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C Legend Kernighan: Rust is a 'Pain', Unlikely to Replace C

2025-08-31

C Legend Kernighan: Rust is a 'Pain', Unlikely to Replace C

At 83, Brian Kernighan, co-author of the seminal C programming language book, shared his candid thoughts on Rust. In a recent interview, he described his single Rust program experience as 'painful', citing difficulty understanding its memory safety mechanisms and slow compilation/execution speeds. He criticized the complexity of Rust's ecosystem, including 'crates and barrels'. While acknowledging potential bias from limited experience, he doubts Rust will replace C anytime soon. The interview also covered his perspectives on Linux distributions, HolyC, the current software landscape, and advice for aspiring programmers, emphasizing passion and pursuing engaging work.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Microsoft Bets Big on AI Agents: The Demise of Traditional Business Apps?

2025-08-19

Microsoft Bets Big on AI Agents: The Demise of Traditional Business Apps?

Microsoft executives boldly predict that traditional business applications will be a relic of the past by 2030, replaced by AI-powered "business agents." These AI agents will leverage generative AI and vector databases to dynamically adapt to user needs and optimize workflows in a goal-oriented manner. This prediction has sparked industry debate, with some questioning its optimism and the feasibility of rapid enterprise transformation, while others see it as a major shift requiring businesses to embrace AI to avoid obsolescence. Microsoft plans to gradually transition customers to this new model by offering AI agents as add-on services for existing applications.

(thenewstack.io)

Tech

Python's Ascent: A Community-Driven Open Source Saga

2025-08-04

Python's Ascent: A Community-Driven Open Source Saga

From its humble beginnings in 1991 to its current status as the world's most popular programming language, Python's journey is a compelling tale of passion, perseverance, and community. Early days were marked by financial struggles and organizational growing pains. However, guided by creator Guido van Rossum's vision and fueled by a vibrant community, Python ultimately thrived through the establishment of the Python Software Foundation. This documentary highlights the importance of community, shared values, and the power of open source collaboration in overcoming challenges and achieving remarkable success.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

AI + SQL: The Future of Information Retrieval

2025-06-14

AI + SQL: The Future of Information Retrieval

This article proposes a revolutionary approach to information retrieval by leveraging the synergy between AI and advanced SQL systems. Large Language Models (LLMs) are used to interpret human intent, translating natural language queries into precise SQL queries to access massive, distributed object-relational databases. This overcomes the limitations of LLMs relying solely on pattern learning, enabling the handling of diverse data types (geographic, image, video, etc.) and ensuring speed and reliability through distributed systems. The ultimate goal is to empower users to access complex databases using natural language without needing SQL expertise.

(thenewstack.io)

AI

Stack Overflow's Fight for Survival in the Age of AI

2025-05-29

Stack Overflow's Fight for Survival in the Age of AI

Facing a 90% plummet in visits due to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, Stack Overflow is undergoing a significant transformation. They've relaunched chat features, are exploring paid expert consultation services, and plan to create personalized homepages aggregating videos, blogs, Q&A, and more. Simultaneously, Stack Overflow is partnering with AI companies like OpenAI and Google, licensing its high-quality data for AI model training and integrating its data into AI tools. Despite the massive challenge, Stack Overflow is diversifying and collaborating with AI to find new growth opportunities in the age of artificial intelligence.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Ladybird: A New Open-Source Browser Challenging Chrome's Dominance

2025-05-25

Ladybird: A New Open-Source Browser Challenging Chrome's Dominance

In a browser market dominated by Google Chrome, a new open-source browser project called Ladybird is emerging. Created by former Apple and Nokia WebKit engineer Andreas Kling, Ladybird is built from the ground up, committed to web standards, and refuses commercialization. Unlike other Chromium-based browsers, Ladybird aims to provide an independent and open alternative to combat the monopoly of large tech companies on the web platform. While performance isn't currently its strong suit, the Ladybird team adheres to the development mantra of "Make it work, make it right, make it fast," and plans to transition to Swift later in development. Ladybird's emergence offers users more choices and provides new hope for maintaining web standards and the diversity of the web ecosystem.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Microsoft Open Sources Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

