2023.12.18 - CSS Wrapped: 2023!

Title: 2023.12.18 – CSS Wrapped: 2023!

CSS 2023 & Software Engineering & KMind & Pediatric Massage

This Week’s Highlights

CSS Wrapped: 2023! https://developer.chrome.com/blog/css-wrapped-2023?hl=en
From #Interop2023 to a host of new landings in the CSS and UI space that enable capabilities developers once thought impossible on the web platform. Now every modern browser supports container queries, subgrid, the :has() selector, and a whole slew of new color spaces and functions. Chrome adds CSS‑only scroll‑driven animations and smooth view‑transition animations between web pages. And to top it all off, a flood of new primitives—like CSS nesting and scoped styles—have arrived to improve the developer experience. Related: https://web.dev/blog/baseline2023?hl=en.

omg.lol: an oasis on the internet https://blakewatson.com/journal/omg-lol-an-oasis-on-the-internet/ https://home.omg.lol/
I can’t quite explain it, but when you join omg.lol you become part of a community of the nicest, most interesting people. The service feels like a gathering place for old‑internet lovers, and it’s simply fun and pleasant. If Mastodon isn’t your thing, that’s fine! There’s also an IRC bridge to Discord so you can chat with other members. I’m mostly a lurker, but when I do join the conversation I feel instantly welcomed.

Reclaiming the Web with a Personal Reader https://olano.dev/2023-12-12-reclaiming-the-web-with-a-personal-reader/
I’ve been using Feedly as my “front page of the internet” for a few months now. Beyond convenience, a personal reader puts me back in control of the information I consume, lets me actively hunt for interesting blogs and magazines, and puts me in a better position for discovery—and even surprise.

SoftwareAndEngineering https://martinfowler.com/bliki/SoftwareAndEngineering.html
Throughout my career, people have compared software development to “traditional” engineering, usually as a way to scold developers for not doing a proper job. As someone with a degree in Electronic Engineering, that resonated with me early on. But this way of thinking is flawed because most people have the wrong impression of how engineering works in practice.

FunSearch: Making new discoveries in mathematical sciences using Large Language Models https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/funsearch-making-new-discoveries-in-mathematical-sciences-using-large-language-models/
Today, in a paper published in Nature, we introduce FunSearch, a method for searching new solutions in mathematics and computer science. FunSearch pairs a pre‑trained LLM—tasked with generating creative solutions as code—with an automated “evaluator” that guards against hallucinations and incorrect ideas. By iterating back and forth between the two components, initial solutions “evolve” into new knowledge. The system searches for “functions” written in code; hence the name FunSearch. Related:

• Your favorite minds as reading copilots with Oliver Sauter, founder of Memex
• StyleDrop: Text‑to‑image generation in any style
• Weak‑to‑strong generalization
• Phi‑2: The surprising power of small language models
• Three types of AI‑assisted programmers

Deep Reads

Scaling vulnerability management across thousands of services and more than 150 million findings https://github.blog/2023-12-14-scaling-vulnerability-management-across-thousands-of-services-and-more-than-150-million-findings/
Learn how we run a scalable vulnerability‑management program built on top of GitHub.

Unbundling the Game Engine: The Rise of Next‑Generation 3D Creation Engines https://a16z.com/unbundling-the-game-engine/
Today there is a unique window of opportunity for a new 3D Creation Engine (aka game engine) to revolutionize how we build games, films, virtual worlds, and simulations. Unity, Unreal, Roblox, and Godot—the dominant 3D engines—are all 15‑plus‑year‑old technologies designed for a different era of computing. The emergence of generative AI, cloud computing, and new spatial platforms is set to disrupt 3D creation end‑to‑end. In Unity’s case, damaged trust after a recent pricing change has left the community looking for alternatives. Related: How Games Move Us.

Database Fundamentals https://tontinton.com/posts/database-fundementals/
There’s a lot more to discuss about databases: using O_DIRECT on Linux, implementing your own page cache, failure detection in distributed systems, consensus algorithms like Raft, distributed transactions, leader election, and virtually endless other topics. I hope I’ve sparked enough curiosity to explore databases further, or at least given you tools to choose the right one for your next project.

The surprising connection between after‑hours work and decreased productivity https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/blog/news/the-surprising-connection-between-after-hours-work-and-decreased-productivity
Slack’s Workforce Index reveals new findings on how to structure the workday to maximize employee productivity, well‑being, and satisfaction.

UX/UI Design Trends Going Into 2024 https://blog.prototypr.io/ux-ui-design-trends-going-into-2024-ca43a839b541
Every year we see a lineup of new design trends that not only look good but also stick around and influence other designers to “borrow” them. Love them or hate them, some trends are genuinely smart and functional—ranging from packing more information into less space to boosting user engagement. Let’s look at a few trends that are here to stay and are taking over the internet!

Fresh Picks

• V8 is Faster and Safer than Ever!
• Deno 1.39: The Return of WebGPU
• Announcing SvelteKit 2
• The Await Event Horizon in JavaScript
• GitHub Unwrapped: Get a personalized video of your GitHub activity in 2023.
• Oxlint General Availability: The JavaScript Oxidation Compiler
• Primer React 36.4: GitHub’s Design System for React
• RE:DOM: Develop web applications with 100 % JavaScript and web standards.
• [Million 3.0: a compiler that turns your existing React code into a hyper‑optimized …]

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Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on Web技术周刊 (Web Tech Weekly). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.