DEV Community: Kamaleshwar A

Kick-starting Java....🚀

Kamaleshwar A — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:01:19 +0000

JAVA

Java is a high-level, object-oriented programming language used to build web apps, mobile applications, and enterprise software systems.
It was introduced in 1995 by James Gosling.

Java is a platform-independent language, which means code written in Java can run on any device that supports the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Syntax and structure are similar to C-based languages like C++ and C#. Platform: Any hardware or software environment in which a program runs is known as a platform. Since Java has a runtime environment (JRE) and API, it is called a platform.

Why Learn Java?

Used to build Android apps, desktop and web apps, enterprise backend systems, and cloud-based software.
In high demand with many job opportunities in software development.
Has popular frameworks like Spring and Hibernate which makes it powerful for enterprise applications.
Supports object-oriented programming for clean, maintainable and reusable code.
Top companies like Amazon, Netflix, and LinkedIn use Java.

Example:

public class Home
{
public static void main (String[] args)
{
    System.out.println("Hello world");
}
}

It is used for:

Mobile applications (specially Android apps)
Desktop applications
Web applications
Web servers and application servers
Games
Database connection

Java Features:

Object Oriented
Platform Independent
Simple
Secure
Architecture-neutral
Portable
Robust
Multi-threaded
Interpreted
High Performance
Distributed
Dynamic

Object Oriented:

In Java, everything is an Object. Java can be easily extended since it is based on the Object model. As a language that has the Object-Oriented feature, Java supports the following fundamental concepts of OOPs −

Polymorphism
Inheritance
Encapsulation
Abstraction
Classes
Objects
Instance
Method
Message Passing

Platform Independent:

Unlike many other programming languages including C and C++, when Java is compiled, it is not compiled into platform specific machine, rather into platform independent byte code. This byte code is distributed over the web and interpreted by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) on whichever platform it is being run on.

Java is designed in Write Once, Run Anywhere (WORA) way. Code written in Java is not directly dependent on the type of machine it is running. A code is Java is compiled in ByteCode which is platform independent. Java Virtual Machine, JVM can understand the byte code. Java provides platform specific JVMs. It is the responsibility of platform specific JVM to interpret the byte code correctly thus developers are free to write code without worrying about platforms like windows, linux, unix, Mac etc. This feature makes Java a platform neutral language.

As byte code can be distributed over the web and interpreted by the Virtual Machine (JVM) on whichever platform it is being run on. It makes java code highly portable and useful for application running on multiple platforms.

Simple:

Java is designed to be easy to learn. If you understand the basic concept of OOP Java, it would be easy to master.

Java is very easy to learn. It inherits many features from C, C++ and removes complex features like pointers, operator overloading, multiple inheritance, explicit memory allocation etc. It provides automatic garbage collection. With a rich set of libraries with thousands of useful functions, Java makes developers life easy.

Secure:

With Java's secure feature it enables to develop virus-free, tamper-free systems. Authentication techniques are based on public-key encryption.

Java is by design highly secure as it is not asking developers to interact with underlying system memory or operation system. Bytecode is secure and several security flaws like buffer overflow, memory leak are very rare. Java exception handling mechanism allows developers to handle almost all type of error/exceptions which can happen during program execution. Automatic garbage collection helps in maintaining the system memory space utilization in check.

Architecture-neutral:

Java compiler generates an architecture-neutral object file format, which makes the compiled code executable on many processors, with the presence of Java runtime system.

Java compiler generates an architecture-neutral object file format, which makes the compiled code executable on many processors, with the presence of Java runtime system. With advancement in processor architectures or machine specific processors, java code remains independent of any specific requirement of a processor. As java is an open standard, even a specific JVM can be prepared for a custom architecture. As in today's time, we've JVM available for almost all popular platforms, architectures, java code is completely independent. For example, a java program created in Windows machine can run on linux machine without any code modification.

Portable:

Being architecture-neutral and having no implementation dependent aspects of the specification makes Java portable. Compiler in Java is written in ANSI C with a clean portability boundary, which is a POSIX subset.

