Adrian SanduNOTE: This is issue #110 of my newsletter, which went live on Friday, August 16. You might find this information valuable and exciting and want to receive future issues as they are published ahead of everyone else. In that case, I invite you to join the subscriber list at frontendnexus.com.
The 13th edition of js13kGames is open. We got the results for the Stack Overflow 2024 Developer Survey and the State of React 2023 survey. The Browser News start with updates on Interop 2024. We got updates from all major browsers, including Chrome 127, Firefox 128, Polypane 20.1, and Safari 17.6. On the Release Radar, we have Angular 18.1-18.2, jQuery 4 Beta 2, Meteor.js 3, TypeScript 5.6 Beta, and more. We wrap this issue with a set of resources, including gradients, illustrations, and image utilities.
js13kGames 2024
The 13th edition of js13kGames is open, and the theme is, unsurprisingly, Triskaidekaphobia, also known as "fear or avoidance of the number 13." Participants have until September 13th, 2024, to submit their work. If you have no idea how to integrate this year's theme, check out the announcement article for some suggestions.
Stack Overflow 2024 Developer Survey Results
Stack Overflow released the results of their 2024 Developer Survey. This year, over 65.000 people from 185 countries submitted their answers. Here are some of the highlights of this edition:
- Most participants are full-stack developers, followed by back-end developers, students, and front-end developers
- 42% have a hybrid work environment, 38% work remotely, and 20% work in the office
- JavaScript remains the most popular language overall
- Amazon Web Services is the most popular Cloud Platform
- Docker and npm are the most used tools, while Visual Studio Code is the most used IDE
- MS Teams, Slack, and Zoom are the top three communication tools
- Over 80% of participants have used ChatGPT for their work
For more details, I invite you to prospect the complete interpretation of the results.
State of React 2023 Results
The State of React survey suffered the same long delay as its sister surveys, but we can finally explore the results. However, this means the survey did not cover React 19 and any other industry development that happened after November 2023.
💻 Browser News
Web Platform Updates
Rachel Andrew is back with two announcements. One is the customary monthly update for June, and another is a mid-year update to the Interop 2024 program. Baseline Newly Available now includes the Popover API, advanced custom properties with @property, the font-size-adjust property, and text-wrap: balance.
Chrome
Chrome 127 supports CSS font-size-adjust and the option to focus inside scrollable. DevTools allow you to inspect anchor positioning. The Source and Network panels have been improved, and there have been some quality-of-life improvements.
With Chrome 128, Console Insights by Gemini is going live in most European countries. Lighthouse jumps to version 12.1.0. The Performance panel got updated too, and there are multiple smaller fixes and improvements across the entire DevTools.
Firefox
Firefox 128 brings text translation directly from the context menu. The interface for clearing user data is now cleaner (pun intended). @property and the CSS properties-and-values API are now supported by default. The CSS rules specificity is now displayed in the Inspector Rules view. A set of security fixes completes the package.
Firefox 129 brings an improved Reader View, an enhanced Text and Layout menu, and theme selection. You can hover over background tabs to preview their content. And, of course, more security fixes.
Polypane
Polypane 20.1 brings a live accessibility tree and the option to copy/save SVGs directly from the page. The Meta and Elements panels have new features. The entire browser has improved performance, syncing features, and configuration.
WebKit
Safari 17.6 brings safe alignment for Flexbox and a set of bug fixes.
📡 The Release Radar
- Angular 18.1, Angular 18.2 - Deliver web apps with confidence 🚀
- Astro 4.12, Astro 4.13 - The web framework for content-driven websites
- Deno v1.45.0 - A modern runtime for JavaScript and TypeScript
- ESLint v9.6.0, ESLint v9.7.0, ESLint v9.8.0, ESLint v9.9.0 - Find and fix problems in your JavaScript code
- Hexo v7.3.0 - A fast, simple & powerful blog framework, powered by Node.js
- Jasmine 5.2.0 - Simple JavaScript testing framework for browsers and node.js
- jQuery 4.0.0 Beta 2 - jQuery JavaScript Library
- jQuery UI 1.14.0 - a curated set of user interface interactions, effects, widgets, and themes built on top of jQuery
- Meteor.js 3.0 - the JavaScript App Platform
- Node v22.5.0 (Current), Node v22.6.0 (Current), Node v20.16.0 (LTS) - An asynchronous event-driven JavaScript runtime
- pnpm 9.5 - Fast, disk space efficient package manager
- preact 10.23.0 - Fast 3kB React alternative with the same modern API
- qwik v1.7.0 - Instant-loading web apps, without effort
- TypeScript 5.6 Beta - A superset of JavaScript that compiles to clean JavaScript output
🛠️ Front End Resources
- CSS Gradient Generator - Generate and make beautiful Gradients
- CSS Grid Generator - Create custom CSS grid layouts more easily
- CSS mesh gradients - A collection of 279 vanilla CSS mesh gradients
- Handy Arrows - A collection of hand-drawn arrows, doodles, and infographic elements for your next project
- My Color Hub - AI Gradient Generator
- Repper Patterns - 100% free, high quality geometric patterns
- Squoosh - The ultimate image optimizer that allows you to compress and compare images with different codecs in your browser
There's more where that came from. Explore the rest of the Front End Resource collection.
Wrapping things up
Ukraine is still suffering from the Russian invasion. To find ways to help, please read Smashing Magazine's article We All Are Ukraine 🇺🇦 or contact your trusted charity.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, there are a couple of ways to support it:
- 📢 share the link to this issue on social media
- ❤️ follow this newsletter on Twitter
- ☕ buy me a coffee
Each of these helps me out, and I would appreciate your consideration.
That's all I have for this issue. Have a great and productive week, keep yourselves safe, and spend as much time as possible with your loved ones. I will see you again next time!
