Open-Source OCaml to JavaScript Compiler BuckleScript Hits 1.0

BuckleScript 1.0 brings almost full compatibility with OCaml features and an improved FFI with the aim of avoiding writing unsafe JavaScript stubs. InfoQ has spoken with Bloomberg’s Hongbo Zhang, BuckleScript creator at Bloomberg.

Profiling and Optimizing V8 Memory Consumption

For the last few months, the V8 team has focused on reducing the memory consumed by the V8 engine, including work on the new Ignition interpreter, and improvements to V8’s parser and compilers. A key enabler of this process was profiling V8 memory usage using specific tools against a benchmark, as explained by V8 engineers Ulan Degenbaev, Michael Lippautz, Hannes Payer, and Toon Verwaest.

Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla Urge Site Operators to Replace SHA–1 Certificates

Following their SHA–1 deprecation plans announced last year, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla detailed recently their timelines to remove support for SHA–1 certificates from their flagship browsers. Researchers at security firm Venafi found however, that 35% of analyzed websites are still using SHA–1 certificates.

Visual Studio Code 1.9 Extends Tasks, Improves Markdown Support and Terminal Performance

Following its monthly release cycle, Microsoft Visual Studio Code has reached version 1.9, which includes support for multiple-command tasks, synchronized markdown preview, faster terminal, and more.

TypeScript 2.2 Adds New Object Type, Better Mixin Support, and More

Scheduled to be released sometime in February, TypeScript 2.2 has reached RC status. Besides a new JSX emit mode for React Native, it also includes a new object type to represent non-native types, better support for mixins and composable classes, and more.