Due to this portability, java was an instant hit since inception. It was particulary useful for internet based application where platforms varied from place to place and same code base can be used across multiple platform. So collaboration between developers was easy across multiple locations.

Robust:

Java makes an effort to eliminate error prone situations by emphasizing mainly on compile time error checking and runtime checking. Automatic garbage collection, strong memory management, no pointers, no direct access to system memory, exception handling, error handling are some of the key features which makes Java a Robust, strong language to rely on.

Multi-threaded:

With Java's multi-threaded feature it is possible to write programs that can perform many tasks simultaneously. This design feature allows the developers to construct interactive applications that can run smoothly.

A multi-threaded program contains two or more parts that can run concurrently and each part can handle a different task at the same time making optimal use of the available resources specially when your computer has multiple CPU's.

By definition, multitasking is when multiple processes share common processing resources such as a CPU. Multi-threading extends the idea of multitasking into applications where you can subdivide specific operations within a single application into individual threads. Each of the threads can run in parallel. The OS divides processing time not only among different applications, but also among each thread within an application.

Multi-threading enables you to write in a way where multiple activities can proceed concurrently in the same program.

Interpreted:

Java byte code is translated on the fly to native machine instructions and is not stored anywhere. The development process is more rapid and analytical since the linking is an incremental and light-weight process.

JVM sits in between the javac compiler and the underlying hardware, the javac (or any other compiler) compiler compiles Java code in the Bytecode, which is understood by a platform specific JVM. The JVM then compiles the Bytecode in binary using JIT (Just-in-time) compilation, as the code executes.

High Performance:

With the use of Just-In-Time compilers, Java enables high performance. JVM uses JIT compiler to improves the execution time of the program. Below are some general optimizations that are done by the JIT compilers

Method inlining
Dead code elimination
Heuristics for optimizing call sites
Constant folding

Distributed:

Java is designed for the distributed environment of the internet.

Dynamic:

Java is considered to be more dynamic than C or C++ since it is designed to adapt to an evolving environment. Java programs can carry extensive amount of run-time information that can be used to verify and resolve accesses to objects on run-time.

References:

www.tpointtech.com/java-tutorial
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/java/java/
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/java-features.htm

From Dev to Ops Meetup!🚀

Kamaleshwar A — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 13:48:17 +0000

🚀 A Great Learning Experience at the From Dev to Ops Meetup!

Today, I had the opportunity to attend the From Dev to Ops Meetup, conducted at Comcast, Chennai. It was a wonderful experience filled with learning, networking, and fun.

🔹 Platform Engineering 101 by Mohammad Salmaan

🔹 There Is No Agent by Parani and Ansari

Both sessions provided valuable insights and introduced interesting perspectives on the evolving world of technology and operations.

Apart from the technical sessions, one of the best parts of the meetup was the opportunity to connect and network with fellow tech enthusiasts. The organizing team also conducted fun and engaging activities for all the attendees, making the event even more interactive and enjoyable.

Overall, it was a great experience with the perfect combination of learning, networking, and engagement. Looking forward to attending more community meetups and continuing my learning journey! 🚀

Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/p/gEdSGpcb

#FromDevToOps #TechMeetup #Comcast #PlatformEngineering #DevOps #Networking #CommunityLearning #ContinuousLearning

Python practiced programs

Kamaleshwar A — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:56:25 +0000

1. Strong Number:

def find_factorial(no):
    factorial = 1
    while no > 0:
        factorial *= no 
        no-=1 
    return factorial 

def digits(no): 
    total = 0
    while no > 0:
        digit = no % 10
        factorial = find_factorial(digit) 
        total += factorial 
        no = no//10
    return total 

number = int(input("Enter number: "))
result = digits(number) 
if result == number: 
    print("Strong Number")
else:
    print("Not a strong number")

Output:

