Scaling IBM App Connect Enterprise Integrations That Use MQ Request/Reply

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In the initial "How to Move IBM App Connect Enterprise to Containers" post, a single MQ queue was used in place of an actual MQ-based back-end system used by an HTTP Input/Reply flow, which allowed for a clean example of moving from local MQ connections to remote client connections. 

In this post, we will look at what happens when an actual back-end is used with multiple client containers and explore solutions to the key challenge: how do we ensure that reply messages return to the correct server when all the containers have identical starting configurations? 

AI Against AI: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence To Detect Deepfakes and Vishing

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In today's digital age, the proliferation of Deepfake technology and voice phishing (vishing) tactics presents a significant challenge to the authenticity and security of digital communications. Deepfakes manipulate audio and video to create convincing counterfeit content, while vishing exploits voice simulation to deceive individuals into revealing sensitive information. The need to accurately identify and mitigate these threats is paramount for protecting individuals and organizations from the potential consequences of misinformation, fraud, and identity theft.

Understanding Deepfakes and Vishing

Deepfakes are created using deep learning techniques, especially Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), to generate or modify videos and audio recordings, making them appear real. This technology can swap faces, mimic voices, and alter expressions with high precision.

Data Governance – Data Privacy and Security – Part 1

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In every organization, there may be multiple source systems for various needs. Depending on how big the organization is, the source systems may vary from one to more than 1,000. Organizations often centralize their data in one place, integrate it, and derive value out of the data, such as a 360-degree view of customers, products, and so forth. To achieve this, a good data governance framework needs to be in place. 

The Data Governance framework helps organizations to group the data in the appropriate way, manage the data, ensure the quality of the data, verify the consistency of data, and completeness of data, all to improve decision-making abilities and secure the data in an apt way.

“Do You Have Any Questions for Me?”

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When the interview comes to the “Do you have any questions for me?” part, your best use of time is to try to uncover things that would cause you to absolutely say no (or yes) to the job.

“What gets you most excited about the company’s future?” is… nice, but no matter what answer they give, it’s not likely to change your mind about whether to accept the job or not.

How To Screw Up Your WordPress Blog

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WordPress is a powerful platform that allows you to create stunning blogs and websites. However, if you’re not careful, you can inadvertently make mistakes that can negatively impact your blog’s functionality and appearance. In this article, we will discuss some common pitfalls to avoid when managing your WordPress blog. 1. Overloading with Plugins Plugins are […]

How SEO Services Affect Small Businesses An Analysis

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Search engine optimization (SEO) services can have a significant impact on small businesses, both positively and negatively. In this analysis, we will examine the various ways in which SEO services can affect small businesses.

Increased visibility and traffic: One of the primary benefits of SEO services is that they can increase a small business's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive more organic traffic to their website. By optimizing a website's content and structure for relevant keywords and phrases, SEO services can improve a small business's search engine ranking and help them reach more potential customers.

Improved user experience: SEO services often involve optimizing a website's design, navigation, and user experience to make it more user-friendly and accessible. This can help small businesses attract and retain more visitors, reduce bounce rates, and increase engagement and conversions.

Enhanced credibility and authority: When a small business appears at the top of search engine results pages for relevant queries, it can enhance their credibility and authority in the eyes of potential customers. This can lead to increased trust, loyalty, and brand awareness, which can help small businesses establish themselves as industry leaders and gain a competitive edge.

Cost-effective marketing: Compared to traditional marketing methods like print, radio, or television ads, SEO services can be more cost-effective and provide a higher return on investment (ROI) for small businesses. By targeting specific audiences and optimizing content for relevant keywords, small businesses can reach more potential customers at a lower cost per acquisition.

Increased competition: While SEO services can help small businesses stand out from their competitors, they can also increase competition in their industry. As more businesses optimize their websites for relevant keywords, it can become more challenging for small businesses to rank highly in search engine results pages and attract organic traffic.

