Programming News Picks: Focus on Free Software
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-02-16 23:26:19 UTC
- Modified: 2014-02-16 23:26:19 UTC
Summary: 2014 news picks that focus on programming and development, especially of Free software or using Free software tools
Demise of Proprietary
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HTML5 developers queried recently by tools vendor Sencha remain dedicated to building apps via Web technologies, even as doubts have been cast on how effective HTML5 is vis à vis native development. Many of those same developers, however, have dropped support for the classic Microsoft Windows platform.
Surveying 2,128 business application developers from the HTML5 development community, including users of its own tools, Sencha found that 70-plus percent of developers planned to do more with HTML5 in the 2013 timeframe than they had done the previous year. And 75 percent will work further with HTML5 in 2014. More than 60 percent of developers have migrated to HTML5 and hybrid development for primary applications. For the coming year, just 4 percent of HTML5 developers plan to cut back on HTML5.
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I still remember IBM's provocative announcement in 2001 that it was putting $1 billion toward the development and promotion of Linux. While such billion-dollar commitments from IBM are now so routine as to be unremarkable, back then a billion dollars meant a lot. I was working for an embedded Linux vendor at the time, and most of our sales cycle was spent explaining why GPL-licensed Linux wasn't the technology equivalent of terminal cancer. (Thanks in part to Microsoft's contribution.)
Google
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The second video features Jason Hibbets's full interview with Chris DiBona Open Source Director at Google. Find out how DiBona measures his performance, why he once called open source "brutal," and more on working for Google and the future of open source.
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Over 280 attendees representing 177 mentoring organizations gathered for a two-day, code-munity extravaganza celebrating the conclusion of Google Summer of Code with the annual Mentor Summit held at Google in Mountain View, California.
GitHub
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GitHub's position as the repository of choice for open source community projects is today one of dominance, most would argue.
Officially often referred to as a "web-based revision control service" (rather than simply a software code repository), this classification is an obvious nod to the site's inherent level of active community involvement as open projects are continuously developed, refined and augmented.
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So, what’s the problem? Well, that’s simple. It seems that Fox News’ technology department –run by a motley crew of half-witted quick-study-types– failed to explain GitHub, and also disregarded both spelling and punctuation in favor of adopting what I would describe as a rogue journalistic style; a style that exists far beyond the confines of traditional English language rules. It is now with great pleasure that I flog the holy-hell out of the following screen capture in an attempt to make them cry.
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I have an open source script for a specific site (I'm trying not to call anything by name here) that a few other developers and I recently moved to GitHub. We've been joined by several new developers since we moved to the new system, including one very active one in particular. However, this active one has started changing a lot of the project.
First of all, he deleted our versioning system (not like Git, but like that—we called it versions v4.1.16) and said it would be better to simply push the code to the site when we think it's ready. Now there's no centralized place to put release notes, which has become annoying.
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GitHub has become the de facto repository for open source projects. So, we were excited for the opportunity to sit down with GitHub's co-founder and CIO Scott Chacon during the All Things Open Conference in Raleigh, NC.
Python
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One year ago the Puerto Rico Python Interest Group (prPIG) was founded on one purpose; to create a sustainable user community based on software development in Puerto Rico. On February 20, 2014 we will celebrate our first anniversary with an open format meeting with lightning talks from the community.
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Programming languages are crucial to a programmer as they boosts their productivity. Keeping in mind the fact that programmers may not be comfortable with all the coding languages around, we thought of compiling a list of programming languages set to make it big in 2014.
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Python community, friends, fellow developers, we need to talk. On December 3rd, 2008 Python 3.0 was first released. At the time it was widely said that Python 3 adoption was going to be a long process, it was referred to as a five year process. We've just passed the five year mark.
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In an article entitled “Python Displacing R As The Programming Language For Data Science,” MongoDB’s Matt Asay made an argument that has been circulating for some time now. As Python has steadily improved its data science credentials, from Numpy to Pandas, with even R’s dominant ggplot2 charting library having been ported, its viability as a real data science platform improves daily. More than any other language in fact, save perhaps Java, Python is rapidly becoming a lingua franca, with footholds in every technology arena from the desktop to the server.
Git
LLVM
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It looks like there's finally going to be stable point releases of the LLVM compiler infrastructure for pushing out bug-fixes quicker, whether you're using the Clang C/C++ compiler or depending upon LLVM for your GPU driver compiler back-end.
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It's nearly one month late but the LLVM 3.4 compiler infrastructure is now available with the updated Clang C/C++ compiler front-end, the usual LLVM sub-projects, and also some new compiler tools.
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The release of LLVM 3.4 is imminent and with the major compiler infrastructure upgrade comes update to the Clang C/C++ compiler front-end, LLDB debugger, and other LLVM sub-projects. LLVM 3.4 is a very righteous release and in celebration of its forthcoming release, it's back into compiler benchmarking season at Phoronix.
Ruby
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Ruby 2.1 has many improvements including speedup without severe incompatibilities.
