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Looks nice. I saw that there is no PHP implementation yet. Doing it and publish it on Github would give me something, besides a "kudos" from Amazon? I am not as

by 101008 6y ago

Looks nice. I saw that there is no PHP implementation yet. Doing it and publish it on Github would give me something, besides a "kudos" from Amazon? I am not asking for a position at Amazon, but maybe an interview?

urda 6y ago
PHP is a banned language internally Amazon and Amazon subsidiaries, so they will not care. ... why am I getting downvoted for offering direct experience as an AMZN engineer? Amazon InfoSec forbids PHP. See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330
- Godel_unicode 6y ago
  As it should be be.
- bowmessage 6y ago
  untrue for client libraries, they would care. https://aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-php/ https://aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-php/
  - urda 6y ago
    SDK != Corp Policy You can't use PHP internally at Amazon. Downvotes and ignoring facts do not suddenly make my factual comment "untrue". See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330
    - bowmessage 6y ago
      Ion != Internal-only Amazon software. Many AWS services use it as an interface language. Many AWS customers use PHP.
    - trevor-e 6y ago
      Now I'm confused, are you saying Amazon uses Hack internally which compiles to PHP? The Hack website doesn't have much info and I'm not familiar with it. There's clearly an Amazon Github repo for an an AWS SDK written in PHP, but you're adamant that Amazon does not use PHP at all. So which is it?
      - bowmessage 6y ago
        They vend an AWS SDK in PHP for their customers, but they never run any internal software on PHP. The AWS SDK in PHP helps generate web requests to Amazon's services, most written in Java.
        senderista 6y ago
        They ran the internal wiki on PHP while I was there. Don’t know if it’s been upgraded since.
    - User23 6y ago
      Out of curiosity is Mason still a thing?
      - throwawaySlu 6y ago
        Hahaha ... yes. :(
- ajkjk 6y ago
  That's not really how that works. Just don't make it the only language you know.
  - urda 6y ago
    It is absolutely how it works when there is a internal policy against using PHP. That's literally fact. That's literally how it works. Additional resource: See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330
    - mmcallister 6y ago
      Sure, PHP is against internal policy. But if you take the initiative to open source a client library in PHP and it gets the attention of AWS it absolutely could result in an interview. If you are interviewing and you whiteboard your solution in PHP they won't hold it against you. The language is less important than the concepts. Granted, if the only language you know is PHP that could be a risk in your career. I think that holds true for any developer, though. Source: Used to work and interview at AWS
    - ajkjk 6y ago
      Yeah, it's literally not how it works, writing code in a banned language doesn't prevent you from getting interviews or being taken seriously.
- rrdharan 6y ago
  You're getting downvoted because one true statement - "PHP is banned for internal use" - does not imply the other - "they will not care". Google also bans PHP but has official PHP client libraries for all its APIs. Both companies care about having and maintaining PHP SDKs so long as their paying customers want to consume their products/APIs using PHP.
moltar 6y ago
I’ve published two libraries for Amazon products. They didn’t care.
aetherspawn 6y ago
I was thinking about spinning up a support library for Haskell.. but it’d be a pretty serious investment of time when everyone’s employment is cut back or up in the air already. It would be nice to get a crate of sanitiser or something.
22c 6y ago
The easiest way to get an interview at Amazon is to get a referral. If you can demonstrate competent programming abilities and have a half decent attitude, it shouldn't be too hard to get a referral from someone at Amazon, regardless of what projects you have under your belt.
zelly 6y ago
Have you tried applying?
pm90 6y ago
Why would you want that? There are so many better companies to work for that don’t abuse their most vulnerable workers.
Thaxll 6y ago
Who's going to maintain it? Are you just doing that for an itw or are you offering real support to the library? That's the reason why people are paid to work on software vs someone on its free time.
angel_j 6y ago
Haven’t you heard it sucks working there? If you are replaceable by a grad student, they will let you go before your options are vested.

by 101008 6y ago

urda 6y ago

PHP is a banned language internally Amazon and Amazon subsidiaries, so they will not care. ... why am I getting downvoted for offering direct experience as an AMZN engineer? Amazon InfoSec forbids PHP. See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330

Godel_unicode 6y ago
As it should be be.
bowmessage 6y ago
untrue for client libraries, they would care. https://aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-php/ https://aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-php/
- urda 6y ago
  SDK != Corp Policy You can't use PHP internally at Amazon. Downvotes and ignoring facts do not suddenly make my factual comment "untrue". See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330
  - bowmessage 6y ago
    Ion != Internal-only Amazon software. Many AWS services use it as an interface language. Many AWS customers use PHP.
  - trevor-e 6y ago
    Now I'm confused, are you saying Amazon uses Hack internally which compiles to PHP? The Hack website doesn't have much info and I'm not familiar with it. There's clearly an Amazon Github repo for an an AWS SDK written in PHP, but you're adamant that Amazon does not use PHP at all. So which is it?
    - bowmessage 6y ago
      They vend an AWS SDK in PHP for their customers, but they never run any internal software on PHP. The AWS SDK in PHP helps generate web requests to Amazon's services, most written in Java.
      - senderista 6y ago
        They ran the internal wiki on PHP while I was there. Don’t know if it’s been upgraded since.
  - User23 6y ago
    Out of curiosity is Mason still a thing?
    - throwawaySlu 6y ago
      Hahaha ... yes. :(
ajkjk 6y ago
That's not really how that works. Just don't make it the only language you know.
- urda 6y ago
  It is absolutely how it works when there is a internal policy against using PHP. That's literally fact. That's literally how it works. Additional resource: See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030330
  - mmcallister 6y ago
    Sure, PHP is against internal policy. But if you take the initiative to open source a client library in PHP and it gets the attention of AWS it absolutely could result in an interview. If you are interviewing and you whiteboard your solution in PHP they won't hold it against you. The language is less important than the concepts. Granted, if the only language you know is PHP that could be a risk in your career. I think that holds true for any developer, though. Source: Used to work and interview at AWS
  - ajkjk 6y ago
    Yeah, it's literally not how it works, writing code in a banned language doesn't prevent you from getting interviews or being taken seriously.
rrdharan 6y ago
You're getting downvoted because one true statement - "PHP is banned for internal use" - does not imply the other - "they will not care". Google also bans PHP but has official PHP client libraries for all its APIs. Both companies care about having and maintaining PHP SDKs so long as their paying customers want to consume their products/APIs using PHP.

moltar 6y ago

I’ve published two libraries for Amazon products. They didn’t care.

aetherspawn 6y ago

I was thinking about spinning up a support library for Haskell.. but it’d be a pretty serious investment of time when everyone’s employment is cut back or up in the air already. It would be nice to get a crate of sanitiser or something.

22c 6y ago

The easiest way to get an interview at Amazon is to get a referral. If you can demonstrate competent programming abilities and have a half decent attitude, it shouldn't be too hard to get a referral from someone at Amazon, regardless of what projects you have under your belt.

zelly 6y ago

Have you tried applying?

pm90 6y ago

Why would you want that? There are so many better companies to work for that don’t abuse their most vulnerable workers.

Thaxll 6y ago

Who's going to maintain it? Are you just doing that for an itw or are you offering real support to the library? That's the reason why people are paid to work on software vs someone on its free time.

angel_j 6y ago

Haven’t you heard it sucks working there? If you are replaceable by a grad student, they will let you go before your options are vested.