Risk of penalties: SEO services that use black hat or unethical techniques to manipulate search engine rankings can put small businesses at risk of penalties or even blacklisting by search engines. These penalties can result in a significant loss of traffic, credibility, and revenue for small businesses.

In conclusion, SEO services can have a significant impact on small businesses, both positively and negatively. By using ethical and effective SEO strategies, small businesses can increase their visibility, traffic, and credibility, and compete more effectively in their industry. However, it is essential to be aware of the risks and potential pitfalls of SEO services and work with reputable providers to avoid penalties and achieve long-term success.

Chris’ Corner: Subgrid

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Chrome 117 went stable this past week. There is a website where you can see what the plan is for Chrome releases, by the way, which is handy when you care about such things.

Chrome releases a major version about once a month, and I usually don’t feel ultra compelled to write anything about it specifically. Rachel Andrew does a great job covering web platform updates each month on Web.dev, like this past New to the web platform in August.

I’m extra excited about this one, though, because it means subgrid has now shipped across all three major browsers. Chrome was the straggler here:

  • Firefox shipped subgrid on Dec 2, 2019.
  • Safari shipped subgrid on Sep 11, 2022.
  • Chrome shipped subgrid on Sep 12, 2023.

Caniuse is a great site for not only checking support but also seeing when versions shipped that have support.

Lest I type too many words without explaining what subgrid is… it’s a keyword that works with grid-template-columns and grid-template-rows that allow you to suck in the grid lines that pass through the element from the parent grid.

.parent {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr;
}
.child {
  grid-column: 2 / 4;
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: subgrid;
}

Does your browser support it? Probably, but it’s still good to check and to code around that check. Bramus has a Pen that’s a quicky check. The CSS feature @supports is up for the job:

output::after {
  content: "❌ Your browser does not support subgrid";
}

@supports(grid-template-rows: subgrid) {
  output::after {
    content: "✅ Your browser supports subgrid";
  }
}

Perhaps the most classic example is when you set card elements on the grid, and you want elements with the cards to line up according to “shared” grid lines. Jhey has a demo like that of the basics.

I’ve also played with the cards idea, which is perhaps even more obvious where there are natural lines, like background colors running into each other:

Sometimes my favorite use cases are little itty bitty tiny things that are otherwise annoying or impossible to pull off well. For example! The aligning off CSS counters on list items. See below how in the first example the content in the list items is ragged-left, but in the second example, nicely aligned. That happens in this case by using subgrid to make all those counters essentially share a column line from the parent list item grid.

That example and several more are from a video I did with Dave a little while ago looking at all sorts of uses for subgrid.

Another of my favorites? Lining up web forms that have variable length labels. That exactly the use case that Eric Meyer showcased when he said that subgrid is “considered essential” seven years ago before subgrid shipped. Eric might have been a little wrong as grid has proven to be pretty dang useful even without subgrid, but there is no doubt that it is even moreso now.

MORE VIDEOS, you say? Can do!

  • I think of Rachel Andrew as the One True CSS Layout Master and she’s got a whole talk dedicated to CSS subgrid, which gets deeper into the details. One little one you might want to know: subgrids inherit the parent grid’s gap, but doesn’t have to!
  • Kevin Powell did a series of videos he called “Subgrid Awareness Month” about a year ago. This one about consistent layouts is a good place to start. CSS grid itself has strong “control the layout from the parent” vibes (unlike flexbox), and subgrid really enhances those powers.

WebRTC 102: Understanding SDP Internals

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As a WebRTC developer, you've probably heard the term "SDP" thrown around quite a bit, but what exactly is SDP and why is it important in WebRTC? In this article, we'll explore SDP — its meaning and how it works in WebRTC, and offer tips and best practices for working with it.

Let’s dive in!

