https://blog.vndpal.com/ Essays and field notes on APIs, databases, architecture and clean code by Vinod Pal. en Mon, 05 Oct 2026 20:16:22 GMT https://medium.com/@vndpal/10-popular-api-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-e91e84a34a7e https://medium.com/@vndpal/10-popular-api-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-e91e84a34a7e Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT A lot of best practices are just common mistakes that look good. Here’s how to spot them early. api https://medium.com/@vndpal/10-popular-architecture-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-8c1a278330e5 https://medium.com/@vndpal/10-popular-architecture-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-8c1a278330e5 Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT If you blindly follow any of them, your system might struggle later architecture https://medium.com/@vndpal/how-i-design-database-schemas-as-a-senior-developer-for-better-results-ae5cf17e575d https://medium.com/@vndpal/how-i-design-database-schemas-as-a-senior-developer-for-better-results-ae5cf17e575d Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Practical tips for designing a database schema without painful rewrites database data-science data-engineering https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-popular-security-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-486e5286ffe2 https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-popular-security-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-486e5286ffe2 Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT These were good security practices 10 years ago. Attackers evolved. Our code did not. security https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-design-apis-as-senior-developer-for-better-results-7209d40e6a29 https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-design-apis-as-senior-developer-for-better-results-7209d40e6a29 Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT The decisions I make before writing a single line of API code api https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-deleting-unit-tests-made-our-codebase-insanely-better-41febeb72fcb https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-deleting-unit-tests-made-our-codebase-insanely-better-41febeb72fcb Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Write fewer unit tests. Just make sure the ones you keep mean something. testing https://medium.com/javarevisited/the-truth-about-ai-code-and-your-growing-tech-debt-3ca3a41ebf3e https://medium.com/javarevisited/the-truth-about-ai-code-and-your-growing-tech-debt-3ca3a41ebf3e Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why AI-written features become tech debt faster than the code you write yourself ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-popular-database-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-9e3372f90a25 https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-popular-database-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-9e3372f90a25 Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT What I stopped doing after years of cleaning up production databases database data-science https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-use-stacked-prs-to-make-painful-reviews-simple-211471c54c55 https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-use-stacked-prs-to-make-painful-reviews-simple-211471c54c55 Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Your code reviewers are not lazy. You are handing them more than anyone can hold in their head. code-review https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-proven-clean-code-truths-i-know-that-are-best-as-a-senior-developer-14e753309f15 https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-proven-clean-code-truths-i-know-that-are-best-as-a-senior-developer-14e753309f15 Sun, 02 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The rules that survived ten years of reviews, rewrites, and code I had to fix myself clean-code https://proxify.io/articles/how-to-make-the-smart-build-vs-buy-ai-decision https://proxify.io/articles/how-to-make-the-smart-build-vs-buy-ai-decision Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A new AI feature lands on your roadmap. Someone asks the obvious question. Build it or buy it? The answer feels simple. ai leadership https://medium.com/javarevisited/stop-testing-ai-agents-like-software-heres-how-to-test-it-the-right-way-9e37efbd8ff2 https://medium.com/javarevisited/stop-testing-ai-agents-like-software-heres-how-to-test-it-the-right-way-9e37efbd8ff2 Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT What I learned after building many AI agents that confidently gave wrong answers ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/7-proven-signs-i-look-for-when-interviewing-engineers-10e5e09aef55 https://medium.com/javarevisited/7-proven-signs-i-look-for-when-interviewing-engineers-10e5e09aef55 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT From someone who has taken more than a hundred technical interviews, here’s what I found career https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-ship-code-insanely-fast-right-after-joining-afe871238c4a https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-ship-code-insanely-fast-right-after-joining-afe871238c4a Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The exact system I use to start pushing and releasing code in 2 weeks, while most new hires take 2 months. architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/9-hidden-coding-secrets-only-great-developers-know-c0ffd93c0b63 https://medium.com/javarevisited/9-hidden-coding-secrets-only-great-developers-know-c0ffd93c0b63 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The habits that keep your code alive and your weekends free. architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-ai-concepts-that-sound-hard-but-are-surprisingly-simple-d4e323464188 https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-ai-concepts-that-sound-hard-but-are-surprisingly-simple-d4e323464188 Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT You have heard these concepts a hundred times. Here is what they actually mean. ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/i-reviewed-more-than-100-ai-agents-most-should-have-been-non-ai-code-d8272f33fa70 https://medium.com/javarevisited/i-reviewed-more-than-100-ai-agents-most-should-have-been-non-ai-code-d8272f33fa70 Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT You don’t need AI agents for everything. Stop wasting your time and money on them. ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/ai-writes-your-code-now-so-why-keep-it-clean-0d709967357e https://medium.com/javarevisited/ai-writes-your-code-now-so-why-keep-it-clean-0d709967357e Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The argument sounds strong. It falls apart the moment you ship to production. ai https://proxify.io/articles/why-new-developer-onboarding-costs-are-surprisingly-brutal https://proxify.io/articles/why-new-developer-onboarding-costs-are-surprisingly-brutal Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT You hire a senior developer. The offer letter shows a salary. Add benefits, and you feel like you know the cost. You don't. leadership productivity https://proxify.io/articles/the-surprising-reason-your-ai-retrieval-actually-fails https://proxify.io/articles/the-surprising-reason-your-ai-retrieval-actually-fails Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT 40-60% of enterprise RAG implementations fail to reach production. ai architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/everyone-can-code-now-thanks-to-ai-but-that-wont-make-you-an-engineer-172cd14a8bae https://medium.com/javarevisited/everyone-can-code-now-thanks-to-ai-but-that-wont-make-you-an-engineer-172cd14a8bae Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The code was never the hard part. The judgment around it is. ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/why-our-new-human-code-ban-was-an-epic-fail-e15dfe85a41b https://medium.com/javarevisited/why-our-new-human-code-ban-was-an-epic-fail-e15dfe85a41b Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT We told 10 developers to ship a real client project with AI only. Here is what broke, what held up, and what we kept. ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/why-ai-cannot-save-your-bad-architecture-7-hidden-reasons-a67f75cd4bde https://medium.com/javarevisited/why-ai-cannot-save-your-bad-architecture-7-hidden-reasons-a67f75cd4bde Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Perfect code from a confused brain still ships a broken system. architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/7-warning-signs-your-codebase-is-becoming-legacy-and-how-to-fix-it-0cfdc693196e https://medium.com/javarevisited/7-warning-signs-your-codebase-is-becoming-legacy-and-how-to-fix-it-0cfdc693196e Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Spot them early. Fix them now. Save yourself a rewrite later. tech-debt https://medium.com/javarevisited/why-i-defend-monoliths-in-every-architecture-review-now-9fce031b5ab1 https://medium.com/javarevisited/why-i-defend-monoliths-in-every-architecture-review-now-9fce031b5ab1 Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Eight years of microservices changed my default. Here’s what I learned. architecture https://proxify.io/articles/why-engineering-velocity-declines https://proxify.io/articles/why-engineering-velocity-declines Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Your engineering team is twice the size it was two years ago. The roadmap is longer. The planning is more structured. And yet features take longer to ship than they did when the team was smaller. productivity leadership https://medium.com/javarevisited/nobody-cares-about-your-side-projects-build-them-anyway-0c37d2100def https://medium.com/javarevisited/nobody-cares-about-your-side-projects-build-them-anyway-0c37d2100def Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Nobody cared about his side project either. He built it in 2 months, got calls from Sam Altman and Zuckerberg, and the offers hit billions. side-hustle https://medium.com/javarevisited/my-7-killer-self-review-secrets-as-a-senior-developer-73c2ccbd225b https://medium.com/javarevisited/my-7-killer-self-review-secrets-as-a-senior-developer-73c2ccbd225b Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT How I catch real bugs before code review, without fancy tools or extra time. code-review https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-proven-ways-i-instantly-spot-bad-ai-generated-code-8bb671dce517 https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-proven-ways-i-instantly-spot-bad-ai-generated-code-8bb671dce517 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT The patterns I keep catching in AI-generated code, how to spot them, and how to stop them ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-got-high-paying-remote-job-offers-without-ever-applying-6d6870ba637e https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-got-high-paying-remote-job-offers-without-ever-applying-6d6870ba637e Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT The hidden talent network strategy most developers overlook remote-work career https://medium.com/javarevisited/i-built-20-ai-agents-here-are-the-hidden-lessons-15c1b2130749 https://medium.com/javarevisited/i-built-20-ai-agents-here-are-the-hidden-lessons-15c1b2130749 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A plain-English guide to the concepts behind every AI agent ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/ai-was-supposed-to-replace-developers-by-now-what-happened-fc63aa466749 https://medium.com/javarevisited/ai-was-supposed-to-replace-developers-by-now-what-happened-fc63aa466749 Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Turns out, replacing developers is harder than tweeting about it. ai https://proxify.io/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-ai-integration-roi-for-software-engineering-teams https://proxify.io/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-ai-integration-roi-for-software-engineering-teams Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Most engineering leaders face the same pressure: the C-suite wants AI. Developers want AI. But nobody can agree on what success looks like when using AI tools. ai productivity