"JSX over the Wire" explores the idea of sending JSX directly from the server to the client, letting the browser parse and render it. This eliminates the need for separate HTML templates and API calls to fetch data, theoretically simplifying development and potentially improving performance by reducing data transfer and client-side processing. The author acknowledges this approach is unconventional and explores its potential benefits and drawbacks, including security considerations (XSS vulnerabilities) and the need for client-side hydration. Ultimately, the article concludes that while JSX over the wire is a fascinating concept with some appealing aspects, the existing ecosystem around established practices like server-side rendering and traditional APIs remains robust and generally preferred. Further research and experimentation are needed before declaring JSX over the wire a viable alternative for most applications.
The blog post explores optimizing font rendering on SSD1306 OLED displays, common in microcontrollers. It delves into the inner workings of these displays, specifically addressing the limitations of their framebuffer and command structure. The author analyzes various font rendering techniques, highlighting the trade-offs between memory usage, CPU cycles, and visual quality. Ultimately, the post advocates for generating font glyphs directly on the display using horizontal byte-aligned drawing commands, a method that minimizes RAM usage while still providing acceptable performance and rendering quality for embedded systems. This technique exploits the SSD1306's hardware acceleration for horizontal lines, making it more efficient than traditional pixel-by-pixel rendering or storing full font bitmaps.
HN users discuss various aspects of using SSD1306 displays. Several commenters appreciate the deep dive into font rendering and the clear explanations, particularly regarding gamma correction and its impact. Some discuss alternative rendering methods, like using pre-rendered glyphs or leveraging the microcontroller's capabilities for faster performance. Others offer practical advice, suggesting libraries like u8g2 and sharing tips for memory optimization. The challenges of limited RAM and slow I2C communication are also acknowledged, along with potential solutions like using SPI. A few users mention alternative display technologies like e-paper or Sharp Memory LCDs for different use cases.
LVGL is a free and open-source graphics library providing everything you need to create embedded GUIs with easy-to-use graphical elements, beautiful visual effects, and a low memory footprint. It's designed to be platform-agnostic, supporting a wide range of input devices and hardware from microcontrollers to powerful embedded systems like the Raspberry Pi. Key features include scalable vector graphics, animations, anti-aliasing, Unicode support, and a flexible style system for customizing the look and feel of the interface. With its rich set of widgets, themes, and an active community, LVGL simplifies the development process of visually appealing and responsive embedded GUIs.
HN commenters generally praise LVGL's ease of use, beautiful output, and good documentation. Several note its suitability for microcontrollers, especially with limited resources. Some express concern about its memory footprint, even with optimizations, and question its performance compared to other GUI libraries. A few users share their positive experiences integrating LVGL into their projects, highlighting its straightforward integration and active community. Others discuss the licensing (MIT) and its suitability for commercial products. The lack of a GPU dependency is mentioned as both a positive and negative, offering flexibility but potentially impacting performance for complex graphics. Finally, some comments compare LVGL to other embedded GUI libraries, with varying opinions on its relative strengths and weaknesses.
RT64 is a modern, accurate, and performant Nintendo 64 graphics renderer designed for both emulators and native ports. It aims to replicate the original N64's rendering quirks and limitations while offering features like high resolutions, widescreen support, and various upscaling filters. Leveraging a plugin-based architecture, it can be integrated into different emulator frontends and allows for custom shaders and graphics enhancements. RT64 also supports features like texture dumping and analysis tools, facilitating the study and preservation of N64 graphics. Its focus on accuracy makes it valuable for developers interested in faithful N64 emulation and for creating native ports of N64 games that maintain the console's distinctive visual style.
Hacker News users discuss RT64's impressive N64 emulation accuracy and performance, particularly its ability to handle high-poly models and advanced graphical effects like reflections that were previously difficult or impossible. Several commenters express excitement about potential future applications, including upscaling classic N64 games and enabling new homebrew projects. Some also note the project's use of modern rendering techniques and its potential to push the boundaries of N64 emulation further. The clever use of compute shaders is highlighted, as well as the potential benefits of the renderer being open-source. There's general agreement that this project represents a substantial advancement in N64 emulation technology.
