Facebook releases platform source code
So I was really floored and excited when I saw that Facebook released their platform source code. As soon as I found out, I downloaded it and started going through all the code.
And I'm underwhelmed.
For a long time now I've been trying to envision how they did things, and when working on our own platform [‘ our own’ being VarLabs], I've been thinking, ‘Am I approaching this the right way? How is Facebook tackling this?’. And the answer is that I'm doing it far more elegantly and orderly, I think, than Facebook.
There are some interesting things for sure, but on the whole I'm a bit disappointed. So either I'm a delusional jackass for missing something amazing, or I'm as good as I think I am and just not having a chance to show off my skills.
Based on the code, I think Facebook's strength lies in how they mix together applications written in different languages, their MySQL scaling, and their consistent and pretty UI. Their coding and any clever queries, not so much. At least from what they've openly released.
Whatever the case, it's working well for them, so I'm just being a stickler for details. What they've done has inspired and guided how I'm approaching new projects. So good for them.