NOTE: This is issue #036 of my newsletter, which went live on Monday, July 5th. If you find this information useful and interesting and you want to receive future issues as they are published, ahead of everyone else, I invite you to join the subscriber list at frontendnexus.com.
Fate conspired against this issue. I've been traveling over the weekend. Both power and the cellular signal went off in the area on Monday, which left me without internet access for hours. Despite all this, I gathered some interesting topics for you this week.
GitHub introduced Copilot, their AI-powered code assistant. You can now prove your JavaScript skills by participating in the 2021 edition of JS1024. The policies for Chrome Store extensions will update on August 2. Mac users can now download Safari Technology Preview 127. And the main release of the week is TypeScript 4.4 Beta.
Introducing GitHub Copilot
GitHub introduced Copilot, an AI-powered tool that provides code suggestions. The tool is powered by Codex, the new AI system created by OpenAI. I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.
The good people of Fireship put together a very nice review of this tool, which I invite you to check as well.
JS1024 is on
The yearly JavaScript golfing competition is upon us again. You have until July 15th to submit your projects. Of course, your code must have a maximum of 1024 bytes. The rules of the competition and examples from previous years are available on the official site.
Browser news
Chrome
The Chrome team published some clarifications regarding the policies for web extensions in the Chrome Store. The main goal of this initiative is to respect user choice and improve security. These changes will go into effect on August 2.
WebKit
We're getting a new version of the Safari Technology Preview. The list of changes is extensive, and it starts with the addition of discrete animation support for grid-template-columns and grid-template-rows. Check out the release notes below for the complete list.
Software updates and releases
- espree v8.0.0 - an Esprima-compatible JavaScript parser
- p5.js v1.4.0 - a processing-inspired creative coding library
- plotly.js v2.2.0 - open-source JavaScript charting library
- react stepzilla v7.0.0 - a React multi-step/wizard component for sequential data collection
- SolidJS 1.0 - a JavaScript library for building user interfaces
- TypeScript 4.4 Beta
- wait-on - a CLI and Node Library to Wait for Ports, Files, Sockets, etc.
- web3.js v1.4.0 - Ethereum JavaScript API
Wrapping things up
That's all I prepared for this issue. If you found something useful please recommend us to a friend and help us continue to grow.
Have a great and productive week, keep yourselves safe, and I will see you next time!
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