Open Source | Techlist.io

datadogFeb 10, 20213 min readCurated summary

Engineering spotlight: Maël Nison

Maël Nison’s journey from learning DarkBASIC on La Réunion and in Toulouse to becoming Yarn’s principal maintainer illustrates how curiosity, open source, and a focus on solving practical problems can shape a career. His early experimentation with games, websites, forums, and content-management systems developed into a lasting interest in improving developer workflows. That path eventually led through EPITECH, startups, Facebook, and Datadog, while giving him broad experience across both software and community leadership. ## Early Programming on La Réunion and in Toulouse - Maël grew up on the remote Indian Ocean island of La Réunion, where he had little access to computers. - After moving to Toulouse, he discovered a school programming club and began creating games with DarkBASIC. - DarkBASIC simplified 2D and 3D Windows game development through built-in libraries, tutorials, and DirectX support. - Seeing code immediately produce something on screen made programming feel logical and compelling to him. - By high school, he was building PHP websites, working with SQL, and experimenting with multiple languages and platforms. ## Discovering Open Source and Workflow Automation - In the early 2000s, distributing software was much harder because platforms such as GitHub did not yet exist. - Maël shared source archives through online forums, reflecting the informal nature of early open source communities. - His interest in forum software led to work on content-management systems. - He focused on reducing repetitive administrative workflows, such as allowing users to edit content directly instead of navigating through multiple administration pages. - This pattern—identifying a problem, building a solution, and sharing it with others—became a central theme in his career. ## Education at EPITECH - Maël attended EPITECH in Paris, an institution centered on practical technical education and self-directed learning. - The school emphasized peer assessment and hands-on projects rather than traditional, theory-heavy instruction. - He also spent a year abroad in Québec. - During his final year, he combined his studies with his first full-time job, gaining professional experience before graduation. ## Joining Facebook and Yarn - In 2017, after several years in startups, Maël moved from France to London seeking opportunities at larger organizations. - He joined Facebook without specifically intending to work on a package manager. - Facebook’s onboarding “boot camp” identified his skills and connected him with the emerging Yarn project. - He welcomed the opportunity to work on open source during his regular working hours. - What began as a few pull requests became a multi-year role as a major maintainer and leader of the project. ## Yarn’s Technical and Community Evolution - Yarn was rewritten in TypeScript and re-architected into a more modular system. - It evolved from an internal Facebook tool into a genuinely community-driven open source project. - Maël’s responsibilities expanded far beyond coding: - Product management and roadmap planning - Team leadership and infrastructure - Customer support and community work - Web design, evangelism, and outreach - Defining the project’s broader vision - Although he left Facebook for Datadog in 2019, he continued leading Yarn while taking on new challenges at Datadog. Maël’s experience suggests that careers can grow from small, self-directed experiments into major technical leadership opportunities. Developers can follow a similar path by solving concrete problems, sharing their work openly, and being willing to take on the technical, organizational, and community responsibilities that accompany successful projects.

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Open Source Database Design TypeScript JavaScript+4

figmaJul 23, 20202 min readCurated summary

Announcing Config Europe: a call for speakers | Figma Blog

Figma announced Config Europe, a free virtual conference taking place on September 17, 2020. After its San Francisco event showed both the value of community connection and the limitations of an in-person format, Figma chose an online conference to make participation more accessible. The company invited community members—especially first-time speakers—to submit talks, panels, lightning rounds, and workshops. ## From In-Person Conference to Virtual Event - Figma’s first Config conference brought together 1,200 attendees in San Francisco, with additional viewers online. - Sessions covered topics including design systems and open source’s influence on urban planning and infrastructure. - Plans to take Config to cities worldwide were paused as the global situation changed. - Figma ultimately decided that a virtual format could still fulfill Config’s mission of amplifying community voices and enabling people to learn and share. ## Call for Speakers - Speakers could submit proposals by **July 31, 2020**. - First-time speakers were explicitly welcomed and encouraged. - Accepted speakers would receive: - IT support and equipment - Help from product specialists and editors - Opportunities to develop talks, panels, lightning rounds, or workshops - Proposals not selected for Config Europe might be considered for other Figma opportunities, such as livestreams or blog posts. ## Conference Content Tracks The agenda was organized around four main themes: - **Building and maintaining design systems** - Starting and scaling systems - Creating components and style guides - Getting teams to adopt shared systems - **Figma deep-dives** - Improving workflows with plugins, Auto Layout, components, and other features - **Process, culture, and team-building** - Recruiting, hiring, team culture, and remote-work practices - **Opening up design** - Making design more inclusive, accessible, and participatory for non-designers ## Attending Config Europe - The event was free and open to anyone, anywhere. - Figma planned to publish the agenda and open registration on **August 20, 2020**. - Prospective attendees could sign up to receive updates when registration became available. Figma’s recommendation was to submit ideas through the Config Europe speaker portal or register for event updates. The announcement emphasized that the virtual conference was intended to preserve the collaborative spirit of Config while making it accessible to a broader global community.