Enter number: 143
Not a strong number


Enter number: 145
Strong number

2. Neon Number:

def sum_of_digits(no):
    sum = 0
    while no > 0:
        sum = sum + no%10
        no = no//10
    return sum

number = 9 
square = number ** 2  
sum = sum_of_digits(square)
if number == sum: 
    print('Neon Number')
else:
    print('Not a Neon Number')

Output:

Neon Number

3. Automorphic Number:

no = 25
square = no ** 2 
last_two_digits = square % 10**2
if no == last_two_digits:
    print('Automorphic Number')
else:
    print('No Automorphic Number')

Output:

Automorphic Number

Introduction to Database in PostgreSQL

Kamaleshwar A — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:25:14 +0000

In database there is SQL - Structured Query Language is standard programming language for connect with and manage the database management system.

Query data — retrieve specific information from a database (e.g., SELECT * FROM users)
Insert, update, delete data — modify records within tables
Define database structure — create or alter tables, set relationships between them
Control access — manage permissions for who can read or modify data

DBMS - DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A Database Management System (DBMS) is software used to manage data from a database. It acts as an interface between the database and end users or applications, ensuring data is consistently organized, easily accessible, and secure.

A database is a structured collection of data that is stored in an electronic device. The data can be text, video, image, or any other format.
A relational database stores data in the form of tables, and a NOSQL database stores data in the form of key-value pairs.
A DBMS is a software that allows to create, update, and retrieval of data in an organized way. It also provides security to the database.
Examples of relational DBMS are MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Snowflake.
Examples of NOSQL DBMS are MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB, and Redis.

PostgreSQL

In first postgres name was ingres that is Interactive Graphic and Research. After that name is postgres.

I was learned about how to install in the linux terminal and used in terminal.

sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib

After installation open the terminal,

sudo -i -u postgres

Here,
sudo - super user do or substitute user do
-i - start to login shell
-u - user
postgres - username.

Then put this command in your terminal

psql

Then you have postgres shell to do practice SQL and administer the database with your terminal.

Table create:

cinemas=# create table students(stud_id int, stud_name varchar(20), course_name varchar(20));
CREATE TABLE

Insert Values:

cinemas=# insert into students values(11, 'Vignesh', 'Java full stack'),(23, 'Kamalesh', 'Python full stack'),(15, 'Dhanush', 'Full stack'),(28, 'Madhan', 'Full stack');
INSERT 0 4

cinemas=# insert into students values(16, 'Vidhya', 'Java full stack'),(22, 'Karthick', 'Data analytics'),(24, 'Karthiga', 'Python full stack'),(32,'Saravanan', 'Mern full stack');
INSERT 0 4

The above database are created for myself to practice and learn the SQL.

Tasks done in Looping concept in python

Kamaleshwar A — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:52:29 +0000

Self practiced Questions:

1) Five students enter the classroom one after another. The first student gets roll number 1, the second gets 2, and so on. Display the assigned roll numbers.

stud = 1
while stud <= 5:
    print(stud, end = ' ')
    stud = stud + 1

Output

1 2 3 4 5

2) A coach asks students to stand only at even-numbered positions in a queue. Display the first five positions.

coach = 2
while coach <= 10:
    print(coach, end = ' ')
    coach = coach + 2

Output

2 4 6 8 10

3) A newly constructed building has a special lift that does not stop on every floor. For safety reasons, it stops only at every third floor. A person enters the lift at the ground floor and presses the "Up" button. Display the first five floors where the lift will stop.

lift = 0
while lift <= 15:
    print(lift, end = ' ')
    lift = lift + 3

Output

0 3 6 9 12 15

4) A rocket launches with a countdown using only even numbers from 10. Display the countdown.

rocket = 10
while rocket >= 1:
    print(rocket, end = ' ')
    rocket = rocket - 2

Output

10 8 6 4 2

Functions in python

Kamaleshwar A — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:40:58 +0000

Python functions are reusable blocks of code used to perform a specific task. They help organize programs into smaller sections and execute the same logic whenever needed by calling the function.

