Top 7 Featured DEV Posts of the Week

Happy Monday, folks! Let's kick off the week with a roundup of last week's top articles. This collection covers everything from nifty DEV hacks to the psychology behind rubber duck debugging and crafting performative leaderboards. Plus, this week we're welcoming three new folks to our Top 7 lineup. 🎉 It's time to settle in and explore some new ideas, courtesy of the vibrant dev.to community!

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@ymc9 from ZenStack shares personal reflections on how our brains tackle coding challenges and offers insights into psychological factors affecting programmers' performance. From the famed rubber duck debugging to the intriguing "Shower Effect," discover unconventional techniques to enhance creativity and overcome common hurdles in the programming realm. 🐤

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In the latest installment of his "Database 101" series, @danielhe4rt explores the intricate art of modeling leaderboards for games with a million players. Drawing on personal experiences with the open-source rhythm game YARG and leveraging ScyllaDB's efficiency, the article delves into Query Driven Data Modeling and wide-column database concepts, providing a comprehensive guide for crafting performative leaderboards.

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We love this list of DEV hacks by @anmolbaranwa. It’s a treasure trove of unexpected features and tricks to supercharge your DEV experience. Hidden RSS feeds, personalized call-to-action buttons, quirky badges, and more – this guide unveils the secrets every DEV member should know. Which tip surprised you the most?

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@pauljlucas walks us through a 45-year programming career — from the the early days of BASIC on a DECwriter to pioneering work at Bell Labs, NASA Ames, and more. Sharing personal stories and imparting wisdom, Paul's post is wonderfully detailed and a must-read for anyone curious about the ever-evolving tech landscape and the experiences that shaped a seasoned developer's remarkable journey.

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@madsstoumann explains a common misuse of <table>s in CSS before setting us straight with thorough guidance on how they’re meant to be used — covering the elements involved and how to structure & stye them.

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Avoiding burnout as a maintainer shouldn’t feel impossible. @bekahhw delivers an empathetic guide for contributors, shedding light on the importance of supporting maintainers by sharing responsibility in open source. The success of open source software depends on the good citizenship of its members, so let’s learn how to be upstanding contributors!

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In a society drowning in content, @lucaschitolina explores the challenge of decision-making paralysis and offers insights on overcoming it. Uncover the real costs of a bad course and discover practical strategies to cut through the noise, finding clarity in the chaos of learning something new in 2024. Join this newcomer to DEV in unraveling the complexities of acquiring new skills in 2024.

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Woohoo! That's another Monday, folks. Meet us back here next week for another roundup of some of the best articles on DEV. But you don't have to wait all week! There are more great articles, discussions, and updates in our weekly DEV Community newsletter, landing in your inbox every Tuesday.🚀📩