Break point: GitHub Desktop, Harness, HashiCorp Boundary, Next.js, glibc, and Go

Break point: GitHub Desktop, Harness, HashiCorp Boundary, Next.js, glibc, and Go

GitHub Desktop has got an update and is ready to be downloaded in v2.9. Besides offering native support for Apple Silicon, the software has been fitted with capabilities to squash and reorder commits, start a new branch from an earlier commit, and amend a developer’s most recent commit.

Harness presents slew of new capabilities for painless software delivery

The team behind software delivery platform Harness has introduced users to a couple of new features meant to make the tool more appealing for developers and tackle widely faced challenges along the way. Among other things, Harness now comes with a Test Intelligence feature which recommends the best-suited tests and an optimal running order to simplify and speed up the examination process.  

The company also took a stance on the old “feature flags — yay or nay” discussion by adding a Feature Flags module for easily activating and deactivating new additions to the platform. Flags are part of the visual pipeline feature meant to unify software delivery steps, which should make them easier to integrate and make the most of the governance and verification features that should be part of the CI/CD process. 

Since some teams seem to have trouble keeping the cost of cloud resources under control, Harness Cloud Cost Management has meanwhile been enhanced with a Cloud AutoStopping capability. Instead of just offering recommendations, as the tool as has done before, the addition is meant to detect idle times in non-production environments and shut down or terminate resources accordingly, as well as restart them if necessary. The feature is a result of the acquisition of cloud cost optimization company Lightwing, whose technology was integrated to make AutoStopping work.

Boundary Desktop makes its move towards Windows

HashiCorp’s open source access management system Boundary has landed in version 0.3, making it easier for users to configure authentication with OpenID Connect (OIDC). The method was included in version 0.2 for the first time, but can now be set up using the product’s graphical interface. 

Another major OIDC improvement is the introduction of a managed groups feature. The latter allows the creation of account groups “based on an authenticating user’s JWT or User Info data”. Windows users who have been eyeing the project will be happy to learn that the update went hand and hand with a Windows variant of the project’s desktop client. Details can be found in the announcement post.

Glibc looks to follow GCC by stepping away from FSF Copyright Assignment

The stewards of the GNU C Library project glibc have asked committers to the codebase for input to help them decide if a relaxation of the FSF Copyright Assignment is in order. Initial feedback was of an overall positive nature, with most welcoming the thought of not having to hand over rights to an organization whose inner workings have lately become somewhat opaque to say the least. 

The deliberations follow a similar discussion on the GCC mailing list, which was kicked off at the beginning of the month when the GCC Steering Committee informed devs that they would begin accepting contributions without FSF copyright assignment. This, however, was met with more critique.

Next.js 11 offers first glance at upcoming browser IDE project

Version 11 of front-end web development framework Next.js was pushed out this week. The major release has learned to work with ESLint out of the box and comes with a Script Component meant to let developers decide with which priority third-party scripts are loaded.

It also includes a new Babel loader for webpack to reduce startup time, uses webpack 5 per default, and allows blur-up placeholders, which should help get the perceived loading time down since they “ease the transition from blank space to image”. Teams looking for an collaborative app development experience should also take interactive in-browser coding tool Next.js Live for a spin.

Go team drops 1.17 beta for feedback

Go 1.17 isn’t supposed to be released before August 2021, but just to give devs enough time to get their feedback in, a beta is now available for testing. Things to check out include a language enhancement to convert slices into array pointers, and two package unsafe enhancements that should simplify the writing of safety rule-conformant code.