Defining a function:

A function can be defined using def keyword. Below is the syntax to define a function:

Here, we define a function using def that prints a welcome message when called.

def fun():
    print("Welcome to learn python")

Calling a Function

After creating a function, call it by using the name of the functions followed by parenthesis containing parameters of that particular function.

def fun():
    print("Welcome to learn python")

fun()

Function Arguments

Arguments are values passed to a function when it is called. They allow functions to receive input data and perform operations using those values.

Syntax

def function_name(arguments):
    # function body
    return value

def function_name(arguments): defines a function with optional arguments.
# function body contains the statements to be executed.
return value returns a result from the function. If no return statement is used, it returns None by default.

def evenOdd(x):
    if (x % 2 == 0):
        return "Even"
    else:
        return "Odd"

print(evenOdd(16))
print(evenOdd(7))

Types of Arguments:

1. Default argument: Default argument use a predefined value when no value is passed during the function call.

def myFun(x, y=50):
    print("x: ", x)
    print("y: ", y)

myFun(10)

2. Keyword Arguments: pass values using parameter names, so argument order does not matter.

def student(fname, lname):
    print(fname, lname)

student(fname='Kamalesh', lname='A')
student(lname='A', fname='Kamalesh')

3. Positional Arguments: values are assigned to parameters based on their order in the function call.

def nameAge(name, age):
    print("Hi, I am", name)
    print("My age is ", age)

print("Case-1:")
nameAge("Kamal", 22)

print("Case-2:")
nameAge(22, "Kamal")

Reference:

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python/python-functions/

My experience at FOSS United X Dev to ops meetup

Kamaleshwar A — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 04:23:33 +0000

Recently i attended a FOSS United Chennai X Dev to ops meetup!.
I gather a lots of information and knowledge by attend that event, its fully open source software's and tools. They conduct a 5 sessions that is about a technically very impressive and got aware about that software and its legacy. Many things are new to me, I didn't heard about that software terms and tools.In this meetup I learned a lot by the session.

Even though they conduct a small fun activity in between the event that was also interesting. And also i had a network with all professional, graduate, and students that was inspiring.

The sessions was about the shifting left for real, Building open source AI-Agent for dev-ops professionals, Nix and its ecosystem and Harbor satellite these session are taken in that meetups.

I had a lots of network with some professionals and they people guide me and give a path for build my career, he is Mr. Dinesh Kumaran M bro, he shared me a lots gatherings and experience about industry and also gave me some tips to focus on build a career. I would thank him for humble and kind with me.

The experience was so nice for me to attend like these type of meetups and be aware in open sources.

If-else in python

Kamaleshwar A — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:30:45 +0000

Practiced questions: Easy level

1. Positive,negative,zero:

num = int(input("Enter a number: "))
if num > 0:
    print("Positive")
elif num < 0:
    print("Negative")
else:
    print("Zero")

2. Odd or even: [TBD]

here i have doubt about 0 is even or odd

num = int(input("Enter a number: "))

if num % 2 == 0:
    print("Even")
else:
    print("Odd")

3. Largest of two numbers:

a = int(input("Enter first number: "))
b = int(input("Enter second number: "))

if a > b:
    print("Largest:", a)
elif b > a:
    print("Largest:", b)
else:
    print("Both are equal")

4. Eligible to vote:

age = int(input("Enter your age: "))

if age >= 18:
    print("Eligible to Vote")
else:
    print("Not Eligible to Vote")

5. Pass or Fail:

marks = int(input("Enter your marks: "))

if marks >= 35:
    print("Pass")
else:
    print("Fail")

6.Divisible by 5:

num = int(input("Enter a number: "))

if num % 5 == 0:
    print("Divisible by 5")
else:
    print("Not Divisible by 5")

7. Leap Year: [TBD]
can i use | replace for 'or'?

year = int(input("Enter a year: "))

if (year % 400 == 0) or (year % 4 == 0 and year % 100 != 0):
    print("Leap Year")
else:
    print("Not a Leap Year")

