Good Morning! Azul Systems has unveiled Code Inventory to help developers streamline Java applications by removing unused "dead" code. Docker, Neo4j, LangChain, and Ollama have launched the GenAI Stack to make it easier for developers to build generative AI applications. Epic Games announced an update to the pricing model for Unreal Engine that introduces per-seat licensing fees for non-game developers starting in 2024.

— Forrest Knight & Meghanadh Vasireddy

Azul Unveils Code Inventory to Streamline Java Applications

Azul Systems, a leading provider of Java runtime solutions, has announced a new feature, Code Inventory, aimed at helping developers remove unused or "dead" code from their Java applications. This innovative tool is designed to catalog the source code used in production, providing detailed insights that facilitate the pruning of unused code.

Dead code refers to the source code that resides in an application's codebase but is not used by the application. Over time, as applications and features grow larger, the size and complexity of each project increases. Developers often hesitate to remove old code due to the risk of breaking the application if a function is called and it isn't there.

Code Inventory addresses this issue by collecting detailed information from inside the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) at the class/package and method level, without the performance penalty of traditional profilers. It provides a comprehensive view across an enterprise's Java workloads of what code runs over time, effectively creating a "treasure map" to dead code.

This feature not only helps developers identify unused code but also provides a report on when the code was first and last run. By cataloging the code that is actually being used by applications, developers can confidently remove unused code, making codebases easier to understand and maintain.

Martin Van Ryswyk, Chief Product Officer at Azul, stated, "Application developers want to remove dead and unused code to make maintenance easier but are terrified to remove anything for fear of breaking the application. With Code Inventory, developers now have a sophisticated tool to help pinpoint areas for cleanup".

The Code Inventory feature is part of Azul Vulnerability Detection, an agentless cloud service that continuously detects known security vulnerabilities in Java applications and infrastructure in production. It requires no changes to the application or additional monitoring software, making it a seamless addition to the developer's toolkit.

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Docker, Neo4j, LangChain, and Ollama Launch GenAI Stack for Developers

Docker, in collaboration with Neo4j, LangChain, and Ollama, has announced the launch of the GenAI Stack, a new platform designed to help developers quickly and easily build generative AI applications. The announcement was made during the Day-2 keynote of DockerCon, Docker's annual global developer conference.

The GenAI Stack is pre-configured, ready-to-code, and secure, eliminating the need for developers to search for and configure technologies from different sources. It combines large language models (LLMs) from Ollama, vector and graph databases from Neo4j, and the LangChain framework. This unified experience aims to make developers more productive with new tools and methods, enabling them to not only use AI but also build new apps with it.

Docker also unveiled its first AI-powered product, Docker AI, during the conference. This generative AI assistant helps developers define and troubleshoot all aspects of an application, providing context-specific, automated guidance when editing a Dockerfile or Docker Compose file, debugging a local 'docker build,' or running a test locally.

The GenAI Stack is now available in the Learning Center in Docker Desktop and on GitHub. With this launch, Docker and its partners aim to close the gap between the potential of generative AI and the work required to implement it, making it easier for developers to build GenAI-backed applications and add GenAI features to existing applications.

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Epic Games Announces Unreal Engine Pricing Update for Non-Game Developers

Epic Games has announced an update to the pricing model for its Unreal Engine, targeting developers outside the gaming industry. The change will introduce a per-seat licensing fee for developers using Unreal Engine in industries such as film, TV, and automotive. The new pricing model is set to take effect in 2024 and will not impact game developers, who will continue to use Unreal Engine for free until their title earns over $1 million in revenue. The move is aimed at non-gaming applications of Unreal Engine, which currently do not generate any royalties for Epic Games.

The new pricing model is expected to help Epic Games increase its revenue from Unreal Engine, particularly from non-gaming applications that have not been contributing to its income. However, the exact terms of the new pricing model have not been announced yet. The move to a per-seat licensing model is similar to the pricing structures of software like Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk Maya, where companies pay a license fee for each employee using the software.

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Zilog's Forgotten Gem: The Z80-RIO Operating System

In the late 1970s, Zilog, a renowned semiconductor company, developed a unique operating system known as the Z80 Operating System with Relocatable Modules and I/O Management, or Z80-RIO for short. This operating system, although now functionally obsolete, played a significant role in the evolution of computing systems and is worth remembering.

The Birth of Z80-RIO: Z80-RIO was not designed for the regular consumer market. Instead, it was part of Zilog’s focus on industrial markets, laboratories, and other sectors that could benefit from a versatile, programmable computer system for control and automation. The operating system was developed for various computer systems, including the Z80 Micro Computer System (MCZ-1) series and the Z80 Development System (ZDS).

Features and Functionality: Z80-RIO was designed to facilitate the development and integration of user's programs into a production environment. It provided a range of features, including the bootstrap process, the RIO Executive, default console drivers, I/O structure, program interface, and the Zilog Floppy Disk File System (ZDOS), and the Zilog Hard Disk File System (DFS).

The operating system was designed to operate with the 4K PROM in either the Zilog Micro Computer System (MCZ) or Development System (ZDS). A minimum configuration of 32K (1K=1024) of random access memory, one disk drive, and a console device was required.

The Decline: The 1980s brought massive shifts in the computer markets, which led to the decline of Z80’s RIO OS. However, the legacy of Z80-RIO and its associated Programming Language Zilog (PLZ) lives on. Ralf-Peter Nerlich, who worked with these systems when they were new, has embarked on a mission to retain and recover what information he can on RIO and the associated PLZ.

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More Notes

• 7% of Python Developers Are Still Using Python 2, Annual Survey Finds

  • The Python Developers Survey 2022 report indicates that 93% of respondents had adopted Python 3, while only 7% were still using Python 2.

• Sonatype shines light on current state of supply chain security in latest report

  • Sonatype, a software supply chain automation company, has released a report on the current state of supply chain security.

• New technique based on 18th-century mathematics shows simpler AI models don't need deep learning

  • Researchers have developed a new technique based on 18th-century mathematics that shows simpler AI models don't need deep learning.

• Android 14 is here

  • Android 14, the latest version of the Android operating system, has been released.

• Opsera announces funding round to support Hummingbird AI

  • Opsera, a DevOps orchestration platform, has announced a funding round to support Hummingbird AI

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