

* What is the problem that we are going to solve by implementing this feature?
* Is it really a problem?
* Is there another solution to this problem?

"We don't have the login system in the app." - Does this app require a logged user to use its content? No? Then maybe there are more critical things to work on?
"This design of custom control for a date selection would look great in the app!" - Maybe a standard component will be a much better choice in this case and will take a few days less to implement?
Investing more work into a feature `A` means that you will not be able to invest this time into a feature `B` - in the end, maybe there are more important tasks to be done? Keep in mind that it's not only about finding faster/cheaper solutions for the problems. Sometimes it’s just the opposite - adding more work will allow us to provide a better solution that will benefit us in the long run. It's all about making your clients aware of the implementation cost and pros and cons of each solution. It may turn out that the alternative solution is a much better choice for them compared to what they initially wanted.

## 3. Frequent synchronization

![synchronization](../../static/images/3-habits-to-improve-cooperation-wth-clients/synchronization.jpeg "")

If you work with clients (especially remotely), it is really important to make them aware of what happens with the time that goes into the development of their product. That's why a frequent synchronization is a key to good cooperation with your clients. If you have a CI system, make your test builds available so that your client always knows about latest changes. You don't have one? Make builds yourself, but please remember to keep your clients up to date with the progress.
You can also schedule a quick meeting with your clients and update them about your progress. As a result your clients may find out that they would like to update the initial requirements. Keep in mind that it's usually much better to do it before all work is finished - all in all it's our role to provide our clients with the software that fits their needs.

## Summary

Putting it all together, I believe that in order to work successfully with clients, you need to go a bit further than just writing a code. Constantly update your estimations and improve them, find alternative solutions to problems, provide your clients with frequent updates and treat them as a part of your team.\
If you would like to read more about planning your work and working together with clients, then I really encourage you to grab [Planning Extreme Programming by Kent Beck and Martin Fowler](https://www.amazon.com/Planning-Extreme-Programming-Kent-Beck/dp/0201710919). You do not need to practice extreme programming in order to find this book useful 😉 .

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## Navigation in React Native

*Published: 2018-02-22 | Author: mateusz | Tags: react native, navigation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/navigation-in-react-native/index.md*

Navigation between screens is probably one of the very first concerns you will have while creating a React Native app. Once you start, you might be surprised that there is no built-in, fully featured navigation that will work on both platforms. Although [React Native recommends](https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/navigation.html) using [React Navigation](https://reactnavigation.org), you will quickly discover that this library is purely based on JavaScript and it does not directly use the native navigation APIs on iOS and Android. And as [another library says](https://github.com/wix/react-native-navigation#quick-links), if you are trying to deliver a user experience that is on par with the best native apps out there, you simply cannot compromise on JS-based components trying to fake the real thing.

![image](../../static/images/navigation-in-react-native/navigation-1.jpeg "")

## React Navigation

[React Navigation](https://github.com/react-navigation/react-navigation) is maintained by the React Native community and currently, it is the most popular React Native navigation library. It is written entirely in JavaScript and instead of using native APIs it re-creates some of their subsets. This choice was made to allow users to customize any part of the navigation experience without needing to learn iOS or Android navigation logic. Because much of the logic for React Navigation runs in JavaScript rather than in native, the usual concerns about blocking the JavaScript threads come into play. As the library [points itself](https://reactnavigation.org/docs/pitch.html), if you need the exact platform behavior you are better off using another library that wraps the platform APIs.

When you finish [configuration](https://reactnavigation.org/docs/getting-started.html) (this is purely JS-based so there is no platform specific configuration and linking), you will learn that all you need to do is to create a [`StackNavigator`](https://reactnavigation.org/docs/hello-react-navigation.html#creating-a-stacknavigator) which provides a way for your app to transition between screens and manages navigation history. This is conceptually similar to how a web browser handles navigation state, a key difference is that `StackNavigator` provides the gestures and animations similar to those on Android and iOS.

You can find a simple example of React Navigation on [this Expo snack](https://snack.expo.io/@react-navigation/our-first-navigate).

React Navigation has out-of-the-box Redux and deep linking support which together with a well-written documentation and a vibrate community makes it a reasonable choice for implementing the navigation in your app.

### Problem

If you are rather a mobile than a web developer, sooner or later you will look for some callback after or before leaving a screen, something similar to `viewWillAppear(_:)` and other `UIViewController` methods. Although you can use `onNavigateStateChange` on the root screen and compare the previous and current state to deduce which screen has been hidden but it is nothing like what you would find in `UIViewController`.

## React Native Router

[React Native Router](https://github.com/aksonov/react-native-router-flux) is based on React Navigation but provides a different API to interact with it. It allows you to define scene transitions in one central location without having to pass navigator objects around and is easily accessible anywhere in a code.

The latest [beta version - 4](https://github.com/aksonov/react-native-router-flux), among other changes, introduces drawer support and Mob-X-powered navigation state machine that separates the navigation logic from the presentation layer.

## React Native Navigation by Wix

Another popular navigation library is [React Native Navigation](https://github.com/wix/react-native-navigation) developed by Wix. Its greatest advantage is 100% native platform navigation covered by the cross-platform interface with out-of-the-box Redux support.

You need to configure this package separately for [iOS](https://wix.github.io/react-native-navigation/#/installation-ios) and [Android](https://wix.github.io/react-native-navigation/#/installation-android) which includes linking iOS libraries, updating iOS headers search paths, extending `SplashActivity` instead of `ReactActivity` in Android `MainActivity` and a couple of additional steps that are described in details in the documentation. After you finish that, you only need to [register all your app's screens](https://wix.github.io/react-native-navigation/#/usage) and start the app. Voilà!

In React Native Navigation you can use [API very similar](https://wix.github.io/react-native-navigation/#/screen-api) to the one you would find on native platforms (and it calls native API underneath) so you can either `push` your screen or present it using `showModal` and then `pop` it or close using `dismissModal`. It has also built-in support for menu drawers, deep linking, and light boxes (alerts).

To consume both screen navigation events and deep links you should simply use `Navigator`s callback `onNavigatorEvent`:

```typescript
onNavigatorEvent(event: NavigatorEvent) {
    if (event.id === 'willAppear') {
        // do some fancy stuff
    } else if (event.type === 'DeepLink') {
        const parts = event.link.split('/')
        if (parts[0] === 'your-deep-link') {
          // navigate
        }
    }
}
```

### v2 - work in progress

React Native Navigation has a [few issues](https://github.com/wix/react-native-navigation/tree/v2#react-native-navigation-v2-wip) which could not be resolved in its current architecture. They origin from a problem that you cannot specify on which screen you wish to make an action, which by default originate from your current screen. To resolve this, in v2 every screen receives its `containerId` as a prop and whenever you want to make an action from that screen you pass it to the function.

Version 2 is written in test-driven development (TDD) which makes accepting pull request extremely easy - if the tests pass, your pull request is accepted. You can check the [v2 roadmap](https://github.com/wix/react-native-navigation/tree/v2#v2-roadmap) to follow the development progress.

## Alternatives

![image](../../static/images/navigation-in-react-native/navigation-2.jpeg "")

If you are aiming for iOS only, you may consider using a build-in [NavigatorIOS](https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/navigation.html#navigatorios) which is a wrapper around the native [`UINavigationController`](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uinavigationcontroller) component. However, if you plan to target any other platform in the future, you should consider using any other solution from the beginning.

Another alternative is [Native Navigation](http://airbnb.io/native-navigation), which is a project developed by Airbnb, one of the most-mentioned React Native adaptors. Native Navigation is currently in beta state and its authors discourage production usage of this library until it reaches a stable version, you can follow the roadmap to 1.0 [here](http://airbnb.io/native-navigation/docs/roadmap.html). The biggest challenge facing the Aribnb while decoupling this library from their internal navigation infrastructure is to accomplish the high level of extensibility, which requires them a lot of code refactoring and testing. This package doesn't have deep linking support yet and the documentation is incomplete so you should consider using any other library in a serious project.

## My weapon of choice

Personally, I find the possibility of using 100% platform native navigation in the React Native apps **the most valuable**, which is a reason why I choose [React Native Navigation](https://github.com/wix/react-native-navigation). Although I gave [React Navigation](https://github.com/react-navigation/react-navigation) a shot, I missed `UIViewController`s methods like `viewWillDisappear(_:)` or `viewDidAppear(_:)` and the truly native felling when navigating between screens. However, if you prefer a pure JavaScript library and you are not so bound to the native platform feeling, you have at least two alternatives to try out.

Regardless of which option you choose, you need to be aware of the fact that those are only 3rd party libraries and they might not work in your scenario or they may contain bugs. We had to fork and change React Native Navigation three times to avoid some problems and even though they have been already resolved in the main repository, you might encounter something new.

## How to deploy a service to Amazon Elastic Container Service with CloudFormation?

*Published: 2018-02-18 | Author: piotr | Tags: aws, ecs, cloudformation, zuul*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-deploy-a-service-to-amazon-elastic-container-service-with-cloud-formation/index.md*

Containers are becoming the standard way of deploying software. Every cloud vendor now offers one or multiple ways to run containers on their platform. Most of our clients uses AWS to host their SaaS solution. As part of a new development for one of our clients we have decided to move away from [Elastic Beanstalk](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/Welcome.html) and embrace containers. Amazon [Elastic Container Service](https://aws.amazon.com/ecs/) is an orchestration service that supports Docker containers and is generally available for over a year. Given our small development team it seemed like the best choice since it takes away most of the cluster management headaches. In this post I will describe how we deploy a container to ECS using [CloudFormation](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/).

![containers](../../static/images/ecs-service/containers.jpeg "")

## ECS Cluster definition

At [Bright Inventions](/) we often use CloudFormation for infrastructure configuration since it allows us to version and track changes easily. The first piece of infrastructure we need is an [ECS cluster](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/ECS_clusters.html). A cluster is a logical group of tasks/containers running inside ECS. In particular, since we will be using [EC2 Launch Type](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/launch_types.html), a cluster can also be though of as a group of EC2 instances with an ECS Agent installed.

```json
"ECSMainCluster": {
    "Type": "AWS::ECS::Cluster",
    "Properties": {
        "ClusterName": "app-stack-main"
    }
},
"ECSAutoScalingGroup": {
    "Type": "AWS::AutoScaling::AutoScalingGroup",
    "Properties": {
        "VPCZoneIdentifier": [
            { "Ref": "PrivateASubnet" },
            { "Ref": "PrivateBSubnet" }
        ],
        "LaunchConfigurationName": {
            "Ref": "ContainerHostInstances"
        },
        "MinSize": "1",
        "MaxSize": "6",
        "DesiredCapacity": "1",
        "Tags": [
            {
                "Key": "Name",
                "Value": "app-stack-ecs",
                "PropagateAtLaunch": true
            }
        ]
    },
    "CreationPolicy": {
        "ResourceSignal": {
            "Timeout": "PT5M"
        }
    },
    "UpdatePolicy": {
        "AutoScalingReplacingUpdate": {
            "WillReplace": "true"
        }
    }
}
```

As you can see above, the `ECSMainCluster` is mostly a declaration. What follows is an auto scaling group that will launch and manage EC2 instances. The `VPCZoneIdentifier` lists 2 VPC subnets created in separate availability zones. This is vital for availability as it causes the EC2 instances to run on physically separate hardware. For brevity, I've omitted their configuration from this post. However, if you are interested in this topic head over [to this post](https://sookocheff.com/post/aws/how-to-create-a-vpc-using-cloudformation/). The specified `LaunchConfigurationName` named `ContainerHostInstances` details how the EC2 instance should look like.

```json
"ContainerHostInstances": {
    "Type": "AWS::AutoScaling::LaunchConfiguration",
    "Properties": {
        "ImageId": "ami-880d64f1",
        "SecurityGroups": [
            { "Ref": "ECSSecurityGroup" }
        ],
        "InstanceType": "t2.medium",
        "IamInstanceProfile": { "Ref": "ECSHostEC2InstanceProfile" },
        "KeyName": "private-key-pair",
        "UserData": {
            "Fn::Base64": {
                "Fn::Join": [
                    "",
                    [
                        "#!/bin/bash -xe\n",
                        "echo ECS_CLUSTER=",
                        {
                            "Ref": "ECSMainCluster"
                        },
                        " >> /etc/ecs/ecs.config\n",
                        "yum install -y aws-cfn-bootstrap\n",
                        "/opt/aws/bin/cfn-signal -e $? ",
                        "         --stack ",
                        {
                            "Ref": "AWS::StackName"
                        },
                        "         --resource ECSAutoScalingGroup ",
                        "         --region ",
                        {
                            "Ref": "AWS::Region"
                        },
                        "\n"
                    ]
                ]
            }
        }
    }
},
"ECSHostEC2InstanceProfile": {
    "Type": "AWS::IAM::InstanceProfile",
    "Properties": {
        "Path": "/",
        "Roles": [
            {
                "Ref": "ECSHostEC2Role"
            }
        ]
    }
},
```

The first important property is the `ImageId` which uses [Amazon ECS-optimized Linux AMI ID](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/ecs-optimized_AMI.html). Next we have a security group that adds rules for incoming traffic on application ports. Next we have `IamInstanceProfile` which references an instance profile `ECSHostEC2InstanceProfile` that in turn [assumes a role policy required by the ECS Agent](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/instance_IAM_role.html) to deploy and configure containers.
Inside `UserData` we define a shell script that informs ECS Agent about the cluster it is running in. I will omit `ECSHostEC2Role` definition since [it is well described in the documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/instance_IAM_role.html).

With the above we are now ready to deploy an ECS Cluster through CloudFormation template. However, a cluster without containers is pretty meaningless.

## ECS Service and Task definition

In AWS lingo [an ECS Service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/ecs_services.html) describes a minimal configuration required to deploy and run a Task Definition. A [Task Definition](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/task_definitions.html) in turn describes how to configure and run a set of containers that form a single logical component.

```json
"EmailSenderService": {
    "Type": "AWS::ECS::Service",
    "Properties": {
        "Cluster": { "Ref": "ECSMainCluster" },
        "DesiredCount": 2,
        "DeploymentConfiguration": { "MinimumHealthyPercent": 50 },
        "Role": { "Ref": "ECSServiceRole" },
        "TaskDefinition": { "Ref": "EmailSenderTask" }
    }
},
"EmailSenderTask": {
    "Type": "AWS::ECS::TaskDefinition",
    "Properties": {
        "Family": "app-stack-email-sender",
        "ContainerDefinitions": [{
            "Name": "app-stack-email-sender",
            "Essential": "true",
            "Image": { "Ref": "EmailSenderTaskDockerImage" },
            "LogConfiguration": {
                "LogDriver": "awslogs",
                "Options": {
                    "awslogs-group": { "Ref": "EmailSenderLogsGroup" },
                    "awslogs-region": { "Ref": "AWS::Region" },
                    "awslogs-stream-prefix": "email-sender",
                    "awslogs-datetime-format": "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%L"
                }
            },
            "PortMappings": [{ "ContainerPort": 8080 }],
            "Environment": [{
                "Name": "DEPLOY_ENV",
                "Value": { "Ref": "DeployEnv" }
            }]
        }]
    }
},
"EmailSenderLogsGroup": {
    "Type": "AWS::Logs::LogGroup",
    "Properties": {
        "LogGroupName": "app-stack-email-sender",
        "RetentionInDays": 14
    }
}
```

The `EmailSenderService` is pretty straightforward to understand. The `EmailSenderTask` defines a single container. The `app-stack-email-sender` task definition states that the `Image` is a reference to a parameter passed in to the CloudFormation template when creating or updating the stack. Its value must [be a name of a Docker image](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/pull/#pull-from-a-different-registry) that can be pulled by the ECS Agent. The repository can either be [public](https://hub.docker.com/) or private. When hosting your own, private Docker image repository you need to make sure the ECS Agent [has the correct credentials configured](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/private-auth.html). Thankfully there is [Elastic Container Registry](https://aws.amazon.com/ecr/) which offers private repositories that are automatically configured when using ECS as long as `ECSHostEC2Role` policy [allows ECR related actions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/instance_IAM_role.html).

Next we have the `LogConfiguration` that pushes containers logs to the `EmailSenderLogsGroup` CloudWatch Log Group so that we can can inspect them through AWS Console. The `PortMappings` lists ports exposed by a running container. Note that we have not defined the host port and it will get assigned automatically. This is important when running multiple instances of the same container. I'll describe it in a bit more detail in the next post. Last but not least the `Environment` section lists environment variables passed to the container instances on startup. Here we are referencing a `DeployEnv` stack parameter that allows us to inform the application running inside the container about the current deployment environment e.g. staging vs production.

As you can see above it takes couple of steps to use CloudFormation to deploy a container to ECS. It is true that it requires more configuration than Elastic Beanstalk. However, it allows for better utilization of EC2 instances and an uniform approach to deployment and configuration regardless of the application technology used inside the container. Moreover it is more future proof as with few adjustments it should be possible to switch to [Fargate Launch Mode](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/launch_types.html). Using this mode releases us from the burden of EC2 ECS cluster management tasks. Deploying more services and tasks will require separate CloudFormation resource definitions. However, with the help of [cloudform](/blog/introducing-cloudform-tame-aws-cloudformation-templates/) it easy keep the CloudFormation template DRY.

## Your first chart in Android App with CSV parser

*Published: 2018-02-15 | Author: radek | Tags: android, UI, chart, CSV*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/charts-on-android-1/index.md*

If you have ever needed to add a chart to your Android app, you certainly have heard about [MPAndroidChart](https://github.com/PhilJay/MPAndroidChart) by [PhilJay](https://github.com/PhilJay). If not, consider using this powerful library. Let me show you how easy it is to start!

![header img](../../static/images/radek/chart_mobile.jpg "")

## Goal

The goal is to build a simple app written in Kotlin which displays a linear chart with static data. To make it a little bit more interesting we're going to provide data with `.csv` file. It is very simple format for storing table-based data in the form of text files where values are separated with commas (Comma Separated Values). We'll use an [`OpenCSV`](http://opencsv.sourceforge.net/) library to parse it.

## Dependencies

First add dependencies to gradle files.

```groovy
allprojects {
    repositories {
        ...
        maven { url "https://jitpack.io" }
```

```groovy
dependencies {
    ...
    implementation "com.github.PhilJay:MPAndroidChart:v3.0.3"
    implementation "com.opencsv:opencsv:4.1"
```

## Raw Data Set

Find some data, for example from *[here](https://www.kaggle.com/datasets)*. I've chosen *[food searches on Google](https://www.kaggle.com/GoogleNewsLab/food-searches-on-google-since-2004)* set and cut it a little to display comparison of two searches: `banana bread` and `frozen yogurt`. The file looks like this:

```csv
id,googleTopic,week_id,value
banana-bread,/m/04cym9,2004-01,30
banana-bread,/m/04cym9,2004-02,31
banana-bread,/m/04cym9,2004-03,24
banana-bread,/m/04cym9,2004-04,27
...
```

There are `676` records in both datasets. Values are normalised, so `value` is between `0` and `100`, where `0` is the lowest number of searches, `100` is the largest, and the rest are calculated proportionally.

Put `banana_bread.csv` & `frozen_yogurt.csv` under `/app/res/raw` directory in your project.

Now let's make a `data class` with corresponding field, the simplest as it can be:

`FoodSearch.kt`  

```kotlin
package com.bi.chartapp

data class FoodSearch(
        val id: String,
        val googleTopic: String,
        val week_id: String,
        val value: Int
)
```

## How to parse it?

Take a look at the parser below:

`Parser.kt`

```kotlin
package com.bi.chartapp

import com.opencsv.CSVReaderBuilder
import java.io.Reader

class Parser {

    companion object {

        fun toDataSet(reader: Reader): List<FoodSearch> {

            val csvReader = CSVReaderBuilder(reader)
                    .withSkipLines(1)
                    .build()

            val foodSearches = mutableListOf<FoodSearch>()
            var record = csvReader.readNext()

            while (record != null) {
                foodSearches.add(FoodSearch(record[0], record[1], record[2], record[3].toInt()))
                record = csvReader.readNext()
            }

            return foodSearches
        }
    }
}
```

The static method builds a list of `FoodSearch` records based on the provided `Reader`. You can get a reader from `fileStream`, which is provided with activity resources. It looks like this:

```kotlin
val streamBananas = resources.openRawResource(R.raw.banana_bread)
val bananaData = Parser.toDataSet(streamBananas.reader())
```

Finally our data looks a little bit more friendly. Time to make a chart!

## Apply data

Add `LineChart` view to your layout, for example:

```xml
<com.github.mikephil.charting.charts.LineChart
        android:id="@+id/lineChart"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:layout_centerInParent="true" />
```

How to manage data now?

`LineChart` accepts data as an instance of `LineData` class. `LineData` is created from at least one instance of `LineDataSet`. `LineDataSet` is created from `MutableList` of `Entry` objects and `String` label. Huh. And `Entry` is an object representing single point on our Chart (basically is an (x,y) representation). It sounds a little bit overwhelming at first, but it is pretty simple. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Parse your data from a csv file to a list of any data objects representing a single point on the chart - DONE!
2. Map the list of data objects to the list of `Entry` objects
3. Create `LineDataSet` from the list of entries and label, like "Banana Bread"
4. Use each of the sets as an argument to create `LineData` object. Voila.

```kotlin
private fun getEntriesFromCSV(rawResId: Int, label: String): LineDataSet {

    var data: List<FoodSearch>? = null
    resources.openRawResource(rawResId).use { stream ->
        data = Parser.toDataSet(stream.reader())
    }
    val entries: MutableList<Entry> = ArrayList()

    data?.mapIndexed { index, foodSearch ->
        entries.add(
                Entry(index.toFloat(), foodSearch.value.toFloat(), foodSearch)
        )
    }

    return LineDataSet(entries, label)
}
```

This function and Parser from the previous paragraph creates `LineDataSet` from `csv` resource. Now simply call it for each `csv` file and create `LineData`:

```kotlin
val bananaDataSet = getEntriesFromCSV(R.raw.banana_bread, "Banana Bread")
val yogurtDataSet = getEntriesFromCSV(R.raw.frozen_yogurt, "Frozen Yogurt")

lineChart.data = LineData(
        bananaDataSet,
        yogurtDataSet
)
```

That's it, the chart is set up with data!
![chart one](../../static/images/radek/chart_ugly.png "")

## Make me beautiful - LineChart properties

Time to add some colors and spices. The chart layout configuration is very flexible. I'll show you some basic properties, the rest you may find in the [documentation](https://github.com/PhilJay/MPAndroidChart/wiki). Props are separated between dataset-specific and chart-specific.

### Tune up data sets

First add some colors to the resource `colors.xml` file in order to make banana look a little bit more like <span style={{color: "#ffe100"}}>banana</span> and yogurt like <span style={{color: "#0085c7"}}>yogurt</span>.

```xml
<color name="banana">#ffe100</color>
<color name="yogurt">#0085c7</color>
```

We'll configure each of the `LineDataSet` object the same way, but with a different color. Check out the method below with the comments:

```kotlin
private fun configureSetLayout(set: LineDataSet, color: Int) {

    set.color = color                         // color of the line
    set.setDrawFilled(true)                   // fill the space between line and chart bottom
    set.fillColor = color                     // color of the fill
    set.setDrawCircles(false)                 // disable drawing circles over each Entry point
    set.mode = LineDataSet.Mode.CUBIC_BEZIER  // round the line
    set.fillAlpha = 50                        // make fill transparent with alpha (0-255)

}
```

Now apply configuration to each dataset:

```kotlin
val bananaColor = resources.getColor(R.color.banana, null)
val yogurtColor = resources.getColor(R.color.yogurt, null)

configureSetLayout(bananaDataSet, bananaColor)
configureSetLayout(yogurtDataSet, yogurtColor)
```

### Tune up a chart

You may configure the chart behaviour in many ways. Default setting allows the user to scale the chart with pinching and scroll it. Since our dataset contains ~700 records let's leave the ability to scale the chart along the axis X and only block the ability to scale it along axis Y. Also remove a description from the right bottom corner and highlighting values by tapping. Like that:

```kotlin
lineChart.description.isEnabled = false

lineChart.isHighlightPerTapEnabled = false
lineChart.isHighlightPerDragEnabled = false
lineChart.isScaleYEnabled = false
```

It works more intuitively already. Now notice that the description above the top X axis are float values. They don't say much unfortunately. It would be better if they marked a year's change every 52 weeks! To achieve this use `IAxisValueFormatter`. It looks like this:

```kotlin
inner class MyAxisFormatter : IAxisValueFormatter {
    override fun getFormattedValue(value: Float, axis: AxisBase?): String {
        return if (value.toInt() % 52 == 0) "${startingYear + value.toInt() / 52}"
        else ""
    }
}
```

It means that it will display a value only if it is divisible by 52. And then maps the value to a corresponding year (with starting year set to 2004). We need also a proper granularity so there won't be any grid between years.

```kotlin
lineChart.xAxis.valueFormatter = MyAxisFormatter()
lineChart.xAxis.granularity = 52f
```

 Also who needs an Y axis on both sides? Disable one of them:

```kotlin
lineChart.axisRight.isEnabled = false
```

 Boom! That's it! Looks nice and presents the data clearly. Pinch to zoom, swipe right and left to get through all these years and finally check when a frozen yogurt beats a banana bread in Google searches!\
![chart two](../../static/images/radek/chart_bjutiful.png "")\
Oh, it looks like every year around summer! Who would know.

### Refs:

[Wiki](https://github.com/PhilJay/MPAndroidChart/wiki) & [Issues](https://github.com/PhilJay/MPAndroidChart/issues)

## What would Paulo Coelho say

*Published: 2018-02-15 | Author: ula | Tags: productivity, effectiveness, recovering*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-would-Paulo-Coelho-say/index.md*

Who would not like to be successful and manage their time wisely to have it for everything and for everyone? We all would. But to do that we should focus on our life for a bit longer than few seconds and think which elements of it make us less effective, and in consequence less happy. We should focus on recovering.

If we decide to recover, we should always keep in mind that our life is not a sprint. Real success is growing slowly and sustainably. Every step is well-planned and make us closer to our goal. So let us project it attentively. It will leave us stronger and more single-minded than ever. 

We also have to learn that a success is not something magical or mysterious. **Success is a natural consequence of learning, seeking new opportunities and putting our plans into action. And recovering is an indispensable part of each and every success.** The more ordinary we want to be and the more common our choices are, the farther from recovering we are. Extraordinary people seek education and learning. Extraordinary people recover from their life. 

## **1) Complaining** 

Grumbling, moaning, criticising. We very often demotivate ourselves just by complaining. And complaining is passive. Unless it is not contagious with constructive criticism, complaining has no value. We should always think twice and raise a question if it may change anything before we start complaining about something. 

## **2) Obstinacy** 

Our ideas are not always the best ones. Flexibility and open-mindedness are two things people pay most for these days. Let us not stick to our original plan just because it is original and it is ours. Stubbornly following own plan while someone is suggesting a change would lead us nowhere. Obstinacy does not help, it just closes our mind. 

## **3) Humility and Gratitude** 

There is not much to say about that. Just everyone should know what these two are. Let us be grateful for what we have. Let us appreciate our work, our families, our life. And let us be aware of the fact that we are not perfect. Showing a little humility has never killed anyone. 

## **4) Being busy**

Being busy all the time will not make us more effective and efficient. Spending 10 hours doing tasks instead of 6 does not mean that they will be completed in a better manner. We all know that mental job is taxing, but we have just a few hours each day during which we can be genuinely concentrated, so let us optimise this time and get the most of it. It is not about being busy, but about being absorbed in what we do. 

## **5) Other People** 

Schedule time for yourself. It can be 10 minutes, 50 minutes or 2 hours - depending on your needs.  This is time for us to ponder, to plan, to reflect on our life. It is our quality time. And everyone needs that. If you think you do not - you may need it even more. People need time alone, without others. Solitude now and then is nothing wrong. Solitude can cure what troubles and afflicts us. 

## **6) Demanding** 

We do not deserve everything, so let us not demand everything. We are getting used to getting  everything what we want. But do we always earn it? Why we should be given everything on a plate? The most successful individuals earn their success by working hard, and by working with great people. The only thing they demand are opportunities. 

**If we want to achieve a success, we have to recover, recover from complaining, demanding, boasting, overworking.** We have to invest in self-education and refuse to tolerate mediocrity. And probably Paulo Coelho has already said all that, but does it mean he was wrong?

## Implementing in-app language change

*Published: 2018-02-14 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, java, kotlin, language, dagger*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/implementing-in-app-language-change/index.md*

Android resolves language- and culture-specific resources based on the system locale setting. This is a desired behavior that makes perfect sense. Despite it's officially not encouraged you may still need to write an app that allows the user to change its language without leaving it. In this article I will show you one of the possible ways to implement such feature.

![Communication](../../static/images/implementing-in-app-language-change/communication.jpg "")

## The big picture

Before I start with the code, let me explain how this whole mechanism will work.

I'm going to translate all the strings visible on the current application screen during the lifecycle callbacks (e.g. `Activity.onResume()` and `Fragment.onResume()`). This approach is easy to implement and understand and it currently covers all my needs. I won't try to force the app to translate itself magically. This means some overhead in the code for re-initializing all the texts and views which need to be translated.

The following diagram illustrates the flow of getting a localized string by Activity:

![Getting a string](../../static/images/implementing-in-app-language-change/localization.png "")

The flow involves `StringLocalization` object which has a map containing all the available `Resources` and that uses `AppSettings` to get current language that was set by the user.

## Storing user preferences

To keep the chosen language between app restarts, we will store the preference in `SharedPreferences`. But first, let's declare an enum class to represent our languages and an object with locale codes to avoid hardcoding values in various places.

```kotlin
object LocaleCodes {
    const val ENGLISH = "en"
    const val POLISH = "pl"
    const val GERMAN = "de"
}

enum class Language(val locale: Locale) {
    English(Locale(LocaleCodes.ENGLISH)),
    German(Locale(LocaleCodes.GERMAN)),
    Polish(Locale(LocaleCodes.POLISH));

    companion object {
        val DEFAULT = English

        fun fromLocale(locale: Locale): Language =
                values().firstOrNull { it.locale.language == locale.language } ?: DEFAULT
    }
}
```

Additionally, the enum class has a static `DEFAULT` value and `fromLocale` function which we will use later on.

Now, let's implement a class for storing user preferences:

```kotlin
interface AppSettings {
    var currentLanguage: Language
}

class SharedPrefAppSettings(
    private val sharedPref: SharedPreferences,
    private val androidConfiguration: Configuration
) : AppSettings {

    private var currentLanguageCache: Language? = null

    override var currentLanguage: Language
        get() {
            val cachedValue = currentLanguageCache

            return if (cachedValue == null) {
                val storedValue = sharedPref.getString(APP_LANGUAGE_KEY, "")
                val storedLanguage = try {
                    Language.valueOf(storedValue)
                } catch (ex: Exception) {
                    null
                }

                val language = storedLanguage ?: getDefaultLanguage()

                currentLanguage = language

                language
            } else cachedValue
        }
        set(value) {
            currentLanguageCache = value
            sharedPref.edit().putString(APP_LANGUAGE_KEY, value.toString()).apply()
        }

    private fun getDefaultLanguage(): Language {
        val locale = if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.N) {
            androidConfiguration.locales[0]
        } else {
            androidConfiguration.locale
        }

        return Language.fromLocale(locale)
    }

    companion object {
        private const val APP_LANGUAGE_KEY = "app_language"
    }
}
```

I don't like to say the code is self-explanatory so let me tell you what's going on.
Storing the chosen language is quite simple: we cache its value in `currentLanguageCache` and store it in `SharedPreferences` at `APP_LANGUAGE_KEY`.
Getting the language is a bit more complicated, especially when the app is launched for the first time:

* we use the cached value if it's present
* if we don't have it yet, we read from `SharedPreferences`
* then we try to get our enum from that value
* if we can't get it properly (because there was no value in `SharedPrefereces` or we read something that can't be represented by our enum), we get a default language using `getDefaultLanguage()`

  * we read the `Locale` the app was started with from `Configuration` (it comes from `context.resources.configuration`)
  * then we try to get our enum value from that `Locale`
  * in worst case scenario we end up with the `Language.DEFAULT` value
* we cache the resulting language by calling the setter: `currentLanguage = language`

We will use Dagger to inject `SharedPrefAppSettings` implementation of the `AppSettings` interface thanks to this simple module:

```kotlin
@Module
class AppSettingsModule {
    @Provides
    @Singleton
    fun provideAppSettings(context: Context, configuration: Configuration): AppSettings =
            SharedPrefAppSettings(PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(context), configuration)
}
```

## Initializing locale-specific resources

In order to access resources defined for a specific locale, we need to do the following:

* make a new copy of your current resources `Configuration`
* set the desired locale with `setLocale()`
* create a configuration context with `context.createConfigurationContext()`
* get resources from the new context

so the code can look like this:

```kotlin
val conf = Configuration(context.resources.configuration)
conf.setLocale(Locale(LocaleCodes.ENGLISH))
val localizedContext = context.createConfigurationContext(conf)
val localizedResources = localizedContext.resources
```

Now we can generate a map of resources for each language. As usual, there are plenty of ways you can do it. In this example we use Dagger [map multibindings](https://google.github.io/dagger/multibindings#map-multibindings).

First, let's define a `LanguageKey` annotation so that we can have a map with `Language` enum keys:

```kotlin
@MustBeDocumented
@Target(AnnotationTarget.FUNCTION)
@Retention(AnnotationRetention.RUNTIME)
@MapKey
annotation class LanguageKey(val value: Language)
```

Next, we use it to generate multiple `Resources`:

```kotlin
@Module
class LocalizationModule {

    @Provides
    @IntoMap
    @LanguageKey(Language.English)
    fun providesEnglishResources(context: Context): Resources =
        getLocalizedResources(context, Language.English.locale)

    @Provides
    @IntoMap
    @LanguageKey(Language.Polish)
    fun providesPolishResources(context: Context): Resources =
        getLocalizedResources(context, Language.Polish.locale)

    @Provides
    @IntoMap
    @LanguageKey(Language.German)
    fun providesGermanResources(context: Context): Resources =
        getLocalizedResources(context, Language.German.locale)

    private fun getLocalizedResources(context: Context, locale: Locale): Resources {
        val conf = Configuration(context.resources.configuration)
        conf.setLocale(locale)
        val localizedContext = context.createConfigurationContext(conf)
        return localizedContext.resources
    }
}
```

And voila, we can now inject `Map<Language, Resources>` with Dagger.

## Providing string resources

Finally, it's time to add a helper class that will provide string resources from the generated map.

```kotlin
@Singleton
class StringsLocalization @Inject constructor(
        private val settings: AppSettings,
        private val resMap: Map<Language, @JvmSuppressWildcards Resources>
) {

    private val log = logger

    fun getString(@StringRes stringId: Int): String = resMap
            .getOrElse(settings.currentLanguage, this::getFallbackResources)
            .getString(stringId)

    private fun getFallbackResources(): Resources {
        val defaultLanguage =
                if (Language.DEFAULT in resMap) Language.DEFAULT
                else resMap.keys.firstOrNull()

        if (defaultLanguage != null) {
            log.error("Current language resources not found. Fallback to: {}", defaultLanguage)
            settings.currentLanguage = defaultLanguage

            return resMap[defaultLanguage]!!
        } else {
            throw ResourcesNotFoundException("String resources not found")
        }
    }
}

class ResourcesNotFoundException(message: String) : RuntimeException(message)
```

Both `AppSettings` (i.e. `SharedPrefAppSettings`) and the resources map will be injected by Dagger.
You can see the `getString()` method that takes string resource ID, just like the regular `Activity.getString()` method. It will get the language from `AppSettings` and use it to retrieve the proper `Resources` from the map. If the map doesn't contain anything at that language key for some reason, we will use `getFallbackResources()` method as a last resort before failing to provide a string.

## Making it work

All we have to do now is to inject `StringsLocalization` object into the Activities and Fragments and use it to translate whatever we need.
But first, let's write a helper interface to make this task less boilerplate:

```kotlin
interface HasStringsLocalization {
    val stringsLocalization: StringsLocalization
}

fun HasStringsLocalization.getLocalizedString(@StringRes stringId: Int): String =
        stringsLocalization.getString(stringId)
```

So now we can access strings with `getLocalizedString` easily like this:

```kotlin
class WelcomeActivity : AppCompatActivity(), HasStringsLocalization {

    @Inject
    override lateinit var stringsLocalization: StringsLocalization

    override fun onResume() {
        super.onResume()
        setTranslatedTexts()
    }

    private fun setTranslatedTexts() {
        welcomeText.text = getLocalizedString(R.string.WELCOME)
        // and more...
    }
}
```

*Side note: I skipped some code here to make the example shorter and more readable. The full implementation could involve some kind of injection with Dagger, layout inflation, etc.*

## In-memory database tests with Querydsl

*Published: 2018-02-11 | Author: piotr | Tags: kotlin, querydsl, hibernate, jpa, database*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/in-memory-database-tests-with-querydsl/index.md*

Writing tests is an important skill of a software engineer. I used to write lots of very focused, narrow unit tests. However, I often found such tests to hinder refactoring and barely help in catching regressions. Whether such issues were caused by my poor design choices or are intrinsic to unit tests is not the focus of this post. However, the fact is that nowadays I tend to write more coarse-grained, integration style tests. There is one downside to such approach: speed. For instance, using Hibernate with a full fledged database is relatively slow compared to using a fake repository implementation. Today I write about abstracting the database access using [Querydsl](http://www.querydsl.com/) in a way that aids testing.

![test](../../static/images/querydsl-tests/test.jpg "")

## Querydsl is awesome

[Querydsl](http://www.querydsl.com/) is a set of libraries that, as the name implies, provides strongly typed Domain Specific Language to execute queries. [Querydsl](http://www.querydsl.com/) supports many data access technologies e.g. JDBC, Hibernate, JDO. 
The following example in Kotlin illustrates how a DSL generated based on entity class can be used to find some entities through JPA interface:

```kotlin
val queryFactory: JPAQueryFactory = ...
val userEmailToSearch = "alamakota@gmail.com"
val user = queryFactory.query()
    .from(QUser.user)
    .where(QUser.user.email.eq(userEmailToSearch))
    .select(QUser.user)
    .fetchOne()
```

One important option available is the [Collections](https://github.com/querydsl/querydsl/tree/master/querydsl-collections) module that offers an integration to POJO collections and beans. The following example in Kotlin shows how a list of users can be queried:

```kotlin
val users = listOf(userAlan, userBob, userAlice)
val user = CollQuery<Nothing>()
    .from(QUser.user, users)
    .where(QUser.user.email.eq(userEmailToSearch))
    .select(QUser.user)
    .fetchOne()
```

## Abstract the complex away

The above examples look similar thanks to common interface provided by Querydsl. However, while the default DSL is very capable I found it a bit verbose in the most common cases. For that matter let us define a bit simpler interface that will allow for finding entities given some criteria

```kotlin
interface EntityQueries {
    fun <TQEntity : EntityPath<TEntity>, TEntity : Any> findFirst(
        qEntity: TQEntity, 
        where: (TQEntity) -> Predicate? = { null }, 
        orderBy: ((TQEntity) -> OrderSpecifier<*>?) = { null }): TEntity? 
}

val queries:EntityQueries = ....

val ala = queries.findFirst(QUser.user, where = { it.email.eq("ala@gmail.com") })
val latestUser = queries.findFirst(QUser.user, orderBy = { it.created.desc() })
```

The above interface allows us to express commonly used queries in a more succinct fashion.

## Define production implementation

With Querydsl it is easy enough to implement the `EntityQueries` interface. First the production implementation delegating to JPA for actual data access technology:

```kotlin
class QueryDslDomainQueryFactory(private val queryFactory: JPAQueryFactory) : EntityQueries {
    override fun <TQEntity : EntityPath<TEntity>, TEntity : Any> findFirst(qEntity: TQEntity, where: (TQEntity) -> Predicate?, orderBy: (TQEntity) -> OrderSpecifier<*>?): TEntity? {
        return queryFactory.query()
            .from(qEntity)
            .where(where(qEntity))
            .apply { orderBy(qEntity)?.let { this.orderBy(it) }  }
            .select(qEntity)
            .fetchFirst()
    }
}
```

The above lets us use the `EntityQueries` interface instead of JPA in e.g. Spring controllers like so:

```kotlin
@RestController
class UsersController(private val queries: EntityQueries) {
    @GetMapping("/users")
    fun getByEmail(@RequestParam email: String) = queries.findFirst(QUser.user, where = { it.email.eq(email) })
}
```

One of the Spring recommended ways to abstract the specifics of query technology is to use [repository interfaces](https://docs.spring.io/spring-data/jpa/docs/current/reference/html/#repositories.query-methods) e.g:

```kotlin
interface UserRepository : Repository<User, Long> {
  fun findByEmail(String email): User?
}
```

Such interface would be *magically* implemented by Spring runtime and put in the application context. The approach may seem appealing at first since we do not have to implement the interface. There are however, multiple issues:

* an application context is required which in turn is slow to bootstrap
* there is no compile time checks
* the refactoring is harder without a special support from IDE
* the actual behavior is hard to figure out without a careful documentation lecture (what will happen if e.g. there are multiple users with the same email?)

The `EntityQueries` invocation to find users by email is almost as readable as `findByEmail` but does not suffer from any of downsides listed above. Encapsulating more complex filtering logic can be done with a simple extension method or a more elaborate [Specification pattern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specification_pattern). 

## Using in-memory database in tests

We can use Spring test helpers to ease writing tests involving an application context that lets us inject e.g. `UsersController` instance to invoke its methods. However, such tests are, comparatively, very slow to run and thus cause the feedback loop to be much slower. Fortunately the `EntityQueries` abstraction is very easy to implement using POJO in-memory collections.

```kotlin
class InMemoryEntityQueries : QueriesBase(), EntityQueries {
    val entities = mutableMapOf<Class<*>, MutableList<*>>()

    override fun <TQEntity : EntityPath<TEntity>, TEntity : Any> findFirst(qEntity: TQEntity, where: (TQEntity) -> Predicate?, orderBy: (TQEntity) -> OrderSpecifier<*>?): TEntity? {
        val entities = entities.getOrPut(qEntity.type, { mutableListOf<TEntity>() }) as List<TEntity>
        return CollQuery<Nothing>()
            .from(qEntity, entities)
            .where(where(qEntity))
            .apply { orderBy(qEntity)?.let { this.orderBy(it) } }
            .select(qEntity)
            .fetchFirst()
    }
}
```

The above implementation looks almost exactly the same as the production one. We can of course try to extract the common code to make things more DRY. However, the most important observation is that we delegate to Querydsl implementation for the important filtering and ordering logic. This can increase our confidence that the fake implementation behaves the same as production one with only difference being the actual entity storage.

Given the above implementation we can now easily replace the `UsersController` dependency and instantiate it as a regular POJO:

```kotlin
class UsersControllerTests {
    val db = InMemoryEntityQueries()
    val controller = UsersController(db)

    @Test
    fun canFindByEmail(){
        db.entities[User::class.java] =  listOf(User(email = "ala@gmail.com"), User(email = "ola@gmail.com"))

        controller.getByEmail("ola@gmail.com").email.shouldEqual("ola@gmail.com")
        controller.getByEmail("peter@gmail.com").shouldEqual(null)
    }
}
```

## Notes on in-memory implementation

The `EntityQueries` interface above is obviously a simplified version. The most important missing piece is the ability to save entities. However, this is not a hard thing to implement given the in-memory implementation. We can, for instance, make use of the fact that all of our entities are marked JPA Persistence annotations to find a field marked with `@Id`, generate the id and assign it based on the contents of the `entities` variable. Another approach is to mark all entities with a dedicated interface e.g.

```kotlin
interface HasId<TId> {
    var id: TId
}
```

An entity implementing `HasId` could be checked in the `save` method of the in-memory implementation and assigned with a unique identifier e.g.:

```kotlin
fun <TEntity: HasId<Long>> save(entity: TEntity) {
    val entities = entities.getOrPut(entity.javaClass, { mutableListOf<TEntity>() }) as List<TEntity>
    if(entity.id == null){
        entity.id = (entities.map { it.id }.max() ?: 0) + 1
    }
    entities += entity
}
```

Following the above approach we can easily add missing operations e.g. to remove an entity and that in turn allows us to write even more tests that run fully in-memory. It is worth noting that using an in-memory database implementation works best for queries that fetch, save or update one or multiple instances. As soon as we need to use a features natural to a database technology e.g. joins in SQL, we are better of connecting to a real database. While Querydsl collections module supports both join and group operations the in-memory implementation is often not equivalent to the database one especially around `null` values handling.

## Downtime

*Published: 2018-02-08 | Author: ula | Tags: breaktime, productivity, team*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/downtime/index.md*

If we keep track of our daily schedule really thoroughly, we might be shocked how much time we waste in five to fifteen-minute breaks. I am saying “waste” not by accident here since we are often wasting our time during breaks instead of recharging batteries. The good news is that brief mental breaks taken in a reasonable way still help us re-focus, regain motivation and reevaluate  goals. 

Rest at work is a necessity without which efficient job is not possible. And we should never feel guilty because of it. If our mind is overloaded with information and stimuli, we do tasks less effective than usual, and things on our to-do-list are just accumulating. **It is clear that without downtime we are less efficient and less engaged, but let us face it - taking intentional and productive breaks is something completely different than accidental scrolling through Facebook for ten or twenty minutes.** Another problem is that taking too many breaks at work will not bring about anything good, too. Especially if we are made to stop doing our tasks due to some noise at the office, a poor level of sound privacy or other disruptions. After such a pause we often end up back where we started. 

**That is why, it is good to plan breaktime in advance.**  Planning is not only significant if it comes about completing tasks. It is good to think what time of the day is fast-paced and what is prone to intervals. For some people breaks taken in the mid-morning are more likely to boost energy and enforce concentration, and for others these might be intermissions in the mid-afternoon. I deeply believe that breaks at work should be well-thought and first of all, they should be good for us and people around. We should always keep in mind that by taking a break we should not interrupt someone’s else train of thoughts. 

**Are breaks waste timers? No, as long as they are not accidental and interrupting. After all, downtime is to increase our productivity, improve reasoning skills and make us happier not more stressed.**

## From React to React-Redux in a few steps

*Published: 2018-02-08 | Author: eliasz | Tags: React, Redux*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/from-react-to-react-redux-in-a-few-steps/index.md*

In this post I'm going to focus on connecting `React` components with `Redux`. If you are just starting out with `React + Redux` or you have already worked with these before, but want to make this concept a bit clearer then feel invited to read this post till the end ;)

If you would like to get a bit more understanding of the flow in Redux, you can take a look at my previous [post about how I understand the Redux architecture](/blog/redux-how-do-i-understand-it/).

## Before we introduce Redux

Before we dive into `Redux` let's take a look at simple `React` component. What does it look like?
Just to make it a bit clearer - let's use TypeScript with interfaces to show what `props` (input data) do we expect in the component.

```tsx
interface Props {
    title: string
    numbers: number[]
}

interface State {}

export class SimpleComponent extends React.Component<Props, State> {

  render() {
    return <div>
      <h1>{this.props.title}</h1>
      {this.props.numbers.map(number => <p>{number}</p>)}
    </div>
  }
}
```

This component takes two input parameters - `title` and `numbers`. If we want to display it in our application, we need to pass these manually. For example:

```tsx
<SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={[1,2,3,4]}/>
```

## Introducing Redux

I guess that in every developer's life there comes a time when one wants to make something more complex for no reason, so let's introduce `Redux` to our example. (Disclaimer: it was a joke).

Do we really need `Redux`? Let's take a look at an example of an app without `Redux` first.

```tsx
interface Props {}
interface State {}
export class FatComponent extends React.Component<Props, State> {
    render() {
        return <div>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={[1,2,3,4]}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={[1,2,3,4]}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={[1,2,3,4]}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={[1,2,3,4]}/>
        </div>
    }
}

```

The `FatComponent` displays 4 `SimpleComponents` with the same numbers.
Let's imagine that we would like to share the same numbers across all of our `SimpleComponents`.
A good way to do it would be to move this data to one place (a parent).
In this case our `FatComponent` is a good candidate for this.

```tsx
interface Props {}
interface State {
    numbers: number[]
}
export class FatComponent extends React.Component<Props, State> {

    constructor(props) {
        super(props)
        this.state = { numbers: [1, 2, 3, 4] }
    }

    render() {
        const { numbers } = this.state
        return <div>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
        </div>
    }
}

```

But what if our `FatComponent` does not have this data instantly and would need to download it?
Let's use a `fetchNumbers` method in `componentDidMount`.

```tsx
interface Props {}
interface State {
    numbers: number[]
}
export class FatComponent extends React.Component<Props, State> {

    constructor(props) {
        super(props)
        this.state = { numbers: [] } // initially we have an empty numbers array
    }

    // async await - https://javascript.info/async-await
    async componentDidMount() {
        const numbers = await fetchNumbers() // this is my imaginary function that will provide me with numbers
        this.setState({ numbers })
    }

    render() {
        const { numbers } = this.state
        return <div>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
        </div>
    }
}

```

Ok, so we have a component that knows how to fetch numbers and display them in `SimpleComponents`. Great!
But what if we want to reuse our `FatComponent` and present numbers from different source?
What if we do not want to fetch the data everytime our component mounts? - After all we can fetch this data once and we can use it in future.
What if we want to use a different initial array?
In order to do this we could add parameters to `FatComponent` and pass them from a parent that renders our `FatComponent`.

```tsx

interface Props {
    // we moved numbers from State to Props as our FatComponent will not control the source of the numbers
    numbers: number[]
    // this is a method that FatComponent will call when it decides that it wants to refresh its numbers
    // we expect that if we call it, then FatComponent's parent will handle fetching the data and pass it to our component,
    // that's why we use "() => void" type
    refreshNumbers: () => void
}
interface State {
}
export class FatComponent extends React.Component<Props, State> {

    // async await is no longer needed here as we tell our parent to load data for us.
    componentDidMount() {
        this.props.refreshNumbers()
    }

    render() {
        const { numbers } = this.props // we no longer have numbers in state - we need to change it to props
        return <div>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
            <SimpleComponent title='Test' numbers={numbers}/>
        </div>
    }
}

interface BigBossProps {}
interface BigBossState {
    numbers: number[]
}
export class BigBossParent extends React.Component<BigBossProps, BigBossState> {

    constructor(props) {
        super(props)
        this.state = { numbers: [] }
    }

    async onFetchNumbers() {
        // if we fetched numbers before, then we won't do it again
        const hasDataOrPendingRequest = // check pending request && data existence
        if (!hasDataOrPendingRequest) {
            const numbers = await fetchNumbers() // this is my imaginary function that will provide me with numbers
            this.setState({ numbers })
        }
    }

    render() {
        return <FatComponent numbers={this.state.numbers} // we present numbers from BigBossParent's state in FatComponent
            refreshNumbers={this.onFetchNumbers.bind(this)}/> // Bind with `this` in order to use BigBossParent component as `this` in `onFetchNumbers` method
    }
}

```

Now if render logic in our `BigBossParent` changes and it will conditionally render `FatComponent` we will run into a situation where `onFetchNumbers` will be called multiple times. The catch here is that our `BigBossParent` is pretty smart, so it won't download any new data but reuse the old array.
But then again. If at some point we decide to `unmount` `BigBossParent`, then we will lose the state that is kept there and we will have to fetch it once again.
If we want to avoid this, we could move the state to... You guessed it! Another parent.
And this is where `Redux` comes with help to us. `Redux` provides us with a way to keep our application's state in one unified "parent" called `Store` that will provide it to the components that we render.
With `Redux` you will be able to:
- Keep your application state in one place - `Store`
- Write tests for your application's state changes in an easier way as you can test it decoupled from the UI part.
- Use a unified way of changing this state (via `Actions` and `Reducers`), which comes in handy when the project grows and you need to move around it.

Keep in mind that `Redux` is not a must and you do not need to use it for your application if you don't feel that you need it! - [You Might Not Need Redux](https://medium.com/@dan_abramov/you-might-not-need-redux-be46360cf367). But let's assume that we would like to introduce `Redux` to our example and keep numbers in this unified `Store`.
There are many approaches to how we can do it. The approach that is widely used and I personally like is connecting your main parent `components` with `Store` (in our case this would be `BigBossParent`) and then pass the required data to its children via their `props`. This way the rendered children are not aware of any `Redux` magic and if we decide to drop `Redux` at some point, then our all "dumber" (not connected to store) components would not require any changes.

How would we approach connecting our `BigBossParent` to store (Place in `Redux` where data is kept)?
First of all, we need to specify the input props of `BigBossParent` just as we did with `FatComponent`.
Just as before, we move the things that we do not want to control to `BigBossProps` and we hope that a thing that renders this component will
take care of them and give it to use.

```tsx

interface BigBossProps {
    numbers: number[] // numbers will be provided to BigBossParent
    refreshNumbers: () => void // BigBossProps will not fetch the data on its own (just as FatComponent)
}
interface BigBossState {}
// we do not export this method anymore
// Please remember that we COULD do it and use this component as any other React component
class BigBossParent extends React.Component<BigBossProps, BigBossState> {

    render() {
        // If FatComponent decides to refreshNumbers, our BigBossParent will pass this request to its parent.
        return <FatComponent numbers={this.props.numbers}
            refreshNumbers={this.props.refreshNumbers()}/>
    }
}

export const connectedComponent = ... // we will get to this later

```

But what will be in charge of rendering our `BigBossParent`? We will render it in our applications "root" which will be connected to `Redux`.
Let's imagine that this `div` here is the root of our app. The first thing that will be presented here is `Provider`.
Provider, `createStore` is available through `react-redux` package and it will be responsible for providing components rendered inside it with a way
to connect with the main application `store`. We will be able to get the state from it and apply changes to it (Let's focus on "getting" the state now).
Provider will receive one parameter - a store which will be created with a `reducer` (let's not focus on them right now).
``` html
    <div>
        <Provider store={createStore(reducer)}>
            <BigBossParent /> // Where are the props that we normally would pass here?
            // Why don't we do it in as before?
            // <BigBossParent numbers={} refreshNumbers={}/>
        </Provider>
    </div>
```

Just before we move to our `BigBossParent` component, let's define an interface for our state in the application.
What I mean is that every time that we get the state from the store (that we created with `createStore(reducers)`), we expect that it will be of `ApplicationState` type.

```ts
interface ApplicationState {
    numbers: number[]
}

```

Instead of passing the props to BigBossParent in a usual way, we will use the `connect` that is available from `react-redux` package.

```tsx

interface BigBossProps {
    numbers: number[] // numbers will be provided to BigBossParent
    refreshNumbers: () => void // BigBossProps will not fetch the data on its own (just as FatComponent)
}
interface BigBossState {}
// we will not export the old component
class BigBossParent extends React.Component<BigBossProps, BigBossState> {

    render() {
        // If FatComponent decides to refreshNumbers, our BigBossParent will pass this request to its parent.
        return <FatComponent numbers={this.props.numbers}
            refreshNumbers={this.props.refreshNumbers()}/>
    }
}

// This method will receive the application state in a first parameter
// its job is to take the part of the application state that BigBossParent is interested in and return it
// In this method we would like to exactly match the props that BigBossParent expects, however, we will not care about
// methods. (We will not provide refreshNumbers method through mapStateToPros)
function mapStateToProps(state: ApplicationState) {
    // this method will return object has "numbers" with a value of numbers that are kept in our application state
    return {
        numbers: state.numbers
    }
}

// This method will receive dispatch method as a first parameter
// The dispatch will allow us to send actions to the store.
// (if this concept is unfamiliar to you, please take a look at Redux documentation or my previous post - http://eliaszsawicki.com/story-of-redux/ )
function mapDispatchToProps(dispatch: Redux.Dispatch) {
    return {
        refreshNumbers: () => dispatch({
            type: 'UPDATE_NUMBERS',
            payload: { numbers: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}
        })
    }
}
// instead we will export the component that is connected to our application store.
// this means that the props that the BigBossParent component needed will be provided via our mapping functions
// functions through mapDispatchToProps and variables through mapStateToProps
export const connectedComponent = connect(mapStateToProps, mapDispatchToProps)(BigBossParent)
```

Let's take a quick look at `Reducer`. Do you remember that we have passed it as our `createStore` parameter?
`Reducer` is a function that takes in two parameters - `state` and `action` and returns a new `state`.

``` js
const DefaultState = { numbers: [] } // if we do not have a state yet (start of the app), we need to provide a default one
function reducer(state: ApplicationState = DefaultState, action: Action): ApplicationState {
    switch (action.type) {
        case 'UPDATE_NUMBERS': // This is the action type that we sent from our BigBossParent component.
            const newState = { numbers: action.payload.numbers }
            return newState
    }
    return state
}
```

In really simplified case we will have one reducer that handles our whole state, but in bigger apps we will have combined reducers that only take a part of the application state as a first parameter. The part that they know how to handle.
`UPDATE_NUMBERS` is the action type that we sent from our BigBossParent component. Let's take a look at `mapDispatchToProps` once again:

```ts
//the dispatch parameter is in fact way to call `store.dispatch()`.
function mapDispatchToProps(dispatch: Redux.Dispatch<ApplicationState>) {
    return {
        refreshNumbers: () => dispatch({
            type: 'UPDATE_NUMBERS',
            payload: { numbers: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}
        })
    }
}
```

What does this map do? At the time that we call `refreshNumbers` from `BigBossParent` component. What in fact happens is:

```ts
store.dispatch({
            type: 'UPDATE_NUMBERS',
            payload: { numbers: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}
        })
    }
```

This way we send an action to our store. Store receives the action and then passes both application state and this action to reducers (In our case this is a reducer mentioned above). It sees that the action type matches the one it handles - `UPDATE_NUMBERS` and creates
a new state accordingly. In our case it will apply the numbers sent as an action's payload. After it's done, the new state is returned and applied to the `store`.
This will now be the new state of our application. At the time that we receive this new state, our `BigBossParent` will be updated (mapping functions will be invoked again).

And this is how you go from a `React` to `React-Redux` ;)
If you have any comments, please share them below!


*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## How to use different Google configurations for each build config

*Published: 2018-02-07 | Author: mateusz | Tags: ios, xcode, build configurations*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/index.md*

If you have ever used [Google Sign-In](https://developers.google.com/identity/sign-in/ios/start), [Firebase](https://firebase.google.com/docs/ios/), or [Google Analytics](https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/ios/v3/) for iOS, you should be familiar with a `GoogleService-Info.plist` configuration file. Using property list files instead of setting every required property manually in code is convenient, especially while using more than one Google service at once and the configuration grows. But have you ever wondered how  this can be adjusted to multiple environments?

## Environments

To set up multiple environments in iOS application I use **build configurations**. By default, every iOS app has two build configurations: Debug and Release. In our projects we usually have three:

* Develop - application for developers with debug enabled, usually connecting to the Stage backend.
* Stage - signed application connecting to the Stage backend for early TestFlight testing.
* Prod - signed application connecting to the production backend, published to the store after UAT (User Acceptance Testing) on TestFlight.

You can define build configurations in the project settings (\[PROJECT]→Info).

![image](../../static/images/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/build-configurations.png "")

### User-Defined settings

Build configurations let you easily use different **User-Defined settings** for each configuration. You can define these at the bottom of target build settings (\[TARGET]→Build Settings).

![image](../../static/images/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/user-defined-settings-1.png "")

![image](../../static/images/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/user-defined-settings-2.png "")

Respectively, you can use User-Defined settings in the **Info.plist** file.

![image](../../static/images/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/info-plist.png "")

In the example above, the application will use different `FacebookAppID` properties for each build configuration. `FacebookAppID` property is automatically used by the [Facebook SDK for iOS](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/ios/), but you can also refer to these values directly in the code:

```swift
if let path = Bundle.main.path(forResource: "Info", ofType: "plist"),
   let dict = NSDictionary(contentsOfFile: path) as? [String: AnyObject] {
    // read values from dict
}
```

## Google configuration

One might think that you can do the same with `GoogleService-Info.plist` configuration file. **Unfortunately, you cannot read User-Defined settings from custom property list files**, you can only do that in the Info.plist files defined in the target Build Settings.

Considering there can be only one `GoogleService-Info.plist` file and it is not possible to read User-Defined settings from custom .plist files, how would you set up different Google configuration for each environment?

![image](../../static/images/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/sad.jpeg "")

## Run Scripts to the rescue

Fortunately, you can add new **Run Script Phase** to target Build Phases that will **copy a proper Google configuration file** to default `GoogleService-Info.plist` place.

![image](../../static/images/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/run-script-phase-1.png "")

The script is really simple and it only copies a plist file from Resources using a predefined `CONFIGURATION` variable that points to the build configuration. In the build configurations listed above, it replaces `GoogleService-Info.plist` file content with one of the following files stored in Resources:

* GoogleService-Info-Develop.plist
* GoogleService-Info-Stage.plist
* GoogleService-Info-Prod.plist

```bash
cp "${SRCROOT}/src/Resources/GoogleServiceInfoPlists/GoogleService-Info-$CONFIGURATION.plist" "${SRCROOT}/src/GoogleService-Info.plist"
```

`SRCROOT` is also predefined and it points to the project location.

Note that `src/GoogleService-Info.plist` must be added to target **Copy Bundle Resources** build phase, while Google configuration files to be copied from resources not necessarily.

### Caution!

The Run Script that updates `GoogleServiceInfo.plist` file must be dragged **before Copy Bundle Resources** phase. Otherwise, it will not work because the default Google configuration file will be used.

![image](../../static/images/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/run-script-phase-2.png "")

## Alternatives

Alternatively, you can set Google Client ID and other Google configuration properties directly in the code, for example:

```swift
GIDSignIn.sharedInstance().clientID = "CLIENT_ID"
```

To keep different Google configuration for each environment you can read a proper Google plist file according to build configuration or store Google configuration on your own, without property list files.

To determine build configuration at runtime you can use **Other Swift Flags** in target Build Settings. For each build configuration add a flag with environment starting with `-D`, like `-DDEVELOP`.

![image](../../static/images/ios-google-configuration-per-environment/other-swift-flags.png "")

Then you can easily determine build configuration at runtime:

```swift
#if DEVELOP
    // Develop
#elseif STAGE
    // Stage
#elseif PROD
    // Prod
#endif
```

This post was inspired by [this StackOverflow topic](https://stackoverflow.com/q/34067120/1570496).

## Microbenchmarking on Android

*Published: 2018-02-07 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, java, kotlin, benchmark*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/microbenchmarking-on-android/index.md*

Since Kotlin becomes more and more popular, especially amongst [Android developers](/our-areas/mobile-app-development) (and it's [officially supported by Google](https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/05/android-announces-support-for-kotlin.html)), some people decided to compare its runtime performance with Java. After reading a few articles I wanted to test it myself and now I'm ready to share some of my observations and experiences.

## What is it about?

Microbenchmarking is just micro-scale benchmarking :-) It's about measuring the performance of something really "small" that may take just micro- or nanoseconds, like calling a function or iterating over a collection.

I really recommend to read [this wiki page on GitHub](https://github.com/google/caliper/wiki/JavaMicrobenchmarks) as it summarizes a few very important aspects of microbenchmarking, including its fallibility and some possible reasons why you could ever consider doing it. It also explains why you should actually avoid writing microbenchmarks as there are only a few reasonable excuses for doing it (mostly when you develop a performance-critical library or framework).

![Hourglass](../../static/images/microbenchmarking-on-android/hourglass-2910948_1280.jpg "")

## How do I start?

Writing a microbenchmark can be as simple as running some piece of code in a loop and measuring the time. You can also use one of the existing frameworks which have some useful features like the possibility to easily configure the way your benchmarks will be executed.

Unfortunately, if you are willing to perform the tests on Android, you can't use probably the most advanced library, [JMH](http://openjdk.java.net/projects/code-tools/jmh/), as it uses some part of the Java API not available in Android API. This fact might discourage you from using Android platform for your benchmarks but you should bear in mind ART and Dalvik have significantly different characteristics from the JVM so optimizing code for JVM may be pessimizing it for Android (take a look at [this commit in Gson library](https://github.com/google/gson/commit/084047d80b582317f382536604373cafa14583a4)).

### Manual measurements

The simplest way to measure the execution time of some code block is to call it large number of times in a loop like below:

```kotlin
fun measure() {
    val reps: Long = 1_000_000

    var sum: Long = 0L

    val callFuncBegin = System.nanoTime()

    for (i in 0 until reps) {
        sum += addConst(i)
    }

    val callFuncEnd = System.nanoTime()
    val callFuncDiff = Math.abs(callFuncEnd - callFuncBegin)

    println(sum)

    val result = callFuncDiff / reps

    println(result)
}

fun addConst(number: Long): Long {
    return 5 + number
}
```

In this example we benchmark the `addConst` function. If you are new to microbenchmarking, I bet you have a few questions.

First of all, we need multiple `addConst` calls for a few reasons, for example because `System.nanoTime()` doesn't really need to be that accurate as you might think. The documentation says it clearly:

> This method provides nanosecond precision, but not necessarily nanosecond resolution (that is, how frequently the value changes) - no guarantees are made except that the resolution is at least as good as that of currentTimeMillis().

Another reason is to get more confident results as the test environment (the smartphone) is very complex and it surely will take different amount of time for each execution.

It is also important to keep in mind that `System.nanoTime()` might be relatively expensive in terms of execution time so we definitely should NOT put it inside the same loop as the measured function, unless all we want to measure is `System.nanoTime()` itself (been there, done that :-) ). So this is another reason why we need to call the desired function multiple times - to compensate `System.nanoTime()` overhead.

Another aspect is that we need a function that has some observable effects, e.g. returning a result that is accumulated and then printed out. Otherwise, the compiler could cut out the code that was meant to be measured (see: [Could a compiler possibly optimize your benchmark away?](https://github.com/google/caliper/wiki/JavaMicrobenchmarkReviewCriteria)).

### Spanner

Another way to benchmark the code is to use a dedicated framework like [Spanner](https://github.com/cmelchior/spanner). It's an Android-oriented, [Caliper](https://github.com/google/caliper)-like library which can make this task easier. Despite its alpha-ish state, it's quite usable and worth trying out.

Putting configuration matters aside, the benchmark function may look like this:

```kotlin
@Benchmark
fun addConstTest(reps: Long): Long {
    var sum = 0L
    for (i in 0 until reps) {
        sum += addConst(i)
    }
    return sum
}

fun addConst(number: Long): Long {
    return 5 + number
}
```

As you can see, the framework gives us the required repetitions count as a parameter and it's our job to actually run the code in a loop.

*Side note: the current Spanner version (as of Feb 2, 2018) requires benchmark classes' and methods' modifiers to be exacly `java.lang.reflect.Modifier.PUBLIC` so you can't run final-by-default Kotlin code without additional `open` modifier. That's why I use my [forked version](https://github.com/azabost/spanner) with this behavior changed accordingly.*

Spanner can also upload your benchmark results to [https://microbenchmarks.appspot.com](https://microbenchmarks.appspot.com) either anonymously or with a given API key.

![Spanner results](../../static/images/microbenchmarking-on-android/spanner-result.png "")

## What could possibly go wrong?

It's very easy to get horribly misleading results, especially if you don't follow some rules when writing microbenchmarks. For example, [this article](http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/java/architect-benchmarking-2266277.html) by Julien Page shows how benchmarks may be optimized by the JVM so that the results become meaningless. A few criteria of a good benchmark have also been defined on [this Caliper wiki page](https://github.com/google/caliper/wiki/JavaMicrobenchmarkReviewCriteria). And in [this example](https://github.com/melix/jmh-gradle-example/blob/master/src/jmh/java/org/openjdk/jmh/samples/JMHSample_11_Loops.java) Cédric Champeau proves why it's so important to use the right tool for measurements (like JMH).

Of course there are more issues that may happen, e.g.:

* garbage collection occurring during the measurements,
* temporarily increased CPU usage by other apps,
* JIT compiler making your code run faster each time,
* unavoidable CPU throttling.

## Conclusion

Microbenchmarking is an interesting topic and I'm glad I could practice it myself and learn about it. As I've already mentioned, it's not something you should do on your daily basis, but still, I think it's worth reading about it and trying it out just to expand your horizons.

## Working with Chrome Extensions

*Published: 2018-02-07 | Author: monika | Tags: Chrome Extensions, Chrome, JavaScript*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/working-with-chrome-extensions/index.md*

Chrome Extensions can make your life easier whenever you want to add a script to the Chrome Browser. Working with extensions is quite easy. It’s just the good old JavaScript code and not much more. There are, however, a few things worth taking into consideration while working with the extensions.

The [Chrome Extensions documentation](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions) is extensive and easy to read. There is also a [getting started](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/getstarted) tutorial available.


## Declaring Files

All project files should be placed in one folder which should be uploaded as a zip file to the [Chrome Web Store](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/). The manifest.json file contains the metadata for all files. This means that any file will be simply ignored if it is not mentioned in the manifest. You should most probably start your project from creating the manifest file and declaring the most important fields. The instruction on how to do this can be found in the [documentation](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions). The majority of files should be declared in the [“content_scripts”](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/content_scripts) field. The paths are relative to the package root. All JavaScript and CSS files should be declared there. The presence of the CSS files in this section is a bit misleading and in addition they also need to be declared in the [“web_accessible_resources”](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/manifest/web_accessible_resources) field. The good part is that once a CSS file is declared in both fields it’s ready to be used (no additional links required).

Images should be declared only in the “web_accessible_resources” field. Whenever you want to use them in your extensions code, just call it like this: 

```javascript
var img = chrome.extension.getURL('ImageName'). 
```

The file name needs to be provided with the extension (e.g. .svg, .png, .jpg).

## Activating an Extension

To make an extension active you need to register it in the “matches” section of the [“content_scripts"](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/content_scripts) field. You can also set a permission in the [“permissions”](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/declare_permissions) field. I am using an “activeTab” permission because it prevents the Chrome browser from displaying a warning message that the aplication can access data on all websites. Otherwise the message pops up during the extension installation process. 

## Global Variables and Constants

Global variables or constants can be defined in a global object in a .js file like this:

```javascript
const config = {
   host: 'host',
   port: portNumber,
   logVisible: false,
}
```

To use them just type e.g. `config.host` in the script file.

## Security

Due to security reasons Chrome Extension restricts you from making certain actions. The [list of restrictions](https://developer.chrome.com/apps/contentSecurityPolicy) can be found in the documentation. 
You should, however, remember to protect your script from the external interference especially cross-site scripting attacks. For example be careful with using `innerHTML` for injecting content. Think of using `innerText` instead. Never retrieve HTTP content on an HTTPS page because the HTTP content might have been corrupted by a hostile network. The browser will display a warning message if you try to do this.

## Publishing Resources

Chrome extensions can be published in the [Chrome Web Store](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/), which is very handful - you don’t need to send the package to  users each time a new version is available. To publish an extensions you need to create a developer’s account. The cost of publishing is 5 USD (you pay for the whole service not for a single resource). The group publishing is also possible, then each developer needs to pay 5 USD to join the group. You can buy the service after you log in to the [Chrome Web Store](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/) and create a developer account. 

It takes up to one hour for the resource to publish. Each time an update is made, the [“version”](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/manifest/version) field in the manifest needs to be changed. Note there is also a [“manifest_version”](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/manifest/manifest_version) field which is a version of the manifest file.

## How to publish a library to a Maven repository with the maven-publish plugin

*Published: 2018-02-05 | Author: piotr | Tags: maven, jcenter, jvm, gradle, kotlin*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-publish-a-library-to-a-maven-repository/index.md*

A seasoned developer now and then creates a piece of code that he or she would like to *reuse* in a different project. When such time comes it is useful to know how to publish a library so that it can easily be incorporated into a different project. In this post I will describe how to publish a Kotlin library to [JCenter](https://bintray.com/bintray/jcenter) with `maven-publish` and `com.jfrog.bintray` Gradle plugins.

![publish](../../static/images/publish-library/announce.jpg)

## Gradle Maven plugins

The first step is to apply [Maven plugin](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/maven_plugin.html). The plugin adds support for deploying artifacts to Maven repositories. Note that in case of multi-project build e.g. [ShouldKO](https://github.com/bright/shouldko) the Maven plugin should be applied to every project that defines some artifact to be published. You can use `allprojects` to get rid of duplication e.g.:

```groovy
allprojects {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }

    apply plugin: 'kotlin'
    apply plugin: 'maven'

    group "pl.miensol.shouldko"
}
```

For the [`com.jfrog.bintray`](https://github.com/bintray/gradle-bintray-plugin) plugin, used later on, to work nicely with Maven artifacts we need to apply additional Gradle plugin. This additional piece is the [`maven-publish`](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/publishing_maven.html) plugin which provides ability to publish artifacts in Maven format. All we need to do is to `apply plugin: 'maven-publish'` in the main project.

## Define Maven publishing

The [`com.jfrog.bintray`](https://github.com/bintray/gradle-bintray-plugin#step-7-define-artifacts-to-be-uploaded-to-bintray) plugin relies on properly defined [Maven Publications](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/publishing_maven.html). The Gradle DSL allows us to define them easily basing on project properties e.g.

```groovy
publishing {
    publications {
        hamcrest(MavenPublication) {
            def project = project(':hamcrest')
            from project.components.java
            artifact project.sourcesJar { // not required, includes sourcesJar with correct classifer
                classifier "sources"
            }
            groupId group
            artifactId project.name
            version project.version
        }

        core(MavenPublication) {
            def project = project(':core')
            from project.components.java
            artifact project.sourcesJar {
                classifier "sources"
            }
            groupId group
            artifactId project.name
            version project.version
        }
    }
}
```

The above Maven Publications include sources artifact. Publishing additional classifiers for artifacts is important since [it allows for IDE to show a documentation popup or debug through the library source code](https://stackoverflow.com/a/20909695/155213).  However, one needs to define it first as it is not included by default when applying `java` or `kotlin` plugins to a Gradle project. This is easily done as follows:

```groovy
allprojects {
    task sourcesJar(type: Jar, dependsOn: classes) {
        from sourceSets.main.allSource
    }
}
```

## Project versioning

As you saw above, we have used `project.version` to indicate a version to `MavenPublication`. There are multiple strategies to version software but the [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/) scheme is widely accepted as a standard when it comes to libraries. If you wish to use it then there are plugins available for Gradle to simplify the mundane tasks of maintaining pre-release and patch versions. I like the set of plugin from [`ajoberstar`](https://github.com/ajoberstar/gradle-git/wiki) that provide an opinionated way to version your project based on git tags. Applying them is easy:

```groovy
plugins {
    id "org.ajoberstar.grgit" version "1.7.2"
    id "org.ajoberstar.release-opinion" version "1.7.2"
}
```

Now when you issue e.g. `gradle build` the plugin will [infer a next version based on your git repository state](https://github.com/ajoberstar/gradle-git/wiki/Release%20Plugins#how-do-i-use-the-opinion-plugin):

```text
> Configure project : 
Inferred project: shouldko, version: 0.1.5-dev.0.uncommitted+4f71d34
```

## Bintray upload

Finally, when we are ready to upload our library and make it available for everyone we need to set up a [Bintray account](https://bintray.com/signup/oss). Once we have it, on the [profile](https://bintray.com/profile/edit) page we can access API key required to configure [the Bintray](https://github.com/bintray/gradle-bintray-plugin) Gradle plugin.

```groovy
bintray {
    user = project.hasProperty('bintrayUser') ? project.property('bintrayUser') : System.getenv('BINTRAY_USER')
    key = project.hasProperty('bintrayApiKey') ? project.property('bintrayApiKey') : System.getenv('BINTRAY_API_KEY')
    publications = ['core', 'hamcrest']
    pkg {
        repo = 'maven'
        name = 'shouldko'
        desc = 'Adds source line to tests assertion messages'
        userOrg = 'brightinventions'
        licenses = ['MIT']
        vcsUrl = 'https://github.com/bright/shouldko.git'
        labels = ['tests', 'hamcrest', 'junit']
    }
}
```

**The Bintray API key should be kept private and by no means included in the source code repository.**
We can configure `user` and `key` by looking at project properties and if not available using environment variables. This way there is no need to expose them publicly. 

```bash
gradle build bintrayUpload -PbintrayUser=<apiUser> -PbintrayApiKey=<apikKey>
```

The `repo` is the name of the Bintray repository. You can use the same Bintray repository to host multiple projects.

The Bintray plugin is very taciturn thus I like to add some log message to see when the `bintrayUpload` completes:

```groovy
afterEvaluate {
    tasks.bintrayUpload.doLast {
        logger.lifecycle("Uploaded artifacts to bintray at version $version")
    }
}
```

## Travis build

Every project should have at least some form of [continuous integration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_integration). For open source software there are at least couple of free build servers available. [Travis](https://travis-ci.org) is probably the most popular one. For gradle project Travis will by default call `build`. If you would like to upload the build artifacts to Bintray whenever successful build completes you need to add a line to `script` section of the `.travis.yml` like so:

```yaml
script:
  - ./gradlew build
  - ./gradlew bintrayUpload
```

Obviously the Bintray credentials need to be configured as well which can be done through a project configuration page:

![TravisCI environment configuration](../../static/images/publish-library/travis-configure.png)

Now, the Gradle git plugin will create a development version and publish it to Bintray on every Travis build.

## Tag to release

Whenever you want to release a new version of the library you now can simply tag a particular version e.g.

```bash
git tag 0.1.4
git push origin 0.1.4
```

After a local or continuos integration build completes you should see a new version in the Bintray web application. From there you need [to publish the version](https://bintray.com/docs/usermanual/starting/starting_tutorial2uploading.html).

## Use the new library

Once a version is published, you can consume it from a maven or gradle project easily. Until you [link your package to JCenter](https://bintray.com/bintray/jcenter), you need to inform your build system about a new maven repository location e.g.:

```groovy
repositories {
    jcenter()
    maven { url 'https://dl.bintray.com/brightinventions/maven' }
}
```

Note that `brightinventions` is the organization user name and `maven` is the repository name mentioned above. You are now, finally able to consume your library 🎉:

```groovy
compile 'pl.miensol.shouldko:hamcrest:0.1.4'
```

Enjoy!

## What are Code Reviews for?

*Published: 2018-02-05 | Author: adam | Tags: code-review*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/what-are-code-reviews-for/index.md*

It is [often said](https://blog.codinghorror.com/code-reviews-just-do-it/) that Code Reviews are by far the most effective way to identify bugs in software. However, it is easy to notice that the "code review" term is a bit overloaded and it might mean different things to different people. At [Bright Inventions](https://brightinventions.pl) we are still learning how to take the most out of this practice (like everyone in our industry, right?) and we have already gone through a few stages of our approach to code review. Let me share a few thoughts about it. 

## Is Code Review about semicolons?

The simplest association one may have with Code Review is that it is all about the consistent code style – to ensure the code is formatted well, all spaces are replaced with tabs or all tabs are replaced with spaces, there are semicolons everywhere or there are no semicolons anywhere, etc. While this is the simplest kind of thing that reviewers might look at, these things are too easy to waste our time on it and it should be handled by automated tools like shared IDE formatting settings ([available for example in JetBrains IDEs](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/sharing-your-ide-settings.html)) or static code analyzers like [ESLint](https://eslint.org/) or [TSLint](https://palantir.github.io/tslint/) plugged into our Continuous Integration environment.

There are obviously cases that automated tools are unable to identify so we should look for these within Code Reviews, but having a unified and consistent code style is definitely not the only way we can benefit from doing Code Reviews. We should definitely look deeper.

![What are Code Reviews for?](../../static/images/people-office-group-team.jpg "")

Code Review is an ideal chance to:

* share language- or platform-level idioms & practices – each technology comes with its own biases and conditions it works best within; let's ensure we're using our tools correctly, fully benefit from its features and avoid its traps,
* share general programming patterns – there is a plethora of design patterns, it's hard to know all of them and none of them is a universal silver bullet, so it might be worth looking for these that should be used but are not and vice versa,
* ensure readability and maintainability – if the reviewer can't read the code as prose then there's a room for improvement,
* discuss naming and abstractions – let's ensure the team agrees on what are these things we have in our codebase and that they actually and correctly represent the ideas and concepts from the domain world,
* consider the impact of the proposed changes for backward compatibility, performance, accessibility, stability, resource consumption and dozens of other aspects of running software.

## It's also about longevity

All of these aspects are contributing to the overall project quality and it's obvious that the projects that present generally higher quality are easier (and cheaper) to maintain. But there is more. 

One of the problem we tend to struggle is about the [code ownership](https://martinfowler.com/bliki/CodeOwnership.html). When each team member works on the clearly isolated tasks, there is a very little intersection between code written by different people and some code ownership silos are created. It means that it's hard for another person to take over the task in case of that necessity. And that kind of necessities happen all the time – people might get sick, they may go on vacations or they just move on to other tasks, projects or jobs, so no ownership silos should happen in a healthy project.

How is Code Review related with this problem? By continuous Code Review happening as an integral part of the development process, we're ensuring that there is no line of code that hasn't been seen by another team member. Code Review might be an enabler for the collective code ownership. It may support code reuse and help the team establish a general shared knowledge about the codebase. The team is then also able to identify cases such as overlapping, conflicting or missing features or just to ensure everyone on the board understands the problem domain and the tasks on hand the same way. And this leads us directly to the next thought:

## Maybe it's not only about the code?

What if we take the idea even further and put much more emphasis on the "Review" part of the Code Review than on the "Code" part? Given that we already spend time talking together and looking at what we've done, maybe it also makes sense to think if the piece of code we've just written is the thing we should have done in the first place. Maybe for the sake of feature consistency it should be written differently? Maybe it is not needed at all as the task might be already accomplished somewhere else in the product we're building? Maybe we have missed an important requirements update? Or maybe the requirements were not clear enough and we've just assumed too much based on it so we need to take a step back and figure out what are the goals and expectations for the given task first?

Taking this idea even further, let me throw the question – how much of the work that is normally attributed to the QA part of the software development process (and possibly to the dedicated SQA people) can be done within the (Code) Review? How many bugs and deficiencies can be identified earlier? And – as a result – how regular Code Reviews influence the development cost? Can it actually make it lower despite the time we need to invest in it? My unquantified gut feeling is that it's worth it.

## What should Code Review look like?

The best summary of what the Code Review might look like, which is in line with my wide understanding of this process, I've found in [SmartBear blog article](https://blog.smartbear.com/development/creating-your-code-review-checklist/). Let me quote it here:

> Does my code compile without errors and run without exceptions in happy path conditions?
>
> Have I checked this code to see if it triggers compiler or static analysis warnings?
>
> Have I covered this code with appropriate tests, and are those tests currently green?
>
> Have I run our performance/load/smoke tests to make sure nothing I’ve introduced is a performance killer?
>
> Have I run our suite of security tests/checks to make sure I’m not opening vulnerabilities?
>
> Does this code read like prose?
>
> Do the methods do what the name of the method claims that they’ll do? Same for classes?
>
> Can I get an understanding of the desired behavior just by doing quick scans through unit and acceptance tests?
>
> Does the understanding of the desired behavior match the requirements/stories for this work?
>
> Is this code introducing any new dependencies between classes/components/modules and, if so, is it necessary to do that?
>
> Is this code idiomatic, taking full advantage of the language, frameworks, and tools that we use?
>
> Is anything here a re-implementation of existing functionality the developer may not be aware of?

What is also inevitable while trying to make Code Review an integral part of our process is that we should expect every team member to participate. And this participation should have an equal status – Code Review is not about the more senior developer serving as a gatekeeper for a junior's code. It's also about juniors reviewing senior's code with the same sense of seriousness. And if a junior is intimidated when asked to comment on the senior's code – just think: is there any better way to make a progress than reading a good code? And seniors are not unerring – when the less experienced person needs to ask questions to understand the analyzed code, maybe it's not that good after all?

Last but not least, a successfully finished Code Review should become a part of our [definition of done](https://www.scrum.org/resources/scrum-glossary) - unless the code was reviewed and accepted by another team member(s), we can't move on and mark it as completed or treat it as finished. It should be treated on the equal rights with writing unit tests – not an optional addition we fancy from time to time, but a thing that – when missing – causes a warning flag to be raised.

## Redshift Materialized Views

*Published: 2018-02-05 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: redshift, development*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/redshift-materialized-views/index.md*

It is often convenient to create a view upon your normalized schema to join and aggregate the data, especially when it requires a complicated query.

