JetBrains has officially launched the stable release of Kotlin Multiplatform. This innovative technology empowers developers to efficiently share code across an array of platforms, including iOS, Android, desktop, web, server-side, and many others. Kotlin Multiplatform has already gained traction among elite development teams at major corporations, such as Netflix, VMware, Cash App, McDonald’s, Electrolux, and Phillips. This groundbreaking release is poised to revolutionize the way we approach cross-platform development.

The framework offers a fully stabilized API, streamlined project configuration, enhanced interoperability with Objective-C and Swift, along with notable improvements in build times and
overall performance.

“Where other technologies abstract away or completely replace platform-specific app development, Kotlin Multiplatform is complementary to existing platform-specific technologies and is geared toward replacing platform-agnostic business logic. It’s a new tool in the toolbox as opposed to replacing the toolbox,” said David Henry and Mel Yahya, Developers at Netflix.

The foremost advantage of Kotlin Multiplatform lies in its flexibility. Developers have the liberty to selectively share a portion of their application’s logic, allowing them to craft native code when the need arises to interface with platform-specific APIs or construct native user interfaces. What’s even more enticing is the synergy achieved by combining Kotlin Multiplatform with Compose Multiplatform, a declarative framework designed for seamless UI sharing across diverse platforms.

“Now that Kotlin Multiplatform is stable, developers can feel much more confident about adopting it for their production projects, as JetBrains will be evolving Kotlin Multiplatform according to the strictest backward compatibility rules. Now is a great time to start using Kotlin Multiplatform for sharing code and to explore Compose Multiplatform’s capabilities for sharing UIs. We will continue improving the core technology, the libraries, and the tooling to provide the best multiplatform development experience to all,” said Ekaterina Petrova, Product Marketing Manager of Kotlin Multiplatform at JetBrains.

This synergy empowers developers with unparalleled creative freedom, enabling them to share as much as 100% of their codebase, all within the Kotlin ecosystem. While Compose Multiplatform stands as a stable solution for Android and desktop, it is being explored experimentally for web applications and is currently in its Alpha stage for iOS.

In addition to Kotlin’s enhanced cross-platform tools, future updates will improve the iOS developer experience by providing direct interoperability between Kotlin and Swift and support for SwiftPM.

“We are excited to announce AI integration in multiple products to enhance developer productivity and creativity. At the same time, we’ve added one of the most-often requested features to MapForce, which is support for PDF. The new MapForce PDF Extractor will be a game changer for unlocking the volumes of data previously trapped in PDF documents and accessing it for use in data integration and ETL processes”, said Alexander Falk, president and CEO of Altova.

Altova announced the latest additions to its product line, featuring cutting-edge AI capabilities that promise to redefine the landscape of XML, JSON development, and database management. Among these innovations, the spotlight shines on the AI Assistant integrated into XMLSpy, a feature designed to significantly boost productivity.

The AI Assistant in XMLSpy streamlining XML and JSON development by effortlessly generating schemas, instance documents, and sample data through intuitive natural language prompts.

XMLSpy can also produce XSL, XPath, and XQuery code. Users have the flexibility to copy generated code, open it in a new document, or send it to the XPath/XQuery window for further tweaking and examination.

In DatabaseSpy, Altova introduces AI integration that augments the database management experience. The AI Assistant within DatabaseSpy equips users with the ability to effortlessly generate SQL statements, sample data, and table relations. Additionally, AI extensions empower users to explain, format, and complete SQL statements with unparalleled ease and efficiency.

Further enhancements include the MapForce PDF Extractor, a visual utility that simplifies the definition of a PDF document’s structure and streamlines data extraction. In StyleVision, the new Split output preview feature for XML and database report design provides users with a comprehensive view of their output in side-by-side panels, further enhancing the development process.

If you’re feeling confused and don’t know where to start, one of the important things is to define your interests and align them with the demands of this evolving sector so that you can keep up with new trends and be a valued employee.

Steps you need before you start developing in the .NET world?

-Acquire the necessary skills and certifications: acquiring the relevant skills and qualifications is the first step towards becoming a NET professional;

-Awareness of workplace responsibilities: The job of a .NET developer includes designing and creating web, mobile and desktop applications for enterprises and much more;

-Exploring career opportunities and pay prospects: The demand for skilled .NET developers is increasing across industries, providing many job opportunities;

-Personal advancement and future development: It is necessary to know that before starting a .NET developer career, it is crucial to determine if this career path aligns with your interests and goals.

Skills needed to become a .NET developer
If you want to be a qualified .NET developer, you need to have both technical knowledge and soft skills, which you can strengthen with the help of a .NET developer course.

Here are some of the following skills that are required to become a .NET developer:

-Widespread adoption of ASP.NET is one of the main advantages. It has a significant presence in development, with many organizations and individuals using it as their primary framework.

