The Hidden Vulnerability in Your Software Supply Chain

I read a lot of industry reports based on surveys of one group or another, mostly developers, but it's not often I lay my eyes on one that makes me laugh and shudder at the same time.

The report, "Know the Enemy: What Execs Need to Understand to Secure their Software Supply Chain," was sent to me by the folks at JFrog, best known for Artifactory, a universal DevOps solution for hosting, managing, and distributing binaries and artifacts, but currently billed more expansively as a universal software supply chain platform for DevOps, Security, and MLOps. The report organizes the findings of a global survey of C-level and senior executives, managers, and individual contributors (analysts, specialists, developers, programmers, engineers, etc.) conducted by Atomik Research on behalf of the company.

Posted by John K. Waters on July 24, 20240 comments

JetBrains Launches Self-Hosted Version of Qodana

Software development tools maker JetBrains has announced the availability of a self-hosted version of its Qodana code quality platform. An extension of the cloud version launched last summer, this release is also based on the static code analysis engine of JetBrains' IDEs. The platform supports native integration with both those IDEs and VS Code, allowing developers to build quality gates in any CI environment, which helps to enforce coding standards enterprise-wide.

Posted by John K. Waters on July 10, 20240 comments

Qt Group and LG Electronics Team Up to Revolutionize In-Car Entertainment

When I hear the word "infotainment," I automatically think of TV shows like "Animal Planet" or "The Daily Show." But it's also a term of art in the auto industry referring to in-car systems that combine entertainment, such as radio and music, with driving information, such as navigation. Modern in-vehicle infotainment systems connect with smart automotive technologies, such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology, which use sensors, cameras, and wireless connectivity to allow cars to connect to and communicate with their drivers and surroundings.

Posted by John K. Waters on June 26, 20240 comments

Eclipse Foundation Announces New Release of Eclipse Temurin Java SE Runtime

The folks at the Eclipse Foundation, in collaboration with the Adoptium Working Group, recently unveiled the latest release of Eclipse Temurin, the working group's OpenJDK distribution. This is the largest release to date; it with support for 54 version/platform combinations and five major OpenJDK versions, highlighting a commitment to diverse and comprehensive builds across Linux, Mac, Windows, and various architectures, including x64, ARM, and RISC-V.

Posted by John K. Waters on June 4, 20240 comments

Java 22 Packs a Punch with 12 JEPs and Support for GenAI

Last month, Oracle dropped Java 22, adding a fresh batch of performance, stability, and security features to the venerable programming platform. This latest iteration introduces 12 JDK Enhancement Proposals (JEPs) aimed at refining everything from the Java language to its array of development tools. Though not a long-term support (LTS) release (the next LTS is Java 23), this release is a significant upgrade that includes new features focused on better enabling the use of Java for building AI applications.

Posted by John K. Waters on April 10, 20240 comments

A Prompt by Any Other Name: IBM's Watsonx Gets a Generative AI Enhancement

When I first began using the term "prompt engineering" last year, I thought the eye rolling would knock the planet off its axis. I got a similar reaction a dozen years earlier when I proposed writing a book on "social media" to an east coast publisher. And don't get me started on the initial feedback on "the cloud."

Technology nomenclature is a writhing beast, and prompt engineering hit the zeitgeist like a breaching humpback soaking eager whale watchers. This discipline, essentially undifferentiated before the precipitous rise of ChatGPT and other advanced machine learning large language models (LLMs) we're calling "AI," is now commanding a salary range of between $250k and $375k USD, according to Forbes

Posted by John K. Waters on October 9, 20230 comments

Oracle JDK 21 LTS Release: More Features from Loom, Panama, and Generational ZGC

Java 21 has arrived, and with it the latest implementation of Oracle's Java Development Kit (JDK). Oracle JDK 21 is a long-term support release (LTS) focused on serious performance improvements, stability enhancements, and security upgrades.

As an LTS release, JDK 21 will receive eight years of support from Oracle. The company also announced that it will provide support for Java 11 through "at least" January 2032. The eight-year extension was a response to "customer feedback in the Java ecosystem," said Sharat Chander, Director of Java SE Product Management at Oracle, in a blog post.

Posted by John K. Waters on September 27, 20230 comments

Waratek Adds Log4J Scanner and API Security to its Java Security Platform

The Java security specialists at Dublin-based Waratek have released a new Log4J Vulnerability Scanner and added API security to their Java Security Platform, the company announced recently.

Posted by John K. Waters on June 28, 20230 comments

One on One with Automated Software Testing Expert Phil Japikse

The upcoming Visual Studio Live 2-Day Hands-On Training Seminar (June 5-6, online), organized by the hard-working folks at 1105 Media (my boss) promises to be a killer opportunity for developers to update their skills and knowledge on an increasingly important topic with the potential to make their lives much easier: automated software testing.

Posted by John K. Waters on May 15, 20230 comments