Create a Headless CMS Using OceanBase and TypeScript: A Step-By-Step Tutorial

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If you're planning to start a blog or showcase your products on a website, you have two main options. You could code everything from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, creating databases and interfaces to manage your content. This, however, can be challenging if you're not a seasoned programmer. A more efficient alternative is to use a Content Management System (CMS), which provides you with the tools to manage your content and design your website effortlessly.

There are numerous CMSs available, each with its strengths. WordPress, the most popular CMS, is known for its user-friendly interface and vast plugin ecosystem. Joomla and Drupal offer more robust platforms for complex websites, though they require some technical expertise. For beginners, Squarespace and Wix are ideal for creating visually attractive websites without needing to code.

Ultimate Guide to Speech-to-Text Technology: Evolution, Architecture, and Applications

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Introduction

Ultimate Guide to Speech-to-Text Technology: Evolution, Architecture, and Applications

Imagine a world where every spoken word is instantly captured and transformed into a neatly organized script. This isn't George Orwell's 1984 vision of surveillance and control; instead, it's the empowering reality crafted by modern speech-to-text technology. In this world, technology serves not as a tool for monitoring, but as a powerful ally in enhancing communication, productivity, and accessibility. A sales manager dissects her team's strategies with precision, a doctor focuses more on patient care than paperwork, and every student gets a front-row seat in lectures. Here, technology liberates rather than confines, turning everyday conversations into opportunities for growth and understanding.

Historical Context and Technical Evolution

Historically, speech-to-text technology was limited by computational power and the complexities of natural language. However, with the rise of deep learning and neural networks, it has become more refined and capable of understanding various accents, dialects, and languages. This newfound robustness has paved the way for its widespread adoption across industries.

Strategic Architecture for Scalable Speech-to-Text Services

As demand for robust speech-to-text capabilities escalates, it is imperative to design a system architecture that is not only effective at launch but also scalable to accommodate future growth. This requires a carefully planned infrastructure that can adapt and scale without sacrificing performance. Here’s how we architect a future-ready speech-to-text system:

  • Microservice Architecture

    Transitioning our proof of concept into a microservice architecture ensures modular and scalable growth. By decoupling services, we enhance our ability to scale specific functions independently and manage multiple instances based on varying workload demands.

  • API Development and Integration

    A well-defined API acts as the backbone of our system, interfacing between the microservices and the end-users. It ensures seamless communication across services and centralizes the request management to maintain efficiency and reliability.

  • Task Queue Management

    Implementing a robust task queue system is crucial for managing asynchronous tasks and ensuring that our services can handle high volumes of requests efficiently. This system prioritizes and dispatches tasks to available resources, optimizing throughput and reducing latency.

  • Infrastructure Strategy

    Choosing the right infrastructure is critical to supporting the anticipated load and facilitating easy scaling:

  • Load Distribution

    Utilize a hybrid approach for load management. Regular operations can run on cost-effective Hetzner Servers, while spikes in demand are managed through scalable cloud solutions like Google Cloud, which provides on-demand resource allocation.

  • Scalability Considerations

    For gradual user growth, a scalable server setup is essential. Starting with a base capacity, we can incrementally scale our resources, ensuring that the infrastructure grows in tandem with the demand.

Choosing the Right Libraries and Infrastructure for Advanced Speech-to-Text Solutions

In the pursuit of creating an efficient and scalable speech-to-text system, the selection of appropriate libraries and robust infrastructure is paramount. Here’s how we ensure that our system not only meets current demands but is also primed for future challenges:

Optimizing with the Right Libraries

Our choice of libraries is driven by the need for high performance, versatility, and real-time processing capabilities. Whisper by OpenAI is a cornerstone of our architecture, lauded for its ability to handle diverse languages and complex audio environments efficiently. It’s an excellent choice for developers who require a reliable and versatile speech recognition tool.

Building on the strong foundation provided by Whisper, WhisperX stands out as the best choice for scenarios requiring instantaneous transcription and precise speaker identification. Its enhanced features are crucial for settings where every second counts, such as live broadcasting or high-stakes business meetings.

