Why this over that

Practical technology choices, with the trade-offs and context left intact.

browse this topic

Why this over that essays

4 essays

2026

musings / 10 May 2026 / 3 min Why markdown files over a CMS Fourth in the Why this over that series: this blog is a folder of text files in git, and that is a feature list, not an absence of one.
engineering / 26 Apr 2026 / 3 min Why Go for the service, Rust for the tool Third in the Why this over that series: I write both daily. The split that emerged isn't about language quality, it's about what each artifact is for.
engineering / 12 Apr 2026 / 3 min Why SSE over WebSockets Second in the Why this over that series: most realtime features are one-way, and server-sent events give you reconnection, proxy-friendliness, and plain HTTP for free.
engineering / 29 Mar 2026 / 3 min Why SQLite over Postgres (sometimes) First in the Why this over that series: for single-user and single-box systems, the world's most deployed database in one copyable file is not the compromise. It's the correct choice.