Aras Pranckevičius details a technique for creating surface-stable fractal dithering on the Playdate handheld console. The core idea is to generate dithering patterns not in screen space, but in a "surface" space that's independent of the rendered object's movement or animation. This surface space is then sampled in screen space, allowing the dither pattern to remain consistent relative to the object's surface, avoiding distracting "swimming" artifacts that occur with traditional screen-space dithering. The implementation uses a precomputed 3D noise texture as the basis for the fractal pattern and leverages the Playdate's CPU for the calculations, achieving a visually pleasing and performant dithering solution for the device's limited display.
HN commenters generally praised the visual appeal and technical cleverness of the dithering technique. Several appreciated the detailed explanation and clear diagrams in the blog post, making it easy to understand the algorithm. Some discussed potential applications beyond the Playdate, including shaders and other limited-palette situations. One commenter pointed out a potential similarity to Bayer ordered dithering at higher resolutions, suggesting it might be a rediscovery of a known technique. Another questioned the "surface stability" claim, arguing that the pattern still shifts with movement. A few users shared links to related resources on dithering and fractal patterns.
Using mix() with step() to simulate conditional assignments in shaders is often less efficient than directly using branch instructions. While seemingly branchless, this mix()/step() approach can introduce extra computations and potentially disrupt hardware optimizations related to predication. Modern GPUs are adept at handling branches efficiently, especially when they are predictable, so relying on them is often faster and simpler than employing arithmetic workarounds. Therefore, default to standard branching unless profiling reveals a specific performance bottleneck that can be demonstrably addressed by a mix()/step() alternative.
HN users generally agreed that the article's advice is sound, particularly for modern GPUs. Several pointed out that mix() and step() can be more efficient than branching, especially when dealing with SIMD architectures where branching can lead to thread divergence. Some emphasized that profiling is crucial, as the optimal approach can vary depending on the specific GPU and shader complexity. One commenter noted that while branching might be faster in simple cases, mix() offers more predictable performance as shader complexity increases. Another cautioned against premature optimization and recommended focusing on algorithmic improvements first. A few users shared alternative techniques like using lookup textures or bitwise operations for certain conditional scenarios. Finally, there was discussion about the evolution of GPU architecture and how older advice regarding branching might no longer apply.
This blog post details a method for realistically simulating shallow water flow over terrain. The author utilizes a heightmap to represent the terrain and employs a simplified shallow water equations model to govern water movement. This model calculates water height and velocity, accounting for factors like terrain slope and gravity. The simulation iteratively updates the water's state using numerical integration, allowing for dynamic changes in water distribution and flow patterns based on the underlying terrain. Visualization is achieved through a simple rendering technique that adjusts terrain color based on water depth, creating a visually convincing representation of shallow water flowing over varied terrain.
Commenters on Hacker News largely praised the clarity and educational value of the blog post on simulating water over terrain. Several appreciated the author's focus on intuitive explanation and avoidance of overly complex mathematics, making the topic accessible to a wider audience. Some pointed out the limitations of the shallow water equations used, particularly regarding their inability to model breaking waves, while others suggested alternative approaches or resources for further exploration, such as smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and the book "Fluid Simulation for Computer Graphics." A few commenters also shared their own experiences and projects related to fluid simulation. Overall, the discussion was positive and focused on the technical aspects of the simulation.
Post-processing shaders offer a powerful creative medium for transforming images and videos beyond traditional photography and filmmaking. By applying algorithms directly to rendered pixels, artists can achieve stylized visuals, simulate physical phenomena, and even correct technical imperfections. This blog post explores the versatility of post-processing, demonstrating how shaders can create effects like bloom, depth of field, color grading, and chromatic aberration, unlocking a vast landscape of artistic expression and allowing creators to craft unique and evocative imagery. It advocates learning the underlying principles of shader programming to fully harness this potential and emphasizes the accessibility of these techniques using readily available tools and frameworks.