For situations where internet connectivity is a constraint, Vosk offers an ideal solution. Its robust offline capabilities ensure reliable performance on mobile and server applications, making it perfect for use in remote areas or in privacy-sensitive environments where data needs to remain on the device.

Leveraging GPU Technology for Infrastructure Efficiency

The backbone of our infrastructure strategy hinges on the power of GPU technology. Modern speech-to-text applications, with their intensive computational demands, necessitate the use of GPUs to process large volumes of audio data swiftly and accurately. This is essential not only for maintaining real-time processing standards but also for enabling high-throughput systems capable of handling simultaneous transcription tasks.

To manage these demands effectively, we implement a hybrid approach to load management. Regular operations are supported by Hetzner Servers, known for their cost-effectiveness and reliability, making them a staple in our regular workflow. During periods of peak demand, we leverage Google Cloud solutions to scale resources dynamically, ensuring that our service remains uninterrupted and responsive.

Furthermore, our scalable resource planning allows for the gradual expansion of server capacity. This incremental approach ensures that our infrastructure can grow in tandem with user demand, safeguarding system performance and efficiency as scaling needs evolve.

Applications Across Industries

Applications in Healthcare

In healthcare, the use of speech-to-text AI technology is proving revolutionary. Physicians and healthcare professionals are often bogged down by administrative tasks like record-keeping and note-taking. By automating these processes, speech recognition software allows them to focus on what matters most: providing care.

  • Enhancing Patient Records

    Speech-to-text systems can immediately transcribe voice dictations directly into electronic health records (EHR), reducing physician workload and minimizing transcription errors. This allows doctors to spend less time typing and more time diagnosing and treating patients.

  • Supporting Real-Time Clinical Decision-Making

    The ability to access patient data swiftly during consultations enhances diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy. For instance, a pilot study in a Chicago health network demonstrated a 30% decrease in diagnostic errors due to the integration of speech-to-text AI in their clinical workflows.

  • Improving Telemedicine Interactions

    With the rise of telemedicine, clear communication is crucial. Speech-to-text technology not only ensures precise documentation of these digital consultations but also supports regulatory compliance and accurate billing, making healthcare more accessible.

  • Challenges in Healthcare

    Ensuring the confidentiality of sensitive health information remains a paramount concern. The sector is also grappling with the need for higher accuracy in recognizing diverse accents and medical terminologies. Ongoing training and enhancements in AI algorithms are crucial to address these issues.

Applications in Education

The education sector has also embraced speech-to-text AI technology to enhance the learning experience and streamline administrative processes. Educators and students alike benefit from its accuracy and accessibility.

  • Assisting in Lecture Transcription and Note-Taking

    Students often struggle to take comprehensive notes during fast-paced lectures. Speech-to-text systems can automatically transcribe these lectures, creating accurate, easily searchable records that students can review later. This frees students to engage more fully with the material instead of being preoccupied with note-taking.

  • Facilitating Accessibility for Students with Disabilities

    For students with hearing impairments or learning disabilities, speech-to-text technology provides invaluable support. Automated transcription ensures that these students have access to the same information as their peers, promoting inclusivity and equitable learning opportunities.

  • Language Learning Support

    Speech-to-text AI can support language learners by providing accurate transcriptions of native speakers, enabling them to understand pronunciation and structure more clearly. Additionally, automated translation features allow international students to follow along in their native languages.

  • Challenges in Education

    Implementing speech-to-text AI technology in education presents challenges, such as ensuring high accuracy in different classroom settings and handling varying accents and teaching styles. Privacy is another concern, as transcription data must be handled responsibly, especially in settings involving minors.

Applications in Business and Customer Support

Businesses are leveraging speech-to-text AI technology to streamline their operations, improve customer satisfaction, and enhance productivity.

