DEV Community: Leonardo Venturini

Meteor.js 3.1: A New Dawn for Full-Stack JavaScript Development

Leonardo Venturini — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 13:25:59 +0000

After years of careful architectural evolution, Meteor.js has emerged stronger than ever with its latest 3.1 release. This version represents more than just an update—it's a complete modernization of the framework that positions Meteor firmly in the contemporary JavaScript ecosystem.

Breaking Free from Legacy Constraints

The journey to Meteor 3.1 began with a significant challenge: the deprecation of fibers in Node.js 16 back in 2021. This dependency had kept Meteor tethered to Node.js 14, preventing the framework from embracing modern Node.js features. Now, with version 3.1, Meteor has not only caught up but leaped forward to support Node.js 22, bringing with it a wealth of cutting-edge capabilities.

What's New in 3.1?

🚀 Major Infrastructure Updates

Node.js 22 Integration: Leveraging V8 engine version 12.4, bringing WebAssembly Garbage Collection and the Maglev compiler for optimized CLI performance
MongoDB Driver 6: Enhanced change streams with document pre- and post-images support, plus modernized API patterns
Express 5: Improved security, better promise rejection handling, and Brotli compression support

💎 Core Improvements

Introduction of the new core "roles" package
Significant real-time code refactoring, laying groundwork for future performance optimizations
Complete elimination of the underscore dependency from packages
Resolution of Top Level Await and Reify issues
Enhanced TypeScript integration in the mongo package

🛠️ Developer Experience Enhancements

Faster rebuilds and HMR
Simplified Meteor.EnvironmentVariable implementation
Native MongoDB support for Apple Silicon (no more Rosetta required)
Improved Cordova compatibility
Fixed meteor publish --update command

You can see all pull requests in this release here.

Getting Started with Meteor 3.1

Ready to dive in? Here's how to get started:

# Install Meteor 3.1
npx meteor

# Create a new project
meteor create --release 3.1

# Update existing project
meteor update --release 3.1

Technical Deep Dive

Node.js 22 Capabilities

The upgrade to Node.js 22 brings substantial improvements to Meteor's runtime environment. The new V8 engine (v12.4) introduces WebAssembly Garbage Collection for better memory management and the Maglev compiler for enhanced CLI performance. Developers can now utilize modern JavaScript features like Array.fromAsync() and enhanced Set operations.

MongoDB Driver Modernization

Version 6 of the MongoDB driver introduces sophisticated features for handling data changes and operations. The new API emphasizes Promises over callbacks, bringing cleaner async code patterns. Notable improvements include:

Enhanced change stream capabilities
Expanded DDL operation notifications
Mandatory TLS configurations via SecureContext
Stricter Node.js version requirements for better stability

Express 5 Security & Performance

The Express 5 integration brings crucial security and performance improvements:

Stricter input validation for status codes and queries
Better protection against ReDoS attacks
Improved promise rejection handling in middleware
Brotli compression support for enhanced performance

Core Roles Package ^New

One of the most significant additions in 3.1 is the integration of the roles package into Meteor's core. This package streamlines user authorization by providing a robust system for role-based access control (RBAC). The core concept is elegantly simple: attach roles to users and verify those roles when controlling access to methods or published data.

The roles package introduces helper methods that make it straightforward to:

Add and remove role assignments for users
Verify user roles for access control
Manage permissions in Meteor methods
Control access to published data

This integration simplifies the implementation of authorization logic in Meteor applications, making it easier to build secure, role-based systems.

Looking Ahead

While version 3.1 represents a significant milestone, the Meteor team hints at even more exciting developments on the horizon. Performance optimization research is already underway, with promising improvements scheduled for version 3.1.1.

Join Our Community! 🤝

We believe in the power of community-driven development, and your contributions can help make Meteor even better! Here's how you can get involved:

Star and Watch: Visit our GitHub repository to stay updated with the latest developments
Report Issues: Found a bug or have a suggestion? Open an issue on our GitHub repository
Contribute: Whether it's fixing bugs, improving documentation, or adding new features, we welcome pull requests
Discuss: Join our vibrant community discussions on Meteor forums and Discord

Help us shape the future of full-stack JavaScript development - every contribution counts!

Acknowledgements ✨

This release wouldn't have been possible without the dedicated efforts of community contributors. Special thanks to @denihs, @nachocodoner, @leonardoventurini, @StorytellerCZ, @zodern, @harryadel, @perbergland, @9Morello, @wreiske, @MarcoTribuz, @MeteorCoder @caffeinated10xprogrammer

From sticks and levers to worlds and chasms

Leonardo Venturini — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 21:13:41 +0000

Technology, and now AI, are modern equivalents of the Arquimedes lever for your mind. If we want to accomplish more as humans we have think on how to extend our innate capabilities.