8. Character type:[TBD]

ch = input("Enter a character:")

if ch.isupper():
    print("Uppercase Letter")
elif ch.islower():
    print("Lowercase Letter")
elif ch.isdigit():
    print("Digit")
else:
    print("Special Character")

9. Greatest of Three Numbers:

a = int(input("Enter first number: "))
b = int(input("Enter second number: "))
c = int(input("Enter third number: "))

if a >= b and a >= c:
    print("Greatest:", a)
elif b >= a and b >= c:
    print("Greatest:", b)
else:
    print("Greatest:", c)

10. Temperature check:

temp = float(input("Enter temperature: "))

if temp > 35:
    print("Hot")
elif temp >= 20:
    print("Normal")
else:
    print("Cold")

Intermediate level:

1. Grade Calculation:

marks = int(input("Enter your marks: "))

if marks >= 90:
    print("Grade A")
elif marks >= 80:
    print("Grade B")
elif marks >= 70:
    print("Grade C")
elif marks >= 60:
    print("Grade D")
else:
    print("Grade F")

2. Simple calci:[TBD]

num1 = float(input("Enter first number: "))
operator = input("Enter operator (+, -, *, /): ")
num2 = float(input("Enter second number: "))

if operator == "+":
    print("Result:", num1 + num2)
elif operator == "-":
    print("Result:", num1 - num2)
elif operator == "*":
    print("Result:", num1 * num2)
elif operator == "/":
    if num2 != 0:
        print("Result:", num1 / num2)
    else:
        print("Cannot divide by zero")
else:
    print("Invalid operator")

3. Find the Largest of Four Numbers:[TBD]

a = int(input("Enter first number: "))
b = int(input("Enter second number: "))
c = int(input("Enter third number: "))
d = int(input("Enter fourth number: "))

largest = a

if b > largest:
    largest = b

if c > largest:
    largest = c

if d > largest:
    largest = d

print("Largest number is:", largest)

4. ATM withdrawal:

balance = 10000

amount = int(input("Enter withdrawal amount: "))

if amount <= balance:
    balance = balance - amount
    print("Withdrawal Successful")
    print("Remaining Balance:", balance)
else:
    print("Insufficient Balance")

5. Electricity Bill:

units = int(input("Enter electricity units: "))

if units <= 100:
    bill = units * 2
elif units <= 200:
    bill = (100 * 2) + ((units - 100) * 3)
else:
    bill = (100 * 2) + (100 * 3) + ((units - 200) * 5)

print("Electricity Bill = ₹", bill)

Hard level:

1. Banking loan:[TBD]
For can use if-else step by step

age = int(input("Enter your age: "))
salary = int(input("Enter your monthly salary: "))
credit_score = int(input("Enter your credit score: "))

if age >= 21:
    if salary >= 25000:
        if credit_score >= 700:
            print("Loan Approved")
        else:
            print("Loan Rejected: Low Credit Score")
    else:
        print("Loan Rejected: Salary Too Low")
else:
    print("Loan Rejected: Age Below 21")

2. Scholarship Eligibility:

marks = int(input("Enter marks: "))
income = int(input("Enter family income: "))

if marks >= 90 and income < 300000:
    print("Scholarship Approved")
else:
    print("Scholarship Not Approved")

3. Student attendance eligibility:[TBD]

total = int(input("Total classes: "))
attended = int(input("Classes attended: "))

attendance = (attended / total) * 100

print("Attendance:", round(attendance, 2), "%")

if attendance >= 75:
    print("Eligible for Exam")
else:
    print("Not Eligible")

4. Cricket match result:

team_a = int(input("Team A Score: "))
team_b = int(input("Team B Score: "))

if team_a > team_b:
    print("Team A Wins")
elif team_b > team_a:
    print("Team B Wins")
else:
    print("Match Tied")

5. Movie age restriction:

age = int(input("Enter age: "))

if age < 13:
    print("Category: U")
elif age < 18:
    print("Category: U/A")
else:
    print("Category: A")

Kick start to learn Python🚀

Kamaleshwar A — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:10:58 +0000

Python

Python is one of the most popular programming languages. It’s simple to use, packed with features and supported by a wide range of libraries and frameworks. Its clean syntax makes it beginner-friendly.