  • Improving Customer Service

    Automated transcription tools can convert customer support calls into text, allowing for quick analysis and follow-up. Customer support teams can use these transcriptions to identify recurring issues, track response times, and evaluate agent performance. This data-driven approach ensures a consistent and high-quality customer experience.

  • Streamlining Meeting Transcription and Note-Taking

    Modern businesses rely on numerous meetings and collaborative sessions to make decisions. With speech-to-text AI, organizations can transcribe these meetings, enabling participants to focus on the conversation instead of worrying about comprehensive note-taking. The generated transcripts also make it easy to reference decisions and track follow-up actions.

  • Enhancing Accessibility in Business Communication

    Speech-to-text technology can make workplace communication more inclusive by providing real-time transcriptions for remote and hearing-impaired employees. It also enables the creation of subtitles for internal video presentations, ensuring every employee stays informed.

  • Analyzing Customer Interactions

    Organizations can analyze transcribed customer interactions to identify trends, needs, and pain points. This information can inform product development, marketing strategies, and service improvement initiatives.

Applications in Media and Entertainment

In media and entertainment, speech-to-text AI technology is a powerful ally for creators and audiences.

  • Speeding up Content Creation for Podcasts and Video

    Transcribing spoken content into text helps creators produce accurate captions, subtitles, and show notes faster. It also aids in creating summaries or written versions of podcasts, increasing accessibility and discoverability.

  • Enhancing Accessibility through Subtitles and Transcripts

    Subtitles and transcripts are essential for providing content accessibility to non-native speakers and those with hearing impairments. Speech-to-text AI allows creators to generate subtitles automatically and edit them quickly for accuracy.

  • Streamlining Live Event Transcription

    Live events like conferences or sports broadcasts can be transcribed in real time using speech-to-text technology, enabling broader participation and easy post-event review. These live captions improve audience engagement and provide a written record for organizers and participants.

  • Challenges in Media and Entertainment

    While highly useful, speech-to-text technology in this sector faces challenges like maintaining high accuracy across different audio qualities and understanding various accents and industry-specific jargon.

Applications in Legal Services

Legal services rely heavily on accurate transcription for case preparation and record-keeping.

  • Simplifying Transcription of Legal Proceedings

    Court hearings, depositions, and client meetings can generate vast amounts of audio data. Speech-to-text AI enables faster transcription, reducing the time required to prepare legal documents and providing easily searchable records.

  • Automating Evidence Review and Analysis

    Transcribed audio can be analyzed quickly to identify relevant segments, patterns, or themes, aiding legal teams in constructing stronger cases. This technology can also speed up e-discovery processes by making it easier to sift through extensive voice recordings.

  • Ensuring Compliance and Maintaining Accurate Records

    Law firms must keep detailed records of their interactions and proceedings. Automated transcription ensures that accurate records are maintained and that compliance with regulatory standards is upheld.

  • Challenges Specific to the Legal Industry

    Challenges in this field include ensuring that AI understands legal jargon and maintaining client confidentiality. Transcripts need to be highly accurate to ensure fairness in legal proceedings.

Practical Evaluation of Speech-to-Text Libraries

As part of our initiative to harness the most efficient speech-to-text technologies, we conducted an in-depth evaluation of several notable libraries, comparing their functionality, performance, and suitability for various applications. Here’s a detailed comparison of our findings:

Vosk

  • Capabilities:

    Offers essential functions such as transcription, synchronization, and speaker identification.

  • Evaluation:

    The base models from Vosk fell short of our efficiency standards, primarily due to issues in context retention and suboptimal translation quality when files were split into parts.

OpenAI Whisper

  • Initial Tests:

    Focused on evaluating the basic transcription quality, which was found to be satisfactory.

  • Performance Optimization:

    Performance was significantly enhanced when processed on GPU-based servers, demonstrating Whisper’s capability to handle extensive and diverse datasets effectively.

