Bleeding Edge Web

@edgeATX

EdgeATX.org

September 2024

News From the Bleeding Edge

— Brian Moeskau (@bmoeskau)

Coding with AI Assistants

— Ted Patrick (@__ted__)

Supercharging Development with AI: A Modern Toolchain Revolution

— Ryan Vice (vicesoftware.com)

Housekeeping

Thanks to Our Host!

Expedia

Expedia is always hiring! expediajobs.com

Libraries & Frameworks

Spotlight: Deno

The open-source JavaScript runtime for the modern web.

Deno is designed to fix Node's shortcomings:

  • Secure by default
  • Built-in TypeScript, JSX/TSX
  • Batteries included (linting, testing, etc)

It's also Node.js-compatible

Deno 1.46

Released Aug 22, 2024

1.46 is the last 1.x release and includes:

  • Built-in code signing for deno compile
  • Faster deno serve
  • Improvements to CLI, Node compatibility
  • And lots more...

Plus, the standard library is now stable

Deno 2.0 RC

Released Sept 19, 2024

  • Standardized window and process
  • Dependency management improvements
  • Note: Lots of API removals!
  • And more...

So now's a great time to check it out!

Notable releases

Baseline News

https://web.dev/baseline

Latest browser releases

Mutually exclusive <details>

MDN | Newly available since Firefox 130

Easily implement accordions via the name attribute
  • name specifies group name
  • Elements do not have to be DOM-adjacent!

        <details name="my-accordion">
          <summary>Section 1</summary>
          Section 1 info here.
        </details>
        <details name="my-accordion">
          <summary>Section 2</summary>
          Section 2 info here.
        </details>
      

backdrop-filter

MDN | Newly available since Safari 18

Apply effects like blur or color shift behind an element

        backdrop-filter: blur(2px);
        backdrop-filter: brightness(60%);
        backdrop-filter: contrast(40%);
        backdrop-filter: blur(4px) saturate(150%) invert(70%);
      
backdrop-filter example

willReadFrequently

MDN | Newly available since Safari 18

Canvas optimization hint to skip hardware acceleration
  • Speeds up frequent calls to getImageData
  • Forces software-accelerated rendering

        const img = canvas.getContext("2d", {
          willReadFrequently: true
        });
      

content-visibility

MDN | Newly available since Safari 18

Defers layout/paint of an element's subtree until requested
  • Allows the UA to skip via CSS containment
  • Useful to speed up initial page load

        <style>
          .some-container {
            content-visibility: hidden;
          }
        </style>
      

Deep dive for more info

Web features explorer

Aka "Release notes for the web"

Website maintained by the WebDX Community Group

  • Open source, community-managed
  • Tracks newly and widely available web features
  • The data powers Baseline

Industry News

Laravel Raises $57M Series A

Published Sep 5

Laravel is "the PHP framework for Web Artisans"

  • $ is for hiring and full-time OSS focus
  • Also building out Laravel Cloud

Related: PHP is the new JavaScript

Kia Takeover Hack

Published Sep 26

Researchers could access millions of vehicles remotely

  • Track location, open locks, start ignition
  • Also exposed PII, payment and location history
  • How? Lack of authorization in a public web API

Don't own a Kia? Similar issues found for Honda, Toyota, Infiniti, Nissan, Acura, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Genesis, BMW, Rolls Royce, and Ferrari

Events

ViteConf 2024

October 3rd

24 hour marathon of talks from the teams innovating in the Vite Ecosystem!

Free and virtual, excellent speaker list

→ Register for free

Highly recommended for all web devs!

DevSecCon 2024

October 8–9th

Explore the critical intersection of AI and application security

Free and virtual, hosted by Snyk

→ Register for free

Recommended for devs focused on AI and security

JetBrains JS Day 2024

October 24th

Explore the latest trends in modern JS and TS development
  • A single day of interactive sessions and demos
  • Livestreamed and recorded on YouTube

→ Register for free

Recommended for web devs with less free time :)

Next.js Conf 2024

October 24th

Learn to build the best apps on the web (mostly with Next.js)

In person in SF for $500, or free online

→ Register

Recommended for React devs

Handy Tools

Server Mono

A typeface inspired by typewriters, ASCII art and CLIs

  • Focus on readability amd uniformity
server mono

Departure Mono

A typeface inspired by 80s/90s GUIs and Sci-Fi

  • The website is pretty neat!
server mono

Distraction Control

New in Safari 18

Just For Fun

Unbeatable tic-tac-toe in CSS

See the Pen Pure css tic tac toe AI by lee (@leemeyer) on CodePen.

Learn how (and why?) this was done

Thanks!

Brian Moeskau