Alex Merced

Now works with LocalGov Drupal (or any CMS for that matter - more here: http://jadu.net/lgr) For councils running #LocalGovDrupal, the challenge of helping residents quickly find the right service or answer is a familiar one. Traditional search often falls short, and most AI chatbots are clunky, impersonal, and expensive to train and run. AgentEx: Search from Jadu now works seamlessly with #LocalGov #Drupal, bringing powerful agentic AI search directly into your website, without the need for annoying chatbots or complex technical integrations. With just a short implementation, it transforms your existing search box into an intelligent digital assistant that understands natural language, speaks over 70 languages, and delivers task-focused answers in real time, 24/7 and accessible to everyone. Why this matters for Drupal users? The LocalGovDrupal community also prioritises accessibility, reuse, and cost-efficiency. AgentEx: Search fits naturally into this ecosystem, offering councils a way to bring #AI to their residents without compromising on those values. Especially important in light of Local Government Reorganisation and the opportunity for much needed service reform. As councils merge or collaborate across shared services, websites often become more complex. Residents just want to know when their bins are collected, how to apply for school places, or where to find support. AgentEx: Search uses your existing content to deliver accurate, accessible responses instantly, guiding people to tasks, not just pages. (more about LGR: http://jadu.net/lgr ). Agent-Ex: Search is the single front-door for newly re-organised councils. Unlike generic AI tools or external scraping solutions, AgentEx: Search is trained on your site’s actual content. It doesn’t invent answers or rely on vague matches, it reads your structured data and delivers it back as plain-language responses that align with your brand and meet WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards. Crucially, it’s not a chatbot. There’s no awkward pop-up to dismiss. It enhances your search bar with AI-powered intelligence that users trust, presented in a way that feels familiar. Whether a resident types or speaks their query, AgentEx: Search responds quickly and clearly, in their language and with a clear call to action. Many authorities don’t have the time, resources or budget to overhaul their site or retrain editors. That’s where AgentEx: Search shines. It integrates quickly with LocalGov Drupal, requires no manual tagging or AI expertise, and brings immediate value by reducing contact centre load and improving customer satisfaction. More: http://jadu.net/agent-ex Nick Hill Helen Olsen Bedford Dipti Amin Lee Russell Mark Say Mark Chillingworth Mike Gifford, CPWA Simon Gray Richard Beards #localgov #localgovdrupal #ai #agents

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💡 Learn how SBA.gov is building scalable, secure Drupal platforms while reducing technical debt. 💡    Catch Bernardo Martinez, Vaultes’ Web Developer and Clayton "Andrew" Predmore, Bixal’s Sr. Software Engineer at #DrupalGovCon2025 as they share their secrets for simplifying maintenance, ensuring consistency, and accelerating delivery for federal Drupal sites.    Grab the practical insights from real projects, including:  ✅ Why Single Directory Components (SDC) and Recipes are valuable for federal Drupal teams  ✅ Lessons learned from implementing them at SBA.gov  ✅ Structuring reusable components for security and consistency    📌 Session: Enhancing Code Reusability on SBA.gov Using Single Directory Components and Recipes  🗓️ Thursday, August 14 at 10:00 AM | Juan Ramon Jimenez Room  🔗 https://lnkd.in/dkjjRUfi    Drupal 4 Gov #DrupalGovCon #Drupal #GovTech #DigitalGovernment 

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Learn how to use Unmanaged Files in Drupal for maximum performance and flexibility! In this comprehensive 6-part series, Jeff G. Greenberg shows you step-by-step how to ditch the database overhead and build custom services for fast, clean file handling. Dive into the full series and see how to get a random, category-aware image trio with zero database queries. 🔗 Find the full series on The Drop Times now! https://lnkd.in/ghh75AMQ

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Roo Code lets you mold your #AI coding agent into what you actually need. Brandon Mathis from This Dot Labs built custom modes for documentation, pair programming, writing specs, and improving his prompts. If you're serious about agent workflows (which you have to be), this is worth a read.

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📉 There’s a hidden tax in every integration project: poor documentation. Integration teams waste countless hours chasing tribal knowledge, reverse-engineering systems, or working from outdated docs. The result? Slower delivery, more errors, and a drag on business outcomes. In our latest blog, Aaron Kesler unpacks how AI agents are changing the game 🤖 automating documentation, surfacing real-time context, and freeing teams to focus on what really matters: building and delivering value. Read how AI is solving the documentation problem here 👉 https://lnkd.in/exmsG_tG   #AI #DataIntegration #AgenticAI

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When Claude Opus 4.5 generates an Artifact, it doesn't just render a React app. It incorporates the business, files the LLC paperwork in Delaware, and closes a Series A funding round before the UI finishes rendering.