Hacker News users generally praised the article's exploration of post-processing shaders for creative visual effects. Several commenters appreciated the technical depth and clear explanations, highlighting the potential of shaders beyond typical "Instagram filter" applications. Some pointed out the connection to older demoscene culture and the satisfaction of crafting visuals algorithmically. Others discussed the performance implications of complex shaders and suggested optimization strategies. A few users shared links to related resources and tools, including Shadertoy and Godot's visual shader editor. The overall sentiment was positive, with many expressing interest in exploring shaders further.
Radiant Foam introduces a novel real-time differentiable ray tracer. By leveraging sparsity and implementing custom CUDA kernels, it achieves interactive performance while maintaining differentiability, enabling gradient-based optimization for tasks like inverse rendering, material estimation, and scene reconstruction. The system supports various features including global illumination, volumetric rendering, and differentiable sampling, offering a powerful tool for research and development in computer graphics and related fields. Its core contribution lies in its efficient handling of gradients throughout the ray tracing process, allowing for effective optimization even with complex scenes and lighting.
HN users discuss Radiant Foam's potential and limitations. Some praise its innovative approach to differentiable rendering, highlighting the possibilities for material and lighting design, as well as applications in robotics and inverse rendering. Others express skepticism about its practical use due to performance concerns, particularly the computational cost of path tracing for real-time applications. Several commenters question the novelty of the approach, comparing it to existing differentiable renderers and noting the inherent challenges of gradient-based optimization in rendering. The discussion also touches on the project's open-source nature and the possibility of GPU acceleration. Several commenters inquire about specific features and limitations, such as support for complex materials and the impact of different sampling strategies.
Ratzilla is a playful demo showcasing a technical experiment in real-time 3D rendering within a web browser. It features a giant rat model, humorously named "Ratzilla," stomping around a simplified cityscape. The project explores techniques for efficient rendering of complex models using WebGPU, a new web standard offering direct access to the device's graphics processing unit (GPU). The demo aims to push the boundaries of what's possible in web-based graphics while maintaining acceptable performance. Though still a prototype, Ratzilla demonstrates the potential of WebGPU for creating compelling and interactive 3D experiences directly within the browser, without the need for plugins or external applications.
HN commenters were impressed with Ratzilla's performance and clever approach to pathfinding using a tiny neural network. Several questioned the practical applications beyond the demo, wondering about its suitability for real-world robotics and complex environments. Some discussed the limitations of the small neural network and potential challenges in scaling the project. Others praised the clear and concise explanation provided on the project's website, along with the accessibility of the demo. A few users pointed out the similarities and differences with other pathfinding algorithms like A*. Overall, the comment section expressed admiration for the technical achievement while maintaining a pragmatic view of its potential.
Some websites display boxes instead of flag emojis in Chrome on Windows due to a font substitution issue. Windows uses its own Segoe UI Emoji font for most emoji, but defaults to a lower-quality bitmap font called "Segoe UI Symbol" specifically for flag emojis. This bitmap font lacks the necessary glyphs for many flag combinations, resulting in the missing emoji. Websites can force Chrome to use the correct, vector-based Segoe UI Emoji font by explicitly specifying it in their CSS, ensuring flags render properly.
Commenters on Hacker News largely discuss the technical details behind the issue, focusing on the surprising interaction between Chrome, Windows, and the specific way flags are rendered using two combined code points. Several point out the complexity and unexpected behaviors that arise from combining characters, particularly when dealing with different systems and fonts. Some users express frustration with the inconsistency and lack of clear documentation around emoji rendering. A few commenters offer potential workarounds or solutions, including using a fallback font or pre-rendering the flags as images. Others delve into the history and evolution of emoji standards and the challenges of maintaining compatibility across platforms. A compelling comment thread explores the tradeoffs between using the combined code points for flags versus using dedicated single code points, highlighting the performance implications and rendering complexities. Another interesting discussion revolves around the role of fonts and the challenges of designing fonts that support a rapidly expanding set of emojis.
This post explores the problem of uniformly sampling points within a disk and reveals why a naive approach using polar coordinates leads to a concentration of points near the center. The author demonstrates that while generating a random angle and a random radius seems correct, it produces a non-uniform distribution due to the varying area of concentric rings within the disk. The solution presented involves generating a random angle and a radius proportional to the square root of a random number between 0 and 1. This adjustment accounts for the increasing area at larger radii, resulting in a truly uniform distribution of sampled points across the disk. The post includes clear visualizations and mathematical justifications to illustrate the problem and the effectiveness of the corrected sampling method.
HN users discuss various aspects of uniformly sampling points within a disk. Several commenters point out the flaws in the naive sqrt(random()) approach, correctly identifying its tendency to cluster points towards the center. They offer alternative solutions, including the accepted approach of sampling an angle and radius separately, as well as using rejection sampling. One commenter explores generating points within a square and rejecting those outside the circle, questioning its efficiency compared to other methods. Another details the importance of this problem in ray tracing and game development. The discussion also delves into the mathematical underpinnings, with commenters explaining the need for the square root on the radius to achieve uniformity and the relationship to the area element in polar coordinates. The practicality and performance of different methods are a recurring theme, including comparisons to pre-calculated lookup tables.
The Graphics Codex is a comprehensive, free online resource for learning about computer graphics. It covers a broad range of topics, from fundamental concepts like color and light to advanced rendering techniques like ray tracing and path tracing. Emphasizing a practical, math-heavy approach, the Codex provides detailed explanations, interactive diagrams, and code examples to facilitate a deep understanding of the underlying principles. It's designed to be accessible to students and professionals alike, offering a structured learning path from beginner to expert levels. The resource continues to evolve and expand, aiming to become a definitive and up-to-date guide to the field of computer graphics.
Hacker News users largely praised the Graphics Codex, calling it a "fantastic resource" and a "great intro to graphics". Many appreciated its practical, hands-on approach and clear explanations of fundamental concepts, contrasting it favorably with overly theoretical or outdated textbooks. Several commenters highlighted the value of its accompanying code examples and the author's focus on modern graphics techniques. Some discussion revolved around the choice of GLSL over other shading languages, with some preferring a more platform-agnostic approach, but acknowledging the educational benefits of GLSL's explicit nature. The overall sentiment was highly positive, with many expressing excitement about using the resource themselves or recommending it to others.
The "Subpixel Snake" video demonstrates a technique for achieving smooth, subpixel-precise movement of a simple snake game using a fixed-point integer coordinate system. Instead of moving the snake in whole pixel increments, fractional coordinates are used internally, allowing for smooth, seemingly subpixel motion when rendered visually. The technique avoids floating-point arithmetic for performance reasons, relevant to the target platform (likely older or less powerful hardware). Essentially, the game maintains higher precision internally than what is displayed, creating the illusion of smoother movement.
HN users largely praised the Subpixel Snake game and its clever use of subpixel rendering for smooth movement. Several commenters discussed the nostalgic appeal of such games, recalling similar experiences with old Nokia phones and other limited-resolution displays. Some delved into the technical aspects, explaining how subpixel rendering works and its limitations, while others shared their high scores or jokingly lamented their wasted time playing. The creator of the game also participated, responding to questions and sharing insights into the development process. A few comments mentioned similar games or techniques, offering alternative approaches to achieving smooth movement in low-resolution environments.
Threlte 8 introduces significant performance enhancements and new features to the Svelte Three.js wrapper. A key improvement is the move to a new, more efficient rendering loop using requestAnimationFrame within Svelte's tick function, eliminating unnecessary re-renders and boosting FPS. Version 8 also embraces a new component-based architecture, improving code organization and maintainability. New components like <TCanvas> and <TGroup> simplify scene setup and object management. Additionally, Threlte 8 boasts improved developer experience through streamlined event handling, simplified camera controls, and a revamped documentation site. These updates solidify Threlte's position as a powerful and user-friendly tool for building 3D experiences with Svelte.
Hacker News users generally expressed enthusiasm for Threlte 8, praising its improvements to developer experience in using Three.js with Svelte. Several commenters highlighted the elegance of the new component-based approach and its similarity to React Three Fiber, making it easier to learn and use. Some discussed the benefits of Svelte's reactivity and smaller bundle sizes, while others appreciated the improved documentation and examples. One user raised a question about server-side rendering support, which the Threlte author clarified is being actively worked on. Overall, the sentiment was positive, with many commenters eager to try Threlte 8 in their projects.
Surface-Stable Fractal Dithering introduces a novel dithering technique that maintains detail and avoids shimmering artifacts when applied to animated or deforming 3D surfaces. It achieves this by generating spatially correlated dither patterns using fractal Brownian motion, ensuring temporal coherence as the surface changes. This method produces visually pleasing results for various applications like reducing banding in low-bit color displays or adding stylized noise to textures, outperforming traditional dithering approaches in dynamic scenarios. The provided code implementation offers a flexible and efficient way to integrate this technique into existing graphics pipelines.
Hacker News commenters generally praised the visual appeal and technical ingenuity of the dithering technique. Several highlighted the cleverness of leveraging 3D surfaces for dithering, finding it both unexpected and effective. Some expressed curiosity about the performance and potential applications, particularly in real-time scenarios and stylized rendering. A few commenters delved into the technical details, discussing the specifics of fractal noise generation and the implications of different surface types. There was also a brief discussion comparing this method to traditional dithering techniques and its potential advantages in preserving detail and minimizing banding artifacts. One commenter suggested potential improvements like exploring alternative distance functions and optimizing for different color spaces.
This blog post breaks down the "Tiny Clouds" Shadertoy by iq, explaining its surprisingly simple yet effective cloud rendering technique. The shader uses raymarching through a 3D noise function, but instead of directly visualizing density, it calculates the amount of light scattered backwards towards the viewer. This is achieved by accumulating the density along the ray and weighting it based on the distance traveled, effectively simulating how light scatters more in denser areas. The post further analyzes the specific noise function used, which combines several octaves of Simplex noise for detail, and discusses how the scattering calculations create a sense of depth and illumination. Finally, it offers variations and potential improvements, such as adding lighting controls and exploring different noise functions.
Commenters on Hacker News largely praised the "Tiny Clouds" shader's elegance and efficiency, admiring the author's ability to create such a visually appealing effect with minimal code. Several discussed the clever use of trigonometric functions and noise to generate the cloud shapes, and some delved into the specifics of raymarching and signed distance fields. A few users shared their own experiences experimenting with similar techniques, and offered suggestions for further exploration, like adding lighting variations or animation. One commenter linked to a related Shadertoy example showcasing a different approach to cloud rendering, prompting a brief comparison of the two methods. Overall, the discussion highlighted the technical ingenuity behind the shader and fostered a sense of appreciation for its concise yet powerful implementation.
This project demonstrates a surprisingly functional 3D raycaster engine implemented entirely within a Bash script. By cleverly leveraging ASCII characters and terminal output manipulation, it renders a simple maze-like environment in pseudo-3D. The script calculates ray intersections with walls and represents distances with varying shades of characters, creating a surprisingly immersive experience given the limitations of the medium. While performance is understandably limited, it showcases the flexibility and unexpected capabilities of Bash beyond typical scripting tasks.
Hacker News users discuss the ingenuity and limitations of a bash raycaster. Several express admiration for the project's creativity, highlighting the unexpected capability of bash for such a task. Some commenters delve into the technical details, discussing the clever use of shell built-ins and the performance implications of using bash for computationally intensive tasks. Others point out that the "raycasting" is actually a 2.5D projection technique and not true raycasting. The novelty of the project and its demonstration of bash's flexibility are the main takeaways, though its practicality is questioned. Some users also shared links to similar projects in other unexpected languages.
The CSS contain property allows developers to isolate a portion of the DOM, improving performance by limiting the scope of browser calculations like layout, style, and paint. By specifying values like layout, style, paint, and size, authors can tell the browser that changes within the contained element won't affect its surroundings, or vice versa. This allows the browser to optimize rendering and avoid unnecessary recalculations, leading to smoother and faster web experiences, particularly for complex or dynamic layouts. The content keyword offers the strongest form of containment, encompassing all the other values, while strict and size offer more granular control.
Hacker News users discussed the usefulness of the contain CSS property, particularly for performance optimization by limiting the scope of layout, style, and paint calculations. Some highlighted its power in isolating components and improving rendering times, especially in complex web applications. Others pointed out the potential for misuse and the importance of understanding its various values (layout, style, paint, size, and content) to achieve desired effects. A few users mentioned specific use cases, like efficiently handling large lists or off-screen elements, and wished for wider adoption and better browser support for some of its features, like containment for subtree layout changes. Some expressed that containment is a powerful but often overlooked tool for optimizing web page performance.
Obsidian-textgrams is a plugin that allows users to create and embed ASCII diagrams directly within their Obsidian notes. It leverages code blocks and a custom renderer to display the diagrams, offering features like syntax highlighting and the ability to store diagram source code within the note itself. This provides a convenient way to visualize information using simple text-based graphics within the Obsidian environment, eliminating the need for external image files or complex drawing tools.
HN users generally expressed interest in the Obsidian Textgrams plugin, praising its lightweight approach compared to alternatives like Excalidraw or Mermaid. Some suggested improvements, including the ability to embed rendered diagrams as images for compatibility with other Markdown editors, and better text alignment within shapes. One commenter highlighted the usefulness for quickly mocking up system designs or diagrams, while another appreciated its simplicity for note-taking. The discussion also touched upon alternative tools like PlantUML and Graphviz, but the consensus leaned towards appreciating Textgrams' minimalist and fast rendering capabilities within Obsidian. A few users expressed interest in seeing support for more complex shapes and connections.
Summary of Comments ( 139 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43694681
Hacker News users discussed the potential benefits and drawbacks of sending JSX over the wire, as proposed in the linked article. Some commenters saw it as a potentially elegant solution for certain use cases, particularly for internal tools or situations where tight coupling between client and server is acceptable. They appreciated the simplified workflow and reduced boilerplate. However, others expressed concerns about security vulnerabilities (especially XSS), performance implications due to larger payload sizes, and the tight coupling making it harder to scale or adapt to different client technologies in the future. The idea of using a templating engine on the server was suggested as a more traditional and potentially safer approach. Several questioned the practicality and overall benefits compared to existing solutions, viewing it as a niche approach not suitable for most production environments.
The Hacker News post "JSX over the Wire" discussing Dan Abramov's blog post about the same topic generated a fair number of comments, mostly focusing on the practicality and potential downsides of sending JSX directly over the wire.
Several commenters questioned the performance implications. One user pointed out the potential overhead of parsing JSX on the client-side, especially on less powerful devices. They argued that this approach might negate the performance benefits of server-side rendering, a key motivation for the technique discussed in the article. Another user echoed this concern, emphasizing that transferring a stringified version of the JSX might end up being larger than optimized HTML, leading to increased bandwidth consumption and slower initial load times.
Others discussed the security implications. A commenter highlighted the potential vulnerability to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks if the server-side rendering process isn't properly sanitized. If user-provided data is directly embedded into the JSX without proper escaping, malicious scripts could be injected and executed on the client-side. This point was further emphasized by another user who suggested that while convenient, this method requires extra caution and robust sanitization mechanisms to mitigate the security risks.
Some commenters discussed alternative approaches. One suggested using a dedicated format for serialization, like a custom binary format, which would be more efficient than sending JSX directly. Another mentioned using existing technologies like Preact Signals for finer-grained updates, questioning whether sending entire JSX components over the wire was necessary for every update.
A few users focused on the developer experience aspects. One commenter appreciated the potential simplicity of the approach, especially for smaller projects where the performance overhead might be negligible. They argued that the reduced complexity of managing separate server and client-side templates could be a significant advantage.
A counterpoint to this was raised by another user who pointed out that while seemingly simple, this approach might lead to difficulties in debugging and maintaining larger applications. They highlighted the potential challenges of tracing issues back to the server-rendered JSX when errors occur on the client-side.
Finally, some comments centered on the specific context of React Server Components. One commenter clarified that React Server Components already function in a conceptually similar way, rendering components on the server and sending them to the client. This highlighted that the idea of "JSX over the wire," while not a standard practice, isn't entirely novel.
Overall, the comments presented a mixed reception to the idea of sending JSX over the wire. While some appreciated the potential simplicity and performance benefits in certain contexts, others expressed valid concerns about performance overhead, security risks, and the potential for increased complexity in larger applications. The discussion highlighted the trade-offs involved and the importance of carefully considering these factors before adopting such an approach.