A high-level language, used in data science, automation, AI, web development and more.
Known for its readability, which means code is easier to write, understand and maintain.
Backed by strong library support, we don’t have to build everything from scratch.

Python2 vs Python3

Using CLI Practiced

Datatype str(intro):

String:

Strings are used to store text data. A string is represented using the str class and can be created using single, double or triple quotes.

s = 'Welcome Kamalesh!'
print(s)
print(type(s))

Output:

Welcome Kamalesh!
<class 'str'>

Print function

Python print() function prints the message to the screen or any other standard output device. In this article, we will cover about print() function in Python as well as it's various operations.

Example:

name = "Kamalesh"
age = 22

print("Name:", name)
print("Age:", age)

Output:

Name: Kamalesh
Age: 22

References:

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python/python-output-using-print-function/
https://www.interviewbit.com/blog/difference-between-python-2-and-3/

My Learnings and journey in TOSSConf 2026 - தமிழ் கட்டற்ற மென்பொருள் மாநாடு

Kamaleshwar A — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:19:52 +0000

My 3-Day Open Source Learning Journey at TOSSConf 2026:

Attending TOSSConf 2026 was one of the most memorable learning experiences for me. It was a three-day journey filled with open-source technologies, workshops, a hackathon, conversations, and new experiences.

Before attending the conference, I knew about and used some open-source technologies, but TOSSConf gave me an opportunity to understand the open-source ecosystem from a completely different perspective.

Each day gave me something new to learn, but the third day became especially memorable because, for the first time, I got an opportunity to run a stall and share my own experience with others.

Day 1 – Finn Lens and the Hackathon

My TOSSConf journey started with a session about the Finn Lens project, presented by Suresh Kumar D.

Through the session, I learned about the project and got to see how ideas can be developed and shared through the open-source community. It was a good start to the conference and made me more curious about the projects and technologies that were going to be discussed over the next few days.

A hackathon was also conducted on the first day.

I wasn't a participant in the hackathon, but I spent time observing it. Even though I wasn't coding or building a project myself, watching the participants work was a learning experience.

I could see how people approached problems, discussed ideas, collaborated with their teams, and tried to build solutions within a limited amount of time.

One of my biggest takeaways was that you don't always have to participate directly to learn something from an event. Sometimes observing how other people think, collaborate, and solve problems can teach you a lot.

Day 2 – A Day Full of Workshops

The second day was more hands-on for me because I attended two workshops.

Frappe Framework Workshop

The first workshop I attended was about the Frappe Framework, conducted by Bowrna Prabakaran.

It introduced me to Frappe and gave me exposure to another open-source framework. Instead of only hearing about open source as an idea, workshops like this helped me see how open-source technologies can actually be used to build applications.

Nix Workshop

My second workshop was about Nix, conducted by Vivekanandan KS.

Nix was another interesting technology for me to explore. The workshop introduced me to a different way of thinking about packages and development environments.

Both workshops made Day 2 valuable because I was able to move from simply listening to talks to actually exploring open-source tools and technologies.

I didn't walk away knowing everything about Frappe or Nix — and that wasn't the goal. The important thing was that I discovered technologies I hadn't explored deeply before and now have a starting point to continue learning.

Day 3 – My Best Experience at TOSSConf ❤️

The third and final day was the most memorable part of TOSSConf 2026 for me.

What made this day even more special was that I wasn't doing it alone. I was team with my friends Vigneshwaran, Raja Veera Pandi, and Karthick. They were very supportive throughout the event, and having them alongside me made the whole experience even better.

I would like to sincerely thank all three of them for supporting me and attending the event with me. Sharing this experience with friends made an already memorable day even more meaningful.

On this day, I got the opportunity to put up a stall about the Brave web browser and explain it to other people.

What made this experience special was my personal connection with Brave.

I have been using Brave for around three years, but for a long time, I didn't even know that it was open source!

