Ask HN: What are some hard mostly unsolved software challenges currently

[wilsonfiifi]

I came across this article about Polygon Geofencing [0] on iOS and Android which isn't built-in thus requiring a custom solution by the author's company. I was wondering if despite the proliferation of open source software there are still areas that are largely overlooked/underserved.

[0] https://transistorsoft.medium.com/polygon-geofencing-d99169a90538

[sandwichsphinx]

An unsolved software challenge I’ve noticed being discussed on HN is the difficulty in creating a competitive alternative to Nvidia’s CUDA and the rest of its toolchain. Intel and AMD making strides, but nothing substantial so far. I understand that this is an incredibly difficult problem, especially considering the significant investment Nvidia has made over time, which can’t be matched overnight

[mtmail]

I hear high accuracy for indoor navigation on Android is still a challenge. Something like https://github.com/AndrewHartAR/ARKit-CoreLocation (outdated?). It's more a framework/SDK, not a product, and those companies who have good SDKs keep the logic to themselves.

[PaulHoule]

No code/Low code

[syndicatedjelly]

Can you elaborate? Why is this considered “unsolved”?

[PaulHoule]

It’s a product people want but it always sucks.

You expect it to be easy for a while and then rapidly progress to very hard or “can’t get here from there”. If you get into the code with your hands you probably won’t be able to edit it with the visual tool without problems,

You would think in the age of React, modern CSS and all that somebody could make something good but so far I haven’t seen it.

Another thing missing from most of these is a built in data model. For instance all the time people have something that goes through different states at different times. Maybe a student applies for school and go through various statuses (made inquiry, applied, received all letters of recommendation, …) and then various statuses as a student and then they are an alumni. Maybe this is a pallet going into a pallet reuse network or an order that is being fulfilled.

There is one right data model for handling those status changes but people keep inventing numerous wrong ones, The application builder should have an ontology built into it so it can build out both a correct data model for the application and also a world class UI based on that data model.

[noashavit]

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