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What should Non-Technical Founders know about building Custom Software? We walk clients through this process regularly and put together some tips that could be helpful even before you START talking to Development Partners. https://lnkd.in/eRGsgwq3

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This user put competing GPT-5, Sonnet 4, Opus 4.1 and Kimi. This is the result and It’s wild! 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙆𝙞𝙢𝙞 ▪️Follows instructions fastest. Immediately uses the TypeScript workspace, stumbles on paths 3×, then simplifies and gets it done. ▪️Ships minimal, working code (simple_validate.ts). ▪️Cost/time: ~14 min, ~$1.59. 𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨: 𝙊𝙥𝙪𝙨 4.1 ▪️Jumps into TypeScript by minute 2. ~95% right on first try. ▪️Produces a small, modular framework (3 files) that’s easy to extend. ▪️Cost/time: ~10 min, ~$10.46 (pricier but sturdy). 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢-𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧: 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙩 4 ▪️If a tool is missing, it pivots and continues. ▪️Clear separation of concerns (comprehensive_analysis.ts). ▪️Cost/time: ~6 min, ~$1.87. 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘: 𝙂𝙋𝙏-5 ▪️Ignores “use the TS workspace” for 15 minutes; fires off 31 shell commands first. ▪️When commands fail, it expands them (500→2000+ chars)… and keeps going. ▪️Emits odd hybrids (TypeScript file with massive embedded bash). ▪️Cost/time: ~27 min, ~$5.04. 🔎𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁 🔺GPT-5: spots schema/naming quirks (RIDRETH2→RIDRETH3, _J suffix). 🔻Kimi: solid basic validation (SEQN exists, 9,966 participants). 🔹Sonnet: surfaces hidden mental-health data and 1.4M-row files. 🔸Opus: detects designed sparsity and wide column ranges (2–323). 📋 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 ♟️Use Kimi when you need a steady executor with guardrails. 👌Use Opus for higher-confidence, extensible scaffolds. 🧩Use Sonnet when adaptability matters (missing tools, shifting context). 💀Use GPT-5 for quick brainstorming/debug tricks—not for long, brittle agent runs (yet). Link to the analysis in the comments 👇 #ai #genai #claude #gpt #coding

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An update on behalf of the .NET Foundation Project Committee... The most active Community projects for January 2026 were: Pull Requests: Bootstrap Blazor (69), Orchard Core (65) Commits: .NEXT (1349), Stride (217) New Contributors: .NEXT (7) Downloads: Polly (45.9M), Fluent Validation (22.3M) Full list: https://lnkd.in/ea2UB3st The most active Microsoft projects for January 2026 were: Pull Requests: .NET Runtime (622), Azure SDK for .NET (474), .NET Aspire (329) Commits: Roslyn (698), .NET Runtime (413)  New Contributors: .NET Runtime (16), .NET Aspire (15) Full list: https://lnkd.in/eCXKbiTx #opensource #dotnet .NET Foundation

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The API Economy Is Now Bigger Than SaaS Most people don't see it. But there's a massive shift happening in tech. The numbers: API economy: $2.5 trillion in 2024 SaaS economy: $195 billion APIs growing 35% YoY vs SaaS at 18% What's an API economy? Instead of selling software, companies sell access to their infrastructure. Examples: Stripe: $70B valuation on payment APIs. Twilio: $4.5B revenue from communication APIs. Plaid: $13.4B valuation for banking APIs They don't have a UI. No dashboards. Just pure infrastructure that other companies plug into. SaaS to API Convergence Shopify: 20%+ revenue from APIs/apps ecosystem. Salesforce: $6B from platform/APIs (growing fastest). HubSpot: API usage up 40% YoY, powering custom workflows.​ The future isn't standalone products. It's composable infrastructure. Companies don't want another tool. They want capabilities they can embed into their existing workflows. P.S. Is your product a destination or an ingredient? #APIs #TechTrends #SaaS #IndustryInsights