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Open Source Figma Design Systems Auto Layout+1

figmaFeb 26, 20202 min readCurated summary

Reflections on Config, our first user conference | Figma Blog

Config, Figma’s first user conference, brought more than 1,000 participants together to learn, collaborate, and strengthen the design community. Rather than imposing a rigid agenda, Figma invited users to shape the event through workshops, talks, and roundtables. The conference highlighted open design, deeper community connection, and the importance of using technology to support—not replace—human relationships. ## A Conference Built by the Community - Figma created Config as a physical gathering where users and employees could exchange ideas directly. - Attendees discussed team culture, mentorship, design ethics, and other issues affecting the design industry. - Many sessions came from community submissions, encouraging participants to contribute rather than simply listen. - Sessions were also recorded for people who could not attend in person. ## Open Design and Shared Creativity - A central theme was “open design”: sharing, remixing, and building on one another’s work. - Devon Zuegel explored how open-source principles apply to urban planning and physical infrastructure. - Jason Kunesh described how Chicago students helped create a design system when the city’s design team lacked resources. - Miguel Solorio explained how Microsoft incorporated the broader community into its design process. ## Technology as a Tool for Connection - Craig Mod warned that technology can encourage isolation, even as it makes communication easier. - He argued that digital tools should help people connect more deeply with their surroundings rather than escape them. - May-Li Khoe discussed challenging established norms while supporting the communities she cares about. - Both talks encouraged attendees to consider their responsibility to build stronger, more inclusive communities. ## Continuing the Conversation - Figma presented Config as an ongoing community dialogue rather than a one-time event. - The company thanked attendees, speakers, and employees for making the conference possible. - Figma encouraged everyone to watch the recorded sessions and stay engaged with future discussions. Config’s main lesson was that design becomes more powerful when it is shared openly and grounded in community. Future conferences and design initiatives should prioritize participation, collaboration, and meaningful human connection.

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Open Source Figma Design Systems Design Tools+2

