Peter Smith, PhD

Former AWS Principal Engineer. Currently enjoying life with a kid.

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

I don’t know which version of MacOS introduced the feature, but I love how my avatar actively watches me type my login password, then rolls his eyes if I get it wrong. Very Hogwarts indeed.

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

August 19th marks the 30th anniversary of the day I arrived in Canada. This made me think of all the jaw-dropping technology changes I've seen over the 40 years I've been using computers. Here's my latest blog post, talking about those "wow" moments.

https://t.co/N52miSMkxr

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

It’s fascinating to have learned the mathematics behind neural networks and reinforcement learning, then years later watch a newborn baby smack himself in the nose as he learns to control his arms.

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

It’s funny to see blog posts explaining what a “bare metal” server is. I guess that means VMs are fully entrenched?

[Pooya Paridel @[email protected] @PooyaParidel]

Exciting news! AWS Step Functions just got better with two major console enhancements! You can now view Lambda’s CloudWatch logs directly in our operator experience, making troubleshooting a breeze. Plus, we’ve got you covered with seamless support all Lambda integration methods.

[Dan Ronald @DRo_604]

Just noticed this blog on enabling blue/green and canary deployments with our new versioning feature for AWS Step Functions. It’s worth checking out!

https://t.co/Qknui79SR7

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

If you hit your daily Twitter limit, consider signing up for the ACM Digital Library. A lifetime of reading insightful and peer-reviewed ideas!

https://t.co/f20mrMuzZ5

#acm #research #computerscience

[Ben @benjamin_l_s]

Happy Birthday - to the Step Functions Workflows collection 🎂 from 15 examples at launch to 119 today in AWS SAM, CDK and Terraform across multiple use cases. It's a true community success story. An essential resource for any #serverless workflow builder. https://t.co/IIl2D4yW8r

[James Hood @jameshoodcodes]

Quick survey on #AWS #CloudFormation user experience. We'd really appreciate your input and feedback! Thanks!

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

If you love Workflow Studio as much as I do (a lot!), consider copying the generated JSON into a file, then load that file into CDK via DefinitionBody. Use the definitionSubstitutions parameter if you want to substitute in references (such as Lambda ARNs, IAM Role ARNs, etc).

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

If you're an AWS Step Functions user, and you love CDK as much as I do (a lot!), check out the latest CDK release. It introduces the DefinitionBody parameter allowing you to pass the state machine definition in a file or a string.
https://t.co/jO9prBpQPz

#aws #serverless

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

@pinskinator Thanks! I’m planning to give a Lunch-and-Learn on CRs. I’ll make sure I include these ideas.

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

What’s the most important reason we should do code reviews? Is it to…

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

@yfedoseev Haha… true, but then I wonder what the compliance folks are expecting to gain from code reviews? Finding bugs? Teaching others?

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

I'm excited to share this new AWS Step Functions feature, which was the first I contributed to when I joined the team. I loved working with the enthusiastic and dedicated folks who made this happen!

[Cory McBain @McbainTech]

Big launch news today! AWS Step Functions announces availability of Versions and Aliases. Maintain multiple versions of your workflows and create aliases to route traffic to them. Learn more: https://t.co/Z1qoQqXQjp
#AWS #Serverless #StepFunctions #ContinuousDeployment #CICD

[Justin Callison @justincallison]

When we launched #aws SDK Service Integrations in 2021, we enabled customers to integrate with virtually any services directly from #stepfunctions. Today, we updated those integrations to include recent capabilities including #vpclattice! https://t.co/8o1ZTEzOsc

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

Who else has a collection of USB rechargeable batteries they’ve never used? Interestingly, I’ve found branded pens to be the most practical marketing gift.

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

I find it intriguing that installing MacOS or Windows updates can be soothing and enjoyable on the weekend, yet terrifying on a weekday.

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

@genbit I tried it yesterday, but got rate-limited on my second try. Luckily I had already finished the reviews the honest way.

[Peter Smith, PhD @peter_smith_phd]

I like the style of writing in this blog post - it takes a number of common Node.js development patterns, asks "Why it might be wrong" and presents a "Better alternative", rather than being too strong-minded. After all, there are no perfect solutions.
https://t.co/WCsSWIUNsY