![publish](../../static/images/redshift-materialized-views/image1.jpg "")

In PostgreSQL you can create a view basing on a query.
```sql
CREATE VIEW my_view AS SELECT
                         list_id,
                         event_id,
                         sum(price_paid) AS revenue,
                         count(qty_sold) AS qty
                       FROM sales
                         WHERE local_date >= '2018-01-01'
                       GROUP BY list_id, event_id;
```

Each time you select the data from such a view, the query underneath will be executed. If the query takes a long time to execute, a materialized view might be used.

```sql
CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW my_view AS SELECT (...) ;
```

This view is populated with data at the time of creation, therefore there is no need to run the time consuming query each time you access the data. However, each time the data changes, the view needs to be refreshed manually with `REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW my_view` query. The materialized view is especially useful when your data changes infrequently and predictably. A perfect use case is an ETL process - the refresh query might be run as a part of it.

As Redshift is based on PostgreSQL, one might expect Redshift to have materialized views. Unfortunately, Redshift does not implement this feature. Regular views in Redshift have two main disadvantages:
 * the Redshift query planner does not optimize through views; therefore fetching data from a view instead of running the query directly may actually be slower,
 * the views in Redshift are connected to the table (not just its name), so you will encounter errors while altering the table; using `WITH NO SCHEMA BINDING` clause tells Redshift not to bound to the underlying database objects.

Instead of using a view, we can create a table basing on a query (and drop and recreate it each time). As it is a regular table, it’s possible to define sort keys to further improve the performance.

The ease of data refresh might be reckoned as an advantage of a materialized view. To achieve a similar behaviour with table, we can use a regular view to actually store the query. The downside of such a solution is that inserting data into the table through the view will take longer than with the query. Recreating a table with data through a view could be as simple as the two following statements wrapped into a transaction block:

```sql
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
DROP TABLE my_view_table;
CREATE TABLE my_view_table AS SELECT * FROM my_view;
COMMIT TRANSACTION;
```

This piece of code has two main issues:
 * `DROP` command in transaction puts a `LOCK` on the table, so other processes will need to wait, when trying to access the data; moreover, if you commit the transaction, the process awaiting will receive an error like `table 1234556 dropped by concurrent transaction`,
 * any sort key added to the table will be lost.

Deleting all data from the table, although seems easy to implement, requires `VACUUM` and `ANALYZE` which might be quite long. A faster alternative to an unqualified `DELETE` is `TRUNCATE`. However, it commits the transaction in which it is run and cannot be rolled back. Another way is to use the `CREATE TABLE ... LIKE` statement to create an intermediate table. This statement copies column names, data types and `NOT NULL` constraints. Tables created with the `LIKE` option also inherit distribution style and sort keys (but do not inherit primary and foreign key constraints).

```sql
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
CREATE TABLE my_view_table_new LIKE my_view_table;
INSERT INTO my_view_table_new SELECT * FROM my_view;
ALTER TABLE RENAME my_view_table TO my_view_table_old;
ALTER TABLE RENAME my_view_table_new TO my_view_table;
DROP TABLE my_view_table_old;
COMMIT;
END TRANSACTION;
```

To see the code of the query used to create the view you can log into the database with `psql` and run `\d+ my_view`.

Redshift does not implement materialized views, but it is quite straightforward to simulate a similar behaviour. The only question to ask is if we need the data refresh to be rather simpler or faster.

## Side effects of transferring iOS application

*Published: 2018-01-31 | Author: mateusz | Tags: itunes connect, app store, ios, certificates*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/app-transfer-side-effects/index.md*

When the time you are selling your long-developed application comes, or you are about to take over an app, you probably do not bother about the transition process. Although Apple has [described the steps in details](https://help.apple.com/itunes-connect/developer/#/deved688524f), you should consider potential consequences before starting the transition.

You should also make sure that the application [meets all criteria](https://help.apple.com/itunes-connect/developer/#/devaf27784ff) and **is eligible for the transfer**. What is most important, the app must have had at least one version that has been released to the App Store and no version of the app used an **iCloud entitlement** or a **Passbook entitlement**.

## Backup data

Once the application is moved to a new account **it is no longer available** on the old one. This means that the initiator will lose all information about the app including the metadata, dates when it was available on the App Store, pricing, sales, or downloads statistics. You should back up all those information for your records, as there is no possibility of getting it back after the transition.

## Prepare yourself

![image](../../static/images/app-transfer-side-effects/breakdance.jpg "")

If your application uses any of these features, you need to take some additional actions:

- **Auto-renewable subscriptions** - if an app uses this kind of subscriptions, then probably something [verifies their validity](https://developer.apple.com/library/content/releasenotes/General/ValidateAppStoreReceipt/Chapters/ValidateRemotely.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40010573-CH104-SW1) (e.g. backend). To make sure that the recipients will be able to validate subscriptions during the transition, the initiator needs to generate an app-specific shared secret **before** initiating a transfer and share the code with the recipients so they could set up their own validation. Once the app transfer is complete, the recipients should generate a new shared secret so the users outside the organization had no longer access to it.

- **Apple Pay** - the merchant ID is not transferred along with the app. The transaction continues to be successful as long as the original certificates are valid. While submitting an update, the recipients need to generate a neaw merchant ID.

- **Keychain** - while submitting the first update after the transition you will receive an email warning about **Potential Loss of Keychain Access**. After the app transition the Team ID changes so the application-identifier turns from `[old-team].pl.brightinventions.app` into `[new-team].pl.brightinventions.app`, which results in a loss of keychain access. After users update their app, it will not find an authentication token and ask for a re-login. Keychain sharing also continues to work only until the app is updated and needs to be replaced with a keychain group created by the recipients.

- **Push notifications** - client SSL certificates for push notifications are not transferred so the recipients need to create their own certificates and upload them to the their push notifications service (backend, Firebase, etc.).

Additionally, if an app is a part of a cross-app **Multiplayer Compatibility Matrix**, it will no longer be compatible with or appear in other app's matrix. Similarly, if an app is a part of an **app bundle**, you will no longer be able to view the app bundle's history.

## It takes time

![image](../../static/images/app-transfer-side-effects/hairy-hand.jpg "")

Processing the app transfer can take up to two business days. During this time you will not be able to edit the app metadata, rights, pricing, and in-app purchases, so you should make sure you will not need any urgent changes during this time.

Transferring the app is **unnoticeable to the users** and properly prepared should not affect them in any way. However, you should update the **terms of service** and the **data protection** conditions so they match the new owner policies.

Transferring an application to another account is not difficult, but it is requires understanding the process and making some preparations, especially if you use push notifications, keychain, Apple Pay, auto-renewable subscriptions or when your application is a part of cross-app Multiplayer Compatibility Matrix or app bundles.

## Android Manifest placeholders

*Published: 2018-01-24 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, gradle, manifest*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/android-manifest-placeholders/index.md*

## What are they?

[Android Manifest placeholders](https://developer.android.com/studio/build/manifest-build-variables.html) allow you to put variables into the Manifest that is otherwise completely static. Why would you need such functionality? Actually, it depends on your projects. It's probably most useful when you have multiple [build variants](https://developer.android.com/studio/build/build-variants.html) with different Manifest configurations.

## Multiple Manifests

Of course, the easiest way to configure Manifest per build variant is to place a separate `AndroidManifest.xml` file in the variant-specific source directory. For example let's say we have an `app` module with [flavor dimension](https://developer.android.com/studio/build/build-variants.html#flavor-dimensions) called `features` with two flavors: `paid` and `free`. In Gradle file it could look like this:

```groovy
android {
    ...
    buildTypes {
        release {...}
        debug {...}
    }

    flavorDimensions "features"

    productFlavors {
        paid {
            dimension "features"
            ...
        }
        free {
            dimension "features"
            ...
        }
    }
}
```

This enables us to use different source sets, including Manifest files. If we would like to separate `paid` and `free` configurations, we could place different Manifests in the following project directories:

* `app/src/paid/AndroidManifest.xml`
* `app/src/free/AndroidManifest.xml`

We could also use fully qualified build variants (combining product flavors with build types):

* `app/src/paidDebug/AndroidManifest.xml`
* `app/src/paidRelease/AndroidManifest.xml`
* `app/src/freeDebug/AndroidManifest.xml`
* `app/src/freeRelease/AndroidManifest.xml`

*Note #1: Source sets are not created automatically. You can create them by hand or using **Source set** dropdown menu while creating a new file or directory in Android Studio.*

*Note #2: If you would like to make sure how to organize the source sets, you can run Gradle `sourceSets` task, e.g. with `./gradlew sourceSets` or Android Studio Gradle menu.*

While using multiple Manifest files gives the best flexibility (you can change literally everything), the maintenance may be troublesome for several reasons, e.g.:

* changing anything requires editing every file,
* comparing multiple files and finding differences is not convenient.

![Placeholder](../../static/images/android-manifest-placeholders/placeholder.png)

## Using placeholders

So instead of using multiple files I always strive to use some variables. In order to use a variable in the Manifest we must specify it in the `manifestPlaceholders` property in Gradle. We can do this in several places, e.g.:

* default config

```groovy
android {
    ...
    defaultConfig {
        manifestPlaceholders.screenOrientation = "unspecified"
    }
}
```

* product flavor

```groovy
android {
    ...
    flavorDimensions "features"

    productFlavors {
        paid {
            dimension "features"
            manifestPlaceholders.hostName = "www.paid-example.com"
        }
        free {
            dimension "features"
            manifestPlaceholders.hostName = "www.free-example.com"
        }
    }
}
```

* build type

```groovy
android {
    ...
    buildTypes {
        release {
            ...
            manifestPlaceholders.screenOrientation = "portrait"
        }
        debug {...}
    }
}
```

*Note #1: `manifestPlaceholders` object is just a `Map<String, Object>` so you can also use its other methods like `containsKey()` etc.*

*Note #2: You can also specify all the values at once by assigning a map like this: `manifestPlaceholders = [...]`*

Then we can use the variables in the Manifest simply by putting the variable name in curly brackets and using a dollar sign like this:

```xml
<activity
    android:name=".MyActivity"
    android:screenOrientation="${screenOrientation}" />
```

## Applications

I've come across a few common usages of the placeholders, e.g.:

* enabling/disabling [application components](https://developer.android.com/guide/components/.html) and meta-data, including the ones that come with your app's dependencies

```xml
<service
    android:name=".firebase.FcmIdService"
    android:enabled="${pushNotifications}">
    ...
</service>

<provider
    android:name="android.support.v4.content.FileProvider"
    android:authorities="${fileProvider}"
    ... >
    ...
</provider>
```

* overriding screen orientation in portrait-only apps so that you can rotate it in debug builds which may be useful when looking for lifecycle related memory leaks

```xml
<activity
    android:name=".MyActivity"
    android:screenOrientation="${screenOrientation}" />
```

* using different deep links configuration

```xml
<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
    <data android:scheme="app" android:host="${deepLinkHost}" />
</intent-filter>
```

* removing `SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW` permission from React Native based release builds (this seems quite hacky though; you can find the original issue [here (link)](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/45170025/cant-use-manifest-placeholders-to-remove-a-permission))

```xml
<uses-permission android:name="${excludeDebugPermissionName}" tools:node="remove" />
```

```groovy
buildTypes {
    release {
        ...
        manifestPlaceholders.excludeDebugPermissionName = "android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW"
    }
    debug {
        ...
        manifestPlaceholders.excludeDebugPermissionName = "fake.name"
    }
}
```

But there are much more possibilities, e.g. I can think of an app that uses different launcher activities.

Do you have any interesting experiences using the placeholders? Feel free to share with me in the comments :-)

## Collaboration

*Published: 2018-01-18 | Author: ula | Tags: collaboration, success, team, cooperation*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/collaboration/index.md*

Not everyone is an extrovert, and for sure not every programmer is, but companies are created by teams, and it is the team that takes the greatest responsibility for running the company effectively. If team members do not collaborate, there is very little chance your business will succeed. 

The work of a programmer is not as predictable as many people may suppose. The fact that programmers work with machines does not mean that there is no place for relationships and collaboration. Yet working with other people is much more difficult than working with machines, especially if you have to work with people quite closely on everyday basis. 

There are plenty of dysfunctional teams with huge problems with sharing knowledge. And there are also plenty of programmers who have a great difficulty in sharing their code with others, which eventually may lead to a real disaster. It happens that programmers do not even want to show their code to someone else not to mention letting someone ”touch” it. But speaking bluntly it is not a behaviour acceptable in the environment where professionals work. In a successful software company it is the team who owns the code, not the individuals. Every team member is able to make appropriate changes to the code. Professional developers let others work on their code. They do not build walls around their code. They do not prevent others from learning from their code. Professional developers work with each other and learn from each other. 

And they often learn by pair programming, which is not only one of the most efficient ways to solve the problem in case of emergency, but also one of the best ways to review your code. By pairing developers share their knowledge and exchange positions. They collaborate in writing the code. They are not afraid of seeing each other's mistakes and feeling each other’s fear. They talk about the problems. They communicate. 

There are surely times while working alone is the right thing to do, especially when you have to think deeply about the problem or when the task is trivial enough to do it on your own. But always keep in mind that even if you work better alone, the whole team does not have to. 

It is good to be passionate about what we do, but it is also good to keep an eye on the goals of people who are around us. Cooperation and collaboration with colleagues, managers, sales people, business analysts, clients etc., is necessary to create a successful business and effective work environment. We should always think how the company we work for may benefit from what we do. Our job is to keep the business alive. And we should do it by working with other people, by working with each other, not by burying ourselves in the “tomb of technology.” Professionals do not do that.

## Comparison sorting part 1

*Published: 2018-01-17 | Author: grzesiek | Tags: sorting, algorithm, bubble, insertion, selection, gnome, cocktail*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/comparison-sorting-part-1/index.md*

Sorting data is one of the most important tasks that computers have been doing since they were invented. Over those years developers have found many ways of doing it. Some of these ways are quite fast, others involve  interesting methods and finally there are some which are practically useless, but still it is better to know more than to know less, so it’s better to learn them  in free time.

For this series of blog posts I will divide sorting algorithms by their complexity:

**Group 1:** which average case complexity is n^2, like bubble, insertion sort

**Group 2:** which average case complexity is nlog(n), but worst is n^2, like quick, library sort

**Group 3:** which worst-case complexity is nlog(n), like merge, heap sorts

Today I will show you a few examples from the first group. They are used mostly by beginners because they are the simplest ones. Unfortunately, there is a cost of their simplicity - long working time. N^2 complexity doesn’t sound bad when we talk about small data chunks like 100 elements - it’s just 10,000 operations. But when our program has to sort 1 million elements it takes 1 trillion of operations to do. Let’s move to real coding now. I’m going to use Kotlin, but it’s easy to translate every algorithm into other languages.


### 1) Bubble

A very simple algorithm, usually the first one that young programmer learns. Its idea is to compare each element with the next one and move bigger one to the right, which at the end of one loop finds the biggest element of an array. Then do it again and again excluding the elements that had been already found in the previous loops.

```kotlin
fun bubbleSort(array: IntArray) {
   var maxIndex = array.size-1
   for(i in 0..maxIndex) {
       for(j in 1..maxIndex) {
           if(array[j-1] > array[j]) {
               var temp = array[j-1]
               array[j-1] = array[j]
               array[j] = temp
           }
       }
       maxIndex--
   }
}
```


### 2) Insertion

Another basic algorithm. What it does is taking all elements one by one and putting them in the right place by comparing each  to every previously checked element.

```kotlin
fun insertionSort(array: IntArray) {
   val maxIndex = array.size-1
   var j: Int
   for(i in 1..maxIndex) {
       var temp = array[i]
       j = i - 1
       while(j >= 0 && array[j] > temp) {
           array[j+1] = array[j]
           j--
       }
       array[j+1] = temp
   }
}
```


### 3) Selection

As its name suggests it selects the smallest element of the collection and puts it in the beginning. It repeats without previously found elements until our collection is sorted.

```kotlin
fun selectionSort(array: IntArray) {
   val maxIndex = array.size-1
   var minimum: Int
   var indexOfMinimum: Int
   for(i in 0..maxIndex) {
       minimum = array[i]
       indexOfMinimum = i
       for(j in i+1..maxIndex) {
           if(array[j] < minimum) {
               minimum = array[j]
               indexOfMinimum = j
           }
       }
       if(i != indexOfMinimum) {
           var temp = array[i]
           array[i] = array[indexOfMinimum]
           array[indexOfMinimum] = temp
       }
   }
}
```


### 4) Gnome

It’s like combining insertion with bubble sort. We check every element in a single loop and swap it with the previous one as long as it’s not in the right place.

```kotlin
fun gnomeSort(array: IntArray) {
   val maxIndex = array.size-1
   var pos = 0
   while(pos < maxIndex) {
       if(pos == 0 || array[pos] >= array[pos-1]){
           pos++
       } else {
           var temp = array[pos]
           array[pos] = array[pos - 1]
           array[pos - 1] = temp
           pos--
       }
   }
}
```


### 5) Cocktail

It’s also called bidirectional bubble sort - going forward it compares elements looking for the the biggest one and going backward it seeks the smallest one.

```kotlin
fun cocktailSort(array: IntArray) {
   var maxIndex = array.size-1
   for(i in 0..maxIndex) {
       for(j in 1..maxIndex) {
           if(array[j-1] > array[j]) {
               var temp = array[j-1]
               array[j-1] = array[j]
               array[j] = temp
           }
       }
       for(g in maxIndex downTo 1) {
           if(array[g-1] > array[g]) {
               var temp = array[g-1]
               array[g-1] = array[g]
               array[g] = temp
           }
       }
       maxIndex--
   }
}
```


So, now when we’re done with the code, let’s look at the results.

**Sample #1:** 100 arrays of 1000 integer numbers:

```text
Avg of bubble sort: 1.59
Avg of insertion sort: 0.18
Avg of selection sort: 0.38
Avg of gnome sort: 1.08
Avg of cocktail sort: 1.65
```

**Sample #2:** 100 arrays of 10000 integer numbers:

```text
Avg of bubble sort: 156.39
Avg of insertion sort: 13.01
Avg of selection sort: 30.25
Avg of gnome sort: 104.22
Avg of cocktail sort: 169.53
```

Increasing the amount of data 10 times has caused these time multiplications: 

```text
Bubble: ~98 times longer
Insertion: ~72 times longer
Selection: ~79 times longer
Gnome: ~97 times longer
Cocktail: ~103 times longer
```


As we can see for all algorithms increasing the amount of data 10 times has caused time to increase around 100 times, which confirms that their complexity is n^2. Insertion and selection sorts are a little bit better, but it’s still n^2, so we should use it as a last resort.


That’s all for this part. Soon I will prepare the comparison of algorithms from group 2.


**PS.** This post has assured me of one thing - Internet lies. Most sources say that comb sort average- and worst-case complexity is n^2, but my tests prove different. After a long research I have even found a book which says about nlog(n) complexity. You could read more about that soon.

## Use ShouldKO for better assertion messages

*Published: 2018-01-16 | Author: piotr | Tags: junit, hamcreset, kotlin, assertion, tests*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/shouldko-for-better-assertion-messages/index.md*

Most of us write tests these days. Whether they are unit, integration, end-to-end or performance tests once written we often do not go back to them until they fail. It is thus vital to have a clear assertion message when a test fails.

![Search](../../static/images/shouldko-1/search.jpg "Search Functionality")

## Hamcrest

I think [Hamcrest](http://hamcrest.org/) is the most popular assertion library available in Java and Kotlin ecosystem. Let us look at an oversimplified example of [`Money`](https://martinfowler.com/bliki/ValueObject.html) class:

```kotlin
import java.math.BigDecimal
import java.util.*

data class Money(val amount: BigDecimal, val currency: Currency) {
    operator fun plus(other: Money): Money {
        if (currency != other.currency) {
            throw IllegalArgumentException("Cannot add $this to $other. Currencies must match.")
        }

        // an accidentally introduced bug 😈
        val newAmount = amount + other.amount + 10.0.toBigDecimal()
        return copy(amount = newAmount)
    }
}
```

Imagine we write a test for the [`plus`](https://kotlinlang.org/docs/reference/operator-overloading.html) operator using [JUnit](http://junit.org/junit5/) and [Hamcrest](http://hamcrest.org/):

```kotlin
class MoneyTests {
    val usd = Currency.getInstance("USD")

    @Test
    fun can_add() {
        val usd100 = Money(100.toBigDecimal(), usd)
        val usd50 = Money(50.toBigDecimal(), usd)

        assertThat((usd100 + usd50).amount, equalTo(150.toBigDecimal()))
    }
}
```

The test will fail with the following message:

```text
java.lang.AssertionError: 
Expected: <150>
     but: was <160>
```

Let's see how we can improve on that.

## ShouldKO: better assertion messages for Kotlin

[ShouldKO](https://github.com/miensol/shouldko) is a simple library I've come up with that improves the assertion messages. Its idea is based on assertion libraries available in .NET e.g. [Shouldly](https://github.com/shouldly/shouldly). Let us see how the tests looks like using [ShouldKO](https://github.com/miensol/shouldko):

```kotlin
class MoneyTests {
    val usd = Currency.getInstance("USD")

    @Test
    fun can_add() {
        val usd100 = Money(100.toBigDecimal(), usd)
        val usd50 = Money(50.toBigDecimal(), usd)

        (usd100 + usd50).amount.shouldEqual(150.toBigDecimal())
    }
}
```

In my opinion [ShouldKO's](https://github.com/miensol/shouldko) assertion syntax improves readability. However, this is not where [ShouldKO](https://github.com/miensol/shouldko) main improvement is. Follow the improved assertion message:

```text
java.lang.AssertionError: (usd100 + usd50).amount 
Expected: <150>
     but: was <160>
```

[ShouldKO](https://github.com/miensol/shouldko) incorporates a source code line with the assertion into the assertion message itself. This comes really handy when we have multiple lines with assertions that form one logical condition. This is a small thing, but can greatly improve debugging test issues especially when all we have is a log file produced by a test run.

### Installation of ShouldKO

[ShouldKO](https://github.com/miensol/shouldko) is currently available on [Jitpack](https://jitpack.io/). You need to first add Jitpack to your repositories:

```groovy
repositories {
    maven { url 'https://jitpack.io' }
    mavenCentral()
}
```

And include the library in your tests e.g.:

```groovy
testImplementation 'com.github.miensol.shouldko:hamcrest:v0.1.0'
```

[ShouldKO's](https://github.com/miensol/shouldko) Hamcrest library allows for using any Hamcrest matcher.

## My motives for MVVM + FlowControllers path

*Published: 2018-01-11 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS, Swift*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mvvm-flowcontrollers/index.md*

There are many different approaches to building an iOS application. MVC (Model View Controller), MVP (Model View Presenter), MVVM (Model View ViewModel), VIPER (View Interactor Presenter Entity Routing), Redux... And surely, you can name many others. I've been writing iOS apps for some time now, and I have noticed that MVVM + FlowControllers approach works pretty well for me.
In this post I'd like to focus on "Why?" I use it over other approaches and "How?" I use it in my apps.

# Why?  

## The beginning
Starting iOS development is usually connected with learning basic patterns that you can use to solve problems that you will run into while struggling to create your first screens in the app. Most probably the first pattern that will take care of your views and logic behind them will be MVC, which is very popular among iOS developers (but not only them). This is mostly caused by the fact that Apple highly promotes this pattern across the `UIKit` framework and code examples that you can find in their tutorials.

## Is MVC bad?
Yes! It's the worst of all! It causes Massive ViewControllers to appear over your app... Jokes aside...  

No, it's not. I was really glad when I've recently read post ["Much ado about iOS app architecture" ](http://aplus.rs/2017/much-ado-about-ios-app-architecture/). I cannot say that I fully agree with everything that is said there, but there are parts that I can surely identify with. Why was I glad to read this? Because of this sentence:  

"No one is forcing you to implement multiple DataSources in one Controller. To initiate network calls in viewDidLoad. To parse JSONs in UIViewController. To hard-wire Views with Singleton instances."  

Many developers blame MVC for its horrible mess and chaos which in fact is created by developers themselves. If you lack discipline, then even VIPER will not help you. Certain patterns may make it easier to structure the code properly and keep it clean, but it's always up to you whether you keep the discipline or not.

Should I use MVC if it is not that bad in the end? If I was a skilled consultant I should probably say "it depends". MVC obviously has its own pros and cons and I bet you can find many great articles that will help you to make up your mind.

## Why MVVM?  
If MVC is not that bad, then what are my motives for following the MVVM path? Just to name a few of them:  
- It allows me to move a big portion of my code far away from `UIKit` ([Which gives an ability to test this code faster - as macOS frameworks ](/blog/are-your-views-dumb-enough/)).  
- It allows me to test the logic that drives my views easier.  
- It works really well with reactive programming approaches (but you don't need to use them to benefit from MVVM)  

So now, after adopting the principles of MVVM pattern, I'm able to have my passive views (as dumb as possible) and my logic that drives my views which is also separated from the UIKit.  

Why not going any further with the division approach that patterns like VIPER target really well? Well... you can do that. I've never used VIPER in a big project before (I'd be glad to hear your opinion on this!), however, I'd say that this kind of patterns could be an easy overkill for a small/medium sized apps.  
I feel that MVVM works really well if you want to keep your solutions easy to understand while having an ability to easily test your code and have a nice separation from UIKit-dependant parts of your code.

## FlowControllers  
What are the motives for using them?  
It is not something unusual when inside ViewController "A" you find code that is responsible for transition to screen "B". A problem with this approach is that out of a sudden you create a tight coupling between these two entities and you might find yourself in trouble if you want to split or reuse them in other contexts.  
Well... It's always good to ask a question - Is it a problem? If you're working on something simple then using this kind of navigation may be completely fine, however, if you're up to something more complicated - adding a flowController will surely help. Keep in mind that adding a flowController is not a high cost task - I tend to use them even in simple apps as they help me to organize my code better and give me a good look on how navigation in my app works. Adding a flowController to your app will help you with:  
- Keeping your screens separated from each other, which will allow you to modularise and reuse them easily.  
- Controlling flow in parts of your app (You will probably have many different flowControllers)  
- Dependency injection place for your `ViewModels`

## The discipline

A pure fact that you start using MVVM and `FlowControllers` will not instantly make your code base clean. Guess what? You can still end up with `Massive ViewModels`! It's up to you whether you keep yourself tight and organize your code well.



# How?  


## MVVM
Ok, so how do I use MVVM? How do I keep my `ViewModels` clean? How do I use `FlowControllers`? Jump on board and let's see a quick example that will allow us to see the concept in use.  
I have to admit that while I was taking my first step into iOS development, I considered `ViewModel` to be an object that holds values which would be displayed by a view. At that point I did not see that much value in using `ViewModels`. What changed my point of view was the approach that you can read about on [Microsoft patterns and practices](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh848246.aspx). The core information for me was the fact that the `View` layer in Microsoft's approach was represented as XAML (quote: "with a limited code-behind that does not contain business logic"). Ok... So does it mean that `ViewModel` is not only about holding values represented by our views? Can it also contain logic that drives these views? YES! Following this approach on iOS, it encourages you to keep your view layer simple (which in case of MVVM would be both `UIView` and `UIViewController`) and move the logic to `ViewModel`. This is the first step that allows us to reach better testability and move our code far away from `UIKit`.

Let's go step by step through a quick example of a MVVM pattern used together with `FlowController`. 

Let's start with `AppDelegate`. What do we have here?

```swift
   class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {

    var window: UIWindow?
    var mainNavigationController: UINavigationController!
    var mainFlowController: MainFlowController!
    
    func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplicationLaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
        
        mainNavigationController = UINavigationController()
        
        window = UIWindow(frame: UIScreen.main.bounds)
        window?.rootViewController = mainNavigationController
        window?.makeKeyAndVisible()
        
        mainFlowController = MainFlowController(rootNavigationController: mainNavigationController)
        mainFlowController.startFlow()
        
        return true
    }

}
```

The first thing that is important is that I create my `MainFlowController` which will be responsible for controlling my application flow. The only dependency that I pass here is my main navigation controller that is the root controller of my main window. I've also seen different approaches that pass `UIWindow` to a flowController directly, however, if you do not need it, then I would prefer to have this "lighter" object which has a more defined responsibility.

What about the `MainFlowController` itself? 

```swift
class MainFlowController {
    
    private let rootNavigationController: UINavigationController
    
    private lazy var entryViewModel: EntryViewModel = {
        let fetcher = FakeUserFetcher()
        let viewModel = EntryDefaultViewModel(userFetcher: fetcher)
        viewModel.onUserNameSelected = self.onUserNameSelected
        return viewModel
    }()
    private lazy var entryViewController = EntryViewController(viewModel: entryViewModel)
    
    init(rootNavigationController: UINavigationController) {
        self.rootNavigationController = rootNavigationController
    }
    
    func startFlow() {
        rootNavigationController.pushViewController(entryViewController, animated: true)
    }
    
    func onUserNameSelected(userName: String) {
        print("name: \(userName)");
        // Show next screen using selected user name
    }
    
}
```

The core element of this `FlowController` is surely the `startFlow` method, which in this case pushes a new `ViewController` to our navigation stack. This `ViewController` is created with a `ViewModel` as a parameter. The `viewModel` will be very important for us in a while, however, from the `FlowController's` point of view, we're especially interested in `onUserNameSelected` closure. This is the output of the `ViewModel` that our `FlowController` could be potentially interested in. For example, after selecting a user name we could open the next screen that allows us to select a birthday, surname, favourite pet or simply displays the name in a fancy way. Your `FlowController` allows you to control the flow of your application and makes the `ViewModel` unaware of the context that it's used in. `ViewModel` has its job to do and after it's done our `FlowController` will be notified about it. 

The ViewController

```swift
class EntryViewController: UIViewController {

    private let viewModel: EntryViewModel
    
    private lazy var fetchUserButton: UIButton = {        
        let button = UIButton()
        button.addTarget(self, action: #selector(onFetchUserButtonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        // ...setup button
        return button
    }()
    
    private lazy var selectUserButton: UIButton = {
        let button = UIButton()
        button.addTarget(self, action: #selector(onSelectUserButtonTapped), for: .touchUpInside)
        // ...setup button
        return button
    }()

    private let currentUserLabel = UILabel()
    
    init(viewModel: EntryViewModel) {
        self.viewModel = viewModel
        super.init(nibName: nil, bundle: nil) // Layout created programamtically, sorry for that ;(
    }
    
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }
    
    override func loadView() {
        super.loadView()
        setupView()
        setupObservers()
    }
    
    private func setupObservers() {
        currentUserLabel.reactive.text <~ self.viewModel.userName // bind viewModels output to your UI
    }
    
    @objc func onFetchUserButtonTapped() {
        viewModel.fetchUser()
    }
    
    @objc func onSelectUserButtonTapped() {
        viewModel.selectUser()
    }

    private func setupView() {
        // setup constraints etc
    }
    
}
```

In my case, `ViewController` is a part of `View` layer in MVVM. What happens here is: 
- Binding `ViewModel's` output to UI components
- Invoke methods from `ViewModel`
- If needed, passing lifecycle methods to `ViewModel`
- Layout setup

And last but not least - The ViewModel

```swift
protocol EntryViewModel {
    func fetchUser()    
    func selectUser()
    
    var onUserNameSelected: ((String)->Void)? {get set} // If you're using Reactive frameworks, you can also implement this as a stream
    // var onNextSelected: (()->Void)? // Other callbacks could exist here, they do not need to pass data

    var userName: Property<String?> {get} // ReadOnly property that allows others to observe its changes, but not change the property from outside of viewModel
}

class EntryDefaultViewModel: EntryViewModel {
    
    private let userFetcher: UserFetcher
    private var mutableUserName: MutableProperty<String?> = MutableProperty(nil)
    lazy var userName: Property<String?> = Property(self.mutableUserName)
    weak var onUserNameSelected: ((String)->Void)?
    
    // injecting dependencies to your viewModel 
    init(userFetcher: UserFetcher) {
        self.userFetcher = userFetcher
    }
    
    func selectUser() {
        if let userName = userName.value {
            onUserNameSelected?(userName)
        }
    }
    
    func fetchUser() {        
        // Bind the result of fetchUser() function to a mutableUserName property
        mutableUserName <~ userFetcher.fetchUser().map { $0.name }
    }
    
}
```

The `ViewModel's` part is the actual beating heart for our `View` layer. It will allow the `View` to observe changes in properties it exposes. It will also contain logic for various behaviours. Keep in mind that you do not need to keep the entire logic inside the `ViewModel`, you can easily extract it and add it as dependency - this is what happens with `userFetcher`. This allows us to keep our `ViewModels` cleaner and easily testable as we can mock our dependencies.


# Summary
Following the way of MVVM + FlowControllers has helped me a lot in separating/organising my code and making in more testable. If I had to pinpoint three benefits of using this approach that are most valuable for me, then it would be:  
- `ViewControllers` that can be easily reused in different scenarios  
- Comfortable testing of `ViewModels` that contain your logic and are not coupled with `UIKit`  
- Application modules that have their navigation defined in one place

If you have never used a similar approach to your apps, then I'd fully encourage you to try it!

Would you like to learn more about this topic? Check these out:  
[Improve your iOS Architecture with FlowControllers](http://merowing.info/2016/01/improve-your-ios-architecture-with-flowcontrollers/)  
[Swift By Sundell - "Boy, I have a lot of thoughts on this", with special guest Soroush Khanlou](https://www.swiftbysundell.com/podcast/10)  
[Coordinators – Soroush Khanlou](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1g3k3NObkE)




*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## Multi tenancy task scheduler

*Published: 2018-01-03 | Author: piotr | Tags: spring, mvc, spring-boot, multi-tenant, reactive, reactor*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/multi-tenancy-task-scheduler/index.md*

Last time I showed [how to extend Spring default request handler adapter](/blog/spring-mvc-multi-tenacy/) so that we are able to schedule or reject incoming requests. The goal of the `TenantTaskCoordinator` is to:

* queue requests for processing 
* limit the maximum number of concurrently processed requests
* reject requests after the maximum queue size is reached
* interrupt processing of a request upon an upstream subscription disposal

<div className="image">![tea](../../static/images/tea.png "undefined")</div>

## Tenant task coordinator execute method

Our entry point into `TenantTaskCoordinator` is a single method `fun <T : Any> execute(job: Callable<T>): Mono<T>`:

```kotlin
    fun <T : Any> execute(job: Callable<T>): Mono<T> {
        return Mono.create({ outsideSink ->
            val _workInProgressWasDecremented = AtomicBoolean(false)
            fun decrementOnce() {
                if (_workInProgressWasDecremented.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
                    currentWorkInProgressCounter.decrementAndGet()
                }
            }

            val workInProgress = currentWorkInProgressCounter.incrementAndGet()
            if (workInProgress > maximumWorkInProgress) {
                outsideSink.error(TooManyTasks("Work in progress $workInProgress exceeds $maximumWorkInProgress jobs in $name"))
                decrementOnce()
            } else {
                val singleJob = Mono.fromCallable(job).doAfterTerminate {
                    decrementOnce()
                }

                val delayedTask = Task(name, singleJob as Mono<Any>, outsideSink as MonoSink<Any>)

                outsideSink.onCancel {
                    delayedTask.outsideCancel()
                    decrementOnce()
                }
                
                taskSink.next(delayedTask)
            }
        })
    }
```

The first step is to return `Mono<T>` which is simply done with [`Mono.create`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/Mono.html#create-java.util.function.Consumer-). The `sink` we get passed is used to control the outcome observed from outside. It also allows for registering an [`onCancel`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/MonoSink.html#onCancel-reactor.core.Disposable-) callback invoked when the upstream cancels its subscription. 

The `_workInProgressWasDecremented` is used to guard and decrement the `currentWorkInProgressCounter` in a thread safe fashion. We first check whether we have immediately exceeded the maximum number of queued jobs. If the threshold is reached, we notify the observer about the error with [`outsideSink.error`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/MonoSink.html#error-java.lang.Throwable-). 

If we have enough capacity to a perform `job`, we convert it to a reactive world with [`Mono.fromCallable`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/Mono.html#fromCallable-java.util.concurrent.Callable-) and attach a [`doAfterTerminate`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/Mono.html#doAfterTerminate-java.lang.Runnable-) callback that decrements the work in progress counter. The `Task` class links `singleJob` and `outsideSink` so that they are both accessible while processing. Finally, we schedule the `task` through `taskSink.next(delayedTask)`.

## Task coordinator state

Let's have a look at the task coordinator state variables and how they are initialized:

```kotlin
class TenantTaskCoordinator(private val scheduler: Scheduler,
                            val maximumConcurrency: Int = 1,
                            val maximumQueueSize: Int = 50,
                            val name: String = "") : AutoCloseable {

    private val maximumWorkInProgress = maximumQueueSize + maximumConcurrency

    private val maxBufferSize = maximumWorkInProgress * 2

    val currentWorkInProgressCounter = AtomicInteger()

    private lateinit var taskSink: FluxSink<Task>

    private val taskSource = Flux.create<Task>({ taskSink = it }, FluxSink.OverflowStrategy.BUFFER)

    private val processSinkOnErrorResume = processSinkWithLimitedConcurrency()
        .onErrorResume { error: Throwable? ->
            LOG.warn("name={} Error processing sink with limited concurrency", name, error)
            processSinkWithLimitedConcurrency()
        }
```

The first interesting part is how we setup `taskSink` by using [`Flux.create`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/Flux.html#create-java.util.function.Consumer-reactor.core.publisher.FluxSink.OverflowStrategy-). For clarity, we explicitly pass `FluxSink.OverflowStrategy.BUFFER` so that tasks are buffered in case they outpace the processor. The `name` is used to get better log messages. Finally, we call `processSinkWithLimitedConcurrency` to start task processing using the given `scheduler`. Interestingly the `onErrorResume` restarts the processing in case we have a bug.

## Task coordinator concurrent processing

The most important and tricky to figure out part is to correctly process jobs. It took me several back and forth steps until I got the order of reactive API calls right. 

```kotlin
    private fun processSinkWithLimitedConcurrency(): Flux<Any> {
        return taskSource
            .filter { !it.isCancelled }
            .flatMap({ task ->
                task.work
                    .doOnError(task::onError)
                    .doOnSuccess(task::onSuccess)
                    .subscribeOn(scheduler)
                    .timeout(task.outsideTimeout)
                    .onErrorReturn(task)
            }, maximumConcurrency, maxBufferSize)
    }
```

First, we filter out tasks that are already cancelled. Then, we use [`flatMap`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/Flux.html#flatMap-java.util.function.Function-int-int-) overload to process tasks with given maximum concurrency. The `flatMap` callback delegates most of the work to the mentioned `Task` instance. The `onErrorReturn` effectively suppresses any errors that might occur during `task` execution. Let's see how the inner `Task` class looks like:

```kotlin
private data class Task(val name: String,
                            private val job: Mono<Any>,
                            val outsideSink: MonoSink<Any>,
                            @field:Volatile var isCancelled: Boolean = false) {

        val work: Mono<Any> get() = if (isCancelled) Mono.empty() else job

        lateinit var outsideTimeoutSink: MonoSink<Task>
        val outsideTimeout = Mono.create<Task> { outsideTimeoutSink = it }

        fun outsideCancel() {
            isCancelled = true
            outsideTimeoutSink.success(this)
        }

        fun onSuccess(result: Any?) {
            outsideSink.success(result)
        }
        
        fun onError(error: Throwable) {
            LOG.warn("Task.onError {}", this, error)
            outsideSink.error(error)
        }
    }
```

The `job` argument is the `Callable` passed to the `execute` method. The `outsideTimeout` signals when the `task` instance subscription is cancelled. The signal is propagated inside `processSinkWithLimitedConcurrency` with a [`Mono.timeout`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/Mono.html#timeout-org.reactivestreams.Publisher-) call and breaks the `task` processing. Last but not least the `onSuccess` and `onError` simply push the result or error to the `outsideSink` effectively notifying the observer of the result. 

The [`TenantTaskCoordinator`](https://gist.github.com/miensol/1e2b203a128cdc428f3b0c598e515bd6) was not simple to figure out given the requirements mentioned at the begging of the post. I'm pleased with the final result although I must say it was not intuitive to figure out how to combine all the nuts and bolts of [Reactor](https://projectreactor.io/) library to achieve the desired outcome.

## Testing Android ViewModels

*Published: 2018-01-02 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, kotlin, viewmodel, mvvm, unit tests*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/testing-android-viewmodels/index.md*

In my [previous post](/blog/injectable-android-viewmodels/) I described how to implement injectable Android view models using Dagger and [ViewModel](https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/viewmodel.html) library from [Android Architecture Components](https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/.html). In this post I will show a simple way to unit test the view model created then. You can find the full code in the same repository as previously [on GitHub](https://github.com/azabost/simple-mvvm-example/tree/7b051fd7a16853e3d9655767a887d9a830133d2d).

## The structure

![Structure](../../static/images/structure2.png)

The `MainViewModel` view model exposes three [RxJava](https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxJava) `Observable`s which Activity (`MainActivity`) subscribes to in order to receive notifications, e.g. to display an error message. There is also the `getRepo` function that triggers fetching some data from the GitHub API and the `data` variable that stores the fetched data.

The mentioned members are divided into three interfaces implemented by the view model but it's mainly for the clarity of the example (you can easily tell which members are used by the Activity and the Fragments).

The only view model's dependency (provided by Dagger) is `GitHubClient` which has a method for fetching some data.

It's also worth noting that the Activity and the Fragments use the same instance of `MainViewModel`. That's why it can both fetch the data when `LoadingFragment` requests it, tell `MainActivity` to show an error if anything goes wrong and work as a data store for `DataFragment`. In order to achieve this type of sharing the view model instance between the Activity and the Fragments, they must request the view model by passing the Activity reference while getting it:

`ViewModelProviders.of(activity, vmFactory).get(...)`

![Stethoscope](../../static/images/testing-android-viewmodels/stethoscope.jpg)

## Testing

### Prepare dependencies

Normally `MainViewModel` uses a `GitHubClient` implementation that calls the GitHub API using [Retrofit](https://github.com/square/retrofit) HTTP client. In tests you would probably prefer to either mock the server (e.g. with [MockWebServer](https://github.com/square/okhttp/tree/master/mockwebserver)) or just the `GitHubClient` implementation so that it won't make the calls at all. In this example I'm going to use the latter approach (but testing the calls to a mocked server is also a good idea and you can do it separately).

### Mock API client

The mocked implementation of the `GitHubClient` is very simple. Its constructor accepts a response it should return, an optional error it should throw instead of the response and a scheduler so that we can control the exact moment the data/error is returned. The error and the response are mutable properties so we can adjust them just before calling `getRepo` method.

```kotlin
import com.azabost.simplemvvm.net.response.RepoResponse
import io.reactivex.Observable
import io.reactivex.Scheduler

class MockGitHubClient(
        val scheduler: Scheduler,
        var repoResponse: RepoResponse = RepoResponse(1),
        var error: Throwable? = null
) : GitHubClient {

    override fun getRepo(owner: String, repo: String): Observable<RepoResponse> {
        val response = error?.let { return Observable.error(it) } ?: Observable.just(repoResponse)
        return response.subscribeOn(scheduler).observeOn(scheduler)
    }
}
```

*Note: it can also be implemented using Mockito - you can find the updated version on GitHub.*

### Setting things up

I put all the `MainViewModel` tests in the `MainViewModelTests` class. It has a few properties:

* `MainViewModel`
* `TestObserver`s for every `Observable` exposed by `MainViewModel`
* `MockGitHubClient`
* `TestScheduler` that is passed to `MockGitHubClient`

They are initialized in the `setup` method.

`TestObserver`s record events passed by `Observable`s and they allow to make assertions about them e.g. if a value has been emitted and what it was exactly.

`TestScheduler` controls the time when `MockGitHubClient` emits responses so that we can defer it and test what happens before the subscription completes (e.g. the progress animation should be still visible).

```kotlin
class MainViewModelTests {
    lateinit var vm: MainViewModel
    lateinit var gitHubClient: MockGitHubClient
    lateinit var testScheduler: TestScheduler
    lateinit var progressObserver: TestObserver<Boolean>
    lateinit var errorObserver: TestObserver<Int>
    lateinit var showDataObserver: TestObserver<Unit>

    @Before
    fun setup() {
        testScheduler = TestScheduler()
        gitHubClient = MockGitHubClient(testScheduler)
        vm = MainViewModel(gitHubClient)
        setupObservers(vm)
    }

    fun setupObservers(vm: MainViewModel) {
        progressObserver = TestObserver.create()
        vm.progress.subscribe(progressObserver)
        errorObserver = TestObserver.create()
        vm.errors.subscribe(errorObserver)
        showDataObserver = TestObserver.create()
        vm.showData.subscribe(showDataObserver)
    }
```

## Writing some tests

Below you can find three simple examples.

### Example 1

Test if positive response from the API triggers `showData` `Observable` and stores the data for later usage in the `data` variable.

```kotlin
@Test
fun getRepoShouldShowData() {
    val data = RepoResponse(12345)
    gitHubClient.repoResponse = data

    vm.getRepo("any", "thing")
    testScheduler.triggerActions()

    showDataObserver.assertValueCount(1)
    vm.data.shouldEqual(data)
}
```

*Note: the `shouldEqual` method comes from [ShouldKO](https://github.com/miensol/shouldko) which I really recommend but you can use any assertions you like.*

### Example 2

Test if HTTP exception triggers `error` `Observable` with the HTTP-specific error message.

```kotlin
@Test
fun getRepoErrorShouldShowHttpError() {
    gitHubClient.error = HttpErrors.getHttpException(404)

    vm.getRepo("any", "thing")
    errorObserver.assertValue(HttpErrors.DEFAULT_HTTP_ERROR_MESSAGE)
}
```

### Example 3

Test if calling `getRepo` triggers `progress` `Observable` twice so that it should tell the view to show the loader and then to hide it.

```kotlin
@Test
fun getRepoShouldShowProgress() {
    vm.getRepo("any", "thing")
    progressObserver.assertValue(true)

    testScheduler.triggerActions()
    progressObserver.assertValueSequence(listOf(true, false))
}
```

## Conclusion

As you can see, using `ViewModel`s and RxJava `Observable`s gives a very simple way to write unit tests for your code. I believe this great possibility will also encourage you to extract the business logic from the Android application components like Activities so that it can be tested without using instrumented tests or mocking the platform (e.g. with Robolectric).

## Tabs - navigation pattern on Android

*Published: 2018-01-02 | Author: radek | Tags: android, tabs, tablayout, layout, user interface, customization*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/tabs-navigation-pattern/index.md*

Proper content organisation in your Android application may be achieved with a wide range of layouts and widgets. Today I'd like to focus on tabs that is what kind of components are dedicated to using tabs in an application, what are the key principles in using them and how to customize their view.   
![Folder Tabs Img](../../static/images/radek/folder_tabs.jpg "")

## Basic concept
Tabs are the pattern common and simple, it exceeds mobile or web apps design. To avoid overusing it though we need some clarification about its usage.   

**What is it for?**   
The key feature is to make a user aware of alternate views and give the ability to frequent switching between them. It may help to organize data sets (music > rock, pop, jazz, swing) or views with similar aspect (music > all, recent, recommended).   

**What is it NOT for?**   
Apps with a deep navigation structure or apps with a single core functionality. It might not be easy to classify the application like that, but it won't fit in most cases.

If we start to design a tab layout, first let's define some principles that we will follow. It might be important to say it before starting the implementation and keep it in mind.   

> Each tab should be equally important

Sometimes it might be a little confusing, but try to bring it to the basics. There's a little example:   
Good usage: Horrors, Comedies, Thrillers, Drama   
Bad usage: Blog, Store, Contact Us, About   

> Follow layout principles

Even if we are going to customize our view, there are some points that we'll never break. I know you might disagree with some, but in my opinion, these are what keeps the layout clear and understandable for the user. First of all, present tabs as a single row, either horizontal or vertical. Secondly, always highlight a selected tab, so the users know where they are in the app. Thirdly, do not nest the tabs. Fourthly, adjust a tab name or view to its content, so to the photos section lead tab with a name "photos", not e.g. "recording".   

> Keep consistent design of the tabs

It may be problematic in two cases. The one is the size of the tab, which should be similar to each one. You should be avoiding long descriptions in the tab because it is easier to adjust a size of one-word tabs to each other. The second one is if you decide to use something more than text tabs, like with images, for example, you should keep the pattern for each one and do not combine image tabs with text tabs. It brings unnecessary mess.

The concept above should be pretty general and mostly applies not only to Android apps. From now on let's write some code! And this is going to be very Android-specific!

## Default usage
First, for using `android.support.design.widget.TabLayout` add design support dependency to `build.gradle`:   

```text
compile 'com.android.support:design:__NEWEST_VERSION_HERE__'
```

Then we can define TabLayout into layout XML. The very basic usage of TabLayout is to use it as any other view container:   

```xml
<android.support.design.widget.TabLayout
        android:id="@+id/myTabLayout"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_width="match_parent">

        <android.support.design.widget.TabItem
            android:text="DOGS"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content" />

        <android.support.design.widget.TabItem
            android:text="CATS"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content" />

    </android.support.design.widget.TabLayout>
```

Mind that only TabItem instances can be added to TabLayout.

Then, to take some actions when the tab is selected, we have to add a listener to out tab layout:

```kotlin
myTabLayout.addOnTabSelectedListener( object : TabLayout.OnTabSelectedListener{
            override fun onTabReselected(tab: TabLayout.Tab?) {}

            override fun onTabUnselected(tab: TabLayout.Tab?){}

            override fun onTabSelected(tab: TabLayout.Tab?) {
                Toast.makeText(applicationContext,tab!!.text,Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
            }

        })
```

in `onTabSelected` method we have an access to the selected tab and all its view elements, like e.g. text. Very useful is especially a `position` field, which can be used as an index to a different container or as a reference to another view.

#### Adding tabs programmatically

To add tabs programmatically instead of defining it into xml simply use `addTab()` method. To add tab with single text simply define it like that:

```kotlin
val tab = myTabLayout.newTab()
tab.text = "DOGS"
myTabLayout.addTab(tab)
```

#### Custom Tab view

The fun part is to finally add some more interesting view of our tabs instead of using only text. Let's combine the text with some nice images! Like this:

![single tab](../../static/images/radek/tab.png "")

Define a round background for our image under `res/drawable`:

```xml
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:shape="oval">
    <solid android:color="#ffffff" />
    <size
        android:width="48dp"
        android:height="48dp" />
</shape>
```

Then `custom_tab.xml` under `res/layout`

```xml
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:background="#888"
    android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
    android:layout_marginStart="10dp"
    android:gravity="center">

    <ImageView
        android:padding="15dp"
        android:id="@+id/tabImage"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:scaleType="centerInside"
        android:background="@drawable/white_circle" />

    <TextView
        android:paddingTop="5dp"
        android:id="@+id/tabText"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:textColor="#000"
        android:textSize="12sp" />

</LinearLayout>
```

Under `drawable` again add some images you want to use for your tabs. Let's say they are `dog.png` and `cat.png`. Now adding a neat tab with your custom layout will be as easy as last time.

```kotlin
val tab = LayoutInflater.from(applicationContext).inflate(R.layout.custom_tab, null)
tab.tabImage.setImageResource(R.drawable.dog)
tab.tabText.text = "DOG"
myTabLayout.addTab(myTabLayout.newTab().setCustomView(tab))
```

## Little fancy customization

In the end, I'd like to share with you my concept of a TabLayout view, feel free to take some inspiration. Here's how it's going to look like:

![Sliding Layout GIF](../../static/images/radek/tablayout.gif "")

To achieve that we'll need to override some TabLayout functionality! This is what we are going to start with:

```kotlin
class SlideLayout @JvmOverloads constructor(
        context: Context,
        attrs: AttributeSet? = null,
        defStyleAttr: Int = 0) : TabLayout(context, attrs, defStyleAttr) {

      init {
        addOnTabSelectedListener(object : TabLayout.OnTabSelectedListener {

            override fun onTabSelected(tab: TabLayout.Tab) {
                tab.customView?.tabText?.setTypeface(null, Typeface.BOLD)
            }

            override fun onTabUnselected(tab: TabLayout.Tab) {
                tab.customView?.tabText?.setTypeface(null, Typeface.NORMAL)
            }

            override fun onTabReselected(tab: TabLayout.Tab) = Unit

        })
    }

}
```

The simplest change is to make the tab's text bold when it is selected. We need `addOnTabSelectedListener` where we can implement the tab's behavior on selection. Then just apply a `typeface` as above! In XML definition remove highlight with the following attribute:

```xml
<com.bob.tabs.SlideLayout
    ...
    app:tabIndicatorHeight="0dp"
```

First step done.

#### Center tabs

Next thing we will do is to display tabs with a selected tab in the center. Add this attribute to XML definition:

```xml
<com.bob.tabs.SlideLayout
    ...
    app:tabMode="scrollable"
```

It will allow tabs to get over the screen. In consequence, selecting different tabs will scroll the whole layout and display selected one in the center if the rest of the tabs fill the remaining part of the screen. That means a few first and a few last tabs won't be centralized but aligned with the edge of the parent view. But! We can change it! In `onLayout` method let's do some math. We will add padding to the first and the last tab, so it is always in the center, and that's how we could calculate it:

```kotlin
override fun onLayout(changed: Boolean, l: Int, t: Int, r: Int, b: Int) {
    super.onLayout(changed, l, t, r, b)

    val lastTabIndex = getTabContainer()?.childCount?.minus(1) ?: 0
    val firstTab = getTabView(0)
    val lastTab = getTabView(lastTabIndex)

    if (firstTab != null && lastTab != null) {
        val paddingLeft = width / 2 - firstTab.width / 2
        val paddingRight: Int = width / 2 - lastTab.width / 2

        ViewCompat.setPaddingRelative(getTabContainer(), paddingLeft, 0, paddingRight, 0)
    }
}

```

And these are some helper methods:

```kotlin
private fun getTabContainer(): ViewGroup? = getChildAt(0) as? ViewGroup
private fun getTabView(position: Int): View? = getTabContainer()?.getChildAt(position)
```



#### Resizing

Now the last feature! Let's make our tabs resize when they away from the center, so we could get the impression they are on the carousel. Define some zoom multiplicators and help array:

```kotlin
private val MAX_ZOOM = 1.0f
private val MIN_ZOOM = 0.6f
private var screenPos = IntArray(2)
```

Then do some math once again! This time we need to override `onDraw` method:

```kotlin
override fun onDraw(canvas: Canvas) {

        getTabContainer()?.let {
            for (i in 0 until it.childCount) {
                getTabView(i)?.let {

                    it.getLocationOnScreen(screenPos)
                    val pos = screenPos[0]
                    val width = it.width

                    val scale: Float
                    val tabCenter = pos + width / 2

                    if (tabCenter <= 0 || getWidth() <= tabCenter) {
                        scale = MIN_ZOOM
                    } else {
                        val sliderCenter = (getWidth() / 2).toFloat()
                        val distance = Math.abs(sliderCenter - tabCenter)
                        scale = MAX_ZOOM - (MAX_ZOOM - MIN_ZOOM) * distance / sliderCenter
                    }

                    /* View draw start in left top corner */
                    it.pivotY = 0f

                    it.scaleX = scale
                    it.scaleY = scale

                }
            }
        }

        super.onDraw(canvas)
    }
```

While calculating how much to scale the tab, we need to define how far away (`distance`) is our tab from the center (`sliderCenter`). Base on that we choose, scale a multiplicator between `MIN_ZOOM` and `MAX_ZOOM`.



That's it, your sliding tabs are ready to use!

![Slide Penguin GIF](../../static/images/radek/sliding_penguin.gif "")



The full code you can find on [my github](https://github.com/pieczatek/tablayout-tutorial) account. It contains even more functionalities with scrolling and docking tabs in the center. Feel free to test it, use it and modify it!

#### References:

1. [Tabs / material.io](https://material.io/guidelines/components/tabs.html)
2. [TabLayout / developer.android.com](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/design/widget/TabLayout.html)

## Polish Tech Night

*Published: 2017-12-21 | Author: mateusz | Tags: startups, venture capital, berlin, update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/polish-tech-night/index.md*

During my four-day trip to Berlin I had a pleasure to participate in the 3rd edition of [Polish Tech Night](https://polishtechnight.com) as a member of  group led by [Gdański Inkubator Przdsiębiorczości Starter](http://www.inkubatorstarter.pl). Polish Tech Night is an event connecting Polish tech startups with German ecosystem, combined with numerous workshops on the plenty of subjects like business cooperation, venture capitals, or law aspects of running a company in Germany.

![image](../../static/images/polish-tech-night/event-logo.png "")

Bright Inventions is already experienced in working with startups, I would  even say that we have grown up on cooperation with newly established high-tech companies. I have already successfully run several projects with startups founded in Germany, but my goal during the trip to Berlin was to understand better the needs of startups and the problems they face, experience their work environment and get inspired by the prevailing atmosphere of creativity and entrepreneurship.

## Startups

During the series of workshops I have learned plenty of interesting facts about Berlin startup ecosystem:

* 75% of German startups are located in Berlin
* Berlin takes the **7th place over the world** in a startups ecosystem ranking according to the [Startup Genome 2017 report](https://www.techinasia.com/startup-genome-startup-ecosystem-ranking-report-2017)
* In 2015, total venture capital fundings in Berlin were the **highest in the world**
* The development plan of the Berlin authorities is focused on **fintech** and **Internet of Things** (IoT) industries
* Despite this still the most popular Berlin startup industry is e-commerce

![image](../../static/images/polish-tech-night/berlin-workshops1.jpg "")

The workshops and presentations were prepared by experienced professionals from different companies associated with startups:

* **Oliver Bey** from etventure Startup Hub that specialises in validating startups ideas, building ecosystems, supporting companies in getting an access to startups and establishing corporate-startup-pilots.
* **Max Moldenhauer** and **Marcus Erken** from Sunfish Partners Venture Capital experienced in growing early-stage startups.
* **Bartek Gola** from SpeedUp venture capital group aiming at cooperation with companies in a long term investment horizon. SpeedUp group specializes in areas like consumer internet, fintech, martech, IoT and hardware.
* **Detlef Pohl** from next47, the Siemens-backed global venture firm focusing on infrastructure and cities related startups.

![image](../../static/images/polish-tech-night/berlin-workshops2.jpg "")

The Evening part attracted crowds including numerous business people, startups and venture capital partners as well as people associated with the investment and technology world in Berlin. There were 7 interesting pitches presenting some original ideas born in Polish startups. Not to mention the networking part afterwards, which lasted until late evening hours.

![image](../../static/images/polish-tech-night/berlin-evening-event.jpg "")

## Tour around Berlin

To understand better the startups environment and experience the atmosphere on our own we visited 3 well-known Berlin co-working spaces:

* Cube Berlin
* Mindspace
* WeWork

Beyond great views, especially at WeWork, these places provide complete infrastructure together with additional services and co-working atmosphere that any growing startup might need.

![image](../../static/images/polish-tech-night/berlin-coworks.jpg "")

Besides workshops, pitches and visiting co-working spaces we also found some time for sightseeing.

![image](../../static/images/polish-tech-night/berlin-sightseeing.jpg "")

## Great people

During those days I learned a lot about startups ecosystem in Berlin and I had a chance to see what it looks like from the inside. However, what I found the most valuable from the entire trip, were the amazing people I met. Starting from incredible Polish Tech Night organizers that made a huge effort to organise such a big event and hosted us during all 4 days.

The group that set off from Gdańsk consisted of people of various talents and professions, including software development, business development, internet of things, sales, public relations, or e-learning. Such a collective of different personalities and skills allowed us to look at plenty topics from various points of view and hold interesting discussions all the time.

![image](../../static/images/polish-tech-night/berlin-networking.jpg "")

During this trip I met many inspiring people and I learned a lot about startups running in Germany which I believe will help us address better our clients needs and improve even more the quality of our services.

## AWS CloudFormation patterns & practices with cloudform

*Published: 2017-12-14 | Author: adam | Tags: AWS, CloudFormation, open-source*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/aws-cloudformation-patterns-practices-cloudform/index.md*

Recently we introduced [`cloudform`](/blog/introducing-cloudform-tame-aws-cloudformation-templates/) – our [open-source library](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cloudform) that allows for managing [AWS CloudFormation](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/) template files through TypeScript. Its core value proposition is to cope with the massive JSON files in a sane and familiar way – to treat it as any other TypeScript code we have in our project. But what does it actually mean? Let's look at some examples to check where this path can lead us to.

Just as a recap, the basic `cloudform` usage allows us to replace the lengthy and verbose JSON definition of AWS CloudFormation resource, like this:

```json
{
  "VPC": {
    "Type": "AWS::EC2::VPC",
    "Properties": {
      "CidrBlock": {
        "Fn::FindInMap": [
          "NetworkingConfig",
          "VPC",
          "CIDR"
        ]
      },
      "EnableDnsHostnames": true,
      "Tags": [
        {
          "Key": "Application",
          "Value": {
            "Ref": "AWS::StackName"
          }
        },
        {
          "Key": "Network",
          "Value": "Public"
        },
        {
          "Key": "Name",
          "Value": {
            "Fn::Join": [
              "-",
              [
                {
                  "Ref": "AWS::StackId"
                },
                "VPC"
              ]
            ]
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

into totally equivalent piece of TypeScript:

```typescript
{
  VPC: new EC2.VPC({
      CidrBlock: Fn.FindInMap('NetworkingConfig', 'VPC', 'CIDR'),
      EnableDnsHostnames: true,
      Tags: [
          new ResourceTag('Application', Refs.StackName),
          new ResourceTag('Network', 'Public'),
          new ResourceTag('Name', Fn.Join('-', [Refs.StackId, 'VPC']))
      ]
  })
}
```

Let's try something more.

## Get rid of repetitive values

Some references or other variables in our template repeat many times. With `cloudform` it's a bit more concise than in pure JSON – compare `Refs.StackName` to `{"Ref": "AWS::StackName"}`. We also often reference more complex constructs like concatenations – in pure JSON it quickly grows complex:
 
```json
{
  "Fn::Join": [
    "-",
    [
      "app-name-",
      {
        "Ref": "DeployEnv"
      }
    ]
  ]
}
```

With `cloudform` the same is expressed as 

```typescript
Fn.Join('-', ['app-name-', Fn.Ref('DeployEnv')])
```

But if we reference this kind of value several times, we can just save it as a TypeScript-level constant and just reference it in TypeScript:

```typescript
const envAppName = Fn.Join('-', ['app-name-', Fn.Ref('DeployEnv')])

export default cloudform({
    // ...
    ParameterValueSomewhereInResources: envAppName
})
```

![Structure and order for our AWS CloudFormation templates](../../static/images/cloudform/mindmap.jpg "")

## Get rid of repetitive resources

The same concept applies well for similar resources definitions. Let's say we need ten SQS queues defined in our infrastructure. In pure JSON it means we have to repeat the same queue definition piece over and over again, changing probably just a name parameter.

```json
{
  "NthQueue": {
    "Type": "AWS::SQS::Queue",
    "Properties": {
      "QueueName": {
        "Fn::Join": [
          "-",
          [
            {
              "Ref": "DeployEnv"
            },
            "nth-queue"
          ]
        ]
      },
      "RedrivePolicy": {
        "maxReceiveCount": 4,
        "deadLetterTargetArn": {
          "Fn::GetAtt": [
            "DefaultDeadLetterQueue",
            "Arn"
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Going further with our previous concept of removing repetitions, we can apply pretty standard refactoring – extract a method. So we can define the piece of TypeScript that generates the Queue resource object and just invoke it within our template for each queue to be defined:

```typescript
const defineQueue = (name: string) => {
    return new SQS.Queue({
        QueueName: Fn.Join('-', [Fn.Ref('DeployEnv'), name, 'queue']),
        RedrivePolicy: {
            maxReceiveCount: 4,
            deadLetterTargetArn: Fn.GetAtt('DefaultDeadLetterQueue', 'Arn')
        }
    })
}

export default cloudform({
    Resources: {
        Queue1: defineQueue("first"),
        Queue2: defineQueue("second"),
        // ...
        QueueN: defineQueue("nth")
    }
})
```

## Get rid of static FindInMap

It often makes sense to have some common configuration values grouped together and possibly different depending on some parameter, for example a deployment environment like staging vs. production. In a pure JSON template we can use [`Fn::FindInMap`](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/intrinsic-function-reference-findinmap.html) to reach the desired value where it is needed. We need to pass all the keys as a path to our value, possibly using parameter references (`Ref`) or other variables. But if our path is static, with `cloudform` we might get rid of verbose map accessing and replace it with a native TypeScript object instead.

So instead of:

```json
{
  "Mappings": {
    "NetworkingConfig": {
      "VPC": {
        "CIDR": "0.0.0.0/16"
      }
    }
  },
  "Resources": {
    "VPC": {
      "Type": "AWS::EC2::VPC",
      "Properties": {
        "CidrBlock": {
          "Fn::FindInMap": [
            "NetworkingConfig",
            "VPC",
            "CIDR"
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

we might create this mapping in TypeScript directly:

```typescript
const NetworkingConfig = {
    VPC: {
        CIDR: "0.0.0.0/16"
    }
}

export default cloudform({
    Resources: new EC2.VPC({
        CidrBlock: NetworkingConfig.VPC.CIDR
    })
})
```

## Split into multiple files

Nobody likes large source files. And complex environment definitions tend to grow large. In pure JSON, we are not able to split the file easily. There is an option to [import external snippets](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/create-reusable-transform-function-snippets-and-add-to-your-template-with-aws-include-transform.html), but it requires the snippet to be located on S3. Kind of cumbersome if we want to properly keep our infrastructure in source control and be serious in our [infrastructure-as-code approach](https://www.infoq.com/code-infrastructure).

With `cloudform` we are in the TypeScript world and nothing should stop us from treating parts of our template as TypeScript modules that can be imported into the final template. It might make sense to separate our networking stack module from the instances module and from the database module etc. – where each module might keep all the resources logically bound together – database access-related security groups might be defined together with the database, but ECS-related security groups might be defined together with the containers.

Let's look at the database module example, `database.ts`:

```typescript
export default {
  DatabaseInstanceParameters: new RDS.DBParameterGroup({
    Family: "postgres9.6"
  }),
  DatabaseInstance: new RDS.DBInstance({
    DBName: Fn.Join('-', ['db', Fn.Ref('DeployEnv')]),
    DBParameterGroupName: Fn.Ref('DatabaseInstanceParameters'),
    VPCSecurityGroups: [
        Fn.GetAtt('DatabaseSecurityGroup', 'GroupId')
    ]
    // ...
  }),
  DatabaseSecurityGroup: new EC2.SecurityGroup({
    // ...
  })
}
```

And its usage within the actual template:

```typescript
import databaseResources from './database'

export default cloudform({
  Resources: Object.assign({}, databaseResources, /* and possibly more */)
})
```

## Forget the actual JSON at all

With all the `cloudform` goodies around, we might forget the existence of the JSON file within our sources. It might make sense to generate it on the fly as a part of our build or deployment process. How about adding the template generation task to our NPM scripts:

```json
{
  "generate-aws-template": "cloudform cloudformation/.ts > .build/template.out",
  "deploy": "npm run generate-aws-template && <proceed with deployment using .build/template.out>"
}
```

There are probably a lot of other creative ways to use `cloudform` to simplify and manage our AWS CloudFormation templates. Feel free to share your ideas!

## Multi tenancy in Spring MVC

*Published: 2017-12-11 | Author: piotr | Tags: spring, mvc, spring-boot, multi-tenant, reactive, reactor*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/spring-mvc-multi-tenacy/index.md*

One of our clients aimed to replace old, often DOS based, point of sale systems with a cloud based, SaaS modeled solution. At [Bright Inventions](/) we have developed all required components including AWS based back-end processing requests originating from multiple clients. Each business that uses the SaaS point of sale can be considered a tenant in a multi-tenant environment. There many aspects involved when developing multi-tenant application with [data isolation and partitioning being the most discussed topic](http://blog.memsql.com/database-multi-tenancy-in-the-cloud-and-beyond/). However, today I would like to focus on computational and resource isolation aspect. 

![Multiple consumers](../../static/images/spring-mvc-multi-tenancy/feeding-animals.jpg "")

## Controlled resource usage

In the discussed case each tenant would have multiple iOS based API clients. The exact number varies from 1 to couple of dozens. Each iOS application would be open constantly throughout a sales day and execute frequent requests against the back-end API. In the iOS application there was a code that polls the server for data changes in frequent and regular intervals. Unfortunately a bug slipped through a code review and caused the app to ask the server for changes around 50 times per second instead of once in half of a minute. The bug caused an explosion of API requests issued by a single API client with a throughput 10 to 100 times bigger than expected. To make things worse the rate at which the bug increased polling frequency exceeded back-end the scaling out policy. Soon all request processing threads were busy processing requests issued by only a small percentile of API clients. 

In a multi-tenant application one needs to take special care to prevent tenant "A" from affecting, even indirectly, tenant "B" operations. We have failed that requirement on the CPU/thread pool level and that caused the support lines to be hot. 

## Reverse proxy request rate limit

The first solution that comes to mind is to apply a per API client request rate limiting. In fact this solution is so common that it is available as a configuration opt-in in many servers. For instance [in NGINX you could do](https://www.nginx.com/blog/rate-limiting-nginx/):

```text
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=mylimit:10m rate=10r/s;

server {
    location /login/ {
        limit_req zone=mylimit burst=20;

        proxy_pass http://my_upstream;
    }
}
```

The above would only allow up to 10 request per second from the same IP address. Any request that comes in at higher rate would be queued up to specified capacity (`burst=20`). Any request above the limit would get rejected with 503 status code. 

The nginx approach is battle tested and fairly easy to apply. Instead of using IP address it would be better to group requests by a tenant identifier. However, it may not be easy to determine exactly which tenant is making the request unless the information is easily available in the request headers. For that matter it is good to consider sending the API client identification using a custom HTTP header. For instance if the API client provides `X-Tenant-Id: tenant.1` you can use it as `limit_req_zone $http_x_tenant_id zone=mylimit:10m rate=10r/s;`. When using JWT, you often can determine *who* is making the request by parsing the `Authorization` header value. 

## Spring MVC request rate limit

It is often not feasible to apply the request rate limit at the reverse proxy level. In such scenario we can apply the limit inside Spring MVC application. For start one can try suing [Servlet Filter](http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/filters-137243.html). [There are several solutions](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10127472/servlet-filter-very-simple-rate-limiting-filter-allowing-bursts) available including a [DoSFilter that is part of Jetty project](https://www.eclipse.org/jetty/javadoc/9.4.7.v20170914/org/eclipse/jetty/servlets/DoSFilter.html).

Using a ready-made Servlet Filter is often sufficient especially when the available customization options suit our needs. In case of our client however, we wanted the limits to depend on the *size* of the client. In other words the more service you buy, the more resources are available to you. Moreover, I wanted to have a have fine-grained control at **a controller action** level. To my surprise such behavior was not easy to accomplish using [AsyncHandlerInterceptor](https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/current/javadoc-api/org/springframework/web/servlet/AsyncHandlerInterceptor.html). Fortunately I did find a way to achieve a desired result using a mix of extensibility points and hacks. 

The first step is to customize [`RequestMappingHandlerAdapter`](https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/current/javadoc-api/org/springframework/web/servlet/mvc/method/annotation/RequestMappingHandlerAdapter.html) used by Spring MVC to transform `@RequestMapping` annotation into handler classes. The following configuration class in Kotlin achieves just that:

```kotlin
@Configuration
class WebMvcConfiguration : DelegatingWebMvcConfiguration() {

    @Autowired(required = false)
    private val mvcProperties: WebMvcProperties? = null

    @Inject lateinit var reactiveRequestCommandFactory: ReactiveRequestCommandFactory
    @Inject lateinit var reactiveRequestsProperties: ReactiveRequestsConfiguration.RequestsProperties

    @Bean
    override fun requestMappingHandlerAdapter(): RequestMappingHandlerAdapter {
        //copy pasted from WebMvcConfigurationSupport
        val argumentResolvers = ArrayList<HandlerMethodArgumentResolver>()
        addArgumentResolvers(argumentResolvers)

        val returnValueHandlers = ArrayList<HandlerMethodReturnValueHandler>()
        addReturnValueHandlers(returnValueHandlers)

        val adapter = RateLimitingRequestMappingHandlerAdapter(reactiveRequestCommandFactory, reactiveRequestsProperties)

        adapter.setContentNegotiationManager(mvcContentNegotiationManager())
        adapter.messageConverters = messageConverters
        adapter.webBindingInitializer = configurableWebBindingInitializer
        adapter.customArgumentResolvers = argumentResolvers

        adapter.customReturnValueHandlers = returnValueHandlers

        val requestBodyAdvices = ArrayList<RequestBodyAdvice>()
        requestBodyAdvices.add(JsonViewRequestBodyAdvice())
        adapter.setRequestBodyAdvice(requestBodyAdvices)

        val responseBodyAdvices = ArrayList<ResponseBodyAdvice<*>>()
        responseBodyAdvices.add(JsonViewResponseBodyAdvice())
        adapter.setResponseBodyAdvice(responseBodyAdvices)

        configureAsync(adapter)


        adapter.setIgnoreDefaultModelOnRedirect(mvcProperties?.isIgnoreDefaultModelOnRedirect != false)
        return adapter
    }

    private fun configureAsync(adapter: RequestMappingHandlerAdapter) {
        //expose field publicly
        val configurer = object : AsyncSupportConfigurer() {
            public override fun getTaskExecutor() = super.getTaskExecutor()
            public override fun getTimeout() = super.getTimeout()
            public override fun getCallableInterceptors() = super.getCallableInterceptors()
            public override fun getDeferredResultInterceptors() = super.getDeferredResultInterceptors()
        }

        configureAsyncSupport(configurer)

        if (configurer.taskExecutor != null) {
            adapter.setTaskExecutor(configurer.taskExecutor)
        }

        if (configurer.timeout != null) {
            adapter.setAsyncRequestTimeout(configurer.timeout!!)
        }

        adapter.setCallableInterceptors(configurer.callableInterceptors)
        adapter.setDeferredResultInterceptors(configurer.deferredResultInterceptors)
    }
}
```

Note that we are injecting `reactiveRequestCommandFactory` and `reactiveRequestsProperties` and pass them into our core `RateLimitingRequestMappingHandlerAdapter`. All other code is a mostly a copy-paste from `DelegatingWebMvcConfiguration` base class.

```kotlin
@Target(AnnotationTarget.CLASS, AnnotationTarget.FUNCTION)
annotation class RequestCommand(
    val enabled: Boolean = true,
    val timeoutInMillis: Int = 60_000
)

class RateLimitingRequestMappingHandlerAdapter(private val reactiveRequestCommandFactory: ReactiveRequestCommandFactory,
                                               private val reactiveRequestProperties: ReactiveRequestsConfiguration.RequestsProperties) : RequestMappingHandlerAdapter() {
    private val handlerMethodConfigurationsCache = ConcurrentHashMap<HandlerMethod, RequestCommandConfiguration>()

    override fun createInvocableHandlerMethod(handlerMethod: HandlerMethod): ServletInvocableHandlerMethod? {
        val configuration = requestCommandConfigurationFor(handlerMethod)

        return when {
            configuration.enabled && reactiveRequestProperties.enabled -> CommandInvocableHandlerMethod(handlerMethod, reactiveRequestCommandFactory, configuration)
            else -> super.createInvocableHandlerMethod(handlerMethod)
        }
    }

    private fun requestCommandConfigurationFor(handlerMethod: HandlerMethod): RequestCommandConfiguration {
        return handlerMethodConfigurationsCache.getOrPut(handlerMethod) {
            val method = handlerMethod.getMethodAnnotation(RequestCommand::class.java)
            val methodOrController = method ?: AnnotatedElementUtils.findMergedAnnotation(handlerMethod.beanType, RequestCommand::class.java)
            methodOrController?.let { RequestCommandConfiguration(it) } ?: RequestCommandConfiguration.Default
        }
    }
}
```

Inside of `createInvocableHandlerMethod` we get the configuration for the `handlerMethod` determined by Spring MVC. The `handlerMethod` denotes a controller action. Then we decide if we should use the rate limiting handler or fallback to the default one. In case we need to apply rate limiting we switch the invocation to use custom `CommandInvocableHandlerMethod`:

```kotlin
class CommandInvocableHandlerMethod(private val handlerMethod: HandlerMethod,
                                    private val requestCommandFactory: RequestCommandFactory,
                                    private val configuration: RequestCommandConfiguration) : ServletInvocableHandlerMethod(handlerMethod) {
    private lateinit var returnValueHandlers: HandlerMethodReturnValueHandlerComposite

    override fun invokeForRequest(request: NativeWebRequest?, mavContainer: ModelAndViewContainer?, vararg providedArgs: Any?): Any {
        // same as super.invokeForRequest(request, mavContainer, *providedArgs)
        // but with request passed to do invoke
        val args = this.getMethodArgumentValuesCallable.invoke(request, mavContainer, providedArgs)
        val result = doInvokeWithRequest(request, args)
        return result
    }

    private fun doInvokeWithRequest(request: NativeWebRequest?, args: Array<out Any?>?): Any {
        val nativeRequest = request?.getNativeRequest(HttpServletRequest::class.java)

        // If the response has already set error status code tomcat will not wait for async result
        return if (nativeRequest != null && nativeRequest.dispatcherType == DispatcherType.REQUEST) {
            val callSuper = Callable {
                super.doInvoke(*(args ?: emptyArray()))
            }

            val job = callSuper

            val context = RequestCommandContext(configuration, handlerMethod, SecurityContextHolder.getContext(), job)

            val result = requestCommandFactory.createSingle(context)

            MonoDeferredResult(result)
        } else {
            super.doInvoke(*(args ?: emptyArray()))
        }
    }

    override fun setHandlerMethodReturnValueHandlers(returnValueHandlers: HandlerMethodReturnValueHandlerComposite?) {
        this.returnValueHandlers = returnValueHandlers!!
        super.setHandlerMethodReturnValueHandlers(returnValueHandlers)
    }

    override fun wrapConcurrentResult(result: Any?): ServletInvocableHandlerMethod {
        return ConcurrentResultHandlerMethod(result, ConcurrentResultMethodParameter(result))
    }

...
```

The above code is using *private* [`getMethodArgumentValues`](https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-framework/blob/cc74a28/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/method/support/InvocableHandlerMethod.java#L147) API to achieve the desired behavior‼ The `doInvokeWithRequest` checks if an asynchronous dispatch should be performed and if so creates a [`Mono`](https://projectreactor.io/docs/core/release/api/reactor/core/publisher/Mono.html) that denotes the result of the controller action method invocation. `RequestCommandContext` stores the information about target controller action method and current security context. The security context needs to be preserved when invoking the controller action on a different thread. The [`ConcurrentResultHandlerMethod`](https://gist.github.com/miensol/cca73d158ce8e7664ed653a30fc8dc70) extends `ServletInvocableHandlerMethod` to add support for using `Mono` on regular, synchronous controller action. The core logic of rate limiting is delegated to `ReactiveRequestCommandFactory`:

```kotlin
interface ReactiveRequestCommandFactory {
    fun createSingle(context: RequestCommandContext): Mono<Optional<Any>>
}
```

The factory responsibilty it to convert a request context into an async result. Spring MVC 5 [has built in support for Reactor](https://docs.spring.io/spring-framework/docs/5.0.0.BUILD-SNAPSHOT/spring-framework-reference/html/web-reactive.html) hence we decided to use this implementation of [Reactive Streams specification](http://www.reactive-streams.org/). The `ReactiveRequestCommandFactory` looks as follows:

```kotlin
@Component
class ReactorRequestCommandFactory(
    threadPoolPropertiesCalculator: ThreadPoolPropertiesCalculator,
    @param:Named("reactiveRequestsScheduler")
    private val reactiveRequestsScheduler: Schedule
) : ReactiveRequestCommandFactory {
    private val threadPoolPropertiesCalculator = HystrixConfigurationAwarePropertiesCalculator(threadPoolPropertiesCalculator)
    private val tenants = ConcurrentHashMap<String, TenantTaskCoordinator>()

    override fun createSingle(context: RequestCommandContext): Mono<Optional<Any>> {
        val properties = threadPoolPropertiesCalculator.newThreadPoolProperties(context)

        val taskCoordinator = tenants.computeIfAbsent(properties.threadPoolName) {
            TenantTaskCoordinator(reactiveRequestsScheduler,
                maximumConcurrency = properties.maximumThreads,
                maximumQueueSize = properties.maximumQueueSize,
                name = properties.threadPoolName
            )
        }

        val optionalCallable = OptionalCallable(context.job)
        val configureRequestAttributes = SpringServletRequestAttributesCallable(optionalCallable)
        val configureLocale = SpringLocaleContextCallable(configureRequestAttributes)
        val securityCallable = DelegatingSecurityContextCallable(configureLocale, context.securityContext)

        return taskCoordinator.execute(securityCallable)
            .timeout(Duration.ofMillis(context.configuration.timeoutInMillis.toLong()))
    }
}

class OptionalCallable(private val inner: RequestHandlerJob) : Callable<Optional<Any>> {
    override fun call(): Optional<Any> = Optional.ofNullable(inner.call())
}
```

The `ThreadPoolPropertiesCalculator` calculates how concurrent threads and how big the requests queue should be for particular tenant or tenants group. Then for each tenant group, in particular a single tenant, we create a `TenantTaskCoordinator` responsible for calculating and enforcing limits on concurrently handled requests. Further down we decorate the `Callable` representing the actual request handling with security delegation, locale configuration and request attributes setup. Finally, we ask the `TenantTaskCoordinator` to execute the decorated job with a configured timeout.

The last piece of the puzzle, namely `TenantTaskCoordinator` requires a separate [blog post](/blog/multi-tenancy-task-scheduler/) so stay tuned.

## Injectable Android ViewModels

*Published: 2017-12-10 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, kotlin, dagger, viewmodel, mvvm*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/injectable-android-viewmodels/index.md*

In the following post I'm going to show a simple (almost boilerplate-free) yet powerful implementation of the view models dependency injection on Android using Dagger.

If you haven't read about the latest [Android Architecture Components libraries](https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/.html), the MVVM pattern and the [ViewModel](https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/viewmodel.html) class yet, please read it first as I don't explain it here.

## The Android weaknesses

I think the fact that Google has decided to help developers by creating their own library for supporting the MVVM pattern on the Android platform was a really good move.

A few months before its release I was wondering what was the best approach to introduce the MVP or MVVM pattern on Android. I have tested or reviewed a few libs on GitHub and none of them seemed good enough for me - either due to their limitations or a huge amount of boilerplate code they required. Also the way they were implemented and the number of reported bugs were not encouraging.

I was envious of the simple approach the iOS developers have - they can instantiate a view controller on their own and pass a view model directly to it (e.g. via the constructor). The iOS system also doesn't kill the view controller when the screen orientation changes so it doesn't have to obtain the view model again and, at the same time, the view model gets destroyed with the view controller when it's not needed anymore (provided that you don't hold another reference to it).

But on Android you start with an activity component and you can't prepare the view model outside of its lifecycle easily. Also storing the reference to the view model only in the activity which gets destroyed on every configuration change (like screen orientation) will destroy the view model as well and it's not convenient. If you would like the view model to survive, you would have to hold a reference to it somewhere else but then another problems arise e.g. how to clean the view model when it's not needed anymore or how to make every activity of the same class to use a different view model instance.

The Google's `ViewModel` was designed to help with such issues. Unfortunately, it still needs to be created during the activity lifecycle but with several Dagger tweaks you can easily inject any view model's dependencies to it.

![Injection](../../static/images/injectable-android-viewmodels/syringe-1884758_1920.jpg "Injectable Android ViewModels")

## Injectable ViewModels

Before we begin to play with the code I wanted to add that I have googled other people's approaches to view model injections and I didn't like them too much because of the significant amount of the boilerplate code (e.g. writing a separate view model factory per view model). The ~~best one~~ *(not any more - read the note below)*, which my example is based on, comes from the [Google's samples repository](https://github.com/googlesamples/android-architecture-components/tree/master/GithubBrowserSample). I have simplified some parts of it and rewritten it in Kotlin.

*Note: you can access the whole code used in this example [on GitHub](https://github.com/azabost/simple-mvvm-example/tree/7b051fd7a16853e3d9655767a887d9a830133d2d).*

*Another note: if you would like to read about a newer solution for injecting ViewModels which I find better, [click here](/blog/android-viewmodel-injections-revisited/).*

### Simple factory

The default library's factory instantiates view models using empty constructors. Of course, we can't use it as we are going to create the view models with non-empty constructors, passing the dependencies obtained from Dagger.

The `ViewModelProvider.Factory` interface defines only one method:

```java
@NonNull
<T extends ViewModel> T create(@NonNull Class<T> modelClass);
```

As you can see, it takes the class of a view model and it must return its instance.

In order to use a single simple and universal factory (which is the main point of this post) for all the view models we need to create a map of `Provider`s for every view model class. While I was analysing the mentioned Google's sample I didn't know how the map generation works and it wasn't very easy to understand so I'm going to exaplain it a little more here to save you the trouble.

#### Generating the map

If you have already used Dagger, you might have also noticed the code it generates. Most of that code are the `Component`s, `Provider`s, `Factory`s etc. The `Provider` is an object which *provides* the instances of some class (`Factory` is also a `Provider`).

The `MapKey` annotation ([docs](https://google.github.io/dagger/api/2.13/dagger/MapKey.html)) lets you generate a map of objects provided by Dagger or the `Provider`s of those objects. In our example we will need the following map:

`Map<Class<? extends ViewModel>, Provider<ViewModel>>`

which can be translated to Kotlin as:

`Map<Class<out ViewModel>, @JvmSuppressWildcards Provider<ViewModel>>`

*Note: Dagger generates Java sources and that's why we must remember about the variance differences between Java and Kotlin ([generics docs](https://kotlinlang.org/docs/reference/generics.html), [Java to Kotlin interoperability docs](https://kotlinlang.org/docs/reference/java-to-kotlin-interop.html)) which could be troublesome if you don't use the `@JvmSuppressWildcards` annotation, resulting in this error:*

> `error: [dagger.android.AndroidInjector.inject(T)] java.util.Map<java.lang.Class<? extends android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModel>,? extends javax.inject.Provider<android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModel>>` cannot be provided without an @Provides-annotated method.

This map's entries consist of a key - a class of any view model and a value - a `Provider` of any view model. Obviously, we must feed the map with the corresponding `Provider`s for every view model, e.g. `ViewModelA -> Provider<ViewModelA>`. With such a map the factory will be able to easily return an instance of any view model with all its dependencies fulfilled by Dagger.

In order to generate the map we need two elements: a map key definition and a module with view model *bindings*.

The map key definition is an annotation type which has a single member whose type is the map key type. It may look like this:

```kotlin
import android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModel
import dagger.MapKey
import kotlin.reflect.KClass

@MustBeDocumented
@Target(AnnotationTarget.FUNCTION)
@Retention(AnnotationRetention.RUNTIME)
@MapKey
annotation class ViewModelKey(val value: KClass<out ViewModel>)
```

And then we can use it in a module like below.

