The Core

The Programmers Guide To Kotlin - Covariance & Contravariance   Monday 21 January

What is covariance and contravariance and what do these physics based terms have to do with programming in Kotlin? Read on to find out.

JavaScript Data Structures - The String Object   Thursday 17 January

The String is the most basic and most useful of the native JavaScript data structures. It can also be used as a starting point for, or be incorporated into, many other data structures. Let's see how it all works.

News

EU Copyright Directive Stalled  
Wednesday 23 January

Copyright reforms proposed by the European Union, that could have devastating consequences for the Internet, have been halted at least temporarily. Have we escaped the controversial Link Tax (Article 11) and Upload Filters (Article 13)?

Google Changes API Making Chrome Adblocking Harder   Wednesday 23 January

This story has potential for conspiracy theory and hate. It is enough to make you vow to never use Chrome again, and yet the important point is that most users will continue to use Chrome no matter what.

Google Adds SparkR Support On Cloud DataProc  
Tuesday 22 January

Google is adding support for SparkR jobs on Cloud Dataproc, describing the move as the latest chapter in building R support on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). SparkR is a package that provides a lightweight front end to use Apache Spark from R.

LiteCLI - SQLite Client with Autocomplete  
Tuesday 22 January

LiteCLI is a new open source command line client with many good features. Built in Python it is hosted on GitHub. 

MongoDB Updates Charts Tool  
Monday 21 January

An updated beta of a new data charting tool has been made available by MongoDB. The tool, MongoDB Charts, can be used to connect to any MongoDB instance as a data source, and to create charts and graphs, build dashboards, and share them with other users for collaboration. 

Get Ready For Hash Code 2019  
Monday 21 January

Registration has opened for Hash Code 2019, Google's team programming competition in which problems are modeled after Google engineering challenges.

An Embroidered Computer  
Sunday 20 January

Built solely from a variety of metal threads and magnetic, glass and metal beads, the embroidered computer is described as an exploration using historic gold embroidery materials and knowledge to craft a programmable 8-bit computer.

AI System Shows Food Image Based On Recipe  
Saturday 19 January

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have developed a deep learning-based system that can automatically generate pictures of a finished meal from a simple text-based recipe.

RSA Encryption Cracked By Careless Implemenation  
Friday 18 January

This is an odd story, especially so because it harks back to a paper from 2012. RSA encryption is important because it is the basis of the public key cryptographic framework that we all use. So is it cracked, or isn't it? 

The Enduring Influence Of Postgres  
Friday 18 January

A historical recollection of the Postgres project and its impact on the DBMS industry provides an insight into the key features of the object-relational database as conceived by Mike Stonebraker.   

Last Call To Join Google's AI Impact Challenge  
Thursday 17 January

Google.org, Google's nonprofit arm, is inviting organizations around the world to submit their ideas for how they could use AI to help address societal challenges. Selected organizations will receive funding from a $25M pool together with support from Google’s AI experts to transform ideas into action. 

Pwn2Own Contest To Win A Tesla  
Thursday 17 January

Contestants at this year's CanSecWest security conference have a chance of winning a different prize to the usual offered in the Pwn2Own competition - a Tesla Model 3 car.