2025-05-19

Microsoft Open Sources Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

At its Build developer conference, Microsoft announced it's open-sourcing the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), enabling developers to seamlessly run Linux distributions within Windows. This move aims to solidify Windows as a premier development environment, offering enhanced Linux compatibility. WSL, having evolved from emulation to the native Linux kernel in WSL 2, now boasts significantly improved performance and compatibility. Open-sourcing allows developers to contribute code, further refining WSL's functionality and performance.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Happy 30th Birthday, Java! A Conversation with James Gosling

2025-05-16

Happy 30th Birthday, Java! A Conversation with James Gosling

Java turns 30! This article celebrates the language's legacy and delves into the fascinating life of its creator, James Gosling. From a resourceful Canadian teen building computers from salvaged parts to a pioneering programmer at Sun Microsystems, Gosling's journey is full of anecdotes. He recounts legendary April Fool's pranks at Sun, while reflecting on Java's evolution and his current skepticism towards the overhyped AI revolution. Gosling emphasizes the continued importance of programming skills and the enduring relevance of Java in a rapidly changing tech landscape.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Coding ≠ Programming: A Turing Award Winner's Perspective on Abstraction

2025-05-05

Coding ≠ Programming: A Turing Award Winner's Perspective on Abstraction

Leslie Lamport, an 84-year-old Turing Award winner, delivered a keynote speech emphasizing the crucial difference between coding and programming. He argued that abstract thinking before coding is paramount, leading to fewer errors and more efficient code. His own TLA+ specification language, used in the Rosetta spacecraft's development, serves as a prime example, demonstrating significant code reduction and architectural improvements. Lamport criticizes programmers' tendency to focus on languages instead of abstract design, advocating for designing the program's abstract model first, then coding. This approach minimizes debugging and revision, resulting in cleaner, more maintainable code.

(thenewstack.io)

Development abstract thinking

Redis Returns to Open Source After Licensing Battle with Cloud Giants

2025-05-02

Redis Returns to Open Source After Licensing Battle with Cloud Giants

Popular in-memory data store Redis is back under an open-source license after a year-long experiment with a more restrictive one. The attempt to prevent cloud providers from offering hosted Redis services backfired, leading to the creation of forks like Valkey. Redis 8's release under the AGPL v3 license aims to protect the project while rebuilding bridges with the open-source community. The story highlights the challenges of commercializing open-source software and the complex relationship with cloud giants.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Python Conquers CUDA: NVIDIA's Native Python Support Ushers in a New Era of GPU Programming

2025-04-04

In 2024, Python surpassed JavaScript to become the world's most popular programming language. At GTC, NVIDIA announced native Python support for its CUDA toolkit, revolutionizing GPU programming. Developers can now use Python directly for algorithmic computing on GPUs without needing C++ expertise. NVIDIA built Pythonic CUDA, not a simple translation of C, but a natural interface for Python developers. This includes components from runtime compilers to cuPyNumeric (a NumPy replacement), and introduces the CuTile programming model, simplifying GPU programming's complexity. This massively expands CUDA's developer base, especially promising in emerging markets like India and Brazil.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

OSI Board Election Roiled by Open Source AI Definition Debate

2025-03-08

OSI Board Election Roiled by Open Source AI Definition Debate

The Open Source Initiative's (OSI) 2025 board election is mired in controversy, sparked by its open source AI definition (OSAID) released last October. The rejection of candidate Luke Faraone for allegedly missing a deadline has ignited debate about OSI's communication and process transparency. Beyond the procedural issues, the OSAID itself is facing strong opposition from key players in the open source community, with prominent figures like Richard Fontana and Bradley Kuhn advocating for a 5-10 year delay in formalizing an open source AI definition. The election proceeds, leaving the future of the OSAID uncertain.