```kotlin
import android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModel
import com.azabost.simplemvvm.ui.main.MainViewModel
import dagger.Binds
import dagger.Module
import dagger.multibindings.IntoMap

@Module
abstract class ViewModelModule {

    @Binds
    @IntoMap
    @ViewModelKey(MainViewModel::class)
    abstract fun bindMainViewModel(mainViewModel: MainViewModel): ViewModel
}
```

`@Binds` methods are a drop-in replacement for `@Provides` methods that simply return an injected parameter. Combining it with `@IntoMap` and our key (`@ViewModelKey`) will put a provider of the returned object into the map under the key specified by the key annotation's parameter. In this case the `Provider<MainViewModel>` instance will be put under the `MainViewModel::class` key. Kotlin will also translate the `KClass` into `Class` for Java compatibility.

*Note: you may want to read the `Binds` [docs](https://google.github.io/dagger/api/2.13/dagger/Binds.html), `IntoMap` [docs](https://google.github.io/dagger/api/2.13/dagger/multibindings/IntoMap.html) and multibindings [docs](https://google.github.io/dagger/multibindings.html).*

#### Using the map in the factory

The view model factory which uses the generated map will be as simple as this:

```kotlin
import android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModel
import android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModelProvider
import javax.inject.Inject
import javax.inject.Provider
import javax.inject.Singleton

@Singleton
class InjectingViewModelFactory @Inject constructor(
        private val viewModelProviders: Map<Class<out ViewModel>, @JvmSuppressWildcards Provider<ViewModel>>
) : ViewModelProvider.Factory {

    @Suppress("UNCHECKED_CAST")
    override fun <T : ViewModel> create(modelClass: Class<T>): T {
        val provider = viewModelProviders[modelClass]
                ?: viewModelProviders.entries.first { modelClass.isAssignableFrom(it.key) }.value

        return provider.get() as T
    }
}
```

And we can also add it to the same Dagger module:

```kotlin
import android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModel
import android.arch.lifecycle.ViewModelProvider
import com.azabost.simplemvvm.ui.main.MainViewModel
import dagger.Binds
import dagger.Module
import dagger.multibindings.IntoMap

@Module
abstract class ViewModelModule {

    @Binds
    @IntoMap
    @ViewModelKey(MainViewModel::class)
    abstract fun bindMapViewModel(mapViewModel: MainViewModel): ViewModel

    @Binds
    abstract fun bindViewModelFactory(factory: InjectingViewModelFactory): ViewModelProvider.Factory
}
```

### Obtaining view models

In the activity you can now inject the factory:

```kotlin
@Inject
lateinit var vmFactory: ViewModelProvider.Factory
```

and use it to obtain the view model:

```kotlin
val vm = ViewModelProviders.of(this, vmFactory).get(MainViewModel::class.java)
```

Don't forget to annotate your view model's constructor with `@Inject`:

```kotlin
class MainViewModel @Inject constructor(
        private val gitHubClient: GitHubClient
) : ViewModel(), MainVM, LoadingVM, DataVM {
    ...
}
```

## Bright Year

*Published: 2017-12-07 | Author: ula | Tags: teamspirit, engagement, trust, success, update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-year/index.md*

It is almost the end of the year and for me it is also a kind of anniversary.  

Before I joined Bright Inventions I had been working for Twitter in Poland. It was an interesting job, but after a few first years it became also quite repetitive. And then there appeared the time in my life for making a change. Quite sure I would like to use my creativity more and love for people and Social Media, I started exploring different job offers. Not so long after that I met Michał and Daniel for the first time, had an interview and being conscious of my professional goals and needs I decided to give it a go and I joined Bright Inventions Team. It has been a year now since then. And it has been the bright year.

There is nothing more important than people at work who support you, help you, share their knowledge and experience with you, and who come to work with a big smile on their face. And I have this kind of people around me. I suppose it is the most incredible motivation that anyone may have. **Seeing clever full of passion and energy people every day in the morning can really give you an extra kick.**

But to the point, what I have learnt this year? A lot. Beginning from the simplest things like where to buy the best gingerbreads in the city ending with [SOLID principles](https://sites.google.com/site/unclebobconsultingllc/getting-a-solid-start), which aim at making your code more comprehensible, flexible and maintainable. **But after all most significantly I have learnt that there are people for whom work is not only a nine to five routine, but an inspiring story of life.**  Each and every person I have met this year at Bright has added some value to my life in form of making things easier, more understandable or just more enjoyable. So I think it is high time you met Bright Devs. 

Starting with these who sit the closest because the order here is not something we should pay attention to. There is [Piotr](https://miensol.pl) who helps me before I can even think of asking him for help and who shows how humble and modest a person with extensive knowledge can be; [Eliasz](https://eliaszsawicki.com/) who answers to all my trivial questions and do not mind me eating dried sausages next to him; [Adam](https://adambar.pl/) who is able to explain to me a difference between Angular and AngularJS and sends me Twitter updates before I even know something has changed 🙃; [Kamil](https://wysockikamil.com/) who gives me a lot of ideas and inspirations and always listens to stupid stories about my childhood 😉; [Mateusz](https://stackoverflow.com/users/1570496/klimczakm) who has told me about all the projects Bright has ever done and can even take a photo of his dog because I insanely need it for BI Instagram profile; [Paweł](https://github.com/papkie) who has introduced dozens of changes to our website before I have learnt what Github is; [Andrzej](https://azabost.com/) who can find my spelling mistakes and always can say something that may open my mind; Radek who enjoys eating cottage cheese as much as I do; Grzesiek who encourages everyone to take part in Runmageddon; Agnieszka who can always help when I need a special cake; Monika who is always smiling and it is just good to have her near, and of course [Daniel](https://github.com/danielmakurat) who was the first person ever that has taught me the binary system and who always listens when I catch him in the kitchen 🙂; and [Michał](https://stackoverflow.com/users/59666/mgamer) who showed me how to do translation in RubyMine and always finds a good analogy between a real life and programming. Oh, and there is Rafał, too (Rafał is from Baltic Data Science, but I also like him a lot 😊). 

What do all these people have in common? Passion, enthusiasm, engagement and wisdom. And what is extraordinary they are normal. They have families, friends, dreams. They even help you while you are buying a new flat. That is how work environment should look like. We spend at work more than a half of our life. I wish everyone could spend it among people like that. 

What I have learnt this year it is not only what programming is, how successfully manage Social Media content, write blog posts or run a hiring process. **I have learnt how you can create a team of people who like each other, who trust each other and who rely on each other.  With support of this kind of people you can achieve a lot in life.** 

Thank You All for this bright year!

## Implementing a simple pedometer using Swift

*Published: 2017-12-07 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, CoreMotion, pedometer, tutorial*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/coremotion-pedometer-swift/index.md*

![footsteps image](../../static/images/coremotion-pedometer-swift/footsteps.jpg "")

Ok... but what the pedometer is? Here you have a wikipedia definition:

> A pedometer is a device, usually portable and electronic or electromechanical, that counts each step a person takes by detecting the motion of the person's hands or hips.

and YES, you can create your own pedometer using iOS framework called CoreMotion.

CoreMotion is a well-known iOS framework. As we could read in [docs](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coremotion) it processes accelerometer, gyroscope, pedometer environment-related events.
In this post I want to focus on the pedometer events and how to handle them.

## Overview

### CMPedometer

In order to use CoreMotion pedometer, we need to take a closer look at `CMPedometer` class. It allows the user to retrieve some information about steps taken in the past, for example: How many steps I have done for last 3 days? Another usage of `CMPedometer` class is to get the live updates about steps taken already.

```swift
open func queryPedometerData(from start: Date, to end: Date, withHandler handler: @escaping CoreMotion.CMPedometerHandler)

open func startUpdates(from start: Date, withHandler handler: @escaping CoreMotion.CMPedometerHandler)
```

### CMPedometerData

Another class that should catch our attention is `CMPedometerData`. This class represents data that will be sent with every update in the above functions. It contains a lot of useful information like:

* `numberOfSteps: NSNumber?`
* `distance: NSNumber?`
* `currentPace: NSNumber?`
* `floorsAscended: NSNumber?`
* `floorsDescended: NSNumber?`

### CMMotionActivityManager

If we want to start counting steps, it will be good to know about what kind of activity our user is doing at the moment. Here with some help comes the `CMMotionActivityManager` class. Using th e instance of this class we are able to get updates about the user activity type. In order to do this we should call:

```swift
open func startActivityUpdates(to queue: OperationQueue, withHandler handler: @escaping CoreMotion.CMMotionActivityHandler)
```

and the result of that is getting updates with `CMMotionActivity` which represents  data for a single motion event update. This data is a pack of bool values:

* `stationary: Bool`
* `walking: Bool`
* `running: Bool`
* `automotive: Bool`
* `cycling: Bool`
* `unknown: Bool`

## Code step by step...

### 1. Add `NSMotionUsageDescription` to your `info.plist`

As we can read in [Apple docs](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coremotion)

> Important
> An iOS app linked on or after iOS 10.0 must include usage description keys in its Info.plist file for the types of data it needs. Failure to include these keys will cause the app to crash. To >access motion and fitness data specifically, it must include NSMotionUsageDescription.

So add to your `info.plist` `NSMotionUsageDescription` key modifying plain file:

```xml
<key>NSMotionUsageDescription</key>
<string>In order to count steps I need an access to your pedometer</string>
```

or adding new key via Xcode

![info plist motion usage description](../../static/images/coremotion-pedometer-swift/info-plist-motion-usage.png "")

### 2. Create an `CMMotionActivityManager` and `CMPedometer` instances

```swift
private let activityManager = CMMotionActivityManager()
private let pedometer = CMPedometer()
```

### 3. Create a method for tracking activity events

```swift
private func startTrackingActivityType() {
  activityManager.startActivityUpdates(to: OperationQueue.main) {
      [weak self] (activity: CMMotionActivity?) in

      guard let activity = activity else { return }
      DispatchQueue.main.async {
          if activity.walking {
              self?.activityTypeLabel.text = "Walking"
          } else if activity.stationary {
              self?.activityTypeLabel.text = "Stationary"
          } else if activity.running {
              self?.activityTypeLabel.text = "Running"
          } else if activity.automotive {
              self?.activityTypeLabel.text = "Automotive"
          }
      }
  }
}
```

### 4. Create a method for steps counting updates

```swift
private func startCountingSteps() {
  pedometer.startUpdates(from: Date()) {
      [weak self] pedometerData, error in
      guard let pedometerData = pedometerData, error == nil else { return }

      DispatchQueue.main.async {
          self?.stepsCountLabel.text = pedometerData.numberOfSteps.stringValue
      }
  }
}
```

### 5. Start getting updates

```swift
private func startUpdating() {
  if CMMotionActivityManager.isActivityAvailable() {
      startTrackingActivityType()
  }

  if CMPedometer.isStepCountingAvailable() {
      startCountingSteps()
  }
}
```

<center>

![usage demo](../../static/images/coremotion-pedometer-swift/steps-demo.gif "")

</center>

## Conclusion

CoreMotion is a powerful framework and besides a pedometer it allows you to work with a plenty useful data from accelerometer and gyroscope as well
You can find an example project at [Github repository](https://github.com/bright/Pedometer-Swift)

Hope you like the post, feel free to share and comment.

## In the end, the love you take is always equal to the love you make

*Published: 2017-11-30 | Author: ula | Tags: knowledge, productivity, success, teamwork*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/in-the-end-the-love-you-take-is-always-equal-to-the-love-you-make/index.md*

Elon Musk once said that leadership does not depend nowadays on the number of patents companies have, but on the ability to hire talented people who know how to make the most of the knowledge and skills they have. Knowledge and patents themselves should be open source. 

Knowledge sharing is the process in which the main role is always played by people. It is about collaborative learning where everyone contribute to drive a real value. By sharing our individual experiences, know-how and skills with others we really learn a lot and gain new perspectives.

Yet creating a proper knowledge sharing organisation is not probably enough to share knowledge. We should do it regularly and in an appropriate way while bearing in mind a particular purpose why we do it. Recently I have heard that at least 60% of employees spend more than an hour doing assignments that have been done before by someone else. We can only imagine what kind of costs these are for organisations. 

We spend at work more than one third of our life and it is quite sad that we very often do not care about leaving any legacy behind. **And the most beautiful legacy we could leave is in fact our knowledge, the knowledge that other people can take advantage of. Is there anything more rewarding that being aware of the fact that the knowledge we have shared is now being reused by others?** Even if we are not anymore at the same place and have changed a job a few times, the knowledge we shared is still there. 

But we all have to know that knowledge sharing requires not only all our team engagement, but also delineating a special context. It would not be any exaggeration if I say that at Bright Inventions we organise a kind of knowledge sharing sessions on daily basis. It is our tradition to drink coffee about 10.00 a.m. every day and talk. Everyone can provoke such a conversation.  It is enough to suggest a topic. **It is really important to create in the organisation opportunities for serendipitous conversations.**  The more informal form they may take, the more effective they can be.

We have also another tradition called Lunch Roulette, I suppose liked by everyone here. How does it work? We have a special application that every day chooses two people from the team who go for lunch together. That is time when they can talk about projects, problems encountered recently or just about their last weekend. Our daily lunches are not only a great occasion to get to know each other better, but also frequently they are a great opportunity to gain a new perspective on our life. Not long time ago we also used to go on Monday breakfasts together and shared company updates, but since there are more and more people here, Bright Lunches seem to be a better way of spending our time. 

**Coming back to coffee - apart from coffee breaks we have also Coffee Talks -  a bit more organised knowledge sharing sessions.** You just have to choose a date and a topic for discussion in advance, send an invitation to your colleagues and that is it - grab your coffee, go to the conference room and steal the show. The topics of our Coffee Talks are really diversified. Sometimes they are connected with something we are working on, technologies we use (or would like to use), obstacles that we have come across or solutions that we have worked. Coffee Talks are often just a headway for longer discussions and they do not have to be fully technology related, as long as there are people that can benefit from them. And believe me or not, there is always something new and useful that each of us finds out. 

![teamwork](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lxu7gLdT8gg/WiE2q3eINWI/AAAAAAAAAeI/2ENM6mVi1YIJe1occATMsU9FdrogIcErgCLcBGAs/s0/knowledgeeee.jpg)

Knowledge sharing is always about team’s input. Less experienced employees should not be afraid of showing their perspective on the problem. Getting feedback especially for them might be extremely significant. There is nothing worse than the lack of information that prevents you from moving on with a project. That is why creating habits for sharing knowledge should be an indispensable part for successful company management. Yet the responsibility for creating this kind of habits should be taken by the whole team. We should all encourage each other to express our views, ask questions and share our experience.

**Because in the end, as The Beatles sang - *the love you take is always equal to the love you make*. The rule is simple. If we do not share our knowledge, let us not expect that others will.**

## Working with iOS push notifications

*Published: 2017-11-30 | Author: mateusz | Tags: ios, push notifications, firebase, swift*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/working-with-ios-push-notifications/index.md*

Push notifications, also known as remote notifications, are a tremendously useful feature of [mobile applications](/our-areas/mobile-app-development/). They can be used for sending users marketing offers, increase users engagement by providing a personalised content, implementing a chat or even triggering some action to be performed in the background. And what's really useful, users don't have to keep their app opened.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Yes, but it's necessary to understand how push notifications work and learn how to set them up properly to avoid some unnecessary hassle.

## iOS 10 novelties

iOS 10, in addition to a short text message, playing a notification sound, and setting a badge number on the app's icon, has expanded iOS push notifications capabilities with:

* **media attachments** (images, gifs, audio, video),
* expanding detail view with **3D Touch**,
* **notifications actions** allowing user to take immediate actions.

In [the example](https://medium.com/@prianka.kariat/ios-10-notifications-with-attachments-and-much-more-169a7405ddaf) below, there is an iOS 10 push notification with the image attached and "Like" action button.

![gif](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*2ngvD9Tqp3TXjdWwVDMqEQ.jpeg)

This allows developers to increase push notifications quality and get even more from this versatile feature.

## The server

Push notifications are sent on `Apple Push Notification service`'s (APNs) behalf, directed to one or more specific devices that have registered to the APNs. To achieve that we need to set up a server that will gather mobile **devices tokens** and use them to send push notifications through APNs. It might sound quite complicated, but don't worry, there are plenty of ready-made solutions that can be used, even for free.

Let's glance at the most popular services that support both iOS and Android:

* [**Firebase Cloud Messaging** by Google](https://firebase.google.com)
* **[Pusher](https://pusher.com)**
* **[Mixpanel](https://mixpanel.com)**

Each of these services offers also other features like analytics, A/B testing, crash reporting, real-time database or even authentication, but you don't have to use any of them.

Note that using a 3rd party service has its **downsides**, like:

* If you decide to switch to **your own server**, you'll need to communicate with the service you've used instead of the APNs directly, or you'll have to reconfigure your mobile app.
* You must be aware that your data is sent through servers that you don't control, so it might concern you regarding your data protection policy.
* Some services are **free until you reach some limit**, for example, Mixpanel lets you create only [up to 1000 user profiles for free](https://mixpanel.com/pricing/#people). It might be expensive if your app becomes popular.
* When a service is being closed down, you have limited time to migrate to another provider. Such situation has already happened with a very popular platform for mobile developers maintained by Facebook called **Parse**, which was [shut down on January, 2017](http://blog.parse.com/announcements/moving-on). The project is now [open source](http://docs.parseplatform.org) and you can set it up on your own machine, but you can't use it out of the box anymore.

## Firebase

For purpose of this post we'll use the [`Firebase Cloud Messaging`](https://firebase.google.com) (FCM). It's an interesting solution, especially that on I/O 2016 Google has turned Firebase into an unified mobile platform, which has replaced the `Google Cloud Platform` as the default solution for handling push notifications on Android. This means that we can use the same service for sending push notifications on both platforms, while using the default implementation on Android.

FCM inherits GCM's core infrastructure, but simplifies the client development. GCM is still supported but all new client-side features will be available on FCM only. `Firebase Cloud Messaging` uses the `Apple Push Notification service` to send messages to your iOS app.

## Certificates

First, we need to generate `APNs SSL Certificate` or `APNs Authentication Key` to allow our notification server (Firebase) to connect to the APNs.

Configuration with auth keys is recommended as they are the more current method for sending notifications to iOS, but they might be problematic since they are bigger. This happened to me when I wanted to upload Base64-coded auth key to the AWS using Cloud Formation configuration.

#### To enable push notifications service in application identifier:

1. Log in to [Apple Developer Center](https://developer.apple.com).
2. Open **Certificates, IDs & Profiles**.
3. Open applications identifiers on the left pane: **Identifiers** -> **App IDs**.
4. Find your application identifier and **Edit** its services.
5. Enable **Push Notifications**.

   ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-push-notifications/apple-dev-enable-service.png "")

#### To generate `APNs SSL Certificate` on [Apple Developer Center](https://developer.apple.com):

1. Choose **Create Certificate...** for Development or/and Production.

   ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-push-notifications/apple-dev-certificates.png "")

   **Note:** If you expect push notifications to work in an app distributed via TestFlight, you'll need to use the **Production SSL Certificate**.
2. Read instructions, **Continue**, and upload your **Certificate Signing Request** (CSR file) exported from your **Keychain**.
3. **Download** the certificate and finish the process with **Done** button.

To generate `APNs Authentication Key` on [Apple Developer Center](https://developer.apple.com):

1. Open **Keys** -> **All** on the left pane.
2. Create a New Key by tapping at (+) sign.
3. Fill **Key Description**, select **APNs** key service and **Continue**.
4. Download the key, make sure you keep it securely and finish the process with **Done** button.

Now we need to upload the generated key or certificate to **Firebase**.

1. Log in to [Firebase Console](https://console.firebase.google.com) and select your project. If you haven't had it yet, create new a project.
2. Open your **Project settings** from left pane.

   ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-push-notifications/firebase-project-settings.png "")
3. Open **CLOUD MESSAGING** tab.
4. Under **iOS app configuration** upload your key or certificate.

   ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-push-notifications/firebase-certificates.png "")

   Note that you can't use `APNs auth key` and `APNs certificate` simultaneously.

## Project configuration

After setting certificates up we can configure the Xcode project:

1. Open project settings.
2. Open **Capabilities** tab.
3. Enable **Push notifications**.

   ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-push-notifications/xcode-capabilities.png "")

   Entitlements file will be created or updated automatically. If you've skipped adding push notifications service to your application identifier in previous chapter, you'll encounter an error.

Once you've finished Xcode configuration make sure that the project builds without errors. If you encounter any signing issues, you might need to refresh the provisioning profile or even restart the Xcode. However, I recommend using [Fastlane Match](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/match/) to share code signing identity or [Fastlane Sigh](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/sigh) to download or repair provisioning profiles. Automating code signing will save you a lot of time in the future.

There is no need to duplicate instructions how to integrate Firebase SDK with iOS project, so simply follow [this tutorial](https://firebase.google.com/docs/ios/setup). You need to install `Firebase/Core` and `Firebase/Messaging` libraries.

If you have more build configurations to handle multiple environments, you might find it problematic to use different Firebase configurations stored in different `GoogleService-Info.plist` files because you can't use User-Defined build settings there. But don't worry, you can follow [this great StackOverflow post](https://stackoverflow.com/q/34067120/1570496) to solve this problem by copying an appropriate configuration file at build time.

## Permissions

Remember that you can ask user to allow receiving notifications **only once**. For this reason you should never do that just after the app launches (although many apps do that). It is also a good idea to first introduce user on a separated screen and explain why would you send any notifications. You should also let user opt-out without asking for permissions, to keep the chance to successfully go through the process later on.

If the user has forbidden notifications, then the only thing you can do is to let him know why is it worth enabling them and instruct how to do that (it is only possible from the device Settings).

Note that since iOS 10 you should use `UNUserNotificationCenter` object:

```swift
if #available(iOS 10.0, *) {
    UNUserNotificationCenter.current().delegate = self

    let authOptions: UNAuthorizationOptions = [.alert, .badge, .sound]
    UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: authOptions, completionHandler: { _, _ in })
} else {
    let settings: UIUserNotificationSettings = UIUserNotificationSettings(types: [.alert, .badge, .sound], categories: nil)
    application.registerUserNotificationSettings(settings)
}
```

## Device token

APNs device token allows you to target notification messages at the particular instance of the app. It rarely changes, but you can't assume that it won't happen. The token may change when:

* The user reinstalls the app
* The user restores the app on a new devices
* The user clears app data.

If you handle push notifications manually, you need to upload and refresh the device token on your own, so you'd have to implement server logic to store tokens and determine whether the token sent is new. If you're using Firebase SDK and you haven't disabled **method swizzling** (the process of changing the implementation of an existing selector), then you don't have to do that - Firebase will handle it for you.

While handling device tokens manually, you need to remember that device token is not a string. It's 32 bytes of opaque data that needs to be decoded. You can do that in the following way:

```swift
func application(_ application: UIApplication, didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken deviceToken: Data) {
    let token = deviceToken.map { String(format: "%02.2hhx", $0) }.joined()
    print(token)
}
```

## Testing

It might be quite troublesome to test push notifications because you **can't do that on iOS simulator** and you need to make sure that it works correctly on each build configuration. You can send yourself a push notification from [Firebase Console](https://console.firebase.google.com) (GROW->Notifications->NEW MESSAGE on the left pane) but you'll have to target all users unless you have some segments or [topics](https://firebase.google.com/docs/cloud-messaging/ios/topic-messaging) defined. Another way to target notifications is to provide FCM registration token that you can collect in `messaging:didReceiveRegistrationToken` callback of the `FIRMessaging` delegate. This function will be called after every token refresh and on each app startup.

There is also a very useful command line tool called [Houston](https://github.com/nomad/houston) that lets you send push notifications directly to APNs with a single command:

```bash
apn push "device-token" -c /path/to/cert.pem -m "Hello from the command line! "
```

`PEM` (Privacy Enhanced Mail) is a container format that may include the public certificate or an entire certificate chain including public key, private key, and root certificates. You can download `.cer` file from [Apple Developer Center](https://developer.apple.com), to convert this format to `.pem`:

1. Open certificate in Keychain (simply open a file).
2. Right click on certificate (not a key below) and select **Export** option.
3. Save certificate in `.p12` format.
4. Run this command to convert `.p12` format to `.pem`:

```bash
openssl pkcs12 -in cert.p12 -out cert.pem -nodes -clcerts
```

## Silent notifications

Background update notifications, often referred as silent notifications, were introduced in iOS 7 to provide a way to wake up an app so that it could refresh its data in the background. It's very useful to improve user experience and prevent displaying outdated information when user launches the app.

Since silent notifications are meant to refresh data in the background, APNs treat them as low priority and may throttle their delivery if the total number of notifications becomes excessive. The limits are dynamic and can change based on conditions, but you should not send more than a few notifications per hour.

To support the background update notifications, make sure that the payload's `aps` dictionary includes the `content-available` key with a value of `1`. You also need to enable **Remote notifications** background mode in your project settings (Capabilities->Background Modes):

![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-push-notifications/background-modes.png "")

#### iOS 11 problems

iOS 11 brings a lot of new features but it also comes with some problems. One of them is that **silent notifications are not working on iOS 11.0 - 11.0.3** and were fixed only in iOS 11.1. Due to the high iOS 11 adoption, it has become a major issue for a number of apps.

![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-push-notifications/ios11-bugs.jpg "")

## Sky is the limit

Push notifications are an incredibly useful feature that is the basis for many applications. A range of functions that we can use with notifications in our application grows in time so it's worth being up-to-date with this topic. Push notifications can be used in various ways so you need to think about how you can use them in your application, not necessarily for simple messaging.

## Introducing cloudform – tame your AWS CloudFormation templates

*Published: 2017-11-28 | Author: adam | Tags: AWS, CloudFormation, open-source*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/introducing-cloudform-tame-aws-cloudformation-templates/index.md*

Whatever we do here in [Bright Inventions](/), we deeply care about automation, traceability and repeatability. This is why we embraced the DevOps-related practices like [Continuous Delivery](/blog/teamcity-for-ios-project/) or [containerization](/blog/dockerizing-android-builds/), we are careful about properly set up [logging](/blog/http-request-logging-in-node/) and monitoring, we know our stuff when it comes to [reliability and resiliency](/blog/the-importance-of-timeouts/). This is also why, whenever we do anything at the backend, we define our [infrastructure as code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure_as_Code) with the great help of [AWS CloudFormation](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/).

## Why should I care?

In AWS CloudFormation all the [cloud infrastructure](/our-areas/cloud-services/) required to run the application – from the hardware setup through the networking layer to the actual application environment – is defined within a JSON (or YAML) [template file](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/aws-cloudformation-templates/). This is convenient as we can now keep the file in GIT and use it as an input to the deployment scripts. 

The problem is, though, that unless our project is really simple, our template file grows quickly. Our typical environment setup based on [Elastic Container Service](https://aws.amazon.com/ecs/) with VPC, failovers, firewalls, load balancing, auto-scaling, logging and monitoring requires ~2.5k lines in our JSON template file. And some of the constructs there – like passing RDS database connection string to the container instance that includes concatenation of multiple parameters, some of which are secret, some other are generated by other resources – are really verbose and complex. 

![Is this how your AWS CloudFormation templates looks like?](../../static/images/cloudform/blackboard.jpg "")

## Enter cloudform

Our typical template file was too large. It was too verbose and repetitive. It was error-prone and hard to grasp. It was messy. But all was not lost – the template is just a plain old JSON, anyway. This is how [`cloudform`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cloudform) was born. It is a TypeScript-based imperative way to define AWS CloudFormation templates. With `cloudform` you can use all the powers of TypeScript to define the elements of your infrastructure and let the library take care of generating that monstrous JSON file out of it.

So, for example, to define a [VPC](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-ec2-vpc.html), instead of writing this lengthy and hairy piece of JSON:

```json
"VPC": {
  "Type": "AWS::EC2::VPC",
  "Properties": {
    "CidrBlock": {
      "Fn::FindInMap": [
        "NetworkingConfig",
        "VPC",
        "CIDR"
      ]
    },
    "EnableDnsHostnames": true,
    "Tags": [
      {
        "Key": "Application",
        "Value": {
          "Ref": "AWS::StackName"
        }
      },
      {
        "Key": "Network",
        "Value": "Public"
      },
      {
        "Key": "Name",
        "Value": {
          "Fn::Join": [
            "-",
            [
              {
                "Ref": "AWS::StackId"
              },
              "VPC"
            ]
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

you can just have a `EC2.VPC` object definition that is totally equivalent:

```typescript
VPC: new EC2.VPC({
    CidrBlock: NetworkingConfig.VPC.CIDR,
    EnableDnsHostnames: true,
    Tags: [
        new ResourceTag('Application', Refs.StackName),
        new ResourceTag('Network', 'Public'),
        new ResourceTag('Name', Fn.Join('-', [Refs.StackId, 'VPC']))
    ]
})
```

Note what I have done here:

1. No more explicit `Type`, no `Properties` wrapper boilerplate. TypeScript's type is enough to figure it out. What's more, it gives us a compile-time check for the validity of the structure.
2. No more magic strings for `AWS::StackName` or `AWS::StackId` references. Compile-time constants, again.
3. Instead of complex `Fn::FindInMap` object traversing, I use TypeScript-level objects directly. <small>Yes, it results in a different entry in the template, but functionally it's an equivalent.</small>
4. I also simplified the construction of key-value pairs used in `Tags`. Strongly-typed one-liner instead of verbose 4 lines.

But this is not the end. With `cloudform` (or actually with TypeScript) we can go further:

1. Nothing stops us from using TypeScript-level variables, functions or conditions to build up our objects from reusable, configurable parts.
2. We can split the template definition into multiple files.
3. We can get rid of all the magic strings using an object that predefines the resource names and reference it from the actual template.
4. We can apply all the available refactoring techniques to keep our definitions tidy and easy to use.

With `cloudform`'s syntax our \~2.5k lines of JSON was reduced to \~1k lines of TypeScript object definitions.

## Getting started & usage

You're probably already eager to test it out, so let's jump to the crux of the matter. The package is obviously available for you on `npm`. Type the following:

`npm install --save-dev cloudform`

Now we need to define our template. Let's have a separate directory for it, so that it doesn't mix with our production or test code. It would also suggest we may break the file into smaller chunks and use standard [imports](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Statements/import) to link it together. Maybe `cloudformation/.ts`?

This file needs to export the result of `cloudform` function call, so that the tool picks our template up correctly. It takes an object that consists of everything that CloudFormation template might consist of. 

```typescript
import cloudform, {Fn, Refs, EC2, StringParameter, ResourceTag} from "cloudform"

export default cloudform({
    Description: 'My template',
    Parameters: {
        DeployEnv: new StringParameter({
            Description: 'Deploy environment name',
            AllowedValues: ['dev', 'stage', 'production']
        })
    },
   
    Resources: {
        VPC: new EC2.VPC({
            CidrBlock: Fn.FindInMap('SubnetConfig', 'VPC', 'CIDR'),
            EnableDnsHostnames: true,
            Tags: [
                new ResourceTag('Application', Refs.StackName),
                new ResourceTag('Network', 'Public'),
                new ResourceTag('Name', Fn.Join('-', [Refs.StackId, 'VPC']))
            ]
        })
    }
})
```

The simple convention is used here – all the AWS types' namespaces are available directly as exports from the `cloudform` package. All the resources within this package are available inside. This way `EC2.VPC` object from our example translates into `AWS::EC2::VPC` type we can find [in CloudFormation documentation](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-ec2-vpc.html). All the properties also match one-to-one, including casing. This API-level compliance is guaranteed to hold true because the `cloudform`'s types are generated from the [AWS-provided schema definition file](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/cfn-resource-specification.html).

See also [the example included in the repository](https://github.com/bright/cloudform/blob/master/example/example.ts).

Now, run the binary that was installed for you specifying the path to your template sources root. The library will print the JSON to the stdout, so you might want to pipe it to the file somewhere:

`cloudform cloudformation/.ts > template.out`

And if no compilation errors happen, `template.out` is now a JSON file ready to be used within CloudFormation.

## What cloudform is not

I can feel your excitement already 😆, but let's be clear what `cloudform` does and what is out of its scope. Basically it translates the TypeScript code into the JSON object as-is. Whatever you put in your TypeScript, as long as it compiles, will be included in the generated file. There is no validation or any domain-level checks implemented – if you reference a resource, parameter or condition that does not exists or use a nonsensical value for a parameter, `cloudform` will not warn you today (CloudFormation will do most probably). 

The goal of this package is not to create a full-blown DSL for CloudFormation. It is rather to get the most value out of TypeScript features, so if any more complex checks are to be implemented, it would most probably be about things that TypeScript can verify compile-time. If you need a full validation, there are some specialized tools out there already (see for example [`cfn-lint`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cfn-lint) or [`cfn-check`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cfn-check)), so it might have sense to chain it after `cloudform`.

Note also that `cloudform` does not attempt to interact with your AWS stack in any way, nor reading neither writing – no credentials are needed. It makes it 100% safe to experiment with. All the stack interactions (i.e. deployment) are outside of the scope of this tool.

## What's next?

The package source code is MIT-licensed, [available on GitHub](https://github.com/bright/cloudform). If you find out that something is missing or invalid in `cloudform`, feel free to open an issue on GitHub or – even better – contribute yourself!

In the follow-up post I'm sharing [a few more examples and recipes](/blog/aws-cloudformation-patterns-practices-cloudform/) how to build template generation into your Continuous Delivery workflow.

## Children and programming

*Published: 2017-11-27 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: programming, developer, book, lilavati*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/children-and-programming/index.md*

Recently, when I was waiting for my nephew at school, I was looking at the advertisements around not to get too bored. To my surprise there were as many advertisements about lessons of programming as about some sport classes. They all aimed at the youngest children - the first grades of primary school. I was sitting there and wondering **how it is possible to teach children how to write a code in any programming language when they cannot write in Polish yet**. Hey, they can barely read! 

![Image](../../static/images/children-and-programming/children.jpg "")

When I read the notice more carefully, it turned out that <cite>programming</cite> for the youngest children is mostly about logical thinking, cause-effect concepts and problems solving. These might be reckoned as the basics of programming as well as the basics of mathematics actually. And it was the moment when I realized that I had also started learning <cite>programming</cite> early in the primary school!

First thing I would like to mention is a contest you might know as it is worldwide. And if you are Polish I’m pretty sure you once took part in it or at least have heard about it. Some of you maybe event won some prize :) <cite>Kangourou</cite> contest held by <cite>Kangourou sans Frontières</cite> association aimed at promoting mathematics among young people. **The key competence tested by it is logical combination, not just pure knowledge of formulas**. The basics of programming, right?

Taking part in such a contest is a great opportunity for a child to practice before acquiring all the mentioned skills. You might find the exercises from the previous years in the Internet as well as in the bookshops published as regular books. I just hope this competition is still such  fun as it was years ago when I took part in it.

Another thing I would like to tell you about is a Polish book <cite>Lilavati</cite> by Szczepan Jeleński. This is **a set of various types of math problems, exercises, anecdotes and curiosities to encourage children and teenagers to learn mathematics**, eventually even mesmerise them with it. Unfortunately, it is probably not that widely known as Kangourou as there is no translation of it (at least I haven’t found any).

If you are curious about that strange title of the book, it is explained in the foreword:
<cite>Lilavati - this is the name of the daughter of the famous Indian mathematician of the eleventh century [...].
Lilavati means: lovely, charming! Such was probably the Hindu girl gifted with an unusual mathematical talent; but such is primarily MATHEMATICS.</cite>

My father as a developer and maths lover himself instead of reading regular fairy tales, each evening he read us one story from <cite>Lilavati</cite>. Together with my sister we tried to solve it. Believe it or not, these is one of my favourite memories - those little brainstorms and discussions.

The book <cite>Lilavati</cite> was first published in 1926, my copy is from 1964. It is quite old and you can feel it in the paper as well as in the a bit old fashioned language. I’m a little afraid nowadays children might not appreciate the inside of this book because of the unattractive outside. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to read it to my daughter (who is now only one year old, so unfortunately a long time ahead) and really hope she will love it just as I did. After all, the book is just a tool and what really matters is the time spent together.

## Request timeouts in Spring MVC – Servlet Filter

*Published: 2017-11-27 | Author: piotr | Tags: spring, mvc, spring-boot, request, timeout*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/spring-mvc-request-timeout/index.md*

As you can see in another blog post, we only have limited options to [configure maximum time a request processing can take in Spring MVC](/blog/spring-mvc-thread-pool-timeouts/). In this post I will show how to enforce such timeout through a custom  [Servlet Filter](https://docs.oracle.com/cd/B14099_19/web.1012/b14017/filters.htm).

<div className="image">![Time](../../static/images/time_blog.png "undefined")</div>

## Request timeout Servlet Filter

Without further ado let us dive right into a sample filter implementation in Kotlin:

```kotlin
@Component
@Order(Ordered.HIGHEST_PRECEDENCE)
class TimeoutFilter : OncePerRequestFilter() {
    override fun doFilterInternal(request: HttpServletRequest, response: HttpServletResponse, filterChain: FilterChain) {
        val completed = AtomicBoolean(false)
        val requestHandlingThread = Thread.currentThread()
        val timeout = timeoutsPool.schedule({
            if (completed.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
                requestHandlingThread.interrupt()
            }
        }, 5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)

        try {
            filterChain.doFilter(request, response)
            timeout.cancel(false)
        } finally {
            completed.set(true)
        }
    }

    companion object {
        private val timeoutsPool = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(10)
    }

    @ResponseStatus(HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR)
    class TimeoutException(message: String) : java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException(message)
}
```

The above code declares a Servlet Filter that will interrupt thread processing a request after 5 seconds. There are couple of interesting points about how it works.

* `@Order(Ordered.HIGHEST_PRECEDENCE)` puts the Filter at the beginning of filter chain
* `val completed = AtomicBoolean(false)` denotes whether the request processing completed. 
* `val timeoutsPool = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(10)` creates a thread pool responsible for running timeouts. The `newScheduledThreadPool` creates a thread pool that is efficient at running delayed tasks.
* `timeoutsPool.schedule({ ... })` schedules a code that will interrupt `requestHandlingThread` after 5 seconds
* `completed.compareAndSet(false, true)` updates the `completed` flag in a thread safe fashion

## Testing request timeout Servlet Filter

For the test purposes let us create a simple Spring Boot MVC application written in Kotlin:

```kotlin
@SpringBootApplication
@EnableWebMvc
class Application {
    companion object {
        @JvmStatic
        fun main(args: Array<String>) {
            SpringApplication.run(Application::class.java)
        }
    }
}

@RestController
class TimeoutController {
    @GetMapping("/timeout")
    fun timeout(@RequestParam(required = false) timeoutInMillis: Long?): ResponseEntity<*> {
        Thread.sleep(timeoutInMillis ?: 1000)
        return ResponseEntity.ok("completed")
    }
}
```

The `TimeoutController` will sleep for an amount of time given in a parameter. Let's simulate a short request with [`httpie`](https://httpie.org/):

```bash
http :8080/timeout timeoutInMillis==2000

HTTP/1.1 200 
Content-Length: 9
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=ISO-8859-1
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2017 12:19:03 GMT

completed
```

This was the happy path. Now let's try a timeout path:

```bash
http  :8080/timeout timeoutInMillis==6000       

HTTP/1.1 500 
Connection: close
Content-Type: application/json;charset=UTF-8
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2017 12:21:30 GMT
Transfer-Encoding: chunked

{
    "error": "Internal Server Error",
    "exception": "java.lang.InterruptedException",
    "message": "sleep interrupted",
    "path": "/timeout",
    "status": 500,
    "timestamp": 1511785290518
}
```

As you can see in the exception message, we see that the `Thread.sleep` in the controller action has been interrupted 🎉

## A word of warning

The above Servlet Filter will not work if we use [Async Servlet Filters](https://docs.oracle.com/javaee/7/tutorial/servlets012.htm). When using Async Servlet Filter there is typically **more than 1** thread that handles a request hence the above approach will not work. Having said that if you use Async Servlet Filter there already is a way to apply a timeout that [is defined by the API](https://docs.oracle.com/javaee/6/api/javax/servlet/AsyncContext.html#setTimeout(long)). Another important point is to check how the request processing thread pool handles interrupted threads. [As we have discussed earlier](/blog/spring-mvc-thread-pool-timeouts/), the concrete implementation of thread pool used to process request depends on servlet container and configured used in the application. We should make sure that the interrupted thread is eventually replaced with a new thread by the pool so that timeouts do not change the effective thread pool size.

## IOTA Hackathon

*Published: 2017-11-23 | Author: ula | Tags: IOTA, hackathon, cryptocurrency, teamwork*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/IOTA-Hackathon/index.md*

Last weekend we had pleasure to co-organise and take part in IOTA Hackathon, the event during which software developers from all over Europe came to put to test IOTA Platform with different use cases. IOTA Hackathon was held from 17 to 19 November and was sponsored by [IOTA](https://iota.org/), Baltic Data Science (blockchain and big data service), [Datarella](http://datarella.com/) (blockchain and big data consultancy) and [Bright Inventions](/our-areas/blockchain). 

The hackathon started with the preceding keynote presentations of Chris Dukakis from IOTA and Jamie Burke from Outlier Ventures. Both presentations were in fact a great parallel track of workshops for newcomers as well as all participants. After getting familiar with IOTA, brainstorming sessions and resolving many doubts, participants chose the ideas they wanted to focus on, formed groups, took out their laptops and dived into the IOTA world competing for 4200 IOTA in prize money. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">IOTA Hackathon, Day 2 😊 <a href="https://twitter.com/jamie247?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jamie247</a> Jamie Burke is with us ✌ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iota?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Iota</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hackathon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hackathon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/blockchain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#blockchain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cryptocurrency?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cryptocurrency</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Programming?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Programming</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bitcoin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gdansk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gdansk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/geeks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#geeks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/technology?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#technology</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IoT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IoT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iothack?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iothack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/networking?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#networking</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZsCodTkxZC">pic.twitter.com/ZsCodTkxZC</a></p>&mdash; Bright Inventions (@BrightDevs) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrightDevs/status/931824589029761024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

And how about the output? In terms of quality the output was much better than someone may expect - three independent projects, each resolving real-life problems. 

The team placed 1st in the competition "PlugInBaby” provided a link between an IoT network of decentralised charging stations and traditional or autonomous cars needing charging services and created an open car charging station. You can find out more in [the summary](http://datarella.com/iota-hackathon-open-car-charging-network-part-1/) of the iteration process and the associated pivot that took place while defining the project topic (and [here](http://datarella.com/iota-hackathon-open-car-charging-network-part-2/) more details about the development and design of the project itself).

The runner-up team “Freedom Pass” faced a real challenge brought by Bogdan Vacusta from London Council. Freedom Pass is an initiative allowing disabled residents to use public transport in London free of charge. Prior to the issuance of a Freedom Pass, one must just obtain a doctor’s certificate to prove disability, however, there are a lot of scammers who photoshop doctor’s certificates to get a free pass for themselves. The team decided to build a Proof of Concept to prevent this kind of fraud. With the help of IOTA they created an alert that could save the London public millions of pounds per year ([read more](http://datarella.com/iota-hackathon-lessons-learned-fraud-detection-part-1/)).

The team placed 3rd in the competition used IOTA to create a kind of internal system consisting of  temperature sensors that use IOTA Tangle to communicate with each other. If using a standard system, some problems were encountered while trying to synchronise the network of devices. Each device has its own designated address generated from a designated seed used to send transactions between parties. In IOTA it is possible to send transactions with zero value that contain some messages, and exactly this feature was implemented here. Firstly used on the test net, but the plan is to apply that in the main net ([read more](https://steemit.com/blockchain/@quantumdamage/iota-hack-gdansk-and-my-application-created-during-it-iota-sensors)).

You can watch all the IOTA Hackathon presentations [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klJY-v3ureU). 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IOTA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IOTA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hackathon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hackathon</a> Winners 💰💰💰 Great teams, great cooperation, great event 👏 <a href="https://twitter.com/jamie247?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jamie247</a> you might be proud✌️Thank you All! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iotahack?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iotahack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bitcoin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cryptocurrency?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cryptocurrency</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/devs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#devs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iotatokens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Iotatokens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hacking?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hacking</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/programming?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#programming</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cryptoeconomics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cryptoeconomics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/iotatoken?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iotatoken</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IOTASupport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IOTASupport</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/iotawallet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iotawallet</a> <a href="https://t.co/gxfkKbo0h1">pic.twitter.com/gxfkKbo0h1</a></p>&mdash; Bright Inventions (@BrightDevs) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrightDevs/status/932298740362305536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One may ask if it is a real fun spending two days in front of computer with a bunch of strangers. The example of IOTA Hackathon shows that it is indeed. Hackathons do not always have to involve unhealthy competitive structure. They should provide the participants with the opportunity to learn something new and to make a headway on issues they are interested in. A real hackathon is just the beginning of a long journey to solve real-life problems. During IOTA Hackathon there was no place for unrealistic expectation or pressure. People who did not know each other met and started discussing and cooperating as effectively as if they had done together dozens of projects before. It was all about helping each other, expanding knowledge and improving (or even discovering) your own skills, not about winning. Because during the most successful hackathons everyone wins.

## Request timeouts in Spring MVC

*Published: 2017-11-20 | Author: piotr | Tags: spring, mvc, spring-boot, thread-pool, timeout*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/spring-mvc-thread-pool-timeouts/index.md*

Last time we reviewed [how to configure HTTP client timeouts](https://brightinventions.pl/blog/http-client-timeouts/). This time let us focus on the other side of the HTTP request i.e. server. There is pretty much always a thread pool involved when we write a Spring MVC application. The thread pool configuration will vary depending on particular servlet container (Tomcat, Undertow, Jetty) so we have to watch out for subtle differences. However, most if not all of them will use a thread pool with fixed maximum size. As we already know, a pool of resources might get exhausted. In particular, a thread pool is more likely to get exhausted if we do not control timeouts diligently.  

## Threads involved in a Spring MVC request handling

A typical servlet container will use one or more thread pools to handle a request. In particular one of the thread pools is used to execute the Spring MVC part of request handling. Let us call this thread pool the request worker thread pool. The request worker thread pool will have a default maximum size:

* Tomcat: `server.tomcat.max-threads` controlling [`maxThreads`](https://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-8.5-doc/config/http.html) with a default of 200
* Undertow: `server.undertow.worker-threads` controlling [`WORKER_TASK_CORE_THREADS`](http://undertow.io/undertow-docs/undertow-docs-1.2.0/listeners.html) with a default of [`availableProcessors() * 8`](https://github.com/undertow-io/undertow/blob/b6a87a4b4a467b297363c46747c344faaee15ded/core/src/main/java/io/undertow/Undertow.java#L419)
* Jetty: There is no Spring configuration property available currently. One can customize the Jetty Thread Pool through code and jetty specific configuration though. The default maximum number of worker threads is 200.

![Thread pool](../../static/images/thread-pool-timeouts/thread-pool.jpg "")

## What happens when the request processing thread pool is empty?

 Once the request processing thread pool is empty, the servlet container will typically queue the requests. The queue is processed by the request processing thread pool. Queueing up requests is consuming server memory and sockets thus there typically is a limit after which a new incoming request is going to be immediately rejected.

* Tomcat: `server.tomcat.accept-count` Maximum queue length for incoming connection requests when all possible request processing threads are in use. [The default value is 100](https://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-8.5-doc/config/http.html).
* Undertow: As far as I can tell by default the requests will be queued and the only bound is system capacity. There is [Request Limiting Handler](http://undertow.io/undertow-docs/undertow-docs-1.2.0/#built-in-handlers) available though that allows configuring maximum concurrent requests as well as maximum queue size. 
* Jetty: By default will queue requests using unbounded queue. You can configure it though [as documented](https://wiki.eclipse.org/Jetty/Howto/High_Load):

```xml
<Configure id="Server" class="org.eclipse.jetty.server.Server">
    <Set name="ThreadPool">
      <New class="org.eclipse.jetty.util.thread.QueuedThreadPool">
        <!-- specify a bounded queue -->
        <Arg>
           <New class="java.util.concurrent.ArrayBlockingQueue">
              <Arg type="int">6000</Arg>
           </New>
      </Arg>
        <Set name="minThreads">10</Set>
        <Set name="maxThreads">200</Set>
        <Set name="detailedDump">false</Set>
      </New>
    </Set>
</Configure>
```

Queuing requests is necessary in the most commons scenarios to handle temporary spikes in load. For example, if your application can handle 100 requests per second, and if you can allow it to recover from one minute of excessive high load, you can set the queue capacity to 60*100=6000.

## How is the request processing thread pool related to timeouts?

Let us assume that the thread pool (max) size is 100 and that on average a request takes 1 second to process. In such server we can thus handle 100 requests per second (rps). Any requests over the rps limit is going to be queued. Now imagine we have a single type of request that for some reason takes much longer to process than usual e.g. 120 seconds due to some dependent service issue. When such request is processed, it will first block subsequent requesting processing threads until all of them are *busy waiting*. Depending on the limit of queue size and system capacity our server will soon start rejecting **all new requests**. It is worth noting that the *slow* requests are also going to be put in queue after thread pool capacity is reached. 

One of the ways to mitigate the issue and speed up system recovery is **to apply timeouts**. When a timeout for a particular request elapses ideally few things should happen:

* the client should be notified about the error ([503, 504 or 408](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HTTP_status_codes) depending on the use case)
* the request should be removed from the processing queue
* the thread processing the requests should be interrupted 

 Let's review what options are available.

* Tomcat has [Stuck Thread Detection Valve](http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-8.5-doc/config/valve.html#Stuck_Thread_Detection_Valve):

  > This valve allows to detect requests that take a long time to process, which might indicate that the thread that is processing it is stuck. Additionally it can optionally interrupt such threads to try and unblock them.
  > The valve has 2 configuration options:
* `threshold`: Minimum duration in seconds after which a thread is considered stuck. Default is 600 seconds. 
* `interruptThreadThreshold`: Minimum duration in seconds after which a stuck thread should be interrupted to attempt to "free" it.

*AFAIK the valve only applies to requests that did start processing by the thread pool.*

* Undertow and Jetty do not allow for setting a request timeout directly. They both do have *idle* connection detection and can timeout it accordingly. Unfortunately since HTTP/2 multiplexing the timeouts options may not be suitable to timeout a single request. 
* In Spring MVC there is no way to configure a timeout unless you use [async method](https://spring.io/guides/gs/async-method/). With async method one can use `spring.mvc.async.request-timeout=` to set amount of time (in milliseconds) before asynchronous request handling times out. However, using Async Servlet with Spring MVC requires changing the controller methods return types.

## There is no standard request timeout configuration

There are only couple of options available to set encompass request handling with a timeout. This is partially due to historical reasons. The servlet container specification did not consider timeouts until Async Servlet was defined. Another reason is that the there is no way [to safely *stop* a thread](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/misc/threadPrimitiveDeprecation.html) that a framework could use. The application code needs to cooperate to safely terminate the request handling execution. In the next post we will show how to add a request timeout to a Spring MVC application.

## How not to get crazy?

*Published: 2017-11-16 | Author: grzesiek | Tags: technology, addiction*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-not-to-get-crazy/index.md*

We live in XXI century, our lives have become easier thanks to lots of inventions. But have you ever thought about our addiction to technology? It has got to every part of my life and I haven’t even realized that. I wake up thanks to an alarm clock on my mobile phone, during breakfast I check the news on my notebook and all the time I look at my electronic clock to check the time. At university I use PC in laboratories, lecturers show us what they do on their own computers using projectors. I am a programmer, so at work I write new code or read the old one - all using the computer and staring at the display. At the weekends in the evenings it’s all the same because my life revolves around computers.


## Conversations

Nowadays everyone is in hurry. There is little time to stop for a moment and have a conversation in real life. We use text messages  and internet chats to contact with others. Writing has substituted talking and caused simplifying our language because some communicators have the limit of characters per one message. I am a great example of that, not only because of limitations. I live in a two-person room in a dorm. My roommate sits in front of his computer around 2 meters from me and for me it’s easier to write to him instead of turning around and talk. We both don’t have to stop doing our tasks or pause the music. I also “talk” to my computer for few hours every day. Yeah, “talk” - I got used to writing commands in pseudo-languages, so sometimes I  think about that as a form of talking. I have noticed that when I write to other people I use short sentences, which contain only most important information that is required by the topic of our conversation - like I would do if I “talked” to my computer and made it do a specific thing. Now, when I know that, I try to call instead of writing and waiting with some cases until I can talk to someone face to face.


## Portable devices


Pocket-size devices are cool, right? Lots of possibilities for such a small thing. What a wonderful invention - smartphone. It has everything you need - internet access, communication tools, place to make notes and a great potential for entertainment. I can put my phone in my pocket and  always take it with me. All day I feel a slim weight in my pocket reminding me that I have an access to everything in hand and call. But that is not enough - phones are still too big and can be left on a shelf or a desk. We need something smaller and handier. And that’s where smartwatches and   smartbands come. - smaller, lighter and easier to carry. No need to reach my pocket to check notifications, it’s all on my wrist. I had a smartband once and got used to it so much that I felt uncomfortable every time I had to put it off. I lost it during relocation and now I’m happy that it happened. To fight my phone addiction I put it at least one meter from me, so it’s too far to reach without standing. When I do something important or at night, I also turn the volume off, so it cannot give me a reason to take a break from my duties. 


## Big, but small enough to carry

Portable devices are useful, but they have limitations. Why not carry my notebook with me? It’s not too big to fit  in my backpack. It provides confidence that I am prepared for everything and I can deal with every problem. I can have a big screen, internet access, and all my data with me  for a just microscopic cost of a heavier backpack. So tempting, but also very fallacious.


## Replaced by technology

Nowadays we want things that are multifunctional. Why should I carry a paper book if I have a mobile phone in my pocket? It’s smaller and I can save many e-books on it. I can also buy an e-book reader to reduce my eye’s tiredness. But that’s still not a real book, and (for me) it can’t provide a similar atmosphere. Books are the only oldschool items, that are getting replaced -  smartwatches are getting more and more popular.
 
 
## How to deal with it?

It’s easy to talk about a  problem, but the most difficult thing is to find a solution. I try to use conventional stuff and meet people as often as I can. Virtual entertainment can be replaced by real one - like card and board games, music instruments and sport. Think about this - how technology has affected your life - , but don’t share your solutions below, talk about them to people around you ;).

![How](../../static/images/how-not-to-get-crazy/how.png "")

## Design Patterns with Swift: Facade pattern

*Published: 2017-11-15 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, design patterns, facade pattern*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/swift-facade-pattern/index.md*

![facade image](../../static/images/swift-facade-pattern/facade.jpg "")

## About the pattern

Facade pattern is one of the Structural Patterns. The main aim of it is to hide the complexity of a system, class or logic and provide all functionalities behind a simple interface.
Commonly, Facade is implemented in a way that one class is related to other classes which represents a system logic. Please take a look at the diagram:

![diagram](../../static/images/swift-facade-pattern/diagram.png "")

As you can see, there is one class called `Facade` which separates the logic from `LogicA`, `LogicB`, `LogicC` classes. As a result our client only call the `Facade` class in order to execute some methods that are implemented in other classes.

## Implementation

Let's imagine a simple scenario. You have already created a great app called `Super-Photo`. One of the core features of your app is saving/converting images with `JPEG` or `PNG` extension. In order to do this you want to save `UIImage` representation in two ways. One is saving it as a `PNG` type, the second is saving it as a `JPEG` file type.

Fistly, in order to handle our image types and possible errors in our code - it will be nice to have two enums that will make our code cleaner and more readable.

```swift
enum ImageSaverError: Error {
    case couldNotCreateDestinationPath
    case couldNotCreateJPEGDataFromImage
    case couldNotCreatePNGDataFromImage
    case couldNotSaveImageInDestinationPath
}

enum ImageType {
    case png
    case jpeg(compressionQuality: CGFloat)
}
```

On the next step you will need to create a class that will handle a data providing for each photo extension:

```swift
class ImageDataProvider {
    func data(from image: UIImage, type: ImageType) throws -> Data {
        switch type {
        case .jpeg(let compressionQuality):
            return try jpegData(from: image, compressionQuality: compressionQuality)
        case .png:
            return try pngData(from: image)
        }
    }

    private func pngData(from image: UIImage) throws -> Data {
        guard let imageData = UIImagePNGRepresentation(image) else { throw ImageSaverError.couldNotCreateJPEGDataFromImage }
        return imageData
    }

    private func jpegData(from image: UIImage, compressionQuality: CGFloat) throws -> Data {
        guard let imageData = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(image, compressionQuality) else { throw ImageSaverError.couldNotCreatePNGDataFromImage }
        return imageData
    }
}
```

As you've noticed, our `ImageDataProvider` takes `image` and `type` parameters and creates the image data with proper extension `JPEG` or `PNG`.

The last step is to create class which is needed to save `UIImage`. So let's name it a `PathProvider`. 

```swift
class PathProvider {
    func createDestinationPath(fileName: String) throws -> URL {
        guard let path = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first else {
            throw ImageSaverError.couldNotCreateDestinationPath
        }
        let destinationPath = path.appendingPathComponent("\(fileName)")
        return destinationPath
    }
}
```

Ok, so at the moment we have two classes with some logic inside. Now it's time to create a facade for it!

![let's do this](../../static/images/swift-facade-pattern/do_this.gif "")

Create a class called `ImageSaverFacade` :

```swift
class ImageSaverFacade {
    private let pathProvider = PathProvider()
    private let dataProvider = ImageDataProvider()

    func save(image: UIImage, type: ImageType, fileName: String, overwrite: Bool) throws {
        let destinationURL = try pathProvider.createDestinationPath(fileName: fileName)
        let imageData = try dataProvider.data(from: image, type: type)
        let writingOptions: Data.WritingOptions = overwrite ? (.atomic) : (.withoutOverwriting)
        try imageData.write(to: destinationURL, options: writingOptions)
    }
}
```

Our `ImageSaverFacade` class has two private objects of `PathProvider` and `ImageDataProvider` class. Because the client doesn't need to know anything about logic inside, the only thing which `ImageSaverFacade` exposes to a public is one method:

* `func save(image: UIImage, type: ImageType, fileName: String, overwrite: Bool) throws`

This method is the only thing that our client should care about.

Now let's move on to the facade usage part:

```swift
let imageSaver = ImageSaverFacade()
let image = UIImage(named: "my_image")!
do {
    try imageSaver.save(image: image, type: .png, fileName: "my_file_name", overwrite: true)
} catch  {
    //handle Error
}
// or
do {
    try imageSaver.save(image: image, type: .jpeg(compressionQuality: 1.0), fileName: "my_file_name", overwrite: false)
} catch  {
    //handle Error
}
```


## Conclusion

Please notice that our facade covers logic associated with `Data` providing and creating a valid `URL` for file destination. And because of that, it is super easy to save `UIImage` as `PNG` or `JPEG` using our `ImageSaverFacade`. Only thing to do is to pass the correct parameters to facade method.

Facade design pattern can be used in many cases. Facade creates for you a simple gateway to a complicated system. By using it you will definitely make your code simpler to understand and read.

## Putting native in React Native on Android

*Published: 2017-11-13 | Author: radek | Tags: android, react native, java, platform specific*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/write-native-in-react-native/index.md*

Using custom native components in React Native is a common thing, so sooner or later you may have to write some functionality in a native language and use it in your application. Let me show you a simple example how to do that.

<center>

![toy model](../../static/images/putting-native-in-rn/toymodel.JPG "")

</center>

### First prepare code in a separate application

We start with creating a simple native application. In this example, our app will show the user information when the headset is plugged in or out. It involves several native interactions:

* app lifecycle interaction while registering or unregistering listeners
* sending and receiving data via intents
* showing information by toasts
* using application context

Assuming you are familiar with creating native Android applications, the example below will be very easy. Our app uses one activity with a simple layout, that later is going to be irrelevant. Start with the private fields that will be used with our activity:

```java
private Context mContext;

private final BroadcastReceiver mHeadsetPlugReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
    @Override
    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
        if (intent.getAction().equals(Intent.ACTION_HEADSET_PLUG)) {
            boolean plugged = (intent.getIntExtra("state", 0) == 1);
            String message = plugged ? "Headset plugged in" : "Headset plugged out";
            Toast.makeText(mContext, message, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }
    }
};
```

Remembering a reference to your application context is not always necessary, as long as we can call `getApplicationContext` method within our Activity. Let's keep it now because we will modify it later.\
`BroadcastReceiver` is an abstract class and describes behavior on receiving information via Intent.

Registering listener looks like this:

```java
private void registerBroadcastReceiver() {
    IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter();
    filter.addAction(Intent.ACTION_HEADSET_PLUG);
    registerReceiver(mHeadsetPlugReceiver, filter);
}
```

`registerReceiver` method is an Activity's method and may be invoked on Context class object.

In `onCreate` method save the reference to the application context and register broadcast receiver:

```java
mContext = this;
registerBroadcastReceiver();
```

In the end, following clean coding principles, unregister receiver when closing your application using Activity's `unregisterReceiver` method:

```java
@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
    unregisterReceiver(mHeadsetPlugReceiver);
    super.onDestroy();
}
```

That's it, that is what we're going to work on. The app shows a simple message while plugging the headset in:

![native app](../../static/images/putting-native-in-rn/screenshot1.png "")

Let's use it in our RN project!

### /react-project/android

In your React project directory, there is an `android` folder. Its structure looks like every Android project and you may open it with Android Studio for convenient navigation. Source files are under `/app/src/main/java/{some}/{packages}/` and here we will add our code. We will have to pack our functionality in a specific way. Check `MainApplication.java` file first. It's extending `Application` class and implements `ReactApplication` interface. Take a look at `getPackages` method:

```java
@Override
protected List<ReactPackage> getPackages() {
  return Arrays.<ReactPackage>asList(
      new MainReactPackage()
  );
}
```

An application written in React Native is built like any other Android application, but React Native packages are added at runtime and it is specified here. You may write any native code and link it here, but you have to add it as `ReactPackage` and initialize it in `getPackages` method. Will need two files: *package* and *module*.

First create a package file that implements `com.facebook.react.ReactPackage` interface. It's got two methods and its basic implementation looks like this:

```java
public class MyHeadsetLibPackager implements ReactPackage {

    @Override
    public List<NativeModule> createNativeModules(ReactApplicationContext reactContext) {
        List<NativeModule> modules = new ArrayList<>();

        modules.add(new MyHeadsetLibModule(reactContext));

        return modules;
    }

    @Override
    public List<ViewManager> createViewManagers(ReactApplicationContext reactContext) {
        return Collections.emptyList();
    }
}
```

The most important part is to initialize module in `createNativeModules` method:

```java
modules.add(new MyHeadsetLibModule(reactContext));
```

`MyHeadsetLibModule` is how we name our second class. It will contain all functionalities of our library. It is necessary to extend `com.facebook.react.bridge.ReactContextBaseJavaModule` class for that.

```java
import com.facebook.react.bridge.ReactApplicationContext;
import com.facebook.react.bridge.ReactContextBaseJavaModule;

public class MyHeadsetLibModule extends ReactContextBaseJavaModule {

    public MyHeadsetLibModule(ReactApplicationContext reactContext) {

        super(reactContext);

        /*
            Our starting point.
        */

    }
}
```

Last thing necessary to compile a project is to add dependency to `/app/build.gradle`

```groovy
dependencies {
    ...
    compile "com.facebook.react:react-native:+"
    ...
}
```

### Moving from activity

Now we can implement everything as we did in our activity. Just mind two consequences of moving from `Activity` to `ReactContextBaseJavaModule`.

First:\
**Who's got the context?**\
From now we cannot call activity's methods like `registerReceiver` just like that. We also cannot access the application's context by calling `getApplicationContext`. That's why, in the module's constructor we get `ReactContext` instance. All activity's methods will be called from it.

Second:\
**Where are the lifecycle methods?**\
Right now nowhere. But just implement `LifecycleEventListener` in your module class. It's an interface that provides three basic lifecycle methods:

* `void onHostResume()`   
* `void onHostPause()`   
* `void onHostDestroy()`   

All lifecycle functionalities implement here. Then in the constructor register listener with `reactContext.addLifecycleEventListener(this)` and... done. Our module behaves like activity now.

The last thing to make our module visible is to override `getName` method. It should be returning the name of our module, like that:

```java
@Override
public String getName() {
    return "MyHeadsetLibModule";
}
```

Following all these guidelines a final form of our module rewritten from activity looks like this:

```java
import android.content.BroadcastReceiver;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.IntentFilter;
import android.widget.Toast;

import com.facebook.react.bridge.LifecycleEventListener;
import com.facebook.react.bridge.ReactApplicationContext;
import com.facebook.react.bridge.ReactContextBaseJavaModule;

public class MyHeadsetLibModule extends ReactContextBaseJavaModule implements LifecycleEventListener {

    private ReactApplicationContext mContext;

    private final BroadcastReceiver mHeadsetPlugReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
        @Override
        public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
            if (intent.getAction().equals(Intent.ACTION_HEADSET_PLUG)) {
                boolean plugged = (intent.getIntExtra("state", 0) == 1);
                String message = plugged ? "Headset plugged in" : "Headset plugged out";
                Toast.makeText(mContext, message, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            }
        }
    };

    public MyHeadsetLibModule(ReactApplicationContext reactContext) {
        super(reactContext);
        mContext = reactContext;
        registerBroadcastReceiver();
    }

    private void registerBroadcastReceiver() {
        IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter();
        filter.addAction(Intent.ACTION_HEADSET_PLUG);
        mContext.registerReceiver(mHeadsetPlugReceiver, filter);
    }

    @Override
    public String getName() {
        return "MyHeadsetLibModule";
    }

    @Override
    public void onHostResume() {

    }

    @Override
    public void onHostPause() {

    }

    @Override
    public void onHostDestroy() {
        mContext.unregisterReceiver(mHeadsetPlugReceiver);
    }    
}
```

### Exposing methods to JS

What if we would like to register `BroadcastReceiver` not on the application start, but later, and invoke it from React Native module in TypeScript? Here comes `@ReactMehod` annotation. Just add a method with it to your module class:

```java
@ReactMethod
public void startTrackingAudioJackPlug() {
    registerBroadcastReceiver();
}
```

Now in any TypeScript file, we can import it from `react-native`:

```js
import { NativeModules } from 'react-native'
```

and use calling it directly from NativeModules object:

```js
NativeModules.MyHeadsetLibModule.startTrackingAudioJackPlug()
```

### Getting callback from native module

Last modification - let the message about plugging headset will be displayed not by native toast, but some React Native alert. To do so we have to emit information about plugging headset from native module to JS module. In native code add this:

```java
reactContext
    .getJSModule(DeviceEventManagerModule.RCTDeviceEventEmitter.class)
    .emit(eventName, params);
```

1. `eventName` is `String` object and identifies emitted message   
2. `params` is `WritableMap` object and contains parameters in simple key-value collection

Now just register listener in JS module to receive the emitted message. Import `DeviceEventEmitter` from `'react-native'` and add this code in `componentDidMount` method:

```js
DeviceEventEmitter.addListener('CustomNameOfTheEvent', function(e: Event) {

    /*
        Here you can display an alert.
        Get parameters values from event like this:
        let parameter = e["key"]
    */

})
```

That's it. We have just implemented a native functionality with bidirectional communication.

## Important: do not overuse !important

*Published: 2017-11-12 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: css, important, html, stylesheet*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/do-not-overuse-important/index.md*

You have created your CSS rule and found out that it didn’t take a desired effect. You checked the CSS selector and HTML
code again to check if they correspond. Or you just opened the developer console in your browser, inspected the element
and checked if your CSS rule was present in the styles list. It turns out that it is there, but the declarations are
strikethrough. This means you have just encountered some kind of CSS specificity issue. You could just add
the `!important` flag to your declarations and have it done. Is it a good solution? Never. I do not say you should never
use `!important` though. What I really want to say is that you should never use `!important` if you are not aware of the
consequences.

![Image](../../static/images/do-not-overuse-important/important.jpg "")

First things first. If more than one selector applies to a certain HTML element, there is the order taken to decide
which particular style to apply:

* CSS selector with `!important` flag,
* inline styles (the ones defined directly in your HTML tags),
* selector with a higher specificity,
* selector defined later in your css.

I will elaborate on them bottom up.

**1. The order of CSS rules**

This is quite obvious - the last rule takes it all.

```css
p {
  color: red;
}

p {
  color: blue;
}
```

In the example above the text in `p` will be blue. An important remark: when you include multiple css files (i.e. some
vendor files), the order of link tags also matters. Always include your own css file as the last to make sure your
styles take effect.

**2. Specificity**

So, what is it? In a nutshell, this is a kind of weight applied to each CSS selector based on the number of occurrences
of each type of selector. It is a number in a system with a large base composed of three digits, which are as follows (
from the most specific):

* the number of ID selectors
* the number of class selectors, attributes selectors, and pseudo-classes
* the number of type selectors and pseudo-elements.

An example might be helpful in clarifying this. In examples below <span style={{ color: "red" }}>ID selectors</span> are
marked <span style={{ color: "red" }}>red</span>, <span style={{ color: "blue" }}>class</span>, <span style={{ color: "blue" }}>
attributes</span>, and <span style={{ color: "blue" }}>pseudo-classes selectors</span> are marked <span style={{ color: "blue" }}>
blue</span> and <span style={{ color: "green" }}>type</span> and <span style={{ color: "green" }}>pseudo-elements</span> selectors are
marked <span style={{ color: "green" }}>green</span>.

* <span style={{ color: "green" }}>a</span><span style={{ color: "blue" }}>:hover</span> gives <span style={{ color: "red" }}>0</span>
  ,<span style={{ color: "blue" }}>0</span>,<span style={{ color: "green" }}>1</span>
* <span style={{ color: "green" }}>html</span> <span style={{ color: "blue" }}>[type=button]</span> gives <span style={{ color: "red" }}>
  0</span>,<span style={{ color: "blue" }}>1</span>,<span style={{ color: "green" }}>1</span>
* <span style={{ color: "green" }}>body div div ul li</span><span style={{ color: "red" }}>#special-element</span>
  gives <span style={{ color: "red" }}>1</span>,<span style={{ color: "blue" }}>0</span>,<span style={{ color: "green" }}>5</span>

The commas between the digits are there so that you remember this is not a decimal number and the “digits” might be
greater than decimal "9". Nonetheless, to make things easier, you can think of this number as a decimal. At least as
long as your selectors don’t contain more that ten elements of the same type.

Notes:

* selectors inside the negation pseudo-class are counted like any other, but the negation itself does not count as a
  pseudo-class: <span style={{ color: "green" }}>input</span>:not(<span style={{ color: "blue" }}>[type=range]</span>) gives
  specificity of <span style={{ color: "red" }}>0</span>,<span style={{ color: "blue" }}>1</span>,<span style={{ color: "green" }}>1</span>,
* repeated occurrences of the same simple selector are allowed and do increase specificity,
* any inherited styles have specificity of <span style={{ color: "red" }}>0</span>,<span style={{ color: "blue" }}>0</span>
  ,<span style={{ color: "green" }}>0</span>.

In my opinion it is important to understand the specificity and know why one selector is chosen among the others. And if
you have already realized it, you can help yourself with a specificity calculator
like [this one](https://specificity.keegan.st/).

**3. Inline styles**

Inline styles are the ones defined directly in your HTML tag. They always beat any other CSS declaration. Sometimes you
may find the specificity presented as a four digit number where the thousand’s digit is for the inline styles (just as
in the calculator previously mentioned), but I personally prefer to treat the inline styles separately.

**4. The `!important` flag**

And finally we have the `!important` flag. It simply makes the CSS rule the most important. Have I said that inline
styles beat any other CSS declaration? Well, `!important` flag beats the inline styles :) The only way to override a
style tagged as important is to declare another rule and tag it as important as well. Just as with the inline styles,
you should generally avoid using the `!important` flag. But after all it is there for some reason, so maybe sometimes it
is acceptable?

Here is my subjective list of situations where you should not even think of using it.

* **In the site wide CSS.** They are likely to be overridden and you should not make it hard for your co-workers. And if
  you are going to continue work on this project (and you probably are), all the more you should not make it hard for
  yourself :)
* **In a library you are going to publish.** Try walking in the users’ shoes, it’s really common to override the
  library’s styles. If it’s hard and nasty, people will just not use the library.
* **As a first choice, when something doesn’t work as you expect it to.** You should always try to make your selectors
  more specific to achieve the goal.

On the other hand, are there any situations when you can use the `!important` flag and do not feel ashamed? You can use
it in the user stylesheet (a piece of CSS defined for you as a web page visitor in your browser - people with special
needs may use it to i.e. enlarge the text or change contrast). Some say this was the reason to introduced the flag
though I haven’t found any reliable information about that.

What about the use cases strictly tight to development? The one I can think of is overriding styles defined inline or
flagged as `!important`. However, if they appear in a third party library, it might be the perfect time to take a look
at other libraries and reconsider your choice. If they sit in your project and you do not have privileges to change
them, well, here you seem to have no choice. Of course, there is no need to mention the ones you have created. They do
not exist. You just do not overuse `!important` :)

## Your first unit tested Ethereum Smart Contract

*Published: 2017-11-12 | Author: daniel | Tags: smartcontract, ethereum, blockchain, truffle, web3js, parity, unittests*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/your-first-unit-tested-ethereum-smart-contract/index.md*

The goal of that blog post is to provide you with the exact steps how to start creating your first unit tested smart contract. 

## My toolbox

While writing this article I was using Parity 1.7.8-stable (Parity/v1.7.8-stable-d5fcf3b-20171025/x86_64-macos/rustc1.21.0) as a Ethereum client. You can find an installation guide on this site: [Parity - fast, light, and robust Ethereum client](https://github.com/paritytech/parity) or if you are on macOSX or Debian based Linux, please follow instructions described in the next paragraphs. 

## Installing parity on macOSX

If you don't have a `homebrew` package manager installed yet, please execute:

```shell
/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
```

and now the parity installation:

```shell
brew tap paritytech/paritytech
brew install parity --stable
```

## Installing parity on Linux

Almost all parity packages you can find here: `https://github.com/paritytech/parity/releases`. To install on Debian based Linux you will need wget and dpkg. Below as an example installation of parity 1.7.9-stable:

```shell
wget https://parity-downloads-mirror.parity.io/v1.7.9/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/parity_1.7.9_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i parity_1.7.9_amd64.deb
```

## Starting parity

For the purpose of that article we will start parity with:    

* private development chain definition `--chain=dev`        
* JSON RPC APIs: `--jsonrpc-apis web3,rpc,personal,parity_accounts,eth,net,parity,parity_set,signer`    
* gas price set to 0 `--gasprice 0`    
* interface IP address `--ui-interface 0.0.0.0`    
* disabled host name validation `--ui-no-validation`    
* allowing all hosts (Host header values) for using JSON RPC API `--jsonrpc-hosts all`    
* interface's IP address - all interfaces `--jsonrpc-interface all`                                 

```shell
parity --chain=dev --jsonrpc-apis web3,rpc,personal,parity_accounts,eth,net,parity,parity_set,signer --gasprice 0 --ui-interface 0.0.0.0 --ui-no-validation --jsonrpc-hosts all --jsonrpc-interface all
```

Now we do need an account with some ether amount to be able to perform transactions. Parity development chain allows you to create an account with almost unlimited ether amount but only on a development chain. You will not find creating such an account as an regular UI option, it's available as a hack. Please first open a link to parity UI (`http://0.0.0.0:8180/`) and open ACCOUNTS and then RESTORE,you should see: 
![Restore super account 1](../../static/images/smart-contract-create-test-and-deploy/parity-restore-super-account-1.jpg)

The trick is to restore an account with an empty recovery phrase. Please fill in the account name, password hint, passwords and click IMPORT on the right bottom corner:
![Restore super account 2](../../static/images/smart-contract-create-test-and-deploy/parity-restore-super-account-2.jpg)

Once the account is created, you should see:
![Restore super account 3](../../static/images/smart-contract-create-test-and-deploy/parity-restore-super-account-3.jpg)

 Next step is to run parity node with unlocked account on which we will execute all test transactions, so you will not need to sign every test transaction via Signer available via parity UI. To do that please first kill already started parity process and run that process with two additional parameters:    

* address to unlock `--unlock 0x00a329c0648769A73afAc7F9381E08FB43dBEA72`        
* user password for specified account to unlock `--password ./password`, where `./password` is a path to a file containing user password    

```shell
parity --chain=dev --jsonrpc-apis web3,rpc,personal,parity_accounts,eth,net,parity,parity_set,signer --gasprice 0 --ui-interface 0.0.0.0 --ui-no-validation --jsonrpc-hosts all --jsonrpc-interface all --unlock 0x00a329c0648769A73afAc7F9381E08FB43dBEA72 --password ./password
```

Which should result in something like this: 
![Parity in terminal](../../static/images/smart-contract-create-test-and-deploy/running-parity.jpg)

Parity node is ready! :) 

## Creating and testing Smart Contract - Truffle

The fastest and the simplest way I know to create, test and build smart contract is by using [truffle](https://trufflesuite.com/) tool. You can install truffle using npm (node version 6.11.4) package manager:\
`npm install -g truffle@4.0.1`     

Now please prepare an empty folder for your new project and execute the following command to initialize the truffle project structure:

```shell
truffle init
```

then please open and edit configuration file `truffle.js`, `from` parameter is an address from which all truffle transactions should be executed by default, please set as a value the address of the already created/restored account.

```javascript
module.exports = {  
  // See [http://truffleframework.com/docs/advanced/configuration](http://truffleframework.com/docs/advanced/configuration)  
    networks: { 
        development: {  
            host: "localhost",  
            port: 8545, 
            network_id: "*",    
            from: "0x00a329c0648769A73afAc7F9381E08FB43dBEA72", 
            gas: 5959115    
        }   
    }   
};  
```

For the purpose of that article I've decided to create a smart contract which stores the sum of all values added by calling `add` method. Method `add` is restricted to be called only by a smart contract owner.   

```solidity
pragma solidity ^0.4.17;    
    
contract TestSmartContract {    
    address public owner;   
    uint public total;  
    
    modifier restricted() { 
        if (msg.sender == owner) _; 
    }   
    
    function TestSmartContract() public {   
        owner = msg.sender; 
    }   
    
    function add(uint amount) public restricted {   
        total = total + amount; 
    }   
}   
```

Having the smart contract we need to create migration that will deploy that smart contract. To do that we need to create a new file: `2_test_smart_contract.js` inside `migrations` folder:

```javascript
var TestSmartContract = artifacts.require("./TestSmartContract.sol");      
module.exports = function(deployer) {   
    deployer.deploy(TestSmartContract); 
};  
```

Now we need to execute migration by executing:

`truffle migrate`   

We are ready to start writing and executing unit tests. Below you can find two unit tests, the first one asserts if we call add method with value 4 then the total would equal to 4 and the second one - if we add: 6, 4, 20 total would be equal to 30. In `beforeEach` block we do create a new smart contract and read the contract owner address. 

```javascript
const TestContract = artifacts.require('TestSmartContract');

let TestContractDeployed;
let ContractOwner;

contract('TestContract', (accounts) => {

    beforeEach('prepare', () => {
        return TestContract.new().then((instance) => {
            TestContractDeployed = instance;
            return TestContractDeployed.owner();
        }).then(function (owner) {
            ContractOwner = owner;
        });
    });

    describe('test add method', () => {

        it('total should be 4 if add(4)', (done) => {
            TestContractDeployed.add(4, {from: ContractOwner}).then(function () {
                TestContractDeployed.total({from: ContractOwner}).then(function (res) {
                    assert.equal(res.valueOf(), 4);
                    done();
                });
            });
        });

        it('total should be 30 if add(6);add(4);add(20);', (done) => {
            Promise.all([
                TestContractDeployed.add(6, {from: ContractOwner}),
                TestContractDeployed.add(4, {from: ContractOwner}),
                TestContractDeployed.add(20, {from: ContractOwner})
            ]).then(() => {
                TestContractDeployed.total({from: ContractOwner}).then(function (res) {
                    assert.equal(res.valueOf(), 30);
                    done();
                });
            });
        });

    });

});
```

For more information it's definitely worth to visiting [truffle docs](https://truffle.readthedocs.io/en/beta/)

All the code that was generated during that post creation you can find here [smart-contract repo](https://github.com/bright/smart-contract)

Hope you have liked it! :)

## HTTP request logging in Node.JS

*Published: 2017-11-11 | Author: adam | Tags: node.js, logging, backend*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/http-request-logging-in-node/index.md*

**One of the most basic kind of logging every backend application should have is a trace logging of all incoming HTTP requests. Yet it's not easy to make it right and useful. Most of the backends we create at Bright nowadays are Node.JS applications based on [Express](https://expressjs.com/). Although there is a [plethora of libraries](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=logging) that are to handle logging for you, we would not be ourselves if we haven't tried to build something on our own (even if only for the sake of knowing the internals better). Let me show you what we have learned and what we do to ensure our logs are meaningful and useful.**

## Log both requests and responses

The processing of an incoming HTTP request might consist of many tasks we want our backend to do including database queries, third party service calls and all kinds of data processing. By the nature of Node.JS, Express processes it asynchronously. The incoming data and the outgoing result of the HTTP request being processed are also decoupled in the Node's `http` module's code via the separation of [`ClientRequest`](https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_class_http_clientrequest) from [`ServerResponse`](https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_class_http_serverresponse) objects. 

These are the reasons we should always care about the beginning and the end of the processing pipeline separately and log both of them. In Express it's easy to use [middlewares](https://expressjs.com/en/guide/using-middleware.html) to stow into the beginning of the processing and execute our logging code there. Let's start with this simplistic approach, written in TypeScript:

```typescript
const logRequestStart = (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
    console.info(`${req.method} ${req.originalUrl}`)
    next()
}

app.use(logRequestStart)
```

It's definitely missing a lot of general identification stuff to be useful, but it's a start. We're logging request's method (GET, POST etc.) and its [original URL](http://expressjs.com/en/api.html#req.originalUrl) - note that `req.url` might not necessarily keep the same value as it might be manipulated by our Express-based router.