-Reducing the code required to build complex applications is one of the main benefits of using ASP.NET.

-Client-side integration with technology is another important component of ASP.NET. With the rise of current web development frameworks and libraries such as Angular, React, and Vue.js, it is critical that .NET developers can work seamlessly with these technologies.

Tasks and responsibilities of a .NET developer
The responsibilities of a .NET developer focus on writing high-quality code in .NET languages such as C# and VB.NET. These languages are the foundation of the .NET framework. The developer’s role is to use these languages to create robust and reliable systems that meet specific project goals.

The main responsibilities of a .NET developer are:

-Responsibility for upgrading, configuring, and debugging existing systems.

– Provide technical support for web, desktop and mobile applications using the required do net developer skills.

It is good to know that you will be working closely with other members of the development team such as software architects, designers and quality assurance specialists to carry out these duties.

If you’re interested in a career with .NET, be sure to check out the opportunities here.

Testing of the new version of Windows 11 has already begun with testers from the Canary channel, which includes the ability to uninstall the Camera app, the recently discontinued Cortana app, the Photos and People apps, and the Remote Desktop Client (MSTSC).

Microsoft ships a large number of these so-called “inbox apps” preinstalled with Windows 11. Most of these built-in apps aren’t large, which means you won’t save much space by uninstalling them. But uninstalling them completely should make Windows a little less bloated.

Next month’s Windows 11 update is also expected to include native support for RAR and 7-Zip files, as well as a new settings home page, a much better volume mixer, and early access to Windows Copilot.

Today, we’ll take a look at some of the basic programming languages needed to develop Android apps, according to Analytics Insight. And while Kotlin is the official language of the platform, that doesn’t limit the use of other languages.

Basic Programming Languages for Android App Development

JavaScript
Did you know JavaScript is the most used language on the internet. The increase in popularity of frameworks like jQuery, Angular, Vue, Svelte, and React.Js has increased the popularity of JavaScript. The nice thing about JavaScript is that it is a language that can be used to design front-end GUIs, back-end servers, and even mobile apps. You may create cross-platform apps for iOS and Android mobile devices using the well-liked JavaScript framework React Native. JavaScript is a fantastic option due to its widespread appeal and popularity.

Java
Initially, Java served as the official language for developing Android apps (Kotlin has since taken its place), and as a result, it is also the most popular language. Java is the most supported language by Google and is used to create many apps in the Play Store. In addition to all of this, Java has a fantastic online community for help. The Android Software Development Kit (SDK) raises the degree of complexity. Java could be difficult for novices, who would rather get started with something simpler and return to it later.

Dart
Dart’s primary selling point is that Google created it as a client-optimized language for quick programs on any platform. Dart’s primary goal is to facilitate UI creation for programmers by using features like hot-reload, which enables programmers to view changes immediately as they are made to the application. Dart is renowned for quick performance and for compiling machine code for ARM and x64 for mobile, desktop, and backend. And for web applications, JavaScript.

According to the company, the change was made to align the desktop experience with its mobile app. You can now browse, view, and reorganize Spotify’s libraries as you would on mobile.

The left pane includes a clean interface with Home, Search and Your Library icons, and below them, icons of recently played artist tracks and album artwork, allowing for quick and easy listening. Additionally, clicking the library icon expands this playlist for additional details and a list of names.

On the right side of the screen, you’ll find the Now Playing view, which displays the current song or podcast, along with additional information and details like tour dates, merchandise, transcriptions, or episode descriptions for podcasts.

Spotify’s new updates also include a few helpful tips to get you started with the revamped interface; they are as follows:

Compact: By default, you’ll see an expanded view of your library that you can collapse at any time.

Search and filter your library: The new library design allows you to switch through your dedicated channels for music, podcasts and audiobooks and search only your library.

Customizable: You can move and pin playlists in the Library, as well as drop songs into playlists that can be edited.

You probably all remember when the tech giant dropped them in Windows 8, saying they posed a security risk. But according to speculation in a Windows Central report, Microsoft is working on bringing back the core functionality of the plug-ins in Windows 7.

Windows 11 features a Widgets panel that users can enable to display news, weather, sports scores, and third-party widgets.

According to Windows Central, Microsoft is considering adding an option to Windows 11’s Widgets feature to attach widgets to the desktop. This will allow users to pin their favorite widgets to the desktop so that they appear permanently on it/ According to the report, widgets attached in this way can be placed anywhere on the desktop.

According to Windows Central, Microsoft hopes that the new option to attach widgets improves engagement with widgets.

The company has not yet confirmed the feature, nor has it been introduced in any of the currently available versions of Insider. The change may improve the visibility of Widgets, given that the information is displayed on the desktop, eliminating the need to activate the Widgets panel. Gadgets were especially popular in Windows 7 and displayed hardware information, music player controls, photos, etc. directly on the desktop.

