frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

How to get up to speed on software development from the top down

1•dave2299•1y ago
Hi everyone, I am a non-technical founder. I’ve bootstrapped a tech-enabled services company over the past year that’s growing, profitable, and close to 15K a month in revenue. I, by nature, prefer to be involved in the weeds of what’s happening in each domain of my business at first, even if that results in slower business growth. I built my company with a white label portal software (Copilot.app), Airtable, Squarespace, AppSheet,and some ChatGPT scripts.

Now, I need to start building out custom tools. I want to take a deep dive into software development, starting with front and back end web development from the top down, rather than starting from the bottom up as a coder.

If I keep growing eventually I will end up bringing on technical employees, but I want to understand the lay of the land before I start down that road, and I found that I’m able to do a lot once I understand the domain using low code and no code tools. So for example, things like Retool, etc. will accomplish most of the next phase of building I need. But I want to have a reading list of 10 or 20 books or blogs or courses or podcast, etc.. That will help me start getting the way of the land on how to architect software.

I know basic python, basics of the building blocks of programming at the intro level. I just read Designing Data-Intensive Applications (2nd ed on O’Reilly). Does someone have a list of 10 modern books that would help me understand big picture topics like this?

Comments

sherdil2022•1y ago
I offer personal / 1:1 training, mentoring and technical consultancy for founders and co-founders.

Please feel free to reach out to me. My throwaway email is in my profile, and I will respond.

GSD – Open-source, local-first task manager built on the Eisenhower matrix

https://gsdtaskmanager.com/
1•vscarpenter•4m ago•0 comments

We can't retrain our way out of AI's economic disruption

https://mollykinder2.substack.com/p/we-cant-retrain-our-way-out-of-ais
1•keeda•5m ago•0 comments

Ford hired AI and sacked humans. It backfired badly

https://www.the-independent.com/tech/ford-ai-automation-human-workers-b3003787.html
2•speckx•7m ago•0 comments

Monlite – documents, vectors, cache, and job queue in one SQLite file

https://github.com/qataruts/monlite
2•emadjumaah•18m ago•0 comments

Bypass Protocol: The NDC Architecture Middleware Trap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4yvhpcXAzU
1•tgold8888•19m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Git-temp – scratchpad folder for AI agents; doesn't clutter Git status

https://github.com/sebmellen/git-temp
1•sebmellen•28m ago•0 comments

Deburr Edge Cases Skill: Make coding agents systematize their local code

https://github.com/imbue-ai/rust-bucket/blob/main/.agents/skills/deburr-edge-cases/SKILL.md
1•nvader•32m ago•0 comments

Yap – free offline voice dictation for Mac/Windows/Linux (Wispr Flow alt)

https://github.com/AkuchiS/yap
1•AkuchiS•35m ago•0 comments

Powerful Anthropic model, Fable 5, on track to return soon

https://www.axios.com/2026/06/27/anthropic-fable-5-return-soon
1•chris_overseas•39m ago•0 comments

An argument with Om about Wired spawned this newsletter. RIP brother

https://crazystupidtech.com/2026/06/27/how-an-argument-with-om-spawned-this-newsletter-rip-brother/
1•rmason•43m ago•0 comments

Marfa Public Radio Puts You to Sleep

https://www.marfapublicradio.org/podcast/marfa-public-radio-puts-you-to-sleep
42•reaperducer•53m ago•2 comments

A Man Who Invented a Surgery to Cure Himself

https://medium.com/swlh/doug-lindsay-the-man-who-cure-himself-12d40d3f643e
1•raynchad•54m ago•0 comments

Direct observation of the superallowed α-decay of 104Te

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10581-w
1•thunderbong•54m ago•0 comments

What Barbarians Like to Take Private

https://www.gmo.com/americas/research-library/part-1-what-barbarians-like-to-take-private_gmoquar...
1•andsoitis•59m ago•0 comments

US Layoffs Skyrocket to Highest Level Since Pandemic AI Blamed for 40% of Cuts

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-layoffs-skyrocket-highest-level-since-pandemic-tech-giants-blame-ai-...
9•yogthos•1h ago•1 comments

Almost always look on the bright side of life

https://www.economist.com/business/2026/05/21/why-you-should-almost-always-look-on-the-bright-sid...
1•andsoitis•1h ago•0 comments

After 80 Years, Mathematicians Give Famed 'Erdős Method' an Upgrade

https://www.quantamagazine.org/after-80-years-mathematicians-give-famed-erdos-method-an-upgrade-2...
1•signa11•1h ago•0 comments

Grantham Warns U.S. Stocks Could Plunge 70% / Most Expensive Market in History

https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/06/26/jeremy-grantham-warns-u-s-stocks-could-plunge-70-in-th...
7•andsoitis•1h ago•0 comments

Feds Killed Polestar and Spared Volvo. That Should Terrify You

https://www.thedrive.com/news/feds-killed-polestar-and-spared-volvo-that-should-terrify-you
18•mraniki•1h ago•8 comments

I built a 100% local network privacy appliance to stop smart home spying

https://www.edgedefenseai.com/
2•arundass•1h ago•1 comments

China Has Matched Anthropic in Cybersecurity, Resetting AI Race

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/chinese-ai-anthropic-mythos-cybersecurity-574b02c2
6•madars•1h ago•3 comments

What Happens When You Run 10k Concurrent Lambda Functions Against DynamoDB

https://medium.com/@yalovoy/what-happens-when-you-run-10-000-concurrent-lambda-functions-against-...
1•zero-ground-445•1h ago•0 comments

Amble One

https://driveamble.com/pages/amble-one
2•dnw•1h ago•0 comments

Show HN: FSM – an advanced system monitor for Linux

https://github.com/mskrasnov/FSM
2•mskrasnov•1h ago•0 comments

The AI "Super Bubble" Warning Is a Filter, Not a Funeral

https://www.pentesty.co/blog/ai-super-bubble-cybersecurity-filter-2026
3•johnzoro107•1h ago•0 comments

Show HN: SpinnerRecruit – targeted job ads in CLI for AI wait states

https://www.spinnerrecruit.dev/
1•jamessmu•1h ago•3 comments

Response to AI slop is from Robin Williams

https://jayacunzo.com/blog/your-move-chief
61•herbertl•1h ago•29 comments

Chrome Extension to Bypass Paywalls

https://gitflic.ru/project/magnolia1234/bypass-paywalls-chrome-clean
3•thunderbong•1h ago•1 comments

Turning music into a chore is how I became a musician

https://the.scapegoat.dev/turning-music-into-a-chore-is-what-made-me-an-artist/
2•herbertl•1h ago•0 comments

Microchip June 2026: AVR LA Family [pdf]

https://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/aemDocuments/documents/MCU08/ProductDocuments/Brochures/AVR-L...
3•dragontamer•1h ago•1 comments