![Node.JS logging](../../static/images/node-logging.jpeg "")

How about logging the other end of the processing pipeline? We have no generic way to attach a middleware to the end of processing and appending the `logRequestEnd` middleware manually at the end of each route definition would be very repetitive and cumbersome. But fortunately, `ServerResponse` is an [`EventEmitter`](https://nodejs.org/api/events.html#events_class_eventemitter) - it emits the events when it's finished and we can subscribe with our code there. Here is our updated code (TypeScript again):

```typescript
const logRequestStart = (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
    console.info(`${req.method} ${req.originalUrl}`) 
    
    res.on('finish', () => {
        console.info(`${res.statusCode} ${res.statusMessage}; ${res.get('Content-Length') || 0}b sent`)
    })
    
    next()
}

app.use(logRequestStart)
```

Note we now attach a function as a subscriber to `finish` event emitted by our HTTP response object. It logs the status code and message (`200 OK`, `404 Not Found` etc.) and the length of the response body. Although it might be tempting initially to log the whole response data, it will normally be too long to be useful and might not be welcomed by our privacy savvy users if we keep their private data included in the responses in the plain text logs. And if we're only interested in the general outcome of our request, we should better communicate it [via HTTP status code](http://racksburg.com/choosing-an-http-status-code/), anyway.

## When the request is finished?

The code above has (at least) one problem. Not all the responses actually finish - when the request is aborted by the client or internal unhandled error is thrown, `ServerResponse` emits `close` and `error` events accordingly, instead, and we should also subscribe on them. The problem here is, though, we can't expect `res.statusCode` to be set properly in these cases. This itself is rather obvious, given the fact that the processing was abruptly interrupted for some reason. What is surprising, though, is that when we actually read it anyway, for example assuming that `statusCode` will be undefined or falsy, we get `200` (success status code) instead. 

This tricked us in the past because if we logged it as-is, while reading the logs afterwards we might overlook the fact that the request definitely wasn't that successful. I'd argue that this was a rather strange design decision of Node's `http` module creators to set the `statusCode` to 200 initially and let it be overwritten in case of unsuccessful responses - if the outcome is not yet known, it should not falsely indicate it is successful.

The TypeScript code that handles these cases correctly might look as follows:

```typescript
const getLoggerForStatusCode = (statusCode: number) => {
    if (statusCode >= 500) {
        return console.error.bind(console)
    }
    if (statusCode >= 400) {
        return console.warn.bind(console)
    }

    return console.log.bind(console)
}

const logRequestStart = (req: ApiRequest, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
    console.info(`${req.method} ${req.originalUrl}`) 
    
    const cleanup = () => {
        res.removeListener('finish', logFn)
        res.removeListener('close', abortFn)
        res.removeListener('error', errorFn)
    }

    const logFn = () => {
        cleanup()
        const logger = getLoggerForStatusCode(res.statusCode)
        logger(`${res.statusCode} ${res.statusMessage}; ${res.get('Content-Length') || 0}b sent`)
    }

    const abortFn = () => {
        cleanup()
        console.warn('Request aborted by the client')
    }

    const errorFn = err => {
        cleanup()
        console.error(`Request pipeline error: ${err}`)
    }

    res.on('finish', logFn) // successful pipeline (regardless of its response)
    res.on('close', abortFn) // aborted pipeline
    res.on('error', errorFn) // pipeline internal error

    next()
}

app.use(logRequestStart)
```

Two more things to note here. 

First is that as both successful (2xx) and gracefully unsuccessful (4xx and handled 5xx) are going through the "ordinary" `finish` event route, I added the code to determine what the most correct console logger level to be used is. It has a little effect on the plain text logs output, but while looking at the terminal of the application running it dev, warnings and errors are colored red so they catch the attention more easily.

Second is the `cleanup` function that ensures no hanging listeners exist and regardless of which code path is taken, all the listeners are cleared and nothing prevents correct garbage collection.

## Correlate your requests with responses

We're doing well in logging both ends of our pipeline so far, but it's very far from usefulness if our request start logs are not at all correlated with response end logs. When we process many requests simultaneously, we have no way to figure out how long the request processing took or what the URL requested for an unsuccessful response was. Let's fix it by generating a transient identifier for the request being processed and ensuring it is included in all the log entries we create. 

We do it by running a middleware that adds our custom property to the request object and sets its value to the token generated by [`gen-uid`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/gen-uid) library although the way we generate the value is not important at all and you might use any other method that provides a value that is unique enough to distinguish a single particular request from another ones.

```typescript
import {token} from 'gen-uid'

req.requestId = token(true).substr(0, 8)
```

Then we just append this value every time something is logged. In the simplest case it might look like this:

```typescript
console.info(`[${req.requestId}] ${req.method} ${req.originalUrl}`) 
```

The example output of two overlapping requests now looks like this:

```text
[4e33fab09] GET /users?phrase=Adam
[8cc01bd69] GET /users?phrase=Jane
[4e33fab09] 200 OK; 235b sent
[8cc01bd69] 204 No Content; 0b sent
```

## Collect all the metadata

This starts to be useful, but still we're missing a lot. We don't know when the request happened and who our requester was. But we should be able to [read most of these from the request headers](/blog/8-steps-to-keep-your-api-sane/). The things we collect are: the client version, platform it is running on, user device identification and locale information and also a bits of app-specific user identification (ID, status, roles etc.) that we load based on the authentication token provided (or not provided) in the request. Here is the middleware code that sets up the metadata in the request object.

```typescript
interface RequestApiClient {
    version: string
    platformVersion: string
    device: string
    locale: string
}

interface ApiRequest extends Request {
    requestId: string
    apiClient: RequestApiClient
    user: ApiUser
}

const enhanceRequestWithMetadata = (req: ApiRequest, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
    req.requestId = token(true).substr(0, 8)

    req.apiClient = {
        version: req.get('X-ClientVersion'),
        platformVersion: req.get('X-ClientPlatformVersion'),
        device: req.get('X-ClientDevice'),
        locale: req.get('X-ClientLocale')
    }
    
    req.user = loadUser(req) // app-specific implementation

    next()
}
```

In order to remove the repetition while logging these things, let's introduce a wrapper for the Console API that automatically prepends all the messages with all the relevant metadata, always in the same way, to ensure our logs are both readable for humans and processable by the machines.

```typescript
export interface Logger {
    info(...args)
    log(...args)
    warn(...args)
    error(...args)
}

class LoggerImpl {
    private _req: ApiRequest
    private _requestImprint: string = ''

    constructor(req?: ApiRequest) {
        if (req) {
            this._req = req

            let imprintParts = [req.requestId]

            if (req.apiClient) {
                imprintParts.push(`${req.apiClient.device || ''} ${req.apiClient.platformVersion || ''}`)

                if (req.apiClient.version) {
                    imprintParts.push(`#${req.apiClient.version}`)
                }
                if (req.apiClient.locale) {
                    imprintParts.push(`${req.apiClient.locale} locale`)
                }
            }

            this._requestImprint = imprintParts.filter(x => !!x).join(', ')
        }
    }

    private get _userImprint() {
        return this._req && this._req.user ? ` ${(this._req.user.role || '').toLowerCase()} ${this._req.user.id}` : ''
    }

    private _log(level, ...args) {
        return console[level](new Date().toISOString(), level, `[${this._requestImprint},${this._userImprint}]`, ...args)
    }

    info(...args) {
        return this._log('info', ...args)
    }

    log(...args) {
        return this._log('log', ...args)
    }

    warn(...args) {
        return this._log('warn', ...args)
    }

    error(...args) {
        return this._log('error', ...args)
    }
}
```

Now, instead of using Console API directly, we instantiate a `Logger` instance, monkey-patch it into request object and use it throughout the processing pipeline (also for any regular log messages that happen inside of the pipeline that we do not cover here at all). This way, our logs look like this:

```text
2017-11-05T16:10:49.570Z info [350a7a0e, iPhone8,1 ios11.0.3, #622, de-de locale, no auth] GET /api/v1/user
2017-11-05T16:10:49.571Z info [6e79bd36, SM-G920F android7.0, #331, en-US locale, user 208ee38f-c636-4180-8dd4-dde48a04a4d1] GET /api/v1/entries
2017-11-05T16:10:49.704Z log [350a7a0e, iPhone8,1 ios11.0.3, #622, de-de locale, no auth] 401 Unauthorized; 0b sent
2017-11-05T16:10:50.351Z log [6e79bd36, SM-G920F android7.0, #331, en-US locale, user 208ee38f-c636-4180-8dd4-dde48a04a4d1] 200 OK; 4732b sent
```

Good enough!

## TeamCity for iOS project

*Published: 2017-11-10 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, Fastlane, TeamCity, continuous integration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/teamcity-for-ios-project/index.md*

Hi! Today's topic will be about [TeamCity](https://www.jetbrains.com/teamcity/) and how to provide continuous integration in your iOS project.

![title image](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/title_image.jpg)

## Motivation

I have configured a TeamCity many times and for many projects. There are many advantages of using Continuous Integration system in your project development process. Also, there is a lot of alternatives to TeamCity like [CircleCI](https://circleci.com/), [TravisCI](https://travis-ci.org/) and many more. But in this post I want to share with you TeamCity experience that I have gained at  [Bright Inventions](https://brightinventions.pl).

Every project that we start - we start from configuring Continuous Integration stuff and in our case we use TeamCity to handle that.

This post will be more like a tutorial that will guide you through all basic and most important steps in iOS project configuration. Also, I assume that you have already downloaded, and hosted your TeamCity service.

Hope you will like it!

## Step 1: Create a root project

Firstly, you need to go to a page where your TeamCity is hosted. After loging-in, go to the Administration Page, click `Projects` tab in `Project-related Settings` section and click `Create project`

![project settings](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/create_project_step1.png)

after that you should a see configuration screen for Version Control that is used in your project.

![create project version control](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/create_project.png)

I prefer a way in which I will configure everything manually, but of course you can go with predefined sections like : `From GitHub`. `From Bitbucket Cloud` etc.
All you need to do in this step is to provide a Name of your project and then tap `Create`

## Step 2: Add VCS root

Of course, in order to build our project we need to provide sources to build.
Our TeamCity service should be able to fetch changes from the repository. If you're using a GitHub, BitBucket or platforms similar to these, you have two ways:

* Give credentials to account which has an access to the repository

or

* Generate a SSH key and use it to authorize TeamCity in GitHub/Bitbucket

In this post I will show you how to configure it with uploading SSH key.

### Generate new SSH key

*If you haven't heard about generating SSH keys, or you don't know what SSH keys really are, check [this link](https://help.github.com/articles/generating-a-new-ssh-key-and-adding-it-to-the-ssh-agent/)*

To generate new SSH keys you can use a terminal command:

```shell
ssh-keygen -t rsa
```

next, provide a name for new key, and an optional passphrase, then in the directory in which you run `ssh-keygen -t rsa` command you should see two files. One is a public key with `.pub` extension, and the second - private one.
The public one will be used in your repository on github/bitbucket. The private key will be used in TeamCity service.

### Use generated key in TeamCity

Go to an already created project, settings page and click `VCS SSH Keys` tab.

![ssh section in TeamCity](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/ssh_section.png)

Click on `Upload SSH Key`. After that you should see a pop-up window which allows you to upload the previously created SSH Key.
*Please keep in mind that you should upload a private part of your key, without `pub` extension*. If you choose correctly, click save and you should see a screen like this:

![uploaded ssh key](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/ssh_uploaded_key.png)

As you can see in `Usage` tab, the key is not used in the configuration yet.
In order to use it - you have to go through the next steps...

### Configure VCS root

Go to the already created project’s settings page. As you can notice in `SSH Keys` tab - appeared number '1' - it means that we have one SSH key uploaded which is ready to use.

![create project version control](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/vcs_root_section.png)

Click on `VCS Roots` tab, and then `Create VC Root`.

In our case, in `Type of VCS` select `Git`

![type of vcs](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/type_of_vcs.png)

In `VCS root name` provide a name which will be:

> A unique name to distinguish this VCS root from other roots.

Next, in `Fetch URL` paste a link to your repository. *Please remember to paste here a SSH link type e.g `git@github.com:yournickname/yourrepositoryname.git`*

![fetch url in vcs config](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/fetch_url.png)

Next, the most important thing, in `Authentication method` select `Uploaded Key` and choose a previously uploaded private ssh key for you repository.

![fetch url in vcs config](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/ssh_choose_uploaded_key.png)

Almost done. Now go to the end of the page and click `Test Connection`.

If you see screen like this:

![fetch url in vcs config](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/connection_failed.png)

it means that our public part of generated SSH key is not used in the repository, and that's why you get `Auth failed` error. So, all you need to do is to add a public part of SSH Key in `Access keys` or `Deploy keys` in your repository.

Here you have links for Bitbucket and GitHub instructions how to do that:

[BitBucket - Use access keys](https://confluence.atlassian.com/bitbucket/use-access-keys-294486051.html)

[GitHub - Deploy keys](https://developer.github.com/v3/guides/managing-deploy-keys/#deploy-keys)

If you have successfully uploaded public part of SSH Key, click `Test Connection` again, and I hope you will be able to see `Connection successful` alert. It means that TeamCity has an access to read your repository.

![fetch url in vcs config](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/connection_successful.png)

## Step 3: Create build configuration

Ok, our VCS is configured. Now it's time to create build configuration in TeamCity project. Build configuration is a kind of lane which specifies what type of build you provide in this lane.
It could be a lane for: compile your project and run unit tests or just compile a project or compile a project then create .ipa files and send it to iTunesConnect or even a separate lane for running UI tests.

Go to `General Settings` in you already created project and click `Create build configuration`

![build configuration step 1](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/create_build_configuration.png)

In next screen, once again, choose `Manually` option and name your new build configuration. In our case let's name it `[Develop] Build & Test`. The name is meaningful and means that our lane will build iOS project with develop configuration - `Develop` and also, provides an short information what this lane will do - `Build & Test` which means that we compile our project and run unit tests.

![build configuration step 2](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/build_configuration_name.png)

Click `Create` and after that you should see:

![build configuration step 2](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/attach_vcs_root.png)

Here, select a previously created `VCS Root` and click `Attach`.

All done, our build configuration is connected with VCS.

## Step 4: Configure build steps for configuration

Now it's time to define  steps in our build configuration. What are the build steps? They are a sequence of instructions which TeamCity will run on our agent machine. Put it simply, it could be something like:

1. Fetch new changes from repo
2. Install dependencies (cocoapods, bundle install and stuff like that)
3. Compile project using script (xcodebuild, fastlane)

*Please remember that build steps depend on how you configure your iOS project. In my example I used [Fastlane](https://fastlane.tools), and [Bundler](http://bundler.io/) to manage versions of gems installed in iOS project.*

In order to create build steps go to `Build configuration Settings` and tap `Build Steps`

![build configuration step 2](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/build_steps_1.png)

Click on `Add build step`, and on the next screen select a `Command line` runner type.
In `Step name` name your build step(in my case it will be `Install Dependencies`). In `Custom script` type a script that will be executed in this build step. Again, in my case it will be

```shell
bundle install
```

![build configuration step 2](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/command_line_build_step_configuration.png)

click `Save` and your first step is ready!

I also added another command line build step called `Build and tests` which will run command:

```shell
bundle exec fastlane build_and_test
```

*`build_and_test` is the name of the lane in `Fastfile`. If you're not familiar with Fastlane, please have a look at  this. It's a great tool [Fastlane](https://fastlane.tools)*

So, now we have all build steps created.

![build steps created](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/build_steps_final.png)

## Step 5: Triggers

Have you ever wondered how TeamCity knows when to fetch new changes from the repository and build it? Triggers is an answer.

I prefer to use two types of triggers. One of these is called `VCS Trigger` which means that TeamCity checks automatically if something has changed in your repository and if this is a case  then it will start a build configuration which contains that type of trigger.
`VCS Trigger` is used in the configurations like `Compile & Test` for example. Because we want to compile and run tests after every push to the repository.

The latter trigger, is called `Schedule Trigger`. It is a simple trigger which could say : *Run this configuration at every Monday at 7:00AM*

Go to `Triggers` section in Build Configuration main page. Click `Add new trigger` and select `VCS Trigger` and simply click `Save`

![vcs trigger](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/vcs_trigger.png)

`VCS Trigger` configured successfully, easy right?.

Next, do the same, `Add new trigger` -> `Schedule Trigger` and choose options that will meet your requirements (in my case it is a daily trigger at 04:00 AM) and click `Save`.

![time trigger](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/time_trigger.png)

All triggers created!

## Step 6: Add Build Features

Build features are cool stuff. For example, while using build features you can create a condition that checks which version of Ruby is installed, or you can create a condition that will check if there is some available space on your machine. It is super useful if you want to produce `.ipa` files and you know that you need at least 100MB free space. In this post I will show you how to configure two build features - one is `XML report processing` and the second one `Ruby environment configurator`.

* `XML report processing`

Go to `Build Features` section in the build configuration main page, and click `Add build feature`. Choose `XML report processing`, select `Ant JUnit` and in `Monitoring rules` paste a path for `report.junit` file which is generated by Fastlane after `scan` action.
In `report.junit` you can find out how many tests have been run, how many tests failed, how many tests have been completed successfully.

![xml reporting](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/xml_reporting.png)

* `Ruby environment configurator`

This time select `Ruby environment configurator` in `Add build feature` window. In `gemset` define which ruby version you need to have. In my case it was `ruby-2.3.3`.

This feature will check if this version of ruby is available on the agent machine and if not it will not start build configuration. It is an optional step, but sometimes it is incredibly useful - especially, if you use multiple ruby versions or someone else could change a global version of ruby on agent machine.

![xml reporting](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/ruby_feature.png)

## Step 7: Parameters

There are 3 types of parameters for build configuration or even root project.

* Configuration Parameter
* System properties(system.)
* Environment Variables(env.)

In this post I will focus on `Environment variables`. That type of variables are created after build start(is ready?) and they can be accessed via Command line with `$` prefix. One example of Environment variable could be an XCode path. In order to compile our project we need XCode path which will be used by Fastlane tool. So in `Fastfile` I add line:

```shell
xcode_select ENV["XCODE_PATH"]
```

which means - select XCode from a path that you can find under `ENV["XCODE_PATH"]` variable.

On the build configuration main page select `Parameters` and click `Add new parameter`. In `Name` type `env.XCODE_PATH`, TeamCity should automatically change Kind to `Environment variable` and in the value provide a path to XCode.app on your agent machine.

![xcode path](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/xcode_path.png)

By using parameters you can pass many useful values such as your build number or the name of scheme that should be built and many more. I encourage you to check it out :)

## Step 8: Failure Conditions

Failure conditions should be used in a situation when you want to force your build to fail. A great example of that is a timeout. Let's imagine that something bad happens on your agent machine and your build is hanging over 2 hours, when normally it takes a few minutes. Failure conditions come with help! You can set up here that if build lasts above `n` minutes then it should fail.

In the main page of build configuration go to `Failure Conditions` and on line `if runs longer than specified limit in minutes` put a value(in minutes). In my case it will be 60 minutes.

![failuire condition](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/failuire_condition.png)

## Step 9: Agent machine

As you have probably noticed, I often mention `agent machine`. Agent, **in iOS case**, it is a computer(Macbook, MacMini, etc) with macOS system. Agent is connected via script to your TeamCity page. TeamCity can communicate with agent in order to use it to execute build steps from build configuration. The important thing is that your agent should be turned ON all the time to provide continuous integration.

Ok, but how to configure an Agent?

Go to `Agents` tab in TeamCity page. You can find it at the top.

![agent tab](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/agents.png)

In a newly created TeamCity there are no available agents yet. Let's click on `Install Build Agents`.

![failure condition](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/install_build_agent.png)

I prefer a way of installing it via `Zip file distribution`. After you click on that your web browser will download all the files that are necessary to run agent.

Great instruction how to configure Mac agent you can find in  [TeamCity docs here](https://confluence.jetbrains.com/display/TCD10//Setting+up+and+Running+Additional+Build+Agents#SettingupandRunningAdditionalBuildAgents-InstallingviaZIPFile). Below are the steps from this documentation:

```text
1.Make sure a JDK (JRE) 1.8 (versions 1.6-1.8 are supported, but 1.8 is recommended) is properly installed on the agent computer.

2.On the agent computer, make sure the JRE_HOME or JAVA_HOME environment variables are set (pointing to the installed JRE or JDK directory respectively).

3.In the TeamCity Web UI, navigate to the Agents tab.

4.Click the Install Build Agents link and select Zip file distribution to download the archive.

5.Unzip the downloaded file into the desired directory.

6.Navigate to the <installation path>\conf directory, locate the file called buildAgent.dist.properties and rename it to buildAgent.properties.

7.Edit the buildAgent.properties file to specify the TeamCity server URL and the name of the agent. Please refer to Build Agent Configuration section for details on agent configuration.

8.Under Linux, you may need to give execution permissions to the bin/agent.sh shell script.
```

After these steps you can start the agent via command:

```shell
pathToDownloadedUnzippedBuildAgentFiles\bin\agent.sh start
```

The next thing to do  is to go to TeamCity page on `Agents` tab again. You will have to wait a bit, and after some time you should see one agent available under `Unauthorized` tab. Only thing to do is to `Authorize` agent. After this you will see you agent under `Connected` tab.

![agent connected](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/agent_connected.png)

## Step 10: Setup Agent requirements for build configuration

The last thing...You need to specify now which agent should build your configuration. If  your TeamCity contains a projects for iOS and Android, probably it will have two agents - one for Android, and the second one for iOS. Of course, we don't want to start our **iOS build configuration** on computer for Android project which probably will not have XCode, or even macOS. So, in order to provide a proper agent for you project you need to use `Agent requirements` for build configuration.

In the main page of build configuration go to `Agent requirements` tab and then:

* Select `Add new requirement`
* In `Parameter Name` type `teamcity.agent.jvm.os.name`
* In `Condition` select  `equals`
* In `Value` select  `Mac OS X`
* Save

![agent connected](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/agent_requirements.png)

The requirement which we have already created means that agent OS name should be Mac OS X because we configure a project for iOS.

## Step 11: Ready for build - RUN! 🎉

All configured, you're ready to start your build via TeamCity. Go to main TeamCity page and tap `Run` on your freshly created build configuration.

![start build](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/run_build.png)

After that, you will be able to see build progress:

![build running](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/build_running.png)

If you want to see the progress in a current build, just click on `Running` label and go to the `Build log` section. It is very useful if some errors occurred while compiling.

![build running](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/build_log.png)

Finally, after all build steps you will be able to see:

![build success](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/build_success.png)

As you can see, `XML Processing Report` Build Feature provides a cool output about unit tests: `Test passed: 24`.

## Step 12: Artifacts!

Last optional step. I can imagine that you can find many cases that you want to compile a project, create a `.ipa` file and send it to the client. Artifacts are made for it.
To do this: Go to build configuration settings by clicking `Edit Settings`:

![build configuration settings](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/edit_settings.png)

in `General Settings` under `Artifacts paths` type a path to `.ipa` file which will be generated by your build scripts. I recommend using Fastlane again. Fastlane action called `gym` will build your project and create `.ipa` file in the output directory. More about `gym` you can [read here](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/gym/).

![artifacts path](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/artifacts_path.png)

If you do this, after next build you will be able to download `.ipa` via `Artifacts` page on TeamCity.

![artifacts published](../../static/images/teamcity-for-ios-project/artifacts.png)

## Conclusion

TeamCity is a great platform to provide Continuous Integration in your project. In combination with Fastlane it saves you many hours of manual deploying, testing and compiling.

Also, if you will configure Artifacts in build configuration, you can easily send a link to your TeamCity page to your client, and give him instructions how to download the `.ipa` with a few clicks. So, you don't have to worry about sending `.ipa` files every time you create a new file version.

Hope you like the post. Feel free to comment and share :)

This post was published also on my [personal blog](https://wysockikamil.com/teamcity-for-ios-project/)

## HTTP client timeouts

*Published: 2017-11-04 | Author: piotr | Tags: http, timeout, network, rest, api*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/http-client-timeouts/index.md*

We have already touched upon [the importance of timeouts](/blog/the-importance-of-timeouts/) and described most important [related JDBC knobs](/blog/database-timeouts/). The next aspect of timeouts I would like to focus on is using API clients. Specifically HTTP clients which are by far the most popular. We will review couple of popular HTTP client libraries and their configuration regarding timeouts. 

![Waiting](../../static/images/http-client-timeouts/waiting.jpg "")

## HttpURLConnection timeouts

[`HttpURLConnection`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/net/HttpURLConnection.html) available since JDK 1.1 has gained the ability to timeout its network communication in version JDK 5. The 2 available timeouts [`setConnectionTimeout`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/net/URLConnection.html#setConnectTimeout(int)), [`setReadTimeout`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/net/URLConnection.html#setReadTimeout(int)) control how long to wait until connection is established and how long to wait for a data from the server respectively. The default values are **infinite ‼️**. 

## Apache HttpClient timeouts

[HttpClient](https://hc.apache.org/httpcomponents-client-4.5.x/.html) from Apache HttpComponents suite has been a standard choice for http communication. It is a mature project, with rich API that fills many `HttpURLConnection` shortcomings e.g. connection pooling. Many of the APIs have been deprecated e.g. `DefaultHttpClient`, `org.apache.http.params.CoreConnectionPNames` hence one needs to be careful when setting the timeouts they fallback to system defined socket level defaults. 

There are 3 timeouts settings available:

```kotlin
val requestConfig = RequestConfig.custom()
    // Determines the timeout in milliseconds until a connection is established.
    .setConnectTimeout(5_000) 
    // Defines the socket timeout in milliseconds,
    // which is the timeout for waiting for data or, put differently,
    // a maximum period inactivity between two consecutive data packets).
    .setSocketTimeout(5_000)
    // Returns the timeout in milliseconds used when requesting a connection
    // from the connection manager.
    .setConnectionRequestTimeout(2_000)
    .build()
```

The `requestConfig` can be further used as a default for an `HttpClient` instance:

```kotlin
val httpClient = HttpClients.custom()
    .setDefaultRequestConfig(requestConfig)
    .build()
```

It is also possible to configure each request separately:

```kotlin
val get = HttpGet("http://httpbin.org/get").apply { 
    config = requestConfig
}
httpClient.execute(get)
```

## OkHttp

[OkHttp](http://square.github.io/okhttp/) is my favorite HTTP & HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications. It is efficient and has **good configuration defaults**. There are 3 timeout settings available:

```kotlin
val client = OkHttpClient.Builder()
    // Sets the default connect timeout for new connections.
    .connectTimeout(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
    // Sets the default read timeout for new connections.
    .readTimeout(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
    // Sets the default write timeout for new connections.
    .writeTimeout(20, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
    .build()
```

All `connectTimeout`, `readTimeout` and `writeTimeout` default to **10 seconds** 👍.

## XMLHttpRequest and Fetch API timeouts

`XMLHttpRequest` is the standard foundation of network communication of Web application for over 10 years now. Nowadays it is being replaced with Fetch API but it still is, and will continue to be, the most popular for couple of years. There is only a single `timeout` configuration available in [`XMLHttpRequest`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/XMLHttpRequest/timeout):

> The XMLHttpRequest.timeout property is an unsigned long representing the number of milliseconds a request can take before automatically being terminated. The default value is 0, which means there is no timeout.

**Default is infinite ‼️**

Since the default value is not configured we should diligently set the timeout in our code! It may be tempting to think that client side timeout is not so important compared to the one on the server. This is a questionable attitude to say the least. We need to keep in mind that there is a hard limit on the number of connections a browser will make to a single domain which is very important if we use **HTTP 1.***. When we reach maximum number of concurrently opened connections, any new `XMLHttpRequest` is going to be queued indefinitely. The limit value varies in browsers and the [recent RCF](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7230#section-6.4) relaxes it. **HTTP/2** alleviates the issue [with connection multiplexing](http://qnimate.com/what-is-multiplexing-in-http2/) nonetheless its adoption is still low. According to w3techs it is [about 20% as of today](https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/ce-http2/all/all). The timeout value used in `XMLHttpRequest` is even more important in Single Page Applications. In SPAs the `XMLHttpRequest` without a timeout can live for as long as server and intermediate network parties allow effectively blocking all subsequent network calls.

[Fetch API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Fetch_API) is meant to replace `XMLHttpRequest`. It is thus sad that the ability to timeout a request has not yet made it into [the standard](https://fetch.spec.whatwg.org/). **Currently there is no standard way to enforce a timeout**. There are couple of GitHub issues active: [Add timeout option](https://github.com/whatwg/fetch/issues/20#issuecomment-323740783), [Add option to reject the fetch promise automatically after a certain time elapsed](https://github.com/whatwg/fetch/issues/179) that go over potential solutions. There was a proposal for [cancelable promises](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-cancelable-promises) which had been withdrawn after [lots of discussion and lack of consensus](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-cancelable-promises/issues/70). A brand new way [has recently been implemented by Edge and Firefox](https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/abortable-fetch) allows one to timeout a Fetch API call 🎉 through [the DOM standardized `AbortController`](https://dom.spec.whatwg.org/#aborting-ongoing-activities). Hopefully it will get into the Fetch API standard soon.

```javascript
const controller = new AbortController();
const signal = controller.signal;

setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000);

fetch(url, { signal }).then(response => {
  return response.text();
}).then(text => {
  console.log(text);
});
```

## URLSession timeouts

[`URLSession`](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/urlsession) is the successor to `NSURLConnection` that underlays most if not all iOS http clients e.g. Alamofire. There are 2 main timeout values to configure both of which have default values available via `URLSessionConfiguration.default`:

```swift
let sessionConfig = URLSessionConfiguration.default
sessionConfig.timeoutIntervalForRequest = 20.0
sessionConfig.timeoutIntervalForResource = 40.0

let session = URLSession(configuration: sessionConfig)
```

Fortunately there are default values configured:

* `timeoutIntervalForRequest`: 

  > This property determines the request timeout interval for all tasks within sessions based on this configuration. The request timeout interval controls how long (in seconds) a task should wait for additional data to arrive before giving up. The timer associated with this value is reset whenever new data arrives. 
  > The default value is 60.
* `timeoutIntervalForResource`:

  > This property determines the resource timeout interval for all tasks within sessions based on this configuration. The resource timeout interval controls how long (in seconds) to wait for an entire resource to transfer before giving up. 
  > The default value is 7 days.

Note that `timeoutIntervalForResource` is a higher level timeout that what we have considered in other HTTP clients. It encompasses retries and or request timeouts hence has a large default. 

## Summary

Many of HTTP clients do not have a good default timeout configuration. Hence, if you care about your application resource usage and system stability you have to carefully review and configure timeouts where applicable. It is reassuring to see that modern HTTP clients e.g. OkHttp and URLSession have a short but sane default.

## call(), apply() and bind() Methods in JavaScript

*Published: 2017-10-31 | Author: monika | Tags: javascript, bind, apply, call*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/call-apply-bind-methods-in-javascript/index.md*

Working with JavaScript 'this' keyword can be tricky. Not knowing the background rules may end up with the famous “it doesn’t work and I don’t know why”. It’s good to know the theory before putting things into practice. ['call()'](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/call),  ['apply()'](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/apply)  and ['bind()'](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/bind) methods can come in handy while setting the 'this' value.

## Basic Rules Worth Remembering:

1. 'this' always refers to an object.
2. 'this' refers to an object which calls the function it contains.
3. In the global context 'this' refers to either window object or is undefined if the ‘strict mode’ is used.

I would like to focus on the first two rules specifically.

```javascript
var car = { 
    registrationNumber: "GA12345",
    brand: "Toyota",

    displayDetails: function(){
        console.log(this.registrationNumber + " " + this.brand);
    }
}
```

The above will work perfectly fine as long as we use it this way:

```javascript
car.displayDetails()
```

But what if we want to borrow a method?

```javascript
var myCarDetails =  car.displayDetails;
myCarDetails()
```

Well, this won’t work as the 'this' will be now assigned to the global context which doesn’t have neither the 'registrationNumber' nor the 'brand' property. 

## The 'bind()' Method

For such cases we can use the ECMAScript 5 'bind()' method of the Function.prototype property. This means 'bind()' can be used by every single function. 

```javascript
var myCarDetails = car.displayDetails.bind(car)
myCarDetails()
```

The 'bind()' method creates a new function where 'this' refers to the parameter in the parenthesis in the above case “car”. This way the 'bind()' method enables us to call a function with a specified 'this' value.

What if we would like to pass a parameter to the displayDetails function? We can use the bind method again. The following argument of the 'bind()' method will provide an argument to the function 'bind()' is called on. 

Let me rewrite the car object:

```javascript
var car = { 
    registrationNumber: "GA12345",
    brand: "Toyota",

    displayDetails: function(ownerName){
        console.log(ownerName + ", this is your car: " + this.registrationNumber + " " + this.brand);
    }
}
```

Example of passing arguments with 'bind()':

```javascript
var myCarDetails = car.displayDetails.bind(car, "Vivian")
```

## 'call()' and 'apply()' Methods

Similar but slightly different usage provides the 'call()' and 'apply()' methods which also belong to the Function.prototype property. 

This time there is a 'car' object without the displayDetails function, which is located in the global context.

```javascript
var car = { 
           registrationNumber: "GA12345",
           brand: "Toyota"
       }

function displayDetails(ownerName){
              console.log(ownerName + ", this is your car: " + this.registrationNumber + " " + this.brand);
```

We can use the 'apply()' function:

```javascript
displayDetails.apply(car, ["Vivian"])
```

Or

```javascript
displayDetails.call(car, "Vivian")
```

Note that when using the 'apply()' function the parameter must be placed in an array. 'call()' accepts an argument list. Both are great tools for borrowing functions in JavaScript. 

'bind()', 'call()' and 'apply()' functions can make your life easier when you need to set the value of ‘this’. 
Hope the post was helpful. Have a happy day and enjoy the coding!

## Database timeouts

*Published: 2017-10-30 | Author: piotr | Tags: database, timeout, jdbc, query, transaction*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/database-timeouts/index.md*

Last time I have outlined [the importance of timeouts](/blog/the-importance-of-timeouts/). Without a carefully considered timeouts our application can become unresponsive easily. In this post I will focus on configuring various timeouts related to interaction with database. I am going to focus specifically on relational databases. The principles and practices however can be applied equally well to other types of databases.

![Database](../../static/images/database-timeouts/database-files.jpg "")

## Different kinds of timeouts

Asking a database for results of a query is one of the most common activities a back end application will do. Let us decompose this simple task into steps:

1. [Establish database connection(s) in pool](#init)
2. [Take the connection out of the pool](#pool)
3. [Validate the acquired connection](#validate)
4. [Send statement(s) to database](#send)
5. [Read query results](#read)

Each of the above steps can involve a specific timeout configuration. The details depend on particular technology stack and type of database we are querying. 

### <a name="init">Establish database connection(s) in pool</a>

Dealing with raw database connections is almost always done with the help of connection pool. Establishing a connection to database is very expensive compared to running a simple statement. The pool alleviates this cost by reusing connections for as long as needed. 

The first timeout is the maximum duration until a database connection is established. In JDBC this can be controlled by:

* `connectTimeout` in [MySQL JDBC driver](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/connector-j/5.1/en/connector-j-reference-configuration-properties.html) 

  > Timeout for socket connect (in milliseconds), with 0 being no timeout. Only works on JDK-1.4 or newer. Defaults to '0'.

  The default is **infinite ‼️**
* `socketTimeout` in [MySQL JDBC driver](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/connector-j/5.1/en/connector-j-reference-configuration-properties.html) 

  > Timeout (in milliseconds) on network socket operations (0, the default means no timeout).
* `loginTimeout` in [MySQL JDBC driver](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/sql/DriverManager.html#setLoginTimeout-int-) 

  > Sets the maximum time in seconds that a driver will wait while attempting to connect to a database once the driver has been identified.

  The default value 0 means **infinite ‼️**
* `loginTimeout` in [PostgreSQL JDBC driver](https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/head/connect.html):

  > Specify how long to wait for establishment of a database connection. The timeout is specified in seconds.

  **Default is infinite ‼️**
* `connectTimeout` in [PostgreSQL JDBC driver](https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/head/connect.html):

  > The timeout value used for socket connect operations. If connecting to the server takes longer than this value, the connection is broken. The timeout is specified in seconds and a value of zero means that it is disabled.
* `socketTimeout` in [PostgreSQL JDBC driver](https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/head/connect.html):

  > The timeout value used for socket read operations. If reading from the server takes longer than this value, the connection is closed. This can be used as both a brute force global query timeout and a method of detecting network problems. The timeout is specified in seconds and a value of zero means that it is disabled.

You probably have noticed a recurring theme above: **default timeouts are either infinite or disabled at the driver level**. *In case of `socketTimeout` and `connectTimeout` there can still be a system level timeout involved both on [Linux](https://linux.die.net/man/7/socket) and [Windows](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms740476(v=vs.85).aspx). However, those only work on blocking send and receive operations and how the JDBC driver interacts with the socket is an implementation detail for the most part.*

In order to demonstrate how the above timeouts work in practice we will use the following test cases:

```kotlin
class JdbcTimeoutTest {
    @Test
    fun `mysql getConnection`() {
        val mysqlDataSource = mysqlDataSource()

        assertTimeoutPreemptively(Duration.ofMinutes(3)) {
            useResource { mysqlDataSource.connection }
        }
    }

    @Test
    fun `postgresql getConnection`() {
        val mysqlDataSource = postgreSQLDataSource()

        assertTimeoutPreemptively(Duration.ofMinutes(3)) {
            useResource { mysqlDataSource.connection }
        }
    }

    fun useResource(resourceProvider: () -> AutoCloseable) {
        val start = Instant.now()
        try {
            resourceProvider().use {
                println("Completed in ${Duration.between(start, Instant.now())}")
            }
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            println("Error $e after ${Duration.between(start, Instant.now())}")
        }
    }

    fun mysqlDataSource(): MysqlDataSource {
        return MysqlDataSource().apply {
            this.setURL("jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/database")
            this.user = "user"
            this.setPassword("password")
        }
    }

    fun postgreSQLDataSource(): PGSimpleDataSource {
        return PGSimpleDataSource().apply {
            this.user = "user"
            this.password = "password"
            this.databaseName = "database"
            this.serverName = "localhost"
        }
    }
}
```

To simulate a misbehaving database server we'll use `netcat` listening on standard MySQL and PostgreSQL port e.g.:

```bash
nc -k -l 3306 # listen on MySQL port, PostgreSQL uses 5432 by default
```

Both of the above tests will fail due to `assertTimeoutPreemptively`.

The most appropriate candidate to use for establishing connection is `loginTimeout`. This works in PostgreSQL but does not with MySQL. Apparently the MySQL JDBC driver in versions 5.1, 6.0 and 8.0 implement the method as [Noop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noop). Interestingly it is possible to force MySQL driver to respect the timeout when it is set **globally** through a static method `java.sql.DriverManager.setLoginTimeout`. 

A slightly less correct option is to use `connectTimeout` or `socketTimeout`. The socket level options work oblivious to database protocol hence it is impossible to set the timeout accurately for the whole establish connection operation. Additionally, the `socketTimeout` is applied to socket read operations not only to initial connection handshake. The fake `netcat` server is not suitable for testing the `connectTimeout` however we can use it for `socketTimeout`. The PostgreSQL driver correctly reported error after about 2 seconds after setting `pgSimpleDataSource.socketTimeout = 2`. Unfortunately settings `socketTimeout` in MySQL driver had **no effect** on the `getConnection` behavior. Interestingly no matter what value I've set the `socketTimeout` to, the error was thrown after about 26 seconds. I have no idea why it behaves like that 🤔.

**Be aware of the shortcomings of MySQL JDBC Driver.**

### <a name="pool">Take the connection out of the pool</a>

Reusing database connections gives the application great performance boost. However, writing an efficient and bug free database connection pool is no easy task thus we should all rely on proven solutions. In JVM world there are multiple choices when it comes to JDBC:

* Hikari Claims to be the fastest and has limited number of configuration knobs and sane defaults. My favorite by far.
* [DBCP 2](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-dbcp/) A recently resurrected project which has a potential of being applicable to all resources pools with its `commons-pool2` module. 
* [Tomcat JDBC Connection Pool](https://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-8.0-doc/jdbc-pool.html) Commonly used with lots of configuration options. Came to be as a replacement of dbcp.

When there are no connections available in the pool, the code asking for it needs to wait until one is available. The amount of time a thread is blocked waiting for a connection needs to be considered carefully. It is important to note that there are 2 situations we need to consider. The first one is when the pool has reached its maximum size and all connections are being used already. This is when there is very little actual work required to acquire a connection. The second case is when all currently opened connections are in use but the pool is allowed to create a new connection because it is not yet full. Here we need to keep in mind that time to establish a connection to the database may easily be around 200ms hence timeout should not be too short. Below you'll find how to configure the timeout in the mentioned connection pools:

* Hikari: `connectionTimeout`

  > This property controls the maximum number of milliseconds that a client (that's you) will wait for a connection from the pool. If this time is exceeded without a connection becoming available, a SQLException will be thrown. Lowest acceptable connection timeout is 250 ms. Default: 30000 (30 seconds)
* DBCP: `maxWaitMillis` 

  > The maximum number of milliseconds that the pool will wait (when there are no available connections) for a connection to be returned before throwing an exception, or -1 to wait indefinitely. 

  **Default is infinite ‼️**
* Tomcat: `maxWait`

  > (int) The maximum number of milliseconds that the pool will wait (when there are no available connections) for a connection to be returned before throwing an exception. Default value is 30000 (30 seconds)

My rule of thumb is to set this timeout **be under 5 seconds**.

### <a name="validate">Validate the acquired connection</a>

A database connection can be opened for several hours or even days. However, because there is network involved there are numerous cases where a socket that is seemingly open on the client side may in fact be part of a broken connection. A well behaving connection pool should avoid handing such connection to an application code. A common strategy to alleviate the problem is to test the connection just before it is taken out of the pool. In the past the test was performed using a simple SQL query e.g. `SELECT 1`. Nowadays there is a [`isValid`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/sql/Connection.html#isValid(int)) method available on the JDBC `Connection` itself which moves the responsibility to the driver itself:

> Returns true if the connection has not been closed and is still valid. The driver shall submit a query on the connection or use some other mechanism that positively verifies the connection is still valid when this method is called.

* Hikari: `validationTimeout`:

  > This property controls the maximum amount of time that a connection will be tested for aliveness. This value must be less than the `connectionTimeout`. Lowest acceptable validation timeout is 250 ms. Default: 5000
* DBCP: `validationQueryTimeout`:

  > The timeout in seconds before connection validation queries fail. If set to a positive value, this value is passed to the driver via the `setQueryTimeout` method of the `Statement` used to execute the validation query.

  **Default is infinite ‼️**
* Tomcat: `validationQueryTimeout`:

  > (int) The timeout in seconds before a connection validation queries fail. This works by calling java.sql.Statement.setQueryTimeout(seconds) on the statement that executes the validationQuery. The pool itself doesn't timeout the query, it is still up to the JDBC driver to enforce query timeouts. A value less than or equal to zero will disable this feature. The default value is -1.

  **Default is infinite ‼️**

### <a name="send">Send statement(s) to database</a> and <a name="read">read query results</a>

We have finally arrived at the most common usage. Every query that we send to a database should have a timeout configured either at the statement level or at the transaction level. When it comes to individual statements, there is [`setQueryTimeout`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/sql/Statement.html#setQueryTimeout(int)) available:

> Sets the number of seconds the driver will wait for a Statement object to execute to the given number of seconds. By default there is no limit on the amount of time allowed for a running statement to complete. If the limit is exceeded, an SQLTimeoutException is thrown. A JDBC driver must apply this limit to the execute, executeQuery and executeUpdate methods.

Additionally, it's up to the driver to decide what the above timeout means exactly:

> Note: JDBC driver implementations may also apply this limit to ResultSet methods (consult your driver vendor documentation for details).
>
> Note: In the case of Statement batching, it is implementation defined as to whether the time-out is applied to individual SQL commands added via the addBatch method or to the entire batch of SQL commands invoked by the executeBatch method (consult your driver vendor documentation for details).

A time required for a query to complete is very use case dependent thus we should **not expect a sane default** to be there. Instead, we need to ask ourself how long we are willing to wait for a query to complete. It is very easy to forget about this rule hence it is very handy to be able to set this timeout globally:

* DBCP: `defaultQueryTimeout`

  > defaultQueryTimeout	null	If non-null, the value of this Integer property determines the query timeout that will be used for Statements created from connections managed by the pool. null means that the driver default will be used.
* Tomcat: `queryTimeout` available through [QueryTimeoutInterceptor](https://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-8.0-doc/jdbc-pool.html#JDBC_interceptors)

  > (int as String) The number of seconds to set for the query timeout. A value less than or equal to zero will disable this feature. The default value is 1 seconds.
* Hikari: Not available but fairly easy to add by wrapping a DataSource e.g.:

```kotlin
class CustomTimeoutsDataSource(val innerDataSource: DataSource, private val queryTimeoutProperties: DataSourceConfiguration.QueryTimeoutProperties) : DataSource by innerDataSource {

    override fun getConnection(username: String?, password: String?) = configureTimeouts(innerDataSource.getConnection(username, password))
    override fun getConnection() = configureTimeouts(innerDataSource.connection)

    private fun configureTimeouts(connection: Connection):Connection = CustomTimeoutsConnection(connection, queryTimeoutProperties)

    private class CustomTimeoutsConnection(val innerConnection: Connection, private val queryTimeoutProperties: DataSourceConfiguration.QueryTimeoutProperties)
        : Connection by innerConnection {

        private fun <T : Statement> configure(prepareStatement: T): T {
            //0 means no timeout
            val desiredTimeout = queryTimeoutProperties.statementQueryTimeoutInSeconds ?: 0
            prepareStatement.queryTimeout = desiredTimeout
            LOG.trace("Configure timeout {} seconds for statement {}", desiredTimeout, prepareStatement)
            return prepareStatement
        }

        override fun prepareStatement(sql: String?, autoGeneratedKeys: Int) = configure(innerConnection.prepareStatement(sql, autoGeneratedKeys))
        override fun prepareStatement(sql: String?, resultSetType: Int, resultSetConcurrency: Int, resultSetHoldability: Int) = configure(innerConnection.prepareStatement(sql, resultSetType, resultSetConcurrency, resultSetHoldability))
        override fun prepareStatement(sql: String?) = configure(innerConnection.prepareStatement(sql))
        override fun prepareStatement(sql: String?, columnNames: Array<out String>?) = configure(innerConnection.prepareStatement(sql, columnNames))
        override fun prepareStatement(sql: String?, resultSetType: Int, resultSetConcurrency: Int) = configure(innerConnection.prepareStatement(sql, resultSetType, resultSetConcurrency))
        override fun prepareStatement(sql: String?, columnIndexes: IntArray?)= configure(innerConnection.prepareStatement(sql, columnIndexes))
        override fun prepareCall(sql: String?) = configure(innerConnection.prepareCall(sql))
        override fun prepareCall(sql: String?, resultSetType: Int, resultSetConcurrency: Int) = configure(innerConnection.prepareCall(sql, resultSetType, resultSetConcurrency))
        override fun prepareCall(sql: String?, resultSetType: Int, resultSetConcurrency: Int, resultSetHoldability: Int) = configure(innerConnection.prepareCall(sql, resultSetType, resultSetConcurrency, resultSetHoldability))
        override fun createStatement() = configure(innerConnection.createStatement())
        override fun createStatement(resultSetType: Int, resultSetConcurrency: Int) = configure(innerConnection.createStatement(resultSetType, resultSetConcurrency))
        override fun createStatement(resultSetType: Int, resultSetConcurrency: Int, resultSetHoldability: Int) = configure(innerConnection.createStatement(resultSetType, resultSetConcurrency, resultSetHoldability))

        override fun toString(): String {
            return "CustomTimeoutsConnection(innerConnection=$innerConnection)"
        }
    }

    companion object {
        private val LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(CustomTimeoutsDataSource::class.java)
    }
}
```

The JDBC level `queryTimeout` is enforced at the application code side i.e. there's a code executed after the timeout elapses which stops the query execution. Recent releases of both MySQL and PostgreSQL offer a database server level statement timeout capabilities. 

* MySQL: [`MAX_EXECUTION_TIME`](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/optimizer-hints.html#optimizer-hints-execution-time)

  > The MAX_EXECUTION_TIME hint is permitted only for SELECT statements. It places a limit N (a timeout value in milliseconds) on how long a statement is permitted to execute before the server terminates it:
* PostgreSQL: [`statement_timeout`](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.6/static/runtime-config-client.html)

  > Abort any statement that takes more than the specified number of milliseconds, starting from the time the command arrives at the server from the client. If log_min_error_statement is set to ERROR or lower, the statement that timed out will also be logged. A value of zero (the default) turns this off. 
  > Setting statement_timeout in postgresql.conf is not recommended because it would affect all sessions.

If you are using a JPA provider like Hibernate, you might be urged to use [`javax.persistence.query.timeout`](https://docs.jboss.org/hibernate/entitymanager/3.5/reference/en/html/configuration.html). However, from my experience using Hibernate this timeout, when configured globally, is enforced in some uses cases and completely ignored in others. There were multiple bugs reported related to this feature: [Bug 303360](https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=303360), [HHH-9929](https://hibernate.atlassian.net/browse/HHH-9929), ["Query timeout in persistence.xml doesn't work"](https://forum.hibernate.org/viewtopic.php?p=2466990) and some of them are still not addressed.

There is no transaction scoped timeout available in JDBC. However, one can still apply the timeout in the application code through e.g. [`@Transactional.timeout`](https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/current/javadoc-api/org/springframework/transaction/annotation/Transactional.html#timeout--). 

### Keep all timeouts short

The best timeout is a short one. It is often tempting to increase a query or wait timeout in face of performance or throughput problems. However, doing so will increase the amount of resources blocked on the server and is thus a rarely a good choice. Blocking more and more resources on server e.g. threads, may at some point, cause the entire server to [collapse abruptly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrashing_(computer_science)). I keep the timeouts as short as possible especially when certain API is called often. If you are looking for a good read on the topic I highly recommend [Release It!](https://pragprog.com/book/mnee/release-it) by Michael T. Nygard. This books covers many resiliency related topics including timeouts and provides strategies to avoid increasing them.

## Working with iOS in-app purchases

*Published: 2017-10-30 | Author: mateusz | Tags: ios, in-app purchases, itunes connect, subscriptions, swift*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/index.md*

There are more pleasant things to do in iOS development than setting up and testing in-app purchases. The process is laborious and requires thorough testing, especially that in-app purchases are crucial from a business perspective.


## iTunes Connect configuration - part 1

**This tutorial is based on auto-renewable subscriptions, but you can configure any other in-app purchase in a very similar way.**

To set up the in-app purchases follow the steps below:

1. Log in to [iTunes Connect](https://itunesconnect.apple.com).

2. Open **My Apps** and select the app you'll configure.

3. Open **Features** header and select **In-App Purchases** on the left pane.

4. Click **+** icon and select the in-app purchase type. There are 4 types of in-app purchases that you can use:

    ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/in-app-purchases.png "")

    Each type has a specific use case so make sure you read the descriptions first.

    If you can't see auto-renewable subscription you either haven't accepted updated `Apple Developer Program License Agreement` or you haven't completed filling Agreements, Tax, and Banking info on iTunes Connect.

5. **Assuming you've selected Auto-Renewable Subscription**, provide the **Reference Name** and **Product ID**.

    a) The reference name is used on iTunes Connect and in Sales and Trends reports only. It won't be displayed in the App Store, so it can be anything you like.

    b) Product ID must be unique, so it's recommended to use your app reversed domain with a subscription name, for example: `com.reversed.domain.onemonth`.

6. Select **Create New Subscription Group** or choose an already existing group, if any.

    All auto-renewable subscriptions must be a part of a group. Users can only subscribe to one subscription in a group a time, but they can change to another subscription in the same group. This allows users to upgrade or downgrade a subscription without paying twice for the same service.

    **Subscription Group Reference Name**, same as the reference name, is used on iTunes Connect and in Sales and Trends reports only.

7. Auto-renewable subscription details page should appear. Select **Subscription Duration** (from 1 week to 1 year) and **optional Free Trial** period (from 3 days to 1 year).

    ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/subscription-duration.png "")

8. Click **Set Starting Price** to select the default currency and price (you must choose from pricing tiers), prices for other countries are calculated automatically.

9. Now you can select a different price for individual territories. After you save changes you'll notice that your price is kept as pricing tier:

    ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/pricing-tier.png "")

10. Add at least one **Localization** including **Subscription Display Name** and **Description**, preferably for all languages you support. Those values will be visible to the users, so make sure they sound trustworthy.

11. Now you need to add at least one **Localization** to your subscription group. Save changes and select the group you've created in step 6 on the left pane. Fill **Subscription Group Display Name** and optionally set **Custom Name** if your app name is different than your service or publication name. Keep in mind that those values will be visible to the users.

As you've probably noticed, we've skipped the **Review Information** section on the product details page. To fill up this section we first need to make an App Store call from our application in order to complete the configuration phase.

Remember to complete filling your Agreements, Tax, and Banking info on iTunes Connect. You can find it on iTunes Connect main page or in the dropdown on top left corner of the page.

## Setting up a test account

In order to test in the in-app purchases you need to create a sandbox test account.

1. Log in to [iTunes Connect](https://itunesconnect.apple.com).

2. Open **Users and Roles**.

3. Open **Sandbox Testers** header.

    ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/sandbox-user.png "")

4. Click **+** icon and fill the test account details. Keep the credentials.

    You can use a fake email address for testing (an easy one), but **Apple might send you an email to verify the test account** and by using a fake account you won't be able to do that so you'll need to create another one because purchases from an unverified account will always fail.


## Project configuration

Now you need to make some changes to your **Xcode project**.

1. Open the project settings (click on the root of your project's files tree).

2. In **General** header, scroll down to **Linked Frameworks and Libraries**.

3. Click **+** icon, find **StoreKit.framework** and click **Add**.

    ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/store-kit.png "")

4. Open **Capabilities** header and turn **In-App Purchase** on.

    ![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/capability.png "")

And it's finally time for some coding!

## Code

First, you need to import the `StoreKit` in your class:

```swift
import StoreKit
```

Before making any other action you should check whether user can make payments. If he can't, parental control might be turned on.

```swift
SKPaymentQueue.canMakePayments()
```

In order to make purchases you need to download purchasable products first:

```swift
private let kOneMonthSubscriptionId = "com.reversed.domain.onemonth"

func loadProducts() {
    let identifiers = Set([kOneMonthSubscriptionId])
    let request = SKProductsRequest(productIdentifiers: identifiers)
    request.delegate = self
    request.start()
}
```

Loaded products will be available in `productsRequest` method of `SKProductsRequestDelegate` delegate. To handle the store delegate methods your class needs to implement `SKProductsRequestDelegate`. You can wrap this up in an extension:

```swift
extension SubscriptionService: SKProductsRequestDelegate {

  func productsRequest(_ request: SKProductsRequest, didReceive response: SKProductsResponse) {
    if response.products.count > 0 {
      print("Purchasable products available!")
      // 1. Save the SKProduct's so you could let user make a purchase
      // 2. Update the UI - it lets you change the product prices without updating the app
    } else {
      print("No purchasable products available.")
      // This might happen when your product identifiers are incorrect or your in-app purchases products weren't processed on iTunes Connect yet
    }
  }

}
```

If you aren't able to fetch the purchasable products you've configured, please note that **it can take even up to few hours** for your products to be registered on iTunes Connect.

Now you can let users make a purchase. Remember to lock the UI with a loader until the process is finished to avoid double calls and to make sure that users know that something is going on.

```swift
func purchase(product : SKProduct) {
    let payment = SKPayment(product: product)
    SKPaymentQueue.defaultQueue().addTransactionObserver(self)
    SKPaymentQueue.defaultQueue().addPayment(payment)
}
```

The result of the transaction is handled in `paymentQueue` method of `SKProductsRequestDelegate` delegate. Let's grow our extension:

```swift
extension SubscriptionService: SKProductsRequestDelegate {
  // (...)

  func paymentQueue(queue: SKPaymentQueue, updatedTransactions transactions: [SKPaymentTransaction]) {
        for transaction in transactions {
            switch transaction.transactionState {
            case .Purchasing:
                print("The payment is being processed.")
            case .Purchased:
                print("Payment processed successfully.")
                // Add your logic
            case .Restored:
                print("Payment restored successfully.")
                // Add your logic - it'll happen when your products could be restored (e.g. non-consumable products)
            case .Failed:
                if transaction.error?.code == SKErrorPaymentCancelled {
                    print("User cancelled the payment.")
                    break;
                }
                print("Payment failed with error: \(transaction.error ?? "")")
                // Handle the error
            case .Deferred:
                print("Payment is waiting for outside action.")
            }
        }
    }

}
```

Remember to restore purchasable products that can be restored before letting users to make a purchase call because they won't be able to buy it again anyway.

## Testing

To complete the configuration process you need to make sure that your payments are working and take a screenshot for the App Store review process. This is both easy and tricky so let's follow the steps below:

1. Sign out of you current Apple ID:

    a) Open your iPhone's **Settings**.

    b) Go to **iTunes & App Stores**.

    c) Select your email address and select **Sign Out**.

    Do not sign in using a sandbox account - you won't be able to do that.

2. Run your app and trigger an in-app purchase.

3. You'll be prompted to provide an Apple ID. Use the **sandbox account** credentials and continue.

4. The payment info dialog will be presented. Take a screenshot of your screen (hold power/sleep and home buttons simultaneously).

![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/purchase-test.jpg "")

**You must test the in-app purchases on a real device. Purchases will always fail on iOS simulator.**


## iTunes Connect configuration - part 2

Since you have already implemented the in-app purchases and taken a screenshot of a system dialog while connecting to the App Store API, you can finally finish the iTunes Connect configuration.

Go back to your in-app purchase details page on **iTunes Connect** (My Apps->Your app->Features->In-App Purchases->Your purchase) and scroll down to **Review Information**.

Upload the screenshot and enter the credentials of the sandbox account you've used in **Review Notes**.

![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/review-information.png "")

Save changes and make sure that the **Availability** of your in-app purchase is set to **Cleared for Sale** (on the top of the page).

![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/cleared-for-sale.png "")

Keep in mind that your **first in-app purchase must be submitted with a new app version**. Once your binary has been uploaded and your first in-app purchase has been submitted for a review, additional in-app purchases can be submitted from the In-App Purchases section.


## Server-side subscription validation

You can verify whether user's subscription is still valid outside the app. It's especially useful when your application is also available on other platforms with separate store like Android, and you decide to make your user pay only once per account, not per platform.

To validate the user's subscription server-side you'll need a **Shared Secret**. You can find it in your app's In-App Purchases list (My Apps->Your app->Features->In-App Purchases), click **App-Specific Shared Secret** to open a dialog with the secret. If necessary, click **Generate Shared Secret**.

![image](../../static/images/working-with-ios-in-app-purchases/shared-secret.png "")

Shared Secret, together with receipt details that you'll receive after completing the in-app purchase, will allow backend application to verify whether user's subscription is still valid or not.


## Be meticulous

As you have probably noticed, **setting up in-app purchases is arduous**. Yet it's worth investing time in a meticulous step-by-step configuration to avoid unnecessary unpleasantness during the process.

By the way, do you know, that even if you follow these instructions, **your iOS app might be rejected?** [Check out this blog post to find out why](/blog/dont-let-your-ios-app-be-rejected/).

## The human side of software development

*Published: 2017-10-30 | Author: eliasz | Tags: culture, career, stress*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/human-side-of-software-development/index.md*

![image](../../static/images/human_side2.png "")

Getting into the world of software development can be a really demanding task. Introducing clean code, providing tests to your solution, using the right tool for the job, keeping up with latest trends... these are all things that you were most probably told about at the time that you barely knew what programming was.\
It seems that many people tend to neglect the side of development that hasn't got too much to do with machines, however in the long run should be at least as important for you as all technical skills.

## Impostor syndrome

As a developer (especially a newcomer), you may often feel that your contributions to the project could be easily replaced by someone else who would surely do it faster and better. You may also feel that the interview process did not test everything and it would be just a matter of time before "they" find out that you are not qualified for the job. If you've actually achieved something, then well... maybe it was just... pure luck? The problem is that you are probably the only one who has such feelings and at the same time others may be really satisfied with what you do.\
 It was a long time before I discovered that this kind of feeling has some psychological background and is something that many people suffer from. But by being just aware that it works like that will not magically remove all of your doubts. We should remember that maybe the situation in which a certain person is able to do a task faster is caused by the fact that one has more experience than you. Maybe the other person has already completed a similar task before? For a developer learning is a natural process of pushing things forward and nobody will expect you to know everything upfront - especially when you are just starting your career.
But the feeling of uncertainty is not exclusive for newcomers. Even if you have a decent experience in your field of expertise, you may still feel that you're a part of one big fraud.\
It's really hard to overcome this kind of feeling on your own and there may be a huge responsibility on people around you to help you deal with this. So if you face this kind of problem, try to find the environment that will support you and will build up your self-confidence. And if you do not suffer from this kind of problem, then bear in mind that people will usually not come to you and tell you that they feel insecure. So don't wait until one comes for help - be helpful, take part in creating culture that will be supportive for others and if you feel that someone is doing good job, then say it outloud. A word of appreciation is always welcome.  

## Stress

Long time ago, it was the first time that I had heard a statement that stress is a disease of 21st century. I have to admit, that at that time it wasn't really something that I could relate to. But now I can clearly see the problem.\
There are many different opinions on working under stress. Some people claim that this is fine for them and that it actually makes them more productive in the long run. Others say that they do not really care about stress and it does not affect them in any way. But there is also a big number of people (involving me) who claim that working under stress causes more harm than good.\
For a long period of time I really thought that I was kind of "immune" to stress, however, now I can admit that sometimes it's just really hard to notice how stress affects your life, especially if it sneaks in gradually. You may not feel it instantly, but people around you will surely notice that something is wrong. And do I need to tell you that stress can heavily affect your health?\
If someone creates a stressful environment just because one wants to get more "productivity" out of you then let me tell you something - this is an abuse. There is no good reason for someone to make you uncomfortable while working. And if someone hopes for faster and better quality of work, then again... Pressure is surely not the way and will most often have a reversed effect.
If we think about creating a healthy, long term relationship with people that you want to enjoy working with, then we should remember that there are also other motivators than stress.\
If someone claims that working under stress is fine, then let me ask you a question - would you like to create a stressful environment for people that you care about? Do you think that they would benefit from that? Maybe they would be more creative if pressed hard enough? If the answer is no, then why do you ignore this impact on yourself?

## Work-Life balance

![image](../../static/images/human-side-of-software-development/balance.jpeg "")

When I was starting my career as a software developer I was really surprised when I saw people walking out of office at 3 o'clock and being unavailable until the next day. How could they possibly ignore and not respond to all these important emails that arrived while they were out? What if there was an expectation of a task being finished by yesterday? Shouldn't they sacrifice part of their free time to close the task ASAP?\
Well... Being always available is not a reason to be proud of. Doing over hours is also not a heroic act. Take a moment and think - how often have you had a situation in which after coming back to an issue in the morning, you instantly solved the problem that you were struggling with the day before? This clearly shows us the importance of having a fresh mind, being well rested and feeling good in general. The fact that you cannot directly measure how much these things improve the quality of your work doesn't mean that you should ignore it.\
Instead of working until your full capacity is reached, I would rather recommend clearly limiting the time that you spend working every day. If you know that you have to finish everything by a certain time, then you will value your working hours much more and you will use them more wisely. The same refers to your side projects - sometimes it's much better to say "I have 2 hours to work on this task today" than sacrifice your whole evening to it. There is a "law" saying that work will always fill the time that you have available for it.\
So protect your free time and spend it with your family, friends or simply relax on your own. Remember that more is not always better.

## Conclusion

I know that points that I've mentioned here may barely touch the surface of the iceberg, but I hope that they will make you more aware of the fact that software development is not only about programming - it's also about people. In the end it's us who build the software development community. As developers we are responsible for raising a culture around us that will allow others to grow and make them feel valuable.  

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## Dockerizing Android builds

*Published: 2017-10-30 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, build, docker*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dockerizing-android-builds/index.md*

Docker is a great container platform that helps building a true independence between applications, infrastructure and developers. It provides an isolation which supports building modern continuous integration environments with ease and at low cost.

## Building Android applications

The easiest way to build an Android app is to use Android Studio, but how one can build the application without the IDE or even without a graphical interface (using only the command line)?

### Android command line tools

Google provides a separate package of command line tools needed for building an application. The same tools are included with Android Studio, so you may be already familiar with some of them.
The package is available at the [Android Studio downloads page](https://developer.android.com/studio/.html#downloads) under the *Get just the command line tools* section. Since Docker images are Linux-based, we will use the Linux package, e.g. [sdk-tools-linux-3859397.zip](https://dl.google.com/android/repository/sdk-tools-linux-3859397.zip).

### sdkmanager

The `sdkmanager` tool can be used to manage (install, delete, update) all the SDK packages required to build the application.

If you are not sure what packages you should install, but you already have an Android project and you are able to build it using Android Studio, you can deduce it using your local `sdkmanager`.

You can locate it using the Android SDK section in Android Studio preferences. Open the SDK location and navigate to `tools/bin/` subdirectory.

![Docker](../../static/images/dockerizing-android-builds/as_sdk.png)

Now, run `sdkmanager --list` command to see the list of installed and available (to install) packages. Some of them are required to build your project.

*(Note: you may prefer to also add `--verbose` to the `sdkmanager --list` commands which prevents shrinking the long package names)*

You should also visit your `build.gradle` files to find out the SDK dependencies, e.g. compile SDK version, build tools version, libraries etc.

### Accepting licenses

Downloading some of the SDK packages may require to accept a separate license(s) first. While Android Studio shows a dialog with accept buttons, the command line `sdkmanager` displays a prompt like this:

```text
language: en
---------------------------------------
Accept? (y/N):
```

Unfortunately, the tool doesn't provide any parameter to automatically answer "yes", so it might be inconvenient when you try to automate this process. Thankfully, there are some ways to overcome this problem.

#### Solution 1: Copy accepted license agreements to the build machine

Every time you accept a license (using either Android Studio or command line), a license string is appended to a specific file located in `licenses/` subdirectory of Android SDK. Once accepted, you may install more packages covered by the same license without additional prompts. Moreover, Gradle build can automatically download missing SDK packages as long as the corresponding license agreements have already been accepted.

This gives us an opportunity to get the accepted license files from the developer's computer and copy them to another machine, enabling the builds. This approach was also described in the [Android user guide](https://developer.android.com/studio/intro/update.html#download-with-gradle).

Of course copying files over and over again may be burdensome so instead you can just echo the license strings to the corresponding files automatically somewhere in the build process, e.g.

```shell
# ANDROID_HOME is the Android SDK location

mkdir "$ANDROID_HOME/licenses"
echo "d56f5187479451eabf01fb78af6dfcb131a6481e" > "$ANDROID_HOME/licenses/android-sdk-license"
echo "8933bad161af4178b1185d1a37fbf41ea5269c55" >> "$ANDROID_HOME/licenses/android-sdk-license"
echo "84831b9409646a918e30573bab4c9c91346d8abd" > "$ANDROID_HOME/licenses/android-sdk-preview-license"
# More licenses if needed
```

But there is a catch with this approach: the license strings may change from time to time with Android SDK updates. When it happens, you must update them on the build machine again.

#### Solution 2: Accept all the licenses at once

The second way to accept the licenses automatically is to use the `yes` program and combine its output with the `sdkmanager --licenses` command. The latter one displays a series of prompts to accept all available and unaccepted yet licenses and the first one prints "y" continuously.

```shell
yes | sdkmanager --licenses
```

The main advantage of this approach is that it doesn't require you to maintain a list of license strings for echoing. Nevertheless you must run it again if the license strings get changed with an SDK update. The only drawback is that you don't know *a priori* what you are going to accept and it may be a bit more troublesome to compare your local licenses with the ones on the build machine without a direct access to it.

![Docker](../../static/images/dockerizing-android-builds/container-1574239_1920.jpg "Dockerizing Android Builds")


## Wrapping it in a Docker container

In order to build an Android application inside a Docker container, you need an image that includes Java Development Kit (JDK) and Android SDK. While the process of getting the latter one was described above, you are yet to decide how to get the JDK.

### Setting up a Dockerfile

The easiest way is to use the `openjdk` ([link](https://hub.docker.com/_/openjdk/)) as the basis for your image as it already has the JDK installed (as well as other useful tools). So the first line of your `Dockerfile` could be:

```dockerfile
FROM openjdk:8
```

On the other hand, you can just get any image with `apt-get` e.g. `debian` ([link](https://hub.docker.com/_/debian/)) and install the JDK by yourself. You will also need some tools to download and unzip the Android SDK (in this example I use `wget` and `unzip`) so you can install all these packages at once.

*(Remember to follow the [Dockerfile best practices](https://docs.docker.com/engine/userguide/eng-image/dockerfile_best-practices/))*

```dockerfile
FROM debian
RUN apt-get update && \
    apt-get install -y openjdk-8-jdk wget unzip && \
    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
```

Now you can proceed to fetching the Android SDK. You should also set the `ANDROID_HOME` variable so that the application builds would know the SDK location. Using `wget` and `unzip` it may look like this:

```dockerfile
ENV ANDROID_HOME /opt/android-sdk-linux

RUN mkdir -p ${ANDROID_HOME} && \
    cd ${ANDROID_HOME} && \
    wget -q https://dl.google.com/android/repository/sdk-tools-linux-3859397.zip -O android_tools.zip && \
    unzip android_tools.zip && \
    rm android_tools.zip
```

It's also useful to add some SDK tools to the `PATH`:

```dockerfile
ENV PATH ${PATH}:${ANDROID_HOME}/tools:${ANDROID_HOME}/tools/bin:${ANDROID_HOME}/platform-tools
```

The last step is to accept the Android SDK licenses using one of the mentioned ways, e.g.:

```dockerfile
RUN yes | sdkmanager --licenses
```

### Building the image

Having the `Dockerfile` part completed it's time to build the image with `docker build` command. Please read some [docs](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#usage) first as it's easy to miss some important details like a possibility to accidentally tarball and transfer your whole disk to the Docker daemon ;)

> Warning: Do not use your root directory, /, as the PATH as it causes the build to transfer the entire contents of your hard drive to the Docker daemon.

Let's say we build the image like this:

```shell
docker build -t my-sdk-image .
```

### Running the build

Now we can run a new container based on the built image. The container will need an access to your Android project sources and the simplest way is to mount the sources directory using the `-v` flag.

Please also keep in mind that you probably have the `local.properties` file in your project directory which specifies the SDK location (overriding the `ANDROID_HOME` environment variable). I usually add this file to the `.gitignore` so in the continuous integration environment this file does not exist as it is not included in the repository. When you are testing the Dockerized builds locally, you can just remove or temporarily rename that file.

Here is an exemplary command to run the build in a container:

```shell
docker run -v $(pwd):/home/app \ # mount current directory
           --rm \                # remove the container when it exists
           my-sdk-image \        # image name
           /bin/bash -c "cd /home/app && ./gradlew clean assembleDebug"
```

If you use some environment variables during the build (e.g. to specify a build version), you can pass them from the host machine to the container using `-e` flags.

When the build is finished, the build outputs are already available on your host machine thanks to the `-v` mounting.

## Considerations

While the image is sufficient to build a regular application, you might want to further customize it for several reasons.

### Pre-fetching SDK packages

First of all, I haven't specified any SDK packages to be downloaded using the `sdkmanager` in the `Dockerfile`. This means your Gradle build will need to download the missing packages every time you run it in the container, possibly causing severe network usage and additional time consumption. Thus you should consider preparing a `Dockerfile` which builds an image with pre-downloaded packages, but you should be careful with it as the resulting image's size will be significantly larger.

For example, adding the following lines to the `Dockerfile` will make the image about 1 GB larger.

```dockerfile
RUN sdkmanager 'platform-tools'
RUN sdkmanager 'platforms;android-26'
RUN sdkmanager 'build-tools;26.0.2'
RUN sdkmanager 'extras;m2repository;com;android;support;constraint;constraint-layout-solver;1.0.2'
RUN sdkmanager 'extras;m2repository;com;android;support;constraint;constraint-layout;1.0.2'
RUN sdkmanager 'extras;google;m2repository'
RUN sdkmanager 'extras;android;m2repository'
RUN sdkmanager 'extras;google;google_play_services'
```

### NDK

As I don't use the [NDK](https://developer.android.com/ndk/.html) in my applications at the moment, I can't be 100% sure about all the requirements (please let me know if you have some more experience), but during a simple test with an empty NDK-enabled project I have already found some gotchas:

* NDK bundle must be installed manually with `sdkmanager ndk-bundle` (Gradle didn't install it automatically for me).
* When you are testing the Dockerized build locally, leaving the `app/.externalNativeBuild` directory from previous builds will make the build command fail due to wrong NDK location path (e.g. in the generated `ninja` and `CMakeCache` files).

## Docker Hub

It's even easier to build Android applications by getting the images directly from [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/).

I've just published [my images (link)](https://hub.docker.com/u/azabost/) there so if you don't need any customizations, you can run a container without your own `Dockerfile` like this:

```shell
docker run azabost/android-sdk
```

You can also use my images as a base for your image by specifying one of them in your `Dockerfile`:

```dockerfile
FROM azabost/android-sdk
```

## IOTA - Hello World

*Published: 2017-10-29 | Author: adam | Tags: IOTA, blockchain, cryptocurrency*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/iota-hello-world/index.md*

Previously in the IOTA series we've looked into [the assumptions of this promising cryptocurrency system](/blog/iota-new-kid-in-cryptocurrency-town/) and we've [connected to the network with our own node](/blog/getting-started-with-iota/). It's high time to interact with IOTA programatically.

IOTA nodes (or, actually, as the creators of the system prefer to call it - IOTA Reference Implementations) expose an HTTP API that we can interact with and - unlike most of the IOTA's ecosystem - has an [actual documentation](https://iota.readme.io/v1.2.0/reference) available. But while it is indispensable to look into this reference, we'll rather use the client libraries to talk to our node. 

There are [three official client libraries](https://iota.readme.io/docs/overview) out there at the moment and the most mature one is apparently the one we'd like to use - a JavaScript one called [iota.lib.js](https://github.com/iotaledger/iota.lib.js). It is basically a wrapper for the API endpoints.

## Talking to node using Node

Let's start with the empty Node.JS project that we can bootstrap using `npm init`. Then install IOTA's library with `npm install iota.lib.js --save` and jump into the code.

To establish a connection, we need to specify where is our IRI, including the public API port (specified as `PORT` in the node's config file or as `-p` if passed from command line). Note that by default we don't need any credentials here - that's why it is important to keep our node's API port hidden from the external network or configured properly with `--remote-auth` and `--remote-limit-api` [configuration options](https://iota.readme.io/v1.2.0/docs/install-iri) to avoid everyone to mess with our beloved node.

```javascript
const IOTA = require('iota.lib.js')
const iota = new IOTA({
    host: 'http://192.168.1.162',
    port: 14265
})
```

Now let's see what our node tells us about itself using [`getNodeInfo`](https://iota.readme.io/v1.2.0/reference#getnodeinfo) call. All the API calls adhere to the clumsy Node.JS callback passing convention:

```javascript
iota.api.getNodeInfo((error, nodeInfo) => {
    if (error) {
        console.error('getNodeInfo error', error)
    } else {
        console.log('getNodeInfo result', nodeInfo)
    }
}
```

What we'll get in return, apart from the node's version and footprint information, is the processing state - whether there are any pending transactions to transmit and what is the latest milestone known to our node. This latter value should change every several minutes if our node is in sync with the network.

## Where's my wallet?

Addresses in IOTA can be understood as distinct wallets that can store IOTA tokens. These are long enough strings, so that it's totally fine to generate it on your own and - in practice - be sure about its uniqueness. 

In order to claim the ownership of a given address, we need to have the seed it was generated from - think of the seed as a private key to your box with wallets. The seed [needs to be generated securely](https://iotasupport.com/gui-newseed.shtml), probably not using the public websites that does it for you. The easiest would probably be to use macOS/Linux terminal and run:

```shell
cat /dev/urandom | LC_ALL=C tr -dc 'A-Z9' | fold -w 81 | head -n 1
```

Now, the thing we got back, looking similar to `FNCWNXJWJIVDGPRWNZYKOMKNIIATPPDKEVCZEWSZTEVIWJFCOUV9PJD9AUCEVQLFEAI9UBUAVQKVEBLKN`, is our seed. We're responsible for storing it securely and privately because it gives a full access to all the addresses (wallets) we'll create using it.

To actually generate the address we can use to send transactions to, let's use our API:

```javascript
const seed = 'FNCWNXJWJIVDGPRWNZYKOMKNIIATPPDKEVCZEWSZTEVIWJFCOUV9PJD9AUCEVQLFEAI9UBUAVQKVEBLKN' // keep it secure!
iota.api.getNewAddress(seed, (error, address) => {
   if (error) {
       console.error('getNewAddress error', error)
   } else {
       console.log('new address generated: ' + address)
   }
})
```

## Spending the tokens

We're now ready to submit our first transaction, or - how the API calls it - the transfer. Apart from the monetary value (which can be zero), we can attach a message to our transaction. The message needs to be [tryte-encoded](https://learn.iota.org/faq/trytes-and-trits) - we don't need to care much about it fortunately as we have a helper method for this task: [`iota.utils.toTrytes`](https://github.com/iotaledger/iota.lib.js#totrytes).

The code to send our transaction to the IOTA's tangle is as follows:

```javascript
const Depth = 3 // constant defined by IOTA - how deep to look for the tips in the Tangle
const MinWeightMagnitude = 16 // constant defined by IOTA - the difficulty of PoW

const transfers = [
    {
        // where are we sending the transaction to?
        address: 'CHNLHJCYBZCYUI9DTHINDDWHNJWFCHQOTGABXFVZQHXF9BROTOIJZJSBXOVKCDGCXZTDDJUVTYBJZYAOH',
        
        // how many tokens are we transferring?
        value: 42,
        
        // do we want to comment on this transaction?
        message: iota.utils.toTrytes('Hello World!')        
    }
]

const options = {
    // addresses of the wallets we're using to fund this transfer
    inputs: ['ZISNLNSKMPDOORSSFRCBGQOPY9BI9SONMTDHJJDWBTTCYLFV9PQ9VSWNI9FHEAEFGROGZ9YHSMZYOGFQG']
}

iota.api.sendTransfer(seed, Depth, MinWeightMagnitude, transfers, options, (error, transactions) => {
  if (error) {
     console.error('sendTransfer error', error)
  } else {
     console.log('transactions sent!', transactions)
  }
})
```

We need to specify where we send our tokens with message to and which of (our) wallets the tokens come from (if we're sending non-zero value). In the response, we get a `transaction` object for each `transfer` object we've submitted. 

![Attaching to the IOTA's Tangle](../../static/images/iota/attach-tangle.jpg "")

If we're lucky, we should be able to get the transaction's `hash` property, paste it at one of [the online Tangle viewers](https://thetangle.org) and see the details of our transaction. It will be most probably in the "Pending" state. This means the transaction was properly attached to the Tangle, although it wasn't yet validated by other transactions in the Tangle tree and we need to wait a bit. Normally it gets into "Confirmed" state within a few minutes and we can call it a day.

But we might be not that lucky and our transaction might get attached to the part of the tree that will never be validated, either because there were too many tips in the Tangle tree waiting for validation so that it gets "forgotten" by the tip selection algorithm (the tip selection algorithm is biased towards the transactions from the top of the tree) or it happened to get attached to the subtree that yielded incorrect. 

In these cases our transaction never goes away from the "Pending" state and we need to fix the problem by "reattaching" our transfers (called "bundle") to another part of the Tangle tree. In order to do so, we can periodically run the code that might look like:

```javascript
iota.api.getLatestInclusion([hash], (error, inclusionStates) => {
  if (error) {
     console.error('getLatestInclusion error', error)
  } else if (inclusionStates[0]) {
     console.log('transaction is included (confirmed)! yay!') 
  } else {
     iota.api.replayBundle(hash, Depth, MinWeightMagnitude, (error, replayTransactions) => {
         // ad infinitum...?
     })
  }
})
```

This procedure might look strange, as we're actually adding more and more duplicates to the Tangle - replay transaction is a separate transaction. We now probably need to track the "inclusion state" (status) of both the original and the replay transaction. We also need to replay it once again in case it doesn't get validated within a few minutes. All this comes with the cost of issuing a new transaction, but this is actually beneficial to the IOTA network as a whole because by doing this we're confirming another pair of transactions. And there are double-spending validation schemes implemented that ensures only one of the transactions will be finally confirmed.

## Mastering LED with BASIC wirelessly

*Published: 2017-10-28 | Author: pawel | Tags: BASIC, esp8266, esp-12, LED, electronics*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/mastering-led-with-basic-wirelessly/index.md*

As a DIY fan I love to browse internet in search of ideas and inspirations. So I've found a pretty nice project, called [ESPBASIC](https://www.esp8266basic.com/). I heard about BASIC, but I had  never had a chance neither to learn it nor to use it, so I thought it was 's time to meet BASIC (although it's just an interpreter). I have few ESP-12F chips in my drawer, few cables and LEDs scattered around and a free breadboard, and that will be enough for the first encounter with BASIC. My idea is simple and typical for electronics - I have decided to make `hello world` of DIY world - blinking LED.

## Burning chips

There are a few steps:

1. Connect uC to any UART controller (I'm using pl2303)
2. Download a flashing tool from the [official website](https://www.esp8266basic.com/download.html)
3. Select a port and flash firmware

I had only one problem there - drivers. Windows 10 is a bit too strict about drivers, so I had to download old version of my pl2303 driver and everything goes fine. Except that I think it's one of easiest firmwares to install.

## Connecting

On your WiFi AP list should appear one more network called like `ESP AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF`. Just connect to it, discover device's IP (it should be `192.168.4.1`) and put it into the browser.
Your eyes should see something like this:

![Screen 1](../../static/images/mastering-led-with-basic-wirelessly/screen1.png)

In `SETTINGS` tab you can configure ESP to connect to your home wifi, setup OTA url (eg. url to BASIC file hosted on GitHub)

## Hello world

ESPBASIC has nearly a plaintext, one-paged documentation:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EiYugfu12X2_pmfmu2O19CcLX0ALgLM4r2YxKYyJon8/pub
So I tried to put `Hello World` on my screen with the following code in `[EDIT]` tab:

```shell
print "Hello World"
```

Then `Save` file and `[RUN]` the code.

![Screen 2](../../static/images/mastering-led-with-basic-wirelessly/screen2.png)

Yeah! It was easy. But if you want to put one more `print`, you will see garbage (`<hr>` tag) above your text. Quickly look into documentation and you should find out there also `wprint` function, that put text on screen without any additional code.

## Going blinky

I've connected LED to ESP-12's GPIO15 pin. Firstly I will try to just light my light up.

```shell
print "Led ON"
io(po,15,1)
```

First try and it works! Just with one line, wireless, without compilation and without flashing. Wow!
`io` is just a IO operation function
`po` means 'pin out'
`15` is pin number
`1` is `high` state (`0` is `low`)

Next step is to make a delay between turning LED on and off:

```shell
io(po,15,1)
delay 500
io(po,15,0)
delay 500
io(po,15,1)
delay 500
io(po,15,0)
delay 500
io(po,15,1)
delay 500
io(po,15,0)
delay 500
```

And it blinks, but only few times with 0.5s delay. Last thing I need there is any loop here, and then I will have an awesome blinking machine!

```shell
For x = 1 to 60
    io(po,15,1)
    delay 500
    io(po,15,0)
    delay 500
Next x
```

This code lasts after 60 seconds. Let's make it infinite!

![Blinky](../../static/images/mastering-led-with-basic-wirelessly/blink.gif)

```shell
variable = 0
Do
    io(po,15,variable % 2)
    delay 500
    variable = variable + 1
Loop until 0 'infinite
```

Success! But ESP's "IDE" becomes unavailable. The reason is that `delay` operation takes all processor time.
It's better to use timer functions, which uses interrupts to count time.

```shell
variable = 0

Timer 500, [blink]

[blink]
    io(po,15,variable % 2)
    variable = variable + 1
wait
```

Timer takes CPU time only every about 500ms, so it's possible to edit code and keep it running in the background.

## Make the Most of It

*Published: 2017-10-26 | Author: ula | Tags: time, management, productivity, priorities*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/make-the-most-of-it/index.md*

Day has 24 hours. You can spend it doing whatever you want. 

