Syed Aslam
@syedaslam.bsky.social
Designing software systems and thinking about why most of them hurt.
Rails, JavaScript, architecture, product.
Rails, JavaScript, architecture, product.
Rails taught me this twice: first, callbacks made flows unclear. Then service objects did the same. The problem isn’t patterns, it’s indirection that overshadows its usefulness. I wrote about how to recognize and cut that decay.
syedaslam.com/posts/when-g...
syedaslam.com/posts/when-g...
When Good Abstractions Age | Syed Aslam
Callbacks, service objects, and the cost of indirection in mature Rails apps.
syedaslam.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:58 AM
Rails taught me this twice: first, callbacks made flows unclear. Then service objects did the same. The problem isn’t patterns, it’s indirection that overshadows its usefulness. I wrote about how to recognize and cut that decay.
syedaslam.com/posts/when-g...
syedaslam.com/posts/when-g...
Wrote a new blog post on why Stimulus works so well in mature Rails apps:
syedaslam.com/posts/stimul...
syedaslam.com/posts/stimul...
Stimulus Is Boring — and That’s Why It Works | Syed Aslam
Why 'boring' tools like Stimulus.js are a superpower for mature Rails applications.
syedaslam.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Wrote a new blog post on why Stimulus works so well in mature Rails apps:
syedaslam.com/posts/stimul...
syedaslam.com/posts/stimul...
ActiveModel::Serializers (AMS) is archived, yet many Rails apps still use it.
Why? Replacing your serialization layer is scary.
Why? Replacing your serialization layer is scary.
January 20, 2026 at 1:13 PM
ActiveModel::Serializers (AMS) is archived, yet many Rails apps still use it.
Why? Replacing your serialization layer is scary.
Why? Replacing your serialization layer is scary.
Sometimes the best feature you can add is a constraint. By limiting what users can do, you guarantee the dignity of the content remains intact.
January 16, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Sometimes the best feature you can add is a constraint. By limiting what users can do, you guarantee the dignity of the content remains intact.
I've spent years building software systems.
Lately, I'm more interested in understanding why they hurt than adding new features.
Posting thoughts as I go.
Lately, I'm more interested in understanding why they hurt than adding new features.
Posting thoughts as I go.
January 12, 2026 at 2:22 PM
I've spent years building software systems.
Lately, I'm more interested in understanding why they hurt than adding new features.
Posting thoughts as I go.
Lately, I'm more interested in understanding why they hurt than adding new features.
Posting thoughts as I go.