I originally started using Brave because of the experience it provided. It helped block many ads and trackers, focused heavily on privacy, and gave me a fast browsing experience.

After learning more about open source, I realized that something I had been using regularly for years was itself connected to the open-source ecosystem.

That realization made Brave a perfect topic for me to share at the stall.

I Didn't Explain Brave as an Expert

One thing I want to be clear about is that I didn't present myself as someone who knew every technical detail about Brave.

Instead, I shared my experience as a real user.

I talked about why I started using it, what I liked about it, how privacy and tracker blocking affected my browsing experience, and what I had discovered about Brave while preparing for the stall.

My friends Vigneshwaran, Raja Veera Pandi, and Karthick were there with me as part of the team, supporting me throughout the experience. Having supportive friends around gave me more confidence to interact with people and share what I knew.

This was one of the biggest lessons I learned from the experience:

You don't need to know everything before you start sharing what you know.

When someone asked me something, it also gave me an opportunity to think, learn, and explore further. Explaining a technology to another person showed me where my understanding was strong and where I still needed to learn more.

From a User to Someone Sharing Knowledge

For almost three years, I was simply a user of Brave.

At TOSSConf 2026, along with my friends, I became part of a team that stood at a stall and shared our knowledge and experience with other people.

That transition felt special.

The stall wasn't only about Brave. For me, it was also about teamwork, communication, confidence, curiosity, and sharing knowledge.

This is definitely an experience that I'll remember for a long time. ❤️

A Special Thanks to Payilagam ❤️

Before ending this blog, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Payilagam.

Without Payilagam, I might not have even known about TOSSConf 2026. They were the ones who introduced us to this opportunity, encouraged us to attend, and constantly motivated us to step out, explore, learn, and enjoy the experience.

A very special thanks to my mentors Muthu Sir, Vijay Sir, and Valarasu Sir. They have always been kind and supportive, and they continuously encourage and appreciate our work. Their motivation gave us the confidence to participate in opportunities like this and make the most out of them.

For me, good mentorship isn't just about teaching technical concepts. It's also about showing students opportunities, encouraging them to try something new, and appreciating their efforts along the way. That's something I truly experienced from my mentors at Payilagam.

From attending the sessions and workshops to finally presenting the Brave browser at our stall, this three-day journey gave me memories, knowledge, confidence, and a new perspective on open source.

And of course, thanks to my friends, mentors, speakers, organizers, volunteers, and everyone I met during these three days.

TOSSConf 2026 wasn't just an event I attended — it became an experience I'll remember. 🚀

My journey exploring to presentation about RAG - Retrieval Augmented Generation

Kamaleshwar A — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:41:28 +0000

Recently, I had the opportunity to deliver a presentation on Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) at my institute. Preparing for this session helped me understand not only what RAG is, but also why it has become one of the most important techniques in modern AI applications.

In this blog, I'd like to share what I learned and explain RAG in a simple way.

What is RAG:

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is the process of optimizing the output of a large language model, so it references an authoritative knowledge base outside of its training data sources before generating a response.

Retrieval: Search for relevant information from documents, databases, or websites.
Augmentation: Add the retrieved information to the user's question as additional context.
Generation: The LLM uses both the question and the retrieved information to generate an accurate answer.

Large Language Models (LLMs) are trained on vast volumes of data and use billions of parameters to generate original output for tasks like answering questions, translating languages, and completing sentences.

RAG extends the already powerful capabilities of LLMs to specific domains or an organization's internal knowledge base, all without the need to retrain the model. It is a cost-effective approach to improving LLM output so it remains relevant, accurate, and useful in various contexts.

Example

"What is my college's attendance policy?"

Without RAG

The AI only uses its training knowledge and might answer:

"Most colleges require around 75% attendance."

This is a generic answer and may not be correct for your college.

With RAG

The AI first searches your college handbook, retrieves the attendance policy, and then answers:

"According to your college handbook, students must maintain at least 80% attendance."

Why RAG:

LLMs are a key artificial intelligence (AI) technology powering intelligent chatbots and other natural language processing (NLP) applications.

