

Learning Some Twisted Lessons - fallentimes
http://ticketstumbler.com/new-stuff/2008/09/18/learning-some-twisted-lessons/

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abstractbill
Twisted is awesome. I used it to write justin.tv's chat server, which is
currently running on 18 cpus (3 physical machines) and scales to over 10,000
concurrent connections per cpu. Kyle wrote the video server in Twisted too.

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rgrieselhuber
Out of curiosity, why go this route as opposed to using one of the jabber
servers out there?

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abstractbill
We have a bunch of social features on the web site that need to have very
tight integration into the chat server. I just don't see us getting the degree
of control we currently have, with an off-the-shelf chat solution.

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rgrieselhuber
Makes sense. Thanks for the additional info.

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dood
I also recently learnt async/event-driven programming with Twisted. One of
those really fun learning experiences: a few days of fumbling around in the
dark wondering if my brain is broken, then the great moment when the lightbulb
goes on and I've got a shiny new tool to play with.`

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rantfoil
If anyone is wondering, Tom of Ticketstumbler is one of the wisest, most
hardcore developers from the Summer YC 08 batch. He doesn't talk trash all day
like _cough_ fallentimes _cough_ ;-), so when he opens his mouth, it's usually
something coolly profound.

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tdavis
Thanks garry! <3

If anyone is wondering, Garry of Posterous is one of a two-man team who make
us all look bad by releasing a new feature almost every day, responding
instantly to user feedback, and generally being annoying over-achievers. I
know you're cheating, Garry, and when I find out how... ;)

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fallentimes
So this is what Tom does all day; I always wondered.

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maxklein
Huh? You guys just launched - why would you immediately try to migrate to some
new technology you have never used? Don't you have other technological and
user facing issues to face before you start optimizing the back-end?

For example, what's up the with <http://ticketstumbler.com/charlotte-bobcats-
playoff/> that?

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tdavis
Actually, barring errant issues such as that, our biggest pain point by far is
the back-end. There are a few bugs still around, yes, but they are within
acceptable norms for something "just launched". The new back-end is a big part
of what will fix issues like the one you've pointed out (not to mention the
current cause of them). The more stable it is the more it can be relied on to
automate fixes such as this and other bugs that crop up; click around long
enough and you'll find a few other easter eggs! Sorry to ruin your fun, but I
am aware of all of them.

There's a significant difference between optimization and getting something
where it should have been in the first place. All of our user facing issues
such as links that go no where, stale tickets, etc. are all in one way or
another caused by the back-end. All the TS front-end does, really, is display
data. It takes almost no input, other than what you search for. There's no
user data. A well-trained seal could make it bug-free.

TL;DR: No.

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LukeG
isss niice

