Weekly round-up: Node.js 10, Java 11 Public Review Spec, new addition to the index family & more

Peculiarly eGOtistical

Christoph Engelbert introduced 5 things that a developer can (but don’t have to) hate about Go. Go likes to go its own way when it comes to implementation or syntax and that’s something widely known by now. In English, it’s quite affectionately described as “opinionated”.  The problem therein is due to the fact that many constructs from other programming languages simply don’t exist in this form in Go or they behave completely different than usual. In the latter case, this can lead to unexpected errors and even to incomprehension on the developer’s side. Go features some very peculiar… peculiarities! Even though it’s quite easy to get started with Go it’s when you sit down and start to work on something bigger that all the strange cases start to occur. Sometimes these peculiarities are so strange that Google has had to set up an FAQ for Go in the sense of “why does X behave this way and that way?” The language does many things just so differently!

Welcome to the family, PTI!

Pluralsight, the enterprise technology learning platform, announced the launch of the Pluralsight Technology Index that ranks the demand for skills in certain technologies. Let’s have a look at the methodology behind the new index and analyze some of the results. PTI itself aims to paint an accurate picture of the technology ecosystem by ranking 300+ software development technologies in terms of popularity/engagement. The goal of the index is to provide enterprises and individuals with the data they need in order to decide if an investment in a particular technology is worth their time and resources and for that reason, it will be updated monthly. The top 5 technologies according to the index for this month are Java, HTML, C++, JavaScript and blockchain. Pluralsight’s analyst, Abe Burnett, argued that the high demand for JavaScript and blockchain skills are due to the multi-applicability of the technologies and, in the case of JavaScript its complexity, have been the main driver behind the explosion in demand for blockchain and JavaScript skills.

Node.js 10 is here!

This release line is all about incremental changes and stability. Node.js 10 is actually the seventh major release from the Node.js Foundation and it’s slated to become the next stable release. Big goals for this version include stability, performance, and reliability for all Node users. At the same time, it comes the time in every release version’s life when it is no longer supported. And for Node.js 4, that time is now. (If you’re still using Node.js 4, you really should upgrade). So, what’s in the release? Lots of things. To start, it comes with the experimental release of  Node-ChakraCore, making it easier for developers to use the JavaScript engine and take advantage of Time Travel debugging. This, by the way, lets developers find errors before it screws up the source code. Who needs a time turner when you’ve got this on standby? Node.js introduces some JavaScript language capabilities as well:

• • prototype.toString() now returns exact slices of source code text, including whitespace and comments.
  • The catch clause of try statements doesn’t need a parameter anymore
  • Line separator (U+2028) and paragraph separator (U+2029) symbols are now allowed in string literals, matching JSON.
  • V8 now implements String.prototype.trim(), String.prototype.trimStart(), and String.prototype.trimEnd().

Java 11: Public Review Specification is out

Java 10 was released less than a month ago but thanks to the new six-month cadence, all we can think of right now is Java 11. Speaking of the next Java version, Public Review Specification is out and you’ve got until May 7 to download it. What’s in for Java 11 so far are the following:

• 309: Dynamic Class-File Constants
• 318: Epsilon: An Arbitrarily Low-Overhead Garbage Collector
• 323: Local-Variable Syntax for Lambda Parameters

Sure, three features may not seem like much but the Java 11 journey has just begun.

Developers with cybersecurity skills will be the popular kids

In his article, Nathan Sykes explained why cybersecurity is such a big deal and why developers with cybersecurity skills will be the most popular kids on the playground. Cybersecurity is — and always will be — one of the most influential and necessary challenges for business in the current landscape. That makes it increasingly important for designers and developers, who must retain the fundamental elements of it, and embed secure processes into their work. Every 39 seconds, an attack or breach occurs that will affect one out of three Americans. Compounding that risk, unfilled cybersecurity opportunities will grow to 1.5 million by 2019, highlighting an incredible demand for experienced professionals in the space. Those in the field will not only find their own work weighing on their shoulders but that talent gap, as well. These reasons and more lend credence to the fact that the biggest tech heroes of 2018 will be — you guessed it — developers and designers with a background in cybersecurity. The experts who can put a stop to these threats — or at least prevent and appropriately deal with them when they happen — will be the true heroes across many industries, including retail, manufacturing, medical and healthcare and much more. Source : https://jaxenter.com/weekly-round-java-11-index-143932.html