figmaAug 7, 20193 min readCurated summary

The birth of Inter | Figma Blog

Inter began as Rasmus Andersson’s attempt to solve a practical problem at Figma: Roboto was difficult to read at the small sizes common in user interfaces. Designed specifically for computer screens and released as open source in 2017, Inter evolved from a limited Latin character set into a long-term typeface project adopted by organizations including GitHub and Mozilla. Andersson’s experience also illustrates that building a complete type family—especially across many writing systems—is a project measured in years, not months. ## Why Inter Was Created - Figma had used Google’s Roboto as its primary typeface. - Roboto worked for both headings and body text, but its small-size readability was inadequate for Figma’s text-heavy interface. - A month-long research project still identified Roboto as the best available option, prompting Andersson to design a new alternative himself. - Inter was intended exclusively for computer user interfaces and was offered freely to the public. ## A Typeface Project Larger Than Expected - Andersson had only limited prior experience, mostly with hobby and display typefaces. - He initially estimated the project would take about a year. - He later realized that fully developing Inter could require five to ten years of continued work. - A complete typeface family must account for more than 150 recognized writing systems, each with different letterforms, spacing conventions, and structural requirements. ## Starting with Latin Characters - Andersson began with the Latin script because it was the system he knew best. - Within the first year, Inter covered roughly 200 of the most common Latin characters. - Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hangul, and other scripts were recognized as substantially more complex extensions rather than simple additions. ## Using Roboto as a Foundation - To expand Inter quickly, Andersson initially borrowed Cyrillic and many Greek glyphs from Roboto. - This led to Inter being dual licensed during that period. - Over time, he recreated the borrowed characters individually so they matched Inter’s visual style. - Roboto’s relationship between lowercase height and capital-letter height was especially useful as a design reference. ## Proportions for Screen Readability - Andersson examined the proportion between a lowercase letter’s x-height and the height of capital letters. - Roboto’s balance was similar to that found in typefaces such as Apple’s San Francisco, Akkurat, Graphik, Aeonik, and Helvetica. - These proportions had become common in modern grotesque typefaces because they remained effective and readable across interface contexts. Inter’s development demonstrates that successful UI typography depends on deliberate choices about scale, proportions, glyph coverage, and long-term iteration. For teams designing text-heavy software, a typeface optimized specifically for screen use can be more valuable than a general-purpose font, but building one requires substantial ongoing work.

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Open Source Figma Typography Typeface Design+2

figmaOct 1, 20182 min readCurated summary

Introducing: Figma’s first API Challenge | Figma Blog

Figma announced a $15,000 API challenge to encourage developers to build an open-source Figma-to-Sketch converter. The contest reflected Figma’s goal of supporting an open design ecosystem, even when that meant exporting files to a competitor. However, after community concerns, Figma paused the challenge and ultimately cancelled it in November 2018. ## Open Design Platform and API Challenge - Figma wanted to make it easier for designers to move projects between tools. - The challenge focused on building a Figma-to-Sketch exporter using Figma’s read API. - Figma positioned this as a natural extension of its existing Sketch import support. - The company was also responding to community-built API projects, such as style-guide generators and Alexa integrations. - Future challenges were intended to reward developers who open-sourced useful Figma integrations. ## Evaluation Criteria - Submissions had to export two test files: - A basic file containing common Figma objects. - A more complex file involving typography, components, styles, and prototypes. - The basic file was expected to have clearer correctness criteria. - The advanced file required subjective judgment because Figma and Sketch do not always have equivalent one-to-one features. - Judges would consider: - Accuracy of the exported designs. - Ease of use. - Creativity in translating incompatible features. - Code quality and GitHub documentation. - Code quality and documentation accounted for 5% of the score. ## Rules, Prizes, and Submissions - First place would receive $10,000; second place would receive $5,000. - Teams could include up to three people. - Entrants generally had to be over 21 and located in an eligible country. - Projects were submitted through a Google Form. - Each project needed a GitHub repository containing a README and MIT License. - The planned contest period was October 2 through November 16, 2018. ## Judges and Community Focus - The judging panel combined design expertise with experience building tools and community resources. - Members included Emily Plummer, Raph D’Amico, Cat Noone, and Roy van Rooijen. - Their backgrounds covered design systems, interaction design, accessibility tools, plugins, and design-tool development. ## Cancellation - Figma initially announced that the challenge would be paused and potentially relaunched after community feedback. - On November 19, 2018, the company said it would not proceed with any version of the challenge at that time. The challenge demonstrated Figma’s ambition to promote interoperability and an open platform, but its eventual cancellation showed the importance of addressing community concerns before incentivizing integrations involving a direct competitor.

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Open Source Design Systems React JavaScript+4