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The Ruby project has done a new major release on Christmas for their popular programming language. Ruby offers performance speed-ups but without severe incompatibilities, according to the release announcement.
Misc.
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Regular readers of this column won't be surprised to hear that I love both Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL. Rails has been my primary server-side Web development framework for about eight years, and it has managed to provide solutions for a large number of consulting and personal projects. As for PostgreSQL, I've been using it for about 15 years, and I continue to be amazed by the functionality it has gained in that time. PostgreSQL is no longer just a relational database. It's also a platform supporting the storage and retrieval of many types of data, built on a rock-solid, ACID-compliant, transactional core.
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In the sometimes dark and mysterious world of computers, I see open source programming and community around it as a force of good. Open source sparks and kindles a connection between people that I think is hard to find elsewhere in programming. Working with open source, a programmer builds important and powerful collaboration skills. This is significant because many of us (programmers and self-proclaimed nerds) are rather antisocial. Open source programming helps us cultivate social behaviors like sharing, improved communication, and collaborating towards a common goal.
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So by the mid-1980s, programming in schools was surging...
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The Checkpoint-Restore Tool has reached version 1.0 as part of the CRIU project. Checkpoint/Restore In Userspace allows for users to freeze running applications and checkpoint it to the hard drive as a file and that checkpoint can then be restored to a running process later on. CRIU is different from suspend-and-resume with the Linux kernel in that this is a tool for handling individual programs and it is implemented in user-space.
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The development team behind the Clutter software, a library for creating compelling, portable, dynamic and fast graphical user interfaces (GUI), has announced a few days ago that the second maintenance release of the stable Clutter 1.16 branch is available for download.
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Jim Kukunas of Intel OTC published the set of 13 patches on Monday that include medium and quick deflate strategies, a faster hash function with SSE 4.2 support, PCLMULQDQ-optimized CRC folding, SSE2 hash shifting, and other changes/tuning.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Doing My Share to Tackle Online Slop and SPAM
- Trying my best to 'fix' the Web
- Slopwatch: Fakes, FUD, Duplicates, and Charlatans Galore
- The Web as we once know it is collapsing. Some opportunists try to replace it with low-quality slop.
- The Register UK Seems to Have Become American and Management is Changing (Microsofter as Editor in Chief)
- The Register 'UK' is now controlled by the Directions on Microsoft guy
- Microsoft Windows Lost 400 Million Users in a Few Years, Why Does The Register Double Down on Windows With New US Editor?
- days ago they hired a new US editor
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- Links 26/07/2025: Amazon Shutdown in China, Russian Economy Slows
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 26/07/2025: History of Time (1988) and Gemini Games
- Links for the day
- Links 26/07/2025: 50 Percent Tariffs in Amazon, Dying Intel Offloads Network and Edge Group (NEX)
- Links for the day
- Blaming Programming Languages for Users' and Developers' Bad Practices
- That's like blaming cars for drivers who crash into things
- Many People Still Read Techrights Because It Says the Truth, Produces Evidence, and Does Not Self-Censor
- Unlike so many other sites
- The Register is Desperate for Money, According to The Register
- I decided to check how they're doing as a business
- Microsoft Finally Finds a Use Case for Slop?
- Create low-quality chaff to shift the media's attention?
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 25, 2025
- IRC logs for Friday, July 25, 2025
- For Libel Reform One Must First Bring (or Raise) Awareness to the Issues and Their Magnitude
- I myself know, from personal experience
- Links 26/07/2025: Rationed Meals in the US and TikTok Repels Investments (Too Toxic)
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 26/07/2025: "Bloody Google" and New People in Geminispace
- Links for the day
- Response to Solderpunk (Father of Gemini Protocol) About the Gemini Community
- Solderpunk responds to non-sequitur
- HTML and the Web Used to be Something a Child Could Learn, "Modern" Web is a Puzzle of Frameworks, Bloat, and Worse
- When the Web was more like Gemini Protocol
- New US Editor in The Register is 84% Microsoft/Windows Booster
- It'll be worrying if it carries on like this
- Links 25/07/2025: Slop Blunders and China Has Code of Conduct for Lawmakers in HK
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 25/07/2025: Some Books and Babies and Capital
- Links for the day
- Links 25/07/2025: NOAA Cuts Endanger Lives, "Europe's Self Inflicted Cloud Crisis"
- Links for the day
- They Try to Lecture Us on Ethics
- They even removed "master" from Microsoft GitHub
- The Future of the Web is One Rendering Engine or 'Flavours' of Chrome
- The future of the Web does not look bright at all
- Best Sites Are Not Optimised for Any Browser, They Work Equally Well With All of Them
- Red Hat (IBM) is making rubbish sites
- YouTube is a Spamfarm, Slopfarm, and Clickfarm (a Lot of Numbers There Are Fake)
- Those who don't fake look unpopular and unimportant
- We Don't Do JavaScript and Pages Are Small
- Thankfully Gemini Protocol has nothing like JavaScript
- 'Tech' is Not Technology
- Some people use terms like 'Old Tech'
- IBM's Debt Rose by Almost 10 Billion Dollars in the Past 6 Months Alone
- The "hey hi" circus is coming to an end
- Yes, Master
- Gaslighting by actual racists
- Microsoft Bribes and Buys Politicians to Tell Europe What to Do About Free Software (Which It's Attacking)
- Microsoft: we speak for the thing that we are attacking! Follow the money...
