List of blog entries

Secret management is hard to get right. When dealing with access to something as mission-critical as a database server, it’s nothing to scoff at. Traditionally, the way you allow an application to connect to a database is by configuring it with the username and password for a database user. But passing around static, long-lived credentials for database users is cumbersome, error-prone and frankly dangerous. /.../

The PDF Association is currently running a week-long event in Paris to discuss PDF standards & technology. The current round of meetings of ISO/TC 171/SC 2 is being held at the same time & venue. /.../

The impetus for this post is simple: I recently used an online printing service to place an order for paper cards to announce the birth of our newborn son. Since I planned to put together the card design using iText anyhow, I figured I might as well submit in PDF/X. After all, I would’ve been charged extra if the printing company had to fix my files! /.../

“Make invalid states unrepresentable” is an oft-repeated adage in software design, particularly popular in languages with expressive type systems. It’s good advice, and it generally leads to cleaner code bases with fewer opportunities for bugs to creep in. /.../