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Node.js 8.0 Released, New LTS Version Later This Year
Node.js 8.0 has been released, setting up the future Long Term Support (LTS) version for late 2017 and 2018. This new version contains a number of new features as well. Once 8.X LTS releases later this year, it will be the first LTS release that contains async/await.
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Google Is to Remove Support for PNaCl
After de-staffing the PNaCL/NaCl team last year and adding default support for WebAssembly in Chrome in March of this year, Google has officially announced the retirement of PNaCl in favor of WebAssembly.
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Npm 5.0 Boosts Common Sense Performance
Npm 5.0 is a highly anticipated release that has been years in coming. The new version of the JavaScript package manager has a completely rewritten cache and has performance that is more in-line with its most direct competitor.
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Updates to Google Chrome DevTools
The upcoming version of Chrome DevTools has a number of new features that can help developers build faster web pages and have an easier time debugging complex asynchronous code. At Google I/O 2017, Paul Irish presented a State of the Union showcasing a number of these new features.
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Prepack JavaScript Compiler Aims to Reduce Startup Time
Facebook has revealed Prepack, a compile time JavaScript interpreter that aims to reduce the time spent initializing code by pre-computing the global code block. The biggest beneficiaries of this tool are React Native apps and other platforms where startup time is one of the biggest performance bottlenecks.
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React Fiber: A Closer Look at the New Engine of React
Facebook is working on a completely new architecture underpinning React, their popular JavaScript framework. The new design, dubbed React Fiber, alters how and when changes are detected in order to improve perceived responsiveness on browsers and other rendering targets. React Fiber will be launched in version 16 and should be a drop-in replacement for most React apps.
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TypeScript 2.3 Adds Generic Default Arguments, Async Iterators Support, and More
TypeScript 2.3 extends the language syntax by adding support for declaring defaults for generic type parameters and for async generators and iterators. It also aims to improve integration with existing JavaScript code with a new compile option and introduces official support for language server plugins.
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Google Retires Octane JavaScript Benchmark
Google has retired their Octane JavaScript benchmark tool, citing over-optimization of micro-benchmarks to the detriment of real-world performance. Other browser vendors agree that the benchmark by itself is of little value. In the future, performance improvements may come from focusing on what the user is actually experiencing.
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Phantom.js Maintainer Steps down, Leaving Project's Future in Doubt
The maintainer of the headless browser testing framework, Phantom.js, has decided to step down due to the release of a headless version of Chromium. It's unclear if the project's founder will be able to find enough help to continue.
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Moving from JavaScript to TypeScript at Slack
Switching from JavaScript to TypeScript at Slack has been challenging but dramatically beneficial, writes Slack desktop engineer Felix Rieseberg. InfoQ has spoken with him.
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React 15.5 Prepares Developers for Big Changes
Facebook has released version 15.5 of React which deprecates two features that may trip up developers. To prepare for their removal in version 16, which is set to be a big update, Facebook wants to give plenty of notice to developers about changes they'll have to make to their code.
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Long Term Support for Angular Announced at ng-conf 2017
During the 2017 ng-conf keynote, Igor Minar and Steven Fluin took the time to showcase the softer side of Angular. With all major technical topics in the rearview mirror, the focus was on the community and how Angular will evolve over time. Long Term Support for Angular v4 was announced.
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Next.js 2.0 Keeps It Simple, Adds Needed Features
Zeit has released version 2.0 of their Next.js universal React framework. The new version maintains the simplicity offered in version 1, but adds necessary features common to many modern applications. In addition, they've created a new way of writing CSS for React components that lets developers return to writing standard CSS.
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Angular 4.0 Released with a Focus on Shrinking App Size
Google released version 4.0 of their popular Angular JavaScript framework, focusing on shrinking the size of the generated code and keeping the framework on a streamlined release schedule.
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Fable 1.0 Beta Brings Better Tooling Integration, New Project Format, and More
F# to JavaScript compiler Fable has reached version 1.0 beta, bringing tooling improvements, a streamlined project format, and better code generation. InfoQ has spoken with Fable creator Alfonso García-Caro.