- Making Backups Quickly and Reliably
- Backups are imperative, more so in an age of uncertainty, unpredictable weather, and worsening standards (quality of products going down while prices go up)
- Techrights Investigation: Estimating the Point in Time LinuxIac Turned Into LLM Slop (Part of the Time)
- Bobby Borisov got lazy
- 10th Month, Ten Weeks From Now, at Ten AM
- In Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 24, 2025
- IRC logs for Thursday, July 24, 2025
- A Nadella Memo Distracts From Microsoft's Cheapening Of the Workforce
- Right now the "MSM" (mainstream media) is flooded/overwhelmed by garbage pieces that relay lies for Nadella
- Vanishing Faces of GNU/Linux
- Free software projects do not depend on any one person or company to still exist
- Microsoft Says It Lost 400 Million Windows Users, Now It's Waiting for GNU/Linux to Stop Booting on 'Old' PCs
- When it comes to Windows, Microsoft is fully aware of the issue and statements it made earlier this summer suggest it lost 400 million Windows users
- Slopwatch: LinuxTechLab, linuxsecurity.com, LinuxIac, and More
- Also: The Register's Microsoft agenda (new editor)
- Gemini Links 25/07/2025: Gemtext Aware Titan Editor and Gemini Protocol Comeback
- Links for the day
- Links 24/07/2025: Convicted Felon Quits UNESCO, "Vibe Coding Goes Wrong", and Signalgate Gets Worse
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 24/07/2025: Forgejo Woes and Smolnet Directory Week
- Links for the day
- Misinformation is Not Intelligence
- It's low-grade plagiarism and it fails to show any signs of intelligence
- Links 24/07/2025: Storage Tapes Still Kicking, Windows TCO 'on Steroids' (Microsoft-Induced Catastrophes)
- Links for the day
- Bobby Borisov (LinuxIac) Has Apparently Begun Experimenting With LLM Slop, So We Cannot Trust LinuxIac Anymore
- So did LinuxIac become a slopfarm? Maybe not yet, but it's getting there
- Informa TechTarget's ITProToday is Becoming a Slopfarm Generated by Microsoft Chatbots
- Busted.
- 'Tech' Gimmicks Are for Advertising, Not for Usability
- In the case of Microsoft, they latched onto slop
- BetaNews Sacked Brian Fagioli and Deleted His Comments, But He Still Tries to Use the "BetaNews" Brand for Self-Affirmation
- Fagioli takes the work of other people
- [Meme] Hard to Be a Better Person?
- Sooner or later they'll realise that for each pound I spend they need to spend about 1,000 times more
- The LLM Con Artists Are Highly Destructive
- Who will ever be held accountable for this scam?
- Too Bribed by Microsoft to Move to Free Software?
- Microsoft lies and Microsoft bribery (in politics)
- New US Editor for The Register is a Microsoft Booster
- "Avram Piltch has served as US editor for The Register since July 2025."
- Microsoft Hiring European Politicians is Another Form of Bribery; There Should be a European Investigation
- When Microsoft bribed people in Europe for OOXML (there's no denying this!) a European government delegate said that Microsoft operated like a cult
- Reda Demanded That FSF Removes Its Founder, Now Reda Works Directly for Microsoft
- A sellout and a traitor, first working for GAFAM, now Microsoft
- PCLinuxOS is Raising Money to Support Development After Fire Incident at the Host
- PCLinuxOS has not had announcements lately
- Speed of the Site Should be Better Now
- The "bot attacks" impact the speed of the sister site too
- Getting More From AnalogNowhere
- Recently we used many images from AnalogNowhere
- Microsoft, Microsofters and 'Secure' Boot Shills Already Storming the LWN Report About Expiring Certificate, Shooting the Messenger
- LWN has clearly stuck a nerve
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 23, 2025
- IRC logs for Wednesday, July 23, 2025
- Disable "Secure" Boot Today (the Only Better Time to Do So Was Yesterday)
- Don't trust anything Red Hat tells you about security
- Links 23/07/2025: Windows Killed Company After 150+ Years, US Government Mimics Russia's Attacks on the Media
- Links for the day
- Freedom Generally Wins at the End, History Shows (But It's Constantly Attacked, Too)
- At the moment people realise "Linux" (e.g. Android) isn't enough to guarantee any freedoms
- Over 3 Months Later Brett Wilson LLP Still Unable to Recruit a Media Lawyer?
- "Immediate start", but not found... still unfilled