V8 version 6.8 is now available. V8 is an open-source JavaScript engine developed by Google and used in Google’s open-source browser Chrome. The latest release focuses on memory, performance, WebAssembly and APIs.
To avoid memory leaks, the latest version lets the context point to a ScopeInfo in order to break down dependencies. According to the team, there is already a three percent v* memory improvement on mobile devices. For performance, the release will feature array destructuring, object.assign and TypedArray.prototype.sort improvements. In addition, developers can start using trap-based bounds checking on Linux x64 platforms, the team explained.
The version is currently in beta, and will remain in beta until the release of Chrome 68 Stable in a few weeks. More information is available here.
Intel CEO resigns
Brian Krzanich has announced he is resigning as CEO and a memory of the Board of Directors for Intel. Chief financial officer Robert Swan will become the interim CEO, effective immediately.
The resignation comes after the company was informed Krzanich had a consensual relationship with an employee. According to Intel, the company has a non-fraternization policy that applies to all managers.
“The Board believes strongly in Intel’s strategy and we are confident in Bob Swan’s ability to lead the company as we conduct a robust search for our next CEO. Bob has been instrumental to the development and execution of Intel’s strategy, and we know the company will continue to smoothly execute. We appreciate Brian’s many contributions to Intel,” said Intel chairman Andy Bryant.
Google Play updated with new developer features
Google Play is getting a new update to help developers grow and optimize their subscriptions. The Google Play team announced a new subscription center designed to help users view, manage, renew, restore and cancel subscriptions. In addition, the center will also provide a cancellation survey to give developers more feedback into why a user is cancelling.
With the subscription center, Google is also announcing new deep links to enable users to manage subscriptions from their app, email or website. Other features include the ability to accept price changes without setting up a new SKU.
“We strongly believe that by building a great user experience, we build a high quality subscriber base. And by giving you tools and insights to better manage your business, you have the flexibility to do what is best for your business and your customers,” the Google Play team wrote in a post.
Oracle donates code to Apache
Oracle has completed a second donation to Apache NetBeans, the IDE for Java. According to the Apache Software Foundation, Oracle donated 1.5 million lines of code. “This donation constitutes the modules of NetBeans dealing with enterprise Java, JavaScript, PHP, Groovy, as well as miscellaneous features applicable to Mobile and Web development,” Apache wrote in a statement announcing the news.
Apache NetBeans (incubating 9.0) will focus on JavaSE. “After that, or at least separate from that process, we will start relicensing the new code, i.e., from the 2nd donation, once it is in Apache NetBeans Git. Right now, it is a ZIP file, it needs to be moved to Apache NetBeans Git, and we need to do that in the right way, and figure out what the right way is,” Apache wrote.