WhisperX (by m-bain)

  • Capabilities:

    Builds on OpenAI's Whisper model to provide fast automatic speech recognition, with word-level timestamps and speaker diarization.

  • Features:

    Includes batched inference for real-time transcription speeds up to 70x, utilizing the faster-whisper backend. It supports phoneme-based ASR, forced alignment, and voice activity detection, making it suitable for high-efficiency requirements.

  • Performance:

    Showcases significant improvements in transcription speed and accuracy, especially with batch processing, which greatly reduces the time required for transcription tasks.

Comparative Insights

  • Vosk vs. Whisper:

    Whisper outperforms Vosk in handling complex audio scenarios and managing diverse accents with better overall accuracy and efficiency.

  • Whisper vs. WhisperX:

    WhisperX offers enhanced features over the basic Whisper model, particularly in speed and the ability to perform speaker diarization and more precise word-level timestamping, which are crucial for detailed analytical tasks.

Conclusion

The contribution of open-source libraries to the speech-to-text AI landscape cannot be overstated. They democratize access to cutting-edge technology, allowing startups, educators, and multinational corporations alike to implement sophisticated speech recognition systems. By utilizing these tools, industries can drive innovation forward, tailoring solutions to meet both broad and niche needs effectively.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. What is speech-to-text technology?

    Speech-to-text technology is a system that converts spoken language into written text. It uses advanced algorithms and machine learning models to transcribe speech accurately in real time.

  2. How has speech-to-text technology evolved over the years?

    Initially, speech-to-text technology was limited by computational power and the complexities of natural language processing. With advancements in deep learning and neural networks, it has become more accurate and capable of understanding various accents, dialects, and languages, leading to its widespread adoption across different industries.

  3. What is the importance of a scalable architecture in speech-to-text services?

    A scalable architecture ensures that the system can handle increasing amounts of data and user requests without sacrificing performance. It allows the system to grow and adapt to future demands, maintaining efficiency and reliability.

  4. What role do microservices play in speech-to-text technology?

    Microservices architecture breaks down the system into smaller, independent services that can be developed, deployed, and scaled separately. This modularity enhances the system’s ability to handle specific functions independently and manage varying workloads efficiently.

  5. Why are APIs crucial for speech-to-text systems?

    APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) act as intermediaries that enable communication between different services within the system and between the system and its end-users. They centralize request management, ensuring seamless interaction and maintaining system efficiency and reliability.

  6. How does task queue management improve speech-to-text systems?

    Task queue management prioritizes and dispatches tasks to available resources, optimizing throughput and reducing latency. This system ensures that high volumes of requests are handled efficiently, maintaining the system’s performance during peak loads.

  7. Which libraries are recommended for building advanced speech-to-text solutions?
    • Whisper by OpenAI: Known for its versatility and high performance in diverse audio environments.
    • WhisperX: Ideal for real-time transcription and precise speaker identification, especially in high-stakes scenarios.
    • Vosk: Suitable for offline applications, providing robust performance on mobile and server applications without the need for internet connectivity.
  8. How does GPU technology benefit speech-to-text applications?

    GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are essential for processing large volumes of audio data quickly and accurately. They enable real-time processing and support high-throughput systems capable of handling simultaneous transcription tasks.

  9. What are the benefits of using Hetzner Servers and Google Cloud solutions in speech-to-text infrastructure?

    Hetzner Servers are cost-effective and reliable, making them suitable for regular operations. Google Cloud solutions allow for dynamic scaling of resources during peak demand, ensuring uninterrupted and responsive service.

  10. How is speech-to-text technology used in healthcare?

    In healthcare, speech-to-text technology automates administrative tasks such as record-keeping and note-taking, allowing healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care. It improves efficiency and reduces the time spent on paperwork.