When I was younger I thought that school was everything and could not imagine doing something more than that. I was sure I just did not have enough time. Then I began my studies and assumed it was everything, but after a while the first job appeared and it turned out that it was possible for me to bring these two together. And now? Now I ride my bike every day, teach English in the evenings, do a renovation of my flat, work full-time at Bright Inventions (just finished postgraudate studies and still have time to call my mum every afternoon and meet friends). A few years ago this kind of scenario was hard to imagine.

**Some people can achieve much more during the same time than the others. The secret may lie in their time management.** It is not an innate skill we are born with. I suppose I am learning it constantly by doing regular updates in my to-do list. By managing our time effectively we do not only complete tasks much faster, but also work smarter while not being overloaded and burnt out. 

Time management is nothing more than planning, organising and dividing work in such a way that each activity can be done on time and in a efficient manner. It should allow us to work smarter so that we can do more in less time, even under strain or facing tight deadlines. Among many benefits **good time management allows for higher productivity, less stress, better chances for advancement and self-development, and after all achieving your career and personal goals.**

So if we experience a poor work quality and feel there is something wrong with our work flow efficiency, it is high time we reassessed our daily, weekly or monthly schedules and start paying attention wisely to what we do and with whom we spend our time. After investing some hours upfront you should be able to make the most of each day. In the beginning we learn a lot - how to be assertive, how to plan, how to prioritise and many more.  

**Frequently the key to good time management is understanding which of our tasks are urgent and which are not - while prioritising our list-to-do take into account what level of importance and urgency each assignment has. It may turn out that some of the tasks do not have to be done at all or that you spend a half of your day doing something wth a low importance.** The importance or urgency status is not fixed yet and it does not mean that once checked it will never alter. We should carry out a quick analysis of our task regularly and update our priorities list on everyday or every week basis. It is good to have at the beginning of each day a kind of planning session and set up realistic goals to achieve. Not only does it teach you how to manage time, but also shows how the task's levels of urgency and importance change with passing time. 

**Do you know that there is something called Parkinson’s Law that states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion?** It may also explain why we can do the same task in a week and in a day. In a nutshell Parkinson’s Law says that the more time we devote to a project, the longer it will take to complete it. You have a deadline set for a next month? You will be doing a given task all next month. But the same task can be done quicker with the same effect. So make deadlines strict and you will do more in a shorter time and the rest spend on doing different staff. 

“Giving” your task too much time is not, however, the only case when we face problems connected with inappropriate time management. There is also a quite common phenomenon called **a priority inversion - a state when an operating system (here we are operating systems) using multiple tasks with different priorities fails as a result of a situation in which a hight priority task is waiting for a task with low priority which is waiting for a medium priority task. Under these circumstances the system can crash and a high-priority task is not done in due time. Priority inversion is visible in our workflow simply as avoidance.** Frequently, it is not like the task is too difficult, but we just avoid doing it. How many times have you said “I will do it later. Now I don’t have enough time. It is too difficult for me. No, no, no….”? But is the task truly too challenging? We may often avoid doing tasks since we are fatigue, sleepy or just without any particularly clever reason. Fighting priority inversion habit is vital for good time management. If there is a task with a high priority and importance, it should be done first. And that is it. 

**Meetings.** Take part in these that you can benefit from. If you feel that spending another minute participating in a particular discussion will not give you any asset, do not feel obliged to be there. **Meetings are essential part of every organisation, but only these run effectively should be an essential part of your day.** So if you have a chance to avoid spending two hours fruitlessly in a conference room, just leave, and devote this time to boosting your productivity instead. Leaving a non-compulsory meeting as long as we find it futile, is not missing business savour-vivre but taking care of your goals. 

Another situation that may prove unavailing are disagreements. Feeling an argument leads to nowhere, let it go. It is time-consuming, energy-consuming and just pointless. The sooner you realise that, the better for you. 

Supposedly, in life of every developer there is also time for stand-up meetings. **Genuine stand-up meetings should take 5 minutes and involve answering three main questions:**

**What did I do yesterday?**
**What am I going to do today?**
**And what is in my way?** 

Honestly, you do not need to spend a half an hour on that. As long as stand-up meetings do not evolve into casual conversations and push your work forward, they are fine. But the moment you notice no one is paying attention just sitting aimlessly means that maybe this stand-up is not necessarily vital for the progress and completion of your work. 

We all shall remember that frenzy of work should not take away our health. **Recharging is necessary.** And it may involve either sleeping, eating properly, exercising, 10-minute walk or drinking a coffee. Just because our day is hectic does mean that finding time for a break is not important. Never ignore your physical and mental needs. Dividing your work session into several timeframes help in sustaining high productivity levels and  staying focus. **Taking a break may allow not only to clear our head, but also to gain a new perspective.** Work is not a sprint but a marathon thus sustainable maintenance in our case is as much significant as in every operating system. 

And now let us focus on tomatoes. **Pomodro Technique is a popular time management approach in which you divide work into blocks of time. Typically you work for 25 minutes (this is your pomodoro “tomato” session) followed by a 5-minute break.** During each pomodoro session we should be fully focused on our task. There is no space for distractions of any kind like social media, talking with your colleagues or answering phone. Our motivation should push us to finish the task and avoid interruptions. At the beginning of each pomodoro session we choose a task we would like to pay our attention to. After four sessions it is advisable to refresh mind and take a longer 20-minute break. Does it always work? It may not, but if you have not tried, it is still worth giving a go.

**Day has 24 hours. You can spend it doing whatever you want.**

## Slack + Fastlane = ❤️. About one of Continuous Integration puzzles.

*Published: 2017-10-25 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, fastlane, slack, continuous integration*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/slack-fastlane/index.md*

![Image with puzzle](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/puzzle.jpg "")

Professional development process consists of many puzzles. Some of these puzzles can be: unit testing, choosing good architecture, clean code, continuous integration and many  more.
In this post I will focus on one of these puzzles - Continuous Integration(CI). An integral part of CI in [iOS Development](/our-areas/mobile-app-development) process is a great tool called [Fastlane](https://fastlane.tools/).
Fastlane is a powerful engine which handles a number of tasks like: dealing with code signing, creating `.ipa` files, generating screenshots to AppStore and much more. One of the cool feature of Fastlane is the Slack integration - and this is what I wanted to write about.

# 💪 Motivation 💪

At Bright Inventions, I'm working on a several projects. Every project that we start, we start with a few basic steps: create a new repository, basic application setup and most important... Continuous Integration path. On iOS applications, it starts with  installing the Fastlane, creating some lanes in Fastfile, then pushing changes to our new repository. Next step is configuring a new TeamCity   (a service that we are using for CI) with a new agent machine for the project. And after that... our CI build service is ready to collect changes from the repository and trigger a build for our clients, or just build the application and run our unit/UI tests to check if everything works fine.

But what if something went wrong...

![Error image](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/error.jpg "")

Let's say that we were doing some code refactoring, we committed the changes and pushed into our repository. Next, our build system discovered that there were  available new commits - so it started to fetch and built them and ran unit tests. And here some tests failed.

![TeamCity tests failed](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/test-failed.png "")

Of course, I don't have constantly an opened browser to check on the Teamcity site if everything goes  well when I push something to the repository. I want to be informed if something goes wrong like - if  unit tests fails or timeout appears or compilation error happens. And here is the key word - INFORMED. How our build agent can inform us about an occurred error?

### Emails

![Image with computer and email](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/email.jpeg "")

We use email service which is built-in into TeamCity. Every built lane has a rule which says 'send email to all developers when something goes wrong and build fails'. This solution works fine and it's commonly used in many projects and companies. But personally, I'm not 100% satisfied with it. If you work in several projects, you get more and more emails from clients, Jira, team etc. And let's add to that getting new emails from our TeamCity service. Of course, I can create filters and group all the  stuff(which I do), but even then it's too much for me. Besides, there is a new thing - if some builds fail - in most cases, it is important to **fix it quick**. So I prefer another - quicker in my opinion - way to be notified if something bad happens.

# ❤️ Fastlane + Slack ❤️

## 1. Create your Fastfile in right way

Let's consider a simple example. One lane which compiles the project and runs the unit tests:

```ruby
platform :ios do
desc "Runs all the tests"
lane :test do
   begin
       test_lane()
   rescue => exception
       on_error(exception)
   end
end
end
```

As you can see the body of `:test` lane consists of `begin-rescue-end` structure. It is a ruby specific construction. In `begin` you put some code that may fail. After the `rescue => exception` line you put the code that should be executed if something goes wrong. In our case, it will be `on_error(exception)` function. So the Fastfile should look like this:

```ruby
platform :ios do
   desc "Runs all the tests"
   lane :test do
       begin
           test_lane()
       rescue => exception
           on_error(exception)
       end
   end
end

### Methods

def test_lane
   cocoapods
   clear_derived_data
   scan(scheme: "YourProjectSchemeName", configuration: "Debug")
end

def on_error(exception)
   slack(
       message: "Some thing goes wrong",
       success: false,
       slack_url: "https://your slack incoming webhook url",
       attachment_properties: {
           fields: [
               {
                   title: "Build number",
                   value: ENV["BUILD_NUMBER"],
               },
               {
                   title: "Error message",
                   value: exception.to_s,
                   short: false
               }
           ]
       }
   )
end
```

## 2. Generate slack URL

As you probably have noticed `slack` method takes a `slack_url` parameter. But how can I get one?

### Create incoming webhook

Go to [slack incoming weebhook webiste](https://my.slack.com/services/new/incoming-webhook/), log in, and after that you will be able too see screen like this:

![Slack website - choose chanel for webhook](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/webhook-slack-url.png "")

Choose your channel (for test purposes, I recommend choosing a direct message to yourself). Click `Add incoming WebHooks integration`.
Next step is to copy the Webhook URL and use it as `slack_url`.

Of course, after you learn how it works, you can generate a URL for specially created Channel in your slack team.

![Slack website - webhook URL image](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/webhook-slack-url2.png "")

## 3. Build Slack message in Fastfile

First of all, [here](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/slack/) you can find an official documentation for Slack action in Fastlane tool. In the below  section I'll try to give you a closer look at that.

Code for that is really simple. Let's create a simple `slack_message` lane to test how it works.
Put a new lane in you Fastfile, and then just run:

`fastlane slack_message`,

or if you are using a bundler

`bundle exec fastlane slack_message`.

```ruby
platform :ios do
   desc "Runs all the tests"
   lane :slack_message do
       slack(
           message: "App successfully uploaded to iTunesConnect.",
           success: true,
           slack_url: "https://your slack incoming webhook url"
       )
   end
end
```

This is how our message looks like:

![Slack basic message from Fastlane](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/basic-message.png "")

As you can see by default you get some information about `Git Commit`, `Git Commit Hash`, `Lane`, `Result`, `Git Author`.

# 🔧 Customizing slack message 🔧

#### 👉 `message`

Simple key for creating a message which will be display in a first row in Slack message. This can be literally everything.

* `message: "App Successfully uploaded to iTunesConnect"`
* `message: "All tests have been successful"`
* `message: "Something went wrong"` - My favorite error message 😉

but try to make your Slack message useful. As you can see above in my `Fastfile` I use a `begin-rescue` construction in Ruby. It is very useful because you can use an exception passed as a parameter to and create some meaningful error message.

I assume that all of you use and know [CococaPods](https://cocoapods.org/). Let's imagine situation that our `Podfile` has a typo

```ruby
platform :ios, '10.0'
inhibit_all_warnings!

target 'MyAppTarget' do
 use_frameworks!

 # Pods for MyApp
 podd 'SnapKit' # <------- should fail because of `podd`
 pod 'Result'
end
```

Now create a lane in our `Fastfile` that will install our CocoaPods, and build the project.

```ruby
fastlane_version "2.54.1"

default_platform :ios

xcode_select ENV["XCODE_PATH"]

platform :ios do
   desc "Runs all the tests"
   lane :build_and_test do
       begin
           build_and_test_lane()
       rescue => exception
           on_error(exception)
       end
   end
end

def build_and_test_lane
   cocoapods
   clear_derived_data
   scan(scheme: "MyAppScheme", configuration: "Debug")
end

def on_error(exception)
       slack(
           message: "Lane failed with exception : #{exception}",
           success: false,
           slack_url: "https://slackurl",
       )
end
```

As you can see if something goes  wrong in `build_and_test_lane` method our script will get an `exception` and run the `on_error(exception)` method.
Let's try it by...

`fastlane build_and_test` or `bundle exec fastlane build_and_test`

wait some time.... and...🔔 🔔

![Slack message with error in message](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/exception.png "")

Now our message is meaningful and we know that our `Podfile` has some errors.

#### 👉  `deafult_payloads`

As we can read in the documentation:

> Don't add this key or pass nil if you want all the default payloads. The available default payloads are: `lane`, `test_result`, `git_branch`, `git_author`, `last_git_commit_message`, `last_git_commit_hash`.

Personally, I think it is very important information, but if you want to customize the message by removing some of those - you can look at this example:

```ruby
slack(
   message: "App successfully uploaded to iTunesConnect.",
   success: true,
   slack_url: "https://your slack incoming webhook url",
   default_payloads: [:git_branch, :last_git_commit_message]
)
```

Here is how a message with customized `default_payloads` looks like:

![Slack message with default payload](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/default-payload-message.png "")

#### 👉  `success`

You can also define if that message will be successful or not. Among other cases, success messages can be used if your app is successfully uploaded to iTunesConnect.

Second option is to set `success` to `false`, and then a message will look a bit different:

![Slack message with success flag set to false](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/message-fail.png "")

The red color suggests that something went wrong and you have to fix it, which is a great way to notify you about it.

#### 👉  `attachment_properties`

Here  a real customizing process begins. By using this property you can add any field to your Slack message. Let's say that you want to add `BUILD_NUMBER` and `URL` to artifacts.

```ruby
slack(
   message: "App successfully uploaded to iTunesConnect.",
   success: true,
   slack_url: "https://your slack incoming webhook url",
   default_payloads: [:git_branch, :last_git_commit_message],
   attachment_properties: {
       fields: [
           {
               title: "Build number",
               value: ENV["BUILD_NUMBER"],
           },
           {
               title: "Artifacts URL",
               value: "https://url-to-your-artifacts.com",
           }
       ]
   }
)
```

![Slack message with custom fields](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/message-with-custom-fields.png "")

Another example... let's modify our `on_error(exception)` method.

```ruby
def on_error(exception)
       slack(
           message: "Error occured!",
           success: false,
           slack_url: "https://slackurl",
           attachment_properties: {
               fields: [
                   {
                       title: "Error message",
                       value: exception
                   }
               ]
           }
       )
end
```

and here we've got a message 🔔🔔

![Slack message with error in custom field](../../static/images/slack-fastlane/exception2.png "")

As you can see, now the error message is custom field.

#### 👉  other flags...

In this post I have focused, in my humble opinion, on the most important keys which allow you to configure  Slack message. The others are: `channel`, `message`, `use_webhook_configured_username_and_icon`, `icon_url`, `payload`. More information about these keys you can find on [official documentation](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/slack/).

# 🎉 Conclusion 🎉

I ❤️  Fastlane tool. It helps all developers to save a lot of time during development process. I think  one of the puzzles of this process is Continuous Integration ***in the full sense of the word***. How do I understand the Continuous Integration? As you can read about it on [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_integration)

> In software engineering, continuous integration (CI) is the practice of merging all developer working copies to a shared mainline several times a day.

It is 100% true, but for me, it is also a state when I as a developer can be notified by CI agent about successes and errors without specially checking them before pushing changes to the repository. But don't get me wrong. I don't recommend committing and pushing without compiling (because our CI agent inform us when something fails). I'm talking about a situation when you have a number of projects that contain a number of tests (Yes, I assume you're writing tests 😉). And I think you don't want to run them every time before you push new changes to the repository. That's why, you configure the whole CI stuff to avoid it. Let CI agent do it for you. In most cases all the tests will succeed 😉), so you can work continuously. But if somehow tests fail - let the CI agent ping you on a Slack.    😉
Another thing is that, you can be informed about good things like: successfully uploaded `.ipa` to TestFlight.

Hope you like the post. If you have any questions or simply have a different opinion on this topic - feel free to leave a comment. Below you can find all links that were used in this post.

👉  [CocoaPods](https://cocoapods.org)

👉  [Fastlane](https://fastlane.tools/)

👉  [Slack incoming webhooks](https://api.slack.com/incoming-webhooks)

👉  [Fastlane Slack action](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/slack/)

👉  [Continuous Integration](https://www.google.com/search?q=continuous+integration)

👉  [TeamCity](https://www.jetbrains.com/teamcity/)

This post was published also on my [personal blog](https://wysockikamil.com/slack-fastlane/)

## The importance of timeouts

*Published: 2017-10-22 | Author: piotr | Tags: server, request, timeout, query, resiliency, spring boot*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/the-importance-of-timeouts/index.md*

[Timeouts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeout_(computing)) are not an exciting thing to talk about. They do not add immediately perceivable value. They are difficult to ~~guess~~ get right and force one to [consider problems that are hard to solve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_fault_tolerance#Byzantine_Generals.27_Problem). In fact, in my experience, the timeout is only ever considered when our software stops working or is about to. That is an enormous shame since, in my opinion, carefully applied timeouts can vastly improve software resiliency. 

![Man with a wrist clock](../../static/images/the-importance-of-timeouts/man-clock.jpeg "")

## An example application

Let us consider a simplistic example of a Spring Boot application generated using [Spring Initializr](https://start.spring.io/). The application will only expose [actuator](https://spring.io/guides/gs/actuator-service/) API which by default define a health check endpoint. Our example will also have a mail module configured. 

The dependencies section of `build.gradle`:

```groovy
dependencies {
	compile('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator')
	compile('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-mail')
	compile('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web')
	compile("org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib-jre8:${kotlinVersion}")
	compile("org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-reflect:${kotlinVersion}")
}
```

A typical health check endpoint verifies that application integration points work correctly. If the service talks to database then a connection is established and verified. Free disk space is checked. If the service sends emails through SMTP then a connection to a server is established.

The health checks are auto-discovered and enabled when you include Spring Boot Actuator. By default, `/health` path is used for the endpoint. The SMTP server host, port and credentials obviously need to be configured. At minimum host entry is required e.g. `spring.mail.host=localhost`. _For the debugging purpose one can disable actuator security with `management.security.enabled=false` to verify what health checks are performed by actuator._

A last part of our example is the trivial application code:

```kotlin
@SpringBootApplication
class Application {
    companion object {
        @JvmStatic
        fun main(args: Array<String>) {
            SpringApplication.run(Application::class.java, *args)
        }
    }
}
```

When you request `/health` the API will return response similar to:

```http request
HTTP/1.1 200 
Content-Type: application/vnd.spring-boot.actuator.v1+json;charset=UTF-8
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2017 08:08:32 GMT
Transfer-Encoding: chunked
X-Application-Context: application

{
    "diskSpace": {
        "free": 105755779072,
        "status": "UP",
        "threshold": 10485760,
        "total": 499046809600
    },
    "mail": {
        "location": "localhost:-1",
        "status": "UP"
    },
    "status": "UP"
}
```

An application health API, like the one in our example, is often hooked into external monitoring software. The monitor asks the target application about its health at regular intervals e.g. every 5 seconds. 

## Shooting yourself in the foot

The above example has an issue that can kill the production server. More importantly, other metrics that are usually monitored e.g. CPU and memory usage will not warn about upcoming, dreadful service stalls. The application will also not suffer from an enormous number of requests or emails being sent.

Imagine that the health endpoint is checked every 5 seconds and that there is **intermittent** issue with the SMPT server. The health endpoint will **rightfully** try to connect to the SMTP server and from time to time respond with an error. From my experience, when a health check is introduced it typically takes a while to tweak the monitor thresholds so that we get rid of false alarms. It is thus very easy to ignore intermittent errors when we think they are caused by too sensitive thresholds. However, the ignored errors can after a while cause our server to stop responding to **any request**. 

![Man with a wrist clock](../../static/images/the-importance-of-timeouts/error.jpg "")

Why this can happen you ask and I answer. **There is no timeout configured!**

The mail server health check uses [`javax.mail.Service.connect`](https://docs.oracle.com/javaee/6/api/javax/mail/Service.html#connect(java.lang.String,%20java.lang.String)) under the hood. For a variety of reasons an attempt to establish a TCP connection can take arbitrarily longer than usual. Unfortunately **the default** timeouts used by the `javax.mail.*` [are **infinite**](https://javaee.github.io/javamail/docs/api/com/sun/mail/smtp/package-summary.html). A thread that waits for the connection to be established cannot serve other requests even though it barely uses any CPU. The default maximum thread pool size used by embedded Tomcat in Spring Boot application is 200. Assuming that the blocked connection attempt happens twice an hour our application will stop working after 4 days.

## Never use infinite timeouts

As you can see it is very easy to miss a need for a timeout to be configured. To be fair the [Spring Boot documentation](https://docs.spring.io/spring-boot/docs/current/reference/html/boot-features-email.html) states clearly:

> In particular, certain default timeout values are infinite and you may want to change that to avoid having a thread blocked by an unresponsive mail server:

```text
spring.mail.properties.mail.smtp.connectiontimeout=5000
spring.mail.properties.mail.smtp.timeout=3000
spring.mail.properties.mail.smtp.writetimeout=5000
```

In my option, any library or framework should either force the programmer to configure the timeout or have some **sensible default**. Unfortunately, this is not always possible to introduce them later on without breaking changes hence we should **check** what are timeouts used when calling any **external service**.

## Timeouts needed everywhere

Imagine a controller action method that inserts a single row into a database. Let us further assume that the endpoint is called 50 times per second and it typically takes 100ms to complete. Things work well until we encounter an intermittent sloppiness of the database and now the insert takes 2 seconds to complete. The clients calling the API do not slow down. More request threads are blocked and **more database connections** are taken out of the pool. Soon as all database connections are in use and all other API endpoints start to fail. This is an example of cascading failure i.e. a problem in one component propagating to others. It is easier to avoid such issues when there is a timeout configured on the controller action and the interaction with the database. 

Every API endpoint **should have a timeout configured** if we want our services to be resilient. Unfortunately, this rule is easy to neglect. Moreover, some frameworks do not even expose such ability. Even in the immensely popular Spring MVC I could not find a way to set such timeout other than using an [async method](https://spring.io/guides/gs/async-method/). Fortunately, there are libraries e.g. [Hystrix](https://github.com/Netflix/Hystrix) that tackle that problem and can be integrated easily.

To recap here is a short and incomplete list of cases where a timeout should be configured:
- a controller action 
- a database query, statement
- a database pool interaction
- a thread pool interaction
- an API client e.g. HTTP, SOAP, SMTP

I will describe how to deal with the cases in the following posts.

## React Native - 4 steps to improve your workflow as a mobile developer

*Published: 2017-10-19 | Author: eliasz | Tags: React Native, iOS, Android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/react-native-4-steps-to-improve-workflow/index.md*

![Header](../../static/images/react-native-a-better-workflow/happy.jpeg "")

"A developer needs tools that support her/his workflow to be fully productive". Well, I guess that this statement fits to any profession that you can think of. It is really important for me to feel that the environment that I'm working in really supports my flow and works well with my approach to software development. That's why, today I'd like to share a number of things that boost my productivity while creating mobile app in React Native.

The following list has been prepared by a developer that comes from the native iOS background. If you have web background, then these things won't be as revolutionary as they are for a developer with pure mobile experience. ;)

## 1. [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)
If your background is development in Swift, Kotlin or other "mobile" language and you move to the JavaScript world, then I wouldn't be surprised if you missed the support that Swift/Kotlin have in the IDE or simply, you would like to use a strongly-typed language again. "JavaScript that scales." - this is a statement that you will find while entering TypeScript's home page. TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript that will allow you to achieve a better code completion, strong typing, to add interfaces to your code etc. However, you have to keep in mind that TypeScript will not force you to adapt new coding conventions instantly. It's up to you in terms of how you decide to configure it. In the end, the output can be much more pleasant than writing pure JavaScript.  
Do not be afraid of trying TypeScript. It is transpiled to JavaScript code that looks really similar to the TypeScript that you've written, so if you're not happy with the outcome, you can always go back to your pure JavaScript (spoiler alert: you won't).

## 2. [Storybook](https://github.com/storybooks/storybook)
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how much I love storybooks. This single tool itself can greatly improve your workflow on UI parts of your application. Storybook allows you to create stories in which you prepare pre filled UI elements with data that could possibly show up there during normal app lifetime. Later within a few seconds you can easily go through all stories that you've described and see how they look on your device / emulator without the need of going through all of these states in normal app flow which takes much longer time.

This is a tiny example of a single story, however if you develop a normal app, you will surely have much more of them which may cover all of possible UI states for your components.

![](../../static/images/react-native-a-better-workflow/story.gif "")

## 3. Quick tests

If you were previously doing native mobile development, then you are probably used to switching your targets in order to run tests and you will surely know that they do not work as fast as you would probably want them to. This can be changed while you switch to development in JavaScript or TypeScript. If your app grows, it's easy to guess that tests will not run in a matter of milliseconds, but it's still normal to have a result of them within 1-3 seconds from the time that you saved your file. This allows you keep your tests running while you develop your app and catch any issue at the time that you change the code that was responsible for it. It also encourages you to write more tests because you know, that test runner does it's best to help you with this.

![Tests](../../static/images/react-native-a-better-workflow/tests.gif "")

## 4. Work division

Having an ability to easily work with an isolated UI in the application and work on your logic code with tests as a first client can greatly improve your productivity. You will end up with much faster feedback loop and components created in isolation, which will make it easier to share them later. At the time that you have your UI components prepared and logic ready to be used, then the only thing left is to finally integrate them in the main application. This task will be also simplified due to the fact that you can utilize a hot reloading feature and benefit from the fact that you don't have to wait for your app to recompile in order to check the results of your work. What's even better - you can easily check this on both Android and iOS devices in a quick way.

![Tests](../../static/images/react-native-a-better-workflow/hotreload.gif "")

What are the things that improve your workflow? I'd be glad to hear about them!

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## Creating simple vector drawables in Android Studio

*Published: 2017-10-18 | Author: azabost | Tags: Android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/creating-simple-vector-drawables-in-android-studio/index.md*

Using vector drawables is often much better than bitmap images for two reasons: they scale without losing definition and you need only one asset file which fits all screen densities.

Sometimes I find it useful to create vector drawables by hand in Android Studio using [SVG paths](https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/paths.html).

If you are not yet familiar with it, let me show you an example.

![Image](../../static/images/creating-simple-drawables-in-android-studio/desk-office-pen-ruler.jpg "")

# Example

I'm going to create a rectangle consisting of two adjacent triangles varying in color like below:

<center>

![Rectangle](../../static/images/creating-simple-drawables-in-android-studio/expected-rectangle-2.png "")

</center>

## Step 1: Create a drawable file

![New drawable file](../../static/images/creating-simple-drawables-in-android-studio/new_drawable.png "")

## Step 2: Set up the drawable size

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:height="100dp"
    android:width="100dp"
    android:viewportHeight="100"
    android:viewportWidth="100">

</vector>
```

The `android:width` and `android:height` properties define the drawable intrinsic size, so it matters mostly when you later use the drawable with `wrap_content` width and height like this:

```xml
<ImageView
        android:src="@drawable/rectangle"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
```

The `android:viewportWidth` and `android:viewportHeight` properties are more important for us as they define the canvas size for drawing our paths.

## Step 3: Draw the first triangle

Let's fill a half of our squared canvas with the first triangle by drawing a path though its vertices: **A**, **B** and **C**.

Please note the coordinates &mdash; the top-left corner of the canvas is (0,0) and the bottom-right corner is (100,100) and that's because we set the `android:viewportWidth="100"` and `android:viewportHeight="100"`.

![First triangle](../../static/images/creating-simple-drawables-in-android-studio/first_triangle.png "") 

You can draw a path by adding a `path` inside the `vector`:

```xml
<path
    android:fillColor="[your color (e.g. from resources or RGB Hex)]"
    android:pathData="[SVG path commands]" />
```

We need the following SVG commands here:

* **M**  &mdash; absolute **moveto**
* **L**  &mdash; absolute **lineto**
* **z**  &mdash; **closepath**

Drawing the triangle consists of:

1. starting a path from **A=(0,0)**: `M 0,0`
2. drawing a line to **B=(100,0)**: `L 100,0`
3. drawing a line to **C=(0,100)**: `L 0,100`
4. closing the path: `z`

We could also use the relative **lineto (`l`)** command instead and provide the vectors connecting the points like this:

* from **A** to **B**: `l 100,0`
* from **B** to **C**: `l -100,100`

It's also worth noting that if you use the same command multiple times in a row, the command letter can be eliminated on subsequent commands. So the final command looks like this: `M 0,0 L 100,0 0,100 z`

Let's put this in the drawable file:

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:height="100dp"
    android:width="100dp"
    android:viewportHeight="100"
    android:viewportWidth="100">

    <path
        android:fillColor="@color/triangle_red_light"
        android:pathData="M 0,0 L 100,0 0,100 z" />

</vector>
```

We can see the triangle in the preview panel:

![First triangle preview](../../static/images/creating-simple-drawables-in-android-studio/first_triangle_preview.png "")

## Step 4: Draw the second triangle

As we already know how to draw a path, it's very simple to create another triangle. Its vertices are:

* **B=(100,0)**
* **C=(0,100)**
* **D=(100,100)**

so the path command is: `M 100,0 L 0,100 100,100 z`

The resulting XML now looks like this:

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:height="100dp"
    android:width="100dp"
    android:viewportHeight="100"
    android:viewportWidth="100">

    <path
        android:name="dark_triangle"
        android:fillColor="@color/triangle_red_dark"
        android:pathData="M 100,0 L 0,100 100,100 z" />

    <path
        android:name="light_triangle"
        android:fillColor="@color/triangle_red_light"
        android:pathData="M 0,0 L 100,0 0,100 z" />

</vector>
```

Hint: you can name the paths so it's easier to find them later if your drawable gets more complicated.

![Second triangle preview](../../static/images/creating-simple-drawables-in-android-studio/second_triangle_preview.png "")

## Step 5: Use the drawable with an ImageView

Now we can use the drawable. As you can see, it can be easily scaled by using the `android:layout_width`, `android:layout_height` and `android:scaleType` properties.

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <ImageView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:scaleType="fitXY"
        app:srcCompat="@drawable/rectangle" />

</LinearLayout>
```

![Final layout](../../static/images/creating-simple-drawables-in-android-studio/layout.png "")

### Further reading

* [https://developer.android.com/training/material/drawables.html#VectorDrawables](https://developer.android.com/training/material/drawables.html#VectorDrawables)
* [https://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/drawable/VectorDrawable.html](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/drawable/VectorDrawable.html)

## Internship vs Internship

*Published: 2017-10-17 | Author: radek | Tags: management, success, personal development, engagement, productivity*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/internship-vs-internship/index.md*

Hello! I’m Radek and I am a programmer. Employed as a full-time software developer at Bright Inventions… last Monday.

There are plenty of ways to become a programmer. But when you study Computer Science at the University of Technology there’s 99% chance that long before graduating you can get an internship in IT and quickly after a few months - your first full-time job. Like I could. I have gone through two internships, both at seemingly similar companies. After the first one I got an offer to work full-time or part-time, whatever would be more convenient for me to combine my work with studies. I said... no. After the second internship, I couldn’t be happier when I got an offer.

What differs these two?

![Difference](../../static/images/internship-vs-internship/difference.jpg)

Everything.

## Dear CEO, how-to run an internship.

### 1. Don’t give Interns made up projects.

Whoa, who does that? Seriously, I got this feeling that it's studies all over again. I didn't come to this job for playing in the sandbox. What’s the reason for that? If you think I’m not good enough for working on a professional project for the client, why did you even employ me in the first place? There is a significant difference between the safe environment for me to learn and some kind of weird incubator with a sign above the door "Future Developer Farm, DO NOT TAP THE GLASS". The project itself was theoretically really interesting, I had some ideas and opinions about it, but after few weeks I asked myself... what’s for? It's highly demotivating knowing your work will be thrown to trash after finishing it and no one will ever use it. At Bright, on the other hand, I was assigned to a real project on the first day. Not alone of course, but it was a clear message that my work is important and needed which filled my motivation bank to the top level. It's really important.

### 2. Pay them well and treat with respect.

I'm not saying I was treated badly in any way at my first work. But let's clear something up - smiles on the hallway, friendly talks from time to time and even being open for your opinion about the project cannot cover the fact, that if you get the lousy money you feel lousy. And it's not even about how you feel as a person in the company because it affects every life zone. Beginning as an intern from the lowest levels in the company hierarchy comes with the small payment, sure. But 15% of an average Junior JS Developer salary? You simply can't expect it will satisfy anyone, even if it's a student with no professional experience. And don't even try with unpaid internships.

### 3. Sensitize other employees to be helpful and available for interns.

If you want me to learn, I will. But mostly from the better ones. If you put me in a group of interns only, how can we develop our skills and avoid bad practices in programming? In most cases, there is no way we could learn that from tutorials and figure it out by ourselves. The main purpose of the internship is to fill the small, but the meaningful, gap between developing a project for grades and for a client. We need code reviews, we need feedback and we need it from the very first day. Not only for your final product to be better but for us, so WE could become better. It's a win-win! And if you cannot designate one person for reviews, think of it as an investment. It will pay off, you have my word. Sensitize others to be helpful, at least a few ones. At Bright they know that, duh, I got this feeling I could ask anyone for help and not get ignored, even after asking a hundredth question, which, based on my experience from the previous company, was pretty surprising.

### 4. Don’t try to be a corporation if you ain’t one.

Honestly, I don't know what makes the company a corporation. But what I know is that it needs something more to evaluate an employee than a report with some fancy charts and official meetings where developers confess their code. I've seen my colleagues explaining at the summary meeting why their work could not be seen on the frontend side of the project. Because they were doing backend and database... Summaries, regularisations, comparisons make you feel like an irrelevant cog ready to be replaced at any moment.
Firstly, understand the nature of the project. Secondly, talk to your interns. If you don't have time, then rely on the people who do, and trust their opinion. And unless you run a company with over 100 employees, don't hide behind the reports and numbers. They lie sometimes.

Summary
language: en

- - -

I’ve just finished my internship at Bright Inventions. Comparing it with the previous one opened my eyes how working environment influences your attitude to work and your motivation. You can start a new job, motivated to work, with batteries fully charged, but what happens next...

![Adventure](../../static/images/internship-vs-internship/adventure.jpg)

...depends not only on you.

## Getting started with IOTA

*Published: 2017-10-16 | Author: adam | Tags: IOTA, blockchain, cryptocurrency*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/getting-started-with-iota/index.md*

In the [previous post](/blog/iota-new-kid-in-cryptocurrency-town/) we took a first glance at [IOTA](http://iota.org/) ledger. Although the plans are great, currently the project is in its incubation phase, with the majority of the most attractive features not yet ready to use. But this shouldn't stop us from playing with what we already have today.

Before we dig into the code, we need to get connected to one of the two IOTA networks. The "proper" network is called `mainnet` and there is also a [slightly more relaxed one](https://blog.iota.org/the-iota-testnet-training-wheels-for-the-community-fd65dbdddb3b) called `testnet`. As the names suggest, the latter is for test purposes. Each network consists of the multiple nodes that are run by the community. In order to join the network, we either need to run our own node or to connect to the existing node using its public API. 

## Is node a node?

If we're tech savvy enough and we have decided to become an active part of the IOTA network, we need to have our node up and running. IOTA's terminology avoids using "node" name for what they offer now. The only software that is able to run as a part of the network is called "IOTA Reference Implementation" (IRI) - my guess is that it is intended to suggest clearly that the project is still in its infancy and everything might change over time.

IRI is written in Java and is [publicly available on GitHub](https://github.com/iotaledger/iri) as [GPL-licenced](https://github.com/iotaledger/iri/blob/dev/LICENSE) open source. Requiring a full Java JRE to run a node is probably one of the reasons IOTA is not yet feasible for real IoT usage. We can choose to run it either from a [JAR file provided](https://github.com/iotaledger/iri/releases) or - which sounds more appealing to me - using [Docker image](https://hub.docker.com/r/iotaledger/iri/).


## Let's roll

To build and run the Docker image, type the following:

```shell
docker run -d --name iota-node \
  -p 14265:14265 -p 14777:14777/udp -p 15777:15777 \
  -v ~/iota.ini:/iri/iota.ini iotaledger/iri:v1.4.0
```

We're creating a container named `iota-node` for an easy future access. With `-p` options we're exposing three custom network ports for external communication. And with `-v` we're passing a path to our node's configuration file that should look as follows:

```toml
[IRI]
PORT = 14265
UDP_RECEIVER_PORT = 14777
TCP_RECEIVER_PORT = 15777
NEIGHBORS = [space-separated list of neighbors]
IXI_DIR = ixi
HEADLESS = true
DEBUG = true
DB_PATH = mainnetdb
```

Here we have the communication ports specified again. They deserve an explanation as its purposes and usage are not obvious and the official docs are not helpful.

The first one - named cryptically `PORT` - is used to expose our node's HTTP API. It is useful to configure, orchestrate and monitor our node, but it should not necessarily be exposed to the public internet. We should leave it available from inside the Docker container just for us, but it is not necessary to expose it on our external firewall.

`UDP_RECEIVER_PORT` and `TCP_RECEIVER_PORT` are ports that need to be exposed via the firewall - so ensure your router or ISP allows you to configure public traffic over these ports to reach your node. IRI uses UDP by default with TCP fallback - technically, only one of these channels need to be reachable. UDP adds less overhead but TCP in some cases is easier to set up and debug.

## Get along with your neighbors

We now have a stranded process running in the void. It's time to find other nodes we can connect to and sync the state of the Tangle with it. These other nodes are called "neighbors" and we need to maintain a two-way channel between us and our neighbors. As of today, the only way to get some neighbors is to ask the friendly people on **#nodesharing** [IOTA's Slack channel](https://slack.iota.org/) for a way in. When asked during the European's daytime, I got some responses in less than an hour.

![IOTA neighborhood](../../static/images/iota/neighborhood.jpg "")

When you're already befriended with other nodes owners, you need to give them the publicly available address of your host - most probably looking like `udp://12.23.34.45:14777`. Note we're specifying the UDP protocol here and using a corresponding receiver port from our INI file. Our neighbors should give us their addresses, also for UDP protocol (if we decide to use UDP, that is - for TCP, both sides should use TCP protocol and ports, obviously).

To add a neighbor, include its address in your `iota.ini` file, in `NEIGHBORS` field, as a space-separated list and restart your node. Alternatively, you can use your node's [HTTP API method](https://iota.readme.io/v1.2.0/reference) to add a neighbor dynamically.

After this is done, try calling [`getNeighbors`](https://iota.readme.io/v1.2.0/reference#getneighborsactivity) to see what's going on. If everything goes right, the number of all transactions should grow pretty quickly. Now just go for a long lunch (possibly including a dinner) and when you're back, you'll be in sync with the network, being a part of IOTA ecosystem. Hooray!

## Light Node

There is also the wallet client app (also called "light node"), but its use is restricted to token trading. It requires a connection to the existing node's HTTP API (this one exposed via port defined in `PORT` - 14265 in my example). But we're geeks, we care about tech stuff more than about trading 🤓.

Speaking of the node's HTTP API again. If it's there, we might also use it directly on our own, right? Sure we can. Stay tuned for [the next post in the series](/blog/iota-hello-world/) where we'll submit a Hello World transaction to IOTA from a Node.JS application.

## Simulating nth-of-class CSS selector

*Published: 2017-10-16 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: css*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/nth-of-class/index.md*

My experience with frontend web development is not long yet, nevertheless, I have already got stuck a few times and spend like a few hours trying to find one perfect solution. I reckon that some of them are worth describing. 

![Image](../../static/images/nth-of-class/image1.jpeg "")

I have a list of HTML tags in which a few first have a certain class while the others don‘t. What I want to achieve is styling the last element having the class.
If you look for a pure CSS solution with no JavaScript and no changes in your HTML, I have some bad news: there is no such. Of course, you shouldn‘t believe me and look for it on your own. But if you happen to find one, please come back and feel free to comment. And if you fail, read on and see if one of the below solutions might suit you.

The initial case was to add a separator between `<li>` tags. This is pretty easy:
```css
li:not(:last-of-type) {
    border-bottom: 1px solid black;
}
```

Now, to make it more complicated, some of the elements are initially hidden and might be turned to visible on a button click. The hidden elements have class `hidden`. Quite natural for me was to add the class selector and have:
```css
li:not(.hidden):not(:last-of-type) {
    border-bottom: 1px solid black;
}
```

To my surprise, it didn‘t work. I though a selector like `li.hidden:last-of-type` filters out elements of type `li` with class `hidden` and then selects the last of them. It turned out that it actually selects the last element of type `li` and then checks if it has class `hidden`. A subtle difference, right?

The solution to my problem was actually straightforward – adding the top border instead of the bottom one was a way to go. After all, the hidden elements are hidden and so are their borders.
```css
li:not(:first-of-type) {
    border-top: 1px solid black;
}
```

Using adjacent sibling selector is even more readable.
```css
li + li {
    border-top: 1px solid black;
}
```

And this could be the end. I have found a solution to my problem, committed, pushed and deployed. But what if I really needed to style that last element of the class? Is there a way to do that? As already said, no. At least not yet.

In the [Selectors Level 4 Editor‘s Draft](https://drafts.csswg.org/selectors-4/#the-nth-child-pseudo) there is the newest version of nth-child pseudo class described. It introduces an optional clause `of S` which filters out the children to only the ones matching the `S` selector. This is only a draft yet and as so shouldn‘t be used in any production code - check [caniuse.com](https://caniuse.com/#search=nth-child) for browsers support.
Confirmed to work in Safari, which already supports it:
```css
li:nth-last-child(1 of li:not(.hidden)){
    border-top: 1px solid black;
}
```

What can we do now? Unfortunately, the answer is: break one of the rules we have previously established.
1. Break the "no changes in HTML" rule, i.e. divide the elements into two separate lists: one with the elements always visible and one with the hidden ones.
2. Break the "no JavaScript" rule and just use jQuery: 
```javascript
$("li:not(.hidden):last").addClass("last-not-hidden")
```

The nice `last` selector is jQuery specific and therefore cannot be used in CSS nor in JavaScript.
3. Break the "no JavaScript" rule and use pure Javascript:
```javascript
const notHiddens = document.querySelectorAll("li:not(.hidden)");
const lastNotHidden = notHiddens[notHiddens.length - 1];
lastNotHidden.classList.add("last-not-hidden");
```

This is more verbose than the previous one, however you might not necessarily need jQuery just for a simple DOM manipulation. 

OK, to be honest, I have found one „pure CSS solution“, but for me it‘s neither pure nor a solution, just a really strange walk around. [Take a look]( https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1817792/is-there-a-previous-sibling-css-selector/36118012#36118012), you might find it at least interesting.

So this is it. No clear and nice solutions. I‘m lucky that I do not need to have this solved in any real projects, and how about you? How have you handled such a case?

## 3d modeling as a developer

*Published: 2017-10-15 | Author: pawel | Tags: 3d modeling, CAD, OpenSCAD*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/index.md*

As a developer, 3d modeling was something that I had always wanted to&nbsp;try since it was something that I needed to visualize the final product or to create prototypes in my DIY projects. For a long time I've been searching for a perfect CAD, but none of them were ideal for&nbsp;me.
During one of my talks with a colleague of mine, he mentioned something about TinkerCAD, Fusion360 and OpenSCAD. The last one immediately got my attention as it had "open" in its name. I asked him to elaborate on that but "that's geeky stuff" was all that he said. I've decided then to look it up since I had a feeling that it might be something for me...

## What's OpenSCAD

OpenSCAD is a small (approx. 25 MB) but powerful CAD that lets us design using it's own language. Its design is very simple and splits into 3 areas.

1. Editor
2. Preview
3. Console

![Screen 1](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen1.png)

The best in openSCAD is its simplicity. All you need to know are a few shapes and functions, and that's all. This [cheat sheet](http://www.openscad.org/cheatsheet/) might come in handy as all the important knowledge is included in it.

## How it works

Nearly everything can be created with functions.
Syntax tree looks mostly like this:

```text
object();
variable = value;
operator() action();
operator() {
    action();
    action();
}
operator() operator() {
    action();
    action();
}
operator() {
    operator() action();
    operator() {
        action();
        action();
    }
}
```

For example, if we want to create a cylinder, we just have to call `cylinder(h,r|d,center)`:

* `h` is height
* `r` is radius
* `d` is diameter

```text
cylinder(h=2, r=5);
```

`center` parameter is not obligatory. It moves center of our shape to \[0,0,0].

![Screen 2](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen2.png)

&nbsp;

You should name all the parameters. If you don't, it's more likely that you will make a mistake. If you called a previous function with two parameters but without names: `cylinder(2, 5);`, the result would be following:

![Screen 3](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen3.png)

So what is happening?

Function without the named parameters will be called like `cylinder(h = 2, r1 = 5, r2 = 1);`
Because `r2` is `1` by default when `r1` is defined. You can read more about this [here](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual/Primitive_Solids#cylinder).

## Operations on shapes

With the help of documentation we can create 3d shapes like spheres, cubes etc. But what if we'd like to create some more complicated figures?
We need to wrap our figures with operation functions:

* `union` - sum
* `difference` - subtraction
* `intersection` - overlapping part of shapes

So if you want to create crossed cubes, below you can find the way how you can do this:

```text
union() {
    cube(size=[2,2,10], center=true); //first cube
    cube(size=[2,10,2], center=true); //second cube
}
```

![Screen 4](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen4.png)

Cube with gap in the middle:

```text
difference() {
    cube(size=[2,2,10], center=true); //first cube (base)
    cube(size=[2,10,2], center=true); //second cube (will be subtracted)
    //nth shape will be also subtracted from base
}
```

![Screen 5](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen5.png)

And... we've encountered a glitch here. We have a hole in the middle of our cube, but because the width of the first cube equals the width of the second cube, we have walls with width 0. In preview it may be a bit distracting, but if we render it (F6 or Design > Render) it should disappear.
The second way is to make subtracted shape a bit wider.

```text
difference() {
    cube(size=[2,2,10], center=true); //first cube (base)
    cube(size=[2.01,10,2], center=true); //second cube (will be subtracted)
    //nth shape will be also subtracted from the base
}
```

The common part of two cubes - should be cube with dimensions 2x2x2:

```text
intersection() {
    cube(size=[2,2,10], center=true);
    cube(size=[2,10,2], center=true);
}
```

![Screen 6](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen6.png)

It is possible to wrap operations in operations. For example, at first `rotate` cube and then subtract it from another one.

```text
difference() {
    cube(size=[2,2,10], center=true);
    rotate([45,0,0]) cube(size=[2.01,10,2], center=true);
}
```

![Screen 7](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen7.png)

There can be a useful debug function. Just put hash `#` before the operation:

```text
difference() {
    cube(size=[2,2,10], center=true);
    #rotate([45,0,0]) cube(size=[2.01,10,2], center=true);
}
```

![Screen 8](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen8.png)

Feel free to try other operations and transformations.

## Another basic useful stuff

### Conditional rendering

Sometimes we want to render something only in certain cases. OpenSCAD allows us to use `if` and it has a similar syntax to javascript etc.

```text
a = 1;
if (a > 0) {
    sphere(r=a);
}
```

### For loop

Syntax:
`for(variable = [start : increment : end]) {}`
Let's create holes around cylinder's border.

```text
radius=5;

difference() {
    cylinder(h=1, r=radius, center=true);

    for(i=[0:360/6:360]) {
        echo(i);
        rotate([0,0,i])
            translate([radius-1,0,0])
            cube(size=[1,1,1.1], center=true);
    }
}
```

![Screen 9](../../static/images/3d-modeling-as-a-developer/screen9.png)

### And others...

`echo` is useful for debugging.
I often use also `import` for importing external `stl` files to the project.
OpenSCAD has a lot of popular mathematical functions and transformations.
It also allows us to create 2d models and extrude it to 3d models with `linear_extrude` or `rotate_extrude`. You can look for details [here](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual/2D_to_3D_Extrusion).
Documentation is very easy to use so I believe this doesn't need any further explaining.

## Last words

OpenSCAD is a very powerful tool if we know how to use it. I was able to create useable models in a few hours after reading the manual. If you are a developer and prefer writing a code to drawing, I think it will be perfect for you.

## A few things I like about React Native. And a few I don't.

*Published: 2017-10-15 | Author: azabost | Tags: React Native, iOS, Android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/a-few-things-i-like-about-react-native-and-a-few-i-dont/index.md*

React Native is still a hot topic at the company. After spending some time with it, many of us have some thoughts and I think there is still a lot to say about it so I would like to share some of my observations and feelings.

This post is going to be extremely subjective so please don't treat it as the only truth. Actually, there are as many different opinions on RN as there are people who have worked with it... or even more :)

### Documentation ###

Or maybe I should say: &bdquo;the lack of it&rdquo;? It's not like there is completely no documentation at all. It's just poor, incomplete and therefore not particularly useful from time to time.
A quick example: try to understand the `KeyboardAvoidingView` [behaviors](https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/keyboardavoidingview.html#behavior).

### *Gotchas!* ###

Even if you do understand the `KeyboardAvoidingView`, let me add that it works differently on Android and iOS, so after a few hours you either end up with some weird solution (like putting all your views inside another view, which experimentally proven to be helpful, but it still needs some tweaking) or you give up, saying: &bdquo;*let's hope the user will be smart enough to hide the keyboard and find that login button at the bottom of the screen*&rdquo;.

Fun fact: at some point I've found out that the keyboard avoiding behavior works well until I open the next screen, and another, and finally go back to the first one &mdash; then it doesn't. Magic trick!

*(Now I start to think the keyboard avoiding feature deserves it's own blog post...)*

### Community-driven development ###

I am a great fan of open source projects, but RN is a bit disappointing in this aspect, especially considering that it's maintained by Facebook.
Unfortunately, the maintainers can't keep up with a huge number of reported issues and pull requests. They even admit that by posting automated comments like [this](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/issues/5988#issuecomment-185384590):

> React Native, as you've probably heard, is getting really popular and truth is we're getting a bit overwhelmed by the activity surrounding it. There are just too many issues for us to manage properly.

And it's quite understandable, but did you know about it before reading this post? It's easy to get hyped and then regret it.

Another thing I don't like about it is the way the GitHub issues are managed. Many of them are being closed and moved to another issue tracker (but not always). I know it may be easier to manage this number of issues using some better tool than GitHub, but hey &mdash; why do you close them? A few times I have heard something like &bdquo;RN has only 500 open issues on GitHub, it must be quite stable considering it's size&rdquo;. Nope. ([example 1](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/issues/15154#issuecomment-335220801), [example 2](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/issues/9866#issuecomment-260227960))
And often you don't even know if the issue was fixed or not &mdash; it's not mentioned anywhere (neither GitHub nor the [ProductPains](https://react-native.canny.io/feature-requests)).

### Debugging ###

Eliasz has already mentioned some of our debugging experience in [his post](/blog/react-native-the-things-that-you-shoud-be-aware-of-before-coming-onboard/), but let me put my two cents in.

* The app might be much slower while debugging (in fact, it slows down when you enable the *dev* mode, which is needed for debugging). Before we switched to a different navigation library, navigating from one screen to another was taking up to 2 minutes (!).
* Accessing the In-App Developer Menu on a device is a pain. If you are using an emulator, you can bring the developer menu up with a keyboard shortcut, but on a device you use a shake gesture. Now, just imagine yourself shaking a tablet like tens times a day (or even more). There are no refunds for broken devices.
* I don't know if other debuggers also have this issue, but using a browser-based debugger I experienced stale or incomplete data printed to console. Printing a whole object was giving a different result than printing its properties one by one.

### A common codebase ###

Sharing the code for both Android and iOS is just awesome. No more questions for missing translations, complex algorithms, color themes, fonts etc. What a relief!

### Creating the UIs ###

If I could take just one RN feature to a deserted island of native development, it would be the [layouting](https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/flexbox.html). Now, working on a non-RN project again, I must admit I miss it. It's probably the most pleasurable code-XML mixture I have ever seen.

### Storybook ###

[Storybook](https://github.com/storybooks/storybook/tree/master/app/react-native) is a great tool that helps you design and develop UI components without running the app. From Android developer's perspective it's even better than the layout preview mode in Android Studio, because with Storybook you can also easily populate your components with some real data and see how it looks.
At some point I was using two Android emulators and one iOS simulator simultaneously, testing all my code changes in the UI almost immediately thanks to the Storybook.

### Summary ###

I know that after reading this post it might look like there are so many terrible problems with RN that you should stay away of it at all cost, but I don't really mean it. I just like to complain a lot :)

Now you are much better prepared if you decide to give it a try and, believe me, it's worth it. Even if you don't decide to stay with it much longer, the experience you are going to gain is priceless.

I would love to see RN mature to the point where you don't have to struggle with it so much.

*(and I wish it were using Kotlin instead of JS/TS...)*

## How to clear database in Spring Boot tests?

*Published: 2017-10-12 | Author: piotr | Tags: tests, spring boot, database, kotlin*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/clear-database-in-spring-boot-tests/index.md*

Nowadays using a production like database in *unit*<sup>[1](#sup-1)</sup> tests is a common practice. Calling a real database can increase our confidence that a tested code actually works. Having said that a database, by its very nature, brings external state into a test that will affect its behavior, hence we need to pay special attention to prepare the test execution. There are couple of ways to handle the database state in tests and I'm going to describe an approach I like most.

![Database](../../static/images/clear-database-in-spring-boot-tests/disk.jpg "")

## Problems with Spring Boot Transactional tests

Spring Boot offers many helpers to make testing application easier. Among many you can use a [`@DataJpaTest`](https://docs.spring.io/spring-boot/docs/current/reference/html/boot-features-testing.html#boot-features-testing-spring-boot-applications-testing-autoconfigured-jpa-test) which by default will configure an in-memory embedded database. You can use a production type database in tests by adding `@AutoConfigureTestDatabase(replace=Replace.NONE)` like so:

```java
@RunWith(SpringRunner.class)
@DataJpaTest
@AutoConfigureTestDatabase(replace=Replace.NONE)
public class ExampleRepositoryTests {
    // ...
}
```

The `@DataJpaTest` uses `@Transactional` under the hood. A test is wrapped inside a transaction that is rolled back at the end. This means that when using e.g. Hibernate one needs to pay special attention to how the tested code is written. [As shown in the Java example below](https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/4.3.11.RELEASE/spring-framework-reference/htmlsingle/#testcontext-tx-enabling-transactions), a manual flush is indeed required:

```java
@RunWith(SpringRunner.class)
@ContextConfiguration(classes = TestConfig.class)
@Transactional
public class HibernateUserRepositoryTests {
    ...
    @Test
    public void createUser() {
        // track initial state in test database:
        final int count = countRowsInTable("user");

        User user = new User(...);
        repository.save(user);

        // Manual flush is required to avoid false positive in test
        sessionFactory.getCurrentSession().flush();
        assertNumUsers(count + 1);
    }
}
```

Using `@Transactional` annotation on tests is certainly easy but **I still don't use it** for the following reasons:

* The production code is using transactions with different scope.
* It is easy to forget about a flush and thus have false positive in test.
* On failure and when debugging it is hard to see what values were actually saved in db.
* It is much harder to write tests of production code that requires a transaction to be committed. 
* The test code needs to be more tightly coupled to production code and [we all know that it hinders refactoring](http://blog.cleancoder.com/uncle-bob/2017/10/03/TestContravariance.html).

## Cleaning database with SQL

In tests involving a database I reset its state **before each** test using plain old SQL. This makes the test code less dependent on how a transaction is scoped inside production code. Furthermore, one can easily review the values saved **after a test failure**. It turns out it is easy to write a JUnit `@Rule` or [`BeforeEachCallback`](http://junit.org/junit5/docs/5.0.1/api/org/junit/jupiter/api/extension/BeforeEachCallback.html) that will remove all rows from all tables. Moreover, we can do so without hard coding table names which would increase maintenance cost.

Let's start with defining a `@Rule` in Kotlin in that will be called before each test:

```kotlin
import org.junit.rules.ExternalResource
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component
import javax.sql.DataSource

@Component
class DatabaseCleanerRule(private val dataSource: DataSource) : ExternalResource() {

    override fun before() {
        if (databaseCleaner == null) {
            // Consider inspecting dataSource to check if we are connecting to test database
            databaseCleaner = DatabaseCleaner(dataSource::getConnection)
        }
        databaseCleaner!!.reset()
    }

    companion object {
        internal var databaseCleaner: DatabaseCleaner? = null
    }
}
```

Consider inspecting `dataSource` to check if we are about to connect to test database and **not one used for development.** It is very easy to use incorrect Spring Profile and wipe out your development data. Ask me how I know?

We can use the `DatabaseCleanerRule` in a spring enabled test as any other JUnit rule e.g. `@Rule @Inject lateinit var cleanerRule: DatabaseCleanerRule`.

Notice that we've delegated the actual important work to `DatabaseCleaner` class defined in Kotlin below. 

```kotlin
import com.practi.util.iterator
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory
import java.sql.Connection
import java.sql.PreparedStatement
import java.sql.SQLException

class DatabaseCleaner(private val connectionProvider: () -> Connection) {
    private val tablesToExclude = mutableSetOf<String>()
    private var tablesForClearing: List<TableRef>? = null

    fun excludeTables(vararg tableNames: String) {
        tablesToExclude += tableNames.flatMap { listOf(it, it.toLowerCase()) }
    }

    fun reset() {
        if (notPrepared) {
            prepare()
        }
        executeReset()
    }

    private val notPrepared get() = tablesForClearing == null

    private fun prepare() {
        connectionProvider().use { connection ->
            val metaData = connection.metaData
            val tableRefs = metaData.getTables(connection.catalog, null, null, arrayOf("TABLE")).use { tables ->
                iterator(tables::next) { tables.getString("TABLE_NAME") }
                    .asSequence()
                    .filterNot(tablesToExclude::contains)
                    .map(::TableRef)
                    .toList()
            }

            tablesForClearing = tableRefs

            LOG.info("Prepared clean db command: {}", tablesForClearing)
        }
    }

    private fun executeReset() {
        try {
            connectionProvider().use { connection ->
                val reset = buildClearStatement(connection)
                val result = reset.executeBatch()
                result
            }
        } catch (e: SQLException) {
            val status = engineInnoDbStatus()
            LOG.error("Failed to remove rows because {}. InnoDb status: {}", e, status)
            throw e
        }
    }

    private fun engineInnoDbStatus(): String { ... }

    private fun buildClearStatement(connection: Connection): PreparedStatement {
        val reset = connection.prepareStatement("")
        reset.addBatch("SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS = 0")
        tablesForClearing?.forEach { ref ->
            reset.addBatch("DELETE FROM `${ref.name}`")
        }
        reset.addBatch("SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS = 1")
        return reset
    }

    data class TableRef(val name: String)

    companion object {
        private val LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(DatabaseCleaner::class.java)!!
    }
}
```

Notice that we've defined `tablesToExclude` set that allows us to omit certain tables. This comes in handy when you're using a database migration tool that stores its state inside some table(s).

[The JDBC metadata](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/sql/DatabaseMetaData.html) allows us to introspect schema regardless of the database vendor. The `iterator` is a tiny Kotlin function that aids consuming iterator like objects:

```kotlin
inline fun <T> iterator(crossinline next: () -> Boolean, crossinline value: () -> T): AbstractIterator<out T> = object : AbstractIterator<T>() {
    override fun computeNext() {
        if (next()) {
            setNext(value())
        } else {
            done()
        }
    }
}
```

The `buildClearStatement` constructs a large query that `DELETE`s all rows from each relevant table. The example above uses MySQL where it is very easy to disable foreign key checks. This is important since foreign keys would prevent rows to be removed unless we paid special attention to the order of removal. A more generic example of how to deal with referential integrity when clearing a database can be found in the [Respawn project](https://github.com/jbogard/Respawn).

Last but not least, when a `SQLException` is thrown we log the exception accompanied with [`SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS`](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/show-engine.html). The status information can hint us about failure reason e.g. another test process executing against the same database or a rogue, runaway thread that locks some rows. 

```kotlin
private fun engineInnoDbStatus(): String {
    return connectionProvider().use { connection ->
        connection.createStatement().executeQuery("SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS ").use {
            iterator(it::next) { it.getString("Status") }.asSequence().toList()
        }.joinToString(System.lineSeparator())
    }
}
```

The above examples show that it is not hard to manually reset the database. I've found that using this approach makes my tests more trustworthy and less coupled to the underlying persistence layer. In fact, we can easily switch e.g. from JPA to `JdbcTemplate` in a performance critical code area without a need to change a test.

*<sup>1</sup>*<a name="sup-1"></a> Whether it is actually unit or integration test is a different topic.

## Engagement is not an act, but a habit

*Published: 2017-10-12 | Author: ula | Tags: engagement, productivity, self-development, teamspirit, success*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/engagement-is-not-an-act-but-a-habit/index.md*

Disengaged and burned out employees cost companies every year billions of dollars and can highly affect the success of the business or even result in its failure. **Every employer knows that motivated and committed team values nowadays more than ever.** Yet engagement does not equal to employees' satisfaction or their happiness since someone can come to work every day with a big grin on their face, yet it does not have to mean they work productively on the behalf of the organisation. Someone can be also satisfied with their job, but coming across another offer, will quit it as quickly as one-day notice takes. So engagement is definitely something more than enthusiasm or satisfaction. 

Engagement is an emotional commitment to our work. **If we are engaged, we feel that we are an integral part of the organisation and we believe that the company’s goals are our goals.** Understanding our vital role in the growth and development of company is in fact the half of success. When we are engaged, we are willing to make an extra effort without being asked. We are convinced that our job makes a difference and we can go this extra mile for a better company’s performance or reputation. 

**Engagement indeed should be regarded as an investment by which we can increase our productivity, profitability and quality.** I would dare to say that this is a serious competitive advantage on the nowadays market on which employees change their jobs every second a new opportunity arises. **How can we boost our engagement? By concentrating on developing our strengths.** Each of us has a unique potential which goes far beyond our job description. Why not use it and make the best of it? Good management of our team’s talents and knowledge can be a great means of building a strong successful business. Employees who use their strengths every day, perform better and are much more absorbed in their work. 

According to [Gallup’s research](http://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/188033/worldwide-employee-engagement-crisis.aspx) we are facing an engagement crisis with only 13% employees all over the world admitting they are engaged in their work. Happily, I am lucky enough to be among these 13%. But if I weren’t, I would definitely start wondering whether everything is fine with me. **My advice for disentangled ones? Think positively and have an open mind. And always be around people that take care about their own (and their company) goals.**

## Don’t let your iOS app be rejected

*Published: 2017-10-12 | Author: mateusz | Tags: ios, in-app purchases, subscriptions, apple, review process*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/dont-let-your-ios-app-be-rejected/index.md*

While implementing in-app purchases, especially **auto-renewable subscriptions**, there is a good chance your app will be rejected during a review process if you don’t follow the guidelines exactly. How can you avoid unnecessary trouble?

![image1](../../static/images/dont-let-your-ios-app-be-rejected/rejected1.png "")

## Monetise your app

Phil Schiller announced at WWDC 2017 that Apple so far had paid out **over 70 billion dollars** to the developers of which 21 billion dollars within last year. By 2017, the total global sales from in-app purchases is [projected to amount of 36 billion dollars](https://www.statista.com/statistics/220186/total-global-in-app-revenue-forecast) while the total global sales from paid app download is [projected to amount of 27 billion dollars](https://www.statista.com/statistics/273122/global-paid-for-mobile-app-revenues-forecast). This means that users are more willing to spend money on mobile apps if there is a free version and they can pay for full access later on (freemium model). Mobile revenue is growing every year and in-app purchases are a great way to monetise your app.

## In-app purchases

On iOS we distinguish 4 types of in-app purchases:

* Consumable
* Non-Consumable
* Auto-Renewable Subscriptions
* Non-Renewing Subscriptions

Consumable in-app purchases are used once and can be bought again what makes them an easy solution for in-app gifts or extra game bonuses. Non-consumable purchases are permanent and can be restored even after the app reinstalls, which is usually used for unlocking premium features of the app or disabling the ads. Further, non-renewing subscriptions are valid for a limited time only, which can be applied for example for seasonal passes. It’s like non-consumable which is consumed after a specific period of time.

Probably the most appealing for developers are **auto-renewable subscriptions** which can provide a steady income from the in-app content. They can’t be cancelled inside the app (there is no API for that) which makes it harder for users to stop the subscription. To encourage users to try it out you can offer a free trial lasting from 3 days up to even 1 year. Another advantage of subscription model is an increased revenue after 1 year. After subscriber accumulates one year of paid service, your revenue increases to 85% of the subscription price instead of traditional 70%.

## Abuses

Unfortunately, a lack of API for cancelling the subscription programmatically in combination with a quite unobvious process for resigning manually creates some possibilities for frauds.

Recently, [Johnny Lin has discovered on AppStore](https://medium.com/@johnnylin/how-to-make-80-000-per-month-on-the-apple-app-store-bdb943862e88) many high-ranked scam apps that are prompting a user to pay up to $100 a week. 

One might think that no one would pay that much for such simple services like WEP password generating or VPN service of dubious reputation but according to [Sensor Tower](https://sensortower.com/) some of those applications are earning up to $300k a month!

After a quick research, Johnny found 10 scam apps that might be earning in total over 7 million dollars a year. It seems that vaguely communicated subscription can be easily accepted by unaware user.

Such cases have probably **made Apple be more demanding** when reviewing auto-renewable subscriptions before publishing the app in the store. Now, when you don't meet any requirement regarding subscriptions, whether within the app or in AppStore description, your binaries will most likely be **rejected**.

![image2](../../static/images/dont-let-your-ios-app-be-rejected/rejected2.jpg "")

## Stick to the rules

To make sure you meet the Apple requirements you need to include information about the auto-renewable nature of the subscription in both app's **binary** and **metadata**.

According to Apple, you must include:

* Title of publication or service Length of subscription (time period and content or services provided during each subscription period)
* Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase
* Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period
* Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal
* Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase
* Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable
* A link to the terms of use

This means, that information about the pricing, exact moment when (and how often) users will be charged and an instruction how they can unsubscribe must be **communicated clearly** in both AppStore app’s description (metadata) and the application UI (binary).

You must be frank about the costs and you need to make sure that users won’t be surprised once charged. The more honest and user-friendly you are, the better.

## How to bring together university and work?

*Published: 2017-10-12 | Author: grzesiek | Tags: work, university, time-management*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/how-to-bring-together-university-and-work/index.md*

## How did it start?

I’ve started my adventure at Bright Inventions from a three month summer Internship, but now it’s time to go back to the university. It has got a little bit complicated when it turned out that I have to be in two places at the same time - I have tried bilocation, but unfortunately failed… And sometimes I need to sleep, so even trilocation is wanted.


![wantedImage](../../static/images/how-to-bring-together-university-and-work/wanted.jpg "")

## Typical day

Staying focused during lectures or laboratories requires a huge amount of energy (which can be sometimes replaced with a particular amount of coffee). But it’s getting even harder when you get a few hours of work, instead of a few hours of sleep.

One thing is needed to bring these things together - a positive attitude. Tell your brain that your work/study time is, in fact,  your spare time - you do what you like, so it’s not going to make you tired. That’s not all - your free time is also between the lectures and the time when you go from the university to work etc. You can dedicate this time to reading books or whatever you like. It should be just something that relaxes you. 

![relaxImage](../../static/images/how-to-bring-together-university-and-work/relax.jpg "")

## To sleep, or not to sleep?

And here comes the most important moment - you are coming back home. And what now? No one will tell you what to do. There are many things that need to be done now. I suggest writing them down and putting/hanging in a place which you see all the time - for example, I use my week plan as a wallpaper in my notebook.

1. Make and eat supper.
2. Start new project.
3. Tidy your room.
4. Study for next laboratories, etc.

Ups, you did half of the planned things and look at the clock and it’s midnight and... your first lecture starts at 8 a.m.. In theory people need 8 hours of sleep every day to stay healthy, but students know that it’s a lie. :)  When you get 5 hours of sleep a day, you get an incredible ability to fall asleep under any circumstances, at any time, and in any position. So, five hours is really a lot. 

![sleepImage](../../static/images/how-to-bring-together-university-and-work/sleep.jpg "")

## Last, but not least...

To stay healthy in mind you shouldn’t forget about your family and friends (if you still have any ;) - write or call someone every day, try not to be antisocial and devote at least half an hour of your daily time for other people. 
And my last question is - how good are you at maths? Because I think all this leads us to an interesting mathematical paradox - day consists of 24 hours, but sometimes it’s possible to count them up to 30.


![timeImage](../../static/images/how-to-bring-together-university-and-work/time.jpg "")


I encourage everyone to be a student in some way - stay focused, be proud of what you do and use well all 48 hours of your each day.

## React Native - The things that you should be aware of before coming onboard

*Published: 2017-10-12 | Author: eliasz | Tags: React Native, iOS, Android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/react-native-the-things-that-you-shoud-be-aware-of-before-coming-onboard/index.md*

![Header](../../static/images/react-native-the-things-that-you-shoud-be-aware-of-before-coming-onboard/header.jpeg)

React Native is a neat piece of technology that I get along pretty well with. Creating multiplatform apps using a shared codebase and having a great feedback loop sounds really promising and after hearing such things you may start wondering "Why the hell am I not using React Native?!". Well... As you probably know, many things aren't all that shiny after you go past the happy-path tutorials. In this post I'd like to give you my perspective on things that I have found problematic, frustrating or things that I just wasn't prepared for while entering the React Native world. However, this will be a perspective of iOS developer who still have had a lot of fun with while developing with React Native.

Please do not mistake this post with a "React Native - The things that should discourage you from using it". In fact, I love React Native for many reasons! My point is to make you aware of what difficulties you may come across on the React Native path, which will hopefully make you better prepared for them and will result in less frustration and great development experience when you decide to hop on the React Native train! 

* This post has been written on 13.10.2017, keep in mind that currently things may look different!

## Let's start!

### 1. The "Do-It-Yourself" approach

![Tools](../../static/images/react-native-the-things-that-you-shoud-be-aware-of-before-coming-onboard/tools.jpeg "React Native Tools")

If you are a native developer since forever, then coming into React Native will be something completely new to you.
You have to keep in mind, that there will be many times where there won't be an existing solution for your usecase and the only way to push the project will be to write the whole solution yourself, adapt existing open-source project to your needs or simply fix a bug in a library. Well... This wouldn't be a surprising thing for a native developer, however keep in mind that react-native itself is also a dependency that may require fixes at times. You probably didn't have to fix things in UIKit before ;) Coming to React Native from native will probably make you much more of an open-source person than you have been before ;)

### 2. Leaky abstractions

Android and iOS are different platforms. It's not surprising that things may work differently. It's pretty hard to cover all cases under one universal abstraction. Sometimes you probably wouldn't even want to have an universal API for both Android and iOS, because this would mean giving up on some platform specific features that you might still want to cover with your React Native code. Be prepared, that there will be still places where you will yell "Hey! I've had it in Swift!". Well... Maybe it's not been covered by React Native APIs yet?

### 3. Dependencies, dependencies, dependencies

If you come from the web background, then you will not be surprised at all, but if you are a native dev, then I guess that you have not had that many dependencies in your project. If you think that you actually have many of them, then wait until you see the dependency tree in your React Native project. Even at the start of the project, they will reach a high number. It may look scary, but you'll probably get used to it. You have to switch your way of thinking when you start working on JS based projects. Normally, you turn your IDE on and compile the code / run tests. Here you will have to bring your own test runner / transpiler and work with that.  

### 4. Things may not work always in the same way

Even if you use the same API and it feels great, keep in mind this simple rule. If you are writing a multi-platform app, then you should test it on both platforms separately. You will run into places, where certain implementation works on iOS, but behaves slighly different on Android. Some basic examples I can think of are:  

* A scrollView that will result in slightly different experience while scrolling (programmatically or with your finger) on both platforms
* By default an Android view will render with transparent backgrounds, while iOS will render them white.

### 5. Learning React Native

React Native is a fairly new technology. If you're looking for a React Native developer it's not the same as if you looked for a Java developer. There are simply not as many of them. So in order to find one, you will usually need a person who will learn it. There are two common paths while entering the world of React Native - you are either a web dev or a native dev. Which is better? It's usually hard to say, but from my perspective going from native dev to React Native will be an easier task. You will surely have to learn a lot regarding the programming language, tools and environment, however, you will have an advantage of knowing how to solve the native problems regarding project configuration, using native APIs, common practices in mobile world and if the need comes - you will also be able to efficiently bridge your native code to React Native (And the time will surely come). Web devs! Don't be discouraged! Just keep in mind that it's not the same as writing a website for a smaller device ;)  

### 6. Project configuration

You change a name of a build configuration in Xcode for your React Native project, and suddenly you realise that you are not able to compile it anymore. What's wrong? Well... you start reading the React Native library code (You can do it, because it's open source!) that is responsible for building the project and you find out, that other configurations than `Debug` or `Release` are not fully supported. Things like this happen and it's good to be aware of them beforehand. If you find issues like this, remember that you are not alone! There is a great community that will surely help you!\
But remember - don't come with "Give me!" approach ;)\
The example project configuration issue - [Github](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/issues/11813#issuecomment-331519708)

### 7. Navigation

![Navigation](../../static/images/react-native-the-things-that-you-shoud-be-aware-of-before-coming-onboard/navigation.jpeg)

As a native dev, whole navigation stack is focused around pushing/popping/dismissing controllers. You have a specific API for that and everything is working fine... If you come to React Native world... You will find many navigation libraries that will wait for you. It will be very hard to come up with a good fit at first. You may end up with something that will turn out to be not as pleasant as you expect. I'm currently a happy user of [React Native Navigation by Wix](https://github.com/wix/react-native-navigation). It should be fine for you, but if you're missing something... contribute!
Be aware that you won't find there a standarized way to solve navigation as you used to do in your iOS/Android apps.  

### 8. Bridging existing Android/iOS libraries

Many platform-specific libraries that you use in React Native will in fact be native libraries bridged to JavaScript API. This is important to know because in order to use a fresh version of your favourite swift library, you will also need an updated version of the library that bridges the API to JS. This may cause delay in having such updates, unless you go with do-it-yourself approach.  

### 9. Debugging

I have to admit that debugging the code that I've written in React Native projects is not as pleasant as in IDEs that I've previously used. Some of the text editors support debugging, but I've been using TypeScript for my project, which means that it was a bit harder to setup the debugger in a text editor. I've used the debugger in Visual Studio Code for some time, however, many times I ended up debugging my code in chrome dev tools. By any means it is not a horrible experience, but you will surely feel the difference compared to debugging in your IDE. 

### 10. Are you flexible with the app?

In any project you may come to a place, where implementing a certain layout will cost you a big portion of time without actually contributing too much to the value of a project. Such things are often a nice addition to the app, however if you want to release your [MVP](/our-areas/mvp-development) quickly to hit the market, it might be just not worth it to implement the whole thing and go on with a simpler version of the layout instead. This is especially a thing if you are pursuing your path as React Native developer because at first the time-investment point in this case will also be caused by an additional code that you may need to bridge to React Native or by some additional features that you would have to add the to existing libraries in order to support a detail in layout. It would be a good thing to have a bit of flexibility regarding the details of the UI.

### 11. You don't have to use JS

Many people are discouraged by the fact that they will have to write JS, however, I do not consider that to be a big problem. Let's ignore the fact that nowadays JS has a lot of nice features that you may love. Let's look at the "issue" from another perspective... You do not actually have to use pure JS for your app. In my case TypeScript is a pleasant solution that makes developing the app much more pleasant. It will still transpile down to JS, however, you will not need to have too much contact with it. If you come from Swift/Kotlin background, then by using TypeScript you will not feel such a dramatic change as the one while going on with pure JS.

Take a look at [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) and [Flow](https://flow.org/)!

### 12. You don't have to setup your project from the ground

![Building](../../static/images/react-native-the-things-that-you-shoud-be-aware-of-before-coming-onboard/building.jpeg "React Native Development")

Setting up a React Native project can be a daunting thing... It would be really time consuming to handle all these dependencies by yourself. But don't worry! There is a great tool that will help you with a setup of a project - [Create React Native App](https://github.com/react-community/create-react-native-app). It will allow you to directly jump into writing the code instead of dancing around with configs and dependencies. It's surely important to know how your project is built, but if it's your first time in "JS environment", then you will already have a lot of things to wrap your head around.

## Summary

These points should not discourage you to enter the world of React Native. They should make you be aware of some problems, so that you can better prepare for them. So far I've had a great experience with it and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this technology evolves in the future.\
Well... you should surely avoid React Native if you don't want to experience the feeling of longing after coming back to native development. When you come back, there will be many things that you won't feel comfortable with after trying React Native ;)

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## Can Dysfunctions be Bright

*Published: 2017-10-09 | Author: monika | Tags: management, team, leadership, Lencioni*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/can-dysfunctions-be-bright/index.md*

![teambuilding](../../static/images/can-disfunctions-be-bright/team.png "")

So your leader comes up with an idea, which you don’t quite agree with -do you speak up or remain silent? Maybe you’re a leader and wonder whether the silence of your team mates is golden.

Sometimes debates are raised and last long after the meetings end. It happens that discussions involve at least half of the team and result in many solutions to the problem.

I smile to myself as I recall a brilliant book by Patrick Lencioni “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”.  Lencioni claims that a “Fear of Conflict” is the second dysfunction which prevents teams from delivering desired results. It makes people focus on the fear which consumes the whole energy and kills the productivity. Silence driven by fear brings lack of commitment and thus makes the company’s success almost impossible. 

“All great relationships, the ones that last over time, require productive conflict in order to grow. This is true in marriage, parenthood, friendship, and certainly business” (Patrick Lencioni).

Conflict is generally good for the team, but often feels uncomfortable and especially difficult for a leader who should generally promote and reward it.  Team members should be protected from harm and feel secure to share their thoughts and opinions. Debate are often messy and it may look like a leader is failing by losing the control over a team. A fearless debate is however a precondition to a true commitment. When team including the leader overcome the uncomfortable conflict bias, the organisation reaches the next level. According to Lencioni this is just a half way to the company’s success. This step however is a difficult one. 

So is silence golden? Not necessarily, but I will be happy if you disagree.

## IOTA - a new kid in the cryptocurrency town

*Published: 2017-10-08 | Author: adam | Tags: iota, blockchain, cryptocurrency*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/iota-new-kid-in-cryptocurrency-town/index.md*

At Bright Inventions, we always try to keep focus on the bleeding-edge technologies and innovations. We are especially interested in cryptocurrencies and its prospective wide usage in the industry, not only as a payment method. We already have some experience with [Ethereum](https://www.ethereum.org/) and [Hyperledger](https://www.hyperledger.org/) as a Blockchain-based app platform, so we were curious what can [IOTA](http://iota.org/) offer.

IOTA's marketing offerings are very prominent. It calls itself "a backbone of IoT" and promises scalability, decentralization, modularity and the lack of transactional fees. Its primary goal is to enable the "Economy of Things" - an environment in which the IoT devices might conduct secure, verifiable and reliable automated transactions for even the smallest amounts. It is not feasible with other cryptocurrency-based technologies because of the transaction fees that would be possibly larger than the amount exchanged.

## What IOTA is (or plans to be)?

First of all, [technically speaking](https://xkcd.com/1475/), contrary to Bitcoin, Ethereum or Hyperledger, it is not a [blockchain-based](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain) solution, because transactions do not require blocks to be formed nor do they create a single chain of blocks. Instead, each transaction is a separate node in the tree-shaped graph of transactions. Every transaction references two earlier transactions that exist in the tree, confirming its validity (by verifying its [proof-of-work](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof-of-work_system)). This directed tree-shaped graph in IOTA is called *the Tangle*.

![IOTA Tangle visualization by David Sonstebo](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*bMMGTt8UUIKoVGQCo6VL1g.png)

This way, at least theoretically, the whole system is self-validating and the approval process is decoupled from any authority and decentralized. It is also a way to [get rid of the transaction fees](https://learn.iota.org/faq/how-can-there-be-no-transaction-fees
) - all the nodes participating in the network have the incentive to verify proof-of-works of other transactions because it is required in order to submit own transactions to the network.

Scalability, the next major promise of IOTA, is theoretically guaranteed by the fact that it is not required for the node to know the state of the whole Tangle tree - the tree can grow asynchronously in many directions. The assumption is that the separate branches will be eventually "entangled" together and cross-validated by the future transactions. This idea allows nodes to work in a non-fully synced state - this is especially useful in the context of IoT devices that might encounter being offline for a myriad of reasons.

## The current state of affairs

Let's leave the marketing buzz from the landing page and check how all these promises work in today's reality. The project itself is quite young - the [initial commit](https://github.com/iotaledger/iri/commit/f52d16723c78502110dde4b9662676707174aa94) of the node implementation is not even a year old (Oct 2016). And while the project is really dynamic, it is still in the very early phase. If you count on any detailed reference or deep-dive instructions - you will be disappointed. All you can find is a [theoretical academic whitepaper](http://iota.org/IOTA_Whitepaper.pdf), coarse and partial [definitions of terms](https://iota.readme.io/v1.2.0/docs/glossary), [API reference](https://iota.readme.io/v1.2.0/reference) and a [vibrant Slack community](https://slack.iota.org/) that serves as an announcement board and the only way to have the node connected to the network. For all the rest you need to either dig through the source code or count on the community on Slack to help you.

It turns out that the other theoretical goals are also far from being met in practice.

### Decentralization

The pure IOTA Tangle is [vulnerable to the attack](https://medium.com/@ercwl/iota-is-centralized-6289246e7b4d
) that enables verification of invalid transactions by generating large enough sub-branch of the tree consisting of fake transactions so that the branch overweights the original, legitimate transactions branch, making it orphaned and leading to the approval of the double-spending transaction. 

As of October 2017, there is a [single designated node](https://blog.iota.org/the-transparency-compendium-26aa5bb8e260#dc3d) in the IOTA network, called Coordinator, that ensures the consistent state of the ledger, re-validating **all** the transactions and periodically generating a “Milestone mark” that is intended to indicate the “correct” branch of the Tangle tree. A Milestone is a special transaction, issued by the designated Coordinator node, which marks all the transactions it directly or indirectly approves as trusted.

The existence of Coordinator makes IOTA not fully decentralized by now and prevents from having a private ledger networks, because its address is hardcoded into the IRI (reference node implementation) and its source is not disclosed.

It is said that the existence of the Coordinator is a temporary measure, until the protocol stabilizes and the network gets a certain size making it unfeasible to take over, but no due date is given.

### IoT app platform

The idea of the IOTA system is to be possible to run it directly on IoT devices. It is [not](https://www.reddit.com/r/Iota/comments/6suctt/iota_on_raspberry_pi/) [yet](https://www.reddit.com/r/Iota/comments/6fhjvw/full_node_on_raspberry_pi/) possible to run the full node on Raspberry Pi, though. However, it should be possible to run the thin client that connects to the external node.

What is important, IOTA cannot serve as an app platform as long as there's no [Smart Contract](https://www.reddit.com/r/Iota/comments/70fpew/smart_contracts_in_iota/) functionality there. It is planned, but it doesn't seem to be reasonable to expect it soon.

## What next?

Even if the number of TODO's on the IOTA team's list is long, there are definitely some parts that can be used even today. 

[Next time](/blog/getting-started-with-iota), we'll look into the ways we can interact with the Tangle, even in its current state of maturity.

## Design Patterns with Swift: Quick look at a Strategy Pattern

*Published: 2017-10-08 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, design patterns, strategy pattern*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/quick-look-on-a-strategy-pattern-using-swift/index.md*

![design patterns](../../static/images/quick-look-on-a-strategy-pattern-using-swift/strategy.jpg "")

Let's take a quick look at one of the design patterns that should help us to write a good Object-Oriented code.
The basic assumption of Strategy Pattern is that you can define many implementations that will conform to the protocol.

Take a look at a simple example that can be used on iOS applications.

Firstly, create a `protocol` which contains a method. In our case it will be:

## Define protocol

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/51c2bef4373a063aeafc9d9cb605d9e9.js"></script>

## Create strategies

Ok, most of the iOS apps use an `UIImage` to represent images in applications. The `UIImage` instance can be used to produce two different data representations of image `UIImagePNGRepresentation` and  `UIImageJPEGRepresentation`. Let's create classes that handle this stuff.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/69fbffb20630cd273ed84a5ee2149f90.js"></script>

Now, as you can see - both classes conforms to the `ImageRepresentation` protocol but they differ in implementation. Each class represents a different **strategy**.

