December Brings Free GitHub Copilot

Hello JavaScript Enthusiasts!

\ Welcome to another edition of "This Week in JavaScript"!

\ Today, we’ll be looking at the State of JavaScript 2024 report, unpacking Tailwind CSS 4 updates that’ll make your styles fly, and serving up fresh tools to streamline your dev grind. Oh, and did we mention that GitHub Copilot is now free?

\ Buckle up!

The State of JavaScript 2024 survey results are in, and TypeScript is officially dominating the JavaScript landscape.

• 67% of developers now use TypeScript more than traditional JavaScript. Type safety, better tooling, and cleaner code are driving its widespread adoption.
• Vite is leading the pack when it comes to build tools, with developers loving its simplicity and speed over older tools like webpack.

\ It’s clear that while JavaScript itself remains stable, TypeScript and modern build tools like Vite are shaping the future of how we build apps.

GitHub has made a major move by offering its Copilot AI for free—well, with a few limits. If you have a GitHub account, you can now access 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month, all within Visual Studio Code and GitHub.

\ Here's how you can take advantage of it:

• Speed up your coding: Copilot offers AI-driven code completion that saves time and effort.
• Multi-file edits: Easily make edits across multiple files.
• Model options: Choose from models like Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet for tailored results.
• Copilot Chat: Ask questions, generate code snippets, and get real-time help with your codebase.

\ This new offering is amazing for streamlining your workflow and boosting productivity.

We’ve already talked about the Tailwind CSS 4 Beta Release before, but you need to know about these features!

1. Lightning CSS: Tailwind has moved to Lightning CSS, which speeds up builds and reduces the need for PostCSS configurations.
2. CSS-first configuration: With native CSS variables for theming, styling has become more streamlined, although you might miss the type safety from the JavaScript-based config.
3. Descendant Variants: A new double-star feature lets you style elements deep in the hierarchy. However, while this might help with CMS content, it could bring back maintainability challenges.
4. Radial and Conic Gradients: The new gradients are great but come with complex syntax, better suited for design systems than HTML.
5. Class Name Changes: Class names like grow (instead of flex-grow) are making tools like Tailwind Merge less efficient.

\ While there’s a lot to love about the new update, be mindful of potential pitfalls with maintainability!

Now, let’s take a quick look at the latest tools and updates that can boost your workflow:

• JerryScript 3.0: A super lightweight JavaScript engine for IoT with 84% Test262 compliance. It introduces ES2020 features like optional chaining and dynamic imports—great for embedded systems.
• Transformers.js v3.2: Bringing machine learning to the browser! Features include real-time speech recognition with Moonshine, image analysis with Phi-3.5 Vision, and bilingual text generation with EXAONE. Perfect for integrating AI directly into web projects.
• Bun 1.1.39 & 1.1.40: With bun.lock for better tooling compatibility, 30% faster cached installations, and WebSocket improvements, Bun keeps optimizing the JavaScript ecosystem.
• pnpm Update: The pnpm link command now adds dependency overrides to package.json, simplifying global and workspace linking. SHA256 hashing has been introduced, improving security.
• ESLint v9.17.0: A major update! The no-unused-vars rule now auto-fixes unused variables, and crashes from nullish values are resolved. This update will keep your codebase cleaner and more efficient.

\ If you found these JavaScript updates useful, give this post an upvote to help others discover it. Don’t forget to share it with your fellow developers, and keep an eye out for more insights in the JavaScript world. \n

Until next time, keep coding and stay curious!