Development News, Features, and Interviews

• Google App Maker low-code tool debuts for G Suite users

  App Maker uses templates for building UIs, which can be assembled via drag-and-drop

• Jetpack promises simple R package management

  Jetpack’s goal is to make dependency management in R as easy as it is with Ruby’s Bundler and JavaScript’s Yarn package managers

• Nashorn JavaScript engine for JVM could be axed

  By removing Nashorn, some applications may no longer run because of an expectation of JavaScript’s presence

• Luna promises to make JavaScript testing easier

  Inspired by Google Go, Luna avoids the effort of other frameworks that require the writing of boilerplate code and have multiple configuration options

• WWDC: No new hardware, but Apple’s platform advantage grows

  Apple fans will be disappointed at the lack of sexy new hardware at WWDC 2018, but Apple’s focus on software significantly expands what its existing solutions can already do and extends fresh developer opportunities across the next year.

• Microsoft buys GitHub for US$7.5b - should developers be concerned?

  Microsoft has acquired GitHub for US$7.5 billion in Microsoft stock. Github's 85 million code repositories and 28 million users make it the internet’s largest code repository. Microsoft will hope to accelerate its growth, attract further developers to the Microsoft range of platforms and integrate GitHub with the Azure cloud that is central to the company's strategy.

• Amazon joins list of blockchain-as-a-service providers

  Amazon Web Services (AWS) has joined the list of blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) providers that already includes IBM, HP, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP.

• Oracle plans to dump risky Java serialization

  A “horrible mistake” from 1997, the Java object serialization capability for encoding objects has serious security issues

• Micronaut framework promises low-overhead microservices

  The open source JVM-based framework promises to reduce runtime overhead, memory usage

• Java roadmap: Eclipse’s Jakarta EE enterprise Java takes shape

  The Eclipse Foundation outlines the 39 projects that will make up the new cloud-native, microservices-friendly enterprise Java effort, and how GlassFish will evolve

• GCC 8 Gnu compiler arrives: Here’s what’s new

  The Gnu Compiler Collection platform gets upgrades for diagnostics and C++

• Dojo 2: What the JavaScript toolkit’s new version offers

  14 years after the first version's debut, the revamped Dojo Version 2 provides a widget system and support for progressive web apps

• Organisations must not overlook the network when deploying containers

  Many organisations consider containers a godsend, with containerisation allowing development teams to move fast to deploy software efficiently and at unprecedented scale.

• ASX details timeline, features for new blockchain-inspired system

  ASX Limited, the operator of the Australian Securities Exchange, has released new details of the system inspired by Bitcoin’s blockchain technology that will replace CHESS: The Clearing House Electronic Subregister System.

• NSW Electoral Commission appoints Scytl for iVote refresh project

  Scytl has won a $1.9 million contract to upgrade the NSW Electoral Commission’s iVote application.

• Helper not hindrance: Why AI should work with us and not against us

  It’s easy to overlook the fact that AI solutions, like people, are intelligent. AI technologies can learn and act autonomously, and they are already managing our supply chains and approving our bank loans. AI is much more than just a technological tool, it has grown to the point where it often has as much influence as the people putting it to use.

• Oracle sets date for end of Java 8 updates

  After January 2019, businesses will need a commercial license to receive updates for Oracle Java SE products

• Stencil web components compiler beta due soon

  The open source compiler builds web components and progressive web apps (PWAs)

• Data61 ports seL4 microkernel to RISC-V architecture

  Data61 has released an initial version of the seL4 microkernel for the RISC-V architecture

• WebAssembly gets its own IDE

  The WebAssembly Studio beta helps developers get up to speed on the portable code format