The goal is to create bots that can answer user questions in various contexts by cross-referencing authoritative knowledge sources.

Unfortunately, the nature of LLM technology introduces unpredictability in LLM responses. Additionally, LLM training data is static and introduces a cut-off date on the knowledge it has.

Known challenges included:

Presenting false information when it does not have the answer.
Presenting out-of-date or generic information when the user expects a specific, current response.
Creating a response from non-authoritative sources.
Creating inaccurate responses due to terminology confusion, wherein different training sources use the same terminology to talk about different things.

Working:

Query Processing: The input query is first pre-processed and prepared for further steps, ensuring it is in a suitable form for embedding.
Embedding Model: The query is passed through an embedding model that converts it into a vector capturing its semantic meaning.
Vector Database Retrieval: This vector is used to search a vector database to find documents that are most similar to the query.
Retrieved Contexts: The system retrieves the documents that are closest to the query. These documents are then forwarded to the generative model to help it craft a response.
LLM Response Generation: The LLM combines the original query with the retrieved context to generate a coherent and accurate response.
Response: The final response integrates both the model’s internal knowledge and the retrieved information, making it more relevant and up-to-date.

Three pillars of RAG:

Popular RAG Tools:

LLM's:

Chatgpt
Claude
Gemini
Llama

Vector Databases:

FAISS
Pinecone
ChromaDB
Milvus

Frameworks:

LangChain
LlamaIndex
Haystack

Embedding Models:

OpenAI Embeddings
BGE
E5
Sentence Transformers

Purpose:

The purpose of a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) model is to improve the accuracy and relevance of AI responses by pulling facts from external knowledge bases rather than relying solely on its static training data.

1. Grounding in Factuality

The primary purpose of RAG is to anchor Large Language Models in verified, authoritative source material. By feeding the exact context along with the query, RAG dramatically reduces hallucinations and equips the system to cite sources transparently.

2. Dynamic Data Integration

Instead of relying on a static knowledge window frozen during pre-training, RAG dynamically pulls live enterprise data, inventory lists, internal wikis, or real-time APIs. This ensures answers are always current without requiring costly, slow model retraining cycles.

Usestate in React

Kamaleshwar A — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:11:24 +0000

Usestate

The React useState Hook allows us to track state in a function component.
useState is a React Hook that allows functional components to store and update data (state). Whenever the state changes, React automatically re-renders the component to display the updated UI.

Syntax

const [state, setState] = useState(initialValue);

state - The current value.
setState - Function used to update the state.
initialValue - The initial value of the state.

Import useState

To use the useState Hook, we first need to import it into our component.

import { useState } from "react";

Notice that we are destructuring useState from react as it is a named export.

Initialize usestate

We initialize our state by calling useState in our function component.

useState accepts an initial state and returns two values:

The current state.
A function that updates the state.

import { useState } from "react";

function FavoriteColor() {
  const [color, setColor] = useState("red");
}

Notice that again, we are destructuring the returned values from useState.

The first value, color, is our current state.

The second value, setColor, is the function that is used to update our state.

Lastly, we set the initial state to "red": useState("red")

Read State

We can now include our state anywhere in our component

import { useState } from 'react';
import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client';

function FavoriteColor() {
  const [color, setColor] = useState("red");

  return <h1>My favorite color is {color}!</h1>
}

createRoot(document.getElementById('root')).render(
  <FavoriteColor />
);

Update State

To update our state, we use our state updater function.

<button
  type="button"
  onClick={() => setColor("blue")}
>Blue</button>

EXample

import { useState } from 'react';
import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client';

function FavoriteColor() {
  const [color, setColor] = useState("red");

  return (
    <>
      <h1>My favorite color is {color}!</h1>
      <button
        type="button"
        onClick={() => setColor("blue")}
      >Blue</button>
    </>
  )
}

createRoot(document.getElementById('root')).render(
  <FavoriteColor />
);

Reference

https://www.w3schools.com/react/react_usestate.asp