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I love Rails. I've built my wealth on it. That's exactly why I think we need to have an honest conversation about its biggest blind spot. Eileen M. U. gave a brilliant talk at Rails World last year: "The Myth of the Modular Monolith." After 6 years of modularizing Shopify's monolith, she concluded: "You can't solve human and cultural problems by changing your architecture." She's right kinda of about the culture part. But stopped one step short. Rails doesn't just allow tight coupling. It incentivizes it. ActiveRecord makes every model globally accessible from anywhere. Any controller, any model, any job can reach into any table through any association chain. There's no boundary enforcement. No import restriction. No compilation step that says "this module shouldn't know about that one." When your framework makes coupling the path of least resistance, blaming developers for coupled code is like blaming water for flowing downhill. Shopify tried to fix this with Packwerk. It just give you a map not a real solution. Rails Engines? Been there, done that. They are miniature apps that provide functionality to their host applications. They don't enforce real isolation and they weren't designed for progressive extraction. But this isn't a Rails problem. It's a missing tool problem. Look at what Nx did for the Node/TypeScript ecosystem: → Module boundaries enforced at the import level, not via YAML to-do lists → Dependency graph visualization built in → Affected-only CI: only test what actually changed → Clear public API per module, everything else is private by default → A real path from monorepo module to extracted service Nx didn't replace Node. It gave Node developers the guardrails to build modular systems naturally. The right thing became the easy thing. By default. Rails deserves the same. Imagine a Rails-native tool that: • Enforces module boundaries through autoload paths, not opt-in linting • Gives each module a public API (explicit exports) while keeping internals private • Generates a live dependency graph from actual code usage, not manual YAML declarations • Runs affected-only CI based on that graph Not a replacement for Rails. A companion that makes Rails' conventions work at scale. Eileen is right: culture matters. Education matters. Leadership incentives matter. But culture alone didn't give us CI/CD. Tools did. Culture alone didn't give us code formatting standards. Linters did. Culture alone won't give us modular Rails applications. Rails gave us developer happiness for building products. Now we need the same philosophy applied to building organizations of code. The myth isn't the modular monolith. The myth is that we have the right tools for one. Who's building this? 🎥 Eileen Uchitelle — "The Myth of the Modular Monolith" (Rails World 2024) https://lnkd.in/dabvzHQm

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The way we build and experience the web is changing, and conversations like these make that shift clearer. Drupal AI Summit 2025 created space for developers and teams to step back, reflect, and think about where things are headed. What stood out was not just the technology, but the shared intent to build systems that are more adaptable, context-aware, and aligned with real user needs. The day was shaped by thoughtful discussions, practical viewpoints, and strong community participation. It was a reminder of how valuable these exchanges are in shaping direction and pushing platforms forward together. Drupal AI Initiative #drupalaisummit2025 #drupal #ai #webdevelopment #event #community  

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Agents are the new apps. And they just went multiplayer. The software engineering landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. Google just dropped Firebase Studio. And it might just replace half the AI builder startups out there. You’ve probably seen tools like Lovable, bolt.new, Vercel's v0, or Cursor. They let you build AI-powered apps without writing much code. Describe what you want — boom — they create UIs, workflows, and automation for you. It’s fast. It’s smart. It’s changing how software is built. Now imagine that… backed by Google. What is Firebase Studio? Firebase Studio is Google’s new end-to-end app builder for AI-first products. It combines: ✅ UI generation ✅ Agent workflows (like AgentSpace) ✅ Firebase backend (auth, storage, hosting, etc.) ✅ Google’s best Gemini models AgentSpace is like a command center for AI agents. It lets you create multistep workflows, connect APIs, and manage how agents behave. Great for product teams prototyping internal tools, automations, or AI assistants. But it’s still pretty early-stage. Right now, Firebase Studio and A2A (Agent-to-Agent) are two separate moves from Google — but they are strategically aligned, and integration is very likely coming. You need to manage agents, instructions, tools, and sometimes code. Why this matters for product managers? → The barrier to building software is decreasing. → With Firebase Studio, a product manager can do what used to take a team. The AI agent is becoming the new app. Not just chat. Agents that do stuff: send emails, fetch data, run logic. Google wants to standardise agents across platforms. Their new Agent-to-Agent protocol (A2A) means your agents could soon talk to each other — across apps, tools, maybe even companies. Enter MCP: The USB-C for AI Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that enables developers to build secure, two-way connections between their data sources and AI-powered tools. MCP is a standardised protocol designed to streamline the way AI models communicate with external systems, eliminating the need for custom integrations. With so many advancements happening rapidly, it’s challenging to keep up and navigate them within the realities of development. Yet, it has never been more exciting to be in the software engineering space. #AI #FirebaseStudio #ProductManagement #Innovation #TechTrends #MCP #A2A

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