## Create client

The last thing - creating a client that uses one of the `ImageRepresentation` strategies.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/5b44740021d9bba904cda4de47939e94.js"></script>

## Usage

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/48ee90472babb961ab789966d7e2ed7a.js"></script>

## Conclusions

The cool thing about Strategy Pattern is that we can change our strategy at runtime.
While using the Strategy Pattern we definitely conform to "Open-Close" SOLID principle. Our client is open for extensions by changing the strategy without changing the client implementation(close for modification). Also, the `ImageRepresenter` with Strategy Pattern included will be easiest to test.

Let's think how the above code could look like without Strategy Pattern:

### Using Switch

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/5be7d283e6e08052683af1c79405ce91.js"></script>

### or using multiple functions

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/8c6b66a014629604963b05799ab2a980.js"></script>

Both of these solutions definitely are not on the same line with CleanCode. Also, it might be hard to maintain that kind of code. The switch statement can grow with the next cases - what if we had to handle a 10, 20 or 100 strategies? The second one using multiple functions is also bad because we will continue duplicating the similar methods to handle each case. This few arguments should convince you to use Strategy Pattern. And last but not least, this two examples breakes the Open-Close principle.

This article is cross-posted with my [blog](https://wysockikamil.com/quick-look-on-a-strategy-pattern-using-swift/)

## Few Steps to Fast Redshift

*Published: 2017-10-05 | Author: agnieszka | Tags: Redshift, performance*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/few-steps-to-fast-redshift/index.md*

Do you think a web dashboard which communicates directly with Amazon Redshift and shows tables, charts, numbers - statistics in general,can work well? We believe it can, as long as the dashboard is used by a few users. As this was our case, we have decided to give it a go. 

As we were developing the dashboard, adding more statistics, more details and more features, it was getting slower and slower. And then the day came and a task „improving performance“ appeared and so did doubts if the web page and Redshift could work together efficiently.

The first thought was to add another layer as OLAP cubes built on top of Redshift or as a row database with the most recent data. Surprisingly enough, my research showed that people actually do build efficient dashboards directly speaking with Redshift, without any intermediate layer. The key is a proper design of the database taking the best of Redshift.

In this blog post I will tell you what I have done to significantly improve the system performance. In general I have taken three steps:

* adding a pre-aggregated table with the most often queried data,
* choosing dist key and sort key for the table,
* applying other little improvements.

First let‘s see how it all has looked before. We use [Kimball Start Schema](http://www.kimballgroup.com/data-warehouse-business-intelligence-resources/kimball-techniques/dimensional-modeling-techniques/star-schema-olap-cube/) with two fact tables and several dimension tables. Each of dimension tables has a surrogate key as a primary key and a natural key as a property. Among other advantages tracking of historical data and different events stored in separate tables are worth mentioning.

The main problems of slow queries were:

* union of the two fact tables to show most of the statistics,
* latest name needed which required use of window functions or multiple joining of the same table while grouping by a natural key of a dimension table,
* each dimension‘s natural key appears in WHERE as well as GROUP BY clauses.

## **Pre-aggregated table**

The pre-aggregated table is a very primitive form of a data mart, but good enough in my case. The main features of the table:

* data taken from both fact tables with a column to distinguish the data – no UNION needed,
* data aggregated to ensure the minimal needed granularity,
* the latest names of dimensions elements are included – no window functions needed. This step ensured performance improvement of about 50%. It sounds nice, doesn‘t it? Are there any disadvantages of such a solution? Surely – the storage usage. The pre-aggregated table uses 10% of the whole Redshift tables storage. Is it much? It depends. Our database is still far below any storage thresholds so it is perfectly acceptable in my case.

## **Distribution style and key**

Following Amazon‘s instructions: <cite>[Choose a column with high cardinality in the filtered result set.](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/redshift/latest/dg/c_best-practices-best-dist-key.html)</cite>, it was rather obvious to choose the date of the event as a distribution key as there is only one table and no joins are needed. 

### **Sort key**

One can decide between a compound sort key and an interleaved sort key and choose one or more columns to compose the key. This is best described in [Amazon‘s dosc](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/redshift/latest/dg/t_Sorting_data.html).

<cite>A compound key is made up of all of the columns listed in the sort key definition, in the order they are listed. A compound sort key is most useful when a query's filter applies conditions, such as filters and joins, that use a prefix of the sort keys. The performance benefits of compound sorting decrease when queries depend only on secondary sort columns, without referencing the primary columns. COMPOUND is the default sort type.</cite>

<cite>An interleaved sort gives equal weight to each column, or subset of columns, in the sort key. If multiple queries use different columns for filters, then you can often improve performance for those queries by using an interleaved sort style. When a query uses restrictive predicates on secondary sort columns, interleaved sorting significantly improves query performance as compared to compound sorting.</cite>

Although Amazon‘s documentation is a good source of knowledge, if you really want to understand the idea behind interleaved and compound sort keys, read [this great two-parts article](https://blog.chartio.com/posts/understanding-interleaved-sort-keys-in-amazon-redshift-part-1)

Keeping all this in mind, I have decided to try out two different approaches:

* the date as a sort key – it is the only column to appear in each and every query,
* interleaved sort key composed of date and a two columns most often appearing in WHERE clause.

I have run a batch of queries (90 sets of 10 queries used by a dashboard with different WHERE clauses) against tables with sort keys defined as above. Here are the results:

![Photo 1](../../static/images/few-steps-to-fast-redshift/chart.png "")

The simplest solution has turned out to be the best one. It gives about 50% better performance than no sort key and 20% better than the interleaved sort key.

## **Other little things**

Another [article](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/big-data/top-10-performance-tuning-techniques-for-amazon-redshift/) that has helped me a lot comes from AWS big data blog and describes ten performance tuning techniques.

I was already familiar with most of the tips and only two were applying to my case. Nevertheless, it is a great article pointing out important improvements accompanied by instructions how to check if you need them and apply them if so.

The issues I have found useful in my case: Incorrect column encoding (Issue #1) – following the instructions I have applied the proper columns encoding. Tables with very large VARCHAR columns (Issue #5) – all VARCHAR columns had the default length of 256B while effectively the longest column needed not more than 50B and about half of the columns were shorter than 10B.

## **Summary**

Applying all above mentioned improvements has made the system over 80% faster than before. Shall I be proud of myself for such a great improvement or rather blame myself for not applying all these while designing the database? I personally believe there are things you cannot foresee and development is a process of designing, implementing and continuous improving.

## Securing your Google service account key in builds

*Published: 2017-10-05 | Author: azabost | Tags: android, build*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/securing-your-google-service-account-key-in-builds/index.md*

Establishing a reliable continuous delivery and deployment process is often very important as it might greatly reduce the length of time needed for the validation and verification of the software product. This is also true for Android projects, especially the ones aimed at short time to market.

For me, one of the most crucial time savers is the [gradle-play-publisher](https://github.com/Triple-T/gradle-play-publisher) plugin, which allows me to publish the APKs as soon as the build is finished. However, you need the Google service account for that.

## With great power comes great responsibility

The Google service account is an account that might be used by your applications to access all the Google APIs, including the ones for Google Play publishing ([Publishing API](https://developers.google.com/android-publisher/#publishing)). This API allows for example to:

* publish the APK (obviously)
* update the app listing (title, descriptions, images, videos, recent changes)
* change contact information (e-mail, phone number, website)

While granting this account the [required permissions](https://github.com/Triple-T/gradle-play-publisher#google-play-service-account), you cannot choose which particular apps it can access - it's either all or nothing. So if you have more than one application on your Google developer account, the service account will be able to reach them all.

Bearing this in mind, you should always protect the service account from abuse. The [documentation](https://developers.google.com/android-publisher/api_usage) also does warn you:

> We recommend not giving third parties access to any service accounts you may create. We especially recommend not giving access to any private keys for your service account. Doing so provides anonymous access to your account that can be shared with anyone.

![Padlock](../../static/images/securing-your-google-service-account-key-in-builds/padlock-597495_1920.jpg "")

## Automatic build deployment

If you are going to use the Publishing API in your builds, you definitely should take the appropriate measures to keep the service account key secure. Depending on your company policies (e.g. repositories access), the size of your team, your customer needs and policies, you might consider:

* not storing the key in the repository
* storing the key in a password-protected archive in the repository
* storing the key in a separate repository
* not storing the key at all (wait, what? see the example below)
* ... etc.

## Example

So how you can *not store the key at all*? Well, I have lied a bit. You must store it somewhere, but this example will show you how to store it as a secret value on a build server instead of a repository. This way you don't have to protect the repository itself, but the build server instead. Is it easier? It depends. But it's just one of the methods you can choose.

### Setting a secret value

Most of the automation servers like Jenkins or TeamCity have the ability to store a secret value, which you can use during the build. Whether it is really secure depends on the particular software you use, the build script (which may be printing the secret value to the build logs for example) and the access you give other people to the infrastructure and build configuration.

In this example, the secret value is stored on a TeamCity server and it will be available to the build in an environment variable.

![TeamCity secret value](../../static/images/securing-your-google-service-account-key-in-builds/tc_secret_value.png "")

### Reading the key in a build

There are plenty of ways you can read the environment variable during the build. This example uses a Gradle task to generate a file containing the key needed by the `gradle-play-publisher` plugin before the publication.

```groovy
apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
apply plugin: 'com.github.triplet.play'

class GenerateGooglePlayDeploymentJsonFile extends DefaultTask {
    File jsonFile

    @TaskAction
    def generate() {
        def envVar = "GOOGLE_API_JSON"
        def json = System.getenv(envVar)
        if (json) {
            jsonFile.write(json)
        } else {
            logger.log(LogLevel.ERROR, "You must use $envVar for Google Play publishing")
        }
    }
}

android {

    final googlePlayDeploymentJsonFile = new File("google_play_api.json")

    task generateGooglePlayDeploymentJsonFile(type: GenerateGooglePlayDeploymentJsonFile) {
        jsonFile = googlePlayDeploymentJsonFile
    }

    playAccountConfigs {
        defaultAccountConfig {
            jsonFile = googlePlayDeploymentJsonFile
        }
    }
    play {
        track = 'beta'
    }
    defaultConfig {
        playAccountConfig = playAccountConfigs.defaultAccountConfig
        // other config ...
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            // config ...
        }
        debug {
            // config ...
        }
    }
    productFlavors {
        prod {
            // config ...
        }
        dev {
            // config ...
        }
    }
    project.afterEvaluate {
        project.tasks.findAll {
            it.name.startsWith("generate") &amp;&amp; it.name.endsWith("PlayResources")
        }.forEach({
            logger.log(LogLevel.WARN, "Configuring Google Play deployment JSON file for task: $it")
            it.dependsOn generateGooglePlayDeploymentJsonFile
        })
    }
    // other config ...
}
```

The way it works is pretty straightforward:

1. Find some tasks generated by the publishing plugin.

   * The generated tasks names consist of the names of your release build variants. In this example there are: `devRelease` and `prodRelease`, which produce (among the others): `generateDevReleasePlayResources` and `generateProdReleasePlayResources`.
2. Make the generated tasks depend on the `generateGooglePlayDeploymentJsonFile` task, which expects the Google service account key (in JSON format) in the environment variable and saves it to a specified file.
3. Configure the publishing plugin to use the generated file.

Of course this simple script might be further improved and I encourage you to do it on your own.

### Publishing the app

The Gradle tasks used for the publication in this example are: `publishApkDevRelease` and `publishApkProdRelease`. Publishing the APKs with them is as simple as running these tasks like this:

```bash
gradle publishApkProdRelease
```

And you can see in the logs that it works:

```text
[10:59:52][Step 1/1] Configuring Google Play deployment JSON file for task: task ':app:generateDevReleasePlayResources'
[10:59:52][Step 1/1] Configuring Google Play deployment JSON file for task: task ':app:generateProdReleasePlayResources'
...
[11:00:50][Step 1/1] :app:assembleProdRelease
[11:00:50][Step 1/1] :app:generateGooglePlayDeploymentJsonFile
[11:00:50][Step 1/1] :app:generateProdReleasePlayResources
[11:00:58][Step 1/1] :app:publishApkProdRelease
```

### Throw the key away

Now, having this process configured, you can safely delete the Google service account key file, so no one will ever abuse it (unless they somehow read it from the build server, which is your only worry now). In case your server dies and you lose the key, you can just invalidate it and generate another one in the [Google APIs Console](https://console.developers.google.com).

## Summary

Protecting the service account key may be challenging, but it's very important and worth considering. You should assess the options you have, their pros and cons, the risks and profits. Keep in mind that any level of protection is better than no protection at all.

## Walking skeleton

*Published: 2017-10-05 | Author: mateusz | Tags: agile, project management, continuous integration, continuous delivery, spike*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/walking-skeleton/index.md*

## What satisfies your client?

Do you know what really makes your client satisfied? Tons of unit tests? Advanced integration tests running on every machine using Docker? Dozens of thousands of lines of a well-formatted, clean code? Or maybe a new open source library that every programmer is talking about? Actually, none of them.

## The outcome

What clients really care about, is the outcome. They value what they can see and touch, they appreciate the visible progress, they admire when their polished long dreamed idea is being brought to life.

Does it mean that all those unit and integration tests, continuous integration and delivery processes, design patterns and clean code practices are less important than a visible progress? Not really, every mature client understands that those practices are necessary if you to work on the project effectively for a longer time, but even the most experienced **client will value the outcome more**.

## Walking Skeleton

Instead of starting a project with a Sprint 0 when you set up everything, configure a robust environment, integrate advanced crash tracking, logging, reporting, and analytics systems, start with a **tiny implementation that performs small end-to-end function**.

This technique is called a **walking skeleton**. It was first referred by Vic Basili in his paper [“Iterative Enhancement: A Practical Technique for Software Development“](http://www.cs.umd.edu/~basili/publications/journals/J04.pdf) from 1975. Walking skeleton won’t use the final architecture, but it should link together the main architectural components.

![walking skeleton](../../static/images/walking-skeleton/skeleton.jpg "")

The walking skeleton is not complete, it doesn’t have any “flesh”. It’s missing functionality, which is built along with the infrastructure incrementally, over time. You can consider it as an outline of your concept that is executable and shippable.

A walking skeleton is different than spike, although the difference is subtle. Spike is either a particular component of functionality or a rough sketch of a system to verify the idea, which is intended to answer the question “Are we heading in a good direction?”, and it’s thrown away afterwards. On the other hand, a walking skeleton is a permanent code built with production habits, accompanied with tests, intended to grow with a system.

## Get a walk in your client's shoes

Next time, while running a new project, try to take a walk in your client’s shoes. Always bear in mind that your clients are spending their money on a software that might be their only chance to hit the market with the product of their dreams.

**Pay attention to the quality**, but also pay attention to **how the client perceives your work**. We should always remember that even the most advanced technical solutions, though well-communicated, won’t change the bad impression when there is no visible progress for a long period of time.

## Do More with What You Have

*Published: 2017-09-12 | Author: ula | Tags: productivity, programming, business*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/do-more-with-what-you-have/index.md*

Let us assume we work diligently. But does it also mean we work effectively and efficiently? Do we spend eight, seven or (at least) six or five hours a day working conscientiously on our projects? And if someone asked **whether we come into work with the intention to do our job best, would our answer be always YES?**

Economists describe productivity as a measure of output per unit of input. I myself regard the input as our effort to do the tasks - not as well as we can - but in a manner we are expected them to do. And the output? The output is the company growth, its revenue and development as well as the development of its employees. The conclusion is easy - the bigger is your input, the greater output you may expect. Dismally, statistics show that productivity of employees is growing much slower nowadays than it was in the past. In fact, in many cases it is not growing at all - it is plummeting.

In a nutshell, **being productive at work is not about being perfect, but much more about improving yourself.** It is about increasing your own, your team’s and your client’s satisfaction. And surely, it is not about spending time blindly completing the tasks. Instead of wasting energy and time on doing things that are completely useless and not necessarily connected with our job, we should stop and think for a second how our job can be done more effectively. And what we can do ourselves to boost our productivity and competency. That is right - ourselves. There is nothing worse than looking for blame for the lack of our efficiency in other people (or things) before checking thoroughly if we really do our job best.

We have huge loads of energy that we can devote to make our daily job better. But it just seems we do not use them in a way we may benefit from the most. **Having a productivity attitude is not an easy task to do, but the payoff is immense. Researchers state that the best companies are the companies with a productivity mindset. These are companies which are 40% more productive than the rest, which brings 30-40% higher profit margins than the rest.**  The idea behind it is simple - if you want the company you are a part of grow fast and develop, make it grow fast and develop.

Rise your competency by reading, working, developing, practicing, investing time to be better and just achieve more. Everything is up to you. If you want to be average, you will be an average, **but you can also be a star player if you want.**  It is your decision what you will do with your talent, energy and time.  And it is also your decision if you work efficiently or not.
One may ask, what then productivity rules are. I would say there is no one perfect solution or advice. Frequently, we have to find them or create on our own. Yet there are a few hints that I personally find particularly useful.
 - **if something does not have to be done, do not do that**
 - prepare daily goals in advance (e.g. in the morning) and then just do that what you have planned
 - you are highly productive at 1.00 p.m., do the most important and demanding task at 1.00 p.m.
 - **do not let others distract you or demotivate you**
 - inform your teammates that you will need some time without any interruptions
 - do not waste time on unnecessary vacillating, when you already have all the information you need. Think it over and set it in motion.
 - **deadlines are focal points.** And they ought to be met. They should help you stay on track.
 - divide your tasks into important and urgent
 - take a deep look into the processes you use. Maybe they seem to be efficient only at the first glance.
 - **and remember about Pareto, 20% is sometimes better than 80%.**

Do all these tips guarantee that you will be a productive superstar at work? No. But they may help you somehow to find your own way. Everyone may have different rules that will help them keep on track. **We can be procrastinators, we can be lazy or horribly disorganised, but it should never prevent us from being productive and successful.** We just have to choose our priorities wisely, be disciplined and respect others.

And last but surely not least, when we are paid to do a job, no matter what happens we should get it done and we should  always try to do it better than anyone else may.

## To code or not to code

*Published: 2017-08-02 | Author: ula | Tags: programming, coding, work-life, balance*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/to-code-or-not-to-code/index.md*

Is there always a good moment to code? Have you ever asked yourself this kind of question? Have you ever felt that maybe you should take a break instead of writing a code, but you choose to code?

Coding is not just writing a code. **It is writing the code.** And by doing that you solve a problem, frequently the problem of your clients. By writing the code you agree to be consistent with the language, platform, architecture and the whole system. You agree to follow all the principles of good programming. You agree to create something that will be readable by other programmers, something that will show a clear intent why it has been written for. And that is why, writing a code involves being concentrated and focused for a long time. And that is why, if you feel distracted or tired, you should ask yourself a question whether it is a good moment to code or not.

One may ask how about dedication at work then? **We have to remember that dedication does not mean and should not mean working the whole night and day.** Dedication is, however, an integral part of professionalism, and professionalism on the other hand involves working effectively, which does mean working endlessly. So, if you are exhausted, do not code. If you are exhausted, go to bed.

Being exhausted is one thing that may make your code suffer from the lack of good quality. Another thing is your personal life or the lack of it. Remember that your home worries and troubles can be great distractors. Even subconsciously they can do a really huge harm to your work. Arguments with a spouse, financial problems, disease of your child… all these and many more can make your code very bloated. **Try to solve your personal problems first, then start doing your job.**

And now time to flow. Yeah, we all know that the flow zone is incredible. We are masters of code, we are superheroes. We are working incredibly fast. And I would not dare to say that this flow zone is always something bad. **But I would dare to suggest here just thinking for a second whether our flow zone is always equal to effective work.** Moderation - that is the key. Sometimes working in high speed is really useful, especially when you are practising, but it might be also worth taking a break and consulting what you are doing with your teammate. Remember that going on unpredictable fast coding rides does not always make you more efficient. 

Work in such a way, so that you can be always proud of what you are doing. And I can assure you that good results will come.

## Bright Devs disAPPearing in Gdańsk

*Published: 2017-07-06 | Author: ula | Tags: programming, coding, workshops*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/bright-devs-disappearing-in-gdansk.1/index.md*

It was pleasure for us to take part in **Summer Course "DisAPPear in Gdańsk"**. Many thanks to Board of European Students of Technology for inviting us. We could share our knowledge with incredibly clever minds who came to Poland from different European countries. Hopefully, we managed to reveal some secrets about mobile app development to them.

![Photo 1](../../static/images/bright-devs-disappearing-in-gdansk/img1.jpg "")

Our workshops were focused at **Android development in Kotlin**        -  a programming language officially supported by Google since a few months. And here we should say thank you especially to Andrzej and Piotr from our team who prepared the whole presentation and thoroughly explained the whole process of the application creation to the students.

![Photo 2](../../static/images/bright-devs-disappearing-in-gdansk/img2.jpg "")

One may ask why we decided to tell about programming in Kotlin not in Java. In fact, we assume that **Kotlin is a great Java successor** and we use it in our projects. This is the programming language that has a variety of advantages. Among which there is Java interoperability, type inference, higher-order functions, immutability features, data classes and many others of which all workshops participants can surely tell you now.

![Photo 3](../../static/images/bright-devs-disappearing-in-gdansk/img3.jpg "")

Once again thank you guys - we were delighted to meet you!

## 3 Reasons for my affair with React-Native

*Published: 2017-05-24 | Author: eliasz | Tags: React-Native*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3-reasons-for-my-affair-with-react-native/index.md*

![Header](../../static/images/3-reasons-for-my-affair-with-react-native/love_hands.jpg "")
I’ve been an iOS developer for some time now and most of my previous posts were touching the aspects of iOS platform. However, I have to admit something… I’ve been having an affair with React-Native and what is even “worse” — I feel really good about it.


If you do not know what React-Native is, you should check React-Native website .


>React Native lets you build mobile apps using only JavaScript. It uses the same design as React, letting you compose a rich mobile UI from declarative components.


Let me tell you about three reasons for my affair with React-Native.

Ecosystem
---
![Eco](../../static/images/3-reasons-for-my-affair-with-react-native/ecosystem.jpeg "")

I was first introduced to React when I had a chance to develop a web panel for a project. It was really fun to see how things work on the web and learn more about architectures like Redux. I was really happy when I found out, that the knowledge of React + Redux was easily transferable to mobile development with React-Native. This allows you to apply your skills to various parts of the project you are working on if situation requires it. I’m not saying that you will be as effective as a person who is an “expert” on a specific platform, but you can surely help you teammates and add value to a project.

Feedback loop
---
If you are a fan of TDD/BDD or you just feel that a well-written code needs to be tested, then you probably know that having a short feedback loop is a real benefit in this way of working. I love the fact that I can run my tests on each file save and it takes only seconds to know the result. This makes me feel that tools that I use fit my work style and helps me to write code in the way that I like.

Feeling productive
---
Coming from iOS project that was not that small, I was used to long build times and the fact, that sometimes even switching to test target required me to rebuild my project. React/React-Native projects that I took part in were not that big, but still… The fact that you can see changes instantly due to hot reloading and probably the only thing that you wait for is your Typescript transpiler is a huge improvement in productivity.

Summary
language: en
---
![Summary](../../static/images/3-reasons-for-my-affair-with-react-native/tools.jpg "")
I really like the way that React/React-Native fit my work style. These are great tools that will surely help you get things done. I must say that I’m not that much hyped about the fact that RN allows you to reuse a big portion of the code between the platforms. This is a great thing of course and I would surely not give up on this, but the thing that I really like about RN is the pleasure that I get from building things with it and the way that tools that come with RN are created with developers in mind.


It’s not about leaving everything behind for React-Native. Learning any new framework or language will help you understand what you like and allow you to get in touch with patterns used on various platforms. Maybe it will inspire you to find new ways of improving your workflow in other projects.


Do not get to attached to your beloved language or framework and try something else from time to time — it will surely benefit you as a developer.

## It might be worth it

*Published: 2017-05-08 | Author: michal | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/it-might-be-worth-it/index.md*

Today you can find Bright Inventions at [Trójmiejskie Targi Pracy](http://www.targipracy.gdansk.pl/) and this marks a significant milestone for us. We are now getting really serious about growing our team here and inviting next bright developers to join us. I would like to use this occasion to share a few words with you, our potential next great hire. 

First of all, who are we? Bright Inventions is not just a team, it’s the team. It’s a collective of people who truly enjoy working together and do it in a way that makes them and our customers delighted. Me - Michał and my co-founder Daniel, cannot be more happy with great work that Piotr, Mateusz, Adam, Eliasz, Kamil, Agnieszka, Andrzej, Paweł, Ula and Piotr deliver each and every day, consistently. How committed, caring, commonsensical, gifted and productive Bright’s team is is beyond words. We are very grateful to each employee for their amazing contributions and consider ourselves lucky to be able to work with them. 

Please be understanding if we are going to be picky and selective, if we are going to shower you with hard questions and demand detailed answers, if we are going to drill deep, sometimes maybe to the point of making it uncomfortable. I apologize for that upfront. We just need to be sure that you’re a good fit. That this is going to work out well. 

Why would you even care? As you’ll be visiting different stands today and picturing yourself working in different places please ask yourself what do you really want to accomplish as a developer and as a person? Do you want it easy, comfortable and cozy or are you up for a challenge, hard work, determination, sweat? It’s not easy here but with hard work comes good reward. 

And if your goal is to become next Joel, David, Chris, Ayende, Kent, Mattt, Jon, Anders or Paul please step by and have a chat. It might be worth it.

## Redux - How do I understand it?

*Published: 2017-04-18 | Author: eliasz | Tags: Architecture*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/redux-how-do-i-understand-it/index.md*

When you meet Redux for the first time, it often seems a bit overwhelming at first. However, if you want to work with redux effectively, you have to understand how it works, and what are its core elements. State... Actions... Reducers... Store... In today's post I'd like to introduce you to Redux in not so techy way, so that you grasp the idea of how it works.

![Header](../../static/images/redux/header.jpg "")

What is Redux?
---

If you are completely unfamiliar with Redux, then you might want to check [Redux docs](http://redux.js.org/) first.

Redux is a predictable state container for JavaScript apps.
It helps you write applications that behave consistently, run in different environments (client, server, and native), and are easy to test. On top of that, it provides a great developer experience, such as live code editing combined with a time traveling debugger.

Keep in mind, that you do not need to be a web developer to use Redux-like architecture in your app. There are many implementations of such idea for different platforms and [ReSwift](https://github.com/ReSwift/ReSwift) is one of them.


Archives (State)
---

![Header](../../static/images/redux/archives.jpeg "")

If I asked you, how the state in your application looks like, then it would be really hard to explain it right away. Some values are stored in view models, there are some repositories that also store some values... Oh! And that class right there, that knows what user is currently logged in. But what if after a question like this, we could present our application's state right away? Wouldn't it be easier for us to reason about an app ordered in such way? In this case, Redux comes with a solution for us.
Imagine, that your state is like archives, you exactly know where to look for things, and it's stored in one structure. Of course having a big structure does not indicate that it will be a mess. You can store your state in archives's drawers that will represent the state of your login screen, settings screen etc.

Letters (Actions)
---

![Header](../../static/images/redux/letter.jpeg "")

So... now we have a neatly structured state in our archives, everything is clean, and easy to reason about. But as you might expect, there is a high possibility that our users would like to change this state in some way (I guess that's not anything new). How do we handle that? Well, we can't directly access our app's state and change what we want. That's not how you work with clean archives...  Let's imagine, that I'd like to change my address. I can't just walk into a city hall and play with their archives. I need to write an official `letter`. 

```text
Title: John Doe - Address Change 
Hello, I've just moved to another house. My current address is Art Street 10.
```

Don't worry, when we change state in our application, we only need crucial information. So it might look like this:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/b7e8d38b1aae023e281fa440c9a46a34.js"></script>

This king of letter could be sent at the time when user presses a button, and fields could be populated from the form that user has just filled.


Accountants (Action creators)
---

![Header](../../static/images/redux/accountant.jpeg "")

However, sometimes we can't prepare such letters right away, as we do not have all required data yet. When I need to perform a http request, I do not know the response yet. For cases like this, we have to hire our accountants. They will perform all the work, and then send a letter on our behalf. For example,after receiving response from the server, they will fill a letter with needed information and send it for us.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/dfedb36c00acd5f1b65556f1083a38f9.js"></script>

City Hall (Store)
---

![Header](../../static/images/redux/cityhall.jpeg "")

After your letter is ready, you have to send it to the city hall. There are many people working there, who take care of various things. Some handle your address information, some take care of your car registration etc... After they update archives with data from your letter, they will inform you about it, so that you can for example, update your todo list and cross "Change address" out... Or update your facebook status. The same goes with reducers inside an app. If new state is created, then all places interested in this update will be notified.

City Hall worker (Reducers)
language: en
---

![Header](../../static/images/redux/officer.png "")

As I said, in the City Hall, there are many people who take care of various things. These are reducers in our application. Let's imagine, that after our letter is received, it is given to cityHallDirector who presents it to every worker in this city hall. Some of them will take a look at it, and simply ignore it, as they see that title is not familiar to them. But at some point, there will be a person who says: "Oh! I'm responsible for address changes, I have to handle this!"

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/ffb95b5b330386d8467509d315ccd079.js"></script>

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/b155de18556c29b4e4e5961b35282977.js"></script>

After your letter is handled, new archives are returned to director, who then gives it back to the city hall. Important thing is that city hall workers are only able to handle one letter at once, so you have to be sure that they work as fast as possible. After our city hall director receives all responses from his workers, he will provide new archives to the city hall. City hall will get rid of old archives and replace them with the new ones.

So these are the core elements of the Redux architecture.
Archives - state in our application
Sending letters - dispatch actions with payload, that will cause state change.
Accountants - action creators
City Hall - Application store that contains current state and reducers that will create a new state.
City Hall workers - reducers, that know how to create a new state by using current state and action.

I hope that this will help some newcomers to understand how redux works and what are the responsibilites of its elements.


*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## 8 steps to keep your API sane

*Published: 2017-03-22 | Author: adam | Tags: api, design*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/8-steps-to-keep-your-api-sane/index.md*

For the last 5 years Bright Inventions has been providing [full stack services](/what-we-offer/) to our customers. We have taken part in a dozen of [smaller or bigger projects](/projects/) where we were responsible for both the mobile apps and the backend as well as we were involved in a long-term maintenance and development. This way we have already had a few opportunities to learn how hard it is to **continuously serve the existing users** of our customers' apps and **go forward with the development** at the same time. And we have learned that even when the backend and mobile developers sit together in one room, designing a good and future-proof [RESTful](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_state_transfer) communication layer between the two (API) is not an easy task to do.

It is pretty well known what a **[backward compatibility](https://www.garfieldtech.com/blog/backward-compatibility)** means for our APIs - once something was deployed to production and used by the users, we may not change its behavior or break its contracts - otherwise our apps will crash or not serve its purpose well, at best. 

It's far less obvious what a **forward compatibility** is, even though it is equally important for our APIs longevity and maintainability. How can we possibly be compatible with something we'll have in the future, when we don't know that future yet? Well, we can't, but there is a set of rules and practices that we should follow to reduce the risks of inadvertently introducing breaking changes or getting to the point where it's not possible to introduce new features in a sane way without breaking the old ones. 

![photo](../../static/images/woman-hand-smartphone-desk.jpg "")

## 1. Version the API and identify clients from day 1

Apps are often born as quick & dirty prototypes just to get to the market quickly and validate the business perspectives. But these prototypes are rarely thrown away before the "real" app is conceived - more often they evolve into these "real" apps. This means the users of the first prototype become the first users of the real app - and its API. That's why we should include basic properties of the "real" APIs even when we're building these prototypes. 

We should expose our endpoints with proper versioning (regardless of [which strategy of versioning](https://www.troyhunt.com/your-api-versioning-is-wrong-which-is/) we are backing), so that we don't need to reorganize both our backend routing code - keeping unversioned endpoints next to the new versioned ones - and apps' API clients code once we approach v2. We should also ensure that our apps (clients of our API) properly identify themselves, sending several differentiating properties as headers within our API requests:

* client platform (iOS vs. Android etc.),
* client version/build number,
* client locale settings or any other device-specific info we might rely on.

We don't even need to store or read these values in the beginning (although it might make sense to log it), so there's no significant development cost behind it. But in case our implementations on different platforms diverge or a specific build our end customers use is broken and we can only reasonably patch it server-side, we have the ways to differentiate what kind of client we're serving in the given request. Without these headers, all we can do is to fix the problem in the app, release it and beg users to update quickly.

## 2. Be liberal in what the app accepts

Even if our API contract is well defined and carefully discussed, we can't define the unknown future features. Implementing the contract client-side in a liberal fashion will let us extend the API server-side with some degree of flexibility. Make sure the apps are not literally expecting the objects returned from the backend to have all the fields set - apply some defaults always where it's reasonable to do so. Be prepared for `null`s or empty string values. Don't bail when the backend returns additional unexpected properties - just ignore it. 

Apply the same rules when parsing values that intend to conform to an enumerated set of values - expect unexpected and ignore it. Do not bind your API response enumerated property to the client-side Java or Swift enum using the strict parsing directly. Ignore the unknown value by applying the reasonable default value or by dropping the whole object from processing. By failing to do this we're setting our app to crash when the unknown future enum value will be encountered and effectively forcing us to increment the API version whenever the enum value is added. 

And this leads us directly to the next point.

## 3. Avoid bumping up the API version

We use API versioning to be able to move forward and introduce breaking changes, leaving APIs used by already existing clients not touched. But if we go for it rigorously, we may treat each and every addition to the API as a breaking change and increment the version number up with every public release of any of our clients. While it might sound reasonable at first, it means we'll end up with dozens of API versions used simultaneously in the wild. Regardless if we use some isolation techniques and deploy each API version separately or just differentiate it in the single codebase somehow, we are going to have headaches maintaining that many versions at once.

If we instead allow for adding new stuff to the existing API version incrementally, without bumping up the version number, we might reduce the number of versions to maintain to a few. Our rule of thumb is: bump up the version number only if the behavior of the existing clients will be affected by the changes introduced. So adding new endpoint without incrementing the number is fine, same with adding new fields to the response or new optional parameters to the request. Existing clients that do not understand it will just not use it. Obviously, this strategy requires testing the existing clients with the new API versions. But it should be done anyway, right?

## 4. Don't return plain primitive values

Another good practice while designing the API response for future extensibility is not to return standalone primitive values like numbers or strings directly. By doing so we're closing the possibility to add another property to the response object without releasing the new API version - if our clients don't expect an object, the backend can't return one. So even if the request is to get just - let's say - an access token, let's return it as 

```json
{
  "accessToken": "d34d-b33f"
}
```

instead of `d34d-b33f` string directly.

## 5. Don't replace objects when updating

In the "standard" RESTful approach to APIs (if we [dare to say there is one](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/671118/what-exactly-is-restful-programming)), objects (resources) are to be updated with `PUT` requests that consist of the whole object to be - well... - put at the specified address, replacing whatever was there before. Now, if we follow the previous rules, our object that we got from the backend might already contain fields that our app failed to understand. And if we construct the `PUT` request based on our object-oriented client-side data model, we'll omit these unknowns, effectively inadvertently asking the server to remove it.

We have two ways to avoid this problem. Either we need to have our client-side code ready for these unknown properties, store it in a data model and include it when constructing the `PUT` request, or - what is probably far more reasonable - to avoid `PUT` requests at all and settle on `PATCH` instead. Although `PATCH` definition is a bit vague, we are probably [not](https://www.drupal.org/docs/8/core/modules/rest/4-patch-for-updating-content-entities) [the](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/28459418/rest-api-put-vs-patch-with-real-life-examples) [only](https://blogs.sap.com/2013/01/30/simplify-change-operations-using-patch/) [ones](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19414979/how-do-you-indicate-request-the-deletion-of-an-object-property-in-a-rest-patch) who use it as an update mechanism that updates only those fields of the object (resource) that were explicitly defined in the request. Setting the value of the property to `null` nullifies it on the server, but omitting the value from the request leaves it untouched on the server. This way we have no way to break the properties we're not aware of.

## 6. Don't mess with IDs

ID is a property of the data model that although is effectively publicly visible, is for internal use in its nature. It means that the only acceptable use for object's ID client-side is to store it or pass it around without looking into it. Clients should keep IDs opaque, never try to assume anything out if its value or structure. Failing to do so might prevent the backend from changing things that were intended to be a private implementation detail, like storage/database technology etc.

I had once worked with the API in which the ID of the object was composed of a serialized JSON structure that additionally encoded the type of the object. In a large team that encoded type turned out to be too easily visible and very tempting to deserialize and use. Oh, what a mess it was to sort out all the unexpected client-side failures when these internal types were changed on the server...

## 7. Prepare for phase out

The time comes for every old API to become a roadblock for the progress. Sometimes our app pivots or the original concepts evolve too far so that it becomes unreasonable to keep the support for the oldest API versions and we decide to cut it off. But what if there are still some users that haven't updated? They might be even less willing to update if our app blows up completely one day without notice.

What we might do at the very beginning of the API lifecycle is to define a way to inform the clients that the API version they are trying to use is no longer acceptable. Handle it by gracefully blocking the app, informing the users that it is no longer possible to postpone the update, ideally still letting them access their data. Make the version sanity check a separate HTTP call or a predefined HTTP status code or header value - it doesn't matter. The key is to make sure the apps implement that kind of flow from the earliest version deployed, so that it is possible to phase it out in the future.

## 8. Automate!

Last but not least. The code evolves both on the server-side and client-side. With several clients, each in several versions, we have a plenty of combinations to maintain and ensure it run in a good state. It is hard for humans, but some parts of it might be much easier for machines. There are tools that might make managing that set of dependencies and interactions easier. Using [Swagger UI](http://swagger.io/swagger-ui/), for example, might help a lot - it can generate the API documentation with testable and runnable examples that are always accurately representing the real implementation and never get outdated. Its sister project, [Swagger Codegen](http://swagger.io/swagger-codegen/) can generate a boilerplate parts of API implementation if we start designing our contract with documentation-first approach. Its toolchain can also [serve as a test platform](http://swagger.io/using-swagger-to-detect-breaking-api-changes/) to programatically detect unplanned breaking changes. Try it!

## Do or do not. There is no try.

*Published: 2017-03-14 | Author: ula | Tags: programming, coding, teamwork*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/do-or-do-not-there-is-no-try/index.md*

LUKE:  Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different!\
YODA: (irritated) No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.\
LUKE: (focusing, quietly) All right, I'll give it a try.\
YODA: No! Try not. Do or do not! There is no try.

How many times in your life of a professional developer have you tried to do something despite the fact that you knew that you would not succeed? How many times have you tried to finish a project earlier just because your manager asked you to, but from the beginning you knew you would not meet a new deadline? How many times have you promised to add hundred of new features to your demo in two weeks although it would normally take two months? We do it. Let us face it. We do it all the time - we promise things that we cannot achieve. We promise to do something even though it is beyond our capacity. And all this happens because we told someone that we would give it a try. Yet trying is not always enough. 

## **Professionals say no**

Last time I was writing about being a professional developer and we all know that the more professional we are, the better results we achieve and the better code we may create. But there is one thing more that is an integral part of professionalism - the ability of saying no. That is right. There is no mistake here. Professional developers are not afraid of  saying no. They can oppose or disagree with their teammates, managers or CEOs when  they see their goal is put at risk. Your manager asks you to meet impossible deadlines, clients nag you about creating a full demo in two weeks instead of estimated four months, you realise that a project your CEO wants you to do cannot be done for tomorrow because you have to finish ten other things… All these situations require saying no and in all of these situations you have to defend your goal. Your goal here is not only creating a good clean code, but also taking care of yourself. If you have in mind a justified logical reason why you cannot do something in a period of time you are asked to, remember that disagreeing is not showing weakness or lack of respect. Saying no means that you care about the quality of your work, your code, your team and above all of your goal.

## **Promising the moon** 

Do not promise when you know that you cannot deliver. Even when your manager demands, persuades and challenges you, do not do that. Why? Because you know deeply inside that you cannot achieve it and saying that you will try, does not change anything. So, if you hear: “I know you can do this in two weeks. Just try.”, say it aloud: “No, I can’t and you know that. I can do a part of this project, but I will not manage to finish it.” When you hear that you are the best, the only one and for sure you can deliver a full demo in one week, say it again: “No, I can’t and you know that. I am the best and I have a brilliant team, but…”. But you are not a magician and your demo will not finish automagically in one week. Never promise that you will do something if you know that you are not able to. It is better to say sorry in the beginning than lead to the situation in which your manager or CEO would have to say sorry to the client in the end. It does not mean that you just have to let it go and do not bother at all. It only means that you should not fear suggesting an alternative solution if you realize that meeting a new deadline is unachievable. 

## **All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy**

If it was only boredom, it would not be so bad. But spending all days at work may also cause something more. It may cause despondency, exhaustion and very often it might lead to a decision to quit. Do we really want that? Do we really want to spend eighteen hours every day doing a project maybe quickly, but in the end still ineffectively? No. The answer is no. I understand that there are some situations when we have to spend a few hours more on a task just for the sake of our company, and probably client’s satisfaction. But by a few hours I mean a few hours, not seven or ten extra hours a day. Remember that it will sooner or later have some side effects on you. The first day may be cool, even the second or the third one, but after the whole week or two you will feel that it was a mistake, that you should not have promised… And what is the final result? We are exhausted and we cannot work efficiently for next weeks, our client is exhausted because of making hundreds of complaints and our manager is exhausted of answering to the client’s complaints and of discussing the whole issue with us. And all this has happned because once we told someone we would give it a try even though we knew that it would not be enough. Does it sound like a win-to-win? 

## **Being a team player**

All in all, it is also about being a team player, isn’t it? We should not interpret saying no as not caring about the company or our team. In fact, quite the opposite is the case. Professionals say no because they know that under some circumstances saying yes will not change anything. Professional developers always take into account potential risk and consequences of their decisions to others. They say no because they care about their goals and will not menace their code, their team and their company success due to someone’s unreasonable expectations. Professional developers are good team players. They are always reliable and communicate with confidence. And by saying no they do not show disrespect or a lack of engagement, but they present a genuine commitment to care about both their own and at the same time their client's goals. 

Bibliography: *The Clean Coder. A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers*, Robert C. Martin, Prentice Hall: 2011.

## Professionals also make mistakes

*Published: 2017-03-02 | Author: ula | Tags: coding, programming, selfdevelopment*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/professionals-also-make-mistakes/index.md*

We have nowadays many IT professionals, but let us think for a second what being an IT professional actually means. Is it only about being very good at programming? Is it about taking care of your code every night and day? Or maybe it is about wearing a suit and taking part in all possible IT events? In fact, being very good at programming is not enough to call yourself a professional developer. Professionalism needs something more than that. It is not only about being very good. Being a professional involves having great skills, but I dare to sat that not only skills are important here. 

**Professionalism is in fact always your choice.** Sometimes it is even better, or perhaps easier, to be a non-professional - work may not be so demanding and still you will earn good money. The life of professionals is not a bed of roses and you should know that from the beginning. Professionals take responsibility for their work. They do not blame others for their own mistakes. When they create a bug, they  do not let everyone around pay for their mistakes. Being a professional developer is about facing consequences when you do something wrong. It is not only about doing your job well, not about your position or having ten, twenty or thirty years of experience. It is about learning from mistakes and not making the same errors over and over again. So, if you want to be a real professional, think about it twice because, believe me, it is not an easy thing to do.

**Always take responsibility for your software.** Professional developers try neither to do harm to its function nor structure. Before they release software they make sure it will work. They do not execute the code when they are not certain about it. To be professional you have to know that your code is not faulty before you make it public. How to know that? By tests, by thousands of tests. Test your code as many times as it is possible. Create unit tests. Automate your tests. Do everything what you can to make your code perfect or just close to perfection. Why close to perfection? Because bugs always occur and professionals are aware of that. And that is also the essence of professionalism - to take responsibility for your imperfection. To work on the imperfection of your code, you have to create such a structure that will be flexible enough to make some changes. Every time you read the code adjust the structure. Professionals do that. Software for them is the same as the clay for sculptors. They shape it all the time. 

**Being a professional developer is not, however, only about improving your code. It is about improving yourself.** Professionals develop continuously, learn new things systematically, practice to keep up with the current trends. It is extremely significant not to lag behind in this domain. And they do it because they want, not because an employer tells them so. A professional is the only person who is responsible for their career, not their boss, colleague, friend or wife. **Still wish to be a professional developer?** Read books, go to conferences, teach others, collaborate. Do everything that may help you be better and better. Can you describe 24 patterns in the GOF book? Do you know SOLID principles? Do you understand how Scrum, Kanban or Structure Analysis work? Do you practice Pair Programming, Continuous Integration or TDD? If the answer is NO, start because professionals do know all this stuff. They do not let the industry pass them by. 

**Leave your comfort zone.** If you write software for the banking company, you should understand the field you work in. No one demands from you to be an expert, but you ought to know some basics. In other case you will not be able to recognise what you are doing wrong. Identify with your customers and employers to comprehend their needs better. Professionals ask questions. They are not afraid of learning new things. They are not afraid of asking questions. 

And one thing more that is worth mentioning. **Professionals do not pretend to be humble.** They are creators. They are proud of what they are doing and it is good. It should be like that. But professionals do not lack self-criticism and in situation when an error occurs they come with humility and will be the first who take the blame and laugh at their own imperfection. And then… create, correct and enhance their code again. 


Bibliography: *The Clean Coder. A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers*, Robert C. Martin, Prentice Hall: 2011.

## Are your views dumb enough? — A way to run your tests without simulator

*Published: 2016-12-11 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/are-your-views-dumb-enough/index.md*

Hi! As you can see, the title of this post consists of two parts. “Are your views dumb enough” refers to managing code between your classes in project, which is really interesting topic, but there is also a second part — “A way to run your tests without simulator”. Managing your code is pretty straight forward topic and you probably know what to expect from this part, but how do I want to run my tests without simulator? Isn’t a simulator something we really need to test an application? Turns out it is not!

![Header](../../static/images/are-views-dumb-enough/turbo.jpg "")

Are your views dumb enough?
---
This is a simple model that will store information about a person.
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/9d6ae51c95789be142e1136cb07a176f.js"></script>


Below you can see a view (I will omit applying constraints here) that we will use in order to display information about our Person. What we have to take care of is:

1. Set proper text for our labels
2. Perform work in workButtonTapped which is invoked after tap event

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/f72bd4830a6f0a818281c468f666ee94.js"></script>

Ok! Pretty much done! We can easily add this view to our app and play with it. That was not so hard!

Problems begin…
---
But wait! Suddenly something bad happened! Someone decided, that we would should reuse the layout we prepared, fill it with data from the same model, but displayed just a bit different. Well… It’s pretty hard to do it here, as we already decided how to present our title and what is the format for a birthday date. The logic behind our button is also here…

![Knew too much](../../static/images/are-views-dumb-enough/knew-too-much.jpg "")

The problem here is that our view has too much knowledge about what is happening! How can we change it? Let’s take a look at MVVM pattern that will allow us to move this knowledge to another place.
[You can find more about architecture patterns here](https://medium.com/ios-os-x-development/ios-architecture-patterns-ecba4c38de52#.fbormp201)

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/0446c0be1eb12a0fc972a15eaebd31be.js"></script>

Ok, much better now. We now have protocol that defines abilities of our PersonViewModel. Suddenly, our view became pretty dumb. It should only know how to layout things, but it should not have knowledge about a logic behind the content that view is populated with . Every time it wants any job to be performed, it has to ask object hidden behind PersonViewModel protocol. Let’s take a look at someone who implements this protocol.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/fc0212d0861c469b9a7e38046d10f633.js"></script>

Ok, we now see two different implementations of PersonViewModel protocol. Now we can reuse the same view with different logic behind it.

![Separate](../../static/images/are-views-dumb-enough/yoda-separate.jpeg "")

Making your views dumb is a great way to achieve cleaner code that is much easier to test. Now we can easily test our ViewModels to see if they work as intended. This is all possible thanks to separation of our business logic from layout!

A way to run your tests faster!
---
You probably noticed that every time you run your test target for your iOS application, a simulator is launched as well. You get used to that after some time and that’s ok. It just takes longer. And we have to run simulator anyway… Or do we?
Why is simulator launched every time we run our tests?
Well… we need it for a UIKit that is a dependency in our app. UIKit is an iOS specific library.
But we do not have UIKit in our logic code any more, do we?
Does that mean that we should be able to test our application logic without the need of launching a simulator?

The answer is YES!
---

![Separate](../../static/images/are-views-dumb-enough/running-tests.jpg "")

Recently I started thinking about separating a big project intro many smaller frameworks. If my logic is not tightly coupled, then this should not be a big problem, and if you have this kind of separation then there is a high chance that your code is written well. What if my little frameworks do not have dependency on UIKit? I can easily reuse them on different platforms like iOS, MacOS etc. This is also an approach that you can use to test these frameworks. 
If framework can be used on MacOS, then you are also able to test them there! That means you do not need simulator anymore!
How do we prepare framework that will target iOS and MacOS? Below you’ll find a post about how to create cross-platform frameworks.
[Here is a link to “Cross-Platform Frameworks in Xcode” by Anthony Colangelo](https://acolangelo.com/blog/cross-platform-frameworks-in-xcode)

After creating a framework with your logic, here is what is left to do:

![Separate](../../static/images/are-views-dumb-enough/test-target.png "")

1. Create a target for OSX Unit Testing Bundle
2. As target to be tested select framework that has MacOS as destination

Done!
---
By having a separate framework for a business logic of our application we gained:
Ability to test our logic without need to launch simulator
Reusable code between different platforms
Cleaner code which is easier to understand in parts

Conclusion
language: en
---

I believe that this way of structuring your code can benefit you a lot and will result in much cleaner code and tests that will not require that much time to run. The approach to running tests without simulator is a kind of “proof of concept” for me that I wanted to share with you. I’m willing to try it out more on the battlefield and see how it holds. 

How do you solve these issues? Do you have experience in running test this way? I’d be glad if you share it in comments section below ;)

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## 3D Touch - Peak&amp;Pop feature.

*Published: 2016-12-10 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, 3d touch*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3dtouch-peak-and-pop/index.md*

In my previous post I wrote about adopting UIApplicationShortcutItems in your app. Now it's time to implement Peak&Pop - a feature provided by 3d Touch.

![](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/master/assets/posts/3dTouch/pexels-photo-59672.jpeg)

## Get started

First of all we need to check if our device supports force touch events. Then if our device is familiar with force touch we can easily register our `UIViewController` for force touch events. Take a look at this snippet:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/a08f80ddcc3f064a881650cc2dafc1eb.js"></script>

As you can see the above code uses the `traitCollection` property. It is available in every `UIViewController` and provides information about controller environment. In documentation we can read about it:

>A trait collection encapsulates the system traits of an interface's environment

So when we access `traitCollection` and get information about `forceTouchCapability`. It will return one of these values:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/6f1cc95592658e495ef6a39b5e6df153.js"></script>

Another method that needs some attention is `registerForPreviewing`. It register `UIViewController` for force touch events. Documentation:

> Registers a view controller to participate with 3D Touch preview (peek) and commit (pop).

There is also `unregisterForPreviewing(withContext previewing: UIViewControllerPreviewing)` function available. After unregistering, all features related to 3d Touch will be turned off for view controller that called `unregisterForPreviewing` method.

## All registered, what's next?

We should take a look on `UIViewControllerPreviewingDelegate` - this delegate class is responsible for handling events from 3d Touch in view controller that implements methods of this delegate.

There are two methods:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/aff420c55492b809990e170dedddaade.js"></script>

First method is responsible for catching force-touch events. For example if you firmly press some view in `UIViewController`, that conform to `UIViewControllerPreviewingDelegate`, the method will be called once until you release your finger or press more strongly the view. As you can see this method returns an optional `UIViewController?`. The controller returned from this function is used for action called Peek. There is also a second parameter named `location` it will give you an information about at what `CGPoint` in ViewController's view, the app received force touch. Here you can see what the Peak looks like:

<p align="center">
  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/master/assets/posts/3dTouch/peak.gif"/>
</p>

Second method is responsible for an event called Pop. When the 3d touch mechanism detects that you strongly pressed the `ViewController` that was returned from `viewControllerForLocation` method, it will call and pass that `UIViewController` as `viewControllerToCommit` to second
`previewingContext(_ previewingContext: UIViewControllerPreviewing, commit viewControllerToCommit: UIViewController)` function.

> Important thing is that when the `viewControllerForLocation` returns `nil` the second function `viewControllerToCommit` will be not called.

In this method we can present `viewControllerToCommit` or do another actions e.g animate touched view.

## Implementation

Let's imagine that you have `UIViewController` that contains two `UIImageViews` with beautiful apple images inside.
For this controller we want to implement 3d Touch Peak&Pop feature.

<p align="center">
  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/master/assets/posts/3dTouch/view_controller.png"/>
</p>

In `viewDidLoad()` function, register our controller for force touch events.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/ab027712bcc2355293a589326d53dcbf.js"></script>

Create and add the `UIImageViews` to the array named `forceTouchableViews`. In my implementation I created `AppleImageView` class that inherits from `UIImageView` and have a `appleDescription` property.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/fee49ab346af7b034d944ee4a1185034.js"></script>

You might be wondering why the `forceTouchableViews` is needed. But keep calm and continue reading, I will get back to it later :-).


Now let's create an extension for our `UIViewController` that will conform to `UIViewControllerPreviewingDelegate`

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/9d61c4893dad27b18276311ccb3b0cb1.js"></script>

> For my purposes I created an Apple model class that holds name and image property. Also I created AppleDescriptionViewController which will be responsible for representing the `viewControllerToCommit` parameter.

## About the code

As you can see in `viewControllerForLocation` method, I iterate through my `forceTouchableViews` and check using `wasTouched(in: location)` function, if some of views was touched. If no view was touched the function will return nil.
Ok, but what that `wasTouched(in: location)` function does?

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/c63284cf2b098fd0906c24583a718040.js"></script>

It converts input point to location in superview(if exist) and then checks if that location is inside UIView's bounds. If yes then it will return `true` and we can say that our view was touched.

If I determine that some of my apple image views was touched, then I create a `AppleDescriptionViewController` and return it.

The only thing just left is to press a little bit harder on our apple image view and we will get into last step. The body of that function is simple as follow:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/765e20cc3d9734e2edab387ea7b5d1a9.js"></script>

## Result


<p align="center">
  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/master/assets/posts/3dTouch/result.gif"/>
</p>

pretty nice, huh?

## Conclusion

I don't like the way to determine what view user touched. Checking a point and calculating location for that is not really nice. Maybe another, better way to implementing 3d touch mechanism for views could be: extending a `UIView` class by some property like `3dTouchGestureRecognizerDelegate` then implementing some methods like in `UIViewControllerPreviewingDelegate`. Then we don't have to check whether view was touched, because on the delegate methods the touched view could be passed as method parameter. Something familiar to `gestureRecognizer`. Maybe in future iOS updates the API will be changed?
To sum up, `UIViewControllerPreviewing` allows us the create pretty nice features and I highly recommend to use that and make your application better!

The whole implementation with example app you can find in my [GitHub repository](https://github.com/kamwysoc/3dTouchPeak-Pop) .

Thanks for reading, and see you soon!

*This blog is cross posted with my [personal blog](https://wysockikamil.com/3dtouch-peak-and-pop/) *

## 3D Touch - Adopting shortcut items to your app.

*Published: 2016-11-26 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, 3d touch*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3dtouch-adopting-shortcut-items-to-your-app/index.md*

With the beginning of the iPhone 6s, Apple has introduced a 3D Touch mechanism which is very cool thing. The 3D Touch is also available on
the newest iPhones 7. Nothing indicates that in the future Apple devices will run out of that feature so, here is a quick tutorial on how
to improve your app using the one of the three main features of 3D Touch.

![iphone](https://static.pexels.com/photos/50603/iphone-6-apple-ios-iphone-50603.jpeg)

## Modify your Info.plist file

1. Add to your  `Info.plist` file a special key called `UIApplicationShortcutItems`. It should be an array.
2. Add items to `UIApplicationShortcutItems` array. Items should be a dictionary type.
3. Put info for each item.

  There are few values to set here.

```text
  - UIApplicationShortcutItemType (required)
  - UIApplicationShortcutItemTitle (required)
  - UIApplicationShortcutItemSubtitle
  - UIApplicationShortcutItemIconType
  - UIApplicationShortcutItemIconFile
  - UIApplicationShortcutItemUserInfo
```

  I will focus on the values that I set in my example app. The `UIApplicationShortcutItemType` is a string that delivers an information to your app about what type of shortcut was pressed.
  `UIApplicationShortcutItemTitle` is what user sees when the shortcut is shown. `UIApplicationShortcutItemIconType` is a string that inform application what kind of ***system***  icon should be used for this shortcut.
  And the last one is `UIApplicationShortcutItemIconFile` defining the icon name that should be shown when the shortcut appears(instead of system icon).

> Important thing here is that you can use system ***or*** your custom icons. Apple recommends that the custom icon should be square, single color, and 35x35 points.

  More about `UIApplicationShortcutItems` keys and description you can get from [Apple documentation](https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/General/Reference/InfoPlistKeyReference/Articles/iPhoneOSKeys.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40009252-SW1).

  The configured `Info.plist` could look like that:

  ![](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/master/assets/posts/3dTouch/info-plist.png)

  and by code:

```xml
<key>UIApplicationShortcutItems</key>
<array>
	<dict>
		<key>UIApplicationShortcutItemType</key>
		<string>app.some_another_action</string>
		<key>UIApplicationShortcutItemTitle</key>
		<string>Title with custom icon</string>
		<key>UIApplicationShortcutItemIconFile</key>
		<string>apple-35</string>
	</dict>
	<dict>
		<key>UIApplicationShortcutItemType</key>
		<string>app.some_action</string>
		<key>UIApplicationShortcutItemIconType</key>
		<string>UIApplicationShortcutIconTypeAdd</string>
		<key>UIApplicationShortcutItemTitle</key>
		<string>Title with system icon</string>
	</dict>
</array>
```

***Final result***

Below you can see the result of above implementation.

![iOS](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/master/assets/posts/3dTouch/custom_system_icon.gif)

## Application shortcut tap handling

Ok, now move to `AppDelegate` class and let's deal with the application's shortcut tap events.

### 1. Override and implement `UIApplicationDelegate` method.

Let's focus on this method:

```swift
func application(_ application: UIApplication, performActionFor shortcutItem: UIApplicationShortcutItem, completionHandler: @escaping (Bool) -> Swift.Void)
```

That method is called every time when the application shortcut is pressed. You don't have to worry about your application state. If your app is in background mode it just wakes up your app and triggers `performActionFor` method. But if the application is terminated the app cycle will be `didLauchWithOptions` and then `performActionFor shortcutItem` will be called.
Of course, you can take the application shortcut in `didLauchWithOptions` method by:

```swift
if let shortcutItem = launchOptions?[UIApplicationLaunchOptionsShortcutItemKey] as? UIApplicationShortcutItem {
  //deal with it here
}
```

before it triggers the `performActionFor` method.

### 2. Handling the `UIApplicationShortcutItem`

It's time to write some code here. So let's assume that your `AppDelegate` class includes these two methods:

```swift
func application(_ application: UIApplication, performActionFor shortcutItem: UIApplicationShortcutItem, completionHandler: @escaping (Bool) -> Swift.Void) {
    handleShortcut(shortcutItem)
}

private func handleShortcut(_ item: UIApplicationShortcutItem) {

}
```

Did you remember the `UIApplicationShortcutItemType`? Value for this key is very useful to identify what application shortcut was tapped.
But on the `Info.plist` file it occurs as a `String` type and I strongly advise against comparing the string in their pure form.
Very helpful here might be `Enum` type. So create the enum.

```swift
enum ApplicationShortcutTypes: String {
    case redApple = "show-red-apple"
    case greenApple = "show-green-apple"
}
```

I think comparing types using enum is a much better way to identify what type of shortcut was tapped.

Now get back to the `handleShortcut` method:

```swift
private func handleShortcut(_ item: UIApplicationShortcutItem) {
    guard let actionType = ApplicationShortcutTypes(rawValue: item.type) else {
        return
    }
    switch (actionType) {
    case .greenApple:
      showGreenAppleViewController()
    case .redApple:
      showRedAppleViewController()
    }
}
```

The effect of implementation will look like this:

![iOS](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/master/assets/posts/3dTouch/working_app.gif)

As you can see above I create two quick actions with custom icon, title and subtitle.

## Dynamic shortcut items

It is worth to mention about dynamic shortcut items. Yes, UIApplicationShortcutItems are split between `static` and `dynamic`.

* static - that items are placed in `info.plist`
* dynamic - that items can be added and removed in code

To add dynamic shortcut item you just have to add it to `shortcutItems` array.

```objc
UIApplication.sharedApplication().shortcutItems?.append(UIMutableApplicationShortcutItem(type: "my-dynamic-shortcut", localizedTitle: "Dynamic shortcut"))
```

to remove:

```swift
if let shortcutItem = UIApplication.sharedApplication().shortcutItems?.filter({ $0.type == "my-dynamic-shortcut" }).first {
    guard let index = UIApplication.sharedApplication().shortcutItems?.indexOf(shortcutItem) else {
      return
    }
    UIApplication.sharedApplication().shortcutItems?.removeAtIndex(index)
}
```

## Conclusion

The 3D Touch is powerful feature and makes iOS apps very nice to use. Interesting fact is that from the iOS 10 all apps available on AppStore have predefined `Share App` shortcut. It allows us to share the applications without opening them. In my future posts I will describe more features that 3d touch gives us. So, thanks for reading and see you next time!

![](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/master/assets/posts/3dTouch/share_app.gif)

*This post is cross-posted with my personal [blog](https://wysockikamil.com/3dtouch-adopting-shortcut-items-to-your-app/)*

## Make your development better. Use the proxy.

*Published: 2016-11-08 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, proxy, web*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/improve-your-development-using-charles/index.md*

![code](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/head.jpeg?raw=true)

In this post, I would like to describe you to set up a proxy using Charles desktop app. I believe that many of you work with API or consume some REST Service. If haven't heard about proxy yet I believe the knowledge from this post will be useful in your future development.
The following example concerns an iOS environment and configuring at the OSX system.

## What the proxy is?

To tell you what the Proxy is I use the definition that I found in Charles [documentation](https://www.charlesproxy.com/documentation/additional/http-proxy/)

> An HTTP Proxy is a server that receives requests from your web browser and then makes the request to the Internet on your behalf. It then returns the results to your browser.

So the Charles app is kind of monitor that inspects your network traffic, does all requests on your behalf and returns response back to you.

## Do I really need it?

Yes! It might help you when you're creating an app that consumes some API. You'll be able to look throught the request and response from the server. Also, Charles app allows you to set a break point for endpoint and gives you ability to edit a request or response body, so you can test a various scenarios for your app. Likewise you can see how many request your app really does.

## How to configure Charles?

First, go to [Charles website](https://www.charlesproxy.com/download/) and download the installation file. After the installation process you will see the main screen of the app. At start I recommend to select the `Sequence` tab on the top.

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/main_screen.png?raw=true)

After some time you should see all request that you do on your mac.
Now, we have two ways to configure the Charles. First way is to configure it for iOS Simulator. The second option is configure Charles for iOS device.

***iOS Simluator configuration***

Click on Help -> SSL Proxying -> Install Charles Root Certificate in iOS Simualator.

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/install_on_ios.png?raw=true)

You will see the prompt:

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/prompt.png?raw=true)

Then click OK and for sure you should restart Simulator. After that steps Charles is configured and ready to work with your Simulator.

***iOS Device configuration***

On your device in Wi-Fi connection settings choose the same connection that your Mac using, tap on it. Then swipe down, and choose Proxy Setting to Manual.

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/proxy_iphone.png?raw=true)

In the IP field please put the same IP address that your Mac Wi-Fi uses. In the `port` field type `8888`.

To see IP-address of your Wi-Fi on your Mac:

Right-click with option button on your wifi icon on the Mac

![Mac](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/wifi_mac.png?raw=true)

Then on your iOS device go to [http://www.charlesproxy.com/getssl/](http://www.charlesproxy.com/getssl/) and install the certificate. I recommend to do it via Safari because it redirects you from URL to Certificates Settings on iOS Device. Then just install the certificate.

After the installation process, you will be able to see all request from your iOS device in Charles app on your Mac.

## Ok, all configured but, how to use it?

After the configuration flow, you will see the Charles main window, and your network data. For the purposes of this post I wrote a simple app that consume free rest API `https://www.freegeoip.net/`. This API gives us some geo-information about any domain. For example:
https://www.freegeoip.net/json/github.com returns geo-information about `github.com` site.

Now, let's call `https://www.freegeoip.net/json/twitter.com` from iOS Simulator/iPhone. On Charles main window, we're able too see the request was made and we received a response. There is no information about request parameters, response code, etc.

![iOS](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/call.png?raw=true)

Let's take a look on that.

***Overview tab***

In the `Overview` tab we can see information about Protocol used to this call, SSL, also you're able too see the request time and size of request and response.

![](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/overview.png?raw=true)

Ok, let's have look on the request and response

![Mac](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/request_non_readable.png?raw=true)

![Mac](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/response_non_readable.png?raw=true)

Unfortunately, both are not readable for Charles. It's all because the request is secure and uses the `https`. So, we need to inform Charles about that this domain is using the `SSL` to see the request details.

***Adding Proxy SSL***

There're two ways to do that.

First you can click on the `Proxy settings`, then click `Add` the append host to the list. In the `Host` field type the host address of your server. In my example that would be `www.freegeoip.net`.

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/add_proxy_settings.png?raw=true)

In the port field type `443`. Why `443` ? Because the `443` is the default port HTTPS connections use.

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/host_and_port.png?raw=true)

Make sure that you have `Enable Proxy SSL` checkbox selected.
After adding the host it should look like that :

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/after_adding.png?raw=true)

Second way is much simpler, just right-click on the request and select the `Enable SSL Proxying`.

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/enable_proxy_settings.png?raw=true)

***Request using SSL Proxying***

After adding the SSL Proxying for our host server, perform request again.

As you can see right now we're able to see the `RC`(response code) of the request. Here it is 200(OK). Also we know that our request was `GET` type. Let's take a look at the request and response body.

In the request body, we have some information about Request type, language, and encoding. Also, you can find here some information about Cookies.

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/ssl_request_screen.png?raw=true)

The response body becomes readable from Charles. After choosing the `JSON text` tab we can see formatted JSON string. All informations about the response are stored in the `RAW` tab. You can find here information about Response code, Content-Type, Server, encoding and many others.

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/charles_tab.png?raw=true)

And now the most important - response body:

![proxy](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/response_body_ssl.png?raw=true)

## Debugging

![debugging](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/havefun_mem.jpg?raw=true)

The cool thing about Charles is that the app allows you to debug the requests/responses in the same way as XCode and many others IDEs breakpoints work. But here you put the breakepoint on the request, not on the line of code.

To set a breakpoint, just right-click on the line with the request that you want to debug and select `Breakpoints` option.

![Mac](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/breakpoint.png?raw=true)

Now, make the request again and you should see the Breakpoint-Window.

With the `Overview` and `Edit Request` tabs. Here you're able to edit the request body, query string parameters, request method, cookies, headers or even choose the HTTP version. After editing the request just click `Execute` on the bottom.

After executing when the Charles receives the response we should see the Breakpoint-Window again and now we're ready to edit the response!

![Mac](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/master/assets/posts/charles/edit_response.png?raw=true)

By editing the response I mean that you can edit Response Headers and Response Body. Also you can check the body and the overview of the request. After editing the response, just click the Execute button.
After that steps, the edited response goes to our device/simulator.

> Note: Remember to set the breakpoint off, when you don't need it anymore because if you don't this the breakpoint will run every time that request was triggered.

## Conclusion

Charles app is a great tool and has many many features. In my post I focused on the iOS environment, but you can also configure the proxy for your Android Emulator or Android device.
I described most common usages which I do with Charles app. To sum up I think that app should take a place in your development tools directory if you work with some web server.

*This post is cross-posted with my personal [blog](https://wysockikamil.com/improve-your-development-using-charles/)*

## PureLayout vs NSLayoutAnchor - Great confrontation

*Published: 2016-11-05 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/purelayout-vs-anchors/index.md*

Last week I've made basic comparison between two libraries that will help you layout your interfaces - PureLayout and SnapKit. You can find this comparison [here](https://eliaszsawicki.com/purelayout-vs-snapkit/). Today I'd lake to take the same examples and see how they work with `NSLayoutAnchor`. `NSLayoutAnchor` is available to us since iOS 9 and provides us with a new way of creating your constraints. If you do not like creating `NSLayoutConstraints` using it's initializers or visual format, and do not want any external dependencies for your layout, then `NSLayoutAnchor` is for you!

Note before we start:

  - We need to set `translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints` to `false` for each view we want to add constraints to.
  - Each constraint that we create the "anchor" way has to be activated. That's why we use `.isActive = true`.


Simple positioning
---

![Simple positioning](../../static/images/simple-positioning.png "")

```swift

func pureLayout() {
    box.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .top, withInset: 50)
    box.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .left, withInset: 20)
    box.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    circle.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .top, of: box)
    circle.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .right, withInset: 20)
    circle.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    longer.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .left, withInset: 20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .right, withInset: 20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .bottom, of: box, withOffset: 40)
    longer.autoSetDimension(.height, toSize: 40)
}

func anchorLayout() {
    box.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    circle.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    longer.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

    box.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor, constant: 50).isActive = true
    box.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leftAnchor, constant: 20).isActive = true
    box.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true
    box.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true

    circle.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: box.topAnchor).isActive = true
    circle.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.rightAnchor, constant: -20).isActive = true
    circle.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true
    circle.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true

    longer.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: box.bottomAnchor, constant: 40).isActive = true
    longer.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leftAnchor, constant: 20).isActive = true
    longer.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.rightAnchor, constant: -20).isActive = true
    longer.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 40).isActive = true
}

```

Inside UIScrollView
---

![ScrollView positioning](../../static/images/Scroll.gif "")

```swift

func pureLayout() {
    scrollView.autoPinEdgesToSuperviewEdges(with: .zero)
    scrollView.autoPinEdge(.bottom, to: .bottom, of: longer, withOffset: 20)

    box.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .top, withInset: 50)
    box.autoPinEdge(.left, to: .left, of: self.view, withOffset: 20)
    box.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    circle.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .top, of: box)
    circle.autoPinEdge(.right, to: .right, of: self.view, withOffset: -20)
    circle.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    longer.autoPinEdge(.left, to: .left, of: self.view, withOffset: 20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.right, to: .right, of: self.view, withOffset: -20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .bottom, of: box, withOffset: 300)
    longer.autoSetDimension(.height, toSize: 200)
}

func anchorLayout() {
    scrollView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    box.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    circle.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    longer.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

    scrollView.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.rightAnchor).isActive = true
    scrollView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor).isActive = true
    scrollView.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leftAnchor).isActive = true
    scrollView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.bottomAnchor).isActive = true
    scrollView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: longer.bottomAnchor, constant: 20).isActive = true

    box.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: scrollView.topAnchor, constant: 50).isActive = true
    box.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leftAnchor, constant: 20).isActive = true
    box.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true
    box.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true

    circle.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: box.topAnchor).isActive = true
    circle.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.rightAnchor, constant: -20).isActive = true
    circle.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true
    circle.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true

    longer.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leftAnchor, constant: 20).isActive = true
    longer.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.rightAnchor, constant: -20).isActive = true
    longer.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: box.bottomAnchor, constant: 300).isActive = true
    longer.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 200).isActive = true
}


```

UIScrollView with a surprise
---

![ScrollView positioning](../../static/images/ScrollViewSurprise.gif "")

```swift

func pureLayout() {
    scrollView.autoPinEdgesToSuperviewEdges(with: .zero)
    scrollView.autoPinEdge(.bottom, to: .bottom, of: longer, withOffset: 20)

    box.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .top, withInset: 150)
    box.autoAlignAxis(toSuperviewAxis: .vertical)
    box.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    circle.autoPinEdge(.bottom, to: .bottom, of: self.view, withOffset: -20, relation: .lessThanOrEqual)
    circle.autoPinEdge(.bottom, to: .top, of: longer, withOffset: -20, relation: .lessThanOrEqual)
    circle.autoAlignAxis(toSuperviewAxis: .vertical)
    circle.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    longer.autoPinEdge(.left, to: .left, of: self.view, withOffset: 20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.right, to: .right, of: self.view, withOffset: -20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .bottom, of: box, withOffset: 660)
    longer.autoSetDimension(.height, toSize: 200)
}

func anchorLayout() {
    scrollView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    box.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    circle.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    longer.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

    scrollView.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.rightAnchor).isActive = true
    scrollView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor).isActive = true
    scrollView.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leftAnchor).isActive = true
    scrollView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.bottomAnchor).isActive = true
    scrollView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: longer.bottomAnchor, constant: 20).isActive = true

    box.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: scrollView.topAnchor, constant: 150).isActive = true
    box.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: scrollView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
    box.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true
    box.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true

    circle.bottomAnchor.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo: view.bottomAnchor, constant: -20).isActive = true
    circle.bottomAnchor.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo: longer.topAnchor, constant: -20).isActive = true
    circle.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: scrollView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true
    circle.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true
    circle.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true

    longer.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leftAnchor, constant: 20).isActive = true
    longer.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.rightAnchor, constant: -20).isActive = true
    longer.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: box.bottomAnchor, constant: 660).isActive = true
    longer.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 200).isActive = true
}

```

Updating constraint's constant
---

![ScrollView positioning](../../static/images/move.gif "")

```swift

var buttonLeftConstraint: NSLayoutConstraint?

func pureLayout() {
    buttonLeftConstraint = animateButton.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .left, withInset: 20)
    animateButton.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .top, withInset: 50)
    animateButton.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
}

func animate() {
    UIView.animate(withDuration: 1) {
        let random: Double = Double(arc4random_uniform(200))
        self.buttonLeftConstraint?.constant = random
        self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
    }
}

///

var buttonLeftConstraint: NSLayoutConstraint?

func anchorLayout() {
    animateButton.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    buttonLeftConstraint = animateButton.leftAnchor.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo: view.leftAnchor, constant: 20)
    buttonLeftConstraint?.isActive = true
    animateButton.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor, constant: 50).isActive = true
    animateButton.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true
    animateButton.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 100).isActive = true
}

func animate() {
    UIView.animate(withDuration: 1) {
        let random: CGFloat = CGFloat(arc4random_uniform(200))
        self.buttonLeftConstraint?.constant = random
        self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
    }
}

```

Conclusion
language: en
---

I'm really glad that we have `NSLayoutAnchor`. If you want to create layout in code and avoid any external layout libraries to do this, then `NSLayoutAnchor` is a valid choice! It won't be as neat and comfy as using `PureLayout` or `SnapKit`, but for me it's much much better than visual format or basic `NSLayoutConstraint` initializer.

What do you think of NSLayoutAnchor? How do you layout your views? Share your thoughts in comments!

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## PureLayout vs SnapKit - Great confrontation

*Published: 2016-10-30 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/purelayout-vs-snapkit/index.md*

At first, let me clear something out. I'm heavy PureLayout user. I've been creating my UIs in code for some time now and it's not looking like I'm going back to Interface Builder any time soon. I'm not saying IB is bad, but it's just not the way that I do things. I started working with PureLayout back in Objective-C days and I kept on using it in Swift as well. However, recently I've been interested in a framework called SnapKit, that offers a nice "swifty" way of building views in your application. This post is my way of getting into SnapKit. Below, you can find some UI examples, that I've written using both PureLayout and SnapKit.

Simple positioning
---

![Simple positioning](../../static/images/simple-positioning.png "")

```swift

func pureLayout() {
    box.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .top, withInset: 50)
    box.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .left, withInset: 20)
    box.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    circle.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .top, of: box)
    circle.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .right, withInset: 20)
    circle.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    longer.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .left, withInset: 20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .right, withInset: 20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .bottom, of: box, withOffset: 40)
    longer.autoSetDimension(.height, toSize: 40)
}

func snapKit() {
    box.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.top.equalTo(self.view).inset(50)
        make.left.equalTo(self.view).inset(20)
        make.size.equalTo(CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
    }

    circle.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.top.equalTo(self.box)
        make.right.equalTo(self.view).inset(20)
        make.size.equalTo(CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
    }

    longer.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.left.right.equalTo(self.view).inset(20)
        make.top.equalTo(self.box.snp.bottom).offset(40)
        make.height.equalTo(40)
    }
}

```

Inside UIScrollView
---

![ScrollView positioning](../../static/images/Scroll.gif "")

```swift

func pureLayout() {
    scrollView.autoPinEdgesToSuperviewEdges(with: .zero)
    scrollView.autoPinEdge(.bottom, to: .bottom, of: longer, withOffset: 20)

    box.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .top, withInset: 50)
    box.autoPinEdge(.left, to: .left, of: self.view, withOffset: 20)
    box.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    circle.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .top, of: box)
    circle.autoPinEdge(.right, to: .right, of: self.view, withOffset: -20)
    circle.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    longer.autoPinEdge(.left, to: .left, of: self.view, withOffset: 20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.right, to: .right, of: self.view, withOffset: -20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .bottom, of: box, withOffset: 300)
    longer.autoSetDimension(.height, toSize: 200)
}

func snapKit() {
    scrollView.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.edges.equalTo(self.view)
        make.bottom.equalTo(longer).offset(20)
    }

    box.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.top.equalTo(self.scrollView).inset(50)
        make.left.equalTo(self.view).inset(20)
        make.size.equalTo(CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
    }

    circle.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.top.equalTo(self.box)
        make.right.equalTo(self.view).inset(20)
        make.size.equalTo(CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
    }

    longer.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.left.right.equalTo(self.view).inset(20)
        make.top.equalTo(self.box.snp.bottom).offset(300)
        make.height.equalTo(200)
    }
}


```

UIScrollView with a surprise
---

![ScrollView positioning](../../static/images/ScrollViewSurprise.gif "")

```swift

func pureLayout() {
    scrollView.autoPinEdgesToSuperviewEdges(with: .zero)
    scrollView.autoPinEdge(.bottom, to: .bottom, of: longer, withOffset: 20)

    box.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .top, withInset: 150)
    box.autoAlignAxis(toSuperviewAxis: .vertical)
    box.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    circle.autoPinEdge(.bottom, to: .bottom, of: self.view, withOffset: -20, relation: .lessThanOrEqual)
    circle.autoPinEdge(.bottom, to: .top, of: longer, withOffset: -20, relation: .lessThanOrEqual)
    circle.autoAlignAxis(toSuperviewAxis: .vertical)
    circle.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))

    longer.autoPinEdge(.left, to: .left, of: self.view, withOffset: 20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.right, to: .right, of: self.view, withOffset: -20)
    longer.autoPinEdge(.top, to: .bottom, of: box, withOffset: 660)
    longer.autoSetDimension(.height, toSize: 200)
}

func snapKit() {
    scrollView.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.edges.equalTo(self.view)
        make.bottom.equalTo(longer).offset(20)
    }

    box.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.top.equalTo(self.scrollView).offset(150)
        make.centerX.equalTo(self.view)
        make.size.equalTo(CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
    }

    circle.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.bottom.lessThanOrEqualTo(self.view).offset(-20)
        make.bottom.lessThanOrEqualTo(self.longer.snp.top).offset(-20)
        make.centerX.equalTo(self.view)
        make.size.equalTo(CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
    }

    longer.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        make.left.right.equalTo(self.view).inset(20)
        make.top.equalTo(self.box.snp.bottom).offset(660)
        make.height.equalTo(200)
    }
}

```

Updating constraint's constant
---

![ScrollView positioning](../../static/images/move.gif "")

```swift

var buttonLeftConstraint: NSLayoutConstraint?

func pureLayout() {
    buttonLeftConstraint = animateButton.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .left, withInset: 20)
    animateButton.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .top, withInset: 50)
    animateButton.autoSetDimensions(to: CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
}

func animate() {
    UIView.animate(withDuration: 1) {
        let random: Double = Double(arc4random_uniform(200))
        self.buttonLeftConstraint?.constant = random
        self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
    }
}

///

var buttonLeftConstraint: Constraint?

func snapKit() {
    animateButton.snp.makeConstraints { (make) in
        buttonLeftConstraint = make.left.equalTo(self.view).offset(20).constraint
        make.top.equalTo(self.view).inset(50)
        make.size.equalTo(CGSize(width: 100, height: 100))
    }
}

func animate() {
    UIView.animate(withDuration: 1) {
        let random: Double = Double(arc4random_uniform(200))
        self.buttonLeftConstraint?.update(offset: random)
        self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
    }
}

```

Conclusion
language: en
---

Looking at those examples, you can decide which style of UI you prefer. Personally, I must admit that I really like the way that SnapKit works. I won't be rewriting my existing PureLayout to SnapKit codebase, but I'll surely take SnapKit into consideration, when starting a new project.

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## ReactiveSwift - Manage your memory!

*Published: 2016-10-21 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/reactiveswift-manage-your-memory/index.md*

Memory management is a pretty important issue when talking about any kind of system. You can't pretend that your resources are unlimited, and give them out no matter what. When working with `ReactiveSwift` it's really easy to fall into the pit of wasted resources if you don't follow simple rules.

Disposables
---

Basic unit that will help us handle our memory management, when working with `ReactiveSwift` is `disposable`. At the same time that you start observing `Signal`, or start any work with `Signal Producer`, you will gain access to such `Disposable`. If you are not interested in results that come through that `Signal`, you can simply call `.dispose()` method on that `disposable`, and you won't receive updates any more. This also means, that as soon as `SignalProducer` notices, that nobody is interested in it's results, it can stop it's work and clean resources.

It's common to free any resources when you exit a screen in your application. This means, that you should dispose all your `disposables` as well. Of course it would be hard to store each `disposable` in separate variable and dispose when you're not interested in updates anymore. That's why we can use a container for such `disposables` - `CompositeDisposable`. You can basically throw any `disposable` inside this container, and dispose all of them at once when your view controller deinitializes.

Let's take a look at how to work with disposables.

```swift

// public variable accessible from outside of class
var producer: SignalProducer<String, NoError>

init() {  
  producer = SignalProducer {[weak self] observer, compositeDisposable in
      guard let strongSelf = self else { return }
      compositeDisposable.add {
          print("I've been disposed! I can clean my resources ;)")
      }

      DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 1, execute: {
          if !compositeDisposable.isDisposed {
              strongSelf.performHeavyCalculation()
              observer.send(value: "1")
          }
      })
      DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 3, execute: {
          if !compositeDisposable.isDisposed {
              strongSelf.performHeavyCalculation()
              observer.send(value: "2")
          }
      })
  }

  // If you have compositeDisposables variable, then you can add it there
  // disposables += producer.startWithValues ...

  // You keep received disposable in variable
  let disposable = producer.startWithValues {[unowned self] (value) in
      print(value)
      self.performHeavyCalculation()
  }

  DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 2) {
      disposable.dispose() // After some time, you are not interested in producer's work, and you kindly tell him that
  }
}

```

What will happen here?
Producer does not start it's work until `startWithValues` is called. After that, we have to actions scheduled that will send us values `1` and `2`. They will also perform some heavy calculations. After two seconds, I decide that I'm not interested in any results, so I dispose received `disposable` and I will not receive any updates in `startWithValues` block anymore. However, work in producer has been already scheduled. That's why I put the `if` statement checking if someone is still interested in producer's work. If not, I will not perform that.

```swift

var disposables = CompositeDisposable()

disposables += viewModel.criticalInfo.observeValues {[unowned self] (value) in
// react to value
}

deinit {
  disposables.dispose()
}

```

In this example, Let's imagine that you create your `disposables` variable at the time you initialize your class. Then, when you start observing any signals, you add each `disposable` to your container. You can dispose them any time you want, but most often, you will do it at the time that you dealloc your controller, so you can add this code to `deinit`.

You may have noticed, that there are parts where are use `[weak self]` and `[unowned self]`. Let's take a closer look at this!

