Vahid Dejwakh

Software Engineer at Microsoft;
Lover of good music and poetry

About

I love to learn, understand, and connect. I’m a fan of systems–building them, fixing them, and thinking about how to make them work better for people.

I’ve gained insights from studying multiple types of systems, including languages, religions, philosophies, government and corporate structures, and many examples from software engineering.

In addition to building software to solve problems, I enjoy: writing, teaching, poetry, hiking, coffee, reggae, soccer, tennis, board games, camp fires, good conversations, and generally any time spent in good company.

Ain’t that what life’s about anyway?

Interests

Software Engineering
Data Science and Analytics
Philosophy and Psychology
Business Development
Public Policy and Economics

Education

Software Engineering (MBL)

Launch School
Juris Doctor & Public Policy (JD/MPP)

College of William & Mary
Bachelor of Arts, Summa Cum Laude

Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University

Latest Posts

Mohsen Namjoo's Ey Sareban (O Cameleer)

Yes, it is time for another translation of a Mohsen Namjoo song. “Ey Sareban” (O Cameleer) is a classic ode to forbidden or otherwise ill-fated love. There are only two sounds in this song–Mohsen’s singing and his setar playing–but the combination is pure gold.

Sep 19, 2024 6 min read Poetry, Spirituality

The Miraculous and Inspiring Life of Julia Greeley

Every now and then, you read about someone’s life and are touched in a profound way that transcends reason. It’s not that this effect was somehow irrational, but rather that it was completely unexpected. Such was my experience when I learned about Julia Greeley.

Nov 27, 2023 3 min read Spirituality, Religion

The Miraculous and Inspiring Life of Julia Greeley

Mohsen Namjoo's Tche Bashad (What if)

Here’s yet another translated song of Mohsen Namjoo – this time, it’s Tche Bashad (What if). I’m translating this one because it’s just as beautiful and meaningful as some of his other works I’ve translated, but also because of the music video which is particularly cinematographic too.

May 27, 2023 5 min read Poetry, Spirituality

Learn the basics of C in 10 minutes

If you began your programming journey learning either Java, C#, C++, Python, Ruby, Go, or even JavaScript, this post is here to give you a taste of C. The C language (the ancestor of all of these languages) is not an OOP language, and instead follows the procedural (aka functional) programming paradigm. What does that mean, and how does learning C help us understand OOP languages better? What benefit do OOP languages provide, and at what cost?

Jan 23, 2023 12 min read Software Engineering, Data Structures

System Design Interview Cheat Sheet

The system design interview is one of the funnest types of interviews you could get, if you know how to tackle it. The right approach consists of three parts:
1) a playful & collaborative attitude,
2) narrowing down the scope through targeted questions, and
3) understanding the main components of any infrastructure, and being able to use them like lego pieces at your disposal. This post will help mostly with this third part.

May 5, 2022 7 min read Software Engineering, How To

The Five Personality Traits

How much of our character is inherited? How much is developed as a reaction to our environment? Can personality change over time? Is there such a thing as a personality type? Are there some traits that are better than others?

Dec 31, 2021 5 min read Psychology

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Featured Posts

Aug 30, 2021 1 min read Software Engineering, System Design

Introducing the Fjord Framework

Many of you know that my team and I have been working hard for the last couple months on a new open source framework to enable client-side streaming from Kafka. I’m excited to announce that it’s ready!

Mar 21, 2021 7 min read Software Engineering, Data Structures

Understanding the JavaScript Runtime Environment and DOM Nodes

The JavaScript engine is only one of several tools browsers use to deliver a user interface that is both dynamic and able to asynchronously interact with multiple databases and events. Other main components include WebAPIs (including the DOM), two queues, and the Event Loop.

Dec 24, 2020 18 min read Software Engineering, Networking

How the Internet Works, Part III - Reliability and Security

In Part II, we learned how an HTTP request travels across the Internet to the correct destination server, through several layers, and returns with a response. But how does this happen reliably and securely, without becoming corrupted or being intercepted by a malicious hacker?

Dec 21, 2020 12 min read Software Engineering, Networking

How the Internet Works, Part II - Layers

What exactly happens when you enter a URL in your browser? How does your browser know what content to display? To answer this question, we need to understand how the various layers of the Internet work.

Dec 15, 2020 18 min read Software Engineering, Networking, Public Policy

How the Internet Works, Part I - The Internet Infrastructure

ISPs, routers, gateways, LANs, HTTP, the cloud, the web… the Internet is so complex that we could spend days, months, and even years studying this stuff, and we still wouldn’t be done.

Nov 4, 2020 17 min read Software Engineering, Data Structures

Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and Abstraction in Ruby

Did you know that Ruby was good for the environment? It is, because it follows strict EPA principles… Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and Abstraction. [Ducks a volley of Tomato objects thrown at him].