Best of The New Stack — December 2024

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5 JavaScript Libraries You Should Say Goodbye to in 2025
As JavaScript continues to evolve, some older libraries like jQuery, Moment.js, Lodash, Underscore, and RequireJS are becoming obsolete. Modern frameworks, native JavaScript features, and better alternatives such as ES6+ syntax, date-fns, and modern bundlers can significantly improve performance, reduce bundle sizes, and make your code more maintainable. It’s time to update your projects and embrace these newer technologies by 2025.
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Rhino Linux Is One of the Most Innovative Linux Distros
Rhino Linux is an innovative distribution based on Ubuntu, featuring a rolling release model for continuous updates. It includes Ulauncher for efficient searching and application launching, and offers support for various universal package managers like Flatpak and Snap. Additionally, it utilizes Pacstall, similar to Arch's Pacman, for managing packages from the AUR. The Xfce-based desktop, called Unicorn, combines modern looks with the traditional speed and customization of Xfce.
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The New Stack·1y
Mastering Progressive Hydration for Enhanced Web Performance
Progressive hydration is a technique to enhance web application performance by gradually loading interactive components. It improves user experience, particularly in large applications, by prioritizing essential parts for immediate interaction and deferring non-critical elements. Unlike lazy loading, which delays resource loading, progressive hydration focuses on a specialized hydration process after server-side rendering. This approach optimizes key performance metrics and ensures a responsive interface. The post provides detailed steps for implementing progressive hydration in a React app and suggests using performance monitoring tools for evaluation.
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5 Technical Trends To Help Web Developers Stand Out in 2025
Stay ahead in web development by leveraging Vanilla JavaScript's simplicity, showcasing skills with Three.js for interactive resumes, enhancing security knowledge, using local AI coding assistants for better privacy and customization, and integrating no-code and low-code tools to accelerate development and expand digital creation. Embrace these trends to stand out and stay nimble in the evolving web development landscape.
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5 Python Libraries Every Data Engineer Should Know
Python is a powerful language for data engineering, enhanced by essential third-party libraries. For beginners, Beautiful Soup 4 and Requests are ideal for web scraping and sending HTTP requests. Intermediate users may benefit from Apache Airflow for workflow automation and Boto3 for integrating AWS services. Advanced users can leverage Pandas for comprehensive data manipulation and analysis.
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The Best MacOS Terminal Emulation Programs for Developers
macOS offers powerful development tools, including the built-in Terminal app. However, third-party terminal emulators like iTerm2, WezTerm, Warp, Commander One, and Hyper provide more features and customization options. These applications enhance productivity with advanced capabilities like split panes, GPU acceleration, AI integration, file management, and SSH optimization. Users can also alter the default shell with frameworks like Oh My Zsh or replace it with shells like Fish or Bash to further improve their command-line experience.
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MapLibre: How a Fork Became a Thriving Open Source Project
MapLibre emerged as a thriving open source project after Mapbox shifted its map rendering engine to a proprietary license in late 2020. The community, including key contributors supported by corporations like AWS, Meta, and Microsoft, modernized the project by transitioning it from JavaScript to TypeScript. Despite initial challenges, MapLibre has succeeded with significant community and financial backing, and continues to operate with an equal-opportunity advisory board.
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EndeavourOS Neo Provides a Stylish Route to Arch Linux
EndeavourOS provides an accessible and stylish route to Arch Linux through its user-friendly Calamares Installer, which supports both online and offline installations. Users can choose from multiple desktop environments, including KDE Plasma, and customize the system extensively. EndeavourOS includes useful pre-installed applications and offers tools like Pamac and Flatpak for easy software additions, making it suitable for users of all experience levels.
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Why Now Is the Time to Migrate From Redis to Valkey
Redis has shifted away from open-source licensing, prompting many to consider migrating to Valkey, a highly compatible fork. The switch is recommended now due to low migration costs and future uncertainties with Redis's licensing. Valkey is supported by major players like AWS and Google and offers the same open-source benefits, potentially saving costs and avoiding lock-in issues associated with Redis.
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Linux: How to Run VirtualBox VMs from the Command Line
Learn how to manage VirtualBox virtual machines from the command line on a Linux host. Discover the steps to install the VirtualBox Extension Pack, list VMs, start, pause, stop, and delete VMs using command-line tools. This guide also includes instructions for creating new VMs and configuring them for remote access.
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The New Stack·1y
Homebrew for MacOS Developers
Homebrew is a package manager for macOS that simplifies the installation, updating, and removal of software. It manages software dependencies and facilitates automation, making it a powerful tool for developers. The post guides readers through the basic usage of Homebrew, including installing applications, updating software, and managing dependencies. It also highlights Homebrew's role in providing access to software not available in the Mac App Store and compares it to other package managers on Linux and Windows.
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Rust Will Explode, SBOMs Will Be Duds: Open Source Predictions
2025 is set to be a transformative year for open source software. Rust's inclusion in the Linux kernel is expected to drive significant adoption due to its focus on memory safety and modern programming models. Tools like jujutsu (jj) and Unified Python Package Management (uv) are poised to redefine version control and Python package management, respectively. However, the impact of SBOMs, fair source licensing, and server-side Wasm is predicted to be minimal. Open source remains resilient, continuing to innovate and shape the future of software development.
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The New Stack·1y
Scrum Sucks Because You’re Doing It Wrong
Scrum is often misunderstood and misapplied, leading to frustration among engineers. Effective scrum implementation requires understanding its fundamentals, such as having a fully cross-functional team, conducting meaningful standups and retrospectives, and correctly handling metrics like story points and velocity. Common pitfalls include partial adoption of agile practices, incorrectly set teams, and not acting on retrospective feedback. Addressing these issues can greatly improve the success of scrum in a team.
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The New Stack·1y
Why Your Microservice Integration Tests Miss Real Problems
Engineering teams often skip comprehensive integration testing due to its complexity in microservices environments. Traditional methods, such as mocks or Docker Compose, come with high maintenance, false confidence, and scalability issues. A new approach using sandbox environments for canary-style integration testing allows for realistic testing by interacting with actual dependencies. This method, exemplified by Signadot's use of AI-powered SmartTests, offers immediate feedback, enhanced reliability, and scalability, transforming how integration tests are conducted in distributed systems.
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