Computer science pioneer Niklaus Wirth dies aged 89

In a sombre start to the new year, the world of computer science mourns the loss of Niklaus Wirth—a stalwart figure known for his influential contributions to programming languages, methodology, software engineering, and hardware design.

Born on 15 February 1934 in Switzerland, Wirth was a luminary in the field and celebrated for his development of several groundbreaking programming languages including ALGOL W, Pascal, and Modula-2. Wirth died aged 89 on 1 January...

4 January 2024 | Languages

Google settles Play Store antitrust lawsuit

Google has reached a settlement in the antitrust lawsuit filed by 36 US states and the District of Columbia, including announcing changes that will impact users and developers.

As part of the settlement, Google will cough up $700 million. The breakdown includes $630 million earmarked for a settlement fund benefiting consumers and an additional $70 million directed towards a fund for the states, with distribution details yet to be disclosed.

Developers can also expect...

19 December 2023 | Android

Gemini Pro: Google empowers developers with advanced AI capabilities

Google has announced the availability of its AI model Gemini Pro for developers and enterprises to craft solutions for their specific needs. This move is accompanied by a commitment to ongoing refinement based on user feedback.

Gemini comes in three distinctive sizes: Ultra, Pro, and Nano. The Nano version has already been integrated into Android – starting with the Pixel 8 Pro – while a specially tuned iteration of Gemini Pro is embedded in Bard.

Empowering...

15 December 2023 | API

Epic Games wins monopoly case against Google

In a landmark decision, the jury in the Epic Games vs Google case has unanimously ruled that Google Play and the Play Billing service constitute an illegal monopoly.

The verdict comes three years after Epic Games initiated legal action against both Apple and Google, accusing them of maintaining unlawful app store monopolies.

The jury – after just a few hours of deliberation – affirmed that Google holds monopoly power in the Android app distribution and in-app billing...

12 December 2023 | Android

David DeSanto, GitLab: AI’s impact on software development in 2024

David DeSanto, Chief Product Officer at GitLab, foresees a paradigm shift in the realm of software development in 2024—with AI taking centre stage.

GitLab's 2023 Global DevSecOps Report serves as the foundation for these predictions, offering a glimpse into the future landscape of organisations' software development toolchains.

AI bias: A hurdle on the path to progress

In the short term, the accelerated integration of AI tools may present a formidable challenge: an...

7 December 2023 | Approaches

AWS AppFabric boosts productivity across SaaS apps using AI

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced a new feature for its AppFabric service that helps software developers create more productive experiences in cloud applications using AI capabilities spanning multiple Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools.

The productivity feature for AppFabric, now in preview, enables developers to build or enhance AI-powered assistants in their apps that can understand the context from other SaaS applications end users rely on.

This new feature...

28 November 2023 | API

PHP 8.0 reaches EOL leaving some websites vulnerable

PHP 8.0 reached its end of life (EOL) on 26 November 2023 and will no longer receive any updates or patches.

PHP 8.0 was released on 26 November 2020 and brought many new features and improvements such as named arguments, attributes, constructor property promotion, match expression, nullsafe operator, JIT, and more.

The EOL of PHP 8.0 means that any websites still using it will be exposed to potential security risks and compatibility issues if they do not upgrade to a...

27 November 2023 | Developer

GameMaker offers free version as ‘gift’ to developers

2D game engine GameMaker has announced massive pricing changes in what its head calls a "gift" to its loyal user base.

Starting today, GameMaker will be free to use for noncommercial, non-console game development projects in a move CEO Russell Kay says is meant to "do the opposite" of recent unpopular decisions by competitors like Unity and Unreal Engine.

Specifically, GameMaker is eliminating the $9.99 per month indie and creator subscription fee. Instead, developers...

23 November 2023 | Development Tools

Mobile game ‘mortality rate’ hits 83% within three years

A new whitepaper titled "Good Games Don't Die" reveals that 83 percent of launched mobile games fail within three years.

The study, conducted by revenue growth engine SuperScale, polled 500 developers across the US and UK to uncover issues plaguing the $96.2 billion mobile gaming industry.

The report unveils a catch-22 where 78 percent of developers prefer building new games despite a critical 43 percent failure rate during development alone.

This trend...

22 November 2023 | Android

Unity unveils AI innovations and platform updates at Unite 2023

Unity has introduced a range of AI innovations and platform updates aimed at enhancing support for game developers in realising their creative visions and achieving success in the competitive gaming industry.

One of the highlights is the early access availability of Unity Muse, an AI-powered suite designed to simplify content creation for game developers.

Muse offers features such as Muse Chat, enabling developers to source answers and resources across Unity and obtain...

17 November 2023 | Artificial Intelligence