Working with closures
---
Disposables are one important thing that will lead you to memory management heaven. Next things that you have to remember about when working with ReactiveSwift is to manage relationships in closures that you pass to observers. When you do anything with a `self` variable in such closure, you create a retain cycle, as you hold strong reference to `self`. Controller holds a closure and closure holds controller. No way that they will be released any time soon. To have a weak reference to `self`, you can add `[weak self]` or `[unowned self]` to such closure. If you do not add one of those statements, your `disposables.dispose()` in `deinit` method will not be even reached, as controller will not be deinitialized.

```swift

// weak reference, but we bet that self will not be nil
disposables += signal.observe {[unowned self] values in
  self.workWithMeAllTheTime()
}

// weak reference, but self becomes optional
disposables += signal.observe {[weak self] values in
  guard let strongSelf = self else { return }
  strongSelf.workWithMeAllTheTime()
}

...

deinit {
  disposable.dispose()
}

```

What is the difference between `[weak self]` and `[unowned self]` you ask?
When you use `[weak self]`, you tell your closure, that it is possible that `self` could be `nil` at some point. I usually put a `guard let` statement at the beginning of this kind of closure, so if `self` is nil, I don't continue with any operations.
On the other hand, we have `[unowned self]` that doesn't tell us that `self` could be `nil` at some point. It's on our side to take care of that and make sure that this block will not be called if `self` is deinitialized. If you properly take care of `disposables`, most often `[unowned self]` is a safe bet, as those closures will not be executed after deinitialization of `self`.

A note to first example
language: en
---

Let's get back to the code from first example. You can see, that I used a `[weak self]` for the `SignalProducer` and `[unowned self]` for the observer. Why did I do that?!
When I start observing for values from producer in `startWithValues` closure, I'm pretty sure that I'll call `dispose` when my controller deinits, so I know that `self` will be there if I need it. With given `SignalProducer` that's a bit different. It is accessible from outside. Let's imagine, that I've saved this producer at the time that this class was alive, and started it's work after it was deinitialized. If I had `[unowned self]` there, then it would cause a crash. As long as I have `[weak self]`, at the beginning of my producer's work I can check if `self` exists and If it doesn't I can discontinue with any other work. If it does, I'll create a reference to `self` and proceed with my work.

There are always edge cases, that may cause a headache when choosing between `unowned` and `weak`, but as the time goes, you'll find it easier and easier to work with them! See you next time!

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](https://eliaszsawicki.com/).*

## My first Cocoapod created

*Published: 2016-10-16 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift, cocoapods*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/first-pod-created/index.md*

## The first Cocoapod created

Hello, today I want to share with you my first created pod.

It is called ContactCircularView and it allows you to create circular views with some text or image inside in an easy way.

Main inspiration to create it was a Circles (as you can see below) in iOS Contact application.

![Iphone screen](https://github.com/kamwysoc/kamwysoc.github.io/blob/gh-pages/assets/posts/contact.png?raw=true)

<font size="1">iPhone Simulator screen shot from iOS Contacts app</font>

More information about my pod you can get via link to my Github :

[GitHub](https://github.com/kamwysoc/ContactCircularView)

or Cocoapods site :

[CocoaPods](https://cocoapods.org/pods/ContactCircularView)

I'll be grateful if you try it ;)

*This post is cross-posted with my personal [blog](http://wysockikamil.com/first-pod-created/)*

## ReactiveCocoa UI bindings with Rex

*Published: 2016-08-21 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-8-22-reactivecocoa-ui-bindings-with-rex/index.md*

Today, we will take a closer look at [Rex](https://github.com/RACCommunity/Rex) - ReactiveCocoa extensions. I find Rex pretty helpful when working with ReactiveCocoa, especially creating UI bindings.

If you are binding your view model with UI layer, Rex will let you do it much easier with it's extensions to `UIControls`. Here are some examples of `Rex` usage.

UIButton
---
```swift
let cocoaAction = CocoaAction(action) { _ in }

//without Rex
button.addTarget(cocoaAction, action: CocoaAction.selector, forControlEvents: .TouchUpInside)

//with Rex extensions
button.rex_pressed.value = cocoaAction
```

UITextField, UILabel, MutableProperty
language: en
---
```swift
var titleValue = MutableProperty<String?>(nil)

//without Rex
textField.rac_textSignal().subscribeNext {
  self.titleValue.value = $0 as? String
}

titleValue.producer.startWithNext {
  self.label.text = $0
  self.label.hidden = $0?.characters.count < 5
}

//with Rex
titleValue <~ textField.rex_text
titleLabel.rex_text <~ titleValue
titleLabel.rex_hidden <~ titleValue.producer.map({ $0?.characters.count < 5 })
```

You can clearly see that `Rex` makes our bindings much easier to read and understand. These are just examples, but you can find much more interesting properties like `rex_selectedSegmentIndex` for `UISegmentedControl` or `rex_on` for `UISwitch`. Moreover, `Rex` comes with some handy signal transformations, so go check it out!

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## ReactiveCocoa 4 - CocoaActions

*Published: 2016-08-15 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-8-16-reactivecocoa-4-cocoaaction/index.md*

`CocoaAction` is a wrapper around `Action` type that is available in ReactiveCocoa. ([Here ](http://blog.brightinventions.pl/reactivecocoa-4-action/) you can read more about `Action`). We use `CocoaAction` to bind our `Actions` to GUI controls. Let's see a quick example of how it works.

## Example

Let's imagine a situation, where we have we have a `UISwitch` control. Every time we switch it on or off, we want to change a `MutableProperty` text value.

```swift
var text = MutableProperty<String>("Switch is on")
let switchControl = UISwitch()
```

First, let's create `Action` that will take `Bool` (switch's value) as an input, return `String` as output and complete without errors.

```swift
let switchAction = Action<Bool, String, NoError>({ (isOn) -> SignalProducer<String, NoError> in
  return SignalProducer<String, NoError> { observer, disposable in
    observer.sendNext(isOn ? "Switch is on" : "Switch is off")
    observer.sendCompleted()
  }
})
```

We have to wrap this action into `CocoaAction` that can be bound to `UIControl`. In order to do this, we have to remember to transform our `UISwitch's` value to `Action's` `Bool` input.

```swift
let switchCocoaAction = CocoaAction(switchAction, { (control) -> Bool in
    let control = control as! UISwitch
    return control.on
})
```

Now we can bind our `CocoaAction` to `UISwitch's` value change event. Remember that we have to keep reference to our switchCocoaAction.

```swift
switchControl.addTarget(switchCocoaAction, action: CocoaAction.selector, forControlEvents: .ValueChanged)
```

Finally, we can observe our `values` that are generated by executing our action and change our text value. We can do it quickly by using `<~` operator that is available in `ReactiveCocoa`.

```swift
text <~ switchAction.values
```

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## ReactiveCocoa 4 - Action

*Published: 2016-08-06 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/reactivecocoa-4-action/index.md*

Today I'll tell you about an `Action` type that is available in ReactiveCocoa 4.

`Action` is pretty straightforward, It takes input, does some work and returns output. Moreover, it can fail and provide us with an `Error` type. Let's look at creation of a simple `action` that takes `Int` as an input and returns `String` or `NSError` if it fails.

```swift
let action = Action<Int, String, NSError>({ (number) -> SignalProducer<String, NSError> in
  return SignalProducer<Void, NSError> {observer, disposable in
    observer.sendNext("Number is \(number)")
    observer.sendCompleted()
  }
})
```

Execution
===
How do we execute it? In order to do that we have to perform two steps.

Create Producer
---
```swift
let producer = action.apply(5)
```

`Apply` method will return a `SignalProducer` with `Action's` output as value (`String`) and error of `ActionError` type. `ActionError` is an enum that can be either `NotEnabled` or `ProducerError`. `ProducerError` is a wrapper around error type that specify in our `Action`.

Execute
---

```swift
prodcuer.startWithSignal { (signal, disposable ) in
  signal.observeNext({ (value) in
    print("\(value)")
  })
  signal.observeFailed({ (actionError) in
    print("\(actionError)")
  })
}
```

Actual execution happens when we start a `Signal` from received `SignalProducer`. If we don't do it, nothing will happen.

Repeating action
---
Remember the `observer.sendCompleted()` part in our action's `SignalProducer`? It is really important, in fact we need to provide any terminating `Event` when we want to finish executing our `Action`. If we do not do that, any `Signal` started from `SignalProducer` will immediately receive `NotEnabled` error and we won't receive any values.

```swift
let action = Action<Int, String, NSError>({ (number) -> SignalProducer<String, NSError> in
  return SignalProducer<String, NSError> {observer, disposable in
    observer.sendNext("Number is \(number)")
    let delayTime = dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, Int64(1 * Double(NSEC_PER_SEC)))
    dispatch_after(delayTime, dispatch_get_main_queue()) {
      observer.sendCompleted()
    }
  }
})

let prodcuer = action.apply(5)
prodcuer.startWithSignal { (signal, _ ) in
  signal.observeNext({ (value) in
    print("1 - \(value)")
  })

  signal.observeFailed({ (actionError) in
    print("1 - \(actionError)")
  })
}

prodcuer.startWithSignal { (signal, _ ) in
  signal.observeNext({ (value) in
    print("2 - \(value)")
  })

  signal.observeFailed({ (actionError) in
    print("2 - \(actionError)")
  })
}
```

Reveived output: "`1 - Number is 5`" and "`2 - NotEnabled`".  
We receive this output because of the fact that when we try to execute our action second time, our first execution hasn't completed yet.

Observing Action
===
Beside observing single execution of an `Action`, you can also observe `Action` itself and you'll receive values that come from each execution. Prepare for a fun part now. There are three ways to observe `Action's` values. You can observe `Action's` values, `Action's` errors and `Action's` events.

What's the difference? Let's have a look.

Action's values
---
```swift
let action = Action<Int, String, NSError>({ (number) -> SignalProducer<String, NSError> in
    return SignalProducer<String, NSError> {observer, disposable in
        observer.sendNext("Number is \(number)")
        let delayTime = dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, Int64(1 * Double(NSEC_PER_SEC)))
        dispatch_after(delayTime, dispatch_get_main_queue()) {
            observer.sendInterrupted()
        }
    }
})

action.values.observe { (event) in
  print("Value: \(event)")
}

action.apply(5).startWithSignal { (_ , _ ) in }
```

Output: "`Value: Next Number is 5`" and "`Value: COMPLETED`"  
Our values signal is of type `Signal<Output, NoError>`, so you won't get any errors here. If any terminating `Event` occurs during `Action's` execution, you'll receive `COMPLETED` event.

Action's errors
---
```swift
let action = Action<Int, String, NSError>({ (number) -> SignalProducer<String, NSError> in
    return SignalProducer<String, NSError> {observer, disposable in
        observer.sendNext("Number is \(number)")
        let delayTime = dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, Int64(1 * Double(NSEC_PER_SEC)))
        dispatch_after(delayTime, dispatch_get_main_queue()) {
            observer.sendInterrupted()
        }
    }
})

action.errors.observe { (event) in
  print("Error: \(event)")
}

action.apply(5).startWithSignal { (_ , _ ) in }
```

Output: "`Error: Next Error Domain=1 Code=1 "(null)"`" and "`Error: COMPLETED`"  
Errors' signal is of type `Signal<Error, NoError>` so you can focus on observing errors that occur during `Action's` execution. Keep in mind, that you don't use `observeFailed` method to observe errors, as they come with `NEXT` events. After `Action's` execution is finished, signal will receive `COMPLETED` event.

Action's events
language: en
---
```swift
let action = Action<Int, String, NSError>({ (number) -> SignalProducer<String, NSError> in
    return SignalProducer<String, NSError> {observer, disposable in
        observer.sendNext("Number is \(number)")
        let delayTime = dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, Int64(1 * Double(NSEC_PER_SEC)))
        dispatch_after(delayTime, dispatch_get_main_queue()) {
            observer.sendFailed(NSError(domain: "1", code: 1, userInfo: nil))
        }
    }
})

action.events.observe { (event) in
  print("Event: \(event)")
}

action.apply(5).startWithSignal { (_ , _ ) in }
```

Output: "`Event: NEXT NEXT Number is 5`", "`Event: NEXT FAILED Error Domain=1 Code=1 ("null")`" and "`Event: COMPLETED`"  
Third option is to observe signal of ALL `events`. This signal is of type `Signal<Event<Output, Error>, NoError>`. It means, that you will receive ALL `events` as next values, even terminating.  
I have to say that this output is a bit confusing. What is "`Event: NEXT NEXT Number is 5`"? Why do we get double `NEXT` here? Let's go step by step here.
Let's look at `Action's` `SignalProducer` implementation. First thing that we send is `observer.sendNext("Number is \(number)")` It will send a `NEXT` event with a `String` value.
Our event's observer receives `Next` events with `Next` event from our action. That's why we get "`NEXT NEXT`". Next event that is sent is "`observer.sendFailed(NSError(domain: "1", code: 1, userInfo: nil))`". As previously, our `Failed` event comes to `event's` observer as `Next` event. That is why we get "`NEXT FAILED`". After this terminating event, a `COMPLETED` event is sent to our `event's` observer indicating that execution has finished.

I hope that this made `Actions` clearer to you! See you next time.

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## ReactiveCocoa 4 - Events

*Published: 2016-07-19 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-7-20-reactivecocoa-4-events/index.md*

Understanding signal events in ReactiveCocoa is a must. We can't effectively use signals and signal producers if we don't know what will happen after certain event is received. We distinguish two kinds of events that you can send through signals - terminating and non-terminating. There are three kinds of terminating events: `Failed`, `Interrupted`, `Completed`, and one non-terminating - `Next`.

Signals and events
---
You can either create a pipe with `Signal.pipe()` that will return signal and observer, or you can create a signal with a closure, inside which you will have access to an observer. Signal is controlled by sending events to given observer. You can subscribe to signal multiple times, and each subscription means, that from this moment you are interested in events that will flow down the stream. However, you will not receive events that were sent before you subscribed. When a terminating event is sent to observer, each signal subscriber is informed about it and observer is disposed. From now on, sending events to observer will take no effect, and each new signal subscriber will receive `Interrupted` event.

Example:
```swift
let (signal, observer) = Signal<Int, NoError>.pipe()

observer.sendNext(1)
observer.sendNext(2)

signal.observeNext({ (next) in
    print("observer-1  value: \(next)")
})

signal.observeNext({ (next) in
    print("observer-2 value: \(next)")
})

signal.observeCompleted({
    print("completed")
})

signal.observeInterrupted({
    print("interrupted-1")
})

observer.sendNext(4)
observer.sendCompleted()


signal.observeNext({ (next) in
    print(next)
})
signal.observeCompleted({
    print("completed")
})

signal.observeInterrupted({
    print("interrupted-2")
})

signal.observeInterrupted({
    print("interrupted-3")
})

observer.sendNext(4)
observer.sendCompleted()

```

In this case, the output will be - `observer-1 value: 4, observer-2 value: 4, completed, interrupted-2, interrupted-3`. You can see here that we don't receive events before we start observing signal - we miss values `1` and `2`. Then, after terminating event is received (`completed`), we stop receiving any further events and sending values to observer doesn't take effect. However, if we start observing for `interrupted` event after signal was terminated, we will receive it immediately.

Signal producers and events
language: en
---
There are two ways of creating a signal producer that will provide us with a different overall result. You can either create a producer with a closure that will be invoked for each invocation of start(), this is a good method to receive events from tasks (eg. network request).


On the other hand, you can create a producer with a buffered observer. Buffered observer is a special kind of observer that will remember sent values up to given buffer capacity. However, this does not include terminating events, which are stored separately. From now on, you can send values to buffered observer, and each time you start a signal from a producer, you will first receive values stored in a buffer and then terminating event (if such has been sent to observer before). If there was no terminating event, subscriber of created signal will receive events that are sent to buffered observer. If you send a terminating event to a buffered observer, then all signals started from that signal producer will receive this event and will behave like normal signals (They won't receive any further events). Buffered observer can receive terminating events multiple times, each terminating event will override previous one.

Example:
```swift
let (producer, observer) = SignalProducer<Int, NoError>.buffer(3)

observer.sendNext(1)
observer.sendNext(2)
observer.sendNext(3)
observer.sendCompleted()

producer.startWithSignal({ (signal, disposable) in
    signal.observeNext({ (next) in
        print(next)
    })
    signal.observeCompleted({
        print("completed")
    })

    signal.observeInterrupted({
        print("interrupted")
    })
})

observer.sendNext(4)
observer.sendInterrupted()

producer.startWithSignal({ (signal, disposable) in
    signal.observeNext({ (next) in
        print(next)
    })
    signal.observeCompleted({
        print("completed")
    })

    signal.observeInterrupted({
        print("interrupted")
    })
})
```

In this case, the output will be - `1, 2, 3, completed, 2, 3, 4, interrupted`. You can see here that `interrupted` event overrides `completed`, and output is different next time that we start a signal from a producer.


*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Open source by default

*Published: 2016-04-24 | Author: eliasz | Tags: OpenSource*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-4-25-open-source-by-default/index.md*

Using open source code in projects is a common thing. I do it. Most of us do.
But what is "open source" by default? Well, I've heard about this for the first time at MCE Conf 2016 - "Open by default" panel. It's an idea to make software open by default and close it only if needed. There are many reasons to close it of course, but sometimes we do it unnecessarily.


Bad Habits
---
While playing with my side projects I often found myself cutting corners because of the fact that I knew I was the only one who will have to handle generated mess. I was not afraid to do it, because I knew that sooner or later I will abandon the project and move to another one. New one. All of my old projects would just pile on my private repositories and eventually get deleted after some time.


Solution
---
That's why I decided to take the "open by default" approach. I think that it will help me to write better quality code. And prevent those "rushes" when I wanted to finish the side project asap. After all I think it's pretty hard to simply allow bad practices when doing something for yourself and disallowing them for other cases. "Practicing bad practices" is not good. Your practices are what defines you.


Applying Approach
---
Despite some bad practices and rush at the end of the project, I've decided to open source an app that I've written some time ago - "Gdansk Numerek". App presents current state of queues in Gdansk's city halls. Why the whole app? I've started playing with some new things (It's a miracle I've finished the project). When you start doing something new, it's pretty hard to come back to some old code in a free time. Why playing with old, while you've got so many cool things to explore, eh? I know I'll have trouble maintaining the app, so if anyone comes from "Code for Poland" or "Code for all" community and decides to play with my code... That would be great!

Summary
language: en
---
Of course sharing the whole app is a very, very rare case, but you can always share some components or solutions that you create anyway when you build it. I think that changing my mindset on how I treat my side projects' will have great outcome. More modular code of better quality.

So... Fear not! Open source you code. Don't be afraid that you're not good enough, don't let your projects/solutions die lonely as you forget about them. There are so many fears that hold us from publishing our work and in the end we find out that they are not valid at all.

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Creating an UIImage using ImageIdentifiers

*Published: 2016-04-02 | Author: kwysocki | Tags: iOS, swift*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-4-3-UIImageConcept/index.md*

Hi! In my first post I want to share with you some cool tip which I watched in 'Swift in Practice - Apple WWDC 2015' Alex Migicovsky presentation about using UIImages in Swift project.

Normally you create UIImageView with UIImage like this :

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/6d28046f02802b811780668680f84a80.js"></script>

or like this

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/5750d3c2a9a272b2d7c32baaffb3470b.js"></script>

But what happens If you have typos (e.g. "rign") in file name or there is not an image named "ring" ?
Nothing. You don't get any warnings or errors from a compiler. Everything will compile without problems. But unfortunately our UIImageView will be empty and definitely you don't want it.

Also let's say you're working on a big project and you use UIImages in many places, then you discover you have a typo in an image name. Of course you don't get any warning or error and you have to go through the whole project and find all usages of this image and possibly fix it.

Now, let's try to deal with this problem...
---

1.Create special Enum for all UIImages used in project.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/5854408e1f50790deb8cc720b0b64720.js"></script>

2.Create convenience initializer for UIImage

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/f09177294695cfc9e9fd3facc857157e.js"></script>

3.Use it!

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/da1c87cede7eba3f11ec7afc7d8523a9.js"></script>

Some of you can say "Ok, ok... but what if I have typos in some ImageIdentifier value ?" That's the point. Best advantage of this solution is that you have only one place where all images are placed and it is only place where you can fix it. You don't have to search whole project and find usages of the image.

Another advantage is that you will get autocomplete on UIImage constructor, and choosing proper image will be easiest.

What about...

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/869d0e15ae8e730a054d8a04735c4f9e.js"></script>

As you can see I have a typo in name of enum value, but now I will get a compiler error saying :

`(...)type 'ImageIdentifier' has no member 'GoldRign'`

So compiler can help you with creating UIImage !

In essence, I hope all of you want to write a safe and clean code. You'll get a cleaner code because you have one place in your code where all images are defined and you’ll get a safer code because a compiler or IDE can help you while creating the UIImage.


Small Update
language: en
---
Previously swift did not support optional initializers for UIImage and above lines of code looked like this

<script src="https://gist.github.com/kamwysoc/e88cbeabd058cb618d7d6df1e19a05ad.js"></script>

Now swift added the concept of failable initializers and the UIImage initializer returns an optional so if UIImage cannot be created it will be nil.
Maybe now this concept lose some value because you don't have to care about unwrapping image but I truly recommend you to use this UIImage concept in your projects.

<br/>
Hope that help you!
<br/>
*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://kamwysoc.github.io/).*

## A fast way to connect to the web proxy

*Published: 2016-03-30 | Author: mateuszklimek | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-3-31-fast-way-to-connect-web-proxy/index.md*

Configuring Android device to connect to the web proxy running on development build machine is tedious.
You have to make the same steps over and over again on every device you want to debug *HTTP* traffic.<br/ >
It goes like this:<br/>

1. Check development machine *IP* address.
2. Install proxy *CA* certificate on a mobile device in order to spy *HTTPS* traffic.
3. Configure wifi connection on the mobile device to connect through the proxy (by typing it by hand).

Sometimes I have to enable the proxy for a moment and disable it afterward, then... repeat it a couple of times.<br/>
Seems to be pretty good case to automate it :)

I wanted to have a simple switcher which allows quickly enabling or disabling the proxy connection.<br/> 
The solution I made is based on a static global variable. <br/>
```java
public class DevFeatureToggle{
    public static final boolean PROXY_ENABLED = true;
}
```

If the flag is set to `true` the app connects to the web proxy automatically.<br/>
You earned a few things here:

* It's transparent for a developer. You don't care about typing *IP* address and port.
* Installs *CA* certificate at runtime. You don't have to install it by hand on the device. You don't even have to have password for credential storage ;)
* Because the device isn't directly connected, the web proxy can see traffic from your app only (other apps' traffic isn't visible).
* You can dynamically enable/disable the proxy for *HTTP* client in runtime so you can pass some requests over the proxy. 
* It's safer. You don't install proxy or any third party certificate on the system directly.

<br/>
# Let's code it.

Add this task on the top of `build.gradle`:

```groovy

ext{
    proxy = 'cannot.get.buildmachine.local.ip'
}

task getBuildMachineLocalIp() {
    def stdout = new ByteArrayOutputStream()
    exec{
        executable "sh"
        args "-c", 'ifconfig en1 | grep "inet " | awk \'{ print $2}\''
        standardOutput = stdout
    }
    project.ext.proxy = stdout.toString().trim()
    println "build machine local ip: " + project.ext.proxy
}
```

It gets local *IP* address of your desktop build machine and store it in `project.ext.proxy`.<br/>
Remember to replace `ifconfig` command with proper `ipconfig` if your build machine is running Windows.<br/>
You have to also ensure that `en1` is the interface used to connect to the same wifi network as Android device.

Now, make above task depended on `preBuild` Android's task to run it on the beginning of the build process:

```groovy
android{
    defaultConfig{
        buildConfigField 'String', 'BUILD_MACHINE_LOCAL_IP', '\"' + project.ext.proxy + "\""
    }
}
dependencies{
    ...
}

preBuild.dependsOn getBuildMachineLocalIp

```

I made one more thing here. <br/>
Copied value of `project.ext.proxy` to `BuildConfig.BUILD_MACHINE_LOCAL_IP` to have access to *IP* address in code.

The last part is to set up our proxy for *HTTP* client.
```java

private void setProxy(OkHttpClient client) {
    if (FeatureToggle.PROXY_ENABLED && BuildConfig.BUILD_TYPE.equals("debug")) {
        client.setProxy(new Proxy(Proxy.Type.HTTP, new InetSocketAddress(BuildConfig.BUILD_MACHINE_LOCAL_IP, 8888)));
        SSLContext sslContext = SslUtils.getSslContextForCertificateFile(app, "charles-proxy-ssl-proxying-certificate.crt");
        client.setSslSocketFactory(sslContext.getSocketFactory());
        LOG.debug("proxy set for client {}", client);
    }
}

OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
setProxy(client);

/*
use client as you wish eg. with Retrofit
*/
```

There's simple `if` statement which enables proxy when flag is active.<br/>
Probably, you don't want to have the proxy connection for release builds so I also check build type here.<br/>
The last thing is to set up *CA* certificate of the web proxy to make *HTTP* connections visible on it. <br/>
`SslUtils` is simple helper class which I created to trust given certificate despite system settings. <br/>
You can read about `SslUtils` in [this post](http://blog.brightinventions.pl/trust-specific-certificate-on-jvm/) and download it from [GitHub](https://github.com/mklimek/ssl-utils-android).

If you have any tips or thoughts about this method, let me know about it :)

See this post on my [personal blog](https://mklimek.github.io/fast-way-to-connect-web-proxy/).

## Trust specific certificate on JVM-based platforms

*Published: 2016-03-28 | Author: mateuszklimek | Tags: jvm, java, android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-3-29-trust-specific-certificate-on-jvm/index.md*

I wrote simple helper which allow loading specific certificate to [SSLContext](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/javax/net/ssl/SSLContext.html).<br/>
You can use it to support *HTTPS* connections which rely on a untrusted certificate. <br/>
By untrusted certificate, I mean this one which server is certified but system denies it (doesn't trust it) for some reason.<br/>
I found it very useful to load particular certificate dynamically.

For example:

1. Older Android devices don't support some new CA providers. If you want to ship an app with support to such CA and don't want to force a user to install it himself you can add that CA to the app at runtime. Totally transparent to the user.
2. Security reasons. No need to install third party certs on the system directly. Eg. during development phase server might be certified by temporarily `ssh-development-only-certificate.cer`. No one should trust it except development-phase client app.
   The second case: you want to use the web proxy. It's also risky to install proxy certificate for the whole system.
3. You have no rights to add proper CA to the system. You told about it your administrator but you're still waiting or worse, he refuses.

## Warning: Copy and Paste

<script src="https://gist.github.com/mklimek/f9d197362c1f2db8c1b76f76ace75859.js"></script>

\#Example usage

<script src="https://gist.github.com/mklimek/a623509f2c0a99096a4bc0bd71f7bf62.js"></script>

You can easily adopt that code in any JVM language like Groovy, Kotlin, etc.<br/>
On Android you can load certificate from assets. Github repo is [here](https://github.com/mklimek/ssl-utils-android).

See this post on my [personal blog](https://mklimek.github.io/trust-specific-certificate-on-jvm/).

## Fetching contacts with CNContactStore

*Published: 2016-02-04 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-2-5-fetching-contacts-with-cncontactstore/index.md*

Since iOS 9.0 we have a new nice method of fetching and saving contacts - CNContactStore!
Today I will show you how to create a simple UITextField that will be responsible for fetching a contact for you!

Setting up
---
Let me introduce you our textfield! 

![Empty TextField](../../static/images/CNContactStorePost/empty_textfield.png "")

Our text field will be unique this time. It will not behave the way it usually does. After tapping it we don't want to see a keyboard, we want to see contacts! In order to achieve this, first we have to implement specific delegate method from our textfield. Inside it, we will open our contact list and tell our textfield not to display a keyboard.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/10f6d7eecd8400bcf691.js"></script>

Display contacts
---
Now it's time to present contacts, after creating our `CNContactPickerViewController`, we will assign a delegate for it (we will implement it's method later to catch a contact) and tell it to display contact's phone numbers only.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/6c7289307fc8e31f8bb2.js"></script>

![Contact list](../../static/images/CNContactStorePost/selecting_contact.png "")

Get a phone number
language: en
---
After we choose a phone number from a contact list, we want to receive it in our app. We will do it by catching `CNContactProperty` with `CNContactPickerViewController's` delegate method. You can find many other things when you dig into `CNContactProperty` like name, familyName etc.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/b7d9a9525015bb78a1f7.js"></script>

Selected phone number will now appear in our text field ;)

![Filled TextField](../../static/images/CNContactStorePost/filled_textfield.png "")

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Heartbeat button

*Published: 2016-01-31 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-2-1-heartbeat-button/index.md*

Hi! Today I will show you how to create a simple heart button that will simulate a heartbeat upon each tap. You can find an example project on my [Github](https://github.com/Eluss/HeartbeatDemo.git).

## Create a button

First of all we have to create a button. We create a heart image from the resources that you can find in an example project and we assign it to our button. Then we simply position out button inside a view and assign a certain size to it. The size should equal our heart image's size. Next, we add target to our button's touchUpInside event. We will handle it in `performHeartBeat:` method.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/55b316c52c5a054141a7.js"></script>

## Button's action

Let's take a look at our `performHeartBeat:` method. In order to perform our heart beat, we create an imageView from a `heart_border` image. ImageView's initial frame should be smaller or the same as our button's frame. If it is bigger, then the overall effect will look bad. Next we take care of our animation. In order to do that we use UIView's `animateWithDuration:` method. In our animation's body we make our `imageView` bigger by putting a `CGAffineTransformMakeScale(3,3)` as it's transform property. We also want it to fade away. We achieve it by changing it's `alpha` value to 0. In our completion block we remove our imageView from superview, because we don't need it anymore.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/4e9734142e61bf038548.js"></script>

Here is how our button should look before tapping:

![Inactive button](../../static/images/heartbeat-inactive.png "")

After multiple taps:

![Active button](../../static/images/heartbeat-active.png "")

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## ReactiveCocoa 4 - Signal

*Published: 2016-01-28 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-1-29-reactivecocoa-4-signal/index.md*

Today, let's take a look at basic aspect of ReactiveCocoa - Signal.

## What is it?

A signal is an event stream. When you create a Signal, you decide what type of values and errors are sent over it. That's different to what it used to be in ReactiveCocoa 2, where `RACSignal` did not have a value type attached to it. Generally, Signals are representation of event streams that are already in progress. Each signal may have multiple observers, that will detect events pushed inside the stream. A signal may have zero observers, but values will still flow down the stream.

## Example


Let's look at this example of a signal usage.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/81de173bf0d6987656e9.js"></script>

## Basic transformation

If you are observing a signal, you can add transformations to values that you pick. In fact, by putting a transformation, you create a new stream with changed values. Signal that you use to create transformed signal is not changed.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/e723290d5c47a5c047b5.js"></script>

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## ReactiveCocoa 4 - SignalProducer

*Published: 2016-01-24 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-1-25-reactivecocoa-4-signal-producer/index.md*

Today we will take a look at SignalProducer class which is provided with ReactiveCocoa 4.

How should we treat SignalProducer? It should be treated as representation of a operations/tasks. As an example, take a look at this method, which returns a SignalProducer instance.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/1b632aad7eaf10d491af.js"></script>

We can use it to create a signal producer and assign it to a variable. Then when we have a producer that we can ask for signals. If we don't start an actual signal, nothing will happen.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/9e564870ffa4f75b7ef9.js"></script>

What is important here, is the fact that if we ask producer for a signal, it comes with an observer attached to it. We don't have to be afraid that we missed any data.  Another thing is that we expect the same process every time we start a produced signal. That is why producers are so good for tasks like network requests.


*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## ReactiveCocoa 4 - MutableProperty

*Published: 2016-01-20 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-1-21-reactivecocoa-4-mutableproperty/index.md*

MutableProperty which comes with ReactiveCocoa allows us to track variable's changes. Let's take a quick look on how it actually works.

Let's assume, that we want to create a bank account balance variable, that we will be tracking later on. 
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/e3d97651eb2400cc6545.js"></script>

MutableProperty has three fields that we are especially interested in.

###Value
First one is `value`, which grants us access to a current value of our property. Everytime we change a this value, all observers of signals created by a producer get notified about it.

###Producer
Second field is `producer`, which is a factory for started signals which we use in order to track our property. Lets use our factory to create a signal out of our MutableProperty.
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/8e0402d073d48e42fd88.js"></script>
Everytime our property changes, it will be printed. If property is deinitialized, signals created by producer are completed.

###Observer
Our `observer` is initialized as a buffer with a capacity of 1. What does it mean? When we set our value, we also push it to an observer. Our observer has an internal buffer, which in this case remembers last pushed value. This value will be passed to observer every time producer starts a new signal.

Passing values to our buffered observer is handled internally and happens everytime a setter for a `value` is called. So in fact mostly we will be having fun with `value` and `producer` fields.



*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## My thoughts on - StatefulViewController

*Published: 2016-01-17 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-1-18-my-thoughts-on-statefulviewcontroller/index.md*

I had a chance to play a little bit with a nice pod that is called StatefulViewController, created by Alexander Schuch. StatefulViewController works with both `UIView` and `UIViewController`, and allows you to introduce placeholders for their different states: Loading, Error, Empty or Content. Everything is based on an intuitive protocol and after providing your placeholder views and implementing required methods everything works like a charm. You can find this pod on Alexander's [github](https://github.com/aschuch/StatefulViewController). I've looked into the code of this pod and I found a few things that I want to share with you today.


###StateMachine
Whole idea is based on ViewStateMachine, which handles transitions of views that you have assigned to each state. All states are represented by this nice enum
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/3b3b2b78e7b286bc6e5c.js"></script>
Notice, that this enum conforms to `Equatable` protocol, which lets us implement `"=="` operator for this enum. When you do this, standard library provides an implementation for `"!="`. This move allows us to compare states later on.
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/f0672e20fa6690f7e492.js"></script>

###Subscript
Another thing that was interesting for me was `subscript` provided for a `ViewStateMachine` class."You use subscripts to set and retrieve values by index without needing separate methods for setting and retrieval." - note from Apple.
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/8d3920fa7b3878a8f105.js"></script>

Example use: 
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/1bc3e208110fd3e86ebf.js"></script>


###Extension property 
Normally, you can't add a property to a class via an extension, but you can achive this using an associated object.
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/1586b4a35898a136bc56.js"></script>

###Documentation
I really liked the documentation that was provided with this pod. In Objective-C we had a nice header file, which was pretty easy to read from. Here we have two files. `StatefulViewController.swift` file, which provides nice documentation and `StatefulViewControllerImplementation.swift` which containts implementation of `StatefulViewController` class.

It was really interesting code, which taught me some new thing. I hope that you liked it too!


*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Custom XCode key bindings

*Published: 2016-01-14 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-1-15-custom-xcode-key-bindings/index.md*

When I started writing Swift code, I found out that my beloved IDE(AppCode) for Objective-C, was not doing as well as I thought it would. Moreover, I've noticed that XCode did better job in terms of handling CocoaPods, autocompletion, debugging etc. It was more than enough for me to say sorry to XCode and leave AppCode for some time to let it solve it's problems. I really miss it's Objective-C features like code refactoring and it's ability to generate code, but there is no place for sentimentality. Currently I'm proud user of XCode 7.3 beta and I really like it's new autocompletion feature.

After coming back to XCode I found out that I was really used to keybindings that AppCode provided. Some of them were also available in XCode (Moving lines up/down) and it was just a matter of changing the keys binded to a shortcut, but some of them were missing. Where was my line duplication? Where was my lines juming? Luckily for me, I could add those by myself.

####Adding custom keybindings
Thre is an easy way of adding your custom key bindings to your XCode. In order to do this, you have to follow this steps:

1. Go to `/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Frameworks/IDEKit.framework/Resources`
2. Find `IDETextKeyBindingSet.plist` file 
3. Edit file
4. Reset your XCode
5. Open `Preferences/KeyBindings` in your XCode
6. Find your custom key bindings and assign keyboard shortcuts for them
7. Start using new shortcuts


How to edit the `IDETextKeyBindingSet.plist` file? If you open it using a normal text editor, you will notice a lot of `<dict>`, `<key>` and `<string>` values. Learn the pattern and add your own key bindings. Here is example of some key bindings that I've added. 
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/eb7d9290ecddfa758365.js"></script>


*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## My thoughts on - Whisper

*Published: 2016-01-12 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-1-13-my-thoughts-on-whisper/index.md*

Lately I've come across a nice pod which makes in-app messaging easier and decided to give it a quick look. I've created a test project in order to see how the pod behaves and my first impression was... "That was easy!". If you want to find out how to use this pod, check out Hyperoslo's [github](https://github.com/hyperoslo/Whisper), which shows how easy it is to start sending your messages!

I took a quick look into the source code of this pod and instantly found two things that caught my eye.
####Creating UI components
First thing that was interesting for me, was the way UI components were initialized. For me, it's normal to set everything up when I create an instance of my `UIView`. You can see an example of this in my test project, where in `MainView` class I create buttons in `setupView` method. In Whisper's source code I found this:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/0508b7d106b94f2a7946.js"></script>

It's an example of lazy initialization that can be used for UI components and some other variables. The private(set) is also great, as you can access the variable from outside without the need of providing additional getter methods.

Iterating
Second interesting thing was the use of sequence type methods for iterating:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/d05268f238222b36b014.js"></script>

I'm used to the method below, because I like the readability of it, but the `forEach` method looks nice as well. 

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/5049b488041e6196a668.js"></script>

My test project is  available on my [github](https://github.com/Eluss/WhisperPodTest.git) if you want to give it a look.

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Swift files generator

*Published: 2016-01-07 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2016-1-8-swift-files-generator/index.md*

For some time, I have been creating iOS apps without using storyboards at all. Because of this fact, creating screens in the application is connected to some repetitive steps. You create a ViewController, then a View which will be presented in the controller. You want a PageViewController? Create one, set up ViewControllers that will be presented inside it. After some time, you can recognise a pattern and prepare a bunch of code snippets that will do the job for you. Or... You can prepare a code generator, that will generate all the files for you. This will allow you to skip the part of creating files and filling them with code templates. In this blog post, I will tell you about creating my first code generator.

## What should it generate?

So... I've decided to create my first code generator. The first question is: "What should it generate?". For me the answer was simple. For some time I've been using the same code snippets, and I knew that I could use the same idea for my generator. I wanted to make a generator, that could create a structure which would be added to project and then filled up why my code. 

## How to build it?

Second question is: "How to build it?". Some time ago I've wrote basic bash scripts and I knew I could use this knowledge to write this generator. This time it is bash, but I think that if you do this kind of stuff, it is a great opportunity to learn some new languages.

## How should it work?

Last question: "How should it work?". I wanted my script to read a file and build a structure based on it. The file structure had to be easy to write, so that I would use the tool instead of using the code snippets. After writing the input file, you simply run the script and everything is created for you. It's enough for me to start using my new tool, leaving old repetitive way behind.

If you have got answer for these questions it is time for you to sit down and start creating your tool. For me it was great fun and I encourage you to create your generator, as it can be a great way of learning new things.

You can find my generator on [my Github](https://github.com/Eluss/SwiftFilesGenerator).

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Logging with Retrofit 2

*Published: 2015-12-14 | Author: mateuszklimek | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/logging-with-retrofit2/index.md*

Retrofit has been updated to 2.0 version.

It's a major change in the one of the most popular library for Android platform.

A lot of things have been changed out there but in this blog post I want to cover how to setup logging properly.

## Retrofit 1.x - old way

In Retrofit 1.x we just call:

```java
	adapter.setLogLevel(RestAdapter.LogLevel.FULL)
```

## Retrofit 2.x - new way

In Retrofit 2 you should use [HttpLoggingInterceptor](https://github.com/square/okhttp/blob/master/okhttp-logging-interceptor/src/main/java/com/squareup/okhttp/logging/HttpLoggingInterceptor.java).

Add dependency to `build.gradle`:

```groovy
compile 'com.squareup.okhttp:logging-interceptor:2.6.0'
```

Create `Retrofit` object like follow:

```java
	OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
	HttpLoggingInterceptor interceptor = new HttpLoggingInterceptor();
	interceptor.setLevel(HttpLoggingInterceptor.Level.BODY);
	client.interceptors().add(interceptor);

	Retrofit retrofit = new Retrofit.Builder()
	        .baseUrl("https://backend.example.com")
	        .client(client)
	        .addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create())
	        .build();


	return retrofit.create(ApiClient.class);
```

`RetrofitAdapter` doesn't exsist any longer, we have `Retrofit` class instead. 

The big change is that [OkHttp](http://square.github.io/okhttp/) is required now and set as dependency for Retrofit.

The instance of `OkHttpClient` is the place where you should set up logging.

Retrofit has a dependency to OkHttp version 2.5.0, but I've tested it with LoggingIntenceptor version 2.6.0 and it works well.

It should print logs similar to the old ones from Retrofit 1.x.

Hope it helps you :)

See this post on my [personal blog](http://mklimek.github.io/logging-with-retrofit2/).

## 3 tips for iOS Calabash beginners

*Published: 2015-12-13 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/3-tips-for-ios-calabash-beginners/index.md*

Have you ever felt that your app needs UI tests? Are you tired of checking behaviours of your application again and again? Consider using Calabash!

What is Calabash? It is an open source framework that is constantly supported by Xamarin. Calabash will let you run your UI tests written in Cucumber on iOS and Android. Moreover, it's really easy to read for people that are not familiar with programming.

If you started writing UI tests in Calabash and it isn't going as smooth as you expected, then check out this 3 tips, which helped me at the beginning.

## 1. Use Calabash console!	

Before you write any tests for your application, use Calabash console to play with your app a bit. You can perform many actions like swiping, entering text, scrolling the screen or touching the components before you write anything in your feature file. This will help you learn how to navigate through the app using Calabash and understand the query language much better before writing your own custom steps. In order to be able to perform all the gestures, you have to launch your console by executing `calabash-ios console` and after this, typing `start_test_server_in_background`, which will launch your app with touches enabled.

## 2. Add accessibility identifiers to created UI objects!

There are many ways of refering to UI components while writing tests in Calabash, but we would like to use the one that we can rely on. You can easily refer to any object using text that is displayed in it (labels), but it is not recommended. Instead of this, try adding accessibility identifiers to your UI components. This will allow you to refer to them in easy way and you won't have to worry about the fact that someone changed the text displayed in the button. Adding accessibility identifiers to the UI components will make writing your tests much faster, as you will know how to refer to objects instantly.

## 3. Look into predefined steps!

After installing Calabash, you should take a look at the predefined steps that are provided by Calabash. They are stored in the installation's directory under `features` folder. This can be really helpful at early stages of your journey. Using these steps you can try to write your own custom steps and use them for your first tests. It is not recommended to use prefedined steps for complex testing, but they can surely give you some hint at the beginning.

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Quickly access Documents Directory for the iOS Simulator

*Published: 2015-12-02 | Author: michal | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/quickly-access-application-documents-directory/index.md*

Let me share a small trick that I use to quickly navigate to documents directory for an iOS application that runs in the simulator.
 It requires adding some small snippet of code to the app but it really pays off.

Here's the snippet:
<script src="https://gist.github.com/mgamer/63207d324306dec8a056.js"></script>

In essence it creates a symbolic link to app documents directory and puts that symbolic link on your Desktop. Just add it to `application:  didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:` method and you will find `SimulatorDocuments` link recreated on your Desktop anytime you run the app in the simulator.

## Desymbolicate crash reports from the command line

*Published: 2015-10-18 | Author: michal | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/desymbolicate-crash-reports/index.md*

I was struggling again with desymbolicating of iOS app crash logs and thought that it would be nice
to have a handy script that is a bit easier to use than the [multi step process](http://stackoverflow.com/a/4954949/59666) I had been using thus far. There's no rocket science in it,
 just a simple script named **desym** that seems to work for me and probably will require more than
 one adjustment to work in general.

The source code is [here on GitHub](https://github.com/bright/desym).

The idea is to put .ipa and .dsym.zip file in the same directory and then execute
```./desym.sh MEMORY_ADDRESS(ES)```. It will automatically unpack dSYM and ipa
into temporary directory, run ```atos```, output results to the console and clean after itself.

What it means for me is that I can just download respective ipa and dSYM files
from Hockeyapp, run **desym** with memory address from the crash log and
see the faulty line right away without manual files juggling.

## Data transfer between Apple Watch and iPhone

*Published: 2015-10-01 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/apple-watch-iphone-data-transfer/index.md*

Today's post will cover basic data transfer between your iPhone app and Apple Watch app.
Let's assume that you have already created an Apple Watch extension in your project and you want to transfer some data to your watch.
As an example, we will be sending `Event` object to our watch, so let's have a look at `Event` class!
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/386d83ccffa658a63054.js"></script>

The most important thing here is to implement `NSCoding` protocol. We will need it, because we won't be able to send pure `Event` object to our watch app, however we can easily send `NSData`. Another important thing is to make our class visible to both iPhone and Apple Watch, so remember about linking this class to both targets.

Ok! We've got our object. Next thing we want to do is to establish our connection. In our case, we will get the data after tapping on the button displayed on the watch's screen. Here is the button action code:
<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/2f0c64a042b9c3b2fd1a.js"></script>

Don't get mislead! Method `openParentApplication` will not open an app on your iPhone. It will quietly run it in the background and let you quickly do some actions. Here, we are sending a dictionary to our iPhone app, and we expect to get a dictionary back as well. Let's see the code on iPhone's side. This method is placed in our `AppDelegate`:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/ad28c1f7d7aa85e01c17.js"></script>

We can easily get message that we previouly sent from the watch. Then we create our event, archive it and send it as `NSData` packed inside the dictionary.

It's not the only way of transfering the data, so feel encouraged to look for another solutions!

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Queueing audio files with AVQueuePlayer

*Published: 2015-08-28 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/queueing-audio-files/index.md*

Today's short post will cover queueing audio files using Swift. In order to do this we will be using AVQueuePlayer.

## Import AVFoundation in order to use the AVQueuePlayer

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/fcb88bf8c43ab1033104.js"></script>

## Create an instance of AVQueuePlayer

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/f7eb42d773a2d8773200.js"></script>

Ps. Hold it as instance variable. If you create it as local variable, you will lose it after exiting the scope and audio won't play.

## Add audio file to queue

Here we will be adding a file which is added to our project. In order to do this, we create an instance of AVPlayerItem and add it to an existing queue. Passing nil as second argument of insertItem function will insert it at the end of the queue.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/352e66eb8cacfde429e8.js"></script>

## Play/pause/skip

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/538b5cebd23e7659187b.js"></script>

Tip: Once you call a play method, you can keep adding the files to queue and they will automatically start.

*This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/).*

## Simplistic JavaScript dependency injection with ES6 destructuring

*Published: 2015-08-24 | Author: adam | Tags: JavaScript, ES6*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/simplistic-javascript-dependency-injection-es6-destructuring/index.md*

Recently I got a bit tired with Angular's quirks and intricacies. To freshen up, I'm playing with framework-less JavaScript ([Vanilla JS](http://vanilla-js.com/)). I'm also getting more and more used to ES6 features. One of the outcomes by now is the idea for the [Dependency Injection](http://www.martinfowler.com/articles/injection.html) approach that stays simplistic, decoupled from any framework and still convenient to consume.

## Destructuring

One of the features I like most in ES6 is [destructuring](http://www.2ality.com/2015/01/es6-destructuring.html). It introduces a convenient syntax for getting multiple values from arrays or objects in a single step, i.e. do the following:

```JavaScript
let [lat, lng] = [54.4049, 18.5763];
console.log(lat); // 54.4049
console.log(lng); // 18.5763
```

or like this:

```JavaScript
let source = { first: 1, second: 2 };
let { first, second } = source;
console.log(first, second); // 1, 2
```

What is even nicer, it works fine in a function definition, too, making it a great replacement for the [config object pattern](http://christianheilmann.com/2008/05/23/script-configuration/), where instead of providing the large number of parameters, some of them potentially optional, we provide a single plain configuration object and read all the relevant options from the inside the object provided. So, with ES6 destructuring (+default parameters support), instead of this:

```JavaScript
function configurable(config) {
    var option1 = config.option1 || 123;
    var option2 = config.option2 || 'abc';
    // the actual code starts here...
}
```

we can move all that read-config-and-apply-default-if-needed stuff directly as a parameter:

```JavaScript
function configurable({ option1 = 123, option2 = 'abc' }) {
    // the actual code from the very beginning...
}
```

The code is equivalent and the change doesn't require any changes at the caller side.

# Injecting

We can use destructuring to provide Angular-like experience for receiving the dependencies by a class or a function that is even more cruft-free as it's minification-safe and thus doesn't require tricks like [ngAnnotate](https://github.com/olov/ng-annotate) does. 

Here is how it can look from the dependencies consumer side:

```JavaScript
function iHaveDependencies({ dependency1, dependency2 }) {
    // use dependency1 & dependency2
}
```

Whenever we invoke the `iHaveDependencies` function, we need to pass it a single parameter containing the object with `dependency1` and `dependency2` keys, but possibly also with others. Nothing prevents us from passing the object with all the possible dependencies there (a container).

So the last thing is to ensure we have one available whenever we create the objects (or invoke the functions):

```JavaScript
// possibly create it once and keep it for a long time
let container = { 
  dependency1: createDependency1(),
  dependency2: createDependency2(),
  dependency3: createDependency3(),
  otherDependency: createOtherDependency() 
};

// use our "container" to resolve dependencies
iHaveDependencies(container);
```

That's all. The destructuring mechanism will take care of populating `dependency1` and `dependency2` variables within our function seamlessly. 

We can easily build a dependency injection "framework" on top of that. The implementation would vary depending on how our application creates and accesses the objects, but the general idea will hold true. Isn't that neat?

PS. Because the lack of direct ES6 support in the browsers, running that in a browser right now requires transpiling it down to ES5 beforehand. [Babel](https://babeljs.io/) works great for that.

## iOS: The simplest star rating control ever

*Published: 2015-08-13 | Author: adam | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-simplest-star-rating-control-ever/index.md*

Recently I had a need to show the simple rating control in one of our iOS apps - the typical row of stars, few leftmost highlighted, the more highlighted, the better the rating is - something as obvious as this:

![star rating example](../../static/images/star-rating-example.png "")

My first thoughts were wandering around star images one after another, the hell with positioning with frames or multitude of [Auto Layout constraints](http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2041295). Nah. The second take led me to [`EDStarRating`](https://github.com/erndev/EDStarRating), a library that does this pretty well. But all I needed was only to show few stars in a row, all the events handling and customizations seemed a bit overkill for the simple task I was facing.

Then the aha! moment came. I can just play with [`NSAttributedString`](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSAttributedString_Class/), a fancy thing that adds a lot of formatting capabilities to ordinary string or even parts of it. And tis the awesome set of icons everyone's using anyway in [Font Awesome](https://fontawesome.com). So here are the steps I ended up doing:

## Add Font Awesome to your project

There are multiple ways how to do that. We decided to [add `FontAwesome.otf` definition file as a resource to our project](http://luciancancescu.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-to-integrate-fontawesome-in-your.html), because all I need is just to be able do the following:

```objc
[UIFont fontWithName:@"FontAwesome" size:18.0f];
```

You might prefer to choose one of the [available CocoaPods](http://cocoapods.org/?q=font%20awesome) that esentially deal with the same thing, often with additional capabilities or sugar like enumeration for all the icons.

## Stargaze

The idea is to prepare the string that will contain the star icon multiple times, first few highlighted (filled), the rest greyed out or not filled. We need to find the appropriate Unicode numbers for our interesting icons, first - everything we need is [here](https://fontawesome.com/icons):

![Font Awesome Unicode codes](../../static/images/star-rating-fa.png "")

I decided to use the basic `fa-star` icon (`\uf005`) and manipulate with the color, making the inactive gray. You might want to use `fa-star-o` instead (`\uf123`).

## Build the `NSAttributedString`

Now I need to create two formattings - first that represents the highlighted stars that will be black in my case and the second for the not highlighted ones - light gray, let's say. `NSAttributedString` expects me to provide the dictionaries with the appropriate options. Here they are:

```objc
UIFont *fontAwesome = [UIFont fontWithName:@"FontAwesome" size:18.0f];
NSDictionary *activeStarFormatting = @{
    NSFontAttributeName : fontAwesome, 
    NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor blackColor]
};
NSDictionary *inactiveStarFormatting = @{
    NSFontAttributeName : fontAwesome, 
    NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor lightGrayColor]
};
```

Now, all I need is to build the actual string by iterating the appropriate number of times, first adding the highlighted stars, then filling with the inactive ones up to the expected number of stars.

```objc
const NSInteger filledStars = 2;
const NSInteger maxStars = 3;

NSMutableAttributedString *attString = [NSMutableAttributedString new];
NSInteger i = 0;

for (; i < filledStars; ++i) {
    [attString appendAttributedString:[[NSAttributedString alloc] 
        initWithString:@" \uf005 " attributes:activeStarFormatting]];
}
for (; i < maxStars; ++i) {
    [attString appendAttributedString:[[NSAttributedString alloc] 
        initWithString:@" \uf005 " attributes:inactiveStarFormatting]];
}
```

## Enjoy!

Now it's just a matter of wrapping it in a nice function:

```objc
+ (NSAttributedString *)starRatingWith:(NSInteger)filledStars
                            outOfTotal:(NSInteger)totalStars {
    UIFont *fontAwesome = [UIFont fontWithName:@"FontAwesome" size:18.0f];
    NSDictionary *activeStarFormatting = @{
            NSFontAttributeName : fontAwesome,
            NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor blackColor]
    };
    NSDictionary *inactiveStarFormatting = @{
            NSFontAttributeName : fontAwesome,
            NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor lightGrayColor]
    };

    NSMutableAttributedString *attString = [NSMutableAttributedString new];

    NSInteger i = 0;
    for (; i < filledStars; ++i) {
        [attString appendAttributedString:[[NSAttributedString alloc]
                initWithString:@" \uf005 " attributes:activeStarFormatting]];
    }
    for (; i < totalStars; ++i) {
        [attString appendAttributedString:[[NSAttributedString alloc]
                initWithString:@" \uf005 " attributes:inactiveStarFormatting]];
    }

    return attString;
}
```

To use it, we now just need an ordinary `UILabel`:

```objc
UILabel *starRating = [UILabel new];
starRating.attributedText = [self starRatingWith:2 outOfTotal:3];
```

And here is the result:

![NSAttributedString-based star rating example](../../static/images/star-rating-label.png "")

Voilà!

## NSKeyedArchiver / Unarchiver

*Published: 2015-08-03 | Author: eliasz | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/2015-8-04-saving-and-loading-data-to-iOS-device/index.md*

Lately I've spent some time wrtiting an app for myself. It is supposed to let you create tasks, mark them as done/undone and then track your progress. I've called it "Habit Tracker" and it is available
<a href="https://github.com/Eluss/HabitTracker" target="_blank">here</a>. While writing this utility I came across a few interesting issues and this blogpost will cover one of them.

## Saving and Loading data

The feature that "Habit tracker" surely needed was ability to store and load users tasks. Core data seemed a bit overkill for me, so I decided to use NSKeyedArchiver/Unarchiver.

### NSCoding

First of all lets create a class which we want to archive. It will be called Task. In order to save and load it with use of NSKeyedArchiver/Unarchiver we have to make our class implements two methods provided by protocol `NSCoding`.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/fb436b922e73aa7e0f50.js"></script>

Now lets create our example Task class.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/2cd388a213795b949403.js"></script>

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/0ee3bc08b6805c36c61d.js"></script>

Now we are able to properly store our tasks in files.

### Saving

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/ad7b1e1d00f9a49f8978.js"></script>

### Loading

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/565c38f567ab5482202b.js"></script>

If we use iOS Simulator, all files that are saved by us are stored in our app's folder. Using my saving code you will find file named "FILE_NAME" under:

`/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices/{DEVICE_ID}/data/Containers/Data/Application/{APP_ID}/Documents`

By using this command you can get your currently running iOS Simulator ID:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/Eluss/d10d6e783bd5c17dfee3.js"></script>

This article is cross-posted with my [my personal blog](http://eluss.github.io/Savings-and-loading-data-to-iOS-device/)

## Android Data Binding Part 2: Observer pattern to the bone

*Published: 2015-07-27 | Author: piotr | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/android-data-binding-part-2-observer-pattern-to-the-bone/index.md*

In the [previous part](/blog/android-data-binding-part-1-why-it-is-important/) I've described typical problems we have to face when developing applications on Android. I've also highlighted that some of them may be mitigated when [data binding API](https://developer.android.com/tools/data-binding/guide.html) is utilized properly. It's time to dive into more details of how this promising API works.

## Observer Pattern
At the root of many of solutions we find in today's APIs is a design pattern. In case of the discussed Android API it is [Observer Pattern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_pattern) applied to the bone. In fact this particular pattern is so common and powerful that some languages and runtimes (C# with .NET, Objective-C and Swift on iOS and Mac) provide neat support for it. You may wonder why it is important in the context of Android data binding? The answer is simple yet easy to ignore - memory management. The following diagram depicts dependencies of an observer pattern's elements in the context of Android data binding:
![Android data binding diagram](../../static/images/android_data_binding_diagram.png "")
On the right side we have the *observable* part producing notifications about changes - an object implementing `android.databinding.Observable` interface. In the observer pattern *events producer* can have many *events listeners* - `OnPropertyChangedCallback` implementations. Android data binding provides implementations of *events listeners* taking care of property values changes as well as collection elements changes.

Note that the `Observable` object knows nothing about concrete `OnPropertyChangedCallback` implementations ([Dependency Inversion Principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_inversion_principle) at its best). However, at runtime the `Observable` object will hold references to many `OnPropertyChangedCallback`s instances. If you look further down the diagram you'll see that in order for `OnPropertyChangedCallback` implementations provided by Android data binding library to update the state of the view component a reference to it is required. This means that although the view model knows nothing about the view components at compile time they will reference them at runtime.

## How Android data binding library aids memory management?
As stated above in a simple implementation we would have a lightweight and testable view model retain expensive view widgets - thus making it heavy. In the Android context it means that even though an `Activity` got destroyed we could have other object still retaining its `Views`, trying to update them and preventing them from being garbage collected. Not so nice, huh?

If you look closer at how Android data binding is implemented you'll immediately see that its `OnPropertyChangedCallback` holds only [weak references](http://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/ref/WeakReference.html) to views.
`WeakPropertyListener`, `WeakListListener`, `WeakMapListener` and `ViewDataBinding.WeakListener` make sure that the `Observable` object is not retaining views. This means that there's no need for a developer to manually *stop* data binding in an activity `onDestroy` or a fragment `onDestroyView` methods. If you use [RxJava](https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxJava) you probably know that this extra step is tedious and requires a great deal of attention and boilerplate code. You can find out more about the problem in at least couple of issues on GitHub: [1](https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxJava/issues/386), [2](https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxAndroid/issues/12).

Because Android data binding library takes extra steps to make sure a view model will not cause views to be retained we can detach a view model's lifecycle from that of an activity or a fragment. We now have an easy way to i.e. do a simple in-memory caching via singleton view models. More importantly, we can cross out at least one place when looking for a memory leak cause.

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](http://miensol.pl/android/2015/07/27/android-data-binding-part-2-observer-pattern-to-the-bone.html)*

## Android Data Binding Part 1: Why it is important

*Published: 2015-07-20 | Author: piotr | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/android-data-binding-part-1-why-it-is-important/index.md*

Android application code often suffers from being more verbose than it could be. As libraries such as [Android Annotations](http://androidannotations.org/) and [ButterKnife](http://jakewharton.github.io/butterknife/) have shown that's only partially due to tediousness of Java. The recently announced [Android Data Binding](https://developer.android.com/tools/data-binding/guide.html) library can remove at least part of the boilerplate code we need to write. Since I've always liked [Presentation Model pattern (MVVM)](http://martinfowler.com/eaaDev/PresentationModel.html) this is very dear to my heart. However just getting rid of a tedious code is not the main reason I'm so happy to see the new API. Let's recap on common issues developer faces on Android and then I'll show how using mentioned patterns with new offering from Google can mitigate them.

## Problems with classic approach

I'll explain that step by step using a registration form screen example. We need couple of fields like first name, last name and an email address. To make the example a bit more interesting and to make UX better we'll use [floating label](http://mds.is/float-label-demo/) pattern. One of the simplest approaches **without data binding** (for first name only) might look like this:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/52b98f0fcbe89db81441.js?file=RegisterActivityClassic.java"></script>

### Memory leaks

A seasoned Android developer will immediately spot that we've a potentially leaked activity here. The culprit is of course the anonymous inner class implementing `RegisterApi` callback (`Action2`), which in turn uses `findViewById`. However it's not the mentioned method that retains the activity - in Java every non-static inner class will have *implicit* reference to the enclosing class instance. While this problem is so common I still haven't found a concise solution in the Android SDK. There are however community driven libraries i.e. [Otto](http://square.github.io/otto/) and [RxJava](https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxJava) that can help tackle this problem.

### To much code in Activity

Many of us, me including, are guilt of stuffing too much into `Activity` classes. Writing test and maintaining them can become a nightmare over time. The verbosity of Java only makes the matter worse. One way to slim activities down is to use [Presenter pattern](http://martinfowler.com/eaaDev/uiArchs.html#Model-view-presentermvp) written either by hand or with the help of [Mortar](https://github.com/square/mortar). Another solution is to encapsulate more logic into custom view classes used in layouts and using shared static helper methods with common code that calls Android API. Nevertheless, for a programmer that just starts with Android, it's important that the framework provides guidance and samples that encourage separation of concerns - in my opinion up until now that was rarely the case.

### Maintaining layout files

Many if not most screens in Android (and other platforms, too) are *read-only*. That is they are not forms and fields that user can change. Instead they offer neatly presented content with some way of interacting with it (as opposed to changing it directly). When using Android layout files we're forced to use references (auto generated in `R` class by aapt) that allow setting view's properties. This isn't something necessarily bad especially if you need to heavily interact with a `View`. Having said that, how often you used `findViewById` (or `@InjectView`) just to set the content of `TextView` or had to refactor activity fields type because of a change in a layout definition?

## Android Data Binding can help you.

The following code illustrates how registration form might look like **with data binding**:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/44ac5af33a60ad60cab7.js?file=RegisterActivity.java"></script>

The new `RegisterActivity` is similar to previous example. We inflate the layout differently to initialize data binding and get an instance of `ActivityRegisterBinding` class. The class, with the name derived from layout name, is generated by data binding and its main purpose is to provide a glue between a view and an observable view model. When using `registerApi.register` we only reference `form` variable thus avoid unnecessarily referencing the activity. The `RegisterForm` class is a *view model* for our layout and has all the data that `activity_register` layout requires.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/44ac5af33a60ad60cab7.js?file=RegisterForm.java"></script>

The view model has 3 observable attributes marked with `@Bindable` annotation. We don't strictly need a backing field as the `getFirstNameLabelVisibility` shows. What we do need is to fire change notification events, which is done via `notifyPropertyChanged` and `notifyChange` methods available on `BaseObservable`. The former method accepts a field id that is assigned by data binding processor in generated class `BR` (similarily to `R` class). Deriving from `BaseObservable` is not a must - to make a model bindable it has to implement `android.databinding.Observable`.
Last but not least a layout file:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/44ac5af33a60ad60cab7.js?file=activity_register.xml"></script>

The data binding library, while still in beta, provides a nice toolset to remove the boilerplate code and improve Android code (unit) testability by extracting the logic from activity (or fragment). When used properly it can also save you from leaking resources. In the [next post](/blog/android-data-binding-part-2-observer-pattern-to-the-bone/) I'll explain in more detail how it happens.

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](http://miensol.pl/android/2015/07/20/android-data-binding-part-1-why-it-is-important.html)*

## Handling different user types in Android application

*Published: 2015-07-12 | Author: piotr | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/handling-different-user-types-in-android-application/index.md*

In the [previous post](/blog/maintaining-current-user-information-in-android/) you can read how to use `Session` object to maintain current user information through the application lifecycle. Now we'll explore different options of implementing varying behavior depending on user type.

## When an app has only one user type

I find it neat when an application allows me to use it before I'm forced to create an account or sign in. In such a case there will be a, potentially very long, time where we have no way of identifying the user. At the same time we'll want to provide as much features of an identified user as possible. There will however be cases where application behavior will be different depending on whether the user is logged in or not.

### A simple `if` will not do any harm, or will it?

Let's assume that our application allows changing preferences for both anonymous and authenticated users. When saving or reading user dependent application settings we can write a simple `if` statement to decide which preferences to use.

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/4268ec47392ed4ea232e.js?file=CurrentUserProvider.java"></script>

Notice how in line `23` we do a check to decide the name of `SharedPreferences` to use. There's nothing wrong with doing such a check in 1 or 2 places however this type of logic will typically spread over dozens and more places in the various parts of the code base.

### The Null Object pattern to the rescue

Instead of relying on null checks we can use a simple pattern described in detail by [Martin Fowler](http://refactoring.com/catalog/introduceNullObject.html). Here's how it would look like in our case:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/4268ec47392ed4ea232e.js?file=CurrentUserProvider2.java"></script>

Now all places where we require an easily substitutable information about the user can be handled with plain old polymorphism.

The above approach will work whenever we need a default value for the anonymous user - no so much when we need different behavior. It's tempting to embed various actions into `UserReference` interface implementations (`AnonymousUserReference` and `RegularUserReference`) however this will make the mentioned interface depend on UI concepts which I would like to avoid.

## When an app has more than one user type

Before I show how to avoid putting too much weight onto `UserReference` interface, let's make our situation a bit more complicated. Let's assume that our app can be used by three types of users: anonymous, regular and premium.
A very common approach is to use an enum to handle that i.e.:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/2c4ffa7ed6fc24b4003c.js"></script>

In fact because `case` supports `default` the above implementation works well as long as we have a small number of user types and there's little shared behavior.

A slightly different approach is to hide the decision making and expose method(s) that accept different behaviors.
The following code is an example of how we can approach encapsulating differences between user types in by explicitly declaring a behavior:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/363cc59fc5c3b8373a47.js"></script>

Note that the above uses [double dispatch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_dispatch) but it could easily be replaced with a `switch` statement. Using separate class to encapsulate differences should make it easier to keep unnecessary logic out of `Activity`.

A curious reader might notice that if we would like to change how we handle only one user type we're still forced to override all methods. There's a fairly simple way to improve the above though:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/7872540e0e2d166bc975.js"></script>

Now we can implement custom actions as well as indicate a default. As usual whether to go with a simple `if` statement, a `switch` or a double dispatch depends on a use case. However it's useful to know the different ways of tackling the same problem.

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](http://miensol.pl/android/2015/07/12/handling-different-user-types-in-android-application.html)*

## Maintaining current user information in Android

*Published: 2015-06-30 | Author: piotr | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/maintaining-current-user-information-in-android/index.md*

Every but trivial android application needs to maintain information about current user - regardless if he has authenticated or not. While this may sound easy there are still at least handful of ways one can do it - in this article I'm going to explore couple of them.

## Keeping state in custom `Application` class

This technique boils down to having custom application class like so:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/e7fcce936e0acb3499ec.js?file=MyApplication.java"></script>

While the above is both easy to write and understand there are several problems with it. First and foremost if you would like to get some user property you'll need to reference `MyApplication` i.e.:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/e7fcce936e0acb3499ec.js?file=ActionBar.java"></script>

Since data about current user will be used in several places spread through the code each of those places will now be coupled to `MyApplication`. This on the other hand will jeopardize any attempt to break the code base into modules. Furthermore this approach may encourage sharing other global application state through static variables defined on custom `Application` class. In short **don't do this**.

## Keeping global state in `User` class

A slightly better idea is to move static variables from `Application` class into `User` class itself:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/e7fcce936e0acb3499ec.js?file=User.java"></script>

Now our `Application` class has one less responsibility and we don't need smelly references spread around the codebase. We may also be able to split the project into modules - as long as we're not too inclined to separating concerns. Problems arise as soon as you start unit testing though. Remember that good unit test should be as isolated as possible. Using global state through static methods on `User` class forces us to properly `setUp()` and `tearDown()` its state in every test. It would be much easier if we could properly inject information about current user through tested component(s) constructor(s).

I mentioned [separation of concerns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_concerns) - does a user class have any reason to know whether a user has signed in? I don't think so.

## Separating concerns with User Session

I find it helpful to think about objects lifetimes when designing components. In every application that allows users to sign in there will be a time where we don't have a *user object* to work with. To express that property I usually store the information about current user in a *Session* object. There is only one *user* session whenever an application is running. After user signs in the session is updated to represent it. After signing out it's usually a good idea to reset session state. Consider following example:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/miensol/e7fcce936e0acb3499ec.js?file=Session.java"></script>

Couple of things to note here. First and foremost the `Session` class **is not public** it's local to package responsible for maintaining it's state. Typically it's a package dealing with user registration, sign in and keeping remote services auth tokens fresh. Secondly `Session` public interface only covers methods defined in `CurrentUserInfo` exposing methods that come handy when getting current user name. The `Session` object is not limited to one interface. Quite opposite it may implement more interfaces depending on different *clients* (components requesting various details about current user) needs.

Since `Session` embraces [Interface Segregation Principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interface_segregation_principle) it's much easier to test code that requests information about current user i.e `AppBeahvior`. A reusable [fake](http://www.martinfowler.com/bliki/TestDouble.html) can be coded with no effort - it only has to implement very limited set of methods.

Notice that I've not used static methods nor variables in above example. Instead I've simply marked the class with `@Singleton` annotation to ensure that there will only be single instance ever created, injected and used. I highly encourage using Dependency Injection frameworks (a.k.a IoC containers) with [Dagger](http://square.github.io/dagger/) (and [Dagger 2](http://google.github.io/dagger/)) taking the lead in Android space.

In the next article I'm going to show a way to deal with application behavior changing depending on user being logged in or not.

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](http://miensol.pl/android/2015/06/30/maintaining-current-user-information-in-android.html)*

## [CocoaHeads Tricity] Automate your iOS deployment a bit

*Published: 2015-05-31 | Author: michal | Tags: iOS, CocoaHeads, GYP, generate-ios, automation, TeamCity*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cocoaheads-automate-your-ios-deployment/index.md*

Here come the slides from a talk I gave at the last [Cocoaheads Tricity](https://www.facebook.com/CocoaHeadsTricity) meeting. It's titled "Automate your iOS deployment a bit"
and shows how we approach build and deployment automation at Bright Inventions. In just a few days we're going to publish our "generate-ios" Yeoman generator on [Github](http://www.github.com/bright).

<iframe src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/sunBtQodqpzSbi" width="637" height="532" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style={{border: "1px solid #CCC", borderWidth: "1px", marginBottom: "5px", maxWidth: "100%"}} allowfullscreen> </iframe>

We welcome you to join us at next [Cocoaheads Tricity](https://www.facebook.com/CocoaHeadsTricity) meetings where we talk and learn about Cocoa, Swift, Objective-C, UX/UI design and everything else related to creating apps on this platform.

## iOS layouts for web developers

*Published: 2015-05-27 | Author: adam | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers/index.md*

Almost all of my past development experience is centered around the web. Just recently I had an opportunity to dive into an iOS development and while I enjoy it, I miss a lot of things from the web development world. I've quickly discovered that applying the techniques and approaches directly from the web is often not possible. Sometimes I had to switch to the different mindset than the one I'm used to. To make things easier, I was looking for an iOS begginer guide targeted specifically to the web developers like me, but I haven't found any. This is how the idea for this series of blog posts was born.

I’ve tried to go through multiple layout-specific aspects of iOS programming and compare it to the concepts I know from the web. My intention never was to replace Apple's documentation nor write an extensive guide to iOS - there are better resources for that. I also expected that the reader is already able to use Objective-C or Swift at the syntax level and has the basic knowledge of how iOS generally works. What I hoped to create is more a translation table between the similar concepts on both platforms. As such, and also due my limited iOS experience, it for sure has some deficiencies and simplifications - I've treated this write-up as a learning opportunity, too.

1. **[Basic building blocks](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-1-basic-building-blocks/)**

    The first part looks at the basic building blocks of the view layer in iOS and compares it to what HTML offers. In HTML, everything we can see in the browser is built upon the low-level HTML elements. In iOS for composing views we're mostly using the UIKit framework and its views and controls. View is a concept on the higher level of abstraction than single HTML element.

    UIKit offers a lot of out-of-box functionality available as controls. All specialized controls are implemented as UIView subclasses. In most cases, controls can’t be treated as an equivalent of HTML elements. Controls conveys both visual and functional aspects - it encapsulates it together in a way more similar to Web Components or widgets than a single HTML tag. However, some HTML elements can be compared quite directly and the post tries to find these analogies.

2. **[Control positioning](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-2-control-positioning/)**

    The matter of how and where the controls are drawn on the screen in iOS is complex enough so that it got the separate post only about it, especially that it completely differs from what I knew from the web. The thing that struck me most when I was starting with iOS is that there is no such concept like web's document flow, giving the controls some default sizes and positions. Controls just don’t show up by default, unless we tell them explicitly where should they go and what size they should take.

    But that kind of positioning is quite directly equivalent to the absolute positioning in the web, with all its deficiencies. We lack flexibility, we have no way to adjust to different screen sizes and we always need to operate in fixed-sized coordinate plane. In the web, we strive not to use absolute positioning and we should try to avoid it in iOS, too. The post shows a few techniques to do so.

3. **[Managing the appearance](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-3-managing-appearance/)**

    It was around early 2000s when CSS became ubiquitous in the web world. CSS is now an inseparable part of the web development, there’s virtually no way to do anything without it. Now, it’s 2015 and we’re looking at the iOS layouts. How do we maintain the content vs. presentation separation in iOS? The short answer is - we don’t. There is no direct replacement for CSS concept in iOS.

    I was seriously shocked when I first learned that fact. But the fact is, a lot of iOS community doesn’t care. Most iOS developers go “the Apple way” here and use graphical Interface Builder to design the layout with drag&drop. There are multitude of alternatives - some of them gives us a lot of power, but with the great power comes the great responsibility. Or, sometimes just the great clutter.

4. **[CSS properties replacements](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-4-css-properties-replacements/)**

     Next in the series, I’m going through various visual aspects of the iOS controls and seeing how we can set it up, compared to CSS capabilities. The differences are quite significant, given the various positioning models and different approach to textual content.

5. **[Events handling](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-5-events-handling/)**

    Finally, I’m looking at the hard topic of events handling. This time I have to admit it is harder when looking from the web perspective. The mobile web promise can’t be fulfilled until the state of the events handling catches up with what iOS offers. Contrary to low-level handling available for the web, events in iOS are approached at multiple levels of abstraction, giving the developer the way to either easily use the system default gestures or alternatively dive down to more complex but more powerful API.

    Both in the web and in iOS we employ event-based models to define and control the interactions between our application and the external world, especially the user. The general idea of listening and reacting to particular events on specific parts of the UI or the whole application is the same on both environments. But the set of events is distinct and the main difference we need to always be aware is there are different ways to interact with the classical web than with the mobile device.


That’s all I have now. As I wrote the series, I found the topic incredibly broad and I don’t even try to address and describe all the possible analogies between both platforms. Also, be aware that these posts are full of possibly broken simplifications and shortcuts - but I think to avoid that I’d need to write something 5 times longer and probably far less readable. Anyway, if you find this material useful and you see the field for improvement, please leave a comment or maybe even [a pull request](https://github.com/bright/bright.github.io/tree/master/_posts). Enjoy!

## iOS layouts for web developers #5 - events handling

*Published: 2015-05-21 | Author: adam | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-5-events-handling/index.md*

Time to finish the [**iOS layouts for web developers** series](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers/) with the post about events. Earlier in the series you might read about [the controls](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-1-basic-building-blocks/), [control positioning](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-2-control-positioning/), [managing the appearance](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-3-managing-appearance/) and [CSS properties replacements](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-4-css-properties-replacements/).

Touchy state of the mobile touch events
----

Both in the web and in iOS we employ event-based models to define and control the interactions between our application and the external world, especially the user. The general idea of listening and reacting to particular events on specific parts of the UI or the whole application is the same on both environments. But the set of events is distinct and the main difference we need to always be aware is there are different ways to interact with the classical web than with the mobile device.

The web's basic [DOM events model](http://www.w3.org/TR/DOM-Level-2-Events/events.html#Events-eventgroupings) was designed when touch interfaces were still very far from mainstream devices. It assumes the application is controlled by the mouse and the keyboard, thus the events carry the information like where the mouse pointer is or which key was pressed. And now, when we use the web on the mobile device, we’re still constrained to what type of interaction the browser supports and in a lot of cases we still need to talk in terms of clicks and mouse moves instead of gestures.

The story about [proper touch events in the web](http://www.html5rocks.com/en/mobile/touch/) is [long and convoluted](http://www.w3.org/Mobile/mobile-web-app-state/#User_interactions). First, Safari introduced own [non-standard touch events support](https://developer.apple.com/library/safari/documentation/AppleApplications/Reference/SafariWebContent/HandlingEvents/HandlingEvents.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40006511-SW22) back in iOS 2.0. The de-facto standard was adopted by few other mobile browsers and later codified as the [W3C standard](http://www.w3.org/TR/touch-events/), but its adoption is [still quite poor](http://caniuse.com/#feat=touch). Meanwhile the new, more generic alternative concept of [Pointer Events](http://www.w3.org/TR/pointerevents/) was coined, specified and [introduced in Internet Explorer](http://caniuse.com/#feat=pointer). This led to the support fragmentation and uncertainty for developers what to rely on and what to expect in the future.

On the other hand we have native mobile platforms like iOS that know much better how the contemporary device is controlled. Instead of mouse and keyboard events, the mobile platform is concerned about [multitouch gestures like panning or pinching or accelerometer-based motion recognition](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/EventHandling/Conceptual/EventHandlingiPhoneOS/Introduction/Introduction.html) and exposes it via the high-level gesture API instead of low-level information about each and every touch or finger movement.

Of course, on a conceptual level, there are some analogies and some of the most common native gestures can be translated quite directly into web world - the example is a scroll gesture, done by tapping the screen and dragging the app’s content - mobile browsers happen to emit `scroll` events then.

Simplified gestures handling
----

Events in iOS are approached at multiple levels of abstraction, giving the developer the way to either easily use the system default gestures or alternatively dive down to more complex but more powerful API.

The simpler layer available are [gesture recognizers](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/EventHandling/Conceptual/EventHandlingiPhoneOS/GestureRecognizer_basics/GestureRecognizer_basics.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40009541-CH2-SW2). Views can have multiple gesture recognizers attached, each configured to detect a particular, possibly complex gesture like pinching ([`UIPinchGestureRecognizer`](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIPinchGestureRecognizer_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/cl/UIPinchGestureRecognizer)) or finger rotation ([`UIRotationGestureRecognizer`](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIRotateGestureRecognizer_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/cl/UIRotationGestureRecognizer)). When the gesture is detected, the recognizer calls its target - the callback we defined when setting the recognizer up:

```objc
- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

    UITapGestureRecognizer *doubleTapRecognizer = [[UITapGestureRecognizer alloc]
        initWithTarget:self action:@selector(respondToDoubleTapGesture:)];
    doubleTapRecognizer.numberOfTapsRequired = 2;
    [self.view addGestureRecognizer:doubleTapRecognizer];
}

- (void)respondToDoubleTapGesture:(id)sender {
    // react on double tap event here
}
```

There’s no direct analogy available for complex gestures in the web world. Mobile browser apps often have their own handling for such a gestures, not even passing the raw gesture to the web app currently opened. For example, when pinching the website on the mobile device, it is zoomed in or out [without the web app being notified](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/995914/catch-browsers-zoom-event-in-javascript) about that event directly. The solution to handle complex gestures in mobile web is to defer to 3rd-party libraries that employ the low-level handling mechanisms to emulate the gesture events. Examples are [Hammer.js](http://hammerjs.github.io/) or [Touchy](https://github.com/hotstudio/touchy).

> 3rd-party libraries to handle complex events \<—\> built-in gesture recognizers

Simple events simplified even more
----

For simpler events that do not require complex “recognizing” of movements pattern and consist just a single interaction, like tap, there is simplified mechanism available in iOS via `UIControl`'s [`addTarget:action:forControlEvents:`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIControl_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIControl/addTarget:action:forControlEvents:) method, where we specify callbacks for particular events directly in the control:

```objc
- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

    UIButton *button = // create or find a button
    [button addTarget:self
               action:@selector(respondToTapGesture:)
     forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
}

- (void)respondToTapGesture:(id)sender {
    // react on tap event here
}
```

The web analogy here is pretty clear - it’s like adding an event listener to the DOM element, either directly using [`element.addEventListener` API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/EventTarget/addEventListener) or through convenient libraries like [jQuery and its `on` function](http://api.jquery.com/on/) etc.

> `addEventListener` and its wrappers \<—\> `addTarget:action:forControlEvents:`

What else we need to know here is the “translation table” from the DOM event to its [corresponding `UIControlEvent` type](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIControl_Class/.html#//apple_ref/doc/constant_group/Control_Events). Of course the analogies are coarse-grained as always, but here we go:

> `mousedown` event \<—\> `UIControlEventTouchDown`

> `mouseup` event, conventionally also `click` event \<—\> `UIControlEventTouchUpInside`

> `change` event on form controls \<—\> `UIControlEventValueChanged`

> [drag events](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/HTML/Drag_and_drop) \<—\> `UIControlEventTouchDragInside`, `UIControlEventTouchDragOutside`, `UIControlEventTouchDragEnter`, `UIControlEventTouchDragExit`

Low-level events handling
----

There is also lower level touch event handling available within [`UIResponder` base class](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40006783-CH4-SW13), which fortunately is a base class for `UIView` allowing these methods to be used everywhere. There are plenty of methods available to be overriden when our view implementation is interested in being notified about events like beginning of the touch ([`touchesBegan:withEvent:`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIResponder/touchesBegan:withEvent:)), touch move ([`touchesMoved:withEvent:`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIResponder/touchesMoved:withEvent:)) or touch end ([`touchesEnded:withEvent:`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIResponder/touchesEnded:withEvent:)). These events consists of locations for all touch points, allowing multitouch support. But in order to detect any pattern, we need to analyse the data on our own. This resembles what we have [available in some web browsers](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Touch_events).

> listening on `touchstart` event \<—\> overriding `touchesBegan:withEvent:` method

> listening on `touchmove` event \<—\> overriding `touchesMoved:withEvent:` method

> listening on `touchend` event \<—\> overriding `touchesEnded:withEvent:` method

> listening on `touchcancel` event \<—\> overriding `touchesCancelled:withEvent:` method

Raw [motion events](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40006783-CH4-SW19) handling is also available within `UIResponder` in the same fashion as touch events, using [`motionBegan:withEvent:`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIResponder/motionBegan:withEvent:) method and its siblings. In the web we might use [device motion and orientation events](http://mobiforge.com/design-development/html5-mobile-web-device-orientation-events) instead.

> listening on `devicemotion` event \<—\> overriding `motionBegan:withEvent:` and `motionEnded:withEvent:` methods

Other events
----

For the sake of completeness, I’d mention few more event types that are somehow supported by both the web standard and iOS.

> listening on `window.onload`, jQuery `$(document).ready` or similar events \<—\> overriding [`UIViewController.viewDidLoad`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIViewController_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIViewController/viewDidLoad) method

> listening on `window.resize` event \<—\> overriding [`traitCollectionDidChange:`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITraitEnvironment_Ref/.html#//apple_ref/occ/intfm/UITraitEnvironment/traitCollectionDidChange:) method on the view or view controller

> listening on [`deviceorientation`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Detecting_device_orientation) event \<—\> adding observer to `NSNotificationCenter` that observes for [`UIDeviceOrientationDidChangeNotification`](http://thinkdiff.net/iphones/orientation-detection-at-runtime-in-ipad-or-iphone/); alternatively overriding [`traitCollectionDidChange:`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITraitEnvironment_Ref/.html#//apple_ref/occ/intfm/UITraitEnvironment/traitCollectionDidChange:) method on the view or view controller

> set of proposed solutions for [sensors and hardware integration](http://www.w3.org/Mobile/mobile-web-app-state/#Sensors_and_hardware_integration), not yet implemented \<—\> [remote control events on `UIResponder`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIResponder/remoteControlReceivedWithEvent:)

Who handles the event?
language: en
----

Not only the types of events should be of our interest, but also which element/control is responsible for handling the event. We have some differences in that matter between the web and iOS.

In the web, all the interaction events are first dispatched directly to the element that user interacted with, for example the `mousedown` event is first delivered to the innermost DOM element user clicked with her mouse. By default, all the listeners registered for that element are fired and the event is passed up the DOM hierarchy (this is called event bubbling). Every listener has the opportunity to stop the bubbling (`stopPropagation`) and/or cancel other listeners, but by default events traverse up to the top of the view hierarchy (to the `document` element), regardless if the event was somehow handled or not.

In iOS, the way the event travels up the view hierarchy is similar - it is first delivered to the control down the tree and then passed up, but only until some control actually handles it - the traversal stops then.

> calling DOM event `stopPropagation` on event handling \<—\> on iOS, propagation is stopped automatically when the event is handled

Also, it is not fully accurate to say the events go up the view hierarchy. It actually go according to the [responder chain](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/EventHandling/Conceptual/EventHandlingiPhoneOS/event_delivery_responder_chain/event_delivery_responder_chain.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40009541-CH4-SW2), which might or might not be equal to the view hierarchy order of controls. For touch events, unless we modify the [`nextResponder` property](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIResponder/nextResponder), it is the same. But we might want to manage which control is the next responder on our own, for example to implement nice [keyboard traversal through the text inputs](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1347779/how-to-navigate-through-textfields-next-done-buttons).

> DOM events bubble up the DOM hierarchy \<—\> iOS events traverse according to the responder chain

But there are few more quirks. First one is the way the iOS determines which control was touched - it starts from the uppermost window view and [performs a hit-testing](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/EventHandling/Conceptual/EventHandlingiPhoneOS/event_delivery_responder_chain/event_delivery_responder_chain.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40009541-CH4-SW4) on its subviews recursively. That takes into consideration only the views that are [actually visible within the view’s bounds](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/qa/qa2013/qa1812.html) - so the views that are drawn outside its superview using `clipToBounds = NO` can’t handle the touch events properly. The workaround is to override [the hit-testing method](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIView/hitTest:withEvent:), but this gets hairy pretty quickly.

> DOM events are delivered to the innermost element according to view hierarchy only \<—\> iOS touch events are delivered to the innermost control according both to view hierarchy and position within bounds

One more important trick that is often used to modify the default touch target control on iOS is to disable the [`userInteractionEnabled` flag](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIView/userInteractionEnabled) for the control to prevent it being considered for hit-testing. In that case, the control that gets the event might not actually be the innermost one, but the last of its ancestors that doesn’t have interaction disabled. To achieve something a bit similar in the web, we can set CSS `pointer-events: none` on the element we want to “disable", although this is rather rough analogy.

> `pointer-events: none` in CSS \<—\> `UIView`’s `userInteractionEnabled` flag


That’s all, folks. I hope anyone finds this series worth reading. I’d be grateful for any corrections, additions or just comments.

## Using the file resources in Android POJO unit test

*Published: 2015-04-12 | Author: mateuszklimek | Tags: android, unit-testing*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/using-file-resources-in-android-unit-test/index.md*

Since version 1.1 of Android Gradle Plugin we can run unit test on a local JVM on our development machine. It's still [experimental](http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/unit-testing-support) feature but I've found it's fully usable.<br/>
Finally Android developers have lighweight build-in tool for unit testing :)<br />
The times when we need [third party](http://robolectric.org/configuring/) libraries to test unit classes *quickly* seems to be gone :)\
<br/>
I had to implement a parser which operates on JSON data returned from REST API. <br/>
The first thing I thought was to get some sort of responses from the server and put them in local files.
This approach was the simplest way to make my parser work with proper data without any mocking stuff.
After a while I prepared simple test which was ready to read json from the file:

