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React is (becoming) a full-stack framework

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Tags nodejs javascript app-development frontend web-development

React, with its addition of Server Components and Server Actions, is evolving into a full-stack framework. Once the most popular frontend framework, it has now successfully bridged the gap between frontend and backend to reign over both sides of the chasm. By Robin Wieruch.

In recent years, TypeScript has emerged as the industry standard, providing frontend developers with a typed and more robust programming language. Once developers embraced TypeScript, there was no turning back. It’s fascinating how a relatively small change in code can have such a significant impact on both a personal and industry-wide level.

The real breakthrough for me came with Server Components and Server Actions in 2024, which bridged the gap to the server by not only calling it, but by being able to implement and execute code on the other side. Server Components allow us to execute React components on the server, enabling direct access from data sources (e.g. databases) before returning the UI with JSX.

React itself provides only the primitives and specifications for Server Components and Server Actions. Meta frameworks built on top of React can bridge the gap with their bundler which interprets the directives (i.e. ‘use client’ and ‘use server’) between client and server. Good read!

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Google now uses Open Graph title tag (og:title) for title links

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Tags search miscellaneous software google

Google adds og:title to sources for generating search result titles, expanding use of Open Graph data beyond social media. By Matt G. Southern.

The article explains:

  • Google now considers og:title for search result titles
  • Open Graph tags gain broader significance beyond social media
  • Best practices for title creation remain unchanged

The og:title tag allows you to specify a title for your content that may differ from the traditional HTML title tag. This can be useful for optimizing how a page appears when shared on social networks or, now, in search results. While it’s used to control how content appears on social media platforms, Google’s inclusion of this tag in its title link sources indicates a broader use of Open Graph data. Good read!

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What is AI security?

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Tags infosec ai ibm cloud software-architecture cio

Short for artificial intelligence (AI) security, AI security is the process of using AI to enhance an organization’s security posture. With AI systems, organizations can automate threat detection, prevention and remediation to better combat cyberattacks and data breaches. By Annie Badman, Matthew Kosinski.

Organizations can incorporate AI into cybersecurity practices in many ways. The most common AI security tools use machine learning and deep learning to analyze vast amounts of data, including traffic trends, app usage, browsing habits and other network activity data.

The article deals with:

  • Why AI security is important
  • Benefits of AI security
  • Potential vulnerabilities and security risks of AI
  • AI security use cases
  • AI security best practices
  • Related solutions

To balance AI’s security risks and benefits, many organizations craft explicit AI security strategies that outline how stakeholders should develop, implement and manage AI systems. Nice one!

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Wasm vs. Docker: Performant, secure, and versatile containers

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Tags containers devops cloud docker javascript

Docker and WebAssembly (Wasm) represent two pivotal technologies that have reshaped the software development landscape. You’ve probably started to hear more about Wasm in the past few years as it has gained in popularity, and perhaps you’ve also heard about the benefits of using it in your application stack. This may have led you to think about the differences between Wasm and Docker, especially because the technologies work together so closely. By Savannah Ostrowski, and Sohan Maheshwar.

Wasm is a compact binary instruction format governed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It’s a portable compilation target for more than 40 programming languages, like C/C++, C#, JavaScript, Go, and Rust. In other words, Wasm is a bytecode format encoded to run on a stack-based virtual machine. The article then deals with:

  • What’s Wasm?
  • Why use Wasm?
  • Docker vs. Wasm: How are they related?
  • Benefits of using Docker and Wasm together
  • How to enable Wasm on Docker Desktop
  • How Docker supports WebAssembly

WebAssembly is continuously evolving, so you’ll need a tight pulse to keep up with ecosystem developments. One recent advancement relates to how the new WebAssembly Component model will impact shims for the various container runtimes. At Docker, we’re working to make it simple for developers to create Wasm containers and enhance the developer experience. Good read!

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Identity threat detection and response solution guide

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Tags infosec devops cloud software-architecture learning cio

Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) has emerged as a critical component to effectively detect and respond to identity-based attacks. Threat actors have shown their ability to compromise the identity infrastructure and move laterally into IaaS, Saas, PaaS and CI/CD environments. Identity Threat Detection and Response solutions help organizations better detect suspicious or malicious activity in their environment. By The Hacker News.

Further you will learn about:

  • Human and non-human identities
  • Core ITDR capabilities
  • Identity threat use cases
  • Questions an effective ITDR solution should answer
    • Identity inventory and access management
    • Risk assessment and anomaly detection
    • Authentication and access patterns
    • Activity monitoring and change tracking
    • Incident correlation and response

To effectively safeguard against identity attacks, organizations must choose an ITDR solution with advanced capabilities to detect and mitigate attacks. Good read!

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How to use ChatGPT to write code: What it can and can't do for you

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Tags ai programming teams big-data miscellaneous

Can ChatGPT replace programmers? What programming languages does ChatGPT know? We answer these and your other generative AI coding questions. By David Gewirtz.