Widgets are a controversial feature in Windows 11. Some users like it, while others have no use for it. The icon can be easily removed from the Windows 11 taskbar. The change has not yet been confirmed by Microsoft.

In the preview version, users can directly browse the Photos app’s image library while viewing files and folders in File Explorer.

Microsoft calls the new File Explorer feature “Gallery”. The new “Gallery” view is a display option within File Explorer, and by default shows users the same collection of images they would see when using the “All Photos” view in the Photos app.

Last September, Microsoft completely revamped its Photos app for Windows 11, giving it an improved user interface, a new gallery view, a better “Memories” feature, and more.

“Gallery is optimized for accessing your most recently taken photos. If you have OneDrive Camera Roll Backup set up on your phone, photos you take will show up automatically at the top of the view. You can choose which folders are shown in Gallery through the Collection dropdown. You can also add subfolders of existing sources to filter to a subset of your content, such as desktop backgrounds and SD card/camera imports,”

Microsoft explains.

What the company wants to explain is that even though the default view shows all photos in the Photos app, users can control how their images are displayed in the new File Explorer gallery view.

The “Gallery” function is also available from the “Select File” dialog. This makes it easy for users to find and select images for use in a PowerPoint presentation, email attachment or when creating social media posts.

The new version of Windows 11 also includes other changes and enhancements, including new login options, improved Narrator functionality, additional privacy and security settings, bug fixes, better accessibility controls, and more. However, there are also some difficulties with Gallery, such as occasional user experience issues, incorrect rendering of certain file types such as HEIC, real-time update issues, and more.

In addition to building cross-platform mobile apps, .NET MAUI can also be used to create beautiful desktop apps for Windows and Mac.
Your app can target desktop platforms only, or it can target mobile and desktop form factors anywhere. Either way, you want to provide the best experience for your users no matter what device they’re on.

Multi-window

A fundamental change in .NET MAUI was the introduction of the window as the underlying foundation. When an application is created and launched in .NET MAUI, it automatically has a default Window that is used to display content. The Application class has a new CreateWindow method that is called whenever a new Window is created. When applications run on the desktop (or on a tablet), there is more real estate to take advantage of, which means you may want to create a second or third Window instead of navigating around.

The top-level menu bar

When using desktop apps, one of the most common features is the menu bar, which is integrated into the app in Windows or the system menu bar on a Mac. With .NET MAUI, you can easily integrate a menu bar with just a few lines of code. An added benefit is that when your users launch your application on an iPad with a keyboard, they will also have access to the menu bar.

Context menus

Sometimes developers want to give more options when a user right-clicks on an item. They want a menu similar to the menu bar, but based on a specific context. This is where context menus come into use in .NET MAUI applications. They have a similar API as the menu bar, but are placed over a specific control.

Tooltips

Tooltips are a quick and easy way to add functionality to an application and improve the user experience. Desktop users have a mouse and keyboard at their disposal, which means additional context can be provided when they hover over a control in the application. Using the attached TooltipProperties.Text property allows you to specify additional information that is displayed to the user when they mouse over.

Pointer gestures

Speaking of enhancing desktop applications when users navigate with the mouse, .NET MAUI has several new gesture recognizers specifically for the mouse pointer. You can easily see when a pointer has entered, excited, or moved inside a control.

The upgrade is available and the desktop and mobile editions of Firefox 95 will come with RLBox technology. Its aim is to fend off all damages that may be caused by code security flaws or bugs.

According to the company, the “novel sandboxing tool” will look to make Firefox the most secure browser option around. The RLBox technology was developed by Mozilla by researchers at the  University of California San Diego and the University of Texas.

WebAssembly is used to cut off potential buggy code. It is to prevent infection flaws that are able to execute without the user’s knowledge.

Mozilla points out that hackers often chain together two vulnerabilities to breakthrough. The first one has an aim to compromise the sandbox process, while the second one is used to escape from it later. And here it doesn’t matter that all major browsers run web content in their own sandbox process. Previously, this meant having to rise the browser’s subcomponents into a separate process that has its own limitations.

Mozilla says:

“Rather than hoisting the code into a separate process, we instead compile it into WebAssembly and then compile that WebAssembly into native code,”

It is not suitable for every component yet, but the company said that it is working on expanding the reach of RLBox as much as it can – including to other browsers. In 2020 a prototype was shipped to Mac and Linux users with an aim to test and show it can operate effectively across different operating systems.

In a blog post, which is announcing the news, Mozilla’s Bobby Holley commented:

“RLBox is a big win for us on several fronts: it protects our users from accidental defects as well as supply-chain attacks, and it reduces the need for us to scramble when such issues are disclosed upstream,”

This technology is said to open up new opportunities beyond what’s been possible with traditional process-based sandboxing. He added that the company looks forward to expanding its usage and (hopefully) seeing it adopted in other browsers and software projects.