NOTE: This is issue #090 of my newsletter, which went live on Monday, February 13. 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.
The web industry is getting ready for Interop 2023. In browser news, we go over the changes that took place in January. Chrome 110 has been released and you can test your website performance using Lighthouse 10. We round up this section with Edge 110, Polypane 13, and Safari Technology Preview 163.
On the release radar, we have Eleventy v2, Redwood JS 4, several Electron and Node updates, and more. Next, there are a dozen new resources to make your coding easier. Last, but not least, I am (re)introducing my next project, the Developer Creator Club.
Interop 2023
Interop 2022 made good progress in improving the web platform. The main players have pledged to continue the effort in 2023. This time there will be no less than 26 focus areas. They cover areas such as CSS (Container Queries, CSS :has(), Color spaces and functions, masking, and more), Web Apps (ergonomics, Offscreen Canvas, Web Codecs, and more), Compatibility, and investigations into mobile platforms and accessibility APIs.
- Interop 2023 Dashboard
- Chrome: Interop 2023: continuing to improve the web for developers
- Microsoft: Microsoft Edge and Interop 2023
- Mozilla: Announcing Interop 2023
- WebKit: Pushing Interop Forward in 2023
- Bocoup: Interop 2023
- Igalia: Igalia and Interop 2023
Browser news
Rachel Andrew continues her monthly roundup of changes to the web platform. Firefox 109, Chrome 109, Edge 109, and Safari 16.3 rolled out to users. They brought new features, such as support for MathML, the scrollend event, or the Content-Security-Policy (CSP) prefetch-src directive.
Chrome
Chrome 110 was released on February 1. This update implements the :picture-in-picture CSS pseudo-class, the launch_handler manifest member for web apps, credentialless iframes, and more.
Another important release from the Chrome team is Lighthouse 10. This update is already available via PageSpeed Insights or the command line through npm. You can already use it in Chrome Canary and will arrive in the stable channel in the Chrome 112 release.
Edge
Version 110 of Microsoft Edge brings new Immersive Reader policies, enables synchronization for users signed in using Azure Active Directory, and a new way to send files and notes across all your devices with Drop.
Polypane 13
Polypane, the browser for ambitious web developers, is back in browser news with the update to version 13. The release runs on Chromium 110, supports regular Chrome extensions, and brings a host of features, fixes, and improvements. There are already two patches out (13.0.1 and 13.0.2), which makes this tool even more versatile.
WebKit
Safari users can now try the new features included in Safari Technology Preview 163. This release enables Masonry layout by default and implements a huge list of fixes and improvements across most facets of the web platform.
Software updates and releases
- Docusaurus 2.3.0 - Easy to maintain open source documentation websites
- Electron v22.2.0, Electron v23.0.0, Electron v24.0.0-alpha - Build cross-platform desktop apps with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS
- Eleventy v2.0.0 - a simpler static site generator
- Node v19.6.0 (Current), Node v18.14.0 (LTS), February 2023 Security Releases - an asynchronous event-driven JavaScript runtime
- Redwood v4.0.0 - The App Framework for Startups
- TestCafe v2.3.0 - A Node.js tool to automate end-to-end web testing
Front End Resources
- All Things AI - A collection Of Artificial Intelligence tools & services
-
clamp()Calculator - A tool for calculating viewport-based clamped values - CodeImage - A tool to beautify your code screenshots
- Colord - A tool for high-performance color manipulations and conversions
- ColorMagic - A color palette generator with AI
- Easing Gradients - Supercharge your gradients with non-linear color mix and custom color spaces.
- Gradicol - Handpicked collection of linear gradients with premium website templates.
- IMG Quest - An open-source API to generate Open Graph images
- Shoelace - A forward-thinking library of web components.
- SVG Gobbler - Download svg icons, logos, and vector content from any site
- Theme Toggles - a collection of animated toggles for switching between light and dark modes
- Website Metadata - Generate a complete list of HTML meta tags for your website.
There's more where that came from. Explore the rest of the Front End Resource collection.
Presenting (again) the Developer Creator Club
Back in issue #088, I mentioned that I'm changing the frequency of this newsletter to make more time for another project. It is not a complete surprise, as I presented it for the first time in issue #53, almost a year ago. From now on, however, I will be taking a more active approach.
The Developer Creator Club is a digital garden dedicated to helping developers create content and products. Currently, it includes a curated set of articles focused on this topic, a collection of products I've tried myself (and that I can recommend), and a section dedicated to creator stories. This is where I'm interviewing other developers and getting their stories out there to inspire other people.
Therefore, if you are willing to share some of your experience, if you have a valuable story to say, I would love to have a chat with you.
Wrapping things up
Ukraine is still suffering from the Russian invasion - if you are looking for ways to help, please check Smashing Magazine's article We All Are Ukraine 🇺🇦 or get in touch with your trusted charity.
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Each of these helps me out, and I would appreciate your consideration.
That's all I have for this issue. Have a great and productive week, keep yourselves safe, spend as much time as possible with your loved ones, and I will see you again next time!
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