  11. What were the findings from the evaluation of different speech-to-text libraries?
    • Vosk: Good for basic functions but had issues with context retention and translation quality.
    • OpenAI Whisper: Provided satisfactory transcription quality, especially when processed on GPU-based servers.
    • WhisperX: Showcased significant improvements in transcription speed and accuracy, particularly with batch processing and real-time requirements.
  12. Why are open-source libraries important for the development of speech-to-text AI?

    Open-source libraries democratize access to advanced technology, allowing various organizations to implement sophisticated speech recognition systems. They drive innovation by enabling the development of customized solutions that meet diverse industry needs.

Switching It Up With HTML’s Latest Control

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The web is no stranger to taking HTML elements and transforming them to look, act, and feel like something completely different. A common example of this is the switch, or toggle, component. We would hide a checkbox beneath several layers of styles, define the ARIA role as “switch,” and then ship. However, this approach posed certain usability issues around indeterminate states and always felt rather icky. After all, as the saying goes, the best ARIA is no ARIA.

Well, there is new hope for a native HTML switch to catch on.

Safari Technology Preview (TP) 185 and Safari 17.4 released with an under-the-radar feature, a native HTML switch control. It evolves from the hidden-checkbox approach and aims to make the accessibility and usability of the control more consistent.

<!-- This will render a native checkbox --//>
<input type="checkbox" />

<!-- Add the switch attribute to render a switch element --//>
<input type="checkbox" switch />
<input type="checkbox" checked switch />

Communication is one Aspect of the control’s accessibility. Earlier in 2024, there were issues where the switch would not adjust to page zoom levels properly, leading to poor or broken visibility of the control. However, at the time I am writing this, Safari looks to have resolved these issues. Zooming retains the visual cohesion of the switch.

The switch attribute seems to take accessibility needs into consideration. However, this doesn’t prevent us from using it in inaccessible and unusable ways. As mentioned, mixing the required and indeterminate properties between switches and checkboxes can cause unexpected behavior for people trying to navigate the controls. Once again, Adrian sums things up nicely:

“The switch role does not allow mixed states. Ensure your switch never gets set to a mixed state; otherwise, well, problems.”

— Adrian Roselli

Internationalization (I18N): Which Way Is On?

Beyond the accessibility of the switch control, what happens when the switch interacts with different writing modes?

When creating the switch, we had to ensure the use of logical CSS to support different writing modes and directions. This is because a switch being in its right-most position (or inline ending edge) doesn’t mean “on” in some environments. In some languages — e.g., those that are written right-to-left — the left-most position (or inline starting edge) on the switch would likely imply the “on” state.

While we should be writing logical CSS by default now, the new switch control removes that need. This is because the control will adapt to its nearest writing-mode and direction properties. This means that in left-to-right environments, the switch’s right-most position will be its “on” state, and in right-to-left environments, its left-most position will be the “on” state.

See the Pen Safari Switch Control - Styling [forked] by @DanielYuschick.

Final Thoughts

As we continue to push the web forward, it’s natural for our tools to evolve alongside us. The switch control is a welcome addition to HTML for eliminating the checkbox hacks we’ve been resorting to for years.

That said, combining the checkbox and switch into a single input, while being convenient, does raise some concerns about potential markup combinations. Despite this, I believe this can ultimately be resolved with linters or by the browsers themselves under the hood.

Ultimately, having a native approach to switch components can make the accessibility and usability of the control far more consistent — assuming it’s ever supported and adopted for widespread use.

The Effect of Data Storage Strategy on PostgreSQL Performance

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PostgreSQL continues to solidify its effectiveness as an enterprise-ready database in its 100% free and open-source version. Data teams should feel confident with OS PostgreSQL and not be taken in by less versatile and more costly open-core Postgres repackaging.

That said, backing open-source PostgreSQL with the right supplemental technology strategy can have a profound impact on the value the venerable relational database delivers. For example, enterprises that support their PostgreSQL database implementations with fast storage strategies can realize high-end performance advantages, including substantial increases in the TPS workloads that servers can handle.