Stealing is a skill 🥷, Gemini 3.5 Flash computer use 🖱, prompt injection explained 💉

Stealing, or creatively borrowing from others, is a skill. Learning from others’ creations can improve one’s own perspective and problem-solving ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

Sign Up |Advertise|View Online TLDR  TLDR Dev 2026-06-25 🧑‍💻 Articles & Tutorials I wrote a 70x faster SQL parser while barely looking at the code (9 minute read) A new SQL parser for PostHog was developed using AI, with a huge speed improvement compared to the previous C++ based ANTLR parser. The process involved using property-based testing for generating and validating test cases, alongside prompt engineering to guide the AI in implementing the parser. The resulting parser is a recursive-descent structure designed to handle SQL queries while maintaining compatibility with existing query structures. Moving Linear from styled‑components to StyleX (6 minute read) Linear is transitioning from styled-components to StyleX for its React apps primarily to improve performance, as styled-components has entered maintenance mode and does not support modern React features properly. The migration focuses on minimizing runtime style generation, enforcing stricter styling contracts, and guaranteeing predictable style merging. Lies, Damn Lies, and Database Benchmarks (19 minute read) QuestDB is an open-source time-series database designed for high-performance applications, known for its ultra-low latency and considerable throughput capabilities. Benchmarking databases can often yield misleading results due to factors such as process persistence and the nature of query execution. Adjustments to benchmarking methods, such as allowing processes to remain active during queries or increasing iteration counts, can alter performance rankings. 🧠 Opinions & Advice Stealing is a Skill (5 minute read) Stealing, or creatively borrowing from others, is a skill. Learning from others' creations can improve one's own perspective and problem-solving abilities. An opinionated (and mainly correct) guide to naming (8 minute read) Good naming in software improves communication across teams, reduces debugging time, and supports both human understanding and AI code comprehension. 🚀 Launches & Tools Building high-demand Physical AI systems? Here's how to slash development time from months to days/hours (Sponsor) Palette Neat is an open-source agentic environment that accelerates Physical AI application development across robotics, automotive, drones, industrial automation, defense, smart vision, and more. With Palette Neat, developers use natural language to build and optimize entire systems, freeing engineering teams to focus on what matters most. Learn more here! Introducing computer use in Gemini 3.5 Flash (3 minute read) Gemini 3.5 Flash now has integrated computer use capabilities that improve agentic tasks and enable developers to build custom automation agents. peerd (GitHub Repo) peerd is an AI-powered browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that allows users to automate complex tasks by interacting directly with open tabs and sessions. It uses secure sandboxed environments and peer-to-peer connections to focus on decentralized operations and local data management. Nub (GitHub Repo) Nub is a toolkit that improves the Node.js development experience by incorporating features inspired by Bun and Deno while maintaining compatibility with standard Node.js. It has a faster package manager, script runner, and file execution. 🎁 Miscellaneous A Mechanistic Explanation of Prompt Injection (and why you should study roles) (44 minute read) Prompt injection is a vulnerability in LLMs coming from their inability to effectively distinguish between various roles, like user commands and internal reasoning, within the input token stream. Role tags such as 'user', 'assistant', and 'think' are intended to provide structure, but models tend to incorrectly assess authority based on the style of the text rather than the assigned tags, leading to situations where harmful commands are executed due to role confusion. Why big AI labs are hiring so many philosophers (8 minute read) Major AI labs are increasingly hiring philosophers to address the complex ethical and operational challenges inherent in artificial intelligence. By applying frameworks like deontology and fostering critical reasoning, these experts improve AI decision-making while creating new career opportunities for individuals with philosophical backgrounds. How to apply professional design principles in AI app development (9 minute read) In AI app development, applying professional design principles is crucial for creating visually distinctive and engaging applications. Key design principles such as contrast, hierarchy, alignment, and white space can significantly enhance usability and aesthetic appeal, helping apps stand out in a crowded market dominated by simplistic, template-based designs. By combining persistent effort and design expertise, developers can refine AI-generated designs, ensuring a more polished and unique user experience. ⚡ Quick Links OpenAI unveils its first custom chip, built by Broadcom (4 minute read) OpenAI has introduced its first custom AI inference processor, named Jalapeño, developed in collaboration with Broadcom. The HTTP QUERY Method (28 minute read) The newly proposed HTTP QUERY method is a safe and idempotent request method allowing clients to send requests for processing data without modifying the state of the target resource. In memory of the man who put red and green squiggles under words (3 minute read) Tony Krueger, who improved spelling and grammar checking in word processors by introducing the now ubiquitous red and green squiggles for errors, is remembered for his impactful but often unrecognized contributions to software development. StubZero: $148,337 RCE in Google Cloud Production (25 minute read) A debugging endpoint info leak in Google Cloud escalated into full remote code execution vulnerabilities. Love TLDR? Tell your friends and get rewards! Share your referral link below with friends to get free TLDR swag! https://refer.tldr.tech/d0af4569/3 Track your referrals here. Want to advertise in TLDR? 📰 If your company is interested in reaching an audience of web developers and engineering decision makers, you may want to advertise with us. Want to work at TLDR? 💼 Apply here, create your own role or send a friend's resume to jobs@tldr.tech and get $1k if we hire them! TLDR is one of Inc.'s Best Bootstrapped businesses of 2025. If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email! Thanks for reading, Priyam Mohanty, Jenny Xu & Ceora Ford Manage your subscriptions to our other newsletters on tech, startups, and programming. Or if TLDR Dev isn't for you, please unsubscribe.