Engineering articles from Square
AI summaries and key learnings from Square engineering teams.
A Massively Multi-user Datastore, Synced with Mobile Clients
The article discusses the architectural design of a massively multi-user datastore developed at Square, which is tailored to manage extensive merchant catalogs synced with mobile clients. It...
Command Line Observability with Semantic Exit Codes
The article presents a novel approach to enhancing command line tool observability at Square by introducing semantic exit codes inspired by HTTP status codes. By categorizing exit codes into user...
Celebrating the release of Android Studio Electric Eel
The release of Android Studio Electric Eel introduces a significant performance enhancement through a new parallel project import feature, which reduces average sync times for large codebases by 60%....
Developer Spotlight: Reference Health
The article highlights the journey of Reference Health, a platform that integrates Square's payment solutions into healthcare systems, enabling providers to accept secure payments directly through...
Stampeding Elephants
The article 'Stampeding Elephants' presents a case study from Square's Mobile Developer Experience (MDX) Android team, detailing their journey to modernize the build logic of their Point of Sale...
Why You Need an Experimentation Template
The article emphasizes the significance of using an experimentation template for A/B testing within data science teams, particularly at Block. It outlines how such a template ensures that...
Accept Payments with Square and Svelte
This article serves as a comprehensive guide for developers looking to implement a secure payment flow in their SvelteKit applications using the Square Web Payments SDK and Payments API. It outlines...
Accept Payments with Square and Vue
This article serves as a comprehensive guide for integrating Square payment processing into a Nuxt application. It outlines the necessary steps to create a secure payment flow, including setting up...
Keeping IDE Sync Times at Bay: A Historical Perspective
The article reflects on a decade since the launch of Android Studio, focusing on the integration with Gradle and the challenges faced with IDE sync times. It discusses how the growth of Gradle...
Connecting Block Business Units with AWS API Gateway
The article discusses the integration of newly acquired companies into Block's infrastructure using AWS API Gateway and mTLS for secure communication. It outlines the challenges faced during...
Accelerating Ruby: How Our Bundle Install Times Got 12x Faster
The article outlines significant improvements made to the Ruby Bundler tool, which is essential for managing Ruby libraries. It details how the RubyGems team transitioned to a new compact index...
Maximizing Solution Visibility with Machine Learning-Powered App Recommendations
The article presents a machine learning-powered app recommendation system designed to enhance solution visibility for sellers on the Square platform. It outlines the challenges faced by sellers in...
Introducing New Terminal API Customization Features
The article introduces new customization features in the Square Terminal API, allowing developers to create dynamic workflows that enhance the checkout experience. Key features include Custom...
Recap: Square Unboxed 2023
The article provides a recap of the Square Unboxed 2023 event, highlighting significant updates to Square's APIs and developer tools. Key announcements include enhancements to the Terminal API,...
Unlock a Better Mobile Experience with Square GraphQL and PKCE
The article discusses how to enhance mobile application experiences using Square's GraphQL and OAuth PKCE. It outlines the benefits of integrating these technologies to streamline API calls and...
New Subscriptions API Integrations with Catalog and Orders
The article introduces new integrations of the Square Subscriptions API with the Catalog and Orders APIs, aimed at enhancing subscription management for sellers. It details how sellers can attach...
Keeping Up with Android App Size Growth
The article outlines Square's approach to managing the growth of Android app sizes, emphasizing the importance of reducing APK sizes to comply with Google Play's limits. It details strategies such as...
Implicit Product Tagging
The article explores the concept of implicit product tagging, focusing on the challenges of labeling data without explicit labels. It introduces zero-shot classification as a solution, utilizing...
Lessons Learned From Running Web Experiments
The article outlines key strategies and frameworks for conducting web experiments, particularly A/B testing, within the context of a high-traffic website. It emphasizes the importance of creating a...
Supercharging Continuous Integration with Gradle
The article explores the challenges and solutions in optimizing Continuous Integration (CI) processes for large-scale Gradle projects, particularly in the context of Android development. It details...