Best of The New Stack — October 2025

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    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·31w

    CSS Finally Gets Inline Conditional Logic With New if() Function

    CSS now supports inline conditional logic through the new if() function in the 2025 W3C specification. This function allows developers to set different property values based on conditional tests using style queries, media queries, or feature queries. The syntax follows JavaScript's if-else pattern and can be used for tasks like theme switching, responsive design, and feature detection. Currently, Chrome and Edge support the function, while Safari and Firefox are still implementing it. This marks the first time CSS offers inline logic processing without requiring separate code blocks.

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    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·32w

    Why We Created Turso, a Rust-Based Rewrite of SQLite

    Turso is a Rust-based rewrite of SQLite designed to address modern development needs while maintaining compatibility. SQLite's single-writer architecture, synchronous design, and limited extensibility create bottlenecks for high-throughput writes, real-time applications, and modern features like vector search and CDC. Turso introduces asynchronous I/O, concurrent writes through MVCC, native encryption, vector search, CDC support, and live materialized views. The rewrite enables SQLite-like simplicity with architectural improvements for edge computing, AI agents, and streaming analytics while fostering an open contribution model with over 150 contributors.

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    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·33w

    Stop Ignoring the Browser: The Biggest Frontend Shift in a Decade

    Modern browsers now natively support features that once required frameworks like React and Angular. Native APIs for routing, state management, component isolation, and animations are reducing the need for heavy framework dependencies. While frameworks still offer value through conventions and ecosystem support, they're shifting from necessity to preference. Standards-based development using Shadow DOM, ES modules, Navigation API, and Web Components can deliver better performance with smaller bundle sizes, especially for mobile and edge computing environments. The web platform has matured enough to handle modern application development without framework intermediaries.

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    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·32w

    Why Devs Are Ditching React for Preact’s Simplicity and Speed

    Preact is gaining momentum as developers move away from React's complexity and bloat. Remix v3's pivot away from React signals a cultural shift in the frontend ecosystem, legitimizing lighter alternatives. Developers are frustrated with React's endless tooling churn, large bundle sizes, and rigid patterns that have calcified over time. Preact offers near-identical APIs with a fraction of the bundle size, providing performance benefits and development simplicity. This migration represents more than technical preference—it's a psychological break from React's cultural dominance and a redistribution of trust across the JavaScript ecosystem toward leaner, more focused frameworks.

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    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·29w

    Why Sudo-rs Brings Modern Memory Safety to Ubuntu 26.04

    Ubuntu 26.04 will include sudo-rs, a Rust-based rewrite of the sudo command, alongside the traditional C implementation. The project aims to improve memory safety and maintainability while reducing codebase complexity. Developed through the Prossimo initiative and now maintained by the Trifecta Tech Foundation, sudo-rs collaborates closely with the original sudo maintainer Todd Miller. The rewrite focuses on supporting common use cases rather than replicating every legacy feature, with Canonical funding Ubuntu-specific compatibility work. The project has already been tested in Ubuntu 25.10 and is available as an option in several other distributions.

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    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·29w

    New Open Source Tool from Angular Scores Vibe Code Quality

    Google's Angular team released Web Codegen Scorer, an open source tool that evaluates AI-generated frontend code quality. The tool tests LLM-generated applications against framework best practices, accessibility standards, and security vulnerabilities, providing developers with a 0-100 score. Originally created to settle internal debates about which LLM best implements Angular, the scorer helped the team identify common failure patterns and improve their framework. It includes pre-configured environments for Angular and Solid.js, with support for other frameworks through custom prompts. The tool integrates with AI-enabled IDEs and agents to guide better code generation.

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    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·29w

    Valkey 9.0 Debuts Multidatabase Clustering for Massive-Scale Workloads

    Valkey 9.0 launches with multidatabase clustering support, enabling separate logical databases within distributed clusters while maintaining high throughput. The release introduces atomic slot migration for seamless node rebalancing without downtime, hash field expiration, and performance optimizations achieving up to 20% higher throughput. Security improvements address Lua scripting vulnerabilities and enhance authentication options. The update positions Valkey as a Redis-compatible, performance-optimized datastore for massive-scale workloads exceeding one billion requests per second.

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