We have been doing exactly that for thousands of years, from when we created our first handheld tool, to when we started creating the first machines to do work for us.

Today we have programmers, this rare subspecies of Homo sapiens who create incredible things with their hands and minds, by writing scripts and instructions for machines to follow and execute.

It's amazing how many abstraction levels we have gone through in the last centuries alone. Now we face an unprecedented phase of human amplification with AI.

There is a big dichotomy though: Will AI be an excuse for the dumbification of the Homo sapiens, or will it really help us achieve greater intellectual feats by sharpening the human mind?

Feels like it will be both, as it has always been. We already have the entirety of our shared knowledge in our pocket and very few use it well. It will not be different with AI.

However, we need to be careful. AI can not just increase the divide between the creative producers and consumers in our world, it can dig an uncrossable chasm. It can separate, it can even create a completely new species of humans by genetic manipulation and amplification.

What is too much? Can we stop ourselves from doing it? Or the mere possibility of others doing it will cause us to have to do it first? Will we be forced to transcend our human frailty by our very own nature?

With that comes diversification, it for sure will create angels, but also demons.

Perhaps that's inevitable. There are many other things we need to worry, like the Earth exhausting its resources, and even our sun dying. What if we can create whole worlds just for us? What if we can rule over the universal laws of creation?

The future is bright, hopefully not too bright.

What I learned after burnout

Leonardo Venturini — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:52:39 +0000

For a period during the pandemic, the company I worked for experienced explosive growth, and with that my responsibilities grew as took a leadership position and the amount of issues related to that growth piled up, more clients, bigger clients, different requirements and all that.

Everything was going smoothly for the first months, but then it all started to derail. I started eating badly, drank more and more caffeine, until I was at point where paranoia started to set in. I would doubt the intentions of what people were telling me, I would suddenly start eyeing my web cam suspiciously suspecting people were even monitoring me. I was severely afraid of being fired, even though I was one the top performers and most respected.

Something was not right with me. At one point a truck cut off the optical fiber of my internet provider and I suddenly could not work, I was not just terrified, I freaked out. I was afraid of everything, I hated myself.

Eventually I could not stand it anymore, and I asked for help, half prepared to get fired... turned out that everything was just in my own head, people were actually way kinder than I expected. I got a vacation and some time to recover from the brunt of it. In truth I would spend the following 2 years to truly recover.

Something was awry, and I couldn't figure out why. I didn't even know where to look. I paid for expensive exams that would tell me nothing. I consulted to all kinds of doctors, some would prescribe me strange drugs which would only make things worse.

I took antidepressants for a few months, but it made my life unbearable, I could not think straight, I would be forgetful. I felt dumb. If I continued with it my worst fears would materialize, I would have to abandon programming completely, and perhaps become poor again or so I told myself.

Eventually, after I had given up, my wife convinced me to do one last battery of exams, which didn't reveal anything new, but the doctor said something different, a clue that triggered a larger process of healing.

My thyroid antibodies were sky high, I knew that and I was on medication for that. But he said that very likely it was caused by some food I was eating, a protein which my body was attacking by producing those same antibodies, and it could be gluten from a few others he mentioned.

Then it dawned on me. A few years before then I lost a huge amount of weight (23kg), but I didn't fully know why, I was biking 15km every day for work, yes, but I was eating a lot too. It was wheat. I had stopped eating wheat.

I remove it and boom, I lose 4kg in 2 weeks and begin to feel my energy come back to me. After about 3 months I am back at my original weight before the pandemic (minus 15 kg). But I didn't stop there. I could not.

I realized that I was still very grumpy and tired, especially in the afternoons and at night. What if it is something I am eating, or rather, drinking? Turns out I was already recommended to stop drinking caffeine due to some medications I was taking, but didn't follow through, now I did.

In the beginning, for about a month, it was a nightmare, I was so sleepy and couldn't think well. But then I started to feel better and better, eventually I noticed that I could do the same amount of work I did before, but I would stay rested until the night. I started to smile more, and be interested in people more.

And all along I thought I was just antisocial. No! I was stressed, tired and unhealthy, but I wasn't antisocial at all.

I still had my normal headaches from computer use though, that still prevented me from doing the things I wanted to do. Eventually, I noticed some guy using yellow tinted glasses, that was different I thought. Then I realized, what if my eyes are overstimulated?

I did use some glasses with blue light treatment, perhaps those were too weak. I started calling stores, and I ordered this custom "night drive" glasses, and turns out I have never worked with as much comfort in my life. My headache vanishes.

With that my job, projects and relationships start flourishing again. I am not afraid of the future anymore. Things look brighter than ever.

