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mchaver

734 karma · joined February 27, 2013

https://mchaver.com/

mchaver at gmail dot com

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mchaver··on Learn Programming with OCaml
For web frontend, it's derivative programming language, rescript, is also a secret weapon because of types, fast compilation times and first class support of React. Using React in rescript is much nicer than TypeScript.
mchaver··on My Friend Aaron
I initially missed the line saying it was a short story and read through most of it as personal experience until the last couple of paragraphs. That made it even more exciting, but it is still very good as a fictional story.
mchaver··on typ.ing
I do fondly. I also like Typing of the Dead. So much that I am working on recreating those experiences for other languages like Chinese.
mchaver··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (August 2026)
I am working on Cangjie Workbook. I am trying to create the best in class tool for learning Cangjie. It's a Chinese input method based on decomposing characters into sub parts (not necessarily related to how they are written). It has a high learning curve, but it is a lot of fun to type with and helps you remember characters. It is a tool that I use myself. I already have a couple of users that have been giving me feedback. You can use a subset for free and without any login credentials. The complete product is available for a small monthly fee. Any feedback is welcome!

https://www.cangjieworkbook.com/

mchaver··on Why I am not going to buy a computer
> He and I can bang out tons of it in minutes that would have taken months before. We do this and then no one reads it.

Honest question, did you guys read it yourselves before asking the rest of the team to read it?

mchaver··on Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (July 2026)
I've been working on a web application for learning 倉頡輸法 https://demo.cangjieworkbook.com/ , no login required for the demo version (Cangjie Input method). It's a visual way of decomposing Chinese characters. It has a high initial learning curve so I've come up with a method based on the ways QWERTY is taught. I've added a few more texts and lessons in the last month. The most time consuming part is adding annotations to characters to show how they are composed, but it is worth doing. I already have a couple of users and they have given me helpful feedback. If you are interested, check it out and let me know how it goes.
mchaver··on Interview with Mitchell Hashimoto about Ghostty and Zig
> I suspect that Rust will start taking over as a dominant LLM output language.

I doubt it. I think most people will become more entrenched in their favored ecosystem.

> I also suspect that in short order we'll have entirely new languages that are engineered to be ideal languages for LLMs to generate.

This is already happening. A couple months ago I came across this language that is engineered for AI and human consumption https://www.moonbitlang.com/

mchaver··on My thoughts on the Bun Rust rewrite
I am fine with people having principles and doing things their way. Not everything has to be a race to be the best. There are still plenty of people that appreciate traditional crafts. Anyway, if Zig+AI can be the next, greatest thing, can't someone just fork it and make it happen?
mchaver··on Yes, AI Will Take Your Job
> I wish there were options on HN to filter out "my opinion is a fact and you're all wrong" articles

Don't wish. Just vibecode it for your personal use. Seriously.

mchaver··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)
houseguessr does not work. I could not select an answer.
mchaver··on Jobs and Software Is Fucked
If you guys are hiring, I am interested. My email and personal website are in my profile. Thanks!
mchaver··on Digital Printing of Arabic: explaining the problem (2017)
Probably because it's a work around and not what most people want to do. Imagine someone telling you you have to type English in Cyrillic. I know if I could no longer type out Chinese characters and had to use pinyin it would feel very odd and like something was taken away.
mchaver··on Digital Printing of Arabic: explaining the problem
My guess would be line height is a challenge and Naskh already exists. Then probably because these scripts are not used often in the places that are centers of software/OS development.
mchaver··on Humanity isn't ready for the coming intelligence explosion
I would say some of us are welcoming and embracing it. Others are trying to fight the good fight, but it is hard to fight the momentum that is building.
mchaver··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)
It's very niche, but I have created a course for learning Cangjie 倉頡, which is a Chinese input system based on the visual appearance of characters (not necessarily etymologically correct). The advantage of this system is you can type most characters via unique output (there are a few collisions where you need to pick) and you do not need to pick the character from a list. This is particular useful if you work with specialized texts in Chinese.

You can find the tool at https://www.cangjieworkbook.com/ and there is a free demo linked inside. It should work on desktop and mobile web browsers.

mchaver··on Haskell Foundation 2026 Update
What do you find about bringing it into production? Is it the actual language patterns or the tools? I've done Haskell in production for over a decade now so I am not sure what challenges newcomers face.
mchaver··on There's no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going
I don't agree with the repeated mantra that technology is neutral because the creation, maintenance and promotion of technology requires lots of resources and a lot of choices. A lot of conscious effort goes into creating things, and to change the thing after someone uses it. Make it better, make it safer, make it easier to use, etc. That doesn't feel neutral to me.
mchaver··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2026)
Very nice looking game. I added it to my wishlist.
mchaver··on Why I still reach for Lisp and Scheme instead of Haskell
Yes, definitely wouldn't use print because in an async environment that will get garbled. A proper logging library is the way to go.
mchaver··on Functional programmers need to take a look at Zig
That sounds really nice. I have a couple of Haskell servers running on VMs, but the build requirements really slow down the process. I have to use dockers to help cache dependencies and avoid recompiling things that have not changed, but it is still slow and puts out large binaries.

The idea of having a language with most the batteries for a web server built-in is nice. I've never considered Golang, but it is compelling. I'll have to check it out. Though Rust keeps catching my eyes.

mchaver··on American Dads Became the Parents Their Fathers Never Were
> For some reason the very concept of extended families and community engenders deep anger and hostility from some Americans

I think because excessive individualism plays into the hands of large companies. There is an individualist culture that has naturally grown over time in the US, but it has also been pushed by big corporations because if you can't depend on your neighbors and extended family, you need to spend money to fill the gaps.

mchaver··on Why I still reach for Lisp and Scheme instead of Haskell
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've always liked Haskell and OCaml syntax.
mchaver··on Why I still reach for Lisp and Scheme instead of Haskell
That's fine for a library or locally run executable, but I've worked on distributed systems in Haskell and you really need logging in place to track what is going on.

Of course, you will have IO somewhere in a executable where you can handle logging so just separate pure and IO and make sure you have good tests for the pure functions. Also, linting to catch partial functions and dangerous lazy ones (or use an alternative prelude).

mchaver··on I’m spending months coding the old way
I like how your comment can be interpreted in two completely opposite manners. Either it is depressing that coding by hand is something curious, worthy of blogging about, or you are an AI-maximalist deriding lowly meat powered coding. Based on your post history I'll assume the former interpretation :)
mchaver··on Spending 3 months coding by hand
Do you have any more notes/lectures/references that you can share? I would like to try something similar.
mchaver··on Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)
Thanks for taking the time to look. My biggest focus right now is own Numerikos. I hope I can make a better math learning platform. Math games are fun too. There are some nice ideas in the examples you have shared here.
mchaver··on Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)
Nice work on letterpaths. I really enjoyed moving the snake around and the sand sounds. It had me hypnotized for a few minutes.
mchaver··on Chimpanzees in Uganda locked in eight-year 'civil war', say researchers
I am siding with the group that opens bananas from the bottom.
mchaver··on US plans to automatically register young men for military draft
In many countries, having citizenship means you are registered to vote. It is pretty convenient. Just show your ID card and you can vote.
mchaver··on Ask HN: What are you building that's not AI related?
I am building a web application for learning math. I want it to be something between Khan Academy and Math Academy. Here is a demo of fourth grade https://demo.numerikos.com/ Currently the best part about it is one of my kids is using it. I have some more lessons ready, waiting to be released and I am currently working on Trigonometry.
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