```java
 @Test
public void parserShouldHasInvalidStateIfResponseHasMissingField() throws Exception {
	Parser parser = new Parser();
	File file = Utils.getFileFromPath("res/response_with_missing_field.json");
	String json = Utils.readFileAsString(file);
	parser.parse(json);
	assertThat(parser.getState(), equalTo(State.INVALID));
}
```

Where method `getFileFromPath` is:

```java
public static File getFileFromPath(Object obj, String fileName) {
	ClassLoader classLoader = obj.getClass().getClassLoader();
	URL resource = classLoader.getResource(fileName);
	return new File(resource.getPath());
}
```

Unfortunately if you put *response_with_missing_field.json* directly in the sources directory or any other, `getResources()` returns `null`. <br/>
After quick research I realized the reason was the apk doesn't contain any resource file at all. 
So it's going to be problem with build tool which ignores the resource. 

Let's play with *gradle* a bit to make it work.

1. Ensure you're using at least [Android Gradle Plugin version 1.1](http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/unit-testing-support). Follow the link to set up Android Studio correctly. 
2. Create test directory. Put unit test classes in java directory and put your resources file in res directory. Android Studio should mark them like follow: 

   ![test-directory-structure](../../static/images/test-directory-structure.png "")
3. Create `gradle` task to copy resources into classes directory to make them visible for classloader `getResources()` method:

```groovy
android{
  ...
}

task copyResDirectoryToClasses(type: Copy){
    from "${projectDir}/src/test/res"
    into "${buildDir}/intermediates/classes/test/debug/res"
}

assembleDebug.dependsOn(copyResDirectoryToClasses)
```

 Run unit test from Android Studio by <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>F10</kbd> on whole class or specific test method.<br/>
 Now you should be able to get the `File` reference to the resource.

See this post on my [personal blog](http://mklimek.github.io/using-file-resources-in-android-unit-test/).

## iOS layouts for web developers #4 - CSS properties replacements

*Published: 2015-04-10 | Author: adam | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-4-css-properties-replacements/index.md*

This is the fourth post in the [**iOS layouts for web developers** series](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers/). The previous ones were about [the controls](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-1-basic-building-blocks/), [control positioning](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-2-control-positioning/) and [managing the appearance](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-3-managing-appearance/). This time something more lightweight, I hope. We’ll go through various visual aspects of the controls and see how we can set it up, compared to CSS. Let’s start with the basics - margin and padding.

Box model & controlling controls spacing
----

There was [a lot of confusion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer_box_model_bug) in the past in the web world around the box model, i.e. whether the size of an element should be calculated including or excluding its padding and border sizes. Finally, by default, the HTML element size excludes padding and borders (unless we decide to change that using `box-sizing` CSS property). How does it work in iOS?

Paddings and margins are not useful at all within frame-based positioning - you place the content where you place it, full stop. In the constraints-based layouts (auto layout), though, paddings and margins make a lot of sense. In most cases in iOS these concepts are known as [inset and outset](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIKitDataTypesReference/.html#//apple_ref/c/tdef/UIEdgeInsets) and are actually a single value - we get the margin (outset) effect when we use negative value, padding (inset) for positive.

> CSS padding \<—\> inset, -outset

> CSS margin \<—\> outset, -inset

In the context of auto layout, most of the controls has some natural margins (insets) set that are used automatically whenever we’re constraining to the control’s leading space (contrary to the edge). From iOS 8, new `UIView` property was introduced to control the inset/outset value - [`layoutMargins`](http://coding.tabasoft.it/ios/ios8-layout-margins/). It allows to control the inset (or outset, if value is negative) for each side of the control separately.

> CSS padding, margin \<—\> `UIView`’s `layoutMargins` property

Next thing in the box model is the border. There is no such property directly available on `UIView` (except for `UITextField`’s [`borderStyle`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITextField_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UITextField/borderStyle) property). In order to draw a border around the view, we need to rely on the lower level `CALayer` and use its [`borderWidth`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Reference/CALayer_class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/CALayer/borderWidth) and [`borderColor`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Reference/CALayer_class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/CALayer/borderColor) properties.

> CSS `border-color` \<—\> `layer.borderColor`

> CSS `border-width` \<—\> `layer.borderWidth`

So, how about the box model? In iOS, the size comes from the frame property, either assigned or calculated with constraints, regardless of the inset (`layoutMargins`) values or border size. Both margins and borders are drawn within a frame, so the box model on iOS actually is the same like on IE6, not like in the web nowadays.

> `box-sizing: border-box` \<—\> the default box model in iOS

> the web’s default `box-sizing: content-box` \<—\> N/A in iOS

There is one more thing specific to iOS layouts and controls sizing that should be mentioned here. Apart from the frame, the view has the sibling [`bounds`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIView/bounds) property. While frame is about the control’s size and location within the superview’s coordinate system, [bounds are the values within the control’s own system](http://stackoverflow.com/a/11282765/142827). It means that in most cases the control’s origin is (0,0), but it changes with rotation, scaling or translations. It makes sense to use the `frame` property from the context of superview when dealing with its children (when our code runs from the top - like from the view controller - looking down in the view hierarchy). On the other hand, it makes sense to use `bounds` when dealing with the control’s own view (for example when we’re writing the custom control), as bounds are decoupled from the specifics about where and how the view is rendered at the given point of time.

Other positioning aspects
----

**Overflow** is used in the web to control what happens when the content in the element is larger than the element’s expected dimensions. When no dimensions is set, the elements grow with the content, so no overflow applied. Otherwise, [one of the tree options](https://css-tricks.com/the-css-overflow-property/) applies - either the excess content is visible outside the element’s dimensions (`overflow: visible`, the default), cut off and invisible (`overflow: hidden`) or the scrollbars are added to the side of a control to enable scrolling independent from the main window (`overflow: scroll` and `overflow: auto`). The two first options are represented directly in iOS with [`clipsToBounds` property of `UIView`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIView/clipsToBounds) - when set to `YES`, the content is clipped (cut off), the default is `NO`, like in the web. There is no direct replacement for automatic scrolls - in case we need that, we need to take care of it manually, creating an additional [`UIScrollView`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIScrollView_Class/).

> `overflow: visible` \<—\> `clipsToBounds = NO`

> `overflow: hidden` \<—\> `clipsToBounds = YES`

> `overflow: scroll` and `overflow: auto` \<—\> `UIScrollView`

**Z-Index**. The position of a control on the Z-axis is quite important when we use the absolute positioning (or frame-based positioning in iOS), as controls may arbitrarily cover and be covered by other controls and relying on the order of setting up the control is too brittle to be trusted. That’s why we use `z-index` value in CSS. In iOS, we have the same thing hidden in the `CALayer` as [`zPosition`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Reference/CALayer_class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/CALayer/zPosition). To avoid the need to go to that level and deal with the fact that view hierarchy is actually [not the same as layers hierarchy](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5466116/layer-zposition-does-not-work-with-non-sibling-uiviews), we should be using `[superview bringSubviewToFront:subview]` and `[superview:sendSubviewToBack:subview]` to achieve the same in imperative, but more powerful manner.

> `z-index` CSS property \<—\> `layer.zPosition`, exposed through `bringSubviewToFront` and `sendSubviewToBack`

Most of the **display** CSS property, as known in the web, doesn’t have a lot of sense in iOS layouts, as there is no distinction between inline and block elements and there’s no document flow, as we’ve already learned. The only `display` value that makes any sense for iOS is `none` that allows to hide the element without actually removing it from the view. The `UIView`’s property for this purpose is conveniently called [`hidden`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIView/hidden).

> `display: none` \<—\> `hidden`

Backgrounds
----

In iOS, there is concise [`backgroundColor`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIView/backgroundColor) property that encapsulates most of background styling, much like `background` in CSS. At a first glance, it seems to be simple and intended for setting plain-colored backgrounds. But it’s actually much more powerful than that. `UIColor` class can be initialized using [`colorWithPatternImage` method](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIColor_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/clm/UIColor/colorWithPatternImage:) that takes an `UIImage` instance and the “color” it creates is actually an image that can fill our view’s background with repetition - however strange it might sound. In case we need more control over stretching, repetition etc., we need to defer to “manual” way. We need to add `UIImageView` as a subview to our view and ensure it is displayed at the bottom on Z-axis.

> `background-color` CSS property \<—\> `backgroundColor` with plain color

> `background-image` CSS property with `background-repeat: repeat` \<—\> `backgroundColor` with `UIColor` created through `colorWithPatternImage`

> `background-image` CSS property with stretching or custom positioning \<—\> `UIImageView` subview

Moreover, for a reason unknown to me, `UITextField` has [`background` property](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITextField_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UITextField/background) specialized for setting and stretching the background image for a text field, so there’s no need to fall back to adding a subview in this case.

> `background-image` CSS property with stretching on &lt;input&gt; \<—\> `background` on `UITextField`

Text properties
----

As we discussed in [the first post](/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-1-basic-building-blocks/) the textual content in iOS may appear only within specialized controls like [`UILabel`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/) or controls supporting [`NSAttributedString`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSAttributedString_Class/) textual values.

`NSAttributesString` has [plenty of options](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/NSAttributedString_UIKit_Additions/.html#//apple_ref/doc/constant_group/Character_Attributes) for customizing text appearance, ranging from colors, through underlines and strikethroughs, to effects such as strokes and shadows. Some of the properties are encapsulated within [`NSParagraphStyle`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/ApplicationKit/Classes/NSParagraphStyle_Class/.html) available under `NSParagraphStyleAttributeName` key in the attributed string.

> `font` CSS properties combined \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSFontAttributeName`

> `text-align` CSS property \<—\> `alignment` property of `NSParagraphStyleAttributeName` value in `NSAttributedString`

> `text-indent` CSS property \<—\> `firstLineHeadIntent` property of `NSParagraphStyleAttributeName` value in `NSAttributedString`

> `padding-left` CSS property \<—\> `headIndent` property of `NSParagraphStyleAttributeName` value in `NSAttributedString`

> `padding-right` CSS property \<—\> `tailIndent` property of `NSParagraphStyleAttributeName` value in `NSAttributedString`

> `line-height` CSS property \<—\> `lineSpacing` property of `NSParagraphStyleAttributeName` value in `NSAttributedString`

> `word-wrap` CSS property \<—\> `lineBreakMode` property of `NSParagraphStyleAttributeName` value in `NSAttributedString`

> `color` CSS property \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSForegroundColorAttributeName`

> `background-color` CSS property \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSBackgroundColorAttributeName`

> `text-decoration: line-through` CSS value \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSStrikethroughStyleAttributeName` set to `NSUnderlineStyleSingle`

> `text-decoration: underline` CSS value \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSUnderlineStyleAttributeName` set to `NSUnderlineStyleSingle`

> `text-stroke` CSS property ([not widely supported yet](http://caniuse.com/#feat=text-stroke)) \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSStrokeColorAttributeName` and `NSStrokeWidthAttributeName`

> `text-shadow` CSS property \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSShadowAttributeName`

`UILabel`, the control dedicated for text display, supports [`attributedText`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UILabel/attributedText), so can handle all of the features for `NSAttributedString`, but additionally exposes some properties that affect the whole label content, like [`textAlignment`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UILabel/textAlignment).

> `font` CSS properties combined \<—\> `UILabel`’s [`font`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UILabel/font)

> `color` CSS property \<—\> `UILabel`’s [`textColor`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UILabel/textColor)

> `text-align` CSS property \<—\> `UILabel`’s [`textAlignment`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UILabel/textAlignment)

> `word-wrap` CSS property \<—\> `UILabel`’s [`lineBreakMode`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UILabel/lineBreakMode)

Fancy effects
language: en
----

Some of the “fancy” text effects like text shadows or strokes are available through `NSAttributedString` we’ve just gone through. There are few more available, though. I think “fancy effects" is not a perfect heading, anyway, but I needed a place to describe few more properties that are available in iOS and are well-known in CSS but I couldn’t fit it anywhere else. So here we go:

> `opacity` CSS property \<—\> [`alpha`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIView/alpha)

> `animation` CSS properties family \<—\> whole bunch of `UIView`’s [specialized methods](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/WindowsViews/Conceptual/ViewPG_iPhoneOS/AnimatingViews/AnimatingViews.html)

> `border-radius` CSS property for &lt;input&gt; \<—\> `UITextField`’s [`borderStyle`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITextField_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UITextField/borderStyle) set to `UITextBorderStyleRoundedRect`

> `border-radius` CSS property in general \<—\> [`layer.cornerRadius`](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Reference/CALayer_class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instp/CALayer/cornerRadius)


That’s all I found useful and worth mentioning here, but of course the full list of styling-related features of UIKit, and especially when going down to CALayers is vast, likewise the full list of features in CSS, so I don’t think it’s even feasible to cover everything here.


Next time I’ll conclude the series with [the post about events handling](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-5-events-handling/).

## iOS layouts for web developers #3 - managing the appearance

*Published: 2015-04-03 | Author: adam | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-3-managing-appearance/index.md*

This is the third part of the [**iOS layouts for web developers** series](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers/). The [first part was about the controls](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-1-basic-building-blocks/), the [second about its positioning](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-2-control-positioning/). Now I’m going to tackle how to approach managing the controls appearance - something that we have CSS for in the web.

## CSS equivalent?

CSS was first standardised back in 1996, it was around early 2000s when it became ubiquitous. We've then left behind the times when the `<center>` tag was used to align content and view specific definitions like fonts or colors were scattered all over through the HTML structure. For almost two decades, we clearly feel it wasn’t the good way of doing things and we now strive to maintain the separation of structure vs. presentation. CSS is now an inseparable part of the [web development](/our-areas/web-development), there’s virtually no way to do anything without it. It’s like a skin for the human body, we don’t rather meet anyone without one and even if we meet, we’d probably be frightened and disgusted by the raw and bloody flesh visible.

Now, it’s 2015 and we’re looking at the iOS layouts. How do we maintain the content vs. presentation separation in iOS? The short answer is - we don’t. There is no direct replacement for CSS concept in iOS. I was seriously shocked when I first learned that fact. But the fact is, a lot of iOS community [doesn’t care](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2767512/good-reasons-why-to-not-use-xib-files?rq=1). Most iOS developers go “the Apple way” here and use [Interface Builder](https://developer.apple.com/xcode/interface-builder/) to design the layout. They define the whole presentation layer by clicking and dragging, not even feeling the need of any code for that purpose.

> content vs. presentation separation and styles reuse using CSS \<—\> N/A

One might say that less code means less bugs, but of course, Interface Builder does nothing different than generating the code underneath. It’s in [XIB format](http://www.monobjc.net/xib-file-format.html), nothing easily “consumable” by anything other than its native generator. Trying to touch it from the outside [will probably hurt](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1660606/is-it-possible-to-directly-edit-the-xml-of-xib-files). Working with the code generator like Interface Builder [can often encourage bad practices](http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/why-i-dont-use-interface-builder) - it creates tight coupling between view and it’s logic behind, it creates merge hell when touched by more than one person, it destroys the ability to reuse style definitions and the relation between what we did in the IDE and what we got in the final app is too implicit.

Also, maybe it’s only my personal delusion, but I think we in the web world feel a lot of disgust for WYSIWYGs in general and often even for using the mouse at all. CSS is not an imperative programming language (fortunately), but it’s still the code. We treat it as such, we edit it as a raw text files, we understand it and we feel comfortable with that fact. Whenever something automated messes with my CSS or HTML, I’m losing the confidence in what’s going on and how it works.

## How to handle style definitions then?

When we decide not to go “the Apple way” and abandon Interface Builder striving for something that allows style definitions reuse and separation, our simplest alternative is to [create everything directly in the code](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/featuredarticles/ViewControllerPGforiPhoneOS/ViewLoadingandUnloading/ViewLoadingandUnloading.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007457-CH10-SW36), instantiating the controls “manually", setting its properties like colors, setting its frame or Auto Layout constraints and finally adding it to the superview, like this:

```objc
- (void)loadView {
    [super loadView];

    UILabel *testView = [UILabel new];
    testView.backgroundColor = [UIColor redColor];
    testView.font = [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:24];
    testView.text = @"test";
    testView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = NO;

    [self.view addSubview:testView];
    [testView sizeToFit];

    [self.view addConstraint:[NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:testView
                                        attribute:NSLayoutAttributeTopMargin
                                        relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                           toItem:self.view
                                        attribute:NSLayoutAttributeTopMargin
                                       multiplier:1
                                         constant:20]];
    [self.view addConstraint:[NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:testView
                                        attribute:NSLayoutAttributeLeading
                                        relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                           toItem:self.view
                                        attribute:NSLayoutAttributeLeading
                                       multiplier:1
                                         constant:20]];
}
```

For complex screens, it quickly grows to hundreds of lines of imperative and repetitive code that is inherently very declarative in its real nature. It hurts me every time I assign properties like `font` and `backgroundColor` etc. It feels just like I’d be putting `<font face=“Arial” color=“red”>` in my HTML markup and it’s already more than 10 years ago when I did so the last time. It’s like that human flesh visible outside.

One simple strategy we can employ is to enclose our repeatable patterns of style and layout definitions, very remotely equivalent to our CSS classes, as a static method somewhere or as [a category on `UIView`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/ProgrammingWithObjectiveC/CustomizingExistingClasses/CustomizingExistingClasses.html):

```objc
@implementation UILabel (Layout)

+ (UILabel *)bigRedLabel {
    UILabel *label = [UILabel new];
    label.backgroundColor = [UIColor redColor];
    label.font = [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:24];
    return label;
}

- (void)placeInTopLeftCornerOf:(UIView *)parentView {
    self.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = NO;
    [self sizeToFit];

    [parentView addConstraint:[NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self
                                        attribute:NSLayoutAttributeTopMargin
                                        relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                           toItem:parentView
                                        attribute:NSLayoutAttributeTopMargin
                                       multiplier:1
                                         constant:20]];
    [parentView addConstraint:[NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self
                                        attribute:NSLayoutAttributeLeading
                                        relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                           toItem:parentView
                                        attribute:NSLayoutAttributeLeading
                                       multiplier:1
                                         constant:20]];
}

@end
```

Now we can use it whenever we want our new control to look like the other:

```objc
- (void)loadView {
    [super loadView];

    UILabel *testView = [UILabel bigRedLabel];
    testView.text = @"test";

    [self.view addSubview:testView];
    [testView placeInTopLeftCornerOf:self.view];
}
```

## Apple proposal - appearance proxies

The issue of style definitions reuse was also approached by Apple within UIKit, albeit quite differently than in CSS. There’s a concept called [appearance](http://nshipster.com/uiappearance/). It allows us to define selected style properties of the controls once per the application, ensuring any customization we do is applied consistently across the app. We can define that all the buttons (`UIButton` instances) that we use in our app should have gray background:

```objc
[UIButton appearance].backgroundColor = [UIColor grayColor];
```

We can restrict our customization scope to controls contained within another specific container control, for example to all `UIBarButtonItem`s within `UIToolbar`:

```objc
[UIBarButtonItem appearanceWhenContainedIn:[UIToolbar class], nil]
    .tintColor = [UIColor blackColor];
```

Also, we can optionally make our appearance definitions dependent on the screen dimensions and orientations, using `UITraitCollection`s we’ve discussed [in the previous part of the series](/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-2-control-positioning/#the-real-responsiveness?):

```objc
UITraitCollection *traitCollection = [UITraitCollection
    traitCollectionWithHorizontalSizeClass:UIUserInterfaceSizeClassCompact];
[UIImageView appearanceForTraitCollection:traitCollection]
    .tintColor = [UIColor redColor];
```

Appearance might be compared to CSS limited to elements only (no per-class or per-id definitions), with basic hierarchies and basic media queries support. However, the distance to the full-blown CSS equivalent is quite large. There is no way to apply appearance definitions to the selected subset of elements of a given type, like we do using CSS classes. There is no way to represent other types of relationships between controls than ancestor-descendant (`whenContainedIn`) - we need to forget about the selectors we know from CSS like siblings, direct children, n-th of type and so on. Moreover, when we have multiple ancestor-descendant relationships defined, [the first one encountered (most generic) is used](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIAppearance_Protocol/), while in CSS the most specific one is used, allowing us to specify our styles from the general definitions to the specialized ones going down the elements tree.

> CSS definitions on HTML elements \<—\> [UIAppearance](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/UIKitUICatalog/.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40012857-UIView-SW16) definitions
>
> CSS definitions on HTML element hierarchies \<—\> UIAppearance definitions with `whenContainedIn` overloads; limited
>
> CSS definitions with screen size-related media queries \<—\> UIAppearance definitions with `forTraitCollection` overloads; limited
>
> CSS features other than above \<—\> N/A

Last but not least, customization via appearance is by default limited only to [several properties of the controls](https://gist.github.com/mattt/5135521) exposed by iOS with the `UI_APPEARANCE_SELECTOR` tag. For example, generic `UIView` only allows us to set `backgroundColor` through appearance and such a common control like `UILabel` doesn’t add anything more on its own. This means there is no out-of-the-box solution for setting text color, font properties, margins etc. for all the labels once across the application. That limitation can be overcome by defining an `UI_APPEARANCE_SELECTOR` [for custom properties](http://timross.info/blog/2013/03/26/more-fun-with-uiappearance/) and [for custom controls](http://petersteinberger.com/blog/2013/uiappearance-for-custom-views/), but that is far from the elegance of plain old declarative CSS.

## Prospects for truly declarative solution

There are multiple projects out there in the open source space that aims to bring the real declarativeness, style reuse possibility and overall CSS feel to iOS views. Both [UISS](https://github.com/robertwijas/UISS) and [NUI](https://github.com/tombenner/nui) offer the syntax loosely inspired by CSS. The former is just a wrapper for UIAppearance with all its limitations. The latter goes much further, actually taking care of virtually all the styling exposed by UIKit controls. There are also [Pixate Freestyle](http://pixate.github.io/pixate-freestyle-ios/) and [nativeCSS](http://nativecss.com/) that offer direct usage of CSS within iOS apps. In Bright we’re also doing some in-house experiments in [Cero](https://github.com/bright/Cero), albeit it aims more to provide the declarative view hierarchy and the styling comes a bit as a side effect.

The most advanced solutions that features declarative and reusable styles are probably offered by the cross-platform frameworks that originate from the web. These frameworks promise the web developers a way to reuse some of our JavaScript, HTML and CSS skills directly on mobile platforms to produce native or semi-native experiences. Users of the platforms that employ HTML directly as a language to define apps views, like [PhoneGap/Cordova](http://coenraets.org/blog/phonegap-tutorial/), [Ionic](https://ionicframework.com/docs/components/)[](http://ionicframework.com/docs/components/) or [Framework7](http://www.idangero.us/framework7/) immediately benefit from having the real power of CSS available. Of course it comes with the penalty of being a thick and often limited or leaky abstraction.

On the other side there are frameworks that offer their own abstractions on views and styles. The one that [seems quite interesting](http://www.objc.io/issue-22/facebook.html) is [ComponentKit by Facebook](https://github.com/facebook/componentkit). It redefines the views in terms of components with declarative and composable API and [flexbox](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/CSS/Flexible_boxes)-enabled styling. One more example can’t be missed here - there is a lot of buzz around recently released [React Native](http://jlongster.com/First-Impressions-using-React-Native) framework that offers its own approach of using JavaScript (and JSX known from [React.js](https://facebook.github.io/react/)) natively in iOS. With the power of JavaScript we’re familiar with, we can shape and reuse our presentation code in a more elegant way. React Native uses a [lightweight version of CSS](http://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/style.html#content) that offers features like [composition](https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/style.html#content) and [flexbox](https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/flexbox.html).

I believe that all of these ideas and frameworks are shaping the future of iOS layouts and are worth keeping an eye on it with the hope that someday the native offering of iOS platform in terms of managing the appearance would not be so limited as today.

Next time - more on [how to achieve particular visual effects known from CSS within iOS views](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-4-css-properties-replacements/).

## [CocoaHeads Tricity] Do not reinvent the wheel - most popular Cocoa libraries

*Published: 2015-03-31 | Author: mateusz | Tags: iOS, CocoaHeads, CocoaPods*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cocoaheads-tricity-do-not-reinvent-the-wheel/index.md*

On Tuesday 31th March 2015 I gave a presentation about most popular Cocoa libraries and [CocoaPods] (http://cocoapods.org) at the local [Cocoaheads Tricity](https://www.facebook.com/CocoaHeadsTricity) group meeting, which we are now co-organizing. 

If you have ever wondered what libraries we use at Bright Inventions or you didn't know that you can divide your app into private Pods you may find this presentation interesting.

<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/46525497" frameborder="0" width="595px" height="487px" allowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br />

If you are interested in Apple technologies we invite you to [Cocoaheads Tricity](https://www.facebook.com/CocoaHeadsTricity) meetings where we talk and learn about Cocoa, Swift, Objective-C, UX/UI design and everything else related to creating apps on this platform.

## iOS layouts for web developers #2 - control positioning

*Published: 2015-03-23 | Author: adam | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-2-control-positioning/index.md*

In the [first part](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-1-basic-building-blocks/) of the [**iOS layouts for web developers** series](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers/) I’ve discussed controls as the basic building blocks that comprises the layout in iOS world and how that compares to HTML. I haven’t tackled anything about how and where these controls are drawn on the screen. The matter is complex enough so that here is the separate post only about it.

Let’s start with restating the acknowledgement that my overall goal here is trying to find best analogies to the [web development](/our-areas/web-development) world, not creating an ultimate guide to how those things should generally be done in iOS. Some approaches that are natural in HTML might be considered bad practice or at least not idiomatic in iOS.

I'll start from frame-based positioning that is historically the first approach available in iOS, but no longer considered the best one. But I can’t just skip it, primarily because there are a lot of analogies to the web and also because in order to fully embrace the newer approaches one should at least understand the primitives. It’s like one can’t really do good responsive web design lacking the ability to prepare static non-responsive layout.

## Where is my control?

In HTML, when we don’t set any sizes nor positions for the block element, it is drawn according to the [normal document flow](http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/quick-tip-utilizing-normal-document-flow--webdesign-8199) - we’ll find it next to the previous element in the document structure, sized according to the size of its child elements. The thing that struck me most when I was starting with iOS is that there is no such concept there - controls just don’t show up by default, unless we tell them explicitly where should they go and what size they should take.

> normal document flow \<—\> N/A
>
> document flow alterations like `float`, `display`, `clear` CSS properties \<—\> N/A

In iOS, we must explicitly control position and size of each control. Traditionally, this is done using frames. Frame is a rectangle the control takes on the screen, defined with its top-left corner coordinates within the superview, width and height. We set the frame through Interface Builder, or, if we’re creating views in the code, we either use [`initWithFrame`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIView/initWithFrame:) initializer conventionally available for all the controls or set the [`frame`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIView/frame) property for existing control instance.

Frame-based positioning is quite directly equivalent to the absolute positioning in the web, with all its deficiencies. We lack flexibility, we have no way to adjust to different screen sizes and we always need to operate in fixed-sized coordinate plane. In the web, we strive not to use absolute positioning, unless absolutely needed (pun intended). Generally, we should try to avoid it in iOS, too. We’ll see how is that possible later in this post.

> `position: absolute` in CSS \<—\> the default, frame-based positioning

Second aspect the iOS control's frame is taking care of is the control’s size. The controls don’t have any default size. Unless we do something with it, every view is 0x0 in size yielding it not really useful. In the web world every element by default is sized to make room for the content within - either the text or another elements. We can customize it through CSS, but if we throw the stylesheet away, we’d still get something visible.

For some controls that have natural (intrinsic) size available, like [`UILabel`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/) or [`UIImageView`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIImageView_Class/), we might mitigate the need to use that pesky frame initialization using [`sizeToFit`](http://doing-it-wrong.mikeweller.com/2012/07/youre-doing-it-wrong-2-sizing-labels.html) method that sets the width and height of the frame to the natural size of the content.

> `width` & `height` properties in CSS \<—\> the default, frame-based sizing
>
> the default, auto-sizing for elements \<—\> `sizeToFit` method for some controls

## First take on "responsive” layouts

Frame-based layout is very limiting, but it was [the simplest thing that could possibly work](http://wiki.c2.com/?DoTheSimplestThingThatCouldPossiblyWork), especially given the fact that it was first designed for a single size of a single device - the first-generation iPhone. The need for “responsiveness”, as we like to call it in the web world, was limited to screen rotation. When iPads came, there still weren't many apps that share the same layouts between two form factors. It’s only quite recently, with the introduction of iPhone 5 that was taller than the previous ones and especially with iPhone 6 that comes with two [totally distinct screen resolutions](http://www.paintcodeapp.com/news/ultimate-guide-to-iphone-resolutions), there’s a real push toward having a single layout shared between screen sizes and resolutions - something that is obvious for the modern web development.

Before iOS 6 (released in 2012), the only mean of “responsiveness” was the notion of [autoresizing mask](http://www.techpaa.com/2012/05/understanding-uiview-autoresizing.html) accessible via `UIView`’s [`autoresizingMask`](https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIView/autoresizingMask) property. It allows to set which dimensions or spacing attributes should be kept and which can be modified on screen size change (rotation, basically). For example, when “flexible width” is set, on rotation, the horizontal margins widths are persisted and the control width takes the rest of available space. When, in turn, “flexible left margin” is set, the width wouldn’t change and the left margin will take all the space that’s still available.

That technique is quite natural and comes automatically in the web. One way to get the flexibility alike is to use percentage dimensions in CSS. Another way, for absolutely-positioned elements, is not to set one of the dimension to make it flexible. As an example, not setting the width while setting both left and right property will result in the same “autoresizing” behavior than setting `UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleWidth` in iOS.

> percentage values in CSS \<—\> autoresizing mask
>
> absolute positioning with not all dimensions fixed \<—\> autoresizing mask

## Auto layouts

The next approach to push frame-based layouts into obsolescence is [Auto Layout](http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2041295), introduced with iOS 6. It is very powerful, flexible and well-thought system of constraints that one may define on the dimension and position-related attributes of the view, optionally with relation to the other views. What it means is that we may for example define that the left edge of our view is to be placed at the right edge of another view with some outset given, and the top edge of our view should be centered within its superview, and so on. Generally, we create a set of linear equations to calculate views attribute values out of another attribute values and the system tries to satisfy those equations when drawing the controls on the screen. If that succeeds, we end up with a nicely adaptive layout.

This approach can be used to emulate web's relative positioning when we set the constraints on the child view according to the position and size of the chosen superview. But Auto Layout gives us even more. The constraints can be set between arbitrary attributes of arbitrary views, as long as these views have a common ancestor. We can constraint the values not only to be equal, but also to be smaller (or greater) - this allows us to achieve what we do in CSS with `max-width` property and its family. Next, we’re not limited to the parent-child relationship - we can relate siblings, for example to put one next to another, emulating CSS floating. Note also that it’s nothing unusual to set constraints on the view's bottom edge - that was quite unnatural for me as I rarely use `bottom` property in CSS. With Auto Layout we can even do tricks like sticking each edge of our view to different attribute of different views. Imagination and maths are the only limits here.

> relative positioning \<—\> can be emulated with Auto Layout by constraining child views to parents
>
> `min-height`, `min-width` and similar \<—\> can be emulated with Auto Layout by setting constraints with inequalities
>
> float-based positioning \<—\> can be emulated with Auto Layout by constraining sibling views

## The real responsiveness?

While Auto Layout is a great and powerful tool that sometimes even outpaces the techniques and approaches known from the web to achieve flexibility, in some cases it was still impossible or at least cumbersome to define a single layout for all the screen form factors available, especially for both iPad and iPhone. Similarly to the web, when we’re utilizing the responsive web design principles, we’re not just scaling and rearranging the elements. More than often we differentiate what and where we show some parts of the layout using [media queries](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/CSS/Media_queries) and its [breakpoints](https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/layouts/rwd-fundamentals/how-to-choose-breakpoints), most commonly based on the screen width.

iOS 8 introduced the concept of [Adaptive UI](http://www.imore.com/adaptive-ui-ios-8-explained) that is aimed to achieve something similar - allow reorganizing layouts for various screen sizes and orientations. Views and view controllers got a new [`traitCollection`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITraitEnvironment_Ref/.html#//apple_ref/occ/intfp/UITraitEnvironment/traitCollection) property that exposes [`UITraitCollection`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITraitCollection_ClassReference/) instance, keeping current screen size factors, so we can code against the current values. Similar interface is exposed to work with appearances (we’ll discuss appearances next in the series, when we talk about CSS alternatives for iOS). Probably more useful part is the [`traitCollectionDidChange` event](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITraitEnvironment_Ref/.html#//apple_ref/occ/intfm/UITraitEnvironment/traitCollectionDidChange:) triggered on the screen rotation (actually, it is called “when the iOS interface environment changes”, it will be even more useful in case Apple introduces a resizable device) - we can provide a custom behaviors like changing the view hierarchies or Auto Layout constraints there. But probably the most benefit one gets from the Adaptive UI surfaces through the [Interface Builder’s storyboards](http://www.bignerdranch.com/blog/iOS-8-demo-universal-storyboards-and-adaptive-ui/) that are now aware of the traits and allow us to have an universal storyboard that works across multiple form factors.

Unfortunately, Adaptive UI is far less flexible than CSS media queries. We have only few preset and quite abstract "size classes" available - compact vs. normal for width, compact vs. normal for height and scale factor value. It might not be sufficient precision for all the needs we could have. For example, the width is marked as “compact" for iPhone both in horizontal and vertical orientation and for iPad both dimensions are “normal” regarding of the orientation. Although customizing the breakpoints [is possible](https://iosdevweek.ly/k6qFtrd?sid=VPi2m9y), it’s a bit off the “Apple way” of doing things and certainly not as handy as using the defaults.

> CSS media queries based on screen size \<—\> partially covered by Adaptive UI trait collection

Next time in the series - [more about CSS equivalents in iOS (or lack of such)](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-3-managing-appearance).

## Setup AppCode to start Simulator in RTL mode

*Published: 2015-03-16 | Author: mateuszklimek | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/setup-appcode-to-work-with-rtl-languages/index.md*

## Question

How to make iOS Simulator work with Right-To-Left languages when it's started from AppCode?

## Answer

Paste these two parameters:

```xml
-AppleTextDirection YES 
-NSForceRightToLeftWritingDirection YES
```

into `program arguments' in Run/Debug Configuration.
<br/><br/>
![AppCode RTL Config](../../static/images/appcode-rtl-config.png "AppCode RTL Configuration")
<br/><br/>
Keep in mind that if you kill the app and start it again in simulator, parameters **wouldn't be** included for the new process. Thus the app will start in the common LTR mode.
The only way to restart the app in RTL is to run the app from AppCode again.

See this post on my [personal blog](http://mklimek.github.io/setup-appcode-to-work-with-rtl-languages/).

## iOS layouts for web developers #1 - basic building blocks

*Published: 2015-02-26 | Author: adam | Tags: iOS*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-1-basic-building-blocks/index.md*

In the first part of [**iOS layouts for web developers** series](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers/) I'll have a look at the basic building blocks of the view layer in iOS and compare it to what HTML offers. First, we need to shift our mindset a bit and accept the fact we need to give up some control (pun intended) over our views to the iOS.

Elements vs. controls
----

In HTML, everything we can see in the browser is built upon the low-level HTML elements (tags) organized within a hierarchy. The browser draws the elements visual representations according to the associated CSS stylesheet definitions, intrinsic size of the content within a control and the document flow.

In iOS for composing views we're mostly using the [UIKit framework](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIKit_Framework/). What we see on the screen also comprises a hierarchy - its elements are [`UIView`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIView_Class/) instances or instances of its subclasses. View is a concept on the higher level of abstraction than single HTML element. `UIView` is the generic building block, it may be thought of as `<div>` equivalent - by default it serves as just a container to hold another elements, but it’s visual aspects can be freely customized.

> `<div>` \<—\> `UIView`

UIKit offers a lot of out-of-box functionality available as controls. All specialized controls are implemented as `UIView` subclasses. In most cases, controls can’t be treated as an equivalent of HTML elements. Controls conveys both visual and functional aspects - it encapsulates it together in a way more similar to Web Components or widgets than a single HTML tag. The [catalog of ready-to-use built-in controls](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/UIKitUICatalog/) resembles [jQuery UI](http://jqueryui.com/) library - there are popups, buttons, sliders, activity indicators etc. Also, the environment specifics of iOS controls make it less concerned about semantics, as we have much less interoperability or compatibility constraints than in the open and unbounded web development. iOS control’s concern is about how it looks and behaves like, not what role it fulfils and what meaning it conveys to the structure of the screen.

> Web Component, jQuery UI widget \<—\> UIKit control (`UIView` subclass)

Because of the different level the view elements in iOS are defined compared to HTML, it’s not easy to create a translation table indicating what is the equivalent iOS control for the particular HTML element or set of elements. But let me try for the few basic ones.

First of all, it is worth noting that `UIView`, as the basic building block for iOS views, is powerful and configurable enough to achieve a lot itself. In HTML, there is a lot of block elements defined primarily for its semantical meaning - starting from document structure indicators like `<section>`, through `<address>` semantic blocks carrying some basic styling rules, up to `<hr>` to divide the content with the visual demarcator. In iOS, all these would be replaced with properly styled `UIView` (or its subclass [`UIControl`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIControl_Class/) that adds some basic control events handling, if this is necessary), stripped from its semantics. It feels a bit like using `<div>`s for everything, but aspects like accessibility are not within the primary focus here, it seems.

> most of block-level elements \<—\> just `UIView`/`UIControl`

Lists and tables
----

The first apparently obvious direct replacement for an HTML element could be [UITableView](http://www.idev101.com/code/User_Interface/UITableView/) for `<table>` structures. But it’s not that simple. `UITableView` should be more correctly called “`UIListView`” as in its basic form it is single column view - each row comprises a single cell. It’s main use case is to enable drill-down interface navigation style. It has nothing to do with the notion of tabular data, it is also widely and deliberately used as presentational element. Far from what we’re used to in HTML. Those aspects make `UITableView` something more equivalent to popular use case for `<nav>` or `<ul>` lists.

> `<nav>`, `<ul>` for navigational purposes \<—\> `UITableView` and its `UITableViewCell`s

Unfortunately, to emulate a real grid using `UITableView`, we’d need to nest custom views within a single [`UITableViewCell`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITableViewCell_Class/) (that is, a view for a single row) - nothing available directly out-of-the-box. But `UITableView` also offers some aspects that are typical for tables and is known for us from what HTML offers - header rows, table headers & footers. Each of these table elements can be customized or even use an arbitrary custom view.

> `<th>` rows \<—\> section header in `UITableView`

> `<thead>`, `<tfoot>` \<—\> table header & table footer in `UITableView`

There is also an [`UICollectionView`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UICollectionView_class/) thing that is supposed to display a collection of items in more flexible manner - in the most cases it forms a grid of customizable [`UICollectionViewCell`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UICollectionViewCell_class/)s. It behaves like a set of elements with CSS float - it tries to put elements next to each other and wraps down when there’s no more space available. It’s still not real tabular data equivalent, but at least we’re not constrained to a single column layout.

> set of elements with `float` CSS property \<—\> `UICollectionView` and its `UICollectionViewCell`s

So what is the real equivalent of HTML tables? There’s nothing available out of the box, you need to resort to [specialized controls available](http://cocoapods.org/?q=grid). The separate broad topic here is how to present the tabular data effectively on the phone screen. I guess there are valid usability-related reasons to avoid tables at all.

> full-blown `<table>` \<—\> N/A

Forms and inputs
----

By default, the data entry and manipulation in HTML is handled within request-response cycles. One need to set up the values, hit “Save” and wait for the changes to be applied. On mobile platforms we’re used to another approach - things are saved immediately after the change happened, no “Save” button needed. That reduced the need for the equivalent of `<form>` demarcator element to exist. Form controls may be placed in any hierarchy and the application is responsible to handle the values changes on each control separately. Also, in iOS, there is no built-in fields grouping

> `<form>` \<—\> N/A

> `<input type=“hidden”>`, `<input type=“submit”>`, `<input type=“reset”>` \<—\> N/A

The [form controls set](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/UIKitUICatalog/UIControl.html) from the visual point of view is more specialized in iOS than in pure HTML. There are distinct controls designed to input certain types of data, like [dates](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/UIKitUICatalog/UIDatePicker.html) or [numerical values](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/UIKitUICatalog/UISlider.html). It is also covered by HTML5 specialized [input types](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/input), but default UI is far simpler and not all cases are implemented even in the newest browsers.

Most textual input is based on [UITextField](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UITextField_Class/) that enables setting specific `keyboardType` to handle our expected content type best. For non-text inputs we have a set of standard widgets and our iOS users are already pretty used to its UX, so we should rather conform to that instead of precisely simulating something we know from web development.

> `<button>`, `<input type=“button”>`, `<a>` with `display: block` \<—\> `UIButton`

> `<input type=“checkbox”>` \<—\> `UISwitch`

> `<input type=“radio”>`, `<select>` \<—\> `UIPickerView`, `UIActionSheet`, `UISegmentedControl`

> `<input type=“text”>` \<—\> `UITextField`

> `<textarea>` \<—\> `UITextView`

> `<input type=“password”>` \<—\> `UITextField` with `secureTextEntry = YES`

> `<input type=“range”>` \<—\> `UISlider`, `UIStepper`

> `<input type=“email”>` \<—\> `UITextField` with `keyboardType = UIKeyboardTypeEmailAddress`

> `<input type=“url”>` \<—\> `UITextField` with `keyboardType = UIKeyboardTypeURL`

> `<input type=“tel”>` \<—\> `UITextField` with `keyboardType = UIKeyboardTypePhonePad`

> `<input type=“number”>` \<—\> `UITextField` with `keyboardType = UIKeyboardTypeDecimalPad`

> `<input type=“search”>` \<—\> `UITextField` with `keyboardType = UIKeyboardTypeWebSearch`

> `<input type=“date”>` \<—\> `UIDatePicker` with `datePickerMode = UIDatePickerModeDate`

> `<input type=“time”>` \<—\> `UIDatePicker` with `datePickerMode = UIDatePickerModeTime`

> `<input type=“datetime”>` \<—\> `UIDatePicker` with `datePickerMode = UIDatePickerModeDateTime`

One important type of HTML input we’ve left is `<input type=“file”>` that allows us to upload a file to the web server. There is no direct equivalent in iOS because of the specifics of mobile platforms. We should not expect our users to even be aware that they have some “files” on their phones. What we can expect instead, for example, is to choose a photo from the gallery or take a new one using the camera built-in into their device. iOS provides ready-to-use component for that - [`UIImagePickerController`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIImagePickerController_Class/). If we need something less standard, we’d need to resort to 3rd-party controls.

> `<input type=“file”>` for images \<—\> `UIImagePickerController`

Images and drawings
----

To display an image in HTML, we use either `<img>` if the image is part of the content or CSS `background-image` if the image has purely presentational purpose. In iOS we do not have that semantic distinction, again, and although we can also [put images into backgrounds](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIColor_Class/.html#//apple_ref/occ/clm/UIColor/colorWithPatternImage:), in most cases we just use [`UIImageView`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIImageView_Class/) control. It gets [`UIImage`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIImage_Class/) instance, in most cases initialized with the name of the resource we want to use. Out of the box, the image with correct resolution depending on the device screen dimensions is used, if available - something we’re still in early adoption phase in HTML with [`<picture>` element](http://html5hub.com/html5-picture-element/).

> `<img>`, `<picture>` \<—\> `UIImageView`

In case we need to draw something dynamically or just put some shape on the screen without resorting to images, in iOS we can always go one abstraction level deeper. Every `UIView` has its underlying [`CALayer`](http://www.raywenderlich.com/2502/calayers-tutorial-for-ios-introduction-to-calayers-tutorial) structure. All the views are built upon `CALayer`s. A layer represents the drawable rectangle on the screen that can be freely manipulated. It allows us to add shadows, borders, corner radius etc., so it might be seen as a replacement for some parts of CSS. There is also even lower level API available - [Core Graphics framework](http://www.raywenderlich.com/32283/core-graphics-tutorial-lines-rectangles-and-gradients). It corresponds more to what `<canvas>` offers, but is available for every control.

> CSS shadows, borders, corner radius etc. \<—\> `CALayer`

> `<canvas>` \<—\> Core Graphics functions

Inline elements equivalents
language: en
----

There is no view markup in iOS, so naturally there is no such thing as “free” textual content we know from HTML. All the text we want to display needs to be placed within some control, most likely within [`UILabel`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/). From the web developer standpoint, it behaves like a block element - it has its intrinsic size and needs to be positioned, so it’s more like `<p>` with `display: block`. It also enables us to manipulate a lot of formatting aspects of the text block, standing in place of some text-formatting aspects of CSS and inline text elements like `<em>`, `<strong>` etc.

> `<p>` with `display: block` \<—\> `UILabel`

Moreover, thanks to the [`NSAttributedString`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSAttributedString_Class/) construct set via [`attributedText`](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UILabel_Class/#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UILabel/attributedText) property, it actually allows even parts of the text to look differently, making it equivalent to the whole soup of various HTML tags and content at once. But one have to admit, while [this is powerful](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/AttributedStrings/Articles/standardAttributes.html), the code [gets hairy pretty quickly](http://ios.eezytutorials.com/nsattributedstring-by-example.php), not to mention how [cumbersome](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/22854922/translate-attributed-string) is to localize it while operating on substring ranges directly. But there’s a nice workaround that will please us, web developers - a way to [create `NSAttributedString` directly from HTML](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4217820/convert-html-to-nsattributedstring-in-ios). It has some drawbacks, but we may give it a try.

> `<em>`, `<i>`, `<strong>`, `<b>`, `<small>`, `<big>` \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSFontAttributeName`

> `<mark>` \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSBackgroundColorAttributeName`

> `<sub>`, `<sup>` \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSSuperscriptAttributeName`

> `<ins>`, `<del>` \<—\> `NSAttributedString` with `NSUnderlineStyleAttributeName`

[Next time we’ll try to tackle controls positioning](/blog/ios-layouts-for-web-developers-2-control-positioning/). Stay tuned!

## Anchor child element click

*Published: 2015-01-25 | Author: piotr | Tags: html, javascript*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/anchor-child-element-click/index.md*

I had to solve a seemingly trivial bug in an angularjs based application that turned out to be more interesting than usual.

## The bug

The bug report stated that *"Clicking on a label causes page reload"*. That should be an easy one I thought to myself and openeded chrome inspector to see a structure of DOM. Here's a simplified version of markup:

```html
<a  href="" ng-click="anchorAction($event)" ng-controller="ActionCtrl">
  Anchor
  <span ng-click="childAction($event)">
  A child
  </span>
</a>
```

```javascript
module.controller('ActionCtrl', function($scope){
  $scope.anchorAction = function($event){
    console.log('anchorAction');
  };
  $scope.childAction = function($event){
    $event.stopPropagation();
    console.log('childAction');
  };
});
```

My intention was to have different behaviour when an anchor or a span element is clicked. Just as in the example above when `a` is clicked `anchorAction` should be printed whereas the same event triggered on `span` should **only** print `childAction`.
Interestingly the actual behaviour is different.

When the anchor is clicked indeed a function attached by `ng-click` is executed properly. Note that even though we **did not** call `$event.preventDefault()` a page reload is not triggered. This is due to [`htmlAnchorDirective`](https://github.com/angular/angular.js/blob/master/src/ng/directive/a.js) provided by angularjs which effectively prevents empty `href` attribute from taking action.

A click on `span` element will stop event from bubbling up document tree - thus preventing `anchorAction` from executing. In addition it will obviously print `childAction` and to my surprise **it will cause a page reload**.

Wait a second didn't we just prevent the event from traveling up to the anchor element? Yes. So why does the page reload anyway?

## Searching for a root cause.

Almost immediately I've verified that calling `$event.preventDefault()` inside `childAction` fixes the problem. The fix got checked in and will be deployed soon - case closed. I was unhappy though because I didn't understand this behaviour at all.

At first I naively thought that it might be a Chrome bug - a quick check in FF and IE diminished this stupid idea.

Then I thought that it may be related to angularjs in some strange manner so I've prepared [an example fiddle](http://jsfiddle.net/83ov5tgm/4/) that demonstrates the issue. I've searched for and read many answers on [Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/) and other forums but none of them gave an in-depth explanation.

## The HTML spec

Since the example fiddle demonstrated same behaviour in all major desktop browsers I realised that it must be part of HTML spec - after an hour or so it turned out that it was a good  hunch.

Up until now I thought that an `event` (and a `click` event in particular) default action is dependent on an element it visits when it is dispatched through a DOM tree. In the above example it would mean that since I've stopped `click` from bubbling up it should not reach `a` element and because of that it **should not** execute its default action - in our case a page reload.

It turned out that my assumptions about events dispatching and elements default actions were wrong.

The relevant part of the specification describes [activation behavior](http://www.w3.org/html/wg/drafts/html/master/editing.html#activation) with an explanation of what I've experienced:

> 1. Let target be the element designated by the user (the target of event).
2. If target is a canvas element, run the canvas MouseEvent rerouting steps. If this changes event's target, then let target be the new target.
3. Set the click in progress flag on target to true.
4. **Let e be the nearest activatable element of target (defined below), if any**.
5. If there is an element e, run pre-click activation steps on it.
6. **Dispatch event (the required click event) at target.**
If there is an element e and the click event is not canceled, run post-click activation steps on element e.
If there is an element e and the event is canceled, run canceled activation steps on element e.
7. Set the click in progress flag on target to false.

The most relevant steps are *4.* and *6.* as they clearly indicate that *target* and *nearest activatable element* that triggers default action can be **separate**. What's left to have a complete understanding is how *nearest activatable element* is defined:

> Given an element target, the nearest activatable element is the element returned by the following algorithm:

> 1. If target has a defined activation behavior, then return target and abort these steps.
> 2. If target has a parent element, then set target to that parent element and return to the first step.
> 3. Otherwise, there is no nearest activatable element.

Now it is obvious why a default action of an `anchor` is executed even though a `click` event did not bubble up from its child.

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](http://miensol.pl)*

## How to avoid flickering and black screen issues when using VideoView?

*Published: 2015-01-10 | Author: mateuszklimek | Tags: android, videoview*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/frame-video-view/index.md*

VideoView is the most straightforward way to show video content in layout. <br />
It took a few lines of code to setup and show for example mp4 file. <br />
It's fine when you don't care about UX too much, but when you do, things are going to be annoying.
When you tested app for different cases like: change device orientation, swipe the view, lock screen or go to home screen and back to the app, you probably know what I'm talking about. <br />
If you don't, take a look at: <br /><br />
[VideoView Black Screen](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9765629/android-videoview-black-screen) <br />
[VideoView Black Flash Before and After Playing](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4343350/videoview-black-flash-before-and-after-playing?lq=1) <br />
[VideoView Inside Fragment Causes Black Screen Flickering](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17717906/videoview-inside-fragment-causes-black-screen-flicking?lq=1) <br />
[VideoView Flickering Issue](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17587476/videoview-flickering-issue?lq=1) <br />

## Workaround

To deal with these problems we can use 'placeholder solution' described in the above links. <br />
The idea is to show placeholder, which has the same color as video background, when `VideoView` is not ready to show the content yet. When `VideoView` is ready the placeholder will go away and already prepared video will be revealed without any issues. <br />
Thereby we achieve nice solid experience, because user doesn't see how system prepares video to render it, which causes `VideoView` displays black screen or the content flickering. If you want to observe these issues try to move the app to the background (by pressing home screen button) and bring back the app to the foreground. <br />
If it still seems to work well, try it a couple of times... it will happen ;)

## FrameVideoView

`FrameVideoView` is a class which implements 'placeholder workaround' dynamically by creating views in runtime. You don't have to create additional layout for placeholder and put `VideoView` in there nor have you to take care about showing and hiding placeholder in an appropriate time. `FrameVideoView` does it for you. <br />
If device is running API level 13 or below, [`VideoView`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/VideoView.html) will be used to show video content. This approach should fix most of the flickering and black screen issues. <br />
For devices running API level 14 or higher, [`TextureView`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/TextureView.html) will be used to show video content. It provides a lot better performance than `VideoView` implementation because it was created to show 'stream content' like video or OpenGL scenes. <br /> <br />
I wrote [app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.everytap&hl=en) with `ViewPager` where each of three fragments has different video and are playing simultaneously. When `FrameVideoView` used `VideoView` implementation there were problems because sometimes black screen issues appeared again when swiping. There was also the problem when user swiped to the last page and `ViewPager` showed overscroll animation that can't overlay `VideoView`. When `TextureView` implementation was used all problems were gone and app worked as expected.

## How to use it?

Add `FrameVideoView` to layout:

```xml
  <mateuszklimek.framevideoview.FrameVideoView
    android:id="@+id/frame_video_view"
    android:layout_width="@dimen/video_width"
    android:layout_height="@dimen/video_height"
  />
```

find its instance in `Activity` and call corresponding methods in `onResume` and `onPause`:

```java
public class SampleActivity extends Activity {

  private FrameVideoView videoView;

  @Override
  protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.simple);

    String uriString = "android.resource://" + getPackageName() + "/" + R.raw.movie;
    videoView = (FrameVideoView) findViewById(R.id.frame_video_view);
    videoView.setup(Uri.parse(uriString), Color.GREEN);
  }

    @Override
    protected void onResume() {
      super.onResume();
      videoView.onResume();
    }

    @Override
    protected void onPause() {
      videoView.onPause();
      super.onPause();
    }
  }
```

If you want to execute method for particular implementation eg. `seekTo()` from `VideoView` you can call it like that:

```java
  frameVideoView.asVideoView().seekTo(x);
```

but before, it's better to check what type of implementation is used:

```java
if(videoView.getImplType() == VIDEO_VIEW){
    frameVideoView.asVideoView().seekTo(x);
}
```

  <br />
 I uploaded the project to [Github](https://github.com/mklimek/FrameVideoView) so you can run example app and see full implementation of \\`FrameVideoView\\`. Feel free to use it as you like.
  <br />

  See this post on my [personal blog](http://mklimek.github.io/frame-video-view/).

## Lazy Apk - a simple TeamCity artifact downloader

*Published: 2015-01-06 | Author: piotr | Tags: android, TeamCity*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/lazy-apk/index.md*

At [Bright Inventions](/) we use [TeamCity](https://www.jetbrains.com/teamcity/) as a continuous integration server. Apart from building, running tests and uploading artifacts we sometimes use it to quickly distribute an android application to clients and test team. However we found using TeamCity UI on a mobile device isn't as pleasing as it could be. That's why we usually recommend downloading updates through a dedicated application such as [TeamCity Downloader](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.raidzero.teamcitydownloader).

While *TeamCity Downloader* is really easy to use I found it lacks a couple of features I need. First of all I would like to be able to use multiple TeamCity servers at once. Moreover it would be nice to see commit messages related to particular build to streamline change communication.

## Lazy Apk - a simple apk downloader

Since I wanted to test some of new APIs available in [Lollipop](https://www.android.com/versions/lollipop-5-0/) I thought it would be a good idea to try them out in an application that could actually be useful. That's why I've build another artifacts downloader - [Lazy Apk](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.brightinventions.lazyapk).

The tool allows you to configure multiple TeamCity build servers:

![Multiple sources](../../static/images/lazy_apk_sources.png "Sources")

As I mentioned the commit messages are visible next to each build:

![Commit messages](../../static/images/lazy_apk_builds.png "Commit messages")

Downloaded APKs are stored inside android "Downloads" so there is no need to pull the same package twice:

![Downloads](../../static/images/lazy_apk_downloads.png "Downloads")

## Source available on Github

[Lazy Apk](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.brightinventions.lazyapk) source code is available on [github](https://github.com/bright/lazyapk). I've tried couple of different techniques to extract code from [Activity](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html) classes - I'm not yet sure if I like the results though...

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](https://miensol.pl)*

## Reactive Cocoa presented on CocoaHeads Tricity

*Published: 2014-12-21 | Author: piotr | Tags: iOS, ReactiveCocoa, CocoaHeads, update*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/cocoaheads-tricity-reactivecocoa/index.md*

On Thursday 18th December 2014 I gave a small presentation about [ReactiveCocoa](https://github.com/ReactiveCocoa/ReactiveCocoa) to the local [Cocoaheads Tricity](https://www.facebook.com/CocoaHeadsTricity) group. [Cocoaheads](http://cocoaheads.org/) is a group of passionate iOS and MacOS X developers willing to share their knowledge and learn.

If you've never heard of ReactiveCocoa the presentation might plant a seed of interest:

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ItQV5KfwmIF947ujWlR8LFUuFWMLAVHUx6RH8ACfXbo/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="400px" allowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true"></iframe>


It's probably not easy to get started thinking in [FRP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_reactive_programming) terms to get most out of ReactiveCocoa - but once you do, using the library is a pleasant experience.

## Google Play Services is no longer a giant monolith

*Published: 2014-12-09 | Author: piotr | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/google-play-services-is-no-longer-a-monolith/index.md*

Nowadays it's getting harder and harder to build a meaningful app and not rely on [Google Play Services](https://developer.android.com/google/play-services/.html) to aid us in some commonly required features such as [maps](http://developer.android.com/google/play-services/maps.html), better [location provider](https://developer.android.com/google/play-services/location.html), [geo fencing](http://developer.android.com/training/location/geofencing.html) and so much more. Unfortunately up until now the library shipped as a giant monolith ripping us from [one third of dex method limit](http://jakewharton.com/play-services-is-a-monolith/). For curious reader here's are method counts in couple of versions:

| Version       | Method Count  |
| ------------: | ------------: |
| 3.2.65        | 6330          |
| 4.4.52        | 16933         |
| 5.0.89        | 20312         |
| 6.1.71        | 23641         |

and [a full breakdown](https://gist.github.com/miensol/c6ac03fa4f6f52441992).

## Google Play Services 6.5 granular dependency management

Today Google has made the awaited, more than usual, version of their [SDK available](https://developer.android.com/google/play-services/.html). With the update apart from new features you can finally depend only on a subset of enormous API. Here's a table from documentation along with [dex method counts](https://github.com/mihaip/dex-method-counts):

| API Name       | Gradle depdenency | Dex method count
| ------------- |:-------------:| -----: |
| Google Play Services|com.google.android.gms:play-services:6.5.87|24525
| Google+|com.google.android.gms:play-services-plus:6.5.87|1525
| Google Account Login|com.google.android.gms:play-services-identity:6.5.87|181
| Google Activity Recognition|com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:6.5.87|857
| Google App Indexing|com.google.android.gms:play-services-appindexing:6.5.87|482
| Google Cast|com.google.android.gms:play-services-cast:6.5.87|976
| Google Drive|com.google.android.gms:play-services-drive:6.5.87|2328
| Google Fit|com.google.android.gms:play-services-fitness:6.5.87|1895
| Google Maps|com.google.android.gms:play-services-maps:6.5.87|2568
| Google Mobile Ads|com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:6.5.87|3278
| Google Panorama Viewer|com.google.android.gms:play-services-panorama:6.5.87|94
| Google Play Game services|com.google.android.gms:play-services-games:6.5.87|5046
| Google Wallet|com.google.android.gms:play-services-wallet:6.5.87|1116
| Android Wear|com.google.android.gms:play-services-wearable:6.5.87|1187
| Google Actions<br /> Google Analytics <br /> Google Cloud Messaging |com.google.android.gms:play-services-base:6.5.87|5212

## A small change to improve build time

For me the biggest win is that in one of the apps we are actively developing granular dependency declaration means with a simple change from

```groovy
compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:6.1.71'
```

to

```groovy
compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-maps:6.5.87'
compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:6.5.87'
compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-base:6.5.87'
```

 I no longer have to run [Proguard](http://proguard.sourceforge.net/) during development. No wonder my build time just improved by 15 seconds.


*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](http://miensol.pl)*

## Integrate slf4j with Crashlytics

*Published: 2014-11-20 | Author: piotr | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/integrate-slf4j-with-crashlytics/index.md*

**As I mentioned in my previous post having meaningful log entries comes handy during development. When an app reaches beta testers as well as goes live it's equally or even more important to be able to figure out why the app you've carefully coded isn't behaving as it should. Testing the app on all android flavours is literally impossible that's why getting an insight into what caused a crash is vital.**

## Crashlytics

Error reporting providers are getting more and more popular. There are plenty of options to choose from: [Raygun ](https://raygun.io/)and [Airbrake](https://airbrake.io/) are just few examples. At [Bright Inventions](/) we use the last one and are more and more pleased with it. Setting it up is really easy - if you don't mind installing an IDE plugin it provides. Frankly I would prefer being able to configure a project with a simple command line tool but I understand a motivation behind it which is making the installation as seamless as possible.

Crashlytics let's you not only report [uncaught exceptions](http://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/Thread.html#setDefaultUncaughtExceptionHandler(java.lang.Thread.UncaughtExceptionHandler)) but also handled errors with additional information provided by log entries:

```java
try {
  Crashlytics.log(Log.INFO, "HomeActivity", "Make request");
  makeRequest();
}catch(RuntimeException ex){
  Crashlytics.log(Log.ERROR, "HomeActivity", "Error making request " + ex);
}
```

This will print messages to logcat as well as well as well as make them available in Crashlytics dashboard.

## Using [slf4j](https://github.com/bright/slf4android) with Crashlytics

I've already explained why [I don't like this approach to logging](/blog/introducing-slf4android/). Thankfully with [slf4android](https://github.com/bright/slf4android) it's really easy to replace a default logcat appender with a `CrashlyticsLoggerHandler`:

```java
public class CrashlyticsLoggerHandler extends Handler {
  MessageValueSupplier messageValueSupplier = new MessageValueSupplier();

  @Override
  public void publish(java.util.logging.LogRecord record) {
    LogRecord logRecord = pl.brightinventions.slf4android.LogRecord.fromRecord(record);
    StringBuilder messageBuilder = new StringBuilder();
    messageValueSupplier.append(logRecord, messageBuilder);
    String tag = record.getLoggerName();
    int androidLogLevel = logRecord.getLogLevel().getAndroidLevel();
    Crashlytics.log(androidLogLevel, tag, messageBuilder.toString());
  }

  @Override
  public void close() {}
  @Override
  public void flush() {}
}
```

All that is left is to add the handler to root logger in your custom application `onCreate` method:

```java
LoggerConfiguration.configuration()
  .removeRootLogcatHandler()
  .addHandlerToRootLogger(new CrashlyticsLoggerHandler());
```

From now on all log messages will go through Crashlytics API and couple of last log entries will be available next to crash report details in dashboard.

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](http://miensol.pl)*

## Playing with Material Design, Toolbar and Palette

*Published: 2014-11-10 | Author: mateuszklimek | Tags: android, materialdesign, android-support-library*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/playing-with-material-design-toolbar-palette/index.md*

Since Android L(ollipop) was presented in June at [Google I/O](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtLJPvx7-ys), only two devices on market can run it officially. Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 were released a week ago, and these two guys are ready to go with most recent system from Google, but what about other devices? My Nexus 5 still tryin update everyday, but still no effects :)
Hopefully, we can use some part of Material Design with devices running **Android 2.1 and higher**, because most of implementation was placed in android-support-v7.

I wrote simple app which displays images in grid with possibility to pick them to see them in full size with ActionBar colors based on picked image. App uses new classes: [Palette](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/v7/graphics/Palette.html) and [Toolbar](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/v7/widget/Toolbar.html).

It's looks like this:<br /><br />

first screenshot

![screenshot](../../static/images/palette-example1.png "")

second screenshot

![screenshot](../../static/images/palette-example2.png "")

third screenshot

![screenshot](../../static/images/palette-example3.png "")

fourth screenshot

![screenshot](../../static/images/palette-example4.png "")

Let's code.<br />
All dependencies we need:

```groovy
dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:21.0.0'
    compile 'com.android.support:palette-v7:21.0.0'
    compile 'com.squareup.picasso:picasso:2.4.0'
}
```

as you can see Google split android.support and put Palette as separate lib (similar to [RecyclerView](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/v7/widget/RecyclerView.html) and [CardView](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/v7/widget/CardView.html)). I used [Picasso](http://square.github.io/picasso/) to simple load images from web.

Next, define AppTheme with parent as `Theme.AppCombat`. You can also specify `colorPrimary` and `accentColor` which are used by framework to color surface background of widgets such as text fields, checkboxes etc.

```xml
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat">
  <item name="colorPrimary">@color/black</item>
</style>
<color name="black">#000000</color>
```

Apply style to application:

```xml
<application android:theme="@style/AppTheme" />
```

<br />
App has two activities. First \`MainActvity\` extends \`ActionBarActivity\` so framework will show window with \`ActionBar\` (see first screenshot with GridView).  \`ImageActivity\` is just \`Activity\`, so by default window will be rendered without \`ActionBar\`. But look at other screenshots, they have an \`ActionBar\`, but wait... actually it's \`Toolbar\`!

`Toolbar` is more flexible (easier to customize) **standard** `View`, so you can put it everywhere in layout, multiple times... and it still can act as `ActionBar` (see [setActionBar](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html#setActionBar(android.widget.Toolbar)))

Let's look at the layout file:

```xml
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:background="@color/black"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
        android:id="@+id/toolbar"
        android:background="@drawable/rectangle"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="@dimen/abc_action_bar_default_height_material"
        android:title="@string/app_name"
        />

    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/image"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:src="@drawable/rectangle"
        android:scaleType="center"
        />

</LinearLayout>
```

It's simple. Nothing special here, except using of `Toolbar`.

Finally we can use `Pallete` to extract prominent colors from image and change style of `Toolbar` at runtime.

```java
final Toolbar toolbar = (Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.toolbar);
final ImageView image = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.image);
target = new Target() {
    @Override
    public void onBitmapLoaded(final Bitmap bitmap, Picasso.LoadedFrom from) {
        Palette.generateAsync(bitmap, new Palette.PaletteAsyncListener() {
            public void onGenerated(Palette palette) {
                image.setImageBitmap(bitmap);
                int defaultColor = getResources().getColor(R.color.black);
                toolbar.setBackgroundColor(palette.getLightVibrantColor(defaultColor));
                toolbar.setTitleTextColor(palette.getDarkMutedColor(defaultColor));
                toolbar.setTitle(getString(R.string.app_name));
            }
        });
    }
};
Picasso.with(this)
        .load(getIntent().getStringExtra("url"))
        .into(target);
```

Look at the screenshots, I think they look pretty well and we didn't need a graphic designer to choose correct colors ;)

<br />
See \[full source code at github](https://github.com/mklimek/palette-sample).<br />
See \[Creating Apps with Material Design](https://developer.android.com/training/material/.html).<br />
See \[Material Design specification](http://www.google.com/design/spec/material-design/introduction.html#).

See this post on my [personal blog](http://mklimek.github.io/playing-with-material-design-toolbar-palette/).

## InjectionForXcode meets command line

*Published: 2014-11-06 | Author: michal | Tags: ios, appcode, xcode, injectionforxcode, gem*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/xcodeforinjection-meets-command-line/index.md*

I find [InjectionForXcode](http://injectionforxcode.com/) to be an indispensable tool in my daily iOS development. It works brilliantly but generates a lot of noise that I just couldn’t cope with.

I use AppCode. Whenever I execute `Run -> Patch Project For Injection` there’s a flood of messages telling me about changes in each individual `prefix.pch` file. There’s one prefix file for each CocoaPod in the project so you can imagine the pain of having to press “OK” button in a dozen of alert messages. Additionally after each file has been modified Xcode opens and shows the updated code. Yuck. You can live with this if you patch project for injection once and then keep patched project in your repository. The thing is that I don’t want to keep patched project in the repository. I don’t want to force InjectionForXcode onto other people working on the code. I want to quickly patch the project, do what I need to do and then revert the project to its previous state.

There’s also one other problem. I really hate the alert message that appears in the running app every time some code has been injected. I know that injection takes place because I initiate it. I immediately see the change in the app, I don’t need another alert message confirming it. After all I can always use [Blinker](https://github.com/bright/blinker) to indicate a change.

So many issues with such a great tool. Happily I managed to create a small gem that makes it all easier. It’s called [Injection Helper](https://github.com/bright/injection-helper) and you can install it by executing:

```Bash
gem install injection-helper
```

Here’s what you can do with it.

## Turn on mute mode for InjectionForXcode

Just execute `injection mute` from your project directory and you won’t see any more of those pesky messages.  There will also be no Xcode windows opened when you patch project for injection (or revert injection code) next time.

You can always unmute it by executing `injection unmute`.

## Patch project for injection from command line

It’s easier and feels better to patch project for injection straight from your command line.
Just go to your project directory and execute: `injection patch` to patch project or `injection revert` to remove all the boilerplate code.

There’s also `injection refresh` command that reverts injection changes and then patches the project again. It’s great if you run your app on a real device and don’t want to change your ip address in `main.m` every time you switch your wifi.

## Attaching ShareJS to select HTML element

*Published: 2014-11-04 | Author: adam | Tags: sharejs, javascript*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/attaching-sharejs-to-select/index.md*

One thing that I found missing in [ShareJS](http://sharejs.org/) library was the possibility to attach live concurrent editing to HTML `<select>` element. Out of the box it works only with text fields - `<input>` and `<textarea>` using `doc.attachTextarea(elem)` function.

Working around that deficiency wasn't so trivial. ShareJS works with [Operational Transformations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_transformation) that extracts each logical change to the text (addition or removal) and sends only the change information over the wire. It is great for textual elements, but for `<select>`, whose value is replaced always in one shot, it makes a little sense.

Unfortunately, there is no "replace" operation we could use on `<select>` value change - the *modus operandi* we have to live with is constrained to insertions and removals. It means we have to mimic "replace" operation with removal and insertion. The problem with this approach is that when the operations get reversed - so that the client receives new value insertion first and then removal of the previous value - the intermittent value in-between is not a valid `<option>`. It is a concatenation of old value and new value. DOM API doesn't like that and rejects that change, setting the `<select>` value to empty one. The removal operation that comes next is then unable to fix the value as it tries to remove something from already empty string in DOM.

I have worked around that wrapping my DOM element with a tiny wrapper that keeps the raw value and exposes it for ShareJS transformations while still trying to update the original element's DOM:

```JavaScript
var rawValue = innerElem.value;
var elem = {
    get value () {
        return rawValue;
    },
    set value (v) {
        rawValue = v;
        innerElem.value = v;
    }
};
```

ShareJS also doesn't attach itself to `change` event, typical for `<select>` element - it specializes in keyboard events. So I have to attach on my own and rely the event to the underlying ShareJS implementation, faking the event of type that is handled by the library - I've chosen the mysterious `textInput` event.

Here is the full code as Gist: [ShareJS attachSelect](https://gist.github.com/NOtherDev/9e713cfd68d6da9a174a). It adds a new function to the `Doc` prototype, allowing calling it in the same way we're calling ShareJS native `attachTextarea`:  

```JavaScript
if (elem.tagName.toLowerCase() === 'select') {
    doc.attachSelect(elem);
} else {
    doc.attachTextarea(elem);
}
```

Feel free to use the code, I hope someone finds that useful.

## ListViewWithSectionsAdapter for Android ListView, simple way to implement list view with sections.

*Published: 2014-11-03 | Author: daniel | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/android-listview-with-sections/index.md*

If you need to implement Android ListView with sections like in iOS world then the code below can help you with that. The first thing you need is to implement two View providers, one for section view and second for section entry view. To do that you just have to create a class that implements `ListViewWithSectionsAdapter.ViewProvider<T>` interface, example below.

```Java

public class ProfileSectionViewProvider implements ListViewWithSectionsAdapter.ViewProvider<BasicUserProfileSection> {

@Override
public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent, BasicUserProfileSection item, Context context) {
    View v = convertView;
    if (v == null) {
        LayoutInflater inflater = (LayoutInflater) context.getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
        v = inflater.inflate(R.layout.basic_user_profile_section, null);
    }
    TextView sectionTitleTextView = (TextView) v.findViewById(R.id.sectionTitle);
    sectionTitleTextView.setText(context.getString(item.getDisplayNameResourceId()));
    return v;
    }
}
```

Another thing you have to implement is DataProvider:

```Java
ListViewWithSectionsAdapter.DataProvider dataProvider = new ListViewWithSectionsAdapter.DataProvider() {
    @Override
    public List<Object> getSections() {
        ArrayList<Object> objects = new ArrayList<Object>();
        objects.addAll(BasicUserProfile.getDefault().getSections());
        return objects;
    }

    @Override
        public List<Object> getEntriesForSection(Object section) {
            ArrayList<Object> entries = new ArrayList<Object>();
            entries.addAll(((BasicUserProfileSection) section).getEntries());
            return entries;
        }
    }
```

Then you need to create an instance of ListViewWithSectionsAdapter class and assing that to ListView as adapter:
```Java
listView.setAdapter(new ListViewWithSectionsAdapter(getActivity(), dataProvider, new ProfileSectionViewProvider(), new ProfileEntryViewProvider()));
```

That's all. 

The implementation of ListViewWithSectionsAdapter you can find on github: [ListViewWithSectionsAdapter for Android ListView](https://gist.github.com/danielmakurat/2ed33ef7a3d1100149ef)

## Introducing slf4android - a simple slf4j implementation for android

*Published: 2014-11-01 | Author: piotr | Tags: android*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/introducing-slf4android/index.md*

Every now and then you have a bug that is hard to reproduce or only happens on certain phones or android versions. The thing that really comes handy in such case is a detailed application log. That's why it's so important to take time to add useful log entries in every non trivial part of the codebase. At the very minimum you'll want to log any errors.

## Logging frameworks
That's why it's so important to create log entries easily. The default solution that comes with Android by means of [`Log`](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/util/Log.html) is the most commonly used. However for me it's really  the least pleasant to use:

```java
Log.e("MyTag", "Failed to download " + url +  "due to occurred " + ex);
```

I really don't like that I have to specify a tag each time I need to log something. Moreover having to concatenate strings seems tedious and error prone.

### Logging with `java.util.logging`
Another alternative that is available by default on android is packaged inside `java.util.logging.*`. And here's an example of how to use it:

```java
    private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getLogger(MyActivity.class.getName());
    // and then
    LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Starting activity {0} saved instance {1}", new Object[]{this, savedInstanceState});

```

You're able to use [`MessageFormatter`](http://developer.android.com/reference/java/text/MessageFormat.html) style to format log entries. However no variable arguments method overload makes it both harder to read and write. More importantly **by default** if you use above statement the message **will not be printed anywhere**. It's easy to [fix](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4561345/how-to-configure-java-util-logging-on-android) when you know where to look for.

### Powerful `logback`

[logback](http://logback.qos.ch/) is probably the most powerful and configurable logging framework. Among many features you can for example send an email with 50 last log entries - I've used it in one project, it can be a bit hard to configure but it really comes handy during testing. In order to use it on android one needs to use a ported version [logback-android](http://tony19.github.io/logback-android/). There is one caveat though - this library is costs about 512kB - and takes about 4200 out of [dex method limit](https://medium.com/@rotxed/dex-skys-the-limit-no-65k-methods-is-28e6cb40cf71).

### Simple [android-logger](https://github.com/noveogroup/android-logger)

`android-logger` is a small (\<50KB) library that let's you use slf4j api to print to logcat. It ships with various configuration options that let you change the format of output messages as well as log level based on hierarchical logger names. However you won't be able to print messages to [an additional file](https://github.com/noveogroup/android-logger/issues/25) and you can only [configure the logger through properties files](https://github.com/noveogroup/android-logger/issues/28).

## [slf4android](https://github.com/bright/slf4android)
Since I wasn't perfectly happy with above and because some design decisions made in [android-logger](https://github.com/noveogroup/android-logger) make it not so easy to add features like logging to a file, creating custom patterns and configuring it from code I decided to create yet another logging utility.

It's a tiny wrapper around [slf4j api](http://www.slf4j.org/) baked by the `java.util.logging` logger mechanism. This means you can easily hook in any existing `java.util.logging.Handler` implementations.

To use this little gem you'll need to add [`http://bright.github.io/maven-repo/`](http://bright.github.io/maven-repo/) to repository list:

```groovy
repositories {
    maven {
        url "http://bright.github.io/maven-repo/"
    }
}
```

and then declare a dependency inside a module:

```groovy
dependencies {
    compile('pl.brightinventions:slf4android:0.0.4@aar'){
      transitive = true
    }
    //other dependencies
}
```

As with any slf4j compatible implementation using slf4android looks like this:

```java
class HomeActivity extends Activity {
    private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(HomeActivity.class.getSimpleName());

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        LOG.debug("Hello from {} saved instance state {}", this, savedInstanceState);
    }
}
```

### Logging to a file
To print messages to a separate file just add:

```java
LoggerConfiguration.configuration().addHandlerToLogger("", LoggerConfiguration.fileLogHandler(this));
```

inside your custom `android.app.Application` `onCreate` method. This will create rotated log files inside `context.getApplicationInfo().dataDir` with a name derived from `context.getPackageName()` and a default message pattern `%date %level [%thread] %name - %message%newline`

### More features
`slf4android` let's you register custom message patterns and configure logging level - although the api for that is still rough around the edges. It also features a simple (and not well tested) mechanism for error reporting that, when enabled, will display a `Dialog` prompting tester to notify developer through email whenever an error is encountered. You can enable it with:

```java
LoggerConfiguration.configuration().notifyDeveloperWithLogcatDataHandler(applicationContext, "developer.address@domain.com")
```

and receive emails with attached logcat output which comes handy during development.

*This article is cross-posted with [my personal blog](https://miensol.pl)*

## ShareJS 0.7.3 working example

*Published: 2014-10-29 | Author: adam | Tags: sharejs, nodejs, javascript*
*Source: https://brightinventions.pl/blog/sharejs-073-working-example/index.md*

I’m experimenting with [ShareJS](http://sharejs.org/) library, which is intended to allow live concurrent editing like in Google Docs. The demo on their website seems incredibly easy, even though later on the page they are so cruel: “*ShareJS is mostly working, but it’s still a bit shit.*”. I wouldn’t be so harsh as I was able to have it up and running in less than few hours. But the fact is it wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

It looks like the main problem with current state of ShareJS is what is pretty common in wild and uncontrolled open source world - lack of proper documentation. Here the problem is even worse. There are [some docs](https://github.com/share/ShareJS/wiki) and [examples](http://sharejs.org/demos.html), but most of it is either incomplete or outdated. ShareJS.org website runs on ShareJS 0.5, while the most recent release is 0.7.3, with no backward compatibility between those releases. I think it will be less harmful if there was no examples at all - right now they are more misleading than helpful. It was a bit frustrating when even the shortest and simplest snippet from their website didn’t work, failing on non-existing functions being called.

Anyway, I was able to figure out what I need to change to have the simple demo running, both server- and client-side. Here it is, in case you have the same struggle, too.

On **server-side**, I’m running CoffeeScript WebSocket server, almost like in [the original sample](https://github.com/share/ShareJS/blob/master/examples/ws.coffee). I just needed few changes in order to have it running with [Connect 3](https://github.com/senchalabs/connect#readme) - logging and static serving middlewares are no longer included in Connect out of the box, so I used [`morgan`](https://github.com/expressjs/morgan) and [`serve-static`](https://github.com/expressjs/serve-static), respectively. Here is the only changed part around Connect middlewares initialization:

```CoffeeScript
app = connect()
app.use morgan()
app.use '/srv', serveStatic sharejs.scriptsDir
app.use serveStatic "#{__dirname}/app”
```

Go here for full Gist: [ShareJS 0.7.3 server-side code](https://gist.github.com/NOtherDev/f288b939d19499060e1b).

I’m exposing client JavaScript libraries provided with ShareJS under `/srv` path and the client-facing web application files, physically located in `/app` on my filesystem, are exposed directly in the root path.

**Client-side** was a bit harder. Running the original code from the main ShareJS.org website wasn’t successful.

```JavaScript
sharejs.open('blag', 'text', function(error, doc) {
  var elem = document.getElementById('pad');
  doc.attach_textarea(elem);
});
```

It tries to call `sharejs.open` function, which yields “`TypeError: undefined is not a function`” error for a simple reason - there is no longer “`open`” function on `sharejs` global variable. Fiddling around, I found an example that is using more verbose call like this:

```JavaScript
var ws = new WebSocket('ws://127.0.0.1:7007');
var share = new sharejs.Connection(ws);
var doc = share.get('blag', 'doc');

if (!doc.type) {
    doc.create('text');
}

doc.whenReady(function () {
    var elem = document.getElementById('pad');
    doc.attachTextarea(elem);
});
```

Seemed legitimate and didn’t fail immediately, but I was getting "`Operation was rejected (Document already exists). Trying to rollback change locally.`” error message anytime except the first time. The code was calling `doc.create('text')` every time and that was clearly wrong, I should get `doc.type` pre-populated somehow. The solution is to subscribe to the document first and move checking the type and creating when needed to the function called after the document is ready - like this:

```JavaScript
var ws = new WebSocket('ws://127.0.0.1:7007');
var share = new sharejs.Connection(ws);
var doc = share.get('blag', 'doc');
doc.subscribe();

doc.whenReady(function () {
    if (!doc.type) {
        doc.create('text');
    }

    var elem = document.getElementById('pad');
    doc.attachTextarea(elem);
});
```

See the full Gist: [ShareJS 0.7.3 client-side code](https://gist.github.com/NOtherDev/2ea2bb111c00282e7617).

*This post is cross-posted with [my personal blog](http://notherdev.blogspot.com/2014/10/sharejs-073-working-example.html).*