Languages and standards - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• EBay launches Web query language

  In the hopes of reducing the complexity of making data calls over the Web, eBay has launched a programming language, called ql.io, which bundles separate API requests into a single call.

• Adobe donates Flex to Apache

  In a move that appears to be another step away from its Flash platform, Adobe has submitted the code for its Flash-based Flex framework to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) to be managed as an independent<strong> </strong>project.

• Obfuscated code contest returns

  The creators behind the long-running Internet contest to write bizarre and unnecessarily complex C programming code, called the International Obfuscated C Code Contest (IOCCC), have resurrected their challenge after being on hiatus for five years.

• Oracle, Google again fail to settle Android lawsuit

  Oracle and Google held another settlement conference on Wednesday in their ongoing lawsuit over alleged Java intellectual-property violations in the Android mobile OS, but failed to reach an agreement, according to a filing in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

• VMware out, Twitter in at Java oversight committee

  VMware is no longer a member of the Java Community Process SE/EE Executive Committee, but Twitter has joined, according to election results finalized this week.

• HTML5 WebSocket to hasten Web app comms

  Thanks to its chattiness, the traditional communications protocol for shuttling data around the World Wide Web is not very efficient. Now an HTML5-related standard called WebSocket could cut some of this networking overhead, speeding responsiveness in Web applications, argued a Web app expert.

• From PHP to Perl: What's hot, what's not in scripting languages

  Scripting languages are the hot technology today for application and Web development -- no longer the backwater afterthought of the early days running in a pokey interpreter. Nor are scripting languages any longer merely the tool used for quick-and-dirty patching (someone once called Perl <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/%5Bprimary-term-alias-prefix%5D/%5Bprimary-term%5D/whatever-happened-perl-012">the duct tape of the Internet</a>, and it stuck so well that Perl lovers wear the label proudly). No, today, scripting languages are popular for "real" programming work. In fact, entire systems and large-scale enterprise-grade projects are built from them.

• Google launches Dart as a JavaScript killer

  Google has launched a preview version of a new Web programming language, called Dart, which the company's engineers hope will address some of the shortcomings of the widely used JavaScript language.

• Facebook revamps profile with timeline concept

  Facebook has done an extreme makeover of its user profiles, redesigning the interface so that it's easy to surface not only recent updates but also years-old information, the company announced at its F8 developer conference on Thursday.

• Microsoft previews Compiler-as-a-Service software

  Microsoft will release a CTP (Community Technology Preview) of a new type of compiler its researchers have been building, code-named Project Roslyn, the company executive overseeing the C# programming language announced Thursday.

• Delphi, C++ to goose desktop apps

  In an attempt to enliven staid business applications, development tools vendor Embarcadero has updated its RAD Studio IDE (integrated developer environment) for Delphi and C++ applications, the company announced Friday.

• Oracle-Google trial start may be delayed

  The start of the trial in Oracle's lawsuit against Google over alleged Java copyright and patent violations in the Android mobile OS could be delayed, according to a judge's ruling issued Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

• W3C broadens community participation

  Hoping to broaden the input from users, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has established two new virtual working spaces for individuals and organizations to develop specifications, the organization announced Tuesday.

• Google, Oracle still battling over Android e-mail

  Google and Oracle continue to tussle over a potentially damaging e-mail in the ongoing lawsuit over alleged Java patent violations in the Android mobile OS.

• Google cites Schmidt testimony in Android suit defense

  Google wants a judge to throw out Java copyright infringement claims Oracle has lodged against the Android mobile OS, based partly on 17-year-old testimony from an unlikely source: Google executive chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt.