Posts

How JavaScript Uses Hashing

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Hashing is one of the most powerful tools in computing, especially in areas like data security, data storage, and quick data retrieval. In JavaScript, hashing plays a significant role in both the backend and frontend, powering structures like "map" objects and supporting secure applications through libraries like "crypto". What is Hashing and What is it Used For Hashing is a process that converts an input (or ‘message’) into a fixed-length string of bytes, typically using a mathematical function called a hash function . This result is known as the hash value , digest , or simply the hash . A key feature of hashing is that: The same input always gives the same output. It’s one-way, you cannot reverse the hash back to the original data. Even a tiny change in the input drastically changes the output (called the avalanche effect ). Common Uses of Hashing: Password Storage : Instead of storing passwords in plain text, we store their hash. When a user logs in, we hash th...

Interfaces in Object-Oriented Programming Languages and Prototype-Based Languages

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What is an Interface in OOP An interface is a programming structure used in many object-oriented languages (like Python, Java, and C#) that defines a set of methods and properties a class must implement, but without including the method bodies themselves. Benefits of Using Interfaces: Abstraction : Interfaces allow us to hide implementation details and show only what’s necessary. Code consistency : All classes that implement the interface will follow the same structure. Polymorphism : Different classes can be used interchangeably if they implement the same interface Maintainability : Helps teams work more effectively by enforcing coding standards. Decoupling : Classes using interfaces are less dependent on specific implementations. Why JavaScript Doesn’t Use Interfaces (By Default) JavaScript is a prototype-based language , not a traditional OOP language. Until ES6, it didn’t even have class syntax, everything was built using functions and objects. Even today, under the hood, Jav...

Big O Notation Basics for Web Developers

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As a web developers, we strive to not just write code that works, but also code that is efficient. That’s where Big O Notation comes in. It is a concept from computer science that helps us describe how the performance of an algorithm changes as the size of the input grows. For example, when you are looping through an array or building a full-stack app, Big O can help you write smarter, faster code. What Is Big O Notation? Big O notation is a mathematical concept used in computer science to describe the performance of an algorithm. Specifically, it measures how the run-time or space requirements of an algorithm grow as the input size increases. For example  Big O notation helps you predict things like if a function will still run quickly if it has a million users? Understanding Big O can help you choose better algorithms and avoid slow, bloated apps. What is a Quadratic Function (O(n^2)) A quadratic function describes an algorithm whose performance is proportional to the squa...

Concurrency in Web Development

As technology and the world moves forward, alot more people are now using the web. Because of this, web applications must be able to handle multiple users and operations at the same time. This ability is made possible through concurrency,  a fundamental concept every web developer must understand. What Is Concurrency? Concurrency refers to the ability of a system to handle multiple tasks at the same time . This doesn’t always mean the tasks are literally running at the exact same moment (that's parallelism), but rather that they are in progress simultaneously , often by rapidly switching between them. For example, a web server that handles many client requests at once is using concurrency to ensure that one user's request doesn’t block everyone else. How Is Concurrency Implemented? There are several approaches to implementing concurrency: 1. Processes A process is an instance of a program that is running. It has its own memory space and resources. Processes are isolated fr...