(thenewstack.io)

Development Board Election

The Vim Community's Heroic Effort After Bram Moolenaar's Passing

2025-02-16

The Vim Community's Heroic Effort After Bram Moolenaar's Passing

Following the passing of Bram Moolenaar, Vim's creator, in August 2023, the open-source community rallied to keep his project alive. Maintainer Christian Brabandt recounted the inspiring story at VimConf 2024, detailing the challenges overcome: inheriting the GitHub account, migrating infrastructure, and onboarding new maintainers. While Vim is now in maintenance mode, focusing on bug fixes and smaller features, the community remains active, improving documentation and processes to ensure Vim's long-term health. Vim 9.1, dedicated to Moolenaar, was released in January 2024.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Rust's Long War for the Linux Kernel

2025-02-09

Rust's Long War for the Linux Kernel

Rust is making inroads into the Linux kernel, but the transition will be a long and contentious one. While Rust offers significant advantages in memory safety and is backed by companies like Google, its adoption faces strong resistance within the kernel community. Concerns about its steep learning curve and integration challenges with existing C code have sparked heated debates, even described as a “religious war.” However, proponents argue that Rust improves kernel stability and security, attracting more developers. Ultimately, Rust's complete replacement of C depends on technological maturity and community consensus.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Open Source Developers Face OFAC Sanctions: A New Guide Navigates the Complexities

2025-02-02

Open Source Developers Face OFAC Sanctions: A New Guide Navigates the Complexities

US government OFAC sanctions are impacting the open-source community, particularly restricting collaboration with developers from sanctioned countries. The Linux Foundation has released a comprehensive guide to help open-source developers understand and comply with OFAC regulations, avoiding legal risks associated with working with sanctioned individuals or entities. The guide highlights the "50% rule," clarifies the scope of the "informational materials" exemption, and cautions developers against two-way engagement or indirect collaboration with developers from sanctioned regions. While compliance isn't easy, this guide provides a valuable resource for developers navigating the complex intersection of technology, law, and international relations.

(thenewstack.io)

Development OFAC Sanctions Compliance

Ex-EA Engineer Builds Jank: A New Programming Language Blending Clojure and C++

2025-01-29

Ex-EA Engineer Builds Jank: A New Programming Language Blending Clojure and C++

Former EA engineer Jeaye Wilkerson is developing jank, a new programming language aiming to combine the interactive nature of Clojure with the native compilation speed and minimal runtime of C++. Built on LLVM and incorporating elements from C++, Clojure, and Rust, jank seeks to be a native Clojure dialect. The project has garnered significant community interest, becoming one of the most popular unreleased Clojure projects. Its unique feature is the flexibility to switch between dynamically and statically typed code, balancing rapid development with performance optimization. jank is poised to be a powerful tool for game development, GUI development, and data science.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Ubuntu Linux Luminary Steve Langasek Passes Away

2025-01-08

Ubuntu Linux Luminary Steve Langasek Passes Away

Steve Langasek, a key contributor to Ubuntu and Debian, passed away on January 1st, 2025, at the age of 45. His journey in free software began in 1996, leading to significant roles as release manager for Debian Sarge and Etch, and later for Ubuntu. Beyond his technical contributions to projects like Linux-PAM, Samba, and OpenLDAP, Langasek was celebrated for his leadership and mentorship within the open-source community. His passing is a profound loss, leaving a legacy of impactful contributions that will be remembered for years to come.

(thenewstack.io)

Development

Relicensing Open Source Projects: A Study of Elasticsearch, Redis, and Terraform

2024-12-31

Relicensing Open Source Projects: A Study of Elasticsearch, Redis, and Terraform

Facing economic pressure, some companies are relicensing their popular open source projects to more restrictive licenses to generate more revenue, leading to project forks. CHAOSS studied Elasticsearch, Redis, and Terraform, finding that forks often exhibit greater organizational diversity than the originals, especially under neutral foundations like the Linux Foundation. While relicensing had minimal impact on contributors to the original projects, it significantly affected users. This research is the first step in a larger ongoing project; future analysis will incorporate more data and projects for a deeper understanding.

(thenewstack.io)

Development open source license project fork organizational diversity