These realizations took me almost 30 years. I wish I knew that sooner, way sooner. How much farther would I be?

From these we can conclude some things:

Never do something because other people do it or tell you to, what is good for them might not be for you, perhaps not even to them and they don't know better. If it is socially cool, ask yourself ten times if you should do it. And remember, no one has your best interests in mind, they might want to but they still might be wrong. Take the responsibility.
The unseen world has so much power over the seen world, who would've thought that a small protein from a food that I've eaten every day and seen everyone eat, could be insidiously doing so much harm to me (like smoking the doctor said).
We need to be like scientists and observe what we do right or wrong. It's our responsibilities to experiment and improve our own lives, never be satisfied with the status quo, especially if you are in a bad situation.

How many people are going through bad stuff blindly out there? A lot! I hope my words, my experience brings some light to them. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, you only have to believe and have the courage to experiment.

In the beginning it was awful to not be able to eat 90% of the food I saw in the market or in the restaurants. But eventually it became easier and easier. I would never trade how I feel today for anything, certainly not food.

We are like computers in one sense, our inputs directly impact our outputs. Eat well, study well and you will have extraordinary results.

If you enjoyed my story, please check my project, Metaboard, it's the next step in my personal growth. It not only helps me directly as a powerful visual second brain, but it is helping me develop my business and product skills.

How I became a better software engineer by using a visual knowledge management tool

Leonardo Venturini — Thu, 30 May 2024 00:58:34 +0000

I like to believe that I have always been a very proficient software engineer, I've specialized in JavaScript/TypeScript for more than 6 years professionally and I program for fun for more than 15 years. I got a business degree before my software engineering degree, and I was well within senior level working at an amazing software company when I got my diploma as a software engineer.

One thing that always bothered me was the amount of things I had to keep in my head at one given point. I even suffered from a severe phase of burnout where I needed to take antidepressants in order to keep my job.

I have been aware of mind mapping tools for more than a decade, but I never could use them for other than planning some very specific things and then shortly giving up on them.

That's until I was experimenting with a side project I was working on for about 2 years, I was in a basic sense generating flashcards using AI, and it occurred to me that I could also generate a diagram for it as well to assist in learning, but turned out that what I created was way more powerful than that.

I created a type of interactive visualization engine where I could move boxes on the screen, add a name to them and eventually even open a drawer where I could add rich text. At one point I automatically opened it to save random note and it dawned on me, it was way easier than going to Notion and creating a page.

From there on I implemented pasting of links and images, and even search for the textual content of images. I used to take screenshots of code and send them to myself via Slack to save them for later, but now I can just paste it on a board which I can group everything visually and spatially.

The search is also semantic by using embeddings, and eventually I will also add the ability to talk to your knowledge base. I understand that AI is so hypey right now but I don't want it to be the main thing about it.

I could add the ability for users to generate their content and whatever but the value of the boards is that it's yours and represents your own mind, you put the effort and that effort helps you consolidate that information better.

Of course, there is an AI Chat node but that is only intended to be used for your research and be organized visually. That's not the end goal, for that you can use ChatGPT directly.

Anyways, let me get to the main point, this tool I've built changed the way I work as a software engineer. Now I have this digital whiteboard where I can put all my research if I am working on something complex for one of my clients or companies I work for.

I take a humongous amount of screenshots of code and add relationships between them, add notes and link to documentation and sometimes I even paste a link to a video from YouTube which gets stylized accordingly.

It's like I got more RAM for my mind, I can keep a huge amount of information very accessible to this high speed network we call vision. Instead of seven things, I can have hundreds of things. Best of all, I can completely forget about it whenever I want to, and also pick it up whenever I get back to it.

I enjoy my weekends more, and I can also context switch more easily with less strain. I feel I could have a thousand projects going on at the same time. Or focus that powerful energy into the projects I love.

Right now I am dedicating my time to Meteor and Metaboard. It's also worth noting that Metaboard is built on top of my own homemade event-driven real-time framework Helene which is inspired by Meteor.

This is not the first tool I've built, I've also built a devtools for Meteor some years ago and it's used by a little over 5k users. Creating tools seems to be my thing, and I hope it helps you as much as it helps me. I am a builder, and I would only share it if I truly believed in it.

I would love to hear your thoughts and frustrations with existing tools so I can make it even more awesome. I built this for myself, I am a software engineer, and very likely it will be a powerful tool for you too. Heck I even have people using it to manage a factory for industrial kitchen appliances, that's why it's called Meta-board, it's whatever you make it to be.

One tool to rule them all.

The cover image is of a board created by a colleague of mine for studying Node.js and the event loop.

It even has a mini map!

Here is a short homemade promo video (one day I hope I can hire someone to do these, but hey there is a cat at the end):