One of the more intriguing discoveries about ChatGPT is that it can write pretty good code. I first tested this out last year when I asked it to write a WordPress plugin my wife could use on her website. ChatGPT did a fine job, but it was a very simple project. So, how can you use ChatGPT to write code as part of your daily coding practice? Here’s a quick summary:

  • ChatGPT can produce both useful and unusable code. For best results, provide clear and detailed prompts
  • ChatGPT excels in assisting with specific coding tasks or routines, rather than building complete applications from scratch
  • Use ChatGPT to find and choose the right coding libraries for specific purposes, and engage in an interactive discussion to narrow down options
  • Be cautious about the ownership of AI-generated code and always verify the code’s reliability. Don’t blindly trust the generated output
  • Treat interactions with ChatGPT as a conversation. Refine your questions based on the AI’s responses to get closer to the desired output

There are two important facts about ChatGPT and coding. The first is that the AI can, in fact, write useful code. The second is that it can get completely lost, fall down a rabbit hole, chase its own tail, and produce unusable garbage. Good read!

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Why (and how) APIs and web applications are under siege

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Tags infosec devops apis restful

Attackers are increasingly targeting web applications and APIs, with a nearly 50% year-over-year growth in web attacks, driven by the increased adoption of these technologies, which significantly expanded organizational attack surfaces, according to an Akamai report. By Mitch Mayne.

A total of 108 billion API attacks were recorded from January 2023 through June 2024. This relentless assault reflects a dramatic increase in attempts by threat actors to gain access to valuable data. Indeed, several high-profile data breaches in recent months have been linked to API abuse or exploitation of API vulnerabilities.

Web applications, and the APIs that enable them, are redefining customer experiences, streamlining business operations, and fueling economic growth. At the same time, they are creating new avenues of potential entry into your digital fortress.

The blog post then explains:

  • Key findings of the SOTI report
  • API attacks on the rise
  • Industries at higher risk
  • Defending web applications and infrastructure

Web applications and APIs will continue to proliferate, fuel innovation, and deliver the experiences that define our modern world. Recognizing their potential vulnerabilities and taking steps to fortify your applications is the key to repelling the cyberthreat siege. Nice one!

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Enums in Golang: Techniques, best practices, & use cases

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Tags programming app-development programming golang

Enums provide a way to represent a set of named constants. While Go lacks a built-in enum type, developers can emulate enum-like behavior by constants/custom types. Enums play a vital role in programming languages, providing a concise and expressive way to define a set of named constants. While some languages like Java or C# offer built-in support for enums, Go takes a different approach. In Go, enums are not a native language feature, but developers have several techniques at their disposal to achieve similar functionality. By Thuoc Nguyen.

The article then describes in some depth:

  • Understanding Enum
  • Benefits and limitations of Enums
  • Implementing Enum-like functionality in Golang
  • Comparison of techniques
  • Best practices of Golang Enums
  • Real-world use cases

Throughout this guide, we explored various methods for implementing enums in Go language and discussed their respective benefits, limitations, and best practices. In essence, enums in Go empower developers to write cleaner, more maintainable code by providing a structured way to represent a fixed set of values. By understanding the different techniques and best practices outlined in this guide, developers can leverage enums effectively to enhance their Go projects. Good read!

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Type conversion in Golang: How to convert data types in Go?

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Tags how-to app-development programming golang

Type conversion is the process of converting a value from one data type to another. Explicit type conversion in Go ensure compatibility between different data types.By Huy Nguyen.

In many cases, you will need to convert data types. Professionals may find Golang’s type conversion notion easy to grasp, but beginners may find it difficult to grasp anything at first. The fact that Golang has a distinct approach to type conversion is probably to blame for this. In this post, we will talk about type casting, also called a conversion, in the Go programming language.

What is catured in the article:

  • What is type conversion?
  • Introduction to Go data types
  • What is the need for type conversion in Golang?
  • Types of type conversion in Golang
  • Scenarios Requiring To Convert Data Types
  • Sample code
  • Compile error on implicit type conversion

In summary, handling different types of data in Go involves some careful steps based on how the language works. It’s important for Go developers to grasp the details of various data types, figure out when to use direct or clear conversions, and identify situations where converting types is necessary. Good read!

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Code refactoring: Meaning, benefits and best practices

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Tags code-refactoring how-to app-development web-development oop

Why do programmers regularly rewrite other people’s ready-made code without adding new functions? It is all about refactoring. Refactoring is like putting things in order at your workplace. By Nuradil Alymkulov.

The most commonly used definition of clean code is that it is easy to understand and change. Code is never written just once and forgotten. Having the code to work on efficiently is very important to anyone who uses it. The article then dives into:

  • What is meant by code refactoring
  • Why is it important
  • What are the benefits of code refactoring
  • When to refactor code
  • What aspects of the code is refactoring aimed at
  • How do you refactor code
    • Red-green-refactor
    • Refactoring by abstraction
    • Composing method
    • Simplifying method
    • Moving features between objects
    • Extract method
  • What about refactoring legacy code

One of the main advantages of refactoring in legacy code is that it can be done on any software architecture. It allows developers to focus on improving the quality of the code without the need for unnecessary downtime. Nice one!

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