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Reading / 2026-05/2026-05-18t113714-yaml-thats-norway-problem

YAML? That's Norway Problem

Traces YAML's Norway problem — where the country code NO parses as false — through spec versions v1.0 to v1.2, and shows why popular libraries like PyYAML and libyaml still exhibit the bug in 2026 despite the fix landing in the spec over a decade ago.

May 18, 2026 · tech · lab174, lab174.com

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Topics

  • software-engineering
  • api-design
  • developer-tooling
  • production-systems
  • engineering-craft

Cited by

  • API design

    Principles for designing interfaces — whether REST endpoints, component inputs, or module boundaries — that minimize what callers need to know while keeping implementations free to evolve.

  • Developer tooling

    Developer tooling spans the full surface area of software construction — version control, testing, shell ergonomics, AI coding assistants, and platform infrastructure — with a consistent theme: reducing friction without sacrificing correctness or security.

  • Engineering craft

    Engineering craft is the accumulated discipline of writing, organizing, and maintaining software well — spanning code design, tooling fluency, communication, and the judgment to know when technical excellence actually changes outcomes.

  • Production systems

    The engineering decisions that determine how software behaves under real load, covering durability, observability, testing discipline, performance constraints, and the operational costs of failure.

  • Software engineering

    Software engineering spans craft, process, and judgment — how code is structured, tested, reviewed, deployed, and maintained — and the sources collected here collectively interrogate each layer as AI tooling reshapes who does what and why.

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