Swift 4.2 Hits the Road
One year after the release of Swift 4, Swift 4.2 is now official. It brings a number of improvements to the language and the standard library, including better generics, Hashable protocol, and random number generation. Additionally, writes Swift maintainer Ted Kremenek, Swift 4 delivers faster compile times and improves the debugging experience.
How Reddit Rewrote Their iOS App to Improve Performance, Modularity, and Testing
Reddit has been hard at work in the last year to improve the performance of their iOS app while also making it suitable for faster iteration cycles, improved test coverage, and better extensibility. All of this was made possible by evolving the app original MVC architecture into a Model-View-Presenter (MVP) architecture.
Mozilla Pushes WebXR as New Open Web API for Augmented Reality
After adding support for WebVR to Firefox, Mozilla is now working on a new API, called WebXR, to bring mixed reality to the Web. Initially announced last year, WebXR aims to replace WebVR in time and to offer a smooth transition for developers using WebVR.
Tink is Google Cryptographic Library for the Cloud, Android, and iOS
Tink is a multi-language, cross-platform cryptographic library developed by a group of cryptographers and security engineers at Google to help developers implement cryptography correctly without being cryptographic experts. Under development for the last two years, version 1.2 adds support for Cloud, Android, and iOS platforms, and C++ and Objective-C.
Airbnb Open-Sources MvRx for Android App Development in Kotlin
MvRx (pronounced “mavericks”) helps Android developers implement common features and integrate their apps properly with the OS. MvRx is written in Kotlin and powers all Android development at Airbnb, writes Airbnb engineer Gabriel Peal.
The Machine Learning Behind Android Pie Smart Linkify API
Last week, Google announced Android 9, codenamed Pie. Android is launching a set of new features, powered by Artificial Intelligence. One of the most important new AI powered features is Android Smart Linkify. This article explores the architecture behind the dual in-device Neural Network powering content understanding in context to generate smart links on any text showing up on an Android phone.
Microsoft Driver Module Framework Aims to Ease Windows Driver Development
Windows driver developers should now have an easier way to create simple and structured drivers, as well as to share code amongst drivers, using the new Microsoft Driver Module Framework (DMF), which has been recently open sourced.
Android Pie Brings Adaptive Battery, Neural Networks API 1.1 and More
Google has released Android Pie. Android Pie brings display cutout support, Neural Networks API 1.1, Magnifier widget, Adaptive Battery, Slices, Indoor positioning with Wi-Fi RTT, and more.
Microsoft Previews Windows 10 IoT Core Services
Microsoft is previewing a new paid service for its Windows 10 IoT Core OS that enables managed device updates and device health assessment. Additionally, the new service will guarantee a 10 year support lifespan for each version of the OS after its release.
Android Studio 3.2 Beta 3 Brings Navigation Editor, Android App Bundle and More
Google has released Android Studio 3.2 Beta 3 in the Beta channel. This version brings a new Assistant panel and Navigation Editor, Android Jetpack, AndroidX migration, Android App Bundle, new Android Profiler, Lint checking, and more.
Android Emulator Now Supports AMD Hardware Acceleration and Hyper-V on Windows
The latest release of the Android Emulator for Windows aims thus to boost its performance when running on AMD processors or a Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor by bringing support for hardware accelerated enhancements that were previously only available for Intel processors.
Continuous Integration for Google Play Apps
At the last Google I/O conference, Google introduced version 3 of its Google Play Publishing API, which enables developers to publish their apps to Google Play from their continuous integration workflows.
Flutter Release Preview 1 Supports ML Kit and More
Google recently announced Flutter Release Preview 1. Flutter is an open-source framework for cross-platform app development for both iOS and Android. Flutter Release Preview 1 includes support for hardware keyboards and barcode scanners, video recording, ML Kit, an update to the Flutter extension for Visual Studio Code, and more.
Android P Will Expand its Use of Compiler-Based Security Mitigations
The upcoming Android P, which was recently released in beta, will use more compiler-based security mitigations, writes Google engineer Ivan Lozano, including control flow integrity and integer overflow sanitization.
Google Released Cloud IoT Core Client Library for Android Things
Google has released a client library to make it easy for developers to use Google Cloud IoT Core from Android Things devices. Developers can connect to the IoT Core MQTT bridge, authenticate a device, publish device telemetry, subscribe to configuration changes, and handle errors and network outages.
