InfoQ Homepage JavaScript Content on InfoQ
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Microsoft Edge Now Supports W3C WebDriver Recommendation
Microsoft Edge now supports the recently ratified W3C WebDriver recommendation, making it easier to automate unit and functional tests with Edge. WebDriver is also now an Edge Feature on Demand, providing automatic WebDriver updates for each release of Edge.
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GDPR Changes Highlight the Impact of User Tracking
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect on May 25th, 2018, with the most obvious impact being a flurry of emails notifying users of changes in privacy policies. As websites determined how to comply with the wide-reaching data privacy regulation, developers quickly observed significant benefits in page load performance.
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Oracle Proposes Deprecating Java's JavaScript Engine Nashorn
Oracle announced via JDK Enhancement Proposal (JEP) 355 that the Nashorn JavaScript Engine will be deprecated and eventually removed from all future Java Development Kits (JDKs). With the rapid pace at which ECMAScript language constructs have changed, Oracle found the Nashorn JavaScript Engine challenging to maintain.
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Microsoft Announces JavaScript Support for Excel Custom Functions
Microsoft recently announced a developer preview release supporting JavaScript to create custom functions directly in Excel. This addition moves beyond the existing Microsoft Office JavaScript API, which is limited to building add-ins or web applications that interact with the object models in Office host applications.
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TypeScript 2.9 Release Updates ES.Next Support
TypeScript 2.9 contains several improvements to the language. Support is now available for ES.Next's import.meta, as well as symbols and numeric literals in keyof and mapped object types.
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2018 Node.js User Survey Report Shows Continued Rapid Growth
On May 31st, 2018, the Node.js Foundation released its 2018 User Survey Report, with insights from more than 1600 participants, spanning 100+ countries. Usage continues to grow rapidly, with over ¾ of participants expecting to expand their use of Node.js in the next year, and significant improvements in ease of learning Node reported, as compared to the 2017 version of the report.
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Microsoft Introduces Edge DevTools Protocol
With the April 30 release of Edge version 17, Microsoft has announced the availability of the Microsoft Edge DevTools Protocol, a set of JSON and JSON-RPC APIs that enable clients to interact with Microsoft Edge tabs. Following the model of the Chrome DevTools Protocol, the Edge DevTools Protocol enables independent developers to build tools that interact with Edge using standard web technologies.
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Propel Shifts Plans to Leverage TensorFlow.js
The Propel JavaScript scientific computing and machine learning library has announced a change in the project's direction. Just a few weeks after Propel's initial launch in March 2018, TensorFlow.js announced its release. Propel's initial efforts extended deeplearn.js and the C implementation of TensorFlow. Tensorflow.js is an evolution of deeplearn.js.
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RxJS 6 Release Improves Performance and Modularity
The RxJS team has announced their 6.0 release, which improves the project's approach to modularity, streamlines performance, adds a backwards compatibility package to ease upgrades, and supports code migration for TypeScript users.
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Firefox Introduces Web Authentication API
With the Firefox 60 release on May 9, Firefox became the first major browser to support the Web Authentication API. This API enables users to avoid text-based passwords for websites and instead uses a local device with a biometric check or private PIN to generate a secure cryptographic identifier. Support for the API is in development for Chrome and Edge, and under consideration for Safari.
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Google App Engine to Support Node.js 8.x Using the Recently Open Source gVisor Sandbox
Google App Engine (GAE), Google's PaaS offering, is now offering a preview of support for the Node.js 8.x runtime within the standard environment, with a full release promised soon.
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Angular Team Releases Angular 6
On May 3, 2018, the Angular team released version 6 of Angular, a release that focused on improving the Angular toolchain. Significant updates make it easier to update application source code and dependencies, add new application capabilities, and tree shake code for better performance.
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Service Workers Now Supported across All Major Browsers
With the Windows 10 April 2018 Update released on April 30th, and the Safari 11.1 release on March 29, Edge and Safari join Firefox and Chrome in enabling Service Workers by default. Developers can now develop Progressive Web Apps providing offline functionality and expect them to function across all browsers except Internet Explorer and Opera Mini.
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Package Containing Malicious Backdoor Makes its Way into NPM
The NPM security team removed a package masquerading as a cookie parser that actually contained a malicious backdoor, along with three other packages depending on it. The backdoor allowed attackers to inject arbitrary code into a running server and execute it.
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Babylon.js 3.2 Release Improves 3D Rendering
The Babylon.js team has announced their 3.2 release which leverages additional WebGL 2.0 features to improve its 3D rendering, further embraces modern JavaScript and TypeScript patterns, and adds more animation options and special effects.