Welcome to the November 2020 roundup of Web Design and Development news. In this month’s edition, we feature the release of Mac’s latest OS. The 8th Version of the PHP programming language has been released. The changes appear to make it nicer to work with. Only time will tell!
Table of contents
Big Sur Released
On November 12th Apple released their newest version of macOS. Big Sur features an overhauled user interface bringing curved windows and added transparency. All the menus have rounded corners and a little more vertical spacing between each menu item.
The icons and sounds have also been refreshed. The one feature that is welcoming is the new control centre. System features like Networking and Bluetooth are in an iOS-like control centre. This declutters the taskbar. For a full-featured roundup see this article on MacRumors. Some people don’t like the change and there has been a mixed reaction to the new UI. Some people think it’s a step backwards. I like it, it’s fresh and current.
PHP 8 Released
I haven’t worked with PHP much over the past few years so I haven’t used the majority of PHP 7 features. Version 8 is now released and some of its new features include. Named arguments that allow you to skip optional parameters inside functions.
Code in classes is much cleaner. You can now declare and initialise properties inside of a constructor function.
The new match expression is similar to a switch but is more readable and reduces the need for a break; statement.
PHP usage has dwindled over the years in favour of Node JS servers. The radical adoption of JS Frameworks such as Vue, React and Angular added to its demise. PHP Frameworks such as Laravel and CMS such as WordPress are keeping PHP alive. Visit php.net for a more comprehensive detailed look at the new features.
Security and Safety Concerns
The 2nd generation of ring doorbells is being recalled. Overheating, causing fire and damage to property. Although contained to the USA and Canada at the present and there haven’t been any reports here in the UK. It’s not the first time they have been in the news after allowing the police to access user uploaded footage.
Recently in an assignment, I studied the security of IoT devices. Thus, I am wary about privacy and security issues. In particular, if you are a user that reuses the same password for many accounts.
Amazon is also releasing a new feature for Alexa called Sidewalk. A small proportion of your internet connection is offset. This is to create a broader network in your neighbourhood. Currently, I’m pessimistic so It will be something that I will continue to track in the coming months.
Coding Resources
November has brought us yet more goodies in the coding world. If you are wanting to learn more JavaScript then here is a refreshed list of resources and a list of 10 one-liners. FreeCodeCamp has a useful guide on the best approach to learning. If you are studying Java then why not put that into practice. Here is another starter programming guide on the essential things to learn.
If you are a Python developer here is a comparison of 11 new web frameworks.
The Best of the Rest in November 2020
- Aria in CSS
- New Tools for Designers Nov 2020
- Best Grammar and Punctuation Sites
- 11 Best Dummy Text Generators & Lorem Ipsum Tools
- 10 Reasons Your WordPress Site Will Get Hacked and How To Stop It
- 21 SEO Experiments That Will Change The Way You Think About SEO (Forever)
- Please Disable JavaScript to Use This Site
- 100 Days Of Python: Days 1 through 5
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