figmaJul 25, 20182 min readCurated summary

Introducing: Design Dictionary from Figma | Figma Blog

Figma introduced its Design Dictionary to make design terminology more accessible and improve communication across teams. The resource addresses the field’s dense vocabulary, which can confuse newcomers and hinder collaboration between designers, engineers, product managers, copy editors, and stakeholders. Launched with 70 terms and open to community contributions, the dictionary is intended to evolve alongside the design industry. ## Design’s Specialized Language - Design terminology draws from art, printmaking, publishing, usability, and typography. - Terms help experts discuss detailed concepts precisely. - The same vocabulary can intimidate people who are new to design or work alongside designers. ## The Need for Cross-Functional Understanding - Modern digital products involve many roles in design work: - Engineers translate designs into production code. - Copy editors add and refine content. - Stakeholders review and approve designs. - Product managers coordinate the broader process. - Collaboration becomes harder when teams use design terms inconsistently or do not understand them. - Figma experienced this challenge after hiring employees from business, analytics, support, engineering, and other non-design backgrounds. ## The Design Dictionary - Figma created the dictionary as a practical glossary for learning core design terminology. - The initial release included 70 terms. - It was open-sourced so the wider design community could benefit from and contribute to it. - The resource was expected to expand as design practices and industry language evolved. ## Community Contributions - Figma invited readers to suggest terms that cause confusion in their organizations. - Examples included “White Space,” “Stroke,” and “Lorem Ipsum.” - Users could submit new ideas and corrections through a link in the dictionary. Figma’s Design Dictionary is recommended as a shared reference for teams working across design and product development. Its broader goal is to create a common language that makes cross-functional design collaboration clearer and more effective.

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Open Source Figma Design Systems User Experience+2

datadogAug 23, 20163 min readCurated summary

Restroom hacks

Datadog built an office bathroom-availability monitor to reduce contention without compromising privacy or existing door functionality. Raspberry Pi 2 devices, GPIO-connected sensors, and simple Unix tools provided a low-maintenance way to report whether bathrooms were occupied. The project showed that the hardest parts were adapting to varied real-world hardware, mounting sensors cleanly, and dealing with unreliable Wi-Fi—not writing software. ## Project Goals - Avoid intrusive monitoring: - No cameras or sensors that could feel invasive. - Provide reliable occupancy information with minimal false positives and negatives. - Use door-lock status where possible as the occupancy signal. - Avoid interfering with existing locks and doors. - Keep devices secure, professional-looking, easy to maintain, and remotely updateable. - Treat the project as a fun hardware experiment. ## Adapting to Different Bathrooms - Bathrooms differed significantly in: - Lock styles, including push-button handles and rotary stall locks. - Number of rooms or stalls. - Availability and location of power outlets. - Wi-Fi quality, especially near concrete walls and older electrical equipment. - These variations required different sensor designs rather than one universal installation. ## Raspberry Pi and Sensor Hardware - Raspberry Pi 2 Model Bs served as the project’s controllers because they: - Ran Linux. - Supported Wi-Fi and SSH administration. - Were compact enough to conceal. - The team used several sensor types: - Magnetic reed switches for detecting door position. - Pin switches for detecting sliding stall-lock positions. - Photoresistors were purchased as a possible way to detect darkness but were not needed in the MVP. - For push-button locks, reed switches detected whether the door was open or closed. Although this could theoretically misreport a closed but unoccupied bathroom, it worked reliably in practice. - Stall-lock sensors were hidden inside hollow metal panels. Automotive-style pin switches were mounted using simple carved wooden blocks that contacted the sliding lock without obstructing it. - Wiring was concealed in wiremolding, with Raspberry Pis placed inside outlet boxes where possible. ## GPIO and Unix-Based Monitoring - Raspberry Pi GPIO pins were accessed through files in `/sys/class/gpio/`. - A Python script read sensor values and translated them into bathroom availability. - Configuration handled differences between normally open and normally closed sensors. - The service was exposed through `tcpserver` and managed with `daemontools`. - A basic command-line client could query status with Netcat, for example: ```sh nc 11.bathrooms.datadog-internal.com 50 ``` ## Making Availability Easy to Use - Employees could check status from the command line. - Some added bathroom availability to TextBar. - Datadog dashboards displayed bathroom status throughout the New York office. - The implementation required very little code; most effort went into sensor selection, physical installation, and network troubleshooting. The project demonstrates that inexpensive, hackable hardware combined with simple Linux tools can solve a practical office problem. For similar systems, prioritize non-intrusive sensors, flexible installation designs, and secure remote management; the resulting software can remain remarkably small.

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Open Source Python Network Security Monitoring+4