https://medium.com/javarevisited/these-bad-architecture-decisions-made-me-a-better-senior-developer-7696086714c3 https://medium.com/javarevisited/these-bad-architecture-decisions-made-me-a-better-senior-developer-7696086714c3 Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT These mistakes cost me painful lessons. But they built my judgment and changed how I think, design, and ship architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/the-heisenberg-bug-how-to-debug-bugs-that-disappear-9c41affc9500 https://medium.com/javarevisited/the-heisenberg-bug-how-to-debug-bugs-that-disappear-9c41affc9500 Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Some bugs only exist when no one is watching. Here is how to catch them. debugging https://medium.com/javarevisited/my-practical-approach-for-reviewing-ai-generated-code-268db27f3af8 https://medium.com/javarevisited/my-practical-approach-for-reviewing-ai-generated-code-268db27f3af8 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A simple checklist I use before accepting the code written by AI ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-build-prototypes-faster-using-this-proven-system-c033134343b9 https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-build-prototypes-faster-using-this-proven-system-c033134343b9 Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT My exact step-by-step process that creates prototypes in days, not months. mvp prototyping https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-popular-clean-code-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-5ddcf7db90f8 https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-popular-clean-code-practices-that-do-more-harm-than-good-5ddcf7db90f8 Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT What decades of maintaining real systems taught me about clean code clean-code best-practices https://proxify.io/articles/bottlenecks-behind-scaling-databases-and-how-to-spot-them https://proxify.io/articles/bottlenecks-behind-scaling-databases-and-how-to-spot-them Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Your database was fine yesterday. Today, page loads crawl, alerts are firing, and someone says, “Should we scale the database?” That question usually comes months too late. database architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-review-tech-architecture-as-a-senior-developer-for-better-results-aca52c80fbbe https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-i-review-tech-architecture-as-a-senior-developer-for-better-results-aca52c80fbbe Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT What I have learnt after reviewing more than 100+ architectures. architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/5-skills-that-made-me-a-more-valuable-developer-than-any-framework-ever-could-0d266c330bde https://medium.com/javarevisited/5-skills-that-made-me-a-more-valuable-developer-than-any-framework-ever-could-0d266c330bde Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Timeless skills for developers who refuse to become obsolete architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-to-use-ai-tools-without-burning-money-on-tokens-096a70668db2 https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-to-use-ai-tools-without-burning-money-on-tokens-096a70668db2 Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT 14 tested ways to cut AI costs by 80% without losing quality ai https://medium.com/javarevisited/why-copying-architectures-from-big-tech-companies-is-dangerous-ae6a843343f2 https://medium.com/javarevisited/why-copying-architectures-from-big-tech-companies-is-dangerous-ae6a843343f2 Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Instead, design systems that fit your team, your scale, and your constraints. architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/thank-you-stack-overflow-5dd6fb98419e https://medium.com/javarevisited/thank-you-stack-overflow-5dd6fb98419e Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Remembering the platform that raised a generation of engineers stackoverflow developer-community https://proxify.io/articles/implementing-cross-cutting-concerns-at-scale https://proxify.io/articles/implementing-cross-cutting-concerns-at-scale Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT In real projects, some features don’t stay within a single part of the code. They appear in many places across the system. architecture clean-code https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-simpler-architectures-made-me-a-better-senior-developer-8873a44e0a4c https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-simpler-architectures-made-me-a-better-senior-developer-8873a44e0a4c Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Tips for designing simpler yet effective architectures architecture https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-open-source-projects-that-let-me-build-software-for-free-63ee85fae9bc https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-open-source-projects-that-let-me-build-software-for-free-63ee85fae9bc Sun, 04 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT How I replaced $2,000–$5,000/month SaaS bills with self-hosted open source tools open-source startup saas https://medium.com/javarevisited/mcp-is-the-new-ai-agent-standard-and-its-happening-faster-than-expected-cc76d454f8f7 https://medium.com/javarevisited/mcp-is-the-new-ai-agent-standard-and-its-happening-faster-than-expected-cc76d454f8f7 Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why AI agents were hard to build, and how MCP changed that ai https://proxify.io/articles/serverless-doesnt-mean-free-engineering-tradeoffs https://proxify.io/articles/serverless-doesnt-mean-free-engineering-tradeoffs Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT The promise of serverless computing is compelling: write code, deploy it, and pay only for what you use. No servers to manage, automatic scaling, and theoretically lower costs. architecture serverless https://medium.com/javarevisited/can-you-solve-this-production-bug-1df9258d4a9c https://medium.com/javarevisited/can-you-solve-this-production-bug-1df9258d4a9c Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Are you ready for the challenge? debugging