01Mar 2018 by richard@baronsoftware.com

NPM Update Crashes Linux Systems and in some cases forces re-installation

Software Releases
NPM Update Crashes Linux Systems and in some cases forces re-installation A bug in npm (Node Package Manager), the most widely used JavaScript package manager, will change ownership of crucial Linux system folders, such as /etc, /usr, /boot.   Changing ownership of these files either crashes the system, various local apps, or prevents the system from booting, according to reports from users who installed npm v5.7.0 which has been deemed a software buggy release. The bug was first reported by users and following that the NPM development team released a quick patch NPM v5.7.1 that fixes the glitch.  FreeBSD users have also reported being impacted by the bug. Mac and Windows users didn't experience any issues. The problem did not affect every Linux user. Running the npm update commands as root…
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02Oct 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

Swift 4.0 Released!

Software development Concepts, Software Events
Swift 4.0 Released! Swift 4 is now officially released! Swift 4 builds on the strengths of Swift 3, delivering greater robustness and stability, providing source code compatibility with Swift 3, making improvements to the standard library, and adding features like archival and serialization. Swift is a general-purpose programming language built using a modern approach to safety, performance, and software design patterns. Updates Swift 4.0 is a major language release and contains the following language changes and updates that went through the Swift Evolution process that can be viewed by clicking here Apple (Xcode) For development on Apple’s platforms, Swift 4.0 ships as part of Xcode 9.  Open-source Swift can be used on the Mac to target all of the Apple platforms: iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Moreover, binary builds of open-source Swift…
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30Sep 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

How the 9-to-5 workday has disappeared

Software development Concepts, Software Events
How the 9-to-5 workday has disappeared   Work has changed dramatically over the last few decades, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal recently release it has become more time-consuming, less stable, and more flexible. In 1973, 6% of Americans said they worked excessive hours while in 2016, 26% said they worked more than 48 hours a week. Insurance coverage by employers has also dropped since 1973, although companies now provide more benefits to aid work-life balance, such as paid parental leave and remote work options. Businesses are spending less on employees, both in terms of compensation and capital investment, while investors get triple the payout from 30 years ago. This has all contributed to workers increasingly acting like free agents in the job market.  While they have…
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19Sep 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

Embarcadero Academy Debuts with Online Courses

Rad Studio Delphi Development, Software Events, Software Releases
Embarcadero Academy Debuts with Online Courses  A provider of cross-platform application developer productivity tools, today announced the launch of Embarcadero Academy, an online school for developers of all levels. The Academy, operated in partnership with Embarcadero by CodePower, offers a wide variety of expert-led courses in Delphi and C++Builder skills and technologies. Finally Embarcardo / Idera have decided to get into the possible educational on line webinars to improve the software developers of Delphi or C++ Builder. Embarcadero Academy is launching with approximately 15 courses, and has an additional 15 in development. The curriculum, which spans beginner to advanced courses, will initially focus on Delphi and C++Builder capabilities such as language and framework skills, and will continue to grow in range and scope of languages. Full courses run from several days…
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13Sep 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

Day of the Programmer so let’s Celebrate

Software Events
Day of the Programmer so let's celebrate The Day of the Programmer is an international professional day that is celebrated on the 256th (hexadecimal 100th, or the 28th) day of each year (September 13 during common years and on September 12 in leap years). It is officially recognized in Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Austria, Germany, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, India, Belgium, Australia, Poland, Romania, Ireland, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, the United States and Russia.[1][2] The number 256 (28) was chosen because it is the number of distinct values that can be represented with an eight-bit byte, a value well-known to programmers. 256 is also the highest power of two that is less than 365, the number of days in a common year. You wonder why Russia out of all places decided to create the official day…
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